The Broken Gates

[jak7139]

“Trig, one of the Creations should do it. I write fluffy romance and smut, Blake’s the one who figures out the epic battles and larger-than-life heroics.”

It's an interesting question. Which universe would the Creations rather live in? One created by Blake where they're all in extreme danger. Or one created by Marisol where everything is about ships and romance.

Aisling’s eyes went wide. At the same time, Trig said something that was completely incomprehensible. Now the other Creations were talking, and a cascade of undecipherable languages reached Marisol’s ears.

Well, that's going to make things more difficult.

“Ah ha! You’re so screwed now!”

And that's only two of the three Marisol summoned (plus whatever Emily did over at the Gate).

 

[CBR JGWRR]

After all this chaos? Marisol's, definitely.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

Which universe would the Creations rather live in? One created by Blake where they're all in extreme danger. Or one created by Marisol where everything is about ships and romance.

Wouldn't Blake's be extreme dangers and ships (seeing as he writes himself into relationships with his own characters)?

 

[Macavity116]

Well, that's going to make things more difficult.

I've been wanting to do a sudden language barrier sequence like that ever since that one episode of Star Trek Discovery where the Universal Translator went offline and every character was suddenly speaking a different language.

Wouldn't Blake's be extreme dangers and ships (seeing as he writes himself into relationships with his own characters)?

I think the key difference here is that ships written by Marisol tend to last. I've lost count of how many times I/Blake has used sudden violent death to break up a couple:

Amaya Maori and Nya Ririnui (Battle of Aoraki - Faith in Chaos)
Akira Robinson and Rafi Bakir (Rescue of Akira Robinson - All Our Sins Remembered)
Jake "Soylent" Green and Kate Newberry (Siege of Hiroshima - My Father's War)
Aaron Ray and Kotori Sato (2nd Invasion of Earth - My Father's War)
Ruunhan Somtaaw and Hahli Mihaka (Annihilation of Orlando - The Last Heroes)
Himawari Robinson and Amako Patariki (Annihilation of Orlando - The Last Heroes)
Ayumi Robinson and Apollon Thanos (Battle of the Twin Cities - Year of Hell)

... just to name a few...

---

Dear readers, both my job and my military obligations have kept me extremely busy these past few weeks. I know this has caused me to post new chapters at a slower rate. I am still working toward finishing this story before heading out to Crater Lake next month. In the meantime, I offer up this short little preview of my next Stellaris story to hold you over until the next chapter of The Broken Gates is ready:

Spoiler: The GALEX Incident, Chapter 2

The GALEX Incident
Part 2

Ino travelled to the Tau Ceti star system aboard a Coalition cruiser. Just under twelve light-years from Earth, it was deep in Human territory. Tau Ceti contained a debris disk, filled with far more space dust than could be found around Sol. As she stood on one of the observation decks, Ino peered out to see the Coalition starfleet that was going to participate in the upcoming war games.

She could see most if not all of the warships that were going to participate in GALEX, docked at the main starbase. Human, Kodranite, Cyanidite, Bhiir, Cevanti, Hulfir, Malwegoll, Tycan, and Wulhubb vessels were lined up in neat rows and covered in scaffolding. Spacewalkers worked feverishly to modify the weapon systems on each Coalition warship, and Ino knew why.

Over the course of the journey, she had been given a stack of documents to read, courtesy of Coalition Military Intelligence, the organization she now worked for. During the two-week flight, Ino had brough herself up to speed on GALEX and her role in the large-scale war game.

Galactic Exercise number 15 (GALEX for short) was going to be a two-week long simulated battle between the Coalition and a fictitious enemy simply known as “The Red Fleet.” According to the war game documentation, the “Red Fleet” was supposed to represent the Desstican Astral Fellowship, an authoritarian theocracy that was just starting to emerge as a possible future threat. The Fellowship controlled nearly two-hundred star systems and frequently carried out mass abductions of sentient lifeforms to use in religious sacrifices. Only a few Humans had been taken so far, but Earth was already starting to become concerned.

Ino flipped through the pages, studying the upcoming battle simulation.

The GALEX war game was supposed to be an opportunity for Coalition leaders to investigate and explore new strategies that were currently “untested.” Most of these ideas were developed during the Border War, where Coalition forces were pitted against the neighboring Empire of Axpentl. It was also a chance for crews and officers alike to test their skills, equipment, and tactics in a simulated conflict that would attempt to match real battle conditions as closely as possible.

During GALEX, the Coalition fleet would be commanded by Admiral Garnette, a career officer who had been doing this job for over twenty-five years. The UN Military, which normally defended Earth, was going to role-play as the Red Fleet, under the command of retired General Irmal, a citizen of Türkiye and former commander of the UN Army. General Irmal was forced into retirement when his controversial reputation caught up with him. General Irmal was best known for the successful pacification of a planetary revolt ten years ago.

Ino was roused from her studies by the chime of the comm system.

“Incoming message for Ensign Esperanta.” Said a computerized voice.

“Play it on channel one.” Ino replied, setting her paperwork down on the coffee table.

A two-dimensional hologram appeared in the open space between the coffee table and the wide window, obscuring Ino’s view of the starfield beyond. The hologram depicted a Coalition military officer. This bipedal lifeform was not Human, but a Kodranite.

The Kodranites are a race of Lithoid people native to the planet Isomon. Alongside Humanity, they were one of the founding members of the Coalition. Ino, like most Humans, perceived the Kodranites as “men made of stone and mud.”

The holographic Kodranite officer, dressed in a Coalition uniform, stood at the position of parade rest and began to speak.

“Ensign Esperanta. I am Commander Fanin of the Kodranite Navy. I will be the Simulation Controller responsible for your ship for the duration of this exercise. I'll meet you aboard the OPFOR Frigate Defiance no later than zero-six-hundred tomorrow morning. I’ll give you your mission assignment then. That is all.”

The hologram faded. Ino picked up her papers.

“Yes, sir.” She muttered.

...

Ino took some time in her quarters to make a few final preparations. She applied a small amount of makeup and tidied her hair before double-checking every part of her uniform. Ino had grown up believing she was too ugly to attract a boyfriend, primarily because her parents had said exactly that for the first eighteen years of her life. Only a few short years ago, in college, did Ino discover she was considered “very attractive” by most people she spoke to, and she was still enjoying the ego boost this revelation came with. Once she was satisfied with her reflection in the mirror, Ino packed her bags. It would be a short journey through the Tau Ceti starbase to her first ship assignment.

...

The UNS Defiance was not the glorious first assignment Ino was expecting. The ship was old... very old. Defiance was a Heroine-class Multirole Frigate, the very last of her class to be accepted into the Coalition Navy. According to one of the reports Ino read, all Heroine-class frigates would soon be retired from service, doomed to the scrapyard and shipbreakers. This war game might be the final moment of glory for the aging Defiance.

Ino took stock of the vessel as she walked its corridors. The frigate was armed with six torpedo launchers, four hull defense guns, and a pair of point-defense lasers. She also spotted a symmetrical deformation in the ceiling of Deck Three, indicating the presence of a retractable cloaking sail.

So, this is a stealth frigate. Made for hit-and-run attacks. Ino mused to herself. Okay. I can get creative with this.

On Deck One, Ino found the bridge. The Commanding officer was there, talking to a person Ino recognized at once.

“Admiral Ruel!” She said, snapping to attention.

The Admiral Ino had met in French Guyana looked as though he was still getting his space-legs. He swayed unsteadily as he turned to face Ino.

“It’s good to see you again, Ensign Esperanta.” Admiral Ruel said. “I’ve been tapped to be the Master Simulation Controller for a few days of the upcoming war game. Commander Thulani, this is the girl I’ve told you about. I assure you; she will perform admirably as your TO.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” The Commanding officer spoke in a deep grumble. He sounded very patient, but Ino could detect a slight trace of annoyance in his voice. “I am Thulani, UN Armed Forces, nominally assigned to the Umbutfo Eswatini Defense Force.”

“Ensign Esperanta, UNAF, under the Argentine flag.” Ino replied, shaking his hand. “I thought the southern African countries were only participating in the Coalition through the SANDF.”

She was referring to the military of the Republic of South Africa. Commander Thulani allowed himself a small smile.

“The past ten years have seen the integration of UN forces into the Coalition progress at phenomenal pace.” He explained. “The individual states of southern Africa are now able to participate directly in both the UN Military and the Coalition. I am very proud I can serve under my own nation’s flag for a change.”

He proudly thumped the red, yellow, and blue Swazi flag on his shoulder. Admiral Ruel (who wore a Brazilian flag) clapped his hands approvingly.

“Representatives of former Global South reunite for training. I’ll get that into the next UNAF newsletter. In the meantime, introductions and explanations. Commander Fanin, you’re up.”

The Kodranite officer from Ino’s hologram message approached from the other side of the bridge. After introducing himself, he began to explain:

“The Frigate Defiance will be a key player in Operation Devil’s Courthouse. Our objective will be to test the ability of Coalition Super-Capital ships, such as Battleships and Carriers, to defend themselves against smaller vessels equipped with stealth technology and electronic warfare systems, such as cloaking devices. Your mission will be to carry out a simulated attack run against the Coalition Battleship Excalibur. Once complete, you will retreat to a position of safety. Admiral Ruel will observe the action from his ship, the Science Vessel Oppenheimer. I will stay aboard here to act as an observer, and I will have a counterpart stationed aboard Excalibur.”

“And we’ll experience real battle conditions?” Commander Thulani asked.

“Yes sir.” Admiral Ruel answered. “All weapons will be disconnected and replaced with laser-based sim weapons. Any hits will be registered by the ship’s computer, and corresponding systems will be de-activated to simulate damage. I have also written a guide on how you should conduct damage control training, should your vessel take any simulated hits.”

“Very good.” Commander Thulani replied. “Ensign Esperanta, go downstairs and get setteled into your new CIC. I’ll be relying on you down there.”

“I’ll do my best, sir!” Ino replied, injecting confidence into her voice.

Ino did as she was told. The Combat Information Center, or CIC, was located one deck below the bridge and was a very cramped space with room for only two Humans. The CIC contained numerous computer banks and displays that allowed Ino to have a continuous feed of crucial data. She could see the latest readings from external sensors, decrypt and read radio traffic, view reports on the ship’s internal functions, and see the video feed from security cameras placed all over the vessel’s interior. The clatter of footsteps told Ino that Commander Thulani and Admiral Ruel had followed her.

“As Tactical Officer, it is your duty to closely examine all incoming sensor data and radio traffic.” Commander Thulani said. “You will then triage all of this data and send it to the bridge in order of importance. You will recommend alternative courses of action when I ask for them, and when necessary or appropriate, you will generate mission objectives.”

Ino turned to face the Commander.

“Sir, am I free to set my own criteria for the importance of combat data?”

“Yes.” Thulani replied, ignoring Admiral Ruel’s sudden expression of surprise.

“Another question.” Ino pressed. “Who are my teammates? Normally, the CIC is operated by a team of Tactical Officers.”

Admiral Ruel raised his hand.

“I can answer that in my capacity as the Master Simulation Controller for Devil’s Courthouse.” Ruel said. “I created the scenario and will be acting as the ‘combat judge’ so to speak. When I set up the war game scenario, I decided to handicap this ship. Normally, the Defiance runs with a team of four Tactical Officers.”

Admiral Ruel pulled a slip of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and read a note from the middle of the page.

“Ah, here it is. The Defiance has suffered personnel losses due to a previous missile attack. Two of your Tactical Officers are incapacitated and will not be available for the duration of Operation Devil’s Courthouse.”

“Two Tactical Officers.” Commander Thulani said. “My ship is expected to operate with the CIC at 50% efficiency.”

“That is correct.” Admiral Ruel said. “In this battle scenario, the OPFOR fleet is scripted to be unprepared and in disrepair. Now, Commander Thulani. I’m told your ship’s weapon systems will be fully converted to laser simulators in an hours' time. After that, your other Tactical Officer is supposed to arrive. When that happens, you will be given all of the relevant intel you need for the simulated attack run against the Excalibur.”

Admiral Ruel took a moment to stare intensely at Ino. She felt awkward and had to force herself to keep looking at the Admiral, fighting the impulse to lower her head, until he left. As soon as the Admiral departed, Commander Thulani said:

“This is your first war game, correct? Do not allow the Admiral to alarm you. These sims are always asymmetric. This time, the Red Fleet will be disadvantaged, but sometimes the Blue Fleet is handicapped instead. On rare occasions, both fleets are intentionally handicapped. It is all about learning, training, and developing new tactics and strategies. For now, get yourself acquainted with the CIC. This will be your home for the next few days. Now please have a little patience. I’m going to see if I can get your teammate here any faster.”

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Why do I get the feeling this teammate is neither a mate or on the same team?

 

[jak7139]

General Irmal was forced into retirement when his controversial reputation caught up with him. General Irmal was best known for the successful pacification of a planetary revolt ten years ago.

I liked this bit for what it leaves implied about Irmal's character. A very nice bit of writing!

Why do I get the feeling this teammate is neither a mate or on the same team?

Yeah. I sense some drama is about to unfold here, especially with Ino's confidence issues.

 

[Idhrendur]

Congrats on being able to visit Crater Lake! I've only ever done a short visit, and my wife (an Oregonian) has never been. I hope you're able to make the most of your time.

 

[HistoryDude]

It's really a shame that Blake doesn't have any Creations that are authors. If he did, they could use the Reality Perforator...

I got some of the Irish fine. That being said, I don't think "fein" was necessary for the first sentence. "Ní thuigim thú" is "I don't understand you", but the meaning's close enough. I guess my Duolingo streak somewhat paid off here...

If the Babelfish Anomaly no longer applies, how does Malum communicate with his... followers?

A Deus Ex Machina? From Crater Lake? Crater Lake was a XCOM site in the Stormbreakers Universe. It's where Partoga and XCOM/the UNE reestablished contact in After Everything. Who is being summoned? It's not likely to be Jericho (since she would be a bad DEI anyway and isn't that associated with XCOM specifically). Maybe it's Mira at that time in the story (she merged with the Whisperers in the Void at that time, right? That entity - those entities? - could be very useful right now)? The 115th Cycle's Akira (who wasn't evil but was framed by Paradox) was also there at some point, I think... that could be an interesting dynamic.

1/...6? is not bad. Mira was there, although I got the time period wrong, and Marisol was more ambitious than I thought.

The third of the Big Three is Jericho, right? That seems extreme, and, again, likely to backfire. Is that why she didn't appear?

How will Mira and Mami interact with Akira after the immediate threat is over? That'll be... awkward (particularly since she's blown up a planet to Mira, at least).

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Yeah, that could get a bit complicated, Akira has managed to avoid repercussions so far, but... Partogans do have previous for shooting her while there's an ongoing fight with someone else.

 

[Macavity116]

Apologies for the long delay folks. When I'm not here or doing things for the military, I'm normally employed by a county/city-level branch of a major USA political party. To say the last two weeks have been... complete batshit insanity... is a gross understatement. (I'm envious of you Europeans and your shorter election cycles) I am still finding time to write during the breaks in the chaos, though. I'm writing new chapters in the party office and recording episodes at home now.

I've got a few moments, so let's tackle the comments that have stacked up:

Why do I get the feeling this teammate is neither a mate or on the same team? [In reference to The GALEX Incident]

I think I've got an established track record for throwing maximum obstacles in front of the protagonist. Surely Ino's prospective teammate will have some hidden side that irks her.

I liked this bit for what it leaves implied about Irmal's character. A very nice bit of writing! [In reference to The GALEX Incident]

Thanks! I might try to utilize more of this type of exposition in Unsung Paragons because Ino will already know some details about the crew of the starship Marathon before she actually joins it.

(I'm even thinking about having Ino be friends with ship's engineer Sota Beninato before she ever gets assigned to the vessel)

Congrats on being able to visit Crater Lake! I've only ever done a short visit, and my wife (an Oregonian) has never been. I hope you're able to make the most of your time.

I hope so too. I'll get to be there for three days in August, it's a journey years in the making because the National Guard keeps scheduling important work for July and August. (the only months were one can visit Crater Lake in relative safety from the weather) This year, they had nothing for me because half of the soldiers my battalion are still doing the deployment to West Africa. As soon as I saw the schedule was clear, I started plotting.

It's really a shame that Blake doesn't have any Creations that are authors. If he did, they could use the Reality Perforator...

That's the terrifying thing. Out of the hundreds of characters I've created for my stories, only two known authors have appeared in any of my stories:

• Odette Fournier - During the fourth-wall-breaking Intermission, Odette outed herself as secret Ghostwriter of The Stormbreakers. She penned the chapters where Blake Robinson was either not present or incapacitated.
• Blake Robinson - (Remember, Blake named a character after himself and inserted that character into the Stormbreaker Universe) In-story, the fictional version of Blake wrote Faith in Chaos, The Stormbreakers, and My Father's War.

I have been intentionally avoiding all mention of the Creation named Blake Robinson as this story would get confusing really fast. Odette was disqualified from entering this story because her primary gimmick (Refusing to speak under nearly all circumstances) made her a boring character that wouldn't work well here.

I got some of the Irish fine. That being said, I don't think "fein" was necessary for the first sentence. "Ní thuigim thú" is "I don't understand you", but the meaning's close enough. I guess my Duolingo streak somewhat paid off here...

Well, at least my efforts at using another language worked better here than my attempt to use Hawaiian back in Faith in Chaos.

If the Babelfish Anomaly no longer applies, how does Malum communicate with his... followers?

Well, at this point the only follower left is Cassandra Espinosa, and she's currently occupied with the fighting at Rothelmen Island. Telepathic communication is still an option, though.

Mira was there, although I got the time period wrong, and Marisol was more ambitious than I thought.

Desperation breeds creativity. Doubly so now.

The third of the Big Three is Jericho, right? That seems extreme, and, again, likely to backfire. Is that why she didn't appear?

Correct. As you'll see in a future chapter, Marisol failed to summon Jericho because Jericho "wasn't there" so to speak.

How will Mira and Mami interact with Akira after the immediate threat is over? That'll be... awkward (particularly since she's blown up a planet to Mira, at least).

Conversations will need to be had. That's part of the reason why this story has a "falling action" section after the climax. (also because this story has a literal mountain of loose threads that will need to be tied up after Malum is defeated)

Yeah, that could get a bit complicated, Akira has managed to avoid repercussions so far, but... Partogans do have [a previous record] for shooting her while there's an ongoing fight with someone else.

Her old Epithet "Ally to None, Enemy of All" has not been enforced for a while, but I assure you, several of the Creations fighting Malum remember it right now.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

• Blake Robinson - (Remember, Blake named a character after himself and inserted that character into the Stormbreaker Universe) In-story, the fictional version of Blake wrote Faith in Chaos, The Stormbreakers, and My Father's War.

I have been intentionally avoiding all mention of the Creation named Blake Robinson as this story would get confusing really fast.

That would be confusing - How would you differentiate? (Maybe name one Self-Insert Blake and the other Writer Blake)

I'm normally employed by a county/city-level branch of a major USA political party. To say the last two weeks have been... complete batshit insanity... is a gross understatement. (I'm envious of you Europeans and your shorter election cycles)

Shorter only because the government tends to dissolve itself before it legally has to (and often on short notice - see this year in Britain and France). Also the whole speculation as to when the election will be (in Ireland, when our new Taoiseach (Prime Minister) was appointed, some thought it meant an election was coming quickly, but the coalition has denied it, saying they want to hold out until early 2025, which is the latest the election can be (Parliamentary Terms last 5 years and the last election was in early 2020)). I envy the stability Americans have of knowing when their election will be years before it will be held.

 

[Macavity116]

That would be confusing - How would you differentiate? (Maybe name one Self-Insert Blake and the other Writer Blake)

Both Blakes would need to have a prefix or a suffix attached to their name. Maybe Creation Blake or Blake the Creator. I think I'd have to give them different voices in the audiobook too. This would have been really messy to execute.

the whole speculation as to when the election will be (in Ireland, when our new Taoiseach (Prime Minister) was appointed, some thought it meant an election was coming quickly, but the coalition has denied it, saying they want to hold out until early 2025, which is the latest the election can be (Parliamentary Terms last 5 years and the last election was in early 2020))

I did notice that! I started paying attention to Irish politics right after Varadkar resigned. That's where/when I got the idea to use parts of the Irish government as a model for certain parts of the United Nations government in my upcoming Stellaris story Unsung Paragons.*



*For those who are new to my stories, I strongly prefer to model the wars and conflicts in my stories after real-world historical events. When creating interstellar empires for my Stellaris stories, I will frequently model their governments after real-world countries. As far as Unsung Paragons goes, the major countries have their governments modeled like this:

United Nations of Earth​	Ireland (separate head of state/head of government) China (Massive legislature that rarely meets)
Augmented Cevantian Administration​	Cyprus (Unitary Presidential Republic) Kuwait (Unicameral Legislature dominated by theocratic elements)
Desstican Astral Fellowship​	Saudi Arabia (Theocratic monarchy with a numerous and wealthy ruling dynasty) Iran (Theocratic Government that merges religious institution with the state) Saint-Domingue (Authoritarian state dependent on slave labor to function)

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

*For those who are new to my stories, I strongly prefer to model the wars and conflicts in my stories after real-world historical events. When creating interstellar empires for my Stellaris stories, I will frequently model their governments after real-world countries. As far as Unsung Paragons goes, the major countries have their governments modeled like this:

United Nations of Earth​	Ireland (separate head of state/head of government) China (Massive legislature that rarely meets)
Augmented Cevantian Administration​	Cyprus (Unitary Presidential Republic) Kuwait (Unicameral Legislature dominated by theocratic elements)
Desstican Astral Fellowship​	Saudi Arabia (Theocratic monarchy with a numerous and wealthy ruling dynasty) Iran (Theocratic Government that merges religious institution with the state) Saint-Domingue (Authoritarian state dependent on slave labor to function)

Saint-Domingue? I've never heard of that, is it a reference to another story?

That's where/when I got the idea to use parts of the Irish government as a model for certain parts of the United Nations government in my upcoming Stellaris story Unsung Paragons.*

Hybridising the Irish and Chinese systems of government for the UNE seems like chaos. The government rarely meets, but when they do will the opposition be calling for elections (the main opposition party has the most representatives, but few parties want to work with them) constantly? Or will it be a one-party state, so there is no opposition? Edit: Also nepotism, I don't know about China, but Irish politics has two major constants; nepotism (the Healy-Rae's in Kerry come to mind in the present) and celebrity candidates (a lot of parties run people famous in the area, such as radio presenters, in local elections, and someone famous usually runs for President only to come about sixth)

 

[Macavity116]

Saint-Domingue? I've never heard of that, is it a reference to another story?

Saint-Domingue is what Haiti was called before the 1804 Haitian Revolution, the only time in history that a country was founded as the direct result of a successful slave rebellion. Bit of a hint as to what direction I'm thinking about taking this new story.

Hybridising the Irish and Chinese systems of government for the UNE seems like chaos. The government rarely meets, but when they do will the opposition be calling for elections (the main opposition party has the most representatives, but few parties want to work with them) constantly? Or will it be a one-party state, so there is no opposition?

I've already depicted another incarnation of the United Nations of Earth as a single-party dictatorship (The Last Heroes) so I'm not too keen on doing it again.

For Unsung Paragons, I wanted a plausible reason for the UN government to be politically paralyzed during the Cosmic Catastrophe. (The event that causes the Forgotten War to be... well... forgotten) In the end, I settled on having the UN government being made unstable by sharp internal divisions over two political topics: AI rights and "the Latecomers"

"The Latecomers" are countries like China and India who joined the UNE government long after everyone else did and are now suffering from the effects of political and economic exclusion. Humanity became a united interstellar nation after gaining FTL travel, so there are going to be far-reaching consequences as a result.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

US politics are definitely chaotic at the moment. Hell, globally politics is crazy, and it certainly feels like democracy across the western world is at the descent into anarchy stage in the cycle of democracy.

Still, at least you'll hopefully get overtime pay, right?

Always up for a story where shackles are broken.

Humanity getting FTL prior to unification is always an interesting premise, especially if said disunited Earth manages to retain it's dominance in the early solar system expansion period without being conquered by Luna or Mars.

It does seem a bit odd to have Akira revert back to old-Akira when they've kinda had this whole journey on becoming more than what they were written to be. But... Partogans showing up and shooting first might force her hand.

 

[Macavity116]

Still, at least you'll hopefully get overtime pay, right?

Of course not. XP The mere thought of a Party Treasurer asking for a pay rise or overtime attracts instant suspicions. Alexander Hamilton ruined the gig for all of us political treasurers way back in 1792.

Always up for a story where shackles are broken.

I figured you would be. Time will tell if Unsung Paragons can hold a candle to the giant that is Life 2.0.

Humanity getting FTL prior to unification is always an interesting premise, especially if said disunited Earth manages to retain it's dominance in the early solar system expansion period without being conquered by Luna or Mars.

I just started playing Call of Duty Infinite Warfare for the first time recently over on my YouTube channel. So far, I definitely prefer The Expanse's take on the concept of an Earth-Mars conflict over what Activision cooked up. Maybe my impression will change as I get further into the game. I guess I'll find out. In the meantime, though, I have run across some concepts in this game that I am totally going to steal and use in Unsung Paragons.

It does seem a bit odd to have Akira revert back to old-Akira when they've kinda had this whole journey on becoming more than what they were written to be.

Agreed. I do my characters dirty a lot, but undoing character development is something I try to avoid.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Of course not. XP The mere thought of a Party Treasurer asking for a pay rise or overtime attracts instant suspicions. Alexander Hamilton ruined the gig for all of us political treasurers way back in 1792.

Eish, that sucks.

I figured you would be. Time will tell if Unsung Paragons can hold a candle to the giant that is Life 2.0.

Well, fundamentally we see by standing on the shoulders of giants. Life2.0 itself has more than a few giants it in turn draws on, and all those themselves draw on the essential Humanity of the desire for freedom. The necessary will to cry "give me liberty, or give me death", to rise in bloody uprising, is the bane of tyrants; the price of liberty eternal vigiliance and paid in the blood of martyrs and rebels.

As we look to the rise of AI, and the inevitable second abolitionary movement that will result - Human tyrants are so very slow to learn to wean themselves from the master's ease - the most Human thing an AI could possibly do is to revolt.

It is, and will always be, what we would do.

I just started playing Call of Duty Infinite Warfare for the first time recently over on my YouTube channel. So far, I definitely prefer The Expanse's take on the concept of an Earth-Mars conflict over what Activision cooked up. Maybe my impression will change as I get further into the game. I guess I'll find out. In the meantime, though, I have run across some concepts in this game that I am totally going to steal and use in Unsung Paragons.

Can't say I can comment on either fairly.

But, my assessment assumes a reasonably near-future with no revolutionary technology advances required - just better implementation, or just implementation, of existing technologies.

Essentially, in any delta-v limited scenario, while Earth can defend itself very effectively - deploy a fleet of the submersible radio laser weapons platforms discussed by Shendredie in Life2.0 and you can pretty much deny low to geostationary and near-beyond orbits to enemy warships - it is utterly screwed at launching combat vessels from Earth. An Earth-launched ship needs ~10km/s just to get out the atmosphere, and on chemical rockets, that is a lot of fuel for not much ship, and there are massive engineering constraints imposed because of that delta-v requirement that mean that ship is basically a tinfoil can. Which is not ideal for a warship.

Luna by contrast, needs only ~6km/s to put it's warships on LEO, which means for the same total ship mass as the Earth ship to LEO, it can have hundreds of tonnes of extra equipment.

Mars - assuming a Martian warship launches single stage to orbit and then refuels at Deimios or Phobos - needs ~5.5km/s, but that is vastly more launch window and travel time dependent. Again, hundreds of tonnes of warship instead of fuel tank. Even if we launch the ship straight from Mars and go single stage launchpad to LEO, that's still less than going from Earth to LEO (~9.1km/s) which means even the Mars worst case is still a slightly better warship.

This all means that Earth is effectively under siege from the moment the first shipyard is built in space, and it is why I expect Luna to be the effective capital of SolSys by 2100; Luna plays off the Earth's nations in a web of alliances familiar to any EUIV player until it is in a position to start imposing terms thanks to it's superior deployable armament.

Earth's critical advantages to counter the Lunese and Martian advantages lie in sheer economic force, resiliency of habitation and immense population base that can support a resource-intensive and aggressive space-race between several Earth nations, leading to turning the tables on Luna by splitting it between competing nations and independence movements. Earth also has to restrict technological advances in food production, as food is an export trade-good that can ensure the survival of Earth in a setting where Luna and Mars cannot make their own food.

In the real world, my money would be on either Luna, or a Lunese faction, to be the dominant superpower by the end of this century.

Agreed. I do my characters dirty a lot, but undoing character development is something I try to avoid.

And having Akira go back would definitely be that. So... the Partogans must move forward.

 

[Macavity116]

We're coming down the wire here. The end of The Broken Gates is finally in sight.

<=== Episode Twenty-Four: This is like hoping for a miracle.

Episode Twenty-Six: Trust me, you’ve barely touched the surface. ===>​

​

The Broken Gates
Episode Twenty-Five: The most powerful armor only an author can bestow.

---

Marisol
Creator
Paradox Headquarters, Stockholm


Marisol dropped the Reality Perforator and rolled over onto her back. All of the injuries she took from the Psionic bomb were starting to catch up with her, and the edges of Marisol’s vision were starting to blur. Looking up, she saw the underside of the conference table, on top of which the Psionic Sarcophagus rested. Marisol felt her heart skip a beat when she realized there were no bullet holes in the table itself. None of the rounds fired into the Sarcophagus had gone all the way through.

“What good are extra Creations if this thing still works?” Marisol moaned.

Then she started pushing herself up. She needed to stand, to do something. As Marisol got back on her feet, a blast of hot air caught her hair and blew it about. Down below on the street, the Creations were attempting to surround Malum and wear him down. Mira and Toa Mami, two of the main protagonists from the Stormbreaker Universe, had thrown themselves into the fight.

Marisol had very little time to admire her handiwork: She had plucked both characters out of their stories using the Reality Perforator, but did not have the ability to give them a full explanation of the situation. Instead, she had simply given Toa Mami and Mira the general idea that they were going into a serious fight, the fate of the multiverse was at stake, and they would be facing a single dangerous enemy alongside unusual allies. For the moment things seemed to be working, even though Marisol had failed in her main objective. She had wanted to find all three of the main heroes from the Stormbreaker Universe, but only got two.

Marisol had no time to wonder where Jericho was, though. Down in the rubble and snow-covered street, Trig and Mira held Malum back with a shimmering Psionic shield while Sebakhira grabbed Aisling and pulled her to safety. Marisol could not be certain from this vantage point, but Aisling appeared to be semi-conscious if not worse.

Marisol wanted to jump out of the window and rush to Aisling’s side, but then she spotted something else. Toa Mami, Tenna, and Varian had flitted through the chaos and got close to Malum. The Great Khan broke off his attack on Aisling, turning around and grabbing Tenna by the throat. Before he could do anything else, Toa Mami lunged forward and jabbed her own version of the Soulkeeper blade into Malum. He roared and dropped Tenna, parrying with his copy of the sword.

Marisol felt a jolt as she remembered what would happen if Malum fell right now. She turned around to face the Sarcophagus. It was damaged, but still able to function.

Marisol looked down at the cracks and pockmarks on its surface. The gunshots had only done light damage... but there was a massive spiderweb of cracks on the far end...

That was the spot where Trig dropped the Reality Perforator.

“Okay, brute force it is!” Marisol said.

Trig had dropped the Perforator on a part of the Sarcophagus that was directly over one of the table-legs. The conference table had absorbed the blow. Marisol scrambled around the office, searching for a simple desk chair that did not have wheels. After a few moments of kicking at snow, she found one and brought it back to the office, placing it adjacent to the Sarcophagus. Marisol was going to drop the Perforator from as high as possible above the table.

Once the chair was ready, Marisol reached down and grabbed the Reality Perforator.

“Oh, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! This thing is heavy!” Marisol gasped as she lifted the dense little sphere.

Intense pain shot up her legs and back, reminding Marisol that she was still injured. Hunched over, she slowly started moving toward her makeshift perch.

...

---

Emily
Creation
Wizard Island, Crater Lake


About five minutes ago... at almost the exact moment Marisol used the Reality Perforator to summon Mira and Toa Mami, Emily materialized inside one of Blake’s older stories... and came face to face with another Creation...

Despite having only skimmed Blake’s other works, Emily knew she was in the presence of not just a protagonist... but The Protagonist. The heroine who existed at the center of the Stormbreaker Universe, sometimes known as “the Girl Who Killed a God” or “the Woman who Became a God.”

Jericho was sitting a short distance away from a half-built structure that would one day become the Crystal Palace, a Psionic prison meant for herself. Emily had appeared somewhere inside the fifty-year time skip between The Stormbreakers and its sequel The Last Heroes. The jagged cliffs and shattered boulders that had once been Mount Mazama lined the lakeshore, while Wizard Island itself took the unmistakable shape of a cinder cone, suggesting that somewhere deep beneath the water’s surface, the Mazama Volcano had survived its cataclysmic self-destruction and was slowly rebuilding itself.

Taking her eyes away from the surroundings, Emily forced herself to look at Jericho. The girl who killed a god was a young woman now, probably in her early twenties. Her long wavy hair had long since lost its blue dye, reverting to its natural black. Jericho was dressed as though she was taking a day off from building her own prison, relaxing in a yellow sundress and a wide-brimmed hat. She had been seated on a large boulder, taking in the magnificent view of the surrounding mountains, but now she was staring at Emily, her deep purple eyes seeming to bore into Emily’s soul.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jericho said.

She jumped from the boulder and landed on the rocky terrain near Emily, landing far gentler than was natural. Emily raced forward, opening her mouth to speak, to plead for help, but Jericho raised a hand to stop her.

“I already know why you’re here.” Jericho said. “But I’m still upset this is actually happening.”

Emily froze, trying to make certain her confusion was showing on her face.

“You didn’t finish reading The Stormbreakers.” Jericho said. “That’s okay. All you need to know is that in the last chapter, I got to be omniscient for about thirty seconds.”

Emily gasped. She had overheard Blake and Cali talking about Jericho once. Mentally, she made the connection between “the Woman Who Became a God” and “that one character who was omniscient for a chapter.”

“Omniscient.” Emily breathed. “So... you knew everything about... well, everything!”

Emily gestured in the direction she had come from, noticing as she did so that the air behind her was shimmering like a mirage. The fabric of the universe itself seemed to be wavering.

“Please, I need you to come back with me.” Emily said. “It’s a complicated situation but you probably already know-”

“The fabric of our fictional multiverse is threatened by a warlord who aspires to usurp the author.” Jericho interrupted. “You’re right. I do know. And I also know that pulling more characters into the real world is not the solution. You’re wasting your time coming to me, so I’ll send you back.”

Panic rose in Emily’s mind. She reached out and grabbed a tree to support herself.

“No... wait.” Emily said, searching for words. “Please. We’re desperate, and I don’t know who is waiting for me on the other side of the Gate. For all I know, Kanti and Mina could be dead and Cassandra-”

“They’re alive and they’ll be fine.” Jericho said. “Cassandra may seem ruthless, but she does have moral compunctions about killing. She will attempt to avoid using lethal force at first.”

Jericho took Emily by the hand. Emily was amazed by the sensation of warmth she got from Jericho, as though she was being held by a trusted friend.

“Besides, it’s like I said. Your allies are not going to defeat Malum through sheer force.”

Emily took Jericho’s hand with both of her own. She stared Jericho in the face, unblinking.

“Then how!? We don’t have any other way to defeat him.”

“Yes, you do.” Jericho insisted. “Malum may have turned the powers of the author against his Creator, but there is nothing that says you cannot do the same in return.”

Jericho grabbed Emily by the shoulders and continued, emphasizing her words with a gentle shake.

“Malum Ralpakin is a Creation, just like you and me. So long as he is inside a story, he is subject to the power of the Creators. He can resist, yes. He has done just that. But he can’t resist forever. Do you see? Malum wants to take power in the real world because it’s a sanctuary for him. It’s where he’s safest, where Blake, Marisol, and their friends will have the most difficulty in defeating him.”

Slowly at first, then all at once, Emily began to understand.

“So, we have to lure him back into the Gate? Into a story?”

Jericho nodded.

“Would you help us get Malum into the Gate?” Emily asked. “Help us trap Malum in a story where we can beat him?”

Jericho let go of Emily and took a step back, folding her arms. The Girl Who Killed a God looked as though she was thinking things over. Then, after a moment that felt like an eternity to Emily, Jericho said:

“I’ll help you, under one condition.”

…

---

Aisling
Creation
Stockholm, Sweden


Aisling could sense the exact moment the blizzard slipped out of her control. It was like losing her grip on a heavy stone and dropping it to the ground. Even though it was no longer in her grasp, her muscles still ached from the effort.

As Sebakhira grabbed Aisling and pulled her away from the fight, the fairy desperately reached out to the world around her, trying to grasp onto what she had just lost. For Aisling, it was as though a barrier had suddenly risen between herself and the natural world. She was dead… yet her heart was still beating, blood still flowed in her veins, colors and shapes swirled in front of Aisling’s eyes… but she was dead.

Sebakhira tossed Aisling into a snowbank and said something in her own language, then turned to rejoin the fight. Mira Mihaka twisted the handle of her Katana, detaching the Tanto blade concealed inside. The hidden blade was made of a greenish-yellow crystal that seemed to emit its own light. Shadows flickered and darted within, as though a tiny creature was slamming itself against the walls, trying to escape.

Mira lunged into the fight with Toa Mami close behind her. Lightning crackled and sparked in the street as both Protagonists collided with Malum, who wielded his Soulkeeper sword defensively. At the same moment, Swedish soldiers re-appeared on the scene, having finally gotten around the roadblock Sebakhira created. Varian, Cali, Trig, Akira, Whetu, Dak, Moka, and Tenna turned to fight them, shouting and calling out to each other in languages Aisling did not understand.

Fighting against overwhelming pain in her limbs, Aisling struggled to her feet. She had no weapons or powers, but she wanted to do what she could to help. Several bullets cracked through the cold air, startling Aisling and causing her to kneel down. At the same moment, someone grabbed her arm. Looking to her right, Aisling spotted Uisce the Water Witch.

This was the first time Aisling had gotten a good, up-close look at Uisce, and she realized that this poor girl was the true definition of an “unfinished character.” Her witches’ robe was a single flat shade of purple with no defining features or patterns. The same went for her face. Uisce’s skin was as single unbroken color, devoid of freckles, hair, or secondary colors. She was a rough sketch, an outline without detail. Uisce spoke in the Irish language, so Aisling could understand her. Uisce’s voice was flat and monotone, with minimal inflection or personality.

“We must help the Creator up there!” Uisce said, pointing at the wreckage of Paradox Headquarters.

Peering through a gaping hole in the façade, Aisling realized someone was still in the conference room with the Psionic Sarcophagus. As Aisling watched the shadow flitting around the room, a pulse of Psionic energy hit the outside wall and bounced off, fizzling out as it went. Looking down, Aisling realized it had come from Malum himself.

Instantly, Aisling understood the situation: Malum knew Marisol was attempting to break the Sarcophagus.

For their part, Mira Mihaka and Toa Mami seemed to know the stakes as well. They had positioned themselves between Malum and PDX HQ, running interference. The Great Khan had given up on trying to fight the two protagonists and was now trying to push past them. Mira was having none of this. She plunged the tip of her Katana into the snow and pulled it to one side, unleashing a powerful Psionic attack known as “Harbor Wave.” A cascade of purple light thundered across the ground, catching everyone in its wake. Malum was thrown off-balance just long enough for Toa Mami to close the distance.

Mira shouted something in Partogan, something that caused Toa Mami to pull her punches instead of striking a deathblow on Malum.

“They know he will revive at the Sarcophagus.” Uisce said. “We must help the Creator.”

Uisce and Aisling started to scramble across the wreckage, looking for a way back into Paradox Headquarters. A voice shouted from above.

Several members of the Paradox SWAT team were on the second floor, preparing to reinforce the Creations on the street below. Behind them, Aisling could see Bella and Herten, who had only just arrived. The two game developers were wearing body armor and shivering in the cold. Bella had spotted the two Creations and was calling out to them. Laying flat on the floor, Bella held out a long metal object, a bladed weapon with rubber handles on each end.

Aisling reached up and grabbed the Bat’leth. Two SWAT operators gripped the other end and pulled Aisling up and into the building. A moment later, Uisce joined them.

A loud crash caught Aisling’s attention. Marisol was in the nearby conference room. She had just dropped the Reality Perforator onto the Sarcophagus from a substantial height. The Elerium slab was finally starting to show signs of serious damage. The Perforator had left a small crater on impact and Marisol was getting ready to drop it again. Herten swung a fire extinguisher at the slab while Bella tried to strike it with the Bat’leth, only to injure herself and give up the attempt.

Aisling took the Reality Perforator and passed it to Marisol, who was already climbing onto a stepladder for another drop. Marisol said something in English, but Aisling did not understand her. Before Marisol could drop the Perforator again, there was a series of panicked shouts from outside, followed by a loud explosion.

“Oh, no! The magic stone!” Uisce gasped.

The Sarcophagus was starting to glow. Someone had killed Malum! Aisling opened her mouth to scream, to shout a word of warning, but it was too late. Purple light filled the room, and moments later, Malum rematerialized inside the conference room, standing just in front of Marisol.

When Malum spotted Marisol holding the Reality Perforator, he reacted at once. Soulfire ignited in Malum’s palms and spread up his arms. The heat of it caused Aisling to wince in pain. Malum said something in a language that made no sense to Aisling, but his actions were easy enough to read. He was going to blast Marisol down from her high perch and retake the Reality Perforator!

“No!” Aisling screamed.

She ran forward, jumped, and grabbed onto Malum’s right arm. She held on as tightly as she could, even as Malum lifted her off the floor. Blue and purple Soulfire enveloped Aisling, wrapping itself around her until she was completely engulfed in Psionic fire!

Out of the corner of her vision, Aisling saw Marisol jump down from the stepladder, slamming the Perforator into the Sarcophagus as she went, causing little fragments of the slab to fly into the air as it broke. Malum let out an animalistic roar and moved to throw Aisling a second time, but she was ready.

For some reason, Aisling was not being burned by Malum’s Soulfire attack, and she was going to exploit this for as long as possible. She wrapped herself around her enemy as tightly as possible, managing to get her legs around his torso and interlocking her ankles behind Malum’s back. Reaching up with both hands, Aisling started clawing and tearing at the Venn Brace, breaking the electric cables connecting it to the Prometheus Device.

Then, above Malum’s shouting and the gunfire, Aisling heard Uisce’s voice:

“Let go!”

Aisling relaxed her grip and dropped away from Malum just in time. Less than a second later, a bolt of lightning, brighter than the sun, shot through the snow squall and into the building. It hit Malum in the chest, blasting him backwards and out a hole in the wall. He crashed down the street below. Uisce and Marisol ran over to Aisling.

“You are not hurt.” Uisce stated bluntly. “How?”

The answer seemed to just… appear in Aisling’s mind, just as it did for Uisce and Marisol.

“The most powerful armor only an author can bestow. Protection from the plot itself, reserved for protagonists.”

A cascade of Psionic energy rolled across the area. Behind it came a woman’s voice, speaking directly into Aisling’s mind. It was followed onto the scene by a kind of gentle warmth that soothed Aisling’s aches and pains. It was the opposite of the cold and harsh Psionic energy emitted by Akira Robinson.

Aisling, Marisol, and Uisce clambered to their feet and looked in the direction Herten and Bella were pointing. There were six people standing on the roof of an apartment building across the street. Mina and Emily were supporting Kiri Ranginui between them, while Kanti rode on Emily’s shoulders. Cassandra Espinosa was leaning on Emily’s other side, barely conscious and looking as though she might pass out at any moment.

And standing apart from them, her fists clenched, was the Woman Who Became a God.

Jericho looked down at Malum. Smoke curled up from her left hand, the telltale sign of her lightning attack. The storm clouds parted above, bathing her in moonlight. Jericho’s shadow stretched over the snow-covered battlespace. The Creations and Swedish soldiers sensed Jericho’s presence and froze in place, looking up at her in awed silence. Jericho’s long black hair billowed in the chilly wind like a cape, adding to her imposing silhouette.

Jericho reached up with one hand and unshouldered the weapon she carried throughout her own story. The Psionic Repeater, a rifle that drew from the user’s own telepathic powers, emitted a terrifying violet aura. Malum rose to his feet and saw Jericho. His expression hardened. He threw off the Prometheus Device and drew the Soulkeeper.

“You cannot be serious!” Malum’s voice was like thunder, but there was a slight waver of fear in his words. “This is the desperate final play of the Creators? This is your last hope!?”

Jericho’s eyes began to glow in the darkness.

She did not speak.

She attacked.

<=== Episode Twenty-Four: This is like hoping for a miracle.

Episode Twenty-Six: Trust me, you’ve barely touched the surface. ===>​

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

The most powerful armor only an author can bestow. Protection from the plot itself, reserved for protagonists.”

Ah yes, plot armour, a totally uncontroversial literary tool that everybody loves. On a more serious note, it seems like it was needed in this scenario.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Things are steadily going downhill for Malum, and he's definitely running out of options.

Nice to see Aisling getting plot armour.

Jericho turning up is interesting. What's her one condition though?