EliteCommander

The Cradle

For the Rothians, there was nothing more pressing to discuss than the foreign scanning attempt that had transpired near the end of the mission. They were still early in their investigation, but from what they could tell, the signal was carried along an FTL medium and had performed a scan of the planet, in addition to the hack on the networks connected to the Object. For the answers they had figured out so far, they still had many more questions. They had a probable source, but that source would need to be considerably advanced to be able to act at such a distance. Director Valic’Ans was serving as the leading representative for Rothian interests, and he had no objections to a join venture to investigate this signal. In fact, he was the first to suggest it. He suggested that they send a small team aboard a Rothian stealth ship to scout the system and find any trace they could of the signal source.

For now, the Rothians were intent on still following the plan. The Object appeared to be safely in its orbit of the void star, so it would not experience near as much time as the rest of them would in waiting for their gateway to arrive at Outremer. Although, they still did certainly want to discuss the matter of the memories that the team experienced at the ruined temple. Rareth and Valic had been able to view a recording of the event copied from Rhia’s memory. During this “vision”, she had not been able to record her senses in the usual way, but as an artificial being, her memories themselves could still be extracted and converted into a viewable format. Though, for the purposes of their meeting with the Humans, they did act as if they were working off of the reports of Vreta and Eti’s team.

The memory itself seemed to portray a cephalopod-like species being invaded by the Hegemon. Ultimately, its veracity could not be completely verified, but the Rothians were willing to consider it as a potential source of intelligence. Unfortunately, it was difficult to establish the strength of the Hegemon forces purely from what they had seen. The cephalopods seemed to have been a primitive species in comparison to the Rothians, or even Humans. As such, they had much less ability to fight back effectively. However, the memory did seem to at least establish the Hegemon as aggressive beings who expected submission, even quasi-religious devotion. If this ended up being true, it would seem to preclude any hope of finding a peaceful solution.

The Cradle

Vreta gave another look towards the suit. There was more he wished to say, but he was not going to be too insistent just yet. He could guess that the ideas he wanted to present were in her head; that seed just needed to grow. “Very well. If you insist, I will take my leave. We will need to discuss some of this later, though. The memory with the cephalopods especially. Rareth has already scheduled a meeting to address that topic. Being that we experienced this together, I was merely hoping we might come to a better understanding if we discussed it together.”

As requested, Vreta started to take his leave. He walked past the suit and to the door, though before opening it, he glanced back. “Just think about it. I wouldn’t expect this to be something you can just process all at once. If you want to talk, you know how to contact me.”

The Cradle

Briefly, Vreta gave a curious look towards the suit of armor, not necessarily because of the armor itself as much as the mere fact that she had it with her. From his stay on the Barbarossa, he had been under the impression that military arms and equipment would need to be checked into the armory when not in use. The fact that it was not implied that it was not military property. In any case, he did not spare more than a passing thought towards it before returning his attention to the conversation at hand. He did not care much for what 595 was doing, just that he keep her willing to talk.

“Not at all. I would be the first to admit that my people, as a whole, are not operating purely out of charity. We do have our own reasons, our own goals, but that does not mean the charity isn’t genuine. The universe is quite literally infinite, with more resources than all of us together could ever hope to exploit, even moving into Eternity. We have no reason to make enemies.” Vreta explained, though there was some slight delay from him as he thought back into his own memories. One he now shared with the Agent. It was an emotionally charged event for him, one that could bring him a smile or tears depending on his mood. It had not seemed like it at the time, but a few words he spoke there had altered the course of his life, and Karaz’s. “That day that you saw. That you experienced, really; it was an important one for me. You remember Karaz, yes? How couldn’t you? I know I can’t forget him. You seem to think that the way we treat other species is just a political game to gain favor, but Karaz believed in everything he was doing, fully and genuinely. You know it’s true, because I knew it was true. He was willing to give up everything to do what he thought was right. He was willing to give up his safety on Rothian worlds, friends, his marriage, all because he knew he could help people who needed it. And you know how I felt about it? Well, I don’t think I actually have to tell you.”

In this case, Agent 595 would indeed know the answer to Vreta’s question. He had felt proud of Karaz. Vreta had always felt that Karaz was perhaps too idealistic and did not consider practical concerns as much as he should, but Vreta still admired his ideals. He even felt some guilt about the fact that he had not been willing to take the step to join Karaz fully. It had been an option for him, but his own pragmatic concerns had prevented him from committing to it. He had not been willing to put as much trust in other species as Karaz had. Vreta was not completely selfless, and certainly not completely trusting, but those memories did show that Vreta did not lie about wanting to help other species, in addition to his own.

“Maybe we’re not perfect. Karaz certainly didn’t think so. But we’re not that bad, Agent. Perhaps your people can handle this on their own, but they don’t have to. Karaz, he might have been naive in some ways, but he was willing to step up and do what was needed in ways that others wouldn’t. I was too worried, not just about taking risks with our technology, but my career, wealth, my next retirement. I could have helped him more, but I was too worried about keeping my company and maintaining business agreements. And none of it even mattered in the end; it wasn’t long after that when I retired anyway.” Vreta’s voice softened, and he let out a sigh as he once again glanced at the armor suit’s cold, expressionless faceplate. He was not exactly sure how this would go, but in any case, his words would not just be words this time. His words would conjure up emotions that he knew now existed in the Agent’s mind. “Now there are more people in danger. Your people. Now I’m in a position to step up and act, and this time, I’m not going to make excuses to avoid it. We can work together; we don’t have to be at each other’s throats.”

The Cradle

The Agent was deflecting the subject, which certainly meant that he was on the right track. He just had to keep pressing in the conversation, rather than let her try to derail it. “I really do think this is worth discussing. We shared several memories when we looked into that beam of light, including one of mine and yours. It might help us both to discuss it.”

Vreta crossed his arms, briefly staring off at nothing as his mind went back to the memories. “I always thought you hid your name, operating behind a moniker to better maintain your anonymity. Now I see, though, that you don’t have your old name anymore. Agent 595 is who you are. It’s a strange ritual you have, but…I think I understand it, in a way. You might be in a better position than you think to understand what it is to be Rothian. You know what it means to serve something much greater than yourself. And what we serve doesn’t necessarily have to be at odds. If you truly do serve the best interests of your people, then we can work together. My people don’t want to hurt yours, and I think you know that. Or you can know it, if you remember.”

The Cradle

Even Vreta had to admit that his facade had grown rather thin by this point. For someone who was meant to be a diplomat, he had done fairly well diving off of a cliff in pursuit of a falling vehicle, weaving between falling debris while outrunning a giant worm. At this point, his excuse of being a former soldier was mostly just for official records. The unspoken truth was likely known between them, though it would have to remain unspoken.

“I think our peoples have very…different responses to near-death experiences.” Vreta remarked as he stepped into the Agent’s room, ignoring the armor entirely as he approached her. “I know not everyone is satisfied with how the mission went, but for what it’s worth, I am glad we were able to get everyone out alive this time. And I feel we still learned a great deal. I’ve already given my people my best report of my experiences, but, and I’m not sure about you, there is still some of it that I am trying to make sense of. I was going to suggest that it might help to talk through some of it.”

Vreta crossed his arms, staring ahead at nothing in particular for a few moments. “I remember being in that darkened room. I was…excited. The most exciting day of my life, really. As much as I tried to avoid it, I couldn’t help but to be a bit anxious. I didn’t show it, though, except for maybe a bit of sweat on my brow. But I stopped thinking about all of that as soon as the Director-General started talking. It was my time, and I was ready.”

Vreta finally looked more directly towards 595. “I remember all of that as clearly as if it had actually happened to me.”

The Cradle

Rareth turned her head towards Andersen. “That would be for the best. I believe we…” Her voice trailed off for a moment as she performed a quick search of the Rothian gateway network. “Yes, we do have a gateway that can get us closer, though it is still quite a remote system. No official survey of the system has been performed; only remote observations.”

In mind frustration, Rareth growled softly under her breath. “I doubt we will make much progress with our guesses. We need actual analysis of hard data. These scans would need to come through an FTL medium in order to react to the object at such a distance, and if they are persistent scans, as you suggest, then they would be detectable in historical data. Perhaps now we will be able to look back and find it, now that we know what to look for.”

---

In the evening after their excursion into the simulation, Vreta had personally debriefed with Rareth and Director Valic’Ans in Threria. Even without having yet completed their analysis of the data intercepted from 595, they had still learned enough to act. Rareth and Valic both had several ideas on how they might take advantage of the information, but Vreta first wanted to try a diplomatic approach. He was not sure how much success he was truly expecting, but it came with little risk to try. There was nothing he would be sharing that she did not already know.

It was during the next day that Vreta once again made his way into orbit as a guest of the Barbarossa. He was permitted in the crew quarters already, so he required no special permission to go seek out the agent. He wanted to speak to her privately. Although it was essentially guaranteed that nothing they spoke of would be secret, it was still prudent that they both be able to choose precisely who heard it. Regardless of what had happened to them the previous day, Vreta still doubted that 595 expected to see him when she answered her door. “Good day, Agent. There is a matter I would like to discuss with you. May I enter?”

The Cradle

Rareth had all of the relevant results from her people’s scans sent to her implants, as well as observing whatever the Barbarossa had managed to detect. The foreign signal had scanned the planet itself, but it had interacted directly with the Human ship’s internal systems, so they had at least been in position to get a close look at the signal. In any case, her people’s trace of the signal did agree with that of the Humans, so they had a likely location for a source.

“We have a source and a vector.” Rareth commented. “Our trace agrees with yours, so we know the star system of origin. The scan was carried through sophisticated FTL signaling, perhaps even somewhat faster than our own. What we need to determine is the reason. This scan was particularly directed at the object itself, and connected systems, but how would the source know of it? Neither my people nor yours were broadcasting about our investigation towards this remote portion of space, and certainly not along FTL channels. So how did this source know to scan us at all?”

Meanwhile, the Rothians did not delay in carrying out the next part of the plan, regardless of the interference of this outside scan. A gateway had been moved into position around the object, so once it powered on, they were able to send it through the wormhole in an instant to another that a Rothian cruiser had moved into position in orbit around the void star. Without delay, smaller tug vessels surrounded the object and started to carefully slot it into a specialized frame they had fabricated with thrusters to allow them to steer the object into its carefully calculated orbit. They had planned out its path and calculated the effects of relativity down to the second, so they knew exactly when it would be returning from its orbit.

The Cradle

In light of the unprecedented circumstances, Rareth had moved to the bridge of the Barbarossa along with the Captain to make sure she had access to as much information as possible, though she still stayed in constant contact with her people on the surface. As soon as she had confirmation that no more of their people remained in the simulation, she gave her orders to the engineers down at the FOB. “Do it now! Modulate the shield!” They could not block the signals while they still had people connected, but now, they could adjust the containment shield to block all incoming signals in order to protect it against whatever it was that was scanning it.

Now that the immediate crisis had ended, Rareth could not take a break in dealing with the next. A scan of unknown origin had affected the planet, as well as the object and everything connected to it. That in itself opened up a myriad of questions, and she hoped they would be able to get some answers. As soon as it was detected, Rothia directed an impressive array of sensors towards finding its source. Hopefully, the analysis of that data would give the answers they wanted, but nothing that happened would change their plans in the short run. As soon as she could, Rareth gave the go-ahead to power up the gateway they had moved into position around the object. They needed to get the object into its orbit around the void star as soon as they could.

Despite all of the unexpected events that had transpired, there was one aspect of the Rothians’ plans that had still proceeded uninterrupted. The data stream from the Barbarossa had been secretly intercepted and copied from the moment they had entered the object. Every piece of data that had been sent to the object, they now could analyze on their own time. Of course, there was one mind in particular in which they were interested. Agent 595 had secrets in her memories that could allay the Rothians’ fears, or confirm them. The data stream was immensely complex, of course, and they would have to discover how to decode the mnemonic impressions originally intended for the object. Though, the notion of digitized minds was something with which they had…relevant experience. Agent Vreta’Sori had already done a great deal to assist in isolating the memories they were specifically interested in with just a few words. As soon as they had entered the simulation, he had approached her to ask leading questions, not with the expectation that she would answer, but just to make sure she would think about the question. He had asked about her encounter with the entity, her experience in the cave, and even spoke about the motivations of the Director-General. His commentary would have ensured that the memories they were interested in passed through 595’s mind, and therefore were available to be intercepted.

The data intercepted from 595 was sent securely, to Threria. Nirann handled the virtual package momentarily, but he would not be the one to analyze it. The place the package was sent went beyond the clearance of even the Rahn’Masser, and into the care of a mind unlike any other.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei’s expression held a slight grimace as she looked out over the area in the direction of the Daedra. They did have the high ground, being at the top of the hill, but it was about the only advantage they would have. The Daedra would have overwhelming numbers, and it would not be the fodder that would be rushing them. With the lycan and Dominion soldiers Ri’vashi had brought with her, they did have enough numbers to form a defensive line, but it would not be more than a few ranks deep.

Taking the Staff of Magnus in hand, Meesei turned her gaze up towards one of the pillars of magicka. “I know it would be easier to hold from inside, but I need to be out here if I want to drain the magicka from that pillar. I am going to need a lot of power to force a portal through this interference. The whole process shouldn’t take more than a minute or two, I just…need that time.”

Ri’vashi did not hesitate nor question Meesei, and she certainly did not waste any more time. “Form ranks and take positions to defend the Champion!” She shouted to her soldiers. “Allow none through, guard the men and women at your side, and refuse to die until that portal is open!”

The Cradle

Ultimately, Vreta was not willing to follow 595 any farther this time. The rig’s anti-grav was failing, and the last place he would want to be was inside if it hit the ground at speed. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no dissuading the Agent, so all Vreta could do was to make sure everyone else got out alive.

Mercifully, there was nothing to actually stop them from evacuating. Vreta, along with Eti’s team, boosted away from the rig, back in the direction of the mountain. The worm was still in pursuit, but fortunately, it seemed to have its sights on the rig itself, rather than any of the tiny creatures flying around it. Vreta could only guess that it would end up disappointed in the end, but he would be long-gone by then.

The side of the mountain was mostly steep and jagged, but Vreta managed to find a space that was flat enough for their needs. As the worm fell past the group, Vreta did spare one more look over the edge while the transit station was deploying. Despite his rather strong distrust for Agent 595, he did hope she made it out of this alive. If nothing else, they were going to need to have a conversation soon. Regardless, once the station was ready, he joined Eti’s team in returning to the real world.