• Nobles of Null is a forum based roleplay site where sci-fi and magic collide. Here, Earth remains fractured and divided despite humanity reaching out to the stars. Worse still, the trans-human slaves of one major power have escaped, only to establish their own Empire, seething with resentment at abuses of the past. Even the discovery of aliens, though medieval in development, has failed to rally these squabbling children of Earth together with its far darker implications. Worse still, is the discovery of the impossible - magic. Practiced by the alien locals, nearly depleted and therefore rare, its reality warping abilities remains abstract and distant to the general populace. All the while, unseen in the darkness of space, forces from without threaten to press in. For those with eyes opened by insight, it is clear that an era is about to end, and that a new age will dawn.

IDS Yīnghuā - Log 1.0: Swift as the Wind and Quick as Lightning (風馳電掣)

"Hey! I protest that notion!" Wen spoke up, raising his fist up to chest height. "They are Imperial Guard, servants to the Empire, like the rest of us! As far as I can tell, they do not hold actual command! I do not care what soft powers they might have, they do not have actual authority over us! In the eyes of Imperial Law, they are just soldiers!"

"他媽的!" The Bull spat angrily, "Even if they were the Five Tiger Generals, I still would have said the same thing, but within the bounds of the code of conduct! We are not irrational humans! Assets are to be valued, not diminished so casually! If we simply standby and watch such culture fester within the upper echelons of our government and military, we are doomed to fall, as did our creators!"

As he ranted, his form in VR space enlarged and reddened, a subconscious act on his own emotional state, morphing his form to match closer to his modified biological template. Steam visibly poured out of his nostrils, until he sighed from his mouth. His form shrank down, returning to his original humanoid dimensions, after which he slumped down, sliding down against a wall that was conjured up by his mental state. One hand rummaged through his hair in frustration.

"I am not stupid, you know. They put me on pirate duty, then bureaucratic busy work for a reason." Wen admitted, then looked up at the group, the two princesses specifically, with a glare. Clearly, the embers still burned hot. "But I have yet to see others speak up, so I will. I refuse to be silenced."
 
"Rules are made to be broken!" Jun replied cheerfully. She didn't quite know who that statement was supporting at the moment but also who cared? She was a princess now and she could say stupid things sometimes. She's pretty sure that was a rule.

Given that control of the room settings were up for grabs, Jun would be the one to grabs them. She quickly changed from the default settings over to a spa setting, and from her own clothing over to fuzzy bath robes. She'd waste no time sitting down in one of the chairs so that NPCs could bring her a bubbly drink, and start massaging her shoulders and feet. Soon, cucumbers were applied to her virtual eyes so she didn't have to see Wen. Another NPC would start setting incense to give the area a pleasant fragrance while still others would come out to give attention to Jun's hands.

They all had the proper implements with them for manicures and pedicures... but that was just window dressing for this space. The NPCs couldn't actually affect the real world so they didn't bother with that part of the spa day.


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Now that the higher ranking guards were gone, Xian felt more comfortable speaking up.

"Wen. You may want to consider that Imperial Law is something that is carried out by individuals. The Law only holds as much power as those that enforce the laws deem necessary. If no one around you respects the law, or if everyone around you accepts that someone has extralegal powers, than it IS so." Xian would approach Wen more closely, wanting to speak a bit more privately. "Perhaps your protests would find more purchase should they be quieter. Find those that are receptive to your message first. No amount of protests will sway those who have already made up their mind."

"My mother also would not hesitate to point out that sharing the bed of the Mother Empress would provide your words with some more weight."
 
As Hoshiko summoned another flip-flop, raised high in hand, she stopped as Xian tried to speak some sense into him. Instead, she decided to throw it at Jun instead, smacking her right on her right breast! But it didn't seem to give the Tiger Princess any satisfaction, as she simply turned around and crossed her arms to sulk, ignoring that the place had turned into a spa at the Cow's whim.

"Ara," Sakamoto began. "I imagine you must be feeling overwhelmed," she cooed to Wu. "If you want, you could stay at base camp and be our mission control as well," the feathered woman offered, fondly patting the Chongwu on the head and rubbing her ears for good measure. She then smiled at Royama. "Make sure to include some specimen containers and extra ammunition on that caboose of yours. I fear we'll need it."

As a result of Jun's actions though, their planetfall was made in great, pampered comfort within the glamorous spa she had conjured. Never mind that they were all harness-locked within meatspace. Offboarding at the surface basecamp, it was clear that the path to their objective down below was already marked with lights and cables embedded in stone.

"Last chance if anyone wants to stay at base camp, or grab supplies," Hoshiko gruffly remarked, rather irate. Despite being suited up, it was clear that something was bothering her as she checked the charge on her laser rifle. Several bats, their Chongwu scouts, clung on to nearby lamp posts and overhanging wires as they waited. And not far off at all, plenty of other troopers were loading up to head out to the portal itself, while others returned, some walking, some limping, and some on ominous stretchers.

But that place wasn't for them. They were heading down, into the ruins below.
 
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Now that the higher ranking guards were gone, Xian felt more comfortable speaking up.

"Wen. You may want to consider that Imperial Law is something that is carried out by individuals. The Law only holds as much power as those that enforce the laws deem necessary. If no one around you respects the law, or if everyone around you accepts that someone has extralegal powers, than it IS so." Xian would approach Wen more closely, wanting to speak a bit more privately. "Perhaps your protests would find more purchase should they be quieter. Find those that are receptive to your message first. No amount of protests will sway those who have already made up their mind."

"My mother also would not hesitate to point out that sharing the bed of the Mother Empress would provide your words with some more weight."
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"I am not making love with the Mother Empress!" Wen stood up in virtual space and blurted out, his face reddened with embarrassment, just at the thought. "It would be beneath her to do so with a commoner like me, anyways." He leaned back against his conjured wall, a hand scratching his horns. "I do not have any allies. I never would have thought my brethren would be so hostile to important criticism of the Empire." He looked at Xian. "Your mother is one of the Tiger Generals. Would she hear me out?" His tone was pleading, and desperate.

In stark contrast, his body in meatspace acted with mechanical precision. He took note of the injured Daqinren, then ignored them. Everyone had their duties. Taking casualties was just an unfortunate part of the process. The Bull-Form stretched an arm out, offering for one of the drone bats to land on his forearm so he may commune with it and obtain intelligence of what they found ahead.
 
"What's love got to do with it!" Jun yelled out, "She wasn't looking to make you Emperor, Calm yourself. Your dick isn't magic."

"You may want to start with more approachable allies, rather than going directly to the Tiger Generals. You will be weighed on your strength, your alliances, those that will support you. Don't waste an audience with my mother when all you have to offer is words." Xian replied, starting to feel really bad for Wen as he struggled against a system that didn't work the way he thought it did, or thought it should.
 
Inside their virtuality, Hoshiko seemed to give in and allow the Jun-conjured spa to take over. Changing into a bathrobe, she let her feet get massaged while her nails were getting done. But in meatspace though? She quietly took the lead as the bat chongwu on Wen's hand told them what it and the others found. A sprawling network of underground tunnels that eventually opened up into a large cavern. And according to their sonar, what seemed to be a door.

"You've been quiet, newbie," Hoshiko decided to verbally prod at Sakura. "What do you think of all this? Worrying about repeating history, making Chongwu our slaves and them rebelling if we don't treat them well?" She peeked out from under a slice of cucumber over her eyes in their virtuality. Their physical bodies were practically on autopilot now as their suits switched to IR and sonar as well to follow the bat chongwu scouts. There wasn't any light, and they didn't need it. It made her think, and hide a smirk under her helmet.

"Careful Jun. Wen's dick might actually be magical now." Despite having been initially excited about the mission, Hoshiko seemed a little more dour now, but it was hard to say exactly why.
 
"NO!"

There wasn't a follow up thought to that, just a gut, instant reaction to Wen moving up in the political rankings above her just because his dick was magical. She probably should have seen to her friend but her distraction was now total.

"There's no way he's going to magic-dick his way to the top of the empire and prevent me from enjoying my newfound princesses."
 
"I am not going to "magic-dick" my way through anything, you stupid cow. You can go make love with a prince for all I care. Have my heartstone too, so you can have a magic vagina for the prince. But just be careful: it does a number on your heart and the inside of your skull, though I doubt there is much to damage up there." Wen growled at Jun, tapping his skull. In real space, he carefully scanned all of the other entrances and exists, commanding the Chongwu bats to maintain sightlines on those branching tunnels, as he approached the door.

"Xian, I would like the indulge you in the research papers I wrote, so I may strengthen my cause through, as you say, approachable allies, but now does not seem to be the time." Wen summoned a stash of papers in his hand, before he dimissed them away. He then summoned the view of the door in virtual space, thinking about how to tackle this problem. He simulated a few ways to breach, ultimatley deciding on one path of action he was happy with.

In realspace, Wen broke his autonomous silence. "Permission to take point, Princess?" He asked Hoshiko, lining up in front of the mouth to the chamber. "Xian, you should get a throwable ready."
 
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"I will be fine," Wu said. Sakamoto may of thought Wu was feeling overwhelmed... certainly it wasn't a hard thing to do, but in this situation she was able to hold on. She considered the offer Sakamoto made for her to stay back and run things from the base, but the last time she was on her own it left a bad taste in her mouth. Certainly it would be safer for a Chongwu to stick around Sakamoto than it would be to change things with the unknown Daqin that would be at the base. "It would be safer for everyone if I were to stick with the group."


Of course, there was the consideration that the group might not be all to effective at doing anything. Already some of the princesses were arguing with the Ox. Certainly such a group must have been assigned to a make-work mission and not one that was actually super dangerous?
 
"I don't think Wen is that petty Jun," Hoshiko replied, putting her cucumber back onto her eye in the spa.

"Ara-ara," Sakamoto began with her rather 'ethnic' turn of phrase. "I hope to look into this 'magic spear' of yours later," she eyed Wen. "But for now, shouldn't we focus on what's ahead of us?" the cocky rooster merchant offered. She made sure to give Wu a pat on the head as soon as she heard her say she was coming along too, both in their virtuality, and in meatspace. As for what was ahead though, Hoshiko held up a hand from her manicure and gave a thumbs up.

"Granted," Hoshiko replied in meatspace. Stepping aside, she let Wen take point as they entered the cavern, and the doorway ahead. The bat chongwu scouts were able to define the doorway ahead as carved, white marble, each side flanked with an Aos'Si statue that had crumbled apart with age. However, there were also several other side passages that lead away from the door, and -

"We're not alone," Hoshiko realized, several cloaked, humanoid forms stepping into the sonar display of the chamber ahead. Tossing her cucumbers aside, she swapped back to her uniform and used on of the holo-decorations in the spa as an improvised command console. "Probably Aos'Si, but what are they up to?" she wondered. "Do you guys want to wait, or confront them now?" she looked at everyone.
 
"Protocol states that we need to attempt diplomacy first." Wen commented in virtual space. "Princess, I suggest we bug the entrance, see what they are up to, before we confront them with dialogue. Should that fail, I believe our training and equipment will carry us through." He pulled out a square listening device with a sticky surface on the back, and flashed it to her in real space.
 
"He's already tried to kill us once! What's to stop him or the thing in his head from..." Jun then overheard what Sakamoto said, "SEE! ITS SPREADING! What if he gains allies within the merchants? I wanted to be a lazy princess type that got to enjoy being a princess. I'm not cut out for all this politicking. I'm meant for beaches and mimosas not intrigue in the imperial court! I should have shot his dick off when we had the chance."

Xian would move quietly, not sending signals out in the virtuality either. She would carefully move Jun behind cover relative to where the forms were ahead, and then quickly check the rest of the party to make sure they were paying attention enough to hide behind something while Wen and herself took point.

Xian also made sure to try and keep some distance between herself and the rest of the group to avoid everyone getting hit from one burst of fire. While Wen handled the diplomatic part of this, she readied a stun grenade in case things got kinetic.
 
"Sounds like a plan, but if they live, place that bug on one of them later," Hoshiko suggested, ignoring Jun's antics. "The bats are already there on the ceiling anyways."

"Ara?" Sakamoto raised an eyebrow. "If you think politicking is hard, and just want to relax, why did you come all this way?" she asked a cow. "Wu would certainly like the same as you, but she's fighting for her bowl of rice so to speak. But if I recall correctly, you're well married, yes?" the merchant mindfully noted.

Surprisingly enough, the Aos'Si didn't speak amongst themselves. Instead, they took up position with discipline, forming a perimeter with their swords and shields as the ones in the center readied their tools. Specialized steel implements were used to start parting the stoneworks, revealing lines of gold, ancient runes and several empty indentations. What was supposed to fit into those however, quickly became clear as one of the load bearers unlocked a hardened chest, a red glow lighting the darkness.

They had seen this before. Heartstones, like the Unicorn's that they had hunted before.
 
"他妈的。" Wen cursed out loud. He felt his heart pound against his chest in a painful manner that his ascended biology didn't prepare him for. Whatever was embedded into his cardiac muscles wailed against the prison walls, seeking the powerful artifact before them. Thump, thump, thump, his heart slapped against his sternum, causing him to lose vision as his brain was flooded with agony. His VR form glitched and spasmed, before disappearing entirely. Maybe he really should have taken up that offer to stay behind and act as overwatch over the comms. He grunted, one hand trembling, barely holding onto his laser rifle, the other clawing at his chest through his armor. He stumbled against the cave wall, desperately trying to stand up straight. "Xian..." He struggled to form words in between jolts through his brain, "... You need to take point on this one. I need a moment."
 
The Daqinren could all see.

Even from where they were, or through the eyes of their bat war-animal proxies, they could tell that a dense, convoluted mass of paths, inscriptions and lines had been cast from gold, carved into the stone, or painted eons ago. Into an empty slot went a tiny gem of a heartstone, and the array seemed to glow. Stone slid over stone, and the face was sealed again, but stepping back, lights appeared midair and coalesced into words and panels. Flipping through an ancient text, the robed figure in the center began tapping the light, only for the stone doors to smoothly slide open.

A voice spoke out from among the Daqinren in a foreign tongue. In an instant the Aos'Si turned to face them all, weapons bared. Despite its unfamiliarity, they understood what Hoshiko had called out.

"Why are you here?" she asked, still cloaked and among the Imperial ranks.

"Our business and our business alone! Leave us, dark shadows!" a woman yelled back from amongst the Aos'Si.
 
"He's turning!" Jun called out verbally, taking aim with her weapon at Wen. "I've seen this before. He's going to say something melodramatic and then try to kill everyone."

Jun would wait a little bit, certain Wen was about to do something shootable...

"You know I'm like high thirties in line for the throne or something right? The politicking I do is super boring... its babysitting the prince and interior decoration. I haven't gotten to do an adventure with Hoshiko in a while... gotta keep up this whole warrior princess thing."


Xian wasn't looking to start a fight with so few of the group being adept at combat. They seemed down to just herself and Hoshiko... while Wen was seeming just as much a liability outside as he was during indoor politics. She'd stow her grenade, and move up to Wen's position, taking hold of him by the back of the neck and dragging him away from the Aoi Si so that he could be dumped somewhere out of sight. "Let me have ten seconds to reposition Hoshiko. We can then incapacitate these Aoi Si and continue the operation." She was already tagging the Aoi Si she thought were important enough to not shoot, while flagging the soldiers are requiring more kinetic methods of incapacitation.
 
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Wen slumped on the floor, wheezing, he felt his heart was going to burst open. Whatever was inside of him still seemed to awaken to the artifact presented to them, and desperately wanted out. But then, he felt a hot sensation, emanating from the rock shoved against his heart. With it, the pain subsided, and the Bull-form could breath again. With a sigh of relief, he drew an injector from his pouch and pushed a small dose of depressant just to be safe, to ensure he could think and act calmly if his heart started beating out of control again.

"Why are you here?" He heard the princess ask in a foreign Aos Si dialect. He didn't understand it, but he knew it had to be Aos Si.

With a grunt, the Bull-form pushed himself up, making hand signals to Xian. "I'm okay." He signaled. Then, his form spasmed and glitched, before it fully formed in their private virtual space.

"Do you know these people?" Wen asked, forming an A-pose in virtual space.
 
On hearing Jun's panicked, nonsensical shouting, the eyes of the Aos'Si all shifted in her direction. But even so, it was clear that they couldn't be seen.

"Not yet," Hoshiko crossed her arms at the improvised command post put up in the spa.. Given the virtuality was still how Jun wanted, she reached over and yanked a cucumber off the fat breasted woman's eyes and crunched on it. "I want to see what I can get out of them first," she admitted. "And no, I don't know them."

"This is a child's play-spell. It is harmless but important," the robed figure in the center spoke, trying her best to keep things calm. Speaking bright words in an exotic tongue, a mote of light formed in her hands. With a gentle, underhand toss, it fell to her feet, star-like glitter spreading and scattering about with each playful bounce across the floor until it was gone. But that act alone covered them all with bits and pieces of the cosmos themselves. "Now we can speak, face to face."
 
With their stealth removed, Wen raised his laser rifle and pointed it at who seemed to be the leader of these Aos Si. "You answer the Princess of the Daqin Empire. Why are you here?" He demanded, his Mandarin automatically translating to the alien Aos Si tongue.
 
Xian would dump Wen somewhere that he could hide from the Aoi Si, leaving Jun to keep her weapon trained on Wen. The glitter was still spreading about, and for the moment Xian had the opportunity to reposition again before the sparkles settled down. She'd try and take position at a right angle from the rest of the group so she'd have a good sight line onto the Aoi Si, and ample cover to remain concealed. Sure may be revealed by the scattered glitter but for the moment she could observe the Aoi Si through everyone else's sensory experience without actually exposing herself to be seen.

"Hey!" Jun shouted, surprised that Hoshiko would take HER cucumbers... and then spawn in another one so she could cover her eyes. "I'll keep an eye on Wen so he doesn't shoot us. You can get the Aoi Si to say whatever you want."
 
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