Magpie Empire - Teuthidan Hegemony
Jan. 5th, 2006 03:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
binidjCross-posted to 
Just_Writing.
Some of you may know that every now and then I dabble in writing roleplaying games. My latest project (and one that I've been working on occasionally for the past few months) is a science-fiction game called Magpie Empire. It dawned on me today, whilst reviewing some notes on alien cultures, that what I had written was desperately dry and didn't really convey the flavour of the culture I was describing. Hence the first in an occasional series (which I may or may not publish here) of snippets from the Magpie Empire. This particular piece describes a pivotal event in the backstory of the game, though from a perspective that will (initially at least) be unknown to the players:
Another panel in the control chamber glowed alarmingly, causing TitianGyreOnJonquil to mirror the shade subconsciously. The defences around this recently discovered wormhole were proving extraordinarily tenacious. That had been the third drone he’d attempted to send through but EMP flares and their subsequent, devastating, particle clouds had met each wave; nothing would be left that was worth the risk any salvage operation would pose. TitianGyreOnJonquil tugged on his starboard arms, rotating himself slightly to allow a better view of the instrumentation; hopeful that this third blast would have revealed the location of the weapons platform barring his way. However it was not a weapons platform that caught the Teuthidan’s attention, rather it was the two objects approaching the wormhole at high velocity. Immediately TitianGyreOnJonquil’s tentacles began the camouflage sequence that would shut down all active systems and engage the photocells on the hull. Instinctively, his own chromatophores changed to reflect the lumpen, stony exterior that he wanted the ship to adopt. This was not a Teuthidan system and there were sufficient forces unfriendly to the Hegemony to make TitianGyreOnJonquil’s position here somewhat hazardous. As the active sensors shut down, he lost the signals of the approaching ships, only to have them resolve on the passive sensors a full beak-grinding minute later. From the silhouettes and distress signals being sent out, the lead ship was Diasporan; not exactly an ally but not an enemy either. The second vessel, however, was unmistakeably a Swarm attack ship, unless it had been ‘acquired’ by the Whelm in which case the threat was less, but not much less.
With a sudden flare of colour that almost transferred itself to the ship’s hull, TitianGyreOnJonquil realised that should the fleeing Diasporan trigger another blast from the invisible weapons guarding the wormhole, the resultant pulse would be sufficient, even at his current range, to shut down the ship’s artificial chromatophores thus revealing his presence to the pursuing Swarmer; and he would have no power to defend himself! Deciding swiftly that his best chance of survival lay with facing the Swarm ship in a fully-powered state, TitianGyreOnJonquil swung himself around on his arms to face the communications array, sent a quick microwave packet to the Diasporan: [DANGER - wormhole defended - Teuthidan vessel offers assistance]; before powering up the ship’s engines with his port tentacle and fast-programming a brace of hunter-drones with his starboard.
Clearly the Diasporan took TitianGyreOnJonquil’s warning at face value as the stubby ship’s graviton drive flared, dramatically reducing its velocity. As luck would have it though, the warning had come just a moment too late and TitianGyreOnJonquil’s sensor-display went into a dramatic but nonsensical vortex as the EMP hit his ship, taking frustrating moments to resolve itself into coherence again. The Diasporan had fared far, far worse. From the intense infrared coming from the front of the ship it was clear that the blast had shut down the Diasporan graviton emitter. Only the dramatic braking manoeuvre had allowed the hull plating to withstand the storm of debris it was flying through. If the Diasporan crew could get their generator back online they might have a chance of survival. Yes, the gas-breathers might survive but they were of no use at all in the current battle, a fact which caused dark ripples of consternation across TitianGyreOnJonquil’s skin. Nevertheless, he might have chosen to stay and face the Swarm ship on his own (Diasporans were known to be generous), had it not been for two factors. Firstly, the revelation of three more Swarm vessels approaching from sunward; and secondly the enigmatic weapons platform projected another EMP at the Diasporan. Without their emitter up, there was no hope of the crew surviving such a blast, though their ship continued lazily through the wormhole and receded into the black distance.
With a flare of bright annoyance, TitianGyreOnJonquil lashed out at the first Swarm ship with the hunter-drones. This was not an entirely pointless waste of the drones since it was close enough to do him some real damage should it manage to bring its mass-drivers to bear, safer to destroy it. Like miniature Teuthidan ships the hunter-drones blasted toward the Swarmer, neatly evading every time their target’s weapons acquired a lock on them and microwaving any missiles that looked like they were coming too close. Once in proximity to the Swarm ship, and standing just outside the graviton field, the drones burnt their remaining fuel in an impressive and artistic display of x-rays, carving their prey into an expanding double-helix of glowing metal and ceramics. By the time the Swarm crew were expiring however, TitianGyreOnJonquil had already begun his escape toward the system’s other wormhole. Having already shielded himself from any possible pursuit by releasing a cloud of radioactive dust sufficient to confound whatever sensors the Swarm vessels, and their rather dim-witted missiles, were equipped with.
Just_Writing.Some of you may know that every now and then I dabble in writing roleplaying games. My latest project (and one that I've been working on occasionally for the past few months) is a science-fiction game called Magpie Empire. It dawned on me today, whilst reviewing some notes on alien cultures, that what I had written was desperately dry and didn't really convey the flavour of the culture I was describing. Hence the first in an occasional series (which I may or may not publish here) of snippets from the Magpie Empire. This particular piece describes a pivotal event in the backstory of the game, though from a perspective that will (initially at least) be unknown to the players:
Another panel in the control chamber glowed alarmingly, causing TitianGyreOnJonquil to mirror the shade subconsciously. The defences around this recently discovered wormhole were proving extraordinarily tenacious. That had been the third drone he’d attempted to send through but EMP flares and their subsequent, devastating, particle clouds had met each wave; nothing would be left that was worth the risk any salvage operation would pose. TitianGyreOnJonquil tugged on his starboard arms, rotating himself slightly to allow a better view of the instrumentation; hopeful that this third blast would have revealed the location of the weapons platform barring his way. However it was not a weapons platform that caught the Teuthidan’s attention, rather it was the two objects approaching the wormhole at high velocity. Immediately TitianGyreOnJonquil’s tentacles began the camouflage sequence that would shut down all active systems and engage the photocells on the hull. Instinctively, his own chromatophores changed to reflect the lumpen, stony exterior that he wanted the ship to adopt. This was not a Teuthidan system and there were sufficient forces unfriendly to the Hegemony to make TitianGyreOnJonquil’s position here somewhat hazardous. As the active sensors shut down, he lost the signals of the approaching ships, only to have them resolve on the passive sensors a full beak-grinding minute later. From the silhouettes and distress signals being sent out, the lead ship was Diasporan; not exactly an ally but not an enemy either. The second vessel, however, was unmistakeably a Swarm attack ship, unless it had been ‘acquired’ by the Whelm in which case the threat was less, but not much less.
With a sudden flare of colour that almost transferred itself to the ship’s hull, TitianGyreOnJonquil realised that should the fleeing Diasporan trigger another blast from the invisible weapons guarding the wormhole, the resultant pulse would be sufficient, even at his current range, to shut down the ship’s artificial chromatophores thus revealing his presence to the pursuing Swarmer; and he would have no power to defend himself! Deciding swiftly that his best chance of survival lay with facing the Swarm ship in a fully-powered state, TitianGyreOnJonquil swung himself around on his arms to face the communications array, sent a quick microwave packet to the Diasporan: [DANGER - wormhole defended - Teuthidan vessel offers assistance]; before powering up the ship’s engines with his port tentacle and fast-programming a brace of hunter-drones with his starboard.
Clearly the Diasporan took TitianGyreOnJonquil’s warning at face value as the stubby ship’s graviton drive flared, dramatically reducing its velocity. As luck would have it though, the warning had come just a moment too late and TitianGyreOnJonquil’s sensor-display went into a dramatic but nonsensical vortex as the EMP hit his ship, taking frustrating moments to resolve itself into coherence again. The Diasporan had fared far, far worse. From the intense infrared coming from the front of the ship it was clear that the blast had shut down the Diasporan graviton emitter. Only the dramatic braking manoeuvre had allowed the hull plating to withstand the storm of debris it was flying through. If the Diasporan crew could get their generator back online they might have a chance of survival. Yes, the gas-breathers might survive but they were of no use at all in the current battle, a fact which caused dark ripples of consternation across TitianGyreOnJonquil’s skin. Nevertheless, he might have chosen to stay and face the Swarm ship on his own (Diasporans were known to be generous), had it not been for two factors. Firstly, the revelation of three more Swarm vessels approaching from sunward; and secondly the enigmatic weapons platform projected another EMP at the Diasporan. Without their emitter up, there was no hope of the crew surviving such a blast, though their ship continued lazily through the wormhole and receded into the black distance.
With a flare of bright annoyance, TitianGyreOnJonquil lashed out at the first Swarm ship with the hunter-drones. This was not an entirely pointless waste of the drones since it was close enough to do him some real damage should it manage to bring its mass-drivers to bear, safer to destroy it. Like miniature Teuthidan ships the hunter-drones blasted toward the Swarmer, neatly evading every time their target’s weapons acquired a lock on them and microwaving any missiles that looked like they were coming too close. Once in proximity to the Swarm ship, and standing just outside the graviton field, the drones burnt their remaining fuel in an impressive and artistic display of x-rays, carving their prey into an expanding double-helix of glowing metal and ceramics. By the time the Swarm crew were expiring however, TitianGyreOnJonquil had already begun his escape toward the system’s other wormhole. Having already shielded himself from any possible pursuit by releasing a cloud of radioactive dust sufficient to confound whatever sensors the Swarm vessels, and their rather dim-witted missiles, were equipped with.
