One-Shots

 

John Potter Stockton was a New Jersey politician (Democrat) of the latter half of the 19th Century; he served as a US Minister, convention delegate, United States Senator and State attorney general, in his time.  To the best of anyone's knowledge, he was not aware of the War, and he certainly did not demonstrate any sort of esoteric abilities while alive.  Mr. Stockton is also not currently in either Heaven or Hell; it is the tentative conclusion of Destinian researchers that he reincarnated upon death, which means that his soul could be anywhere by now.  Those contemporaries of the man that could be found have universally provided accounts of a person who was, by and large, not especially out of the ordinary.  In short, this was a fairly normal man with a reasonably successful but not earthshakingly relevant life.

 

All of this makes the thing about his signature extremely bloody odd.

 

Possibly it's one of those N-dimensional topological issues, where N is defined as 'one more dimension than celestials can normally perceive'; or possibly the Symphony just likes to have its little joke.  Either way, for reasons that only Superiors really know (but not speak of) a piece of paper that has an authentic signature of John Potter Stockton on it can be used to create a very temporary, very limited mini-Tether to whatever Word that the user (celestial only) serves.  The user may only transport him- or herself.

 

This item will only work once; the Superior will take it off the user's hands for 'recharging'.  This causes less resentment than one might think. This relic is generally handed out as an emergency exit - activation is automatic and does not require that the Servitor take celestial form first, which also means that Essence is not expended - for specific missions, so anyone who uses a One-Shot frivolously will have more important things to worry about than the mere loss of the item.

 

It should also be noted that searching out and 'acquiring' genuine samples of Senator Stockton's signature is a favorite pastime for celestials with an interest in such things; the traditional reward for finding one is that your Superior won't take it away from you until you 'use' it - and won't ask pointed questions about how and why you used it, either.  Many consider that valuable, indeed...

 

Relic: Deemed equivalent to a Song/6 (4pt)                      24pt

Self-Powered                                                                         0pt

Vulnerability: celestial artifact destroyed                          -4pt

Fragility: Easy to destroy                                                     -2pt

Convenience: Easily carried                                                +0pt

Limited Charge: One use                                                      /4pt

Final Cost                                                                               5pt

 

 

 

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