DeviousMe

"Company: yes." Kal'merus said, clearly sensing the approaching minds coming from above, directing his squad out of the elevator and rigging it with plasma explosives.

They would sent the platform back up and remote-detonate the charges, frying anything in the shaft.

As the Rikti spoke to each other mentally, Gunman Kul'Bere translated for the Malta, "Hostiles: many. Approaching: more than one group. From shaft: back away. Explosion: much will be. Other vertical-shaft-box: will be put to use."

The Guardians dropped protective fields over the Malta Operatives as the Mentalist directed the formation, having an absolute grasp on where the approaching forces were - but sadly not who they were.

Still, it wouldn't matter - they sent the elevator platform up and sealed the door again.

As the groups still in she shaft saw the platform rush up at them, the plasma detonators exploded, sending a tornado of fire and debris up the shaft. It would go all the way to the top and rush out of any open blast doors, incinerating anything caught in the plasma gout without ample protection...

((We'll say the freight elevator is just a large platform made of a metal grating then.))

...tall figures and greenish-glowing energies through the spaces in the platform floor. Marcus didn't have to look twice to know who they were dealing with. he was an experienced soldier, and knew a Rikti when he saw one.

A few seconds later, the elevator platform headed down again, and the Malta took up defensive positions. Ever since the Rikti had split into two factions, there was no telling what they would do anymore.

But as the platform stopped on their level, Mentalist Kal'Merus stepped forward with his weapon lowered, the seemingly hollow black eyes of his battlesuit staring straight at Marcus.

"Malta Operatives: Peace." he said, the words coming slow and clumsily. He may have sensed that they were Malta, but he couldn't communicate telepathically with them, and amking use of the 'antiquated' form of communication by speaking definetely gave him some major problems.

"We are: Restructurists. Ambassador Mahr'Kamat: contact of: Malta Group. We come: seeking. Answers: in your posession?"

((I thought the base was abandoned by all personnel?))

Kal'Merus could have smiled. The tiny bait drones hummed about in corners and air shafts, keeping the security system off their trail - for now, at least.

Still, there were others here for sure. It looked like the Rikti squad was the furthest down so far, but that could change very quickly.

They came upon a storage room into which several freight elevators fed. The ones at the left side of the room went down while the right sides' went up. This was a transfer point - just what they had been looking for.

But this was not what made them stop. The long trails of blood across the floors and walls were the cause. Even though they were logical thinkers, Rikti still had a core of emotions - and now they experienced fear. Whatever had done this had not left a trace of its kills, apparently consuming everything it had slaughtered.

[Calm your senses.] Kal'merus told the others, [This unit can meet any threat. We are combatants. The WAR is not over.]

The others agreed, proceeding to the locked doors of the freight elevators they wished to take down into the lower levels of the base.

However, ID scanners foiled this. Unlike the light security at the 'public' elevator before, this one was locked, encoded, armored, secured, internally blocked, and then some.

It would take quite a while to break through the encryptions...

((Soviet, just so you know: the Rikiti's reaction when they first meet the Malta is dependent on the ambassador thing. If they have one, they'd say something like, "Malta Operatives: Peace." If not, they'd just open fire without syaing anything.))

((Yes. The elevator took a few minutes, and at present-day lift speeds I gunned for a number between 10-20 floors. It's not really that important, since I'd imagined this: the first elevators go through the office floors and end on the very top of the 'secret levels'. The second set start at that level and go down further in stages. It's a proven design that forces intruders to taek certain paths, and sicne Longbow is by no means stupid, I had them employ some clever architecture ))

Sur'Lakat peered into the elevator shaft has they had cheard the cruniching sound. The cabin was stuck ((insert random number here)) floors up. Unless the Longbow blasted their way though the floor of their own elevator, or there was a hacth in the bottom, no assault would be coming from this direction.

[The vertical-shaft-box is disabled.] Sur'Lakat reported, [It is clear to proceed.]

[Good.] replied Kal'Merus, [Move out. And leave bait.]

As the Rikti squad again proceeded, their scout drone out in front, a small orb on the floor started to chirp on multiple wavelengths. It was desgigned to attract attention, and it did just that - the two Longbow Guardians that arrived down another hallway a little later found only their destroyed comrades and what appeared to be the intruder.

A linked photon cannon blast practically vaporized the noise drone, followed by the back-mounted plasma artillery cannons. If anyone was listening in this sector, though could hear the thunder echoing clearly from below...

((Hey Soviet, since the Malta seem to be heading in the general direction of the Rikti, I'll leave it up to you to write the encounter if you'd like. We know the 'evil' side of the Rikti factions works with Arachnos now, but there are hints at working with other groups as well, so I'll let you decide whether the Malta have their own ambassador or not ))

((Caves? Um, Khel threw this your way about 2 pages ago:

[ QUOTE ]
What faced the Malta now were several flights of stairs going down. There were four landings including the one Marcus would walk onto and each landing had a door. The door on the 2nd to lowest landing was reinforced and had a red "Authorized Personnel Only" warning painted on it. If the Malta picked that door, they would have to trick their way past an ID scanner or blow open a door that laughs at C4.

The other upper two doors would lead to large rooms partitioned into cubicles with various other office equipment strewn about. The door on the bottom leads to a cafeteria. Probably some of the food is still edible but it wouldn't be that advisable to try.

And if the Malta did get past the blast door, they'd have to get through an identical, though less strong, blast door that operated on an airlock system. If the first door was open, the second door would stay shut. The small room between the two doors could hold four people, six if they squeezed.

[/ QUOTE ]Might wanna solve that first ))

((So, which door did the Malta enter on their flight of stairs? And where are yall anyway? I wrote the Rikti about 20 or so stories down.))

((Hmmm...not sure, the illusionists always die too fast for me to notice that. They're squishy. But I would assume that illusions would wrok on Rikti sinde heroes can attack them with illu controllers.

Also, the turret they destoyed is already beyond the elevator, which is where the Rikti are resting up right now. You could notice the grease spots on floor and ceiling that the cleaning drones left, though.))

Kal'Merus heard the elevator move back up. Someone had called it, he knew that much. As a strong Mentalist, he sensed minds - and they were radiating emotions of destruction.

[Prepare for engagement.] he conveyed to the others, [Standard formation.]

As his troop got into position, the headmen first, then the others behidn them to back them up, along with the cloaked drones to the right and left, Kal'Merus got an idea.

The elevator doors were little more than scattered remains from the autocannon earlier, and the Mentalist forced them away with ease, and fully open they remained.

He could already see the cabin, many floors up, on the way down again. Stepping back into formation, he ordered Gunman Kul'Bere to shoot the cables - ALL the cables.

With the tell-tale sound of energy fire, her arm cannon tore the cables to shreds, and the elevator dropped like a stone...

((Just so you know, it probably has safety systems, so it'll stop about half a second from now. You'll be a few floors above the bottom at that point.))

One after another, the Longbow Guardians fell to the Rikti weapons. With no shields of their own, they were completely exposed to the energy fire, which not only damaged, but disruped systems as well, effectively 'stunning' the robots further with every hit.

As the last Guardian fell and slumped to the floor, a pile of bent debris no longer even faintly resembling what it had been before, one of the Communcations Officers walked to the injured Kul'Bere.

[The damage to my organic shell is minimal.] she conveyed to them, standing up shakily, [I shall require zero point two standard time units to recover fully. My armor shall require two whole time units.]

[Acceptable.] Kal'Merus decided, [Guardian Mel'Legar, speed the recovery. I am granting one point one time units to replenish our armaments and reconstitute damage.]

The Guardian nodded and went to work, repairing the suit as best he could. In human scales, the time Kal'Merus had allowed was a measure of roughly twelve minutes...

The advanced drone howered lazily ahead of the group, sensor-sweeping everything it could reach. It saw nothing for a while, but then it registered four energy sources approaching at relatively high speeds.

The drone immediately sent warning back to its masters, but it was already too late...

The four Longbow Guardians came zipping around a corner and past the done, then stopped, propping in their skates to obrain a firm firing position for their weaponry.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl, the Rikit mental communication keeping pace with the robots as they raised their arm-munted photon cannons and let loose a vicious linked blast, tearing at the very air and sending a sound of thunder though the entire sector.

Sur-Lakat screamed as he was hit directly, shattering the shields the Guardians had placed over him, his suit's systems going wild with alerts as the linked blasts lifted him off the floor and smashed him against a wall. He fell limply to the ground...

But the Rikti were not entirely caught by surprise, mounting an oranized and relentless counterattack right away, energy fire from the Rikti rifles pouring at the lerge robots as they raised the plasma cannons on their backs into firing positions to attack different targets.

Though Kal'Merus couldn't do much against the robotic minds, he could certainly attack the material they were contructed of. Screams of overstressed metal came from the raised back-mounted cannons as their innards were twisted and broken, then overloaded as the safety systems Kal'Merus had nullified didn't kick in.

Shards of molten metal rained everywhere as the cannons exploded, robbing the Guardians of their heaviest weapons. They took the energy fire stoically, armor plating metlting and inner functions slowing and crashing as the Rikiti shot as tirelessly as the cold machines themselves...

((They're not far. The drone travels 25m ahead of the troop at most. Guess I should've mentioned that. Oops . And Ryan, I don't remember any rules saying you could only bring one group ))

((BIC post to come.))

The brainless spawn faltered pathetically under the gout of flame. One after another, they burned to slag, the amoebic cretures leaving only blackened piles of a sickeningly green-black substance that semmed like it had been to hell and back.

If any of the human Sky Raiders approached it, they would surely puke their guts out. But the fight was over, the rear guard ot the Rikti defeated...

---------------------

The advanced drone detected no immediate threat as it moved down the hallway, promting the Rikti troop to get a move on.

[Senses about you.] Kal'Merus warned, [A division of pseudo-troopers has fallen. Pursuers are above.]

Another reason to get moving. If that was Longbow come to retake the base from whatever had driven them from it, the Rikti were in trouble...

---------------------

((Sure:

Minions:
Porter - armed with SMG, Machete, and can teleport.
Assault Raider - armed with SMG and Machete.
Inferno Raider - armed with Flamethrower.
Wing Raider - Assault Raider with jetpack. 'Nuff said.
Radier Engineer - armed with SMG and Machete. Can place a force field generator.

Lieutenants:
Wing Raider Officer - stronger version of a Wing Raider. Also carries a flamethrower in addition to the other weaponry.
Captain - stronger version of the Assault Raider.

Bosses/Lieutenants (depends on your level and misison diff)
Assault Jump Bot - highly agile and though; resistant to smashing and lethal damage from redundant systems. Normally armed with heavy machine gun.
Jump Bot Incinerator - Asaault JB armed with a flamethrower instead of a machine gun.

Boss:
Sky Skiff - armed with dual MGs and a missile launcher for heavier targets. Light, fast, and well-armored. can be taken apart and reassembled in the field.

Hope this helps. I fight Sky Raiders a lot in game, they're fun. if ya need any more info, feel free to PM me. Also, I'm sure none of us will mind if you don't stick to this like a religion. Sky Raiders use: SMGs, flamethrowers, "or other weapons suitable for fighting in confined spaces."))

Ding!

The elevator doors had barely begun to slide open as an automated sentry turret extended from the ceiling and whirrled to life with a chain gun, thundering away with hundreds of rounds per second and turning the doors into swiss cheese, not to mention filling the whole area with biting grey smoke.

The shield behind said doors, however, was unharmed, the bullets ripping to slag as they were torn apart from the rapid negative acceleration they were forced into. The Guardian projecting the field of force held an arm extended and now walked forward, pushing the shield ahead as well.

[Take care of this nuisance.] Kal'Merus ordered the Gunmen, and they raised their arm cannons.

Humans would have said the shield had an IFF system, as it let the energy blasts from the Gunmen pass through without so much as a crackle of static, slamming right into the turret and tearing it to pieces. It was more complicated, of course, but then humans had never truly understood Rikti weaponry - and unless they learned to deeply commune with one another, they never would.

[Proceed.] Kul'Bere instructed the drone that had taken lead before, sending the invisible mechanoid ahead into the smoke-filled corridor to see what the base had in store for them...

---------------------

"GLOOORBLE!!!"

The Raiders at the door clearly heard the unearthly roar of a Protean, one of them turning to see the amoeba-like creatures slobbering out of the densely packed trees and right in their direction - the Rikti had left a rear guard!

Bullets were as good as useless against the Hydra's wayward pieces, and if the Raiders tried their MGs, they would meet with dysmal failure. However, if the Jump Bots were of the Incinerator type or someone had a few flamethrowers handy, the flames would make quick work of the moist yet incredibly flammable mucous given form...

((Your Arachnos team has a Mu mystic . But yeah, that's little. I guess if nobody posts with a magic group here soon, I'll send a special investigation team courtesy of the Legacy Chain.))

[Analyze and assess threat.] Mentalist Kal'Merus sent back to the drone, and it promptly obeyed, executing the order.

Had it been visible, it would have been almost comical to watch the drone hover about the caretaker bots.

[Analysis complete.] the drone sent back, [Maintenance mechanoid. Threat: zero.]

Kal'Merus' mood dropped visibly. These humans would copy anything they could get their hands on, specifically if it was of Rikti design. The caretaker drones' inner workings resembled those of the ones used aboard the Ship to a tee.

[Copies.] Sur'Lakat snarled, [Permission to disassemble?]

[Granted.] Kal'Merus agreed, and the Gunners raised their arm cannons. Moments later, there were no more drones, only greasy black spots on floor and ceiling.

[Vertical-shaft-box located.] the drone sent word of a new discovery. Rikti no longer used elevators in the conventional sense, but they had learned to pilot 'vertical-shaft-boxes' during their time on Earth.

Kal'Merus didn't waste much time. The drone sensors showed the shaft headed down, and logic dictated that the greatest secrets of a subterranean base would be kept at the bottom. Now they had a goal to reach.

The Rikti and their machines entered the elevator and selected the bottom button. It likely wouldn't take them all the way where they wanted to go - certainly the first gravo tube on board a Cruiser did not go to the propulsion section - but it was a start.

Kal'Merus was startled by a crunching sound as the doors began to close, but relaxed as he discovered a Guardain eating a small ration pack.

[My body has requested nourishment.] he explained, feeling the leader's thoughts focusing on him.

Kul'Bere shook her head in a decidedly human gesture, [You should have consumed more mass quantities before we departed.]

And the 'vertical-shaft-box' descended...

((Ok, I'll give this a shot. So the agreement for now seems to be 1 boss, 2 lts, and a single-digit number of minions, hm? Alrighty...since Soviet will want the Malta for sure and Nemmy's been taken...aaahhh, I know ))

"GLOOOORBLE!!!"

A sickening, twisting sound spread through the forests of Perez Park as a Protean brought down a slimy fist on an utterly outmatched young hero it held in its other arm, which it had used to break the hero's with a sharp twist, snapping bone, muscles, and tendons.

The storm-powered young man in his blue-and-yellow lightning costume went to the ground, and several Spawns closed in on him. Suddenly, he vanished. He'd be alright - but it would take a while for the doctors to patch him back up at the hospital.

The group of brainless Hydra extensions wallowed about the door to base Alpha 13 for a few more minutes, then stopped, estabilishing what could be vaguely described as a perimeter.

A hiss echoed through the air, and a rift appeared, tearing apart the continuum of normal space, the swirling green-gray oval floating vertically in the air.

Out stepped an overly tall figure, clad in black metal and wielding a huge energy blaster grafted to the suit's arm: Headman Gunman Sur'Lakat.

[The area is clear and secured.] he sent back on the mental wavelength of the Rikti, [Visual contact to the entrance has been estabilished.]

The answer came back, short and to the point: the rest were on their way.

Headman Gunman Kul'Bere stepped through the portal next, followed by a communciations officer, who would ensure the satbility of the transport process. A second was next, followed by the leader of the squad, Chief Mentalist Kal'Merus.

He surveyed the area, making sure the Hydra pieces didn't cause any trouble with his strike force. They were reliable, yes, but only worked for the Rikti resentfully. One day the Hydra might break free of their control. If that ever happeneded...Kal'Merus shuddered to think of it.

He nodded in satisfaction as the rest of this troop stepped through the portal: two guardians and three advanced drones, the machines immediately becoming invisible to all but the best of sensors. And with the sensor packages in the drones, there was almost nothing they couldn't detect in advance.

[We are assembled.] Gunman Sur'Lakat reported, [The operation may begin.]

Kal'Merus nodded again, turning in the direction of the blast door to the base. He didn't bother removing the camouflage - there was no need. Seeing the door clearly in his mind, he had a firm hold on it whther normal eyes could grasp it or not.

The Mentalist concentrated, and a horrifying squealing and creaking came from the solid tempered steel, as it bent and cracked in every direction, finally crashing apart under the tremendous assault of mental forces on its internal structure.

And the Rikit proceeded inside, in closed formation: a drone first, scouting ahead, followed by the Gunmen Sur'Lakat and Kul'Bere, arm cannons facing forward and sweeping, the visors of their combat suits scanning about for anything the drone might have missed.

Kal'Merus walked at the center of the formation, followed by the two communication offciers, the 'safety net' of the troop, flanked by the guardians, who would drop shields on everyone at the first sign of a threat, and finally the other two advanced drones, performing rear guard duties.

The Hydra pieces on the surface milled about for a few more minutes, then slumped away in their characteristic motions. They were no longer needed, and so they dispersed, as the Rikti advanced onto enemy ground in Base Alpha 13...

((And yes, I plan to use normal quotation marks for actual speech, but since the Rikti communicate telepathically and not in English, I'll just be writing thranslations in brackets ))

Well, you did it, you asked the question and opened the can of worms...AGAIN...

I certainly hope you're happy!

Bunring, I think I've got something for you. And this is actually something I've had to do myself: cutting back on assumptions.

I've noticed often that I've assumed something and didn't really know about it until it was too late. Now I try to not jump ahead of anyone and let them make the final decision - such as when I stopped in Final Fight because I had no idea how what Khel had brought in would reacto to acid, for example

I'll admit, I still do it sometimes, and you have to in order to keep a story moving, but too much of anything can be a bad thing.

Other than that, rock on

Ohhh, so the buffs stack. Makes sense I guess since they're more like insps than anything else. I thought you could only use one at a time, like a person putting a shield on you can only do this once and it doesn't stack onless another person puts that same shield on you.

Thanks, Posi.

Ok, that's clarified - now can we pleae have an answer as to why the insiration numbers display wrong?

((Moving this to top. Also, I think it might be a better idea to give the targets a chance. After all, where is the challenge for the assassins if the taget WILL die in the end? IMO, it would be much more suspenseful if the outcome of every 'contract' was uncertain... ))

It's redneck . Some of my family use it, and yeah, I reckon they're all from the South .

The trolls entered the tent in their carefree, leisurly manner, then stopped when they saw the odd...human?

"Greetings." the armor-clad General's raspy voice welcomead them, the eyes they could see under his hood unblinking, "Seeing you here as well confirms my suspicion - we are not alone. There will be many others."

"Shtoh?! Gedye'?!" shouts came from outside. Schwarzherz quickly interrupted his session and stormed out, the shadows trailing as he did so.

"What is where?" he demanded and was handed a pair of boniculars. Focusing them to where the soldier pointed, he saw the two men at the edge of the forest.

He recognized one of them as Captain Slammer, a self-styled hero with quite the reputation. That could only mean his partner was a hero as well.

"I believe we've found the enemy." he turned to the trolls, "I assume you know of the offer of a reward - and if this really is some sort of twisted game, I am quite inclined to play, especially of it involves crushing heroes. Are you with me?"

A gurgling sound came from the trolls as they nodded. He couldn't tell whether they were really with him, but the prospect of smashing two do-gooders was more than enough for now.

"Agenten Rot und Blau!" he called to spec ops to him, "Gehen Sie mit Ihnen und zeigen Sie's den Helden."

"Jawohl!" they saluted and disappeared using their stealth. The order had been clear - go with the trolls and take care of the heroes...

((Nub has 3 meanings? Oh boy... ))

"Very well." the soldier decided to go the dimplomatic route for now, "Derovich, Vladimir. Now I am no longer stranger, da?"

He still kept his rifle lowered, but a hand was on it just in case, "So if we have done formality, the General would like to be seeing you now. He is thinking we may have common interest, nyet?"

Private First Class Derovich was very surprised when he came upon the trolls. In constant radio contact with his unit, they decided some trolls might be useful, especially one that could seemingly control plants.

"Do'bree dyen." the soldier said, lowering his rifle, "Kahk vahs zavoot'?"

The trolls only stared back blankly, an expression of sheer stupidity on their faces. The soldier didn't doubt they might start drooling if he didn't say something soon.

"Pardon rudeness." he said with a heavy slavic accent, "Good afternoon. Your names, they are?"

((Aww, and I was looking forward the the Malta ...oh well.))

The General surveyed his new surroundings with a suspicious eye, checking all systems in his blue-gray powered armor at the same time. A large hood and cape were draped over his head and back, shadowy vapors snaking out of the front of the hood every now and then.

Anyone who looked into the General's face would see only darkness, and the piercing red eyes that resided in it.

"Was nun, General Schwarzherz?" Agent Weiss questioned.

"For the last time, speak English around them." Schwarzherz said with his dark, raspy voice, "Especially Buckman."

"Yeah!" the bulky Commando threw his massive rifle over his shoulder, "Ah ain't what ya'd call well-round'd, yalls know that."

"Jawohl." the spec op apologized to the General, as well as his fellow soldier, "But to re-iterate: now what?"

"We secure the area. There's a hill over there. Break out tents and whatever you have on you, we're setting up camp for now."

The soldiers saluted and quickly got to work. Tents were pitched and bags filled with grass and dirt. A semi-acceptable base camp sprung up within minutes.

"Now," he motioned to three of the six privates under his command, "Scout the area. I want to know what's around us."

As he went into his tent, he thought about what the voice had said. A king and his pawns? Someone was playing head games, and he certainly didn't like the idea of his men being referred to as pawns!

Still, there had been talk of a reward. He'd have to sort things out when the scouts got back. Right now, he needed a nap. Being dark and evil all day long sure took a lot of energy...

((For anyone who didn’t get the gist of what’s written above, this is a role-play open to any and all characters you may or may not have created. City of Heroes/Villains theme is preferred, but unless your character is god-moding, the rules on that are pretty lax.

The setting is as follows: far out in deep space, beyond the reach of any medium of transportation, be it starship, gateway, or anything else, someone has called a planetary system into existence with the intent of playing a game. As it stands now, there are about five or so planets, with approximately the mass of the Earth (to maintain normal gravity in a natural process) containing every sort of environment that has been discovered to date.

There is a lava world, desert planet, terran climate, swamp world, ocean planet, and an arctic world. It’s not so important, and I don’t think anyone will need to remember this, but they are in that order from the sun. All the worlds are linked by a portal system that is scattered over every planet. The portals can be destroyed, but will be rebuilt by the powers that gave the system life.

Of course, each ‘piece’ is offered a reward for participation, but only if it makes it to the end of the game. As said, your character has three tries at this, and if defeated will go to an area of your choosing. At the third and final defeat, your character will return from whence he/she/it came.

This is an open RP, and all general rules of common courtesy apply. Stated again, don’t god-mode and you will be fine, which is about the only concrete rule. Oh, and please denote all out-of-character references with an OOC note or double parentheses ((bla)). Well, that’s about the size of it. I’ll start things off to give an example….

One more thing: I ask that the initial appearance for your characters be made on the terran planet for easier encounters.))


---------------------


The General knew he had lost. There was no way out of this one. What had started as a simple robbery had quickly turned into a disaster as soon as that accursed Statesman showed up.

Literally flooring the small squad of men with him with only a few well-placed punches, the General quickly tried every underhanded trick he knew of. But alone, he was no match for the nearly invincible tanker. A fist that felt like a steam shovel crashed into the shadows that had once been his face, and as his world sank into darkness he only hoped the hospital wouldn’t charge so much this time…

However, as his sight returned, he found himself lying on his back on a lush meadow of grass and flowers, able to see towering mountains and wide-spanning deciduous forests of green in the distance.

“General?” Sergeant Buckman asked in a groggy tone, rubbing his bald head to clear his mind, “Where in sam hill are we?”

Delighted that his men were there with him, the General nonetheless knew no answer. But the voice in their heads made it painfully clear…

You shall be my first piece. A king and his pawns. Do well, and you shall be greatly rewarded. Fail me, and you fail yourself…

Darkness looms over the void.

Then, the light of a thought.

And another…and another…

“It seems this shall be all.” A deep, mysterious voice echoed across the void, “I bid you welcome and good luck in what we are about to undertake.”

Ominous laughter came from the thoughts.

“We all agree on the rules then?”

“We ask a review for all to hear.”

“Very well. This shall be our game on the cosmic plane. There will be no direct action. Weapons of the third kind are forbidden as well. You may have as many pieces as you choose, but choose wisely – they may only be defeated three times before they are expelled from the game.”

“We may place them where we choose?”

“Anywhere in the allowed area. And every time a piece is defeated. Control will be as always, only indirect and guiding, never forced.”

“Agreed.” The other voices now said unanimously.

“Then let us create a field.”

In the starless space spanning amidst galaxies, a light flared to life. A yellow sun was born from seemingly nothing, flashing amidst the dark void with unparalleled glory, spreading is aura far into the cold and lifeless vacuum.

From the glowing aura now condensed small clumps, accrediting more of the cloud as revolved in random orbits, going over, under, around and beside. Soon they solidified, and the glowing cloud was gone.

Then they planted the seeds of life – atmospheres appeared, environments molded, and life sprang forth on these worlds, indifferentiable from its natural counterpart. The climates were huge and varied so starkly as if day and night had merged: there existed blistering cold and scorching deserts, lush forests and wide plains, deep oceans and high mountains…every sort of environment imaginable. Millions of light years from the nearest material object of any kind, their system had been called into existence.

They thanked the matter spring as it went on its way, then allowed one more moment of reflection.

“As I began this, we shall choose beings from my realm to fill our playing field. This restriction does not apply to the pieces.”

Now the voice boomed in its glorious announcement.

“All existence is now open to you. Again, choose your pieces wisely. Ultimately, they will determine if you lavish in victory or defeat. And now, I invite you to join me in a game of cosmic chess…”