The Starlings 23: Do You Trust Me?

The Starlings 23: Do You Trust Me?

The Starlings, Falcons, Beacons, and Triple-R Anacostia begin their joint assault on Nebulon's headquarters at Watershed Industries. . . . . . . REPORT ON WATERSHED INDUSTRIES 1. Nebulon. Identity: William Denver, CEO of Watershed Industries, formerly of the White Peace. Capabilities: Temperature Control, Enhanced Intelligence, Nuclear Resistance. 2. Menagerie. Identity: Isoldi Warrior, name unknown. Capabilities: Power Appropriation (upon killing), Flight, Enhanced Strength, Enhanced Speed, Nuclear Resistance, Magic Nullification (Utolan Ward Tattoos), Fire Generation. 3. Buzzkill. Identity: Sgt. Harvey Gage, formerly of the US Marines. Capabilities: Machine Control, Military Training. 4. Lovelace. Identity: Unknown. Capabilities: Enhanced Intelligence, Expert Hacking, Data-Eater Virus. 5. Slipstream. Identity: Kira Cruz, formerly of Triple-R Anacostia. Capabilities: Enhanced Speed (Short Bursts), Experienced Thief. 6. Aftershock. Identity: Dr. Mara Chun, formerly of the Beacon Cadet Program. Capabilities: Localized Earthquakes, Beacon Training. . . . . . . Featuring: Violet Blitz, Cecília Gonçalves de Azeredo, Nolan Caile, Audrey Dutcher, Cam Kooken, and Vincent Le Music and Editing by Violet Blitz Art by Cecília Gonçalves de Azeredo Special thanks to Lauren Tan and Mia Taylor As artists and creators, we stand staunchly against generative AI: it steals artists' labor, exploits outsourced workers, recreates harmful stereotypes, and damages the environment. We do not use any AI in the creation of this podcast or its artwork, and we ask that you refrain from using AI to create fan works of Paralogue.

The Starlings 22: Gravity

Before confronting Nebulon, the Starlings wrap up loose ends with Lovelace and MOTH. Content Warning: Insects, Violence, Underage Drinking and Marijuana Use . . . . . . To Darlene and Daniel,  I'm not one for big sappy gestures, but I know how dangerous this life can be. I hope beyond hope that I'll be around when you're 18, and you'll never have to read this letter. But here we are.  If you haven't met each other already, I'm sure this'll all be really confusing. I thought your Dad and I were two sides of the same coin, two soldiers in the same fight. We had so many plans for our future. But I was only seeing what I wanted to see. My teammates intervened, and things soured between us fast. He got Daniel, and Ruth and I kept Darlene a secret. I can't say I'm proud of it, I can't say I was young and stupid, all I can say is that's the world we live in. I'm so sick of all the secrets, but I'm no better than any of it.  I'm sorry Daniel, for not being there for you. I hope Will proved me wrong. I hope he raised you to be the most brilliant, brave, happy young man in the world. You have all rights to blame me, hate me, if he didn't.  I'm sorry Darlene, for depriving you of a father and a brother. And, if you're reading this, a mother too. I know that you're strong and beautiful, sleeping in the other room, and I can only imagine the thousand things you'll be by the time you're 18.  I'm so proud of both of you, for surviving and fighting and growing up. I hope you can find each other. I hope you can become a family again, I hope Raymond and Ruth are still around to help you out, I hope you aren't alone.  Happy birthday, you two. Go show the world what you can be. I love you.  Mom . . . . . . Featuring: Violet Blitz, Cecília Gonçalves de Azeredo, Nolan Caile, Audrey Dutcher, Cam Kooken, and Vincent Le Music and Editing by Violet Blitz Art by Cecília Gonçalves de Azeredo Special thanks to Lauren Tan and Mia Taylor As artists and creators, we stand staunchly against generative AI: it steals artists' labor, exploits outsourced workers, recreates harmful stereotypes, and damages the environment. We do not use any AI in the creation of this podcast or its artwork, and we ask that you refrain from using AI to create fan works of Paralogue.

The Starlings 21: Resolve

With the EMBER test called off and Nebulon no longer chasing them, The Starlings, The Falcons, and The Beacons plan their next moves. . . . . . . Aviary Damage Report 20250411 How exactly are we gonna pay for all these repairs? I'm not begging Stella for money again.  - K  The hell happened while I was gone? - C  Floor 9 - The Roost. Bulletproof glass overlook is completely smashed. I thought bulletproof meant that wouldn't happen...  Big computer (the egg?) seems totaled, but our cloud backups are okay. Roost is basically unusable, Starlings Closet seems mostly fine. I'm worried about walking on the floor though, it might not be weightbearing. Big hole in the floor. Floors 7 & 8 - Molting Rooms. Showers are fucked, bathrooms are fucked, rubble from the Roost broke a lot of the piping. Looks like water flooded out for a few hours before the auto-stop caught it. Hole in the ceiling and floor. Floor 6 - The Vet. Lightly flooded and largely destroyed. Looks like the ceiling falling took PloverBot with it. Damn, do we have to go to EMBER for healing now? Or GW? Floor 5 - The Incubator. Looks like Covenant's carpets absorbed a lot of the water. Thank god they're actually good for something. Seems like it saved our servers below. Stel would be so pissed about her old workshop. Floor 4 - Server Rooms. Besides the computer towers that Menagerie smashed, the rest look intact? I'll get Goldbug to run some tests. Security system is still on the fritz. Floor 3 - The Birdcage. Of the 5 cages - one has two new escape routes. One is smashed entirely. One has a cracked front wall (unrelated, from earlier this week). 2 still intact. Floor 2 - Press/Conference. Looks like Menagerie stopped here. Hole in the ceiling, big crater in the floor, and hole in the wall where he flew out. Floor 1 - Reception. Seems intact! Elevator is super broken. Floor B - The Nest. Armory and training room seem okay. The Mican egg thing looks kinda different, did all the chaos wake it up or something? . . . . . . Featuring: Violet Blitz, Cecília Gonçalves de Azeredo, Nolan Caile, Audrey Dutcher, Cam Kooken, and Vincent Le Music and Editing by Violet Blitz Art by Cecília Gonçalves de Azeredo Special thanks to Lauren Tan and Mia Taylor As artists and creators, we stand staunchly against generative AI: it steals artists' labor, exploits outsourced workers, recreates harmful stereotypes, and damages the environment. We do not use any AI in the creation of this podcast or its artwork, and we ask that you refrain from using AI to create fan works of Paralogue.

The Starlings 20: Fatal Momentum

The team is split as EMBER's practical exam begins and Horizon follows Nebulon and Menagerie into the city. Content Warnings: Excessive Violence, Brief Description of Gore & Vomit . . . . . . ORG IN0093 - The Beacons. EMBER’s primary public strike team. Secondary objective of promoting EMBER to the public. * Current Members:  * Silver Sentinel: >INT BE0031 * Bastion: >INT BE0029 * Assigned Handler: >INT PA0042 MET SC4371 - Nebulon* A metahuman from Earth who spent over a decade traversing the galaxy. Upon his return in 1996, he joined the White Peace (>ORG ER0584) as a superhero, warning of the coming Mican invasion. He aims to create his own army of metahumans to fight alien threats, and now sees both EMBER and the White Peace as obstacles. Though he helped oust the Micans in 2008, he has constantly attacked EMBER and civilian targets since 2000. * Capabilities: Temperature Control, Enhanced Intelligence, Nuclear Resistance * Associations: Buzzkill (>MET NE2679), Horizon (>MET SC6986) * Note: Destroyed our base and broke Menagerie out of containment. Priority Alpha, we have to take him down. Use everything at our disposal to get info. - V.W. ALI OR0152 - Menagerie. The greatest warrior of the Isoldi aliens (>ALI OR0012). His planet, Isolde, was destroyed by the Micans centuries ago. In 2015, he came to Earth to prove his supremacy against those who defeated the Micans and restore his lost pride (>EVE XC0186). He killed two White Peace (>ORG ER0584) members, the metahumans Seraph (>MET GL1052) and Bluestreak (>MET GL1864), and escaped from Earth without being apprehended. Attacked Sanctum City on 03/30/2025 (>EVE XC1086), resulting in the death of Beacon member Torch (>INT BE0032). Was captured and contained under EMBER HQ, but broken out by Nebulon (>MET SC4371) on 4/5/2025. Their connection is unclear. * Capabilities: Power Appropriation (upon killing), Flight, Enhanced Strength, Enhanced Speed, Nuclear Resistance, Magic Nullification (Utolan Ward Tattoos), Fire Generation * Note: It took all of the Beacons and Falcons to take him down once, and not without casualties. Now that he’s working with Nebulon, we need even more firepower. - Bastion. EVE VA5816 - Sanctum City Robot Stampede. In 2009, the first major supervillian attack on Sanctum City since the Mican Occupation (>EVE XC0122). Attempting to hit the city while it was recovering, a swarm of over two hundred humanoid combat robots, equipped with advanced kinetic absorption technology, descended upon Sanctum City, threatening civilians and destroying property. The robots were unmarked but were connected to a company called Oxon Hill Robotics (>ORG CO5912), the investigation of which is still ongoing. Casualties totaled 124, including the superhero Peregrine (>MET SC3651). * Note: 16 years later, we have a clue. Watershed Industries and Palisade Security are working together to develop new models of the old Oxon Hill robots. Maybe they’re just reverse-engineering, but I’m convinced they’re connected. - Bastion * Note: So Nebulon was just pretending to fight against the robots? That doesn’t add up, I saw him out there. - S.S.

The Starlings 19: What Are We Doing Here?

As Peregrine, Ricochet, and Goldbug trudge through the EMBER test, Horizon investigates Helios Bloom and Videodrome connects with a computer virus. Content Warnings: Discussions of Domestic Manipulation. . . . . . . Beacons Test Candidates: 1. Goldbug. Exam: 980. Experience: 700. Fit A: 890. Clever team player with incredible technical skill. Self-doubting but good at thinking for himself. Fit B: 470. We already have one Silver Sentinel, we don’t need two. Doesn’t respect EMBER, he’s another Cadet disaster waiting to happen. 2. Ricochet. Exam: 748. Experience: 200. Fit A: 710. Heroic, but with a tendency to rush into danger without thinking. Fit B: 920. New but very promising, with a power set that complements ours. He’s a trooper, and he’s got more stamina than it seems. 3. Peregrine. Exam: 0 [Refused]. Experience: 900. Fit A: 720. It doesn’t matter what I write, she’s not gonna join. She’s stubborn and doesn’t listen to instructions – can’t see the bigger picture. Fit B: 950. Reliable, popular hero with a strong sense of justice. Is she a good team player, or just a good leader? 4. Prisma. Exam: 892. Experience: 800. Fit A: 800. Self-serious but proficient. Used to teamwork in the Constellation Corps, but do those loyalties conflict with EMBER? Also doesn’t quite have the young/exciting/popular factor. Fit B: 870. A reliable member of the Corps, we’ve worked with her before to good results. Don’t have a great sense of her personality behind the mask. 5. Sunnyside. Exam: 754. Experience: 800. Fit A: 640. Seems like an asshole? Honestly the fanbase is the only real draw, would help reform our image. Fit B: 720. Not perfect, but a quite effective hero with a useful power set. Worried about his ability to follow orders. 6. Petrichor. Exam: 916. Experience: 700. Fit A: 740. Weird powers, would fit more as an investigator than a Beacon. He’s had surprising success in Chicago, though. We shouldn’t underestimate him. Fit B: 880. Observant, down-to-earth, and humble. More heroes should be like him. 7. Blueman. Exam: 642. Experience: 600. Fit A: 740. Beloved by the city, young and fresh-faced, and really damn powerful. Pretty naïve and also he’s blue. Fit B: 250. Our last Beacon was killed by an Isoldi. We can’t just recruit another one without expecting major resistance. Honestly, I don’t think we can take an alien at all. 8. Freezeframe. Exam: [Awaiting Review]. Experience: 400. Fit A: 820. Fascinating powers, lots of ambition. It would take a lot of training, but she could change the world. Fit B: 100. Self-centered, attention-seeking, rule-breaking vigilante. 9. Lucerne. Exam: 718. Experience: 200. Fit A: 860. Scrappy, very proficient in combat, and really wants to learn. They could be molded into a real hero. Fit B: 220. Criminal record and not enough hero experience. I’ll need to see more before I’m convinced. . . . . . . Featuring: Violet Blitz, Cecília Gonçalves de Azeredo, Nolan Caile, Audrey Dutcher, Cam Kooken, and Vincent Le Music and Editing by Violet Blitz Art by Cecília Gonçalves de Azeredo Special thanks to Lauren Tan and Mia Taylor As artists and creators, we stand staunchly against generative AI: it steals artists' labor, exploits outsourced workers, recreates harmful stereotypes, and damages the environment. We do not use any AI in the creation of this podcast or its artwork, and we ask that you refrain from using AI to create fan works of Paralogue.