Dark Fate, Book 26 Prologue

Prologue – Trade Chat

(North American System Information Exchange Forum, formerly Community Building and Civil Defense Chat)

abby_gail, bento, RainyDayze, GringottsGoblin, DoritoMan, D.VaLuvr69, Carion, RadicalEdward, FusionGal, NotACop, Scholar, RamblingWreck, Anonymous4, Anonymous6, RedShift, SevenNationArmy, DarkLord, BagOTrix, White_Queen, Faraday, BackpageGal, FullServiceMassage, daytrader, LinaLuv, Skippy, shadow_clone23, THE_MERCHANT, jenny8675309, Rabbit, Angelus and Tracker are in the chat.

BagOTrix: Man, Ceres has really had a good month.

Carion: No kidding! Their fleet comes back from kicking all kinds of alien butt, the Empire expands to cover most of Central and South America, and now they have a colony on Ganymede!

DarkLord: Don’t forget that the military and R&D base we built on Vesta in the Asteroid Belt. Oh, wait, we haven’t mentioned that publicly yet.

RedShift: Wait, what? Why are you putting a base on Vesta?

DarkLord: Second-largest rock in the belt. Thought it would be a great place for Third Fleet to make its home port, especially as the Home Fleet is starting to shape up. Ganymede Prime has its first colonists, and plans are underway for testing a terraforming device on Titan. Eventually, I plan to have facilities on every moon and dwarf planet in the outer solar system, all the way into the Kuiper Belt. But we’re still a long way off from that.

NotACop: You’re enjoying this a little too much.

DarkLord: Things are progressing far better than I had hoped. Of course I am enjoying it! By this time in the first time loop, I was leading a band of rag-tag survivors in a makeshift warband as we fought to take out the alien warlord ruling Atlanta. This? Even with idiots testing my patience every now and then, this is far better to what I remember.

BagOTrix: Geez. You’re really planning that far out? How are you going to get the people for all those colonies?

DarkLord: Well, when a man and a woman love each other very much, they share a ‘special hug’…

FullServiceMassage: snort

SevenNationArmy: Kinda walked into that one, Baggy.

BagOTrix: Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up.

RamblingWreck: points and laughs

abby_gail: Going back to the situation on Earth, it looks like the Ceresan Empire has become an instant superpower.

DoritoMan: Weren’t they already?

abby_gail: No, before, they were like a nuclear-armed state, but with the caveat that they could hit people and no one could effectively hit them back. With so much of Central and South America under their control, the economic implications are huge. Their territorial waters basically mean that anyone who pisses them off has to go skimming Antarctic ice if they want to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or go the long way around, past Africa.

daytrader: One need only look and see how Russia’s economy is faltering after only a few months of the Panama Canal being closed to them, in order to see how bad things could be. And the expanded territory means that they are even worse off.

abby_gail: Exactly. Ceres now has the economic and military might to have substantial political sway, without even counting their off-world capabilities. The Empire can pretty much dictate terms to any country on Earth.

DarkLord: Perhaps, but it is bad policy to go around abusing people just because you can. That kind of thing always ends up in rebellion. I should know, I led one of those rebellions in a previous timeline. When the Ceresan Empire strikes, it is always with purpose. My Empire will not simply destroy cities for the fun of it, or wreck economies for the laughs.

jenny8675309: So, your actions in what used to be Israel and against Russia?

DarkLord: As Tolkien wrote in the Lord of the Rings, “he that strikes the first blow, if he strikes it hard enough, may need to strike no more.” Those actions were examples to the world, in the hope that people would look at what happened to them, and then think long and hard about whether they wanted to risk having the same thing happen to them if they attacked the Empire. I would be quite content if I never had to make an example like that again.

White_Queen: How merciful.

DarkLord: Since Russia still exists? Yes, it is. And you’re still breathing, despite your actions in previous timelines, so I wouldn’t go questioning my merciful nature.

THE_MERCHANT: On the bright side, I managed to tack on a permanent 10% ‘because I said so’ surcharge on all purchases Queenie and her Knight make in the System shop.

Scholar: Wait, you can do that?

THE_MERCHANT: Yes. Though only because of time-warping ‘fun’. There’s a lot of paperwork if I want to do it to anyone else.

bento: Thank all the gods that paperwork is horrible, no matter where you go. That means you have to really fuck up for the System Shop to screw with you.

BabaYaga has entered the chat.

Scholar: That… is a somewhat ominous name.

RainyDayze: Why? I mean, it doesn’t seem as bad as the guy a few months back who called himself DemonHunter.

BackpageGal: DemonHunter quickly found out that religious zeal is no substitute for armor and weapons. The imps in the demon-themed dungeon in South Carolina quickly had him spit roasted and turning over the fire. According to observers, he was still alive when he went over the flames. Nasty way to go out, but at least he didn’t take anyone else down with him. No one else in the dungeon town was willing to go along with his brand of crazy.

Scholar: In Russian folklore, Baba Yaga is a witch who lives in the woods, in a house that walks on chicken legs. Nothing good ever comes from angering Baba Yaga.

BabaYaga: Well, it is nice to see that some people still remember old tales. And, before anyone asks, I am not the ‘original’. I found a cursed item in the woods, that changed my name and class.

DarkLord: Ah, so you’re the one who took up the Mantle of Baba Yaga this time through? Are you in Russia?

BabaYaga: Yes, and you are the reason I’m on this forum, DarkLord.

Scholar: Back up. ‘Mantle of Baba Yaga’?

White_Queen: A Mantle is the term for a singularly powerful ‘role’. The Mantle does not make someone unbeatable, but they are significantly more powerful in some way than other individuals of the same level.

DarkLord: Mantles that were confirmed in previous timelines included the Black Knight, the Baba Yaga, the Hero, the Fool, and the Slayer. There are probably more, but global communication was spotty, given the alien invasion and all.

THE_MERCHANT: So far, I have only been able to find reference to the Black Knight, the Slayer, and, just now, Baba Yaga.

DarkLord: Where is the Slayer, if you can say?

THE_MERCHANT: All I can say is that the last System Shop they entered was in Yulara.

White_Queen: Australia? Figures. Plenty for the Slayer to cut their teeth on, there.

DarkLord: But anyway, BabaYaga, you said you came to the forum to seek me out? What for?

BabaYaga: If you check the ‘Compliance List’ website, you’ll find 100% Compliance.

Skippy: Wait, you mean the website tracking how many of the Russian elites either got enslaved or got knocked up by a demon?

Anonymous6: Last I checked, it was sitting at only 22.4% Compliance.

Anonymous6: Wait, just checked, and it really is at 100%! Looks like it went from 22.4% to 100% in the course of an hour!

Rabbit: How did you do that?

BabaYaga: The Yagishna have grown many.

DarkLord: Ah, the Daughters of Yaga. You recruited the wives and daughters of the people on the list, adopted them as your foster daughters, and coordinated with them to fill out the list?

BabaYaga: Indeed. The patriarchy needs humbling, and so the Yagsihna will ensure that change comes to Russia, one way or the other.

DarkLord: Excellent. I’ll have my people double-check everything, and once they have confirmation, the sanctions against Russian shipping will be withdrawn.

BabaYaga: So quickly?

DarkLord: The Mantle of Baba Yaga will not let one say a task is complete when it is not. But, as Emperor, I must at least be seen doing my due diligence.

Scholar: Are all Mantles like that?

White_Queen: No. The Mantle of Baba Yaga allows lies and deceptions, as a rule, but once a task is complete, the Mantle demands compliance. The Black Knight is focused solely on combat, sweeping up forces to strike down their enemies, and uncaring of anything else. The Slayer cares about nothing but seeking out the strongest monster they can find, and testing themselves against it. The Hero is honest to a fault, and seeks to lead and inspire the people against overwhelming odds. The Fool is incapable of speaking lies, except when he’s telling the truth, especially when he is telling the truth.

DarkLord: BabaYaga, when the sanctions are withdrawn, I invite you to visit Ceres, with any of your Yagishna you wish to bring, under rules of hospitality. As one who once bore a Mantle, I have some insight on how it affects you.

BabaYaga: I shall consider it.