Pulse of the Imperium

"I see." Cordana said. "It seems you don't need guidance that much after all. At least not yet."

She took a slow, controlled breath. She looked more tired than before, though not displeased. Maybe even relieved.

"If anything, those are the questions to be addressed by my brother. He was in charge of security for the event, and that included force fields. Whatever has malfunctioned, and where, his is the task and responsibility to investigate. I am giving him time to do so. I'll ask for some answers tomorrow...

Their Galach was not local, with a heavy drawl that made initial read difficult. But Hadrian got their register faster than he should have. They used the cadence of people he had been dealing with in the past. Short sentences, ellipsis, abbreviations. Combat efficency. Mercs. Atreides. Vintner. Game...

"Yes, an agent." Irene was satisfied that the word had not come from her mouth first, and she relished its its semantic richness. She engaged Nirilli in her Zensunni register, that of ritual. She was not a Bene Gesserit, but she had learnt some of their lessons, as any Hagal should. They were too us...

"Have you discovered any such reason then."

[Hadrian: Daunting Perception w/ Setback to get anything from lip-reading.]

As happenstance would have it, the other two appeared in the doorway, exchanging hushed words with the one they'd left on guard.

Irene looked at her with regal straightness. "Something I acknowledge is that you have distinguished yourself today, Nirilli. I have known your selfless qualities for a while, but today in the Oon many others, including those of your people, have learned them too. And I would be true neither to them...

"How to be wary over one's inner tastes though." Cordana smiled gently.

"If it tastes bitter, spit it out?" Cordana chuckled, though Cuyler could notice those words were directed both at her and at Salomea, as if the Reverend Mother pursued phrasing that hit two registers at once. "This is what our ancestors did. Perhaps that's also a chef's instinct?" The kind Witch se...

There was something in Cuyler's wording that gave Cordana pause. She clicked her tongue before she finally replied, choosing her words even more carefully.

"Are you sure that you want to rely so much on the voice of a ghost?"

If there was anything unusual to notice, Nirilli was too engrossed in the exchange to pay attention to it. [Advantages will give you a Boost to your next roll in the room.] Irene stopped expressing her thoughts on the matter. She looked at Nirilli intently. "I could allow you to attach yourself to t...

Irene mulled something, leaning against her small comm panel that didn't distort the decor of the room. "So this group of visitors, they are going to investigate the racing incident? Has my brother, or his lady for the matter, allowed it? Cuyler Gray may have been a CHOAM auditor, but she has no man...

"Then you've learnt the most basic lesson, that you can learn. Many people never reach that point." Something Cuyler had said cast worry into Cordana's gaze. She still thinned her lips in resolve. "Long ago there was a wise man by the name Arthur who answered 'no' to the question I asked you. That o...

"So a bodyguard who is more than a bodyguard, a vintner who is more than a vintner, and a chef who is more than a chef." If there was a joke here, Irene didn't find it funny. Especially the talk about Zensunni victimhood and pilgrimage was decidedly unamusing to a ruler who relied on their populatio...

[Thread is wrapped.]

Starting with Pulse #2 and Pulse #3, we'll adopt a following model of gaining XP. Meaningful participation in GM-made IC threads gives you 5XP for each pair of them, once they are both wrapped. The qualifying threads need to be consecutive. You can't claim the XP if you still post in any GM-made thr...

Homeworld: Kirana III (Teegarden's Star) Status: House Major Crest & Colours: Cupid with a Rose, Black and Beige Head: Duke Flambert Mutelli Heirs: Undecided Main exports: liquors and other luxury foodstuffs, chefs, lawtechs (legal counsels) Current Allies: Corrino, Atreides, Thorvald Current Frene...

"A ceremony to officiate." Irene agreed, with slight self-reproof, as if this one one thing she should have thought about but for some reason hadn't. She didn't linger on the thought though, being otherwise preocccupied. She started shuffling her legs a bit. "A very diverse group. And they all arriv...

The men remained non-descript in the eyes of hidden observers. What Emcas was still convinced of was that they weren't who they posed as. It appeared as the whole incident didn't induce them into any sort of urgency. The two that had gone in still didn't come out, and the one outside seemed bored en...