• 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 4.0: Frog at the Bottom of the Well (井底之蛙)

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Empire of Daqin,
Pínqióng (貧窮) System
The Forbidden City

They all 'stood' at attention, their connection to the wider Daqin virtuality cut off.

"Bwhahahahahaha! So it's true! Just look at him!" the megalomaniacal Aos'Si laughed at Wen from her throne. Laying on the flatbed dolly cart, the Ox's salt stuffed limbs were bent at odd angles, making the once fearsome soldier look less than dignified. "I sense salt in those noodles! What did you do, hug an angel's butt? Hahahaha!" she mocked him. Yáng Jù, the head of imperial science efforts, bent over him and cautiously prodded at Wen's limp limbs with a glass stirring rod.

"Yes, what did you do?" Zhùlǐ Dānwèi Sì looked up from her lab table, soldering iron in hand. Despite being in Viz Istenno's 'habitat', replete with snacks, holoplayer, games and Chongwu servants, the Mother-Empress had apparently moved her current science project in with the Aos'Si's blessing. Pushing up her round, dark goggles, she peered at Wen suspiciously. "I had to show Viz a picture of what has become of you in order for her to even consider healing you, but I would like an explanation from all of you, rather than just the written report."

"He didn't hug an angel's butt..."Hoshiko slowly began, the awkwardness of the network disconnect tilting her. "But he - " she paused as lightning struck her mind. " - he probably felt up the Archangel when he leaped onto her back to shoot her!" the princess realized. It made perfect sense!

Viz stared at them all for a moment. Only to burst out laughing.
 
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"Did I ask why we can't just grow new arms and such for him already?" Jun asked, rolling her eyes a bit as she struggled with their virtuality cut off, "That was for them, please don't listen to that. Or me."

She'd try and be more careful in the future.

Xian would review the recording of the event, scanning back through her memories and confirming that Wen attacked the creature's throat and upper body. With the virtuality down she didn't risk having that conversation with Hoshiko in the open.
 
"I attacked an 'angel', a messenger of the gods." Wen replied truthfully. "It acted with insolence towards my fellow Daqinren, thus I retaliated in kind." He then mentally uploaded his suit's sensor data to the Imperial intelligence database, awaiting for acceptance. "Despite my best efforts, it managed to enact its powers on me, deflected all of my assaults, and turned my limbs into salt."

He then sighed. "I know what I did risked the lives of my teammates, and most likely broke several rules of diplomacy. You can verify my actions via the sensor data from everyone else."

"But the pride of the Empire was at stake. Furthermore, I believe the data I gathered will prove useful in developing countermeasures against these creatures in the future." He paused, then gulped. "I accept any and all punishment. I just ask that the information I collected will be utilized for the security of the Empire."
 
"Wowow, amaze, amaze!" Viz began, pointing a finger at Wen. "It's like he didn't learn anything at all!" the humanoid alien smugly smiled down at him.

"Yes, yes, I saw the raw data - " Zhùlǐ waved off the infostream coming from the soldier-bull. " - which only justifies severe punishment. First, for an individual who is too prideful of their own nation and to arrogant to admit it. Second, another individual who behaves like her mother, but without the benefit of me holding her leash," she remarked, her attention still fixated more on her project than them. The empress paused for a moment. "Maybe I should tug on her leash again..." She put the thought aside. "Normally, I would deal with this decisively. Only, the real problem is that an imperial princess wishes for this mother-empress to be merciful, so I have to lean out of my comfort zone and learn how to do that."

Zhùlǐ held up the interior of the device she was working on so Viz could see the interior of it. "Yup, the grammar is right!"

Satisfied with her work, she set the device down. "You're both demoted to Shàowèi (少尉)."

Hoshiko winced at the demotion. Getting crunched from Commander down to Ensign was not falling down a step, but being shoved down the stairs.
 
Sakura for her part remained as silent, unobtrusively in the background and as much a part of the wallpaper as she could while all this was going on. This was her first time in the presence of the empress and all and she felt incredibly out of place. Being cut off from VR was also not helping and she found it unsettling and uncomfortable.... Though not as much as the dressing down currently underway.

Sakura was very much wondering if so readily accepting this assignment to Princess Hoshiko was a grievous mistake.

So she remained silent, rigidly at attention and did nothing to stand out as the next nail tbe hammered down.
 
Wen was seemingly unbothered by the demotion. After all, he had to suffer the humiliation of assigned to pirate work, then shoved into a dead end job in the middle of nowhere on a small asteroid. Another demotion was par for the course nowadays. He'll climb back up, eventually. Time was on his side, and he was still serving the Empire.

"I accept the punishment. Mother Empress in indeed merciful." The ox-form replied with a straight face with a small expression of gratitude. As much as he could de-limbed anyways.
 
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