Spoiler: Persuasion Roll D100: 65+15=80 (Pass) The three representatives look amongst each other, before Verskaya nods. "You make good points, my lady. Perhaps something might be worked out. But there would have to be some assurances, some way of guaranteeing that the abuses our planet suffered never happen again."
Victoriana sends him a message stating that a shuttle and marine escort has been prepared for him, for when he's ready to go. She's been in command while he was asleep, so there's nothing he has to do on that end. Looking in his closet, Xavier finds a beautiful uniform ready for him, more extravagant than any of his own, probably a gift from his brother.
Spoiler: Psionic Roll D100: 95+15 (Order of Sorcerers)=110 (Crit) Heading down, she finds most of her disciples on the way, and one in the courtyard itself. It takes hours of practice, but she begins to get a handle on the technique, and feels confident that she can hide her psionic presence on command. It'll take time to perfect, but she's confident that she can avoid the passive detection from most psionics, and has a good chance of avoiding specific searches. The disciples are surprisingly all quite easy to teach, and learn the skill without issue, especially Verner, whose motivation leads him to gaining almost as much skill in the technique as his mistress. (Gain trait Psionic Cloak - Immunity to any passive psionic sensing, and +15 to any psionic detection save. Applies to henchmen.)
"Samodiva? No, I've only been to three planets, my father's, my late husband's, and this one." The blush fades as she mentions her late husband, and she seems to grow a little sad.
"Hrrgh." The governor sighs. "Don't blame me for this, lady. I'm just trying to keep order since those lunatics took over." He looks out the window, at the city and the ice wall at its edge. "Pirates, aggressive wildlife, mining problems, a hostile climate, and now a bloody cult... What did I do to deserve a planet like this?"
Spoiler: Persuasion Roll D100: 96+15 (Demagogue)=111 (Crit) As Elena makes her arguments, she sees the admiral's expression change, her arguments about abandoning the other fleets in particular having the most effect. He nods. "You're right, sister. Our duties don't end, just because we've been on a hard mission. I'll send a message refusing the appointment to the Prendergast Sector, and get the admiralty to assign the 3rd Fleet to your crusade."
Eanne gently put her hand on Sitra's and squeezed reassuringly. “I'm sorry, I did not mean to make you sad. I was just wondering if you would like to visit Samodiva. There are some truly beautiful sights to see – I am sure you will find at least a few you will like. And there are some nice isolated locations where I can give you the dancing lessons I mentioned without anyone disturbing us, so you can practice without worry.” She gave the young woman a warm smile, not yet letting go of her hand.
"Good job everyone. You can have the rest of the day off, aside from Jeryn, Rikkert, and Alexandros of course." Vizelle cooed, figuring Jeryn will be heading out to gather intel on the next crime boss. While Rikkert, and Alexadros will be sparring for the right to ask for a reward. Meanwhile she decides to meet the emperor and see what other tasks she could do.
"Oh, I see. We barely know each other. Are you sure?" She looks at Eanne for a little while, quietly. Spoiler: Persuasion Roll D100=78+15=93 (Crit) Her pensive look turns into a bright smile, as she looks back at Eanne. "I'd love to visit your world! I've been bored here, truth be told, so spending some time with you sounds lovely. I mean, spending some time on your planet..."
The disciples all get to work or to go rest, while Vizelle is escorted to a large office filled with various screens and data holograms, where she sees Emperor Carius examining some statistics. He turns and greets the sorceress with a smile. "Ah, Vizelle, good to see you again so soon. Yes, there's still much work to be done." He brings up a holographic display: Missions (Pick one): - The Invasion of Ietra: The Eternal Empire to the galactic north of the Terrans is a truly massive, Kafkaesque blob of systems. It's imperial family is no different, with thousands of squabbling minor princes, all with titles but few with actual power. One of these princes has seemingly had enough of being a nobody, and has launched a campaign to conquer the 6 inhabited planets of the Ietra system, part of the Terran Empire, for himself, seeing Carius as too weak to defend his territory. The Terran armies and fleets in the region fight against the invaders, but are being battered and request additional help - The Gates of the Warp: Seeing the previous emperor's death as an opportunity, a demon worshiping cult has opened a gate to the warp on an important agri world, threatening to overwhelm the region in a demon invasion. The Inquisition requests aid in closing the gates. - Corruption on Constantinopolis: The recent murder of a government figure in the capital has exposed the existence of a government corruption ring. One or more high powered officials have been embezzling large sums of money, and they're clearly willing to kill to evade justice. These criminals must be exposed and brought to justice. - White Noise: Explorers from the Research Institute recently reported the discovery of a previously undiscovered planet. The planet is an enigma, scan after scan revealing that it has well maintained infrastructure and manufacturing centers, enough to support a population of billions. The scans, however, show no sign of a single living person on the planet. Soon after sending their report, the explorers went missing without a trace. This has alarmed many, but the planet is simply too valuable to just ignore. The Research Institute has asked for aid in sending a larger expedition to the planet. - Death and Taxes: The Empire's financial system is currently a mess. It's not the most exciting job, but helping the emperor set the new tax rate could be very useful to the Empire. - The Mutiny of Haephestus: One of the largest and most productive planets in the Terran Empire, Haephestus has declared itself to be an autonomous and independent republic. No violence has occurred as of yet, but each passing moment brings the rebels and the Empire closer towards a clash. The rebellion must be persuaded to lay down their arms, or crushed, before their treacherous beliefs can spread to other systems. - Heresy on Lave V: On a well populated world, not far from Terra, the population have cut all ties with the Holy Mother Church, and declared their leader, a mage and former priestess of the church, to be the avatar of the love godess. The new government has pledged its allegiance to the Terran Empire, and claims to want to simply go about its new religion in peace, though they've already sent missionaries to other systems to try and convert them. The church, has requested aid in either convincing the heretics to abandon their false beliefs, or purging them. -The Automatons: In the fringes of galactic space, an army has begun to attack human space, an army made up not of humans, or even of aliens, but of a group of ancient and powerful AI. The military and the Research Institute could use assistance in dealing with this threat. - Stay Quiet for now: It might be beneficial to not take any mission for now, and merely focus on familiarising yourself with the Imperial Court, it's people and its pleasures She notes that the Death and Taxes, Mutiny on Haephestus, Invasion of Ietra and Heresy on Lave V missions already have a person assigned to them, though she could potentially join in late. She notices that in the time she was gone, another mission has been added: - Crew Expendable: In space above the capital, the Byzantion Space Defence Station, and the fleet of newly arrived council member Xavier Von Azurrose, have had problems with an infestation of spider-like aliens that mysteriously seem to have been smuggled in food containers. The aliens themselves must be promptly exterminated, and more importantly it must be investigated how exactly the creatures got on board.
“Wonderful! I look forward to it!” Eanne smiled happily. She made note of Sitra's little slip of the tongue, but did not mention it. “Though I am afraid it will be a while before I can go back home. I need to finish my current task first, and meeting with your father was just the first part of it. There are a few more people I have to meet with, and possibly deal with any other issues that come up...” Her expression turned serious as she explained, before smiling again “but that's not important right now. I don't want to bore you, so lets not talk about work. You said you've been bored. Is there really nothing and no one that has caught your interest?”
"Good day, your majesty." Vizelle does a curtsy, discreetly lifting the already short skirt of her dress. Letting only the emperor see her jiggling breasts, and leotard covered crotch. "I see, then let me provide my assisstance then." She said with a smile, examining the available missions. "Hmm." Since the other missions have been taken, and I can't quite risk being away for long. "This new mission, do we have any other information on it?"
"Not really, to be honest. I've been mostly going to high society parties on my father's behalf lately." She sighs. "The same people talking about the same things, over and over. I've listening to Amara's stories, though, those are fun." She perks up a little. "She's been on a bunch of adventures across the galaxy. Kind of makes me wish that I'd joined the navy too." She chuckles. "I'd have been terrible at it, though."
The emperor blushes again as she shows off her body, but Vizelle notes that he's not quite as hesitant to look as he was the last few times. "I-uh, yes, yes there is. Apparently the aliens were smuggled aboard Byzantion Space Station and the ships of the Centauri fleet, hidden in crates of food. They took over a patrol craft, and tried to ram it into the bridge of the Centauri flagship, so clearly they have some level of intelligence. Luckily, Admiral Azurrose was able to destroy the craft, and clear the infestation from his ships. He should be coming to meet me quite soon, actually. The station is much larger, so it's harder to know if its infestation has been properly dealt with yet."
"I see, that is good news then." Vizelle nods, grinning as she notices the emperor's change in inhibition. She looks around the room to see if they were all alone as she asks, "Ah, may I wait for him with you? I'd like to know a few more things, before I embark on the mission." She said in a slightly sultry tone.
The governor's self-pity elicited no sympathy from Yannika. Instead she let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm not sure you recognize how perilous the situation is governor." She said and sat down in one of the plush chairs. "You may lament your troubles all you desire, but it doesn't change the fact that there is now a heresy on your world and you did nothing to stop it. The Church, and the Emperor, recognize that. If you don't wish to face the utmost penalty for that I suggest you assist me now." She let that sit in the air for a moment before she continued. "Governor, I fear this mage has brought a demon to your world and it possesses the priestess your people now worship as a goddess. If I cannot undo this action, or at least prove it false this entire world will be declared corrupted and wiped out. Please help me prevent that. Tell me what you can about this mage and the priestess. Why didn't you listen to your people when they petitioned you against the previous bishop? If you wish to save yourself you must realize I'm your only hope."
Looking around, she sees an imperial guard posted to each of the room's four corners. The emperor nods to Vizelle. "Of course, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have."
“Based on what people have told me I suspect that if you had joined the navy you would have quickly discovered that it involves a lot of boring stuff and mostly waiting for something to happen, so don't regret your choice.” Eanne told Sitra before her expression turned thoughtful. “Though I admit I am curious what sort of stories your sister has been telling you. I wonder if she would be willing to share any... or if she would keep acting like a brat in need of spanking...”
Unfortunate. Vizelle sighed in her mind as she saw the guards, "Thank you, your majesty." She does another curtsy, causing her breasts to jiggle, and using her psionic abilities to turn her leotard even more transparent as she raises her skirt, letting him see her hairless, pink cunt. "I'd like to learn if we know the source of the food crates. Who supplied them, and who has access to it."
"If I tried to stop them, they would have just butchered me and put someone else in charge!" The fat man protests, but he nods in assent. "I don't know anything about demons, but I'll tell you what I can. I knew the priestess, before she became a 'god'. One of those missionary sorts, always trying to save the sick and the starving. She didn't really have any sway in the church, but a fair amount of the population loved her. The mage, Xenephon, I know less about. He showed up here about a year ago, becoming my court mage. He was shady, never revealing much about himself, but his skills were immense, so I never tried to pry." He chuckles when she asks him about the bishop. "Oh, please. A priestess asking me why I didn't pick a fight with the church? The bishop had powerful friends, and I don't, so I let him do as he pleased. It's how things work, out here in the fringes of the empire. Plus, he had...leverage, though I won't go any further into that subject."
