Twilight Mirage 54: Downtime on Skein

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Episode description[edit | edit source]

It is one day after the Second Miracle and the arrival of Our Profit, the so-called final hegemon of the New Earth Hegemony. Lit by the massive, false star projected by the Restitution of All Things, Our Profit's flagship, the Twilight Mirage hangs, shocked and quiet. But not for everyone. 

Resting and recovering in the apparent safety of the World Without End, a sudden wave of energy passes over the members of the Notion, sparked by a corrupted transmission from the all-seeing supercomputer, Crystal Palace. In their visions, the crew witness future conflicts, opportunities, victories, and betrayals.

But not all revelations come in visions.

This time on Twilight Mirage: Downtime on Skein

We’ll let you guys prophesy
We gon' see the future first

Contents[edit | edit source]

Opening[edit | edit source]

[Gray Gloaming] Report. 597. Priority; abnormal exigency. Protocol code; I QUIRE addendum MIRACLE. Subprotocols; dark day, disavowal. Begin voice signature; Satellite observer Gray Gloaming, requesting direct communication channel with Chief Intercessor Keen Forester Gloaming. Connection established. Locked in… broadcast mode. Oh. I… Begin transmission.

Dad. I, know you can hear me. I wish you would talk to me. I wish… I wish, I could say that I knew what was going through your head right now. I know all the protocols. I know what agents of the Rapid Evening are supposed to do in the unlikely event occasion that Crystal Palace goes dark. Scuttle all active operations. Secure undeployed assets. Disperse uncompromised field agents into deep cover identities. Sit tight, wait for Crystal Palace to re-establish connection with you.

But you’re not doing any of that. You didn’t think we’d notice? The Torch Unit heist on Terncage. The open call for freelance pilots and fixers. The diverted medical shipments that vanished from Thyrsus. Seventeen zero-gee construction robots that disappeared from the Gumption rebuild drydock. A cruisers worth of Q-Glass from the mines on Crown, brought for a single cred. And 22000 cases of jelly juice, just, gone from the manifest. 22000! We’re a truck stop Dad, how could we miss that?!

In moments like this, agents like you are supposed to go quiet, stay safe. Instead, it looks like you’re stocking up for a war, Dad, and we both know, you’re not a warrior. You’re barely a soldier. You’re just another agent, like I was.

Before Dark Day, you sent me a letter. You asked me and Demani to leave, to stay safe. Now I’m asking you to do the same, but you won’t even answer my call. And that has me, extra worried, because the thing you need, more than ever, is some good advice, Dad. Your whole life you’ve been doing whatever Crystal Palace asked – I know how that goes, I’ve made peace with my time doing the same. But there’s another way. This last year of my life, here in The Mirage, here with Demani and Mo and all the weird scoundrels and would be heroes passing through The Brink, it’s all been so unexpected. And I’m just, afraid you’ll never know how to see the beauty in that.

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Other Characters[edit | edit source]