\| Divided Paths |/ - Chapt. 3 - Resolute - Biome (IC)

Gorth polished his old helmet, fingers automatically skirting around the deep scratches that criss-crossed the metal. With a possible threat looming close by, the troops and guards onboard had been put on high alert, the majority having gathered at the main Dropclaw bay below the processing maw. Despite the numbers they had, the higher ups in their control room had deemed it needworthy to deploy others for combat in a case of severe emergency.

Looking up, Gorth could see that the majority of younger troops were staring at him in something similar to awe. It was doubtless that they had heard of him during their training and the scar across his face made him pretty easy to recognise.

The older Xenoqqi was about to put his helmet on to join the ranks when a Prowler Drone blocked his path, several troopers riding side-saddle on the machine's back. A field commander (shown by her large left shoulder plate painted in an orange colour) dropped down from the Drone and stepped forward, removing her own helmet, one that sported a painted on design resembling a toothy grin.

Gorth saluted.

Tucking the mouthed helmet under her arm, the Commander returned the salute. "At ease Master Gorth, I have come to give you the news the higher ups have decided to reinstate your previous rank, so officially we welcome you back to the Xenoqqi military. We're short of working Havoc suits though, pretty much the only one not taken is the Captain's herself".

"It doesn't matter Commander, I was always more at home in a Thresher".

"I'll see to it then that you'll get one, but try to keep the butchery to a minimum. It would probably help if we took some as slaves and we don't want another Berackas fiasco".

Gorth nodded at this, fingers sliding through the many scratches on the helmet. So many memories...

With that the Field Commander lit a metallic cigar and inserted it into her mouth, the smell of magnesium emanating from the wafting smoke. "I'm fairly sure this will be a breeze with you on our side. The legendary Gorth, slayer of the High Jorghathn, destroyer of the planet Berackas, thwarter of the Horgashh Assassination. If these newcomers decide to attack they're gonna regret meeting you".

((I'll get a post with Ifka and Braaj happening sometime, Gorth just needed a bit more fleshing out.))

After Lucean, Survivor and Corena had gathered their possessions, Jex, with all his impatient vigor, led them out of the weapons storage and, via the lift, down several levels to the recruits' quarters. Going to look for Keo first, he found no-one, and then checked Avlex's quarters, only to find that the guards had thrown both Keo and Avlex in the same room. Any protocol had obviously been abandoned with the arrival of the Alkisuns.

Jex entered Avlex's quarters very briskly, told them both what was happening, and walked out; he expected them to follow.

With that, every recruit besides Ariz had been found, but a brief enquiry revealed he had been found and was now being helped by the Alkisuns. Satisfied with their progress, Jex led them down to the large, empty loading bay where so many of the recruits had worked earlier. He saw a group of Alkisuns carrying the UFIAI unit they had found earlier, but paid little overall attention to this.

Once everyone was gathered in the same location, Jex hurried to make sure everyone was ready to leave. He seemed somehow younger than he looked, like a child trying to make everything perfect for some plan.

"Well." He said, looking at Relthar. "Shall we depart?"

"Xernious sir... The new ships made contact. They want us to move out of the way. What should we do? They say the ship is theirs."

"Move out of the way and tell them that we will help with anything. Also ask about our MIA." Xernious then said.

"Yes sir." The pilot said before transmitting back, "This is the Xliveien Federation. We will move from the wreckage at once. We would also like to ask if you have seen two of our species that we are searching for?"

The Xenoqqi in the control room exchanged nervous glances. No-one knew how the aliens would react when they found out that half of the Eternal Devotion was now scrap being melted down.

A pilot spoke up. "Captain, what do we do? Do we reply?".

Ifka crossed her arms. "No, we'll keep quiet and stay on high alert. Pull back to a safe distance and be prepared if things go Algo fruit-shaped".

((Done with Zaroas's permission))

Relthar gave a curt nod, and led the former recruits of the Eternal Devotion, along with Jex Kavel, towards their respective escape craft. Loading into it, some complaints about the seating were heard, but all were much happier to be off of the ship they had spent the last two days in. Jex turned to Lucean, smiled slightly, and then to Relthar. The Krathunian pointed in the direction of the craft's viewscreen. The vessel in which the Alkisuns had arrived was charging its weaponry.

Jex, suddenly mesmerized by the image, walked towards the screen, and stood for a moment. "What is it.. doing?" He asked slowly.

Relthar told him that he had been charged with the destruction of the Eternal Devotion.

"Its destruction is just." Jex said in a rather somber tone of voice.

A moment later burning fury poured into the aged vessel. It burned through chunks of armor to reach the reactor cores within. The resulting effect seemed holocaustic, and for a moment brilliant light engulfed the vessel's midsection; the damage that had been dealt to the Eternal Devotion severed it in half.

"Goodbye." Jex said inaudibly.

"And now, the one who imprisoned you is dead." Turning around slowly to face the aliens, he nodded at them, before taking a seat. They would soon reach the Tempest.

"What was your attachment to the vessel?"  Relthar asked bluntly. It was quite obvious Jex was dealing with some sort of after-effect.

"Not an attachment." He replied. "More like a relief barely believable."

"Explain." Relthar said.

Jex hesitated for a moment, considering.

"I was never a true part of the Federation's regime, but as part of my infiltration mission, I had to obey orders... which disgusted me." He paused, remembering. "Captain Xavre had begun executing the original crew of the Eternal Devotion- then called the Yearning Solace. He brought me three of the crew to execute, handed me a weapon, and left the room. So I killed them."

The last statement left him feeling embarrassed and shameful. "I saw the blood spatter back onto my weapon and hand. But I didn't feel anything. I thought I could smell their sweat... their feathers were soaked in it and I knew they were terrified."

He covered his beak in his four-fingered talons and looked blankly at the shuttlecraft's floor.

"Thus ends the 'eternal' devotion." He said.

Relthar blinked at Jex's final remark regarding what was now a heavily splintered, broken husk of a ship. "How poetic," He breathed, finding it rather appropriate. The Krathunian's eyes swept around the room, observing the enslaved crew members. They were observantly weary, which Relthar could understand given their former situation. He may have been a bloodthirsty warrior, but he only showed exerted his rage upon his enemies. He sympathized with the aliens who were aboard the Eternal Devotion. As much as he would have liked to simply bring them to their respective homes and allow their lives to continue as normal, it was simply not a possibility, at least not yet.

For one, he wasn't entirely sure what Silus planned with these aliens. There were, however, several notable aspects of the circumstance at hand that could give Relthar a hint as to what the leader of the Alkisuns had in mind. For one, there was a variety of them, three of them being of two previously undocumented species (At least by the Alkisuns). This presented a potential for new business and clients, which Silus would likely be for. Secondly, it was possible that these beings felt they owed the Alkisuns a favor for rescuing them. Silus would certainly attempt to take advantage of this.

As Relthar pondered, the personnel transport ships entered the hangar of the Steel Tempest, and all within them were brought off into the larger ship. Guards escorted them to a chamber in close proximity to the bridge, which had seating and a holographic display. Each former crew member was directed to sit down and relax. The holographic display turned on and generated a three dimensional image of the Alkisuns logo as Relthar entered the room, along with Veralka, and stood in front of the aliens.

"We are currently heading towards a ship known as the Fist of Iasphen," He announced, with a slightly pleased look of victory upon his face. "From there, the organization will decide what will occur to you. Do know, however, that harm will not be our intent here. As long as you are in our custody, you are safe, but at the same time you are not slaves. Any requests that you have for us will be considered by the administration once we reach the our destination."

The three double-diamond shaped ships' scanning utilities reached out to the chunks of metal, now unrecognizable as a space vessel, and collected the necessary data.

No life.

No heat.

No energy.

No functioning equipment.

Everything that it once was... was now completely dead.

This information requested a moment of consideration from the alien vessels, which could now be considered undertakers.

Seconds passed, and COMM silence continued. Then a message from the lead ship to both the Xliveien and Xenoqqi ships.

"The fragments will be collected and brought with us. Any attempt to halt this action will be viewed as active provocation. Any attempt to follow our ships will also be viewed as an active provocation and a threat, and will be dealt with accordingly."

Ifka looked over to an engineer who was frantically sketching down the designs of the double diamond ships. He looked up from his work to her and shifted back to his own screen.

"Do we have any fragments still unprocessed?" she asked.

The engineer nodded. "12 to be exact, waiting in the maw entrance chamber".

"Let them go, we already have enough parts to make a return trip".

"As you say, Captain".

__________________________________________________________________

Great Glutton's processing maw opened once again, the finger-like jaws uncurling revealing the ruddy glow of the inner foundry. Several chunks of the Eternal Devotion, guided by Sickle Drones floated out to join with the remainder of the dead vessel.

From the leading vessel, a large, pronged metal arm extended from within the hull, and activated a tractor beam to pull the loose chunks in to a manageable distance. Once this was accomplished, the ship opened a spacious cargo bay, and the chunks were quickly gathered inside by large hydraulic arms. Having done so, it opened a slipspace portal, and left the area, heading for Free Absolute space. The other two cruisers suspiciously remained.

A new message went out to the Xenoqqi and Xliveien ships.

"With our initial objective accomplished, introductions can be properly accommodated if you have so desired to contact the Jorro'kil Free Absolute, constituent of the Confederate Nations of Ravena. We are fully authorized to act as delegates of the Jorro'kil Free Absolute."

Jex, meanwhile, chose to follow Relthar. Not knowing what else to do, he was quietly attentive, and made sure that Relthar had finished his immediate tasks before asking a question which he felt he needed the answer to.

"Will he be there? You know who I mean. It's been.." Jex paused, taking a breath. "a very long time since I've seen him or any other of my kind, the Jorro'kil, besides those false kindred on the Eternal Devotion." He said this discreetly and in a low tone of voice.

Survivor twirled the vial he found with Avlexs stuff in his hands. He was annoyed. He figured that the real reason ge was hired was not to make sure his brother got back it was to make sure the vial got back. Someone will have to do some explaining.

Alvex sat there tinkering on his robotic sleeve which was damaged during the escape of the devotion. Course it was hard to do it with one arm but he managed. He is not very good with robotics though so he is more afraid of breaking the sleeve.

________________________________________________________

Xernious, Xalia, and the rest of the Xliveien crew were confused with the transmission they received. After a moment Xernious sent a transmission back to the ship.

"This is Ranger Master Xernious of the Xliveien Federation. We have some questions. One involves the mission we are currently on. We are looking for a Lieutenant that we have tracked to this location and hope that you have anany news about his whereabouts."

Xernious then sighed and waited for a response. Xalia then looked at he brother abit worried.

"Can we trust them?" She said.

"I don't know." Xernious said after a few moments

Ifka listened to the Jorro'kil's message. She could feel the anticipation of her underlings through her head quills, a sense of barely contained excitement that wafted through the room like pheromones.

The sketching engineer turned to her again. "Do we call back?"

"Open a line and we'll have Braaj introduce us".

"I'm sorry Captain...but he left when the Jorr'kil arrived, you were so focused on...". He
winced in preparation for the coming strike, but blinked in astonishment when it didn't come.

Ifka waved her hand dismissively. "Send the introductory video and a business card, I have a headache and don't feel like talking".

The engineer took her words to mean the crusty cut on her forehead, the blood now oozing out at a slower pace as it thickened in the air. Following her orders, he sent a return message containing a holographic card containing comms codes for contact with Xenoqqi worlds and the introductory video which was essentially an advertisement about the wares provided in trade, complete with a grinning sales pitch.

"It's sent Captain, I just hope they like what they see."

___________________________________________________________________________________

Elsewhere....

A massive figure sat on a throne of pipes and lights, its mechanical hand stroking the great blade laying across its knees. Seemingly deep in thought the figure did not look up when a cowled Xenoqqi entered its chamber.

Eventually with the whirr and clank of gears the giant stood up, towering over its subordinate. The cowled Xenoqqi bowed.

"SPEAK". The voice came out synthesised and hollow.

The cowled Xenoqqi remained bowed but informed its master. "Most honourable Xarl, the Great Glutton has not returned. We fear it is lost in the tides of another dimension. I am sorry to say the vessel and its crew are lost".

"THE GREAT GLUTTON IS NOT LOST, SIMPLY MISPLACED. ORDER OUT ANOTHER SEARCH PARTY."

The becowled began to tremble. "How can you know great Xarl? Anyway we could simply build another, we have th-".

"SILENCE FOOL. IT IS NOT THE WARP DRIVE I AM CONCERNED FOR, BUT RATHER THE CREW WITH IT. THEY HAVE JOURNEYED WELL BEYOND OUR REACH AND SO WILL HAVE SEEN THINGS WE CAN NEVER IMAGINE. WORLDS, EMPIRES, A WHOLE GALAXY. THE PIONEERS MUST RETURN BEFORE WE FOLLOW THEM, IT IS KNOWN".

The giant sat once more "AS FOR MY KNOWLEDGE, WOULD YOU DOUBT THE AUGMENTED MIND OF K'IIRDAX, YOUR LEADER?".

The cowled Xenoqqi was clearly terrified. "Of course not your excellency, I would nev-".

"LEAVE".

With that the Xenoqqi scurried away.

COMM silence followed both messages for an eerily extended period of time. In truth, the crew of the ships were calculating the correct frequency with which to create a holographic message that would reach both ships, while simultaneously selecting the best method for presenting this message. It shouldn't be too startling, and it might seem threatening if it suddenly burst into being onboard the Xenoqqi and Xliveien vessels' bridges.

A cycling blue field eventually did appear on both ship's bridges atop holotanks, and gradually collected, as if particles being organized, to form a tall, avian form. The Jorro'kil was slender, and wore a two-piece uniform. The top was plain and smooth, with highlights in the form of cuffs, semicircles encompassing the shoulders, and symbols on the chest. The lower segment of the uniform consisted of a similar plain material, along with similar semicircular highlights on the thighs, along with cuffs at ankle-level.

The hands of the figure were rough, with three clawed fingers, and one clawed thumb. The fingers themselves were quite stubby, but the claws were long, sharp and slender. The form had a long neck, leading up to its beaked-head. The avian creature's beak was roughly nine inches long, and seemed to be separated into three slanted segments; the second two segments, nearer the head, were more recessed than the third, which was bigger and curved downward to form a hook tip. Atop the joining line of each segment was a very short, curved quill. The beak joined to the creature's head almost seamlessly, making it difficult to determine where the beak actually ended and the head began. Its two eyes, placed at the middle of the join between the head and beak, were narrow, with slit-pupils.

The holographic form spoke with a deep, artificially enhanced voice.

"Greetings, I am Jorro'kil Commander Kias Ephan." It said.

If she was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the alien hologram, Ifka didn't show it. Instead she spoke as the surrounding crew resettled back at their stations.

"Many regards Commander Ephan, I am Captain Ifka of the Forge Hulk Great Glutton. I apologise if our marketing advertisement was a bit out of place, it's simply protocol".

"Also forgive me if I appear abrasive during our conversation, my chief negotiator has run off again like the pansy he is and I am slightly irked because of it".

Xernious taken back by the sudden hologram walks up and proceeds to wave his hand through the hologram. "Why does no one ever tell me about the cool toys on our ships!"
He then said very excitedly like a kid in a gun store.

Xalia sighed and cleared her throat before speaking.

"Hello I am Sword Dancer Xalia Armnax. I apologize for my brothers behavior right now. He is not used to being away from the terrors of our homeworld for to long."

Relthar's response, hushed and quiet as to not attract too much attention, came after a short pause. "I do believe he will be. He was there when I left, which was not too long ago," He explained. "However, I would be wary of change. You have been isolated for twenty three years... Everything could change in much less than that." Relthar stepped forward towards the chairs, gesturing for the Jorro'kil to take a seat alongside him in a rather empty part of the room (It was large enough that two beings could have a conversation without everyone overhearing). Once Jex had done so, Relthar continued. "Allow me to tell you a story. I have a twin brother - Commander Svar Levantus, as he is now known. When I first heard that title, Commander, I had simply laughed. From birth, my brother had been rebellious, whereas my intent was to listen to the wishes of those above me. At the age of fifteen, I was approached by another Krathunian who seemed at the time to be like a god of some sort. He offered me opportunities far beyond what I could accomplish in the military, and I took it. Upon my return to my family to bid them farewell five years after that, I had become the one in defiance of my family, my government, and my brother their pawn. The reversal caught me off guard..." He trailed off, eyes going off into space before he redirected them towards Jex. "For your sake, be prepared to witness a much different galaxy."

Ariz woke slowly, with a sore back and a confused brain. He squinted bleary eyes at the bright lights, and tried to move.

"Where am I?" he managed to say. "Where's that Jorro'kil?. . . gonna kill 'im!"

The holographic figure looked as if it were delaying something for a moment, before replying to both the Xenoqqi and Xliveien persons.

"It would be better if your ships allowed holographic communication with each other as well, so I do not have to constantly clarify to whom I am speaking, if you have not already." Kias said.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jex inhaled almost profoundly. "That is not something I had been considering... I suppose I should have." Jex paused for a moment, remembering. "I hope that he has.. overturned any suspicions of my character."

((Now would be a good time for Relthar to ask Jex what he means by this))

Ifka raised an eyebrow-plate. "So I see you decided to unjam our comms then. Glad to see the initial confusion has died down".

She waved to the crew as an indication to contact the Xliveiens, at which they swiftly complied with her command.

Once the screen popped up again behind the Jorro'kil's 3D hologram, Ifka took her position at the centre of the control room. "So Captain Xernious, I take it you also have never met our avian associate before?".

Xernious blinked like a fool. He slid over to his sister and whispered to her. "Do we even know how to turn on our holographic communications?"

Xalia sighed abit. She knew he brother was used to the uncivilized sections of Xion but this is crazy. She nodded over to the communications tech and the tech brought the communications to life. Showing the others the Bug-like Xliveiens. Xernious blinked abit before finally speaking.

"Ok well ONE: I am not a captain I am a Ranger Master. and two: Yes I have never met these birds before in fact they seem like they could be fun to hu-"

Xalia quickly cut in covering her bothers mouth. "Please ignore most of the things he says because he tends to let his rifle do the talking more than his actually mouth."

Keo sat, once again not speaking. By now he was used to this commotion, though he didn't exactly know why. Something inside him urged him to apologize to Avlex about his mess-up with the power dampener, but embarrassment kept him still.
Don't worry about it, Keo reasoned, how was I supposed to know what a power dampener is, anyway?
That thought caused him to shrink further into his seat.

Kias was caught off-guard by the informal banter from the Xliveien. The advertisement sent from the Xenoqqi COM was no less unusual, and so the Kil wondered if perhaps there was a specific reason the Jorro'kil had never encountered either of these races before. Still, he would maintain the established initial contact protocol.

"It's no matter." He said to Xalia, simultaneously dipping his beak slightly. "Both of your ships are on the very fringe of Confederacy territory, and I take it one of you was searching for an individual. May I inquire what the purpose of your vessel was, Captain.. Ifka?" He said, trying to pronounce the name correctly. The translation programs being used on the Jorro'kil ship gave Ifka's speech an odd dialect, a consequence of being unfamiliar with the Xenoqqi language.

He asked her the question as per protocol, simply due to the location of the ships being near Confederacy territory.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________


Onboard the Fist of Iasphen...

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

The Councilor approached Silus with papers in hand, and set them down on a nearby table. "There was something else I wanted to discuss with you, Koluntus. In those papers, a painfully researched and detailed coverage of the order of Zealots is given."

He tilted his head slightly. "I trust you are aware of the order of Zealots of the Jorro'kil Free Absolute, are you not?"

"If my plan is successful, I wish to create a new order."

The translator module had apparently finished deciphering what it could of the Xliveien language thanks to the sudden difference in the words of "captain" and "range master". Ifka cursed herself for her verbal fumble and made a mental note to reprimand the engineer who had optimised the slow device.

She turned back to the looming faces of Xernious and Xalia. "I must admit our translation devices are not up to speed and have led to my misunderstanding. If any of my previous words have offended you because of this technical failure, you have my sincerest apologies".

She put on her best smile, hoping that the vast differences in facial structure wouldn't mess up her intention.

"Also Captain Kia, I'm happy to say your pronunciation was only slightly off, just accentuate the "k" more. Onward to your question though, as I have said to the Xliveien's the Forge Hulk is a self-maintaining mobile factory specialised in the breaking down of spacial debris. As for our reaso-".

Ifka froze. Something that had been niggling at the back of her mind suddenly popped up.

"Captain Kia, where exactly is this section of space?".

Relthar, puzzled, stared at Jex with curious eyes. "What do you mean by this?" He asked, slightly confused and now with the need to know the answer. He also felt the seed of impatience within his mind - The Steel Torment would finish its journey shortly and arrive at the Fist of Iasphen. He needed answers before he could meet with Silus as to properly report to him.

_____________________________

Silus quietly took the papers and read through them with quick but thorough eyes. "This data is quite fascinating," Silus remarked, grinning slightly. "I do not have doubt that Zealots will cause us distress in the coming months, given our plan and their undying loyalty to the Free Absolute," He chuckled at this. "If you do create this new order, how would it have the capability to equal or surpass this one?"

__________________________________

For several minutes, it would seem as though nobody heard Ariz's words. However, in time, two fully armored Alkisun soldiers entered the room and began to escort the Markovan through the ship to the chamber where everyone else was seated. He was brought here, the soldiers remained, as if on alert for any unexpected actions he may choose to commit.

Xernious' confused look returned once again. "We have translation devices? Geez I thought you all just somehow had a intergalactic language that was exactly the same as-" He was then suddenly interrupted by a slap from his sister.

"It is quite alright. Honestly I didn't think ours would work so well either." Xalia then said looking rather annoyed at the Xliveien next to her.

_______________________________________________________________________

Avlex looked over to Keo abit concerned he then finally worked up the courage and spoke.

"Hey Keo. Don't worry about the power dampener thing. It was dumb of me to assume you knew what that was. Im sorry."

Meanwhile Survivor was putting away the vial he had been twirling in his hands and pulls out his black sword and starts to sharpen it with a look in his eyes that say he does not want to be here.