DocTomoe
Well-Known Member
Narrative - Overview
With the collapse of the United Outer Colonies, and the death of Xiaah Harr'ikke Tur'lista the Lorath Matriarchy found itself forced into a self-imposed exile from military affairs beyond their borders while the Matriarchy as a whole found itself in a contemplative state of mourning, a state which left the average Lorath citizen longing for an isolationist policy. With a respectable space fleet, a well armed ground-force, and a defensible border, the Matriarchy did seem to be within reach of such a mode of operations. There were three distinctive issues though, three key points which stood between the Lorath and the ability to shut-out the universe and focus upon their own affairs.
Foremost amongst the Lorath's concerns was the matter of the NMX, which the Matriarchy recognized as the legacy of not only the SMX, but the Yamatai Star Empire as well. They knew the NMX as the murderers of their beloved Xiaah, their queen, the embodiment of the will of their Goddess. So long as the NMX continued to exist, the Matriarchy knew they could not rest, they could not allow their hearts and minds to be closed to the universe beyond their space.
What stood next as the focus of concern in Lorath society was the matter of the other possible threats which existed beyond the NMX. To close up the Matriarchy's borders and neglect the universe, was to allow for any existing threats to continue to grow and fester, that was simply unacceptable. Among those threats, was the Yamatai Empire itself, through the history of interaction between the Matriarchy and the Empire, a distinctive animosity had embedded itself in the populace of the Matriarchy, to the point where it was simply unacceptable to consider taking a political stance which would benefit the Empire. What served only to magnify that concern was the proclamation that the former United Outer Colonies was to be reclaimed by the Yamatai Star Empire. What the Matriarchy saw of such an action was clear; encroachment upon their small portion of space which they called their own.
Ever lingering though, ever persisting, was another concern, one so pressing that it was what drove the Matriarchy into the stellar arena to begin with... the future. What was to become of the Matriarchy if they would isolate themselves? What would become of Lorath and Helashio society alike if the Matriarchy refused to expand, refused to grow, refused to empower itself to guarantee the safety of its people? Simply, what would come, would be death. There was no way around that fact, everyone within the Matriarchy knew it in some form or another, and what such knowledge called for was simple, a state of ever present vigilance and preparedness to take action.
Narrative -YE 34 – The State Of The Matriarchy
With the death of Xiaah Harr'ikke, a number of changes took place at the top of the Matriarchy's leadership. At the head of the government still stood a royal, but a single one, and a male at that, and it was High Priest Velor Tur'lista, who clung to leadership purely by right of blood, his sister's wishes, and the fact that he was still a spiritual leader to the Matriarchy. So far, it was enough to keep Lorath society together, and, to maintain the chain of command. If anything truly helped though, it was the fact that Velor and Harr'ikke's offspring were still alive, and were expected to ascend to the throne eventually. There would be no break in the bloodline, there would be no need to create a new leadership caste. What certainly added to the integrity of the Matriarchy was the continued presence of the caste leaders of the Fyunnen, Lmanel, and New Tur'lista, which were able to maintain order, and with a largely female population comprising the head families of each caste, a social norm was maintained.
With his position secure, Velor knew that a return to tradition would aid his people to cope with the hardships in which they had endured over the few short years since their introduction into interstellar politics, part of that tradition was a return to the home-world, and the re-establishment of Lor and the 'central city' of the planet as the capital of the Matriarchy. With the re-establishment of the capital on Lor, Velor, his family, his advisers, and a sizable portion of government and military assets were relocated to the planet. With the government, came the populace which spread itself between Nyli and Lor. Tradition was only half of the reason why Velor wanted to relocate to Lor though... it was also security. Since the original evacuation of Lor, the Fyunnen caste had been left to manage the planet, and the system, for the most part. What came of the Fyunnen's leadership was clear, what they had done was recreate the system as a fortress, with layers of defenses that they felt would impede a possible desecration of their home, and with that, came a distinctive benefit in the form of security for the remaining royalty.
While the government of the Matriarchy returned to their homeland, portions of the Matriarchy beyond the political administration took to other portions of the Matriarchy's territorial holdings. Lorath Self Defense Force assets remained distributed through the Lor, Nyli, and Hici'emi systems, but had also spread north, to the systems held by the Matriarchy and the Occhestian government. Elements within the administration and military command were left to speculate on their posture, if they were to plan for a sweeping and bold assault on a foe to be determined, or, if they should prepare for a long and bitter vigil, a stance which would strain the hearts, minds, and souls of those who would wear the uniform of the Self Defense Force.
Even with the pressure of the future on their shoulders, the Lorath, Helashio, and even survivors of the United Outer Colonies continued to look to their future with enough optimism to prepare, and to work to ensure it would be one which they could bear to live with.
Lor – YE 34 – Old Palace Grounds
"I'll carry the spirit of honesty," Came the voice from a volumetric projection of a figure which was so far away. "Your government, military, you — whoever — want to jerk my sister around. Get big enough to fill out your bra and swing all eyes your way. I get it. You're not bad neighbors, and we can be bitchy. But tread light, High Priest. I can put up with your government's bullshit all day, but my sister? She doesn't exist to be the patient one."
There was a bow of Velor's head in return to Yuumi's own display of mutual respect; "I thank you for that honesty. May the rest of this conference benefit from this moment." Velor spoke as she left, and when she did, he cut the audio and paused the volumetric feed as he released a sigh while watching the Premier walk away.
That was an intense moment, but that one moment, gave me a glimpse into their workings that I have not had since the 5th became the United Outer Colonies... Even then, it was my sister who had the most insight. Velor thought, as he remotely directed the volumetric display device to move along, and as he did, he continued to brood. That explains the deity complex which their clan holds dear, though, it also sets their military as a beast without a heart. A beast of that sort, it can't be slain, it can't be appeased. Velor mulled, as he felt an unease in the pit of his belly. The only solution right now, is to give that woman no reason to advance her agenda, while also ensuring her current plans can not put us at a disadvantage... this is a formidable task, one that I know, I absolutely know, I can not do alone.
For some minutes after that moment, Velor sat and continued to remotely control his mechanical presence upon the station so far away, though, eventually, he decided that meetings behind closed doors were not going to advance the Matriarchy much further. Instead, he parked his mechanical presence outside of a conference room, before he stepped away, he wanted to take care of other business, instead of wasting his day on a conference which had proven to be of little benefit to himself, or even the other smaller nations which were present. It was another situation of Yamatai seizing the lead. Though, as he had come to realize, there was reason for their posture, and reason for their method. For their posture, he needed to establish his own. His thoughts and feet carried him to an adjoining room, where advisers from the three castes, the a Helashio tribal leader, and even an elected Jiyuuian 'Refugee Governor' were present, there was even a rather absurdly simple computer monitor which served as the presence for a couple of other groups which Velor had to address.
"Obelisk, you first." Velor spoke, gesturing to the Fyunnen Princess, which had grown to the point of assuming control of her caste, despite her uncertainties about the position. As Velor looked upon her, even at that moment, he considered her viability as a caste leader, or, as a military leader. In his heart, he knew Obelisk longed for the simple life of a soldier, and he knew that perhaps some day a replacement would have to be found for her, but, for the time being he loaned his ear.
Rising from her seat, Obelisk gave a bow of her head to Velor, before she raised her gaze to him. "High Priest, I am pleased to report that the field generals have completed their assigned tasks. Defensive emplacements have been established on the surfaces of our planetoid and asteroid holdings in each of our systems, and, affiliated systems."
"Good, does that include Asura?" Velor asked, as he raised his brow at the matter, since it seemed that the Asura system would certainly have an increased importance due to the dialog which he had endured mere minutes ago.
"Yes, though, we did have to withdraw from a number of other former UOC held systems due to supply chain issues." Obelisk explained.
Velor gave a soft nod of his head; "I understand, though, are the shipments of supplies for the colonists still on schedule?"
Obelisk paused, as cybernetic implants relayed and received data, before she spoke again; "Yes, schedule times are being met, but with a degree of difficulty. There is a lot of cargo which must be moved, and to locations without ideal access for our ships. Hold out colonists are not exactly the sorts to have landing fields ready."
Of course it would not be easy, why would they want to make it easy for outsiders to stroll right up to their settlements where they only desire to be left alone? Velor thought silently as his gaze darted about for a moment, as his mind worked quickly, he did not have much time to doddle about. "Obelisk, from what I understand, Aegis is asking for some supplies for her clan's military contribution. I want you to handle distributing supplies as needed. Nothing excessive. She seems to be on her own course of action, I do not want her doing anything to dirty our hands."
"Understood." Obelisk spoke simply, as she sorted out arrangements remotely.
"I would like a status report on the cloning operation." Velor asked, as he looked to the Lmanel and New Tur'listian representatives which were present.
There was no speech from the New Tur'listian, just a frown, a troubled and bothered frown, though the Lmanel representative was the one which chose to speak; "High Priest, we have gathered the DNA required for the procedure, however, we are having difficulty engineering a suitable genetic profile. We ah... we can not seem to duplicate a number of the RNA functions and the course of cell division is... well... unstable."
"You're saying that you're producing misshapen failures?" Velor asked sharply, as his gaze landed upon the Lmanel.
"Y-Y-Yes, that is what I am saying." Came the Lmanel's rather timid reply.
Velor released a sigh, there was a reason why breeding between castes was forbidden, and why inbreeding was encouraged within the royalty, it was purely a matter of what their ancestors had somehow engineered into the modern genetic profile of the Lorath species. "Fine enough." Velor started, as a frown and scowl gripped his features; "Clone her reproductive organs, and just those organs, and harvest egg-cells suitable to the task. Use the egg-cells as a basis for future project development."Velor's tone was one of disgust, he did not want to authorize such a step, but, it was what was going to be required to continue the Tur'lista bloodline beyond a mere pair of siblings. "A suitable result will only be when a reproduction viable subject is produced, and only then."
A mere nod came from the Lmanel before they spoke "Understood High Priest."
There were two more matters which demanded Velor's attention at that moment. Both of which were a 'rubber stamp' issue which Velor knew he could quickly handle. First of which, was a request for funding and equipment from the Lazarus Consortium, a request which was quickly authorized. Then, a more questionable request was set before Velor, a request which Velor evaluated for a moment, before authorizing as a fund was set aside for 'Red Star Armaments', in a holding account which was set up in preparation for paying the corporation for possible participation in security operations where the Matriarchy would likely have to back off from in the future.
There was one thing clear to Velor at that moment, one thing absolutely certain, his dialog with Morioka was only a preview of what was to come, and he knew that such a person was one which he could not back down from. Though, from his dialog with Yuumi, Velor also knew that facing Morioka head-on was asking for death. It was going to be a game of shadows and tricks, he loathed the notion but it was simply what was required to make hope out of a hopeless situation, one that he recognized ever since the death of his sister.
"Carry on as you will, I must return to the conference." Velor spoke, before he left the audience chamber, and returned to the room with the equipment which allowed for his presence across the stars.
When Velor left the room, one thing was clear to those which he left behind; the High Priest was in a position of being in need, in need of balance, in need of his other half... which they knew was gone forever. Though, even with that knowledge, the leaders gathered were quick to get back to work.
With the collapse of the United Outer Colonies, and the death of Xiaah Harr'ikke Tur'lista the Lorath Matriarchy found itself forced into a self-imposed exile from military affairs beyond their borders while the Matriarchy as a whole found itself in a contemplative state of mourning, a state which left the average Lorath citizen longing for an isolationist policy. With a respectable space fleet, a well armed ground-force, and a defensible border, the Matriarchy did seem to be within reach of such a mode of operations. There were three distinctive issues though, three key points which stood between the Lorath and the ability to shut-out the universe and focus upon their own affairs.
Foremost amongst the Lorath's concerns was the matter of the NMX, which the Matriarchy recognized as the legacy of not only the SMX, but the Yamatai Star Empire as well. They knew the NMX as the murderers of their beloved Xiaah, their queen, the embodiment of the will of their Goddess. So long as the NMX continued to exist, the Matriarchy knew they could not rest, they could not allow their hearts and minds to be closed to the universe beyond their space.
What stood next as the focus of concern in Lorath society was the matter of the other possible threats which existed beyond the NMX. To close up the Matriarchy's borders and neglect the universe, was to allow for any existing threats to continue to grow and fester, that was simply unacceptable. Among those threats, was the Yamatai Empire itself, through the history of interaction between the Matriarchy and the Empire, a distinctive animosity had embedded itself in the populace of the Matriarchy, to the point where it was simply unacceptable to consider taking a political stance which would benefit the Empire. What served only to magnify that concern was the proclamation that the former United Outer Colonies was to be reclaimed by the Yamatai Star Empire. What the Matriarchy saw of such an action was clear; encroachment upon their small portion of space which they called their own.
Ever lingering though, ever persisting, was another concern, one so pressing that it was what drove the Matriarchy into the stellar arena to begin with... the future. What was to become of the Matriarchy if they would isolate themselves? What would become of Lorath and Helashio society alike if the Matriarchy refused to expand, refused to grow, refused to empower itself to guarantee the safety of its people? Simply, what would come, would be death. There was no way around that fact, everyone within the Matriarchy knew it in some form or another, and what such knowledge called for was simple, a state of ever present vigilance and preparedness to take action.
Narrative -YE 34 – The State Of The Matriarchy
With the death of Xiaah Harr'ikke, a number of changes took place at the top of the Matriarchy's leadership. At the head of the government still stood a royal, but a single one, and a male at that, and it was High Priest Velor Tur'lista, who clung to leadership purely by right of blood, his sister's wishes, and the fact that he was still a spiritual leader to the Matriarchy. So far, it was enough to keep Lorath society together, and, to maintain the chain of command. If anything truly helped though, it was the fact that Velor and Harr'ikke's offspring were still alive, and were expected to ascend to the throne eventually. There would be no break in the bloodline, there would be no need to create a new leadership caste. What certainly added to the integrity of the Matriarchy was the continued presence of the caste leaders of the Fyunnen, Lmanel, and New Tur'lista, which were able to maintain order, and with a largely female population comprising the head families of each caste, a social norm was maintained.
With his position secure, Velor knew that a return to tradition would aid his people to cope with the hardships in which they had endured over the few short years since their introduction into interstellar politics, part of that tradition was a return to the home-world, and the re-establishment of Lor and the 'central city' of the planet as the capital of the Matriarchy. With the re-establishment of the capital on Lor, Velor, his family, his advisers, and a sizable portion of government and military assets were relocated to the planet. With the government, came the populace which spread itself between Nyli and Lor. Tradition was only half of the reason why Velor wanted to relocate to Lor though... it was also security. Since the original evacuation of Lor, the Fyunnen caste had been left to manage the planet, and the system, for the most part. What came of the Fyunnen's leadership was clear, what they had done was recreate the system as a fortress, with layers of defenses that they felt would impede a possible desecration of their home, and with that, came a distinctive benefit in the form of security for the remaining royalty.
While the government of the Matriarchy returned to their homeland, portions of the Matriarchy beyond the political administration took to other portions of the Matriarchy's territorial holdings. Lorath Self Defense Force assets remained distributed through the Lor, Nyli, and Hici'emi systems, but had also spread north, to the systems held by the Matriarchy and the Occhestian government. Elements within the administration and military command were left to speculate on their posture, if they were to plan for a sweeping and bold assault on a foe to be determined, or, if they should prepare for a long and bitter vigil, a stance which would strain the hearts, minds, and souls of those who would wear the uniform of the Self Defense Force.
Even with the pressure of the future on their shoulders, the Lorath, Helashio, and even survivors of the United Outer Colonies continued to look to their future with enough optimism to prepare, and to work to ensure it would be one which they could bear to live with.
Lor – YE 34 – Old Palace Grounds
"I'll carry the spirit of honesty," Came the voice from a volumetric projection of a figure which was so far away. "Your government, military, you — whoever — want to jerk my sister around. Get big enough to fill out your bra and swing all eyes your way. I get it. You're not bad neighbors, and we can be bitchy. But tread light, High Priest. I can put up with your government's bullshit all day, but my sister? She doesn't exist to be the patient one."
There was a bow of Velor's head in return to Yuumi's own display of mutual respect; "I thank you for that honesty. May the rest of this conference benefit from this moment." Velor spoke as she left, and when she did, he cut the audio and paused the volumetric feed as he released a sigh while watching the Premier walk away.
That was an intense moment, but that one moment, gave me a glimpse into their workings that I have not had since the 5th became the United Outer Colonies... Even then, it was my sister who had the most insight. Velor thought, as he remotely directed the volumetric display device to move along, and as he did, he continued to brood. That explains the deity complex which their clan holds dear, though, it also sets their military as a beast without a heart. A beast of that sort, it can't be slain, it can't be appeased. Velor mulled, as he felt an unease in the pit of his belly. The only solution right now, is to give that woman no reason to advance her agenda, while also ensuring her current plans can not put us at a disadvantage... this is a formidable task, one that I know, I absolutely know, I can not do alone.
For some minutes after that moment, Velor sat and continued to remotely control his mechanical presence upon the station so far away, though, eventually, he decided that meetings behind closed doors were not going to advance the Matriarchy much further. Instead, he parked his mechanical presence outside of a conference room, before he stepped away, he wanted to take care of other business, instead of wasting his day on a conference which had proven to be of little benefit to himself, or even the other smaller nations which were present. It was another situation of Yamatai seizing the lead. Though, as he had come to realize, there was reason for their posture, and reason for their method. For their posture, he needed to establish his own. His thoughts and feet carried him to an adjoining room, where advisers from the three castes, the a Helashio tribal leader, and even an elected Jiyuuian 'Refugee Governor' were present, there was even a rather absurdly simple computer monitor which served as the presence for a couple of other groups which Velor had to address.
"Obelisk, you first." Velor spoke, gesturing to the Fyunnen Princess, which had grown to the point of assuming control of her caste, despite her uncertainties about the position. As Velor looked upon her, even at that moment, he considered her viability as a caste leader, or, as a military leader. In his heart, he knew Obelisk longed for the simple life of a soldier, and he knew that perhaps some day a replacement would have to be found for her, but, for the time being he loaned his ear.
Rising from her seat, Obelisk gave a bow of her head to Velor, before she raised her gaze to him. "High Priest, I am pleased to report that the field generals have completed their assigned tasks. Defensive emplacements have been established on the surfaces of our planetoid and asteroid holdings in each of our systems, and, affiliated systems."
"Good, does that include Asura?" Velor asked, as he raised his brow at the matter, since it seemed that the Asura system would certainly have an increased importance due to the dialog which he had endured mere minutes ago.
"Yes, though, we did have to withdraw from a number of other former UOC held systems due to supply chain issues." Obelisk explained.
Velor gave a soft nod of his head; "I understand, though, are the shipments of supplies for the colonists still on schedule?"
Obelisk paused, as cybernetic implants relayed and received data, before she spoke again; "Yes, schedule times are being met, but with a degree of difficulty. There is a lot of cargo which must be moved, and to locations without ideal access for our ships. Hold out colonists are not exactly the sorts to have landing fields ready."
Of course it would not be easy, why would they want to make it easy for outsiders to stroll right up to their settlements where they only desire to be left alone? Velor thought silently as his gaze darted about for a moment, as his mind worked quickly, he did not have much time to doddle about. "Obelisk, from what I understand, Aegis is asking for some supplies for her clan's military contribution. I want you to handle distributing supplies as needed. Nothing excessive. She seems to be on her own course of action, I do not want her doing anything to dirty our hands."
"Understood." Obelisk spoke simply, as she sorted out arrangements remotely.
"I would like a status report on the cloning operation." Velor asked, as he looked to the Lmanel and New Tur'listian representatives which were present.
There was no speech from the New Tur'listian, just a frown, a troubled and bothered frown, though the Lmanel representative was the one which chose to speak; "High Priest, we have gathered the DNA required for the procedure, however, we are having difficulty engineering a suitable genetic profile. We ah... we can not seem to duplicate a number of the RNA functions and the course of cell division is... well... unstable."
"You're saying that you're producing misshapen failures?" Velor asked sharply, as his gaze landed upon the Lmanel.
"Y-Y-Yes, that is what I am saying." Came the Lmanel's rather timid reply.
Velor released a sigh, there was a reason why breeding between castes was forbidden, and why inbreeding was encouraged within the royalty, it was purely a matter of what their ancestors had somehow engineered into the modern genetic profile of the Lorath species. "Fine enough." Velor started, as a frown and scowl gripped his features; "Clone her reproductive organs, and just those organs, and harvest egg-cells suitable to the task. Use the egg-cells as a basis for future project development."Velor's tone was one of disgust, he did not want to authorize such a step, but, it was what was going to be required to continue the Tur'lista bloodline beyond a mere pair of siblings. "A suitable result will only be when a reproduction viable subject is produced, and only then."
A mere nod came from the Lmanel before they spoke "Understood High Priest."
There were two more matters which demanded Velor's attention at that moment. Both of which were a 'rubber stamp' issue which Velor knew he could quickly handle. First of which, was a request for funding and equipment from the Lazarus Consortium, a request which was quickly authorized. Then, a more questionable request was set before Velor, a request which Velor evaluated for a moment, before authorizing as a fund was set aside for 'Red Star Armaments', in a holding account which was set up in preparation for paying the corporation for possible participation in security operations where the Matriarchy would likely have to back off from in the future.
There was one thing clear to Velor at that moment, one thing absolutely certain, his dialog with Morioka was only a preview of what was to come, and he knew that such a person was one which he could not back down from. Though, from his dialog with Yuumi, Velor also knew that facing Morioka head-on was asking for death. It was going to be a game of shadows and tricks, he loathed the notion but it was simply what was required to make hope out of a hopeless situation, one that he recognized ever since the death of his sister.
"Carry on as you will, I must return to the conference." Velor spoke, before he left the audience chamber, and returned to the room with the equipment which allowed for his presence across the stars.
When Velor left the room, one thing was clear to those which he left behind; the High Priest was in a position of being in need, in need of balance, in need of his other half... which they knew was gone forever. Though, even with that knowledge, the leaders gathered were quick to get back to work.
