EliteCommander

The Cradle

On Vreta’s part, the agent’s role did not particularly bother him. Despite their history, there was some advantage to keeping her close. Vreta was reasonably certain the Humans had a saying regarding just that. In any case, he took a moment to review the stats on Freyr’s performance in the simulation once the round ended. She did well-enough, considering her relative experience. With some upgrades to her implants and just some regular practice, he felt she could become comfortable enough with a weapon to reasonably defend herself. Although, it would also depend on how skilled she wanted to become.

“If you are simply wanting to become comfortable enough with a weapon to be able to defend yourself in emergencies, I would say there is no problem using every tool at your disposal. Though, if you want to become truly skilled in a fight, there is a more comprehensive form of training you could follow.” Vreta commented to Freyr. “For Rothian soldiers, we start our training without the assistance of our implants. We use just our own senses, our own reactions, our own bodies. We develop our skills from there, then add implants on top of it. That is quite a time-consuming process, though, so it is up to you whether you would find that sort of training worthwhile. Honestly, if there is one skill in particular from that training I would say is worthwhile for you to learn, it would be to keep a calm mental focus, even under stress. There are plenty of people who can aim well at the firing range, but panic when the targets are shooting back.”

Vreta went ahead and started going through the selections for simulation scenarios once Agent 595 made the suggestion. Assuming Freyr wanted to run another one, he decided to pick something that would benefit from keeping a cool head. It was a scenario that involved shooting hostile targets, while avoiding shooting innocent targets. “As I mentioned in my message, I do have a few questions to ask you, Freyr. I have a primer on Rothia meant for tourists that I would like to edit to help your people adapt to our world, and I just wanted to run a few of my ideas by you. It is nothing time-sensitive nor difficult, though. We could run a few more rounds of this, if you like, then discuss it in a more relaxed environment. Perhaps one with less gunshots. We could visit that ‘beach room’ Masgard mentioned, if you like?”

The Cradle

It was an amusing game that the agent was playing, in more ways than one. She set them up in a new, perhaps more exciting challenge. The targets could move more quickly, and in more directions. Although, it still was, at its core, target shooting. The software of Vreta’s implants could keep up with targets far faster hand his hands could ever hope to track, so his perceptions were no bottleneck. Between his predictive targeting and aim assistance, the change in scenario led to no change in his performance. He did have to keep his eyes on the targets to aim at full effectiveness, but beyond that, he could hit them firing from the hip. Still just with the simple pistol, he had no trouble keeping up.

Vreta kept his eyes forward, but spoke calmly towards Freyr behind him. “It’s good practice to shoot in chaotic environments. A shootout is not a calm experience. There will be shouting, plenty of noise. You just have to focus on what is in front of you. Your target and your aim, that is what matters.”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Despite being outnumbered by their Daedric foes, the roars, shouting, and battle cries from their side echoed louder across the battlefield. Particularly after the long series of battles they had been through already, Sabine’s spell gave them all a welcome burst of energy to reinvigorate their charge. Additionally, amid the shouting of their allies, three words sounded out above the rest: ”MID VUR SHAAN!”

Once again, Yerig’s shout empowered his allies, guiding their hands with the speed of the winds of Kyne. Even the Senche cavalry on their left and right flanks felt the effects on their claws. Meesei too led with her magic. She did not have a way of enhancing all of her allies at once, but she could weaken the enemy. From her position at the front of their charge, she formed long, potent dispelling chains that she lashed across a wide swathe of the Daedra in front of them, ripping through wards and erasing any magic that their own mages might have been using to empower them.

As they neared the enemy frontline, Kaleeth overtook Meesei to become the pack’s spearhead. There were no shortage of targets in front of her, most of which were Skaafin that she could have easily crushed several ranks deep. However, the prey she took in her sights was the largest one she could see: an ogrim. It was a being of muscle and fat a bit taller than a werewolf, but heavier than a giant. It had arms like tree trunks, and when it met Kaleeth headfirst in her charge, they both stopped one another in their tracks. The ogrim pushed against her and slammed its fist against her side several times. The loud strikes impacted hard enough that one could even worry about them fracturing dragonbone, but Kaleeth was undeterred. She grabbed the ogrim by its sides, sinking her claws into its flesh, and with a deafening roar she began to lift the ogrim upwards. Between her werecrocodile form’s natural muscle and the strength enchantments enhancing them, she put her full power on display. The ogrim was lifted slowly at first, but once it was hoisted over her head, the confused Daedra just flailed its limbs fruitlessly. The statement Kaleeth made was clear, and it was punctuated by her throwing the massive Daedra forward across multiple ranks of Skaafin. Certainly, its weight would do much more damage than just knocking them off of their feet.

The fact that Meesei’s pack intended to stick close together necessitated that they all stay close to the frontline, and whether she needed it or not, Do’rhajul made himself into Sabine’s bulwark against their enemy. He stayed close in front of her with Spellbreaker at the ready to be an impenetrable wall against any attack that might come their way.

The Cradle

Vreta shrugged, looking down at the simple pistol he took in his hand once he went to his own booth. “They are fairly small in my hands, and of course your weapons don’t have the power of our own, but they are still lethal. And they are still a step up from some of the other weapons I have seen out in the galaxy. There are species out there still using metal and gunpowder for their projectiles.”

The most important detail about the pistol to Vreta was the fact that it had software that could link to his neural implant. With that, his combat assistance program could paint a reticle for him, even if the weapon itself was out of his field of view. It could also visualize recommended adjustments for him to make to put himself on target, and even display the predicted path of the projectile. The chaotic conditions of real combat could certainly muddy the waters, but his combat suite essentially made simple target shooting trivial. He did not even need to use particularly good form in order for him to land shot after shot with remarkable accuracy onto vital areas of the simulated targets.

Unlike the agent, Vreta still paid attention to what Freyr was doing after finishing his targets. He put down his weapon and leaned back out of his booth. “Do you have any implants that would help you with shooting, Freyr? I just want to get an idea of what sort of assistance you may or may not be getting.”

The Cradle

“I’m feeling fine, personally.” Vreta answered Agent 595. “I slept in a while. It was nice to get some rest after yesterday. I also got a good workout this morning, or…well, a decent one. The civilian gym on the ship isn’t really meant for my level of augmentations. I put in a request for higher grade equipment; I just hope they don’t see me as too ‘demanding’. I’m here to solve problems, not cause them.” He grinned.

Vreta maintained his friendly demeanor when he turned his attention towards Freyr. “And how are you, Freyr? I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to find you in a place like this. I didn’t take you for a soldier. Of course, I suppose I don’t look like much of one on the outside either, so…appearances can be deceiving.”

Vreta gave a quick glance downrange at the targets. He did have some work-related questions to ask Freyr, but it was hardly time-sensitive. “Are you two going to be staying at the range for any longer? I wouldn’t mind joining in, myself.”

The Cradle

Vreta was somewhat surprised by the location that Freyr pinged. It was a combat simulation room, and he did not take her to be much of a soldier. Although, from what he had seen her go through during their encounters in the past, it probably should not have been surprising that she would want to know how to defend herself. Provided, of course, that was what she was doing at the simulator. He supposed she could be there for other reasons.

In any case, Vreta decided to go to Freyr right away. He doubted that any of his questions would be anything that would require great deliberation or consideration. He just wanted to run some pamphlets by her.

Vreta could see what he interpreted as suspicion in the eyes of the first soldier he encountered when he approached the combat simulation module, but that seemed to relax once he gave his reason for being there. As long as he stuck to the firing range and was not trying to intrude on military operations, then he was not going anywhere he was not allowed to be. In any case, he was pointed to the corner of the room, towards a collections of booths arranged in a line. Though, even without directions, the sounds of gunfire would have been a reasonable sign.

As he drew near, Vreta lowered the sensitivity of his hearing to high-decibel sources of sounds so he could at least somewhat filter for voices. Freyr was easy to spot, as she rather stood out among those using the range. As for the woman that she had been talking to before his arrival, Vreta himself did not recognize her face, but his implants quickly pulled up her image from memory. It was that agent. And to her presence…Vreta could not help but to smile.

“Hello there.” Vreta remarked, grinning at both Freyr and the agent.

The Cradle

Ultimately, Vreta did not stick to exercising for as long as he might have normally. He went through stretching and running as he normally would, given that the equipment available was perfectly suitable for it. However, when it came to strength training, even the highest values of resistance on any of the equipment in the gym was not difficult for him. It was a bit amusing to see some of the looks he got from the other gym-goers while lifting even the heaviest of the weights with ease, but this was the gym for civilian passengers, who generally did not have extensive strength-enhancing augmentations. Those sorts of enhancements would be more common among the Human soldiers, he supposed, so the request he put in for better equipment would likely remedy the situation next time.

After doing what he could for his workout, Vreta supposed he should actually get to work. He needed to ready the crew to arrive on Rothia, though there were different considerations for different types of crew. The scientists were by far the most important individuals to acclimate, quickly and effectively, to their new environment. Soldiers needed to know enough to stay out of trouble, but they did not even have to leave the ship, except during the expedition itself. Vreta would probably need to prepare the civilians and military differently. He had taken digital pamphlets from the Rothian Tourism Commission meant to help inform new arrivals, though Vreta intended to edit them to pertain more specifically to Humans from Outremer. Thinking about it, Vreta supposed it would be a good idea to speak to Freyr again and ask her some questions.

This time, Vreta sent a simple message to Freyr instead of a call, so as not to be disruptive to anything she might be doing. ”Do you have time to talk? I wanted to run a few of my thoughts by you.”

The Cradle

“I think I shall.” Vreta replied. He had been eating somewhat slowly, so he was not ready to leave the table just yet. “Sleep well. I think we will have quite a fair amount of work to do before we arrive, but it’s nothing I would lose any sleep over.”

After the others left, Vreta took his time to enjoy his dinner. He had a feeling that he would be spending quite a lot of time doing his “official” job during this expedition. He was, of course, still operating in the service of the Rahn’Masser, but he had, for the most part, already done his job in regards to espionage. There was no reason to use subterfuge to learn about the Cradle when they had a formal agreement that involved the cooperative research on it. Ensuring that they were able to work smoothly with the Humans was legitimately a large part of his role. Otherwise, he just had to make sure they were able to gain what they were hoping for from this expedition, by whatever means were required.

Once he had eaten, Vreta did take some time to find this “beach room” Masgard had mentioned, and he spent about an hour simply enjoying the heat before finally retiring to his room. He did not make much of an effort to see what else the room had to offer aside from warm air, as he was just in the mood to relax for a short time before finally retiring to his room for the night. He could explore it more in-depth later.

---

Vreta did not rush to start his day the next day. He slept in late, then had a hearty breakfast while relaxing in his own room. From there, however, he did take the time to find the gym designated for the ship’s civilian passengers. Strictly speaking, his heavily-augmented body did not require regular exercise to keep in good shape. His augments were entwined with, and sometimes replaced, his natural muscles, so they kept his natural muscle mass to the required minimum for the implants to function properly. However, there were still some physical and mental benefits to regular exercise. It was a way for him to wake himself up and get himself in the mindset to be active for the day. Although, he did find that there was no equipment that could provide meaningful resistance for his level of augmentation, so he did make a request for something more heavy-duty that he could use next time.

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai

---

It was safe to say that the start of their assault was not going as well as Vael could have hoped. They were encountering more resistance than he had expected, and earlier than anticipated. Hopefully that would mean less resistance later, but regardless, he needed to focus on the enemy in front of him. The phantom that had inserted the rest of their team had been shot down by a heavy weapons squad and crashed on the opposite side of the structure. Already, Ryker and Aviza were focusing their attention on trying to rescue the pilots.

Normally, Vael would prioritize the mission over a detour for a rescue, but the same soldiers that were attacking the crash site could easily turn around and pursue them into the structure. Vael had a feeling there was some confusion among the rebel ranks, else they would have little reason to devote forces to a crashed phantom. It would be best to take advantage of that confusion , as Aegis currently had a potentially advantageous position to deal with them.

With neither side having much cover, the rebels that Aegis had initially been fighting had routed quickly and retreated back down the ramp into the interior of the structure, leaving only those on the far side of the structure fighting Ryker and the phantom pilot, with just a few crates from cover. Himself and the rest of Aegis could move in from behind to flank them, but they needed to move quickly.

Unlike most of his allies, Vael had strong cover from his position on the ramp during the fight, so his shields were at full strength. From the hits his allies had taken, he doubted many were as well-off, so he sprinted out from his position on the ramp, reloading his carbine as he ran and taking the lead ahead of the rest of the team. ”Push forward! Keep towards the front if you still have shields.”

There was at least one squad of Humans and a small pack of Jiralhanae, both far outnumbering the single Spartan and Sangheili defending the crash site. Seeing as the Brutes would take far too many shots to bring down quickly, Vael decided to focus on the Humans while he still had the element of surprise. As he moved around the central tower, Vael took a plasma grenade in hand and tossed it in the middle of the enemy position. He did not focus on sticking an enemy as much as just placing it in a position to force them out of cover, allowing them the chance to cut down the vulnerable Humans quickly.

The Cradle

Vreta seemed to perk up after Masgard mentioned a beach room. From the sounds of it, that was not a kind of luxury that Vreta would have expected on a Human military vessel. Although, he supposed that again might be owing to the modular design of its compartments. In any case, he was pleasantly surprised to hear that he might actually be able to enjoy at least some of the features he was accustomed to on Rothian ships. “I would not say I feel cold exactly. Or I should say, part of my implants’ functions is to maintain a healthy body temperature, so I am not in any danger of health issues, but I do naturally still feel more comfortable in warmer air. This ‘beach room’ you mention, it does sound like something I would like to visit. I think I may, after I eat. It would help me wind down for the day.”

There was another brief pause as Vreta tried some of his fish fillet. He felt he liked the steak better, but he still would not call the fish “bad”, by any means. “Rothia has oceans, seas, and beaches to accompany them; some sandy, some rocky. Though, Rothia is quite a mountainous planet, compared to many others. It is also a very warm planet. Even in the mountains, the air is usually comfortably warm for us. Only the highest of peaks get to be unlivably cold to a Rothian. At sea level, the air can be rather hot. I don’t believe it is dangerously hot for a Human, just make sure to stay hydrated if you want to visit.”