PALISADE 37: Reach In / Reach Out Pt. 1

Episode description[edit | edit source]

The dominos have begun to fall. Across Palisade, the Cause’s efforts have begun to be rewarded. And soon, its members will reward themselves with celebrations across the Bontive Valley. But, at least for the crew of the Blue Channel, it is not “soon” yet. Before they can party, they have some open issues that must be addressed. A visitor at the door. A hand on a scepter. An unclear connection to the divine.
This week on PALISADE: Reach In / Reach Out Pt. 1
Words are blunt instruments / Words are sawn-off shotguns^{[Note 1]}

Dossier[edit | edit source]

People[edit | edit source]

Lucia Whitestar (she/her): The young “Lady Whitestar” emerged as a strategic genius during the early conflict between Kesh and Apostolos on PARTIZAN five years ago. Daughter of the Peaceful Princept, Cynosure Whitestar-Kesh. Commands her forces from her flagship, the Lander One with the support of her combat AI, Fire Support (it/its).

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.

Murchy “Murch” Saltburn (she/her): A gig-cop working for Lock & Cross Security Services in Baseline-C.

Alise Breka (she/her): Once, Alise was most popular for her Renegade Hearts books of daring pulp adventure. Now she is one of the chief propagandists of Millennium Break, turning their struggles (and victories) into novels, screenplays, and other media.

Factions[edit | edit source]

Stel Nideo: Created the largest faith in the empire, and used that influence to shape (and surveil) mass culture. They are tied to the Present. Faith, coercion, stability.

Places[edit | edit source]

Bontive Valley: Blessed by the departed divine Bounty, the Valley provides the Bilats with fruit that never rots and hyper-nutritional grain.

Divines[edit | edit source]

The Divine Filigree: The instrumentalized operating core of Palisade's extensive GravTrain system. Recovered by the Blue Channel and turned over to the Cause's leadership.

The Divine Integrity (it/its): Sometimes appearing as an articulated staff or a metallic spine, Integrity integrates itself into its chosen user. Once the two are connected, Integrity becomes a powerful exoskeleton, and supports its user in matters of military and morale. Until being assassinated by Brnine,
Dahlia (they/them),
the Glorious Princept, was the elect of Integrity. In an ancient era,
Sokrates Nikon Artemisios (they/them)
was the "candidate" (user) of Integrity, and together they reformed the Apostolosian Empire, turning it into the Golden Branch Demarchy for some time.

Mysteries[edit | edit source]

Perennial (she/her): The Principality's so-called 'adversary,' who lives at the center of the galaxy and whose chaotic whims spread through her "Perennial Wave," an ever-present nanoparticle that has recently bonded with Kalmeria.

Additional Notes[edit | edit source]

Delegates: In plain terms, Delegates are synthetic individuals created through a process of forcible extraction from a living Divine. Originated by the Fabreal Duchy, who were left behind to "attend to" Palisade by the Divine Principality around 5000 years ago, these Delgates were designed and used as slaves. Currently, a Delegate resistance group called Reunion operates out of the fortress Joyous Guard in the Caldera Stretch.

Contents[edit | edit source]

Opening[edit | edit source]

“

It's quiet here, living in your head. It's quiet here and when I talk, you listen, at least when you can hear me, which isn't always—it isn't always, but it's better than never.

It's quiet here, living on this ship. It's quiet here, and I remember when it was loud; I remember different voices bouncing in these halls; I remember old arguments; I remember myself.

I wonder how much I can tell you, because I can tell you, I have much to say. But you never saw me astride the Prophet's Path, beside the resin heart, imparting wrath and play.

So who am I? You only know what they've told you. So who am I? You only know what's written down. So who am I? You only you know what's on recordings, and according to the world, I'm a hypocrite, or drowned.

I doubt you can hear me, but I know that she can, so pardon my frustration, I'm just tired of her plan. I lost my life long before I understood, before metaphor became real, before I felt the wheel's wood.

I wonder what she'll tell you. I wonder what she'll share. I wonder what she'll ask of you, what task of sweat and prayer. I long to sweat and pray, a body in the day. The colour of the sun. The touch, the ocean's spray.

[Overlapping voices: The {first/last} thing that I felt in life.] The touch, the ocean's spray.

[Overlapping voices: I hope she tells the {truth/worst} to you.] The touch, the ocean's spray.

[Overlapping voices: I {loved/left} her like she told me to.] The touch, the ocean's spray.

[Overlapping voices: {We're/she's} running out of time, you know.] The touch, the ocean's spray.

I fear we might be mirrored, two echoes of a call shouted between two queens, two queens who want it all. I fear we might be symmetry; I fear we might be one. Make her tell the truth to you before we come undone.”

– Gur Sevraq