BladeofOblivion

Soom-Clan Marauders Chieftess Varsa Soom D7 | M10 | E5 | F4 | I2 News and Rumors - None yet [Diplomacy] Sway Government Support in Region 106 - ?. [Diplomacy] Sway Government Support in Region 55 - ?. [Diplomacy] ? - ?. [Diplomacy] ? - ?. [Military 10] Research Military Technology: Soom-Pattern Rayguns - Representing years of research and development and the steady integration of outside technology, some of the Soom-Clan's brightest are finally ready to unveil a clear advance in laser technology - the Soom-Pattern balances a tunable solidstate laser emitter with a high energy yield with a low-energy rangefinding laser in a beamsplitter connected to a complex optical matrix. The rangefinder is calculating optimal range bands at any time the safety is disabled, and when fired the high-yield emitter is tuned automatically to the best frequency determined by the rangefinder. Generally, the tuning is set to a frequency that allows the laser to oscillate "through" atmospheric obstructions such as dust, smoke, or even some types of light armor, dramatically reducing undesirable bloom and beam ablation and rendering this type of weaponry far more effective in-atmosphere than previous models. Soom-Pattern Rayguns Prerequisites: Conductors and Circuitry OR Laser Rifles Effect: +1 to Ground Battles Slot: Man-Portable Weapons - Sub-Action: Claim +2 REN from Wonders of the 99,803rd Era Non-Actions - Embassy Actions - Ruler Info Chieftess Varsa Soom Diplomacy: 7 Military: 10 Economy: 5 Faith: 4 Intrigue: 2 Expected Stat Gains: +2 Diplomacy Heir Yaki Soom Diplomacy: 2 Military: 4 Economy: 2 Faith: 2 Intrigue: 2 Additional Notes New Ruler Next Round? NO Military Units 6/10 - Warlord Pandar - Warlord Hur - Warlord Mun - Warlord Kral - Warlord Sigrid - Carrier "No Truce with the Furies" Treasure: 3/5 (+1 passive treasure/round) Relics: - No Commanders: - Warlord Sigrid (General 10; Rust, Dust, and Guts) Embassies and Trade Routes: - Embassy with New Kildora Organizational Overview: Imperial Court: Rep 0, 0 favors Pan-Tekhum Workers and Traders Union: Rep 2, 0 favors Basu-Rahman Group: Rep -3, 0 favors Renown 2 [U]Temporary Cultural Identity - EMPTY[/U] [U]Permanent Cultural Identities - EMPTY [/U] [U]Tactical Doctrines[/U] - Measured Advance (-10% casualties for both sides) - Aggressive Assault (+10% casualties for both sides) - Overwhelming Tempo (+2 to own battle roll, +10% own casualties, and -10% enemy casualties) - Indecisive Engagements (-2 to own battle roll, -10% own casualties, and +10% enemy casualties) - Rust, Dust, and Guts (Warlord Sigrid, +3 to own battle roll, +10% own casualties) Technologies econ - Dust Hardening, Vacuum Adaptation, Aclaustrophobic Psychiatry, Algorithmic Imagination, Arcane Amplification, In-Vivo Modification, Nuclear Fusion, and Xenolingustic Cataloguing mil - None [U]Ground Front technologies:[/U] [B]- Man-Portable Weapons:[/B] [B]- Infantry Equipment:[/B] [B]- Combat Drugs and Medicine:[/B] [B]- Armored Vehicles:[/B] [B]- Field Fortifications:[/B] [B]- Engineered Combat Organisms:[/B] [U] Space Front technologies:[/U] [B]- Detection and Rangefinding:[/B] [B]- Ship to Ship Weapons:[/B] [B]- Orbit to Ground Weapons:[/B] [B]- Crew and Maintenance:[/B] [B]- Armor and Shields:[/B] [B]- Spacecraft Propulsion:[/B] Either front: [B]- Electronic Warfare and Countermeasures:[/B] [B]- Special Forces:[/B] [B]- Logistics and Morale:[/B] [B]Trading posts (3 [6], 1 treasure/round)[/B] (mercantile supports: 73, 74) - 74 (Energized Chrysoberyl) TP1, TP2 - 73 (Silver Serpents) TP2 [B]Official Faith (Mother Serpent)[/B] 5 HS: +1 Battles in Dust Regions 10 HS: +1 Sways [B]Controlled Regions, Supports, Holy Sites:[/B] - 74: Government/Mercantile/Media, Mother Serpent (Majority) - 55: No Supports, Anticlericalism (Plurality) - 75: Government/Media, Deathspeakers (Plurality) - 106: No Supports, Quantum Predestination (Majority), Nominative Determinism (Minority)

Mraza (Region 55), Veehra Body Geography Mraza is the eastern lowland of the Crater Lake, a place of rolling plains and crystal cities. Polished surfaces gleam in the sunlight, and during the night great assemblies of mirrors are used to bathe the places where people reside in light. The population is densely clustered in major cities for this reason, as it is considered deeply unlucky to walk in the darkness and concentrating the light is far easier in one place than many. The largest of these cities are Farkas and Mincir on the coast, followed by the Dome-City of Kazha in the east where it guards the pass across what desert-dwellers know as the Serpent's Spine. Much outside the cities is automated farms and preserved wilderness, so most travel is in special carriages with mirrors on the inside to keep them well-lit. People Long ago, the people of Mraza fell into a torpor after overthrowing a brutal sorcerer-king. Needing a strong, honorable protector and lawgiver, rather than appointing one, they built them instead. Though most of the common people of Mraza are human, it is the Mrazite Golems who rule and administer. Crystalline perfection and symmetric mirrored forms with complex magical circuits grant them unique magical abilities centered around imagery and represent a multitude of perspectives and informational processing. Though both intelligent and powerful, constructs like the Thotron have little in the way of ambition or material needs, and so corruption is uncommon. There is only the orderly acquisition and distribution of resources and needs by an enlightened tyranny of the illuminated. The human population has known little of conflict until the emergence of the elect - insulated from everything, afraid of the dark. Mrazite culture is the pursuit of pleasure and ideals - philosophy, entertainment, sometimes excess. Faith Plurality: Anticlericalism The people of Mraza have long held a collection of superstitions regarding light, darkness, and mirrors. Creatures of the light must remain in the light, and creatures of the darkness must remain in the darkness...normally. Mirrors are portals through which the light may touch the darkness, and an anti-self may emerge from the other side. Anti-Clericalism, despite the name, is an informal clergy of those who maintain and protect the sacred mirrors and safeguard the rituals for trading places with one's mirror self for a time, when the need is dire. Resources Resource: Mrazite Crystals (Magical Items/Precious Minerals). These local crystals are an unusual magical component highly useful for ritual magic involving projected images and other illusions. Basu-Rahman used them extensively for special effects and budget visuals. Required: Information and Data.

Soom-Clan Marauders Chieftess Varsa Soom D6 | M9 | E5 | F4 | I2 News and Rumors - None yet [Diplomacy] Sway Government Support in Region 106 - It was clear now that they'd taken too distant a hand with Mraza. Let them self-govern while the Soom treated their lands like an extension of their own roam. This was hardly grassroots rebellion, but the ground had to have been fertile nonetheless. Mraza had been watered in blood, but it was urgently clear that a tighter grip was needed - local integration and infiltration. [Diplomacy] Sway Media Support in Region 75 - This misstep would not be made twice. [Military] Raise 1 Ground Unit - ?. [Military] Attack Rebels in Region 55 with 4 Ground Units led by Warlord Sigrid and 1 Space Unit - ?. Coalition Details Space Front: Subcommander Palu Soom cedes command to Admiral Seraphine(+9) using Master of Arms (+1 to Battle) to establish Orbital Superiority - +1 SCM Space Unit, +1 TWI space unit, +3 SNK space units, +3 ISH space units, +9 Commander, total +17 before TacMan. Tactical Doctrine: Master of Arms (+1 to Battle) Ground Front led by General Warlord Sigrid(+10): +4 SCM Units, +2 TWI units, +3 SNK units, +2 ISH units, +10 Commander, total +21 before tacman and superiority. Tactical Doctrine Measured Advance (-10% casualties for both sides). [Economy 5] Establish Arcology in Region 55: The Red Station (+1 to Sway actions) - Some would call her mad for trying to construct something like this in what amounted to an Urban Warzone. Maybe Vee Soom was a little mad, but this was her project and she'd do it how she wanted - and right now, the iron was hot. They'd looted millions of Kroesids' worth of broadcasting equipment from the Agnai Incorporated holdings in Farkas, and on her order they'd been taken to the Dome-City of Kazha to be repurposed in a new set of structures, of similar purpose - a vast Broadcasting Center for the people, and not for some Corporate Leech. - Sub-Action: Claim 1 Treasure from Project Sunrise - Sub-Action: Claim 1 Renown from Built to Last Non-Actions - Support ISH buyout of TP 74.3 Energized Chrysoberyls Embassy Actions - Ruler Info Chieftess Varsa Soom Diplomacy: 6 Military: 9 Economy: 5 Faith: 4 Intrigue: 2 Expected Stat Gains: +1 Diplomacy, +1 Military Heir Yaki Soom Diplomacy: 2 Military: 4 Economy: 2 Faith: 2 Intrigue: 2 Additional Notes New Ruler Next Round? NO Military Units 5/10 - Warlord Pandar - Warlord Hur - Warlord Mun - Warlord Sigrid - Carrier "No Truce with the Furies" Treasure: 1/5 (+1 passive treasure/round) Relics: - No Commanders: - Warlord Sigrid (General 10; Rust, Dust, and Guts) Embassies and Trade Routes: - Embassy with New Kildora Organizational Overview: Imperial Court: Rep 0, 0 favors Pan-Tekhum Workers and Traders Union: Rep 2, 0 favors Basu-Rahman Group: Rep -3, 0 favors Renown 1 [U]Temporary Cultural Identity - EMPTY[/U] [U]Permanent Cultural Identities - EMPTY [/U] [U]Tactical Doctrines[/U] - Measured Advance (-10% casualties for both sides) - Aggressive Assault (+10% casualties for both sides) - Overwhelming Tempo (+2 to own battle roll, +10% own casualties, and -10% enemy casualties) - Indecisive Engagements (-2 to own battle roll, -10% own casualties, and +10% enemy casualties) - Rust, Dust, and Guts (Warlord Sigrid, +3 to own battle roll, +10% own casualties) Technologies econ - Dust Hardening, Vacuum Adaptation, Aclaustrophobic Psychiatry, Algorithmic Imagination, Arcane Amplification, In-Vivo Modification, Nuclear Fusion, and Xenolingustic Cataloguing mil - None [U]Ground Front technologies:[/U] [B]- Man-Portable Weapons:[/B] [B]- Infantry Equipment:[/B] [B]- Combat Drugs and Medicine:[/B] [B]- Armored Vehicles:[/B] [B]- Field Fortifications:[/B] [B]- Engineered Combat Organisms:[/B] [U] Space Front technologies:[/U] [B]- Detection and Rangefinding:[/B] [B]- Ship to Ship Weapons:[/B] [B]- Orbit to Ground Weapons:[/B] [B]- Crew and Maintenance:[/B] [B]- Armor and Shields:[/B] [B]- Spacecraft Propulsion:[/B] Either front: [B]- Electronic Warfare and Countermeasures:[/B] [B]- Special Forces:[/B] [B]- Logistics and Morale:[/B] [B]Trading posts (3 [6], 1 treasure/round)[/B] (mercantile supports: 73, 74) - 74 (Energized Chrysoberyl) TP1, TP2 - 73 (Silver Serpents) TP2 [B]Official Faith (Mother Serpent)[/B] 5 HS: +1 Battles in Dust Regions 10 HS: +1 Sways [B]Controlled Regions, Supports, Holy Sites:[/B] - 74: Government/Mercantile/Media, Mother Serpent (Majority) - 55: No Supports, Anticlericalism (Plurality) - 75: Government, Deathspeakers (Plurality) - 106: No Supports, Quantum Predestination (Majority), Nominative Determinism (Minority)

Soom-Clan Marauders Chieftess Varsa Soom D5 | M9 | E4 | F4 | I2 News and Rumors - None yet [Diplomacy] Sway Region 75 Government Support [Roll 13, TN 12, Success] - ?. [Diplomacy] Sway Region 106 Government Support [Roll 8, TN 12, Failure] - ?. [Military] Invade Region 75 with 2 Ground Units led by Warlord Sigrid and 1 Space Unit - ?. Details Space Front: Subcommander Palu Soom (+4) establishes Orbital Superiority - +1 SCM Space Unit. Ground Front led by General Warlord Sigrid : +2 SCM Units, +10 Commander, +1 Dust Desert Faith Bonus, total +13 before tacman and superiority. Tactical Doctrine Rust, Dust, and Guts (+3 to Battle and +10% own casualties). [Economy] Impress Mercantile Support in Region 73, spending 1 treasure [Roll 13, TN 12, Success] - Levers of power are complex, and Kildora has neglected to keep its merchants in line. Vee sees an opening - It'll distract from the mess in Mraza, hopefully, and better secure the flow of raw material and food from Kildora. [Economy] Buyout Region 56 Gene Samples TP1 with WTU Support from WTU Rep 2 [Roll 11, TN 12, Failure] - ?. Non-Actions - Invite WTU to unionize labor in Mraza (Region 55). Embassy Actions - Ruler Info Chieftess Varsa Soom Diplomacy: 5 Military: 9 Economy: 4 Faith: 4 Intrigue: 2 Expected Stat Gains: +1 Diplomacy, +1 Economy Heir Yaki Soom Diplomacy: 2 Military: 4 Economy: 2 Faith: 2 Intrigue: 2 Additional Notes New Ruler Next Round? NO Military Units 6/8 - Warlord Pandar - Warlord Hur - Warlord Mun - Warlord Brun - Warlord Sigrid - Carrier "No Truce with the Furies" Treasure: 1/5 (+1 passive treasure/round) Relics: - No Commanders: - Warlord Sigrid (General 10; Rust, Dust, and Guts) Embassies and Trade Routes: - Embassy with New Kildora Organizational Overview: Imperial Court: Rep 0, 0 favors Pan-Tekhum Workers and Traders Union: Rep 2, 0 favors Basu-Rahman Group: Rep -3, 0 favors Renown 1 [U]Temporary Cultural Identity - EMPTY[/U] [U]Permanent Cultural Identities - EMPTY [/U] [U]Tactical Doctrines[/U] - Measured Advance (-10% casualties for both sides) - Aggressive Assault (+10% casualties for both sides) - Overwhelming Tempo (+2 to own battle roll, +10% own casualties, and -10% enemy casualties) - Indecisive Engagements (-2 to own battle roll, -10% own casualties, and +10% enemy casualties) - Rust, Dust, and Guts (Warlord Sigrid, +3 to own battle roll, +10% own casualties) Technologies econ - Dust Hardening, Vacuum Adaptation, Aclaustrophobic Psychiatry, Algorithmic Imagination, Arcane Amplification, In-Vivo Modification, Nuclear Fusion, and Xenolingustic Cataloguing mil - None [U]Ground Front technologies:[/U] [B]- Man-Portable Weapons:[/B] [B]- Infantry Equipment:[/B] [B]- Combat Drugs and Medicine:[/B] [B]- Armored Vehicles:[/B] [B]- Field Fortifications:[/B] [B]- Engineered Combat Organisms:[/B] [U] Space Front technologies:[/U] [B]- Detection and Rangefinding:[/B] [B]- Ship to Ship Weapons:[/B] [B]- Orbit to Ground Weapons:[/B] [B]- Crew and Maintenance:[/B] [B]- Armor and Shields:[/B] [B]- Spacecraft Propulsion:[/B] Either front: [B]- Electronic Warfare and Countermeasures:[/B] [B]- Special Forces:[/B] [B]- Logistics and Morale:[/B] [B]Trading posts (3 [5], 1 treasure/round)[/B] (mercantile supports: 74) - 74 (Energized Chrysoberyl) TP1, TP2 - 73 (Silver Serpents) TP2 [B]Official Faith (Mother Serpent)[/B] 5 HS: +1 Battles in Dust Regions 10 HS: +1 Sways [B]Controlled Regions, Supports, Holy Sites:[/B] - 74: Government/Mercantile/Media, Mother Serpent (Majority) - 75: No Supports, Anticlericalism (Plurality) - 106: No Supports, Quantum Predestination (Majority), Nominative Determinism (Minority)

Quote Snakest Snense Snews? "What reason would I have to hide it?", he replies. "Basu-Rahman signals go everywhere, wanted or otherwise. You would hear of it - and the wretched villainy of the Soom-Clan, of course - within days regardless. You have engendered trust enough not to slit my throat where I stand - it would ruin the tile, I expect." Despite his words, he turns his back to gesture at one of the art displays - a great torch held by a hand upon a trail of light. "Basu-Rahman is corporate rot. They would tell you it is the honed craft of a corporation's history that gives it strength, but it is little more than the shambling husk of an institution driven by the fungus of wealth. No humanity guides it anymore. The creature disgusts my mother because she sees them as offworlders; I see something far more insidious. Offworlders can learn and be learned from, just as anyone. But a corporation is not flesh or will. It is the invasive species of ideals."

Inside the Gala, the Venn Diagram of Dashers and Nobles Alud laughed with his friend's delivery. There would likely be more Khylokians to dust in the future, it was true. They didn't seem to mind. He teased and interjected in the following exchanges, before Tuahine eventually asked him bluntly what he was doing here. "Good Wine.", he lied with a modest hum of amusement. "No. I suppose it can't hurt to tell you. I am learning." He glanced away, gesturing to the grand hall as he continued to speak, champagne flute-hand shimmering in the light. "I love my homeworld, but it is a slice of the whole of Tekhum. Where my mother sees only outsiders and exploiters, I know there is far more here to see. To learn. I may be a Prince of Veehra, but I have seen how outsiders and greenlanders speak of the Clans. We must change that. And it's going to become worse before it gets better. The Crater's Basu-Rahman affiliates are burning as we speak; we are about to be the greatest villains Tekhum has ever seen in the eyes of those who believe what they see." There's a sense that he's smiling under the mask, though no clear way to see that. "So it is good to show another face." Quote On 3/20/2024 at 6:46 PM, Bellossom said: A tall figure struts into the Gala, dripping with confidence and cinnakite. Morgaine, Cardinal Witch and heir apparent, enters the scene in a deep green form fitting floor length gown lined with hundreds of tiny amber stones. Around them floats an amber stone shoulder piece as if Morgaine themself has rings and a gravitational pull. Behind them hurries a shorter witch who fusses over Morgaine's train and mutters to herself quietly. This witch also wears a deep green dress, but rather than having stones sewn into her gown, her jewelry is of a similar gravity-defying design. Despite being dressed more humbly, she still carries herself with graceful confidence. As creator of Morgaine's stunning attire, Witch Iona is widely known in Mek-01 as a genius in cinnakite research as well as fashion design. After entering, Morgaine heads towards the snapparazzi, eager to show off their glittering self. Iona stops next to a member of the waitstaff, picking up a glass of wine and taking a delicate sip. She watches Morgaine as they pose and makes mental notes of possible stress points that will need adjustments in the future. She knows she should be mingling, but she can't help eyeing her work in action. Pleased with herself, Iona smirks into her drink and begins to relax and enjoy the party. Inside the Gala, Tiyansi and the Witches Later in the Gala, after disentangling himself from his previous conversation, Alud Soom stepped into the fray with Princess Tiyansi - who he recognized, even if he'd never spoken to her directly - and a pair of newcomers he did not. From their bearing (and presence) though it was clear they were persons of importance, so it couldn't hurt to say hello. "Truly.", he added to the Princess' words. "There has been talk of the Peludo making strides in antigravity back home, but they're a practical people and have been using it primarily for railwork - this is the first I've seen of such principles applied to tailoring."

Inside the Gala Alud nods along amusedly at the antics of others and at responses to his gentle boasting, following along with sparse remarks and acknowledgement until accepting the champagne flute from Naqi'a - perhaps corroborating some part of his stories, without even looking at it. He only chuckles at Naqi'a's implication at first, though when Antonius appears to take it seriously his body language stills. "Tells? No.", he begins to play it off. "Such a thing is far better shown." Over any protests, he lifts his head slightly and sticks his tongue out under the mask, maneuvering it to a hidden catch - there's a soft click, barely audible in the thronging party, and a tiny metal straw flicks out of a hidden panel in his mask. He proceeds to take a sip of champagne without lifting the face covering, much less removing it. "Only the most intimate parties expect hosts or guests to eat or drink in front of one another, in my homeland - it is taboo to appear unmasked to strangers.", he adds with a chuckle, eyes flicking between the other nobles and Ani-Quin - he had strategically chosen to ignore Vile and Velocipede's...whatever they had. "Fortunately, I came prepared. Thank you, Lady Naqi'a, this is an excellent wine indeed."

Quote Inside the Gala Alud drops the act in reply, crossing his arms behind his back and bowing shallowly, seemingly pleased that his attempt at satire has communicated something. "It is good to meet you as well, Tuahine Roa and and Antonius Console-Elect. Truly." For the first time tonight, the angle allows a glimpse of his real eyes under the mask, unobscured by the layers of trickery and internal lighting. Just whites and two circles of brown. Just a man. They're able to chat a bit: Alud's stories of driving have more to do with crossing the desert than the death-defying stunts on the piloting circuit that made him a name in Mekhala, but he has stories from that too. "...interference at the Mouth threw the instruments awry, and Iris could not navigate the mirrored passages, so...I actually closed my eyes and navigated by feel. It sounds mad to say aloud, but it worked. Not well enough to catch up with Vile or the Dwarf, but it worked."

Everyone should see this.

Quote The Red Carpet Alud Soom struck a pose but strode past the news reporters at first, casually evading questions about the Dash - though when asked about his clothes, he confidently declared that the artisan work was done by Hila-Soom of his own clan, a distant cousin, but the skull and hide displayed had been struck down by his own hand: An Arvax soldier that had been part of an attempted ambush on his warwheels, on the backlines of the Mraza campaign. It was Soom tradition never to wear a part of a beast one had not hunted themselves. But even that explanation came to an abrupt end as some of the more invasive questions came to be asked. He parted the crowd quickly as Ani-Quin swooped in, who he quickly moved to embrace with surprising candor. "Ah-ha, you live after all! I had not been so sure when I did not see your ship at the finish line!" Quotes Inside the Gala "Not yet.", Alud answered Ani-Quin dryly. It wasn't possible to be sure if he was grinning beneath that mask, but it sure sounded like he might be. "A pleasure to meet you both", he followed more loudly, addressing the newcomers with a sudden put-upon bravado. "You seem well aware, but I am Alud Soom of the Soom-Clan!" He laughed. "You know, mighty Conqueror of the Forgotten Deserts!" He laughed louder, before he quieted himself. "Forgive me. I am aware my people are seen primarily as...violent and exotic, and I must amuse myself somehow. I appreciate Snake News' coverage more than Basu-Rahman's tripe but it does paint a sensational picture nevertheless."

OOC Alud Soom has invited Lilium of the Twilight League as +1 (though LadySerpentine currently lacks access to the thread), and invitee Naqi'a of the House of Fire is currently being hosted by the Soom-Clan. OOC, I do not know if either plans to attend, but they may travel together if so. Though fiercely Veehran and rarely seen away from its homeworld, the Soom-Clan is no longer a complete unknown in the world of politics - and it thus may come as little surprise when Alud Soom steps from the speeder onto the Red Carpet. Despite his personal apparent fascination with the cultures of Mekhala, he has chosen to come as a representative of Veehra first and foremost - or, that's what he'd say: His ensemble for the night is done up in the style of a Nadiratnan Gladiator albeit sensationalized, romanticized, dramatized, and frankly inauthentic considering Nadiratna's Gladiatorial traditions are reserved for a form of execution. It's clear his ideas about what a Gladiator is are much more influenced by the celebrity combatants of the House of Fire. Either way, his dress includes iron bracers and greaves decorated with images of serpents beaten into the metal by hand, a headdress of real white hair braided with catseyes, and a geometrically-sculpted fired clay mask polished to a mirror sheen that shines with internal light. He wears no shirt but for a harness of leather from a mammal of uncertain origin, bound together by a circular miniature "buckler" medallion at the center of his chest with a skull (again, mammalian, but hard to be sure what kind - some kind of giant rat?) placed on one shoulder as a sort of pauldron - the lower jaw is missing. His legs are also protected by a red kama that extends down to the knee, with an uneven gradient of red to darker red that invokes a low flame.

Soom-Clan Marauders Chieftess Varsa Soom D5 | M7 | E4 | F4 | I2 News and Rumors - None yet [Diplomacy 5] Establish Cultural Identity: Desert's Edge (2d8 to Conversions), claiming 1 Renown - The Clans are old, some would say ancient. They have a long history of cultural integration, desert hospitality that inducts others into the family. And the Soom - they've always been at the edge of the Greenlands. They've always had contact with outsiders, and standing ground until others see things their way is a skill their negotiators learned a long time ago. [Military] Raise 1 Ground Unit - More bodies, more battles to come, more warwheels. The storms continue to roll in. Some of Mraza's old army is reinstated to keep the peace - even if not motivated to fight for the Soom, they would be motivated to protect their own people. Loyalty could come in time. Until then, fewer Soom Partisans would be needed to remain occupying the region. [Military] Sack Region 70 TP2 [Roll 9, Failure] - Word of strange ships arriving in the north to take people from the surface of the planet off to some distant work colony spreads like wildfire - and that these thieves of flesh were enemies of the Emperor. Seeking glory and backing, Warlord Hur rides off with intent to lay an ambush and put an end to this threat. Unfortunately, the omens are poor and they go home unsatisfied. [Military] Invade Region 106 with 2 units led by Warlord Sigrid - They crept up in their transports, vacuum suits and bubble-helmets on. They opted for a quiet insertion - no fleet, just a quiet docking to open the door for the main force. The mercenaries of this Moon were numerous and well-equipped - bringing a fleet would only warn them and give them time to prepare. No, Sigrid wanted to catch them with their pants down, and for that a subtler touch would be required: Tactics borrowed from pirate holovids and entry codes acquired with bribery. Against superior numbers, superior tactics would bring victory - and how glorious would this victory be? Details Combined Front led by General Warlord Sigrid using Vacuum Adaptation: +2 SCM Units, +10 Commander, total +12. Tactical Doctrine Rust, Dust, and Guts (+3 to Battle and +10% own casualties). [Military] Destroy Basu-Rahman Group Conglomerate Holdings in Region 55, spending 1 treasure and 1 renown (Scum and Villainy)[Roll 15, Success?] - Varsa Soom leaned upon her staff, setting foot in the Greenlands at long last - this moment had been promised for generations, and she lived to see it. Her eldest daughter had done well in this conquest, and now the moment she had planned was at hand. Offworlders had set deep roots here - and now that the power to remove them was in reach, she would not squander it. Her coterie bore torches, and a long night of silence would follow - a silence that would have more to say than any amount of vapid broadcasting. Non-Actions - Accept Weak Marriage Claim to region 56 - In the aftermath of the Crater Lake war, though the surprising ferocity of the Agbadan offensive had caught Yaki Soom entirely off guard and Agbadan grip on the Turk's former land strengthened by the day, there was a silver lining: Her secondary goal in the region, unraveling the mystery of Count Federico's broadcasts and achieving an adventurous rescue, had proven entirely successful. Even Warlord Sigrid had been modestly shocked to find out Federico and his family were real people and not some strange attempt at a scam. Even so, with the Agbadan victory to the south the choice is made - as a temporary measure - to provide a plot of land in Mraza "liberated" from its former rulers to the Count and his family. Further, Yaki Soom was seeking a husband, and Federico's offer came at a fortuitous time - she accepted Leopoldo's offer. Unspoken was a wonder that they too might someday reclaim the Count's Ancestral Homeland. - Pay 4 Treasure to WTU to Repay Loan - Varsa Soom had not realized at first that the suspiciously easy "bank robbery" one of her raiding groups had gone on was, in fact, a completely legitimate loan application process with surprisingly generous terms. Those terms had come due, in time, but the coffers were overflowing and despite everything, Vee had pushed strongly for healthy relations with the Union. Life and politics push one in stranger directions by the day. - In response to WTU's demands for Input, emphasize Egalitarian Policy - Vee Soom's outspoken support of the Union was well established at this point, but her response to their seeking her input was somewhat confused at first. After all, she'd been seeking their advice regarding labor reform during the ongoing inspections, and to have them ask HER for advice on labor reform shook her faith, just a bit. She wasn't sure. She didn't know. The abduction of people to take offworld as thralls in such a permanent, inescapable sense surely wasn't right, but there was a difference between voluntary attempts at reform and the sort of mercantile coup that WTU proposed within the Demigod's Lands. Vee stepped back from commenting on whether it was right or wrong to forcefully reform Corvee Labor, but instead emphasized consistency - that the WTU should only top-down impose rules that it was willing to apply in an egalitarian fashion. Petty Tyrants like the Demigod might be more vulnerable to such things, but the Union should not impose forcible reform in any way they wouldn't be willing to enforce on a giant like Basu-Rahman. Embassy Actions - Loan 1 TP of Energized Chrysoberyl to New Kildora via Trade Route to fulfill SNK's "Crystals" DI. Ruler Info Chieftess Varsa Soom Diplomacy: 5 Military: 7 Economy: 4 Faith: 4 Intrigue: 2 Expected Stat Gains: +2 Military Heir Yaki Soom Diplomacy: 2 Military: 4 Economy: 2 Faith: 2 Intrigue: 2 Additional Notes New Ruler Next Round? NO Military Units 5/7 - Warlord Pandar - Warlord Hur - Warlord Mun - Warlord Sigrid - Carrier "No Truce with the Furies" Treasure: 5/5 (+1 passive treasure/round) Relics: - No Commanders: - Warlord Sigrid (General 10; Rust, Dust, and Guts) Embassies and Trade Routes: - Embassy with New Kildora Organizational Overview: Imperial Court: Rep 0, 0 favors Pan-Tekhum Workers and Traders Union: Rep 1, -1 favors Basu-Rahman Group: Rep 0, 0 favors Renown 1 [U]Temporary Cultural Identity - EMPTY[/U] [U]Permanent Cultural Identities - EMPTY [/U] [U]Tactical Doctrines[/U] - Measured Advance (-10% casualties for both sides) - Aggressive Assault (+10% casualties for both sides) - Overwhelming Tempo (+2 to own battle roll, +10% own casualties, and -10% enemy casualties) - Indecisive Engagements (-2 to own battle roll, -10% own casualties, and +10% enemy casualties) - Rust, Dust, and Guts (Warlord Sigrid, +3 to own battle roll, +10% own casualties) Technologies econ - Dust Hardening, Vacuum Adaptation, Aclaustrophobic Psychiatry, Algorithmic Imagination, Arcane Amplification, In-Vivo Modification, Nuclear Fusion, and Xenolingustic Cataloguing mil - None [U]Ground Front technologies:[/U] [B]- Man-Portable Weapons:[/B] [B]- Infantry Equipment:[/B] [B]- Combat Drugs and Medicine:[/B] [B]- Armored Vehicles:[/B] [B]- Field Fortifications:[/B] [B]- Engineered Combat Organisms:[/B] [U] Space Front technologies:[/U] [B]- Detection and Rangefinding:[/B] [B]- Ship to Ship Weapons:[/B] [B]- Orbit to Ground Weapons:[/B] [B]- Crew and Maintenance:[/B] [B]- Armor and Shields:[/B] [B]- Spacecraft Propulsion:[/B] Either front: [B]- Electronic Warfare and Countermeasures:[/B] [B]- Special Forces:[/B] [B]- Logistics and Morale:[/B] [B]Trading posts (3 [5], 1 treasure/round)[/B] (mercantile supports: 74) - 74 (Energized Chrysoberyl) TP1, TP2 - 73 (Silver Serpents) TP2 [B]Official Faith (Mother Serpent)[/B] 5 HS: +1 Battles in Dust Regions 10 HS: Not Set [B]Controlled Regions, Supports, Holy Sites:[/B] - 74: Government/Mercantile/Media, Mother Serpent (Majority) - 75: No Supports, Anticlericalism (Plurality)

Soom-Clan Marauders Chieftess Varsa Soom D4 | M6 | E4 | F4 | I2 News and Rumors - None yet [Diplomacy] Mytho-Historical Data Gathering - Collections of oral histories, what census records are available, poetry. There is a desire in some quarters to be known, to be 'legitimate', whatever that may mean. [Diplomacy] Raise Reputation with WTU [TN 10, Roll 12, Success] - Alongside the inspection, the Soom-Clan invites consultants from the Union, from Narsai, even from the Ishtahn since they seem to have strong opinions on the matter. Some of the more forward-thinking planners among the Soom ask, now that the promised revanche against the Greenlands is in progress, what next? Simply killing all of the Greenlanders would be madness, and the traditions of thralldom become inapplicable so far from the worst of the deep dustlands. The Soom have traditionally treated one another as a very large family, but the Greenlanders are not part of that family, nor are they of the clans, beholden to clan traditions. New bureaucracy will be necessary, new law. Law and Labor. Friendship with the Union would be an ideal point to begin from - a group already used to both the vagaries of desert life and the needs of offworlders and greenlanders alike. [Military] Raise 1 Ground Unit - As the warfront over and around the Crater Lake at the center of the Greenland continues to warm, more warwheels are pressed into service, crewed by Soom-Clan partisans and recruits from tributary clans alike. [Military] Invade Region 55 with 3 Ground Units and 1 Space Unit, spending 1 Treasure - Warlord Sigrid found her campaign much more complicated than the seasons before: Newfound enemies among the Elect had joined the fray as tensions continued to rise, while the surprising presence of reinforcements from Ishtahnos of all places threatened infighting in her ranks - they meant well, sort of, but there were matters her people and theirs simply did not see eye to eye on. A bloody campaign stretched before her eyes, the icy death promised by the Antithotron somehow the least of her concerns. Details Space Front led by Twilight League Admiral Void-leader Seraphine: +1 SCM Unit, +1 TWI Unit, +3 SNK Units, +9 Commander, total +14. Tactical Doctrine Overwhelming Tempo. Ground Front led by General Warlord Sigrid: +3 SCM Units, +2 ISH Units, +10 Commander, +1 Treasure, +2 Foothold, total +18. Tactical Doctrine Rust, Dust, and Guts (+3 to Battle and +10% own casualties). [Military] Invade Region 56 with 2 Ground Units and the same Space Unit, spending 1 Treasure - Feeling a touch overshadowed and undercut by Warlord Sigrid's competence and suspecting she has the front against this "Antithotron" creature well in hand, Yaki Soom's attention is drawn elsewhere, to an anomalous call for help on the airwaves. With a grin, she announces a change of campaign plans - where Warlord Sigrid and the bulk of the main forces would continue pressing in from the East, she would take a column of warwheels and infantry upon Palu Soom's carrier for insertion further west, to attack the south Greenlands - this Thotron may have been prepared for an incursion from the east, but would these deeper greenlands be remotely prepared for the wrath of the Red? Perhaps. But her curiosity about this so-called Count Federico tempted her to adventure, and her mother had placed her in charge of this operation - though at the time she made this decision, there were fewer Agbadans and warships in her path. No matter - she was hardly going to back out now. Details Equivalent Space Front led by Twilight League Admiral Void-leader Seraphine: +1 SCM Unit, +1 TWI Unit, +3 SNK Units, +9 Commander, total +14. Tactical Doctrine Overwhelming Tempo. Ground Front led by Heir Yaki Soom: +2 Units, +5 Commander, +1 Treasure, total +8. Tactical Doctrine Overwhelming Tempo (+2 to Battle, +10% own casualties, -10% enemy casualties.). Let's find out what this Count Federico's Deal is! Non-Actions - Subscribe to Snake News - Welcome WTU inspection - The Soom-Clan is, broadly speaking, on a war footing. This does not mean there isn't conventional labor happening; Crystal Mining remains a major industry, as do vehicle maintenance and moisture collection. With the current war footing, the number of raids has gone down drastically and the thrall presence in the mines is at a record low, so technologies from across the stars have increasingly begun to fill the gap - automating the most dangerous processes, improved filtration technology for managing the threat of toxic or radiological hazards, and so on. The Youngest of the Soom Heirs, introducing themselves as Vee Soom, is happy to provide a tour of Shaft T7; she explains that this is the most active of the mining concerns and is eager to take input from the proud Veehran Union. She wears her heart on her sleeve and while her planetary-nationalistic fervor shows - even by Soom standards - she's greatly interested in any insight the inspectors have to offer in methods or means for improving overall safety and working conditions. Embassy Actions - Loan 1 TP of Energized Chrysoberyl to New Kildora via Trade Route to fulfill SNK's "Crystals" DI. - Gift Vacuum Adaptation and Nuclear Fusion Technologies to the Sorcerers of New Kildora Ruler Info Chieftess Varsa Soom Diplomacy: 4 Military: 6 Economy: 4 Faith: 4 Intrigue: 2 Expected Stat Gains: +1 Military, +1 Diplomacy? Heir Yaki Soom Diplomacy: 2 Military: 4 Economy: 2 Faith: 2 Intrigue: 2 Additional Notes New Ruler Next Round? NO Military Units 6/6 - Warlord Pandar - Warlord Hur - Warlord Mun - Warlord Kray - Warlord Sigrid - Carrier "No Truce with the Furies" Treasure: 3/5 (+1 passive treasure/round) Relics: - No Commanders: - Warlord Sigrid (General 10; Rust, Dust, and Guts) Embassies and Trade Routes: - Embassy with New Kildora Organizational Overview: Imperial Court: Rep 0, 0 favors Pan-Tekhum Workers and Traders Union: Rep 0, -1 favors Basu-Rahman Group: Rep 0, 0 favors Renown 0 [U]Temporary Cultural Identity - EMPTY[/U] [U]Permanent Cultural Identities - EMPTY [/U] [U]Tactical Doctrines[/U] - Measured Advance (-10% casualties for both sides) - Aggressive Assault (+10% casualties for both sides) - Overwhelming Tempo (+2 to own battle roll, +10% own casualties, and -10% enemy casualties) - Indecisive Engagements (-2 to own battle roll, -10% own casualties, and +10% enemy casualties) - Rust, Dust, and Guts (Warlord Sigrid, +3 to own battle roll, +10% own casualties) Technologies econ - Dust Hardening, Vacuum Adaptation, Aclaustrophobic Psychiatry, Algorithmic Imagination, Arcane Amplification, In-Vivo Modification, Nuclear Fusion, and Xenolingustic Cataloguing mil - None [U]Ground Front technologies:[/U] [B]- Man-Portable Weapons:[/B] [B]- Infantry Equipment:[/B] [B]- Combat Drugs and Medicine:[/B] [B]- Armored Vehicles:[/B] [B]- Field Fortifications:[/B] [B]- Engineered Combat Organisms:[/B] [U] Space Front technologies:[/U] [B]- Detection and Rangefinding:[/B] [B]- Ship to Ship Weapons:[/B] [B]- Orbit to Ground Weapons:[/B] [B]- Crew and Maintenance:[/B] [B]- Armor and Shields:[/B] [B]- Spacecraft Propulsion:[/B] Either front: [B]- Electronic Warfare and Countermeasures:[/B] [B]- Special Forces:[/B] [B]- Logistics and Morale:[/B] [B]Trading posts (3 [5], 1 treasure/round)[/B] (mercantile supports: 74) - 74 (Energized Chrysoberyl) TP1, TP2 - 73 (Silver Serpents) TP2 [B]Official Faith (Mother Serpent)[/B] 5 HS: +1 Battles in Dust Regions 10 HS: Not Set [B]Controlled Regions, Supports, Holy Sites:[/B] - 74: Government/Mercantile/Media, Mother Serpent (Majority)

Quote During the Race -- The Long Straightaway, or the first Warzone (depending on who you ask) "Oh? Perhaps you are more familiar with these pirates than I, as a local.", Alud replied over comms. "I had thought they might be a worthy challenge akin to the warriors of my people. Disappointing." During the Race -- The Second Straightaway, or the Second Warzone, or even the Third Warzone (depending on who you ask), AKA Et Cetera HQ Alud Soom knew in the back of his mind that the Kildoran had likely already reached the Mouth, but he could still see the flying battering ram up ahead on long-range sensors. He grimaced too as the strange woman from before screamed past him, and even that Velocipede character was gaining from behind. Bah. He needed an edge. Fortunately, he had one in mind - the locals of this segment of Mekhala were strange to him but he had done some reading on the InterplaNET before entering, and he knew this segment would take the racers around Et Cetera HQ, who had largely cut contact and defended their airspace from the living, the vicious ghouls. But he had read that there was something precious to them and in short supply - Star Sand. Concentrated space dust, tricky to gather en masse. He breached their airspace with aplomb, happily taking this risky shortcut over Iris' protests. When the first warning shots whizzed by, he opened communications, leaning on the translation suite that had been installed - there was a use for it after all! There was an easy deal to make there - they would want valuable Star Sand more than they particularly wanted him to BE dust. And he'd been gathering space dust for weeks: His ship's cabin dust filters alone had needed replacing twice, with the old ones sitting in the increasingly light cargo space where he kept food and water. "Et Cetera," he said, "I am looking for somewhere to offload a crate of concentrated star sand. Is this the place?" The shooting stopped, and he followed the helpdesk flowchart for a bit...until he zoomed past the landing point. Immediately the tone of the call became much more hostile, and two ships began to tail him - though they weren't shooting. Did they plan to board? "Apologies, friends. I'll jettison it for you, no payment necessary. A pleasure doing business." The airlocked crate of used filters shot off to the side, and just as he'd hoped the tailing ships chased that instead...though the shooting resumed. Too little, too late, though; he was already outside the effective range of the station's weapons, and the stunt had shaved off some time as he progressed toward Al-Miraiya once more. The finish line awaited ahead.

Show this Hm. Another voice. A piercing shell into the solitude. Buck up, it's something, food for thought, and promises of food up ahead. Yes... lets put out a signal to chat before the grand finale. "Anyone there? I'm probably speaking into the void, but incase I'm not, I figure it'd be nice to chat with the fellow racers. I may be too far behind though, but at the very least I won't break my losing streak." During the Race -- The Long Straightaway, or the first Warzone (depending on who you ask) "Bold of you to seek the attention of others.", Alud replied over comms. "Try not to broadcast your location to pirates without cause - though perhaps it will be an entertaining diversion." During the Race -- The Khylosen Cluster, or the second Warzone (depending on who you ask) The so-called Ring of Blood lay ahead. Alud Soom's mining laser had already run largely dry, no more than a shot or two left. The mass driver still had a few shots, at least. He'd have to make them count, which was easier said than done while moving in a serpentine formation to avoid his thrusters getting clipped by Khylokian fire. It had become increasingly clear to Alud, throughout this race, that he had an experience gap in three-dimensional movement: This might get him killed here - those utterly fearsome contenders with the Ram had already punched a hole through the worst of the raider presence moments before (and passed him, to his chagrin), but still one dogged pursuer remained on his tail. "Iris. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I require your assistance with a targeting solution. We have a tail and the mass driver is front-mounted. I...am going to attempt what the youth call a 'backflip'." "...Please do not say it like that. Fine." He pulled up on the wheel hard and cut his thrust, sending blood rushing to his head as the already fast-moving vehicle inverted itself to pass through the barrier of viscous fluid. It was good that he had asked Iris to get a lock - he wasn't sure he could have aimed through the haze of red and the momentary dizziness. An electrical crack rang out as the mass driver fired, and the pursuing ship too wounded to continue. The checkpoint passed, Alud righted his vessel and set off once more into the next stretch.

During the Race -- The Long Straightaway, or the first Warzone (depending on who you ask) His banter with Ani-Quin tabled for now, Alud Soom considered the Lady of Fire's offer of a safe frequency. Could it be trusted? A matter of honor, he supposed. Not wanting her own people to accidentally interfere. Did offworlders have Honor? Perhaps. "Iris. Duplicate the frequency." She obliged. The Long Straightaway was ahead, the longest burn of the race - a place to catch up if you could, or be left behind if you could not. Days, maybe weeks, of uninterrupted travel. Hopefully he'd spend less of it arguing with his copilot than he had so far. Either way, this was the place to use the supplementary nuclear fuel his mechanics had strapped to his engine at the last minute - dearly hoping the power surge didn't make anything overload - he'd already burned more of his fuel tank than he'd like, and he needed to budget what he had left effectively. Would be far better to be shot down by the Khylokians on the next segment than be left drifting until his water supplies ran out. "Oh good, you're being sensible for once, budgeting your supplies and trying to make it to the end with us both alive. First time for everything." "Shut up, machine." Time passed. He kept an eye on progress - he was catching up quickly with the Glix racer, who had initially seemed to have a commanding lead, and even the fearsome Naqi'a was still within sensors, not disappearing so far ahead he couldn't catch up with a little fortune. Ani-Quin, to his surprising dismay, had dropped off his radar, somewhere in his trail. Perhaps they'd return. Oh well. The Ring of Blood was approaching, and he couldn't waste much of his attention on sentimentality. For now, he got some rest.

TacDoc Proposal: Rust, Dust, and Guts On Successful Maneuvering in a Ground Battle, +4 to Battle and +20% own casualties.

A hearty laugh emerges across comms from Alud's vessel: "It seems we shall be racing alongside one another for a bit longer after all! Perhaps you'll get to see my remaining tricks firsthand."

During the Race -- The Parrot's Perch "You'll have to slow down through those shields.", Iris observed, to Alud's annoyance. "You'll flatten yourself into them otherwise, and even if your ship survived the impact, the resulting contact with the atmosphere will instantly turn the space dust that has accumulated on your vessel into a cloud of ash that will, I assume, make the locals extremely unhappy." He fired his mass driver at the shield, and did not slow down nearly enough to pass through without disruption. The barrier tensed ahead. "Are you crazy? That's a civilian sector!", Iris shouted with alarm. "I know. I just needed it to be solid enough for the laser to excite the barrier," he replied as he engaged the mining laser once more. "That's not kelp, you can't just cut i-" Iris' protests were cut short an instant before impact, as the vessel...wasn't. The runes painted along the wings shone bright for an instant and the racing ship momentarily became a torrent of surging energy, conducted across the excited energy barrier in that instant before reconstituting itself at speed within the barrier! As Iris predicted the stardust gathering upon the front of the ship was burned away on reentry, creating a massive ash cloud that would either force the engagement of atmospheric scrubbers or worsen the local air pollution for a time. The locals, indeed, probably would not be happy. But there was little argument that the ship had entered the atmosphere intact. That they'd lost enough speed to exit again without exploding was a happy accident, and they did so in a hurry. "...What just happened, exactly? I was expecting more of an impact." "We phased out momentarily. There's no way you predicted that." "I freely admit I did not. I was expecting to batter through a weakened point on the barrier." "You're insane. We're going to die if you're going to drive this recklessly!" But while they weren't in the lead, they'd made up for lost time a bit.

During the Race -- The Space-Kelp Cluster The first great challenge of the race arrived before Alud Soom's eyes, and while he had known it was coming long enough in advance to slow to a velocity he could do maneuvering at, the scale of the maze still seemed daunting. Iris reported incoming transmissions containing something akin to directions, and he allowed her to calculate and relay a path. For a few steps, anyway. "Now angle up.", Iris said cheerily. "Up." He could feel his mouth dry. Races didn't go up. That was silly. He'd never practiced a tight up. Why did he not see that coming? "No. This is absurd. Warm up the mining lasers." "...What?" Iris replied, with some sort of simulated dread entering her tone. He didn't let it get to him, and started cutting a path through. It'd be painfully slow, but he refused to submit to something as ridiculous as a maze. When a tugboat arrived looking for 'lost' racers, he lanced a warning shot past their bow, and they seemed uninterested in pressing the issue, to Iris' exasperation. By the time he'd made it to the other side, he was no longer sure how he was doing in the race - there were definitely still people behind him, but couldn't be sure how many had navigated the maze and left him in the dust. He engaged the engine again: He just had to do better.

During the Race -- at the Starting Line If Alud Soom had any reaction to the newcomer his iron mask did not betray it, but his eyes watched the pair with a bit of mirth. He rumbled, chuckling beneath the barrier. "Well. It seems I shall have my work cut out for me to match both experience and enthusiasm. May her embrace be gentle this day, and your paths clear." During the Race -- at the Starting Line... Starting! He strapped into his cockpit, running secondary diagnostics; everything seemed fine, but for the soft blue glow of his new "Assistant". She didn't have control of the wheel, so it would be fine. Probably. He revved up the afterburners. "You are wasting fuel," the machine to his right informed him. "I am doing no such thing," he replied. The green flag dropped. He engaged the engine.

Quote Alud Soom looked over the deathtrap he would be racing in today: Even now his mechanics were adding last-minute touches and additions they hoped might give him an edge - a supplementary fusion device they hoped might help his fuel reserves last, a thinking machine copilot named "Iris" whose sensor analysis suite they hoped might assist during some of the more complex obstacle courses or even tactical engagements, some sort of translator system (why? To taunt other racers?), and...was one of them painting runes on the wings? 'For an arcane boost to hull integrity?' They must have made that up. A prank on his mechanics. It couldn't hurt, he supposed, and it wasn't terrible as decorations went. He snorted. Satisfactory. The stranger's arrival soon caught his attention, though, and he took a moment to size up the competing racer - only for his eyes to fall on the removed sun-goggles. Had the other racer unmasked specifically to speak with him? How forward. He had to remind himself that he was the offworlder here, not them, and refrained from commenting on this strange behavior. "...In an R8 frame," he admitted slowly, "But few things are intact for long in the Dustlands. Many of the internals have been replaced, and sacred techniques have been used to protect from dust and electrical interference. I am Alud of the Soom-Clan, hailing from the Red Soil of Veehra, and I heard there were people here who sought to drive." His eyes flicked to the clock, then to his cockpit. He still had a minute, while his mechanics were finalizing their upgrades and "upgrades."

A group of masked men in sealed, clear bodysuits arrived in a small carrier, made to support only one racing vehicle - something reconfigured from an old Syvine model and fitted with a smaller imperial engine. Spaceships might be new to the Soom-Clan, but driving was in the blood. It was unusual to see a member of the Clans so far from Veehra, but here they were: Alud Soom, second-eldest of Varsa Soom's Brood, a Prince of the Wastes, and his half-dozen attendants and mechanics. He was broadly-built and wore fewer of the traditional wrappings than most, likely having chosen the translucent bodysuit in part to show off his physique without leaving himself exposed to the hazards of vacuum. His dark hair was pinned in the style reserved for the Heirs of a Clan's Chief, and his mask was decorated with red stripes.

Soom-Clan Marauders Chieftess Varsa Soom D3 | M5 | E4 | F4 | I2 News and Rumors - The hour of bloodshed is nigh. Death or Glory! Red Soil! [Diplomacy] Attend the Mekhala Mad Dash - Tempted by the prospect of a race and wishing not to allow his elder sister all of the glory and praise, Alud of the Soom takes a small crew off to the dash. He does not win, but does place respectably within the top five. Subactions - Pay Imperial Tax with 1 treasure - Accept Aclaustrophobic Psychiatry, Algorithmic Imagination, Arcane Amplification, In-Vivo Modification, Nuclear Fusion, and Xenolingustic Cataloguing technologies from the Llort Society. - Accept Vacuum Adaptation from the Glix. [Diplomacy] Raise Reputation with WTU, spending 1 Treasure [TN 10, Roll 9, Fail] - It seems that greasing palms only goes so far when the Union believes you already owe them money. [Military] Raise 1 Ground Unit - News of the ride westward passes through the clans like wildfire - the rise of the Soom has not gone unnoticed, and the prospect of revanchism catalyzes a new surge of minor warlords seeking a cause. [Military 5] Recruit General Sigrid of the Soom-Clan [Roll 10] - A young warlord distinguishes herself in battle, pushing through a flank at all costs. The Heir Yaki Soom notices, and recommends her for a considerable promotion. TacDoc: Rust, Dust, and Guts On successful Maneuvering in a Ground Battle, +3 to Battle and +10% own casualties. [Military] Invade Region 55 with 4 Ground Units and 1 Space Unit, spending 1 Treasure - Backed by the might of the Imperial Engines raining fire from the skies, Yaki Soom gathers a motor pool and leads the warwheels to the west, past the Serpent's Spine and into the Greenlands. Old grudges would be answered, and the green watered red. Details Space Front led by Subcommander Palu Soom: +1 Unit, +3 Commander, total +4 (likely unopposed). Tactical Doctrine Measured Advance. Ground Front led by Heir Yaki Soom: +4 Units, +5 Commander (rounded up from 4.5 average), +1 Treasure, total +10. Tactical Doctrine Overwhelming Tempo. Request only one Renown on win. Non-Actions - Accept Embassy and Recognition from the Sorcerers of New Kildora. - Mytho-Historical Data Gathering Mytho-History: The Screaming Ash Always keep an ear out for a storm. It's not heard, exactly, but there's an electrical tingle riding along with the first clouds of faint dust, invisible to the naked eye but most assuredly there. Before the great gales that flay the unwary or the sky's vicious fulmination of those caught in the open, there is a distant scream that crackles in the ear, a warning to others. A reminder of an ancient Sacrifice. In time immemorial, before the Greenlanders stole all of the water, the great plains of Veehra were still dry and cold but far more hospitable - a variety of visible and invisible life flourished - the desert was an ocean with its life underground, and a perfect disguise above. When the bombardments came, a man named Ash looked beyond the terror of his neighbors and grew concerned for something else - the common animals of the deep desert. As others fled to the greenlands or sought shelter, he gathered them - not the Great Mother Serpent, but the little things that could not survive the coming doom. He gathered first the moles that built tiny shelters beneath the ground, then the moss that could not flee, and then the knobbly succulents that gathered water from the morning mists. He gathered the rumble-boars that clustered together for warmth on cold nights, and he gathered the piper-birds that sang as they ate the beetles. But as he gathered more and more beasts, he came to a realization - he could not protect them when the storms came, and still the bombardments raged. So Ash walked with his menagerie to the edge of the Greenlands, to give them a new home. But those who had fled to the Greenlands in the early days were greedy, and they took and took of Ash's gathered animals for the furs and products they could provide - heedless that they had earned none of them - and left the man stripped back in the desert. Dejected and betrayed by the greed of those he had once called neighbors, Ash screamed defiance at the storm, and walked into it. Ash was the first to be flayed by the dust storm and still his screams echo within, a warning to all those who remained in the desert - and a call to action. That someday, there would be a reckoning. Embassy Actions - None Ruler Info Chieftess Varsa Soom Diplomacy: 3 Military: 5 Economy: 4 Faith: 4 Intrigue: 2 Expected Stat Gains: +1 Military, +1 Diplomacy? Heir Yaki Soom Diplomacy: 2 Military: 4 Economy: 2 Faith: 2 Intrigue: 2 Additional Notes New Ruler Next Round? NO Military Units 5/6 - Warlord Pandar - Warlord Hur - Warlord Mun - Warlord Kray - Carrier "No Truce with the Furies" Treasure: 5/5 (+1 passive treasure/round) Relics: - No Commanders: - No Embassies and Trade Routes: - None Organizational Overview: Imperial Court: Rep 0, 0 favors Pan-Tekhum Workers and Traders Union: Rep 0, -1 favors Basu-Rahman Group: Rep 0, 0 favors Renown 0 [U]Temporary Cultural Identity - EMPTY[/U] [U]Permanent Cultural Identities - EMPTY [/U] [U]Tactical Doctrines[/U] - Measured Advance (-10% casualties for both sides) - Aggressive Assault (+10% casualties for both sides) - Overwhelming Tempo (+2 to own battle roll, +10% own casualties, and -10% enemy casualties) - Indecisive Engagements (-2 to own battle roll, -10% own casualties, and +10% enemy casualties) Technologies econ - Dust Hardening mil - None [U]Ground Front technologies:[/U] [B]- Man-Portable Weapons:[/B] [B]- Infantry Equipment:[/B] [B]- Combat Drugs and Medicine:[/B] [B]- Armored Vehicles:[/B] [B]- Field Fortifications:[/B] [B]- Engineered Combat Organisms:[/B] [U] Space Front technologies:[/U] [B]- Detection and Rangefinding:[/B] [B]- Ship to Ship Weapons:[/B] [B]- Orbit to Ground Weapons:[/B] [B]- Crew and Maintenance:[/B] [B]- Armor and Shields:[/B] [B]- Spacecraft Propulsion:[/B] Either front: [B]- Electronic Warfare and Countermeasures:[/B] [B]- Special Forces:[/B] [B]- Logistics and Morale:[/B] [B]Trading posts (3 [5], 1 treasure/round)[/B] (mercantile supports: 74) - 74 (Energized Chrysoberyl) TP1, TP2 - 73 (Silver Serpents) TP2 [B]Official Faith (Mother Serpent)[/B] 5 HS: +1 Battles in Dust Regions [B]Controlled Regions, Supports, Holy Sites:[/B] - 74: Government/Mercantile/Media, Mother Serpent (Majority)

Soom-Clan Marauders Planum Khassia (Region 74), Veehra Summary Three Letter Code: SCM Starting Ruler: Chieftess Varsa Soom Starting Technologies: Dust Hardening Starting Faith: Mother Serpent (Majority) Faction Support: Government: Soom-Clan Marauders Mercantile: Soom-Clan Marauders Media: Soom-Clan Marauders History There are many tales of the clans’ history. Some say that a demiurge sculpted them from clay as the first people of the red earth. Others say that the wastes were once bought and sold by corporations, and people were brought to work in factories and plants. Some even say “Syvine Nanotechnology” is still out there somewhere, broken and buried but spewing silvery dust that thinks into the storms. Whatever the case, this era came to an end with the Bombardments. The Red Planet’s skies were choked red and black, and the barren years began. There was little in the way of civilization at the time, with only small bands of survivors eking out a wretched existence in the wastes, scavenging what they could. But two thousand years is a long time, and slowly people rebuilt their understanding of things, built up once more the trappings of science and technology. They struck deals with Sorcerers, beseeched the blessings of the Mother Serpent’s protection, and grew strong again, bit by bit. But among dozens of clans, it was the ambitious Soom that gained the Imperial Engines and joined the Elect, carting two ramshackle carriers and a fleet of air superiority fighters away from the smoldering remnants of what had once been the Horn Traders. Wretched poachers - they would not be missed. Geography The Khassia Plain southeast of the great Oases is a smooth expanse of red stone and choking dust upon the surface of Veehra. It has little in the way of landmarks but for the serpent’s spine in the west, a great mountain range broken in the center by a crater from the war, a gap said to lead to fabled fertile lands in the west. There are ancient cities too buried beneath the dust and sand, but little remains of them to seek upon the horizon. No, the true landmarks of the plain are the winds and tunnels left by the passage of the Vast Serpents who call this land home, who part the sands and stone alike as they travel between their hibernation periods; in their wake travel the people, who reinforce the tunnels and build cities of their own beneath the earth, carving out tributary tunnels and passages, until the time comes to move on once more and their last home is inevitably buried beneath the dust: Just one more ruin among many. People The Clans in general and the Soom-Clan in particular lay claim to descent from the eldest peoples of Veehra. “The Soil is Red with the Blood of our Ancestors”, they cry at rallies and screens: Lingering resentment for those who squat on fresh water remains, leaving them to eke out an existence on hunts, hydroponic vegetables, and what water they can get from moisture collectors. Survival in the wastes is dire. Outside of their dugouts, the clans maintain vehicle fleets to travel in relative security through the storms, but maintenance is a perpetual struggle; they have learned to scavenge for what they can, build what they need from limited materials at hand, and raid for what they cannot. Despite the prevalence of vehicles though, there are some traditions for which they are forbidden - many lesser hunts are considered dishonorable to attempt unless on foot. It is common both in and out of safe dugouts to wear tight cloth wrappings for protection from the dust, and even in safe places it is highly taboo to show a naked face, even moreso than naked flesh. Masks both ceremonial and practical - or even just cloth face coverings paired with protective goggles - are a frequent sight. Like all cultures, the clans have fashion and status symbols in their dress: While dyes and vibrant colors are an exorbitant luxury afforded only to a scant few with the ability to maintain a secondary wardrobe they can keep entirely separate from the dust, the most common status symbols are animal parts such as horns, furs, bones, and even the scales of the Mother Serpents (harvested only rarely when shed or from a body returned to the soil - Serpents are not hunted). Wearing such an animal part is only permitted for those who collected such parts themselves directly from the animal - typically the hunter themselves. Attempting to claim such a trophy dishonestly is punishable by injury via the offending trophy - impalement for horns, smothering for furs, bashing for bones, and very literally “swallowing one’s lies” for scales. This is not inherently a death sentence - survival of these ordeals is considered equivalent to earning the piece. Disputes within and between clans can frequently be resolved by trial by combat, in the form of a duel with traditional weapons to yielding. This is only honorable from an insider - an outsider challenging a duel is a deadly insult. Outside of heated disputes, wrestling is much more popular as a form of sport for both recreation and minor resolutions - an emulation of the Mother Serpent’s preferred method. Government The Clans are organized into networks of main and branch families, alongside communal affine kinships who are not members of the clan such as lovers, concubines, thralls, and even hirelings or the rare welcome outsider. Though there are others with their own chiefs and communal councils, the Soom are the region’s dominant clan and the mainline Soom family - a dynastic house in all but name - holds primacy in a wide variety of executive matters, particularly including raiding, hunts, battle-readiness, and preparations to abandon a dugout city when the time comes. Most day-to-day operations of a clan are however communal and managed by a council of representatives who have the time and patience to regularly spend hours in meetings regarding hydroponic practices and moisture collector rationing. Faith Majority: Mother Serpent Mother Serpent burrows, embraces, protects her young. Mother Serpent glides through the sands between her times of rest. And when she wills it, Mother Serpent swallows whole. Mother Serpent is not a singular being, but a mythologized representative of a species of Vast Serpents that roam above and below the shrouded plains of Veehra. No single member of this species is Mother Serpent, and yet all living specimens are. Snub-nosed, powerfully-muscled, and possessing only vestigial fangs, Mother Serpent is the color of the sirocco and nearly invisible within the howling storm but for the rumbling of the earth and glimpses of stirring scales in the dust. The trails she leaves are nevertheless unmistakable, and lead always to shelter when Mother Serpent dives once more. And though her wrath is terrible, she is no danger when resting beneath the dusts. When danger grows too great…Mother Serpent sheds her skin as well. She is reborn, glistening and new beneath the shell. So too are other things. Resources and Technology Resource: Energized Chrysoberyl (Precious Minerals/Conductors and Circuitry). The stone below the Plain may be poor in metals, but it is surprisingly rich in quality semiconductors suitable for use in lasers and similar applications. Required: Ores and Alloys. The plain is notably metal-poor, and what little is available goes overwhelmingly into maintaining vehicle fleets and critical tools. It’s never enough. Techs: Dust Hardening: Various masks, seals, and other assorted technologies are critical to survival in the rougher parts of Veehra. NONE: Though not [i]primitive[/i], the Soom-Clan’s technological state is generally very last-gen, and they do not stand out technologically from the Imperial baseline.