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Thaz - Nal Hutta





Thaz's eye was naturally drawn to where the sniper was shooting, particularly with the shot going far over her. She had to react quickly, but she was able to pull her beam rifle in close to her body and roll to the side out of the way of the falling antenna, keeping her shield arm held above her head to keep her protection from a forward angle.

With the antenna crashing down beside her and Thaz finally settling back onto her stomach, she had a few scorch marks on her armor from he gasses escaping the overheated rifle while she was holding it so close. However, it was ready to fire again by the time Thaz was stationary. She scanned the area ahead of her to acquire her primary target, which, at the moment, was the Rodian sniper. In most other positions, the beam rifle would be far to large and heavy for her to utilize along with her shield, but the fact that she could use the roof itself to support the rifle meant that she could keep it steady and aim with just the one hand. Since her helmet display linked to the scope, she did not even need to bring it up to her eye. She would just need to expose the weapon from behind the shield at the moment she intended to fire.



Eri 'Moram - Dxun




For as large and cumbersome as it was, Eri's beam rifle did have the advantage of its excellent penetrative capabilities. It was possible she might be forced to drop it at any point, so she wanted to get the most out of every shot she took. As soon as they had been able to see the Tarentatek, Eri had already been giving orders to her men. They were all on the same communications frequency as Jerius, though they still spoke in Sangheili out of comfort. They had no prior time to practice or train with Jerius, so trying to force him into the kind of precise and detailed maneuvers they tended to employ would have been more harmful than helpful, regardless. They would all do best working in the ways they were familiar with.

Eri was already lining up her shot when Jerius made his suggestion. The Tarentatek was a large beast, and even ignoring the conspicuous, though likely non-vital horns and spikes on its head, it was an easy target to hit. However, without knowing the creature's anatomy, she could not be certain of where to aim for a fatal hit. So, aiming for the eyes was a reasonable tactic to have a guaranteed impact. Making such a precise shot on a small target that could suddenly move at any moment was far from an easy task, but Eri was the leader of her team for a reason, and she had a fair chance of actually making it.

Eri took her shot, but whether her aim was on the mark or not, her orders to her men were still the same. "Go, go, go!" Eri shouted in Sangheili, prompting her men to carry out the plan they had been given. Sel, Arta, and Rhanic spread out from one side of the hall to the other, moving just into range with concussion rifles in hand. Their ultimate goal was still to lead the beast into an ambush, so for the initial engagement, the intent was to do as much damage as possible without taking any unnecessary risks, and most importantly, to make it angry enough to follow them. Of course, that did run the risk of injuring it enough that it would flee instead, but if that was the case, then the beast would likely not be nearly so threatening as the others had implied.

For their opening volley, the three Sangheili aimed their weapons towards the feet and ankles of the Tarentatek. Regardless of whether or not the explosive blasts could break through its scales, the beast would not be able to fight physics. The small, but intense concussive blasts would send their shockwaves into its body, putting stress and damage onto the muscle and bone directly. Since the Tarentatek was purely a melee threat, hampering its mobility was the most rational way to begin an extended fight.
Meesei's first response was a simple, light smile up at Fendros. "Tired, for the most part. I think even Hal-Neesa has been exhausted by our efforts these past few days."

Ahnasha stepped up slowly on Meesei's other side, though kept a bit more distance than Fendros. She did not look directly at Meesei, and showed what seemed like shame in her expression. "Meesei, I...know you have been working pretty much non-stop. You can rest if you like. We can still work and see if we can come up with some-"

Interrupting Ahnasha, Meesei held up one hand slightly. "Ahnasha, it is alright. We have worked hard on this. You have given it many hours, given it all of your effort, and you have all helped make so much more progress in such a short amount of time than anyone ever could have expected from you. You have given me good ideas to work with, and I could not ask for any more. But right now, that is not why I am here."

Meesei's breaths paused a few moments as she stood up, slowly, to her feet. She moved as if every limb had a heavy weight attached to the end of it, and only got to her feet after the protest of aching joints and tired muscles. "I remember what happened the last time I had too much conviction. I remember spending practically months at a time with nothing but me and tomes of Apocrypha. I remember being so afraid of losing my life that I failed to live it. Tomorrow...is the end of the war. For better or for worse. No matter how well, or how poorly it goes, things will never be the same for us again. Today, I am going to spend a few hours with my family."
I suppose I can bring in my friendly neighborhood nightmare.

For Meesei, and those who were helping her, the next several days contained some of the most frantic research that most of them had likely experienced. For this, Meesei called upon every resource she had available. She used their clan's broad array of connections to obtain any potentially relevant materials they could on short notice, without giving away anything too telling about the situation. Every day, the number of books, scrolls, and notes that they had piled on their tables in the scholar's loft grew, though they all still remained focused in their purpose. Ariel, Sabine, and Ahnasha all had their own skills and specializations, and Hal-Neesa had an absolute wealth of information and expertise that she was now sharing freely. Meesei did her best collate all of their skills and all of their resources into a single approach they could focus on. Given the danger Meesei was just about to step into, finding a method to keep her soul stable upon an unexpected death was the focus. Hal-Neesa easily came up with several solutions that could send her soul to an afterlife if her death was planned and intentional, but those sorts of solutions were not helpful at the moment.

Despite the rather daunting timeframe of the group's task, there was actual, recognizable progress. Perhaps it was the desperation, or just the result of having so many skilled and knowledgeable mages working on the same problem, but through all of their experiments that Meesei readily put herself through, they started to gain insight into exactly why the presence of her latent memories was so destabilizing to her soul. Each and every one of those memories had to be imprinted upon her spirit's essence, but there were so many of the memories weaves into her being with such complexity that, without a body to bind to, the structure of her soul energy was quite fragile. Their collaborative research did give them the tentative conclusion that Meesei's soul would not be entirely destroyed upon death, but rather, its fragile structure would rearrange itself into something more stable. However, that was no comfort to Meesei, as it would destroy all of her memories and likely leave her with an entirely different personality. To her, it was a fate that was hardly any different from complete destruction. Theoretically, her soul could retain its structure by itself if it was simply stronger, but as of the day before the invasion, they had not come up with a definite method to accomplish that. Despite the impending deadline, Meesei herself did not show many obvious signs of worry, though she was more than skilled enough to hide those sorts of emotions.




It was getting to be later in the afternoon and the sun was steadily dropping lower in the sky. By this point, everything was ready. The camp was fully constructed and all of the soldiers from all three armies were in position. The great gate had been assembled and was awaiting its activation, and all of their plans, battle tactics, and strategies has been decided upon. There would be no more delays, no more waiting and anticipating. The invasion was set to begin the next morning. Meesei had continued to work with the others all morning, and for a few hours past noon, but she eventually stopped, despite the fact that they had not settled on any definite solution. They had come up with several promising ideas, certainly, but had not yet tried any of them. For Ariel, and even Hal-Neesa, Meesei thanked them both for all of their help, and did leave them open the option of coming to her with any ideas they might come up with before the end of the day. For Ahnasha and Sabine, she asked them to find the rest of their pack and bring them to a specific location in the Hunting Grounds. Fendros, Lorag, Janius, and Kaleeth, specifically.

Meesei was the first to go to the planned meeting place, which was almost half an hour's walk from the camp itself. Although, it would not be immediately obvious why she had asked them to go there, specifically, when there would have been plenty of other, more convenient places to meet. It seemed to be just another spot in the forest, albeit a remote and tranquil one. It was a warm and cloudless day, and despite the fact that they were in Oblivion, the slow, peaceful stream by which Meesei was sitting could have easily been mistaken for any other in Cyrodiil. Even when the pack approached, Meesei did not say anything immediately. She sat by the stream with her feet just barely in the water and her eyes closed, breathing deeply almost as if she was in a trance.
If you think the reunion of Gallus and Tzirret would be worth doing, we can. Or if you'd like to bring up any other old characters before the point of no return. Otherwise, we can go to the evening before the invasion.
From Ko'tanza's perspective, she was glad to be able to help comfort Sabine in whatever ways she could, though she, of course, could not know the true source of Sabine's worry. She was now having to give more attention to Miruza to keep her at least reasonably calm, but despite the distraction, she was not quite ready to part from her old friend. Especially since they might not have much more free time before the invasion.

"Well...Ko'tanza does need to give her a bath, and she will probably be hungry soon...but this one can still spare a few minutes, at least. And she is sure Gallus would love to be able to see her too." Ko'tanza answered, slowly and carefully standing to her feet so as not to unreasonably disturb Miruza.
"You don't need to explain; Ko'tanza already understands perfectly well." She remarked, carefully taking Miruza in her hands. The Khajiit infant did seem briefly agitated by all of the movement, but Ko'tanza was able to slowly rock her back into a state of relative calm. "Meesei is basically your mother. Of course you are going to be worried about her. This one always gives every bit of effort she has to everyone she treats, but you probably do not have to worry too much about the Champion. Ko'tanza is confident that her power is no myth, and even besides that, if she were to get hurt...well, this one can say that Argonians are more resilient than most. They heal more quickly, and can survive wounds that would kill many others. If there is anyone who will survive, it will be her."

After a moment, Ko'tanza reached out and rested her own hand on Sabine's shoulder like Tzirret. "You just make sure you take care of yourself, okay? Don't go worrying about everyone else so much that you neglect your own safety. There are plenty of people here who will want to see you come back in one piece."
Dr. Fiona O'Connell and Narak 'Chorna - The Immaculate Aegis





"It did not take her long." O'Connell answered to Dr. McKay. "And her upgrades were effective. Not only did she improve the accuracy of the ship's slipspace capabilities, but the upgrades she made to its weapons allowed it to destroy half a dozen other Covenant warships. Granted, Cortana was one of the most advanced AIs Humanity has created. She came from the mind of Dr. Halsey, who is probably the most brilliant scientist of my universe. She was the one who created the Spartan-IIs, and I can't even begin to list all the ways that my work is based off of her research."

Narak knew Dr. O'Connell well enough to know when she was losing her focus on to a tangent, so he soon interjected. "Even without the most advanced artificial intelligence, this should not be something that should prove too difficult for us. The projects that Dr. O'Connell and I work on regularly deal with far more advanced technology than this ship, and this AI...Isaac, now has access to all of the information that Cortana used to make her changes. We should be able to complete this in a few days. Perhaps sooner, depending on your own competency. I believe the key lies in understanding the technology's origins. Much of it was derived from the technology of the Forerunners. We may not have a Forerunner slipspace drive aboard, but the Huragok may be of assistance, and of course the data from the Halo array."



Vael 'Virisusai - Aboard the Taris




"Hmm, I know many among my own kind who would disagree. Not all of my people have yet earned the wisdom to look beyond the points of their blades. It is fortunate, then, that my shipmaster is wise." Vael remarked towards Teyla. "The task that my shipmaster has given me is to judge the honor of these potential allies. To see that they are free from hints of corruption or betrayal that would put our fleet at risk. Our enemy, as I understand it, is both insidious and cunning. Any allies that we choose to trust must be committed to opposing the Empire, and resilient against infiltration."



Eri 'Moram - Dxun




Eri's reply to Jerius was both short and simple. "Then we shall both have the chance to prove our words."

Eri was the one who led the way, quietly for the moment. Although she had disconnected her active camouflage in order to power the thruster pack, that did not mean she could not use a more conventional method to get the drop on their prey. With her helmet linked to the scope of her beam rifle, she scanned the passage ahead as they moved through it. Once she had sight of the Tarentatek, she would look for a shot straight to its head. With enough luck, she might be able to end it right then and there, though she was not relying upon it. Even if she could get a clean shot through its head, she did not know how large its brain was in relation to its skull, nor exactly where to aim to hit it. She had other ideas in mind for how to approach the kill, should the first shot fail.
While perhaps mildly disappointed, Ko'tanza returned a nod. "This one understands. She cannot imagine how many important things you must have to do. You are the Sabine Montgrave, after all. The great Dragonslayer from the songs." She laughed, laying on a thick, teasing tone.

"But yes..." Ko'tanza continued, taking on a more even, serious tone. "...Khajiit will be glad for all of this to be over as well. The uncertainty is the worst. Both of us are...somewhat used to it by this point. We are healers, so we see people in their most dire of situations. We never really know who will need us next, and how badly they will be hurt. Sometimes there isn't anything we can do. But for this invasion, everyone is going to be at risk. Ko'tanza does have faith in you, though, Sabine. Everyone does. Out of anyone that Ko'tonza is worried about having to save, she does not think she will have to see you, or any of your pack in her tent."
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