engines
power core
|
Jinsuls, oh yes, I have met them several times and while they are certaiinly very aggressive I remain eternally hopeful that some sort of dialogue might be possible. After all the Pact Worlds accepted those of my people who broke from the Swarm and the Vesk Imperium went to war and everything but we work with them now. Anything is possible!
With quick maneuver by Rhodes, the Drake moved to a position where only the jinsul's turret could fire. With a final salvo the second special jinsul ship was destroyed. The remaining Kreiholm defenders break through the jinsul fleet at strategic locations, which visibly weakens the jinsul fleet. The battle breaks into smaller skirmishes as the greater jinsul fleet withdraws to regroup.
The vicious-looking jinsul ships begin to turn away from the dissipating battle, regrouping near an enormous command carrier vessel, which occupies a strategic position between clusters of asteroids. As this occurs, the recently arrived Starfinder ships form a defensive line near Saaruq-5 along with several surviving ships of the Kreiholm Freehold defenders.
Soon after the battle’s end, First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo sends a message. “Well fought, Starfinders. I must now ask you to immediately return to the Perfect Silence to attend an important meeting. Five representatives from the Kreiholm Freehold are set to arrive soon, and we are trying to convince them that the jinsuls are too much of a threat to merely repulse; we have to defeat them decisively. It’s our goal to form an alliance and together defeat the jinsul menace. However, I fear that because the Freehold has relied on an isolationist policies for centuries, they may be hesitant to enter an alliance. You’ve proven yourselves capable not only today, but many times before, and I believe that you—the heroes of the Battle of Saaruq-5—may be able convince the Freehold representatives that we are worthy of their trust, and that we are fighting for the right cause.”
Upon your return to the Perfect Silence you all receive a summons to the meeting room by Jadnura.
As you enter this large meeting room, there are already seven beings sitting around the large table. Two of which are Luwazi and Jadnura. The other five you assume to be the representatives of the Kreiholm Freehold.
|
Roger approaches Kahura feeling the high of battle slowly wearing off.
Hello, my name is Jasper. And it is a pleasure to meet you under such dire circumstances. I am not familiar with your greetings customs but I see humans extending their hands out in a shake when meeting people. Do you do that as well?
|
|
Gab considers the words and nods in response. "Yeah, I can understand that, Xirillis. And I can't even say you're entirely wrong. Maybe we went into the Scoured Stars with more guts than brains. That's almost certainly true. But on the other hand ... it's hard to imagine that the Kreiholm folks here could hide from a God forever. The jinsuls would have found a way out, eventually, and come for 'em."
He smiles. "But you're dead right about one thing ... The jinsuls are raised as killers, no fear, no remorse. No love. No art. None of the things that make life worth living. Things that have, no doubt, thrived in your civilization throughout this era of peace. You aren't warriors, true, but you've got something they don't have. You have a civilization, a future, that's actually worth fighting for."
He shrugs. "Look at me ... I'm a mid-level corporate bureaucrat who became a comedian. No warrior, that's for sure. But I've faced down these enemies from the Scoured Stars a few times, and come out on top. Why? Because I've got something to live for, you know? Friends. A society. A family, a wife and my kids ..." He pulls up his wrist computer, bringing up a picture of his white-furred wife, wearing a pair of engineer's coveralls, and a mob of young ysoki children -- too many to easily count. He continues listing things he's thankful for. "A contract for an upcoming comedy tour. A streaming contract for my new cooking show. A lot to live for." He turns off the picture of his family, looking around the room. "I haven't seen your world, but I bet you guys have a lot worth defending. And the Starfinder Society will stand with you."
Gab pauses, realizing he got a bit carried away, but then looks to see if he can figure out whether he made a good impact on Xirillis.
The thyr’s gaseous form swirls inside their encounter suit as they send a telepathic message: “Thank you for coming to our aid. Your leaders speak of a coming war, in which the Kreiholm Freehold would play an important role. While you are right that we should take the fight to the resurgent jinsuls, I must also think of those whom I represent. War is not our way. We have remained distant from galactic affairs on purpose, yet now you ask us to go to war. What shall I tell my people who only desire peace?”
You hear the familiar thoughts of Speaks in your head "“Good to meet you again, and thank you again for everything you have done for the Kreiholm Freehold.”
Silvery and smooth, this three-eyed biped looks like its body is composed of mercury. Crystalline spirals on the creature’s neck oscillate as it speaks: “I am Livakian. I have not met your kind before. I am one of the tekian, and we are an ancient race from the Scoured Stars. It is there where Kadrical found us when we were still young. He is a jealous and oppressive god, and when we saw our opportunity to leave, we undertook our exodus, joining with the thyrs and nelentus and never looking back. We promised ourselves never to return. If Kadrical finds us again, he will never let us go. This is why we can’t join your crusade.”
You hear the familiar thoughts of Speaks in your head "“Good to meet you again, and thank you again for everything you have done for the Kreiholm Freehold.”
When Lieron, the pale worm speaks, its mouth opens like a blooming flower, each flapping petal lined with needlelike teeth. The claws on its tiny appendages twitch in anticipation as it speaks a greeting in its gurgling voice: “I’m Lieron of the matohs. I know who you are, your leaders told me so much about you. But enough of the niceties. I’ve understood that your Society wants a war with the jinsuls. Wars are costly. We lost many ships today, and so did you. Many more will be lost by the end of the day and the days to come. Do you even have any idea how much they cost? Of course not, you only fly them. And who is going to pay for it all?” The worm chuckles and snorts, then continues: “Are you going to make the jinsuls pay for the war?”
In a whispering voice, she speaks: “We are Kahuri, representing the nelentus. You fought the new jinsul ships today, yes? Their fleet is impressive, their ships numerous and all built for war. Hmm, yes, they are. That is not to say ours aren’t exceptional—they are—but they were built for defending our homes. You, your Society, you are explorers. Your fleet—no offense—is no real war fleet, either. They can outbuild, outgun, and outfight us. Today, you managed to catch the jinsuls by surprise. I do not mean to belittle your courage and skill, but can you imagine what happens next time if you aren’t so lucky?”
The creature cocks its head slightly, "Having something to fight for does not ensure victory, merely motivation. How will my people, who are not warriors, hope to prevail against he jinsul?"
|
|
Whispering back That is war, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. The best we can do is prepare for what we think is coming and hopefully outsmart our enemy. We Starfinders do not take kindly to those species who try to oppress us and destroy us. And we fight for those who cannot. As a whole, looking out for one another we can win the fight against the Jinsul.
|
|
Killick responds telepathcially...
|
Tilting his head as he looks at the individual he conversing with, Klysk sends out another though message. {I have a question for you. If you were to acquire something, such as a house or ship, that was rather old and in a state of disrepair, what would you do? Would you go through and repair and replace only what is broken at that time, waiting for the other components to themselves fail before doing anything with them, or would you do a thorough analysis and repair everything that needed to be repaired all at the same time?}
Tilting his head as he looks at the individual he conversing with, Klysk sends out another though message. {I have a question for you. If you were to acquire something, such as a house or ship, that was rather old and in a state of disrepair, what would you do? Would you go through and repair and replace only what is broken at that time, waiting for the other components to themselves fail before doing anything with them, or would you do a thorough analysis and repair everything that needed to be repaired all at the same time?}
|
Dusty nods. "I understand your reasoning. Unfortunately the jinsuls will not. They are fanatics, dedicated to bringing all the Scoured Stars species under the heel of their corrupted herald. You will forever have a target on your backs if Dhurus is not stopped. Help us defeat him and finally know peace."
Speaks does not move as you converse, though the gasses inside the encounter suit continue to swirl. "You speak simply and clearly. With the aggressive nature of the jinsul it would be difficult to maintain our freedom and peace with no action. I am afraid I must ask however, what next? What happens should we prevail against the jinsul?"
Lieron responds back quickly, "You present a false dilemma. There are always essential costs and non-essential costs. There is a tactic that addresses the fluctuating need for the non-essential repairs based on prioritization and the ramifications of failure for each piece. But such a premise is larva's play."
"The Krieholm Freehold exists not as a single city or town, but as a series of many over multiple planets. It is my responsibility to look out for and maintain a stable economy. By 'cost' I mean how will such war efforts affect our economy?"
"This is our only fleet," Kahuri whispers, "If we lose it now, that is it for us. You Starfinders have the luxury of being able to retreat back to your home system. With the size of the Jinsul fleet, how can we hope to win?"
|
|
Killk nods his head and replies
|
|
{As such, while maintaining the defensive stance that you currently have against them may help keep your economy as near to stable as it was before you were attacked by them, eventually the conflict would demand more and more of your resources. Eventually you would likely either become like the Jinsul, focused entirely on military production just to hold them back, or else you would collapse as your economical structures were forced into working in ways that they were not intended.}
{Alternatively, you could spend a relatively short amount of time shifting to a war-time production to create an assault fleet. I understand that this could quite heavily affect your nation's economic stability for the time in which this shift occurs. However, a successful victory against the Jinsul would allow you to then shift back towards your normal economy afterwards.}
{As such, while maintaining the defensive stance that you currently have against them may help keep your economy as near to stable as it was before you were attacked by them, eventually the conflict would demand more and more of your resources. Eventually you would likely either become like the Jinsul, focused entirely on military production just to hold them back, or else you would collapse as your economical structures were forced into working in ways that they were not intended.}
{Alternatively, you could spend a relatively short amount of time shifting to a war-time production to create an assault fleet. I understand that this could quite heavily affect your nation's economic stability for the time in which this shift occurs. However, a successful victory against the Jinsul would allow you to then shift back towards your normal economy afterwards.}
|
|
From my time with the Starfinders, I have found that everyone has a part to play. You may have other resources we do not, like knowledge on the Jinsul or something else that could help us. I would not think our superiors would allow your only fleet to get harmed when we have others who could take on that task.
|
|
Gab smiles at Xirillis. "Like I said, I'm no warrior, and I've beaten them a couple of times now. You got something to fight for, you'll find the way to fight. And, like I said, the Starfinder Society - both of our leaders - are fully committed to giving our support in the fight against the jinsuls."
Feeling good about his conversation with Xirillis, he glances around, looking for anyone whose conversation might be going a bit more poorly.
The talks continue for a short bit longer until Speaks Forgotten Words broadcasts telepathically, [i]"We would like some time to confer amongst ourselves once more."
With a nod from both Luwazi and Jadnura, the Starfinders are ushered out of the meeting room and wait somewhat awkwardly outside.
|
Lanius nods, her arms folded. She had been hanging off to the side, mostly observing the conversations. There were one or two moments where she considered interjecting, but it seemed like her allies had it covered. Or, perhaps, she didn't have faith in her own abilities to negotiate.
"Let's hope so." she says, letting out a sigh. "Sorry about clamming up like that. I wasn't sure what to say, and it seemed pretty delicate. So better to be quiet then to bumble into an awkward situation."
About 5 minutes later...
The door to the meeting room opens as the dignitaries file out and continue to their ships. Speaks Forgotten Words broadcasts thoughts into your mind, "With determination we have decided that the Kreiholm council will pledge our fleet’s full support to the Starfinder Society."
Jadnura clasps his lower set of hands together and looks around at those still in the room. “We’ve no time to waste. We must plan the next phase of our mission—forcing the jinsul invasion out of the Kreiholm Freehold’s star system.”
Luwazi Elsebo nods and speaks:“We’ve analyzed reports from countless Starfinder missions over the past several months and concluded that an influential religious figure known as Hierarch Kraaton leads the fleet from a massive jinsul command carrier. As far as we know, this hierarch is one of Dhurus’s most trusted commanders. The jinsuls probably expected an easy victory here, but our presence forced an unexpected stalemate. If we can defeat the hierarch, the leaderless jinsul fleet has no choice but to retreat to the Scoured Stars.”
Jadnura cracks his knuckles on each of his four hands and looks to you all. “Your mission is one of utmost importance: fly your ship into the command carrier, fight your way to the command chamber, and defeat the hierarch. Although you will be alone aboard that ship, we will be providing you cover and clearing a path so that you can reach the command carrier before the jinsuls even realize what’s happening. Let’s get to work.”
You elite squad of Starfinders launch our ship once more from the Perfect Silence. The immutable silence and the darkness of space seem to surround you as you look ahead. Defensively positioned between two vast clusters of asteroids, the jinsul fleet looms in the distance. Near the blue-green world of Saaruq-5, the Starfinder fleet assumes an attack formation, and on Jadnura’s command, the starships begin darting toward the enemy formation as a unified front. When the allied ships reach just outside the enemy’s firing distance, Jadnura sends a message to every ship across the fleet: “There is no retreat. No surrender. Today we fight and make the jinsuls pay for their heinous actions! Make the jinsuls regret they ever stepped their chitinous feet in this star system! Starfinder fleet, attack at speed! Hold the line!”
mmediately after Jadnura’s speech, Luwazi Elsebo sends a message to you: “Now! We’ve got your backs!”
|
|
Gab is about to speak, providing his own analysis of the jinsul formation ... but then listens to Killik's analysis and considers it pretty spot on. He does motion to one area of the battle lines. "If we can move a strike team here, it'll make them think we are trying to break through their lines over here. They'll shift here, leaving an opening for us here ... Classic misdirection"