Monomachiarum is a multifandom experiece that takes the characters into the chaotic future of the 30th century in the great expanse of space. Our lore is a combination of worlds brought in from other franchises, lore created by the site founder, and user-submitted information in order to make a vast and diverse setting. Add your pages to our grand story no matter who your characters might be or where they came from before. This is a place meant to explore possibilities and open new doors. Canons and OCs are welcome, just so long as they can fit into the setting with a little bit of reasonable modification here and there if necessary. So what are you waiting for? Join us today! If you'd like to get to know our community more, feel free to check out our Discord channel.
May 2023 It's been hectic this last year, but we are alive and celebrating our fifth year of adventure and tales. A lot has been worked on to help make the Monoverse one that everyone can enjoy and explore their story while becoming a part of the greater cosmos. All of you, new and long time players, stay safe, and see you in the Sea of Stars!
Post by Eliza Silvermantle on Sept 4, 2023 21:21:14 GMT
Location: Outer Tala System, Galactic Federation Space, aboard personal transport Dancing Goddess
It had been nearly a year since Eliza had been aboard the Dancing Goddess, or back within the company of her personal assistant, Veska, and while she was no longer a civilian, at the moment, she didn't feel the shackles of military service. Technically, she was on leave, but she had no doubts that DAW was well aware of her actions working with the Sangheili at present. "Veska, launch Jump probes, vector east by southeast, 30 degree arc spread," she ordered before opening a channel to the Stormcutter than had arrived as an escort.
"Shipmaster, jump probes are underway. Once we receive confirmation on stable routes, we'll begin our run. Do ye possess a jump drive aboard, or will we need ta make a tandem jump?" Eliza asked, speaking in Sangheili out of deference to the shipmaster, though her accent lingered slightly.
"Our vessels possess the capability, yes." The voice over the comm answered - although his discomfort was clear. The shipmaster had enough difficulty understanding human languages on the best of days without accounting for strong accents, and openly discussing the capabilities of his vessel with individuals outside his nation's navy clearly wasn't something that happened often.
Preliminary Roll 1/12: 27 (-60)/100
Preliminary Roll 2/12: 60 (-60)/100
Preliminary Roll 3/12: 12 (-60)/100
Preliminary Roll 4/12: 65 (-60)/100
Preliminary Roll 5/12: 62 (-60)/100
Preliminary Roll 6/12: 80 (-60)/100
Preliminary Roll 7/12: 30 (-60)/100
Preliminary Roll 8/12: 59 (-60)/100
Preliminary Roll 9/12: 19 (-60)/100
Preliminary Roll 10/12: 99 (-60)/100
Preliminary Roll 11/12: 13 (-60)/100
Preliminary Roll 12/12: 48 (-60)/100
Only five of Eliza's probes report back. Three report viable but unsafe routes, detecting strong gravitic sources near the point of exit or solid masses that make transit unsafe due to jump drift. Two, however, report stable and safe outbound transit vectors with no navigational hazards at their exit points.
Post by Eliza Silvermantle on Sept 4, 2023 23:48:14 GMT
Eliza sighed softly as she looked over the manifest, then flagged the coordinates the seven probes that hadn't returned before transmitting the data to the Sangheili ship. "We received no returns on these coordinates, shipmaster. Likely singularities, but that will need ta be explored at a later date via conventional Slipdrive," she explained, taking a little more care to lessen her accent in the alien tongue. While she knew Sangheili well enough, it had been some time since she had needed to speak it in any capacity, and she was sure that if they possessed the same degree of linguistic drift over time, it was difficult enough to understand her. Still, she doubted very much that any Sangheili not a trained diplomat would have been able to understand her Terran English, and so, outdated or not, her Sangheili would have to suffice.
Next, Eliza flagged the three viable routes that had detected strong gravitic sources and transmitted both the terminus coordinates and spanning route on a star chart. "We located these routes, as well, and given the nature of such terminus points, they very likely can cross considerable distances, though they're a touch too risky to try with my present setup for a basic survey mission. However, these routes seem promising," she added, transmitting the two routes that reported safe and stable transit vectors, labeling the nearer of the two as Alpha and the more distant as Beta. "When you are ready, shipmaster, we will jump to point Alpha to survey the system."
Post by Eliza Silvermantle on Sept 5, 2023 0:06:14 GMT
Eliza gave a curt nod, then brought the jump drive online and guided the graceful vessel through the portal as it materialized just ahead of them, bringing them to a previously uncharted system.
"Veska, full sensor sweep, get us much data as we can on what we've got on our hands," Eliza commanded casually as she monitored the command console. With the military-grade sensor suite the Dancing Goddess carried, she had no doubt that there was anything that they wouldn't find if it existed to be found, especially since she intended to be thorough with each celestial body they located. After all, her intention was to receive certain technologies that no other could supply, and she wouldn't be getting such prizes unless her work was worth it.
In the brief time it took to make the jump from one system to another, things would immediately prove off.
As the Goddess returned to realspace with her Sangheili escort in tow, the probe that Eliza had initially launched would be nowhere to be found, and the signal it had been transmitting - gone. Navigation software would initially struggle to calculate their location based on star patterns before settling on a jump point several thousand light years from where they began, far more than typical of a stable corridor... and that wasn't all.
The system was dark. Gravity was present but no light would be visible, the ship's sensors detecting largely just the gravity of relatively nearby planetary bodies within light minutes away - the gravity readings at the center of the system suggesting a singularity. Although no accretion disk could be seen despite radiation readings suggesting there should be one, what the Goddess was capable of detecting seemed... muffled, blocked, obstructed. The closest planetary body, however, would be less than half the gap between Luna and Earth from Eliza's ship. Initially, only the gap in the stars would leave it visible at all, the planet's low albedo suggesting contained emissions... although careful observation would reveal some signs of artificial light across its surface.
Post by Eliza Silvermantle on Sept 5, 2023 1:36:43 GMT
Eliza frowned as she took in the readings, feeling a prickling down the back of her neck. "Veska, cut scan. Passive only. I'm bringin' us ta 30% output," she said quietly, as if worried she might be overheard if she spoke too loudly.
Veska promptly complied, but her expression seemed puzzled. "What is it?" the AI asked.
"I'm na sure yet..jist somethin' feels off. We're gannin ta stay dark, but keep us ready ta jump." Eliza then quickly tore a piece of paper from a notebook contained in the arm of her chair, and hastily wrote a single word in Sangheili as she chanted the incantation to cast Cryptogram. The shipmaster of the Stormcutter would find the paper in his hand an instant later. "Beware."
Silence would persist as Eliza cast her spell, although it would be anyone's guess as to whether or not the Shipmaster received her message. No transmission would beam out from either of the two ships as they hung in the void over the dark system. Minutes would crawl by in the seemingly timeless space, dragging on until something finally happened - without warning or transmission to Eliza the Stormcutter would suddenly shift, engines flaring as an encoded hyperburst transmission was sent. Close as the Goddess was to the Sangheili ship as it began to about face in a sharp arc, the slightest hint of energy discharges could be detected by the Goddess's sensors through the Stormcutter's shield and armored hull.
As all of this happened bright flash would illuminate the cabin from the opposite end of the room, foreign metal clicking and whirring.
Post by Eliza Silvermantle on Sept 5, 2023 2:00:57 GMT
Eliza snarled a curse and jumped to her feet at the sound coming from inside the ship, quickly palming the autopilot. "Veska, boarders!" she shouted, even as she pulled the hilt of her plasma saber from her belt. She didn't ignite it, however, and she had no intention of doing so unless she has a clear shot at the enemy, whoever or whatever it was. The last thing she needed was to be damaging her ship. Having her armor would have been ideal, but she'd hardly anticipated needing to repel mechanical boarders on a mineral surveying mission. Still, she had her techsuit, which offered at least some protection, as well as comms.
"Shipmaster, we have boarders, mechanical, yet unknown. Sitrep?" Eliza asked tersely, even as she started after the much faster Veska to face the enemy.
As Eliza spun around she would quickly see that her ship had, indeed, been boarded. A single bronze colored mechanoid would be standing in the cabin. Spindly in its build yet clearly over six feet were it standing upright, the crested head of the creature was hunched down and over - and curiously enough, not paying any attention to either Eliza or Veska. A single red photoreceptor was locked on one of the terminals set into the wall, the creature clearly scanning or interacting with it in some way as light from its eye passed over the surface.
Without warning the Goddess's controls would lock, various displays and stored data flashing over the screens as another flash of light would deposit a second one of the creatures onto the deck behind the first, followed by a third a moment later as they began to likewise inspect the inside of the ship they found themselves in.
Post by Eliza Silvermantle on Sept 5, 2023 2:28:22 GMT
Eliza stared at the mechanical creatures as she weighed her options, then lashed out with her hair, intending to immobilize them in order to drive her plasma saber through their cores. She said nothing. No taunts, no queries. They had violated her ship, and there was only one answer for such a crime. Curiously, her apprehension faded, as somewhere in her mind, she concluded that she would either repulse the creatures, or they would surely kill her.
Veska, meanwhile, attempted to make her way to the armory, seeing that Eliza was already in the act of working to deal with these invaders.
As Eliza's hair lashed out towards the first machine it would initially not react, continuing to hunch over as it scanned the ship's electronics. It wasn't until the added weight of Eliza's yank and lunge that pulled it off balance enough to stumble that an electronic warble escaped the thing, and by the time it began to straighten up and turn Eliza's saber impaled the creature's chest. Sparking and head extending upwards on the long, stalk like neck to look down at itself as if in surprise as the red photoreceptor refocused, the mech would stiffly look up to Eliza and start trying to raise its right arm to point at her, the end of it clearly an energy weapon of some sort.
As all of this is happening an echoing warble would sound from the other two creatures further back in the cabin as they turned with mechanical stiffness to face their captured comrade, starting to slowly approach.
Post by Eliza Silvermantle on Sept 5, 2023 2:46:03 GMT
Eliza snarled wordlessly as she tore the blade up and out, intending to sever the weaponized arm before she hurled it away at its companions, then turned to face them with her saber held out, ready to stroke at the first opening.
Elsewhere, Veska worked to open the door to the armory, hoping to retrieve several of the EMP grenades they'd stockpiled over the years.
Eliza's blade tore sideways through the creature's upper torso with practically no resistance, severing the weapon arm which fell to the floor - the red photoreceptor dropping downwards to follow it. Despite its torso sparking with an angry red gash of molten metal and missing an arm the creature showed no signs of pain, if it could indeed feel any at all. Instead it simply seemed to be at a loss, no longer immediately concerned with what Eliza was doing now that it lacked a weapon to defend itself with.
Behind the first mechanical being the other two would start to stiffly split and walk around their damaged companion, weapon arms at the ready as they started lobbing searing red projectiles of what looked to be plasma to either side of their ally, bolts splashing over the interior of the Goddess as they fired, trying to get a bead on Eliza.
Post by Eliza Silvermantle on Sept 5, 2023 3:04:54 GMT
Eliza was not at all prepared to fend off plasma bolts, and with the sparse cover there was ill-suited to hold up against such weaponry, Eliza broke into a sprint, summoning a temporary, if effective arcane barrier, hoping that it would hold up until the next second, when she would drive into the wounded mechanical being, slashing her blade down the centerline in hopes of putting it down finally. Even as she ran, Eliza also used her hair to pick up the severe weapon arm, and hurled it like a javelin at the creature to her right. To her irritation, the fire suppression systems then activated in response to the plasma fire.