We noticed an extremely unusual bio-signature in the Sophontheatrum. I'm glad you're unharmed.
Clementia
What's the status of the frontline?
Sea Patrol Captain
Legions VIII and X, alongside the Sea Patrol, have been sending out escort ships alternatively, as per your orders.
Sea Patrol Captain
The city's reorganization and the force fields are both complete. Milliarium is holding against the Seaborn tide.
Clementia
Inform every relevant researcher in the city. I need a minute-by-minute breakdown of the situation of this region of sea.
Clementia
We're still being far too passive even with our contingency plan put into motion.
Sea Patrol Captain
Madame Consul, you may want to see what the drone matrix just sent back.
Clementia
Hm?
Clementia
These passages of light between the Seaborn...
Clementia
'Waterways'?
Ægir Technician
Consul Clementia, we've re-established communication with the home territories! We just got a dispatch from the Institute of Scientific Development Planning.
Clementia
......
Clementia
Any news from the Hunters?
Sea Patrol Captain
Three of them have returned to Milliarium. They're cleaning up the remaining Seaborn in the eastern city units.
Clementia
Contact Gladiia. Tell her to come meet us immediately.
Sea Patrol Captain
Yes, Madame Consul.
Clementia
Let's go, Kal'tsit, Doctor.
Clementia
You need to deepen your contact with Ægir.
I'll go with this captain to inform the Hunters.Kal'tsit alone will be enough for diplomacy.
Kal'tsit
(Whisper) Doctor?
(Whisper) That Seaborn left and head to the east...(Whisper) That Seaborn might run into Skadi...
You exchange a quick glance with Kal'tsit.
Kal'tsit
Madame Consul, the Doctor still has some affairs to settle.
The final battle for the Waterway Program has concluded with a Seaborn invasion of Milliarium. I require an explanation, Consul Clementia.
Kal'tsit
Gladiia.
Kal'tsit
Were any of you harmed?
Gladiia
I see you're here too, Kal'tsit.
Gladiia
We had a few unexpected encounters, but nothing we couldn't handle.
Gladiia
I believe that, as an envoy of Iberia, Dr. Kal'tsit also requires an explanation.
Clementia
I could use one myself, if we're being honest.
Clementia
There is someone who wishes to see you all.
'Little Handy'
—
The Little Handy moves to the center of the Pensivarium, its projection module emitting cold motes of light, slowly coalescing into the figure of an Ægir woman.
She sports a smile under her golden hair. Her eyes are focused on everyone in the room, as though she has been waiting for, or perhaps observing, them for a long time.
Whyever do you look so fatigued, my little Gladiia?
Horatia
Though the transmission efficiency of the Waterway is much higher than I anticipated, I fear our simulacra are still unable to transmit my feelings.
Horatia
Otherwise I'd stroke your hair and give you a nice, big hug.
Gladiia
No need. You know the risks of doing so.
Gladiia
The changes on the sea's surface, as well as the sudden appearance of the 'Waterways'. Was this your doing?
Horatia
Whether Ægir or Seaborn, we all find ourselves competing over time.
Horatia
The Seaborn must keep sending nutrients to every region of sea they conquer. They wish to quickly transform the entire continental shelf into one great nest.
Horatia
Every issue has two sides. This disaster has also blessed us with bio-energy beyond measure.
Horatia
More than two centuries ago, the beacon launcher would have required a dozen cities' bio-energy systems to continually fabricate the nanomachines comprising the Waterways.
Horatia
Now, those nanomachines are being fostered by the Seaborn, who regard them as harmless kin.
Horatia
Using the data flow between the nanomachines as a medium, fleets and cities in squeezed state could traverse the oceans in an instant.
Horatia
Though these machines cannot take Ægir to the stars as our forebears imagined, they are more than enough to carve a path of life for civilization in its time of need.
Gladiia
But that would mean that, for the foreseeable future, Ægir will have no choice but to enter into some kind of symbiosis with the Seaborn, using that... scum, as they in turn use us.
Gladiia
Is this another of your so-called 'games'?
Horatia
It is how we will break through this siege.
Horatia
The term 'Waterway,' the path ahead for Ægir, has never referred only to pure waters.
Horatia
You have always had your doubts about the Program, and that is fine. But if that doubt serves only to put you in disarray, then it is useless.
Horatia
As Ægir is determined to open a Waterway between sea and land, there was no question that it shall do so.
Kal'tsit
I do not doubt your success, but perhaps there is still room for debate as to your methods.
Horatia
Dr. Kal'tist, I presume. Consul Horatia, of the Institute of Scientific Development Planning. It's a pleasure.
Horatia
It pleases me that there are still those on dry land who have inherited the will of the prehistoric civilization. That Ægir is not alone in our duty.
Horatia
I am also glad to see you have begun our discussion with a firm diplomatic stance.
Horatia
Then can I take it that you speak for all terrestrial civilizations, and that we can dispense with establishing diplomacy with them one by one?
Kal'tsit
I, too, am glad to see Ægir abandon its contentment in isolation and seek out cooperation with the land.
Kal'tsit
But I regret to inform you, Madame Consul, that I do not represent it in its entirety. I merely understand it more than most.
Kal'tsit
That said, I believe what Ægir needs now is exactly a thorough understanding of the terrestrial civilizations.
Kal'tsit
You and I both know that this Waterway will not be used only for resisting the Seaborn. Ægir has its eyes on every unnatural existence in these lands.
Horatia
It is the only means for us to ascertain the intrinsic nature of Terra, and to eliminate the disasters hanging above our heads at the source.
Kal'tsit
And I am sure you are aware of how such actions will be perceived by the terrestrial nations.
Kal'tsit
Compared to the Seaborn, you would be seen as the more direct threat.
Horatia
We bear them no ill will. We need not stoop so low.
Horatia
The cruelest thing we could do is ignore the need of help of other tottering civilizations we meet on the road to settling this crisis.
Of course, we will first help them to learn how to walk.
Horatia
Bottlenecks of development, dilemmas of war, barriers of race, clashes of cultures, trends of ideology, changes in the structure of society...
Horatia
Over the millennia, Ægir has grown freely beneath the waves. It has faced every issue a country might face.
Horatia
We wish to share our experiences, without reservation.
Kal'tsit
And how would you do so?
Horatia
Using Milliarium as our main port, we would send talent and technology ashore, to aid the Iberians in revitalizing their home.
Horatia
Feranmuts perceive the oncoming crisis far more keenly than humanity. That young one will not shelter Kjerag forever.
Horatia
We can aid that nation long trapped in snow in breaking through its developmental barriers in a few short years, so that it may stand equal with its neighbors.
Horatia
We can aid the Sami in purging the demonic corruption permeating every inch of snow, and restart the abandoned stargate in the north.
Horatia
Ursus? Kazdel? If the flames of war rage, we will calm them. If there are disputes, we will resolve them.
Horatia
Bolívar? Higashi? National unity is but a few fruitful negotiations away.
Horatia
Ægir will aid them in every predicament. Ægir will guide them towards the only goal they need. Under the leadership of Ægir, the land and sea will share a common future.
Kal'tsit
Madame Consul, I do not doubt Ægir's sincerity, but... I fear your proposals will not have the effect you expect.
Kal'tsit
I am sure you have the means to bring Kjerag up to par with the Core nations in a few years.
Kal'tsit
But will dialogues between equals necessarily center around peace and development?
Kal'tsit
Were Ursus's internal problems to be resolved, who is to say they would not bare their fangs once more, and attack their neighbors to satisfy their regained appetite?
Kal'tsit
Bolívar's many regimes might reach a consensus under Ægir's pressure, but how will you eradicate the profound, deliberately provoked hostility?
Horatia
Dr. Kal'tsit, are you saying that Ægir's efforts to aid the terrestrial civilizations will only result in the opposite?
Kal'tsit
I am saying that we can establish a more equal and profound cooperative relationship between us.
Kal'tsit
With only your probes, you are unable to understand a civilization's needs. With only your experiences, you are unable to force a nation to skip over its path to development.
Kal'tsit
Before you act, you must learn more. Otherwise, the winds you stir on land may become some great storm you cannot turn a blind eye to.
Horatia
We would be more than happy to hear your suggestions, then.
Horatia
On the condition that you do not allow us to be held back by excessive caution and meaningless apprehension.
Kal'tsit
Seeing the gulf between us, between land and sea, I understand that we will need many more discussions before we can make progress.
Horatia
Once the Waterway opens, I look forward to meeting you in the flesh. Whether on land, or in Ægir's home territories.
Kal'tsit
I as well, Madame Consul.
Horatia
What about you, Gladiia?
Horatia
Do you agree with Dr. Kal'tsit on this matter?
Gladiia
The IDP need not question Rhodes Island's sincere wish for cooperation, nor Dr. Kal'tsit's ability. I can vouch for both of those.
Gladiia
And there are indeed essential differences between Ægir and the nations of the land.
Gladiia
The land dwellers are shortsighted and clumsy, which makes them frail. Forcibly removing the differences between them would be no different from destroying them.
Gladiia
It is truly necessary to show good faith.
Horatia
Hmm.
Horatia
I've never seen Gladiia place so much trust in someone, Dr. Kal'tsit. A feat, to be sure.
Horatia
Perhaps she can be a bridge between our peoples, and aid us in coming to a consensus.
Horatia
You will see that Ægir's plans are no mere idle pratter.
Horatia
Now, do allow me a moment alone with Consul Clementia.
This is Praefecta Secunda, of the Milliarium Sea Patrol.
???
Err... It's me.
Secunda
Irene?
Secunda
We're currently in a head-on battle against the Seaborn. Don't come any closer.
Secunda
Your ships are too crude. I'm sorry, but they may get sucked into the eddies around Milliarium.
Irene
You're saying that Iberia should just wait quietly on land?
Irene
That I should just watch Milliarium get invaded by Seaborn, and let the Waterway transform into some kind of god-knows-what that even you Ægir never foresaw?
Irene
We've already talked about this, Secunda. I'll be there in five minutes.
Secunda
Halt all attacks.
Sea Patroller
If we are going to pick up the Iberians, we'll just have to open the access channels to the rear. Why stop attacking?
Secunda
Look at the screen.
Secunda
The Academy of Technology just sent an urgent communique.
Sea Patroller
This...
Sea Patroller
What do we do?
Sea Patroller
Are those light-emitting nanomachines components for the Waterway?
Sea Patroller
But the Seaborn are still attacking the city. If they've fused with the nanomachines and bear identical bio-signatures, our weapons won't be able to locate and attack the Seaborn only...
Sea Patroller
Don't tell me the Legions want us to halt our covering fire and rely only on Milliarium's force fields to hold them back?
Secunda
May as well slit our wrists and be done with it.
Secunda
......
Sea Patroller
Scribbling on your device again? You know, sometimes I really admire your ability to keep a cool head.
Secunda
Use the images from the drone matrix to render a 3D model.
'Little Handy'
Rendering in progress.
Secunda
Perhaps the answer lies within the riddle itself.
Secunda
The bio-signatures of the nanomachines and the Seaborn are identical, but we still know clearly that the nanomachines have formed a Waterway.
Secunda
How?
Sea Patroller
......
Sea Patroller
We can see them! Each machine emits a particular light that's clearly visible!
Secunda
Contact the Academy of Technology, and tell them we have a proposal for modifying our weapons' targeting systems.
Sea Patroller
But... recalibrating two Legions' worth of auxiliary optical systems would take a lot of time.
???
What about using a lighthouse on land?
Secunda
Irene.
Irene
It seems we arrived in the nick of time. A dozen or so lighthouses on the lost coastline have resumed operation. They're... responding to your Waterway.
Irene
Combined, they should be enough to illuminate this entire patch of sea. Maybe they could serve as your auxiliary optical systems?
Irene
I'm hardly an engineer, but these lighthouses were built with Islander... er, Ægirian technology. They should be compatible with your existing systems.
Secunda
That should cut the time needed in half. I'll let Consul Clementia know.
Secunda
...Thank you, Irene.
Irene
The Inquisition would be overjoyed to see these newly unclouded Eyes become part of the combined defenses of land and sea. We're partners now, Secunda.
Irene
Though maybe we should be thanking Breogan instead.
Secunda
Breogan...
Irene
He truly dedicated himself to these lighthouses.
Irene
A naval architect drifting into a foreign land, striving for the day when land and sea could work together. He foresaw calamity, but left no answers behind.
Irene
It's a pity that Ægir saw him as an outsider, while Iberia never truly accepted him. He died alone and miserable. But now, his plans will finally have the chance to become reality.
Secunda
...We acted far slower than he did.
Irene
Indeed.
Secunda
But it's not too late. Or rather, now is precisely the time.
I'm still more used to you with your veil on, Horatia.
Horatia
Hmm?
Clementia
Did you show off the scar below your ear to let Gladiia know that, as her mother, you will tolerate her setbacks just as you accept the blemish she left on your face?
Horatia
Hah, I'm not that strict a mother.
With her left hand on the astrolabe, Horatia's right hand softly strokes her cheek below her right ear, where a thin scar stretches upwards, nearly touching her eye.
There is a smile on her face.
Horatia
But this is no blemish. It's beautiful. Trivial for a doctor to erase, but I refuse.
Horatia
My little Gladiia was barely five at the time. She was taking her first career development assessment, and through this made her wishes rather clear.
Horatia
You don't know how glad I am to see her grown.
Clementia
She's certainly more suited for the life of a legionnaire than in the Institute of Social Planning or Institute of Scientific Development Planning like you expected.
Horatia
No matter. Whatever field she joins, she is sure to excel. She was born for Ægir.
Clementia
I remember when she was two, the Institute of Incubation said your disposition and the nature of your work made you ill-suited to raise her, and suggested you place her in their care.
Horatia
They said the same when I first decided to raise her myself. Saying that again two years later would not change my mind.
Horatia
But what truly pleased me was seeing young Gladiia reject it as well.
Clementia
I wouldn't say you have the best bond as mother and daughter, but you do have an odd kind of rapport.
Horatia
Alright, that's enough, my little manta ray. I suspect we have more pressing matters to discuss than reminiscing about my daughter.
Clementia
...Can you please not call me that?
Horatia
Very well, Consul Clementia.
Horatia
While we spoke, every city in the home territories has been conducting an unprecedented investigation into the Church of the Deep.
Horatia
As the core of R&D, Blandus was able to tamper with the Class IV weapons, but his actions should absolutely have been detected at some point before they were put to use.
Clementia
Meaning there are many behind him fanning the flames.
Horatia
All members of both Academies who had anything to do with the weapons' design, manufacture, and maintenance are receiving the most thorough investigations possible.
Horatia
In response, the Church has brought their full influence to bear. By grasping at a single leaf, we may be able to pull out an entire rotten branch.
Horatia
And with Mártus, no doubt we will be able to identify the Church's deepest roots.
Clementia
...Ægir itself is undergoing a grand surgery.
Horatia
Surgery to cut out a festering tumor. Isn't it?
Horatia
The Waterway is open, and the fallen who corrupt our nation have been revealed. Both are of great value, as I see it.
Clementia
Are you trying to console me over the superficial Waterway Program's failure? To tell me that the sacrifices Milliarium made were not without meaning?
Horatia
Why do you insist on double negatives? They make you seem weak.
Horatia
There is no such thing as a 'superficial' program in Ægir, Consul Clementia.
Horatia
If the IDP has approved a program, it means its planning and members are entrusted with the hopes of Ægir.
Horatia
We believed you are capable of using the Class IV weapons to purify our waters and open the Waterway. This has always been an official part of the program.
Clementia
...Yet it failed.
Horatia
The theoretical success rate of oceanic purification was never high. However, the Waterway Program was a guaranteed success.
Horatia
Did I not promise you that, before you set off? Trust in me. Trust in Ægir.
Clementia
I don't doubt that even if this city were to sink, consigning all ten thousand or so Ægir souls in it to the depths, the Waterway would still open without hitch.
Clementia
However, of all the possibilities you've accounted for, how many call for sacrifice?
Clementia
How I wish this meeting of ours never had to happen, Horatia.
Horatia
Is that why you've worked yourself to the bone, my little manta ray?
Horatia
I've read the reports on Milliarium. As consul for the entire city, you need not throw yourself into each and every little affair.
Horatia
The stimulants you abuse will not hide the exhaustion on your face.
Clementia
You really have thought of everything. As you always do, Horatia.
Clementia
All these losses and sacrifices, the falls and the betrayals, even Mártus's secret... Are you not the least bit shaken?
Horatia
Speaking of Mártus... You've reminded me of something.
Clementia
Of what?
Horatia
Mártus regards himself as the 'gardener of sin'. At times like these, he is wont to hide himself behind history.
Horatia
I can infer why he'd seek cooperation from Dr. Kal'tsit, but from the way you describe it, those 'discussions' quickly devolved into a vapid declaration of war.
Horatia
I find it difficult to imagine he would be satisfied with such a failure of negotiations. That is, unless he gained some other information...
Clementia
We will continue to track his whereabouts.
Horatia
Are you hiding something, my little manta ray?
Clementia
......
Clementia does not answer. She instead raises her head to look at Horatia, face to face. With the simulacrum erasing the distance between them, she knows that Horatia will be able to see every detail of her expression.
But the curve of Horatia's lips do not change, her eyes are as gentle as ever, too.
Clementia hopes that her own expression is as firm as hers.
Clementia
I am still the Chief Designer of Warfare on the Waterway Program before you arrive, Horatia.
Horatia
Naturally.
Clementia
Your calculations may have arrived at the correct outcome, but I had to handle the situation in my own way. The Academy of Science and Academy of Technology each have their own duties.
Horatia
Hmm... Yes, of course.
Horatia
I only hope that this obsession with self-reflection will not cause any complications. Your keen judgment must stay unclouded.
Clementia
I won't let that happen.
Horatia
*sigh* Here, come a little closer. We still have some time.
Horatia
Kal'tsit, Rhodes Island, Iberia, the Inquisition... You'll be busier than ever soon, so best not keep frowning like that...
Smart. Your kin are behind this wall. A lot of them.
Skadi
It's the end of the road for you, though. What a pity.
???
Ishar-mla?
???
Ishar-mla.
A sudden voice, tinged with surprise.
Skadi turns, looking towards its source. A conical creature exuding light leaves the shadows of the buildings, shielding the two cornered Seaborn with its body.
From Sal Viento to Gran Faro, from the Stultifera to here. You scum have been watching me this whole time.
Skadi
What, do you see your 'god' in me too? Are you here for 'family,' or revenge?
'Seaborn'
(The nuclei within its skull rotate slightly)
'Seaborn'
No.
'Seaborn'
Ishar-mla... Ska-di, you are not nutrients to complete the cycle. You are its end.
'Seaborn'
Our kin will not prey on you.
'Seaborn'
On the contrary, they respect you. Protect you.
'Seaborn'
They await your transformation. They await your evolution.
Skadi
......
Skadi looks at the being's 'eye.' For whatever reason, this monster she has never seen before seems familiar. Very familiar.
The bizarre organs surrounding the Seaborn disperse and surround her in turn. A shimmering 'umbilical cord' connects her body with the Seaborn's.
Skadi suddenly remembers when she faced the first Seaborn to talk, in that cave below the church. She also experienced a moment of distraction back then.
She had just been through a fierce battle, her blood boiling with frenzy. But now, she feels herself uncontrollably responding to the Seaborn's touch... She curses herself for this moment of distraction.
Skadi
...Why?
'Seaborn'
A natural phenomenon. One I am also helpless to resist. This is the answer, Ska-di.
'Seaborn'
I ate of His flesh, and He lives within you.
'Seaborn'
You are He. I am He.
'Seaborn'
Our hearts connected. Our blood interlinked.
Skadi
......
'Seaborn'
You need not waver. You need not doubt. The kin will not demand you walk with us.
'Seaborn'
Ishar-mla chose you. Chose you to continue His life. Perhaps this is the only way He will witness what He must witness. Travel the road He must travel.
'Seaborn'
What did He see in you?
'Seaborn'
Perhaps, perhaps...
'Seaborn'
Could it be, Ska-di, that in that cold, dark future, in the cosmos where all things are doomed to fade away, you are the one hope, the spark, the possibility...
'Seaborn'
Are you the one who bears the final wishes of untold lives?
Skadi
—!
Skadi.Abyssal Hunter Skadi.Rhodes Island Operator Skadi.
Skadi
......
Skadi
Doctor?
Skadi swings her sword, her grip never once relaxed. It slices through the 'umbilical cord.' She stares coldly at the creature before her.
