EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Well, it will give you something to look forward to when you get back, this one supposes." Ko'tanza replied. "Though, if it happens after the invasion, then you would not be able to hold it here. A wedding in Oblivion, would that not be an exotic wedding locale? To most people, such a suggestion would sound absurd. But, for you, not only is it possible, but I doubt it would even be the strangest thing you've done this year. If the stories this one has heard are even partially true...she could not imagine having a life as exciting as yours."

With a bit more effort, it did seem that Ko'tanza had managed to coax her daughter back to sleep, at least for the moment. That could easily change from one second to the next. She resumed soon in a hushed tone. "This one really should take her back to Tamriel. It is pretty noisy here, and she will get much better rest back in the city. But, this one was wondering, have you seen Gallus around? It has been such a long time since my Tzirret has been able to see him."

Star Wars - Galaxies at War[MULTIVERSE SPACESHIP RP]

Eri 'Moram - Freedan Nadd's Tomb

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The Mandalorians had not mentioned any other resistance, though in fairness, it was hardly worth mentioning at all. The ancient machines could not resist any of their weapons, and required little thought or effort to destroy. The only concern Eri had relating to them was the fact that the weapons fire might give away their approach. Based on the roar that they heard echoing from deeper within the tomb, that worry may have been well-founded.

"Then we should set up our ambush. The bridge would be the ideal ambush point, but I fear if the prey were to fall off of it, we would not be able to retrieve any part of its corpse. The last chamber we passed may make for an acceptable alternative. My team can spread out to attack from many angles, and if we set explosives in the hallway leading to it, that should not compromise the integrity of the chamber itself. While the others double back, you, me, and a small team equipped with thruster packs can find the beast and work to lead it back to the chamber." Eri recommended.

---

Vael 'Virisusai - Aboard the Taris

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Vael did shake Jason's hand and, in contrast to some other Sangheili, actually applied an appropriate amount of pressure, rather than making it feel as if he was trying to squeeze his hand off. Vael was large, even for a Sangheili, so a gentle touch might not have been expected. Unlike the environment-sealed armor of Eri's team, Vael wore a storm armor variant that left his arms mostly exposed. His scales had a somewhat dull grey coloration to them, and even on just the parts that Jason could see, were marred by the remains of a fair collection of nicks, cuts, and burns gathered through a long life.

"Greetings. If my warriors speak of me, you may wish to disregard them. They speak to glorify my legend, and hide my faults. I am a warrior, and a servant of my people. You do not need to treat me as any more than that." Vael replied.

Star Wars - Galaxies at War[MULTIVERSE SPACESHIP RP]

Eri 'Moram - Dxun

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Despite the strange feeling that overwhelmed Eri, she did not much care who Freedan Nadd was. If this was his tomb, then he would no longer be a problem. All that mattered was the Tarentatek. Eri had taken the time to disconnect power from her active camouflage, and instead equip a thruster pack. Even though the fact that they were going into an enclosed space, the dimensions of the doorway suggested it would be reasonably spacious inside. At least, enough that a skilled user would be able to make better use of the speed a thruster pack could provide.

"I see. Well, if our prey is as dangerous as you claim, then we should make use of what we can. Still, too many of us in an enclosed space, and we may just get in each other's way. It may be best to move inside and find a suitable ambush point, then send a smaller team ahead to lead our prey back to it. We have explosives suitable to take down heavy armor. Though, the age of that stonework makes me think we should be cautious with it. Still, if we plant our explosives carefully, we may be able to safely bring down a portion of the structure onto it." Eri suggested.

One of the Sangheili tha had helped carry the crate of equipment, Sel, grabbed a beam rifle from the crate. "What about sniper weaponry, commander? It might work against our quarry's hide." He suggested.

Eri took just a moment longer to think. "That is a fair point. There is little a beam rifle cannot pierce. Though, without Thaz, we do only have the one rifle. I will wield it." She approached Sel and exchanged her concussion rifle, and its spare ammunition, with his beam rifle.

"This weapon will likely be effective." Eri remarked to Jerius. "It is not precisely an energy weapon like your blasters. It does superheat its target, but more as an effect than as its primary method of damage. It accelerates particles at extreme velocity to penetrate its targets. Although, it does not create large wounds, so it may still not kill our prey on its own."

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Thaz - Nal Hutta

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What Thaz saw from Samus was...strange, to say the least. Had the bounty hunter actually turned into a fairly small ball? The colors were certainly familiar, but as Thaz had not seen the transformation, it was possible that this was some sort of remote-controlled drone. Regardless, it did not change what Thaz needed to do. No, what did change the situation for her was the fact that a shootout broke out from within the shop, before she or Samus had a chance to do anything. She could no longer see the sniper, but that was not the only concern.

Once again, Thaz contacted Jerus. "Um, update here: a shootout just broke out. And we didn't start it. Might want to get to your target soon, Jedi, or ours might die early without us doing anything."

---

Vael 'Virisusai - The Immaculate Aegis

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For Vael, the task he had been given fell far outside the domain of his usual responsibilities. In fact, the Shipmaster had not actually given him an official order to take on the mission; rather, Falul had spoke to him as a friend, instead of as a superior, and asked him to take on the mission voluntarily. This was a diplomatic mission to a planet called Alderaan, with the purpose of gaining allies against their enemy, Anubis. It was a sensible goal, considering their circumstances, and since Special Operations Commander Eri 'Moram was already on another, similar mission, Falul trusted Vael to be able to judge the honor of these Alderaanians, and their worthiness as allies. While Falul himself might have been a more appropriate representative, there were still many concerns within the fleet that required Falul's personal attention.

Vael would be the sole representative sent by the Immaculate Aegis, though he was armed and armored in his gold, custom combat harness. His armor had the most powerful shielding available to a Sangheili combat harness, and had a drop shield equipment module. For his weapons, he carried his twin energy swords and a plasma rifle. Although, they were not expecting any combat on this particular mission. A phantom brought Vael to the Arquitens-class cruiser, though it left as soon as he was on board.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ko'tanza laughed as well, more obviously than Tzirret. "Sabine does not speak unfairly." She commented, nudging Tzirret's side. "Pursuing the healer's trade was certainly helpful for him. Unless the injury is as obvious as a gaping wound or a crossbow bolt through the leg, there is a lot of talking to people. And even if the problem is easy to identify, it does help to have a good bedside manner. Besides, people always want to be nice to their healers, so everyone is always just so nice to Tzirret."

Grinning, Ko'tanza leaned in and kissed Tzirret's cheek. "Though, Ko'tanza thinks they would anyways, just because of his adorable face."

If there was one familiar thing about her, it was that Ko'tanza still enjoyed teasing Tzirret, intentionally or not. "So Sabine, when will we get to meet this brilliant scholar of the Dwemer you fancy so much? Have you already told him of your desire to marry him? Oh, this one is still just so happy for you; maybe there will be a few little Breton children in your future, after all of this is over?"

Star Wars - Galaxies at War[MULTIVERSE SPACESHIP RP]

Dr. Fiona O'Connell - The Immaculate Aegis

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Dr. O'Connell cleared her throat, somewhat awkwardly. "Well, first, you might want to take the time to listen to the suggestions of myself, and these fine gentlemen." She said, gesturing to the other scientists in the room. "Simply improving the power feed won't do the trick. I know, that was the first thought I had too. But, when the Aegis' AI performed simulations on the actual hardware, the increased throughput caused errors in reconciliation that, retroactively, pulls the ship out of slipspace far too early. Strange, I know, but there's a lot we don't know about the nuances of reconciliation. I am afraid it won't be that easy. Oh, um, that console you are in isn't actually connected to the Aegis' systems, so the simulations you can run on it might not be perfect. On the Shipmaster's request, I had the Aegis' AI make a download a copy of the ship's system architecture into it for us to experiment with. He wanted to observe proper security before making any drastic changes, you understand. Any changes that any of us want to make will have to go through the Aegis' own AI."

Pausing a moment, Dr. O'Connell rushed over to her laptop and connected it to the system Isaac was in, then plugged in a small, but high capacity storage drive, much like the device that usually contained Issac himself. "But, like I said before, I do have access to some data that may help. All of the data on Covenant technology, Forerunner technology, all of the technological progress we have made in the last six years. At least, everything I personally have access to, which is still quite a lot. Just...be aware, this is a lot of data, and it is going to take a while to sort through it. Even for you."

Star Wars - Galaxies at War[MULTIVERSE SPACESHIP RP]

Narak 'Chorna - The Immaculate Aegis

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Floats initially hesitated at Strevrols question, but after a high-pitched vocalization, it started to "speak" towards the translator with its sign language. Although, even just a short time reading the words projected by the translator demonstrated that the Huragok had a very liberal interpretation of the word "important." It started to speak about every single system it could think of, from shields to emergency lighting. Not only that, but all of the information it was giving about the systems had no common threads between them, and were often just trivial details.

Narak actually started to laugh, and eventually interrupted Floats. "If asked, a Huragok would give you every trivial detail about every single system, in terms you may or may not understand. If you wish to learn from a Huragok, you need to ask far, far more specific questions."

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Dr. Fiona O'Connell - The Immaculate Aegis

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"Yes...essentially." Dr. O'Connell answered to the Spartan. Given that two voices had come from the helmet of one of the others, she assumed that one of them was the AI. "As you probably know, Covenant slipspace technology is much faster than ours, but even that is not enough in this galaxy. For this universe, much quicker FTL travel seems to be the norm. Since there is no way we are going to be able to scavenge a hyperdrive for this size of ship, we need your help to improve the capabilities of the Aegis' slipspace borer. I believe it is possible without substantial changes to the borer itself. Covenant technology was all reverse-engineered from Forerunner technology, and the Prophets never really had that great of an understanding of it. So, most of their technology works quite inefficiently. One UNSC AI, Cortana, was able to upgrade the weapons and slipspace capabilities of a Covenant DDS-class carrier purely by improving that efficiency. She had access to a mountain of data recovered from the first Halo ring...but I also have copies of much of that data. And more. I intend to give you copies of all the data I have on Covenant and Forerunner technology, and all of the six years of post-war technological progress we have made. Between all of that, myself, and the experts from the other universes, I am hoping we will be able to get this done quickly."

As O'Connell led the Spartans through the ship, many members of the Aegis' crew, Sangheili in particular, took particular interest in them. Having visitors on the ship was unusual for them, but seeing Spartans was even more exceptional. It was possible that some had encountered Spartans at some point in their military service, either before or after the war, but most had only heard stories about them. To some Sangheili, the Spartans' legendary prowess was something to be respected, and to others, it was a challenge. Regardless of their thoughts on the Spartans, O'Connell was sure most of the warriors on the ship would have relished the opportunity to prove themselves against a Spartan. If it did ever happen, O'Connell just hoped it was in a sparring match rather than a shootout.

In an effort to keep the Spartans from focusing too much on the warriors they were passing, O'Connell decided to answer the AI's initial questions, and hopefully put the Spartans' minds somewhat at ease regarding the Sangheili. "If you want to know more about events since your time...where do I even begin? So much happened in the last year of the war, but it all went so fast after the first Halo ring was discovered. The first ring was destroyed by the Master Chief, Spartan-117. You, well, you obviously know him. He was really at the center of it all. The thing that first started causing division within the Covenant was after the Master Chief killed the High Prophet of Regret. The Prophet of Truth decided to replace all of the Sangheili honor guards with Brutes and task them with protecting the Prophets, either because he no longer trusted the Sangheili to protect them, or just because he saw it as a political opportunity to elevate the status of the Brutes. Either way, Truth eventually betrayed the Sangheili entirely, and shortly afterwards, the Arbiter, Thel 'Vadam, learned from a Forerunner monitor the truth about the Halo array. That being the fact that the Halo array is a weapon designed to kill all sentient life in the galaxy, and not some path to a religious 'Great Journey', as the prophets believed. So, that was the start of our alliance. The Sangheili learned that their religion was a lie, and the Prophet of Truth decided that the Brutes would be easier to control than the Sangheili, presumably. That, or he was just an idiot. Either way, Master Chief and the Arbiter both worked together to kill Truth, and then to destroy the Flood, which...is a whole other story."

Eventually, the group did reach the lab, where it seemed that the other scientists had started to question Floats Easily. Though, she was sure that either the AI, Spartans, or some other UNSC personnel would have plenty more questions for her about their galaxy's "future".

Star Wars - Galaxies at War[MULTIVERSE SPACESHIP RP]

Narak 'Chorna - The Immaculate Aegis

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While Dr. McKay was talking down Ronon, Narak turned his attention to the Huragok's guards. It was fortunate that they had not fired immediately, as they would have been easily justified to do. He supposed they had been instructed to show some restraint. He stood between the Sangheili major and Ronon, prompting the Sangheili to lower his storm rifle. "These Humans do not understand us, brother. Even if his foolishness had damaged the Huragok, he would not have been able to destroy it before you could slay him. There is no need to complicate this further, and no need to inform the Shipmaster.

The major gave a long, low growl towards Narak. "If he causes more problems, it will be your head, Artisan."

"I know it will." Narak replied, soon turning his attention back to McKay. A semblance of peace had returned to the room, but during the entire duration of the confrontation, the Huragok itself had either been blissfully unaware of any danger or entirely uncaring towards it. It simply continued its rapid examination of the Ancient device, from its software down to its physical construction. With its many hundreds of microscopically fine cilia, it could manipulate any part of the device with perfect precision. It had taken it apart entirely and, after a curious look at the power crystal, had already started to re-assemble it by the time McKay had turned away from Ronon.

"The Huragok can be almost...child-like at times. Even the most proud and stubborn warriors must learn to deal with their eccentricities, for there is nothing that will change them." Narak explained. He extended his hand out towards Floats, and since the Huragok had satisfied its curiosity, it readily handed over the device to Narak, who then passed it on to McKay completely intact and still in entirely working order. "We are yet to give Floats Easily any tasks. When deprived of purpose, a Huragok can become...bored. If you wish to start learning to understand our technology, perhaps it is time to start questioning it?"

Standing just beside McKay, Narak leaned forward onto the table, bringing his head down close enough that he could whisper effectively to McKay. "You should warn your ally to be much less impulsive, as soon as you can. I think you will find that I am the most tolerant, and most forgiving Sangheili on this vessel. Others will not seek to diffuse conflict; they will rise to meet any challenge."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ko'tanza smiled and, for a moment, seemed like she wanted to move, but the presence of her daughter in her arms kept her in place. "Oh, Sabine, if Ko'tanza could hug you right now, she would!"

Even Ko'tanza's somewhat louder voice prompted a few cries from Miruza, but she was able give her enough attention to calm her, for the moment. When Ko'tanza finally resumed, she spoke with a much more even tone, but still with the same amount of excitement in her eyes. "Thinking on it, this thinks it does make sense that only a scholar could keep a mind like yours interested. Khajiit partially expected you to still be with Pieter, honestly. She remembers you two being so close way back then. But, she supposes it has been many years since then; a lot can change in all that time. We have all probably become different people, in many ways."

Star Wars - Galaxies at War[MULTIVERSE SPACESHIP RP]

Narak 'Chorna - The Immaculate Aegis

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Narak gave a grunt that could be construed as a brief laugh, even to one unfamiliar with Sangheili mannerisms. "Your replicators sound reminiscent of the Flood, except in an artificial form. The Flood were a parasite that threatened to consume all life of our galaxy. They were insidious, deadly, and intelligent. The Forerunners created a weapon that killed themselves, and all other sentient life in the galaxy, just to cease the otherwise-unstoppable Flood. It is fortunate that you were able to destroy your threat without as much death." He remarked.

Overall, Narak did agree with McKay's assessment of the scale of their project. Indeed, even "months" seemed like an optimistic estimate, considering how long they had been working with Humans of his own universe on understanding their technology. Though, McKay's final comment was still more of a hit against Narak's pride than he might have initially assumed. Compared to others of his kind, however, Narak was one with much less of a propensity to react with violence. Most of what he felt was simple frustration towards himself, though he showed that frustration openly. "The San'Shyuum were almost as much of parasites as the Flood, leeching off of the understanding of the Huragok, while pretending to be the masters of all the Forerunners left behind. They defeated us in the War of Beginnings only through that technology. Before the San'Shyuum, before the Covenant, my people, on their own, broke free of our own planet. We created our own starships, learned to use slipspace, settled our own colonies. We had mastered...crude versions of the technology you see here on the Immaculate Aegis. Make no mistake, I am not like a youngling toying with an arum. I understand the workings of a plasma weapon, or a pinch-fusion reactor. I understand, to an extent, the physics of a repulsor engine, an anti-grav field, or a slipspace borer. One of my colleagues reverse-engineered the Humans' most advanced armor system and created a version of her own for their use, simply to prove that she could."

Narak gave a sigh, lowering his head noticeably. "But...our science was so shamefully stunted by our time in the Covenant. Until recent years, I did not even know our technology was not operating at its potential. We have always been a warrior species, but the Covenant allowed us to be only a warrior species. There are few like me, few who believe the pursuit of knowledge is as worthy as skill with a blade. I do not think most of my brothers realize how dire the problem is. I might understand our technology to an extent, but it is clear to me that there is so much more I must learn. There are aspects of mathematics and physics on which I am, as Fiona has described it, 'playing catch-up'. I believe she will be of greater assistance to you than I will be."

In the midst of the conversation, no one had yet been giving any instructions to the Huragok, Floats Easily. Without a task to dedicate itself to, it was easy for it to become bored, and curious. In McKay's vest, it saw a device unlike any other that McKay was carrying, and unlike anything it had seen. For a Huragok, new technology was almost an irresistible curiosity. While McKay was absorbed into his work, the Huragok reached out a tentacle that split into many, microscopically fine cilia at its end to grab his lifesigns detector. Despite the Huragok's fragile appearance, it had quite a firm grip and was easily able to take the device for examination. It could interface with the device directly, very quickly bypassing the need for an ATA gene in order to activate it and learn its functions.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Sabine..." Ko'tanza began, though she hesitated with much the same uncomfortable look as Tzirret. "...you are Khajiit's friend, but that is not an answer many will like. Some might not want blood, but enough do. Ko'tanza does not take lives, she heals them, she saves people. But Elsweyr...Elsweyr expects Do'rhajul to die. And if the invasion succeeds, there will no longer be the war holding us all together."

Eventually, Miruza did start to stir in Ko'tanza's arms and took some of her attention. She looked down, smiling at her daughter and rocking her gently in her arms, though she still continued speaking to Sabine. "But...this one thinks you probably don't want to talk about that. How has everything been for you besides being a legendary heroine that people write songs about? Do you have a family of your own too? Ko'tanza would love to know if there is any man brave enough to court the famed Dragonslayer." She laughed, somewhat teasingly.