EliteCommander

The Cradle

Nirann hummed a moment as he took a few more seconds to run a few extra scans, but all of them returned similar results. “Oh, there’s signs of something in the area. Unfortunately, I think that “something” is a jamming field. Or something that is acting like a jamming field, at least. I’m having trouble getting readings with this hardware.”

Vreta observed each development silently as they came. He did not want to interrupt Freyr too often, but he did tag along to keep up with what was happening. Although, each new development just seemed to be worse than the last, and Vreta was not too keen on taking risks here. “Errors, energy fields, swarming mammals? I don’t like any of this. It may be best for us to simply call this off. Nothing seems to have gone smoothly so far.”

“We do have transit stations ready, so we can evacuate at any time.” Marae remarked from the other side of the small room. “Though, we’d be going back empty-handed. Dr. Lang, can we guarantee that the terrain itself is safe for us? If this energy field is interfering with those sensors as well, then it may actually be best for us to simply leave. We need to make sure the lab itself is in a safe spot before we can perform any tests.”

The Cradle

“On it.” Nirann answered briefly, in a hurried voice. Vreta frowned as he looked around at the mechanisms, but he decided to hold on for Nirann’s assessment before saying anything about it. He intended to counter with his own recommendations for their defense, but another voice soon spoke up through their comm channel: Eti’Prar, the leader of the Rothian fireteam.

“We can move inside later. Until we have a full sensor sweep of the area, security personnel should keep watch on the hull. My recommendations are attached.” She remarked. At the moment, the Rothian team was still outside, patrolling the outer walkways. Each of them positioned to be able to cover different angles, but also to be able to see at least one of their allies at all times so that they would be in a position to be able to quickly assist one another if needed. The file that Eti attached in her message were the basic schematics of the rig, overlaid with the recommended positions of the members of both teams. For interior positions, once they moved inside, her plan involved splitting the members of the teams strategically so that someone could reach every part of the hull quickly in an emergency, while still having overlapping fields of fire to be able to cover one another on exit. It would also prevent them from having to crowd the interior hallways, so it was altogether well thought out.

As confident as Vreta might have been in his own planning capabilities, he still trusted their own soldiers to be able to lead themselves effectively. And fortunately, it also did not take too long for Nirann to get back to them on the issue he was dealing with. Although, it was rather obvious that he found some solution right away, considering that the mechanisms around them suddenly folded up into their compartments before deploying once more, this time correctly. “Got it. Just had to reset the system. I’m also on the external cameras, so I’m going to go ahead and start a sensor sweep of the surroundings now.”

Vreta was momentarily relieved that the problem had been solved, though he still could not help but to hold some concern. They could not afford “surprise” issues. “Good, but still run a full diagnostic on every system you start up, regardless. If there has been some kind of damage to the rig, then we’ll need to call this mission off. We need everything to work right the first time. Freyr, Agent, are hiccups like that normal for equipment in the Cradle? If something about this place is introducing unexpected errors, then this becomes a lot more risky.”

The Cradle

“That depends, how comprehensive is the lab’s surveillance system?” Vreta questioned. “I would say we should position the soldiers to cover any blind spots that might exist. Otherwise, they should position somewhere central to be able to reach any part of the rig quickly.”

Although Nirann was nowhere to be seen around them, he was evidently close enough to listen in, as he soon came in on their comms. “I’m heading up to the bridge right now. I’ll start up the sensors right away so we can get sights on our surroundings.”

“Good, safety is Rareth’s priority here.” Vreta answered back, though he quickly returned his attention back to what was immediately around him.. Unlike Marae and her team, he had not been instructed in the operation of this lab, but as an observer, he could still make sense of most of what he saw on the consoles around them. He hoped that the entity would have the ability to communicate through the comms system the lab was using. His job would be much easier if he did not have to go out into the storm. “Rareth also instructed me to make sure transit stations are prepared for activation as soon as possible. She wants everyone close enough to a station that we can all evacuate in under twenty seconds if we encounter trouble.”

The Cradle

“Unfortunate. I know you had some strange experiences in this simulation. I did see Rareth’s perspective, and you definitely disappeared entirely in that cave. I have a feeling that the rules here can be…different from reality.” Vreta commented .

For the moment, Vreta moved with Freyr and 595 into the lab. He did need to make contact with the entity, but it was not as if he was simply going to wander off into the ruins on his own. He hoped the equipment on the lab would help him in making contact. He followed the pair up the ladder onto the vehicle, followed shortly by Marae, Nirann, and the rest of the scientists. The soldiers were the last up, as they covered the area until the civilians were on board.

As they headed to the nerve center, Vreta continued to speak to both the Agent and Freyr. “I know you may not have the answers, but I would appreciate any advice you can think of. I need to find some way to make contact as soon as I can. I would prefer to be able to open dialogue with the entity before we make any drastic moves here in the sim. I hope you are aware that Rareth has ordered us to call off our attempt if the entity objects to it. We don’t want to harm it. Remember, the whole point of bringing the object to Outremer to begin with is so we can help the entity recover. Even your Institute is willing to reunite the two, which is honestly not the answer I was expecting from the Director-General, I’ll admit. At any rate, I’m just glad we can agree on something. Let’s just try not to sabotage our own mission while we’re here.”

The Cradle

For Vreta, entering the Cradle was never the most pleasant experience, and it seemed no different for this object. Though, by this point, he had grown accustomed to it. Rhia had the pleasure of experiencing it for the first time, and even being an AI, she did not find herself immune to the discomfort. She made that clear to him as soon as they came to consciousness, though Vreta could not help but to wonder what that feeling was like for a being without a physical form. Was she just sharing in his feelings, or did she experience something else entirely? In any case, Rhia did not waste too much time dwelling on it. ”Okay, that’s a new one. Let’s see…cold, howling winds, and snow. What a paradise. Let’s just get this done quickly, yeah? Checking on the team’s vitals real quick and…I don’t see any serious problems. Why don’t we go be neighborly and check up on the Humans? Need to get to having that chat with the Agent as soon as we can.”

The Rothian team had mostly inserted close together. Since Rareth was not entering the simulation this time, three Rothian soldiers took her place. All of the Rothian members of the expedition had been outfitted for combat, but the soldiers themselves still stood out like a blunted claw. Like Rareth herself, they towered over the rest of them, especially in their full-body powered armor. They were what the Humans would consider supersoldiers, like the Sacred Band. A normal fireteam would be larger than three soldiers, but Rareth was acutely aware of the limitations on their numbers. Unless he had a more important task to deal with, Vreta was expected to join them in the defense of the team, if it became necessary. Despite their limited numbers, the team was still well-equipped for a variety of situations. Most Rothian weapons had multiple firing modes that could change the behavior of a weapon, sometimes drastically. Even a standard rifle could switch between automatic or single fire, charged blasts, scattershot, and electric discharge. The team’s sniper had a weapon that could switch between being a high-powered particle cannon, or quicker shots that made it perform more like a marksman rifle. The third soldier carried the same sort of heavy weapon as Rareth had used during their first expedition, though his micro-missiles were not enhanced with antimatter charges.

Vreta could see that the Rothian scientists were quickly getting their bearings. The very first thing Nirann had done after powering up his motor functions was to rush over to Marae, help her up to her feet, and check on her well-being. The other two scientists did not get quite so much personal attention, but they looked to be getting ready to board the lab. For Vreta himself, he went straight to Freyr and 595. His official role in this mission was to try to make contact with the entity, so he could lean into that.

Vreta’s silhouette soon appeared through the snowstorm in front of Freyr and the Agent. He could not help but to be glad to be wearing climate-controlled armor, at this point. “No problems with the Rothian team, as far as I can tell. The science team is getting ready to board as soon as they can.” He informed the pair before turning his head towards what appeared to be the structure the team had discovered during their first expedition. Although it was somewhat hard to tell through the storm, the structure appeared to be a ruin compared to what Vreta had seen in the recordings. “I suppose you could say this place doesn’t quite look like the brochure. You were right there in the middle of it all last time, Agent. Do you think it was the storm that caused this, or something else? In any case, I need to at least try to find the entity, if I can. You spoke to it directly, right? What did it say in those last moments? I wasn’t able to watch your recording.”

The Cradle

Rareth let out a long sigh when Freyr relayed the Captain’s answer to her. “With respect, Dr. Lang, your Captain is not the one who makes that decision. I took the time to familiarize myself with your command structure. You are the lead science official on this mission for your people, and you are the one ultimately in charge of decision making for the expedition itself…for your people. If you set a limit for the number of people that can be safely involved in this mission, one that my people agree to, then your Captain must respect that. Come…let us deal with this.”

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By this point, Rareth had grown just as frustrated with the frequent delays as Freyr and the others had, and she was intent on making sure there were no more of them. The discussion with the Captain was not entirely pleasant, but it was at least productive. Among other things, Rareth pointed out the Captain’s lack of scientific expertise to be able to make the judgement that it was safe to nearly double the number of people on the mission. She requested that Freyr describe every single risk that came with drawing too much of the entity’s energy to make sure that the Captain heard and understood them, then gave her own opinion that obstructing her Cradle expert’s decisions would be tantamount to sabotage for their mission.

Ultimately, they did reach an accord that everyone could at least agree to, albeit reluctantly. There would be eight scientists, drawn from both teams, on the mission, as the lab required eight people to operate. Marae and her team had already been working on the lab to make their upgrades, so it did not take much more for them to become familiar enough to operate it. The Sacred Band, as well as Agent 595 would be joining for security. The Rothians had space for a fireteam of three of their own soldiers, as well as Vreta. The role that Rareth was, officially, giving to Vreta was one of diplomacy. He was the one being tasked with trying to make contact with the entity to inform it of their plans, as well as speaking with any other intelligent beings they might encounter. Recordings from their encounter with the near-Rothians in the simulation had been analyzed to the point that they had been able to produce a translation program for their language. Or at least…a prototype version of one.

It was early the next morning when both teams were finally ready to enter the simulation. Among the Rothians, scientist and soldier alike were being armed and equipped with combat armor for their own protection. Nirann was again going to be inserting in the frame of a combat droid with as much processing power as they could fit inside. Though, regardless of what they had for defense, Rareth made it clear in her briefing beforehand that their primary response to any threat would be retreat. They were being given multiple of the mobile transit stations, as well the Human-made transit station for the sake of redundancy. Their first priority upon entry would be to establish their transit station, and if any threat were to emerge, their first response would be to use it.

The Cradle

From Freyr’s perspective, it would be hard to tell how well her message got through. Rareth did not act or react in any way that would indicate acknowledgement nor a response, but it would be hard to say whether that was because the message did not get through successfully, or due to her expertise in matters of subtlety.

Rareth did respond directly to the words Freyr had spoken aloud. “I will trust Marae’s judgment on whether or not this data is worth the risk. Above all, we cannot risk harming this entity. We seek peaceful cooperation with it. Ideally, we want to be able to find a way to inform the entity of our plan to advance it in time. And if we can find a way to help stabilize it, or ask permission to perform our tests, we will.”

In the time they had taken to prepare the object for transport, the Rothian team had also made some improvements to the mobile lab they intended to use for this plan. Antimatter powered micro-reactors could improve the overall energy efficiency of the device, and Nirann had been given the instructions necessary to perform the tasks of several crew members to reduce the number of people they would need to send in to the simulation. Altogether, it would hopefully reduce the impact on the entity. At least in terms of that motivation, Rareth was not lying. If the entity truly was their ally, she did not want to harm it.

“We do, of course, need to take precautions for your safety. We will send in one droid ahead of the team to ensure that the environment in the simulation is still livable. We do not know if the storm we encountered just before our exit has persisted, or how much of an area it covered. If it has, we may need to call this off. Our mobile transit stations have passed all simulated trials, so you should be able to extract quickly if there is trouble. Have you discussed my prior suggestions with your Captain? I would prefer to send in no more than is necessary. Ten or so, would be my recommendation.” Rareth suggested.

The Cradle

“At the very least, we can use the same method we intended to try to bring it to Outremer. A gateway could bring it into orbit, and we could send it on a path for a flyby of the void star. We only need to move it a week ahead in time, so it should be easy to calculate a path that will send it to the correct time with a single flyby.” Rareth explained. “We should not begin the test until we are ready to move it, so we should have a bit more patience and take advantage of the time we have. I suggest you allow Marae’s team to examine this lab of yours. With their expertise, they may be able to make improvements, reduce its energy needs, allow it to operate with fewer crew. If this entity truly is one that is allied with us, we do not wish to cause it any harm.”

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Given that they needed to be ready to move the object quickly, the teams did not enter the simulation right away. They allowed time for automated construction teams to burrow into the ground and build the needed Class A gateway around the outside of the object’s containment shield. It would be able to transport the object instantly into orbit around the black hole. If they chose, they could even give it the initial velocity it needed to send it on its flyby. Although, it would be preferable to first modify its containment structure with its own propulsion, in case they wanted to modify its trajectory.

Eventually, the teams were close once more to being ready to act. While the rest of the Rothian science team stayed on the ground, Rareth herself decided to pay a personal visit to the Barbarossa, for the stated reason of wanting to better facilitate cooperation between the teams in orbit, and on the surface. For a while after their initial greetings, Rareth simply wandered the lab and observed the work, but as the time came nearer to enter the simulation, she approached Freyr directly. “The time is growing near, but my concerns do remain, Dr. Lang. I have already spoken with Marae about it, but I want to hear your explanation directly as well. This lab we are sending in, what exactly are we hoping to gain with it? What data is it capable of collecting that would tell us the entity’s intentions?”

The Cradle

Rareth narrowed her eyes, staring ahead for a few moments in thought. “I’m not sure how well I can believe that. This object has lasted for eons. If we believe what we learned in our first expedition, then it has been active since long before either of our species even evolved. Millions of years. The probability that we just happen to stumble upon it during its final week is astronomically low. Though, if it were true, why would we be risking this at all? If we were to follow through with this plan, would we not be cutting its time even shorter? What if we ended up destroying this entity? By the way you make it sound, it may not even last the week as it is. Using more of its power seems like it would just make that risk a guarantee. We do need the entity to be able to last long enough for it to reunite with the Cradle, unless…”

At first, Rareth’s thoughts had gone towards ways of potentially giving power to the object to help stabilize it for longer. However, she was no scientist like Marae, and she did not understand enough about the intricacies of the object to make any educated guesses. However, there were other aspects of physics about which she was knowledgeable, and there was one that came to mind which suddenly made her eyes widen. If they could not make the object last longer, then they could make the time required shorter.

“Wait…I think we have an option. The answer may just lie outside your window. Gravitational fields inherently slow the passage of time. On a planet, the effect is near imperceptible, but Rothia orbits the strongest of gravitational fields. We can perform your tests, then move the object into a close orbit around our void star. Depending on the orbit we put it into, what will be a week for us will be mere hours or minutes for the object. It will not need to have the power to last the full week.” Rareth suggested.

The Cradle

The hologram of Rareth before them tilted her head and crossed her arms. “Terraforming? I did not approve that measure. Marae has briefed me on the your prior conversation. I was under the impression that your goal to start was to attempt to make contact with the entity and determine if there is a way to help stabilize it between now and its arrival on Outremer. Attempting such destructive measures, with no evidence that they are safe for the entity or its environment, would be foolish. What would be the point of any of this if we injure or anger the entity before it even arrives at the Cradle? I can approve an investigation, but nothing that may risk our core objective. Do you have any compelling evidence that we will only get one chance?” She asked.

For a moment, Rareth looked away at something out of sight of the Humans. She seemed to be reading something for a few seconds before continuing. “Instead of rushing in headstrong into uncertainty, why don’t we make use of the tools we have? Now that we’ve solved the language issue, we should be able to remotely influence droids in the simulation. They may not be as versatile as going in ourselves, but we have a week to work with, and if we are only going to get once chance regardless, we should use that time. We will not even need a military presence if we use droids. You say this rig you have will only work on terraformed ground? Let Marae’s team see the designs. They may be able to apply their knowledge to remove that restriction. We can try less risky methods in the meantime.”