Ichthyomachy: Ilë Sornë vs Nobuseri

[Kreshh]

As per CF's brilliant suggestion, I too am pre-posting an RP on the ESUS forum.

Comments or Suggestions are, as always, most welcome.


Ichthyomachy

Commodore Akuma Ite grimaced as he was forced to walk through the sprawling new business district of Southern Fleet Command on his way to Admiral Takehiko’s Headquarters; he hated doing so. The innumerable brilliant and flashing lights, the noise, and the constant attempts to grab his attention from its rightful focus on military duties grated on his nerves and stretched his patience. Across the promenade Ite could make out a Khmix auction. The Khmix, he thought, looked exactly like a cross between a man-sized parrot and a jellyfish. The only way to tell which end was forward on the monstrosities was to locate the beak affixed to the front end of the massive, brightly colored, semi-transparent, and amoeba-like torso. He couldn’t decide if they were hideous or beautiful.

The Khmix were your basic slave race, possessing an extremely limited will of their own, they followed instruction without question or complaint. This did not mean that they were not intelligent, quite the opposite in fact, they could learn even complex tasks extraordinarily quickly, and would even instruct other Khmix to perform skills they had acquired. This made them useful as cleaners or personal servants; they were, of course, useless at anything requiring the slightest hint of creativity. This meant that they had to be kept under more or less constant supervision in all but the most mundane of tasks; in the wild this duty would have fallen to the Khmix’s larger overseer cast, but by regulating their breading habits Nobuseri scientists effectively prohibited the creation of anything other then the docile workers. Of course, the truth was that the Khmix required almost as much money to purchase, train, feed, and supervise as was saved by not having to pay them, and their three to four year life span limited greatly their profitability.

All the same they had become rather popular in many of the major Nobuseri settlements, and could be found in virtually any of the high-end restaurants or pleasure houses. Indeed the Khmix market had created a surge in the economy, bringing with them thousands of new jobs and further strengthening the increasingly powerful Nobuseri currency. Commodore Ite knew they represented progress essential to the economic growth of the fledgling Shogunate; still, the whole business made him uncomfortable. He would have called them a fad, had his language a word equivalent to ‘fad,’ instead he called them ‘decadence.’

He hated them.

***

“My sources tell me this man of yours is… slightly unstable, yes?�

“You should tell your sources to stop checking up on my personnel, it’s not their concern,� Admiral Takehiko replied dismissedly while gazing out his office window upon the fleet that lay docked before him, hoping that if he didn’t make eye contact the other man would cease this line of inquiry.

“They say he once set a man on fire…�

“This is the Military; it’s his job to set men on fire.�

“You know what I am referring to…�

“If you mean the incident at the academy… it was ruled self-defense.�

“Some defense!� The man stood up from the desk he had been leaning upon and approached uncomfortably close to the Admirals position, in clear defiance of Takehiko’s attempts to ignore him. He gestured to the portable CPU he had been glancing over for the past half-hour, “Three failsafe valves, seven restraining bolts, a partition, and an automatic plasma-flow shutdown system located on another deck, all failed simultaneously the moment the victim entered the blast radius. Looks more like an assassination.�

“Sometimes the best defense is not defensive at all…�

“Hmm… I suppose not,� he seemed to consider this for a while, “yes, that is why we are here, is it not?� The question was rhetorical. “Still, his record is not all that impressive, and he doesn’t come so highly accredited from your ‘Academy’�

“He’s a terrible swordsman.�

“I’m sorry…?�

“Swordsmanship: it counts for about 40% of the Academy’s requirements… If you ignore that, then he’s top of his class. More importantly,� the Admiral finally allowed himself to be goaded into meeting the other mans gaze, “he’ll get the job done… Ite does not fail… ever.�

***

“You may enter,� the Admiral’s voice sternly responded over the intercom as Commodore Ite walked past the, now unsealed, blast door. It quickly snapped shut behind him.

“Commodore Akuma Ite reporting as per your request, sir!� he said with a salute, taking a moment to survey his surroundings. Ite, of course, recognized instantly the presence a third man in his commander’s office. Upon second glance it was clear that he was not Nobuseri, though he could not identify his features. Had he been more astute Ite would have recognized him as Anikari, but it did not matter. He was a foreigner, and that was troubling.

“Your orders commander,� the Admiral removed a portable CPU from his desk and handed it to the young Commodore. “The Hosho has been refitted with new sensor and navigational gear. It will be running a series of maneuvers in the southern Perseus Arm under radio silence to test the effectiveness of these systems. You will oversee the operation.�

Ite paused for a moment to glance over the CPU he had been given, “and my real orders sir?�

“Hmm… how cleaver,� the third man broke in, as the two officers struggled to prevent their eyes from rolling. This pretence was a dance with which all Nobuseri are familiar.

The Admiral reluctantly gestured to the third man, “Allow me to introduce you, Commodore, to Specialist Konstantin. He’s part of the Grand Admiral’s Research and Implementation Division.�

A few moments of awkward tension passed, Finally Konstantin spoke, “Tell me Commodore, have you ever heard of psionics?�

“Psionics… as in telepathy, mind control, telekinesis, that sort of thing,� Ite responded, “yeah… I’ve heard of it.�

“But you’ve only heard of it,� Konstantin continued, “you’ve never seen it, no Nobuseri has; you’ve never run up against an enemy with these capabilities… hence, you have no countermeasures, no psionic doctrine, no plan of action. You are… vulnerable in this regard.�

“Assuming that such a thing even exists, you mean?�

“Oh, I assure you, it does. Several of our allies are already fielding personnel and military equipment designed to exploit psionic energies, to say nothing of our enemies.�

Both officers cringed at the Anikari’s use of the word ‘our,’ but said nothing.

“Which is where you come in,� the man glanced down and pressed a few buttons on his portable CPU before handing it to Ite, “this is a Tzoy.�

“It’s a fish…� there was a hint of disbelief in Ite’s voice.

“I’m aware of its fishy status, commander,� Konstantin replied, somewhat irkedly, “but that is irrelevant. What matters is that it seems to posses at least some small degree of psionic capabilities. If so, it could greatly advance our understanding of the subject, possibly even provide us with some new weapon or defense… it is crucial that I obtain several live specimens for study,� he added, realizing soon after that he should have said ‘we.’

“So you’re ordering me to go fishing?�

“Not exactly,� the Admiral interjected before the Anikari could respond, “Tzoy are only found on Baramua – Ilë Sornë controlled – and they’re not about to let us have them. Concerns over possible military application aside, they seem to have some sort of law which actually protects the little bastards.�

“Sentient Civil Rights Act,� Konstantin clarified, “as if it wasn’t ridiculous enough already, now they’re even letting hive-minds in…� he trailed of, mumbling something incomprehensible but venomous.

After a second of watching Konstantin fume, Ite broke the silence, “so you want me to go fishing… covertly?�

“Well actually we’re going to have you make quite a bit of noise,� the Specialist replied with a suddenly renewed demeanor, “I’ve dissected more then a few Tzoy in my lab… dead of course, they… uh… they wouldn’t let me use live ones.� He rubbed his eyebrow in a peculiar fashion which seemed to indicate stress, “Like most aquatic creatures they seem to be pressure sensitive, I believe that a shock wave of appropriate intensity will stun them.�

“Fishing with dynamite, then?�

“So to speak. We believe that an incoming Nobuseri FTL displacement field, properly adjusted, will produce an adequate amount of pressure. The Hosho’s FTL has been modified accordingly; the specs are in that CPU, file ‘F-14.’� He paused, “You will, of course, have to jump directly into the planet’s ocean for it to work.�

“That’s a non-issue,� Ite replied nonchalantly, taking a moment to look over the file to which Konstantin had directed him, “I’ve done it several times in the past, it’s not difficult.� His head did not rise from the CPU, “you realize, though, this isn’t exactly going to be subtle. Even taking it slow, we’re still moving thousands of tones of water in mere seconds… might as well just set off a fission bomb; they’re going to know we’re there.�

“Intelligence assures me it won’t be a problem, the Ilë Sornë presence on Baramua isn’t that extensive or well organized. They might detect your arrival, but you’ll be long gone before they can do anything about it. Trust me, they won’t know what hit them.� Konstantin seemed to relax a little, and leaned back on a nearby desk, “now I’ve reviewed Tzoy schooling and migration habits, and I’m fairly sure that there will be a large concentration and the coordinates indicated, of course even if there’s not, a few individuals should still be around. Should be fairly easy to collect them too, I think they’ll just role over and float in place once the…�

Ite’s expression became distressed. He handed the CPU back to Konstantin, interrupting his exposition, “The capacitors won’t handle the stress your modifications to the FTL will put on them, they weren’t designed to feed the projectors for so prolonged a period… they might break.�

“Your engineering staff assured me that the modifications are well within necessary safe…�

“Well, they’re wrong,� Ite again interrupted, “and if the FTL breaks then we’ll be stranded there with several thousand tones of Nobuseri Kaigun equipment, just waiting for the Ilë Sornë military to show up and implicate us.�

“Well, then it’s a good thing the Hosho has its own self-destruct device commander…� Konstantin replied, taking on a more hostile tone of voice.

“Gentlemen this conversation is pointless!� the Admiral intervened. “Ite, you have your orders, I trust you’ll figure it out.� He paused, “Of course, you are to mention this to no one… you are dismissed, commander.�

Ite hesitated a moment before offering a salute, it was formal enough but left something to be desired. He turned towards the exit.

“Oh, Commodore!� the voice of Konstantin halted him as he began to leave, “your CPU!�

Ite returned and removed the portable CPU from the Anikari’s outstretched hand, offering him a slight smile of acknowledgement. For a moment he contemplated how satisfying it would be to set the reprobate on fire.

***

*Kaigun Battleship Hosho, some hours latter*

“Coordinates in place commander, we are ready to begin our run.�

“Are the Mecha in position?�

“Aye, Sir. Both catapults on standby status.�

“Fine then, just tell engineering to keep their eye on the capacitors.� Ite had heard somewhere that fishing was supposed to be relaxing; somehow he always knew always knew it wasn’t true. He watched in nervous anticipation as the Hosho was engulfed by the white-green glow of an FTL fold.

[Kreshh]

Since none of you seem to feel like commenting, I've now added a poll to ease your critiques.

[Trailers]

OOC: So, are we just gonna ignore the fact that this completely violates the ESUS constitution? o_O

[Arenumberg]

OOC: Find the part that says its illegal.

[Arizona Nova]

OOC: Not if anyone knows about it.

[Kreshh]

OOC: So, are we just gonna ignore the fact that this completely violates the ESUS constitution? o_O

OOC: That's why it's a covert operation... emphasis on 'covert.'

[Kanuckistan]

OOC: So, are we just gonna ignore the fact that this completely violates the ESUS constitution? o_O

It's a covert op - it's only illegal if they get caught.



Tis also a spiffy bit of keyboarding.

[Sskiss]

Nobuseri, you don't need anyone to tell you that what you created is a top notch RP.

It speaks for itself.

[Kreshh]

Nobuseri, you don't need anyone to tell you that what you created is a top notch RP.

It speaks for itself.

Yes but I'm egotistical, and like to hear it...

Thank you, by the way.

[Metallinauts]

OOC: Find the part that says its illegal.

I just checked and it does not say it is... though I always thought it was...