Search the Community

Vanor System Outer edge of the Perseus Arm Lor time mark 1471.5 [March 8, 2016 (Terran Calendar)] The Praetorian spacecraft Kavaca hung at the outer edge of the Vanor system, a small silver drop in a vast field of black dotted with the lights of millions of stars. The Praetorians aboard had been following a faint energy signature, the only possible clue they had to locating a group of Spectrum Knights that had been terrorizing the local sector. In the months since the Praetorians and Star Knights had driven the Spectrum Knights from their base of operations and captured some of the group's key leaders, the remaining Spectrum Knights had been scattered across the galaxy. Although they were individually dangerous, being scattered did mean their rampages were generally brought to a quick end. Of course, this did little to slow the appearance of new Spectrum Knights, as new ones continued to pop up seemingly at random. Then, a little over one Terran week ago, a small group of Spectrum Knights had begun striking at targets within the sector. In response to request for Praetorian assistance, Paradigm had sent Elite, along with Magnetar, Mater Vyrdna, Corona, and a new member to the team, the Terran Queenie, to the sector. "The energy signature associated with Spectrum Knight armor leads into the system Elite." Magnetar commented from his seat on the bridge of the Kavaca where he was manning the ship's sensors. The only other "original" Praetorian aboard besides Elite (Mater Vyrdna did not count, as two thousand years ago, she had been a member of the Delaztri Navy, and not a Praetorian), Magnetar spoke in GalStandard, the only one aboard who could not understand being Queenie. The Vanor star was a red supergiant, so massive that if it sat at the center of the Sol system, it would swallow everything out to about Mars' orbit. A thick asteroid belt was visible clustered around the Vanor star, extending out millions of miles within the system.

High Earth Orbit The Lighthouse March 8, 2016 Amara Val-Ren slowed her velocity considerably as she drew close to the blue and green planet that was the third from this system's star. The young Naram, known to many throughout the galaxy as Paradigm of the Praetorians, had been to this system before, but this was the closest she had been to Terra, the world so famous (or infamous depending on who you asked) among a number of the major spacefaring civilizations of this era. Soon she was going to have an even closer look at the planet, but first certain protocols had to be followed. Amara's right arm was wrapped around her teammate, Moon-Moth, as she flew them both through the void of space. The pair had arrived in the system a short time ago, by way of the wormhole that now connected it to other parts of the galaxy. They had made a brief stop at the small space station the Freedom League maintained to monitor the wormhole, to arrange for their arrival at the group's main headquarters in orbit around Terra. It was this large station that the two Praetorians were now drawing near. The reason for their visit to Terra was to interview two natives of the world regarding the time they had spent among the Spectrum Knights in that group's original headquarters. The interview had been arranged with the assistance of the Star Knights, which had a representative both in the Praetorians and the Freedom League. The Freedom League would be overseeing the interview at a facility they maintained on the surface of Terra. Amara fully understood the need for having the Freedom League as an intermediary in this, given the misunderstandings that had taken place when the two Terrans had been discovered among the Spectrum Knights when a joint Praetorian/Star Knight task force had managed to assault the Spectrum Knight headquarters, a task force Amara had led. Slowing even further as they neared the Lighthouse, Amara guided herself and Moon-Moth over toward the airlock they had been instructed to use.

Early December 2015 Wolf 359 Aquaria didn't know much about space - but she could tell the space-house (or space station, as Ruby called it) orbiting the tiny young star was old and busted. The metal plates that made up the walls and the ceiling were obviously corroded, turning green like copper instead of orange like steel around their dark grey edges and the air had the smell of something alien and old burnt away in the ducts, long ago. The humanoids in the station were exotic and strange, even stranger and more exotic than the Surfacers of Freedom City, their hair, clothes, and skin all strange colors and textures - but at least they ate good food, including a delicious flying insect as big as her fist that both she and Bliss had developed a taste for. She spent most of her time in the station's small garden, taking advantage of the high humidity (and even small pond!) to bask in the comforting wetness without her suit. She earned her keep by tending the plants, a skill she'd learned at the home of Jessie's sister and her mate, and did her best to get Jessie to come by and help her. It was less stressful than being on the ship. There had been some sort of dispute over repairs to the Voidrunner (she hadn't really followed the conversation) - and it was a high-stress time on-board for everyone. We just have to make it home, Aquaria assured herself as she ducked down to the bottom of the pond (which was just deep enough for her to completely immerse herself in), the ever-present hum of machinery reminding her that this was no ordinary body of water. And they will have all the gold the ship can carry! Reaching down, she cut a few fronds of pondweed with a knife - the stuff was vile to her, but some of the local people on the station loved it in their stews. In just a day, or less, she'd been assured, the repairs would be done and they'd all go home - but now, everybody pulled their weight, Luckily, she and Jessie were both very strong indeed. - It had been a tough few weeks for the Horizon crew and their Star Knight companion. They'd tracked the fugitives to a remote swampy world, and even found the ion trail of the vessel that had picked them up there, but they'd found no clues about the identity of the vessel they were chasing. Whoever they were, they were fast and good, sticking to high-traffic lanes to blend in (but not the ones still regularly patrolled by the Lor), running their engines so fast they must be risking needing to scrub out their coils, and not staying in any one place long enough to be positively identified by eyewitnesses. If not for the unique energy emitted by Aquaria Innsmouth's suit, which noticeably warped extradimensional space while in hyperdrive, and if not for the further n-dimensional changes caused by the fact that the other passenger was from some other dimension entirely, they'd have lost the scent long ago. But now they'd caught the scent. Station K-7 was old and tired, a collection of habitat domes welded together centuries earlier, with a mostly transient population in the hundreds. It was widely known to be a den of smugglers making the potentially profitable run to Terra now that Lor border patrols weren't what they used to be - or even there at all, most of the time. As the ship approached the station, their sensors jangled with news - their two fugitives were _on that very station_.

September 2015 Target sentient detected. Subspecies - homo aquaticus diaboli. Aquaria was still standing in front of the television when Jessie burst into the living room - her eyes wide and hands clapped over her mouth as she stared at the television - and the broken remains of the cheap porcelain mug that Aquaria had hurled through the screen, breaking glass and cup both. "I'm sorry Jessie, I'm sorry," said Aquaria, waving her hands back and forth. "I didn't mean to scare you-" Subspecies is targeted for extermination by other sentient subspecies on native planet. Subspecies is heavily influenced by worship of beings from other frames of reference. "It was the King of Atlantis and he was talking about how they had broken up an 'infestation' of Deep Ones just because it was near a Surfacer city! And they showed pictures, Jessie, they showed pictures!" She turned to Jessie and clutched at her friend, her hands sticky and throat bulging with frantic emotion. "They were going to-" Target exhibits grief and rage compatible with Spectrum Knight primary mission. Secondary target present with primary target - prepare backup protocols for Berserker-class target. Activating transportation from lunar orbit. "-that whole tribe is going to starve in the deep ocean now!" Jessie remembered Aquaria's stories about the death of her tribe - how thrown from their brackish home into the deep waters of the Caribbean by Surfacer and Atlantean attack, most had slowly succumbed to salt poisoning, or cold, or starvation before finding their way to a Deep One city far below the surface. "And no one's going to care! Not one Surfacers going to do anything! All because Atlanteans told them it's okay! I hate them! I hate them so much!" She buried her face in Jessie's shoulder and began to sob. And over Aquaria's shoulder, Jessie saw a faint light suddenly glow from their kitchen.

The OOC

Criminal Carter Bay, Florida, Terra One week before the Battle of Kesteven 79; Lor Timemark 1329.7 "Whaddya mean what do I want you to do with 'em?! They came to my son's house!" Anna knew she was screaming, and she knew she sounded like an old woman when she screamed, but for once in her life she didn't care. She'd tried for weeks to reach Basil after the fighting in Freedom City during the Communion incursion; and only now, pacing back and forth so fast she was burning through yet another bedroom rug, had she finally gotten ahold of her old friend. "They tried to kill my grandson! They tried to put their filthy stinking hands on my little baby granddaughter! I want them dead! I want their whole goddamned organization dead and buried in a goddamned hole in the ground!" Basil let her rant, like a good friend should, knowing what Clock Queen was like in a righteous temper. When she was finished, Basil broke in gently. "I'll do whatever is in my power to help you, my dear Anna." His voice was warm and soothing, the perfect veteran musician's calm, even tones. "I am not soley responsible for composing their fate, but I think I can persuade even their backers to dance to my tune for a while. But the question remains, Anna, what will you do for me in return?" His tone was serious, but almost apologetic, the same way he might have asked for repayment on money she'd borrowed from him back in the day - which now that she thought about it had happened more than once. "Certain things have never been tolerated in our organization - but of course we're talking about a third party. If I'm to move against them, I need to be sure that you can move with me the next time I need a favor." Anna put her head against the wall, palm flat against the bright green wallpaper of her retirement bungalow, and thought about her old friend's words, even as not for the first time recently she felt a great wave of unaccustomed fatigue. "Listen, Basil, I...I promised my boy I wouldn't get back in the League, and I meant it. It's important to him - and you know nothing's more important to me than family." She opened her eyes and caught sight of herself in the mirror across the hall. Jeez - look at me! Eighty years old, and she looked like a healthy woman in her fifties - a woman who was going to spend a long, long life right here in this bungalow if she chased Basil away right now. He'd better be right about the white noise blocking the line here. "But a deal's a deal. If you need a favor, a real favor...gimmie a call. I'm yours."