EliteCommander

The Cradle

While Marae did little to even acknowledge the Agent’s behavior, just as most Rothians would have, Nirann, surprisingly, actually engaged with the comment. He chuckled as his hologram appeared in front of 595, towering over her. “Is it a contest I sense? Are we doing bets? If so, I’ll put a thousand down on my program. There’s not a programmer alive that can best me. You do have the advantage of hundreds of years of study on the Cradle environment and much more familiarity with its software architecture, but…I’m confident.”

Marae let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. “Nir, what did I say about your gambling problem?”

Nirann turned his head back and pointed a finger towards Marae. “Hey, it’s not gambling if there’s a guaranteed profit. I’m telling you, those returns were staying steady at 52.38%, and the margin of error was only 0.43%. That is hardly a gamble.”

Marae rubbed her hand over her head, sighing once more. “Please do me a favor and don’t encourage him. I make that mistake...far too often, as you can see.” She said as she enlarged the hologram of the new object and centered it between them all. “Let’s just focus on the task at hand. Once we are permitted to interact with the object, we can see if the hardware you use to access the Cradle can also access this device. If that works, we can try to send in our scouting programs. If that does not work, then we cannot make any decision that will potentially risk lives unilaterally. I do not know what authority you have been granted by your people, Dr. Lang, but any dangerous experiments will need to be run by Rareth’Jharn first for approval.”

The Cradle

Marae flicked her hand through the air and brought up another, scaled hologram of the Cradle on Outremer next to that of the newly-discovered object. She also reviewed some of the information the Humans had elected to release to them on the Cradle’s simulation. “It is still worth trying, I would say. No offense intended, but the artificial intelligence I have created are centuries beyond your own. Their creativity and complexity can be indistinguishable from a living mind, to the point that the difference between them is merely…hardware. I am not suggesting we send in a complete AI, but I should be able to craft a program advanced enough to keep to its purpose.”

In an instant, Nirann’s hologram flicked out of existence from in front of Freyr and reappeared next to Marae, with his hand on her shoulder. “Now, I think you’re overthinking this. We don’t need to send in the most advanced programs. In fact, I think we might try sending something very, very simple. We can send in the most basic, barebones program we can write that can still accomplish some the minimum level of scouting. We just give it some simple, hardcoded instructions and lock them down from being modified by any source, for any reason. It won’t be the most capable construct, obviously, but it could still give us a basic idea of what the simulation is like. At least enough to know if it is safe to send in a person. And if it fails, then nothing of value has been lost.”

With a grin, Marae leaned in and nuzzled her snout up against Nirann’s with closed eyes: a show of romantic affection similar to a hug or quick kiss. Being that he was appearing as a hologram, there was nothing for Marae to physically touch, yet it still seemed quite convincing that she was. Granted, even among Humans, the technology was readily-available for sub-dermal implants that could provide haptic feedback from holograms. After the brief exchange, she turned to Freyr once more. “I think he may be right. Simplicity might be the key here. Does your Cradle provide any resistance to uploading simple programs, or will we need to pack the program in a façade of a living mind, Dr. Lang?”

The Cradle

As 595 and Freyr argued, Nirann’s hologram soon appeared in front of them. “Sorry, but no one is doing anything with the object until we have the containment shield fully established. Rareth-Jharn’s orders. Whatever we do decide on can wait another six or so hours. Anything you want done to the object before then will have to be ran by her. Just don’t ask me to ask her; she scares me. And I’m all the way in Threria right now.”

Marae rolled her eyes with an impatient look towards Nirann before turning her attention to the Humans. “Unfortunately, my husband is right. We will have to be patient. We can still decide what we intend to do, though. I’ve read through all of the information you provided on your Cradle. Connecting one’s mind to this object is a dangerous prospect, for anyone. We have no idea if the simulated environment within this object is something our minds could even survive. Or if this object even creates a simulated environment at all. I do agree that this object is most likely of the same technology as your Cradle, but we do not know its purpose.”

Marae turned and looked for a few moments in silence across the lab at the harness the Humans had brought. Any Rothian, herself included, would have preferred to use their own technology exclusively, but she could admit that it would be more time-efficient to use the already-built, well-tested harness from Outremer. “Can we investigate the nature of the simulation without sending anyone in? Presuming it is a simulation, of course. We could, perhaps, connect an artificial mind with a simple scouting program.” She suggested.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As Ahnasha’s titan was starting to come around for another pass, the Breton ghost had finished her painful fusion to the strange Daedric crystal. The flesh on her hand looked like it had melted to become one with the crystal’s surface. The Daedric magic had scarred her body, especially her arm, as if she had been struck by lightning, but somehow, despite all of her pain and injuries, her spirit remained in one piece.

The Breton lifted her arm towards the sky, shouting in a rage at the titan above. “Traitor!” She screamed, her magicka flowing into the crystal, and from which the resulting spell surged forth. Any technique or subtlety she might have shown in the previous fight was replaced with pure, raw power as a storm of lightning surged forth into the air from the crystal. The spell was quick and sent a booming sound like thunder echoing across the valley. The sheer magical power of the spell could be felt far and wide, and for those fighting in the battle around her, even their hairs would stand up on their ends from the charge in the air. In terms of raw power, no spell Meesei, or even Neesa, had ever shown could match it. For the titan, the lightning’s power surged through its body from snout to tail in an instant. Once could not tell from the ground if it was immediately lethal, but instead of making another pass, it plummeted from the sky like a meteor, smashing into the side of the mountain at full speed.

The Daedric crystal’s power was now unrestrained, and its enchantment showed its full power. Though, it was not power that came without a cost. Just as when she had fused with the crystal initially, crimson-glowing lighting arced back down her arm and across the rest of her body. She dropped down to her knees with a shriek. Her simple clothing had mostly burned away, so the disfiguring wounds that the crystal’s power inflicted upon her were easily visible. Scars and burned flesh marred half of her body, to the point that it seemed remarkable that she was still “alive”.

In any case, the Breton spirit did not stop at the titan. She stood back to her feet and moved her gaze down from the sky to the battle before her. From her position higher up the hill, the warpath of Meesei’s pack was hard to miss. They were sticking close together, cutting through the center of the Daedra to the point that they threatened to split the Daedric lines in half. However, the spirit did not care for her Daedric allies, nor even Hircine’s champion. As soon as she laid eyes on one person, she was fixated on her entirely.

”YOU!” The Breton screamed, raising up the crystal straight towards Sabine. “Unworthy cur! That staff is mine! GIVE IT TO ME!” She screamed with an unmatched, unfettered rage. There were more than a few Daedra in between the mage and Sabine, but their fates did not seem to concern her.

The Cradle

Once more, Vreta could not help but to laugh. It seemed his confusion would not end up being resolved in this conversation, but he did still accept the drink. “That does mean I shall continue to not fully understand you, but…I suppose that has worked for me so far. I will just say that, all my teasing aside Agent, I did enjoy our evening together. I would invite you to join me any time, should you want to repeat the experience.”

Vreta moved on from the topic as well and was the first to finish his meal. For a few minutes, they stared to return to other small talk as they shared Kalax’s champagne, but it was hard not to notice the sudden change in Freyr’s expression. Even Vreta could see that something was wrong, and he was the first to address is. “Is everything alright, Freyr?”

---

It had taken just a day for the detailed sensor sweep of the Humans’ provided coordinates to yield results, though it took a few days longer before the expedition was in a position to bring their scientists on-site. After they had confirmed a positive result on the sensor scans, they had to plan and requisition the proper equipment to reach the object. At the very least, what they had found did provide an immediate explanation as to why it had never been discovered throughout the Rothians’ explorations of their own planet. It was small at only about ten meters in width, the rock around it partially hid its signature on sensors, and above all, it was located extremely deep within Rothia’s crust. Not only was it under an ocean, but it was in a subduction zone near the edge of a tectonic plate. It had been pushed so deeply into the crust that it was nearing the planet’s mantle. Its location did present problems that would require specialized equipment to solve, but to the Rothians, it was nothing their technology could not overcome.

For the purposes of the excavation, a forward research outpost was being built from modular components at the bottom of the ocean. Scans had identified a suitable location close to directly above the object, at which specialized, prefabricated structures were being brought down from the surface to be assembled. Once completed, their research base would be able to hold all of their needed equipment, with plenty of space left over for to comfortably hold every member of the science team and maintenance crew. Until then, they were making use of a Rothian exploration vessel. It was a corvette-sized ship intended to scout newly-discovered planets and other celestial objects. As it was meant to be able to explore even hazardous environments, such as the atmospheres of gas giants, the vessel could easily survive the intense pressure at the ocean floor, and it had all of the sensors and instruments needed for the team to at least begin their research ahead of the completion of their base. Though, between the ship’s crew and the science team, the vessel did feel a bit crowded, and they had to make due with military-style barracks for their accommodations.

Nevertheless, neither the Rothian nor Human science teams intended to waste any time, so the vessel was already parked at the ocean floor directly above the object, performing a deep sensor scan in an attempt to non-invasively determine its material composition. The ship’s lab was crowded with all manner of equipment and people, both Rothian and Human like. Depending on their specializations, not all had much to do at the moment, but they were all preparing just the same. Their lab did afford them the opportunity for a wonderful view, as there was a large observation window that took up the majority of one of the walls of the room. There was, of course, no natural light that penetrated so deep into the ocean, but artificial lights had been placed all along the area, in addition to the powerful floodlights that could be found all across the exterior of their ship’s hull. Deep sea creatures that were not repelled by the lights could frequently be seen swimming or scurrying around outside.

Marae’Ano stood just next to the observation window, watching the laser drills being moved into place to start the first steps of the excavation. “How soon until we can send in probes for a closer look?” Marae asked aloud. Soon after, a full-sized hologram of a Rothian man appeared next to her. Compared to many of the more creative scale patterns of some of the other scientists, and Marae herself, his scales had a much more natural pattern with dark green scales and brown stripes.

“Rareth’Jharn has ordered a containment shield to be placed around the object before we do anything to the object directly. The object is deep, but luckily not too big, so it shouldn’t delay us by any more than six hours.” He answered.

Marae shrugged. “Yes, well, I suppose there’s no harm in being safe. Have the latest scans at least been completed, Nirann?”

“They have. One moment, I’ll bring them up.” He answered, motioning his hand through the air as he brought up another hologram between them, showing a distinctly octahedral object among deep, hardened rock.

The Cradle

Vreta did not initially expect such a strong reaction from the others as he described the events of the night. He knew of their taboos, of course, but he did not expect them to be strong enough to inspire such embarrassment and laughter. “Oh yes, Humans do have such strange taboos regarding matters of sex. At least, they seem strange to me.”

Vreta did take his time enjoying his meal. Although he did not show it as openly as Kalax, he too could not help but to find 595’s embarrassment delightfully amusing. She normally gave off such a strong, commanding presence that to see anything else from her felt like a rare opportunity. He supposed he should try to relieve her of her embarrassment…once he had his fill of enjoying it.

Eventually, Vreta did return his gaze to the Agent as he spoke up. “I will admit, it is quite odd to see you squirming like this, Agent. You are normally such a powerful, commanding presence in any room you’re in. You struck me as the type that would take the idea of shame and crush it under your heel.” He grinned, before giving a shrug. “But, perhaps I just misunderstand this part of your culture? Do you find it acceptable for me to ask for clarification?”

The Cradle

Vreta laughed for a moment, though he still took his time to try this “kedgeree” before continuing. “I’m not sure that I would ever classify memory loss as a ‘good’ thing, myself.” He said to Freyr. “If for no other reason than it is nice to remember the things you enjoy. From what I remember of the club, there were a lot of drinks and dancing to be had for all of us. I distinctly remember you joining in some kind of organized dance with a group of Tindrel, which is impressive considering you have half as many legs as would be needed for that.”

Vreta paused briefly again to have another few spoonfulls of the mixture Kalax had put together. He had little doubt that the dish tasted fundamentally different to him than it did to them. As omnivores, they had a taste for plant-based foods, where as the grains and some of the other ingredients were much more naturally bland to him. Fortunately, he did quite like both fish and eggs, and the butter added considerable flavor for him.

“If you like, I could give you my recording of the evening, Freyr. I wasn’t watching you the entire time at the club, but it might jog your memory. Although, I will admit I’m not too sure what you got up to after we came here. I lost track of you once I started mating with the Agent here. Maybe the others can help remind you as well?” Vreta remarked in a distinctly casual, matter-of-fact tone.

Halo: Aegis Team

The initial exchange of fire between Aviza’s team and the defenders in front of them did leave some casualties on the side of the rebels. One of the Brutes that attempted to flank was taken down by Aviza, and there were a few Humans among the rebels who took hits that would, at the very least, incapacitate them. In a neutral exchange of gunfire, Aviza’s team had the firm edge, as most of them were shielded. They could recover after a few seconds of sitting in cover, while the rebels could be taken down by a single shot. Though, the Brutes were more resilient. As long as their powered armor was not destroyed, their shields could regenerate.

The rebels had not yet taken heavy casualties, yet they were still quick to begin retreating. They started to fall back from their fortifications in the middle and instead took cover behind the crates on the far side of the room. Even more strangely, the Brutes were willing to retreat. After the loss of just one of their own, they were falling back to the far side of the room as well, chieftain included. Despite the shouting they had heard as they arrived and the fact that he wielded a gravity hammer, he was not charging in nor taking risks. He just kept to cover and made sure his shields did not fall.

Shih, meanwhile, spoke to Aviza directly. ”I’m monitoring your vitals now. You might have a concussion, but your armor is already administering treatment. Just try not to take any more hits.”

---

Vael ‘Virisusai

Between the grenades and a magazine of fuel rods, the two mounted machine guns certainly stopped returning fire, along with all of the other Humans defending their position. Although, between the smoke and bursts of fuel rod explosions, it was also difficult to see how many had been killed in the blasts.

Despite the gap in return fire, Tasuma still moved towards cover behind the nearest pillar. The shield on its arm was nigh impenetrable to anything the rebels could throw at it, but the rest of its armor was not quite as durable. Small arms would bounce off of the plating, but the heavy machine guns were another matter. Its armor was dented and damaged in some places, and pierced in a few. Thick, orange blood dripped from a few holes, though the Mgalekgolo as a whole did not yet seem meaningfully affected.

On the upper walkway, Ryker would not find himself uncontested. Being that it was such an obvious path for any attackers to take, the rebels had prepared to defend it. It was a long, straight walkway with almost nothing in terms of cover, and on the far end was another set of barricades the rebels had deployed, at least three defenders, and a third mounted heavy machine gun. Ryker might have approached with active camouflage but the rebels were alert and only had a narrow path they were tasked with watching. The gunner still noticed the distinctive shimmer in the air surrounding Ryker and opened fire immediately, along with the other two beside her with their assault rifles. Perhaps their only mistake was opening fire too early, while Ryker was still close enough to the ramp to not be fully committed to the position.

Vael had spent the break of the fight behind cover, allowing his shields to recharge. Though, as explosives rained down upon the enemy position, he shouted through their comms. ”Do not be indiscriminate with explosives! If any of those crates contain explosives themselves, you may kill us as well as them.” Vael ordered. He peered out of cover to try and get a look at the enemy, though the smoke was already thick in the air by that point. It obscured what his eyes could see, though his motion tracker still showed plenty of movement ahead of them. ”The smoke shall be our ally. These Humans will fall easily if we close the distance. Grikgar, help Spartan Ryker claim the high ground, everyone else…”

As Vael spoke, two objects flew out of the smoke towards them, one after another. Frag grenades, which would certainly land nearby. At that point, Vael easily understood what the Humans’ plan had been. The defenders could have held close to try and deny them the support struts they had been using as cover, but normal Humans performed poorly against Spartan and Sangheili alike in close quarters. Instead, they had taken positions nearer to the far side of the room, taking advantage of long sight lines and heavy guns to suppress them into cover, at which point they would have used grenades to either kill them, or flush them out into machine gun fire. But, the quick actions of Vael’s allies had foiled that plan. Now, if their heavy guns were even still in one piece, the air was too thick with smoke to return fire effectively. The incoming grenades were little more than a signal for Vael to push forward.

”Attack!” Vael shouted, sprinting forward out of the range of the grenades and into the smoke. He had his plasma rifle in-hand and ready, though in such close quarters, it was his secondary weapon. As soon as he saw a Human silhouette in front of him, pushing himself up to his feet amid damaged and broken crates, Vael activated his energy sword and diagonally bisected the rebel’s torso in one swift motion. The smoke around him now glowed blue, illuminated by the plasma. Bullets cut through the air towards him, though they were far from accurate, and his shields could stand up much longer to small arms than mounted machine guns. Vael flicked off his sword to hide its glow and moved swiftly, using pulsing bursts of orange light through the smoke from the rebels’ muzzle flash to hone in on their positions.

The Cradle

Vreta joined the Humans at the table for their breakfast. He was silent at first while he prodded quizzically at the meal Kalax had prepared. He took in its scent again in order to take stock of its ingredients and make sure he knew everything he would be eating. There were no two spacefaring species with perfectly compatible digestive systems, but digestive implants or specially-designed enzyme supplements could bridge those gaps and allow one to handle a wider variety of foods. Vreta’s enhancements were equipped to produce enzymes to aid in digesting nearly anything edible, but it still never hurt to double-check.

“I can’t say I’ve experienced something quite like that before, even in all my time. Looking it up now, I’m seeing that Sthrirad is none other than the Tindrels’ rather unique symbiote. I should have recognized the name. Though, if I had, I might not have partaken.” Vreta said with a shrug. “It was a fun evening, though. I do somewhat regret cutting it short for us all. I was just doing what I thought was best for our well-being.”

The Cradle

Vreta glanced at 595 and shrugged. “I don’t know; I don’t have access to your account. The fine’s amount would be auto-calculated based your income, total assets, and extenuating circumstances surrounding the event. The fact that you were not arrested might imply that your victim did something to instigate as well.”

Vreta too was keen to get up and walked straight to the kitchen for a glass of water. He raised up his snout and sniffed the air above the dish that Kalex had prepared to identify the ingredients within. “Fish, grains, eggs, and what is that scent…ah, my search says you call it ‘butter’. Definitely a Human dish. Where did you order the ingredients from? I imagine that, by this point, you have found the best option for authentic Human cuisine, Ambassador.”

Soon enough, Vreta’s other guests joined them in the main room. He looked back over his shoulder and nodded in greeting to them. “Good morning Freyr, Masgard. I hope my guest rooms were comfortable to your standards. It seems Kalax has taken the liberty of cooking for us. I don’t know what it is, but I am happy to try your cuisine.”

After a moment, Vreta gave another look to 595 beside him. “My shower is down that hall if you need it. Though for myself, I usually just bask in the pool outside. It can be heated like a hot tub, and the filtration system easily handles all contaminates. I find it a relaxing start to the day.”