EliteCommander

The Cradle

Nirann could not help but to feel some fear creeping up inside him. The rig did not have the power to control its descent completely, and sensor information from the outside was worryingly limited. He did not know how much time they had, especially once he started to feel the rig listing farther to the side. Fortunately, he did not have to wait too long. The lifesigns readout he was watching suggested that the others had made it to the common room, and he had no reason to wait for them to get their own transit station set up.

While he had not had enough power to transit everyone in every room, he could push the power he had available to transit everyone in a single room. Luckily, the fact that they had given him the responsibility of operating most of the rig’s systems meant that he could have a great deal of control over its power distribution. He was able to shift power to the common room and transit out everyone inside at once.

The sudden drain of energy would certainly affect the anti-grav, so Nirann wasted no time in doing what needed to be done. The whole rig started to list even more heavily, but the claws on his feet could pierce through the metal floor itself to give him enough grip to keep moving. Each step reverberated throughout the small room as he bent and crumpled the paneling beneath him as he steadily made his way up behind Freyr. She still held on tight at her her console despite all happening around them.

It would be quite impossible for Freyr not to hear Nirann coming, but all the same, she might have been surprised by his next step. All the sudden, he clamped his hands down around both of her forearms from behind. He did not squeeze too tightly, but his grip was like a vice all the same: unmoving, no matter how much she might struggle.

“Sorry, but we’re leaving.” Nirann said before pulling her away from the console into the scan area. He took a few steps back, then hit the button on the station with his tail to transit the both of them away.

---

Rhia guided Vreta in every step of the way to land on the rig. He was slower to reach the rig than 595, but he could be more controlled with his thrusters, so his landing was considerably better. Instead of smashing into the hull at speed, he matched its downward velocity and spin before landing and used his magnetic boots to touch down gently. Altogether, he even had a better landing than the rest of Eti’s team. Still, anti-grav on the rig had now weakened to the point that it was spinning out of control, and the worm above them had it in its sights.

”I picked up a pair of power spikes from the rig on our way in, consistent with the use of transit stations.” Rhia quickly informed Vreta. There was a great deal else that Rhia could tell Vreta about at the moment, but she was keeping any commentary brief and mission-critical.

“We just need to get out of here!” Vreta said through comms. “I picked up some energy readings on the way in; the others have probably already evacuated. We just need some stable ground to deploy my transit station.”

The Cradle

For now, Vreta had no problem following in 595’s wake. The weapon she used was effective for clearing the creatures, and any that remained could be burned away by bursts of his plasma thrower. Her thrusters seemed overpowered for her weight, but as long as he did not delay, Vreta could keep up enough to follow behind. The farther they moved away from the hatchway behind them, the more reliable sensory information Rhia could access. She observed each and every creature within her view as best as she could, calculating their positions and velocities to identify priority targets for Vreta and overlay their projected paths onto his HUD. She had done as well as she could, given the circumstances, to keep him from getting overwhelmed. His armor would not be threatened by the odd scratch from a stray creature’s claws.

For Eti and her team, it was clear they did not have to worry about being too protective of their civilians. They could focus more on protecting the unit as a whole. With 595 clearing the space ahead, Eti and Kelest focused their fire on guarding the flanks. They could fill the air with plasma to deny space to the creatures and prevent them from flying in behind them.

The Agent herself was intent on reaching the rig. Strictly speaking, they only needed to reach some stable ground to deploy a transit station, but the rig would serve that purpose just fine. Either way, they needed to get off of this cube, so diving off the side was a plan they could all agree to.

Vreta did not hesitate to leap from the side of the cube. Once finally free from the effects of the jamming field, Rhia could finally had an unclouded view of the environment through her full sensor array. Vreta’s HUD came alive with alerts to steer him clear of danger, recommendations on burn timings and strength for his thrusters, and a clearly marked landing area on top of the rig.

---

From his console, Nirann had at least some limited view of the interior of the rig through lifesign readouts. Provided they were still accurate, it seemed that at least some of the crew had managed to transit so far, though the Sacred Band still needed to make their way inside. The common room was close to most of their positions, so Nirann added on quickly after Thebes’ order. “The common room is close. You can set up your transit station inside. Anyone else who doesn’t have a transit station in front of you, get there quick as well.” At this point, he wanted to get everyone else who was left into the same room. The Sacred Band would certainly have a station of their own to deploy, so they naturally could use it, but Nirann saw no harm in hedging his bets with multiple escape plans.

Nirann muted his comms and turned back towards Marae. “I’ll make sure they get out. Go ahead and transit, love.”

“Nir-”

Marae could not get out so much as a word before Nirann interrupted her. “We talked about this. You know my mind has the best chance of handling the trauma. Just hurry.”

Ultimately, Marae wasted no more time. Regardless of her worries, she trusted Nirann wholly. He made sure he was out of the scanning area before she moved quickly to the station he had set up between them, then transited away. He no longer bothered asking Freyr to leave, as he had his own plan in mind for the evacuation.

The Cradle

With the two plasma throwers firing into the air, some of the creatures were outright incinerated, while many were kept at bay. Some were getting around the cloud of plasma with only minor burns, but they at least came in more manageable numbers than an entire swarm. Mar swapped her particle cannon to its faster firing mode to try and deal with as many as she could. Despite the speed of the creatures, she was still deadly accurate. The particle beams from her rifle traveled at near light speed, so she merely needed to point and shoot. She could cover at least one angle herself, though that still left plenty swarming around the cloud of plasma.

For this kind of threat, Vreta found the plasma throwers to be a good idea. He swapped his rifle to that same mode as well. While Mar covered one angle, Vreta picked another to immolate. These creatures were not made of stone, so they could be incinerated just as well as one would expect. Still, that did not stop some from reaching them. Agent 595, on her part, seemed intent on killing them with her hands, at least at first.

Vreta was surprised at first at the blinding glow from behind him. It was over in just a moment, but from what he gathered, 595 had some kind of electricity-based weapon integrated into her armor. He had not expected it, but it was pretty much the perfect sort of weapon for this situation. It gave them the space they needed to move, in any case. “Let’s go! We just need to get beyond the jamming field, then we can use a transit station.”

---

“It’s not worth dying over! If we don’t evacuate now, that ‘key’ will end up buried with you!” Nirann argued. He did what he could to keep the rig stable, but the limited power restricted his options. He did not have the power left to use the rig’s transit capabilities on everyone, but he did have one idea in mind. While Freyr was distracted, he rushed out to the adjacent storage room.

Marae, meanwhile, did not hesitate to make the call to evacuate over their team-wide comms. “Everyone, find your nearest transit station and use it immediately! And I mean everyone, soldiers included.”

It only took Nirann a moment to return holding one of the mobile transit stations under his arm. He said nothing to Freyr to call attention to it and instead simply started to deploy it in the center of the room without a word. With just a touch of his hand to the top, three sensors shot out from its rounded edges. They were suspended by anti-grav fields at first, until they attached themselves to the floor at three points, which encompassed most of the space in the small room. The sensors could scan in a triangular area between them as accurately as the physical platform of the larger version. It could not handle large objects, but it would be more than enough for a few individuals.

The Cradle

Nirann may no longer have been connected directly to the rig’s systems, but he could still use a console like anyone else. He rushed over to the nearest still-functioning console and used his emergency overrides to get control over whatever functionality was left. As far as he was concerned, the anti-grav thrusters were the only system that actually mattered at the moment, so he shifted power from everything else to keep them going as long as possible. The rig’s fall slowed dramatically, but it was only a temporary solution.

“The rig doesn’t matter!” Nirann shouted. “We’re not in the jamming field this far out, and the transit stations will work without the rig. I have the data we’ve been analyzing in my memory, so as long as we get out of here alive, we can salvage this mission.”

“He’s right, we need to evacuate!” Marae said as she started to move towards the exit.

---

Rhia saw it coming before Vreta did. He did not question her when she warned him to yank his cables immediately, which did at least save him from being pulled from his feet. Though, that was far from the end of their problems. The rig was coming closer to slipping off of the mountain entirely; if those inside had not already evacuated, they needed to do so as soon as possible.

Vreta leaped forward, his thrusters helping him to close the gap to 595. Fortunately, the rig’s slip into the abyss did start to slow, which gave Vreta the chance to catch up to her. As quickly as he could, Vreta tried to help her get the transit station off her back, and get her back up to her feet.

Despite the growing chaos around them, the screeching from above them could still be heard louder and louder as the creatures dove downwards. Vreta raised his rifle up towards the sky, but soon found his line-of-sight blocked by a bright, red-orange glow that filled the air above them. The moment the threat had shown itself, Eti and her team had turned back to assist. Eti and Kelest had switched to the plasma thrower firing mode of their weapons, allowing them to protect them with an umbrella of superheated plasma.

The Cradle

Between the voice, the strange sounds, and the deafening crash, Eti had a rather rapid change of heart regarding her plan. “On second thought, screw caution. Best speed forward, follow my lead!” Eti shouted. Her armor’s thrusters deployed, both on her back, and the back of her legs. She leaned forward and sprinted forward into a thruster-assisted leap forward. She did not know entirely 595’s capabilities, but she seemed to be aware of the fact that she could at least keep up in theory. Mar, Kelest, and Vreta were all quick to follow suit. Vreta himself was slower than the soldiers, particularly as he was carrying their transit station, but the soldiers made sure not to outpace him by too much.

---

Marae tried to check the rig’s systems to figure out Nirann’s status, but she had no more luck using the consoles than Freyr did. “I…don’t’ know. Something’s disrupting, well…everything. Nirann! Are you alright? What’s happening?”

At first, there was no answer. Consoles continued to flicker, and after a few moments, the room darkened as it switched to emergency lighting. However, the slight red glow of the eyes of Nirann’s droid body soon pierced through the shadows as he regained control of his frame. “Present! I’m fine, just a…minor near-death experience. Something’s draining the rig’s power, and it was taking mine too…somehow. I had to cut myself off from the rig, so I don’t have control anymore. I, uh, suggest we grab the mobile transit stations and make ourselves scarce.”

The Cradle

There were many questions that Rareth could, and certainly would ask in time about this situation. They would have to find out who could be in position to perform a cyberattack in their system, but first, they needed to respond to and deal with it. Any questions could wait.

Disconnecting those in the simulation forcefully was not an option, so they needed to respond to the attack itself. Rareth did not wait for the Captain to reach the bridge before contacting her. “The harnesses do not require a connection to your ship’s mainframe to function, yes? Disconnect them from your ship’s storage drives and there will be nothing connected to the network for this attacker to access. The harnesses on the FOB are on a closed system already, but I will send word to warn them as well not to allow access to any outside networks.”

---

Vreta wasted no time in helping 595 up to her feet. His worries only grew when he realized they did not have contact with the rig at the moment. The cables leading back to it could have taken some damage while they were unconscious. Though still somewhat disoriented, Vreta finally released 595’s hand, gripped his weapon, and turned back towards the temple’s exit. “I don’t know, but let’s hurry. We get back to the rig, get back to the real world, then we can talk about it.”

Without hesitation, Eti’s team once again took up formation surrounding the pair of them. “Stay between us, and move cautiously. We need to get back quick, but let’s still try to avoid drawing attention if we can help it.”

The Cradle

Vreta took in a long, deep breath, now that he had the lungs to do so. The change was dramatic, and it took a moment for his mind to come to terms with it. Rhia was already double checking her connections to his implant network and running diagnostics, but Vreta simply had to regain his bearings.

For now, the last moments of the memory were burned into his mind. Death and devastation, panic and fear, and only a sliver of hope. He had, as far as he could tell, experienced a glimpse into the life of another. It was a strange experience, as he was still “himself”, but his mind believed the reality placed before him. He was the Senator, for those few minutes. He saw the Hegemon descending upon their world with no concern for any resistance they put forward, until something from above pulled its attention.

Vreta felt like he could spend weeks trying to sort through everything he had experienced, but Rhia urged him after only moments to get back up to his feet. Eti and her team were doing the same, and with good reason. Regardless of what they had experienced, they were still in the middle of the ruined temple now, so they would not be safe. He looked around frantically for 595 for a few moments, until he realized that he was still holding her hand. “Agent, are you awake? Can you move? We need to go.”

The Cradle

The decisions before Vreta were none he had ever hoped to have to make. It was a nightmare scenario, and he only wished there was something to wake him up. Still, he had his duty, and it fell unto him to make the hard choices that needed to be made. There would be no miracle solution, no victory, and all he could hope for was that his choice would allow enough people to live on to hate him for it.

“The generation vessel set to depart next month, Perseverance? Have your soldiers seize it. Embark as many as we can onto it; prioritize science and military personnel, and skilled specialists. If it reaches capacity, remove any non-qualifying civilians if you have to. Give the vessel standing orders to depart for its destination in an hour, or if the invaders get within half an ocean of it. Whether we’re there or not.” Vreta ordered. The vessel was currently docked in port halfway across the planet, and it was owned and staffed by a private company. However, with death looming over their entire species, Vreta no longer gave respect to the concept of legality.

Despite his orders being nothing short of criminal, Vreta had no hesitation in giving them. “One of our colonies, Resolution, has a generation vessel ready as well, yes? Send word that they are to do the same. General, I need your forces to continue throwing everything they have at the invader. We will need as much time as they can buy us. After the vessels have launched, everyone left alive should go into hiding wherever they can. Now, let’s move.”

The Cradle

While he normally would be more attentive, Vreta did not notice what was happening behind him. How could he when the behemoth object looming overhead so strongly demanded his gaze? Vreta had never seen such a thing before, but his instinct pulled him towards a sense of dread. The words in his mind felt like they were forced into his thoughts by violence, then burned into his memory.

Vreta seemed almost in a trance until he saw 595 shouting in the periphery of his vision. It was enough to pull him back into the “reality” in front of him. He noticed her injury, something that, at any other moment, would be a grave concern. He knew not where the rest of his companions were, but the soldiers swimming past and the one in charge of escorting him were who had his attention now. Everything was moving so quickly, and Vreta had no choice but to follow the current.

The soldier did not so much as acknowledge 595’s desire to fight, and even Vreta could not bring himself to seriously consider it. Escape: that was the only choice. He had to make his escape and hope the rest of his companions could do the same. “I am fine, we’ll be right behind you. We have to escape, it’s…the only way.” He swam alongside 595 and wrapped a tentacle around her so that he could help her keep up despite her injury.

The Cradle

There were moments where Vreta’s thoughts were cast back to the ruined temple, to the beam of light, the hatchway, and his own memories that he had been brought back to. However, such thoughts were fleeting. It was as if his thoughts were being forced into the present, to focus on what was in front of him.

The tunnel was starting to feel more and more like a tomb as parts of it continued to collapse. How long before it fell apart to the point that they would be trapped? Or perhaps they already were and simply did not know it yet? Either way, it still felt right to keep moving forward, away from the threat. Though, there were many others doing the same. The tunnels soon became crowded with many other cephalopods trying desperately to find some measure of safety.

The soldier was someone new, and yet Vreta knew to follow the instructions given. When the soldier mentioned the “Senator”, Vreta knew it was him even before he was noticed. The chute was their escape, or at least the next place they needed to go. It would lead them to another part of the reef towards…something. Something important to see. “Right…of course, let’s hurry.”

Vreta reached out a tentacle and wrapped it around one of 595’s, tugging on her to encourage her to follow behind him. He did not hesitate to follow the soldier into the chute, while the rest moved in behind him one-by-one. Eti and her team retained their minds just as much as Vreta did, but they could not bring themselves to make any protest. The path forward seemed inevitable.