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[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

KAN: Oh my god... did your guys find the Beast?

It seemed I just found the remains of Tcho'azxfaghoaoa whose existence was also recorded by Charles Dexter Ward (cookie for reference).

DF: In my own defense, I've never had any of the IC characters know or state Kerrigan's actual name, only the vague intelligence that the Broods are ran by some Queen. Otherwise, Ra & co. know nothing about the Zerg political structure, not even about the Cerebrates.

Um, I thought Namtaru should have included at least the name of the Zerg head of the state when he gave the datapad during the meeting. Why a head of the state should be kept secret anyway?

Oh, and that reminds me: like the Protoss, it will take some time for the Goa'uld and others to realize that only "dark" energies (for simplicirty in-game, we'll say Dark Side of the Force energies suffice) will permenantly kill Cerebrates, so if war breaks out, which I hope it doesn't for awhile, you could resurrect Cerebrates as much as you like.

That also, I think, means that KAN himself would be unable to kill Cerebrates, because he abandoned the Dark Side for the Phoenix Force, which is neither "dark" nor "light", but neutral, AFAIK.

Heh. There's an easier way to kill a cerebrate: Base Delta Zero.

If anyone else was bothering to watch, they probably noticed my sharp decrease in posting back around March, for that very same reason; a new job.

Hey, congrats for your new job! And welcome to the evil, deceptive world of corporation!

[Destructionator XV]

"By Revan's tit, you're a fucking idiot!"
Only half an hour into the day (12:30 AM in my timezone) and I already have quote of the day. That is the most hilarious thing!

Thanks for breaking me out of my emotional state. How am I going to write two remorseful mass murderers when I am loling?

[Ra]

Oh, and that reminds me: like the Protoss, it will take some time for the Goa'uld and others to realize that only "dark" energies (for simplicirty in-game, we'll say Dark Side of the Force energies suffice) will permenantly kill Cerebrates, so if war breaks out, which I hope it doesn't for awhile, you could resurrect Cerebrates as much as you like.

That also, I think, means that KAN himself would be unable to kill Cerebrates, because he abandoned the Dark Side for the Phoenix Force, which is neither "dark" nor "light", but neutral, AFAIK.

Heh. There's an easier way to kill a cerebrate: Base Delta Zero.

Yeah, but he would just regenerate elsewhere after your guns were silenced.

3D17: Cerebrates were pretty easy to physically destroy in SC, it was just that you had to use Dark Templars to actually kill them. I guess it was kinda like nBSG Cylons, they'd "download their consciousness to a new body", otherwise.

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Heh. There's an easier way to kill a cerebrate: Base Delta Zero.

Yeah, but he would just regenerate elsewhere after your guns were silenced.

3D17: Cerebrates were pretty easy to physically destroy in SC, it was just that you had to use Dark Templars to actually kill them. I guess it was kinda like nBSG Cylons, they'd "download their consciousness to a new body", otherwise.

Unless, of course, the Empire performs a total Zerg genocide; destroying every planet, every system, until all and every Zerg are annihilated from the universe so the Cerebrates cannot find a new body to transfer their oconsciousness to.

[Ra]

O RLY? Then we'll supply all of 'em new weapons, like the CIA did for Osama, and they'll fight back with a vengeance!

[Narsil]

"By Revan's tit, you're a fucking idiot!"

Now for the philosophical part: Does this warrant an appearance by said Dark Lady of the Sith, or does it not?

As for knowledge of the Commonwealth; they're not keeping their existance a secret as much as keeping their activities a secret. Except in the case of the A'millians, that is.

[Ra]

Hasn't Revan been dead for... however long ago KOTOR was set, take about seventy years?

But- NO, I got it! Adam was talking so much about alternate histories and time travel awhile back, we could do a little side-quest in the Old Republic days. What say you, Kresh?

The problem is plot motivation. Why would we be going back in time? Maybe... something that happens awhile from now, possibly by nature of some Ancient deus-ex machine, or the Guardian core having some fun getting its revenge on Ra?

But for that matter, I don't just want that, I wanna see alternate realities and timelines interact. I wanna pick up a Vulcan to join my side (I'll make a reason), and maybe have the Romulans scheme alongside the MU-A'millians. Perhaps also find the Protoss and get a taste of their knowledge on the Zerg.

We don't need too many side-quests, but a few fun ones like that could add flavor to the looming "Imperial War on Terrorism". I could definitely see the Vulcans and A'millians becoming allies, for example, and Dak could pick up that drow he wanted, just before the Zerg invade Faerun and exterminate the rest of the drow. Then Kerrigan becomes an Intermediate Power, and all hell breaks loose! (just kidding there, please don't kill me )

Alternately we could say Vulcan actually exists in the STGOD Milky Way, and are just so character-shielded they resisted Goa'uld conquest. Madar already made reference to a Romulan, so we might not need alt-universes to have them around.

But really, exploring some alternate timeline where the Vulcans are some big power might be interesting, where the Goa'uld actually never left their homeworld. Imagine that; possibly a Vulcan-Asgard alliance.

OK, I'll stop rambling, because the possibilities are literally without limit.

[Narsil]

Hasn't Revan been dead for... however long ago KOTOR was set, take about seventy years?

Star Wars hyperdrives have a temporal adjustment device which keeps them from travelling into the far future by making a hyperspace jump. In fact, I think it works on 'one year per lightyear' and she could probably have 'just made a 4,000 lightyear jump' with a semi-busted hyperdrive, that's how she'd end up in the modern era .

Alternately; we could go the Time Travel route... and the Commonwealth does possess the means to build Time Travel devices of its own. (Using them to alter history is on the 'forgetaboutit' side of stupid... you could inadvertenly cause a Paradox.) So they didn't really think to use the time travel devices to get home because of how difficult it would be to do without inadvertenly causing really, really, really big problems

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Hasn't Revan been dead for... however long ago KOTOR was set, take about seventy years?

But- NO, I got it! Adam was talking so much about alternate histories and time travel awhile back, we could do a little side-quest in the Old Republic days. What say you, Kresh?

As long as it involves a naked Amidala, why not?

The problem is plot motivation. Why would we be going back in time? Maybe... something that happens awhile from now, possibly by nature of some Ancient deus-ex machine, or the Guardian core having some fun getting its revenge on Ra?

NOO!!! Not another deus-ex holy grail quest!

and maybe have the Romulans scheme alongside the MU-A'millians.

Just a note: the name is "A'millan Star Empire".

We don't need too many side-quests, but a few fun ones like that could add flavor to the looming "Imperial War on Terrorism". I could definitely see the Vulcans and A'millians becoming allies, for example, and Dak could pick up that drow he wanted, just before the Zerg invade Faerun and exterminate the rest of the drow. Then Kerrigan becomes an Intermediate Power, and all hell breaks loose! (just kidding there, please don't kill me )

Alternately we could say Vulcan actually exists in the STGOD Milky Way, and are just so character-shielded they resisted Goa'uld conquest. Madar already made reference to a Romulan, so we might not need alt-universes to have them around.

But really, exploring some alternate timeline where the Vulcans are some big power might be interesting, where the Goa'uld actually never left their homeworld. Imagine that; possibly a Vulcan-Asgard alliance.

Okay, but we need more players to play those.

[Ra]

We wouldn't necessarily need more players. The new races wouldn't represent major new factions, I mainly intend them to be sources of new minor characters, rather than battle fleets.

And as for a "holy grail quest", I thought those were fun, but if you don't want them, it could simply be more political maneuvering, fighting, or something else.

BTW, KAN, sofar in STGOD continuity, you're the only living Sith I seem to recall. Did you ever have an apprentice or other underlings? Since Palps died, you are essentially the Dark Lord of the Sith, even if it's in name only now. And for that matter, did you adhere to the supremely annoying "Rule of Two", or did you have many underlings, like more ancient Sith Lords (Revan, Malak, and others, IIRC).

[Narsil]

Revan and Malak followed an earlier variant of the 'Rule of Two', along with being the first Sith to use the 'Darth' title if I recall correctly, one Master (Revan, later Malak, and then officially Revan again), one Apprentice (Malak, later Bandon, later Bastila), and eighty thousand wannabies.

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

BTW, KAN, sofar in STGOD continuity, you're the only living Sith I seem to recall. Did you ever have an apprentice or other underlings? Since Palps died, you are essentially the Dark Lord of the Sith, even if it's in name only now. And for that matter, did you adhere to the supremely annoying "Rule of Two", or did you have many underlings, like more ancient Sith Lords (Revan, Malak, and others, IIRC).

I... actually haven't really thought of it.

See, Darth Kreshna was originally a TIE Fighter pilot who rescued the Emperor from Admiral Zaarin (and yes, for all of you who played TIE Fighter, it was not Marek Stele; it was ME! MUHAHAHA!!!), so the Emperor secretly trained him to be a Sith (much to Vader's dismay... but Vader didn't say anything).

After Palpatine was killed on Endor, Darth Kreshna allied himself with his former superior; Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn was eventually assassinated on Bilbringi, but Imperial forces gained a major victory after Darth Kreshna killed Luke Skywalker in a duel. However, before his death, Thrawn shared his vision to Darth Kreshna and Grand Vizier Sate Pestage, to reform the Empire and rebuild the Imperial Senate. Upon the reformation, the rebels quickly went into disarray as their points suddenly became moot.

After peace and order were restored to the galaxy, Darth Kreshna's nobility status was upgraded to Imperial Sith Grand Inquisitor, as well as a small fiefdom around Byss. However, he was content with his nobility status (think Prince Rainer of Monaco), but unlike Palpatine, he was not so eager to be a Sith teaching figure. More like Julius Caesar, Darth Kreshna was more interested to gain more fame and power by conquering other territories like the Unknown Region, the Outer Rim, and the Milky Way Galaxy.

DK's contribution was mostly building Sith Learning Temples for those who aspired to be a Sith (and of course, all those Dark Side practitioners were registered in the government files). However, unlike Palpatine, he never assumed an active teaching role. In fact, Kreshna was quite laissez-faire regarding to the supervision of Dark Side practitioners.

And no, the "Rule of Two" had been dropped from the very start. In fact, Palpatine completely disregarded the rule by taking Kreshna as his pupil. After the Empire's reformation, the rule was totally dropped. See, the "Rule of Two" was originated during the age of the Old Republic as a mean of secrecy to ensure the surival of the Sith. Of course, after the Jedi Order was eliminated in Order-66, such rule practically was not needed anymore.

[Narsil]

I would generally say that you're rather incorrect there, Kreshna. Darth Bane developed the rule of two so that mass hubris wouldn't cause a massive decimation of the Sith. 'Tis much easier to solve an argument between two viewpoints than it is two thousand.

Dark Jedi, on the other hand, don't count as Sith. They're merely force-using servants who aren't really rated much higher than a bog-standard admiral.

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

I would generally say that you're rather incorrect there, Kreshna. Darth Bane developed the rule of two so that mass hubris wouldn't cause a massive decimation of the Sith. 'Tis much easier to solve an argument between two viewpoints than it is two thousand.

I guess I was wrong. However, Palpatine broke the rule anyway since he recruited DK:
1) recruiting DK was part of his plan in the whole "Phoenix scheme"
2) Palpy didn't really trust Vader anyway, so he needed a spare

Since Imperial reformation, the art of practicing the Dark Side has been open to public, and the Sith Temple of Coruscant was opened (like the Jedi Temple in the Old Republic), however, like I wrote above, Darth Kreshna did not take an active teaching role and leave such thing to the Sith Inquisitors below his rank.

EDIT: anyway, I'd like to point out that in SW EU, there are already a lot of people with Dark Side capability, like Sith Inquisitor Jerec and such, so I guess the rule of two had been dropped since Palpy rose to power.

[Destructionator XV]

and maybe have the Romulans scheme alongside the MU-A'millians.

Just a note: the name is "A'millan Star Empire".

He is referring to the mirror universe guys who followed the ASV Argo back.

There are 82 of them in one ship.


Time travel: it has happened before to the A'millians (not on PW canon anywhere, but it has). How it works is it is a jump to an alternative universe: see, their very presence in the past spawns a new alternate universe from that point on. Going back to the future consists of getting back to your regular universe.

Since it is an alternate universe, they cannot change the past for themselves.

(even though, it should still be impossible to jump universes due to conservation of mass / energy...)

One such trip back about 2000 years spawned the mirror universe where these MU-A'millians are from, and from where the Argo just returned. This trip might be featured here in PW3, or it might not. It doesn't matter either way as far as the events we have seen so far are concerned.

[Ra]

I can see that this is about to get very bad. A first strike on Coruscant and the system-spanning Kuat Drive Yards? Imperials set up for betrayal by Ra, who is about to actually offer Kerrigan his boadload of Mk. IX's? Trollish fleets mobilizing? War is inevitable.

And I'm gonna do something that could delay or even prevent some of the bloodshed. I know, you're like, "Why the hell would you want to fight for peace? The game is made funner with war!"

My reasoning is that it's more political maneuvering, more plots, and thus fun. I've decided to move up Galadriel's reappearance, and taken my earlier plot idea, to do this:

Galadriel sees that trillions are about to die and war is going to be spiraling out of control; and that someone is going to play everyone against everyone else for an advantage.

Thus, she is calling for all ex-Alliance leaders, as well as the Zerg, to meet on Vulcan for a last-ditch peace conference. It is her last hope to stop the war, and keep the old Alliance from killing each other off. She is going to call for Ra of the Goa'uld, Supreme Chancellor Saan of the Empire, Lord Adam and Lady Leila of the ASE, Sarah Kerrigan of the Zerg (though even she doesn't know the Queen's name) and others to meet her, and try and avert war. I might also have Thor and some Vulcan leader appear.

No one has to even show up, no one even has to try and prevent the wars. But it's something I think we could all have fun with.

[Destructionator XV]

I can see that this is about to get very bad. A first strike on Coruscant and the system-spanning Kuat Drive Yards?

Yeah, what we were discussing there is stage III of our plan - doomsday. Stage I and stage II are positioning and proxy war: the real fun stuff to game about.

They also don't want to open up that kind of firepower, since once you go unrestrained like that, everyone loses. We nuke them, they Death Star us, we open up the rest of our arsenal on their civilian population, they do the same, game over.

We strike first, everyone loses. They strike first, we lose, they win. Bad, bad position to be in, so they are ready to move forward with the first strike.

Sadly, they can't use only threat (or bluff) of that power to prevent war. Why? Because the Imperials have planetary shields which can render the weapons neutered. If they know it is coming, they just raise those shields and attack with impunity. The threat of MAD is gone, they win, no contest.

Unless I technobabble a way through the shield (drop out of hyperspace in the atmosphere maybe, I don't know enough about Star Wars shields and hyperdrives to know if that would work), then terror of MAD could once again be used to prevent full scale war.

And I'm gonna do something that could delay or even prevent some of the bloodshed. I know, you're like, "Why the hell would you want to fight for peace? The game is made funner with war!"

Well, all out war would be brutish, nasty, and short. I don't really want to go there either, but it is the logical conclusion of their current actions, and therefore must be discussed.

No one has to even show up, no one even has to try and prevent the wars. But it's something I think we could all have fun with.

Oh, it can get fun. I assure you, I'd be there, especially since we are playing the nice guy in public.


EDIT: I have a few more things to add on this, but I really shouldn't miss two classes in a row, so I'll continue later on MAD, etc, and another bit on my characters and in game history (recalling the non-canon PW2).

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

She is going to call for Ra of the Goa'uld, Supreme Chancellor Saan of the Empire,

Uh, Jon? Saan is not the Supreme Chancellor anymore.

[Destructionator XV]

A bit more on A'millian defenses. I have went on about this at some length already, so I will keep myself short this time.

They always want to be in one of these three positions:

Superior firepower - no one attacks them because the attacker will get pwned.

Near equal - if war breaks out, which it may, they can have a "civilized war", without massive destruction on either side. Not as good as clear superiority, but manageable.

Mutually assured destruction - if the shit hits the fan, everyone loses. The fringe madmen might still start wars, but they are quickly suppressed by both sides because neither wants to deal with the other's retaliation. (Sometimes, MAD occurs with near equals too, at this point, our WMDs are just a deterrant for their WMDs. Neither side uses them because a "civilized war" is better for both than total destruction).

MAD isn't as good as the other situations again, but terror of destruction is a good reason for everyone to behave.


If they cannot get one of these positions, they don't like it one bit. Treaties are not good enough for any kind of security: if you decided to break it, how would we enforce it?

In this case, the only thing diplomacy with the Galactic Empire had was the Empire saying they would do something, and then everyone else being entirely dependent on them keeping their word. We had no way to stop them if they lied: diplomacy is worthless without threat of devastating war to enforce it.

Even treaties with someone they can trust, like the Asgard, really lose their meaning when one side so ridiculusly outclasses the other. Those aren't treaties: they are demands.


It all reminds me of a quote from Knight training: "We have our strength so we do not have to fight." (Yes, knight training consists of many paraphrases of Mr Miyagi from The Karate Kid)






And now, from PW2, we know two things: 1) they are willing to wipe out a planet of innocent civilians if they believe it is for the greater long term good, and 2) They have, in the past, covertly bombed a civilian city and framed one of their adversaries to bring that planet to war readiness. (the Tasis III incident of AW 3741, mentioned in passing early on in PW2)

Now, that situation was a little different than here: they were very certain that Tasis would be attacked within the year by the guys they framed, so hitting them now gave them a "wake up call" so they would be prepared to defend themselves when the real thing came.

But, this plan worked, and furthermore, it helped sway public opinion. A complete success.

That operation is top-secret: no one in universe, except for a couple of the Destructionators and the Lord and Lady, has any idea who was actually behind that attack. But, since those few do know of its success, they are looking at that as proof that secret terror tactics can work.

As to the systematic extinction of a planet they were planning at the end of PW2, that is considered unpublished fiction in universe, and therefore has no bearing whatsoever on what anyone in universe would think.





Edit:

The Destructionators were created by the Ministry of Special Intelligence.

They (well, some) look and feel human.
Some are programmed to think they are human. (well, actually, not, but whatever)
There are many copies. (this is at least true)

And they have a plan.

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Alright, here's a question for Jon:

About Galadriel's telepathic broadcast... it's supposed to be heard by every head of the state, isn't it? Ra is not the only one who's supposed to hear it, am I correct?

And if that's the case, is it specifically broadcasted to heads of the state like Detritus, Lord Adam, and Darth Kreshna? How about non-head of the state characters like Madar or Commander Flotsam, can they hear it? Remember, Darth Kreshna is having conversation with Commander Flotsam, not Lord Detritus, so I wonder whether Flotsam will hear the telepathic broadcast too.

[Narsil]

Most of the broadcast, from what I could tell, was technological. The telepathy was aimed at Ra specifically.

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Anyway, I actually like how the STGOD evolves; we have neither outright war nor boring conversation between characters. Instead, we have diplomatic tensions, terrorist attack, and military build-ups which will eventually lead into war (the Trolls have started amassing their Battlefleets in Milky Way, haven't they?).

[Ra]

Yeah, the telepathy was directed at Ra only. Perhaps Madar and her two buddies could pick it up, because she was in the same ship, but not anyone else.

[Dartzap]

The Trollish fleets wont arrive for a few days or so, so any warfare wont happen for a while. The only reason the big D will want that force there is to defend his own territory and those of his allies. I would imagine the TSS will now be sneaking around the place... Trying to find some little gem that will reveal something-or-rather.

[Destructionator XV]

The following conversation is a must at some point.


Do you feel that, Cerebrate? The Protoss are here. On Char. They have been for some time...
Hiding.
Protoss commander, it was folly of you to come here. For I am Kerrigan, and I am Queen of the Zerg!


I know of you well, O Queen of the Zerg, for we have met before. I am Tassadar, of the Templar. I remember your selfless exploits, defending humanity from the Zerg. Unfortunate it is, to see that one who was once so honorable and full of life would succumb to the twisted wiles of the Overmind.


Do not presume to judge me, Templar. You'll find my powers to be more than a match for yours. In fact, I sense that your vaunted power has diminished since last we met.


Mayhap, O Queen. Or is it only that I need not flaunt my power in such an infantile test of will?


Foolish Templar. Prepare your defenses! I will come for you soon.