Rareth did not know what to expect upon entering the simulation, but she was as prepared as she would ever be. Nirann had updated the software she would be using in her translator to include ancient Rothian languages, though it was a long shot that any of them would be useful. Ideally, they would not encounter any lifeforms in the simulation until they were ready to make contact on their own terms. Nevertheless, someone had to be the first one in, and Rareth had no issue being that person. 

[hr]

The first breath inside the object for Rareth was a long, painful one.After her senses had faded in the real world, they were quickly, almost violently returned to her in the simulation. Her eyes burned from a seemingly intense light that overwhelmed them, her ears were filled with a high-pitched ringing, and her scales felt like they were experiencing every sensation at once, from light itching to a piercing pain. The sensory overload gave her a sharp headache, but it all subsided in mere moments. The light faded into a world shrouded in near-darkness, the sound softened into silence, and she was finally able to take a hold of her weapon and rise to her feet. She was not sure if the false sensations had merely been short-lived, or if her augmentations had cured them quickly, but she was glad for it to be over. 

The area around Rareth was dark like a moonless night, but Rareth’s implants quickly adjusted with low-light vision. She deployed her helmet from her armor, then started to use its sensors to enhance her scans of the environment. She was on a ridge overlooking a valley, though visually, the landscape was rather featureless. She used her echolocating sensors both to get a good picture of her surroundings themselves, and to search for any lifeforms that might be hiding out of sight. Firstly, however, she turned her attention to making sure the Humans had not fared any worse than she had. Establishing their beachhead was their first and only priority at the moment.