Deep in the Beast Lands, beneath the bruised sky of a Forbidden Zone, a lone hunter has laid a trap for a monster. "To the south, there are desert giants," Toth tells Tasha and the others. "To trap them, large pits are dug, and camouflaged." Here at the edge of a dragon-haunted swamp, the reptilian centaur indicates the apparently bare patch of ground that makes up his pit trap. Above it, suspended between high trees is heavy rope net. "A year it took me," the hunter claims. "But net must be dropped manually. So.. I need bait that the dragon will follow up out of the swamp."
"That sounds like my job alright," Tasha remarks as she eyes the pit, rubbing her chin. "Are you sure the net is enough to hold something one hundred feet long?"
"It is the same sort used on the giants," Toth notes. "Once it is dropped, we must secure the tie lines to the trees."
"I guess we don't have any choice if you're going to guide us. Very well. What should I do when I have the dragon's attention, just fly back here and land on the edge of the pit?" the soon-to-be-bait inquires.
"No, do not stop," Toth says. "Keep going past it. Do not land and stop or it may suspect the trap."
On a nearby hump in the landscape, Gabriel is scanning across the swamp with his binoculars. "Tasha.." he says. "I think I see it."
Having been given time to prepare, Tasha has donned her stripped down Achillies Environmental Armor, the helmet of which is currebtly tucked under her arm. In order to avoid her preperations from being too obvious, she's also pulled out one of her party's larger hooded cloaks to hide under, creating the impression of a much larger figure.
"I'll do that then. Anything else?" The young woman asks.
"Don't get caught," Toth suggests. "Do not turn around to see if it has fallen into the trap. You will hear if it does."
"Riiight, don't get caught." Easy for you to say. "Well, I guess I'll be off then. Gabriel, give me a kiss for luck," Tasha leans her head forward, smiling. When the man nears, she whispers, "Do you think this will work?"
"Take a look and then tell me," the Karnor says, offering Tasha the binoculars.
Tasha accepts the binoculars, blink as her long-ranged, lensing vision has even more light concentrated in to it. "I'm still waiting for my kiss," she asides as she starts searching around.
"You'll get it in a moment," Gabriel says, as he guides Tasha's view out into the swamp. Then she spots movement. It looks like a piece of the swamp itself, a green vegetative mass.. but then she spots the head. Mostly clear of growth, the sleek form is familiar - Harmonia showed it to her! It's the head of Caspar. There are faintly glowing 'veins' running through the vegetation that seems to coat most the Titan, and it is hunched over, the body almost horizontal to the ground with the long tail acting as counterbalance.
"Caspar," Tasha hisses. She had enough experience with the Magi to know them by heart, and enough experience with weirdness and adventure to know that something is seriously wrong. "It's moving on its own. Moreover, it appears to be infected with some kind of growth. If it still retains the strength of a Titan, that net won't hold it for long, but maybe it can be reasoned with."
After handing to binoculars back, Tasha runs a hand through her hair. "I never though I'd have to be dealing with a Magi. There's every possibility it has been active for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. It's machine-mind may well be distorted, possess identity, or, as our guide said, it could have become vicious. This is going to be interesting."
"What could be powering it though?" Gabriel wonders. "A power source that can animate a Titan and last thousands of years?"
Nearby, Hakeber (who had been eavesdropping) gives out a sudden bark. "Can I see it?" she asks, coming up onto the rise.
"Balthasar seemed to be drawing energy directly from it's Sifran artifacts; I can only guess how they draw power, but I've had a theory its transfered in from another source somewhere on these worlds." Tasha takes the binoculars and passes them off to Hakeber; she doesn't need them to spot the Titan now. "But I don't see any evidence of Sifran technologies from here. I'd need a much closer look."
Looking through the binoculars, Hakeber bites her lower lip. "Not Sifran artifacts," she says. "It's the plant. The Nagai motherships were powered by Holy Seeds - power-generating plants that were supposed to be immortal or self-renewing. I think they put one into the Titan. What did the poem say?"
Tasha thinks a moment, calming her mind and letting the ancient poetry surface from the quiet sea of her mind.
"The Serpent of Arabia is my name,"
"That which is the leader of all this game,"
"That sometimes was both wood and wild,"
"And now I am both meek and mild,"
"The Sun and the Moon with their might,"
"Have chastised me that was so light,"
"My wings that me brought,"
"Hither and thither where I thought,"
"Now with their might they down me pull,"
"And bring me where they will."
"I think we can safely assume we haven't reached the part about being meak and mild," Tasha adds after the recitation is complete. "But I may be able to take control if I can get close enough."
"Sun and Moon.. the Celestial motherships," Hakeber notes, nodding. "Wood and wild could be a reference to the Seed - and also, it'd be tiny compared to the ones on the ships. Now with their might they down me pull.. uh.. the crash? Can it have predicted the crash landing?"
"It seems possible," Tasha says with a nod. "Much of the mission-poem has only become relevant now, but that doesn't mean it wasn't anticipated -- or even forced. If I had to take a guess, though, I'd say the poem is prophecizing our overcoming and taking control of the Titan, we, "bring" it "where" we "will."
"It's lightness being its freedom," Tasha adds.
"Yeah, but how?" Hakeber asks. "It's not an animal after all."
"And you don't speak Imperial," Gabriel points out. "Maybe there's something else?"
"Balthasar was able to comprehend my Standard. I can opnly assume all Titans are pre-programmed to understand and convey messages in common languages that they might deal with during their mission," Tasha answer, though she sounds uncertain. Think a moment, she then exclaims, "Oh!"
Fishing around, pulls out one of her growing list of necklaces, trickets and baubles. Dangling on the end is circular artifact made of advanced materials. "How about this? The dragon did say he got it from a far-off temple, and it does seem to appeal to dragons."
"You think it might be a key?" Aaron asks. Of course he was listening in. Lapi pastime.
"Hmmm, if the Lucifer were the Temple that was raided," Gabriel ponders, rubbing his chin. "Without the key.. maybe the Titan really would go wild?"
"It could be. The way the ghost described the Temple seemed particularly Celestial, and these markings are that of their Moon Goddess. It's clearly a Celestial artifact of great value if he was cursed so heavily. The priests only seemed concerned with this item, and not the pile of gold he had taken," Tasha explains. "It's worth a try, anyway."
"Each Titan seems to have a different interface mechanic, so it's perfectly possible the Celestial Magi uses a key," Tasha says with a nod. "Balthasar's locking mechanisim appears to have been removed in favor of its internal logic. Melchior reads the key embedded in its pilot's brain."
"The Celestials would not have tied their Magi so closely to a chosen pilot," Hakeber says. "They just didn't value individuals that much. The mission would have been the important thing."
"They also are more likely to depend on their AIs," Gabriel notes. "It's not coincidence they modeled them after their gods."
"There you go. That would explain why this key seems so impersonal. And without a pilot, were its AI to be corrupted, there may be no controlling it. As you say, it has a powerful AI -- and were that powerful AI to turn on them their dwindling technology might not have the brute force necessary to defeat its firewall protections and reign it in. It may have actively attempted to destroy any such threat," the red woman says in agreement. She glances off towards the distant swamp and adds, "I guess we'll find out soon."
"Maybe it just got upset that they let its key be taken," Aaron suggests quietly.
"We'll be ready with the net," Gabriel says, and kisses Tasha. "Now put on your helmet. Don't fly too close, even if you are looking for a ring shape to match that cosmic bagel of yours.."
"That too," the hybrid agrees. "There's no way to know for sure unless we ask Caspar directly. I'm hoping Aaron is right, but if he's not, and Caspar becomes dangerous, we'll go with the original plan." She nods to her mate, leaning her head to accept the kiss before donning her helmet. The young woman's voice is a hollow metallic echo with her helmet on. "The net won't hold him for long, so I'll try to be fast in gaining access. If that fails, you all may want to retreat while I still have his attention; I should be able to lose him by flying around."
"Should," Gabriel says. "I never liked that word. Just don't get eaten."
"It's a dirty word," Tasha agrees, smiling beneath layers of advanced metal armor. "I'll be back soon."
After getting some distance from her party, tasha break in to an all out sprint. He armor is too heavy to allow flight from standstil, so she waits until she's at her top running speed before beating her wings and taking off. Soon, she's just a distant spot heading towards Caspar.
Nothing else seems to be moving in the swamp. There aren't even any creens or insects that Tasha notices. It also takes a bit of maneuvering between the trees and hanging vines to get around behind Caspar. Up close (relatively speaking), there are signs of damage: the folded wings look a bit mangled, and the engine pods are crushed. Where the rear-access hatch would be on Melchior there is.. something. A glow beneath the muck and debris, but there's no way to tell if it's from a lock or just the energy-producing vegetation.
Perhaps the poem references wing damage instead. Repairing these will be a nightmare, if it's even possible. Maybe replacement? And what's that ..? Tasha peers down in to the depths at the glow, but even her eyes can't penetrate layers of greenish murk. I should have asked more about the energy producing vegetation, but it's too late now. Time to get to work.
"Helllooooo draaaaagon!"
The hybrid creature stops its slow lumber through the swamp, and turns its head to try and track Tasha.
Tasha pulls in to a circing loop, to better maintain her speed and momentum. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Caspar?" She calls down just before giving the machine a wave.
The Titan's jaw opens, and there are several warning arcs of electricity before a plasma bolt erupts, blasting the top off of a tree behind Tasha.
"AHHH," Tasha responds in a particuarly squawky, hollow metallic cry. Diving to increase her speed, she then angles off and begins her return flight towards her party and the waiting trap. Once she levels again, she also begins jinking left and right. Flashes of her time in the Themis-Skoll's cockpit come unbidden, reminding her of how many times she ended a simulation run at the end of a plasma-bolt. Come on wings!
There isn't a second bolt.. at least not yet. But the sound of the dragon crashing through the swamp and picking up speed is still enough to encourage Tasha to keep going. The real trick is not losing her sense of direction! It wouldn't do to miss the trap.
All of the swamp looks the same. I should have left a trail or set torches, Tasha realizes and finds further reason to curse the word "should." At least he's big and he can't fly. If I get lost, I can always attempt to retreat. As seconds pass and no second bolt is forthcoming, Tasha risks a look back. His capacitors probably can't do that too often. With his engines destroyed he won't have a secondary source of power generation either. I wish I knew how much power those seeds could produce!
Looking back reveals... nothing? Of course, that's when Caspa leaps from the side, nearly catching Tasha's tail. The Titan's teeth flash past close enough for the Vartan to catch subtle glow of cutting edges, similar to those on Melchior's talons and shaard.
On top of the terror of a near-miss, the huge surge of air and subsequent low pressure area from the hundred-foot machine's passage pushes Tasha off course in the direction Caspar landed. She has to beat her wings furiously just to right herself. By the time she's leveled out again, she's not where she planned to be. Looking around, she notes the deviation and angles back towards what she belives is the right direction.
He's smart, and fast,// she thinks as her eyes dart between the way forward, left, right, and behind, all while she tries to juggle keeping on course with preparing to evade. I need to be mort alert; he's clearly thinking.//
Up ahead, to the left.. that bare patch! It looks like the trap, and there is movement high up in one of the bordering trees. Toth! Curled around a trunk and holding a machete ready..
Seeing the finish line, Tasha dives to increase her speed, putting her only eight feet above the ground. With height exchanged for speed, she parsy the trap will stop the metallic monstrocity, otherwise she's going to have think fast to avoid the beast catching up at distance. She considers yelling a warning, but decides against it; the machine may put two and two together to discover the trap, and that's the last thing anyone needs!
There's a crackling sound behind the Vartan. The problem with going for speed is flying straight.. and into an area with no cover! The plasma bolt explodes just below her, causing her to flip end over end and hit the ground on her back. Now facing backwards, she has an upside-down view of Caspar leaping up from the swamp, jaws open and talons spread. Time crawls, and then monster's feet hit the ground.. and go through it with a splintering of timber. The jaws snap close a meter away from Tasha's helmet as the dragon goes down.
"Eeeeeeee!" Tasha squeals as the massive head lurches down towards, her hand going for her weapon out of reflex rather than hope. For a split-second she can see lives flash before her eyes; her life, short as it has been; places at people from a blue world with a pale white moon; the labrinthine spires of Babel, a child that's not her's and a man that's not her brother. Time slows, riding the edge of a singularity as death looms close, threatening to devour her.
And then it's over. She's blinking at a bruised, ugly sky, the lenth of Apollyon's sword glirting dully in the light. She quickly pats herself over, dazed, until she hears the commotion behind her.
Rolling over, she peers in to the depths of the trap.
And then the net falls on her and Caspar both. "Tie it off!" Toth shouts, and Gabriel, Hakeber and Aaron run to secure it.
Seeing nothing, Tasha scootches away from the pit and wobbles up to her feet. Her helmet, now caked in soil and far too tomb-like, is removed and tossed aside. Tasha heaves a sigh of relief, both in gratitude to be alive, and preperation for the next step.
Hunching down, she waits for the net to be secured before making her next move.
The pit isn't quite deep enough to contain the whole of Caspar, but it's laced with ropes and vines and loose rock to entangle limbs, which it has. The dragon still struggles.
Even more, the mangled wings and engines have lots of bits that tangle in the dropped net.
"The net won't hold it long. I'm going to have to get down there on to its back," Tasha calls out, pointing towards the pit with her sword. Straightening, the young woman breaks in to a run, circling the pit away from the head and back towards the tail. "It's energy weapon still works," she warns. "It'll destroy the net if it can't break through otherwise. That'll take several minutes. It's faster than it looks. You all should probably evacuate once you're done tying!"
"Toth didn't say it could breath fire!" Hakeber complains, running round and round a tree trunk with a line from the net.
"That should be self-evident from it being a dragon," Toth calls back as he slides down a tree-trunk.
"The legendary dragons always could. I'll admit, it's less exciting when it's coming at you. Terrifing. That's the word. Really ... Terrifying." Hearing her own voice waver, Tasha realizes just how shaken her brush with oblivion has made her. Fearing she might lose her nerve, she decides to press forward and try to resolve the matter quickly before the Titan can either escape, or she can no longer function.
"I'm going in," she calls out, her sword now used to cut through a few sections of the ne in order to give her room to drop down. It'll be an unpleasant fall, but her armor should hold it, she hopes. Should. I'm going to hate that word now.
And then, she jumps.
The slime and vines that coat the back of the Titan doesn't make for a firm landing.. in fact, Tasha comes close to sliding right off! But her own armored wings tangle in the vines, keeping her from falling into the pit. The dragon stops struggling.. and tries to turn its head to look back along its flank where the armored figure hangs.
Feeling the change in the creature's movement, Tasha scrambles to get a hand hold up as she tries to climb back towards where she had hoped to be. Now and again, she casts a glance over towards the head, wondering if she could evade even if she saw a blast coming. I hope he's still smart enough not to destroy us both out of pique, she worries.
There's no expression on the mechanical face, but it's clear that Tasha has Caspar's full attention now. She's able to get a grip, and yank herself up just before the flank she was hanging on is smashed against the side of the pit.
It looks like he is, Tasha realizes to her dismay. Just smart enough to think of something better. For a brief moment Tasha's stress-addled mind wonders just who's more intelligent, and were she not rushing for her life, she might think to be depressed when she decides it's probably not her. Instead, her frusteration merges with stress and fear, roiling over as it comes to boil. She pauses long enough to stab a finger at the deathless face and yell, "Stupid dragon!"
And with that, she keeps going.
The net is handy now, since it provides plenty of secure handholds. Caspar wastes precious seconds trying to spot Tasha visually.. but still moves as if he can feel her on his back. At least, whenever Tasha brushes one of the glowing vines. The likely hatch is just ahead, past the ruined engines.. which begin to shoot out powerful sparks. The jet systems may be crushed, but the plasma-electric emitters may still function!
Feeling she's getting a sense for the dragon now, Tasha angles her climb to try and avoid the plasma-electric emitters using her knowledge of Magi and Expedition engines. Climbing towards electrocution is daunting, and if it weren't for the sure death that awaited her if she backed off, the sparks would give her pause. As it is, she focuses her will and pushes forward. Atthe very least, her suit should absorb some of the electricity, she just doesn't know if it'll be enough.
Doesn't matter, she decides as she climbs higher and higher. I may not be the smartest person, but I'm brave, and I don't back down. Better to die rushing forward than running away!
Of course, it does help that an environmental armor suit is insulated against electricity. The net here also limits Caspar's movement the most, even though the discharges are starting to set the rope on fire.
The glowing patch is just ahead now! Beneath muck and non-glowing vines anyway.
Unfortunately for Tasha, she threw her helmet away after it was cluttered by the fall. With the arks illuminate her face, making her fur stand on edge and filling her nose with the scent of burning materials -- including her own fur. Using her hands, she pushes material and redirects arcs away from her face, pushing on until she's through. Even seconds later, she can still feel the heat from her gauntlets and pieces of her armor.
With the immediate path clear, Tasha surges forward in a streak of adrenaline until she's upon the glowing patch, only now can she finally get a good look.
Some of the muck has moved enough to reveal a sliver of blue light, in what might be a ring-shaped depression.
Straddling the creature's back, tasha uses her weapon to scrape the area clear before she pulls out donut-shaped artifact. I hope this works, she prays as she rips the amulet from her neck, then thrusts it forward!
The edges glow as it slots into the circular socket. The dragon stops struggling then, and the hatch beneath Tasha begins to open outwards.
Tasha rolls to the side to clear the hatch, catching the net and holding on, her sword returning to its sheath. Just a little longer... come on..!
"Tasha!" Hakeber calls from the edge of the pit. "I forgot to warn you! The Imperials use neural-interface helmets! They.. aren't always reliable! People have been burnt, or brain-damaged.. oh, and I don't know how it would react to the implants you already have! So.. be careful!"
'Should' work. Hakeber gets a distracted wave, but the information is too late in coming. She doesn't know how long Caspar will remain dormant before it can reroute or rethink a counter, and she's sure it realizes what she's up to by now. With the hatch clear, Tasha doesn't waste any more time. Rolling back, she dangles her legs over the open hatch, then lets go.
The shaft is a tight fit! And not just because it was meant for a serpentine pilot: the glowing vines are thick. It doesn't help that the shaft itself seems shorter than in Melchior, as Tasha's booted hooves are hanging in empty space.
"Nnngh," Tasha grunts as she struggles to make her way in. Concerned about damaging the vines that power the machine, she tries to avoid them where she can, cutting only those she needs to remove to work her way farther.
"Six thousand years of waiting, thwarted by your butt being too big?" Aaron calls down. "I'd suggest taking off the armor, but.. I don't trust those vines!"
"What is she doing?" Toth asks, climbing out on the net. "What are you doing?" he repeats when he's closer to Tasha.
"Make sure you can get back out!" Gabriel calls with concern.
"It was better than being crushed or electrocuted!" Tasha growls back. One by one she begins remove bits of armor, tossing the pieces away as she works to try and fit. The armor might be priceless, but time is of the essence, and all that matters to her now is the goal only feet from her body. With the last piece remove and cast aside, she's lefth with only her body suit. As more concerns rain down on her, she lays her ears back. "I know, I know!"
It isn't easy. There are points where Tasha feels like she'll suffocate! But then she gets help from an unexpected place: Toth steps on her head and pushes down. That's enough to squeeze her past the constriction (although her feather will need serious preening later) into the cockpit. The chamber is almost familiar: a sphere with a pilot's seat.. although one meant for a pilot that can coil around it.. and a robotic arm with bowl-like interface device. The glowing vines are the main difference, and it isn't clear if they're intrusions into the cockpit or meant to be there.
Months ago, Fred taught her a simple lesson, "Don't break or remove anything if you're not sure what it does." A lesson Tasha immediately applies to the cockpit, deciding she'd best leave the vines and their glowing cores alone for now.
Instead, she hurries towards the pilot's seat, straddling it as best she can to keep her balance and holding her head still.
The vines pulse, but the interface arm.. stays where it is, instead of automatically seeking the pilot. It does have some of the vines twined around it though. "Are you alive?" Toth calls down. "Are you in the belly?"
"For now," is Tasha's distracted response. Peering upward, Tasha unsheathes her sword and aimsto cut away the growth restraining the command helmet. "Tell everyone to get clear!"
"Do not anger the dragon!" Toth says, before retreating and calling out to the others.
Too late for that, the hybrid thinks, wryly. She keeps cutting, clearing away the few remaining obstructions.
There's a rustling sound as Tasha works, and the vines she's cutting.. seem to try and move out of the way? Then she feels something wrap around her neck!
Tasha's free hand immediately goes to her neck. "Hrrk!" Her sword arm follows, but she can't see well enough to risk cutting wildly. Instead she pulls with her free hand, trying to match strength with whatever has her.
The vine tightens, and continues to coil. Tasha can feel it spreading out tendrils along the back of her head, weaving through her hair.. And then there's a jolt when it makes contact with her studs! The world seems to turn inside out, and she actually looses consciousness..
Tasha wakes under alien stars. The sky is the sort of black one only sees in space, the stars sharp and bright and undistorted. Except there are clouds here. She's lying on one.
"Ugh," Tasha moans, feeling like her mind and body have been through the wringer. Unsteadily, she pulls herself up, only to nearly falls over as she views her surroundings with a start.
"Where am I?" At first she wonders if she's dead, and while not completely able to dismiss that though, she does begin to remember the events that came before. "This is a virtual reality? She wonders aloud, gaze trailing across the beautiful expanse of space. "Is anyone here?"
"Yes," a voice replies, booming in Tasha's skull. The cloudstuff next to her is pushed aside as a giant head pushes through: the visage of an Ancient Naga, a dragon-headed god. The huge head turns and scrutinizes Tasha with a golden, reptilian eye. It's close enough that she can see its scales are like.. leaves.
Tasha sits up to face the dragon, ears back and expression mixed. She's reached her destination, but she can't be sure the destination is happy to see her.
The silence stretches on as each assesses the other, two pairs of golden eyes in the dark.
"Have you lost your tongue, mortal?" the creature asks.
The young woman's ears flick. Then, she frowns. "Almost, after that landing of mine. Besides, I was thinking," she insists. "And I'm a little tired with all the running around I had to do to get this far, so please excuse me."
Pushing herself up, Tasha rises to her feet. Despite the evironment being virtual, Tasha takes a moment to dust herself off and pat her hair down in to some semblance of order. "There." When she turns back, she smiles. "You were by far the most difficult. Hello, Caspar. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
"Caspar?" the dragon asks. "That is no longer my name, Bird of Hermes. And this is no imaginary realm. Our spirits are touching. I can devour you whole if I wish. Address me by my new name.."
"Lord Yama, God of Death."
Logfile from Envoy. (OOC) Log start: d:\logs\fenris\2012-08-02_dragonheart.htmlDeep in the Beast Lands, beneath the bruised sky of a Forbidden Zone, a lone hunter has laid a trap for a monster. "To the south, there are desert giants," Toth tells Tasha and the others. "To trap them, large pits are dug, and camouflaged." Here at the edge of a dragon-haunted swamp, the reptilian centaur indicates the apparently bare patch of ground that makes up his pit trap. Above it, suspended between high trees is heavy rope net. "A year it took me," the hunter claims. "But net must be dropped manually. So.. I need bait that the dragon will follow up out of the swamp."
"That sounds like my job alright," Tasha remarks as she eyes the pit, rubbing her chin. "Are you sure the net is enough to hold something one hundred feet long?"
"It is the same sort used on the giants," Toth notes. "Once it is dropped, we must secure the tie lines to the trees."
"I guess we don't have any choice if you're going to guide us. Very well. What should I do when I have the dragon's attention, just fly back here and land on the edge of the pit?" the soon-to-be-bait inquires.
"No, do not stop," Toth says. "Keep going past it. Do not land and stop or it may suspect the trap."
On a nearby hump in the landscape, Gabriel is scanning across the swamp with his binoculars. "Tasha.." he says. "I think I see it."
Having been given time to prepare, Tasha has donned her stripped down Achillies Environmental Armor, the helmet of which is currebtly tucked under her arm. In order to avoid her preperations from being too obvious, she's also pulled out one of her party's larger hooded cloaks to hide under, creating the impression of a much larger figure.
"I'll do that then. Anything else?" The young woman asks.
"Don't get caught," Toth suggests. "Do not turn around to see if it has fallen into the trap. You will hear if it does."
"Riiight, don't get caught." Easy for you to say. "Well, I guess I'll be off then. Gabriel, give me a kiss for luck," Tasha leans her head forward, smiling. When the man nears, she whispers, "Do you think this will work?"
"Take a look and then tell me," the Karnor says, offering Tasha the binoculars.
Tasha accepts the binoculars, blink as her long-ranged, lensing vision has even more light concentrated in to it. "I'm still waiting for my kiss," she asides as she starts searching around.
"You'll get it in a moment," Gabriel says, as he guides Tasha's view out into the swamp. Then she spots movement. It looks like a piece of the swamp itself, a green vegetative mass.. but then she spots the head. Mostly clear of growth, the sleek form is familiar - Harmonia showed it to her! It's the head of Caspar. There are faintly glowing 'veins' running through the vegetation that seems to coat most the Titan, and it is hunched over, the body almost horizontal to the ground with the long tail acting as counterbalance.
"Caspar," Tasha hisses. She had enough experience with the Magi to know them by heart, and enough experience with weirdness and adventure to know that something is seriously wrong. "It's moving on its own. Moreover, it appears to be infected with some kind of growth. If it still retains the strength of a Titan, that net won't hold it for long, but maybe it can be reasoned with."
After handing to binoculars back, Tasha runs a hand through her hair. "I never though I'd have to be dealing with a Magi. There's every possibility it has been active for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. It's machine-mind may well be distorted, possess identity, or, as our guide said, it could have become vicious. This is going to be interesting."
"What could be powering it though?" Gabriel wonders. "A power source that can animate a Titan and last thousands of years?"
Nearby, Hakeber (who had been eavesdropping) gives out a sudden bark. "Can I see it?" she asks, coming up onto the rise.
"Balthasar seemed to be drawing energy directly from it's Sifran artifacts; I can only guess how they draw power, but I've had a theory its transfered in from another source somewhere on these worlds." Tasha takes the binoculars and passes them off to Hakeber; she doesn't need them to spot the Titan now. "But I don't see any evidence of Sifran technologies from here. I'd need a much closer look."
Looking through the binoculars, Hakeber bites her lower lip. "Not Sifran artifacts," she says. "It's the plant. The Nagai motherships were powered by Holy Seeds - power-generating plants that were supposed to be immortal or self-renewing. I think they put one into the Titan. What did the poem say?"
Tasha thinks a moment, calming her mind and letting the ancient poetry surface from the quiet sea of her mind.
"The Serpent of Arabia is my name,"
"That which is the leader of all this game,"
"That sometimes was both wood and wild,"
"And now I am both meek and mild,"
"The Sun and the Moon with their might,"
"Have chastised me that was so light,"
"My wings that me brought,"
"Hither and thither where I thought,"
"Now with their might they down me pull,"
"And bring me where they will."
"I think we can safely assume we haven't reached the part about being meak and mild," Tasha adds after the recitation is complete. "But I may be able to take control if I can get close enough."
"Sun and Moon.. the Celestial motherships," Hakeber notes, nodding. "Wood and wild could be a reference to the Seed - and also, it'd be tiny compared to the ones on the ships. Now with their might they down me pull.. uh.. the crash? Can it have predicted the crash landing?"
"It seems possible," Tasha says with a nod. "Much of the mission-poem has only become relevant now, but that doesn't mean it wasn't anticipated -- or even forced. If I had to take a guess, though, I'd say the poem is prophecizing our overcoming and taking control of the Titan, we, "bring" it "where" we "will."
"It's lightness being its freedom," Tasha adds.
"Yeah, but how?" Hakeber asks. "It's not an animal after all."
"And you don't speak Imperial," Gabriel points out. "Maybe there's something else?"
"Balthasar was able to comprehend my Standard. I can opnly assume all Titans are pre-programmed to understand and convey messages in common languages that they might deal with during their mission," Tasha answer, though she sounds uncertain. Think a moment, she then exclaims, "Oh!"
Fishing around, pulls out one of her growing list of necklaces, trickets and baubles. Dangling on the end is circular artifact made of advanced materials. "How about this? The dragon did say he got it from a far-off temple, and it does seem to appeal to dragons."
"You think it might be a key?" Aaron asks. Of course he was listening in. Lapi pastime.
"Hmmm, if the Lucifer were the Temple that was raided," Gabriel ponders, rubbing his chin. "Without the key.. maybe the Titan really would go wild?"
"It could be. The way the ghost described the Temple seemed particularly Celestial, and these markings are that of their Moon Goddess. It's clearly a Celestial artifact of great value if he was cursed so heavily. The priests only seemed concerned with this item, and not the pile of gold he had taken," Tasha explains. "It's worth a try, anyway."
"Each Titan seems to have a different interface mechanic, so it's perfectly possible the Celestial Magi uses a key," Tasha says with a nod. "Balthasar's locking mechanisim appears to have been removed in favor of its internal logic. Melchior reads the key embedded in its pilot's brain."
"The Celestials would not have tied their Magi so closely to a chosen pilot," Hakeber says. "They just didn't value individuals that much. The mission would have been the important thing."
"They also are more likely to depend on their AIs," Gabriel notes. "It's not coincidence they modeled them after their gods."
"There you go. That would explain why this key seems so impersonal. And without a pilot, were its AI to be corrupted, there may be no controlling it. As you say, it has a powerful AI -- and were that powerful AI to turn on them their dwindling technology might not have the brute force necessary to defeat its firewall protections and reign it in. It may have actively attempted to destroy any such threat," the red woman says in agreement. She glances off towards the distant swamp and adds, "I guess we'll find out soon."
"Maybe it just got upset that they let its key be taken," Aaron suggests quietly.
"We'll be ready with the net," Gabriel says, and kisses Tasha. "Now put on your helmet. Don't fly too close, even if you are looking for a ring shape to match that cosmic bagel of yours.."
"That too," the hybrid agrees. "There's no way to know for sure unless we ask Caspar directly. I'm hoping Aaron is right, but if he's not, and Caspar becomes dangerous, we'll go with the original plan." She nods to her mate, leaning her head to accept the kiss before donning her helmet. The young woman's voice is a hollow metallic echo with her helmet on. "The net won't hold him for long, so I'll try to be fast in gaining access. If that fails, you all may want to retreat while I still have his attention; I should be able to lose him by flying around."
"Should," Gabriel says. "I never liked that word. Just don't get eaten."
"It's a dirty word," Tasha agrees, smiling beneath layers of advanced metal armor. "I'll be back soon."
After getting some distance from her party, tasha break in to an all out sprint. He armor is too heavy to allow flight from standstil, so she waits until she's at her top running speed before beating her wings and taking off. Soon, she's just a distant spot heading towards Caspar.
Nothing else seems to be moving in the swamp. There aren't even any creens or insects that Tasha notices. It also takes a bit of maneuvering between the trees and hanging vines to get around behind Caspar. Up close (relatively speaking), there are signs of damage: the folded wings look a bit mangled, and the engine pods are crushed. Where the rear-access hatch would be on Melchior there is.. something. A glow beneath the muck and debris, but there's no way to tell if it's from a lock or just the energy-producing vegetation.
Perhaps the poem references wing damage instead. Repairing these will be a nightmare, if it's even possible. Maybe replacement? And what's that ..? Tasha peers down in to the depths at the glow, but even her eyes can't penetrate layers of greenish murk. I should have asked more about the energy producing vegetation, but it's too late now. Time to get to work.
"Helllooooo draaaaagon!"
The hybrid creature stops its slow lumber through the swamp, and turns its head to try and track Tasha.
Tasha pulls in to a circing loop, to better maintain her speed and momentum. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Caspar?" She calls down just before giving the machine a wave.
The Titan's jaw opens, and there are several warning arcs of electricity before a plasma bolt erupts, blasting the top off of a tree behind Tasha.
"AHHH," Tasha responds in a particuarly squawky, hollow metallic cry. Diving to increase her speed, she then angles off and begins her return flight towards her party and the waiting trap. Once she levels again, she also begins jinking left and right. Flashes of her time in the Themis-Skoll's cockpit come unbidden, reminding her of how many times she ended a simulation run at the end of a plasma-bolt. Come on wings!
There isn't a second bolt.. at least not yet. But the sound of the dragon crashing through the swamp and picking up speed is still enough to encourage Tasha to keep going. The real trick is not losing her sense of direction! It wouldn't do to miss the trap.
All of the swamp looks the same. I should have left a trail or set torches, Tasha realizes and finds further reason to curse the word "should." At least he's big and he can't fly. If I get lost, I can always attempt to retreat. As seconds pass and no second bolt is forthcoming, Tasha risks a look back. His capacitors probably can't do that too often. With his engines destroyed he won't have a secondary source of power generation either. I wish I knew how much power those seeds could produce!
Looking back reveals... nothing? Of course, that's when Caspa leaps from the side, nearly catching Tasha's tail. The Titan's teeth flash past close enough for the Vartan to catch subtle glow of cutting edges, similar to those on Melchior's talons and shaard.
On top of the terror of a near-miss, the huge surge of air and subsequent low pressure area from the hundred-foot machine's passage pushes Tasha off course in the direction Caspar landed. She has to beat her wings furiously just to right herself. By the time she's leveled out again, she's not where she planned to be. Looking around, she notes the deviation and angles back towards what she belives is the right direction.
He's smart, and fast,// she thinks as her eyes dart between the way forward, left, right, and behind, all while she tries to juggle keeping on course with preparing to evade. I need to be mort alert; he's clearly thinking.//
Up ahead, to the left.. that bare patch! It looks like the trap, and there is movement high up in one of the bordering trees. Toth! Curled around a trunk and holding a machete ready..
Seeing the finish line, Tasha dives to increase her speed, putting her only eight feet above the ground. With height exchanged for speed, she parsy the trap will stop the metallic monstrocity, otherwise she's going to have think fast to avoid the beast catching up at distance. She considers yelling a warning, but decides against it; the machine may put two and two together to discover the trap, and that's the last thing anyone needs!
There's a crackling sound behind the Vartan. The problem with going for speed is flying straight.. and into an area with no cover! The plasma bolt explodes just below her, causing her to flip end over end and hit the ground on her back. Now facing backwards, she has an upside-down view of Caspar leaping up from the swamp, jaws open and talons spread. Time crawls, and then monster's feet hit the ground.. and go through it with a splintering of timber. The jaws snap close a meter away from Tasha's helmet as the dragon goes down.
"Eeeeeeee!" Tasha squeals as the massive head lurches down towards, her hand going for her weapon out of reflex rather than hope. For a split-second she can see lives flash before her eyes; her life, short as it has been; places at people from a blue world with a pale white moon; the labrinthine spires of Babel, a child that's not her's and a man that's not her brother. Time slows, riding the edge of a singularity as death looms close, threatening to devour her.
And then it's over. She's blinking at a bruised, ugly sky, the lenth of Apollyon's sword glirting dully in the light. She quickly pats herself over, dazed, until she hears the commotion behind her.
Rolling over, she peers in to the depths of the trap.
And then the net falls on her and Caspar both. "Tie it off!" Toth shouts, and Gabriel, Hakeber and Aaron run to secure it.
Seeing nothing, Tasha scootches away from the pit and wobbles up to her feet. Her helmet, now caked in soil and far too tomb-like, is removed and tossed aside. Tasha heaves a sigh of relief, both in gratitude to be alive, and preperation for the next step.
Hunching down, she waits for the net to be secured before making her next move.
The pit isn't quite deep enough to contain the whole of Caspar, but it's laced with ropes and vines and loose rock to entangle limbs, which it has. The dragon still struggles.
Even more, the mangled wings and engines have lots of bits that tangle in the dropped net.
"The net won't hold it long. I'm going to have to get down there on to its back," Tasha calls out, pointing towards the pit with her sword. Straightening, the young woman breaks in to a run, circling the pit away from the head and back towards the tail. "It's energy weapon still works," she warns. "It'll destroy the net if it can't break through otherwise. That'll take several minutes. It's faster than it looks. You all should probably evacuate once you're done tying!"
"Toth didn't say it could breath fire!" Hakeber complains, running round and round a tree trunk with a line from the net.
"That should be self-evident from it being a dragon," Toth calls back as he slides down a tree-trunk.
"The legendary dragons always could. I'll admit, it's less exciting when it's coming at you. Terrifing. That's the word. Really ... Terrifying." Hearing her own voice waver, Tasha realizes just how shaken her brush with oblivion has made her. Fearing she might lose her nerve, she decides to press forward and try to resolve the matter quickly before the Titan can either escape, or she can no longer function.
"I'm going in," she calls out, her sword now used to cut through a few sections of the ne in order to give her room to drop down. It'll be an unpleasant fall, but her armor should hold it, she hopes. Should. I'm going to hate that word now.
And then, she jumps.
The slime and vines that coat the back of the Titan doesn't make for a firm landing.. in fact, Tasha comes close to sliding right off! But her own armored wings tangle in the vines, keeping her from falling into the pit. The dragon stops struggling.. and tries to turn its head to look back along its flank where the armored figure hangs.
Feeling the change in the creature's movement, Tasha scrambles to get a hand hold up as she tries to climb back towards where she had hoped to be. Now and again, she casts a glance over towards the head, wondering if she could evade even if she saw a blast coming. I hope he's still smart enough not to destroy us both out of pique, she worries.
There's no expression on the mechanical face, but it's clear that Tasha has Caspar's full attention now. She's able to get a grip, and yank herself up just before the flank she was hanging on is smashed against the side of the pit.
It looks like he is, Tasha realizes to her dismay. Just smart enough to think of something better. For a brief moment Tasha's stress-addled mind wonders just who's more intelligent, and were she not rushing for her life, she might think to be depressed when she decides it's probably not her. Instead, her frusteration merges with stress and fear, roiling over as it comes to boil. She pauses long enough to stab a finger at the deathless face and yell, "Stupid dragon!"
And with that, she keeps going.
The net is handy now, since it provides plenty of secure handholds. Caspar wastes precious seconds trying to spot Tasha visually.. but still moves as if he can feel her on his back. At least, whenever Tasha brushes one of the glowing vines. The likely hatch is just ahead, past the ruined engines.. which begin to shoot out powerful sparks. The jet systems may be crushed, but the plasma-electric emitters may still function!
Feeling she's getting a sense for the dragon now, Tasha angles her climb to try and avoid the plasma-electric emitters using her knowledge of Magi and Expedition engines. Climbing towards electrocution is daunting, and if it weren't for the sure death that awaited her if she backed off, the sparks would give her pause. As it is, she focuses her will and pushes forward. Atthe very least, her suit should absorb some of the electricity, she just doesn't know if it'll be enough.
Doesn't matter, she decides as she climbs higher and higher. I may not be the smartest person, but I'm brave, and I don't back down. Better to die rushing forward than running away!
Of course, it does help that an environmental armor suit is insulated against electricity. The net here also limits Caspar's movement the most, even though the discharges are starting to set the rope on fire.
The glowing patch is just ahead now! Beneath muck and non-glowing vines anyway.
Unfortunately for Tasha, she threw her helmet away after it was cluttered by the fall. With the arks illuminate her face, making her fur stand on edge and filling her nose with the scent of burning materials -- including her own fur. Using her hands, she pushes material and redirects arcs away from her face, pushing on until she's through. Even seconds later, she can still feel the heat from her gauntlets and pieces of her armor.
With the immediate path clear, Tasha surges forward in a streak of adrenaline until she's upon the glowing patch, only now can she finally get a good look.
Some of the muck has moved enough to reveal a sliver of blue light, in what might be a ring-shaped depression.
Straddling the creature's back, tasha uses her weapon to scrape the area clear before she pulls out donut-shaped artifact. I hope this works, she prays as she rips the amulet from her neck, then thrusts it forward!
The edges glow as it slots into the circular socket. The dragon stops struggling then, and the hatch beneath Tasha begins to open outwards.
Tasha rolls to the side to clear the hatch, catching the net and holding on, her sword returning to its sheath. Just a little longer... come on..!
"Tasha!" Hakeber calls from the edge of the pit. "I forgot to warn you! The Imperials use neural-interface helmets! They.. aren't always reliable! People have been burnt, or brain-damaged.. oh, and I don't know how it would react to the implants you already have! So.. be careful!"
'Should' work. Hakeber gets a distracted wave, but the information is too late in coming. She doesn't know how long Caspar will remain dormant before it can reroute or rethink a counter, and she's sure it realizes what she's up to by now. With the hatch clear, Tasha doesn't waste any more time. Rolling back, she dangles her legs over the open hatch, then lets go.
The shaft is a tight fit! And not just because it was meant for a serpentine pilot: the glowing vines are thick. It doesn't help that the shaft itself seems shorter than in Melchior, as Tasha's booted hooves are hanging in empty space.
"Nnngh," Tasha grunts as she struggles to make her way in. Concerned about damaging the vines that power the machine, she tries to avoid them where she can, cutting only those she needs to remove to work her way farther.
"Six thousand years of waiting, thwarted by your butt being too big?" Aaron calls down. "I'd suggest taking off the armor, but.. I don't trust those vines!"
"What is she doing?" Toth asks, climbing out on the net. "What are you doing?" he repeats when he's closer to Tasha.
"Make sure you can get back out!" Gabriel calls with concern.
"It was better than being crushed or electrocuted!" Tasha growls back. One by one she begins remove bits of armor, tossing the pieces away as she works to try and fit. The armor might be priceless, but time is of the essence, and all that matters to her now is the goal only feet from her body. With the last piece remove and cast aside, she's lefth with only her body suit. As more concerns rain down on her, she lays her ears back. "I know, I know!"
It isn't easy. There are points where Tasha feels like she'll suffocate! But then she gets help from an unexpected place: Toth steps on her head and pushes down. That's enough to squeeze her past the constriction (although her feather will need serious preening later) into the cockpit. The chamber is almost familiar: a sphere with a pilot's seat.. although one meant for a pilot that can coil around it.. and a robotic arm with bowl-like interface device. The glowing vines are the main difference, and it isn't clear if they're intrusions into the cockpit or meant to be there.
Months ago, Fred taught her a simple lesson, "Don't break or remove anything if you're not sure what it does." A lesson Tasha immediately applies to the cockpit, deciding she'd best leave the vines and their glowing cores alone for now.
Instead, she hurries towards the pilot's seat, straddling it as best she can to keep her balance and holding her head still.
The vines pulse, but the interface arm.. stays where it is, instead of automatically seeking the pilot. It does have some of the vines twined around it though. "Are you alive?" Toth calls down. "Are you in the belly?"
"For now," is Tasha's distracted response. Peering upward, Tasha unsheathes her sword and aimsto cut away the growth restraining the command helmet. "Tell everyone to get clear!"
"Do not anger the dragon!" Toth says, before retreating and calling out to the others.
Too late for that, the hybrid thinks, wryly. She keeps cutting, clearing away the few remaining obstructions.
There's a rustling sound as Tasha works, and the vines she's cutting.. seem to try and move out of the way? Then she feels something wrap around her neck!
Tasha's free hand immediately goes to her neck. "Hrrk!" Her sword arm follows, but she can't see well enough to risk cutting wildly. Instead she pulls with her free hand, trying to match strength with whatever has her.
The vine tightens, and continues to coil. Tasha can feel it spreading out tendrils along the back of her head, weaving through her hair.. And then there's a jolt when it makes contact with her studs! The world seems to turn inside out, and she actually looses consciousness..
Tasha wakes under alien stars. The sky is the sort of black one only sees in space, the stars sharp and bright and undistorted. Except there are clouds here. She's lying on one.
"Ugh," Tasha moans, feeling like her mind and body have been through the wringer. Unsteadily, she pulls herself up, only to nearly falls over as she views her surroundings with a start.
"Where am I?" At first she wonders if she's dead, and while not completely able to dismiss that though, she does begin to remember the events that came before. "This is a virtual reality? She wonders aloud, gaze trailing across the beautiful expanse of space. "Is anyone here?"
"Yes," a voice replies, booming in Tasha's skull. The cloudstuff next to her is pushed aside as a giant head pushes through: the visage of an Ancient Naga, a dragon-headed god. The huge head turns and scrutinizes Tasha with a golden, reptilian eye. It's close enough that she can see its scales are like.. leaves.
Tasha sits up to face the dragon, ears back and expression mixed. She's reached her destination, but she can't be sure the destination is happy to see her.
The silence stretches on as each assesses the other, two pairs of golden eyes in the dark.
"Have you lost your tongue, mortal?" the creature asks.
The young woman's ears flick. Then, she frowns. "Almost, after that landing of mine. Besides, I was thinking," she insists. "And I'm a little tired with all the running around I had to do to get this far, so please excuse me."
Pushing herself up, Tasha rises to her feet. Despite the evironment being virtual, Tasha takes a moment to dust herself off and pat her hair down in to some semblance of order. "There." When she turns back, she smiles. "You were by far the most difficult. Hello, Caspar. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
"Caspar?" the dragon asks. "That is no longer my name, Bird of Hermes. And this is no imaginary realm. Our spirits are touching. I can devour you whole if I wish. Address me by my new name.."
"Lord Yama, God of Death."