The Fete at the Observatory

[desertbloomed]

Characters: All (hopefully) uncaptured Heroes of Light
Where/When: At the Heroes' Observatory, the evening of February 10th
Summary: Ashelia has called a meeting - under the guise of a party - to discuss the next steps forward for the Heroes following the revelations revealed in the shared dream.
Warnings: N/A
Note: Each part of Ashelia's speech is centred around a different topic. Feel free to indicate what in particular your character is responding to in the headline for your top level! Alternately, if your character is bringing up something on their own, or not in direct reply to something Ashelia has mentioned, feel free to out the subject in the Subject line! There's a lot going on and a lot of ground to cover, so let's keep it organized so things are easy to find later!

"I would like your attention, please." With her experience as an accomplished politician, Ashelia's voice cut through the din of the gathered Heroes. The high ceiling of the meeting room lent itself well to the sorts of echoes that could easily cause headaches, unfortunately. The Queen planned to bring in some fabrics to soften the effects, but there had been little time for decorating, and it seemed there wouldn't be anytime soon.

The Lady Ashelia stood at the head of the incredibly large wooden table that dominated a good chunk of the room. Wooden chairs lined the edges of the tables, straight-backed and unfortunately not cushioned. It was clear that the Queen of Dalmasca didn't want anyone getting too comfortable in this particular room. There were papers in front of her, books and file folders and ledgers, all organized into neat piles. She picked up one of the papers, clearing her throat quietly before continuing. "If as many of you as possible could take a seat, I can call this meeting to order - and yes, I would like to apologize.

"As you may have guessed, this is not a fete. It is important for everyone to know..." Ashelia paused, waiting for the last straggling voices to quiet down before continuing, "that Mognet has been compromised. There is no longer such a thing as private correspondence, if ever there was. Keep this in mind in the coming months. The war has begun."

Ashelia paused for questions and comments before continuing.

"As many of us have realized, and Markus observed earlier over Mognet, the usual appearance of new Heroes of Light at the Crystal of Fire around the fifth of each month did not occur. This disturbance of the established cycle may seem abrupt, but upon further examination, 'tis not so." The Queen took a sip of water. "The cycle has been disturbed previously, though not in such a drastic manner. Last month, crystal statues appeared and disappeared within the hour. Heroes awakened from the crystal stasis were unceremoniously dropped from the sky. So you see, this disturbance has simply progressed. I welcome your thoughts on this."

Ashelia paused for questions and comments before continuing.

"Next on my agenda is the true motivation behind my calling this gathering. The night of February 5th, I had a dream." She stopped, shaking her head. "No, a vision. It did not take me long to realize I was not the only one to experience this. I've written the contents here." Ashelia held up a file folder. "However, if I am correct, many of you need only read it to refresh your memory." She stopped for a moment, putting the folder back on the table. "The ramifications of this new information are clear. The Empire holds four of our number captive, as well as countless other displaced Heroes in crystal stasis. It is my belief we must act on this information. We must save them."

Ashelia paused for questions and comments before continuing.

"The last subject I would like to cover is this." She held up a small, worn notebook. "This is the diary of the Lady Kalki, one of the Empire's Triumvirate. This woman, more than any other, has made clear her intentions are in opposition to us as a group. I encourage everyone to read through this document." Ashelia put the notebook down on the table and held up another file folder. "I have written a transcription myself, as the original is quite delicate." She put the file folder down. "This document provides invaluable insight into whom we can only assume is our enemy. It , unfortunately, poses more questions than it answers, but it does make clear that it is she who holds the answers that we need."

Ashelia took another sip of water, looking around at the gathered Heroes. "I once again open the floor to questions and comments. I believe it will take all of us to rescue our comrades; however, I also believe that if we do work together as one, we shall not fail."

Comments

open

[red_planet_blues]

[Once Ashelia finishes and the floor opens up, the marshal stands up with his own paperwork. He's not much of a public speaker, which could be obvious from the quick glance he gives the room, and taking a moment to clear his throat and to figure out where to start.]

Um. Let's see. Last month, when those crystal statues showed up, one of 'em was someone I knew from back on Mars. Name's Croach. Reckon y'all might remember a letter I sent out about it. [He holds up a copy of it, in case anyone needs it.]

Ashelia wasn't kiddin' when she said Mognet is compromised. Two days after I sent that out, I got a response. From Kalki. [Now he holds up the conspicous note for all to see, then reads it out loud.]

"I'll be waiting. And so will they." And along with that note she sent, uh. She sent a piece of Croach inside the note. Seriously. A piece of him. An antenna. Cuz, ya see, he's a Martian, and Martians got antenna and-- Honestly it's pretty impressive when ya think about it, cuz Martians got this nanotech that heals 'em up fast, right? And-- Okay maybe "impressive" ain't the right word, it was also super gross but you know what I--

Er, anyway. If'n ya ask me, this is a declaration of war. And I'm more than ready to do to bring it to 'em. But then this little thing in Esdham got in our way first.

One of the things in the diary is a whole list of Heroes; past, present 'n future. I don't know how, but there were hundreds of names on that list, with a lot more from my home planet than what evidence I've seen here so far. Someone brought up a good point to me about this - if they know where we're from, and know who's there, what's to say they don't got access to our home planets? Somethin' to think about. Maybe it'll get these plans movin' faster.

So, fer now, don't be stupid about what sorta information ya send out over Mognet. Those spies, and who knows how many more, 'r still around. And if they can track us on our home planets, it's safe to say they might know what we're up to in Aqures Ixen even more easily. If any of ya out there ain't familiar about our three spy friends, ya can check Zelda's records about the Magitek Facility incident.

They got not just four people from the battle, but in theory, some or maybe even all of those folks that showed up crystallized. We can't sit around any longer. And if no one else wants to do somethin' about it, don't think I won't do it myself.

[Yes, he knows that's a terrible idea. But he doesn't care. The longer Sparks sits around while Emipre screws with them, and questions go unanswered, only makes him more uneasy. It's been too long now. He wants action.]

Re: open

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

"You won't be alone." Jack's arms are folded tightly, he is quietly bristling with an anger that has been rising the longer he's been here, as soon as he learned the dream was true.

"They have the Doctor. They hold him, they don't just put my world at risk, but my timeline, everyone's timeline, all of time and space has the potential to just unravel, unless they let him get back out and do what he does. They are expecting a response. They're going to get one, that's not even a question any more." He nods towards the Marshall, "They're expecting one from you, personally. We do this right, we can turn that to our advantage."

"But, you talk about war, that brings up another question. Are we alone in this? The attack at Esdham, they're rebuilding, at the moment, but can we expect their support in any kind of offensive? The kingdom here, military's too small, we're too isolated, I wouldn't expect support from them. But the Republic? Do they have anything for a counter-offensive?"

Re: open

[desertbloomed]

"I would not wish to involve the Republic in our efforts to infiltrate the Empire," Ashelia remarked, nodding at both the Marshal and Captain Jack cordially. "However, your idea does have merit. A diversionary attack was suggested. Perhaps if the Marshal here lead an attack on the Empire's front directly, with aid from some of our number and what the Republic could spare, it would be convincing enough to draw suspicion away from our true offensive."

The Queen tilted her head to the side, nodding as her thoughts came together. "The Marhsal would have to lead the attack. He has a slightly more personal stake in this compared to the rest of us. The Lady Kalki has goaded him personally. If they are expecting him, that is where they will expect to see him, on the front lines. We've not been so subtle in our actions to date - it would arouse the least amount of suspicion of alternate avenues of attack.

"As for your Doctor..." Ashelia looked at Jack, frowning slightly. "If what you say about him is true, then we must not fail. Yes?"

[red_planet_blues]

"Oh, I'll give them something to..... expect." Sparks started that statement off threateningly, but he wasn't sure how to finish it. He clears his throat and moves on.

"I can try 'n send a response to Kalki somehow. What if I just call her out? Just me 'n her. Of course, it won't be, cuz I'm sure she's got a lot of back up, but we got all of us, too. And honestly, I don't know if I wanna drag the Republic into this. Don't think they know what way is up, sometimes. But, we might, if we need back up."

The marshal folds his arms, thinking for a moment. "Much as I rather solve problems with my guns, 'r my fists, this might be a time to solve things with our... mouths... No, that's-- Words. With words. Or, y'know. Start out with words before we all jump all over her, guns a-blazin'."

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

Despite the seriousness of the situation, there is only the smallest of smirks before Sparks corrects himself. Old habits die hard there, but then Jack is back to business. "What do we have that's worth a trade, if you want to talk this out? Can we assume they know that we know about the prisoners, and the people in crystal? If we go in there demanding them back, they'll know at that point."

Jack sighs and leans forwards. They have the Doctor. It's truly hard to stop himself from falling back into other old habits. To just siege the place and keep fighting until they get him back. But what the Marshall is describing is precisely how the Doctor would want to play this. And if you do get him back, Jack, when this is done, you have to face him, and explain what you just did in his name.

"We can't start a war over this. If there is any conflict, the Empire is starting it with Esdham. We don't stay out of it, but we need to tread very carefully to keep from kicking off an actual fight. We would love to be able to narrow this down to just between us and them, but we screw this up, we aren't the only ones who have to pay the price."

"Goal, we want their prisoners back, right? I mean, what else are we looking to get out of this?"

[desertbloomed]

"The war has already begun, Captain." Ashelia's tone was insistent. "After Esdham, it will be Aqures Ixen, and the Empire will not stop at conquering just the Continent of Balance.

"I support the Marshal's suggestion of parley, but you are right in that instance; we've nothing to offer in negotiation and we risk tipping our hand." She sighed lightly, tapping her fingers on the table. What else is she hoping to get out of this? "What we need is information. There is so much we do not know about our purpose here, about the crystals, our connection with them. This is information the Lady Kalki has made abundantly clear she has no intention of sharing with us."

[red_planet_blues]

Sparks was thinking hard on this. The Empire really had them under their thumb. They needed some kind of leverage against them, but considering their size and power, that seemed impossible.

"Probably the only way to get her to cooperate is to offer her somethin' she wants in return. There anythin' mentioned in that diary we can use against her? Heck, what if that diary itself is it? Yeah, we desperately need information, but we need our prisoners and any captive new guys out first."

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

"Why do they want to conquer, though? I mean, I've dealt with enough maniacal conquerors in my own world, what kind are we dealing with here? What does the Empire want? Power? Land? People? Extermination of anything that isn't them?" He gestures towards the Marshal. "No idea what to dangle in front of them as bait, if we don't know what they want."

"If we're narrowing things down to this Lady Kalki, she's the one we have to deal with and simultaneously fool if we're rescuing the prisoners out from under her. Would the diary be enough? She'll have to know that we've copied the information down, so what does she gain by getting it back?" Or is there a piece of this Jack has misunderstood?

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia shook her head quickly. "I do not know. The narrative of the diary takes a sharp turn later on, when Kalki learns she herself is a doppleganger. There are also several pages of indecipherable text - I hope to find a Scholar within our number who can read it."

The Queen crossed her arms, looking between the Captain and the Marshal. "Perhaps, in addition to the search for the missing Queen, we should mount a search for this Professor Palitutu. She is the one who knew about the dopplegangers and hid it from Kalki and the others. However, I still move that the retrieval of the captured Heroes is our top priority."

[nankurunaisa]

W-wait, hold on a sec!

[It's a miracle she lets him finish, but something he says really has her riled up. It goes back to their earlier conversation.]

That thing about the antenna...that's kinda like what we talked about earlier, remember? I didn't think I had it right, but that must be the case now! They're definitely up to somethin' on both sides!

[It's still mostly baseless, but...]

[red_planet_blues]

Considerin' they got a list of names of all Heroes, includin' those who shown up in crystal, they gotta have a link to our homes somehow.

[He still doesn't disagree. He just can't be sure of how true it may or may not be.]

Those crystal folks showed up 'n disappeared after a bit. I can only think this means that the Empire took 'em somehow. And now this month no one showed up at all...

[He trails off at the idea of the Empire stealing them immediately hits him.]

Wait. No one showed up this month. At all.

[nankurunaisa]

Mm, mm. And if they're pulling things from our homes, they're all definitely in danger.

[And thinking about that, the Empire having Miki and Takane...it makes her sick to her stomach.

And then Sparky stops.]

Yeah. No one showed up this month. [But she can't connect that dot on her own.] Do you think that means somethin'?

[red_planet_blues]

If the Empire has the crystal people who showed up last month, who's to say they just didn't up 'n take everyone who was supposed to show up this month? They could be stealin' Heroes straight outta the gate. Then again, the Crystal could just be broken or whatever too. I don't know how that thing's supposed to work.

[shinrasfinest]

The link as been cut- [He comes into this discussion from just behind Hibiki, having spent a few moments hung back on his crutches. A portion of silver hair falls forward across a shoulder where it would be usually all back behind but it's just one of those annoyances right now.] -apparently.

[Apparently only as it's still unknown if they are were fed that dream on purpose, or they had picked up something not intended for them to see.]

I think it's safe to assume that happened specifically when our crystallized kin abruptly vanished from the 3rd District.

We all know who is the crystal specialist.

[red_planet_blues]

They musta figured a way to hijack 'em. Meanin' we really do need to get in there sooner than later. Even better, before March rolls around and they do this all over again.

[Sparks was more than a little anxious to get moving on this.]

[line_piece]

The big question for me is: where are all of the extra Heroes? If there are more names on that list than we can account for here, it must mean the extras are appearing somewhere else. Based on that dream we all had, they're probably already in the Heran Empire, don't you think? We should be ready for that. If they've been fed a narrative that paints the Empire as the conquering heroes of this world, we might end up having to fight through a whole army of people just like us. Big evil empires usually have really good propaganda systems and information control - it's possible anyone who appeared down there would really believe something like that.

[umslay]

That's a really good point you got there. But not all of the people on that list have shown up yet, so there's a good chance that we currently outnumber the ones the Empire has.

It does mean that we need to act fast before more show up over there.

[line_piece]

We have less than a month if we're trying to beat that deadline.

[umslay]

What does everyone else think about staging a rescue mission sometime before then? The ones that can directly fight, or course, preferably the ones who were here longer, seeing as they're the most powerful.

[red_planet_blues]

Seems likely. Croach was with the folks last month, then they all disappeared. Then his antenna showed up in the mail. I can only think that they took 'em somehow.

[He hadn't thought that far ahead, as displayed by the slightly pained expression that crosses his face as he realizes he hadn't thought so far ahead. A bunch of brainwashed Heroes is the last thing they need.]

Ugh, that... that is a distinct possibility. And they already got a big army as it is.

[jadethenecromancer]

Not only that, but if our dream is to be believed, they now have a method for destroying our crystals.

[The woman's vague words keep bothering him. "For all intents and purposes, we are not going to kill him." If the test subject didn't die, then what happened to him?]

We may not know precisely what happens when a person's crystal breaks, but either way, we can't count on being revived through Crystal Stasis if anything goes wrong.

[line_piece]

That might be exactly what happens. Our personal crystals seem like they act like a reserve of extra lives, from what I've heard. Once they're broken, we're probably down to the last life. It's probably a good idea not to count on being revived anyway. The crystals changing color when we come back has to mean something, after all, and a color change from anything to black is usually pretty bad.

[red_planet_blues]

Wait, what?

[Sparks digs his own crystal out of his inside coat pocket and holds it up. It's completely blue in color.]

When I first got here, this thing was red. Over time it's turned blue. I don't think nothin's happened to me... I think? 'N they got not only to do with maybe our lives 'n cyrstal stasis, but our Jobs, too.

[jadethenecromancer]

Yes, they seem to gradually change color on their own. I have never died, yet my crystal has begun to show signs of changing as well.

[Jade takes out his own crystal. It's still red, but there's the faintest hint of violet in the center.]

The woman in the dream claimed our crystals contain time. When we are mortally wounded, we are restored to our anterior state -- in a way, our bodies go back in time. Perhaps the color change is directly related to the passage of time, then? It could explain why it progresses slowly in normal circumstances, but speeds up dramatically when the crystal is forced to alter our temporal state to such an extent.

[It's all speculation at this point, but it's a thought.]

[red_planet_blues]

I try not to make a habit of dyin', either. Been here for awhile now, and mine started changin' after like two months here. Maybe sooner. I didn't pay that much attention to the thing much when I first got here.

So whattaya mean then by "forced to alter our temporal state" then? Are we, like, gettin' older or somethin'? We're not, right?

[This topic was far too outside of Sparks's areas of expertise.]