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| legacy:xhoa_sannevanas [2025/03/11 15:19] – created gm_esther | legacy:xhoa_sannevanas [2025/03/11 18:12] (current) – [The Legacy of Xhoa Sannevanas] gm_harry_w |
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| ====== The Legacy of Xhoa Sannevanas ====== | ====== The Legacy of Xhoa Sannevanas ====== |
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| “//**There is one final clause to discuss, little ones.**//” | “//There is one final clause to discuss, little ones.//” |
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| The Priest’s voice echoes in that familiar, omnipresent way as Xhoa stands upon the barren wastes of SCN-2X-1-14, hiding from the bright intensity of the twin suns in the Weapon’s awesome shadow. Representatives from the Swarm, SNTNL and the Guild have all gathered here, after quarters of discussion, to finally sign the treaty that will end the war. | The Priest’s voice echoes in that familiar, omnipresent way as Xhoa stands upon the barren wastes of SCN-2X-1-14, hiding from the bright intensity of the twin suns in the Weapon’s awesome shadow. Representatives from the Swarm, SNTNL and the Guild have all gathered here, after quarters of discussion, to finally sign the treaty that will end the war. |
| “**We have, after long and careful deliberation, decided not to uphold the agreement of non-interference, at least in its current state.**” | “**We have, after long and careful deliberation, decided not to uphold the agreement of non-interference, at least in its current state.**” |
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| “//**You are, of course, welcome to make such agreements among yourselves. But we cannot commit ourselves to supporting it with force, and see no value in lying to you.**//” | “//You are, of course, welcome to make such agreements among yourselves. But we cannot commit ourselves to supporting it with force, and see no value in lying to you.//” |
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| The Guild diplomats turn inwards to discuss, Xhoa among them; and together they look up at the Weapon, this great, darkened monument to power and to countless lives, and begin to negotiate. But there is no progress to be made. The morning turns to noon, turns to evening, turns to night. Lights are bought from the shuttles and set in a wide ring around the assembled parties. The Swarm and SNTNL are happy with almost every suggested concession: it is, in fact, not them that the Guild is conceding to. But by the time a proposal is found that both Colonel and Priest would happily uphold, it is so dilute as to barely deserve the name ‘non-intervention pact’. | The Guild diplomats turn inwards to discuss, Xhoa among them; and together they look up at the Weapon, this great, darkened monument to power and to countless lives, and begin to negotiate. But there is no progress to be made. The morning turns to noon, turns to evening, turns to night. Lights are bought from the shuttles and set in a wide ring around the assembled parties. The Swarm and SNTNL are happy with almost every suggested concession: it is, in fact, not them that the Guild is conceding to. But by the time a proposal is found that both Colonel and Priest would happily uphold, it is so dilute as to barely deserve the name ‘non-intervention pact’. |
| “**Perhaps it would help to see it from another perspective, Xhoa,**” the Colonel comments after a moment of particular frustration, “**To us, you and your kind are young and immature. You want us to bar you from interfering with less advanced civilisations; but had we done the same, we never would have involved ourselves with you, and this war would still be ongoing.**” | “**Perhaps it would help to see it from another perspective, Xhoa,**” the Colonel comments after a moment of particular frustration, “**To us, you and your kind are young and immature. You want us to bar you from interfering with less advanced civilisations; but had we done the same, we never would have involved ourselves with you, and this war would still be ongoing.**” |
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| “//**Non-intervention stands in fundamental opposition to our nature, little one, because it is merely an excuse for shirking your moral duties. Suppose a planet were swept by a plague - not enough to end their civilisation, but enough to cause massive, unrelenting suffering to much of the populace. Could you look one of those people in the eyes, and tell them that they and all their comrades must suffer, because they could not handle the truth of your existence?**//” | “//Non-intervention stands in fundamental opposition to our nature, little one, because it is merely an excuse for shirking your moral duties. Suppose a planet were swept by a plague - not enough to end their civilisation, but enough to cause massive, unrelenting suffering to much of the populace. Could you look one of those people in the eyes, and tell them that they and all their comrades must suffer, because they could not handle the truth of your existence?//” |
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| The next day, the camp is packed away, and the shuttles depart. The non-aggression pact is signed, and all sides agree to revisit the question of non-intervention later. The war may be over, but there are yet many questions left to answer. | The next day, the camp is packed away, and the shuttles depart. The non-aggression pact is signed, and all sides agree to revisit the question of non-intervention later. The war may be over, but there are yet many questions left to answer. |