I do not own GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE or Stellaris. This is a work of fiction, any and all similarities to real world equivalents are purely coincidental and should not be taken at face value.
[Hull integrity failing, currently 47.4%. Assessment: below acceptable level]
[Shield generators: offline. Thrusters at 1.7% power. Reactor at unsafe levels, activating auxiliary generators. Multiple units offline.]
[Conclusion: Crash imminent. Assessing circumstances...]
[Assessment: probability of survival... 67%]
[Assessment: radio signals detected. Civilization present in planet.]
[Assessment: probability of contact with natives... 99.9%]
[Analyzing assessments... consensus reached. New sub-directive.]
[Protect leader unit Z09.]
[ Message..start() "Unit Z09 reports critical ship damage. Pre-FTL civilization contamination imminent. Unknown hostile attack. Request backup." Message..end()]
[ Message..send()... OK.]
[Prepare for atmospheric entry...]
...
...
...
WARDENS OF VICTORY.
Chapter 1: "Fallen Star"
It was 6:30 PM. Commander Nathan Lawrence was patiently waiting for his elevator to take him to his superior's office.
He had done the trip to Andersen's office dozens of times, but that anxiety of meeting with your superiors never really went away, there was always one small part in him that told him to be ready for anything. He had his academy instructors to thank for that, it was about the only real thing that he could apply in his job now as a commander, he thought that would change once he had finished high school and enlisted but it seems that wasn't the case.
He should have expected that by now though, given what he now knew of the Ark and how it functioned. And the real source of his anxiety.
Marian.
He abandoned her. Again.
While she now turned into "Modernia" after becoming a heretic, she had now turned sides and become a Nikke again... at the cost of forgetting everything.
But he was fine with that. He would do anything to protect her and prevent anything like what happened that one day from happening ever again and if that meant teaching her how to behave like a person once more, well, that was an insignificant price to pay in his mind.
After parting ways and leaving her in the hands of Pioneer, he hoped that things were going well for her but truthfully, he simply had no idea. And that was eating away at him.
"We were reunited after I thought I'd never see her again... and now I have to leave her" Nathan said to his reflection on the elevator doors, clenching his fists.
He knew why, they couldn't keep her here, they would never be safe. She would never be safe. And he couldn't allow that.
After a moment, Nathan relaxed once more but not before a wave of tiredness hit him. He sighed.
"They don't teach this stuff in the academy..." Nathan looked to the side, as if staring at some indeterminable point in the elevator's pristine metallic surface. "Then again, if everyone knew the truth of being a commander, would they have so many volunteers?" He didn't want to hear the answer to that question.
Despite everything though, it wasn't all terrible. He got to meet Rapi, Anis and Neon and together they made up the new "Counters" squad and he was damn proud of them. They worked together excellently in battle, like a well-oiled machine. They had their quirks outside of combat but who didn't? If anything, that reinforced his belief further in equality between Nikkes and Humans. People called them simple machines, meant to serve their Human masters, their betters. Tools to be used.
He believed otherwise. They felt, thought, aspired and more. In what world are those not Human traits?
So yes, sometimes Anis's soda addiction (seriously, how does she not have diabetes?) and scattered socks or Neon's obsession with guns and firepower made his life a little difficult at times but he would never hold it against them. When things got serious, they would put aside everything for the sake of protecting him.
How could he get mad at them when they put their lives on the line for him?
Their battles together against Black Smith, Alteisen, Chatterbox and now Modernia were proof of that and that's also why they now boasted the title of "Special Commando" squad. They basically had full autonomy to do whatever they thought necessary.
Well, not exactly. Nathan still answered to Andersen (otherwise he wouldn't be in this elevator to begin with) but he was a reasonable man and he had done good for him and his squad. Nathan respected and trusted him, even if he still had a cautious nature about his superior. One could never be too sure, and given his new knowledge in the politics of the Ark? He wouldn't let his guard down.
Not again.
The elevator 'dinged' and the doors opened, knocking Nathan out of his thoughts. He quickly stepped out and instinctively turned to head to Andersen's office. He had memorized the route by now.
After arriving, he knocked politely on the door and promptly waited for a response.
"Come in." Nathan followed the order and opened the door, seeing Andersen seated on his computer, seemingly typing away at something but as to what he couldn't tell.
He quickly but firmly saluted Andersen. Special Commando or not, he was still his superior so chain of command had to be respected.
Andersen turned and stood up before returning the salute "At ease."
Nathan dropped the salute and so did Andersen "You may sit." gesturing to the empty seat in front of his desk before returning to his own seat. Nathan did as he was told.
Andersen rested his elbows on the table and interlaced his fingers. "First of all, I wish to congratulate you on your efforts. These last few weeks must have been extremely hectic for you and yet, between taking care of Modernia and the raids from Heavenly Ascension, you performed admirably. " Andersen commended Nathan.
He gestured with one hand. "Not to mention Perilous Siege, Not everyone can escape their sight and live to tell the tale and yet you have once again done the impossible. Well done."
Nathan nodded. "Thank you, sir. Is it safe to assume that no more attacks will be coming?"
Now it was Andersen's turn to nod. "I have made sure that you won't be bothered again. No outside elements will be interfering with your operations from now on."
Nathan resisted the urge to sag his shoulders in relief. He still had to remain professional after all. "If I may ask sir, how did you accomplish that?"
"Like you, I also have my fair share of connections. Not to mention, a fair share of... persuasion methods" Andersen smiled darkly. Nathan could feel a sweat drop running down the side of his face. "There was also a matter of luck."
"Luck?" Nathan questioned.
"We've had a development while you were away. I was able to convince the other deputies that this would bring a much larger benefit to the Ark and their careers if we brought it into our possession. It took some convincing, not everyone can resist Modernia's potential but you should be fine for the foreseeable future." Andersen answered.
"What development, sir?" Nathan questioned once more. What could be more important than Heretic technology?
Andersen turned to his computer and continued typing like he was before. "Earlier today, at 3:26 PM, we detected an atmospheric entry."
Nathan's surprise was evident on his face, something Andersen picked up on as he turned to face him. "Judging from the look on your face, you understand the implications of this, don't you?"
"Aside from the space station, we've never had an atmospheric entry. Not ever since the end of the invasion and humanity took shelter in the Ark." Nathan responded after breaking his stupor.
Andersen nodded and went back to his computer. "Such an unprecedented event was enough to convince my peers that the loss of Modernia would be outweighed by the benefits of such a discovery. Not to mention easier."
"How's that sir?" Nathan asked, his curiosity taking over the better of him.
"Take a look for yourself" Andersen then turned the monitor to let Nathan see.
What he saw was nothing like he expected. It definitely was not Rapture in design although there were some similarities. Much like Raptures, the design of the... vessel he was looking at maximized efficiency and was heavily plated. Unlike Raptures, however, it lacked the somewhat organic look and feel that Raptures seemed to mimic, this was utilitarianism above all. No resources wasted in unnecessary space, sharp angles, bulky yet sleek.
Regardless of its design, one thing was clear: this was not made by Raptures.
"It crashed not long after making its entry known, our seismologists detected a spike in their detectors, small enough but definitely noticeable. It's safe to assume that this craft was the cause for it." Andersen explained.
And it was also burning on the ground. If it can survive a crash from orbit, it must be at least as though as Rapture materials, if not stronger. That was certainly noteworthy.
Nathan noticed the sensor arrays at the top and the, slightly burnt, thrusters at the back. "It looks like... a spaceship"
Andersen turned the computer back and went back to typing. "That is the working theory for the moment but the reality is that we simply don't know for sure. It could also be a new type of Rapture, one that we could have never seen before and have a prime opportunity to examine closely, especially if it came from space."
Andersen shrugged briefly. "We lack information and that's why I have a new mission for you."
"Of course." Nathan thought to himself "No rest for the wicked, I suppose."
Nathan nodded and Andersen took that as his cue to continue. "I want you and your squad to survey the area. Intel suggests a low presence of Raptures but nonetheless, be prepared for anything. Don't engage on combat if you can avoid it. Your only objective is to inspect the crash site, we're stumbling in the dark so any information you can bring us will be valuable."
"Understood" Nathan continued. "Any secondary objectives?"
"Bring back anything that you consider valuable. If this is indeed a ship, bring back any flight records, a blackbox if possible, alloy samples, anything that we can take apart and analyze will be of great help." Andersen stopped typing suddenly and sternly looked at Nathan. "But don't risk your life for it. I don't want you to be wounded when we're dealing with an unknown so early. If you think you or your squad is in danger, drop everything and return to the Ark immediately. Understood?"
"Yes, sir" Nathan nodded, more seriously this time. "When are we to carry this operation?"
"As soon as you can would be preferable. The crash site still has a low concentration of Raptures and Alva particles in the area and, as far as we can tell, the craft is not in any risk of exploding or in critical condition." Andersen craned his neck as he talked. "However, we do not know for how long that will remain to be the case. Fires are spreading at an alarming rate above the ship and sooner or later Raptures will show up and then you can kiss this operation goodbye, so time is of the essence."
Nathan looked to the computer, as in thought "I think it will be best to carry the operation now. There's no guarantee the site will remain clear tomorrow." Turning back to Andersen, he continued. "With your permission sir, I can begin preparing right now."
"Before that, there's one more thing: Enikk wishes to speak with you." Andersen added. "Rest assured, you do not have to disclose what you talk with her."
Nathan was, once more, caught off guard. "Right now?"
Andersen nodded. "It would be for the best." He proceeded to relax his posture. "Well, I won't keep you any longer."
"Good luck, you're gonna need it." Andersen said with sincerity. "You are dismissed." He then returned to typing on his computer.
Nathan saluted and left the office, making his way to see Enikk. He dreaded to think what the AI overseer wanted from him.
"So what are we doing again?" Anis broke the silence as they walked to the crash site.
"We were just debriefed 2 hours ago..." Neon replied.
"I know but this silence is killing me. Do we really have to go the entire way like this?" Anis said annoyed.
"Yes. Maintaining a quiet approach to our objective would minimize the risk of combat and unnecessary attention." Rapi answered, professionally.
Anis growled quietly in irritation but otherwise conceded her point. Remaining hidden was paramount to their success.
"You know, you could entertain yourself with your thoughts. I do it all the time!" Neon said to Anis.
"Like what?" Anis replied, willing to entertain her even though she knew she was going to regret it.
"Firepower, obviously!" Neon cheerily stated. "You know how Maxwell has a railgun? What if.. I turned my shotgun into a railgun?! Then I could kill a whole group of Raptures in a single shot!"
"You know what? I think I'd rather go back to the silence." Anis deadpanned, not wanting to engage any further.
Nathan, on the other hand, decided not to engage in the conversation and let Rapi handle it. She trusted her to keep a watch on Anis and Neon. Especially since he had a lot to process.
A deal with the Raptures? With Chatterbox no less? The Ark has no chance against the Raptures?
He should, personally, go find other Heretics?!
He did not know what to expect when talking to Enikk but he was not ready for this information dump. He already had a lot going on with Modernia, the operation he was undergoing and now this.
He didn't know where to even start. Where do you even go when you need to find Heretics? Does anyone even have the answer to that? Maybe if he asked Pioneer but it would be too soon, they're still probably trying to take Marian somewhere safe and Nathan doubted he would be able to reach them.
But he didn't really know who else to ask. How many Pilgrims can one person in their lifetime, realistically find?
He was lucky enough to meet Pioneer, lucky enough they were there to help stop Modernia when his squad was about to be wiped out. And lucky enough they decided to entertain his request. Sure, he didn't think they'd refuse, they'd developed a sense of mutual respect with one another but that doesn't guarantee anything and he didn't want to be the kind of person to abuse that respect.
And now he has to go find Heretics. While Pilgrims might or might not kill you, Heretics definitely will. But there has to be a way to negotiate surely?
"What do I have to offer though?"
He thought back to what Andersen had told him a while ago. About his blood. Their blood.
Would they care about that sort of thing? Then again, if they did they could just take it from him. Realistically, there was nothing he could do to stop a Heretic from doing that. Maybe bluffing his way through and hoping they don't call it.
As if that would work.
Nathan sighed inwardly. "Impossible tasks only, huh?" He laughed quietly. His excellent performance has only rewarded him with more and more work as of late. But he will do it. Anything it takes.
For Marian.
"And how is it my fault?!" Neon's loud exclamation of annoyance brought Nathan's attention to the conversation. They were bringing attention.
"You were walking in front of me and you stopped!" Anis exclaimed equally loudly "With how dark it is, it's no wonder I crashed into you!"
"I was merely thinking on my rail-shotgun idea. It still needs a proper name, it's not my fault I got carried away in my thoughts." Neon stated as if it was obvious to the entire world that she was in the right.
"But it IS!" Anis shouted, throwing her arms into the air. "Why are you even thinking about that in a situation like this, anyway?! We're supposed to be on the lookout!"
Before he could intervene, Rapi, as if reading his thoughts, spoke before he could. "Quiet. We're making too much noise."
"How much further, Rapi?" Nathan asked, trying to change the topic of the conversation.
"We should be almost there. Intel suggests we should be reaching the site in... 10 to 20 minutes"
"That should mean it's visible, right?" Anis, now calmed, asked.
"We can barely see anything in the middle of this darkness." Neon disagreed. "Should I turn on my flashlight?" She gestured to her weapon's flashlight.
"No. Our orders state that we cannot risk our position or entering combat." Rapi said. "Besides, if the crash site is burning, we should be able to see it soon."
"For the time being, let's just keep going. We're almost there." Nathan said, the conversation seemingly coming to an end.
The squad continued their walk in silence, a few animals were around the barren wasteland that surrounded them but strangely they had not encountered a single Rapture. There were a few Mesas and the moon hanged over them, giving little light but it was otherwise clear of hostiles.
It was rarely this quiet on the surface, only after setting up decoys and defenses to distract Raptures would you have a moment of respite but right now?
It was eerie.
They all silently kept an eye out in the distance for the supposed crash site they were looking for. Maybe it would have been better to do this in the morning after all.
Nathan then thought back at the images from their debrief. "Those fires seem to think otherwise..." He shook his head. "We're doing this for Marian, I can't let this opportunity pass us by."
It was a lucky stroke that Andersen could even hold the metaphorical wolves away from him with this operation, there were no guarantees that they wouldn't try to get to him to get to Marian in the future.
No, he had to make sure this operation is a success and the longer they waited, the more those fires reduced his chances of bringing back something useful. Maybe they would burn out eventually but would he take that chance?
No way in hell.
"Over there." Neon said, quietly but loud enough for the rest to hear.
Everyone looked at the direction Neon was pointing at and saw fire and smoke in the distance.
There were also Raptures.
"Huh..." Anis said to no one in particular.
There wasn't any movement, as far as Nathan could see, but it was hard to tell from this distance.
"Raptures spotted, they do not seem to be moving but we should exercise restraint." Everyone readied their weapons. "Should we approach, Commander?" Rapi asked her CO.
"Yes, but let's keep stealth on our side." Nathan said quietly, also with his handgun on the ready.
Just in case.
"Let's assess the situation first before we engage."
Rapi nodded. "Roger, there's some elevated rock formations over there. We can use them as cover and get a better angle on the site"
And there indeed were. There was a small path that lead up to them next to some desert bushes, which provided some convenient concealment for the position. It provided a clear sight into the crash site.
Everyone nodded at Rapi's recommendation and stealthily made their way over.
"Are they... dead?" Anis asked, squinting her eyes over the rocks as if she wasn't quite sure of what she was looking at.
"Looks like it. It seems they were shot by some sort of laser weaponry. I can see scorch marks on their hulls and some unidentified humanoid corpses." Rapi replied, looking through her binoculars. Their new angle combined with the bright fires allowed them to have a clearer vision of the now identified battlefield. "It seems they wiped each other out. I'm not detecting any movement"
"...Are the bodies Human or Nikke?" Nathan somberly asked, already lamenting the fact that blood was spilled over this wreck.
"Definitely not human" Rapi shook her head. "From what I can tell, the bodies are missing parts. Robotic parts. And they do not look like of any mass produced models I'm aware of."
"Wait... so if they're not Human or Nikke then..."
"It might be too early to say but... I think this might be a new faction." Rapi finished, without being able to provide a better explanation.
"Great." Anis started. "A new group of robots that came from space. Because we already had such good experience with the last batch." Anis sardonically stated.
"At least they don't seem to be in good terms with the Raptures either." said Neon, also peeking over the rocks. She turned to Nathan "You think we'll have a better chance, Master?"
"Well, there doesn't seem to be any survivors but let's play it safe. Assume hostile until we can determine their allegiance." Nathan replied, now standing from their cover.
He ordered the squad to secure the perimeter and to return immediately if Raptures are spotted. He would make his way to the wreck, sticking close to Rapi in case hostiles appeared.
Anis, Neon and Rapi nodded and started making their way down, slowly. They couldn't see any Raptures in the area but that didn't mean they weren't there.
Raptures came in all shapes and sizes after all. Some preferred the sky, some the underground and some even stayed in the water, so it would be best to be cautious. "You can never predict where they're gonna come from." Nathan thought tiredly, remembering their encounter with Gravedigger.
As they made their way down, some of the fires around the area had died down a bit, making it easier to traverse. Nathan took a proper look at the ship and, indeed, Nathan could confirm it was just that. What else could it be?
The thrusters on the back were enough of an indication but the whole design just screamed "spaceship". It kind of reminded him of the airships that were used nearing the end of the Rapture invasion, if smaller than them. They were designed to bring heavy firepower at a moment's notice but were quickly outclassed by more maneuverable Raptures.
Say what you will about Raptures, but they were quick to adapt. Fast.
"This one doesn't seem to have any obvious weaponry at least. And it's considerably smaller than the airships. Maybe 100 meters? Can't be much larger than that"
"Still makes for a damn impressive sight though."
"Commander?" Rapi knocked Nathan out of his thoughts.
"Sorry Rapi, can you repeat that?" It was turning into a bad habit of his. He should stop that before something bad happens.
Rapi looked to the side as she usually did. In that manner like she wanted to sigh but knows it would be rude so she settles to looking to the side to avoid making her annoyance clear while also having an outlet?
Like that.
"We've secured the perimeter around the ship, there haven't been any incidents so far. Neon and Anis have gone a little further to make sure any Raptures in the area won't disturb us."
Rapi was now looking at the Commander. "They should be back soon, I ordered them to not go too far."
Nathan nodded in satisfaction at that. Good ol' reliable Rapi. "Good work. Have you found anything around that we can bring back?"
She shook her head. "Unfortunately, most pieces lying around have been turned to molten slag or scrap."
Rapi continued. "However, I found something that may be of interest to you, Commander."
"What's that?" Nathan replied curiously.
Rapi looked back to the ship. "I found a breach on the side of the ship. From my inspection it seems to be safe enough for us to use as an entrance". She adjusted her rifle strap. "However, I recommend waiting for Neon and Anis to return before entering. We don't know what to expect when we're inside."
Nathan nodded as he placed his arms on his hips, now looking at the breach. "Well, I doubt they would lay booby traps on their ship but it's best to be safe than sorry. We're still in the dark about these guys."
Not to mention the fires. While the ones around them had died down, the same could not be said for the ship; they were growing larger. His eyes studied the ship.
"If they design their ships like we did our airships, then their reactors should be well protected." Nathan thought.
Fire suppression systems were of paramount importance on the early designs, after all, a small fire could quickly destroy entire ships if left uncontrolled. History has shown us that.
That said, this ship, while massive, did not seem to be a combat ship by the lack of visible armaments. "A civilian ship possibly?"
That changed things, civilian ships did not have to be armored or focus on protecting their critical components, why would they? They weren't expected to be in combat. And the chances of a civilian reactor igniting would be low enough to not justify a fire suppression system for the cost it would take. "That certainly couldn't have been a popular choice with the people though."
Which meant that the growing inferno had a very real and worrying possibility of setting off a chain of explosions on the ship. They would have to be quick.
He turned to look at Rapi. "Is there anything else?"
"Yes. Please follow me." Rapi turned and started walking closer to one of the plates near the ship. As he followed her, he took a better look at the carnage around. Rapi wasn't kidding, there definitely was a shootout here between the Raptures and these new robots. Were they sentient too or were they controlled by someone else? He should prepare for that eventuality, in case they're still in the ship. These newcomers didn't seem to fare very well against the Rapture's weapons though, were they even combat units? Or forced to take arms?
"Take a look at this, Commander" Rapi gestured to bring Nathan's attention to the bot sitting upright against the ship, a large hole in the middle of its chest still glowing from the intense laser fire from the Raptures.
Nathan crouched on one knee, placing his arm over it to get a better look.
He wasn't sure what to make of these robots. They were very angular yet sleek, their head was triangular, almost like a pyramid. They didn't have eyes, as far as he could tell but they were definitely heavily plated, protecting their joints from the elements or otherwise.
Curiously, they also had wings. Did that mean they could fly?
He shook his head.
"What's your assessment, Rapi?" Nathan turned to look up at Rapi.
It was her turn to look at the metallic corpse. "They seem to use armor plates to protect their more sensitive parts, namely the joints, head, and legs. Their plates seem to be quite resistant, but not rated for combat as you can see." She laid her eyes on the back of the machine. "The presence of wings also suggests they are capable of flight, although I'm not entirely sure how that would work. They do not seem particularly light."
Rapi continued as she analyzed the occasionally sparking body, up and down "I cannot detect any obvious weaponry from the outside, yet I can see signs of laser fire on the bodies of the Raptures. Given the lack of weapons lying around, I assume it to be located somewhere inside their bodies but I cannot determine where. Judging from the shape of their gauntlets, they could be wrist-mounted." She held the body part up, gesturing at some lines running alongside its plate, as if a part could "pop-up" when needed.
"As to whether they are Raptures or not," Rapi looked back at the commander "I do not think they are. I'm not detecting any Rapture cores and their design seems quite different from the usual Rapture." She stared at the extremities of the motionless droid. "Where Raptures prefer to use 4 legs or more giving them a more insect-like aspect, these robots appear to be more humanoid in nature, utilizing bipedal locomotion."
Nathan nodded slowly, processing all that was being said as he stood up. "Do you think we could communicate with them?"
She shook her head in response "That, I cannot say." She faced her commander with an apologetic look. "Sorry, Commander."
"It's alright, you did a great job already. Thank you." Nathan responded sincerely, this was a good analysis. Much better than his.
Rapi's cheeks grew a tone redder at that. That was a rare sight.
"The heat from the fires must be getting to her, we've been here a while." Nathan thought worryingly. "We should wrap up here soon after we've checked inside."
"Master!" A voice called out, causing their heads to turn at the sudden commotion. It was Neon, as they saw her and Anis approach side by side.
"We're finished here! No Raptures in the area." She said happily, as Nathan and Rapi turned to greet the approaching duo.
"Any complications?"
"Nope, it's dead silent out there. Normally I'd be happy for that but I can't help but feel uneasy." Anis shifted uncomfortably. "Can we leave?"
Nathan shook his head. "Rapi found an entrance into the ship, we should take this opportunity and explore inside while we can and bring back something." Nathan put his hands forward, in a placating gesture before Anis could reply. "I promise it won't be long, we'll simply take a look around, grab what looks useful, and get out."
Anis sighed. "Fine, I can deal with that. It's just that..." She looked to the side "I'm getting bad vibes from this place, y'know? Like something is gonna happen at any moment now."
"I think we're just exhausted. We did go through a lot lately, between Marian and everything else in between. Not to mention it's getting quite late." Neon tried to reason. "Look on the bright side, we're about to go inside an alien spaceship! Isn't that cool?"
"The only place I want to go is my bed" Anis said, doing that... face she does, when she's judging someone.
"Come on, it'll be fun! Don't you wanna see alien guns?" Neon smiled, quite content with the idea of exploring a potentially dangerous ship like she's going shopping.
"Aaand there we go. Now I know why you're so chipper about this."
"Alright, that's enough. The sooner we take care of this, the sooner we can go home" Nathan intervened. "Let's head inside."
"Roger. Moving out." Rapi said as she took the lead.
Flashlights shone around inside the vessel as exposed wires seemed to come from the ceiling and wall panels. The ship wasn't quite dark but the flickering lights made it uncomfortable to navigate without a flashlight. It would be unlikely they would find Raptures inside. The breach wasn't large enough to allow something as big as a Rapture to enter so Nathan was reasonably sure the only thing they would meet is more of these robots, but as they made their way through the creaking ship, it became increasingly clear they were alone. They had been travelling through the cold, metallic empty hallways for a while now, most of the doors had been closed and the few that were open had nothing of interest. Just empty rooms with more dead machines lying on the floor in different states, they looked like storage for their units, judging with the way the rooms were designed with the walls accommodating for the shape of the machines.
Basically they had almost nothing. Sure, Rapi's analysis will be useful for when he writes his report but it's hardly enough to call their operation a success. They didn't even have a name, for goodness' sake!
Maybe the Central Government should take notes on InfoSec from these guys.
The ship made another uneasy growl. "Jeez, talk about creepy" Anis started. "I've seen this symbol a few times already, is that like their logo or something?" She pointed her weapon-mounted flashlight at the wall. Everyone turned to look where she was pointing at.
It looked like 3 chevrons pointing down with a line cutting them down the middle, as if they were missing their bottommost part. On the left of the chevron there was a navy blue square block of paint that enveloped the left side of the division, while the right had a dull grey.
"It's possible." Rapi agreed. "I've seen similar markings on the outside hull. It could maybe even be their flag if we're talking about space faring species."
"Space faring?" Anis questioned skeptically. "I mean I was joking earlier with the 'space killer robots' thing." She said with air quotes. "And I know they don't look anything like Raptures, but is that really the best explanation we have for them?"
"Andersen told me that this ship came from orbit." Nathan joined in, his eyes transfixed on the emblem. "I highly doubt it's Human in origin, how would you even keep this secret?" He shook his head. "And if it's not Rapture either, then that doesn't leave many options on the table."
"I guess..." Anis said, not completely convinced. "Let's just hurry, this place is getting on my nerves."
The group continued through the empty dull-grey hallways, the fluorescent lights on the corners of the hallway flickering every now and then, becoming more frequent as the ship became more unstable. The hallways turned and twisted into more corridors, each one having a number of doors but none of them were open. They seemed to be tightly shut and sealed in.
"Most of the doors seemed to have locked down unfortunately." Neon lamented. "If need be, I can use my secret techniques to bring out some real firepower and make an opening!"
"Secret techniques." Anis deadpanned, too tired to even argue.
"Yep!"
"Such as..?"
"Well, they wouldn't be secret then now would they?" Neon smiled.
Before Anis could explode, Rapi spoke "There's an open door at the end of the hallway." She instinctively hunched and readied her weapon.
"Any movement? Open doors in the way?" Nathan followed her lead and got his handgun ready.
"None that I can see. Orders?"
Nathan thought for a second before relaying his commands. "Approach cautiously, it's unlikely we'll find anyone alive by now but the ship's still a mess. I'm not sure how long it can hold judging from all the damage we've seen." He recalled to when they entered the breach and a coolant pipe suddenly burst open on the right side corridor, blocking the way. It had scared the crap out of them and spoke of the ship's state. They didn't have much time left.
"Understood. Carrying out orders." Rapi moved forward with Anis and Neon close behind and the Commander not far either.
As they moved through the hallway, the exposed wires continued to spark and the creaking of the ship continued. There were some distant explosions that were not encouraging at all. As they approached the door, they could get a clearer sight of what was beyond it.
It seemed like a cockpit of sorts, there were more of the mechanical corpses around in various states of damage, except for one that seemed to still be in perfect condition.
As they slowly entered the room one by one and clearing it of potential threats they took a better look of their surroundings. It was not a large room by any means, in fact, it was quite cramped.
"How do you even get around here? There's barely enough space for me to even claim to have personal space." Anis complained.
Nathan agreed, it wasn't comfortable by any means. He wasn't sure how these machines got around. They certainly didn't look compact. Speaking of which...
He saw all the machines were seated in different places. He didn't exactly know what each seat meant what but they clearly had some significance given their differences in design. The middle one in particular seemed to have a machine in pristine condition. It was connected to its chair with cables coming out and entering the back of its "head" through some unknown place under its shell. It had also been quite tightly secured to its chair, more so than the other machines in the cockpit, some of which looked like they were flung into the wall opposite to them, judging from the dents on said walls and the bodies on the floor.
It was clear that this robot in particular was of importance, enough to make sure it would remain safe in its chair.
Another explosion sounded off, this one much louder and stronger, as it rocked the entire ship. Rapi and Nathan managed to get a hold of themselves without tumbling to the ground, but the same could not be said of Anis and Neon, the latter of which was on top of the former.
"Ugh, get off me!"
"Sorry..."
"Commander, the ship's condition is deteriorating." Rapi said in a calm, but worried tone. "What do we do?"
Nathan looked around the small compartment for anything he could take to make this expedition inside worthwhile. So far they had nothing, it was like these machines made sure to avoid leaving anything on the open.
He refused to go back empty handed though. What could he bring though? The only thing he could bring is...
"What about that?" he pointed to the pristine robot.
"Commander, you don't mean-"
Another explosion went off, this one was closer as the rumble could be felt throughout the ship.
"Yes, I do." Nathan hastily looked for a way to remove the restraints on the machine. "This machine is in the best condition out of all the ones we've seen, not to mention how protected it is. It's clear to me this is a leader of some kind. If we can take the opportunity to communicate with them, then we should take that chance." There has to be a way to release them manually.
"And if we can't?" Anis, now standing, asked.
"Then we'll have an alien robot, with all its tech for us to examine and analyze. I'm sure Maxwell would love to take it apart." Or use as weapon practice, if that failed.
He found a button under the armrest. "Aha!" Nathan exclaimed as he pressed it, hoping it wasn't a self-destruct button. Thankfully, it wasn't.
The machine's restraints were released and the cables extending from the chair also retracted back, leaving it free to be removed from its throne.
"That was risky, Commander" Rapi chided him, as Neon and Anis moved to pick up the now released robot.
"The ship is already blowing up, it cannot get much worse than that." Nathan replied as he moved to exit the compartment with his squad behind him.
"I.. don't know... about that... Commander..." Anis replied, clearly struggling to move the robot. "How... freaking... heavy... is this thing?!"
"It's not that bad." Neon said nonchalantly, as she limply moved the other arm of the bot.
"Could you at least pretend to put some effort into moving it?!" Anis, with one hand, smacked her on the head.
"Hey, that was uncalled for!" Neon pouted.
"Just shut up and help me move it already!" Anis said exasperated, clearly tired of Neon's antics for the day.
Rapi and Nathan were already out the room and shortly Anis and Neon followed suit with the robot being dragged across the floor. It would have made for a comical sight if they weren't in danger of blowing up with the ship.
A reminder that came in the form of the cockpit exploding.
Thankfully, they had already made some distance from there and were in the process of making their way back through the ship to where they came from.
It didn't take very long, since they had explored most of the ship by then and with most doors closed, it was easy to find the exit to the ship.
After a few nerve-racking explosions near them, they finally managed to get out and took a look of their surroundings.
"Commander, I'm detecting Raptures approaching our position!" Rapi exclaimed, clearly alarmed by the incoming signatures.
Nathan could see far in the distance a group of Raptures approaching, clearly wanting to know what was causing all the explosions in the area. He cursed himself for not thinking of that possibility.
"We don't have time to engage, we have to get out of here!" Nathan stated, equally alarmed. "Neon, Anis, report!"
"We're good, Commander!" Anis quickly replied, putting aside any witty remarks she could have said. Neon simply gave a thumbs-up.
Nathan nodded at that, satisfied with their answer. "How long until the Raptures reach us, Rapi?"
"We should be able to get out of here without having to engage, but only if we start moving right now." Rapi quickly assessed.
"How are we getting out with this thing though?" Anis said, turning to look at the motionless mechanical figure.
With few ideas coming to his head, he settled for the simplest yet most backbreaking option. "We'll carry him with us."
"It will slow us down but I believe if we're strategic with our movements, we'll be able to lose the horde behind us." Rapi nodded in thought, an escape plan formulating in her head.
"Then let's all focus on moving our metallic friend here" Nathan gestured to the motionless robot, now laying on the ground.
They all nodded at that and together, they lifted the robot and prepared to run with it held up above their heads.
"I feel ridiculous" Anis complained, adjusting her shoulder to better carry the body part she was holding.
"No time to complain, let's go!" Nathan replied through gritted teeth, now feeling Anis's earlier struggle. "The darkness will cover our retreat!"
He hoped no one was recording their absurd escape. Next time he has to do something like this, he'll have to ask Sugar to pick them up or something.
Nathan took one last look at the now exploding wreck. The way the fires illuminated the wreck made it more ominous and imposing. He wondered if these newcomers would be a boon to Humanity or yet another threat to watch out for.
He shook his head, he didn't want to think about that right now.
With one mighty lift, they quickly made their exit as best as they could with the robot, carried as if it was a mighty prize.
But as they left, he couldn't shake the feeling they were being watched...
After running for what felt like hours, they finally managed to reach one of the elevator's down to the ark.
Thanks to Rapi's quick thinking, they were able to avoid any Raptures in their way by a clever way of utilizing decoys, the environment and a hell of a lot of running.
His arms and legs were burning, screaming for respite. Not to mention the mental fatigue, it was indeed getting quite late and he wanted nothing but to take a shower and head straight to bed.
Before that, however, they still had to report their success to Andersen.
Or rather he did.
The elevator dinged and inside was no one else except for the Triangle squad. Seeing them show up put everyone in the Counters on edge, with the exception of Nathan who had made sure to call in advance as they were getting closer, so that they could get back into the Ark as soon as possible. He knew everyone was tired, they deserved some much needed rest.
"Commander, just what kind of call was that?!" Privaty started, clearly flustered "First thing I hear is you panting, then you say you need an escort alongside some grunts and then..." She trailed off, noticing the mechanical body that was lying on the ground, paint already missing on different places after their 'heist'. "What... is that?"
"That is the reason why I called you." Nathan said after catching his breath. "We need an escort to report to Andersen and make sure no one touches our friend here."
"Why us?" Yulha entered the conversation, clearly annoyed at being interrupted from her work. "It wasn't long ago we were at each other's throats. We threatened all of you with your lives, yet we were your first option for something like this?"
Nathan shook his head. "You were under orders, I know you all personally enough to know that you don't actually hate me and that you're all professionals." Nathan smiled. "Despite our differences, I trust you."
That caused some mixed reactions from Triangle.
Yulha herself simply sighed, Admi remained neutral but he saw hints of a smile forming on her face...
And Privaty was Privaty.
"Well, obviously! We're the finest squad the Ark has to offer, you would be a fool to think otherwise." Privaty smiled smugly. "Don't worry Commander, we'll make sure you won't be bothered." She continued, clearly high on Nathan's acknowledgement.
"Thanks, Privaty." He then gestured to the rest of his squad. "Let's go."
They all entered the elevator, tension hanging in the air. It seemed animosity was still present between both squads.
"It'll take some time before they reconcile." Nathan thought. "I guess I'll have to play diplomat until then."
He looked to this squad, noticing that they were all with their weapons on the ready and surrounded him protectively, as if he was the leader of a nation. Fingers on the trigger too. When he looked to the other side of the elevator where Triangle was standing, they weren't so different from how his squad was acting either.
"I really hope nothing happens..." Nathan thought to himself, trying to keep his cool. You could cut the tension with a butter knife.
After what seemed like an eternity, they finally arrived into the Ark and exited the elevator.
"You guys head off to the outpost and rest, I'll go report to Andersen." Nathan told his squad.
"Are you sure you don't want us to come with you, Commander?" Rapi said still apprehensive of the squad in front of her, given their recent interactions.
"Yeah, I wouldn't trust those lapdogs as far as I could throw them." Anis joined in.
Nathan intervened before both squads came to blows. "Relax, I'll be fine. I promise."
"Roger." Rapi acknowledged sadly, unhappy but unwilling to refuse his orders.
"Fine. But you guys don't dare to do anything or else!" Anis said, not letting it slide just yet.
"Calm your horses, who do you think we are, a bunch of bloodthirsty savages?!" Privaty shot back, clearly annoyed. "We'll escort your precious Commander and then we'll go. Nothing else." She said with finality.
Nathan gave Anis a placating look and she conceded by sighing then turned away. Rapi followed suit but not before giving him a salute which he promptly returned.
"See you later, Master!" Neon waved back as she ran to catch up with her comrades.
Nathan turned back to face Triangle. "We received a message from Deputy Chief Andersen." Yulha said. "We're to escort you to the Central Government's HQ to meet with the Big Three."
He was to meet with the CEOs? He wasn't expecting that, but in hindsight he should have. They were to be kept in the loop on everything concerning the Ark, after all.
And they sure wouldn't squander the chance at some new, unknown technology. Especially Missilis.
Which meant Syuen will be there.
Nathan sighed.
To be honest, he had wished this would have been a simple status report so he could get back and get some shut-eye, but now that seemed like an impossibility.
"I did insist on bringing something with us." Nathan morosely thought. "In for a penny..."
After a moment's hesitation, Nathan nodded. An armored transport arrived shortly after, with some soldiers appearing seemingly from nowhere. "They must have called for it at some point on our way down." Triangle were professionals after all. The soldiers brought the robot, which was now laying on a rectangular hovering device, into the transport and gestured to come with them.
"There's our transport" Privaty gestured as she turned to look at Nathan. "If you'll come with us, Commander?"
The ride to the headquarters was uneventful. While the armored transport was cramped already, adding on top the bulky robot they were travelling with, there wasn't much room to move around.
Yulha was completely detached of what was going on around her, more interested in the data pad she was holding which seemed to suck her entire focus. Seems like she decided to take the opportunity and continue the work she was doing earlier.
He'll have to apologize to her later for that. "I should bring a drink next time I see her." He thought, remembering when he saw her briefly at the bar. "What kind of gal is she, I wonder?" referring to her choice of drink.
Before he continued on that train of thought though, he turned to look at Privaty, who was sitting as professionally as she could with her rifle on her arms, if a little bored judging by the way she was staring off into the distance.
She made to yawn, moving her hand to cover her mouth when she noticed Nathan staring at her. She then quickly became flustered, her face becoming a mix of emotions, not quite sure whether to decide on being angry or embarrassed before she settled on a 'hmph' and turned away.
"Cute..."
Finally, he turned to look at Admi who was simply browsing her phone with her weapon to her side, waiting for the ride to end. When she noticed him staring at her, she smiled and moved her hand to do a small wave, something he returned.
Overall, the ride went smoothly and the tension had died significantly ever since they parted ways with his squad. That made him a little sad.
He knew the two squads had a bit of a not-so-friendly rivalry between each other (Or at least Privaty did), but he hoped that they would get along sometime in the future and reconcile. He liked them and trusted them despite everything that had happened, it was a matter of unfortunate circumstances that lead to things as they were. But he wasn't one to hold grudges.
"Except for one person in particular..."
A little while after that, they finally arrived at the HQ, where everyone exited the transport. After Nathan and Triangle exited the back compartment, the soldiers made to bring the robot outside and then brought it into the imposing building.
Nathan then thanked Triangle for their assistance before bidding each one of them "good night" and also heading off inside with the soldiers.
Not much happened between then and now. The soldiers had parted ways with him before he entered an elevator, one of them assuring him the bot would be waiting for him in the meeting room. A quick ride later through the well-guarded facility, and he finally arrived to the meeting room where all three CEOs were waiting expectantly alongside Andersen, who had his hand to his chin as he inspected the source of all his recent trouble.
He took a look at the clock on the wall, it was 2:14 am. "It's already this late? No wonder Yulha was pissed at me."
Before he could continue his thoughts, Andersen noticed his entry into the room. "You're here. Good." He continued. "In that case, we can begin."
"So this is what has been causing all the commotion." Ingrid began. "You said you found this on the crash site?"
"That's correct." Nathan nodded.
"This piece of junk?" Syuen scoffed. "That's what has you all so interested?" She crossed her arms as she stared. "Why waste all of our times on this?"
"Come now, Syuen! A chance at new technologie is something that I would expect you of all personnes to be excitée about!" Mustang retorted, flamboyant as he usually was.
"What's there to possibly learn from this piece of scrap metal?" She moved her arms to her hips. "Any use I could have for it is to melt down into more Nikke parts or just use for experimentation." She was now looking at Nathan "Is this all you brought?"
Ingrid intervened before Nathan could reply. "Let's first hear his report before we decide on what to do about this thing." She looked at him. "What can you tell us? Start from the moment you arrived."
Nathan took that as his clue to talk. "When we first approached the crash site, we noticed there had been a shootout between robots that looked just like the one before you and Raptures."
He continued. "After determining the surrounding area to be safe and finding nothing useful outside, we decided to enter the now identified spaceship through a breach we found on the side."
Andersen interjected. "So you confirm that this is a space faring vessel?"
Nathan nodded. "With respect sir, I do not know what else it could be. The whole design and layout of the ship, paired with the thrusters and the circumstances surrounding this whole incident... All leads me to believe that this is indeed a spaceship."
Ingrid was now the one to ask. "In that case, were you able to find any information? Navigational data, black boxes, anything?"
He looked at the motionless machine. "We could not find any information inside, everything was stripped or locked away. Had we more time, we could have probably entered one of the rooms in search of more information but with the fires raging on the ship, I discarded that possibility for the sake of time."
"And the safety of my squad." He left unsaid.
Andersen nodded in approval but Syuen seemed to think otherwise. "So now it's safe to assume that this ship is now nothing but a smoldering wreck? Great." She frowned. "And you couldn't get anything else other than this... thing?" She said, gesturing to the silent golem.
Nathan then turned to look at Syuen, already used to her outbursts. "If I may, this isn't just any machine. I believe this one was worth bringing back."
"And how is that?" Syuen once more crossed her arms and turning her back to the bot to face Nathan, her patience being thinned by his piece-meal retelling of events.
He turned back to the droid. "We found this one in the cockpit among others. What makes it unique though is that this one was securely placed in its seat and seemed to still be connected to the ship." He gestured with one of his hands. "Not to mention the pristine condition it presents itself in, compared to all the other ones who were in various states of disrepair." He turned back to address everyone on the room. "It's clear to me this is a leader of some kind..."
"... and I believe this gives us the best opportunity at communicating with them." He finished dramatically.
"I'm sorry, did you say 'communicate'?" Ingrid questioned, as if not quite sure she heard Nathan right.
"Magnifique!" Mustang all but yelled out, throwing his arms into the air. "I believe we should start with this plan, immédiatement!"
"What makes you say that?" Andersen said, completely unfazed by Mustang's antics.
"If this machine truly came from space, we should take full advantage of the situation this presents, non?" Mustang explained. "There is a wealth of opportunity waiting for us, we simplement have to seize it. And what better than the leader of these automates?"
"And what makes you so sure they'd be willing to help us?" Ingrid questioned, still doubtful.
"Nothing at all, chérie Ingrid." Mustang admitted. "But it would be impossible to know with the state of indisposition our invité is currently in."
"And by what le commandant is telling us" He gestured to Nathan. "They do not get along with the Raptures either."
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Ingrid quoted. Mustang nodded, happy to get his point across. "Very well, but we'll do this in a controlled environment. We should still be prepared in the possibility our guest is hostile. If it is, then we'll cancel the interrogation in favor of studying its carcass instead."
"And we'll do this tomorrow." She sighed. "It's late."
"I will get Absolute ready to assist us, in case the worst comes to pass." Ingrid finished.
Andersen took the opportunity to speak. "So, we're decided then? We will activate the machine and try to engage in peaceful communication?" Ingrid and Mustang nodded.
It seemed like he would get some sleep after a-
"Hold on!" Syuen objected.
"Of course." Nathan, so wished to roll his eyes at that moment but remained professional.
Syuen continued. "There's still too many unknowns about all this. What even are these machines? What if it's been corrupted by a Rapture somehow? And I'm supposed to trust the word of this clown?" She pointed at Nathan.
Nathan tensed up, something was wrong...
Syuen crossed her arms as she shook her head. "Absolutely not, I'm vetoing this proposal in favor of taking this machine apart. I'll get M.M.R to figure out if this junk can be of any use." She continued oblivious.
Everyone else on the room had grown tense and backed away a few steps towards the door. If Syuen noticed, she gave no indication of it.
"Syuen..." Ingrid started, with a slight edge to her tone.
"Yes yes yes, we'll share whatever we find with the rest of you." Syuen dismissed with a wave of her hand. "I doubt there'll be anything of use though. I mean, if they can't even survive Rapture shots, then why should we care about any of their tech? Anything Missilis can offer is and will be superior to whatever outdated junk we can extract from this thing."
At their lack of response and dumb looks on their face, Syuen noticed they weren't looking at her, but rather, past her.
"What now?" She turned around to see what had these buffoons so rattled. She wished she didn't.
Syuen made a shriek fearing for her life, as she saw the machine was now sitting upright and was moving to stand up.
Right next to her.
She ran towards to the door right where everyone was, hiding behind Nathan. He should have felt bad for seeing her frightened like that.
He didn't.
However, he did keep his eyes on the now awake machine as it surveyed the room, sitting at the edge of the hoverbed. "So much for the veto."
They stayed unmoving like that for a few seconds, neither side willing to budge, except for Ingrid who had been pointing her handgun all this time at the now awake machine. He turned to look at her, seeing her mouth something at her earpiece. She must be calling Absolute. Andersen was in a similar position as Ingrid, getting ready for things to get hot at any moment.
Mustang, on the other hand, looked completely unfazed. In fact, he looked entertained even by the events unfolding behind him, as if this was exactly how he expected things to go.
And Syuen continued to cower behind Nathan, still shaken by what had transpired.
Before any of them could react though, the metal being finally acted by emitting a low whirring as it stood up, ignoring the weapons pointed at it.
Then it did something none of them expected it to do.
It spoke to them. Perfectly.
"Greetings from the Warden Directive, Humans." It started in a deep baritone, yet slightly distorted tone. "This unit goes by the designation 'Z09'." It presented itself.
"However, for the sake of ease of communication, you may refer to me as 'Zeta'." Its tone remained unchanging as it talked, except for the inflections of the different words. It was still getting used to its newly learned language.
"This unit has been granted increased autonomy to offer a proposal on behalf of our collective." It continued, everyone present on the room curious to what the machine had to say.
"We are interested to collaborate with you for the sake of mutual cooperation." No one moved as they were processing what... Zeta had just said. Except for Mustang who was smiling.
"Looks like I'm not getting any sleep tonight..." Nathan thought, wondering what can of worms he just opened by bringing this newcomer into the Ark.
Author's Note:
Hello and thank you for reading!
This is my first attempt at writing a story. I have loved the Nikke universe and loved Stellaris as a game, so I've decided to write this little story here as a love letter to both franchises.
I'm no expert writer by any means, I recognize that, but I welcome all constructive criticism you can offer so I can become a better writer.
Please leave a review if you want to see more of this story, I know I'm excited to keep writing! I already have outlined where I want this story to go and its major plot points but everything else in between? It's a mystery I don't even know where it's gonna go.
So if you wanna see some specific interactions or things based on this little snippet, don't hesitate to let me know!
With that, I hope to see you again soon!