A Time of Parting
Like a relationship status with an on-again off-again significant other one could easily describe the situation with the Agrii in two words: ‘it’s complicated’. Which of course serves no one as well as it should. The Orange-Faction is still angry, Mu Ly still seems on a tightly held leash, the other leaders still seem at a loss for understanding, and Ny Ak remains in their comatose state. Even meeting with He Rows on the ‘neutral ground’ of one of the He Row ships only manages to reach one consistently agreed upon point with the Agrii.
It is time for the He Rows to leave.
Not because the Agrii want them to of course. Just because there is a lack of attention starting to bloom in all of the older Agrii. Te Ra keeps wandering toward the water on the He Row ship, with Ga Re barely restraining herself as well. Seeay, who had seemed at a loss for everything since Mu Ly’s outburst seemed more intent on crooning after one of the Agrii that come on the He Row shuttles to deliver food than anything else. When not at the infirmary checking up on An Nu and Ny Ak, Te Mi just looks uncomfortable at the strange behavior of the older Agrii.
Until, at last, Te Mi sighs during one of the meetings with He Rows where the attention of the others were wandering once more. And worse than ever before.
“Apologies. I believe it is time to take a talking break for a while,” Te Mi notes. “Please, allow me to escort the older ones back to our ship. It is important. I will ask Excelsior to explain things when we return.”
Thankfully the He Rows don’t have to wait long before that explanation comes. In fact it starts once all of the Agrii representatives (and any He Rows escorting them) are returned to the Agrii ship. The voice of the Ship’s AI, today taking a more synthetic tone to go along with it currently calling itself Excelsior, manifests in a voicemail sent directly to all He Row communication devices.
Attention He Rows. The appreciation of my crew and myself are extended to you for the efforts you have made in this last month. Continued discussion will likely be necessary and I will facilitate this for you in the coming days. However a change in status must be announced.
The Agrii people live and reproduce in a manner than what I expect is true of most of the species represented among the He Rows. Consider this a more precise ‘internal clock’ operating on a specific timeline. At this time the Agrii are approaching what is termed their ‘spawning time’. I suspect the meaning of this will be plain for you all. Agrii over a certain number of spawnings, a reckoning of maturity based on how many spawns have happened since their own hatching, will be increasing their courtship displays and moving toward consummation of the bonds they form, new or old.
At this time younger Agrii help manage the eldest as well as watch over newly hatched Agrii from the last spawning. While I cannot say that this will lead to increased aggression or recklessness, recent changes in the behavioral patterns of some Agrii may make this a risk. To this end I have been working for several days to crack the navigation systems I have been locked out of to your own ships. It is advisable that He Rows take their shuttles and return to their ships and then return to the planet’s surface. However you will not be compelled to do so.
It is advisable that you use this time to… further any discussions you wish to have regarding the state of my crew. The questions that have been asked of me imply that there may be strong opinions among your number regarding your path forward. Please take the next month to discuss and determine how you will proceed in your duties. If you have questions for me or require insight as to the status on the ship, I have added a contact within the application you use to contact the Agrii directly to give you what I hope is a secure line to myself so we can converse.
If you have any questions, feel free to make use of this function now. My wishes for your health and wise decision making in the coming days. And please note, I currently suggest that when returning to the planet you avoid the region of what has been dubbed ‘Sh’Ka’ for the next week. Though highly weakened, a form of the energy storm is currently moving slowly and lingeringly through that area. My current forecasts suggest this should pass in that time. Subroutines set up to forward to He Row Donnie will let He Rows know if this is expected to change.
Sure seems like He Rows have all the bad luck right now, doesn’t it? First the security of the Warrens wasn’t available immediately at the onset of the zombie storm because the Funfronds were having their own personal time, and now it’s the Agrii. But at least this there is the implication that you have an option in things, right? Though perhaps, with the attention of the majority of the Agrii on… other tasks, it might be advisable to have something like a town hall meeting. After all, with everything that was learned in November, the recent behavior of the Agrii, and even some information recently gleaned from the Ship’s AI (when will it finally choose a name), the He Rows have a lot to discuss.
A decision must be made, and possibly prepared for, and in the end the He Rows will only get to choose one option. Thankfully you can all behave democratically, right? Well, hopefully so, because your own fates may be tied up in what decisions you make. Think of it as standing in a corridor filled with doors that you figure will lock behind you once you step through.
And hopefully, the one you choose will ultimately lead you home.
FAQ
What is the time range for this event?
The announcement from the Ship’s AI will be sent on February 12th. From there the He Rows technically have one month to make their decision. We will be going with 30 days because we want you to have more than just a shortened February to think. Therefore the Ship’s AI expects an answer on or before March 14th.
Wait, my character is on hiatus, what do I do, how do I weigh in?
The power of the Hand-wave. You will still have the ability to vote (IC and OOC) in the OOC post that will be made and posted later this week that will be open for the full month period. You will be able to change that vote at any time. As for how your IC opinions were conveyed, well clearly your character had a hand-waved conversation with a close friend (or even the Ship’s AI in private), where they explained their opinion on what they would want to do given the chance. We want all current players on the roster—new, old, or other—to have a chance to affect the path of the game.
Will our decision actually change what is going to happen?
Oh you better believe it. Want to know why there isn’t a calendar up yet for the expected months for events and plot things and free months for this year? Because we need to know as mods which path we’re pushing down (or create a new one by popular player vote) to set up the calendar. For instance ‘kick the can down the road’ means we need to make smaller events on the surface and bring together other ways to keep things going with gently ramping up the plot, whereas investigation paths will have a whole different course that may require a month or two of back to back plot. We need to know the chosen path to map it out.
Are we actually being kicked off the Agrii ship?
That’s the interesting thing… no. You’ve been asked gently to consider leaving by the Ship’s AI, but you’re under no obligation to do so. He Rows will not be able to get close to the lake in the middle of the Green Area. The plants just seem thicker, blue-faction Agrii seem to be protecting the area, and in general the sheer scent nearing it is… well, it’s not pleasant for anyone with an olfactory sense.
That said, He Rows can use their shuttles to return to the Glitter Food and the Peanut Party. And, interestingly enough, from their ships to the surface. Any crew member can shuttle from the ship to the surface and vice versa, and one shuttle will always remain at each to ensure He Rows can get to and from the ships. Only a pilot can direct a ship to land, though, and it’s possible they might not be motivated to. Because, for the first time, you can live on a ship in space without chaos. And it’s only from the ships themselves that one can shuttle to and from the Agrii ship. In fact, Pilots will find that so long as one of their crew members remains aboard the Agrii ship, they cannot land their vessel. So please, enjoy freedom of motion between the Agrii ship, the He Row Ships, and both surface cities this month. Who knows, it might become a new normal.
Can we use this new freedom of movement to go any other places?
No. Only the places noted are available. You can question the Ship’s AI as to why this is. The answer will prove to be that they found something working against them once they unlocked the functions they did, and a portion of their systems are being dedicated just to maintaining this level of transit. It will continue to try and find a way to bypass these hacking attempts but it is not easy for it and asks for more time.
Do we really have to have a group meeting on the surface?
OOC? No. IC, it’s highly recommended so long as it’s handwaved. A lot of He Rows have a lot of different pieces to the puzzle at this point, gleaned from investigations on the planet, interviews with the Ship AI, and even older ones from interactions with plantkin and perhaps even other adventures off planet in the past. It is time for all of that information to technically be brought together to all He Rows. In fact, we’re going to have a comment thread below where anyone who has gathered something they think is a clue during any point of the game can submit their clues. This can either be noted to be spread via a meeting or by group texts locking the Agrii out. Better not to spill the beans before you’re ready to. All information shared this way should from this day forth be considered information that All He Rows Are Aware Of.
If you believe something is a clue but aren’t certain, submit it anyway. If you think you got a clue in the past but can’t remember it, come to the mods with any details you remember and we’ll help you dig it back up, either in original form, or in some altered state if you want your character to not remember it correctly.
Can we start acting along the lines of the decision our character(s) would make?
Yes, beyond revealing secrets to the Agrii (as we are leaving that to a vote), He Rows may start preparing for any path they think they will take. This could be gearing up and preparing the ships for a long voyage you might hope to take, starting to rebuild and refurbish space for bringing the Agrii down to the planet, negotiating with plantkin, or just trying to research methods to fuck off and leave this all to the Agrii to handle. Just let us know where we can help you or what you might need clarified.
Wait, if the adult Agrii are distracted, does that mean we lack their protective oversight?
Yes. Just like during the zombie storm or other past storms, the Agrii will not be able to save you from yourselves, others, or problems with nature. He Rows can become severely injured or die during this period of time. As always, inform us of any plots leading to this. We will not stop you, but we do want to know, just to be informed as to the status of things and how they might be reacted to later.
Can we speak to any Agrii during this period of time?
You can talk to younger Agrii during this time. And by younger we mean Te Mi’s age group, which makes up most of the blue-faction, and a small number of the already small green-faction. While there are young Agrii who are unaligned, they have all dedicated themselves to traditional duties during this part of the Agrii life cycle and cannot be reached. Even blue-faction Agrii NPCs will be occasionally unavailable as they take turns at helping in these duties. He Rows can reach out either in person or by communicator at any point, just let us know if you want Te Mi or a random NPC. In fact, you’re going to get a higher response rate than normal, because thanks to conversations with Donnie, younger Agrii will be looking to talk to and interact with He Rows at a far higher rate than ever before.
What if I just want to live on the Agrii ship at this time?
Yeah, we’re repeating this one because we want to stress that this is a choice you can make.
Can we go into the Warrens?
Yes, you can do that too. He Rows have freedom of motion in any areas they have previously interacted with or had accessible to them. The Funfronds will send a guide into the Warrens, but remember it’s a LONG trip down, so pack accordingly. The security door deeper into the Warrens where the November exploration took place is closed off, but some other paths are now open. These will not have a lot of new information at this time, but He Rows are welcome to explore, interact with the local Funfronds and their newest children (they are so tiny, thumb nail sized really, and adorable as all get out), and perhaps even negotiate to get some of those Funfrond tools if you are deliberate. Who knows how useful that could be.
So this is a month that is part free for all and part planning?
Yep. Like we said, this is about deciding the future. Do what free actions you want around that, but the core drive is to talk, figure things out, maybe do some research or preparation.
Anything special to note weather or minor event wise?
Winter is ending early this year. Something about weakening the storms is leading so some other climate changes for a time as things resettle. The snow will clear up by the time He Rows hit the planet, but it will be cool still. He Rows are more likely to encounter gentle rains out of semi-cloudy skies than anything else.
This change has led to a bit of a downside. Remember the Mintpocalypse? Well… The repairs on the Greenhouse didn’t go 100% perfectly, and this led to an outbreak of mint again. Don’t worry, a traveling herd of glownies actually already came through, so good news, you have even more glownies than usual! It’s great, they move in cute little herds around town. Might want to do something about that.
Downside? This has also led to an increase in other fauna activities in Temba, and not all of them are as friendly or as nice. For instance the mint lured a herd of Capras into town. You may want to be careful with these distant and non-glowing relatives of the Glownies. Capra can hypnotize those who stare into their eyes. So you could well end up as a short term servant to the roving Capra herd. In addition the combination of an early spring and the damage done by the zombies has encouraged the local herds of Pecoraves closer to the remains of the floodplain and some have been seen strolling through southern Temba. Maybe you want to try and tame one and get yourself a flying mount? Finally there are of course more Aquakats and other predators around than normal to match this migration of herbivores. Ouch. And who knows what other species may be visiting from afar.
I wanted to ask you something…
And we want to answer. Please leave it in the appropriate comment thread below to ensure the mod account gets notified of the question! 
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revivalprojectooc2025-02-11 12:21 pm
Questions and Comments?
Re: Questions and Comments?
He will be asking around about Mu Ly and if anyone knows which Agrii he's pining over. Someone has to have the gossip, right?
He'd also like to talk to Te Mi if he has time! Leo mostly just wants to thank him for letting him and Donnie crash in his room, especially because it's probably the only way he got Donnie to rest at all while they're on the ship. And also just check if he's doing okay after everything that went down. They don't know each other that well, but he's Donnie's friend, so
I don't mind handwaving any of this!
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He will be able to get the information out of a young female blue named An Ne. She's PRETTY sure that she heard some adult orange Agrii whispering about how Mu Ly was sure to win An Nu's attention now. She doesn't think so. Hurting someone An Nu has been pining over for so long seems impossible now.
Te Mi is going to seem very tired, haggard, and frazzled, But given Leo's status to Donnie's he'll happily make time. This could either be threaded or just a blurb. Which would you prefer?
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I would like to thread with Te Mi if you're up for it!
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Here you go!
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What all is he able to find out?
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With time Cal will be able to talk the ship into giving up some navigational data. Definitely the current system, and the one closest to it, as well as the course they took before to save the Agrii ship some years ago, and the systems of some of the planets they have visited. If he tries to press for more, though, the system will have a temporary collapse and reboot, and the ship will repeat the last information it gave to Cal. Attempting to push past that will continue to lead to the same loop of failure.
If the point is raised with the ship it will be very distraught/concerned and reference glitches it experienced, perhaps due to malicious code, when working with Tony and Donnie (though the Donnie one was by far the least large one). If Cal uses BD-1 to interface, BD-1 will absolutely see some of the malicious code at work when it triggers and receive a small shock, forcing him to disconnect.
Now, a question for you: Will Cal try and push the ship to provide information that led to glitches again?
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The awareness of just how 'alive' the ship is becoming. Because with the news he will get a sense of fear, unease, and sorrow from... the mainframe of the ship itself. It is feeling enough emotions of its own for him to pick up on them now. And it seems hurt over the fact that it is failing him and the He Rows, and by extension the Agrii. Depending on how acute his powers are (read: it's up to you if Cal feels this), he might be able to sense that the ship is not expressing this because it fears it won't be believed.
But the glitch will repeat each and every time he tries to push for the same sort of information. And if he tells the ship a glitch has happened before and they're redoing it, each repetition will lead to greater grief and disappointment in itself.
Share Your Clues Here
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Most recently, he talked to the Agrii ship AI about a few things as a followup to the big infodump we got in the last event, and mostly learned what he wasn't allowed to know.
He also got like a scroll of the History Of the Plantkin or something (lmao sorry) from the Wanderer when it first showed up.
He's been out scouting for anything else on the planet, found that he very quickly hits a 'wall' where all of his technology stops, though he could keep going without it beyond there. He got to the top of a mountain, where he found that the moon (/other celestial bodies?) looked unnaturally close, like they were through a telescope.
He's also scouted down under the lake in the middle of the city, where there's clearly some flooded infrastructure, and they found weapons determined to be Atroma made.
He's tried several explosive routes to finding information/getting out, like sending a missile to the sky only for it to break itself apart and make a weird perfect circle on the ground. He tried blowing up a building to see if that got anyone's attention, and it mostly just got everyone involved haunted.
A while ago (2022, so missing a big gap of time now), some of us did our best to put together a whole chronology of important events/changes around the city, with linked references. I have a google doc with a bunch of other stuff included, but it has my like human name on it so I don't want to just link it, so here's a raw list of some of the stuff for now.
This is reverse chronological of important events
Calibrations 2: A Weird Voice Happens This Time
Moon Scream: Storm Event
Rain Fare and return of the glitter
New Tick Gifts and Party, with communication from a new Agrii
The Eyepocalypse, event that appears to be Jon’s fault
The power turns on in Sh’Ka, revealing some details including the weird security station stuff
Cayde gets in touch with Te Mi
The button discovered in the Mines is pushed to reveal the observation of Sh’Ka
Sh’Ka Museum basement explored, reveals some Graq lore
An actual discussion about what was found in Sh’Ka, figuring out the Graq connection
A sundial with WRITING! Behind the Sh’Ka library
The new ships are found in the Sh’Ka hangar
The train to Sh’Ka starts working, with an announcement from Ga Re
Soldier contacts a New Agrii
The ‘palace’ is weirdly human-sized
The Calibrations tunnels can’t be blown up
The Agrii try to make contact in Billy’s fake city
Billy is kidnapped to the Calibrations tunnels and makes a fake universe
A town meeting where a lot of information is shared
Kaz finds a holocron on Coruscant of someone that knows the Atroma and Agra-10
Ga Re sends everyone to Coruscant
Old blinking light gone, new blinking light way more annoying
Some weird stuff is found in the sewer system while looking for the spider nest
Night Spider Event Fake Storm, from messing with the blinking light
Cal gets some echoes of the Agrii in the caves
Messing with the blinking light :)
The Agrii ship comes to orbit Agra-10, and the horror storm happens
Cloud and Bucky were found on the ‘Graq’ ship in weird comas
The Agrii Rescue Event starts about here if there aren’t suddenly a lot of new posts
Agrii Rescue Event Mod Posts: Preparation, day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4
Pit-stop mini event with some new planets to explore
Ga Re sends a message that the Agrii need help and gets everyone on the ships
A diving trip on the flood plains reveals some submerged artifacts
Cloud broke the replicator somewhere in here
The first Calibrations event
Whale Comb Home Party / everyone returns from Risa
Some characters meet Agent T’Pring
Ga Re sends everyone to Risa
An energy storm hits Temba
Ga Re speaks to the he rows! And a storm is incoming
Winter planet adventure
The mint-pocalypse, the glownies, the caves
A weird communication and everyone gets trapped in their ships
This is like…the introductory event? I guess? Some basics
Re: Share Your Clues Here
This lifeform complains about the pink aliens a lot. About how one time it changed to look like them and it was SO uncomfortable. It's skin was so wet, and it had reduced hues of vision, and it was so hard to talk with all those fangs in its mouth. And it had felt like it might break things around it if it tried to hold them, because the form had a LOT of strength and it wasn't ready for that. Mostly, though, it was surprised that it hadn't felt aggression when it shifted. Usually when it takes other forms from tasting their genes in the air, it gets the impression of the full nature of the creature, including emotional dispositions. And more aliens than you'd think have them. Like Radley's species tastes like curiosity. But these didn't taste aggressive. Just... Worried. Genetically predisposed toward worry. It did like the eyes though. It could have so many colors of eyes. The third one sees in infrared, did he know that?
Re: Share Your Clues Here
Priority Report: Acquisition of Species OBA-241
Fleet ship Gilded Cypress encountered disabled ship. Crew dispatched for rescue mission. Discovered ship contained species OBA-241, known to be aggressive and hostile. Battle ensued. Majority of crew unprepared for conflict in attempt to assist stranded ship. Many lost. Ratings hit anticipated. Remaining crew withdrew.
Acquisitions ship deployed as follow-up. Individuals of Species OBA-241 sedated through use of droid deployment of sedative gas. Moved individuals into containment pods on acquisitions ship for return. Approximately three hundred individuals secured, many of acceptable levels of health. Security droids will monitor on trip to support world MLXIV-4.
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I've been afflicted by Donnie's dreaded overthink because I get hung up on the 'clues' part going 'but that would imply we are actively solving a thing' but 'said thing is a bit nebulous so under what pretenses are we having the meeting?' So under a general prompt of 'hey so what now? we fixed the storms maybe and the Agrii don't want us hanging around' ...lesssee...Cal's memory's a bit fuzzy here and there on certain things because when you get update whiplashed after being around Agra Ten for several years and then come back like a soft reset, well... But some things have stuck. He remembers some of the memories he's experienced in the caves, of the Agrii during the first storms, where they took cover (a lot of pain and even death). He remembers something in the museum that the Agrii gathered around and were very happy about, but then suddenly that sensation cuts off. I think he was able to equate it with the singing star thing- which Wanda had called a baby planet.
He has backups from BD-1 of the conversation he had with Agent T'Pring to confirm that disappearances from wherever they're from are virtually unnoticed, and if and when they're returned, there is only the slightest discrepancies of a gap, and that was only due to the close monitoring of some sort of confidential agencies.
There was also the time that they were sent by the Agrii to investigate something in a past version of Coruscant from his galaxy, in which they found a Jedi holocron with a message from a Jedi that had been taken by the Atroma once, but upon her return still managed to remember the experience, unlike what seems to usually happen in which those memories are simply gone. (I can't find the link to the actual message, only the town meeting). But she mentioned the Atroma to be cruel and that they seemed to particularly hate the Agrii, although for reasons she did not know.
His echo experiences through his psychometry have always picked up a lot of negativity from the Agrii ship itself, first during the rescue mission when the ship had been emptied of the Agrii, but they were especially bad in the area below the engineering room, the space so entirely steeped with an immense feeling of hatred that it had overwhelmed him. He's still not entirely sure of the source.
If Leo doesn't mention the Ny Ak attack incident, Cal will give a basic rundown of what happened and the whole diet shift because of the distrust the Orange faction has for the ship's sudden 'sentience.' That and the coinciding with this whole Spawning deal.
==
Cayde would suggest that even without the storms running, Agra Ten isn't completely safe for anyone. It won't be so long as they're still being watched, they haven't found where the cameras are, their attempts to jam the signals have failed by some sort of barrier, and then "isn't that blinky light still somewhere out there? We ever figure out what that's about?"
He will mention the rating system? that he caught on the Agrii ships that one time, and that he and Sundance were able to get some kind of signal from it but not good enough to trace by.
He'll talk about the whole Graq incident and why the Agrii were all freaked out about the Wanderer's appearance because of the staged attack that happened the last time they were first asked out to assist and rescue them. And that in visiting the Graq homeworld they found similarities between how they lived and built things there, and in the architecture in Sh'Ka (stone-oriented, acid spit, fun stuff.)
Although maybe that's all pointless since what they got from their Warrens trip more or less confirmed that the Agrii were transplants, so why not the Graq too.
==
Donnie is a bit apprehensive about sharing his intel. He will put forth the images of the mural found in the center of the sunken memorial area, and how it seems to confirm what he's heard from the Wanderer about the Agrii's arrival, which also parallels the findings from the Warrens (I am assuming all that info was already publicly shared). He will tell them that according to the Wanderer, the cities of Temba and Sh'Ka have been established approximately 207 years ago.
He will mention the storm tracking system on the Agrii ship, and how it had auto-routines set up for the ship to move away from the planet whenever a storm was approaching Temba's vicinity. He'll also mention that the ship receives information from somewhere externally, and that data transmission is constantly being passed between that mystery point, the ship, and Temba, most of which he surmises is from monitoring them.
He'll also be staring hard at Cayde when it's mentioned that the Exo's got a signal trace because he needs that data. XD
If Tony's mentioning the mansion explosion, he will certainly point at him with a "GASP!" (and maybe be slightly disappointed that it wasn't due to some giant monster they were trying to keep buried, or some hidden treasure.)
I don't know if his plant test results have been definitive given that the ship his control group had been established on was taken away and the volcano incident kind of killed most of his experiment group... But he was trying to see if there was any evidence of how the atmosphere and storms were affecting plants that weren't native to Agra Ten, following up on Dustin's research in hopes to find a way to make some kind of inoculation or something that would help them be immune to the affects suppressing their abilities, such as would happen whenever a storm occurred.
Regarding the Agrii themselves, he'll relay his initial conversations with the Agrii prior to their being gifted new ships, expressing his frustration with trying to explain to them about not being very helpful, and how Mu Ly admitted back then that it was him and those who agreed with him that the He Rows needed to protect themselves, which is why he was allowed keeping his tech-bō, just as some others kept their weapons. He also mentions someone named Wein Ter whom Mu Ly considers very strong and was also a big proponent of weapon allowance.
He will also mention that Te Mi was surprised to learn that they have no computers nor other functioning data points on Temba. There also seems to be a way to program the data points, and he has been trying to find out how they're programmed as well as if there's been any potential extra things snuck into the uploads that they receive whenever interacting with a data point. He's been learning a lot about data points, y'all, he's simultaneously disturbed and fascinated. From the AI he has been informed that supposedly the process of information rewriting in the brain through data points is infinitely repeatable and has been tested, although the computer itself has no records or data regarding the tests specifically.
...I am sure I probably missed something.