After their initial gambit found success, the members of SBBR have put Columnar's too-curious 301st Appraisal Unit off balance. Now, they seek to finish the deal--but to do so in such a way that will not draw more attention and ire towards the Sable Court, who has hired them. And if they can succeed, they may yet find that while the Great Stels of the Principality pay well, covens hidden in the woods offer more than simple currency in reward for loyalty.
This week on PARTIZAN: Under the Boughs of the Court
///Operation Dossier\\\
//Organizations\\
The Nobel: The people and culture from which Valence originates. They live beyond Partizan, in the Scutum-Centaurus arm of the Milky Way, which a past Princept declared was not to be colonized or even explored. But years ago they suffered an attack from someone from the Divine Principality. Valence seeks to answer how, who, and why.
//People\\
Eiden Teak (he/him): Soldier and commander in the Sable Court. Wears the wounds of past fights on him with a distinct sort of pride, inherited from his time fighting as an Apostolosian soldier: He's missing right leg under the knee, and a number of his antlers have been snapped and broken. Wears loose olive drab fatigues, marked the occult insignia and wards of the Court.
The Loess (she/her): The leader of the Sable Court stands with a the large, muscular body of a moose more than a deer, and her antlers are no different: wide and domineering, twinkling with not only the normal precious metal inlay used by members of the court, but also with shining, multi-colored gems--memoria--making them look almost more like brightly jeweled butterfly wings than antlers. Her base of operations is, on the outside, hidden by what you can only imagine is incredible advanced technology. You pass through some bushes and above you, a star chart flickers above you. Her voice, heavy, simple, but smart, welcomes you to the heart of the coven.
//Things\\
The Strand: A technology once used by the ancient Hyphan people to travel, without Portcullis technology, from system to system.
Clarified Memoria: The Sable Court has developed a process by which they "reveal" the truth of Memoria gems, which allows the already potent material to conjure and confer the miraculous.
Zenith-A Kathēkon: Often affectionately called "Cathies" by Apostolosian pilots, these medium sized, humanoid mechs were originally designed to be the Zenith Fund's answer to the Troop. Specially built for Apostolosian needs (including night, underwater, and orbital combat), the Kathekon is a flexible fighting platform with fully articulating hands, advanced imaging, and jumpjets designed to allow low, fast horizontal hops. While the Troop still makes up the bulk of the Apostolosian hollow forces, you'll often find Cathies deployed on special ops missions or by unit commanders. Their dark green color, bulbous armor, and large orange "eyes" give them an amphibious look--which is (part of) the reason behind Kesh soldiers referring to their Apostolosian foes as "frogs."
//Additional Notes\\
SBBR's Mission Objectives: Drive the 301st away from the the path towards the Sable Court. Secondary objective: Capture their equipment.
Rules of Engagement: Do not trigger any of the Sable Wards which have been placed.
A transcription is available for this episode here.