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Perennus Greymane

Tribe Leader of the Rheneya

0 · 431 views · located in Blackrock

a character in “The Multiverse”, as played by Revenant Sorrow

Groups

The last remnants of the druid-like tribes that once thrived on their now destroyed homeworld.

Description

Perennus Greymane
< Male >< 4269 years old >< of the Rheneya >

Having been a Tribe Leader for thousands of years, he was one of the prime choices
when it came to leading the alliance of tribes.

Perennus is in a relationship with Cecilia Iblis, and has two surviving daughters together
with her, Acacia Iblis and Mimosa Iblis. Mimosa has also given him a grandchild, Riwona
Iblis.

He has a well-developed sense of humor, despite life's best attempts at trying to make
him into a stodgy old man. That is solely a mask he portrays to the world beyond the
tribe though.

So begins...

Perennus Greymane's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Riwona Iblis Character Portrait: Selene Brightmoon Character Portrait: Mimosa Iblis Character Portrait: Calion Felus Character Portrait: Acacia Iblis Character Portrait: Perennus Greymane
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  1. Mote will be added to thissequenceo f events when I wake up in the morning... yawns

    by Revenant Sorrow
  2. *this sequence of

    by Revenant Sorrow

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[Undisclosed location, four hours before the transfer]

'Is this was what it came to in the end?', Cecilia Iblis wondered in bitter amazement. It was not long before she was joined by her husband Perennus, who wrapped his arm around her.

They looked on, as the others of the roughly four dozen survivors, worked on the Dimensional Gate that was nearing construction. It was almost done, but not quite, the last step being one they had so far been unable to bring themselves to make.

For the gate to start functioning, even just for the few minutes, nine of them would be needed. Nine of the already very few survivors of the disaster that befell this world would have to be ritually sacrificed.

The plans for the Gate had come from the Kozakian Magi, an order of magic users that used to rule in the North, but they were long gone, having fallen to the Scourge early on. Originally, there were no sacrifices required, a single mage being able to open the gate. The Rheneya, for all their power over life though, were not magical in the traditional sense, requiring this method to petition the God of Death for a small trickle of the power those of Kozak had been blessed with at birth.

The Rheneya did not fear dead, it being a natural part in the cycle of life. Nevertheless, few were willing to leave behind their relatives to face the Great Unknown that laid on the other side of the Gate, not on their own at least.

In the end it was decided that the remnants of the Nightingale line would remain behind. None of the five stubborn elderly Humeas would accept anything else, knowing that, either way, their time would have come soon. They were joined by the three Falaron siblings, and the lover of the eldest of said brothers.


Mimosa had created a sleeping draught, and had Rion feed it to Riwona. All of them, save the young girl herself, had agreed she didn't need to have the next scene haunt her, in the manner that it would haunt the rest of the tribe.



[Undisclosed location, three minutes before transfer]

Selene looked on, as the nine bodies shrivelled up, before breaking down into motes of light. The motes flowed towards the gate, momentarily forming the Dark Sigil where the surface of the gate would be. The sigil flashed a few times, before fading away. She looked at her brother Calion with worry, as nothing seemed to happen in the next few moments.

She heaved a breathe of relief a the shadows began to pool together, revealing the Spectre. It glided up to the Gate, past Acacia, and melted into shadows, again, which formed the surface of the gate. It had worked.



[Blackrock, unknown date and time]

In one of the most desolate areas of Blackrock, far away from any civilisation, the shadows beneath a cliff seemed to draw together, before forming the exit of the Gate the Rheneya had summoned. Slowly but surely, the survivors began to trickle through with what little earthly possessions they still owned.

Most of them looked at the barren, desolate land in despair, but they could hardly turn back, soon there would be nothing to return to.

With that avenue being closed to them, they could only move forward.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Riwona Iblis Character Portrait: Selene Brightmoon Character Portrait: Mimosa Iblis Character Portrait: Calion Felus Character Portrait: Acacia Iblis Character Portrait: Perennus Greymane
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Riwona stood next to her grandfather and looked at the provisional map laying on the improvised table. It had been a week since they had first arrived here, and none of the expeditions the Rheneya coalition send out had found signs of native life so far. That's not to say there was none, There simply were no signs of it within the distance they could cover on foot in a two day span.

When someone came in to talk to Perennus though, she was gently shooed away.

"Grandpaaaaa...", she responded with a slight whine, but he wouldn't budge on this. Nevertheless, she eavesdropped a little, and overheard the progress report on the project Rion was in charge of; Getting them access to water, to ease the burden of growing plants.

While far beneath the surface, her grandmother's scrying had proven there was an underground water reservoir. It might not have been of immediate help, but progress was fast enough, as roughly half of the survivors were taking turns to aid the growth of a Tunneler Root. According to the report, they were halfway there, although progress might slow down when they hit solid rock.

She wondered for a bit why they focused on something that wasn't strictly necessary, before shrugging, and just writing it off as wanting to ease the toll of growing plants on an individual. Oh, and to get them off of Kalora...

They might have been able to survive on Kalora juice indefinitely, but it was not an ideal solution. Kalora had mild hallucinogenic properties when imbibed for long stretches of time after all. It remained by far the most cost-effective plant to grow though, as the juice of a single fruit had the ability to quench a man's thirst for a full day, and a tree was usually laden with them.

The thought of Kalora caused her to think of her mother, and she figured she could visit her to see if she had something Riwona could do.

Once there she overheard another conversation, which might have been interesting, but that wasn't the case. Once her mother had finished speaking with the other woman, Riwona ran up to her. She noted that her mother looked rather tired, but figured she could ease the burden she was under a little.

"Mom?", she asked, "Do you have something to do for me?"

After repeatedly stating to her daughter that , no, she didn't, Mimosa send her on her way. when she decided to check on her dad and aunts.

Calion, Selene and Acacia in the meantime, were still working on creating some shelter from the elements. They might not need to ward against the rain that had visited them so often in their former home, but it was rather hot during the day, and cold during the night. As Calion accelerated the growth of the plants they used, Selene and Acacia deftly wove their branches together.

"Dad! Dad!", Riwona called out, "Can I help too?"

Calion was mirrored by the two others in his amused snort. "Are you sure Ri Ri?", he asked teasingly, referring to how little skill she had in that area. When she tried to grow plants, they tended to mutate and try to eat her, and the less be said about her crafting skills, the better.

Though the tone was teasing, Riwona send them a hurt look. She mumbled something illegible in response. She had been send away from the other projects already. Even her mother had shooed her away and Rion probably would too. It made her feel rather useless. Add to this they had seen fit they had tricked her into eating food laced with a sleeping draught the week before, supposedly to protect her 'innocence', and she felt like nothing but a burden.

Tired as everyone was though, they didn't quite pick up on this undercurrent of hurt.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Riwona Iblis Character Portrait: Selene Brightmoon Character Portrait: Mimosa Iblis Character Portrait: Calion Felus Character Portrait: Acacia Iblis Character Portrait: Perennus Greymane
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Perennus and Mimosa, having been done with their meetings and Kalora juice preparations respectively, decided to go create the bare bones of a perimeter wall. Compared to the tightly woven results of Calion, Selene and Acacia's work, what came out was rather laughable as of yet, but that was to be expected due to the different scale of the projects.

Not having encountered any wildlife so far in this realm, didn't mean it wasn't present at all, after all.

Compared to the Rheneya's previous efforts, the wall stood out a lot more, the vivid green of the giant leaves that sprouted being a stark contrast to the earthen tones of this world. Most of their efforts had gone unnoticed so far, because the budding houses were being hidden in the shadow of the slightly overhanging cliff, and the Kalora Trees' golden leaves simply didn't stand out much.

As they moved on to a different area, their work here done for now, Riwona, who had been observing them from nearly, decided to go climb the 'wall', which was made easier by the fact that the branches practically formed a lattice at this point. Not that she needed that boost, all things considered. Even if she was a failure at growing things herself, she would not be much of a Rheneya if she didn't know her way around and into trees.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Riwona Iblis Character Portrait: Selene Brightmoon Character Portrait: Mimosa Iblis Character Portrait: Calion Felus Character Portrait: Acacia Iblis Character Portrait: Perennus Greymane
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Another few days had passed and the by now massive Tunneler Seed had reached it's goal. Upon the end of the constant application of energy to keep one of the hardest to grow plants in the Multiverse alive and thriving in the hostile climate, the hollow plant soon died, it's fibers hardening into a rock-like consistency.

While the water wouldn't rise by itself, the first step to getting a functional water supply had been finished at least.

With the addition of twenty-three more workers, finishing their shelter had soon become done too.

Most of the base work being done by this point, and currently lacking the need for more manpower working on making the well more user friendly, some of them decided to work on setting up something resembling a somewhat functioning ecosystem on their little corner of this new world. A diverse variety of plants began to spring up pretty much everywhere in and near the settlement, although carefully managed to get the most out of what seeds they had on them.

Of course, despite their prowess in that area, it was a system that would collapse if unaided by the Rheneya's innate energies. Maybe though, over the course of multiple millennia, and much work, native fauna might be drawn here. If they also were able to get more water to the surface of the world -instead of far beneath it, hidden under layers of sand and rock-, then maybe... Just maybe... they could make something lasting.

But at the moment, this was just a distant dream. A possible future for a world that most would have deemed dead a long time before the Rheneya ever set foot here.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Riwona Iblis Character Portrait: Selene Brightmoon Character Portrait: Mimosa Iblis Character Portrait: Calion Felus Character Portrait: Acacia Iblis Character Portrait: Perennus Greymane
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Blackrock, Khar-Toba wastes

"...Orbital confirms it, it wasn't here a week ago." Colonel Tyrus reported, his eyes fixated on the orbital images strewn out on the holographic table before them. The Command deck of the baserunner had been a flurry of activity since they left FOB Lyra nearly three days ago, with Lord General Nabaal at the helm.

The massive fifty-six meter long, six wheeled vehicle slowly rolled to a stop as it crested some rocky outcroppings overlooking a canyon lined with cliff-sides, infamous for the desolate Khar-toba region of Blackrock.



Grasping a pair of binoculars, Nabaal approached the front-most console, close enough to the pane of glass that she could see her own reflection. Her eyes narrowed, while she brought the binoculars to her face, and fixated her gaze on the strange sight before her.

"Is it an oasis maybe?" Nabaal asked, lowering the binoculars, swiftly turning around to meet Tyrus' gaze at the command station.

The man quietly shook his head, and replied. "No I don't think so, General. Not this quickly."

Nodding, Nabaal turned back to face the desert, the warm sunlight bathing her face in a warm glow.

"Very well, take us closer, we'll collect some samples, and return to the FOB; perhaps it's some new kind of plant life, or maybe there's a previously undiscovered spring." The General commented, brushing her bright yellow jacket down, and then clasping her hands behind her back, while interlocking her fingers. "It'll save us having to transport water from Arastel..."

The Baserunner shuddered, and lurched forward, it's engines churning to life, straining to move six large wheels against the barren soil, to set thousands of tons of metal into motion.

"Orbital would have never noticed it, if it wasn't for wide-spectrum analyses." Tyrus added, stepping down from the command console, and up towards Nabaal, to stand slightly behind, and to her right.

"Orbital Would have never noticed it? Tyrus don't be silly, a Reverence can read a newspaper from half an SU Away." The General retorted, turning back around and climbing up towards the command station.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Riwona Iblis Character Portrait: Selene Brightmoon Character Portrait: Mimosa Iblis Character Portrait: Calion Felus Character Portrait: Acacia Iblis Character Portrait: Perennus Greymane
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It was, unsurprisingly perhaps, Rion who first felt the (at the time) still distant life approaching. She was also preoccupied though, a fair way down the well, to help grow something resembling stairs. One might have wondered about the wisdom of letting Rion do this duty, seeing how her innate power was oriented more to fauna than to flora. She was certainly angry at herself for volunteering for this duty right now.

It would take her at least 20 minutes to reach the surface. Whatever it was was getting closer was doing so at an ungodly speed, and would most definitely arrive before that, even taking the uneven terrain into account. She would have marveled about a being that could go that fast, had it not seemed to be heading straight for the settlement.

Rion started running up the improvised stairs, much to the confusion of her partner.

Riwona, was the second who noticed the approaching party. While not at Rion's level by far, she was helped by the fact that she actually saw a dust cloud rising in the direction it was coming from, unlike most of the adults, who's view was obscured by the cliffside they build their camp against.

By the time the inner struggle about what to do about it was won however, (she was going to call an adult after all), whatever was kicking up the dust could already be seen, and by default, she reasoned, she was in it's field of vision too. It seemed it was a bit too late for that now.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Riwona Iblis Character Portrait: Selene Brightmoon Character Portrait: Mimosa Iblis Character Portrait: Calion Felus Character Portrait: Acacia Iblis Character Portrait: Perennus Greymane
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In the fifteen minutes it took the Baserunner to close the distance from it's original position, and the cliff-side, Nabaal was closely watching the data as it scrolled across the screen, but her thoughts were interrupted by the shouts of one of the navigational officers.

"Sir! I've got multiple life signs." He called out. Nabaal grimaced slightly, before turning towards a shrugging Tyrus. "Hopefully they're not hostile; we're not equipped for a protracted engagement, and it'll take orbital dropped reinforcements at least a millicenton (about ten minutess) to get here." The Colonel reported.

"Maybe they're friendlies?" Nabaal asked with a slight hint of trepidation; they were equipped for an expedition after all, not to pacify rebels.

Roughly thirty meters from the encampment, the vehicle slowly began to ease to a stop, letting the dust cloud waft over them, while it's engine churned, growled, and clattered. There was an audible hiss, and another dust cloud as air brakes engaged, and released.

The Baserunner cast long shadow over the cliffside, and the General was hard at work motivating her men to prepare for contact with whoever was there; some of them were hoping it was simply native animal life, but General Nabaal wasn't taking any chances.

She moved towards an armory case, and retrieved a disruptor rifle, gesturing for Tyrus to follow suit. Her eyes moved over to a pair of Marines, whom silently nodded their acknowledgement. The four moved towards the main hatch near the command deck, and Nabaal pushed the armored door open with an audible thunk, letting hot, dry desert wind into the cool, climate controlled command center.

Peering out, she leaned against a metal railing, and scanned her surroundings with a keen eye.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Riwona Iblis Character Portrait: Selene Brightmoon Character Portrait: Mimosa Iblis Character Portrait: Calion Felus Character Portrait: Acacia Iblis Character Portrait: Perennus Greymane
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Around this time, some of the other Rheneya finally noticed they had visitors. Perennus started making his way there, as well as a slightly worried Mimosa, who was well aware that her daughter had been playing in that direction.



Riwona watched with wide eyes as a woman appeared. 'Is it like a house?', she wondered, 'One that moves?'. She made a little 'Eep' noise though, when the woman looked straight at her.

"Hello!?", she called out hesitantly to woman.

It was at this time her mother and grandfather found them. Feeling a bit shy, the girl ran towards her mother and hid behind to her.



Rion, in the meantime, was almost out of breath. Still she kept racing upstairs, not having slowed once, despite having been far underground.



"Greetings", Perennus called out to the woman. He had deemed her wary, but not quite hostile yet, even if she seemed like she could become so. "I'd ask what brings you here, but I'm rather sure there's very little else out here than our little encampment. That being said, would you care to join us for something to drink? We have water and Kalora Juice."

Mimosa elbowed her father in the ribs, a warning in her eyes.

Perennus sighed. "Fine. We have water. Kalora Juice might not be the best choice right now, considering it has very mild hallucinogenic effect when imbibed in large quantities. Not that we'd have let it get that far."

Mimosa let out a long-suffering sigh, "Forgive my father, he tends to forget not everyone has our resistance to the fruit's effect."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Riwona Iblis Character Portrait: Selene Brightmoon Character Portrait: Mimosa Iblis Character Portrait: Calion Felus Character Portrait: Acacia Iblis Character Portrait: Perennus Greymane
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The woman had just finished crawling down the ladder from the command deck of the baserunner. The sand, and gravel crunching under her boots as she gingerly slung the disruptor rifle over her shoulder, letting it hang loosely by it's nylon strap.

Colonel Tyrus wasn't far behind, letting his boots crunch on the gravel, he stood behind the woman, keeping his steely gaze affixed on the people before him, he clasped his disruptor rifle tightly, anticipating battle. The man said nothing even as they were addressed, instead opting to let General Nabaal be the first one to speak.

"Hello?" The child addressed her, and the woman quietly cantered her head, but did not respond. Behind her, and around the baserunner, about a dozen Aschen soldiers in dazzling fractal desert camouflage could be seen, their faces hidden by checker pattern shemagh scarves, and polarized, reflective goggles, their heads obscured by wide brimmed military style boonie hats. All of them carried similar weapons to the woman in the yellow and black jacket.

She quietly raised her hand, and they stopped their advance towards them, taking up positions around the massive tires of the baserunner.

Nabaal's eyess narrowed slightly, as she wiped some sweat that had begun to bead on her brow.

She took a breath to speak, her tone cold, almost accusatory.

"Who are you people, and how did you get here?" The woman asked, security of Blackrock being foremost on her mind. "We did not track any ships on entry, and your... encampment couldn't have been here much longer than seven cycles." The woman commented, taking a step forward.

"I am Lord General Nabaal, Supreme Commander of the Aschen Empire's Blackrock garrison." She said, introducing herself like they should have known who she was.

She peered up at the cliff-side, and pursed her lips. "You look like you need these things more than I do." She said, looking back down to those before her.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Riwona Iblis Character Portrait: Selene Brightmoon Character Portrait: Mimosa Iblis Character Portrait: Calion Felus Character Portrait: Acacia Iblis Character Portrait: Perennus Greymane
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It took Perennus a while to formulate a response, carefully picking his words. The woman seemed to be of high rank, if the way she commanded the soldiers(?) and her introduction were an indication. Mimosa and Riwona seemed to have picked up on this too, if their uncomfortable expressions were any indications.

"My name is Perennus Greymane, Lord General Nabaal. I am the temporary leader of those who call themselves the Rheneya. These are my daughter Mimosa, and my granddaughter Riwona. As for our arrival, there were no ships involved. What little remains of our people entered your realm through a portal, in an effort to escape the destruction of our world."

He paused for a bit, wiping away some sweat himself. This was about the time a huffing and puffing Rion appeared. Perennus raised an eyebrow at the Rheneyan woman. "Figured I'd... tell you a-... -bout the in-... -coming... life... Already... Met them... I see...", she said through the gasps.

"This is Rion", he decided to add, feeling slightly awkward at the interruption. "Who seems to have run up 2.5 miles of stairs to inform me of your arrival...". Rion gave them a nod, before stumbling away again.

"I apologize sincerely, both for the interruption, and landing on what I understand to be your empire's lands?"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Riwona Iblis Character Portrait: Selene Brightmoon Character Portrait: Mimosa Iblis Character Portrait: Calion Felus Character Portrait: Acacia Iblis Character Portrait: Perennus Greymane
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Nabaal paused a moment to consider her next words. These people were refugees, which meant that she could score points with MiniTru for the hearts and minds of the people.

She looked back up at the rocky cliffside, and then briefly back towards her baserunner, before she offered a soft smile. "Apologies for the harsh introductions." Nabaal said as she slightly inclined her head. "Escape the destruction from your world? So you're refugees?" She asked as she cantered her head slightly.

Listening to their explanation, Nabaal gestured for her soldiers to stand down, with a simple hand gesture, they visibly relaxed, while the woman was formulating her next action.

"Yes, this world is territory of the Aschen Empire, but it is currently being contested, and is in an active state of rebellion." She said, looking over those before her, and taking a step forward towards Perennus. "This place is hardly a suitable location to settle refugees, it's barren, and lifeless." Nabaal said, offering a slight nod.

"How many of there are you?"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: The Militia Character Portrait: Riwona Iblis Character Portrait: Selene Brightmoon Character Portrait: Mimosa Iblis Character Portrait: Calion Felus Character Portrait: Acacia Iblis
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  1. contains rule violation, needs review

    by barney_fife
  2. This post does not provide an opportunity to react, and forces an outcome, thus it will be disregarded.

    by barney_fife

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Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: The Militia Character Portrait: Riwona Iblis Character Portrait: Selene Brightmoon Character Portrait: Mimosa Iblis Character Portrait: Calion Felus Character Portrait: Acacia Iblis
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »
  1. This post does not provide an opportunity to react, and forces an outcome, thus it will be disregarded.

    by barney_fife
  2. possible duplicate content

    by barney_fife
  3. contains rule violation, needs review

    by barney_fife
  4. I'm almost sorry to say, but I'm with fife on this one. Not only does the attack come out of literally nowhere (both IC and OoC), but it also leaves few options to react. I would have minded a lot less if there was at least some build up to it, or alternatively some OOC discussion about what everyone wants to achieve. and what they deem acceptable or not.

    by Revenant Sorrow
  5. Sorry Oreo but I'm with Barney and Rev too. This is kind of random and doesn't let the characters react in any way, pretty railroad-y. Also don't forget that you still have to deal with the Protectors.

    by Abraxas_Axis
  6. This is a perfectly valid post! Other characters can freely respond to the weapons fire. Please review the combat rules!

    by Remæus

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In the middle of the discussion, R.F.E. Militia land speeders, 3 in numbers, started their fast approach.

Image

They zoomed by, hit their brakes and drifted, then immediatly started firing at the Achen scum. They tried their best to not hit the "Refugees".

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: C.O.R.e Character Portrait: Rome Character Portrait: The Militia Character Portrait: Ashia Nova Character Portrait: Riwona Iblis Character Portrait: Selene Brightmoon
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  1. (OOC: It's been two months and nobody has updated upon the position of the battle between RFE-Militia, C.O.R.e., Aschen Blackrock Division and Protectors, so I'll do it myself - without railroading, of course. The Dangerous Times Arc must continue.)

    by lostamongtrees

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They were losing.
That was the only conclusion that Captain Ashia Nova, commander of the RFE-Militia troops and reluctant lover of Emperor Rome of the Roman Fell Empire, could draw from all of this. It was three against one - one the sworn enemy of the Militia, one the enemy of the Roman Fell Empire, and one the enemy of all humanoid life itself. Her soldiers... her... soldiers...
Snap out of it!!! she thought, and came to just in time to see several heat-seeking missiles directed at her. "Shit!!!" she exclaimed, and quickly attempted to dodge. But she was not fast enough, and one missile clipped her side and exploded. Her suit, although made of very tough material, was still quite damaged, and she was dazed.
A man chuckled into her intercom. "Not holding up so well anymore, eh, Nova?"
Ashia gritted her teeth. "Reavus. This isn't over yet."
"Or is it?" she could feel her sworn enemy sneering at her in his voice. "You and your foolish 'emperor' really thought you could consolidate enough power to take on the Aschen Empire itself, not just take over the Kreios System? Face it, Ashia. You are a brilliant tactical mind, but you have been outplayed. Give up, and we might just let you go."
"How do I know I can trust your word? Or even that there is not a chance for us?"
"Unlike you, I am a man of honor. As for the latter question, look around you."
She did, and saw what had made her halt in the first place. They were losing, and that was that.
Dodging blasts and attacks from her enemies, she finally came to a decision. Rome would not like it, not like it at all. The man had drive, which she could expect, but he was too ambitious. Such foolish excesses of courage were the very thing that lead to the disbandment of the Militia in the first place.
This was the only way. She knew it, and it gods, it hurt to admit it, but Reavus' word was true.
Disconnecting from Reavus, she barked into her intercom to her soldiers, "Retreat! Retreat! We are losing this battle, and if we do not retreat then we all will die! I repeat, retreat! Over and out!"
Gazing one last look at Blackrock, her home, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Rome."
Then, using her suit-powered gravity boosters, she launched herself away from the battle and into the deep recesses of the Kreios System, where she would wait to rendezvous with the rest of her army.
And, probably, have to face the music with her emperor.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: C.O.R.e Character Portrait: Rome Character Portrait: The Militia Character Portrait: Ashia Nova Character Portrait: Sara Gynovus Character Portrait: Abraxas of Blackrock
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12:51 ISP: "Captain Ashia Nova to RFE-Militia HQ. Recon requested ASAP. Battle outcome assessment requested as well. Current location: Kreios Galaxy X159, Y650, Z489. Over."

* * *

15:30 ISP: "This is Captain Ashia Nova to RFE-Militia HQ. I request recon immediately. Battle outcome assessment requested ASAP. Current location: Kreios Galaxy X159, Y650, Z489. Over."

* * *

18:59 ISP: "Captain Ashia Nova to RFE-Militia HQ, please respond ASAP. I request recon immediately. Battle outcome assessment would be welcome as well. Current location: Kreios Galaxy X159, Y650, Z489. … Please respond soon. Over."

* * *

22:55 ISP: "... Shit on a stick."

Ashia clicked her intercom off sharply. This was the twentieth time she had attempted to call for recon from the RFE-Militia HQ in the... how many hours? Ten? It didn't matter. The current situation was rather dire; stranded out in the middle of space with half of a power battery keeping her running, no allies (or even enemies; at this point, the former tyrant captain would have welcomed any sign of life, human or otherwise) anywhere in sight, and no idea what had happened in the prior battle.
While it was a horrible - and painful - idea to think, Ashia was almost certain that the RFE-Militia had lost. If it had been just them versus the Aschen, they might have won - a very, very slim chance of course, but a possibility. But then those damn rebels had to intervene... on the plus side, the Protectors had most definitely been steamrolled by the Aschen. The bad news was, so had her army.
Ashia spared a thought for Rome, perhaps the greatest leader she'd ever met - no, the greatest man she'd ever met. Calculating without being cold-hearted, and a great listener as well, he had been able to lead a strong army against their greatest foes. And he had loved her not for her looks (or for just being a woman in a high position on the social ladder) but for who she was. And he had understood her - that was without a doubt.
And now he was almost certainly dead.
Ashia was surprised to feel a tear roll down her cheek. Since when had she become so damn emotional? Ever since that business with that snake-man troubadour and the psychic Protector, her entire life had been turned on its head, with said head then being bashed against the wall of suffering until it was a bloody pulp. There was nothing left for her. Everything she had worked for... gone. In less than a month too. She should just give up, and-
NO!!! she thought. I cannot give up! I have not come this far only to give up and die! There are still things I can do. That I must do.
And it came to her so suddenly that it seemed her own body was knock back a few feet from its former position: she still had a mission to do; it was all coming together. Abraxas and his crew; her mission had been to hunt them down. Then, of course, the Aschen intervened, and everything fell apart. But the mission still remained. And it was a mission she had to do, if not for duty then for her sheer sanity.
I will fulfill my duty, if it is the last thing I ever do in this life, Ashia reckoned. Come blood or bane, woe or wave. For the Militia, for Blackrock, for my family... for Rome. For myself. I swear upon it with all of my force of will.
Immediately after this, in an event Ashia would not be sure actually happened even long afterwards, her Gauntlets of Doom seemed to vibrate, to hum with some psionic agreement. To become more... attuned to her. And she could sense the path the trio had taken... where they were now. Even though she had no idea how, she could all the same.
The Zanzarian Port. Misrana. I will find them. And with that, Ashia Nova blasted off into the depths of the Multiverse once again, on the mission that could save her life... or doom it.