maskormenace | Sermon 003 | Video; Mirror Network

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Sermon 003 | Video; Mirror Network

[Jadus' blank mask stares down at the communicator. Two hours ago, those sensitive to his aura will have felt it suddenly disappear.]

Doctor Gottlieb's supposition was correct. Distance now stands as an obstacle.

[The communicator rises and rotates away, evidently no longer resting in his hand. As it flies, the viewing deck of the lunar base can be seen behind him.]

The Force has not left me, yet I sense only the thoughts of those who stand on this moon. Earth feels as lifeless and barren as Ziost.

[The camera finally halts, hovering over Jadus' shoulder. Perhaps he's staring at the Earth above him, or out at the lunar horizon. Or he may see nothing through his featureless mask.]

This complication must be accounted for.

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Were you intending to keep in contact with Earth using the Force alone, Lord Jadus?

[Dooku doesn't mention that he has never heard of a Sith powerful enough to sense others from worlds away, save Darth Sidious himself. He won't show that weakness so openly.]

Little intent is required. There is a planet above me, and yet there is nothing. I cannot help but be aware of this absence.

[Interesting.]

Our powers are often curtailed here in inconvenient ways. It appears that you are no exception.

How will you account for this, I wonder?

The Mars mission will be impacted. [He ignores the implications of the question. His own plans will remain his own until he is ready to speak on them, and Dooku should expect nothing less than that.]

The porter's range for projecting a simulacrum of the Force must be approximately half a million kilometers or less. Interplanetary travel will necessarily need to prepare for and counteract this failing. [The philosophical concerns of a false Force will be considered later.]

In my time, we are taught that the true strength of the Dark Side comes from within. And as long as the Force is with you, your enemies will still fall before you when you reach Mars.

You assume the Force is what gives us our power here.

I am aware that the Porter complicates matters. The energies of this universe are not those of our own. But it will not save the OTO from their fate.

Accounted for, sure, but I doubt it can be fixed. [It's part of this whole messy situation. Anakin hates being shut off too, but at least it's not due to lack of power if others are struggling too.]

It must be considered in full. [No matter what a horror it is to realize the universe itself is out of joint.]

No assumptions may be made of the Force, now more so than ever. I am no longer confident it will serve us sufficiently for the Mars mission.

[ Luke... may just be a little horrified by this. Sure, he couldn't sense people from the other side of the galaxy than him, but from such a short distance? ]

It's just from Earth to the moon, how can...?

[ But even as he tries to protest against this, he's trying to reach out, to sense that (creepy) presence he remembered from the meeting in Kaneki's cafe. He should have at least been able to sense that much, but there was nothing; he couldn't even tell there was any kind of life at all on the moon. ]

[ He has to turn away from the comm for a moment. There is definitely the sound of faint swearing. ]

[There is no sypathy for the reaction, but understanding. This goes beyond the voluntary blindness of turning inward and hiding oneself from the minds of others. This is an utter, stark horror of watching the universe twist apart into an unrecognizable form.

Beautiful. And profoundly disruptive.]

We are confined more profoundly by this planet than previously believed. We cannot be certain the Force will act through us as we expect. It is crippled here, or we are changed.

This will complicate the Mars mission.

[ Luke shook his head. He still can't believe this. ]

...I knew the nanites were responsible for powers, but I never gave it much thought. The Force is supposed to be everywhere.

[ But it's not here, and if anything ever happened to the porter or the nanites, then they would all be blind. Even if he had spent nineteen years of his life ignorant of its presence, the Force had still been with him. He would have it just as rough as those that had spent their whole lives training to use it. ]

There's got to be something we could use to ensure we'd still have access to our powers. Something we could bring with us.

Then we must consider that what we feel is not truly the Force at all. No technology, however powerful, can grant its use.

[An utter abomination, far more profound than anything he had ever created.]

[Now, to learn how to defeat it.]

Distance is its known limitation, without respect to the bridge created by the Porter. Yet I feel no weaker for the travel. I do not know if Earth or the Porter itself are necessary components for their function. We cannot know until we travel further.

It feels the same...

[ Though that probably sounded like a whiny teenager protest, punctuated by him folding his arms over his chest. Despite his petulance, he's trying to think through this. ]

...you can feel what's on the moon, but not Earth. I can feel what's on Earth, but not the moon. The common factor there is the porter.

[ He bit his lip, knowing that this probably wasn't going to go over well with the government, but... ]

We need to bring a porter with us then. A small one we could fit inside the ship.

[ He paused, before shrugging. ]

That should make sure we keep our powers, and also provide a better means of getting back to Earth, in case anything goes wrong.

If it is our primary limitation, then it must also be used as our strength. A porter of sufficient size would also permit a more concerted response. Only a small crew would be necessary to land a far greater force.

[Take the base, and a return flight would not be necessary. Some still cling to the idea of this mission as one of diplomacy. This seems utterly naïve.]

When the OTO attack was launched, they aimed for the Porter itself. Transporting one to their base may provoke a similar response.

Only if they could pick it up. We don't know if they have the technology to do that, nor do we know if they have any more nuclear bombs.

[ He paused a moment, frowning. ]

...their target was also Florida, where the main porter is. They're more interested in wiping us out at the source than picking off individuals.

You assume they have no operatives with access to the information. This is unlikely. [A government is a large and cumbersome thing, rotted through by the industrious work of spies, grifters and power brokers. His time overseeing Imperial Intelligence gave him a sense of the scale and complexity of the corruption. He had no reason to assume the native government would be any different, no matter how small it was.]

In any case, they have targeted the main porter and failed. While they seek further solutions, they may shift their focus to smaller targets.

...true.

[ He knows very well that both the Alliance and the Empire had their own share of spies, trying to get at one another. He isn't that naive. ]

I guess it's too much to hope they'd remain too arrogant to target us as we fly toward them, then.

[ They really needed to make sure they were armed. He should probably start looking into what it would take to design a powerful enough laser to cut through whatever shielding they might encounter. ]

We do not have the resources or time to search for them now. We must assume they will know we are coming, and what we carry with us. That is all.

[The more stealth-oriented designs he saw at the meeting would still be useful, however. And details should not be shared over the network. For now, he will make the last part of this conversation private.]

This discussion should be continued elsewhere. Darth Marr may also be able to provide assistance. I intend to request his cooperation.

He favors you. You may be useful in convincing him.

[ Luke couldn't help but let out an awkward noise at that. He favors you; yes, he had agreed to train him and gave him a new job, but he still wasn't sure how he felt about that statement. ]

What do you want him to do?

[ And isn't Jadus his roommate? He would have thought he would have the better chance at talking to him. ]

He can induce a prophetic state in others, but not himself. Given the dark nature of the technique, I am the best candidate for this procedure. However, Marr does not trust me. We have been philosophically at odds for decades.

I believe we cannot underestimate the threat of this organization, nor conventionally predict the behavior of power powers at range from Earth. Marr's induced prophecies have been valuable in the past. If I cannot convince him to attempt this, I may require your assistance.

[ The face that Luke gives the screen pretty much screams what he feels about prophecies. Look, visions of the future are a thing that suck for Skywalkers, especially when they come without warning. He can't even imagine purposefully inducing one. ]

Why doesn't he trust you? What does he have to do?

There was once conflict between us. In the interest of preserving the peace, I will say no more. Only that the distrust is mutual.

He forces the recipient into a trance-like state. For a brief period, they may gain knowledge of the future. The process is taxing for them, and likely for him as well.

I am willing to accept the risks involved, if he will as well.

[ ...why does he have the feeling there's more to this "forcing the recipient into a trance-like state" than Jadus it letting on? ]

I... guess I could talk to him.

I will speak to him first. He would not appreciate if you were the one to inform him of this.

If you are curious, I will ask him if you may watch.

[ As soon as Jadus says that, Luke makes a conscious effort to tell himself he wasn't curious, but... no, he was curious. It was definitely bad that he was curious. ]

All right; just let me know then.

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Sermon 003 | Video; Mirror Network

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