Pandora's Box: Chapter II (IC)

[Brusia]

OOC

Captain Tom Sheridan (aka Malzorg the Devourer)
Ascendant Native Universe
"Bastion of Despair"

Nestled deep within the ancient capital city of the Ascendants, Captain Sheridan was currently located within the building the Ascendant survivors had restored to be used as "Malzorg's" personal quarters and as a meeting center in which they could discuss their strategies. As "meeting center" doesn't sound particularly scary however, the good Captain renamed the building the "Bastion of Despair" in yet another attempt to make himself seem more intimidating to his new compatriots. In the central room of the Bastion stood a large, ornate table with a large map and various bejeweled figurines standing atop it, around which Sheridan, the Archon, and the Council of Elders would sit to discuss strategy. It was at this very table where, some years ago, the heated discussion on how to deal with the "vile gods" took place, only to be ended when Sheridan posed the now famous question that would lead to the construction of the Abrogator, and his appointment to his current position as the Archon's Chief Advisor: "How 'bout a giant cannon?"

As there was no meeting scheduled for today, Sheridan was currently seated at the table by himself. In his hands were two of the ship figurines, and he was hard at work devising strategies by simulating starship combat scenarios:

"Pew! Pew! Pew!" he exclaimed while having the ship in his right hand move around behind the ship in his left "Oh please, help me Tom! he stated in the girliest voice he could make while rocking one of the ships. "Don't worry ma'am, I'll save you" he responded in the manliest voice he could make. After another round of pew, pew, pewing, he made a loud "Kaboom!" noise, then rocked the first ship again and in a sinister voice continued: "Curses, my engines! Damn you Sheridan, you brilliant, beautiful bastard! You've foiled my evil plans yet agai..."

"Umm, Master Malzorg?" he suddenly heard behind him.

Quite startled by this sudden interruption, Sheridan instinctively jumped up in his chair, causing it to tilt back and fall to the ground with him still in it. After staring at the ceiling for a couple of seconds with a rather blank expression on his face, he watched as one of his assistants slowly moved into his field of vision above him. "How many times do I have to tell you it's impolite not to knock first before entering a room?" the Captain asked while remaining expressionless and staring right into the fellow's eyes.

"My apologies sir" the assistant replied "But I have just received an urgent message for you."

With a heavy sigh, Sheridan stood up from the fallen chair and placed the ships back on the table "Well than, spit it out."

"Spit...what out sir?" the low-ranking Ascendant clone asked with a confused expression on his face.

After bringing his palm up to his forehead and running it down the length of his face, Sheridan replied: "Nevermind, just tell me the message."

"It seems we've received two reports now of attacks on our Descendant units in two different universes, and the data they've sent us suggests they both came under attack by either the same or a similar group. The latest report stated that at least one god was retrieved out of their prison."

Sheridan raised an eyebrow at this, then asked: "Weren't those prisons designed to only be opened in the presence of Ascendant tech?"

"They were sir."

"So, what, is the Council thinking it's an inside job?"

"Unlikely; all Ascendants known to have been revived and their clones have been accounted for. The Archon wishes to know your advice on how to proceed."

Sheridan picked his chair up off the ground and sat back down in it to think things through. After a few moments of silence he looked to his assistant and asked: "You said those Descendants sent data on whoever attacked them, right?"

"They did."

"Well then why not use the data on these guys to program some of those tentacle robots..."

"You mean the Tetrarch units, sir?" the assistant interjected.

"Whatever. Just recommend we use the data to program those fancy robots of yours to kill these bastards; whoever they are."

"Very well Great Devourer." The assistant then bowed and left the room, faintly hearing a muffled "Pew, pew, pew..." as he left the room.

[Brusia]

Previously on Pandora's Box...

Revan and Bastila were quite alarmed when Hex informed them that hostile alien lifeforms were on the Hub, and had captured some of their scientists. On the brightside, it seemed they didn't know how they got to the Hub, which at least suggested they were new arrivals and not an attacking force of Ascendants. When Hex asked for him to join them, Revan replied: "Of course, Bastila and I will do all we can to help. We should alert the rest of the Hub to their presence as well to make certain no one else is taken hostage." After walking through the Conduit and back to the Hub, Revan activated his comm-device and contacted HK-47: "HK, we've just been alerted to the presence of hostile aliens on the Hub. Have the gods made it to the Conference Room?"

"Answer: Yes Master, they have just arrived. Shall I proceed to destroy these hostile alien meatbags?"

"Negative" Revan replied "Get the Conference Room locked down and protect the gods at all costs. And find out if the VI can sound any sort of alarm to alert the rest of the people on the Hub..."

The VI then interrupted: "Activating Station Alert." A few moments later, the lights throughout the Hub began to dim and klaxons began to sound throughout the station.

Looking back to Hex and Bastila, Revan stated: "Let's get moving!" and quickly made his way towards the exit of the Hanger Bay...

[Jraden]

The Witcher
Geralt had been listening to Elizabeth speaking about her life and thoughts on magical persecution, and he realized he agreed with and could relate to most of what she said. And in a way Geralt didn't feel so alone anymore.

He simply drank from the flask Elizabeth had given him. It was really good, though he thought she had over exaggerated its quality, but it was still a good drink and he had no problems with it. And so he got lost in his thoughts, wondering what was next in store for them. As an answer to his wonderings, the Hub's Alarms sounded, its loud sudden noises and lights startling Geralt back into reality.

He cursed as the sudden loud noise hurt his sensitive ears and her forced himself to tune it out and focus. He looked at the two women in the room with him, they would likely know what was happening. "What the hell is going on?" Geralt asked, though his monotone voice made it difficult for Geralt to be heard through the Alarm. "Because something's telling me this isn't usually what goes on on a daily basis."

[Rupudska]

She grimaced as her one hand fumbled as she tried to patch up the hellgun wound. This would cause her to yelp and drop the pistol momentarily. She would look down and did her best to stem the bleeding and pain. Looking up, she suddenly remembered the girl being there. Shoving a wad of antiseptic cloth in to the wound to stop the blood flow, she spoke again, holstering the bolter.

"Look, from what I can tell, this isn't were I am from...or you, apparently, and I could use a second set of hands with this." she pawed the wound as the cloth reddened. "So...in exchange for not filling you with bolt rounds, you help me with this."

Sloan shrugged. "Even trade."

The antiseptic cloth was strong enough to sting the cuts on her hands she didn't know she had, but compared to certain other fights she had been in with certain other magical girls, it was nothing. In this strange situation, having had no chance to check her Soul Gem, Sloan really didn't want to use magic if at all possible. So instead of using healing magic to fix the armored woman, she looked around for some cloth to wrap around the wound.

And then the klaxons sounded, because of course they did.

"Fuckin' A." Standing up, she offered a hand that was probably unnecessary to the woman. "Well, ain't no rest for the wicked. Let's see what's going on."

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Mordred

The Blackdragon had remained quiet for most of the conversation. He never was much of a talking type. The only real friends he had ever had was Gwaine, who was long dead, and the wanderer who had travelled with him through the Northlands for a time. Though he learned much from these magical beings, Mordred had little intrest in. Magic had only resulted in pain and more pain for him.

As the alarms went off, Mordred listened to siren wail. The Witcher aired his grievances, while Mordred simply said "I believe that is what an alarm sounds like. I would assume we are likely under attack."

Mordred stood up, drew Gram whose runes blazed to life and empowered him, and began to walk back to the command center he had arrived at. He did not look back to see if anyone was following him.

[Naval Monte]

Brynn shrugged. "It's not bad. You go where you're needed. It suits the soldier life pretty well, so lucky me I didn't have the same transition that the colonial kids did." She thought for a second about what planets to mention. A lot of them were still classified missions, and couldn't really be shared. "Lots of weird beasts, nothing humanlike, they're all animals. Prowlers that are like a large tiger, but they got spines and plates on their body that they flare up, like some kind of mating dance or display of dominance. I've seen dragons, though a hell of a lot smaller than the one we just saw, snatch a Marine right out of his squad and carry him away. I think I've mentioned the Leviathans before."

Elizabeth asked about a town, and Brynn tried to remember it. "No, can't say I've ever heard of it, sorry. Don't think it exists in my world. If Wales were still a place that existed, my family would be from a city called Swansea. Not sure if it exists in yours. If it doesn't, then that's two people that haven't seen it."

"I'm not much of a soldier so if I was ever in space I would just be a either a drifter or a private detective moving from planet to planet for my next job." Elizabeth replied back. When Brynn began to explain some of the strange alien life that she encountered Elizabeth's expression didn't change. "Sounds almost like the aliens that appear in my world. Except not all of them are animals, some are stupidly intelligent. I once encounter an alien that was a fungoid, crustacean-like creature the size of a man and another whose mind was possessing some random bloke."

When Byrann explained that the river and town don't exist in her world but the city of Swansea does Elizabeth replied with. "That city also exists back in my world, been there a few times. It's a nice place. I'm not surprised that old town doesn't exist in your world, if it did I would have been worry about the fate of humanity in your world. I asked about if Branlludw was around was because I was born and raised in that town. I lived a good deal of my life in there before I moved to London and have stayed there ever since."

Elizabeth soon heard the alarms blaring out and like Geralt was started but not as much as him. "Looks like something hostile finally appeared in the hub and is attacking." she said to the Witcher as she took out her knife and revolver. "Can you kindly give me back my flask. I may need it for later use." she asked. When Mordred showed off his sword the powerful divine energy she felt from the blade flared up long before the runes began to glow brightly. "Jesus you almost made me blind with that light show." the witch complained, looking at the other two to see if they were going to follow Mordred.

---

The Hub-Hostage Room

Jones can tell that these aliens were as radicalized as Islamic extremists from his world, he knew that one wrong word may result in him losing his life. As Jones heard the taller and more intimidating alien try to educate him on why his people are the chosen ones Jones saw that one of the smaller ones just look down at the card and it was doing it's effect. "Good. It may not be who I wanted to use the card on but this is a good start."

Jones had to think of a way to get out of this. Looking at the grunts a plan came to motion. "Look I have no idea who you are or what are these Forerunners that you revere so much. There is no organization called the UNSC and your small friend there can prove it with that card, in fact I personally request that he does just that." he said as he hoped the little alien would obey the order.

"Tell me though what do you know of the Forerunners and why would they leave artifacts scattered for your people to find." Jones was hoping to destroy Kheto long enough for the grunt to make enough of his party to be affected by the obedience geass.

Outside Hex and the others along with the force using couple ran down the halls. Hex using her AR system to see a map projected on the lens of her gas mask that showed the known layout of the hub and the red dots that showed the microchips that each of the scientists have so they can keep a track on them. "I have a reading on their location. They are all hold up on the same room. Looks like one of the researchers is using their warrant card. Let's see where things go with that plan." the soldiers knew of the power of the warrant card and they knew that if things go well than they won't have a long fight waiting for them.

[Jraden]

Brynn shrugged. "It's not bad. You go where you're needed. It suits the soldier life pretty well, so lucky me I didn't have the same transition that the colonial kids did." She thought for a second about what planets to mention. A lot of them were still classified missions, and couldn't really be shared. "Lots of weird beasts, nothing humanlike, they're all animals. Prowlers that are like a large tiger, but they got spines and plates on their body that they flare up, like some kind of mating dance or display of dominance. I've seen dragons, though a hell of a lot smaller than the one we just saw, snatch a Marine right out of his squad and carry him away. I think I've mentioned the Leviathans before."

Elizabeth asked about a town, and Brynn tried to remember it. "No, can't say I've ever heard of it, sorry. Don't think it exists in my world. If Wales were still a place that existed, my family would be from a city called Swansea. Not sure if it exists in yours. If it doesn't, then that's two people that haven't seen it."

"I'm not much of a soldier so if I was ever in space I would just be a either a drifter or a private detective moving from planet to planet for my next job." Elizabeth replied back. When Brynn began to explain some of the strange alien life that she encountered Elizabeth's expression didn't change. "Sounds almost like the aliens that appear in my world. Except not all of them are animals, some are stupidly intelligent. I once encounter an alien that was a fungoid, crustacean-like creature the size of a man and another whose mind was possessing some random bloke."

When Byrann explained that the river and town don't exist in her world but the city of Swansea does Elizabeth replied with. "That city also exists back in my world, been there a few times. It's a nice place. I'm not surprised that old town doesn't exist in your world, if it did I would have been worry about the fate of humanity in your world. I asked about if Branlludw was around was because I was born and raised in that town. I lived a good deal of my life in there before I moved to London and have stayed there ever since."

Elizabeth soon heard the alarms blaring out and like Geralt was started but not as much as him. "Looks like something hostile finally appeared in the hub and is attacking." she said to the Witcher as she took out her knife and revolver. "Can you kindly give me back my flask. I may need it for later use." she asked. When Mordred showed off his sword the powerful divine energy she felt from the blade flared up long before the runes began to glow brightly. "Jesus you almost made me blind with that light show." the witch complained, looking at the other two to see if they were going to follow Mordred.

---

As Mordred marched off to somewhere, Geralt said "Where are you going!?" As he continued on, Divine Sword of God in hand. Then he saw Elizabeth pull out her weapons and calmly stated that the Hub was under attack and asked for her flask back. So he gave it back to her and out of instinct in preparation of a fight he cast a Queen Shield over himself, ironically showing Elizabeth the Sign he promised to show her, and drew his Silver Sword, it glowing Red with its Runes.

"So what now?" He asked the two woman. "We supposed to wait to wait until they come for us or do organize a counterattack? You two know more about the layout of the Hub than I do."

[Demincia]

Brynn didn't know what to say really about Swansea. She'd never seen it, only pictures of it from centuries ago. She didn't have any real ties to the place, and it didn't mean much to her. Elizabeth mentioned that she left her some, something Brynn could relate to. "Yea, I left the Gibraltar, got sent to a planet for training, then sent back up to space for deployment. Haven't been back to the ship I was born on in a little over ten years." the words might seem upsetting, though Brynn's tone showed that it wasn't a bad thing. As they were talking, alarms started going off. "Bloody hell, can't I catch a break today?" she asked standing up and unshouldering her rifle. Brynn saw and heard Geralt's confusion. "We've never been attacked mate, you lot can do what you like, but I'm gonna find out what's going on." she said heading for the door.

---

Kheto pushed Jones against the wall with his clawed hand, growing impatient with the scientist's games. "I don't care what you request. You aren't in any form of control here, human." The other Unggoy that was with Kheto walked over to look at the card, though Kheto ignored them. He stood up and walked a few steps down the line. "Typical human ignorance. The Forerunners leave the artifacts so that we find their seven Holy Rings, then activate them to embark on the Great Journey." Kheto was going to say something else, but the station's alarm went off. He growled in frustration and radioed Zira. "Shipmaster, they did not answer the questions, and now the UNSC knows we're here. The alarm has been sounded."

In his chair on the bridge of the Purity of Reverence, Zira tapped his fingers together for a moment while his mind worked. He didn't have a way into the station to send more troops, or exfil the ones he had aboard. Killing the scientists now would be ineffective. No, they must stay alive. He responded to Kheto, "Prepare for an assault. Keep the scientists alive. They will be your hostages out of the station. The UNSC will not risk the lives of their people."

Kheto acknowledged the order and walked into the front room where the rest of the lance was guarding. "The humans are coming." he said, "Guard this door at all costs. Kig-Yar, double line. Unggoy, staggered rows behind." he said and the aliens moved into the assigned formation. He walked back into the room with the scientists. "Maybe seeing your troops fail to save you will loosen your tongues. Do you think they care enough about your lives to send the Demon to fight us? Not for scientists. You will watch them pay for destroying the Holy Ring."

[Jraden]

Brynn didn't know what to say really about Swansea. She'd never seen it, only pictures of it from centuries ago. She didn't have any real ties to the place, and it didn't mean much to her. Elizabeth mentioned that she left her some, something Brynn could relate to. "Yea, I left the Gibraltar, got sent to a planet for training, then sent back up to space for deployment. Haven't been back to the ship I was born on in a little over ten years." the words might seem upsetting, though Brynn's tone showed that it wasn't a bad thing. As they were talking, alarms started going off. "Bloody hell, can't I catch a break today?" she asked standing up and unshouldering her rifle. Brynn saw and heard Geralt's confusion. "We've never been attacked mate, you lot can do what you like, but I'm gonna find out what's going on." she said heading for the door.

Great. So the very first battle he had to get involved in was an attack on the Hub, which was supposed to be the safest place. He looked at Elizabeth. "I guess we follow them." And he began to follow after Brynn and Mordred. "Do you think it's Ascendants, some other hostile force that wondered though a Conduit, of something else attacking from the inside?"

[Demincia]

Brynn didn't know what to say really about Swansea. She'd never seen it, only pictures of it from centuries ago. She didn't have any real ties to the place, and it didn't mean much to her. Elizabeth mentioned that she left her some, something Brynn could relate to. "Yea, I left the Gibraltar, got sent to a planet for training, then sent back up to space for deployment. Haven't been back to the ship I was born on in a little over ten years." the words might seem upsetting, though Brynn's tone showed that it wasn't a bad thing. As they were talking, alarms started going off. "Bloody hell, can't I catch a break today?" she asked standing up and unshouldering her rifle. Brynn saw and heard Geralt's confusion. "We've never been attacked mate, you lot can do what you like, but I'm gonna find out what's going on." she said heading for the door.

Great. So the very first battle he had to get involved in was an attack on the Hub, which was supposed to be the safest place. He looked at Elizabeth. "I guess we follow them." And he began to follow after Brynn and Mordred. "Do you think it's Ascendants, some other hostile force that wondered though a Conduit, of something else attacking from the inside?"

Brynn shrugged as she walked. "No idea, but if I had to make an educated guess I say someone came through the conduit and got pissed off." she kept walking, but explained why. "If it was the Ascendants, they wouldn't let an alarm go off, this is their station after all. It could be someone on here started shooting, wouldn't be the first time, but I doubt they'd go through all this fuss for that." She checked the magazine in her Hemlok, and put it back in. "You really plan on coming at 'em with a sword, mate?" she asked glancing back at the Witcher.

[Jraden]

Great. So the very first battle he had to get involved in was an attack on the Hub, which was supposed to be the safest place. He looked at Elizabeth. "I guess we follow them." And he began to follow after Brynn and Mordred. "Do you think it's Ascendants, some other hostile force that wondered though a Conduit, of something else attacking from the inside?"

Brynn shrugged as she walked. "No idea, but if I had to make an educated guess I say someone came through the conduit and got pissed off." she kept walking, but explained why. "If it was the Ascendants, they wouldn't let an alarm go off, this is their station after all. It could be someone on here started shooting, wouldn't be the first time, but I doubt they'd go through all this fuss for that." She checked the magazine in her Hemlok, and put it back in. "You really plan on coming at 'em with a sword, mate?" she asked glancing back at the Witcher.

He took in her explanation calmly. He was personally leaning towards angry hostiles who found a Conduit anyway.

At Brynn's remark about his sword, Geralt would've been offended had he not seen the technology in the Hub. "My Swords can kill Dragons. My Signs can deal with any large groups. And I'm resourceful and creative. I'm not charging into the front lines of enemies I don't know who likely have weapons I'm not used to dealing with. That's where you come in. Besides I don't have anything else on me except some bombs and a Crossbow. Don't underestimate me because I'm unprepared." While it could come off as snarky it really wasn't, just Geralt being matter-of-factly in a serious situation.

Truth be told he had no idea if he was prepared for a fight. Would any new enemies be like what he's used? Or would he be caught completely caught off guard? He didn't know, and while he was interested in defending the Hub, he wasn't going to charge headfirst into the fray. Especially since he didn't know where "The Fray" was.

He really did not plan on dying today. He was going to go back to Triss. And if he had to save the Multiverse in order to do so, than so be it.

[Naval Monte]

The Hub

"Yeah I was looking forward to our break. Whoever decided to ruin our time off is going to pay dearly once I find them." the witch threaten. Elizabeth was walking out of the bar but stopped for a moment. "Wait I almost forgot something." she walked over to a replicator and used it to create beer bottle. "You never know when you will need a molotov cocktail." she said with a chuckle as she removed the bandages on her thigh so she can use it for her incendiary weapon.

When Brynn she would follow her and the witch nodded and with that Elizabeth walked out of the bar and followed Mordred to join him on the hunt for whoever was attacking the hub. As Byrnn and Geralt began to speak with other Elizabeth looked at her weapons. "There is nothing special about my gun but my knife can cut pretty much anything, plus anytime it touches someone it leaves behind a curse on the person it touches. I have my own magic to work with but I rather not use it unless I really have no choice but to use it." she said to join in the conversation.

"I think Brynn is right, if the Ascendants were attacking us then we wouldn't be aware of it. No it has to be a different party that came in with a pissy attitude."

---

The researcher felt the air rush out of him as he was shoved against the wall. Jones glared at the alien defiantly. "Seven Rings for a Great Journey? Seems kinda of a waste if you ask me since one Ring would be enough." Jones saw that the aliens were getting ready for what seem like an assault. "Good the others are arriving. Now I just need to wait for the right time to get the aliens to turn on each other"

As the lead alien told him that they will not send a demon to save them and that their lives were not worth the rescue Jones gave the alien a smirk. "Your sake you better hope demons are the only thing you should be concern about."

[Brusia]

Revan and Bastila
The Hub

Revan and Bastila stayed near the front of the AEGIS troops as they quickly made their way towards their beleaguered colleagues. When they arrived at the location, Revan listened as Hex mentioned something about a "warrant card" and asked to see where things went with the scientists' plan. "Very well" Revan responded "But I recommend a backup plan just in case." After thinking for a moment, Revan used his comm-device to contact the Conference Room again: "VI, is there any way to get video footage of the room directly across from my position?"

"Affirmative" the station VI responded "Displaying live feed of the room at the terminal nearest to your location. Additionally, for the sake of clarification as other VIs now appear to be on the Hub, my full designation is Virtual Intelligence Command and Control Interface, or VICCI, as you organics seem to prefer the use of acronyms."

"Right..." Revan responded before approaching the nearby terminal which now displayed a video feed of the nearby room. Waving Hex over, he pointed out: "Looks like these aliens have assumed some sort of battle formation, and it appears your scientist may have been injured."

"We should attempt to negotiate with these aliens." Bastila stated "They are likely just as confused as the rest of us were when we first arrived here, and it serves no one's interest but the Ascendants if we start killing each other." Turning to Hex, he stated: "She's right, we should at least make the attempt to negotiate for your peoples' release." Activating his comm-device again, he asked: "VICCI, is it possible to open a communication channel into that room?"

"Affirmative, opening channel now."

A video screen would suddenly appear on a wall panel in the room with the hostages showing the masked Jedi, who proceeded to state: "This is Jedi Master Revan to the unknown individuals in this room, in the interest of finding a peaceful resolution to this situation, we are willing to negotiate terms for the release of the hostages. Though first, I should like to know who it is I am talking with, and why precisely you took our people hostage in the first place."

[Naval Monte]

The Hub

When they reached the location Hex heard out what Revan and Bastila had to say on talking the aliens down and to convince the to realize the researchers. Hex looked at Ross and when she gave him a nod the man did the same and him and the others in exosuits turn on their cloaking devices and moved forward into good positions. "I will let you two talk them down but you have ten minutes to do so. Once those minutes are up I will take control of the situation." she told the two.

Like the other rifle the pulse rifle that she has now can be configured into different modes as she turn the assault rifle into a sniper rifle. Inside the room Jones and the others would see the screen turn on and they would see Revan appear. "He wants to reason with them? I'm afraid his plan may not work. These aliens seem pretty damn fanatical with their faith and us being the UNSC."

[Parcia]

Redacted by Author.

[Jraden]

The Hub

"Yeah I was looking forward to our break. Whoever decided to ruin our time off is going to pay dearly once I find them." the witch threaten. Elizabeth was walking out of the bar but stopped for a moment. "Wait I almost forgot something." she walked over to a replicator and used it to create beer bottle. "You never know when you will need a molotov cocktail." she said with a chuckle as she removed the bandages on her thigh so she can use it for her incendiary weapon.

When Brynn she would follow her and the witch nodded and with that Elizabeth walked out of the bar and followed Mordred to join him on the hunt for whoever was attacking the hub. As Byrnn and Geralt began to speak with other Elizabeth looked at her weapons. "There is nothing special about my gun but my knife can cut pretty much anything, plus anytime it touches someone it leaves behind a curse on the person it touches. I have my own magic to work with but I rather not use it unless I really have no choice but to use it." she said to join in the conversation.

"I think Brynn is right, if the Ascendants were attacking us then we wouldn't be aware of it. No it has to be a different party that came in with a pissy attitude."

---

While Geralt had not been surprised her knife was magical, he didn't expect it had the ability to curse people. He'd ask about it later. He smirked when she mentioned a Molotov Cocktail. He didn't know it was was but he could assume it was setting alcohol on fire and throwing it. Creative and effective, but he had bombs that wee far more effective. Still, too much extra firepower never hurry anyone. Except his enemies of course.

And the "gun" in her hand was what he assumed to be a long range weapon that shot projectiles, though it looked very unimpressive, Geralt knew it was probably effective as most of then Hub seemed to be using some sort of variant of it. Just in a much sorted scale.

"If we've got some pissy travelers who don't want to be here they better get in line. I'm not letting them attack what's probably the safest place for us. Let's go to the Conference Room to meet with Kauffman, Spyglass, and Athena. They could brief of us on wants going on."

Without waiting for her response has began to run to the Conferenfe Room, intending to find the people who briefed him n his entrance. Hopefully they wouldn't be on edge and attack him on sight.

[Demincia]

Kheto was resisting the urge to cut apart the heretic human, knowing that his Shipmaster would not be pleased if he did. "There are seven, spread around the galaxy. Only one is needed, they just have to be found." As he was lecturing, one of the Kig-Yar yelled out, "Humans!" and fired its pistol a few times. Kheto turned around and growled in anger. Suddenly a face appeared on the wall. It was a face Kheto had never seen before. It was also hidden behind a mask, meaning it was trying to hide something. "Your mask is not that of a Demon." he said, looking it over. "But you hide your face. What have you to hide? What are you afraid of?" One of the two Unggoy under the warrant card tapped him on the leg but he just pushed the Grunt aside.

"Your... scientists... refuse to tell us what you used to defile our holy site and bring us here to this station. So now, it is your turn, UNSC." he gestured at the screen with his plasma rifle. "Either reveal your weapon, or I start killing them until your tongue is loosened enough to talk." he raised his left hand and unsheathed his Energy Dagger, the blade activating with a hiss. He pointed it at the scientists, walking up and down their line. He stopped at Drew, the one that was most afraid. He leaned in, the heat from the blade building on the man's face as it got closer. "Will they let you die?" he asked the man.

---

Brynn led the group back to the conference room where Spyglass had assembled all of the Spectres that were on the station. "What's going on boss?" Brynn asked. Spyglass turned his head to the group. "It appears a group of aliens arrived recently and have taken some AEGIS scientists hostage. They believe we are the humans from their world, who have been desecrating their religious sites." Spyglass activated the video feed, and Brynn was winced. "Fuckin' 'ell that's one ugly fucker. Revan really thinks he can talk this thing down?" Spyglass turned back to the video, "He believes force should not be used until negotiations are tried. An ineffective strategy, one that is easy to exploit." Brynn looked at all twelve of the Spectres they had on board. "The Stalker units are being reserved until Revan realizes the fault in his plan, and an assault is started." Brynn nodded and motioned for the Spectres to join her, and they gathered around the Pilot.

[Jraden]

Kheto was resisting the urge to cut apart the heretic human, knowing that his Shipmaster would not be pleased if he did. "There are seven, spread around the galaxy. Only one is needed, they just have to be found." As he was lecturing, one of the Kig-Yar yelled out, "Humans!" and fired its pistol a few times. Kheto turned around and growled in anger. Suddenly a face appeared on the wall. It was a face Kheto had never seen before. It was also hidden behind a mask, meaning it was trying to hide something. "Your mask is not that of a Demon." he said, looking it over. "But you hide your face. What have you to hide? What are you afraid of?" One of the two Unggoy under the warrant card tapped him on the leg but he just pushed the Grunt aside.

"Your... scientists... refuse to tell us what you used to defile our holy site and bring us here to this station. So now, it is your turn, UNSC." he gestured at the screen with his plasma rifle. "Either reveal your weapon, or I start killing them until your tongue is loosened enough to talk." he raised his left hand and unsheathed his Energy Dagger, the blade activating with a hiss. He pointed it at the scientists, walking up and down their line. He stopped at Drew, the one that was most afraid. He leaned in, the heat from the blade building on the man's face as it got closer. "Will they let you die?" he asked the man.

---

Brynn led the group back to the conference room where Spyglass had assembled all of the Spectres that were on the station. "What's going on boss?" Brynn asked. Spyglass turned his head to the group. "It appears a group of aliens arrived recently and have taken some AEGIS scientists hostage. They believe we are the humans from their world, who have been desecrating their religious sites." Spyglass activated the video feed, and Brynn was winced. "Fuckin' 'ell that's one ugly fucker. Revan really thinks he can talk this thing down?" Spyglass turned back to the video, "He believes force should not be used until negotiations are tried. An ineffective strategy, one that is easy to exploit." Brynn looked at all twelve of the Spectres they had on board. "The Stalker units are being reserved until Revan realizes the fault in his plan, and an assault is started." Brynn nodded and motioned for the Spectres to join her, and they gathered around the Pilot.

Geralt had remained silent as Spyglass explained the situation. Apparently some religious zealots had wondered through a Conduit. And god damn they were ugly. Like monsters.

"I know from first hand experience how fanatatical zealots can be. I doubt they'd negotiate, though we should at least try before we risk losing lives. I have an ability called Axii that might allow me to control their minds enough to calm them down. I doubt it work on all of them effectively, though it's a possibility that we should keep in mind."

There were a lot of aliens there. He didn't doubt they would begin to kill hostages soon. But if he had to Axii he could probably stun most of their group. With enough concentration and they didn't attack he could make most of them stop what they were doing, though that would be difficult to mange.

"If I was in their line of sight I could probably stun most of them for a good minute or so. The ones with a stronger mind might be toughest to control, and I'd need a lot of concentration and for you to make sure I'm safe while using it. From there we can either calm them down or kill em all. Pushes comes to shove they're in a hallway and I could take them out with a stream of fire, freeze them in place, or throw a clusterbomb in there. But I don't want to risk hurting anyone on our side, so I'll wait for your call."

Geralt found it strange to be a subordinate, but in this case he had to. He would offer his support but he wasn't going to charge in and hurt himself or anyone friendly.

[Brusia]

Revan and Bastila
The Hub

"I do not wear this mask to hide my face" Revan replied to the unknown alien "It once belonged to a noble warrior, and I wear it to honor her and the sacrifice she made to protect innocent lives." As the mask seemed to make the alien uncomfortable, Revan removed it and continued the conversation: "I know nothing about any holy sites, but if they are located in the universe you come from, than we had nothing to do with violating them; nor were we responsible for bringing you here. We were all taken out of our native universes as well by an ancient device known as a Quantum Conduit Generator, constructed by an imperialistic race once thought to be long dead known as the Ascendants." Looking at the poor terrified scientist with an energy blade near his face, Revan then stated: "I know nothing of this 'UNSC' you speak of, and we are not your enemies. If you release the hostages, I will gladly share more information with you on what we've learned about this place so far, but if you harm them, we will be forced to retaliate, and such bloodshed will only benefit the true enemy here who is responsible for abducting us all."

[Demincia]

Kheto walked towards the projection, still distrusting of the man. But the choice was not his to make. He spoke in Sangheili again, "What is your command, Shipmaster?" He waited for the response, hoping Zira had a plan for this. The Zealot sat in his chair on the bridge, thinking over the situation. There might be some truth to what the human says, whatever brought them here was no slipspace portal. All of the attempts made to communicate with the other ships have failed, even signals sent to High Charity. It was not a normal situation, nor is it one that there was a precedent for. The fate of the ship rested on this decision, and Zira was aware of everyone on the bridge staring at him. He finally tapped a button on the arm of his chair. "Stand down, for now. But keep your guard up. Do not be lulled into a sense of security." he said.

Kheto nodded and sheathed his blade. "Shipmaster has ordered a cease fire!" he called to the troops. He glanced back at the scientists, then walked out away. He approached the door, and prepared to open it. "Be ready to fire if it's a trap." he said to the troops, and the Kig-Yar reignited their shields, and the Unggoy prepared grenades. Kheto's personal energy shield would withstand a few shots if the humans were planning an ambush. He opened the door, and stared down at the humans gathered. "You don't look like UNSC regulars." he said, then sniffed the air a few times. "But you have the same human stench."

[Brusia]

Revan and Bastila
The Hub

Though the alien attempted to speak in its native language, the multiversal translator which had allowed them to communicate up to this point still managed to translate the alien language, and when Revan overheard the apparent leader of the group order a ceasefire, he looked to Hex and stated: "It looks like they're coming out, make sure your people stand down unless we're fired upon." Revan approached the door as it opened, and Bastila remained nearby just in case. When the alien remarked that they had the same "human stench" as this "UNSC" Bastila replied under her breath: "You don't exactly smell like Ithorian roses either..."

Revan couldn't help but grin a little at his wife's retort, but in the interest of diplomacy moved past it and stated: "As I mentioned before, we are not familiar with this 'UNSC.' Is it some sort of organization where you come from?"

[Torsiedelle]

Corporal Wellington

Marie fell back; taking on a whole group of enemies that she knew nothing about would not end well. She was still shaking, thinking about what they were, and what they were talking about, or what reason they would have to be in the same place as her. She would try and figure out more, though it was a tough decision to leave the prisoners.

Suddenly, alarms blared. It stunned her for a moment, as her ears instinctively shot down. She had half a mind to find the nearest speakers and smack them. Whatever they were, they sounded far too crisp to be a radio or phonograph.

She snuck back down the corridor, and hung a right at the first new hallway. Her path brought her back towards the scene with the aliens, or at least in the general direction, although the sounds she heard were more muffled, the lighting a bit off. She was nearing another room, perhaps? When she stepped out, she found herself facing more soldiers, granted they weren't aliens. They were still wearing unfamiliar uniforms, and their presence alarmed the girl. She raised her weapon and stopped cold; "Friend or foe?", She called out from beside the group. "I want an explanation!"

[Demincia]

Revan and Bastila
The Hub

Though the alien attempted to speak in its native language, the multiversal translator which had allowed them to communicate up to this point still managed to translate the alien language, and when Revan overheard the apparent leader of the group order a ceasefire, he looked to Hex and stated: "It looks like they're coming out, make sure your people stand down unless we're fired upon." Revan approached the door as it opened, and Bastila remained nearby just in case. When the alien remarked that they had the same "human stench" as this "UNSC" Bastila replied under her breath: "You don't exactly smell like Ithorian roses either..."

Revan couldn't help but grin a little at his wife's retort, but in the interest of diplomacy moved past it and stated: "As I mentioned before, we are not familiar with this 'UNSC.' Is it some sort of organization where you come from?"

Kheto just snarled at Bastila's comment, and didn't respond to it. "Vermin is what they are. Determined to get their impure hands on our holy sites." He put his plasma rifle on his hip. "Their violent heresy is appalling." Behind him, the Kig-Yar deactivated their shields. Kheto was going to speak, but received another comm. "If the humans wish to speak, then we shall speak. I shall arrive shortly." Kheto lowered his head, not sure if it was the right thing for the Shipmaster to come aboard. But he accepted it, and informed the humans. "My Shipmaster will arrive soon. I suggest you not anger him." he said.

[Brusia]

Revan and Bastila
The Hub

"I see" Revan replied when the alien informed him about the UNSC. From his talk of "holy sites" and "heresy" it sounded like this alien might be some sort of cultist, which was alarming; he'd certainly prefer to avoid any groups like the vile Krath cult he'd heard about from the days of the Exar Kun War. When the alien informed him that his "Shipmaster" would arrive soon, Revan took that to mean one of his superior officers was coming to negotiate, and replied: "Very well, why don't we head to the Hanger Bays to meet him as he lands; there's a Conference Room on this station I can take him to to brief him on the situation here. Plus I'm sure these scientists would appreciate a chance to get back to their work."

Activating his comm-device, he stated: "VICCI, you can stand down the Station Alert, we've resolved the situation here. HK, please escort our recently arrived guests to some personal quarters; we'll be needing the Conference Room for another briefing."

The assassin droid replied: "Response: Very well, Master" as the lights returned to normal and the alarm sounds began to end. Raising his arm in the direction of the Hanger Bays, Revan stated: "Shall we?" and began to walk towards the area the alien officer would be landing in. While walking, Revan turned to the alien and asked: "Incidentally, I noticed that there appeared to be members of different species in your group. Is the government, or faction you work for comprised of multiple worlds?"

[Demincia]

Revan and Bastila
The Hub

"I see" Revan replied when the alien informed him about the UNSC. From his talk of "holy sites" and "heresy" it sounded like this alien might be some sort of cultist, which was alarming; he'd certainly prefer to avoid any groups like the vile Krath cult he'd heard about from the days of the Exar Kun War. When the alien informed him that his "Shipmaster" would arrive soon, Revan took that to mean one of his superior officers was coming to negotiate, and replied: "Very well, why don't we head to the Hanger Bays to meet him as he lands; there's a Conference Room on this station I can take him to to brief him on the situation here. Plus I'm sure these scientists would appreciate a chance to get back to their work."

Activating his comm-device, he stated: "VICCI, you can stand down the Station Alert, we've resolved the situation here. HK, please escort our recently arrived guests to some personal quarters; we'll be needing the Conference Room for another briefing."

The assassin droid replied: "Response: Very well, Master" as the lights returned to normal and the alarm sounds began to end. Raising his arm in the direction of the Hanger Bays, Revan stated: "Shall we?" and began to walk towards the area the alien officer would be landing in. While walking, Revan turned to the alien and asked: "Incidentally, I noticed that there appeared to be members of different species in your group. Is the government, or faction you work for comprised of multiple worlds?"

Kheto glanced at the man as he spoke to others over his comm. He wondered how many others were here, and if they were all humans. If so, the Covenant was at a big disadvantage. Hopefully Zira has back up plans if these humans are as weak minded as the UNSC. He began to walk with the man, who wanted to ask about the races. "We serve the Covenant Empire, spanning across the galaxy. Several races have united in the path to the Great Journey." The rest of his lance followed behind him, waiting to head back to the ship.