snippet from somewhere in Act III: Face of the Abyss


Her cloak clasp was a disk of ebony with an isocoles triangle,
inlaid point down in green jade. Two concentric circles made
out of gold wire overlapping the top face gave the impression
of a watchful, roundpupiled eye, and a capital greek letter
kappa made out of gold leaf laid across the entire thing.

The cloak itself was a slick, satiny black material that the
discerning observer would have recognized as a woven durachain
variant. It had a short capelet over the shoulders, of the same
material but a dark smoke grey in color. She had thrown the left
side back over her shoulder, to free the arm she used to ring
the doorbell.

Under the cloak, she was wearing a loose, longsleeved deep blue
blouse of a reasonably good synthetic silk, and an ankle-length
skirt of a likewise moderate synthetic cotton. A police style
shoulder holster, oriented for left-handed draw, was strapped
over the blouse and supported, in addition to the gun presumably
hidden under the right side of the cloak, a personal holopad,
several standard high-density powerpacks, and a comfortably
large personal comm (still, after hundreds of years, called a
'cell' for reasons now lost to history).

The woman under the clothes was compact and solid, in a way that
would have liked to have been chubby but was instead forced by
an intense and active lifestyle into something far closer to
'full-figured'. Her face, like the rest of her, was attractive
but too strong to be 'pretty'. Her nose was slightly snubbed,
her chin too blunt, and her eyebrows just a little too heavy.

Her eyes were mismatched, green on the left and blue on the right,
and her chocolate-brown hair was wrapped up in a businesslike bun,
held in place with a spare stylus. A second stylus was tucked
behind her left ear.

The door hissed open promptly, revealing an archetypical ganger -
chains, tattoos, oddly cut hair and obvious cybereyes. Her top
was, literally, skintight, and scattered with garishly blinking
LEDs, and the bottoms looked like someone had tried to turn a
single unbroken loop of ribbon into a pair of pants and failed
miserably. A holograph of an obscene piece of graffitti was
projected from a thumb-sized emitter depending from the girl's
right ear.

All in all, the kid looked like she needed a good meal or five.

"Help 'ya, toots?" the punk sneered, voice slightly slurred. Hopped
up, but not very.

She smiled courteously, and pulled a hardcopy from a pocket on the
inside of the cloak. "Diana Blizzard, Stormwatch. This is the
warrant."

The girl blinked, paling. A hand reached from out of Diana's view
and snatched her away from the door, which promptly shut in her
face.

Stormwatch didn't give a damn about drug dens or fences, although
certainly they'd shut them down if the opportunity came up. Black
market body shops weren't that much of a concern either, in and
of themselves. You never knew who would come to them and walk
right into your sights, although of course afterwards you had to
build the case so the surveilance never came out - otherwise the
prey would know not to come.

The problem was when the chop doc decided that being outside the
law meant he didn't have to stick inside the Edicts, either -
typically the parts about 'materials and organs from willing donors'.

That was an ugly, ugly business, and any department did what it
could to help the locals and the Quatoria out whenever there was a
way.

-This- chop doc, though, was a Talent, and that made him Stormwatch's
problem. There had been more than enough evidence in his shop to
convict him, of course, but he'd been nowhere to be found.

Which lead to her, standing on the landing outside a third-rate fence
in the worst part of Joshua's Station's Cluster district. Even if the
place was mostly empty, now, the claustrophobic and slightly psychotic
architecture and organization remained.

She tucked the warrant back in one of the half-a-dozen pockets on that
side of the cloak and flipped open her cell. All registered businesses
were required to have a contact number for their office or place of
business, if they had one, or their owner/operator, if not. Naturally,
her briefing had included the fence's number.

/What is it?! We're closed!/ he snapped.

She smiled in spite of herself. Ah, the wages of sin... such a nervous
man. "Probably because of me, Mr. Navayan. Could I speak to Doctor
Gordon? We know he's there."

/Gordon?/ the man seemed surprise.

"For organlegging. Stormwatch is most displeased at how far this has
gone."

There was a long silence, then, /He's watching the door. I'm sorry./

"Damn," she said mildly. "So much for minimal paperwork. I think that
everyone else inside had better get to cover."

/Damn straight I will. Listen, he's hired some muscle - watch out./
He hung up.

"Thank you," she said to the dead line, with a soft smile.

She had slotted the PPG (an Auricon EF-9, not noticably more powerful
than the standard EF-7 but capable of handling considerably larger
power cells and therefore providing much greater endurance, even if it
was three times as large) with its first cell earlier, but she took it
out and double checked anyway.

That done, she put it back, flipped the cloak's hood up, and smiled
as the entire exterior wall of the Navayan's Pawn Shop disintigrated
in a cloud of dust and plaster chips. It would have been, should have
been choking, blinding, and generally irritating, but instead it simply
swirled safely away from an otherwise invisible three meter sphere
surrounding her.

An abuse of her power, yes, but it allowed her to focus without the
distraction of physical misery. Likewise, the combination of telekinetic
sense for physical distances and telepathic awareness of other minds
would let her work unhindered while they flailed around blindly.

A given pack of a dozen or so gangers would typically have an array of
melee weapons that they didn't know how to use and three or four pistols
that they didn't know how to maintain. This bunch must have carried a
gun each. None of the light hand weapons could penetrate her cloak,
but there was no sense taking chances.

She could have teleported, of course, but that took some work and it
was certainly a lot -easier- to simply drop to the ground and under the
wall of unaimed fire.

On the other hand, flat on your back wasn't the best place to be when
facing a man who could electrocute you with a touch. She rolled over
and up into a crouch as the gangers ran out of ammunition and gave up
their barrage.

A directional mobile telekinetic effect zone, commonly called a force
wall, was usually disdained by Stormwatch operatives as sloppy and
unprofessional. She disagreed - it was simply something, like a grenade,
that had to be saved for the right time and place.

To an outside observer, it would have looked a lot like an overpressure
wave. The force wall raced outwards from the center of her shield, crowding
the dust cloud before it and picking up and carrying along everything that
wasn't nailed down. Including thirteen very surprised and indignant gangers.

She had moderated the force very carefully, making sure not to hit them
hard enough to cause irreperable damage. On the other hand, 'irreperable'
went a long way past 'disabling', and unneccessary force didn't really
apply to a group of people who'd just tried to kill her.

Harlan Gordon, Md., pried himself off the wall where her strike had thrown
as she stood up and gave her cloak a little shake to get the worst of the
dust off it.

"I suppose you're going to resist arrest?" she said tiredly.

He snarled at her, and electric light crackled along the fine silver lines
crisscrossing his exposed skin for a moment before he charged.



The thought is Logan Darklighter's fault. Specifically, his post pointing me at ( http://www.doga.co.jp/codoga/lostuniv/weekly/index.htm ).

It occurs to me, you see, that the Swordbreaker fills all the design requirements for the WWWA's 'special cruisers' - that is, that it does the same things as the Alliance.

And, while I am fond of the A's design, I like Swordbreaker better.

Incidentally, file #10 provides a pretty good look at gravatic munitions in action.

Blessed be.
-n

/looks at the files, googles up the specs, sweatdrops/

As in ... *drool* ...

Kami in heaven, that thing is so cool.

You know, from the specs I assume that most of the features of said ship depend on the willpower of the pilot ... which means that when that pilot is a shellperson ... it boggles the mind.

I pity anyone who challenges SNate to a face off, not knowing exactly what that would entail. If he were to offend someone in a society in which duelling is a legal way of solving disputes (even if the offense was imaginary)... imagine it, a sunlit meadow, a few people, the guy standing there with a gun in his hand ... and 200+ meters of starship suddenly blotting out the sun over him and descending, with a voice from the outside speakers cheerfully states "I'm heeeere!'

-Griever
life's too short to hold back on it

> You know, from the specs I assume that most of the features of said ship depend on the willpower of the pilot.

Not quite, it depends on how much psi power they are pumping out, and the 'master' of swordbreaker is to psi what Lina Inverse is to magic (he is her psuedo twin brother, Lost Universe and Slayers are somewhat interrelated. You should watch it, Lost Universe is even better than Slayers IMHO.)

Also (Potential Spoiler warning) for lost ships if you look in their language dictonary 'master' would probably be defined as this: 'A snack that makes sugestions phrased as orders.'.

Yes, I'd recalled something to that effect. Hmm.

Perhaps the Lost Ships were custom psi-based modifications of suitable, already existing ships? That is, Swordbreaker is a Lost Ship built on an Alliance class hull?

The design elements would indicate that whatever mysterious source the things come from is somewhere in Taiidani space. Their rarity and capabilities might point at a heavily magic-influenced design and construction process.

Hmm. Let's catalog what weapons systems have been replaced during the transformation.

The pulse cannon effects would be a reasonably conventional particle burst weapon - a la Centauri Ion Cannon, a White Star's pulse cannon, or the random plasma cannon of your choice. The Leap Rail Guns (who could forget a name like -that-?) were more conventional heavy missile launchers, probably still Manticoran made. Shields were probably double layered, with an inner conformal Taiidani-style system backing an external 'bubble' gravitational sidewall. The big star-of-david cannon -caould- be a six-node Reflex Cannon, but I think that would be a bit much. The bend-beams could be either light, manuverable missiles leaving contrails or a Solenoid-style grav-lens effect.

For that matter, the Solenoid could just as easily have been using kinetic penetrator missiles, but that's not really relevant.

So, this leaves Swordbreaker proper with a number of advantages over her mass-produced cousins - the LRGs are considerably more effective than bomb-pumped lasers, she apparently doesn't have to worry about ammunition, and of course there are the Big Guns - but that doesn't make an Alliance a pushover by any means.

Blessed be.
-n

<Yes, I'd recalled something to that effect. Hmm.

Perhaps the Lost Ships were custom psi-based modifications of suitable, already existing ships? That is, Swordbreaker is a Lost Ship built on an Alliance class hull?>

Could work, though that would remove swordbreaker from the cosmology it is in, and that really removes a big coolnes factor out of it IMHO. Also swordbreaker is not really a lost ship.

Now if you could find some way to keep Swordbreaker in it's role in the cosmology I would be much happier. Maybe have Swordbreaker as a hyperbeing sort of like tsunami?

For those who haven't had the benefit of watching both slayers and Lost universe here is some major spoiler type material about how the cosmology works.

In the original Lost ships are demons, sort of, and Swordbreaker is the equivalent of an angel. The Lord of Nightmares created 4 universes, the Slayers show takes place in one of them that is fantasy based and demons and dragons where created to destroy/preserve the world respectivly and fight each other for which side will win.
Lost universe is similar except that the 2 forces are Lost ships led by Darkstar and Swordbreaker alone is the dragons counterpart, the universe is scifi based, and the reasons for the two of them fighting are slightly different(each of the four universes has it's own conflict.).

Both universes have a lina/kain to act as a sort of knight of the lord of nightmares, therefore it's reasonable to assume that the other two universes also have a lina/kain type person. Both universes also have lightsabers of some sort (though in Slayers that came from another universe.)

Each universe also has a purpose, Slayers is for the balance between protection and destruction, Lost Universe is for the balance between nightmares and saftey(I think, since that makes sense at least. I need to look in my notes to be sure what the acctual two concepts were.). Near the end of Slayers the cast meets some people from a third universe where the evil side won, but that also originaly had a balance and purpose.

The role of humans in this cosmology is to act as a wildcard, they can shift the balance to either side. Most people have practicaly no impact individualy, except for kain/lina (which is why some say that they are the chosen of the lord of nightmares which is also the sea of chaos. lina/kain introduce more chaos into the system and therefore act as a sort of superwildcard. The conflict will shift in favor of one side because of them. Maybe L-sama is getting impatient?)

Swordbreaker is Cephied?! Gah.

Hmm. Some of this I'd know and some I hadn't - I haven't actually seen the show, although not for lack of interest.

Our cosmology is way different from canon Slayers/LU, of course, but who's to say that there aren't worlds out their with beliefs that match up... which would, of course, bring those beings into, well, being.

So, Swordbreaker is -alive-, and 3WA built their ships in imitation? That works, although it'd take a little explaining as to why they ended up looking so ali-

Ah -ha-. Swordbreaker and her opposite numbers are hyperbeings, all right, but not really anchored. Instead, they animate/posess physical bodies - the difference is something along the lines of piloting a ship vs. rigging it. For their own reasons, they wish these bodies to be capable of independant interstellar travel, and for convenience they make them resemble conventional starships.

Swordbreaker just happened to pick the 3WA's cruiser class as her model.

That work?

Blessed be.
-n

Unfortunately, I've only seen the first 3 tapes of slayers, and have not seen LU at all.

>So, Swordbreaker is -alive-, and 3WA built their ships in imitation? That works, although it'd take a little explaining as to why they ended up looking so ali-

Ah -ha-. Swordbreaker and her opposite numbers are hyperbeings, all right, but not really anchored. Instead, they animate/posess physical bodies - the difference is something along the lines of piloting a ship vs. rigging it. For their own reasons, they wish these bodies to be capable of independant interstellar travel, and for convenience they make them resemble conventional starships.

Swordbreaker just happened to pick the 3WA's cruiser class as her model.<

here's a different possibility

The 3WA based their ship design on a certain legend of the Spiral (ie Swordbreaker and opponents). Galactic historians/anthropologists believe that the wide spread and simular tales of battles between ships of simular configuration to racial memories of some millenia old interstellar war. The names of the combatant races/sides and their ultimate fate lost in the annals of time.

Of course, conventional sciences are quick to decide they know it all and dislike admitting they could be wrong. Biologists refused to believe in tales of mountain gorrilas for decades because they were certain that such a large animal couldn't have gone un-noticed for so long by 'civilized' explorers.

Anyways, prior to the 3WA's making that design it's own, sightings of Swordbreaker were dismissed much like sightings of the Loch Ness Monster. Afterwards it was assumed to be either as above or a passing 3WA vessel.

>... led by Darkstar ...<

*blinkblink* The one Lina and Co. gave a mighty trashing to in the last series?

And yah, Kane even looks sort of like Lina. And that one guy's a dead ringer for Gabriev, even if he is a baddie.

-Griever
'Lines Anthy would not normally say (unless tanked or under mind-control):
"Great, now if only I can find a midget with some gin, I'll be in business."
"You know, I just can't stand you white people."
"What the hell is wrong with you freaks and your big hair?!"
"Hey, barkeep. Who's leg do you have to hump to get a dry martini around here?" '

>>... led by Darkstar ...<

*blinkblink* The one Lina and Co. gave a mighty trashing to in the last series?<

Yes and no. Here the cosmology has a hole that some fans have tried to fill. There are 5 lost ships, and the three whose names are known match the weapons of light that the Slayers Darkstar made, so it's reasonable to assume that the other two ships have the same name as the other two weapons.

However Slayers Darkstar can't be the same as the Lost Universe one even though he has to be.

My pet theory is that L-sama cheated and made another Darkstar for lina to fight.

There is another line of reasoning that claims that instead of four worlds there are four times four worlds. Each set of four is somewhat similar and has the same big guys fighting, one set is fantasy based and one is sci-fi based.

I'm not sure what the official position of the creator on this issue is, but from what I heard unbroken continuity is not a priority.

CN] Both universes have a lina/kain to act as a sort of knight of the lord of nightmares, therefore it's reasonable to assume that the other two universes also have a lina/kain type person. Both universes also have lightsabers of some sort (though in Slayers that came from another universe.)[CN

Matter of fact, unless I read/watched wrong, the light weapons 1) Came from the Lost Universe and 2) are representations of at least some of the lost ships in a form that the Slayers world would accept. (This info comes from the thrid Slayers season, where a nutjob by the name of Valgaav decides to summon and channel Darkstar out of the Lost Universe and into himself for the purpose of annihilating the entire Slayers universe.)

And this is now wildly offtopic, but hey, Slayers is one of few anime I know well (The other, quite insanely enough, being Evangelion. Hmmm... and Eva/Slayers crossfic... )

-={(Astynax)}=-
"Darkness beyond twilight..."

RE a slayers/eva crossover, Ammadeau started a petty good one, but last I checked it was in his 'abandoned fics' pile. I even made a few suggestions for it before it landed there, dfespitemy general dislike for eva.

- CD

Cruel Lina's Thesis

one of the funniest EVA-based fics I've ever read. Available on my website and in other locations.

drakensis

"I believe that forgiving the enemy is God's function. Ours is simply to arrange the meeting." - General H Norman Schwarzkopf