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Post by Dain Sincara on Jan 19, 2019 6:38:34 GMT -5
OOC: I am imagining the normal guards to have a PL of 75K, the enhanced guards 175K and the big robot 600K (albeit clunky, heavy on the armor.) To be honest, quite ridiculous numbers for a low level planet… but due to our levels, anything lower would make them cannon fodder. This way with their numbers they would have an advantage. ———————————————————————————— Dain simply nodded as Legume explained his plan. Still to him it felt as if the Saiya-Jin from the past was missing the situation a bit. Forcing a negotiation is something you could do when you were in a winning position. If the position was strong enough you could strong arm the other party into sitting down and listening. Now they had the upper hand. Or at least most likely believed they were having the upper hand. Although running away, they had their invaders trapped between their robot unit and augmented guards. With enough time even the military would intervene. So even if they were to make demands, there was nothing to give them enough leverage anymore… unless… For a moment Dain´s mind wandered off as he thought back to the moment before they arrived. It had been his decision to come here. That had been a mistake. Perhaps the ship alone would have been enough to make them consider, at least the threat was solid and something they could not escape from. Now they had set an example where the council seemed victorious and unless rectified, their threat in the sky would not mean much anymore. Ironically by coming here they had given the Xonoot something they had not before: and that was a most dangerous thing to have. “Do you really think they are going to talk now?” Dain asked Legume with a raised eyebrow and he was just about to grab Legume´s shoulder, when suddenly the voice of the council appeared through the room. The words were spoken with a very high pitched, raw sound -probably their mother tongue- of which his translator could not make heads or tails. It was effective though as within moments the approaching guards froze and assembled in formation. Even the robot froze, albeit in a position that made Dain slightly nervous. It had been preparing some kind of weapon as it had detached it´s hands and pointed the barrel like wrist directly at them, from it coming a soft humming sound. The humming faded, but the position did not change and it was still aimed directly upon them. A moment later the floor slid shut, a small pedestal raised itself from the table and a moment later a live projection of the council appeared. Sitting exactly where they had been. Had it not been for the crude technology, it might have fooled Dain. For a few seconds there was only silence as the council seemed to observe the room, the situation and the two invaders, before finally speaking up. Once more it was the eldest who did so. “Okay, we can talk. What are your terms for surrender? Or do you still intend to talk about surrender?” The words came surprisingly clear from the display, barely disturbed by the protective glass. It appeared this technology had either been tested frequently or really well designed. “Well this turned out to be surprising.” Dain said to Legume as he slowly began to regain his composure. In any normal circumstance he would have reacted by now. He had no idea what these creatures were capable of, but he would have loved to find out. Still this was the mess the universe currently was into. Violence for more violence, always escalating. Normally a thing Dain did not mind. These creatures would be dead in a couple of decades anyway, he had no reservations expediting that. However he had told Legume he would bring them to peace and that was what he would do. “Okay I count one hundred and six guards, in this room alone and the robot has a -`fire solution´- on us.” Dain said, placing an emphasis on the last words as a signal to his ship. He just hoped Petey would understand the situation and not just level the whole building with them in it. Last time she did he had been coughing up dust for weeks. A moment later a missile was released from the ship, using the teraport technology to open a tiny wormhole and transport the missile directly into the atmosphere were it soared directly towards them. “Regroup or make a statement? One is definitely the smarter, but it will weaken our position. The other is messy, but might end this. Or do you have a third option?” Dain said with a grin as he placed his hand upon Legume´s shoulder and his hand ready to move them at any time. “Perhaps we can negotiate, but how do you intend we bring them to the table now?Word Count: 800 Total Word Count: 10,600 Legume
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Post by Legume on Jan 20, 2019 11:49:46 GMT -5
For some reason, Legume assumed that upon him offering to negotiate on even terms and hear out the terms they want would get the council to stop descending to the depths of the palace and instead come back out and listen, at which point he could just breath through the glass separating him from the elders and deal with this the old fashion way. As the Super Saiyan stepped back from the glass dome, he came to realize that the council did agree to speak with him, but through a hologram instead of face to face - obviously, they were not idiots who would allow themselves to meet people who can destroy entire planets at a whim so personally, and thus let themselves lose any leverage they might have. Should have been obvious.
Legume, however, for whatever reason, assumed that the council is not as smart as it actually is. Maybe because they are uptime inhabitants and he still sees them as not as intelligent as the people from his era, even if subconsciously. Either way, with Dain informing him that he sees one hundred and six guards in this room alone, discounting the massive robot looking down at them from above, they were in quite a pickle right now. Which meant that they only had two real options. Retreat and reconsider their options, maybe descending down upon the planet later once the situation calms down. Or try to make a point by taking on this entire army all by themselves.
At least, Legume hoped that by having the council open communications with him, he delayed them enough for Dain to prepare himself more than he was when the guards all suddenly stormed in - which is to say, more than zero. Glancing across the wide room which was once a completely empty meeting hall, but now hosted over a hundred hostiles, Legume tapped a little on the handle of his greatsword Vanity, safely hanging on his back and awaiting use. Dain was correct - at this point, retreat will simply be a showcase of weakness, and the Council is not going to fall for their teleportation trick one more time, that's for sure. They all had enough experience to think of a countermeausre while the two Saiyans decide on their next move.
"Alright, Dain..." Legume muttered, slowly pulling his weapon out of its hilt, watching the moves of the assembled guards. "I can't sense any power level from these guards and I assume you don't, either. Which means they either aren't alive or they have something which can mask their power level. If it's the former... go wild. If it's the latter... don't go wild. Make sure to check first... I'll be right after you."
(463 words, total 7203)
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Post by Dain Sincara on Jan 21, 2019 7:23:19 GMT -5
Just this once Legume seemed to agree with Dain´s sentiment and it felt like Christmas, watching the man telling him to go wild. Of course Dain did hear the last part, but he was seriously hoping it would be the former. Following his companions example he drew his sword and focused on the guards, when suddenly he heard the buzzing sound from before. “Ow… crap…” Dain muttered as he watched the gigantic barrel aimed at them by the giant, lid up and he could almost sense the heat coming from it. He had the terrible gut feeling that blast was going to do a whole lot of damage, even to him in his super Saiya-Jin form. Instinctively he braced himself and raised his arms in the shape of an X to defend himself, when suddenly the missile impacted in the back of the robot. It did so with a loud thud though. No explosion, no destruction, nothing. My good girl! Dain thought to himself as he noticed the humming sound fading again and quickly realized Petey had done it right. She could probably have leveled the entire building and nearby blocks with in an instant with a bombardment. Though Legume would probably have objected and considering Dain already was developing a proper migraine from this entire day -It was supposed to be a very easy mission. Hi-jacking a freighter, kill the crew and set the auto course. Maybe a 10 minute job. Instead it turned into this.- she had determined her normal way of total destruction was not the proper way to go here. Instead she had opted to fill a missile with nanites and fire it at the robot, overwhelming the security with such a massive amount of raw power, she could instantly hack it. “Okay that should halt it for a few minutes. At some points it will reboot though and continue the attack. So make it quick.”[/silver] She informed the two of them through their bracelet.
“Neat!” Was all Dain said he lowered his defense and charged towards the remaining thread, the guards.
Even more were pouring in and they had shrug of their own paralyzing spell and charged towards the two invaders. The two were strong, but they had a massive numeral advantage. Plus, their commander was on his way! Once the legendary Mäkaämo and his seven Slayers would appear, the battle would be over. They had never been beaten in battle, not even once!
Meanwhile though Dain was in for a rude surprise. As he saw the guards charge he had readied his own sword and charged at them, using his other hands to release a series of KI-Blasts to cull the herd so to speak. He had hoped they were not strong enough to kill them, he did not need another lecture from Legume, yet instead the result was much worse. A few inches before impact the KI-Blasts were completely nulled, or worse, perhaps even absorbed. No doubt a final trick of that blasted armor. Dain had encountered something like this before, although the memory was very fuzzy. A possible reason they could not sense their opponents KI, was because the suit was literally eating it all to power itself. “Well… bugger…” Dain said slightly surprised at his friend, not having expected that.
Luckily they did not seem to share a similar protection against regular attacks, as Dain´s first swing lobbed an arm clean off. Followed by the very familiar squirting of blood, before the suit seemed to seal of the wound. “Bugger!” Dain said, just as he vanished from sight to avoid several KI-Blasts being fired upon up. This was seriously cramping his style. Just at that moment he noticed something and with gritted teeth he appeared directly behind an opponent and slit directly at the back of their neck. Exactly between the two bones. There was a slight amount of squirtation, before the guards eyes shot wide open and just keeled forward. Suddenly he had an idea!
“Legume, you follow the council! I will deal with these clowns!” Dain said with a satisfied grin as he clenched his fist and let his energy rise to his maximum. He had noticed a weakness which he could exploit much better with a small katana, then the gigantic blade wielded by his friend. A weird notation Dain did not actually realize, but subconsciously he had begun regarding the man as a friend. “Catch up to them, and convince them we can still solve this without anymore violence!” He yelled over the deafening noise, caused by countless explosions, as the guards were now in full attack, forcing Dain on the defensive, moving quickly to dodge the many KI-Blasts coming his way.
Word Count: 800 Total Word Count: 11,400 Legume
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Post by Legume on Jan 23, 2019 8:54:29 GMT -5
Immediately after Petey took care of the giant robot looking down upon them, using a some sort of undetectable move to make it freeze for a few minutes, and Dain took this as the moment to charge forward and attack, Legume followed after the fellow Saiyan, clutching onto the handle of his greatsword with both of his hands and charging towards one of the congregations of the guards.
With a wide horizontal swing, he smashed across several of the guards and sent them flying towards a nearby wall - to a mix of surprise and relief, it was not enough to kill them or smash them to pieces, only daze them and leave the soldiers collapsing to the ground. Great, this means that the armors which these soldiers were wearing were strong enough to take blows from a transformed Saiyan and not immediately shatter to a million pieces. Judging from the way how the rest of the congregation of soldiers reacted to the strike, however - instead of all remaining focused towards the golden haired warrior in front of them, some turned their heads to see where their comrades had ended up, or took a step back upon witnessing the Super Saiyan dispatch of the soldiers this easily - indicated that these were not robots. These were living beings wearing some sort of suits which made sensing their energies inside impossible.
A clue towards what was happening with those suits was soon given, in the form of Dain throwing several ki blasts towards the soldiers and, much to his surprise, seeing the blasts fizzle away right before impacting their designated targets. Legume was busy fending off several energy blades and ki blast shots, but, regardless, caught a glimpse of what was happening on the other side of the battlefield with the corner of his eye.
Energy siphoning equipment?
That would not be too far fetched. Energy siphoning equipment existed, or will exist, in Legume's time period and it probably existed for thousands of years into the past as well. However, it seemed to only be able to affect energy blasts... and, thankfully, Legume was not the type to use ki blasts himself. He had the ability to generate them and in a fairly professional manner, but was a close quarters type of guy in all definitions of the word. Time Skip and Instant Transmission would help him close the distance between him and any wannabe snipers and that's all he really needed to make up for his lack of ranged options in the battlefield.
As Legume continued using his greatsword to block and deflect any incoming attacks as he gauged just how much of a threat these guards are, his ears caught Dain's scream. The Saiyan bounty hunter had a plan - splitting up, Dain distracts the guards and Legume catches up to the council - which solicited a frown on the time traveller's face. But it was better than nothing, or fending off these guards for all eternity.
"You sure you're going to be fine all by yourself?" Legume spoke as he suddenly tossed his sword like a boomerang, letting it slash across the glass dome where the council once sat. With a slight smirk on his face, the sword wielding Super Saiyan answered the question himself. "If so, then, good luck."
He'll need it.
Legume suddenly made a backflip, catching his returning weapon right above the empty pedestal and descended down upon it, cracking the hatch separating him from the tunnel to the depths of the palace, punching through it with a strike and charging downwards.
(603 words, total 7806)
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Post by Dain Sincara on Jan 23, 2019 11:39:40 GMT -5
Dain witnessed Legume in action from the corners of his eyes and it was a sight to behold. He had experienced the man´s prowess with his own body and seen the sword up close, so he knew it to be intimidating. However for some reason seeing him standing in that crowd up guards, swinging the deadly blade was even more impressive for some reason. Especially the way he slammed several into the wall without killing them. Dain whistled softly as he watched the Saiya-Jin block and dodge, never being caught by the enemy. He himself however did not seem to be so lucky. Although he did managed to dodge all incoming attacks, he had no sword to block blasts with. As best he could slice them in half, but if he was honest he was already reaching his limit. Although he had acted tough, the fight with Legume was still bothering him and he was barely holding his own. Luckily Legume seemed to agree to the idea of following the council. A moment after he dissapeared though a shadow shot past Dain. He barely caught a glimpse of the man, but it was immediately apparent that the man was a cut above the rest. His armor seemed far more sophisticated and he had a cool helm. Before he could stop him the man had already rushed past Dain and vanished into the hole, seemingly going after Legume. Instinctively Dain wanted to go after him, but found himself surrounded by the guards, who seemed to have gotten even more inspired. He heard something being mumbled about the commander finally being there and suddenly Dain had to jump back as a slash came at him he barely saw coming. “What the… Dain said as he floated in the air for a moment, his momentum fighting gravity for a moment and holding it´s own. In that split second he identified three others that were different from the other guards. Albeit not as flashy as their commander, they were clearly a cut above the rest. It left Dain in a bit of a problem, as he was already being pushed back. More guards were still rushing in and these new ones seemed to be far more dangerous then the rest. He had heard Legume´s last words, but he did not think he needed them so quickly. Luckily the Saiya-Jin had one final trick up his sleeve. Or rather two separate ones. A final ace in the hole. With a few pushes of the button he summoned his black Katchin battle armor. Not only did it protect him, it was capable of using his body a bit like a puppeteer uses a puppet, the AI able to augment his movements and even intervene at time. Although Dain did not like the idea of being controlled, right now he needed it´s defense more then hated it. The other trick however was a purely offensive one, one he could not have used with Legume there. It was true he had found the weakness to the guards armor. A small tube running at the back of the neck to the helmet. It looked like an artificial artery and as he cut it, he was proven right. A mistake in the design, one that would eventually be corrected, he was sure of that, but a mistake he wanted to abuse ferociously. With more guards incoming though, the three new arrivals and the fact that he was drained… he no longer had the option of being careful. “Sorry Legume.” He muttered as he extended his left arm and summoned his new weapon. The weapon his mistress Amatricina had forged from Katchin, especially for him. Made from her demonic essence, enhanced by magic and specially made for his lightning… it was the weapon he had been given to tear down the gods themselves and cut the heavens, when given the command. He had not intended to use it upon these guards, but he had no choice. Sadly for the guards. As soon as the blade materialized in his hands, dain felt it resonate with his power. The muscles in his arms automatically swelled up and lightning crackled around the blade. A hollow moon shaped blast/slash released from the blade as he swung it, carving it´s way through any guards in it´s path, through the wall, through the next room and the next room, until it eventually broke free of the building and soared through the air into the far distance. Several guards falling down, sliced cleanly in half and others injured, Dain felt a wave of satisfaction as he looked at the guards who temporarily seemed to back down. Satisfaction and a feel of betrayal. He had respected Legume´s point of view and wanted to keep himself from killing, yet he was now without choice. Dain had known it since the first time he touched the weapon. It was demonic and it wanted blood. Perhaps a truly virtuous man could have wielded it and controlled it. Perhaps Legume was such a man. Dain however was not. Far from it and as he wielded the blade, he could sense a lust for blood rising in himself. “Peet, enable auto mode. Use whatever force necessary to keep me alive, even deadly, but keep it to a minimum. Do not rescind that order under any circumstances until the battle is over. Protocol Ghen 17A-C!” Dain said, fighting his own instincts, trying his very best to adhere to Legume´s wishes. —————————————————————————— Meanwhile the armored man was travelling down the shaft after the intruder. Using the boost mode on his armor he was barely able to keep up though, let alone catch up. Speed had never been his greatest virtue though, so it meant little to him. “Stop! Fight me or surrender, but I command you to stop!” He yelled as loud as he could, before drawing his two blasters and firing a series of KI-Blasts down the shaft, hoping to draw the man´s attention, before he could reach the council. Word Count: 1,000 Total Word Count: 12,400 Legume
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Post by Legume on Jan 24, 2019 2:51:39 GMT -5
Alright, so, if he is descending down this shaft to meet the Council again and try to convince then to stand down, then he needs to pick an alternate strategy for the negotiations. Because clearly, just raw intimidation is not going to work - as Dain explained to him very clearly. He needs to offer something to make these bastards consider a peaceful resolution to their war. The problem is, though, that he simply did not have much to offer. He's only one man, and not even a rich one who could afford paying them off. Dain was, but even he was not unlimited in his wealth, or dedication to the cause.
What Petey offered - knowledge to the Xonoot to uplift them into a new era of technology - was a good idea, but it could also backfire. After all, with greater technology come greater war making capabilities, and if this species still finds reason to go to war against their perennial opponents, they will and with even greater capacity for destruction. An idea Legume was also toying with is asking the Council on what exactly the cause of the war is and find a way to resolve it... but would it really diffuse the tensions between these two states? Highly unlikely.
This whole situation was extremely problematic.
And it suddenly became even more problematic once a voice suddenly reached Legume's ears from behind, demanding him to either surrender or stand and fight. Offering a brief glance over his shoulder, the Super Saiyan noticed that he was being chased by a heavily armored warrior with four arms, two of them wielding swords and the other two pulling out blasters, aiming to fire at him.
Legume had no desire to stop here and fight this warrior when he had more important matters to deal with, but there was little choice at his hands. With a swift motion, the Super Saiyan turned around, though still flying through the tunnel at supersonic speeds. Suddenly, a crystalline bubble of time formed around him while everything else - the incoming ki blasts, the assailant, even the molecules of air around him - froze completely. In the fraction of second he had before the Time Skip faded, Legume flew closer to the four armed warrior and released dual strikes to its solar plexus and right shoulder with his left hand before bouncing back.
From an outsider's perspective, it would appear as if Legume suddenly vanished, appearing in front of the incoming ki blasts, while the impact of two blows suddenly appeared in the four-armed warrior's body.
The Saiyan, not wishing to waste any more time, flew off.
(447 words, total 8253)
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Post by Dain Sincara on Jan 24, 2019 7:54:59 GMT -5
The man had caught him off guard. That had never happened before and he still was not sure what exactly had happened. Several thoughts shot through Martellus his head as he pushed himself out of the wall he had been embedded in. It was as if he had suddenly just appeared in front of him, phased completely through his attacks. What was more, it seems the intruder had managed to actually damage his armor. The armor he had gotten as a kid and grown ever since then. Even among his race it was rare to keep one set of armor alive for that long. Usually they died after roughly thirty years, or got damaged beyond repair in battle and training. His had lasted this long though and as with all their armors, it just grew stronger over time. The reason he survived so long though, was also the key to him never being defeated. His armor had one `issue´. His was neither the strongest, fastest or most durable armor in the empire. It´s entire strength was imbued into one key factor: regeneration. Something all armors could do. Given enough time, their armors could heal cuts, mend dents and all over things, just like a living organism. His was unique though in the fact that it could do so in seconds. What was more though was that it could heal the wounds of Martellus as well. It was a very rare ability and typically useless, as it takes many decades for the armor to grow into it´s current form. Most people did have neither the patience nor skill to last that long. Even now though the armor was already mending itself already and healing his wounds. “Well I guess it works after all, glad I kept it.” Martellus mused to himself with a smile running around his lips. The reason he kept the armor was simple: he had never needed another. Until this moment he had never been struck, neither in battle nor in training. -The time his little nephew whacked him with a bat he did not count.- His armor was great, but his ability and strength as a fighter was the reason he survived for so long and the intruder would soon find out. “I told you to stop!” He bellowed loudly as he resumed the pursuit, driven by a sensation he had never had before. Shame and anger causing him to fly faster then ever before. Still it was not enough to catch his foe. Martellus was not called the legendary fighter though for no reason. He had never needed more speed, but on the fly he came up with an idea. Using his energy he fired four energy beams, two from his hands and two from his feet, using his surplus energy as a propulsion. He was propelled forward like a rocket, now quickly gaining upon the man. He was too late though, the man had already reached the elevator. The shaft had let them several kilometers underground into the best protected bunker on the planet. Not only was the elevator the only direct access point, it was protected by 2.3 kilometers of rock and the latest shielding technologies. He doubted though, even all the shielding and armor would do much good against the two. Especially the one he was chasing now. Proud as he was, he was also old and wise enough to recognize the position they were in. It was doubtful the man could be defeated in battle, especially if his friend and that ship joined. Then suddenly inspiration struck him. He had been his whole life nothing but a commander, a legendary warrior… perhaps it was time he became king. Martellus the first sounded quite nice. The king that saved his people. “WAIT! Let´s negotiate! We surrender!” He bellowed as he appeared in front of Legume, positioning himself between the golden haired warrior and the council. “Before we do so though, let´s mute any resistance!” He said with a faint smile as he reverted the guns in his hands so they pointed at the council. Seven shots for seven targets, fired with deadly accuracy, without even looking at them, in the blink of an eye. “What is it you want? Give me a few days, I will be king and able to grant you your demands.” He said, without so much as a hint of deception in his voice. “With a little bit of help from your side, we could even minimize the blood loss in the upcoming revolts and civil war.” Martellus was not a bad man actually. He had served to his fullest, never objected to the council and led their armies many times. However he was also older then the council -the armor seemingly keeping him alive far too long- and wiser. As a military man he had seen the difference in power. Not only their ship, but also the two warriors they send. If they were all like that, there was nothing they could do. Yet he knew the council would not think that way. They would scheme, plan, plot and waste the lives of their people in an attempt to stay in power. It is what politicians do, what they are. Just this once Martellus would not allow it. If he could work together with these people, he might actually be deemed a hero king. The one that saved all of them and granted them an era of prosperity. “I have only two demands. You support me as king and secondly, you help me find a way to solve our population degradation problem. Do we have a deal?” He asked as he extended his hand to the man, hoping he would accept it. Word Count: 950 Total Word Count: 13,350 Legume
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Post by Legume on Jan 25, 2019 7:12:49 GMT -5
Legume purposefully did not try to make his Time Skip strike against the four armed assailant lethal - which may or may not have been a mistake, as apparently the mysterious assailant was strong enough to take the force of the technique and, after being pinned down in one of the walls of the shaft, he swiftly pulled himself out of the hole and began chasing after the Super Saiyan yet again. Clearly, this was not your average guard or soldier - this was something special, though Legume could also glean exactly that from the way how this man looked clearly different from the rest.
Using energy beams as propulsion, the warrior slowly started catching up on Legume, the distance between him and the Super Saiyan turning smaller and smaller with each passing second. The sword wielding Saiyan grunted. Guess there's going to be no option but to get into a fight after all, although Legume certainly did not appreciate it. A prolonged duel against someone who was clearly not on the tier of an average grunt would waste far too much time, which the Council could use to escape, or call up more reinforcements, or do a million other possible things to try to make his and Dain's lives a whole lot worse.
So it was quite a surprise when, after Legume finally descended down to the depths of the palace and could once again meet the Council face to face, the warrior suddenly appeared in front of him and, unlike what he had expected, immediately surrendered and offered to negotiate. That's... quite a sudden change of tone, isn't it? And yet, it seemed like the man was genuine.
"Fine. Negotiation is the reason why I came here in the first place, after all." Legume spoke, sheathing his greatsword and listening to what the man had to say. Apparently, in exchange for fulfilling what the Saiyan wanted, the warrior had two demands - to support him as the new King, and to help solve what he described as their "population degradation problem". The former Legume could live with, not that he had much of a say on the matter when he had no idea what this claimant was like and what his agenda would be, while the latter came as a surprise.
"I believe me and my ally were fairly clear in what our agenda for this planet is. We want to see an immediate diplomatic resolution to your ongoing war and are willing to help to resolve the issues which brought your two nations to conflict." Legume replied, his eyes briefly glancing to the council and then back at Martelius. "Before I can say a yes or no, could you inform me - what do you mean by 'population degradation problem'? Is it the ongoing war?"
(474 words, total 8727)
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Post by Dain Sincara on Jan 25, 2019 8:12:47 GMT -5
Martellus simply shrugged and smiled as he removed his helmet, so he could see the man with his own eyes. “Perhaps later we can establish proper friendly relationships, but I think now we can do with an agreement between two soldiers.” He said with a genuine tone. Perhaps he had simply served the council for far too long, but he had witnessed their doings too many times. Wasting lives to satisfy their pride or gain an advantage over something. As a military man he had been trained never to question, only to serve and he had done so for decades. Time passing and him growing older, gave him a certain wisdom. Martellus would never claim to be a genius, but knowledge he had gathered over time and as he did he saw the council for what it truly was. What their system truly was. It was one gigantic game of chess in order to retain or gain power. Lives meant very little, especially those of the lower classes. He had never actually sought to be a king, but when the situation presented itself, he did something the council could not. He made a split second decision, following his gut that had guided him for all this time and took the opportunity. Unlike a certain council who would need days discussing something as simple as whether they wanted to change the color of their approval stamps from green to turquoise -the favortite color of the eldest member- for a few weeks. “Look I can end the bloodshed in moments. Withdraw our troops and reach out for a treaty. As king that power is mine and I don´t need to talk about us being wiped out. You hold the cards and the power, so that is fine.” He said honestly, without the need of holding back. Martellus was sure that the man would appreciate honesty, even if it was a mere soldiers honesty. He then continued to explain though what it meant. With their cast system, a new council would be appointed the next day. Unless he could crown himself king and stop it. He would need their organization to send out a broadcast that they had to eradicate the old leader and appointed him as a king. As well as summoning up a few things he had negotiated for his people. At the very least it would be the foundation. There would still be civil war and strife for years, as he dismantled the old casting system, but with him in power there would be no more war. That he could promise. … as long as the organization could help him with their other problem. “Look I am no scientist. I don´t know the details, you would have to take it up with them. The gist is this however: we are dying as a species. We have solidified out species too long by mating with the same house/family. Our scientists have detected that our genes are degrading or something and that within a few decades, we still start to be unable to have children. Within a thousand years we will be extinct. That is why we waged war, conquered the other planets. The council saw it as a reason and or grounds to justify the war, claiming we needed new genetic material to our gene pool. The irony of this of course was that the strongest and best of our species got killed on a daily basis, which actually made things much worse. As I said before the war it was estimated we´d be dead within a thousand years, 98% of our species extinct. Now they are estimating it will takes less then 90 years and it is still falling. Help us with that and I promise you, that as long as I reign, there will be no more war from our side.” Martellus continued the long speech, merely repeating what he had overheard from the council. He was a soldier, not a leader. Yet he knew his people needed him and that if he did nothing, they would die. Maybe millions, perhaps billions would be lost in the civil war, but if meant his people would ultimately survive… “So do we have a deal or not? If so I will radio my men immediately as cease the attack on your companion.” Martellus said as he reached out his hand, hoping the man would accept. “By the way, my name is Martellus, former commander of the council guard.” He suddenly added, realizing that in everything that had happened, he completely forgot to introduce himself. Word Count: 750 Total Word Count: 14,100 Legume
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Post by Legume on Jan 26, 2019 15:20:20 GMT -5
What Martelius attested on his ability to end the ongoing war in moments was relieving and what he spoke about on the degradation of the population of his planet was both surprising and worrying at once. It wasn't really anything what Legume was ever familiar with. Because of long traditions of familial intermarriage, or, as they also call it, incest, the gene pool of the planet's population is starting to turn severely dwindled and is swiftly pushing them to the point where they will no longer be able to reproduce. And the ongoing war, which had apparently been started as a potential way of resolving the impending population bottleneck by injecting different genomes into the general population, was not helping, as many of the strongest members of the population were dying in the war and culling the gene pool.
It was not something the society of Legume's time would have ever imagined experiencing. The gene pool, as hard as it is to quantify it, is fairly diverse due to the thousands of various species composing the population of the Galactic Federation, and there was no problem with interbreeding either, as such a thing is not only heavily frowned upon, but also tough to achieve unless you are actively trying to achieve it because of the vast population of the nation. The Federation did have population troubles, but that came more from the average mother only having two children or less, a sub replacement fertility rate. For some, it was nothing more than a temporary dip down due to rising living standards which should not be worried about, while for others, it was reason to ring alarm bells and warn about a wave of immigrants from other galaxies breeding like rabbits and replacing the Federation's population in a few centuries.
God, he's never going to see his Galaxy again and yet he is still thinking about their politics... Was the election last year so heated that he was still thinking about it until this day?
"I see..." Legume muttered underneath his breath, staring into Martelius's hand for a few seconds before finally deciding to accept it. "I can tell you one thing about your population problem. I am no messiah and I cannot just snap my fingers and fix it just like that. I can, however, try to help to the best of my ability, as long as you have an idea and I have the power to help implement it."
Though he couldn't trust Martelius a hundred percent, the events with the Council were still fresh in his mind, the fact that at least a possible solution was found to the dilemma before them brought a faint smile on the Saiyan's face. For once, it works.
"I suppose we have a deal then, Martelius."
(474 words, total 9201)
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Post by Dain Sincara on Jan 28, 2019 7:37:05 GMT -5
Martellus did not blink an eye. In fact he found it honestly refreshing that the man in front of him did not seem to lie. No false hope, no false promises, just the earnest promise to help. Or at least that is how it seemed to him. “No worries, I am not looking for guarantees. Just a chance. I can work with hope, which is something we are currently lacking.” He said honestly, shaking the man´s hand, before reaching into a device and giving a few orders, before he and Legume made their way up. What they found was a bit upsetting. By the time they came up the shaft, Dain was sitting in the middle of a battlefield. Sitting upon a dead guard, he seemed to be sunk in thought, his sword stabbed into the ground, leaning upon it. All around him there were bodies lying, wounded being dragged of by the remaining guards or limping away. “Sup?” Dain finally asked, exhausted, barely able to turn his head to the two of them. “Look, minimal casualties.” He said, as his helm slid of and he tried to get up, only to wobble a bit and sitting back on the guard. ———————————————————————————————————————————— A few days later Dain and Legume found themselves aboard the Atrioch again. Both properly dressed and rested. A lot had happened in the past few days and it seemed their business was about to be concluded. “Well here is to success.” Dain said as he raised the crystal glass, containing a small layer of one of the finest whiskeys he had on board. He had to admit though he had not expected it all to go that well. There had not been even the destruction of a few cities or spaceship. The total amount of casualties came down to a gigantic robot, 7 council members and 26 dead guards. In all his time, Dain had never see such a cheap peace being brokered. He had to admit, perhaps there was something to his friends way. Without the death, there was little animosity or hatred. Still he had not expected that Martellus managed to get himself crowned king the next day, nor that he recalled the fleet and all the soldiers as his next order. The next they did was escort the commander king to the other planet and within a few short hours a peace treaty was signed. The other party was already relieved not to be attacked again and a few small threats of Dain to help the Xönöot otherwise, did not stand in the way of a quick pacification. It seemed Legume was capable of suggesting a few terms and solutions to the problem after all and somehow managed to turn the peace treaty in an honest attempt to help each other. It seemed both planets had their problems and perhaps they could truly help each other. Dain on the other hand had hired a group of mercenaries he trusted to enforce the treaty and pose as the Red Dragons. They would stay there for a few weeks and then make an occasional appearance for the next few decades. If all went well, things seemed to be taking a turn for the better. The Xönöot even agreed to relinquish the already conquered planets, in return for mutual help and the promise of Dain to send them several designs that would eventually help to improve their economy, welfare and even living standards. There was always a risk involved to uplifting a society, though the Saiya-Jin believed he could control the risk, by always posing as the bigger threat. Even with their uplifts, it would be at least a century before they could pose a proper threat to the Atrioch. Moreso Dain was having a little experiment. In the future it seems planets could work together and if he listened properly, being more advanced seemed to be a part of that. So Dain was wondering if he could force that. Perhaps if he uplifted these races, there would not be any reason for war anymore. At the very least it was going to be interesting to see the next few centuries play out. “Now that was fun was it not?” Dain asked with a grin as he lit the big cigar in his hand and rolled one to Legume at the same time. “So what is next?” He asked curiously as he enjoyed the smoke filling his lungs, swinging his legs up and slamming them on the oak desk they were sitting on. As much as Dain had gotten interested in his new friend, he still had a few things to finish. For example turning in the bounty. The mercenaries had cost him a pretty penny, but he could still make a proper profit. “What did you think though, was it really as bad as you imagined it?” Dain asked with a grin, curious to the answer. Word Count: 800 Total Word Count: 14,900 Legume
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Post by Legume on Jan 29, 2019 5:11:12 GMT -5
"To success, indeed..." Legume followed up, the glasses of the two Saiyans touching above the table and the time traveller downing his piece in seconds. He was never the type to drink alcohol all that often, but not someone who would say no to a good and healthy drink, either. Especially after something which was, indeed, a great success for both of them.
The last few days were surprisingly peaceful and successfiul. Martelius was not trying to betray them, he was being cooperative on the issue of making peace, something Legume offered help with. After having witnessed the peace negotiations between the Galactic Federation and the Metamoran Galaxy back in the distant future, and seeing that things like bilateral agreements and mutual disarmament agreements work very well in easing the tensions between both signatories and making it seem less like an enforced armistice and more like a permanent truce, the Saiyan worked on proposing that during the negotiations. The uplifting proposal raised by Petey also played an important role. Both combatants eventually agreed to a comprehensive peace treaty and their militaries stood down from any and all hostilities.
The stability of the Xonoot kingdom also came as quite a surprise. As it seems, or at least as Legume was able to understand, the Council was not a very popular government, while Martelius was a famous war hero who summoned respect from the citizens. The military stood on his side, and so did most of the population, and thus there was little to no bloodshed in the end. Of course, who knows how the following years will play out, but for now, the Saiyan could count it as a success.
And a success which prompted Dain to raise a question - what now? Now that they have pacified this region, where was the Saiyan heading next? Legume scratched his chin a little as his mind recalled something from a few days earlier, and he soon spoke:
"A few days before we met, I had received an invitation from Space Vegas. They say they had witnessed my skills in a tournament in Arcose and want me to invite to a spectacular event out there, 'Shroomy's Invitational' as they call it. It was actually where I was heading towards before I got sidetracked with you and everything happening here. And I was thinking... If I appear out there, in the galactic stage, and impress everyone with my ability, maybe this Herculean task of fixing the galaxy could be made a lot easier? I'd be able to get in contact with important people and recruit others to my cause, and that could be the foundation I need."
Legume leaned back, staring to the ceiling and speaking:
"I can't say whether it was 'better' or 'worse', but it was certainly a learning experience. This Galaxy operates under different rules, a completely different philosophy, than the one I am familiar with. And this whole ordeal showed me that I need to keep it in mind."
(508 words, total 9709)
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Post by Dain Sincara on Jan 30, 2019 11:04:53 GMT -5
Well it certainly sounded like an interesting thing. The Saiya-Jin had heard of the tournament and had intended to go watch it, but alas, he had already received three new missions. Two were fairly easy, but the last one would be a dousy and take a lot longer then he would like. He was still thinking about it, but it was actually a search, rescue and destroy, which would grant him a lot of points. Still… “Well then I wish you the best out there and maybe I will even come and watch.” Dain said friendly, raising his glass for Legume´s success. It was a fairly decent tactic and if the Saiya-Jin could draw some of the stronger fighters in the universe to his side, it would be a great start. There had been a saying on earth that three hundred soldiers were worth more then ten thousand peasants with pitchforks. Dain could practically testify to that. In this time, Legume would definitely be one of the top ranked fighters out there. “Just be careful though. Even if you are stronger then me, there are still stronger people out there. I have heard some rumors, maybe legends, but I should warn you about a demoness. She is called Amatricina. Just… be careful if you ever meet or face her.” He said with a warmth in his voice, that was unusual for the Saiya-Jin. Dain mused about the man´s words. He was probably right, about it not being better or worse. Well, no probably it was better in the future. They had just ended a war, by enforcing a king. Probably allowed for civil war and perhaps doomed a species if they could not find a cure. Sure not all was their fault and in the end they did a lot of good. Whether it was better though then the future, Dain could hardly imagine. There was one thing though that he could say for certainty. “Well perhaps better or worse is the wrong definition. I think though you will find though, that albeit primitive for your standards, beings everywhere are still good. They still want to protect themselves, their neighbors, their species. Perhaps their methods are wrong, because we have little choice, but their intentions are good. I have never met a species that is evil at heart. We may be wrong and barbaric, but we mean well. Just remember that. Maybe all we need is someone who can tell us what we have been doing wrong and show us the way.” Dain said with a smile as he gave the man a nod, before a devious grin appeared on his face. “Well except me of course, I am bad ass to the bone and hopeless.” He said, his grin becoming a bit sly, before finishing the cup of whiskey. “However… if you ever need my help with something, feel free to contact me.” Dain said friendly, before finishing his drink, standing up and making his way to the door. There was work to be done and he hated talking sensible anyway. “I might even forfeit my fee for you.” He said as he raised his hand, waved a final time and then vanished through the door. Word Count: 600 Total Word Count: 15,500 Legume
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