EliteCommander

The Cradle

Vreta did not notice the attention of the other Humans as readily as Freyr, especially as his mind was more focused on the problems they were discussing. Rhia, however, certainly took notice, though mostly just for the purpose of analyzing any potential risks. The talk of a traitor was worrying for how probable it seemed. There were not many other ways that the Skinners could have realistically gained the intelligence they held.

”If you feel like you can trust me, then we can discuss what we can do about this potential traitor. I tried to keep that Skinner talking when he showed up in hopes of tracing wherever he was broadcasting from, but I had no such luck. He disconnected too quickly. He does seem to be experienced, which makes him dangerous. What we are doing on this project is important, so I imagine their agent here is just as experienced. Given that the issue of the Cradle is important to the Skinners, and your division studies the Cradle, it would not be unexpected for them to have infiltrated your division long ago. For that reason, you should resist the urge to trust any of your team’s members purely because of seniority.” Vreta reasoned.

Pausing a moment, Vreta asked Rhia to bring up all of the relevant intelligence they had on the Skinners, from Rothian reports to simple searches of publicly-available data. In particular, he was interested in the details of their motives. ”These Skinners, they have a rather peculiar and…fervent system of beliefs, don’t they? If what I am reading here is right, they are Human purists. They spurn technological enhancements of the body, as well as opposing Outremer’s dependence on the Cradle, yes? How many members of the team that accompanied you on the Barb lack any significant cybernetic enhancements?”

The Cradle

”Everyone does have their own agenda, naturally. It is the way of things. If you understand those agendas, you can still plan around them, though. My people do want to learn from the Cradle, for instance. The Agent knows this, and obsesses over it, really. I don’t think she realizes our motives are more complex than that, though.” Vreta replied honestly. ”The Cradle is by far the most important object on Outremer for Humanity. You’ve relied on it to advance beyond your years, and it could continue to elevate you beyond where you are. It doesn’t mean the same for us. Yes, we would like to learn from it, but we don’t rely on it. We elevated our civilization to its current heights on our own, with just time and effort. If there is one thing we have, it is patience. If the cost of learning from the Cradle is too high, then we can let it go and be happy with that decision. Preserving sapient lives also matters to us; it matters to me. Given enough time, we will learn anything the Cradle could have taught us on our own, so if we ever have to choose between the Cradle and sapient lives…as I said, we can let the Cradle go.”

Vreta could relate to her obvious stress and fatigue; he could feel some of it himself. Certainly, he felt no comfort at the number of lives at risk from their work, and not just Rothian lives. Outremer was full of innocents, and there were many that had already died in these bombings. Vreta’s training kept him calm and focused, but that did not mean the regrets did not exist within his mind. But, those were regrets on which he could not afford to dwell. He just had to move onto the next problem. ”So, given all these…mixes of agendas and motivations between everyone on the project, do you think you can trust me? Do you think I am being honest?”

The Cradle

On his part, Vreta did not act like he was talking to Freyr. Given the subject, it was best that their conversation remain truly private. For the most part, he looked around the room, trying to find somewhere comfortable for him to sit while they spoke. ”Fanaticism can allow one to justify horrible acts in the name of ‘the greater good’. If they truly believe that they will be saving billions by killing hundreds, then their acts are virtuous in their own mind. As for who it could be…I do not know most of the Humans here well-enough. Naturally, I don’t think it is you, and as much as it pains me to admit it, I think we can trust 595. For this, at least. Unless the Institute is carrying out some impressive deceptions, they are about as opposed to the Skinners as I could imagine. I’ll try to give some thought to this. Maybe there is a way we can, if not catch the traitor, at least protect ourselves from them?”

Vreta did not pause too long to let Freyr dwell. As much as he was rightfully concerned about a traitor in their midst, it was also hard not to notice the fact that events had taken a major toll on Freyr’s well-being. He did not want to add too much to her anxiety at once. “But, among all this worry about traitors, or Skinners, or the Object, I want to ask how you are holding up, Freyr? You’ve been working non-stop; worrying non-stop. I know it’s unavoidable, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t unhealthy. You’ve been walking around carrying the weight of worlds on your shoulders. If you just take a step back, look at yourself, be honest with yourself, do you need help?”

The Cradle

For now, Vreta had to be content with waiting, though he hoped the delay was not too long. He still had every intention of going through with their plan. Aside from carrying out multiple terrorist attacks, this Skinner had decided it was important to warn them about the dangers of their plan, yet at the same time, not provide any actual explanation or evidence as to why. If he was actually trying to stop their plan, his methodology could use some work. With good reasoning and proof, Vreta knew that Rareth very well could be persuaded to halt their plan; however, as it stood, it seemed more likely that the Skinners just had some ideological opposition to being involved with the Cradle based on their notions of Human purity.

If worst came to worst, Vreta supposed that the Rothian team could simply start the process, if they ended up being delayed too long. As far as he knew, their team had arrived ahead of them and were already with the object. Regardless, they just had to wait on the Agent to complete her security sweep. Vreta already found himself missing Rothia. He felt much safer under the watchful eyes of the Rahn’Saki. Here, all one had to do to escape surveillance was to enter most private residences. There were even some public spaces that law enforcement could not always watch. And that was not even to mention the kind of dissent that might exist even within their own security forces. The Humans simply could not keep near as close of a watch on their population as he was accustomed to, and it showed in these bombings.

On Outremer, though, Vreta had to look to his own safety. At least now, he had help. Rhia had found an opening into the local surveillance systems, so she was keeping a watchful eye on anything Vreta’s sensors could not see. She kept just as close of a watch on their own supposed protectors as anyone else, as at this point, they did not know who they could trust. In the meantime, Vreta tried to focus on doing something valuable with his time and sent a private message to Freyr. ”Are you coming to the same conclusion about this as I am? I highly doubt these Skinners were responsible for that hacking attempt back on Rothia, so the only way they could know about the object is if they have an informant on the Barbarossa. Likely someone directly involved with, or with access to the project. There may be a traitor among us.”

The Cradle

“It was the space station, the one we docked at. That was the light in the sky, if that's what you're asking about.” Vreta answered back to 595. “I have contact with our cruiser. They’re reporting a large detonation after a ship was flown into it. The Barbarossa itself is still in one piece; its shields were up at the time. I can’t say the same about the other ships docked there. The cruiser is sending in search and rescue drones to sweep the debris for survivors."

At this point, Vreta found himself truly concerned about the state of Outremer. How overstretched was their security that they could allow two major bombings to take place? Were there agents of the Skinners that had infiltrated their security forces, or had they found a way to hide their explosives from the military’s scanning techniques? Perhaps the Rothians could lend out teams with higher quality scanning equipment to help prevent future attacks? Their scanners could pierce even highly-shielded containers to identify their contents. He just had to get it into the Outremer government’s collectively stubborn skulls that they should accept the help they were offering.

For now, Vreta complied with staying with the group to head into the facility. After they had dealt with the current crisis, they could worry about preventing the next one. Rhia had already sent a report to Rareth regarding everything they had witnessed. No doubt, she would get to work on the problem long before Vreta would be in a position to do so.

Despite being far larger and stronger, Vreta was far gentler than the Human soldier when he placed his hand on Freyr’s shoulder. Even without computer-assistance for her expressions, it was obvious she was distressed. “Are you alright? I promise we’ll do whatever we can to keep this from happening again.”

The Cradle

Now this was an interesting development. For the Skinners to have any knowledge of what they had found on Rothia, they would have had to have information from within the project. Vreta found it highly unlikely that they would have access to the kind of technology that would allow for the kind of hacking attempt they experienced, so he felt the more likely scenario was that they had one or more informants on the Barbarossa. Though, that was a question for later. For now, he just needed to keep the man talking.

Unfortunately, the man did not seem to have a mind to stick around, regardless of what was said to him. Vreta was right about his approach to theatrics, but he had already prepared the climax to his monologue ahead of time. It was an attack on a building in the distance; Parliament, if the judgement of one of the Humans nearby was to be believed. Vreta grimaced. The situation on Outremer had likely deteriorated even more than he had thought if their authorities were no longer able to prevent such attacks. Their resources may have been spread too thin by the focus they had to put on the Cradle.

Vreta did not argue when the security detail ushered them inside, though he did not expect to be in much immediate danger. There would not be much point in the Skinner delivering a message if its recipients were meant to die immediately afterwards. Still, Rhia stayed on high alert. She had not been given enough time to trace the Skinner, so she just focused on security for now. She scanned the area in great detail with every sensor Vreta had available, and even sent out a program to “commandeer” access to any networked surveillance equipment in the area. Though, she kept her involvement with them purely to passive observation.

Obviously, the attack was concerning, but it was not a mystery to Vreta. He knew exactly what the fireball meant, but that strange violet glow he saw in the sky beforehand was an unknown quantity. ”Rhia, could you contact the cruiser? See if they have sights on whatever is causing that phenomena in the sky.”

The Cradle

Within the confines of his mind, Vreta was quick to react. ”Rhia, use every sensor you can access to scan the area. Explosives, biological agents, hidden people with knives, anything he could attack with, I want to know about. And if he’s using a hologram, then he has to have access to some local network. See if you can trace it back to its source.”

”Already on it, though you might need to buy me time. See if you can stall him.” She answered. Outwardly, Vreta regarded the man with what seemed to be curiosity. He did not show much in the way of surprise when the soldiers’ shots struck nothing but air. Even without Rhia marking his form as a hologram on his HUD, it would have been suicidal to simply walk up to them. If his goal was merely to cause damage, then the attack would have come without this kind of warning to tip them off. If nothing else, he cared for theatrics, which was something Vreta could use.

“Hmm, I suppose I’m not too well-versed in the ways of your guild. The internal political conflicts of other states are not something my people involve themselves in. Usually other nations prefer that we stay out of it, and we do not mind respecting their wishes.” Vreta replied. He was curious about the fact that the man had identified him, though his public identity was no secret. “The Rothian people have no quarrel with your organization, unless you make attacks against us. What we are doing here benefits you as much as it does everyone else on this planet. Did you come here to interfere, or do you have something to say?”

The Cradle

Aside from the Cradle itself, Babylon’s tower was one of Outremer’s most interesting features to Vreta. The spire at the core of the tower was ancient, having existed even before the Humans’ arrival on the planet. It was hard to say what created it, but despite its more natural appearance, it was highly unlikely to have been a natural formation. The Humans had, of course, built up around the spire to make the tower their own as they had constructed their city, but Vreta was more interested in the mystery at its heart. There had been another species which had inhabited Outremer before the Humans, but what use did they have for this spire? Had they created the Cradle as well, or had they merely discovered it? Recent evidence seemed to suggest the latter, though they still did not know what had caused them to disappear.

Regardless, Vreta focused quickly on the task ahead once their vessel set down on the landing pad. The security was less of a surprise to Vreta, though he was not sure he believed the explanation. Still, he kept close to this Sergeant Thrace as requested, following close behind Freyr out onto the landing pad. He hardly seemed to pay attention to the rainfall sliding off of his scales, instead taking in the sight of the tower from up close. Though, he only seemed distracted for a brief moment before turning his attention back to their escort.

“Are these Skinners really much of a concern? Their beliefs seem to restrict them from using the equipment and augmentations that would make them effective. Ten of them together could not kill me when they attempted an ambush.” Vreta remarked. Of course, he knew he had not been attacked by actual Skinners, but his attackers had attempted to imitate their equipment and tactics.

The Cradle

“I am assuming the object is already underground.” Vreta commented. It was not a surprise to him that the situation in the Cradle had been deteriorating. His last visit had been beset by danger even in what was supposed to be the safest place in the Cradle, and the Humans had shown no signs of being able to turn back the tide. Hopefully, the entity would be able to solve these issues. It was of the same origins as the Cradle itself, so it stood to reason that it would know more about its operation than either of their species. Still, he did share at least part of Freyr’s uncertainty. He still felt it would be best to keep their distance, but he was starting to think he understood why Freyr was willing to take the risk. Not only was her family at stake, but the Cradle was her life’s work: a life that was much more brief than that of a Rothian. She did not have the luxury of time to be able to make a new legacy.

Vreta nodded, shifting in place in his seat as they started to hit turbulence. “We don’t know what this entity is going to do in the simulation. For all we know, your terraforming could be part of what has been causing this aggression from Cradle beings. When the entity integrates, it may well reshape anything or everything within the simulation. It would be my recommendation that no one be in the simulation unless their presence is absolutely necessary, with redundant transit stations nearby and ready for a quick extraction.”

Halo: Aegis Team

Once again, the rebel commander proved quick to react to danger. As soon as he saw a Spartan taking aim, he ducked into cover in the pelican while he loaded in another grenade. Grikgar, however, required hardly more than a few moments to eagerly follow Spartan Ryker’s suggestion. His fuel rod cannon was already at the ready, after all. Pelicans were generally well-armored, but there were weak points, especially near the engines. Naturally, Grik knew right where to aim to disable one of the rear engines.

The commander had slowed Aegis team down enough that his soldiers were able to make it into the hold, but just as the pelican started to lift off of the landing pad, a fuel rod detonated inside one of the rear thrusters. Dropping back down onto the pad, the pelican started to spin and scrape across the ground until it came to rest on its side.

It had been a slow crash, so there were few injuries for the passengers inside. As the commander climbed out the back, he shouted back to the soldiers behind him. “Go, get to one of the others! I’ll cover you!”

The rebel commander wasted no time in sprinting away from the crash in the opposite direction as the rest of the soldiers. He flicked on his shield gauntlet once again, running and weaving between crates for extra cover as he took potshots at his attackers with the magnum in his other hand. Though, even for those among Aegis with weakened or depleted shields, his blindfire was of little real threat.

To Vael, for a few moments, it seemed assured that their quarry would be theirs shortly. However, the commander had one last surprise for them. Once he was far enough from the pelican, he stopped near the edge of the platform in a rather strange defensive posture. He held his shield low to protect against wounding attacks, while leaving his head exposed. On top of that, he threw off his helmet, revealing a middle-aged, bald and scarred visage. He pointed his magnum not at his enemy, but at his own head. He seemed aware of the risk of being disarmed, as he tried as much as possible to keep his own head between his enemy and his weapon.

“Stay back!” He shouted. “I know you want me alive; I’d be dead already if you didn’t. Well, you want your prize? Then we do this my way!”