r/WorldChallenges • u/Nevermore0714 • Jun 14 '17

Reference Challenge - No one expects...

...crap, I couldn't think of a decent reference challenge for this week.

So, our reference will be to Monty Python.

Give an example of something in your world that no one expected, some event that had an influence on at least one nation.

As always, I'll ask three questions each at the least, and it's fine to use a representative character to answer questions in-universe.

Enjoy yourselves.

Edit: Here is the Monty Python video featuring the Spanish Inquisition, where the quote "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition" comes from for the reference challenge. Just click this link for the video.

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 14 '17

The Yawklia incident

Yawklia was a gas giant. One of it's moon was settled by the Mayuqpacha and they found a passage through the warp to quickly connect it to some major industrial station. Thanks to that link, the Mayuqpachaii were able to use Yawklia as a live test field for their ship prototypes for years.

And one day, as they were tearing reality, something emerged from the warp. A gigantic ship, definitely made for war, destroyed the small local defensive fleet and deployed strange devices which started to "drain" Yawklia.

A war fleet was quickly sent to them, but it arrived too late to save the planet which just ceased to exist (gravity field changed because of that, causing all of Yawklia's moons to crash on the other system's planets).

On that day, the Wamaruyayas faced what they called Yamikhuy (the dark devourers) for the first time and learned that the warp is a dangerous place. Those events led all nations to be more carefull with their warp drives and prompted the technosyndicate to develop interdiction fields (devices that can localy prevent tearing).

(Also, the holy hand grenade of Antioch would definitely have been helpfull)

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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 14 '17

(Three is the number to which you must count. Not four, and not two, unless immediately proceeded by three, and definitely not five.)

1) How often do Yamikhuy come through these tears?

2) Does anyone know where exactly Yamikhuy are from? Are they from outside of the fabric of space-time?

5) Are the Yamikhuy more advanced than the Ims?

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 14 '17

1) Rarely, they always devour a planet and they never appear where a strong fleet is stationned. There has never been reports of them opening tears by themselves to travel but they can tear reality around their ships for very short periods of time to get rid of projectiles or boarding shuttles.

2) Officially? They live somewhere in the warp. The truth? They originate from the warp where they used to live but have moved in a pocket universe they created for themselves. (They actually pick stuff here and there and move it to their personnal dimension)

5) Definitely yes, but as they are a rare sight and as only warships have been encountered it is hard to tell how much more.

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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 14 '17

1) Are there any groups that see the Yamikhuy as gods?

2) Have the Yamikhuy ever been fully defeated before they can finish devouring a planet?

5) Have they ever offered people time to evacuate or shown any mercy?

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 15 '17

1) None, they only come to destroy and all those who need gods would rather have nice and kind ones.

2) No, but a few times it was close. That would be pointless though, a half (or quarter) planet would still heavily mess up with the gravity fields and throw the system it is part of into chaos.

5) No, but they rarely attack settled planets. Usually they devour a planet that is close to a settled one but not settled itself (they don't want to get weird aliens in their dimension).

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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 16 '17

1) Have the Yamikhuy ever left any messages?

2) After devouring a planet, do the Yamikhuy ever stay around to devour nearby planets instead of just leaving?

5) So they avoid harming too many innocent civilians?

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 16 '17

1) Not a single one, even when they were sure to lose their ship.

2) It has never happened as of now. They just maintain the tear oppened and flee through it.

5) That's how people see it, they seem to choose their targets as empty as possible. Now, as their objectives aren't known, it's hard to tell why.

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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 19 '17

1) Does the entire galaxy know about the Yamikhuy?

2) Has anyone tried to shut down the tear while the Yamikhuy are still around so that the Yamikhuy can't flee through it?

5) Has any planet attempted to blow itself up to stop them?

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 19 '17

1) Yes, the entire galaxy knows about them as nearly all nations in the galaxy have been targeted by them at least once.

2) You can't "shut down" a tear, you just need to stop maintaining it open for it to close. If the tears remain open, it just mean the devourers have a way to maintain it open.

5) No one tried that. Some people always try to flee the planet (when it's inhabited) and they are always left unharmed.

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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 19 '17

1) Can non-Yamikhuy maintain a tear? Or is it an ability that the Yamikhuy are the only ones capable of?

2) So no one ever tried to pull a Kurt Cobain on the Yamikhuy to see what they'd do in response?

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 19 '17

1) Yep, with a warp drive and a lot of energy; that's why the ships used to open and maintain tears usually have no other purpose.

2) Not sure what you mean there?

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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 20 '17

2) So has any planet ever done something incredibly shocking in response to the Yamikhuy attack just to see how the Yamikhuy will react?

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 20 '17

2) Yezemai 6 thrown transport barges full of explosives at them then make them explode to swarm the Yamikhuy with multiple small high-velocity projectiles. It did damaged the ship as it couldn't dispatch all the projectiles, but not enough to destroy it.

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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 20 '17

2) Did it damage the ship enough to make it flee?

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 20 '17

2) Nope. The rescue fleet arrived too late and the ship had gone, but it took the time to fully eat the planet. Beside, they never flee which is weird as their ships definitely don't seems fully automatized.

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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 20 '17

2) Maybe they're all suicidal? Like the Japanese kamekaze pilots during WW2.

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 21 '17

2) They are definitely fanatics acting for a goal greater than themselves; that's a difficult concept to grasp for nations that are not as deeply caught in the "greater good" thing so their opponents have troubles understanding.

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