The Welsh & Wright Families were considered to be two of the most influential of the founding families on Arcadia, and there were only a dozen of such families ‘left’. The others had either left, died out, or chose not to involve themselves in politics.
Jacob & Diana were The Romeo & Juliet of the two families, all except neither of the two families were hostile to one another, and no one died? It was far tamer and anticlimactic then most realize.
Diana on the other hand was Specter One without a mask and her actions and methods were as drastic as Annie’s, so was her reputation that when she entered her wild phase so long ago she broke her sister’s legs and left her for dead, nearly killing Jacob, before nearly beating him to death.
She was nicknamed The Seventh Seraph after The Seventh Temple, something of which was unheard of. While she and Lilith were rivals, and considering Lilith was for all it pertained among The Eldest Curators and a senior member of The Curator Council that said a lot.
Jacob was second to her as much as a neutron purge was to a supernova, even if they had rivaled one another, Jacob at no point ever did so willingly. As for their families, they were ancient even by federation standards and played a role in Humanity’s Golden Age.
Such was their history that they were cemented in The Federation & Arcadia to the point they could forgo shadow councils, power, influence because no one dared to question it.
Naturally they weren’t the only two families who could say the same, however when it came to bloodlines, rights, and debates, it became problematic at several moments in history?
The Welsh Family helped create The Seventh Temple as a result after its disbanding they were left in a scandal. The Wright Family helped create Section Three, and both helped create The Arcadian High Command so there was a lot to unpack there.
There was no adoption system for either of the two families unless they had blood ties, cloning was a taboo, and clones not made by either family were outright swept away as their bloodlines carried a rich source of giving birth to Ascendant Prospects.
Preventing rogue clones was no doubt a priority at one time or the other, however after Jacob’s death, The Welsh & Wright Families were left uneasy, and the fact that Ferris was a Welsh and only kept his father’s surname as a middle name was a bit too much on the nose.
If that wasn’t all, Diana and Jacob were practically heirs at one point or the other and they had chosen to ‘partially’ cut their families off for one reason or the other? Jacob becoming a Welsh was also a scandal as their children were Ascendant Prospects.
Annie turned out to be a powerhouse like her mother, but Ferris was kept hidden away and his fate was unknown outside of Diana’s siblings and one aunt on Jacob’s side?
So naturally Anna wouldn't commit what was believed to be a historic taboo when it was clear as day Ferris was Jacob’s Child. Even if she did, Annie doubted Anna would even believe it..
…
After getting Ferris up and helping him out of his suit, she would soon drag him to the armory after making herself at home with over a dozen large duffle bags scattered about that she had seemingly brought with her?
“I stopped by good ole daddy’s vault and brought you your inheritance without you having to meet those old frogs. Suffice to say, or dear ‘mother’ will be hearing all about it! She still thinks I’m dead so that should add an element of surprise? Dad left you quite a bit! Did you know he hoped you’d inherit his suit and take his mantle of cipher? Sorry but I had to snoop a little!”
Annie revealed, leaving Ferris having believed he had already gotten his inheritance to slightly frown. The Wright Family held much of it hostage in the hopes of meeting ‘him’. What was truly sad however, was despite how simple it was, hiding this from him was a stab in the heart.
All these notes.. and he had always thought his father had only left him his journal..
As for The Mantle of Cipher, it was his father’s equivalent of Specter, only it made Specter look more like a ‘dead’ weight in comparison. Cipher was his father’s code name, to say it made his heart wrench at the mere thought of the name was to say nothing at all.
Specter was based on Cipher, but he could never truly compare. In the end, hearing that name once more only to discover this had been hidden from him broke his heart to such an extent he couldn’t think of nothing at all.. as he read his father’s letters..
Much of which consisted of ideas what he’d be like, tips on women, family drama, a list of names he could ‘trust’, passwords, access codes, safe houses, coordinates, bank accounts, shares, ships, and a great deal of him insisting that if he was anything like his mother to follow ‘his’ process!
He then proceeded to speak of his mother, what made him fall in love with her, her favorite foods, jokes, and dates. Before ending it with his ‘process’ once more only, it related more to Ascendancy, tips, stages, and his own experience.
There was simply too much for him to truly read, however from what Ferris could gather, they had the same handwriting, and most of all shared in the same fascination of The Federation to the point they’re thoughts were one on the matter.
Even if he inherited more from his mother personality wise, his appearance, hobbies, and personal favorites including frozen salisbury steak tv dinners all came from his father..
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If that wasn’t all, he discovered why his father chose the name of Cipher and its origins. Evidently, it tied closely to The Golden Age, and The Federation during The Progenitor ‘Conflict’.
The Ciphers fought toe to toe with The Progenitors, who at the time were at the same level of The Seventh Temple at the height of its power. They also combated and explored Precursor ships, facilities, and megastructures ‘alone’.
It was only unfortunate they had all died off and by The Time of The Curator Uprising were merely myth. They were neither Ascendant nor Arcadian, making their existence, and ultimate sacrifices something only the ordinary individuals of humanity could claim.
Ordinary humans, surviving and sacrificing themselves to take out beings who by all accounts were demigods were something his father felt represented humanity the most. No absurd science, super soldiers, or gear, just humanity’s struggle to survive and endure at any cost..
And in the end that was what he believed Cipher was? As for his suit.. it was the last known hail mary of The Federation towards the end of The Progenitor War. however, it would never be worn as the Cipher it was intended for made the ultimate sacrifice ending The Conflict.
Had he worn it, he would have survived to enjoy the victory, but there simply wasn’t the time from what Jacob could gather? As a result, Jacob took the suit, the weapons that came with it, and became Cipher during his time in [ERROR].
And to this day Cipher was an Arcadian wet dream in the intelligence community, Section Three, and other unnamed organizations.
Unfortunately, his father wasn’t perfect as at one point or the other, he ‘dispatched’ entire fleets, worlds, and even a Precursor Megastructure to such an extent The Progenitors evolutionary fear born of the name nearly matched that of The Precursors.
Forcing Ferris overwhelmed with this information to only rub his temples, there was far more than he had realized. Centuries worth of journals, notes, and more, leaving him no choice but to put it all to the side as he felt the power armor’s chest plate.
Subsequently, what he believed to be merely a suit turned out to be power armor, a testament to The Golden Age of Technology..
“I get it, I really do but let's not spend the next hour looking over his journals! Sometimes I wonder how he had even managed to ‘help’ conceive us if he wrote this much? Now get suited up! Our good ole daddy left us this junker-no offense?”
Annie unceremoniously blurted out..
“This Cruiser participated in The End of The Progenitor Conflict; its identification as a Section Three Cruiser is purely ceremonial. It was originally commissioned by The Federation making use of reverse engineered precursor technology in an effort to combat progenitor swarms and remanent precursor sentinel ships-”
Naturally Annie covered her ears while Ferris now understood why it was undamaged even despite crash landing? He doubted even The Curators would have lasted long had The Federation made use of the same fleets and tactics?
Of course, it's hull identification and transponder identified as Section Three or more specifically his father’s ship, naturally this was likely one of his many throw away ships? But to Ferris it added character..
As for progenitor swarms, and precursor sentinel ships, they were simply classified as drones with particle beam weaponry and advanced shields intended to contain and purge The Infection but ultimately used as weapons.
The Precursor Sentinels on the other hand were more comparable to guardians left behind to defend or protect a world or any matter of things? And without a Precursor Monitor to control them, they would continue to do so without guidance.
They naturally became an issue down the line but haven’t been considered a threat in the last several thousand years, neither were The Progenitor Swarms, suffice to say? With The Exception to The Crypt considering a Precursor Dreadnought Wreck in the system.
And after gearing up, Ferris heard a familiar voice he had only heard as a child..
“Ferris.. you’re all grown up! I made several of these V.Is depending on what happened to me and considering I must have died when you were too young to know any better.. I believe it's only right you see what this little pandora’s box of mine has to offer-but before that let me put the baby you to bed! In my defense, I never planned for you to actually hear this-”
Jacob calmly recorded and humoring himself in doing so while baby Ferris was crying up a storm.
“Now that I put you to bed, let’s talk about The Crypt! What? I made this V.I interchangeable depending on where you are when you’re hearing this. Blame your mother, it was her idea. Why she thought you’d be in that hell hole is beyond me, but since you’re hearing this, she must have been right? First things first, go to these coordinates, and don’t die-”
And just like that he was gone, leaving Ferris to sigh having realized his suit had memory blocks? However, the systems were somewhat restricted after adapting to his body. Jacob was Ascendant, and one that made his armor at most an accessory.
An accessory after realizing Ferris wasn’t Ascendant reverted its safeguards and systems formerly deemed unnecessary. It was so advanced to the extent that it didn’t require an A.I rather it was purely autonomous, and its scanners needed only to scan him and accommodate his deficiencies.
Subsequently, it was only ever worn by an Ascendant, making this the first time a non-ascendant wore it. And considering it was intended for non-ascendant humans; it became obvious it was an equalizer to make up for it.
Evidently, it was infinitely more useful for Ferris than it ever was for his father as he marveled at how far The Federation had truly gone before they fell..
“I’m uploading coordinates, advise?”
Ferris calmly instructed; however it took a moment for Anna to process it.
“Not advisable! Likely a joke on his end? If not I still wouldn’t advise. I’m unwilling to send you into The Heart of a Precursor Warzone, this planet belonged to a race that rivaled The Progenitors at the height of their power before The Precursors too devolved them after crippling its forces. And they’re still here. What you’re asking of me-”
To put it bluntly The Crypt was the sister they’re currently in due to the special nature of it all. The Planet in question was The Ancient Capital World of Arcai, The Home of The Archaic, and The Last Remaining Arcainians..
Those Planetary Particle Cannons belonged to their former empire, and were likely never deactivated. And telling by her concern, the same could be said for the remnant battlefield, whether it be sentinels, automated defenses, and survivors still fighting that long forgotten war.
What’s more, the federation remnants were still active and ‘alive’ on this world, with Arcadians scattered about who were originally advisors during The Progenitor War?
And after three thousand years of being trapped on this world, the human population now numbered in twenty million when compared to the two hundred and seven million Arcainians scattered about.