EliteCommander

The Cradle

As Rareth ran for her replacement weapon, she pulled the magazine of micro-missiles from her launcher and placed it on a magnetic holster just above her tail. Her new fusion cannon would certainly have a fresh magazine included, but the antimatter charges were far too valuable, and dangerous, to simply leave behind. Her neural implant linked with her new weapon before she had even picked it up, so it was ready to fire as soon as she had it in her hands.

Overall, Rareth agreed that they needed to get moving, if only to get the civilians to a less exposed position. The cavern would allow them to funnel the creatures into a chokepoint, which would help them deal with their numbers. The sooner they could move, the better, but they could not afford to lose any of their equipment. For the moment, they just needed to hold off their attackers and buy time.

The first creature to reach the top of the ridge did so with a shrill scream. The “vines” of its body twisted and formed into many long, sharp spikes, but even with its terrifying speed, it did not get a chance to use them. Energy bolts came in from all directions, from both Rareth and members of the Sacred Band, to tear it apart piece by piece. These creatures were at least partially amorphous and could reshape themselves after taking damage, but there were limits.

Rareth switched to her weapon’s second firing mode as she made it to the ridge. These creatures could recover from smaller wounds, so blasting them apart entirely seemed to be the best approach. “We should move into the caves. The chokepoint will work to our advantage; we just need to hold them back long enough for the civilians to move our equipment.” Rareth said through their comms. She had seen Memnon take a hit from one of those “ballista” bolts, and they did not seem to be something that even she could just shrug off. “Memnon, share me the data on that hit you took.” Rareth requested. She wanted to know the exact amount of kinetic energy the projectiles contained so she could evaluate how many hits her defenses could take before she exposed herself to them.

The Cradle

As their new equipment was being sent in, Rareth painted three more targets on her HUD. Instead of focusing on maximizing casualties this time, she instead picked critical locations on the path up to their position. She intended to damage easy pathways, cause rockslides, and in general slow their progress up from the valley, in addition to killing any that happened to be caught in the blasts. She launched the three missiles towards their intended targets, then immediately dashed back from the ridge to the weapons trolley as well. She could not fully-replace all of her gear in the middle of a fight, but she could at least grab her updated fusion cannon quickly.

Nirann, meanwhile, could not help but to express a mix of worry and frustration. Being attacked was bad enough, but as well, he was no fan of the position he was currently in. His body’s fusion core was currently powering their devices. He was sitting on the ground with paneling removed from his chest and jury rigged wiring connecting him to their equipment. His core had no trouble powering the transit station, but his internal wiring did not have the throughput to deliver that much power at once. As such, they had to bypass it and connect directly to the power core in order to deliver the needed power. Many of his frame’s functions were currently unpowered and offline. He had the power for to meet his minimum needs for cognition, but he did not even have access to his full range of processing power.

“I would comment on that theory, but I literally do not have the power to think about that right now. Let’s hurry up and get that new power source connected. If we’re about to be attacked, I’d really rather have my body back.” He said with no shortage of urgency.

The Cradle

Rareth stood up to her feet on the edge of the ridge. She let out a slight growl when the others started to open fire. “I said I would scout them.” She remarked, though it was clearly too late for that. Any other possibility except for a fight no longer seemed viable. The best they could hope for now was to stop them before they could reach their position. From what Rareth could see from zooming in on the approaching contacts, was that they were fairly large, numerous, and looked like they consisted almost of a tangling of vines. Although, they clearly were not plants.

With civilians to protect, and not to mention the transit station, Rareth’s priority was to make sure their position did not get overwhelmed. With her optics, she targeted three different points where the creatures were the most clustered as she drew her fusion cannon. There was a short sound of the mechanism inside shifting, then four launcher tubes deployed on either side of the weapon. The micro-missile launcher was loaded and ready. At long range against numerous opponents, this was the best place to use them.

Rareth raised her weapon and fired off three micro-missiles into the air, which quickly tracked on to the target markers she had painted. Normally, such micro-missiles contained an explosive charge roughly equivalent to an antipersonnel grenade. They were quick, evasive, and highly accurate intended to place explosives on precise locations with minimal collateral damage. However, these were not normal missiles. The modified munitions Rareth was using were loaded with antimatter charges. Instead of the pops of distant grenades when her missiles found their targets, each one detonated like heavy artillery. The blasts echoed like thunder across the valley, and the distant shockwaves could even be felt from the top. It was all the better that they had a wide explosive radius, as the divergence from the Cradle software was impacting their accuracy.

The Cradle

There seemed to be little question as to the destination of the approaching contacts. They were moving towards the group, though neither their intentions, nor how they knew of their presence was known. Whatever they intended when they arrived, it was clearly important enough to them for them to rush.

“I can move ahead and assess the threat.” Rareth said once she moved up to lay down alongside Athena and look out over the valley. “I can meet them in the middle. If they are hostile and end up attacking me, you will have an advantageous position up here to cover me while I retreat back up to this position.” She suggested.

The Cradle

Rareth’s return through the caves was even quicker than her scouting had been, especially since she encountered no resistance on the way back. She returned to the camp with the news that she had found a path through the mountain…and some scorn for the Humans for establishing contact with the outside despite the words of the creature they had spoken to. Still, there was nothing that could be done about it at this point. At the very least, they could make the best out of the situation and take the opportunity to resupply themselves. She gave Nirann, the version on the outside, her situation report, then made her requests for supplies and equipment she felt they would need.

First and foremost, Rareth had her suit and weapons replaced with versions that were fully adapted to this object’s software language, as well as taking nanite injections that would accelerate modifications to her internal implants to adapt them as well. She requisitioned a new body for the Nirann in the simulation to transfer into, as well as a dedicated power source for their equipment. Additionally, she requested extra supplies and equipment that could help them with their journey ahead. They were limited by the transit station in the size of objects they could bring through, but at the very least, they could bring small, hovering robots that could carry all the cargo and equipment they were bringing with them. It would make their trek a bit easier.

However, there was still one outstanding matter that was, in all likelihood, the most important they would have to deal with. If they wanted to return home at any point, their transit station would need to work for the return trip as well. After she finished communicating with the outside, Rareth approached the Human scientist. “Dr. Wetherall, what is the progress on our transit station? How soon will we be able to confirm that we can return people safely?”

The Cradle

Once the pair separated at the fork, Rareth picked up her pace heading deeper into the cave. In truth, she was not completely certain about the idea of even separating from the Agent for the short time it would take her to get back to camp, as it did feel like a risk not to supervise her. However, enough time had been wasted already, and Rareth needed to find if there was a way through the caves quickly. Granted, now that they had made contact with the outside, they would not be in quite as much of a rush. They would not longer be in danger of being pulled out of the simulation early as those on the outside became more concerned.

On her own, Rareth could move more quickly through the network of caves, though perhaps not by too much. The Agent had kept up adequately, but Rareth truly had no reason to hold back once she only had herself to worry about. She mapped the cave as she went along and, for the most part, was able to choose the correct path ahead of time thanks to her echolocating ability. Her best option was to follow the stream as much as possible. If it had carved out the cave, then it would be the most likely path out to the other side.

Rareth only slowed down when she encountered more of the stone-shelled insects. Although, this time, the encounter did not turn to violence. It occurred in a large enough chamber that she was able to skirt around the side near the wall to keep distance, while the insects seemed intent on doing the same. They were carrying back something with them, perhaps some prey, but while they did hiss and posture upon spotting her, they did not rush her like last time. Rareth was not sure what exactly caused the difference in response, but it was not her concern to figure out the particulars of the creatures’ behavior. All she needed to do was to make sure they could get past them unharmed.

Eventually, Rareth did find the light at the end of the tunnel. Literally, in this case. The stream flowed out of the far side of the mountain into another waterfall overlooking an expansive valley. The beacon in the distance still illuminated the area and provided some clue of how much farther they needed to go. She did expect that there could be some difficulty climbing down this side of the mountain, but it was not an unreasonable path, and it would still be much quicker than trying to go around. She saw evidence of nests nearby on the cliffs, but hopefully whatever created them would not prove to be a hindrance. In any case, Rareth did not linger long. Once she confirmed the path through the mountain, she turned back right away to return straight to camp and make her report.

The Cradle

The Agent would not have been able to see it under Rareth’s helmet, but she was giving 595 a rather judgmental glare as she looked down upon her. She glanced back towards the entrance to the chamber for a moment and reviewed the map of the cave network she had made thusfar. “As I said, I will continue scouting and find a way through the mountain. Thebes is perfectly qualified to talk with the others. You need to return to the camp and allow the medic to see you. You are not healthy, and don’t insult my intelligent by trying to pretend that you are. Anything could have happened to you when you were transported to this room.”

Rareth paused for just a moment in thought. “Do you remember anything of what happened to you? If so, you need to make sure it is recorded in a report. Anything could be important. But do it back at camp; we should move in case these insects decide to stop tolerating us.”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As ferocious as Janius was, the numbers he was facing could easily be overwhelming. Naturally, Skaafin spearmen were at the front of the enemy charge, and he could not possibly deflect or avoid all of their thrusts. A Skaafin could not stab through dragonbone plate, but every attack came with a risk of them finding a gap between the plates. Not to mention, there were other types of Daedra surrounding him as well. After cleaving through enough Skaafin, Janius found himself with a Daedroth charging him from the front to try and tackle him, while a Dremora flanked him from the side with a heavy warhammer at the ready. Of course, Janius, too was not alone.

Kaleeth rushed in to help guard Janius’ flank. Though, she was not agile, and the Dremora had already been rearing back for a swing on Janius, so his hammer found a new target when it smashed into the armor on her neck. It was a hard hit, to be sure; almost as bad as a blow to the head. There was a loud crack on impact, though fortunately, it was not from a broken neck. She roared out in pain, and may have even been injured, but she was still able to retaliate. When she swung out at the Dremora, she was able to grab a hold of his head. Daedric armor was hard to get through, even for a werecrocodile, but in this case, she did not need to. She simply grasped his head and twisted until it was facing backwards.

On the rear flank, Leaps hissed and roared at the approaching Dremora, but slowly backed away and gave ground in fear. Their spears, swords, and hammers were known threats to him, and their numbers were intimidating. Every instinct wanted him to run, though he had nowhere to go. However, matters did change somewhat once he was no longer alone. Lorag bellowed out a roar when he ran out to meet the Dremora, running in front of Leaps to directly challenge their enemy. Leaps did not have as much fear about facing the threat in a group. Soon enough, there was a charge in the air as lightning started to pool in Leaps’ maw.

Ahnasha loosed arrows in the general direction of the enemy without much focus. The enemey was densely packed enough that pretty much any arrow shot would be guaranteed to hit something. The rest of her focus she put into considering Fendros’ suggestion. “Yes, but…I’m not sure any one or two Daedra would be enough. I…I have an idea. Just buy me time.” She answered. The bound bow disappeared from her hand as she reached into her bag and grabbed one of Sabine’s magicka fortification potions. She would certainly need it. Ahnasha moved back, hiding behind Leaps in the center of the group before she fell down to her knees. She closed her eyes to concentrate, which, of course, meant she would be exceptionally vulnerable if not protected. The technique she intended to use was related to one that could be used by mages who could attune themselves to the constellation of the Ritual, and she hoped Neesa’s teachings would be enough for her to accomplish it as well.

The ice did indeed give Arinette trouble, as Sabine had planned. Yerig moved to support Do’rhajul and Tarna, and all three were ready to finish Arinette when they had the opportunity. As the mangled Breton slid towards the spikes of ice, however, she raised up her healthy hand with her own magical power surging through it. Crimson red, thorned vines erupted from the ground in front of her to shatter the ice and clear away the spikes. By that point, Do’rhajul and the others had already started to charge her, and it was too late for them to stop, so they were caught with vines tunneling up out of the ground around them as well. A pair of thick vines wrapped entirely around Tarna’s legs to pull her to the ground, while their long, sharp thorns tore into her flesh. At the same time, a shout could be heard from Yerig nearby: FEIM! Vines had attempted to entangle him as well, but his shout allowed him to pass through them unharmed. As a vine tried to wrap its way around Tarna’s neck, he became corporeal and managed to cut it precisely enough with his greatsword to save her throat from evisceration. From there, he did what he could to cut away the rest of the vines to free her, as they could certainly take her life if he did not.

Do’rhajul too was faced with vines, but his reaction was as quick and efficient as one could expect from a masterful warrior. Before the vines could get any sort of hold around his legs, he spun around and cleaved through half of them with his ebony sword In one single motion, and the rest did not survive another slice. He was still in a position to be a threat to Arinette, but as much rage as she held for him as a traitor, her fury towards Sabine still eclipsed it. Arinette’s crystal glowed for a moment as she used some of its power to conjure forth a powerful Daedra to occupy him: a harvester.

The surge of power damaged yet more of Arinette’s body, but she still rushed forward with Sabine as her sole focus. As she was now close, she conjured a bound sword in her free hand. Others might soon be able to help her, but for the moment, it was just Arinette and Sabine.

The Cradle

Rareth kept aware of the movements around her, but she was happy to keep her distance from the insects as well. As long as they allowed herself and the Agent to pass, they would not come to harm. As for the Agent herself, Rareth did not have enough information to so much as guess at what had transpired. She archived everything her sensors had recorded about the event, but she was not certain how much they would learn from it.

On approach, Rareth looked over 595 closely for any signs of injury. Her suit did not seem to be damaged, though if there were any internal injuries, they would require a more detailed examination to detect. “Whatever happened occurred quickly. And whatever happened was nothing possible in our reality. Something killed the insect you were fighting by disintegrating it into dust, then you disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared here. We are not far from where we were, but still, you did not move here yourself. We need to move quickly; I want us to leave this simulation as soon as we can. It does not necessarily have to conform to the rules of our reality, clearly. Let us go back to the camp. The team’s medic can examine you, while I finish scouting these caves.”

The Cradle

Rareth dropped the last of the insects to the ground with a hole clean through the center of its head. The kinetic impact of a particle cannon was more immediately effective than the more diffuse cloud of plasma. Though, she supposed more concentrated heat sources would still burn through the stone shell quickly. In any case, she kept her particle cannon deployed as she turned her attention to scanning her surroundings. Whatever happened to the Agent, Rareth needed to act quickly. She still hoped to find her somewhere, even if that seemed unlikely. She had disappeared in a sudden, impossible manner, and Rareth’s sensor recordings were not giving any hints she could identify at the moment.

There was noise from farther down the cave, in the direction the pair had been heading before the ambush. Despite all that Rareth now had to be concerned about, she still had to make herself focus. Whether she found 595 or not, she would still need to scout the route through the mountain. The noises Rareth heard were a kind of chittering that sounded like it originated from the insects. She would have preferred not to have to interact with them further, but the path through the mountain required it, Rareth would have to deal with them.

It was not a far walk to reach the next chamber, and there was a lot for her to take in when she arrived. It was a fairly tall, wide chamber with more than a few smaller, paler version of the same insects that had ambushed her, along with a few larger creatures in-sight. Interestingly, there were also many unnatural-looking stone structures embedded into the walls and floor. They appeared as small, elongated domes made of rock, and were certainly not normal features in caves. However, what drew her primary focus was the Human shape she spotted laying at the center of the chamber. Rareth naturally recognized her right away, but of course, there was no explanation for how she got here and why she looked to be asleep, or otherwise unconscious.

The Agent started to stir as Rareth walked forward. She intended to bring the Human back to their camp to recover regardless of what objections she tried to raise. This was all terribly unusual, and Rareth did not like any part of it. She had seemingly disappeared from reality in a blinding flash of light, only to suddenly be found again a short distance away, unconscious and without her IFF tag transmitting. Rareth felt she had plenty of reason to doubt, but for now, she would just deal with the problems in front of her. She was not directly hostile towards the creatures, but if either herself or 595 were threatened, she would fight as many as was necessary to leave.