The Singing Spire

[Rugs]

The Singing Spire Praise Be To Its Liberating Force Name • The Singing Spire Classification • Superweapon Origin • The Archeri Chorus Specifications Size • - Height: --- Spire: 20 km --- Verses: 2 km - Width: --- Spire: 5 km --- Verses: 1 km - Length: --- Spire: 5 km --- Verses: 5 km Appearance • The Singing Spire is, in fact, six ships that travel and link together. Composed of a single Spire and five Verses, each sport their own aesthetic: The Spire is by far the largest component of the Singing Spire, dwarfing the smaller Verses. Striking a rich purple hue with noticeable shifts in shade moving within it, the Spire matches the size of dreadnoughts by itself. Often mistaken as a grand purple star from the planets it orbits, the Spire is entirely composed of minerals, with all attached technology affixed along its surface. At one end, giant makeshift thrusters propel the vessel forward. Along its sides, numerous heavy guns dot its faces in irregular patterns, their placement unlike the orderly organization of normal starships. Beyond those, the only non-crystal components that compose the ship are small portions of rock that still cling to the Spire, with most sporting fixtures such as hangars, residences for crew, and communication sections packed to the brim with antennae. The actual structure of the ship and its interior are carved into the Spire itself, with hallways cut from the crystal and often covered in moss and small growths. Very little natural lighting is found within the ship, the crystal itself providing all the illumination needed as it hums and glows. In the rocky sections of the ship, things prove less graceful, with wires strewn about, rooms cut jagged and rough, and most equipment proving rough and adapted. This disparity proves the natural inclination of the Archeri toward working with their crystals rather than technology. When in use, the Spire produces a mind-numbing hum through its body and everything contained within, soothing the indoctrinated and threatening deafness for the unprepared. Its glow likewise multiplies tenfold, appearing in the skies of orbited planets even during the brightest days, and proving many times stronger than moonlight during the nights. The Verses are, in fact, five different mammoth ships constructed by the Chorus from the salvage of assimilated worlds. Though originally very different in their appearances, their convergent adaptation by the Archeri has made them look incredibly similar. Megaflora now dominates all five ships, with the only visible evidence of their different make being small variations in size and what little metal, visible hull remains. With this said, the ships still strike an imposing note, often not being seen far from the Spire. Each Verse sports weapons aplenty, their distribution notably more normal than Archeri normal engineering usually allows. The key modifications prove to be twofold. The first and most drastic proves to be the inclusion of huge trees sporting out from each Verse, each seeming to sway in the vacuum of space. Despite the impossibility of exposed plantlife surviving in empty space, each tree appears to flourish wildly, with all covered in vines, bustling with green leaves, and often supporting other sorts of flora. While these trees don’t appear to be protected by the ship’s shields, they persist nevertheless on the energy provided by each ship’s crystals. These crystals protrude from the hulls of each Verse, striking the same moving hues of purple that the Spire does. While nowhere as impressive as their larger counterpart, these crystals prove to glow and hum in a very similar manner. When the Spire is activated, the Verses can be seen moving into place at rotating intervals around the Spire, their bows pointed to the great structure and the resultant formation proving to be larger than most space stations. Function The Archeri were not a technologically adept race prior to their enlightenment, with much of their science dominated by bio-engineering. While this enabled them to craft plants of numerous creeds and purposes, it did little to enable their capabilities for spaceflight and metalworking. As a result, many of the ship-keeping functions aboard both types of ship seem to be relegated to plant life. Moss keeps the interiors of both clean. Crystals act as both wiring and power sources, replacing electrical systems. What little galaxy-made technology can be found aboard is often jury-rigged and haphazard. The result of this is that the technology of the Singing Spire proves hard to understand for those not part of their collective. The ships’ primary function is simply the indoctrination of planets. This is accomplished via the following process: The Singing Spire enters the star system. The Spire immediately fires massive crystalline missiles at all inhabited planets. The crystalline missiles impact the planets well before the fleet arrives, shattering. Each deploys a massive payload of spores, which begin to coat the planet’s surface. The population begins to experience effects as outlined here. The Spire comes into orbit of the desired planet, accompanied by the Verses and the fleet. Orbital bombardment renders ground-based defenses invalid. Ground forces are thereafter deployed to neutralize remaining threats. Secondary spore bombardment ensures that the entire surface is totally infected. The Verses come into formation with the Spire and both begin to charge, visible by their purple glow increasing exponentially. The time spent gathering energy is also dependent upon the size and population of the world below. Once complete, the Singing Spire shines akin to a second purple star in the planet’s sky. Once fully charged, the Singing Spire lets out an enormous pulse of Force energy. The wave blankets the planet in a matter of seconds, ensuring complete and total indoctrination of every sentient creature still alive on the surface. The Singing Spire breaks formation and moves on. A portion of the collective (usually comprised in large part of the planet’s former population) begin work to collect from the newly-formed crystals trees. Beyond this primary function, both types of ship serve secondary purposes: The Spire sports armaments comparable to a dreadnought, capable of raining devastation down upon fleets and planets alike. Armed with numerous crystalline missile batteries, the Spire can chew through an unprepared fleet in minutes given the opportunity. These crystalline missiles break upon penetration, releasing the mind-affecting spore in a shower of purple shrapnel indoctrinating and poisoning the crew, bringing them into hive mind as either members or biomatter for the conversion process. Those ships that survive the structural and manpower damage caused by these missiles are often salvaged by the Archeri, being jury-rigged and partially restored by their biotech before being deployed. Beyond crystalline missiles, the Archeri are capable of firing fully formed members of the hivemind in crystal tree form. These dig roots directly into the hull of spaceships and tear them apart until they are capable of taking control of the ship or rendering it inoperable. The Spire sports no shields, but does boast a formidable Force barrier that blocks incoming fire thanks to entire suites full of Archeri meditators. This shield draws directly from the focus and power of the Spire‘s crew, demanding more and more of the collective to fuel it in times of tough fighting, and failing when the strain becomes too great. In that event, the Spire itself proves to be a hard object to destroy, wielding immense physical strength and durability that can exceed even the most heavily-armored dreadnoughts. The Verses have taken on very battleship-like qualities as the Archeri have pressed into the galaxy. Their armament varies, though all of the ships sport homemade laser cannons (that fire in beams rather than bursts, utilizing the Chorus's crystals) mixed with the more usual missile launchers. What’s more, the Verses are the first ships in the Chorus to receive shields, hangars, and other conventional technologies that the collective has picked up on. As such, they fight much more traditionally than the Spire, leading the fleets and deploying with more conventional naval tactics.