[Other FULL] Return From Exile [IC] [M]

Jeshal Kifius
Aboard the Ark - Observation Room
~~~~~

Oh. Turns out that they were okay with letting a Champion inside. Jeshal merely returned the woman's look before stepping into the observation room. He could stand there and watch for only a couple minutes before hurriedly walking back outside to where the female warrior was. Shaking slightly, Jeshal pulled his knife and wooden block back out and resumed carving to calm himself.

Two possibilities. Either the two aliens were so resolute that they wouldn't tell the interrogators anything despite the torture, or they truly didn't know anything. "Would've been better if they'd died in the battle," Jeshal said without thinking, within earshot of the warrior. Speaking of which... Turning to her, Jeshal asked, "Were you one of the marines that boarded their frigate? What happened to the aliens that were in charge of it? They would've known something."

Lilta Garner, Special Operations Soldier
Aboard the Ark - Outside the Torture Observation Room

"Aye I was one of the Spec Ops troops sent into that tin can," replied the warrior making sure to correct the flyboy's mistake in calling her a Marine. She shook her head and continued, "We got their leader or who we assumed was in command. He is being interrogated in the classified room. No cameras, no one allowed to watch but intel personnel, and I bet less brutal. Don't want to kill him while pulling out info. In there is a mix of trying to get information fast, getting revenge, and pure sadistic pleasure." As she said the last part she motioned toward the room Jeshal had just come out of.

She began to pace and said, "**** it I should have pulled the trigger… No I had to be merciful and take prisoners. The others just put them down, it was a ****ing blood bath. Most tried to flee or surrender but the other squad members just cut them down. I thought I was doing the right thing by taking prisoners when they surrendered. Now that one girl is being slowly cut to pieces because I couldn't put one in her head." The soldier was clearly stressed by the situation.

"Well now I know… it's no mercy no surrender, just kill them all and let the goddess sort'em out later. I should have been a pilot. Don't have to get your hands dirty… it's just another hunk of metal for you fly boys," the soldier let out a frustrated sigh and added, "Sorry about that… first real combat… and seeing what my decisions caused. I need ten drinks and a cot to pass out on." The woman then turned to walk away but before she did she looked back at Jeshal and added, "I think its worse that they look so human… why couldn't they be some sort of freaks? Just seems to show how far we are willing to go for revenge. Does it make us any better than them? If we find their home world will we burn it like they did ours?"

She then started to walk away as she did she muttered, "If we do I pray to the goddess I'll be in her embrace so I don't have to witness it."

Talia Arventis - Enemy Frigate Reactor Chamber


"It's my crew you need to thank not me. They made it happen." Varik ran his hand along the smooth surface of the reactor as he paced around it. "As to why they attacked us, I do not know… the prophecies of my people did speak of an enemy that drove us from our home and that the path back to it would be covered in blood. These have to be that enemy, and why now? My best guess is that it has to do with the Ark's making the jump. Perhaps they detected it…" He grew silent as his eyes seemed to inspect the surface more carefully and his pace slowed. Then in a flash of movement, he tore a panel off of the surface, reached inside, the dragged something out, tossing that something, or someone, onto the floor. In an instant the gun from Talia's hip holster was in her hand, drawn but not yet aimed. Varik's blade was in his hand, pressed against the neck of an alien as his tense body leaned over the smaller alien. As she moved her aim towards the alien, she examined her.

She, as it seemed female, was short, couldn't be much taller than four foot, and was quite slender. Her greyish blue skin and almost bleached white hair was covered in various liquids, probably oils, and her bright red eyes were terrified, flashing quickly between the two humans. She quickly spoke with a soft, almost ghostly voice that was translated almost immediately by some sort of earpice, her ear quivering as she spoke. "Please give me mercy." Talia's mind burned with anger with the words. What had she, or her people done to deserve mercy? Varik seemed to have a similar thought.

He pressed the knife harder into the alien's neck, and with a voice heavy with anger, he said, "Mercy? Like the mercy your kind gave to Kharak, my home, my tribe?" Panicked, the alien scrambled away from the knife, but only ended up cornering herself against a wall.

Crying now, the alien spoke again, her ghostly voice shaking heavily. "I do not know what you're talking about," responded the alien as she cried, "I'm a slave… I keep the reactor and engines working. I do not know what is happening outside this room. I do what I'm told or I'm punished. I'm not told why or what is happening outside the room."

As Talia stared at the alien, a memory pulled itself from her head. It was of a conversation she had with her father a long time ago.

"Father, why are you making these kinds of ships?" a much younger Talia asked her father, his arms covered in oil and grease as he worked on attaching a kinetic coil gun to a fighter. Her father looked at her quizzically, not understanding the question. Talia went on, "I mean, its meant to kill people, right?"

Her father laughed as he turned away from his work for a moment, smiling at his daughter. "Well", he started in his gruff voice, "Say one man kills another with a knife, and the knife maker decides he doesn't want to make knives anymore because people are using them to kill each other. But then one day as he is walking, he is attacked by a wolf, and cannot defend himself because he has no knife. It's not his fault that someone else used his tool for something bad, and sometimes we need tools of destruction to survive."

Cleaning his hands on a rag, he continued, "Someday, there may come a time when we need to defend ourselves like that. And like wolves, our enemy does not always understand peace. But the thing is, its not the ship, or the gun, or the maker's fault that things are used improperly. You have to look at who is aiming the gun, who is making the decisions. The gun doesn't have a choice where it shoots, you understand?"

Noticing Varik staring at her, she slowly lowered her gun. "Ah ♥♥♥♥", she murmured. "Calm down Varik, killing her wont accomplish anything. It wont bring Kharak back, and it wont bring back the lives lost. Like she said, she's a slave, she didn't have a choice." She turned away, placing her hand on her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "If all we want is revenge, then we are no better than they. That being said, we do need to decide what to do with her, and I don't feel comfortable turning her over to the interrogators. What they do is just brutal, and wont accomplish anything."

"What are we supposed to do with her though? It's not as if she knows anything..." Then a thought occurred to Talia. "She worked on the reactor here, maybe she can help with ours? We barely made it out of there alive, and they are obviously more advanced than we are, even a minor improvement to the reactor or engines or whatever would help..." She almost couldn't believe what she was saying, getting one of the enemy aliens to help them. But it was true, they needed every advantage they could get...she only wondered what Varik would say.

Varik Kushan
Alien Frigate's Reactor Room


Varik looked at Talia and said, "Command would never let her close to the Ark's reactor." He lowered his blade as Talia's words helped him take his emotions under control as his mind.

The alien let out a little sigh of relief as the blade was removed from her neck. She listened to the woman's words and spoke after she saw an opportunity when she wouldn't interrupt the two humans. Her voice was soft and submissive, "I can show you everything I know about the engines and reactor…" Her eyes focused on the ground at the human's feet and her voice was fearful as she spoke, "if… you promise… to protect me from the others."

"You're making demands now?" Varik asked with a little anger still in his voice as he looked back down at the alien with a lifted eyebrow.

"No… I'm afraid… I don't want to die… I don't want to be tortured. I'll help you… just please… protect me," replied the alien as she stared at Varik's feet. Her voice was filled with fear as she spoke to the strangers who could easily kill her or worse in a matter of seconds.

Varik sighed as Talia's and the alien's words bounced around in his mind. Suddenly the realization that this alien could be what he was looking for. He wanted to know how they thought, how they operated, and how the crew interacted. In Varik's mind this level of knowledge provided a tactical advantage since it helped him predict how they might act in combat.

Varik's mind raced and as he thought about the situation. He finally looked up at Talia and said, "Her telling us about the reactor and engine is useless. We need to find a scientist who will not freak out or call the guards. Second we need a place to hide her… Aboard the Ark is likely too risky as we lack private quarters there or I do at least and transporting her there will be a challenge. I could hide her aboard the Blade of Kharak in my quarters. Not the best idea but I usually do not have visitors and I removed all security in my room. I dislike the idea of people watching me do my rituals… you have a better idea?" Varik almost seemed a little enthusiastic about hiding the alien. In reality he was focused on the ability to do his own interrogation and learn all about how these aliens thought.

Jeshal Kifius
Outside the Torture Observation Room
~~~~~

Right, Spec Ops. Jeshal made no sound other than his carving as the soldier began talking. He didn't react to her comment about it being another hunk of metal for them 'flyboys'; she apologized for it, anyway. When the soldier began walking away, though, Jeshal chewed his lip for a moment before walking after her. "Hold on a moment."

When he caught up to the soldier, Jeshal said, "I think you did the right thing in not killing all of them. You didn't know what was going to happen to her. Fighting for survival is one thing. Killing unnecessarily is worse, especially if they can't fight back." He stopped speaking after that. There wasn't anything more to say, was there? Well, his own personal feelings, but Jeshal wasn't going that far in talking to a stranger.

A phone-gadget began ringing in his ear. "Got a call coming," Jeshal said to the soldier. "Been nice talking to you." He waved a hand in farewell, the one with his carving knife. Jeshal turned and left, sheathing his knife before tapping a finger to his ear. "Hello?"

"Thank the goddess you're alive!"

"It's good to hear you too, Rita," Jeshal replied, smiling in relief. "It's not like I'm gonna let anyone shoot me down."

"From what I hear, you almost were, Jeshal. I swear, one of these days, I'm going to look for you, and you won't be alive anymore."

Jeshal was silent for a few moments, heading back toward the docking bays. "I did lose half my squadron, though." He cleared his throat and asked, "So you're all right, then?"

He heard a sigh on the other end of the call. "They have us running around, checking all the systems. Power was rerouted to the Core, so we need to make sure the reactor is fine, or repair it if necessary. I just wanted to make sure my husband was still alive."

"Alive and well." Jeshal thought for a moment before adding, "Hey, if you get the chance, I want us to have a look at the alien frigate's defenses. They had some sort of flak turret that took out anything in range."

"As if I'm one of the senior technicians around here."A pause came as Rita said something to someone else on her end. "Got to go now, but I'll look into it. Love you, Jeshal."

"Love you too, sweetie." Jeshal ended the call and glanced back up at the hallway before him. He adjusted his jacket slightly before pulling his carving knife back out and setting it to the block in his hand. It was starting to look like a person. Jeshal stopped and looked back, down at the few wood shavings he'd just left on the floor. He shrugged and continued on.

Rita was right. It would more likely be one of the head scientists who'd decide whether they could replicate any of the frigate's guns. So what? Soon, Jeshal was walking into the hangar bay that held the alien frigate.

Varik Kushan
Captured Tardiin Frigate​

There was a sudden announcement that filled the ship saying in a monotone female voice saying, "All personnel prepare for jump in one minute. Repeat, hyperspace jump in one minute."

Varik looked over at Talia with a puzzled look. He then said, "I guess they discovered a way to charge the jump drive quicker. I have a feeling they are taking a huge risk to create more distance from our enemies."

"Rapid successive jumps are dangerous and can cause damage to jump drives and the power core. Tardiin ships are not allowed to do such jumps unless the ship is being threatened by destruction. It might work," said the alien softly adding in her thoughts. This made Varik look down at her for a second.

The Ark was suddenly enveloped by energy as a vast swirling vortex opened in front of the humanity's last hope. Allowing her to leap thousands of light years away from its current location, and once she arrived the lights were off completely until emergency lighting quickly kicked in. This meant the ship was bathed in much dimmer lighting. The Ark had ended up close to a vast asteroid belt, which was full of much needed resources.

Two large mining vessels disengaged from their docking stations and slowly headed for the exit of the docking bay. Several fighter craft also took off the escort the valuable assets as they moved to harvest the asteroids for resources to the Ark's factories could start creating new ships to replenish the fleet.

Just as the mining vessels began their operation a massive vortex opened and an equally massive ship appeared between the mining vessels and the Ark. The ship was larger than the Ark by a good margin and looked completely different from the Tardiin vessels encountered before. Its large bluish hull looked partly organic in nature instead of being made of metal or composite like the humans and tardiin ships. It had several crawl like extensions reaching out like a bug's stinger and various parts of the ship glowed an alluring green color. It didn't change its heading or charge any weapons once it emerged instead it just floated there in front of the smaller Ark, silent yet still lively thanks to the strange glowing sections of the ship starting to glow more intensely.

Alarms sounded throughout the Ark calling people to their battle stations, and for all fighters and corvettes to launch in case this ship was hostile. The docking bay became filled with activity as crew rushed back to their ships and maintainers prepped ships for launch. In contrast the alien vessel seemed calm as it floated in the airless void in front of the Ark.

"Looks like we will have to sit this one out unless you have a back up ship. However this might be our chance to get… her… to a better hiding spot," said Varik as he tensed up. He felt helpless with being unable to help protect the fleet since his corvette was still merged with Talia's.

Talia Arventis - Enemy Frigate Reactor Chamber

She stared at the other corvette commander as he started to become enthusiastic about hiding the alien somewhere, wondering if the man had gone slightly insane. She was about to address the captain expressing such with a few choice words mixed in when the female computerized voice of the fleet command, "All personnel prepare for jump in one minute. Repeat, hyperspace jump in one minute." They had to be kidding, another jump so soon? That was barely enough time to make any real repairs! Sure, maybe they needed resources, but two jumps so close together?

Varik looked over at her, a slightly perplexed expression on his face, "I guess they discovered a way to charge the jump drive quicker. I have a feeling they are taking a huge risk to create more distance from our enemies."

The small alien quietly chimed up, "Rapid successive jumps are dangerous and can cause damage to jump drives and the power core. Tardiin ships are not allowed to do such jumps unless the ship is being threatened by destruction. It might work..." She sounded unsure of herself with the last sentence, sounding just as worried as Talia felt about the situation. Even Varik looked down at her, seeming to be a bit worried. But only a moment later, there was a slight tug as the jumpdrive engaged, and the ship pulled itself through the energy wrinkle, folding space and time, emerging moments later.

"Well", Talia grumbled, "At least it seems like we're in one piece." She activated her implant, syncing it up to the Ark's mainframe, quickly checking through the systems. "Unfortunately, it looks like weapons, engines, and long range scanners are all offline, and we are running off of emergency power it seems. Fools, why the hell did they jump, they must have known the risks!"

And only seconds later it seemed, alarms were blaring through the ship, calling all pilots to combat. Varik looked over at Talia and sighed, "Looks like we will have to sit this one out unless you have a back up ship. However this might be our chance to get… her… to a better hiding spot."

Talia just rolled her eyes. "Okay, look, hiding her is probably the worst idea that we have come up with. We are on a spaceship, and spaceships use every square meter available for efficiency. Even quarters wont really work, not for long at least. And to be honest, I don't want to be the one involved when command figures out that someone is hiding an alien aboard the ship. Helping her is one thing, but treason is too far." She quickly thought about her options. "So how about this for a plan. The ship is currently mostly powered down, so we get her to a scientist, and she gives some suggestions to fixing things. If they work, great, wins all around. If not, she gets thrown in the brig, and we don't get dropped off on some planet because we committed treason. Besides, scientists don't really care about gender or clan or even race, the only thing that matters to them is knowledge."

Varik thought about Talia's words and shook his head, "You are right about my idea being bad. Forgive my "enthusiasm" I believe to know ones enemy is to be able to better fight them. Know how they think, how they operate, and you have insight on how they may act so you can be a step ahead of them. I let my personal desire for knowledge cloud my mind." Varik then sighed and he reached up and touched a random symbolic necklace he was wearing before muttering something in a very rare language that the Wanderers used. His eyes were closed and what seemed like muttering was actually a prayer.

The alien stared at Varik and tapped her earpiece a few times before whispering to Talia, "What is he saying?"

Varik stopped and was the one to respond to the question, "Wanderer prayer for clarity of mind and body. To help find the right path to take… and help me think." Varik looked back at Talia and said, "I don't think seeking out a scientist would be the path to take, unless fate brings one here. They may not think like us warriors, but they do have emotions like we do. They too have lost..."

Suddenly the alarms in the Ark stopped and Fleet Command announced, "All personnel stand down, honor guard to the docking bay to receive alien ambassadors."

Varik stopped talking once Fleet Command spoke and looked at Talia unsure what to say about the developing situation.

Meanwhile in the core of the Ark Fleet Command sat in the "seat" from which she was bound by countless wires, and machinery that allowed her to control much of the Ark. Her head was filled with strange alien thoughts from the massive mothership that floated just outside her own ship. They had communicated directly to her and her alone with some sort of telepathy. They called themselves the Varisss'kar and claimed to be watchers and traders of the galaxy. They sought to establish trading opportunities with humanity, but also wanted to discuss something with Fleet Command directly. Fleet Command agreed to allow them to come aboard and speak with her directly.

There was a strange silence that filled the docking bay as the strange bulbous alien ship gracefully maneuvered to a spot to land aboard the Ark. The ship looked like an insect's larva with thick exoskeleton like shell covering it which made some humans rather uncomfortable. It suddenly sprouted six short legs that allowed it to land effortlessly on the deck of the Ark. Once the ship hand landed the bottom of the ship peeled away allowing six massive bug like aliens to crawl from inside the ship. Each one stood twelve feet tall measuring to the top of their abdomens. They gathered together and their abdomen vibrated violently as they merged their minds to "feel" the human ship. When they did this every human around them including Garet, Varik, and Talia could feel some strange tingling in their heads that lasted for a second before going away.

Once they were done the Aliens began to move together with purpose as they headed toward the core of the ark, followed by an uneasy looking group of soldiers that made up the human's "honor guard." They would stop several times to "feel" the human ship as they journeyed to the core of the Ark.

Fleet Command's chamber's reinforced doors slid open as the ambassadors approached and closed after them leaving the surprised honor guard outside. Two minutes later the Jarl showed up to the entrance of Fleet Command's chamber, but he was not allowed inside as the aliens and Fleet Command had a long mental discussion.

After the strange feeling washed over Varik he thought for a moment before saying, "That was strange… I feel like someone looked into my mind. Did you feel that too?" The alien woman nodded, but didn't say anything as Varik wondered what had just happened.

Jeshal Kifius
Aboard the Ark - More aliens? So soon?
~~~~~

"All personnel prepare for jump in one minute. Repeat, hyperspace jump in one minute."

Jeshal stopped walking, just yards away from the alien frigate, when the announcement filled the ship. Okay, so it sounded like the people in charge already knew what to do next, good to see that they hadn't completely frozen up after the battle. A minute later, the Ark had made the jump and the emergency lighting had kicked in.

Pushing his sunglasses up from his eyes and onto his head, Jeshal sheathed his carving knife when his phone began ringing again. He tapped a finger to his ear, and a voice began speaking: "All Fighters, suit up and escort the mining vessels. I want all Interceptors to suit up as well and be on standby, in case your assistance is necessary."

Ah, right. Jeshal turned toward the locker rooms, where flight uniforms were stored. It was when he stood at his own locker, pulling his uniform out, that the alarms began blaring about the new alien ship. Cummon, really? So soon? It took him a little less than a minute to get his flight uniform on, and Jeshal quickly went back into the hangar bay. His personal Interceptor was still in repairs, so he needed to find a spare.

Suddenly the alarms in the Ark stopped and Fleet Command announced, "All personnel stand down, honor guard to the docking bay to receive alien ambassadors."

Jeshal stopped again; he was standing beside the Interceptor that he was about to fly out of the Ark. Okay, would you please make up your mind? Jeshal thought to himself. To be honest, he found the silence unsettling as the 'ambassadors' ship came to rest in the hangar bay; more so when the six bug-like aliens appeared. Suddenly, Jeshal's head began tingling, and he shook his head to get rid of it. It seemed to work, because the tingling disappeared a second later. It was more than that, though, it was like someone had tried to read his mind.

A shiver ran up Jeshal's spine. As the aliens and their honor guard left the hangar bay, Jeshal's eyes inevitably ran back to the alien frigate they had taken. Well, there was nothing else to do while they all waited for further news. Holding his helmet under one arm, Jeshal began walking toward the alien frigate. He passed a few groups of other pilots and personnel who were talking to each other.

A few of the words Jeshal could hear didn't brighten his feelings. It sounded like most everyone was uncertain about the 'ambassadors', and a few suggested striking before the aliens could do anything. Those few were drowned out by their companions; Jeshal heard one person say they needed to learn more about the bugs first.

Speculation wasn't going to help much. Getting a better look at the first group of aliens' frigate would. As he got closer, Jeshal saw a scientist speaking to a pair of guards who appeared to be ignoring the scientist. "Hey, what's the problem here?" Jeshal asked, stopping a few feet away.

"I saw a man climb into this frigate earlier, and these two--" The scientist struggled with his words. "--these guards don't think it's important to find him. That man could potentially ruin this ship before we ever get a proper look at its mechanisms!"

"The aliens aboard this frigate destroyed our planet," one guard answered in a cold voice, as if that settled the matter. "Why should we care about this stupid ship?"

Jeshal glanced at the other three people's insignia. From what he could tell, the scientist was the only one who was Clanless. Great, so this argument had the underlying matter that Clanless were supposedly lower than Clan members. Jeshal clapped a hand on the scientist's shoulder. "So, if you don't care about it, then it shouldn't matter if the two of us go check on this other guy who climbed in, right?" When the guards hesitated, Jeshal added, "It's not like we have anything better to do until we know more about the bu-- the ambassadors, right?"

The guards didn't move to stop them, but Jeshal pushed the scientist ahead of him as they walked into the frigate before the guards could change their minds. "So, what have you found out?" Jeshal asked the scientist, his voice echoing down the hallways of the Tardiin frigate.

Talia Arventis - Alien Frigate


Varik shook his head, seeming to reconsider. "You are right about my idea being bad. Forgive my "enthusiasm" I believe to know ones enemy is to be able to better fight them. Know how they think, how they operate, and you have insight on how they may act so you can be a step ahead of them. I let my personal desire for knowledge cloud my mind." He touched a necklace he was wearing and started muttering in some language. It took her a moment to realize that he was praying, speaking in what sounded like one of the old wanderer dialect. She had never been religious herself, but remained silent to let him finish out of respect.

The alien girl on the floor looked at the much bigger man in confusion, tapping her earpiece translator a few times before turning to Talia and asking, "What is he saying?" Interesting, Talia thought, so it doesn't pick up every language, only the ones that the are programed into it. So why do they understand the human standard language? She made a note to ask the alien later.

Jeshal stopped praying, and looking at the alien said, "Wanderer prayer for clarity of mind and body. To help find the right path to take… and help me think." Varik looked back at Talia and said, "I don't think seeking out a scientist would be the path to take, unless fate brings one here. They may not think like us warriors, but they do have emotions like we do. They too have lost..."

Varik stopped suddenly as all of the alarms blaring throughout the station suddenly cut out. Had the threat been neutralized already? Then fleet command announced a short moment later, All personnel stand down, honor guard to the docking bay to receive alien ambassadors."

"Ambassadors?" Talia gave the other pilot a confused look. "What is going on? First attacked, then one jump later, this?"

A few minutes later, some sort of telepathic touch hit the three as the aliens in the hanger "felt" the ship. To Talia, it almost felt similar to linking to her ship through his implant, but not as structured. Much more random and confusing it seemed. After the feeling vanished, Varik said, "That was strange… I feel like someone looked into my mind. Did you feel that too?" The alien woman nodded as well.

"I suppose its too much of a coincidence", Talia replied, "It must have been whoever the ambassadors are. Maybe that's how they communicate?"

The Ark

"Well the person I saw climb in was wearing the robes of one of those religious wanderer types…" said the scientist as he started moving forward on his own before shaking his head and said, "You mean about the ship? Honestly not much other than the armor on these things is rather weak. I believe they are made to allow the Shield energy to follow across them easier or something like that. So if we can find a way to bypass or quickly disable the shields then BAM! We can crush them with ease. Now I want to see how their reactors work so maybe I can learn more about the shields are powered." The Scientist continued to drone on and on about his shield and reactor theories until they entered the reactor room.

---

Varik Kushan - Alien Frigate

Varik replied to Talia's theory, "Maybe, or they could be gathering intelligence, Reading our minds perhaps." He then heard the sound of boots against the alien composite that made up the ship floor. He stepped in front of the alien as if to hide her, and it actually worked for a second when Jeshal and the scientist showed up.

Seeing Varik and Talia the scientist exclaimed, "What are you doing here?! I hope you haven't damaged anything!" The man was short and stick like in statue and his only other outstanding feature was his bright green eyes that were behind a pair of rectangular glasses. His eyes darted around the reactor core when he spotted the panel Varik had ripped off he yelled, "You tore this off didn't you?! You realize what you might have…" Just then he spotted the female Tardiin and he jumped back a few feet. "ALIEN! Kill it!" he yelped.

Varik lifted an eyebrow at the skittish man and said, "Relax she is a slave and no match for any of us, likely even you."

"Why didn't you kill her?" asked the man staring at the Tardiin who was holding her knees up to her chest making her look even smaller than she already was.

"Same reason we don't just fill this thing with explosives and make a pretty firework show, intelligence gathering," replied Varik.

"Alright I'll go get the guards to haul her off," said the man with a fast hard to follow voice.

"Wait, I wanted to interrogate her myself before turning her in," yelled Varik but the man didn't listen as he ran back down the hall.

The Tardiin started to freak out when the scientist left and said, "Please hide me! Help me! I don't want to be tortured, I don't want to die. I'll tell you anything! I'll do anything! I'll even pleas…"

Varik cut her off by saying, "Sorry but helping you now will get us the label of traitors. None of us are going to die for you." The Tardiin suddenly jumped to her feet and tried to make a run for it but Varik grabbed her shoulder and forced her down to her knees before she could get two steps. The Tardiin looked up at Jeshal then Talia, while begging for her life as tears ran down her face.

A minute later the sounds of boots could be heard coming to the reactor room. The Tardiin started to shake with fear as they approached. Four warriors clad in ordinate silver armor, and wielding highly modified combat rifles entered the room. The armor wasn't completely functional and looked like armor that knights from the past in Kharak once wore. However under this armor was the best anti-ballistic armor the Clans had. These were not ordinary soldiers, these were Chosen. Chosen were the best of the best and were tasked with protecting temples, artifacts, and other important sites or people to the Clans as a whole. They were completely independent of any Clan, and were only loyal to what they were protecting. The only Chosen on this ship were tasked with the protection of Fleet Command, and thus were her on her orders. One of the Chosen spoke with a deep commanding voice, "All four of you, Come with us now."

Varik glanced over at Talia and Jeshal with a puzzled look before he tried to get the Tardiin to stand up, but fearing her doom she refused to stand until he leaned down and whispered something to her. Whatever he said got her to stand up and stop crying. Varik looked at Jeshal then Talia then said, "Well this is going to be interesting."

Jeshal Kifius
Aboard the Ark - Another Tardiin. ...and being arrested?
~~~~~

Jeshal's helmet hung from one hand as he and the scientist headed toward the reactor room. He didn't say anything to the shield and reactor theories and paid it only half his attention. It was the sort of thing that Rita would be interested in, but not Jeshal. He'd rather hoped that there would have been something more definite regarding the alien frigate.

The fact that the person who'd climbed into the ship was wearing robes didn't matter much to Jeshal until the two of them entered the reactor room and found Varik and Talia. Jeshal didn't recognize the woman, but he knew Varik, sort of. "Ah..." Jeshal halted as the scientist began ranting at Varik. He raised a hand before dropping it; Varik could fend off a flimsy scientist.

"ALIEN! Kill it!"

"Whoa, what?!" Jeshal's free hand shot up again, this time holding the pistol that had been holstered on his thigh. Oh, wait, it-- she's not doing anything. Still, he didn't put his gun away as Varik explained a bit. When the scientist announced that he was going to bring guards, Jeshal sighed in resignment, holstering his pistol. Once the flimsy man was gone, he shrugged and gave Varik and Talia an apologetic look. "Eh, sorry. I was the one who got him past the guards... Didn't realize this alien would be here." Looking again at Talia, Jeshal hesitated before speaking over the alien girl. "Name's Jeshal."

It was hard not to feel pity for the alien as she begged, but Varik was right. Jeshal looked away, holding his hands and helmet behind his back as they waited for the inevitable.

Only, he was expecting guards, not four of the Chosen. Jeshal blinked a few times, hands back at his sides. Yes, interesting. As he understood it, orders from the Chosen were almost the same as orders from Fleet Command herself. Jeshal was the first to step forward in leaving, but he had to say something instead of following blindly. "Can I ask what this is about?" he asked the Chosen, tucking his helmet back under his arm.

Talia Arventis - Alien Frigate

The echo of boots scraping against the cold metallic floor of the frigate brought Talia to attention, and she found herself starting to nervously sweat, knowing the consequences of consorting with an enemy. She calmed herself, taking a few deep breaths. After all, they hadn't done anything except talk, which could technically be considered interrogation. Besides, worrying about it wouldn't change anything. Varik moved in front of the alien as the boots got closer, attempting to hide her small body behind his. It wouldn't do for anything more than a casual glance though.

Two men turned the corner, the first one a scientist. He was thin and stalk-like, his skin mostly pale due to standing in front of far too many consoles while researching. His bright green eyes behind a pair of spectacles darted from her to Varik in curiosity first, then accusation, probably wondering if they had tampered with the ship at all. The second man was a bit shorter, an inch or two shorter than herself. He was wearing a jacket with the emblem of the clan Caedmon on both shoulders, and she vaguely recognized the man from somewhere. An interceptor pilot she thought, maybe a squad leader or something.

Suddenly the scientist burst out at seeing the open access panel on the reactor, then once again at seeing the small alien behind Varik, who seemed to be doing her best at appearing to be small and innocent. Which didn't really work all that well. "Why didn't you kill it?" the scientist was asking.

"Same reason we don't just fill this thing with explosives and make a pretty firework show, intelligence gathering," retorted Varik.

"Alright I'll go get the guards to haul her off," the scientist quickly exclaimed, his voice fast and filled with panic. Even after Varik yelled for him to wait, the scientist ran off as fast as his lankly legs would carry him.

"Please hide me! Help me!" The alien practically cried." I don't want to be tortured, I don't want to die. I'll tell you anything! I'll do anything! I'll even pleas…"

Varik cut her off sharply, "Sorry but helping you now will get us the label of traitors. None of us are going to die for you." Talia felt terrible hearing the words, but she couldn't help but agree. At some point she would have been found out anyway, it was probably better sooner rather than later. Seeing no compassion in the eyes of her captors, the small being darted up trying to make her escape, only to be pushed back down by Varik. Her knees hit the deck with a sharp thud, tears streaming down her face as she looked from Talia to the other pilot searching for any salvation from her situation, only to find none.

A few minutes of awkward silence later, boots echoed once again through the ship, marching in sync as four guards entered the reactor room. But they weren't any guards, they were the Chosen, the elite, masters in both ranged and hand to hand combat. Their completely impractical silver armor shone in the dim lighting as they pushed their way into the room, and the head Chosen spoke in a deep voice, "All four of you, come with us now." If the Chosen were here, it must have been by order of Fleet Command, meaning they were either here to take them for some sort of special mission or meeting, or special interrogation. Probably the latter.

Varik gave Talia a confused look, which she returned. He leaned down and whispered into the ear of the alien, getting her to reluctantly stand, then all four of them followed the Chosen, two of them behind their group, the other two ahead leaning the way. As they walked, she leaned over to Varik and whispered, "Well, now we're fraked. Ah well, its been fun while it lasted!" She gave him a sarcastic grin to hide her nervousness.

"This is about her I believe," said one of the Chosen in a calm voice, who motioned toward the Tardiin who was walking behind Jeshal, Varik, and Talia.

Meanwhile Varik whispered to Talia, "I'm unsure what to think about this. The Chosen had to have been here before the scientist ran off to get guards. They are usually only found at the heart of the Ark, where Fleet Command is." The humans and single alien walked off the ship to find a crowd gathering to see why the Chosen had come to the hanger bay. Seeing the three humans they were escorting, people began to talk among each other cooking up theories on why these three were being escorted by Chosen. However when the humans spotted the Tardiin their tones of voice and facial expressions changed to ones filled with hate and anger.

The Tardiin caught a glance of a human giving her the slit throat motion and she suddenly pushed past Varik, who was walking in front of her. Stopping in the middle of the group the Tardiin felt a little safer from the hateful crowd. She was thankful once they left the hanger bay as there were fewer humans around to threaten her.

The group of seven humans and one Tardiin weaved through the ship until they reached the core of the ship several minutes later. The blast proof doors that separated the rest of the ship from Fleet Command stood before them. 12 feet tall and 20 feet in width the only entrance to the true heart of the Ark was impressive. These doors were heavily armored and could take a direct hit from one of Talia's Corvette's Coil Guns and still hold. The hallway opened up to a vast room that served as a lobby for the entrance into the heart of the Ark. This room was decorated with ancient tomes and artifacts retrieved from the vessel that had been found on the surface of Kharak. The ceiling above was a painting of stars with lines creating a path among them leading to the true birthplace of humanity. Two more chosen stood guard at the door itself and next to them were a set of automated heavy weapon turrets that were under the direct control of Fleet Command. A quick glance around revealed there were at least 12 other smaller turrets hanging from the walls.

As the group approached the massive doors they began to slowly open revealing a poorly lit chamber. Inside Fleet Command's chambers was barren other than a large seat surrounded by holographic counsels in the middle of it. Fleet Command herself was not in the seat, but instead was standing among the alien guests. She was wearing flowing white robes that hid much of her machine modified frame. However hundreds of wires and cords ran from her back to the ceiling above the seat, was a reminder that she was more machine than human now.

'Aaaa Merciful ones come here… we have much to show you,' echoed in the minds of the Jeshal, Talia, and Varik as the Chosen took their spots on the outer wall. Somehow the three knew the alien talking to them was the only one who was still standing by Fleet Command. The other two walked over to the side of the room and the Tardiin started to walk over to the pair as they communicated separately with her.

Walking up to the massive bug like alien Varik couldn't help but feel paranoid about it. Its strange armored body seemed threatening and like something you would see in some horror movie. The aliens remained perfectly still other than their vibrating abdomen. Glancing over toward the Tardiin, he saw her now standing next to the other two aliens talking to them, but he couldn't hear her soft voice.

'Open your minds and close your eyes and I will show you the sins of your ancestors and the reason behind your exile,' telepathically said the alien. Varik felt almost forced to close his eyes as a strange energy surrounded him. 'Open and let your eyes see the darkness of your kind at their pinnacle. Thousands of years ago your race was united under the banner of the Terran Alliance, a vast empire controlled by a corrupt government and the large corporations that pulled their strings from the shadows. Profit and power drove the human expansion of the galaxy and their vast armadas crushed all enemies who dared oppose the might of the Terran Alliance. Many aliens would allow humanity to take control and "help" them with giving them advance technology, but the price was high as humanity would strip them of their cultural identity and would slowly reduce the aliens into basically slaves to fund their massive industries. One race had the power to oppose the Terran Alliance, and that was the Tardiin Advent.'

As the alien spoke all around the humans was a vision of a vast armada of powerful warships that looked similar, but more advance than the human's current fleet. The visions changed to the armadas crushing weaker alien ships of different types and laying waste to various planets from orbit. The image changed to human soldiers clad in advance battle armor cut down aliens wielding basic weapons like swords and spears. The aliens were desperately trying to defend their homes which were now burning as human biped war machines spat streams of burning liquid over the occupied homes of the aliens who resisted. The vision shifted to the aliens who accepted the offer of human technology. At first things seemed great as the aliens experienced the joys of human technology, but slowly their planet and the aliens themselves changed, from beautiful lush planets to factories spitting smoke. The aliens working these factories looked lifeless and hopeless as they realized the true price of their agreement.

'The Tardiin at that time were a very spiritual race that was led by a counsel of powerful Archons. They had been watching the human's expansion with concern and had militarized their rather peaceful collective of colonies to defend themselves. They dealt the Terran Alliance's military it's first true defeat, and forced them back. The war between the Tardiin Advent and the Terran Alliance would last over a hundred years as the Tardiin held the line against the human aggressors. However the humans had discovered an ancient alien vessel left by the Ancients, a mysterious race that disappeared from our galaxy long before even our rise to the stars. This vessel had a unique jump core that also served as a very powerful reactor for the ship. This Ancient vessel was modified by the humans and they turned it into their ultimate weapon: The Ragnarok class Leviathan. This ship could make jumps three times the distance of any known ship including our own allowing them to bypass normal defensive lines. Its reactor also powered a vast array of weapons including two massive siege weapons.'

The images changed to a vast war between the human vessels and the ancient Tardiin ships. It then changed to the visions of the ancient ship being discovered then rebuilt as the powerful Ragnarok, a vast warship that looked alien yet human at the same time.

'The humans launched a massive offensive that served to distract the Tardiin's military as the Ragnarok made two quick jumps into the orbit of the Advent's home world. The surprised Tardiin's defenses were easily brushed aside by the massive ship and it quickly proceeded to lay waste to the planet below with its powerful weaponry. The human fighters and bombers sought to destroy any ship, military or civilian, that tried to flee the planet. However a few Tradiin ships were able to escape, one of which carried the Archon Harkinoni.'

The Ragnarok could be seen jumping into the system and quickly crushing the few defenders of the planet before firing its two massive siege beams at the defenseless home world. The image then moved in closer to show civilian ships fleeing the bombardment but most were being destroyed by human fighters and bombers. The images faded from this seen as one transport's man compartment was torn open by a fighter sucking hundreds of helpless Tardiin civilians into space.

'Archon Harkinoni found one of our nest worlds and plead for us and other elder races to help save the Tardiin from genocide. His words and visions of humanity's cruelty convinced us to act. We brought our fleets and crushed the human fleets. We drove the humans back to their home system, and there we stopped our attacks. However Archon, now Emperor Harkinoni had other plans. He unleashed a crusade against the humans and sought to erase the cruel race from the galaxy. However as their purging fleet reached Terra, we stepped in once again and brought representatives from both the Tardiin and Humanity to strike a peace that would prevent genocide of the human race. Humanity would surrender and accept exile. Part of the agreement of the exile was that humanity would never use hyperspace jump technology again.'

Images showed the massive living warships of the Varisss'kar crushing the human fleets, followed by the purging of the human colonies by vengeful Tardiin. The visions fated away as three massive transports, the same ships found in the desert of Kharak, left Terra to take humanity into Exile.

Recovering their normal sight of the world around them the four humans were once again addressed by the alien ambassador through telekinesis, 'You violated the terms of the exile you were forced into 8,857 Terran years ago that your kind had long forgotten. That is why your home was destroyed, and you are being hunted. However such punishment for a forgotten crime that you were not even given the chance to repent for is the work of the Tardiin's ruthless Emperor. He seeks to destroy your race as an example of his might and to show what happens when he is defied. Many Tardiin people however see it as a heartless act of genocide…and he is merely adding fuel to the fires of rebellion. The Tardiin and races under their Empire have suffered long under the psychotic rule of their clone Emperor.'

Just then the Tardiin woman that had been found on their ship was escorted by the two other Varisss'kar. She looked different as the two deep blue dots that had decorated her cheeks had turned into elegant curves, looking as if they were beginning to form a pattern of sorts on her face. One of the Varisss'kar that had been with her said, 'She has awoken… and now we must leave for we have lingered too long. The Tardiin Empire's allies are close and we cannot be found helping you.'

The three aliens then turned and walked toward the opening doors leading to the rest of the ship. A minute later the doors had closed again leaving. Varik looked at Fleet Command who stood there quietly and then the Tardiin woman and asked, "What did he mean awakened?"

The Tardiin nervously held out her hand palm up and her palm began to glow with a blue flame like aura of energy. "Only the Emperor, Archons, and chosen Mystics know how to use Mana… they told me all Tardiin used to… the Emperor decided only rulers should be allowed to know these arts so it was banned then forgotten by most," muttered the Tardiin as the blue flame danced in her hand. "They say I am to be an Archon that will help restore what my people have lost," continued the alien in a terrified voice. She was tense with fear and uncertainty of what to do about what the Varisss'kar had tasked her with.