Cath

The Cradle

“We will try our best to avoid disappointing you.” Skopec chuckled drily. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’d best go and help coordinate. You should begin your report - just ensure you record everything securely.” With that, the Sergeant turned and jogged away, making almost no noise. “Well…” Freyr began. “He seems nice. Come along. We should get this session started. There’ll be time for sushi later.” They were alone in the food court now, with the sub-team that had been perched by the food conveyor belt making their way into the conference hall.

---

“We think Navigator was able to exploit quite a simple flaw in the holding area system to open the door. After probing for a bit, presumably to learn about its obstacle, It temporarily convinced the internal sensory grid that it essentially didn’t exist.”

Dr Wetherall stood by his seat in the auditorium, pointing to part of a technical hologram of the Vault’s holding bay. His finger translated into a red laser point that skimmed over a variety of sensors marked inside the space. The rest of the scientists and some Institute observers were dotted around the hall in various states of entrancement. Freyr stood near the back, as was customary for her in these sessions.

“I learned today that the default for some forty years has been to leave that door open so we can use the equipment inside it on the Cradle. This meant once the Navigator blinked from existence, the doors came out of lockdown and could be hacked. The AI controller couldn’t code a fix fast enough, which is quite astonishing in itself. We’re talking nanoseconds here.” He licked his chapped, wrinkly lips.

“How can we be sure that little maneuver can’t work in reverse too?” Someone asked in the crowd. The feedback sessions always included questions, to stimulate debate and explore other avenues.

“We made the Vault team aware of our supposition before we left. And I believe they tasked the controller with auditing the process to look for other vulnerabilities. It's difficult to stomach the fact that this pinnacle of Outreman engineering was manipulated in such a way. But there was always going to be the possibility of new approaches no one had considered.”

The Cradle

Skopec laughed throatily, playfully slapping Vreta’s shoulder. Freyr realised they were pretty much the same size, when viewed close together. “You’re a funny one! No. We can’t have everyone talking at once - we are in a blackout. Do you understand? It's dangerous right now. Maybe tomorrow, we’ll be able to do more.”

“I need you to join this feedback session anyway.” Freyr explained, rounding on the Rothian. “You were there with me - it seems like you might even remember more. That’s the most important task right now, piecing together what has happened. We’ll need to file an official report soon.”

Star Wars: Shattered Galaxy

Ooh, I like the idea! Colour me interested. Are you thinking of splitting us off in groups or throwing us all together?

The Cradle

“They have a right to be angry. We haven’t exactly been upfront with them about things.” Freyr muttered, still annoyed at Vreta. She looked over, and despite her annoyance sighed when she spotted him looking dismayed at his drink. “Put some milk and sugar into it.” She whispered, nodding towards the lizard’s steaming coffee.

“It seems most of the mainstream news focus is on the terrorist attacks, not the Cradle.” The late Dr Hou’s protégé, Dr Kim, commented. “A masterpiece of deflection.” He chuckled to himself.

Skopec regarded Vreta with a look of haughty disdain. “They will come, soon. Flights from orbit are locked down tight right now. We are negotiating for their release, and then they will land in a separate location. We will pick them up, to avoid them being tracked back here. Your Datius is organising it, along with the collection of your soldiers.”

The Cradle

“Be that as it may, you need to co-operate with me before making such an announcement. There is a time, place and manner for doing so, alright? This team is still my responsibility.” With that, Freyr brushed past Vreta, placed her cup in the auto-cleaner and left the conference centre.

She took a moment to calm down and look around the floor. The ceiling was high, and she spotted a whole mezzanine level she’d missed before. Putting the prospect of exploring it to one side for a moment, Freyr wandered across the main atrium to the sushi bar a half dozen people were gathered around. The rest of the place seemed empty, except for an Institute operator at the top of the gravity lift off to one side. Soft music piped in from somewhere.

“Hey everyone. We’re regrouping on our findings in thirty. Can you-...” Freyr trailed off on her approach when she realised everyone was transfixed to a holo above the rotating sushi belt. On it were chaotic scenes from a journo-drone of protestors throwing objects at rows of riot droids. Flames licked up into the sky from upturned cars and shop fronts, unhindered even by the rain. “Oh no! Where is this?” Freyr asked, nervously eating the bits of breakfast she’d stashed in her trousers.

“Babylon. But they said it was spreading.” One of the sub-team replied, gingerly maneuvering a piece of sushi into his mouth with chopsticks without removing his eyes from the holo.

“It is.” A voice said from behind Freyr. She turned, and saw a tall soldier with shoulder-length red hair, pushed back with a headband. He wore the same black armour as the others, but with no helmet. He had a sanguine scar on his otherwise pale face, across his left cheek from ear to mouth. “But you’re safe in here.”

“Sergeant Skopec.” Freyr affirmed, vaguely remembering him from the evacuation earlier. “Good afternoon ma’am. I hope you and your team are settling in.” His voice was gravelly, and accented.

The Cradle

There was a moment of stunned silence after Vreta finished speaking. Freyr sighed and massaged her eyelids with two fingers. She supposed it was this Rothian’s job to manage expectations to some degree. But even by their standards, that was a big gaffe. An unhelpful remark from a frustrated aide to a bunch of already very scared scientists. Freyr didn’t look around, but she could practically feel the looks of anxiety and in some cases, anger, burning into her from all over.

“Alright. Well, see what she can fetch. I’m sure anything will be helpful at this stage.” Freyr took charge again, nodding to Vreta.

“And I want a full workup of what we saw from the Cradle and Navigator’s coupling, ready to present by sub-team in thirty minutes. We’ve been in silos for long enough - it's time to come together again now.” Freyr looked around the room, pushing herself off from the table and downing the rest of her coffee. After another moment, everyone jumped into action. Sub-teams huddled up to decide what information was most pertinent to discuss. It was a slightly different approach to most departments, but Freyr found it useful for her own thought process.

Once she was satisfied, Freyr turned back to Vreta. "Can I talk to you for a second?" She asked.

"Turn down the rhetoric now, ok? Please? We've been through a lot, and I want to get back to how things are supposed to be." She spoke in a firm tone.

The Cradle

“Agreed, Marae. Everyone should get another check up, even if they didn’t go into the Cradle last night.” Freyr slurped her coffee, sitting on an unoccupied edge of the big middle table. “I felt very peculiar after coming out. Did you feel the same, Dr Wetherall?” The old man shrugged from behind Freyr, on the other side of the table. He was attacking a bowl of ramen with particular gusto. “About the same, I suppose. A bit tired. Achy.”

“Ok. Do we have any facilities on hand right now?”

“There’s a med-clinic on the floor below, I think.” Dr Dlamini offered.

“That could work. Did we manage to bring any of our own scanner gear with us?”

“No clue. We leave in rush - these boys in black packed everything strangely.” Dr Apalkov boomed, motioning to one of the two OCI operators currently guarding the door.

Freyr looked at the lead Rothians assembled nearby. “What do you think Rareth could get a hold of?” She instinctively looked around for the Agent, who would’ve been staring daggers at the mention of Rothian aid. But she wasn’t here. Freyr didn’t know whether to feel elated or worried by that.

Marooned - Survival roleplay on a hostile alien planet

Very interested in this! Stunning choice of imagery too. Are you after any types of characters in particular?

The Cradle

Freyr blushed slightly, and laughed nervously. “Yes, I'm not sure what came over me. At any rate, I'm feeling better now. Thank you.” She stuffed in another mouthful of pastry and washed it down with the pink juice. “Good idea. I should address the team… Where do we meet?”

“There’s a leisure and shopping floor three below us. Skopec had us set up a temporary hub there.” Masgard jumped in. “Excellent. Let's head there now.” Freyr wiggled herself out of bed, suddenly energised. She declined her lab coat when Xandrus offered it, electing instead to wrap some of her breakfast in a napkin and shove it in the pocket of her trousers. She took one last drink then looked at Vreta. “See you down there. Lets go, Masgard dear.”

Most accommodation blocks in Réunion were self-sufficient, and run by a machine intelligence. This one didn’t seem any different, though the OCI appear to have muzzled the AI from doing anything other than the basics. Nonetheless, it welcomed them onto a large arcade level, filled with venues for entertainment and nourishment. All staffed by machines, naturally. Freyr waved to a gaggle of her team who were having a meeting at the sushi bar. Soldiers guarded every door.

One of the venues was a conference hall, which was already littered with portable consoles and other paraphernalia snatched from the Vault. Scientists of both species were pouring over holos or talking to each other. Freyr spotted Vreta near the entrance.

“Good afternoon, everyone.” Freyr announced upon walking in and strolling to the coffee machine. Most people stopped what they were doing. She surveyed the room as her hot drink poured. “I’m relieved to see everyone here in one piece. Including you, Dr Girard.” Freyr smiled at the researcher who’d taken a nasty knock inside the simulation.

“How is everyone holding up? A lot has happened.” She asked.

The Cradle

“That’s very kind, thank you.” Freyr smiled groggily, taking the tray from Masgard and laying it on her lap over the covers. It was laden with pastries and fruit, as well as the long pink drink. She grasped the glass and raised it delicately to her lips. “How long was I out? Is everyone safe?”

“About thirteen hours, once you were on the transport. Everyone is alright, as far as i can tell.”

“Yikes. I only meant to snatch a few minutes.”

Her implant registered a call from Vreta’Sori. “Ah, sorry. One second.” Freyr accepted the call and put it onto the holo-constellation suspended from the bedroom ceiling. “Vreta, you’re on speaker. How are you?” She found she was hungry, and popped one end of a croissant in her mouth.