Wraith Worshippers Anonymous - Off-World (RPG Thread)

[Draco-Stellaris]

*Boris's hive - the Bridge*

Rhys *to Bullseye*: Yes, our transmission code is pretty hard to crack. We should be safe when contacting Jasper but we need to keep conversation to a minimum. The more Moana receives of our transmissions the better her chances get of deciphering it.

DS: *muttering* I'd feel safer if we knew what Jasper is actually thinking than what he tells us.

[WraithTech]

*Boris's hive - the Bridge*

Bullseye: *to Rhys* Agreed. Somehow, I don't think Jasper will be contacting us much though, if at all.

Orb: *to DS* Trust and alliances are always such mysterious things, aren't they? I mean, this hive has so many wraiths and worshippers from so many different origins.

[IV]

*'Outside'*
Jasper, in the dart, easily let himself settle into the rhythmn of flight.. before steering towards the lone dart. A smirk of sorts appeared. Oh, the other would detect him, he knew it. So, flicking the controls, he 'stooped' before pulling away just near the end of the orbiting dart..

Fashim swore as he heard the whine approach, but kept on the path he'd been told to hold. Unlike a certain someone, he tended to just stick to orders instead of often adding his own 'improvements'. At the banking motion, almost like how a smaller bird might have mobbed another, he offered a growl through the link and ground his teeth together a little. 'The hell are you doing, traitor?'

Jasper's amusement filtered through the faint link, weaker due to the absence and the rank different between them. The contacter was weaker, so the message did not quite get to him as clearly as it might have done off say, Tommy or Moana. He let himself level out then, flying directly parallel to him.. Just close enough to indicate a warning, yet not quite close enough to be a threat just yet. More like an annoyance. 'Oh, nothing.. Merely wondering how my Queen was doing in my absence is all..'

Mentally, he cringed, deep in the more secret part of his mind that was his own, recalling an old memory.. Young, perhaps less than five-hundred years old.. still in the slightly brown leathers of one who has not yet earnt a permanent rank, still going through the training of a dart pilot. Nothing much stuck out about him. He was not taller, faster or stronger.. Just average, like the rest. But his hair on the other hand.. It had not turned fully white, and still retained some of the black streaks of infancy. A genetic mishap, and what might have gotten him killed on another ship. But he used it to his advantage. They left him alone, the others for the most part.. He didn't mind. He was only interested in serving his Queen, as any wraith was. He had seen her, getting the tattoos that now marked all of her face like some inked mask, shortly after he had gotten the one on his face... He drew himself out of the memory, and quietly growled to himself. That inexperienced youth had long since faded to dust. He had soon learnt that what he had once thought to be a priveledged role was soon nothing more than an assassin.. someone to do the dirty work when outright battles failed, someone to clean up the mess. He snorted softly.. before reaching out to Phineas...

Do not tell them what I am doing...
Well, it would help if I knew so then I know what I am to be keeping a secret, don't you think?
*There was a pause* No. This, I do by myself. Time I earnt my freedom..

Then his dart sharply banked, towards Moana's ship. He soon let himself settle into the pattern of thoughts that had once been so familiar when dealing with her.. Offering his mind and yet, locking away parts so much more securely that even she could not get to. The link with Phineas, the knowledge of Copelandia, parts of the deciphered code he had seen during his time in the rec room.. all locked away. He managed to wipe the toothy smirk off his face. It was a risky move, and he knew it. If Moana did not eventually find him out and kill him, he did suspect that those on Boris' Hive would, if he managed to return intact.

Spoiler:

He's like 'Eh.. if I get found out, she'll kill me.. and if I don't get found out, the 'new' wraith might. Win win!

[Draco-Stellaris]

*Boris's hive - the Bridge*

*DS settles down in a chair, not wanting to get underfoot while she watches the Wraith go about their tasks*

DS *to Orb* That's very true. Alliances between Wraith are an especially delicate matter, until they are fully turned to our new newstyle. The circumstances under which we met Jasper were a bit unusual and it took some time to convince him to stay with us and try out a new life. He didn't do anything to cause mistrust since then but still... he hasn't been with us for so long and Moana is such a powerful queen.
*sigh* But there's always hope, who would have thought we could get this far? Like you said, there are so many Wraith from so many different hives, but they have learned to work side by side.



*Bellatrix's hive*

Technician: My Queen, we have picked up the signal of a lone dart, having launched from the target hive. It is not doing anything, it just flies parallel to Moana's dart.

Bellatrix: Get me a connection to Moana. I want to know what she makes of this.

*The techician establishes contact with Moana's hive and gives Bellatrx a nod, as an indication for her to speak*

Bellatrix *to Moana* I assume you have noticed the second dart? I suspect there is someone eager to meet you.



*Boris's hive – The Bridge*

*Tommy gets hectic as his computer terminal gives a series of beeps*

Tommy: They're transmitting again! And they didn't alter the code, that means they feel safe and we'll soon be able to listen in to their conversations!

Spoiler:

Poor Jasper! He's caught between a rock and a hard place.

[IV]

Spoiler:

Oh, but he is going to love smashing that rock to pieces

*Moana's Hive*
The transmission came through just as she sensed his mind coming closer.. both hairless 'brows raising a little, a surprised slight hiss, before she composed her features once more and opened up the channel. "I believe it is Jasper... my assassin.." He had, after all, been a servant to her unwaveringly for centuries. This mistake of his, staying with the 'new' wraith, might end up to be just a blip, a mere waver.. or even better, a trap he had thought up himself without her order. Oh, the possiblities!

*Boris's Hive*
Phineas quietly approached DS and Orb. While not quite as much of a stranger any longer to their way of life as Jasper, he perhaps understood how the other had felt.. and yet, also understood what they were discussing. Not to mention that he had a suspicion that Jaspers' mobbing of the other was part of plan.. and not one that he had disclosed.
"But did you perhaps think, that he might not have been willing to serve her in the first place? I got the impression from him that while he might have wanted to serve her at first, he soon realised that he was nothing but a clean-up role.. tidying the messes under the carpet, as I think a phrase from Earth goes. If so, that means that he was forcefully under her rule for.. well, a long time."

*Moana's Hive*
He pulled in then, the dart easily coming to a halt once within the bay. No sooner had he gotten out and his feet touched the floor, did a trio of masked soldiers meet him, stunner-staffs aimed at him. Baring his teeth, he let out a guttural snarl before hurling as much mental influence at them as he could.. there was a flicker, a waver.. then they stood normally at half-attention and allowed him to pass. Stares followed.. whispers of the Hive's thoughts pulling at his own.. "Where has he been?" "Where is the device on his wrist?" "Where did he come from?" "Why has he bothered returning..?". He ignored all of them, shaking them off almost, and headed straight for the Queen's room.. Soon, escorted by two...

[WraithTech]

*Boris's hive - the Bridge*

Bullseye: *to Tommy* Yes, along with all of the past transmissions that we have been recording. *pointy-toothed grin* We just need one more block of code that is running under your ID.

Orb: *to Phineas* You seem to know him better than most on the hive and your input is most reassuring. Thank you. *looks over at DS, in case she has a differing opinion*

Spoiler:

@DS - This will give you more control over when the code is cracked for the game plot.

@IV - Excellent character development for Jasper. Are you Queen of the Red Skittle by some chance?

[Draco-Stellaris]

*Boris's hive – the bridge*

*DS trusts Phineas but hopes he is right in trusting Jasper and gives him a smile*
DS: Thanks, Phineas. I assume Jasper's life was far from easy under Moana's rule.

Tommy *nods to Bullseye* It should only be a couple of minutes before the last block is cracked.

*Rhys watches the scanners with a frown and let out a low hiss*

Rhys: Jasper's dart has disappeared, apparently he has boarded Moana's hive. What the heck is he up to? He will be exposed to her full mental powers, device or not. Talking about trusting him – if he is betraying us he will pay for it.

DS: Uh-oh. *looks at Phineas* Did Jasper tell you something about his plans?

[IV]

*Boris's Hive*
Phineas, briefly surprised at Rhy's hiss, arched a brow up, blinked once and then answered. "He informed me that he had a plan, but not what it was. Clearly it was one of those sort of ideas that tends to have an increased risk of failure if more people know about it, judging by how blunt he was." Then a faint twitch of what perhaps was close to a smile appeared. "Interesting that you speak of betrayal and yet.. so many of us aboard this Hive, even with the trust of our worshippers.." A faint lowering of his head was given to DS and Orb then ".., could easily turn against each other. As she said, we are all from different origins.. and yet, how did we get to this point? Blind trust."

*Aboard Moana's Hive*
He felt her mind curl around his already even before he'd entered the room, exposing his teeth briefly to the guards before.. striding to the centre.. sinking down to one knee and lowering his head. He had been here, so many times before under so many circumstances..

..the ship shook beneath his feet, and he staggered before moving down the corridor again. Barely two centuries old, with a full head of black hair and lacking the feeding slits of maturity, clad in comfortable soft brown leathers. He hissed at the unpleasant scent of smoke from the damaged ship reaching his nostrils, and he scrambled into the nearest room.. There she was. Queen. He didn't know her by any other name, nor did he have any blood-ties to her.. His own mother, a lesser-ranking female, had given him up at birth to this Hive, as part of an alliance to keep the genes spread. He hid behind a pillar, watching with almost comically wide golden eyes as she armed herself..

He flicked the memory aside with a mere twist of his thoughts, and buried his true ones deep.. Copelandia, Phineas, IV, DS, Tommy, the Hive.. the device being removed.. Orb.. Bullseye.. the lone dart pilot he was mobbing... The recent events were pushed out of her reach, a habit he had perfected over centuries of having his mind invaded, twisted.. The device gave him something of an advantage, but there was a flicker.. he sensed it start to fade.. before he resisted the urge to yowl quietly as he felt her mind break through the barriers he almost always automatically erected. Her touch was not as strong as it had been, nor as painful to withstand.. the device might have had something to do with it, or perhaps she was finally growing old.. He could only hope, so form of weakness was exactly what he planned to exploit.
Welcome home...

Then her hand descended onto his chest, and she drained the first sweet years from him, hissing in delight as he forced himself to remain silent, clamping down on the sound of agony threatening to spill from his jaws.

[WraithTech]

Bullseye: We all came here for different reasons, not all of them sympathetic to humans, and even those reasons can strengthen or change over time. *He is willing to give Jasper more of a chance because thinks to himself how others would not understand how he relies so much on mathematics and economics. Facts and numbers do not betray. Trust is risky, even including having a personal worshipper in his life, but sometimes those risks prove greatly rewarding. It does unnerve him a bit that there is nothing he can do to quantify the reasons, or explain how they came to be in spite of all their differences, that he would give his life to protect his worshipper and his new hive.*

Orb: Our unity gives us the advantage. I am sure the enemy hives out there communicating to one another do not have trust for one another. Maybe we can use that to our advantage against them if the chance comes along.

[Draco-Stellaris]

*Boris's hive – the bridge*

*Rhys thinks about Phineas's words. Trust was something that had to be earned and even then was a risky business. The one thing that had kept him alive for so long was, in fact, mistrust, and he was afraid to feel too secure; it could addle his senses and skills he had accumulated over the millenia.

Yet he had learned to appreciate the advantages of this unusual community and trusts most persons – no matter which species – of the alliance with his life. He would take great personal risks to protect them, and he knew they would do the same for him. It was a rather strange feeling, but not unpleasant.*

Rhys: Well, let us see what happens, we can't do anything right now to help him. I do hope Jasper is up to the task of blocking her mind.

DS *nods to Orb* You're probably right, the enemy hives sure don't trust each other. *lightbulb* Hey, can't we make use of that? Once the code is cracked can't we send fake transmissions to have them at each others' throats?

[WraithTech]

*Boris's hive – the bridge*

Bullseye: *points and DS and Orb* Great idea! Yes, we could send fake transmissions. It is especially easy to pull it off with traditional wraith queens because they try to act stoically, not move very much, and do not show much facial animation when speaking to one another on screen. We could even try to get information out of them about the cruiser or Jasper's whereabouts.

[IV]

*Aboard Moana's Hive, some hours later*
He sat impatiently at the table, claws tapping on the wooden desk as he waited.. agonisingly almost.. for the assurance to come that he was accepted. It would take time, he knew that. But he had offered information to her about Copelandia, about the wraith's and their worshippers that surely would prove beneficial to some degree; nothing that could be decisive in battle of course, but he had worded it in such a way that made it seem that he doubted she would be defeated by these 'blood-traitors'. After their defeat, what he had told her would prove to be the clench-hold over keeping control; which wraith were with who, mostly. He'd left out about Elia, about the heightened mental skills of some of those aboard the Hive, and the alliance with Atlantis. All he had to do, was gain her trust enough to let him roam about again.. He'd always been something of a skulker, often patrolling the many corridors and floors of the Hive for perhaps no other reason than to keep himself active, to ensure that nothing was out of place, nothing was changing.. He'd be in the halls near to the worshippers' one hour, and watching a sparring match the next, or maybe even observing a scientific experiment. He was the drifter, the wraith with only one purpose.. to put the rest of his plan into action. The charges had passed inspection, disguised as mere coin trinkets around his neck.. and the detonation device he had managed to pass as a pocketwatch, taking the idea from a picture he had seen in one of the books IV had shown him during a visit to Earth.

*Boris's Hive - The Bridge*
Phineas listened, with interest.. "That certainly sounds like it could work." His own Queen had, ironically, been chased out of her territory by Moana. If she existed now elsewhere, she had not come looking for him.. He'd ended up crashed on some backwater planet, and remembered little after that.. his memories fragmented, damaged by near starvation.

"Would there be precautions in place to prevent them hacking into the data stream sending the false transmissions?"

[WraithTech]

*Boris's Hive - The Bridge*

Bullseye: *to Phineas* Yes, actually, our equipment is better than that of other hives in that it can detect when signals are sent and received, so a signal that shows up on our screens but does not get received by the other ship can be treated as a possible false transmission. We also have to keep in mind that these queens will likely be withholding information from one another as well. Wraith are well known for selecting which details to share or withhold.

Orb: Earth humans do that too, except we call it "marketing." I wonder what these queens are selling to one another that is making them cooperate with one another.

[Draco-Stellaris]

*Boris's hive – the bridge*

*The long awaited last beep shows the code is finally cracked entirely and Tommy beams at Bullseye*

Tommy: Done. Give me second and I'll have the translation of all their previous transmissions.



*Bellatrix's hive*

*Bellatrix is growing impatient because she hasn't heard anything from Moana for hours and wonders what, among many other things, Moana is hiding now. Hissing she strides over to the transmission screen and impatiently hits the buttons to open a channel herself, ignoring the bewildered stares of her technicians. As Bellatrix gives them a Glare they hastily prented to be extremely busy and don't look up again*

Bellatrix: Calling Moana's hive, respond. I need to talk to your queen. Now.



*Boris's hive - the bridge*

*DS giggles at Orb mention of 'marketing'*

DS: That's a good question. I assume they don't want to destroy our community but they want to take control and salvage our technology; there sure have spread rumours about our advanced tech through the galaxy.

Rhys: Moana has already seen of what our battle cruiser is capable so she didn't dare face us alone, and if I'm right she would only have picked an ally likely to have superior tech as well, judging by the complexity of the code. They may still have something up their sleeve not even Moana knows about.

DS: What about the fake transmissions, we needn't transmit a picture, only speech, don't we? So someone will have to act as Wraith Queen?

Tommy: That could work. Once our computer has processed the voice patterns of Moana and her ally we can simulate them.

[IV]

*Moana's Hive*
The transmission channel was opened, and the tattoo-faced Queen herself was soon there, a brow raised just a little as though wondering what on earth was going on and yet somehow still being polite about it and faintly amused all rolled into one.
"Problem?" She had, after all, been a touch busy 'dealing' with Jasper.

*Aboard Moana's Hive*
'Dealing with', in other words, meant ransacking his mind until she was satisfied that he was not going to do anything against her. But his time spent around the 'new' wraith.. sneaking in a little mental training here and there, with Phineas' help.. had allowed him to excersize better control over what thoughts he allowed to be seen, and what ones he didn't. He had eventually been allowed back to roam.. and so he had began the painstaking process of planting the small-sized yet potent explosive devices. One had already been put underneath Moana's throne, which had been quite painful to do.. He landed heavily on the floor even as her hand remained on his chest, clamping back the high snarl of agony. He made a show of thrashing.. trying to claw away.. and stuck the coin securely to the chair's hidden underside even as she let him go... One down, four to go.

*Boris' Hive*
Phineas snickered a little at DS's comment, although it was a polite, amused sound rather than a more mocking one like he was usually capable of. "What do you expect?"