[i]"Xo'pil-tzin,"[/i] darkness had settled when an androgynous and synthesized voice undercut the dull doldrum of thunder that seemed to bore into his mind. His response, thought picked up by subdermal implants which vocalized the unconscious tremors of his throat, was an inquisitive grunt. Rarely did Epit'li use honorifics. The faint glow of the broadcast screen cast a diffused orb in thickening mists as Xo checked on her feed. She had traveled some distance from him, following a steep decline in the landscape that formed a gulch between it and a rising mound of trees and stone. It was here that Epy had come across a series of ruins. She had begun the task of mapping out the structures when from within range of her microphones she picked up the cry of an orana. [i]"There is some interference and I can't triangulate the source of the call."[/i] Xo was already en route, the unusual length of his limbs lending alacrity to his movements along the boughs of the Veldt. Epy initiated surveillance measures and retreated some distance into the canopy, awaiting further instructions while he closed the gap. He came to a halt, bare soles pressed against the bole of an arboreal titan. The visuals on his forearm ran through various filters as she continued to process the data, a real-time map of the ruins and surrounding woods appearing at the left of the feed. The source of the call was located an estimated 300 [i]shari[/i] inside of the hill. [i]Ping me[/i], he thought and she complied, emitting an inaudible sound wave visually represented as a ripple on his screen. It bounced off of stone and plant, granting him a topographical overlay of the area. Xo leapt from the treetops, landing silently amongst tall grass. He retrieved an impeccably white rod from his sack and gave it a twist, a ring of light dancing along its length only to rise into the air with a dull crack before dispersing. An ill breeze crept forth from the depths of a crumbling archway as he explored, his fur bristling with every cautious step. The remains of a shattered portcullis leaned against the opening, shielding it from cursory glances. Pebbles danced amongst the stones in his wake, the sound of their falling audible only to him in the constant rumble of thunder. Here. Epit'li descended from the eaves and hovered above his head and at either side, emitting a halo of light that cast a brocken specter against the rising hillside, its form distorted by the mist and trees. [i]I want a five shari lead and a five shari tail along with my escort.[/i] With each command, the corresponding modules fell into formation and they began to work their way into the structure. Time had damaged much of the stonework and little could be gleaned from its carvers. [i]Pity. If these are early Qush ruins I might've found artifacts from the Plinharim War.[/i] [i]Pindrahim[/i], Epy corrected. [i]Whatever. The last work commemorating a century long genocide against twelve-legged mollusks netted a fortune.[/i] They had entered a vestibule, half-flooded and teeming with wildlife. Small amphibious creatures were plucked from the waters by half [i]ni[/i] long centipedes that dangled from budding mangroves. Beams of Epy's light gleamed off their carapace, the only betrayal of their camouflage. With preternatural grace, Xo scrambled across the twisting roots and wove his way across the antechamber, the soft hum from Epy mimicking his movements replacing long-distant birdsong and rolling thunder. His path ended with fallen stones that blocked the following hallway. Xo'pil examined the rocks for a moment before climbing up them. There was an opening just wide enough between the collapsed rocks and the ceiling for him to squeeze through after shouldering the rod he had been holding, the polyweave of his jacket bonding instantly to it. Breaking formation, he sent the AI to explore ahead while he worked his way through the uneven length of the hall. He cursed internally at the sound of his pack dragging behind him and swore he heard a chuckle from her. Left in twilight, he continued to crawl on his belly, occasionally having to painlessly dislodge his shoulder or elbow from its socket as he went. After some time he fell forward onto the remains of a column in a chamber far larger than the previous yet equally as dilapidated. His steps were muffled slaps against dampened stone. The humidity made the air oppressive and his senses were flooded by the heady scent of fungi and stagnant water. His head swam and he pulled the lapels of his jacket closed. [i]Ping.[/i] Once more Epit'li emitted a sonic wave, only to be met with a series of guttural bellows and the waters began to imperceptibly roil. [i]Tzin..[/i] [i]Initiate neural uplink.[/i] <> [i]I want active cloaking on the polyweave and need you to activate the hard light converters.[/i] Xo gave the shoulders of his jacket a tug and as he pulled away, the material duplicated itself until long enough to be pulled over his head as a hood. He immediately disappeared amongst the stones of the fallen column, repositioning himself along the wall farthest from the pool. [i]There, in the center of those columns we have detected a nest. They seem to be buried beneath a mass of... fungus. Origin unknown. It's emitting a bioelectric field that is interfering with my sensors.[/i] Xo'pil's gaze scanned across the waters and through the haze saw the faint glow of the fungus through swaying reeds. He deftly scaled the wall of the room, his digits finding every crevice and pulling him upward in bounds. With a powerful push he soared over the now frothing waters and reached out, gripping a column that rose from the depths and connected to the ceiling. He wrapped his tail around the pillar, freeing his hands to retrieve a set of goggles. Securing them beneath the hood, he set a marker over the mass for the AI to convene on at his command. Being fed data through the neural interface from all three of Epy's nodes felt like having a knife wedged into his brow so he restricted the feed to the center module. Xo worked his way to the center of the room, barely pausing at each column until he was one leap away from the submerged ring of pillars. The fungus was bioluminescent and gave off strange readings, seemingly pulsing with life. He removed the rod he had affixed to his shoulder earlier and gave it a reassuring squeeze before bounding once more over the waters, [b]DANGER[/b] immediately streaking across his feed. Epy had been designed with several runes layered throughout her interior and was augmented by a highly advanced probability engine which gave her limited precognition with responsive synaptic impressions. Normally she would have given him an earlier warning, but the feedback from the fungus delayed her functions. [i]HARD LIGHT! HARD LIGHT![/i] Three beams of light were projected the orbs, forming a hexagon with the density of 20 on the Mohs scale. He twisted in midair, gracefully landing atop the shimmering construct as the quivering mass of reeds erupted into the raging form of an orana. It crashed against the impromptu shield and let out a roar in confused agony as Xo flew upward from the force, , a cloud of spores filling the air. He twisted once more, turning his form to cling at the ceiling with all four limbs. Firmly gripping the stone with his toes and using his tail for balance, Xo'pil took aim with the rod and shot forth a burst of electricity, the crack from the discharge reverberating through the chamber. He fused the lapels of his jacket to the hood in a vain attempt to keep out the spores but he had already begun to cough violently. His world began to reel, sound seemingly catching up to him in waves as he went between bouts of total silence and deafening cacophonies. His thoughts ran away from him and he fought to focus on the thrashing beast beneath. He giggled as he noticed that what he had mistaken for reeds were actually large quills pocked and emitting the shrillest of whistles as the orana snapped at the air, sensing his presence through some unknown means. [i]Find me a way. A way out. Ooouuuttt. Amongst cresting waves of a wine-colored sea, a tangerine sun melting into the horizon. Son? I have none. That's what he always said. Too clever, he thought. Too worried about the then I couldn't appreciate the now. Kinesic override. I remember riding that first shuttle as a stowaway. Azot finally looked as small and constricting as it had always felt.[/i] Consciousness was slipping away from him as Epit'li's kinesic system engaged with a constriction of the polyweave. As he stood upon a precipice, staring out into an inky darkness he wrangled one last thought into coherence. [i]Don't forget the eggs.[/i] Hours later Xo'pil's provincial attache waited nervously for him in his quarters as the time for Ec-Shavar's gala drew nearer. He rose with a start as Xo's body stumbled into the room, his polyweave suit rent and partially in tatters. The material was already in the process of repairing itself as Epy disengaged the kinesic override and immediately shut down, the orbs clattering around him as he too fell. "Tarq..." the attache sighed.