Lei-Xulla – Dread Prism Xaxon IV

  Pi Cantoris Nebula – Aurelius Branch level 501 – 999

  An incessant beeping roused Lei-Xulla from her meditative state, and unfortunately, this was not the first time it had occurred on this particular Void Expedition. So it was hardly a surprise when her eye twitched at the possibility that her not so esteemed commander, was intruding on her down time yet again.

  She hadn’t needed sleep for at least 751 cycles, since having breached the level 500 threshold and truly committed to the path of the mind. Thus the irritant was of a strictly non biological nature.

  Her now aroused minds automatically probed her designated quarters for any immediate threats, And finding none present, she reaffirmed all was as she had left it.

  Opposite her bed was a nook with her meager personal effects, ranging from her commendations to the scaled down holo-diorama of her origin system. One of her minds rested on the still image of her with her first real Party and a mind began to reminisce on the old times, whilst another ranged further afield, to the outer most reaches of her perceptive sphere in their search for threats.

  Meanwhile a mind accessed her ‘Status’ in case some hitherto unannounced Status Effect had been applied without her tacit approvals:

  Finding everything in her status in order and no imminent danger whatsoever, Lei-Xulla felt anger begin to color her multitudinous trains of thought. Turning to the blinking holo-display while grumbling obscenities about orange skinned slime based life forms, Lei-Xulla opened the Vidi-Gram that was keyed to her personal mana signature.

  Her anger quickly evaporated however, when she was met with the thoroughly inscribed skin of an individual as they in turn began to speak.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Please verbally confirm that you are alone.”

  Blinking in surprise at the blue skinned and runicly tattooed dermis of High-Seer Naz’Ul’Mek, Lei-Xulla continued to stare in silence for a moment as she contemplated the specific reason for the Chief Scryer of The Trade Amalgamation to contact her directly.

  The female was a legend among legends in the Amalgamations ranks, personally overseeing all divination, predictive and extra-planetary reconnaissance for the faction. It was even rumored that she was close to level 850 and had attained dual Rare classes.

  Given that the founder of the Amalgamation was the only recorded member of their faction with dual Rare classes, Lei-Xulla had long since dismissed such rummors as idle gossip.

  Pushing her thoughts aside, she confirmed with one of her minds that the surrounding area of her quarters was clear and set another mind to constantly monitor any movement within the whole deck itself. Whilst Utilizing her third mind to give the Vidi-Gram her full attention as she uttered.

  “Only I am viewing this message.”

  Springing back to life, the holo-display of Naz’Ul’Mek started to speak once more.

  “Lei-Xulla, allow me to pay respects to your impeccable service to The Trade Amalgamation first and foremost. Your dedication to our shared cause does you and The Amalgamation credit.”

  She could not help but preen a little at the praise before she refocused on the speakers words.

  “I am contacting you on a matter of both great urgency and even greater secrecy. The matter I am about to discuss would traditionally be marked with a clearance level of Senior Executive only, however I have received unanimous dispensation from the other senior executives to read you in given your incidental involvement and spotless record.”

  Her eyes widened at the unprecedented nature of the situation as the message continued.

  “You recently designated several Party’s of mercenaries to insert into a recently initiated Phase 1 world called ‘Earth’ upon such time as the Dimensional Siphons become activate…Normally this matter would be beneath the attention of upper management, however I had a [Greater Prognostication] that an individual on the world called Earth, has already attained the Forerunner title and is still alive.”

  Her breath caught in her throat, as the ethereal visage of Naz’Ul’Mek’s eyes bored holes into her own, seeming to counteract the preposterousness of what had just been said. The Vidi-Gram continued once more in spite of her shock.

  “I was unable to divine whether or not the individual is a Rare class holder let alone their physical appearance, but if you or one of your subordinates comes into contact with them, until such time as it is disproved, it would be prudent to treat them as such.”

  “This however, is all secondary to the reason I have contacted you specifically. The Senior Executives are of the opinion that we are to halt any future plans for mercantile activities on the ‘Earth’. Instead we have decided to discretely send an Emissary, in the hope that they will bring the individual into The Amalgamations fold.”

  “Should the Emissary fail to successfully secure the indenture or cooperation of the individual, it is with great regret that the Senior Executives have sanctioned its termination.”

  “I’m sure I do not have to remind you of the sheer sensitivity and covert necessity of this matter Lei-Xulla, in light of this please do not take personal offense when this message erases itself.”

  “May our shared profit further the Amalgamation’s continued growth, Chief Scryer Naz’Ul’Mek out.”

  When the Vidi-Gram winked off, she sat dumbly for a few moments while she went over what the Chief Scryer had said.

  If it was true, and there had yet to be a recorded case where her predictions had been found to be false. Then the securing the indenture of the individual to The Amalgamation at such an early level would bolster their faction for potentially thousands of cycles to come.

  However when one of her minds pondered the prospect of such an individual falling into the other factions grasp’s, Lei-Xulla couldn’t help but feel a shiver of fear which subsequently led to perspiration making rare and unpleasant appearance on her teal brow. Absentmindedly she used the bushy end of her tail to mop the unsightly and excess moisture away as she continued to run possible permutations through the mind.

  Pushing away the what if’s from her mind she accessed her terminal and started the arduous task of reassigning the mercenary Party’s away from earth. Redistributing the six Party’s at two apiece to the other Phase 1 worlds she had selected before commencing the search for a suitably appropriate Emissary to secure the fledgling Forerunner:

  Scrolling down the all to short list, she was pleasantly impressed with the available options, as she weighed the candidates based on the outcomes of both negotiations and conflict. If the sole mission was elimination then the obvious choice would be B’o’B, however if she was after a peaceful resolution then the best candidate would have to be Niy’Lauh’Stun. She dismissed out of hand Iku-Tuor-Kus and Gaud’Lek’Huag for being suitable wholy unsuitable, at least in the pursuit of her current goal.

  However when it came to versatility, there was only one clear standout.

  Accessing Puk’Jul’s file, the more the mind read of it, the more Lei-Xulla began to feel that he was most certainly the best being for the task:

  Nodding to herself, Lei-Xulla finalized the confirmation of Puk’Jul and with a self-satisfied smile creeping onto her pale pink lips, she began to compose the finer details for the Amalgamation Emissary Quest.

  Letting out a relieved sigh with her portion of the covert plan as good as completed, she allowed herself a moment to dream of the day she would receive her promotion to Senior Management for enacting her part in the clandestine endeavor.

  *WOOP* *WOOP* *WOOP* *WOOP* *WOOP*

  An incessant wailing assaulted her sensitive ears as the light strips in the quarter’s strobe’d yellow.

  Daydreaming effectively quenched, she still wasn’t picking up any threats with her other minds so she directed a mind to inspect the goings on of the bridge.

  “Status Report!” A disheveled Commander Fhan demanded as he deftly entered the bridge through the central floor access port of the dread prism’s, prime pinnacle.

  “All systems green sir!”

  Shot back Second Engineer, Loi-Upo.

  “Weapons hot!”

  Confirmed Weapons Chief, Kuy-Fol-Nad.

  “We’ve been hit by a mana triangulation skill Commander!”

  Said Second Communication Officer, Hu’Gvt’Xe.

  “Well unmentionables bellow Hu! What do the blasted scans say!?”

  Retorted Fhan.

  Hu’s tentacles began to tap frantically at the terminal in front of her, which caused Lei to cringe at the inexperienced officer’s crude manipulation of the interfaces scan settings.

  Unable to sit idly by while precious seconds were wasted, she cast [Greater Blink] and appeared near instantaneously next to the now sweating Second Communications Officer.

  Noticing the alarmed looks of her subordinates and even Commander Fhan before he managed to re-school his expression, she announced.

  “At ease Elevant’s”

  Before putting a reassuring hand on the now panicking Hu’Gvt’Xe’s shoulder and added in as gentle a tone as she could manage.

  “Mind if I take over?”

  Shaking her head frantically, Hu’s four dexterous tentacles rocketed out of her seat and motioned fervently for Lei to assume control. In the process of doing so Lei noticed the poor newbie almost collapse in relief when she had been relieved.

  Her fingers moving in a blur as a mind manipulated the settings for the Dread Prism’s prolific sensors to feed off the fading triangulation pulses resonant frequency and held her breath in anticipation, while the technology diligently did the rest.

  The wait was only a couple of seconds at most before she started to receive the telemetry data.

  Tapping a few more commands out she was rewarded for her efforts when the terminals holo-display sprung up in a kaleidoscope of color, before quickly coalescing into an interpret-able image of their writhing assailant.

  Manipulating the terminals controls once again she cross-referenced the void best against the Amalgamations extensive monster database and instantly got a positive match:

  Smiling, she turned to Commander Fhan who was practically quivering in anticipation. A mind toyed with the idea of stringing the poor intelligent deficient along for another few moments right up until her strict professionalism quashed the notion as she announced.

  “Sir, The enemy is an Infant Void Leviathan, Range 1.5 Subsectors and closing fast! Threat level Yellow to Orange! Arch Beastmaster’s assessment puts it well within our Raid Party’s capabilities…Your orders sir?”

  The short blonde hair on the commanders scalp flattened back down at the assessment and savage grin that spoke to his species predatory origins, began to creep onto his face as he depressed the ship wide intercom while barking.

  “All Party Leaders, engagement imminent! 3 combat class Elevant’s at each pinnacle! Confirm when ready!”

  Releasing the intercom button he raised his chin slightly and addressed the bridge.

  “Second Communication Officer Hu’Gvt’Xe report to the third pinnacle.”

  Paling at being formally relieved of her duty, she whined.

  “B-but sir! It was my scheduled watch as Communication officer?”

  Turning to skewer the level 682 Arch Acid Mage with a punitive glare, he leaned forward and whispered.

  “Was that you disobeying a direct order from a superior, Hu?”

  Her undulating appendages halted mid writhe as if she was an Ikel caught in a [Greater Frost Beam] and Lei-Xulla shot her a sympathetic look before the Raj’uk’ian squeaked out.

  “N-not at all sir! I’ll do as you command!”

  Following which she promptly turned tails and fled the bridge as one of her gas bladders inadvertently released a humorous flatulence, causing snickering to join the pungent odor that the Second Communication Officer had left in her wake.

  Swiveling her seat to face the commander, Lei-Xulla queried.

  “Commander while I relish the opportunity to be present on the bridge for this engagement, It was as Hu stated. You removing her goes against operational protocol…”

  Clearly unfazed by her questioning, Commander Fhan waved her off as he replied casually.

  “Come now my dear Lei, you are far more experienced than Hu... Also, can you believe headquarters put her on a Dread Prism for her first Void Expedition since passing the level 500 barrier?”

  Furrowing her brow at Fhan’s nonchalant disregard for protocol she rejoined.

  “That is beside the point commander! If we disregard protocol then we are no better than the Galactic Confederacy, or worse still the Ash’Kur Dominion!”

  Groaning theatrically as he covered his eyes with his hands, Fhan retorted.

  “Vice Commander Lei-Xulla, did I ever tell you that your strict adherence to regulations is one of your least attractive qualities?”

  Her eyes bulged with barely contained incredulity, at the deficient reply and she felt her face flush while her mouth opened to lambast the unctuous beast. Yet as the Pinnacle Party’s had just finished affirming their readiness, his clawed hand had already found the intercom button and his mouth was sporting a victorious Drak eating smile as he barked out.

  “All hands brace for translocation and long range casting! Weapons Chief Kuy I want an opening salvo from each pinnacle as soon as we emerge! Second Engineer Loi, engage Gal-turian drive for 1000 AU’s off the Leviathan’s expected trajectory!”

  As the other bridge members sounded off their acquiescence, Fhan turned and winked infuriatingly at Lei before continuing.

  “Navigation, engage translocation in 3….2…..1…Mark!”

  A mind swiveled her chair and engaged her seats combat restraints just in time to feel the ripple of wrongness envelop her and her minds perceptive sphere. There was that familiar stillness right before the Gal’turian drive subsumed the Dread Prism Xaxon IV and its Raid Party members into an artificially created subspace tunnel toward their prey, in a flash of blue-ish white light.