Rimworld Monastics

Started by Skryabin, July 21, 2018, 05:35:28 PM

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Skryabin

#30
Poppy's Journal
8th of Jugust 5502, Winter

PRISONERS POLICY
Our peace talks with Orange Mesa Tribe went very well. But when we returned to the Convent, we learned that right after our peace talk a group of Orange Mesa tribespeople attacked the sisters, probably not knowing about improvements in our relationship (those wild people do not have any comm devices anyway on their hands). Four of them were captured. I got really scared about some of them: one shaman woman is pyromaniac, another young girl with chemical fascination and the third man is a gay! I ran to Mother Estelle and sheared with her all my fears, begging her not to recruit them, because they may be a thread to our community. But she kindly reminded me about our mission: to accept everyone who will express this desire to join. "Those are all lost souls in need of salvation, - she said, - and we do not have any right to perform a selection. First, we will heal their wounds and then, while they will be recovering, we will keep offering them to join our path of salvation for one season. If during this time they reject it, they will be free to go. But if they will decide to stay, we will accept everyone regardless of their personality. And then we will look for solutions." I returned to my cell with a bad feeling about this new Prisoners Policy. It seemed to me like very soon our peaceful life here will come to the end.

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Skryabin

#31
Poppy's Journal
15th of Jugust 5502, Winter

FORMIDABLE ABBOT
This is what happened. Mother Estelle sent us with Nun Ash and Novice Ayana to the Monastery to get some marble blocks and turkey leather for monastic clothes (because it was time for a few tonsures, but we did not have any dark fabrics). And while we were there, Sister Ash comes to me in tears complaining about molestation of Brother Aaron. What this nose less freak is thinking about himself? I went to Abbot Ralph and told him everything. He got very angry. Usually he is very quiet, and I have never thought he might be so furious. He went to Brother Aaron and wanted to throw him away from the Monastery for such inappropriate behavior. But Brother Aaron fell down to his knees and was begging for forgiveness. Finally, he got punished by the Abbot and was locked in his cell to repent for three days without any food. And all this instead of monastic tonsure he was going to receive tomorrow at the Convent (because it will be exactly one year since he joined our community). We've all been terrified by such turn of events, and I was not glad already that I told him everything. Poor Brother Aaron; even Sister Ash was shocked by such cruel punishment and she wanted to ask Abbot for mercy. But I persuaded her leave it as is, to avoid something worth, because Abbot Ralph seemed me very unpredictable now. We had to leave for our Second Annual Meeting at the Convent and Abbot Ralph was also invited to attend. Before we left he instructed Brother Peter strictly observe the punishment and let Brother Aaron out only in case of a raid. And we went to the Convent...

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Skryabin

#32
Poppy's Journal
1st of Septober 5502, Spring

SECOND ANNUAL MEETING
On the Second Annual Meeting Mother Estelle made her report about past year and thanked all the sisters for their hard work. She announced the List of obedience for the next year. During this coming third year we are planning to finish our defenses and help to the Monastery with their construction projects. Abbot Ralph was sitting at the meeting dark as a cloud. After the meeting Mother Estelle wanted to hear what happened with Brother Ralph and we told her everything. She suggested to Abbot Ralph to deal a bit easier with brothers: "There are only three of you there, - she said. – What if he would leave?" "Good riddance! – Abbot replied. – I will not tolerate inappropriate behavior! And he will not become a monk for another year. Let's see if he learned the lesson." This is how we are entering the third year of our monastic life on this planet. For today we have eleven sisters at the Convent and three brothers at the Monastery. Ammy thou was arrested: at her 82% withdrawal from alcohol addiction, she wanted to get on ambrosia, and Mother locked her up. This is why I hate chemical interest in people!

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Skryabin

#33
Poppy's Journal
3rd of Septober 5502, Spring

CRAZY OLD MAN
Soon after our Annual Meeting Mother Estelle sent me as a part of mining team to dig some compacted machinery not far from the Convent. At the very beginning of our trip a naked old man sows up from behind the bushes with a wooden club and offer us to give him all our belongings (including our six muffalos!) and then he says he will let us go. We lowered our eyes of course not to look at his naked body and I said: "Hey, gaffer, please, go your way. Don't think that we are just innocent ladies, we got our guns, but we don't want to hurt you." Hurt me?" – he laughed like crazy and rushed out at us. I tried to aim for the legs and put some bullets in him from my revolver. But Blue's single shot from her pump shotgun killed that crazy man. We dug a grave and buried him. Now I feel like I need to go to confession.

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Skryabin

#34
Poppy's Journal
10th of Septober 5502, Spring

BACK TO THE CONVENT
Our mining trip went well, but boring. We were sleeping in the ruins right on the floor and worked all day. In about a week we returned with 105 plasteel, 104 jade, 60 components and 194 steel. While we were unloading muffalos, sisters told us all the news. The main one was about the raid they had, when one of the raiders on his way to the Convent opened a large ancient room with two cryptosleep caskets and two hives. What prompted him to dig at that random spot, remains unknown. The raid was stopped successfully, and two raiders were captured. One of them died a few days later from infection and another one is imprisoned. The other two prisoners from that tribal group I was bothered the most, were released after one season – they did not want to stay. From four of them only two joined the Convent: Blue and Lemur. Blue is ok, she was a part of our mining team and I got to know her a little better; but I still think that a pyromaniac is a thread and may put our community in danger any moment. And Lemur is a separate story, I will write about her some other time. "And you know what Ammy did after the fight was finished? – Larussa whispered in my ear. – She rushed to the beer which one of the raiders dropped! And this is when she almost overcame her addiction! It is good that Mother Estelle was there and forbade her!" "You can never trust those addicted", - I replied trough yawning. I was so tired that I felt like sleeping for three days in a row after this mining trip! I hope next time Mother will send someone else, not me, please...

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Skryabin

#35
Poppy's Journal
10th of Septober 5502, Spring (late night)

INSOMNIA
Despite I thought I am tired, when I got to my cell I couldn't sleep. The ugly face of Sister Lemur was stuck in front of my eyes like a freeze frame from a horror movie. Sometimes I doubt we can ever overcome our human nature: in my mind I understand that this 17 years old tribal girl needs some compassion, but when I investigate my heart I can't find there anything, but aversion. And it seems like every single sister has the same feelings: everyone hates her. On top of everything this poor child lost her right leg during their attack on the Convent. What a cruel fate! And besides being staggeringly ugly and limping on her new peg leg (kindly installed by Sister Klavdiya), she has a chemical fascination, which means we must keep an eye on her all the time. There are no drugs allowed at the Convent, but it seems like this girl will look any possible way to forget the reality, because obviously it is not pleasing her at all.

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Skryabin

#36
Poppy's Journal
11th of Septober 5502, Spring (6:00)

MORNING COMMOTION
Early morning, I was woken up by Sister Ash saying that Mother Estelle is calling everyone for emergency meeting. When everyone came to our dinning room, Mother said: "Sister Larussa just told me that the hives in recently opened cryptosleep room North of the Convent are spreading and there are much more insects now then it was in the first place." "We have to react immediately, - Sister Larussa said. – I know those hives. If we will not take care about them now, they will go out of control." "Why don't we bombard them with mortar fire?" – asked Sister Ammy (she looked very fresh by the way after she finally get rid of her alcohol addiction). "No, - Mother replied. – We are not going to bombard them, because we will destroy cryptosleep caskets and there may be people inside." Finally, everyone agreed to build a closing wall with doors for shooters and dig a tunnel to the room from the South. After a short breakfast we all went to work on that wall.

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Skryabin

#37
Poppy's Journal
11th of Septober 5502, Spring (23:00)

FIGHT WITH BUGS
Nothing went according to our plan. When Sister Blue opened the tunnel to the room it was already about 16:00. Her first bottle of Molotov went in the wrong direction, and if she would run way after that first try, she would be fine. But she decided to throw another bottle. Now she got one of the hives on fire, but the bugs noticed her, and she did not have enough time to escape. When we saw her exiting the tunnel, she was already bleeding and a Spelopede with several Megascarabs were chasing her. Everyone started shooting and poor Blue was downed by the friendly fire. The rest of the bugs went to different directions and it took us about seven hours to kill almost all of them. By midnight everyone was so exhausted that Mother blessed everyone to take some rest. There was at least one Megascarabs sleeping somewhere outside of Convent walls and almost all our turrets were destroyed.

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Skryabin

#38
Poppy's Journal
14th of Septober 5502, Spring

LOST HAND
It took us two days to clean up all the mess after those disgusting bugs – I just hate them, especially their slimy filth. Despite Sister Klavdiya did everything she could, Blue lost her right hand. In her medical record she just wrote: shot off. And with her prosthofobic beliefs about human body she will avoid getting a replacement. Why would you believe in something like that? If helpful thing, like a prosthetic arm can improve your life, why reject it? But Blue looks happy with her single arm now (which is missing its index finger as well), and as soon as she felt a little better (practically in two days!), she went mining compacted steel. "Well, - Mother Estell said seeing her off, - We will see how obedient she is when we find a prosthetic arm for her. Monasticism is not about what you like or dislike. It is about putting your own will away!"

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Skryabin

#39
Poppy's Journal
14th of Septober 5502, Spring (afternoon)

SPACE SOLDIERS
The same day in afternoon Mother Estelle blessed us to open two cryptosleep caskets. We came to the ancient hall and Sister Albina opened them. A bunch of megascarabs and two pale space soldiers fell out of the caskets. The soldiers were bleeding and after thorough vomiting they slowly started heading North. First, we got very scared and wanted to run away, but those megascarabs seemed peaceful. We decided to leave them for now and Mother said that we should probably arrest those two soldiers, because apparently they do not understand what they are doing. "If we leave them to go, - she said, – they will bleed out to death." This is how we got two more "prisoners".

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Skryabin

#40
Poppy's Journal
1st of Decembray 5502, Summer

BROTHER PETER
It is not good to overhear, but sometimes I can't help myself. I did not do it on purpose, I was just going to pray in my cell when I heard their voices through the vent installed between my cell and the cell of Mother Estelle. She was talking with Brother Peter. He brought some skins to the Convent and was going to pick up new monastic clothes, that Sister Ammy did for him. Abbot Ralph was supposed to tonsure him about a month ago, but his clothes were finished only yesterday. So, I heard how Brother Peter was complaining to Mother Estelle at his life in the Monastery. He said he was very tired from doing all the hard work there, while other brothers just enjoying their easy life. They converted a raider a few days ago, who, before joining The Poison Assassins pirate faction, used to have a famous high-class restaurant and who is a cooking wizard. But he also does not do any dumb labor! "None of them is doing any hauling, - Brother Peter was almost crying, - I am working for all of them there like a damn donkey!" Mother Estelle was trying to calm him down, saying that there could be nothing more then serving our brothers and sisters; this is true love and it is not easy. Tomorrow Abbot will make him a monk, and being a monk means dying for yourself and living for others. And many more words she said to him, admonishing him to have patience. I am so bed, my curiosity will destroy my spiritual life one day: at least I will not share it with anyone. I will keep it secret!

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Skryabin

#41
Poppy's Journal
2nd of Decembray 5502, Summer

UNDERCOVER AGENT
The prayers of Brother Peter were heard! Next day one of the space soldiers Troy Weiss joined the Order (yes, that was surprisingly fast!). Peter did not care that he was incapable of violence, he was very happy they are getting another brother, who can haul. But I got puzzled. How a space soldier can be incapable of violence? What kind of soldier is he? And a thought came to me, that he may be not a soldier at all, but some kind of secret agent undercover. However, an agent also needs to know how to use a gun... Maybe he was a soldier who sits at the computer and develops a code which will help to launch nuclear missiles? I guess that might be considered as non-violent participation in a mass murder... Anyway, it is not my business, and if he sincerely decided to change his life for good, who cares about his past? Repentance is offered for everyone.

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Skryabin

#42
Poppy's Journal
8th of Decembray 5502, Summer

MIDNIGHT RAID
Around midnight we got eleven Poison Assassin raiders approaching from the South. They were all in armor and well equipped (including frag grenades and Molotov). They did not go to the East or West side of the Convent, where we have our best defenses, but they started attacking our South wall with grenades, planning to get inside in some unexpected spot. We all prepared for defense and this was the first time we were going to use our two mortars. As pirates were destroying one wall after another we covered them with mortar fire as good as we could: some of them got wounded and two were dead before they entered our trap corridor. At the end of the corridor Mother Estelle met them with a few shots from her bolt action rifle, but soon she got a bullet in her shoulder and had to retreat. Our traps killed another two raiders. And after two more were shot, they started to flee. We captured three of them and Mother (despite some of us got minor wounds) was very happy to see everyone alive.

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Skryabin

#43
Poppy's Journal
8th of Decembray 5502, Summer (late evening)

HELP REQUEST
We haven't had enough time to clean up the mess after the midnight raid, and Mother already sends us to the Monastery. An Ancient Ship Part just felt from the sky and started forest fire. Those parts may be very dangerous; they can poison the area or drive everyone crazy with their psychic drone. Therefore, Mother decided to send a small fireteam to help our brethren at the Monastery. We are getting two remaining EMP shells for traps and leaving immediately. There will be me, Sister Larussa, Sister Ammy and new Brother Jakob. Sometimes it seems to me that our world isn't real. We used to live so peacefully and now one disaster after another, as if we are inside of some computer game and the player just raised the difficulty level. But I better throw those thoughts out of my head, because they may lead to a mental disease. Let us concentrate on our mission!

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Skryabin

#44
Poppy's Journal
9th of Decembray 5502, Summer

OVERREACTION
I must admit we overreacted to this threat. A lot of preparation was put in building protective walls and traps, which were not used. But I think it is better to overreact then to overlook. There were only two Scythers, which came out of the Ship Part before we were properly prepared – installing IED trap right next to the Ship Part made them come out. The Scythers and their Ship Part were destroyed very quickly by our overwhelming force, and Abbot Ralph asked us to stay for one more day to help with disassembling all of those defensive constructions. First time I am wearing a power helmet, it feels pretty heavy and does not look monastic at all. It is very late, and I better go to bed. It feels good to be alive!

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