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Meta-Tribes #7 Compromise
Meta-Tribes #7 Compromise
The older sister blasted into a photo image on the wall, particles of her are sifted through the
stone and garbage.
The younger girls emerges from the boiling hot water, flesh is dropping off of her bones.
There are ripples of movement on the surface of the steaming blood red waters of the oasis.
panels narration
Choshekh walks into observation post, Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy
loving kindness:
floats into the air with a smoky aura, according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and
black tendrils shoot into the surrounding
cleanse me from my sin.
buildings For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is
ever before me.
Debris on the ground rise up and form a figure. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this
evil in thy sight:
Aqat walks into it and is coved in an armor or that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest,
wreckage. and be clear when thou judgest.
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my
She begins smashing a building. mother conceive me.
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts:
Nivian soldiers approach with hesitation. and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know
wisdom.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash
A dark figure calls to them.
me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones
They look over, the figure comes out of the which thou hast broken may rejoice.
shadows, it is a dried and withered corpse. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine
iniquities.
The body cracks apart and Bashar emerges. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a
She stretches out and starts chopping up the right spirit within me.
officers and draining their blood. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not
thy holy spirit from me.
(Splash page of the 3 villains wreaking havoc) Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and
uphold me with thy free spirit.
The three figures walk off at a leisurely pace. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and
sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Some people begin to peak out of the shadows. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, thou God
of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of
Others race to help injured friends and family. thy righteousness.
O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall
There is a combination of sobbing on the ground shew forth thy praise.
and curses hurled into the air. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it:
thou delightest not in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken
and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
THE DISCIPLES
Rahzel is standing in a doorway looking out
at some storm clouds.
He is holding a coffee in a tin cup. “Lot of
rushing around today…somet’ins goin on.”
Hanan: “The court is deciding what to do
about Ugrit. He’s gotten wrapped up in
something with the Persicaans and
Sushans…there’s bound to be some blood in
it.”
Rahzel: “All this over one little punk.”
Hanan: “He’s Kayn… besides, there aren’t
many surgeons in the Outland.”
Rahzel: “I guess we need bonesaws, even
the bad ones.”
Hanan: “So what are we waiting for again?”
BASHAR fierceness of his judgment.”
distant shot of a lone figure walking in the
desert, the figure is obscured by heat
distorting the light.
You’ll have the most face time with the nationalists policy is their orthodoxy, they start lining up
at the courts before dawn. The theocrats congregate around the schools, newsstands and
taverns, naturally. Their code is all about interpreting precedent and context. Those are Xrqeth’s
people.
Just about everywhere you look you’ll see pilgrims that have adapted our culture, but they are
mostly around the markets. They do as the mob rules.
And then, somewhere out there, are the mystics, militants and isolationists. They range from
zealous to xenophobic and believe that you may only do what that law explicitly permits. That’s
where Esh’la lives.
CHOSHEKH
Aqat: “Do you think that people are basically good or basically evil.
Choshekh: “That depends.”
Aqat: “On what?”
Choshekh: “How sheltered you are.”
Aqat: “…”
graphitti in the background reads: “…and if
the light within you is darkness, how great is
that darkness.”
But these neighbors will come together if one of them is threatened by another tribe. Because
the tribal feuds over the rights to a well or the damning of a creek are bigger and neighborhood
grudges.
However, any two tribes would happily align over any dispute with Kayn proper because of the
favoritism that is granted to citizens of the royal city.
And no matter how much mutual hatred there is between a toothless brick baker in Shomron and
a merchant in Kayn City, they will always share a deeper bond over their hate for anyone or any
thing Persicaän.
AQAT
Ugrit: “Do you want to talk about it?”
Aqat: “What is there to talk about?”
Ugrit: “Our mission…the emotional toll…”
Aqat: “there is no emotional toll, there is just
the mission.”
Ugrit: “There is supposed to be an emotional
toll, that is what is appropriate. If there isn’t
then it means that something is not right.”
Aqat: “If I let myself feel things then I won’t
be able to come back from it. I have to kill
it. It’s not enough to be hard on the outside,
we have to be hard on the inside, that’s the
only way we can perform.”
Ugrit: “…”
Aqat: “…”
Ugrit: “Aqat, have you ever thought about
what you will do when this is all over?”
Aqat: “…”
I would remind this court that four of our tribe stood against Nin’eva when they violated our
lands with their tests. The same four entered Nin’eva and returned their bomb with a message
that was not ignored. We laid wrath upon their mightiest; Gol Balmu, Nisrokh, Zyrukahn and
Atra’Pazu. Holding the standard of Kayn we shamed the dogs for their trespass.
conflicted whispers
They’re Kayn, you don’t have to like them or agree with them.
Please have a seat.
“I will speak my business and be on my way.
The Sushans have one of our countrymen.
We will reclaim our man.
We object, the Faction of Four mustn’t be allowed to further provoke the tensions with
Susa.
Shushanese peace is Kayin submission.
QUIET!, the court agrees. A delicate situation require a more elegant response than what the
Tribe of Ishmael can provide. The Judges will select their own extraction team. Let the court be
of one resolve on the matter.
The DOE are deadpan and silent while loading weapons in the windy and shaking van.
Shinza rips the back doors off of the van. Without any drama Rahzel cuts Shinza’s hand off with
a machete. Shinza still holds on with one hand. Ugrit gives Shinza and explosive back-turn
sidekick.
Hanan kicks Azar’s coffin out of the van at Shinza. Azar bursts out and begins a cat fight with
Shinza.
Flying Fox shoots Dimmekur with sulfur rounds from his shoot gun.
“You never know when some dumb ass cock swinger is going to come
along…”
The babies head is in the cross hairs of a scope
“It is times like these when it pays to trust in a power greater than yourself.”
nothing but a smoldering crater is left
“This is what the protection of Al’Ishkandar Insurance & Security has to offer.”
The father Bearilla is going berzerk
Kharnov: “Peace for our clients and fear those that would threaten them.”
An old fat man is holding a bazooka and looking at a potential client being
treated to a company safari, wined and dined under the shade of a parasol.
Tijan is on a horse next to them a says insincerely, “Excellent shot sir.”
There is a younger man on the ground is hollering like he just won the Indy
500 and making a face like he just had an orgams, “YEE-OW!!! Dija see those
dumb-ass Bookies ‘splode? Damn, that was great!!!”
Kharnov: “Go on boy, go fetch me a trophy. There’s a lesson for you Tijan, if
you want to drop the 500-pound Bearilla, you strike from a distance with
something that you know will get the job done and then you get someone
else to pick up the pieces.”
YOUNG TIJAN
Another Zig-freak killed his manager, it’s always the same. They should chain them all together
and sink them in Meranti-ville. Or sell em to the stadiums.
No way, the stadiums are scar on the face of Persicaa.
Ya know, they aren’t so different from us, the Z-freaks I mean.
If we were in their situation, we would be acting in the exact same way.
I would never kill someone over a promotion, it doesn’t matter how desperate the situation got.
So you’re saying you’ve gotten to where you are by honest means?
I haven’t compromised my values to get ahead.
Sure.
It’s all about how you talk to people, reciprocation, and timing.
Call it what you want, it looks rotten from the trenches.
You can call me a leach, but my people always have everything they need.
Is that what you tell yourself so that you can sleep at night.
It’s just a game, try not to take it personally.
SHIT JOB
Chairman Khelar is talking to Tijan
Tijan, but sir, I'm already at my limits for core exposure this week.
Khelar, Ya know son, we gave you the bronze because we saw in you the
qualities of a man that rises to the occasion, to meet a challenge damn the
consequences. Now take a guy like Astygenese, when the D-Blok started to
flood he didn't hesitate to rush in there and save his men. And when the
containment doors sealed do you know what he did? He walked right
through the walls carrying his men on his back.
Tijan, Sir, with all due respect, Captain Astygenes chose to sacrifice himself,
he was lucky that it didn't end up as a suicide mission.
Khelar, ...We all know that most die from over exposure and the ones that
don't are messed up so bad that they either do themselves or run off to
Kreas. But I think that for those few...the gods saw something rare, special
and blessed them...beyond all other mortals. I thought there was something
special about you…
Cut scene Tijan enters his office, his aid is seated reading a paper.
Assistant, "Hey listen to this latest report. It says here that the Nivians are
suffering from something called "learned victimization."
Tijan, “Why are you reading that crap, PNN media is just a bunch of council
propaganda.”
Assistant, “Okay, maybe they just make this stuff up, but it’s more
infotaining than listening to you mumble on about farms and babies. Can we
talk about something that I’m interested in for once.”
Tijan slumps down in his chair, looks at the ceiling and with a sigh says, “…
go on.”
Assistant grins again and shakes the paper, “The Ministry of Education says
that, ‘they are exploited by degrees throughout their lifetime and that by the
time they are adults they are so dehumanized that they will do anything that
they are told, submitting themselves to even the most debase treatment.’
Thank the gods we live in Persicaä.”
Birds-eye-view of Tijan draped over his chair staring up, “Yea, that would
never happen here.”
It is the middle of the night in a dark back lot two ornate sedans flash their lights at each other
and slowly roll side by side. There are armed soldiers around every corner and high place.
Tijan is standing on the street smoking a cigarette. Shinza of Susa is standing on an opposite
corner staring at Tijan like a hungry dog. Tijan shakes his head.
The passenger windows roll down. No faces are seen, only black silhouettes. One figure raises a
cigarette on an long holder, and arm reaches out of the vehicles and lights the cigarette with a
fancy butane lighter. The smoking man is slightly illuminated revealing some kind of uniform
and a handlebar mustache. The extended arm goes back into the sedan, and the man shuts the
lighter before briefly illuminating an Asian face and 1930’s British suit.
Khelar takes a deep drag, pauses, exhales, and watches the smoke for a moment: The
Meranti…
Ziu’Sustra talks with half closed eyes and slightly through his teeth. He always looks like
he’s looking down when he talks to you. His speech is sharply annunciated but has an
unusual rhythm, almost like he is reading a script with no periods: Sushan spies have been
placed in the ruins of the coast cities since the first day of the attack. After a thorough
investigation we have concluded that the coastal attacks were merely an assessment of human
combat efficiency and that these attacks are but a prelude to a campaign for the complete
conquest of the known world. The Meranti threat affects all nations.
Khelar: …
Ziu’Sustra: However, we have been able to conduct our own assessment of Meranti combat
efficiency. Extensive intelligence has been collected on Meranti weaponry and warfare.
Khelar in an angry tone: The coast cities were very good clients to Persica. They were armed
with the most advanced Persican military hardware. The Meranti wiped out three heavily
fortified cities in a little more than 9 hours. Now you are telling me that you can defeat the
Meranti, but you can’t handle a few fig farmers?
Ziu’Sustra: They didn’t have Persicaa’s most advanced weapons, you sold them your
discontinued systems that were collecting dust. But to answer your question, yes, we could
eliminate them quite easily, but the Kayns were the first to provide relief to the costal cities.
They have gained quite a lot of sympathy with the other empires.
Aegys and Lakroa would most certainly come to their aid, as well as the remnants of the costal
cities.
It is likely that in this situation we would loose the element of surprise with the Meranti. After
factoring in the projected losses of engaging Aegys and Lakroa, Susha could not guarantee a
victory against the Meranti.
Khelar: So what are you asking? You want Persica to destroy Kayn?
Ziu’Sustra: The destruction of Kayn has already begun, all we ask is that you allow it to happen.
Khelar: …
Ziu’Sustra: Kayn maintains a very delicate social chemistry. Nothing destabilizes a people like
internal division and strife. Too little harvests and too many guns; bad press for their leadership
and too much press for the dissidents…
Ziu’Sustra: Your investigators have no doubt found that this dangerous criminal had in his
possession advanced weaponry, military meds and rations…
Khelar: That is correct
Ziu’Sustra: They will assume that the contraband was stolen from Persicaan supply trucks.
They will ask your dangerous criminal who has been supplying him. We don’t want those
questions asked.
Khelar: This is a very serious request you are making.
Ziu’Sustra: Susha may or may not be responsible for his activity and we regret that these affairs
have spilled into your borders. But, you should be warned, the Kayns are notoriously
possessive… and private about their affairs, even their criminals. It won’t be long before the
Kayin Champions come calling to collect your little bomber. The Kayns won’t bring a bounty,
they won’t negotiate, and they never compromise. There is no profit in bringing this one to
justice.
Khelar: If you expect me to just hand this man over to you then you mistake us for the
Imperialists, this is the New Persica. We are not politicians, we are business men. Let us speak
of business. You say there is no profit in trying this terrorist, perhaps there is profit in a prisoner
transfer?
Ziu’Sustra smiles and takes a drag of his cigarette. Tilting his head he exhales smoke as he
talks: What can we do for you?
COMPROMISES
Tijan is with Khelar parked at an estate on the eastern plains.
There are some soldiers standing as a barrier between them and a family
and a barking dog.
background, "...with Kreasian extremists, this domain is being re-zoned for a
military-"
Soldier approaches Tijan, "Sir, the papers say that he is a ACP Lord."
Man, "my family has done service, we've been here for three generations."
Khelar, "Well that's a damn shame. I wonder which one of your ancestors
thought it would be okay to plant roots on a future base camp?"
Tijan, "Sir, won't this get back to the council?"
Back ground, "...no security threats in the Eastlands." (barking)
Khelar, "Sure, tell him while he's making his report to remind Chairman
Khaldash who has controlling interest in the counsel.
By the gods, shut that damn dog up."
Soldier, "Commander Tijan, shall the survey team take quarters?"
Tijan, "Stand by soldier."
Khelar, "...I'm feeling generous, give'em a week. But, I want construction of
my pool to begin immediately. (back ground noise, BANG)
That's better. You there, woman, go and fetch us something to drink."
Tijan trying not to look at the old man on his knees holding a dead dog.
Khelar, "You see Tijan, where resources are scarce there is conflict
In every conflict there is collateral damage.
Thankfully we are a civilized people with systems to minimize losses for the innocent.
It’s all about the system Tijan, without it, it all turns to chaos.
Tijan: I think I understand sir.
Khelar: Now, Let's have a look at those servants."
Tijan: With all due respect, I have trained specialists for these kind of insertions. We’re looking
at the possibility of losing a lot of good men.
Kharnov: That’s why I want you to handle this personally. If you want a job done right, you gotta
do it yourself.
Kharnov: I’m sorry, currently all units are tied up with VIP escorts or a cargo transport. You
know how morale gets when the troops don’t have their poke.
Tijan: Sir, for me to lead from the from the front is highly inappropriate.
Kharnov: I suppose it is inappropriate for a decorated senior officer to be going out on the front
lines, much like going over a superior to talk to ministers of the Coalition, very embarrassing.
But, I guess when we want something bad enough the proper protocols become trivial. Isn’t that
right?
Kharnov: Now if I were the kind of superior that felt strongly about chain of command, I might
do something inappropriate to make a point.
Tijan: …
Indar
Indar puts his hand on Tijan’s shoulder and leans in, “Be careful with that one.”
Tijan makes a condescending face, “I know how to handle a company assassin.”
Indar, “No, I mean that one in particular.”
Tijan, “Are you serious? Agent V is just-”
Indar, “Old lions are unpredictable.”
Tijan, “She’ll be the first assassin to make it to retirement, so what.”
Indar, “She wants out and is making a play for power. It’s going to be just the two of you out
there, don’t get caught with the short straw.”
Indar walks away
Tijan has a pensive look on his face.
LIFE EVALUATION
Tijan talking to his wife.
Wife, Let's leave this life.
Tijan, and go where? The flats?, never knowing when the next raid come to
our door?
Wife, Kreas, one of the ports cities.
Tijan, We don't even have the money to load a transport.
Wife, sigh
Tijan, what?
Wife, How are you a commander? You're already defeated before we even
know what we want.
Tijan says nothing.
Wife, "Are all of our dreams dead? Have we given up?" She looks at a
framed accommodation hanging on the wall, 'Titan of Persica, Heart and
Character that towers above all else.' "What happened?"
THE KILLER
Kharnov: Thank you for arranging this meeting. Are you sure no one else knows about this,
none of the other Ministers?
Tijan: “I have take every precaution. I assure you we are invisible to the world.”
Kharnov: As I told you in my first message I have confirmed that the Ministers of the Coalition
are being targeted for assassination. Some of us suspected that one of the Ministers was trying to
take over the coalition.
Kharnov: It is worse that I told you. I now think that this is the work of more than one person.
Khitta was the only one with the assassins that could pull of these kind of high profile hits, but it
would have taken one of Kutri’s people to rewrite the surveillance, and the hardware had to have
come from one of Khelar’s manufacturers.
Kharnov: The coalition approached Indar about investigating the murders…he was killed the
same day.
Tijan: Indar was killed in action…by the enemy.
Kharnov: No, it’s too much of a coincidence. How many times has he gone into action. He
never took unnecessary risks, not with the mission, not with his men, not with himself.
Tijan: “I cataloged Indar’s armor myself. There was evidence of some tampering. It had to be
someone with Persicaän intel, the armor was rigged to send an echo self-destruct command. I
still can’t figure that one out, anyone with that level of programming capability would know that
it would have been an inefficient sabotage.”
Kharnov: “It wouldn’t have been the first time the coalition made a deal with the Nivians.
During the uprising we approached Nin’eva to give us an advantage against the Emperor. But
when it came time to pay, the coalition severed all contact with the Nivians.”
Tijan: “If the coalition betrayed Nin’eva, why would they ever deal with one of you again?”
Kharnov: The answer to that question is what scares me the most.
The good news is, I know who the killer is and his motivation and he’s not a Nivian.
Black panel.