EliteCommander

The Cradle

Even though they were in a secure area, Eti’s whole team still seemed on alert from the moment they became conscious in the simulation. Eti focused on confirming the status of their allies, while the gaze of the sniper, Mar, went as far as she could see into the distance. Her armor was equipped with an array of additional sensors, including a cluster of separate cameras on her helmet that could take in and differentiate even slight quantities of light across most of the EM spectrum. Altogether, they gave her helmet a rather insectoid appearance. Kelest still carried the same heavy weapon as on their last mission, though he recognized where they were quickly enough not to accidentally threaten anyone with it. Neither Vreta, nor any of the others, had yet been introduced to the remaining two members of Eti’s team. They both wore standard armor, with standard rifles, so Vreta could not tell just by appearance what their specializations might be. Every member of a Rothian fireteam was generally encouraged to refine their specializations to the point of perfection, so they would certainly have their own expertise as well.

Naturally, as their arrival point was safe, the Rothian team relaxed quickly. The rest of her team stayed back so as not to crowd the map table, while Eti herself approached. As was common for their more augmented soldiers, Eti could feel like a commanding presence merely by standing next to them. She observed the map briefly, but she was unfamiliar with Cradle Security’s conventions for their symbols and map markings. “The chaos above threw everything into disarray. We have not yet received a detailed briefing of the plan, but we cannot delay too long. Which objective is the most vital, Dr. Lang? Assign us to a position to defend and we shall make it unassailable.”

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai

---

The moment she was given the order, Shih did just as Aviza said. She passed on Aviza's instructions to the battle group above, as well as a brief report on their current situation. She also took the liberty of encoding and encrypting the message, in the unlikely event that the rebels still had some ability to intercept their transmissions.

Across the platform they were on, the engines of one of the other pelicans came to life. It had filled up with evacuees and started to lift off in short order. Vael gave just a brief glance in its direction as it accelerated clear of the platform, then took of down the tunnel and turned out of sight. He kept his carbine aimed at their target and gave no visible reaction, but he did speak carefully through the team's comms. "Our ships can track and pursue the rebels above, but we do not know these tunnels, and they have certainly mapped them. Any dropships that flee down here will likely be lost to us."

Meanwhile, the rebel commander activated his own comm unit, though he spoke openly for all of them to hear. "You should be able to get an opening. Follow the contingencies. Get out of there while the enemy focuses on the Brutes. Report back confirmation once you're away." Once he gave his orders, he looked back at Aviza, still with his magnum pressed firmly to his skull. "Okay, glad to see you can be reasonable. Now, once I get word that my people have escaped, and once your split-lip friend there releases my soldier, then you can have me. No tricks. Until then, you can stay back, and we can all just wait right here."

The Cradle

Vreta was as ready as he was ever going to be. Eti as well gathered up the other four members of her team. Now that they did not have power to be concerned about, she could bring in her fireteam at its full strength. Whatever might happen, Vreta did feel more comfortable having them present to help. From his understanding, the Humans already had their own security present in the simulation, but they could act as a force multiplier if the Cradle creatures they encountered before showed themselves again.

The Green Room had already been prepared with the Rothians’ harnesses, so there were no more delays. It was at least more comfortable than trying to use a setup sized for a Human; he doubted soldiers like Eti would even be able to fit on the table of a Human’s harness. Comfort aside, using their own designs was also the only way they could be sure they could keep the designs of their technology secure.

---

From Vreta’s perspective, leaving reality came suddenly as soon as the harnesses were initiated. The transition was smoother into the Cradle than it had been for the Object on Rothia, though they had the benefit of centuries of Human refinement on that process. Even once they resolved the language issue, there were some minor differences in the Object’s processes that could make such transitions a bit jarring. Still, even if he had been feeling worse, Vreta would have pushed himself through regardless.

Now that they were in the simulation, only Vreta’s size set him apart from the Rothian soldiers around him. They had all been given full suits of powered armor and military-grade infantry weapons. It wasn’t the first time Vreta had worn this armor even in recent memory, but it still felt strange to him to have cause to use it. One thing he was sure of was that it felt amazing just to move around in the suit, particularly with how it could assist movement. For proper soldiers, its shield emitters could link with energy shield implants in the soldier’s own body to further enhance its defensive properties. Vreta lacked such implants, though the suit’s defenses were still more than formidable on their own. Once Rhia linked in with the suit’s systems, its silver-colored plating could become like a second skin to him to eliminate any potential detriments to agility or dexterity.

The location to which the team had transited was the city of New Antioch, though it hardly felt like a city any longer. The buildings still stood, mostly as they had been left, but without its former inhabitants, it was more like a town of ghosts. Vreta still vividly remembered the attack he had suffered during his last visit to the city, and how suddenly it had all happened. It was like a switch was flipped, and the creatures were all around them. For now, though, the only beings around them on their arrival were the Human soldiers. The transit station at which they had arrived was now more of a military checkpoint, with fortifications in all directions and more than enough soldiers to guard them.

The Cradle

Nirann was about to argue with Freyr. In terms of the structure of his mind, there was not much to separate him from the average Rothian. If the Cradle could corrupt his mind, then it could corrupt any organic mind as well. If he was being honest with himself, he worried that might have been true. In any case, the alerts that their sensors were receiving from the object put an end to his argument before he could start it. The Object was not going to wait on them to make their decision. He understood as well as any of them that they needed to act quickly, and whether he was right or not, they could not afford to waste time with the discussion. He could still have plenty of impact directing their systems externally. If he could breathe, he would have sighed, but did give a slight nod towards Marae.

“We’ll be able to handle things here. We’ll stay in communications as much as we can, and we’ll be sending you in with all the portable equipment we’ve developed during this project. And again, I do hope you consider enabling my protocols. Ideally none of you will need them, but…well, it can’t hurt, right?” Marae replied.

Vreta actually found himself feeling proud of Freyr for how she was taking charge, despite all the uncertainty surrounding the situation. Even with his own misgivings about the plan, he was ready to follow through with it. He stood by Freyr, ready to move to the Green Room as soon as someone told him where that was.

Freyr’s orders were all Eti and her team needed to spring into action as well. Given the chaos ever since their landing, the Human and Rothian teams had not been given much of a chance to coordinate, so they may have been unaware that Rareth was assigning the Rothian soldiers to the mission as well. Her armored footsteps echoed even more loudly through the room than Nirann’s had. “My team stands ready. Just point us where to go.”

The Cradle

Though he was halfway across the room when they started talking, Nirann seemed to have no trouble overhearing Marae and Freyr’s discussion. On Rothia, he had always used his holographic avatar outside the simulation, but this time, it was heavy, metal footsteps they would hear as he approached. He could not always be guaranteed to have access to the local network on Outremer, so he had uploaded into a Rothian military droid for their stay on Outremer.

“You know, I might be able to help keep our numbers down even more.” Nirann remarked. Already, Marae was glaring at him, to which he put up both hands. “I know, I know, dear. But you know, everyone has their strengths, and mine is being able to carry out more digital operations in a second than you could even think of in an hour. Chances are, I can do the jobs your volunteers are going to do well enough to let them stay in safety. And if we stay in communication, with all the experts we have giving me instruction, I can carry out all those instructions at once.”

Personally, Vreta found himself somewhat surprised at Nirann. His plan did put himself at risk, for the sake of just a few Humans. Vreta did not doubt his capabilities, but most Rothians would be more hesitant about taking such risks. Marae was evidence enough of that. Either way, Vreta knew he would be going in as well. In addition to providing some extra security, the Rothians needed to have a voice present if they needed to speak with the entity again. “Whether it is Nirann or your volunteers with us, I will be there as well.”

The Cradle

Marae sighed, looking slightly away from Freyr. She seemed frustrated, though it was hard to say exactly at what. She could have been frustrated with Freyr’s decisions, or perhaps with the Outreman government for pressing them into this sort of situation. Either way, she could recognize what they could and could not change at this point. It would be best to evacuate the city, or even move the Cradle itself. It would be best to collaborate and design an automated system that could do what they needed it to do, but they did not have time. They did not have the option to do what was best; they would only be able to do what they could.

“Well…look, can we at least do what we can to limit the danger? How much of our team will truly be needed in there? Maybe we should just send only those who absolutely need to be there in person? Everyone else can still keep in contact from here to give advice and lend their expertise. If you want to decide who that would be, well…just think about it this way. This object we have found, and the entity it contains, it is exceptionally advanced. Its programming and hardware architecture is something even I can’t just look at and understand right away. For a being that advanced, if its plan fails, what do you think we would be able to do that it couldn’t? What advice or assistance do you think any of us would be able to give it that it couldn’t already do better than any of us? Whatever those things are, the people responsible for them should be the ones to go in the simulation. Everyone else can stay out here.” Marae suggested. She hoped that sort of compromise would be something they could work with, though if she was being honest, she did not know off the top of her head what they would be able to contribute that the entity could not handle on its own.

The Cradle

Marae had been rather wrapped up in her work as Freyr approached. She had stood to greet the rest of the team from the surface on their arrival, but had gotten right back to work immediately. She switched periodically between several holographic screens floating around her showing diagnostic data from their scans of the Object, the Cradle, and her own simulations. Currently, she seemed to be running an analysis comparing signals observed from the Object with those observed from the Cradle.

“Hmm? Oh, yes, I put Sken’Brara on that.” Marae answered. Briefly, she brought one of the screens off to her side front and center and read through the data. “The object’s behavior is following projections for now. Sken is performing all of the analyses you requested, so the data should be available to you.”

Marae returned just as quickly to the screen she had been watching before, though the look she gave Freyr was notably uncomfortable. “Am I right that you want to observe this little ‘reunion’ between these objects from inside the simulation? Are you quite sure that’s wise? We really don’t know what kind of solution this entity has in mind to fix your Cradle. What if its solution is to reset the whole simulation, with you inside? I know my protocols are ready for field trials, but I want to stress that I don’t know if they will work. Not at this early stage. What do you have to gain that you couldn’t get by observing from out here through automated sensors?”

The Cradle

Vreta supposed the bald man was partially correct. Vreta himself did not have much in the way of integrated weapons, but Rareth was another matter entirely. It was essentially impossible for a Datius to make themselves “safe.” At least, not a Datius of Rareth’s specialties.

Regardless, now that the teams were in the lab, they could actually start getting to work. Personally, Vreta wished he could be more involved in this part of the project. He remembered his own days working R&D on new, experimental technologies. So many experts of different disciplines coming together to push the boundaries of what they would consider possible. If his life had gone differently, he might have been working right alongside Marae and Freyr, but at this point, he just had to trust their expertise.

Freyr was not the only one to find themselves taken in by the otherworldly object just outside their window. Even Rareth paused behind them to look out into the veritable void before them. Vreta had read the descriptions of it, but they did not quite compare to seeing it in person. It’s design was just as much of a mystery as its purpose, and if he was being honest, it did unsettle him. He hoped for the best for this project, but he could not pretend he would not be doing things differently were he in charge. If this were a Rothian project, they would have taken both the Object and the Cradle itself to some faraway planet outside settled space if they wanted to carry out a plan with such unknown results. They would not do it underneath the most populated city on the planet, especially without an evacuation ahead of time. He wondered if it was pride or fear that drove the Human leadership to take these measures.

“It is an unknown variable.” Vreta commented after the others.

The Cradle

Vreta nodded, his memory briefly returning to the start of this crisis. The first encounter with those creatures in the Cradle had been a slaughter. The weapons they used were ineffective against the toughest creatures, and none of them had been prepared for that kind of a fight. Himself least of all. This time, though, they would be going in equipped for war, and any other circumstance they could reasonably, or unreasonably, think of. He had to assume the Humans were doing the same. The Cradle was inherently unpredictable, but they were expecting to have to be adaptable this time. “Let’s just hope that the people we have already lost will be the last to die to this crisis. If all goes well, this will be over soon. If not…let’s just be prepared for anything.”

Once they had came to a stop, Rareth was the first to climb out without a word, which made it considerably easier to maneuver out of the back of the truck. She was a comforting presence for Vreta, but the quality of life issues he faced on Outremer were magnified for her tenfold. Regardless, they were at the vault now and would soon be able to get to work. Looking up at the chromed surface of the cube, Vreta did find the vault to be impressive for a Human construct. They put their best into anything related to the Cradle, which certainly underscored its importance to them. “Yes, let’s hurry. I still think we should avoid any delays we can.”

The Cradle

Vreta did not seem nearly as amused as the bald man. Given his likely associations, his confidence was more unsettling than reassuring. He did not immediately understand his gesture, so he ignored it for now. “This is your planet I am concerned for. I am just trying my best to help keep it and its inhabitants safe. It is wise to search for flaws in one’s own plans.”

As much as he wanted to learn about the man, Vreta doubted he was going to be able to gain any meaningful information. Continuing down that line of conversation would likely just be a waste of effort. He soon turned his attention to Osman instead. “I will make sure to keep that in mind. I’m guessing you know that my people like to be particularly thorough in our preparations. Some of what we have encountered in this project…our preparations have paid off before. Have you been able to read the reports of events on Rothia, Osman?” Vreta asked.