Episode description
Buried deep in the records of the Divine Past is a peculiar absence. What is buried beneath the northern pole of Partizan? “The Chasmata Quarry,” says the only public record, “specializes in rare mineral extraction.” Eight words. But other quarries on Partizan all have more. You could write a book about the excavations spread across the Columnar’s Memoria Teardrop, or those digs spread hive-like through the Apostolosian Barranca, or the industrial pockmarks across the long Orion flats of the Low Slate. So why, why were there only eight words about the Chasmata Quarry?
This week on PARTIZAN: The Unbreakable Quarry
///Operation Dossier\\\
//Organizations\\
House Chasmata: Despite not being the highest ranking house on Partizan, the Chasmata family has governed Stel Kesh’s holdings on the moon for as long as Kesh has been here. But in the last century, the family seems more interested in an archeological dig in the northern ice cap than in managing its estates. This has not, unfortunately for Apostolos, limited the amount of military might that Chasmata can bring to bear in an emergency. The Curtain of Divinity: Though Kesh is technically governed through an elaborate parliamentary democracy, the truth is that The Curtain of Divinity, a secretive organization inside of the Stel (and with agents across all of the Principality), serves as the actual power behind the throne. Knowledge of the Curtain is carefully guarded, and its membership is even further protected. Was originally established to rein in the Principality’s most tyrannical institutions and encourage growth and equity over generations, while hiding the truth of what lied beyond the Scutum-Centaurus Portcullis. Over time, their more noble aims were eroded, and only this final goal remained, along with a much more selfish goal of controlling the state.
Has recently announced its presence on Partizan and throughout the Principality. Currently in conflict with the Pact of Necessary Venture, Millennium Break, and the Organization for the Foundation of the Orion Republic.
//People\\
Gucci Garantine (she/her): Defector from Stel Kesh, controller of House Brightline and HORIZON’s efforts on Partizan. Now a powerful member of Millennium Break’s political class, heading the Party of the Masque. 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 body of the Divine Past. Now scours Partizan for the lost, injured, and unsure, recruiting them into her growing city-state. A shaky ally of Millennium Break. Haunted by an old foe. Cas’alear Rizah (cas/cas’, they/them): Leader of the Swordbreakers, sibling of the Glorious Princept. Cas has brown skin with dark green hair up in a bun, with a few strands hanging down in front of their face (which is framed with similarly colored scales covering cas’ jawline and neck. Broken sword tattoos under their eyes. Reputation as being beautiful and brave by allies, unflinching and unpredictable by foes. Pilots the notorious Ataraxia. Was badly wounded in the defense against Motion and GLORY in Auspice, and now, through a combination of the Witch in Glass’ gifts and ongoing rehabilitation, is working to return to fighting form. Agon Ortlights (she/her): Aided by her servicebot companions, Agon worked hard to attain the rank of lieutenant in the Company of the Spade, where she’s become a veteren mercenary, a skilled miner, and a hell of a drinking buddy. Sloe Uplight (he/him): His business card says “Private Historian,” his parlor rooms’ security system says “information broker,” and his grinning mouth says “no difference.” A Kesh academic turned freelance fixer, turned again to Millennium Break intelligence officer. //Places\\
Chasmata Quarry: Founded almost one thousand years ago, the Chasmata family has been digging into the ice and stone at the north pole for as long as Kesh has been on the planet. Activity in the area has increased in the last century. No information gets in or out. Every scout sent to investigate the area has been lost forever. The Reflecting Pool: The city that has emerged inside of the Divine Past’s body, led by the Witch in Glass. Its citizens come from every walk of life on Partizan, all united in the desire to leave the past behind and start a new life. //Divines\\
The Divine Past: Part floating city, part living library, and current home to the Reflecting Pool. The Divine Past was built tens of thousands of years before the Divine Principality was created. It stores an untold amount of information about the cultures it has observed, including the Divine Principality itself. //Things\\
Curtain Ideograms: A vast collection of graphic symbols and code words used by the Curtain to communicate information clandestinely. //Additional Notes\\
Primary Objective: Identify, and then destroy or recover “Lodestone.”
Secondary Objective: Capture enemy commander.
Contents
Opening
“
When Millennium Break’s request arrived, her instinct was to reject it on the spot. Even now, after remaking herself in renegade shape, she found that some loyalties beat like hearts, independent of one’s own free will. And this, for the Witch in Glass, this was infuriating.
When she called her late mother to mind, she thought first of all the harsh words, and then the even harsher silences. The judgmental jabs at how she dressed, spoke, lived. The feeling of insecurity, that she’d never even reach the edge of her mother’s shadow, let alone crawl out from under it.
So why, after all of that, should she feel any hesitation in a betrayal like the one requested by those naive revolutionaries in Millennium Break? Was there some buried childhood memory of one good summer? Some moment that made her miss the shape if not the sharpness of her mother’s voice? No. In fact, her mother was anything but sentimental about trading things for power. Whether it was state secrets, the lives of others, or the rare small droplet of her affection, Crysanth was the definition of transactional.
And yet, there was a lesson from Clementine’s mother that still pulsed through her veins, lied next to the sprouting Russian sage: Never let someone you give something to feel like they’ve earned it. They might spite you. They may hate themselves for dealing with you. They will swear to never walk through your door again, but they will. Because, if you make them really pay? They’ll never forget: They couldn’t do it without you.”
Plot
The number of Oxbridge refugees living on the Reflecting Pool has decreased by tens of thousands as some people find refuge with their elsewhere, but that still leaves the Reflecting Pool a large city. Everyone has their own strategies for living here. Kalar has been repairing buildings for people living here, but also scoping up the city and its weak points. Phrygian is being a tourist and learning about ordinary people's lives. SI gives the illusion of being around, but prioritizes research with Past—he's still freewheeling after the death of Crysanth. The Figure is attending to the needs of the residents. AO is training and leading the Swordbreakers as Cas'alear recovers.
The Reflecting Pool docks in the ocean and a number of Millennium Break members meets in a briefing room in the Winter Palace in Cruciat. Gucci goes over a map of the Chasmata Quarry: a facility dug into a mountain, boxed in by a 100-foot U-shaped wall. To the south, the jungle gives way to the ice. They're about to carry out Operation Lodestone.
Sloe Uplight, who has become a Millennium Break intelligence officer, adds details: the quarry lies in the north pole, and has been held by House Chasmata for a long time. But Chasmata stopped digging hundreds of years ago. They know whatever's held here must be important; something in the facility is linked to the Green Miracle, and presumably to Autonomy Itself and the Exemplar. All attempts to infiltrate have failed, but a frontal assault has never been attempted; they'll make an assault, allowing a small team to gain entrance. They should attempt to extract or destroy whatever is held within. SBBR, as the group with the most experience with the Exemplar and Autonomy, has been chosen in the hopes that they can keep their cool.
SI, the Figure in Bismuth, Kalar and Phrygian decide to pose as Curtain agents using Crysanth's ideograms while the long-range feint attack goes off, in the hopes they'll be brought in protectively. In return for sharing the relevant ideograms, Clem wants her share of whatever they find, or at least the clout. They broadcast the signal for a day and arrive at night in a treaded sedan at the scanning facility outside the complex. They are led inside to meet with a Columnar colonel: Lincoln Shine. It's at this point artillery fire begins and Shine brings them into a panic room.
Cast
- Austin Walker (GM)
- Andrew Lee Swan (The Figure in Bismuth)
- Art Martinez-Tebbel (Sovereign Immunity)
- Jack de Quidt (Kalar Anakalar)
- Keith J Carberry (Phrygian)