(Genesis) Chapter 10

Pride: Genesis

Chapter 10

Test of Metal

Incident Report: Skovos

DATE: 6/4/2416

FROM: Colonel Sk'tarth, Skovos Garrison

TO: General Verdris Matheson, Rim Command

ATTN: Intel Division Galra Task Force

SUBJECT: After Action Report

This report details the 6/2/2416 defensive combat operation by the Skovos Research and Development Facility's garrison and local forces against incursion by the Galra.

Participating Units:

Skovos Garrison

  AWS Blinkwall (destroyer, Lastor) - LOST

  AWS Hurricane Fault (cruiser, Richter)

  AWS Starlight Sentry (destroyer, Lastor) - LOST

  Skovos R&D Security (marine company) - LIGHT CASUALTIES

Skovos Local Militia

  SBV Mazano Jav (frigate, Ya'ri)

  SBV Mazano Sper (frigate, Ya'ri)

Skovos Test Cadre

  AEV Emperor-5 (unique test chassis)

  ASV Skovos-11 Scan (aerospace, Perceiver) - LOST

  ASV Skovos-12 Scan (aerospace, Perceiver) - LOST

  ASV Skovos-13 Scan (aerospace, Perceiver) - LOST

Unknown Galra Military Formation

  Unknown Vessel (light battleship, unknown class) - CAPTURED

  Multiple fighters (unknown class) - HEAVY CASUALTIES

Incident

-At 0529 local time 6/4/2416, orbital emplacements in the Skovos system detected a massive energy spike in the vicinity of Skovos Prime¹. Three Perceiver-class monitoring vessels from the Skovos Test Cadre were dispatched to the location with the Blinkwall to investigate. An unidentified vessel was discovered at the site. Intruding vessel matched 6 of 7 standard criteria for identifying Galra warships. Upon being hailed the Galra vessel opened fire on the Blinkwall, dealing critical damage. The Blinkwall called for backup and shortly thereafter went out of contact. 
-By the time reinforcements arrived, the Blinkwall and the Perceivers had been destroyed and several Galra fighters had been launched.

-Per standard protocol, the Starlight Sentry engaged from distance while the Hurricane Fault closed with the intruder at speed. The Galra vessel fired on the Starlight Sentry with its main weapon, destroying the bridge. It raised shields when the Hurricane Fault came close after missing several times with its main weapon, and ceased fire. No fire from the Fault was ever able to penetrate these shields. The Galra fighter contingent was able to deal significant damage to the cruiser in exchange for suffering heavy casualties.

-Colonel Sk'tarth authorized deployment of the Emperor-5 test vessel, carrying three experimental electromagnetic pulsar cannons. The Mazano Jav and Mazano Sper were dispatched as escorts. Upon sighting the Emperor-5 the Galra vessel seemingly attempted to flee. After turning it lowered its shields and generated an energy spike similar to the one detected earlier. Fire from the Hurricane Fault and Mazano Sper forced it to redeploy its shields and the energy spike dissipated. 
-At this point the Emperor-5 fired all weapons, fully dispelling the intruder's shields and apparently disabling all systems.

-Marines from the R&D spacedock were delivered to the disabled Galra vessel. After establishing an initial foothold in a docking bay, the marine unit reported no further combat. All further Galra crew were found dead, apparently self-inflicted. Most consoles were destroyed and several small fires had to be extinguished. Some systems may have remained partially intact.

¹Energy signature and scan details attached as Supplement A.

Analysis

-After-action analysis could not match the Galra vessel to either currently extant reporting name. Observed combat capabilities of the vessel include heavy charge beams capable of disabling a Lastor-class destroyer in a single shot, full envelopment physical shielding able to be deployed at will, and moderate carrier capacity. It was highly vulnerable to EMP disruption. No point defenses or capital missiles were apparent. Movement capability could not be determined. Full battle recording data is included with this report².

-Observed FTL capabilities indicate no gravitational limitations, but susceptibility to combat disruption. Standard combat scanners were sufficient to detect the vessel's FTL signature. Galra shields may prevent their FTL systems from activating.

-Minimal conclusions could be drawn about Galra boarding defense tactics. The loss of the crew was consistent with the previously observed policy of self-destructing disabled vessels.

²Attached as Supplement B.

Concluding Actions

-Skovos Garrison formally requests a salvage and recovery crew to investigate the captured vessel at the earliest possible opportunity.

-Skovos Garrison formally requests reinforcements due to losses incurred in this operation.

-Skovos Test Cadre formally requests replenishment due to losses incurred in this operation.

-Skovos Test Cadre will submit a full performance report of the Emperor-5 to R&D Command once a thorough analysis is complete.

Command Notes

-Vessel was investigated and analyzed. Reporting name 'Ripsaw' issued for new vessel class.

-Vessel could not be moved from the system. Skovos R&D will take over technological analysis.

-AWS Blue Steel (Lastor) assigned to Skovos Garrison.

-Three new Perceivers assigned to Skovos Test Cadre.

-73rd Rapid Response Team deployed to Skovos.

-Recovered data offered possible leads to Galra motives. Explorer Team 686 formed to investigate.

-Incident closed.

(Genesis) Chapter 9

Pride: Genesis

Chapter 9

Escalation

(Genesis) Chapter 8

Pride: Genesis

Chapter 8

Hit the Fan

Map: Castle of Lions grounds

Source: Arusian Amateur Cartography Society

According to legend, the Castle of Lions either is, or lies on the site of, an ancient castle from the Arusian warring age. Though the warring age is itself something of a prehistoric myth on modern Arus, the castle's remarkably defensible position seems to bear this out: surrounded by water, mountains, and forest, only the Chayvos Pass in the southeast allows anything resembling large-scale access from the ground. The village of Dolce Vita, colloquially simply the Castle Village, is situated within this pass, and is believed to have originally been a defensive emplacement. The capital city of Falastol is far to the west of the castle, which is near the eastern border of the Crown Province.

The castle itself lies relatively near the pass, blocking easy access to the Meadows of Raimon. These meadows were once cultivated fields, providing crops to feed both the castle and the village. Wild descendents of some of these crops still grow among the grass and flowers of the meadows, most notably kayadruza—wild sweet corn—a delicacy unique to the castle.

Two distinct mountain groupings make up the Kyva Mountains. The volcanic Burning Ridge begins west of the castle, and runs far to the northeast until meeting the Sea of Savreth. Twelve active volcanoes are documented within this range, which includes multiple sub-ranges. The much smaller Thunder Ridge originated as part of the Burning Ridge, then was cut away from it by the Almer River. Much of this range's northern face still consists of sheer cliffs rising above the river valley; it is nearly impassable except at the Valley of Zohar, a narrow pass that features prominently in local lore.

The Golden Desert is not truly a desert by definition. It receives roughly the same precipitation as the surrounding fields, but the soil is remarkably poor, leading it to fill a similar ecological niche as true deserts. What happened to the soil is a matter of debate. Some scholars believe an ancient battle rendered it barren. More modern scientists find this unlikely, and there is some evidence of a prehistoric meteorite impact which may have contaminated the native soil, though this theory has its own problems. Regardless of its true source, the desert has historically resisted any encroachment from the neighboring fields.

The Forest of Altair is an enormous expanse of wilderness, stretching all the way to the neighboring province of the Seven Isles. Credible historical sources reference a forest road that once linked the Castle of Lions with the Seven Isles' royal manor, but this road has not been used for centuries. Over time, the border of the forest has encroached further on the castle, though no efforts have been made to beat back the wilderness.

Lake Almeria, and the Almer River that feeds it, is a recreational hub for both the castle and the capital. It also hosts a vibrant ecosystem, and provides the castle with abundant seafood. It should be noted this ecosystem is a relatively recent development in the region's history, and not the only one…

In the roughly five and a half centuries since the War of Golden Revival, the environment around the Castle of Lions has undergone peculiar changes; though the war had lingering effects across much of Arus, the castle seems to be the epicenter of the strangest. The storms of Thunder Ridge, already notable enough to name the region, intensified to a nearly constant state. Mount Kolipat in the Burning Ridge, thought long extinct, became active again, as well as forming a lava lake that has persisted since. The Forest of Altair became inhabited by vicious new predators known as banewolves; these creatures so readily preyed on travelers and hunters that the forest was deemed sacred and off limits. The Golden Desert has been slowly but steadily expanding. Perhaps the strangest of all, Lake Almeria has shifted from salt to fresh water, despite no change in the local water cycle which could account for the transition.

Though these remarkable changes have mystified scientists and caused great concern among religious authorities, the royal family has shown little distress. What is certain is that it all adds to the castle's ancient mystique, and thus, indirectly, that of the Crown.

Overview: Golden Gods

Children of Arus, hear the names of the Five Golden Almighty. Bow your heads in reverence. Tremble beneath their pure and pitiless gaze, and offer up the gratitude owed by mortals to their masters.

Silent Exile, Divine Judge, aspect of death and destruction. Speak its name only in whispers, o children: the Exile who walks the lonely paths of the damned, warden of the Golden Paradise. Those who are worthy, it shall guide through the gates to glory. The unworthy shall be its eternal slaves in darkness.

Radiant Warrior, Divine Guardian, aspect of protection and strength. Tempt not its ceaseless blade, o children: the Warrior who stands astride the gates, defender of the Golden Bulwark. Those who are valorous, it shall protect as its flock. Those who are wicked, it shall smite without mercy.

Shining Sage, Divine Scholar, aspect of wisdom and truth. Know that its brilliance is unfathomable, o children: the Sage who knows all that is and shall be, tender of the Golden Tomes. Those who have sought truth, it shall offer the secrets of the universe. Those who spread lies shall become its mindless thralls.

Honored Mother, Divine Queen, matriarch of righteousness. Offer her your filial devotion, o children: the Mother who shows all creation the proper way, bearer of the Golden Beacon. Before her throne, all her children shall be measured, and those found wanting cast to the depths of despair.

Exalted Father, Divine King, patriarch of righteousness. Fall to your knees before his altar, o children: the Father who gazes upon all creation at his feet, wearer of the Golden Crown. Before his throne, all his children shall sing his eternal praises, and the silent will suffer the searing fires of the five hells.

—Book of Golden Divinity, opening stanzas

Arus is a planet that takes its religion very seriously. They've been worshipping the same pantheon for nearly their entire history, known as the Golden Gods. Talking to civilians, the Goldens seem to have a pretty Old Testament attitude about a lot of things. This might be because per Arusian myth, the Golden Gods didn't actually create the Arusians. They found someone else's 'flawed' creation and decided to try to improve them, but they're not against wiping out the whole project if it goes too far south. (Asking who did the creating got us chased out of two different cathedrals, but more on that in a bit.) There are five Golden Gods, and the religion seems pretty uniform. The priests we talked to looked at us like we were nuts when we asked if there were regional patron gods or anything like that.

The Exalted Father: He was described as the 'god of masculine righteousness', whatever that means. As best we can tell, he's the king of the gods and the arbiter of what a true and proper man should be. He doesn't seem to actually embody that ideal, or at least, he isn't spoken of as the ideal man that Arusians should aspire to be like. It's more like you either meet his standards or he'll smite you.

The Honored Mother: Pretty much the female version of the Exalted Father, right down to the 'goddess of feminine righteousness' part. And the 'not supposed to be a role model, but will definitely smite you if she doesn't approve of you' part.

The Shining Sage: The god of wisdom, or deity of wisdom if you prefer. (Only the Father and Mother have clear genders. The other three are referred to as 'pure avatars' and have no hints of any gender at all.) The Sage is said to know everything there is to be known, including the future choices of mortals, so there's a bit of a fortune telling cult that the priests are certain will be going straight to hell. Or if the Sage gets fed up earlier than that, they'll have their minds wiped. Basically yeah, this one'll smite you too.

The Radiant Warrior: The god/deity of… protection, justice, or battle, depending which priest you ask. It's actually the closest the Goldens get to benevolent, despite most of its images carrying around a sword bigger than its body. They say its blade can only harm the wicked or the unfaithful, and it gets kept busy enough with the wicked that it generally won't mess with the unfaithful unless ordered to.

The Silent Exile: The god/deity of death. Nobody will talk about it. At all. It took some pleading just to get the name.

The Goldens are not the only gods on Arus, but that's where things got complicated and people started chasing us out of cathedrals. We found one priest who was willing to give us a little background, as long as we swore to the Sage we were only seeking knowledge for the sake of knowledge. About three thousand years ago (lining up with the planet's major technological revolution), people stopped following the Goldens pretty abruptly. Which wouldn't be unusual for a developing civilization, except they didn't drop religion outright, they just switched to a different pantheon.

Naturally, the new pantheon is only remembered as the Usurpers, but they're also apparently the ones who were supposed to have originally created the Arusians. The priest didn't want to talk too much about them. He went right into how a few hundred years ago the Usurpers were re-overthrown by the righteous wrath of the Golden Gods in a terrible war that involved alien invaders, betrayal by a branch of the royal family, the extinction of the Arusian lion, and the near annihilation of the Arusian people by the very angry Goldens until they chose to be merciful at the last second.

There was definitely a war called the War of Golden Revival at that time, but… we think the priest was probably exaggerating the rest of it. Just a little. But in any case, the Arusians take their religion very seriously, and we formally recommend not trying to ask about the Usurpers unless you really want to see an enraged priest trying to clock you with a twenty pound gold-covered holy book.

—Scouting Report: Arus, Explorer Team 523, submitted 2371

(Genesis) Chapter 7

Pride: Genesis

Chapter 7

After Action