• 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.
 
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