Andromedan Orbiting Operations Center (and offworld adventures)

[Universe]

Shudde M'ell had produced a couple of board games out of nowhere. Chaugnar Faugn was looking through some of the materials of one and Yig was reading something from the other.

"Wow, I look ugly in this picture. And look, there's several of us... sadly they didn't think to include you in this, Cosmos."

"Because he's not widely portrayed as a horrible bad guy, unlike the three of us and the Architects."

"He could have shown up in the mythos cards or as one of the Guardians!"

"Uh, Yig?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not supposed to look through that book ahead of time..."

"Why not?"

"It's spoilers for all the endgame scenarios."

"Very few people actually play this game, Shudde M'ell. Can't an old man have a little fun?"

Cosmos:”that’s because I’m one of the rare cards”

 

[Universe]

*He holds it up* Cosmos:”Do I look tired in this picture?”

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

Cosmos:”that’s because I’m one of the rare cards”

*He holds it up* Cosmos:”Do I look tired in this picture?”

"Maybe a little?"

"I've seen you tired, Cosmos. That's not even close to 'tired' for you."

"I dunno. Maybe not from our angles, Cosmos, but from a mortal's angle it would look tired."

 

[Universe]

"Maybe a little?"

"I've seen you tired, Cosmos. That's not even close to 'tired' for you."

"I dunno. Maybe not from our angles, Cosmos, but from a mortal's angle it would look tired."

Cosmos:”I thought so”

 

[Universe]

Cosmos:”I also think I’m looking at something else”

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

"Then let's get to work."

Kurt looked to the crowd, then to Ahrakas.

"I have some prep of my own. We should head to Xiclotl."

"So, Ahrakas, there's something you need to know about Xiclotl before we go there to drop off this Hound puppy. There is a massive amount of wildlife on it, as you might expect. And... even the prey animals are also predator animals. The Hounds need to be trained somehow. There's a portrayal of a killer rabbit in an Earth film, that's kind of the baseline for the prey animals on this planet."

Kurt hesitated.

"There are humanoids on the planet. They are also both prey and predator. The plants? They're not directly predatory, but even they need to be fed blood. What I'm trying to say is... when we get there, don't stray from whatever path I walk on this planet."

 

[Baron Tredegar]

"So, Ahrakas, there's something you need to know about Xiclotl before we go there to drop off this Hound puppy. There is a massive amount of wildlife on it, as you might expect. And... even the prey animals are also predator animals. The Hounds need to be trained somehow. There's a portrayal of a killer rabbit in an Earth film, that's kind of the baseline for the prey animals on this planet."

Kurt hesitated.

"There are humanoids on the planet. They are also both prey and predator. The plants? They're not directly predatory, but even they need to be fed blood. What I'm trying to say is... when we get there, don't stray from whatever path I walk on this planet."

Affirmative. Exactly why is the world like this? I feel like some of Hortenses kin may be at work.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

Affirmative. Exactly why is the world like this? I feel like some of Hortenses kin may be at work.

Kurt shook his head.

"Ancestral memories of the place would more likely be the reason for the V'sp'r, their planet, and Graffias being made in the first place - not the other way around. We're talking over a quadrillion reality cycles since I was last there. From the memories I have, at least one of the humanoid species on the planet is insectoid, further reinforcing that point."

Kurt hesitated.

"If you're going to tell me it makes no ecological sense for everything to be both prey and predator.... that's part of the point of the out-of-phase private worlds of really powerful beings. My Hounds - both the bipeds and the more standard quadruped type, need to train. Why not have it on the ultimate of death worlds?"

 

[Baron Tredegar]

Kurt shook his head.

"Ancestral memories of the place would more likely be the reason for the V'sp'r, their planet, and Graffias being made in the first place - not the other way around. We're talking over a quadrillion reality cycles since I was last there. From the memories I have, at least one of the humanoid species on the planet is insectoid, further reinforcing that point."

Kurt hesitated.

"If you're going to tell me it makes no ecological sense for everything to be both prey and predator.... that's part of the point of the out-of-phase private worlds of really powerful beings. My Hounds - both the bipeds and the more standard quadruped type, need to train. Why not have it on the ultimate of death worlds?"

Now I have a feeling we are going to encounter a Yautja hunting party there that will try to kill us.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

Now I have a feeling we are going to encounter a Yautja hunting party there that will try to kill us.

"It wouldn't be a surprise, honestly."

Kurt thought for a moment.

"So... honestly, portals are the best way into the planet. There's like one spot a ship can land and that's the city of Shaggai - the insect-populated one. Problem is, that's a third of the way across the planet from the spot where the Hounds are. I just... need to think of where the right spot is...."

Kurt seemed to meditate... but winced.

".....and not get distracted by a past life where the five of us were androids...."

 

[Baron Tredegar]

"It wouldn't be a surprise, honestly."

Kurt thought for a moment.

"So... honestly, portals are the best way into the planet. There's like one spot a ship can land and that's the city of Shaggai - the insect-populated one. Problem is, that's a third of the way across the planet from the spot where the Hounds are. I just... need to think of where the right spot is...."

Kurt seemed to meditate... but winced.

".....and not get distracted by a past life where the five of us were androids...."

Or the past life when you were one dimensional beings.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

Or the past life when you were one dimensional beings.

Kurt managed to regain his focus despite that reminder.

"Hmmmmm....... mhmm..... m-mm.... mhmmm...."

A portal suddenly opened into a village. Most of the buildings were tree huts, there were some blatant silk cocoons in the trees as well... but there was one odd-looking building of an architecture style Ahrakas had never seen. Someone like Cosmos would have recognized it as quintillions of realities old.

"So the thing about the Hounds is that they respect strength. It's considered perfectly acceptable to hit someone to get them to back off."

 

[Baron Tredegar]

Kurt managed to regain his focus despite that reminder.

"Hmmmmm....... mhmm..... m-mm.... mhmmm...."

A portal suddenly opened into a village. Most of the buildings were tree huts, there were some blatant silk cocoons in the trees as well... but there was one odd-looking building of an architecture style Ahrakas had never seen. Someone like Cosmos would have recognized it as quintillions of realities old.

"So the thing about the Hounds is that they respect strength. It's considered perfectly acceptable to hit someone to get them to back off."

Noted. So shall we explore this strange new world? Im honestly having a hard time comprehending the architecture of that one big building in that village.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

Cosmos:”I thought so”

Cosmos:”I also think I’m looking at something else”

"Your senses are better than mine. I don't think I see this supposed other thing."

"You mean like in the background of the card, or...."

"I... might see it. Point out what you think's going on here, Cosmos."

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

Noted. So shall we explore this strange new world? Im honestly having a hard time comprehending the architecture of that one big building in that village.

"Because it's from a style way before I was even bound this time around... I think. Some of the details are still hazy."

The tree village was honestly mostly low-tech. Not much in the way of furnishings in the homes, except for some kind of hard-cased coffin-like shells that seemed to be lined with something on their insides. Most likely beds, from their structure. The beings in those homes seemed to go with a mostly hunter-gatherer lifestyle and minimal attire.

Ahrakas and Kurt would have been accosted by several bipedal creatures. They looked vaguely dog-like, with short tentacles serving as hair. Their fingers were bony, their forms fairly thin but not so thin their skeletons showed, and they were covered in scars. Several of these Hounds proceeded to sniff Kurt and Ahrakas. Kurt let most of them do their thing, but he punched one in the snout when they started sniffing lower on him. Eventually, one of the Hounds spoke in an ancient tongue.

Kurt responded in the same tongue. The two of them went back and forth. Eventually, Kurt turned to Ahrakas.

"He wants to know what the Temporal Imperium is and its purpose."

 

[Universe]

"Your senses are better than mine. I don't think I see this supposed other thing."

"You mean like in the background of the card, or...."

"I... might see it. Point out what you think's going on here, Cosmos."

*He points to where his eyes are pointing in the card*

 

[Universe]

*He was looking to the right*

 

[Universe]

*He was looking to the right*

Cosmos:”I don’t remember what I was looking at”

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

*He points to where his eyes are pointing in the card*

*He was looking to the right*

Cosmos:”I don’t remember what I was looking at”

"Not sure I can tell just from this what you were looking at, either."

"I don't see anything either."

"Cosmos, are a dragon's eyes supposed to reflect light to some degree the way mortals' eyes do sometimes? Because your eyes aren't doing so in this picture."

 

[Universe]

"Not sure I can tell just from this what you were looking at, either."

"I don't see anything either."

"Cosmos, are a dragon's eyes supposed to reflect light to some degree the way mortals' eyes do sometimes? Because your eyes aren't doing so in this picture."

Cosmos:”Hmm. Interesting”

 

[Universe]

Cosmos:”Hmm. Interesting”

*He was still trying to remember what he had been looking at*

 

[Universe]

*He was still trying to remember what he had been looking at*

*He finally sees a reflection in the water of some kind of glowing green crystal* Cosmos:”Does anyone else see that?”

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

Cosmos:”Hmm. Interesting”

*He was still trying to remember what he had been looking at*

*He finally sees a reflection in the water of some kind of glowing green crystal* Cosmos:”Does anyone else see that?”

"Despite six eyes, my eyesight is actually kinda bad. No luck here."

"I know it looks like I have eyes, but they don't function well for what I've molded my body for. Nothing."

"I see it. It looks like some green crystal. But there's been so many types of green crystal through the ages...."

 

[Baron Tredegar]

"Because it's from a style way before I was even bound this time around... I think. Some of the details are still hazy."

The tree village was honestly mostly low-tech. Not much in the way of furnishings in the homes, except for some kind of hard-cased coffin-like shells that seemed to be lined with something on their insides. Most likely beds, from their structure. The beings in those homes seemed to go with a mostly hunter-gatherer lifestyle and minimal attire.

Ahrakas and Kurt would have been accosted by several bipedal creatures. They looked vaguely dog-like, with short tentacles serving as hair. Their fingers were bony, their forms fairly thin but not so thin their skeletons showed, and they were covered in scars. Several of these Hounds proceeded to sniff Kurt and Ahrakas. Kurt let most of them do their thing, but he punched one in the snout when they started sniffing lower on him. Eventually, one of the Hounds spoke in an ancient tongue.

Kurt responded in the same tongue. The two of them went back and forth. Eventually, Kurt turned to Ahrakas.

"He wants to know what the Temporal Imperium is and its purpose."

The Temporal Imperium is dedicated to serving the Architects and enforcing their will. Our primary directive is to prevent people from traveling through time and interfering with the Architects plans.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

The Temporal Imperium is dedicated to serving the Architects and enforcing their will. Our primary directive is to prevent people from traveling through time and interfering with the Architects plans.

Kurt spoke in the ancient language. There was some more back and forth.

After a moment, the lead Hound got a bit more menacing. Kurt held a hand up and summoned the pet carrier to his side, showing the puppy within.

Immediately, the Hounds' eyes all went wide. They prostrated themselves before Kurt.

Kurt spoke again. They all stood, several of them going in different directions but one of them staying.

"It took him a bit to catch on that the Architects and the Great Old Ones were the same beings. It really sucks that the binding prevents me from recognizing or saying my own name... we'd have had trouble if I didn't have the Hound puppy."

Two of the Hounds came back. One carried a red flask of some kind, and the other a slab of pink meat.

"It's custom to offer food and drink to a guest here..... thing is, any alcohol here tends to be fermented blood and this particular slab of meat is raw. The Hounds don't tend to take 'no' for an answer on this, and I think it's caused fights with other species on this planet. If I weren't here, you'd have no choice but to accept. But since I am here, it's up to you."