• The site has now migrated to Xenforo 2. If you see any issues with the forum operation, please post them in the feedback thread.
  • Due to issues with external spam filters, QQ is currently unable to send any mail to Microsoft E-mail addresses. This includes any account at live.com, hotmail.com or msn.com. Signing up to the forum with one of these addresses will result in your verification E-mail never arriving. For best results, please use a different E-mail provider for your QQ address.
  • For prospective new members, a word of warning: don't use common names like Dennis, Simon, or Kenny if you decide to create an account. Spammers have used them all before you and gotten those names flagged in the anti-spam databases. Your account registration will be rejected because of it.
  • Since it has happened MULTIPLE times now, I want to be very clear about this. You do not get to abandon an account and create a new one. You do not get to pass an account to someone else and create a new one. If you do so anyway, you will be banned for creating sockpuppets.
  • Due to the actions of particularly persistent spammers and trolls, we will be banning disposable email addresses from today onward.
  • The rules regarding NSFW links have been updated. See here for details.

With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

What I am positing (keeping in mind that Zoat's stance on Emotional Entities and their relation to negative universes is tentative) is that there are two categories of Emotional Color Spectrum Entities. One is the more powerful Entities that originate in the positive universe(s). They are: Butcher, Ophidian, Parallax, Ion, Adara, Proselyte & Predator. They are powerful, can travel instantly through the universe, can perceive and travel to the negative universe, can possess or bond with mortal hosts, have abilities that are similar to yet categorically distinct from magic, have limited personality expression when not bonded and so on and so forth. Then there is a second, negative native Entity group. They are ring-bound, magical, vocally expressive, domineering. The only known one (and based on canon) is the Green one which goes by the name Volthoom.

We already know that in this story there are minor emotional elementals- Alan was/is in the process of becoming one, Michael Siskin/Terror-Thing was killed by Nabu in the encounter that Paul arranged his "brain death," Chantinelle was transformed from a succubus to a love elemental, and the future Paul of the Gate sidestory apparently finished the transformation into an avarice elemental/god.

"I theorize that Volthoom is a minor will elemental" is sufficient, the rest of it is just needlessly complicating things.
 
Xenopsychology (part 14)
6 573 938.M41

Bo'okh looks over my clothing as we approach the doorway leading to the meeting room where the T'au Aun'chiagor is held. The building itself actually makes me feel right at home; it's clearly an older structure that's been modernised on several occasions.

"That is not something you would usually wear."

Tau of all five castes pass along the corridors or lurk in corners, conversing amongst themselves. Tau have a lot more lateral communication than, say, the minbari, but a lot of jobs are one-caste affairs. Seeing them mix like this in a work setting is a little unusual.

"It's from designs proposed but never realised for gue'vesa clothing during the Second Expansion Sphere. I think there are… Two planets that actually got issued with it, then the T'au Aun'chiagor found out how many humans actually live on Hive Worlds and gave up. This is the 'saal version, as I've never technically been promoted."

"Haven't you?" He looks as puzzled as he sounds. "I am.. sure… Oh."

"Yes. Promotions must come from a caste superior -and I hardy ever work with other humans- or by the collective-."

"The collective will of the Lar'shi Aun'chiagor and no one raised the issue, because it is unusual to use rank designations with auxiliary species outside of the military. I apologise. I will see that corrected."

"Thank you."

"Por'Ul Lar'shi Tsua'm Raard was able to properly brief you?"

"Hope so. She was able to explain the process, at least. Answer questions fully to the best of my ability, ask for clarification if I don't understand something, and don't throw shit at them."

He winces. "And don't joke about it when you are about to go in and the person you are speaking to may find themselves picturing it at an inappropriate juncture."

"I'll try. I was wondering, why is it called the T'au Aun'chiagor, rather than jus the T'au'chiagor?"

"During the mont'au period, the syllable before 'chiagor was to indicate who had called a meeting. If the Earth Tribe of Fio'taun invited the Fire Tribe to a meeting, it would be called the Fio'taun Fio'chiagor. In this age, all meetings are 'called' by the Aun, so they are all called by that name."

"Huh. Makes sense."

And there's the door, and a couple of Fire Caste Ethereal Guards in what I hope are traditional uniforms. I mean, the security of the Houses of Parliament are handled by a man called Black Rod, so I'm not going to knock them for wearing something that answers any questions I had on whether tau females have mammaries.

One takes half a step closer, a data pad in one hand. They're a last line of security in case someone charges this chamber, but we were checking in at the entrance and have been monitored constantly since then. They know that we're supposed to be here, so this is more of a double check.

"Aun'ul Lar'shi Bo'ohk Ben'ii. Gue'vesa Earth P'ol Lantern. You are expected, and the previous meeting has already concluded."

"Thank you, Shas'Vre. We are ready to enter."

She presses a button on the pad, and after a moment a purple light appears. She steps back, and the door opens to allow us inside. We walk forward, and… Huh. It's actually more or less the same set-up as the Lar'shi Aun'chiagor. A horseshoe table with a senior member of the Fire, Earth, Water and Air Castes seated around it. Huddled around them are their aides, while…

I make momentary eye contact with Aun'Va. He doesn't look particularly expressive, though I imagine that a senior Ethereal can go from completely stony-faced to impassioned at the drop of a hat as the need arises. He's sitting in his flying chair a little back from and above the table, the staff Paradox of Duality serving as his gavel. On Lar'shi, Aun'O Ven'gral prefers to walk around the table just in case she needs to calm someone down. It seems that Aun'Va prefers a more authoritarian approach, and there's a reason why Aun'O Ven'gral doesn't do that.

He taps the butt of his staff on the floor twice as we stop at the designated interviewee desks, decorated only by a small personal computer in case we need to bring up something to reference.

"Aun'Ul Bo'ohk and Gue'vesa P'ol, you have been called here to answer questions regarding your irregular operational methodology."

Tau don't like 'irregular'. The word technically means the same as it does in English, but the implication is more 'chaotic mess likely to cause harm' rather than 'innovative solution'. And here's the reason why Aun'O Ven'gral doesn't take the lead during meetings: other tau hesitate to contradict an Aun. And they know that, so they generally have their arguments in private and speak in the passive voice in public. If Aun'Va says something is 'irregular', then he's not keen. If Aun'Va is not keen, everyone else is not keen.

Bo'ohk makes an expression of contrite acknowledgement.

"As the Most High directs."

Ah…

As the senior party, Bo'ohk makes the acknowledgement for both of us, but the guard at the door didn't use a rank reference for me. So I'm not sure if I'm supposed to acknowledge it as well because they're treating us as having the same rank, or-.

"Your report on the mon'he 'Faultless One' is greatly concerning. Every incident on record of the Tau Empire dealing with such creatures has shown that they only speak to more effectively manifest their particular madness in the universe. What decision making process did you use to determine it was correct to enable it?"

Bo'ohk can answer, or he can pass it to me. Passing it on me wouldn't be like him dropping me in it, as advising him in this sort of situation is my job.

"The Faultless One expressed a desire to do something that was in the interests of the Greater Good. As such, I enabled it, though it was monitored by forces allied to the Tau Empire at all times. In addition, both gue'vesa P'ol and a stealth suit team were on standby to intervene if he was being dishonest. We have accumulated a good deal of information on mon'he from our own observations and the records of the Imperium, but as P'ol indicated, that only applies to certain types of mon'he. Faced with one with an unfamiliar configuration, I decided that it was best to attempt peaceful cooperation."

Then he taps my arm, just under the desk. I smile faintly.

"Most High, the forms of daemons express their nature in a predictable and reliable fashion. Once I saw that the Faultless One did not match the appearance of a daemon of the four, the only alternative was him being a daemon of chaos undivided. The Inquisition's records indicated no prior involvement in a proscribed cult or other unorthodox behaviour. That left a very limited range of possibilities for what he could be. The lack of a response to his presence from local sanctioned psykers was also an indicative factor. And… He's not any less obsessive or manic than other types of daemon, it's just that his interests are much more pro-social."

"Your report states that his core personality engram-"

Soul, for non-tau. Except when it's not and actually refers to a mind recording.

"-is derived from a human who prayed to the human Emperor. Who was faithful to the Imperial religion."

The pedant in me twitches, but by face remains calm. Aun'Va probably doesn't need to know the history of the Temple of the Saviour Emperor or the Confederacy of Light. Out of curiosity I make eye contact with the Por'O-. No, the woman behind the Por'O who is quietly passing caste-relevant on information to him.

"A religion that is uniformly hostile to other intelligent species."

"A religion that tortured him and lied to him for his entire life and then horribly murdered him. In my era there was an expression 'the zeal of the convert'. It refers to a person who doesn't merely accept the ideology they grew up with but rather adopts a new ideology with unusual intensity because they're having to recreate their entire identity. I don't think that he's abandoned the idea of the Emperor -though it will be interesting to see what happens if he encounters somewhere marked by the Emperor's power- but he has certainly abandoned the structure of the religion. He's reduced the idea to purely material terms: the Tau Empire provides a better life for its human citizens, and therefore it is a better institution."

Which isn't far off why I'm here.

I dimly remember something in the Horus Heresy series about extermination not becoming the Imperial policy until after the Heresy. But I don't have any actual evidence I could present.

Aun'Va doesn't look happy, but he taps his staff and the Por'O straightens up slightly.

"Aun'ul Bo'ohk, please describe in your own terms the social rituals which you and gue'vesa P'ol have engaged in."

Oh. No.
 
Last edited:
Mr Zoat so a tiny continuity error. In Fear Ourself (part 12), Lysis refers to the Fear Entity as the Parallax Entity before Paul does. Then in Fear Ourself (part 13), Lysis is confused and questions Paul about why he is referring to it as Parallax.
Edit: She also literally calls it Parallax right before questioning why Paul does.
Yes. She knows what he calls it. She doesn't know why.
 
than, say, the mimbari,

"minbari"

This is the 'saal version

" 'saal version' "

Tau don't like 'irregular'. The word technically means the same as it does in English, but the implication is more 'chaotic mess likely to cause harm' rather than 'innovative solution

That's also the implication in Englidh.

encounters somewhere marked by the Emperor's power- but he has certainly abandoned the structure

"someone marked"

"Aun'ul Bo'ohk, please describe in your own terms the social rituals which you and gue'vesa P'ol have engaged in."

Oh. No

Hahaha!
 
Wait, why is he worried about that? Bo'ok and him are at most friends, right? Will that question his impartiality?

Also, do you have plans for this Paul to clash with imperials at one point? Him and his team forced to work with an Inquisitor, Paul spitting facts...would be hilarious :)
 
Also, do you have plans for this Paul to clash with imperials at one point? Him and his team forced to work with an Inquisitor, Paul spitting facts...would be hilarious :)

And (because the universe loves it narritivium) the Inqusitor is CIAPHIAS CAIN, HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!
 
6 573 938.M41

Bo'okh looks over my clothing as we approach the doorway leading to the meeting room where the T'au Aun'chiagor is held. The building itself actually makes me feel right at home; it's clearly an older structure that's been modernised on several occasions.

"That is not something you would usually wear."
P'Aul dressed just as he said he would earlier, eh? Formal robes, then. No doubt they do include a decent pair of trousers. Let's hope it makes a suitably good impression on the top Tau.

Tau of all five castes pass along the corridors or lurk in corners, conversing amongst themselves. Tau have a lot more lateral communication than, say, the mimbari, but a lot of jobs are one-caste affairs. Seeing them mix like this in a work setting is a little unusual.

"It's from designs proposed but never realised for gue'vesa clothing during the Second Expansion Sphere. I think there are… Two planets that actually got issued with it, then the T'au Aun'chiagor found out how many humans actually live on Hive Worlds and gave up. This is the 'saal version, as I've never technically been promoted."
Honestly, if they can't mingle and share information in the most central leadership facilities in the Empire, then where could they?As for the clothes... Yes, I can see the tailors shuddering at preparing billions of outfits for various sizes and body shapes.

"Haven't you?" He looks as puzzled as he sounds. "I am.. sure… Oh."

"Yes. Promotions must come from a caste superior -and I hardy ever work with other humans- or by the collective-."
...So he is officially a 'rookie' cadet? Amusing.

"The collective will of the Lar'shi Aun'chiagor and no one raised the issue, because it is unusual to use rank designations with auxiliary species outside of the military. I apologise. I will see that corrected."

"Thank you."
I suspect subsequent rank increases will be quick. Given some of the things he deals with, he might need the higher authority.

"Por'Ul Lar'shi Tsua'm Raard was able to properly brief you?"

"Hope so. She was able to explain the process, at least. Answer questions fully to the best of my ability, ask for clarification if I don't understand something, and don't throw shit at them."
Including the verbal kind, please. This is not a place to unleash your... Unique... Sense of humour.

He winces. "And don't joke about it when you are about to go in and the person you are speaking to may find themselves picturing it at an inappropriate juncture."

"I'll try. I was wondering, why is it called the T'au Aun'chiagor, rather than jus the T'au'chiagor?"
Oh, he's already picturing P'Aul as a monkey, isn't he? Let's hope it doesn't drive him bananas.

"During the mont'au period, the syllable before 'chiagor was to indicate who had called a meeting. If the Earth Tribe of Fio'taun invited the Fire Tribe to a meeting, it would be called the Fio'taun Fio'chiagor. In this age, all meeting are 'called' by the Aun, so they are all called by that name."

"Huh. Makes sense."
Logical enough.

And there's the door, and a couple of Fire Caste Ethereal Guards in what I hope are traditional uniforms. I mean, the security of the Houses of Parliament are handled by a man called Black Rod, so I'm not going to knock them for wearing something that answers any questions I had on whether tau females having mammaries.

One takes half a step closer, a data pad in one hand. They're a last line of security in case someone charges this chamber, but we were checking in at the entrance and have been monitored constantly since then. They know that we're supposed to be here, so this is more of a double check.
...Does she at least have a modesty cloth covering them, or is she staging a frontal assault on your eyes? :p

"Aun'ul Lar'shi Bo'ohk Ben'ii. Gue'vesa Earth P'ol Lantern. You are expected, and the previous meeting has already concluded."

"Thank you, Shas'Vre. We are ready to enter."
No doubt the council have been discussing them in depth while they waited.

She presses a button on the pad, and after a moment a purple light appears. She steps back, and the door opens to allow us inside. We walk forward, and… Huh. It's actually more or less the same set-up as the Lar'shi Aun'chiagor. A horseshoe table with a senior member of the Fire, Earth, Water and Air Castes seated around it. Huddled around them are their aides, while…
Just a little more fancy and heavily decorated setting, eh?

I make momentary eye contact with Aun'Va. He doesn't look particularly expressive, though I imagine that a senior Ethereal can go from completely stony-faced to impassioned at the drop of a hat as the need arises. He's sitting in his flying chair a little back from and above the table, the staff Paradox of Duality serving as his gavel. On Lar'shi, Aun'O Ven'gral prefers to walk around the table just in case she needs to calm someone down. It seems that Aun'Va prefers a more authoritarian approach, and there's a reason why Aun'O Ven'gral doesn't do that.
Here, though, in the heart of the Empire... I suspect they need the reminder of who's in charge...

He taps the butt of his staff on the floor twice as we stop at the designated interviewee desks, decorated only by a small personal computer in case we need to bring up something to reference.

"Aun'Ul Bo'ohk and Gue'vesa P'ol, you have been called here to answer questions regarding your irregular operational methodology."
Not that they really need it, given P'Aul's Ring. Though it'd likely be bad form for him to sue it for anything more than simply interfacing with the desktop.

Tau don't like 'irregular'. The word technically means the same as it does in English, but the implication is more 'chaotic mess likely to cause harm' rather than 'innovative solution'. And here's the reason why Aun'O Ven'gral doesn't take the lead during meetings: other tau hesitate to contradict an Aun. And they know that, so they generally have their arguments in private and speak in the passive voice in public. If Aun'Va says something is 'irregular', then he's not keen. If if Aun'Va is not keen, everyone else is not keen.
And someone, somewhere, is not going to have a fun day...

Bo'ohk makes an expression of contrite acknowledgement.

"As the Most High directs."
...Ah. Should they both be bowing, or...

Ah…

As the senior party, Bo'ohk makes the acknowledgement for both of us, but the guard at the door didn't use a rank reference for me. So I'm not sure if I'm supposed to acknowledge it as well because they're treating us as having the same rank, or-.
...Or perhaps you count as window dressing, so to speak, being the lesser partner.

"Your report on the mon'he 'Faultless One' is greatly concerning. Every incident on record of the Tau Empire dealing with such creatures has shown that they only speak to more effectively manifest their particular madness in the universe. What decision making process did you use to determine it was correct to enable it?"

Bo'ohk can answer, or he can pass it to me. Passing it on me wouldn't be like him dropping me in it, as advising him in this sort of situation is my job.
Well, for a start... Most of the demons they'd have encountered would have been monomaniacal aspects of their God. Slaughterers uninterested in talking. Seductors who found the Tau not that into them. Plaguebringers caught off guard by Tau medical science. Tricksters who find the Tau largely ignorant and uncarign of their plotting...

"The Faultless One expressed a desire to do something that was in the interests of the Greater Good. As such, I enabled it, though it was monitored by forces allied to the Tau Empire at all times. In addition, both gue'vesa P'ol and a stealth suit team were on standby to intervene if he was being dishonest. We have accumulated a good deal of information on mon'he from our own observations and the records of the Imperium, but as P'ol indicated, that only applies to certain types of mon'he. Faced with one with an unfamiliar configuration, I decided that it was best to attempt peaceful cooperation."
In other words: Trust, but verify. With extreme caution, and plenty of prejudice if things go bad.

Then he taps my arm, just under the desk. I smile faintly.

"Most High, the forms of daemons express their nature in a predictable and reliable fashion. Once I saw that the Faultless One did not match the appearance of a daemon of the four, the only alternative was him being a daemon of chaos undivided. The Inquisition's records indicated no prior involvement in a prescribed cult or other unorthodox behaviour. That left a very limited range of possibilities for what he could be. The lack of a response to his presence from local sanctioned psykers was also an indicative factor. And… He's not any less obsessive or manic than other types of daemon, it's just that his interests are much more pro-social."
...Much like some Pauls. Especially those with Orange Rings. Feeling a bit of kinship with them, then, P'Aul?

"Your report states that his core personality engram-"

Soul, for non-tau. Except when it's not and actually refers to a mind recording.
...Which raises the question of just how 'alive' those engrams are in the Warp. What with magical technology being an actual thing around here.

"-is derived from a human who prayed to the human Emperor. Who was faithful to the Imperial religion."

The pedant in me twitches, but by face remains calm. Aun'Va probably doesn't need to know the history of the Temple of the Saviour Emperor or the Confederacy of Light. Out of curiosity I make eye contact with the Por'O-. No, the woman behind the Por'O who is quietly passing caste-relevant on information to him.

"A religion that is uniformly hostile to other intelligent species."
...Well, for a given amount of 'hostile'...

"A religion that tortured him and lied to him for his entire life and then horribly murdered him. In my era there was an expression 'the zeal of the convert'. It refers to a person who doesn't merely accept the ideology they grew up with but rather adopts a new ideology with unusual intensity because they're having to recreate their entire identity. I don't think that he's abandoned the idea of the Emperor -though it will be interesting to see what happens if he encounters somewhere marked by the Emperor's power- but he has certainly abandoned the structure of the religion. He's reduced the idea to purely material terms: the Tau Empire provides a better life for its human citizens, and therefore it is a better institution."
Oh, P'Aul definitely feeling a bit of kinship with Faultless, given that reasoning, eh?

Which isn't far off why I'm here.

I dimly remember something in the Horus Heresy series about extermination not becoming the Imperial policy until after the Heresy. But I don't have any actual evidence I could present.
And actual evidence would probably be locked up deep in inquisitorial databases. The kind that don't get passed around freely.

Aun'Va doesn't look happy, but he taps his staff and the Por'O straightens up slightly.

"Aun'ul Bo'ohk, please describe in your own terms the social rituals which you and gue'vesa P'ol have engaged in."

Oh. No.
...Now, now. It might not be as bad as you think it is.

Well, this is off to a pleasant start. No-one's shouting, anyway... Not yet at least. Still, I foresee some of the questions being rather probing and uncomfortable. Let's just hope Bo'ohk doesn't end up putting his hoof in his mouth answering any of them. At least P'Aul's Ring can hide any signs of worry, like the sudden flop-sweat he might have broken out in at that last question.
 
I dimly remember something in the Horus Heresy series about extermination not becoming the Imperial policy until after the Heresy. But I don't have any actual evidence I could present.
And you won't find any either.

Because extermination of hostile xenos races has been a thing since the Emperor set out to put humanity back together after the Eldar fucked the Men of Iron rebellion into existence.
 
And you won't find any either.

Because extermination of hostile xenos races has been a thing since the Emperor set out to put humanity back together after the Eldar fucked the Men of Iron rebellion into existence.
Vaermina, that's definitely not true. Extermination of xenos was definitely common in the Great Crusade, but it wasn't near-mandatory like it is now. For example, when Fulgrim's fleet met the Laer (Slaanesh worshipping aliens, though obviously the Imperials didn't know what Slaanesh was at the time) it was considered as a serious option that they should make them a protectorate of the Imperium, because they were strong enough that it was believed it would take an unacceptably long time to conquer them, and they didn't seem particularly hostile.
The only reason they did get genocided in the end was that Fulgrim was a xenophobic asshole (although, of course, it was actually not a terrible decision given that they were Chaos worshippers).
I mean, the security of the Houses of Parliament are handled by a man called Black Rod, so I'm not going to knock them for wearing something that answers any questions I had on whether tau females having mammaries.
'have'
 
Usually I'm against dipping into other Paul's because there's little investment beyond the initial interest... This is not one of those times.
 
Thank you, corrected.
No, that's correct, because it's writted caste'saal.
That's also the implication in Englidh.
That's fine, I'm writing in English.
No, he's refering to a location, like a temple or other sacred site. Those are far more common than living saints.

No, because they're not accepting it.
Where?
 
Yeah. Imperial Protectorates are sometimes created if the Imperium judges a species to be enough of a non-threat to human interests to let them continue existing. Which generally means confining them to their homeworld or home system and never letting them leave.

But being granted the status of a Protectorate doesn't necessarily mean you won't get exterminated if someone feels like doing so. I don't recall the name, but there was this one species they created a protectorate for. They found out the members of this species could be "processed" into an anti-aging remedy that significantly extended your lifespan. But it also turned out that when this remedy started to wear off there was a pretty nasty "snap back", and that the more you used the remedy the shorter the duration before you'd need to take another dose.

So the Imperial officials exploiting the species to extend their lives decided to just keep processing them for as long as possible until the entire species was used up. This despite the fact that doing so was actually super illegal. With the penalty for doing so being death.

So even with a death penalty as punishment they still managed to harvest the entire damn species.

EDIT: Checked. They were called Adarnians.
 
Wait. Which Tau is P'ol trying to date? I thought it was the Fire Caste one.
 
Vaermina, that's definitely not true. Extermination of xenos was definitely common in the Great Crusade, but it wasn't near-mandatory like it is now. For example, when Fulgrim's fleet met the Laer (Slaanesh worshipping aliens, though obviously the Imperials didn't know what Slaanesh was at the time) it was considered as a serious option that they should make them a protectorate of the Imperium, because they were strong enough that it was believed it would take an unacceptably long time to conquer them, and they didn't seem particularly hostile.
The only reason they did get genocided in the end was that Fulgrim was a xenophobic asshole (although, of course, it was actually not a terrible decision given that they were Chaos worshippers).
Extermanitus isn't near mandatory now.
 
So I just realized we're coming up on WTR's ten year anniversary! Any plans Zoat?
 
Well, alright. I admit that was something of an exaggeration. Although I was referring to total genocide more generally, rather than specifically using Exterminatus to destroy planets.
That's not really near mandatory either.

The only species they tend to do that too are one's that are utterly horrible, relentlessly attack the Imperium, mess around with Daemons, or get corrupted by Chaos.
 
That's not really near mandatory either.

The only species they tend to do that too are one's that are utterly horrible, relentlessly attack the Imperium, mess around with Daemons, or get corrupted by Chaos.
Like I already said, I admit that was something of an exaggeration. The modern Imperium doesn't have the resources to kill all xenos even if they wanted to.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top