Week 9 - A Night of Chances at Ryuk's Casino

Ryuk's Casino was the darknest den of scum and villanry in the Polar Expanse. At any table a man could be found who would happily put a plasma bolt or bayonet through the head of another sentinet being for a fistfull of ghaz coins. It was a place of the wealthiest free traders, and angriest mercs in known space.
In the back was Ryuk's private room. He used it for the V.I.P. parties he threw for TRILAT leadership. It was back here that he greeted Jorvin Dulk and his soldiers.
Ryuk said "Welcome Jorvin, Welcome all!
I have the bar stocked and some grub is coming later on. I am new decks of cards and some new sets of dice.
Since you are the guest in my hall, you guys can pick the first game!
What do you want to play?"

Jorvin Dulk walked into the gambling hall with five of his men. He was carrying an expensive bottle of liquor that was previously presented to him. They all sat down at the table with Leftenent Ryuk.

"Well, hello there Mr. Ryuk sir, a pleasure to see ya again. Me and my boys are here to lighten your wallet some aren't we? (chuckles ensue) We got this here bottle of the good stuff that you gave us, (signals one of the staff to bring an appropriate number of glasses to serve all at the table, then proceeds to pour for everyone) Before we begin i want to give a little toast, to the Leftenent who has made us feel welcome, even when we wouldn't play by all his rules and such, har har har. (Jorvin Dulk takes a swig of the drink and proceeds to refill his glass and the glasses of anyone else who finished theirs) Ah, that's some good stuff there, so where were we? Ah, we were gettin started with some games!"

For the game we that are startin with well, lets start with a classic simple one. A nice easy game of dice, now I need a cup that we can't be seein through, (a waiter brings one over) ah! good lad ya are. Now everyone see what is inside of it...nothin as yall see. Well, we are all gonna make bets on what total is gonna come out when I toss these here two dice in there, shake it up and then put it down on this here table. The one who guesses it right will get the cash, if no one gets it right then we keep throwin in more cash until someone gets it. I think a few rounds of this will get the blood pumpin and then we can start the games of skill and such."

Two six sided dice made from the knuckle bones of a cheater were presented to Jovin for inspection. They had not been altered in any way, as one thing Ryuk's did pride itself on was a fair game.

Jorvin Dulk tossed in the two dice shaked it up and slammed it down.
"Alright then, i guess 8, what about yall?

Ryuk replied with gusto "Dice! I love the sound as I cast them!"

Ryuk walked up to the table and sat down, stating "Lets see how much fortune favors me tonight! Six! lets go with six!
I am more fond of Lair's Dice, we should play that sometime tonight!"

"AH! The sound of the rolling Dice! It looks like I took this game, now how about a more challenging dice game," said Ryuk, ordering more drinks for men.

Jorvin Dulk winces a bit as his money is sent over to Ryuk then laughs "Ah, it seems that the pot is yours Mr. Ryuk, you win this round I say. You want to switch over to this Liar's Dice then huh?"

Ryuk then began passing out opaque cups to each of the players. Handing out a few dice to each player, Ryuk started explaining the game. The point of Liar's Dice is guess how many dice are rolled. First thing you do is roll dice in your cup, then without looking at any, you start betting. you go around in a circle each person betting higher and higher. Where the price stops that is what everyone is betting. After the betting is done, everyone can look at their dice. Now The idea is to be quick, because if you can use your eyes to see someone else dice, it is encouraged.

After this we start betting on the dice, the first person states how many ones he thinks there are, then next person makes a higher bet by claiming more dice or using a higher dice number.

It may sound confusing, but it is much easier to play than it sounds. So lets start!"

As everyone rolls there dice, and as cups slams down on the table, Ryuk looks to his left and says "Lets start off low, 1 Ghaz"!

Jorvin Dulk said "Alright then, well lets see if our luck be a changin. I will raise to 3 ghaz then to make things a bit more interestin.
So Mr Ryuk, you have come a long way since you first opened this here fine casino, if ya don't mind me askin, what are your plans with us Rabble?"

Ryuk smiled an inscrutible smile, "Well, right now I am working on a new technique for the Leyas that I want to teach to all of the Rabble, but unfortunately it requires the use of the unity connection. I don't want to create a subclass of Rabble, so I'm kind of hoping that you guys will accept the unity connection soon. I don't want to pressure you guys though. Other than that, I have Nightmare armour on its way, custom built for all of you. It is standard as Nightmare armour goes, but it will give you all an unique look. I think I have new weapons on the way, too.

I'm feeling lucky I will raise the bet to 10 Ghaz."

Jorvin sighed saying, "That Unity connection, my boys and I still have a few issues with that little thing. You see my boys and I aren't against the idea of sharin ideas with other people quickly, we are just not fans of the method. We are fine with workin long side Unity connected but we just don't trust the Unity itself. You are allied with the Unity but we don't want to be part of it, we are here because we don't want to be oppressed by the Iron Republic, we don't want any military or oppressive government over our heads. We want to fight and we want to live free as we see fit, makin money won't be so bad either heh.

We don't mind not being part of the Leyas program we won't be feelin bad, we have a few concerns about what one of those uplinks might do if they were put in us. You said that our thoughts won't be auto absorbed but we are worried about other things as well.

I do have a question for ya. Have you heard about the Church of the Dawn's New Light?

I think I will raise it to 13 ghaz"

Then Samson, and Marv, two of Jorvin's boys raised it to 20 ghaz.
Now there was serious money on the table.
More than two weeks pay on any good colony and a month's wage on a backwater colony like Refuge.

Ryuk waved it away, "Ah yes, I still would like to discuss some of those issues you have, but today is for a game night. Lets stop the conversation about the connection with unity piece with me saying that we can limit you to the rabble themselves, and that they can be removed if you wish.

I have not heard of the Church of the Dawn's New Light, I tend to stay away from churches. As such, I haven't of the Church of the Dawn's New Light. Tell me about it?"

Jorvin leaned in, sharing a dear secret with Ryuk, "Alright then we shall concentrate on the game, I will raise you to 30 ghaz, I am still not the most clear on this game but hot damn if I am gonna lose it all then I am gonna lose it big. (turns to his people) Come on boys bet big, lets beat the boss at his own game! (the other members bet nervously but the pot is raised to 50)

As for the church of dawn's new light, it is an organization dedicated to the fight against demonic Ancient Evils. They promote cooperation among different groups in order to prevent galactic apocalypse. I wanted to tell you bout them cause me and my boys are all members of this group, we have been for a while even before it was officially set up. We have hoped that there wouldn't be no conflict between our beliefs and workin for ya.
You are a good guy Mr. Ryuk, a bit crazy in the head but no more then most in the universe, we are with ya as long as you keep us. The main concern is that being a part of our church gives us access to a group mind. Not quite as in depth as the Unity or the Quall but we are connected to other boys and girls on different worlds. We want to be friends with ya in order to help promote our beliefs, we know that ya aren't some demonic fiend and after all of what we have been through we trust ya.

Oh and for the one important question in your mind at the moment. The answer is no, no we will not use the group mind to cheat at the dice game, so no worries, it would be no fun that way isn't that right boys!"
"That's Right Dulk!," agreed the men.

50 Ghaz! I'm good with that, lets start the game.

Ryuk rolls his dice, and waits for the others to roll as well. The dice under the cups settle, and the men look at each warrily.

"Everyone quickly look at your dice", Ryuk said, creating shadows around his dice, so that only he could see them.

Ryuk looks up and says "There are 4 1's. So, How does your connection work, I am kind of curious..."

The was a quick beeping noise as a small mekanoid flew into the chamber and began projecting.
An image of Prime appeared, bowing in greeting.

"Ryuk, I am sorry but I am hosting a bit of a party at present. I cannot be there in person. However, if you and your crew would like, I can still happily play a game or two."

Prime looked at the table for a moment.

"I must admit, I am not a fan of dice. Too random. Would you prefer a game of Go? There is randomness in such a system."

"Greetings Prime!" replied Ryuk, "When we are done with this game, I believe we are playing some form of poker next. It would be Jorvin'sand his crews turn to pick the game. I think that would suit your tastes better, as there is more skill involved."

"That would indeed! I will just watch the game of dice, if you don't mind. By all means, continue gaming with your men. Though, I must admit, taking their money seems a strange way to increase moral," Prime told Ryuk.

Ryuk waved a hand through his hologram for a second and said, "Booze, betting , brawds and brawls, these are the things that men bond over. I though you would know this, Prime."

Jorvin's eyes never wavered towards the floating hologram, they kept fixed on Ryuk's eyes.
Jorven Dulk tilted his cup and glanced in, then put it back down quickly, "four 3s"
The other members of Dulk's group all respond "two 1s and two 4s; three 1s and one 2; one 5 and three 2s; one 1, one 3, two 5s; one 4, two 3s, and one 1"

Jorven smiled at Ryuk "The connection works in a similar way as the Quall and the E Strain but at the same time it is different. Like them we have a living creature inside of our body who creates a psychic bond between all members. We can speak to others within our group and members may share their experiences with other members. Thankfully unlike Quall no one within the group can be psychically attacked or punished for not following orders. Everyone is a separate unit who uses the connection to speak to one another and to learn new things.

However unlike the larva used by the Quall ours do not dominate the person they are with, they do not use them as fodder to enhance themselves. The creature inside of us works with our bodies to make us healthier and increases out lifespan though not the extent as a Quall Larva does. Nor does the larva replace us upon maturation, once the larva matures it fuses with the host and the two become a new separate being based upon the features of both.

I know that went beyond your question but I figured that it would have to be discussed eventually."

Jorvin could feel the intensity of the Unity's stare on his forehead. The tension of the moment was broken as Ryuk boldly declared,
"5 6's

That definatly sound very beneficial to you, and it is good to note. I would like some way to verify the information you have given me, and I also don't understand why that bothers you with the Unity connection. But that will come later on. AS for Ancient Evils do you know of the sixth ancient evil, called the Unity. I have heard some rumors about it, and am looking for more information."

Jorvin's eyes flickered for a moment, was Ryuk playing him? Or Prime? Or Both?

"Five 4's," Jorven Dulk wagers, "As for the Unity connection, my concern is that the Unity connection would either interfere with our own connection or attempt to hack into our connection technomatically. Thereby infiltrating our own group mind and being able to see the memories or thoughts of those who don't have the connection.
As for the Unity, we were under the impression that the Unity was no longer an Ancient Evil, Unity Prime has told us that himself. Do you have evidence of Demonic taint still within the Unity? If that is true, then wouldn't it be also dangerous to take in the Unity uplinks if they are demonically tainted?"

"No," said Ryuk sharply, "This Unity Prime is fine, but I have a report from a reputable source that there is a physical form of the evil one someplace, and that the Unity Cyborg Hunters are working on concealing it from this Prime. It is why he was assassinated. I was informed that the Dragon of the Unity might know, but I don't know who or what it is."

The image of Prime spoke once again.

“Ryuk, I thought I had spoken to you about them earlier. Honestly, I don’t know much more about them than you. They are almost entirely robotic, exo-skeletons which protect their nervous system and brain. The metal of their bodies is a zela-based alloy, making them immune to a great number of Metaphysicial effects. I’ve also theorized that being surrounded by Zela for an extended period of time may also disconnect one from the vibrant energy of life is such a way as to drive one insane.
They have destroyed all records of themselves, and had mastered the art of privacy on the Unity far before we had such a thing. As such, much of what I know of them is conjecture.

As for the Unity being an ancient evil…that is an ambiguous thing. The demonic force of the Unity was melded with an injured Nightmare Lord and was infused with enough shadow energy to birth the physical avatar of an ancient evil; this is the Dragon of Unity. In the last great war it was injured, but not slain. Its current whereabouts, and the whereabouts of the station it is likely held, Morning Star, have been hidden from me. Does that help?”

Ryuk felt pain shooting through his head on that statement and then forces his will through it. Something was trying to hack his uplink, and it wasn't going to win.

Some of the uplinked Rabble stationed at the door closed the emergency doors on the VIP room trapping Ryuk, Jorvin Dulk and his five soldiers in here with fifteen uplinked Rabble who had a zombie-like possessed stare.

Jorvin looked over at Ryuk, "Hey boss are they supposed to be doing that?"

"No Jorvin, no," said Ryuk trying to communicate to them through the uplink. However the loyalty upgrades that Ryuk had made allowed the Unity Cyborg Hunters to hack his Rabble from afar.

Now it looked like it was Leftenant Ryuk and Jorvin Dulk back to back against a squad of mind-controlled Rabble, unless Prime and Ryuk and can find a cure!

Reward

Key to the Week 10 Secret Mission- Ryuk and Jorvin vs the Supplicants

Each player gains

1 Planet
Population 2 Million
Blue
Add to your planets thread and then redeem in the Housekeeping thread.