Episode description[edit | edit source]
This episode carries content warnings for the discussion of blood and uncanny bodily manipulation.
With one mission behind them and a new one approaching quickly, the crew of the Blue Channel finds time to relax in the most unlikely of places. But, as the colorful clouds gathering above remind us, no clear day lasts forever.
This week on PALISADE: I Would Like To Help You Pt. 2
...by this river...[Note 1]
Dossier[edit | edit source]
Organizations[edit | edit source]
The Twill: Though many groups have lived on the world of Palisade over the years, the Twill can trace their time on the world back the furthest. Though a first glance appraisal might make one think that their defining trait is the moss that covers much of their bodies and allows them to live on sunlight and water alone, in fact their most unshakable cultural trait is a practice of collaboration, aid, and acceptance. When groups like Advent, Kesh, the New Earth Hegemony, and the Divine Principality left Palisade behind, they often left behind the disaffected or unwanted. It was often, if not always, the Twill who helped these people find sustainable lives on the world, either by blending with the group over generations or through open exchange of goods and information. The Devotees: A church from the Twilight Mirage that is committed to the worship of the divine Devotion, which they sometimes refer to as Fervor. Common practices include the regular checking of one’s pulse and multi-day group picnic outings. Qui'Err Coalition: The govening body of the Twilight Mirage, comprised by affiliated communes, townships, and other groups across the system's eight worlds. New Earth Hegemony: Once, the NEH was massive, galactic-scale power that threatened conquest of The Twilight Mirage. It was reduced to a single fleet—now lost—which provided its inhabitants endless, digital life. People[edit | edit source]
The Witch in Glass a.k.a. Clementine Kesh (she/her): A former scion of Kesh who, after knitting a bond with the adversary Perennial, came into control of the broken body of the Divine Past, which she has renamed the Reflecting Pool. Rules over the Crown of Glass, a city-state on the southeastern reaches of Palisade. A shaky ally of Millennium Break. Haunted by an old foe. Griesel Sunset (he/him): Coriolos' father, a zealous Devotee. Currently lives on the Isle of the Broken Key. Kriminel Kollage (she/her): A young Twill tinkerer who tried to convince her community to help her ressurect the long dead divine, Palisade, and went through with it when they denied tos upport her. General Tomorrow Mourning (she/her): Leader of the Qui'Err Coalition's forces en route to the Twilight Mirage. Saffron Septet (she/her): A doctor from the Twilight Mirage who lives as a digital consciousness, spread across a number of bodily forms including a heavy Torch Unit, a small motorcycle, and a unique and specially-crafted surgeon body. Partial Palisade (he/him): A man who was once a Divine, now living in the shell of a being quite unlike what he once was. The Lost Duchess, Constantina Malady (she/her): Just as it is said, she arrived on a black horse with white fetlocks. Places[edit | edit source]
The Twilight Mirage: Created over 5000 years ago by what was then the Divine Empyrean in an effort to protect the Divine Fleet, of which they were a member. The Mirage is a false nebula that obscures the position of its inhabitants both visually and by distorting time and space. Inside, there is now a vibrant and peaceful culture that spans eight planets, orbiting a dark and living Divine sun.
Contents[edit | edit source]
Plot[edit | edit source]
Coriolis attempts to spread Devotion's word to the Twill aboard the Blue Channel. Brnine notices Cori talking to people and, unaware that she is proselytizing, encourages her. Thisbe tells Cori that she "resembles a child at play" in the photo Thisbe took of her in front of a fallen mech; it's meant kindly, but shakes Cori's confidence in herself as Devotion's Beacon.
Brnine invites a confused Thisbe to accompany them and Hunt to an arcade on the Diadem. Brnine just wants to have fun and "get a little untz-untz goin'" but Thisbe misunderstands the situation as a new mission and decides to bring Mow. Figure sees Thisbe gearing up and assumes the same as she did, Phrygian shows up in war form assuming this will be Gucci's "hit and run" mission, and Cori, hearing something about an arcade, invites herself along.
Later, the Figure in Bismuth visits the Witch in Glass at her palace in the Crown of Glass: they need the Witch to give them another dose of Perennial's magic in order to stay alive. We learn that every time they return to the Crown of Glass like this, the Witch "knows, sees, hears everything that Figure knows, has seen, has heard," and that in this way the Witch can spy on Millennium Break. The Witch orders Figure to capture the target of the Blue Channel's next sortie and bring that person back to her.
Meanwhile, in the city, Cori and Kriminel attempt to pick a movie together. On her way back to the ship, Cori encounters Saffron Septet, who has arrived at the Blue Channel. Saffron introduces herself as the ship's new medic, sent by Gucci from General Mourning's fleet. Asepsis identifies Saffron's Torch Unit body as an NEH enemy and launches a malware attack with the goal of forcing Saffron's consciousness out of the body. Brnine convinces Asepsis to relent, but as a result of this encounter Saffron feels unwelcome aboard the ship.
Cast[edit | edit source]
- Austin Walker (GM)
- Ali Acampora (Kalvin Brnine)
- Andrew Lee Swan (The Figure in Bismuth)
- Janine Hawkins (Thisbe)
- Sylvia Clare (Coriolis Sunset)
- Keith J. Carberry (Phrygian)
Other Characters[edit | edit source]
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Title of the song By This River by Ryuichi Sakamoto & Alva Noto