Expected Guest

[Kauket]

---

CAFETERIA, HUMAN ADAPTED ZONE, THE SHRINE,

Idling in wait, Revenant relaxed in the Cafeteria for the arrival of a familiar that she guided to the facility. There was little anxiety within the air as she waited within the dark ambience of the cold social grounds, quietly relishing in the night cycle of the stations adapted place of living. Not too many people were around, the occasional believer would enter the cafeteria to heat up a drink or two before either lingering or simply leaving. A peaceful time for a talk. Although the cycle was set to night, Revenant had previously rested upon arrival to the facility, still slowly waking up in a groggy manner. Simply, she relaxed back into the basic stall, occasionally lowering the bottom half of her mask to take a sip from the burning flask. One weakness that could never truly be augmented out. Fatigue of the mind.

Situated besides her upon the table, a small but highly errant drone as her faithful companion was occupied with a datapad. Presumably, doing some bureaucratic task upon her behalf.

It chirped in its robotic tone, somewhat within a teasing manner,"ꂑ ꃃꍟ꓅ ꓅ꑛꍟ ꅐꑛꂑꁒꉣꐟ ꆂꁹꍟ ꁍꋫꏝꍟ ꐇꉣ."

I bet the whimpy one gave up

"...Not now, please... Nrgghh... I should have brought a sleeping bag for my ship... " - Revenant murmured under the mask, letting loose a surpressed yawn as she briefly lamented about sleeping on a cargo floor, occasionally glancing around for the new arrival.

---

[Jazzi]

Roughly ten minutes pass before the new arrival appeared. Dressed in her flightsuit, the white leather panels darkened with dirt and soot, she made her way to the cafeteria first. Her black and orange flask swiftly found itself being filled with what was, presumably, coffee. It's a heavy set object - thick sided and wider as much as deep. A magnetic plate on the underside. The perfect flask when pulling G's.

White felt it's steam on her face, her hands reaching up to lift her black hair off her pale face and tie it in a bun behind her head. Turning, she looks around the room. Her tired, bag-rimed eyes spot Revenant and after a moment to collect her flask she walks over to the table.

"May I?" She asks quietly as White gestures to the empty seat across from Revenant. Her brown eyes are fixed on the drone with a twinkle of curiosity in them. "Your friend is quite something."

[Kauket]

---

Closing the cap on her flask, she freely gestured to the seat opposing.

"By all means. "

Still relaxing back, she crossed her hands, shuffling her boots closer back to her side to free up space, incase she'd accidentally kick her.

"I was expecting you to run away afraid... Oh? Him? " She gazed to her companion tapping away, now nonchalantly speaking. "He is a bastard."

It retaliated for a moment, throwing its little arms up. It is oddly expressive for something that is synthetic,"ꂑ ꀗꁹꆂꅐ ꅐꑛꍟ꒓ꍟ ꐟꆂꐇ ꒒ꂑꏝꍟ." - it sassed out in another form of blips. To White, it was completely incomprehensible.

I know where you live.

A brief hum, amused by the little tantrum, she fixated back to White, "How are you feeling? Do you still hear the calling?"

[Jazzi]

"Ha!" The expressive action and plucky retort, whatever was said, brought a chuckle from White as she sat down. Taking a sip and letting out a relieved sigh at it's taste and warmth, White looked at Revenant as they spoke.

"I considered running. I suspect most consider running when confronted with all this," gesturing with one hand to roughly all around them.

"Sat in the cockpit for a good long while mulling it over. Eventually, I decided I didn't want to be that kind of person. I want to know what you mean by this 'calling', and why I can't stop seeing the shape of that thing every time I close my eyes."

[Kauket]

---

A light hum ensued, curious by her decision to face her fears. It was most certainly unexpected.


"These imprints can mean a lot of things. Some call it destiny. Some consider it a call to action, some may even see it as a signal for change. "

Inhaling and releasing out a sigh, pondering for a moment more as the reality of it sank in. It was more notable that with the revelation of these alien sites from the varying conflicts, that more and more individuals were going to be affected by psychometry - the infectious touch that transfers energy to the mind. That there are going to be more and more individuals to deal with. Still, she was curious of White's case in particular. It felt oddly specific in her point of view. And familiar.

"Or perhaps something out there really cares for you. Or... Alternatively, you found something you shouldn't have, and now you bonded with said thing. But... these imprints, it tends to be associated with your inner most desire, what your spirit itself may seek... Now, I am not entirely a spiritual person, I am unlike anyone else aboard this facility, but..."

Leaning forward, she placed her arms against the table surface, leaning upon it.

"I think it might be worth for you to investigate this calling. No, I don't think its a trap, and this place - the Shrine, it abhors violence. Never heard of anyone getting ambushed here, it's a place of peace... But this calling, I think it's a... vague gesture - rather than an invitation - to notion you to look. To stop and listen. Introspect.

- ... As a side note, I wouldn't go telling the Order about this calling - about the Shrine - about what you have overheard with me and Harbinger... or any other major group for that matter. They are incredibly ignorant and will likely prescribe you a bullet to your cranium... Humanity fears the unknown, afterall. "

For a moment, she paused, clicking off the lower half of her mask as air briefly released, going to sip from her own flask again.

"Feel free to take one of the Yam cakes if you'd desire. I had the misfortune of hearing a certain little menace calling it the Yam Kavash. "

Slowly she glanced over to the little drone, shaking her head slowly with a visible frown in disapproval, as the little synthetic creature perked up to glance over - chittering away in devious humor.

---

[Jazzi]

Staying silent, Catherine reaches forward for a yam cake and takes it in both hands. She looks the item over curiously, before her attention returns to her guide. As they speak, her pale hands break the cake apart into five pieces in slow, purposeful fashion.

"It's dubious they'd believe me anyway. If I suspect I am going mad, then what can I expect others to think. I will be getting a medical examination when I am back. It's important to me, in case it is madness or something is burnt in my retina or...something."

When placed down, a familiar shape presents in the breakages between portions of the Yam cake. A shape spoiled when White takes a piece and holds it in her hand as she draws coffee from her flask.

"I doubt that there is that something out there, caring for me. Why would it if it exists? A small, brash, reckless monkey who - "

She takes in a deep breath, putting the cake piece back down to rub the bridge of her nose. Catherine felt a rush of sudden emotion as the cacophony of consequence resonates through her. From the moment she tried to get into that minefield at Norfolk; to seeing the greens, blues and purples of the Omicrons. Every face along the way. The paths she had trodden. The family she had chosen to leave behind to do so. The friends and foes she had made along the way. The near deaths and euphoric victories. All leading to the now in a crescendo of insatiable curiosity.

Leaning forward White let out a long, tired sigh before looking at Raven intently as she continues to speak.

" - who doesn't know whether they are coming or going. Why would that deserve it's attention? It's care? Perhaps... that is where my introspection should begin. Stars, I haven't a clue Revenant. The fear of the unknown. I share that. The need to erect a box around oneself and live inside it. Ignore the outside. Stay safe! The box was comfortable. Just... somehow it broke the box. Now I have to make the unknown known. Otherwise there is just fear."

Picking the cake up and finally eating a piece, her brow furrowed.

"This... is an acquired taste, I take it?"

[Kauket]

---

Momentarily sipping once more from the scorching metal flask, listening to her. The small confectionary good was sweet in nature, lightly coated with a layer of cream cheese, seemingly to have a earthy yet fruity mix in taste, with what felt like jam in the center of it.

"While my confidence is high that you are not compromised by an incubus, this is no case of a retinal burn, dear. You had chased Sentinels prior, and possibly marked yourself. If you truly feel that uncomfortable, I can offer you a medical check up too. And even if you were to be compromised by their parasites, it is not the end of the line for you, so worry not - I will not kill you."

There was a sense of warmth to her words, curiosity, intrigue, yet the drive to ensure White's own will remaining intact, a belief that she has a right to retain her intellectual freedom. A small chuckle emerged at her insecurity, downplaying herself.

"Importance... All subjective. Ultimately, we are all born, and we all destined to die. At the start, we are all unremarkable yet unique in our own ways. No one is born important, White. It is what you do with your potential and opportunities. You take what you have, and do what you can to improve.

I was a nobody once too, but I am. The once-Guildmaster of the Core, turned renegade to spearhead a revolution of science to bring knowledge, peace, evolution. It is dedication that will pave your way. We're all unique in our own ways. Perhaps you accidentally reached out to something that shared similar thoughts, feelings, notions, with you. "

She fixed the cap on the flask again, just incase a lapse of clumsiness took control before continuing intently with the mask revealing her mouth. She puckered a smirk,

"If we wanted to remain comfortable within the confinements of our ignorance, to never challenge the unknown to discover the truth, we would be back on Earth in Sol, praying for better days within caves. It is curiosity, ambition, the drive to build, that made us reach out... Ignoring the reality around you would be a fatal mistake. It is for the best to know the truth so that you may progress.

Do not do the same mistake as the Order does. Discarding it all, destroying it all to hide it, to live in that box of ignorance. To believe in Human supremacy. That is the path of death. It is not bliss.

Sirius is not our home as we believe it to be, we are within the domain of an Alien's sandbox, and it is our challenge as a species to test ourselves. How are we going to fare with what is to come in the future? How can we advance as a species if we cannot overcome the instinct to destroy? How faithful are we to ourselves as a people? Sirius sorely lacks unity. "

She reached over to grab one of the cupcakes, ripping a small bit off to nibble on.

[Jazzi]

Catherine leans forward forward in her seat as she falls quiet. Her eyes trained intently on Revenant, watching what she could see of expression carefully as she listens. One hand rests on the top of the table, fingertips idly rubbing against it's coarse texture. The other rests on her lap.

She's not sure what she thinks of Revenant's view of the Order. From what she's seen there has been callousness. Ruthlessness. Yet, at their centre she's seen a kernel of humanity fighting for survival against a malicious universe. Revenant is speaking of survival too, yet she preaches adoption. Adaption over confrontation.

Cath smiles slightly as she moves her attention to hand. Memories of her life on Erie, living with her family in peace. The dissolution of the protectorate and the invasion of the Libertonians. Told our home was not ours. Not our home as we believed it to be; within the domain of Liberty's sandbox.

They had chosen confrontation then. They had chosen to be faithful to themselves as a people. They fought back by choosing destruction. By choosing conflict. Had they started that conflict? Had they invited their own strife when that satellite was brought down? What choice did they have? A shiver runs down her spine, and she takes a long sip of her coffee to melt the icy similarities.

Have we shot down an alien satellite?

"On the topic of Alien sandboxes, I saw a couple of things as we came to this sta- shrine. Two circular structures that I could've sworn were trade lane gates from a distance. I've the creeping feeling that's not a co-incidence, and... what these Sentinels? Do you mean the Nomads? Do you mean all Nomads or just some of them? I recall it speaking as if there were different Nomads. What is that about?"

[Kauket]

---

Another hum ensued, silently pondering how much she realises.

"The alien sandbox that we reside in... This place, Sirius, was a place where another alien species known as the Dom'Kavash had resided millions of years ago. What did they do here? We do not know, we can only speculate, but evidence suggests it was a form of study grounds. They are the creators of the Nomads, who were resting in stasis when we arrived from Sol. The boost of technological Humanity saw was no coincidence. I'm sure you can put two and two together here..."

At this point, Revenant had pondered if it was even worth withholding information at this point as several parties have gladly shared their discoveries.

"And a part of the Kavash's legacy was their storages, creations, machinations left around the Sector and beyond. These Sentinels you hear, are a creation to guard some of their remnants. In this instance, one of the Vaults. Though, I do ponder if these 'guard dogs' are going corrupt - going outside of their own parameters per mutation. They have been behaving rather erratically"

She pondered in silence while quietly enjoying the baked goods, were the Sentinels really supposed to expand quite aggressively? And why does the Shrine block their signals? How far can they go before they consider themselves to be off-site? Could they ever be truly disabled? There was some suspicion attached regarding this unique mission for Harbinger's quest to break into the Vault. Afterall, he never guaranteed of dealing with the Sentinels, it made sense to leave Humanity to deal with them.

But in the end, she had only desired to complete the task - to fulfill the deal in order to focus on uncovering more knowledge, but a certain burden of worry weighed upon the mind. These times paved the way for the future, and mistakes will be costly. A certain mistake was upon her mind, some of her colleagues, and the other clues for the Vault. Wishing she had approached the task differently when it came to the individuals in mind, there was a moment to daydream what could have gone better. Perceiving the only people she was situated with in the limited circumstances were very unstable, naive, undertrained, lacking focus. Seeing it nothing more than babysitting infantile imbeciles, there was a moment of envy knowing that they could have been placed with better colleagues, slowly spiralling down a pit of internal spite.


"So much of our modern era technologies were based upon their creations... I wonder if this will come back to "bite us in the rear" in the future... Hmmm... Perhaps not."

[Jazzi]

From the moment Revenant mentions the possibility of the Sentinels going corrupt, Catherine's focus snaps back to her. Her eyes watch her with a hardened, steel to them, and her smile drops for a stern expression. The only break in her intensity was when she reached down to fetch and take a bite from a Yam cake, eyes never leaving their post.

"From what I've gathered so far, it sounds as if these Sentinels would not adhere to any diplomacy or conversation. Yourself and this Harbinger, talk as if they are not on the same 'side' as... apologies, that's crass talking abouts sides but you know what I mean. Are they automated of a kind, then? Outside of Nomadic control entirely?"