The Shadow Play (audio story): Difference between revisions

Now bonded with [[Grandfather Paradox]]'s shadow, [[Justine]] tells [[Eliza]] that she is a siege engine, barely human, and that the shadow possesses an unlimited armoury within. After Eliza leaves, Justine hears someone she thinks is a messenger of Grandfather Paradox, but finds it is really [[Lolita]], there to convince her that the treaty is a good thing, and to offer for her to join the other Houses' side. She declines, remaining loyal to [[Faction Paradox|the Faction]].  

[[Godfather (rank)|Godfather]] [[Morlock]] notes that the Sontarans have returned, brought to the Empire as an "independent security force" for the Houses, supposedly as a precaution, and then he and Eliza go to sign the treaty. As negotiations for the treaty come to a close, Godfather Morlock notes that the treaty contains a clause mandating the surrender of any Faction member who has committed a serious crime against the [[Great House]]s. Knowing that no living resident of the Empire has committed such a crime, Morlock agrees to sign the treaty.

Eliza and Morlock are watching as in [[Trafalgar Square]], the entirety of the Eleven Day Empire have gathered, surrounded by 38 Sontarans. [[Ruthven]] welcomes Lolita of House Lolita to speak, and she explains the treaty, and that Justine is a criminal and so must be surrendered for trial due to the "Transition of Affairs": Justine's shadow has committed crimes, and so, under Faction protocol, she is guilty and must be on trial. If she fails to appear before trial, the Houses will declare martial law over the Empire. The treaty's enactment means that the spirits won't intervene, causing violent protest among the Faction members. Shocked by this, Ruthven redirects the guards from the timeship to help calm the riot, but the Sontarans continue to follow Lolita's orders, firing over the square. Lolita legally declares martial law, and then tells [[Kine]] to shoot Ruthven whenever he likes. She has communicated with the spirits, who are on her side, and has Kine send some of his men back to the ship.

 

 

Kine confronts Lolita, angry that she did not tell him of the Faction's weaponry. Quelch yells at Morlock, but he's happy that the shadow of the Grandfather is with its new owner. Sontarans arrest them both. Eliza and Justine find their ship is being caught in the explosions from the Sontaran warships, of which there are now several, Kine having brought in reinforcements. They land on Tower Hill, outside of both Faction and Sontaran control - for now. Quelch and Morlock are brought before Lolita and Kine. Lolita has a ritual to perform. She brings them into the ritual hall, threatening to kill the entire Empire unless Morlock tells her where Justine is, but he still refuses. She says she stole the biodata from the archives to make contact with the spirits easier.

 

Ruthven, who is somehow still alive, insists there are no spirits, but Lolita says whatever you call them - spirits, time anomalies - they're there, and will track down Justine. She invokes them, as she thinks simply asking won't be enough. Justine and Eliza have arrived at the home of the Unkindnesses, and Justine asks them if this is what they saw when they looked into the future. They say yes, but when she says this is her destiny, they tell her that there is no such thing; only probability. She doesn't have to go to the Homeworld and uncover Lolita's plan. They leave.

 

Lolita has made Quelch teach her the invocation. As part of this, Quelch uses a knife to mark Lolita's skin, which does not bleed.  Morlock thinks the invocation will kill Lolita, who is now omnipresent and omniscient, the spirits using her as a conduit. She can't sense the Sontarans, but she can sense Justine, who is talking to Eliza, explaining that the instincts of the shadow are telling her not to go to the Homeworld. Lolita orders Kine to kill Ruthven, but Kine refuses, so she does it herself. Kine orders his men to shoot Lolita, but she survives, and leaves.