Cath

The Cradle

“Yes, the Cradle has its own language that is baffling in scale and complexity. We don’t understand all of it yet, but we should be able to at least pick up this ‘signature’ if it appears.” Freyr explained as a shape moving into the lab caught her eye. Looking up, she saw Agent 595 approaching, a curious look on her face. “What’s going on in here?” She asked, wearing a polite smile. Freyr began to explain, but a noise from the console interrupted her halfway through.

“Oh my…” she murmured, utterly engrossed in the data displaying in her overlay glasses. Dr Hou began shouting excitedly in Cantonese and grabbed one of his colleagues to double check. “Vreta... i think we have a match!” Freyr looked up at the alien, eyes shining behind her glasses. On the hologram, numerous small patterns were simultaneously detected and pulled out of the double Helix. “Your DNA presents multiple similarities with a Cradle design!”

Pretty much everyone in the lab had stopped to watch this experiment unfold by this point. When the results came in, they all began excitedly whooping, yelling, chatting and crowding around Freyr to congratulate her. She grinned broadly, still unable to believe what she was seeing. She returned a few high fives before dishing out further orders; namely to decode the exact coordinates from the data. Her team swirled around her like a shoal of fish as they got to work.

595 came around to Vreta’s side and watched his expression with an inscrutable stare. “Welcome to the family. What’re you going to do now?”

The Cradle

“Perhaps. Direct communication between the Cradle and anything outside Babylon’s biosphere is basically impossible. In theory, you could transmit information indirectly through all of the connections the Cradle has with our infrastructure on Outremer.” Freyr mused as they rounded a large bank of workspace to the console. She shooed Dr Hou away from the interface's main seat in Cantonese and began manipulating a holo of a double helix, regressing Vreta’s DNA back to its original form.

“However, these connections are basically all one way: outward from the Cradle. Which means any inward traffic would raise flags that are closely monitored. The most public devices I can think of that freely send information into the Cradle are the entry harnesses and implants. But even then, they serve the quite simple purpose of associating that person with a Cradle ID. No wiggle room for other information that i can think of...”

With the DNA strand returned to a pre-augmented state, Freyr and several of her team stripped it back even further. They pulled at the thread that was evolution, following a trail of mutations back through the entire history of the Rothian species. “So with conventional signals unlikely, where does that leave us? We know the Cradle has the ability to manipulate DNA, from the creatures that attacked us. What if, whatever may be on Rothia...did something similar to you, in the hope that you’ll find your way to the Cradle? With a similar ‘signature’ style, the Cradle would be able to recognise anything related to it straight away. Moreover, the Rothia entity could encode all sorts of information into your genes, including patterns that can be converted into coordinates.”

With Vreta's DNA now devolved to a very early point in Rothian development, Freyr motioned for her team to stop. Putting on a pair of overlay glasses to add some of the annotations back into her view of the holo, Freyr brought in a DNA sample found in all of the Cradle creature samples. Dr Hou and several more of the team activated a machine learning algorithm to detect similarities and patterns. Parts of each structure began quickly highlighting as the program cross-referenced them.

The Cradle

“Not stressed, just...thinking. Lets go to the lab; i need to try something.” Freyr confirmed, wading out of the shallows to her clothes. She quickly unrolled her trouser legs, put her shoes and socks on and folded her jumper over her arm. “Can you send your records on to the lab?” The team might need a little bit of time to work through them.

---

Freyr power walked back through the ship, her mind buzzing with possibilities. She called ahead to briefly outline her theory and what she needed to test it. So when they walked back into the open plan lab area, she didn’t even need to say anything. Dr Hou just ran over and handed her a swab set.

Freyr deftly primed the swab while turning to Vreta. “Open your mouth, please.” She commanded. Her stomach tightened when she got a full, uninterrupted view of all the sharp teeth in Vreta’s long snout. Waiting a moment to ensure it was locked in place, Freyr carefully rubbed the swab long the roof of his mouth.

Satisfied she had a good sample, Freyr gratefully retrieved her hand. “Thank you, Vreta. Sequence this for me, please.” She handed the swab in a test tube back to Dr Hou, who took it and ran back around the lab to a console several more colleagues were clustered by.

“The question I want to answer is this - how did the Cradle know to ping that very specific location on Rothia?” Freyr began, gently leading Vreta toward the console. “Did it remember something from the distant past, or did it obtain new information? Either answer has big implications for our understanding of the Cradle's history and capabilities.”

The Cradle

“Hmm...very interesting.” Freyr scooped up some water in her hands and watched it leak back into the pool. “Is it just the lack of extinction events that spurred this accelerated evolution, or were any other factors at play?” In her mind’s eye, Freyr was quickly spooling through available Rothian paleontological and biological evolution records. “That thing in the Cradle - it said it’d watched your species develop, right? Like it had a vested interest…” She looked at Vreta, who sat watching her. “Sorry, this may seem strange, but can i take a sample of your DNA? I want to test out a theory.”

The Cradle

“I think so.” Freyr nodded. “I can vouch personally for my team; some of them are slightly...eccentric but overall they’re very well behaved. We all spend a lot of our working time in the Cradle, where surveillance is also extensive and the environment itself is analysing your DNA every second of the day. As for the soldiers, i’m sure they’ll have enough discipline to respect your planet’s rules while on the ground.”

Freyr made a cutting motion on the top of the water, sending a small jet of water out into the empty pool to her side. “From what i know of our target site, it’s not particularly close to any population centres. So hopefully the impact on Rothian civilians will be minimal. Well, as long as whatever we find decides to play nice…” She trailed off, deep in thought. The itch at the back of her head to get back to the lab was growing more persistent. She moved slightly further into the pool; water lapped around the hems of her trousers. “What do you know of the evolution of your species? Specifically early period?” She asked suddenly.

The Cradle

“Shorts? Oh, they’re...well, they’re what the man with red hair is wearing over there.” Freyr pointed to a barrel chested sailor with incredibly muscly legs bound by tight navy shorts. He was part of a group of bare chested men playing volleyball on the sand. Freyr ripped her eyes away from the scene to look back at Vreta. “A waiver sounds like something Masgard or the Captain will want to know about. I’m sure if your meds are ready for import onto the ship straight away, that will be preferable.”

Freyr really wished she’d brought some shorts with her to the beach room. Vreta looked quite comfortable half submerged in the water, if a little bit predator-esque to her evolutionary watering hole instincts. She contented herself by moving each of her legs back and forward to get the sensation of rushing water on her skin. “Yes of course, how stupid of me. Obviously the captain would’ve thought of that for her soldiers. I’ll just need to ask her to provide suits for my team as well.”

Freyr was surprised to learn about the level of surveillance on Rothia. While she personally didn’t mind too much - she worked in an environment that ostensibly was scanning her entire being a trillion times a second, she knew some people took their privacy very seriously. “I see. Do you not feel uneasy about being watched all the time? How long has that been going on? Studies have shown that humans who know they’re always under surveillance are more prone to stress-related illnesses. Have you found that to be the case with Rothians too, or not?”

The Cradle

Freyr studied the pamphlet in her mind’s eye while Vreta talked. “I really should’ve packed shorts. Maybe I'll ask the quartermaster if there are any spare pairs aboard.” She mused upon hearing more about the climate. “It may be worth asking the senior staff if the soldiers have cooling tech in their suits ready for this trip? It sounds like something they’d have as standard, but really I have no idea. If not, provided they’re given enough time, I'm sure they could add this functionality in the ship’s auto-factories. My team could also use a civilian version. As for the anti-rad shots, is that something we could synthesize on the ship? We do have a state of the art bio-chem lab available.” She grinned. “As silly as it sounds, I can appreciate some people would find it easier to take their jabs from Human medics onboard, rather than on Rothia.”

The Cradle

Freyr laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not sure the water even goes that deep!” She edged further into the gently lapping pool, enjoying the feeling of submerged sand on her feet. She got about two metres away from the shore before the water reached her knees and rolled-up trousers. "See? I think you're safe." She put her hands under the water and gently swished them around, watching the ripples spreading across the pool. “So…” She began, looking up at Vreta as he came a little closer. “What ideas did you have for ‘priming’ us tourists?”

The Cradle

Freyr seized gratefully on the legitimate excuse to bring training to a close. As much as she’d enjoyed the session, she’d already been at the range for close to two hours. Even on a weekend, a little string at the back of her mind was pulling Freyr back to her team and all the work that needed to be done.

“Ah yeah, i totally forgot. I actually think I've been on the range enough for today, so let's run through your ideas. The beach sounds good, as i think it’s on the way back to the lab? Perhaps we can go again tomorrow…?” Freyr directed the last sentence at the black-clad agent still cradling a heavy assault rifle, but tailed off when she realised she still didn’t know her real name.

595 looked slightly crestfallen when it became clear Freyr was done, but perked up slightly on a promise of a rematch. “Alright, i’ll allow it. You kids have fun.” She gave Freyr a pointed look before resuming the target shooting simulation. Her rifle began firing at full tilt even before Vreta and Freyr had even filed out of the box. Glancing back to see her gracefully covering all vectors, Freyr could at least say she was pleased the agent was tasked with protecting her. She wouldn’t want to be enemies with her.

They exchanged small talk on the short trip from the combat simulation area to ‘Beach Leisure B35’. Freyr couldn’t help but smile upon seeing what lay behind the blast doors. The first thing she noticed was the ceiling, which had for all intents and purposes had an exact replica of Outremer’s sun beaming down from it. The sky was hologrammed in too, with tiny fluffy clouds gathering in the corners of the room. Freyr instantly felt a sense of open space and could see the benefits of this kind of facility.

The beach was equally delightful. An L shaped bank of sand with tropical trees and bushes gathered against the walls led down to a pool of azure water. Waves gently lapped onto the beach. The only human structures were the deckchairs arranged along the beach and a small lifeguards hut. As it was still not even lunchtime, there were only a few dozen sailors hanging out to enjoy the heat.

Freyr couldn’t resist. She rushed to a deckchair and took off her shoes, socks and jumper. Leaving them by the chair, she rolled up her trouser legs and headed straight to the water’s edge. The water was warm and inviting. She turned back to Vreta. “It’s lovely! Are you comfortable with water?”

The Cradle

“Yes. And in a situation like this, you must always look out for your teammates. Or someone could come and stab them in the back!” 595 added, pivoting to shoot two incoming targets on the periphery of Freyr’s vision. Freyr would’ve responded to these words of encouragement, had she not been solely focused on hitting targets. She could only keep up with the fast pace of action for about thirty seconds before two simultaneous thrusts by the floating shapes made contact with her.

A klaxon sounded and the targets abruptly stopped moving. “Oh, bad luck!” 595 patted Freyr on the shoulder, her rifle pointing up at the ceiling. “I’d say you have promise. Keep practicing and we’ll make a warrior of you yet. I can teach you all sorts of moves if you’re interested?” Freyr hadn’t been sure what to expect when she’d entered the shooting range. But she actually found it quite exhilarating. It kept her mind off what might be happening back home, while also sharpening a skill that could keep her alive in hostile environments.

Freyr nodded. “I’d really appreciate some tips. Despite letting the team down I quite enjoyed that; thank you both.” 595 grinned, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet. “How exciting! I think this will be a real bonding experience for both of us. I’ve also been put in charge of keeping you safe at all times - that’s actually what I came to tell you before we started shooting. So we'll be seeing a lot more of each other.” Freyr hesitantly returned the agent’s smile. “Isn’t that what all these soldiers are here for?” She asked.

“Well, yes. They’ll be protecting you too. But the Director-General wanted someone who has the relevant experience with Cradle-tech to be your last line of defence.” The pretty lady replied before spreading her piercing gaze between Freyr and Vreta. “Do you want to run another simulation? You can choose this time, big guy.”