The Probing Mind

[Xyrael]

The massive interstellar citadel floated through the perilous vaccuum of space, without sound or movement. A massive crystalline structure enthroned the center of the structur, surrounded by six massive pylons. Purple swathes of light ripped through the very fabric of the structure, which seemed as though it was trapped within an eerie blue haze. What seemed to be a small "gateway" opened up to a massive interior, within which an armada of vessels were stationed in silent vigil.

Within the stark white hallways on the vessel hurried Illiriq Sunfighter, an average male; five foot in height, weighing approximately sixty-one pounds, his sleek, elegant figure and graceful step created the appearance as though he were gliding through the hallway. He approached a small niche at the end of the bright hallway, which slid open to reveal a room which glowed a brilliant violet as gems pulsed with artificial life. Another male approached him happily, clasping his shoulder in greeting.

"What is it that I've been called here for, brother?" Illiriq asked his fellow.

"Our Shrine approaches new life, brother. Our Seers have heard the unguarded thoughts of nearby creatures." The elder seemed eager to share his information with Illiriq.

"Truly? What need do you have for me then, brother?"

"We need a troope to meet with these people, and explore their world. See if there are any others there we can save, and see if there is anything of value on the world. I need reports, and quickly Illiriq. Make haste, your crew already awaits you."

Illiriq clasped the shoulder of his compatriot. "I will not be gone for more than a cycle, I swear it to you, brother." He spun softly on his feet and swiftly moved through the hallowed halls of his home to a transporter, quickly beaming aboard his stellar carrack. Aboard the bare bridge were four others, who stood patiently waiting for his orders as he stepped off the transporter platform.

"It is time for us to depart, take us to these new people. There is much for us to explore," he sat down on his ship softly as the telekinetic emanations of the navigator pulled the ship away from the Shrineworld and into the healthy rays of a nearby star which caught the sail and swept the craft towards her destination.

A moon, orbitting a blue gas giant, which revolved around a blue star, appeared as a jewel in the sky beset within a brilliant buckler. The carrack shot through the sky of the planet, leaving in it's trail slowly burning embers which faded as dust.

[Gulliver]

The fifth watch had begun on the moon dubbed Vaan by its residents and in response many of those residents were stirring from their slumber. Some of them woke to find that the nightly snowfall had finally ceased. This time around the accumulation had been heavier than usual and the partially illuminated disk of the planet above illuminated a scene of incredible beauty for those who had nowhere to be and a grim portent of incredible inconvenience for everyone else.

Among those privileged few who had been afforded the luxury of being able to enjoy the snowfall was Instructor Sröhen and his numerous charges. Standing barefoot in the snow he now kept his ever watchful eye trained on his students as they enjoyed a moment of free recreation. Most of them had taken to flinging snowballs back and forth at one another in a mock conflict with some of most ill defined sides that Sröhen had ever seen. Such chaos considered, it was not particularly shocking that one of the numerous frozen projectiles being hurled through the air with all the terrible force of a child's throw found its way into the side of Sröhen's head.

"This one apologizes Instructor Sröhen!"

"Not a problem Ëdrïn," said Sröhen as he shook the fragments of snow from his mane, not in the least bit upset. Were he the sort to react with anger to a situation such as this he would have never been made an instructor. "Please just be more careful in aiming next time. This one will never win like this." As quickly as he had stopped to apologize the child bounded off to join the fray once more. Sröhen watched him do so as his previous sense of content calm reasserted itself, only to have that feeling quickly broken again. Sröhen did not have to turn around to identify the culprit.

"Šetjen, if you want this one's attention please speak or pull my clothing instead. Do not pull this one's tail."

"This one apologizes..." mumbled the child, shrinking back in shame and embarrassment. Sröhen gave him a sympathetic expression.

"What is this?" he asked. Šetjen pointed towards the sky.

"Instructor, what is that?" Sröhen looked up in time to catch a streak of light cut across the sky. This had not gone unnoticed by the other students either.

"Ah..."


"This does not like this at all," moaned Sandyra as he and his two companions trudged through the freshly fallen snow. He glanced back and forth, a paranoid imagination turning every shadow that the planet-light cast as it fell through the trees into an impressive variety of demons and devils. Every sound that reached his ears sent shivers through his body and put his hair on end. "This cannot really be aliens. A simple meteor is far more probable than that. These ones have never had proof that there are others out there. The probability... the probability is just far too low for this to ever happen." He ceased his attempt to convince himself that the situation he knew himself to be in was otherwise long enough to be startled by another vague sound of the forest. Before he could resume one of his companions spoke up.

"This one knows well that a meteor cannot control its descent in the manner that we saw and should stop lying to themselves. This is not ours but is intelligent. These ones have already reached the only possible conclusion and this one knows it."

"But Akimi," continued Sandyra, still hoping against hope that none of what was happening was true. "This does not make sense. If these are aliens then why would those aliens land here? This is a forest and those ones would not be able to do..."

"This is not all forest and there are many places which are not wooded," replied Akimi, handily dashing another of Sandyra's hopes against hope.

"The Seven should be the ones to handle alien contact..." Akimi fixed Sandyra which quickly convinced him to momentarily cease talking. The third of them grumbled in the intervening silence but still did not speak as they continued to trudge on. Akimi began the conversation again.

"This is our charge and these ones must deal with this immediately until others arrive."

"But if those ones really are aliens..." said Sandyra, renewing his nervous babbling only to trail off into a vocal expression of fear and frustration. "Oh... no doubt those ones will be terrible monsters. Terrible, large monsters that will eat these ones on the spot. Oh..."

[Xyrael]

Illiriq motioned softly to his crew as the last mechanisms locked into place, securing the carrack's solar sail within the hull. Pulsing crystals softly dimmed as the one named Lauthelias activated the illusion field. The bright lights and warmth of the ship betrayed what the sensors detected to be a cold, dark environment.

Donning armour specifically built for his figure, he looked to his fellows. "Brothers, be swift and silent. We can not afford to be discovered until we are ready." His comrades nodded their approval as they placed their metallic helmets on. A whisp of air as they sealed tight, the vacant eyeslots slowly lit with a dim blue light as they attuned to their hosts. Illiriq, too, placed his helmet on his head. A HUD displayed within his conscious, and he became aware of everything he and his fellows could see.

Two glided softly towards the transporter dias, dematerializing before Illiriqs eyes. Illiriq stepped forward, elegantly placing his slender foot on the glowing yellow pad before he too rematerialized in soft, fluffy snow. The blue planet bode ominously overhead, it's light barely illuminating the nigh invisible hull of the carrack as it floated gently above a calm lake.

Lauthelias approached him as four others broke off into a swift, quiet stride through the woods. Only the feint rustle of leaves gentler than a breeze betrayed their passage. Illiriq turned to his companion anxiously. "We, too, must spread out. Come, let us go north. I believe there to be a settlement twelve secs from here, we can find specimens there surely." Lauthelias' helmet nodded his approval.


Soft footsteps rustled leaves, the gentle breeze of Illiriq's passage knocking loose an icicle as his slender feet guided him into the branches of a tree. Perched above, he could hear the faint crunching sound of paw against fresh snow. His senses became aware, and his mind plied the forest searching for the hints of emotion. He could sense fear, anticipation, hestitance. He hid his emotions from the creatures he could not see, the ones he could not trust. Instead his mind searched for Lauthelias. "We have company," he spoke softly into the interlink that joined their units.

"I am watching them now," Lauthelias replied with a whisper.

Illiriq elegantly manuevered through the lower branches, hiding behind the trunk of a tree. His light weight and agility, combined with the graceful white armor adequately hid him from the eyes of those who did not know what they were looking for. Most peculiar, he thought, and he could sense Lauthelias's agreement and curiousity as they watched the small pack move along the forest floor. Illiriq descended from the trees as a gust of wind softly rustled the needles of the coniferous tree, careful to stay hidden. He could sense the justified fear and paranoia of one as it flinched to look behind itself, it seemed to be aware of Illiriqs presence, but Illiriq could not tell whether or not he had been spotted. He watched warily as the pack slowly stopped, speaking a peculiar language amongst themselves.

[Gulliver]

Engaged as they were in fruitless yammering between one another Akimi and Sandyra were neglecting to devote their full attention to their surroundings. The third of their group, Ťaḿërjan, had however done so, or at least tried. The exchange immediately to his right was needless to say a significant distraction, masking other sounds from the woods around him.  Fortunately sound was not the only sense at his disposal.

The keen scent of metal cut through that of the frost and the forest. Ťaḿërjan stopped and with his arm ensured that his companions followed suit.

"What is this?" asked Akimi earnestly. Now that the moment of contact was upon them he found himself more sympathetic to Sandyra's situation. Sandyra was at last rendered truly speechless. Ťaḿërjan did not reply immediately, instead taking advantage of the blessed silence to listen for whatever he had caught the scent of.

"Does this one not smell it also?" he whispered back at last. Akimi and Sandyra after a brief olfactory investigation acknowledged Ťaḿërjan's observation.

"Where are..." Ťaḿërjan cut Akimi off, ordering a silence a by rising his hand. The breeze rustled the branches of the trees around them and somewhere behind them an upset batch of snow could be heard tumbling down. But the only sound of life that any of them could detect was the sound of their own breathing and the snow being moved beneath Sandyra's feet as he shifted nervously. The scent though did not abate.

"This one... will see if this one can get closer," Ťaḿërjan finally whispered in violation of his own moratorium on any sort of noise. "This one alone can move with less noise than all of these ones together."

[Xyrael]

Illiriq could tell, through the interlink with Lauthelias, that one was approaching. He could not see the one for himself however, he had no idea how large they truly were, nor their intent. How could they have heard him, he had never been heard before. Arrogantly he surmised that the creature was merely settling its conscienceby having another look. All had ceased their mumbling, intent on searching for the pair that watched them secretly.

Lauthelias was growing impatient, watching his comrade slowly become encroached upon. "We must flee, Illiriq. We can not be discovered."

Illiriq, despite his assumptions, knew he could not move without being found. "I can not follow, brother. You must draw them away." The beast drew closer, he could sense the fluctuations in air as the warm vapors from its muzzle fogged the air. It was sniffing him. He had not been heard, he had been... "Go now, Lauthelias!" he spoke softly, the words reaching his companions mind instantly.

Lauthelias took action, leaping from his branch into shrubs opposite the group of creatures, the cracks of twigs and rustle of leaves could not be mistaken for wind this time. His emotions changed wildly into a feeling of panic, directed into the minds of those that tracked him. He could hear one alert the others, he could sense their shock as he revealed his location. He prayed they would follow him, he prayed his grace would carry him quickly enough. His small feet fell lightly upon the snow, his lithe body failing to sink like a more clumsy creature as he weaved between the trees.

[Gulliver]

In an instant the tense anticipation of whatever might lie behind the next trunk or branch growing in Ťaḿërjan as he crept forward was broken. The speed with which his quarry suddenly broke from hiding and ran for hiding did not throw him. Wasting only breath enough with which to summon the other two to his location he took to all fours and dashed after whatever it was, guided by the ample noise it as now generating.

Further back Akimi and Sandyra heard the sounds of the sudden movement and commotion and Ťaḿërjan's cry. The actual words were uninteligable but the meaning which had intended to communicate was easy enough to gather from context.

"Oh, those ones have got Ťaḿërjan..." wailed a Sandyra who had naturally immediately assumed the worst. "These ones should have not split up like this, this only makes it easier for those ones to..."

"Stop babbling and move," ordered Akimi bluntly before taking off at top speed towards towards where Ťaḿërjan had cried from. Reluctantly Sandyra followed after him, if only because he was more frightened of being abandoned in the middle of the woods, continuing to mutter one lamentation upon another. It proved to be a poorly thought out policy; his continued speech and the effort of sprinting together conspired to render him thoroughly breathless by the time Akimi stopped. Nothing was to be seen of Ťaḿërjan or whatever he had chased after.Both were long gone from the spot where they had first confronted one another. Akimi shook his mane in frustration.

"If this one had not complained so much Ťaḿërjan would still be near," he said to Sandyra none to kindly. "That one may now be in danger without help."

"Of course Ťaḿërjan's in danger... these ones too. The monsters are still here..." Akimi automatically moved to reprimand Sandyra for his continued foolishness only to find himself shocked. This time Sandyra's paranoia was justified. Though nothing could be seen or heard where they now stood the scent of something entirely out of place in the forest persisted, as strong as if not stronger than before. A nervous silence prevailed once more. Neither had the courage or foolishness to advance further.

[Xyrael]

Illiriq raced through the undergrowth as quickly as he could, his slender feet slowly sinking into the snow with each step as he realized that his shorter stride could not outpace his pursuant, panic gripping at the edges of his mind. He'd have to confront the one following him, stand his ground. He couldn't hide now that he had been spotted. Illiriq's mind raced, adrenaline pumped through his body fueling his body.

His feet dug into a patch of compacted snow, his toes swirling in the niche as he turned about to face the monstrous, dog-like creature. In the same graceful move his fingers swiftly unlatched a pistol from his thigh, and he quickly took aim. Another moment passed, his mind processing the fact that the creature likely would plough its way through him, crushing his frail body. He squeezed the rigger, a soft swoosh sang through the woods as a glowing blue pulse grazed passed the creatures fur before scorching the bark of a tree, singing hairs and sending burning peices of wood flying. Illiriq prayed his warning shot was all he needed, but he adjusted his aim to the creatures torso in case the beast continued.


Lauthelias had realized that his quandry had not pursued him, they had hardly left their original location. He'd swiftly tracked his way back to them, hiding in the low branches. He would have to be more careful now than before, he'd sensed shock from Illiriq prior to his flight. These creatures must have had an advantage to shock Illiriq. His fellow, however, had ran far, though not recklessly. He recognized the path one of the creatures had taken in pursuit, but the other two guarded it with fierce paranoia. For all of Lauthelias' attempts he could not maneuver a way to follow the trail accurately without being spotted.

Lauthelias' decided instead that he'd have to wait for the creatures to move, to keep them from joining with the other. Illiriq can handle himself, Lauthelias thought, so long as these two do not interfere.

[Gulliver]

Ťaḿërjan was quick to understand the message that the searing bolt of energy bore; the sight of the alien weapon's power and the moment of fright and panic it caused as it barely missed him in an instant handily surmounted any impediments to communication. Amid a flurry of upset snow he quickly brought his careening mass to a rest and, when it became apparent that no second volley was on its way, held his ground, still crouched on all fours in a defensive posture with his ears drawn back. Breathing heavily, with snow in the thick mane of hair which framed his face and his eyes shining blue in the planet-light, he warily stared down the alien creature.

Through a torrent of adrenaline and overpowering scent of his own singed fur inches from his sensitive nose Ťaḿërjan did his best to maintain his composure and access the situation he was in. Clearly, it was a compromising one. He immediately discounted any notions of attempting to draw his own weapon and return fire. Such a provocation would have signed his death sentence. Nor did whatever it was seem bent on snuffing out his life. That he was still alive was proof enough of this.

Still, to do simply nothing was equally unacceptable. He certainly could not spend the rest of his life trapped in a perpetual standoff with whatever it was. Ťaḿërjan growled in frustration at his predicament only to stop, worried that it might be interpreted as a sign of aggression.

"Ťaḿërjan." An electronic rendition of Akimi's voice whispered in his ear. "Where is this one?" insisted the voice several times but Ťaḿërjan did not reply, fearing that the situation would be needlessly complicated if the alien were to see him communicating with another. Each moment of the standoff become exponentially more unbearable and dragged on for what seemed an eternity as a vacuum of inaction tore at him to do something. Ready to spring for cover or at his opponent if necessary, Ťaḿërjan risked a few words. He chose to ignore the slightly inconvenient fact that the chances of being understood were nonexistent.

"O uu ẍanïskyzù?"


Sandyra's ears wilted as he watched Akimi draw his pistol. The action confirmed his suspicions of the true severity of their predicament.
 
"Ťaḿërjan..."

"That one is not responding," said Akimi with a grimace. Sandyra whimpered. More than ever he wanted to leave but had no intentions of leaving making his way home alone and exposed and knew full well that Akimi would not return without verifying Ťaḿërjan's fate. Akimi ignored Sandyra and continued to speak with a sort of grim conviction. "These ones will have to find that one."

"But which way?" Akimi promptly pointed off into the forest.

"That way judging by the tracks in the snow and the scent. Quickly, there isn't time to waste now," he said without waiting to finish speaking to begin moving in the direction indicated. Half-heartedly, Sandyra followed close behind.

[Urtara]

No matter what he did, Captain Reinhaus couldn't stir himself from the deep slumber he had entered.

"Captain."

The disembodied voice stirred him in the slightest.  One eyelid twitched slightly, allowing a tiny shaft of golden light to slip through his eyebrows. 

"Captain!"

The sliver grew to a wall of golden ether jarring him to reality.

"CAPTAIN!"

The pain of the slap Reinhaus recieved to his face jerked him fully to reality.  Standing over him was the ship's technician, Kylar Iben-Ali.  His middle-eastern features and spiked, raven hair loomed over Reinhaus' Anglo-Saxon, blonde hair-framed visage. 

"What is it, Kylar?" Reinhaus inquired loudly, sighing even as he pried himself out of the stasis tube he had been in for the last several days.  The black jumpsuit he wore bled crystals and sheets of ice that slipped from his form and shattered against the deck like glass. 

"The Vogel has arrived in orbit." Kyler's face remained unchanged from the beginning of the encounter.  "Your presence has been requested by the admiralty on the planet as soon as possible."

"Damnation." Reinhaus cursed under his breath as he pulled on his uniform in a secluded corner behind an automated blind.  "Relay information back as soon as possible.  Tell them that Julius Reinhaus is on his way and will arrive soon.  ETA five minutes, max."

"Aye, sir." Kylar exited the room as Reinhaus finished straightening the lapels of his Republican Navy uniform jacket.  The thing looked like a present-day USMC dress uniform, except the jacket was a butternut tan color and the stripes on the sleeves and pantlegs were white, instead of red.  Reinhaus belted on his ceremonial broadsword and exited the stasis chamber quietly, heading for the shuttle bay.

Within minutes, the shuttle that bore Rear Admiral Julius Reinhaus was drifting away from the safe bosom of the URNV Vogel and sweeping into the oxygen-rich atmosphere of the gem of Urtaran Society, the planet Ayria. 

(For the record, Julius Reinhaus (alternately spelled Reinjaus due to my inability to distinguish the 'j' and 'h' keys) is my OC for this.  The Republic of Urtara is my NationStates country.  I'll enter the data about the Vogel on a later post.)