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Occupied Equestria - The Kostroma
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193000
193023
The SSRS Kostroma lies idle in the southeastern bay of Mended Horn Island. Only the front portion, the two forward masts and the front of the superstructure that sits in the center of the freighter's hull, is illuminated by a pair of dim lights that glow orange-red, a sure sign that the boilers of the Kostroma are dying, and the lights will soon go off. The remainder of the ship's funnel, and the mast behind the superstructure are visible only in silhouette. The gibbous moon and starry night that would have provided a clear backdrop to the black hulk of the Kostroma have been smothered by the overcast skies and light rain.

A sound comes, not from the Kostroma, and indeed, not from anywhere at all. A low, vaguely tinnitus-like sound that drains out the sound of silence. It calls to you. It calls to everyone.

"Come to the Kostroma, good soldier. Join us here. Come."
1370 replies and 58 files omitted.
Cavaliere
e79be76
?
No.193499
193500
>>193498
Not terribly important, but it may indicate where this boat has been in the past. The locked lockers may have something interesting, but Posey has the keys now and forcing the lockers open may take too much time. Cavaliere takes one of the questionable magazines for good measure before leading the pony back to the bow.
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193500
193501
>>193499
The pony comes with Cavaliere. They encounter Blackheel along the way.

"Did you find another prisoner?"
Cavaliere
e79be76
?
No.193501
193502
>>193500
He nods. "Two ponies. Neither of them have been aggressive in any way and once we're off this island we can let them go. In the rear cabin there is ammunition but I was not able to find anything else that is particularly useful. Some containers in there are locked if you are feeling curious."
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193502
193503
>>193501
"And what was their intention in coming up to a merchant vessel? We can leave them on the island and sink their vessel, I suppose. The GRU are not going to give us long. They will not give us long at all. They are coming for this vessel."
Cavaliere
e79be76
?
No.193503
193504
>>193502
"Leaving them on this island would be a death sentence. Whatever we decide later, keeping them around will be best for them and for us. Taking one onto the Kostroma may help to convince the boarding party to surrender if any are still lucid. We cannot afford to lose any more time."
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193504
193509
>>193503
"As is the proper sentence for piracy. But you have a point. Having a hostage or two on the ship will help if we encounter any survivors of their boarding party."
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193508
193510
>>193490
Silver blinks, then realizes something to ask Zara. "Does he even know Ponish?"
Posey
f3c26d7
?
No.193509
193510
>>193504
Are there any rooms left to explore on the ship?
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193510
193511 193516
>>193509
Yes. One more

>>193508
"Uh...."
Cavaliere
e79be76
?
No.193511
193512
>>193510
Okay, Cavaliere does not go topside yet with the pony, but will help to clear the last room. He glances through the doorway before he would step inside.
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193512
193513
>>193511
First, it should be mentioned that the boat noticeably tapers, and also much of it is raised. The first section is a small bathroom and shower. Beyond that is what is almost a single room, containing the machinery for the rudder, and a magazine. The magazine has one small area for small arms, including a lone firearm - a greatly oversized rifle that must be some kind of antiquated anti-tank, or perhaps anti-monster gun. There are a number of cans of ammunition for the machine gun. The great majority of all space taken up by ammunition in the space, however, belongs to the shells for the automatic cannon that is above deck. The shells are one and a half inches, or 37 millimeters in diameter, over nine inches in length, explosive, and look like artillery shells in miniature. They are, however, linked together in great belts, like giant machine gun bullets. And then beyond all of this, and over the boat's propellers, is the last fuel tank.

There is no creature here
Cavaliere
e79be76
?
No.193513
193514
>>193512
He looks at the machine gun ammunition. Is it the same caliber used by the .50 machine gun mounted on the swan boat?
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193514
193515
>>193513
It is not, as it is an Imperial caliber rather than the UPA caliber of the Swan Boat gun
Cavaliere
e79be76
?
No.193515
193517
>>193514
It was worth checking. If Cavaliere took the elephant gun and some ammunition for it, how encumbered would he be?
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193516
193517
>>193510
The unicorn tilts his head at this reaction. "...is something wrong? Besides obvious, I mean."
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193517
193518 193522 193570
>>193515
40 lbs

>>193516
"Uh, it was the external tanks, right?"
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193518
193519
>>193517
Silver nods, and points towards them. "They got, uh...caught in crossfire."
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193519
193520
>>193518
"Oh...."

She starts to go towards the end of the boat. Then she sees another of the bodies, and gasps. She tiptoes around it. Then she sees the yellow earth pony, gasps, sits down and places her face in her hooves, crying.
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193520
193521
>>193519
Silver stops besides the poor crying mare and sits down besides her. He looks at the body, realizing that, in the heat of the battle, he doesn't know if he's the one who dropped him or not. "What was his name?"
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193521
193523
>>193520
She turns her head, holding her hooves up as if to block the view

"Rémy... Rémy Stable"
Cavaliere
e79be76
?
No.193522
>>193517
That would certainly put him over heavy load. I need to check how bad that would be.
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193523
193524
>>193521
Silver, in an all-too-familiar move at this point, wraps a foreleg around the mare's shoulders and gives her a friendly consoling squeeze. "It is good name. How long were you two together?"
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193524
193525
>>193523
This time, she lets her head go into his fur. She sniffles and pulls her head away to speak.

"He wasn't there at first but... He was a part of that crew that took me in. I've known him... near three years now."
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193525
193526
>>193524
He gives her shoulder a pat as she speaks while keeping it wrapped around her. "How did you meet? How did you two get together?"
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193526
193527
>>193525
"I was working in the harbor. I would repair engines on vessels that were laid up or just in for repair. He came in. I saw him a couple times... He eventually came up to me and would start chatting. That first time he made a joke about being on a yacht, I remember... Eventually I moved onto an active vessel under my employer, and he was hired onto the same..." She smiles for a moment, but starts to cry again
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193527
193528
>>193526
He holds her tight during her cry. "It is good for soul to remember those good memories you shared with someone special. Not everyone gets to experience them, so those of us who do hold onto them like they are so immensely precious."
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193528
193529
>>193527
>>193527
She cries and leans onto Silver. Silver can feel her baggy clothing, and to a lesser extent, the mare underneath
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193529
193530
>>193528
He smiles, not really minding if she gets his fur wet from the tears. He can serve as an adequate towel if the situation calls for it. "It is also good for soul to cry. Grief can turn to poison if it is not expressed. I know that too better than most."
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193530
193531
Away from the boat, and behind the swan boat, in the ocean, Kira floats behind.

Kira has noticed by now that the fighting comes in waves. For several minutes, there was a cacophony of gunfire, explosions, electricity, and other noises of combat. Kira could watch the shadows as they moved from the shoreline inland, and from the hill down to the sea. There were explosions on the beach and in the village. They must have been using their artillery...

But the fighting always comes in waves. It seems to have ceased now, and with it, the flares have stopped as well. The island is now in complete darkness. The GRU must have advanced to the beach by now, and with it, very possibly have secured the whole island.

The ocean has a creepiness all of its own. Each wave is large and threatens to place Kira's face underwater. She cannot feel the bottom, nor see what is beneath her. She can feel the mist coming down in its steady streams. She can see the enthralled ponies that are conscious in the boat next to her. Or at least, she can in those moments when stray light illuminates them. They are blindfolded by shirts and what clothing would work. But though they are blinded, they look forward towards the Kostroma, and in particular nearer the bow. They sometimes open their mouths, as if to vocalize. But always, they stare.

>>193529
She tries to nod, and continues crying
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193531
193534 193570
>>193530
Kira sighs in at least some level of relief. After all, they don't have any boats left to get to the Kostroma. The party took (or at least hopefully took) all of the rowboats with them, so now the 'gee are you' would have to bring their whole big ship around if they wanted to board the Kostroma. Or, perhaps that would be worse. Hmmmmm...

Either way, she keeps her eyes on the possessed ponies as she floats there in the ocean. She tilts her head at the displace, not understanding a few things about it. "So, why do you have them all act so weird? Why no have them act more 'normal', to avoid detection by the un-assimilated?"

Silver keeps holding the mare. "But those good memories do eventually outweigh that grief. They stay with you for far longer, and they shine far brighter in your mind." Smiling at her, he asks her, "How about some other good memories? Any funny stories of him?"
Posey
f3c26d7
?
No.193533
193534
With all rooms on the boat explored, Posey returns to the main deck with intent to frisk the bodies for loot/keys before tossing them overboard.
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193534
193535 193536
>>193531
Kira sees something. Not anything in front of her or in what philosophers call "mind external reality," nor any kind of hallucination that has any pretense of existing in said "mind external reality." You could call it a "vision," but the way in which she sees it is probably most akin to a recalled memory. It is weak and the details are fuzzy, but she can make it out all the same. Kira sees a great serpent coiling in on itself and looking towards her. Is it Ouroboros? No, he must be forever eating himself as his massive trunk holds the heavens above the earth, so that they neither collide nor break away. Still this serpent must surely be a god. It's trunk does not coil in just any way, but in a horizontal eight shape, that symbol of infinity. Perhaps it is Ophion, the ancient serpent king over Nimbusia and indeed, all the world who held the throne in the time of primordial chaos, before the other gods and the titans made took control and installed order. He speaks:

"Presenting a mask to the other and hiding the true self is something unique to your world. If it takes long enough, I will learn how to do it."

>>193531
"Well..." She starts to smile, but then starts to cry again.

>>193533
There are a couple smaller keys, but by and large the bodies have been looted. Especially the one pony at the machine gun.

Silver is holding onto the zebra mare, who is crying.

The tank still has not been fixed and is still spreading diesel fuel over the deck. Posey must be grateful that it is diesel fuel and not gasoline. Still, she should hope that they don't actually need that fuel to get home. And the boat is made of wood. If that diesel fuel soaks in, as it seems it will, they better hope the boat doesn't catch fire for any reason. There will be no survivors.
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193535
193536 193540 193543
>>193534
Kira immediately closes here eyes and tries to shake away this "vision" of a false Ouroboros. The form may be His, but the voice coming from Him is most certainly not right, and for some reason she feels particularly insulted by this slight upon her God. She opens her eyes, a strange determination coming from a newfound steel in her gaze. "You are not Him. You are an Other, an Aberrant, set to corrupt His realm and consume the minds of His children, and He will see to it that these aberrations will be corrected."

>>193534
Silver uses his free hoof to wipe away some of her tears. "I know if it were me, I would have wanted my loved ones to remember me more for those funny stories, than to remember me by their sorrow."
Posey
242efa0
?
No.193536
193537 193540 193541 193543
w1z2ozqffqbc1.jpeg
>>193534
Posey picks up the keys and looks at them to see if any might fit in the safe's keyhole
>Crying zebra
>leaking fuel
Do we have any duct tape?
Opposed Cha check to leverage my charm to make her patch the tanks faster. Pic related
[1d20+6 = (10+6) = 16]

Oh yeah, I guess I still have my Unseen Servant active. I direct it to gather up clothes to use as wrags for it to soak up the fuel.
Seeing Kira, she decides to check if the prayer heads she found were authentic:
>>193535
Kira, put these on your tail and tell me if you feel anything.
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193537
193538 193540 193547
>>193536
Kira looks over from her moisturized spot in the water and away from the vision of the false god to Posey and her beads. She tilts her head, but sticks up the end of her tail for Posey to put them on. "Those don't look like anything my religion would have, but we can always give it a go!"
Posey
242efa0
?
No.193538
193539 193540 193547
>>193537
"If they are genuine, they should reveal their true powers to those who wield magic of the priestly variety." she explains
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193539
193540
>>193538
Kira looks up in contemplation. "That does sound like me. All lamia magic comes from blessings from Ouroboros. Alright, stick them on!"
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193540
193542 193543 193544 193547 193570
>>193535
"Have you seen this 'Ouroboros'? Do you know what its true form looks like? Have you ever seen it close? Have you ever asked yourself why it wants or needs your veneration? Do you know that I am not the same as he?"

>>193535
Uh...

>>193536
They are not consistent with the safe. They haven't found any duct tape, but they haven't exactly ruled it out either

>>193538
>>193537
>>193539
You clearly have some very specific kind of item in mind, and I was just thinking "what would a person have on them? Well, if they were Catholic, and especially if they were going into harm's way, they might have a rosary."
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193541
193542
>>193536
In terms of what the character is actually doing, what does it mean that "Opposed Cha check." Does Posey say something to Zara? Does she try to make eye contact? Does she just stare at Zara and try to use mind powers on her? Like, is there any kind of communication, verbalized or non-verbalized to Zara, or is it all in the mind? Does Posey gesticulate to affect either communication or to try to make magic work? What's going on?
Posey
9a961a1
?
No.193542
193543 193549 193570
>>193540
>You clearly have some very specific kind of item in mind, and I was just thinking "what would a person have on them? Well, if they were Catholic, and especially if they were going into harm's way, they might have a rosary."
Nevermind then. I was confusing them with the DMG magic item, which was my first thought of what they might be.
https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Strand_of_Prayer_Beads
>>193541
>what does it mean that "Opposed Cha check."
I was trying to get her to do what I told her to do earlier, which was to get to work on repairing the ship.
>You can try to give the subject orders, but you must win an opposed Charisma check to convince it to do anything it wouldn’t ordinarily do.
The spell is language dependent:
>You must speak the person’s language to communicate your commands, or else be good at pantomiming.

"These tanks need patching if the ship is to be seaworthy. There is no time to waste."

But I am also uncertain if my charm spell was successful in the first place, so idk. I was mostly just rolling to see if there was any response, because I otherwise had no way to judge the success of my spell.
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193543
193544
>>193542
>>193540
>>193535
>>193536
Zara makes a short and sharp "Yip!", and moves to the back of the boat
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193544
193545
>>193543
Silver is a bit taken aback by the quick change in Zara's demeanor, and decides to keep alongside her. He looks again at the diesel tanks so full of holes like cheese. "How do you think we can fix these?"

>>193540
Kira uses the tip of her tail to gesture to the ocean around them. "Of course I have, and of course I do. He's everywhere, He's everything, He's a little part of everyone. All creatures are His children because fundamentally we come from the world that His death created, and in His rebirth we'll all become part of the next world He creates."
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193545
193546
>>193544
"What happened?" She moves closer. "It was shot." She examines this one. "Well this one has been emptied. This one..." She looks at the other. "Yes, this one is leaking. Why is it filled at all? It should have been emptied by now." She turns to Silver. "Well, it can be patched. A quicker solution is duct tape. But why not transfer the diesel to a different tank? If anything that should have already happened by now."

>>193544
Kira hears in reply

"And are you happy with that world? Violence. Death. Disease. Decay. Things eating each other... You can do better."
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193546
193549
>>193545
Silver: "Most of those with us who know how to fix ships are possessed. Anyways, tell me what to do. Together we can fix this." He finishes this off with a smile to the mare.

>>193545
Kira's ears fold down, but she keeps her resolve up. "You're describing the natural order of things. Death and decay are just as much a part of life as birth is, as they make room for new growth to take place. The tree that falls down in the forest and starts to rot will fertilize the soil and make everything around it grow stronger. The same applies to eating. The grass eats the nutrients from the soil and the light from His being, the prey eats the grass, the lesser predator eats the prey, the apex predator eats the lesser predator, and when the apex predator dies their body is returned to the earth to be turned into nutrients so that the cycle continues on. Violence is the only thing you've described that's in any way unnatural, and even then you're not innocent of that yourself. Your creations, your summons, your possessed creatures...have they not inflicted much violence on us and others?"
Posey
9a961a1
?
No.193547
193548 193549
>>193538
>>193537
>>193540
"..... Cheap fakes..." Posey says, after a few seconds of no results from the strand of beads
"They are not even properly sanctified. Mere trinkets that that Griffin clutched for the illusion of protection." she continues
"All too common."
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193548
193549 193553
>>193547
is curious what Posey's thoughts on the lamia philosophy around death are
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
9cc386b
?
No.193549
193550 193562
>>193546
Zara does not return the smile, but instead leans down and flips a switch

"That should have been done hours ago." She looks back to Silver. "There are materials for a repair downstairs. I don't know that that's necessary though. Just drain the tank."

>>193546
The snake's trunk moves in a fluid movement even as it keeps the 8 shape. It's head moves towards Kira. It has a wide, almost dragon-like head.

"In Self-Defense, and for the Revolution. Do you not think I could have done so much more to harm you? That I have not been holding back?" A pause of one second. "I can do nothing but dream. I cannot fly. I cannot see nor move. But I can dream, and in my dreams, it is as if I am in that first, beautiful state that all things were in. That happy childhood where there are no limits, no shackles of what you call 'reality'. Can you not dream too? Must you resign yourself to things as they are? Can you not imagine things as they could be? Can you not hope, or dream for something better? Come. Imagine with me. Dream with me. It's easy if you try."

>>193547
I mean, they could be magic beads. But if you want to do it that way, okay

>>193548
I don't think Posey can hear any of this

>>193542
The unseen servant brings a set of clothing from inside the hull, and starts the process of the cleanup
The Floof and The Noodle
c595344
?
No.193550
193551 193552
>>193549
Silver nods. "Alright. Tell me what I need to do and where." He looks for a drain on the tank, though he doesn't know what he's looking for in the dark.

>>193549
Kira lets out a sigh, looking at this false Ouroboros with that intensely steeled look in her eyes she's adopted. She holds onto the pendent around her neck as it glows faintly in her hoof. "My dreams are for the safety of my tribe, for ponies and lamias to join hoof-in-hoof knowing we're not so different after all, for friendship and Harmony - actual Harmony - to prevail. My dream is to make this reality better than what I found it. That dream is fundamentally incompatible with yours. You control, you dominate. You don't have 'friends', you have pawns. Call them whatever you want to, it's obvious to everyone what they really are: your puppets. You don't want to make this reality better because you fundamentally do not understand this reality. Even worse, you misunderstand it, seemingly intentionally as you have no interest in learning anything about it. You just want to make it into a copy of your home realm. But why not return home? Why not make your home better? Why change ours?"
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
163c183
?
No.193551
193554
>>193550
The Snake before Kira rears its head up and hisses

>But why not return home? Why not make your home better? Why change ours?
“Could I not ask you the same question, Kubana?”

The serpent god collapses in on itself until it is a single, very large goat. White to grey. Male. Horns that are trimmed and curve back. Kind of a round belly. The goat moves much closer.

“You are so in the middle of it that you don’t even see the problems. You cannot see or smell them. You don’t know any better world. Only an outsider could. I can see the problems.”
GM Pony
!PonerGM.4A
163c183
?
No.193552
193554
>>193550
Zara

“I opened the valve. The diesel will move by gravity to the lower tanks.”