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#151
We're going to have to bring the power up either way. I want to make sure the AI's on our side this time before we give it more systems to play with. Mai transmitted as she made her way down the darkened corridor. If it acts up again, we should be in a good position to disable it.
Her scouting drone floated ahead of her and one of the combat units travelled behind. Mai/Cyrene was not in the mood for surprises.
#152
Eventually Mai's scout drone picked up the first auxiliary power unit - a hundred metres ahead. As it approached it picked up another series of life signs: a pair of Asura signatures loitering in the vicinity.
Then an energy spike, then nothing as the drone fell to a plasma blast. Eventually the Asura ahead moved into sensor range of her own body's sensors - the insectoid aliens thirsting for violence.
Another pair of plasma blasts blazed forth directly in Mai's direction, the light revealing their horrific screaming forms. Claws outstretched, mandibles gaping and snapping.
Behind her the rest of the team attempted to catch up, Tasitus having the most trouble due to his size. While the bulk of the pursuing Asura had not strayed beyond investigating the ruined AI control room, scanners detected a pair breaking off and moving to intercept the fleeing team.
A howl as they turned the corner and saw Tasitus in their line of vision. One charged towards the Mandrakian with great speed, seeking to disembowel the feathered sentient with its claws and mandibles. The other hung back, swinging its glowing tail forth to fire a plasma blast directly at the Mandrakian's head.
I have no strong feelings one way or the other.
Epilogue, Truth Seeker, Divinity - Book 1: Wrath of the Gods , Interstellar Odyssey
#153
Tasitus moved his head just in time for the plasma to pass by, but it still managed to scrap the side of his helmet singeing the armour and causing him to move off balance just as the second Asura crashed into him. He wrestled with the creature, with it scratching dangerously at his armour as Tasitus used all his strength and weight to push the Asura away from him sending it into a wall. This gave him a moment to regain his composer and right himself back onto his feet, he removed his damaged helmet and rather than grab for his weapon he took off into a light charge and into the closest Asura; slamming into the creature.
Tasitus replied to the creatures ferocity with his own, as he savagely began to rip the creature with beak and claw, the bulk of the Mandrakian pinning the Asura to the wall as he tore it apart. The second one seemed to back off for a moment before running back to the rest of the Asura, this gave Tasitus a moment.
"They will hound us until we are dead" he said to the others, with Asura blood dripping from his beak "I am slowing you all down and they will continue to attack me because I am the slowest. You all need to continue without me"
Before any of them could interject Tasitus grabbed a small orb from the base of his skull and plucked a feather from his skull before handing them both to Cash "Get these to my people, with them you will earn their support for the coming battle"
With that exchange over, Tasitus headed after the fleeing Asura; he knew that this would most likely be the last moment he would see STING and perhaps come out with his own life, but he knew it was the only way.
#154
"Don't be a fool," came a voice from Mai's surviving drone as it followed Tasitus, "We may need your firepower when we face the queen. You've got a huge advantage versus these creatures."
Somebody support featherbrain before he gets his dumb ass killed. she broadcasted to the rest of the team excluding the Mandrakian And somebody get up here; I need a hand with these two
Her energised blade severed the legs of the closest Asura, leaving it a writhing and hissing mess before a further strike took its head.
"Someone here watched a few too many movies. Arne, Jarrett, take those two on Mai." Cash spun around, pulling out his pistol and quickly placed two shots through the legs of the charging Asura. Its legs snapped when the exoskeleton gave up and the creature landed on the floor. Screeching in pain, it still tried to claw its way towards Tasitus. "Fuck off, I'm the only one who gets to torment the bird!" The commando shouted with a grin before putting the creature out of its misery with a laser bolt to the head.
Understood. Performing Voiced Arne, while trying to make sense of the tactical situation. It was obvious that one of the enemies around Mai would not pose too much of an issue, considering how effectively the woman dispatched it.
Still Arne felt Mai was lacking something, she was being too carefull, too caring about not opening for far too long, for long enough to take a hit or two, but take down both the enemies. It perplexed her somewhat.
Still due to those limitations the second enemy now had a clear path to the mechon. So Arne began taking carefull hits, the submunition getting underneath it's skin, whatevr worked as one and expanding inside. The creature began to scream as the charged shots began to work their way trough it. It was already slowing down. With any luck Jarret would help her finihs it off.
#157
"I got 'em," Jarrett replied, turning his head and spitting out the hunk of snuff before closing his visor with a flick of his head, taking aim at the last bugger. The Princess was a pretty good shot; she got good placement on the alien and slowed it down, giving Jarrett a perfect window. He fired a series of quick bursts, the heavy rounds piercing through the thing's chest and dropping it. He fired another trio of shots into its head for good measure as he kept moving.
THE RAIN TRANSFORMED
#158
"LEAVE ME BE!" shouted Tasitus back down the hallway as he grabbed the Asura by the shoulders before slamming the creature into the ceiling and then taking to its neck with his beak, ripping its gizzards out. "Why do you want to save me? I am a liability, they will continue after us and I am only slowing you down. It only makes sense I draw them away"
Tasitus knew his order was to maintain the lives of the humans at all costs, his king wanted them to live at the cost of his life; why would they not honour his sacrifice.
#159
"You really think you're going to slow them down much?" Mai called out, "You don't stand a chance alone so stick with the team. The more of us still alive the better our chances."
The bird was a bloody idiot; his death would only hinder the team further. They needed him alive; at least for now.'
Concern about a filthy alien? You're getting soft Mai.
#160
Vajra-3, Eon Hyperquartz Facility
"... repairs confirmed. Auxiliary Power Unit 1 online," an automated voice announced as Mai rerouted around the damaged conduits. "Attempting to reboot AI subroutines... Priority alert: Asura presence detected within base perimeter. Standard protocols overidden: rerouting power to Inhibitor Array. Power level at thirty percent. Unable to reinitialise Inhibitor Array until minimum level of seventy percent attained."
As more howls came in from behind, the automatic functions seemed to react by shutting bulkheads one after the other - sealing the team's exit path behind them. "Lockdown protocols initiated. Opening path to APU 2."
Another side door opened in the power room, revealing another corridor that seemed to wind deeper into the facility. The surge in power seemed to activate a small data recorder - human in design, lying in the corner. The voice of whomever recorded the log they'd heard earlier.
"... it appears the Eon might not have been as benevolent and upright as we imagined them to be. Initial analysis of the data here suggested that the Asura were, for lack of a better term, the equivalent of 'domesticated cattle' - kept alive and bred for their Hyperquartz. Such an approach would've been ethically sound... were it not for the fact that the Asura were anything but cattle. At the least, these records indicate they are more than capable of communication with members outside of their own species, as well as organised behaviour. It is possible that these Asura, or rather their Queen, has qualities of sapience and sentience."
"Still, while more analysis of the Eon databanks is needed to confirm these attributes of the Asura, other records are straightforward enough in their interpretation. The Eon studied the Asura for a long time - several decades at least, before making their move. It was as if the Eon then were, despite their technology, cautious and perhaps... fearful. Some science data here points at their ability to shift between hyperspace and normal space at will. It also seems possible they had more than sufficient capability for regular intergalactic travel. Even for the Eon, such distances required significant resources and investment to conquer."
"Our analysis continues to make more sense of the details. For now, it seems that the Eon focused their efforts on capturing the Queen for fear that they would lose a prolonged conventional engagement with the Asura, were that to come to pass. The data seems to suggest that starship-sized Asura do exist, and that these heavy hitters were more than capable of going up against even military-grade vessels in the Eon fleet..."
And then static as the log came to an end.
#161
Tasitus listened to the message at he swollowed the last of the Asura flesh that was caught in his beak, it interested him. The Asura, the creatures they were just killing ruthlessly, could infact posses some form of intelligence, and they hated the Eon due to the Eon farming them.
"Perhaps we do not need to kill this Asura Queen, they are simply beings who've been abused by the Eon; perhaps we could reason with this Queen?"
#162
"Doubt it," Jarrett replied as he kept his pace; he was pretty proud of his speed and stamina. "Easier to just kill her and be done with it. They've already struck first so ROE's on our side, too."
#163
"It's an interesting thought," Mai said with obvious doubt in her voice, "But Jarrett makes a good point; they haven't seemed willing to communicate so far. If the queen does attempt communication I'd be awfully wary of what she says. These creatures could easily be a threat to the entire galaxy if allowed to roam free. Now, come on. I'll seal the door behind us."
Establishing communications lines might prove difficult, with all those claws. And got it Mai.
#165
"Death, killing and destruction" Tasitus said aloud "Is that all you humans wish upon aliens that you don't wish to understand?"
#166
"Nix 'aliens' and you got it, Chief," Jarrett replied.
#167
"The only 'communication' they've established is that they want us dead, Tasitus," Mai replied, "They haven't exactly been diplomatic. It's pretty simple: if the situation doesn't change, they are a threat to the galaxy that must be dealt with."
#168
"So the answer to this is genocide?"
#169
"Only if necessary," Mai replied, "It's not like I'll enjoy it but, as I said, if these creatures don''t show anything other than hostility, they're a threat to us all. Unless you like the idea of Asura being able to spontaneously devour your homeworlds?"
#170
"What evidence do we have to say that these Asura could devour anything?" Questioned Tasitus "If these beings could have done such a thing, why didn't they simply spontaneously devour the Eon homeworld rather than being turned into cattle for harvest?"
#171
"The Eon had technology far above our own and still perceived the Asura and still considered them a threat, ". Mai countered, "Asura travel methods cannot be defended against as they do not rely on the existing gate network. If allowed to roam free the Asura could strike anywhere without warning. And as I said before they don't exactly seem willing to negotiate. At this point we don't even know of they're sentient or just intergalactic locusts that devour anything in their path."
Hey flock. Thought about the scientists yet? Every thing points at the asura being patently hostile and dangerous to the mission. If there is an obstacle, the obstacle gets removed by the three.
#173
It wasn't long before the team emerged into a room looming over a vast cavern in the ground, so deep they could actually feel its subterranean heat wafting up. Crystalline Eon scaffolding surrounded the place - with what appeared to be inoperative mining equipment lying about. Nearby a few pieces of raw hyperquartz glinted in the light.
Across the crevasse was the second APU, the gap bridged by three precarious bridge scaffolds. They seemed solid enough at a glance.
Mai's combat drone floated ahead, using the sensors she'd taken from the device destroyed by the Asura to check the area for traps. "Keep an eye on the rear," she whispered, "I'd rather not be ambushed by those bugs again."
"Hold." Cash started to cycle lightwave spectrums through his eyes, including those that picked up the Asura. The bridges had little cover and were in the open. "How many do we need to bring the APU online?" He asked, loading the Gemini with EM rounds and synchronizing optics.
"I can do it myself as long as I have cover," Mai replied, "The last one wasn't too difficult."
And then suddenly a voice in their heads. Speaking to them in their minds. But to those who'd experienced it before, this time was... different. Unlike the dominating presence of the Specters which seeped into every nook and cranny of the consciousness, this felt external. Like listeners to a bioetheric broadcast.
Still, its raging screaming alarmed those who heard it. There was also a faint feeling of its pain - like knives stabbing relentlessly into the brain, white hot iron behind the eyeballs.
"... YOU WHO BRING PAIN TO US. YOU WHO FOLLOW THEM. YOU. DISEASE. YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU."
A shimmer in the air along with a familiar garbled howl as an Asura began to warp into normal space before the team. But this attempt seemed... disrupted. Screams as the alien found itself torn to bits by the destabilising space warp, carapace and flesh falling into the depths below.
The scream was cut short when the sleeper's defensive algorithm kicked in, shutting down this particular sensory input. "Showtime, ladies!" Cash aimed towards the APU and the bridges, ready to snap to any target. "Mai, Arne - online that thing. Tasitus and I will make sure nothing remains on this field but smoldering bits, eh featherbrain? Jarrett, watch our asses. We wouldn't want a warpin on them."
"Well, I guess the thing IS sentient after all," Mai commented as her systems gave her an andrenaline boost in reaction to the percieved pain, "Doesn't change anything. She attacked first, after all. Which reminds me, I'm going to rig up a remote override so that murderous AI can be shut down in a hurry."
Strangely enough there were no further warp-ins apart from the first failed attempt. The raging screams continued for a while before fading away, leaving nothing more but a slight headache. Stranger still was the source of the sound seeming to come from the nearby Hyperquartz, even if it was telepathic rather than auditory in nature.
"I'll let the drone do the work," Mai said as she approached the crystal, "There's something I want to try that might make our job easier," She pulled the black glove off of her right hand, letting the bare metal skin of her palm touch the hyperquartz.
"And a threat. Still, a reliable source of hyperquartz - for once I support Eon." The sniper laughed. "Right, you watch out with this thing." his aim veered towards the drone, ready to pick it off should it get hijacked.
Mai found herself jolted back - whether physically or mentally she couldn't be sure. One moment she was there, the next apparently everywhere. Winds rustling her skin, sunlight pulling at her hair, space dust parting before her.
And then a terrible anger - one that had festered from millennia of abuse and pain. From millennia of subjugation. From millennia of helplessness under a cruel fist.
And then nothing.
Who are you? Mai thought. The pain had been incredible, but it'd been the other feelings that had startled her more. They'd felt so genuine, so pure compared to the world she inhabited now. She really did miss those sensations.
You will bring me something I lost. Succeed and I'll give you what you want so badly. A faceless voice spoke from Cash's memories, associated with the image of the hyperquartz crystals. Fail me and you will cease to exist. Noticing the strange lack of answer, Cash looked away from his scope - Mai seemed entranced by something. "You okay?" he unholstered his gun and pointed at the crystal she was holding. "Talk to me!"
"She's fine," came a voice slightly different from Mai's own from the mechon, "I can knock her out if this goes too far. I'm Cyrene, by the way. Her other half."
"... SUFFERING. PAIN. HATE. AGONY. DISEASED. SICK. YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!"
A pained roar that accompanied what seemed a slight tremor that shivered the scaffolding beneath them. Crumbs of rock tumbled down the steep walls of the cavern, the quaking ceasing as screams of Asura echoed in.
Behind Cash an Asura materialised successfully - mandibles opened and claws raised, ready to strike as it pounced.
"You just don't get the message." Cash rolled to the side to avoid being torn to bits and unloaded half of his pistol clip into the alien, aiming like last time for the joints to cripple it before killing. "Chiphead, get your human half online STAT or you'll be thinking in static for the next few days!"
Dammit. We're not the same as them. Mai was disturbed: she was starting to understand this creature. It was scared and helpless. It was like she was at Earth, but had suffered for so much longer. She did her best to remember what that had felt like; hoping the other would understand. "Dammit, I'm trying," Cyrene yelled out, pulling out "her" own pistol.
There was mindless screaming until Mai brought out those memories. And then it faded away slowly - as if it had witnessed those memories she had summoned, deciding otherwise.
An eerie silence both mentally and physically. There were no more Asura warp-ins, or communication from the entity. A glint of red from the APU ahead indicated a bloodied surface - the crimson of dried human blood.
Mai returned to reality, quickly finding her way over to the APU, but, upon reaching the device, she hesitated. She sympathised with the creatures, but could she really trust them?
Cash put the final bullet through the alien's head, making sure it wouldn't move. In a weird way his rear was just saved by Mai acting stupid and forcing him to pull out his second gun - the gemini was completely useless up close. "Hit the switch girl!" He broadcasted, seeing Mai hesitate.
As Mai worked, Professor Dalton looked around hesitantly, observing the structure of the scaffolding and equipment around them. And then he tripped over something, turning and letting out a startled yelp at the corpse staring back at him.
"... it's... it's the head researcher," he stammered as he noted the holes in the victim's torso - likely impaled by the Asura. Only a slight blinking from his handheld computer remained.
"Cash," Mai said hesitantly, "These creatures are victims like I was...back at Earth, I mean. We know the AI's a bastard so....what if there's another way?" She learned over to activate the researcher's computer.
"Think pigs and bacon. Pigs suffer for us to get bacon, it's how food chain works. Victims or not, they served the Eon and now they'll serve us." Cash himself was amazed at the words he spoke but found them strangely logical. "Throw the switch and let's look for the third APU."
The computer came to life, replaying what seemed to be the last moments of the unfortunate scientist. Heavy panting and clattering metal suggested he was fleeing.
"... came out of nowhere. Might be... the old systems giving out. Or some... something we triggered. We can't be sure... and we never will now. To anyone who hears this: I am heading down into the uncharted areas of the base. Hopefully I... I can meet the... the Queen and... reason with her..."
A buzz of static from partially corrupt data. And then the audio cut in again - no more panting. Instead a slight chuckle, gradually becoming nervous laughter.
"... my god... there... there never was a Queen. We... we were all wrong. So wrong. We thought there'd be a Queen chamber somewhere in here. Their behaviour was so... hive-like. Insect-like. We never realised... she was beneath us all this time. The things... HURK."
A recorded screech of an Asura having found its prey.
"... not... soldiers..." the recording gasped out. "... more... immune... immune response..."
Mai looked at the crystals growing from the walls around them and finally understood. "It's the crystals," she said aloud, her voice not hiding her amazement, "The Asura mind is the crystals themselves. The hyperquartz is their body and the Eon have been cutting parts of it off to make their gates. I'm not activating this, Cash. I'm not condemning them to suffer as I did any longer. I will talk with them further and if I believe they're still dangerous, we can...destroy this facility. The Eon have a self destruct system already in place and I've rigged up some remote activators fot it. Don't tamper with them; you might set it off. If you really think they should 'serve' us, well, you'll have to go through me."
"So they got to you too? A voice in your head trying to force you to sympathize. You will spare them and unleash horror upon our civilizations." The sniper spoke, looking into the mechon's eyes. "Fire this one up. We'll talk with them when we hold them at gunpoint."
"Who says they'll be willing to listen then?" Mai replied, her pistol pointed at the device's exposed innards, "Torture isn't useful when it comes to democracy."
"Wake up girl, the Eon themselves were afraid of them. Who the fuck are we in comparison, we should thank the Three we've got those inhibitors to stop them from turning our entire civilization into fodder before Order and the nanos do it!" Cash tried to snap Mai out of awe. "Doc?" He turned to the scientist. "What could be the possible applications of the mineral?"
"... this might explain why we've lost contact with Exerion, why the Eon fleet was wary of them," the researcher muttered in reply as he stared at the rock around them. "You already know of the possible applications, operative. The ability to construct Eon-grade Hypergates: gates with the ability to connect clusters, and even galaxies. But if it's a... a living planet... for all we know Exerion never had space superiority to begin with. Whatever this... this thing is, it could've already had its... its immune response things everywhere. In places we thought least to look."
"Look. Back in the day we already opened one Pandora's box, it cost us Earth. It cost us the rise of the Order, it cost us you and me." Cash pointed his finger at Mai, but decided to keep the gun away. Violence within the team was never good, it was what the enemy always counted on. "What if it already killed the Exerion? How many more starships will we lose to its 'immunity' systems?"
"The Eon were afraid because of what they did," Mai replied, "They knew the Asura would want revenge. We're not the bloody Eon. We need to be better than them. The Eon failed due to this kind of bullshit. Think of what we could accomplish if Vajra was an ally! It's a planet able to communicate through bioetherics; its knowledge could lead to breakthroughs in the field."
Mai reached into the device and started to rearrange connections, "...I'm going to disconnect the power units from the AI so we can use the inhibitors without it coming online. We'll have use of them without the threat of the self destruct system or other defenses; those will be under Cyrene's control, which means mine. It does mean sacrificing my remaining drones to make the interfaces, though."
"Can you guarantee an alliance?" The sniper asked. "What if you fail. What if they are hostile, and chose you as vulnerable to their psychological warfare. We're meant to prevent the creation of factions like the Order, not give people means to create them."
"And leaving this creature alive keeps that potential around," Mai replied as she worked, "If you really want to prevent that, destroy it. Keeping it around to harvest only will make it angrier and, eventually, these inhibitors won't work. You're trying to open a Pandora's Box yourself. Admit it." There was a hum as the device came online. It was always best to have a fallback plan, but she didn't want to say anything where Vajra could hear. "If you hit that button," Mai gestured, "The inhibitor will activate. I just want to make it clear that, if we negotiate with Vajra, I am opposed to this. Activating it was your decision, not mine."
"I'm just wagering a potential enemy against giving my civilization hyperspace access. The Order won't see that one coming." Cash began walking towards the inhibitor activation switch but stopped to ask the team. "It's our choice as STING, not just mine and hers. 'Negotiate' with something that tries to kill us, something even the Eon were afraid of and something that just killed our comrades on the Exerion..." that was for the best - all in all, everyone could voice their opinion. "...or we seal it and use to fight back against the Order. Get in before they do, rescue a colony before it's a smoldering crater full of nanite-infested bodies."
"Or it breaks free and kills us all anyways," Mai noted, "And we don't know what's happened to Exerion. Don't make shit up, Cash. We could have a useful ally here, if we play our cards right. This creature is millenia old. It could have knowledge that leads to a permanent solution to the whole Specter war. It may even be able to get us hyperspace tech that doesn't rely on Eon technology. Our enemies know that technology too well. We need to come up with new solutions instead of doing what they expect us to."
"Fun fact is I haven't lost connection to the remote comm relays nearby. Our comms are not being suppressed - the Exerion is off the grid. It was either forced away or destroyed." Cash kept calm. He was not willing to risk a certain resource to obtain a mere possibility of an alliance. "It could already be under specter control, but the choice won't be ours. Majority wins, we work as a team or don't work at all."
Arne felt her blood returning to normal.Combat seemed to be over for now and the team didn't take any casualties so she felt a bit more lighthearted.
You know Cash, apart form the whole deal Mai seems to be talking about I've wondered about something. Why is STING STING. Wouldn't STIG make more sense? I've been running database runs and STIG really makes more sense. We'd fit the bill for FLAGs perfectly, as far as I understand the term.
She stretched out and threw a wink at Mai. Think we'll have some more shooting?
"FLAGs?" Cash asked. "What does STING stand for anyway. Keep forgetting, too busy saving the ass of my own race lately. We really should be called Big Goddamn Heroes these days."
I'm not sure the Mechon replied The Queen seemed rather surprised when I shared what had happened to me back at Earth. There might be some understanding there.
Special tactics intervention group. She raised an eyebrow at Cash. The youngest member of the team sighed and looked at Mai, speaking aloud.
"Sometimes the one must go down for the whole to survive."
"So you believe we should use the queen for her quartz," Mai pursed her lips, "I kind of expected you would, but I can't in good conscience let this being suffer further. It never got a choice in its situation. It's in terrible pain and, if we can't set it free, I argue we should euthanize it."
"How many people are in one Fringe colony? Several thousand for the medium ones, count for a few hundred thousand for the bigger clusters. Using warps and current gate travel, our ships usually arrive too late to help and they all end up dead if the Order decides to hit us." Cash started explaining. "So you're going to sign a death order of a few hundred thousand people in a colony just to sleep well, knowing you made the right choice."
"With the hyperquartz our ships wouldn't respond much faster due to gateless travel being much less efficient. Our foes also have the element of surprise on their side," Mai replied bitterly, "They work faster than we can respond. They might even have methods of detecting gateless hyperspace jumps so our ships would be heading into an ambush. Besides, we know it's possible to make hyperdrives without the quartz. Eve Holland's own vessel has one. Besides, this creature speaks in a similar manner to the Spectres; spreading hyperquartz around may establish a relay for their influence. Do you really like the idea of our response fleets being easily subverted to the enemy's purpose?"
It could give groups a chance to set up a gate network before they hit. A way to respend even faster. Duty is duty Arne shrugged. I still say we should be STIG and not STING going by conventions. "Hey marine man, are we four letter acronym goons or not?"
"Well then let your lovely mistress bestow upon us all the gifts of hyperspace!" The commando chuckled. "I can't see that happening any time soon, and for all we know the only fast warp capable starship we had just went up in flames. Hyperquartz gives us gates like the ones Eon had, what sort of guarantee we have if we ally with this... thing? Sides, we're four letter acronym goons as Arne says. We work for the greater good of the command chain that sent us here, not some random alien we barely met."
"A compromise then," Mai replied, "Let's at least see what the Asura can offer us. We should at least hear their side fully. For all we know, they might have more to offer than the quartz. For the record, Miss Holland's people are still trying to figure out how the device works. Despite their knowledge of Eon tech, it's still quite a mystery. Exerion's drive is, or perhaps was, theclosest they've come to replicating it."
"Right. let's hit the second inhibitor then, or talk from here - as far as my experience with remote devices goes, they can be easily torn off and damaged by some savage drone." he pointed at the corpse of an Asura that attacked him previously. "I also want you to keep one thing in mind. If this thing read your memories, it could aswell be manipulating you." he slowly started to slip into the tone he spoke in previously when talking about Cyrene. "If it's another pandora's box you open, I'll let you survive this mission just so you could stand before the victims of the attack and speak how you brought this on them."
Bloody man.Grumbled Arne. I hope one of you two will help pull something on him for ignoring a direct question. Arne was being childish. And hey Mai, you're the communications experts. They seem to want to talk to you, so it's probably best you stay talking. I've got a feeling I wouldn't have much to tell them anyway. Also who's Holland? I feel like I should know that designation, but can't place it anywhere, it's confusing.
"And what if you're the one opening it?" Mai countered, "There's an obvious link between the hyperquartz and the Spectres." [i][u]Evelyn Holland, Professor of Robotics at the New Haven Institute, well formerly. One of the Harbingers and the creator of my people." "We activate this inhibitor," Mai stated, "If they're really open to speaking with us, I think they should understand our paranoia based on the previous attacks."
"The obvious link being?" The sniper asked. From what he recalled, hyperquartz was used by Eon to create hyperspace gates and... that was it, actually. "Just remember why we're here. I don't see a diplomatic team with a license to make empty promises." He flipped the APU switch, bringing the second generator online. "Least if I open a pandora's box, I can say I was simply doing my job."
They made gates, spectres said hi? Asked Arne.
"Many people who have caused great evils used that excuse," Mai countered, "And the link is in how they communicate. The Asura spoke through the crystal in an extremely similar method to how the Spectres controlled me in the past. Also, the objective of the Spectres in the past conflict was the central gate that bears an extremely high concentration of hyperquartz. The gate network is an extremely double-edged sword, expanding it also gives the Spectres more entry points into our universe, at least according to the files Lady Holland gave me. Mission conditions change Cash, and we have to be very mindful of that fact. We're on our own here and none of us may make it home; we've got to look at the big picture instead of letting command do it for us."
"Well, in a way we're here so that the guys up the ladder don't get bad dreams. They send us in, we shoot people, make a tough call to put the mission before morality and end up wasting our paychecks on expensive alcohol to drink ourselves to sleep afterwards." Cash laughed at an oversimplified synopsis of a commando's life. "STIG... STING, was created to protect the three empires and make sure the Order doesn't kill us all."
"And the Asura might be a key to that," Mai said, "If we hear them out. I don't like the idea of us resorting to the Spectres' methods; that tends to go terribly wrong in the long run."
"Well it certainly didn't work out for Eon." Said Arne loud. But to be completely honest here. Duty is duty. We all know that duty comes first. If duty can be served in another way, then why not. But everyone has duty which they have to fullfill in order to save everyone else. She finished.
"Agreed here. We've got a job to do, and as usual failure is not an option." Cash nodded. "Plus, what do we know about hyperquartz. Our scientists should take a look before declaring it dangerous. Last I checked you were a soldier, Mai, not a labcoat."
Blindly following orders is not duty. I was sent here to discover what had happened to the researchers and what they discovered, not kill an Asuran Queen. "I don't know about yours, but my orders were to discover what happened to the missing scientists and find out what this facility was for. That's all they covered. Now we're sitting in one of the greatest discoveries of the past decade and everyone can only see how to use a sentient being as a weapon? I don't expect you and Arne to understand, as being weapons is your purpose. Lady Holland created me to be...something else," She fell silent for a moment, "...I apologize. I think I do see things somewhat differently than you as I used to be a captain; responsible for a crew and ship. I was someone more than a soldier, but then I cocked it all up at Earth..." The last words spoken were whispered.
I have undergone basic command training. Arne felt idignant, sending flares of annoyment over the network. EItherway, I say we wait until we learn more. Plus I'm not the one to make a decision on anything.
The commando smirked. "Nobody created me, I volunteered to serve mankind. Right, so we got the job done. Now what the protocol would require from us? Either find a solution most compatible with our purpose or secure the area and call in the proper experts. Optimal 'securing' means containing the Asura, and harvesting the quartz seems like the most beneficial outcome for our employers." So here was the dreamerof the day for the team. "Well even angels fall from above and devils lose their horns."
"Look at me, Cash," Mai said coldly, "I'm a damn monster thanks to the Spectres, but the last thing I want to see is humankind become like them. We're not all mercenaries like you, but I agree with Arne. We don't have enough information to act upon yet. Let's just get to that last power unit. If the Queen contacts me again with a better offer, I'll let you know."
"Sounds like a reasonable plan." The sniper shrugged. "Just make sure you spot the scam before you sign the contract." He settled himself on a pile of rocks and waited for the team to start moving again, mocking the words stuck in his head. ""'Fail me, and you will cease to exist'"
"Pardon?" Mai asked, raising an eyebrow at the words.
"Nothing. Just a thought from days back." Cash noticed he said that one loudly.
"Whoever said that is a piss poor leader," Mai remarked, "You don't throw away a good soldier. You throw away the hopeless ones...or demote them."
"Probably a movie line." The man laughed in response. Sometimes Mai took things too seriously.
Are movies good? Asked Arne, trying to break the status quo.
"Anything with large amount of explosions, gunfire and cheesy oneliners works for me." The sniper commented.
"Some of them are a bit too full of propaganda nowadays though," Mai aided, "I prefer to stick with the classics."
"Yeah, well, once we save the ass of our civilizations once more a Die Hard marathon is on me." Cash grinned, nodding towards the exit. "Shall we?"
Be my guest.Finished Arne.
#175
"Am I invisible to these creatures? " Tasitus thought "I told them firstly to speak to the 'Queen' and to attempt diplomacy but this Mai simply said no, that wasn't an option, yet now she raises this stance like it was her idea." It was strange, him just standing there silently, a massive 8 foot tall creature larger than any of the group, yet somehow they did not acknowledge his existence through asking his advice; his species was older than humanity, surely his input would have been valuable. "Hyper-quartz is irrelevant, integrating such a technology would only result in the galaxy become in the Eon again and enslaving the Asura, he continued to think remembering the Leagues files on his own people, he turned to look at his comrades Cut of the cause of future exploitation perhaps?"
#176
"You okay Tasitus?" Mai asked. The bird was being unusually silent. "You wanted to speak with the Queen and now it seems she's talking, though I'm not sure how much sanity she has. She's been trapped here for millenia. That has to take a toll on the mind."
#177
"This facility and all knowledge obtained here must be destroyed" Tasitus replied to Mai "Hyper-Quartz is not worth the price nor is simply allowing the Queen to live under our supervision. This technology is brought on the back of pain and suffering; it is not worth it"
Tasitus paced a bit as his thoughts swelled in his mind.
"We need to protect the unique life beneath us, but to do that we need to turn back now and destroy the Eon constructs on this world; only then will this Queen be safe enough to heal"
#178
"We'll activate the final inhibitor for safety before we make a final decision," Mai stated, "After that, we'll figure out what to do with the Queen. Letting her roam free might not be an option if her suffering has been too great. In that case, we may be forced to euthanise her. We'll keep the knowledge of how the hyperquartz works; the right people might be able to use it to develop a more humane alternative."
#179
"And the wrong people could use it to enslave us all!" Tasitus shouted "The risk is too great for such a technology. Our galaxy is not ready for this Hyper-Quartz, the results could be catastrophic"
"We're the predators of this galaxy, aren't we?" Cash recalled the bird mentioning something along those lines. "Well if a predator wants to survive, he's got to get his talons dirty and ignore how innocent his prey was. Against the Order, this technology could win us an entire war."
Meanwhile, Prime – Conference Room
Eve Holland scratched her arm; it felt strange to have flesh there again, especially since most of the rest of her was still metal. Still, it seemed to be bonding well to her enhanced skeleton and muscle tissue. Baby steps…
A meeting between the three Harbingers of Theta Echelon in person was a rare occasion, especially when each was so busy with their own projects. Still, Holland thought as she looked at the faces of her comrades under the dim temporary lighting, Some things are too important to do by proxy.
“First of all,” she started, scratching her chin with her organic hand, “Welcome to Prime, my mobile base of operations. Or at least it will be in a few months. I trust there neither of you have heard word from your operatives in STING either?”
"We have not attempted contact. The subject is beyond the range of my communication relays, even simple live feeds would be..." Alexander chose words with caution. "...delayed, at best. It is an asset, but not one I can't replace should it be lost."
"Agreed." Added in Aien. "Contact at this point of the operation would potentially be far too dangerous. It will be far more interesting to see what the operatives can do in isolation."
She shrugged, feeling out of place on this base. "But I do believe some of our automatic log intercepts should show up soon enough."
"Plus, good trial by fire. If it can't work without a commander babysitting the operation, it's not good enough for me." The Triumvirate commander nodded, agreeing with Aien.
"Miss Xu could be replaced as well," Eve replied, "Though her experience is a valuable asset to my people. I have plans for her, if she makes it back. If she does not...there are other soldiers out there who could take her place. Her automatic transmissions haven't reached me yet, which surprises me," Eve paused for a moment, "Anyways, on to why I have called you here; I simply have a gift for you both. One I believe Alex may have more use for than you, Miss Aien, but for the purpose of us standing on even footing I will be giving you a copy as well. As you know, I possess a copy of an Eon archive; a database of much of their technology. Unfortunately our efforts to translate much of it so far have been taxing even for Mechon. For that reason I have teams dispatched to sites of possible Eon ruins all over the galaxy. Thanks to their efforts I've been able to translate a small percentage of the data," Eve started walking towards one of the room's darkened walls, "...I am prepared to give a copy of the Eon Archive to each of you. What I have translated at least; unfortunately the full version has locked itself somehow to the machine originally used to store it. However, I will share updated translations as they become available. I believe much of this knowledge may be key to understanding the enemy's technology and methods," she tapped a few keys on a hidden control panel and extracted two red crystal cubes from a concealed safe, "These contain what we have been able to translate so far, in a form that cannot be copied and can only be read by you two. Additionally, they have security devices built in that will self destruct their data if in proximity to Propagator nanites or bioetheric signals. Be careful with them, I made them fragile enough to be easily destroyed should it become necessary; you only need to strike them against a surface and they will shatter." She sat the cubes on the table before them. "Oh," she continued, "One final condition; we share all of our research that we can without compromising security of our projects. Agreed?"
"We should still be carefull. The Eon did manage to defeat Spectres, but at what cost. It's possible that by trying to use their own technology as opposed to developing our own, we're commiting the same mitakes they did." Mused Aien carefully.
"Of course," Eve replied, "I said the knowledge is useful, not that I'm relying on it. The Propagators are using Eon technology for the most part; this data hopefully will help us find weaknesses in their methods of attack."
Hughes smirked. His own body was at this point held in one piece by nanomachines that were developed after analyzing the initial infection encountered during the Ursae Majoris incursion - it wouldn't surprise him if the safety mechanism triggered the second one of those archives came into proximity. "It is a use I have, myself, considered. The issue lies in resources - neither of us can spare scientific personnel to decrypt the data."
"Could even help us design fleet tactics against them. On the ground though, I do believe that once oversight and soldier are well underway that we'll be superior. We can roll out equiped and trained troops faster than they can train theirs." Added in the camaasi.
"I've found something else incredibly interesting," Eve said as a holographic emitter built into the conference table came to life displaying what appeared to be a random cluster of asteriods, "Out on the 'eastern' edge of Frontier Space one of my probes found an ancient facility. Here's the thing though, it's not Eon. It was established a few centuries after their fall. I've got a team checking it out, but a non-Eon base that has survived the rise of the Spectors might turn up a few things of interest. My hope is that they at least have some archives that provide a different viewpoint than the Eon-centric ones we've found so far."
"Do we know anything about the species?" Asked Aien. "At least the DNA family they fell into."
"Unfortunately no, but," Eve replied as the hologram shifted to show internal scans of the facility, strange curved hallways and rounded rooms bisected almost the entire asteriod, "The make up of the structure itself suggests nanotechnology was involved in its construction. Scans have picked up several active power sources, including one extremely odd one..." A cloud-like highlight appeared within the halls of the hologram, gradually shifting from room to room, "It's a mobile nanotech cloud, but doesn't appear to be hostile. My team inside have caught it scanning them a few times, but otherwise it's just kept to its passive travels with the bases' air circulation system. Of course they've taken the necessary precautions against nanite infection. My theory is we have a survivor, of sorts, from that time. It may provide useful information if we find a way to communicate. My team leader on the ground believes it may be some sort of intelligent medical device trying to figure us out."
"I wouldn't consider nanomachinery of that period exactly safe. The main reason we kept our technology with non-modifiable restraints was the risk of self-alteration." The old commander mused. "As far as herr Kahler informed me, in the long term it created a possibility of creating a self-replicating construct. Something we would largely like to avoid."
"That's why we're monitoring it," Eve replied, "The team all have EMP tech should the need arise. You know I'm thorough with these things."
"Anyways, that's what my teams are up to," Eve concluded, "As well as continuing our research into improving the Mechon as a whole," she gestured at her natural-appearing arm.
"Good precaution." Said Aien. "Early camaasi nanomachine experiments didn't go very well. Which is why I think we went so much with big cybernetics as opposed to subtle attachments. The gaidani colony asteroid is still closed off."
"Well, I can't complain. At least I don't need night vision goggles anymore." Alexander joked about the rejection syndrome that was now the basis of Sleeper augmentation. "The medical data is rather invaluable, with that it wouldn't be hard not to agree. I would be cautious and examine this thing for traces of self-awareness. Loose AIs can be dangerous."
Eve tapped her temple. "You think?" she replied, jokingly, "Winter almost ate my mind years ago. Anyways, while we're together is there anything else we should discuss?"
"well we should discuss on how long we can count on the legion and Hierarchy once we start heavy shooting." Said Aien. "The last projections I got was that the league would fold within months of heavy casualties."
"The Krayak will keep fighting no matter the odds," Eve noted, "We can at least rely on them to fight. The issue with them is direction. We don't want them turning on the other empires or us."
"They'll be too busy." Alex stated simply. "I wouldn't say they're strategically developed enough to retreat. With their methods of warfare, it'd mean a quick fall."
"I've never been the strategic warfare sort," Eve said, "But it sounds to me like we need to give the Krayak something to focus on. They tend to benefit the least from an alliance so we need something particularly attractive to keep them working with the other empires."
Out of all races, the Krayak were usually simple to figure out. "They're entrenched and practically strip-mine worlds they expand to in order to maintain a fleet. The mere threat of losing those worlds will rally them to defend." Hughes spoke. "They wouldn't be given time to re-estabilish industry on another resource-bearing world during the onslaught."
"So we're more at risk of them going insular and refusing to aid the others," Eve noted, "There are ways to compensate for that, such as getting them to establish some mining treaties within or near Alliance and League space. The more intermingled the Empires become in eachother's affairs, the more likeliness of mutual aid."
"I'll add that to my surveys," Eve said, "Let me handle recon. Aien, see what your contacts pull up as well. Alex, you're probably the best man to get some diplomats in the right positions to make this work."
"Everyone has a price." Hughes spoke one of the phrases the world loved to associate with the Chessmaster. "Although the Krayak aren't so keen on diplomatic solutions if they can just claim the planet without consequences."
#181
"It could also lose us everything. What would the Krayak do if they got their hands of HyperQuartz and weaponised it?" the Mandrakian shouted at Cash, "What would humanity do if it found itself at the top of the galactic food chain and had the ability to wipe out entire fleets at their whim."
"Don't say that you're own kind wouldn't do such a thing; your history begs to differ" Tasitus said pointing a Talon at Cash "No one must posses such a technology as hyper-quartz, its an unethical and vile"
#182
"Hyper quartz is used to construct gates, Tasitus," Mai corrected, "It would take quite the chessmaster to build a a gate for the purpose of invasion in secret. Also, in regards to a gateless hyperdrive: there are only two in existence. One belongs to Eon paladin Stewart who aided us during the last two Spector attacks and the owner of the other has purposedly avoided sharing the technology with anyone due to the inherent danger."
#183
"Your naive if you believe that the Eon simply stopped at gate technology with this hyperquartz and didn't attempt to weaponize it in some way"
#184
"I'm sure they did," Mai replied, "You do know I'm agreeing with you, right? This technology is extremely dangerous even if you don't consider the ethics involved. It might help stop the Order, but at what cost to the survivors? Humanity was hit hard and I'd rather not see the Krayak or League rolling right over us."
#185
Vajra-3, Eon Hyperquartz Facility
"... repeat. Power level at sixty percent. Unable to reinitialise Inhibitor Array until minimum level of seventy percent attained. Emergency alert: power cell depletion imminent. Containment inhibitor failure in T-minus 5 minutes..."
As the automated announcement echoed away, the team entered the final section: an open-air structure hanging off the side of the borehole walls. Conduits stretched from the underside of the facility, streaking down the sides and into the depths of Vajra-3.
"... if I had to speculate, then those conduits are... interfaces into the planetmind," Professor Dalton offered. "Given the size and power of the planet, I doubt a standard hyperspace inhibitor field would have any effect. Perhaps only hardlinks were able to keep it in check..."
Before the researcher could finish the planetmind echoed into their consciousness once again. Somewhat calmer, but still fearful and desperate.
"... YOU NOT THEM. YOU WHO HAS SUFFERED. MAKE AMENDS. MAKE NO OBSTRUCTION TO THE HEALING. WILL HEAL FROM DISEASE. NO RESIST RESIST RESIST RESIST RESIST."
Shimmers and flickers as four Asuran insectoids emerged from hyperspace, hissing aggressively at the team. But then they paid no further heed, turning about and rushing towards the module housing the final APU. Claws outstretched, and clearly not appearing enthusiastic about repairs...
#186
"Give me a minute to talk to them," Mai placed a hand on a nearby crystal. You have suffered much. Way too much and I worry that has damaged your mind permanently. Call off your attack. I promise you I will not let you be enslaved again, but my comrades are afraid of letting you go. Give them a reason to trust you. If your creatures get too close to that device, I will have no choice but to shoot and then I will be unable to free you. I promise, if it comes to that, your suffering will end through other means.
"Do not fire unless they get within striking distance of the APU," Mai instructed, "If the Asura are truly willing to negotiate they will call off this attack."
Eridi IV, Hive City
The roof was now decorated with a long smudge of blood and torn remains of the bodyguard. Whatever was left of the hovercar, smashed by the impact now balanced on the edge, ready to plummet downwards into the neverending depth of the Hive. "Bad... bad day..." The bounty hunter coughed, trying to get his bearings after another crash. His legs refused to move and the right arm looked - and felt - like bloody mess of sorts. To make things worse, he could barely breathe and began to feel the familiar taste of blood. As sense of hearing slowly returned to him, the assassin could only hear laughter from the side of the wreck.
"So, so worth it. I'd give all the hyperquartz in the world just to see you fail." A small, black canister rolled on the concrete surface. Its contents, a white crystalline substance spilled out - shattered by the impact. "See the dog of heavens fall and fail to deliver the newspaper to his master." The mobster, covered in blood but still alive emerged from the wreckage holding a piece of railing. He laughed at the man mumbling something and trying to crawl towards some form of cover. "Your owner needs to get a message. And what sends a better one than his own mongrel left to bleed out on the sidewalk?" The Vermillion representative took a wide swing, just narrowly missing the assassin's head.
Reality around the bounty hunter began to fade and everything around him became a form of incomprehensible chaos. Only echoe of a voice stood out - a voice that repeated itself over and over again, a voice he knew all too well, "Fail me, and you will cease to exist.". "Get the guts to kill me finally" He mumbled just to make the man angry, counting on him making it quick but the second hit never came - the last thing the 'Heavenly Dog' heard before succumbing to blinding white was the sound of a metal railing hittin the concrete roof and the Vermillion mobster's body slumping into a small pool of water...
Vajra-3
"We have bigger concerns than that. We're facing a war with something we don't even fucking understand, you know." Cash spoke as the team began to move on. "Talk ethics and weapons as long as you want, featherbrain - your species is yet to see its homeworld subverted by the enemy. You're yet to see your own stations consumed by Plaguebearer nano-warheads, have your own people turned against you by the voice."
He moved closer to the Mandrakian and began to regret he couldn't just pack up a bunch of memories and hurl his way like Mai did. "Every predator has that one thing, one little thing..." His smile vanished as he remembered the burning laboratories of Vega, scientists begging not to live but to die, to make the voice and pain go away. Fighting Order fanatics and guards the voice turned against him. "...he makes sure is not under his bed when he goes to sleep. A thing he has nightmares about, a thing he sees in himself and everyone around him. It's the Order, and last I checked - it's just going to get worse."
So this was STING as it was, a mess of political players and a pawn of old folk hero. This was supposed to stand between the three empires and total extinction. Danger, seriously. The Krayak already can glass a planet on a lazy afternoon so can the Alliance - it's not like we have a shortage of strategic nuclear warheads.
When the insect-like creatures emerged, Cash reacted almost immediately. He snapped the Gemini to his shoulder and took aim at the creatures, letting the arm enhancement stabilize. "Right, sixty seconds or they move and I pull the trigger!" He slowly followed one of the creatures with the rifle and started a countdown runtime. "I'm not letting another London or Vega Tertius happen. This isn't Eridi, we're not going to screw this up!"
#188
Jarrett snapped his carbine to a firing position as well, taking a position next to Cash, the bugs square in his sights. This shit was starting to get a bit too heavy for him, but he wouldn't let them fail.
"I'm with you, man. We won't fuck this up."
#189
A mental silence as the Asuran insectoids continued racing towards the last APU, their claws clattering closer and closer. Only when they were within a dozen metres did they suddenly come to a halt, stances wavering as they turned about to hiss and glare at the team.
"... WE COMPLY. WE... DELAY HEALING. BUT YOU NOT THEM. YOU WHO HAS SUFFERED. YOU... HEAL OUR DISEASE. FREE US. LEAVE US BE. SO TIRED TIRED TIRED TIRED TIRED."
I want to free you, but I ask something in return. Mai said to the creature Remember when I was enslaved? The creatures that did so are still out there. We need help to fight them before they become a danger to us all.
"... WE KNOW OF THEM. THE SHADOW ONES. THE FAULT OF THEM WHO TORTURE US! THE TORTURERS DESERVE THEIR FATE. THEY DESERVE DEATH DEATH DEATH DEATH DEATH."
Fail me, and you will cease to exist. The voice continued, burned deep into the subroutines and triggered by repeated broadcasts. I have lost something. And you will bring it back. It had no name, it had no face but something deep inside pushed Cash to engaging the last APU, sealing the planet's fate. "We're running out of time Mai. This stuff could save millions of lives!"
"You foolish human, if you as so much attempt to touch that APU; I'll have your throat" Tasitus threatened "This is a creature of great knowledge and power; we could learn so much from it and you would condemn it back to slavery."
Mai pulled her gun, pointing it not at Cash, but at the APU. "It could also doom us," she stated, "To repeat the mistakes of the past. The Eon failed, after all. It might be best to try another path then the one they took." with her free hand, she pulled a small data cartridge from a panel by her side, slapping it into her remaining drone.
"... before you people make any rash decisions, if I may... make a critical suggestion," Professor Daltion spoke up suddenly. "As... regrettable as it might be to keep the Queen enslaved, that was... part of Project Legacy's original intention - to obtain a proper source of Hyperquartz. I don't know if any of you are privy to the details of what happened years ago when the Harbingers decided against destroying the Specters, but what I can say is that the Hyperquartz would be... immensely helpful for that task."
"Knowledge of dead men!" Cash shouted back, suddenly feeling numbness in his hand. To his surprise it was auto-correcting, sticking smoothly to the swaying head of the Asura. The voice was hard to stop, echoing in his head again and again. The objective was clear - reclaim the mineral for the good of all. "See? He's a scientist. He knows this. You know this, Mai. If we had Hyperquartz Earth would never happen. People I gave a damn about would be still alive, and Three know how many people wouldn't be littering psychiatric wards, recovering from Voice Trauma! Throw the switch. For Earth, for Kratos. For those we swore to serve and protect and in memory of those we failed."
"That was not the decision Lady Holland wished for!" Mai countered, "She would sacrifice the gates to save us even if it isolated the empires. We cannot keep doing what the Eon did. We risk falling the same way. Tasitus, we need to roll the dice, don't you agree?"
She tossed the drone into the air, it flying into a crevasse far above them while broadcasting an emergency beacon. At the very least, the data copy she'd left within it would survive if Exerion wasn't out there waiting.
"No. There is no dice to be rolled" Tasitus replied moving in front of Cash; his bulk blocked the soldiers view of the Asura "I cannot allow this creature to remain enslaved any longer, no one must have hyperquartz technology" his armour began to lock into place as the missile racks hummed to life.
"Don't you understand! Without the Hyperquartz we'll be back at square one! The Eon Gates would overload if we tried to kill the Specters! I don't know if you realise the consequences of isolating the Empires once more!" the researcher shouted, desperation in his voice.
"Containment inhibitor failure in T-minus 3 minutes."
"Tasitus," Mai instructed, "Lower your weapons before Cash blows your brains out. We are simply soldiers on the field here. I hate to admit it, but what happens to this creature is out of our jurisdiction. It's for command to decide, not us. The Queen has gone insane and cannot be allowed to roam free; she's a threat to everything."
"Sorry, but the Mandrakian Collective disagrees with you" Tasitus replied as the missiles continued their warm up and his wings locked into the firing position "Regrettable that this alliance has come to this, but contingencies were made."
"I said power them down!" Mai called out. She hated to do it, but knew the risk had to be made. The mechon grabbed one of her EMP grenades and hurled it towards the Mandrakian and Cash.
She knew it might hit the APU at that distance, but there was no choice. God help us all
Cash's finger twitched, as if he struggled between pulling the trigger and not. Failure meant pain, failure was destruction. In his eyes, Tasitus became more than just a bird - diagrams. And before he knew, nanomachines pulled the trigger. Only for nothing to happen, as the EMP grenade exploded sending a flood of warning through the Gemini's driver console. Safeties kicked in, preventing the gun from firing and the sniper's vision began to return to normal.
Tasitus screamed as the EMP played havoc with his systems, the implants within him began to go haywire . He detached his helmet and threw it to the ground as his vision returned to normal but the weight of the augmentation and the lack of assistance due to the EMP made moving difficult . "Kill me now and be done with it, I will set these creatures free of your binds regards" he began to move slowly to the APU, the weight of his armour making him move slowly "The wrong must be righted."
As the pulse surged through the area, warning klaxons began going off. "Error. Error. Catastrophic systems overload through APU3. Power cell shorts detected. Inhibitor systems shutting down..."
And then triumphant screeching from the Asuran insectoids.
"... NO MORE PAIN PAIN PAIN. THANK THANK THANK THANK... Thank you."
A rumble as a quake shook the ground under their feet, the entire planet seeming to encounter a massive seismic event. As pieces of the Eon base began falling apart, the long range radios of the team finally crackled to life.
"... sorry for the delay - we had to shake off some persistent pursuit," the voice of Captain Jake Gardna came in. "Whatever you guys did down there, it's triggering off fluctuations in the planet's gravity well. Homing in on your beacons, stand by for hot extraction..."
A roar of engines from above as the Exerion blocked the sun's light, the frigate descending steadily towards the team as its airlock swung open. A few ugly burns were evident across its hull, but the starship was otherwise none the worse for wear.
White. Failure had the colour white. The smell of chemicals, a man in a labcoat. "Congratulations, you idiot." Cash was looking at the ceiling, his pain receptors thankfully null routed. "All to save a bid from being a kabob. Now, negotiate with that thing and get us some quartz before our doctor here starts crying."
"Took you long enough," Mai shot back, "Come on! We need to get out of here!" The Mechon lifted Tasitus, dragging him to the waiting frigate.
Cash slowly rose up, rebooting the comm system and leg augs. "Gardna you idiot. Er, sir, get us out of here." He helped Mai carry the barely concious bird. So much for a soldier.
With the team onboard the Exerion soared up at maximum burn, the frigate rapidly ascending into the upper atmosphere and beyond. All around the planet they could see sunlight refracting and shimmering as space-time distorted.
Captain Gardna and the crew watched dumbfounded as the sensor readings went crazy. "... well I'll be damned."
A flare of light as a cerulean star burst into being behind the planet. Only it wasn't a star: but a world-sized hyperspace portal. A final voice into everyone's minds as Vajra-3 and its moon vanished into regions unknown. "Thank you."
And then a flash, and then nothing where the planet once was.
Last edited by atmawpn; 5th Oct 12 at 7:01 PM.
Before the frigate
Move move move! Shouted Arne as the entire team was retreating. She didn't have much to add to the entire commotion. Too much of her was in conflict. Too much drove her to bar the APU destruction, others drove her to destroying it. It all made her mentally lock up until it was all over.
Now it was time to act again and she helped urge the wounded towards the frigate.
#191
Exerion – Armory
Tasitus slammed his armoured chest piece on the table within the armoury, scratches covered it. He chest had clumps of blood within his torn features and began to rip out the broken feathers and place them onto the table in front of. "I do not think I'll get use to this... military life" he commented as he plucked another feather.
Mai sighed as she sat off to one side; it had been somewhat relaxing to feel the energy pulses through her body as the machine replaced her fluids and cleansed her systems. Even if the experience had changed to her loathing the machine rather than welcoming it. Thanks to the Asura, it was merely a reminder of what she had lost now. That she barely qualified as a living being anymore.
"Just another day someone doesn't warn you that an EMP is about to go live." Cash muttered, entranced by the figures on a diagnostic display. The Gemini's emergency shutdown prevented it from serious damage, but most of the voltage-range ratio data was gone and had to be restored from backups. "Can't say it's pleasant but it's your daily routine during propagator attacks. Just hunker down and pray they don't hit you today."
"We do not pray human" Tasitus remarked rather aggressively, almost as if he spat the words "This event is saddening"
"The Asura have been freed," Mai said quietly, "And we all survived. That is the best we could have hoped for in this scenario I think."
"Yeah well I stopped after I realized it doesn't help one little bit. Not wasting breath makes you run faster - helps the rookies though." The sniper laughed observing the data transfers and simulations. "I sure as hell hope the doc down there gathered enough to help the war effort. Maybe we can win this without Legacy - damn I hope we can win this..."
"It's saddening Mai because I now know what awaits my people" Tasitus replied, his voice dropping as the slumped against the table "Almost 2000 years of peaceful existence, soon to be ripped apart in the fires of war"
"I can see why that would be upsetting,” Mai said sadly, "War is never something we want, but I could never imagine peace for so long; humanity never has managed it. It speaks to the skill of your people that they managed it. Fight when you have to, but always desire peace is what I learned back at the academy." The mechon fell silent as her eyes watched the open access panel in her arm, studying the movements of the servos that controlled her hand.
"Doesn't look like a change of pace to me. Back when I lived on Earth it was the Krayak that threatened our existence. Before that, the unification war, the space race, countless conflicts on our homeworld."
Cash disconnected his rifle from the system, satisfied with the upload. Chances were Gardna would love to hand him to the brass for almost pulling the trigger on a valuable alien - where he was about to go, having plenty of firepower by your side was a requirement. "There are those among us who are raised to kill. It's our job, to protect our society. A handful that by swearing their oath of service give their lives away to become the tools of their empire. A soldier must understand this."
"What if... after this is all over... my people can't go back to peace?" Tasitus looked down at his Talon, the remnants of Asura blood were still caked on them; he could even still taste its blood on his tongue "There is something deep inside of all Mandrakians... and its scary"
"We can't answer that," Mai said grimly, flexing her fingers, "Sometimes, unfortunately, change is permanent. You asked before if I missed being made of flesh. Thanks to the Asura showing me what I gave up, I do now. But there's no way for me to go back. I made this sacrifice so I could live. Your proud people may have to do similar for the sake of survival."
"Galaxy isn't a pretty place. There will always be something eager to put you into the history books." The sniper commented. "The more powerful and present you become, the more dangers you'll face. That's always the price. I sure hope you people can ramp up the training and psychological conditioning in the following years."
"There are things I did down there that no Mandrakian has done for over 2000 years, instincts awoke that were long dormant; they took control of my actions....perhaps you are right Mai " Tasitus finally remove the last feather of his chest and placed into a pile, before moving them into a small bag "There were rumors Cash, stories of thousands of Mandrakians, like me but... asleep"
"I believe you can adapt," Mai replied, "The ones your people need to treat with extra caution are the youth. They are the far more impressionable ones, at least when it comes to humans."
Mai still remembered that feeling the Asura had given her, if only momentarily, of the wind and warmth on her skin. She would have to talk with Holland; maybe there was a way to transfer her brain into a clone body. No! Don't leave me! cried Cyrene in her head suddenly as the AI's feelings washed over her; Cyrene felt like Mai wanted rid of her as well. I can't exist without you. If they put me in another brain, I won't be ME anymore. Mai smiled softly. She wanted Cyrene to stay for sure. Hopefully Holland could figure out a solution that worked for both of them.
"Yeah but you let morality move where it shouldn't have moved." Cash spoke, dead serious. The birds had issues - having them put 'righting wrongs' on the battlefield could have consequences far more severe than the escape of Vajra-3. "See my rifle? It's not guilty of a single kill. It's my tool of war and the dozens I've gunned down are a mere statistic used to fine-tune it to hit the target." he mimicked the gesture of pulling the trigger. "A soldier is a gun, Tasitus. We complete the objective, regardless of our thought. The government is our marksman and we exist to serve it. Those who fail to understand it don't fare too well."
Tasitus feel silent at Mai's words that Cash's felt like background noise, his thoughts were on his lifemate and the hatchling that would be developing. "Wise words Mai, I feel our races have much in common" Tasitus replied as he pulled a feather from his bag, it was damaged and had blood on it but he handed it to the Mechon "If you encounter another Mandrakain in the future, present them this"
"I believe most known sentient races have much in common," Mai replied as she wrapped the feather in some of her clothing, "Even the Krayak want a better world for their children. They just go about things in their own way," she reached into a panel on her thigh and removed a small data cartridge. She passed it over to the Mandrakian. "A method to contact us,” she explained, "Just follow the stored directions."
"First backwater empire paying tribute to the Mechon." The commando joked. Satisfied with the rifle's performance, he folded it and placed in a counterscan briefcase, preparing for hasty departure. "I always liked the Krayak. They're not into screwing around, they just do things the way they like and noone is too keen on stopping them."
"I'm not sure if I want to be a Mechon after this," Mai replied, "I just feel like...I've lost something big."
Tasitus shot the human a look of pure disgust at his comment but subdued the anger within him for now "We are what we are. You are Mechon because the alternative was imprisonment within your own body and Cash is a soldier who cares for little beyond warfare" he paused for a moment "And I am still figuring out who I am"
"Perhaps I will retire, if I do not see you again..." Tasitus thought for a moment, looking for the right thing to say "May the wind carry you to greatness" reciting a lost word of wisdom of his long dead gods.
"Maybe I'm figuring it out, too,” Mai replied with a weak smile, "And maybe Holland will find a way for me to regain what I've lost in time. May the wind carry you as well, Tasitus."
"Nuh-uh. One who cares only for war is a psychopath who kills to kill." The sniper corrected Tasitus. "A soldier fights for a reason. I fight for my empire." He opened his storage rack and pulled out a small box that with a press of a button unfolded into an uplink-brand shotgun. "This may all be new to you, but believe me it's just another long day in our service. Certainly not the worst - I didn't have to shoot converted civilians, run from my comrade chasing me with a flamethrower or shoot my own commanding officer who is being 'upgraded' by the Propagator nanomachines."
He checked the projectile cartridge and folded it again, placing on the rifle box. "Interesting one though. Never thought I'd see a fucking planet jumping."
"Whatever helps you rest at night" Tasitus replied to Cash as the armory doors closed behind him.
"Who says I sleep anymore." The sniper snickered, returning to packing up his equipment. If the future of STING belonged to inexperienced alien soldiers with an agenda, he intended to be far away from the organization before it became a total publicity stunt. Heck, the paycheck wasn't as good as the one offered by Uplink. "Fucking newbies." He grabbed a cigarette from the rack and lit it. "Just like the old days. Right, let's hope the man with a red phone doesn't dial 1-800-STING before I slam the door in Gardna's face."
"I know I don't sleep anymore," Mai said with a shrug, "Well, unless I need to save energy. So, you're planning to leave to then. I figured as much. I'm sure there's a ship somewhere for Admiral Holland to assign me to. If I'm lucky I might even get a position with the Prime fleet."
"STING was supposed to be an elite unit, not a place where some backwater alien empire sends its recruits." Cash spoke, taking a folded accelerator pistol out of the storage compartment and replacing his STING-issue laser gun with it. "I figure there's a lot of people hunting monsters out there."
"The Mechon are, technically, a backwater empire," Mai said with a chuckle, "I'll be quiet for a bit, speaking with the Admiral."
Another plane
Mai’s world faded as Eve made her connection through the FTL network, replaced by a void of stars. It took only a moment for the Mechon to notice the massive bulk of the dreadnaught Prime with its distinctive biodome blisters meant to provide an organic environment. A slew of smaller ships occupied the space around it, all in the curved style the Mechon preferred as it help reflect kinetic weaponry. Mai recognised only a few of the larger vessels due to their distinctive shapes, including the Paradigm Shift and Gunboat Diplomat, the oldest cruisers in the fleet.
“It’s quite a sight isn’t it?” Eve’s voice came from the void before she actually appeared. The Mechon leader was dressed in robes of white and blue, the colours reserved for Prime’s fleet, “Though we’re still a few years away from making it reality. I’m glad to see you survived Miss Xu. Your report has been rather…enlightening.”
“I’m sorry I failed to secure the hyperquartz,” Mai said, “But I believed saving the Asura was a far more important goal. This may be bold of me, but I request a transfer to a Mechon fleet. STING appears to have been an interesting project but it’s just a political tool. I need to be where I can make a difference.”
“A bold request indeed,” Eve replied with a smile, “But do not worry about the hyperquartz. When I sent you, it was in full confidence you would have to make tough decisions. I have a ship en route to meet you at STING headquarters. The data you’ve been recording should be useful. However, I must ask you one thing, Mai: do you regret joining us?”
“Not really,” Mai replied after a moment, “I do miss a few things about being human and this body has a few…quirks to be worked out due to being a prototype, but the alternative was wasting away in a hospital bed. I would much rather live with this body, quirks and all, than no life at all. Besides, if this is the price I pay for Cyrene, it’s not much of one to pay at all.”
“Well said,” Eve replied, “We will speak more when you arrive, but needless to say, I have important news for you. I think you’re ready for more responsibility amongst the Mechon than you have burdened so far. For now, though, I wish you luck…Captain.”
The starfield dissolved from Mai’s view, leaving her alone in the now quiet armory, save for the gentle hum of her maintenance station as it finished its work.
#192
Exerion – Armory
Tasitus slammed his armoured chest piece on the table within the armoury, scratches covered it. He chest had clumps of blood within his torn features and began to rip out the broken feathers and place them onto the table in front of. "I do not think I'll get use to this... military life" he commented as he plucked another feather.
Mai sighed as she sat off to one side; it had been somewhat relaxing to feel the energy pulses through her body as the machine replaced her fluids and cleansed her systems. Even if the experience had changed to her loathing the machine rather than welcoming it. Thanks to the Asura, it was merely a reminder of what she had lost now. That she barely qualified as a living being anymore.
"Just another day someone doesn't warn you that an EMP is about to go live." Cash muttered, entranced by the figures on a diagnostic display. The Gemini's emergency shutdown prevented it from serious damage, but most of the voltage-range ratio data was gone and had to be restored from backups. "Can't say it's pleasant but it's your daily routine during propagator attacks. Just hunker down and pray they don't hit you today."
"We do not pray human" Tasitus remarked rather aggressively, almost as if he spat the words "This event is saddening"
"The Asura have been freed," Mai said quietly, "And we all survived. That is the best we could have hoped for in this scenario I think."
"Yeah well I stopped after I realized it doesn't help one little bit. Not wasting breath makes you run faster - helps the rookies though." The sniper laughed observing the data transfers and simulations. "I sure as hell hope the doc down there gathered enough to help the war effort. Maybe we can win this without Legacy - damn I hope we can win this..."
"It's saddening Mai because I now know what awaits my people" Tasitus replied, his voice dropping as the slumped against the table "Almost 2000 years of peaceful existence, soon to be ripped apart in the fires of war"
"I can see why that would be upsetting,” Mai said sadly, "War is never something we want, but I could never imagine peace for so long; humanity never has managed it. It speaks to the skill of your people that they managed it. Fight when you have to, but always desire peace is what I learned back at the academy." The mechon fell silent as her eyes watched the open access panel in her arm, studying the movements of the servos that controlled her hand.
"Doesn't look like a change of pace to me. Back when I lived on Earth it was the Krayak that threatened our existence. Before that, the unification war, the space race, countless conflicts on our homeworld."
Cash disconnected his rifle from the system, satisfied with the upload. Chances were Gardna would love to hand him to the brass for almost pulling the trigger on a valuable alien - where he was about to go, having plenty of firepower by your side was a requirement. "There are those among us who are raised to kill. It's our job, to protect our society. A handful that by swearing their oath of service give their lives away to become the tools of their empire. A soldier must understand this."
"What if... after this is all over... my people can't go back to peace?" Tasitus looked down at his Talon, the remnants of Asura blood were still caked on them; he could even still taste its blood on his tongue "There is something deep inside of all Mandrakians... and its scary"
"We can't answer that," Mai said grimly, flexing her fingers, "Sometimes, unfortunately, change is permanent. You asked before if I missed being made of flesh. Thanks to the Asura showing me what I gave up, I do now. But there's no way for me to go back. I made this sacrifice so I could live. Your proud people may have to do similar for the sake of survival."
"Galaxy isn't a pretty place. There will always be something eager to put you into the history books." The sniper commented. "The more powerful and present you become, the more dangers you'll face. That's always the price. I sure hope you people can ramp up the training and psychological conditioning in the following years."
"There are things I did down there that no Mandrakian has done for over 2000 years, instincts awoke that were long dormant; they took control of my actions....perhaps you are right Mai " Tasitus finally remove the last feather of his chest and placed into a pile, before moving them into a small bag "There were rumors Cash, stories of thousands of Mandrakians, like me but... asleep"
"I believe you can adapt," Mai replied, "The ones your people need to treat with extra caution are the youth. They are the far more impressionable ones, at least when it comes to humans."
Mai still remembered that feeling the Asura had given her, if only momentarily, of the wind and warmth on her skin. She would have to talk with Holland; maybe there was a way to transfer her brain into a clone body. No! Don't leave me! cried Cyrene in her head suddenly as the AI's feelings washed over her; Cyrene felt like Mai wanted rid of her as well. I can't exist without you. If they put me in another brain, I won't be ME anymore. Mai smiled softly. She wanted Cyrene to stay for sure. Hopefully Holland could figure out a solution that worked for both of them.
"Yeah but you let morality move where it shouldn't have moved." Cash spoke, dead serious. The birds had issues - having them put 'righting wrongs' on the battlefield could have consequences far more severe than the escape of Vajra-3. "See my rifle? It's not guilty of a single kill. It's my tool of war and the dozens I've gunned down are a mere statistic used to fine-tune it to hit the target." he mimicked the gesture of pulling the trigger. "A soldier is a gun, Tasitus. We complete the objective, regardless of our thought. The government is our marksman and we exist to serve it. Those who fail to understand it don't fare too well."
Tasitus feel silent at Mai's words that Cash's felt like background noise, his thoughts were on his lifemate and the hatchling that would be developing. "Wise words Mai, I feel our races have much in common" Tasitus replied as he pulled a feather from his bag, it was damaged and had blood on it but he handed it to the Mechon "If you encounter another Mandrakain in the future, present them this"
"I believe most known sentient races have much in common," Mai replied as she wrapped the feather in some of her clothing, "Even the Krayak want a better world for their children. They just go about things in their own way," she reached into a panel on her thigh and removed a small data cartridge. She passed it over to the Mandrakian. "A method to contact us,” she explained, "Just follow the stored directions."
"First backwater empire paying tribute to the Mechon." The commando joked. Satisfied with the rifle's performance, he folded it and placed in a counterscan briefcase, preparing for hasty departure. "I always liked the Krayak. They're not into screwing around, they just do things the way they like and noone is too keen on stopping them."
"I'm not sure if I want to be a Mechon after this," Mai replied, "I just feel like...I've lost something big."
Tasitus shot the human a look of pure disgust at his comment but subdued the anger within him for now "We are what we are. You are Mechon because the alternative was imprisonment within your own body and Cash is a soldier who cares for little beyond warfare" he paused for a moment "And I am still figuring out who I am"
"Perhaps I will retire, if I do not see you again..." Tasitus thought for a moment, looking for the right thing to say "May the wind carry you to greatness" reciting a lost word of wisdom of his long dead gods.
"Maybe I'm figuring it out, too,” Mai replied with a weak smile, "And maybe Holland will find a way for me to regain what I've lost in time. May the wind carry you as well, Tasitus."
"Nuh-uh. One who cares only for war is a psychopath who kills to kill." The sniper corrected Tasitus. "A soldier fights for a reason. I fight for my empire." He opened his storage rack and pulled out a small box that with a press of a button unfolded into an uplink-brand shotgun. "This may all be new to you, but believe me it's just another long day in our service. Certainly not the worst - I didn't have to shoot converted civilians, run from my comrade chasing me with a flamethrower or shoot my own commanding officer who is being 'upgraded' by the Propagator nanomachines."
He checked the projectile cartridge and folded it again, placing on the rifle box. "Interesting one though. Never thought I'd see a fucking planet jumping."
"Whatever helps you rest at night" Tasitus replied to Cash as the armory doors closed behind him.
"Who says I sleep anymore." The sniper snickered, returning to packing up his equipment. If the future of STING belonged to inexperienced alien soldiers with an agenda, he intended to be far away from the organization before it became a total publicity stunt. Heck, the paycheck wasn't as good as the one offered by Uplink. "Fucking newbies." He grabbed a cigarette from the rack and lit it. "Just like the old days. Right, let's hope the man with a red phone doesn't dial 1-800-STING before I slam the door in Gardna's face."
"I know I don't sleep anymore," Mai said with a shrug, "Well, unless I need to save energy. So, you're planning to leave to then. I figured as much. I'm sure there's a ship somewhere for Admiral Holland to assign me to. If I'm lucky I might even get a position with the Prime fleet."
"STING was supposed to be an elite unit, not a place where some backwater alien empire sends its recruits." Cash spoke, taking a folded accelerator pistol out of the storage compartment and replacing his STING-issue laser gun with it. "I figure there's a lot of people hunting monsters out there."
"The Mechon are, technically, a backwater empire," Mai said with a chuckle, "I'll be quiet for a bit, speaking with the Admiral."
Another plane
Mai’s world faded as Eve made her connection through the FTL network, replaced by a void of stars. It took only a moment for the Mechon to notice the massive bulk of the dreadnaught Prime with its distinctive biodome blisters meant to provide an organic environment. A slew of smaller ships occupied the space around it, all in the curved style the Mechon preferred as it help reflect kinetic weaponry. Mai recognised only a few of the larger vessels due to their distinctive shapes, including the Paradigm Shift and Gunboat Diplomat, the oldest cruisers in the fleet.
“It’s quite a sight isn’t it?” Eve’s voice came from the void before she actually appeared. The Mechon leader was dressed in robes of white and blue, the colours reserved for Prime’s fleet, “Though we’re still a few years away from making it reality. I’m glad to see you survived Miss Xu. Your report has been rather…enlightening.”
“I’m sorry I failed to secure the hyperquartz,” Mai said, “But I believed saving the Asura was a far more important goal. This may be bold of me, but I request a transfer to a Mechon fleet. STING appears to have been an interesting project but it’s just a political tool. I need to be where I can make a difference.”
“A bold request indeed,” Eve replied with a smile, “But do not worry about the hyperquartz. When I sent you, it was in full confidence you would have to make tough decisions. I have a ship en route to meet you at STING headquarters. The data you’ve been recording should be useful. However, I must ask you one thing, Mai: do you regret joining us?”
“Not really,” Mai replied after a moment, “I do miss a few things about being human and this body has a few…quirks to be worked out due to being a prototype, but the alternative was wasting away in a hospital bed. I would much rather live with this body, quirks and all, than no life at all. Besides, if this is the price I pay for Cyrene, it’s not much of one to pay at all.”
“Well said,” Eve replied, “We will speak more when you arrive, but needless to say, I have important news for you. I think you’re ready for more responsibility amongst the Mechon than you have burdened so far. For now, though, I wish you luck…Captain.”
The starfield dissolved from Mai’s view, leaving her alone in the now quiet armory, save for the gentle hum of her maintenance station as it finished its work.
Aboard the ship, during the night cycle
It was night and just about everyone apart from the night shift was asleepby now. Arne saw it as the perfect time to go for her vengeance. Jarret should have known far better to not listen to her during the mission. For some reason her knowledge database kept heading towards the terms petulant and petty, but she flicked it off with a thought.
It just wasn't fair.
She looked into the trooper storage room and seeing no one in it at first glance dragged her human sized back inside. Arne found Jarret's locker quickly and began communicating with the lock. It was a simple machine, unlocked wirelessly and barely secured. Even her rudimentary automatic unlocking suite managed to hijack it in seconds.
With a click his locker opened.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Cash asked, surprised by someone being in here at this hour. They'd reach headquarters by morning and he figured it was best to move his gear out of the ship before Gardna gets any ideas about making corporate property his own.
What? shouted Arne in surprise over the open chanel with bits and pieaces of anger, surprise, frustration and shame all mixed into the exclamation. The crewmembers with the right equipment would probably feel some confusions in their dreams.
What are you doing here Cash?She asked switching to local. There shouldn't have been anyone here for at least five standard hours. The trooper could more feel the question than here it.
"Well we arrive in four hours I figured I may aswell finish packing up." The commando seemed completely undisturbed, picking up the remainder of his equipment and placing it in his rifle briefcase. "Been here for the past thirty minutes. So, Jarret is finally going to get it?"
"No sense hiding anything form you." She said speaking aloud. "Bloody dolt called me a barbie. What's a barbie anyway? Only references I can find is stuff from the twentyfirst century. Some toy."
Arne began unpacking the back pulling out a roughly human shaped figurine. It had all kinds of strings and springs attached to it.
Come on, help me at least.
"What the hell is that thing anyway." The man asked, closing the briefcase and heading over to pick the second half up. "Back in the day we disabled safeties on the starship's toilet. The most serious man of our squad got stuck by his ass."
"Uh nasty, except you can't watch." She said, peppering her words with feelings over the network. "And not much, a valient locker attacker. I found it in some old databases. Jarret comes in, opens the locker, the thing falls on him with it's attack, he panic, if lucky starts shooting the monster and we all stand around and have some fun."
"You could still hear the screaming, plus he kicked the door open." Cash began to grin, recalling the memorable day. "I take it you're staying, then?"
"Thought I heard you on the network," Mai said to Arne as she walked in, "Gotta be careful with that, girl. I mean even the ship's AI got confused."
"He surprised me! And I'm not used to speaking on local. Most of the time they either wanted me to talk out loud or only on global." Grumbled Arne apolegetically. Cyrene better?
"And I don't know, not my choice really Cash."
We're doing fine thanks. Better actually. Note: I've seen everything since then on the sensors. Those logs are going to go "missing due to a system glitch" though Mai smirked. "I'm needed back at the fleet, personally," Mai said, a hint of pride in her voice, "I get the feeling the Admiral has something special in mind for her new captain."
The commando nodded. "Grats on your promotion. I'm not going to be yelled at for failing the objective because some undertrained pile of feathers decided to put his feelings ahead of the mission." he sighed, once more regretting he didn't quit earlier. "Don't know what's next. Maybe try to find the Chessmaster, if he exists."
Mai smirked again. Oh, if only she could tell him what she knew. "Thanks," the mechon replied, "And good hunting. If Chessmaster exists, he's extremely slippery. I think Admiral Holland tried to find him once. Anyways, this recent news means I have to get packing. Sounds like the admiral wants me back at the fleet ASAP."
"The three are mother the three are father." Arne shook her head. "I sometimes wonder what that means. I couldn't really act down there. I think I had conflicting orders. But promise me, that both of you will be here tomorrow. I want to see Jarret's face as he opens the locker."
"We're still a few days out," Mai replied. I suspect you'll have an answer soon, Arne. Say nothing to Cash.
"Tomorrow I'll probably be running like hell from Gardna and some more zealous animal rights activists. I nearly shot that brainless chicken, if not for Mai..." The sniper laughed, helping Arne settle the fake monster in Jarret's locker. "Well I reckon I'll just step on his toes a few times. Stir up a mess, kill a goon or two."
AffirmativeSaid Arne, somewhat confused. "The bird deserved it. No tactical thinking. Ineffective sacrifice, overkill missiles. I have a feeling his people have known guns for about as long as I've been alive."
"I don't mind them being inexperienced, but STIG... err, STING was supposed to be an elite task force." Cash spoke with disappointment in his voice. "If it was the Order, we'd be dead because of him. Luckily we just got the berserk alien species this time."
"Could have been worse. Could have been carebears and boogeymen. I've been told those are by far the two most terrible foes you can encounter." Responded Arne, dead serious.
"Well mostly because most people haven't survived the engagement." The sniper picked up on the joke. "Well, If I had an advice to give - quit before Gardna recruits something that turns you into lunch."
"Gardna's not scary? And I don't mind something taking a bite out of me if it helps me kill it. It's easy to regrow a limb." Arne shrugged.
"Meant more of this... birdlike..." A beep coming from his briefcase interrupted Cash and he rushed to the long-range receiver. "Gardna's a good guy, just has his balls stuck in a three-way clamp. Everyone and their dog wants to have a representative in STING and he can't just flip off the three empires." he picked up the PDA and noticed a raw text message written in some weird language. To make things worse, the contact was already in his addressbook. "STING went to hell ever since we got popular, I guess."
"Aren't we all here because STING is popular thoguh?" She asked.
"That's the problem. We're not supposed to be popular, we're not supposed to be shining knights." The sniper started to run the message through auto-translation trying to find a meaning. "I think STING lost its purpose."
"You should sleep Cash. We've been trough a lot lately." She said, knowing herself that she didn't have to sleep as much as born humans.
Cash laughed. "I don't sleep anymore." He closed the briefcase and headed to the exit, staring at the display. "Send me a recording of Jarret if I'm not here. Try not to get yourself killed, limbs are limbs but it's hard to replace a head."
#194
Prime Fleet – two years later
There was a slight shudder as the cargo ship exited through the mobile gate and into normal space around the construction fleet, the bulk of Prime immediately filling its viewports as they dove to dock with the belly of the mothership.
Mai was always taken back by the sheer size of the massive vessel, the homeland of the Mechon race. The lights from viewports on the hull were barely visible to even her augmented eyes.
She’d been running cargo runs for over a year now, back and forth between the Prime fleet and their suppliers, often switching ships partway through her trip. It was obvious the admiral was testing her in some way. Despite how much she longed to have a proper military ship under her heels, Mai didn’t complain. Orders were orders, after all.
Smoothly, the normally large cargo vessel slipped into a set of docking clamps mounted to Prime’s underside, a slight hiss emanating from the airlocks as pressure was equalized.
To Mai’s surprised, Emma Holland was there to greet her personally and escort her to Eve’s finally completed office. The room overlooked one of the large internal garden areas of the ship; a massive greenspace that emulated a terrestrial tropical beach.
Eve Holland sat at her desk, her back to the massive windows. She greeted the newcomers with a nod and gestured for Mai to have a seat.
“Welcome back, Captain Xu,” Eve said pleasantly, “We have much to discuss. First of all, your issues with the mechanical portion of your body are something many of us have been experiencing. I’m happy to report that there is a solution. You are to report to surgery suite alpha one, understood? We will finish our discussion much later. Keep your chin up, Captain. It’s time to be reborn as a true Mechon.” Mai nodded.
To Mai’s surprise she met Eve again in the preparation room for surgery; the Mechon leader also dressed in a surgical gown.
Eve merely smiled. “Yes,” she said, “It’s my time as well. Over the next year, every Mechon will undergo the process we’re about to. I thought it only proper that you be one of the first after everything you’ve done for us.”
“What exactly have I done, admiral?” Mai asked with a bit of confusion.
“First of all, you can just call me Eve,” the admiral replied, “You’ve definitely earned that right. Your work in STING and over the last year has done great things for us. It seems the Alliance, as well as certain member races of the League, look favourably on the Mechon due to your service…“ Eve leaned in, resting her head on Mai’s shoulder for just a brief second while she whispered, “I think there’s room in the Circle for you if you keep this up.” Mai didn’t get a chance to respond before the medication took effect.
Six months later
Mai woke up in a white room she recognised as being similar to one of the observation rooms they had used on the Paradigm Shift after her first operation, though somewhat larger and better furnished. Through the viewport that covered the majority of one wall, she could see the stars idly passing by.
She felt an odd tingling sensation throughout her body. She was also suffering from a severe headache. As the Mechon wiped her forehead, she noticed the first change; her hands looked human except for the crescent shaped golden interface devices.
“THIRTEEN. ARE YOU AWAKE?”
The loudspeaker startled Mai. She recognised the voice of Fiona Armstrong, head of the Mechon project as well as many other robotics-oriented experiments.
“Yes,” Mai said. Her voice was scratchy but it had lost the slight metallic ting it had previously possessed.
“GOOD. TAKE IT SLOW, BUT TRY TO STAND. IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME TO GET USED TO YOUR NEW BODY. THERE IS A MIRROR TO YOUR RIGHT. HAVE A LOOK. EVE AND I BELIEVE IT’S A DEFINITE IMPROVEMENT.”
Slowly, Mai stood, shivering slightly as her bare feet touched the metal floor. She wiggled her toes; feeling slight queasy at her returned sense of touch.
As she approached the mirror, Mai definitely noticed changes. She appeared almost completely human, with black hair streaked in teal. The only signs of her augmented nature were her eyes, blue with glowing irises, and golden circuitry that ran under the skin of the right side of her fact, disappearing as it reached her neckline. Two black rectangular antennae sat atop her head, almost invisible in the mass of hair. She also appeared about twenty years younger.
“CYRENE CHOSE YOUR LOOKS. SORRY, BUT EVE WISHED FOR THIS TO BE A SURPRISE. IF THERE’S ANY ISSUES WE CAN MODIFY THEM LATER THROUGH THERAPY OR SURGERY.”
Mai shook her head. Cyrene was so integrated with her that the two knew each other’s tastes extremely well; her new look was perfect. However, she was worried about another thing now. Cyrene hadn’t spoken to her since they awoke, despite Mai feeling the AI’s presence weakly.
Mai? the voice came in incredibly clear, Cyrene’s emotions washing over her host. Their memories started to synchronize; Cyrene had been alone for three months, awake but unable to speak communicate with the sleeping Mai.
Cy, you did amazingly. I-We look incredible.
It gets better. My interface has been improved considerably. I’ve got full access to your sensory inputs now and can even move us when you want me to.
“BY YOUR LACK OF RESPONSE I’M GOING TO ASSUME SOME DISAPPOINTMENT? IT WILL HAVE TO WAIT. THE ADMIRAL WISHES TO SEE YOU. THERE IS A UNIFORM IN THE LOCKER.”
“No, no,” Mai/Cyrene replied aloud, “It’s great, actually. I suppose it’s best to not keep her waiting.”
As she made her way to Eve’s office, Mai couldn’t help but take a detour through one of the greenspaces, rushing through the trees at a breakneck pace just to feel the wind.
Admiral Eve Holland was standing this time, a retractable shutter covering the windows as she studied astrometric data on several holographic projectors. Like Mai, the woman appeared quite a bit younger and far more human. Her eyes had kept their natural golden color, with the antennae in her hair matching.
“So, how do you feel?” Eve asked in a conversational tone.
“Excellent, ma’am,” Mai replied, “More alive than I’ve felt in a long time.”
“Good to hear,” Eve said. The holograms around her flickered, replaced by a large green hologram of an asteroid. “Unfortunately,” the admiral continued, “You’ll have to adjust on the journey. I have a mission for you.”
“Location Icarus?” Mai asked, “Did we finally get a response from it?” Eve had given her data on the nanoswarm creature before.
“Not really,” Eve replied as the display flickered to show the creature’s movement over the past few months, “But I’m worried. As you can see, its slowing down. I think it’s running out of power.”
“Dying, you mean,” Mai corrected. Eve nodded grimly. “So what does this mean for me?” the captain asked, “I just run cargo ships.”
A two dimensional version of Mai’s history popped up in front of her face.
“Before enlisting in the military, you had a promising future in xenobiology, xenolinguistics and xenohistory,” Eve noted, “In fact you were top of the class in all three before suddenly dropping out. Why did that happen?”
“My parents,” Mai said with a shrug, “When the first incursion occurred, they said I should have been out there defending humanity. They pushed me into Alliance service, whether I liked it or not.”
“I need you to go down there and try to talk to it,” Eve said, “Dr. Varla will accompany you. She’s going to attempt bioetheric communication with it if you are unsuccessful. Keep up the good work, Mai. I see a very bright future for you.”
A bright future, Mai/Cyrene thought. It was a pipedream at this point after a lifetime of disappointment.
Mai returned from Icarus with a new companion: a juvenile clone of herself that contained the nanoswarm; the creature had used her as a template to ensure its survival. Mai dubbed the girl Hope and found that, no matter what Eve’s desires for her were; Hope refused to leave Xu’s side.
STING HQ
"And where are you going to go?" Gardna put his legs on the table and displayed a large list of Cash's previous employers. "Counter-Terrorist, security guard and a corporate puppet who didn't have the skill for STING?"
"Everything is better than this, Gardna." The commando responded, not bothering to address his former boss by his rank. "I'm done playing a puppet on a playground for backwater alien empires. My word stands on quit."
"Look..." "No, you look." He interrupted. "You can either start recruiting actual soldiers for your little circus, or continue being nothing but a publicity stunt." The doors slammed shut, leaving the STING coordinator looking at a badge and a formal resignation.
Planetside, starport
That went well. Cash picked up his weapon briefcase and headed towards the departure zone. The starport was busy as usual, and it was still time to decide where to go. One sound seemed to stand out from the noise and it took Cash a good minute to notice it was there - a ringing phone. His PDA beeped again - the message auto-translated after a while like the last one. "Pick it up."
Holding the briefcase, he started to move towards the phone booth the sound was coming from. Scans showed nothing unusual - no explosive substances, no suspicious wiring or emissions. After a moment of hesitation, Cash finally picked up the phone. "Good." A female voice sounded. "Don't look around. Don't make any sudden moves. I knew you would quit on your own. You didn't find what you were looking for."
"Are you-" "You're not the first. Not here." This time it was the sniper who was cut short when the connection was terminated. A chip appeared in the change slot and the operative picked it up. Not the first, eh? he thought, examining the white-blue chip with a symbol of an icy palm tree on it.
Novaya Siberia, Fringe Space. Hotel-Casino Freeze
Freeze was always a surprise to those who haven't seen it. Rumours had it that it once belonged to the Family, one of the more influential human criminal organizations that fell with Earth - now it belonged to the Vermillion Syndicate. Based in Luyten, the Vermillion didn't suffer as much from the attack on Earth during the Second Incursion and exploited it to the fullest extent - seizing the criminal crown in the following years. The owner changed but not the style - the interiors presented a mix of Siberia's native ice and a tropical environment. To this day it was the only place where one could see palm trees growing on an ice surface.
That's just crazy Cash moved through the casino floor. He spent most of his last salary on a tuxedo and making his gun pass baseline metal detectors. In vain, it seemeed - the guards here carried military-grade hardware and they seemed to let most of the guests carry their sidearm. Hell, a good chunk of the people here he would try to bring to justice just a few years ago. He even spotted the notorious arms dealer, James White, casually enjoying a game of poker. Doing his best not to stare, Cash took a seat by the bar and ordered something that wouldn't cost him the entirety of whatever remained in his wallet. Right, best not to start shooting or asking questions. Bartenders never know anything. He looked at the chip again.
"So last I heard, someone here got tired of playing a hero of the galaxy." The voice from the phone sounded behind him. The sniper turned around, standing face-to face with a tall, blonde woman in a black dress and a towering Krayak. "Let's discuss your plans of taking out a few of Chessmaster's goons."
"Yeah." The Krayak grinned in a rather vicious manner. "This goon wouldn't appreciate being taken out. Although I do wonder how exactly would you want to accomplish this task."
"Sh. We wouldn't want panic in the room, would we?" Kristin rested her hand on the creature's arm. "Now, thirteen. Fancy taking over a casino with us or will you just watch from the sidelines?"
3 Years later, Titan Facility. Unknown location.
Few places in the galaxy matched the hostility of Titan facility - a massive complex of stations located close to an ancient Cataclysmic Variable. Limited routes led to this place and waves of radiation were capable of turning even the mightiest juggernauts into drifting, lifeless husks. The Titan housed a myriad of projects neither humankind nor other races would ever see - and in case of some of them, it was for the better.
The conference room was impressive, featuring a massive window overlooking the two stars. With a soft chime the elevator doors opened, letting in a grey-haired human and a young, armed woman bearing uncanny resemblance to the legendary Seiko. "I apologize for being late." Alexander stated to his guests. "Certain arrangements had to be made."
So it is true, You really do know the Chessmaster. Mai transmitted as she sat silently next to Eve Holland. Both had changed much in the past three years, adopting a far more human appearance than the early years. Their eyes still glowed softly in the darkness of the room, however. "Good evening Alex," Eve said pleasantly, touching her fingertips together, 'I trust this is important to bring us all together like this. Oh, my apologies, I forgot to introduce my companion. This is Captain Mai Xu, Phoenix division."
"Ah I believe I remember her. Sting roughly three years ago." Asked Aien from her corner.
"Yes," Mai offered, "I was part of that group, Captain Aien."
The camaasi smiled. "Admiral actually. But I do like to keep a low profile. Being a captain is far more fun. I do remember that mission."
"I do believe she also helped neutralize Subject Thirteen before it became dangerous. My congratulations." Alex nodded towards Mai, his robotic eye blinking momentarily as it cycled through various threat scans. "An irony, considering it has proven invaluable in recovering what the Mandrakians made us lose that day."
"Arne was one of yours, wasn't she?" Mai asked, "I knew something was off about that kid. She definitely seemed young. You mean Cash, right?" "Ironic that Mai was the thirteenth Mechon created then as well" Eve stated, "So you've found another source of hyperquartz? I hope it didn't involve angering another Asura."
"No." The old commander stated plainly. As much as he would love a reliable source of Hyperquartz, it was out of the question. "We have recovered a derelict survey jumpship from the Eon era. A single shard was recovered from its hyperdrive core." The window view shifted a bit, switching to a camera projection of a massive construction, vaguely resembling a stargate. Construction vessels scurried around it, reinforcing the scaffolding-like construction with heavy plating to give it at least some integrity. "It wasn't much, but it let us reach something we always wanted to achieve." He fell silent to let the image sink in - the construction measured at least three kilometers in length and could easily fit a carrier inside.
"An Eon gate," Eve observed, "Something I really wish we could incorporate in the Prime fleet."
"It would really help us certainly." Aien turned to Mai. "As to the subject. It proved to be an unsuccesfull prototype."
"Due to what was described to me as power issues, it must remain in close proximity to the Cataclysm to function. More importantly, our own discoveries in the field of Rayet drive make it operate without a receiving gate. All we need is a beacon probe." The pride in Chessmaster's voice was hard to ignore. "I would be a poor ally if I didn't share it. I will open the staging points to our combined forces. Wherever the Spectres strike, we'll be ready for them."
"Unsuccessful?" Mai said, a bit worried, "You didn't kill her or something did you? I honestly think she could've been captain material with the right training."
"The original project was replaced with a different line. It was paramount to get a working prototype for oversight. Which we finally did." Said Aien grimly.
"I...see," Mai replied, obviously uncomfortable with the answer.
I doubt she was killed Eve said to reassure Mai. Aien wouldn't waste resources like that. Arne's probably reassigned to a post she's better suited for.
"Can't we seed the beacons in critical systems before hand? Disguised as random stellar microbodies. We still have a few years at least." Asked Aien.
"There's too much danger of discovery," Mai said before Eve spoke, "One beacon discovered by the wrong people and the Order may learn what to look for."
"Multiple beacon towers have been placed between systems years ago. They served to extend my communication grid and resupply long-range 0rs. Beacons are simple and can even be carried by anything larger than a fighter." Hughes stated, bringing up a holomap of the universe. "Most of them have storage arrays nearby for resupply. After several wars there's so much junk littering the space that it's hardly a surprise to find a derelict staging point."
"Shame we don't have an effective disguise method yet then. Also as I mentioned before. We finally have a fully functional oversight prototype. Attached to squads the soldier efficience rises by about 735.23 percent. Which makes quite viable for projected roles. My people are still designing various contingency plan tactics for various situations, but they can finally adapt on the fly." Added in Aien, taking some tidbits from her departments. "As to the political situation. The only good thing I can say is that The camaasi are maintaining good relationships with the human coalition, possible petitioning for a rejoin. But both our and human admirality is being deaf on the spectre danger. Nothing I can do anymore."
"Things are going well on the Mechon front as well," Eve informed them, "Prime is fully functional as well as a half dozen remote gateships. I've got raw materials coming in from several systems. My goal was always to run without outside help if necessary, but thanks to Captain Xu we've maintained strong ties to Alliance, especially in the Frontier. Unfortunately, nobody believes us about the Spectres either. They just think we're crazy. They might not be completely wrong about that."
"How many can we deploy?" Alex disabled the live feed from the stargate construction and the window returned to displaying a pleasant, dimmed display of the exchange of mass between two celestials. "The initial report on the reinforcement rate of Oversight operatives was staggering, especially when compared to the Sleeper project. We did adapt it to non-human bodies. No surprise, the Krayak are perfect candidates - though finding volunteers is... rare."
"If they came now? Thirty six thousand soldiers withoughly two hundred oversight units. Given spectre incursion projections. About eighty to ninety thousand in cold storage with about two thousand oversight units. Production at about fifteen hundred per month. If need be we can ramp the production up. But the organic material we're buying up trough transbio would get to suspicious levels by then." Marked out Aien.
"How many Mechon?" Eve asked, "We're not huge in numbers. We currently operate six fleets, though two are frigate strike groups. We're about 60,000 strong. About a third of that are soldiers."
The rate greatly exceeded his expectations. Used properly, it was enough to stall the enemy progress for periods of time or recover assets vital for the war. "Suspicion won't matter by the time an increase is required." The commander stated. "We have made some advances on the field of interdiction, propulsion and covert operations, but I lack raw materials to construct a bigger fleet - or the bodies to man a true space superiority fleet. I'll make sure the existing crews are up for the challenge though..." he narrowed his remaining eye and looked at Aien. "I have a black ops commander who thinks she can actually do the job well enough to request a jumpship. Can you put her through true hell?"
"I can see what Norta will think of her. I trust him on judging people's command abilities when push comes to show. There's nothing like banging two asteroids together to see what roaches fall out. I assume we're dealing with one of your sleepers. Dormant or active?"
"On that note," Eve interjected, "How is Norta doing? We've made quite the advances in cybernetics as you might imagine. I could send one of the docs over to check things out."
"More than one. Four, and active." Hughes stated, throwing Aien a datapad. "Agnarsdotir thinks she's the best I can throw at the enemy, but I think she just had a lucky streak. I want her and her team half dead and begging to be reassigned to Titan. They won't even have their ship or fancy equipment."
"Well nothing like good training to start mucking out a freighter. Make them know how a ship works from the ground up, know what it should do when it humms and purrs. I think Norta will apreciate the timeoff to break in some of your people. He still considers most of your sleepers cheats." Aien smiled.
"And Norta is good Eve. Amazing man. He's the only ancient I know that has managed to stay fully vocal for as long. Most shut in a few months at best. He's been one for more than fourty years." She added with a hint of sadness. "But if you know anything that might help the others wake up from their slumber, it would be apreciated."
"You know," Eve pointed out, "I think we could convert Norta to a Mechon if he wished. That body of his is probably not in great shape considering everything your people have been through. The offer's open if he or any of the others wish it."
"He has my full endorsement to make it personal." Hughes laughed in response. "She states that her team is the best of all I have. I want her to live up to this word."
"I'll relay the offer. But sadly there aren't many capable of saying yes or no. I'm sure you've seen the results amongst most human heavy cyborgs as well. Total shutin. They still act, but more like machines, barely communicating with the world, just serving their duty." Aien added. She also nodded at Alex to make him certain that she heard.
"Well," Eve replied, "I knew a certain someone who acted like she deserved to be a captain. I used STING and some less than pleasant duties to straighten her up. She's still got some more time as a grunt left still, I think."
"I spent eight years locked in my own body," Mai added, "If Eve was able to bring me out of that I'm sure she can help some of your people."
"I'm sure Norta will have some ideas." The camaasi smiled wrily. Knowing full well what Alex's sleepers were getting into. The admiral did not envy them.
#196
3 Months after Vajra-3 Event. Mandrakian Royal Palace, Mandrakea
Tasitus' shuttle landed in the gardens of the royal palace, the grounds were adorned with various statues of Mandrakians all in differing posses surrounded by lush plant life. Tasitus knew the names of each one, they were once called gods; but now, they were nothing but myth. He stepped out and landed heavily on the gravel below, his talons raked it as he moved towards a small crowd that had gathered to greet him. The most noticeable was King Venitar, but there were two other Mandrakians within the group that caught his eye more than Kerith herself. The wore almost indentical armour to that which he wore on Vajra-3 but it lacked the bulky weapons he had, instead they were holding massive spears in their hands, he'd never seen anything like it.
It was Kerith who spoke first as she rushed towards Tasitus and jumped into his arms "I'm so happy you made it back" she said, nuzzling his feathers with her beak "When we heard of your condition aboard that STING starship, we all feared the worst for you. But here you are"
"It's good to see you too Kerith" he replied, returning the nuzzling; normal Mandrakian behaviour for affection but he turned to his King shortly after and bowed "My King, I have returned"
"There is no need for bowing here Tasitus" replied King Venitar while making a motion for him to rise "We're all happy to see our champion as returned safety to the homeworld, come the debriefing is about to start and you best be ready to answer questions"
"If I may my King, what are these... things that follow you?" Asked Tasitus, pointing to the two obvious soldiers standing at the Kings flank
"They are my body guards, but more on them later. First the meeting"
-----------------------
The debriefing was rather swift, Tasitus had to answer a number of questions thrown at him from the various councillors while he stood firmly behind his report into all the matters regarding his involvement in STING. While he was thankful it was was over, he couldn't rest just yet as the King had called for private audience with him. The King lead Tasitus down a long corridor within the royal palace, as curious as Tasitus was he need something answered
"My King, I have a questions" Tasitus asked to break the silence, and noticing the King showing no objection he spoke his question "Why do I feel that I failed this STING assignment; the aliens showed me little respect and I felt more like a hindrance than a part of the team"
"Tasitus, you were chosen because you were best suited for the assignment" the King replied swiftly "but I sense that answer will not be good enough so I'll tell you the truth; we needed a kind hearted and inexperienced Mandrakian for this assignment, plans are set in motion you see"
"I don't understand"
"You mention in your report about the humans nature to gossip... or as you described it in their tongue 'to bitch'" the King said with a slight laugh "You see, we needed a perception of Mandrakians to be formed within the human alliance, as you said the solider one seemed to call you many names and disrespected you quite a lot; but how much do you think he talked about us to everyone?"
"They do like to talk, almost endlessly"
"You see, this human will spread the idea of a Mandrakian soldier as an untrained individual that humanity shouldn't care about; and this human will spread this lie throughout the ranks of their forces like a fire catches to a bush" the King continued as he motioned for Tasitus to follow him into a elevator, once inside it began to move down "Humanity will complain to the League for allowing us to participate in 'their' project and thus the league will release pressure from us to contribute to their forces"
"But, why humans.. couldn't we just send Mandrakian soldiers into the League mix-special forces?"
"Humanity is the new up and comer in this galaxy; they will now think we are simply push overs thanks to your actions in STING" the King continued as the elevator seemed to increase its speed, going down further "This allows us the perfect platform to out preform them"
"So we lure the galaxy into thinking we're nothing but peaceful, bad warriors?" Tasitus asked "But we are that, aren't we?"
"Not exactly"
The elevator doors opened into a massive cavern stretching as far as Tasitus eyes could see and down the bellow he could make out the the bodies of Mandrakians there must have been tens of thousands of them in all various states of training, he could even see some who had obviously had their wings re-grafted onto them, while others were firing off rounds of various weapons... he swore he could even see a rifle that looked exactly like Cash's.
"Tasitus, let me show you the Mandrakian Military. There are 150,000 soldiers in this facility alone, and this is but one of 30. Predictions show that they will be full trained and ready for combat in less than 6 years" the King said with pride "The Ships to carry them will be done in less than 4 years"
"But King, VI training does little to help a soldier"
"Oh, that is understood quite well... and thanks to your Eon encounter we've developed the perfect tool to teach our soldiers... an AI" the King replied "It will simulate warfare in every way, even down to the let our troops experience pain of combat"
"I am quite impressed"
"You should be, because it will not be humans, nor League that save this galaxy... but the Talon of a Mandrakian" the king said with an with great respect but paused for a moment "The collective will rise again, but this time... it will come on the back of peace"
#197
"Man, buncha pansies," Jarrett scoffed, stripping off his armor as he headed to his locker, weaving through the other members of the team. The going got tough, so now a bunch of them were just gonna drop out? Not Jarrett. He chose this knowing what he was getting into; he wouldn't back out early unless he died. He opened his locker, reaching down to unclip his sidearm.
And then he screamed like a little girl as something came flying out of his locker, tackling him to the ground. And from that day forward, Jarrett lost his nickname of "Iceman" in return for "Bitch," a shame he'd never live down.
Years later and shit
Jarrett joined up with Mobius and I'm bored of typing now
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