Season 10, Episode 10: "Project Ouroboros" Report

General Summary

As Lockette drew close to the SS Iron Drake, Crow began to focus their forces across two conflicts, sending a horrific amalgamation of Chad, Confluence, and Crona to waylay the Android from reaching her goal. But when they tried to follow with their Anticipations, they were stopped by the rest of the Dream Team, at last seeing a thread of victory for them to follow. With all the pieces on the field, the battle swiftly turned into an old-fashioned showdown, with each side picking champions to handle specific threats, brawling for an advantage at every turn. While Crow tried to consume Mist and MaMa, Masamune blocked them with the powers of the Fūten Masamune, and to everyone's surprise (including Crow), the corrupted Chamas intervened when those powers failed. Isra at last began to get a handle on her powers as a Transform, stealing a Crook from Jestyr and reawakening the Mantle of the Shepherd, but was too late to stop Crow from lancing energy across the field, massacring a contingent of Forge Wardens led by Merrygold. Flay was able to keep Unari Dama out of her crew's way, but was shocked as her old deity began using abilities involving entrapment and chains (a direct opposite to his beliefs and portfolio) ultimately bringing the two combatants to a stalemate. In the skies above, Crow continued his orchestration, targeting weak points in the battlefield. The Dream Team watched as a squad of Stewards was completely destroyed, followed by Zhyffor and the main forces mustered from Kahlannal. In her last message to Lockette, Luwazi Elsebo apologized before her group of Starfinders were obliterated, leaving nothing but wreckage where their starships had been. Then came a shift in momentum, as Bast wrestled with Sara No-Name, and with Riley's help pulled Azkhrumdar out of her unholy form. With the ax in hand, Bast was able to break the planar barrier holding the party down, and several members of the Dream Team broke away to help Lockette against the unruly king of the Swarm. Triggering the Blessing of the Hunter, Masamune wiped Crona from the map before Crow could arrive to stop him, and then the two partial Godheads clashed over Crona's corpse, allowing Lockette to run free at last. Once inside the cockpit of the Iron Drake, assisted by the other Lockettes (but especially Lockette Endrinmaster XI), Lockette realized that the mech lacked the power required to fire the Spire cannon on its own, and Abelina triggered the plan she had been crafting from the shadows. With Isra's help, she opened a Window between the Boneyard and the Material Plane, creating a Tether between the Starstone reactor and the SS Iron Drake. Then Lockette entered a higher form of existence, an unwelcome stranger in the place of the gods, and levelled the full power of Project Ouroboros towards the horizon. As she did so, the mysterious voice of Shafaer — proclaimed "First Keeper" and "Watcher of Mystics" — bid Lockette shoot down the Groetus moon. But then a second voice slithered in, claiming that Project Ouroboros was never the will of the First Ones, and that Lockette should aim to free her fellow mortals from this Petal instead, directing her to shoot Pharasma's Spire. Incredibly cautious of the whispers around her, Lockette invoked the Blessing of the Disciple, seeking an audience with Grandsmith. The timeless Tinker arrived, giving objective advice and reassurances that Lockette would make the right choice, but refusing to influence her decision. He rephrased the choice as a dichotomy held within her: to optimize the system around them, and deny Crow the Groetus moon — the path of the engineer — or to right a wrong against the sick and powerless — the path of the doctor. Then Grandsmith faded, leaving Lockette to act on her own instinct of what was right. As the SS Iron Drake pointed the Spire cannon at Pharasma's Spire, the Lady of Graves warped space and time in an attempt to stop it, but was held back by the power of the Starstone and her many enemies upon the field. Completing her destiny, Lockette poured forth the raw energy of the gods into the light connecting mortals to their afterlife, destroying every soul that had not transcended to become an Outsider, and harmlessly breaking the Tether of every living mortal. Crow howled in delight, completing their ritual and devouring the Groetus moon, and then charged forward to consume Bast as well. But Mist rose from the shadows, shooting Bast with the Eclipse Malkin arrow, sending it, Azkhrumdar, and the overgod to Paradise. Snarling, Crow turned towards the Dream Team to retaliate, but then the aftermath of Lockette's decision began to rattle across the field. In the last second before the blowback pounded her into unconsciousness, Lockette watched as her eleventh counterpart melted away, turning into a ginger Android with emerald eyes, who thanked her for making the right choice, and claimed that her "Daddy" would be pleased. Then she exploded into a burst of cosmic light, followed by Annabell, and all was lost in shadow and smoke.

The Dream Team awoke ten hours later in a hospital on Absalom Station, having been carried there as their allies fled the destruction of the Boneyard. The news was full of chaos, with visions of Bast, Sara, and Crow in everyone's minds, implying that all mortals had ascended above the Infinite Line. Some had gone mad with the knowledge, while reports of unmanned jobs and curious gaps in memory spread across the galaxy, suggesting that some had even begun Apotheosis and then Zero Summed. The Pact Council had called for a desperate retreat, summoning all of their military resources to surround Absalom Station, and demanding that all its citizens migrate within that sphere of influence. Using the energies of the Far Portal, Noma, Ezorod, and Dawnshore were brought out of Mataras to border the Armada, and the Idari made desperate course to follow, destroying several of their own systems in the process. As Kahlannal could not be moved, Hamat had begun an effort to migrate the ancient starship into the Plane of Fire, and Safarae was abandoned completely in favor of the Forge — which was jumped to Absalom Station as soon as Isra regained consciousness. To the surprise of the local government, Shalema revealed that Apostae was actually a starship, and that she knew how to move it. Taking on refugees from nearby planets, the starship then began an aggressive course towards the center of the Pact Worlds, and was one of the last ships to escape the Drift before it went completely dark. With Cromwell and Merrygold gone, Isra elected Mu Draconis and Gillby as her Sheep Dogs, and proclaimed Denerin the new mayor of Montressor. Scream in the Shadows and the other surviving Feline Ysoki became permanent members of the Aga Jain crew, and Luna began to outfit Noma as a city for refugees. In darker news, scouts at Righteous reported that Crow had appeared there and taken the throne at Aucturn, as Carsai the King willingly allowed himself to be consumed by the Beast of Armageddon. Without the support of the Drift, the Vast was presumed a wasteland, and the Dream Team immediately cited concern for Anastasia and Leto. All over the universe, respect for the gods was fading following the loss of an afterlife, with many now certain that the apocalypse was well and truly upon them. The following morning, the Pact Council announced that they were doing everything in their power to keep their citizens safe, and proclaimed a formal summons of the Dream Team, desperately seeking their expertise and aid... End of Season 10 End Part 2 of the Centurion's Riddle

Rewards Granted

Level 18! Tarot Deck

Masamune used a Card of Good Hope to save Mist from Crow's absorption ability, blocking the attack with the Fūten Masamune.
Mist's Card of Ill Fate was used to block Isra from invoking her Will of the Shepherd ability.
Masamune used the Blessing of the Hunter to wipe the conflux of Chad, Confluence, and Crona out of existence.
Lockette invoked the Blessing of the Disciple in order to gain an audience with Grandsmith.

Loot

Isra stole a Crook from Jestyr, restoring the Shard of Ignorance to full power.
Mist shot the Eclipse Malkin at Bast, and it was taken with him to Paradise.
The SS Iron Drake has been destroyed.
As part of a summons to speak with the Pact Council, the crew was given 2 million credits to handle their affairs.