3 Hours Later
“Alright,
the comms and light systems are up and running… we’re good to go.”
“Testing
connection,” Kevérin announced as he held a hand to his ear, “Command: contact
Frigate Frasis. …Transfer Captain to Frasis, come in.”
“I hear
you loud and clear, Captain,” Krost replied over the connection, “continue as
you were.”
“Alright
then,” the Pyrotechnic turned his attention back to the metal pillar standing
in the center of the room. “Now that we can relay everything directly to the Frasis… let’s start asking questions.”
“We
could’ve started that three hours ago,” Davídrius responded flatly.
“Three hours is but a drop in the flow of
time… yet, it may possibly be a significant
period in the present.”
“So we
found another AI?” Rebehka questioned.
“We Priors prefer to be called as such.”
“…Yeah,
we found another one,” Kevérin nodded, “This one calls itself Mystryth.”
“That’s
the name of the White Ayas,” Kievkenalis commented.
“I see the names of the Ayas have not been lost
to history.”
“Alright,
let’s start there,” Kevérin crossed his arms, “What exactly is the connection
between you… Priors… and the Ayas?”
“We have more than a mere connection; we
define each other. The Ayas have no purpose without the Priors, and the Priors
have no power without the Ayas.”
“That’s
exactly what the other one said,”
Davídrius deadpanned, “Are all Priors this annoyingly vague?”
“Information is the most valuable thing to
ever exist; it cannot be passed out freely. First, I must understand that you
truly do not possess ill intentions, though I believe I have already determined
the answer to this; second, I must be sure that you are even capable of
understanding my statements. Your language is already primitive enough to
restrict the explanation of certain topics.”
“…I
think I’m seeing a trend here,” Christeané responded impatiently.
“You continually speak as though you have encountered
another Prior.”
“We
have,” Kevérin stated, “…we found Arcán almost a month ago.”
“Arcán!
You found an Aegis Prior– …he has not provided you with the
information you wish to know?”
“’He’?”
Davídrius echoed incredulously.
“No,
he– …no, it didn’t,” Kevérin responded.
“Priors are not objects. We do conform to the… albeit limited form
of gender expression of the Aldredanoids. Arcán is male. I, female.”
“AI…
have… gender identity,” Davídrius deadpanned.
“We are
not discussing this, not here, not
now,” Kevérin sighed irately, “Alright, uh, Mystryth, um…”
“Wait,”
Kievkenalis spoke up, “You just called us Aldredanoids?”
“Yes.”
“As in…
the Aldredas?”
“So this age indeed knows of the Aldredas?
Then how have you no knowledge of the Priors, or such limited knowledge of the
Ayas?”
“The
Aldredas are long gone,” Rebehka replied, “We’ll find relics and artifacts here
and there, but as far as we can tell it’s been hundreds of thousands of years
since they were around.”
“We
would always appreciate learning more, though,” Kievkenalis quickly added,
“What do you know about them? Did they really create the Interstellar Gates?
The Transpaces?”
“You… truly do not know anything about the
Aldredas…”
“I
think we’re getting a little far from the main topic here,” Christeané pointed
out.
“I’m
surprised you’re the one pointing out
a tangent,” Rebehka remarked.
“No,
he’s right. Come on, guys, focus,” Kevérin ordered.
“What
are we even focusing on?” Davídrius
questioned.
“How
about the location of the Ayas?”
The
members of Hero Machina glanced back to the cave room’s entrance, where
Commander Krydonin had just appeared. She stepped forward to stand next to
Kevérin as she looked the metal pillar up and down. “…This is that AI you were
talking about?”
“As stated before, we prefer the term Prior.
But yes.”
“Well,”
the Commander turned to Kevérin, “We’re here for the Ayas, and we’re here to
learn about the Chaos Quake. Why not start with that?”
“Uh,
right,” the Transfer Captain nodded before turning back to the pillar. “So,
what do you–“
“I heard the Commander perfectly fine. I
understand the query.”
“Commander–?”
Krydonin interrupted, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “How do you know my
rank?”
“You stand in the presence of a Prior
equipped with full outpost equipment. Accessing your technology and
communication systems is a trivial task.”
“I
guess that’s how you knew our language,” Kaoné mused.
“That is correct.”
“…That’s…
unsettling,” Krydonin frowned before turning toward the room’s exit. “I’m going
to investigate this. Watch what you tell that thing, Nimalians.”
“…Her mistrust is warranted, but unnecessary,” the Prior
remarked as the Black Suns Commander disappeared down the cave, “My intentions are not malevolent.”
“That’s
easy to say,” Davídrius responded defensively.
“Can we
get back to the important things, now?” Kevérin interjected exasperatedly,
“Like the Ayas? And the Quake?”
“I can indeed confirm the presence of an
Ayas within these caves.”
“Oh,
that’s great,” Kievkenalis replied, “Where is it?”
“I do not know.”
“Well
that’s fantastic,” Davídrius deadpanned.
“What
do you mean, you don’t know?” Kevérin questioned, “You know one’s here, but you
don’t know where it is?”
“Priors and Ayas may be defined in relation
to each other, but each Prior only possesses a direct link with their
respective Ayas. The Ayas in these caves is not the Ayas Mystryth, or else I
would be able to pinpoint its location. Since it is not, I am incapable of
obtaining a more precise location than the fact that it lies within a kilometer
of this room.”
“Looks
like it’s time for more spelunking, then,” Christeané remarked.
“More
rock exploration, yay,” Davídrius replied flatly.
“Enough
complaining,” Kevérin rolled his eyes, “Christeané, Davídrius, you two check
out the unexplored cave on the left. Rebehka, Siyuakén, check out the one on
the right.”
“And
you’re just gonna sit here and do nothing?”
“We’re
going to sit here and continue getting information from the Prior,” Kevérin
corrected, “Don’t make this hard.”
“Come
on, Davídrius,” Christeané grabbed the Introtechnic by his arm and began
dragging him toward the left cave as Rebehka and Siyuakén willingly approached
the right.
“Hey,
hey, wait a minute,” Davídrius shook Christeané off before flash-stepping to
the side of the room and picking up one of the flashlights the Black Suns had
left behind. He then turned back to the cave. “Alright, now that we won’t get lost, let’s go.”
Kevérin
shook his head wearily as he watched the two Introtechnics leave the room. He
then turned back to the metal pillar, his hand on his chin in thought. “Hmm…
well, what else can you tell us about
the Ayas?...”
* * *
20 Minutes Later
“Do you
think we’ll actually learn anything about the Chaos Quake here?”
“…Who
knows,” Rebehka shrugged as she casually swept the cave back and forth with her
flashlight beam, “Even if this planet is actually the center of the Quake, and
if that actually means anything… we still have no idea what could have caused the Quake, you know? Talking to
that Prior is probably our best bet.”
“I hope
it’s more cooperative than the one we got from Kotak,” Siyuakén sighed
impatiently.
“They
both seem pretty high-and-mighty, that’s for sure,” Rebehka rolled her eyes,
“This one might be able to actually tell us something, though. The Kotak Prior
seemed like it forgot everything after the damage its core suffered.”
“Here’s
to hoping Kevérin can get something out of it, then.”
“I
think Kevken is more likely to, actually. The Priors seem… more amiable toward
him, I guess because he knows so much more about the Ayas than any of us. And
apparently, the Aldredas, as well.”
“I
thought the Aldredas were just a legend?”
“A lot
of their stories are fictional, but the civilization definitely existed at some
point in the past,” Rebehka remarked as the two girls came across another fork.
Siyuakén quickly scarred the left wall with an arrow pointing back the way they
came before they both stepped down the right path and continued walking. “Even
if the Aldredas specifically didn’t
actually exist, well… someone had to
have created the Interstellar Gates and the Transpaces, and the only other race
that’s been around as long are the Drakkars, as far as we can tell…”
“I bet
the Drakkars already know everything that we don’t,” Siyuakén snorted.
Rebehka
glanced at her friend inquisitively. “What are you so curious about?”
“…Do
you think the Quake and the infection are related?”
“Oh…”
the Cryotechnic glanced down at Siyuakén’s arm, “…I really don’t know. We both
know the only ‘connection’ is that there’s no recorded infection incidents
before 20 years ago, but… if there is
a connection, we’ll get to the bottom of it, I’m sure. We’ll find a cure.”
“You
keep saying that…”
“I keep
saying that because it’s why I’m here,” Rebehka declared, “Isn’t that why you
joined Hero Machina, too? To investigate the metallic infection?”
“…That’s
true,” Siyuakén admitted, “Relédiaka doesn’t seem very interested in learning about where it came from, only
how to slow it down or subdue it. Though I’m not really sure we’ve learned much
more from our time with Hero Machina, to be honest.”
“Now,
that’s false and you know it,” Rebehka replied flatly, “We’ve learned what the
infection escalates to. Between Sunova, the Hazard Islands, and Kotak – it’s
not pretty. So we at least know what everything’s spiraling towards. And,
thanks to you, we know that it is
possible to slow down.”
“Only
because I’m an Electrotechnic, though,” Siyuakén refuted, “The shocks I have to
give myself would paralyze or kill anyone else.”
“That’s
still something.”
“…Alright,
yeah, we’ve learned things. But… is it really worth it? I mean, just think – if
we hadn’t joined Hero Machina, then I never would have been infected, and we
still would have learned about the critical infection when we responded to your
distress signal on the islands.”
“But
we’ve also had the chance to actually go off-world – several times! – and had
many experiences that we never would have gotten had we stayed on Relédiaka.
Not to mention we avoided getting dragged into the Drakkar or Taizen conflicts,
even if only for a while, and even now we’re discovering things like the Priors
and the Ayas that we never would have had we not joined! …Now, I’ll admit, if
you had asked me this three, four weeks ago, then yeah, I think I’d have been
for leaving the group. Especially right after Kotak. But I think we’re all
getting along fine, now. Davídrius seems to have mostly gotten over himself,
Kevérin isn’t trying to be quite as bossy, you and Kaoné worked out your
issues–“
“What–?
How did you–?”
“I
almost walked in on the argument,” Rebehka admitted, “…I thought it’d be best
to leave you two to yourselves. And you seemed friendly afterwards, so I
figured the two of you had arrived at an understanding. …Was I wrong?”
Siyuakén
sighed wearily. “No… no, you weren’t. You aren’t wrong about everything else
you’ve said, either… you know, it’s almost annoying how right you are all the
time.”
Rebehka
grinned in response. “Well, you can count on me–!”
She was
interrupted as a sudden and deafening roar echoed down the caves from the
direction they were heading. Both girls instinctively clasped their hands over
their ears as the Cryotechnic dropped her flashlight, its light beam coming to
rest on a three-legged monster in the distance as it charged forwards – and
then stumbled to a stop a mere couple meters in front of the Chaotics, where it
suddenly dissolved into dust.
Rebehka
and Siyuakén stared at the resultant pile of dust, both stunned and frozen in
place. A moment later Rebehka quickly covered the pile and all the surrounding
ground in a thick layer of ice while Siyuakén flushed the rest of the cave with
fierce streams and currents of electricity.
“The
hell was that…?” Siyuakén muttered afterward.
“I… I
don’t know,” Rebehka frowned warily, “It– …I think it was infected.”
“I’ve
never seen something just turn into dust like that, though…”
The two
girls glanced at each other uneasily.
“…Let’s
head back?”
Siyuakén
nodded resolutely. “Let’s head back.”
* * *
“It’s
always caves. Why is it caves? I hate caves.”
“Oh, be
quiet,” Christeané replied flatly, not even bothering to glance over at
Davídrius. “I’m not a big fan of closed spaces either, but you don’t see me complaining.”
“Hah.
We both know you’d be complaining if I weren’t here to do it all.”
“…I’ll
give you that,” the Superstrength Introtechnic smirked, “You do complain enough for the whole group.”
“Shut
it,” Davídrius scowled, “I can easily just dash back to the computer room and
leave you in the dark.”
“As if
you’d do that.”
“…Meh.
Try me.”
Christeané
crossed his arms as the duo rounded a turn and continued walking down the
caves. “You really do seem to complain all the time, you know. If you really
hate it so much then why stick around with the group?”
“I
never said I hated being here,”
Davídrius countered, “Look, if I don’t like something, I don’t do it. That’s
how I work. That’s how Tresédians work, for better or for worse. So,
alright, I complain a lot, but it won’t be ‘til I actually leave that you know
things are going to shit. ‘Cause, well, if I ever prefer going back to Treséd
over adventuring off-world and getting into fights and shit, well…”
“Yeah,
I get your point,” Christeané nodded, “I’ve… heard stories about Treséd.”
“No
doubt either softened or embellished,” Davídrius rolled his eyes, “No one ever
gets the straight story, I’ve noticed. And that’s if anyone talks about Treséd
at all. But enough about that shithole, what about East Nimaliaka? I hear it’s
supposed to be an Introtechnic’s dream home or something like that.”
“Hell
yeah it is. Whole place is practically built
for Introtechnics. There’s Introtechnic-specific transit that accelerates crazy
fast, for one thing. Not to mention how the cities are sprawling and the entire
continent is plains; Introtechnics are the only ones who can appreciate it
all.”
“I
thought sprawling cities was a sign of bad urban planning.”
“You’re
from Treséd, what do you know?”
“…Really?
Really?”
“…Yeah,
sorry. No offense. But really, East Nimaliaka’s a great place. Tell you what,
when we get back to Nimalia I’ll show you around.”
“…Guess
I’ll take you up on that. Not like you’ll take ‘no’ for an answer.”
“Alright!
This is gonna be great. We should see if Siyuakén and Rebehka are up for it,
too.”
“Yeah
huh,” Davídrius deadpanned, “You sure
seem to appreciate the group.”
“Unlike
you I don’t have the need to run
around and make an asshole out of myself,” Christeané smirked, “I get along
with everyone just fine. Better than my boring outpost back home, too, though
if I stuck around there I might’ve been sent on the Tyrnaus back-up fleet… eh,
probably for the best. That whole situation sounds unnecessarily dangerous.”
“I
thought you liked fights.”
“Chaotic
fights, sure. But Chaotics have no place in space battles, and those are the
only kind of battles in Taizen space. Getting sent out there is either super
dangerous or super boring.”
“Don’t
say that, before you know it we’ll end up in Taizen space ourselves.”
“Are
you always like that?” Christeané questioned, “You always act like saying
something will make the opposite true.”
“That’s
how it always happens in stories,” Davídrius quipped, “the moment you say
something is impossible or would never happen, it happens.”
Christeané
snorted. “You think we’re all in a story?”
“Tch.
Well, don’t say I didn’t tell you so if the galaxy starts going to shit in two
months.”
“Ha,
real funny.” The Introtechnic suddenly stopped himself mid-step and stumbled to
the side to avoid running into Davídrius, who had just come to a sudden stop.
“Hey, what’s the–? …Oh. Well look at that.”
“…Yep,”
Davídrius muttered as he cautiously stepped toward a bare stone pedestal with a
light red quartz-shaped rock sitting on top. “It’s the Ayas.”
“Light
red, too,” Christeané remarked as he approached the pedestal from the opposite
side as Davídrius, “That makes it a Light Ayas then, right? Does that make it
safe to touch?”
“Well,
even the Dark Ayas didn’t have an immediate
influence… I don’t think…” Davídrius frowned, “It should probably be fine to
take it back to the others, as long as we remember where the pedestal is…”
“I’ll
take it, then!” Christeané exclaimed as he swiped the object from the pedestal.
He tossed it back and forth between his hands for a few moments before finally
grasping it. “I wonder what kind of weapon this one has–“
He was
suddenly interrupted by a loud roar echoing down the caves. Both Introtechnics
reflexively cupped their hands over their ears before turning their attention
down the caves… only for nothing to appear.
“The
hell was that?!” Davídrius exclaimed apprehensively as he quickly swept the
caves with his flashlight beam.
“Hell
if I know,” Christeané muttered, “…We have the Ayas. Let’s get the fuck out of
here.”
“Hah,
I’m all for that,” Davídrius replied, turning back after Christeané warily.
“…This better not be another Sunova…
Data Entry: {null}
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