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Why did the Warden of Whakaari defect to Emerdon?
Tantomile not being in the vision doesn’t bode well…at all.
And why do I feel like this AAR also ends with the end of days?
Also,I feel like this is going to get even more philosophical than it already has…and you’ve already personified fate and free will.
Also,I feel like Paradox is becoming more and more like the EndoftheCycle.She is becoming what she despises…
Also,why are so many members of the Mihaka family being impersonated?
It will also apparently take until Update 5.1 for Paradox and co to get caught...but Tantomile also has to escape Whakaari first,so…
Why do I get the feeling that imprisoning Tantomile and giving her this "choice" is going to be one of the worst things Emerdon (and the Paradox?) ever managed to do.
Well, I finally found out what "nerve stapling" entails. Somehow I imagined it involving actual staplers. I have to presume Kendra knew about this when she sentenced Elemani there.
Two reasons: first, Akira's team is taking advantage of the Eteka-Kendra romance to get intel out of Eteka, as you just saw in Chapter 4.4. Second, they're easy targets for impersonation and bodysnatching, owing to the Mihaka family being scattered all over the Kingdom and not having regular contact with each other.
For example: None of the characters have noticed that Kuhina Nui Tapu Mihaka's physical appearance changed radically between Chapter 3.8 and 4.1. He was originally described as being a young-ish man with a full head of hair and a clean-shaven face in Chapter 3.8; but in Chapter 4.1 he is now a "very old man with a bald head and long beard." Since Tapu is out of contact with his family frequently, there are very few pictures of him for Eteka and his family to use as a reference. It would only take a little Psionic Manipulation for any hapless Mihaka to completely forget what Tapu looked like or how old he was before he got bodysnatched.
That was a joke about how Paradox seems to be arguing against determinism and the EndoftheCycle seems to be arguing for it (So it is,and so it shall always be vs. No,it isn’t and no,it won’t)
Are Sebakhira and Tantomile going to figure out that it’s Paradox and co in the vision?
Heck,how do we know the vision isn’t a self-fulfilling prophecy?
And I want to see Eteka’s reaction to Mira (who is a Mihaka) being part of Paradox’s team...
Also,I wonder if Paradox and co explain themselves or at least when they’re from?
Hey Everyone, just wanted to let you know this will be the only Chapter I post this week. I'm taking a long weekend to see a big new superhero movie with some friends!!
=============================
November 29, 1928 A.D. The Royal Palace, Partoga City, Kingdom of Partoga
Queen Kendra didn’t want to wake up. She was absurdly comfortable and just wanted to keep sleeping, buried beneath the thick blankets of her bed with her arms wrapped around Eteka’s chest.
Stop shaking me. Kendra thought as someone grabbed her shoulder again. Wake me up when the world is ending.
Whoever was trying to wake up the Queen finally decided to use her boyfriend as leverage. Grumbling and groaning about how it was still dark outside, Eteka reluctantly wriggled free of Kendra’s grip and got up. The Queen suddenly felt quite cold, and finally opened her eye.
Kuhina Nui Tapu Mihaka and Vice Admiral Maui Patariki were both standing over the Queen’s bed, looking panicked.
“Your Majesty, you need to get up, right now!” Maui said, “This is an emergency! Do you have your Command Cards?”
Instinctively, Kendra reached over to the nightstand and scooped up two heavy cards.
“What’s going on?” she asked,
Maui grabbed the Queen by the wrist and pulled her out of bed. Kendra’s nightdress wasn’t meant to protect her from the cold, and she started to shiver immediately.
“Your Majesty,” Maui talked while he removed his own jacket and draped it over the Queen’s shoulders, “Five Levakian missile destroyers exited Hyperspace above the planet just now and have commenced a surface bombardment. We have about ten minutes until the missiles reach the ground!”
Kendra, Eteka, Maui, and Tapu all ran full-tilt to the war room in the basement. Queen Kendra’s bare feet slapped loudly on the tile floor while Eteka pulled a shirt over his head and spoke to his distant cousin at the same time:
“What about Fort Daxia? Why didn’t they stop the enemy from getting so close?”
“Fort Daxia is under attack!” Kuhina Nui Tapu replied. “A Levakian carrier strike group is attacking the installation right now, and the Partoga Defense Fleet moved off to engage them. The homeworld is defenseless!”
“Not necessarily.” Maui said, “The Orbital Defense Network is intact, we can mitigate the damage at best. Seven minutes, Your Majesty!”
Inside the war room, military officers were directing ground-to-space missiles in a frantic effort to defend Partoga City from the Levakian’s orbital assault. Kuhina Nui Tapu pulled his own Command Card from his pocket and scanned it at a computer terminal.
“Your Majesty,” the Kuhina Nui said, “The Levakians are targeting Partoga City deliberately. This is clearly an attempt to kill you and decapitate our government. We must initiate Operation Divine Fury at once!”
Kendra’s eye went wide.
“Are you sure?”
Kuhina Nui Tapu gave Vice Admiral Patariki a look that said “back me up, please.”
The Vice Admiral seemed to trip over his words.
“Your Majesty, the survival of the Kingdom is... it’s... we have to take action!”
A female voice cut across the noise of the war room.
“Your Majesty! It’s urgent!”
Nya Ririnui scampered across the war room. She was panting heavily as though she’d just run a great distance.
“King *gasp* King Admetus just sent you a Hyperwave message via the Partoga-Mangaia hotline!” Nya spluttered, “You’ve got to hear it!”
The Kuhina Nui stepped between Nya and the Queen.
“Your Majesty, we have five minutes left until those missiles get here! We don’t have time to listen to messages!”
When Kendra hesitated, Tapu shot Maui a very stern look, as though the Kuhina Nui was silently scolding the Admiral for not vocally supporting him. Eteka put a hand on Kendra’s shoulder.
“You said you wanted to diffuse the crisis, right?” he said, “This might be your only chance, Kendra!”
The Queen made up her mind in a moment.
“Gentlemen, I’m going to hear that message.”
Kuhina Nui Tapu looked very angry and he groaned loudly.
“Your Majesty, you’re wasting your own time! We have to launch the Planet-Killers now!”
A shocked look came over Eteka’s face, but Kendra had already turned to the computer terminal. She pulled the Kuhina Nui’s command card out of the slot and inserted her own.
Sys/ hyperwave communication system online... please select FTL comms target...
Cmd_usr/ Replay last message addressed to Kendra, Queen of Partoga
Sys/ standby for playback...
The computer screen went blank for just a second, and Kendra saw a reflection of her Kuhina Nui and Vice Admiral Patariki looking at each other nervously. Kuhina Nui Tapu started to reach out towards the top of Kendra’s head with one hand, but before he could touch the Queen, Nya shouted at the top of her lungs!
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”
Silence fell in the war room and nearly 70 pairs of eyes suddenly locked onto Kuhina Nui Mihaka. Vice Admiral Patariki grabbed the Kuhina Nui’s arm and forced it back to his side, saying loudly:
“What the hell is wrong with you!?”
While the Kuhina Nui and Vice Admiral stared angrily at each other, Kendra turned up the volume on her computer as a golden-brown Levakian appeared on the screen. King Admetus spoke:
“Your Majesty, by now you are aware that my government has launched a limited orbital bombardment against the Partogan Capitol. The missiles have been aimed at very specific targets to ensure minimal damage to Partoga City, its civilian population, and even your military assets. I assure you, Your Majesty, that despite its surprising nature, this is a token attack that will have little in the way of serious consequences. I have gone behind the backs of my fellows and ordered this minimalist attack without their knowledge or consent. The other six members of the Levakian Confederate Council currently think I am ordering a large-scale nuclear strike that will wipe Partoga City off the face of the planet.
“There is no way to make an orbital bombardment palatable, Your Majesty, but I have done my best. I have targeted your least valuable and most expendable military assets in and around Partoga City. There is, however, a 5-Kiloton nuclear warhead on its way to Partoga City Spaceport. The target is symbolic since this is the spaceport from which you would flee the planet. I know you aren’t going to do that.
“I’m giving you this reprieve, Your Majesty, in the hopes you will do the same for us. There are many Levakians, myself included, who did not want this war to happen and are opposed, in one way or another, to the Confederate Council’s insurrection against you. We have to the best of our ability, resisted and undermined the Confederate Council’s war effort, but we have finally gotten to the point where we can no longer prevent or interdict large-scale assaults that could inflict great destruction and loss of life. I cannot emphasize this enough: The Pro-Partogan resistance in Levakian territory is no longer combat-effective. We cannot prevent any more escalations.
“I beg you, Your Majesty, use this escape I have given you wisely. The Confederate Council is preparing a large-scale general offensive against Partogan tactical and strategic targets. This offensive is aimed at the homeworld itself, striking first at the Rakinui Sector to draw your forces away. The end goal is death and destruction. I have no doubt that if it is successful, you will be forced to respond in kind, an act that could destroy both of our nations.
“Please, I beg you not to retaliate massively to these new attacks, Your Majesty. There is still hope for a peaceful resolution. My comrades and I are working as best we can to help you... This is what Empress Tantomile would have wanted. I hope you can have the same faith in us as we do in you. Goodbye, good luck.”
The screen went blank. Queen Kendra turned around to face Eteka, Maui, Nya, and Tapu.
“How long do we have until impact?” she asked.
“Two minutes.” the Kuhina Nui said. He reached past Kendra and slid his Command Card into the computer once again. “Your Majesty, we have to launch the Planet-Killers now before we get hit!”
Kendra’s heart was threatening to beat out of her chest. She was sweating in her nightdress, her bare feet sliding on the floor. She looked up at Kuhina Nui Tapu with her eye as wide as can be.
“Mihaka, you think Admetus was being genuine?”
“What difference does it make!?” Tapu yelled, “We’re under attack!”
The Queen redirected her gaze to Vice Admiral Patariki. She was feeling incredibly conflicted and stumbled over her words:
“Admetus... he meant it? Right? He’s genuine... Right?”
Queen Kendra stared hard into Patariki’s eyes, and he stared into hers in return. She saw something stirring in the Admiral’s eyes, a complex symphony of emotions and thoughts that she’d only seen in two or three people before.
“Your Majesty, we have forty-five seconds!” Kuhina Nui Tapu shouted.
Queen Kendra grabbed the Admiral by both shoulders and pulled him closer. Somehow, having someone, anyone at all physically close by made Kendra feel just a little calmer. Kendra’s forehead could have gently touched that of Vice Admiral Patariki.
“He was genuine... right?” The Queen gasped.
Maui grabbed Kendra’s hand with both of his.
“I-I-I... I think there’s a chance... a hope.” Maui said quietly.
“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND RIGHT NOW!!!” Tapu Mihaka yelled at the top of his voice, grabbing the Vice Admiral and forcing him to let go of the Queen. But before he could say anything else, an earsplittingly-loud alarm overpowered everyone in the war room!
“Ten seconds to impact!” someone yelled, “Take cover!”
Nya lunged forward and tackled Queen Kendra to the floor! The Acolyte pressed her body down on Kendra and held her tightly to the floor as entire Royal Palace began to shake and tremor violently! Like a hellish earthquake, the war room rattled and shook. Computers fell to the floor, a wall crumbled, debris fell from the ceiling!
The chaotic sounds of rumbling ground were quickly replaced by pained yelling and screaming. Nearly two dozen people had been buried in rubble and were crying out for help. When Kendra tried to stand up, she felt Nya shifting above her.
“Are you okay?” Nya asked,
“Yeah, you?”
“I think so.”
Looking around, Kendra saw that Vice Admiral Patariki was helping Eteka back to his feet. Eteka pointed at something just out of her line of sight.
“They overshot!” Eteka choked, “Missed the Spaceport and hit Wanaka!”
Looking around, Kendra saw that one of the far walls had collapsed, along with most of the southern façade of the Royal Palace, giving her an unobstructed view of Partoga City and the massive column of smoke and flame rising above it. The screaming of panicked civilians and wailing of sirens wormed their way into the Queen’s ears.
“What kind of damage are we talking about here?” Kendra asked the room at large.
A Royal Army soldier stood up on the wreckage of a table and looked out of the hole in the Royal Palace’s wall. Kendra watched silently as the soldier scanned the nuclear mushroom cloud rising above the southern part of Partoga City, illuminated from below by city lights and the blazing inferno at its base.
“The nuke missed the Spaceport by almost twenty Kios.” the soldier said cautiously, “The fireball took out most of the West Wanaka District, and the shockwave rolled all the way up to Old Town. I-I... uh... Oh, holy Miranda... I think a hundred-thousand people just died!”
For a moment, Kendra froze in place. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Fortunately, she was quickly spurred back into action by Vice Admiral Patariki grabbing her by the shoulder.
“Your Majesty, the Palace is no longer safe.” he said, “We need to relocate you to Fort Miranda at once.”
Kendra saw Levakian missiles beginning to rain down on Partoga City. The distant non-nuclear explosions sounded like thunderclaps. The noise of the bombardment brought her back to her senses.
“Right,” Kendra said. “Admiral, I want the entire government and National Assembly moved to Fort Miranda. I’ll take command from there. Where’s the Kuhina Nui?”
When she turned around to face back into the ruins of the war room, Queen Kendra saw that Nya and Eteka were digging through the rubble and debris with their bare hands.
“He’s down here somewhere!” Eteka gasped, “Come on, Tapu! Don’t quit on me!”
Vice Admiral Patariki picked Eteka up by the scruff of the neck and forced him to stand upright.
“Saving the Queen is our highest priority now. Get her to the landing pad and take off for Fort Miranda, right now! I’ll send you an escort and follow behind on the next transport. Go!”
Kendra, Eteka, and Nya fled. Nearly a dozen Royal Army soldiers followed them out of the Royal Palace and onto a landing pad where an Ambassador Corvette was waiting for them. The Queen’s Royal Star Yacht was dashed against a far wall, looking as though it had been thrown by a child having a tantrum. As Kendra scrambled up the ramp, she looked around at her escorts and yelled,
“Who knows how to fly this thing!?”
All of the Royal Army soldiers looked at one another and shrugged.
“Your Majesty, we’re just grunts.” One of them said.
Nya shoved her way past him, saying:
“Outta my way. I’ll fly it!”
Kendra and Eteka stared at Nya, dumbfounded.
“Where the hell did you learn to fly an Ambassador Corvette?” Eteka said,
Nya wrenched the cockpit door open and said,
“My dad was a smuggler. Flew a Vako Nui-class Corvette along the Partoga-Micore route, hauling rare minerals. He taught me to fly before the law caught up with him, and this ship is just a Vako Nui with the guns removed. I can fly it! Everyone get in the back and strap yourselves in!”
The rear area of the Ambassador Corvette was given over to a small conference room where alien guests could have diplomatic meetings. Kendra sat at the head of the table, not because she was the Queen, but because it gave her the best view of the cockpit. Nya was flipping switches and pushing buttons as she brought the spacecraft to life, talking to herself the whole way:
“Hydraulic systems green, Retros green, guidance system green. Main engine startup. Sensors manager... Hyperspace module... oh, wait... this thing doesn’t have one. Okay... wow, if Dad could see me now!”
The Ambassador Corvette shuddered gently as its engines fired up. Kendra reached over to her right and gripped Eteka’s hand tightly.
“And... gently now...” Nya said, “Up we go!”
The ship lifted off from the landing pad and slowly rose into the air, spinning clockwise until the Unnamed Mountain appeared on the right side of the cockpit’s viewscreen.
“Horizontal thrust!” Nya said, and she began pushing the throttles forward.
The Ambassador Corvette flew forward at the lowest possible altitude, hiding amongst the skyscrapers of Partoga City while missiles continued to rain down upon the metropolis. Below everyone’s feet, there was a loud scraping noise as the underbelly of the Corvette scraped the roof of a high-rise building!
“Hey, Acolyte!” one of the soldiers yelled, “I thought you said you know how to fly!?”
“I never said I was any good at it!” Nya retorted,
No sooner was the Royal Palace left behind than a loud alarm began blaring from the cockpit.
“Nya!” Kendra yelled, “What’s going on!?”
“Someone target-locked us!” Nya shouted, “Hang on!”
Nya banked hard, forcing the ship into a very sharp turn and threading itself between two skyscrapers. As soon as it emerged from the other side, Nya pressed the “countermeasures” button with her thumb. The Corvette expelled from its belly a huge cloud of tiny metal fibers. Caught in the ship’s exhaust the chaff swirled around in the air like a snow squall.
Then Nya banked hard in the opposing direction, trying to shake off whoever was shooting at the Ambassador Corvette. She misjudged her angle, and the rear end of the ship collided with Mihaka Tower! Concrete and steel gave way before the Corvette’s armor, and the ship tore through the building! Kendra, Eteka, and their soldier escorts clutched onto the conference table for dear life as the force of the impact threatened to throw everyone out of their seats!
“NYA!” Eteka shouted, “DID YOU JUST HIT MY FAMILY’S BUILDING!?”
“Sorry!” Nya called back from the cockpit.
“We’ll send you the bill!” Eteka retorted.
“My family’s debt was absolved!” Nya shot back. “Take it up with the Church!”
Leaving Old Town behind, the sky in front of the Corvette suddenly became clear. Bright city lights lit the way ahead like a brilliant sparkling road, while the silhouette of the Unnamed Mountain was just barely visible on the dark horizon.
“One hour and forty minutes until Fort Miranda!” Nya reported. “And the Levakians have broken contact with us. We’re in the clear!”
A strangled cheer went up all around the little conference room before and uncomfortable silence fell across the room. Everyone was thinking about the attack they had just survived, and about how many people had not survived it.
“I just wanna say.” Eteka broke the silence. “Thank the Mountain for Nya. We would have been hosed back there, otherwise.”
Kendra slumped back in her seat and exhaled.
“I think we’re still hosed, Eteka.” she said, “The biggest city in the Kingdom just got nuked.”
…
November 30, 1928 A.D. Fort Miranda, Southern Ridge of Archer’s Canyon, Kingdom of Partoga
It was just past midnight when the Ambassador Corvette finally arrived at Fort Miranda. Even in the darkness of night, the installation stood out to Kendra and her companions. The high walls which surrounded the compound bore the scars of recent attacks, while Royal Army fighter craft patrolled around the outer perimeter.
The cantonment area of Fort Miranda was like a small city planted in the middle of nowhere, with only one road going in or out. Queen Kendra tried to peek out of the cockpit window to see where Nya was going to land the Corvette, but it was too dark.
“This feels so strange...” Nya commented. “Doing an instrument-only landing at night with no one waiting to arrest me on the landing pad.”
Once the Ambassador Corvette had landed, Kendra realized that she was still barely dressed. She had lost the Kuhina Nui’s jacket during the scramble to escape from the Royal Palace, and was now wearing only her nightdress. Even her eyepatch was missing, allowing cold air to sting her old war injury. The only possessions Kendra still had were her military Command Cards and the Whetu Kārerarera, which was currently resting in one of the pockets of Kendra’s nightdress. Eteka lowered the boarding ramp and then came back to the Queen.
“It’s snowing really badly outside.” he said. “Take these.”
Eteka pulled off his own coat and boots, passing them to Kendra. They were far too big for her, but still better than nothing. Bundled up as best she could, the Queen stepped out into the frigid night air.
A large group of soldiers, civilians, and government workers ran out of the Command Center to greet the Queen. A short, stocky man wearing an odd-looking uniform and projecting a threatening aura broke off from the group and bowed to the Queen, saying:
“Your Majesty, I’m so happy to see that you’re safe. My name is Toa Nanui Ehau.”
“I know you.” Kendra said, shaking the man’s hand. “You were the Warden of Whakaari Prison before this whole fight started, right? How long have you been here at Fort Miranda?”
“Since the beginning of the month.” Toa Nanui replied. We lost control of Whakaari Prison the same day the Levakians made off with the Royal Navy’s ships. It was a huge disappointment.”
Toa Nanui led Kendra into the Command Center, a huge reinforced structure that seemed to be more below ground than above it.
“Don’t worry, Toa.” The Queen said. “We’ll get the prison back before long. We’ll need somewhere to put all of those rebels who survive this fight.”
Toa Nanui thanked Kendra and stepped away, allowing her to head downstairs.
Fort Miranda’s Mission Control room put the Royal Palace’s war room to shame. Staffed by nearly three hundred people and filled to bursting with computer banks, the Mission Control room was a very busy place. Three out of four walls were lined with maps of star systems, other planets, and Partoga itself. The entire fourth wall was a gigantic digital screen, divided up into sections. Each section displayed something different, like news footage of the attack on Partoga City, a sensor readout of enemy fleet movements, a detailed list of weapon systems, and so on.
While Kendra spent the next half-hour or so exploring the Mission Control room and getting caught up on what was happening, Eteka entered the room wearing a borrowed PRN uniform.
“Vice Admiral Patariki’s almost here.” Eteka told Kendra. “He’s got a bunch of people from the Royal Palace with him.”
“My mom?” Kendra said at once. Eteka shook his head.
“I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
…
Vice Admiral Patariki arrived about half an hour after Kendra did. The Queen raced out to the landing pad to see if her mother was among the new arrivals. Several other people also came out to the pad to search for lost friends and loved ones. Princess Aku Mihaka and her daughter Kaio screamed a man’s name desperately, but no one answered and the pair left, crying loudly. Several National Assembly members, military leaders, and Palace workers disembarked from his ship, but there was no sign of Angiangi. Realizing her mother wasn’t aboard, Kendra tried to mask her disappointment while Maui approached her.
“You’re alive! Thank goodness!” The Vice Admiral said, “I’m sorry to say your Kuhina Nui is badly injured. They’re taking him to the on-post hospital now.”
“Eteka will be glad to know Tapu’s okay.” The Queen said. “Right now, we need to work on a response to that attack.”
The Queen led her Admiral down into the Mission Control room. As they walked, Kendra noticed that Vice Admiral Patariki had a troubled expression on his face. He seemed to be wrestling with a huge decision. When Kendra opened the door to the Mission Control room and offered to let Maui go in first, he refused. The Admiral reached forward and gently shut the door, leaving himself and Queen Kendra alone in the hallway.
“I need to ask you something, Your Majesty.” Maui said. “I need to make a choice in the next few minutes, and I need advice.”
“Uhm... okay.” Kendra said cautiously.
Vice Admiral Patariki pressed both of his hands to his head.
“Your Majesty... just bear with me, please. It’s a hypothetical scenario...”
To be honest, Kendra really didn’t have time to discuss hypotheticals, but she could see the commander of the Partogan Royal Navy was deeply conflicted about something.
“Okay, go ahead.”
Vice Admiral Patariki took a deep breath.
“Imagine that a friend of yours told a lie to the one person you loved more than anyone else.” he started, “And then that friend asked you to help them maintain the lie, saying that it was all for the greater good... but you were scared that by keeping the lie, you’d hurt the person you loved most... If you suddenly had to... had to choose...”
Maui stopped talking, his voice choked. Kendra could tell he was talking about himself.
“I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
The Queen reached up and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Admiral Patariki,” the Queen said, “I don’t know your whole story, and I can’t solve your personal problem for you right now... there’s a war on. But just for now, let me tell you a story my mother told me: Her husband, my father, got an order from the Royal government to leave home for an assignment a few days before I was born. He was so embarrassed at having to miss my birth, and he thought my mom would get angry at him for choosing duty over his own daughter. So, he decided to hide the truth from my mom. He didn’t tell her about the assignment, and then he just vanished the day she went into labor.
“The day I was born was the worst day of my mother’s life. The father of her child had gone missing and she was terrified something horrible had happened to him. She was all alone at such an important moment, thinking she’d been abandoned, or worse. When he came back a few days later, she punched him in the face three times!”
Queen Kendra giggled at that part. Vice Admiral Patariki’s cheek twitched.
“After that, he told my mom everything, about the assignment and how he hid it from her because he was scared of how she’d react. It took a few days, but mom forgave him... and my dad swore to never lie to her again... or to me.”
Kendra stared hard into the Admiral’s eyes, which were welling up with a few manly tears.
“Never,” said Kendra, “Never ever lie to your loved one for someone else’s benefit, Maui. Wife, child, parent. It doesn’t matter who. You can only hurt that person, and it’ll make them hurt you back. If you really have a friend who is asking you to deceive someone you love... then you need to seriously think about who and what your friends are.”
Vice Admiral Patariki was clearly on the verge of tears. He bit his knuckles and inhaled sharply, leaning against a wall for support. Kendra opened the Mission Control room doors again.
“Take a moment to get your thoughts straight.” she said. “Then get in here. We’ve got a war to fight.”
Queen Kendra re-entered the Mission Control room. Eteka and Nya pointed her to a group of officers who were waiting to give their report on the Levakian’s orbital bombardment of Partoga City. Kendra spent about fifteen minutes talking with the soldiers when a hand clasped onto her shoulder. Looking around, Kendra saw Vice Admiral Patariki was standing next to her. He was breathing heavily and had a look of newfound determination and purpose on his face.
“Glad to have you back, Admiral.” Kendra said. “We need to mobilize whatever military assets we have on the planet surface and hit the rebels in The Mangaia. We were just drawing up a list of targets and objectives. You have any in mind?”
The Vice Admiral leaned down and whispered in the Queen’s ear:
Oh,come on!I don’t want to have to wait a week to have that cliffhanger resolved!
Also,why did I have a feeling you were posting today even though you explicitly denied it earlier?
Wait,how does Vice Admiral Patariki know where Tantomile is??
Are Sebakhira and Tantomile going to figure out that it’s Paradox and co in the vision?
Heck,how do we know the vision isn’t a self-fulfilling prophecy?
And I want to see Eteka’s reaction to Mira (who is a Mihaka) being part of Paradox’s team...
Also,I wonder if Paradox and co explain themselves or at least when they’re from?
Edit: You also asked: Are Sebakhira and Tantomile going to figure out that it’s Paradox and co in the vision?
Heck,how do we know the vision isn’t a self-fulfilling prophecy?
And I want to see Eteka’s reaction to Mira (who is a Mihaka) being part of Paradox’s team...
Also,I wonder if Paradox and co explain themselves or at least when they’re from?
Answers are:
One of them will. The other will not.
We don't know.
You might have to wait for Chapter Five.
Looking a lot less likely thanks to the stunt Vice Admiral Patariki just pulled.
Fine.I’ll just reread the whole thing (both books).
And I’ll also write down the AAR ideas that I have.
Also,Imperator comes out Thursday…I’ll play some of that.
Speaking of Thursday,why can’t you post then?Endgame comes out on Friday.
Maybe. We're going to marathon the last few Marvel movies over here on Thursday. Black Panther, Thor Ragnarok, and Infinity War all in one very long afternoon/evening. If I find the time, 4.6 might go up in the early morning. Otherwise I'll just wait until next Monday.
Oh, and another thought on cliffhangers - you should really check up on some of @Storey 's old work @Macavity116 if you like cliffhangers. That guy was an absolute master of them.
“Imagine that a friend of yours told a lie to the one person you loved more than anyone else.” he started, “And then that friend asked you to help them maintain the lie, saying that it was all for the greater good... but you were scared that by keeping the lie, you’d hurt the person you loved most... If you suddenly had to... had to choose...”
@Macavity116 said:The entire fourth wall was a gigantic digital screen.
Is this a pun?
@Eteka how would you react if certain members of your family were being impersonated?
@Tantomile what's your plan for getting out of Whakaari Prison???
@QueenKendra will you launch Divine Fury,in full or in part?
What chapter are we getting the backstories of the other members of Paradox's team?Interlude 4?Chapter 5.5?
Also,line the End of the Cycle should totally use:"I am become death,destroyer of worlds".Just saying.
Also,I can't wait until Interlude 4...I want to read about the Battle at the End of Time...Also,will that event get mentioned in the main story?
Also,you mentioned something about Chapter 4.8 being bad for Paradox and co...I wonder if they get caught then...
Also,c.61% of my posts have been in this thread.Wow,just wow.
Oh, and another thought on cliffhangers - you should really check up on some of @Storey's old work @Macavity116 if you like cliffhangers. That guy was an absolute master of them.
I've been meditating for... what? Three weeks? Yes, it's been about three weeks....And I can't get my powers to come out. This is really frustrating 'cause my whole escape plan depends on me being able to disorient people telepathically. I'm getting kinda desperate out here. If my powers don't come in soon, I'm gonna be in a lot of trouble. Figure something out soon, Tantomile. The lions making propaganda films over here are getting frustrated with me. Your voice is really hard to copy, regardless of how many guns are pointing at me.
**Please note, the Psionic Link between Tantomile and Sebakhira is still intact. Sebakhira (Pink text, Book Antiqua font) will occasionally join in Tantomile's answers until either the Link is broken or the story ends, whichever happens first.
No! If Tantomile's alive and the Confederate Council isn't unified, then there's still a chance to turn this war off before things get too hot! We have to take every chance we can get to stop another escalation.
I really... really... REALLY wanted to have a chapter dedicated entirely to the backstories of Akira's teammates. The original plan was to have a series of "contact stories." Basically, they were going to be short little vignettes that showed the moment when Akira made contact with each teammate for the first time. I wrote Contact Stories for Whetu, Hakara, and Yukiko before I ended up cutting the whole thing out because I couldn't find an appropriate place to put it in the story.
Sadly, the only backstories you'll see for Akira's teammates going forward will be in the main story now. I personally loved the Contact Stories, I just couldn't find a way to implement them in this AAR without derailing the main story. Things were getting too cluttered.
However, I did save the Contact Stories for Whetu, Hakara, and Yukiko, so I might revisit the idea during the break between Chapter 5.5 and Chapter Six. (It's going to be a very long break, almost a month long.)
In an odd way... the aftermath of the battle just got referenced in Chapter 4.5.
Did you notice Akira's teammates have been screwing up noticeably across the past dozen chapters or so? And that Manaaki Ranginui nearly gave himself away without thinking in Chapter 4.5?
If the Battle at the End of Time went poorly for Akira's team... a disaster like that would affect their unit cohesion and unity... in a bad way.
I really... really... REALLY wanted to have a chapter dedicated entirely to the backstories of Akira's teammates. The original plan was to have a series of "contact stories." Basically, they were going to be short little vignettes that showed the moment when Akira made contact with each teammate for the first time. I wrote Contact Stories for Whetu, Hakara, and Yukiko before I ended up cutting the whole thing out because I couldn't find an appropriate place to put it in the story.
Sadly, the only backstories you'll see for Akira's teammates going forward will be in the main story now. I personally loved the Contact Stories, I just couldn't find a way to implement them in this AAR without derailing the main story. Things were getting too cluttered.
However, I did save the Contact Stories for Whetu, Hakara, and Yukiko, so I might revisit the idea during the break between Chapter 5.5 and Chapter Six. (It's going to be a very long break, almost a month long.)
Hmm...that would be interesting...
Also,by my calculations,that break would be more than a month long.This is because,regardless of whether or not you post Thursday,Chapter 5.5 would come out in one of the last 2 weeks of May,and you’ve previously said that the AAR would be finished by July at the earliest...
Also,I want to see extremely paranoid Eteka.
@QueenKendra If you could,would you launch a rescue mission for Tantomile?
Also,why is Sebakhira still helping Tantomile?Didn’t Tantomile kill her King and kidnap her?
Sebakhira has decided that the current crisis (plus the Paradox being active in it) has overridden her own personal concerns and reservations. Sebakhira hasn't forgotten Tantomile's previous transgressions against her, but she's willing to let them go for the moment.
A wikipedia-esque infobox?Are you going multimedia?
Also,interestingly,The Midak entered Earth orbit for the first time on my [REDACTED] birthday...
And when Paradox is caught,I totally want to hear her justification?
Also,why did Paradox work against the Stormbreakers during the War in Heaven?Because they attacked her first?
And the Nietzche vibes are still "strong with this one".
If the picture I need does not exist, I must create it. - Its a simple rule for my AAR, but quite unbreakable.
Yes. It entirely has to do with the Stormbreakers shooting first. This won't happen if the Levakians don't tip them off in advance. Akira is the daughter of two Stormbreakers, after all. Blake and Chihiro would be willing to hear what Akira has to say if someone doesn't taint their minds against her first.
What Paradox and co should totally tell our protagonists:You will find it is you who are mistaken…about a great many things…
@Tantomile (and Sebakhira) what would you do if Queen Kendra tried to rescue you? Also,what if Paradox had good intentions?Why would you do with her?
