[Nexus] Altaran Irregulars HQ/IAV Sanctuary

[ThePhantom]

Spire Conference Room

Well, looks like he now gets to meet the ruler of the city. This is a good sign, well don't mess this up, or his majesty will be most displeased. The envoy goes and sits down, placing the case next to him.

"I do, your majesty. Which piece of that information do you desire first?"

[Darkcomet]

[Spire Conference Room]

"Any risk of apocalypse obviously takes the highest priority," Vyrn says, with a glance to his second-in-command. "Anything else about the Association is rather insignificant by comparison. They've always been an issue by virtue of being impossible to fully put down without disproportionate losses, not for being a major threat on the offensive. Apocalyptic-level threats from them are new, and take priority."

[ThePhantom]

[Spire Conference Room]

The envoy looks down at his notes and then focuses on Vyrn.

"From what my king said, your Majesty, ending the world seems out of their reach, currently. Regardless of the current state, the story: Gordon noticed there was a disturbance in the energies of AMEN. He went to find the source, and found his way blocked by powerful sorcery, sorcery building in power and nastiness. The entity of the walls appeared, and predicted that if left unchecked, it could result in the end of the world. Gordon, seeing as breaking through and stopping whatever ritual going on was beyond his abilities, asked for help getting through. The entity agreed to such a favor and opened a portal. It didn't quite lead to where the ritual was going on, it instead lead to a place in the past, back when the member casting the ritual was not desiring the end of all. Gordon fought off the troops that in the first timeline lead to the member joining AMEN. Therefore, the member didn't join AMEN and the ritual never happened. So, while there was a threat to the world, it has been retgoned.

So, that is the events that I talked about in more detail. I'm sorry that it wasn't as quite as urgent as it might have appeared."

[Darkcomet]

[Spire Conference Room]

Commander t'Lhoell immediately pales when the time travel is revealed, and when she speaks, her usual cold, professional tone is replaced by one of surprise and disbelief. "Wait, if it's capable of doing that, why are we still here despite opposing the Association, and it by extension? If they have access to time travel, there is no reason they would not wipe their enemies from the timeline and make their dreams of conquest far more attainable."

"I was under the impression time travel was normally extremely unreliable, especially here, with all the unusual spacetime properties," Vyrn suggests, disturbed but calmer. "But it would be good to know for sure anyway."

[ThePhantom]

[Spire Conference Room]

"Well, it might have the unique location. His majesty said that the wall of reality are extremely thin at the AMEN base. It may be limited to events closely connect to the base, and it might only be able to remember it can do some things if asked. It is, according to him, very unstable mentally."

The envoy is trying to be helpful, but Gordon didn't write down all the research he did on the TITW.

[Darkcomet]

[Spire Conference Room]

"How fortunate." N'alae's usual demeanor reasserts itself very quickly, though the perceptive or paranoid might note what almost sounded like a hint of disappointment in her voice.

For Vyrn's part, he raises an eyebrow at her wordlessly, before turning back to the envoy. "Yes. The alternative would be...unpleasant. Next, does your king have any agents remaining in the Association? Or any potential influence remaining over anyone there at all? Not that I won't understand if not, I'm certain that once he achieved his goal elsewhere without them he was glad to be rid of those maniacs." He suppresses a chuckle at his own dig at the AMENites.

[ThePhantom]

[Spire Conference Room]

"Well, my king does have one agent. Or least he did, its not clear if the agent is still alive. About a month ago, AMEN increased its security and that was the last message received. Hopefully the agent lives, as from a earlier report, any caught traitor is ripped limb from limb and has their soul devoured. Well, that's the mildest fate."

Not a pleasant fate, not something pleasant to think about, which is why the envoy is a bit green in the face. The report about what would happen was not something to read before bed.

[Darkcomet]

[Spire Conference Room]

N'alae waves a hand, indicating that he can stop. "Say no more. I've worked in intelligence. What I heard about was almost always more mundane, but looking at everything that can happen here, it doesn't take much creativity to realize exactly how much worse it could get. So uncivilized."

Seeing as she's covering the relate-able, more diplomatic side, Vyrn continues with the topic at hand. "If I may, can you share any of the agent's prior reports?"

[At Another Time - Also Spire Conference Room]

This time, N'alae is alone in the room, waiting for a scheduled meeting. It was obvious they'd had to talk, to the point where it went without saying. After all, someone had just given a Remnant tech expert, perhaps the Remnant tech expert, a nanoweapon. While Remnant was technically operating under the UDN now, the Union Commanders had still preferred to mostly let them keep running as before, rarely interfering with their operations. That falling into their hands, though? That called for a talk.

Not that she's all that interested in the nanotech itself, given what she's been working with already (not that the one she's meeting with knows that), but the point remains. Given the circumstances of how she got it, the meeting might not even be entirely about the nanoweapon in question.

Still, she waits. She wasn't going to rush this one.

((feel free to skip ahead to actually getting there instead of trudging through playing out all the procedure))

[happyturtle]

Another Time

Aurora "Sunny" Goodfellow Evans might have a powerful reputation, but her appearance does not back it up. She looks like a girl barely out of her teens, innocent, and probably dangerously naive. She's wearing a simple top and trousers, too well fitting to be concealing standard weapons. N'alae might know from her own dossier that although Sunny is capable of designing miniature weapons, she has not spent any time training in weapon use. For protection, Sunny counts on her teleport bracelet, and the one or more robots that accompany her everywhere.

Her current companion is about the shape of a cigar, and only a bit larger. It floats quietly above and just in front of her, gathering data and feeding it back to her. Still, this is a friendly visit. If Sunny had been at all suspicious, there would have been more than one of these bots, and they would have been camouflaged.

[ThePhantom]

[Spire Conference Room]

The envoy takes a different paper out of his briefcase.

"Well, I only received the most basic of these reports and the most recent ones of those. Any sharing of other reports would have to be at later date. Hmm, the one before the increased security says they are trying to reorganize themselves since their leader appeared so infrequently. They also were viewing themselves as short on members."

[Darkcomet]

Changing up the tags. The first conference room is now [Diplomatic Meeting], and the newer one is [Nanotech Meeting].

[Diplomatic Meeting]

"Hm. Well, thank you for your cooperation anyway. Beyond that, were you informed of any weaknesses of theirs that would still apply today? Particularly with regards to that...thing." Not that the Union's completely without methods to turn to there, considering who else had tech that could serve that purpose, but Vyrn is never one to settle for 'alright' with these things.

[Nanotech Meeting]

N'alae doesn't actually open with questions about DC's nanite weapon, instead just gesturing for her to take a seat. "I apologize if this meeting is difficult for you, given the...subject matter. I don't know exactly how you two knew each other, but he never trusted easily, least of all with...that." Frankly, with how he acted, she's not sure what made him so willing to sell the Union so much either.

[happyturtle]

Nanotech Meeting

Sunny sits, and the bot settles into place about halfway between her head and the ceiling. She takes a moment to answer. Filling in the ellipses of N'alae's speech doesn't come easily.

"DC is dead. Watchtower is destroyed. Talking about it doesn't make it worse than knowing it." The words are blunt. Angry.

[Darkcomet]

[Nanotech Meeting]

The Vice Commander nods. It doesn't, though many wouldn't share that point of view. "I see your point. On to why I called you here, then. It concerns the weapon Mr. DC left you. As someone technically operating under the Union's umbrella, technically we would have the right to tell you to turn the design over to us. But that's not my intent. I'm more interested in what you plan on doing with it, if anything, and any technical details you see fit to share. I thought it might provide an insight into what he was thinking." All true, though N'alae leaves her other reason for being interested in nanotech unsaid, considering that's kind of a secret and all. Or at least, not something she intends to talk about.

[ThePhantom]

[Diplomatic Meeting]

"Well, for the main group of them, not much. Most of the members have changed, and in depth questions are not wanted often there. There was one thing, one of the members has a weakness to cold, but its not clear how much a weakness that is. As for the thing, it appears that its still weak to magnets, so his majesty has a weapon design that might work on it. But thanks to the favor issue, that is not going to move beyond the design stage. He has no desire to find out what the backlash for breaking an agreement with that thing is."

[Darkcomet]

[Diplomatic Meeting]

Vyrn shakes his head. "If that's all he has, it's not an issue. We already have access to weaponry of similar design to the devices Watchtower used against it." That much isn't a surprise.

"We were hoping you might know of something else. Even that weakness isn't anywhere near enough, by the reports we got of Watchtower's attempts. Various battles have involved planet cracker bombs, chaotic extradimensional rifts, use of one of said rifts as a power source for a colossal energy bomb, a mountain-ravaging giant laser cannon, and that one time they threw it into the sun," N'alae is completely deadpan as she lists the methods used in those battles. "And it's still not dead." She sighs. "Do you know if any of that might have actually done anything meaningful?"

[happyturtle]

Nanotech Meeting

Sunny starts shaking her head before N'alae is finished speaking. "You do not have that right. You do not own me."

Definitely angry. The deep cold kind of anger that lives buried in grudges rather than lashing out. Nice start to the conversation, anyway!

[ThePhantom]

[Diplomatic Meeting]

"Ummm."

The envoy looks his notes on this subject and pulls out a page.

"I think there might be something. There something here, about how a look from someone who could see deeper that the threads making it going somewhere else. This is just my guess, but it seems like the reason it keep surviving is that it can reinforce itself. So, if it couldn't do that anymore, it might be possible to defeat."

[Darkcomet]

[Nanotech Meeting]

"I'll say again that I am not interested in taking the weapon schematics from you, but this is the same technology that very nearly started a war. It is our concern, because once Magtok realizes the implication that we could have them, there is every possibility that he will respond in the same way he did to EI. I didn't explain that to threaten you, or force anything out of you, I explained it to show why he might attack." N'alae explains, scowling. "While he might trust you, he does not trust us. We are not going to take them from you, but he will not believe that, just like he didn't believe Mr. DC wouldn't turn the nanoweapon against him. If and when it comes to war, he'll put you in a position where he tries to make you choose between him and the UDN, Remnant included." She sighs, exasperation creeping in. Risk of war was never a fun topic. "You are in a position where what happens depends on you. While I don't think Mr. DC was wrong to want a way to deal with entities like that, and the nanotech could be quite valuable in the future, we have to weigh it against the immediate risk of war. I would not blame you if you chose to destroy the design to prevent that."

[Diplomatic Meeting]

Vyrn nods slightly to himself. "That fits one of the Watchtower reports we were forwarded concerning the sun incident. According to that, it attempted to infect their base, and it was forced out with an electromagnetic weapon, captured with an abduction beam, and...launched into the sun." He rolls his eyes. Always with the excessive brute force. "Between that and the creature's apparent madness, it sounds like we're not dealing with a single entity, but a number of fragments."

[happyturtle]

Nanotech Meeting

Sunny doesn't answer right away, but her bot hovers down, near her left ear, and without looking she puts a finger up and strokes it as if it were a puppy. She wants to just leave. It's very tempting. N'alae is making her angry, and she's starting to have trouble with the words. But perhaps the drone is a type of emotional service animal, because after several minutes, she looks up from behind her hair.

"I won't give it to you. You can't make me. Magtok wouldn't believe that you could." Sunny says.

[Darkcomet]

[Nanotech Meeting]

N'alae glances down at her hand on the conference table as Sunny says she can't make her hand over the schematics, and has an odd look of disgust for a moment before she goes on. "I am not asking you to, nor am I telling you to, as I've said repeatedly. But unless you are immune to every trick that could be used to force it out of you, of which there are many, and can prove this, he will not believe that. He won't put anything past us, and he has already resorted to extreme measures in a preemptive attack once. The only advantage you have here is that he might bother talking to you first, perhaps, but like I said, he trusts you, not us. You might believe what I say here, and he might believe that you believe it, but it won't make it true in his mind. Like I said, you can destroy it if you want, or just tell him you did, but at least consider what I've said. No one wants to be in a position to feel responsible for destruction on that scale. It destroyed that weapon's creator."

And no one wants to be him.

"I don't expect you to make a choice here and now. You should at least have until Magtok decides to talk to you, whenever that is. Whatever choice you make, I hope it ends up being the right one."

If Sunny's technopathy extends to a sense, she might notice that there is a lot of tech stuffed into the Vice Commander, though probably not exactly what it is. Might even include being able to tell that she's already loaded with nanites of some variety, which might lend some credence to her stated disinterest in DC's nanotech. I mention this now because I kind of forgot about the technopath stuff for a bit there.

[ThePhantom]

[Diplomatic Meeting]

"I wouldn't know. His majesty did not have much information on that entity. So, now that I have delivered the information that you have requested, might I hear the promised proposal?"

Well, here hopefully comes good news for him.

[happyturtle]

Nanotech meeting

Sunny doesn't stand up or reach for her bracelet or try to get in the last word. After the words "extreme measures", Sunny tells her bracelet to send her home.

Click. Dimension Lock.

Now Sunny stands up, pushing her chair back hard. "Let me go."

[Darkcomet]

[Nanotech Meeting]

N'alae raises an eyebrow, confused. Then she just sighs, and makes no moves. "There's nothing stopping you from leaving. If you walk out and leave, no one will stop you, because you are not being held here. The system in place against instantaneous transportation is simply there to prevent someone from breaching security or transporting a bomb in, as is normal at any major facility, Remnant Headquarters included. You can go see for yourself if you want. I hope it'll be better at convincing you that we don't want that weapon than I have been on my own."

[Diplomatic Meeting]

"Well, we-"

"This meeting is over due to a serious interruption and security threat. Commander, come with me. Representative, you are free to leave and return at a later date, but right now being near him is not safe for you," N'alae suddenly interrupts, she and Vyrn standing. "I'll explain as we go along."

Given the timing, if the representative or his allies have any way of knowing (like a radio), the interruption is a broadcast from Riverside.

If they have any way of sending word back to the Isles, perhaps they might decide to help in some way? It would go a long way toward making the Union hesitate less and have less prohibitive terms for the embassy.

[happyturtle]

Nanotech Meeting

"I know how the system works. You can set it to allow visitors to leave." Sunny says.

[Darkcomet]

[Nanotech Meeting]

N'alae shakes her head, as that isn't quite accurate. "I'd have to give you a bypass code in order to do that with your own personal system. I can have you transported out with one of ours, as you say, but I doubt you want to use our system right now. If you're willing, though...destination?"

[happyturtle]

Nanotech Meeting

Sunny puts her finger on the button on her bracelet that controls the Project Archer teleport. It is able to over-ride teleblock, but only to a single destination. Remnant. And only at a large power cost.

And what if the Union strongarmed EI into turning off the power?

That was why she hadn't used it before. But now, Sunny thinks about walking out and down the hallway and riding the lift and.... there's already enough fear. The thought of being inside a lift pushes it into a full blown panic attack.

She vanishes.

The mini-rocket, not being part of the emergency recall network, remains behind.

[Darkcomet]

[Formerly a Nanotech Meeting]

"That works too."

N'alae does have one last gesture that will hopefully help, though. Once Sunny exits Remnant Headquarters, the little bot will be waiting outside, beamed over from the Spire, with a little note tied to it.

You forgot this.

[Fenric]

[The Old Guard]

A shuttle pulls out of the bustling traffic of Inside and up to whatever passes for a carport at the building. Only the enameled flag of the Vulpine Empire on the side gives any hint as to the occupants, and frankly nobody's likely to recognize that anymore.

Verise Hawkins climbs out, accompanied by one aide. The were-vixen is in her best dress uniform, but has the air of someone who expects to be pat on the head and told to run along and play... Nevertheless, she's going to try, and walks confidently up to the entrance.

Hello: I am Lt Commander Verise Hawkins, ranking officer of the Town Expeditionary Force of the Vulpine Empire. I would like to discuss recent events we have detected going on in the city of Riverside that appear to be related to your organization.

[Darkcomet]

[Spire Entrance I Think]

Phantom's guys are probably also here. They'll have witnessed the security being reinforced, and will have been asked to leave as soon as their envoy gets back outside.

The guards are visibly tense even with all that armor, and patrols have increased compared to normal. "One moment...there," one of the guards begins, activating a transmitter in his helmet. "Keep talking and it'll find its way all the way up the chain."

[Fenric]

[Spire Entrance]

Verise shrugs and does as asked

Some hours ago, our orbital observers noticed a disturbance commensurate with an attack by well-organized and cloaked assailants against the Evolution Industries power plant in Riverside. Shortly after, the broadcast that you are surely aware of was made.

We dispatched a cloak-penetrating probe to assess the strength and makeup of the attackers. They contacted our probe and reiterated their demands. We were able to identify the following key features...

<She repeats the information from the Riverside Thread>

We would like to extend an offer of our support.