Mutants & Masterminds: Galactic League - Episode Two: Diplomacy

[Krul]

On the surface of the planet, with Captain Daylan, Commander Saotome and the ship's Avatar Zade, several escorts have arrived outside the door, with Lady Tanya Malen, to take the captain to address the envoys.

Originally Posted By: Krul

Originally Posted By: Namiah Daylan

Namiah hadn't really been listening to the conversation, but when she heard Tanya's voice, she tuned in just enough to hear Tanya make the announcement she'd been waiting for. She straightened out of her slight slump and opened her eyes. What she saw made her frown.

"Zade, what are you doing here?" she asked the young woman. There was true concern in her voice as she stood up. "Why are you surface-side?"

"Part of my programing is to protect Captain and crew, you were in danger, and being spied upon, I have acted to remove the electronic spies, and my physical presense increases your safety by 83.72%." She responded to Namiah's question. "Although, I estimate it could be increased by another 71.39% if I was to reconfigure my physical matrix around you as armor, Captain."

Originally Posted By: Kaien

Kaien looked at Zade. "Is that really an advisable course of action Zade?

"While not doing so puts the Captain at risk, doing so risks our teammates and our ship."

He knew there were some redundancies on the ship, but the death of the AI would be something that would cripple the ship completely at what could be a critical juncture.

"The danger is minimal, it seems unlikely that there is anything that would manage to destroy me. The distruction of my physical avatar is only a temporary handicap, as my internal logic matrix is saved upon the ship. It would take a week to fully reconstruct my systems, and would drop system efficiency until I was fully online once more." She paused, and there was a hint of uncertainity about her, not about the estimates and possibilities, but more of a social uncertainty. "I admit to a measure of uncertainity to the social and politic nessessities, so what instructions does my Captain have for me?"

[z-Namiah Daylan]

Namiah shook her head. "Thank you Zade, but I will not meet these people for the first time hiding behind another member of my crew. Besides, I have faith in your and Kaien's ability to keep me safe. For now, Zade, watch and learn - and defend." Despite her calm dismissal of the very real danger of what she faced, the captain walked serenely as she moved toward their escorts.

"Lady Malen," she said, bowing her head. "Are they ready for us?"

[Kaien]

Kaien nodded, glad things would be alright. He was on high alert now, watching the area for the first hints of danger.

[Krul]

With her Captain's words to her, she stepped back, and set her systems on observation. In human terms, she was in the developmental stage equvalent to a teen, though that wasn't quite a perfect analogy. Taking in data was one thing, any AI could do that, growing and learning however, required experance.

Even as thousands of considerations and caculations were being made each second by the AI, the Lady Malen bowed to the Captain, and Commander once again. "Yes Captain, everyone is ready, and waiting to hear from the League's envoy, if you would follow me."

And with that, the lovely woman lead the way to the grand council chamber, with dozens of diplomats and envoys were gathered and speaking. It was a large circular room, rising up in about a dozen tiers from the center, which was where the they were brought. Once there, the hum of dialog hushed, and everyone waited, as the Captain and her two crew members were introduced, including honors and awards.

[z-Namiah Daylan]

Namiah stood calmly and quietly through the introductions, listening to each word and measuring it against what she knew of this place. It was always the little things that gave people's true feelings away and these were what she looked for now.

Stepping to the podium amid polite applause, Namiah drew a deep breath to steady herself. She really didn't like public speaking, but had long sense inured herself to the nervousness and fear. "The Emerald Empress is here." The announcement froze the members of the room in their seats, darting nervous looks around. Namiah let the silence reign for a moment; then she said, "She's here in the fear in your hearts. She's here, in the suspicions that keep your peoples divided. She's here, hiding in all of our darkest fears about each other. And she will win, if you let her stay."

Namiah looked around the room, making eye contact as she slowly warmed up to the moment. "The longer you harbor her, the braver her agents grow. Already, there has been an attempt to silence me permanently. Such extreme measures can only mean one thing. They fear me. Let me put that another way. They fear a pacifist. They fear peace. They fear your peace. They fear your unity. They fear you all standing strong, as one.

"I am here to help you stand together. You are disparate peoples. You span twenty-one systems of diversity and beauty. But in the end, you all want the same thing: the right to self-govern yourselves, to live as you choose rather than how another forces you to live. I will see that you find your common ground to unite together in peace and harmony. Thank you." And so finished, she stepped back, surrounding the podium to the leadership. They would have to start things; she was just a facilitator.

[Krul]

For a moment, there was total and utter silence from the envoys, then beginning with a single individual rising to his feet and begining to clap his hands, shortly the entire chamber had risen to thier feet, in a standing ovation of the words that Namiah had spoken. The applause went on for about 5 minutes or so, before it finally came to a stop.

Floating upward, the senior Octaran envoy bowed to Lady Malen, who was at the moment council chair, waiting to be acknowledged before she spoke up. "Envoys of your respective words, I embrace the sentiment and words of the Envoy from the Galatic League, and suggest we make them the heart of our own consitution, and union of our collective systems. Let us unite together in peace and harmony, with the determination to allow each of our peoples to govern themselves as they chose. Up until now, we havn't entirely made up our minds what we are going to do. I would like to propose a vote, let us create a colective constitution, but insure the right of each people to self-govern themselves. All who would agree, please make your votes."

One by one, the votes were put in, and game out to a total 21 votes in favor, 0 against. Of course, that was just the begining, having decided to join forces, what remained was how they would do so.

[Kaien]

Kaien stood, a silent Sentinel watching the room. He nodded at Namiah's Speech, and then the represantives vote. Things were going well, too well. He nodded to Zade. "Be ready for anything, continue full scanning procedures. He himself was watching and waiting. He hoped things would be fine, but knew better.

[Krul]

Suddenly, Zade went to full alert mode, a definite indication that something was seriously amiss. "Threat Analysis Upgrade: disassembler nanites unleashed into council chambers, countermeasures required to protect envoys and crew. Analysis indicates that this attack was to make unit Zade unavailable to aid in defense of envoys, Captain and Commander will need to deal with other threats."

Even as Zade spoke, she vanished into a nanite swarm herself, seeking to counter and eliminate the destructive nanite swarm that had just been unleashed upon the chamber.

Even as Zade moved to deal with the nanites, her prediction regarding other forces was proving correct, as a dozen warriors armed with pulse lasers suddenly were transported into the room.

[Kaien]

Kaien regarded the threat instantly, and vanished reappearing between them and the delegates. Sheer telekinetic force manifested and blasted one of the troopers as they finished materializing, hoping to knock them into the others.

Click to reveal..

Attack roll d20+8

(13:14:59) ChatBot: (Kaien) rolls 1d20 and gets 19. 27

[z-Namiah Daylan]

A frown marred Namiah's face. It wasn't anger or irritation; it was disappointment. She was disappointed that the forces of the Emrald Empress were so crass as to openly attack like this. She had expected this, but had hoped to be surprised.

She swept off the podium with grace, moving boldly to the six clustered in the center of the room. "This is a peaceful delegation," she snapped, putting her hand on the arm of the nearest soldier. He started and looked at her, and found himself looking into the greenest eyes he'd ever seen. "There is no need to fight," she said, the force of her presence falling on him like a weight. "Set aside your arms and convince your comrades to do the same, and we will settle our differences, like civilized beings."

It shouldn't work; he should just shoot her. But there was something compelling in her gaze that demanded he listen to her plea. Her eyes were slightly pleading as she finished with, "Please. Help me so no one dies needlessly."

Click to reveal..

Namiah's Diplomancy roll: 16 + 19 = 35

1d20=16

[Krul]

While the delegates and envoys either ducked down, or demanded explations, except for a few, like Tanya Malen who had combat training, the two members of the Galactic League acted directly to try and bring a stop to the sudden violence, even as their mechanized counterpart worked to neutralize the efforts of the destructive nanites.

With a single telekinetic blast, Kaien knocked one of the soldiers into two others, taking three of them down instantly. What Namiah did, however, shocked a number of those closest to her, as she put herself in danger to try and bring a more peaceful resolution to the sudden conflict. Her impassioned appeal was so strong and deep that the he found himself doubting his commanders goals and purpose. Her beauty and the compassionate nature of her plea was difficult, no almost impossible to refuse.

Somehow, she had also managed to chose the commander of this particular unit for her appeal, and he was already doubting the wisdom of this attack and his superiors, her appeal found fertile ground. The fact her subordinate had managed to take out 3 of his men in one second didn't hurt either. "Stand Down! Everyone Stand Down, that's an order!"

As his men lowered their weapons, and Zade finished of the last of the dangerous nanites, he spoke to Namiah in a much lower voice, low enough that only she could hear. "I likely will get court-marshaled for this, but I've been doubting the wisdom of our approach to this matter for some time."

[z-Namiah Daylan]

"Then you are far wiser than your so-called superiors," Namiah told him softly, inclining her head in a small bow of respect to him. Her voice rose enough that he and his men could hear. "But you don't have to return, if you fear retribution; any of your men who fear for their lives and health are guaranteed safety. If none of the delegates here open their doors, the Galactic League will offer asylum. And those who wish to be returned to the Empire will be safely escorted there. You have my word on that."

She looked to the rest of the room, a smile on her face. Her hand remained on the commander's arm, her touch both protection and benediction. "Again, they try to force your hands with war, and again, we show them the power of our peace." There was awe on the faces of the people in the room: awe that an unarmed woman had walked boldly to trained soldiers and convinced them to set aside their weapons and betray the Emerald Empress.

"Is anyone hurt? We should take a short break to allow us to recover. Shall we reconvene in an hour?" Namiah asked into that we, already moving on to practicalities - repairing the hurt and broken; reforging the disbanded unions of the galaxies.

[Kaien]

The Captain was one of the great diplomats within the League, and that much was made clear to everyone there. She spoke softly, and her big stick was her policy of peace itself.

Kaien nodded, as close to a smile as he'd give in public. With unprecedented ease he gatherd up the weapons, and looked to Namiah. With finesse that spoke of natural talent, he picked up and righted the men he'd knocked over.

He returned to Namiah's side afterwards, once things had calmed slightly waiting for Zade to reform. "That went well, remind me why you needed me Captain?"

[Krul]

The leader of the unit nodded at Namiah a moment, before responding to her offer. "I think it would be best, for everyone involved, if the Galactic League took this unit prisoner. At least, for some of my men, it would mean they could return to the Empire without much fear of retribution, from the Empire, or this new Alliance forming here in these chambers. To make it official, I, Captain Tam Keir, hearby yield my command to the custody of the Galactic League."

Even as he spoke, the chamber was begining to settle down, and after a moment, Zade reformed, like liquid metal growing up from the ground. "Nanite Threat Eliminated, Captain."

[z-Namiah Daylan]

Namiah's expression became rueful as she smiled at Kaien. "Because," she told him softly, "both sides must be wise enough to seek peace. Otherwise, I would have needed your war." Her green eyes sparkled at him for a moment before her attention was returned to Captain Keir.

She listened to him somberly; though everyone saw the regret in her eyes, she replied, "Captain Keir, I am taking you and your unit into custody for the unlawful disruption of this peaceful meeting. As Captain of the Scheherazade, I, Captain Namiah Daylan, am authorized to take you prisoner under the Galactic League Code of Justice, Article Fifteen. Lt. Saotome, take these men back to the ship and place them in the brig."

It was a show, it was all for show, but Namiah recognized the necessity of it. And her eyes said as much as she gave Captain Keir one last nod before he was removed.

Stifling a sigh that would only be used against her, Namiah turned to Zade. "Well done, Ensign," she said with a small smile. "Thank you for your warning - it was invaluable."

[Kaien]

Kaien nodded. "I had hoped to not be needed either."

He keyed in the request to the ship, and stood with the disarmed soldiers, awaiting the teleporter to transport them topside.

[Krul]

As they were taken away, the lead envoy of the D'kir stood up. "Captain, Might I ask for a further consideration? This delegation is vulnerable at the moment, at this location. It is my understanding that Galactic League ships a well armed and armored, and contain certain extra-dimensional spaces that could hold this delegation. If all here are agreeable, perhaps we could move the entire delegation aboard your ship, to prevent further interference?"

[Kaien]

Kaien looked to Namiah as he was leaving and had overheard. That would place responsibility for everything squarely on the League if things went bad.

He nodded. He trusted his Captain's judgement, and would do his duty.

[z-Namiah Daylan]

Namiah was silent just a moment; though suddenly unsure of what to do, that didn't show on her face. She studied the tiger-like features of the D'kir before smiling. He started to think that was an affirmative to his question, but she turned and looked at Zade. "Ensign, please calculate the odds on whether moving to the Scheherazade will be a benefit to these talks."

[Krul]

The physical manifestation of the ships AI considered the question that she was just asked. Within her mind, thousands of factors were considered, evaluated and then assigned values. Knowing that her Captain didn't want long figures, she broke it down based on what she presently knew. "Based on evaluation of known factors, approximately 71.32% plus or minus 3%.. However, any unknown factors could make this evaluation less accurate, Captain."

[z-Namiah Daylan]

"That's life, Ensign," Namiah said with a wry smile. "You can only make decisions based on what you know, and never on what you don't know. Of course, we can make reasonable guesses of what we don't know."

Capt. Daylan turned to Kaien. "Lieutenant, what are your thoughts on this matter? I'd particularly like your take from a security standpoint." Her expression gave no hint to which way she was leaning.

[Kaien]

"I think Captain, that bringing them to the ship is sound, though it will increase our responsibility greatly. We have a crew more than up to the task, and if that is how the delegates feel that they would be safest, then I say we do it. We could reconfigure part of the ship I'm sure to serve as a meeting hall for the delegates present with ease."

He looked to Zade. "That wouldn't be too problematic would it?"

He looked to Namiah. "Securitywise, The ship is the safest thing around, given circumstances being as they are."

[Krul]

Zade shook her head, sense the ship was in some part her, she was fully aware of it's capabilities. "Negative, the ship contains several extra-spatial areas that can be reconfigured to serve such a purpose, should the Captain desire it." She pauses a moment. "Living quarters for all delegates and their assistants would strain extra-spatial capabilities to their maximum, space can be made for all."

The delegates were watching patiently as the Captain considered the matter and questioned her associates, they then turned their attention back to the Captain, waiting for her decision.

[z-Namiah Daylan]

She only paused another moment. "We move to the Scheherazade," Captain Daylan said with purpose. "If that will help, then we will make all accommodations. Delegates, please pack your bags and be ready to transfer to the Scheherazade as quickly as you can. We'll teleport people up as they are ready; return to this room when you are ready. Lady Tanya, can you please provide the guards to escort people to their rooms and back here?"

Already her mind was racing ahead to what they would need to do and move to the ship. There was much work to be done, and little time to accomplish it.

[Krul]

Once the decision was made, the various delegates stood up and began to give their assistants instructions, and room went from looking a ring around a central point, to being a kicked beehive.

Tanya Malen bowed at the Captain's requestion. "Of course, Captain Daylan, I will see to it that everyone is properly guarded and that there are as few problems as possible."

Meanwhile, Zade's eyes went distant for a moment.. as she contacted someone else. "I have contacted Chief Engineer T'aeg, Captain, he is already setting to work on the transport systems, but I will need to depart to set up space for living quarters, if the Captain will permit."

[z-Namiah Daylan]

"Go ahead, Ensign," Namiah ordered, watching as the artificial crew member disappeared in a teleport. With that done, she turned to help bring some order to the chaos.