Session 8 10

NephilimLeader: "[We face the cessation of existence. Each and every one of us. For generations we have witnessed the utter futility of our efforts, and though we strive mightily to overcome it, we face the prospect that we may fare no better. 'Unpleasant' is an understatement.]"
NephilimLeader: "[We will…consider reintegrating the Wenser, if you say it will help.]"
NephilimLeader: "[They will cease to exist as a heresy.]"
Zinda: "[…God dammit no.]"
Zinda: "[By cease to exist as a heresy you're not talking about exterminating them, are you?]"
NephilimLeader: "[Their bodies will continue to exist.]"
Spyboy: "[No, they will stop treating them as something to be annihilated on sight.]"
Zinda: "[You're not going to mindwipe them or something?]"
Spyboy: "[What is your term for those who hold contradicting views that are not heretics?]"
NephilimLeader: "[Indeed. All annihilation will have concluded.]"
Zinda: "[The entire idea here is that their perspective would be useful for you to consider.]"
NephilimLeader: "[To what degree? We may differ among ourselves, but - oh, clarity. 'Aliens'. Only those who are not Nephilim may disagree to the extent you indicate without defiling canon.]"
Zinda: "[…Do you know what a religion is?]"
NephilimLeader: "[That may be a term that needs translation.]"
Zinda: "[OK, basically, religion is what you're doing. The existence of canon, blind belief in a set of propositions you believe for other reason, uh…]"
Zinda: "[Heretics…it resembles a dysfunctional pattern of behavior we've observed in our species. It doesn't work, and you need to stop.]"
Abraham: "Let's go a bit more basic first. Do you know what 'Faith' is? Because faith is a core component of religion."
NephilimLeader: "['Faith' translates as 'believing in something'.]"
Zinda: "[That's only a very small component of the concept.]"
Zinda: "[Belief can come in various sorts, with various types of justifications.]"
Zinda: "[Did 'justification' translate?]"
NephilimLeader: "['Justification' translates as 'the canon behind a belief'.]"
NephilimLeader: "[Or 'the evidence behind a belief'.]"
Zinda: "[Evidence is closer to the intended meaning.]"
Zinda: "[Basically canon can't be behind a belief.]"
Zinda: "[It can't serve as justification unless it also serves as evidence.]"
NephilimLeader: "[It does.]"
NephilimLeader: "[Canon is evidence. It would not be canon if it was not true.]"
NephilimLeader: "[That is what canon is, by definition.]"
Zinda: "[Then your canon isn't canon.]"
NephilimLeader: "[It is not the canon of others.]"
Zinda: "[…Truth is not observer-dependent.]"
NephilimLeader: "[And yet, heretics exist. The Wenser, for example.]"
Zinda: "[…Your entire way of basing evidence is fundamentally broken.]"
Zinda: "[Geez how can we explain…]"
Zinda: "…Guys help me out here."
Zinda: "[OK, consider, uh, a mind.]"
Metis: "I have only ever created the one viewpoint on existence, and that was not deliberate."
Abraham: "Okay first question: Can canon be disproven? Be rendered non-canon?"
Zinda: "[That mind holds some belief.]"
Spyboy: "I'm sorry, I think if you can't explain it, I don't stand a chance."
Zinda: "[That belief has a canon.]"
Zinda: "[The mind goes, acts on this belief, and the belief is shown to be false.]"
Zinda: "[The canon must then be false.]"
Zinda: "[However, because it is false, it cannot be canon.]"
Zinda: "[So, it is both canon, by virtue of supporting the mind's belief, and not-canon, by virtue of being false.]"
NephilimLeader: "[You understand some of our basics. Canon can only become canon if no way is seen to disprove it.]"
Zinda: "[Yeah, see, your basics are dysfunctional.]"
Zinda: "[Basically, you, as a species, have no canon.]"
Zinda: "[As Abrahim, we're informing you that it's all junk. Or mostly junk, we'd have to comb it to be sure.]"
NephilimLeader: "[You keep using that word, 'dysfunctional'. Does it mean what you think it means?]"
Spyboy: "[Barring translation errors.]"
[Away] is now known as Fuepepe
Zinda: "[Broken. In disrepair. Inadequate.]"
Spyboy: "[Expanded: dysfunctional: appearing to function, but not in the way that is intended.]"
Zinda: "[That too.]"
NephilimLeader: "[All? We hold it as canon that you exist. Are you saying that you do not exist?]"
Spyboy: "[Hence, combed to be sure.]"
Zinda: "[Like, for instance, the concept that heresies exist?]"
Zinda: "[False.]"
Spyboy: "[To wit, the flaw in your system, as we see - something is 'canon' and therefore cannot be disproven, if no way is seen at the time that it can be disproven.]"
NephilimLeader: "[False? But the Wenser exist. We believe that you have met them.]"
Zinda: "[The wenser do exist.]"
Zinda: "[But the 'heresy' concept does not map to them, or anything really.]"
NephilimLeader: "[The Wenser do not accept our canon. Therefore they are a heresy, by definition.]"
Zinda: "[The definition is malformed.]"
Zinda: "[Because, see, what you have given is a set of conditions for something to be considered a heresy.]"
Zinda: "[But those conditions don't capture the whole concept.]"
Zinda: "[There's more to heresy than being Nephilim and disagreeing, right? For instance, there is an idea that heresy is a problem and/or bad thing.]"
Zinda: "[So, while it is true that the Wenser do not accept your canon and are Nephilim, it is false that they are a heresy.]"
NephilimLeader: "[But the heresies are a problem. They do not accept our canon. For instance, the heresy that attacked you rejected the canon that the Abrahim could bring salvation and are to be worked with. They were a problem for you, such that you annihilated them, were they not?]"
Spyboy: "[Perhaps, but not because they were a heresy.]"
Spyboy: "[We annihilated them because they would have annihilated us.]"
Zinda: "[They are a problem, but they were not a problem because they were a heresy.]"
Zinda: "[The Wenser have been a problem for us in the past, but are not presently, to our knowledge.]"
Zinda: "[However, you don't revoke or assign heresy status based on whether something is causing problems, see?]"
NephilimLeader: "[Not all heresies are the most immediate and urgent of problems, it is true. That does not mean they are not problems.]"
Zinda: "[You asked us earlier if we existed.]"
Zinda: "[We would hope you could accept the fact of our existence based on evidence that is not canon.]"
Zinda: "[Do you see the issue?]"
Zinda: "[You need to abandon canon and work primarily from non-canon evidence.]"
Zinda: "[The Wenser are presently doing this; It is why we advise you to work alongside them.]"
NephilimLeader: "[…what does 'abandon canon' mean?]"
Zinda: "[Abandoning in our language generally means to discard, or leave behind.]"
Zinda: "[For instance, one would abandon a used disposable drink container in a recepticle for refuse.]"
Zinda: "[Or, one may abandon a burden in order to move more freely.]"
Zinda: "[It is not always a positive term; One could abandon an ally in their time of need.]"
NephilimLeader: "[You would have us abandon what is manifestly true? We are not sure how to do this. How do we abandon such things as the concept that you exist, or that fire burns, or that flesh eventually dies?]"
Zinda: "[Well, you continue to believe them. But you no longer regard them as canon.]"
Zinda: "[Instead they would be conditionally true statements, such as, I am standing in a given location.]"
Zinda: "[It may be true or not true.]"
Zinda: "[In this way, obviously true statements would still be regarded as true]"
Zinda: "[Do you understand?]"
NephilimLeader: "[But you are in a given location. 'Obviously true statements' are canon.]"
Spyboy: "[We do not ask you to abandon what is true; we merely ask you to abandon what you know to have once been true, as it may not continue to be true.]"
Spyboy: "[We obviously stand here. But when we leave, we will no longer be standing here.]"
Zinda: "['given location' seems to have been mistranslated. Let me spell it out.]"
NephilimLeader: "[Actually, we do not see whether you are standing or sitting. But you are where you are.]"
Zinda: "[The phrase 'I am located in the orbit of my home star' is presently false.]"
Zinda: "[However, if I move into the orbit of my home star, it becomes true.]"
Zinda: "[In this way, the truth of the phrase is conditional on my location. It would not be canon, because it could be disproven.]"
Zinda: "[However, it is, at times, true.]"
Zinda: "[In this way, you could continue to regard our existence as true, without regarding it as canon.]"
NephilimLeader: "[Ah. You exist until you do not?]"
Zinda: "[After a fashion, yes.]"
Zinda: "[The key here is to grant the special status of 'canon' to no statements.]"
NephilimLeader: "[Some things are only canon temporarily. That you exist is currently canon. In a thousand years, it may no longer be, unless you bring and embrace the way to live forever.]"
NephilimLeader: "[But even then, you will have existed. That the past can not be changed is canon.]"
Spyboy: "[…Please clarify the difference between 'canon' and 'truth.']"
NephilimLeader: "[There is little practical difference.]"
Spyboy: "[What is the impractical difference?]"
Zinda: "[Forget practical difference. What about theoretical difference?]"
NephilimLeader: "[To be canon is to be true. But some believe a different…'truth'?]"
NephilimLeader: "[To be canon is to be true beyond all doubt.]"
Zinda: "[Forget canon for a second.]"
NephilimLeader: "[But that is the truth that we perceive. There can be truths hidden from us. Indeed, there are. We wish to discover from you one of the more important ones.]"
Zinda: "[What do you mean by some believe a different truth?]"
NephilimLeader: "[Ah…perhaps that can most simply be illustrated by the beliefs of those who attacked you.]"
Zinda: "My god they're so stupid…"
NephilimLeader: "[They took it as can…as TRUTH, that you were savages unable to provide enlightenment, akin to forces of nature. One can not reason with a hurricane or a solar flare…but one can in theory destroy it, or render it not a threat, with sufficient force.]"
Spyboy: "This is like an argument with a hume-sup back on the Perry."
NephilimLeader: "[Obviously, they were wrong.]"
Spyboy: "[Why is it obvious?]"
NephilimLeader: "[At least about the magnitude of force.]"
NephilimLeader: "[Because you still exist and they do not.]"
NephilimLeader: "[Also, we are reasoning right now, are we not?]"
Zinda sighs.
Spyboy: "[…Would you consider that a force of nature can be destroyed with sufficient force to be a truth?]"
NephilimLeader: "[Yes. Have you never destroyed a hurricane?]"
NephilimLeader: "[Or seen one dismantled, if you yourself did not participate?]"
Metis: "It seems more that lack of sufficient force is what 'destroys' most hurricanes…"
NephilimLeader: "[Ah, true. Robbing one of energy is the most efficient way to eliminate one.]"
NephilimLeader: "[But that takes force to accomplish.]"
Spyboy: "[Why do you consider it a truth and not a fact?]"
With The Js is now known as Julian
NephilimLeader: "[What is the difference between those words?]"
Spyboy: "[A fact is a thing that can - and has been - verified, while a truth is accepted as verified.]"
NephilimLeader: "[So a 'fact' would be canon except it is not accepted?]"
Spyboy: "[Perhaps. Or perhaps canon is accepted as fact when it cannot and has not been verified.]"
NephilimLeader: "[What, then, is the difference - as far as can be told - between a heretic's fact and things the heretic made up, if it can not be independently verified?]"
Metis: "[The difference is that one is true, and the other is made up.]"
Spyboy: "[The same thing as the difference between your facts and the things you have accepted as canon because you have not been able to disprove them.]"
NephilimLeader: "[If disproof is rendered impossible, what is the difference between that and proof?]"
NephilimLeader: "[Is that not how one discovers truths that can never be demonstrated, merely shown not to conflict with the universe we live in?]"
Spyboy: "[Clarke's Second Law. The only way to know the limits of the possible is to go beyond them, into the impossible.]"
Spyboy: "[The 'truths' that you cannot demonstrate are not truths, they are merely beliefs.]"
NephilimLeader: "[Let us take the most important one. We have not been able to demonstrate that it is impossible to live forever as we are; it is merely the case that all attempts have failed.]"
NephilimLeader: "[How then might we go beyond this, into the impossible, and survive?]"
Spyboy: "[It's an interesting question, isn't it?]"
NephilimLeader: "[That is a technically accurate understatement.]"
Spyboy: "[The trouble is, you have already chosen an answer.]"
Spyboy: "[The answer that you have chosen is that it is not possible.]"
[OOC] Spyboy: I'm not gonna lie. Digging up that Clarke quote is now making me want to tell the Nephs to kick reason to the curb.
[OOC] WC GM: So do it. :P
NephilimLeader: "[It does not seem possible. Thus we seek to transition to a form where it is possible. Do you have the way for us to do so?]"
Spyboy: "[If I did, I wouldn't give it to you. I feel that is something you should find out on your own.]"
NephilimLeader: "[We have been trying, since long before your ancestors first traveled the stars. If we were capable of finding it out on our own, we would have done so by now.]"
[OOC] Zinda: T_T
NephilimLeader: "[But…why do you say we have 'chosen' that it is not possible?]"
NephilimLeader: "[What other choice do we have?]"
Zinda: "[Cooperate with others.]"
Zinda: "[Look, can we do what you want? Yeah, probably.]"
Zinda: "[But at the moment we perceive you as, functionally, insane, and like a good doctor would like to make sure you are in sound health before making any major decisions.]"
[OOC] Metis: See, this is why we never made you the diplomat.
[OOC] Zinda: :P
NephilimLeader: "[What must we do, to demonstrate this?]"
Zinda: "[Well, basically, demonstrate sound patterns of reasoning.]"
NephilimLeader: "[We will attempt to reconcile with the Wenser. What else?]"
[OOC] Metis: As we define them. Cause we're totally sane. Really!
[OOC] Zinda: Zinda says as Zinda sees
[OOC] Abraham: <NephillimLeader> "[The day your species traveled to the stars was the greatest day in your evolution, but for us it was but another Tuesday of failure.]"
NephilimLeader: "[Perhaps if we were to aid you. What troubles do you face?]"
Zinda: "[Umm, we do have our own troubles, but respectfully we do not trust you to assist.]"
[OOC] Metis: Do we have any troubles that won't be made worse by suddenly Nephilim? I don't think the other ConFed will like that.
Zinda: "[What would be best is if you talked with the Wenser, and, uh, came by and told us how it went.]"
NephilimLeader: "[What troubles you, the mighty Abrahim and servants?]"
Metis: "…servant?"
Zinda: "[Human things. Look, we appreciate the offer, and if we require your assistance we will ask. For now, just, umm, focus on restoring your sanity.]"
Abraham: "Our troubles are ours to deal with. If however, we acquire more troubles that we need your help to deal with, you will be the first to know."
NephilimLeader: "[Shall we guess, then?]"
Zinda: "[You are welcome to.]"
NephilimLeader: "[We surmise, from the encounters witnessed, that you quarrel with other humans.]"
Zinda: "[That is a gross oversimplification, but go on.]"
NephilimLeader: "[We know that you eventually resolve these disputes on and around the world of your ancestors' origin, much as you resolved the Kilrathis' disputes at their original world.]"
NephilimLeader: "[Although so far you have managed to keep your original world intact.]"
Zinda: "[That is, also, a gross oversimplification.]"
NephilimLeader: "[Those who would have had you annihilated were preparing a means of invasion. We have what remnants they left behind.]"
NephilimLeader: "[We will now activate it and place it at your disposal.]"
Zinda: "[…I see. So, a fleet.]"
NephilimLeader: "[No. You already have one.]"
ExecutiveOfficer: "ROLAND TO AWAY TEAM! WORMHOLE OPENING!"
Zinda: "[What are you giving us, precisely?]"
Zinda: "It shouldn't be hostile."
NephilimLeader: "[Expedited transit.]"
Zinda: "They say they're giving us a military asset."
ExecutiveOfficer: "Nothing's coming through right away. Scanning for destination."
Zinda: "[Explain.]"
NephilimLeader: "[They believed that perhaps, if they were to conquer your world of origin, that what remained would be at odds with itself and easier to destroy.]"
Zinda: "[…Oh a wormhole to Earth.]"
ExecutiveOfficer: "Uhh, siiir? I think you want to get back here."
Zinda: "[Did you just open a wormhole to Earth? God, dammit this is why we never ask you for anything…]"
ExecutiveOfficer: "Wormhole leads to Lunar orbit."
NephilimLeader: "[We give this as a gift to you.]"
Zinda: "Do we want this?"
Zinda makes a 'what the hell' face at Abraham.
Zinda: "Do we even have anything we'd want on Earth?"
Spyboy: "Well, if nothing else, if we go to Earth we'll beat the media wave there."
Zinda: "…So, we do."
Metis: "Presumably the government for the opposing faction. This is, as Michael asserts, a way to beat the stampede."
Zinda: "Look we can't take the Roland in there."
Metis: "It would not fit? The wormwhole looks large enough."
Zinda: "We'll drop one of our recent recruits in there with the information, and…that publicist, I guess."
Spyboy: "It's also covered in an alien plant skin."
Abraham: "And I have no doubt that there are citizens trapped here who would like to get back to the rest of ConFed space, if not Earth itself."
Spyboy: "That said, we have plenty of other carriers and gunships we could take."
Zinda: "I want Oldziey to survive and become an independent government. Not get destroyed in a counterattack."
[OOC] Abraham: No one gets to destroy Oldziey except for Zinda!
Zinda: "Look you and I both know that if what we wanted was control of Sol I could get it for us."
[OOC] Metis: Nope. Me. Governments are toppled by their successors.
Zinda: "But that's not the goal."
Zinda: "…Right?"
Zinda: "So, let's go in, give the information, get out."
Metis: "[Is this wormhole two-way?]"
[OOC] Abraham: That is a question.
NephilimLeader: "[We do not know how to manufacture one-way wormholes.]"
Zinda: "So, we leave someone who can make their way back safely."
NephilimLeader: "[There is some question as to whether they would still be wormholes. But that has not been debated enough to become canon yet.]"
Metis: "[So can you open a wormhole… to basically anywhere?]"
NephilimLeader: "[Yes, with preparation.]"
NephilimLeader: "[We have seen hints that you have ways to do it faster, though they do not last as long.]"
Metis: "[I wonder how the Confederation will respond to that.]"
[OOC] Metis: What is the response from the other side? I can't think they'd be terribly happy about this.
[OOC] Zinda: Send a black lance defector through in the smallest ship we can fit a jump drive to.
[OOC] WC GM: No need for a jump drive.
[OOC] Zinda: They send the information to the local media
[OOC] Zinda: Jump drive isn't for using the wormhole
[OOC] Zinda: Once the media is deposited, they work their way back through sol space and rejoin us at Chandley.
[OOC] Zinda: We can fit them a cloak, to help.
[OOC] WC GM: You're not in a position where you could directly observe the wormhole. All the XO has told you so far is that it leads to Lunar orbit.
[OOC] Zinda: OK? Once our craft is in Sol, they'll need a way back to the Hawking cluster.
[OOC] Zinda: What does observing the wormhole have to do with what I said?
[OOC] Metis: That was to me.
[OOC] WC GM: ^
[OOC] Zinda: Ah.
[OOC] Abraham: although if it's behind the moon they might not know yet it's there.
[OOC] Abraham: from earth's perspective, I mean. Being occulted by the moon.
[OOC] WC GM: Holding on something there 'til y'all get back and decide what to do about it.
[OOC] Zinda: I've been here.
[OOC] Zinda: I'ma just roll with what Abe does.
[OOC] WC GM: So…are you returning, or do you have anything further to say to the Nephs first?
[OOC] Abraham: If we can make the Nephs realize logic again, it probably won't be this session.
[OOC] Zinda: Way I see it like
[OOC] Zinda: See how their meeting with the Wenser goes
[OOC] Zinda: Go from there.
[OOC] Zinda: The Wenser are at least somewhat sane.
Abraham: "Very well, let us form a volunteer crew from the Black Lance recruits and have them take our message back to Sol. They can relate their experiences working for Black Lance, our recorded evidence and then they can return or remain as they choose."
Abraham: "While we're doing this, the Nephilim should at least set up a face-to-face with the Wenser."
[OOC] Abraham: We'll watch the meeting. There may, no guarantees, but there may be popcorn served.
ExecutiveOfficer: "Scanning through the wormhole. Not seeing much traffic yet, but it isn't lunacentric. We'll have Earthdawn in about ten minutes."
[OOC] WC GM: So, are you returning?
[OOC] Abraham: Us as in the PCs? I'm not at least, and I can't imagine Metis or Zinda doing so. Unless there's a…political reason for me to do so.
[OOC] WC GM: To the Roland, I mean. To recruit the volunteer crew, etc.
[OOC] Zinda: Yeah. I think we will.
[OOC] WC GM: You're still planetside surrounded by Nephs.
[OOC] WC GM: Alright…
[OOC] Abraham: Ah.. yes.
[OOC] Metis: The tea was average, the biscuits were insubstantial, the philosophy was indeterminate, and they made that vein in Zinda's forehead throb. I give them… three stars.
The Nephilim crowds part to give you a path back to your fighters. The mood is jubilant if slightly confused: they do not know what is going on, but even Abraham can tell they have the sense that something good just happened.
Zinda waves.
Zinda: "[I hope things go well in your near future.]"
Overhead, the party can see the newly-opened wormhole. The stars are slowly moving past it as it orbits.
Spyboy: "So, how long till they see the Roland?"
ExecutiveOfficer: "Say again, Spyboy?"
Spyboy: "Wormhole's two-way. We can see Luna, Earth is about to come over the horizon."
ExecutiveOfficer: "…"
BridgeOfficerInBackground: "Earthdawn in three minutes."
[OOC] Metis: That is not a sound you want to hear from the XO.
ExecutiveOfficer: "GET THE FLEET CLEAR OF THE WORMHOLE!"
Overhead, the fleet scatters every which way, trying to comply.
[OOC] WC GM: Do the fighters do the same? Or do you focus on getting back to the Roland?
[OOC] Metis: /me follows Zinda.
Zinda drifts along with the Roland.
[OOC] WC GM: Piloting checks: you've got to divert much wider to avoid notice.
Spyboy rolled up 4dF: - 0 + 0 (Base: 4 Total: 4) (Pilot for Heggy)
[OOC] WC GM: The fleet can just lurk around the rim of the wormhole, but you're well within the cone of observation.
Metis rolled up 4dF: + 0 0 + (Base: 5 Total: 7) ((Pilot check to stay where Zinda can see me but Earth can't.))
[OOC] WC GM: Zinda? Abraham?
Abraham rolled up 4dF: 0 + - + (Base: 5 Total: 6) (That's right, the less-than-a-year-old-robot-child is every bit as good a pilot as the admiral.)
Zinda rolled up 4dF: + - + + (Base: 6 Total: 8)
There is an old, textbook approach for such situations, though it rarely comes up in practice: hide behind some other object floating between you and the observer.
Zinda stacks up behind said object. Abraham and Metis stack up behind Zinda.
…unfortunately, that object is Spyboy's fighter.
[OOC] Metis: Sorry, Heggy.
ExecutiveOfficer: "Earthdawn in three, two, one…"
[OOC] WC GM: http://www.wallpaperhi.com/thumbnails/detail/20130316/outer%20space%20moon%20earth%20earthrise%201680x1050%20wallpaper_www.wallpaperhi.com_7.jpg
Zinda: "…Beautiful."
[OOC] WC GM: …I make no apologies for being able to use that ICly. XD
Zinda: "But, still, a threat. Spyboy, don't linger."
[OOC] Abraham: Admit it, you made this entire campaign just so you could you could use that shot.
With Earth comes its comms traffic. A swath of sensors, and as Spyboy knows well, countless passive sensors.
Spyboy: "Transmitting undirected…"
[OOC] WC GM: Not the entire campaign.
Spyboy: "Can anyone see that? I don't know where we are or how we got here, but that's Earth!"
Zinda moves to try and clear the wormhole. No sense giving them a better look than they need.
Spyboy follows, having dropped some counterintel.
The Sterne Lanze is trapped behind Spyboy's fighter for the moment.
[OOC] Metis: Zinda, this is your chance to conquer Earth and annex the entire ConFed. This is the moment you were born for.
EarthTrafficControl: "Transmission received. IFF…sir! Sir! That's one of ours!"
EarthTrafficControl: "Earth to unidentified Confederation contact! Come in and identify yourself!"
[OOC] Zinda: Lie!
[OOC] Spyboy: IFF codes should actually include my ID.
[OOC] Spyboy: So…lying would be instant caught.
Zinda: "Get this to the press. We can't stay for too long, some folks over on the other side of Chandley need us."
[OOC] WC GM: Correct. They're double-checking.
Zinda just sends the media package.
[OOC] WC GM: Fortunately, Spyboy being Spyboy, he's able to block transmissions behind him.
[OOC] Abraham: "Get this message to Autobot City on Earth."
[OOC] Zinda: Exactly.
Spyboy: "This is Lieutenant Michael P*fade to static, fade back* We are currently…in an unknown system."
[OOC] Spyboy: Dead truth, that, actually.
EarthTrafficControl: "Reading Nephilim contacts behind you, Lieutenant, but they're not moving to attack. What's going on?"
[OOC] Abraham: You really shouldn't actually say 'fade to static' when trying to fake reception difficulties. Just saying.
Spyboy: "We are unable to approach the…wormhole?…at this time due to…"
Spyboy: "I'm not sure. They seem to be attempting communication, but we can't pick up anything on our radios."
EarthTrafficControl: "Are you in need of assistance? Repeat, are you in need of assistance?"
Spyboy: "Are there multiple Nephilim factions?"
Spyboy: "At this time I would not advise sending any assistance."
EarthTrafficControl: "Lieutenant…if these readings are correct, that's the Nephilim homeworld."
[OOC] Metis: This should go well.
EarthTrafficControl: "Are you alone?"
Spyboy: "We were in the Hawking cluster a day or so, and we were attacked by remnants of the Black Lance. They appeared to be taking serious action."
Spyboy: "I do not recommend diverting any force from defense of the homeworld or the inner cluster."
???: "Did he say 'Black Lance'? No, no, give me a moment, checking his files…"
Spyboy: "Earth Control, be advised we will be moving beyond the occlusion of the wormhole in less than a minute."
EarthTrafficControl: "Understood. Is there anyone else with you?"
[OOC] Zinda: No?
[OOC] Metis: Yes, my pilot. Two-man ship and all that.
Spyboy: "I am attaching a briefing of the activities of the force that attacked us, as well as why we concluded they were Black Lance."
Spyboy: "Yes, my pilot, Helvetica Gertrude Francesti Janictam is also here."
Spyboy lets his flight path progress to the edge of direct line-of-sight to the wormhole.
Spyboy: "We do not know how long the wormhole will remain open…"
Spyboy sends the media package
Spyboy: "Please advise*fade to static*"
Spyboy retunes the radio.
Spyboy: "Admiral, did you hear all that?"
Spyboy - and the fighters stacked behind him - finally get out of sight.
Abraham: "Copy that Spyboy."
Abraham: "That voice, by the by, was Admiral James Taggart. ConFed presidential hopeful, presuming he follows through on running."
ExecutiveOfficer: "We're pretty sure they didn't spot us. Orders, sir?"
It is a fairly quick trip the rest of the way back to the Roland, and soon enough everyone has landed.
Metis: "Dear flight log. I managed not to crash. If I do that another twelve times, maybe Zinda will forget about that first time."
Zinda: "…Let's go home."
The fact that the Roland has auto-pilot for incoming fighters, specifically to prevent crashes, does not change the fact that none of the fighters crashed this time.
[OOC] WC GM: https://youtu.be/nI6b1sGgzAI?t=210 is perhaps a good rendering of the landing - except for the wrong model of carrier.
[OOC] Metis: Did the Neph using something similar? Because that was still a legit landing.
[OOC] WC GM: The Roland doesn't have such an outstretched runway, for one.
[OOC] WC GM: Anyway, we're at time, so last lines then logend?
[OOC] Metis: That was my last line. The IC one.
Abraham: "Well, hope our message in the bottle gets read."

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