Logbook - MARS: 16 - No Reprieve - TITAN Contractors | Elite:Dangerous

MARS: 16 - No Reprieve - TITAN Contractors

22 Sep 2022Aurora Adair-Levine

NOTE: This story contains themes of violence and strong language.

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DATE: 23rd of August, 3308 [21:48 UGT]

LOCATION: T.O.C. Solaris Q4V-40N, LTT 2974

Aurora Adair

"Commander. We have located a system in which the enemy carrier was previously present."

Approaching the holographic table at the center of the Solaris briefing room as she entered, Aurora looked up at Captain Faust, acknowledging the other two Captains by his side as she came to a stop on the opposite side of the table. She listened carefully as he began to speak, gesturing to a projection of data displayed by the table itself.

"Now, as you know... the destruction of the relay yesterday has been another significant loss sustained by our forces. Controlling the relay gave us the advantage of being able to access parts of the enemy network. With it gone, we have now lost our ability to track and uncover information about the enemy - at least via their own network. However, as I mentioned last time, we were aware that some data from the G.R.I.D instance aboard the relay made it through our real-time connection to the Solaris."

"This data - encrypted in a damaged transfer cache - was believed to have information important to the enemy carrier and its location, but unfortunately the data was encrypted by a protocol known as 'RAZORKAT', which is best decrypted via an online G.R.I.D suite. As a result, our specialists were hard at work to restore G.R.I.D aboard the Solaris, but it took too long."

"By the time we had regained access to our digital concourse and the rest of G.R.I.D's functions, the enemy carrier had escaped. The data we recovered did in fact point towards the exact location of the enemy carrier, but when Commanders investigated the site, there was no trace of the carrier. However... we did make another discovery, which has now offered us a new solution to the problem. I'll get to that in a moment."

"Our current knowledge about the enemy superweapon, based off intel you have uncovered and what we have seen in the field, is that it utilizes hybrid technology. We know this was something mentioned by your father - based off what you shared with us - but the exact function of the weapon remains a mystery. However, with the observations we have made, we suspect that the weapon incorporates some level of alien technology - particularly Thargoid tech."

"This theory is supported by the properties of the weapon, such as its electromagnetic and infrasonic effects, qualities of which are strongly shared with Thargoid artefacts and vessels. How the enemy has accomplished such a feat is unclear, but it is still a prototype, as evident by the enemy struggling to perform a second activation themselves."

"They may have caused severe damage to the Solaris, almost destroying it with their first weapon deployment, but based off communication logs we uncovered after the loss of Damocles, deflecting the weapon's second activation may have dissuaded them from further deployments, potentially exposing a critical weakness or flaw in the weapon's design."

"However... that may not be the only reason. As I'm sure you're well aware of by now... the Proteus Wave activation in HIP 22460 occurred about three weeks ago, roughly. This isn't our concern at this time as we have our own issues to deal with, but the failed activation of Salvation and Azimuth Biotech's own superweapon may have had unintended consequences for EMBER."

"We know Salvation's plan was acutely understood by EMBER, as they went as far as to mention it in their one and only transmission to us. They seemed to believe that the Proteus Wave would fail and doom humanity, but regardless of the outcome, their plan to do the same remained undeterred."

"What they likely didn't expect was for the Proteus Wave to potentially affect their weapon or their operations. After the weapon failed and reactivated all Thargoid vessels in the surrounding area, human vessels were left powerless and subject to the sudden alien onslaught that took place in the system. While the event is most certainly tragic and we all have our own opinions about it... it has inadvertently allowed us to learn more about the enemy."

"Commanders uncovered a map not too long ago, shortly after Damocles was lost. This map, although it originally did not seem too important, seemed to mark three major nebulas around the bubble, while marking the Pleiades as a no-go zone. A 'hazardous environment', if you will. The map was recent, recovered when our specialists were slowly bringing relay databases back online prior to its destruction."

"If HIP 22460 and the nearby nebula are now suddenly a no-go zone after the Proteus Wave's failure, it begs the question; what exact interest did the enemy have in it? They have become incredibly evasive after the activation, and the other three nebulas marked as 'okay' all contain Thargoid sites. Based off that, we can infer that the enemy have an interest in Thargoid tech."

"Furthermore... with the information we have now uncovered after losing our relay, Commanders were led to a system far above Barnard's Loop, another nebula believed to be significant to the Thargoids. And... that 'other discovery' I mentioned? Several Thargoid surface sites are present in that system, where the enemy carrier was believed to last be."

"With all these facts on the table, we can only conclude that the enemy need Thargoid technology to operate their weapon, and the increasing hostility of the Thargoid fleet around HIP 22460, or the effects of the Proteus Wave, may have contributed to its inability to deploy again. This now significantly narrows our search area - since we know the enemy are interested in obtaining Thargoid technology."

"I've already ordered BLUSTAR, Mantis and CSF specialists to work together in devising a solution that could allow us to track the enemy carrier more easily. If the weapon does incorporate Thargoid technology, we could obtain alien artefacts and study their signatures, comparing them to the recorded emissions we have of the enemy superweapon."

"If we can isolate the subtle, novel differences of the MARS Device's signal or idle emissions, we may be able to locate the enemy carrier or anticipate any future attacks. This is extremely early stages and requires upgrades to the Solaris's high-powered array, but I thought it would be best if you were aware of our next steps."

As Faust went quiet, Aurora took in a deep breath and nodded, releasing it in a sigh. She found it to be quite the information dump, trying her best to remember what was just said to her, as she looked up at Faust and folded her arms.

"Okay... so... how long is that going to take?"

"We're not sure. It could take a few days... or multiple weeks. That is, if the idea even works. But it's better than nothing, because we still have no lead on the databank."

"I'm trying to look into it, Captain. Dawn isn't the most cooperative of individuals... a-and..."

Faust raised his hand, understanding what Aurora was about to say, before he sighed and picked up a PDA from the holographic table. He went unusually quiet for a moment, almost hesitant before he began to tap on the PDA screen.

"... I understand, Commander. However... there... is something else important I need you to be aware of. And that is the primary reason behind why I needed you here. Have a look..."

Reaching over the table as he handed the PDA to Aurora, she carefully took it and looked down at the screen, rotating it in her hands as she started to read what was on it, carefully scrolling. It was a communications log of the digital concourse - a channel operated on the squadron network and protected by the G.R.I.D service, allowing Commanders to discuss matters in a unified space.

Since becoming Squadron Commander, Aurora recalled that she had opted to not get herself an account for the channel... primarily because she was advised not to by the operations crew at the time. With her volatile beginnings as the squadron's leader, it was probably best to not get tangled up on the concourse channel. But... as she read the messages and her heart sank, it was now when she deeply wished she could have intervened...

<<<<< DIGITAL CONCOURSE CHAT LOG - 23rd August >>>>>

G.R.I.D.
If some of the encrypted messages locked away behind the RAZORKAT-protocol aren't yet decrypted, I may be able to get a specialist to have a look, though that'll take a bit of time. We unfortunately don't have many left who understand the core operations of G.R.I.D.
<<<message hidden>>>
CMDR Davewheeltalk
Hey, that's what strong encryption's for. Those messages were encrypted to make them harder to read, sounds like they're working as intended. Even if they create extra work for both Tethys and the civilian operatives at this point...
<<<messages hidden>>>
CMDR MikachuNLD
I have found something! A distress beacon, I'm going to give it a quick check. and I will bail if necessary
<<<messages hidden>>>
┌reply: G.R.I.D. Commanders, we need you to search and report back any sites of interest in that system. We're confident ...
CMDR MikachuNLD
Are we sure this is the right system? I've been flying around and the only thing i've found are occupied escape pods..
G.R.I.D.
What is the scan data of the system like? We're positive the data was accurate on the enemy carrier's location - surely they were there for something important?
CMDR MikachuNLD
Specifics?
G.R.I.D.
We need to know if the system had any pertinent locations, like Thargoid structures or other non-human signal sources, if our suspicion that the enemy needed Thargoid artefacts is correct.
<<<message hidden>>>
CMDR MikachuNLD
For as far as I can see there are no thargoid structures
<<<message hidden>>>
CMDR MikachuNLD
I'll continue with scanning the other planets, maybe there's something I missed.
<<<messages hidden>>>
┌reply: G.R.I.D. If some of the encrypted messages locked away behind the RAZORKAT-protocol aren't yet decrypted, I m...
CMDR Isabella Levine
Because they're dead
┌reply: CMDR Isabella Levine Because they're dead
CMDR Cycronos
Are you alright, cmdr Levine?
┌reply: CMDR Isabella Levine Because they're dead
G.R.I.D.
I'm well aware of that, thank you Commander.
<<<messages hidden>>>
┌reply: G.R.I.D. I'm well aware of that, thank you Commander.
CMDR Isabella Levine
I have a name. Not just Commander. You know who I am.
┌reply: CMDR Cycronos Are you alright, cmdr Levine?
CMDR Isabella Levine
No. I'm not. Nothings alright.
Do we even have eyes on the carrier? What's the next move? We still willing to go all in. Throw bodies into the meat grinder.
┌reply: G.R.I.D. We need to know if the system had any pertinent locations, like Thargoid structures or other non-human ...
CMDR MikachuNLD
You just hit the nail right on the head, there are 4 thargoid structures on Outotz ST-I D9-6 2 A
┌reply: CMDR Isabella Levine No. I'm not. Nothings alright. Do we even have eyes on the carrier? What's the n...
CMDR Cycronos
What course of action would you propose instead? I don't see what we can do beyond intel-gathering at this point, but if you have suggestions that don't risk lives I'm all ears.
Tragically I also believe that it's not so much us throwing bodies in the meat grinder, as it is the meat grinder hungrily coming after our bodies. EMBER has stated time and again that they want to see us wiped out....So I'm not sure how we can fully avoid loss of life and limb.
<<<messages hidden>>>
┌reply: CMDR Cycronos What course of action would you propose instead? I don't see what we can do beyond intel...
CMDR Isabella Levine
By disengaging and hiding. Split the squadron up or something. We lost. Is there carrier even in the system right now? No. Probably not.
CMDR Davewheeltalk
Intel says it's not. But when was that ever a reason to roll over and surrender?
<<<message hidden>>>
CMDR Isabella Levine
When they started blowing us up and and killing everyone on the Solaris is when we lost.
When we surrender or should have.
CMDR Krynesur
And yet Solaris stands.
How dare you show your belly to the enemy?!
G.R.I.D.
Calm down. There may be no carrier there, but @CMDR MikachuNLD's discovery of a Thargoid site gives us a game plan that we hope to notify Commanders about soon. @CMDR Isabella Levine, I request that you come down to the briefing room now so we can discuss this further, with you as well.
<<<message hidden>>>
┌reply: CMDR Krynesur And yet Solaris stands.
CMDR Isabella Levine
I'm on board the Solaris and I see empty hallways. Ghosts of what used to be. This isn't the Solaris.
┌reply: G.R.I.D. Calm down. There may be no carrier there, but @CMDR MikachuNLD 's discovery of a Thargoid si...
CMDR Isabella Levine
Fine.
CMDR Cycronos
A while ago I spoke about a winning move that was right in front of us. This is what I meant.
CMDR MikachuNLD
Let's all focus on the damn task ahead. We can argue and kibble about symantics later.
G.R.I.D.
Commander, if possible, I request that you investigate that Thargoid site, and report back any and all items of interest.
CMDR Isabella Levine
Hate to say it but Dawn was right about one thing. We lost this fight. Screw the piece of shit but he's not wrong.
CMDR MikachuNLD
Affirmative, Will be going down now.
CMDR Isabella Levine
Yeah. Let's hear the genius plan of GRID. This should be good.
Or Tethys
CMDR Cycronos
Would it make you feel better if you had someone you could punch in the face?
CMDR Isabella Levine
Probably. But I'd love it to be Ember. Just tired of...being a step behind. Standing in a briefing room with no one but the few captains left.
Most of you don't get it. So you don't understand. You got here late
CMDR Krynesur
This may not mean anything to you, but I will tell it.
When I found out that my Kin had been attacked, we were attacked again by another threat. Albeit smaller, but a dangerous, cruel one.
I was in a meeting in the Perseus Arm when this occurred. At a moment's notice when I saw those alarms blare, I rushed as soon as I could with Dominator suit on hand, prepared to take down any and all. That meeting didn't matter to me, my people did.
I didn't roll over to accept defeat when I heard our losses. I came here to find the clues and avenge my Kin. To support the remaining, and protect them from future threats.

I took those losses and fueled in my own strength. Just as other Kin have done the same.
<<<message hidden>>>
┌reply: CMDR Isabella Levine Probably. But I'd love it to be Ember. Just tired of...
CMDR Cycronos
Well, you still have a loved one, don't you? I hope you can find solace in that.
And if you need to punch someone, my door on the Argenti is open.
G.R.I.D.
That's enough. We have a job to do, Commanders. Let's put our issues aside and do it.
As for you, CMDR Isabella Levine, the Squadron Commander herself has ordered you to appear in the briefing room now. Do so or an escort will be sent to fetch you. Our next task is critical, and we cannot delay.
<<<message hidden>>>
┌reply: CMDR Krynesur This may not mean anything to you, but I will tell it. When I found out that my Kin had been attac...
CMDR Isabella Levine
I have so much to lose now. I don't want to lose anymore.
<<<messages hidden>>>
┌reply: CMDR Isabella Levine I have so much to lose now. I don't want to lose anymore.
CMDR Krynesur
And you will continue to lose more if you just roll over and let EMBER burn you. They will take this weakness, and what you have, and use it to their own advantage.
<<<message hidden>>>
┌reply: CMDR Isabella Levine I have so much to lose now. I don't want to lose anymore.
CMDR Cycronos
That means you have something to live for.
The alternative, having nothing to lose, is not a good state to be in. Quite the opposite.
┌reply: CMDR Cycronos Well, you still have a loved one, don't you? I hope you can find solace in that. And if you nee...
CMDR Isabella Levine
I don't want to punch you. I just want to get away from this nightmare. I haven't slept well in the past several days.
And G.R.I.D. ....yeah. Sure. But don't threaten me with a escort.
<<<message hidden>>>
┌reply: CMDR Isabella Levine I don't want to punch you. I just want to get away from this nightmare. I haven't sl...
G.R.I.D.
Then make sure you arrive at the briefing room swiftly.
<<<message hidden>>>
┌reply: CMDR Isabella Levine Most of you don't get it. So you don't understand. You got here late.
CMDR GoblinCoffeeshop
Got here in time enough to see you say you couldn't wait to take the fight to EMBER. And time enough to see you given command of an entire fleet carrier, with the announcement that you were amped to end this once and for all. What happened to that in the past. What, 7 days.
┌reply: G.R.I.D. Then make sure you arrive at the briefing room swiftly.
CMDR Isabella Levine
This is where I'd swear at you but I won't. So fine.
I'll go.
CMDR GoblinCoffeeshop
This is ridiculous
<<<message hidden>>>
┌reply: CMDR GoblinCoffeeshop Got here in time enough to see you say you couldn't wait to take the fight to EMBER. An...
CMDR Isabella Levine
When I got aboard the Solaris and walked empty corridors and saw a briefing room with no Ops crew. That's when I realized how much we lost.
None of you get it.
CMDR GoblinCoffeeshop
This squadron needs some leadership and some cohesion and some actual strategy for a change, and if said strategy already exists, it needs to be communicated. Right now I feel like I'm listening to a reality talk show, not an army.
CMDR Isabella Levine
And now the escorts arrived. Of fucking course
┌reply: CMDR GoblinCoffeeshop This squadron needs some leadership and some cohesion and some actual strategy for ...
CMDR Isabella Levine
Leaderships dead.
CMDR MikachuNLD
Just a small tip, Maybe you should read the room.
CMDR GoblinCoffeeshop
We have an SC who is non-existent, a communications system that didn't even have a failsafe despite the fact that we poured billions of credits into that carrier rebuild... And a relay that was apparently unguarded. Like what the hell
And then just bickering and drama constantly, I was kinda glad the concourse went down
<<<<< LOAD MORE MESSAGES >>>>>

Aurora stood there in silence as her eyes glimmered, scrolling back through and reading the messages her partner - Isabella - had sent on the concourse. She knew the situation was far from perfect right now, but she thought that her partner's distress and upset had been dealt with yesterday, after Isa had stormed out of the briefing room. She should've knew something was up when she wanted to stay behind in their quarters. How could she be so stupi-...

"Commander."

Aurora looked up at Faust, clutching onto the PDA as she glared at him, although that anger wasn't completely directed at him. Her mind kept going back to the messages... feeling the pain and hopeless in Isabella's messages. Clearing her throat quietly as she shook her head, Aurora spoke after a moment, frowning to herself.

"W-why... why did the G.R.I.D operator tell Isa to come to the briefing room? She told me she wanted t-..."

"I'm sorry to give orders on your behalf, but... it is important that you speak to her, Commander. After her... 'outburst' yesterday... well, I don't think I need to say anymore. You're basically the only one she listens to anymore... and... it is evident that there is a lot of emotions and frustrations bottled up there."

"I thought s-she... she... she said she was f-fine yesterday... why..."

"... Auror-..."

Clenching her fist, Aurora looked back down at the PDA, gritting her teeth as she read through the messages again quickly, before promptly chucking the tablet down onto the surface of the holographic table.

"T-this... this isn't fair, Faust. The things they've said. I'm not... I'm not non-existent! I... I d-dedicated my fucking life to this squadron... how... how can they say this? Can't t-they see she's struggling too?"

"We know that both you and Commander Levine have given a lot to us... and to trying to help the squadron. That is exactly why we need you to talk to her. Levine is important to our operations, and to you. At the risk of sounding insensitive... her messages can be seen as demoralizing and obstructing our operations. The concourse channel is an important avenue of getting our communications across quickly."

"I'm certainly not going to attempt to understand how much you both have suffered... many won't get it or understand it the way you do. But, Commander... you know the importance of our duty, and what we have to accomplish to bring down EMBER. We need you to remind Commander Levine of that."

"I..."

"She'll be here in a few minutes. The escort is on its way."

"... f-fine... I'll... I'll talk to her."

Brushing a hand back through her curls, Aurora looked away to the door and closed her eyes, the messages echoing through her head as she lost herself in her thoughts. Was she doing enough? For Isa? For the squadron? People didn't seem to think so. Even her partner seemed to not believe in it anymore, either. Was hoping for a better future just a lie she kept telling herself constantly? No... no. She wanted this for her and Isa. She wanted to put this past behind them and start a new life.

The briefing room was silent for several minutes, before the main door opened with a hiss, and Aurora opened her eyes. Immediately, a slim figure clad in her brown Maverick suit stepped through, her face like thunder. Aurora instantly recognized her iconic, tied-back chestnut strands, seeing her hazel eyes settle on her before Isa promptly walked over to Aurora, quiet.

Gesturing to the three Captains, Aurora took in a breath and spoke.

"... u-uh... just... give us the room for a bit, please..."

Acknowledging Aurora and nodding towards Isabella, the Captains swiftly moved around the table and walked for the briefing room door, swiftly moving outside as the door shut behind them, leaving the duo alone as Aurora gazed up at her partner, picking up the PDA from the holographic table and holding it close as she met her lover's eyes, tilting her head slightly in sympathy. What could she even say to her?

"... honey... what's... what's going on?"

Her partner's eyes moved between her and the PDA, before darting away and breaking eye contact, glancing at the holotable as she shrugged dismissively.

"Nothing. It's fine. Don't know why I was escorted down here."

Aurora stepped forward quietly and took one of Isa's hands, squeezing her hand a tad as she tried to lean into her view, prompting Isa to look at her.

"Isaaa~... I have the concourse messages. Just talk to me, please..."

"What's bothering you...? I mean... I... I can kinda guess what... but... let me hear it from you. It's just you and me here..."

With an exasperated sigh, Isa suddenly threw her hands up and shook her head, waving around at the room around them.

"Just... look around you. This place. There's this lack of others even understanding what's going on. But, ohh... right! Yeah, I'm sorry, the Thargoids or whatever are more important... ugh... whatever."

Turning to the holotable, Isa placed her hands on the edge and hunched over, lowering her head.

"I'm just... getting tired, Aurora. Of constantly losing and being one step behind all the time. No one gets it obviously... besides... you... I guess."

"I... I know, Isa..."

Aurora sighed softly as she put down the PDA on the glass surface of the holotable, swallowing her emotions as she shook her head and thought...

"But w-... we are... so close... honey. We have a plan now... we're finally getting closer to ending this for good. To being a step or more ahead. It... it hurts me too, y'know...? Seeing the Solaris s-so... empty. I have nowhere else to go... this is m-my only home and... what you said keeps... sticking in my head. That we replaced so m-much... is... is it really even the same carrier anymore?"

... despite her best attempts, Aurora's voice began to waver with emotion as she continued, sniffling softly as she wiped her face and shrugged.

"But... w-we can't... replace all those people. That l-lived their life aboard this carrier. How the... corridors used to be... so full of atmosphere and business and now it's j-just... f... fucking empty..."

"I can't e-even talk to Avery or... Elliot... because they're still d-down in the medbay... r-... recovering from the... the attack. It's j-just me... ju... just us... and... and the captains and..."

Aurora paused, starting to tear up as her shoulders lowered. She had tried to be strong and to try show Isa the right way, but seeing her lover upset and hearing her hurt only caused a domino effect of hopelessness inside of her.

As the room fell into silence, Isa looked at Aurora quietly, before she queried her abrupt pause.

"... and what?"

Aurora shrugged as her eyes trailed off, glimmering in the light of the holotable as she wiped her face quickly and sniffled.

"... n-nothing, I guess. I just w-wanted to fix this all. It's... m-... my fault... t-the squadron bec... became a t-target. I d-don't know wha... what to d-do anymore..."

She thought back to the concourse messages she had read, recalling the hurt and upset reflected in Isa's messages that resonated so well with how she felt deep inside. She fidgeted with her hands and gazed off at the idle projection of the holotable as Isa stood upright and turned to face her, shaking her head.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, Aurora. They're the ones who did this shit... and killed everyone. Not you. It... whatever. You're right. You guys are close. Finish it, I guess. Sneak a bomb on their carrier and blow it to hell. I don't know."

"T-then you stop doing the same, okay?"

Aurora snapped back at Isa, but immediately regretted it as her face softened and she fumbled with her words to continue, taking in a shaky breath as she looked down a bit.

"... s-stop beating yo... yourself up ab-about what happened. It's m-my fault you chased after me back then... a-and had to do what y-you did. It's m-my fault I dragged you into this. N-nothing changes the fact that they're after m-me because I... I'm apparently i-important to solve this. W-why me..."

Aurora lowered her head and sniffled as she leant against the holotable with her hip, a hand resting on the edge of it.

"... j-just keep seeing the people I love and c-care about disappear or get broken ar-... around me... I d-... I don't want t-this. A-and then I'm ap... apparently 'non-existent'... o-or not... d-doing enough... even w-when I tr... tried so h-hard to balance e-everything. And y-you're right. What... what d-do we even do if we find the carrier...?"

"W-we don't even know a... a proper way of c-countering the weapon. And I can't f-fucking tell anyone because I don't k-know how to c... crack open my father's databank. S-so we're running on f-fucking hopes and dreams because all we have are t-theories based off what we've seen. W-what happens if we're wrong... if I'm w-wrong and the enemy just draw us into a trap..."

"W-what if the databank doesn't even h-have anything that can help us anymore? W-wh..."

A groan came from Aurora as her emotions got the better of her, getting frustrated as she shook her head and looked down at the floor, brushing a hand back through her hair as she gripped a bundle of her curls tightly. Isa just shrugged quietly, her voice soft as she looked past Aurora, deeper into the room.

"We... we already lost then. We lost when our home got hit and we lost everyone. We're... crawling to stay alive. Not even limping. Crawling as we barely hold onto our last life. We should just... run away, Aurora. Get out of this mess right now... while we can. I... I can't fight anymore..."

"W-what... what about the hundreds of people still alive, Isa? The hundreds of p-people looking to me for an answer! They're o-our... our f-fucking family, we can't just... leave them..."

Tears began to stream down Aurora's face as she looked up at Isa and released her hair, her hand falling down by her side again as she started to break down thinking about it all, a broken laugh escaping her.

"... I d-don't... even k-know if I want t-this whole... C... Commander thing anymore. If I'm even f-fit for SC anymore. M-maybe it's s... some... s-... sick punishment for w-what I did but... I guess I d-deserve it. It's only f-fitting. Here I w-was thinking I could start a new l-life with this squadron... w-with you... but e-everything's giving me the sign that this i-... isn't... g-... going to last..."

"It s-sucks because I... I r-really wanted to marry you... y-... y'know...? I-... u-uh..."

She started to cry as she shook her head and shrugged once more, trying to hold back her sobs as she gripped the edge of the table tightly and looked away again.

"... I f-fell in love with you and I f-finally... th-... thought I found the one. My one. S-someone who c-c... cared about me and could help m-me. And you... you d-did. I just d-d... didn't realize how much th-... this was breaking you too. T-that my.. p-past... is... is ruining e-everything. And I c-can't do any... anything without you s-so..."

Visibly grimacing, Isabella suddenly turned away to walk towards the door exit, slowly walking as her voice filled the room, the subtle hint of anger and wavering emotion in it.

"No, Aurora. We can still have... us. We can get married and everything. Just... I can't stand being here anymore. Your past is your past. I thought we could win. Maybe we still can... everyone in concourse seems to have the fighting energy needed. Me... I'm just worn out now. I've... I've killed so many people in the time of being a Commander it's... I can't sleep right anymore."

Pausing before she reached the door, Isabella turned back, balling her hands up as she looked at Aurora.

"It's not all your fault. Blaming yourself isn't going to save us. Running away will. Those people... the hundred or so that are left... are just going to have to find a corner of the galaxy to live in. But...that won't happen so... whatever. I guess that leaves the suicide option. But I... I don't want to do what we did on the operation to take down those... weapon relays or whatever. I almost got blown up and for fucking what? What if we attack this carrier and lose? I lose you... and everyone... all over again..."

Isabella choked up slightly as she steadied herself, her voice starting to strain as her emotions got the better of her as well, Aurora standing there with tears streaming down her face as she listened.

"And... and trying to convey that we fucking lost to this G.R.I.D operator... and everyone else. It's... yeah. I got upset today. Because everyone's apparently a fucking soldier to them. Like we have some fucking game plan on what happens next, and the surviving crew can just... arm themselves and fight. We don't have the numbers like we did. And our raid... we were lucky..."

"I don't want you to get hurt or killed firstly. And I don't want to be hurt or killed. I also don't want others to be. We lost too much already. Yeah, sure, we made some progress... but... barely."

"B-but if we just... let the e-enemy go... they won't s-stop. They'll k-keep coming, Isa. We... we have to stop them... I-..."

Aurora burst into soft sobs that she quickly stifled, looking away from Isa as she wiped her face quickly and shook her head, clenching her fists as she tried to keep herself under control.

"I can't l-let everyone just d-die because of my m... mistakes. I'm j-... just scared for u-us. Scared to... to lose you. I want this to be d-done with so we can fi... finally put this behind u-us..."

"I don't... b-believe we've lost y-... yet. Not e-entirely. I just d-don't... want to e-end up failing... and allowing the enemy chance to d-do this again..."

"I w-wish we could know more and just f-fucking take down EMBER a-already... but w-we... we have to work h-hard to make sure that happens. So we will. W-we can win. We will not just t-throw ourselves at the enemy... b-but we will make sure they g-go down..."

The room fell into silence after Aurora finished talking, the two standing there quietly as they looked at each other. Wiping her face, Aurora gazed up at Isa and smiled weakly when she met her lover's eyes, trembling a bit as she cleared her throat and took in a breath to speak.

"I'm... I'm s-sorry Isa..."

"Ha... I... uh... h-had this idea that I'd b-be strong for you and h-... help you... n-not feel so hopeless a-and then I... I e-ended up breaking down l-like I always d... do... ugh..."

"J-just... we... we c-can do this together... Isa. We can f-fight. We won't lay down and take it, okay? You... y-you said that once. And I h-have hope and s... strength... because you gave t-that to me. I just want to h-hold onto what we have... I... I want to p-protect you and the squadron..."

... but her partner shook her head, her tone straight, even seemingly aggressive.

"So... to do that, we arm civilian contractors that work on the ship? Wasn't that what Faust said could be done? That sounds pretty desperate. Seems to me we lost. Everyone's already dead, Aurora. Maybe thats what's changed me. It was easy to want to fight, before I saw this ship. Any move we make... well... just... we better get fucking lucky. Really lucky. Because if we do, and we win without losing everyone that's left... then... well, we win. It's over. But something tells me that's not the case."

"I-Isaaa~..."

For Aurora, trying to motivate her partner didn't seem to work, and that... hurt. As if a knife twisted in her heart, she stood there and gave up, a sob escaping her as she broke at Isa's aggressive tone towards her, fidgeting with her hands. She tried to continue, but deep inside she knew it was hopeless. Isa was right.

"F-Faust said that because we don't have manpower to both st-... strike in the field and d-defend the carrier at the same time... n-not because we're desperate. A-and only as a last resort..."

"Fine... m-maybe in a way we are... only because we b-barely have anything left. But Tethys k-knows what they're doing... I-Isa... we've proven we can hit back against the enemy. We just can't... l-let them get an upper hand again, with their w... weapon..."

Isabella just sighed.

"Yeah... well... hope we get lucky again. I hope... we don't run out of that luck. But... I'm... sorry. I wish you didn't see concourse. I'm... just... going to go back to my ship, now that I can access it. Basically all of my ships were damaged from the carrier practically blowing the fuck up... so... I guess I'll be sending them to a local station for repairs."

"I w-wish I... I could help you feel better. T-that it didn't feel like we were just... c-constantly running on luck. B-because in a way we... we aren't..."

Aurora shrugged weakly, turning her side to Isa as she faced the holotable and closed her eyes, her curls obscuring her face. She tried to keep her emotions in check, her eyes filling with tears as she kept her face hidden. Taking in a breath to steady herself, Aurora let out a quiet sigh and spoke.

"... We have a plan to... to investigate the system they found. The enemy carrier isn't there anymore... but a Thargoid site is. A s-structure. We'll be checking it out and... seeing if we can pull anything from it... technology or whatnot t-to... to see if that can help us locate or detect the enemy carrier easily."

"If s-so... then... we don't have to worry about any surprise attacks anymore... and we'll be ready to take the fight to them when we can..."

All Aurora heard was a broken chuckle from her partner, and that was the final straw for Aurora...

"It's luck and hope. It's all we have left against them. No one can help me feel better. It's me. And I'm just... done, Aurora. I give up."

... She gave up too.

"... o-okay..."

Aurora just shrugged as she stood there and kept her eyes closed, lowering her head a bit. In a way, she felt like she failed Isa. Failed the squadron. And so... she said nothing else as she stood there, tears rolling down her cheeks slowly as her heart broke inside. She missed the better times they had... where they were both more happy. When her whole world wasn't falling to pieces.

Isabella quietly stood there for a moment wondering if Aurora would say anything else... but when she didn't, she turned away silently and moved to the exit. Hearing Isa move away, Aurora opened her eyes and glanced at her lover slightly. Her desperation almost got the better of her, but with a slow breath in, she called after Isa softly, her voice cracking with emotion a bit.
"... I love you..."

"... and I'm... s-sorry for all of this Isa..."

Her partner looked back, and frowned, shrugging her shoulders as tears began to roll down her cheeks, her eye-shadow streaking slightly.

"I love you too. Just...don't want to lose you to this...."

"You w-... won't. We... we're d-doing this together. We're in t-this together... y-you and me..."

Seeing her lover's tears upset her even more, a quiet, weak sob escaping Aurora as she cleared her throat and tried to put on a faltering smile towards Isa. No smile returned as her partner quietly opened the door, looking back as she stepped through and nodded slightly.

"Yeah...I'll be in my hangar for a bit. See you, hun."

"S-see you later honey~... I love you..."

The briefing room door shut with a quiet hiss as Aurora stood there, alone. She slowly looked back down at the holotable, tearing up as her heart sank and she sobbed quietly to herself. She desperately wanted to sprint after Isa, hold her tightly and tell her she'd make it all right again. But... she couldn't. She failed everyone. What if they couldn't make it through this? What if everyone was right? She wasn't cut out for this... nor could she figured out the databank... and so she would be the downfall of the squadron.

Shaking her head as she wiped her face quickly, Aurora quickly walked for the exit of the briefing room, opening the door and stepping out. Weaving through the CSF captains that just looked at her quietly, she turned the complete opposite way that Isa went... and began to walk - almost breaking into a jog. She just walked on and on, further into the empty, lifeless hallway that once used to bustle with hundreds of crew-members... as she sobbed to herself, and disappeared into the depths of the Solaris... alone.

But her thoughts continued to haunt her as she walked and thought of Isa. How beautiful she was. How special Isabella was to her. How happy her partner made her... but then Aurora reflected on who she was herself. She was... inadequate... really. Wasn't she? She had failed everyone she cared for, killed innocent people that didn't deserve it, subsequently bringing down her whole world of suffering onto the squadron... and she'd put so much burden on the love of her life.

To Aurora, Isabella had so much more than she did. Isabella didn't need her... she was just a filler, wasn't she? They had done so much together and committed so far, but... Isa had things to move onto if it didn't work out... because of Aurora. But... Aurora had nothing... nothing of her own. She felt so alone without Isabella... just like when she was alone for three years. So empty and broken. She had no purpose. Nobody who cared about her or who understood her so deeply. Only Isabella did. And all Aurora did was weigh Isa down... even when she just wanted a normal life with her.

Bursting into sobs as she started to hyperventilate, Aurora caught herself on a nearby pillar and quickly sat down in the hallway she ended up in after walking for minutes - some unfrequently travelled access corridor where she could be alone... in the silence of the Solaris, where nobody walked anymore. Curled up into the corner of the pillar, a shaking Aurora snapped entirely as she broke down and bawled her eyes out, hiding her face in her knees as she hugged her legs tightly.

Lost in her dark thoughts as she felt that pit in her stomach, Aurora gripped her hair tightly and closed her eyes as the walls closed in around her. She wanted to scream, but all she could manage were broken, weak sobs as her irregular breathing started to make her light-headed, color fading from her cheeks as she buried her face into her hands and panicked. How could she make anything right again? What if she lost Isabella? What if... she was just never meant to be the one for Isa?

"... n-no... nooo~... p-pl-... hh..."

Aurora just sobbed out those weak words to herself as she tried to fight her thoughts... but... soon, she quietly gave up.

Deep down inside, she felt Isabella was right. She couldn't win. They couldn't win. Not anymore.

And so... in that moment... Aurora had failed.

So she thought.

========================================================

DATE: 2nd of September, 3308 [09:27 UGT]

LOCATION: T.O.C. Solaris Q4V-40N, LTT 2974

Aurora Adair

"Hello Commanders. I hope you're well."

Entering the cold-lit briefing room through the open, reinforced door, Aurora carefully stepped inside and brushed a hand back through her raven curls, glancing over her shoulder at her partner. Isabella followed behind her, clad in her new brown Maverick suit, a soft smile on her face. It made Aurora smile... although her mind trailed back to the last time they were in this briefing room.

Turning to face Captain Faust - the only other individual stood by the holotable - Aurora let out a soft sigh and nodded, taking Isabella's hand as they stopped near the holotable and stood side by side.

"Yeah. Likewise, Captain."

Standing there and glancing between the two of them, Faust straightened up and slowly folded his arms, studying the duo curiously. Aurora just awkwardly glanced over at Isa, squeezing her hand as the room remained silent. She wasn't sure why the Captain was acting strangely, but it didn't take long to find out before he smirked to himself and shrugged.

"So... it seems you two made up."

Blushing slightly, Aurora chuckled and sighed, looking up at Isa with a smile before she turned her attention to Faust.

"Ha~... uhm... yeah. We... we talked it out. It's... just... stressful. Being at the head of all of this. I... uh... well... we both know it's impacting everyone with how much is at stake but... we... just... had a-..."

"No, it's alright, Commander. I understand. It's good to see you both back in the game, at least. Nothing wrong with clearing your headspace. Yes, there's a lot at stake... and we can't stall too much in our fight against EMBER, but I think you've gone above and beyond for the squadron as it is. We have enough breathing room and SOF Tethys will pick up the slack where necessary."

"Of course... we still need your help with the databank passcode. We still cannot quite figure it out, so we need to think of alternatives. Understandably there's a large amount of ground to cover, so we might need another indicator of where the third passcode may be. However... that's not what I summoned you to the briefing room for. We'll worry about the databank at another time."

"What I wanted you bring to your attention is..."

Tapping on his PDA resting on the holographic table surface, Faust gestured to the briefing room door behind them, closed. Aurora looked at it curiously, but the door didn't budge. Scratching her neck and frowning slightly, she looked back at Faust.

"Uh..."

"Patience, Commander."

With a hiss moments later, the briefing room door opened, and Aurora turned back. Stepping into the room, a slim figure stepped through, long golden-brown hair tied back into a curly ponytail. They wore a standard orange Remlok suit, covered by a tan, patterned jacket and black-grey tucked into dark magboots. A long scar crossed their face, across the bridge of their nose to their right cheek.

Aurora's eyes widened as she instantly recognized who it was, her heart sinking at the sight of the scar. Releasing her partner's hand, she walked forward towards the figure, looking up at them as they stepped into the room.

"Oh my god. Avery! I'm... I'm so glad you're alive. I..."

Stepping in with her arms extended, Aurora quickly hugged the slightly taller woman, letting out a sigh of relief as she stepped back and looked up at the scar with concern. Avery simply smiled at her, glancing at Isabella who had walked over by Aurora's side. With her rather silky, posh Imperial accent, Avery spoke, studying the duo who had approached her.

"It's good to see you as well, Commander. The both of you."

Avery glanced over at Isa, nodding at her slightly, which prompted a soft smile.

"You two look good. Better than me at least."

Avery chuckled, shrugging her shoulders as she looked past the two, into the briefing room.

"Still the same old place it was... I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it."

"Avery..."

Aurora looked between the two of them, feeling oddly nervous for some reason. She didn't want to draw attention to the scar... but Avery was almost one of the people that lost their lives aboard the Solaris. By the looks of things, she cut it close too. Not to mention that... so many things regarding Aurora's past had enabled this to happen. In a way, she unsurprisingly felt partially responsible.

"I'm... so sorry for everything. You guys almost d-..."

"Aurora. Now's not the time for apologies. It happened. And I've been given some updates. I know what the enemy has done to you. To all of us. You have nothing to say sorry for. Neither of you do. We can only move forward now."

"Yeah..."

Aurora reached over and took Isabella's hand, interlacing their fingers as she smiled at her lover, stepping back a bit as she went to head back to the holographic table. But she was paused by Avery, who gestured back to the door, walking towards the holographic table.

"Hold on, Commander. Elliot will be here in a moment. He was just discharged as well."

"Ha... o-okay. Yeah."

Stepping back towards the door, Aurora took in a deep, subtle breath, releasing it in a slightly unsteady, quiet sigh as she waited by the door and folded her arms, Isabella standing by her side. Studying her curiously, Isa nudged her lover's shoulder, leaning in a bit as she lowered her voice.

"You okay, hun?"

"Yeah. Just... surreal, I guess. They almost died, Isa. And I was almost too late to... to h-..."

"Aurora, hey. Let's... not think about that. Just the here and now, okay?"

"You're right. Just... ugh. Yeah. Thank you..."

Wrapping her arms around her partner, Aurora hugged Isa, burying her face into her shoulder as she held the hug for several moments and sighed again, before stepping back.

"It's just really... surreal and... upsetting, I guess. We lost a lot of good people that day..."

"I know, hun. I know."

Turning back to face the door, Aurora folded her arms again and swayed side to side subtly, waiting in silence. Eventually, while Avery and Faust discussed things further on in the room, the door opened once more, and another slender figure stepped through, immediately looking towards Aurora and Isa who stood by the side. A toned male, clad in a dark red outfit over a sandy flight suit, entered and smiled.

"Commander Adair, it's great to see you again."

"Elliot. It's... great to see you too. So glad you're both alive..."

The man chuckled, throwing his hands up with a slight shrug as he sighed softly.

"Still kicking, at least. It's... a shame we cannot say that about the others. But they're in a better place now, I'm sure."

"Yeah. I... I hope so..."

"And... you must be Commander Levine?"

"Yep. That's me. Hi."

Nodding slightly, Elliot chuckled softly again and gestured deeper into the room, towards the holotable.

"Well... there is much to discuss. And while the Captain did want you to see us, I believe there was more to discuss."

"There always is... okay, let's go."

Taking Isa's hand, Aurora turned back with her and began to walk with Elliot towards Faust and Avery, as they all encircled the blue-lit table. Looking over at Aurora, Faust tapped the holographic table idly with his hand, before straightening up and folding his arms over his chestplate.

"Alright, Commander. Now that we have CO Ramirez and Commander Goddard back in action, we have the breathing room for you to focus on more important tasks. The both of them acutely understand the operations of this squadron, so we're in good hands. Your skills, along with Commander Levine, are best utilized in the field. Let's get to it."

As they all turned their attention to the holographic table, Faust tapped away on the control console, projecting a terrain scan of a strange, spiral-shaped alien site.

"This is a Thargoid surface site. There's hundreds of them, scattered around the Pleiades nebula and other regions. I believe you've had some experience with them, Commanders. We know - or at least think that the enemy, EMBER, utilizes hybrid Thargoid technology in their weapon. That's the theory, at least... our observations support that, what with the enemy carrier hanging around Thargoid space, and marking pertinent locations to them, plus the effects of the weapon."

"The problem is - since losing the relay we obviously have no easy way of tracking the enemy carrier. As I mentioned to you last time, we're looking into a solution that would allow us to track the enemy by comparing Thargoid signatures with the recorded emissions we have of the weapon. This is taking time, naturally, even though we are now confident we could detect and repel another activation of the superweapon."

"I wanted to let you both know that specialists are installing 'redundant arrays' on both the Solaris and the Azure Star. Commander Levine, in the coming weeks we may require the use of your carrier as a scouting vessel. The redundant array onboard the carrier will enable us to deflect the enemy weapon using the same method as before, mitigating damage to the carrier and nullifying the harmful effects."

"This'll happen in the next day or so. Unfortunately, the downside is the carrier will suffer a total communications blackout while all traffic is redirected to the redundant array and the area is jammed. This should prevent enemy interference from corrupting or damaging any electronics, including the FSD. We still do not understand the psychological effects of this well, but some have theorized that infrasonic signals are injected through the intercom system of the carrier, or other local comms units."

"As a result, the activation of the redundant array to absorb the effects of the superweapon unfortunately means that the carrier will be unable to jump as well, as telemetry data cannot be transmitted, nor will any local comms work in the vicinity of the carrier. So, we've taken the liberty of having Chief Peacekeeper Stafford assist us with training."

"Some of the crew aboard the Solaris and the Azure Star will be combat-trained for defensive purposes. I know your stance on using crew for battle, Commander Levine... but that's not what we're doing. This is a last resort if the enemy attack us head-on and we do not have enough manpower to fend them off. Hopefully, it won't come to that. We should have enough trained CSF forces to intervene."

"In the end, better safe than sorry. In the meantime... with regards to these Thargoid surface sites, we're assembling a set of recon teams to prepare for a recon op into Thargoid space. Risky, yes, but the more data of Thargoid signatures we can acquire, the closer we might get to being able to detect the enemy weapon from afar, and not just when it fires."

"We may only have a short amount of recorded emission data of the enemy weapon, but with any luck the little bit we have can help us learn a lot. We're exploring every option right now. As for you two... well... now's the time to start trying to squeeze more information out of Dawn, or join the recon teams when they head out and see if you can find anything else. They'll set out on your command."

Faust paused, a slight frown crossing his face.

"Ah. Right. What about that... 'mercenary' you hired? He's aboard, correct? His assistance could be useful."

Aurora shrugged.

"Well... his name's Predator and I didn't really hire him. It's... it's a long story. Yeah, I'll ask him. See what we can do."

"Sounds good. Let's bring these two up to speed. You're free to go, ma'am, but... let's get a bit more proactive, yeah? Let me know if you think of anything, or whatever you decide. I'll be here, as usual."

"Yep. I'll... think of a plan or something, I guess. Somewhere where the databank might be. Anything I can think of is buried in Federal territory though. And I'm... not really sure what to look for. What to do. I guess our best bet is to first see if we can even locate the enemy carrier... and then we can... go from there, I suppose."

Faust shook his head.

"It's alright. You'll think of something, Aurora. Some way to solve this."

"You always do."

========================================================

DATE: 22nd of September, 3308 [14:52 UGT]

LOCATION: T.O.C. Azure Star H7V-BXH, Pleiades Sector LS-T c3-2 5 A

Aurora Adair

As the lift doors parted with a signature ding, two figures carefully stepped out from within, holding hands as they interlaced fingers. With her helmet tucked beneath her arm, and fully clad in her armoured, black Maverick suit, Aurora glanced over at her partner next to her.

Isabella was sporting much the same as her - wearing her new, brown Maverick suit, with her usual weapons locked to the magnetic holsters on her suit. The two exchanged a warm look, smiling softly as Aurora flicked back her curly hair and looked forward into the hangar they had entered.

Atop the medium pad sat a black Alliance Crusader, emblazoned with the CSF logos as dozens of personnel had gathered around the ship, loading it with gear and discussing the operation to come. With all their gear set, Aurora looked over at Isa again, starting to walk with her partner towards the ship.

"Got everything, honey?"

"Got everything. Even you~..."

Isa smirked at her attempted flirt, shaking her head playfully as Aurora laughed and blushed, rolling her eyes playfully as she let out a soft sigh, continuing to walk towards the hangar as she looked around.

"Aww, honey~... haha..."

Observing the hangar, Aurora soon spotted the person she was looking for - Captain Faust, standing and addressing a small group of CSF personnel - likely squad leaders. Gesturing to the group, Aurora glanced back at her partner, prompting her to follow.

"Let's go see what's up?"

"Yeah. Y'know... I... I never thought I'd feel... more safe and... trusting of CSF than now. Knowing what's ahead."

Swaying with her partner's hand, Aurora shrugged a bit and maintained her soft smile, thinking a bit before she responded.

"Yeah. I'm glad we have them on our side. Rather them than something like the Federation... not that the Feds would do anything meaningful anyway... other than point fingers."

"I just... y'know... can't... imagine what my life would be without the squadron. Fighting against all of this. And you... obviously. You're the... the single biggest thing in my life. Helping me do all this. Helping me not face it alone. You know that, I just... yeah..."

As her thoughts inevitably crossed her mind, Isa simply squeezed her hand and tried to ease it, nodding slightly.

"Yeah, honey. We're going to kick ass. And... gotta be honest, Thargoid space looks a lot like... normal space, I guess. I've been reading up on the Codex about the Thargoids and they're like... so mysterious and... well... alien."

"Yeah. Ha... feels... weird being back at these sites again. First time we ever... well... 'met'... was like a five-second 'hello' when you helped pull me out of that Thargoid site."

Aurora frowned slightly at the memory, but brushed it off as she looked over at Isa, smiling softly again.

"Anyway. I've never seen any of their ships but... honestly... with all the news and stuff now... I don't think I want to. Doesn't feel good sneaking around their sites, but if it gets us closer to EMBER... I guess we have to."

"I'm excited to be honest. I can't wait to see a Thargoid. I think they're so cool."

"Well... I wouldn't cross your fingers. Just sayin'... like... we've been to two sites so far and haven't seen a single one. Just... drones that one time, I think?"

Looking forward as they started to edge closer to Captain Faust's group, Aurora slowed down again and looked at her partner again.

"Well...I still have my hopes, missy..."

Returning the smile her partner offered, Aurora chuckled a bit and looked away, continuing to walk towards Faust. Based off the armour of the personnel around him, it seemed he was indeed talking to other squad leaders, but it was hard to glean what the conversation was about before he went quiet, noticing Aurora and Isa approaching.

Waving the group off as he dismissed them, Faust stepped past and walked towards Aurora, loosely saluting as he glanced between the duo, folding his arms as he focused on Aurora, nodding at her gently with his helmet covering his face.

"Commanders, you two set to go?"

"Yeah. I... think we have everything. We didn't forget anything the other times so... ha..."

"Yep. Set."

Faust nodded.

"Alright. Protocol is a bit different with today's op. As per our mission with the Azure Star, our recon excursion out into Thargoid sites is yielding data, but now we want to boot up the central device at the structure in order to try extract more data recordings. We believe this one we're at to be active, so one of the dropships is being fitted with specialized transport racks and will carry some Thargoid items to accomplish this."

"The job's as simple as always. Just run security so the team's can do their thing."

Aurora frowned a bit, looking between Isa and Aurora.

"Central... device? The big thing hanging from the ceiling like in the other sites?"

"Yes. We want to see if the local signatures of the site change upon interacting with the device. It should be perfectly harmless."

Isabella smiled excitedly, an adventurous look on her face.

"Yes.... holy shit. This is going to be so cool. The whole... 'goid device coming to life. You think it'll attract one of them? A Thargoid..."

Faust turned his attention to Isabella, quiet for a moment before he chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"No, probably not. Pilot reports and public research about these sites indicates that they're not very frequently visited by Thargoid vessels."

"However, I... wouldn't get too excited. After Salvation's fuck-up in HIP 22460, Thargoid aggression has been increasing. We're keeping away from it, but... at this time... we're only a few dozen light-years from that system. And... if you read the news, you'd know that the hostility of Thargoid vessels is growing, and hyperdictions are occurring further away from that system. We're in that 'bubble', so to speak."

Aurora didn't say anything, but just glanced at Isabella a bit uncertainly, before looking back at Faust. Isabella simply nodded, shifting her expression to be a bit more serious.

"Right. I've heard. It's like a wild animal. You might not see one, but if you do, keep your distance and respect it. Or... something like that... I've... read a lot of things. Anyway, we'll try to stay out of their way, I guess."

Aurora chuckled softly.

"She's a little scientist now, apparently."

With a smirk, Aurora squeezed Isa's hand and glanced over at her. Faust laughed, nodding as he glanced back at the ship, watching heavy-duty canisters loaded into the ship's cargo bay, before eventually turning back to face Isa and Aurora.

"Well... you're not wrong, Commander. But... humanity hasn't exactly learnt to stop poking the bear just yet. The war isn't a good thing but... at the very least, it's keeping us 'hidden'. That helps a fair bit."

"Right. You two will be riding with this Crusader. It'll be carrying the Thargoid items, so the front drop-bay's a no-go. Should be able to sit in the troop bay or the armoury, whichever you pick. Two teams will be joining you, Sabre and Dagger."

Isabella smiled at Aurora's remark but stayed quiet as Faust explained the insertion and places to be during it. While he explained she listened as her eyes watcher the ship and the cargo being loaded thinking about the next trip down to one of these sights. She was excited and nervous at the same time.

Aurora queried the teams a little, remembering them from all the reports and the one combined raid operation she went on.

"Okay... Sabre and Dagger. Size and leader...?"

"Sabre's a fireteam, led by Sergeant Locke. Dagger's our assault team, led by Sergeant Kato."

"Okay. Anything else we need to do?"

"Nope. The teams are setting out in a few minutes, so you can board now."

Returning her focus to the conversation, Isabella nodded and squeezed Aurora's hand, answering first as she looked over at the ship.

"Awesome. Thanks Capt. Let's go, hun. Come..."

As Isabella stepped forward towards the ship and looked back, Aurora nodded at Faust and smiled, walking after Isa swiftly as she took her helmet out from beneath her arm, fidgeting with it in both of her hands as she followed Isa towards the boarding ramp for the ship, watching some soldiers walk up into it carrying some crates of equipment.

Focused on Isa as they slowly approached, Aurora returned the smile, chuckling a bit as she looked at her partner.

"You're just... really excited for this, huh? I just get nervous all the time, ha~..."

Isabella slowed down a bit hearing what Aurora said, and turned around to retake her hand.

"It's okay if you're nervous. I am too. Who knows what can happen? I'm just... a bit awestruck by Thargoids. I think that the war is pretty stupid, and we shouldn't be attacking them. But, EMBER is our focus and I should be... focused, I guess. We'll be fine like all the other times."

"Yeah... you're right. I just feel like we're... grasping at straws. What do we even do if we find them? We... don't know how to counter the weapon. Or... anything else. It's all just theories..."

"Well... yeah, babe. I know what you mean. But there's really nothing else we can do. And... I don't want to give up. Not... not like I did before. Because I know at the end, the good guys win. We'll make it~..."

As they reached the ramp, Aurora gently tugged back on Isa's hand to pull her partner back towards her a little to get her attention, as they ascended slowly up the ramp towards a set of seats.

"Hey..."

"You're right. We won't give up. We haven't. Sometimes it... just becomes a bit much, like last time. But I do know we can do this. Just wish we knew more. We'll get there..."

Looking up the ramp, Aurora observed the entry into the ship, which was linked directly to a rather claustrophobic looking troop bay filled with seats on both sides. The soldiers entering the ship seemed to carry the crates forward deeper within the ship, although it seemed some were already getting ready to get settled into their seats, preparing gear racks and whatnot nearby.

Isabella looked at Aurora, before she glanced back into the troop bay.

"What kind of Thargoid items this time? Same I guess, right?"

Aurora shrugged, grabbing her helmet as she brushed her curls back.

"Uh... I... dunno. We've never... activated a device before, so..."

With a soft sigh, she carefully lifted it over her head and slid the helmet down over her head, the helmet sealing to the neck ring of her suit with a soft click as it completed the connection. Her voice a bit muffled with the helmet, Aurora cursed under her breath, placing her hands on the side of her helmet as she tried to get comfortable in it, her face now obscured by the dark visor.

Isabella was next after seeing Aurora place her helmet on. Reaching behind her to detach her helmet off her belt, she brought it forward and promptly slipped it over her head, fitting it on properly. She fiddled with the helmet a bit until she secured it, promptly sealing it to the suit. With her voice muffled by the helmet, she switched on her speakers, glancing at Aurora.

"Want me to check you? You okay?"

"Think I'm okay. Just my... fucking hair in this helmet. My curls are just a curse..."

Aurora laughed, looking at Isa from behind her visor as she switched it to her suit speakers as well, her voice becoming more clear. Taking her lover's hand, she checked her suit a bit quickly before walking up the ramp with her to pick seats for them.

"I love your curls. But... I'm biased, I guess. Hmm~..."

"Pfft... I dunno... maybe that's the curse. To draw you in~..."

Aurora giggled softly as she approached the troop bay, sticking to the right side of the room as she decided on the first two seats right next to the ramp. Taking her rifle off of her suit pack, Aurora let go of Isa's hand and prompted her to sit on the second seat from the end, so Aurora could sit right on the end herself - the first one in line.

Sitting down on the suspended seat mounted to the wall as she placed her rifle on her lap, Aurora sat back and got comfortable. It seemed specialized to fit someone in a suit with their suit pack still on - assuming no large weapons were mounted to it.

"Then, by the way, I love this curse~"

Isabella gently nudged Aurora as she walked past and took the seat right next to her. She, like Aurora, removed her carbine and placed it on her lap as she sat down. The two got comfortable, looking down the ramp as she watched a squad of CSF soldiers start to get ready to board, lining up into two files at the bottom of the ramp. Isa tapped Aurora's leg, gesturing vaguely to her helmet as she leant in to speak.

"Hey, want to move to a private link to talk over short comms?"

"Hm? Oh. Yeah, sure, in a bit."

Tapping on her PDA, Aurora turned off her suit speakers and sent a local comms request to her partner, looking down the ramp as she watched a squad of CSF soldiers starting to get ready, assembling their gear and being addressed by their leaders. Although mixed in the files, one team looked dramatically smaller than the other.

After a few moments, the ship shuddered a bit as the engine kicked in, starting to power up as the soldiers at the bottom of the ramp turned and started to walk up swiftly, approaching the troop bay. Looking at Isa quietly, Aurora didn't say a word either as she turned back to the soldiers entering the ship, watching the normal operatives follow along the seats, passing in front of Isa and Aurora as they took their positions, starting from deep within the ship and seating one by one towards the ramp.

Aurora just minded her feet as they walked, taking note of the array of heavy weapons and gear these soldiers were sporting. Once again, it reminded her this was the real deal. Just like the other times, she thought.

"Commander?"

Snapping out of her thoughts as someone spoke to her, Aurora looked up at two figures who had stopped in front of her - one wearing gold highlighted armour and another wearing darker armour with subtle, barely noticeable silver highlights.

Standing up as she held her rifle by her side, Aurora quickly switched on her suit speakers as she looked at the two Sergeants, nodding. The figure in the golden armour seemed to speak, gesturing to the man by his side as he spoke.

"Sergeant Kato and Sergeant Locke at your service, ma'am. We're essentially your protection detail this time around... what with the broadened mission parameters."

"Oh. Y-yeah. Right. It's a pleasure, Sergeant."

"Of course."

Extending her hand, Aurora exchanged a quick handshake with both of the Sergeants, although she seemed a bit caught off-guard. The Sergeant just simply nodded in acknowledgement, letting Aurora sit down again awkwardly, not sure what to say as the Sergeants walked past swiftly, nodding respectfully at Isabella in her seat.

With a whirr, the boarding ramp of the Crusader began to slowly close as the troop bay lights flickered on, the soldiers checking their helmets and sealing their gear. Unmuting herself on the private comms between her and Isa, Aurora turned off her suit speakers and let out a soft, stressed sigh, glancing over at her lover, her voice a slight whisper.

"... y'know the other times didn't feel as stressful. Now we're... carrying alien items into alien territory, heading to an active alien site... and we get our own heavily armed protection detail... why? Ugh..."

Isa shrugged slightly as the ship began to spool up, the engines whirring.

"Well... at least they're there. And, the cargo containers are corrosive resistant. Now... the alien territory bit... well yeah. A little on edge with that."

Aurora sighed again slightly, nodding as the bay started to fall into slight darkness as the ramp closed, only the dim troop bay lights illuminating them. Holding her rifle on her lap, Aurora reached up and pulled the metal harness down over her, locking it in as she looked over at her lover, seeing the rest of the troops settle into their harnesses and get ready.

"... I guess so. It's just... what... what if it goes wrong, Isa?"

Isabella paused a bit before she responded.

"It could... but... that's why we have people. Guns. I mean... anything can happen. Don't worry too much, hun. We'll make it through."

As she followed suit and pulled her harness down over her chest, Aurora tilted her head back against the seat headrest as she gazed at Isa, sighing softly as the ship lurched a bit, the muffled machinery of the pad moving audible as the Crusader was raised out of the hangar.

"Yeah... you're right. Just my... anxiety talking I guess. This op feels more... complicated. And... I guess I'm... not a good soldier anymore. I get... scared... and... yeah..."

As the magnetic landing gear audibly disengaged and the ship began to shudder as it throttled up, a voice yelled out in the troop bay, the lights going red.

"Check your seals! Depressurizing in one minute!"

Without hesitation as if she'd done this hundreds of times, Isa double-checked her seals and life support systems checking that all of it was green. She was ready.

"All good, babe?"

"... Nervous... but yeah..."

Checking her own suit, Aurora sat back into the chair, clutching her rifle on her lap tightly as she looked over at Isa, keeping her feet firmly planted to the floor as the ship began to maneuver, the drives humming and roaring, albeit quite muffled. The Frame Shift Drive began to groan as it audibly charged, the ship boosting out of range of the carrier they had departed from.

With a sigh as she gazed at her lover, nodded and held onto her harness tightly, turning to look ahead.

"Let's do this..."

////////// 5 MINUTES LATER \\\\\\\\\\

"We're dropping in!"

The ship suddenly lurched as the FSD disengaged loudly, the hull of the Crusader vibrating and creaking before everything became an eerie silence, the distant droning of the FSD just barely audible over the occasional groan of the hull. Gradually, as the flight went on, it felt like the ship started to get slightly more turbulent, the drone of the FSD growing once more as the ship neared its exit from Glide.

Holding onto her harness as the ship shook suddenly for a moment and the FSD spooled down, Aurora held her rifle close when the ship began to accelerate under normal thrust again, the thrusters firing for a moment before everything began to stabilize again, save for the occasional movement of the ship as it continued to fly.

"Approaching the site!"

The voice called out again from within the troop bay, the duo holding onto their weapons tightly as the ship started to stabilize, waiting patiently for their opportunity to deploy. On the outside, it sounded as if the gear began to deploy, the main thrusters dying down slightly as the ship began to slow.

Abruptly lurching as the landing gear made contact with the terrain, the ship settled a bit roughly, the drives whining as they spooled down and the ship finally came to a rest. Getting to their feet, the CSF soldiers stood up after lifting their harnesses, grabbing their gear and turning to face the ramp.

Aurora did the same, pushing her harness up off of her as she looked over at Isa to make sure she was alright, getting to her feet and holding her rifle close against her chest.

"All good...?"

"Hmm... yeahh... all good. You?"

Isa too released her harness like everyone else and got to her feet. Her weapon came to her chest and she looked down at it, checking it once more before she rested her finger on the trigger guard and waited for the ramp to deploy.

"Ha... yeah... suppose so~..."

Placing both hands on her weapon as she held it close and lowered, Aurora turned her back to Isa and looked towards the ramp, waiting as well.

With a loud clunk, the ramp unlocked and slowly began to lower, the motor whirring quietly as an abyss opened ahead. No lights turned on, but several of the soldiers - including Aurora - reached up to their helmets and flicked their night-vision on. As the ramp continued to lower, it connected to the ground with a soft thud and stopped, prompting the squads to advance as Aurora slowly took the first step out onto the ramp.

Stepping down onto the rough surface of the planet, the rest of the soldiers followed suit, calmly hopping off the ramp and walking a fair distance away from the ship, setting up a small perimeter as Aurora paused and looked off into the distance.

What first appeared as a rocky mountain range was quickly clarified by night-vision. In the darkness, jagged, alien spires broke up the horizon, kilometres across and touching the sky. The ship didn't land too far from it, roughly only a few hundred metres ahead. Around the landing zone, other ships began to settle down, approaching from the skies.

The simulated sound picked up voices from the CSF soldiers nearby, but Aurora's soft voice was crystal clear to Isa - audible only to them as a tinge of anxiety could be heard in her words.

"... Yeah... this never stops being creepy."

Walking up by Aurora's side, Isabella sighed quietly.

"You got that right. And getting close or inside? No thank you. Ha~..."

Isa shivered visibly slightly, a soft chuckle escaping her as she looked at her partner.

"... ha~... yeah..."

Sighing softly, Aurora looked over at Isa, pausing for a moment as she watched the CSF soldiers start to group up and advance ahead, a few hanging back as they glanced at Isa and Aurora. Nudging her lover, Aurora placed her hand back on her rifle and stepped forward again.

"Well... let's go, I guess. Just like the other times..."

"Like the other times..."

<<<====================>>>
SGT. Felix Kato, Dagger 1-1

IDENT: {Oracle} "[Ground teams, this is Oracle. Holding orbit pattern now, over.]"

"Copy that, Oracle. We're approaching the site now."

Glancing around at his squad, and Sergeant Locke leading Sabre team not too far behind, Kato began to advance towards the massive spires ahead, his team following suit. As the dropships took off after deploying their vehicles, two Scorpions and one singular Scarab fitted with strange, custom containment canisters, started to pass the squad, heading into the site their own way.

Without another word, Kato pushed on, leading Dagger between the alien spires of the Thargoid site that stretched towards the sky, plunged into darkness as night-vision guided the way through the twisting formations. The dust and sediment beneath their feet crackled with each step.

The starry sky was no longer visible above their heads, only dark, eerily smooth walls guiding their way between the spires. The structure groaned, as if reacting to their presence. Breathing. It crackled and hissed in the distance, but the source of the sound was unclear. Although disturbing, Kato shrugged it off and continued on.

Minding his footing as the broken ground started to incline more, the Sergeant focused on each step, listening to his team following him as they made their way towards the center of the site, following the waypoint on his HUD. The scale of the structure was certainly put in perspective as they traversed it on-foot, but it didn't take too long to make it through the spires.

With the incline slowly starting to smooth out and the starry sky visible through a gap ahead, the center of the alien structure soon became visible, its towering top glowing ominously in the distance. This was it. The Thargoid surface site.

"CENTCOM, this is Dagger. Eyes on the primary objective. Proceeding now."

Starting to descend the long, shallow slope leading down towards the central structure, Kato waited a few moments for a radio reply, the gruff voice of his superior, Captain Faust, responding over the radio as they began to approach.

IDENT: {CENTCOM} "[Copy that. Link is open, we'll be awaiting the data. Out.]"

"Okay, Ares, we're go for entry."

IDENT: {ARES 1-1} "[Rog', got the artefacts ready. Taking point.]"

As the Scarab began to proceed forward towards the site, Kato turned around and stepped past his squad, proceeding to the two figures that hung back a bit. He recognized the armour - a black, more armoured Maverick suit, and a lighter, brown one.

"Commanders!"

Whatever conversation the two were having, they paused, looking towards him as he approached and continued to speak.

"We're entering the site now. Just two SRVs, and a squad. If you're coming with, I advise you both to be extremely carefu-..."

He was interrupted by the woman in the black suit - Aurora.

"Yeah. You got it. Been in one of these sites before... I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Right, well... this is the first time we're activating the central device, so let the SRVs do the work and keep out of their way."

Isabella was next to speak.

"Yeah, no need to worry, Sergeant. We know."

With a nod, Kato swiftly turned away without another word and began to walk towards the site, following where the Scarab had gone as the vehicles proceeded towards the door. One Scorpion remained outside, the other flanking the entry team as they began to approach the strange door.

Without night-vision, the lights of the vehicles now illuminated the alien door clearly. Strange plates interlocked with each other, shut tightly together before the presence of the Scarab getting closer made them loosen... and then they abruptly pulled apart, with a spine-chilling noise even audible from the distance the squad stood from, the doorway 'hissing' as the dark, ominous tunnel led them deeper into the site.

As the teams started to advance forward with the Sergeant in lead, the Scarab held as the flanking Scorpion took point. Its lights flickered as it got closer to the site, the soldier's suit HUD glitching out slightly as they followed. Entering through the door at a fast walking pace, Kato glanced up at the strange ceiling that towered above them.

Odd conduits lining the wall pulsed and hissed as they proceeded deeper, alien vents hissing as they expelled a strange, gaseous compound. The Scorpion ahead paused as a hovering, dark drone crossed the corridor, turning as it seemingly looked in the direction of the entrants... before it simply resumed whatever it was doing.

With no obvious means of hovering, the 'drone' seemed to just eerily float there, gliding effortlessly two meters or so above the ground, its puttering and biomechanical noises echoing through the cavernous bowels of the structure.

"Eyes open. Scavenger drones. Leave 'em alone, everyone."

The radio remained quiet, disciplined as always, as the squad proceeded into the junction ahead and turned left. Walking down the massive tunnel, they minded their footing across the glossy floor, as if a strange liquid had accumulated in some areas. Strange pustules nestled in corners, almost like a pod or egg. He didn't want to know what they might contain.

Following the curve of the tunnel as they passed through another support archway, Kato focused on where they were going, and before long, they reached another 'junction' of sorts, the hallway continuing on and additionally splitting off into a much larger, central room.

The Scarab following them proceeded past the squad, following its orders as it moved through the archway, after the Scorpion. Both vehicles began to set up in the inner chamber, the massive, main device coming into view as the ground team entered the room.

The machine was nothing short of strange, as it hung from the ceiling and was surrounded by three swirling hologram, projected from pedestals around the device. The ceiling was even taller, covered in more of the strange pustules - dozens upon dozens of them, even.

Looking around as he made sure everybody was where they should be, Kato waited for the Scarab to get into position, before he gave the order.

"Go for activation."

IDENT: {ARES 1-1} "[Going for activation.]"

As the Scarab moved closer to one of the pedestals, the hologram shifted and began to display a distinct, complex shape. One of the canisters mounted to its chassis rotated to a vertical, standing position and extended slightly away from the vehicle, attached to a type of robotic arm. Popping open, a Thargoid item was fairly abruptly shoved out of the canister, right into a glowing hole on the floor near the pedestal.

Without any hesitation, the site audibly sucked it up, the item disappearing into the floor before it suddenly emerged on the pedestal itself, strange, slightly transparent glowing tendrils pulling it up into position, before it simply floated there, eerily rotating. The soldiers simply stood there, formed up in a long, spread-out line as they watched.

IDENT: {ARES 1-1} "[Thargoid Sensor deposited.]"

Driving around to the next pedestal in line, the Scarab paused as the hologram displayed the next item. Turning around for the correct angle, the second canister carefully extended, ejecting another strange alien artefact into the pedestal, which was promptly accepted by the site.

IDENT: {ARES 1-1} "[Thargoid Probe deposited. Going to get a Link.]"

Without proceeding to the third and final pedestal, the Scarab zoomed off out of the room, disappearing through one of the archways, though the report of its engine could still be heard for a bit as it gradually faded away. Glancing to his side, the Sergeant gestured to one of his men who carried a slightly heavier suit pack, seemingly sporting an assortment of scientific equipment.

"Alright. Specialist, get the spectrum device going. Let's get ready."

"Copy that, sir."

As the Specialist holstered their rifle and grabbed the grip of a small device with a display above the user's hand, he reached over his shoulder for his suit pack, grabbing a rugged antenna probe and bringing it forward. Clipping it to the 'muzzle' of the device, he linked in a connector wire and then switched the device on, the display coming to life.

"Linked in."

"CENTCOM, this is Dagger. EMSPEC device should be linked now. Verify, over."

There was a pause as Kato waited for a response, watching the Scarab return to the room with a new canister loaded, driving carefully to the third and final pedestal missing an item.

IDENT: {CENTCOM} "[Link confirmed. Ready to receive, over.]"

"Copy that. Activating the site now. Ares, go for it."

IDENT: {ARES 1-1} "[Thargoid Link in. Moving to activate.]"

As the large canister ejected a third Thargoid item, the pedestal accepted it and the SRV backed off. A different sound occurred now, the whole site audibly humming as the central device - almost like a massive 'node' of sorts, began to glow, the hum emanating from it.

IDENT: {ARES 1-1} "[Scanning...]"

The Sergeant looked over at the specialist standing by his side, as the soldier extended the device in his hands out a little, squeezing the trigger.

"Recording the data now..."

Waiting quietly, Kato looked at the Thargoid machine once more, examining what happened next as the device began to imperceptibly glow slightly, before it flashed with a loud burst of noise. As the pedestals released their items, the room filled with a soft, green light as a massive projection of a starmap covered the ceiling... or at least it looked like a starmap.

"Background signal's spiking. Looks like this is it, sir."

"Keep on recording until it's done."

As the device went quiet and simply projected the slowly rotating map, the room was only filled with the sound of the starmap 'twinkling'. The soldiers observed this strange sight, reflected in their visors, as the specialist stepped a bit closer, raising the analysis device in his hands higher.

Turning around, Kato began to walk back towards the two Commanders who stood at their flank, talking amongst themselves before he got closer. They paused and looked at him as he spoke.

"Commanders. Site activation's all done. We're just collecting data until it expires and then we'll head out."

Aurora glanced at her partner by her side, before looking at the Sergeant curiously.

"Expires...?"

"Until the site turns off."

"Won't the... Thargoids get mad or something?"

"Well, according to known behavior, no. And the Scavengers seem fine with us."

"Okay, I guess..."

Aurora shrugged and looked over at Isa, going quiet as the Sergeant took a step back towards his squad.

"Should be about ten minutes or so, then we'll be ready to head out."

"Okay. Thank you, Sergeant..."

As he walked back to the squad, the Sergeant toggled his radio.

"CENTCOM, device activated. Should have the data streaming back now, over."

IDENT: {CENTCOM} "[Copy that, we're seeing the data come in now. Good work. Hold your position until we're done.]"

"You got it..."

As the specialist continued to fiddle with the device and record the data, the Sergeant stood there idly and sighed, relaxing as he watched the starmap spin ever so slowly above for several minutes. It was beautiful... peaceful, even - despite the ominous nature of the structure.

But it seemed the reprieve was not meant to last.

IDENT: {SCIMITAR 1-1} "[CENTCOM, priority. Spotted an unidentified formation of vessels entering the system now, closing fast.]"

IDENT: {CENTCOM} "[Copy Scimitar. How many?]"

IDENT: {SCIMITAR 1-1} "[Five or six, based off the wake data. They're not passing through. Looks like they're heading straight for planet 5 A, over.]"

IDENT: {CENTCOM} "[Copy that. Ground teams - Dagger, Sabre and Tanto. Fortify your positions now. Potent̨iá͘͢͝l̷̸ĺ̡ý̨̛͘͘͠͏ ̷͟͏̴̶h̸̵̵̨̨͘͟͠͠ostile contactş̷́͜͜͞͏̴̷̛̀͟͟͡͠ ̷̨̨̡͘i̸̕͡͏̵̶̨̡̨́͢͠͞͠n̸̸̵͢͜͡͠͡͝͠͡͏̡͘͢͞b͏̨҉̴̧̡̀҉̵̸̡̀͘͟͢͜͟͢͜͞͝͡ó̷̸̴̡̡̕͜͜͢͡͠ų̨ń̵̶̷̷̵̢̨̡̧̧̛́͘̕̕̕͘͘͢͜͞͡͝͠͠͝͝d̵̸̷̵̶̸̡̀́͢͟͞͠͏̸̸̸̴̨̢͟͜͟͞---...]"

The radio fizzled out. Cursing under his breath, the Sergeant grabbed his rifle and gestured around to his team.

"Specialist, pack it up! Rhino, get outside now!"

As the specialist fumbled with the device and started to turn it off and disassembling it, the Scorpion in a discreet corner of the central room revved as it pulled off, switching its lights on as it sped for an exit out of the central chamber, circumventing the squad in the way.

"All callsigns, we're-... what the hell? Solaris? Azure Star? Do you copy? Command?!"

Local communications were off. His radio transmission wasn't going through. This was what they feared would happen. The enemy had drawn them into an ambush.

"Radio is down! Everyone outside now!"

Turning back around as the squad began to grab their weapons and quickly proceed for the exit to the main room, the Sergeant was interrupted by Aurora and Isabella, who began to walk alongside him. Isa spoke first, glancing back at Aurora who quickly caught up to them.

"Sergeant, what's going on?"

"Overwatch just reported multiple unidentified vessels entering the system and vectoring straight for our position. And, to make matters worse... we just lost contact with both the Solaris and the Azure Star. Even local comms are starting to degrade. It's EMBER."

Aurora mumbled a response behind them as they continued to walk, Isabella querying the Sergeant further.

"EMBER? The unidentified vessels are EMBER? Not... Thargoids, right?"

"No... Thargoids woulda been right in over our heads. Portals or... whatever. These vessels are in supercruise, reported by one of our recon vessels in orbit before the comms cu-..."

The ground suddenly shook as multiple, muffled detonations hit the exterior of the site, the CSF squad slowing down a bit as they kept their footing, before they all began to sprint for the exit. Suddenly breaking into a jog, the Sergeant took off after his squad, glancing back at Isa and Aurora.

"Shit. You two stay back! We'll handle this!"

As he ran after his team, Aurora yelled after him, starting to run with Isabella as they ran for the structure's exit.

"... w-we can't just... not help! Sergeant!"

... but he didn't pause or say anything further.

<<<====================>>>
Aurora Adair

"Shields, Aurora!"

Quickly activating her shields as a blue aura formed her black suit before dissipating slightly, Aurora continued to run after the Sergeant, the rest of the CSF soldiers powering up their shields too, all glowing a soft blue before they disappeared around the next corner, up the incline towards the doorway.

Aurora continued after them, holding her rifle close as they dashed up the incline, the latticed, alien door closed ahead of them - but still, nobody seemed to stop.

As the CSF soldiers spread out more upon approaching the door, with a hiss the site responded and opened the entrance out into the pitch-black. Craters already riddled the ground outside, CSF soldiers rushing about as SRVs sped to cover and the dropships began to take off, their engines spooling up.

As the CSF squad began to exit the site, Aurora followed, panting heavily as she stepped out and looked up at the night sky. Thruster trails were painted against the black as ships circled above, but one particular yellow one growing in size stuck out to her... but she realized what it truly was too late.

Yells broke out amongst the CSF squad as they suddenly dived for cover, and the yellow trails clarified into a full missile salvo speeding straight for the previous craters - a second run. The ground shattered ahead as it was engulfed in a bright fireball, kicking up dust and shrapnel, the combined shockwave throwing anybody off their feet nearby.

Aurora was too slow, despite being able to turn away from the explosion. Crying out as she was thrown off her feet and tumbled to the ground, she did her best to hold onto her rifle, curling up a bit as she shielded her helmet from the dust that coated her suit, pieces of rock and metal shards pinging off her shields and the ground nearby.

Groaning as she soon settled on the ground, Aurora heard the distance voice of her partner yell out, trying to struggle to her feet as she picked up her rifle, holding onto it tightly.

"Aurora! You okay!?"

Aurora hadn't anticipated the salvo, the impact and tumble slightly winding her as all she could make out was a soft whimper in response. The fear hit her as her heart pounded with the sudden adrenaline. It all happened so fast. As more yells came from behind the hazy dust, gunfire suddenly started to break out, the engines of ships roaring as the CSF dropships took off, tracers filling the sky, as if utter war had just broken out.

Feeling Isa grab her arm, Aurora was yanked to her feet, trying to get her bearings as she looked around, seeing the firefight unfold.

"... F-... fuck..."

"Come on, honey. We need to go. Get to one of the ships!"

Looking at Isa to make sure she was okay, Aurora flicked the safety of her rifle off and looked ahead, the dust starting to clear. It seemed as if the CSF soldiers had dug in instead of running, the dropships soaring into the skies above as they fended off the dark ships, although some seemed to slip through, a ship vectoring in for a drop as its cargo hatch opened, thrusters kicking up dust ahead as it began to hover.

Still struggling to make out the words, Aurora grabbed Isa's arm and quickly pulled her along to nearby cover, forcing herself to take a deep breath and releasing it in a shaky exhale as she crouched down behind a shattered rock outside the entrance, her heart pumping with adrenaline.

Aurora looked at Isa, fear striking her heart again. It all happened so fast. She couldn't lose this. She had to protect Isa. Gritting her teeth, Aurora shouldered her rifle and looked forward, aiming towards the hovering dropship ahead as figures began to descend from the dropbay beneath, landing on the dusty surface below as the CSF soldiers began to engage the hostile troops landing.

"T-there's... no ship! We have to dig in..."

Flicking the safety off her carbine, Isa shouldered her C-44 and took aim.

"Okay. Then we shoot our way out of this..."

As the figures landed from the dropship and the vessel pulled away, tracers of laser and kinetic fire burst out between the two groups, pelting rocks and ground nearby. Aurora squeezed the trigger of her AR-50, letting off a controlled burst into the group of enemies, some shields flashing as two of her rounds hit, forcing the mercenaries to seek cover.

The dogfight above continued, but the fear that another salvo might come in hung in the back of Aurora's mind. She stayed focused, peering through her rifle's optic as her nightvision highlighted the cloaked figures ahead.

With a squeeze of her trigger, Isabella fired next, her burst going a bit off target as she cursed and tried to calm her nerves. Aurora found herself a bit caught off-guard by it, lowering her rifle and ducking behind the rock as she looked at her partner. Her mind was firing, filled with thoughts, fears and trying to come up with some way out of this.

Trying to shake it off, Aurora tried to put the distractions away as she steadied her hands and gripped her rifle tightly, raising it again as she trained it on the approaching targets, watching the CSF soldiers crack their shields as she tried to pick them off before they withdrew into cover once more, unfortunately not managing a kill just yet.

Isabella tried her luck again and fired, this time with more control as she nailed a shieldless hostile mid-run, watching him stumble to the ground and squirm. She fired another burst and ended the squirming before seeking more targets and engaging. Shields flashed as each side exchanged rounds and kinetic fire.

The CSF soldiers had ended up using the edges of the newly made craters as cover, but the enemy were starting to push them aggressively. As both sides fought for the upper hand, Isabella and Aurora continued to pick off targets that had neglected cover, or lost their shields during the push.

However, the opportunity didn't last long as the enemy turned on them next, laser and kinetic fire abruptly chipping away at the top of their cover, forcing Aurora to duck down and quickly pull Isa down with her.

"Fuck!"

As another ship vectored in and approached, it entered a hover a hundred metres away or so, dropping more troops behind cover. The dogfight was still continuing above, the landscape around them suddenly flashing a violent orange as a ship detonated, scattering debris and sparks across the sky, thankfully none which were directed this way. Hopefully that wasn't one of the CSF dropships, but there was no time to dwell on it.

Even with the best efforts of the CSF squad, the area in front of them had become a total frontline that was pushing them hard. Slowly but surely, it almost felt like they were slowly being overwhelmed, and the enemy were becoming increasingly difficult to put down as they deployed shield projectors to cover their advance, used cover well - and by the looks of the approaching enemy force, even sported ballistic shields and launchers. They matched - if not surpassed - CSF's current strength on the ground.

Aurora just knelt there, catching her breath as she looked over at Isa, not saying a word. Isa sighed stressfully and gazed over at Aurora, reloading her carbine quickly as she tried to reassure her partner.

"Hey... Aurora. Hun, we're going to make it through this. Just keep focused, okay? For me. For us."

Wanting to protest and beg Isa for them to run, Aurora shook her head. They couldn't abandon the CSF soldiers who were trying so hard to fight. To protect them.

Moving to the other side of the rock as Isa exited cover and began to return fire, Aurora peeked and raised her rifle, starting to squeeze off short, controlled bursts at any hostile target she could see, following suit with Isa. Punching through shields with solely kinetics would usually prove difficult, although the CSF soldiers were quick to use their own array of laser weapons to pick off the shields of the targets Isa and Aurora were engaging.

Anyone foolish enough not to seek cover was promptly dropped by the sustained fire projected by both the CSF squad and the duo behind the cracked rock. There still seemed to be no reprieve, however. The enemy force continued to push, their reinforcements arriving with shields and all, three of the mercenaries stepping into a close formation as they formed a 'shield-wall' of sorts, shooting blindly past the cut-out of the shield.

It was effective enough to buy them some time to start tossing grenades, forcing the CSF soldiers to retreat back into further cover, abandoning their current cover. As several of the CSF soldiers got to their feet and quickly chucked projectors down to cover them falling back, the ground in the midst of them suddenly burst into shrapnel and fire as a well-placed rocket launcher round threw them apart, several of the soldiers tumbling loosely as their shields shattered under the force of the explosive.

Some made it back into cover, or got back on their feet, but some didn't, laying there on the dusty ground as their shields fizzled around them. Anger started to get the better of Aurora, mixed in with her hopelessness and fear. Her bursts began to turn into pure full-auto fire as she focused on the shield-wall which protected their rocket troops, cracking away at the multi-layered ballistic plating before she quickly paused and exchanged magazines.

As she reloaded, she heard Isa say something to her, before her partner abruptly dashed out of cover.

"Cover me..."

"... I-... ISA!"

Caught off guard by the sudden move, Aurora holstered her rifle quickly and wasted no time in sprinting after her, seeing Isa run for one of the CSF soldiers who had been knocked down by the rocket, scrambling on the ground for his weapon. Grabbing a frag grenade from her belt, Aurora yanked the pin from its hold and tossed the grenade in the rough direction of the enemy shield-wall, which was preoccupied with the other CSF elements nearby.

Isa was the first to reach the soldier on the ground, tossing a shield projector at their feet as she grabbed the soldier and yelled at him, the bubble shield forming to cover them. Aurora came to a skidding halt within the shield as she heard her frag detonate, seeing the enemy shield-wall slightly disrupted and shrouding them in fine dust. That'd blind them for a few moments, buying them some time.

She wanted to curse at how risky the move Isa pulled was and argue that it should've been her to do it. But regret quickly hit her over her selfish thoughts, keeping her from saying anything of that sort as she looked between the both of them.

"All good?! Where's the fucking dropships, can't they help us out?!"

The soldier shook his head, grabbing his sidearm as Isa helped him to his feet.

"No comms, ma'am! Even the local area is being jammed!"

With not much energy likely remaining in the shield projector, Isabella pushed them on, pointing at the nearest cover closest to the site as she raised her carbine and yelled, breaking out of the shield bubble as she started to put distance between her and the enemy, Aurora still getting to her feet as she ran after them.

"Okay. Get to cover! Let's go, let's go! Aurora!"

Within seconds, the shield collapsed and Isa instantly fired at the closest thing threatening their retreat, as she yelled out to Aurora and started to backtrack for the cover, turning and sprinting. Getting to her feet, Aurora began to sprint after the CSF soldier, Isa turning and doing the same.

As if the enemy's priorities instantly shifted, Aurora's shields flashed as all the fire suddenly focused on her from the wall of enemy forces while she ran. Although her Maverick suit was more combat-rated than Isa's, not even an upgraded Dominator could stand up to the punishment for long.

Stumbling as her shields suddenly shattered, Aurora quickly tried to turn around to defend herself and her partner - but she barely had a chance. With her shields down, a loud shot rang out, a kinetic tracer slamming into the center of her armour mid-turn, at a slight angle, forcing the round to ricochet off and bury itself into the ground next to her.

Knocked off her feet by the force, Aurora tumbled to the ground, losing the grip on her rifle as she cried out, squirming slightly as she felt a sharp pain shoot through her body when she landed awkwardly on the ground. The CSF soldier watched this with Isa, cursing as he took a step forward, before he looked up at the sky. A ship... and it was moving in fast for another missile salvo, it seemed.

"INCOMING!"

Cursing, Isa wasted no time in running for Aurora, throwing a fragmentation grenade at the enemy to try cover herself as she skidded to her knees, landing right next to Aurora as she squirmed on the floor, groaning in pain, protesting as her partner tried to lift her. She could hear the distance shouts and warnings of the incoming strike, trying to fight through it as she pulled herself up towards Isa.

But by then, it was too late. As they looked up at the approaching ship, a Diamondback Explorer, it started its rocket salvo, one missile whistling through the air before an engine roared and lasers shot out, dancing across the shields of the DBX as a black Crusader slammed into it at full speed, a deafening boom reverberating through its hull and shattering the shields of the Diamondback under its might.

The ram threw off the rest of the missile salvo, only one rocket landing somewhat near Aurora and Isa, before the rest of the salvo perforated the enemy's ground, throwing off the shield-wall as the mercenaries were scrambled. The enemy ship tumbled uncontrollably as the Crusader's shields shimmered and its thrusters bloomed, pitching down suddenly as it directed the enemy ship into the ground.

Dust enveloped the struggling ships, but the unmistakable sound of the Diamondback's hull shattering and crushing under the weight of the Crusader sounded out, every thruster firing to keep the CSF dropship stable as its reverse thrusters wrenched it free from the crushed midsection of the DBX.

Scars of weapons fire could be seen across the hull of the Crusader, its right rear nacelle flickering with evident damage to the wing, but it kept on, pushing itself back into the sky as the enemy ships began to turn their focus onto the Crusader, lasers withering away its shields.

Grabbing Aurora and scooping her up in her arms as she watched the Crusader rise up into the air once more, Isa quickly ran back to cover with her lover in her arms, scrambling to place her down in safety as her shields slowly reformed. She had lost them trying to get to Isa, a sharp pain in her right thigh as she grunted and examined it.

The duo once again turned their focus to the Crusader that began to lift and turn, watching its shields collapse under the sheer weapons fire, before its right nacelle suddenly detonated and the ship lurched, losing its stability. It managed to stay in the air, its hardpoints returning fire as a beautiful display of projectiles and laser fire soared high above the heads of Aurora and Isa.

Sitting down where Isa put her in cover, Aurora panted heavily, everything hitting her at once as she prioritized making sure her lover was okay, unable to tell where she was wounded exactly. It seemed the CSF soldier had left cover, grabbing a weapon nearby as he went to go join the fight again, leaving Aurora and Isa alone as the conflict continued in the distance.

Ships sped over head, as she watched the CSF and EMBER ships dance above. It wasn't clear who was winning... but a quick count confirmed all of the Crusader dropships were still in the air, for now. Feeling Isa grab her shoulders, Aurora focused on her partner again, whimpering softly as she felt a pain shoot through her front.

"Are you okay, hun? Did that go through?"

Aurora glanced down at her own armour, seeing the deep scratch in one of her plates above her abdomen. The round had ricocheted off, but the force behind it hurt like hell, let alone the way she landed when she fell.

"... n-... no..."

Clenching her fists, Aurora groaned, fighting her emotions and thoughts as she just wanted Isabella to stay with her, holding onto her lover's arms tightly. She leant her head back and watched the dogfight over head, the landscape lighting up with another violent flash as an enemy ship detonated. She turned her attention back to Isa, her voice wavering with fear and upset as it all started to become too much. She couldn't do this anymore... but she had to.

"... a-are you... okay?"

"All is fine. Nothing serious. A graze from... something... maybe, but I'm okay. We should take this chance to maybe... maybe flank and split their fire?"

Powering through, Aurora rolled forward onto her knees slowly, balling her fists as she got up and grabbed her Tormentor from its holster. She looked at Isa, placing both of her hands on the pistol grip as she nodded, responding shakily.

"... Y-yeah..."

"Okay..."

As the two got to their feet and peeked from their cover, they observed the battle still unfolding, the enemy shield-wall completely shattered as the EMBER mercenaries broke out of formation, trying to fight back against CSF's non-stop assault. With the attention now drawn away from them, they were almost in the perfect position to flank already, possibly using the craters and rocks as cover to close distance.

As they waited for the right moment, Aurora soon dashed out of cover with Isa, following her partner closely as they weaved through strange formations, broken rocks and debris. As they continued on slinking through, she looked at Isa, and started to notice that something was off with her gait.

"Isa..."

Slowing down quickly as she grabbed her lover's arm to stop her, Aurora quickly took cover again somewhere safe with her, holding her arm as she looked at her.

"Isa, you're hurt."

"I'm okay. Come on. We can't waste time. They're going to need us to do this. I'll live."

Aurora sighed as she let go of her arm and placed her hand back on her Tormentor. She felt hopeless, scared and frustrated. To her, this was a nightmare that happened in the worst possible way.

"Fine..."

Without much more said between the two, Isa stood up and peeked, before quickly bounding to the next piece of cover, continuing the flank. Aurora just kept her focus on Isa's safety and the task at hand as she followed her shortly after she bounded, keeping her profile low and her Tormentor in her hand.

The dogfight continued above, ships spiralling and gradually gaining distance from the site, although the Crusaders always stayed as close as they could, circling above in a surprisingly well coordinated formation, despite the comms being down.

On the ground, the firefight raged on, the remaining EMBER forces almost surrounded now, unknowingly trapped between the CSF squad, and Isa and Aurora. Both sides were fighting tooth and nail to win with their remaining forces, the occasional detonation ringing out as a grenade was tossed or a launcher fired. Those mercenaries that remained with ballistic shields tried to protect their forces as best as they still could, but the enemy was struggling.

As Aurora and Isa weaved through a strange, smaller Thargoid formation, they soon found themselves coming up on the flank of the enemy. They had moved around enough to get a better position, but unfortunately for her, there was a large gap of open terrain that bridged Isabella and Aurora's position from the Thargoid structure to the hostiles.

Pausing near cover with Isa as she looked ahead at the distracted mercenaries, Aurora sighed softly, holding her sidearm close to her chest as she watched them fighting ahead.

"W-... wish I had my rifle right now... ugh. Think we can... hit them from here? CSF seems to be doing... pretty... well..."

Isa sighed.

"Probably not hit them but... if we can suppress and make them think there's more than just us... we're good."

Placing her carbine on the floor gently, Isa reached for one of her side pouches, grabbing an energy cell for her suit. As they crouched there, Aurora glanced at the carbine on the floor, thinking for a bit. She wanted to take the weapon and do this for them, but hesitated. She didn't want to complicate this more than it already was.

Gritting her teeth a bit as she tried to make a decision, Aurora decided against what she was thinking, looking forward again as she waited for her partner to charge her suit. As she simply plugged the energy cell in, Isa discarded it aside and grabbed her carbine, shouldering it as she glanced over at Aurora.

"Ready. You?"

"No... but I suppose I have to be..."

Aurora felt regret hit her at her slightly snarky comment, sheepishly shrugging it off as she nodded.

"... sorry... yeah... I'm ready. We should... engage them here or find closer cover..."

Isabella looked forward, trying to think, but she was getting visibly antsy with how long it was taking them to actually make a move.

"I... there's cover over there but it's... another long dash through the open and it's nearly on top of them. Otherwise, this is the best location."

"Fine. I'm ready."

Raising her pistol at the ready, Aurora aimed down the sight and started to try calm her breathing, her hand still trembling visibly and throwing off her aim. She struggled to steady the tremor, her breathing echoing inside her helmet as she waited for Isa to open up first.

As the firefight continued, the CSF soldiers seemed to take some additional heavy fire from elsewhere, despite the main enemy thinning out. Aurora looked up, turning to look at flashes of weapon fire appearing on the elevated ridge of the site, near one of the spires. Of course there'd be more. There always was... and now they were flanking too. Aurora and Isa took too long.

"Shit... Isa! Look!"

Looking to where Aurora pointed out, Isa lowered her carbine in disbelief, going quiet for a moment before she stuttered out a reply.

"F... fuck. Ughhh. I... fuck. I don't know what to do..."

Aurora cursed quietly, tucking her pistol close to her chest as she tried to think of something, anything that could help get them out of this mess.

"F-fuck..."

Starting to panic as she watched the CSF squad getting suppressed, there was no time to decide what to do before a barrage of weapons fire came their way. Grabbing Isa, Aurora dived back behind cover, holding her close as rounds peppered the formation they hid within, as she yelled out desperately.

"FUCK off!"

The skies still filled with tracers above. The dropships were still fighting. Where were the Scorpions? What were they supposed to do? How could they get out of this? Aurora's mind ran through a million ideas but each one ended in hopelessness. She couldn't do this. She just failed... time and time again. She couldn't even fight... not without losing everything.

Aurora sat there, lost in her thoughts before she was suddenly jostled out of them by Isa firing up at the enemies closest to the CSF soldiers, as per their original flanking plan. Without her rifle, Aurora was useless... so she simply sat there and made sure Isa was safe as she kept her hand on her Tormentor.

A dropship passed overhead, the heavily damaged Crusader missing its back right nacelle. Truthfully, at this point... they were all badly damaged in a way. The Crusader kept on fighting, seemingly turning its attention to the ridge as it began to fire missiles of its own, shattering the ground and throwing off the enemy. Aurora cursed under her breath a bit, in a more positive exclamation.

That was exactly what they needed... and hopefully it had bought them some time to suppress the last enemy group remaining - who didn't seem to have turned their attention back on Isa yet, too focused on fighting the CSF squad.

"I'm pushing forward..."

Reloading swiftly, Isa got to her feet and pushed forward into the open, dusty battlefield, making a beeline for the closer cover Aurora had pointed out earlier. Yelling after her, Aurora jumped to her feet and tried to run after her, stray rounds and inaccurate suppressive fire impacting near them as they sprinted across.

"Isa!"

Aurora breathed heavily as she sprinted, ducking a bit as inaccurate fire shot towards them, kicking up dust where it landed. She watched the Crusader annihilate the ridge... but it wasn't enough. EMBER just kept coming. They kept...

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WARNING: FRAME SHIFT ANOMALY DETECTED.

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Aurora froze. Her blood ran cold at a HUD warning she had never seen before herself, but had heard all the stories. Her heart stopped, her body refusing to cooperate as she stood there in the open, some of the gunfire started to die down. Everybody with an active suit, ship or SRV received the automatic report. CSF kept pushing... gunning down EMBER mercenaries that suddenly began to run and retreat, as the sky above began to groan and crackle loudly, writhing and squirming, as if a hole had been torn open in the stars. The sound dominated the environment, unlike anything Aurora had ever heard before.

"... O-oh my god..."

As the human ships above cleared, and the CSF Crusaders tried to deal with any EMBER ship that still wanted to fight, the wormhole writhed and twisted above, before a loud groan suddenly sounded and the portal slammed shut.

Through the night-vision, it appeared. A biomechanical, eight-pointed star, the silhouette of the Interceptor perfectly recognizable against the backdrop of space. The markings on its petals began to flash, glowing in the distance as the vessel began to drone, the drone rapidly transitioning into a steady, charging whine that dominated over every other sound, its hull flickering a light cyan.

The closest, damaged Crusader tried to vector away - but even the suit barely had chance to report what was going on before the energy pulse suddenly fired. The whine ended in a loud 'boom' that echoed through the environment, a massive sphere of visible energy emanating from the Interceptor and interacting with everything it hit... shutting down whatever was in its path.

The Crusader's thrusters died, the ship uncontrollably losing its ability to hover as it began to roll, falling towards the ground rapidly. The pulse 'whooshed' as it hit those on the ground not even a second later, the suit HUD flickering violently before suddenly disappearing. Everything went off - lights, temperature control, life support, night-vision, and the simulated sound.

The SUVAS voice was the only thing that could be heard malfunctioning before it all fell into an eerie, muffled silence, only able to feel the vibrations of the ground shaking as the Crusader crashed nearby, every other ship in the sky falling like birds with broken wings. There was no more gunfire, none that could be seen at least.

The Interceptor faded back into darkness... but its silhouette was still unmistakeably there, blocking out the stars and steadily growing in size, a void engulfing the sky above as a dark red, ominous trail slowly followed the terrifying alien ship. It was right there, above her... watching.

Aurora couldn't see Isa anymore, not in the darkness... not without her night-vision. All she could hear was her own frantic breathing, before the realization kicked in. She was on reserve oxygen. The more she panicked, the faster she used it up - and the thought didn't exactly help her calm down either.

Trembling as she backed away slowly, as the stars disappeared above them, Aurora started to sob to herself, her body aching and her visor fogging up as she tried to spot the Thargoid vessel. She couldn't... it was just too dark. She knew it was right there above them. What was it doing? She started to panic again, looking around but being unable to spot Isabella. She didn't know where she had backed up to. She lost all her bearings.

Suddenly, a blinding yellow light filled the area, the Thargoid vessel lighting up directly above, extremely close, as yellow tendrils extended out from its cockpit, probing at the Crusader landed on the ground. The light let Aurora spot Isabella and some CSF soldiers in the distance near the Crusader, fighting her body and panic to try get back to her partner before it became dark again. Her lungs started to burn, her legs unsteady as her vision blurred from her tears. She didn't know how much longer she had... and her suit wouldn't come back online. She needed Isabella.

As Isa spotted her and quickly dashed over, Aurora stumbled slightly as her lover grabbed her arm and pulled her over to cover, collapsing to her knees as they reached it. Her hands were shaking, the yellow light suddenly disappearing. Everything was silent without the suit's systems online, their surroundings pitch-black. Aurora looked up, watching the sky clear slightly. Was the Interceptor leaving?

It was then she realized she was struggling to breathe. Her visor fogged up almost completely, making it hard to see. Her lungs started to struggle, and then her fear hit her full on. She was starting to suffocate. She'd used up too much of the reserve oxygen too quickly.

Clumsily trying to find Isa and hold onto her as she panicked, Aurora tried to keep her breathing calm, but it was already too late. Her body was fighting her, her lungs starting to scream for air. She tried to hold on, grabbing Isa tightly if she could.

It didn't help. Soon, she couldn't breathe at all anymore, tears streaming down her face as she tried to fight herself before her body inevitably gave in, her lungs trying to force a breath in, but only making it worse as she couldn't even exhale. She panicked uncontrollably, squirming on the spot as she released Isa and collapsed on her hands and knees, digging her fingers into the dirt. She wanted to cry and sob, but only her tears streamed down her cheeks as her vision started to tunnel, and her body started to fail her.

She felt everything start to slow and become sluggish as she collapsed to the ground weakly, her lover rolling her onto her side. She couldn't see what Isabella was doing... only that she knew she was there. But that only made it hurt more. Her legs kicked instinctually as she tried to fight it, but she couldn't.

She desperately wanted to hear Isabella's voice again, clumsily reaching out for her partner as her head started to go limp, her hand grasping onto whatever she could hold. In the end, even by the love of her life's side, she'd die alone in agonizing silence, not even getting to utter a final goodbye or one last 'I love you'.

With a distorted, garbled beep, her HUD flickered as her suit suddenly kicked back in, the battery recovering and rebooting. The sound returned in her ears, distant and muffled as her choked gasps filled the confines of her helmets, her helmet hissing as it filled with breathable oxygen, but her lungs still struggled.

She felt herself start to slip away, before Isa grabbed her and yelled out.

"... -urora... Aurora! Hey... can you hear me?! I'm right here. Deep, careful breaths..."

Gasping violently as she squirmed on the ground, Aurora opened her eyes and felt her lungs fill with air, her head pounding and her heart racing as she started to hyperventilate. As soon as she had enough air in her lungs again, Aurora burst into tears as she broke down completely, laying there on the ground as she sobbed and whimpered to herself. She could hear Isa again, trying to reach out for her hand as she bawled her eyes out, struggling to see.

Her lover's voice was so distant... but it was there... reassuring her it was okay as she felt her hand taken and squeezed gently.

"... -ome... sit up if you can... you're okay. I love you..."

Holding onto Isa's hand tightly, Aurora sniffled and quivered as she focused on her lover's voice, sobbing as she heard her say she loved her. Aurora tried to reply, only managing to croak out the words slightly as she cleared her throat.

"... I l-... lov... e... y......"

Cut off by a pained whine, Aurora took in a shaky breath, trying to calm herself down as she listened to Isa and sat up slowly. She just held onto Isa's hand, focusing on her partner and her own breathing, sitting there with her legs out flat as she coughed a bit, her throat burning.

"... I c-... cou... ldn't... b-... br......"

"Aurora... it's fine. Shhh..."

Isa got to her feet slowly as she squeezed Aurora's hand once more, examining the battlefield around them. It was still dark, but with her night-vision active again, Isa could see far ahead. Figures still seemed to be moving near the Crusader that had crashed inside the site on the ground, its external lights active again but its right nacelles crumpled by the way it landed. No other ships seemed to be in the air, though it seemed the other Crusaders had somewhat managed to land. CSF was still standing... somewhat.

Looking up at Isa, Aurora sat there and tried to calm her trembling body, wondering what her lover was looking for. But she was scared, recalling how close she came to yet again losing her life... and Isabella was right with her, unable to do anything to help.

"... P-... please s... stay..."

"... We can't, hun. We should move... to the Crusader. We should move to that. Regroup and... get a head count."

Aurora shook her head and sobbed for a few moments. The encounter and her near-death experience kept echoing through her mind - still feeling her prior panic and distress. She couldn't think straight, even though she subconsciously knew getting to the Crusader was the right idea.

"Come...we need to go."

Sliding a bit as she struggled to get to her feet, Aurora stood up slowly, her body aching as Isa tugged her along. She could hardly see where she was going through her tears, trusting Isa to lead them the right way as she shuffled after her, grabbing her hand if she could and holding on tightly.

"... a-... are y... ou o-... ok... ay~...?"

No response came, but Isa started to tug her along faster, Aurora struggling to keep up with the increased pace as she wondered why her partner was rushing.

"I-... Isa...?"

It was difficult to see the ground in the dark without night-vision to guide their steps, and Aurora couldn't really wipe her eyes to see better either. She just followed her lover as fast as she walked, trying to keep her footing as they steadily got closer to the Crusader, using its exterior lights as a guidance. It was still a fair distance away, and Aurora was starting to get concerned as to why Isabella wasn't talking to her, gently tapping on her shoulder as she sniffled.

"... t-talk to me... p-ple...ase. What's w... wro...ng...? H-honeyyy..."

Hearing Isa's voice just barely picked up by the simulated sound, Aurora realized her suit speakers weren't on... and Isa shortly confirmed why.

"My suit. It's los-... I lost power. We need to get to the ship. See if we can recharge and rearm. Just...follow me. Grab my pack and hold on or... your torch."

Realizing she had her extra energy cells still, Aurora quickly reached for her belt, fumbling with a pouch as she popped it open and drew out one of her own full energy cells. Trying to see where the slot was for it on her partner's suit pack, Aurora attempted to plug her energy cell in to bring Isabella's suit back, struggling and failing the first time as her lover continued to march on.

Getting frustrated, Aurora grabbed onto Isa's arm and snapped at her slightly, stopping her as she swiftly plugged the energy cell into her pack.

"I-... Isa, j-just... hold still!"

As Isa's suit returned to life and she looked back at Aurora, Isa stopped entirely as the two exchanged a look.

"You had a cell?"

Unplugging and chucking the empty cell aside as she nodded, Aurora stood there, unsteady on her feet and her voice a bit soft and hoarse as her gaze seemed to travel around, looking at the battlefield around them.

"... y-yeah... t... two. My s-suit has a b... better... battery inst-... installed s-so I don't need them o-... oft... en..."

Isabella stood there for a moment, simply looking at Aurora before she shook her head and chuckled, placing her carbine on her pack.

"I... thanks. Make sure you save one for yourself just in case and... and not toss it like a idiot... like me. I wasn't... thinking obviously."

Isabella looked back at the crashed Crusader, and sighed softly.

"We need to get you somewhere to rest..."

Looking at Isa, and taking in their surroundings, prompted Aurora to start crying again, clearing her throat as she stood there, her arms still trembling as she held her hands together in front of herself, fidgeting with them. All the stress, fear and panic from being involved in such intense combat, having her first alien encounter, and almost suffocating to death hit her as she burst into sobs again, stepping forward as she quickly hugged Isabella, wrapping her arms tightly around her lover as best as she could.

Not fully expecting the hug, the two of them simply held each other close, Isabella softly whispering to her lover as she listened to her sob.

"It's... it's okay, honey. I know... I know. Doesn't seem like it, but... let's just get you to some safe place with cover. Can I carry you?"

Through sniffles and shaky breaths, Aurora hesitantly shook her head, gesturing to Isa's leg.

"... but y-... yo... ur l-leg..."

Glancing down at her leg, Isabella grimaced and shrugged her shoulders.

"Shit... I don't know how bad it is. Guess we'll have to deal with it later. The suit stims will have to do. Come..."

Following after Isa, Aurora sniffled softly as she thought of all the things she wanted to tell Isabella, but she couldn't bring herself to do it without crying more, so slowly she trailed after Isa quietly, towards the Crusader.

As they got closer, the silhouettes of the figures ahead became more clear. CSF soldiers seemed to have set up a temporary triage area, dozens of the ground combat element here, many of the soldiers sitting on the ground near the ship, some laying. Whether the ones laying were dead or not wasn't fully clear... but there wasn't much time to dwell on it either as a shout came from Isa and Aurora's side, rapidly approaching as the Sergeant came out of nowhere, jogging over quickly. It was Sergeant Kato.

"Commanders! You two alright?!"

Noticing the casualties, Isa tried not to focus on it too much as she turned to the Sergeant, nodding her head as she responded for them.

"Uhhh... y-... yeah. Dazed a bit... Aurora is... shaken..."

Stopping close to them, Kato looked between Aurora and Isa, before he gestured back to another intact Crusader landed a bit further away, albeit its hull scarred with battle damage.

"Get on that Crusader. I'll tell the pilot to take you both back to the Solaris. EMBER forces pulled out after... after that Thargoid showed up."

The Sergeant sighed, looking around at the mess that surrounded them, prominently the creaking, crashed Crusader right by their side.

"Thanks, Sergeant. We'll head there now."

Isabella turned to look at Aurora as she stepped close and took her hand, cupping it in her own and giving it a gentle squeeze.

As she gently pulled Aurora in and began to walk with her close, Isa whispered over their private suit link, sighing quietly as the two walked along the dusty, broken ground towards the landed Crusader.

"Come, love. Let's get the hell out of here..."

And, at this point... Aurora couldn't possibly agree more.

========================================================

Credit:
This story is only possible thanks to our squadron and community. Join TITAN Contractors, a diverse and talented squadron, and experience our custom lore and events. This logbook/short story as well as other associated images and story is property of TITAN Contractors, CMDR Radiumio. A massive thank you to CMDR Isabella Levine for their involvement in the story. Additionally, thank you so much to CMDRs Davewheeltalk, MikachuNLD, Sam "Pseudo" Pseudowoodo, Cycronos, Krynesur, GoblinCoffeeshop - among others - for interacting with the TCON story via our Discord. Thank you so much for reading!
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MARS: 16 - No Reprieve - TITAN Contractors

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