EliteCommander

The Cradle

Dr. Wetherall, at least, was secure, but the fight was far from over. Most of the soldiers were holding their positions, but Carthage was being pulled into the lake after being thrown from the first tree. For them to reach their destination at all, it was vital that none of them be killed in the process. Rareth could not guarantee that the others back in the real world would not judge it less risky to pull them out if one or more of them were to die.

Rareth leaped into action just as quickly as before, jumping into the lake alongside Thebes. Her suit was fully sealed, so she had little worry for her oxygen supply. Even if the advanced alloy of her helmet were somehow breached, she would not be in danger of drowning. There was certainly some risk to plunging into the depths of the unknown, but ultimately, Rareth knew she would always have one way out, as long as she was willing to reveal one particular secret to the Humans. For the moment, though, she carved her way through the tentacles that tried to stop her on her way into the water. As she plunged underneath the surface, steam bubbled up from her sword as it boiled on contact any water it touched, though the emitters were waterproof and continued to function perfectly well. Her senses had to adapt to work optimally underwater, but her neural implant could handle the adjustment. Some senses were not quite as efficient, though her echolocation essentially became an even more effective sonar. The picture it painted was crisp and clear to her.

Back on the surface, Nirann decided to make an attempt at a different approach. In addition to the rifle, his frame was equipped with a non-lethal compliance tool for policing duty. The emitter was in his left hand and could launch an energy burst designed to paralyze certain types of muscle. Specifically those involved in locomotion. These trees weren’t animals, but with the way they were moving, they must have had something that worked on the same principle as muscle: something that could be paralyzed. Nirann extended forth his hand and took aim at source of the branches attacking the Agent. His hand released a brief, but intensely bright white beam of energy that struck the branches, and would impart its energy throughout the organism.

The Cradle

In one, swift motion, Rareth moved her fusion cannon to her back while drawing a more appropriate weapon for the situation. Unfortunately, it seemed the trees themselves were the threat they had to face. The weapon Rareth decided to use was not one that she had carried with her, but rather, was one that was integrated into her own body. From the outside, one would see her armor on her left arm opening up, separating long-ways into three parts…along with her arm itself. It revealed that there was no bone, muscle, nor any other organic parts within the limb, as it was entirely mechanical. Inside her arm, along the length from her elbow to her hand, there were three energy projectors that pulsed with a bright orange glow. In an instant, a glowing, red-orange plasma blade extended forth from her arm. It was a long weapon that could reach the ground from a standing position, and was intense enough to burn through nearly anything it encountered.

Especially for a being of her size, Rareth moved at a lightning pace. The trees too had reached their limbs for her, but her blade covered wide arcs around herself to cleave through the branches. Certainly, it was quicker to clear foliage with a blade than a rifle, so she had the chance to help some of the others quickly. Her priority was to help those that were not equipped to defend themselves, which to start was Dr. Wetherall. While Carthage was trying to pull him back, she came in at a sprint towards the scientist’s feet and slashed at the branches to try and free him quickly.

For Nirann, he had been at the most central point in the group, farthest from the trees, so he had been spared from the initial grasping branches of their floral attackers. Or, perhaps it was the fact that he was entirely mechanical that led the trees to favor his organic allies? In any case, he was able to carefully put down some of what he was carrying: at least the things he could pick up again quickly. His cargo was important, and he had to protect it, but being in a military security bot, he did have some means to help. He reached behind himself and drew from his back a compact energy carbine, which automatically unfolded once he removed it from its compartment. Agent 595 had been grabbed from nearby to himself and was being dragged towards the water, so Nirann engaged his frame’s targeting software and started to take shots at the source of the branches grabbing her.

The Cradle

While Rareth could have fired sooner, she had taken those few extra moments to try and assess how much of a threat the creature really was. Still, she could not entirely fault the agent for firing. Everything about its body language and movement did suggest aggressive intent. It was strange that it would try to attack such a large group, but then again, as a flying creature, perhaps it just hoped to pick one of them off.

In any case, it was not the flyer that was revealed to be the greatest source of worry. The trees around them, it seemed, were more than just stationary plants. In retrospect, Rareth perhaps should have been suspicious of them. Bioluminescence could be used to lure or dazzle prey. Though, she was not sure if the trees were predatory, exactly. The tree had not consumed the flyer, but rather attacked and tossed it away. It may have been more of a defense mechanism, in which case the lights were probably warnings.

“Move carefully and keep away from the trees.” Rareth said calmly. She was glad they had taken the less dense pathway. “We do not know what will set them off, so just try not to agitate them.”

The Cradle

Rareth walked cautiously among the trees. They produced their own light, so her eyes again had to adjust to avoid overexposing them. In normal circumstances, Rareth would not expect any animal to attack such a large group, as long as they stuck close and did not present any individual as an easy target. However, the scientists did make a fair point that normal rules may not be applicable in this place. Any dangers here could be drastically different from what they were expecting. She could understand why the scientists would be curious about every little thing they passed, but the Agent was right about the rush they were in.

“My perspective is being recorded, if yours is not.” Rareth commented back towards the scientists, though she kept her eyes focused ahead. “If we are able to come back later, you’ll be able to find any curiosities we pass. Just stay focused on reaching that beacon ahead of us.” She advised. Part of her wished that the creature had agreed for them to allow some of their number to stay behind. She would rather have let the others finish the transit station, while she dealt with this meeting. She was no stranger to operating independently, and most certainly, she could have moved faster on her own.

The Cradle

The team took some time, once they were all at the top of the cliff, to return most of the load back to Nirann, who quickly returned back to the middle of the group with the rest of the civilians. Rareth, again, was at the front, scanning the paths ahead of them. Our tactics favor ranged combat. The trees will work more to our disadvantage than the narrower path. We should keep to the right.”

Pausing for a moment, Rareth stepped up to the edge of the lake and looked down into the liquid. “Do we have any means to test this lake? I have no intention of crossing it, but if we are going to be climbing near that waterfall, we should still make sure the water is safe to interact with.” She asked.

Nirann looked around uneasily towards the tops of the cliffs surrounding the basin, as least as much as his expressionless, robotic visage could convey discomfort. “I do get being worried about the water, but is no one going to talk about this screeching we keep hearing? It was closer last time. I get the feeling we’re being followed. Granted, we’re being followed by something that hasn’t quite grasped the whole stealth thing, so…maybe it isn’t a big deal?”

The Cradle

“The way the creature spoke implied that its mind was not solely within the being we saw.” Rareth remarked. “If we are going to speak to it ‘in person’, then that worm may have only been a conduit. We may be dealing with a hive mind, or at least something that can control certain creatures.”

Once they reached the cliff face, Rareth returned her weapon to her back and gave another quick scan of the area behind them. “It seems we need to climb to keep progressing, but we should still be cautious about it. We should not all climb at once. Thebes, have some of your team stay down here to cover us as we climb. We will do the same from the top once we reach it. And you may want to share out some of the weight from Nirann for the climb, just to make sure none of those handholds give way.” She suggested.

For Rareth, her climb was more of a sprint. Echolocation allowed her neural implant to build a detailed map of the cliff before she started, so she did not even need to use her eyes to know exactly where she should grab, and where to move next. Coupled with her long limbs and powerful muscles, she could move up top in leaps and bounds. At least for her, there were no interruptions before she reached the top.

Although she did not yet see any movement from potential lifeforms, Rareth still drew her weapon and remained alert as soon as she was at the top. From the top of the cliff, the landscape ahead of her really opened up. The dominant feature was the large lake that took up most of the space ahead, which reflected the light from the beacon in the distance. There were forests to either side in the basin, composed of trees that seemed to demonstrate some form of bioluminescence. Since they did not have the means to cross the lake directly, their path would likely take them around the side, through those forests.

The Cradle

As she moved along at the head of the group, Rareth kept alert in every way possible. Now that there was another, bright source of light in the distance, visibility had become noticeably better. Low-light vision was still required, but she had a better effective range of awareness. Beyond that, her implants sent out regular pulses for echolocation to build out a picture of the surroundings beyond what her eyes could see. For now, they were heading uphill across fairly open ground.

“If the Rothians here are living in villages, then the threats they face must be creatures they can survive against without relying on stealth, else they would not be able to remain in one, fixed location. If they are animals that may try to ambush us, then we would benefit from keeping to long, open sight lines. If there are hostile, intelligent beings, then we may be attacked from a distance. Though, again, if those primitive villagers have survived, then I would not expect advanced weaponry.” Rareth reasoned. “For now, I would say that we should keep to open areas where we can clearly see our surroundings.”

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai and Tasuma

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While Grikgar had not had much time to take his shots,the jackal shield had at least bought him enough time to be able to put one on target. The first sailed over the top and exploded on the far wall, but the second struck the barricades directly. It did not entirely destroy the barricades, and the rebels behind them were able to duck for cover, but the machine gun emplacement was caught in the blast. Ryker would still have to deal with armed resistance, with better cover, on the upper walkway, but there was no heavy gun to keep him pinned.

Some of the rebels had retained their bearings well enough and had managed to retreat out from the smoke cloud in the center of the room to form up behind the cover of the support struts on the far side. They had no heavy emplaced weapons, but they were well-armed on their own and had good sight lines. It would still not be trivial to displace them. If Ryker and Grikgar could claim the upper walkway, they would have a position on the high ground, at least.

Amid the smoke, Vael stalked the rebels who had not escaped like prey. Using motion trackers, or simply the sounds they made to track them, Vael weaved between the crates to deal with them up close and personal. From the outside, one would see nothing until he came close enough to a target to flick on his energy sword, which illuminated the thick smoke in a blue glow. It was generally followed by a short burst of gunfire, then the scream of a Human.

Tasuma did not make light of its own injuries, but in any case, it still moved into the smoke cloud as well. It was concerned less with killing stragglers as it was positioning itself to handle the rebels defending the far side of the room. The smoke would dissipate eventually, so it moved to find enough of a stack of crates that it could use for cover, instead of relying wholly on its armor for protection.

The Cradle

Rareth had no further questions, nor any other reason to delay. She felt it best not to keep this entity waiting, She too joined in assisting the scientists with disassembling the mast and transit station, and readying the rest of their equipment to carry. Nirann needed only to give Rareth the schematics for her to understand how to disassemble the devices properly. A normal Human could carry the parts, though for this journey, Rareth wanted the scientists to be as unladen as possible. They needed to make good time to their destination, and the unmodified Humans were already going to be the greatest limitation to their pace.

“Thebes, one or more of your team may need to help carry our equipment. I recommend one who will be traveling at the center of our formation, and who is most comfortable fighting at a distance. We certainly do not want this equipment damaged.”Rareth suggested. Nirann, of course, was going to be the one carrying the greatest share of the burden, including the heaviest parts of both the mast and transit station. His robotic frame had great strength compared to a Human, and he would not experience any measure of fatigue. As long as he was still faster than the slowest of the Humans, he would not be slowing them down no matter the weight he was bearing.

Once they had packed away their equipment, Rareth drew her fusion cannon once again and set it to its automatic firing mode. She, naturally, moved to take point as she looked out towards the beacon of light in the distance. They would not know the topology of the landscape, but at the very least, it would not be hard to know if they were going the right way. “Let’s move. No reason to waste time.”

The Cradle

Rareth too shared the unspoken concerns of the Humans, but she could “read the room”, as it were, and they had little choice but to play along for now. Even if they could kill this worm, it would ruin any chance of a peaceful resolution. This creature clearly had the power to attack them here and now, which, if anything, would be the safe option for it. If what it was saying was true, and they were going to meet it in person, then it would only be putting itself at greater risk. Hopefully, they would be able to reach some understanding with this being. Being able to question an intelligence from within the object could potentially teach them more in a few minutes than Humanity had learned about the Cradle in centuries. At least in terms of the objects’ functions and purpose.

“Very well; we will do as you ask and come speak to you. I take your words to mean that we may need to defend ourselves against anything that may attack us. We will be ready for it.” Rareth answered before turning back towards her allies. “Let’s get everything packed up here, then get moving. Try not to leave anything behind. I am getting the impression that we should not allow the local villagers to access anything of ours.” She said, gesturing towards the Simrothians.