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Eri 'Moram - Nu-Class Shuttle





Eri gave a brief grunt. "The Sangheili have been born and bred for war for more generations than I can count. Leadership is earned through strength and skill, and throughout the existence of the Covenant, we were the vanguards of the Great Journey. I curse the very idea of the San'Shyuum's religion now, but...that does not change the fact that we were and are unmatched as warriors in our universe. If these Mandalorians want strength, they will find none stronger than us."

Pausing just a moment, Eri leaned in forward towards Mando. "So how do you recommend I prove that strength?"
Eri 'Moram





Eri gave a nod towards Mando. "A lightsaber...your word for the energy blade Jerus uses. They seem to operate similarly to our energy swords. If your armor can resist one, then it must be resilient indeed. Our swords can burn through a starship's armor."

As Mando was finishing donning his armor, Eri put her carbine with the plasma battery, and a small crate of spare equipment they had brought along. Even for a mission without expected combat, they tended to be prepared.

Eri took a seat just across from Mando, then unsealed and removed her helmet, placing it in her lap. "Your commanders seemed to feel that the Sangheili in particular would be well-suited to speak with these Mandalorians. We are not diplomats, we are warriors, but the way you speak of them...do you believe they will respect that? How do you know our senses of honor will not conflict, instead of complement? What should I expect of this meeting?"
Eri 'Moram - The Resurgence Hangar





With the exception of her Kig-Yar, Eri's team was in the hangar of the Resurgence, having been directed towards the shuttle that would be taking them on their next mission. While the Aegis itself was stuck in the asteroid field pending its upgrades, that did not mean its crew could not join in their efforts. Falul wanted them to take an active role, and pursuing enemies of the Empire as allies was reasonable, considering their own limited forces. Although, Falul was still wary of giving out trust too easily. Eri was meant to evaluate these Mandalorians and give her own assessment of how much they should be trusted.

Eri herself was armed with the same weapons she used during the boarding, though she also carried a carbine that she might substitute in for the energy lance, depending on the circumstances. There were enough magnetic holsters on her back to carry both, though it would be cumbersome. The rest of her team were armed with their usual weapons, though one of the Sangheili carried a plasma battery into the transport, in case they needed to recharge any weapons.

Just outside the shuttle, Eri approached the Arc Trooper, whom she had been told went by the name "Mando". "My team is ready to depart. Is there any specific equipment we will require? Will we be able to communicate with them without translation programs?"
The Immaculate Aegis





The jumper from the Daedalus and the phantom carrying chief engineer Strevrols arrived in the Aegis' primary hangar at approximately the same time. It was a singular, massive space half a kilometer in length, with hundreds of fighters, dropships, and ground vehicles all neatly organized within, though it did not seem to be filled to capacity. With some rearranging, even a ship the size of the Daedalus looked like it would fit within. Indeed, as a pair of Unggoy were leading the group through the ship, it would be hard to escape how spacious it all seemed. Even between chambers, the hallways were designed for the larger Sangheili, and so felt tall and wide by Human standards. In contrast to the Daedalus, the architecture of the Aegis' interior, much like its exterior, seemed to avoid most flat surfaces and sharp angles in favor of smooth curves.

Fortunately, the group was not made to walk several kilometers to their destination, as there was an interior transport system to take them to the appropriate section of the ship. Though, instead of a tram, it made use of gravity bridges that accelerated an individual at high speed while suspended in a gravity field, which might have been unnerving to those unaccustomed to it. Walking through the halls afterwards, they did pass by plenty of members of the Aegis' crew, mostly Unggoy and Sangheili of minor and sometimes major rank. Some simply ignored them, but several of the Sangheili in particular gave them long stares as they passed by, though without knowing more about Sangheili expressions, one could not tell if they were looking at them with suspicion, or simple curiosity. In any case, it took less than ten minutes for the Unggoy to lead the group to their final destination.

"Alright, this is the science...place." One of the Unggoy remarked just before the door's lights flashed white, then opened in front of them. As with many of the other rooms and chambers they had passed, it was a fairly large room, but this one had a mess of equipment scattered around on the tables, on crates, and along the walls without too much obvious organization. Though, what would stand out immediately was the fact that not every object was of the same alien origin as the rest of the Aegis...and the fact that one of the two beings in the room was Human. She had pale skin, red hair, and wore a sleek white and black uniform that bore a small insignia depicting a pyramid set inside of a circle. The other, perhaps more expected individual in the room was a Sangheili, though he had quite a distinct look compared to most of the others they had seen. Instead of armor, he wore clothing that seemed to be made from animal hides, and even a large, thick fur cloak. It all had the appearance of being handmade, though with good craftsmanship.

The Human woman gave a quick look up from her laptop when the door opened. She looked briefly surprised, especially as her gaze met Strevrols, but she nevertheless had a friendly tone as she spoke. "Oh, hello. Has it been that long already? I think I lost track of time. Um, anyways, you must be the scientists and engineers Falul mentioned. Just, uh, have a seat, if you can find one. Sorry about the mess, by the way. Narak and I have been trying to get all our equipment out of storage and set back up. We weren't expecting to be needing it on this trip."
Thaz - The Resurgence





Thaz gave a quick grunt, briefly looking over Samus' armor from head to toe. "Don't know. Depends on what you need. We don't know much about you; that armor, your ship. Might be we've got nothing to offer you. Doubt it, though. Trust me, Shipmaster pays well if you earn it. Best Sangheili I've worked for. All business, no religion. Sure there is something he can pay you with. Maybe upgrade that ship, maybe that armor?"

Deciding on a quick demonstration, Thaz engaged her active camouflage module, suddenly fading from view right in front of Samus. There was the shimmering in the air that was just noticeable as she moved around behind and to the other side of Samus, though it was only easy to notice because Samus had already been looking at her. She took the beam rifle off of her back and propped it up against the table as she uncloaked, so that she could sit down properly in the chair beside Samus.

"Shipmaster wants the credits this galaxy uses." Thaz continued. "We'll probably need them. So, you get credits for him, he shares some of our best tech. And he'll go through all the trouble of figuring out how to get it to work on your suit, or ship. Good deal, I say. What else you going to spend them on? Once we do all go back home, any credits you get here will be worthless. Trash. Garbage. Got to spend them here on something that means something. Just depends on what you need. What you want. You want armor equipment? Active Camouflage? Shields? Holograms? Anti-grav pack? Guess it depends on what that suit can handle. What powers it?"


Falul 'Taham - The Immaculate Aegis



Before even replying to Yiithren, Falul had already ordered for a phantom to be prepared. "Very well, I am sending a phantom to you. Relay it docking instructions on its approach. Your chief engineer will have the full cooperation of a Huragok, and other relevant crew."
Thaz - The Resurgence





Thaz did know who it was she was looking for, even if she was not entirely sure where to find them. She had seen both of the bounty hunters during their boarding of the Imperial vessel, and one in particular stood out like a broken claw. Orange and red were not the most inconspicuous colors for a combat suit.

The Resurgence was a large enough ship that Thaz did reluctantly need to ask around to try to find either of the bounty hunters. She was not under any particular orders of secrecy from the Shipmaster, but she was in something of a hurry and did not want to stand around answering questions about her business on the ship. Depending on how the bounty hunters answered her, she may or may not need to hurry and catch back up to the rest of her team. She was either going to end up helping the bounty hunters or Eri, but seeing as she would get paid more if the bounty hunters accepted the offer, she knew what she would prefer.

Fortunately, Thaz was correct about Samus being rather conspicuous, and she was quickly pointed in her direction. Thaz ended up spotting Samus from clear across the mess hall pretty much immediately. She was even taller than Thaz remembered. She somewhat reminded her of one of the Humans' Spartans, and if what they had seen on the bridge of that ship was any indication, she was about as deadly. If not more. In theory, at least. No one had yet really seen her fight substantially.

Wasting no time, Thaz walked straight up to Samus at her table. Thaz was wearing the same armor she had been as a part of the boarding party, so she might have been recognized, though in any case, she certainly stood out among the crew of the Resurgence. Even in her armor, her form still appeared slender and smaller than the average Human due to her natural posture, even though she was technically taller than most. "You, bounty hunter, right? Samus?" Thaz asked. She could speak the Human's language, though her voice was rather harsh and raspy. "Shipmaster has an offer for you. How would you like to trade for tech?"
@DisturbedSpec Well, the option is there for them to send someone over. In terms of understanding and reverse engineering technology, your ship's AI is probably one of the best assets we have, but it would be up to you if the Admiral would be willing to take that perceived risk. A UNSC AI having free reign to examine that kind of technology would have massive potential benefits for them, but it requires bringing it aboard a Sangheili ship. Falul would give no argument to them bringing it over with a Spartan escort, if they wanted to.

It would probably also be a bit strange for them once they meet Dr. O'Connell. Might lend some veracity to Eri's claims, if nothing else.
"Hopefully so." Meesei agreed. "Zyausak felt that Neesa would be willing to help me because I am at risk for the only 'true' form of death she recognizes. It seems he was right. So far, I have been trying to think of ways to make my soul more stable on its own. Being bound to my physical body is, apparently, the only thing that is keeping it from being torn apart. I have the memories and experiences of potentially thousands of lives imprinted onto my soul, which is bound to a Daedric wolf spirit, both of which are bound to my body. Between both of you in particular, Ahnasha and Ariel, you have a great deal of knowledge about mortal souls and lycan souls. I am not sure what parts of your knowledge would be important, if anything, but I am just trying to...put together all of the pieces I can to try and come up with a solution."

Ahnasha leaned back in her chair, letting out a soft sigh as she fell into her thoughts. It was reasonable of Meesei to think that some sort of soul-manipulating magic might hold the key to the solution, but she, off the top of her head, was not entirely sure of what to suggest. She had never applied her magic like this. "I've never really had to...think about this sort of a problem before. I know all about binding souls; I could bind your soul to a...spoon, but I don't know that binding your soul to any physical thing would actually help. Maybe if you were to become a lich, but...no, that would just end up with the same problem. You would be immortal, but you still wouldn't have an afterlife if you finally did die. I don't know, maybe some other kind of binding? Do any ideas particularly stand out to you, Ariel?"
Taylor supposed this would be the best it would get in terms of cooperation from William. At the very least, he did not seem to be so stubborn as to try to fight Taylor over it...not that he would have been able to do much to resist it. He was physically weak at the moment, and his abilities, if he was even in a state to use them, would only serve to strengthen Taylor. It was concerned that he might hurt himself trying to move around on his own, but for now, it was not going to stop him. It would just have to keep a few close eyes on him.

While it was late at night at the moment, Taylor moved cautiously as they followed Darkspire. The two of them might have been able to move inconspicuously down the street, if Darkspire stopped creating orbs of light, but Taylor certainly could not. Taylor was not only an obvious para, but would likely terrify anyone who saw it. They needed a way for Taylor to hide while they moved, but for now, it just hoped they were not seen.
So just to clarify, Falul is making an open offer to any other ship to have their scientists and engineers assist with improving the Aegis' FTL. As well as to discuss other possibilities for improving each other's technology. Anyone can respond to that.

@DisturbedSpec, How do you think your people might respond to that? I think it's probably going to be a long time before they have anything even approaching trust for the Aegis's crew, but on the other hand, it would be an opportunity, for example, for their AI to get full schematics and technical data on one of the Covenant's most advanced ships. It just requires them to be willing to risk sending someone over.
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