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"Off-World Excursion, Part 1"
22nd Daas, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity
22nd Daas, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity
We catch up with Attribius as he's contacting a few people. He sees us. "They've just come down together now. Scipio, Rivkah, we have some unexpected news. Scipio, your father has disappeared. He returned to the Flavonius residence and disappeared overnight; no one saw him go, no guards were alerted, no security equipment triggered, forensics investigation found nothing. He's gone."
My husband sits down, his shoulders slumping as he smiles and sighs. "Gone? So... He hasn't stopped us?"
"Correct. No travel restrictions are in place."
He looks at me. "We can go to your fleet."
Attribius raises an eyebrow, then looks at me. "Rivkah, how secure is your fleet? The kidnapper is completely unknown to us, this may be the beginning of a wider plot."
I think it through. The only person I know who could pull this off is Thando. "Gut instinct tells me the kidnapper is my uncle."
Atrribius frowns. "Your uncle? Who? Why?"
"Thando HaMaadimi."
A chill runs through his companions. One of them looks at me. "He's still going?"
"Yep. Married now, they've been trying to have a baby for a few months."
Another looks worried. "Thando HaMaadimi is loose on the streets of Brigantia again?"
I shrug. "Maybe. Mum has been trying to keep him secret. Didn't want any escalations."
Attribius frowns, then rubs his forehead. "The man is an escalation."
I smile. "He's fun. A bit crazy."
Attribius looks at me. "The question is, is Julius still alive."
I shrug. "Probably. But also probably not intact, Thando will want him for information."
Attribius shudders. "We need to talk to your mother."
They probably won't sleep well tonight.
In other news, the new desktop finished downloading Stellaris this morning; gone from over an hour to load the game up with the old laptop by the end (ten years old at least - it had a good run) to five minutes.
So, soon we will be getting some gameplay bits and pieces again.
Yes.
It's ridiculous how much faster it is - I can have 2.5k stars now:
I'm used to leaving it on 5x speed and coping fine, but whole months go past before I get the mouse to the pause button. I may have to start using the spacebar to pause... It'll probably slow down into the late game of course.
Hell. Yeah.
Also, I just want to say that I've been reading this work since February, and I have been consistently floored. And yet Rivkah-Scipio development still made me laugh like a madman (internally). So, good job!
Excellent!
Why didn't Rivkah know about Thando's plan ahead of time? Did Alexandra know? Or was Thando acting completely on his own initiative there?
Why didn't Rivkah know about Thando's plan ahead of time? Did Alexandra know? Or was Thando acting completely on his own initiative there?
Thank you, I really appreciate messages like this.
Completely on his own initiative; partly out of relieving the old days, but also feeling protective of his niece.
Plus, it's an implicit warning against anyone else trying to abuse the situation, knowing that they can slip into the residence of the CEO's brother and kidnap him without a trace less than 24 hours after making himself a target.
"Off-World Excursion, Part 2"
22nd Daas, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity
22nd Daas, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity
Attribius' friends finish quickly, and then it's our turn. He leaves the room. I pull Scipio into my lap.
Mum appears. She smiles. "Enjoying each other?"
I hold out my hand. "Attribius conducted us."
"We'll host a proper celebration when you get back." She looks at Scipio. "And I will teach you a few things you will want to use on him."
"Mum!" I lick Scipio. "We were just going to figure it out on our own."
She laughs. "Ok Rivkah." She straightens up. "Back to matters of the moment. Scipio, your father is with our medical team after he ended up in one of Thando's safehouses on Brigantia. We've been discussing the situation in the light of developments, and he is adamant that he is going to disown you and Appia from the family as soon as he gets out of medical evaluation. Which he's being very uncooperative with considering I interrupted Thando and saved him."
Scipio nods. "He probably finds it suspicious."
Mum yawns. "Yes. Which is inconvenient. We need to talk about your plans... Obviously we are still going to fight Septima. Are you two coming, or do you want to enjoy a honeymoon together?"
I stare blankly. "We have a choice?"
Mum nods. "If nothing else, you two are a very good example of the new MSI-Life2.0 merger. Letting you have a high profile honeymoon has good optics."
Scipio faces me. "None of us are safe until Septima is dealt with. We can have our honeymoon afterwards."
"We could have a day or so though."
He runs his hands on my dress. "I want to get you the finest armour money can buy."
I lick him.
How would Julius disowning Appia affect her position in MSI? How much of her support is due to her family?
So, I'm currently having a little pause while I think through more fully how exactly I envision Olinbari society, and I am currently tweaking an MSI playthrough to mostly fit the narrative to date via the "play (tag)" console command.
It isn't ideal of course, but it's better than nothing.
There's been several interesting events; one planet had the subterranean colony event and there's a Steam age civilisation one system away, and the instability issues remain; this version of Appia has to have 5 Pops (almost 10% of the population) working as Civic Harmony Officers to maintain order, with two colonies suffering severe instability...
It isn't ideal of course, but it's better than nothing.
There's been several interesting events; one planet had the subterranean colony event and there's a Steam age civilisation one system away, and the instability issues remain; this version of Appia has to have 5 Pops (almost 10% of the population) working as Civic Harmony Officers to maintain order, with two colonies suffering severe instability...
That's one of the questions I need clarity on myself. But, almost certainly less badly affected than Scipio is.
"Off-World Excursion, Part 3"
23rd Daas, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity
23rd Daas, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity
Scipio and I lay on a beach listening to the waves, with me in some nice lace bridal wear he picked out before we came here.
After all, with Scipio not yet disowned, we are still free to just explore.
And...
He looks at me. "Rivkah?"
I turn to him. "Yes?"
"You seem... Distant."
I wriggle on our blanket. "It's been an eye-opening experience."
"What has?"
"Clothes shopping here."
"It's so different since my aunt took over, the deal with the Holocron has changed so much. Last time I bought clothes, they were handmade by an Indentured Asset. Now they draw up the design and the machine makes it."
"And straight away it gets into the big difference between MSI and Unity. On Unity, we set up mechanised production lines to make stuff for general usage, with artisanal products being the preserve of a relatively crude barter system. Mum never did get approval to issue a currency to speed up the process of bartering. The Holocron went a step further, as The Archive has the designs for garments, the factories that make the garments, the factories that make the materials for the garments, and the factories that make the factories..."
"But, MSI used Indentured Assets to make stuff, unless we couldn't trust Indentured Assets with it. Which looked like it would cause a lot of problems once reform started."
"Oh?"
"Our whole Consumer Goods production is built on the assumption that essentially only Olinbari use them, and well... We're a minority within MSI in terms of population."
I think it through. "And then the Holocron offers a solution."
He nods. "Suddenly, reform became economically feasible as we could increase production to meet demand."
I realise just how brilliant the Holocron's offer of technical aid was; he's thrown Appia a lifeline through giving her the means to actually make reform economically viable at the price of tying MSI's industrial revolution from slavery to mechanisation to him, and, through can outcompete any individual plutocrat trying to continue the old ways. It makes me smile. "He's got you tied to owing to him now."
Scipio shrugs. "Yeah. Appia had to solve a big problem; entrenched commitments to the old Indentured Asset system from the elite in Olinbari society. Without a means to hold her own against them, she would be trapped, which led to her nationalising some subsidiaries and putting trusted Naval officers in control of those posts by using the threat of you guys invading as a pretext for radical action. That was what Julius was complaining about to her. But, it's not just Appia he's been talking to. He's been making bargains with individual Shareholders, leasing out his technology in exchange for improving the quality of life for former Indentured Assets."
"So, no one minds that he has near-monopoly levels of control?"
He shrugs again. "Better him than the old 'gouge each other for every last scrap of profit' way of doing things." He smiles. "By the sound of it, he's got just as much influence over Life2.0."
I smile, and draw his gaze down. "I'm changing the subject."
Wait, does that imply that MSI wasn't industrialized? If so, is it due to their Roman heritage? Did they just never see a need?
It's a very good thing that the Holocron is benevolent.
It's a very good thing that the Holocron is benevolent.
My conception of MSI has several periods in mind on the subject of industrialisation in the context of Consumer Goods.
Going all the way back to the historical Roman Republic of course, Consumer Goods in period were produced by a spectrum from slave labour through to professional craftsmen, depending on the item, with essentially no automated manufacturing as we know today.
The potential Life2.0 prequel with a working title of The Olinbariad will cover the transition from Human to Proto-Olinbari and the origins of MSI more thoroughly, but summarising, the now extinct Minamari who kidnapped and subsequently modified the Proto-Olinbari had an as yet unidentified reason for utilising slaves captured from Pre-FTL civilisations, and possessed reasonably a high by Stellaris standards of technology. (I'm thinking of maybe going for a twist on the Imperial Fief Origin for the Olinbari, making the Minamari the Imperial Liege who collapses)
After the revolt, the newly free Olinbari use the advanced technologies of their oppressors to mass-produce Consumer Goods, with hand-made goods being seen as luxurious and the preserve of artisans.
Over time as the reasons why the Olinbar formed MSI as the Enlightenment of Pre-FTLs are shifted into history and then myth, non-Olinbar are shifted into these production roles while the Olinbari remain in managerial roles, with mass-production of Consumer Goods being set aside over time. Eventually the Indentured Asset system takes over as profits become more important than lives, and eventually we get to the situation of the present day.
Incidentally, some highlights from the MSI test game:
Life2.0 in this game have done atrociously badly; they've had a revolt and the rebellion is doing better than they are, Naomi is long-gone - to be fair, she'd be over a century on reflection, this game is into the 2260s now - but, I've got an MSI with Skrand Sharpbeak on the first attempt.
Another interesting thing is that the game uses the feminine endings for surnames for Olinbari women, which isn't something I had picked up on from the Human3 namelist I've been getting Olinbari names from, and that the colour scheme has reset away from MSI's colour scheme.
Incidentally, my thoughts on the gameplay now...
I like the regression to Bureaucrats reducing Empire Size again, as opposed to intermediate patches spamming resources instead of improving your gvernment. What's unchanged is that I still prefer the old Administrative Capacity system.
Leader Cap - well, literally the first thing I did when it was introduced was make a mod that made the Cap so high even I couldn't use that many Leaders - Officials are somewhat under-represented as I've had a few deaths/retirements; this game's Appia Flavonius is in her 90s, for example - but, the Scaled Leader Capacity mod is... enough that I'm not finding the Cap as disappointing as I initially did when they introduced the Cap and made you pay them in scaling amounts of Unity, a change that never sat right with me.
Yes; the longer he is left alone, the more existential that liability becomes. Fortunately, his attitude to corrupt shareholders is bribe them to get them to do what he wants. And that...
He's already terraforming Unity into a Gaia world without exactly consulting anyone, and well, that's only the beginning.
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"Appia's Apology"
24th Daas, 10 (2189)
Valerius Albanius
24th Daas, 10 (2189)
Valerius Albanius
A lady's hand taps mine as I doze, not quite fully awake in the morning light."Is this seat taken?"
I look up st the woman. "Appia?"
She smiles. "As always." She sits slowly, her hands holding bandages across her stomach. "Valerius... I wanted to apologise."
"For?"
"She looks at the table. Pauses. Takes a deep breath. "For breaking up with you by sending a recording of me using Naomi. It was extremely vain and selfish, and..."
Well... Yeah... "I wasn't man enough for you."
"To be fair, after her, no man was... But I should have just talked it through, rather than really kicking you in at a really bad time in your life... I'm sorry about the Burrienius syndrome. How is it these days?"
I frown. "Duxanek has had her team reverse engineer the drugs, but the surgery didn't work."
"Oh."
"Depending on if Naomi and Buri show side effects, I'll get reconstructed by the Holocron, and that'll hopefully fix it. But it is back to not being able to feel my legs again."
She sucks in air. "How long have you got?"
"Not sure. It didn't help that Monica beat me into a pulp."
"Monica... The defector?"
"Yes. I do my part running oversight of combat operations for Life2.0, and she broke into my house and used me as a punchbag."
She leans back in her chair. "Valerius?"
I look at her. "Appia?"
"I'm sorry. For everything... I'm sorry I was so terribly selfish when I was younger. Sorry that I used Naomi the way I did. Sorry that I took so long to apologise." She bites her lip. "I want to help, if I can."
I run my eyes across her maskless face. She's gained a few wrinkles, a few creases.
Still beautiful.
Her eyes have changed the most, the last time I saw them in person... Things were different between us. She carries the weight of worlds now, I can see it in her eyes, just like I see it in Naomi's eyes, that duty and a growing love for the world.
I hold out my hand. "I forgive you, Appia."
She takes it, and smiles. "Thank you."
Acknowledge the offense. Explain what happened. Express remorse. Offer to make amends.
I was honestly not expecting Appia to hit all four of the key hallmarks of a good apology, but now I'll confess to underestimating her.
I was honestly not expecting Appia to hit all four of the key hallmarks of a good apology, but now I'll confess to underestimating her.
It's nice to see Appia acknowledge her mistakes and make amends with Valerius.
Poor Valerius. Being used as a punching bag couldn't have been fun.
It's interesting to see Valerius's perspectives on Naomi and Appia's similarities. How many other people have noticed those?
Poor Valerius. Being used as a punching bag couldn't have been fun.
It's interesting to see Valerius's perspectives on Naomi and Appia's similarities. How many other people have noticed those?
"Off-World Excursion, Part 4"
24th Daas, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity
24th Daas, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity
Scipio leads me into a vast shop selling suits of powered armour. Naturally, most are Olinbari/Human sized, but the newest ones on display come in other sizes. Even Xenaya sized. I look at my husband as he walks past the displays purposefully. "I wasn't expecting non-Olinbari suits."
"That's because this is the shop of an armourer so good, they bought out their Indentured Asset contract and started working for themselves. The top-end suits here are beyond Praetorian spec."
I follow him, past a few other people, Olinbari and non-Olinbari, browsing the wares, up to the counter.
It's manned by a Human who looks similar to Li. He looks up at me, then Scipio. Notes we're holding hands.
Scipio clears his throat. "My wife needs a suit of armour, energy credits no object."
The Human's accent isn't like Li's though. "That's fine sir, are you on account?"
"Flavonius."
"Checks out. Your name sir?"
My husband smiles as he looks at me. "Scipio Of Unity. Or Scipio Flavonius, as it'll be on your system."
"Got you." Now he turns to me. "You must be Rivkah Of Unity then."
I smile. He flinches. "One and only."
"He nods, then turns back to Scipio. "How soon?"
Scipio looks at me. "How long do we have?"
"Tomorrow, and we can rejoin the fleet before the crazy lady opens the portal to the Gateway. If we miss that, then we're flexible."
Scipio looks at him. He's rubbing his chin. then turns to the studio behind him. "Tsai Seong-Gye, client wants to open negotiations."
An impressively bearded man - it'sbraids run past halfway down his chest - walks slowly towards us. He's the oldest Human I've ever met. Granted, that doesn't actually say much. He bows. "What can I do for you?"
The attendant passes the order to him. He looks it over, then turns to us. "Come with me."
Scipio follows him, and I follow Scipio.
We enter into a small studio. Scipio leads me to a series of tubes in the middle of the room, then kisses me. "Take your dress off."
I smile. "If you want me to."
"No, I mean, the sensors scan you to put together a model of your body to design the armour for, so you should have only what you'd wear beneath armour."
"Normally, I'd be nude beneath armour."
He laughs. "Rivkah, be serious. We're sorting out a suit of armour, not flirting."
"I know. But on Unity, we do go nude beneath armour as we use this shock-distributing gel stuff beneath the armour segments..." I look at the man. Was it a Korean name? Humans have so many cultures it's hard to keep track... I sigh. "Tsai Seong-Gye, your thoughts?"
"The suit construction does include such a layer, however it is not the gel on top of the skin method. There is an internal pressure suit for astral action, which is what you will actually feel as you wear the suit."
I face my husband as I undress.
"I'm ready."
Scipio positions me in the scanner, with Seong-Gye starting it. Lots of whirring. A few beeps. Scipio adjusts me as it measures every part of me. It takes a little while, but soon Scipio hands me my clothes again.
Scipio looks at him. "So, when will it be ready?"
"It'll take a little longer, as her muscles are such she is strong enough to wear armour that would crush an Olinbar, and that opens options to improve defence. I'm considering a neutronium filament reinforcement, for example."
Scipio raises an eyebrow. "The weight would be..."
"Around a tonne, yes. But your wife is much stronger than you think she is, and the analysis says she can take it."
Scipio looks at me, eyes wide. "How strong are you?"
"I'm 270kg, not quite fully grown yet. My Dad, before being augmented, could lift a automated personal transport above his head. Now, whatever would be difficult for him is too big to pick up. We train for battle at four times standard gravity." I giggle. "There's a reason why I always let you be on top."
Scipio gulps.