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

[CBR JGWRR]

It's nice to see Appia acknowledge her mistakes and make amends with Valerius.

She's going through a massive growth period.

Poor Valerius. Being used as a punching bag couldn't have been fun.

Especially not when you remember Monica was wearing a suit of plate armour at the time.

It's interesting to see Valerius's perspectives on Naomi and Appia's similarities. How many other people have noticed those?

Quite a lot of Olinbari - it's the main link Appia's been putting forward to pacify objections to partnering with Life2.0 is saying how Naomi can be worked with and how she understands MSI.

 

[Mithrill]

"I'm 270kg, not quite fully grown yet. My Dad, before being augmented, could lift a automated personal transport above his head. Now, whatever would be difficult for him is too big to pick up. We train for battle at four times standard gravity." I giggle. "There's a reason why I always let you be on top."

Scipio gulps.

Heh.
Finding out you're suddenly on the wrong end of "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" situation can do that for you.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Heh.
Finding out you're suddenly on the wrong end of "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" situation can do that for you.

Gets even better when you remember Praetorians are what the Human3 namelist calls Gene Warriors. He's basically just been told his wife is almost as strong as a space marine.

 

[HistoryDude]

That was simultaneously awkward and hilarious...

It's nice to see that some people in MSI are embracing the greater tolerance for other species that aren't Assets. How common is this tolerance? How unique is this shop/how lucky did Scipio and Rivkah just get?

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Off-World Excursion, Part 5"
24th Daas, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity​

We step outside the shop, with Scipio being tight-lipped about how much he just spent. Ultimately, it doesn't make too much difference, you get a bunch of mini-zero point reactors to supply the electricity to multiply your strength, just like any powered armour. But it did feel good, that moment. He looks at me differently now.

Weapons next, although those should be much more off-the-shelf.

I...

I just stand.

Stand and feel the world around me.

Brigantia feels old. Feels like someone built something, only for it to be lost and absorbed by nature. And that nature be slowly uncovered by descendants, not knowing what they follow.

I wasn't quite sure of what to expect from Brigantia, the opposite of Unity I guess...

Standing on a simple street like this, in the well-to-do part of a Human slum area, and apart from the spacescrapers in the distance you'd forget you're on the capital of one of the most advanced civilisations.

I mean, these automated personal vehicles; they aren't even nuclear powered. They're hydrocarbon fuelled. Earth stopped using hydrocarbons in cars more than a century ago, and on Unity we went straight to battery-electric then nuclear-electric, and well... Judging from the sound and acceleration profiles, these vehicles aren't even into the hundreds of kilowatts either. Which is pretty poor when Mum designed a nuclear-electric buggy with a ten megawatt reactor on board. Dad took one look at the plans before looking at Mum, and she just smiled and said 'too much power is when you are still wheelspinning at the other end of the straight.'

The Holocron actually built it. He showed my parents, Dad took one look and then turned and walked out. Mum leapt in and left most of the tyres on the road surface...

Which is probably also a definition for too much power, you end up spinning it away uselessly.

"Rivkah." He jabs me. "Come back to me."

I look at him. "I was just thinking."

"About?"

"History. Power."

He gently takes my hand. "Want to tell me?"

"It started with feeling the world, then I thought about how Brigantia feels old and Unity feels young, then about these APVs and how under-powered they are compared to some of the vehicles we have on Unity, which then led to thinking about how excessive some of those vehicles were, which led to thinking about power in general and a few statements my Mum quoted."

He puts his arms around me. "What does that mean?"

I think about Mum, and Dad. "I miss my parents."

He leads me to our APV. Fully automated, with no driver. The doors are normally self-opening, but he switched it off so that he could open mine. This time, he opens the back door, and in the back there's enough space for a few Olinbari to have a meeting. Then he kisses my cheek, and I realise what he wants.

I quickly lie down. He joins me, kisses me hurriedly now we're alone.

I'm excited, until I wonder a simple question; how many times did Mum lie like this?

 

[CBR JGWRR]

That was simultaneously awkward and hilarious...

It's nice to see that some people in MSI are embracing the greater tolerance for other species that aren't Assets. How common is this tolerance? How unique is this shop/how lucky did Scipio and Rivkah just get?

This shop was set up by someone who managed to buy out their Indentured Asset contract, which essentially marks him out as one of the best armourers in MSI space. Ex-Indentured Assets in this situation are rare, but very well publicised - MSI uses them as examples for other Indentured Assets to be inspired by and to ensure that Olinbari competitors don't get complacent. A previous conversation between Naomi and Claudia Licenius mentioned this in the context of Companionship Assets also, although obviously Olinbari Companionship Assets are as rare as Ex-Indentured Assets.

My mathematics on maximum population of a ecumenopolis put the figure at hundreds of billions to tens of trillions of embodied bionts of Human size, depending on how good your building materials are for compressive strength per cross-sectional area; the lower end assumes construction materials that we use today, the top end considers multiple mile high compression skyscrapers or tensile spacescrapers suspended from orbit. It is fairly independent of planet size as while smaller size reduces surface area for putting skyscrapers on, lower gravity allows the skyscrapers to become even taller structures, and as habitable volume scales with skyscraper size, the factors largely balance out. Earth, if you said 1km tall skyscraper would mean almost 3km on Mars, almost 6km on the Moon, or ten plus times that on some asteroids; some might be restructured into effectively two rotating single space-scrapers each a hundred miles tall that have the tops function as landing and launching pads for space-elevator launches, giving trivial access to and from the asteroid.

So... If we said this guy is a highly-publicised one in a billion successful Ex-Indentured Asset, there's probably a few thousand of them spread across MSI space across as many fields as there are Indentured Assets.

Not entirely sure what you mean by lucky? Appia's been having him make her suits since she was running the dueling circuit.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Off-World Excursion, Part 6"
24th Daas, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity​

I stop as soon as her face changes. "Rivkah, are you ok?"

She looks up at me. "Scipio... I don't know."

I let go of her dress, and sit beside her. "Did I do something wrong?"

She closes up. "I started to wonder how many times my Mum was raped like this, letting a young Olinbari guy or girl get her this way."

I think about it. "Probably a few times." I look at her. "Wife Rivkah."

She looks at me. "Yes?"

"Are you suspicious of me?"

She shrugs. "It's not suspicion, but... Maybe a little fear."

"Afraid I might treat you the way your Mum was treated?"

"Yeah."

I pause. "Well... Why? I mean, you could snap me like a twig."

She giggles. "True." She curls up. "It's just... I've been afraid of Olinbari all my life. Afraid that one day you'd descend from the stars and crush us. And... It does feel weird how the lines are blurred."

I smile. "I think they've blurred beautifully."

She smiles too. "Scipio, be honest. Are you thinking of me sexually?"

I pause. "Yes. But I'm trying not to." I pause again. "Is it obvious?"

She looks down. "Yes." She giggles. "While I appreciate the compliment, I have to say I've completely lost the feeling right now... I just want to talk."

I tell the vehicle our next destination, then sit down beside her. "No sex."

"At least, not here... I've heard my parents going at it in a vehicle, and I'm just too nervous."

"I can't imagine that. How does your Dad even fit in your Mum?"

"When Dad was natural, it was fine because Xenaya mate just to mate. Men don't even have the external genitals outside mating season. Dad however got himself restructured to be as big as Mum imagined it would be, and got it made out of bone."

I snigger. "Made out of bone?"

"Yeah, but their bones are beta titanium alloy now."

I whistle. "Nice."

She giggles. "There's quite a few Human-Xenayan couples on Unity."

"Are we the only Olinbar-Xenayan pair?"

"As far as I know." She looks at me. "Honestly... Scipio... Am I... You know..." She pauses. She sighs. Flaunts herself suggestively. "Do I... turn you on?"

I let my eyes run from the tips of her horns, down her face, past her blood-stained sabres, over the rest... There's so much of her to love. "Definitely."

She looks deep into my eyes. "Would you pick me over an Olinbari woman?"

I lick her. "Yes."

"Really really?"

"Really really."

She licks me back. "You are cute."

I smile. "Snack-sized."

She giggles. "I was thinking more like fun-size. Like those little treats."

"Is that one leg, or two?"

She giggles. "I'll have you know Mum raised me to eat cooked meats too."

"Yeah.. About that. I should have thought about it before we got married, but... What exactly do you guys eat?"

"We hunt. We kill. We eat." She sticks her tongue out. "We use this for slipping in and getting every last nibble off bones."

"So you don't cook?"

"We've started cooking food. It's definitely an acquired taste, cooked meat.. Especially those of us with Human spouses, as Humans get a bit sick if they eat straight from hunting."

"Is it just hunting?"

"Do you mean carrion?" She shivers. "Definitely not. I've always wondered why Humans have this idea that predators go for the weak and sick... You don't. You might get whatever they've got. And carrion... Heck no, you don't know what it died of. if we get really hungry we'd cautiously browse a butcher's wares or raid something else's kill if we saw them bring it down, but even then we aren't comfortable."

"I see. No vegetables?"

"I have the odd green thing because Mum has green things."

"So... We can eat together?"

She smiles. "Yes." She giggles again. "I'm slightly domesticated."

I laugh. "I quite like the wild side."

She looks at me, and smiles. "I like being married."

"Me too. Just you, me, and our future bundles of fur..."

She giggles. "Are you thinking of making babies in me already?"

I laugh. "Well, yeah. I had an idea I wanted to run by you; what if we adapted some Olinbari names to work in Xenayan naming conventions?"

Her eyes light up. "Oooh, I like that. What examples do you have in mind?"

"So, like... I've noticed that with the exception of you, all Xenaya names are a consonant, vowel, consonant, ending in 'i'."

She nods. "So... Do any Olinbari names fit?"

"Well, we'd have to tweak them. Vopisca could be Vopi, Titus could be Titi. like that."

She looks at me. "What names did you want to call your children one day?"

I look at her. "Can we... Actually do that?"

She looks thoughtful. "Loads of couples on Unity have been modified to have inter-species children. Mum and Dad were first, with my brother Ruki." She her eyes flick down. "So... If you want to put your babies in me some day, we can."

"I always liked Livia and Pliny."

"Pliny I know, he was that historian guy, but who's Livia?"

"My real mother."

She licks me. "Livi..." Repeats it a few times. "I like it."

"And Pliny though?"

"She smiles. "Plini." She giggles. "I mean, he's your son, so we can allow the extra letter."

I smile. "Scipi, Rivi, Plini and Livi."

She laughs. Then sighs. Then she looks at me so intensely a shiver runs down my spine. "Now we can practice."

I brace for 270kg of Xenaya pouncing on me, breathing fast as she purrs as she positions herself.

The vehicle halts, and we tumble around.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

So, as stated earlier in the thread, I've been going over ideas for this final confrontation with Septima, and one of those concepts is that with her gone, it would really be the end of Life2.0's narrative.

And well, I am having so much fun writing this motley band of misfits who've built a civilisation together, especially Naomi and Buri, they are now my favourite fictional characters because they are such fun to write.

But...

I've come to the conclusion that Life2.0 vs MSI is Naomi and Rivkah's generations.

Getting involved with the big galaxy out there...

That's another generations' tale. And I've had an idea to really explore what the next generation could get up to, and also tidy up a plot hole for the planning of Rivi B'Uniti's distant future arc in the process.

So, I'm going to lay out the current ideas I have for the stories in Life2.0's setting:

The Olinbariad
Tthis one goes back to early 1st century BC Roman Republic, and looks at the original founding of the Olinbari and the Minamari who enslaved them.

Stars Of Wonder
This one was originally planned to be an Under One Rule Origin with Rivi B'Uniti. But A) TerraGen Dominion fits it better as I do intend to come back to that eventually, and B) I've realised I want to have her lead an Eager Explorers Origin Xenayan people instead. This is set in the distant future, but characters I can justify returning will come back, and it will be a fun exploration narrative that sees the Xenaya rising to the stars.

Mandate Of Heaven
To these already discussed ones joins the new "Mandate Of Heaven", a twenty years or so timeskip into the future from Life2.0, when MSI-Life2.0 have joined up a federation of those Vaki B'Than visited on her journey plus other currently Pre-FTLs who will become space-fairing as the newly merged MSI-Life2.0 uplifts every Pre-FTL they can, and the generation of Livi, Plini, Zhao Qing Lung, Vorosh and Daas' brood of Cthulthoids etc. now rise to take their place in the galaxy.

I do also have a few other ideas bouncing around my head, but those are more for an inkwell post than a post here as those don't involve a Life2.0 setting. I might opt to see if I can set up a poll to tell me which idea people find most interesting, but that is probably quite some time away.

 

[Macavity116]

"Me too. Just you, me, and our future bundles of fur..."

Is this a sly reference to Commander Shepard's "future little blue babies" line from the Liara romance in Mass Effect?

I personally think a long timeskip to visit a different part of the same galaxy through the eyes of a new generation of heroes would be a lot of fun. But that's a certain prior experience talking on my behalf.

 

[HistoryDude]

Rivkah and Scipio are nice together.

When Scipio says that Livia is his real mother, who is his... "fake mother", I guess? Appia? Julius's wife? What's the story there?

I like the ideas for The Olinbariad and Mandate of Heaven best, but all three of those are stories that I'd read.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Is this a sly reference to Commander Shepard's "future little blue babies" line from the Liara romance in Mass Effect?

Not intentionally.

I personally think a long timeskip to visit a different part of the same galaxy through the eyes of a new generation of heroes would be a lot of fun. But that's a certain prior experience talking on my behalf.

Well, they aren't exactly different parts of the galaxy, just displaced in time.

Rivkah and Scipio are nice together.

They are. Their chemistry isn't quite as strong as Naomi and Buri's, but they've got time to grow together.

When Scipio says that Livia is his real mother, who is his... "fake mother", I guess? Appia? Julius's wife? What's the story there?

Julius' current wife.

It isn't ill will towards her, but that Scipio has a complex relationship with his father, and frankly since his birth mother was divorced he feels a lot of resentment towards his father.

I like the ideas for The Olinbariad and Mandate of Heaven best, but all three of those are stories that I'd read.

Good to know.

Which of The Olinbariad or Mandate Of Heaven would you pick to read first?

 

[HistoryDude]

Which of The Olinbariad or Mandate Of Heaven would you pick to read first?

I'd probably (very slightly) prefer The Olinbariad. The origins of this MSI sound interesting, and Space Romans are always fun.

 

[Macavity116]

I wonder, in Mandate of Heaven, would internal or external threats be the focus of the main narrative conflict? Wrestling with the legacy of the previous generation's actions could make for a fascinating civil war story.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Gateway Assault, Part 1"
2942, 10, a.d. Nonas Octobribus (24th Daas, 10)
Appia Flavonius​

I wince as I stand. Stomach still hurts.

Around me, some in person but most via virtual links, are the combined military leadership of MSI and Life2.0.

I look at each of them. "So, for MSI officers, you may review your existing plans regarding the Gateway, and when the second part of this meeting begins we will discuss the tweaks to the plans we will make under the differences we have, as well as how to adjust the plan given our enemy are our own Praetorians. Firstly however, we'll go over it for our Life2.0 allies."

The view switches to a tactical overlay of our home system. "Here you can see the present positions of everything of note in the system. Note that the Gateway is equidistant between two hyperlanes, orbited by several Asteroid Artillery Platforms, and on the opposite side of the system from Brigantia at this time of year."

Snyc to next view. "We Olinbari planned for the situation where someone would be attempting an attack on the Gateway, obviously. Several Asteroid Artillery Platforms have been positioned to protect it, and once we get past them, we still have a legion of Praetorians to get through in fighting down to the Gateway control room. It will not be easy, as those platforms are benchmarked against assault from Prikki Attack Moons." I shrug. "They are the most likely attacker to be truly worried about."

I wait for the schematics to appear on view. "The good news is that being optimised for blasting massive stuff from the other side of the system is that they don't have the weapon selection to deal with a large fleet coming in from extremely close range; the expectation was having days to weeks to blast smaller things than moons, and that would get the job done. In any event, our combat planning for close combat at the Gateway assumed our fleet would be supporting, which means if we get there before Septima, our odds are good - they lack a fleet that could match us."

I cycle through the pre-existing plans, giving everyone time to take them on board. "We also made plans for what to do if the Gateway was captured, and therefore to recapture it. These plans rely on using our remote access control codes to direct the engagement in a desired way, and in this situation, we would shut the lot down."

I look at the room again. "Circumstances of course, change a lot of the underlying assumptions to these plans, which leads us neatly to the second part of this meeting."

Naomi raises her hand. "I see the plans for dealing with captured Asteroid Artillery involve using reinforced asteroids as bulk shields to cover the approach. Could we use them as a diversion?" She nods to Tunkuni. "Obviously, we are using Amothetet's passage to get to the Gateway, but there are advantages to making them think we're using a conventional attack."

"Well... In my view, the main reason not to use them is they'd take too long. Amothetet can get us there as soon as my nephew and your daughter get back."

She smiles. "I know. I was going to suggest launching them now, in advance of when we leave. We both know their lead time is Tsai Seong-Gye's workmanship on making them matching suits."

I smile. "And engaging in 'horizontal diplomacy'." Everyone else is looking at us awkwardly. "It's an in-joke between us."

A Xenaya wearing goggles, a headset and various sensors raises a hand. "These codes sound very useful. How sure are we that they'll not be countered?"

I nod. "The enemy is extremely familiar with these plans, and yes, they are very aware we have remote access codes to shut everything down and remotely disable any critical system and most non-critical systems. We locked them down as hard as we could, but the longer we leave them alone, the more chances of success they have in blocking them from working."

Buri looks at his companion. "Then we should move quickly, while we can stop at least some systems working."

The goggled one continues. "Yes. Have they been tried yet?"

Wami, that's his name. Been trying to remember. "Not yet."

Metius Eppius interjects. "From MSI's admiralty's perspective, we consider the codes of relatively little value to actually use in this case as we assume that they will counter them."

Naomi nods. "Yes, their value lies in distracting the enemy now."

Metius looks at her. "On behalf of the admiralty, there is a massive question to answer. We have considered your son's analysis, and it is a credible interpretation of the evidence he's gathered. If Septima brings a fleet of freighters filled with ten million Kyaese..." His eyes flicker to them. "...I can't see having to kill them to save Olinbari going down well."

Naomi nods to the Kyaese leader. "Their blood is on Septima's hands for using hostages in the first place. We've already accepted that realistically saving one percent of those on the freighters is probably the best outcome possible here." He looks at Naomi, then me. "We know we've only got one shot to save some Kyaese, which is intercepting the freighters at the Gateway - you guys can't risk freighters being used as mass drivers."

Metius bows his head. "I am hopeful it won't come to that."

Naomi's father looks around the table. "We all are."

I look at him. "Got a pep-talk in there?"

He laughs. "What we do here today is put action on a bold and new step into a brighter and better future. We must remember that Brigantia is home to dozens of races, not just Olinbari." Then looks at his daughter, and me. "Future generations will look back at this point in our history, and remember this time is when everything changed. Let's be the example we want them to have."

 

[HistoryDude]

That ending is hopeful. Maybe Appia and Naomi's vision can come true?

The problem with the enemy knowing your plans is that they can predict your actions. Changing the plan is a good idea, but won't Septima expect that course of action?

 

[CBR JGWRR]

I wonder, in Mandate of Heaven, would internal or external threats be the focus of the main narrative conflict? Wrestling with the legacy of the previous generation's actions could make for a fascinating civil war story.

Well, there's several aspects, and yes, it could make a fascinating civil war story, and with the setting of dozens of Pre-FTLs catapulting to endgame techs there's definitely going to be internal complications. But the scope of Mandate Of Heaven is definitely not towards internal conflict:

Firstly, there's a reason Mandate Of Heaven is named for an EUIV DLC. If I give that the Arishkan are Ming China in that analogy, the macro-scale of what happens in Mandate Of Heaven is obvious, and summed in a single word - Mingsplosion.

Secondly, Grepp of many fingers and boats is the man behind our protagonist's federation of newly-FTL civilisations grouped together with MSI-Life2.0. The slippery lizard hasn't spent more than a century setting this up to see it fail at the first few hurdles, and by now, he's protective of all his hard work.

Thirdly, Livi Unitatis and Zhao Qing Lung - our main protagonists for Mandate Of Heaven - are going to pick up the torch their parents lit and they will gorydamn run with it.

Fourthly, The Holocron has had a year or two of explosive growth according to his own plans he's spent decades refining. Imagine what he'll do with the decades between Life2.0 and Mandate Of Heaven, where he now has all the tech of the wider galaxy? (rather than developing it all himself like he has been)

Naomi and Buri would still be around chronologically, but... I want to send them on a long and romantic tour of the galaxy. They deserve it.

That ending is hopeful. Maybe Appia and Naomi's vision can come true?

Of course it will.

The problem with the enemy knowing your plans is that they can predict your actions. Changing the plan is a good idea, but won't Septima expect that course of action?

Of course; greedy, exploitative, cruel, brutal, a liar and lustful for power, all yes. But unlike Gaius, she isn't stupid.

I'd probably (very slightly) prefer The Olinbariad. The origins of this MSI sound interesting, and Space Romans are always fun.

Well, they have some twists. Most space Romans are continuations or recreations of the empire, and the Olinbariad definitely is not that.

Being a prequel, there is a lot that is fixed by Life2.0's history, but there is also a lot of opportunity to explore the background imposed by the Minamari; the Minamari are a race of Aquatics who use a Catalytic Processing plus Ocean Paradise build, giving them a strong focus on gene-engineering and use of slaves to utilise worlds that they cannot effectively inhabit, and they've built up into the liege you get when you use the Imperial Fief Origin.

Eventually they capture some Romans, and that's when the Olinbariad begins. (specifically, the first post is a Proto-Olinbari woman waking up from surgery and seeing what they've done to her)

Naturally, the Imperial Fief origin plays out, and the Olinbariad chronicles how the Olinbari respond, and ultimately destroy their captors. More ideas to refine while Life2.0 finishes though.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"What Mothers Fear"
24th Daas, 10 (2189)
Buri Of Unity​

My wife rolls off me, and smiles contently, her warm eyes shining bright. Yet... There is a little fear in her eyes. I nuzzle her. I love you, Naomi.

I love you, Buri.

Now I've sated you, I think we should talk about Septima.

She nuzzles me back. What's on your mind?

I've been thinking this all over, and I'm wondering if we're making a mistake. Surely Septima cannot miss that us attacking her is inevitable, right?

She nods. Right.

And she has to convert her economy to suit a war, which we know she hasn't yet done.

She nods. Appia's data would show it if she was already at a war footing, and Skrand's Kyaese agents would have reported being attacked by dedicated warships rather than tweaked freighters.

Exactly. The Kyaese are obviously being used in a misdirection, but if you were her, where would you want that fight to take place? My take is she wants us to attack the Gateway so that she can ambush us. Or get us out of a defensive position above Brigantia. Or maybe she's waiting on the far side of the Gateway to ambush us in transit.

She frowns. All possible.

And she has to know that we'd move to attack... How can she take advantage of that?

Her head tilts. Ok... So, MSI constantly scan for cloaked ships, it is part of why we found Septima has gotten a cloaked ship to collect Monica and the rest of them. I presume MSI's navy are able to find and intercept her ships if they are this side of the Gateway, which means they must be on the other Hyperlanes. But again, MSI would be aware of them, as communications travel much quicker than ships, and sensor platforms are extremely cheap and diffused everywhere. So... Unless they are already docked to Brigantia's Orbital Ring, they aren't going to be in range any time soon. And security on the Orbital Ring is extremely effective and well trained in taking down plots. So, I don't think she is going to be already in the system.

So she is waiting for us.

Maybe... If only we could contact our Kyaese allies on the other side more often, we could ask them to check. But...

I know, we can't ask them to reveal themselves.

She sighs. Especially when she's cracking down on them. No... We have to seize the Gateway, then cautiously see what's on the other side.

I think about what awaits us. What exactly are Praetorians? At a biological level. What makes them special?

She pauses. Well... There's conflicting theories that I've heard. But Cibbav has been running some tests on Praetorian bodies recovered after the battle with Gnaea's fleet in an effort to better understand what we are facing, and there's some really quite intriguing data in what she found as various Praetorians show really quite extreme differences beneath the skin.

How extreme?

She calls to mind Cibbav's analysis. As in, some Praetorians show substantial surgical and cybernetic enhancements on a base Olinbari genome. Other Praetorians are a deviation of genetic engineering specifically enhanced for super-soldier capability.

How much of a deviation?

They've been spliced with alien lifeforms way beyond the standard tweaks Olinbari got to make them different to Humans. To the point of being incompatible with normal Olinbari. She's fairly sure they have some radiation compensating organ that's taken from a radiotrophic plantoid race, for example.

I watch her move to fetch her pad. Feel her warmth as she nestles on my chest. Been working on a few ideas?

She smiles. Buri, I've been studying Olinbari all my life. She leans back thoughtfully. I have a great view here. And well... I'm really quite looking forward to once this is all dealt with and things settle into peace. At least, for a little while.

There is the fear again. I pull her close. What are you planning for after the war? Another one?

She shows me the tablet. Not my planning... This map is something Grepp gave to me. It shows where all the Pre-FTLs within this region of space are, what technological level they are at, and his progress in shaping them towards Xenophile ethics. She sighs. Grepp has made me an offer I can't refuse.

Oh no. I take a deep breath. "Why? What? How bad?"

She sighs again. "Grepp and Ossuhphuhr have been scheming together. They've decided to bring their respective nations to the negotiating table to try to get a truce which buys our merged MSI-Life2.0 state time to establish ourselves. Then Grepp will back Ossuhphuhr in trying to take the Celestial Throne from the Uqathre dynasty, and coronate a new Zhao dynasty."

 

[HistoryDude]

The Praetorians are superhuman (super-Olinbari?)? Were they bred for war before or after MSI formed?

Is that last part foreshadowing for Mandate of Heaven?

 

[CBR JGWRR]

The Praetorians are superhuman (super-Olinbari?)? Were they bred for war before or after MSI formed?

Yes - this is actually Stellaris canon, as the Human3 namelist - localised as Human (SPQR) in game - uses Cohors Praetoriae as the name for Gene Warrior Assault Armies.

Long before MSI as we know it forms, and before independence. The exact process will be covered in the Olinbariad.

Is that last part foreshadowing for Mandate of Heaven?

Yes.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Off-World Excursion, Part 7"
25th Daas, 10 (2189)
Scipio Of Unity​

She steps out from the changing room. "Does this make my bum look big?"

My eyes see nothing else but her as she twirls. Gosh, she's volumptous. "Yes, and I love it."

Her eyes run over me. "I'm liking you in armour too." She smiles. "My eyes are up here, Scipio."

I try to resist the temptations.

But I can't.

My eyes rove over her armoured body, my mind undressing her as I'm captivated by the thoughts of her fur, just as dark as her armour.

She licks me as she hugs me. "Scipio, you have to control this. We can't have you going into battle wanting me sexually."

I laugh. "Yes."

She steps away.

Draws her new sword. "Scipio, I want to have a little practice together, so that we can better understand each other." She sighs. "After all, if we are going up against Praetorians, we have to be prepared."

I nod.

Draw my own sword. Our blades are composed of strands of neutronium as a central core and a sliver of a neutronium cutting edge, surrounded by graphene electrical conductors for stun coils and nanotube reinforcement to give the wisp-thin blade the ability to withstand the forces when swung; even with just filaments of neutronium and a blade thickness barely a hair width it masses not far off as much as several Olinbari. Without the zero point reactors in the suit, I'm not sure I could lift it, but with them I show off a few flicks.

Then she does too.

Her form is...

Suddenly I don't want to fight her. Unlike me, she is actually strong enough to lift her sword without assistance, and with it she demonstrates exactly why Appia warned me.

She can flick between any of the Olinbari dueling forms at will, plus several Human forms that I haven't seen personally but have read about, and then she cycles through the Xenayan ones her mother and father have been developing that blend their brute strength with a surgeon's precision. And of course, the sheer size of her means her armour has more volume to put reactors and exomuscles in, making hers even better.

Even armoured in the best Energy Credits can buy, I still think she could cut me in half.

I gulp, but bravely take position.

We activate our helmets.

Switch to a private channel. "That was scarily impressive."

She laughs. I have to turn the volume down. "Mum and Titus Marius taught me well." Her sword points at me. "Husband, if you manage to land a strike on me, you can have sex with me."

I laugh. Suitably motivated, I launch my attack.

I can't beat her on strength, but I can on agility.

We both have integrated thrusters, but hers are inevitably less effective than mine because she's best part of two tonnes with the neutronium filament reinforcement in her suit. I can jump clear of her reach and flip around her, but I'll probably only get away with it once...

The trouble is, she's figuring it out too. She's adopted a guarding poise, and parries my strikes, circling around and never letting me get her out of position.

I'm getting desperate...

I try the flip.

She catches my heel, and I crash hard.

Roll onto my back.

Her sword rests on my chest, signifying that I'd be impaled if she wasn't sparing me. We deactivate our helmets; I've lost.

She smiles. "That was fun."

I do too. "At least I know I don't have to worry about you in a fight."

She puts down her sword, laying it next to mine. "I think you need more practice."

"Yes..."

"We will." She licks me. "But first... I'm going to take my prize."