The next update for the month is a new chapter for The Serpent’s Garden. Red One and the Calnians have been formally introduced and now it’s time for the meet and greet. We get mostly the Calnian perspective in this chapter, though Red One does a little bit of a sneaky. But as Echo would say, a lie of omission is the most fun kind of lie.
How things proceed from here, well… there are two very big events coming up, and the fallout from them will change what we see to what we know. Stay tuned and hope you enjoy!
Below is an excerpt from Nanil-Wanlei’s point of view as she considers the imminent meeting with a vessel that (gasp) appears built for war and how her own command stacks up against it. For the full chapter and story, check out the link above.
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With much of its arsenal concealed within silos, behind blast doors and hull plating, Nanil could only guess at its capabilities, and that was of far more concern to her than the etymology of their contact’s name. Synth and Direct Tactics were relying heavily on interpolation for Intent’s tactical simulations, the gaps in their knowledge far wider than Nanil was happy with, but unless Assemblage 182 got a very close look at Trespasser’s weapons – Throne provide it doesn’t come to that – there was no way to know what it could do. It could be the equivalent of a shadow on a wall, it could be something more dangerous than anything the Pride had faced or anything in between.
Whatever it was, she was still reasonably confident that Thoughtful Repudiation of Intent and its courtiers could handle it. Though not a warship itself, the Defender’s Virtue border sentinel had been created with the lessons of the Shameful War at the forefront of its design. Its conversion core was much larger than a vessel its size normally used. It couldn’t sustain a core release as long as a host vessel or heavy explorer, but every pulse was nearly as powerful as that of a capital-grade interstellar unit, making each border sentinel a threat to vessels many times their size.
Ton for ton, the Defender’s Virtue was more heavily armed than any other vessel in the IOP’s history. Not counting the core release systems, its direct-fire arsenal consisted of four prow-mounted culverin, four flank serpentine arrays – two dorsal, two ventral, and three arc demiculverin and three smaller serpentines on its dorsal and ventral sides. For ranged weapons, each border sentinel carried eleven missile tubes; two prow, one aft, four dorsal/ventral. Its analytic systems were extremely keen; proponents of the design claimed this was to assist in scientific endeavours within and around the Frontier, while detractors argued that that benefit was a feature, and not the true intent. Its sensors were intended to find weak spots that would make a border sentinel a much more effective killer.
So despite Trespasser’s intimidating size, Nanil-Wanlei was relatively confident that, should the worst come to pass, her squadron along with Radiant Endeavour would be able to neutralize Implacable Agent of Retribution. At least, that was how she had worded her recommendations to the cardinal overseer. Given his pointed lack of commentary on them, she suspected he would have used another term. Frontier Assurance Division had learned not to go in on half-measures, and neither had Jaolk-Xiana.
“Doyenne.” Unlak-Cros approached, catching Nanil’s attention. “We’re approaching the boundary.”
Nanil straightened up in her sling, folding her tail beneath it. She bobbed her head once in acknowledgement. “What,” she asked as Assemblage 182 cut thrust, the sovran’s share of vessels curling away from the thirty-million kilometer demarcation line that Red One had requested, with only Radiant Endeavour and the FAD border sentinels continuing ahead, “do you think we’ll find on the other side?”
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