• 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)

The half-dozen Aos'Si watched as the Daqinren moved about, a constellation of floating stars fit for a children's room ceiling marking their body like glitter, but despite the obvious positioning, they did not act.

"Royalty? Very interesting," The robed caster of the group noted. "But, I could ask the very same of you as well. Why are you here?" Looking at them carefully, her blue eyes narrowed behind her face wrap. "What is wrong with that one?" the woman asked, pointing at Wen, who was in turn being pointed at by Jun with her rifle. Inside their virtuality, Hoshiko facepalmed as the Aos'Si jockeyed for better verbal position.

"Maybe not so obviously, Jun." Hoshiko sighed.

"Ara-ara," Sakamoto began in her minority dialect, a mischievous smile on her lips. "It's the dungeon entrance, and we're already facing a speech check!" the merchant tried not to laugh. Hoshiko virtually rubbed her temples. Negotiating was not her strong suite.

"We were sent to see what you were doing," Hoshiko began to reply in meatspace. "Will you tell us?" she tried not to grind her teeth. Cautiously, the Aos'Si replied,

"I would rather not." Eying the star studded silhouette of their weapons, her gaze drifted to Wen again, if only briefly. "If that is unacceptable however...perhaps we could come to an agreement of some sort?" the caster carefully probed, well aware she and her people were at a disadvantage.
 
"We could give them Wen as a hostage..." Wen thought outloud in the virtual space, her mouth outpacing her thinking for just long enough for her to say that... but perhaps she was getting too focused on the threat that was Wen. There was ADVENTURE to be had and she was missing out on it. What would Warrior-Princess-Hoshiko do in this situation?...

... that... uh... she wasn't already doing?...

"Hey! If you tell us what we want to know I can set you up with a night at Anamandara's! Its the only four star restaurant anywhere around here. Literally so good its worth interplanetary travel once in a lifetime to go try. I'll cover travel and such for your friends too. It would be much better than getting into a fight. Shooting at us would be super impolite."

She scowled at Wen.

Xian, meanwhile, was also wondering if she was getting too hyper-focused on what was infront of her. There were a number of Daqin already observing the Aoi Si in front, and her added attention might not be useful. Instead she started to slowly check out the rest of the room from her hiding spot to make sure they weren't missing anything, and to make sure that no one was creeping up on them from behind.
 
Wen ignored Jun's scowl. The stupid cow didn't deserve his attention right now. Instead, he adhered to his training and took up a position opposite of Xian and scanned the room in a reverse direction.

"And what can you offer that we cannot simply take?" He asked with typical Daqinren arrogance, especially to a species that didn't seem to have mastered medieval era technology.
 
The Aos'Si caster betrayed a hint of her anxiety as her eyes moved from Jun and Wen to Hoshiko and back to Jun and Wen. Even with her hooded cloak, they could see the faint twitch of her ears under the cloth as Jun yelled, and now, an idle hand twirled a lock of blue hair around a finger. Pulling the cloth down from her mouth, they could see her frowning, but aqua blue eyes eventually settled on Wen again.

Her gaze seemed to look past his helmet, through his eyes and into his soul.

"We came here to reactive a containment and transit facility that has been laying dormant," the caster began by answering Hoshiko, the other Aos'Si stirring ever so slightly despite their attempts at maintaining discipline. "I believe that we may benefit more from cooperating, as there are things that can only be given, and with permission," the caster pointed out to him. "Such as assistance with your...situation."

"Ah. Wen can get fixed then," Hoshiko offhandedly commented.

"More importantly, the mana flow can be made more dispersed. To reduce the hazard zone and the creatures your warriors are fighting on the surface," the Aos'Si caster added. "We would like you to assist us, and in return, both our peoples can use the facility," she offered.
 
"And why should we trust you?" Wen asked a rhetorical question, more out of insecurity than genuine accusation: he knew what the Daqinren did to the Aos Si: great fusion torches from the sky, followed by rains of tungsten and lead.
 
Jun looked hurt, "Empress save me who takes public transit anymore? I'm not going to get on an Aoi Si bus like a...."

"WEN HERE CAN HELP YOU FIX YOUR PUBLIC TRANSIT OR WHATEVER!" Jun volunteered loudly.
 
The priestess was a rock in the rough sea for them all, regardless of species. But any sense of stability cracked and broke as she recoiled from Jun.

"We can't really trust each other. But there's a lot of benefits for both of us, and a chance to start something different." Hoshiko tried to be the voice of reason and stepped forward, her helmet's hologram emitters activating to reveal her face. "And yes. We're a bunch of princesses and a few bodyguards and associates going on an adventure, which I'm sure you've guessed by now," she added.

"Ara-ara, how splendid!" Sakamoto fanned herself like a court noble. "Perfectly diplomatic behavior that is completely befitting our royalty!" she smiled, lamp-shading just how shaky this deal was. "I'm certain that, with a few words to the Mother-Empress, the Aos'Si will be properly compensated and given a great many rights for this act of cooperation!" Sakamoto paused. "Right?"

The more Sakamoto spoke in meatspace, the more horrified Hoshiko looked in their virtuality, desperately motioning for the Rooster to stop talking! But she couldn't actually, physically stop her from talking without violence! The tiger princess had no other means!

"...Right," Hoshiko sighed and slumped her shoulders, her burden feeling all the more heavy.

"Ah. So that is the situation," The caster struggled to regain and maintain her composure. "Very well. We understand." Motioning to the other Aos'Si, she directed them to the door controls. "Unseal the facility. The sooner we get to work the better." Though they hesitated at first, the rest of the alien team took their positions. Panels of light appeared, and within a few moments, the stark white stone doors opened.

And a torrent of sea water came rushing out, knocking them all clean off their feet.
 
“他媽的!" Wen exclaimed out loud. His reaction speed was more than enough to dodge out of the way of the sudden torrent, but there was no where to dodge to. Instead, he was swept off his feet. The torrent was relentless, quickly filling the cave system. The bull-form winced as the expensive laser-rifle was swept away from him, but his attention immediately turned back to holding his ground. With his hands and feet both on the ground, he had barely enough grip to stay in place while the water threatened to push him away. Eyeing the rising water line, the Wen quickly estimated they had less than a minute to get out of this cave before it was fully submerged in water. That didn't bother himself much; he was in a completely sealed environmental suit with a full oxygen tank.

The problem was the damn Aos Si. He looked back at the rest of his group, then back at the aliens. "Princess Hoshiko! I recommend escorting Jun and Sakomoto out of here; they lack the training in these environments. Xian, let us grab as many of the Aos Si as we can!"

The bull form crawled over to the Aos Si, fighting against the water with all his strength, pulling out a dagger to get a grip into the few cracks in the stoney floor. He quickly grabbed the main Aos Si caster by her arm as she was washing away in a separate direction. "You are coming with me!" He exclaimed, then pulled her back into the direction of the group.
 
Jun was actually listening, just not to the tactical stuff... that's what soldiers were for. Perhaps it was best to keep things within the team for the moment? "We can keep The Mother Empress out of this right? We don't want to go running to her every time we need something small... certainly the might resources of our feathered friends could keep the Aoi Si Happy?" As the water came forward, she would quickly wrap her arms around Wen's head to steady herself and keep herself from getting washed away. Her helmet kept her from getting a mouth full of water as she watched the rest of the Aoi Si got wet.

Xian would hold onto the rocky surface she was hiding behind as the water came. That let her keep position as well as try and wash off some of the sparkle-dust the Aoi Si had used earlier. She decided that the rest of the group wasn't in danger from the Aoi Si... and that a little bit of water shouldn't be fatal to the Daqin. She looked towards the newly opened door and could practically hear her mother telling her to lead from the front. "I'll take point."

Xian would move up towards the entrance, using her grip on the rock wall to move around the edges of the chamber towards the opening without announcing herself to the Aoi Si.
 
"Ara-ara," Sakamoto lightly laughed. Despite Hoshiko having set up an improvised little command spot in the spa that Jun made, Sakamoto pulled up a seat as her feet were worked on. "I have plenty to give, but I don't think they want riches. That's what you're here for."

"Being our Mother-Empress's direct line to this is the whole point of us being here," Hoshiko pointed out. "It's our duty to - " She stopped cold in their virtuality, teeth grit as her tail stood up on end, all the fur bristled up like a bottle brush. Swept away by a sudden tide in meatspace, Hoshiko visibly froze like a person on edge, desperately concentrating as her flesh and blood body fought to find grip. But just as quickly as it came, it had gone, leaving them knee deep in frigid cold -

"Sea water?!" the caster spat. Despite being ill equipped in comparison to the Daqinren, they had all sprung to action and braced themselves as best they could. Regaining her wits, she looked at them all, briefly narrowing her eyes as the holographic display of Hoshiko's face and head flickered, the armored helmet underneath briefly appearing. "A water world on the other side then. We are on a timer," she noted. Muttering a quick string of words, the caster tapped her staff against the submerged floor, and its tip glowed with sunlight. A few more words and the snap of her fingers, and her companions' outfits suddenly steamed as everything above the knee was dried out. Seeing Xian, she made a foreign gesture of politeness. "Please, lead the way."

" - be Mother-Empress's eyes, ears and hands," Hoshiko relaxed somewhat. Taking in a deep breath fist in open palm, she then let it out in a long sigh. "The stuff they've been getting for trading in Heartstone, or other artefacts was never going to cut it. They probably want more rights, access to food, healthcare, housing." It wasn't That much in the grand scheme of things. "Just remember that they attacked us First though," she eyed Wen. As far as the tiger princess was concerned, he was a bit too Xīnruǎn (心軟).

Venturing into the ruins, it was clear that this was meant to be an emergency accessway or exit, with the way eventually bringing them into a vast hall. Dimly lit, the entire structure seemed to be mostly built of the same material, and looking around at the floating furnature, the place had been relatively untouched. At least, until seawater had started pouring into a breach somewhere. From the looks of it, they had entered some sort of...cafeteria of all places. The make and design of everything was foreign and exotic, but the purpose was unmistakable.

"The directory says this way," the caster guided them. Hoshiko took a snapshot of the map and ran it through the translator - the place was far, far larger than they imagined, and the little Aos'Si indicating where they were marked them all as being near a barracks for soldiers or warriors by the looks of it.

"Ara, this place looks so nice," Sakamoto commented aloud on the decor. Like Hoshiko, she revealed her face using her suit's holography as well, but it only drew narrow eyed looks from their Aos'Si companions. "Jun, aren't you a rock expert? I could make a pretty penny with this stuff! It's like marble, but something is off," she noted, tapping one of the columns. The faint, dull sound carried despite the trickling flow of water, with both the Aos'Si and Daqinren feeling the reverberation travel through the water. "Duìbùqǐ (對不起)!" She apologiezed.

Further down the wide hallway they were travelling down, something splashed in the water. Listening, straining their ears, they could hear it - a faint sob.
 
Jun was still holding onto Wen's head as she checked everyone else's visual feed. "Looks really white, no visible irregularities which is like... really rare. I mean, obviously artificial since its got some kinda plasticy polymer bits too? You know, too smooth to be real, pure, calcite and dolomite. You could sell it to artists and stuff maybe... this stuff is like a simple meal well made. The materials are all over the place you just don't find them in an arrangement like that... plus sea water should eat this stuff up over any real period of time so... uh... you know, special stuff in there keeping it from getting eroded. Just look at how clean those lines still are!"

Xian was certainly checking the lines to make sure how 'clean' they were, sticking with staying around the outer edge as she moved up through the area. She wasn't expecting to run into too much in terms of Aoi Si at this point... if this place was under water then there likely wasn't anything in here to defend it... She would decide to go check the barracks first, making sure there weren't weapons there the Aoi Si Could use.
 
"Xian, stop!" Hoshiko hissed between her teeth. Whether or not the other tigress had heard it the first time, she now saw it as she neared the entrance to the barracks. It was just a flicker, but unmistakable. The small, emaciated form of a small child poking around the corner in the distance, quickly darting back into the darkness. "There shouldn't be a child here," Despite the gentle flow, they could here the water splash as that other retreated further into the maze of overturned bunks and beds.

"Come back! It's okay! We won't hurt you!" the Caster called after the child. Looking at the Daqinren, she asked in disbelief, "Aren't you going to go after the child? They could be hurt!"

"We're talking to each other directly. Something is not right," the Tiger princess' face hologram steeled itself as she stared into the darkness. "Your optics got a few frames," Hoshiko noted, bringing up a holographic display in Jun's spa. Though blurred with how quickly it withdrew, the best frame that they could isolate truly did show an Aos'Si child. One that was sickly, pale, and dressed in improvised rags.

More importantly, they needed to go past the barracks and armory on the map rather than taking a detour, and get through the nearby "transit area" first.
 
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"Get off of me, you stupid cow." Wen had let go of the Aos Si in his hands by this point, seeing the danger has passed. Annoyed by the weight of a whole Daqinren grabbing onto his head, he grabbed Jun by the arms, and pushed her off.

He had followed the group through the opened door without his laser rifle, instead drawing his pistol. He scanned the walls and the rest of his surroundings carefully.

"Princess Hoshiko," Wen cautioned. "We just lost all communications with the surface. Not even our beacons are working. My positioning system is turning up errors. All of our navigation equipment is offline. Wherever we are, I do not think we are on Tiantang anymore: the gravity here feels slightly off. I advise we retreat through the door, then bring in more drones to scout first. This is not a time sensitive mission."

Meanwhile, he roughly barked at the Aos Si. "That child matters not for our purpose here, and you keep stepping into danger without a second thought. How do the Aos Si have such long lifespans if each of you individually are so reckless?"
 
Xian didn't need much time to decide what to do. Staying back was something that lesser Daqin did.

But being drawn further in like this was just begging for a trap to be set off.

"If there is a trap up ahead, it would be better to have the Aoi Si set it off for us." Xian stated to the other Daqin, standing stoically in the virtuality while Jun flailed about, complaining about how rough Wen was being with her body. "This area was under water until moments ago. I would think it more likely that this child is a projection instead of an actual child."

Xian would reposition so that the Aoi Si was directly infront of her before pushing down the transit area with an Aoi Si shield, "The child doesn't appear to need our help."



Jun, meanwhile, removed a cuecumber so that she could take a look at the picture of an Aoi Si child. With a commanding voice she would point at the image and say:

"ENHANCE"
 
"I would argue that we live long due to caring for our own," the Caster narrowed her sapphire eyes at Wen. "However, your compatriot has a point. The child does not come when beckoned, and The Winds of Change is full of tricks." The Aos'Si beckoned to the others of her kind, and though the brief look of hesitation could be seen in their eyes, they continued to press forward, their heartstone laden packs heavier than before.

"That's what people that don't get credit and political favors say, Xian," one Tigress remarked to the other. "Mother-Empress sent us here, and she expects results. We will get them."

"Ara, ara! Worried are we?" Sakamoto smiled in their simulation, leaning closer to Wen. "Though this 'magic' may disrupt our sensors, the topographic systems - contracted by Ritoru Mitsubishi - will still map out the environment for us just fine!" the woman waggled her feathered tail. Though Hoshiko tolerate the saleschicken, she was slightly less pleased with the cow.

"Ugh. You can't just say Enhance and expect it done for you," Hoshiko sighed, reminding her that they were without servants. "We're not humans and gotta do it ourselves. Didn't you take your combat-intelligence classes on how to do that?" she berated the heifer. "Here, like this." Grumbling for a moment, the tiger princess did decide to enhance the image for Jun and run it through several filters, her gray matter activating neurons to crunch through the info. "Aw yuck!" Hoshiko leaned away from the command console, visibly squicked. The visible light and thermals looked normal enough, but the black-and-white ultraviolet yielded what could only be described as a pale meat puppet with trypophobia inducing amounts of black speckles. But far more ominously, was the length of tendon-like tissue that trailed up and out of sight, like a taught fishing line.

"Do you know what this is?" Hoshiko asked the Aos'Si in meatspace, the holoprojector in her palm displaying the image.

"Your abilities are impressive," the Caster winced at the grotesque image. "I've only read about Anglermen, but they should only be present in the deeps. Being sedentary, they should not follow." Up ahead, the double marble doors slid aside as the console was opened and another heartstone was inserted into the empty slot. However, what lay behond it made the purpose of the facility all too clear. The rows and rows of lines, scattered packs and bags, and signs all pointing to and from the vast center of the room demonstrated that some things felt almost universal. This was a transit area, like an airport or bus stop, but the focal point was the vast, empty center of the room. "There are four cylinders with grips arrayed in a circle around the center of the room here that need heartstones installed, and up there - " the Caster pointed to what looked like an observation and command center overlooking the cavernous room, " - I need to install the largest heartstone and ensure the written spellwork is undamaged. Only..."

The double-doorway to the stairwell leading up lay open and inviting. Right next to another. And another.
 
你他媽的在開玩笑. You are fucking joking. We came here to gather information and now we are on a sidequest to help the knife-ears? Wen scoffed inside his helmet. He looked at Hoshiko, who showed no sign of resistance against the Aos Si wishes.

"... Fine." Wen remarked with an ox's bellow in his voice. He was annoyed by every second of this, but the mission is what the mission becomes. "Xian, you have the better firepower..." He felt a pain in his chest and winced. "... and are in a better physical state if things go to shit. I will take point, you protect the civilians." He marched forward with his pistol, and approached the leftmost door.

Before he pushed open the double doors, he pressed his palm against it, then activated his power reserves to do a sound scan of what was beyond. His suit emitted a low pressure wave through his palm that traveled through the material, bouncing and transmitting through whatever was on the other side, then traveled back. His computers then treated the raw data to give rough shapes of what was beyond. What he saw made him physically recoil and aim his pistol at the door.

"You said something about Anglermen, Aos Si?" He asked the alien. "I see two puddles of the crap beyond the left and right doors. Do you think they can ambush us if we go through the center door?"
 
Jun was now sitting up, cucumbers gone from her eyes as she pointed even harder at the image, "I SAY ENHANCE AND IT HAPPENS! THAT'S THE POWER OF BEING A PRINCESS!" She said, now even more assured of her place in the hierarchy that was high up enough not to have to do things unless they were fun.

In real space, she would take up position by the entryway, ready to shoot things that might come in from different directions.

"That glass is like... one big diamond too. Probably not too easy to shoot through so if you get trapped in there don't expect to shoot your way out!" Jun added, tagging the glass on the control center as she let the shooty-types figure out what they are going to do.
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Xian would start checking the other hallways, keeping the Aoi Si at an arm's length as she moved about. She would keep her stealth on too, assuming it would provide some protection even if their position was clear thanks to the water they were standing in.

"Are we going to allow these Aoi Si to finish their ritual?" She would ask, confirming that the first side-hallway was already mostly closed off by a damaged door and some old artifacts as she moved towards the three doorways. She would stick towards the walls of the area as the approached the doorway on the right hand side, staying clear of everyone else's line of fire as she motioned towards the door.

"Advance," She told her Aoi Si meatshield.
 
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In meatspace, Jun covered the entryway as the others entered the room full of knee high water. It was a little irritating translating some of the alien text, but according to it, Xian was covering the Embarking entryway. Hoshiko entered as well, laser gun at the ready, but gave a halfhearted kick to a bit of floating luggage as she looked down the opposite hallway, the Disembarking exitway. Both ways looked clear of hostiles, but the doors couldn't be shut again, at least not without a replacement for a long looted heartstone. Despite all the grandstanding architecture and half-looted gold and valuable gemstones, this had a feeling that was little different than a bus hub or spaceport.

"J-Jun, it doesn't work that way," Hoshiko rubbed her temples in their virtuality. She tapped the countertop, a small portion of it dropping down and out of view, returning with a glass of water. She started taking a sip to clear her mind.

"Ara-ara, even you should know about level-requirements, Jian-hime," Sakamoto chimed in with her Nanmin-dialect. "Hoshiko-hime was just giving you a free trial - you need to grind more princess EXP for servants!" the cocky rooster added with amusement, eyeing her Americanized Chongwu with a smug grin for emphasis. Hoshiko spat out the water in shock, her tail bristled like a brush and eyes furrowed. She seemed to chew on the idea for a bit.

"Hm...I guess...that's...not a bad idea!" Hoshiko brightened up, realizing that her achievements would only net her more tools and weapons and soldiers to command. Noting Xian's thoughts too though, she quickly tapped the control console. The spa-turned-improvised-command-center produced another image, this time, of a pitch black hole over a forest where water bizarrely flooded out in all directions. "The Tiger-General was incapacitated more than once dealing with the strange hazard Zone surrounding this Anomaly. If we can fix it with some magic repair work, imagine how things would go for us!" Hoshiko clenched a fist with a gleeful smile.

The mood was less cheery in meatspace however.

"Look close," the spear bearing Aos-Si replied to Xian. "See the cracks?" Pointing towards the three doorways, each had a shorter, smaller hallway that lead to a stairwell in the back, a few cracks in the structure giving it some character. Only, the cracks were exactly identical across all three instances. Having said that, he retreated from the way they needed to go

"You all know what to do," The Aos'Si Caster instructed her men. As they spread out, prodding under the water with their spears, she turned to Wen as he addressed her. However, her sapphire eyes peered at him like she was trying to see his face behind his helmet. "They are ambush predators, and always try to make sure there isn't a fight. Just a swift snap of their jaws." she explained to Wen. The Caster glanced at Hoshiko. "Well, your...Princess, was it?" she cautiously began, " - she showed the image on her palm. You recall the fishing line?" The Caster pointed to the two false doorways. "Where are the 'fishing lines' and where are they going?" she asked.

The woman rhetoriclaly stirred the water with a foot.

"If it weren't for the circumstances, we'd probably get rewarded for bringing one of these Things in alive," Hoshiko remarked aloud, her holographic face maliciously smiling. "So, anyways, who wants to start blasting?"
 
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Xian thought she understood what was being said, and would release her Aoi-Si shield to grab a flash-bang, tossing it down the closest 'door'.

"Uhhggg... I'm a princess though, that's supposed to be good enough to get a few servants right? I swear if I have to get a battle-pass or work for SSS rank pulls I'll...." Jun frowned, "Ok, I don't know what I'll do. Maybe its time I get a few Chongwu?"
 
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