Life2.0 - An "Of Unity" Narrative (Completed)

[CBR JGWRR]

"Final Preparations"
23rd Shendredie, 10 (2189)
Elizabeth Herminton​

The model stands on four pairs of legs that end in tracked feet. I look at Naomi. "What scale is it?"

She sighs. "The small figure next to it is a Human."

I look at the model. "What figure?"

Appia raises an eyebrow. "Round here."

I stand with my former owner. "Oh."

Appia nods. "Do you think they were compensating for something?"

Naomi sniggers. "Yeah... Starship grade hull and armour, starship grade weapons. And this thing on the underside is-"

Appia laughs. "Phallic?"

Naomi smiles. "I was actually about to say a spinal super-conducting coilgun."

"Still phallic."

I peer under the model. "Why would you mount spinal artillery down there?"

Naomi adjusts the model. It... Looks like a dog that's busy fulfilling certain biological imperatives. "Once it braces against the ground like this, it fires a staged missile. Coilgun kicks the several ton munition to about 5km/s, rocket kicks in to home in on target and release the megaton payload."

Appia snorts. "Definitely phallic."

I look at her. "Something on your mind?"

She sighs. "Burned out both my vibrators." She looks into my eyes. "Please don't judge me."

Naomi smiles. "So that's why the index and middle fingers of your left hand have that certain scent-"

I snap my fingers. "Ladies, focus. Septima is busy slaughtering Kyaese while you two flirt. We're aren't here to discuss Appia's happy time, what matters is how do we kill these things if Septima has them?"

Naomi bites her lip, then zooms on the armour. "True. Because they needed to get the mass below the hundreds of kilotons, and armour is expensive on mass, the armour is not even neutronium filament reinforced; instead its a composite of thin durasteel scales on a psuedo-laminate shock distribution layer."

"So skewer the joints in the plates?"

She nods. "Failing that, durosteel melts at 3900K."

"How thick?"

"As said, thin. Nominally a few milimetres, but each Warform monitors sensors that inform it how damaged each scale is, and they can dynamically reorient the scale to effectively be deeper. When things get bad enough, they hunker down and transition to a semi-immobile fortress state."

The model switches. "And then what do we do with it once it's looking like an octagonal pyramid?"

She sighs. "Dust off and nuke it from orbit."

Appia smiles. "It's the only way to be sure."

I look at them. "Ok, now I am definitely judging you." I pause. "Both of you."

They laugh.

Then Naomi stops. "But in all seriousness, one of these things can take on whole armies of conventional troops. I'm in favour of simply tagging them for orbital bombardment and letting battleship munitions sort them out."

Appia smiles. "Not like we can miss something that big."

I grab her wrist. "Appia. Get your mind out of the gorydamn gutter. I mean, for crying out loud, the Cybrex/Contingency were gestalt consciousnesses, they don't even have genitalia." I sigh. "Heck, I'll even do Rivkah's trick on you if you are that desperate, but people are dying and you're making dick jokes."

She looks down. "You're right. I apologise."

"Good." I round on Naomi. "So we can kill their big things, do they have infantry?"

She changes the model. A quadrupedal mecha about the height of a Human appears. "Array of swappable weapons, highly mobile. Lightly armoured."

"Relative to us, right?"

She nods. "A Xenaya can rip them apart."

Appia looks at her. "How many Xenaya do you have?"

Naomi pauses momentarily. "No more than fourty thousand, of whom roughly three quarters have seen combat."

Appia frowns. "That... Isn't many."

Naomi shrugs. "It is when they can wander around with Praetorian-grade armour on powered down." She sighs. "The main loss is any Contingency drones won't be intimidated by them the way Olinbari are."

I look at the mecha. I sigh. "Damn her. Enslaved Sirzuzians, bought out the Praetorian Guard, hijacked the Contingency... High on Eater-juice. A trillion hostages. That isn't a nice combination."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Oh, damn. We are several steps beyond the moral event horizon for Septima now. Our heroes aren't going to leave a body for her family to bury.

Unfortunately, even selective orbital bombardment with nukes is tricky. But otherwise, the sentiment is exactly what our protagonists are feeling.

 

[Macavity116]

"And then what do we do with it once it's looking like an octagonal pyramid?"

She sighs. "Dust off and nuke it from orbit."

Appia smiles. "It's the only way to be sure."

I look at them. "Ok, now I am definitely judging you." I pause. "Both of you."

Damn this was so funny!

Appia smiles. "Not like we can miss something that big."

I grab her wrist. "Appia. Get your mind out of the gorydamn gutter. I mean, for crying out loud, the Cybrex/Contingency were gestalt consciousnesses, they don't even have genitalia." I sigh. "Heck, I'll even do Rivkah's trick on you if you are that desperate, but people are dying and you're making dick jokes."

Go Elizabeth!

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Damn this was so funny!

I've been waiting over a year to use that reference.

Go Elizabeth!

Promoting her to viewpoint character was definitely a good idea.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Pellets In The Dark"
27th Shendredie, 10 (2189)
Naomi Of Unity
​

My monitoring consciousness alerts me when I get flung from the bunk.

Taking a leaf out of my son's book, I hack this battleship's sensors. Just in time to see them disappear.

I look at my Buri. Husband, we have cloaked Contingency ships.

He looks at me. Great. What kind?

Sterilizers. In moments, I am the fleet.

I feel sick, processing hundreds of sensor inputs at once. But, as long as I stick to just processing, I'll be fine. I start looking for anomalies.

A perfect cloak maintains a field that manipulates electromagnetic, subspace and gravitic transmissions to appear as if it is not there.

But, a perfect cloak doesn't exist; you have to get rid of waste heat somewhere eventually. So, I monitor all three bands simultaneously.

Sure enough, dead ahead.

Then I put myself on the viewscreen. "Appia, I'm displaying a set of targets on the tactical officer's of every ship in the fleet. Tell them to fire any available kinetic or particle weapons."

She looks around her bridge. "You heard her, fire!" She comes back to me. "Why couldn't you?"

"Feeling the fleet's sensors. Operating the fleet's weapons. Not throwing up. Pick two."

She nods. "I'm sorry."

Her tactical officer stands. "Ma'am, three confirmed hits, one target disabled, twelve possible targets. Approx. 10Mm/s closing velocity."

Her voice is loud and clear. "XL and L weapons obliterate that disabled ship. Buri and Ruki and any available Neumanns copy Naomi, identify targets. M, S and P weapons paint the volume wherever someone identifies an anomaly. Hangar bays launch scout wing strikecraft, let's have more sensors out."

They all go to work. The crippled ship makes a nice explosion under the fire of a fleet.

She stands, paces around the bridge.

I shrug. "I think they've dropped their torps and fled."

She shakes her head. "Too easy to detect. No, they're closing, at full speed, into us, who are also at full speed, about to begin our deceleration burn..." Her eyes go wide. "Appia to fleet, discharge weapons directly ahead along our trajectory, then re-direct weapons power to deflectors, maximum ionisation. Polarise hull armour."

Kinetics.

Oh.

"Buri, armour, now!"

He grabs our suits.

Pellets rip through the walls.

Buri raises an eyebrow. This is what Thando planned to do.

The room has chunks missing. Atmosphere rushing out.

Get in our suits.

Still... I'm feeling sick. We leave our quarters. I check the sensors. Several ships are down, but we got more Contingency ships too. They've decloaked, weapons free as they light up the sky with engines on full burn to pass as quickly as possible.

It's chaos.

But...

Our fleet has a lot more ships and tech thousands of years of R&D ahead.

And in the void, even 10Mm/s is not actually all that fast.

Buri takes my hand. Nothing more we can do here.

I nod. They'll be shredded.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Droplet"
30th Shendredie, 10 (2189)
Elizabeth Herminton​

Thigh-high slit crimson dress between the legs of my Praetorian armour inside a cocoon of carbon nanotube hull. Her pistol safely tucked next to my inner thigh.

Gillian would make a 'dressed to kill' line here.

But she has her own teams to manage.

And me, I am afraid.

I follow the countdown.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Repeat.

Try not to think about how I'm about to be blasted out into flak, lasers, missiles and God knows what else.

Naomi comes over the comms. "Let fall the Rain."

Stomach hits my chest as the capacitors discharge and shoot me out, then my eyes go dark as the rocket lights up...

And then the nothingness of open space.

That very quickly isn't open any more, my display is full of stuff to avoid and people to keep track of.

As we dive to the ringworld below - or above, I suppose if you are being pedantic - I take a moment to look at those falling beside me.

First out were Naomi and Buri.

Beside me are other Scarlets, and barely visible are the Neumann formations falling with us.

Plus lots of debris to fool their targeting scanners.

But...

The cacophony of stuff overwhelms.

Strike fighters stream up from the ringworld below, only to be obliterated by our starship's firepower. I feel searing heat before I'm yanked aside by the Neumanns back on the ship keeping us on course.

Flak specs stream past, in both directions. Occasional explosions. God the anxiety is killing me, there's nothing I can do, I'm just alone in the vacuum of space with myriads of weapons everywhere and I have nothing I can do to protect myself because everything happens so fast that even Neumanns can barely react in time...

This is terrifying.

Then Buri spins wildly out of control. "Buri, correct your course."

He doesn't respond.

"Buri, change course."

A weak growl replies.

Naomi tries this time. "Buri?"

He strains. "I'm hit."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Landfall"
30th Shendredie, 10 (2189)
Elizabeth Herminton​

"Buri!"

Naomi veers wildly off course to catch her husband.

I shake my head. "Naomi, we're screaming towards a ringworld, there's nothing we can do."

"Buri!"

"Naomi, get back on course, you are jeopardising your own landing!"

"Buri!"

I switch channel. "TSR, remote access Naomi and Buri's primaries and secondaries, he's hit and Naomi is emotionally compromised."

"Acknowledged. Shall I inform Ruki and Rivkah?"

I think of them. It's crazy, plummeting to a ringworld that fills the whole panorama against flak, and I'm thinking of someone else's children... Focus. "Ruki probably already knows, Rivkah isn't that much slower either."

"Acknowledged."

TSR gets them stable just as we begin final approach. I take a deep breath. "Ok girls, we've done this a hundred times in the sim, we can do this. Prime retrograde thrusters." I flick my eyes to my display. "Ten seconds."

TSR orients Naomi and Buri. His armour is venting atmosphere, Naomi is fumbling trying to block the puncture.

Rockets blaze beneath me, my stomach feels like its in my head. Again.

I touchdown. "Landfall. Secure the landing area!"

We fan out. Naomi attends Buri, sealing the suit. She looks at me, her fur soaked with tears, then back to her husband.

I tap her on the shoulder. "There's nothing more we can do. Let's move."

"I can't stop the bleeding, I can't leave him."

I tighten a grip. "We need you, Naomi." I look at the access point, where others are preparing breaching charges. I look back down, see the way she's hugging him. Wailing.

Someone taps my shoulder. Clarissa. "Elizabeth, we need to press on."

Naomi looks at us. "I can't leave him."

I point at the explosions from the breach charges. "We must."

Naomi leans back into him. "Now, and forever." She whispers, then turns back to us. Her eyes are dark. "I cannot leave him."

Clarissa taps me again. "Elizabeth."

I look at the army of Praetorians heading our way.

Naomi looks too. Then stands, both filament blades drawn. "A kill squad."

I suck in air. "A bit more than a kill squad, Scarlet One."

Naomi's face turns from weeping to rage as she looks at me. "You are in command now. My place is defending my husband, even to the last. Go."

We run as she faces the Praetorians.

Their leader laughs as he retracts his helmet. "Naomi Of Unity. Do you remember me?" He scowls. "You used to be pretty."

She assumes her fighting stance. "This is our last dance, Varius. You should never have joined the Praetorians."

We cower, just me and Clarissa at the entrance as they surround her. The lead Praetorian faces off against her.

I can't watch.

Clarissa tugs on my arm.

I take one last look.

Blinding light fills the whole area, blazing off every surface.

The leader covers his eyes. "What the hell is that?"

A weak voice replies. "Fireball."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Raze Hell, Part 1"
30th Shendredie, 10 (2189)
Elizabeth Herminton​

"Come on ladies, let's move!"

We move out, path lit by the firestorm outside. The access point leads to a core shaft.

I do not want to count how many barns I can see.

But I can't look away...

It’s still running, even while the system is under attack. A barn a couple of kilometres away empties, rams pushing the opposite wall to the shaft. The Kyaese pile up, not wanting to fall into a pale yellow glow far below.

They scream, fight against the wall.

But...

Eventually they fall, screaming to their deaths.

I just about retract my helmet in time. I look at the others. "We can't save them, but we can save the rest. We move out!"

I stand at the edge, check over the primary and drogue parachutes, and throw myself to the abyss. The others follow.

So do Sirzuzians. Above. Below. The sides. They're everywhere. Haven't got a clue what's going on, they're flying and pecking, I can't see...

Think quickly. "Everyone switch to melee, ranged risks too much crossfire."

I switch to my secondary filament daggers, and carve a path through the first wave.

But the second wave comes, and I'm blinded again.

I slam into a platform. Pain seizes my whole back.

Must get up...

The suit auto-injects painkillers, and I'm back in action. There's less Sirzuzians now, I fight them off. Then look down.

My Scarlets have lost all cohesion, they're scattered everywhere. On the bright side, the Sirzuzians have thinned out. I leap again.

I hurtle to the centre. "Ladies, we need to regroup. Everyone onto my beacon."

Soon, sensors tell me the formation is reforming. Mostly, but while there's a fair amount of yellow dots and a few red dots on my display, there's no black dots. Which is a relief.

I land on the roof of the central core cluster, and guide my team in.

Next stop, Septima.

I catch my breath, then look at my team. "We secure this facility. Septima must not escape."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Raze Hell, Part 2"
30th Shendredie, 10 (2189)
Elizabeth Herminton​

We breach.

More Sirzuzians.

Two Humans, both of whom I only know from wanted posters. Monica and Heinrich Aus Heinrichstadt.

Heinrich drops his gun. "Damn it Monica, the rest of them are here." He shakes his head. "The game is up. Septima has lost." He turns towards us. Raises his hands. "I surrender."

Monica grabs her husband by the throat. "Let me go, or I kill him."

I look at her. Fold my arms. "Monica. Your own husband."

She draws a trickle of blood from his throat. "I'll do it. It's the cards I'm dealt, so I'll play the hand."

I sigh. "Monica... Septima is playing you like a fool. You know that it is over for her."

"She will kill them. She will kill them all."

"So help us stop her. Or do you really want to be an accomplice to xenocide?"

She steps aside, keeping Heinrich in front of her. "Just let me go."

I sigh. "Monica, you've lost. Septima has lost. Just surrender."

Her voice cracks. "You don't know.... Anything. Naomi's just using you like she used me-"

I raise my gun.

Heinrich squeals. "Please don't kill her."

I look at him. "Give me one good reason."

He rests his hand on her belly. "Here's one."

Pregnant.

Damn.

Naomi and Buri catch us up. Glare at Monica. I look at them. "We can't."

Naomi growls. "I heard." She walks forward. Trickle from Heinrich's throat gets larger. "Monica, let him go."

The Sirzuzians begin backing away. Heinrich whimpers. Monica tightens her grip. "I will kill him unless you let me go."

Heinrich tries puppy eyes. "Please... I'm sorry Naomi, I'm sorry, I never thought it would get-"

He gulps as Monica chokes him. "I will do it. Let me go."

Naomi stares. "Monica..." Runs her left eye down the scar on their hands. "Your own husband. The man you swore a blood oath with. Is this you?"

Heinrich gurgles as she squeezes tighter. Blood leaks from the side of his mouth. Monica scowls. "Our great wise chessmaster thinks she can manipulate me. Well I've got news for you Naomi, other people aren't yours to play with like dolls."

The Sirzuzians part behind her.

An armoured Olinbari walks slowly through them.

Monica turns.

Appia's helmet retracts, and her fist, covered in thirty kilos of neutronium filament reinforced gauntlet, slams into Monica's face. Monica's jaw crunches as she hits the ground. "That was for my ex-boyfriend." She smiles. "Sorry I was late." She waves behind her. "I found their access codes."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Raze Hell, Part 3"
30th Shendredie, 10 (2189)
Elizabeth Herminton​

With Sirzuzians stopping the fight everywhere, we round on the final chamber. I take a breath as I walk through the second breach. "Septima Severus, surrender."

All this time, I thought the throne of skulls was just... Well, normal throne sized. After all, we've only seen the centerpiece.

But no... It has steps. And embellishments. And an altar, teeming with bodies of Kyaese, their throats cut. All made out of Kyaese skulls. I have to retract my helmet...

She looks around. Basks in the dead. Laughs. "Now why would I do that? You think you can come into my realm, and command me to leave as if you insects had any power? No... No, you see now how weak you are. You can never stop me. Their lives are mine. But, I will offer one bargain. You have ten seconds to turn around, or they start dying."

The screens surrounding her light up.

Countless billions of Kyaese.

Bald, feral... Hopeless.

Septima stands. Looks at the screens. "You know what I will do to you. Tell these interlopers to leave."

Billions of Kyaese look at the cameras and plead for their lives.

Tryykad joins me and looks out to them. "We are not the problem - Septima is."

Septima smiles. "Foolish bird. You really think you can defy me? Let's have a second opinion."

She waves a hand. Kryydur appears, locked in a cage. He looks at Tryykad. "Sorry boss. Got caught."

The cage comes to Septima. She wraps a hand around his neck. "Leave now, unless you want to watch me wring him."

Kryydur squirms to peck her. "Go to hell."

She smiles. "After you."

She rips his head off. Just twists and pulls and now he's bouncing and flapping around his cage, blood everywhere.

Tryykad vomits. Then shakes and collapses.

Naomi stares. "Kryydur..."

Septima scowls. "Weakling. You call yourself a leader when all you are good for is flapping around uselessly?" She turns to Naomi. "And you, whore. Did you tell them this was how it would end when they follow a harlot?"

Naomi keeps staring at Kryydur.

A dozen more Kyaese from Kryydur's ship appear in their cages.

Septima smiles. "Shall I go through them, one by one? Or, you can go, and they will live." She grabs one, a woman. "But don't take long."

Tryykad looks at her. "Kataag..."

She stares at him, unable to speak as her black eyes bulge as Septima crushes her neck like a can, before throwing her aside, leaving her to bounce and flap around the cage.

"Took too long for her." She says it with a singsong voice as she grabs another, the blood of Kryydur and Kataag staining his white plumage. "Shall I deal with this one too?"

The sound of the neck snapping sends a shiver down my spine.

More cages appear.

She waves around. "I can do this all day. But individuals clearly aren't a strong enough message." A screen enlarges. "Turn around, and leave. Or, watch them pay the price for your rebellion."

Tryykad looks at Kryydur again. Then flaps forward. "Go to hell."

Septima raises an eyebrow, then sighs.

Hissing follows.

Soon more Kyaese are coughing, and spluttering.

Then they scream. It drowns out the hissing, a chorus of agony.

Then blood bubbles up from their lungs, and they are gone.

Septima stares down at Tryykad. "There is no hell. No heaven." She sighs. "If you are too weak to save them, then you are nothing." She waves at the skulls. "At least this lot had the courage to die trying to resist. You don't even have that."

Five more screens move in for close ups.

More hissing.

More screams.

Septima laughs. "You realise how futile this all was now. I can see your impotent rage messing with your minds. There's nothing you can do - except leave. Leave, and they live. Stay, and they die."

I raise my rifle. Septima laughs. "You wouldn't dare. For a start, all my systems are fail-deadly. Kill me, kill them. No, there is nothing you can do. Nothing you can do to save them, nothing you can do to stop-"

 

[Mithrill]

She rips his head off. Just twists and pulls and now he's bouncing and flapping around his cage, blood everywhere.

Must... resist... the urge... to stab...

Chapeau bas. I rarely get this triggered at characters, but I truly want Septima to be rendered out of existence till all that's left of her is a bit of scarring on local spacetime.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Must... resist... the urge... to stab...

Chapeau bas. I rarely get this triggered at characters, but I truly want Septima to be rendered out of existence till all that's left of her is a bit of scarring on local spacetime.

Thank you, this means a lot. I've been worried ever since Septima became the number one antagonist for Life2.0 that I might not be able to write her at the level she deserves, and gotten more nervous as her allies have been steadily turned, countered or eliminated, leaving her alone and ever closer to the point of nothing left to lose.

But yeah, me having today off means the ending is written, as is the epilogue - Septima falls on Christmas Day.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Lucky Number Seven"
30th Shendredie, 10 (2189)
Thando HaMaadimi​

GravBoots to land the jump?

Being twenty minutes late.

Wingsuit?

One dead paratrooper.

Personal cloaking device?

Several hundred research staff.

Tickler taking her at the neck?

Priceless.

Using her to break my fall?

Couldn't have gone better.

She starts coming around. I stamp on her throat. "I think putting a knife in your neck counts."

Sis smiles.

So does Septima. She's healing already. "Are you really willing to have their deaths on your conscience?"

I smile back. "Yeah."

Tickler takes her at the heart.

Tryykad flies over. "We had a deal!"

I briefly ignore him to stab her limbs to the ground. Then look at him. "Unfortunately I don't have a wooden stake, but hey, she's not going anywhere."

Sis joins us as Septima's heart restarts. Septima glares at me after she finishes jolting. "You... You..."

"What's the matter? Lost your tongue?" Hmm... "Probably not a bad idea actually." I cut it out. Her gargling blood is so satisfying.

Sis looks at her. "What even are you?"

Septima's bloody mouth forms a smile.

Tryykad's people move in cautiously. I look at them. "I've nailed her to the floor, she's down."

They bring a cage. Septima glares at it.

Tryykad lands on her, digs his claws into her chest as he stands over her face. "Septima Severus, for your crimes of genocide, mass enslavement, murder and treason, we sentence you to life imprisonment where you will relive every piece of suffering your have inflicted on us."

Septima doesn't even look at him. Instead she looks at Sis. Her voice comes through the speakers. "Stupid whore. Here is a fact. Mercy is for the weak. In fables, you can let your defeated enemies live. But this is real life. You should kill me while you can, because what I have done so far was for profit." She laughs. "For profit! Ha! Even their deaths were profitable. You think the wider galaxy cares anything for them? They don't care at all - they pay to watch the footage of them falling to their deaths when their eggs are exhausted. Make bets on where they'll hit." She cackles. "I've already made Energy Credits off the back of that jumped-up captain losing his head." She stops laughing. Glares at Sis the way I look at coleslaw. "So I will say this only once - imagine what I will do for vengeance."

Sis raises her filament blade, hovering it millimetres from Septima's wrists.

Tryykad pushes it away. "Don't fall for it Naomi. Don't let her divide us this close to victory. Let her face justice, not the easy way out."

Sis scowls. "I know. I'm merely deliberating whether she gets to keep her hands."

Tryykad glares at Septima. "Her hands are nothing to her. The poison is in the head, and we need that."

Septima shakes her head.

Tryykad rushes the Kyaese over.

They box her up. Septima fixes her eyes on Sis, she's hunched in as they take her away. "From hell's heart, I stab at thee."

Naomi looks up at the displays. At the bodies. Then looks at us all. "Save everyone we can."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

The End​

And with this epilogue we close out the final piece of Life2.0 - An "Of Unity" Narrative.


I would like to thank everyone who has viewed this thread and read it. I've been keeping an eye on the number of views, and well, it feels a huge compliment that this one narrative has had almost as many views as the rest of the top page of Stellaris AAR's combined. Inferring a guestimate that between 50 to 300 views per person represents a keen reader - that equates to roughly on the order of once a week to once a day - that comfortably implies there are at least a hundred people keeping an eye on the story of Naomi and friends, and that's a humbling thought that so many have - I necessarily assume - enjoyed their journey. So, thank you for reading.


But in particular, I'd like to thank the stand-out commentatAARs of @Macavity116 , @HistoryDude and @Mithrill. Most especially Macavity116 and HistoryDude; this narrative would not be what it is without your input especially over the last 22 months. So thank you.


Grateful as I am for your input directly into this narrative though I am, I believe the biggest thanks of all should go to the people who laid out the stage that let Naomi and friends shine:

This narrative has explored the following pieces of Stellaris:

The Broken Shackles Origin
The Your Ladder To The Sky Origin
The Payback Origin
The rise and fall of Fallen Empires
Everyone's favourite omnicidal geckos
Two of the four basegame Crisises
Synthetic, Genetic and Psionic Ascensions
Leaders
Technologies
Governing Ethics
Traditions
Civics
Traits
Species
Pre-FTLs
Pre-Sapients
Advanced Start civilisations
Pops
Jobs
Digsites
Colonies
Resources
Megastructures
And of course, warfare.

To say nothing of all the stuff I meant to include and didn't!

So, for making this galaxy that is too beautiful not to be shared, I say thank you most to the developers of Stellaris.​

---

But, though this is the end of Life2.0, it is most certainly not the end of the "Of Unity" series. Mandate Of Heaven, Life2.0's sequel, has already been started and sees Naomi and friends watching over their children as the stakes rise from this small labour dispute to the fate of a galactic empire. In time, we'll also see the Olinbariad, that delves into the past of our galaxy and explores the worlds as they once were. And also in time, we'll see Stars Of Wonder, in which the distant children of the Xenaya reach out into a galaxy as Eager Explorers.

And so, as a quick teaser, the final epilogue of Life2.0:

"Report On The Archive Of Nomi B'Uniti"
Rivi B'Uniti, Third Priestess, Rite of Sana-Woru
Ninth Tira-Toru, Year Of The Council 807​

For the attention of the Council Of The Five, One And Three, a report on the discovery of the "Of Unity" Archive.

Beginning by way of explanation and declaration, I, Rivi B'Uniti, was not the initial discover. Tana B'Khenna, Second Priestess, Rite of Sana-Woru, was. She reported it to Dadi B'Turna, First Priest, Rite of Sana-Woru instructed me to attend. I just wanted to emphasise that.

The archive's entrance was a resplendent antechamber with sculptures everywhere; the rocks from which the sculptures are composed shows signs of having been carved through application of extreme heat leading to vaporisation. At the centre of the room is a blood seal, which is where my involvement was necessary - it was Tana's work that revealed that it could only be opened by a B'Uniti.

After opening the seal, the floor opened up into a spiral staircase that descended into the ground below the chamber.

What we found were carvings.

The carvings were arranged in three arrays that depicted events from the origin myths of the Xenaya. a series of fantastical images leading up to fighting a demon on a skull throne, and pieces of ancient Xenayan history related to the Rukonian era. Our investigation and consideration is ongoing, but it is our initial conclusion that this place dates to the Late-Rukonian Era following the passing of the legendary High King Ruki B'Uniti. I am required to state Tana B'Khenna has been unable to develop an alternative explanation, and Dadi B'Turna approves of the treating of the Late-Rukonian Era as fact in the light of that absence.

As we delved deeper, we found rooms of artefacts and schematics left behind, and in the last chamber Tana B'Khenna activated an orrery that depicted the exact night sky above the archive. The Orrery singles out one particular star for highlighting. In the orrery it appeared yellow, however on conferring with Dana B'Torag at the Observatory Of Sana-Woru, she informed us that there is negligible visible light when viewed through the observatory's telescopes, yet when viewed with infrared it appears as a strong red; Dana identifies this as a "total stellar occlusion". She has added her piece to our report, and we now seek permission and resources to investigate this further. I add my personal appeal that, as a B'Uniti myself, and one who has attained in the Rite of Sana-Woru, I be given permission to investigate what I am certain is the record of my ancestors - Nomi B'Uniti, Buri B'Uniti, and Ruki B'Uniti.

 

[Mithrill]

The End

Oh, what a story! What a story it was!

Congratulations are certainly in order, you created a magnificent piece despite many tribulations. I dare say that it is among the very best game-driven narratives I've seen and definitely in the upper tier of game-based works in general.
Though for the love of Worm I can't recall what have I done to deserve a direct call-out, I am honoured by it.

You can be sure I intend to follow Mandate of Heaven as vigourously as this story!

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Oh, what a story! What a story it was!

Congratulations are certainly in order, you created a magnificent piece despite many tribulations. I dare say that it is among the very best game-driven narratives I've seen and definitely in the upper tier of game-based works in general.
Though for the love of Worm I can't recall what have I done to deserve a direct call-out, I am honoured by it.

You can be sure I intend to follow Mandate of Heaven as vigourously as this story!

Thank you.

What you did was encourage me. In terms of impact, your feedback on Septima was highly reassuring that I could write the final villain in a way that is emotionally engaging for readers, which was what I needed. Secondly, your response to Rivkah and Scipio was also encouraging as I wasn't sure how well her pairing up with an Olinbari would be received.

 

[Macavity116]

What an epic! I can't believe it's finally come to a close, but I'm also very happy to hear that you're planning to explore this universe further, because there's so much more to see! Thank you so much for bringing Life 2.0 to the forums, and for the incredible dedication to keep this AAR running for neigh upon two years.

Septima fixes her eyes on Sis, she's hunched in as they take her away. "From hell's heart, I stab at thee."

I seem to have snagged myself on a sequel hook.

GravBoots to land the jump?

Being twenty minutes late.

Wingsuit?

One dead paratrooper.

Personal cloaking device?

Several hundred research staff.

Tickler taking her at the neck?

Priceless.

Using her to break my fall?

Couldn't have gone better.

*Chef's kiss* So satisfying.

But in particular, I'd like to thank the stand-out commentatAARs

Thanks for the shoutout! This story has definitely got the best back-and-forth between writer and readers, which just added to the fun.

So, for making this galaxy that is too beautiful not to be shared, I say thank you most to the developers of Stellaris.​

---

Hear hear!

 

[CBR JGWRR]

What an epic! I can't believe it's finally come to a close, but I'm also very happy to hear that you're planning to explore this universe further, because there's so much more to see! Thank you so much for bringing Life 2.0 to the forums, and for the incredible dedication to keep this AAR running for neigh upon two years.

Yes, there's more to come. I'm even considering how to fit in Grepp going on a one-Prikki rampage to stop the Immortal Prikkiki-Ti Becoming The Crisis as he faces the impossible choice between his people and the galaxy he's helped shape.

I seem to have snagged myself on a sequel hook.

You mean, someone breaking into a maximum-maximum security prison guarded by millions of Kyaese combat veterans, to release a woman incarcerated for the heinous crime of keeping sophont beings as livestock?

Who would do such a thing?

What kind of monster must they be?

*Chef's kiss* So satisfying.

Perfect.

Thanks for the shoutout! This story has definitely got the best back-and-forth between writer and readers, which just added to the fun.

It has, and I really appreciate it too.

 

[TheExecuter]

My great-great-great-grandfather died with his titanium-carbon fibre composite rapier in one hand and a gauss pistol in the other when they came for my family. He was old, frail, unyielding to the bitter end. There was no walking naked as the day he was born into the last vestige of Red Mars as he wanted.

Now...that image is extremely interesting and yet doesn't tell enough.

Pretty good hook!

"Doesn't it seem to have gone totally the opposite way to some kind of divine plan?"

"Ask Abraham, or Joseph, or Moses, or most of the Judges, Saul or David, most of the Prophets, Daniel, Esther... In hindsight, our present predicament was not entirely unpredictable from a theological perspective. Personally, I'm more convinced than ever about Providence and the grand plan for Humanity."

Indeed. It's particularly interesting to watch folks mistake their own desires for what the prophets actually foretell of the lead up to Armageddon...

"My predicament is as Cato Uticencis faced, and Utica is coming into view."

"You think you're going to die."

"Or worse - be ignored. Killing me is futile. To do so would be stupid, given it has been my life's work to inspire others with my vision, and therefore make taking me out pointless. But my children remain, and if not them, then all my ideas are a matter of published record. All it needs is for someone to take them and push forward."

"What do you believe your children will do?"

"Liberate us."

Death is only the beginning.

But I also like the wisdom on display here. It's not about him, and his enemies beliefs are flawed...

with the Ether Drakes lured away into uninhabited regions

This is a fascinating seed of a story idea just thrown out there...

I've been reviewing the 2024 ACA YAYA list for AARs I should catch up on now that I have returned to the forums. This one was recommended...and I was happy to see a long list of chapters in the table of contents. Looking forward to enjoying the story greatly!

 

[TheExecuter]

A surprisingly high number have found employment by finding the quickest and easiest way to do any given task by using their immense minds to figure out the laziest method.

Parians are most content when they can get their minds stuck into an interesting problem, and a major problem for them is Sulphur worlds are not common, which means potential homes are not common. But, coming up with habitat designs is a task sufficiently interesting that a Parian can be bothered to do it, and profitable enough that it funds maintaining an abundant standard of living of dozing in your sulphur bath without a care in the world except thinking about the latest quandary.

It would seem I am a Parian, with the exception being that I detest sulphur...

"Very well. If she is worthy, she will prove it."

Very practical.

She scowls. "We do." She turns to Daas. "Didn't you tell him I was a Companionship Asset?"

"Yes. But I don't understand the relevance."

The tension in her shoulders releases. "Then I won't explain."

Nice.

She drew the blade. "I die with my friends."

I've made up my mind about her. I look to Daas. "We're keeping her."

Legit teared up a bit with that. She knows the risks and is committed. Definitely worthy.