EliteCommander

The Cradle

Vreta leaned somewhat onto Freyr’s desk as he stood beside her, looking down at her screen. “Honestly, I don’t think we should go back in right away.” He answered. “From the reports we’ve gotten, the simulation has become terribly dangerous. Maybe we just need to let the entity “do its thing”, so to speak? I imagine it understands the technology within better than any of us. Surely it doesn’t need our help to do what it needs to do?”

It did not take long for the Barbarossa to drop out of FTL above Outremer. From orbit, the planet hardly looked any different from when they left. There were occasional power outages that darkened some areas, but for the most part, cities were still lit up and active. Outremer’s defense fleet was still on its guard, ships still moved from the surface to the orbital stations above, trade still flowed. The planet’s citizens knew something was happening; that much was unavoidable. But, they did not yet know of what could happen.

After a moment, Vreta looked at Freyr more directly and let out a chuckle. “Though, something tells me you’re about to give me a reason why we have to charge head-first into a virtual warzone. Go ahead, I’m prepared for it.”

The Cradle

Vreta was some distance behind Freyr, halfway across the room. The form of a brightly-colored Rothian woman loomed over her, watching her screen from over her shoulder. Though, of course, Vreta was the only one to see her. ”You’re actually worried about her.” Rhia remarked.

By this point, Vreta had grown accustomed to avoiding giving any reaction to Rhia that an onlooker might notice. ”Even I’ve noticed that she doesn’t seem to be in a good place. Sure, all of this does have me worried, but it’s a lot more…personal for her.”

”Yes, yes, that much is obvious. I wasn’t wondering why she was upset. I was wondering why it bothers you.”

Vreta grunted…mentally, at least. ”What, are you not programmed to feel sympathy? I thought you were an AI, not glorified software.”

Rhia’s avatar quickly re-appeared just beside him. “I can feel sympathy just fine. Sometimes it’s just better to stay detached on a mission.”

Vreta pushed himself away from the support column he was leaned against. ”Well, you can just ‘detach’ yourself from my field of view. We’re about to traverse, and things will probably move quick once we’re there.”

From the perspective of those inside the ship, away from any viewport, there was nothing at all to hint at the activation of the gateway. It warped spacetime to the point of punching a hole through it to a point many light years away, but from the perspective of the ship, they simply…arrived. The gateway had been brought into orbit around a gas giant in the same system as Outremer, though the Object itself would have been sent straight to the planet itself. The counterpart to the much smaller gateway it had used had already been assembled near to the Cradle, so an Outremer team could handle the start of its arrival. The Barbarossa and the Rothian frigate would not be far behind. Already they were calculating their jumps, so it would only be a few moments to their destination. It would take much longer to actually get down to the surface from orbit.

Finally, Vreta approached close enough behind Freyr to be noticed. Provided she was paying attention. “Need any help packing? I’m sure you don’t want to keep the shuttle waiting.”

The Cradle

“Maybe I will.” Vreta commented as he was climbing into his shuttle. “You should come for a visit, though. Like I said, we can get lunch. Besides, there was something I wanted to show you. Still, it’s not like I can force you to do anything. I just hope you will think on all you’ve seen. With what you saw, it’s fair to say that you know me better right now than anyone else, except perhaps Eti’s team. You’re not the one in charge, I know, but that doesn’t mean you’re powerless. Your people don’t have to stand alone.”

---

At the very least, the team did not experience any more complications to their plan. Every part of their plan, from the gateway’s arrival at Outremer to the Object’s return from its orbit of the void star, had been calculated down to the minute. The Object, which was currently slotted inside a specially-built frame with gravity thrusters for propulsion, was moved into position within its gateway’s transit zone.

As for the Barbarossa, it was finally cleared to move into position to transit to the larger gateway the Rothians had brought to Outremer. It was accompanied by a Rothian frigate outfitted to the Rothian science team’s specifications. Though, much of the lab equipment on-board was intended to be transferred to the Rothian cruiser already on-site eventually. The science team had grown larger over the past few days as more specialized experts were assigned to join, but all of the faces that the Humans were familiar with would still be joining them. Naturally, Rareth’Jharn was given command of the Rothian contribution to the operation, and even Nirann was able to come along, in a manner of speaking. His AI core was still vital to Threria’s infrastructure, and it was not practical to remotely puppet an avatar across light years. But, just as he could copy his mind to enter the Object, so too could he send a copy to join the team.

The Cradle

Vreta chuckled slightly, crossing his arms as he paced back and forth near the balcony’s railing. “You say that, but you haven’t seen what a Rothian does when one of our children is threatened. It’s less that our parents are attached to us, and more that we are attached to all of our children.”

Eventually, Vreta took a moment to call for a shuttle to bring him home. He would be heading home regardless of how 595 answered him, so there was no point in delaying. “Personally, I feel fine, though I don’t think there can be anything ‘ordinary’ about having someone else’s memories in your head. I remember being you. Your thoughts, emotions, sensations. I didn’t notice it as much at the time, but now that I’m thinking back on it, there’s all these little details that just stand out to me. The way my, or…your hair feels, your clothes brushing up against your skin, or that feeling of sweat on your brow. I always thought there would be some sort of sensation accompanying your pores secreting water, but it was just…there all of the sudden. Of course, your memories are a curiosity to me, but the important ones right now are the ones we were shown of the cephalopods. I remember being the senator, the one who made the decision to evacuate their world. Do you think you would be willing to come down here to talk? After what happened with that signal scanning us, I’d rather talk in person. Freyr will be perfectly safe up on the Barb, and I would like to figure out if there is something in our memories that will help us locate those cephalopods’ world. If we could actually find their world, that would go a long way towards proving this story about the Hegemon.”

The Cradle

“True, maybe it isn’t your decision, but you still have choices, Agent.” Vreta replied. “Do you truly have no influence? Is this “will of the Cradle” concept floating around in my memory a literal one? By that, it would sound like there is something intelligent within the Cradle that you follow. Perhaps you do, perhaps you don’t, but either way, would it surprise you to learn that it would not be a ‘deal-breaker’ for my people? We just want to know who we are dealing with, to understand. This has become about more than just Humans or Rothians. You heard what that entity said firsthand. If it was telling the truth, then it created my people. And we are willing to help it reunite with the Cradle. When it does join with the Cradle, do you think it will still want to push us away, as your people have? Or will it want to continue working with us?”

Vreta could not help but to be frustrated by the uncertainty of it all. The memory of 595’s he now had did strongly suggest there was more to the Institute than they let on, but it was still only a slice of the truth. He was not lying about the fact that they would still be willing to work with them, but that did rely on the Institute not having too objectionable of goals. If they were working for the betterment of Humanity, that would at least be something the Rothians could work with.

The Cradle

Vreta had gone out onto a balcony looking out over the city of Threria. All of its millions of inhabitants still went about their business oblivious to the historic events transpiring under their noses. He almost envied them…especially when part of his job was trying to find a way to get through Agent 595’s thick skull. “I know very well what you are, Agent. I may not be familiar with the ethos of your organization, but I have to assume you bear loyalty to your people, at least. Your planet. Is it much of a risk for me to say that you want what you believe is best for the people of your planet?”

Leaning forward onto the railing in front of him, Vreta carefully weighed his words in his ming before continuing. “Is it so hard to believe that I want the same for your people? That we want the same? I’m not going to claim that we are just charitable saints looking to be heroes to all the other species, but believe it or not, life is actually something we cherish. Even ignoring everything about the Hegemon, Outremer is facing what you would call a…humanitarian crisis. Your central organizing infrastructure is collapsing, which by itself could create refugees numbering in the billions. That kind of suffering, that loss of life, that’s just not something we can ignore. You’ve felt my mind, my memories, you know I’m telling the truth. Add the possibility of the Hegemon on top of that, and I think it’s undeniable that we stand a better chance working together. You have your secrets, and I respect that, but I saw your memory too. I know there is more about your organization than meets the eye. Would we not stand a better chance if we can cooperate without the lies? Would we not get more done if we weren’t constantly second-guessing one another? You might find us more agreeable than you’re expecting.”

The Cradle

The results of the meeting were at least acceptable from the perspective of the Rothians. For now, they were not opposed to continuing with the plan, which was ultimately the decision they had made. However, the lack of unified direction among many of the involved leaders was a concern. This investigation would be returning to Outremer soon, and though they had negotiated full cooperation between the two species, they could expect more obstacles in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, though, it was still possible for the Rothians’ opinions to change, especially based on the outcome of the conversation Vreta had in mind with Agent 595. The memories he had seen had provided evidence, and it was now time for him to confront her with it. Vreta waited a few minutes after the meeting’s end to let 595 take her leave of the conference room. Granted, he was on Rothia, while 595 was up on the Barbarossa, so he just had to guess roughly how long it would take for her to be on her own again before making his call.

“Well, I think we can both agree that was…not entirely ideal.” Vreta remarked after 595 answered his call. “There are a lot of moving parts surrounding this project, and it’s starting to seem a bit rudderless. I’m not sure they know what to make of those memories we saw. I know I sprang some of this on you rather suddenly last night, but now that you’ve had some time to think, do you want to try to figure this out? We could sit down, get some lunch, and just talk it out.” He suggested.

The Cradle

For the Rothians, there was nothing more pressing to discuss than the foreign scanning attempt that had transpired near the end of the mission. They were still early in their investigation, but from what they could tell, the signal was carried along an FTL medium and had performed a scan of the planet, in addition to the hack on the networks connected to the Object. For the answers they had figured out so far, they still had many more questions. They had a probable source, but that source would need to be considerably advanced to be able to act at such a distance. Director Valic’Ans was serving as the leading representative for Rothian interests, and he had no objections to a join venture to investigate this signal. In fact, he was the first to suggest it. He suggested that they send a small team aboard a Rothian stealth ship to scout the system and find any trace they could of the signal source.

For now, the Rothians were intent on still following the plan. The Object appeared to be safely in its orbit of the void star, so it would not experience near as much time as the rest of them would in waiting for their gateway to arrive at Outremer. Although, they still did certainly want to discuss the matter of the memories that the team experienced at the ruined temple. Rareth and Valic had been able to view a recording of the event copied from Rhia’s memory. During this “vision”, she had not been able to record her senses in the usual way, but as an artificial being, her memories themselves could still be extracted and converted into a viewable format. Though, for the purposes of their meeting with the Humans, they did act as if they were working off of the reports of Vreta and Eti’s team.

The memory itself seemed to portray a cephalopod-like species being invaded by the Hegemon. Ultimately, its veracity could not be completely verified, but the Rothians were willing to consider it as a potential source of intelligence. Unfortunately, it was difficult to establish the strength of the Hegemon forces purely from what they had seen. The cephalopods seemed to have been a primitive species in comparison to the Rothians, or even Humans. As such, they had much less ability to fight back effectively. However, the memory did seem to at least establish the Hegemon as aggressive beings who expected submission, even quasi-religious devotion. If this ended up being true, it would seem to preclude any hope of finding a peaceful solution.

The Cradle

Vreta gave another look towards the suit. There was more he wished to say, but he was not going to be too insistent just yet. He could guess that the ideas he wanted to present were in her head; that seed just needed to grow. “Very well. If you insist, I will take my leave. We will need to discuss some of this later, though. The memory with the cephalopods especially. Rareth has already scheduled a meeting to address that topic. Being that we experienced this together, I was merely hoping we might come to a better understanding if we discussed it together.”

As requested, Vreta started to take his leave. He walked past the suit and to the door, though before opening it, he glanced back. “Just think about it. I wouldn’t expect this to be something you can just process all at once. If you want to talk, you know how to contact me.”

The Cradle

Briefly, Vreta gave a curious look towards the suit of armor, not necessarily because of the armor itself as much as the mere fact that she had it with her. From his stay on the Barbarossa, he had been under the impression that military arms and equipment would need to be checked into the armory when not in use. The fact that it was not implied that it was not military property. In any case, he did not spare more than a passing thought towards it before returning his attention to the conversation at hand. He did not care much for what 595 was doing, just that he keep her willing to talk.

“Not at all. I would be the first to admit that my people, as a whole, are not operating purely out of charity. We do have our own reasons, our own goals, but that does not mean the charity isn’t genuine. The universe is quite literally infinite, with more resources than all of us together could ever hope to exploit, even moving into Eternity. We have no reason to make enemies.” Vreta explained, though there was some slight delay from him as he thought back into his own memories. One he now shared with the Agent. It was an emotionally charged event for him, one that could bring him a smile or tears depending on his mood. It had not seemed like it at the time, but a few words he spoke there had altered the course of his life, and Karaz’s. “That day that you saw. That you experienced, really; it was an important one for me. You remember Karaz, yes? How couldn’t you? I know I can’t forget him. You seem to think that the way we treat other species is just a political game to gain favor, but Karaz believed in everything he was doing, fully and genuinely. You know it’s true, because I knew it was true. He was willing to give up everything to do what he thought was right. He was willing to give up his safety on Rothian worlds, friends, his marriage, all because he knew he could help people who needed it. And you know how I felt about it? Well, I don’t think I actually have to tell you.”

In this case, Agent 595 would indeed know the answer to Vreta’s question. He had felt proud of Karaz. Vreta had always felt that Karaz was perhaps too idealistic and did not consider practical concerns as much as he should, but Vreta still admired his ideals. He even felt some guilt about the fact that he had not been willing to take the step to join Karaz fully. It had been an option for him, but his own pragmatic concerns had prevented him from committing to it. He had not been willing to put as much trust in other species as Karaz had. Vreta was not completely selfless, and certainly not completely trusting, but those memories did show that Vreta did not lie about wanting to help other species, in addition to his own.

“Maybe we’re not perfect. Karaz certainly didn’t think so. But we’re not that bad, Agent. Perhaps your people can handle this on their own, but they don’t have to. Karaz, he might have been naive in some ways, but he was willing to step up and do what was needed in ways that others wouldn’t. I was too worried, not just about taking risks with our technology, but my career, wealth, my next retirement. I could have helped him more, but I was too worried about keeping my company and maintaining business agreements. And none of it even mattered in the end; it wasn’t long after that when I retired anyway.” Vreta’s voice softened, and he let out a sigh as he once again glanced at the armor suit’s cold, expressionless faceplate. He was not exactly sure how this would go, but in any case, his words would not just be words this time. His words would conjure up emotions that he knew now existed in the Agent’s mind. “Now there are more people in danger. Your people. Now I’m in a position to step up and act, and this time, I’m not going to make excuses to avoid it. We can work together; we don’t have to be at each other’s throats.”