Claye Eligah
Claye Eligah surveyed the chaos below, his thoughts racing as he processed the situation. Ethan had referred to the Xen'ael Varkash as a "walker."
Claye was conflicted internally, any soldier from the old days back to date would have simply called it "Chickenfoot."
Calling it a walker was a statement of how it appeared in its damaged form, or when landing, it was a statement that was present at the very beginning of the war, or something that somebody who didn’t live through the war would have said.
It was a troubling thought, one Claye didn’t have the time to delve upon at the moment, but that needed careful consideration.
Claye would’ve targeted the guns first, but this strategy was just as good; maybe Ethan was thinking about capturing the vehicle as intact as possible.
A daring move on par with the SEALs of old.
He watched the monsters below execute Ethan's commands with mechanical precision, retreating into the shadows of the buildings to set up ambushes.
Ethan's implied evaluation of vacating the building would have proven valid if Claye hadn't ensured the shield generator could handle any challenge.
Since Dexton owned a light cruiser and the remaining old empire tech on Taboo, it seemed natural to do so.
The pirates in the street seemed as surprised as Ethan; most of them started to flee, while some even fired back at the vehicle.
The Xen'ael Varkash was a relic and while its destructive capacity and defenses were still formidable, it wasn’t invincible especially if one considered its overall size and the situation it was put in that was far from ideal.
Claye scoffed internally, shaking his head at the reckless use of the Xen'ael Varkash. It meant Dexton’s lieutenant, Këßtræ, was getting desperate, but why not simply let it go now that it was a losing battle?
Këßtræ was a Ṿëšťæŕöß, a species known for their empathic and spiritual nature, typically self-restraining due to their susceptibility to emotional highs.
Claye felt only scorn for Këßtræ; Dexton’s lieutenant's actions were a disgrace to any commanding officer, let alone for the disciplined demeanor expected of their kind.
If Dexton didn’t feel the need to rein her in, he would have to rise to the occasion, maybe taking back City 29 management for a while.
Claye thought he was far too old to play pirate again, it was up to the next generation, and Dexton represented that generation.
-Chief Warrant Officer Sĩýĩx’xälà, Specialist Zĩýĩr'räk, bring down that Xen'ael Varkash. -
He ordered after switching the comm channel before switching again and returning to speaking to Ethan.
-No need to rush, we’re the ones that brought down that, it can’t fire its main ordinance anymore. Offer support for my officers, they will bring the big guns needed to relieve you of the burden of bringing that thing down. I expect you to come to me, without that rifle if you please. Tessa, care to show him the way so he doesn’t get lost?-
It was time to determine whether or not it was possible to trust Ethan or if he was a threat to be eliminated, he went to the weapons cabinet to recover his plasma rifle.
He would have to use it once again if the need arose.
Tessa Eligah
Tessa Eligah examined the figures in front of her, her eye implants whirring softly as they scanned the room. She had seen four of them together now and had time to compare.
The energy signature of the nanites was eerily similar to the Kiëlpšâ accident records, where the attempt to steal human nanotechnology had triggered a catastrophic gray goo scenario.
The nanites consumed the entire research center and the Kiëlpšâ asteroid it was built on, leaving nothing but void where the asteroid once existed.
She narrowed her focus on each of them, starting with the Versel, a woman in her thirties. Tessa’s implants identified her as Officer Lemela, navigation officer of the freighter Xalaxion as reported by the federation’s archives.
The Xalaxion had gone missing in the fringe four to five standard months prior, and there was a push within the CTP to have it expunged from the records, all hands included.
Next was the Krynnak, a woman in her seventies, who self-identified as Xyra, an abductee with official data expunged from galactic records.
Tessa’s implants struggled when focusing on Ethan, showing inconsistent results.
She frowned and moved her gaze to Arther, a Myar male who had barely begun his teens.
There was nothing wrong with her implants; they were the latest model, capable of scanning through the Myar suit.
She mentally commanded her optical scanners to highlight the discrepancies; the results were appalling.
Ethan’s body showed signs of cryogenic burial procedures. He had endured extensive cybernetic recreation. Nanites constituted 87% of his body mass.
She was shocked, after all, cryogenic burial dated back to before the empire reached Earth, the main difference with cryosleep was the control of the freezing process of the latter and the substitution of blood that happened in the former.
Knowing the extent of the complications of the burial, it was logical that literally every organ had been repaired, replaced, fused, or partnered with nanite-created cybernetics that were functional yet diverged from actual reproductions or substitutions.
The work was seamless, without a true core and Tessa was baffled; her dad's condition was barely sustainable at 19,71% of his body mass in nanites.
She had to repeat the scan a third time, but her implants confirmed the result: Ethan's body mass was composed of 87% nanites.
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Once nanites comprised 20% of an individual’s body mass, natural death typically ensued, as the body's organic systems failed to sustain the necessary biological functions to provide the body and nanites the necessary energy.
That was over four times the expected limit, this level of nanite integration far exceeded anything documented or even theorized within her extensive experience and the existing medical literature.
How could Ethan still be alive, if even considered so with such an overwhelming nanite presence?
The nanites were not merely augmenting his body; at that stage, they were effectively sustaining and even simulating vital functions typically carried out by organic systems.
This defied the fundamental understanding of the interactions between human biology and nanotechnology.
If she considered the nanite levels in Lemela and Xyra, which weren’t human in the first place, the thing just blew her mind.
Nanotech applied to non-humans was in its early stages of development, yet she stood in front of two fully integrated individuals with levels of nanites off the current charts.
Such a leap, if correctly harvested, could revolutionize medical science, extending human life far beyond current limitations, saving untold billions of allies on the battlefield, and allowing her father to live many more years.
This however came with its own dilemma, since the nanites had not just repaired or enhanced; they had essentially reconstructed Ethan’s body, utilizing a unique blueprint that diverged from anything she ever saw, raising fundamental questions about Ethan’s identity and autonomy.
Was Ethan truly himself, or had the nanites created a new entity entirely? Was he independent or a servant of the machines that kept him together?
A delicate cold touch shook her from her musings and she focused back on the room she was in, almost blushing for having focused so hard on her discoveries that she forgot the situation she was in; now her father was sure to give her two hear full if he ever found out.
-Are you done scanning me? It seems the general is calling for us both.-
-How did you know?- Was all she could ask, trying to figure out the situation.
ßÿñæptrâ Löckßhÿă Këßtræ
She stood straight on the Xen'ael Varkash bridge, her eyes dissecting all that was happening around her, a sneer twisting her flawless and gorgeous lips.
The color of her skin displayed the green tint of her disgust for the scene developing underneath.
The human's monstrous allies successfully carried out their attack with precision, throwing her forces into disarray and forcing her to board that remnant, the repairs yet half-complete.
Her men were abandoning her, with cowardice and dread as palpable as the hum of the plasma battery.
She adored experiencing other people's fears, as long as they were only about her and her alone.
-Pathetic lesser canines- she grumbled, her voice conveying a low growl that resounded across the bridge, making her officers shiver as they should.
Today, they were going to witness her rage, the spirits of her ancestors would see her victory, and what would happen to those who ran, reluctant to die in her noble name?
She intended to make them all suffer for their cowardice; the ultimate manifestation of her rage was caused by a group of pirates striving to get away from that vehicle while daring to fire on it.
She operated the secondary weapon control with a quick, cruel gesture, and laser beams mowed down the pirates right where they were standing.
This was intentional for once, not those she had killed while merely trying to catch the robotic allies of the humans.
-Fleeing like frightened pups- she hissed, nearly spitting fury and bile. -You insult the souls of the ancient pirates and the moniker Dexton's Dogs.-
Her eight eyes, filled with rage, studied the pandemonium outside, which was presented on the vehicle's displays for everyone to view.
As she watched more of her men scrambling, falling, and failing, her smirk turned into a determined grimace, until she descended from her command platform, her movements precise and lethal.
She marched through the corridors of the ship, her talons slashing the throats of those who had the misfortune of crossing her path.
As she reached the exterior hatch, the battle sounds grew louder, the vibrations more intense. The human’s mechanical allies were relentless, but Këßtræ refused the very notion of yielding.
She emerged onto the surface, above the ship, her presence commanding attention as her six arms embraced a weapon each.
-You shame your ancestors! You shame me! Face your fate with courage or die as the worthless specks of astral dust you are!- She roared, her eyes locked onto a group of fleeing monstrosities.
-I will show you, pathetic lesser-born, how it’s done!-
She sprang from the deck into their group with a snarl, and the earth appeared to softly but quickly come to greet her.
She experienced an unfamiliar feeling of weightlessness as Taboo's gravity protracted the fall, but whilst it occurred slower than in her homeworld, she could still feel the acceleration tugging at her.
She proceeded to shoot these abominations, each blow a display of her rage, and she scored several hits inflicting damage; At the same time, her attacks only intensified she didn't manage to bring her targets down for the count as she expected.
They still somehow moved, they still somehow were operational, just enough to spite her!
She touched the ground, her body impacting the surface with a force that sent a shiver down her spine.
A normal being would have experienced several broken bones, even considering that Taboo had 0,61% of standard gravity, but she was made to reign supreme above those inferior to her!
She was Këßtræ, of the honored ßÿñæptrâ family of the glorious Löckßhÿă clan and she would have her fill of the enemy’s emotions of fear and awe before having a bite at their entrails!
The ground vibrated beneath her footwear as she continued her rampage, she turned around; her peripheral vision allowed her to see the limbs of the Xen'ael Varkash, the once-mighty supports now wavering.
The ancient machine wobbled, a familiar combination of weaponry undermining its structural integrity.
So the humans and their minions had not remained in hiding, prioritizing their safety and leaving all to those mechanical abominations.
A burst of plasma erupted right next to her, knocking her violently to the ground and temporarily impairing her vision.
A second explosion followed projecting her against a building, her perception definitively shutting down for good.
She felt the ground quake as the massive machine hit the ground. She lay there motionless, barely aware of the echoes of devastation all around her.
ßÿñæptrâ Löckßhÿă Këßtræ's vision wavered, the world around her a blur of motion and light as she struggled to regain her footing after the plasma blasts.
She could barely keep track of the time passing, or the fact that it seemed that she was seemingly being moved, had the spirits taken her?
Her senses were still reeling, disoriented by the flashing and the fact that she had been thrown around like a piece of driftwood.
A series of rapid, skittering sounds caught her attention; she squinted through the haze, trying to focus on the source.
Emerging from the darkness, she saw several creatures advancing toward her; they were about the size of a Vnì extended to 25 lengths, roughly 20 Vnì taller each, their movements unnervingly fluid despite their mechanical nature.
These beings weren't like anything she'd seen before.
Each one was an amalgamation of smaller mechanical entities, their limbs clicking and clacking as they moved with eerie coordination.
They had elongated bodies covered in a dark, metallic sheen, with multiple jointed appendages extending from their central mass.
The limbs and bodies seemed to ripple with motion, moving with a predatory grace that sent a shiver down her spine.
She noted the way their limbs ended in sharp points, resembling the pincers of a carnivorous insect rather than any creature she was familiar with.
Their segmented bodies undulated as they advanced, giving the impression of a swarm of smaller machines operating in perfect unison.
Tiny, red, and unblinking glowing eyes were arrayed in clusters on their fronts and as they closed the distance, she realized they were emitting a faint, high-pitched hum.
She tried to raise again, to fight these mechanical horrors, but one of the creatures extended a limb, and a bolt of electrical energy shot toward her.
The shock hit her with a jolt, sending a searing pain through her body, her muscles contracted involuntarily, and her vision exploded into a cascade of white light.
The world around her spun wildly, and she felt her consciousness slipping away, the last thing she registered was some units of the mechanical swarm closing in on her, their fangs clicking ominously as darkness consumed her senses completely this time.