EliteCommander

Star Wars - Galaxies at War[MULTIVERSE SPACESHIP RP]

Dr. Fiona O'Connell - The Immaculate Aegis

---

"Oh, well, I'm not an ONI agent, just a researcher." O'Connell clarified. "I am working on joint Human-Sangheili projects to reverse-engineer Covenant and Forerunner technology. Needless to say, I'm not a part of the permanent crew of the Aegis. Myself and my colleague were on board, en route to Sanghelios when we were taken from our universe. Just, um, follow me. Our lab is closer to the fore section of the ship."

Dr. O'Connell felt strange leading around a squad of Spartans, though likely not nearly as strange as they felt being on-board a "Covenant" capital ship, without needing to shoot their way through the halls. She had been informed that they had been taken from a time before the end of the Human-Covenant war. "Did your commanders brief you about where we came from?" O'Connell asked. "The war ended in 2552. The leadership of the Covenant was killed, and the Sangheili helped us do it. Actually, their ships comprised the vast majority of the fleet that destroyed Truth's fleet over the Ark. Oh, um, the Ark was a massive Forerunner installation that served as a sort of central hub and remote activation point for the Halo array...which you also don't know about."

O'connell let out a sigh. "There's a lot that has happened in the years between our two times, Spartans. The point is, we've found peace. We won the war. There are some Sangheili that hold on to their old beliefs, but many have pledged their loyalty to the Swords of Sanghelios. If we had not become allies, it is doubtful there would be any life left at all in our galaxy."

---

Narak 'Chorna - The Immaculate Aegis

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Narak nodded. "Yes, during the war, the sophistication of the Humans' artificial beings were the one way in which they surpassed the technology of the Covenant. Though, the Covenant's versions were...intentionally restricted. During their studies of the Forerunners, the Prophets learned that one of the Forerunners' most advanced associated intelligences betrayed them to the Flood. It was, henceforth, forbidden to create a machine that could think as a living being." He explained.

Walking around the table, Narak stood just behind McKay. He found himself curious to see the Human work, and to potentially learn from him. "I will admit, many Sangheili are still not sure if they should be willing to trust these types of constructs. I am not sure, myself. The Forerunners may not be gods, but their artificial intelligence, as best as we have learned, did betray them. But, their capabilities are undeniable. This artificial intelligence should be able to read that data with the same ease as you would read a book."

---

Thaz - Nal Hutta

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Thaz had her weapon at the ready and was standing on alert on the roof of the spaceport. Her active camouflage kept her hidden, and would allow her to set up her first shot unhindered. Though, it was not long before their target made himself known. There was only one creature in the group of reptilians that even came close to fitting the description they had been given, and he was an even bigger target than Thaz had expected. Almost immediately, Thaz raised up her rifle and trained her sights on the Gammorean's head, but did not even think about taking the shot yet.

"I see the target. Plenty of guards, and it looks like he has a sniper of his own." Thaz spoke up to Samus through their comms. "The sniper will probably see me when I take my shot, but...I will be fine. You need to keep the target in the open until Jerus makes his kill."

Thaz quickly contacted Jerus as well. "We have the target in our sights. Give us the word when it is time."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha shook her head. "I don't think I have more to say that Hal-Neesa hasn't already. We have a firm goal, and a few good ideas to go about it. As you said, it might help for us all to take the time to get our thoughts in order and bring up any ideas or questions we can think of tomorrow."

With her arms crossed, Hal-Neesa gave something of a light scoff. "If you must." As she had before, Neesa did not bother with farewells and simply walked away as soon as she saw fit. It did seem that they would not be doing much more for the evening, though Neesa did not bother making sure of that.

"Hmm, well she is being kinder than usual." Meesei remarked after Neesa left, smiling subtly.

---

For a few seconds, Ko'tanza laughed intentionally quietly. Miruza had managed to fall asleep amid the noise and activity of the camp, but she still wanted her to stay that way for as long as possible. Her soft voice made her tone somewhat harder to read as she started to answer. "Oh, Ko'tanza has heard many stories. There are so many fantastic and absurd versions of these tales, it is hard to find the truth. Young ones are always asking us about 'Sabine the Dragonslayer'. The one who wields Magnus' power, the one who tamed our most dangerous enemy like a dog. Personally, this one does not know how you handle all the attention of your heroics. One of the bards in our clan tried to write a song about you. No one liked it, though. Not...because of you, or anything. He is just a bad bard."

"But..." Ko'tanza began, her voice becoming as hesitant as it was quiet. "...what are you going to do after the invasion, if the General survives? Having him die in service to Hircine would make a good ending to a ballad, but if not, then surely you won't let him go unpunished?"

Star Wars - Galaxies at War[MULTIVERSE SPACESHIP RP]

Dr. Fiona O'Connell - The Immaculate Aegis

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While Falul had been the one to speak to the UNSC Admiral, the Shipmaster had insisted that Dr. O'Connell be the one to first meet with the AI's security detail the moment they stepped out of their dropship, so she had left McKay with Narak and made her way to the main hangar. Curiously, Falul had also not given her an armed escort. In general, O'Connell had found that the Sangheili tended to be cautious in matters of security. Granted, it was rare that they had outsiders on their ships in general, but armed warriors tended to be a standard part of any interaction with outsiders. It was true that the fleet were all supposed to be allies with one another, but the Sangheili also had a very...different idea of what it meant to be diplomatic. Human diplomats to the Sangheili for the Office of Naval Intelligence were required to study martial arts as a prerequisite. Perhaps it was just because Dr. O'Connell was not technically a part of the Aegis' crew, or perhaps Falul was a bit more calculating than she gave him credit for?

In any case, Dr. O'Connell saw the pelican land, and a Human would be the first being the Spartans would see as soon as they exited their dropship. "Oh my...Spartans. I...did not know there were Spartans aboard the Unbroken Hope." O'Connell remarked. Even in her own time, Spartans were far from commonplace. Being that she tended to work in Forerunner ruins and constructs out in the field, she had seen Spartan IVs before, on rare occasions, but she had never seen a Spartan II. Nor had she ever expected she would. Their place in history was almost mythic by this point.

Nevertheless, O'Connell quickly composed herself and cleared her throat. "I am Dr. Fiona O'Connell, Office of Naval Intelligence. Do you have the AI with you?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Though Ahnasha was about to speak up, Neesa immediately interrupted. "The problem itself is simple to conceptualize. The Champion's soul will fracture without being bound to something physical. The solutions are to strengthen the soul so it can exist on its own, or find a way to bind it to something else upon death that can keep it stable. It does not require necromantic jargon to understand that. And unless you intend to become a lich, Champion, I doubt we will be animating dead flesh. The closest we will likely come is in manipulating your soul, though working with souls is not inherently necromancy. If you have any knowledge of enchanting, you can likely understand it. You are meant to have specific knowledge of lycan souls, yes Breton? Then your time would be best spent on informing us how the presence of the Daedric spirit may interfere with, or aid, our efforts."

For Meesei, she was somewhat surprised that Neesa was even admitting to the fact that there was something she did not already know, much less that Ariel might have expertise beyond her own, even just in a small way. She supposed that Neesa was taking this seriously enough that she did not care for keeping up her appearances of superiority. "We can all meet tomorrow in the scholar's loft back in the Silent City. I will make sure we have a room to ourselves." Meesei remarked.

---

Ko'tanza let out an obviously exaggerated scoff. "Hmm, now you're sounding like Tzi!" She laughed, nudging Tzirret's leg with her foot. "But yes, Khajiit has felt a lot like death recently. It is hard to keep moving around and exerting herself like she is, but it is this one's duty. Ko'tanza is a healer, and this invasion will be the most dangerous thing she can imagine. She could never forgive herself if someone she cared about died because she was not there to help them. If Ko'tanza has to suffer for a while to save lives, then so be it. But...Khajiit has agreed to return to resting for the next few days, at least. She just wanted to make sure her part of the infirmary was set up the way she was familiar with. But do not worry about Ko'tanza, she will be fine. How have you been faring, Sabine? How has everyone been faring? We both would love to catch up with everyone."

Star Wars - Galaxies at War[MULTIVERSE SPACESHIP RP]

Falul 'Taham - The Immaculate Aegis

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In contrast to the Admiral, Falul was relaxed, having no inhibitions about speaking with Humans. He still found them to be a strange species, on the whole, but he was accustomed to them and familiar with their social expectations. Or at least, familiar enough with their customs to be able to speak to them in a professional capacity.

"I am contacting you in regards to the current efforts to eliminate the weaknesses of our fleet." Falul answered, once again quite directly. "The faster-than-light capabilities of both of our ships are not adequate to the standards of this galaxy, Admiral, but yours could be fitted with one of this universe's hyperdrives. As I am sure you have been informed, there exist few, if any ships at this time, in this galaxy with a hyperdrive that could be fitted to a ship the size of the Immaculate Aegis. Our most practical option now is to improve the capabilities of our existing slipspace borer. The scientist aboard my vessel informs me that this effort would be greatly assisted by your associated intelligence. An...artificial intelligence, as you refer to it. As I have been told, your artificial beings have been able to improve upon Covenant technology in the past, and your ship should be equipped with one. I request its assistance." Falul asked. He had explained his position briefly, and had made no effort to "soften" his rather bold request.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The return of Hal-Neesa was one that did bring some attention with it, not the least reason being that she was carrying a stack of thick tomes telekinetically alongside her. Even besides that, the way she dressed and carried herself, along with the fact that she made no effort to hide her vampiric nature, made her far from subtle. As soon as she approached, she practically shoved the tomes into Meesei's arms. Neesa briefly acknowledged Ahnasha and Ariel when they all gathered together, though not with any sort of polite greeting.

"Here are the tomes. We likely will not have time to review them all, but they may yet be of some use. In the interest of not wasting time, I am going to assume the Breton you recruited has some actual degree of competence. I am also going to assume that, between all of you, you have already reasoned out the basic approaches we could take. That much should be obvious, though I think the solution itself will be anything but. Even in all my years, I cannot claim to have dealt with this issue before. I have never known the Hist to craft such a soul, though I suppose I also have not searched for one like you. Now, to begin, we should not bother considering any long-term solutions. If you manage to survive this suicide mission you have volunteered for, then you may think about them. We should focus on finding an answer that can be implemented in the next few days." Hal-Neesa recommended.

---

There was some delay to Ko'tanza's answer as she took the time to, carefully and quietly, take Miruza from Tzirret's arms into her own. With no sudden or unnecessary movements, she managed to sit down next to the fire as Tzirret had been without waking her. Regardless of how young Miruza was, it seems that was a skill that the couple had learned quickly.

Ko'tanza resumed gently rocking Miruza in her arms, just as Tzirret had been. "She is three weeks old, and she is going to be Suthay-raht, just like us. She is just so precious and wonderful and...loud, and exhausting..." Ko'tanza answered, giving a light, amused sigh. "...but still wonderful."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ko'tanza was, by this point, grinning widely. "Our daughter's name is Miruza, and she is just the most precious little thing with the cutest green eyes you have ever seen. You simply have to come see her. As Khajiit said, Tzirret should be somewhere in this group of tents. We could look for him together...if you do not have anything else you are doing, of course."

Meesei stood to her feet, her smile mirroring the mood that Ko'tanza had brought with her. "I will stay and speak with Neesa when she returns. You can feel free to catch up with old friends if you like. Ariel, I will make sure to have quarters arranged for you, if you want to take the opportunity to spend some more time with your sister in a more...relaxed setting."

In any case, Ko'tanza was eager to go find Tzirret. Though, the others might have been surprised to see that the Khajiit girl that Tzirret was looking after was very much a little one. Their daughter, wrapped up snugly in her blanket, was still an infant, no more than a few weeks old. It made it rather more surprising that Ko'tanza was already up, moving around, and working so soon after giving birth. Even with a lycanthrope's robust vitality, she had to still be recovering from it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

After getting over her initial surprise, Ko'tanza gladly shook Ariel's hand. Although, after just a moment's hesitation, she gave into giving Ariel a tight hug as well. "You do not need to be humble, Ariel Montgrave. Just look around you. Without your antidote, there is a good chance half of the people you see would not be alive today. Ko'tanza included. She has breathed deeply of the soul-tearing gas before, and was saved only by the fruits of your brilliance."

For Meesei, she simply chuckled to herself for the moment. She supposed she should have expected some sort of reaction should anyone actually recognize Ariel. Given the importance and life-saving nature of Ariel's antidote, she now had a reputation that spread across nearly every lycan clan in Tamriel, whether she wanted it or not.

Eventually, Ko'tanza did pull back from Ariel. She had a few hints of tears in her eyes and seemed partially choked up, as she had to clear her throat before answering Sabine. "But, anyways...things in the clan have been getting steadily better and better. We used to be pretty much on the front line of the war against Vile, but his followers' presence in Pelletine has waned almost completely. Khajiit hears there is even talk of maybe establishing a new clan in Anequina once again. That will probably be a few years off, though. For now, there are plenty of us from Pelletine here, ready do help however we can. We have been closest to the war for so long, a lot of us are tired of the fighting, but also oh so eager to finally end it once and for all. If you want to catch up with some of the others too, Ko'tanza might be able to help find some of them. She was actually looking for Tzirret when she saw you. He has become a healer too. He was just looking after the little one while I took my shift working on the infirmary."

Star Wars - Galaxies at War[MULTIVERSE SPACESHIP RP]

Dr. Fiona O'Connell and Narak 'Chorna - The Immaculate Aegis

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"Are you...truly able to make that determination after such a short look through it?" Dr. O'Connell remarked, obviously skeptical. Still, she did not dwell on it, and instead just opened up her own copy of the software to reference as well. "I have looked through it myself as well, but like I said, slipspace travel has not been the focus of my research. Fortunately, we do have Floats Easily to help. I know at least one of our most advanced warships, the Infinity, received highly advanced slipspace drive upgrades with the assistance of a Huragok. We will just have to replicate their success."

Floats was hovering around behind McKay, seeming to alternate between curiously looking at his datapad, and even more curiously looking at Mckay himself. O'Connell, meanwhile, was showing a degree of frustration, and perhaps dread as she looked through the code. "There are a massive number of commands here, though. We really need to find a way to narrow down our focus onto what will give us the most improvement most quickly. I think that is what we should question Floats about first, though...what would be even more helpful would be an AI. A true AI, that is. The Aegis' AI is quite advanced and very effective, but it is not a 'smart' AI. It's not truly thinking or independently creative. Personally, I was hoping the Captain of the Unbroken Hope would take the opportunity to send his AI to help. I am not sure how advanced artificial intelligence is in your universe, but a UNSC shipboard AI is created with a digital framework from scanning the neural structure of a Human brain. They are fully thinking and capable of learning, and would be something I would be very appreciative of right now. One of them could make changes in seconds that would take us hours or days. And that's not to mention the increased capacity to simulate the effects of any changes we want to make."

Eventually, O'Connell let out a sigh and stood to her feet. "You know what? We're just going to have to be bold here. I'm not going to waste weeks or months on this when we could get this done in days. The Shipmaster is just going to have to push for this...hopefully politely." She explained, walking over to a console in the corner of the room to contact the Shipmaster.

---

Falul 'Taham - The Immaculate Aegis

---

In contrast to her open frustration before, Dr. O'Connell had been calm and respectful in giving her request to Falul. She described, clearly, the benefit an AI would be likely to have and why it would be helpful to secure one's aid. Both she and Falul were well-aware of the, admittedly, reasonable justifications the crew of the Unbroken Hope had to distrust the Sangheili, and despite no longer following the religion of the Covenant, Falul himself was still distrustful of the very idea of fully thinking machines. Regardless, the benefits were still simply too substantial to ignore, and making the attempt would be worth a potentially uncomfortable conversation.

After taking a few minutes to make his decision, Falul opened a communications channel to the Unbroken Hope. "This is Shipmaster Falul 'Taham. I am seeking to speak to the Human Admiral Marcus Oliver." He said simply. Given that they were from the same universe and the Aegis AI was already familiar with UNSC communication protocols, the Admiral would be able to see Falul on his view screen, in addition to hearing his voice.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For a few moments, Ma'tanza appeared slightly embarrassed. "This one is doing quite well, though...she does not go by that name any longer. She finished her apprenticeship. This one is Ko'tanza, now. She is a healer, which is why Ko'tanza is here now, actually. Khajiit just finished up her first shift working on setting up our infirmary."

As she finished explaining, Ko'tanza started to give an even longer, more curious look towards Ariel. She smiled and bowed her head in response, but slowly started to look more and more like she was becoming nervous. "And you are Sabine's sister? That means...well, that means you are the Ariel, yes? The alchemical genius and savior of our kind? Ko'tanza is sorry, it is just such an honor to meet you. You are a true heroine."