Aragorn stood nervously next to the Squat captain, Thorne, standing next to the baron Admiral. On the other side of the baron Admiral was the captain of the Draconid, and the hologram of the brutish Kroks, the green skin of the massive sentient shimmering, his lower jaw long replaced with a metal one, as was one eye.
Before them was a table, with a holo projector, showing a massive representation of the galaxy, showing markers of assumed forward positions that the Abominations, or as Midgardians called them, demons, had, sitting around what they called Everwatch station. Similarly, the other station that had been consumed and corrupted was also marked…the technology in that one didn't match anything anyone had encountered, and so far, apart from consuming the station, hadn't made a move, nor were there any signs of similar vessels. Yet.
The large double doors opened up as the Eldarian guards allowed the representatives in, getting a confused murmur out of many of the other Captains around the chamber, holographic or not. "I thought you said there was a midgardian amongst them" the Squat said in his gravelly language, quietly, eyeing the construct at the front, especially the archaic slugger on its hip, as well as the littler one, who's eye traveled around the room, taking in everything as he kept pace.
"There is. What's left of him is inside that larger construct, if my suspicion is correct." Aragorn murmured back softly, with a little difficulty due to how rusty he was with the language. The Squat blinked a little and looked at the midgardian with more interest now, even as the others around them whispered in hushed tones at the revelations. The Krok perked up at that, eyeing the mechanoid up and down, as if assessing him.
The Baron Admiral stood up from the chair/throne, bowing to the quarette before them, and received a bow in turn from the quarette took up positions beside their captain. "Welcome aboard. I am Baron Saur Edhellen, Admiral of the Yggdrasill, of the Noldrorin empire." Came the light, if imposing voice of the baron Admiral, looking amongst the four sentients before them, searching for the captain amongst them, before settling on the elderly looking wolf.
"Asimov Voidbuilt, Captain of the EHS Event Horizon, of the human Federation and its allies." Came the voice of the towering cyborg, catching the Admiral off guard, and earning Aragorn a bit of a side eye, invisible to most, from the Admiral. Aragorn remained stoic and serene, mentally amused at his old friend, who clearly was unimpressed at the surprise…. Aragorn thought it served him right for not telling him that they were going all the way to their home galaxy until AFTER the fleet had left.
"I see. Apologies for not announcing ourselves. We had hoped to strike fast and hard against the Abominations before they could get a sizable foothold. We were unaware that you already had established combat protocols against them." The baron said, looking back to the cyborg as Asimov tilted his head a little. "Normally, they sweep through a galaxy on one go, like locusts, consolidating all life there into biomass to fuel their war machine, their society."
"This is not our first encounter with them. I believe this is our second encounter with them, after the first fleet was dealt with. Records seem to indicate that we had barely held them off last time, before their remaining vessels escaped. Since then, it seems that our forces began preparing for a secondary encounter, and established scouting vessels to explore for the source of the hostile fleet. Unfortunately, our searches have not turned up any hints as to their locations as of yet." Asimov said calmly, optics focused on the Baron, though on occasion, his head would spin whenever someone moved or made the slightest sound, as if to focus on them for a moment, before head snapped back to the baron. Needless to say, it was…unnerving, but understandable. Mostly.
"I see. That would also explain the size of the fleet in wait, as well as their unusual wariness of this galaxy. Tell me, does the name Chirons Child mean anything?" The baron asked, interest showing a little, despite the serene appearance he tried to maintain. Aragorn perked up as well, as did several of the other higher up Captains, which was understandable, given that that was the name given to the vessel by the Abominations that had torn them apart despite its supposedly underwhelming appearance.
"I'm afraid not. I will have to speak with Mother to see if she knows, as she was around during that time frame, though she was forced into a form of suspended animation during a fight with them when one of their weapons knocked her out of the fight. It interacted…strangely with her FTL drive and sent her across the galaxy." Asimov said. Oddly, the Wolf and the reptilian like one both were trying to stifle looks of amusement, before they changed to one's of muted surprise, looking at something behind the Krork captain, though it didn't last for long. A quick glance in a reflective ornent in the room showed nothing….though…odd marks were on the wall, though that could be just a trick of the ornaments details showing something not there.
"Iz it possible dat it might be under anoder name? Da gitz might not know what the middies named dat ship. Speakin' O' shipz, da boyz and I wanna see what kind O' dakka your boat haz." The Krork said, deep, gravelly voice filling the room as the weapon crazy sentient managed a grin, despite the metal jaw he had. Many other Captains nodded at the Krorks assessment, though several face palmed, while the lower tiered Krork Captains grinned, nodding in excitement at the question, earning a chuckle from the wolf and just this Done look from the lizard.
"Once the Diplomats arrive, we can do a weapons assessment and comparison, perhaps a tactics assessment as well, if we have the time and permission." Asimov said after a moment, before things turned….drier, for lack of a better term, many Captains gaining the usual glazed eye look as the Baron Admiral and Asimov began the process of going through the motions, though the reptilian seemed to keep rapt attention, listening.
Aragorn began idly taking guesses as to each of the others roles as he waited through the rest of the proceedings. Perhaps a diplomat in training? The wolf like one seemed more like the security detail, though what could the smaller construct be? Perhaps a servant or aid? Aid would be more likely, and a new one, as well……… ah well. He could ask after it was all said and done……
/----------------/
Asimov couldn't get out of there fast enough. "Note to self. I despise playing diplomat." The cyborg said as soon as they were out of earshot, in an antechamber, as the Admiral spoke with his Captains. The cyborg had already done scans for bugs and listening devices, and found a quiet spot, and took care to speak quietly, so as to not attract attention.
Zedara snorted to herself. "Figured as much, captain. I've been connected to your head enough times to know you'd rather be flying with us in deep, uncharted space, or in the middle of a firefight then standing around." She said with a smirk, even as blink twisted his head around to watch the crew wandering past, many staring at the quarette as they talked.
"Lots of these species look like they are straight out of a human fantasy media. There's so many!" The little bot said, watching in fascination as a dwarf like one wandered past, who eyed them back, before a wiry elf like sentient, in a white and gold robe, hurried past, staff glowing eerily, before freezing as they stared at it. Slowly, they waved it back and forth, frowning, before a thin line ran from it, aimed at Asimov, who tilted his head at it.
The sentients gaze met the cyborgs, and they froze up, before speaking in a strange tongue sharply, before fumbling for something in a robe pocket. "Captain……is there something we need to know?" Zedara said, almost flatly, getting a shrug out of her captain, as the elf like being approached them, a little cube now hanging off their staff.
"Apologies, I'm aware you are part of the forward diplomat team sent to us, but are any of you a psionic?" They asked, their voice high, feminine, once translated by the little device. Zedara frowned for a moment, while Daresh hummed a little.
"I think the closest thing we have is an Astrogator, outside of the Saline. Not many of those out there. And due to it being so rare, there's little in the way of training for them." The Wargen rumbled, rubbing the bottom of his muzzle as he spoke, frowning a bit, as the Glinch tilted his head more.
"Does the Horizon count? I can still feel her even though we aren't connected. Comet as well, now that I think about it." The little bot said, rubbing the back of his head, turning it first to face the location that their combat shuttle, the Comet, rested, it's mind gentle, old, humming softly, before switching to the Horizon, who was still fuming about the cannons being aimed at them, and was getting a little twitchy at her crew being so far away from her for so long on a unknown vessel.
"Only out of those of you here." The elf said, though confusion was forming on their face. Going by the double take a Squat did as they wandered past, followed by a Draconian, it wasn't a common sight. Both were watching with curiosity as Asimov spoke.
"Out of us here, I have minimal Astrogation training, due to records aboard the Horizon being…out of date, due to being out of contact with the rest of the galaxy." Asimov admitted, getting surprised looks from his crew, as the Elf stepped back in surprise, before casting a spell.
The quarette all glowed, Asimov glowing a soft gold coloration, though it twisted with a little black, warping reality a little around him, not unlike a black hole, though less destructive, more akin to a skin, or armor. Zedara and Daresh both glowed more of a soft blue, and Blink a gentle green, which the little Glinch stared at in fascinated wonder, twisting his hands infront of his optic, back and forth, watching as the outline traveled to stay on the edges of his body, no matter the orientation.
"Thats- how have you gone untrained and unseen for so long!? And, what is this? It looks dark, but it feels…warm…..?" The elf said, walking close, before a sharp barking sound was heard.
"Elen! What are you doing!?" Came a deep, guttural voice, as a draconid approached them, towering over all of them, their wings ruffled slightly, their armor a similar shock white and golden color, with a strange insignia on its shoulder. "How many times have I told you, ASK before you do the Soul Seer spell! One of these days, you will do it to someone who might not appreciate-" the draconid was cut off by a multi-voiced snarl echoing throughout the antechamber, the sound and smell of hissing, melting metals, all coming from behind the elf like sentient.
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"ƁÅĈĶ. ØFF." Was heard as something flickered into view for a few moments, standing with pointed, mechanized claws imbedded in the deck, digging a few dents, as a molten substance pouring from the edges of jagged jaws, melting into the deck, while barrels glowed with eldritch energy, aimed down at the elf before it faded again.
"Wh-what in the name of the allfather was that!?" The elf sputtered as she pressed herself against the wall, staring at the spot the thing had vanished. The Dwarf like species, on the other hand, looked like a celebrity had walked into the room, slapped someone with a fish, and then walked back out again.
"That was a SHIP SOUL." The dwarf said with a reverent voice, making several in the room react in different ways. As this had been in a commonly used antechamber, they had gained quite the crowd, many whom were pale at the sight of the creature.
"You were lucky. Wisconsin is normally a little more ... aggressive with those who try and harm what she considers hers, or in this case, her fleets, if records are correct." Asimov said as calmly as he could, while his crew stared at where the ship soul had been, stiffening imperceptibly as they felt something gently wrapping around them, whispering unintelligible words in the backs of their minds….and the aggravation that that the Wisconsin couldn't eat an idiot just yet. If there was so much as a bolt out of place or a bruise on her sister's crew….. all bets were off, and she would be having her meal.
The draconid shook it off first, groaning as they placed a hand on one of their horns. "Elen. THIS is why you Ask before you do. Back to your chambers, we will discuss this later." They said firmly before shaking their head, watching as the elf quickly slip off down the hall. With a heavy sigh, the draconid turned back to the small group, wings folded against their back. "I'm sorry about that. Its…uncommon for us to encounter anyone with any level of psionics as of late. In a sense, we are a dying breed." They explained, wing pulling wide as a dwarf like being huffed.
"Aye, and it's a great pity as well. Some of the best forgemasters were psionicly sensitive, resulted in their creations gaining spirits, souls…. Things like THAT vessel that just appeared. Bit possessive, that one. Surprised Yggdrasill didn't try and eject her-" the entire vessel shuddered slightly, and a slight, fearful rumble was heard. "Uhhhhh……" The dwarf started, bushy eyebrows raised as he glanced around the vessel.
As if in response, a wall shifted, showing a viewing screen of some form….and showed the fleet outside….and then marked phantesmal vessels, idly floating about the fleet, all an outline, short of the Event Horizon herself. "............." The dwarf stood in silent shock, mouth moving silently as he counted the ships, getting a strange mix of paler as well as looking more excitable at the same time.
".....lets…take this somewhere private." The draconid says at last, before leading the four away as the massive ship accidentally distracted the rest of the crew by revealing that they were essentially surrounded.
/------------------/
Novak bit back a groan of frustration as he sat down in the Psionics quarters on the ship. He felt everyone of his centuries, and even though the shielded chambers kept the hubbub of the crew at bay, he still heard the Yggdrasill, of course…and the horror that was the 'Wisconsin' that shadowed the quarette into the chambers, like a flight sister protecting her sisters hatchlings………
He bit back a shudder as he realized that they were dealing with what amounted to an entire flight keeping an eye on them, ready to tear into them if they so much as poked a scale out of line. But, back to the matter at hand.
"Now then, Asimov, you said?" The draconid said, gazing at the taller construct/cyborg, mentally steeling himself, as he received a nod in confirmation. "What Elen cast earlier was a method we use to check for Psionically sensitive individuals, and she cast it on all four of you without permission. I'm already going to be handing out her punishment for this, so that will be handled…. However, all of you showed psionic aptitude, if on different levels." The draconid said, eyeing the smaller construct as well. "And as such, if things work out, I would like to request that, at the least, I can send someone with you to help train all of you to use the abilities, as well as help spread the teachings." He rumbled, already having someone in mind. Might be best for her to leave the nest for a bit anyways.
The mechanoid seemed to tilt his head, before glancing at the others. The way his head spun around, stopping sharply, then spinning around again was unnerving to say the least, but wasn't the worst thing. "It would be best to speak with them first before we agree." The mechanoid said, getting a nod from the Draconid. Understandable, and it worked to give the person in question a chance to test her new Captains fighting skills.
"Agreeable. This way….I must warn you, you may be challenged for right of command, as is how my people operate." The draconid warned, as he lead them towards the dojo, completely missing Aragorn slipping into the room, and paling a little at the sight before him.
Once the quarette were settled in, Novak went to go and find one of his combat psionics….. she would do for this…
He soon found the green and white draconid in the sparring rooms, her staff glowing dangerously as she fired spell after spell at the targets around the room, slipping under and around the swinging arms of the dummies as they nearly struck her like she struck them, making him sigh. She was going to wear herself out, one of these days, which was half of why he wanted to get her a small crew to keep her in check. Maybe giving her someone to help learn would help her.
/---------------------------/
Aragorn settled in with a long sigh, watching in trepidation as the towering cyborg calmly pulled magazine after magazine and stuffed it into his back, before removing the mag from his slugger, cleared the slide, and clicked it onto the mag holster on the side before handing it off to the reptilian, Zedara.
The old wolf next to him was already settled in, stretching as bones popped back into place, relaxing, as they all watched their captain step down to wait at the side of the ring, head spinning around as if to scan the area he was in, before locking to a forward position, on the doors that Novak would come from.
"If you don't mind me asking" Aragorn said slowly, watching the other captain closely, curiosity getting the better of him. "What kind of combat frame is your captain in? Looks like it could go a few rounds with the Abominations with little issue." The eldarian asked out of curiosity, blinking as he got a snort out of the lizard.
"Thats… not a combat frame. That's a old research frame, meant for an exploration android, refitted for the captain to use as a body." She said with flat amusement. "Doesn't mean you can underestimate it, though. The old MK12 frames were meant to be put through and explore extreme environments, so naturally, they were made to take a hit."
"I've seen the captain use a few…interesting tactics. He knows the limits of that frame and uses them when and where he can. I'm curious to see how your people react to some of them." The old wolf said as he gave his strange grin, as they heard the door opening….
Aragorn bit back a groan. Of course Novak had picked Viraka. One of the more aggressive draconids on board, not to mention one who was more ruthless.
Novak had Asimov approach, and stand on the other side of the arena. "The rules are simple. No external armament, no external use of psionics. No deadly attacks may connect. No permanently injuring your opponent." The elderly Draconid said, looking at the two hard, getting a nod out of Asimov, and a chuffed of confirmation from Viraka. Beside Aragorn, the Eldarian could feel the lizard like sentient raise her hackles…..
Novak made a movement, signaling the beginning of the match. As soon as it began, Viraka charged, her scales shimmering as she moved rapidly, closing the distance faster than most could react to, claws out, only for Asimov to seemingly gone boneless, falling to the floor, and allowing her to pass over, his bending, segmented, snake like limbs lifting him up off the floor in moments.
His claws wrapped around the Naga like draconids tail, and yanked her back, his torso rotating while his foot claws remained stationary on the floor, flinging the drakon across the arena. In moments, she rolled and launched herself from the floor at the cyborg, a snarl stretching across her face, her wings extended, claws on them open wide like her main ones, charging again.
Unlike before, Asimov didn't go limp, but leapt up into the air, hitting the ceiling, and propelled himself down, slamming them both into the floor, before grabbing the draconid as she tried to coil her tail around him, and flung her away again. This time, however, she was ready, her tail wrapping around one leg and yanked it out from under him, only for him to use his hand claws and launch himself up and over another strike.
She slithered around as Asimov, as the cyborg twisted his body, keeping them face to face before he seemed to move. It was like he was there one moment, and suddenly across the room the next, heat billowing off his thermal exchangers, optics glowing eerily as he seemed to move faster then the naked eye, using his joints to bend out of the way of strikes, returning a few of his own, striking the draconids stomach hard enough to knock the air out of her before flinging himself up and over her shoulder.
He was visibly starting to slow down again, optics no longer near on burning, heat still blazing from his exchangers, preventing his opponent from wrapping around him due to the sheer heat. However, this time, Viraka had grabbed his arm and tried to fling him away, only for his claws to wrap around her forearm and use the strength she used to fling him away to swing back around, feet first, slamming into her body, before leaping off of it.
Rolling over and wheezing for a few moments, the draconid pulled herself up, shaking her head before snarling again, shifting from a less aggressive stance to a more tactical one, even as Asimov took a boxer's stance.
They closed the distance, striking one another with a cross-counter each, making the wolf wince at the force used. Asimov's head spun around one full rotation before locking forward again, his other armshot forward, claws wide open for a facsimile of a palm strike, even as the draconid shook off the blow and swung her tail around to try and sweep her opponents legs out from under him.
Adjusting for the attack, asimov used the now aborted palmstrike to grab onto her and lift himself up, putting his full, several hundred pounds of weight onto her frame, using both feet to slam into her head, launching himself away from her again, only to launch off the floor, into the air, arms spinning around like a propeller as his midsection spun rapidly, head locked on the draconids form as said dragon like sentient launched herself out of the way, wincing as she watched the cyborg hit the floor, claws digging in and stopped his upper body from moving, but not his lower body as she felt his foot claws grab onto her.
She spun and spun, trying to wriggle out of the cyborgs grasp, and trying not to be ill before she was flung away, disoriented, slamming hard against a wall, swaying as she got up, three pairs of eyes trying to lock onto her opponent, before she felt something grab her from behind, putting her in a headlock, her tail pinned to the floor and unable to move. "Yield." She heard behind her, making her snarl, and thrash a little, trying to pull free. Unfortunately, all she managed to do was make herself ill, too disoriented to fight.
"Winner, Asimov." Rang out through the arena, much to Aragorns shock.
/--------------/
Viraka hissed as the healers checked her over, dealing with the bruising she had ignored during the fight, thanks to a mix of internalized psionics and adrenaline. "You're lucky whoever you were fighting was being careful. Any higher and they would have hit your wing joints and potentially crushed them." One of the healers said, finishing up with the bruising, and broken ribs on her back.
"Didn't feel like iTTT-!" She said, turning into a near shriek as she felt her tail realigned from where it had popped out of place when she was spun around like a top or for G force training.
"You're on bed rest for the next week. Concussion as well in addition to all the bruising and stressing your muscles out. I told you not to keep using your psionics to boost your muscles constantly, and what did you do?" One of the healers grumbled, grabbing some salve and applying them to overextended muscles….
The doors nearby burst open, with a growling Wolf dragging his protesting captain in by the arm. "-stunt I expect from a idiotic pup! What in the name of the Lunar Mother possessed you to Overclock your neural implants!?" The elder sentient said, before pushing the cyborg into one of the beds, while several healers looked at one another, dumbfounded. Aragorn was following behind the quarette of the forward diplomatic team, rubbing his eyes with the air of someone completely done, while Novak followed, eye ridge raised.
The smell of burning linen was picked up, making the medics yank the part construct up and look in horror as the heat exchangers left burns on their clean, thankfully disposable, linens. "What in the name of the allfather?" One muttered as the heat still bellowed out, though it was slowly lessening.
"This foolish pup" The wolf said, waving his arm at the construct, "decided to counter the OTHER foolish pups trick with one of his own. When she overlooked her body, he overclocked his neural implants to be able to think faster than she could move, at the risk of cooking his organic components, but going by the sheer amount of heat dumped by the exchanges, it has to be a Quantum core-" the wolf started, before getting cut off mid rant.
"Positronic, actually. And I am still within functional tolerances, I need a few moments to allow thermal sinks to eject the heat." At this point, all three of the others of the team looked in horror at their captain. The others looked on in confusion while Novak paled considerably, which was a considerably hard thing to make a Draconian do.
"A positronic-!? Captain, that's a SHIP/STATION class computer core that your species won't even TELL anyone else how to make! How the Thall is one in your HEAD!?" Zedara said, grabbing his shoulders, twisting him to face her, concern clearly evident on her face.
"Mother installed it into me so as to allow me to be able to interface better as well as to protect my mind. Numerous failsafe were included, including redundancies in cooling systems, tempature sensors and more. I could have operated for longer if needed, but did not need to. I…may have overclocked more then I should have, and dialed back accordingly for the duration of the fight." He said, tilting his head, as Novak groaned.
"Flight Mother help us and Allfather protect us. There's two of them now." He said, muzzle in his hands as he felt a gentle patting on his shoulder.
"ẂÍŁĽ. ŴÆṬĈĤ. ØVƏŔ. ŇØ. ẀØŔ§É. ŤĤÊÑ. ŇÈPĤƏẄ. ÆŃÐ. ÇŔÈẀ."
The voice was quiet, but everyone heard it, and Novak looked up and paled more as he saw the towering, eldritch form of a warped, beastial, ancient Iowa class patting his shoulder, giving a lopsided, horrific grin, dozens of glowing eyes blinking in the shadows of her turrets and conning tower, crinkled into a amused grin……..
Several thumps were heard, as several of the healers fainted, including Blink, while Aragorn held onto the table as the implications slowly set in…….
/-------------/