[Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Completed: 06/04/2018)
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Suederwind
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Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/13/2016)
I have to admit that it is a very good read.
Forum RP: Cydonia Rising
[RP]Cydonia Rising [IC]
[RP]Cydonia Rising [IC]
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dragoongfa
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Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
Chapter 2, Part 3
Tempo sighed at the development, she should have expected that the alien would politely refuse to answer even friendly questions before he received an apology for the incident earlier; Teidar Pallan Fireblade may not have liked the subtle plan at the slightest but she played her part well enough so far. Even Listel Tozet Beryl acted well enough without much of a preparation, her posture betraying no ill will towards the alien for the initial rebuffing she received which seemed odd to her at first but the Listel knew that she would observe the exchange with the alien and as such she would have her curiosity fed in just a few bimas.
But Tempo couldn’t help but notice that something felt off with Fireblade’s body language, she seemed at ease and relaxed which not only betrayed a severe lapse in judgment from the Teidar’s part but something completely uncharacteristic of Fireblade’s personality who was almost always on the edge of turmoil while she never took anything lightly; on duty and off duty alike. She remembered Fireblade’s strong objections in giving the alien his armor back and truth be told she understood them completely, the problem was that they, as representatives of the Union, had to make amends for the earlier incident. The Terran Confederation was obviously far more advanced technologically and the last thing they needed was to add further insult to one of their representatives during their first contact with them. The alien seemed to appreciate the gesture and seemed to be understanding after the Listel politely explained, probably at the behest of the Teidar, that they couldn’t just give him a small power source without the Lashret’s express permission.
She thought about this change on the Teidar while their small group was in the elevator, perhaps Fireblade felt at ease around the alien because he was a male. She had read the Teidar’s file and she knew that Fireblade herself was very reluctant to exercise her rights to even meet a male as long as she couldn’t control herself to an acceptable degree. Perhaps being around a male subconsciously relaxed her, something that was true for many Loroi warriors, but the degree of change in her posture still seemed extreme.
She became certain that something was wrong right after they exited the elevator and entered her sensing range. The Teidar’s mental signature could only be described as peaceful, perfectly serene without any of the turmoil that Fireblade is known for. Such a radical change to one’s mental signature can only happen after years of training or a traumatic personal event that could change one’s mind and outlook of life. She immediately shifted her attention to Beryl only to realize that the Listel was ecstatic, as if her very purpose in life had just been fulfilled. Out of the three Loroi with the alien only her aide’s mind, Soroin Passet Cloud, was as it should be.
“Cloud.” Tempo sent to the young Soroin who walked just a little bit ahead of the others.
“Yes Mizol Parat Tempo?”
“Do you sense anything different from the others?”
“No but…” The Passet replied with clearly felt confusion.
“But Teidar Pallan Fireblade is not how she usually is.”
“Yes.”
It was too much of a coincidence, Beryl’s state of mind could be explained just by her being in the presence of an alien who represented a far more technologically advanced civilization and was living evidence that the Loroi actually have a template species but the change in Fireblade was too extreme. She had to assume the worse; that the alien had somehow affected her mind despite his Lotai. Her training dictated something like this as impossible but there was no other way for her to explain it, she had to consider the alien as a threat and act as quickly as possible but she also had to take him prisoner alive without harming the others.
“Cloud, I know that this will be confusing but do exactly as I say, once the alien is in my stateroom I want you to find Lashret Stillstorm and tell her in person that she was right but I don’t want any trouble.”
“I don’t understand but I will do so.” Tempo hoped that this would be enough for the Torrai to understand that she wanted the alien alive and if possible, unharmed.
She quickly stood up and walked to her weapon’s locker in order to take her leg holster and blaster pistol; she could just close her mind and stun the alien with it at the first opportunity but such a direct approach was why she didn’t want to alert the Lashret through the communications system or even the Sanzai network. The alien would pick up the change in the crew’s mood telepathically and would resist telepathically and telekinetically, which would be a disaster for more than one reason.
In the situation Tempo found herself she had to assume the worse case scenario, which would mean that the alien’s government was working with the Shells but why would the Shells attack his ship if this was the case? The possibility of this being an elaborate trick to get one of them aboard a Loroi warship in order to help capture it was too farfetched; the Shells didn’t have such a grave need to capture a Loroi warship and they certainly weren’t stupid enough to sacrifice so many of their own ships in order to just get a single alien on a Loroi ship. It could be that they didn’t have a choice on the matter and the alien aboard Tempest was in fact a member of an overlord race behind the Hierarchy’s actions but this was even more farfetched; the Mizol had not stood idle for the entirety of the war and no matter how decentralized the Hierarchy command structure may be she trusted that her caste would have picked hints of a race that would be able to control the Shells to such a degree.
The alien having his own agenda was by far the most probable scenario, in which case the Union had to gain a glimpse of it and that could only be done if they captured him alive. With that in mind she took the blaster pistol, set it on stun, holstered it and went back to sit at her desk. Her previous plan flashed briefly in her mind as she raised her mental defenses; she had planned to buy some time to ask and answer some questions on her own before having Cloud bring in the Historian projector while she would call in captain Mozin in order to have witnesses when she would recognize the alien as a diplomat. Bimas ago she truly was hoping that the alien was what he said he was, not just their template species but another telepathic species which was friendly and could perhaps offer assistance in the war. She mentally chastised herself for her naivety for wanting to believe all that, she was a Mizol, she should know better but deep in her mind she knew that the discovery of another telepathic race alone would be a tremendous boost to Loroi morale in these trying times, could she really blame herself for wanting the best possible scenario to be true?
Now she just hoped that the Lashret would act quickly and quietly enough in order to take the alien by surprise and overwhelm him; if Stillstorm was unable to do that then the Union would lose a critical source of information when it needed it the most. She glanced at her holstered sidearm as she sensed Cloud, Beryl and Fireblade approach, she was certain that the alien would not see it unless he stood right next to her but she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she missed something important.
“Mizol Parat Tempo, we brought Senator Alexander Jardin as you instructed.” Beryl sent just before they reached her door, the Listel’s mind filled with amazement and glee.
“You may enter.”
Beryl walked in first and stood at the right side of the door as the alien walked in, Fireblade came in last and stood at the left side of the door before it closed. Tempo felt relieved when she sensed Cloud walk back to the elevator with her mental signature still seemingly untampered.
“Welcome Senator Alexander Jardin, I am Mizol Parat Sedet and my spoken name means Tempo. It seems that you have made it clear that you know about this ship and the functions about the various Loroi castes.”
“Yes I believe that I have made all that clear but allow me to say that out of all the various Loroi castes we humans believe that the Mizol are the ones who we can more easily relate too.” He smiled at that, his expression betraying nothing but sincerity. “Now tell me how did you figure it out?”
It all happened in a fraction of a solon, Tempo was certain that she was first enveloped in some form of an impregnable jamming field; out of reflex she reached to her holstered sidearm as she rushed to stand up but suddenly she found herself sitting again while the alien was holding her blaster pistol in his right hand.
“On stun? I don’t know if I should feel insulted for you believing that this would actually do anything even if I was naked or congratulate you for thinking that far ahead.” He said as he sat to one of the two empty chairs in front of her desk; she glanced at Beryl and Fireblade, both of them seemingly oblivious to what had just happened in front of them. Their facial expressions betraying only the mental caricatures she had sensed earlier.
“How…”
“The Listel Tozet and the Teidar Pallan?” He asked as he glanced at them in turn. “Fairly easily with something that you cannot be aware of as you are now. Something similar is done to you right now as well.”
“What do you mean?”
“I am not here to explain the subtle functions of sentience and sapience.” He replied and he seemed to study her for a few moments.
“What are you here for then?” Tempo asked as she realized that she had actually managed to subconsciously control herself from panicking.
“You will find out soon enough since you have impressed some people enough but for now I want to ask you why do you think you are sapient?”
“What?”
“Don’t try to tell me that you didn’t understand me and it’s a simple enough question for all so called sapients to answer.”
“We Loroi are sapient because we are self-conscious with the ability to act with appropriate judgment.” She replied and tried to move her left arm only to realize that it wouldn’t move at all, it wasn’t numb and she couldn't feel anything wrong from it but it would just not obey her mental commands.
“A definition that is the exact same with the one our ancient philosophers came up with. But can someone who is self-conscious but can have their judgment taken over by someone else truly be sapient?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, how would you classify the very someone who can wrestle control over a sapient without them caring or even realizing it?”
“A slaver.” The alien grinned at that, it was an annoying and patronizing smile, subtly passing the message that he was just toying with her.
“But you are doing exactly that with the Golim don’t you?”
“They aren’t enslaved!” She almost shouted at that without realizing it, for some reason her sealed emotions had seeped out on their own while the alien’s annoying smile merely grew deeper.
“Once they are near a Loroi their sound judgment is replaced by a mesmerizing effect which makes them just that, a slave that would do anything for its master.”
“We Loroi didn’t want this.” She pointed out, this time managing to control her outburst.
“It’s probable but the little guys are very hardy and able aren’t they? And they do offer themselves willingly all the time just to be near you.” The smile changed into a smirky expression that was hard for even her to read. “But let’s say that out there is someone who can do the exact same thing to a Loroi, mesmerize you and make you do anything they wished no matter how against it you would be before running into them. Will you consider a future you that was mesmerized in such a way a slave or you would consider that future you a willing sapient?”
She didn’t know how to answer that sincerely without offering a double standard. “We treat them well and we make sure that they are not harmed at any occupation they offer to fulfill, their mesmerization is not something that we control and those that have already been mesmerized will often harm themselves and others in order to be near a Loroi again. We have taken measures to limit the damage to their culture but many of us still say that it is not enough.”
He nodded at that as if in understanding but for some reason she felt that he didn’t like what he just heard. “Let’s put it this way then....” He leaned back to his chair and smiled patronizingly before continuing. “How can you say that you are sapient when you are aiming your blaster at your left thigh without even realizing it?”
Tempo turned her eyes and there it was, the blaster pistol was in her hand again, it’s fire selector set at overload, and was aimed straight at her left thigh. She was certain that it was there, she could feel its cold grip when a moment ago it just wasn’t there.
“Are you truly sapient?” She didn’t know how the alien was doing all this and it took all her will to keep herself from panicking; it was more than plainly obvious that the alien was too dangerous to capture alive. She tried to force herself to raise her hand to shoot him but it disobeyed her again and instead her hand pressed its muzzle against the side of her head. “That’s not an answer Mizol Parat Tempo.”
“If you are going to kill me just do it and save the sick games for those who are willing to play them.”
“You still resist without you having any control of your telepathy or your very own body…” He leaned forward and smiled again, this time approvingly. “I didn’t expect such stubbornness from you at the face of the inevitable; your spoken name was after all given to you because of your uncanny ability to have everyone around you work on the rhythm you dictate. Tempo is a very fitting name indeed and I know plenty of individuals who would have grown complacent with such a string of continuous successes.”
“What do you want?” Her hand moved again on its own, letting the pistol go; the weapon just floated in front of her while her hands moved and unstrapped her weapon holster. Both of items then floated towards her weapon locker that opened up and closed right after they floated back inside.
“Just for you to answer my question. Do you still believe you are sapient after all you have experienced so far?”
“Yes”
“Why?”
“Because my mind is still my own.”
“Indeed it is, in fact the minds of the Listel Tozet and the Teidar Pallan are still theirs but you immediately noticed that they are not in command of their own selves anymore.”
“Our mind is not our body! You may control our body but our minds are still our own!” The alien laughed at that and slowly clapped his hands in a very annoying manner.
“Very good Mizol Parat, a very good answer indeed.” He paused for a moment as if he was studying her expression. “The slow clap is meant to pass sarcasm by the way.” Tempo opted to stay silent at that, she was already in an overwhelming disadvantage and at his complete mercy but she would be damned if she entertained his sick games any further.
“I see that you decided to remain silent… Petty since the spoken traditions of the Mizol are something that humans appreciate greatly.” She stayed silent while making sure that her expression couldn’t be read in any way. “In a way all living Loroi are lucky for me coming here you know; who knows how many lives would be wasted if I didn’t decide to save some time and see to this myself.”
“You make it sound like you chose to be here.”
“I believe that you should have realized by now that I was never in any real danger…” She let her expression change without thinking and he laughed at that. “I will explain it in a way you can understand once all of the pawns are in place; for now do me a favor and answer my very first question I asked you and no, remaining silent won’t give you any sense of victory whatsoever.” She contemplated on how to proceed, staying silent could end up annoying him and cause him to act out; entertaining and keeping him occupied would give the Lashret more time to prepare.
“Listel Tozet Beryl’s posture betrayed a sense of happiness despite the fact that you refused to talk with anyone until I offered an apology while Teidar Pallan Fireblade looked relaxed and with an perfectly serene mental state.”
“I figured that you would pick up these hints of this little, but necessary, play from our part but there were plenty of other hints you and the others missed because of your kind’s over-reliance on telepathy and the observance of others.”
“I answered your questions, will you answer mine?” He laughed heartily at that.
“Of course, we need to burn some more time after all.”
“Who are you?”
“I am Senator Alexander Jardin of the Terran Confederation.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Why so?”
“A senatorial ship wouldn’t be without any kind of an escort and I don’t believe that a senator would act the way you do.” Tempo pointed out.
“Those are fairly reasonable observations from your part.” The alien replied and smiled. “Indeed a senatorial ship should be under heavy escort at all times and what I am doing now could be taken as an act of war but I have two very reasonable reasons for everything.”
“Reasonable reasons?”
“One of them is that this is a part of a misinformation campaign by the Confederation in order to set up a trap for any potential enemies to fall into, as for the other… we can’t have a wild animal run around without some taming and a leash.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are a Mizol, figure it out.”
“So you are a Senator then?”
“Yes, and now I believe that it is time to have one more of my questions answered. Tell me, how would the Loroi see Sunfall if she had won the war?” Tempo wandered why he asked that but if the alien wanted to waste time she saw no reason not to oblige him.
“Sunfall would be the unopposed candidate to succeed Emperor Greywind, in fact there would be many voices pushing for Greywind to step down in favor of Sunfall.”
“And that’s the reason why so many of your kind suspect that you Mizol sabotaged Sunfall at Semoset but we both know that your caste is not that stupid.”
“Fools always cling to the easiest excuses.” Tempo commented.
“Indeed.” He replied and nodded. “You said that you don’t believe me but I am who I claim to be, however I did choose to omit certain important details. I am Fleet Admiral Alexander Jardin, retired. Senator of the Terran Confederation, I am a member of the Senatorial council; holding the seat of the department of defense.”
“I cannot believe this.”
“You cannot believe what I just said or you cannot contemplate what it implies?” She didn’t know what to say at that. “Let me put this as plainly as possible then. I already told you that I was never in any danger, I am closely monitored by Confederation forces by ways and means that are way beyond your comprehension, this ship is the safest ship this side of the Great Wasteland and I am here despite the vehement objections of an incalculable number of people because not one of them is stupid enough to say no to a war hero when he sets his mind to do something himself.”
“I am repeating myself but why are you here then?”
“The Confederation is here because the Loroi Union is about to lose this war which is counter to its wants and interests.”
“Why do all this if the Confederations doesn’t want us to lose and…” She paused as she realized what he omitted to say. “You didn’t say why you are here.”
“A Mizol to watch after a problem child indeed.” The alien commented. “As to why I am here? I am here because my honor demands it of me; we owe a debt to those you have chosen to forget, a debt that demands that you will go extinct either by your own hand or ours.”
“I… don’t…” It was his expression and something that she couldn’t pinpoint exactly that gave her pause; his seemingly patronizing glee his face had betrayed up until then instantly changed into a seething disgust and anger as he had said that. “…understand.”
“You are not supposed to understand yet, that’s for when all the pawns have proven themselves smarter than a Miros herded for slaughter.” His expression changed again into the same patronizing smile as before but now she found it deeply unsettling instead of annoying. “Do you by any chance have a crossfire board? I think that we can play a couple of games until the time is right.”
Chapter 3, part 1: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 998#p23998
Tempo sighed at the development, she should have expected that the alien would politely refuse to answer even friendly questions before he received an apology for the incident earlier; Teidar Pallan Fireblade may not have liked the subtle plan at the slightest but she played her part well enough so far. Even Listel Tozet Beryl acted well enough without much of a preparation, her posture betraying no ill will towards the alien for the initial rebuffing she received which seemed odd to her at first but the Listel knew that she would observe the exchange with the alien and as such she would have her curiosity fed in just a few bimas.
But Tempo couldn’t help but notice that something felt off with Fireblade’s body language, she seemed at ease and relaxed which not only betrayed a severe lapse in judgment from the Teidar’s part but something completely uncharacteristic of Fireblade’s personality who was almost always on the edge of turmoil while she never took anything lightly; on duty and off duty alike. She remembered Fireblade’s strong objections in giving the alien his armor back and truth be told she understood them completely, the problem was that they, as representatives of the Union, had to make amends for the earlier incident. The Terran Confederation was obviously far more advanced technologically and the last thing they needed was to add further insult to one of their representatives during their first contact with them. The alien seemed to appreciate the gesture and seemed to be understanding after the Listel politely explained, probably at the behest of the Teidar, that they couldn’t just give him a small power source without the Lashret’s express permission.
She thought about this change on the Teidar while their small group was in the elevator, perhaps Fireblade felt at ease around the alien because he was a male. She had read the Teidar’s file and she knew that Fireblade herself was very reluctant to exercise her rights to even meet a male as long as she couldn’t control herself to an acceptable degree. Perhaps being around a male subconsciously relaxed her, something that was true for many Loroi warriors, but the degree of change in her posture still seemed extreme.
She became certain that something was wrong right after they exited the elevator and entered her sensing range. The Teidar’s mental signature could only be described as peaceful, perfectly serene without any of the turmoil that Fireblade is known for. Such a radical change to one’s mental signature can only happen after years of training or a traumatic personal event that could change one’s mind and outlook of life. She immediately shifted her attention to Beryl only to realize that the Listel was ecstatic, as if her very purpose in life had just been fulfilled. Out of the three Loroi with the alien only her aide’s mind, Soroin Passet Cloud, was as it should be.
“Cloud.” Tempo sent to the young Soroin who walked just a little bit ahead of the others.
“Yes Mizol Parat Tempo?”
“Do you sense anything different from the others?”
“No but…” The Passet replied with clearly felt confusion.
“But Teidar Pallan Fireblade is not how she usually is.”
“Yes.”
It was too much of a coincidence, Beryl’s state of mind could be explained just by her being in the presence of an alien who represented a far more technologically advanced civilization and was living evidence that the Loroi actually have a template species but the change in Fireblade was too extreme. She had to assume the worse; that the alien had somehow affected her mind despite his Lotai. Her training dictated something like this as impossible but there was no other way for her to explain it, she had to consider the alien as a threat and act as quickly as possible but she also had to take him prisoner alive without harming the others.
“Cloud, I know that this will be confusing but do exactly as I say, once the alien is in my stateroom I want you to find Lashret Stillstorm and tell her in person that she was right but I don’t want any trouble.”
“I don’t understand but I will do so.” Tempo hoped that this would be enough for the Torrai to understand that she wanted the alien alive and if possible, unharmed.
She quickly stood up and walked to her weapon’s locker in order to take her leg holster and blaster pistol; she could just close her mind and stun the alien with it at the first opportunity but such a direct approach was why she didn’t want to alert the Lashret through the communications system or even the Sanzai network. The alien would pick up the change in the crew’s mood telepathically and would resist telepathically and telekinetically, which would be a disaster for more than one reason.
In the situation Tempo found herself she had to assume the worse case scenario, which would mean that the alien’s government was working with the Shells but why would the Shells attack his ship if this was the case? The possibility of this being an elaborate trick to get one of them aboard a Loroi warship in order to help capture it was too farfetched; the Shells didn’t have such a grave need to capture a Loroi warship and they certainly weren’t stupid enough to sacrifice so many of their own ships in order to just get a single alien on a Loroi ship. It could be that they didn’t have a choice on the matter and the alien aboard Tempest was in fact a member of an overlord race behind the Hierarchy’s actions but this was even more farfetched; the Mizol had not stood idle for the entirety of the war and no matter how decentralized the Hierarchy command structure may be she trusted that her caste would have picked hints of a race that would be able to control the Shells to such a degree.
The alien having his own agenda was by far the most probable scenario, in which case the Union had to gain a glimpse of it and that could only be done if they captured him alive. With that in mind she took the blaster pistol, set it on stun, holstered it and went back to sit at her desk. Her previous plan flashed briefly in her mind as she raised her mental defenses; she had planned to buy some time to ask and answer some questions on her own before having Cloud bring in the Historian projector while she would call in captain Mozin in order to have witnesses when she would recognize the alien as a diplomat. Bimas ago she truly was hoping that the alien was what he said he was, not just their template species but another telepathic species which was friendly and could perhaps offer assistance in the war. She mentally chastised herself for her naivety for wanting to believe all that, she was a Mizol, she should know better but deep in her mind she knew that the discovery of another telepathic race alone would be a tremendous boost to Loroi morale in these trying times, could she really blame herself for wanting the best possible scenario to be true?
Now she just hoped that the Lashret would act quickly and quietly enough in order to take the alien by surprise and overwhelm him; if Stillstorm was unable to do that then the Union would lose a critical source of information when it needed it the most. She glanced at her holstered sidearm as she sensed Cloud, Beryl and Fireblade approach, she was certain that the alien would not see it unless he stood right next to her but she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she missed something important.
“Mizol Parat Tempo, we brought Senator Alexander Jardin as you instructed.” Beryl sent just before they reached her door, the Listel’s mind filled with amazement and glee.
“You may enter.”
Beryl walked in first and stood at the right side of the door as the alien walked in, Fireblade came in last and stood at the left side of the door before it closed. Tempo felt relieved when she sensed Cloud walk back to the elevator with her mental signature still seemingly untampered.
“Welcome Senator Alexander Jardin, I am Mizol Parat Sedet and my spoken name means Tempo. It seems that you have made it clear that you know about this ship and the functions about the various Loroi castes.”
“Yes I believe that I have made all that clear but allow me to say that out of all the various Loroi castes we humans believe that the Mizol are the ones who we can more easily relate too.” He smiled at that, his expression betraying nothing but sincerity. “Now tell me how did you figure it out?”
It all happened in a fraction of a solon, Tempo was certain that she was first enveloped in some form of an impregnable jamming field; out of reflex she reached to her holstered sidearm as she rushed to stand up but suddenly she found herself sitting again while the alien was holding her blaster pistol in his right hand.
“On stun? I don’t know if I should feel insulted for you believing that this would actually do anything even if I was naked or congratulate you for thinking that far ahead.” He said as he sat to one of the two empty chairs in front of her desk; she glanced at Beryl and Fireblade, both of them seemingly oblivious to what had just happened in front of them. Their facial expressions betraying only the mental caricatures she had sensed earlier.
“How…”
“The Listel Tozet and the Teidar Pallan?” He asked as he glanced at them in turn. “Fairly easily with something that you cannot be aware of as you are now. Something similar is done to you right now as well.”
“What do you mean?”
“I am not here to explain the subtle functions of sentience and sapience.” He replied and he seemed to study her for a few moments.
“What are you here for then?” Tempo asked as she realized that she had actually managed to subconsciously control herself from panicking.
“You will find out soon enough since you have impressed some people enough but for now I want to ask you why do you think you are sapient?”
“What?”
“Don’t try to tell me that you didn’t understand me and it’s a simple enough question for all so called sapients to answer.”
“We Loroi are sapient because we are self-conscious with the ability to act with appropriate judgment.” She replied and tried to move her left arm only to realize that it wouldn’t move at all, it wasn’t numb and she couldn't feel anything wrong from it but it would just not obey her mental commands.
“A definition that is the exact same with the one our ancient philosophers came up with. But can someone who is self-conscious but can have their judgment taken over by someone else truly be sapient?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, how would you classify the very someone who can wrestle control over a sapient without them caring or even realizing it?”
“A slaver.” The alien grinned at that, it was an annoying and patronizing smile, subtly passing the message that he was just toying with her.
“But you are doing exactly that with the Golim don’t you?”
“They aren’t enslaved!” She almost shouted at that without realizing it, for some reason her sealed emotions had seeped out on their own while the alien’s annoying smile merely grew deeper.
“Once they are near a Loroi their sound judgment is replaced by a mesmerizing effect which makes them just that, a slave that would do anything for its master.”
“We Loroi didn’t want this.” She pointed out, this time managing to control her outburst.
“It’s probable but the little guys are very hardy and able aren’t they? And they do offer themselves willingly all the time just to be near you.” The smile changed into a smirky expression that was hard for even her to read. “But let’s say that out there is someone who can do the exact same thing to a Loroi, mesmerize you and make you do anything they wished no matter how against it you would be before running into them. Will you consider a future you that was mesmerized in such a way a slave or you would consider that future you a willing sapient?”
She didn’t know how to answer that sincerely without offering a double standard. “We treat them well and we make sure that they are not harmed at any occupation they offer to fulfill, their mesmerization is not something that we control and those that have already been mesmerized will often harm themselves and others in order to be near a Loroi again. We have taken measures to limit the damage to their culture but many of us still say that it is not enough.”
He nodded at that as if in understanding but for some reason she felt that he didn’t like what he just heard. “Let’s put it this way then....” He leaned back to his chair and smiled patronizingly before continuing. “How can you say that you are sapient when you are aiming your blaster at your left thigh without even realizing it?”
Tempo turned her eyes and there it was, the blaster pistol was in her hand again, it’s fire selector set at overload, and was aimed straight at her left thigh. She was certain that it was there, she could feel its cold grip when a moment ago it just wasn’t there.
“Are you truly sapient?” She didn’t know how the alien was doing all this and it took all her will to keep herself from panicking; it was more than plainly obvious that the alien was too dangerous to capture alive. She tried to force herself to raise her hand to shoot him but it disobeyed her again and instead her hand pressed its muzzle against the side of her head. “That’s not an answer Mizol Parat Tempo.”
“If you are going to kill me just do it and save the sick games for those who are willing to play them.”
“You still resist without you having any control of your telepathy or your very own body…” He leaned forward and smiled again, this time approvingly. “I didn’t expect such stubbornness from you at the face of the inevitable; your spoken name was after all given to you because of your uncanny ability to have everyone around you work on the rhythm you dictate. Tempo is a very fitting name indeed and I know plenty of individuals who would have grown complacent with such a string of continuous successes.”
“What do you want?” Her hand moved again on its own, letting the pistol go; the weapon just floated in front of her while her hands moved and unstrapped her weapon holster. Both of items then floated towards her weapon locker that opened up and closed right after they floated back inside.
“Just for you to answer my question. Do you still believe you are sapient after all you have experienced so far?”
“Yes”
“Why?”
“Because my mind is still my own.”
“Indeed it is, in fact the minds of the Listel Tozet and the Teidar Pallan are still theirs but you immediately noticed that they are not in command of their own selves anymore.”
“Our mind is not our body! You may control our body but our minds are still our own!” The alien laughed at that and slowly clapped his hands in a very annoying manner.
“Very good Mizol Parat, a very good answer indeed.” He paused for a moment as if he was studying her expression. “The slow clap is meant to pass sarcasm by the way.” Tempo opted to stay silent at that, she was already in an overwhelming disadvantage and at his complete mercy but she would be damned if she entertained his sick games any further.
“I see that you decided to remain silent… Petty since the spoken traditions of the Mizol are something that humans appreciate greatly.” She stayed silent while making sure that her expression couldn’t be read in any way. “In a way all living Loroi are lucky for me coming here you know; who knows how many lives would be wasted if I didn’t decide to save some time and see to this myself.”
“You make it sound like you chose to be here.”
“I believe that you should have realized by now that I was never in any real danger…” She let her expression change without thinking and he laughed at that. “I will explain it in a way you can understand once all of the pawns are in place; for now do me a favor and answer my very first question I asked you and no, remaining silent won’t give you any sense of victory whatsoever.” She contemplated on how to proceed, staying silent could end up annoying him and cause him to act out; entertaining and keeping him occupied would give the Lashret more time to prepare.
“Listel Tozet Beryl’s posture betrayed a sense of happiness despite the fact that you refused to talk with anyone until I offered an apology while Teidar Pallan Fireblade looked relaxed and with an perfectly serene mental state.”
“I figured that you would pick up these hints of this little, but necessary, play from our part but there were plenty of other hints you and the others missed because of your kind’s over-reliance on telepathy and the observance of others.”
“I answered your questions, will you answer mine?” He laughed heartily at that.
“Of course, we need to burn some more time after all.”
“Who are you?”
“I am Senator Alexander Jardin of the Terran Confederation.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Why so?”
“A senatorial ship wouldn’t be without any kind of an escort and I don’t believe that a senator would act the way you do.” Tempo pointed out.
“Those are fairly reasonable observations from your part.” The alien replied and smiled. “Indeed a senatorial ship should be under heavy escort at all times and what I am doing now could be taken as an act of war but I have two very reasonable reasons for everything.”
“Reasonable reasons?”
“One of them is that this is a part of a misinformation campaign by the Confederation in order to set up a trap for any potential enemies to fall into, as for the other… we can’t have a wild animal run around without some taming and a leash.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are a Mizol, figure it out.”
“So you are a Senator then?”
“Yes, and now I believe that it is time to have one more of my questions answered. Tell me, how would the Loroi see Sunfall if she had won the war?” Tempo wandered why he asked that but if the alien wanted to waste time she saw no reason not to oblige him.
“Sunfall would be the unopposed candidate to succeed Emperor Greywind, in fact there would be many voices pushing for Greywind to step down in favor of Sunfall.”
“And that’s the reason why so many of your kind suspect that you Mizol sabotaged Sunfall at Semoset but we both know that your caste is not that stupid.”
“Fools always cling to the easiest excuses.” Tempo commented.
“Indeed.” He replied and nodded. “You said that you don’t believe me but I am who I claim to be, however I did choose to omit certain important details. I am Fleet Admiral Alexander Jardin, retired. Senator of the Terran Confederation, I am a member of the Senatorial council; holding the seat of the department of defense.”
“I cannot believe this.”
“You cannot believe what I just said or you cannot contemplate what it implies?” She didn’t know what to say at that. “Let me put this as plainly as possible then. I already told you that I was never in any danger, I am closely monitored by Confederation forces by ways and means that are way beyond your comprehension, this ship is the safest ship this side of the Great Wasteland and I am here despite the vehement objections of an incalculable number of people because not one of them is stupid enough to say no to a war hero when he sets his mind to do something himself.”
“I am repeating myself but why are you here then?”
“The Confederation is here because the Loroi Union is about to lose this war which is counter to its wants and interests.”
“Why do all this if the Confederations doesn’t want us to lose and…” She paused as she realized what he omitted to say. “You didn’t say why you are here.”
“A Mizol to watch after a problem child indeed.” The alien commented. “As to why I am here? I am here because my honor demands it of me; we owe a debt to those you have chosen to forget, a debt that demands that you will go extinct either by your own hand or ours.”
“I… don’t…” It was his expression and something that she couldn’t pinpoint exactly that gave her pause; his seemingly patronizing glee his face had betrayed up until then instantly changed into a seething disgust and anger as he had said that. “…understand.”
“You are not supposed to understand yet, that’s for when all the pawns have proven themselves smarter than a Miros herded for slaughter.” His expression changed again into the same patronizing smile as before but now she found it deeply unsettling instead of annoying. “Do you by any chance have a crossfire board? I think that we can play a couple of games until the time is right.”
Chapter 3, part 1: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 998#p23998
Last edited by Guest on Wed Jun 15, 2016 2:54 am, edited 3 times in total.
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
Hah! Nice chapter, I lol'd.
...I still cringe every time I see the word Confederation though.
...I still cringe every time I see the word Confederation though.
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NuclearIceCream
- Posts: 81
- Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2014 12:32 am
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
Then you CLEARLY do not understand what the word confederation means. Notice the word Federation exists with in it? The US government is a Federated government. During the US civil war the rebels had a Confederated Government. It generally implies a very weak central authority and a very strong local authority. It is NOT mutually exclusive to Republics or democratic systems.
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
NuclearIceCream please stop. I'm a political scientist with political scientist, U.S. history and world history friends. We all 
at Confederations, it's unanimous.
Why are you giving the U.S. Confederation as an example of a Confederation they died in like five minutes, and their government is still considered a joke in poly sci and historian circles.
at Confederations, it's unanimous.Why are you giving the U.S. Confederation as an example of a Confederation they died in like five minutes, and their government is still considered a joke in poly sci and historian circles.
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raistlin34
- Posts: 274
- Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2015 3:46 pm
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
You know, I was expecting from the member of a superior race to artfuly manipulate the Loroi into doing his will without then realizing. But Alex keeps throwing his power around with the subtleness of an elephant in a glassware... and for what, to humilliate them further?
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
Confederations make perfect sense when you're almost completely satisfied with no governing body: the UN could be argued to be a form, and yet it seems to be sort-of useful. They're basically appropriate for when things work fine, but another layer would make it easier to throw poo at the other guy, and argue about whether there should even be curtains in the meeting room in the first place: ignominious, yet appropriate in it's own disappointing way.Grayhome wrote:NuclearIceCream please stop. I'm a political scientist with political scientist, U.S. history and world history friends. We all
Assuming that he's American, because it's the only one that all of us actually hear much about.Grayhome wrote:Why are you giving the U.S. Confederation as an example of a Confederation they died in like five minutes, and their government is still considered a joke in poly sci and historian circles.
It's the writing style in play, and I don't think that you should trust any of these scenarios at all. dragoongfa improved the writing somewhat, but it still needs a lot of work. It currently seems to be playing along at almost being a multi-universe story, the main counter being that probably it's all just higher-existence psychic manipulations instead. dragoongfa could be playing an "Encounter at Farpoint", but if so then he's fallen below the reference.raistlin34 wrote:You know, I was expecting from the member of a superior race to artfuly manipulate the Loroi into doing his will without then realizing. But Alex keeps throwing his power around with the subtleness of an elephant in a glassware... and for what, to humilliate them further?
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dragoongfa
- Posts: 1948
- Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
- Location: Athens, Greece
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
Let's just say that this 3160 humanity suffers from a form of telepathic chauvinism that makes the Loroi equivalent* seem tame in comparison and they do believe that they have cause and reason.raistlin34 wrote:You know, I was expecting from the member of a superior race to artfuly manipulate the Loroi into doing his will without then realizing. But Alex keeps throwing his power around with the subtleness of an elephant in a glassware... and for what, to humilliate them further?
*The Loroi believe that they should rule/lead because of telepathy and Soians, humanity believes in... something different and every last human in existence is both fascinated and filled with loathing for the Loroi.
@Absalom
Never read that but you are right up to a point and yes, the writing earlier is something I am not too proud of.dragoongfa could be playing an "Encounter at Farpoint", but if so then he's fallen below the reference.
@Grayhome
To make the use of the Confederation in the two stories I wrote clear:
You were partially right earlier about the war but this Confederation is primarily a defensive alliance and a policing entity to oversee the continuous peaceful relations between the remaining 37 worlds (many of whom are as big and populous as a Loroi sector). The Confederation started at the old worlds because each of those worlds was comparably weaker than any of the new ones, the problem was that they hated each other too much to agree on anything more than a cooperative military alliance (See NATO) and a single semi political banner that would attempt to pass along that they cooperate on some more fields (in short strength in numbers with the addendum that they see each other as useful and no one should try to divide and conquer); the Confederation started being more than just a military alliance when the various scientific and industrial cooperation treaties between the initial were formed. This was the initial Confederation of the Old Worlds, the 'new' Terran Confederation has as a foundation the 'old one' but has expanded authorities in order for the Old Worlds to uplift the Worlds that were technologically backwards when compared with them.
So in essence the Pale Horse Confederation is there because Humans really don't trust each other (and for good historical reasons) but they do see reason to fully cooperate in defensive, scientific, industrial and a handful of other matters in a way that wont allow backstabbing. With time (see millennia) this Confederation would gain more authority as humans started trusting each other but with barely a few decades after the end of the Unification war this Confederation is already at the full extent of the authority it is allowed to wield without someone starting a rebellion. In short this Confederation is a super UN equivalent with teeth and real authority.
The end game 'Confederation' of Looking forward to the Mirror is somewhat of a different beast. The problem with the TCA laid with its member nations and how each has a different agenda in regards to colonization and etc, the TCA mandate is also aimed solely to police colonial endeavors. It is easy to assume that the TCA mandate will be horribly inadequate in an era of diplomatic relations with aliens and a military buildup in response to a very real alien threat.
But the problem are the member nations and how they don't like each other very much so in essence that Confederation is a political compromise in order to Unify key areas of humanity in order to quickly build a military deterrent and the economic powerhouse that is needed in order to feed a military deterrent strong enough to put second thoughts to the Loroi (defense, economy, research and development, colonization and etc). This all the while member nations still having the right to self govern in local matters.
In short this Confederation has near absolute authority in certain key areas of governance and none at all at others (see non economic Judicial for an example). With some time and certain stimulus the various nations would begin to lose their grip in the hearts and minds of the people who will get a certain pride of being part of the greater whole but would that be enough for a fully centralized government or would they say: "it works well enough as it is, don't throw a monkey wrench in there while genocidal aliens are waiting at the corner". In short this Confederation could be seen as the initial concept of the USA but in space, with all of the nations of Earth being member states, with genocidal aliens and plenty of room for colonization.
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
Absalom I took your words to the most experienced political scientist I know, who has decades of experience in U.S. government, world politics, world history, etc and he had this to say: "He (Absolam) has no idea what he is talking about", "The United Nations is an association of nations, not a Confederation." and "His (Absolam's) definition of Confederation is so vague as to be utterly meaningless."Confederations make perfect sense when you're almost completely satisfied with no governing body: the UN could be argued to be a form, and yet it seems to be sort-of useful. They're basically appropriate for when things work fine, but another layer would make it easier to throw poo at the other guy, and argue about whether there should even be curtains in the meeting room in the first place: ignominious, yet appropriate in it's own disappointing way.
He then lamented the current state of public education and that political science degrees are apparently being handed out from cereal box tops.
He's fairly elderly now, forgive him his brusqueness, we all love him for it.
It's a very bad example of a successful version of a Confederation. It failed miserably after a mere four years. In fact I would like to ask anyone who wishes to claim Confederations are good forms of government please provide a real life example of a Confederation which was successful.Assuming that he's American, because it's the only one that all of us actually hear much about.
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
Oh, don't pay me any mind dragoonfa, I'm just throwing my pol-sci knowledge around. I see all the physics buffs talking about advanced mathematics and engineering and I get all jelly.
I cannot wait for the next chapter, awesome story!
I cannot wait for the next chapter, awesome story!
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
The key difference between the Federation and the Confederation is that the Confederation - in fact a union of independent members with some institutes joint management (eg the European Union), and the Federation - a single political unification, in which the administrative units have the big autonomy (the United States, or, for example, Switzerland)
But if we consider the form of government to state, and the some state itself can be called even slipper.
But if we consider the form of government to state, and the some state itself can be called even slipper.
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
Fortunate that he wasn't writing a paper about it, that never would have floated.Grayhome wrote:Absalom I took your words to the most experienced political scientist I know, who has decades of experience in U.S. government, world politics, world history, etc and he had this to say: "He (Absolam) has no idea what he is talking about",
And so too was the US national government under the Articles of Confederation! I question whether it makes any sense to call something a confederation when it is not of such a form. To say that the central government of a group of provinces subservient to a central government is a Confederation, for example, would be highly suspect. Autonomy is the characteristic that most distinguishes the concept of a Confederation from a Federation in the first place. If you go looking for confederations, you find that this characteristic is emblematic of them in all spheres. I likened the UN to a confederation because I have considered this subject before (I used to be hung-up over definitions, so I spent some time trying to nail some of them down).Grayhome wrote:"The United Nations is an association of nations, not a Confederation."
I never provided a definition, of course it was vague. I was talking about what might prompt someone to favor a confederation over other governments. A Confederation is an alliance of autonomous actors who grant authority to a centralized authority for the pursuit of shared interests, while neither ceding the granted authority, nor merging their own government into the central government for the interim (I don't know what type of government you'd have when violating the second of those rules, but it certainly would be a different type of union).Grayhome wrote:"His (Absolam's) definition of Confederation is so vague as to be utterly meaningless."
If you have a better definition, then out with it.
At any rate, I wrote what I did for a reason: you don't create a confederation because you have a serious problem in need of a solution, you do it because you have use for a little more centralization, but don't need (or want) a lot of it (e.g. any sports authority that is granted authority on an ongoing basis by it's constituent teams or leagues, instead of granting authority to those teams or leagues).
As it turns out, I don't have one, and can't be bothered with getting one.Grayhome wrote:He then lamented the current state of public education and that political science degrees are apparently being handed out from cereal box tops.
I'd generally consider an organization that fails to achieve it's aims to be a failure, instead of even a bad example of a success.Grayhome wrote:He's fairly elderly now, forgive him his brusqueness, we all love him for it.
It's a very bad example of a successful version of a Confederation.Assuming that he's American, because it's the only one that all of us actually hear much about.
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
Then I consider you to have no real interest in having an intellectually honest conversation on this topic and I ask that you stop communicating with me.As it turns out, I don't have one, and can't be bothered with getting one.
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
If you're only going to discuss poli-sci matters with people who have or are perusing a degree in it, I would bet you'd need to stop discussing it altogether on these forums. I could be wrong of course, but at the least it'd greatly cut down your list of conversational partners.
Edit: Tangentially, I'd also like to point out that you can't really guarantee that a country that calls itself something fits the proper definition of that thing, in fiction or in reality.
Edit: Tangentially, I'd also like to point out that you can't really guarantee that a country that calls itself something fits the proper definition of that thing, in fiction or in reality.
Atomic Space Race, a hard sci-fi orbital mechanics puzzle game.
Homeworld Fulcrum, a Homeworld Remastered Mod
Homeworld Fulcrum, a Homeworld Remastered Mod
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
A wonderful case in point: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea!Siber wrote: Edit: Tangentially, I'd also like to point out that you can't really guarantee that a country that calls itself something fits the proper definition of that thing, in fiction or in reality.
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
Nah, I'm good Siber.
The academic community is very clear on this subject.
An excellent example of another fascinating topic concerning pseudo-democracies, a type of government which has seen a rise in numbers over the past few decades. While a fascinating topic in and of itself, it doesn't relate to early American government or the Confederate States of America, both of which were Confederations and are used as examples of failed forms of government in history, anthropology, sociology, political science, government classes in the United States.A wonderful case in point: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea!
The academic community is very clear on this subject.
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
"German Democratic Republic", "People's Democratic Republic", ...
"Democratic" in the name usually forespells less democrcy....
Sorry, topic closed.....
"Democratic" in the name usually forespells less democrcy....
Sorry, topic closed.....
The Ur-Quan Masters finally gets a continuation of the story! Late backing possible, click link.
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
A wonderful case in point: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea!
"German Democratic Republic", "People's Democratic Republic", ...
"Democratic" in the name usually forespells less democrcy....
Sorry, topic closed.....
All very true points.Edit: Tangentially, I'd also like to point out that you can't really guarantee that a country that calls itself something fits the proper definition of that thing, in fiction or in reality.
So what?
This conversation is regarding what governments are in reality, not what they claim to be. Specifically confederation governments. The Confederacy and the early U.S. government were both confederation style governments which failed miserably. Either dying off or undergoing such radical revision that they ceased being confederations.
To reiterate the conversation so far has focused on the substance of what a confederation is. The fact that people misname other forms of government has no bearing on it.
Re: [Fan Fiction] The pale horse (Updated: 04/25/2016)
A quick review says the conversation is about relative opinions of Confederations, and only vaguely that. What the substance of one is should be very quick to work out: throw out a few definitions, and see which sticks best.Grayhome wrote:To reiterate the conversation so far has focused on the substance of what a confederation is. The fact that people misname other forms of government has no bearing on it.
A shame that the only one stated to be a scholar of Poli-Sci hasn't posted a definition yet, *hint* *hint*.
Edited in: Also, I don't think most of the forumites are interested, best to get this wrapped up before the next chapter pops.