This one had underestimated your chances for survival. We are fulfilling our promise to Thomas in providing you with data analysis in regards to your current situation.
I did not review the news and happenings around the colonies but it's my understanding the Gallic war ended and the humans managed to commit rampant genocide creating several humanitarian issues.
We are still parsing heuristic data.
Please input biometrics so that we can initiate a Gold Channel encryption for cross-communication with the "Family".
::::::::::::::Message Ends>
Satrina walked over to what was a master communications terminal. and realized Orin preferred blood for his biometrics. luckily she had a lancet from her first aid kit on her prospector.
pressing the drop of blood on the specimen slide the mercurial drop turned into a gold spot when pressed. Her hybrid blood was something she couldn't hide. Always changing. Aging roughly Twice the normal rate.
Her biometrics were confirmed by read receipt in 8 hours after getting orins message,
The second message merely read "I'm on my way."
She returned to her meditation room, rested, bathed, which for a long time had not been a regular thing on a cramped spacecraft.
She expected the cube on 4 legs to appear around the corner.
Instead, it was Jim.. or the high exarch.. just standing there.
Satrina squinted her eyes...
"Its me." He said stepping into the light, he looked. Much younger, and also not gold-skinned as was his mutation, he could easily pass for human.
(James Mckenna )
She just burst out in tears running to him. He embraced her, she wasn't little anymore but this was a little girl missing what she.. had found out to be her father some years ago.
"Why didn't you say anything." Sobbing mumbling nearly unintelligibly.
He rubbed her back after stabilizing her embrace, holding her up was a little more important than 20 questions.
"Sweetheart. I didn't know until you were gone. Until I sent Thomas back to hell where he belonged." It started out shaky, but his voice was stable by the time he said hell.
He just looked at her. Like a father would.
(Satrina El Zsune)
He remembered she was just a baby when her mother took her away to the empire of light. Now she was a woman. Not a piece of technology for the Cult to exploit.
"Looks like everything balanced out, your complexion is better than mine." he smiled a fatherly smile.
"You looked like a gold statue with a back problem. You're completely different now." She sniffed. "I knew it was you somehow."
They stood there embraced for a while... memories in her mind and his were trying to surface. They sat down together and settled in after he made tea.
Jim's dramatic timing, or rather his way to control a conversation was to drop bombshells first and clear the rubble.
"Thomas lied about a lot. I don't know how much in control of himself he was but it didn't matter. Leonard tried to get me out after Thomas emerged from Dur Shurrikun. Leonard was torn to bits and left to rot at the gantry in Altair. When I came out. It was a gambit he paid for with his life but it worked." He explained.
"Your uncle was flawed and naive but he was a good person. He was also a genius when it came to cybernetics, we've always been fairly sensitive in an empathic sense but he figured out how to make them speak to them. Harbinger wanted it and he gave it to the old one in exchange for getting me out. When Thomas went in I came out but I didn't know who I was." he frowned recalling logs his brother had left behind.
"Three winds kept me under lock and key all the time, I only suspected after he was gone, it.. it was like a cloud lifted much of what he told me made no sense but I hung off of every word with some sort of obsession.," Satrina said.
They sat in silence for some time.
"He had that effect on everyone..." Jim sipped some tea looking at El.
"I heard from a reliable person... whom Three Winds told me to trust... that Harbinger left them. which my only question is why. He wouldn't leave. Not the one I knew." She stated.
"Leonard seemed to think the deal was Harbinger would find a way to convince Thomas to return to Dur, let me out with my memory completely gone for four years? Something obviously happened. What bothers me is I probably know what happened and it was taken." Jim theorized. "You don't think they killed him?"
Satrina shook her head. "No, too many secrets. He was at Toledo, he saw Moloch and.. more importantly, Ishtar. They look like her now. They aren't as powerful but her mark was definitely left. I haven't seen Slomon Khara at all for a while. Even the exiled." Satrina finished her tea.
Jim smiled. "I like them, its cause of one I remember most everything. Ishtar... just like your mom. She could help me remember the rest." his eyes got wide. Jim fumbled for a picture. (Sorhaka McKenna)
"You have a half-sister, Sorhaka, she is running the salvage company and your cousin actually brought me here. " he shrugged
Satrina blinked at Sorhaka's image, green eyes as she had wanted. "She is.. very red. Suzie dropped you off? " She eyed him.
"You should see her pissed off." Jim smirked. "She's smiling there."
"So. Suzie is cleaning radiation off of your ship?" El asked.
Jim cleared his throat. "Sunk everything into the transport. Im operating well below the radar until my new ID and fake history is done, I got you one too... if you.. want to rejoin society?"
Satrina looked pained at the concept. She was thinking about how to let him down. "My whole life is a lie... even you.. are a lie. I have contracts expiring with voided credits because I can't handle coming in to collect my pay."
Jim reached out and took her hand. "I can hire you, and you can just loaf around... if the contracts with DSE I still know folks there." Satrina cut him of and looked into his eyes. She saw who and why and how he knew them.
"From your slave trading?" she barbed.
"now just a damn minute..." he said defensively "If it wasn't me it would be someone else and.. I stopped that A long time ago... Second chances do that." He looked down, for a moment he reached for a flask that was no longer there..
She already knew he stopped, she knew Haog was an explorer at heart, why didn't he just do that instead of making money in the shadows?
"I don't feel at home with ...these people..., Even the Oracles feel like.. this weight that just got dumped on me. Some of them, many probably need a safe place and I'm going to find that for all of us first." in a determined tone."[color=#FF8000I need to make sure we can account for as many as possible."[/color]
she held his hand to get his attention.
"I've always loved you like a father... now I know why. We've always been a family. I could never judge you." she told him in a soft but serious tone. "So knock it off. Only the morally weak feel compelled to defend or explain themselves to others." She quoted.
"Epictetus." He grinned.
"Slave is a popular backstory in history I think." She mused.
They sat in silence for several minutes, Satrina was relaxing enough that their egos settled down and they both saw Ishtar again... its brilliant gold and blue energy shining on them. Jim hadn't experienced it first hand but Satrina shared her experience there was a life to the memory like it wasn't done playing out yet.
"Whoa!" another voice exclaimed. Breaking the moment but not before Jim and Satrina saw their auras were joined.
Jim was not even close to how capable Satrina was he had never flared up like that since the infusion.
The woman was Susan, from Satrinas mother's side a strange mix of Maltese and Zoner families that either built ships or fixed them. Her full name was Susan Ninea Castillo Temple because the tradition of honoring the grandparents and even great grandparents by piling the names on the next generation was very alive and well for her.
(Suzie aka Ophelia)
"Dont burn the place down! idiotas." Suzie jabbed. when the fires went away she saw Satrina. All grown up. There were nearly tears.
"Bella! Your all grown up! I can't believe-" She was becoming enveloped in a group hug.
"We've all grown up." Satrina said.
The three had begun an actual conversation about their lives, Susan who still was a prolific dueler had started a winery out of what was very cheap seized estate from Thomas's family. The Black Pyramid however had disappeared underground, attempts to excavate it or find it... was unsuccessful. For within it was the grand total of every artifact and data archive the Oracles had. Including the jump coordinate sets for the Juggernauts that supposedly had the few thousands of followers of the cult of Sirius within them.
Somewhere there were a lot of people, infected, and the 440 Seraphim in space.. possibly lost forever.
We have had confirmed contact with several Shrines that have been dispatched from the original fleet. Supposedly their stealth capabilities have failed.. This one advised them of new safe areas until we can find a way to disembark crews//refugees to designated safe haven points. Advice???
I apologize as this one has errands that must be run within Inverness. I trust our arrangements with the Raven and Levithan are still intact and therefore may inquire to their ability to network for refugees.
We understand you may wish to reform the Oracles, but given the current climate and the current logistical ... issues. We don't recommend it at this time.
::::::::::::::Message Ends>
Satrina sighs. And sent a note back.
-We can discuss with whoever is left. Haog, Ophelia, and Israfel as well as Raven and some new form of joined from the other tribe have met with me here at the shrine. They can jump Orin... They can do what I used to do.
Also.. I like them a lot. I don't know about the Oracles unless the entire flock of the Sirians wishes to follow me I don't know if the Oracles should be a thing. I can't speak for them. but personally, after all this, I just want to rest and think.
The more of me awakens the more I remember. All of.. my warforms.. are coming here.. They are following me and as soon as I am fully awake I will see if these Vagrants will accept all of me. Then we retrieve Thomas. He has much to answer for.
Bring the Message dump up, I have a feeling more will want to use it.-
She had to find a mirror after sending that message.
Felt like she was going to cry, which as it turns out she still cries gold tears. Looking into the mirror she noticed she had de-aged again. A little effort and she forced her old face back.
Returning to study and meditation was refreshing. Shrine was a blessing in itself. As the time passed Israfel's thoughts regained coherence, and with his memory of the past events returning he contemplated the Oracles' future.
There was no place for them to secure and call home, no logistical backbone to rely on, barely any allies to help them. What was the solution for them? They needed new homes across Sirius. Somewhere far away from the Omicrons, so that they aren’t within immediate reach of immediately hostile groups.
Auxesia’s path was not for them, not for many of them. Unlike Israfel, many of them were deeply spiritual in their beliefs. While Auxesians had religious undertones in their ideology it was a very different outlook. Gallia seemed like a decent choice in theory. In practice it was a place that had parties deeply opposed to Cardamine trade, something that was necessary for many Oracles to survive.
Bretonia was not safe from the Wild’s attacks but other parties were not present there. Criminals there did not fight the Cardamine trade. The refugee crisis after Gaians’ bioweapon attack may be a good time to resettle the flock here, supplying both the refugees and the former Oracles. They needed transports for that, however. The logistical backbone.
They won’t be too far from Saturnia and the Vagrants this way. Not too far from the Shrine. Far enough from the Omicrons. Freeport 14 and Invergordon should not be overlooked either with their proximity to what little allies they have.
The insurgents… Their current state needs to be assessed first. Veracruz can only be an acceptable choice if it’s properly defended from “accidents” caused by Liberty. The inquiry can be started with a message to Revenant.
Israfel closed his notepad and left the meditation chamber. It was time to relay his thoughts to Saturnia.
The Oracles present here were done cataloguing the information they had access to and now studied it with the other people hired by Israfel. The talks shifted from archivist work and Shrine and its significance to philosophy, history and religion. Little notable conflict happened between the two groups since many of those selected by frankly irreverent Exarch were not following the Cult’s teachings religiously.
Recreation was quite an issue here initially, but it was not too difficult to arrange while a few supply runs on Tefillin were made. A library, some VR sets, some arcade machines bought from Kusari, a small cinema and so on. That could easily last the crew a few months of work.
It felt like the worst threat to the community could be the Exarch himself. He was coming to his senses but he saw disturbing potential in using other people’s instability. Some were simply prone to anxiety. Somatisation could easily become a death warrant in his presence. Gaslighting someone as a psychic seemed like a child’s play.
Israfel knew he didn’t want to use it on unsuspecting people ever again. He would have to.
Isaiah wanted to be humane. He would suppress that wish one day.
“You are my war club, my weapon for battle— with you I shatter nations, with you I destroy kingdoms.”
Alas, he had no God but the cause he would fight for.
He knocked on the door to Satrina’s room. "It might be a long talk"
She had a tablet with details the Orin had been able to gather. She was also looking over some civilian gallic ships.. the sunbeam, she had always liked it.
"Salut," – Israfel said as he came in. – "How are you?"
Even though his thinking became more clear he was not sure what to bring up first. He sighed and started as he usually did: the needs of others.
"The Oracles. How many have gathered, how many need our help, what kind of help? If they need a new home we can use the crisis on Gaia. A few more refugee groups, some supplies, some secrecy. Somewhere in Bretonia. If they wish to begin again, though... I think we must wipe the slate clean first. Undergo a metamorphosis. Leave names and records behind until we have stable ground. What do you say?"
From the few interactions they had Israfel did not remember Saturnia as a zealot or being particularly stubborn. The details would inevitably require some sort of compromise, though. Israfel simply did not know enough about her outlook to adjust in advance.
"Orin is tracking down everyone. The seraphim I've been able to meet with are divided on what to do. A few of them are able to pass for normal on Malta and have already been assimilated.. everyone's looking to me for answers. I know Ill have to make a decision soon." She said.
She put her datapads aside.
"There are two zoner juggernauts that had been converted to sleepers for some of our worst cases. they are full of everyone that was left from before ThreeWinds vanished. most of them.. around 28 thousand people were already fleeing oppression from the crackdown on malta. The acting captain of the Sanctuary is on their way nearby, its cloak still works, Haog is on his way to take it over for the time being." She showed him the sleeper ships Older style juggernauts.
"We can't find them.. something happened and the fleet was separated. I'm not going to abandon everyone. but I don't want to go back to Malta its too volatile but too many of us depend on Cardamine, especially the seraphim, the hybrids need it to live until we find liquid Cardamine." she stated.
"I've .. begun to interact with the Vagrant hive. It is strange because it's not the tribe I grew up with, but their ways are more natural to me.. their agents.. the gallics are more stable than any of the infected I've ever known.. Their techniques and abilities are something that I know the more powerful seraphim will want to join them. The oracles however I don't believe can come back. There was a suggestion that we attempt to scrub everything and start a "universalist church of all worlds" and when I learn to stretch out into time and space since the sirian winds and jump.. I can find the sleepers, we vary well may have to put them to work to facilitate a support system like a church that was suggested.." She folded her legs on her lounge. Keeping her feet off the floor.
"I never had this much responsibility, Thomas handled so much I never knew about. The people, the poor and the ones looking for a safe home are all over the place... Many of them would be completely lost if it wasn't for ThreeWinds and his Priest nomad routine.. But we need to push them away from the worship of nomads and aliens and back into the part of themselves that is god. The god inside.. Thats the only churchy thing I ever remember from him.. as much as he hid from me and all of us. I want to get him back. He has much to answer for." Satrina said in a sad mix of anger and regret. "I ran when he told me to run... I failed everyone when I did that." she looked at israfel "Im so sorry. this is just such a mess."
Israfel was slightly taken aback by the number of people they had to help but quickly reminded himself of the Church's former numbers. Yes, there was no alternative to Bretonia in this case, unless they were allowed to stay in stasis until further notice. Let them disperse and be forgotten by the world.
The phased out Zoner ships sparked Israfel's curiosity. Those were mostly gone when Israfel started his journey into space, he never even encountered one save for a couple wrecks deep in Omicrons.
"Cardamine problem could be solved with cash or with Vagrants' aid," Israfel shrugged. "I'm more worried about the risks we'll have to take settling those people somewhere."
When Saturnia mentioned Fae's unusual traits, the Exarch nodded. He was also curious to learn more about them. The church, however... No, it was better to let her finish her thoughts. At least the thought of letting them become free from Nomad worship was agreeable.
And things went in the wrong direction. She blamed Thomas. She blamed herself.
"Please, don't apologise to someone who was too paranoid and delusional to take matters into his own hands when opportunity presented itself," Israfel smiled without a hint of mirth in his eyes. "I could take Sajuuk's place as soon as he was gone. I could get rid of Charon, if needed, and force the events in a different direction. I did none of that. Everyone and no one is to blame here."
He raised his hands slightly.
"We will return to that later and discuss all we need to discuss, alright? Let's go back to topic. To reform the Oracles we could use Christianity as a foundation or try to create a syncretic religion similar to..." he paused, as if going through a list in his memory. "Manichaeism, yes. I never intended to continue in this venue, however. I'd rather create a secular organisation that can utilise their talent for the betterment of humanity. Something that can provide disaster management, relief, healthcare and security on a commercial basis. It could become a very flexible tool independent from House governments. Besides, we need to hide our past as the Oracles."
He then put an emphasis on each word.
"Order. Core. Maltese government."
"All the wonderful people who want us not gone but erased." Israfel made a pause. "Of course, we don't need to prohibit religion. So many Outcasts out of Malta and Cardamine addicts in the new church, though, will raise all the eyebrows. Let's make ourselves disappear first, shall we? A growing enterprise won't be nearly as revealing, after all. Those people will either have to stay asleep until we have solid ground for them or settle somewhere covertly."
she thought for a moment.. If they did intend to scrub everything they knew about so that nothing could come haunting them there were a handful of things. People, items that are unaccounted for that would need some sort of solution. Then there was the matter of the black obelisk that had always been at the center of the cult that had always been their home on Malta.. it was a ticking timebomb.
"The pyramid needs to be raised from Malta and taken away from there. It has been siphoning mental and emotional energy from Malta and the cult for hundreds of years. If the outcasts got ahold of it and set it off or tried to destroy it the implications would be cataclysmic for the planet." She said. "We need ThreeWinds to do that. I know he's alive. If he can raise it out of Maltas earth I can jump it to the vagrants who can use it. That is the only truthfully dangerous loose end here."
We can cure everyone else, if we have the time we can move everyone safely. she thought.
"Any hope of reaching Thomas rests on me learning how to travel by jumping again. I don't think our carrier would survive even though it has pinpoint coordinates. I could make much of the heavy lifting go smoothly." she stood up.
"Thomas might insist on getting things going again. If It were him you were talking to, he would tell you that too many people need the orthodox tradition they built their lives on and that.. secular beliefs are most given to corruption of faith. He was not a big fan of the reformation, despite him being a major reformer on Malta. And I could be wrong.. ... it also may not matter. He might come out of there completely different. or not at all. In which case, we still need to get the heart of the Oracles and the Cult of Sirius secrets off that planet before we all get facelifts." she showed him the info pad on the Pyramid.
"Have you ever been there?"she asked.
The data on the pad, A report, done quite a long time ago was translated from Italian and stated that the obelisk was a "gift" from Nysk the originator of the Cult on Malta.. No pictures of her however the size, shape, and composition of the megalith suggested it was of DaamK'vosh design. Was quite extensive in size and absorbed mental energies from people hundreds of miles away... Supposedly was the origin of some of the more notable cultist/oracles powers.
"I think you have the right idea. I think this will take us from a family into a society..." she inhaled. "I just hope everyone sees it that way."
The Pyramid. The centre of their worship, the Kaabah of their Church. Something he did not properly study when he was supposed to. Then again, he was just a regular Oracle back then, before his cybernetic resurrection, before the metamorphosis, before taking Cardamine. He had wrong priorities.
"Best I could do to assist you with the pyramid... I think that would be using Juliette's gift to join the operation posing as another member of the Fae. If that's not needed, I won't," – Israfel said. – "I would tell ThreeWinds that we have no stable ground to keep the cult going at this time, just as I told you. It's not the right moment to act openly."
Israfel took a brief look at the Pyramid's image and nodded.
"I was there once for a meeting with the other Oracles, and then once more when I was healed from being bound to a walking life support machine. This place is another important key to our past, perhaps far more important than the archives. I hope Vagrants have a place to hide it from the world despite their exile from the Omicrons."
Israfel had a hunch about Oracles not having an easy time adapting to a more secular life. Some of them were permanent residents of the temple, their whole life being faith. Concealing this kind of past isa hard task.
"This change might be temporary if the Pyramid will be open for us again. We had hard times ever since the banishment. Many Oracles are already tempered by hardship and can teach others. We will endure, changed or not."
"Speaking of others... You had a few guests, right? I haven't met them myself yet."
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