Cath

The Cradle

They fitted Freyr into her harness last. From there, she could just about see the command consoles and the crew they were leaving behind to coordinate the mission. “Ready, Doctor?” One of the technicians loomed over her, making final adjustments to the harness. “Yeah, launch the drone.” They nodded, relaying the instructions across the vast room.

Freyr’s team launched a small remote controlled drone at the approved coordinates. It was deliberately quite basic, to avoid interference while it completed its task - testing the inhabitability of the environment. The whole room was quiet while a few people focused hard on the readouts. The Captain had offered more Bridge staff to help with management of the mission, by way of reconciliation. She watched proceedings from a raised platform.

After a short pause. Dr Apalkov called from the command area: “Atmosphere is stable. No signs of disruption! Beginning insertion sequence.” Freyr cleared her throat. “Good luck everyone.”

---

Her limbs were on fire! Freyr waved her arms and legs but couldn’t find purchase anywhere. She realised she was airborne milliseconds before she slammed back first into a hard surface. Freyr’s teeth rattled inside her helmet and a pained grunt escaped her lips. She fell onto her front and found ground beneath her; she spread her arms out to avoid falling anywhere.

“Freyr, you ok?” The Agent’s distinctive voice asked her from nearby. She felt a hand checking the apparatus cocooning her then teasing her head off the floor. “Open your eyes sweetie, It’s alright.”

As Freyr opened her eyes, lights on the outside of her helmet flickered on to illuminate her surroundings - the suit's night vision hadn't kicked in yet. 595 was crouching over her prone body, resting a big energy rifle on her knee. Gradually, the burning sensation subsided and Freyr felt sick instead. She grasped the Agent’s hand, hauling herself up and looking around.

She’d crashed against one of the lab’s giant wheels. Looking up, she could see auxiliary lights flickering into action on the two decks above and in the cockpit. six multi-jointed appendages hung folded away along the top. The gantry running along the outside edge of the rig was empty - Freyr supposed they’d just entered. Her memory was a little foggy. “Did we just get here?” She asked 595.

“Yeah, about twenty seconds ago.”

Freyr saw Dr Wetherall being helped to his feet by Thebes and waved. She could taste blood in her mouth and her tongue hurt. Wind roared out of the dark at them, sticking large blobs of snow and ice on Freyr’s visor.

The Cradle

“Yes of course. If there are any signs of terminal strain on the simulation we’ll pull out immediately. We want to keep this thing alive.” Freyr assured Datius. The thrill of discovering an entirely new species was not lost on her. If it weren’t for all the other extenuating circumstances, she’d have already laid the foundations for formally introducing this entity to the galactic community once the mission was declassified. It might have been her crowning achievement - uncovering a lifeform that was potentially millions of years old and one of the final puzzle pieces to her life’s work - uncovering the secrets of the Cradle.

“The drone is already prepped. I’m not injecting it until we’re in a ready position, so we can quickly follow it and minimise runtime waste.” Freyr frowned at Rareth’s next question. “Yeah, I discussed them. Andersen came down from thirteen to ten marines, plus the Sacred Band. That was after I explained that the modifications to our lab mean only eight are required to control it. She won’t budge any further.”

“Boss!” Dr Apalkov called from the other side of the holo-table. Freyr moved all the floating items with a ‘through the bushes’ motion of both hands. “What do you have for me?” She asked.

“I’ve locked onto the mountain, using the extraction file. Want me to lock that in again now?”

“Good work, yes please. That’s where we last saw the creature.”

Freyr looked back at Rareth, hands resting on the table. “There’s no easy way down the mountain for the rig if our friend isn’t there. I hope the anti-gravity generators you installed work as described. Do you have any more questions for me or can we get this show on the road?”

The Cradle

Freyr had hoped Rareth would come aboard. She’d stayed by her station in the centre of the action while the Datius did the rounds. When the giant Rothian approached her and began speaking, she looked over as if she’d been engrossed in work and hadn’t noticed. She smiled, said hello, and reached out her hand. As expected, after studying Rareth gently grasped her hand and they shook.

Freyr began answering the question out loud with one track of her mind. Regular metrics that didn’t mean much to the uninitiated - deliberately quite technical. With the other track of her mind, Freyr opened a physical data connection with Rareth, and gave her the real answer.

That night in the club with Plenipotentiary Wallace and Kalax Verengonig had inspired this idea. Freyr had watched them grasping each other's arms and communicating in complete secrecy by sending chemical & pheromone signals through their bodies. She’d studied body chemistry alignment, but had never practiced it before now.

Freyr knew it’d be much harder to communicate with a Rothian in this way than with another Human, but this was the best way she could think of to talk without drawing attention. While their regular implant comms would be quite secure, it was another matter to obscure the connection completely.

Fortunately, she had an innate grasp of her implanted firmware, and manually programmed some additions to make the translation of her body chemistry into something a Rothian implant could understand.

The sensation of making that connection was strange, like interlocking fingers, toes, tongues and hair with something completely alien to her. Every nerve ending in her body jangled and sang. But she kept her expression plain and initiated the chemical signal she’d worked on. If everything went to plan, it should feel to Rareth like her own subconscious was saying these things to her.

><^ Don't be alarmed, just listen.><^

><^I've configured the rig to search for information connecting this entity to the Cradle, and for proof of the ‘Hegemon’.><^

><^It said all meaningful records were stored in the Cradle, but there might be usable imprints hidden somewhere in it’s memory.><^

><^The Cradle has obscured origin logs for centuries, but this entity is vulnerable, and not as vast in scope. We might have a better chance now than we’ll ever get again.><^

><^We might learn where these things came from, and perhaps secrets about intelligent life itself.><^

><^Please trust me when I say it’s important we try. I can feel something isn’t right. Do not make this information public. My life is in danger. Do NOT offer me asylum or try to intervene, I have to save my family.><^

The last segment was rushed and crammed together, as Freyr felt rising nausea threatening to disrupt the flow of actual words coming from her mouth.

The Cradle

“There is evidence from our research of the Cradle to suggest these things can practice a dormant state, with no power usage over long periods. That could be how it escaped detection for so long...” Freyr explained, biting her lip. “We don’t exactly know what would happen if it ran out of power completely, but there is undeniably significant risk of permanent damage."

“So we are torturing it for information!” 595 snarled from off camera.

Freyr snapped her head up to look at the Agent. “So you think we should just take the thing’s word for all this paradigm-shifting new information? That the Cradle is actually home to a quartet of life-giving machines, and that some new threat approaches our door? There are questions that need answering before we reunite it with the Cradle, not after!”

595 nearly said more, but held her tongue. She was wary of giving away any more information. They were clearly arrayed against her, so she’d need to be much more subtle.

Freyr looked back at Rareth when she began explaining her idea. “That could certainly improve the odds! Do we have a firm grasp of the object and the capabilities to move it into orbit?”

The Cradle

“No, sorry, I think you misunderstand.” Freyr sighed, massaging her eyelids and trying to maintain an even tone. “The rig doesn’t need terraformed ground to work, and we agreed not to terraform at Marae’s request. All I’m saying is it makes comprehensive analysis of the simulation like conducting open heart surgery without clamps and forceps. We’re also at risk of becoming collateral damage if things become more liquid in the sim, as our Builders can’t construct a secure foundation or defences around the rig.”

Freyr shook her head, trying to focus her thoughts. “Anyway, droids are technically an option, but like i said...we could only have a few minutes to try and make contact, and then potentially manipulate a rig designed for twelve crew into running a diagnostic...”

Freyr paused, glancing round to watch her team hard at work preparing more harnesses behind her. Dr Wetherall straightened up to hand one of the yellow Tech drones its laser cutter back with a grin and an affectionate pat on the casing. “The only solid evidence we have that there may only be one shot is the way it closed down the sim so abruptly last time. The entity could barely speak by the end, and may well run out of energy completely before this week is out. We have to assume we’re in there to get everything we need in one hit. The consequences of not doing so could be catastrophic.”

Freyr varied her gaze between the Captain and the Datius. “My team is the best in the galaxy at what they do. They understand the stakes, and the risks, better than anyone.” She studied Agent 595, who was still watching from a distance, before staring back at the Datius. “We won’t leave our chance at understanding what this thing is before we reunite it with the Cradle to droids.”

The Cradle

“I considered this, and it’s certainly an option. But, we don’t know how many chances we’ll get to collect the data we need. We might only have one more opportunity, lasting just a few minutes. Even if we can insert safely this time, without enough people to man the rig, we'll be running virtually blind again, unable to make a proper judgement.” Freyr glanced at the Captain, who was listening intently. She was glad people were beginning to take the risks seriously. She had only just gotten started explaining those.

Freyr tapped her nail on the holo-screen’s base. “My preference is to go in with a full team of scientists and a minimal complement of military personnel, to collect as much information as we can as fast as possible. Marae expressed her concerns about terraforming the ground we use, which increases the risk of this strategy even higher, but I believe it's our best shot at gaining useful intel if the entity is unable to respond. The payload may not take too kindly to this, but the rig is defensible. I think we can manage.”

"It's my head if we lose our best scientists because of a lack of security. I have to insist we send my marines in to guard the rig. That leaves the Rothians and the Sacred Band free to neutralize any threats before they get close. Right?" Captain Andersen directed the last syllable at Rareth, still unsure what role Rothia was going to be playing.

The Cradle

“It’s impossible to say for sure we’ll be safe with any number of people” Freyr replied, combing a hand through her silver-streaked hair. “We’ll need to run some tests on our environment as soon as we’re inside...From the last encounter, it looks like we have a minute or so to get out while it shuts down; that’s unlikely to change much. But the overall runtime the creature can support may be reduced with more people. We only had ten people last time - it’s probably quadruple that amount now. Then there are the collateral programs this entity keeps; the ‘payload’... The best answer i can give you right now is that we’re about to find out how safe it is - that's one of the mission objectives.”

The Cradle

”Let me send a few people down there. They’ll keep this thing for themselves otherwise. You heard her yourself!” Freyr privately pleaded with the Agent, who was hovering out of sight for the holo. 595 looked conflicted, and for a moment Freyr thought she might walk off altogether, but she replied after a moment or two. “Very well. How many are going into the sim?”

”Twelve, six are monitoring from outside. It’s all in the mission spec.”.

595 nodded slowly, giving her the green light. Freyr turned her attention back to the exchange just when her name was mentioned.

“Would a single squad instead of two decrease the risk of any adverse effects, Dr Lang?”

“Well, yes, but there are sti-”

“Excellent, that’s settled then. Now, it's my understanding that the treaty-”

Freyr gritted her teeth, irritated at the erosion of her perfectly tuned plan. She counter-interrupted Andersen, resolving to let nothing else delay the launch.

“It’s alright, Captain. We can change some things around and send five of my team down to the FOB. Does that work for you, Datius?” Freyr then pointed at one of Andersen’s junior staff. “You - can you find a shuttle for my people please? Now.” It seemed everyone responded to the change of tone in her voice, as the holo-table exploded into activity around her.

The Cradle

Freyr couldn’t think of a plausible answer. Her mouth hung slightly open as she tried to come up with an excuse. Of course it would’ve been preferable to work with Marae and her team in person; Freyr had read of the Rothian lead scientist’s exploits in university. They hadn’t had loads of time to chat yet, but this expedition would hopefully change things.

But she didn’t need to answer right away. Freyr grimaced when the Datius made some point about Rothian military might. Andersen was obviously a prideful person deep down, because she bristled at the mere thought of her soldiers being excluded. Freyr supposed Andersen's explicit remit may have been to spread awe and admiration for Outremer’s state of the art war machine.

“With all due respect, that’s not part of our deal. We’ve agreed to equal policing of these objects. It’s my job to ensure everyone gets out safely, and I can’t do that without boots on the ground.” The Captain turned to Freyr. “It’s non-negotiable.” She then turned back to Rareth.

“And i don’t think you realise Datius, how much our government has invested in this mission already. If Dr Lang wants to conduct this mission from aboard the Barbarossa, she has every right. Hell, she could say we’re conducting it from the Rings of Saturn and I’d plot a course right now. But I can’t allow anyone to delay this venture any longer when we have a perfectly viable config right now. It’s just too important that we proceed quickly.”

Andersen paused, her stentorian voice echoing around the cavernous space. Freyr glanced around and noticed 595 fixing her with an unblinking stare. ”Do the right thing. Prove yourself to me. Maybe I'll let you all play together again soon.” The Agent sent the message directly to her implant.

Freyr moistened her lips before rejoining the exchange. “It’s worth noting too, that the majority of our team will actually be entering the simulation. Our mobile command centre will allow us to monitor harness connections, sensory data and signals from the host with minimal latency.” She daren’t provide any more emphasis, but hoped that they’d get the idea.

The Cradle

At that moment, Freyr saw 595 jump from the cab of the leading troop carrier. The Agent flexed her shoulders and slowly cracked her knuckles as a dozen bulky troopers filed past her. When she saw Freyr looking, 595 blew a theatrical kiss before grabbing a small container of dark red clay from her suit. She watched distastefully, transfixed, as the Agent gathered some of the mixture on her fingers and then smeared it carefully down her face in a disturbing warpaint pattern. Why did this woman, supposedly a government employee, engage in such an archaic practice?

Freyr thought quickly how she could alert the Rothians of her plan without being detected.

“I don’t see the problem, Datius. We have the technology to collaborate remotely-” Andersen motioned to the massive holo-table the Rothian was standing on, in miniature. “And you’ll be meeting up in person once the expedition starts. It’s only temporary, you understand.” Her tone was cordial, diplomatic, and made it clear the matter was closed for her. “I’m looking forward to seeing this thing in action!” Andersen motioned to the mobile lab next. “I hope it justifies the effort of getting it from storage at such short notice.”

“Thank you Captain, we all appreciate your dedication. But I must recommend we keep the number of bodies that enter the sim down to a minimum.” Freyr answered hastily, eyeing up the panoply of military personnel taking positions by the harnesses. “Each of them will require extra energy for the entity to generate, and from what we know so far, will likely attract more attention to us.”

The Captain watched her levelly. “Outremer is now giving this mission the gravity we know it deserves. I’m putting Lieutenant Kwanele in command of my marines and the Sacred Band. They will be responsible for the protection of your team and Agent 595.” Freyr felt her cheeks flush. “Captain, if we run into trouble, we can all extract before people get hurt. Adding this protection may have the opposite effect!"