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

[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."

[red_planet_blues]

"Yep, just throw 'em on the list. Heroes, Queen, Kalki, Pali-whatever. Anyone else? I don't wanna have to turn the caravan around 'n go back cuz we forgot someone."

Sparks thinks over the diary for a moment, remembering Kalki's comments about dopplegangers.

"Wait. Kalki said she was told she was a doppleganger, but didn't know what that was, right? Maybe it's about time someone clued her in, if'n she don't know yet."

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

Sparks' response actually gets a chuckle from Jack. "Now there's an idea, just rescue all their critical personnel out from under them. That should shut the Empire down for a few days." It's all a joke, but Jack has to at least try to go along with lightening the mood.

He looks quizzically between Sparks and Ashe at the mention of doppelgangers. "That word's been tossed around, but no one has been able to explain it well. I've seen tech that creates human-like doubles before, but do we have any idea how it works here?"

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia shook her head, ignoring the joke. She wasn't in the mood. "We've no clue. I only assume it cannot be good - it was shortly after the revelation that Kalki's thoughts seemed to take a turn with that last...poem?" The Queen sighed. "So many questions. But we should start with what we know: the Empire has our comrades. We are to retrieve them."

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

"True. Priorities." Jack nods firmly. "But we can't lose sight of the bigger mystery here. If even anyone can get a handle on what it is that's bringing us here? Or what's creating the doppelgangers. Even if it looks like magic to them? The people here certainly define it as magic. But I'd probably recognize it as some sort of technology."

"I can think of-" Jack tilts his head to the side and counts silently, then gives up, "okay, I can think of quite a few races with both dimensional shifting tech and either cloning or genetic mixing tech, they'd have the ability to do both the things that we're seeing."

[red_planet_blues]

"Doppleganger's 'r built. I think. Me and Ashelia and a few others seen it with our own eyes, up close 'n personal. They're like wax robots or somethin'. Maybe it's magic and technology together. But we had found the heads of ours in the Magitek Facility a few months back, with a note from Kalki with 'em. Because it all keeps comin' back to her."

In regards to the main subject though, Sparks tried to get himself back on to a serious track. "So what do you folks think'll happen next month? No more Heroes bein' brought in, or are they just gonna be brought right into the Empire's hands from now on? We don't know how the Crystal works in the first place, but if Kalki does..."

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

"Wax?" Jack looks heavily confused. "Like, poured into a mold, but wax, not plastic?" His eyes go wide for a second, but he tamps down on that thought. There are not Autons here, Jack, stop that. "Why do they even need doppelgangers? They've already got an unlimited army," Jack waves his hands at all of them. "There are Heroes that have already appeared in the Empire, just like we appeared here, but are working with the Herans, because they believe in that cause, aren't there?" At least, Jack assumes.

"I would assume this would continue, that everyone new brought to this world goes to the Empire. We're going to need definitive proof that the Heroes are in danger over there. Again, how do we know they aren't just recruiting the new Heroes in to their side just like Aqures Ixen did to us?"