After thoroughly studying this world to Annie’s dismay, he would quickly learn Arcainians were also trapped on Arcai, and didn’t in fact manage to recoup their lost technologies due to the simplest fact that to do so they’d need ‘authorization’.

Military Clearances, and Bio Samples to even access their ‘former’ empire’s technology, evidently, The Last Arcainian Dynasty didn't desire to be overthrown in the chaos of the conflict and as a result they were solely to blame, had they not added said safeguards, they would have rebuilt ten times over.

As for their appearance, anatomies and technological level..

They were humanoid, and resemble humans alongside their anatomy however there were starch differences? They had porcelain white horns to a degree that when they reached their adulthood fell off, some still have the reattached or merely keep them for the sake of traditions.

The next on the list was their melanin mutations, whether it be light grey or silver undertones to differing shades of white, that’s all their melanin would allow, the same could be said for their hair and eyes?

If that wasn’t all, they reproduced incredibly slowly despite having an overabundant ‘eggs’. While the females of their race didn’t have menstrual cycles, rather their eggs were either in a permanent inactive state fueled by their stem cells, or only active when in contact with a male’s ‘seed’.

Despite such differences, their anatomy with the exception of their genetics were similar enough to be able to reproduce with humans? And no other species aside from their own strangely enough. Perhaps The Precursors thought of it as a sick joke or chose not to devolve that aspect?

If that wasn’t apparent enough, even the females of their species who were considered sterile would eventually become pregnant, however rather than their ordinary pregnancy cycle it became more comparable to that of a human’s rather than their own.

Instead of three weeks, it would take four months, and the only side effects were the potential lack of a horn, mutations involving the eyes, and less ‘dangers’. Meaning the mother could get drunk and fall down the stairs and the baby would be fine bizarrely enough? Which was almost as bizarre as those comparisons?

And their offspring would survive and remain healthy through diseases they wouldn’t ordinarily survive or were susceptible to. It also boosted the mother’s immune system and stem cell count, allowing for a quicker recovery.

Leaving Ferris to disregard those ‘fun’ facts that frankly shouldn’t make sense even if there were three thousand years of research proving it, and endless theories on the matter?

As for their technological advancement, humanity had ‘helped’ them in that regard. Whether it be laser weaponry, suits, armor, medical research, amenities, transportation, and education to a certain degree.

However, it also appeared the federation remnants kept the more dangerous elements out of the equation? Perhaps merely for their own self-preservation? However, with that came casinos, reconstruction of several major cities, assisting in currency & banking, and joint research.

And finally Terraforming and A.I.. naturally the natives had half of this already, however they couldn't recreate, or fill in the gaps lost without human assistance even if it was to repair and learn how to recreate much of their civilian technologies?

They even helped repair their derelicts, even if they couldn't leave the planet? Their slipspace technology was still damaged due to their devolution, however theoretically a human ship could slipspace in the atmosphere?

However, due to the weather patterns and the planet itself it may result in a hurricane, quakes, or any number of natural disasters. What’s more, most of the human ships were in orbit and they couldn’t get to them without being shot down by The Planetary Cannons.

It was still possible however, but considering there weren’t many attempts in the first place it appeared not many were motivated enough to do so after making this world their home?

“Ferris.. I’m going to shoot you if you don't put that tablet down! I’m not the queen of patience when it comes to adventure! Or are you planning on creating an entire generation of new WEL-WRIGHTS?! God knows if our dear ole daddy didn’t leave us a few surprises already? I might not even be the eldest?! I hope we have another sister! What? We need to even it out!”

Annie’s voice was calm, and devoted to poke fun at both him & their father. What truly hit the nail on the head was Anna not saying a word? Something of which both had soon took notice of..

“Disregard my previous assessment, take Jacob’s Shuttle. His words.. and I quote were to send him alone, don’t tell him anything, and don’t involve Diana nor Kate, and least of all don’t tell them..”

Anna’s words were spoken directly into his neural implant, confusing him and at the same time Anna as she had yet to catch on and assumed by Diana he meant ‘her’.

As for Kate.. Ferris had no idea who that was, and considering Anna didn’t specify who that was, she likely assumed he already knew? And by the time Ferris informed Annie he had to go alone she became rather ‘upset’.

“So what you’re telling me.. we could have spent the last three hours bonding and exploring, instead you wasted my time and now I have to find something to do while you run off and have a blast for an undetermined amount of time and I’m supposed to just wait?! When you come back.. expect a beating-hey come back here! It was a joke-”

Annie frustratingly remarked, subsequently, Ferris made his escape before she could even turn around.

…

One hour later..

Location: The War of Heavens

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

ETA: Five Minutes

LZ: ERROR

It took only mere moments for Anna’s concern to become justified..

At first, he believed the war had long since ended and left only automated defenses and mere remnants. He was wrong..

It became apparent, Arcainian Clones equipped with the same gear used during the war, and who had seemingly been trained were pumped out endlessly. The same applied to Fighters, weapons platforms, and.. what appeared to be one of their cruisers?

The Precursors were no better, rather they weren’t Precursors, merely that of their inferior echoes and shadows. The fact alone that this war was still ongoing on this isolated sub-continent was a testament, even if it appeared it was evidently contained likely by The Precursors themselves.

The War of Heavens.. and now he had to deal with it.. at least until he received a priority transmission whose origins were that of an Arcadian Channel, and a new set of coordinates. However, before he could even make use of it, Arcainian Interceptors were already on top of him..

And as he attempted to evade them and launch countermeasures, ‘something’ had seemingly connected to his neural implant?

“This is Tangent Inferior, Warrior Exemplar of The Precursor Assembly. Your claims to The Mantel hold little weight here. Vacate this zone or be marked as an interloper. The Warrior Caste owes humanity nothing. You have been informed-”

His voice boomed within his mind as Precursor Fighters devastated his pursuers only to begin firing upon him. A Cloned Precursor, and a Partial Ascendant.. it would seem even as a mere shadow of a Precursor, some of their power still lingered.

As did their inferior particle weapons? At the very least it was particle weapons, had it been anything else or what the Precursors actually used rather than their mere mining equipment, then his shields would have been atomized and him ash.

In that regard he was thankful, however, he could only be thankful for so much as said particle weapons could take down a standard alliance heavy cruiser..

Least of all a federation shuttle, however to The Federation’s Credit? They dealt with The Progenitors who made use of the very same, if not worse.

And considering this shuttle was built for a Cipher, then it could take a beating as he evaded half of their shots and took out his pursuers at the cost of being targeted by both side’s anti air contingents..

As a result he made it as far as he could before sending the shuttle back under heavy fire, as for Ferris.. he was now gliding avoiding interceptors and particle canons, however as he was moments away from being ‘partially’ atomized, he was returned to an all too familiar dream.

Only it was equally chaotic as The Precursor, ever so calm, and wise was now standing rather than hovering as cracks in the dream became a reality as if he had been enraged or purposely ‘cracked’ this reality..

Within moments, he had lifted Ferris up through sheer will alone and brought him inches away from his face.

“A Request. Not a Request. A Regret. Do not misunderstand. They are forfeit. Their corpses. Your Inheritance. End this. End them. End them all”

His voice cracked reality, and in such a way it threw Ferris through the cracks and back to his reality. The sheer unadulterated anger hidden under a mask of calm and ruin was so overwhelming that his adrenaline was left staggering as the particle beam was deflected.

“...”

Ferris now had something else to do..

As he was left no choice but to clear himself an LZ by making use of his jump pack and thrusters and using his particle pulse rifle connected to his suit to fire several explosive bursts, a handful of bolts, and finally a repeating salvo as he made his way through the warzone.

Suffice to say, this suit and its weaponry made the curator suit lackluster at best..

…

Five Hours later..

Evidently, a warzone was still a warzone and when both sides were the remnants from a conflict called The War of Heaven, it was.. to be expected? The sheer amount of bodies he had to go through were in the hundreds after climbing on thousands of corpses in doing so.

By his count he took out seventy precursor clones, fifty confused Arcainians, eight interceptors, over a hundred autonomous sentinels, and a randomly placed planetary cannon?

Of course, the battle had tens of thousands of occupants in an already chaotic large-scale battlefield making such feats not at all impressive in the long run, especially between getting stabbed, nearly decapitated, and forced into hand to hand combat and shot on occasion.

In the end after taking out that Arcainian Cruiser with said planetary canon before destroying it, he quickly learned the suit had a cloaking ability prompting him to use it before getting the hell out of there.

Deep strikes, assassinations, a horde of infection sure, but an endless war of attrition? Not to mention he wasn’t participating on either side.. which in turn made disengaging all too reasonable not to consider?

And as he ultimately made his way to the new set of coordinates, revealing an abandoned Arcainian Shipyard and makeshift Command Center..

He would soon examine his surroundings only to discover over a hundred Arcainians with slit throats and stabbed with their own ceremonial daggers. And after gathering they didn’t do it to themselves or each other, his threat assessment dramatically increased.

[Warning! Seraph Detected-]

It took him only a moment to look at his Hud before he was rather unceremoniously kicked at such speeds that he now found himself inside of the facility and partially inside of a wall..

Subsequently, the term Seraph was an earlier identification for The Seventh Temple, during a time not even The Federation knew were founded by The Arcadians, hence the nickname that had unironically coincided with what The Arcadians had called them.

Not only did this not bode well, his suit’s only advice after being kicked with unimageable forces was to escape. At least with the cloned precursors he had a proper tactical assessment.. not so much for a Seraph it would appear.

Which was comedic as The Progenitor Ascendants were equal to or potentially greater to The Seraphs. And in the end, it was all utter nonsense, as The Seraph came into view..

She moved with unspeakable grace, her suit a marvel of the golden age of technology.

Sleek black metallic fabric of unknown material clung tightly to her form, enhanced with barely noticeable, flexible armor layered in such a way to protect her vitals without forgoing her agility or flexibility through its implementation.

And stealth technology in the form of threads and other methods capable of rendering her completely invisible and when combined by its elaborate sound dampening properties ensured she didn’t make a sound.

Her gauntlets, seamless and unnoticeable, and yet they housed concealed blades, an additional retractable blade, and untold poisons accessible on a whim using her fingertips, while ultimately also serving ‘other’ purposes to allow the manipulation of technology and surgical intervention..

Her helmet resembled that of a recently decapitated skull of an ascendant progenitor, and as such contained long since lost technologies she could control seamlessly through her thoughts alone.

Her every step was a blur, soundless, and left no mark as if she was purely stepping on oxidized air, before seemingly disappearing without a trace. There was a clear and distinct difference between the assassin he faced in beta’s core, and The Seraph he now faced.

She made it seem as though he had fought a mere ‘copy’.. none of which boded well for him.. as if a recurrent theme?