Gambling In The Star Wars Universe - Fantha Tracks

 
First / Prev / Next
 
 
Alexa was sitting cross legged before Sassie, with Aiov lying casually on the German Shepherd’s back. She had a metal bowl in her lap with chunks of fresh meat for Aiov and cooked meat for her large canine protector. It had been a difficult time as the dog had missed Aaron more and more, to the point that she had begun to refuse food. Aiov's enthusiasm, however, seemed to help slightly in countering that refusal, and Alexa had found that feeding them together at least got some food into the lonely Earth ambassador.
She scratched at the dog’s head as Aiov happily chomped on another scrap of meat. “Look at that! You won’t be outdone by a leokit now, will you?” She placed a cube of seared meat before Sassie’s nose. She sniffed it twice before eating. “You’re going to be so spoiled by the time we get him back. We’ll both get in trouble.”
Aiov snuggled into the thick black and tan fur, using her paw to guide the next morsel into her mouth. Sassie managed a few more pieces before turning her head away with a grunt. Satisfied with what she had achieved Alexa gave a few more scraps to Aiov before placing the bowl into the recycler. The loudspeakers throughout the Rinoxian vessel blared a loud message announcing they had now crossed into Hive space and that their readiness was being moved to level three.
Her door chimed. Opening it, she found Allistan in his new Terran Wolves uniform. “You need to come quickly, the Porkchop Express has arrived.”
As she grabbed Aaron's old leather jacket, Sassie immediately rose to follow which caused Aiov to roll to the floor. "You come," she spoke to the dog, then turned to the distinctly unhappy leokit who had just lost her warm pillow. "You stay, sorry.”
They walked briskly through the corridors of the Rinoxian warship towards a secure meeting room which had two Terran Wolves outside the door. Their black uniforms and red collars were easily identifiable and they gave sharp salutes as Alexa approached. “I told you not to salute.”
The two guards lowered their hands sheepishly as the doors opened. Sassie immediately surged past Alexa to happily greet the returning crew members. She moved from Ranjaz to Jaym, receiving many scratches and hugs. Even Eruwenn and Cygna received a quick examination, but she soon stopped when no sign of Aaron could be found. The German Shepherd forlornly returned to Alexa's side as the Awakened took a seat at the meeting table. “Is the room secure?”
Cygna, now in a smart black uniform with white collar, stood. “We have taken additional precautions due to the sensitive information we will be discussing.”
Tilting her head, Alexa took in the Fae’Dan’s new clothing. “You’re one of us now?”
Eruwenn gave a slight chuckle. Aside from Alexa, she was the only one not in uniform. “She lost a game of dalcho, or two.”
“Seven.” Ranjaz said with a wicked grin. “Don’t worry, she’s actually been a fairly competent assistant. Aside from her gambling issues, obviously.”
Her head drooping to look at her feet, Cygna replied, “I swear by Tulseria’s right hand, I will get you back for this!”
The Kittran’s grin grew more predatory. “Wanna bet?”
There was a long table by the wall where Embar was fixing himself a drink, He turned, shaking his head. “I’m not sure I approve of your recruiting techniques.”
The Kittran shrugged. “She’s worth it – even broke the code on this.” He tossed the recovered device onto the table as Embar returned and took his seat opposite him. “And, you’re going to want a stronger drink, General.”
Curiosity piqued, Allistan took his seat, preparing his notepad and pen. “What did you find?”
Ranjaz was about to speak when Eruwenn held up her hand. “I think we should let General Embar read this first. He can take a moment before we all continue.”
Raising an eyebrow, Embar sat down in a nearby chair and connected the device to a non-networked datapad. “Why me?” He began scrolling through the files, tapping on icons and delving deeper. His breathing suddenly stopped, his face contorting. Disbelief morphed into anger, and as his body tensed, anger turned to white-hot rage. He placed the datapad down on the table before him and stood, walking back towards the drinks table. He lowered his head, his body radiating anger as his muscles clenched and unclenched, then raised his fist into the air and slammed it into the table. Bottles, glasses and everything else it had held went crashing to the ground as it buckled under force of his blow. “We’re going to kill every last one of those Sentinel bastards!”
No longer smiling, Ranjaz stood. “You’re Tulseria damned right we are.”
Jaym was sitting silently, but she pulled a rag from her pocket and dabbed at her tears. After they had fled from the casino she had tried to help crack the encryption on the stolen device. Part of her wished they never had, as its contents had disturbed her so much. Now that they had finally caught up with Alexa, Embar and the others who had been on the Rinoxian homeworld, she empathised deeply with the pain this information was bringing. “It’s so awful, I’m so sorry Embar.”
Eruwenn patted the young Arkellian on the shoulder to comfort her as she looked at the Rinoxian. “Please believe me, General Warbringer. The council knew nothing of this.”
Alexa picked up the datapad, using her nanites to more quickly access the information. She grit her teeth, biting back her anger, then passed it quickly to Allistan. “You need to read this. Then we need to plan our next move.” She looked at the back of the unmoving Rinoxian. “Embar?”
Embar slowly turned around, his jaw set, determination in his eyes. “We keep this quiet. We’re on an active mission and need everyone focused on the job at hand.”
Allistan went to click his pen as he read, but with a gasp the pen fell from his fingers. “We can’t keep quiet, the galaxy needs to see this.”
The Rinoxian nodded. “They will. When the time is right.”
 
 
It had been two cycles and the incursion fleet had advanced deep into Hive space. Over half of the force accompanying them were the Rinoxians under their new Galactic Federation commanders. There were over a dozen Galactic Federation ships along with six Gowe destroyers, and a dozen ships from other races including the Niham and Kah’Ree. Admiral Pelar, on board the Blazing Dawn, commanded four Ashi ships including the Righteous Fury.
The smallest craft by far was the Porkchop Express, a speck amongst titans. Its white painted hull, chrome bull bars and bright cartoon logo were a stark contrast to the military ships it accompanied. Sassie was more comfortable now that she was in familiar territory, and slept on a pile of Aaron’s clothes in his quarters.
Allistan and Alexa were sitting opposite Jar’Bek in his small office. The Ashi looked exhausted as he finally put down his datapad. “I’m sorry to have kept you.”
Allistan fidgeted in his seat. “Not at all, was that your mother again?”
Stiffening slightly at the use of the word mother the lawyer forced himself to relax again. “Admiral Pelar has informed us that they have been repeatedly scanned by the Gowe. She’s taking no action, as we’re supposed to be allies, but wanted you to be aware.” Alexa nodded and he continued. “When we arrive at the next system the commanders of each ship have been called to the Hooves of Destiny. Vice-Admiral Koo Ji has requested an in person meeting, with all senior officers.”
There were several pen clicks. “That seems unusual.”
Jar’Bek gave a knowing nod. “Extremely. To remove every ship’s command, behind enemy lines? It makes no sense.”
Alexa pushed her hair back from her face. “The Rinoxians agreed to it?”
The Ashi nodded. “Most of their command have been replaced. Anyway, they outnumber – and outgun – the other ships. Why would they be concerned?”
Allistan’s pen clicked. “They probably just put it down to Gal. Fed. protocols, or fear.”
Jar’Bek nodded. “They’ve had us stopping in random systems to scan. No doubt it’s to delay us, but perhaps also to lower the Rinoxian’s guard?”
Leaning back in her chair, the Awakened considered the options. “Maybe there's another fleet waiting to ambush us? Or following us?”
Allistan twirled his pen in his fingers. “No, no. All eyes are on the border since Aaron’s capture. It must be something else.”
Moving on to her next idea, Alexa asked, “Sabotage?”
The Ashi gave a chuckle. “That is Admiral Pelar’s conclusion. The Gal. Fed. officers have been on board the other ships, and the possibility exists that there are Sentinels working amongst them. They are all in command positions, and will all be leaving. It’s a logical conclusion.”
Allistan’s pen halted its spinning. “The Ashi ships, they can’t have been sabotaged, right?”
The lawyer nodded. “True, but, it wouldn’t matter. Their ships are old and have seen too much action. Those Gowe ships alone are more than they could handle.”
The Fae’Dan sighed and shook his head at the situation they were facing. “We should have brought more ships. The new ones.”
Alexa, staring at the ceiling, spoke softly. “No, we don’t need to show our hand just yet. But send word to Chae’Sol, make sure he has the coordinates.”
Jar’Bek nodded and made a note on his datapad. “What about the others?”
The Awakened closed her eyes. It was times like this she missed her human and his habit of taking charge. “Tell Embar to warn his contacts among the Rinoxians. The others… I have no idea, I just want to sleep.”
Allistan, a stickler for accuracy, replied, “I didn’t think Awakened slept?”
She sat up and gave a half-hearted smile. In an unusual moment of vulnerability, she replied, “I was told you can do anything in a dream. For those moments, we would all be together again.”
Allistan struggled to come up with a response to that, and the Ashi, having noticed this, stepped in to fill the gap in conversation. “We’ll find him. I can’t lose the most profitable client in the galaxy now, can I?”
Now past the moment of awkwardness, the Fae’Dan also answered. “I’m sure he’s fine. In fact, he’s probably already on his way back to us.”
Alexa gave Allistan a withering look. “You think he single-handedly defeated the Hive, stole a ship and managed to figure out how to fly it back here?”
The former Inspector paused to consider it. “No. It will most likely be something even more preposterous. Perhaps he married their Queen?”
The ridiculousness of the idea brought a chuckle to the Awakened. “Maybe. Hopefully nothing that drastic; he’d probably just turn their society upside down with some ridiculous scheme.”
Jar’Bek also smiled. “A little civil unrest, perhaps a few riots? No doubt with merchandise.”
Finally breaking into a broad grin, Alexa replied, “I think we all might be over-estimating him a little.”
 
 
Aaron stood in the trade area of Toivoa station with a contingent of Gardener Royal Guards behind him, Tsy’Lo by his side, and a very angry mob in front of him. Several well-dressed local leaders were dragged from the crowd to stand before him; Mycena, Tricinic, Procyon and a dozen other refugee races were crammed into the triple height area of the station.
One of the leaders staggered towards Aaron. “You! You caused this!”
Aaron, feigning as much innocence as possible, pointed to his chest. “Me?”
One of the Mycena he had met during his time on the station came forward. “We’ve all seen the videos! They kept us in the dark about what is going on out there! The Galactic Federation are coming! Our leaders lied to us!”
The accusatory leader, a Procyon with greying fur, pointed at Aaron. “Your... Your propaganda, has driven them mad! Your lies! They’re destroying the station!”
The human smiled and maintained his innocent expression. “My propaganda?” Several in the crowd held up datapads; Aaron’s smiling face was on every one. “Oh... that propaganda.”
Tsy’Lo tugged on his sleeve. “What did you do?!”
Aaron crouched down slightly. “Remember when I accidentally picked up the kids datapad and you returned it?”
“Yes…” The Tricinic flushed orange as realisation struck. “It wasn’t the child’s datapad!”
Aaron straightened up. “Yeah, thanks for helping bring down society.” He laughed as Tsy’Lo became a very opaque green hue. “Don’t worry, I’ve got an idea.”
The greying Procyon shook his fist at the human. “You better! They should throw you in a cage for the rest of your life for this. Hundreds of celes of peace, destroyed!”
Aaron looked down at the angry alien. “Your peace, not theirs.” He gestured back towards the Gardeners, and walked towards them without waiting for a reply. He raised his hands high, motioning for the unruly mob to settle down. “Alright, alright. Settle down, munchkins. So the wizard’s a liar? Welcome to reality. The Gardeners have been fighting and dying to keep you safe from the flying monkeys, while you all hide in your Emerald City and get on with your lives. That shit ends now. You’re crying out for change? Then welcome to the revolution, baby! We’re opening up the borders, we’re rejoining the rest of the galaxy! No more hiding!”
The crowd was already worked up, and cheering came easily despite the large lack of understanding. The human nodded — he was enjoying this far too much — and then gestured again for quiet. He spoke quietly at first, adding excitement to his voice as it built in power. “So prepare for a chance of a lifetime! Be prepared for sensational news!”
The Procyon official’s mouth opened and closed silently before he managed to shake his mind free of the initial shock of the human’s words. “No! Stop! What are you even saying?”
Aaron didn’t care about the official. He put the palm of his hand on their face, which easily dwarfed it in size, and gently pushed them slowly backwards. He then leapt up onto a crate; his showmanship on camera was nothing to his on-stage presence. “A shining new era is tiptoeing nearer, and where do you feature? Just listen to teacher! You’ve stagnated here for long enough. Lied to and kept in the dark, well, no more!”
The crowd was his, he knew it. The official knew it. Tsy’Lo knew it and was a nervous shade of blue. Aaron clambered from the crate to the roof of a stall, standing high above the crowd. The cheers followed every rambling sentence and, drunk on power, Aaron was loving it. “Spread the word to every planet, every station, every colony and every ship. Change is not coming, it’s here and it is now!”
The crowd roared again, and the desperate official turned to Tsy’Lo. “What in the nine moons is he talking about?”
“I’ll tell you what I’m talking about.” Aaron snapped. He stood looking out over the crowd. “I am the Ambassador of a world called Earth. I have taken ownership of a small star system that is being colonised as we speak. These colonies are a coalition of races, from within the Federation, as well as without. We rule ourselves, but have treaties and agreements with the Federation itself, as well as various individual races within it.”
Several questions were called out from the crowd, but one voice was louder than the others. “How does that help us?”
With a smile, the human walked back and forth across the roof of the stall as he spoke. “Good question my friend.” He pointed vaguely at where the voice had come from. “I do not have contact with my homeworld at this time. To ensure that all of whatever Earth has become would be included we put in place clauses for future territories, dominions, settlements etc, etc…” The crowd was quiet now, trying to follow the human’s explanation. Looking out at the blank faces Aaron realised he needed to get to the point. “Congratulations, you’re now a protectorate of Earth!”

He was met with utter silence. 

Suddenly, there were several angry yells from the crowd, some claiming this was a joke while others were simply confused. The official was the one who dared clamber to the crate below Aaron in order to yell up to him. “Are you insane?”
Aaron’s smile made Tsy’Lo shudder, as it was the same one he had given as he had explained his idea to the Gardener Queen. The human stepped forward to stand at the front of the stall roof. “I declared war on the Gardeners. The war lasted seven Earth minutes, and was quickly resolved when the Queen surrendered to me in person.”
Silence fell once again, and Aaron found himself half-yearning for the sound of crickets to emphasize the moment.
The crowd erupted once more, outrage at the ridiculous claims the strange alien was spewing forth. Tsy’Lo released a deafeningly loud harmonic whistle which was followed by another momentary quiet. They paled as the crowd's attention fell on them. “You need to listen, all of you. He is speaking the truth, sort of. He held the Queen and the Gardeners council hostage with a bomb.” Small grey particles filled the Tricinic at the memory of being used as a weapon. The crowd began to grow rowdy at this news, causing Tsy’Lo to let off another sonic blast. “It is all a human trick; once we are part of his alliance we fall under the treaties he already has in place.”
The crowd looked back up to the human. “Like I said, congratulations. You just walked in through the backdoor of a peace treaty with the Galactic Federation, and over a dozen separate treaties with other races.”
The crowd were now arguing amongst themselves. The official - who Aaron was now mentally calling Gobshite - once again challenged him. “At what cost, though? What do you get out of this?”
The smile of mischief once more graced the human’s lips and Tsy’Lo considered pulling him down from his stage. They had been on their way to the border when news of the riots on Toivoa reached them. Aaron’s presence had been demanded and he had happily accepted. The human looked almost as gleeful as that moment of acceptance when he spoke again. “Me? I get to go home. I get friends with big sticks. I get to trade openly with you, and believe me, I have a lot of crap to sell you.” He chuckled. “You get to be part of the galaxy again. You get to travel and trade. Our rules are simple and fair; everyone is equal under the law. You have exactly the same rights as everyone else who joined us. And the cost?” He paused for effect, making sure they were all paying attention. “You stand on your own two feet.” He glanced around, noting the sheer diversity of the crowd. “Or one foot... or four... Or whatever it is you’re balancing on.”
The crowd was a buzz of conversation, and Gobshite once again chimed in. “You think they’ll let us back without a fight? We can expose them! Those bastards tried to exterminate us!”
The crowd jeered along with the old Procyon. Aaron held up his hands. “Woah, woah. Only some of them. That’s the thing, there are a lot more members now. So here’s the plan: shut up. If you don’t say anything, they sure as shit aren’t going to out themselves, are they? While everyone is staring at the former Hive terror that they all feared, you guys just start working and trading, nice and quiet.”
A few murmurs of agreement came from the crowd. Gobshite, however, was more than a murmur. “You want us to forget our ancestors suffering?”
A little irritated, Aaron was more harsh than he intended. “You’ve wallowed in it long enough. Look at you, hiding for generations, keeping your communications to a minimum to avoid detection. Is this all some master plan as you build an army to seek revenge? Fuck no!” He saw the shame on their faces. “You’re happy to leave this status quo to future generations? You want to remember the suffering of your ancestors, fine, build a fucking statue. But don’t hold back your children to do it.”
The crowd were growing louder again as they discussed his words. “Look!” the human yelled. “I’m not saying you forget, or forgive. I’m saying you keep your mouths shut. We won’t announce your presence to the Federation. Instead, I want those of you looking to start something new to come join the new colonies. No big fanfares, just get on with it. In a place filled with different races, you’ll just be another stranger.”
He saw the crowd looking at each other, and knew was a lot to take in all at once. “We gather evidence, build trust. Get yourselves established, forge friendships and alliances, and become accepted as part of the new colonies. Let those in the know think their past crimes are forgotten. And when we are ready, we burn down their false history and anyone who tries to defend it!”
The crowd cheered once more, and Aaron smiled triumphantly down at Tsy'Lo as he leapt casually from the roof. As he landed, many hands patted his back and many questions were yelled, but it all ceased as one of the Gardeners stepped forward. It was Eridor, as there was no mistaking the red cape he wore. "We need to leave, the Federation have entered our space.”
Next

I've been reading this sub for a long time off and on, but I've never posted because I didn't think I'd fit in.
[What follows is long, I know, but I've been carrying these feelings around with me for a long time with no one to fully share them with, and it feels nice to finally get it all out.]
I believe a collapse or a singularity is coming, but have made no plans for surviving either. No stored food, no water, no nothing. I saw a single-panel cartoon once that neatly summed up my thoughts. It was a stick-figure drawing of a field littered with corpses, with a few hardy souls trekking single-file through the devastation. A caption with an arrow pointing to the survivors read "Who you imagine you'll be after the apocalypse." A caption with an arrow pointing to one of the corpses read "Who you'll actually be after the apocalypse."
As for a possible singularity, you can't plan for that anyway, that's the nature of the thing, so it's a moot point.
And it's not just that statistically I don't think I'd survive, it's that I wouldn't even want to. My life is too easy. I'm spoiled. I enjoy abundant food, water, healthcare, and basic financial security. My life is cushy. Take all that away and tell me that the rest of my existence will be an endless, valiant hero's struggle for basic survival, probably as I mourn at least most of the people I ever cared about, and ... nope. I'm not a survivalist type. I'm a "you know what, this sucks, I give up" type. No wi-fi, you say? No hot water? I'm out.
I have no children, and that helps. My sister has no children. We never wanted any, or saw the point of bringing them into a world like this, and we found partners who feel the same way. My parents are getting old. Without them, without my sister and brother-in-law, without my partner, why would my mere survival even matter? And if all or some of them somehow made it, watching them fight to survive each miserable new day doesn't sound all that exciting.
Everything ends, from a mayfly's flicker of existence to the ten-trillion-year slow burn of a red dwarf star. Everything's temporary, viewed from a suitable remove.
But the real root of it all, the reason I feel this way, is that I've become so disgusted with humanity over the years (I'm in my 40s) that I don't believe the species is fit to survive. We don't deserve the Earth because we are not proper stewards of our environment, and we show no real inclination toward changing that. We certainly do not deserve to inherit the other planets or the stars if we can't take care of this one little ball of mud. I used to think we'd get there some day, that we'd learn and grow enough to earn our inheritance, but I've come to believe that will never happen.
Elon Musk wants to go to Mars and start over. That's like refusing to clean or maintain your house until it finally falls in on itself and then moving next door to do it again. Insanity.
Is that the answer to Fermi's paradox? Is that why the universe is so empty? Maybe animals like us with our vaunted higher intelligence levels are all self-destructively insane. Maybe the aliens also never learned how to live in harmony with themselves and their worlds. Like the largest stars, we burn hot and quick and then we're gone, while a planetary ecology full of simple organisms going about simple lives would chug along indefinitely so long as everything had the good sense to avoid getting smart.
We have the same animal drives as other creatures, but unlike those creatures we have these big brains that allow us to manifest our destructive will on a planetary scale. The human species has no impulse control. No real ability to plan and act over the long term. We are led by people who think no further than 2, 4, or 6 years ahead: just do and say whatever it takes to make it to the next election. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Humanity has no willingness to make the sacrifices now that would safeguard the future. We don't demand it of ourselves. Our leaders don't demand it of us. If they did we'd have them tarred and feathered by sundown.
We'll deal with the future when it gets here, we decide, and by "we" we mean someone else, because we'll have had our individual fun by then and be snug in our graves when the poop well and truly hits the fan. It's a smart gamble, if a cynical and cruel one. It's been paying off handsomely for generation after generation. Get while the gettin' is good, and let the future fend for itself. Some day the check will come due. We know that, but we don't care.
When I was a kid I'd watch Star Trek and all those other old sci-fi shows, and I'd read books about humans taking to the stars to explore. I visited so many bright, shiny futures, full of magical technology and wonder and vibrant, far-flung societies. But now when I picture humanity spreading to the stars it's as an all-consuming plague of locusts. Humanity is terrible in the aggregate, and a large chunk of us are despicable individually, too. So many of us are such cruel, grotesquely selfish things.
That's why even after thousands of years of "civilization" we're little better at it today than when we started. We don't know how to live. We don't know how to be. We are psychologically suited to living in small villages, yet our DNA compels us to build giant cities. Expand, expand, expand. And yet I just got done saying that without the creature comforts our global technological society affords me I'd lose interest in living at all, so who am I to complain?
And so the world is always on the brink of some new horror: war, pandemic, famine, the rise of crushing authoritarianism threatening a new Dark Age, the wanton destruction of the only biosphere we have.
What would we look like from orbit, to an enlightened being? If aliens did show up to have a look around and see how we're getting on I'd mostly just be mortified. "Take us to your leader!" Yeah, I'd really rather not.
We are saddled with tens, even hundreds of millions of people who have lost all touch with reality, who have no interest in facts. They don't care what is true, let alone what is decent and just. They think they can alter reality by choosing not to "believe" in it. Or perhaps they believe that their god will be back soon to rapture them up to their promised land in the sky and all this talk about protecting and preserving Earth is pure folly.
And so at nearly every juncture where we as a whole could make better choices we fail. We let the diseases spread. We pollute. We tear the planet apart in a mad quest to dig up more and more hydrocarbon filth to burn in the only atmosphere we have because clean energy sources can't be as easily controlled and monopolized. The politicians owned by the energy companies care only about keeping their corporate paymasters fat and happy, and to hell with their own grandchildren.
Stronger nations brutally exploit, invade, and destabilize weaker nations without assuming responsibility for rebuilding what they've destroyed. Then we privileged few act shocked and angry when the millions of refugees we've created show up on our borders, starving and desperate. If we are so materially and morally unready to provide for these refugees of our own making, what will become of the hundreds of millions who will soon find themselves driven from their homes by rising waters, disease, famine, and murderous heat?
Weirdly, none of this seems to depress me much. It weighs on me but it doesn't beat me down. Maybe because I've been coming to terms with it for many years. Or because I realize it's so big, and I am so small. I just sort of shrug. So it goes.
My partner of nearly 20 years and I moved from the US to Sweden a little over a year ago. It's quite lovely here in all the ways that matter to us. As the planet heats up, it'll stay quite lovely here for a good while, or so we hope. Yes, I know how privileged we are. Not that we didn't work for it, or earn it, of course. Still, being able to live in a beautiful place with pleasant weather among people who enjoy a high standard of living and who take caring for the Earth at least somewhat seriously is a blessing. It makes things easier, but it's also bittersweet. I'd sure hate to see it all destroyed.
When it comes right down to it, when I really ask myself "What if ...?", all I can really say for sure is that if all this is going to go away I'm not sure I want to be around to see what comes next. I'm not going to worry over it or plan for it. Whatever happens, happens.
To most of you that probably sounds crazy. And probably infuriating, too, because if the worst happens and I somehow survive it, it'll be your doors I come knocking on and begging at, won't it? And then as you tell me I should have laid better plans and send me away you can remind me I said all this, that I chose my own fate.
For those of you who are focused on planning for and surviving it, I guess my question is ... why? What's the point? What makes you think another attempt at civilization would go any better than this one did, the nature of humanity being what it is?
Why would a humanity in collapse deserve another chance, given that the rest of the Earth's creatures would be better off by far with us gone?

decThese are some of the movies I'm planning to watch [hopefully] in 2021. I'll consistently update the list with more movies, updated release dates and new trailer links for easy access. Each movie's IMDb page is also linked. I'm going to pin this to my profile page for my own convenience and anyone else that wants to follow along for recommendations on upcoming movies.
 
Movies are listed in order of US release dates, but it's safe to assume there may be further delays coming (Many of these are already reschedules from 2020)...will update accordingly.
Let me know of any others you think I may have missed, thanks.
 
My Letterboxd 2021 Horror Movies Seen/Ranked List (Under construction - Will be adding/removing movies throughout the year as more are viewed.)
 
 

• Hunted (WATCHED-Shudder): Survival horror in the vein of 'Little Red Riding Hood'. Synopsis: Eve meets what she thinks is a charming guy in a bar, but things go terribly wrong once she realizes she’s come across a psychopath. They engage in a deadly chase until she decides to fight back with the forest acting as her ally.
  Trailer (spoiler-ish): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjE3LNm48hE
  

 

• PG: Psycho Goreman (WATCHED-VOD): "PG - Rated R". Horror-comedy written/directed by Steven Kostanski (The Void). Synopsis: After unearthing a gem that controls an evil monster looking to destroy the Universe, a young girl and her brother use it to make him do their bidding.
  Trailer #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3dFm_Vm528
  Trailer #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4tizc0IAVQ
  

 

• The Queen of Black Magic (WATCHED-Shudder): Indonesian horror remake written by Joko Anwar (Satan's Slaves , Impetigore). Synopsis: A family travels to the distant, rural orphanage where the father was raised to pay their respects to the facility’s gravely ill director. But his homecoming turns into a terrifying supernatural ordeal that threatens their families’ lives: someone is using dark magic to avenge evil deeds.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uC7_PFQgCc
  

 

• The Night (WATCHED-VOD): Synopsis: An Iranian couple living in the US become trapped inside a hotel when insidious events force them to face the secrets that have come between them, in a night that never ends.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2vsYt_41Co
  

 

• Saint Maud (WATCHED-limited theaters ; Feb. 12-VOD): From A24. Synopsis: Follows a pious nurse who becomes dangerously obsessed with saving the soul of her dying patient.
  Trailer #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXs2-TY9qok
  Trailer #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP2MlPwflX4
  Trailer #3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuwDfbJF-MY
  

 

• The Funeral Home (WATCHED-VOD): Synopsis: Bernardo is an undertaker. He runs his mortuary business in the same house where he resides. In the front he has his clients. And in the back, his dysfunctional family lives among coffins, wreaths and mischievous supernatural entities that visit on a daily basis.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49qeFV6ms58
  

 

• The Reckoning (WATCHED-VOD): Latest horror movie from Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers , The Descent), starring Sean Pertwee and Joe Anderson. Synopsis: In the aftermath of the Great Plague and amidst the subsequent witch-hunts against women, a young widow grapples with the tragic death of her husband in a society completely consumed by fear and death.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR0Dj3jcCOM
  Movie clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq9RFgbUdXU
  

 

• Reunion (WATCHED-VOD): Synopsis: A pregnant woman returns to her recently-deceased grandparents' old family home to spend time with her estranged mother. What begins as a tenuous reunion slowly turns terrifying.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyAK39k2qzY
  

 

• Sator (WATCHED-VOD): Synopsis: Secluded in a desolate forest, a broken family is observed by Sator, a supernatural entity who is attempting to claim them.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e_Ij0S-sBw
  

 

• Sacrifice (WATCHED-VOD): Lovecraft inspired movie (working-titled The Colour of Madness). Synopsis: After his mother's death, Isaac and his pregnant wife return to his birthplace on a remote Norwegian island to claim on unexpected inheritance. During their visit, the couple discover dark secrets from Isaac's past. Their pleasant trip quickly turns into a nightmare when Isaac and his wife encounter a sinister cult that worships a sea-dwelling deity.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I56szLBfvUA
  

 

• Willy's Wonderland (WATCHED-VOD): They had me at: Nicolas Cage fights wave after wave of demonic animatronics.
  Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfh8_X3sH5s
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v27rfaoB2Y
  

 

• The Vigil (WATCHED-VOD): Synopsis: A man providing overnight watch to a deceased member of his former Orthodox Jewish community finds himself opposite a malevolent entity.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7vxgt7Adv0
  

 

• Wrong Turn (WATCHED-VOD): Re-boot/sequel of the Wrong Turn film series.
  Trailer #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccaNMcPqpQ0
  Trailer #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HVFMFQGV3o
  

 

• Son (Mar. 5-theaters & VOD): Synopsis: When a young boy falls ill to a mysterious illness, his mother must decide how far she will go to protect him from terrifying forces in her past.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6n-kFcy00k
  

 

• Come True (Mar. 12-theaters & VOD): Synopsis: A socially awkward driver and a weary passenger they try to make it to their destination while being haunted by a supernatural threat.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiK9xcfElTo
  

 

• The Toll (Mar. 30-blu-ray/digital & dvd): Synopsis: A teenage runaway takes part in a sleep study that becomes a nightmarish descent into the depths of her mind and a frightening examination of the power of dreams.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UTnLCtU_Uo
  

 

• Spiral: From the Book of Saw (May 21-theaters): Director Darren Lynn Bousman returns to the Saw franchise. Executive produced by and co-starring Chris Rock, along with Samuel L. Jackson. Synopsis: A sadistic mastermind unleashes a twisted form of justice in Spiral, the terrifying new chapter from the book of Saw.
  Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgNlWypWmtw
  

 

• The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (June 4-theaters & HBO Max): The third movie in the main Conjuring series.
  First Look Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpaAdZA5sEs
  

 

• The Forever Purge (July 9-theaters): The fifth installment of The Purge film series.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• The Night House (July 16-theaters): Directed by David Bruckner (The Ritual , Southbound , V/H/S). Synopsis: A widow begins to uncover her recently deceased husband's disturbing secrets.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• Old (July 23-theaters): Written/directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Currently per IMDb: Plot kept under wraps.
  Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB1m-WogYeg
  

 

• The Green Knight (July 30-theaters): A24 dark fantasy/horror. Synopsis: A fantasy re-telling of the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoJc2tH3WBw
  

 

• Don't Breathe 2 (Aug. 13-theaters): Stephen Lang returns. Synopsis: The Blind Man returns to terrorize more unsuspecting people.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• Candyman (Aug. 27-theaters): Soft re-boot/sequel co-written/produced by Jordan Peele.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlwzuZ9kOQU
  Teaser #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9O9_-bv5qE
  Teaser #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9uXxOxVe4w
  

 

• Resident Evil (Sep. 3-theaters): Per IMDb: The plot is being kept under wraps. A reboot of the Resident Evil films.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• Malignant (Sep. 10-theaters & HBO Max): Giallo directed by James Wan. No other specifics yet.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• A Quiet Place Part II (Sep. 17-theaters): Sequel written/directed by John Krasinski, starring Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEMwSdne6UE
  

 

• Halloween Kills (Oct. 15-theaters): Sequel to the Halloween 1978 and 2018 timeline.
  Teaser #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHhZDYVoV7w
  Teaser #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_NGjpJxX9c
  

 

• Last Night in Soho (Oct. 22-theaters): Directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead), starring Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, Split). Synopsis: A young girl, passionate about fashion design, is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s where she encounters her idol, a dazzling wannabe singer. But 1960s London is not what it seems, and time seems to fall apart with shady consequences.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• Antlers (Oct. 29-theaters): Based on the short story "The Quiet Boy", starring Keri Russell (Dark Skies). Was scheduled for February, but delayed again.
  Trailer #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEM5HW7q5dY
  Trailer #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aiYxwVuZ1o
  Trailer #3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng5eyOfL8qM
  

 

• Nightmare Alley (Dec. 3-theaters): Thriller-Noir directed/co-written by Guillermo del Toro, based on the 1947 novel by William Lindsay Gresham. Starring Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Cate Blanchett, Bradley Cooper, Rooney Mara and Ron Perlman. Synopsis: An ambitious young carny with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychiatrist who is even more dangerous than he is.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• The Northman (Release date TBA): Viking revenge saga by Robert Eggers (The Witch , The Lighthouse). Not currently classified as "horror", but according to co-stars Nicole Kidman & Anya Taylor-Joy, and cinematographer Jarin Blaschke it looks as if it may have at least some strong horror elements. Also starring Alexander Skarsgård, Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie and Björk.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• The Banishing (Release date TBA-Shudder): Directed by Christopher Smith (Triangle , Black Death . Severance). The Banishing tells the story of the most haunted house in England. In the 1930s, a young reverend, his wife and daughter move into a manor with a horrifying secret.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0UlhkBDz1k
  

 

• Prisoners of the Ghostland (Release date TBA): Directed by Sion Sono (Exte , Tag , Suicide Club , Strange Circus) and starring Nicolas Cage and Sofia Boutella. Synopsis: A notorious criminal must break an evil curse in order to rescue an abducted girl who has mysteriously disappeared.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• Insidious: Chapter 5 (Release date TBA): Directed by and starring Patrick Wilson. Synopsis: The film will pick up with the Lamberts 10 years after their last installment, as Dalton begins college.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Release date TBA): Per IMDb: A reboot of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror film franchise.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• In the Earth (Release date TBA): Written/directed by Ben Wheatley (Kill List , A Field in England). Synopsis: As a disastrous virus grips the planet, a scientist and a park scout venture deep into the forest for a routine equipment run. Through the night, their journey becomes a terrifying voyage through the heart of darkness as the forest comes to life around them.
  Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh-fN-ux3lg
  

 

• The Collected (Release date TBA): Third film in The Collector series.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• Army of the Dead (Release date TBA-Netflix): Written/directed by Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead '04). Synopsis: Following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• Terrifier 2 (Release date TBA): Art the Clown returns.
  Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ8cv-Rfrcw
  

 

• Bloodthirsty (Release date TBA): A werewolf movie. Synopsis: Grey is an indie singer who is having visions that she is a wolf. When she gets an invitation to work with notorious music producer Vaughn Daniels at his remote studio in the woods she begins to find out who she really is.
  Movie clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBaNXDtnG98
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• Suicide Forest Village (Release date TBA): Directed/co-written by Takashi Shimizu (creator of the Ju-on series). Synopsis: One day a mysterious box arrived and a curse began to spread all over. The source of the box is a village hidden in Jukai Forest, a suicide spot that once you enter it, you can never come out.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP34EOWt6Pk
  

 

• Post Mortem (Release date TBA): Per IMDb: A post mortem photographer and a little girl confront ghosts in a haunted village after the First World War.
  Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hIlc6VULRE
  

 

• The Blazing World (Release date TBA): Synopsis: Decades after the accidental drowning of her twin sister, a self-destructive young woman returns to her family home, finding herself drawn to an alternate dimension where her sister may still be alive.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• Run Sweetheart Run (Release date TBA-Amazon Prime): Starring Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones , Overlord) and Ella Balinska. Synopsis: A woman tries to get home alive after her blind date turns violent.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• Orphan: First Kill (Release date TBA): Starring Isabelle Fuhrman and Julia Stiles. A prequel to the 2009 movie Orphan.
  Trailer to come:
  

 

• Death Rider in the House of Vampires (Release date TBA): ...And because I'm a glutton for punishment after seeing Verotika, this is Glenn Danzig’s "Vampire Spaghetti Western" starring Devon Sawa (Idle Hands , Hunter Hunter , Final Destination) and Kim Director (Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2). “Everybody in the movie is a vampire,” Danzig told audiences in Los Angeles earlier last year. “So, you won’t have to wait around to see the vampire. They’re all fucking vampires!” :/
  Trailer: Embedded in Bloody-Disgusting article
  

 
Honorable mentions: New Paranormal Activity and Scream are due out in 2022. Also, new Ari Aster film Beau is Afraid, which is still listed as "in development".
 

A sentiment I've seen come up often when people talk about the podraces in TPM that it would have been much simpler for Qui-Gon Jinn to just look for either someone else who sold the parts he needed or to find someone who could exchange his credits for currency. I mean, how hard can it be to find such one of those in a port city? In reality, I think there were some real barriers to those approaches, and the route that Qui-Gon ultimately chose entirely fits his character.
Regarding the hyperdrive parts, Watto already tells us that he's the only one around with the specific parts Qui-Gon needs. Of course, he could have been lying, but as best as I can tell, the hyperdrive's manufacturer, Nubia Star Drives Inc., seems to specialize in expensive luxury starships, meaning that their parts may not be readily available in the Outer Rim. Moreover, The Phantom Menace novelization actually has Qui-Gon try other vendors, and he has no success.
Finding someone to exchange currencies would also have been tricky. Tatooine was not a major planet, and the currencies used there were actually used throughout Hutt Space. The kind of spacers who have reason to stop by probably don't use Republic credits all that often, especially considering that faith in the Republic and its economy were at an all-time low in the lead-up to the Clone Wars. Moreover, even if someone did provide exchange services, there's a good chance they would be involved with the Hutts, who may take an interest in mysterious people with large quantities of Republic credits.
Now, gambling on a child winning a death race may seem like an incredibly risky move, and Padme seemed to agree. However, we need to put ourselves in the Qui-Gon's mindset. He's hardly been on Tatooine for a day when he discovers that Watto, the only junk dealer around with Nubian hyperdrive parts, has a slave who Qui-Gon just happens to run into later, when Sebulba gets in a fight with Jar Jar. Then, a sandstorm just happens to blow in, and this boy just happens to be rather nice and takes Qui-Gon to his home to take shelter, where Qui-Gon finds out that this boy just happens to be Force-sensitive and just happens to participate in lucrative races that everyone likes to gamble on. Qui-Gon is a huge believer in following the will of the Force, and this series of incredibly convenient coincidences no doubt screams "destiny" to him.
Of course he takes the opportunity, and his suspicions are further confirmed when he administers a blood test and discovers that Anakin has more midi-chlorians than anyone in the Jedi Order! Qui-Gon knows this is what the Force wants him to do, and he knows that there are issues with his other, more mundane options. It makes perfect sense that a Jedi like him would take the gamble.

So I started playing games back in 2001/2002 when I was 6, and since then my taste in games has bounced all over the place. I'm wodering if anyone here can help me figure out what games to check out next as it always feels like a gamble if I'm going to like it.
The some games that I play and still actively enjoy:
Red Dead Redemption 2 (story mode)
Kingdom Hearts 1, 2, Birth by Sleep, and 3
Mass Effect 1, 2, 3
Skyrim (with a variety of mods)
Civilization 5 and 6
Halo Reach
Arkham Asylum and City
Lego Star Wars
God of War (2018)
Rollor Coaster Tycoon 2
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Cities Skyline
The Walking Dead Season 1
Stanley Parable
Dear Esther
The Last of Us
The Beginners Guide
Kids
Plug n Play
Final Fantasy 15
FTL
Rimworld
Some games I know I don't like:
Assassin Cread 1 and 2
Arkham Knight
Borderlands
Bioshock 1 and Infinite
Uncharted
Planet Coaster
Half Life 2
Far Cry 3
Fez
Deus Ex Mankind Divided and Human Revolution
Shadowrun Returns
Pokemon
Final Fantasy 1, 2, 7, 8, 12

Hey gang! I'm starting a far future sci fi campaign pretty soon and I'd like to add some flavor and RP to FTL travel instead of "seven days pass, you arrive in the system" when there's nothing prepared for the transit. I'm pulling inspiration from the living arrangements of Star Trek, where the personal lives of the characters had a presence in the show during less dangerous times.
Assume FTL transit time is between one and fourteen days, so a handful of people sharing a flat together for that long without going outside (not relatable at all). They all have their own rooms and private bathrooms.
Update 1: This is great stuff guys! Keep it up! Loving it. Update 2: Almost there! Thank you everyone for your submissions so far!

1. One of the crew is cooking cuisine from their home planet. Another crewmate is allergic to some of the ingredients.
   
2. One of the crew is allergic to the pet someone else just picked up from the last planet.
   
3. Someone didn't do their chore assigned from the ship chore wheel.
   
4. Someone is doing one of their hobbies in the crew rec area. I didn't know you played trombone!
   
5. A way to celebrate a holiday for one crewmate is totally different for anothethe rest of the crew. You mean you guys don't eat breakfast for dinner on Christmas???
   
6. Someone keeps using up all of the group's allotted holodeck time.
   
7. A crew member wants to test a new ai system for the first time...It's got some bugs.
   
8. Someone didn't know how to make popcorn. Everything now smells like burnt popcorn.
   
9. Someone clogged their toilet and now needs to share with another crewmate.
   
10. Character A considers themselves pretty good at a certain board/card game. Character B is fascinated by their skills and asks to be taught. Turns out, B is getter at the game than A.
    
11. "You've never had [food] before?!"
    
12. One of the aliens doesn't know about hair dye and freaks out when the local human starts losing their color.
    
13. Surprise room inspection! Why is one being held? What do the inspectors find?
    
14. One of the aliens gets really jazzed about a human religious holiday and it makes people simultaneously flattered and uncomfortable.
    
15. "What do you mean [rare chemical] is toxic to [target species]?! My roommate is a [said species]! I've been using it all day!"
    
16. The group is trading traditional and cultural horror stories. Some of the members have particularly strong feelings about a couple of the stories.
    
17. A small group of crew have decided to throw a dance party in the middle of the recreational room. This is an issue to those who dislike the occasion, and baffles those who don't understand dancing.
    
18. A relationship between two crew mates is becoming a bit of an issue.
    
19. One of the crew has bought way too hard into an MLM and is peddling their wares to everyone who will listen (and everyone who won't).
    
20. Everytime a crewmate is disturbed in their room they're too relaxed. We're talking robe, slippers, essential oils - this crewmate is a chronic, indulgent lounger. THis can be awkward when they need to leave theirr cabin in a hurry, like for emergencies.
    
21. Why does this crewmate have restricted military equipment and where did they get it?
    
22. The ship is regularly receiving encrypted messages but it's not clear who is reciving them or what they're about. All anyone knows is that the messages are digitally signed by a competitor.
    
23. Their pet doesn't really like them and regularly slepes in anyone's quarters it can get into other than its owner's. It is relentless in the early morning when it needs to be let out to pee.
    
24. There's a damn space possum somewhere on the ship. It's mostly harmless but rarely detectable except when it chews around an important wire and a system goes down. Sometimes it can be heard scrambling around behind the walls.
    
25. All of the furniture in one of the cabins is smashed beyond usability, including the bed. It's not clear if a former or current crewmate is responsible, or if it was damaged in a fit of rage, investigation or raucous party.
    
26. The ship likes to play music late at night when it thinks everyone is asleep. The ship's idea of a banging tune sounds more or less like alien ghost whales quietly weeping. Anyone who happens to be up late may begin to believe the ship is haunted.
    
27. One of the maintenance droids watches people sleep. This cannot be explained by its programming, or its rudimentary language. What is it thinking?
    
28. One of the crew is taking drugs to stay awake for days at a time. It's affecting their job performance but wow do they get a lot of cleaning done!
    
29. The, "it's just a prank bro," bro has been setting up borderline dangerous surprises for the other crew and trying to catch their reactions on camera. NOt only is it obnoxious, the vids keep going viral and strangers are starting to recognize the victims.
    
30. One of the crewman's culture has a no nudity taboo and they keep forgetting that not everyone feels the same way.
    
31. one of the crewman is a compulsive gambler and is constantly betting on everything (or trying to).
    
32. One of the crewman notices another crewman has disappeared but no one remembers them and there is no log of them on the ship.
    
33. Everyone on the ship has the same dream every night.
    
34. For a few days all of the crewman are overtaken with overwhelming feelings of sadness and loss that pass after about 5 minutes.
    
35. Jeffery bet he could fit in the vents. He did fit. At least until he got halfway through and is now stuck.
    
36. The ship's computer specialist hacks into the ship's computer and programs it to rap all of its responses.
    
37. The youngest crew member accidentally locks themselves in the ship's secure vault while trying to avoid chores.
    
38. A crewmember is caught with their feet up on the ship's helm, painting their toenails.
    
39. Video game tournament!
    
40. A crew member regularly plays annoying music in their quarters loud enough that it bothers everyone else.
    
41. An extreme version of hide and seek played by two teenagers/preteens slowly gets out of hand. Or maybe it gets the crew divided into team red and blue. Or an alien finds the hand interesting and partakes.
    
42. At night you hear two passengers in the neighboring room arguing. Eventually you hear commotion and a thud. One of the roomates is seen an hour later throwing something heavy over board.
    
43. Two crew members have obvious crushes on each other and everyone else is trying to get them together. It gets a bit out of hand.
    
44. Hoping to increase interest and participation in safety and defense drills, the security chief introduces a new element: NERF guns.
    
45. After concerned questions about the amount of time they've been spending in the holodeck, a crewmate finally reveals their magnum opus: a fully realized holodeck emulation of 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons.
    
46. Two crewmates who hail from planets with rich improvisational poetic traditions decide to square off and find out who is best. EPIC RAP BATTLE!
    
47. In accordance with the traditions of their people, a crewmate is writing their will. This process chiefly takes the form of an auction, where their friends and family bid for the right of first refusal on their personal items and property; on death, the winner pays the bid amount to the family and claims the item, or refuses to pay and the item is sold at an estate sale.
    
48. During a deep dive into the ship's archives, a crewmate re-discovers a long-dead band, which then becomes a craze on the ship for the next few days. By day 5, even the people who liked it have had their fill.
    
49. "There's... something on the wing! Some, HORRIBLE thing!" "Billy, that's just the nacelle, stop messing around."
    
50. An alien offhandedly mentions that they deem the material of the ship not only edible but delicious, freaking everyone out.
    
51. An infestation of alien vermin is discovered.
    
52. Characters stage an intervention for someone due to a problematic behavior.
    
53. The food replicators break and no matter what someone asks for, they produce a perfectly made gin martini and a plastic snack food style package of "Lemon Clams" that automatically steam when opened.
    
54. The ship's bio-gel computing packs get infected with an alien virus. Mostly harmless but for 48 hours the ship's AI is essentially drunk and/or experiencing hallucinations.
    
55. A group of crew members start a secret fight club team in the holodeck after a member of an away team returns with the idol of a planet's god of war.
    
56. There are two chefs on the vessel, they're both convinced one is better than the other (in reality they're both very bad but all the ship's got).
    
57. One crewmate gives another an alcoholic beverage from their planet that gets them drunk instantly. However, a night's sleep and water doesn't seem to have any effect at sobering them up.
    
58. The grav plating polarity is reversed.
    
59. The room-mate's Tellurian Stinging Fleas Farm springs a leak on your bed. Thankfully, the room-mate's Poisonous Chekovian Death Adder LOVES eating them, so they set them free without telling you.
    
60. The engineer decides it is necessary to use the communal dining area to clean and decontaminate mildly radioactive life-support parts.
    
61. The room-mate's cold progresses to full on "Fast-Zombie" cannibalism.
    
62. Fingernail clippings, or similar bodily detritus, wind up scattered all over your bunk.
    
63. The roommate uses up every bit of sterile gauze from the emergency first aid kits, in order to pretend that their favorite stuffed animal is a mummy; and doesn't tell anyone they did so.
    
64. Someone sets ALL the phasers to stun, as a joke.
    
65. Short sheeted your bunk, again, and placed fake Tellaxian feces on the pillow. At least, you HOPE it is fake.
    
66. Covered the urinal in the refresher-station with clear cling-film and didn't tell anyone as a prank.
    
67. Plays "Yanni" every hour of their shift, non-stop, at full volume.
    
68. Someone goes overboard with the label maker, and now there is a painted line down the middle of the corridor and half the crew is forbidden from crossing over to the other half, just to keep the peace.
    
69. Fills the supplemental emergency oxygen tank of their buddy's space suit with a bit of Nitrous Oxide and Fart Smell.
    
70. One of the crew members makes a meal for everyone else. It becomes painfully obvious shortly into the meal that this crew member can't cook. Several of the team end up with stomach aches.
    
71. Somebody brings an unauthorized pet back with them from the last away mission. Once onboard, the pet starts reproducing out of control and quickly overtakes most of the ship.
    
72. An experiment in the science lab suddenly teleports everyone in the ship exactly 1 centimeter in a random direction. Ensign Roberts now needs prosthetic feet due to this occurrence, and we won't talk about what happened to Ensign Murphy.
    
73. The protein replicators won't stop replicating protein goop that smells like a mixture of sewer gasses and rancid gym socks, despite what settings are used. One crewmember seems to like the taste, and it isn't the one you're thinking of...
    
74. One of the crew goes insane, and starts believing that they have mental powers.
    
75. One member of the crew REALLY DOES HAVE mental powers, the fact that they can make you explode just by thinking about it, gets around the ship quickly.
    
76. One crewmember has been writing a series of holo-sitcoms and secretly using the other crew as templates for characters.
    
77. A crew-member starts insisting that this ship and everyone on it, are simply the results of them being trapped on the holodeck.
    
78. Literally NOTHING happens. Like one second you are all bored out of your minds, and then BAM you can't remember the last six cycles and more than one of the crew reports waking up in tubs of ice, missing some organs.
    
79. The science lab accidentally releases an experimental mixture of alien spores and gaseous mood enhancers; now every fifteen minutes there is a spontaneous musical or dance number happening somewhere on the ship.
    
80. Three words: "Quantum Vacuum Spiders." This guy knows what I'm talkin' about, YEAH!!
    
81. The Captain decided to add combat-readiness drugs to the water supply to sharpen crew performance. Now the security chief has declared the brig as thier own kingdom and is attacking all challengers.
    
82. A security update on the 'droids fails, and suddenly they are all in: "Kill All Humans" mode.
    
83. Someone forgets to pay the subscription service for the ship-wide communications network permission license the last time we were docked. Until the ship docks again, we all have to sit through advertisements and take surveys in order to use comms. The advertising song about Tribble-cereal is adorable though!
    
84. The Captain has gotten into the habit of ordering the inertial dampeners be taken offline, "in order to get a sense of speed during acceleration". Now we go the same speed, but are crushed into our chairs during the whole trip.
    
85. Ever have someone's fart smell so bad you had to vent the whole ship's atmosphere out the airlocks?
    
86. Everyone knows it is bad luck to bring bananas on board ship. The last person that did so got thrown out the airlock!
    
87. Your roommate won't stop making cruel jokes about "That one alien crew member that totally matches the stereotype for their species."
    
88. A crewmember gets drunk and challenges another crewmate with compound eyes to a staring competition. Both wind up in medbay.
    
89. It turns out more than half of the crew secretly worship an evil space entity that is slowly warping thier brains with cannibalism, fear, and paranoia. They all keep it secret for fear of being discovered. Then one evil worshiper finds another making a trap in the corridor at the end of shift, and now you're stuck being a contestent in "The Most Dangerous Game" being hunted by the rest of the crew, and possibly the only one not being mind controlled by evil.
    
90. There's a new addictive videogame going around that leaves your crewmates as drooling vegetables. You tried it, but didn't see what was so great about it.
    
91. Corporate installed pay-toilets on all the refresher units the last time you docked. Now the crew is finding "new" and "inventive" hygiene solutions.
    
92. One of the engineering crew discover that corporate has been lowering the oxygen levels in the testing chambers during crew evaluations, "in order to avoid giving raises for performance improvement".
    
93. For the duration of FTL, exactly half the crew appears to run backwards in time, with predictable havoc on crew functions and personal relationships. The effect ends as soon as the ship drops out of drift, but neither half of the crew can agree on which half was affected afterwards.
    
94. At the last port of call, some orphans snuck aboard. A few crew got caught trying to disguise the kids by having them stand on each other's shoulders inside a resized spacesuit. Spaceman 'Justaguy' will be placed in the brig until the next port of call.
    
95. Ensign Ripley receives one demerit for "trying to teach the power loader how to dance" and also one for use of foul language.
    
96. The ship is saved after a hull breach is patched with some gravy from the ship's cafeteria. Engineering crewmate Roscoe will be awarded an extra cycle of pay and another food ration for giving up thier "mashed potatoes" during the emergency.
    
97. Notice to All Crew: Rumors that the Cafeteria is using Industrial Adhesive as Gravy during Salisbury Steak Night are false.
    
98. An anonymous crewmate has doodled waterfowl on every console on the ship. (Who's been drawing ducks?)
    
99. A Poker (or other gambling game of your choice) game gets too out of hand and now you got gambling banned on the ship. Good job - you ruined it.
    
100. Doctor Hawk made their own homemade distillery out of medical equipment - Major Burnside does not like the mockery of their uniform.
     

Hi everybody! 1st time writer long time lurker, hope you guys enjoy :-)
​
edit: changed the format to the style I use in new stories, thanks again to A_Fowl_Joke!
​
Ambassador Paul Richardson “The Voice of Terra” was having a bad day, well more like a bad week... Okay a bad couple of months and things were about to either get way better or much, much worse, for him and billion others.
Today he was going to have to bluff, he was no stranger to gambling on a weak hand or rolling the dice and letting Lady Luck do her thing, but this time, this time he wasn't even holding any cards, Hell he wasn't certain he could pay the cover to sit at the table...
He was meeting with his counterpart from the Va'sh Empire, Warlord M'rm'n, the fact their interplanetary representative is also their top military officer tells you all you need to know as to how they liked to settle disputes with alien races.
The conflict had being brewing for a little over a standard galactic year, a small planet between the Va'sh Empire and the Earth Krush and Aaennisi Combined had being found, near a subspace tunnel and in the goldilocks distance from it's star.
Needless to say both laid claim to the system, the Earth Krush and Aaennisi Combined because they needed a system closer to the Galactic Commonwealth to facilitate trade and the Va'sh because they were the main military species in the Commonwealth and they'll be damned if they gave the newcomers a foothold in their space. Also they were pricks and were REALLY looking forward to blooding the noses of the 1st sentient “deathworlders” ever recorded in the history of the Commonwealth.
Warlord M'rm'n was slowly making his way to the meeting room inside the Imphlasm station, a neutral species in this dispute, the human ambassador had been waiting for him to arrive for a little over an hour.
He wanted him to stew in his powerlessness, he had been allowed to mobilize the entire fleet, reserves included, as a show of force to help in the negotiations, almost 20 000 ships. Quite a bit more firepower then the sole Destroyer that the human arrived in.
In all honesty, he hoped the human would refuse, he hadn't tasted combat in nearly 20 years and the scar under his right eye was now the only reminder of those pleasant times.
If the data collected by the Commonwealth was to be believed the Krushin and the Aaens would be little trouble but the humans, the deathworlders, they would be fine sport!
Almost twice the height of the average Va'sh and with muscles and bones befitting beings who came from a world with 3 times the average gravity.
M'rm'n: They might be big and strong but they never fought a war at what for them would be low gravity and
Warlord M'rm'n stops to look at his claws
There is nothing these neoceramic coated claws can't cut!
Warlord M'rm'n opened the door and saw the human sitting on his side of the table, looking as calm as a sea of oil in a windless night, he was going to change that.
M'rm'n: "I'm sorry for arriving a little late, coordinating such a large fleet takes effort, specially when the soldiers are all itching for a fight and you have to remind them these are still peace talks."
Paul: Okay, so he's the “subtle” type, I can work with that, "No problem Warlord M'rm'n, I have a few good books on my datapad that needed catching up."
Paul smiles
M'rm'n was clearly not amused
"Right, so lets get to the point, the system is ours, beat it or we obliterate you in the shortest, bloodiest war ever recorded!" Try to stay calm now monkey boy!
Paul sighed
*If only you knew... "*Here's my counter offer"
Paul presses a few buttons on his datapad that prompts a 3D image of Va'sh Prime in the middle of the table
"This is Va'sh Prime and this.."
Paul puts a finger to his neck to activate a communicator
"Admiral, the word is go."
The image of Va'sh Prime is now surrounded by countless ships of various sizes
"Is our fleet."
M'rm'n, mouth agape, right eye twitching
"That's not... You can't.. Imposs... It's a trick!"
Paul smiles
"Is it?"
M'rm'n: How!?
Before he could voice the question a uniformed Va'sh, clearly alarmed, ran into the room and whispered into his ear and stands to his side awaiting a reply
Paul: "I assume that to the be the panicked call of your Emperor, asking why a little over 50 000 ships are aiming enough railguns, thermo-lances and nuclear missiles to reduce his front lawn, and the planet it sits on, to a couple grains of sand?"
M'rm'n roars his rage and leaps on the table.
Paul looks stunned for a second and quickly looks away
M'rm'n, sees the 3D image and goes back to his seat.
No, I have to be smarter then this "What are your terms..."
Paul: "We share the system and every planet in it, 50/50."
M'mr'n blinks in rapid succession
"...And?"
Paul: "That's it."
M'rm'n: *beat*, "...Why?"
Paul for the 1st time since the meeting began, shows concern
"We do not wish to go the war with the Commonwealth, we value peace and quite frankly we do not feel a war with the Va'sh would be productive, we would much rather learn from your example and maybe one day count your people as allies."
M'rm'n: Okay, I need to get this in writing before a human with more brains gets word of what is going on, "very well, but to ensure coexistence whatever stealth tech you used to get inside our territories need to be made public, if you can agree to these terms I see no problems signing the deal right now." For the love of the Emperor please say yes!
Paul contacts someone with his communicator at a volume the Va'sh Warlord cannot hear
"... We agree."
M'rm'n signals the Va'sh soldier, who is still waiting by his side
"Get the Imphlasm notary, so we can make this official!"
The soldier salutes and runs out the room so fast his tail gets stuck on the door eliciting several curses and swears in his native tongue
M'rm'n facepalms
Paul looks perfectly blank
The rest of the meeting took place in a blur, polite small talk was traded while waiting for the notary followed by a quick photo op to celebrate the occasion while both dignitaries held the signed documents.
The only moment of awkwardness came from the very mild reminder to the human ambassador that his ships where still armed and aiming at Va'sh Prime, for which the ambassador excused himself profusely and then the 50 000 plus ships tunneled out of Va'sh space.
Ambassador Paul Richardson, left his private shuttle which carried him back into the heavy Destroyer that brought him to the station.
The corridors were nearly empty and the few soldiers he came across looked at him with disdain or pity.
He made his way to Admiral Alexis Sturm's quarters.
He didn't bother knocking, he knew the door would be unlocked, he crossed the threshold and made his way to the liquor cabinet.
Admiral Alexis Sturm, “the Reaper of Mars”, “the King Maker”... Jumped when he finally noticed he had a visitor, the man was nearly seven feet tall, built like your average ancient God of War and sported cybernetic implants where he had lost his right eye and hand.
And he looked like a father waiting for news on his 1st born after been told “there might be complications”.
Alexis: "So!?"
Paul serves himself a disgusting amount of Gin in a glass, downs it in one go and does a thumbs up
Alexis deflates to the point of seeming to melt into his chair
"Oh thank God!"
Before anything else could be said, the door is swung wide open, a blonde haired woman in a captain's uniform with a black armband bursts in and salutes the Admiral.
Captain Grace: "Admiral, navigation told me that the ambassador had returned, do we have"
Before she can finish, she eyes the ambassador
"Sir..."
Paul: she somehow managed to make that 3 letter word sound worse than most of the insults I had heard during my time in the army and I think I saw from the corner of my eye Admiral Alexis actually flinch "...We will not be going to war."
Captain Grace was all smiles now
"Permission to make it public Admiral!"
Alexis nods
"Granted."
Captain Grace leaves in high spirits, practically skipping
Alexis gets up to put a hand on Paul's shoulder
"You did good, they'll get over it... Probably."
Paul: "It's not like we had a ton of options"
He presses a button on his datapad, an image of him and Warlord M'rm'n can be seeing holding the treaty
Alexis looks at the picture
"Agreed"
He grabs the datapad and enlarges the image of Warlord M'rm'n, a 4 and a half feet tall bipedal kitten, wearing a pirate outfit with a tiny scar under his right eye
"I mean, it took a ton of convincing to get enough volunteers to man the ships needed to even threaten the Va'sh and when the chancellor told them they would need to fire if the kittens didn't surrender..."
Paul: "Yeah, they never did find out who bit off his ear."
Alexis: "I'm not sure secret service really looked into it to be fair" *beat* "One thing is certain going to war would have lead to a not so civil war, did you know last time I visited my niece she told me not to ever show my face again if I shot any kittens?"
Paul: "I'm sure that after her parents explained the situation..."
Alexis takes a drink
"She's 35..."
Paul: "Right..."
Alexis sits up, suddenly all business
"What if they find out? The Commonwealth's intelligence service might be garbage but they'll figure things out eventually!"
Paul smiles, brings up a file on his datapad and hands it to the Admiral
Alexis begins to read
Paul: "Meet the Noradons, 7 feet tall cockroaches with wings, external pulsating poison glands and extendable necks, they were found a little over a month ago and plan to build up a fleet to attack the Va'sh in 6 months or so as a way to show their superiority by beating the Commonwealth's main military race."
Alexis smiling for the first time
"The stuff of nightmares!"
Paul: "Yes, next time we deploy the fleet, it won't be against the cutest psychopaths the galaxy can offer but against monsters out to harm them, you won't be in command of half the 2nd wing with a skeleton crew either."
Alexis already seeing the posters and the long lines of volunteers wanting to join the navy
"This, this is more like it!"

Leesa is a convicted hacker that cannot find legitimate work on a remote planet scarred by a war that humans thought they won. Her father has an incurable disease, and to keep him alive against medical advice, she needs to find anybody willing to pay her for tech support.
To pay a gambling debt, Jaxton collects space junk as the sole crew member of a decommissioned warship. Before his precious spaceship is repossessed, he pounces on a salvage opportunity involving a recently scuttled government vessel that might have a valuable antimatter drive. Getting to it before the recovery teams is easy. All he needs is help to remove its security protocols.
With her father’s health rapidly declining, Leesa joins the lone salvager and finds him to be hostile and reckless. Jaxton regrets bringing aboard a meddlesome hacker that can take control of his ship and expose its secrets. If they can tolerate each other just long enough to complete the mission, they both get what they want.
However, the drive they pilfer is not their salvation. It is a beacon for chaos. After bringing it aboard, the ship is almost destroyed. Inside the drive is bizarre exotic matter that must be extracted, and that will be difficult with the government in pursuit and a bounty calling for their capture. An army of rogue androids will pay for the drive with their only form of currency: grievous bodily harm. To stay alive and free, all Jaxton and Leesa have to do is surrender their prize. But letting go will take all they have, and holding on requires what is out of reach.
SHATTERED PRISM is a dual protagonist sci-fi thriller, complete at 109k words. It will appeal to readers who enjoyed THE CRUEL STARS, STORMBLOOD, and EMBERS OF WAR.
Thanks for reading. I look forward to any feedback, so please don't hesitate to give your opinion.

Oh boy where do I begin! Everywhere I look I see people defending Palpatine claiming they are such great geniuses and compelling villains, but frankly I find this very hard to swallow.
First of all let me just deconstruct this idea that Palpatine was a great strategist and leader. Yes, Palpatine did succeed in taking over the galaxy but if you looked closer you would notice that his plan to take over the Republic was one giant Batman Gambit. He basically gambled that Padme would call for a vote of no-confidence so he could win the election, and that Jar Jar would be able to get the Senate to grant him emergency powers. Granted he probably factored in Padme's naivety and Jar Jar's idiocy in his decision to use them as his pawn, but the fact that his entire plan hinged on the words of a teenager and a clown is just stupid not even Batman himself would risk his plan on something like that unless he was really desperate or had a back-up plan.
Then when he goes on to develop his empire in the first 20 years of his reign he basically creates a galactic fascist dystopia where he rules everything through fear and the Death Star serving as the epitome of that fear. The rebels aren't even an organized resistance at this point and are divided between those who want to seek a peace settlement with Palpatine (Mothma, Organa) and those who want to see the Empire destroyed (Saw Gerrera, the Lothal Rebels). But when they do become a threat you would think that Palpatine would divert resources to projects to improving the armed forces and navy like upgrading the TIE defenders, creating more interdictor class destroyers, or heck try to get better training for the Stormtroopers so they could shoot straight! Instead he tries to pull another Batman Gambit by wasting the Empire's remaining resources on building yet another Death Star with his whole plan hinging on the ENTIRE fleet showing up to destroy him. And it almost works, except Palpatine is so absorbed in turning the Skywalkers against each other and he gets almost killed when that fails.
Fortunately, thanks to the writers, he has somehow survived thanks to cloning. He then puts a contingency plan in place which results in the creation of the First Order. You think that after everything he has been through he would try to take over the galaxy a bit more discreetly like he did during the clone wars. For example, instead of taking control of the First Order he could use Snoke/Kylo Ren as a puppet leader while he rules the galaxy from the shadows. But instead he announces his return to the galaxy and his plan to take it over involves, yep you guessed it, Planet-Killers! I mean come on, after seeing Rise of Skywalker I'm beginning to wonder whether Palpatine has a single-braincell in his entire body?!
The same can be said for a lot of people who choose to stay with the Empire and join the First Order. Although I will say I can understand why people joined the Empire in its early years. After all the Republic wasn't exactly a shining example of galactic governance at least by the time the Clone Wars happened, so I can understand why so many people were willing to support Palpatine's New Order. But after Alderaan was destroyed you'd think there would be more Imperials who were having second thoughts about the Empire, but instead they choose to stay and defend the Empire and its actions. That being so I do understand why some Imperials would want to stay with the Empire because: A. they still see the Empire as the least bad option based on where they grew up and past experiences (Ex: Aphra (to a point), TK-462,Tierny) B. they have no where else to turn (Ex: Nash Windrider, Darth Vader, Yrica Quell), or C. they are synchopaths/psychopaths who have their own delusions of grandeur (Ex: Gallius Rax, Lozen Tolruck).
But still I find the reasons for even the most supposedly sympathetic Imperials to stay with the Empire as strange or convoluted For example, Ciena Rhee from Lost Stars chooses to support the Empire because she honestly thinks that the Empire is the best government to rule the galaxy even after they arrested her mother on false charges. And even before that happens she continues to find ways to rationalize the atrocities of a fascist government, and the excuses she comes up with make as much sense as why 1+1 should equal 3?! Then in Star Wars Resistance we get another Imperial, or Neo-Imperial, who we are supposed to sympathize with Tamara Ryvora. When the First Order comes to the Colossus Tam is the first person who is okay with their presence on the station. According to the writers, the reason her train of thought is like this is because she was never around to see the atrocities the Empire committed and all she knows about the Empire is through who grandfather who was able to put food on the table. But the final straw that influenced her decision was when she find out Yaeger was lying to her about Kaz. While I understand why her initial views on the First Order are so lenient I find her reasoning for joining the First Order to be as flawed. I mean she must have known at some point in her life that the Empire committed various atrocities across the galaxy like genocide, planet-killing, and slavery and that the First Order was basically an Empire expy. The fact that she is willing to ignore all of this and join a fascist organization just to become a pilot and have steak for dinner makes me wonder if her moral compass is as broken as Ciena's.
And the worse part is the writers expect people to sympathize or admire characters like this which makes me wonder who their real target audience is: Star wars fans or people in Swastika's who enjoy singing Horst-Wessel-Lied.
Before I finish I just want to say I'm sorry if this ends up offending any Star Wars fans or Imperial Apologists, but frankly if the writers at Lucasarts want us to sympathize or admire some of the Imperial bad guys in the series they could do a better job by writing Imperial characters who have either A. more braincells, B. a more compelling backstory, or C. a bit of both like Thrawn, and Vanto.

Hail Travelers,
Welcome to Verum Weekly. A weekly post to summarize all the game sessions that happen in the week prior. Hope you like it.
​
Thursday

The Helix of Fate (Lrret1064)

Azalon, Archmage of Glies, stands before Los, former Archmage of Kalkatesh, and the two prepare to duel. Azolon comments on his old mentor's current status as a Servant of the Enemy. In response, Los tells him he now knows the truth of the universe; there is no end to this because it happened many times before. He believes this is the only way to ease the suffering. Not wanting to waste time chatting, Azolon starts off the fight by firing off a Prismatic Spray, testing what reaction Los will have to it. Los attempts to block, but it scuffs his cloak. In retaliation, he sends Meteors towards Azolon, and the Gliesian gets his robes scuffed in return. Los then pulls out two wands and fires a rain of Violet Magic Missiles. Using the druidic magic in his Staff, Azolon creates a shield that cleanses the Missiles of their Violet energy and sends them back to Los, breaking one of the Servant’s defensive wards.
Los then uses Violet energy to make his arm gigantic in an attempt to crush Azolon, but he sees it coming and Misty Steps right before the arm touches him. Azolon then disparages Los for abandoning his role as Archmage and relying upon the power of the Enemy that so far hasn't even been able to touch him. Los proves him wrong by shooting a laser out of his eyes that hits Azolon across his face, breaking his glasses and scarring him. Los quickly tries to use his arm to crush Azolon again, but he instinctively Vanishes and dashes towards Los while charging a Disintegration Ray through his Staff, which tears open a wound across Los arm. Seeing an opportunity, Los uses the blood from the wound to create Blood Spikes to pierce Azolon, but before they can connect Azolon heals Los’ wound, causing the Blood Spikes to turn into a harmless splash of water.
Azolon attempts to cast a Fireball directly in Los face, but his opponent is faster and grabs Azolon’s wrist, redirecting the Fireball and pulling him in for a headbut. While Azolon is disoriented, Los channels a Vampiric Touch and attempts to strangle him. Azolon drops his Staff to try to break free, but Los is stronger and breaks another of Azolon's wards. Thinking quickly, Azolon summons back his Staff to stab Los. Los uses their position in flight to reorient themselves and make the Staff miss, and he starts to strangle Azolon, draining his energy. Azolon however uses his druidic training to cast Stone Fist and smashes it in Los’ face, breaking free. He then taunts him while casting Mental Prison, baiting Los into meeting his gaze, which breaks through one of the Servant’s wards.
With Los distracted, Azolon flies in close once more to finish the fight by turning Los’ Flesh to Stone. However Los recovers fast enough to use his cloak to block the attack and counters with a fist charged with Violet energy. Remembering his research on the Colors, Azolon attempts to challenge the blow by casting Prismatic Spray, connecting it with Los’ attack. The energy expands and blows them both back. The resulting explosion chars Los arm, and the bit of Violet energy that reached Azolon’s right hand removes it from existence. Azolon keeps his composure and takes the opportunity while Los is still recovering to charge his Staff with druidic power. Los summons a Shield that clashes against the empowered Staff.
Suddenly Alexander flies up through the sphere, wielding a blade made of Negatia, a material that seals magic. With the force of the catapult that sent him flying, Alexander slashes at Los and easily breaks through the magic defenses. Not letting the surprise go to waste, Azolon manipulates the wind to blow Alexander closer to Los, making the slash go up from his chest, across his face, and through his right eye. At the apex of his flight, Alexander apologizes for interrupting and gives Azolon words of encouragement to finish off his foe before falling back down out of the sphere.
Azolon thanks his old friend for his assistance and disses Los, saying that serving the Enemy made him lose any connection to people like that, which makes him a shell of a man. Los admits Azolon is right about those things but wrong in other ways, because “life isn't fair”. He then casts False Torch, creating a Shard of Oblivion and placing it into his empty right eye socket. Now empowered, Los fires an Obliteration Ray. Azolon uses his Staff to block the attack, but Los charges the Ray with even more Violet. Azolon, knowing that he cannot handle the might of that attack, tries to redirect it away from him. However as he turns to redirect it, his Staff breaks and the Ray shreds his back. Azolon asks Los what made him like this, and he answers that he saw the truth. "The wheel must turn, one way or another; this is one is the best way — the only way.” Los fires another Obliteration Ray. Knowing he cannot handle that attack again, Azolon pulls out a ring that Los enchanted and tosses it at the attack. Since Los enchanted the ring, it is soulbound to him, so the Violet energy is absorbed back into the ring. It flies back to Azolon, pulsing with Violet power — power that could be used by him. However, without hesitation Azolon tosses the ring aside, and it instantly evaporates.
Seeing how easily Azolon rejected all that power, Los is dumbfounded. Azolon disparages Los again, asking what worth is there in existing if it means giving into something that doesn't care about him and will only use him as a tool. He asks Los how he could give himself so freely to the lies that spawned from madness of a being that doesn't even belong in their reality. Azolon reminds him of the man he was once before and the man he could have been today. Los begins to weep, remembering who he used to be. He then suddenly grabs his false eye and rips it out. Azolon casts Dominate Person, and the spell cleanses Los of the Violet's control, returning his eye to the shade of blue it was before. Using the hold he has on Los now and his studies regarding the nature of the Violet, Azolon attempts to put a Geas on Los to completely remove the Violet’s enchantment.
However as the magic ripples, Azolon sees the Herald flying in the sky. As he gazes upon the comet, instead of seeing stone and ice, he sees silently screaming faces burning in Violet fire. On top of the comet he sees a silhouette within the Violet light, who begins to speak: "Wise wizard, now you will see the truth, just as he did!" The Herald begins to assault Azolon's mind, but Azolon uses all of his knowledge on the Violet to resist its corruption. Instinctively Azolon uses his signature Color Spray, firing it at the Herald, and he breaks free of its assault on his mind. He returns to the fight, reaches back into the magic over Los’ mind, and pulls out a Violet Shade, giving Los control of his own body once more. Azolon shouts, "Now Los!" Los turns around and fires one last spell, Annihilation Sphere, and grabs the Shade, tackling it into the Sphere. Los gazes back at Azolon with a look that simply says "It's your turn" and disappears along with the Shade.
​
Friday

The Tearing Veil Ep. 17 (RoyalCaster)

The party leaves the room where they encountered the evil weapon. Eventually they are led to a room with a statue of Vavren. They move the two hands of the statue together in a praying position, and the walls shift, opening an entrance to a room that seems like it serves as a place to help people escape. They enter and hear someone scribbling past the door. They bait the person by creating a sound and putting a flyer of the Unwise Six under the door. While he goes to investigate, the party passes by him under the veil given to them by Falaael.
They decide that they should take care of Falaael’s task first and later deal with freeing the designated prisoners. They head upstairs and find themselves in another room which has another pair of stairs that takes them to a courtyard. Climbing even more stairs they eventually get to the roof and find a dais with statues of the White Pantheon on it. Vim holds the orb given to him amongst the statues. Angorn recites a prayer, and the orb begins to float and dissipate, forming a smaller statue of Falaael that takes its place amongst the others. Nidhogg suggests to Angorn that they should desecrate the other statues in favor of Falaael. After an hour they head out to hopefully find a map of the prison or to get an idea where they can find the prisoners.
They sneak past a multitude of guards, inciting violence within the guards’ ranks to cause a distraction. They take advantage of the situation and get into an office room where they take the prisoner manifest containing the whereabouts of the prisoners. They find prisoner 48; at first he seems quite apprehensive, but he accepts help from the group. He offers his help in getting the other prisoners out; he can conjure a door to teleport him and everyone else out of the prison. They ask him to go to the rooftop and wait for them. They continue to the opposite side of the cell floor and decide to split up. Vim, Angorn, and Wisp see a guard standing in front of the cell of prisoner 34, so they head to prisoner 17 instead. They find a woman covered in the markings of the skinwalkers. Her cell’s bars are especially thick and cross themselves in a lattice-like pattern. She also wears a silver waist belt that she claims is bothering her. They open her doors, but she does not exit. She taps in front of her, revealing an transparent forcefield, but Vim touches and removes it. She exits and transforms, revealing her drider form. Prisoner 17 mentions that they must free another prisoner not on their list: prisoner 19. She leads them to the warden’s chambers where prisoner 19 is being held.
Meanwhile, Nidhogg, Raber, and Flamewrath stay behind to keep watch. Flamewrath slicks the staircase behind them with oil to safeguard the others and eventually guard come by and fall. Other guards come in and they find a note planted by Flamewrath claiming the prank to be the work of the prison’s flower club. The guards become furious and go away to reprimand them.
Back to the other group, they find a small person hanging from the ceiling, encased in bandages. They help her down and free her of the wrappings, revealing a young girl marked with ritualistic markings and her mouth sewn shut. Vim cuts the stitches from the girl’s mouth, and she takes deep greedy breaths. She thanks them, and the room shimmers with magic. They tell the two prisoners of the plans for getting them to escape, and the two women declare they want to help. They explain that the girl they freed was the actual prisoner 17 and that her voice can command anyone to do what she says. Using her ability, they plan to command the guard that was at prisoner 34’s cell.
The group comes across the guard that was patrolling the area. Prisoner 17 commands him to go away, and he magically obeys. They find prisoner 34 and discover that he is an expert forger and promiscuous deviant. They take everyone to the roof where prisoner 48 is waiting for them. The area darkens, and Oloken’Hai speaks to them. Now that the last bit of their quest is upon them, Oloken’Hai will distract those that would stop them and will put them on their way to defeat the corruption that holds the White Pantheon in their grasp. Nidhogg asks Oloken’Hai why he decided to choose him for his divine spark, but Oloken’Hai claims that it was him who chose himself. As the door opens, it is time for them to enact Oloken’hai’s will.
​
Saturday

Shadow of Tyre Ep. 26 (RoyalCaster)

Raost splits off from the group to find Seren, asking her to come with him for a moment. They walk off together and stop when they get to the rock where Toot first prayed to Hizigori. Roast approaches the rock and exhales. He pulls out his notebook and opens it to take out the Clementia flowers he got from Falcon’s grave in their wing. He untangles them and starts to tell Seren how she remained a constant in his life, which means a lot to him, and no matter what happens to her or him, he wants to be with Seren forever. He offers the flower to her and asks her to marry him. At first Seren is silent, but looking down at him she says that marrying him would make her a hypocrite. However, just this once she will be okay with that title. While hugging, Seren pushes him into her chest to show him that her heart is not beating anymore since her Dephtar transformation. She mentions that she still does not know what happened on Azengolt that made her like this. Raost however starts sweating and recommends that they should probably talk with Toot.
They find Toot and ask him if he could marry them, but they also ask about what exactly happened on Azengolt. As Toot explains the intention of his actions, Seren is seething but contains her feelings. Upon hearing this, Xetor pulls Raost aside for some wisdom. He warns him of the tribulations of being married, even more so with how incompatible their forms are. He recalls his own marriage and mourns the brief stint he had with his wife as she was taken by a sickness, but he also remarks that the bliss of being with your loved one outweighs the sorrow. Xetor asks if they would use the rings of him and his wife, handing him the pair. They are far larger than human-sized rings, so they'll wear them as armbands.
As Seren’s honorary dad, Mad Morc gives Raost the dad talk. Marrying Seren means he becomes family, so Morc wants to indict him into the Tops, and Raost happily agrees. Also, Morc discusses the contingency that comes with being with Seren; one day Raost might have to put her down if she loses control. Raost steels himself, so Morc gives his blessing.
Both Seren’s and Raost’s parties gather, and a few more of the people of the camp come by. With Toot leading the ceremony, they speak their vows. As Toot pronounces them husband and wife, they kiss each other. Seren gives Raost a beaded necklace from before she changed, and he gives her a small mirror he got while exploring the temple where they found Xetor; it has a crude drawing of both Raost and Seren on it.
After receiving their items from the Vega and the Gambler Black, the party catches Zacharias up on what they are supposed to do in the Labyrinth. As they enter the labyrinth again, they appear at the entrance of the third floor, the stairs leading up to the destructed second floor behind them. They venture into the halls until they come across a room with seven statues and a pool of mercurial substance; a gigantic hand statue reaches out from behind it, a faded crystal in its palm. Moe uses his cyclopean eye to discern the secrets and sees various events that take place across the timeline of Kalkatesh. Toot messes with one of the statues and accidentally pops it open. Moe recognizes this as an Angel of Band he saw on Eldar Sharkai; however, it seems more like an imitation, as it misses the moving screens and the spikes around the place where the head goes means it’ll probably kill the controller.
They also find tapestries of the events that Moe saw at the Altar, recreated with thread and needle. Investigating more closely, they seem to depict various accounts of fate, but their falsehood is evident. As they move closer, the composition shifts, and it becomes clear that these tapestries are prototypes of what Tyre was trying to create: artificial fate. To the right of the room, Zacharias examines a portal emanating a purple aura. Getting closer, he begins to feel ill, unable to understand what it is. Though everyone feels the same uneasiness, Raost tosses a pebble into the portal, but nothing seems to happen. They decide to avoid it and walk deeper into the room, finding stone containers containing Dust. Zacharias recognizes it as the purest form of life energy, the runoff of the silver cord that keeps you attached to yourself when one is Astral Projecting. Ahst and Raost pocket a bag each and join Toot and Moe at the southern end of the room. They come across a silver chest; Moe looks inside with Latos Zatar and sees a spectral screaming in silent agony. Ahst casts Silence around the chest, and as Raost opens it and looks at it with his soul vision, he sees it is an experiment, a distilled memory to recreate a soul. They decide to close the chest and leave it be.
Moe sees the Dust the others found and examines it by licking it. The magic of the Dust infuses Moe with magical powers and a crippling addiction. They move on and find an aisle full of sarcophagi. Raost looks at them all with soul vision and sees a soul in each one of them. Further down the hall they find two significant tapestries; the group is unable to discern their meaning, but they feel like they have seen it before. They gather that the one on the left is the old god of luck and that the other was supposed to be the god of portals. Using his cyclopean vision, Moe is able to see the remnants of two lost deities, the result of Tyre’s experiment of stealing a moment from a god.
​
Sunday

Shattered Crowns S3 Ep. 10 (Lrret1064)

Meena leads the party into the facility. The walls are bloody, flesh is stretched across the walls and ceiling, and there are corpses wrapped in body bags and stuffed in containers. Anthem warns Huck that they should only touch the stuff when needed. Ikkar asks Bethany if she's okay as she is strangely silent, as if she's seeing something the others can’t, but she seems unwilling to share what she sees. Guy asks Meena why they are here and she answers it’s to "save them from Home." However, she doesn't know where the item she needs is, only that it's a big oval made of stone and steel.
They detect a strange noise behind one of the doors. Scrumpo suddenly kicks the door open, awakening the creatures behind it. The undead with giant mouths start attacking the party, but Ikkar is able to Destroy the Undead to clear a large number of them. Iron Pipe uses a Wall of Force to stop the rest from swarming the party, but a large one flanks them from behind. Quick on his feet, Ikkar Banishes it. As the biggest threat is gone, Meena suddenly reappears and instructs everyone to leave the room. As they leave, she tells Iron Pipe to remove the Wall. The creatures flood the room, but Meena flips a lever that ignites a fire through the grating below.
Meena then leads the party quickly around the facility, like she's familiar with the place. She guides them to an office that contains more corpses in body bags and points out a book on top of one of the corpses, saying it belonged to the leader. Iron Pipe reads the book with the help of Drifter Sai’s and Meena's translation; it’s an experiment log on testing methods of movement or transportation, but none of the subjects were able to survive the experiment as something called ‘invitalisation’ caused their death. Meena explains that invitalisation turns the subject’s body inside out. Ikkar expresses his worry that it might happen to them, but Meena says she knows another way. Huck starts to get suspicious of Meena and senses her desperation; she doesn't fully believe what she's saying. Huckleberry then waits for everybody to leave and tells Ikkar what he noticed. Ikkar asks Huck to distract the others so he can cast Augury. Ikkar asks Sekelcuse if they should continue to follow Meena, but another being answers instead: "Woe."
They continue through the facility and approach a strange room. Meena immediately walks in and starts looking in a dresser, as if she knows where to look. Huck takes this chance to inform the others what he saw, and Ikkar tells about his Augury. However, they decide that they don't know who to trust, but that they should stay on guard. While this is happening, Meena pulls out a journal containing sketches and writing of a younger Meena progressing through her life; in the middle is a keycard which Iron Pipe takes. They continue to follow Meena as she approaches a big metal door. Pipe swipes the key card, opening the door. Meena suddenly rushes inside saying “Save you.” The party cautiously walks into the room after Meena.
They see a big metal structure that fits the description of what Meena described. Meena runs up to the metal structure and places her hand on it, repeating “Save you.” Ikkar notices that Meena is looking sickly and asks what the machine does, to which she responds that it “makes people Home better, different, makes door.” She then walks up to a console and enters a code, and a voice greets her as Dr. Jeckin. Ikkar asks Meena if she’s dying. The voice answers that she isn't alive, and Meena confirms it by pulling back her shirt showing that she’s mostly wires. She then points to the back of the machine where they see the letters ‘YU’. She explains that it means Yolnas Unvas, ‘Second Chance’, and that it refers to the machine. Ikkar asks the voice what the purpose is of the machine. It explains that the machine is a last ditch effort to save the Ragdarians by sending embryonic sacks to a different planet to repopulate, but no destination has been given yet. Meena expresses her desire to send the machine to Maltos and makes the party promise to launch it. She then limps toward the machine and pulls out a wire from inside her and puts it into the machine as she starts to lose her light. She thanks the party, and her body falls limp. Everyone realizes that Meena contained the history of the planet and is giving the machine that knowledge to pass on.
Guy asks the voice how to break the Covenant of Death, but it says that information is classified. Trying to fill in the password, they look through the books they took to search for clues; the password ‘Jekin’ let’s them access the files. The voice gives them two options, launching the machine and serum integration. They recognize the serum from one of the books they found; it is able to stave off death. Guy volunteers to go first, thinking it will turn him into a full immortal vampire, and the console injects him with the serum. However, it cures Guy of his dampirism. Ikkar goes next, and it makes him feel younger. When Huck takes it, he feels Anthem’s connection lessen as inside his mind palace Anthem appears as an angry black horse stuck inside a stable. When Scrumpo takes it, he gains a full afro. When Pipe takes it, his augments become more part of him, making him more like a cyborg. While Pipe is distracted, Ikkar lights his pipe and uses Thaumaturgy to burn away the bird suit. When everyone has taken the serum, they ask the voice how it can help them defeat Death. It explains that it injects nano constructs into them that make them immune to instant death effects. The party gets ready to launch the Second Chance to Maltos and asks Drifter Sai if they can follow it. Sai confirms it is possible and that it greatly reduces the fuel required to reach the planet by siphoning the residual energy from the Second Chance.
​
Monday

Heart of Tyre Ep. 25 (av5hadow)

Shortly after Seren’s marriage, Morc and Neve decide to get married immediately and travel to the Trees of Marriage. Amaris, Braktor, and Vizier Lozenkor show up. Seren starts the Orc wedding as the shaman, and the couple makes their vows. Morc reveals that Neve has shown him that hope is more than just survival, and he expresses his desire to grow old with the changeling. Neve recounts their journey since the beginning; Morc was always there, a pillar of emotional support. She vows to stand and fight alongside the half-orc. After Seren affirms that the two will uphold their marriage responsibilities, the two bite each other's hands. The wedding moves on to the bouquet-tossing event; while Amaris, Ozzie, and Braktor are distracted by each other, the Vizier and Ives reach out. Ives however is quicker than the Vizier whose composure is gone for the first time as he eats the dirt. Ives is confused as he acted on instinct, so he gives the bouquet to the Vizier. As wedding gifts, the Tops receive a lot of gold from Braktor and Amaris. Morc carries Neve to a tent, and they fade into black. Seren thanks the Vizier for his efforts and wishes him happiness with the one who will do the same. He voices his doubts but gathers the courage to tell Azalon the truth.
Derok spots Xetor and Ili’ith next to the Oracle’s Well and greet them. The three talk, revealing that Derok is a first generation Vega and is from the Vegan Isles. After years of not knowing himself, Derok Dranf finally finds a home. The Vega teach him the true pronunciation of his last name and reveal that his clan was known for staff creation. They are also willing to help the party upgrade their gear.
Derok asks the Azengoltians for advice on fighting the Depthar. Alice gives her wrapped silver chalice to him, saying that silver is effective against the Depthar; they could melt it down to coat their weapons with the silver. Braktor tells Derok that the Vega might have materials that are infused with emotion, which are effective against the Depthar as well. However, augmenting gear with this material will forgo any other Vegan upgrades. Seren, Ives, and Derok go to a now disheveled tent to inform the newlyweds about the augmentations. Neve decides to forgo her armor augmentation to receive an anti-Depthar shortsword.
Seren requests an audience with the Eldar and Letol. She offers Depthar samples to Letol, but he immediately refuses. He begins to berate the Brass Queen, but the Azengoltian Eldar stops him. Letol once again gives his warnings about the Depthar, but he accepts the blood samples. He then expresses his wish of being wrong about the creature, but after being in so many similar situations, he doesn’t want to gamble. Letol thanks the creature, stating that he’ll free the pure innocent soul that is controlling its actions if it exists.
Shortly after the Tops leave, Letol addresses the Azengolt group. He asks for their future plans. Azalon asked them for their help to contain and fight the Depthar on Glies. Alice asks if Letol will come, but he says that someone needs to guide Kalkatesh. He then says that no matter where they go, the group is always welcome to wherever Letol calls home, for “together, they survived what Iron and Sorrow could throw at them.”
Alice provides some supplies to the Tops and tells them the Depthar can adapt to anything. Archibald suggests to cycle their attacks and to leave the anti-Depthar weapons for the final blow. Morc then takes off his pilgrim hat he got from Zorikal, wanting to activate the rune. He wishes to test it. Everyone backs away, except for Hackne who identifies the rune as a divine Word of Recall. The destination is anyone’s guess, so Morc doesn’t touch it. Seren walks away as the Tops discuss who should hold the portal stone in case she goes rampant. The current holder, Derok, says that it doesn’t matter as she’ll read his mind. Braktor gives his group’s stone to Neve to be used as a distraction.
The Tops return to the first floor of their wing, finding themselves in their starting location. As they head towards the Flesh Refiner, Seren takes a new nurse’s outfit in her current size, and Neve gives her Breathless Amulet to Morc who is vulnerable to the fog that will be released. On their way, they hear the familiar stomps in the main room behind them. The Tops configure the Refiner. The party waits out in a room as they have undone the seals on 120 creatures. Ives hears sounds of battle, and Seren feels pain and chaos. During this time, Morc attunes to the Amulet.
“Theta protocol initiated. Releasing cleanse.” Green fog fills up the room and affects the now Depthar Seren, so she puts on the nurse’s mask. The party immediately heads off to the main room where the fog is much thinner; they see environmental damage and viscera covering the path. As they enter the main room, FCO walks underneath the archway. It gazes at each Top member, and its sight lands on the Brass Queen.
A horrifying screech marks the start of the fight.
Before the Tops can get into position, FCO rushes down Neve. Its arm barely misses, but FCO poisons Neve with Hypoxia. Derok, Morc, and Illan enter the melee. The Hypoxia spreads among the melee fighters via Life Pulse. FCO banishes Derok with a Maze-like ability, and Illan gets destroyed. FCO reaps the poison in him and places all the stacks on Seren.
​
Tuesday

Weal and Woe (No Session)

​

Soul of Tyre Ep. 26

The party uses their newly acquired money to buy better equipment. Alexander gets a Vacuum Edge Sheath which gives the Negatia Blade a chance to destroy spell slots or mental attributes of his enemies. Braktor buys a Weaver Staff augment that empowers its attack and adds thunder damage. Hackne gets an Anointed Court Mage Robes of Temperance which gives her more defense against curse effects and gives her allies advantage against her spells. Ozzie buys the Armor of the Autumn Assassin which gives him more poison damage and can turn him invisible. Belanovan decides to save more money to see if he can get a better item. Braktor also attunes to the Ancient Ring of Regeneration which was taken from Tyre’s Drop. When they’re done shopping, Gailen informs them of the current Wendigo situation. While the party was away, it seemed that the wendigos had united under a king. They are now considered a rising civilization, and Gailen hopes to create diplomatic relations with them. The party agrees to talk to the wendigo ambassador to see what is going on.
As they travel to the contact point at the Rotting Wound, they spot a plateau surrounded by wendigo guards. An ashen guard approaches and leads them to the wendigo ambassador. While walking towards the ambassador, the party sees archaic stones floating around a well of shadow. Eventually, a wendigo speaks to them and introduces themself as Volos. The party walks towards Volos while Alexander looks into the well of shadow, noticing that it is a portal to the Dream Realm; here Inu’s strand should be planted. Volos explains that this portal was already built when they arrived, but the wendigos plan to do a ritual on it so that they can get energy to fuel their kingdom. Belanovan assumes that this energy allowed Volos to speak, but the diplomat corrects him that wendigos have always been able to talk, they just had no reason to.
Volos explains that his nation has been watching Gailen’s Gate and he praises the settlement’s altruism. Belanovan asks who the wendigo king is, but Volos declines his request as people can use the king’s name to harm them and their nation. Belanovan follows up by asking how they can sustain their kingdom and Volos shows them the wendigo’s grand scheme. It is known that wendigos can only gain sustenance from consuming humanoids. However, there is an exploit: If they can use the dreams of humanoids as a spice, they can gain nutrients from livestock and not resort to cannibalism. Belanovan asks how long the king has been in power and Volos replies that they have been the leader for a long time. They and the nation only came into prominence now because they wish to help the fight against the Enemy so that their race can gain tolerance from other nations.
The party contemplates using the strand of Inu; they do not know its exact effect, but they do know it will cause massive changes to the wendigos. Hackne interjects by worrying about the adverse effects of taking other dreams. Belanovan then hypothesizes that Negatia could possibly stop the effects of their curse. They test the hypothesis, but Volos vomits; the Negatia has no effect. As the party studies Volos on his truthfulness, they can see that he is a skilled diplomat, but he’s not lying. However, there is a slight sense of desperation in his tone.
Still unsure, Belanovan asks what the wendigo's plan is. They plan to build settlements in the barren wasteland of the Badlands that will start the foundation of their nation. Belanovan follows up by asking how the wendigos will increase their population. Volos pauses, fear emanating from him. He responds that they are willing to convert the destitute of other nations. This worries Alexander, so he asks Volos if he feels guilty about converting others, as it is guilt that transforms beings into wendigos. Volos does not answer the question, but strain can be seen on his face. He then reveals that he knows that Braktor is a Weaver, a class that counters the undead. Braktor assures Volos that he is not biased against the wendigos because they are still beings. Ozzie proposes to be their ambassador for the Dream realm, but Volos wishes to show the strength of his nation and wants to be the one to talk. Belanovan wishes to talk directly to their king, and Volos accepts this request.
Volos contacts his king and allows them to talk through him. Another voice comes out of Volos’ body and introduces itself as the wendigo king. It is revealed that they are actually a half-wendigo. It was in their search trying to find their origin that they found the well and desired to make a nation for the wendigos. Belanovan wishes to actually meet the king and learn why they are a half-wendigo, and Alexander asks if they even want the curse to be removed. The king responds that he wishes to find a way to remove the curse of wendigos while keeping themselves alive; the current way of removing the curse results in death. The party offers alternatives to the wendigos, such as using their own dreams or living in the Dream Realm, but the king tells them that those paths won’t bear any fruit.
​
Wednesday

The Herald's Call Ep. 12 (AsAlternateAsItCanBe)

The battle continues. They learn that Nojack is able to Wild Shape into animals using his Ki, that Vida fights with poison that she’s able to strengthen by hurting herself, and that Urien utilizes multiple stances to fight: Commander, Vanguard, and Desperate. It is also revealed that Urien is their leader; if they’re able to deal with him, it seems it will stop the ritual.
Vida gets knocked unconscious by Riku’s double Scorching Ray, followed up by a hit by Zada’s morning star, which brings her close to death. Archael sees that the Violet ritual circle is getting stronger over time and that it is absorbing Vida’s blood; it seems that the more people are killed, the faster the ritual is completed. Despite this revelation, the party decides to finish Vida off as Arienne draws first blood. Boris predicts that the party will attack again the next round, gaining additional damage to his Smite should he be correct. Meanwhile, Urien decides to attack Zada, allowing Archael to hit him with a critical Smite. Analyzing the situation, Urien throws away his two greatswords and pulls the third from his back. The sword starts to glow with unstable Violet energy; Violet Death is possible.
Seeing the desperation of their enemies, the party decides to finish this quickly. Zada uses her Soulfire ability to refresh everyone else’s and uses Apholios to knock Boris unconscious. Archael attempts to disarm Urien with a Clash, and with the power of Glory on his side, he severs Urien’s arm and the sword falls to the ground. Arienne then uses her whip to fling the sword outside the room to prevent Urien from taking it. Midas sees that the sword is the real key to the ritual, not Urien, and he picks up the sword to attempt to stop the ritual completely. However, as he picks up the sword, Violet flames lash out and try to corrupt him, but Midas resists the temptation and holds his ground. He is faced with two choices: either seal the ritual or allow it to continue and summon the Violet Servant. If he chooses the latter, the party will be able to ambush the Violet Servant and deal a massive blow to the Enemy. Midas decides to hold the decision until the combat is over. Azylea summons Asuna to bring the knocked-out Boris away from the battle. Unfortunately, Boris stands up and strikes Asuna with an empowered Smite. The spider gets hit so hard that Azylea sees the statue crack just from that blow. Meanwhile, Urien once again attempts to Clash with Archael using his normal greatswords and aims for his eyes, but once again he fails. With the momentum on his side, Archael uses Shining Assault to knock Urien out. The battle ends with Arienne rushing towards Nojack and Boris, knocking them out in the same turn. Midas then kills them, gaining three Soul Coins, and starts the discussion about what they should do with the ritual.
The party decides that they will ambush the Violet Servant. They’ll be fighting it at their full strength and will know all of its abilities immediately when it spawns. In addition, the party can seal two of its abilities at the start of the fight. But before the final fight of the campaign starts, they are granted level 5.
​

Steel and Silence Ep. 5

Before the party heads into the ruins, Rev’lis Wisp breaks out from its body and begins to transform. It transforms into a Veld with cracks in its skin and shining with colors. After the familiar introduces himself to the party and Rev’lis names him Shiny, the Lord of Blades teleports them to the ruin.
They arrive at one of the many world roads in Steton. Rev’lis flies ahead and scouts what seems to be an abandoned village. As she looks around the town, Rev’lis finds a stonehenge in the center which glows with a Violet light. She quickly flies back to the party and informs them of what she saw. The party cautiously heads into the town and searches the nearby houses. In one house, Shiny notices that whoever left the village, they left long ago and in a hurry.
At the door of another house, Vaeri finds some dragon scales on the ground. She and Terryn enter the house and find a broken blade on a table. As Vaeri walks closer, she notices draconic writing on the blade, reading “Death to the false serpents.” She identifies it as a dragonslayer weapon. Meanwhile, Terryn searches the house and finds a discarded cloak from the Steton Striders. The more Terryn looks around, the more articles of clothing from the Steton Striders she finds. Vaeri tells Terryn to bring the rest of the party here to show them the Strider clothing. They theorize that the resident of this house was trying to hide from the rest of the town that they were a monster hunter. Vaeri takes the broken blade and the party continues their search in the village.
As they walk by a crossroad leading toward the stonehenge, Zara suddenly feels the call of the warrior. She follows the call, and it takes her to an entrance to the Hall of Heroes. Zara enters the gate and finds herself on a rainbow bridge, but the line of violet is missing. Eventually, Zara enters the Great Hall and is greeted by the Throne of War, a stone chair and the leader of the Hall of Heroes. She explains her quest to the Throne and it respects the flame in her heart. If the red orc wants to succeed in her quest, she needs a mentor to guide her. A dragonborn is summoned behind her; Nox will be Zara’s mentor and teaches her the fighting style Dragon’s Fury. The two finish their training session and Zara comes back to the waking realm.
The party hugs Zara as she comes back, and they finally head to the stonehenge. They find a ritual pulsing with Violet energy. Umi sees that these stones are an anchor point for a portal and the only way to destroy the portal is to destroy the spirit residing in the stone in the center of the stonehenge. Terryn slowly approaches the stone to study it and shoots an acorn towards it. Suddenly, the sky darkens as the Aphotic Indefatigable is summoned. The time for mercy has passed.
​
Edited by PalladiumDrake
Thanks for reading.