Twenty-five seconds later, the ground buckles, and you get to see a wave pass through solid dirt like it was a bathtub that had a stone dropped in it.
The wave catches you, and flings you up into the air as it goes beneath your feet. Moonlight is next to you, and she's laughing as you both fly about five feet into the air, and then land again in a judo roll.
She gives you a quick kiss, and runs off to do as you said.
Gabriel dusts himself off, and heads toward the altars.
Moonlight stands atop the spaceship, and begins to read the verses out with an echoing, declamatory voice that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up as somehow it resembles the wolf howling at the moon. She has a love for God that is wild and untamed and occasionally perilous, and you can see that in her now.
You hear a series of sharp reports, and all of your buildings fall on themselves in clouds of dust. Magius with Pendragon right next to him, and Jack with a complex electronic box in his hands come to stand next to you as you finish.
Magius looks, and then speaks.
He and Pendragon start adding a magic in with yours, an outer circle of Protection to separate your magic from any baneful influences. He's using the symbology of the Sword to Cut, and Pendragon is the symbolic sword. He's also invoking the protection of the Seraphim who guarded Eden into the circle--not summoning them, but summoning their protective attention. They circle the spaceship twelve times, once for every Tribe of Israel.
"As Yahweh cut off Eden from Man, and closed the dry path to Pharaoh, and kept Britain safe with the Channel, so I too ask for a division, a cut that protects. In the Eyes of the Seraphim, the servants of the Most High, I ask. So Mote it be!"
You feel a shake in your mind, and sudden peace and quiet as if the outside world was far away and you were in some sacred retreat.
He comes back as you finish up putting crosses on the spaceship, and you can feel Power radiating from the holy signs, a Power determined to blind and confuse those who look on it with evil intent.
And then as you step back over, and back into the more normal world, Gabriel comes to you...
"Two of the altars are shattered by the groundshock. And I mean shattered. At least an hour work to repair them."
*cough* :-)
You jump through Twilight heading toward the new site with the rest. You see a giant black shadow in the shape of an unnatural bird.
Its enormous.
"Someone has summoned a Denizen of the Abyss to the Twilight to Hunt for us." Moonlight says drawing back her teeth in a fanged smile.
Eric
For some reason, the site thinks David posted last. Lets see if this post can fix that...
Eric
"Well, protections and all, that...," I thumb back to the shape, trying to be innocuous so I don't look like my knees are knocking together, "...should be as blind as a bat, but let's give it a decoy, just to be on the safe side."
"Everyone who isn't occupied with something, I need you reading and speaking with me. Hand me what's left of the lamb's blood." Barely enough and slightly congealed. I might have to use some of mine. Seven verses, spoken aloud: Psalm 17:7-9, 27:5-6, 31:19-21, 36:6-8, 57:1-3, 63:6-8; John 3:8.
With the blood, I first draw a pentagram, signifying the creature; a dot outside of it, signifying our decoy; a circle around both, signifying the Holy Spirit enveloping and befuddling it; outside of that, a dot surrounded by a circle, signifying us.
For whatever reason, you receive a 'no'. And the Denzin drops toward your group after taking a wide spiralling circle to find you and the others.
Cynthia screams at it, and you feel a coiled fury in your gut as well. There is something distinctly wrong with this creature.
Its like a giant roc made of shadow. Its indistinct form does not mask the glowing black eyes which peer at you avariciously.
Eric
OOC: Also, there is a post about your variant Gavin which is lacking stats for Gavin. I wonder if you could put up a post with his stats. :) Just stats, not skills, unless y'know, y'wanta.
OOC: I rise from the grave...
Eric, you up for a little GMing, or should I just shamble back to my plot and forget it?
Also, you up for a little brainstormin' on a story I'm cookin'?
I'm up for a little GMing. Its always good to see you David.
I'm about to run a gather world at RPOL.net with my gaming group there. Dungeonhacking stuff. Typically how I run gathers is I dredge everyone together, and then return them to the world I left them in at the point they left it. Of course, you'd have to be pretty regular, once a day, five a week for that. Not sure if you're interested.
Otherwise we can continue with this world.
I've already run two other people in this world. Krillis and Jhiaxus. Jhiaxus nuked Sydney on the encouragement of one of Odin's Ravens. Fun times.
And yeah, give me a few ideas to brainstorm on.
:)
Indeed, David, if I may intrude, it is good to see you.
--M. J. Young
Thank you, all.
I'm about to run a gather world at RPOL.net with my gaming group there. Dungeon hacking stuff. Typically how I run gathers is I dredge everyone together, and then return them to the world I left them in at the point they left it. Of course, you'd have to be pretty regular, once a day, five a week for that. Not sure if you're interested. Otherwise we can continue with this world.
Too hectic, I'm not much for dungeon crawls, and there are too many interesting plot threads here. So, let's get to it...
For whatever reason, you receive a 'no'. And the Denizen drops toward your group after taking a wide spiraling circle to find you and the others.
Cynthia screams at it, and you feel a coiled fury in your gut as well. There is something distinctly wrong with this creature.
Its like a giant roc made of shadow. Its indistinct form does not mask the glowing black eyes which peer at you avariciously.
"Time to go old school..." Catholic Rite of Exorcism, minus the litany of saints and the "Hail Marry" dialogue. As I can't hold to that particular aspect of the theology, I couldn't possibly put any force behind it. Besides, I need to get to the whole commanding part as quickly as possible.
Light flares around you, and authority echoes through your words. Cynthia echoes you on certain parts, and thus adds force to your command. You feel the wild untameable energy in her join with yours and blend into the dunamas, the rightful authority given by God.
It flees shrieking in pain and denied fury.
A few minutes later you step out into more mundane reality.
Well, we should be at the CO location, which has the same protections as our old location. My guess is that they're awake. We don't have any time to slow down and celebrate our narrow escape.
Avi: "Produce whatever reports or false alarms you have to keep throw them off our trail. The farther, the better. If any are coming here, I want to know. I also want any updates on what the Council does with the planted information."
Magius: "See if the CO people are up. I have something I need their help with."
Pendragon: "Take everyone else and secure the perimeter."
Assuming we can catch our breath, I ask for any suggestions from our assembled group, the CO and my guys, on what type of ritual we should use to invoke blessings on things that can be worn--necklaces, bracelets, watches, etc.--that will give them the protections we invoked for our HQ, to an individual wearer. Once we have the details sorted, I ask for each person to furnish an object and then we collectively bless them.
Once we lie low for a while and lat the Council focus on rooting out phantoms, we can use the blessed objects to then move our people to a different location.
OOC: I'll e-mail you later with the stuff I need help on.
You step back into mundane reality, and find the others are mostly ready for you.
As you wait, Avi informs you that a number of Hacker Teams are looking for him.
"I'm afriad when I redirected the KE strike to one of their military units, I triggered alarm sequences and red flags up and down the chain of command. They know their datanet is compromised although they don't understand how badly yet." Avi informs you a week later.
I'm glad I was so diligent in hiding our tracks. Most of the compromises will never be found and even those that are will never have a complete record of where they came from.
"Is it possible to make it look like the compromises came from one of the hacker teams?"
If we can do that successfully, then it won't be long before they start purging their ranks as well.
"And have they acted on the planted evidence?"
Other than that, I have the team review all the details for the upcoming mission and Jack training them to use the explosives, albeit only with what we have with us. When we aren't preparing, we are praying hard for protection and victory. I ask that we also say a special prayer to send an angel to Lilith and tell her that she can receive forgiveness.
"It may be possible. However, to be believable it should be one of the best teams. And I believe such teams would have taken precautions against evidence being planted against them. However, they have not dealt with Starsongian technology before either. I believe it will work, but I am uncertain. Your call." Avi replies.
"I will check most carefully to see their actions on the evidence."
You pray for an angel, and he comes to visit you in a dream.
"David Marcoe, I went to seek Lilith. I did not find her in Teheran, although I found the corpse of a Council member fused into the pavement. I went to Afghanistan, and found several dozen tanks run by ghosts of the men sent to slay Lilith who now serve her in death, but I did not find her. She has cloaked herself in shadows and darkness and clouds of madness."
PT
I gather our group and ask for three prayers:
1. That the hacker we target will be blinded to Avi's move against them, so as to not see or detect it.
2. Success for Avi actions.
3. That the Holy Spirit would move Lilith toward redemption.
Only after we're certain that prayers the first and second prayers have been answered in the affirmative will we allow Avi to act.
I also take the chance to pull Magius and Pendragon aside, to inform her of our work on the prophecy and pursuit of Avalon. "We can't be certain, but in all probability, you you're the one to fulfill it. You carry Excalibur, when it should have been buried with Arthur. You are alive, now, when Britain couldn't be in any worse trouble. In any case, I won't and can't demand anything of you. It's your choice as to what you want to do. Even if you choose not to follow that path, we're still in this fight together.
But you aren't the same person you once were. You've grown. And remember, a young boy, of no great renown, once pulled that sword from a stone and changed the world."
A faint 'yes' and you send Avi. It comes back in a few minutes.
"The Hacker Team was engaged in some cleverly unconventional tactics to track us down which may have worked although they were suffereing an unusual amount of equipment breakage. However, that same unconventionality enabled me to tie their tactics together with a few created bits, and spin a new story that would terrify the Council."
Your TV turns on, and you see a startled newswoman with sirens in the background.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, a disaster in Paris this afternoon. The Black Ops Con for Computer Operatives at the De Gaulle Center has just exploded. Police are claiming a natural gas explosion although one witness claimed to see a 'flying dart shaped like a man on fire hit the building'...."
"The Council can move quickly when properly motivated." Avi says.
"Likely it was just one Council member who acted, the first that got th einformation you planted, Avi." Magius says. "It sounds like he summoned a fire elemental, and a major one which which would make it Rodriquez who's a master elementalist."
========
You pray for Lilith, and receive two messages. One...pray without ceasing. Two...a vision of a pigeon's blood ruby set in a gold bracelet of surpassing beauty.
========
Magius nods in agreement with your assessment which encourages Pendragon who turns starry-eyed. "Me, High Queen of Britain? I-I would need to have my sceptre, my crown, and the Stone of Scone before I even tried." You can see she's trying to set a high price to make you rethink this, but at the same time you can see far back in her now more serious eyes, a deep need for what you say to be true.
"Well, I assume that facility contained all the teams, not just the one we targeted. I hope they act as decisively on the other information we gave them. Let me know if and when they do."
========
I describe the vision to Magius. "Ring any bells?" I set Avi on finding any information, based on my description. We set up a prayer vigil for Lilith.
========
"We're willing to lay down our lives to see this through. Are you willing to take up the Crown?" I both answered her and called her bluff in the most stark terms possible. Prophecy or not, Britain needs a monarch to be Britain again. And the world neeps hope.
OOC: Thanks for the link.
Avi reports back.
"The Maestro..." Avi pauses as if shocked. "Whose criminality and efficiency were legendary, responsible for fourteen known atrocities, and eight massacres, has been executed by slow hanging as a warning to the rest of the Protectives that no one is safe."
===========
"Oh yes. It fits the legend perfectly. Lilith was given a bracelet as a sign of God's love from the hand of the Creator. She later threw it back in his face. As to where it should be, a few possibilities come to mind...Mt. Ararat....legend has it that Noah's wife wore it at one point....Eden, of course...and Lynonesse because well a lot of things from ancient days ended up in Lyonesse." Magius says.
============
"I'm afraid not for my life, but that I'll stand up, and announce I'm the Queen, and they'll laugh. I'm just a street punk turned low level military officer which is better than anything I'd....."
"Not quite as much as I would've hoped for, but a good start. The things they trusted to protect them they're now forced to doubt. They'll rely upon them less, restrict them more, and be looking for any signs of betrayal. All in all, it's having it's desired effect..."
===========
"It all goes back to Lyonesse...It's not going to be at Ararat. And it won't be near Eden. It's going to be at Lyonesse."
===========
"They laughed at Arthur. And David, a shepard, received the Crown of Israel, but not before he lived as a fugitive, chased from one end of his country to the other. Daniel was a favored adviser to the King of Babylon and was thrown into a lion's den. Whether wielding power or without it, they were laid low, yet what was promised, came to be, and they were delivered.
And then you have the very Son of God, the King of Kings, who was laughed at, spit upon, beaten, and nailed to a cross. And he rose from the dead! Why do you look to your own strength and power? You have a prophecy as a promise from the one whom all sovereignty flows from. Look to him.
But if you're looking for some immediate advice, quit thinking of yourself as a street punk. You've already changed for the better, so do it a little more. Think of yourself as a Queen and the responsibility that brings. Then cultivate the character you need for the position. You have no lack of people willing to help."
"David, I am reduced in efficiency. The problem is in my Humanity Model file. Historically, Starsong had people like Maestro, and there were some details that suggested a few like him as Lengthy Ones, but I did not have such as him in my model."
==========
"So how's the project of raising Lyonesse going?" Magius asks.
=========
Pendragon nods, and then excuses herself.
"She needs to think things over." Magius says. "Its a big decision. FWIW, I think you're probably right, and that means we need to get the Stone of Scone. All kings of the Great Isle should be enthroned on it. And before you ask, yes, I know where it is. Its in the Museum of European Antiquities in Sydney."
"Then study all the data you can on him and add to your model. Better yet, read and analyze the Bible and the plays of Shakespeare and then comapre your conclusions of those works with your analysis of Maestro."
=========
"We have a couple of options. First, we send an angel to Avalon, to confirm what we think of the prophecy and ask how to fulfill it. Second, we could try finding Merlin...
Not as outlandish as it sounds. The part about him being sired by an incubus is utter nonsense, along with a lot the supposed subterfuge--a lot of Medieval embellishment--but the legend about him being immortal might be true.
More importantly, I think he was a druid, not a wizard. For one thing, the word used for druid in from Hiberno-Latin (Irish Latin) is magus (plural magi), from which is derived mage.
But far more than the minutiae of language, everything about Merlin, as Arthur's mentor and adviser, was far more than a court magician and right in line with the Druids. They were priests, judges, scholars, teachers, theologians, philosophers, and advisers to kings. The wrinkle, of course, is how a Pagan druid mentored a Christian king.
Well, according to Irish legend, when Saint Patrick used a three leaf clover to explain the Trinity, he was speaking to the Chief Druids of Ireland, who were impressed with his teaching. Many of them converted and became bishops in the Church. If Merlin was a Christian, then he wouldn't have necessarily stopped being a druid; still a priest, but no longer for the pagan gods.
And if Merlin was half a canny as legend makes him to be, then knowing the prophecy, he would have left others behind to carry on the tradition and aid the future Pendragon. It might even be that these Christian druids survived in the clergy of the Church.
It's a theory, anyway. I say we send out three angels, then. One to Avalon, to ask them those questions. One to Merlin, if he still walks this earth.And one to any potential druids that may be out there."
=========
"In truth, she already made the choice once the words were out of my mouth. She was just waiting to be convinced. Now, she just needs to find her path to it...
The Stone of Scone, you say? We'll cook up a way to get it here. But I'm a bit more ambitious. I say we find the Grail, the Ark, the Spear of Destiny, the Crown of Thorns, and the stone from which Excalibur was withdrawn. Whenever she does have a coronation, it should be like no other before it."
I ask Avi if there are any museums near by that might have enough clout arrange for a transfer of the Scone Stone, perhaps on a long term basis. If one of our ghostly allies can scare one of the museum's staff to arrange a transfer, maybe doing so in a dream, then once it's transferred, we can change the records to erase any mention of it and it will sink into anonymity and linger in storage, like countless other artifacts. Once that happens, we'll take it and no one will miss it.
"Such analysis and self-programming of a major part of me is beyond my skill. This is partially a result of my being a spaceship, and partially as a safety protocol." Avi replies.
============
"There are a number of legendary beings, such as Lilith and Merlin. Many magi such as myself have tried to find Merlin, and I think I'm one of the most powerful of the free magi of the new generation, perhaps the most. Of course, most of the powerful magi in this world, the up and comers, either join the Council, or get killed by the Council. But there have always been those who regarded the council as a 'bunch of young interlopers'. Years ago, I met such a man for a second in a bar. He sneered at them, called them hedge mages, and he...smiled at me. It sounds silly I know, but it was a moment of brotherhood between true mages. Being respected by an archmage, treated as a colleague. Naturally I tried to track him, and just as naturally, I got nowhere. I don't even know who he was, but I recognize Power. But, these legendary mages are either hidden behind enough spells to shield a country, like us, actually, or trapped like Lilith, or some few just left, and of course, there are those who died for the path of an archmage is perilous, always seeking knowledge." Magius shrugs. "Then again, you're the prophet who talks casually about sending an angel to ask a question."
===============
Avi replies.
"Samton to the south of us has a worldclass museum. It is five hours away." A map is displayed and you realize its roughly the same spot as Houston, Texas in your world.
A ghost is dispatched, and it comes back.
"No fear was needed. The curator is a student of the esoteric arts, and a true scholar, and a man of faith. I found him a most congenial sort, an excellent conversationalist. In exchange for my word that the Stone would be put to a goodly use, and the answer to some questions about ghostly life he was curious of, he has agreed to have the Stone arrive in a month at Westheim Train Station in the midst of the annual Samton Hunt Festival which should provide plenty of distraction."
"I'm no prophet. I stand on the shoulders of giants. And I trust my Creator and his largess.
Being mage is dangerous, as Lilith and the Council have shown us. Seeking that power and knowledge, with no restraint or greater purpose. If we succeed, then in the world to come, we need to establish a new order. That's part of the reason why the Druids are important. If there are some out there who serve the Truth, then they can point the way to mages who are looking for it. Imagine a sort of mage priesthood, seeking righteousness and wisdom, serving God, and acting as a defense, preventing something like the Council from ever happening again.
Of course, the Druids would also be the last to hold the ancient lore and history of Britain, as well as the sacred authority to crown kings. That makes them doubly important.
In any case, if the changes we hope to make are to last, then we must start by disposing of this notion of people like Merlin and Lilith being 'legendary beings,' remembering them to be human beings. It's that type of thinking that lead to the Council, thinking they could be more than human, gods among men, gathering power to themselves. The wisest of the mages, like Merlin, know this, of course, so we should do the same.
It's also that same wisdom that, I think, will make Pendragon a good queen. She's stubborn and stiff-necked, but arrogance isn't in her. She's never sought power, but she does hunger to do something important with her life. And if the way we interpret the prophecy is correct, she will be a monarch to remember for the ages.
The trouble is that while Britain has all my attention, but America has my heart. I won't see my nation linger in the shadow, even if I have to drape myself in the Star Spangled Banner, walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, and sing Yankee Doodle, facing a whole division of Protectives...
Which leads me to an idea I've had for a while. How many people innocent people do you think they have stuffed away in their prisons? What types of people? I'm thinking persons--scientists, spooks, and others--who know too much, academics who spoke out, activists, patriotic holdouts, pre-Council military veterans, former law enforcement...In short, the type of people who have the skills we need and every reason to enlist in our cause. The question, of course, is how do we get them out of those prisons?
The answer, I think, are fake concentration camps. There are any number of politicians who would gladly welcome a chance to look good for the Council by cutting costs on prisons and getting rid of problematic prisoners. And since I can already wave around a badge and throw some authority around, it shouldn't be that hard to convince someone with the appropriate amount of power to set something up. We set up the camps, move them through, and probably set up some type of bridge through the Twilight to move them to other protected sights like this one.
Just think about it. Their chaff become our wheat. We gain thousands or even millions who know the darkness of tyranny and burn for liberty. From the embers, a new fire can be ignited."
===============
"If you get a chance, return to him and ask him if, in the future, he would be willing to join a noble cause."
To Avi: "Are pre-Council contents of the Library of Congress and Smithsonian still intact? Where are the Constitution and Declaration of Independence?"
We send out the three angels to Avalon, any possible druids that might remain, and Merlin, if he is to be found.
Also, how long till we carry out the mission at the prison? We should have enough explosives to complete our objective and now residing at the CO location, it's actually made it easier to figure out temporary accommodations for the people that we're rescuing. I make sure we wear our newly blessed cloaking items and we avoid Twilight travel, for now.
"When you have their power for centuries, or millenia, are you really human any longer?" Magius asks skeptically. "I see your point, but I wonder if you know how much such power can change someone."
======
"The Council does not hold prisoners over long. Six months is usually the maximum. After that, you're dealt with in some way. So, no great hordes, but many...and fake concentration camps, I like that very much." He thinks for a second. "OK, I'll send out some scouts to find a good location."
===========
The ghost comes back the next night.
"He's going to regard your theft of the Stone as an audition. Pull it off successfully and with minimal mess, and he will be glad to join you. I believe he's worried that he's going to sign on with some idiots."
"The Library of Congress burnt. The Smithsonian requires high status to enter. I am uncertain where the other items are. There is some indication that they were stolen."
Jack reports..."One week. I've been waiting on weather. The nastier the better. Next weekend, they're talking severe thunderstorm, possible tornadoes. Perfect time for breaking in to certain locations."
The angels are sent out. The Avalonian one comes back with information that they have the bracelet you seek.
"'If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.'
"The sum total of what we are...," I point to my head and heart,"...is this and this. The sum total of life, in its meaning and purpose, is love. We could live a million years and have the power of the cosmos and still not be able to unmake ourselves or that truth. Indeed, such a heedless pursuit of power, into the depths of darkness, can only diminish.
And still, the Power of Powers, whose Love, even in weakness, conquered Death, has deemed that Lilith isn't beyond redemption. And since that is so, she must still be human. So, since that can be said of her, who can it not be said of?"
========
"Enough to begin building an army and many innocent lives saved, so it's not what we hoped, but still good. That still leaves us short with skilled recruits. Of course, we can recruit among the Stat-Zs [Status Zeroes] for civilian professions, but pre-Council military and law enforcement is going to be hard to come by. They have experience we badly need and I don't think we want to sit around for five to ten years, re-learning it.
I have no doubt that they're out there; they would've have had the skills and the motive to disappear, being a danger to the Council and their personal morals and professional ethics being diametrically opposed.
If we can find veterans, particularly from special operations (or spec ops capable)--Marines, Special Forces, Rangers, Seals--then it becomes a one-stop shop of military expertise. All of them will be either former officers or NCOs, which we're going to badly need. They'll also have likely had an established career in conventional forces before doing spec ops. And the wide array of training they bring with them will be a godsend when setting up specialized schools.
Continuity is also something we should be looking for. It means more than just symbolism. I don't want to slap a name on something and claim the mantle without having a tangible connection. I think we should start with the Marines and then the Army, maybe with some people from some from the 3rd US Infantry Regiment, if we can find them, which seems to be our problem all around..."
I ask to do a search with my stated criteria, ask for prayers from the CO vigil to send people to us, and send word out to the other church cells for any people who might have the backgrounds were looking for.
========
He's going to regard your theft of the Stone as an audition. Pull it off successfully and with minimal mess, and he will be glad to join you. I believe he's worried that he's going to sign on with some idiots.
"Smart. Well, let's not disappoint." I figure the simplest solution is to simple file a report under my spook cover that we're going to seize the shipment and destroyed the materials, based on intelligence that subversive elements might have an interest in it, but the reasons or specific objects remain unknown. I'll then have Avi manipulate the security arragements for the event so that I can walk up, flash a badge, and drive out without any hassle. Once we safely have it in our posession, we erase any record of the shipment and it's contents.
The Library of Congress burnt...
"Those damn sons of bitches..." It degenerates into a string of explicatives and colorful expressions. "It's like burning the Library of Alexandria. Well, here's hoping a few stalwart souls saved something before the 'accident.' "
The Smithsonian requires high status to enter. I am uncertain where the other items are. There is some indication that they were stolen.
"If we was stolen, that it means that either someone was hoping to recover things of value or they were looking to sell it into private collections."
In addition to the mounting list of prayers I've asked for, I also request that we send angels out to search missing or surviving items. I also have the ghosts search, at their leisure.
Jack reports..."One week. I've been waiting on weather. The nastier the better. Next weekend, they're talking severe thunderstorm, possible tornadoes. Perfect time for breaking in to certain locations."
We're not going to use the Twilight right now, until we can determine it's safe. We get some vehicles, put copious amounts of blessing on them, and wear our cloaking items. I can also have Avi (the PDA-based copy) do re-directs. We already filed the report under our cover identities. That just leaves a hearty prayer for the success of the mission.
If and when we pull off the mission, we'll get the people settled. Then, we start training for our next mission.
The angels are sent out. The Avalonian one comes back with information that they have the bracelet you seek
We send an angel convey my vision and to collect the bracelet.
OOC: Sorry I'm writing War and Peace, but I'm just trying to get out as many thoughts as possible, while still staying in character.
Magius looks a bit staggered, and he thinks for a bit.
"Ah, but do you have to be human to be redeemed?"
OOC: +@1 Persuasion. You've been persuading a lot of people.
==========================
The Wembleton High Security Correctional Facility opens. Soon overflow prisoners are being sent there, and also especially troublesome prisoners. Some of the latter are hardcore patriots, and some are just plain stark staring nuts. The nature of this society tends to create a lot of complete crazies.
Avi finds several thousand likelies. Most are in their fifties and sixties.
You walk out one morning, early, and look around. Something is bothering you, and you look around some more. A red dot is sitting on your chest. Laser light.
========
The angel you send out looking for the Constitution comes back.
"Marcoe, I met beings of flame in the Rocky Mountains who bade me turn back."
===========
The angel you sent to Avalon comes back with the bracelet. Its mind-bogglingly gorgeous. You find you have to tear yourself away from studying its perfectly proportioned intricacies.
==========
The team rolls out for the prisonbreak. The explosion goes off smoothly. You head in, and grab the people and head out. As team leader, you're the last guy out, and as you head toward the hole in the wall with the rest already outside, about twenty feet in front of you....You see a man-shaped being in matte black standing in the hole.
"This is my prison." The voice slithers out, and does not come from any human throat. "I am the prince of this tower of suffering. I suffer no interlopers to block my enjoyment. Who are you?"
You feel power race out from him, but something seems to go wrong. Power flows out of him, and keeps flowing. Its like he's bleeding out. He or it is moaning in pain.
OOC: Yep, the local demonic prince tried to compel you to answser, and he botched.
=========================
"Yes, in the only way that it's ever mattered."
==========================
The Wimbledon High Security Correctional Facility opens. Soon overflow prisoners are being sent there, and also especially troublesome prisoners. Some of the latter are hardcore patriots, and some are just plain stark staring nuts. The nature of this society tends to create a lot of complete crazies.
So, I'm guessing the nut-jobs are criminally insane and not just garden variety mental health patients, correct? If so, then we simply order a stay of execution for the patriots and have them transferred to the facility near us. We'll take them with the rest of the prisoners in our upcoming mission.
Avi finds several thousand likelies. Most are in their fifties and sixties.
"Filter out any with psychiatric conditions or violent felonies. Divide those results into groups with and without family ties. Highlight any former Special Forces Warrant Officers and Rangers, Seals, or Force Reconnaissance Marines who made it to a commissioned officer rank. Divide those highlighted results into those who came up through the enlisted ranks and those who were graduates from officer schools. Also, look for graduates of West Point and the Marine War College." Even if the first criteria filter out 90% of them (an extremely high and unlikely percentage), that's still several hundred. The remaining criteria would then be divided into five categories.
You walk out one morning, early, and look around. Something is bothering you, and you look around some more. A red dot is sitting on your chest. Laser light..
Panic would be the natural reaction in this situation, but as a second passes, several thoughts pass through my mind. First, I'm not dead, which means that it can't be the Council. They would have stormed in or I would have received warning. Second, who's ever pointing a weapon with a laser sight is either (a) an amateur that that doesn't realize you never snipe with a laser, because that let's people know that you're there or (b) it's someone who wants me to know that they're there. In the case of either "A" or "B," it's a person who's come looking for us, but doesn't know whether or not to trust us, hence the weapon trained on my chest.
So, since I can't exactly run for cover, I put up my hands to show I have no weapons, wave, and then motion with my hand to come.
==========================
"Marcoe, I met beings of flame in the Rocky Mountains who bade me turn back."
"Did they happen to say why? And did you get any indication that they were denizens of hell?"
Let's see if one of the ghosts can pass that way unnoticed.
==========================
The angel you sent to Avalon comes back with the bracelet. Its mind-bogglingly gorgeous. You find you have to tear yourself away from studying its perfectly proportioned intricacies.
As the situation is surreally awkward, at least for me, I try and normalize things a bit with some conversation.
"Are you ever as curious about humankind as we are about you? You must think us rather odd, a soul in animal flesh."
I give the bracelet to Cynthia for safekeeping and add a prayer to our vigil for Lilith, asking God how we should we find Lilith and give her the bracelet.
==========================
"This is my prison." The voice slithers out, and does not come from any human throat. "I am the prince of this tower of suffering. I suffer no interlopers to block my enjoyment. Who are you?"
You feel power race out from him, but something seems to go wrong. Power flows out of him, and keeps flowing. Its like he's bleeding out. He or it is moaning in pain.
I start reciting the Rite of Exorcism and then end with, "By the blood and authority of Christ, I bind you to silence and darkness." Once he's gone, I leave with the rest.
Garden variety mental illness is the norm here. These are both criminally insane and generally uncontrollable without a very heavy hand (strait jackets and heavy doses of meds), or people who have retreated so far from reality they can't recognize it anymore. In that category, you've got catatonics and delusionals and passive megalomanias.
Avi collates the data for you in microseconds,and presents you with a wide array of tables. 1500 pass your criteria. He breaks them into groups as directed. Most of them live in foreign countries, in extremely out of the way places. There is forex, a large number of Green Berets in the interior of Indonesia.
The red dot stays still for a little bit, and then it trails down the length of your body, and into the dirt for a few yards. It then pauses, comes back a bit, and then goes back to its rest point. There is a small hill about two hundred yards from camp, and it looks likely that that is the source of the laser light.
========
"They did not have the stench of evil about them." The angel replies, and then vanishes.
=========
"We think you make excellent stories." The angel replies somewhat cryptically.
=========
Cynthia adores it, and tries it on, and obviously wishes she could keep it.
==========
"Yaargghhh!" It staggers forward, and draws a black scimitar which sweeps by your head leaving a bone-chilling cold in its wake. And then there's a ripple in the air, and suddenly its gone.
Jack pokes his head back in.
"Time's awasting."
You leave with him, and escape the prison with your former prisoners. Looking back, it seems as if the prison has lost some of its menace, and now is just more sad than anything.
OOC: I'll assume the "red dot" episode happened after the rescue mission, which makes more sense chronologically, so I'll move that to the bottom.
______________
Avi collates the data for you in microseconds,and presents you with a wide array of tables. 1500 pass your criteria. He breaks them into groups as directed. Most of them live in foreign countries, in extremely out of the way places. There is forex, a large number of Green Berets in the interior of Indonesia.
I talk to my ghostly twin (who I assume as recovered from the last incident), "Have you ever encountered soldiers from past wars?" I show him the list, "These are the names of men who were military veterans from just before Council took power. They represent some of our most elite soldiers and we need their help in rebuilding the military. I was hoping you could recruit some ghost soldiers to visit them and convince their brothers among the living to come back and help us. Ask them if they would remind these men of their oaths and their honor. Tell them that there are those who haven't forgotten their country, are willing to fight, are gathering strength to themselves, and have a chance of succeeding. We can help them get back into the country. We'll wait for there answer and give them the needed instructions on how to meet up, if they're willing."
We also start sending angels, but as we have to do it one name at a time, I choose to start with the most experienced names on the list and work my way down.
=============
"They did not have the stench of evil about them." The angel replies, and then vanishes.
We'll send one of our ghostly friends along the same path that the angel followed, with some caution, (don't want to end up with a Lilith repeat) and see if he can go unnoticed. If that doesn't work, then we engage in some heavy-duty prayer and demand, by the authority of God, who they are and what their purpose is.
=============
"We think you make excellent stories." The angel replies somewhat cryptically.
"How so?" As this angel has been sticking around longer than most, I suddenly feel like making an offer, "I don't exactly know what your schedule is, or if you even have a schedule, as you probably don't occupy space-time as we think of it, but if you ever want to talk, well, my door's always open. By the way, what's your name?"
=============
Cynthia adores it, and tries it on, and obviously wishes she could keep it.
"It seems only natural that when we find Lilith, you should give it to her."
=============
You leave with him, and escape the prison with your former prisoners. Looking back, it seems as if the prison has lost some of its menace, and now is just more sad than anything.
[OOC: Can I assume we were able to get those prisoners transferred by the time of the rescue, or no?]
We get everyone settled in. We explain who we are, leaving out some of the more exotic details, for now. We hand everyone a Bible; something many of these people haven't seen in years, but they might some comfort in. I ask for names, occupations, any family they might have (we already have the info, of course, but it's a way of breaking the ice and gaining their trust). We have a nice, large, celebratory dinner and take the next day off.
=============
The red dot stays still for a little bit, and then it trails down the length of your body, and into the dirt for a few yards. It then pauses, comes back a bit, and then goes back to its rest point. There is a small hill about two hundred yards from camp, and it looks likely that that is the source of the laser light.
I point my thumb in the direction it went, indicating I understood "its" directions and walk over. I tap my hand to my wrist to indicate "I'm waiting" and put my hands out in a gesture of "what now?"
"I'd need permission of Lilith to do that as she has assumed her throne as Queen of the Dead. Unless, of course, you want me going behind her back...?" Your ghostly other laughs. He's not the type to do that, and he's well aware that adding enemies is not the way to go.
"And we don't know where Lilith is."
He is recovered.
==========
The ghost gets sent back with a 'spanking'. It arrives still nursing its shock after being roughly manhandled and tossed in a sub-orbital arc.
After much prayer, you have a vision. You're standing on a snow-covered mountainside and seven giant-sized ovals of fire hover about you.
"David Marcoe, the one who can release us from our charge, and claim our treasure knows what it is already. We have been given this honor by the Saints of New Zion."
And you're back in your body with your ears still ringing from the thunderous voice.
=================
"Alustriel. Great is your glory, and mighty is your power, but you see neither. You often trade gold for dross, and act as a pauper when you have wealth untold. Very amusing and frustrating for the watchers at the same time. This creates dramatic tension. The 'Earth Show' is one of the favorites."
===============
OOC: The prisoners are already transferred.
Some of the locals already know some of the prisoners, and this smooths things so that in a very few minutes you feel a bond of unity being created between the old and the new members of your group. Within a few days, its almost like they were always there, and it only gives you a slight start to see some new person walk up to you and say 'Boss, what should we do about...'
===========
The red dot leads you out of the camp and to the base of the hill where men in ghillie suits rise up out of the grass to escort you into the brush at the hill's base.
A man in camo is waiting for you. He looks to be in his forties, trim, fit, and competent.
"I'll introduce myself since you were courteous enough to come to us. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Alan Baker. Formerly of the Seals, then the Rangers,now on a hiking trip on vacation. Who are you? What are you doing?"
PT
"I'd need permission of Lilith to do that as she has assumed her throne as Queen of the Dead. Unless, of course, you want me going behind her back...?" Your ghostly other laughs. He's not the type to do that, and he's well aware that adding enemies is not the way to go.
"And we don't know where Lilith is."
"Spread word among the dead that I have a gift for her, as I received a vision from God to recover her bracelet and have done so. Her daughter of another world waits to give it to her. Forgiveness is given freely."
=================
"David Marcoe, the one who can release us from our charge, and claim our treasure knows what it is already. We have been given this honor by the Saints of New Zion."
In prayer, we ask two questions and make one request:
1. What is it that they guard? (It seems self-explanatory, given previous events, which leads to a possible corollary...)
2. Who is it that can release them from their charge? (Me?...)
3. Send an angel to this New Zion to ask of them who they are and if we may establish regular contact.
=================
"Alustriel. Great is your glory, and mighty is your power, but you see neither. You often trade gold for dross, and act as a pauper when you have wealth untold. Very amusing and frustrating for the watchers at the same time. This creates dramatic tension. The 'Earth Show' is one of the favorites."
"True. We sons of earth see feebly, if at all. Still, for those of us given the privilege to see even a pin-prick, it is enough in this life, until the coming Glory. Hopefully, the watchers and the sons of earth shall pierce the veil that hangs over this little globe."
=================
Some of the locals already know some of the prisoners, and this smooths things so that in a very few minutes you feel a bond of unity being created between the old and the new members of your group. Within a few days, its almost like they were always there, and it only gives you a slight start to see some new person walk up to you and say 'Boss, what should we do about...'
I think it might do well to try the Old Testament "leader of ten" concept, so outside of my own inner circle, I look to the most experienced among our number to be in charge of a group of ten people and those leaders then report to one of the inner circle: Gabriel, Kamikaze, Pendragon, or Magius.
=================
"I'll introduce myself since you were courteous enough to come to us. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Alan Baker. Formerly of the Seals, then the Rangers, now on a hiking trip on vacation. Who are you? What are you doing?"
"The short answer is that I'm the one that brought you here, so I know that you aren't on 'vacation,' as if the high-powered weapons and ghillie suits weren't a giveaway. The slightly longer answer is that I'm a leader of a group of patriots, dissidents, and non-violent resistors who have better than a fool's chance of overthrowing the Council. Whether or not our odds are good, I'll leave it to you to judge, but it's better to to die on your feet, than only living to dig your own grave."
I'll get back to this later as I'm at a hotel due to snow catching us.
ok.
Word is spread.
=================
New Zion is a smoking wasteland with magma bubbling up through the ground. Its south of Washington DC.
===============
Your organizational structure takes form, and you see Pendragon starting to shine. You're actually getting some free time in the day as many petty questions get answered before they reach you.
============
"You brought me here? Curious, I was under the impression that I chose to come here. We've been given the task of assassinating someone in the Appalachian Mountains. Unfortunately, I'm a terrible map reader, and I got turned around. Do you know which way is West Virginia?" The Lt. Col. responds.
New Zion is a smoking wasteland with magma bubbling up through the ground. Its south of Washington DC.
"Well, looks like the Council got to them, but maybe they accomplished their purpose." With the help of the ghost we sent, we determine where precisely the peak was that I was standing on in the vision.
Turning to our new regular activity, we delve into prayer. We ask again what it is that they guard, who it is that can release them, and whether it is safe to travel in the Twilight. Perhaps I'm being obstinate, but our last misstep nearly cost us everything.
Now that Avi has control of the ship (OOC: I believe you introduced that point) and the prior blessings still hold, we might be able to use it to recover whatever it is that we find there.
===============
"You brought me here? Curious, I was under the impression that I chose to come here. We've been given the task of assassinating someone in the Appalachian Mountains. Unfortunately, I'm a terrible map reader, and I got turned around. Do you know which way is West Virginia?" The Lt. Col. responds.
"The two are not mutually exclusive, but since you're here, I think we may have quite a bit to talk about. The question is, then, are you going to stand there smelling like deer shit and soaking in your own piss [OOC: Snipers will rub animal dung into their ghillie suits to hide their smell and if you're in the field for a long time, it's standard practice to urinate on youself, when the object is to stay as still as possible], or would you accept hospitality?"
It is safe to travel in the Twilight. You receive no other answer.
============
"Hospitality in the ancient meaning of it, yes. I'll share salt with you." The lt. col. says questioningly.
Assuming you agree he and his men come in, and soon enough you and them are sitting around a campfire with them tactfully positioned downwind of ya'll.
You're aware there is probably at least one or two snipers out on the hill that have been left as insurance. They make no obvious signs, but a certain buried tenseness in their postures has you speculating, and the likely answer occurs to you.
"We had a deal with the Protectives. We get used on strictly military missions. We fight for them, but retain our honor. Then last week they gave us no choice they said. Assasinate this man, or die standing. We...hedged."
"We had a deal with the Protectives. We get used on strictly military missions. We fight for them, but retain our honor. Then last week they gave us no choice they said. Assassinate this man, or die standing. We...hedged."
I have my lieutenants behind me, to give a professional presence, to show we aren't amateurs. I pick up a dog-eared copy of the Founding documents, one of those low-priced volumes with some combined commentary. I read from the bottom of the Declaration, "'And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.'
Do you remember the reason why you put on the uniform and took the oath? Do you remember the pride you had? The love you felt for your country and your brothers? The rightness of your cause? When you took the oath, you joined them in that sacred duty.
Believe me when I say I understand your position. When the Council took power, everything was swept aside. The evil looked to large too fight, so we all settled for what small acts of good we could accomplish, if only that meant that we didn't commit evil ourselves.
But the problem was that we settled. We gave up. We allowed our children to be turned into sadists and torturers. We allowed our neighbors to be dragged off into the middle of the night. We allowed ourselves to cowed, culled, and controlled by tyrants.
But now, you've taken the first step to regaining your true honor. So, I ask you to take the next step. Remember your oath and join with us! We're here and willing to fight. Whatever may come, we will not leave in silence." I put out my hand, ready to receive his grasp.
He thinks for a second, and then slowly nods his head.
"Gentlemen," He turns to his fellows. "This is too big a decision for me to make on my own. You're free to walk clear, but as for me, I'm staying here."
You're not surprised when no one volunteers to leave their colonel.
He then stands up and shakes your hand. After that, he steps back, snaps out "Salute."
And his platoon snaps to attention and salutes.
"Your orders, sir."