Chapter 47: Ne'ak-ash
"… Due to inertial dampening, you cannot feel much of the initial effects of gravity, but as the pull intensifies, it will become more apparent. Use the navigation projection…"
Syn'kra-va'al watched patiently, standing behind the command module, holding onto its high back for support as Cassandra piloted the Elder Class vessel toward the small beta-planet, Ne'ak-ash, nestled safely and well out of the way in the Yaute Prime dominion.
It was a mutual consensus between the two, that Cassandra's out-pouring of pent up emotion a few days previously had done her a world of good. She was now starting to handle herself with a depth of focus and unquestionable faith that was to be expected from her 'elder'. It had become remarkably clear to her during the hours after her outburst and certainly exponentially more so afterwards, that, as an operative in 'training' it didn't pay to assume anything, nor would she any longer take advantage of her body without the knowledge of how to use it. Though their feelings for one another were still strong, relentlessly so, to the point of case hardening the already unbreakable bond forged between them, it was agreed that work was required to prevent emotion getting in the way of what needed to be done.
At least for the time being…
As the Yautja new-comer had lain breathless and dazed upon their sleeping pad, still clad in her advanced combat armor, Syn took a knee on the floor beside her and reached out to uncouple her helmet. Though his voice was firm, his scent was still warm with his respect and deep love for his companion. She listened without question as he conveyed his growing concerns and requirements of not only herself, but he as well. They had been able to enjoy themselves for a few short weeks as guests of Da'an-sha; let go any hidden taboos that may have previously existed, throw inhibitions to the wind…
"Now comes the time to be the Yautja we are expected to be…" She wouldn't forget his words, even in her drowsy state, "An unnatural amount of faith has been placed in us, it would be unwise to dishonor it…" she knew exactly what he meant by the barely veiled mention of their ascended benefactor.
In the days following, an air of focus seemed to permeate their vessel, nothing was left to question, if there was a standard to which a task needed to be completed, that standard was surpassed. Even in such a short period, N'ka-ru'te began to show a true confidence and understanding that allowed her to confront her male in the Kehrite with a determination to actually cause him physical harm.
To beat him.
It was still early times, but Syn'kra-va'al could not possibly feel any more pride in her that he did at this point in time. She had embraced her destiny and begun to write herself into Yautja History.
A shrill warning sounded through the flight deck and a new projection flickered into view, settling on the primary emitter in the center of the flight console. The senior of the two reached over his mate's shoulder and dismissed the notification.
"Stay your course, it is an automated notification from the small network of satellites in orbit around Ne'ak-ash…"
"... I could have read that myself…" She clicked quietly in reply
Their advanced vessel gave a slight lurch as the intense gravity of Ne'ak-ash began to take hold, Syn clicked in amusement, detecting the nervousness of his 'trainee'.
"Calm, N'ka-ru'te, remember, the gravity here is stronger than most planets, inertial dampening only compensates approximately seventy five percent upon re-entry."
"I am fine." She replied, her body belying her confident tone.
The manual controls consisted of what one could simplify as two omni-directional control grips, one emerging on either side of the command module's armrests. Though outwardly simple in appearance, there were several smaller sensor pads on the inside of the control grips. These were used to fine tune certain external surfaces of the shuttle's aerodynamic zones in atmospheric conditions, and alter thrust angle in non atmospheric flight. Syn'kra-va'al had informed Cassandra of the great difference in response between thrust flight and atmospheric flight, though this was something she hadn't experienced firsthand, yet. Apparently these specific vessels could be quite the offensive craft when piloted correctly, and with a weapons system to match, there was little more a Yautja could ask for in a shuttle.
The feedback through the manual controls became quite intense as they passed through the upper atmosphere, and though she was nervous, Cassandra did as she had been instructed, not gripping them too tightly. Her mind boggled at the speed they must have been traveling, theoretically, a reentry such as this would have pulled most interstellar craft to pieces; she really had to be impressed at the engineering that would have gone into this vessel.
The pair felt the vessel shift in axial position as they passed into the mesosphere of the small planet, another projection flashed up from the main console, informing them that there was sufficient air pressure to efficiently engage atmospheric flight mode. Like she had been doing it for years, Cassandra quickly discarded the projection to the secondary emitter on the right hand side of the main flight console. Syn leaned a little closer, still holding the back of the flight chair for support, pointing at the main flight grouping of sensor pads upon the console surface.
"Initiate atmospheric flight, the forward viewing shields will retract automatically. Beware the control response…" Syn had to raise his voice slightly over the loud rumble of friction against the outer layers of the advanced Yautja shuttle.
The Blade male had run her through several different scenarios in preparation for the re-entry and landing on Ne'ak-ash, though the best way for her to learn was to dive in head first, he didn't doubt her one bit.
There was a distinct change in the sound of the engines as sections of the outer hull began to retract away from the main propulsion outlets, atmospheric flight not requiring such precise thrust. There was another lurch as the aerodynamic features of the hull began to move into place, greatly altering the flight stability of the shuttle craft. Both its occupants remained silent as the process took place, moments after the vessel stabilized, the outer blast shield retracted revealing a brilliant, deep blue green surrounding.
"There will be time to admire the view from the ground." Syn nodded to the controls, Cassandra was now holding very gingerly. "This is atmospheric flight. Take hold, a great difference you will feel."
"I do… The controls are much more sensitive to movement."
"Precisely, now accelerate."
"… Are we not going fast enough…?"
"Pitch the front low, and accelerate, trust in the shuttle, feel what this level of technology is capable of…" He added, "It is not a bad thing that some frivolity may be a byproduct of this part of your training." Syn quickly slid into the vacant secondary command module.
Cassandra gently rolled the nose of the shuttle forward, getting a feel for the heavy gravity of Ne'ak-ash feeding back through the controls. She tried to fight her mandibles pulling into a smile as she accelerated into a steep dive.
"You can now test the flight capabilities at maximum atmospheric velocity. Such a craft as this may seem large in your mind, but in the right hands, can be quite nimble and effectively offensive in the right hands."
"What should I do…?"
"Use your imagination, keep in mind where we are in relation to the O'ka'an training outpost…" Syn pointed to the detailed interactive holographic map generated on the left side of the flight console. "We do not want to stray too far off course, I would prefer to keep our being here undisclosed for the present."
A very distinct rumble could be heard echoing through the mountainous high country of Ne'ak-ash's 'O'ka'an Sector'. The wildlife that populated the more elevated jungles and even further into tussock high country all stopped to listen as one to the intrusion upon their pristine wilderness. The sound, though not common over the last few years, was one remembered nonetheless, like a word of caution. Even after the noise seemed to fade, it was still resonating through the trees, bouncing off towering rock faces before being completely absorbed into the vast, wild beyond. Every living thing knew what it meant, the wilderness braced itself…
You all just took one step down in the food chain.
The center of O'ka'an territory was located in the southern region of the smallest of two landmasses, close to the southernmost pole of the small planet. It was fairly isolated from the other Factions, the closest being the Rl'sar-tyh territory in the north. The other two larger, more developed Factions of Yau'te Prime and Kyr'aak had both established, along with several other smaller specialist Splinter Groups on the larger continent. Because of the greatly differing talents between the groups of the Dark Blade Clans they were all managed dissimilarly to one another. Though it didn't occur on Ne'ak-ash, even basic training was vastly different from one faction to the next, not all were destined to become stealth operatives, and not all were destined to become heavy, impact hardened Skar'ku warriors.
Due to this variety, there were sometimes trades of younger warriors between the divisions of the Blade clan. During post enlistment training, it would sometimes become obvious that the recruit would be suited to develop under a different structure. It was nothing to be taken as an affront, quite the opposite, it was in the best interests of all parties to make certain that not only a certain faction's warriors were well trained, but that the entire clan was always in peak form.
In no way were the differing sections of the clan in direct 'competition' with one another, but that didn't mean they wanted to train on each other's doorstep, hence the widespread layout of their training facilities. That being said, a little friendly one-upmanship here and there was a rather common occurrence when certain clans did happen to meet out on training drills. Most of the time it was light hearted banter with the occasional duel, but it had been known to escalate in some instances.
The O'ka'an marked Elder category vessel thundered out of the sky, disappearing down the vast, mountainous valleys, streaking well below the surface of the ridges as speeds near impossible to follow with the naked eye. Tracking down-land through several more of the steeper, more prominent tree lined gorges, following the main watercourse created by many smaller streams from the mountain country; the vessel swiftly began to slow. Still skimming the treetops, the interstellar craft rumbled out onto a great rolling plane, the center of a massive ravine where many other valleys met, well hidden by the steep ridges on either side.
The large river mouth at the head of the plane seemed to open to near twice the size that it had been up country. The swift, powerful current that had been present in the upper valleys now rolled out into a sluggish, lazy flow. Centuries of erosion and persistent water runoff had washed all varieties of soil and stone to the lower country, the long tumbling journey through streams and creek beds breaking large rock into pebble. Such shingle lined the wide banks of the river that split the plain in two; shallow in many places, from above it was very apparent to see where much of the wildlife had been crossing the slow moving waterway.
Slowing further, the intrusive vessel pitched low to the ground, its two occupants greeted with the breathtaking backdrop for what would become a deeply memorable experience for them both. This place had been a home away from home to many, and each experience had been explicitly unique, though one thing was certain, Ne'ak-ash forged a special place in the hearts of all that passed through, such powerful bonds created between warrior and wilderness alike…
"This place is…" the female occupant of the shuttle could find no words to explain what her eyes were taking in.
In the time since breaking what little cloud cover had been present; Cassandra had been silent, trying to remain composed, though her excitement continued to mount to the point where she thought she might very well explode. Not only was she actually piloting a Yautja vessel, but it would appear she was doing a pretty tidy job of it. On more than one occasion she had heard Syn'kra-va'al's audible responses in the flight module next to hers, the glee also quite strong on his scent.
It had been hard not to push the vessel, her mind boggled when taking into consideration its mass and size, yet it seemed to handle flawlessly. In atmospheric flight, the manual controls felt very sensitive underhand, though were still able to feed back a very realistic simulated resistance, almost encouraging the pilot to push to the extreme.
"…I cannot believe this…" Cassandra shook her head in bewilderment, looking across the mass expanse of unhindered wilderness, "I have seen pictures of the jungles of ancient Earth, but…" She took a long breath and sighed deeply, "… Nothing compares to this…"
"Concentrate on your task…" Syn clicked patiently; there was nothing discourteous about his tone. "I understand how distracting Ne'ak-ash can be. We are close now to the landing coordinates."
Cassandra nodded once, and returned her attention to the navigation projection, shimmering slightly on the display emitter to the left of the main console. She remembered everything, word for word, of what Syn'kra-va'al had told her about the landing procedure, and proceeded to prepare the interstellar vessel for its berth. They were not far at all from the plotted area where the shuttle would touch down, it was revealed quite clearly on the navigation display, an area at the southern end of the vast plain she admired so.
As they neared the landing zone, a small herd of herbivorous creatures that had been grazing nearby made a bolt for it, running in single file through the long grass. From a heightened position it was clear to see the many tracks that had been routinely used by the local wildlife; the long worn paths, cut to the dirt, stood in contrast to the surrounding pasture. The herd followed their leader over several different animal tracks before seeking cover, disappearing into the lush jungle beyond.
The shuttle's landing procedure was largely automated, but the whole experience was still a little intimidating for the 'trainee', N'ka-ru'te. It helped somewhat to see her mate sitting calmly in the secondary command module, his faith in her blatantly obvious enough for even the most simple minded to spot. The large vessel made berth flawlessly, its numerous landing skids autonomously adjusting to compensate for even the slightest variance in ground surface, keeping the shuttle perfectly level.
Syn'kra-va'al looked over at his companion with half a smirk on his face, gesturing with a lazy wave to the great land that waited beyond the wide, forward viewing panel.
"Welcome to Ne'ak-ash…"
Cassandra responded with a warm smile, though her vision was fixated elsewhere, her attention was reined in once more by a short power down diagnostic from the shuttles operating system. Her eyes flicked over it quickly before dismissing the data panel from the main projection display. Syn'kra-va'al watched her with a calm appreciation as he closed the atmospheric read-out that waited as the secondary display. Though he disguised it expertly, he too was feeling a little nervous, but for different reasons. It had been a long while since he had come to Ne'ak-ash, he wasn't sure how the heavy gravity would affect him. They were fine inside the shuttle; it was a standard feature for the vessel to continue generating normal gravitational conditions for a day or so before slowly changing to suit the environment, giving the occupant's time to become accustomed.
The Blade operative stood from the secondary flight module and stretched before placing a tentative hand on his mate's shoulder.
"Come, we have a whole new world to explore. A long time it has been between visits."
"I cannot wait." Cassandra smiled, her eyes seemingly transfixed on the wilderness beyond as she rose out of the primary command module.
"I certainly hope Ju'lyn-zal has been here at least a few times…"
"Something I should be concerned with…?" N'ka-ru'te skewed her head slightly in question
"Not particularly, the heavy gravity here can be quite a shock if used to it, you are not." Syn replied with a smirk.
The male operative paced lazily down the short ramp from the flight deck to the main entry way of the high class vessel. Cassandra watched his movements as he raised his hand to the small control panel next to the side entry hatch; she already knew the combination of sensor pads he would use to open the access. There was a brief moment of excited tension as the hatch unsealed and retracted into the fuselage, both occupants were greeted by an indescribable cool breeze that flooded through the opening, swirling around them and disappearing into the bowels of the shuttle.
Like many events of the past few weeks of her new life, this moment in time was indeed something unique, Ne'ak-ash providing her a brief, though quite literal taste of what lay beyond. The breeze was gentle, but carried with it so many scents that bound together to create a deeply powerful savor…
Never before had Cassandra experienced anything like it, and never would she forget…
"… And then he yells out, 'Relax I got it...!' and winds up with that dirty big fuckin' pipe wrench he always carried around… Christ what a mess, he hits this head humper like a home run… Fuckin' acid blood everywhere…!" Everyone in the engineering workshop erupted in laughter as they regaled the more humorous exploits of their downed comrades. "Then he's angry cause' his wrench is melting in his hands as he's tryin' to clobber the heck out of it... So he drops the thing and he's trying to stomp on this hugger as it's still trying to crawl toward him…"
Greg Freeman roared with laughter, Aaron Sinclare had been well known to have had a relatively short temper when things were bugging him.
"Ahh… Salt of the earth that man, shit I'm going to miss him…" Nodded Freeman, meeting the gaze of many that had gathered to send their fellow engineers off. "I remember the first time I met him…" Their head of department took another mouthful of beer, "He's rolled up to the bays on his first day, a more fresh off-worlder, you've never seen. No fucking tools, just that stupid damn pipe wrench… Like one of those old school clowns you used to see, carrying an oversized inflatable hammer…" His voice trailed off for a moment before he took another draught from his bottle and got to his feet, raising his drink. "Sinclare."
"Sinclare!" The contingent of engineers parrotted, all upstanding.
"Don't forget that asshole Hobson…" someone muttered.
The group erupted in laughter again, all taking turns to regale one another about the exploits of the headstrong Marty Hobson, who's desire to play things by the book meant jobs took him nearly twice as long.
The evening was exactly what they all needed, a chance to just blow off steam, no grunts, no lab coats, just the boys.
'Boots on the ground, getting the job done.' As Freeman often like to quote
It was probably in the back of everyone's mind, the foreboding influence only the Vale facility had a tendency to, that feeling that something was about to happen. It had been too long without the sound of an alarm screaming out some sort of warning…
Sure enough, the main display board in the Engineering Bay flared into life, a red 'priority' request flashing up on the large display.
CODE 67A - SUB LEVEL 7 - COOLANT LEAK FROM SPATIAL CONDUIT INTO PUBLIC WALKWAY, SECTOR 2.
The entire engineering contingent fell silent, each turning to look at their Department Head. Freeman's eyes narrowed and he nodded to the display.
"Notice the authorization… L Murvane. That fucking arrogant bitch." He spat, his diligent professionalism now giving way to frustration and anger, "She knew what tonight was. All the department heads did…"
One of the younger engineers was quick to get onto his company issued PDA and bring up the Spatial Conduit plumbing schematics for Sublevel 7, Sector 2.
"Boss… check this out…" he held out his PDA, "There are no SC's in Sector 2, they only run out from the Core into sector 3 and 4…"
"Thanks Mick…" Freeman nodded and looked closely at the PDA for a moment, all his staff waiting in quiet anticipation. "Bitch is just playing games… Forget it."
Freeman handed the PDA back to Mick Taylor, and stepped purposefully over to the large Maintenance Display Board and shut it off manually.
A fresh beer was pushed into his hand as he turned back to his colleagues, of which he accepted without hesitation.
"Seriously though, I don't care where the repair order is coming from, personnel or the Core, no one goes into the sub-levels without a Marine escort from now on, everyone clear on that?"
They all nodded and voiced their acceptance of his directive.