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m4davis

Scholar
Joined
Jan 20, 2012
Messages
557
B1
 

Jester

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
1,493
B2
Family reunion sound nice, still i am afraid to take 1. Don't wish to see sister in jail, that could hurt good name of our family. Whats more good manners ask for thanks in person for saving us for squashing, royalty got their standards. :obviously:
As for Kyrie, do not see to many helpful options now.
 

TOME

Cuckmaster General
Joined
May 25, 2012
Messages
1,820
Cyber Jack plot is starting to remind me of Caprica. Let's keep up with the good decision and before soon we will be playing Adama Ean in Battlestar Galactica Christmas Special.:love:

B1 - Hopefully 1 doesn't screw us over in case we want smuggle something to space.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
B2 - We need to power up. I want to be a Gieloth.

I almost want to gamble everything on A3, though. I really think we might ought to find Kyrie now before it's too late. If Erika and Azo know, you can bet Shulgi does too. We do need to power up to face Shulgi, but sacrificing Kyrie...? Then again, it could all be a plot by Shulgi to distract us during the drop so the messenger can escape. Julius could indeed be there, puppeting that corpse/sex doll of his and Shulgi could have told Erika to send Azo the pic. If it was really Kyrie and Erika was on our side, why forward it to Azo first?

B1 could easily create questions as to how we know that the Indus plan to attack. They'll investigate us whether they decide to believe us or not.

"An attack is coming."
"How do you know?"
"Uh, I have sources."
"What sources...?" [investigates]
"Master, men are taking the cultists and I away!"
"Damn. Should have listened to lambchop!"

Besides, did any of you even consider the possibility that Azo - who is allied with Shulgi, who has ties to the cult and tried to help them drop the colony on the Shinar - might cough up whatever he knows to Shulgi? If we're already running off after Kyrie in A3, that's one thing, but to tell him anything in B is awfully trusting on our part.

Also, funny how whiling our time away with Qin may have steered us further away from Kyrie. But hey, at least we got to buddy up with Naim, right?! Who could have foreseen that that would be a tremendous waste of time? Only a visionary with powers of perception beyond mere men, I say...:M
 

Rex Feral

Prophet
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
1,300
I consider it the right choice. Maybe not the smart choice but still. Azo and Shulgi are not my enemies.
 

aleam iacis

Liturgist
Joined
Nov 4, 2012
Messages
115
Codex USB, 2014 BattleTech
I side with the A3 faction. I know the Messenger is probably useful and important, but I don't want to drop our first lead on Kyrie. Plus we can use Azo and his men this way, and I think 3 is to our maximum benefit. I assume we won't be giving up our cultists, just what we know of this facility and plan, neither of which are on our side. This way we can keep both rods in the fire.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
A3 – 1
B1 – 7
B2 – 3
D3 – 1

***

Vacation in the North


The temple compound is located in the outskirts of the town of Yoichi, disguised as a recreation center for elderly folk. It’s the lone asset of one of the few shell companies that managed to avoid the Federation’s purge, the director of the company having successfully disavowed any connection with the cult.

I observe via the security cameras as he engages in a threesome with two of the cultist maidens, who can’t be older than sixteen.

“If they spent half the time on protecting their systems that they did on screwing…” I mutter, as Yua completes the hack. They had bought an expensive electronic security package which proved impossible to completely circumvent. I’ve bought myself three hours until the system detects the tampering and alerts whoever is sleeping at the desk, but that should be more than enough time to slip in and reconnoitre the small compound. It appears that the security feed doesn’t cover the temple’s inner chambers, where the shrine of the Messenger is presumably located.

Yua puts the layout in memory and I make my move. There are two entrances to the compound – a large main gate, and a service entrance. At this time of the day most of the staff should be busy catering to the elderly customers on the ground floor of the building. The service entrance leads to a pathway that ends up near the ground floor study. The study itself is empty; the recreation area is located further ahead, but that is not where I am headed. I walk quickly through the corridors with Yua guiding my movements. Doors open with the lightest touch – I have the free run of the place, but little interests me up here. Finally, with one last turn, I’m confronted with the stairs to the inner chambers, a spiral staircase with an iron balustrade that twisted its way into the depths of the building, deep underground.

From here on I would be walking blind, my digital wizardry being of no more use. I take a deep breath and begin heading down, taking the stairs one step at a time. From what I have heard from Emiri, Rei should be here, accompanied by two Second Hierarchs – the very epitome of Very Important People for the cult. They probably plan to escape soon. There is a large transport helicopter fuelled up and ready in the compound, according to Yua. Meanwhile, the Indus have launched an assault, as I had expected. Sixty warships have breached the frontlines and are attempting to land troops on the continent. None of the drop troops would land in Higashi, but this easily served the purpose of drawing Federation military response towards the mainland. It also means Azo’s eyes are away from me and the temple, and towards the invading force. They were ready for it, thanks to my word of caution, but the scale of the invasion had surprised them. If the Indus are willing to throw away the lives of three hundred thousand men just to get the Messenger into space, it must be extremely important.

***

track: sy

My feet step on stone instead of wood. I’m at the bottom of the winding stairs. That familiar little ache in my skull has begun acting up again, and I’m starting to sense the presence of something strange and alien beyond. The walls are no longer painted. Instead, they are lined with carved, black phallic shapes that undulate along the entire length of the corridors. The dim candlelight casts dark shadows all around me as the flickering creates the impression of things lurking in the walls; things that have far too many limbs to be comfortable with.

help

I stop and look around. I’m sure I did not just imagine that.

“Yua?”

“I’m picking up unusual activity in your brain, but I cannot determine the reason.”

It looks like she can’t identify the source of the voice.

“Perhaps this would be a good time to retreat,” she suggests. “I think the whole idea of coming out here was silly.”

I give her a mental shrug. “Let’s get a souvenir or two before we call it off, shall we?”

help

save me

The voice fades in and out of my mind, breathless, as if communicating with me is an arduous task. I ignore it for now – I am heading in the same direction as its source, and I’ll see for myself whether this ‘help’ is required once I get there.

The strange presence grows thicker as I walk further into the complex, wrapping around me and slowing my steps. I begin to feel queasy and hot, even though the cold of the north penetrates down here in these frigid corridors. Sweat drips down my neck. Finally, I have to stop – a large door stands in my way. This one will not swing open to my will; there are no electronics involved here. It is tall, heavy and made out of oppressive black iron. The carvings on its surface depict motifs of tentacles wrapping around laughing heads of men, women and children. The presence is palpable on the opposite side of the door, and I can detect the signs of life. There are perhaps 25… no, 26 people on the other side, though they are some distance away from the entrance and sound too distracted to pay any attention to it.

“Very classy,” I murmur as I touch the door.

Instantly, a barrage of visions and emotions fills my mind.

A temple, basking in the sun. Glory. Worshippers thronging its courtyard. Faith. Twisting tunnels under its surface. Slumber. The all-encompassing embrace of a provider and nurturer, and the silhouette of a teacher. Knowledge. A man, hurling fire from his fingers. Enemy. Darkness. Hunger. Solitude. Misery. Tree. Death. Light. A man, digging away at the ground, cradling something that he finds. Tests. Slavery. Flesh cut away for humans. Pain. A snowy compound in the frozen north. Solitude. Misery. A boy, in front of a black door. Hope.

save me

“Shut up,” I grit my teeth and chase the presence from my mind, with some effort. It will return, but if it doesn’t keep quiet I can’t get around to saving it now, can I? I push the great door open slowly and carefully.

The smell of sweat and incense instantly assails my nostrils, along with the screams and moans of pleasure. In front of me writhes a naked mass of tangled limbs and bodies losing themselves in orgasmic bliss, male and female, old and young... even children. Sitting at the front of the room on a throne, overlooking the orgy impassively, is a nude Rei, with an equally nude Keiko and an old man with a rather distinguished moustache – one of the Second Hierarchs, I’d presume – fondling and groping her, their hands, lips and tongues travelling to places I could only imagine. A slight flush in her cheeks is the only sign that betrays the fact that she is feeling anything. The heat and queasiness I had been feeling starts to grow at an alarming rate.

“Yua,” I hiss, “Physiological control.”

“A-ah, yes, right!” she says in a flustered manner. “There appears to be something that is inducing increased hormonal activity, but I am not sure whether it is an airborne component, or –“

“Just counter-act it.” I groan. It looks like my sense of timing is as good as ever. On one hand, they might be so occupied with their orgy that they fail to notice me, but on the other, this is quite awkward.

help

It takes me a while to calm down my pounding heart, and by the time it does, I have already noticed the prisoners. They are suspended from their ceiling via steel wires threaded into their neck, torso and genitals, and their limbs are nothing but bloody stumps, in a condition similar to the lawmaker I had rescued. They must be the cultists that had investigated this temple on my orders. Some of them stir occasionally – they are still alive, it seems. I turn my gaze from their twitching bodies.

“Hear me, ye faithful!” shouts a nude – well, they are all nude – middle-aged man with steely eyes and gray hair plastered over his sweaty face. In front of him is an ornate altar where a young girl, tanned with dark hair like the worshippers in the visions I was given, lays spread-eagled with a gaping hole in her lower abdomen. “We are gathered here today to begin the ritual of the Messenger’s transmigration.” No one looks at him; the rest of the cultists are intent on their frantic copulation. He continues anyway, beginning to talk about memories of the world and how they need to bring the Messenger to the pure void of space so that it may commune with the Great Mother. I pay him little attention as I finally sneak into the room. No one notices me either, caught up as they are in their frenzy. The man begins wandering about the orgy, caressing the worshippers as he chants some inane babble.

help me, please

I can identify the source of the voice now – the girl on the altar. Her dead eyes are fixed on mine, shining and wet with tears. She is clearly lifeless and not drawing any breath. As I draw closer, I notice a fleshy, lumpy orb protruding from her womb. I recall the mention of a core in Shulgi’s game – could this be it?

yes

I narrow my eyes as I stop my approach.

Are you reading my mind?

help me

How?

share… touch me

tendrils... ours

Another vision assails my mind, this time of me granting a bit of my essence to the core, allowing it to puppet the girl’s corpse to escape while the cultists are still screwing around. The voice doesn’t badger me anymore – I sense that it’s used up the last of its strength to convey that message. I glance around the room again. The chanting is growing louder and louder – the cultists have started joining in even while performing their orgiastic activities. Rei’s head is slumped back against her throne, breathing much more heavily than the last time I looked, as Keiko and the old man continue to pleasure her and each other.

“I can’t hold it for long,” warns Yua. “The influence is getting stronger.”

I can feel a stirring in my own loins. “A few more minutes,” I gasp, submerging my mind into the cold even further to keep myself under control. The dimension rod pulses gently in my pocket, reminding me of its presence. It’ll serve as an emergency escape route should I need it.

***

A. I approach the altar and crush the orb, killing the Messenger and ending whatever plans the cult has for it. I don’t trust the alien thing, and at any rate it should be grateful for the mercy I am giving it.

B. I grant the Messenger what it wishes and touch it with my tendrils so that it can escape. Whether it is because of sympathy, or a desire to learn more about it, I don’t know, but its bid for freedom should serve as a distraction for me.

E. I touch the Messenger with my tendrils... and attempt to take over its mind for my own purposes. It appears to be weak and lacking in strength right now - I will have no better shot than this.

1. I get ready to slaughter the cultists after dealing with the Messenger. Ending an orgy with death is fitting for depraved worms like them.

2. I get ready to flee after dealing with the Messenger. I'll use the dimension rod if I absolutely need to, though I don't have a very good feeling about it.

***

C. I leave. I’m afraid if I stay here any longer I will jump into the orgy myself from suffering chronic blue-balling syndrome. I don’t really care about the Messenger anymore, now that I know what it is. The cult can have their little alien slave.

D. FUCK IT (approach Rei for some family bonding).
 

Azira

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
8,518
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Codex 2012
A2

Yes, we should be the last, but staying here after removing the threat isn't wise. Do the deed, then get the heck out of dodge. We're stretching things already as is.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
You don't know that you can consume it, so why would you? Because meta-knowledge? :lol:

That option is forever lost to you, though it wouldn't have worked as well as it did with Ean anyway because you're not actually a Gieloth or an Immortal, no matter how much some people wish it to be.

Oh, and you guys are right in that this is the last Gieloth.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
It's not wholly psychic in nature, but you could try to mind-jack it, I suppose. It might be possible to fry the others after that. I have no problems with adding that choice in.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
B1 - Remember, Gieloth are LE. They should return favours for favours.
E1

I choose the slaughter option because I don't think the Gieloth will get away without our intervention, and with it backing us we should win easily enough. Besides, did you see what those fuckers did to our slaves? That's just not on.

(I also am attached to Gieloth for sentimental reasons, let's not off the last of its kind)

Option E makes me hesitate. It reminds me of when Ean tried to mindwipe a Gieloth. That didn't go well.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
I'll definitely flop to E1 if it looks like the B option is loosing. For some reason though I suspect we're going to end up with A. Which would make me sad.
 

Zwist

Learned
Joined
Jun 6, 2012
Messages
236
I am a little rusty here. Maybe one of you remembers: what Gieloths could still be crawling the earth? I doubt this is a new one, or we would have a tree situation again.
Or to put it that way:
A temple, basking in the sun. Glory. Worshippers thronging its courtyard. Faith. Twisting tunnels under its surface. Slumber. The all-encompassing embrace of a provider and nurturer, and the silhouette of a teacher. Knowledge. A man, hurling fire from his fingers. Enemy. Darkness. Hunger. Solitude. Misery. Tree. Death. Light. A man, digging away at the ground, cradling something that he finds. Tests. Slavery. Flesh cut away for humans. Pain. A snowy compound in the frozen north. Solitude. Misery. A boy, in front of a black door. Hope.

Also, the word transmigration was used. This probably isn't the first time something like this happens. And that guy doing the ceremony? Not a small fry.

I am going for B1 too. Worst thing going to happen is that the Gieloth noms us.
And I'm going for slaughter because, well because.
After serious contemplation I have concluded that wanton manslaughter is not a gentlemanly pursuit. Especially if there is a drug in the air that might might us copulate with the bodies.
B2
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
1 will have you kill as many as you can indiscriminately, though obviously Rei will not stand by idly while you slaughter her people. You guys haven't faced her outside of a frame before, but I've described the 'fire' set abilities previously.
 

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