Power’s Pink Price - Chapter 090

As I’m staying in the Captain’s Cabin, it’s a very short walk from the bridge. I sit down, disconnect from my body and… Patricia?

She summons the laptop, and I get to work.

Level ten is pretty big: The Hume alternative favored class bonus finally kicks in, so I have an extra ten Job Points there, Additionally, the oath system gives me a bonus feat this level.

So first up: spending my Job Points. I get native 5th level spells at this point, so ten points go to that.

Of course, I want more. Spheres templates have the Bound One, which has a gem: Magical Mastery: It grants a two point bonus to all Spheres caster levels… which will get my Spheres caster level to twelve, not that I'm using it much right now… but there is a gem in there that lets me grant Regeneration to things without a constitution score (including objects!)… which will be useful for the ships that aren't quite creatures.

For the other twenty… oh, I haven't been taking Ability Increase from Monsterkin; could be an easy pick, as I get it to everything… but I'm not exactly having trouble soaking hits, making saves, passing skill checks, or similar. So… a back burner option.

Instead, I should be looking for useful abilities. Like… Improved Blindsight from the Sonic Creature template from Green Ronin publishing: Sixty foot Blindsight that can see through objects…but I can get something very similar whenever by way of Starfinder's X-Ray Vision spell.  So… also back burner.

Cabal Master from the Living Idol from Spheres of Power, though… ah, I'd have to pay for the feats separately… ah  but I have worshippers, so if I take Demagogue Powers itself, then I can select Cabal Master that way… cool, nabbed. And one step further along the path of being treated as a deity: I literally gain power from worship.

Hmm… Domain Mastery, from the walking god template from Spheres of Power… three domains, and three talents per… and I could grant spells to followers. Heh. Cowbird could be a Cleric… or at least a Mystic.  Okay, yes, that's a go. I need to pick domains, of course… I'm thinking I want Alteration Talents? Super flexible there, and can apply to anyone… yeah. So for my domains, I'll grab Animal and Scalykind… and those are the only two that grant Alteration. Okay, so… ah, Nature is the one that has the regeneration option for metallic objects, so grabbing that gives me a nice start… I also, of course, pick the talents to go with them, but I'll be able to change those within their restrictions daily, thanks to Well of Miracles from sixth level.

For the two feats… hmm… ah, the Bonded Mind and Share Spells teamwork feats: That combination will let me apply Personal spells to others with just one application of Enable Function to grant them Bonded Mind: A single third level spell I need to cast once, rather than the sixth level Body to Body spell I've been using, with a kicker: Enable Function won't expire when they walk out of range.

My eidolon advances; another hit dice, more AC, a stat boost, and another Evolution point… I'm honestly not sure I'll ever use it again, but I go through the hoops of updating it. I could change it out… given HOW I obtained my Mythic rank, I can revoke and re-grant it, complete with the Mythic Tradition… what would I get, though? Eh, I'll keep it; it might be useful later, and I can swap it out whenever.

Attuned Mysticism gets a new type this level… I'm going with Fey. No, there's not many of those… but the Fallen Fey Sphere from Spheres of Power makes a person treated as a fey… and Share Link lets me apply that to other people… which, in turn, lets me apply any type-specific spells to anyone… if they're willing (or unconscious, or “willing” because of a spell…).

Spells advance… they barely matter, as I can just learn new spells on the fly with Enable Function for the Expanded Arcana feat if I need the Mythic version… but I do pick them out.  Spell slots advance as well, granting me access to fifth level Psionic powers… which is nice.  Skills, saves, hit points, resolve points, BAB, stamina points… a few other odds and ends… a quick review… okay then.

I save my work, and my headache goes away… ah, bliss. I reconnect to my body, and stretch… it feels nice.  Getting up from my chair, I figure I've probably let the prisoners sweat long enough. I open a quick Gate to the prison Demiplane, step through, and close it behind me.

The two ships are… ridiculously visible. I left the place as normal light, and everything that hits one side of the demiplane wraps around… and that includes light. So I see the two ships…and past them, I see the two ships again. Beyond those… the two ships.  And this applies to all sides.  If I look up, I see the two ships. If I look down, I see the two ships. Ditto for left, right, and behind… visually, I'm floating in an infinite three dimensional grid of those two ships.

I wasn't planning that when I made the place, but it’s a cool effect.

The two ships have turned pink, and have some decidedly feminine curves to them… as do the two androids I sent here without their ships, who are clinging to the vessels.

I go to talk to them… oh, my magic com isn't responding… right, dead magic plane. I work, and so do my spells… but my gear doesn't… I'll need to fix that next level. Fortunately, my body has a built in personal com (basically all armor does), so I just call them on that: “Hello, this is Admiral Alex Abrams. I think I've given you enough time to realize you're trapped. Are you ready to surrender?”

I get some cursing back through the com, and one clear voice of reason… with zero background noise on that channel, so I'm pretty sure it's one of the AI's, “Hello Admiral, this is Fred, and I’m in charge of this squadrun. This is an impressive trap. How’d you do it?”

Heh, looking for clues on how to escape?  Nope, I’m not a villain who’ll monolog at the slightest provocation… verbally, anyway, “Technologically, obviously, as we were previously in the drift and everyone ‘knows’ magic doesn’t let you get into our out of that,” why yes, I’m using the Bluff skill and some fake sarcasm to make them doubt my words and think it’s some kind of spell I ran across that actually can get into and out of the Drift… “That’s irrelevant, though: You’re currently my prisoners.  You will answer my questions, the only real question is how intact your minds and bodies will be when I have my answers and let you go.  I’m sure you’ve noticed the side effect of my ‘technology’ already… there’s a reason I’m not mainstreaming it,” more than one, but they don’t need the others, “The plan is to disarm you, interrogate you, and then let you go a bit poorer… not too bad of a fate, given that you tried to kill my friend.  If you cooperate fully, I won’t need to apply more of my technology, and you won’t need to suffer as much side effect.  If you do not, then I will bend my technology to mind control rather than just transport, and you will comply anyway… but have much more of the side effects to deal with.  I don’t like mind control, nor warping people, so I’m giving you the choice of cooperating willingly.  What do you say?”

I get much cursing, threats, insults, and posturing from the other channels, but Fred nixes that, “Comm discipline, people!  This negotiation is LITERALLY my job.”

The others quiet down, and the AI gets back to talking, “We have agents within basically all the intelligence services… but those reports aren’t believable.  We’ll keep looking for a way out, if it’s all the same to you.”

Rather than responding over the comm, I disconnect, cast Superior Invisibility on myself, and then start teleporting around and Dominating them all: Both ships and all six himanoid officers (all Androids), by way of using the Control Undead spell with Attuned Mysticism (androids are treated as constructs).  Verbal control only, but unlike with Dominate Monster, this has no disobedience or termination clauses… I could order them to suicide, and they would.  No, I do NOT like doing this, but… I DID give them the option.  I then return to my body, hook back into it, and give some orders over the comms, “Keep your comms live, do not hurt yourselves or each other, and answer all questions I put to you honestly - not just by not lying, but with honesty.  Acknowledge receipt of the orders.”

I only get seven acknowledgements.  There should be eight… ah, one of the AIs realized the problem and cut comms.  Easy to fix… I disconnect from my body again, teleport inside both ships, repeat the orders, get back to my body, reconnect, and get back on the comms, “Acknowledge my orders.”

This time I get eight answers… and the ships start shooting at me.  Eh, whatever.  Ship’s weapons can’t target people-scale creatures, the physical slugs from the coilguns will be defeated by my Starmantle, Ironguard, and/or Stormrage buffs, while the plasma torpedoes will be defeated by Energy Immunity, as Plasma damage is fire and electricity; so all I need to do is give one order: “Stop shooting, it’s annoying.”

…and the weapons fire stops. 

As I'm staying in the Captain's Cabin, it's a very short walk from the bridge. I sit down, disconnect from my body and Patricia? She summons the laptop, and I get to work. Spoiler Level ten is pretty big: The Hume alternative favored class bonus finally kicks in, so I have an extra ten Job Points there, Additionally, the oath system gives me a bonus feat this level. So first up: spending my Job Points. I get native 5th level spells at this point, so ten points go to that. Of course, I want more. Spheres templates have the Bound One, which has a gem: Magical Mastery: It grants a two point bonus to all Spheres caster levels which will get my Spheres caster level to twelve, not that I'm using it much right now but there is a gem in there that lets me grant Regeneration to things without a constitution score including objects! which will be useful for the ships that aren't quite creatures. For the other twenty oh, I haven't been taking Ability Increase from Monsterkin; could be an easy pick, as I get it to everything but I'm not exactly having trouble soaking hits, making saves, passing skill checks, or similar. So a back burner option. Instead, I should be looking for useful abilities. Like Improved Blindsight from the Sonic Creature template from Green Ronin publishing: Sixty foot Blindsight that can see through objectsbut I can get something very similar whenever by way of Starfinder's X-Ray Vision spell. So also back burner. Cabal Master from the Living Idol from Spheres of Power, though ah, I'd have to pay for the feats separately ah but I have worshippers, so if I take Demagogue Powers itself, then I can select Cabal Master that way cool, nabbed. And one step further along the path of being treated as a deity: I literally gain power from worship. Hmm Domain Mastery, from the walking god template from Spheres of Power three domains, and three talents per and I could grant spells to followers. Heh. Cowbird could be a Cleric or at least a Mystic. Okay, yes, that's a go. I need to pick domains, of course I'm thinking I want Alteration Talents? Super flexible there, and can apply to anyone yeah. So for my domains, I'll grab Animal and Scalykind and those are the only two that grant Alteration. Okay, so ah, Nature is the one that has the regeneration option for metallic objects, so grabbing that gives me a nice start I also, of course, pick the talents to go with them, but I'll be able to change those within their restrictions daily, thanks to Well of Miracles from sixth level. For the two feats hmm ah, the Bonded Mind and Share Spells teamwork feats: That combination will let me apply Personal spells to others with just one application of Enable Function to grant them Bonded Mind: A single third level spell I need to cast once, rather than the sixth level Body to Body spell I've been using, with a kicker: Enable Function won't expire when they walk out of range. My eidolon advances; another hit dice, more AC, a stat boost, and another Evolution point I'm honestly not sure I'll ever use it again, but I go through the hoops of updating it. I could change it out given HOW I obtained my Mythic rank, I can revoke and re-grant it, complete with the Mythic Tradition what would I get, though? Eh, I'll keep it; it might be useful later, and I can swap it out whenever. Attuned Mysticism gets a new type this level I'm going with Fey. No, there's not many of those but the Fallen Fey Sphere from Spheres of Power makes a person treated as a fey and Share Link lets me apply that to other people which, in turn, lets me apply any type-specific spells to anyone if they're willing or unconscious, or willing because of a spell. Spells advance they barely matter, as I can just learn new spells on the fly with Enable Function for the Expanded Arcana feat if I need the Mythic version but I do pick them out. Spell slots advance as well, granting me access to fifth level Psionic powers which is nice. Skills, saves, hit points, resolve points, BAB, stamina points a few other odds and ends a quick review okay then. collapse I save my work, and my headache goes away ah, bliss. I reconnect to my body, and stretch it feels nice. Getting up from my chair, I figure I've probably let the prisoners sweat long enough. I open a quick Gate to the prison Demiplane, step through, and close it behind me. The two ships are ridiculously visible. I left the place as normal light, and everything that hits one side of the demiplane wraps around and that includes light. So I see the two shipsand past them, I see the two ships again. Beyond those the two ships. And this applies to all sides. If I look up, I see the two ships. If I look down, I see the two ships. Ditto for left, right, and behind visually, I'm floating in an infinite three dimensional grid of those two ships. I wasn't planning that when I made the place, but it's a cool effect. The two ships have turned pink, and have some decidedly feminine curves to them as do the two androids I sent here without their ships, who are clinging to the vessels. I go to talk to them oh, my magic com isn't responding right, dead magic plane. I work, and so do my spells but my gear doesn't I'll need to fix that next level. Fortunately, my body has a built in personal com basically all armor does, so I just call them on that: Hello, this is Admiral Alex Abrams. I think I've given you enough time to realize you're trapped. Are you ready to surrender? I get some cursing back through the com, and one clear voice of reason with zero background noise on that channel, so I'm pretty sure it's one of the AI's, Hello Admiral, this is Fred, and I'm in charge of this squadrun. This is an impressive trap. How'd you do it? Heh, looking for clues on how to escape? Nope, I'm not a villain who'll monolog at the slightest provocation verbally, anyway, Technologically, obviously, as we were previously in the drift and everyone knows' magic doesn't let you get into our out of that, why yes, I'm using the Bluff skill and some fake sarcasm to make them doubt my words and think it's some kind of spell I ran across that actually can get into and out of the Drift That's irrelevant, though: You're currently my prisoners. You will answer my questions, the only real question is how intact your minds and bodies will be when I have my answers and let you go. I'm sure you've noticed the side effect of my technology' already there's a reason I'm not mainstreaming it, more than one, but they don't need the others, The plan is to disarm you, interrogate you, and then let you go a bit poorer not too bad of a fate, given that you tried to kill my friend. If you cooperate fully, I won't need to apply more of my technology, and you won't need to suffer as much side effect. If you do not, then I will bend my technology to mind control rather than just transport, and you will comply anyway but have much more of the side effects to deal with. I don't like mind control, nor warping people, so I'm giving you the choice of cooperating willingly. What do you say? I get much cursing, threats, insults, and posturing from the other channels, but Fred nixes that, Comm discipline, people! This negotiation is LITERALLY my job. The others quiet down, and the AI gets back to talking, We have agents within basically all the intelligence services but those reports aren't believable. We'll keep looking for a way out, if it's all the same to you. Rather than responding over the comm, I disconnect, cast Superior Invisibility on myself, and then start teleporting around and Dominating them all: Both ships and all six himanoid officers all Androids, by way of using the Control Undead spell with Attuned Mysticism androids are treated as constructs. Verbal control only, but unlike with Dominate Monster, this has no disobedience or termination clauses I could order them to suicide, and they would. No, I do NOT like doing this, but I DID give them the option. I then return to my body, hook back into it, and give some orders over the comms, Keep your comms live, do not hurt yourselves or each other, and answer all questions I put to you honestly - not just by not lying, but with honesty. Acknowledge receipt of the orders. I only get seven acknowledgements. There should be eight ah, one of the AIs realized the problem and cut comms. Easy to fix I disconnect from my body again, teleport inside both ships, repeat the orders, get back to my body, reconnect, and get back on the comms, Acknowledge my orders. This time I get eight answers and the ships start shooting at me. Eh, whatever. Ship's weapons can't target people-scale creatures, the physical slugs from the coilguns will be defeated by my Starmantle, Ironguard, and/or Stormrage buffs, while the plasma torpedoes will be defeated by Energy Immunity, as Plasma damage is fire and electricity; so all I need to do is give one order: Stop shooting, it's annoying. and the weapons fire stops.