The Descent

Liberator-Class Cruiser Wisdom Like Silence


Kelijak Orbit


The vast hangar is lit dimly by emergency lights like distant stars.  Children clamber over landers and drift between terminals, talking in low, clipped tones.  A column of Sanjaya's Children clatter over the deckplates, magnetic claw-sheathes allowing them to keep out of the way of their floating cousins.  They are boarding a lander, soon to descend to the surface and begin a march to a location the natives call 'The Tomb.'


Juka Manuya Vimala is already waiting with her clade, on the planet's surface.  


Juka Yamyana Sanjaya and Juka Saraya Circe are yet to board and fly down, watching the troops go while in counsel with Juka Keyu Prim, commander of this vessel.


She drifts in lazy orbits around Sanjaya's impressive bulk, wings beating periodically, holding a tablet in one of her feet.  She holds out the device, flashing with diagrams, so that her cousins can see. "The Dusters have a functioning orbital defence array on this elliptical," she explains, with signature langour, "so your only extraction volumes will be at the meridians given to your support staff at the appointed times. Barring unforeseen consequences," she grins. "There's a Consortium cube lurking around the north pole but we don't anticipate their interference."

Juka Circe took note of the extraction windows, but she wasn't too concerned about them. If need be, she could find her own way offworld, as Circe Eleon. Still, it would be preferable that she not have to resort to such contingencies. It was inefficient to linger on an otherwise insignificant world once the mission was completed.


The orbital defenses, the Consortium, the local 'dusters'. None of them concerned her. The Dusters may be less predictable than the others, but their capabilities were strictly limited. They were all known quantities. Five of her children would remain on board the ship, five more in independent orbit. They would supplement any eyes in the sky Juka Manuya Vimala chose to place. They would gather data, and the five on the ship would run Cost/Benefit and Risk/Reward analysis on loop. Circe has spied on the Consortium long enough to know how they thought. She'd know if they were going to make a move before they did. 


Unless they were already tangled up in this, somehow, in which case she had a data deficiency. If the Consortium was involved, than they would be wondering if the Jukari would interfere with their plans in some way. There was a distinct gap in her knowledge here. The Consortium didn't know how many Archons were active in this sector, and she didn't know how strong the Consortium's local forces were. Still, if they held to their normal patterns of behavior, there would be plenty of warning before they became a problem. As her children gathered data, she could gradually fill in the gaps in her knowledge to predict their actions more and more accurately.


No, the only true variable in play was the Tomb itself. She was taking twenty of her children down with her, ten outfitted for scouting and ten outfitted for scientific work. The final ten had remained behind in her lab to monitor her other projects. Strange, this buzzing sensation in her chest. Anxiety, a feeling of uncertainty, anticipation of possibilities both positive and negative. She wondered if the other Archons felt it.

Sanjaya was certainly anxious, though in a manner much different to his cousin. It's been quite some time now since he last satiated the endless yearning for battle, or even for action in general. He's been growing restless of late, as were his troops - to the point where it's beginning to show, in more ways than one. Right now, though he examines the data and listens to the relevant information, his focus is already on the planet - his mind already busy wondering what manner of opposition they might face.


The Dusters? They can provide little direct challenge, and they are certainly aware of that fact - or will be, at least. The difficulty will be in making a confrontation occur regardless. That is, of course, assuming they haven't and will not find some manner of equalizer down there. Then... things might get very interesting indeed. Somewhat unfortunately - though the Archon knows better than to express that particular opinion - the mission involves ensuring that they do not get the opportunity to discover anything. Alas.


The Consortium, however... it would be a nuisance if they got involved, certainly, at least in the bigger picture. For Sanjaya? Their presence often means a chance to personally dismantle a few of their constructs in a violent manner. Always so deeply satisfying, that. He certainly wouldn't mind adding a few more to his total. Still, much like before, he has to keep that particular bit of hope to himself. Wouldn't want to give the impression of placing his selfish interest above the success of the mission..


He will simply find it much easier to... accept any unexpected interference.

Prim's wings twitch in the manner of a shrug.


"I have heard these Dusters are different from their kin, cousin Circe.  Armed with more than spears and slings.  Have you studied them before?"


She is clearly needling Sanjaya, but affectionately. 

"They have firearms and combustion-powered vehicles, cousin Prim," Circe replied, turning her algorithms on her kin to study their reactions. "They are persistent and resourceful, so they may win some skirmishes with small numbers of children. Each encounter with them will fine-tune my ability to predict their actions. Should we determine it more efficient to eliminate them, they will die."

Sanjaya lets out a chuckle - the sound somewhat distorted by the cybernetic jaw and throat. It will be interesting to see what the Dusters can do with less primitive technology at their disposal. "Should be more entertaining than the usual, then. What about their expected numbers?"

"They have limited resources, so a large scale expedition on par with our own is unlikely. Furthermore, the Tomb presents the same dangers to them as it does to us, and they don't have clones. Volunteers will likely be scarce."


Circe didn't know a lot about this settlement in particular, but she was fairly confident in her estimates. Humans, on their own, were almost unpredictable. In groups they fell into patterns.

Prim arches a brow.


"Don't spend clones recklessly for data, dear cousin.  It reflects poorly on your aptitudes."


She sinuously traverses the room with guiding motions of her wings and the faint hiss of an inbuilt gas thruster, pausing at the door.


"Time to board, I think.  The journey won't take long, and I'll angle Vimala's beam to your dropship so you can get in touch before you land."

The large Archon nods. "Finally. Let's see if we can find some challenge or entertainment down there." He bangs a fist on his broad chest in a gesture of farewell, then heads toward the door. He's visibly eager to depart. The wait has been far, far too long for his tastes.

@Alexandra @Hurm @Wixard


The dropships have compartments just for Sanjaya and Circe, fitted for their particular sizes.  Circe's dropship will even double as a command centre, with all the extra space.  The descent through the atmosphere is relatively smooth and the forces of re-entry blunted by some mystic working of the steel.  The transparent aluminium canopy of your compartment reveals the red orb of Kelijak, the green band around the equator.  


You arrive less than an hour later at the Vimala's encampment.


Vimala and her Children have been here a week (by the Imperial Calendar) already, and a series of half-hidden bunkers in the sand mark their presence. Prefabricated, modular, durable, the bunkers aren't the most comfortable place to spend any longer than necessary. All this will be retrieved when the conquest is complete.  They have maps of the site and a rough estimate of the Dusters in the region, and scouts are watching the ruin into which you must venture. 

Circe quickly deploys her own scouts, and has some of her children help her to incorporate the maps and data gathered by Vimala's group into her algorithms as quickly as possible. Oddly, there's no sign of Vimala herself, but Circe is too eager to care.

Sanjaya and his force arrive with the expected amount of subtlety - which is to say, sorely lacking. Luckily, it was not required of them in this situation - someone would have had to make a terrible mistake to ask them to remain hidden and quiet. One does not ask a cannon to be silent, after all.


The Archon himself wastes little time before meeting up with the others to discuss the next move - far too anxious to get to the mission proper to bother with making himself comfortable in the encampment, a sentiment naturally shared by his children. They will await their tasks only for as long as truly necessary, and not a second longer.

(so....?)