Falul 'Taham, Dr. Fiona O'Connell, and Narak 'Chorna - The Immaculate Aegis
As Dr. O'Connell had expected, their collaborative efforts on improving the slipspace borer were not nearly so slow as some might have feared. Isaac's ability to rapidly analyze massive amounts of data, coupled with his own creativity, rapidly accelerated the process. Not only did the Forerunner data that O'Connell gave to Isaac give them critical clues as to what changes they might need to make, but the AI's ability to model and simulate changes allowed them to test their ideas by simply telling Isaac their ideas, rather than making tedious, manual changes to software. As well, there appeared to be many similarities between the form of Hyperspace used by Dr. McKay's universe and slipspace, so they were far from starting from scratch.
Altogether, the team put together what they believed to be viable, substantial software improvements within a day. Enough to warrant a practical test. Between Isaac and the Aegis' own AI, the changes had gone through billions of simulated trials, so all that was left was to perform a live test.
Given Dr. McKay's tendency to readily claim credit for his contributions to the project, Falul specifically requested that he, along with Dr. O'Connell and Narak, be present on the bridge for the test. Any of the others who had participated in the project, but they were permitted to observe from any part of the ship where they felt they would be able to contribute the most. They had two Huragok assigned to the borer in case of malfunctions, though nothing of the sort had occurred in the simulations. They had chosen an isolation destination that would be one hour away at their new estimated velocity, so the test itself was slated for two hours. Falul had already sent out a message informing the rest of the fleet of their intentions, so they had already begun the calculations for their jump.
Dr. O'Connell spent some time moving between consoles, double and triple checking the readouts they had on the borer's status, which were following the predicted models precisely. Eventually, she stopped next to McKay and let out a long breath. "You nervous?" She asked, casually.
Eri 'Moram - Dxun
As soon as the Tarentatek charged, the encounter became a fighting retreat, back towards their ambush. They needed to keep the beast in sight, keep its interest, and keep injuring it as much as possible, but all while keeping the goal in mind.
For Eri and her team, they certainly demonstrated their collective training and practice. After their initial volley, Eri's team staggered their weapons fire between each other so as to keep constant pressure on the beast. When one needed to reload, or when the attention of the Tarentatek was on him, he would dash back as possible with his thruster pack, while the others opened fire from different angles. Among Eri's team, it was make it more difficult for the Tarentatek to find its biggest threat. When Sel ran through his ammunition with his concussion rifle, he swapped to his needler, dashing back through the hallway while keeping fire on the creature. The hail of needles tracked in on the Tarentatek, embedding themselves into its scales until enough of them were brought together into a supercombine explosion.
Eri herself took a position farther back in order to give herself the time to line up her next shot. Hers was a weapon that could pierce through the beast, so she was the one most likely to be able to weaken it. As the pink mist shrouded the Tarentatek's upper body, she fired a shot towards its right ankle. Hampering its mobility was still the best way to reduce the threat it posed.
Vael 'Virisusai
Vael took on a more skeptical appearance upon the mention of Jedi. He had sought to educate himself as much as possible on the Alderaanians, but he had simply not had time to learn all there was to know about this galaxy and its history. He knew of the Jedi, from what little he had read, but was still unfamiliar with them overall.
"I shall not be so impetuous as to make assumptions about these Jedi, but I will admit my own distrust for religious orders of warriors. My people were onced enslaved by devotion to false prophets. The blood that has been shed in the name of religion in my universe could fill oceans." Vael cautioned.
After a brief pause, Ahnasha was the first to speak up. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but my beast spirit is going to be awful agitated to miss the fighting tomorrow if I don't at least give it something to kill now." She answered. She undressed and found a clear spot on the ground on which to neatly stack her belongings, then transformed into her werewolf form. Lorag, then Kaleeth soon followed suit, though Meesei took a moment to examine their surroundings, particularly any scents she could detect.
"I have not sensed Vykosa since we first arrived. Still, I suppose she could be anywhere in these lands. Although...Vykosa does not strike me as the type to ambush us somewhere in a hidden grove. If she wanted to challenge me, I have a feeling she would want to have an audience." Meesei reasoned. "There might be some risk in hunting the beasts here, but if we cannot handle a few wandering Daedra, then what business would we have in trying to lead an army?" She laughed lightly.
Meesei took on her beast form as well and, for a moment, stopped to look over each and every one of the others. Her pack. Even if they all survived the invasion in good health, this still could be their last hunt together. Once all of the responsibilities regarding the invasion had passed, Sabine probably would not need too much more time to finalize her new pack, so she would be an alpha in her own right. Any of the others could certainly take that same step if they chose to, though after all they had been through, Meesei was not so sure how many of her pack would want to be leaders themselves. Some, like Kaleeth, may want to hang up their swords for good. Meesei knew she had long been tired of the fighting. Unlike most of them, she had not chosen the life of a warrior. Or at least, it was never something she had a passion for.
In any case, in this moment, Meesei could at least be grateful for this chance they had now. There was no better place for a lycan to hunt than the Hunting Grounds themselves.
For Lorag in particular, Janius' suggestion managed to elicit a grin. "Heh, now you're talkin'. Forget sitting around and talking, when's the last time we all went out and killed something together?"
Meesei was unsurprised that Lorag was the most easily enthused by Janius' idea. Excluding Meesei, each one of them did, of course, have to allow their beast spirits to hunt from time to time to sate them, but given their schedules, it had been quite a while since they had organized one together. "I think I would enjoy a hunt, though we should certainly make sure to...respect this place. It is the Hunting Grounds; our prey may have more bite than what we are used to in Tamriel."
Ahnasha did not appear to be entirely decided at first, though that was mostly because she had not yet had the time to think about any other options they might have. Considering her history as a huntress, to make a kill in the Hunting Grounds themselves was enticing. "Hmm, that might not be a bad idea. Does anyone have any objections?"
Para Category: Omega, Category 4 (currently) Powers/Abilities: Taylor's body is no longer even somewhat recognizably Human. Rather, it is now a somewhat solid, though mostly energy-based being. Physically, it is resilient. It does not have flesh and organs and cannot be killed just by targeting a weak point. However, Its body can be damaged through most mundane means. Shooting, cutting, crushing, and other physical means of attack can damage its physical form, but it will regenerate quickly from its store of energy. Killing it requires draining or forcing it to use up all of its energy. As it loses energy, it weakens until it eventually dies.
Taylor's physical size and strength depends on how much energy it has available. At high energy, it can be quite strong, while it weakens the closer it comes to being drained. The physical parts of its body are partially amorphous and are able to expand, contract, and move with the flow of its energy. Although, its most natural, stable state does form its tendrils into the form of a body with arms, legs, and a head. It survives by consuming energy. In Taylor's captivity, and likely the city beyond, its most common source of sustenance is electricity, though it can absorb other types of energy like intense heat or radiation, which makes Taylor strong against energy-based attacks. If it consumes a great deal of some form of energy, then it can become supercharged and may be able to violently expend some of the excess energy in energy-based attacks. Although, it cannot stay supercharged forever, and will eventually shed off that energy even if it does not use it.
Weaknesses:
Perceived Threat - Though somewhat amorphous by nature, Taylor cannot take any other forms. As such, its frightening, inhuman appearance makes it entirely unable to operate normally within Human society. Even if behaving benevolently, others may approach it as if it is a much greater danger than it actually is.
Energy Draining - As a mostly energy-based lifeform, Taylor is particularly weak to any attack that can directly drain the form of energy empowering it (for instance, it would be weak to the cold if empowered by heat).
Depression - Since the explosion, Taylor has been betrayed by Lorne and subjected to horrible and painful experimentation. It has given up hope of a cure, and has even separated itself to some extent from its former Human identity. It feels lost and confused about its future, and even survival itself does not feel like a strong motivation.
Stun from Physical Trauma - Taylor no longer has a physical brain. Rather, its neural patterns are imprinted across the whole of its essence. While the imprint itself cannot be permanently damaged by attack, dealing enough damage to its body at once can interrupt Taylor's conscious thoughts briefly until it regenerates and restores itself, causing it to act purely on instinct and impulse for the duration.
Energy Dependence - Taylor's relative strength depends entirely upon the amount of energy it is able to consume. When at low energy, its ability to move, fight, and even think are dulled.
Hunger - Taylor has something of a voracious hunger, and must periodically consume substantial amounts of energy in order to sustain itself. As such, even should it escape its captivity, it cannot easily hide itself away from people for an extended time.
Skills: Taylor was once a person and retains the knowledge and education it received growing up in the city. However, apart from basic knowledge, all of its former Human skills have been rendered pointless by the transformation. [Relevant skills PMed to Grizz] History: [Human background PMed to Grizz] Taylor was once Human. It still has those memories, still clings to them no matter how much it wishes to get rid of them. However, in its eyes, that version of Taylor died with the explosion at the Tower. After the explosion, it was transformed into its current, horrible form. Frightened and confused as it was after the incident, it gave itself over willingly to Lorne corporation in the hopes for a cure. However, that decision is one that has made its new life into one of suffering.
Taylor had, at first, consented to the experiments, not that it likely would have mattered. They did not begin terribly, and Taylor did learn more about itself and its abilities through the process. However, after they learned more about how its body functioned, how to sustain and support it, they started to see what would happen if they tried to break it. They have starved it, shot it, stabbed it, shredded it, and even detonated it. Granted, most of their experiments are not so violent, and they are yet to find any sort of drug that even affects its body in the slightest, but Taylor has spent hours upon hours screaming out in pain to deaf ears.
The pain and betrayal Taylor has suffered at the hands of Lorne corporation have almost changed Taylor as much as the tower's explosion. It sees itself as almost as much of a monster as it appears to be, and has started to abandon the notion of ever being Human again. Even just trying to hold onto a Human identity feels like a painful reminder of what it will never have again. At this point, Taylor even refers to itself as an "it", and is only barely willing to hold on to its name. It no longer holds on to hope for a cure, and if given the chance, would be willing to escape from its prison. Angry cop outside a doughnut shop...yeah, this doesn't fit naturally anywhere in that background.
The four walls of its cell. The door, its hardened translucent window, and the limited view it gave out into the part of the lab it could see from within. That was Taylor's entire world now, all it could experience aside from what was pumped into its cell. More accurately, the scientists referred to it as a "mobile containment unit", though it still never moved from this spot. Taylor had been moved between units a few times, each stronger and more specialized than the last, but it was always in this room. Its current cell had to have been constructed specifically for it. Taylor had damaged some of the past cells, but this one was strong, it was insulated, and it had specialized nozzles and other equipment to pump chemicals and energy into it, all without even opening the door. Most of what Taylor could see through the large, translucent door was computers and sensors to collect data on their experiments.
Right now, Taylor could see some of the scientists outside, calibrating equipment, making notes. Those in this particular group had never spoken to it, though the nametags on their lab coats meant that it knew all of their names by this point. There had been a time when Taylor had tried to talk to them, tried to reason with them, but it knew now that was a pointless endeavor. When it was time for their experiment to begin, the covering of a nozzle on the back wall of the cell opened, immediately spraying and igniting and incendiary fuel that immolated the whole of the chamber in an unavoidable flame. Far from harming Taylor, however, it could not help but to absorb the intense heat of the flame into its very being. By the time the last of the flame was gone, Taylor had grown considerably in size and mass, towering over the average Human. The dark tendrils of its essence danced excitedly upon the surface of its loosely-formed body, and its many eyes glowed in a brilliant white. For Taylor, it felt amazing to have that power surging through its essence, but it had been through this enough times to feel only dread at what was to come.
Taylor found it hard to be sure exactly how much time passed. After being immolated in fire, its cell was now chilled well-below freezing. There was no day or night, no way of judging for how long it was meant to suffer. It could have been hours, or days, though the latter likely would have killed it. All Taylor had was the constant hum of computers and sensors collecting their "readings" on what its body was suffering. It did not feel merely like being cold, but rather like its lifeforce was being slowly, but viciously torn out of every tendril. Taylor was now somewhat smaller and leaner than a Human, hardly moving, and most of its eyes were not even visible any longer. Taylor had been through this torture half a dozen times in the past few weeks, in all likelihood so the scientists could collect a better sample size on their observations. It wished it could sleep, if only to be given some reprieve from the pain.
It was hard for Taylor to even notice when the cell started to warm, as the pain lingered on across its body. It was only some movement outside that caught Taylor's attention. It crawled slowly towards the door, looking up at the woman that had come to check up on it. She was the one welcome sight that Taylor had in this hell in which it resided. Her name was Marian Allen. She was the only one who had given Taylor her first name, and the only one who really talked to it at all. She wore a similar lab coat to the scientists, but she was a nurse. At least, that was the best way Taylor could describe her. She monitored its health, and presumably the health of other subjects, based on what she had told it in the past. She was the only reason that Taylor was even aware of the existence of other subjects. She had freckled, pale skin, red hair, and was still slightly overweight, despite having been on a diet for the past two months. She represented the final shred of hope that Taylor had in this place.
Marian knelt down in front of the clear door and looked directly into Taylor's eyes, something that all of the others tended to avoid, consciously or not. "It's okay, it's over. The experiment is over now. It's going to be alright."
As Marian was just about to stand, Taylor lifted one of its limbs suddenly up and pressed it against the window, its tendrils forming the shape of an open hand. "Please..." Taylor began. It did not have a mouth with which to speak, but its energy could simply form the sounds directly. Its voice had an otherworldly, echoing quality to it. Marian did the same, pressing her own hand right up to Taylor's.
"...let me...die." Taylor continued, sounding just as weak as it looked.
Marian swallowed as she closed her eyes and lowered her head. Taylor did not doubt that she would grant its request, were it in her power. Her tears told it that much. But, those tears were all Marian could give for now, as she had no choice but to stand and go to the control console, pressing the button that gave the entire metal interior of the cell a powerful electric charge. Taylor absorbed the energy, revitalizing its body and mind up to its former strength.
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."
Para Category: Omega, Category 4 (currently) Powers/Abilities: Taylor's body is no longer even somewhat recognizably Human. Rather, it is now a somewhat solid, though mostly energy-based being. Physically, it is resilient. It does not have flesh and organs and cannot be killed just by targeting a weak point. However, Its body can be damaged through most mundane means. Shooting, cutting, crushing, and other physical means of attack can damage its physical form, but it will regenerate quickly from its store of energy. Killing it requires draining or forcing it to use up all of its energy. As it loses energy, it weakens until it eventually dies.
Taylor's physical size and strength depends on how much energy it has available. At high energy, it can be quite strong, while it weakens the closer it comes to being drained. The physical parts of its body are partially amorphous and are able to expand, contract, and move with the flow of its energy. Although, its most natural, stable state does form its tendrils into the form of a body with arms, legs, and a head. It survives by consuming energy. In Taylor's captivity, and likely the city beyond, its most common source of sustenance is electricity, though it can absorb other types of energy like intense heat or radiation, which makes Taylor strong against energy-based attacks. If it consumes a great deal of some form of energy, then it can become supercharged and may be able to violently expend some of the excess energy in energy-based attacks. Although, it cannot stay supercharged forever, and will eventually shed off that energy even if it does not use it.
Weaknesses:
Perceived Threat - Though somewhat amorphous by nature, Taylor cannot take any other forms. As such, its frightening, inhuman appearance makes it entirely unable to operate normally within Human society. Even if behaving benevolently, others may approach it as if it is a much greater danger than it actually is.
Energy Draining - As a mostly energy-based lifeform, Taylor is particularly weak to any attack that can directly drain the form of energy empowering it (for instance, it would be weak to the cold if empowered by heat).
Depression - Since the explosion, Taylor has been betrayed by Lorne and subjected to horrible and painful experimentation. It has given up hope of a cure, and has even separated itself to some extent from its former Human identity. It feels lost and confused about its future, and even survival itself does not feel like a strong motivation.
Stun from Physical Trauma - Taylor no longer has a physical brain. Rather, its neural patterns are imprinted across the whole of its essence. While the imprint itself cannot be permanently damaged by attack, dealing enough damage to its body at once can interrupt Taylor's conscious thoughts briefly until it regenerates and restores itself, causing it to act purely on instinct and impulse for the duration.
Energy Dependence - Taylor's relative strength depends entirely upon the amount of energy it is able to consume. When at low energy, its ability to move, fight, and even think are dulled.
Hunger - Taylor has something of a voracious hunger, and must periodically consume substantial amounts of energy in order to sustain itself. As such, even should it escape its captivity, it cannot easily hide itself away from people for an extended time.
Skills: Taylor was once a person and retains the knowledge and education it received growing up in the city. However, apart from basic knowledge, all of its former Human skills have been rendered pointless by the transformation. [Relevant skills PMed to Grizz] History: [Human background PMed to Grizz] Taylor was once Human. It still has those memories, still clings to them no matter how much it wishes to get rid of them. However, in its eyes, that version of Taylor died with the explosion at the Tower. After the explosion, it was transformed into its current, horrible form. Frightened and confused as it was after the incident, it gave itself over willingly to Lorne corporation in the hopes for a cure. However, that decision is one that has made its new life into one of suffering.
Taylor had, at first, consented to the experiments, not that it likely would have mattered. They did not begin terribly, and Taylor did learn more about itself and its abilities through the process. However, after they learned more about how its body functioned, how to sustain and support it, they started to see what would happen if they tried to break it. They have starved it, shot it, stabbed it, shredded it, and even detonated it. Granted, most of their experiments are not so violent, and they are yet to find any sort of drug that even affects its body in the slightest, but Taylor has spent hours upon hours screaming out in pain to deaf ears.
The pain and betrayal Taylor has suffered at the hands of Lorne corporation have almost changed Taylor as much as the tower's explosion. It sees itself as almost as much of a monster as it appears to be, and has started to abandon the notion of ever being Human again. Even just trying to hold onto a Human identity feels like a painful reminder of what it will never have again. At this point, Taylor even refers to itself as an "it", and is only barely willing to hold on to its name. It no longer holds on to hope for a cure, and if given the chance, would be willing to escape from its prison. Angry cop outside a doughnut shop...yeah, this doesn't fit naturally anywhere in that background.
The four walls of its cell. The door, its hardened translucent window, and the limited view it gave out into the part of the lab it could see from within. That was Taylor's entire world now, all it could experience aside from what was pumped into its cell. More accurately, the scientists referred to it as a "mobile containment unit", though it still never moved from this spot. Taylor had been moved between units a few times, each stronger and more specialized than the last, but it was always in this room. Its current cell had to have been constructed specifically for it. Taylor had damaged some of the past cells, but this one was strong, it was insulated, and it had specialized nozzles and other equipment to pump chemicals and energy into it, all without even opening the door. Most of what Taylor could see through the large, translucent door was computers and sensors to collect data on their experiments.
Right now, Taylor could see some of the scientists outside, calibrating equipment, making notes. Those in this particular group had never spoken to it, though the nametags on their lab coats meant that it knew all of their names by this point. There had been a time when Taylor had tried to talk to them, tried to reason with them, but it knew now that was a pointless endeavor. When it was time for their experiment to begin, the covering of a nozzle on the back wall of the cell opened, immediately spraying and igniting and incendiary fuel that immolated the whole of the chamber in an unavoidable flame. Far from harming Taylor, however, it could not help but to absorb the intense heat of the flame into its very being. By the time the last of the flame was gone, Taylor had grown considerably in size and mass, towering over the average Human. The dark tendrils of its essence danced excitedly upon the surface of its loosely-formed body, and its many eyes glowed in a brilliant white. For Taylor, it felt amazing to have that power surging through its essence, but it had been through this enough times to feel only dread at what was to come.
Taylor found it hard to be sure exactly how much time passed. After being immolated in fire, its cell was now chilled well-below freezing. There was no day or night, no way of judging for how long it was meant to suffer. It could have been hours, or days, though the latter likely would have killed it. All Taylor had was the constant hum of computers and sensors collecting their "readings" on what its body was suffering. It did not feel merely like being cold, but rather like its lifeforce was being slowly, but viciously torn out of every tendril. Taylor was now somewhat smaller and leaner than a Human, hardly moving, and most of its eyes were not even visible any longer. Taylor had been through this torture half a dozen times in the past few weeks, in all likelihood so the scientists could collect a better sample size on their observations. It wished it could sleep, if only to be given some reprieve from the pain.
It was hard for Taylor to even notice when the cell started to warm, as the pain lingered on across its body. It was only some movement outside that caught Taylor's attention. It crawled slowly towards the door, looking up at the woman that had come to check up on it. She was the one welcome sight that Taylor had in this hell in which it resided. Her name was Marian Allen. She was the only one who had given Taylor her first name, and the only one who really talked to it at all. She wore a similar lab coat to the scientists, but she was a nurse. At least, that was the best way Taylor could describe her. She monitored its health, and presumably the health of other subjects, based on what she had told it in the past. She was the only reason that Taylor was even aware of the existence of other subjects. She had freckled, pale skin, red hair, and was still slightly overweight, despite having been on a diet for the past two months. She represented the final shred of hope that Taylor had in this place.
Marian knelt down in front of the clear door and looked directly into Taylor's eyes, something that all of the others tended to avoid, consciously or not. "It's okay, it's over. The experiment is over now. It's going to be alright."
As Marian was just about to stand, Taylor lifted one of its limbs suddenly up and pressed it against the window, its tendrils forming the shape of an open hand. "Please..." Taylor began. It did not have a mouth with which to speak, but its energy could simply form the sounds directly. Its voice had an otherworldly, echoing quality to it. Marian did the same, pressing her own hand right up to Taylor's.
"...let me...die." Taylor continued, sounding just as weak as it looked.
Marian swallowed as she closed her eyes and lowered her head. Taylor did not doubt that she would grant its request, were it in her power. Her tears told it that much. But, those tears were all Marian could give for now, as she had no choice but to stand and go to the control console, pressing the button that gave the entire metal interior of the cell a powerful electric charge. Taylor absorbed the energy, revitalizing its body and mind up to its former strength.
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.
Cath
Alby47
Cleveraptor
Aristocles
Eviledd1984
Quest Abandoner