EliteCommander

The Cradle

Rareth had already cut through enough tentacles by this point that she wondered how many the creature could have remaining. Though, given that it was such a massive organism that was integrated into the land itself, she supposed she should not hold out on it running out of them. In any case, Thebes was weighed down by carrying Carthage and would need her assistance during their escape.

While the pair of Humans were surface-bound, Rareth went after the tentacles threatening them with even more speed and fury than she had shown on the way down. The creature had no answer to the sword’s cutting power, no way to keep her from severing limb after limb except to move them out of her reach. Whether she cut its tentacles or forced it to hold them back, either case would still give the soldiers their opening to escape.

To observers above the water, the detonation of Carthage’s suit came suddenly, and violently. The sound of the explosion echoed throughout the sunken basin, along with its pressure wave. A plume of water shot up from the center of the lake, reaching even above the height of the cliffs at its highest point. Based on where she was and how fast she had been moving, it would have seemed that Rareth would have been caught in the blast radius before she could escape. Yet, after a few moments of silence and stillness after the water settled, she could be seen walking out of the lake from beneath the surface on the nearby shore, her armor undamaged.

“Report. Are any hostiles still active?” Rareth asked right away.

The Cradle

As powerful as the beast was, and as impressively quick as it could move its limbs, it still could not simply club its way through a plasma sword. When the two met, it was the energy blade that incinerated any flesh it touched. She split the club in half down the middle for some distance down the length of the tentacle. Part of the tentacle did strike her stomach, though without near the full force. It only served to slow her down somewhat before she resumed her charge forward.

When Rareth came in close, it was to slash at the remaining tentacles close to their source. Thebes requested cover to extract Carthage, which was precisely what Rareth gave. She was quick, and there was no sneaking up on her. If any part of the creature so much as came close to her, her blade could cleave it in two. Two of the tentacles closest to Carthage she severed near the base, while others farther away started to keep just out of reach, though her particle cannon could still injure them.

Once Carthage started to fall further into the beak, Rareth turned to assist. The tentacle that jabbed at Thebes was met with the burning edge of Rareth’s sword, and would certainly be severed like the rest if it was too stubborn to give up. At the same time, she collapsed her other arm back into its normal configuration, then grabbed a hold of Carthage as well under her arm. She added her considerable strength to pulling the Human from the beast’s clutches, then decided to further discourage the creature by using her blade to start indiscriminately carving through any piece of its mouthparts that she could reach. “Just…get her out, and I can finish the beast.”

The Cradle

On her approach, Rareth focused every sensor available to her on the creature at the bottom of the lake. Any slight weakness she could identify could be important. Although, if Thebes was correct, the creature’s central mass could be a weakness for the whole organism. “If it is controlling the trees, then we need only kill it to protect the others. If we get Carthage to safety, I will destroy it.”

Rareth did not truly swim, though she was still relatively swift through the water. She used her powerful legs to push across the bottom of the lake, moving straight towards the creature’s maw without hesitation. The smaller tentacles along the lake bed lashed and grabbed at her, but Rareth did not miss a swing of her blade to cleave through anything that might slow her down. With her sonar, she did not need to look to know which were the closest to her, and which she needed to swing at next. For the smaller tentacles, they did not so much as even slow down her progress.

Regardless, Carthage needed their help immediately, so Rareth attempted to assist from distance as well. Much like her other arm, Rareth’s right arm opened up in four parts to reveal a new weapon. Rather than a sword, the energy projectors on the inside of the mechanical limb used electromagnetic fields to contain and direct particle beams at near the speed of light. It was similar in principle to a railgun, but instead fired streams of much smaller particles at much higher speeds. She fired a few bright violet beams from her particle cannon at the larger tentacles that were trying to pull Carthage in, hopefully to at least weaken them.

One of the larger tentacles started to cut through the water towards Rareth, though she made no effort to dodge or try to get around it. Rather, she leaped forward off of the lake bed straight towards it to meet it head-on with her sword, rather than to give it any chance to potentially catch her by surprise.

The Cradle

Dr. Wetherall, at least, was secure, but the fight was far from over. Most of the soldiers were holding their positions, but Carthage was being pulled into the lake after being thrown from the first tree. For them to reach their destination at all, it was vital that none of them be killed in the process. Rareth could not guarantee that the others back in the real world would not judge it less risky to pull them out if one or more of them were to die.

Rareth leaped into action just as quickly as before, jumping into the lake alongside Thebes. Her suit was fully sealed, so she had little worry for her oxygen supply. Even if the advanced alloy of her helmet were somehow breached, she would not be in danger of drowning. There was certainly some risk to plunging into the depths of the unknown, but ultimately, Rareth knew she would always have one way out, as long as she was willing to reveal one particular secret to the Humans. For the moment, though, she carved her way through the tentacles that tried to stop her on her way into the water. As she plunged underneath the surface, steam bubbled up from her sword as it boiled on contact any water it touched, though the emitters were waterproof and continued to function perfectly well. Her senses had to adapt to work optimally underwater, but her neural implant could handle the adjustment. Some senses were not quite as efficient, though her echolocation essentially became an even more effective sonar. The picture it painted was crisp and clear to her.

Back on the surface, Nirann decided to make an attempt at a different approach. In addition to the rifle, his frame was equipped with a non-lethal compliance tool for policing duty. The emitter was in his left hand and could launch an energy burst designed to paralyze certain types of muscle. Specifically those involved in locomotion. These trees weren’t animals, but with the way they were moving, they must have had something that worked on the same principle as muscle: something that could be paralyzed. Nirann extended forth his hand and took aim at source of the branches attacking the Agent. His hand released a brief, but intensely bright white beam of energy that struck the branches, and would impart its energy throughout the organism.

The Cradle

In one, swift motion, Rareth moved her fusion cannon to her back while drawing a more appropriate weapon for the situation. Unfortunately, it seemed the trees themselves were the threat they had to face. The weapon Rareth decided to use was not one that she had carried with her, but rather, was one that was integrated into her own body. From the outside, one would see her armor on her left arm opening up, separating long-ways into three parts…along with her arm itself. It revealed that there was no bone, muscle, nor any other organic parts within the limb, as it was entirely mechanical. Inside her arm, along the length from her elbow to her hand, there were three energy projectors that pulsed with a bright orange glow. In an instant, a glowing, red-orange plasma blade extended forth from her arm. It was a long weapon that could reach the ground from a standing position, and was intense enough to burn through nearly anything it encountered.

Especially for a being of her size, Rareth moved at a lightning pace. The trees too had reached their limbs for her, but her blade covered wide arcs around herself to cleave through the branches. Certainly, it was quicker to clear foliage with a blade than a rifle, so she had the chance to help some of the others quickly. Her priority was to help those that were not equipped to defend themselves, which to start was Dr. Wetherall. While Carthage was trying to pull him back, she came in at a sprint towards the scientist’s feet and slashed at the branches to try and free him quickly.

For Nirann, he had been at the most central point in the group, farthest from the trees, so he had been spared from the initial grasping branches of their floral attackers. Or, perhaps it was the fact that he was entirely mechanical that led the trees to favor his organic allies? In any case, he was able to carefully put down some of what he was carrying: at least the things he could pick up again quickly. His cargo was important, and he had to protect it, but being in a military security bot, he did have some means to help. He reached behind himself and drew from his back a compact energy carbine, which automatically unfolded once he removed it from its compartment. Agent 595 had been grabbed from nearby to himself and was being dragged towards the water, so Nirann engaged his frame’s targeting software and started to take shots at the source of the branches grabbing her.

The Cradle

While Rareth could have fired sooner, she had taken those few extra moments to try and assess how much of a threat the creature really was. Still, she could not entirely fault the agent for firing. Everything about its body language and movement did suggest aggressive intent. It was strange that it would try to attack such a large group, but then again, as a flying creature, perhaps it just hoped to pick one of them off.

In any case, it was not the flyer that was revealed to be the greatest source of worry. The trees around them, it seemed, were more than just stationary plants. In retrospect, Rareth perhaps should have been suspicious of them. Bioluminescence could be used to lure or dazzle prey. Though, she was not sure if the trees were predatory, exactly. The tree had not consumed the flyer, but rather attacked and tossed it away. It may have been more of a defense mechanism, in which case the lights were probably warnings.

“Move carefully and keep away from the trees.” Rareth said calmly. She was glad they had taken the less dense pathway. “We do not know what will set them off, so just try not to agitate them.”

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.”