EliteCommander

The Cradle

In this position, the creature could not deliver a full-force blow with its legs, so their spikes merely scratched the surface of Vreta’s armor. Although, its tail proved to be more of a threat as it wrapped around his leg. Getting Vreta to the ground would go a long way to putting the creature in a position to do some real damage.

Underneath his helmet, Vreta was gritting his teeth. In the moment he had to react, Vreta dug his foot into the ground…quite literally. He jabbed a clawed boot into the platform itself, giving him a firm position to resist the pull of the creature’s tail trying to sweep him off of his feet. Rhia closely monitored the forces being applied across the affected sections of his leg armor, though the platform’s floor would likely give before that would, and indeed, that was precisely what started happening.

Vreta had not intended to resist forever. He only intended just to buy a few moments. Rhia tracked the plasma blade through the air during its flight and directed Vreta on when to intercept it. Without so much as taking his eyes off of the creature, he snatched the blade out of the air just before its tail jerked his foot out of the ground.

Vreta hit the ground hard as he fell onto his back. The beast wasted no time climbing onto him to pin him down, while raising one leg high up in the air to finally be able to get a good amount of force behind its spike. With Vreta’s blade in hand, though, it was already too late for it. As the leg started to jab downward, it was met with a swing that cut through the leg both in the middle of the spike, and father down close to the joint. Vreta wasted no time following through, using the momentum of the first swing to start a second cutting diagonally through the thickest part of its body to maximize the damage.

The Cradle

Rhia was not expecting its dexterity to be the unknown variable, but in any case, she worked quickly to adapt. She loosened the safeties on Vreta’s muscles to give him a better chance of taking this creature head-to-head. Luckily, its damaged jaw meant that it could not find much purchase biting down on his head. Teeth scraped against the armor, but could not get around his head to actually start concentrating the force. As far as grappling was concerned, the jaws that would normally be its main weapon were damaged. Being an animal, it may not have been creative enough to understand how to overcome its injury.

The creature was already grabbing a hold of him, so Vreta grabbed it right back in return. He got one hand on its neck, and another on the base of its left spike, then turned around and slammed it up against the column himself. A part of the column was crushed and crumbled under the force of the hit. From there, he released his grip with both hands and started to strike it in every way he could. Powerful, unrestrained blows to the bottom and side of the creature’s head came from one hand, while the other grabbed the knife from his magnetic holster and started to make quick jabs across any bit of soft tissue he could see. He kicked with the clawed boots of one foot, and even delivered a headbutt to try and smash in its teeth. He did not know its vital areas, precisely, but he could at least overwhelm it with attacks and give it enough injuries to make it reconsider wanting to be close to Vreta.

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai

---

Vael was aware of Human conventions for greetings. Many of the Humans who he had been working with as a part of Aegis team no longer bothered with them, since they all knew their customs were not shared. This Human, though, was clearly new. Vael did not know all of the UNSC’s ranks and roles, but the meaning of “engineer” was self-explanatory. If that implied the skills he possessed, then Vreta could see why he might have been selected to assist the team on this mission. They had objectives that would benefit from technical expertise. Vael did recall that some final changes to their team’s composition were being considered by their superiors in the days leading up to the briefing. He would need to check after this to see which had been given approval. These would ideally have been decided upon before the briefing, but logistical issues had been an irritating constant for Aegis team.

Tar ‘Mdalak’s interjection came uninvited, though Vael could not say the Human’s response was any more wise. On his part, Vael would not do anything to hold Tar back unless she threatened to prevent this Human from performing his duties. ”You have a great deal to learn, Flint.”

The Cradle

The action moved quickly as the beasts pounced upon them. They moved with speed and ferocity, and after firing on the encroaching creature’s legs, Vreta had only seconds to react. They were seconds which Rhia intended to use wisely. Her processor clock ticked over from one nanosecond to the next as she watched the creature inching steadily closer through the air through Vreta’s eyes. The neuron connections between his artificial eyes and brain had been replaced with higher speed connections, so his vision could actually update their mind fast enough to take advantage of her processing speed. And of course, she had his other sensors available to feed her data. Between his vision and echolocation data, she had precise measurements of the position and velocity of every part of the creature they could detect.

Naturally, trajectory calculations were trivial to Rhia. Even the simplest of AI could handle basic physics calculations. What was more difficult would be making accurate analysis of their strategic options based on the observational data she had collected so far. Regardless of how quickly she could think, Vreta was still limited in how well he could react to her recommendations in the seconds he would have. She had to make sure that every bit of the information she gave him was accurate.

Let’s see, what can we do about this? Rhia thought as she took a good look at the numbers the physics algorithms were giving her. Plotted out visually, the creature would be landing pretty much right on him, spiked legs first. Okay, not a great start. Need some penetration values; what have I got?

The likelihood of armor penetration would be given by the force that would be applied on the contact area, combined with the estimated strength of the spikes’ material composition, compared to the known strength of Vreta’s armor. Luckily, Rhia did have a few points of reference to estimate the material density and approximate strength of the carapace. Assuming this creature was not exceptionally different in composition from the female, she had observed values for its impact force against 595, as well as its speed and resistance to changes in motion. From that, she could get a reasonable estimate on its mass and density. The carapace’s strength was harder, but between the two creatures, their legs had taken three shots of known power from Vreta’s weapon. That provided enough data points for her to make a ballpark estimate of the material’s durability. Combined with the velocity calculations, the lower end of that range would still have Vreta’s armor holding, though the upper end became more worrisome. Of course, that would not do.

Okay, definitely got to do something about that. Start strafing right, rotate the hips, and… Rhia projected a few of the possible positions Vreta could take before impact. With quick enough movement, he could angle his torso so that the spike would strike a glancing blow against his armor, while still keeping in a position to defend Freyr. Adjusting for the force of the new impact, the armor would hold for any values within the range of Rhia’s estimates. Better. Now for the counter

Rhia did not estimate that Vreta could overpower the creature, but he did have the strength to fight back. He would just need to leverage the creature’s momentum against it. Based on the position he was going to move to, Rhia identified the points to grab on the beast’s underside so Vreta could duck underneath and throw the creature mostly in the direction of its own momentum up against one of the columns behind him. From there, Vreta would have a chance to open fire.

Rhia had the plan set, and so she projected each recommended action on Vreta’s HUD from moment to moment. She also spurred his muscles to move at the right times in the right ways to make each motion seem almost like instinct. Still, regardless of how much detail Rhia put into planning, they were still limited by Vreta’s ability to execute on that plan in real time. He could think quickly, but not nearly as quickly as her.

To Vreta, following Rhia’s instruction was like following a sixth sense. It felt like his subconscious guided him from one movement to the next. He started to strafe and turn his body so the spike would glance off of his armor. He let go of his rifle, ducked down low, and went to grab the creature as it flew overhead to throw it up against the column behind him. At the same time, he used his tail to push Freyr out of the path of danger. If all went well, he would draw his pistol and open fire into the creature’s underbelly at full power until it died, or something else happened. A Rothian sidearm did have comparable power to a rifle, but merely lacked in the versatility of firing modes and long range accuracy.

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai

---

Being aboard the Blockade Runner once again brought Vael back to familiar territory. Time spent among Humans was often spent in cramped quarters among suspicious and unusual people, so being back on a Sangheili vessel was something of a relief. Granted, Blockade Runners were somewhat uncomfortable even among Sangheili. The scented air and constant subsonic sounds of the vessel were not present on the Covenant vessels most Sangheili had been accustomed to serving on. There were still vessels from the Covenant among their fleet, but as they could not be replaced, more traditional Sangheili designs had come to the forefront the longer this war lasted. They tended to have less refined efficiency, relying more on sheer power in weapons, propulsion, and other systems. A lack of safeties meant that ships such as this could be pushed beyond the limits of Covenant vessels, but for less experienced crews, that made catastrophic failures more likely.

Stepping out of the pelican, Vael did notice a Human standing nearby, seemingly waiting for them. Ethat had already handled directing them to necessary locations around the ship, though it was possible that the Humans had some matter of importance for them. The UNSC was also contributing soldiers, vehicles, and equipment to this mission.

Out of Aegis team, Vael was the first to approach the Human. He was small, even by their kind’s standards: a fact that became all the more prominent as Vael towered over him. ”You have something to say, Human?” He asked.

Halo: Aegis Team

Hekar Taa-pattern Blockade Runner Magnificent Defiance, low-Earth orbit

---

Given that they would be leaving that day, Aegis team were encouraged quickly into the pelican, though once they were aboard the Blockade Runner, they would be able to do as they saw fit until they arrived at Brissekh. Covenant slipspace drives were far superior to the traditional Human Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engines. Journeys that, before the reverse-engineering of Forerunner slipspace technology, took Humans months, the Covenant could complete in minutes to hours. Brissekh was not too far outside Human territory, so it would only take a few hours to reach their destination. They would likely be waiting longer than that for the rest of the fleet to be ready to start the diversion.

Although a corvette by Sangheili standards, the Blockade Runner in orbit, Magnificent Defiance, was even larger than the Autumn-class heavy cruiser they had used during their first mission. As the loading ramp of the pelican opened, they were greeted with a curious mixture of UNSC and Swords personnel and equipment. Sangheili and Unggoy crewmen coordinated with Human marines to organize the vehicles and equipment that were being delivered by a constant stream of cargo pelicans. Obviously, the ship did not have proper storage facilities for Human equipment, not to mention differing organizational conventions between their two militaries, so there were no doubt no shortage of logistical issues for the two groups to iron out. Fortunately, that particular task did not fall to Aegis team.

Before leaving the pelican, Ethat sent each member of the team a map of the ship highlighting relevant areas. Quarters, mess hall, training rooms, and likely most relevant, the armory with their equipment. Given that they would not be staying on the ship long before the start of the mission, they would not likely need to stray far if they did not wish to.

The Cradle

Rhia was surprised the first shot did not take down the female creature. She expected the heat to burn through its skull from underneath, though it was entirely possible it had unusual biology. Regardless, Vreta had to keep up the pressure, since the Agent did not seem to be able to defend herself at the moment. As soon as Vreta’s own shields flared, he tugged his tail to the side to encourage Freyr to stand in a more preferable spot. He also heard her warning, though Rhia had been tracking the other creature the entire time. It was still distant enough, being on the other side of the platform, that Vreta could spare a few shots to assist 595.

Since they did not know the creature’s internal biology, Rhia marked more general targets on the female creature. She knew their weapon could penetrate the creature’s armored exterior, it was just a matter of picking the right targets. Vreta’s first shot was towards the creature’s neck, which was one of the most common vital areas across most animals. The second was towards one of its front legs to compromise its mobility and help give the Agent an edge in protecting herself.

Vreta had to swap targets quickly to the second creature. Agent 595 had already cut through its beak during her struggle, so Vreta focused on disabling the other weapons the creatures tended to use. As it was sprinting towards them, Vreta fired shots at both of its front legs. They were relatively thin, so successful hits could potentially melt them in half. Likely not lethal damage, but ultimately, they did not need to kill these creatures. Crippling them to the point that they could escape would be just as much of a victory.

The Cradle

Overall, Rhia was more effective in combat when she was in control, but if there was an advantage to being in the backseat, so to speak, it was that she could devote more processor time to analysis. These creatures were yet another new monstrosity to be thought up by some twisted intelligence in the Cradle, or perhaps Rothia’s Object, if it was already joining with the Cradle. She did not know the purpose behind these creatures, as many of them, witnessed both here and on Rothia, did not seem to be natural. Were they created intentionally in these forms, or perhaps they were allowed to evolve over time in a Cradle-like environment? But then, what would be the reason for an existence adapted only to the artificial environment? The entity in the Object had claimed its people were life-seeders, but none of the creatures in the simulation would be at all adapted to any sort of known habitable environment. Something simply did not add up.

For combat analysis, the situation was simpler. The creatures were quick, but still easy enough for Rhia to track. It helped that the female creature made her target abundantly clear. With he speed of Rhia’s processor, she could plot out its projected path on Vreta’s HUD while marking potential weakpoints. In this case, she pointed out its open beak and the jaws emerging from within. As Vreta took aim, she adjusted the choke to maximize hit probability, as well as making minor adjustments to his aim as he moved. Vreta fired a scattershot at the lunging creature, intent on putting an unhealthy amount of superheated plasma down its throat.

The Cradle

There were a handful of reasons that Vreta had Freyr hold on to him. The foremost was to reduce the chance of her panicking. She simply did not have the training to stay calm under this much pressure. Physically holding on to him would be a constant reminder that he was there and able to protect her, which, unless Human psychology was drastically different from his expectations, would reduce panic. Even if it did not, it would at least make sure she knew which direction to go at all times so they did not end up separated. At this stage, they could not afford any delays or detours.

“We will, just hold on and stay close.” Vreta replied. He did not have near as much of an academic interest in these creatures, as his focus was purely on survival. Even if it wasn’t, he did not have enough background knowledge on the Cradle to know why the creature was significant. He fired another pair of shots at the creature, but kept moving at a steady pace to catch up to 595. “Agent, we’re behind you! Moving to catch up.” He shouted ahead, intent on shooting his way through anything that might get in his way.

The Cradle

Seeing as 595 was leading the way, Vreta took up guarding the rear alongside Freyr they were moving forward. As such, he was in a position to notice when she strayed. She was frightened, understandably. Vreta was frightened, and it was only training that kept him calm and focused. He just kept his mind on moving from one moment to the next, and in this moment, he needed to keep their team cohesive.

Freyr would find herself stopped as Vreta took hold her her arm. It was her weapon arm he grabbed, just to make sure she did not fire on him in a panic. At the same time, Rhia had been observing 595’s fight with one of the creatures. She analyzed the effect of the Agent’s shotgun on the creature and used the data to calibrate the efficient power setting for Vreta’s own weapon. As Vreta took aim, holding his rifle underarm in his other hand, she swapped the rifle to its scattershot setting. While not the most stable firing position, the reticle painted on his HUD allowed him to put shots on target.

Having Freyr firing wildly at anything that moved was more of a risk than a benefit, so Vreta took immediate action to address the issue. “Stay calm, and just stick close to me. You don’t need to shoot unless they are getting close enough to threaten you. Just stay with me and let me protect you. I want you to grab my tail, and don’t let go.”