TYPE: Transcription
DESCRIPTION: Conversation between a person of interest and a high-value target
PARTIES: Three [3]: One [1] Guardian-type, Class Warlock, designate Wahei Ohr [WO] (POI #0247); One [1] Fallen-type, designate Loveks [LOV] (VIP #5353); One [1] Ghost-type, designate Vizier [VIZ]
ASSOCIATIONS: Black Fleet; Darkness; Eramis; Europa; Fallen; Light; Loveks; Ohr, Wahei; Salvation, House of [aka Darkness, House of; aka Dark Empire]; Splinter; Traitor's Die; Translation Needed; Traveler; Umbranomicon
// [Millie: Is there a reason we don't have a translation on the Fallen-speak? -FER-026]
[I tried my best, sir. It's not always easy to parse Riisan. Between the guttural way they speak it and the way their language compounds words, I've done the best I can. But as it is, I believe most of the untranslated stuff here is either shibboleth, jargon, or esoteric vocabulary that isn't in our regular dictionary.
-MIL-921]
[I'll see about contacting Misraaks' fireteam to see if they can help. -FER-026]
[However you choose to get it done, update this transcript as soon as convenient. -AUN-326]
[If inconvenient, update all the same. -AUN-326] //
// [TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: Where applicable, known translations of Riisan are presented {like this}. -MIL-921] //
[Exchange of gunfire; sounds of physical exertion and aggression]
[LOV:01] Run, Lightborn. [laughs] It makes the hunt more interesting.
[WO:01] I agree.
[a rush of static as the feed distorts from paracausal radiation]
[WO:02] So, by all means, start running.
[LOV:02] [UNTRANSLATED]
[sound of static persists, gunfire, sudden movement, distortion increases]
[LOV:03] Ha! {Void-step witch.}
[WO:03] "Void-step witch?" Huh. That's a new one.
[LOV:04] I know how to deal with {Void-step witches}.
[sound of static increases, crystalline noise, static ends]
[WO:04] [grunt of exertion, straining noises]
[LOV:05] [laughs] Disappointed. I expected more from [UNTRANSLATED].
[WO:05] [strained] You know who I am.
[LOV:06] Yes. Wahei Ohr. [UNTRANSLATED]. {Traitor.}
[WO:06] [strained] I am not a traitor!
[LOV:07] Those who are, never think they are. Like {oathbreaker} Variks.
[WO:07] [strained] And what makes you think I'm a traitor?
[LOV:08] You are hunted. By [UNTRANSLATED]. {Zealot/fires.}
[WO:08] Mahal and her ilk have never liked my methods.
[LOV:09] [laughs] I see now my Kell was right. You are [UNTRANSLATED]. A Dark-seeker. You seek to wield it as we do.
[silence]
[WO:09] So it IS true. Your new House HAS tapped into the Darkness.
[LOV:10] [UNTRANSLATED]!
We have harnessed it! A fount of power unrivaled! Even the Great Machine pales before it!
[WO:10] "Harnessed it?" Do you understand what it is you're dealing with?
[LOV:11] Better than you and your {zealot/fires}.
[WO:11] Really? [grunt of exertion] I doubt that.
[LOV:12] This power will be the salvation of our people. Especially from Lights like you.
[WO:12] There are no Lights like me.
[a rush of static as the feed distorts from paracausal radiation]
[LOV:13] [UNTRANSLATED]!
[sound of static persists, crystalline shattering, distortion increases]
[LOV:14] [laughter] A worthy hunt!
[sound of static persists, several sounds of sudden movement, crystalline noises]
[LOV:15] Clever Machine-spawn. Flash around all you want.
[sound of static persists, several sounds of sudden movement]
[LOV:16] But I know how to deal with {Void-step witches}.
[sound of static persists, sudden movement, crystalline noises, sound of metal piercing flesh]
[WO:13] [scream of pain]
[sound of static cuts off, sudden movement, sound of body hitting ground]
[LOV:17] Not so easy to flash around with a hook through you. [laughs]
[WO:14] Not as easy to get the drop on the Light-Hunter without a decoy.
[shattering sound, sudden movement, sound of metal piercing flesh]
[LOV:18] [roar of pain] [UNTRANSLATED].
[WO:16] Hush, now.
[LOV:19] [strained] Damned decoys.
[WO:17] Picked it up from Spider after the mess on the Tangled Shore two years ago. Cost a mint.
[LOV:20] [strained] [UNTRANSLATED] {witch!}
[a rush of static as the feed distorted from paracausal radiation, crystalline noises]
[WO:18] No. None of that.
[crack of gunshot, skittering as of object over ground]
[LOV:21] [shout of pain]
[WO:19] So this is a Splinter.
[rustling of leather, sound of page turning, scratching on paper]
[WO:20] Let's see...
[sound of waxen clattering]
[WO:21] Um.
[VIZ:01] Is it supposed to do that?
[WO:22] "Supposed to," or not, it's doing it.
[VIZ:02] I don't like it.
[WO:23] I understand, Vizier. Truth be told, I don't like doing it, either. But if we're going to find a way through, we have to. If only to stop Eramis and her House.
[LOV:22] [growling] [UNTRANSLATED]. We only wanted safety for our people!
[WO:24] And if you'd stayed put here on Europa, you might have had it. But your Kell decided she wanted to declare war on us.
[LOV:23] [UNTRANSLATED]. You cling to your false god, Machine-spawn. It will abandon you. Like it did us.
[WO:25] Hmm. Viz, please go up to the ship. I'll be along shortly.
[VIZ:03] Wahei--
[WO:26] NOW, Vizier. I won't ask again.
[pause]
[sound of transmat departure]
[pause]
[sound of pages turning, scratching on paper]
[WO:27] I'm going to tell you something, Loveks.
[LOV:24] [UNTRANSLATED]--
[sudden rush of static from paracausal radiation]
[WO:28] You will be SILENT.
[LOV:25] [quiet noise]
[pause; static fades]
[WO:29] I have become aware of many things in recent months, since the Black Fleet's arrival. The nature of the eternal conflict in the universe. The nature of the powers we possess. And even an inkling of the nature of the forces behind those powers.
[pause]
[WO:30] You call the "Great Machine" a "false god." And you're right. But you're also wrong. It is fallible. It is, in some ways, cowardly. It grants power, but then offers no real guidance to those who wield its power. But it was there when the universe was born, it helped shape it, as flawed as it might be. And it is the source of an impossible power, one that can alter reality itself, which allows its users to make their own fate. In that respect, it is indeed a god. Flawed, but undeniable.
[pause]
[WO:31] The same holds true for the Pyramid. It claims to speak truths, but only from its own perspective. It manipulates everything, from matter to energy to words to pure potential. It offers salvation, but only on its exacting terms. Failure is oblivion. But, like the Traveler, it was there at the beginning, it shapes the universe as well. It is also the source of an impossible, reality-altering power. And, in its own words, it doesn't know if its way is any more correct than its opposite number.
[pause]
[WO:32] Diametrically opposed forces. And therein lies the problem with your House and the power it uses.
[LOV:26] [strained] "Problem?"
[WO:33] You wield Dark power. Power that was bestowed upon you by your Kell.
[LOV:27] Yes.
[WO:34] This is why your empire will fall.
[thump of a book closing, rustling of leather]
[WO:35] We Lightbearers were given our power. That is part of its very nature, meant to foment cooperation and interconnectedness.
[LOV:28] What is your point, {witch}?!
[WO:36] But Darkness? It wants to cull the weak and unworthy, for anything that cannot stand on its own doesn't deserve to exist.
[LOV:29] What--
[WO:37] Accordingly, Dark power cannot be given.
[a rush of static from paracausal radiation]
[WO:38] It must be taken.
[static persists; pause]
[static fades]
[sound of comm-channel opening]
[VIZ:04] [comm] Ship's ready, Wahei.
[WO:39] Let's go, Viz. I must study this Splinter.
[VIZ:05] [comm] What about Loveks?
[WO:40] What about him?
[sound of transmat departure]
[LOV:30] [weak] Ha. {I respect that which I cannot kill,} Wahei Ohr.
// [ADDENDUM]
[cf. REP-AAR-EUR-IR-2020]
[Sent a team to investigate the location where this took place, since Ohr has again not filed a report about this. No sign of Loveks' body, though traces of Fallen ether and blood were on the ground. Area showed signs of the conflict as well. Until evidence is found that he is dead, assume Loveks is still alive but incapacitated. Additionally, there is no sign of his Splinter, and we must assume that it's in Ohr's posssession. -AUN-326] //
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