Episode description
Miles to the south of the Chasmata Quarry, AO Rooke loads an artillery shell into cannon. It’s the third to be fired, in a set of 50. He is providing cover, he was told, for the operation’s infiltration unit to get what it was they needed. “Except,” he worried to himself, “the infiltration unit did not know what it was they needed. He punctuated his concern by slamming the hatch on the howitzer shut. “And that crew, specifically,” he thought, “is a strange fit for infiltration to begin with.” And so AO Rooke had a thought: He and his crew would fire 50 rounds into the sky towards the Quarry. But he would do so at two-thirds the normal speed, giving Kalar, Phrygian, Sovereign Immunity, and the Figure in Bismuth just a little more time before the attention of the mysterious base fell on them.
This week on PARTIZAN: The Tunnels Beneath
///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\\
Xiphion, aka Zig’ell Barbos, aka The Red Roc (zig/zig’s, he/him): Elect of the Divine Valour and rising star in the Apostolosian military. Zig’ell kept zig’s Apostolosian name in personal use even after being chosen by Valour as its elect. He is a rising star in the Apostolosian military, famed for his talent as a pilot and commander. There is good reason for this: zig spent years serving as Cas’alear Rizah’s confidant and lieutenant, before being promoted and transferred into service directly under the Divine Motion, working closely as the elect Laurel’s right hand. A true believer in the Pact’s mission to split the Principality up. 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 Valour: A machine the size of a large Hallow, Valour can transform between a vast, roc-like bird form and a more traditional humanoid model. Soldiers claim that serving under Valour gives them a noticeable boost to their morale, but it is unclear if this is a feature of their proximity to the Divine or to its elect. 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\\
Zenith-K Project Veneer: Melee-ranged shield mechs. Internals are similar to the Zenith-A project Kosmos which SI and the Rapid Evening fought in similarly cold conditions back during the Fort Icebreaker mission. Except instead of the reverse jointed legs and the spears, these have huge tower shields with pneumatic pile bunkers. Zenith-K Project Cornice: A cheap, mass produced version of the sniper form of the Katalepsis, which is the model name of Ver’Million Blue’s hollow. These are glass cannons meant to lay down an absurd amount of long range fire. AdArm Quiver: On first glance, you might not think this is a hollow at all. But once the low, wide three-legged firing brace starts to walk, you’d understand that these artillery machines are able to move and even leap with great force and speed, making them excellent at holding (or hammering) an unstable frontline. “The Bitten Bullet” (referred to but not named): A large personnel transport owned by the Pact of Necessary Venture. 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
Plot
SBBR is taken through an administration building and into the panic room. Kalar gets a loop going on the cameras; they set off an explosive and call for help from the guards outside. They easily knock the guards out, taking their uniforms and key cards so that SI and Phrygian can pose as guards escorting prisoners.
Kalar sneaks ahead to find the path forward. Below them lay miles of quarry, and above is Valour along with an army's worth of artillery, sniper and shield-carrying mechs. They manage to sneak through part of the quarry. Kalar notices that the quarry has not been excavated in hundreds of years; all the active machines are for construction. There are tunnels leading under the new base. Kalar climbs up and breaks one of the lights to give them cover. The tunnels break off in many places, some old and some new. Kalar and the Figure head toward the new base (Point Citrine) and Phrygian and SI toward the old mountain base (Point Diamond).
As Team Citrine heads off, Kalar notices a feeling that someone else, maybe Zig'ell, infiltrated this area before him. The Figure asks Kalar about people's feelings toward Clem and they get into an unpleasant conversation that echoes down the corridor.
Phrygian feels like the halls were made by water erosion, and they recognize the sense of a Branched. Phrygian and SI head down increasingly unused tunnels, noticing signs that an infiltrator recently tunneled their way towards Point Diamond, perhaps "let in" by someone else. Phrygian concludes this was the Pact's doing. They find a security booth for the facility, and Phrygian picks the lock, seeing a wide stone tunnel ahead.
Team Citrine notice a number of Pact scientists heading toward lockdown. They find two huge holes dug deep into the earth, one filled with labs and one with a spaceship inside, and both patrolled by Pact security personnel. Both sides of the team check in. Kalar gets in close to the ship and relays a description to Figure, who concludes this is a troop transport like those used against the Branched, and capable of breaking orbit by itself. There was another here that has already launched.
Team Diamond finds the tunnel ends in odd dead ends where there should be more, and they are funneled deeper and deeper.
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)
Other Characters
- AO Rooke (episode description)
- Valour
- Zig'ell Barbos