EliteCommander

The Cradle

“Strictly speaking, I imagine she has the pull to get resources that the Rothian team members need. But, there’s nothing stopping the rest of you from benefiting from what she gets for us.” Vreta replied. “At this moment, what comes to my mind are Rothian medial equipment, supplies, and personnel. The cruiser has plenty to spare. How would you say it? There would be hell to pay if your leaders withheld proper medical treatment to Rothian citizens. That would be about the most blatant violation of long-standing treaties that they could commit.”

Vreta let out a slight sigh as his mind went to some of the less pleasant possibilities of what the future could hold, even if they did not seem particularly likely. “Rareth is a Datius, so her judgement is trusted. She absolutely can enforce her demands with the political weight of the Rothian state. The Rahn’Saki can overrule a Datius, of course, but…it’s not often that they disagree. Your government already agreed to cooperate with us as equal partners on this project. No matter who is in charge, we will still expect them to honor that agreement. Rothians wield substantial influence in galactic markets, and this matter with the Cradle is important enough for the Rahn’Saki themselves to take a personal interest. If your military starts breaking Outremer’s agreements with us, Rareth could threaten trade embargoes on Outremer, not just from us, but from other major trading partners of the planet. Especially if we start offering incentives for them to cooperate with the embargo.”

Vreta frowned, and after a moment, shook his head. “Let’s just hope none of that comes to pass. Surely your military has the sense not to break its alliances now, of all times, especially when we are perfectly willing to cooperate peacefully. The kind of damage a conflict now would cause would be devastating to Outremer’s people.”

The Cradle

After Freyr greeted the room, there was a heavier set of footsteps off to her right as she was approached by a Rothian droid. Though, even those steps themselves were enough to show that it was out of the ordinary. There was a certain “personality” in the way it moved that identified it as Nirann. “I’d say today is a pretty strong improvement over yesterday. Except for how jealous everyone keeps trying to make me in that food court out there. Really starting to wish I had a stomach right now. Or at least a tongue; I’d settle for a tongue.”

“As much as it is tempting to do so, I don’t think we should be so content.” Marae remarked, stepping up alongside Nirann and putting a hand on his metal shoulder. “Everyone seems to be fine right now, but it would be wise for everyone who set foot in the simulation to receive monitoring and treatment, if needed. Just in case.”

At the same time, Vreta followed behind Freyr and eyed the coffee machine with some curiosity. Its scent was strong to him, and not too similar to anything he was used to. Once she had her cup, Vreta started to follow the same steps to make one for himself. Though, he still spoke up after Marae. “The military…OCI, right? Even if they don’t arrange that, I’m sure Rareth will. With the way I saw her acting back in the Vault, calling her ‘uncompromising’ would be an understatement. In fact, if anyone has any requests, it would probably be most effective for me to forward them to her.”

Nirann tilted his head briefly and was just about to speak, but Marae interrupted before he could even start. “No, she’s not getting you a tongue.”

The Cradle

Vreta saw the video feed inside Freyr’s apartment appear in the corner of his vision. He turned around and leaned back up against the glass, then put his side of the call onto the apartment’s holo-system so she could see him as well.

“My headaches are better, mostly, and I am at least well-rested.” Vreta answered, shrugging his shoulders. He saw Masgard as well, through the feed, though he supposed that did not change anything about what he wanted to say. “I would guess you are feeling rested as well. We had not even made it to the city before you were out cold. I carried you to your room. Now that you’re up again, I was thinking we might want to get the team together and…figure out what we need to do next, I suppose. Everything happened quickly yesterday. I haven’t heard anything from Rareth, or anyone else, yet.”

The Cradle

Vreta stood next to the window of his apartment, looking out over the mesa. The section of the apartment building that the Outremer military had allocated to them was near the apex of the city itself. Some clouds he could see passing beneath him, though it was a mostly clear day, overall. In the day that he had been here, he could not say that he had accomplished much except for resting, though that was certainly important in and of itself. He still felt a mild hint of a headache in the back of his mind, but he at least was not nearly so exhausted as he was before. He had spoken to a few members of the team, like Dr. Whetherall and Marae, for a short time, but not many had been too keen for conversation right away. Nirann was an exception, but he had seemed distracted in different ways.

Vreta had only been awake for a few hours himself, and as of yet had not left his room. There seemed to be enough space in the building for all of the members of the team to have their own apartments, which, for the moment, suited Vreta just fine, as he was free to keep the air temperature higher than most Humans would be comfortable with.

Eventually, Rhia passed on a notification that Freyr’s implants were marking her as available, which meant she was finally awake. Now that the Human science team was fully awake, they could gather to figure out their next move. Vreta currently had no updates or directives from Rareth, and the military certainly was not giving them any information as of yet, so it seemed to be up to them to figure out their next steps for now.

Letting out a sigh, Vreta reached out one hand and placed it on the window, his claws just barely touching the glass. It felt like every step they took caused as many problems as it did solutions. It seemed like they had more answers now than ever before, but they were still nowhere close to this being over. Regardless, all he could do was to keep pressing forward. After a few more moments, he directed his implants to make a call to Freyr.

The Cradle

Vreta gazed out the back of the transport at the landscape beneath them, even as they drew nearer to their destination. From what he could see from the sky, there were thick, tropical rainforests all beneath him, dispersed between clusters of rolling mountains. It actually reminded him of parts of Rothia where the mountains were older and more weathered. It was a pleasant kind of environment, in his opinion. The heat of the tropics was always welcome for Rothians, and forests were always teeming with exotic alien life. There was certainly a part of him that wished he could be here under different circumstances, as he was not sure if there would be any chance to rest.

Despite the distance between the cities, the flight to Réunion was measured in minutes, especially with the priority given to them as passengers on a government dropship. It did not take long for the pilot to notify them that they would be coming in for a landing shortly. Observing forward through the external cameras gave Vreta a new sight to admire in the form of the city itself. It was a layered city arranged across three mesas, on the edge of a large lake. A river flowing down from the mountains created multiple waterfalls to tie together the idyllic scenery. The city itself, again, gave Vreta some reminders of home. It was a massive city in every respect, well-maintained, with a skyline that showed an appreciation for aesthetics just as much as function. In some ways, it seemed like it stood as a part of the natural landscape, rather than being in opposition to it.

When the transport came in, it landed on a pad on the smallest and highest of the mesas. They were high up, even above some of the clouds, so the air was cooler than Vreta might have preferred. Still, that was hardly a priority at the moment. After all they had been through, Vreta just wanted to get some rest, though it seemed that Freyr was certainly way ahead of him in that regard. She had fallen fast asleep on the way.

Once on the ground, Vreta finally stood from his seat and approached Freyr and Dr. Whetherall. There had been such a short time aboard the transport that he did not particularly want to wake her so soon, so he glanced down at Dr. Whetherall. “I can carry her, if we don’t want to disturb her.” He remarked.

After unbuckling her harness, Vreta slowly hoisted Freyr up into his arms so as not to wake her. He had the strength to handle her weight with ease, so it was no meaningful burden to him to carry her around.

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai

---

The sound of another blade igniting briefly filled the cave as Vael drew his from his hip. He had been close to the wall of the cave and felt the pressure of something wrapping around one of his feet. With a flick of his wrist, the tips of the plasma blade burned through the thick vines, and some of the stone underneath.

”Away from the walls!” Vael shouted, backing up as far as he could, barely managing to stop himself from trampling over Flint. Though, there were few places for him to go. It was already crowded in the cave as it was, and they could not simply go out into the storm for long. ”Would there be any hazard to simply cutting the vines to pieces?” Vael asked Tar.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For a short time, there was a silence among the group, though Lorag eventually let out an enraged roar. For him, it looked like he wanted to rip to pieces anything he could get his hands on. Fortunately, there was still enough of his rational mind remaining to hold off on taking his anger out on the bars of the lift around them.

The energy from the release of magic had come perhaps worryingly close to touching the bottom of the lift, but it seemed that they were among the few in sight of it to come out unscathed. From above, they could see what looked like some Daedra remaining in the distance, likely from near the rear of the Daedric horde, but they were far too distant to be able to reach the base of the tower in time to stop the pack. All they had left to face was what was at the top of the tower.

“You’re right. We need to focus.” Ahnasha said after Frendros. There is still Vile left. Still our mission to accomplish. If we don’t do that…then none of this will have mattered. “ She looked towards Sabine. In addition to the sigil stone Hal-Neesa had given them, she was also the one with the sigil stone meant to bring Hircine to their aid. “If we see Vile, I wouldn’t hesitate to use the stone immediately. To have a chance of hurting Vile, we will need lord Hircine.”

Ahnasha moved closer to Fendros, placing a hand on his shoulder as she spoke more softly. “When we do face Vile, when it finally comes time to attack…all that matters is getting to him with that axe. I don’t know what Vile will do, or what will be in our way, but we will do everything to get you to him, and there can be no looking back.” She said, letting out a long breath. “No matter what.”

The Cradle

Vreta could not exactly bring himself to sleep, especially with the headache he had. Though, he did take some time to at least let himself relax while Rhia got to work medicating him. She was able to do a reasonably good job of soothing his headache, as well as calming his nerves to some extent. Although, there was no medication that could help with stress for Rhia herself. Software-based solutions did exist that could assist AI with mental stress, but Rhia wanted to make sure her mind was clear and focused for whatever might be ahead.

Outwardly, Vreta found a place to sit down and rest for a few hours, though he, Rhia, and Rareth communicated privately about everything that had transpired. With the exception of some events at the very end, they all had Vreta’s recording to review. Of particular concern to them was the attack by Human assailants that ambushed their convoy. They were well-armed, and clearly had their own harnesses, under their own control, with which to enter the Cradle. They also had access to technology which could manipulate the simulation itself, which supposedly should have been out of reach to those the Outremer government did not trust. This was not a terrorist attack by Skinner radicals. For the attack to have happened implied a great deal more division or corruption among the Outremer government than even the Rothians had suspected.

Rareth joined the Facilitator as soon as he grabbed her attention. “Understood.” She replied simply. Without hesitation, she sent a quick message to Nirann to give Void Company their orders to evacuate. Though, she certainly still had more to say to the Facilitator. ”Very well. I do approve of moving the science team somewhere more secure.” She said, speaking to him quietly. “But I will just say it plain, I want Rothian security on-site as well. Forget protocol, forget pride, forget ‘optics’, we need to keep our people safe. There have been two terrorist attacks, and an ambush by Human assailants within the last few hours. They had builder tech, for Eternity’s sake; the factions that oppose us have infiltrated to the very core of your government. Maybe you trust your own people, but unless you’re planning on depriving your Vault of a substantial number of security personnel, you and I both know you are going to need more manpower, and Rothian forces are the only ones we know have not been compromised.”

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai and UNSC AI SHI 1203-8

---

Vael opened the canopy of the spectre and climbed out once the last of the vehicles had reached the entrance of the cave. They were able to at least mostly fit the spectres in the mouth of the cave, though it did narrow to the point that they could not move them in any deeper. Water flowed downward under their feet, forming a small stream that moved down into the darkness of the cave. The walls were entirely overgrown by a dense layer of long vines that released something of a sweet scent into the air.

”As long as we are not detected, our mission is not over.” Vael remarked. Pausing for a moment in thought, he soon ended up looking at Aviza, though it was not for the attention of the Human in the suit. ”Construct…Shih. Is it possible to send a message to the Magnificent Defiance?”

Shih immediately replied through the team’s comms. ”Spartan Aviza’s suit can make a connection, most likely. Although, this close to the Keep, I can’t guarantee that it won’t be intercepted, even in this storm. They wouldn’t be able to decrypt it, of course, but just knowing that we’re here could be enough to compromise the mission.”

Vael grunted. ”Then we keep radio silence. If our ship is monitoring this storm, then a delay will not be a surprise to them. We need only wait until the storm lets up enough for us to travel. With luck, we will still be able to use it to mask our approach.”

With the spectres taking up most of the space in the mouth of the cave, the space they currently had was cramped with standing room only, unless they wanted to try moving deeper in.

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai

---

Vael followed behind Tar as best as he could, given the circumstances. He had to stay close enough to keep the glow of the spectre’s engines in view, regardless of how the winds wanted to push them. They were moving into the wind at this point, so Vael had to periodically use the vehicle’s boost to regulate his speed, which was a challenge in variable winds.

As they headed up the basin, Vael was just able to keep up long enough to come within sight of the cave entrances. Approaching the mountain did reduce the headwind, though ironically, that caused just as many problems on approach. Vael had been boosting into the wind, so as that wind weakened, his approach ended up faster than he intended. He reacted quickly, pulling back and to the side to slow his speed, though the side of his canopy still ended up scraping against the cave wall through some of the vines. His passengers might have been shaken up somewhat, but it was at least not a dangerous collision.

Vael pulled back away from the wall and brought his spectre to a stop. They were finally out of the rain, though he was not going anywhere at that very moment. ”Stay on the spectres until all of us have come to a stop.” He ordered. If any of the others came in as quickly as he had, then it would be easy for anyone standing around to be crushed.