EliteCommander

The Cradle

Rareth walked cautiously among the trees. They produced their own light, so her eyes again had to adjust to avoid overexposing them. In normal circumstances, Rareth would not expect any animal to attack such a large group, as long as they stuck close and did not present any individual as an easy target. However, the scientists did make a fair point that normal rules may not be applicable in this place. Any dangers here could be drastically different from what they were expecting. She could understand why the scientists would be curious about every little thing they passed, but the Agent was right about the rush they were in.

“My perspective is being recorded, if yours is not.” Rareth commented back towards the scientists, though she kept her eyes focused ahead. “If we are able to come back later, you’ll be able to find any curiosities we pass. Just stay focused on reaching that beacon ahead of us.” She advised. Part of her wished that the creature had agreed for them to allow some of their number to stay behind. She would rather have let the others finish the transit station, while she dealt with this meeting. She was no stranger to operating independently, and most certainly, she could have moved faster on her own.

The Cradle

The team took some time, once they were all at the top of the cliff, to return most of the load back to Nirann, who quickly returned back to the middle of the group with the rest of the civilians. Rareth, again, was at the front, scanning the paths ahead of them. Our tactics favor ranged combat. The trees will work more to our disadvantage than the narrower path. We should keep to the right.”

Pausing for a moment, Rareth stepped up to the edge of the lake and looked down into the liquid. “Do we have any means to test this lake? I have no intention of crossing it, but if we are going to be climbing near that waterfall, we should still make sure the water is safe to interact with.” She asked.

Nirann looked around uneasily towards the tops of the cliffs surrounding the basin, as least as much as his expressionless, robotic visage could convey discomfort. “I do get being worried about the water, but is no one going to talk about this screeching we keep hearing? It was closer last time. I get the feeling we’re being followed. Granted, we’re being followed by something that hasn’t quite grasped the whole stealth thing, so…maybe it isn’t a big deal?”

The Cradle

“The way the creature spoke implied that its mind was not solely within the being we saw.” Rareth remarked. “If we are going to speak to it ‘in person’, then that worm may have only been a conduit. We may be dealing with a hive mind, or at least something that can control certain creatures.”

Once they reached the cliff face, Rareth returned her weapon to her back and gave another quick scan of the area behind them. “It seems we need to climb to keep progressing, but we should still be cautious about it. We should not all climb at once. Thebes, have some of your team stay down here to cover us as we climb. We will do the same from the top once we reach it. And you may want to share out some of the weight from Nirann for the climb, just to make sure none of those handholds give way.” She suggested.

For Rareth, her climb was more of a sprint. Echolocation allowed her neural implant to build a detailed map of the cliff before she started, so she did not even need to use her eyes to know exactly where she should grab, and where to move next. Coupled with her long limbs and powerful muscles, she could move up top in leaps and bounds. At least for her, there were no interruptions before she reached the top.

Although she did not yet see any movement from potential lifeforms, Rareth still drew her weapon and remained alert as soon as she was at the top. From the top of the cliff, the landscape ahead of her really opened up. The dominant feature was the large lake that took up most of the space ahead, which reflected the light from the beacon in the distance. There were forests to either side in the basin, composed of trees that seemed to demonstrate some form of bioluminescence. Since they did not have the means to cross the lake directly, their path would likely take them around the side, through those forests.

The Cradle

As she moved along at the head of the group, Rareth kept alert in every way possible. Now that there was another, bright source of light in the distance, visibility had become noticeably better. Low-light vision was still required, but she had a better effective range of awareness. Beyond that, her implants sent out regular pulses for echolocation to build out a picture of the surroundings beyond what her eyes could see. For now, they were heading uphill across fairly open ground.

“If the Rothians here are living in villages, then the threats they face must be creatures they can survive against without relying on stealth, else they would not be able to remain in one, fixed location. If they are animals that may try to ambush us, then we would benefit from keeping to long, open sight lines. If there are hostile, intelligent beings, then we may be attacked from a distance. Though, again, if those primitive villagers have survived, then I would not expect advanced weaponry.” Rareth reasoned. “For now, I would say that we should keep to open areas where we can clearly see our surroundings.”

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai and Tasuma

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While Grikgar had not had much time to take his shots,the jackal shield had at least bought him enough time to be able to put one on target. The first sailed over the top and exploded on the far wall, but the second struck the barricades directly. It did not entirely destroy the barricades, and the rebels behind them were able to duck for cover, but the machine gun emplacement was caught in the blast. Ryker would still have to deal with armed resistance, with better cover, on the upper walkway, but there was no heavy gun to keep him pinned.

Some of the rebels had retained their bearings well enough and had managed to retreat out from the smoke cloud in the center of the room to form up behind the cover of the support struts on the far side. They had no heavy emplaced weapons, but they were well-armed on their own and had good sight lines. It would still not be trivial to displace them. If Ryker and Grikgar could claim the upper walkway, they would have a position on the high ground, at least.

Amid the smoke, Vael stalked the rebels who had not escaped like prey. Using motion trackers, or simply the sounds they made to track them, Vael weaved between the crates to deal with them up close and personal. From the outside, one would see nothing until he came close enough to a target to flick on his energy sword, which illuminated the thick smoke in a blue glow. It was generally followed by a short burst of gunfire, then the scream of a Human.

Tasuma did not make light of its own injuries, but in any case, it still moved into the smoke cloud as well. It was concerned less with killing stragglers as it was positioning itself to handle the rebels defending the far side of the room. The smoke would dissipate eventually, so it moved to find enough of a stack of crates that it could use for cover, instead of relying wholly on its armor for protection.

The Cradle

Rareth had no further questions, nor any other reason to delay. She felt it best not to keep this entity waiting, She too joined in assisting the scientists with disassembling the mast and transit station, and readying the rest of their equipment to carry. Nirann needed only to give Rareth the schematics for her to understand how to disassemble the devices properly. A normal Human could carry the parts, though for this journey, Rareth wanted the scientists to be as unladen as possible. They needed to make good time to their destination, and the unmodified Humans were already going to be the greatest limitation to their pace.

“Thebes, one or more of your team may need to help carry our equipment. I recommend one who will be traveling at the center of our formation, and who is most comfortable fighting at a distance. We certainly do not want this equipment damaged.”Rareth suggested. Nirann, of course, was going to be the one carrying the greatest share of the burden, including the heaviest parts of both the mast and transit station. His robotic frame had great strength compared to a Human, and he would not experience any measure of fatigue. As long as he was still faster than the slowest of the Humans, he would not be slowing them down no matter the weight he was bearing.

Once they had packed away their equipment, Rareth drew her fusion cannon once again and set it to its automatic firing mode. She, naturally, moved to take point as she looked out towards the beacon of light in the distance. They would not know the topology of the landscape, but at the very least, it would not be hard to know if they were going the right way. “Let’s move. No reason to waste time.”

The Cradle

Rareth too shared the unspoken concerns of the Humans, but she could “read the room”, as it were, and they had little choice but to play along for now. Even if they could kill this worm, it would ruin any chance of a peaceful resolution. This creature clearly had the power to attack them here and now, which, if anything, would be the safe option for it. If what it was saying was true, and they were going to meet it in person, then it would only be putting itself at greater risk. Hopefully, they would be able to reach some understanding with this being. Being able to question an intelligence from within the object could potentially teach them more in a few minutes than Humanity had learned about the Cradle in centuries. At least in terms of the objects’ functions and purpose.

“Very well; we will do as you ask and come speak to you. I take your words to mean that we may need to defend ourselves against anything that may attack us. We will be ready for it.” Rareth answered before turning back towards her allies. “Let’s get everything packed up here, then get moving. Try not to leave anything behind. I am getting the impression that we should not allow the local villagers to access anything of ours.” She said, gesturing towards the Simrothians.

The Cradle

Rareth would have interrupted the scientist, had 595 not already done so. An emotional, panicked response was far from what they needed at the moment. Fortunately, for most of the Humans, they were able to keep cool heads and maintain their composure. Rareth, as their de-facto spokeswoman so far, spoke back up in response to the entity. “So it is not allowed to use your power? I understand, I will make sure anything else we use, we can power ourselves. We will do as you say and come to speak to you in person. Do you want all of us to come to you, or may some of us remain here? I promise they will not use your power. I would like for them to send a message back to where we came from to explain what is happening. Otherwise, there are others back in the physical world that may disturb us before we have finished speaking.”

Nirann felt that he was on the same page as Rareth, as an idea had come to mind for him shortly after they lost power. Stepping up alongside Dr. Wetherall, Nirann placed a metal hand gently on his shoulder. “Calm down; we can deal with this. What are the exact power requirements for this thing again? This frame of mine has a pretty good fusion core inside it.” He said before establishing a connection with Wetherall’s holopad. “Just help me finish off this analysis. I still have all the data we’ve been collecting, so we shouldn’t need to turn it back on to write a patch. When it comes time, we can power our equipment here off of my fusion core, apply the patch, then we’ll have our way back home.”

The Cradle

Rareth answered quickly, but calmly. “If it would not normally be permitted, then I would like to ask your permission for an exception. I give you my word that it is of no threat to you. These are tools we need for our purpose here, to help learn about you and this place. There are a few here, with different functions. May I ask what you would not permit in this place, and what you would not want us to have? If there is something you would rather not be here, I can make sure we do not bring anything like it in the future. I feel that I should ask these sorts of questions now, before we go further, as I do not know your customs, and I do not want to accidentally offend you.” She explained, trying to be as diplomatic as possible, without either lying, or giving away too much at once. Most crucially, she wanted to learn more about this thing and what it expected of them.

Nirann had noticed the events unfolding around him, given the sensor suite in his frame, but it was true that he certainly did not act like it. “I know, I know. Just keep working and leave the giant worms to the giant worm experts. I think I might be close to some answers here.” He responded to the Human.

Halo: Aegis Team

There was some delay in the response from the enemy. They waited behind cover on the far side of the room, only giving token return fire as they waited for their attackers to take the space they had given up. However, Aviza did not give the order to advance, and the delay would give some time to try and retreat back to her position.

When it became clear that their attackers had, for the most part, not taken the bait, the Chieftain let out a roar. Right away, Brute stalkers, four at least, emerged from active camouflage on the walkway directly above the team’s position. They did not have an angle to shoot down on Aviza or those who stayed back, but Tar and Yalu were within their sights. Two opened fire with spikers, while the other two tried to throw incendiary grenades to block their retreat. It was, indeed, an ambush, though it was far from ideal for the Brutes, as both of the Sangheili were still fairly close to Aviza’s position. In any case, the Chieftain’s roar had been the signal for an all-in attack. The Brutes started charging from far across the room through the crates, while the Human rebels positioned themselves to provide supporting fire. Although, they did have a fair amount of ground to cover to cross the entire length of the room.