EliteCommander

The Cradle

The Rothians were quick to discuss privately through messages between their implants, deciding that Marae’Ano would be the one to accept their gift. She responded without much delay. “We thank you for your gift. I would like to apologize if there is a custom of yours we do not end up observing, but rest assured that we are appreciative of your gesture. If it is appropriate to do so, I shall have the staff displayed in our lab as a symbol of our cooperation.”

Once the meeting began in earnest and the coordinates were given, several of the Rothian scientists immediately started to double-check not only the most recent scans, but also earlier scans of the area to see if there was anything that stood out at the identified location. Rareth, meanwhile, paced around a part of the table, carefully observing the projection in front of them from a few angles. The chairs at the table were adjustable to a wide variety of body sizes, but Rareth was still a bit too large to use them comfortably, so she had remained standing from the start.

“Provided that our previous scans have revealed nothing at these coordinates, I can have another ship sent to the area for a more in-depth scan. It is my understanding that your Cradle has an active system to block attempts at scanning, correct? If you can provide us with copies of your previous attempts, both the process and results, it is possible we may be able to learn how to bypass this interference.” Rareth suggested.

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai

---

Vael took only a few moments to survey the situation. Aviza was injured, but alive. As deadly as the Spartans were, he did find himself curious if she would have the resolve to continue fighting through pain and injury. Vael had seen at least one example of such resilience in the past, and he wondered if it was a trait they all shared.

”Are you capable of continuing to lead, Spartan Aviza? If we do not move quickly into the structure., our prey may elude us.” Vael asked, already with one eye looking at the ramp leading down inside. Although, it was not long before his gaze shifted towards another unknown: the pilot who had survived the crash. He had seen her eagerly enter the fray as he had rounded the central tower, and she had put up more of a fight than he would have expected from the average pilot. It simply remained to be seen whether it was her skill in combat that drove her, or merely a blind blood rage.

In any case, Vael motioned towards the pilot. “And you, can you fight? We cannot afford to leave a protector for you, so you must either join the battle with us, or find your own way out.”

The Cradle

To an extent, Vreta felt fortunate that he was not likely to be a primary participant in this meeting. He had been in the presence of Datius before, and especially since he had joined the Rahn’Masser, it always felt like a nervewracking experience. It was not so much that he felt threatened by them as it was that they were practically legendary figures. Something any agent would aspire to one day become. He simply did not want to embarrass himself in front of one of them.

In any case, all that Rareth did for the moment was to simply lead the sizable Human delegation through the building and down one floor into their reserved conference room. Even with the tall ceilings that tended to be built into Rothian architecture, Rareth’s head still came close to touching it, and she had to duck slightly through some doorways. The Humans had sent word ahead of the large group that would be in attendance, so they had arranged for a room of ample size to comfortably accommodate everyone. In fact, it looked as if it could accommodate an entire department for a meeting, or double as an auditorium. Even with the combined size of both delegations, there was plenty enough space to move around easily, and even extra tables with refreshments. Vreta expected that there would be time afterwards for the members of both science teams to meet each other individually and mingle. Given that one wall was a massive, floor-to-ceiling window with a wonderful view over the city, they would have quite a backdrop for it.

The science team comprised the majority of the Rothian delegation: about a dozen individuals. There were a few others as well, including Vreta’s direct superior in the Rahn’Masser, though he suspected that particular relationship would be kept secret for the purposes of this meeting. One detail that the Humans would likely notice right away was the differences in appearance for Rothians here, compared to those who worked on Outremer. Human conventions for “professionalism” did not apply on Rothia, so there was no need for them to choose natural designs or coloration for their scales. Among modern Rothian society, creativity and artistic expression for one’s own body was essentially the core of Rothian fashion. Similar to tattoos in Human society, the scales of most of the Rothian scientists bore striking colors and intricate designs of widely different styles, including the team leader who introduced herself as soon as they were all seated.

“Welcome, it is good to finally be meeting you all. I am Marae’Ano, project leader for our expedition. I am sure I am not the first to say so, but I would like to welcome you warmly to Rothia.” The woman remarked. Her scales were an eye-catching contrast of solid while scales as the backdrop, with deep black scales forming a detailed design. It was a design that seemed to consist of one long, continuous line that flowed and swirled across her body like a current through the ocean, creating patterns that seemed distinct, yet without ever breaking the line itself.

The Cradle

Vreta allowed the others to shuffle out of the shuttle ahead of him, being in no particular hurry himself. He could see a second shuttle landing beside them out the window, likely the captain. The Humans were not allowed weapons, but they were permitted to bring anyone they chose to these initial meetings. Vreta doubted that the captain would have too much to do now that they were on Rothia, but he understood why she would want to stay involved and keep tabs on the members of her crew.

When Vreta stepped out onto the landing pad, however, even he was visibly surprised by the welcoming party they had received. It was just a single individual that had come to collect them, but that person’s identity was known to him even before she introduced herself, and her mere presence was telling in a number of ways.

The Rothian in front of them towered over everyone else present, Vreta included. In fact, she was likely the largest Rothian any of them had seen in person. She was clearly a soldier, as she was armed and wearing full combat armor, though she did not carry a weapon in-hand. She did not wear a helmet, so they could see that she had jet black scales, with a striking pair of red eyes. “Greetings, I am Rareth’Jharn, Datius of the Rahn’Masser. If you’ll all come with me, we already have a meeting room arranged.”

Freyr or the other civilians might not have been aware, but to be greeted by a Datius supersoldier could be nothing less than a shock to those like Agent 595, or perhaps Masgard, who were more aware of the intricacies of the Rothian government. It was a shock to Vreta, and he had been warned ahead of time that his leaders were taking the situation more seriously. Though they were a part of the Rahn’Masser on paper, in practice, the Datius served directly at the behest of the Rahn’Saki themselves. The Datius were their eyes, ears, and their finest weapons. If a Datius was here, then that meant the Rahn’Saki had deemed this matter a priority, and they were taking a direct, personal interest in it. As well, it was clear that they wanted the Humans to know that they considered this a priority.

The Cradle

Vreta tilted his head towards Masgard, though still kept his eyes looking out of the window. “Our construction processes can from any shape essentially as easily as any other. I don’t think it is any secret to say that curved surfaces distribute force more effectively than flat surfaces. Although, the hull is, of course, secondary to our energy shielding for the protection of the ship. I personally do not know all of the reasons for all of ours designs, but personally, I do find our ships and structures to be…elegant in form. Our cities, of course, do put more emphasis on beauty than our warships.”

---

After the captain announced their arrival, presumably once they had docked, Vreta eagerly joined the others to depart the ship and head down to the surface. Of course, anyone going to the surface, Vreta included, did need to go through customs in the station before they would be put on a shuttle down to the surface. However, Vreta, Freyr, and everyone associated with her science team were given the official classification of “Guests of the Rahn’Saki”, and as such were given priority through customs. For the Humans, each of them were required to either receive preventative anti-radiation treatment, or sign a comprehensive liability waiver affirming that they had received equitable treatment from their own doctors.

The automated shuttle that the group was given was shaped not unlike the Rothian police dropships back on Outremer, and it felt large and spacious on the inside, even for a team the size of Freyr’s. Despite the fact that they accelerated down towards the surface at immense speed, the passengers inside felt none of the forces at play. Without Rothian inertial compensation, the G-forces in the passenger compartment could easily be lethal to most species. Were it not for the windows, they would not even have been aware of the speeds at which they were moving.

Coming in from above provided a wonderful view of the city ahead of them. They were being brought to the Rothian capital city of Threria: the seat of the Rahn’Saki and the cultural center of Rothian civilization. Given the importance of the location, the Rothians had spared no expense in making it an appropriately spectacular location. The city itself was centered in a valley between two tall mountain ranges, both comparable in height to the Himalayas back on Earth, yet many of the massive skyscrapers that comprised the city reached high above the peaks of the mountains. They rose easily above the clouds, though the clouds themselves were guided by some invisible force to part around the city.

As Vreta’s words to Masgard had suggested, Rothian architecture did emphasize a certain kind of beauty. The skyscrapers were made with many of the same curved, organic shapes as their ships, but without the need to fulfill utilitarian purposes, their architects were free to express their own artistic visions. Though many emphasized curved, natural shapes, there was a good deal of variety in how the skyscrapers were built. Though, one common feature between many of the buildings were the walkways and platforms that connected between the buildings at certain levels. It essentially created “layers” to the city, where pedestrians could simply walk between buildings without the need for flight, though there was still space designated for flying vehicles to move between the layers.

“Welcome to Threria.” Vreta remarked, peering out of one of the windows. “Capital of, well, our civilization, really. From my understanding, you will all be given complementary accommodations here while we are waiting on those coordinates to be investigated.”

The Cradle

Vreta himself simply took in the sights as well for the first few moments. He reacted briefly, nearly jumping when the Agent started patting his tail, as he was unsure of her meaning. Certainly, he doubted she intended the same meaning as he would have expected from a Rothian. Regardless, he did not dwell on her, and instead focused on the sight before them.

“I was not hatched on Rothia. I am from Syr’Jakra, originally, so I can actually relate to the experience of seeing all of this for the first time. I first saw it I believe around five hundred years ago. I came here with my first, um…I believe you would consider her a ‘wife’ to me, in celebration of our bond. I find a black hole to be one of the most spectacular and awe-inspiring sights the universe can provide. It is an object of extremes, bending the limits of physics itself. Although…if I can be candid for a moment, I do find the meaning of your words for it in your language a little disappointing. ‘Black hole’ just sounds…inelegant. The closest meaning in our language for this object is a ‘void star’." Vreta explained.

The Barbarossa was quick to approach Rothia’s orbit after dropping out of FTL, though they slowed considerably the nearer they came to the planet and the orbital dockyards. As their homeworld and center of government, Rothia had by far the most expansive set of planetary defenses of any Rothian world, if not the entire galaxy. Orbital platforms were, by and large, organized to orbit in an even hexagonal grid across the entire planet. Many served as defensive weapon platforms, some were hangers for defensive strikecraft, but all of them doubled as emitters for the largest energy shield in the known galaxy. Together, the orbital platforms could essentially form a shell around the planet to protect entirely against bombardment. At its passive strength, the shield was not visible unless attacked, but at combat power, it formed a planetary aegis that could be seen even from the ground. Naturally, sections of the shield remained disabled to allow ships to move between orbit and the surface for everyday commerce, which also necessitated that every ship follow strictly pre-determined flight paths. That was part of the reason that Vreta had intentionally invited…certain observers.

Of course, to bring a warship to Rothia had to be approved by the relevant Rothian authorities. For a scientific expedition, an armed warship was not necessary, but they had approved it without resistance, regardless. It was posturing, that much was obvious, particularly once Vreta had seen that they had chosen a state-of-the-art warship to carry their emissaries. So, although Vreta had not received explicit confirmation of it, he had a feeling he knew what kind of flight path the Barbarossa would be given. In addition to their orbital emplacements, Rothia, of course, had the largest Rothian defensive fleet out of any of their worlds, and as they could easily see out the window, their flight path took them right in the shadow of a massive Rothian supercarrier: a vessel that dwarfed even the impressive size of the Barbarossa. They were ships meant to be able to carry out entire invasions on their own, even if lacking support ships.

Following her example, Vreta glanced down at 595 and patted her behind once with a flick of his tail, gesturing up to the supercarrier looming over them. “The Niris’sho’Roth, flagship of the entire Rothian fleet. Even to me, it’s a marvel. I would love to be able to see its new main weapon fire, though I don’t think it has ever been used against an actual target. It has earned the moniker of an ‘extinction cannon’ for a reason.”

The Cradle

Vreta gave no objections to leaving, as he had his own concerns to deal with. Although the revelations did not do too much to increase his workload aboard the ship over the next two weeks, I did dominate many waking hours of thought. He had access to acceptable FTL communications, so he could send ahead data and alert his people to be prepared to test this new discovery, but there was little else he could do in that regard. Once he had distributed informative pamphlets among the crew, and held a few more meetings with certain important individuals to ensure they knew what to expect from Rothia, all there was for Vreta was to await their arrival.

In all his centuries, the two weeks aboard the Barbarossa were probably the longest two weeks of his life. Until their ship arrived, there was little progress that could be made on any front, just waiting and wondering. Even by his own high standards, there was plenty for Vreta to do to occupy his time, but it was never enough to distract his thoughts. Regardless, he still made the attempt. Most of his time he spent alone, browsing whatever entertainment the ship had on offer. Human media was not something that was new to him, even before taking his position on Outremer. Entertainment from multiple species were distributed and sold throughout the galaxy, wherever there might be a market for it. Some of their entertainment did demonstrate parts of their more peculiar facets, but Vreta could still enjoy it. Otherwise, he divided his time between relaxing in the beach room, and chatting with members of the crew. He decided to get to know some of the people he would be working with a bit better, like Freyr, her team, and even Magard. Agent 595…less so. Regardless, when it did finally come time for the ship to arrive at Rothia, he still invited her to join him in the observation room along with Freyr and the others.

Vreta stood up at the front of the room near the massive window that gave them their view of what was ahead of the ship. FTL warped spacetime in a way that was almost unrecognizable to the eyes, but once they dropped to sub-luminal speeds, everything came clearly into view. They had dropped out of FTL a safe distance from, but within clear view of Rothia. The planet itself, from high above, was a world of green continents and blue oceans, with the reddish brown of some deserts scattered around, like many habitable worlds. There was a notable lack of ice caps, with a green forest on the northern pole, and ocean on the south. Though, it was what was in space that was more eye-catching. It had a ring system about its equator to rival that of some gas giants, proportionally. They were mostly shades of white, brown, and tinges of other colors.

Ultimately, while Rothia itself was eye-catching in its own right, it was what was beyond the planet that would certainly capture the attention and imagination of any onlookers, for Rothia did not orbit a standard, main-sequence star. In fact, it did not orbit a star at all. The object at the center of the system was an active stellar-mass black hole. Instead of nuclear fusion, it was the intense energy of its accretion disk that provided Rothia’s heat and light. To see the total blackness of the void at its center, even from a distance, was a sight was was spectacular to many, and haunting to some.

The Cradle

Vreta was not chatting and cheering as was most of the crowd. In fact, he was rather firmly silent. Despite all his training and mental fortitude, the magnitude of this potential revelation was enough to coax some visible reaction out of him, even if it was just a few seconds of a wide-eyed stare with his mouth slightly agape.

It did not take long for Vreta to compose himself externally, though he still did not give much attention to the others in the room. He became stony-faced and remained silent, not even giving a reply to Agent 595 before he calmly moved to the console and began checking and re-checking both the data and the signatures they had been looking for.

When the chattering between Freyr’s team started to soften, Vreta spoke with a strange, unemotional calm to his voice. “I would hesitate to celebrate so quickly. These results still need to be checked, and other explanations eliminated. I am noticing that your methodology for extrapolating our evolutionary history does involve some guesswork to bridge some gaps. Well-educated guesswork, granted, but there is some room for uncertainty. I will make sure to get you more comprehensive data on our genetic history so the test can be run under more ideal conditions. I suggest you keep testing and examining any potential source of error. If this is a conclusion that is going to be presented…we need to make sure it is undeniable. I believe I shall go…take some time to think. Perhaps finish editing those pamphlets. Though before I do…”

Vreta let out a sigh, then looked up from the console towards Freyr. “This test you just performed on my genetic code, this search for Cradle signatures…has it ever been performed on Human DNA?”

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai

---

Where as the rebels had been surrounding the phantom’s crash site, now they were routed. Many of the Brutes that had been among them were dead, and the Humans that remained were without cover and did not have armor that could last against the weapons arrayed against them from multiple angles.

There were many among the Sangheili who doubted what the strongest of Humanity’s warriors could do. The Spartans were rare, minuscule in number compared to the Sangheili, so most had never seen them in person. For Vael, though, he had known the truth for many years, and now, those serving under him had experienced the truth as well. From the moment they had landed, their foes had been picked apart with haste. Not just the weakly armored Humans, but Jiralhanae warriors were cut down almost as quickly. That was not to say that neither Vael nor those serving under him were fighting effectively, but the roof of the structure would not have been cleared so efficiently without the team of Spartans. The constant sounds of gunfire was like music filling the air, and Vael had to call upon all of his skill just to keep to their bloody tempo.

As fast as he could, Vael fired his carbine at scattered rebels. One, perhaps two shots for each, but he did not have time to shoot many, as the Spartans were doing the same. Vael did not have a quick enough way of dealing with the Brute captain, but fortunately, he did not need to. A round from Aviza’s sniper rifle cut through his shields and his head thereafter in one, clean shot. The momentum was strongly in their favor, with the remaining rebels sprinting down the ramp to retreat down into the structure. Vael sprinted around the side of the tower to try and cut down the stragglers, but the explosion above grabbed his attention. A banshee flying past had taken a shot at Spartan Aviza, and it seemed like it had found its mark. She hit the ground fast and hard near the downed dropship. A Spartan she might be, but a fuel rod blast was still enough to threaten her. Vael allowed the remaining rebels to retreat, instead rushing over to determine Aviza’s condition.

The Cradle

Vreta could easily along with what Freyr was suggesting, though he had a hard time accepting it as anything more than a fantasy. For it to be true would upend their concept of the history of life on their planet. A planet that, as of right now, still did not show any evidence for the presence of intelligent life before themselves. Of course, if there was something related to the Cradle on Rothia, then that alone would rewrite their history.

“That is…well I can’t say that I can outright deny it as a possibility, but for that to be true would require our species to have been manipulated, maybe even formed, by an ancient species that left no trace of themselves on our planet. Our DNA has been thoroughly sequenced and explored, as has the DNA of nearly every living thing on our planet. We have never found anything we would identify as coordinates. Something like that would almost certainly have to be found in junk DNA, as it is highly unlikely that a set of spacial coordinates would just so happen to code for a useful protein. But even our junk DNA has been explored thoroughly. The only way I would imagine that being possible is if the Cradle’s software used a notation for coordinates that would be unfamiliar to us. My people, of course, have not been allowed direct access to Cradle software before, so I would not know how its notations for programming and mathematics would differ.” Vreta admitted.