EliteCommander

The Cradle

Vreta was still positioned between both, his posture upright and firm as he looked down upon them. He did not bother moving out of the way of the mug, and gave absolutely no reaction to its impact. “I cannot ask you to like one another. That would be quite unreasonable. However, in all my centuries of life, I have come to have certain expectations for men, women, and other individuals of science. In lifetimes past, I was a researcher myself, and I consider that experience to be a highlight of my life. Scientists, to me, are exemplars of their species, who push the boundaries of what a mind can do. They are the ones who elevate a species from their primitive origins and push entire societies to the stars, and they have always had my utmost respect. As the peak of a species’ mental prowess, I would expect them to be consummate professionals whose work can speak for them far more than leveraging baseless accusations or flinging small objects.”

For a moment, Vreta paused, his gaze moving slowly between Gazes and Chitnarit. “Was I mistaken?”

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai

---

The armored column had to move quickly to take advantage of the surprise they still had over their enemy. The open ground outside the walls would have made for a strong defensive position, had the city’s garrison been able to see the attack coming. The plasma turrets alone atop the walls were far from sufficient to stop, or even slow down an armored assault. At the moment, they were able to push forward at max speed to close the gap to the city walls. Weapons fire from the mantis and scorpions at long range could tear apart the plasma turrets long before they could do meaningful damage to the vehicles. The plasma turrets were intended for anti-infantry or anti-aircraft roles, while other defenses would normally handle heavy vehicles.

The push to the wall had been simple, with little resistance, but now that they were approaching the opening their ship had made, they were about to be stepping into much more danger. While the breach was not small, two scorpions side-by-side would only barely squeeze through. For their entire column, it was going to be a choke point. They caught a few glimpses of infantry through the opening, but machine gun fire from the scorpions forced them back into hiding. No doubt, they were scrambling to establish a defensive position inside.

At the moment, the team could not know how many anti-tank weapons were already in position inside. The defenders would be scrambling to deploy them to the breach, but it had been less than a minute since landing. If they were lucky, they would be able to get a foothold inside before the enemy could arm themselves to deal with them, but the longer they took, the more the enemy would be able to fortify.

”Shadows, stay back until we have a foothold inside. Everyone else, push forward!” Vael ordered. They were going to be pushing into an urban environment. The city did have streets wide enough to accommodate their vehicles, but it was still going to be far more cramped than the field they were in now. For armored units, urban fighting could be particularly dangerous, so they would need to be adaptable and alert for threats that could come from any angle. They did not know exactly what the other side of the breach looked like or where the enemy was positioned on the other side. There was only so much planning that could be done ahead of time; at a certain point, they had to adapt and improvise. How they decided to cross the choke point would be important to improve their odds.

The Cradle

Vreta was much closer to Chitnarit than most of the others, so he was able to move himself directly between her and Gazes. He may not have been a supersoldier like Rareth or Void company, but he was still enhanced enough to allow him to present himself as an effective barrier. He did not try to be directly threatening, but he did make it clear that he was not moving. “We have received information that one of these objects, these ‘crew’ members, may be located on Psi-Helios. As life-seeders, these objects are likely to be found in inhabited places. The Navigator itself was found buried deep within Rothia’s crust. Our objective is to find this object and recover it, preferably without complications.”

Roughly in the center of where everyone was gathered, Vreta brought up a hologram of Rothia, with the location that the Navigator had been found highlighted. Alongside it was also a hologram of Psi-Helios. “Locating the Navigator required weeks of deep scans. It was giving few traces of its presence, hence why we had not discovered it previously until we knew to look for it, specifically. We are hoping we are now in a better position to locate this Object more quickly.” Vreta gestured to the spectrogram of a signal detected from the Navigator. “If this new object is anything like the Navigator, any EM signature it has will fade easily into the background, but now we know what to look for. The Navigator’s signals are similar to those of the Cradle. This Object’s may not be identical, but if it is close enough, then this ship’s sensors should be able to detect it on a detailed surface scan. We are equipped with some of our best sensors and stealth capabilities. All goes well, and we’ll be able to secure our target without any major disruptions to Psi-Helios.”

The Cradle

Vreta nodded over to Freyr. “With what everyone had to gain from this project, we’re going to get the best they have on offer. Especially if they don’t want the other side to end up getting more out of it than they do. Maybe some healthy competition will even help us be more productive; we just have to make sure that competition stays ‘healthy’. I don’t have any intel on Gazes either, though. Might be that they wanted to send someone to look after their team, though if I were them, I would have at least made up a personnel file for them.”

With a shrug, Vreta closed his files and gave one more look around the room. “I think they’ve had enough time to familiarize themselves with the layout. Time for the guided tour, I suppose? They could use a briefing to at least start getting them up to speed. I’ll send out a message to the rest of our team to get everyone here, then you can do what you do best.”

The laboratory was designed to be as convenient as possible for all parties involved, and Vreta supposed this was a decent first test of that principle. They had hologram projectors that could function in and out of water, and access to all of their equipment on both sides of that division. There was a space close to the vault that was meant to be a natural point for all parts of the team to converge. Several of the QV’s tubes were nearby, there was a relatively low, walkable ceiling for the Tindrel, and enough floor space for everyone else. It was intended to, hopefully, allow everyone to congregate without anyone feeling inherently excluded. It was not enforced that anyone must use any part of the lab for any strict purpose, except the vault itself, but that was where Vreta went to start gathering the team’s attention. He had sent out the alert to the Human and Rothian science teams that it was time to gather in the lab, and once they had all arrived, it was time to begin.

“If everyone could join me, please, we have a lot we need to start covering. You’ve all been given the dossier on this team and our goals, so I’m sure you’re all familiar with the basics, but it’s time for everyone to get up to speed on the mission here in Psi-Helios.”

The Cradle

Vreta did not interrupt either party in exploring their new workspace. If nothing else, it was a truly unique, if somewhat bizarre looking space. There was a mix of aquatic spaces right alongside dry areas, with climbing surfaces anywhere they could be reasonably placed. Computers and other lab equipment were almost exclusively Rothian tech, but they had gone through the effort of setting up multiple interfaces tailored to Humans, Tindrel, and QV. Most of their equipment could easily swap between different holographic interfaces designed for each species’ user interface preferences. And at the center of all of it was the Outreman-designed vault for their hopeful prize.

“Please take some time to familiarize yourselves with the workspace. Our goal has been to create a space that could allow you all to optimize your comfort and workflow. You should find that all of our equipment has interfaces that should be familiar to you. Everything is still set in the test environment, not production, so feel free to experiment and get comfortable with it. Now is a good time to look for any changes you might want to make.” Vreta announced to the two teams.

While the rest were fulfilling their curiosity, Vreta stayed with Freyr and simply watched as they familiarized themselves with the space. “You know, for as difficult as all this is, it does feel impressive what we’re making. This kind of a collaborative project between so many species…it’s quite a rare thing. Hopefully, all these perspectives will help you find solutions you wouldn’t have alone. Different brains think fundamentally differently, so it’s not impossible. Who knows, maybe the new environment will help our own creativity too? Can you really say you’ve ever run complex experiments while breathing underwater, surrounded by transparent aliens?” Vreta chuckled lightly.

The Cradle

“Indeed. With all the differences in our biology, it would be difficult to make a ship that would be comfortable to every species simultaneously. We do our best to adapt, though. Please follow us; we’ll show you to the workspace.” Vreta answered.

At the very least, he and Freyr had managed to bring Gazes and Chitnarit’s attention off of each other, which he supposed was a manner of resolving the situation for now. It was going to be a process to try to nudge them into getting along over time. For now, Vreta led the way towards the team’s research lab.

For the purposes of this project, one of the cargo bays had been seamlessly converted into a rather massive research lab; much larger than the sort of space that would normally be used for that purpose. It allowed them to tailor portions of the space to each species without making any one of them feel neglected. At least a quarter of the total space was entirely submerged in breathable liquid for the Qalian-Vosh, separated from the air by a tough, transparent polymer. The QV’s area alone was at least as large as an average research lab, so they would not be lacking for space in their preferred environment. In order to avoid making them seem too separated from the rest of the team, their area had not simply been shoved into one corner. Rather, there were tubes leading to tanks spread out among the rest of the lab as well to allow them to be close to the rest of the team if needed. There were doorways separating air from liquid with walkable energy shields to allow any member of the team to move between the two quickly and easily if needed, with physical barriers available as backups in the event of total power failure.

The Tindrel too would find accommodations for themselves. Walls and ceilings were made largely from a material far more malleable than it appeared on the surface. Their legs could easily pierce it to allow them to climb as much as they desired, and it could even repair itself afterwards to cut down on maintenance. Some parts of the ceiling were closer to the floor to allow them to be in proximity to their ground-based peers, while others were higher up to allow them more space if needed. Floating platforms would allow them to move much of their equipment to different heights with relative ease.

The Cradle

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The Cradle

Gazes Fondly had not directly answered Vreta’s question, though this sort of greeting would be as strange as he might have expected from the Qalian-Vosh. Rahn’Masser agents were sometimes trained to be able to integrate into alien cultures, as he had been for Outremer. From his knowledge, integrating with the QV had one of the longest training programs. Gazes was not being hostile or disrespectful towards him; quite the opposite. Still, it was easy to see how they might have trouble with diplomatic incidents. Fortunately for the QV, Rothians did not tend to shy from physical contact. He was worried more about how they would interact with the others. “I need to move on my own now. Please allow me out of the suit.” Vreta requested politely.

Once he was out of the suit, Vreta did not seem too perturbed by the experience. He was still wet for the moment, but he felt no discomfort from it. The liquid slid easily from his scales, and he simply went straight back to Freyr and took back his mug of coffee. His focus soon went straight for the Tindrel that had been a part of the altercation. One of the QV had identified them as Chitnarit, though Vreta was not yet going to assume. If he was going to help diffuse this tension, he had to avoid upsetting either side, and no doubt, it was going to take a while to make any progress. “I agree. We have done as much as we can to make both our workspace, and your living spaces as comfortable as we can for you. I understand that you are going to need to do some ‘catching up’, as it were, but make no mistake that you are both a part of this project.”

The Cradle

Vreta managed to avoid being too obviously startled. It had been quite a long time since he had dealt too directly with the Qalian-Vosh. Well over a century, in fact. Entire cultures could shift over those sorts of timescales, so even Vreta had to admit to being somewhat out of his…depth, in this. Regardless, he was a professional and he knew how to deal with such situations. He did not recoil from the QV, nor lash out. The sludge filling the suit invaded his nostrils, making for a bizarre and briefly uncomfortable sensation, though that did not last too long. It was far from the first time Vreta had been submerged in a breathable liquid. QV, at least away from their home territory, tended to make use of an adaptable liquid that could provide respiration to most oxygen-breathing species. The majority of spacefaring species were not aquatic, so such measures helped them to interact more closely with alien life.

It took a few moments for Vreta to let his body adjust. By the time he opened his eyes, the QV, Gazes Fondly, was close enough to nearly be touching him. Despite that, Vreta showed no signs of obvious discomfort. Rothians themselves generally did not mind being close to one another. At that distance, even through the sludge, Vreta could see clearly plenty of features about the alien’s form. Their translucent skin allowed most of their anatomy to be visible, from organ systems and skeletal structure, even to the web of veins and nerves that spread out across their body. Even while staying still, they always looked to be in motion. It seemed fitting that the QV were known so widely for their openness.

Vreta was going to need to deal with these two one at a time, so he may as well start with the one in front of him. “I will have to apologize for being a poor host to you both. I’m sure you know how quickly everything has had to be put together for this. I just haven’t had the time to familiarize myself with your customs as much as I would like. What would be the proper way for me to greet you, Gazes Fondly?”

The Cradle

Vreta took a slow sip of his coffee. For a moment, he cradled the mug gently in both hands and let out a soft, but long sigh. After a moment, he reached down and held it out towards Freyr. “Could you hold this for me for a minute, please?”

As early as it was, Vreta was far from being in the mood for any of this, but it was not as if he could just avoid it. Maintaining positive relations did constitute most of his job here, after all. He may not have known what sparked this particular confrontation, but by the looks of things, this was not something that was going to be diffused by simple bargaining or shouting. It would require a more personal touch.

Vreta walked straight up to the pair and reached out as if to place a hand firmly upon both of their shoulders. Of course, neither had a shoulder he could easily access, but a hand on their exoskeleton and suit respectively sufficed to demand their attention. He made sure to give them no option to simply ignore him. Regardless of how they felt about each other, they might have more hesitation about raising a talon towards their Rothian hosts. “My friends, please allow me to be the first to give you a warm welcome to this team. I’m Vreta, please, tell me your names.”