It took another day before Tasha and Axe were able to get their cup of tea. By then the populace of Harrison's Hold had been sorted out, and the people determined to be 'just doing business' were released to get back to just that - selling stuff to the crew and others. They were also fairly grateful that the Knights hadn't just confiscated everything. Interrogations were ongoing for the airship crews, including Blackwings' survivors, to eek out any extra intelligence on their target, the warlord Ibrahim Warloq.
Fringe has been busy with the body of the suicidal headman. Her knowledge of toxins spanned Abaddon and Sinai (and possibly Ashtoreth as well), which made some of the crew wonder about her. Still, she was able to isolate some odd plant toxins, and one that was Abaddonian in origin - the venom from one of the smaller canal plants, which could cause hallucinations and psychosis. She couldn't tell how old the trace was though, since there wasn't any data on how long the effects might actually persist, since victims tended to kill themselves within a day.
Raithe's examination was less informative. He couldn't be sure if Mind or Spirit Magic had been used on the man, but felt that a proper necromancer could find out with an expensive ritual. Since they didn't have any 'proper' Spirit Mages available, he did the next best thing and preserved specific remains for later study.
Word has come from other Templar ships, as well. The Star of Justice, an actual battleship, has diverted to join them, heading down from Levitha's Pearl to meet the Sword of Golgotha at the target, higher in the mountains.
Time to relax and chat with the Lancer has done a lot for Tasha's nerves, not to mention her mood. Out of everyone aboard the ship -- including her own team members -- it was Axe that turned out to be companion she turned to for solace and quiet conversation. In many ways she can sympathize with the Titanian, an exceptionally capable and well-spoken man that cannot escape the prejudice against his people, not the expectation of disaster that follows them. Tasha, too, can't seem to escape disater, nor the assumption she will bring it. For someone trying so hard, it's endlessly galling to be treated like she needs a constant escort. That he also knew a thing or two about machines didn't hurt, either.
But the hour for talk has passed, with both having boarded The Sword of Golgotha when the word went out. Tasha has returned to her cabin with the others, to prepare and to stay out of the Captain's sight. She's also taken some time to think about what the future has in store, mainly about the mysterious, malevo;ent figure known as Ibrahim Warloq. Who is he? Is he a victim? Or victimizer? What happened to Blackwings, and what awaits for them in this fortress far removed from the world, enshrouded in mist and shattered lives?
Tasha's doesn't know. She doesn't know much about toxins, nor military preperations on this scale. It occurs to her she knows a very little about far too many things, especially for one tasked with a mission of such vital importance. All she can do now, however, is prepare herself -- her armor, her weapon, and most of all her mind for what may lie ahead.
"I need you to drink this," Fringe says, interrupting Tasha's preparations. She's holding out a steaming mug of.. something. It looks like Mateh, but is purple and smells like it's already passed through the digestive tract of something. Something ill.
"What is it?" Tasha asks in something of a edgy monotone. She may have had some time to recover, but she's not recovered and she isn't in much of a mood for more horrendous experiences. The only poison she wants is alcohol, and she's vowed to cut back.
"Poison," Fringe explains with a grin. "Well, toxins. I was able to denature some of the toxins I found in the Headman. This is something called inoculation. You introduce these weakened versions of the toxins to your body, so that you can build up an immunity to the full-strength versions."
"You think he'll try to use his trick on us?" Of course he would, Tasha realizes, wondering why it didn't occur to her sooner. She isn't looking forward to the drink, but she can't deny the benefits. "Alright." A pause, then, "Good work, Fringe." She then reaches over, takes the mug, and throws it back and hopes it's alcoholic.
Alcoholic or not, it's got a bite to it. An alkaline one. "Now, don't leave your cabin for a few hours, just in case," Fringe says, taking back the mug. "Shojo went into some sort of trance after I gave it to him, and wouldn't move or anything. Just stared at the wall and blinked - blinking is good though, means he was still in control. Just.. not reacting to stuff. Then after awhile he threw up and seemed his normal self again!"
"Wonderful." Tasha leans back and settles in, resting her head against the cabin wall. "At least I could use some relaxation. Staring at a wall sounds as good as anything. So," her head tilts, "where did you learn so much about toxins, anyway? It can't have been purely the Knights."
"That was my specialty," Fringe notes. "I study the canal plants. Because they're toxic. Or might hold antidotes to other toxins. The Knights don't have florists or farmers."
"Abaddon needs more florists and farmers. Everything smells like rust and sand," the hybrid woman admits, knowing full well why Abaddon doesn't have much of either. She then glances towards the porthole, staring out it as she asks, "How have you enjoyed our journey so far?" She doesn't know the answer this time, and is somewhat afraid of the response -- but knows she ought to ask if she's ever to be any sort of captain.
"Nothing has tried to eat me or rape me or anything so far," Fringe says happily. "And the food is amazing! And so many different people, and forests and jungles you can walk through without armor. So much life! It's like a paradise! And now we get to go to war too!"
Despite herself, Tasha finds Fringe's enthusiasim infectious -- or maybe it's the toxic sludge she just drank. Whatever it is, the young woman cracks a smile. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. I was a little worried when they assigned you to me, I was concerned you might have difficulties, but you've done well and I think you're adjusting." She then looks back, head tilting. "Being eaten I understand, but was rape something you had to deal with?"
It must be the proximity of Blackwing's death that makes her ask; She feels drawn to the tragedies other women felt in the past. Mabe to find some answer, mayeb just to see how far it is, how universal. She isn't sure.
"Well, not on Abaddon, but they say Sinai is kinda wild and women's status varies depending on where you are and such," Fringe notes. "Someone did flirt with me though! That's never happened before."
"It can be wild," Tasha agrees, trying very hard to sound neutral about it. Deciding she's had enough of teh subject despite her interest, she asks, "Who flirted with you? Shojo?"
"No, one of the crew," Fringe notes. "He looked like a Karnor a bit, but was skinny.. a Hekoye, he said he was. So alien!" She giggles a bit, then looks into the mug. "I need to go whip up another batch of this stuff. If you feel sick, don't resist the urge to vomit. If you get thirsty, stick to water."
"I will. You have my permission to flirt, too. Just watch yourself." Tasha knows it's hypocritical of her to say such a thing, but she reasons that she's still the leader. Whatever failure she may have, or whatever mistakes she makes, she decides that she has to keep on trying to lead as best she can. "Make sure Shojo is ready by the time we arrive, as well. And, good luck."
After Fringe leaves and closes the door, Blackwings makes a 'tch' sound from where she sits at the end of the bunk. "You wouldn't give a girl like the time o' day when I knew yeh," the Vartan notes, shaking her head. "How'd you get so soft so fast, puppybird?"
Tasha blinks, then blinks again. This goes on several more times -- floowed by her waving a hand infront of her face -- before she settles in to a very deep frown, indeed. "I'm hallucinating," she declares, even if she isn't exactly sure of it. Saying it makes her feel better, however. It's a reason, and one of the better ones for seeing her dead hero and lover.
After several seconds of just staring at the apparition, the hybrid woman finally cocks her head to the side and with a sigh and a shake of her head she decides she might as well play along. After all, she never did get to say what she wanted to say to Blackwings, and maybe talking to a phantom in her brain might help somehow.
"I'm not soft. I grew up, I found something, buried under a mountain and forgotten. A piece of the past. We dug it up, we dug them up, and we carried it all down the mountain. Then, it carried me. I'm not the woman I was, I've grown a lot. I'm part of an organization. We work together, for a better world. For exploration. Fringe, she's talented, even if she is odd. We need people like her. I need people like her," she answers at length.
"Well, it wasn't just what you found under the mountain," Aaron notes from the other side of the bunk, opposite Blackwings. "You made a decision to be more than just an image, and that's what set you on your way to becoming a real person. Not just arm-candy.." This last bit seems aimed at Blackwings, who just snorts at the Lapi. "This what you settle for after me?" she asks Tasha.
"I didn't settle!" Tasha insists, aiming a glare at Blackwings. "I wanted more! I was tired of you using me. Of everyone using me! And of me ... " here, some of the fire dies in Tasha's voice as she leans back, ears canting, " ... hating myself. Tired of me. All you wanted me for was to use me, to make me your 'arm candy.' I thought you'd help me. But that's all you ever wanted from me, and you lead me on, so I wouldn't realize it until it was too late."
"So now you learn to lead yourself on, that it?" Blackwings asks. "Or you follow a bunny? You so mad at me you find someone exact opposite to be you mentor?"
"He wasn't my mentor. He's my friend. That was the difference between him and you, between him and nearly everyone like you back on the docks. Aaron cares about me. He showed me someone could like me for more than what they could take from me, gave me a raeson to believe I could be something more, and the time and place to do it. He's a good man, but you, Blackwings, you never cared about me." Tasha grinds her teeth, surging forward with eyes round and hands wide. "I loved you!" She yells, her hands moving as if she might choke the air for her frusteration. "But you never loved me. You didn't even look at me like I was a person. I was just a trophy to you, a toy. I didn't 'follow' him to get back at you. I followed him to get away from people like you."
"But we had fun though, yeah?" Blackwings counters with a grin. "You kep' coming back, cuz' nobody else could give you what I could. Not my fault if you fall in love wi' me. Lots of people did. You musta known I only love myself. We weren't friends, or equals, or whatever.. but you enjoyed me, Tasha. Got just as much as you gave in that regard, aye?"
Tasha stares at Blackwings for a long moment, then her hands fall and she leans back, ears flat. "Maybe," she conceeds, frowning deeply. "But it wasn't worth the cost. If I knew what I do now, I'd have never done it. It was the desperation of a poor, lonely girl, and the only one of her kind, looking for someone to validate her. Somewhere to escape from being herself." She draws in a breath, then exhales before saying, "I won't say I didn't admire you, though. You accomplished a lot, you had a ship, and you lived your life your way. You have willpower and strength I don't. Not yet. I know it. But who was there when you died? Who gave you anything, Blackwings? I think you paid. Paid like I did, in your own way. I did what I did for both of us, because I'e learned to look after people I love. But you didn't deserve it. It was only because of my compassion you got to die heroically, rather than tortured and broken."
"If I had become who you wanted, I'd have killed you, taken your ship, and laughed while you died a broken heap. So, you should be glad I changed. Changed enough to care. Because no one else was coming for you, save Dagh and the headsman," Tasha concludes.
"I no care 'bout that," Blackwings claims. "Dead is dead, eh? But I did give you escape, yeah? So what if it wasn't real. It felt like it, at the time. What would you have done without me?" She then points to the phantom Lapi, and says, "Think he or his kind notice you?" You had to chase 'em to get noticed. Give them what they wanted, at the time. You were so eager to make them like you, weren't you?"
"I'm always eager to have people like me. I know, aye? I know. But mayebe it helps me, maybe it got me where I am. Because if I hadn't cared, if I hadn't gone looking for it, maybe what I have now would never have found me." And then Tasha shrugs her shoulders, not certain what to think of it all. "Who knows? It's been hard, and it will be harder. But, I don't regret it. And you ... You ... " The young woman eyes the older, head tilting avian-like, so that she watches with a single eye. "You helped make me who I am. I know. But I don't owe you any favors, any thanks. What I gave I gave out of love, my love. because I cared about you once, and deep down, I still do. But I don't owe you. You used me and got what you wanted. So, if I got something out of it, it was an unfair trade, unwillingly given. No one thanks a sword for giving them scars, no matter what strength they get from it."
"I like that image," Blackwings says, putting her harms behind her head as a cushion while she leans back. "So, if we had met again in a more pleasant place.. you wouldn't give in to me?"
"I've already met others like you. I've been to the stars, walked with pirates bigger than you'll ever be. I know powerful people. I am powerful people -- and I didn't break," the hybrid replies, stabbing a finger at her chest. "Maybe no one has any real faith in me, maybe they're all waiting for me to make a mistake and clip my wings. But whatever they think, I did something. I've accomplished things, and now, I'll do more. More than you could ever dream. You're just small time to me now, Blackwings. I can do better."
"Oh ho ho," Blackwings crows. "Now you sound like me. You think who or what you know make you special? What you accomplish? There a saying.. uh.. about shoulders.." The Vartan looks confused, and then Aaron sighs and offers, "I got to where I am by standing on the shoulders of giants." "Yeah! That it! You done anything without help, or get where you are without someone being there? Know something that nobody else already know? Don't be full of yourself, Tasha, or you end up like me. I maybe no stand on shoulders of giants, but I try to go toe-to-toe wi' em. And I got squished."
"Standing on the shoulders of giants sometimes means that giants cared enough to hold you up, you know," Tasha points out, stabbing her finger at Blackwings now. "You see everything and everyone as a weapon, or a tool, or a toy. You never realized they can be a friend, an ally, or support. I don't know what amde you like you are -- mayeb you were like me or maybe you were always like this -- but I think I pity you for not realizing that, even in the end. I look up to you, aye, but I think now I pity you too. Can you say you weren't happy to see me? That you weren't glad to know I was there? Did you stand on my shoulders? Did this gaint squish you? Or, did I hold you up?"
"You were what I needed at the time," Blackwings says. "Should I not have tried to use you? Wasted what has before me? Is that what you do now: waste opportunity because maybe it not exactly what you want or need at the moment? You see something shiny, you follow it. When you not do that? When you pass up the shiny for.. something dull?"
"You're so pathetic," Tasha declares as she leans back, hands spreading. "It hurts to see it. I really pity you. I pity that maybe you didn't have teh chance I did, or didn't see it when it was there. Maybe you abandoned it? Whatever the case, go ahead and think you used me. Maybe you did. Maybe you got me. Congradulations. You used someone who cared about you to die and be a hero. I'm glad the people who care about me saved my life." The hands fall, resting in her lap. "But I guess we'll never agree. I can't refute your points, not all of them. I know the world is more complicated than just believing or wanting. I've found my reasons, though. I don't need yours. Or, whatever they were. Tell me, what happened between you and the man called Warloq?"
"Heh," Blackwings says. "Mebbe he to me what I was to you? Maybe he just use me, because I was there to be used. You see me be loyal to anyone? But I loyal to him, at the end."
"Were you? Or was it the drugs, the technology, or the magic he used?" Tasha asks, leaning closer.
"What it matter?" Blackwings asks. "You think this me? Or am I just your own self-doubts? You not very old, but you gots so many ghosts of yourself. I just another. Ask the bunny if you not believe me."
"I believe you. I think." Tasha says, uncertain. At the very least, she knows it's true she has a lot of ghosts. It all strikes her as terribly odd, suddenly. Peculiar. "Why do I have so many ghosts?" She suddenly asks no one in particular, looking up.
"I'm not one of your ghosts," Aaron asserts. "I'm just here to balance out Blackwings. Angel and Devil on your shoulders, and all that. I wouldn't trust anything Blackwings says, of course. But I'd have to advise you to not really trust anything I say either. Start giving advice to yourself and who knows where you'll end up. As two ends of the spectrum though, neither one of us a proper role model for you."
"So, I have a ghost and a not-ghost giving me advice I shouldn't hear. But one of them gave me that advice, so should I listen to it? Ir does that one not count? Or, maybe I'm rambling to myself in a cabin on a airship?" Tasha throws up her hands, then falls back on to her bunk and spreads out. "I just need a dragon to show up and encourage me, Gabriel to be my father, and a Harrower who speaks honestly and clearly but hurts my brain. Why is it all my phantoms never give me a straight answer or useful advice? And the gods, too? The prophecies. Does the universe love obfuscation? Mel, come and save me, please." And then she reaches over, grabs a pillow, and promptly puts it over her face.
There's silence in reply to Tasha's question. After all, she is alone in the room. And feeling a bit nauseous now that the inoculation cocktail's side effects are starting to wear off.
I. Will. Not. Vomit. Having been jerked around enough, Tasha aims her definace on this most recent of annoyance. She sets her jaw, holds the pillow tighter, and slowly curls in to a ball.
Eventually the nausea passes. Tasha can't really tell if the hallucinations are over or not. That's the thing with hallucinations - they mess with you. There's knocking at the door to the cabin though.
A very muffled Tasha yells, "If you're part of the crew, come in! If you're a ghost, go away!"
"It's me, Fringe!" The door opens a crack and the Eeee peers inside. "Just checking on you. Axe is asking for his stuffed hog. You wouldn't know anything about that would you? I think the brew I gave him is making him see things. How are you doing? What's this about ghosts?"
Tasha peaks out from underneath the pillow, then slowly lowers it once she sees that it isn't a ghost -- or at least isn't a ghost providing advice, self reflection, and trouble. "It's nothing, I'm fine," she says after a second, deciding she'd better get her act together around her team member. "How close are we to the fortress?"
"Another day before we get there," Fringe says. "Which is a shame, since I won't have time to give you a dose of the full toxin to see if you're able to resist it. But if you like I can give you another dose of the inoculant brew?"
The hybrid holds up her hands. "No, no, that's enough! I'm sure Shojo will be glad to volunteer. Now," she pushes herself up, brushing her hair out of her face, "I think I'm done sitting around brooding. Did anyone say they needed me anywhere? Otherwise I'm going to go give Axe a hug."
"He might think you're a hog," Fringe warns. "Don't forget to throw up, too. I'm still analyzing Shojo's puke, but need a wider sample base.."
"No puke from me. I ordered it to settle down." She doesn't mention the curling up under a pillow part, of course. "May as well help him. I do have these teeth, so maybe he'll be gentle. Or not. But you know, I can't stand to see the big guy suffer." Tasha starts walking, heading for the door and giving the Eeee a wave along the way. "Come get me if you discover anything big!"
The air is chilly this high into the mountains. It's taken time for the two warships to navigate the peaks and winds, but finally they have their goal in sight: a jagged peak that's been turned into a natural fortress. There are some fortifications, mostly around the single airship dock and platform. Everything else is either dug into the mountain or making use of natural caverns. "I don't like it," Captain Ink notes as she paces the Chart Room. Every telescope is manned, with spotters drawing detailed diagrams of what they see. So far, there haven't been any signs of life from the fortress. He counterpart, the captain of the Star of Justice, is an Aquilan, who seems as stoic as a Vartan. "We can try to smoke them out," he suggests.
Having spent the previous day preparing -- which included being stuffed under the arm of a Titanian who belived she was his lost stuffed hog -- and relaxing for yet another day, Tasha has laregly recovered from her mental wounds, with only scars to deal with now. She's in good spirits, too, having gotten a goo deal of sleep and spent much of last night discussing all things Titanian with Axe, who was very apologetic.
Now, Tasha waits against the wall, arms folded much as she had been teh first time she was in here. This time though, she doesn't avoid anyone's gaze and is actively looking at the diagram of the fortress -- something she whipped up herself from long-ranged observation with the spotters. "He seems canny enough to expect that," she notes, still looking at the table. "The mountain may have additional air ducting, especially if it's employing any sort of modern design."
"We could use that," Ink notes. "Zon, do you have smoke rockets?" The other captain nods.
"If we flood the main entrance with them, it might provide enough smoke and pressure to let us see where the vents and other openings are."
"I can help construct explosives, smoke, and other things as well. I have some Abaddonian military training, and engineering training as well. There's also chemical weapons," Tasha notes as she turns from the map to the Captain.
Tasha's brows raise. "That's clever," she remarks.
"Abaddonian chemistry might work at this altitude," Zon notes. "We can send in a staggered series: smoke, pressure, and flash. I would suggest following that up with an immediate invasion force though, while any defenders are disrupted."
"How will we see past the smoke, or do we intend to wait until it clears?" The cadet inquires, head tilting. "And, hwo do you feel about incidinary weapons? On Abaddon, they'd use something called a 'flamethrower' to clear bunkers, canals, and anywhere where something might be dug in and vulnerable to fire."
Ink's tail lashes, and she goes to look at the diagrams littering the chart table. "If we're going to do that, I want them softened up more," she says, and taps a claw on one of the drawings. "Find me anything that looks like a snipers nest or someplace that could hide a cannon or ballista.. or hell, even just a lookout. I want every viable target marked out."
"We don't have to see through the smoke," Zon notes. "We've got Eeee and respirators and Light goggles. What we don't know is the structural integrity of the mountain. Using cannons could bring it all down, and we'd never know if we got our man. We also can't be sure if there are captives in there."
"You've got the scryer, don't you?" Ink asks Zon, who shakes his head. "She's on maternity leave," he notes.
"Gah.. fine, no cannons!" Ink says, throwing her hands in the air. "Rockets then, and sweep the area with the light cannon."
"I can try to help spot, or help with the engineers. I can help with any higher technologies inside, as well. just let me know what you want me to do," the cadet notes, gesturing with a hand. "I'll nee some time if you want me to make things, though. And the supplies, of course." She then nods to the second captain. "Then what we need are assault weapons. On Abaddon, that'd be QCB rifles, flamethrowers, shotguns and grenades. I can probably make some of these, with the right supplies. If we have an Air mage, and I could find some cylinders, I could try to weld together materials and fill the tanks. It won't be as good, but it should be more than a match for most here."
"That is, if you don't have any of these," Tasha admits, hand falling. "Otherwise I'm not sure what else I can do."
Zon puts his hand on Ink's shoulder and says, "Once we have everyone out, you can blow up the mountain." To Tasha he says, "Don't worry about ordinance, we have pistols and grenades that will work at this altitude. Otherwise we need to stick to non-lethal suppression until we know if there are innocents kept there. This is no different than taking over a hostile town - it'll have to go room by room. What we really need is someone who can sense magic. Any traps are likely to be magic-triggered."
"I can't help there," Tasha admits, head shaking. "The kind of magic I can sense and interact isn't the kind that's being used here. At best, I might be able to negate it. But I can't promise that will work, so it's probably too risky."
Zon also looks over the drawings. "This high up.. you don't usually find natural cave systems, not in this sort of rock. It would cost a fortune to dig it out, or have an Earth Mage do it. My guess is an old K'hu'an hive."
"Did you say K'hu'un? You know about the K'hu'un?" Tasha suddenly asks, ears perking. She even straightens up, pushing off the wall.
"I'm told Warloq may be using advanced drugs or poisons," Zon notes. "That usually requires a K'hu'an. Nobody is better at poisons."
"Really?" At this, Tasha cocks her head and then it's her time to pace. "If they're here ... Then ... That could mean they are here ... " She pauses, looking up, "I'm familiar with the K'hu'an. I can speak to them if we encounter them, or ... Their allies."
Zon raises a feathered eyebrow. "You've been inside an active nest?" he asks.
"I'm allied with an active nest to the north. I've spoken at length with them, and I believe I understand them more than most. You could say that I'm touched by them. I think they'll listen to me. So will their allies," Tasha answers, stopping again in her pacing and abandoning it to give the Aquilan her full attention. "Unless they can't talk. There are ways. We'd need to break that, too."
"Break.. what?" Zon asks.
"There's more than one kind of magic in this universe, Captain. You have your mages for that of the Sifras, and now you have me for another kind. Lets leave it at that," is Tasha's brows-raised answer.
"And what do you need to make contact, assuming there are still K'hu'an there?" Zon asks.
Tasha cocks her head to the side, thinking for a moment before she answers, "Just my presence. If more is needed, they will know where I should go and what I need to do. They may already know me. If they are not there, but their ally is, then I will need to make contact with it in that way."
"Still gotta deal with Warloq's goons," Ink points out. "I can throw in to three full squads. They're already warmed up from taking Harrison's Hold."
"I can provide five," Zon notes. "Respirators and hazard gear all around, Light gogs and rescue kits?" he suggests.
"Yeah, yeah, I want everyone but us to be buckled over and crying outta every orifice when we march in," Ink agrees. "Less resistance means less casualties."
"You'll have me and Shojo as well, so that's a heavy armored combat engineer and a medic for you. We're not as well trained as your men, but we can hold our own," the young woman notes. "I'd also like Fringe to come along in a rear party, to analyze what we find. I won't need a respirator, but Shojo will."
"Go get kitted then," Ink says. "I'll take the outlyers, Zon, you take the main door. Knock it down and smoke 'em. And I'll keep you to your word about blowing the mountain up!"
"Yes ma'am." Tasha salutes automatically, out of reflex, then turns towards the door and off towards her team. She doesn't think about the meeting or her status with the Captain; She has too much else on her mind to worry about old grudges. Soon she's off, and back in armor.
The landing squads had to launch before the actual assault, since they had to cover a bit of distance in order to arrive in time to take advantage of the barrage. This means flying to make use of as much cover as possible, although the final approach to the fortress would be completely exposed. Vartans, Korvs, Aquilans and Eeee made up the sortie, along with hunters on Rakhtors who brought up the rear. Cover ran out just as the contrails of the rockets passed overhead. It looked like the mountain peak was wearing a belt made of fire when they struck, and those were just the 'softening up' strikes. The main barrage of mixed munitions hit the front door of the fortress in a smoky storm of noise and light. "That's our cue," the sortie leader yelled, and it was a mad dash through the air to the landing platform.
Like everyone else, Tasha rushes ahead to take advantage of the firestorm. More importantly, she rushes to hopefully stay alive. With an unknown amount of defenses, the races forward is a harrowing one for the young woman, leaving no time for thought nor hesitation as she tries to keep to formation and reach the ruined door in time.
The first ones to land immediately setup a defensive circle, brandishing rifles. Even through the smoke it's possible to see the ruined door. It must have been twenty feet high - built to impress. Now all that remained standing were bits stuck to the hinges. It probably had a really scary face engraved on it though. The chamber beyond is a bit like a cathedral, with a balcony level and what might have been an idol, but it's long gone now. More familiar are the many halls peppering the sides of the chamber. There are also plenty of bodies. The initial blast that took out the door also took out the defenders waiting behind it. There are many Vartans, tiger and even lion Khattas and a mix of others. No sign of an old, scarred lynx however.
"Most of the dead are feline ... Interesting," murmurs Tasha, who tries not to see the corpses so much as the information behind them. She knows if she really looked, she might not be able to turn away. The death of Blackwings gave her some measure of strength against the sight and cause of death, as has her other battles, but she's never seen it on this scale before. Focus, she reminds herself; She can't break down now. "Vartan mercenaries, maybe. A tie to Abu Dabi?"
"It's next door, and probably the largest black market outside of Rephidim," the Eeee next to her says. Her ears ring for a moment as her helmet resonates - sonar is being employed to map out the tunnels.
"I wonder ... " says the cadet, who looks up and resumes scanning the cathedral. She wonders what the place was used for before Warloq got his hands on it, and it reminds her of the shrine-fortress of the Stormbreaker Clan. If it's anything like that one, then she has some idea what exists far below.
There's a figure standing atop the statue base at the back of the chamber. Even through the smoke, Tasha can see that it's Blackwings. The Ferrets and Hunters seem to ignore her though as they begin their cautious infiltration of the side passages.
Tasha fixes her gaze on the figure, frowning deeply. She blinks, but it's still there. "Shojo," she whispers aside, low but not so low she can hide it from Eeee. "Do you see a woman standing atop where the statue would be?"
"No ma'am," Shojo reports. "Should I?"
"Probably not." Tasha eyes the figure, but then shakes her head. "It's nothing. I'm just seeing things."
Blackwings cocks her hip and puts a taloned hand on it, looking impatient.
Tasha resists the urge to roll her eyes. Even dead and now what she suspects is a hallucination, the woman still can play her emotions like a harp. She has a sudden realization that she and Nora are surprisingly similiar, but quashes it as she tries to concentrate. At length, though, she says, "Maybe we should examine where that statue was. It's missing, maybe they moved it for a reason."
Nobody else is searching around the statue base, as all attention is given to the halls and balcony. As Tasha and Shojo approach, Blackwings hops down to the ground, and walks behind the base, vanishing.
"Lets start behind the statue. If they hid something, it wouldn't be facing the way invaders would come." It's all a cover of course, no matter how logical. The last thing Tasha thinks she needs is for people to think she's gone insane.
Stepping around, Tasha begins searching the read of the platform. "Shojo, try the nearby areas around the rear. Maybe look for a seam."
The back of the platform looks.. empty. The base is a single solid piece of stone, but Shojo taps on it with a small rock hammer.
"Anything?" Tasha asks as she kneels down to search around the base, then shifts to push on it with her shoulder.
"Nothing," Shojo reports. The lower part of the base is still obscured by smoke, which is disturbed by their movement.. and there's something off about it.
Tasha edges back, then eyes the base for a moment before saying, "Shojo, don't move. Watch the smoke. I think something else is disturbing it." Likewise the cadet freezes, watching.
It's subtle. But there's a flow to the heavy ground-hugging smoke. Towards the back wall, behind the statue base.
"The wall." Tasha turns, then walks to the wall and begins searching it over. "Help me look. There has to be a way to open this, but be careful. It may be trapped."
"It's going through the wall there," Shojo notes. And there's a spot where the smoke just seems to vanish into the stone, instead of bunching up against it.
The young woman pauses in her search, looking again and nodding. "You're right. It's not a gap, it's a ... " And then she simply tries to step through the wall, weapon ready.
She passes right through the illusion, into a dark tunnel. But it's also a bit familiar. Shojo follows, and brings up a green glow-light. The walls have a tentacle-and-eyeball motif to them.
"I recognize this, it's K'hu'an architecture," tasha notes. "Shojo, go tell the lieutenant. He'll want to see this. I'll stay here to watch the passage and see if I can find anything. Hook your lantern on my belt, please."
After the lantern is transferred, Shojo steps back out into the cathedral to find their group leader, leaving Tasha alone. This time, there doesn't seem to be any just-out-hearing whispering or other signs of life. And the engravings on the walls seem quite static.
Are you gone? Tasha wonders where the inhabitants have gone; If they can even die. The Origin and his children were unusual to say the lest, and by now Tasha understands why: Theire creator is from outside this universe, and the created may well contain part or whole of that essence. She knows they have a few weaknesses, but nothing that they couldn't easily avoid. And so, she wonders what could possibly have driven them away ... She steps forward, inching on, trying to find out more.
The tunnel goes on, and on. There are side passages, but taking them would risk getting lost. Then she hears the whispers - although they are fainter than usual, nearly lost in the sound of her own breath.
Tasha pauses, looking around but not expecting to see anything. The K'hu'an are masters of the darkness -- they are the darkness as Tsha recalls. Beings from Dark Space, knowing dark time. Or at least their maker is. After a moment, she says, "I am the Seeker. Do you know me?" in the hopes someone will answer, and that they'll be friendly. If not, she hopes her armor can withstand an onslaught.
There's a sparkle ahead. Something on the ground?
Vartans love sparkles, and so tasha takes notice. But, she also takes notice that if you want to lure a Vartan, you use sparklies. She's fallen for it so many times in the past she even had special glasses made to deal with it. And so, knowing she must investigate but suspecting a trap, she edges forward and keeps her weapon ready, trying to retrive the object at maximum range with the edge of her weapon.
It's a shiny from a Vartan's tail. A familiar one, in fact. Because it's one she gave to Blackwings as a gift.
Tasha gazes at the obejct, eyes widening. It's just a cheap little gift, a precious gem she bought with the whole of her savings, that Blackwings laughed at and then ... And then she never saw it again. She always assumed the older bird had thrown it away, as somethign beneath her. To find it here, where Blackwings may have lived, causes her throat to choke up. She tucks it away and then steps forward. Blackwings is leading her somewhere, and quickly. She decides she'd best press on, though not without anxiety.
Moving forward, the cadet digs out her notepad and begins tearing off scraps from unused pages, leaving them as a trail on the ground as she heads in deeper.
There's light ahead, after she's gone deeper and deeper into the mountain. She emerges into the central chamber, where many tunnels meet. Instead of having a central pit, though, it has.. well, it looks a bit like a pilots couch, only made of Sifran crystal. It's lighting up the room with liquid, multi-colored light. A figure stands next to it, cloaked like a K'hu'an. "The Bird of Hermes," the figure rasps in a decidedly feline voice. The hood is pulled back, revealing the figure Tasha saw in her vision. "Welcome to the Oracle. Only one of us will be leaving here, I think. And I have a bone to pick with you.."
Tasha lowers her weapon, expression hardening like the stone of the walls. "Likewise," she growls, teeth barred. There's no time for reinforcements; Nothing to do but stand and face her enemy. An enemy she found only recently, and yet a horror upon the world and the destroyer of so many lives and dreams.
Captain Ink called him 'the Devil,' and while the hybrid knows she's no angel, she'll have to do.