|
"A single death is a tragedy; a billion deaths is a statistic." -Ancient proverb |
2778.073.07.00 AS Court of the Farseer Pierogi |
Jayla, Hegemon of a no-longer-existent tribe in the Pierogi highlands, has come to the capital in penance.
Anataya, armsman to the Farseer, arises, does her weapon kata, and then joins the Farseer's guards for the day.
Rumor amongst the city is that the Farseer has failed yet to See her heir, nor has heir arrived, as traditional generally dictates, and so she is worried.
Meanwhile, Anataya is assisting the Farseer in a Gathering (a gathering-together of psi talents) - she tells Anataya that something is coming, something she cannot See. With Anataya and several other armsmen assisting, she still only sees a sort of formless Problem.
At the meeting at sundown, there are about twenty people gathered together; some Pierogi natives, others from elsewhere. The Farseer states that she has seen all of them assisting her in a Gathering, against an impending threat, and she asks for their help. The Gathering ensues, with a circle of people touching hands, and other people acting as spokes, with the Farseer in the middle. Everyone meditates, and the Farseer grabs all their dice and relevant skill, and then different people see different bits of the future as all the precog and danger sense and intution and lucky hunches and destiny sense get gathered together.
Then, as everyone comes out of the meditative trance, there is a great hubbub, with people shouting about "what are we going to do? aah!". The Farseer calls things to order, making note of several specific people (including Kith, Jayla, and Anataya) and asking them to meet her in the solar.
The group talks to each other before the Farseer arrives - everyone saw some different bit of the vision. Kith has somewhere she needs to go, to do something not-quite-healingy. A place, but she doesn't have a picture of where. Anataya has something she needs to do, a metaphorical button to push, to avert or counter a threat. Jayla knows that something can be done to save the few of them in the room, and to save mankind in general, but that Pierogi -- well, she sees nothing to save Pierogi. Wilson is a techie who seems very out of place; he says he saw he has to fix something. Sanjul (what's his name?) says that he has to send people somewhere. One of the fuzzier people says that they have to go to the place of their ancestors, in the sky, and the other says that they have to summon their ancestors.
The Farseer comes in, and fills in a few bits more, that the threat is coming from the sky, and that the people in the room (except Sanjul) are the ones who she has seen going. Will they? Yes, they will. Do they need anything to prepare themselves? If there is anything they need that they do not have, speak and it will be so.
With the resources of an entire planet at their disposal, the party equipment increases by exactly one blaster (well, and Sandole gives Kith her wisewoman's bag as well). Anataya writes home, enthusing about the mission she's going on. Jayla, more clear on the "nothing to save Pierogi" part, refrains from disillusioning her yet. Finally declaring themselves ready, the group is transported by a Gathering of Sanjul and "his people" to... wherever they need to go.
They appear in a small room, mostly dark but lit by a few dim lights. On one side is a door, with a sign PIEROGI ORBITAL STATION 2 (but in an archaic font, interpreted by the outworlders as PIEROGI OGRAL STATION 2); the door on the other side is marked with big red stripes and "DANGER" warnings. Anataya immediately identifies the door as the most dangerous thing in the room (and Kith, having already been on one spaceship, is familiar with the concept of places with no air).
The next thing they notice is that they are no longer touching the floor...