Ascension (Æstas season finale)

(game date: 9/23/2021)

Technically, we rested.  I can't speak for anyone else, but my sleep was fitful.  Were it not for chemical aid, I doubt I'd have slept at all.  Anticipation, you know.

I'd purchased enough military-grade explosive to load up all six Kourier drones, and a new pair of grav boots, both for myself and for Ŝtelita.  If all went as planned, I expected Parker to have control of that drone by the time the battle started, and most of the fight would be aerial.

I'd also conferred with the group about our pre-battle prep.  EllieRocks seemed confident that she could work protection from radiant energy into a pre-battle concert, which she would perform prior to our departure from the city.  Working together, Vamir and I managed to place a regenerative healing upon the entire platoon of volunteers that showed up.  There were well over a hundred (Is that a platoon?  Squadron?  Company?  I wasn't lying when I said I'm not a military man) led by General Lord himself.  Hilda and Cecily also rode along -- they held a grudge against the golden mech for the loss of their ship.

And that was about all I could think of to make this as safe as a war could get.  We headed out under cover of magic and tek invisibility.  I had to admire their coordination and discipline.  No one got lost, no one broke radio silence.  

The storm still raged where we had left it.  Lord's BP forces stood by while Frank prepared to dive in from the top, as before.  But the winds offered no resistance this time.  Apparently, we were expected.  No zombies or skeletons hindered our progress.  We headed straight for the pattern room.

The old man was still there, surrounded by the bubble of energy, hands upturned beneath a floating necklace and pendant.

"My amulet..." Ama said.  "That's how... He removed it from the Pattern."

I addressed the team.  "Okay... once Ama has that amulet, this man will need medical attention, if he's not already beyond help."  I turned to Ŝtelita.  It was strange to think that it was Ama, not Parker, driving the drone.  "What should be done here?" I asked.

She didn't answer.  Gazing at the figure within the sphere of Power, an expression of sadness crossed her anthrodrone features. "Oh, Maxwell..." she began, and then managed a small, rueful smile before continuing, "If there was one thing you knew how to do, it was how to overdo things."

Ama tentatively reached toward the sphere, fingertips not quite touching the swirling aura for a moment, then pushed her hand through to gently grasp the amulet suspended over the figure's open hands.  At her touch, a light enveloped her hand, slowly gaining in intensity, spreading up her arm and then across her entire body. At that point, she withdrew her hand from the sphere -- its light now much dimmer than that which surrounded the drone -- and placed the chain of the amulet over her head to wear it.

A brighter burst of light then radiated from her, sending everyone's flare-comp tek into overdrive trying to keep up. A few averted their eyes.  One or two even dropped to their knees, and it wasn't merely from the flash.  Here mere presence had become overpowering.  

Once the glare died down, the anthrodrone body rested, motionless, on the ground. Floating above it, a woman, radiating light, garbed in a flowing white gown adorned with a golden banded sunburst
medallion, creating an empire waistline. A golden wreath crowns her dark hair, and one hand grasps a golden spear.  It was Ama, but an adult version; not the child-like avatar we knew in Æstas.

She waved a hand, palm out toward the energy sphere, which dissipated. "You were the first to believe in me," she says in a voice that seemed to resonate with Power, echoing within itself as she addressed the desiccated figure. "Even before I knew what that meant. Before I could believe in myself. You gave everything, trusting in me to carry on, to find my way..."

As she spoke, the ancient figure began to crumble away into dust.  Ama raised a hand again and the dust halts in mid-air, hanging there briefly before changing direction - rising - and becoming luminescent.  "You will not be forgotten," she proclaimed. "You will be with me, always." The glowing motes coalesced, and in a flurry of motion converged into a feathered shape - a snowy white owl - which flapped once before alighting upon the woman's outstretched arm.

Then, and only then, she turned to face the rest of us.  "Greetings," she saed simply, as though meeting us for the first time. "I am Ama, Goddess of the Sun..."  She narrowed her eyes and raised her gaze slightly. "And there are some who need a lesson in what that means."

Suddenly, I realized three things:

1. Exactly why it frightened Parker to view Ama's source code, 
2. I was burning with curiosity (however unwisely) to see that code for myself, and
3. While we were standing here with our mouths open, the Crystal Palace was vulnerable to attack.

I switched on my comms.  Time for radio silence was past.  "Parker, take a Kourier and tell me when the storm drops, We need to be ready."  

One of the Kouriers zipped out, but the newly-promoted goddess said, "The storm has dropped. It fell once I retrieved the amulet. At the moment, I am what is supporting the Palace."

Sure enough, mere seconds later, Parker reported, "Um, Zeke... The storm's already dropped..."

My first instinct was to start snapping out orders, but the situation seemed to call for a bit of decorum and respect.  

"Ama," I said, "It has been, is, and will be a pleasure.  We have a job to do."

That otherworldly woman - who still looked almost like a hologram, what with all the glowing -- nodded solemnly. "I will work to restore Power here."

I addressed my companions.  "Let's move out."

Aru, however, hung back.  "Erm.. Ama, miss?"  he queried.  "Do you still.... support our purpose here? I mean... we do intend some fairly harsh consequences for the sunb... the sun..children.."

Ama's expression was unreadable.  "The 'Children' have had time to grow up. These... Sunbabies, must be removed.  Be comforted that whatever it is you have in mind for them is likely far less than I have planned."

"Very well, then," Aru said, the epitome of grace even at this dire moment.  "Thank you, miss."  

He quickly caught up with the rest of us, but the group had barely made it to the couryard when I got a ping from the General.  "This was your plan, Okona. Do we hold, or take the fight to them before they close?"

I looked at the horizon.  It was obscured by golden drones, as far as I could see.  We had maybe a couple hundred people, to hold back thousands of them.

"Oh, let's offend," I replied, and switched on my grav boots.  

The fight was on.

Lord had opened up the armory to his regiment(?) of volunteers.  Allowed them to requisition whatever they felt they would need.  From what I could see, they had taken full advantage.  A wide array of weapons fire filled the air.  Should I have asked for the same consideration?  It might have saved a bundle on those explosives.  

Not that I'm complaining.  We paid for top-grade stuff and that's what we got.  Parker's had plenty of practice with the "chase-me" stratagem, and put it to good use here.   Large sections of the sky were cleared simultaneously as three of the six Kouriers detonated their payload.

Our own little squad rose to meet the enemy.  Some of us (by which I mean, me) were clumsier than others in the grav boots, but everyone had a ranged attack and a will to use it.  (My recounting here is all from reviews, you understand - I was far too busy at the time to personally oversee everyone's performance in the moment.  Nor did they require it.)

So, let me sum up...

• Vamir chose to open with electrical attacks.  He was nearly as wobbly in the grav boots as I was, and it worked against him at first.  I still think it was a sound gambit, given that we were fighting legions of drones.  
• Ryatt manifested a prism-like crystal, firing off his laser through it.  The beam split and refracted to hit several of the approaching drones, knocking them from the sky.  The kid is nothing if not creative.  
• EllieRocks put on her "imaginary pistols" act, her drone mirroring it with physical plasmers.  How these children got parental permission to even be here, I'll never know -- mostly because I don't want to ask.
• Gordianus and Varfana used force attacks; one with magic and the other with tek.  Aru also used a plasmer pistol, but I know for a fact that his was a manifestation of his Ci weapon.  We hadn't yet handed those over to (the new and improved) Ama.  
• Katrya was (as usual) the first to close in with the enemy.  Her Ci took the place of her vibroblades, as she spun in the air in a credible imitation of a dervish.  Or perhaps I should say, a garbage disposal, considering the devastating effect of this style of attack.  I recall a time when these antics threatened to give me ulcers.  
• I had to review the videos twice to figure out what Desi was doing - she's hard to spot.  Turns out, the pixie conjured an electrical storm, which zapped a few drones out of the air and caused several more to fall back.  Perhaps they registered it as the original storm being back in place.
• My own drones -- apart from the Kouriers, of course -- were set to their usual medic/combat protocols.  Maggy hasn't been upgraded for aerial movement, but there were still plenty of troops on the ground.  

But, as I said, I didn't monitor all this in real-time.  Because I was concentrating on getting into their network.

I'd brought my ImagiNet BANlink - the first time I'd found a practical use for the thing - and once again was manifesting my Ci as, well, a Ci-board.  I'd spent most of the previous day studying for this one attempt.  I just needed to get close enough to the swarm to ride their carrier into the home network, while avoiding a fatal encounter with an enemy drone or the ground.  

While I could have used a lot more practice with aerial maneuvers, the study paid off.  I cracked the network on the first try, and what I found surprised me.

It was a network, but I didn't find a SunBaby behind it.  Multiple consciousnesses controlled these drones. They were, in effect, deep-dive VR-controlled rigs, with people on the other end.  The twist was, those people were not seeing reality.  The entire user interface of the system was set up to show them fighting some monstrous entity attacking their city.

A glimmer of a plan started forming.  I knew how to shut this down.  If I could log these users out and lock everyone out of the system, then we might end this battle with zero casualties.  Or, at the very least, gain our side a few minutes while they try to regain control of their own network.  Battle of the tek wizards.  Heh.  I set to work.

I hadn't gotten too far with implementing my plan when Ama's voice rang over the comms.  "To the Palace, now!"

That edict could only mean one thing: she had the power turned on and the defenses were about to come up.  Certainly something was happening.  The ground beneath the Palace was crumbling away, crashing upon the paved substance below.

All right, then.

It occurred to me that Lord's men had not witnessed Ama's transformation, so I clarified.  "General, that was a Goddess talking. Everyone who can, retreat to the Palace"  Then I followed my own advice, keeping my link to the Armenolos network open for as long as I could.  "Ama," I said, "there are living people in the city. I am going to try to communicate with them."

But shortly after I reached the courtyard, a globe of energy surrounded the entire structure, and my connection to Armenolos dropped.  

Everyone knows what happened that day, because when the Palace powered up, it established a link all the way back to Æstas, and started broadcasting.  Here's a link to the video:

[Video: Inside the Pattern Room of the Crystal Palace, at the beginning of the battle]

Standing at the center of the inlaid Pattern, Ama removes her amulet and holds it in her palm, gazing down at it thoughtfully for several moments before draping it around the owl on her shoulder, saying "Hold it for me, just a bit longer?" The owl blinks slowly, then glides from its perch to the top of a nearby console.

Ama closes her eyes, mentally preparing herself... and then begins to sing.  This song is unlike any heard before, in a tongue not heard in Æstas since the Fall.

Ama begins to move as the song continues, her steps fluid and dance-like, her arm and hand placement, and even the graceful arc of her spear, all precisely choreographed as she makes her way around the inert Pattern from the inside. With every movement, motes of golden light trail behind. Her words (in subtitles provided by Aru Nepeta) are describing an object, an item of great Power, something "created by the stars."

Once she arrives at the outer edge, Ama turns to face the center and ends her dance by Naming the object described by her song. Then she steps backward off the Pattern. At that action, the motes that had been trailing her begin to pulse, and start to float toward the Pattern's center. There is a flare, and in place of the convergence of glowing motes there is an object, slowly descending into the open compartment at the Pattern's center - an Eye.

The Eye inserts itself into the center of the Pattern, and immediately the lines of the Pattern begin to glow, the compartment shutting on its own as the light spreads outward. The owl swoops back down to Ama's arm, and she strokes its cheek gently before lifting the amulet from its neck again, saying, "Thank you. You can let go now."

A rumble is heard.

[Video perspective shifts to outside the Palace]

The remaining land outside the Palace fall away, dirt and rock crashing against the ground below, leaving the palace itself unsupported.

But the palace does not fall. Lights, interior and exterior, begin to glow as Power is restored, and, incredibly, the spired structure begins to ascend.

Ama's voice rings across the comms, "To the Palace, now!"

As the last of the forces make it within the courtyard, a globe of energy flares up around the Palace, cutting off the pursuing Legion. Those drones that hit the globe are destroyed. The Legion fires upon the Palace itself, but all its searing blasts of energy are blocked - no, absorbed - by the shield, and the lights of the Palace burn brighter.  

Ama's voice sounds triumphant as she declares, "The Cimarron Protocols are still functioning!"

The shield, vibrant with Power, pulses outward in a burst of energy that obliterates the forces arrayed against it, leaving only ash and dust.

[Video perspective shifts to the Pattern Room]

With a note of smug satisfaction in her voice, Ama says, "Captain Blackrose, if you would take the helm." Cecie looks around, confused, but a console - hidden when there was no Power - rises from the floor at the Pattern and her eyes go wide. "Take us up," Ama commands.

"Yes ma'am!"

[Video perspective shifts to outside the Palace]

The bases of the Palace spires flare to life, burning with energy as they propel the structure upwards through the sky. 

[Video perspective shifts to the Pattern Room]

Ama approaches the wall opposite the door as a large display is projected upon it, and more panels and smaller displays begin appearing around the room. Ama sweeps her hand, and the display she stands before shows the surface of the planet, diminishing as the Palace ascends.

Ama points at locations across the display, causing them to magnify: the locations of the six Great Cities, all of them now on full alert, alarms blaring and the walkways retracting in a rush to deploy the Central Patterns as weapons against the Palace.

Ama takes a moment to focus. Her hands thrust forward. Several others in the control room gasp.

[Video perspective shifts to aerial view, above the six Great Cities]

At all six locations, the Central Patterns fail - their glow stops, forcibly deactivated by whatever it is Ama is doing. The center compartments open and the Children are lifted from their Seats of Power, writhing violently but contained by Ama's unseen force. They hover there, trying to resist but unable to escape or fight back, until at last all six are exterminated in a brief, strangled burst of light.

The golden forms of the remaining Legions, no longer connected to the hive mind of the Children, deactivate. Those in the air crash down to the ground, while those still on the ground fall over, or simply stop moving. After a few moments, the doors of the Great City towers open, and, hesitantly, humanoid forms emerge, looking around in confusion and astonishment.

[Video perspective shifts to the Pattern Room]

Ama turns back to those within the room, appearing... not exhausted, but perhaps wearied. And also relieved. "Thank you."

I look back on that day with mixed emotions.  I'm grateful and relieved that Ama was able to restore power to the Crystal Palace as quickly as she did, and that the defense protocols were all functioning, but I can't help feeling a bit superfluous.  As in, what was she was thanking us for?

Oh, I don't mean to sound facetious.  Any number of things could have gone wrong.  The Crystal Palace might not have powered up that quickly, or at all.  I could have failed to crack the network.

Every last person on that mission could have died.  

But we didn't.  And now, we have a real chance to make a future for ourselves.  

We did relinquish the Cair.  Ama stored them in the Palace control room -- there are six workstations, each with their own special compartments just for that purpose.  

Then she turned the Crystal Palace itself over to Cecily and Hilda.  Turns out, it's a ship, and quite an upgrade, too.  This one can sail among the stars.  Apparently, Ama can do that just fine on her own.  Ms. Blackrose seemed uncertain about the gift - only the second time I have ever witnessed uncertainty in that individual - and she asked, "What if I get lost?" 

To which Ama replied, "A Star Elf is never lost, so long as they can see the sky."  Cecily's eyes widened upon hearing that.  Mine did too, and I filed the information away.  Never heard of "star elves" before.

And I believe that's what all three of them will be doing: traveling among the stars, although Ama's star is the one closest to our planet.  I do hope to see them all again.  They've become family.  And, I can't deny that I'd like a chance to learn more about the tek in the Palace.  It could advance our infrastructure improvements a hundredfold.

Before she left, Ama paid a visit to the Core.  This time I tagged along, and was amazed at the new greenery on and around the Tree.  Even more amazing was the way everything with a leaf or flower oriented itself upon Ama, following her movements.  When she actually touched the trunk, every blossom on the tree grew into a fruit -- "Time for Peaches," indeed.  Then the bark of the tree itself -- I'm sorry, but it's hard to describe it -- it seemed to open up, but at the same time remained solid, and a completely different person just stepped out of it.  

Elenya.  In the flesh.  Not, as I had surmised, a formless intelligence, but an actual woman.  A dryad, in fact, and she apparently knew Ama from way back.  They hugged, and Ama thanked her for "protecting the world and its people."

"You are tied to it, now," Ama said, "closer than I or my father, since the Primary Pattern was destroyed. I have no doubt you will continue to protect it. Should you need help in that, you know how to contact me."

One final wave, and Ama rose into the sky.  She didn't officially state her business, but most of us agreed that, as Goddess of the Sun, she likely intended discipline a few naughty children.

And the last I saw of Elenya, before she returned to her tree, she had imbued ripened peaches with a part of her essence, and gave one to each of her daughters, so that they could finally have their own trees.  (Heh.  Daughters Of Elenya.  Only they knew how literal that name was.)

As for me...I suppose I'll have to accustom myself to a more law-abiding lifestyle.  When the Palace powered up, video from the battle was instantly relayed all the way back to Æstas (I really, really need to study that tek), and as a result I won the election for Council Leader.  Between that, and rebuilding the infrastructure, and raising a nascent AI, I doubt I'll have much time for illicit activities.  

But I did have a second date with Steff.  You have to make time for some fun.  Of course, it had to be at Embers.  I'll bet, though, that the next time we see the Crystal Palace, Cecily will have the kitchen up and running, and once again will own the best restaurant in the city. Or maybe the galaxy. 

Can't wait to see the menu.

..::Kai::..