[The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

[Hoid]

The Tengu hunkers down, squatting, buzzing an insect drone. “my flockname is ishut. I am ishut. to you, i am now ishut. what is your flockname?”

[Sakuro]

"I am Imperious."

... Lucas responded to the Tengu's request for his designation, his left hand moving to tap Shi'Halal's breastplate. He had given it earlier, but the Xeno had been in a panic. They also might not have understood that he was giving a name at the time. After giving his name he looks to Houston while motioning to the Tengu, by way of introducing him.

"This is Ishut. I leave them in your care cousin. It may be a good idea to stay clear of the Immortals until I return."

After imparting that bit of advice Lucas turns to the Imperial Princess. He wasn't rushing, but he did urge her into action.

"Make any preparations that you need to."

HP: 1
Defense: 20
Conditions: Healthy.
Encephalon: Deactivated
Communion Array: Impervious Toughness 20
Blast "Arsenal" Dynamic Array: Enhanced Strength 30 and Strike 3 [Feats: Might (+1 pp), Variable Descriptor "Technological Weaponry" 2 (+2 pp)]
Flight "Utility" Dynamic Array: Speed 15 ; Quickness 15

[Hoid]

“I have none,” Nepenthe says. She hands a small set of seven pills to Imperious. “Garlic seasoning,” she explains. “Here’s your half. Other than this, I’m ready to go.”

Lamassutu says, |-It is likely the House of the Fallen Peace is quite non-energetic, meaning very little native light. It should have a generator, called a ‘least godforge’. Destroy this machine and the Resonance should collapse, exiting you back here....along with everything else.-|

[Sakuro]

Lucas opens his palm to accept the offered pills. His eyes dip downwards to look at them. How was he going to use pills? Place them in a water solution, let them dissolve and then spray the matter? No. Shi'Halal could do that. Instead Imperious opened his mouth and tossed the seven pills in. Closing his mouth he made to swallow them. It took a bit of work to get them all down, but he managed. Afterwards he took hold of Nepenthe's shoulder.

"Destroying the Resonance is not my first priority. Such a thing may be useful. Still, that is good information to have. Houston, make certain the Palace defense forces are ready for battle."

He gave a opportunity for final comments from ... anyone. In that pause in action a ripple of black semi-fluid scale crawled up from his neck, over Lucas' face, and swallowed up the entirety of his head. As they linked into place emerald green lenses formed over his eyes and stars ignited on the otherwise black surface of Shi'Halal's helmet. Then he gave the order ...

"Shi'Halal, take us to House of the Fallen Peace."

HP: 1
Defense: 20
Conditions: Healthy.
Encephalon: Deactivated
Communion Array: Impervious Toughness 20
Blast "Arsenal" Dynamic Array: Enhanced Strength 30 and Strike 3 [Feats: Might (+1 pp), Variable Descriptor "Technological Weaponry" 2 (+2 pp)]
Flight "Utility" Dynamic Array: Speed 15 ; Quickness 15

[Hoid]

“Dropping Dimensional Anchor in 3...2...1...”

...and Imperious descends into nightmare. He and Nepenthe find themselves in a bizarre reverse-image of the Winter Palace, as if seen from the other side of a mirror. Everything is backwards, facing the wrong side, and light is virtually non-existent. The angles are all wrong on some fundamental level Imperious can’t consciously explain. The wind howls, sounding more like a wounded animal than a natural phenomenon.

The version of the Winter Palace here is...off-kilter, all right angles and hard lines, stabbing points and rigid turns, a stark reinvention of the building back on Rustdeity.

Music, warped and cracked, plays over some unseen loudspeaker. A voice, dry and leathery and dead, repeats the following endlessly on loop:

“Hail Sargon! Hail the Night House of Sangraal! Hail the eternal night! Submit yourself to death’s chill embrace! Be reborn!”

[Sakuro]

Imperious watched the world change as Shi'Halal's sensors compensated for the darkness. On making the transition into this pocket universe he looked around his immediate area. Looking for threats, and tactical advantages to exploit when conflict inevitably ensued. No guards present. No one attacked. Yet. Still, he recalled Cosmomon possessing equipment that had detected his arrival at Earth-E's To-Ki-Oh. Surely the Starvampire had something similiar.

"Where would you reside if you were a sadistic undead Xeno?"

As he asked the question Imperious looked to Nepenthe, making certain she was well. Once he was assured of that he began a more indepth search of the area, looking beyond walls and asking Shi'Halal to check for surveillance devices they could tap into to get more information.

Switching Shi'Halal's Utility to the following: Quickness 14 ; Infravision Extended 4 ; Ultravision Extended 4 ; X-Ray Vision Extended 4

Switching Shi'Halal's Arsenal Array to favor Datalink and Enhances Computers.

Here is a Search check to visual look for enemies and defense systems. Visual search: 1D20+10 = [4]+10 = 14

Here is a Search check to employ Datalink in searching for security systems. Datalink search: 1D20+10 = [5]+10 = 15

HP: 1
Defense: 20
Conditions: Healthy.
Encephalon: Deactivated
Communion Array: Impervious Toughness 20
Blast "Arsenal" Dynamic Array: Datalink 20 [Power Feat: Machine Control (+1 pp), Dimensional 3 (+3 pp)] ; Enhanced Skills 2 [Computers 8]
Flight "Utility" Dynamic Array: Quickness 14 ; Infravision Extended 4 ; Ultravision Extended 4 ; X-Ray Vision Extended 4

[Hoid]

OOC:
Search: Tengu roost here and there.
Datalink: A twisted iteration of Datasphere depths one and two can be accessed from here. The Icons therein are highly parasitic!

Nepenthe shrugs. “He’s Undying. He’s survived a very long time. He’s either survived due to his paranoia——in which case, he’s sheltered himself behind impressive lines of defense—-or due to his raw power—-in which case he’ll right out in the open.”

[Sakuro]

Lucas considered Nepenthe's observation. Korazzu wasn't operating out in the open in To-Ki-Oh. He was hiding his pressence. Putting layers of other people between himself and the operations he undertook.

"What is the most secure location in the Winter Palace?"

.. he inquired while listening to Shi'Halal's observations on the pesuedo-Datasphere and it's parasitic Icon inhabitants. It seemed best to steer clear of that digital realm. Especially if it meant separating from Nepenthe. Perhaps there was another way into the House of Fallen Peace' network. Lucas looked towards the source of the prayers to Sargon, looking for the device that was producing it. Or the people reciting it.

HP: 1
Defense: 20
Conditions: Healthy.
Encephalon: Deactivated
Communion Array: Impervious Toughness 20
Blast "Arsenal" Dynamic Array: Datalink 20 [Power Feat: Machine Control (+1 pp), Dimensional 3 (+3 pp)] ; Enhanced Skills 2 [Computers 8]
Flight "Utility" Dynamic Array: Quickness 14 ; Infravision Extended 4 ; Ultravision Extended 4 ; X-Ray Vision Extended 4

[Hoid]

Nepenthe answers, “Simple. That’d be the Imperator’s private quarters. Back on Rustdeity, I could guide you right to them. But...here? Maybe. Maybe not.”

Imperious quickly finds dozens of loudspeakers proclaiming Sargon’s greatness. There’s no one source for the preacher’s voice.

“Sargon,” Shai’Halal muses. “A deity? Korazzu describes himself a priest, after all.”

[Sakuro]

When Shi'Halal drew attention to the name being pronounced in the prayers he spared a moment to reflect on it. Outside of tactical circumstances he would not have minded studying the religion of the Starvampires. Now, he was more concerned with defeating his enemy. Tlolkku had science priests. As though they worshipped knowledge or the pursuit of it. What did undead Tlolkku worship?

"If not a deity, than possibly a prophet, or saint-like figure."

After commenting on Shi'Halal's musings he narrowed his eyes on one of the dozen loudspeakers the prayers were coming from.

"See if you can use the speakers as a way into their network. Try to gain access to surveillance systems. Cameras, sensors, and the like."

Here is a Datalink check to try to use the loudspeakers as a mean of gaining access to surveillance systems: Datalink: 1D20+20 = [18]+20 = 38

HP: 1
Defense: 20
Conditions: Healthy.
Encephalon: Deactivated
Communion Array: Impervious Toughness 20
Blast "Arsenal" Dynamic Array: Datalink 20 [Power Feat: Machine Control (+1 pp), Dimensional 3 (+3 pp)] ; Enhanced Skills 2 [Computers 8]
Flight "Utility" Dynamic Array: Quickness 14 ; Infravision Extended 4 ; Ultravision Extended 4 ; X-Ray Vision Extended 4

[Hoid]

Shai’Halal promptly says, “Working on...there we are. I am in the system. It is a confusing place to be in, Lucas, it’s an amalgamation of human and xeno technology, welded together in an ungainly fusion. It is both surprisingly simplistic and bewilderingly complex. Only parts of it are Tlolkku technology. Much of it is scavenged from elsewhere.” She considers this. “The piecemeal nature of this equipment leads me to believe Korazzu is not very influential among his people.”

[Sakuro]

Lucas's head slowly panned left, then right, as he kept a watch out for approaching hostiles while Shi'Halal worked. Within the privacy of his helmet he continued to converse with here.

"That makes sense. He is hiding in the ruins of a fallen empire, pursing an experiment the rest of his people have cast away. Lamassutu mentioned he only has two Starvampire supporters, that she was away of. Brutes, she called them."

There wasn't much of a pause. Lucas moved quickly from one topic, and back to their goal.

"Are you able to determine where the Godforge is, or where the Starvampires are working out of?"

I am going to drop a point of Extended from X-Ray Vision and increase Quickness to 15.

HP: 1
Defense: 20
Conditions: Healthy.
Encephalon: Deactivated
Communion Array: Impervious Toughness 20
Blast "Arsenal" Dynamic Array: Datalink 20 [Power Feat: Machine Control (+1 pp), Dimensional 3 (+3 pp)] ; Enhanced Skills 2 [Computers 8]
Flight "Utility" Dynamic Array: Quickness 15 ; Infravision Extended 4 ; Ultravision Extended 4 ; X-Ray Vision Extended 3

[Hoid]

“Yes, to the first question. No, to the second question,” Shai’Halal responds. “This pocket-universe operates on several unknown scientific axions, unknown tour universe. As a result, distances here are difficult to ascertain.

“As to the least godforge, it is occupying the same space as the sun, which paradoxically is both several million miles away and yet less than a mile. As to the Starvampires, I cannot say: the interior of this Winter Palace is very different than on the one we have explored on Rustdeity.”

[Sakuro]

When Shi'Halal informs him of the godforge's location he tilt his eyes upwards, and searches for it. Eternal night is what the prayers over the speakers called for. Yet the technology sustaining this pocket-dimension was placed in the location of Rustdeity's star.

"That is the least godforge."

Lucas said. To further draw Nepenthe's attention he brought up his left hand and pointed to the distant object. Which was, possibly, the center of this universe. After guiding Nepenthe's attention there Imperious lowered his arm and posed a new question to Shi'Halal.

"What can you tell me about the least Godforge?"

Here is a Technology check for Shi'Halal to assess the least Godforge. Figure out it's nature. What it does/can do. How it might be operated. That sort of thing. Technology: 1D20+13 = [10]+13 = 23

As an aside, is the least Godforge something Shi'Halal can interface with using Datalink?

HP: 1
Defense: 20
Conditions: Healthy.
Encephalon: Deactivated
Communion Array: Impervious Toughness 20
Blast "Arsenal" Dynamic Array: Datalink 20 [Power Feat: Machine Control (+1 pp), Dimensional 3 (+3 pp)] ; Enhanced Skills 2 [Computers 8]
Flight "Utility" Dynamic Array: Quickness 15 ; Infravision Extended 4 ; Ultravision Extended 4 ; X-Ray Vision Extended 3

[Hoid]

“It is clearly a source of phenomenal powers, able, as it is, to carve out portions of infinity and seal them away. I do not think the least godforge is Tlolkku or Starvampire in origin. It is likely Sunsphinx in origin. Korazzu stole it or bought it from somewhere, and he will shield it accordingly.

“I imagine destroying it will unleash an unheard-of amount of energy, so I would advise destroying it from a great distance.”