"A heavier weapon? Like a club, or mace?" Kaleeth questioned. It was hard for her to imagine going out and training again after almost trying to kill Janius, but at least he wanted to try something different, instead of just swords again. "I guess we can try. I have never used anything like that before because I was never really strong enough, but...I guess I am now." She commented, putting her arm around Janius with a very tight grip and pulling him close. "I just...I don't want to hurt you. I don't really know how strong I am; I haven't tried to test it before."
Ahnasha showed much less doubt than Fendros and instead put one arm around him and smiled. "Don't worry, I am sure we will figure something out that will work just fine. Now, instead of worrying, how about we get back to training?" She suggested, pausing to conjure up a bound bow in her other hand. "Instead of beating each other senseless, let's go for the bow this time. It's about time we start getting into some advanced techniques."
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Kaleeth was sitting on her bed, not quite in as bad of a state as the day before, but nevertheless distressed. She had expected Janius to follow, so she wasn't going to run out of the room this time. "I understand, but...it was just frustrating. I think my beast spirit made it worse. I know I do not always have to be bad at fighting. I mean, anyone can get better with practice. I am just afraid of how long it will take. I know how to use my spear and dagger, but I mostly only ever used them on animals, and I don't think any of you know how to teach me to fight people with a spear. And it would take so much training for me to become good with a sword. With this war, I am going to die before I can learn."
"Look, I know it sounds bad, but..." Ahnasha began, placing her hand on Fendros' shoulder to try and placate him. "...but I think it is worth it. I mean, it isn't like we have to use the souls of innocents or anything. We come across bandits from time to time; we can take their souls. Or maybe take some souls from Vile's followers. Whatever we do, this is too good of an opportunity to pass up."
Ahnasha noticed that Orskan seemed to be waiting for them to finish their talk, so she gave Fendros a reassuring nod and walked with him back to the Argonian. "We are definitely interested in this tome. What would it take to acquire it?" She asked, trying to ignore Vinaremo's judging gaze. He crossed his arms and gave a quick glance to his Altmer friend before responding. "Well, I am willing to trade, but I still need to come up with an appropriate price. Gold has little value to me, and I would prefer something more useful anyways. You cannot leave this place until the Master gives you a task anyway, so I will take the next few days to come up with an idea. I will make sure to find you when I do. Now, I have an experiment I need to check on. Good luck with your sparring." Orskan explained before taking his leave.
Ahnasha and Fendros quickly left Vinaremo to return to their former sparring area. Ahnasha seemed almost excited, despite the noncommittal answer from Orskan. "Hopefully, his price won't be anything too unreasonable, because this has the potential to be great. Just think, if this works out, we could be together for centuries, instead of decades." She commented, wrapping her arms around him as she pulled him in for a hug.
"Look, I know it sounds bad, but..." Ahnasha began, placing her hand on Fendros' shoulder to try and placate him. "...but I think it is worth it. I mean, it isn't like we have to use the souls of innocents or anything. We come across bandits from time to time; we can take their souls. Or maybe take some souls from Vile's followers. Whatever we do, this is too good of an opportunity to pass up."
Ahnasha noticed that Orskan seemed to be waiting for them to finish their talk, so she gave Fendros a reassuring nod and walked with him back to the Argonian. "We are definitely interested in this tome. What would it take to acquire it?" She asked, trying to ignore Vinaremo's judging gaze. He crossed his arms and gave a quick glance to his Altmer friend before responding. "Well, I am willing to trade, but I still need to come up with an appropriate price. Gold has little value to me, and I would prefer something more useful anyways. You cannot leave this place until the Master gives you a task anyway, so I will take the next few days to come up with an idea. I will make sure to find you when I do. Now, I have an experiment I need to check on. Good luck with your sparring." Orskan explained before taking his leave.
Ahnasha and Fendros quickly left Vinaremo to return to their former sparring area. Ahnasha seemed almost excited, despite the noncommittal answer from Orskan. "Hopefully, his price won't be anything too unreasonable, because this has the potential to be great. Just think, if this works out, we could be together for centuries, instead of decades." She commented, wrapping her arms around him as she pulled him in for a hug.
After a night's rest, Sharee went to work on the penultimate step in her plan. She purchased a few missing ingredients in town, then got to work on brewing the poison Kahl would use on the food in his master's ship. A concentrated dose of the brew she concocted would not take long to kill, but unfortunately, mixing it into the food or drink for an entire ship would dilute it to the point that it would not longer be lethal. It would, however, make anyone who consumed it weak and sickly for the better part of a day. Once it was finished, she gave the poison to Kahl, taught him how to conceal it, then sent him off with a bribe to his master in the form of a crate of skooma with instructions to poison their food the morning of their departure. There were, of course, plenty of places where the plan might fail, but it wasn't absolutely necessary for Kahl to succeed in order for their attack overall to be a success. It would just serve to make their job easier.
Two days after sending Kahl back to his master, one of the lookouts noted some activity on the top deck of their target ship. Sharee gave it a look herself, confirming that they seemed to be readying their ship to set sail. Immediately, she gathered up a group of the sailors around her to serve as messengers to the rest of the crew. "Alright, it's time. Send the word around that I want everyone to their stations, but not too quickly. We don't want to clue in our target to the fact that we're following them in case they're watching us as well. Regardless, if anyone is ashore, I want them on the ship within the hour. If they're not onboard when it comes time to leave, then they're getting left behind. Also, make sure to get the navigator and have him keep an eye on our mark. When they set sail, I want him to tell me where they're going. Now, get a move on." She ordered.
As the ship sprang to life around her, with her sailors scrambling to get to their stations, Sharee stood on the bow, looking out over the sea...which a special focus on their target. If Kahl succeeded, then their raid would be quick and painless. If not, then it would take longer and be much more painful, but she was reasonably confident that it would be her and her crew dealing said pain.
Two days after sending Kahl back to his master, one of the lookouts noted some activity on the top deck of their target ship. Sharee gave it a look herself, confirming that they seemed to be readying their ship to set sail. Immediately, she gathered up a group of the sailors around her to serve as messengers to the rest of the crew. "Alright, it's time. Send the word around that I want everyone to their stations, but not too quickly. We don't want to clue in our target to the fact that we're following them in case they're watching us as well. Regardless, if anyone is ashore, I want them on the ship within the hour. If they're not onboard when it comes time to leave, then they're getting left behind. Also, make sure to get the navigator and have him keep an eye on our mark. When they set sail, I want him to tell me where they're going. Now, get a move on." She ordered.
As the ship sprang to life around her, with her sailors scrambling to get to their stations, Sharee stood on the bow, looking out over the sea...which a special focus on their target. If Kahl succeeded, then their raid would be quick and painless. If not, then it would take longer and be much more painful, but she was reasonably confident that it would be her and her crew dealing said pain.
Lorag rubbed the back of his neck, not really sure what advice to provide. "Well, uh..." He began. He had never dealt with an issue such as this before. Sure, when he first became a lycan, he was often filled with anger and frustration, but he was already well trained by that point. Most of his episodes of anger had come from failing on his early hunts, but whenever that happened, his beast spirit took over, and it was perfectly competent at hunting. He didn't really know what Janius could try other than removing the source of her frustration, but they couldn't stop training her. The girl wasn't near as skilled in a fight as most of the pack, except for maybe Sabine.
"She got frustrated by failing, right? Maybe...you can have her do something she would be good at? Just...what has she got going for her? I haven't trained with her as much as you, so you would know more than me. I'd pick something that suits her natural abilities. If that don't work, then I don't know." Lorag suggested.
Upon Fendros' interruption, Ahnasha looked at him with an almost confused expression, then glanced back to Orskan. The Argonian shrugged his shoulders, then motioned her away. "Go ahead. I need to determine a price anyway." He remarked before walking over to talk to Vinaremo.
Ahnasha walked with Fendros away from the pair of cultists with an expression that was actually mildly annoyed. "What is this about Fendros? This could be our chance; I could live beyond just a tenth of your life if I can just study that tome he is offering."
"She got frustrated by failing, right? Maybe...you can have her do something she would be good at? Just...what has she got going for her? I haven't trained with her as much as you, so you would know more than me. I'd pick something that suits her natural abilities. If that don't work, then I don't know." Lorag suggested.
Upon Fendros' interruption, Ahnasha looked at him with an almost confused expression, then glanced back to Orskan. The Argonian shrugged his shoulders, then motioned her away. "Go ahead. I need to determine a price anyway." He remarked before walking over to talk to Vinaremo.
Ahnasha walked with Fendros away from the pair of cultists with an expression that was actually mildly annoyed. "What is this about Fendros? This could be our chance; I could live beyond just a tenth of your life if I can just study that tome he is offering."
Lorag gave Janius a nod. "Yeah, I have, but how about instead of tryin' to make sense of analogies or something, we just get straight to the point? It's about the girl, isn't it? She has a mental breakdown about twice a week by this point. What happened this time?" He asked directly. Lorag did not really think he would be good at dealing with whatever issues Kaleeth had, but getting his advice was one of the few things Janius hadn't tried. Besides, it wasn't as if he could make it worse...probably.
"Hmm, an interesting question. If you are wanting me to extend your life, then no, that is not possible, even if I wanted to. You would need to have the prerequisite skills. If you are wanting me to teach you to do it, then no, at least not the entire process. It takes quite a lot of study to come close to extending one's life, and that is far more time and effort than I would be willing to give to an outsider, no matter what you gave me in return. But to explain the process, and perhaps get you started on the path...I might be persuaded to lend you my knowledge. How much knowledge of conjuration do you have? Or can you even cast magic?" Orskan questioned.
Ahnasha nodded. "I can, actually. I am actually rather skilled in illusion...but I have only a little knowledge of conjuration. Enough for a few bound weapons, and maybe a simple familiar or something."
Orskan seemed a bit displeased about her lack of knowledge, but continued nonetheless. "Better than nothing, I suppose. I will tell you for free an overview of what it involves. You'll need a number of black souls to begin the process; the exact number varies from person to person. The process uses tenants of reanimation and enchanting by using the souls' energy to keep your own soul bound more strongly to your own body. This, in turn, prevents your body from decaying. Of course, just explaining it is not nearly as easy as actually doing it. It requires a very strong understanding of how souls are bound to flesh, and how to recreate that binding. As well, the effect will wear down over time, so you also have to keep strengthening the bonds with more black souls every fifty to a hundred years, depending on how good you are at it. I have some old tomes that could get you started, but you will not get them from me for free. I will require payment for this gift, in some form or another."
The essence of what Orskan describe was that Ahnasha would have to kill other mortals, take their souls, then use them on her own body to keep herself alive. It would require dooming others to a fate worse than just death...but Ahnasha still did not hesitate. The allure of an extended life was powerful enough that she could find a way to justify destroying souls for it. "What is your price?" She asked, her expression frighteningly cold and serious.
"Hmm, an interesting question. If you are wanting me to extend your life, then no, that is not possible, even if I wanted to. You would need to have the prerequisite skills. If you are wanting me to teach you to do it, then no, at least not the entire process. It takes quite a lot of study to come close to extending one's life, and that is far more time and effort than I would be willing to give to an outsider, no matter what you gave me in return. But to explain the process, and perhaps get you started on the path...I might be persuaded to lend you my knowledge. How much knowledge of conjuration do you have? Or can you even cast magic?" Orskan questioned.
Ahnasha nodded. "I can, actually. I am actually rather skilled in illusion...but I have only a little knowledge of conjuration. Enough for a few bound weapons, and maybe a simple familiar or something."
Orskan seemed a bit displeased about her lack of knowledge, but continued nonetheless. "Better than nothing, I suppose. I will tell you for free an overview of what it involves. You'll need a number of black souls to begin the process; the exact number varies from person to person. The process uses tenants of reanimation and enchanting by using the souls' energy to keep your own soul bound more strongly to your own body. This, in turn, prevents your body from decaying. Of course, just explaining it is not nearly as easy as actually doing it. It requires a very strong understanding of how souls are bound to flesh, and how to recreate that binding. As well, the effect will wear down over time, so you also have to keep strengthening the bonds with more black souls every fifty to a hundred years, depending on how good you are at it. I have some old tomes that could get you started, but you will not get them from me for free. I will require payment for this gift, in some form or another."
The essence of what Orskan describe was that Ahnasha would have to kill other mortals, take their souls, then use them on her own body to keep herself alive. It would require dooming others to a fate worse than just death...but Ahnasha still did not hesitate. The allure of an extended life was powerful enough that she could find a way to justify destroying souls for it. "What is your price?" She asked, her expression frighteningly cold and serious.
Still here and doing things.
Kaleeth's barred teeth started to turn into a macabre grin as she satisfied her anger through choking Janius, but as her beast spirit's anger diminished, the rational part of her mind recognized what she was doing. Immediately, she dropped both Janius and her wooden sword and took a few steps back, shocked at her own actions. She looked at Janius with her mouth agape, her expression full of regret and fear of what might had happened had she not stopped.
"I...no, I'm sorry...I just...I couldn't..." Kaleeth stammered incoherently before quickly turning and running out of the room in shame. She didn't care about the cultists watching her as she ran back to her room. Back in the guest rooms, Lorag, having finished maintaining their blades, was standing in the hall trying to figure out some other way to pass the time. He saw Kaleeth running back in tears, which was honestly becoming a normal sight. Since they were in the lair of a group of murderous cultists, he figured it wasn't the best time for one of her outbursts, so he tried putting himself in front of her to stop her, but she readily brushed him aside and ran into her room.
Lorag grumbled after being forced into the wall. "I swear, I'll never get used to that."
For their second round, Ahnasha stuck with strategies she was more familiar with, but still tried to mix up her attacks. For his jabs, instead of blocking, she redirected them to less-sensitive parts of her body while retaliating with strikes of her own. When he struck her knee, she shoved him back to throw him just as off-balance as she was. Through their fight, the pair attracted the attention of an onlooker. It wasn't Vinaremo, but it was someone close.
"Hmm, you two certainly put on a show." The man commented. It was the Argonian male that always seemed to be with Vinaremo: Orskan-Tan.
Upon Orskan's intrusion, Ahnasha and Fendros halted their fight. She gave him a distrustful gaze, though she tried not to appear threatening. "Look, we just want to spar. We don't want any trouble like yesterday."
Orskan held up his hands and shook his head lightly. "Calm down, I am not an arrogant kaoc always looking to prove himself like Vinaremo. I am merely satisfying my curiosity."
"I'm right here, Orsk." Another, mildly frustrated voice sounded out from behind him.
"Yes, I'm well-aware." Orskan retorted to Vinaremo, who was a short distance away practicing breaking one of the wards. "That Altmer has not changed for the past hundred years that I've known him."
Ahnasha cocked her head to the side slightly. "Hundred years? You don't look like a vampire."
Orskan gave a slight huff. "That would be because I am not. There are other ways to stay alive than becoming a creature of the night."
"So, you found a method of arcane life extention?" Ahnasha reasoned. Her curiosity was, quite suddenly, piqued. Suddenly, she did not seem too concerned with how dangerous this Argonian could potentially be. "What method is that, if I may ask?"
"Oh, now you have gotten him started." Vinaremo quipped in the distance.
Orskan's expression turned to a grin. "Curious about my work, are you? It is necromancy, of course, as is any magic that gives life where there should be none. Souls can be used for much, much more than just putting a magic effect on some trinket."
"Really? That sounds interesting. How much about that would you be willing to tell?" Ahnasha asked with genuine curiosity and excitement in her eyes. At the mere prospect of learning about life extension, she seemed to completely disregard caution. The fact that this cultist could not be trusted, or could have ulterior motives, did not appear to register in her mind. All she could focus on was learning more about how he had managed to overcome his natural lifespan.
"I...no, I'm sorry...I just...I couldn't..." Kaleeth stammered incoherently before quickly turning and running out of the room in shame. She didn't care about the cultists watching her as she ran back to her room. Back in the guest rooms, Lorag, having finished maintaining their blades, was standing in the hall trying to figure out some other way to pass the time. He saw Kaleeth running back in tears, which was honestly becoming a normal sight. Since they were in the lair of a group of murderous cultists, he figured it wasn't the best time for one of her outbursts, so he tried putting himself in front of her to stop her, but she readily brushed him aside and ran into her room.
Lorag grumbled after being forced into the wall. "I swear, I'll never get used to that."
For their second round, Ahnasha stuck with strategies she was more familiar with, but still tried to mix up her attacks. For his jabs, instead of blocking, she redirected them to less-sensitive parts of her body while retaliating with strikes of her own. When he struck her knee, she shoved him back to throw him just as off-balance as she was. Through their fight, the pair attracted the attention of an onlooker. It wasn't Vinaremo, but it was someone close.
"Hmm, you two certainly put on a show." The man commented. It was the Argonian male that always seemed to be with Vinaremo: Orskan-Tan.
Upon Orskan's intrusion, Ahnasha and Fendros halted their fight. She gave him a distrustful gaze, though she tried not to appear threatening. "Look, we just want to spar. We don't want any trouble like yesterday."
Orskan held up his hands and shook his head lightly. "Calm down, I am not an arrogant kaoc always looking to prove himself like Vinaremo. I am merely satisfying my curiosity."
"I'm right here, Orsk." Another, mildly frustrated voice sounded out from behind him.
"Yes, I'm well-aware." Orskan retorted to Vinaremo, who was a short distance away practicing breaking one of the wards. "That Altmer has not changed for the past hundred years that I've known him."
Ahnasha cocked her head to the side slightly. "Hundred years? You don't look like a vampire."
Orskan gave a slight huff. "That would be because I am not. There are other ways to stay alive than becoming a creature of the night."
"So, you found a method of arcane life extention?" Ahnasha reasoned. Her curiosity was, quite suddenly, piqued. Suddenly, she did not seem too concerned with how dangerous this Argonian could potentially be. "What method is that, if I may ask?"
"Oh, now you have gotten him started." Vinaremo quipped in the distance.
Orskan's expression turned to a grin. "Curious about my work, are you? It is necromancy, of course, as is any magic that gives life where there should be none. Souls can be used for much, much more than just putting a magic effect on some trinket."
"Really? That sounds interesting. How much about that would you be willing to tell?" Ahnasha asked with genuine curiosity and excitement in her eyes. At the mere prospect of learning about life extension, she seemed to completely disregard caution. The fact that this cultist could not be trusted, or could have ulterior motives, did not appear to register in her mind. All she could focus on was learning more about how he had managed to overcome his natural lifespan.
The mechanic hardly had time to register what was going on before Opus put a blade to his throat. Being frightened out of his mind, he started shaking as he tried to catch up mentally and form a rational sentence. "D-don't kill me, please. I'm...I'm not with them, I...I swear!" He said frantically.
Personally, Rareth thought Opus' ambush was a bit overkill, but there really was no way to tell if this mechanic was dangerous. She didn't point her weapons at him as she looked down on him, as there really was no need to at this point, but she still took on a commanding posture nevertheless. "Alright, then who are you? Name, title, everything."
Again, the human stumbled over his words at first, and with the stress of the situation, he had to think for longer than normal. "It's...it's Robert. Robert Allen. Associate Engineer of exploratory mining platform QBL-951Z. I...I've worked here for six months. You have to believe me!"
Rareth did not say anything immediately and instead activated her computer. For a few moments, she silently searched through screens on the holographic display until she activated the program she wanted. She then held out her wrist and expanded the size of the projection for him to easily reach. "Place your hand here." She ordered.
"My han..."
"Yes, your hand. Place it in the scanning area on the projection." Rareth interrupted. The man took a deep breath, then nodded and removed one of his gloves. After placing his hand on the scanner, it only took a few seconds for the program to match up his biometric scans with one of the crew members from the records the mining company had provided.
"Alright, he's good. You can let him go." Rareth said, finally relaxing her posture. "Sorry about the scare, but we cannot afford to take chances. We are here to save you and the other hostages. Maybe you can help with that?"
"Right, of course." Robert responded, rubbing his hand across his neck after Opus released him. He finally took a moment to look across the diverse group that had been holding him at gunpoint, then raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Who sent you all?"
"That does not matter. If our superiors wish it to be known, they will tell you after we rescue you. For now, time is not on our side, so I need you to answer some questions. First, do you know where they are keeping the other hostages?" She questioned.
Robert scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, um, kinda. I know where they have my group. We are on deck 23, storage bay D-12, but...there are more. They split us up, and I don't know where they are keeping the others. They rarely ever let anyone leave the bay; only engineers when they need us to fix something, and even that is becoming more rare. I think their engineers are getting better at understanding the station's systems."
"Hmm, well we still need to find the others. Do you know where these terrorists have set up their data center?"
Robert stopped to think, but his memory produced nothing. "I...I'm sorry. I don't know. They never took any of us to help them with that, or at least no one in my group."
"Unfortunate, but it's more than we had before." Rareth sighed. "Unless there is anything more you can think of that will help, you need to get to our ship."
The mechanic seemed at least slightly distressed at Rareth's suggestion. "To your ship, but...what about the others? My wife is still on the station somewhere, and..."
"I know it isn't easy, but you need to trust us, Robert. We are going to save all of the hostages on this station. We are all trained specialists, but you are not. To be blunt, you'll do more harm than good if you don't get to safety.
The man lowered his head and closed his eyes. "I understand. Where do I go?"
"One of the abandoned hangers. Just follow the hallway behind us on our right and it will lead you straight to it. When you get there, announce yourself clearly and keep your hands up. Say that you are one of the hostages and you were sent by Rareth'Jharn. Our allies may detain you in the ship as a precaution, but you will be safe." Rareth explained.
"Okay, right away." The mechanic answered before complying and heading to their ship. The team had little time to pause, however, as they needed to move quickly. The elevator was stuck halfway up the door, so they were able to climb up on top of it into the shaft, then use the ladders inside to climb up a few floors. Apart from the drones, Rareth was the first up to their intended floor. She was just barely able to squeeze onto a ledge that allowed her to reach the door to their floor, which was still closed. Cautiously, she pried it open just slightly to peer through and, unfortunately, saw that the room was not unoccupied. It was the only room between them and the first potential data center, but there was an undetermined number of hostiles in the way. Looking down at the others still climbing the ladder, she kept the door pried open just slightly. "Shtara, it looks like there are hostiles in the next room. Shuo, send your drones in to get a look at the layout. Remember to keep them to the corners. We should also all be able to sync to the drones' feed, if you could go ahead and activate that."
Personally, Rareth thought Opus' ambush was a bit overkill, but there really was no way to tell if this mechanic was dangerous. She didn't point her weapons at him as she looked down on him, as there really was no need to at this point, but she still took on a commanding posture nevertheless. "Alright, then who are you? Name, title, everything."
Again, the human stumbled over his words at first, and with the stress of the situation, he had to think for longer than normal. "It's...it's Robert. Robert Allen. Associate Engineer of exploratory mining platform QBL-951Z. I...I've worked here for six months. You have to believe me!"
Rareth did not say anything immediately and instead activated her computer. For a few moments, she silently searched through screens on the holographic display until she activated the program she wanted. She then held out her wrist and expanded the size of the projection for him to easily reach. "Place your hand here." She ordered.
"My han..."
"Yes, your hand. Place it in the scanning area on the projection." Rareth interrupted. The man took a deep breath, then nodded and removed one of his gloves. After placing his hand on the scanner, it only took a few seconds for the program to match up his biometric scans with one of the crew members from the records the mining company had provided.
"Alright, he's good. You can let him go." Rareth said, finally relaxing her posture. "Sorry about the scare, but we cannot afford to take chances. We are here to save you and the other hostages. Maybe you can help with that?"
"Right, of course." Robert responded, rubbing his hand across his neck after Opus released him. He finally took a moment to look across the diverse group that had been holding him at gunpoint, then raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Who sent you all?"
"That does not matter. If our superiors wish it to be known, they will tell you after we rescue you. For now, time is not on our side, so I need you to answer some questions. First, do you know where they are keeping the other hostages?" She questioned.
Robert scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, um, kinda. I know where they have my group. We are on deck 23, storage bay D-12, but...there are more. They split us up, and I don't know where they are keeping the others. They rarely ever let anyone leave the bay; only engineers when they need us to fix something, and even that is becoming more rare. I think their engineers are getting better at understanding the station's systems."
"Hmm, well we still need to find the others. Do you know where these terrorists have set up their data center?"
Robert stopped to think, but his memory produced nothing. "I...I'm sorry. I don't know. They never took any of us to help them with that, or at least no one in my group."
"Unfortunate, but it's more than we had before." Rareth sighed. "Unless there is anything more you can think of that will help, you need to get to our ship."
The mechanic seemed at least slightly distressed at Rareth's suggestion. "To your ship, but...what about the others? My wife is still on the station somewhere, and..."
"I know it isn't easy, but you need to trust us, Robert. We are going to save all of the hostages on this station. We are all trained specialists, but you are not. To be blunt, you'll do more harm than good if you don't get to safety.
The man lowered his head and closed his eyes. "I understand. Where do I go?"
"One of the abandoned hangers. Just follow the hallway behind us on our right and it will lead you straight to it. When you get there, announce yourself clearly and keep your hands up. Say that you are one of the hostages and you were sent by Rareth'Jharn. Our allies may detain you in the ship as a precaution, but you will be safe." Rareth explained.
"Okay, right away." The mechanic answered before complying and heading to their ship. The team had little time to pause, however, as they needed to move quickly. The elevator was stuck halfway up the door, so they were able to climb up on top of it into the shaft, then use the ladders inside to climb up a few floors. Apart from the drones, Rareth was the first up to their intended floor. She was just barely able to squeeze onto a ledge that allowed her to reach the door to their floor, which was still closed. Cautiously, she pried it open just slightly to peer through and, unfortunately, saw that the room was not unoccupied. It was the only room between them and the first potential data center, but there was an undetermined number of hostiles in the way. Looking down at the others still climbing the ladder, she kept the door pried open just slightly. "Shtara, it looks like there are hostiles in the next room. Shuo, send your drones in to get a look at the layout. Remember to keep them to the corners. We should also all be able to sync to the drones' feed, if you could go ahead and activate that."
Kaleeth tried doing what Janius said, and indeed she did succeed a few times. She might have been clumsy with her movements, but there were a few combos she blocked. Regardless, every failure still added to her frustration, to the point that she was disregarding her successes to focus on the times she got it wrong. In her impatience, she started to view herself as hopeless. Kaleeth had not turned in a few days, and though she had a few more left before she would need to turn, her beast spirit was exacerbating the small amounts of anger within her into stronger forms of rage. As they continued training, she started barring her teeth and showing more signs of her frustration until one failure threw her over the edge.
"I'm just not fast enough!" Kaleeth yelled, more at herself than anyone. "Why can't I just..." She began as her beast spirit started to throw her into a fury. Grace and agility wasn't working for her, so she fell back on the one thing that had seemed to work so far. She rushed forward and swung her sword at full strength, but whether he blocked it or not, a simple swing wasn't what she was going for. Kaleeth slammed into Janius and forced him into a wall. She ignored any pain from whatever hits he delivered in the process and kept him pinned against the stonework with one of her arms crushing his throat. Looking into her eyes, it was hard to tell how much of her mind still recognized that this was just a training exercise.
Ahnasha felt Fendros grip loosen on her wrist, but as she tried to get up, she found that she had a new problem. His arm was still around her, and he was quick enough to take advantage of it. He tossed her to one side, face-first into the ground, and immediately threw his weight onto her. At this point, she had no leverage. He had a good hold of her arms, leaving her with no way to move them, and she didn't have the strength to throw him off of her directly. She tried to use the sharp claws on her feet to her advantage, but he had seen her try that trick before and prepared for it. She really had nowhere to go, and she tasted a bit of blood on her lip, likely from the point where it became well-acquainted with the ground. "Ah, I think you have this one." She conceded.
"I'm just not fast enough!" Kaleeth yelled, more at herself than anyone. "Why can't I just..." She began as her beast spirit started to throw her into a fury. Grace and agility wasn't working for her, so she fell back on the one thing that had seemed to work so far. She rushed forward and swung her sword at full strength, but whether he blocked it or not, a simple swing wasn't what she was going for. Kaleeth slammed into Janius and forced him into a wall. She ignored any pain from whatever hits he delivered in the process and kept him pinned against the stonework with one of her arms crushing his throat. Looking into her eyes, it was hard to tell how much of her mind still recognized that this was just a training exercise.
Ahnasha felt Fendros grip loosen on her wrist, but as she tried to get up, she found that she had a new problem. His arm was still around her, and he was quick enough to take advantage of it. He tossed her to one side, face-first into the ground, and immediately threw his weight onto her. At this point, she had no leverage. He had a good hold of her arms, leaving her with no way to move them, and she didn't have the strength to throw him off of her directly. She tried to use the sharp claws on her feet to her advantage, but he had seen her try that trick before and prepared for it. She really had nowhere to go, and she tasted a bit of blood on her lip, likely from the point where it became well-acquainted with the ground. "Ah, I think you have this one." She conceded.
I think I have a good idea of what to do for the next part at the top of the elevator, something interesting, but a bit different from the standard straight up fight.
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