EliteCommander

The Cradle

The Rothians were slow and methodical when moving, but there was only so much they could do to spot danger when the ground itself was a threat. When Vreta made a step from the sidewalk into the street to cross, he at first thought that he had tripped over something, but it was a thorny vine that had gripped his ankle, pulling him to the ground. Still, even as he fell, he shouted out a warning to the others. “On me!”

The soldiers were fast to react. All their squad leader needed to do was to shout a name, and that soldier immediately knelt down to assist while the rest provided cover. The vines tried to entangle and constrict Vreta, but the soldier’s sharp, powerful claws ripped them up from the ground and allowed him to scramble to his feet.

At the same time, the soldiers covering found themselves facing down unknown, and seemingly impossible beings rising up from the ground itself. That indistinct organic matter they had been passing by pooled almost like a liquid until it formed into a mostly humanoid, but otherwise featureless shapes. The squad leader had no reason to hesitate. “Open fire!”

Their weapons might not have been as powerful as what they were accustomed to, but they were at least still effective against the adversaries in front of them. The shots melted through the organic bodies, blasting holes through them and even removing limbs. Each of the squad members covered a different angle to hold them back. They were ready to shift their focus if any of the soldiers called for aid, though given that they were surrounded, all of them had a job to do.

“What’s your status?” One of the Rothian soldiers asked as she helped Vreta to his feet, to which he answered quickly and clearly.

“Just lacerations. I can walk. Move quick and get out of…” Vreta began, but in a quick flash of light, everything changed. In an instant, there were no vines covering the ground, nor organic monstrosities. The lights were bright, and the city around them was just…a city. Vreta’s ankle still bled, but otherwise it was as if nothing had happened. “…here. We’re still leaving.” He commented.

Vreta answered Freyr right away when she contacted him, though with his words far more hurried. “Yes, and I am leaving the Cradle. I suggest you do the same. I am going to go to the port you mentioned. I will likely spend the rest of my time at the ship until we leave.”

The Cradle

“That is my plan. Not every Rothian is so…accustomed to the differences between our people and yours, so we have always found it helpful to…” Vreta began answering to Freyr, but he was cut off by his communications, as well as many of the lights around him, going dark. His guards all raised their weapons, and Vreta himself drew his pistol. There were other Humans around them in the building, of course, but once they became able to see once more, it would be hard to say their defensive response was not justified.

What appeared to be vines, plants, and other indistinct organic matter seemed to appear out of nowhere, covering the walls and floor. For a moment, the Rothians were silent and still, each of them scanning separate angles. Vreta had no information on what was happening, if it was a new development in the Cradle, or if it was somehow normal. However, one thing that was certain was that he was not going to wait around to investigate.

“We are leaving. Stay close.” Vreta announced in a calm, focused tone. They had not strayed far from the transit station, so it would not be a long walk back. Though, each and every step made Vreta more and more unnerved. The feel of vines touching the scales on the bottom of his feet seemed, ironically, unnatural given his surroundings. They all walked together in a tight formation, straight out the door they had entered through. Between each of the soldiers, they had full vision on their surroundings to avoid being caught off-guard. Even the floor itself Vreta did not trust, and he was watching it as if it were an enemy combatant.

The Cradle

While not a terribly large city, this place, New Antioch, did seem far more civilized than the other parts of the Cradle Vreta had seen. It was not his first time coming here, as there had been more than a few meetings in the city back when he was still undercover. Truthfully, it did not look too different from the last time he had been here, based on his brief glimpse of the city from walking across the street outside the transit station. Although, he supposed that, out of anywhere in the Cradle, New Antioch would be among the last places to be affected if the troubles he had witnessed months before were indeed getting worse.

In any case, it did not take long for Vreta to be connected in a call to Human Science Director for their expedition on Rothia. It was a slight surprise to him that he recognized the name, though he supposed it should not have been too much of one. Dr. Lang was, after all, one of the foremost experts on the Cradle. Given how the Director-General had stormed out of that meeting months prior, he felt sure that the Humans had expended nearly every other option they had before going back to making a deal with them. The lead on Rothia was likely the best they had remaining, so it made sense to send their best to pursue it.

“Hello, Freyr. It is good to speak to you again.” Vreta greeted her, keeping an openly friendly tone. “I can come to you, if you feel I should. Though…I will admit, I still feel unnerved being in this place, after what happened. But yes, that is why I am here. I have been appointed as the Rothian liaison to the Human expedition members. I came to introduce myself to the Director, but it seems I took care of that a few months ago. It also seems that you are going to be getting the opportunity to visit my people’s homeworld.”

The Cradle

In the aftermath of their meeting with the Director-General, Vreta did not spend much more time on Outremer. He stayed long enough to cover his tracks, as well as to deal with some matters for the corporation he was representing and keep up his cover story. However, he eventually returned to Rothia after less than a week for the official reason of safety, given that he was the target of a supposed terrorist attack. From there, he continued in an advisory position regarding the situation on Outremer.

The approach of the Rahn’Masser in the months that followed was one of patience, on Vreta’s own advice. They took no further risks with trying to learn what the Humans were keeping hidden, and instead simply monitored the situation through publicly-available means. The fact that the Cradle was heavily locked-down by the Outremer government was essentially confirmation that the event Vreta witnessed was not an isolated one. There was even a growing sentiment of concern and confusion from Outremer’s citizens on their government’s sudden and drastic reversal of policy in regards to the Cradle. Frequent, rolling power outages across Outremer’s infrastructure also spoke to persistent issues within the Cradle. The Rothians could not know the details from the outside, but from their perspective, they did not need to. They just needed to wait long enough for desperation to set in. They did, in the meantime, attempt to search for whatever it was the creature in the Cradle had supposedly tried to contact on Rothia, but without any information on where or what it was they were looking for, finding it in any quick time was only a remote possibility.

Eventually, the months of waiting were rewarded. Vreta himself was not involved in the negotiations, but the agreement the Rothian government reached with Outremer gave them a satisfactory degree of cooperation in the investigation. With the information they were given, they quickly began to assemble a research team, mobilize soldiers for security roles, and gather ample resources to assist the investigation. For Vreta himself, he finally had a direct part to play once more. Officially, he had retired from his position at the Zuraxi’Synkuur corporation and had taken a position as a government contractor in its place. He had been appointed as the Rothian liaison to the Human half of the task force that was quickly forming. Given his specific experience with both Humanity and the Cradle, as well as his skillset, he was the natural choice for both official and unofficial purposes.

---

Vreta could not say he was thrilled about the prospect of logging in to the Cradle once again, but at least this time he was in more control of the situation. For one, he had his own pistol at his side, as well as a retinue of armed and armored Rothian soldiers at his side. Human entry harnesses still could not simulate Rothian technology, so their arms and armor were all of Human origin, adapted to their bodies, but at least he was not so defenseless. However, the main reason he felt comfortable entering this nightmare of a simulation was that he would not be wandering more than a city block away from the transit station. He went to the CraSec outpost just next to his entry point, sent word to the Director of the Human contribution to the expedition, and stayed put exactly where he was to wait for their arrival.

The Cradle

The Rothian delegation had, of course, prepared and discussed ahead of time many different possible outcomes for how the meeting might go, but since they had not known exactly what matter the Humans intended to bring to them that day, they were caught somewhat by surprise by how quickly the Director-General’s approach turned on its head. To the Ambassador, it was quite frankly…confusing that he would storm out of negotiations so quickly. Nevertheless, none of the Rothians made it particularly obvious that they had been caught off-guard. Vreta remained silent and chuckled slightly, while the Ambassador simply gestured towards the door. “Very well. If you have no further desire to negotiate, you may leave. And should you have any specific requests for Rothian corporations or other entities, you may submit them through the proper channels of their legal departments.”

Naturally, the Rothians offered no resistance to allowing the Humans to leave. They had little reason to bend, even in the face of such seemingly stubborn opposition. Their people could handle any potential economic impacts of these events far better than Outremer, and that was not even to mention what was happening in the Cradle.

The Rothian representatives ensured that the Humans had fully departed before continuing to speak among themselves. “Well that was…quite unprecedented.” Counselor Joll remarked.

“It was easy to see that their normal representatives were not in control.” The Ambassador commented. “I am doubtful their Director-General had much diplomatic experience; he was a rather poor negotiator. I was still willing to make at least some concessions after my initial offer. At least before he stormed out.”

Vreta nodded in agreement. “I would not worry too much about them. This is just a game of patience, now. If what I saw in the Cradle yesterday was anything to go by, this will only get worse for them. We just have to be ready to step in at the appropriate time.”

The Cradle

Moreso than anything said so far, the claim that the creature had attempted to make contact with a location on Rothia caused a stir among the Rothian delegation. There were quick looks between one another, as well as frantic conversation in their minds between their implants. ”The creature attempted to make contact with something on Rothia? Did you see anything that would confirm that, Vreta?” The Ambassador asked.

“No, not directly at least.” Vreta answered. “There was no way for me to examine the comms device before the creature turned hostile. I can say that it did seem to be familiar with me as a Rothian, but its words were vague. One interpretation of those words would imply that the creature, or its creators, was aware of our people early in our evolution.”

The Ambassador gave a glance towards their technical advisor. “Mras, is what the Humans say even possible? Could a Cradle program even send a message outside the simulation?”

Mras did not appear entirely confident, but he answered nonetheless. ”I would have to study the Cradle directly to give a definitive answer, but conceptually, there would be nothing preventing it. Everything we know about the Cradle suggests that, for all its mystery, it is simply a highly-advanced and ancient computer. A computer that has been linked with almost every aspect of Outremer’s infrastructure. I do not know what limits the simulation imposes, but an artificial intelligence within could attempt to access those connections.”

”There is always the chance that this is a fabrication, but…to what end?” Counselor Joll commented. ”The patterns of Human behavior regarding the Cradle have been remarkably consistent for as long as we have known them. They want to keep it to themselves. They do not even share it freely with other Human colonies. This revelation, if true, would mean that they will need to go to Rothia to find their answers. They would have no choice but to cooperate with us, which, of course, gives us a great deal of leverage in the negotiations. I simply can think of no motivation for them to lie about this.”

Once she heard the others’ opinions, the Ambassador wasted no more time. “If what you say is true, this could be a remarkable development, Director-General. You will have to forgive some skepticism, as our planet has been mapped in extensive detail, but there is enough uncertainty that I can entertain the idea there may be something to it. I can say that we are interested in the cooperative study of the Cradle, but it must be a full partnership. If there is indeed something connected to the Cradle on our homeworld, we must be able to study both what is found on Rothia, and the Cradle here on Outremer. With you being afforded the same courtesy, naturally.”

The Cradle

Ambassador Taranik, Counselor Joll, and Vreta were all unfazed by the Director General’s accusations, owing to their experience. Only the attaché, Mras, showed any discernible reaction, though he was not privy to the full truth as the other Rothians were. The Ambassador waited patiently for the Human to complete his statement in full, conferring just briefly with her associates beside her before giving their response.

“Director General, it is my understanding that Vreta’Sori gave a full statement that explained his presence in the Cradle to you personally. As such, I would expect that you would have been able to confirm his story with both the Rothian and Human corporations involved. I have already been able to do so, without issue. I would expect that you currently know that he was being truthful regarding his association with the corporation that owned the warehouse in question. If you have any evidence of an ulterior motive for Vreta’Sori’s presence in the Cradle during the event, then you may present it. Otherwise, I will have to insist that you make no further attempts to derail this discussion with baseless accusations.” The Ambassador replied calmly, but firmly.

Once she got her necessary response to the rather serious accusation of espionage out of the way, Taranik moved on to the more impactful parts of the discussion. “But yes, the reason we are here for this meeting is because we still believe in the idea of cooperation between our people, despite the evidence of an attack against one of our citizens, supported by Agent Five Nine Five. Although I do admit that the likelihood of such cooperation has been compromised by this event, I still do retain hope that we might come to some accord. But before we can make any decisions regarding your agent, I do wish to hear what you have to say about the Cradle. About the reason you have called this meeting today.”

Although the Ambassador had given no indication of agreeing to the Director General’s demand, there was at least a slight concession buried in her response. Despite announcing her belief in the agent’s association with the attack, she, rather specifically, did not take further negotiations off of the table. The contradiction was enough to demonstrate that she was willing to work with him on an agreement, but the Rothians knew that Outremer did not have nearly a strong enough position to make them give in to such demands right away.

The Cradle

There were glances exchanged between the Ambassador and Counselor Joll'sho'Andai, though no others were privy to the private conversation taking place between their implants. The Ambassador was the one to respond to the human. "I suppose we shall address this issue right away. We had intended to call for a meeting ourselves to discuss the attack on our citizen. Counselor, if you would." She said, gesturing to Joll.

With just a thought, Counselor Joll instructed the room's hidden projectors to create holographic screens in front of everyone seated around the table. "I will begin by showing the evidence that led to your agent being detained. Our citizen, Vreta'Sori, was attacked in ambush, but managed to defend himself against his attackers. His implants recorded everything he saw and heard that evening. I will show the recording from the point that your agent arrived. If you wish to see anything from before that point for context, then simply ask afterwards. Oh, and I will warn you that this recording does show, in detail, the deaths of several of Vreta's attackers. Some images you will see are rather graphic. Any of you who are not required to view it may choose to disable your screen at any time."

The video that followed showed what Vreta went through that evening from his perspective. It showed what he saw or heard, though it did not capture his thoughts, nor any messages sent through his implants. They saw the agent arrive and explain the danger Freyr was in, her request that Vreta join them, as well as her insistence that they go to Freyr's apartment after Vreta suggested going to the embassy. They saw the first attacks from the old woman and the man with the meat hooks, and that the agent shot them both. During the escape, thanks to the night vision in Vreta's implants, they saw clearly when the ambushers emerged from their camouflaged tarps, cutting Vreta off and allowing the agent and Freyr to escape.

The recording also showed the fight in just as much gruesome detail as Vreta saw in person. After Vreta quickly slit the throat of the first attacker, the brightly-colored Rothian, Mras, shut off his display with a visible look of unease. Though, the fight did not last long. It was quick, bloody, and left Vreta as the clear victor. The most important detail that could be gathered from that point in the recording was that his attackers were indeed armed with guns, but chose not to use them until they were losing.

The Counselor allowed the recording to play through Vreta's return to the market, where he learned that the first two attackers had been shot non-lethally by nerve rounds, then continued on to his arrival outside Freyr's apartment. Ultimately, she ended the recording at the point where Vreta first met Mr. Xandrus.

Without skipping a beat, Counselor Joll continued making her points as the recording stopped. "As you can clearly see, there is more than enough evidence to proceed with the charges against your agent. For her not to be working in cooperation with those attackers would require a very long, very unlikely string of coincidences to be true. She led the two of them on a path directly towards a prepared ambush, and despite Dr. Lang being the apparent target of the attack, they allowed the two of them to escape unhindered in favor of surrounding Vreta. If the attackers had twelve people available for the ambush, why did they not use all of them in the market, since they clearly intended to attack in the market with the first two? They were clearly prepared to make their ambush along a fairly narrow path in the park, but how could they be so sure Vreta would choose to go directly to Dr. Lang's apartment after the first attack, as opposed to going directly to the police, or calling for help? Which, I will mention, Vreta intended to do before the agent insisted otherwise. And these are just some of the more prominent coincidences. I could go on. What I can say, in summation, is that the only explanation I can find for these events that is not highly improbable involves that agent working with the attackers to carry out this ambush. I have spoken about this at length with the Ambassador, and the conclusions we can draw from this are are both disturbing in different ways. Either your agent betrayed you by attacking your allies, or you betrayed us."

The Cradle

Vreta already had his seat at the far end of the row of Rothian diplomats when the Humans were guided into the room. He observed each of them as they made their way to their seats on the other side of the table, noting a few familiar faces among them. The lawyer, Mr. Xandrus, , the augmented man that had interviewed him in the Cradle, the soldier they had saved, and of course, Dr. Lang. Vreta had not been completely sure if Freyr would be present, though it was not what he would consider a surprising development. She was, after all, an expert on the Cradle, so if this meeting was indeed about the Cradle, her presence made sense. Vreta’s presence likely would have been comparatively more surprising from her perspective, as well as the fact that there was no longer a trace of the grievous injuries he had received just the previous night.

In any case, Vreta did not say anything for the moment. He did have a place in this discussion, but it would be the professional diplomats that would be taking the lead this time. Although, the mood of this discussion was set the very moment the Humans walked into the room. Ambassador Taranik and Under-Secretary Sequeira were already quite familiar with one another, so he was likely to notice her strange behavior right away. The Rothians, in general, tended to be quite friendly with their approach to diplomacy. Especially after they had been working together a while, the majority of meetings with the Ambassador started with smiles, handshakes, and friendly words, even if the matters they would end up discussing were quite serious. This was the first time in all his time dealing with her that João was greeted with nothing but a cold, emotionless glance from Taranik.

“Welcome. I hope we can have a productive meeting today. Please take a seat.” Taranik said flatly to the Human representatives. “Your request mentioned that you wanted to gather to discuss a matter relating to the Cradle. Please begin; we should not delay.”

The Cradle

By the Humans’ own suggestion, their meeting would be taking place within the Rothian embassy, so naturally, the Rothian delegation was the first to be present and ready. The one leading their delegation was, of course, the Rothian ambassador herself, Taranik’Nhet. She had been in charge of Rothian diplomatic efforts with Outremer since the embassy had first been established. She was a millennium-old Rothian with dark green scales and black stripes. The second among them was a woman named Joll’sho’Andai. She had light tan scales, with a repeating diamond-like pattern of darker brown scales across most of her body. She was an expert in both Rothian and Human law, as well as the treaties and agreement that bound the both of them. She was the one in charge of the “official” Rothian response to the attack on Vreta.

The last of the Rothian representatives attending the meeting was an attache named Mras’Yona. His role at the embassy was more of a technical advisor than a diplomat. He rarely dealt with Humans directly, but rather advised other Rothian citizens and businesses on the acceptable usages of Rothian technology on Outremer. Given that the subject of the meeting was the Cradle, he was present mostly for his technical expertise. His appearance was strikingly different from any of the other Rothians in attendance, Vreta included. Their technology allowed them to customize their scale pigmentation in any way they desired, almost as quickly and easily as a Human could change clothes. In order to match Human expectations for professionalism, most Rothians who dealt with Humans regularly opted for more natural colors and patterns, but Mras had no such expectation on him. His scales were like an art piece. The backdrop was bright green in color, while the patterns across his body resembled a species of flower from Rothia. The stems connecting them were black in color, while the petals were vibrant and iridescent, shifting between colors depending on the angle of the viewer.

The meeting room they had chosen was one of the smaller ones, as they were not expecting a large Human delegation. The embassy itself was a Human structure, so its architecture was no different from the rest of the city, though the Rothians had upgraded it to suit their needs. The table and half of the chairs in the center of the room were appropriately sized and shaped for Rothians, while the chairs intended for Human guests were smaller, but elevated higher so as to bring them on “even” terms. There were few other obvious features in the room, as most of the technology that the Rothians had integrated into the building was hidden out-of-sight unless it was in-use.