EliteCommander

The Cradle

Vreta appeared more and more focused the more Freyr described the object. He could understand the reasons why the Humans had yet been unable to discover the mysteries contained within the object’s shell, especially considering how important its continued functioning was to them. They could not risk damaging it, though ideas were coming to mind about how they could learn more even with all of those restrictions.

“Let’s see…weightless it might be, but that would not remove the object’s mass. An analysis of the local variances in gravitational forces, compared to the natural gravitational field produced by the planet around it, could allow us to calculate the average mass of the object as a whole. The gravitational field would be affected if it is being suspended in place by artificial gravitational fields, but we my people can easily detect artificial gravitational fields, and we should still be able to work backwards to find the object’s average mass. A material analysis of the outer shell could at least reveal the alloy’s density. With that, and the average mass of the total object, it would be a simple matter to calculate the upper and lower bounds of the shell’s thickness. And if we were to take very granular observations of gravitational fields at different distances from the shell, maybe…”

Vreta’s train of thought was interrupted when Freyr addressed him directly. He had his neural implant keep a note of his ideas so far, then nodded to Freyr. “Oh, yes. As the leader of your team, it would probably be best for you to introduce me.”

The Cradle

It was easy to see that Vreta showed a great deal of interest in the object that Freyr projected above her desk. He initially leaned in to get a closer look, though disappointingly, there was little to learn from the model other than the fact that the object was a sphere. Certainly, there were no obvious notable features, and based on what Freyr was saying, they did not know much more about its interior. “Now this…is something we did not know. What is the scale of this thing?” He asked, though it was more of a rhetorical question as he checked and converted the units listed in the projection a moment later.

“Our scans did not detect anything nearly like this on our planet, though you did say it disrupts scanners…in what way exactly? Or do you have any way of knowing? And how certain are you of the presence of organic material within? If the exterior is indestructible to you, then I can assume you have not sampled it, so that idea must have come from scans. Can you be confident that it is truly there, or could those results be the product of the interference? I know you have not broken through it, but have you performed any material analyses of the exterior alloy?” Eventually, Vreta forced himself to stop. He had asked her plenty of questions, with plenty of enthusiasm, but he did realize that it would be prudent to allow her to actually answer them.

The Cradle

Vreta gave a grin and leisurely took another drink. The taste was growing on him, though it still took him a moment to recover and reply. “One thing I do admire about your people is your confidence. You are experts on the Cradle, and don’t let anyone try to tell you otherwise. If any of the Rothian members of the team try to be dismissive of your contributions, then be adamant about proving your capabilities. Some of them may enter with the notion that you are too far behind to be helpful, but if you prove otherwise, they will come around. They won’t deny the reality in front of them.”

“That said…” Vreta continued, interrupting himself by taking another, small sip. “I wouldn’t be doing my job if I did not prepare you for what my people will be bringing to the table. I would highly caution against downplaying what they can do. The Rahn’Saki themselves have decided to devote considerable resources to this endeavor, and they may commit even more once I inform them of the dangers your people may be in if this problem is not solved. Once we have the coordinates from your people, we will have our best scanning equipment to investigate the area. From there, the resources we have will largely depend on what we find, but if it is underground, which we suspect it must be to have not been detected, then my people will provide excavation equipment to uncover it. Our research team is being led by one of our most senior AI researchers, a woman named Marae’Ano. And I do mean senior. She invented the first true AI. Many Rothians, myself included, move between careers throughout their lives, but she seems content to simply move between fields of study. In any case, I would recommend forwarding all of the relevant information you intend to share about the Cradle to them as soon as we arrive at Rothia, so that they can get a head start on familiarizing themselves with it while we are still searching the planet. In fact…perhaps you can start teaching me about it? It has been a whle, but there was a time when I was involved in the research of cutting-edge technology, AI included. That is one of the main reasons I was hired by the Zuraxi’Synkuur corporation; I do have experience. If I can learn more about the Cradle myself, I might be able to better prepare our researchers.”

The Cradle

Vreta did not respond immediately, instead taking a drink from the glass he was given as he collected his thoughts. Even for a larger being like himself, who was accustomed to somewhat stronger spirits, he still showed a strong reaction to the scotch. Still, he did not remain distracted for long. “If I am being honest, there will be some hurdles to overcome if we are to make this a truly cooperative venture. And many of those will come from my people. As I mentioned, the Rothians have centuries of scientific advancement ahead of Humanity. There is a perception among my people that Humanity, and indeed many other species we have met in this galaxy, are a ‘young’ species.”

There was another pause for another drink from Vreta. He knew he was approaching a delicate subject, and so he needed to be careful in how he approached it. He expected that Rothian scientists would be doing the heavy lifting in terms of their research, but he certainly wanted to avoid any more tension than necessary, and if the Human teams could legitimately help, that would be all the better. “I would say to try to imagine what it would be like to work with a scientist from hundreds of years ago in your own past. Say, a scientist from before your species left your home solar system. If your people are anything like mine, you have probably improved your understanding of science considerably in that time, and that scientist would be operating on theories and assumptions you know to be incorrect. I expect that some Rothian scientists may feel frustrated about this, and they may feel that they are going to have to spend much of their time just ‘catching you up’. I hope to prevent that issue. I know that your people are capable, and I think that your years of experience with the Cradle will be valuable. Going back to that analogy of working with a scientist from your past, how do you think you would go about working with them?”

The Cradle

Vreta took the bottle in hand and gave it a quick sniff. The strong scent of alcohol was familiar. Even being alien to him as it was, ethanol was a fairly common compound on worlds with life, and it affected many living creatures in the same ways. Regardless, he cautiously took a drink, if only because he was not sure about the taste, but he was not disappointed.

“I shall be honest with you, many of the scientists I spoke to on Rothia are not confident that we will find anything at all.” Vreta said, placing down the bottle on the desk in the middle of the three of them. “Since we learned about this, we have scanned our whole planet a few times over and found nothing unusual. Though, it is our understanding that you have specific coordinates for us to search. Once we have those, hopefully we will be able to find something.”

Vreta took a moment to think on the situation Freyr had described in the Cradle. The Rothians had strongly suspected that the situation was not under control, but now he was getting confirmation of it, with concrete numbers. And certainly, this news was not encouraging. “The gravity of your situation may be lost on some of the other Rothian members of the team, but I know how connected Outremer has become to the Cradle. I know that your planet cannot just…stop using it, as some might suggest. It’s a problem we have to solve, not one we can just give up on if things do not go our way.I do hope we can find that solution, if not on Rothia, then with the combined efforts of our scientists when we come to Outremer. Our technology is similarly advanced to that of the Cradle, so, and I mean no offense with this statement, our scientists may be better able to understand its intricacies. I am not disparaging your species, I mean only that our scientists will have hundreds more years of technological and scientific advancement to draw upon.”

The Cradle

Fortunately for Vreta, the bridge was not terribly far from the labs, so he did not have to wait too long for Freyr to arrive from her short meeting with the captain. He did have at least some interest in watching the Humans at work, if only to better familiarize himself with their methods, as well as the capabilities of their machines. He was, after all, going to be working to facilitate cooperation between them and his own people. In his honest opinion, it could be difficult to reconcile the differences in their methods, but he could at least try to set the proper expectations for both sides.

“Of course, it is good to see you both again.” Vreta replied with a friendly smile before readily following Freyr towards the office. It was a fairly small room, and like much of the rest of the ship, the air was just a bit cooler than he would prefer. Being that he was the only Rothian on board, though, he did not expect anything but his own room to accommodate his preferences. At least, he expected that his room would match the preferences of Rothians. He had not actually been to it yet.

In any case, Vreta began right away as soon as they were in the room. “Here’s hoping our conversation is not interrupted by mortal peril this time. How have you been, since we last spoke? Before today, I mean. I myself have been…somewhat relaxed back on Rothia. I decided it was time for me to retire from my corporate life. I considered retiring entirely for a century or two, but then the Rothian government came to me, specifically, with an offer for this position. I guess my experience made me a perfect fit, and as much as I have come to despise the Cradle, I suppose I can admit some curiosity towards understanding it.”

The Cradle

Vreta agreed to Freyr’s suggestion. The labs were, naturally, one of the spaces he was permitted to visit as a guest of the ship, and there was no reason for him to wait around in the halls. The lab was deep within the ship, and certainly well-protected as a result. When he arrived, he found that the labs were not quite in a completed state. Many of the rooms inside the ship were modular in how they could be arranged and rearranged, so the Barbarossa could be equipped for its specific mission. For such a new, advanced, and expensive ship, it was a sensible design philosophy over something more specialized.

As he was awaiting Freyr, Vreta simply stood back and observed the scientists and workers preparing their labs. He did not do or say anything to any of the Humans in the area, though he was obviously a person who stood out, so his very presence could attract attention.

The Cradle

“Yes, I just finished my orientation to the ship.” Vreta answered Freyr. He stepped out into the hall out of the meeting room, though he stopped where he was until he knew for sure where he would be going next. “I had a meeting with the XO and gave him some starting advice on how to prepare the crew for Rothia. Customs always goes so much smoother when no one complains about the required medical treatments. I’m sure I’ll have plenty more to talk about with him before the trip is up, but I gave him plenty to do for now.”

“I know you’re on your way to the Captain, but perhaps after that, we might be able to finally get a meeting together?” Vreta continued. “Before the world around me started to turn into a living nightmare, I was going to suggest that we start laying the groundwork for how we are going to coordinate this venture. It would be best if we have a good understanding, beforehand, of how we are going to organize the Rothian and Human science teams. Would you like for us to meet somewhere?”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For Meesei, it did seem that the majority of her pack did favor advancing, and it was not without reason. There was uncertainty ahead, but they had gained a major advantage. The longer they waited to act on it, the more time their enemy would have to respond to it. Meesei could not deny Ahnasha’s logic in that. If the titan could be killed quickly by their enemy, it could be disastrous, but ultimately, there could never be any guarantees in battle, and Meesei had to make a decision.

“Then we move forward. Leave enough healers to stabilize the wounded we can save, but they should rejoin us as soon as they can. We will press on, and when we find the enemy, Ahnasha will send forward the titan to break through. All that matters is reaching the tower. Once we are there, once we stop Vile, all of us will be removed from this realm. Our soldiers don’t need to worry about retreating, just surviving until that point. Now, let’s hurry.” Meesei ordered.

Many of their warriors, regardless of the army of origin, were growing tired from the constant fighting. However, with their final goal so close ahead of them, it was hard to say that their warriors were not emboldened. They just had one more fight ahead of them. As they finally moved out of the pass, their ranks spread outward to accommodate the larger battlefield before them, and their remaining Senche cavalry formed up on their left and right flanks.

There were still mountains on their right flank, but the field opened up considerably to their front and left. They were on the side of the hill leading up to the mountain, with the path down and to their left leading down to the main battlefield of the valley below and the rear flank of the Daedric hordes. Straight ahead, on the other side of the open field, was a narrower path leading up to the tower: their final objective. And behind them were the Daedra that had retreated down from the pass, bolstered by some reinforcements from the main battlefield. Already, the numbers of the Daedra in front of them were about double that of their remaining force from the pass, and Meesei did not doubt there would be more Daedra to come from the battlefield below. However, there was nothing unique or surprising about the composition of the Daedric force. It was still mostly Skaafin, with a collection of some other Daedra. There were no new titans or other massive creatures, nor any siege weapons that were in place to be used against them. This attack could still work.

“Ahnasha, do it. We need to hurry if we are going to break through.” Meesei said, giving the order that Ahnasha had gladly been waiting for. With a smile and a simple thought, Ahnasha sent the titan flying fast and low overhead, cutting through the very center of the Daedric formation ahead with cold flames, from the first rank to the last. There was little need for any clearer of a signal to attack.

Meesei glanced back quickly to the rest of her pack, as well as Sabine’s. “Everyone, stick close and fight together. No matter what happens, we need to make sure that we can break through and make it up to the tower.”

The Cradle

While Vreta did make sure to convey that there would be more to talk about, Vreta ended his meeting with the Lieutenant Commander to let him start work on preparing for what he had already told him. Based on Human FTL capabilities, it would be about two weeks before they arrived, in any case, so there was plenty of time for Vreta to fulfill his responsibilities.

Vreta did feel that his nerves were starting to calm after his most recent incident with the Cradle, if only because he knew that he was going to be light years away from the accursed place soon enough. He just hoped that whatever they ended up finding on Rothia ended up being nothing similar. Though, with the research expedition on his mind, his thoughts went back to his meeting that had been interrupted in the Cradle. In terms of his official role in the expedition, he had wanted to talk to Dr. Lang to make sure they could set the groundwork for an effective, cooperative effort with Rothian scientists. His meeting with the Lieutenant Commander had taken long enough that he supposed she would likely be on board by now. With a quick thought, Vreta decided to make another call to Dr. Lang.