PALISADE 20: In Their Fear Pt. 1

In Their Fear Pt. 1
Episode information
Episode	20
Release Date	August 4, 2023
Length	02:14:47
Content Warnings	Blood, discussion of mass destruction/death, discussion of medical treatment, mind reading, medical coercion
Meta
Cast	Austin Walker Ali Acampora Andrew Lee Swan Janine Hawkins Sylvi Bullet Keith J. Carberry Jack de Quidt
Game	Armour Astir
Score	Nothing is Stationary
Episode guide
Previous	How It Always Looks Pt. 2
Previous	How It Always Looks Pt. 2
Next	In Their Fear Pt. 2
Next	In Their Fear Pt. 2
Previous Arc	How It Always Looks
Previous Arc	How It Always Looks
Links
Episode Page	friendsatthetable.net
Transcript	TBA

Episode description

This episode carries content warnings for mention of blood, discussion of mass destruction/death, discussion of medical treatment, mind reading and medical coercion.

The wheel turns, for the crew of the  Blue Channel, there hasn’t been time for reckoning. Instead: a funeral; a  room with questions in it; the front steps of a church; another room, different questions; a message, contrite and frightening; somehow, a few small moments of real connection.

And above it all: Something is wrong with the sun.

March on soldiers, I’m your Queen / The ambassadress of beauty I’m told

Dossier

Organizations

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Violet Cove: The Dim Liturgy claim to have seen the Divine Devotion's arrival coming in their sacred text: A battered and corrupted backup of Crystal Palace's final predictions for the future. Now the two cults work together to oust the Bilats... and perhaps to do more intriguing things, as well.
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.

People

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Griesel Sunset (he/him): Coriolos' father. A zealous Devotee. Recently deceased.
Zedd Z. Izzard (he/him): Lovable dirtbag chef. Works in main hall's mess hall. Knows everyone’s favorite drink and most people's favorite meal. Satisfactory pilot. BIS Spy.
Stargrave Elcessor (she/her): Leader of the Bilateral Interecession’s occupation of Palisade, assigned personally by Cynosure Whitestar-Kesh. As a Stargrave, she has been granted the means and “right” to detonate the star at the center of Palisade’s star system if she determines that those here are an existential threat to the Principality.
The Witch in Glass (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.
Connadine (he/him): Commander of the BIS on Palisade. An expert in psychological operations and folklore. As a composer, his opus is the Adagio, a plan to get everyone on Palisade operating in ways not only predictable, but scripted. As a conductor, his orchestra now turns towards the second movement.
Saint Decario Dicario (he/him): Devoted Devotee warmonger and one-time lover of the Twilight Mirage rockstar Teleos Triton Tanager.
Elle Evensong (she/they) - Elle arrived to Palisade along with the first wave of Devotees, making a name for herself as a cunning combatant and clever commander. She became a poster child for Twilight Mirage's support of Palisade (and, for members of the Dim Liturgy, a prophesied bridge between the past and the future). But as the war began to heat up, she seemed to vanish into the background. Pilot of the Cataphract.
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.

Places

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Diadem Gravtrain: While the vast trench-city on Palisade's equator lays abandoned, Kesh has reactivated its railway via an operations center in Carmathen.
Tintagel: A city and fortress that marked the Fabreal Duchy’s farthest reach on Palisade’s southern continent. Stargrave Elcessor uses its palace as her operations center and home when she is on planet.
Brecheliant Forest: A vast, mysterious forest on Palisade’s southern continent said to confuse even the most experience of travelers.
The Paint Shop: Sitting atop the central peak of Steeple Catterick, most people assume the Paint Shop to be no more than an artist commune where visiting artists collaborate on eccentric and avant-garde work. In truth, it is both a manufactory and front for the Bilateral Intelligence Service.

Divines

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Asepsis (it/its): The final living remnants of a Divine who pursues its particular vision of purity at the cost of everything else. Kept, studied, and utilized by Captain Kalvin Brnine. Recently confounded by BIS spy Zedd Z. Izzard.
The Divine, Arbitrage (it/its): The amoral machine turned de facto treasurer keeps the Frontier Syndicate a step ahead in all matters of commerce. Sole minter of “glint,” a newly popular currency on Palisade.

Mysteries

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The Iconoclasts: Something beyond the human, desperate to eradicate subjectivity itself.

Contents

Opening

“

Griesel Sunset. No accounting of our lost brother, our lost father, our lost friend could be complete without talking about his love. Griesel's love. He had a great number of loves, didn't he, folks? He loved his family, some of whom are here today. He loved his coworkers, he loved the Cause we fight for, he loved to fish, he loved to drive his truck, he loved to play his guitar. I like to think he loved me too, but more than anything else he loved Devotion.

Griesel wasn't part of the first wave of fighters who came from the Brink five years ago. But he waited not in cowardice, not in fright, but in love. Devotion sometimes moves slow.

Devotion to Devotion means putting others first.
Devotion to Devotion means knowing your worth.
Devotion to Devotion means drawing a blade.
Devotion to Devotion means having no shame.

Yet some people in this room, they draw up their collars.
They hide behind careful words and donated dollars.
You're loveless and curt. We're lower than dirt,
A machine well-greased.
Our blood's on your shirts but you call us a cult.
We're useful, then we're deceased.

Griesel knew this. He fought for you anyway.
He fought for you in the dark. He fought for you in the day.

Devotion to Devotion means putting others first.
Devotion to Devotion means facing the worst.
Devotion to Devotion means moving with motion
that's confident, a notion of loving emotion.
Devotion to Devotion means opening up your arms
and letting us in. We're not marked by sin.

We're believers. If you'd known Griesel, you'd know.
We're believers. It's just that we know what we know.
And what we know is that real victory carries a price.
Blood for blood, a little quid pro quo, and we're willing to slice
ourselves open.”

Cast

• Austin Walker (GM)
• Ali Acampora (Kalvin Brnine)
• Andrew Lee Swan (The Figure in Bismuth)
• Janine Hawkins (Thisbe)
• Sylvia Bullet (Coriolis Sunset)
• Keith J. Carberry (Phrygian)
• Jack de Quidt (beginning of episode only)