Chasing Shadows
Viridian File 040422: Stardate 16124.2123.03211014
Reveal FlashbackRavenloft Tower - 9:00 that Morning
A screen in the foyer of the Ravenloft Tower is displaying the Morriga Prime News station when the Morriga Morning Message begins.Host: "Well Good Morning Morriga Prime! I am your host, Tarek Vultan and this is the Morriga Morning Message." A brief title sequence plays before returning to Tarek. Tarek: "Some 'shocking' developments in the Neutral Zone yesterday evening. In a star system just one and a half lightyears from the Eldari border, on planet V-2873 one of the tallest geological features let out a massive Electromagnetic Pulse at about 11:30 in the evening and with it several minor explosions and electrical discharges. Federation sensors recorded the discharge and 2 vessels made their way to investigate. This event comes just after System Lord Kronos denied the allegations of Imperial activity near the planet. The site, which many are now calling 'Big Thunder Mountain', was found surrounded by Battle Droids and Tanks with the emblem of none other than System Lord Kronos. No word from Imperial forces yet on how they care to explain their blatant violation of the Neutral Zone. Experts are trying to identify the source of the pulse and subsequent explosions but with the border tension increasing, no definitive answers have been given. We'll be talking with members of the AES and Space Corps this evening about the latest information during our Prime News Tonight Show so tune in then for more."
Celta Moira - Ravenloft Tower
The party weave through traffic on their speeders towards Ravenloft Tower with the body of the technically living prisoner. As they approach the courtyard, they see a blue tiefling with blue eyes and long purple horns in silver and blue robes of the medical core of the AES outside with several medics in front of the tower. Vosaara strides out towards the arriving party and the medics bring out a stretcher and take the prisoner's body into the tower for treatment. Vosaara: "If I have read your file correctly, you are a Doctor, Kar'jan, yes? We could use your assistance recovering any information from him before his state worsens." Kar'jan: "Of course." Vosaara: "And Z's, I believe you are familiar with many manners of technical tools and scanning equipment." he glances to BUDDY who is very mangled and roughed up "if you have availabilty I'm sure your technical expertise could also be put to good use helping the Doctor." Zs: "Right. BUDDY, go ahead and wait in our room and power down. I'll fix you real soon." As Kar'jan and Zs follow the medics with the prisoner to the tower and its medical facilities, Vosaara turns to Zukrom and Amelia. Vosaara: "Zukrom, I could use your skills as a pilot. I need you and Amelia to go prep a shuttle in the tower's hangar. Warden Fyro has informed me of some of the concerning developments that need to be escalated." Zukrom: "Of course. We can do that."Kar'jan and Zs go with the body to the 35th floor to the advanced medical labs. A few of the nurses on staff begin hooking up equipment for bio readings and basic scans. Kar'jan begins with a full physical scan and examination of the body, which at first reveals nothing out of the ordinary until he notices something amis in the eyes. Upon closer inspection, he notices small black flecks across all of the eye. What is more curious is these flecks do not register on scans and are only visible to physical examination. Kar'jan: "Doctor, have you seen anything like this before? No? The bodies of the others from the warehouse should be on their way here. I would like to be notified when they arrive. I have marked here on his file this observation. Please see to it we have notes to look for this in the autopsies of his previous allies." Zs has in the meantime gone to the lab's equipment looking for tools he can use. He finds a nueral scanner and wheels it over to the bio-bed. After connecting the equipment, he thinks he set it up wrong because nothing is registering. Finally he picks up a few pulses of activity and begins trying to narrow in on any frequency or section of the brain to retrieve as much information as possible. He even uses his telepathy to place words in the prisoner's mind to try and spark any thoughts around the 6 missing starships. Suddenly, Zs begins to pick up several distinct pulses and patterns that makes the nurses and other doctors stop and stare. The activity shown does not appear to be natural and should not be occuring. Zs, along with some of the other medical techs, scan for over half and hour before the patterns degrade and fade. After an hour, the prisoner is fully non-responsive. Zs returns to BUDDY to start putting him back together. Kar'jan continues to work with the doctors to review all of the data to find any affliction or warning signs that might give away infection or early stages of whatever happened.
In the hangar, Zukrom asks Amelia for help prepping the shuttle. After some mishaps and wrong buttons, he rememners that this is the same person who stalled out the speeder bike by not putting it in gear properly and finishes the pre-flight check himself. Amelia: "Look if they didn't want people to push these buttons, they should not be out in the open like this." After completing the pre-flight check, Vosaara arrives and boards the shuttle. Vosaara: "Thank you both for assiting me. Your companions' skills are best suited for the Tower's facilities, however the two of you are better suited for what we need to do elsewhere. As eyewitnesses, you can give details that I do not have. Zukrom, please enter these corrdinates into the navigation system." Amelia recognizes the location on the map of Celta Moira which has the shuttle landing at the Court of Selene. As the shuttle glides out of the hangar and over the city, Vosaara turns to Amelia as if to speak, sees her expression and decides not to. However, Morph has other ideas, and he slowly makes he way behind Vosaara doing things like giving him bunny ears and other subtle shenanigans. A slight smile can be seen across Vosaara's face though he does not turn or acknowledge Morph. Zukrom expertly spins the craft and swerves into a graceful parallel park: "And that's how its done." Exiting the shuttle, Zukrom and Amelia see an Air Genasi in blue robes talking to a Goliath in a police uniform. Amelia recognizes the insignia as indicating this is the Chief of Police in Celta Moira. As the three approach, Zukrom uses minor illusion to obscure his wounds as the Goliath turns to them, his face serious. Chief Tarkon Stone: "I was having a good day. But now that both you and Fyro are worried you just had to ruin that didn't you? What is the damage? Why are we dealing with?" Vosaara: "I do apologize my friend. Though you know we would only escalate this if it was serious. My friends here rescued Officer Ka'ral and witnessed the event and can explain what happened." Zukrom and Amelia share what they saw regarding the shadows and the body they brought back, however they do leave out the knowledge of the missing starships. Zukrom does imply they know more but that it is not suitable for public conversation. Chief Tarkon Stone: "I see. Shadows ripped from their bodies? Soul-less and unresponsive... that is indeed troubling." The air genasi priestess looks to Amelia and gives her an odd look before stating: "Interesting. I think you would feel more at home across town," to which Amelia thinks she may be referring to the Promenade Solaris, a temple to the Sun, "but I welcome any and all assistance in this matter. I see you both are suited to combat this darkness. If you and your squadmate would please come walk with me while Vosaara talks to the Chief about police matters." The priestess gives Vosaara a very quick, knowing glance, and then the three of them enter the courtyard and walk down the promenade around a cirular plaza of runes and inlaid moonstones to form a symbol of the moon. Severla of the stones appear to have turned into Obsidian to give an appearance of the shadow on the moon and currently is in a waxing crescent phase... which is odd since Morriga Prime has 2 moons, neither of which are in this phase. Even more strange are tendrils of darkness emenating from the obsidian almost forming mist like tendrils reaching out across the moonstone and along the ground. Priestess: "I see you noticed our latest mystery. Your information of someone ripping the shadows, the very essence of a person, from people is very dark magic. Not many have ever know or practiced such magics, fewer still are alive today. What concerns me is that this may not be an isolated incident." Amelia: "So... what is up with the moon? Also why is there only one? and how might it be relevant to our situation?" Priestess: with a small smile, "It is true our planet has two moons. This icon represent the moon of the 'First World'. The original moon so to speak. Sehanine Moonbow and Shar are the sisters of Night that have always had close ties to the moon. The Moonweaver has graced the universe with her light and guidance while Shar has obscured and plotted in the darkness. There is always a balance as the moon ever shifts through its phases. These tendrils of darkness are new and volatile; the result of some dark magic or creature being unleashed." Zukrom: "It did appear as though what happened was intentional. Like someone knew we had taken a prisoner or that they failed and triggered a failsafe or something." Priestess: "I see. Well, thank you for this information. If you need me, Vosaara knows how to contact us here at the Court of Selene." and lowering her voice, "Please, do stay vigilant. Things did not go well the last time magic of this kind was present in Celta Moira. Do not leave the tower after dark." As the 2 turn to leave the courtyard, they see what drained the color from the priestess face even more than the implication that an intentional force was at work in the warehouse event: three new tendrils of darkness have emegered and have begun coiling around one of the pillars. Chief Tarkon Stone: "I see. Well then. I will make the preparations." Vosaara: "Thank you chief. Now then, I believe we should head back to the tower." After arriving back at the tower, each of the party recieves a notification from a very concerned AES Chief Rivena to return to the tower and take a breather before a debrief this afternoon. Each team member returns to their room and cleans up and recovers from the morning's chaos. Kar'jan makes his way down to the Supply Depot to make a special request. Elian Tarrack: "Well, I hear you have had a very interesting morning. What else can I do for you this fine day?" Kar'jan asks for an item that would allow him to see things from very far away clearly. Elian Tarrack: "Interesting. I can't make any promises but I will do my best to deliver. Shall I message you directly, or will any of your squad do? Any? Perfect." Kar'jan: 'Thanks for your time. It has been a pleasure." Elian Tarrack: "Of course! I enjoy every moment that a customer spends in my humble store."
After an hour or so, the party gets paged via the tower's intercom to their rooms. "Uh, hi. Paging Zukrom, Amelia, Zs, and Kar'jan. Please report to the foyer desk." The party makes their way downstairs, with Zs leaving BUDDY in the room. As they exit the elevator and are about to exit the glass doors to the foyer, Zs and Kar'jan hear raised voices on the other side stopping everyone in the hallway. Whoever is yelling is gruff and not happy. Kar'jan pulls out his weapon, but Zukrom warns him that may not be wise if there are other people in the room who are civilians. As the party slowly walks to the edge of the hallway they clearly hear an unfamilar masculine voice making demands. Unknown Individual: "I don't care what condition they are in. They need to report here for questioning. Now." Unseen Desk Worker: "I... I undertsand but... they haven't been debriefed... and... and you don't h-have th-the paper work to... to..." When the party then hears the familiar voice of Vosaara. Vosaara: "I will handle this Edgar. Please see that the conference rooms are prepped for the presentation this afternoon. Now, how may I be of service?" Unknown Individual: "Every society member that was at the warehouse is to be handed into our custody for questioning immediately." Vosaara: "I see. Unfortunately, I have recieved no such request from the police force. I happened to have just met with the Chief of Police and he mentioned nothing to me. Shall we contact him now and settle this?" Unknown Individual: "We have our orders sir. We need Ilztzurz, Amelia, Zukrom, and Kar'jan to be handed into our custody for questioning." Vosaara: "I see. What all of you fail to realize," there is a slight metallic clink of something being set upon the desk, "is that this is my tower, and I will be the judge of who enters and leaves my tower. Now, you have overstayed your welcome and you need to leave. Now." Unknown Individual: "We have our orders from the Chief of Police of Celta Moira. As a citizen of the city you are required to comply with these orders." Zs sends a telepathic message to Vosaara: "You want us to come help or stay hidden?" Vosaara: telepathically back to Zs, "Ah. I see you are already here. Something is not quite right, so be prepared." Amelia peeks around the corner and sees four individuals in all black combat police gear with no insignia or markings. All of them are wearing helmets with black visors obscuring their face. The party begins to plan their next move and position themselves to attack. Zukrom casts minor illusion and creates a banshee wail from the front doors. At that, the four individuals turn and draw shock batons. With this distraction, Kar'jan races into melee range with his weapon bouncing off of the armor of the nearest unmarked officer. Zs takes a shot from behind the hallway corner as Amelia transforms into a maroon and gold, giant, winged serpent. Even with the element of surprise, the party doesnt land a single hit. Vosaara: telepathically to Zs, "Ah... I see you might need some assistance." Vosaara steps in and graps the handle of the green flame lantern he had set on his desk a few moments earlier. A chain extends from the top, the flame turns purple, and he swings the lantern to fling a mote of the flame into the chandelier as purple flame erupts along the walls as Vosaara turns Undead. The figures all freeze for a moment as a dark inky creature of darkness appears and writhes out of the bodies before returning again. Zs: still telepathic, "woah." Zukrom and Amelia tag team the nearest officer as Zs and Kar'jan engage the others. One of the officers dives over the front desk to engage with Vosaara. With a swing of the lantern-flail and an explosion of purple fire on impact the rogue officer now regrets his decision and retreats. Serpent Amelia and Zukrom manage to down the first officer with Zs and Kar'jan not far behind taking down one of theirs. Vosaara slowly walks out from behind the desk, around the party, and stands between the remaining rogue officers and the front doors. Within moments, the party dispatches the final two rogue officers. The purple flames extinguish and the lantern chain retracts as the flame returns to it's still eerie green color. A squad of security rush in and begin to prepare to remove the bodies. Before the bodies are removed, Kar'jan removed on of the helmets and looks at their eyes. He does not see the black flecks however... this individual looks like one of the thugs they fought at the warehouse. In fact... all of them look like people they fought at the warehouse. However, none have the black flecks in their eyes. Even more concerning... Kar'jan realizes he never felt a pulse when he held them down. Vosaara: "Well, one mission under your belt and the dark forces of Night are already after you. If that doesn't get you into the order, then I may need to oversee some revisions to our admittance policies." Zs: "Uh... so... what does that mean? Dark forces of the Night?" Vosaara: "Well, corpses do not usually re-animate themselves and don police gear." He turns to Amelia and Zukrom, "you both saw the aberrations at the Court of Selene. People's shadows typically do not sever themselves and run away. Something or someone is meddling in ancient magics of Shadow. Though to what end, I am not yet sure. In ancient times, agents of Shar were called the forces of Night. It has become a saying of anyone meddling with things that they know little about." Looking closer at the bodies, it appears like these are indead corpses that have been preserved and puppeteered from within. The physical bodies cast shadows so do not appear to have suffered the same fate as those at the warehouse, even though they look identical. It is at this point that Buddy comes running in, having been called at the start of the fight and having just made his way down. Vosaara: "It just now occurs to me you have not yet had your debrief have you? Why dont you all head up to the rooftop terrace and enter the manor. We shall have your debrief over lunch and discuss all that has transpired this morning." Vosaara turns to the security and medical team arriving to take the bodies for autopsy and clear away the foyer. The party all gets back into the elevator and arrives at the rooftop terrace. Making their way up the winding, misty, garden path towards the old manor house, the party all glance questioningly to each other before knocking on the oak doors which open with a creaking groan. Inside they find a large dining room off to the side of the foyer. The walls are decorated with large portraits of several individuals including a young woman with dark black hair and tome in hand and another with a half-elven woman with fiery red hair and a mischievous stare and beckoning hand. Soon afterwards Vosaara and Chief Rivena arrive as food appears on the table. Chief Rivena: "All of you have had a very interesting probationary mission. I must say you have exceeded all expectations we could have had. I don't think we have ever had a squad ever make such a monumental impression on their first day. A rescue of a police officer, exposing false officers, ancient magics... and... classified information about Federation case files. I trust you will be discreet with this information. Without further ado, however, you are all officially awarded the rank of Apprentice and formally now a part of our Society. Well done, all of you. Vosaara has requested to handle you debrief, and I leave you in his capable hands." and he leaves the room. Vosaara: "Well... I believe we have much to discuss."
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