Saga (Metroid)

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
Quiet settled into the room as everyone waited for each other to make a move. The youngsters had backed away; frightened whispering began to permeate throughout the room, and the sense of imminent danger hung heavy in the Distant Sight like the sword of Damocles. But for Arne, there was also a feeling of relief even as he shook slightly at the tingling heat of Zurvduat's sheer anger. He wasn't going to be hurt, not today.

"Is this how you raise your child, General?" Old Bird's words were filled with so much scorn that Samus seemed almost shocked. A slow-boiling sensation of outrage flickered from him, seeking to escape through any means of venting.

Arne was still shaking, he felt so small, weak, and alone before the Alimbic he considered his chief father. Even when in a room with all these people who cared for him, he felt powerless. The gaze of Zurvduat into his own eyes still inspiring dread to the point that he could bring himself to meet it head-on. Pain, red and raw, echoed dully in his face and across his body, phantom memories of agonies inflicted over a lifetime.

Samus was seething; she had never been so angry in her life. The Phoenix inside of her's fires stoking into a brilliant inferno of rage. She was going to kill Zurvduat if she was given half the chance, and Zurvduat could feel it. She smirked at that briefly beneath her helmet. Good, let him feel her anger. He deserved to feel every iota of her fury.

"-How long have you been beating my son, Zurvduat?-" Elmorni asked with a cold menace. There would be no hiding answers from her now, not when he had acted so brazenly in front of her very eye.

"-Unhand me at once, subordinate.-" He said coldly. This defiance from Elmorni baffled him, what manner of mutinous ideas has Old Bird placed in her mind he wondered? But he failed to realise that this cold anger was all her own.

"-You are interfering in a process that does not concern you, Mystromagus. We have only the best intentions in mind for the Hatchling and the Neophyte.-" Mother Brain protested before Old Bird waved both of them off with a dismissive shake of his hand.

"No, neither of you will be going anywhere with either of them." Old Bird's tone made it clear he wasn't asking. He made his demand, and he fully expected them to listen.

"As a matter of fact, I do not want Arne in your care any further. I will be speaking to the peer council about this. Your days of terrorising this child have come to an end. Release him from your charge, now." Old Bird said harshly. He would not take anything less than absolute acquiescence on this issue.

Arne dared to hope for a moment, though doubt coloured it with uncertainty. Zurvduat was his father at the end of the day, even if he refused to accept the title. What would Arne do without him altogether? Without being able to make Zurvduat see things his way, to prove his worth and value to him?

Samus though, was basking in the vindication. She never liked Zurvduat, not from the second she laid eyes on him. Every move, every breath he took reeked of the arrogant bullying demeanour she despised. Long had she dreamed of punching him in his face, and the sensation of his surprise tinged outrage at this defiance gladdened her down to her soul.

"-You...you dare intervene in my affairs old man?! What could you possibly know about what I have had to do to keep this child in line? To keep him focused on his appointed task instead of constant whining!?-" Zurvduat snarled before Elmorni cut him off.

Elmorni was cold in her assessment of Zurvduat, the Mystromagus turning his wrist aside and floating slightly upwards, offering an arm to Arne who gladly clung to her in response. Thirteen years old he may be, but he still had an infantile desire for being embraced by her. She was warm, safe, comfortable, and he felt ever so slightly less afraid of Zurvduat in her embrace.

"-You have been doing this for years, haven't you? The sudden loss of milk teeth. The fear of seeing you raise your hand in his direction, the terror he has for you. Zurvduat, how could you do this to my son?-" She said with a scornful, accusatory note, petting Arne's hair gently and telepathically whispering soothing notes.

"-And you knew it was wrong, didn't you? You've been hiding your abuses from the distant sight so that I would never know. No wonder why so much of his time is shrouded in fog when I gaze upon it.-" She continued, the realisation making her go from frosty to arctic in tone.

Samus, of course, was far from cold in her anger. She had yet to temper it into some chill blade of winter, but the hot rage from her was more than enough to get Zurvduat to pause and genuinely consider her fury. Even Arne was taken aback from it, and Old Bird briefly gave her a look of concern.

"Leave now, before I get mad." Samus snarled at him as her power suit hummed with collected energy in her cannon. She was already charging a shot, and Zurvduat seemed to be at a loss for words with how brazen she was being. To make a move so bold as to threaten him directly was unprecedented, almost unexpected. But of course, she would do something so bold and brazen.

"I will do it, don't think I'm bluffing." She said, her face a feral snarl beneath her helmet and her blue eyes giving Zurvduat a stare so intense that it could just about cut through Cosmium. She had plenty of confidence built up from holding her own against the Sunstalker and Moonhunter, what could an old Alimbic General be before that?

"I told you to take care of the kid! What were you thinking!?" Spire said, throwing a hand forward and pointing accusatively at the General.

"Your methods of discipline are barbaric; I will not have it continue in my sight." Grey voice added, Zurvduat taking a moment to look at everyone staring back at him, accusing and disapproving eyes boring into him. Even Ysarmoch folded his arms and glared up at him while Arne felt safe enough to meet his adoptive father's gaze briefly.

Arne looked to be almost as surprised by all the positive attention and support he was getting. People cared for his safety, his happiness. He was loved and wanted, at least here. He didn't need to be so afraid of Zurvduat anymore. And why should he? He had managed to see off the Sunstalker and Moonhunter. By any reasonable definition, he had proven himself one thousand times over.

And with that new surge of spine, he hardened his expression. "I'm not going with you, General. I don't need you." He said, each syllable feeling almost like a drug, tantalising and addictive in the promises of independence they offered. That he could forge his own bonds and find his own community, and stand on his own without the menace of the General looming over him, he, of course, didn't want to push him out of his life entirely, but maybe now he would understand that he wasn't going to let himself get hit anymore. At least, not now when he felt safe in doing so.

With even Arne having the backbone to stand up to him, Zurvduat turned towards Mother Brain, asking her for guidance in this situation. Their plan had backfired terribly, though she yet retained her trust. But no answer was forthcoming, Mother Brain had overplayed her hand and would need to reconsolidate and restrategise. She would let him take the heat for now, but she offered him her assurance that their day would come sooner than later.

"-So be it then, I will concede on this issue for the time being given how strongly you feel about it.-" Mother brain said, bowing her Oculi Drone's head and starting to slink back.

Making the telepathic equivalent of a scowl, Zurvduat snatched his arm out of Elmorni's grip and began to pull back. "-This is not over, we will have words about this. I will have my eye on you all, count on it.-" The General said with a cold, harsh voice as he slinked away.

Samus felt triumphant; she had done two great things today and her confidence that she could be the hero everyone needed only grew. The boiling anger in Samus' chest banished itself, the evils being done to Arne would no longer occur, she was sure of it. She held her head up high, and let the brief satisfaction of a job well done fill her heart.

She dismissed her armour once more, slipping to the ground and offering a hand for Arne who nodded and released himself from Elmorni's embrace. "Are you okay?" She said as she opened her arms with the gift of a hug, seeing him make the telltale signs of shaking and shallow breaths. She knew that sort of traumatic pain all too well, and the thought that it could be caused by someone he trusted made her sick to the stomach.

Arne looked around and felt warm, understanding that he was safe here and that the chill of his terror was no longer the only sensation he need feel. He looked at the hug, and he formed his lips into a gentle smile as he took her into it as she had just some hours before when he noticed she was in pain.

The two's embrace was electric, an affirmation that they weren't alone in the cosmos. There was someone who understood, someone who would offer a shoulder to cry on and have each other's backs at any time. Someone whom they could bare their hearts towards without feeling as though they were putting themselves at risk.

It was a gentle moment, he cherished her support, and she adored his. In the year they'd known each other, they had come far indeed. And now they could trust each other enough to open themselves up, to let the empathic warmth and affection flow between them. The sensation melted into them like an electric blanket that seeped into their very bones and gave them a fluttering feeling in their core.

It was comforting, and for a time, both felt like this was a moment that could and should last for eternity.

But alas, there was too much to do, and the day was getting old. Their time together had to come to an end, and with great reluctance, they parted from one another and stared into the other's eyes.

"I'd like to visit whenever you're free, Samus?" Arne said, his mind turning to the inevitability of the two having to go their separate ways for the final stage of their education.

"I was going to ask you the same thing, Arne. But, I think I'd really, really like that." She said back as she stroked his hair and got a purr of affection in response from him.

"I'll have so many new friends to show you when we can see each other again. I just know it." Samus smiled at the thought of that, steeling herself with the hope that she'd fit in and be able to mingle with the general public.

"And well, I'm hoping I will too. Maybe we could have another party like this when our birthday comes up, right?" Arne endeavoured to hope, already trying to think of how the two could continue to enjoy their shared birthday like this.

"That sounds like fun! Don't keep me waiting for your plans, though. Or I'll think up my own." She said with a teasing bit of menace and a devilish Cheshire grin.

"Now you're going to make me want to see what that's like." He shared a giggle with her before they calmed down.

"We'll call each other too. Hoping we won't be too busy out there..." He said with a small laugh.

"We'll make time. I'm sure." She said, rolling her eyes shut.

There would always be time.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
Prodigal Program HQ Entrance, Zellemite City, Planet Gyldaine, Suramil System, Andromeda Galaxy, Popular Republican Union of Esdemir, Galactic Federation: 14th of September, 50,013.

Samus sniffled slightly as she looked at the entrance of the Prodigal Program Headquarters, the illustrious Prodigonia building. The number of people was almost overwhelming, so many stray emotions had to be shut out, so many conversations were happening all around her that her superhuman hearing was working overtime to filter out things she didn't want to hear. But saying her goodbyes to Arne, for the time being, had given her a sense of melancholy matched only by the realisation that she was going to have to let go of Old Bird's hand sooner than later.

"Are you ready, Samus?" He said gently to the young girl at his side as she clenched her fingers around his gauntleted palm a little tighter.

She was for the first time in her life, unsure of the answer to that particular question. Would the people she would meet be as kind to her as Arne or the other youths? Could she really make friends? She cast her attention back to the elderly Chozo's eyes, then towards August Wings, War Hawk, and Grey Voice behind the two of them. She felt the warmth Old Bird had towards her, their support and approval, and loosened her grip on his hand.

"I think so...we'll still speak regularly right?" She asked, turning back towards him with pleading blue eyes. She knew the answer, she didn't even need the Distant Sight to be confident in it. Yet she wanted to hear him say it, to banish the quiver she felt at the thought of letting go of his hand.

"Always, I expect to speak to you at least twice every day. First, when the day begins, and then again when it ends. And if you ever need my help, do not be afraid to ask." He said, stroking her blonde hair gently and resting his beak upon her scalp, a gesture repeated by August Wings while War Hawk and Grey Voice kept a respectful distance.

"Of course, the point of this exercise is to develop enough self-sufficiency to manage without calling upon our assistance. While you have more than demonstrated your mastery of battle and exploration; you must also learn how to master socialisation without our guidance." Grey Voice reminded her. Part of her wasn't entirely fond of hearing that, but she understood the wisdom of what he said. How could she help to guide and protect the universe if she could not hold a conversation with its typical denizens?

"I was once in your nest, Samus." War Hawk said, the young Chozo's exoskeletal crest flicking upwards and her spindly limbs swaying slightly for emphasis. "Few people in happy homes wish to leave it, but rest easy knowing that we wouldn't send you here if we didn't know if it was right for you." She said, her sisterly voice getting a grin out of Samus as she nodded in response.

"And of course, be sure to introduce us to all the lovely friends you make, Hatchling. I would love to meet them." August Wings said with her kindly voice that made Samus feel so very warm inside. Like the pleasant sensation of hot soup going down her throat and resting in her stomach, she felt more confident about the steps she was making and turned back to Old Bird.

"Let's get going. I'm sure they're waiting for us." Samus said as she looked ahead, tapping her free hand's fingers against her thigh as they walked forwards. A slight nervous tic, but one she managed to still after a quick breathing exercise.

The building that served as the entry was large and stylishly designed in a way that drew her attention almost immediately. Gently designed arches, green spaces, carefully integrated holographic lights, shimmering doors and art pieces that she was sure she'd be able to get better once she had time to study them. With a glance, she ascertained that the builders of the campus had made it to accommodate a wide variety of possible forms of life. And that the place was already quite busy, students and faculty going from place to place as their daily routines required of them.

It was all almost overwhelming, but it was also apparent that the makers of this place couldn't measure up to the same standards of Zebes of Arganti. She quite literally didn't feel the same magic seeping through the buildings; her eyes only detecting merely ordinary colours and the pleasant thrum of mystic and psychic energies absent. She hadn't even noticed such things before; it was just how everything worked. Now though, the world was a bit quieter and greyer than she was used to, the buzz of psychic activity less constant and meaningful.

"There are so many people here...sacred spirits...I hope this Adam won't have to wait too long for us." Samus said as she ran the numbers in her head. Even without her suit computers, she found the math trivial. Based on the flow of people she observed and the buildings' sizes and shapes and what she knew of the place, she concluded that at least one hundred and thirty-nine million seven hundred and fifty-three thousand and eight hundred personnel and students were spread throughout the campus here. A city in the guise of an educational facility to gather those with peculiar talents and abilities and provide them with both training and education in a welcoming environment. At least, that was what the brochure said.

The doors slid open in recognition of the approaching quintet, and the voices of the gathered personnel and students going through the main building all went silent. She had heard them speaking of various classes, social busywork, news, and rumours of special guests coming to them. But it was clear they never expected four Chozo and a human girl in a Chozo made power suit. The stares they gave her made her feel somewhat uncomfortable, and she could tell that they were trying to figure out why the ancients would bring a human girl with them.

Even the Aurora Unit that managed the facility; 1933; went silent, the cybernetic brain seeming to pause all of their operations at once. Their holographic avatar that sat in atop a pedestal at the back of the entry room shifted to regard the five with three ruby coloured optics, the sensation of its psychic pulsings feeling diminutive compared to what Mother usually made.

"-You must be the Chozo delegation then. Which would make you...-" Aurora Unit 1933 started before Samus raised her hand to interrupt and speak her own name.

"Samus Aran." She said with a beaming smile, getting one blue-haired pointed eared Aelva sitting at a desk going over files to choke on her recaf the second she heard the surname.

"The daughter of the guy who took out Ridley and the Scourge of Heaven?" She could hear people from across the building say, whispering as if she wouldn't be able to pick up on their words but loud and clear to her ears.

"There were no survivors on K-2L, how is that possible?" Another said. She was starting to feel more self-conscious now, her cheeks beginning to tint rose.

"She grew up nicely, wow." Someone her age said as she briefly turned towards them and gave the girl who passed the comment to her a smile and wave.

"Is that Chozo power armour she's wearing? Have they ever made something like that for humans?" She heard, frowning at the way they spoke of her, not even asking how she was, just speculating about what she was wearing.

"So young to be given that kind of tech too...what do you think she did to earn it?" She started to feel uncomfortable, all this attention starting to make her self-aware in a way that made her want to step out of the limelight. An unpleasant shrinking sensation in her gut as it twisted into knots and she stepped back to be a bit less visible.

"Some kind of simulacrum maybe? Honour the dead of K-2L? Not sure what the Chozo would be doing with a human girl." One said. Now they'd done it. She almost choked on the air she was breathing in and started to clench her fist before Old Bird laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not a simulacrum! I'm Samus Eabha Aran! Daughter of Virginia Orla Aran and Rodney Liam Aran! Stop talking about me like I can't hear you!" She at first seethed, but knowing what Old Bird was expecting of her, her tone died down slightly into more of a plea rather than a command.

She gestured towards her family, sucking air into her lungs deeply as she adjusted the ponytail on the back of her head with her gauntleted fingers.

"These are my adoptive parents! Re-Sekh, Somek-Ka, Isa-Hesh and Horath-Baast! They helped take care of me after picking me up from K-2L after...after the..." She hesitated. The rush of emotions she was feeling made her see the flash of purple, feeling the heat and flame of the world burning around her. Phantom memories of fire and dust made her skin tingle and her breath grow short while her chest grew tight.

She gulped, realising people were listening to her and that she had to speak. "...Attack." She said, pointing towards them and trying her best to wipe off the angry look that had formed on her face. She tried to push back the memories that afflicted her, moving beyond their reach as best as she could while grabbing for happier times; trying to think of how excited she was to let other people know about how great they were.

"They're...the nicest people in the universe, even if Somek is a bit grumpy at times." She said, exhaling sharply from her nose. She had gotten everyone's attention at least.

"-Yes, it would seem that there has been an unfortunate tendency to gossip about those whom it is our duty to welcome with open arms. Please, accept my forgiveness for the awkward introduction.-" The Aurora Unit said in their formal but friendly genderless tone, softly digitised and pleasantly warm. So much unlike Mother Brain even if their psychic voice lacked Mother's overwhelming power and presence. Immense by the standards of modern society to be sure, but it was like a red dwarf next to a quasar compared to Mother Brain.

"Well, now that young Samus has introduced herself, we are looking for the one expected to watch over her while we busy ourselves with our work. Now, we could simply pry, but I think it would be more polite to ask where we could find Adam Ivashchenko Malkovich?" Old Bird said, patting Samus on her shoulder reassuringly as the room tried to observe in silence rather than try to talk behind the back of the girl who could hear a pin drop from another building if she wished.

"-He is already here in fact, he has been waiting eagerly to meet you I believe, honoured Elder.-" The Aurora unit said happily as a blue-haired man in a white dress uniform stepped forward, adjusting his peaked cap and easing through the crowd that had gathered.

He was tall to be sure, with surprisingly youthful features that wouldn't be out of place in a university student for someone who had spent as long as he did in army service, but Samus could tell that he was someone who insisted on always looking to be the prime age for combat. Not some musty desk jockey. Had he not been four times her age, Samus might have even hazarded to call him handsome.

He offered a salute and a bow to the Chozo. "Honoured ones." He said with the utmost deference drilled into him by army service.

"Oh please, I've told you this before, no need for such formalities. I don't call you General do I?" August Wings laughed.

"My apologies, it seemed only right. Now, to business. You must be Samus then? I knew your parents quite well. It's a privilege to meet you." He said with an extended hand that Samus stared at for a hot minute after she nodded and smiled at his words.

She looked at the gesture and tried to think about what he might be asking for her to do. Some sort of psionic greeting? She mused for a second before dismissing the idea; she could sense no psychic abilities emanating from him. Was it an offer to wrestle with him? She doubted it, even if she fought him naked while he brought out his officer's power suit she'd crush him into a pulp without trying. Was it perhaps a bioscan? His gloves didn't look like they had any biometric devices. Maybe the Distant sight could tell her what to do...

"Ah...my apologies, this is a handshake. Just hold onto my hand and follow my movements." He said as her eyes lit up with realisation all at once and embarrassment flushed into her cheeks. It was a social gesture, of course. She followed his instructions and gripped his hand with a light touch that still made him briefly wince.

"Careful with that grip strength there." He said after pulling back his hand and rubbing it. His expression though, told her that he didn't mind too much. She was young after all; mistakes were to be expected, and the short laugh he made put her at ease as she giggled back.

"The rest of you, please return to your tasks." Adam said, getting a number of nods from the rest of the room as everyone cleared their throats or did the equivalent thereof and filed into their routines.

"Now, please c-" Adam started before Samus cut him off, her psychic senses already telling her what he was going to say.

"With you to my accomodations yeah?" She said with a grin.

"Ah, precognitive. Yes though." He said, making a signal for the procession to follow.

But as they started to walk again, Samus briefly caught sight of something shimmering in the corner of her eye and turned to see something mechanical skitter away some hundred meters from her position. Though it would have been too fast for an average human to get any clear visual of, she noticed that the scuttling, mite sized beetle-like drone bore a resemblance to Confederate designs. She felt her skin get cold, and that tightening serpent of fear almost made itself known before she swallowed and stilled herself, continuing on when she couldn't see where it had gone.

She'd need to take care of that thing as soon as she caught sight of it again. For her peace of mind if nothing else, even if it was just part of some sick prank.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
Apexia Building

Samus' keen blue eyes were quick to pick out the details of the room offered to her in the mini-apartment provided to her and her fellow podmates. She had dismissed her armour to walk around in her casual outfit, this time deciding to wear a white shirt and a blue coat that hung to a bit above her knees.

The first to catch her eyes was an overly large bed indicated that at least one of the people she'd be staying with would be larger than was standard for humans. The four beds beside her own that were roughly human scale had their own characteristics. One was a bit messy, the affectations next to it showed a great interest in fighting and pride in famous Aelvan freelancers. Another was much neater; its owner was definitely someone who had lived with military standards of cleanliness all their life. Based on the picture of a teenaged blue-haired boy with windswept locks and a wide, goofy grin paired with a V for victory symbol standing next to Adam; she figured him for his brother. The following human-sized bed was for someone she guessed rather quickly was another Aelvan based on the half-finished texts on Aelvan runecraft next to the bed. The next bed was just a maintenance bay for something she immediately figured for a synthetic the size of a child, one who admired Ghor dearly based on her room in the pod having multiple pictures of the cyborg Freelancer at different stages in his life. The last of the beds she guessed belonged to another human, one who had been exposed to some form of empowerment agent, based on the Kanji writing; they were probably either of somewhat Japanese descent or were interested in the history of that now extinct culture.

Six people, with her being the newest addition; and her sharp eyes quickly picking up names based on various personal affectations laid about. The large one was Montauk, a member of the somewhat ape-like Grulndi who had recently joined the Federation. The fighty one was Kreatz, a young Aelvan boy she figured had a chip on his shoulders. The other human would be Ian Ivaschenko Malkovich, a younger brother to Adam born when their parents decided to have a second generation of children once Adam and his siblings grew up. The second Aelvan would be Yramil, another Aelvan girl clearly interested in the arcane arts of her species' famed witchseers. The synth would be the Mechanoid Uldrasi, a learning synthetic who had been touched by Ylla tendrils. Finally, the last of them would be Sekiryu Mizuki, who'd survived an N-Space accident that granted her extraordinary abilities.

Ian at least, didn't take too long to show up, the boy yawning as he walked in through the front entrance and quickly getting the entire group to turn towards him as he blinked a few times. "Hey, Adam I've been trying to find that Pirate drone you spotted, no di-" He stopped the second he looked around and took a second to pinch himself.

Clearly taking a second to process what he was seeing, he almost jolted into action and very nearly stumbled off of his feet before he caught himself with what she recognised as telekinesis and let out a breath of relief. He pushed himself back up and dusted off his slacks and made a loud attempt to clear his throat.

"Oh...hey Adam. You've got some, unusual comp-" Ian said awkwardly as Samus tilted her head at him in interest, her own blue eyes meeting his cyan coloured ones and just about making the psychic's heart stop. His words died in his throat, and Samus got the immediate sensation that his vascular system was busy pumping blood to its lower section while he shifted a bit and harrumphed. Samus' eyes followed where his gaze went and decided to shrug and close up her coat, figuring he was bothered by her wearing it open.

"...Hi!" He said with enthusiasm and a wide grin on his face that she reciprocated and topped off with a wave. She did kind of like the way he was looking at her, he was very pleasing to her eyes, and she spent a bit of thought trying to imagine what he'd look like beneath those layers before making a coy smirk to herself, nodding approvingly.

"Please forgive my brother, should he bother you. He's always had a bit of a chaotic streak when it comes to following regulations." Adam said with a sigh as a pointed glare at Ian got him to blush and adjust his coat to more fully cover his waist for some reason. She didn't quite get it when Arne and some of the Faeran youths had similar reactions to seeing her pretty regularly, but she shrugged it off as another facet of life beyond Zebes she'd need to understand.

"Okay big bro could you try to embarrass me a little less in front of the cute girl you just dropped on top of us? I don't need you killing my vibe the second it begins." He said before giving Samus a wink for reasons that she didn't quite get given that her vision could pick up no irritants in that eye of his. She also didn't quite get what he meant by "vibe" given that he wasn't vibrating anymore than any other living person does.

"Ian, please, decorum." Adam said while the Chozo looked among each other with some concern and confusion. First they turned to Grey Voice who simply shrugged, and when they turned to young War Hawk her narrow, conical beak snapped shut and a whistle Samus knew quite well as meaning "why are you asking me?" shot out from her nose.

"You know that our family has to live up to high standards and that as a psion you have an especially great responsibility t-" Adam said before Ian rolled his eyes and completed his sentence for him.

"Okay, okay I know; big expectations from a military family and even bigger ones when I can read minds, make stuff explode with a thought and throw a tank around. I'm not five years old Adam, let me live!" Ian said with an exasperated groan at the end.

"Ian, what did I tell you about your attitude?" Adam said, folding his arms.

"To keep it under control..." He said with a sigh of defeat.

"You should listen to your brother, Ian. He is quite wise for one as young as he." Grey Voice said sternly and getting a look of mock shock and outrage from Ian.

"Oooh are you calling on Chozo to make your arguments for you now Adam? That is the most...you thing I've ever seen...just...Rylamak help me!" Ian said as he dramatically slumped to a wall in a fashion that got Samus and War Hawk to crack a laugh.

"Ian, stop being dramatic." Adam groaned.

"I have not even begun to get dramatic!" He said with a challenging smirk, shooting a hand into the air as now Old Bird and August Wings began to get in on the laughter.

"Your brother is quite the charming young man, isn't he?" Old Bird said.

"Uh-huh! Super energetic! You must be really confident in yourself huh?" Samus said, grinning and putting her hands on her hips and looking towards Ian, who gave two thumbs up and a coy smile.

"You bet!" He laughed.

"As you are on term break for the moment I'll let your antics slide. But Ian, if you take advantage of Samus' trust, you are going to be hearing from me directly. Am I understood?" Adam said with resignation that got a hard swallow from his younger sibling.

"Yes, Adam." He said as he stood up and offered a salute to his brother, who responded in kind.

"I'll let you get acquainted with your podmates, I'll need to discuss things with the Chozo in private. Dismissed." He said, turning to Samus and giving her a salute that she simply met with a wave goodbye, earning her a smirk from him as the adults walked out of the room.

When the door closed, Ian exhaled like he had been pumped full of air that needed to escape the very next second.

"Torturous I tell you, torturous!" Ian complained as he slid his hands into his jacket pockets and briefly closed his eyes before looking at her. She could feel his attempt at scanning her surface thoughts, but it was trivial to block him out. Not even mother brain herself could so much as make a muscle of hers twitch or push her the barest millimetre, and his power was a far cry from that. It was certainly something that seemed to surprise him as his eyes widened.

"Damn the Chozo blood in you really does make you immune to most esoterics huh?" He said, trying and then failing to make her sleeve lift as she nodded enthusiastically in response.

"Uh-huh. But you've already gotten your power to the point where you can do dynakinetics, telekinesis, and telepathy! I...still haven't learned how to do a lot of that, but I'm hoping to master it soon!" She said with a bounce to her step as she just about hopped closer to him.

"Man I am absolutely not the right person to teach you that." He said, noticing her smile fade into a pout and then starting to sweat slightly. "Buuuut I'd definitely like to learn alongside you, you know?" He said, making a "whew" sound when her smile returned.

"Yay! I'd like that!" She said, scooping him into a hug that made him at first smile before his expression twisted into a grimace as he wheezed in a strained voice.

"Can't feel...legs...breathing...hard...pain overwhelming. Happy to...see you're excited...now please...d-don't kill me." He groaned as Samus made an "oh" sound and backed away, looking down and huffing as she felt a bit bad.

"Sorry." She said quietly.

"It's fine; you just gotta control your strength there warrior queen." He said after letting air back into his lungs with relief.

"I'm not royalty." Samus said with confusion and getting a laugh out of Ian as he shook his head.

"Oh I am going to have to teach you every expression in existence, aren't I?" He chuckled, putting his hands on his hips and sizing Samus up, slightly intimidated that he had a minimal height advantage at best but offering his best smile anyway.

"I learned a lot with Arne." She said, getting a quizzical expression from him as he met her with his own head tilt.

"Who's Arne?" He asked.

"Oh, he's a really sweet guy. Arne Eriksen Skjoldr. I'd love for you to meet him someday Ian. Maybe you'll love him as I do?" She said as if she were talking about the weather as Ian seemed to pause his thought process and consider these revelations.

"Skjoldr...as in...ODOCR omnipragmatist terrorist Skjoldr? Aren't they dead?" He said with concern.

"...His parents weren't terrorists!" She said with outrage, her brows furrowing and a surprised gasp coming from her. He gulped a bit before shaking his head and sighing before offering his hand out.

"Okay. Let's start that over again. I'm Ian. Nice to meet you." He said as Samus tried to grip his hand lightly and shake it with all the delicacy she could manage.

"Samus." She said with a grin before the door swung open again to reveal an orange-haired Aelvan girl who came up to about Samus' height if somewhat less muscular, her long locks pooling to about the midsection of her back and her bangs partly covering one eye. Runic tattoos in the vague shape of Leonid beasts decorated her cheeks, and yellow eyes stared out at the world as the vanilla skinned Aelvan slouched forward. She looked between the two and squinted her eyes, blazer covered shoulders sinking slightly.

She took a second to study Samus, putting her chin between her thumb and forefinger and nodded approvingly. "Looking gorgeous there, blondie." Yramil said with a thumbs up that Samus returned without hesitation.

"You haven't already tried to sleep with her right?" Yramil said, putting her hands on her waist as Samus looked at the pointed eared girl with fascination. So pretty. She must have looked incredible in motion, Samus thought, wondering what it might be like to feel those lips of hers. Spirits, so many pretty people here, the blonde concluded in her mind.

Ian almost reacted as if he was backed into a corner as he raised his hands up in protest and cleared his throat. Whether he was being genuine with his response or was playing it up for drama was unknown to her, but she did find it funny.

"Hey give me a little credit here! Besides my older brother was here too Yra." He said affectionately as the Aelvan rolled her eyes and snorted at the diminutive.

"Oh, not to interrupt Ian, but you said you saw a Space Pirate drone...right?" Samus asked.

"Oh...you've seen it too?" Ian said, clearing his throat in an effort to pull this conversation into any direction but the one it was in.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
"Yeah, it was scuttling away from me in the lobby." She said, tapping her chin and then looking towards him. Her expression became much more stern with almost breathtaking speed. The conversation topic hardened her heart and her voice became almost cold.

"Do you think it's actually...Space Pirate tech? I...kind of hope it is so I can smash it." She said, doing her best to hide the slight quake in her voice every time she mentioned them. She wasn't sure if she could even mention that grotesque polity by its formal name without seeing red.

"Honestly? I doubt it, the Confederacy sending probes all the way out here? They'd have tried to blow something up if they could sneak a drone that big." Yramil said somewhat dismissively, shaking her head and folding her arms.

"It's probably just some asshole's idea of a prank. The older students here love their stupid jokes." She said with a resigned sigh before brushing some hair out of her face.

"Think it might be Gandrayda?" Ian asked, Samus quizically raising a brow and pursing her lips at the name.

"Who's Gandrayda?" Samus asked.

"One of the single-digits here. Or maybe she's older than that; I can't tell her age. Shapeshifter, addicted to stupid jokes. Also can shock you." Yramil said with a sigh as she looked over at Samus again and did a twice over as if she just needed a refresher of Samus' body to perk her back up.

"Oh, so like a Jovian?" Samus said, her eyes gleaming with understanding.

"I don't think she's quite one but sure if that helps." Ian shrugged as he sighed and slouched a bit backwards, leaning against the wall and folding his arms before putting on some sunglasses. A gesture that Samus found absolutely baffling given that he was indoors, though Yramil seemed to find it funny as she snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Ian, you're a dork." Yramil scoffed.

"Hey, you're just jealous because you can't look half as good as I do trying this out." Ian said with a smug smirk that got him a pronounced "tch" from Yramil before she opened the door for the trio.

"Well if you aren't busy being too awesome for us mere mortals, I'd like to show Samus to breakfast with the crew." She said, gesturing to the open door in a way Samus recognised as an invitation for her to step through first, staying between the two of them as they crossed the hall.

The trip down to the breakfast hall was relatively uneventful, though Samus couldn't help but stare and analyse every little thing and person she saw. It was all so very fresh to her; the odd shapes, the milieu of people, the bustle of surface-level thoughts and emotions, the chatter of conversations and the menagerie of activities. All of it endlessly fascinating to a girl who had never before seen so many people she could call peers. Oohs and aahs came from her, and she had to hold her tongue to stop herself from blurting every little bit of trivia she recognised.

Once though she couldn't help herself as she stopped and pointed to an alien with a short but wide torso atop long digitigrade legs bearing equally lengthy arms. His frosty blue and grey exterior smooth as ice, and his head encased in a seemingly featureless insectile helmet for the long and almost submarine shaped appendage. The air felt a little colder in his presence, and Samus immediately recognised him for what he was.

"Rundas!" She said, pointing out the famed Phrygisian freelancer as he chatted up some alumni to catch up with old friends. The hunter's sharp hearing got him to turn his head towards her and give her a nod. She had read so many of his adventure logs, admired the way he held his cool in the face of danger, and adored the way he had helped so many with the utmost confidence. Her wide eyed expression bore a huge grin as she clasped her hands together.

"Got a new friend there, Ian? Seems like she's got some good taste." He said with a relaxed, easy tone to his voice like there was nothing to worry about in the universe.

"Oh, this is Samus Aran. Yeah, daughter of those Arans. Guess the Chozo did save someone from there after all. Wild right?" Ian said, gesturing towards her and nodding, giving Samus a slight push forward as she nodded and tried to contain her giddiness.

"Damn, for real, you're Rodney and Virginia's kid? The girl who saved that brigade on the progenitor world?" Rundas said, only briefly losing his composure as he seemed genuinely shocked at the word. His four eyes beneath his helm studied her closely, mandibles twitching as he contemplated her. He was more than two and a half times her height, and had to lean down to look at her eye to eye.

"Yeah! I've read all about people like you and Ghor; all the stories Spire and Armaud told about you; all the logs you've written." She said, flushing rose in her cheeks before brushing some hair away from her face. "You're so brave and inspiring! I'm hoping I can be like that someday." She smiled sweetly at him as Rundas chuckled and nodded at her.

"Kid, I've seen the footage of what you did on Zoran. You're basically already most of the way there." He said reassuringly, his voice almost unexpectedly gentle as Samus felt warm on the inside despite the chill of being close to so mighty a cryokine.

"Besides, if you're good enough to have Armaud of all people singing your praises you've gotten farther than most already. Definitely hoping to see what you can do soon." He said, starting to stand up and crack his neck briefly.

"Oh thank you! It means a lot to hear that from you." She beamed at him, rocking a bit back and forth on her feet as she thought of something to say.

"Rundas?" She asked.

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen a small drone, mite sized? Looks...space pirate made?" She asked.

"Yeah, I've seen it around a few places. Must be more than one of them. Not a big fan of this kind of joke though so I'm hoping to find out." He said, a nod of understanding coming from Samus while he shook his head in disappointment. The kind of things some people find funny, he muttered beneath his breath though she could hear him just fine.

"Tell you what, when you finish breakfast with your friends we could look into it together?" He offered, and Samus jumped off of her feet and just about tackled him to the ground with a hug and an excited noise like a shrieking eagle. He crumpled beneath the unexpected force of her movements and grunted before laughing a bit.

"Wow okay, didn't expect you to pack that much of a punch there." He said easily.

"I'd love that! Ian, Yramil, you want to join in too?" She asked, turning excitedly towards the other two who looked between each other and nodded.

"Ahhh! This is going to be fun! An adventure already!" She just about clapped her hands as she stood up, noticing a few pointed looks in her direction and hearing a few mumblings about how weird she was. She tried to ignore them though, she was over the moon right now and wouldn't let anyone or anything drag her down.

"Anyway, we should probably head out. I don't want to lose out on my favourite spot." Ian said, adjusting his shades and putting a hand down his coat pocket.

"Oh right...food, what do you guys have?" She asked, backflipping off of Rundas and cracking her neck after landing perfectly amidst them. She made it look so easy and effortless, but of course, a movement like this was nothing to her. No harder than lifting a finger would be to an average human. She barely even noticed it as a matter of fact even if Yramil offered a round of applause like she had just stuck the landing at a sporting event.

"I mean, basically anything you want." Yramil said as she adjusted her own jacket while waving goodbye to Rundas who gave the three a thumbs up.

"Catch you kids later. Take care of them will ya Yra?" Rundas said with a gentle smirk of his mandibles beneath his helmet.

"'Course I will. I've got this babysitting thing down." She said, folding her arms and smirking smugly while Ian rolled his eyes.

"Also, Ian, one more thing." Rundas said, getting him to turn his head towards him.

"Sunglasses indoors? Makes you look like a dweeb." He said before Ian extended the middle digit of his right hand at Rundas and immediately got raucous laughter out of the Freelancer. The three walked away while Yramil tugged on Ian's collar, getting a yelp out of him as she demanded that he follow behind her.

"What does that gesture mean?" Samus asked, curiosity sparked.

"It means fuck you." Yramil said casually while Ian pulled a flask out of his pocket and started to sip a fruity blue carbonated drink while they approached the mess hall.

"Oh maybe later. You are both quite pretty, and I like your company, but Ian seems to be too young to do that with Rundas. Not to mention that the cold would be unpleasant inside of his body." That statement made Ian start to choke on his drink almost immediately while Yramil covered her mouth and doubled over like she was punched in the gut. A long, protracted wheeze came out of Yramil while Ian started hacking out the blue liquid of his soda with wet, desperate coughs.

"Are you okay?" She asked as another Aelva approached, roughly and boyishly cut black hair framing a youthful, spunky looking face that Samus would have called cute before anything else.

He wore a collared blue and white shirt paired with some athletic looking trousers and walked on comfortable looking shoes while his bright green eyes stared out at the three and looked with concern at Ian's coughing fit. He patted him on the back and made a face before looking at Samus and soon dropping his jaw before Yramil closed it and chastised him about looking like an idiot.

"Ohhhh, you must be Kreatz!" Samus asked while he continued to pat at Ian to help him expel all the fluid inside of his throat.

She thought that he must have had some fascinating, beautiful musculature beneath all those clothes; she wondered if he ever took to exercising shirtless. She almost said as much before her distant sight told her that such would be a rather...awkward question to ask the relatively short elfin boy.

"Yeah, that's me alright. So what'd you say to get Ian to spit out his lydleberry soda anyway?" He said before getting a self-cleaning cloth out of his pocket and wiping off Ian's face and then clearing his throat, hands going behind his back to stand at attention.

"Oh, Yramil said "fuck you" while explaining a gesture with the middle digit, and I expressed interest in the offer. Would you like to join?" Samus said casually.

Kreatz' whole body flushed red before he started wiping sweat away from his forehead and made a loud harrumph as he averted his gaze. Yramil sniggered joyously and started to laugh outright while Samus was left feeling quite unsure of what was supposed to be funny. Ian looked like he was going to combust as he shakily rescrewed his cap telekinetically.

"O-o-ok-okay...gonna have to work on your idioms because wow that was terrible. I am...holy shit." He said with quivering lips before trying to turn away and redirect their attention literally anywhere else.

"Well uh, Ian I kind of uh...got more footage of that drone problem you've got...so if you'd like to talk about things that won't make me die of being flustered let's, do that please?" He said quickly and desperately, his body almost shaking with his eagerness to turn towards a task that wouldn't make him cringe his way into twisting his skeleton into a pretzel.

"Y-yeah that sounds. That sounds good. Let's do that. You saved my table right, Kreatz? I'm going to kick your ass if you didn't save my table." Ian said, pounding his chest to get the last of the cough droplets out of his mouth before Kreatz thumbed over to the room just behind the nearest visible door.

"You couldn't do that if you had a century to prepare Ian." Kreatz said with smug confidence.

Samus paused as she considered what he said for a bit, stepping around to look at Kreatz's posterior and getting a confused stare out of the Aelvan. She then looked back at Ian and sized up his leg before snapping her attention back to the bewildered Kreatz.

"Are you sure about that boast? It doesn't look like you've got a lot of advantages in a fight with him." She asked, getting a sputtering laugh out of Kreatz and a snort out of the other two.

"You haven't seen how I fight Samus." The elfin boy smirked.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
"Oh, I'm sure you'll be able to impress me if you try," Samus said with an approving nod, getting a smug scoff and smirk from Kreatz.

"Oh please, I know I'd be able to impress you! Chozo training or not, I've got skills like nobody else." Kreatz said, thumbing over to himself and just about brimming with self-confidence that got a laugh out of the young girl. A laugh that only intensified when Yramil grabbed him by his ear lobe and started to pull him back.

"Kreatz come on, stop trying to show off in front of the new girl." She said as Kreatz shouted off a rapid series of "Ow"s that a quick scan by Samus' keen eyes let her know were being exaggerated for dramatic effect while Ian snickered under his breath.

"Okay, okay, I give!" Kreatz said before he was let go, rubbing at his lobe and twitching his pointed ears slightly before flicking his gaze over to Samus once more and clearing out his throat.

"But yeah, if you want to spar with me; I'm game," Kreatz said before he gestured towards their table. "But first, let's get something to eat, I'm starving." He said, though as far as Samus could tell, he was perfectly healthy.

The seats looked surprisingly comfortable, and folding sections quickly unfurled to provide Samus with back support as she got comfy and swivelled slightly in the chair. The barely audible clicks of folding machinery like a bit of music to her ears as she relaxed a bit.

Samus' eyes drew themselves towards a holographic menu as she trusted her distant sight to tell her what she might like to eat. It didn't take her long to settle on a dish similar to what her dad would often make, potatoes, some flash grown white meat, lentils, seasoned with a bit of saffron and pepper, with green leaf mixed in. She set the specifications to just what she liked and nodded with satisfaction with it confirmed the order.

It was only when she noticed the large, bulky form of Montauk sitting down next to Yramil at the farthest end of the table from her that she realised she'd let herself fall behind on the conversation. One that picked up as Uldrasi hopped onto her seat, her visor-like blue optics zooming in while her four arms tapped themselves together with a plan forming in her head. But it would have to bear one more interruption as Mizuki dropped from above and hovered into their seat, unfurling the helmet of their white, blue, and silver flight suit to reveal their slender but androgynous features though Samus had a hunch that the platinum-haired beauty had something of a leaning towards feminity. As they curled up the planar wings of their suit, they flipped their shoulder-length hair back, pushing it away from half of their face to show that both of their eyes were the colour of brick. And it would seem that her hunch that they were of Asian descent was correct, something that gave Samus quite a lot of satisfaction.

She was able to piece together what they were talking about at least with a quick readjustment, listening in on what they spoke about and letting her intuition figure the rest out from the context.

"I've got that data you asked for." Uldrasi's squeaky voice said as she projected a few images from her spindly, child-sized chassis' arms, vocoders humming slightly as she thought out loud.

"Sweet, mind if I have a look?" Ian asked as she passed one of the holograms towards him, a burger already in his hands. He looked over the information with what Samus recognised were augmented reality scanners in his sunglasses before he nodded and took a bite out of his food, chewing briskly to save on time.

"You guys still obsessing over the drones?" Montauk said, a rumbly baritone almost at odds with his presence next to the rest of the group.

"It's only the greatest mystery we can directly poke at. Don't be a killjoy Montauk." Mizuki said with a snort.

"It's called having a healthy sense of doubt regarding whether this whole thing's worth our time. We've got plenty of stuff to worry about already without chasing after the first shiny thing." Montauk said with a plaintive groan.

"Obsessing? Come on, tracking down whose dumb idea these were could help us get ahead in class. Just think about what they'd say when we unravel this whole dumb prank." Ian said, leaning a bit back in his chair and scoffing with folded arms; telekinetics holding his sandwich in the air without any spillage while he gave a flirtatious wink to Mizuki who snorted in response.

"Have you actually gotten more than the first three paragraphs of that report done though? Just asking." Montauk said with a rather distinctly unimpressed looking gaze from his simian features.

"Knowing Ian he's probably still operating under the "I do my best work under pressure" philosophy," Uldrasi said with a high pitched snicker at the end that got a snort out of Yramil, a Cheshire grin from Mizuki, and a smirk from Kreatz while Ian scowled.

"Last-minute Ian not crunch himself as hard as possible? You must have him confused with some other blue-haired kid. Couldn't be this one." Mizuki said with a mirthful but not at all meanspirited laugh, though Samus didn't feel it was quite right to partake in it herself.

"Hey, if it works it works." Montauk said with a shrug before he finally seemed to notice Samus and let out a sound best described as a surprised mixture between "huh" and "oof." "Oh, didn't see you there you're...wow that's what you look like beneath the armour? When I heard you saved an entire mechanised brigade I was expecting something more...like..." He said, looking over to Uldrasi who also turned her attention towards the young hatchling and gave a nod.

"Personally I was expecting...a beak or feathers when I heard you had Chozo DNA spliced into you, Samus." Mizuki said as they stared a bit closer at Samus and thumbed their chin before pulling back.

"Oh no, I'm entirely organic. Just...very enhanced is all. I'm surprised that you've already heard about that. That wasn't very long ago, honestly." She said, a flush to her cheeks as she bashfully accepted the offering of food given to her by a hovering machine.

"And well, the DNA splicing was done very carefully to make sure I still looked completely human. I can even have um...babies normally." Samus flushed a bit, though of course the Chozo would never countenance making her sterile. If she wished to restart the Aran lineage once again, that was always to be her choice. Though such was definitely far in the future for her. Far too much to do until she could settle down as much as the idea appealed to her.

"Oh really?" Ian said with a bold and daring grin before Kreatz palmed his face and groaned about Ian being horny again, though Samus took a look at him and could find no presence of horns or antlers or any similar structures protruding from his head.

"Oh come on Kreatz, you're supposed to back me up." Ian said with an exaggerated sigh as he pulled himself up straighter and took a bite out of his meal, washing it down with more of his drink.

"Hey, I'm sure given time she'll find you as charming as the rest of us do." Mizuki said reassuringly.

"I already find him charming!" Samus said out loud, quirked brows raising before she added. "You're all really charming and interesting! It's so intriguing to just hear you all talk!" Samus clapped her hands with glee before turning towards her food and stabbing her fork into the first piece of artificial meat.

"We're interesting?" Yramil asked, giving an enticing look of coy curiosity. "Sammy, have you seen yourself lately?" She said with a bit of a sweet singsong at the end of her tone.

"Well, I think you're interesting! But I guess yeah, I did a lot of stuff too." Samus said with an attempt at humbleness.

She ate at a careful rate, trying to savour the food rather than just shovel it all in, never eating while she was talking. All a bit formal, even to Yramil's eyes as she loudly slurped up some liquified ice cream derivative drink.

"I mean, you saved an entire sector from being destroyed. And you're related to the people who killed Ridley." Uldrasi said before Samus' smile faded all at once as her breath started to get shallow and quickly drawn in. She let out an unpleasant wheezing sound at the mention of his name, her fingernails starting to press into her palms while her heartbeat intensified until she was aware of every little contraction.

She felt the fire and the flames once again, and that awful roar rang in her ears. She shook her head and grimaced before she swallowed and turned towards her drink and gulped it down hurriedly. The sweet flavour and the cool sensation drew her mind away from the terrible thought, and her breath started to relax and slow. She had almost had a panic attack in front of her new friends, and felt briefly ashamed of her weakness. Unbecoming of her, she thought as she was aware that all five of them were staring at her sympathetically.

"Uldra, maybe we could not mention his name? Just a little thought." Yramil said with an unhappy glare at her mechanical companion who looked away with shame clinging heavily to her.

"Hey, Samus. It's okay; you're safe here." Ian said, hesitantly reaching a hand towards her, ready to pull back at the first sign of her not wanting him to approach, but getting a nod of her assent and resting it on her. He gave a sympathetic smile, lowering his sunglasses at her and smirking before she pulled him into another hug that made him wheeze before telekinetically bracing himself.

"Gonna have to work a bit more on that strength control with people who can't bench press starships, Samus." Mizuki said with raised eyebrows.

"Okay...readied myself for that one...still, ow..." He grimaced before she let go and smirked at him.

"See, we can all be adorable together!" Yramil laughed.

"Adorabloodthirsty." Kreatz insisted, folding his arms together and giving a proud look.

"So...to get back on topic..." Uldrasi said, clearly desperate to regain some shred of honour after her faux pas.

"Yeah, Uldra and I have narrowed down some candidates for who could be making stuff like this." Kreatz said after clearing his throat and folding his hands together. He looked towards her and gave an expectant glance for her to explain some of the more technical details, dark blue eyes focused intently on her as she made an electronic harrumph.

"Okay eliminating everyone who doesn't have any known ability to make robotics and doesn't have the resources to make something like this I cut the list down to about a thousand people. Then I cut out the people who'd probably find something like this tasteless and the people who wouldn't have the free time." She said, showing a picture set of the student body and faculty and then rapidly eliminating portraits that didn't fit her criteria. Though Samus looked at the image with more than a bit of concern at the fact that she could just...get all this information without asking, was it publicly available?

"And I cut out the people who wouldn't have had any known opportunities since we started seeing the drones about fifteen days ago. So that leaves us with six people to the best of my ability." She said, showing six images that Samus took only a moment to look over. None of these faces were human, not even a little. But her eyes could make out all the distinct features all the same.

One was a frilled metallic life form by the name of Duskroz, a robotic whiz kid who had quickly grown famous for her work with machines at an early age. But Samus eliminated her from the running in her mind, her intuition told her it was the wrong answer, and her brief analysis of her profile told her this couldn't be the one. Too focused on her work to distract herself with a dumb prank.

Lagrim, an electrical energy based being at first seemed like a good suspect. They were mischievous, irreverent, playful and had to have a few reprimands due to their habit of getting a bit meanspirited. But they also liked to leave calling cards due to wanting recognition for their jokes. So no, couldn't be them either.

Grilari, a floral plant-based life form was dismissed out of hand by Samus as she saw that like herself; he was very unfond of the Space Pirates and would never stoop to trying to make use of their image for a joke.

But the remaining three, Skord, Kyramph, and Eleok seemed more promising to her. Skord, an insectoid who had been down on his luck until he suddenly was able to spend a lot more money than he usually could seemed suspicious to be sure. Kyramph, an annelidish silicoid had recently started acting somewhat erratic and had an unusual shift in some personality traits towards being far more reclusive than usual. And finally Eleok, a reptilian sulphur breather, had started to sneak off frequently from her usual friend groups at reasonably regular intervals. Of course, this was assuming that the commentary posted on their profiles by other students and faculty was accurate.

Samus flicked a finger towards her three subjects of choice. "I'd think it would be these three? But I'd really prefer to get to know them before making any serious accusations. It'd be awful if he blamed someone innocent." Samus said, taking a glance between the rest of her group and starting to form a theory in her head only to dismiss it later. She needed more facts before she could commit to a hypothesis, being rash in her decision making could get someone hurt. Yet the narrative building in her head was a powerful one. She could feel it clinging to her mindscape as if it was trying to resist her urge to dismiss it for now.

"Huh, that seems to be actually pretty reasonable." Yramil said as she looked over the information for herself. She paused, rubbed at her chin between her thumb and forefinger and then looked towards Samus and nodded at her. The runes on her cheeks briefly glowed as she made a few incantations that Samus recognised as Aelvan witchcraft, an ooh and an ah issuing from the young woman's lips as Yramil let a few threads of energy slip from her free hand.

Ian, clearly not one to let himself be outdone; harrumphed and concentrated. Samus could feel the psychic energy radiating from his mind and wriggled her fingers at the electric sensation of his mental probing. While Yramil was weaving a cable of esoteric energy, Ian was sending out something more like a sonar pulse. Both were equally fascinating to the blonde who hungered to know both forces one day, and she soon formed a grin on her face as she clasped her hands together.

"Wow, mind saving some of Samus' attention for the rest of us?" Kreatz said with a hearty laugh while Montauk and Udrasil simply gave their best shrug.

"Oh, are you two competing for my attention? It doesn't have to be a contest, you're both being very helpful." Samus said with a clap and a wide grin.

"If it were a contest I'd clearly be the winner anyway." Mizuki said, gesturing to themselves proudly.

"Yeah but I've been able to find a good way to get in touch with them without tipping them off." Ian said with a smug smirk and a fold of his arms while Yramil rolled her eyes.

"Meanwhile I managed to find where they're likely to get going later today." Yramil said with her own coy look until Montauk let out an exhalation.

"Maybe we should just inform some of the staff without invading people's privacy?" He said, clearly unimpressed by the light show going on.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
"He's right." Samus said, running a hand through her hair after having thought about it. She couldn't stomach the idea of just barging in with these sorts of accusations accrued through these methods, even if they might be allowable. She placed a hand on her cheek and straightened herself up as the others looked towards her expectantly, waiting for her justification.

"We can't just barge into people's personal information like this without a good reason. But what we can do instead, is catch one of the drones and see where that leads us." She continued, feeling a sense of relief at getting her feelings off her chest. She did want to catch them of course but she would feel so very much better with herself if they did it in a more fair way.

"What? This way goes a lot faster. Besides, I'm sure they'll own up to it when confronted." Uldrasi said with a pronounced shrug of her four arms before she folded them together.

"And do you have any proof besides a guess based on their profiles?" Samus asked pointedly, raising a brow and rapping her fingers against the table.

"It's at least a lead, come on. Be reasonable." Kreatz said with a groan.

"No, it's a guess based on circumstance. Let's do this right." Samus said, folding her arms in return and huffing.

"Gonna have to agree with her there. Let's not chase random hunches." Yramil said after finishing off a spoonful of her gelatinous dessert. "Besides we'd look like assholes if we went after one and were wrong anyway." She added before her hand found its way to a cup and downed some blue liquid in a hurry.

"So that means it's up to you Ian. What's your take coolkid?" Kreatz said, putting his chin in his hand and staring down the younger Malkovich as he pursed his lips and had a brief moment to think.

He didn't take too long of course, Ian always prided himself on his ability to think quickly, and he snapped his fingers promptly as he thought of his answers. An audible "Eureka!" being heard escaping his lips as he had his lightbulb moment.

"Want me to make a ding?" Mizuki said before Ian muttered "shut up" beneath his breath.

"I'm going to agree with Samus here. Let's do this right." He said, lowering his sunglasses and offering a wink to Samus that she identified as flirtatious based entirely off of the empathic signals he was radiating out.

She didn't mind it, though she wished he'd just be more open with his infatuation like Arne or the Faeran youths were. It was strange not knowing whether or not it was acceptable to reciprocate. Such things felt so much easier back home, yet everyone's reactions to her stating her feelings out loud were so strange. Had she made a mistake?

She shook her head, no she'd done just fine. She'd be up to the challenge no matter what it was.

"So...when can we get started?" She said, perking up before Montauk let out a small whistle and chewed his lip.

"Well, first we're going to have to get you settled in before any of that. Orientations and everything you know?" He said, getting a nod of understanding out of the heiress of the Chozo. What he was saying did make sense, if she was going to be sticking around here she might as well get used to how things worked around here.

"When will be able to get started on that?" She asked.

"Soon as we finish eating." Yramil said, kicking back slightly in her chair and humming mostly to herself as she finished off the last of the food put in front of her. For someone of her figure, she was quite adept at making large meals disappear in a hurry, though Samus figured that Yramil probably required a lot of energy for the work she was clearly doing with her body.

"Yeah I've been waiting for a food break for ages." Mizuki added as they gulped down another mouthful of rice and fish.

"Oh, so we can't hurry up with eating then! I'd really like to go out and see around!" Samus said with a wide grin before she paused at the sound of Yramil laughing like a hyena. Samus tilted her head and scrunched her face, feeling slightly embarrassed as she was left unable to figure out what she said that was so funny.

"Oh make these guys hurry up with their food? Oh you'd have an easier time punching a black hole to death." Yramil said, barely containing her laughter as she lurched a bit forward with her giggling until Samus found herself sharing a laugh with her. And with laughter being the ever infectious thing it always is, it soon passed around until all six of them were busily guffawing.

Well, at least she was well on her way to making friends.

Samus' Logbook entries

Individuals: Human-Chozo Hybrid: Female: Federation Born: Independent: Alive: Samus Eabha Aran (Part 3)

Samus Eabha Aran attracted substantial attention in Federation Circles by saving an entire mechanised brigade stranded on the Progenitor deathworld of Zoran and stopping unknown entities from detonating a catastrophic dimensional rift device with enough power to destroy an entire sector. Not only was the daughter of the slayers of Ridley confirmed to be still alive, but the Chozo had granted her their gifts and knowledge. She had grown into an incredibly potent fighter far beyond what most Lancers could hope to achieve even at an extremely young age. Interest in her only further deepened following her transfer to the Prodigal Program at the behest of the Chozo. The Chozo had believed that she had learned more than enough about physical combat and conventional education to instead focus on socialisation. So far, she has remained unavailable for comment to Federal News agencies.

Samus' Notes:

Spirits I don't think I'm ready to be a celebrity. This is all kind of...far too much attention for someone like me to handle. I think I'll try to keep a bit out of the limelight for now.

Organisations: Academic: Federal Established: Supranormal: Prodigal Program

The Prodigal Program serves as a system of providing education to the supranormally gifted with abilities well outside of the norm of their species. Established by decree of the Federal Commission with the assent of the Chozo in the cosmic year 2006, the Prodigal Program is regarded as one of the most broadly successful extranormal educational programs within the space of the Galactic Federation. While the program has had its critics due to its focus on practical education and getting pupils to integrate well with Federation society; it has been praised for its ability to consistently turn out some of the most valued members of Federal society. Courses are offered to all ages, but its programs covering the youth years are typically the most well known. Courses cover not only supranormal subjects but also conventional educational courses, though these can be modified depending on the pupil's needs. The program has campuses spread across the whole of the billions of light-years of Federation space, and the establishment of new campuses is usually one of the first signs that a system has been fully integrated into the Galactic Federation.

Samus' Notes:

Well, so far everything seems nice. I'm hoping that I'll get to do well here. So many interesting and pretty people too. Ah. I just can't wait to make as many friends as possible!

Technologies: Computer: Synthetic Consciousness: Biomechanical: Federation: Aurora Unit

The Federation's Aurora Units serve as the core of its bureaucracy and civil service, handling tasks that would have once required thousands of lesser A.Is with a single centralised unit. A seamless intermeshing of mechanical computing technology with organically grown artificial brains, Aurora units combine the best of both biological and technological thought processing. Thanks to their psychic abilities, Aurora Units are also naturally adept at interacting with organic life forms and can easily read the moods and desires of those they work with. Furthermore, their ability to monitor thought has made it far easier for Federal Law Enforcement to deal with infiltrators and would-be criminals. As time goes on, the Aurora Units have increasingly been integrated with every facet of Federal society, forming the Federation's famous aurora network across its territories spread throughout the known universe.

Samus' Notes:

I don't think I like the idea of them being free to read people's minds unless they're trying to be polite. I'm also uncomfortable with the fact that they're designed with mind-control capabilities. But it's nice to see the Federation making progress towards S.Cs on the level of Mother Brain, even if it's prolonged.

Individuals: Human: Male: Federation: Military: Army: Officer Corps: Alive: Adam Ivaschenko Malkovich

Adam Ivaschenko Malkovich is the latest General to be produced from a long line of Malkovich military officials in the family's deep connections to the Federal Armed forces. Adam refused to make usage of any patronage networks, however and requested deployment far away from his family's usual areas to avoid being advantaged by knowing the right people. While this has somewhat stymied his career and leaves him short on friends, it has given him an impeccable reputation for incorruptibility and fairness. Well known for his sense of honour and his tactical aptitude, Adam feels most at home in field command and has little interest in being promoted beyond a grade where he can be expected to find himself in battle. Adam was also close friends with both Rodney and Virginia Aran during their tours of service in the Federation Naval Marine corps, considering them his unofficial liaisons to the Navy.

Samus' Notes:

He's an honourable man and I'm hoping that he can tell me more about what my parents were like while he knew them. I wonder what his home's like?

Individuals: Human: Male: Psionic: Federation: Civilian: Prodigal Program: Alive: Ian Ivashchenko Malkovich

One of Adam Malkovich's younger siblings born more than a generation after him when their parents decided to have a new set of children, Ian was soon found to be a powerful psychic. As is expected for Federation born psions, Ian was transferred to the a supranormal educational program for his education at an early age in which he has remained. Though he was initially a model student seeking to follow in his older brother's footsteps, teenaged rebellion has driven him towards being an incorrigible flirt obsessed with his image as a suave and handsome playboy. Though he remains a high performing student, many have criticised him for his seeming inability to take things seriously and tendency to spend more time trying to catch eyes than studying.

Samus' Notes:

He's really handsome and incredibly cute and I really like the energy he has. I'm just not sure if wearing sunglasses indoors or at night is very practical. It looks nice on him though.

Individuals: Aelvan: Female: Mage: Federation: Civilian: Prodigal Program: Alive: Yramil Arthynielle Sylmarith

Yramil is the descendant of famed Aelvan Witchseers and well regarded for her exceptionally quick ability to learn both Aelvan runecraft as well as the sorcerous habits of other cultures. Particularly interested in the legacy of the progenitors such as the Faera, Yramil has spent substantial portions of her young life in trying to make progress on deciphering Faeran runic text. She hopes to one day meet one of the honoured ancients herself and learn their magic from them directly. Noted to be somewhat sarcastic but always playful, Yramil is well regarded by most people who meet her and has come to be one of the most famous pupils of her age bracket at the Prodigal Program's headquarters campus.

Samus' Notes:

She's so pretty and interesting! I'd love to get to know everything I can about her. I'm really glad that she's my pod mate, she must have so many interesting things to talk about!

Individuals: Aelvan: Male: Mage: Federation: Civilian: Prodigal Program: Alive: Ilkreatzan "Kreatz" Thelndraen Elemon

Kreatz is a young mage of a tradition that emphasises the usage of sorcerous ability for enhancing close combat prowess. As such, he is quite pleased with his physical might and ability, making expert use of his arcanolumor weapons in sparring and practice drills. While he does not have much in the way of famous family history, Kreatz seeks to defy many preconceptions of the Aelva as a dainty or nonphysical species. Many consider him to be brash, aggressive, bellicose and often even foolhardy. However, these traits belie Kreatz's cunning and quick thinking, which more than make up for his tendency to be somewhat lacklustre and planning ahead. Kreatz is also well known for how much he hates being reminded that he is rather short for an Aelva.

Samus' Notes:

Honestly, I think he's adorable. However, I get the feeling that he'd kick me if I called him that.

Individuals: Synthetics: Feminine Presenting: Techmaster: Federation: Civilian: Uldrasi

Uldrasi was created as a "growing machine" able to develop alongside children to provide them with a companion who could help organics be more acclimatised to synthetic life forms. At an early point in their development however, Uldrasi was touched by an Ylla mission. The process infused her with portions of their technology and ability and made her something far beyond conventional norms for her model of machines. From there, she would apply to and join the prodigal program where she hopes to learn to best use her gifts from the Ylla to become a worthy enough heir to their legacy. Uldrasi is often impatient, seeking to rush from one project to the next, but always observant; keeping tabs on all things going on around her. She's regarded as somewhat impish and mischievous but ultimately a great addition to have to the program.

Samus' Notes:

Hrm, I've got my doubts regarding her lack of care for privacy. But she is a fellow progenitor-touched. So I should try to be friends as best as I can. I hope I didn't make a bad first impression.

Individuals: Grulndi: Male: Aberrant: Federation: Civilian: Prodigal Program: Alive: Montauk Ungrumok Gurlok

Montauk is an Aberrant of the Grulndi species born with exceptionally heightened strength, regeneration, and durability even by the standards of his species that can increase with the extremes of his emotional state. Though ordinarily a very placid and calm individual, Montauk has a finely honed sense of outrage at injustices and abuses and rarely hesitates to get into fights against perceived bullies if peaceful methods fail. However Montauk also emphasises the need to seek peaceful solutions before resorting to force when all other paths have been exhausted. His sense of fairness is also impeccable, always seeking to do right by those who do right by him, and to avoid antagonising people unless absolutely needed. He is, despite the often savage stereotypes associated with the Grulndi species, also a soft-hearted intellectual who enjoys fine arts and literary craft.

Samus' Notes:

He seems like a big sweetheart! Someone I can hug without worrying if I'm going to break their spine too. And his taste in books is incredible! Hoping he can recommend me some really nice stuff soon!

Individuals: Human: Nonbinary: Empowered: Federation: Civilian: Prodigal Program: Alive: Sekiryu Mizuki

Sekiryu Mizuki was exposed to the energies of an accident in N-space at an early age, causing numerous physiological alterations in the process. In addition to the typical array of enhanced physical attributes, Mizuki is able to alter their own personal timeflow to move and act at speeds surpassing even what their augmented physiology should be capable of. Also able to project their temporal distortions outwards, they areconsidered an extremely tricky opponent to deal with as well as a subject of substantial curiosity to many suprasophont specialists given the relative rarity of suprasophonts who are able to manipulate time. Considered a daredevil and a risktaker, Mizuki is supremely confident in their abilities and takes a great deal of pride in their capacity to handle nearly any situation. They are also noted for their fondness of studying pre-space faring Earth history.

Samus' Notes:

Aahhh so many very interesting people for me to get to know! Mizuki seems like they've got some interesting perspectives on time, and I'm wondering if there might be any more...personal usages for that power of theirs?
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
Magnus Academy for the Extranormal, Tyramin City, Planet Sverabog, Olgram Syste, Redzan's Nebula, Yramithi Omnipragmatist Council Republic, Antennae Galaxy, Omdyn of Democratic Omnipragmatist Council Republics

Arne sat down next to Elmorni with his thumbs twitching idly. His red eyes flicked between his hands, his adoptive mother, and the floor. His armour was shifted into a disguised form, black, red, white, and gold with a more mechanical looking hard-light guise. From his observations, the ground below was a comfortable looking floor, not overly rigid and made with pleasant rather than sterile colours. He caught glimpses of people wandering about, almost all of them stopping to stare at him and Elmorni as they waited for Ygrak, Sciomagus Stygloch, and Mortirk to finish their discussions. So many forms of life all busy with one task or the other, so many shapes and varieties he had only considered academically before. But virtually all of them, regardless of who they were, found his presence there to be aberrant. At least, he thought they did. He could feel their thoughts, and none of them seemed to hate him, yet could they not be disguising their true selves from him?

"-Arne, you need not worry so much. No one here is going to be looking to make an enemy of you.-" Elmorni said, grasping his hand and holding it tight. Arne felt so much safer with her gentle grasp on his hand, knowing that at least some people here were looking out for him. Her armoured appendage was warm to his touch and smooth upon the gauntlet around his hand.

The shell of armour he wore around himself was something that was built for war rather than mingling, but it made him feel more secure. The Magnus Academy Privyetkaya Campus was a new place with new concerns. There were no dangers as many had told him, but he looked at every unexpected minor movement as if he was preparing himself for a bomb to go off.

But with Elmorni here, the pinprick sensation of tension, the steely coiling of his muscles into ready positions eased. He felt it more comfortable to breathe, and his thoughts were clearer and easier to form. He could notice that the seating was generally arranged into clusters to allow for people to form groups and converse, for example. His superhuman hearing drifted between differing conversations, mostly picking out what he found the most interesting.

"I-I'll be okay...I promise. I can do this. S-see they're talking about wormhole juncture engineering. How to alter the conduit metastructure to form the most efficient spacetime topographical alterations in ultrahigh gravity." He said, twitching his fingers a bit as he eavesdropped in. Speaking of machines was easy; things he could build with his hands or tools or tinker with on his own time were simple and easy. He could probably impress people with those skills. Maybe some of them might even want to be his friend?

"-Arne, you know what I think of you. Most of the people you meet are sure to see you the way I do. They'll learn to see the gentleness in your heart and your desire to help change things for the better. And when they do; they're going to know that they can trust you with anything.-" She said, stroking his hair gently as she whispered to him, murmuring sweetly to him when Arne rested his head on her arm while she made a quiet hum.

"Do you think so?" He said before noticing Ygrak's form peeling away from the conversation towards the front to approach him. Floating overhead, the crimson Alimbic descended closer to his level and folded up her legs in a manner made possible by her strange physiology. Her glowing monocular eye shifted colouration briefly while she waited for his responses, a chirping sound of approval coming from her when he smiled.

"-I know so. You've grown a great deal, impressed many who had doubts as to whether you could truly be the Neophyte. Doubts that I admit I sometimes had myself. But, it does me great joy to see that you've proven them all wrong.-" Ygrak said with her harmonious self echoing psychic voice. A voice that felt so deeply connected to him in a way he did not quite understand, but it did make him reach for her helmeted face and brush his fingers against the smooth carapace.

"And you'll want me to do my best to make friends right? Fit in without uh...losing sight of who I want to be?" Arne said, hesitancy in his voice rising and then falling shortly when he tried to prepare his confidence. He fought two of the Old Foe and hordes of their machines, he could handle a routine conversation. Why was this so hard sometimes? He had fit in pretty well at Arganti...yet here he was terrified of letting go.

Was it perhaps that Arganti was full of people who at the very least, would have always considered him to be one of them? Was it knowing that his guardians were never all that far away? Or was it that golden-haired figure that he longed for, feeling the ache of separation and the melancholy of not having her to make him feel wanted and safe? It might have been all of them, it probably was all of them, but he found himself wishing in particular; that he and Samus could have gone to the same facility. But his internal strife was soon sensed by Ygrak, and she rested a hand on his shoulder.

"-Of course. You are the heir of two legacies: Ours, and the Skjoldrs. You can walk bridges very few others can tread upon. And I think you would have made Erik and Gyda so very proud of you.-" Ygrak said, making him widen his smile ever so noticeably as he glowed from the praise. He shifted a tablet in his hands, a collection of everything his parents had written that the Alimbics could find. His most prized possession. and one that Elmorni was delighted to see him bring.

"Excuse me, are you Arne Eriksen Skjoldr?" That snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned away from his mothers and looked towards the source of the voice. He hadn't been paying proper attention to the distant sight and cursed himself a bit for letting someone sneak up on him. He chided himself further when he realised that he was looking in the wrong direction and snapped his head forwards and blinked when he saw the person confronting him.

A violet-eyed human figure about his age, somewhat shorter, though few were really of comparable height to him. The girl flicked her purple hair a bit with her movements, letting it flow down to the midpoint of her back. A double cowlick accentuated the many layers of cyan hair while her bangs brushed towards her face from the far left and right. She offered a somewhat slender but agile looking hand attached to a lean arm, wrapped in an all-purpose utility black, red, and purple exosuit that fit her quite snugly.

"Oh uh...yeah?" He said before she thumped her chest in a Grendakal salute and made an attempt at feral grunt that probably would have sounded more intimidating from someone older than her. The augmented reality glasses on her face glinted a bit as she gave him a wide grin that only got even wider when he started to stand up, feeling that this was the appropriate thing to do. Her skin was only a few shades darker than her pearl coloured teeth, indicative of rarely going out into the sun.

"I'm Solveig Magnasdottir Lothbrok. Magna's first daughter. It's swell as hell to get to meet you clanskin Arne!" She said as Arne responded with the traditional Grendakal salute in return. He could see that she had runic warpaint in the form of a solar burst around her right eye and a lunar crescent to the left, both given a cool midnight blue colouration. But what also caught his eye was that she seemed to be continually swishing her hips in tune to a tune he couldn't hear. He pieced together the exact tempo of the beat and figured it was probably a song she had stuck in her head.

"Well uh...well met too, clanskin Solveig. Where's your mom?" He asked, trying to sort through his words as he finished studying her features, noticing she made a self-satisfied grin when he was finished and flaunting with another hair flip. Ah, she was aware of how pretty she was. Oh no why do so many people he meets have to be so attractive? He wondered to himself as she started to hum the tune in her head.

"Oh she's gonna sort some stuff out with the Departed Ancients. She seems to be getting along pretty well; Gods be praised. But she also thought that maybe it'd be best for me to talk to you first clanskin Skjoldr? Get you meeting with peers rather than guardians hrm?" She said, pausing her humming briefly as she slightly mimed the motions of a Dance that Arne busied his brain with trying to imagine moving at full throttle.

"Skjoldr?" A passing octopoid like Mechanoid said as they retracted their tentacles towards themselves and turned around, getting a dark-skinned human companion of theirs to turn her head almost immediately. Ah yes, the sort of attention he was hoping to avoid. Arne looked around and saw scores of eyes and optics all focused on him, but what he got wasn't the rumours and whispers he feared, but a degree of deference...and pity.

"You, survived Cylosis?" One of them hesitated to ask. The tan-skinned Aelva seemed almost unwilling to hope, perhaps what they were seeing was simply an illusion? Just an Alimbic trick? Maybe the Alimbics themselves were tricks on their eyes. Arne could understand, with how thoroughly Cylosis was laid to waste by its mysterious assailants, it would be hard to swallow anyone managing to get away.

"...Yes." He said, quietly at first before repeating himself, nodding his head. But what really surprised him was the series of Grendakal salutes he got in response. Almost in unison really. They had recognised the scion of the Clan Champion; the Ikhragk of the Grendakal; and paid their due respects. The sound of so many moving in such unison startled him briefly, and he had to stop himself from letting out a brief quailing noise, but he tightened his hand and calmed down.

"It's an honour to meet not merely a survivor, but the child of the last Ikhragk." The Tan-Skinned Aelva said with a humbled voice that Arne could recognise as conveying how overwhelmed they were to be in his presence. He could understand that feeling; he was feeling like he was on the edge of what he could tolerate in terms of attention being thrown his way. He liked it to be sure, but he wasn't sure of how to deal with this many people...expecting something of him. Especially as the Alimbics rose to offer their own salute, getting awed whispering from the groups gathered.

The hard-light holographic avatar of the facility's primary supervising mind-spider; Ukil; warped into life, seamlessly transitioning from unreality to a proper presence. Skittering limbs supported a bulbous central body that contained some of the most advanced computer hardware of the extant powers in the known universe. And a glossy black, red, and green carapace was pockmarked by a number of glowing yellow pseudo-compound eyes that studied the room.

"+Our apologies for the delay. There were a few questions we had of your caretakers that we needed answered before we could accept their requests.+" Ukil said, Arne's mind already disassembling the machine in his imagination, his red eyes looking over the machine with the eye of a skilled tinkerer. He was already unconsciously thinking of ways he could perhaps improve on the design and what there was of their construction to appreciate. It was simpler than some of the designs he'd worked on, but impressive all the same.

"+Now, we see that Solveig has already arrived to accompany you to your shared domicile. Magna will come to offer you further assistance shortly, but in the mean time, feel free to make all possible effort to get to know your domicile-companions. Should you possess any questions; Solveig will be happy to answer.+" Ukil said, their mechanomandibles rippling slightly as Arne nodded in understanding before noticing Solveig was busily giving a big double thumbs up.

"Don't worry! I'll get him rolling with the pack in no time!" She chirped. Arne felt himself make a small smirk at that, it seems this might not be so bad after all. However, he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched by something that shouldn't be here. Flicking his eyes ever so briefly to one individual he was dead certain had an entirely different shade of hair and a slightly different body shape the last time he saw them about a minute ago. He'd bring that up later when he felt it was safe to do so.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
Dormitory Cluster Tertius

Arne remained somewhat quiet on the way over to where he would be staying for the duration of his socialisation training. The room prepared for him was a blank canvas waiting for him to make his contributions to it as he needed. However, he could see that there were a few items associated with his parents there, including his parent's training exosuits that they wore when they were his age. His eyes lit up, almost immediately, taking in the details of the now obsolete blue-green training armour and running his fingers along the hands of the armour suits in their docking bays.

The smooth turtle-shell like helmet with its simple T-shaped visor partly shielded by the cap of the helm felt familiar to him even though he had only seen them for the first time. He ran his fingers along the grooved mouth shield, eyes taking in the sight of the red visor and the crimson trimmings of the plating. He looked at the red coloured pauldrons, bearing the symbol of the class they went to; Erik's having a mechanical dragon of some sort, Gyda a four-winged creature somewhat like a Falcon.

He almost teared up at getting to be so close to something both of his parents once wore and pulled himself in for a hug as if to imagine they were still with him. He let go of the smooth plated armour suits and sniffled out loud, looking towards Solveig who gave him a sympathetic look and offered her hand to him. A hand that he took without reservation as she walked him out of the room once she was sure he was ready.

"We all miss them, you know. Mom was heartbroken when she got the news...and when she heard you were still alive. Gods, she just..." Solveig said before using her delvings into sorcery to make a firework-like burst of colours and noise in the air that got Arne to flinch and stammer. "Lit up!" She said, smiling up until she saw that Arne was not expecting a sudden bang like that in a place he considered safe.

"O-Oh...sorry. Do you want more warning before I do something like that again?" She asked, getting a quick nod from the white-haired boy as the two approached the main living room.

"It's something I'm trying to work on. It's not your fault, really. But yeah, a bit of warning would be appreciated." Arne said calmly as he put on his best smile and then let out a surprised gasp when he felt her hugging him briefly. He didn't mind in the slightest, of course, it was something that made him feel very...relaxed and at ease, and he returned the gesture almost immediately. His mind drifted a bit to the thoughts of how this would feel without exosuits in the way. He had to resist the urge to stroke her hair. She hadn't explicitly granted him permission to do such an intimate thing, but the thought of it against his fingers made him smile.

"Well, here you'll always have lots of people willing to help you out with trauma. That's what Omdyn means; Community, Union, Togetherness." She stated reverentially before Arne completed the last parts of the rather complex meaning of the word Omdyn for her once she pulled away, both of them with ample rose on their cheeks.

"Camaraderie, Fellowship, and Home." He said with a bit of his own reverence as he showed her his parent's memoir tablet briefly, relishing in the brief sight of stars in her eyes as the young sorceress just about shot over the moon at the sight. "My parents wrote a lot about all of that. And I've tried to read everything they left behind. I'm pretty eager to see how things have changed since they were gone." He said, doing his best to sound confident.

"Do you have any idea how important a find like that is?" She said, awestruck and holding her mouth open a bit. Arne quirked his brow and shook his head, a gesture he learned from Elmorni to help him more easily reintegrate with his own kind.

"If there's anything new in here that was never published...Gods be praised; this would be huge! Your parents wrote so many important things and aaaaaaaahhhh!" She said, taking a moment to breathe before calmly holding out her hands and being handed the tablet, her eyes flicking through the table of content and a gentle smirk forming on her face.

"I know what you're going to say. Make sure it always stays safe and back it up as much as I can." Arne said, getting a pair of thumbs-ups and a very pleased smile from Solveig. He liked that, the feeling of unabashed approval. She read through a bit more of the tablet before handing it back to him, offering him her hand and blushing a bit when he took it for her.

"Now come on, let's find mom for you!" She said as he scanned around the open doors leading towards the primary living room. His eyes caught a tall purple-haired figure on the approach though, seeing her rise to her feet as soon as he caught her eye and pushing herself up to her full height. Arne could immediately see the family resemblance between her and Solveig, though she had a sterner cut to her face than her daughter's more rounded; youthful look.

Those orchid eyes of hers glanced over to Arne, and immediately Arne understood that she was older than she looked. That weathered stare was one built only by experience, and he got a sense of aged wisdom from her. Though she looked to be in her early twenties at most, the way she carried herself made the fact that she had served for more than half a millennium much more apparent. An old woman in a young person's game. Every red tally mark across her cheeks speaking of another century of service.

A leanly powerful arm clad in her distinctive red, purple, and black power suit clanged against her chest in salute as she made the clan call of acknowledgement. With a step, she straightened her runner's limbs and made her head's worth of height advantage quite apparent. Her braided purple hair flicked behind her, and Arne returned the gesture almost immediately. Though he was a bit nervous as the Alimbics still had to conduct some business, depriving him of the personal attention of Elmorni, Ygrak, and Mortirk, he felt confident that he was making the right moves.

"Helgrask, Urglik Arne." She said, offering a traditional greeting that Arne was only too happy to give a nod of acknowledgement in return for. He let himself feel more at ease as he relaxed his posture, giving her a gentle smile.

"Helgrask, Urglik Magna." He said in return.

She looked over him once, then twice over and made a small grin.

"I was told you'd be a tall young man. Glad to see that the reports were true then." She said as she studied his face in particular.

"You've got Gyda's eyes, you know? And Erik looked so much like you when he was your age..." She said wistfully, letting out a sigh as she reminisced on simpler days.

"I still miss them every day." Magna said, folding her arms and gesturing to a holographic nanoscreen that reconfigured itself to show a picture of herself with his parents after they had just wedded, large smiles all around. Arne felt pained joy at that sight, a squeeze around his heart both sad that he couldn't see this moment in person but happy to know it had existed at all. He blinked away a single tear and looked back towards Magna whose look was one of sympathy.

"You helped them get together, didn't you?" Arne said, receiving a nod from Magna in return before she laid a hand on Solveig's shoulder and held her close. Like she was afraid that one day if she let her go too far, she might lose her altogether. A valid concern with how many widows and orphans the current age produced.

"Yeah, mom talks about the day she set them up on their first courtship so much! Just soooo much!" Solveig giggled as she laid a hand atop the appendage resting on her shoulder.

"After teaching both of them separately, I couldn't help but matchmake the two of them when they showed interest in each other..." She said wistfully before rolling some fingers through Solveig's hair.

"Mmmh, I wish you'd talk more about other mom or dads though." Solveig said with a smirk as she pulled away from Magna who gave a gentle laugh and shook her head.

"Let's not overwhelm him too much Solveig. He'll need time to adjust."

"Oookay. If you say!" Solveig grinned at her and then at Arne who felt a flush to his face when he caught a wink from the purple-haired girl. One that he did his best to return as Solveig giggled.

"Cute.~" Solveig chirped while she rocked on her feet.

"I well, thanks. You too.." Arne said with a hesitant thumbs-up before he decided to own the gesture and committed, getting a clap out of the young mage.

"I'm just really looking forward to getting to know you better Arne! You must have soooo many interesting stories to share!" Solveig said with a cheery clap as she lowered her augmented reality glasses to stare more directly at him.

"Well, not all of them are that interesting, but I'll let you decide which ones are. Alright?" Arne said, clearing his throat and winning himself a cat-like expression from the bubbly young woman as she just about vibrated with anticipation.

He couldn't help but think of how she reminded him of Samus...though there were differences of course, quite major ones. She was so much less blunt and whereas Samus always had bubbling outrage beneath her chipper exterior waiting to be prodded into motion, from Solveig he sensed something more like an...addiction. An addiction to thrill, a need to be near something interesting and exciting. Beneath her exterior was a burning need to always look for something fresh. Not so much the unquenchable thirst for knowledge of Samus as the daredevil hunger for something novel.

"Ooooh I'm going to love hearing everything so so sooooo much! Ah, it's going to be a pain to not just dip into my foresight and try and guess what you're going to tell me. Eeeeeee!" She said with a spin and a twirl as if she needed to burn off a bit of her excess energy until Magna put a hand on her head to still her trembling excitement. "I can't wait! Come on tell me something right now!"

"Good to see the two of you can get along so well, but your Clusterkin will be waiting in the living room. Come on, let's not keep them waiting." Magna said as she willed the door behind them to open, the octagonal door pulling itself away to give the trio access to the other side.

Feeling the sensation of something approaching at high speeds, Arne stopped and ducked beneath a thrown ball, reaching out and catching it in hand before tossing it back to the sender. His eyes followed the thrown sphere right back to a charming looking burgundy haired elven eared Aelvan boy whose dextrous ivory and scarlet plated hands caught the incoming sphere in a single movement. Lean and devastatingly handsome, his presence made Arne feel much the same way that Solveig and Samus were making him as he gulped, once again wondering why everyone here had to be so hot. Giving the ball a spin, the third eye warpaint on his forehead glowed briefly as the psychic studied Arne with clear interest.

"Well hello there, handsome. Name's Illarion Aelgrad Tyriomyr." He said with calm interest before giving a wink of acknowledgement to Solveig who flushed at the gesture.

Arne went slightly redder again as he sucked in a breath and tried his best to meet the rust coloured eyes of Illarion. He wasn't quite shy as not sure how to deal with the attention, but his attention was quickly drawn to illarion having the ball shrunk down until he could fit it into one of the pockets of his utility belt. His mind already at work, trying to understand the mechanisms of the action and unpack what he had just seen. And of course, trying to peel away from how flustered the bedheaded youth and his companion made him.

"Illarion, give him a bit of space." Magna said, getting a respectful salute from him in return as Arne's eyes scanned over the two. "Now, where's the rest of the Cluster?" Magna asked, placing her hands on her hips while Illarion gave out a whistle.

"Come on urgliks, Skjoldr's here." He said, the first response being a somewhat agitated feminine response.

"FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME YOU DONT'T NEED TO WHISTLE THAT LOUD!" She said as a black-haired Aelvan girl stormed out, her twin tails streaking down to her waist as she cracked her neck. She wasn't clad in an exosuit just yet but wore a grey shirt that Arne recognised had an angry-looking mammalian beast chomping down on a planet while her blue trousers rustled against itself as she walked towards the group and then stopped at the sight of Arne. She pulled herself out of her slouch and rubbed at her eyes, making the shark took like facepaint marks on her cheeks stretch a bit with her skin. Confirming that he was indeed real, her scowl turned into a grin and her brow rose up and down her slender face in rapid succession while her ears pricked straighter.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey~." She said with a grin and a finger pistol gesture that got her a wave in response. Yet more pretty people, Arne internally quivered as the moonlight skinned Aelvan joined with her equally sun-averse counterpart and stretched herself a bit. "I'm Taellarja Jelvaer Syndermin. Didn't expect you to look that much like your dad. Nice." She said wiping off the anger that he saw on her face not even a minute ago as if it were all just an illusion she could dismiss at any time. He caught her mouthing the word "Later" to Solveig and nodded with realisation when Solveig bashfully looked away from Taellarja with crimson all over her face.

"What is it-it? I'm trying to work on finding that shapeshifter!" A smaller voice said, hissier as if the speaker was trying to force the sounds out of sharp teeth and past a forked tongue. He caught the sight of a reptilian humanoid figure about a head shorter than him crawling on the ceiling, flicking out their tongue from a head somewhat like a maniraptor's while their red crest flicked up from their blue scaled body. He lowered himself, clawed legs still stuck to the ceiling and tail whipping back and forth with curiosity as he took his goggles off his eyes and blinked the membranes across the yellow orbs to get a closer look at Arne.

"Ooohhh, you are the human hybrid boy. Ah much shame-apologies for making this a not amazing-great first impression. Name is-say; Loxtoqil Muehuatax Ulhyote. I make-fidget with machines very well." He said before dropping from the ceiling, catching himself on his clawed hands and righting himself onto his feet before Taellarja patted him on the head and got him to hiss like a boiling pot before pushing her hand away. With her no longer threatening to disturb him, he took a look at his green power suit and tinkered with some of the controls.

"Not time for touch-play." He growled before Illarion snorted.

"It's never time to touch you."

"Yes-true. But will you respect that Urglik?" He hissed.

"Obviously." Illarion said, getting a thumbs up from Solveig.

"So...where's the last one?" Arne said before he felt a vibration from something large moving. He turned his head around and followed his distant sight to catch sight of a large and imposing mechanoid, bipedal and already cracking her knuckles as she stepped into view. To Arne's eyes the figure moved like a veritable colossus, her frame like the cross of a knight, a factory armature, and a main battle tank. She would have towered over even Magna, and her black, green, and yellow frame's back mounted winglets folded behind her as she stomped into view, her bar-code scanner like optics scanning across the room before fixating on the gathered figures.

Arne did his best to be friendly and offered a wave that to his surprise, the mechanoid returned without hesitation. "Helgrask Urglik Arne." She said formally as she folded her hands behind her back and stood at attention.

"Come on, here and now Elgramor?" Illarion said with an eye roll before Taellarja coughed to get his attention and remind him to be polite. That got a bit of a snort out of Arne.

"Just let her be formal if she wants! It's not the end of the world, right Elgra?" Solveig said as the young growing synthetic gave an affirmative beep in response as a considerably smaller looking human walked to the fore beside her.

"I have aspirations towards more formal duties when my growing processes are complete. It would be ideal for me to maintain appearances here and now." She said, hardly even flinching at the sudden company to her side.

"Trust me, there's much bigger things to worry about than overformality. Is that the new guy?" The human next to Elgramor said, dusting off their gauntleted hands and pulling off their antennaed helmet after opening up the back of it to push off the angled mouthguard to reveal a golden-haired human youth with features that would have had them pegged for being east Asian. Their red bodied armour had blue trimmings and white highlights, and was clearly built with ranged combat in mind. Arne's eyes picking up how it was clearly meant to channel focused energy from within their body outwards into nanite formable projectors. The contours of the armour's conduits forming clever patterns that Arne admired the efficiency of, just as he took a shining to the boy's soft, slender face and their striking blue eyes; framed by slightly messy mid-neck length gilded hair that covered parts of their ears and partly covered one of their eyes.

From his brief study of them, Arne figured them to have decided to not cleanly present as any particular gender but had a bit of a preference towards masculinity.

"Yeah, I'm Arne." He said, offering the traditional clan salute and getting one in return.

"Zhang Kai. You look, interesting." Kai said, giving a satisfied smile as they quickly regarded both Arne the wearer of the suit and the suit he was wearing itself, clearly transfixed by both in equal measure as he offered a wave of acknowledgement to the others.

"Don't worry about the others, we're all incorrigible flirts here." Kai said with a grin that Arne found...enticing.

"Well, I think that's everyone; no?" Magna said with a satisfied smirk.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
Elmorni and her cohort glid into the room, offering a brief Tetrarch salute to the gathered group that Arne returned unhesitatingly. After but a second, Elmorni lowered her hand from its parallel position to her chest, her soft psychic voice vibrating through the air. The tone as almost always, was gentle and sweet, like honey to Arne's ears. He could ever feel safe with her and opened his arms up to give and receive a warm hug from her; relishing in her maternal warmth before the other Alimbics laid their hands on him.

"-You're growing into such a strong young man, Arne. I'm going to miss you so much. Please, whatever you do, never forget your desire to help those in need.-" She said to him as he rubbed his cheek affectionately against the armoured form of Elmorni.

"I'm going to miss you too, mom. All of you." He said, sniffling a bit and wiping away some of his shed tears. His cheeks were puffy, and his eyes were a bit heavy. This was going to be the first time he was going to be entirely without her support and care for long periods.

"I can call you as much as I want right?" He asked, wiping away a sniffle with his finger and giving her a small smile.

"-Of course, though General Zurvduat might complain.-" Ygrak said, a small joking tone evident in her voice that drew no mirth from him. She paused as she seemed to realise her mistake and asked for his forgiveness, sensing the turbulence in his mind at the mention of his...father.

Despite everything, something in him wanted Zurvduat's approval, his acceptance and love. He still saw him as his father at the end of the day, and that troubled Elmorni in particular immensely as her psychic expression dimmed briefly.

"-Arne, he can't hurt you here. You're safe. These are good people who will stand by you and aid you. You can finally be the way you want, not just what the General asks.-" Elmorni said, placing her hand on his chin and tipping his gaze up towards hers. He managed a smile and laid a hand on hers, clearing out his nose and blinking a few times.

"I've read your file Arne; you're in good care here. We'll help you out with everything you've missed on over the years. And I trust this place with my own daughter." Magna said, patting Solveig on the shoulder as the enthusiastic young lady grinned and offered an enthusiastic wave.

"Yeah, I'd love to have another boy here! Especially when you've got so many nexcite things to talk about!" She said, almost immediately drawing a confused stare from Arne as his smile faded into a look of befuddlement.

"It means like....hyper-excitingly interesting? Like, I don't just want to hear about it, I need you to talk to us about it! I could write so many things down about it and make so many xelketsch notes!" She said, her smile slowly fading when she saw that Arne's look went from one of understanding to even further confusion to the point that even the Alimbics seemed a bit lost.

"It means inspiring for an idea that you know, you really want to get out there—a story you gotta share. " Illarion said with a relaxed expression, patting Solveig on the head and getting a purr out of her. Arne felt slightly jealous, the coil of that serpentine creature of envy wringing around his chest while he thought of what it'd be like to feel his hand on his hair, but nodded in acceptance all the same. They could share, he figured, consoling himself once the serpent loosened its grip on his chest.

"Well...okay, I think I'm going to have to sit and learn all this vernacular some time. I'm, definitely not familiar with half of what you people say." Arne said with a bit of a snort coming in response from Taellarja who waved it off.

"Don't worry Arne, we'll help you out. It'd be my genuine pleasure to even." She said with a confident smirk as she straightened herself out just a bit. She stretched her legs slightly and fidgeted just a bit with her arms to relieve some muscular tension before she placed her hands behind her head and sucked in some air.

"This place has helped a lot of people who've lost family out. Like myself. I'm not sure if I'd have handled losing my uncle's family very well without the kinds of friends I made here." Kai said, gesturing to everyone else and getting a pat on the back from Illarion.

"-See Arne, you'll be in wonderful company here. And I'm sure that Samus and the others will continue to visit. Like the Faeran youths you seem fond of.-" Mortirk said with a gentle pat to his shoulder as he scanned around the crowd.

"-Certainly these facilities are more suited for childcare than our own. I'd have liked coming here in my time.-" Stygloch said, the white armoured young Alimbic's tone courteous but intrigued, his arms folded behind his back and his singular luminescent silvery eye focused on the attentions of Elgramor who couldn't help but study him intently with her laser optics.

"I'm still not sure why you'd want to leave the company of progenitors for people like us. But I'm flattered you decided to come and join our group." Elgramor said as she finally turned her attentions away from the only recently matured Sciomagus who offered her a curtsy of acknowledgement in return.

"Well, as he's said, they don't have the facilities to help watch over a growing young man like him as he matures. But we'll be sure to take the best care of him, won't we?" Magna said, turning her attention over to the Cluster who all gave their affirmations in virtual unison.

"You can count on me to do my best." Kai said, giving the traditional Grendakal salute as Arne made note of how unlike many here; they had no tattoos or facepaint. Hrm, he'd have to ask why.

"Will be interesting-fascinating to speak to a human raised by those with such...knowledge. You must know-understand many things yes, Arne?" Loxtoqil said flicking out his tongue periodically.

Arne felt slightly flustered at all the positive attention thrown his way. He was so used to the quiet loneliness of Sentus Primaris that the past two years of suddenly having so many people his age to speak to felt overwhelming. Like going from never having swam in his life to being pressed into ever deeper and more turbulent waters. It was not necessarily unpleasant, but he found the certainties of battle and engineering to be...simpler for him to grasp.

But Magna was able to sense his troubled mind quickly, her eyes rapidly shifting from the Alimbics to him as she gently looked down and gave him a reassuring smirk that soon bared its teeth towards him. He understood this was an open lipped grin at least, and meekly returned the gesture even if it felt a bit unusual for him.

"-See, hardly anything to worry about, is there?-" Elmorni said as she patted her son on his back and cooed gently. It was a warm gesture that made his heart feel soft for a moment, but when she mentioned a lack of things to be concerned about, he shot his eyes open and turned towards the Cluster.

"Do any of you know any shapeshifters?" Arne asked, deciding to broach the question while the mood was still good. It was a silly question, of course; there were plenty of beings in the universe able to alter their shape. That figure he saw earlier was probably nothing to be concerned about. It was all probably just another thing he'd have to get used to.

"There's quite a lot here. Do you mean the one that Loxtoqil is trying to find though?" Magna said, her hands finding their way to her hips as she quirked a brow.

"Ah, see-understand now? We're not the only ones who see-perceive this intruder!" Loxtoqil said with an expression that the Neophyte figured was his species' version of a look of elated vindication. His eyes swivelled upwards, his jaw hung open, his tongue flicked side to side, his tail waved up and down, and his crest was in full flare. While he lacked the sort of skin or cultural upbringing to make facial expressions similar to his own, Arne was pretty good at working out emotions from beings he couldn't read the face of. The vibrant colours radiating from him in his mind's eye, for example; were a pretty good indication that he was feeling very sure of himself right at this moment. Which was reassuring to the young boy, he'd be able to work his way around most conversations here for the time being.

"And what would they even be trying to do here?" Illarion said with a shrug and a laugh. "Just wandering around gheisting on students?" He scoffed a bit before realising Arne was once again lost. "Oh, that means haunting people, following them around and being unsettling." He added, brushing a hand through his hair and giving an easy smirk to let Arne know it was no trouble. He was show-offy and brash, but he would never be meanspirited.

"Like you aren't used to people staring at you." Taellarja said with a smirk and a scoff before Illarion rolled his eyes at her and made a mock huffing sound of faux-disappointment. "It's true you know. How'd you know the difference between people who just want to ogle and people trying to hunt you?" She said teasingly, giving him a little elbow to the ribs that got a faked "ow" out of him.

"Okay, okay Arne asked a question so why don't we get together and hrmmm...answer it maybe? That sound good to you all?" Solveig said, looking around and getting a few nods of approval in response. "Tixebar." She said approvingly.

That at least, wasn't a slang term, simply an Omdyrzschpiel term that didn't translate super well to the Uskarlyc he was used to speaking. He understood it, though, which filled him with no small measure of pride. A term somewhere between "wonderful", an enthusiastic "yes!" and "this will do."

"We could probably check with some watch volunteers? They'd have answers." Kai added.

"Well, I've seen it at least." Elgramor said, folding her arms while Magna nodded politely and the Alimbics studied with interest, Stygloch even rubbing his hand against his floating chin as he pondered for a few moments.

"-Interesting Arne, it seems you've already found your first task.-" Mortirk said with a bit of joking pride, eye flashing from gold to blue with interest before shifting colours again.

"I...yeah I guess I have." Arne said with a nervous laugh. He had barely arrived here and there was already a trial in waiting for him.

"-Not quite so fast, he should investigate at his own pace. I'm sure that it will be quite harmless based on my readings of the distant sight.-" Elmorni said with a gentle wave, turning her full attention towards her son who nodded in appreciation.

"-At the very least, he should have some time to orient himself in this facility before trying to find anyone in it. He is still unused to being around so many people. Give him time.-" Ygrak said, gesticulating gently as her harmonious but firm psychic voice rang in the ears of all present.

"-Certainly, there should be some allowance of time to have fun first and foremost too. We will need to get him relaxed and integrated with the population after all. Otherwise, aren't we all wasting our time?-" Stygloch added to the approving nods of most of the adults gathered here.

"-Besides, I'm sure many of these students are very eager to get to know the Neophyte better.-" He concluded, folding his arms behind his back once more as Arne flushed slightly red in the cheeks and looked at the interested expressions on everyone else's face.

"-Oh but of course, Arne. This is meant to be a time for you first and foremost, my darling Knight. Please, do everything you can to make yourself at home and regale me with all the little stories of the friends you've made whenever you want.-" Elmorni said in her matronly tone, bending down towards Arne and dropping onto her knees.

"Yes, moms, dads?" Arne said, looking up to the gathered Alimbics as they approached.

"-Above all other things, remember that there will always be people looking out for you. No matter how lonely the universe may seem. Just as you should always be looking to help where you can. Just like your parents did.-" Elmorni concluded before pressing her forehead to his own and shared a moment of psychic warmth with him. Something very much like a kiss to his forehead before she floated upwards.

"...Can't you stay, at least a little longer?" Arne said, tearing up again as he realised that this would be saying goodbye for at least a little while. He sniffled as an emptiness began to fill his chest. He already knew the answer, but it didn't make the simmering anxiety lessen at all.

"-There are things we must attend to, my little knight. Other Alimbics in stasis we must reawaken and help readjust to the way things are now; other people who need our guidance. But I'll always find a way to make time for you, my son. Never forget that.-" She said as she started to hover away, Arne's hand gripped around hers before his fingers began to relax and slowly let go.

"...I love you." Arne finally said.

"-I love you too." She responded.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
"Aww, Arne, don't worry. We're all friends here! And I'd love to have you join us!" Solveig said as she offered him a hug. A hug that he quickly returned as she gave him a pair of cheek kisses and exhaled contently before pulling away, something that most of the group save for Loxtoqil and Elgramor offered shortly afterwards. Arne felt a bit flushed at so much contact in quick succession and made a note of the different ways they embraced him.

Solveig was enthusiastic, bubbly and lingered a bit with her hug as if she wanted to really understand what it was like to hold him. Illarion rather, sought to do it in a bolder and more assertive way, and whereas Solveig's eye contact with him afterwards was bashful, Illarion's was challenging. Though both got him to blush all the same. Taellarja was outright probing, hungry almost, she wanted more, and tried to leave him wanting more herself. Kai was explorative, curious, but slightly distant, unsure of how to approach him but wanting to make an effort anyway properly.

Loxtoqil gave a prolonged hiss and a bow of the head to acknowledge Arne, while Elgramor's beeping had a slightly more pleasant than usual tone. She was clearly sympathetic to his plight, and Arne felt appreciative even if they weren't much for giving him their embrace.

But of course, the moment had to end eventually and the seven had given each other their space. Magna, moments from leaving, turned towards the group gathered behind her and offered a sweet smile.

"There's not much going on academically at the moment, so feel free to take the time to explore. Now, Solveig, can you promise me something?" Magna said as she paused at the exit, Solveig's eyes lighting up from the acknowledgement.

"Yes, mom?" She asked, letting her curiosity linger for a bit as she tried her best to peer into the causeways of destiny, making a quick incantation and a few gestures before closing her eyes and casting her astral sight into the beyond. Arne could perceive her spiritual form taking a look at the endless, shifting roads of possibility and narrowing it down to the most likely ones. And with that information, she could easily guess at her answer, and all at once her eyes lit up and she shook her hands with excitement. Ah, she had got it! She understood!

"Oooh! You want me to make sure he's got as many friends here as he feels comfortable with right? I can do that, mom! Don't worry; I am the urglic for the task!" She said, giddy with anticipation and just about vibrating with eagerness that she'd managed to filch the answer from the future. And she was even prouder of herself when she saw that Magna had the most glowing of smiles for her in return.

"Correct as usual. I'm sure you'll do great. Now, I must be off. Take care all of you." She said, giving a farewell salute before stepping out.

"Well, anyone want to hit one of the rec-areas? Might be good to stretch our legs a bit hrm? Might catch some of the volunteer watchers there too. I know I'll catch some of their eyes at least" Illarion offered as he stood up and gestured towards the door with a supremely confident smile before Solveig tapped on her chin a bit and nodded.

"I think I know just the one to visit. Come on companions!" She said, gesturing everyone to follow her as she tried her best to contain her energy to something approaching a reasonable level of activity.

"Oh I think I know the place she wants." Kai said, quirking their brows and then looking towards Arne and giving him a come hither gesture. Unnecessary of course, Skjoldr knew that they were moving out already, but he gave a look of acknowledgement all the same; manifesting his helmet over his face once again.

"So if you look that way Arne you'll see the way to one of the gymnasiums. Specially rated for people with enhanced abilities, so I'm sure you'll find a way to keep busy!" She said, gesturing over to a hallway where Arne cast his gaze down, catching a glimpse of a number of pupils hard at work rolling away from some manner of stabbing machine with quite a substantial number of limbs.

"That looks...dangerous for lower grade combatants." Arne said, some uncomfortable memories of the endless hours of drilling against the machinery of Sentus Primaris surfacing for a second until he choked them back down. He wasn't going to let that pain rule him; he would survive, he would overcome.

His breathing was tense, and everyone knew it, with Illarion being the first to offer him a shoulder pat in sympathy. He felt a bit tenser, Arne would have felt more comfortable had Solveig or Taellarja offered the motion, and he almost felt a brief shudder at the sight of Illarion's hand raised and close to his head.

"...You gonna be okay there?" Illarion said as Arne gulped and shook his head, relaxing his breathing when Taellarja approached instead. Arne wanted to get closer to Illarion, but simply knowing that Illarion was a he made the sight of his raised hand alarming to the boy. That animal instinct to seek shelter in the face of oncoming pain making itself loud in his mind's ear.

Solveig whispered something to Illarion, that his superhuman could easily make out. "(He was abused a lot before coming here. He's got...problems with male authority figures. Try not to seem too dominant.)" Arne made a pensive face at that. Being described in such terms made his stomach simmer with unease and drew a frown on his thin lips.

Taellarja noticed the issue and spoke up quickly. "So, Arnie, we're almost there. Rec-area's juuuuust past that gym. We've got all the best fun stuff to do with friends there. We should try some of it out you know?" She said, harrumphing to get Arne's attention and a nod out of him.

"She speaks the truth-facts. Much to do there. Also very likely to contain-hold people who see what goes around-on in this place. I will ask-make questions to see what some people might know about our shapeshifter issue." Loxtoqil said with eagerness. Right, duty, a mission, something he could focus on and feel like he was progressing towards finishing. That helped put his mind at ease.

With that, he breathed in and relaxed and took another look around his surroundings, his eyes catching on a rather pleasant looking outdoor area that made him draw in a pleased breath. "Oh...wow you've got some fascinating looking specimens there." He said, even limited to only what he could see through the window the sight and its riot of carefully blended together colours sparked a sort of primal joy in him. Samus had taught him to appreciate the beauty in all things, and right now he felt like he was surrounded by it in this warmly lit and cosy looking hallway and its myriad paths.

"Oh, those? I made a few of the suggestions for this year myself." Elgramor said as Arne pressed his face close to the window and looked down. He looked out with amazement in his eyes and couldn't help but imagine himself reaching out and touching the wonders of the garden or its selection of suitable fauna. He could almost imagine Hugin and Munin flying around, and then found himself frowning when he realised he left them back home. He should call Elmorni to bring them over...Geri and Freki too, he thought to himself.

"You've got great taste, I like it a l-" Arne paused when he thought he saw someone who had once been a child not a few moments ago now have their place taken by a spidery alien several times more massive than he was. Given that it was a reasonably open bench, it should have been impossible for the girl just to disappear, but there they were. At least, until they disappeared and his usual distant sight visions felt unusually clouded by some other presence. He frowned and rubbed at his temples, grunting a bit out of frustration. Something had to be meaningful there if his ordinary foresight was being interfered with.

"Did anyone else see that?" Arne asked before he was tapped on the shoulder by Kai. He was aware that many presences had gathered around him and lacked much in the way of hostility. However, he was not particularly focused on those visions. At least, not up until he was pulled from his thoughts by the tap. All at once, he became far more aware that a large group of people had congregated near him, and he made a gasp of surprise when he felt the paths of destiny clog with imminent questions and curiosity.

He spun around and saw Kai thumbing over to the group that had gathered near him, many species and people of many ages who were simply fascinated by the fact that someone amongst them could be wearing Alimbic armour.

He couldn't help but notice how so many people looked at him with awe. As if they could hardly believe that he was actually there. It made him feel self-conscious, aware of everyone's expectations for him and the legacy he'd have to live up to if he wished to fill the void his parents left properly.

He almost wished he could cloak himself right about now, and set his mind on working out how to create such a device. It'd be handy for more situations than just this for sure, but for now he was just glad that he had his helmet up and thus kept his face a mystery to the would be observers. It still got him looks, but at least people couldn't see how he responded to them for now.

He looked around and gulped a bit. He tried to shy away from confronting so many people at once, sulking away as quickly as he could while the cluster surrounded him. He'd love to indulge all their questions at some other point, but right now he was dealing with a strong feeling of not having done much to earn this kind of attention.

After all, what did he do for the Omdyn or any other member of the intergalactica so far? He couldn't even answer the mystery of who could have killed Cylosis. His initial theory seem to be so impossible after actually meeting with the Chozo and seeing their great influence over the federation. And if he couldn't answer that...what good was he so far really? Certainly not anywhere near enough to warrant this kind of interest.

He quickly caught on to how exosuit fashion seemed to be the norm. Seeking to style functional and practical wear such as environmental exosuits into something for everyday life. Everyone patterned and coloured theirs somewhat differently, applying their own aesthetics to their power armour. Some wore more conventional clothing over it, but it seemed that for the most part, every citizen of this region of the Omdyn considered at the very least environmental suits to be their civilian wear.

"Hey, Solveig. Does everyone wear suits at all times to make species that have to wear them in other environments feel more comfortable?" Arne asked, approaching Solveig who flicked her head around with a whipping motion of purple hair, nodding enthusiastically in response to his question.

"Mhrm! Also means that in case something goes wrong, people can just fold up their helmets and be fine. And it also well...makes it easier to fit in with all the synthetics honestly!" She said with enthused excitement as she walked ahead, deciding to lead the group while she hummed a jaunty tune.

"It helps organics keep up in many ways without requiring invasive procedures, an efficient solution." Elgramor said plainly.

"Heads up guys, we're almost to the rec room. Now if my luck holds, and it always does, the best team game in this entire building should be free for some seven on seven." Kai said, their expression turning to one of tremendous anticipation.

"Ooooh I can't wait!" Solveig giggled.

"...What game is that?" Arne asked in confusion.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
"Now, if I'm right, and I definitely am. There should be a Venger Wars tournament going on right now!" Solveig said as they passed through the door.

"Oh...well, you're probably going to have to teach me about it then." Arne nodded.

"Oooh yessss I'd love to!" She said with a wide smirk.

The recreation area was an expansive vista, full of wonderful sights and delights in a social space for the inhabitants of the building. Arne's eyes caught sight of hundreds of individuals from dozens of different species just in the area in his line of sight. He almost didn't know where to even begin. He spotted an off-duty volunteer, the figure busying themselves with shaping some manner of nanite clay into artistic shapes for the benefit of some of the younger pupils.

"Am I supposed to just..go up to them?" Arne asked, not exactly sure on the proper protocol here. Asking the Alimbics for favours without solicitation often ended in him getting chided for his lack of self-reliance. At least, as long as they leaned more towards Zurvduat's theorems on how to raise and treat him. But with those memories in mind, simply walking up to someone in a position of authority like that felt...wrong. There had to be some sort of procedure to it, right?

But the answer he got was pretty surprising, with Elgramor simply walking up behind the four-limbed semi-avian volunteer guardsman. He had read about the rather bold and lackadaisical attitude towards authority his parents' home nations had, but to see it in motion was something else. He almost internally cringed when Elgramor just made a salute and a request of the beaked and saurian headed guard whose wings flapped behind them in sync with their turning.

"Urglik, would you happen to have seen any unfamiliar shapeshifters lately?" She said plainly.

"A few, One in particular that never seems to mingle with anyone, just watching a few people now and then." They said with a somewhat whistly voice.

"I've notified the Mind-Spider. We'll be putting out a notice later today. But if you manage to catch them in a conversation, be sure to share what you learned." They continued before turning back to their sculpture, shifting some of its colourations.

Elgramor turned back towards Arne and walked over as he gave a nod and his thanks to the mechanoid. "Taken care of. Just do your best to keep an eye out. Anyway, if we're going to be here let's do the fun things yes?" Elgramor said, giving Arne the impression she always preferred to just get to the chase.

"Well, if all is good-pleasing to you, I will go and demonstrate-show some of my work to the others in the tinker-builder club. Have got-done many things since my last meeting with them. I will come back-return later." Loxtoqil said, excusing himself as he skittered off into the distance before Elgramor walked off after him, her footfalls significantly quieter than one would expect of someone of her size.

"Oh uh...already?" Arne said, looking to Illarion who smirked a bit as he laid his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, it's pretty fun to sit in and watch them talk though. Usually, not my thing but Kai's had a lot of fun with it at least." He said, gesturing over to Kai and pulling them slightly closer after getting a read that they were okay with it. He tried to do the same to Arne but found his telekinesis simply...not working at all on Arne. He realised his mistake quickly and brushed it off with an easy grin.

"Right...Alimbic hybrid." Illarion said with a small laugh.

"Yeah...altered human." Arne said, almost as if he was trying to correct Illarion who raised a brow until Taellarja cut in with a harrumph.

"So...before we get knee-deep into Loxtoqil showing how big his scaly brain is, why don't we show you a few more things first Arnie?" She said, clapping a hand onto his shoulder after sensing that he wasn't going to pull away and grinning at him.

He didn't flinch at the shoulder grab, but he did turn his helmeted head towards her as she tapped on his faceplate.

"Come on, live a little." She said, and with a bit of reluctance, he closed his eyes and dismissed his helm in a flash of blue light.

"Better.~" She giggled while Solveig urged them to keep going.

"Come on; we don't want just to stand around when there's so, so, sooooo much fun stuff to do right?" She said, offering her hand to Arne and leading him through a procession of all manner of intriguing-looking activities. Games, a few smaller-scale sports that didn't need the gymnasium, artistic and other social events, and some people just trying to experiment with their self-expression all flooded his eyes and ears.

Some people were trying out some music; painters were attempting to capture the hustle and bustle, impromptu dances gathering and shaking out their worries; some people gathering around and spectating for a cooperative holo-game of adventure and exploration. Even a few people just sitting around; talking about what was going on or commenting on things they watched together. All that and more almost overwhelming his senses as he could hear so many conversations going on.

Arne was glad he learned how to filter out what he didn't really care for, but it almost felt perverse to be able to just listen in on anything here he wanted. But even that couldn't diminish the wonder of seeing all this unfolding all around him with a number of people just...living he never really before imagined. People of all ages and stripes. So many people his age too, and with relatively light supervision from elders who were content to let the youth play as they will so that they could find themselves and bond with their friends.

His eyes drifted to a few people playing around with miniatures made of nanites shifted into shapes; ordering them around and watching the small robots mime out a conflict; holographic lights and sounds completing the illusion.

"What kind of game is that?" He asked, Solveig's face lighting up as she saw an opportunity to bombard him with information.

"Ooooh yes, it's Venger Wars! Come on; I'll explain the whole ruleset to you! It's super simple to pick up!" She said, urging Arne forward while Kai whispered "Hope you don't need to be anywhere soon." to Arne as the group clustered near one of the tables.

Arne was about to sit down at the table, but he caught a glimpse of a figure with pink hair who hadn't been there before. But when he saw the specific shade of pink, he felt a brief chill. One that grew into a jolt of panic and recognition of something he had thought he had left behind when he briefly locked eyes with the figure that crackled unpleasantly. He felt a crawling sensation he hadn't felt since Cylosis. A lump formed in his throat and sweat beaded down.

"Arne, you okay?" Illarion said with concern.

He stopped squeezing his hand around the table after realising he'd crunched it like foil between his fingers. The smell of cold ash disappeared from his nostrils, and he shook his head, tapping his disguised armour nervously.

He no longer saw the pink-haired figure, but he figured they might have been the shapeshifter. No sign of teleportation, but they had vanished in a way that not even his senses could pick them up.

"..I...saw something that brought me back to bad places. Pink haired woman, like on Cylosis. Stared right at me." He breathed.

"I'll put out a memo, don't worry Arne." Solveig said, laying her hand atop his as the table's nanites began to reconfigure them into their proper shape while he breathed out and muttered his thanks.

"Now...let's take your mind off that with some competitive wargaming! First...let me explain army composition.~" Solveig grinned.

Arne's Logbook Entries

Individuals: Human-Alimbic Hybrid: Male: Omdyn Born: Independent: Alive: Arne Eriksen Skjoldr

Arne was initially presumed deceased after the mysterious assault on Cylosis would turn up at the doors of the Magnus Academy for the Extranormally gifted roughly a decade after his supposed demise. While he had no real clues as to the origin of the attackers beyond his mother having a theory that they were Federation in origin, he was found to have been raised by the Alimbics as a squire of the Tetrarch Order. Knight-General Zurvduat's parenting methods have been classified as abusive, cruel and harshly disciplinarian. Mystromagus Elmorni, on the other hand, seems to have genuinely loved the child, and her treatment and care, as well as his socialisation practice with other progenitor or progenitor, touched youth has done much to maintain a basic level of social functionality. Augmented with Alimbic genetics and given an Alimbic suit of squire armour, Arne shows tremendous promise though he is reluctant to talk about many of his experiences.

Arne's Notes:

It's ironic how despite all the time I spent looking up to mom and dad, I never really realised just how many other people also admired them. It's difficult to have to live up to those expectations, but people here seem understanding at least.

Organisations: Academic: Intergalactican Established: Extranormal: Project Outreach

Project Outreach is the Intergalactica's "Mission for the assistance of extranormally gifted youth" designed in accordance with the lived experiences of many extranormal individuals and associations with the aid of experienced pedagogues and psychologists. Project Outreach seeks to provide young extranormals with comforting environments where they can associate with peers and practice their abilities in preparation for adult life. Given the often traumatic circumstances of many such extranormals' shifting into an extranormal state, Project Outreach's facilities are also well accustomed to dealing with those with significant psychological harm in need of therapy. After its launch, Project Outreach had its mission scope expanded to include adult extranormals, though its focus remains on youth and children.

Arne's Notes:

It's pretty comforting to know that these people are good at working with people like me. I'm just hoping that I'll be able to live up to everyone's expectations for what I'll get out of this place.

Technologies: Computer: Synthetic Consciousness: Mechanical: Mind-Spiders

Mind-Spiders serve as lynchpins of the cybernetic networks that underpin the whole of Omdyn and Intergalactican society. Mind-Spiders are gestalts of highly sophisticated inorganic computer systems, with virtually unparalleled and continually growing processing power. Mind-Spiders are referred to as such for their ability to rapidly compile "webs" of information and their supervisory role over the decentralised cybernetic web of societal coordination, helping keep all facets of society in touch. Mind-Spiders typically consider themselves to be more advisors than overseers and only exercise direct managerial authority when it is deemed either necessary or if the officials to be affected by such a decision have democratically given their consent.

Arne's Notes:

The sort of software that goes into a Mind-Spider is absolutely fascinating. It reminds me a lot of working on Volva honestly, even if the methods are cruder, there's a lot of...art that goes into meshing the parts together into a gestalt individual. Maybe I could try making my own someday?

Individuals: Human: Female: Omdynisch: Uskarling: RGA (Retired): Teacher: Alive: Magna Alvisdottir Lothbrok

Magna is frequently considered to be one of the finest warriors and individuals that clan Grendakal has ever produced. The teacher to many famous individuals and a legend in her own right, Magna's long career spanned centuries of distinguished service across the known universe. Magna also served extensively as an Errant Freelancer before eventually, she had decided she had seen enough of violence and sought to retire. She continued to pass on her wisdom to others who sought it and would still occasionally sortie out with all of her usual skill. Magna is also famous for teaching Erik and Gyda Skjoldr, and had plans to help them raise Arne before their untimely death. Saddened by this turn of events, Magna redoubled her efforts to teach her daughter Solveig how to follow in her footsteps and right these wrongs. Even to this day, Magna is highly regarded for her skill at education and combat as well as having a gentle, patient attitude towards helping people in need.

Arne's Notes:

Mom and Dad wrote a lot about their time learning from her. Mom especially almost saw her as more of a mother than the woman who gave birth to her sometimes. But everything I read about Magna shows her as One of the best of the best. Someone everyone wants to be. I hope I can be like that at least.

Individuals: Human: Mages: Female: Omdynisch: Uskarling: Student: Alive: Solveig Magnasdottir Lothbrok

Solveig is the youngest daughter of the legendary Magna Lothbrok and rearing her takes up a large portion of her efforts. Immensely excitable, cheerful, upbeat, and eager to show what she's got or what she's passionate in, Solveig is regarded as eminently easy to get along with. Her passionate nature makes her extremely adept at her practice of Uskarlyc magecraft, where she is considered to be one of the fastest learners yet seen. Regarded as a pillar of the student community of her age group; her passion for the study of progenitorology and Uskarling history has won many admirers. She is also well known for her tremendous skill in all manner of tabletop games and heads the local school association for roleplaying and wargaming for her age bracket. She's one of the most avid media posters within the Privitkaya Campus and the sector at large, eagerly diving into ComNet discussions. Her augmented reality glasses help her keep track of her favoured discussions and her video series on the history of Uskarlyc magic has gained her a substantial following.

Arne's notes:

She's so cheery and bubbly and beautiful. I don't think I've ever met someone with her level of enthusiasm for nearly...everything she gets involved with. But I think I really like that; it's nice to see someone so sincere all the time. It reminds me a lot of Samus, though she's less angry and more...ambitious I'd say? She's got big plans for herself. I'm hoping our mutual interest goes somewhere.

Individuals: Aelvan: Psion: Male: Omdynisch: Uskarling: Student: Alive: Illarion Aelgrad Tyrlomyr

Illarion was born to the Aelvan Weivyll Nomad fleet to Allaral and Ylvresse. Illarion quickly demonstrated a tremendous degree of skill at the utilisation of psionic force. Specialising primarily in the manipulation and channelling of energy, Illarion requested and received a transferrence to Project Outreach. Well known for his strong sense of humour and considerable charisma, Illarion is respectful and charming if shameless in his desires following the onset of adolescence. His friend circle ranges far and wide in the Privetkaya campus and beyond, and as one of the most popular pupils of his age bracket, he often takes it upon himself to greet new students. He is also regarded as a frequent poster and connoisseur of ComNet memes, keeping his fingers on the pulse of the shifting and transformations of culture.

Arne's Notes:

At first I wasn't sure what to think of him besides that he's...really good looking but the more I spend time with him the more I think we'll be pretty good friends, or maybe more? He seems interested at least. And I think he's likely to make the first move...I don't get a lot of the jokes he posts on the ComNet though, but I'm just behind on online culture in general.

Individuals: Aelvan: Psion: Female: Omdynisch: Uskarling: Student: Alive: Taellarja Jelvaer Syndermin

Taellarja was born to the population of the nomadic fleet Syflewin during its visit to the Black Eye Galaxy. After her tribe elected to stay in the Galaxy, she demonstrated tremendous bio and telekinetic psionic powers that she soon wished to study further as well as broaden. Ambitious, flirtatious, crafty, and entertaining big dreams of heroism; Taellarja keeps people underestimating her by presenting herself as an unserious and often outright silly person. This, however, masks her tremendous and steely determination to show that she can be someone others can rely on to keep them safe. An experience born of her own personal trauma when a War-Spore force attacked her tribe's fleet and only the timely intervention of a number of Uskarling champions prevented further tragedy. Since then, she seeks to live up to the image set by many other champions and hopes to perhaps one day fill the void left by Gyda Skjoldr.

Arne's Notes:

I wonder if it's because she doesn't want me to feel too overwhelmed about my parents' legacy that she didn't tell me that she knew my mom before her death. But I'm sure that when she gets alone with me we're probably going to have a very long talk about that subject. I just hope that well, she's...fascinating and I don't want to disappoint her...

Individuals: Scikrovik: Divergent: Male: Omdynisch: Shethoteq: Student: Alive: Loxtoqil Muehuatax Ulhyote

Loxtoqil hails from the Shethothuain Democratic Omnipragmatist Republic, having moved to the territories of the Uskarling Democratic Federative Omnipragmatist Republic with his family group five years ago. Born with a divergent predilection for understanding and operating most forms of machinery, Loxtoqil has from an early age been endlessly tinkering with and adjusting machines to his needs. Under the tutelage of Project Outreach he has already managed to demonstrate an ability to produce devices able to operate well outside of the parameters they should be able to with the materials he has as well as greatly accelerated comprehension of any device he works with. Thus earning him high esteem amongst many of his peers. Especially due to his patient explanations of his processes to help those he sees as in need of it. He seeks to one day become part of a team of researchers and developers who can tackle important problems and advance the general welfare of society.

Arne's Notes:

He's definitely brilliant from what I've seen of him, but I'm not sure if he's quite decided whether we're going to be friends or not. Maybe I should talk to him about something both of us find interesting? Starship mechanics maybe? He seems like he'd be interested in that.

Individuals: Synthetics: Feminine Presenting: Techmaster: Omdynisch: Yrakt: Student: Alive: Elgramor

Elgramor is another growing synthetic, designed to help the synthetic majority of the ODOCR better connect with its organic minority. A nanite construct that has come into contact with some progenitor technology, Elgramor at first seems to be simply a large and powerful brutish mechanoid, but in truth is a highly adept shapeshifter and technology assimilator. Able to integrate most technology quickly, although struggling more with progenitor technology or devices with counter-assimilation failsafes that generally require progenitor grade modules to assimilate; Elgramor's capabilities are ever adapting and evolving. Elgramor is a somewhat serious machine and likes to focus on her tasks first before allowing herself to relax, but she is also well known for being extremely fiercely loyal. She is also known to occasionally take on less intimidating forms as a sign that she feels comfortable around someone.

Arne's Notes:

I wonder what her more benign forms are like? Though I suppose she could look like nearly anything she wants to really. It's interesting that she's also able to assimilate most technology instantly though; well ahead of most non-progenitor modular systems even. Maybe I could try and help her with some limitations?

Individuals: Human: Empowered: Nonbinary: Omdynisch: Qillan: Student: Alive: Zhang Kai

Zhang was exposed to the energies of an accident involving early fuel gel designs and imbued with a natural ability to catalyse and utilise zero-point energy, allowing them to make use of tremendous amounts of energy and even distort space. Kai primarily achieves spatial distortion through producing and manipulating negative energy through their body's natural zero-point energy catalysts. They also make use of this ability to power armour suits designed especially for them, emphasising ranged ability thanks to Kai's ability to keep potential problems at a distance. This potent ability gives Kai something of a superiority complex, but they are fiercely dedicated to their comrades and often view it as their responsibility to carry their burdens due to their potency. Kai is also highly erudite and has dedicated themselves to trying to understand and master their strange abilities fully. Kai is also something of a romantic, though they prefer to establish a bond of friendship first before pursuing further.

Arne's Notes:

I think I could really get along with them. They're very, interesting both to look at and to speak to so far. I'm guessing it'll be a bit of time before I can fully earn their trust, but I think that if I try, I'll be able to get in. We've already made a pretty good first impression so far...at least, I think I have.​
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer

Holochat Chamber, Samus' Dorm, Night Time.

Samus had been waiting for this moment all day, finishing up a long and exciting conversation with Old Bird and his compatriots in the holochat chamber. "Bye, papa. See you tomorrow!" She said, smiling as she waved farewell to them.

"I will count the minutes until our next meeting, little hatchling." He said, the hard-light figure of his hologram threading its fingers through her hair and playfully ruffling it, getting an excited giggle from her before she ambushed him with a hug that he returned swiftly.

Isa-Hesh looked on fondly and joined in. "Ah, my darling girl. I'm so proud of you." She said, feeling another of Samus' arms wrapping around her as she pulled the holograms into her, relishing in their warmth.

As she pulled away from the hug, Grey Voice simply laid a hand on her shoulder and nodded at her.

"Remember, simply because you are gifted is no excuse to slack off on the new duties given to you. I expect your finest effort, Aira-Sekh." He said, only passing her a single nod of acknowledgement when Samus gave him a thumbs up.

"Now, I think we have some other business to attend to, Mother Brain is expecting us shortly. Be well, Samus." War Hawk said, giving her a mimed wave goodbye as their holograms fizzled out one after the other.

Sucking in a breath, Samus twisted her fingers on the console and mentally flicked through the contacts until she got to Arne's profile picture, showing him and Samus before a waterfall at Chozodia. The two were half-dressed in swim clothes with her arm around his neck and her fingers in a victory position while he looked towards the camera drone with a rare earnest grin from him. She knew he would be available from her premonitions, and signalled her readiness to initiate contact, making a ping across spacetime all the way into another galaxy.

Immediately Arne's form fizzled into being, wearing a simple short-sleeved shirt and shorts, the print of a starship on the chest of his red blouse while his blue pants ruffled a bit with his movements. She herself wore similar clothes; though she went with orange and blue and a rabbit print, and both had slipped off their footwear for the indoors. They looked somewhat normal in all honesty.

Arne's expression lit up like the dawning sun, and hers widened in return as he eagerly sat himself down in the bed the second she patted a spot next to him.

"Hey there, Valkyr." He said, the pet name for her making her flush just a bit before she tweaked his nose and got a laugh out of him.

"Oh hush, snowboy." She said back to him, his own pale skin starting to flush in return as he felt the bed she was on and looked back at her.

"Bedroom, huh?" He said, laying back onto it briefly and then pushing himself back up.

"Well, I thought it should feel kind of...intimate, you know?" She said, smirking at him as he nodded back.

"Mhrm, I get that. It's pretty nice too. I'm guessing it's based off yours?" He said, taking only a second to look around before looking back at her.

"Yep! Next time I want you to show me yours." She grinned and gave him a wink and thumbs up.

"Yeah, definitely. I've been trying to set up my workspace in a way that seems familiar to me." He said before taking a look at some of the holoposters she set up and rubbing his smooth chin briefly while he studied it.

"Really fond of Yrimoch aren't you?" He said, eyeing the adventure hero's poster, her armoured figure leaping down into the face of danger and the unknown with an eager energy—white and red armour bold and bright against the backdrop of alien vistas.

"Yeah! Why wouldn't I be? Ian showed me some of her movies, and I just can't stop watching them!" Samus said with a happy grin while Arne gave her a warm, fond look and shifted his legs a bit, flicking some of his hair away from his face as he thought to himself.

"Ian Malkovich, right? Is he cute?" Arne asked, smirking at the happy nod gave to him as she leaned in a bit closer and gave him a daring look into his eyes.

"What about that Solveig girl you messaged me about hrm?" She asked, cackling at the thumbs up that Arne gave her and clapping a bit.

"Honestly so many people here are just...gorgeous you know? I want to get to know all of them as soon as I can and ugh...sometimes I don't even know where to start!" She said, sighing and bringing an arm around him, nestling into the crook of his arm and holding him tight. She academically knew he wasn't actually there, that this was all just a hard-light projection, but it was the next best thing for both of them. She could still feel his empathic warmth, his body heat, and the contours of his skin, and he could feel hers.

"Yeah, I get that too. There's just a lot of really...beautiful and interesting people. I'm just a bit nervous with speaking to a lot of them and, gods I wish I was better at saying hello." Arne said with an exhalation, holding her close to him and popping some of his knuckles on his other hand while she wriggled her toes and hummed a little tune.

They remained like that for a little while longer, just relaxing with each other's company and saying nothing. After a year of being together they weren't quite in the honeymoon phase anymore. They had some arguments here and there, some a bit heated, but they still dearly loved the time they had with each other. It made them feel much warmer, safer, wanted and loved. To know that they weren't the only people who had experiences like themselves and to be able to commiserate about their rather particular life experiences.

Then Samus spoke. "What was it like, seeing how everyone looked up to your parents?" She asked, tilting her head upward and resting her chin on his shoulder as her hair, freed from its pony-tail, shifted a bit with her movements, intent blue eyes studying him for possible reactions. She made a sweet little smile and received a small kiss on her lips in return before he gave her some distance and thought.

"It's honestly heart-aching. I wish I knew them better than just as first memories and old writings left behind. Seeing how everyone looked up to them reminds me of how little I really know them. And I feel like." He sighed and looked forward. "I feel like I'm never really going to be who they wanted me to be. Am I really Arne Skjoldr, or am I Sarxyl Avar? I spent only three years as one, but ten as the other." He said before Samus shooshed him with a finger to his lips.

"Arne don't talk about yourself like that. You're both your sets of parents' son, just like I'm both my sets of parents' daughter." She said, grinning a bit and smooching him on the cheek, getting one in return before she frowned a bit as she mused on her response. "But on the not really knowing the people who gave birth to us, I've gotten a lot of that too lately. Everyone knows my parents as the people who took out the Inferno Pack. Dragonslayers, Scourge breakers..." She said with a bit of melancholy as she thought of what she really knew of the Arans.

"But I was three when they died. I only learned how to ride a bicycle six months before. And I know mama and papa had big expectations for me." She said as she got out an heirloom salvaged from K-2L, showing their high hopes for their daughter. A video-log drive containing their rehearsed messages of congratulation for every milestone they expected or hoped their daughter to take. A new parent thing done as they went through the rush of emotions that accompanied the confirmation of Virginia's pregnancy.

"They wanted me to be a scientist, you know?" She said, wiping away a single tear as Arne patted her on the shoulder and kissed away the flash of sadness that she felt, though she could see that he was crying himself.

"Mom and dad wanted me to go into civics and social work. Help people without having to spend my life at war. I guess that ship's left the dock." Arne said, blinking away a few of his tears and giving a wry smile.

"Really? Clan Champion Gyda Astridsdottir Skjoldr wanted her son to be a social worker?" She said with a little giggle. "That's just so...unexpected for that kind of lineage." She smirked and sniffled.

"Heh, I guess after seeing so much violence, they didn't want me to have to be part of it. They wanted to retire soon too, raise the other kids they wanted to have and I somewhere quiet." He said, thinking wistfully about what could have been before shaking his head. What had come to pass had already happened, he shouldn't dwell on it for too long.

"Mama and Papa wanted me to be the first of five kids for my set. But they always said that I was a smart girl. And here I am, working on spaceship and power suit designs...heheh." She said, conjuring a hologram of her latest design that caught Arne's attention as his eyes widened and head tilted.

"Is that a mech?" He asked, taking a close look at the shape before him, large, powerful, but clearly agile and fast-moving. It made him think of a humanisation of a Chozo statue, albeit made of metal instead of stone. The way that the wearer was supposed to fit into it also caught his eye in particular, it'd be a pretty decently large mech if his read of the proportions were correct.

"Yeah. I thought it'd be a fun thing to do to pass the time. Something that might be handy in fights with bigger opponents." She said, shrugging a bit as he studied the schematics.

"Can I have a copy of this? Over a secure line of course...I'd be uh...interested in helping you with this." He said with a smile. The thought of working on another collaborative engineering project with her made the both of them feel quite warm inside.

"Of course!" She grinned, patting him on the back as he chuckled. This might be a fun thing to do on their offtime, though they'd likely need to do a few expeditions to get the necessary materials.

"So how was your day Arne?" Samus asked the white-haired boy looking back at her through the crystal clear hologram. He scratched the back of his head as he thought and gave a small, slightly nervous laugh that made him feel as if he was actually there in the room, sitting next to her as his attention was shifted from their mutual interest in engineering.

"Well, having to say goodbye to my parents was pretty awful. But I think I've made quite a few friends at least." He said, the hard-light hologram reaching to her hair and stroking it, perfectly mimicking the sensation of his actual skin on her scalp as he played with it, looking towards her with a satisfied expression.

"Yeah, I made a bunch too! Just so many people with interesting stories! But I think I'm already starting to miss my family. People here don't pick up on a lot of the same signals. They don't act as understanding." She said, frowning and looking away from him.

"And everyone just wants to talk to me about the Chozo all the time. I love to talk but..." She paused a bit and touched the hand on her head and peeled it off before lacing her fingers through his.

"You don't feel like people want to talk about you, just at you, don't you?" Arne said, his stare sympathetic and kind. He knew what that was like; it was something he dealt with since the Alimbics took him in.

"Yeah." She sighed as she looked down and folded her lips, swinging her legs. "And there's so many new rules and regulations. I can't wander around at night unsupervised; I can't play around with the equipment, I can't just take my ship and fly around a bit..." She pouted, getting him to lay a hand on her chin and turn her face towards him.

"Well, here is less strict than it was under Zurvduat, so I'm liking it here quite a bit. Even if there's been some weird sights." He said, getting a look of concern from Samus. She herself had seen something unusual, but it wasn't something she felt comfortable with burdening him with the knowledge of.

"Like what?"

"Someone who reminds me of a figure I saw on Cylosis. The shapeshifting monster woman. I'm not sure if it's her. This would be really deep into Omdynisch territory for one thing." He said with a frown, he breathed slightly hard at the recollection and looked downright unhappy at the experience.

"You've seen something too, haven't you?" He said, picking up on the signals of what she was thinking of but didn't want to say.

"I...there's been something that looks like...Pirate tech here. Scurrying away when it thinks people can't notice. Everyone is swearing its just some prank." She said, but he could tell she didn't quite believe that. Most people weren't depraved enough to try and joke about the Confederacy of Dismor. Certainly no one she hoped would be allowed to continue being at this facility without being put into a remedial program.

"I see. Maybe they're related? Mom kept on thinking that the attackers on Cylosis were Federation in origin but..." He said before Samus spoke up.

"Arne they can't be. I've told you this a thousand times. The Federation would never do something so horrible! Even to someone they thought was a terrorist like Gyda...and I'm sure that enough of them knew that Gyda was a good person to never do that kind of...genocide." She said, snapping a bit and making Arne shirk slightly away from her before nodding in response.

"I understand, but maybe there's a Pirate connection? That kind of biological modification...it might be their work." He said as she narrowed her eyes and nodded.

"Then we'll kill them." She said with a cold intensity that almost spooked him, a hard gulp coming from the young Cylosian. He understood the lust for revenge; he felt it too; the urge to right a terrible wrong. It was something they both shared. But when she flipped from sweet to chilling it seemed like flicking a switch, just like when either of them had their...episodes.

"I look forward to it." He said in agreement as she gave him a mischievous grin.

"Well, uh. I've been trying to work on being a bit more assertive and well..." He said, clearly trying to cheer her up as he worked up the courage to say something, Samus' eyebrows just about reaching into orbit as a grin began to crack on her face. Oooh this was going to be exciting, she could just feel the anticipation and tension building in the atmosphere.

"There's this new movie, at this really nice complex with a great arcade. So I was thinking...maybe we could take our friends and go on a date...like a group date? Would that be something you'd like to do?" Arne said, chuckling slightly nervously at the thought, getting a little giggle out of Samus in return.

"I'd like that a lot." She said as she laid her hands on his chest and pushed him onto the bed.

"Now...I want t-" She said with an eager look as Arne bit his lower lip. But the two would never quite get the chance they were looking for as the door to the holochamber opened on both of their ends as Ian blearily walked in, and Solveig poked her head inside; the two manifesting on either's respective ends as additions to the holo-communique.

"Samus where is my sunglass ca-" Ian stopped as he looked at the scene and lowered his sunglasses...which he wore at night...in pyjamas, okay...to stare at Arne and Samus.

Then he looked at Solveig who had a tablet in her hand and a set of pink pyjamas loosely covering her body and gave her a finger pistol and a wink while she waved cheerfully at him.

"Sorry, sorry, am I interrupting something?" She said.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
"Oh well..." Samus said with a flush, her attentions going over to Solveig and liking what she saw. Solveig noticed the attention given to her and brushed a bit of hair away from her face and offering a grin as she decided that this girl was someone she very much wouldn't mind the scrutiny of. An assessment that Samus mirrored, she was really quite pretty, and the young hatchling couldn't help but think of how many interesting stories she might have to tell. And of course, her face seemed to be ever so soft, much like Arne and Ian's.

Arne went a bit more beet red than Samus did at their moment being interrupted, being the shyer of the pair. Arne flashed a small smile and offered a wave to both of the newcomers, his eyes quickly scanning over Ian and feeling just a bit flushed as he realised that the newcomer was well, quite appealing to his eyes. And the way he studied him in return made Arne feel rather desired in a way that he didn't mind at all? It was validating to be given that sort of wink and thumbs up, though Ian's gaze remained respectful and avoided lingering.

Solveig and Ian studied each other of course, almost circling around each other as they tried to gauge the other before deciding that getting to know each other would be a valuable use of their time. Certainly worth a few repeat usages if the confident smiles they traded to each other was any indication.

"Ian." He said, getting Solveig's name in response. Solveig adjusted her glasses, and Ian made sure that she could get a good look at his eyes as he offered her his best charming smile. Whether or not he was as suave as he thought he was, he did get her to giggle a bit as she approached him and received a hand to shake. A gesture she returned enthusiastically, almost bouncing with her arm. Compliments were passed about each other's hair in short order, and a few pleasantries were exchanged.

At the same time, Arne decided to take the time to stroke Samus' hair, feeling her through the hard light projection's feedback and deciding he quite liked the feeling. Samus let out a little purr at the sensation, nuzzling into his hand while she snuggled a bit around him and whispered to him about how cute she found the situation. Something that Arne agreed pretty quickly with. It was indeed, quite endearing to watch their two new friends get a feel for each other, and the two laughed when Ian bemusedly tried to mime Solveig's Grendakal salute when offered it.

Now that everyone's attentions were elsewhere, Samus decided to stir just a little bit of chaos. Perhaps to get at them while they were distracted and wouldn't be trying to fluster her. "Yes, you were interrupting something. Unless your intention was to join?" Samus asked, getting Ian to choke on his spittle and Solveig to go wholly red and breathe heavily. Ah, that was her intention, to get them both making amusing reactions. Vindicated by her efforts, she gave Arne a smooch before she let out an impish giggle and flipped herself upright into a seated position on the bed and then standing up.

"Why didn't you tell me Arne and his friends were this cute? Consider me very...interested in seeing how your open thing works." He said as Arne stood himself up and ran a hand through his hair, looking back at Ian as he approached him and sized him up.

Arne found himself to be a bit taller than the Slavic boy who had to prop himself just slightly upwards to meet his white-haired counterpart. Definitely easy on the eyes, and both could tell that the other kept themselves in great shape, Ian whistling at the sight of Arne's definition. Skjoldr was honed like a well-sharpened sword and kept his body in virtually immaculate condition. Ian, for his part, kept himself to military standards of fitness, and it showed in a way that caught Arne's eye.

Ian for a moment considered the overall layout of Arne's face, just as he was studying his. Cute, boyish, just a touch androgynous but better for it. An amusing display that got him to smirk as he was offered a hand that he shook quite firmly in return. The gesture wasn't one hundred per cent familiar to him, but he was able to get the gist of it in a hurry—the touch leaving Arne wanting a bit more.

Samus sized up Solveig more closely herself. She was definitely the taller of the two, to Solveig's mild annoyance as she was used to being taller than most girls. Solveig barely had to look to notice that Samus was quite muscular, her body leanly defined for speed more than power. It was almost enough to make her feel self-conscious, but on the other hand, she wasn't so bad herself in that department, thanks to her mother's training and gene-augs.

Samus kept her hair in a shorter cut, more boyish, while Solveig seemed to regard the notion of cutting her voluminous hair as heresy. Both wondered for a moment, what the other's hair would feel like. Solveig just giggled a bit, getting a similar response from Samus as they shared a brief curtsy towards each other that got the two laughing out loud shortly afterwards.

"Ah, I wish you two were actually here with us in person." Solveig said with a sigh as she straightened her clothes and clasped her hands together. The hard light holochat was virtually the same thing as being in person for most intents and purposes, but knowing that they weren't physically there brought a vague hollowness to it. Not enough to ruin the experience, but enough to leave her wanting more.

"Honestly? Same." Ian said, stretching a bit and getting another look at Solveig and offering a hand towards her hair, though he only proceeded when she nodded. While he knew that this was a projection, every detail felt perfectly real to his fingers, only his mind's eye could fully perceive the imperfections. The psionic details that were simply being telecasted rather than actually being there.

"Well, now that we're all here. What do you want to do?" Samus asked, pulling some snacks out of her pocket and taking a little bite from them, chewing on the gummies and bouncing a bit on her feet.

"I mean, I'm not tired. But it's not like we can go very far from this place." Ian said with a shrug. To be fair, with the standardised augmentations, it was easy for the average human to go for months without sleep and to subsist on just fifteen minutes worth every once in a while. Sleep was more often than not just a means of destressing or passing away the quieter hours now, and Ian usually liked to keep busy during the night hours. Especially since the Nocturnal crowd was pretty fun to be with, as was evidenced by this conversation.

"Aw true..." Solveig groaned. She looked at the room, it was decently large, but the projectors would only allow herself and Arne to roam so far around. She wanted to see more, but she could only really go where projectors were able to broadcast, and as a foreigner, her projection privileges were somewhat limited.

Magnasdottir ruminated on that trying to weave a spell to see how far she could actually go. But as she followed the pathways of her arcane energies, she noticed that the data flow of the device wasn't going to all the usual directions. Which must mean that it was being altered in some way...Who would want to alter who gets to view the logs, ah of course! She made a small "Ahah!" her eyes briefly flicking to Arne and making a little knowing smirk.

He must have tampered somewhat with the machine. "Hee, clever boy aren't you Arne?" She said with a beaming grin while Arne flushed.

"I just...didn't want people to listen in on stuff that's supposed to be private, that's all." He said humbly as if he hadn't trivially worked his way around numerous layers of cybersecurity even without the aid of his armour.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to tell." Ian said with a finger pressed to his lips.

"Ahem, so as I said. What do you all want to do?" Samus asked, clearing her throat, this was rather fun...just getting to know each other, but she didn't want to amble too much. She felt that there was more to do, things that were important and needed her attention. But she couldn't quite put her foot down on just what it was.

It was frustrating to be so underveloped in her sorcerous and psychic gifts, especially when so many of her friends were allowed to go hogwild with them while the Chozo told her she would need to wait for that phase of training. A sore spot like sandpaper rubbing against the worst places, and one that occasionally drew her choler out.

Arne, and indeed just about everyone sensed that annoyance with not knowing just what it was that she sensed coming that required this meeting beyond a simple time to catch up. A simmering dull red sensation of annoyance mingled with the mist of uncertainty curling from her mind. Best to not keep her waiting then.

"Well, there are ways to kinda, have fun without leaving here?" Arne said, shifting his trousers slightly for comfort and taking a look at some of Samus' mementoes strewn about the holographic recreation of her room. He smiled softly, he always found her life so interesting. He loved to learn more about her passions, and feathered his fingers around one of the model mock-ups of a starship idea she had roiling around in her head. He almost wished he could disassemble it to see how she put it together, and almost sounded joyous when he realised it was flight-capable.

"When did you build this Samus? I don't remember you having something like this before" He asked, getting Solveig and Ian's attentions as well as hers almost immediately when he got it to fly with a psycho-tactile command.

"Oh, I put it together after breakfast. I was a bit bored, so I decided to try out some of the worskhops. I wish they had some better materials, but I think it worked out great!" She said with a proud grin while Ian let out a whistle.

"Dang, I thought you were just metalworking for the hell of it. That thing actually functions?" Ian asked, Samus nodding eagerly in response.

"Oooh, so you like to mess around with machines too? Arne here was busy with some other side-projects too!" Solveig said, pushing Arne slightly forward towards Samus as her eyes lit up with curiosity and he chuckled a bit.

"Oh I was just kind of trying to work on a new helmet design. My current one is well...kind of creepy. You know how you've got a few different helmet designs?" He said, taking a moment to conjure up a replica of the helmet.

"I was just thinking if I'm supposed to be a knight, why not look more the part?" He said, showing off the new helm. Rather than the unflinching cyclopean gaze of his standard helmet, it had a simple gently upward sloped V-shaped visor atop a shield-shaped mouthguard, turning the crest into a pair of antennae at the side and a small V-shaped antenna at the forehead above the visor.

"It's part of some aesthetic concepts I had. To make people more comfortable around me and well...announce that I'm Arne, not just the Neophyte or Primoris." He said smiling as Samus took the replica in her hands and lit up with fascination.

"Oooh, I also had some concepts for a way to keep my favoured looks and colour schemes with upgrades." She said, grinning a bit back at him as he chuckled in response.

"Without having to just rely on my collection of spare suits." She smirked.

"Hah, yeah I guess it is kind of a shame to keep on changing colours when we designed them to look a certain way." Arne laughed a bit before something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Something moving fast that Solveig also noticed, an accusing finger stretching from her hand.

"Is that supposed to be there?" Solveig asked as she looked at the insectile thing with a look of displeasure, getting less than great vibes from it.

Samus snapped her head into the direction of the machine and narrowed her eyes. She vaulted back and caught the machine as it tried to outrace her. It managed to skitter faster than its own sound, but she was much faster still, and she moved like a whip to snatch it between her fingers and quickly studied it with her eyes.

She identified a circuit about to transmit a self destruct signal and squeezed her fingers in just the right way to pop its barrier, and squeeze the self-destruct initiator mid-transmission. The signal flickered against the superhuman skin of her index finger and thumb before fizzling out entirely, a sigh of relief coming from her as she peeled off its legs as soon as she felt it trying to stab the incredibly sharp blades into her, grunting a bit and shaking a hand in annoyance before disabling it.

"There...got you!" She said triumphantly.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
"Nice work...what can you see?" Arne asked as Samus laid the machine out on a table she had conjured up and squinted at its mechanics and inner workings. Clever minds made this machine with very sophisticated tools, but a cursory examination showed that the design was one for mass production. Her eyes focused onto even microscopic details and saw standardised parts, non-custom fittings, the lack of any sign of minor alterations characteristic of having been tinkered with. She guessed that it was self-replicating after having a closer look, seeing it trying to pick off any usable matter with its jaws and process it into new "tissue". Something it kept on doing until she had hard-light fields restrain its movements.

But what solidified her decision was noticing that, when she focused the energies of her scan visor through her eyes, she could detect leftover traces of serial numbers. Her armours were a part of her, pieces of her soul. Just as nothing could permanently destroy them while her inviolable soul continued to exist; some of their abilities were always available. One of them was scanning, and the wiry cords of quasi-mystical energy of her armour pulled the information directly into her brain in the period of a single thought.

The answer came to her almost as a shock, her face scowling in disgust at the truth. Then that disgust turned to anger. She breathed hard for a moment, clenching her hand rapidly before Arne put a hand on her shoulder; sensing her anguish. The memories of fire started to smoulder and crackle in her mind, and she had to fight down a snarl that was trying to form itself on her lips. She quenched her fury briefly with cold determination, but the maelstrom inside of her stirred at ever greater speeds with violent ideation. It refused to be stilled, hormones and trauma conspiring together to start a raging storm inside of her heart.

"It can't be made by a student." She said with anger making her voice choke as she began to quiver, looking at Ian and nodding sagely at her conclusion. Ian tilted his head briefly and adjusted his shades as he tried to think for a bit until he decided to nod along. He was nervous, sensing the maelstrom inside of her heart start to whip into a vicious fury. She was twitching.

"Okay, but how do you figure Sam?" He said. He was trying to hide the slight quail in his voice and the quake in his legs. She was immensely powerful, a protozoan star of budding potential. He had so far only really seen her at her best; when she was happy or excited. The animalistic expression on her face was terrifying; like staring into the face of an oncoming tidal wave.

"Ian, are you sure she's going to be okay?" Solveig said, worry in her voice as she felt the boiling cauldron of fury building inside of the blonde. The causeways of destiny quaked at the potential outcomes of her oncoming outburst. Her voice was choking as she tried to formulate a coherent response to the fairly asked question of her.

"Samus, what's wrong?" Arne asked, knowing that anger inside of her quite well. He could feel the agonised fury that sought release inside of her. And that was something that worried him because he too felt his own beast inside scratching and clawing for release.

"These components are mass-produced. Serialised components even." She said, her voice furious as her efforts to quench the anger began to break down. "And the technology is definitely space pirate." She said with clear contempt in that phrase. She almost wanted to smash the thing in her hands; she almost did, in fact. She had to stop herself at the last moment from destroying the evidence and instead had the holochamber make something breakable and fragile.

She needed to feel something come apart in her hands and thought of something that would feel good to destroy. It couldn't just be hard-light, it had to be real...and the nanites in the chamber got to work on fulfilling her request. She saw a grey rectangular mass form next to her and slammed her fist through the ferocrete block that it had generated with a casual swat as she let out a frustrated cry of monomaniacally focused rage. The combination of mineral and metal was no match for her strength or her skin, nanotube fibres and metallic rebar augmenting the precision-engineered mineral crystals smashing apart against superhuman cell structures without even scratching them. A block that could have shrugged off re-entry and impact shattered into pieces so energetic that Ian had to throw up a telekinetic barrier surrounding her to stop them from moving around.

It wasn't enough. She needed more. A hard-light training drone designed to take the abuse of the students with a heavy, padded sports player like body fizzled into being as if to respond to her call. The air split with a thunderclap, and she threw a hammer fist so violent that the hard-light image of the holochamber flickered before simulating the machine just about exploding. More and more objects were given to her, all of them breaking in a hurry as Ian and Solveig backed off with concern.

She briefly caught sight of the others gathering within the chamber, seeing her rearranging a conjured cliff with her fists and making quite the furor. She didn't care until she had smashed the whole thing to pieces, about to relieve her stress against something else until Arne snuck in and hugged her. She almost swung around to throw her fist into his face, her hand lashing out by sheer reflex until Arne brought his own to catch it by his palm; the holochamber flickering his image a bit as it tried to calculate the immense force of what happened.

She had almost hit Arne.

"...Samus?" He asked. He was sympathetic; he always was, just like she always was for him. They understood each other, knew the others' anguish all too well. And she had almost hit him out of the blind rage of a temper tantrum when she couldn't maintain her calm any further.

"I'm...sorry." She said, shame in her voice as she pulled away from the offered hug. She didn't feel like she had earned it, not after an outburst like that. What good was she if she couldn't control herself around one of the people closest to her? Her armour manifested around herself, zero suit and then plating encasing her body after a fade-in of orange light as she hugged her knees to her chest.

She wanted to shut out the outside world, to sink into this shell and hide her shame. Her face looked out at the world through the visor, and she pulled up the hood of her Phantom suit after activating the upgrade to provide one more layer of anonymity. Arne's attempt at hugging her was foiled by her activating the incorporeality systems, causing him to pass right through and fall onto the ground before he picked himself up and shook his head.

"Samus..." He said with soft concern.

"I don't deserve the help after an outburst like that..." She said glumly before Ian stepped in and sat down next to her ghostly form.

"Hey, look. What you went through...look God knows what would happen if I lost my family. But hey, if there is someone letting pirate drones here run wild, can't think of many places better equipped to stop them than here right?" Ian said with his best attempt at a reassuring smile.

"You don't understand...people here could die and it would be my fault if I couldn't keep them safe. They're...they're monsters Ian, they're going to pull this place apart looking for what they want then..." She was starting to wander back into that awful place. The very idea of the soldiers and agents of the Confederacy of Dismor in a place she thought was safe was enough to make her sink into some of the worst memories of her life.

Raw, undiluted violence at every turn, everyone she knew dying. Torn apart, eaten, crying for help only for no one to come. Powerless, unable to do anything for the damned and the doomed. Useless.

So much blood, so much noise, so much fear all around her. And not a single thing she could do could help any of them. She felt herself crying, sobbing as she tried to shut out the screams of the dead that still haunted her to this day.

She no longer heard anything else, but she clutched tightly at the medallion that Old Bird had given her, conjuring it into existence and holding it tight until she saw an astral projection of Re-Sekh's form before her. At once, everything seemed to melt away, leaving the two of them in a comforting void as the mirage like visions of terror disappeared.

"Aira, child, what troubles you my golden sweet?" He said with the gentlest of voices, offering a gauntleted hand while his eyes stared out of his eyepieces with warm light and fatherly love. The sensation that nothing could go wrong in his presence helped to ease her pain and made everything feel like it was falling back into place. She breathed, and cleared her sight and mind before looking back at her father.

"Papa...I'm sorry...I, I lost control, and I'm so worried about my new friends here..." She said; doubt wasn't usually something she succumbed to. Her mind was armoured in confidence just as surely as the Mek'tesh suit armoured her body. It was something she associated more with Arne, and rarely did she ever feel the need to confront it head-on.

"You fear the forces that destroyed your first family have found you. It is understandable that this concerns you, but does that not mean that you are where you are needed?" He said, trying to get her attention with his statements of prophecy. Samus flicked her attention to the million year ancient as he conjured a visualisation of the causeways of destiny with his other hand. Threads and cables of possibilities winding through time, a handful occasionally changing in the past, a few futures withering as soon as they were observed, and the pulses of choice going down one cord or the other.

"What do you mean papa?" She said with a slight sniffle at the end, unsure of herself and doubting her ability to handle what she could feel was coming in her own perception of destiny. Fiery pain and bruised egos started to twist and wrap the destinies of so many down certain paths that lead to great suffering. A coil she vaguely recognised burned particularly bright, and it made her almost recoil at the sight of that green thread before she stilled herself.

"Someone will have to put a stop to this. You and Arne are stronger than you believe yourselves to be. I am sure that you will be able to handle this, Samus. You've always given me so many reasons to have such great confidence in you." He said, laying his hand upon her and dismissing the vision of the paths of destiny. She gulped a bit and tried to hide her shame at allowing fear to rear itself in her head, but she took one look at him and knew he had no such disappointment in her.

"We let you venture far from our care because we knew you could handle yourself and the freedom you desired. Were you not ready, we would have sought more controlled environments. Yet every time I look at you; I see a growing woman who is ready for anything in the stars." He said with continued gentle affection that made Samus feel so much prouder about herself, beaming at his astral form as they spoke.

"I almost hurt Arne...and I scared everyone with my outbursts though. How can I be ready when I can't even control myself?" She asked, her curiosity leading her to fixate on the question.

"But you can, my darling hatchling. Do not try to reject your anger and hurt. Channel it constructively. Forge it into purpose and direction. Your cry for justice is not wrong. You need only turn that cry into a purposeful manifesto." He advised, chirping positively beneath his helm and getting a nod out of the young blonde.

"I...yes I think I can do that." She said.

"Now, I think you have people waiting on what you have to say. Tend to their needs, take care of yourself, and help those you can. No matter how evil and cruel your foes may seem, you will always have those who look out for you; and in the end, it is because you fight for their compassion rather than your own malice that you will prove the stronger." He said with the wisdom of the ancients, each word making her feel more sure of herself, readier to face the danger.

"I can do it...I have to try." She said, steeling herself.

"There is goodness in everyone Samus, your task is to help change the world so that this goodness can flourish rather than be punished. It is living amidst rules that punish kindness and reward cruelties that makes monsters of people. Seek your justice, but remember that you must also bring this justice for others." He said, pausing to wait for her to add her own bit.

"Until all live free." She completed the phrase for him, beaming at him, brushing away tears from her mental form's face.

"Wise beyond your years as ever, my sweet. Now go, do what you must." He said, trading an astral hug goodbye with her as they held each other tight before giving a longing look towards each other as they parted. She waved goodbye and god a nod in return as the world began to fade back into being, time resuming its flow and her eyes opening again. Not even a second had passed, and she found Arne kneeling in front of her with concern, Solveig right besides him and Ian staring at her with worry.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
She dismissed her armoursuit once she had pulled herself back from the brink of a panic attack and flopped onto her backside, letting out a grunt of relief as she did so. The tension was almost slipping off of her like a cape she had unclasped. Her body was seeming almost tangibly to cool down as the stress drifted away. She felt better, at least, not perfect, but better. And that was good enough for now.

Samus, are you alright? You kinda had a bit of a moment there." Ian's voice was full of genuine concern, but it was Arne that she hugged first as soon as she let her suit dissipate. The two shared that moment briefly before he gave her the space she needed and allowed her to share a hug with Solveig and Ian; right before he brought them all into the same hug together.

"I'm so sorry for lashing out. I just...I lost control, and I'm sorry." Samus said, looking down and sighing sadly as she pulled from the embrace, turning her eyes towards the group for forgiveness.

Forgiveness they granted her quickly as Arne gave her a thumbs up, Ian smirked, and Solveig beamed. That made her feel a lot better about herself, almost glowing inside really. She sighed softly and hummed gently to herself. Then she noticed some of the others also decided to intrude in to get a better look at what was going on.

"I...I'm sorry I just had a bit of a moment." Samus said, relaxing a bit and stretching out her legs to help unwind some of the last tension in her musculature. She exhaled, focused on her breathing, and let all her worries flow with the puff of air that escaped her lips. She opened her eyes and stood up, offering a hug to the three who had gathered before her. The hug lasted only a brief while, but Solveig, Arne, and Ian were only too happy to return it.

They shared their warmth, but she knew that others needed her attention too. Kreatz was the first to speak up, bold as ever.

"Hey, goldie, you okay there? It sounded like you were wrestling some Viragils or something." He said, getting a quick look of unfamiliarity from Arne and Solveig.

"...Right, intergalactic holocall. You probably don't know what those are." He said with a sigh and a shake of his head. He seemed sympathetic, however, worried for Samus' health and safety, though not taking his eyes too far away from Arne and Solveig. He was clearly demonstrating more than a bit of interest in the pair before refocusing himself on his new friend.

"It's alright! I could figure out it meant something dangerous pretty easily." Solveig said with a cheery grin before she returned to patting Samus on the shoulder.

Yramil had thrown on some simple pyjamas with runic prints on them, placing her hands into her pockets. Yramil looked at the situation in front of her, and then gave a nod of understanding.

"Guessing you found out where that drone really came from huh?" Yramil said, always seeming to know what to expect. That made Samus trust her, someone she could rely on even without the wisdom of the ancients behind her.

"Dismorin..." Samus said in a low voice, almost a whisper as Montauk hardened his expression. The weight of that word was heavy, and just mentioning the Space Pirates by their official name seemed to darken the atmosphere and drain a little bit of the colour out of everything. Everyone had heard the stories.

"Not sure what they'd want with a place like this. But it can't be for anything good. We should probably tell Adam as soon as we can. He might know what to do." Montauk said, brushing a finger against his lips as he lowered his shoulders. It seemed to be the reasonable decision for him, Chozo heiress amongst them or not; there was no real reason for them to put themselves in harm's way when there were authorities in place to handle this.

"And then what?" Samus asked.

"This is something for Adam to handle. We're just cadets." He said with a shrug and a sigh before Samus shook her head. The vigour of her refusal almost catching him off guard before he regained his composure and braced himself for one of her lectures on what was right or not.

"And what if they can't? We can't just let themselves get hurt because we didn't want to do anything about it!" Samus said, standing up to her feet and hardening her expression.

"We're not going to let anyone get hurt." Sekiryu said, urging everyone to calm down just a bit, waiting for Samus to relax and let out a cool breath of air as she refocused her energies and attentions.

"So do you agree with me?" Samus asked.

"Yes. But we're going to need to figure out how they got here, and why they're here." They said, tapping a finger onto their lips as they had themselves a brief moment to think about it before drawing up blanks and shaking their head.

"They must have someone on the inside. Probably a mimic or an infiltrator synth." Uldrasi said, tapping her fingers together as she walked around and paced, mechanical feet shuffling around.

"If you send me the data maybe I could have a look at it? That way you can work on the physical side on your end? Shouldn't be too hard, honestly." Arne said, getting a nod out of Samus.

"That sounds like a good idea. Thanks, Arne!" She said with a wide grin on her face.

"Oooh I could use some practice with technomancy honestly. Just uh, don't delay too long! Gotta get my hours in you know?" Solveig said with a bit of a bounce to her step.

"Heh, someone's a little eager." Ian chuckled.

"Duh! This is exciting! I'm doing important stuff! Oooh, all this and the shapeshifter wandering around at campus. So much to do! So much to think about!" She said with a starry-eyed look of wonderment. Just about over the moon with an explosion of energy throughout her body. Her legs bouncing up and down with enthused gusto while she hopped in place. Something that continued until Arne stilled her slightly with a hand on her shoulder. An effort that quickly got an affectionate nuzzle out of her as she wrapped her arms around him.

Samus smiled at the sight, glad that he was happy and already finding new potential partners, and then giggling at how he flushed red at the sensation of her arms around him. However, she got her own turn to flush red as Ian moved in to give her a similar gesture, snaking an arm around her side and pulling her towards him before giving a thumbs up.

Arne took a moment to look towards Samus and smiled, with the two giving each other a longing gaze for a moment. To be able to see each other in such clarity, to be able to touch each other...all without the other actually being there felt a bit bittersweet. Yet getting to check in on each other was an elating experience, one that both were hoping to relive soon. Especially when they now had to be concerned with how the other was doing while they were apart.

"Hey, don't worry. He's in great company! We'll take good care of him!" Solveig said, getting a brief glance from Arne who then gave a warm nod towards her.

"Likewise, we'll look out for each other. No need to fret Arne. Though if you ever want to hit me up for a holoconvo; well; I'm down for it." He said, lowering his sunglasses and then winking at Arne while Solveig smirked at Samus and raised her eyebrows suggestively.

The two progenitor turned red for a moment before Samus cleared out her throat and twirled around some of her golden locks of hair. She was trying her best to not seem awkward and for the most part, failing, but the effort was valiant for the most part.

"You'll get the uh...data soon. I'll try to meditate on some answers for the rest of the night." Samus said, trying to seize control of the conversation back.

"Yeah...see you soon. Be safe, please." Arne said, waving goodbye and getting a wave in return as his image winked out and the holochamber returned to its actual configuration; a sparse and empty cylinder that one's voice would echo across if spoken in.

Samus looked towards Ian who patted her on the shoulder and started to walk back out of the room. "Come on Samus, best to rest a bit for now. We'll figure this all out soon." He said.

"Mh, yeah I'm just hoping that we have enough time for it." Samus said with a gentle sigh as she stepped out of the chamber with everyone else and turned towards her real room.

Parting from Ian for a bit and waving goodbye to him and everyone else, Samus felt a bit more alone when the door closed and she sat down on her bed. Every word she muttered to herself seemed so much clearer without the speech of anyone else. The dark room was dimly lit, but her eyes could see just fine in them, making out all the little details and trying to see if there were any imperfections in the holographic recreation she had just left.

Realising that she was letting herself be distracted by minor details, she exhaled and she pulled her legs towards her hips. Reaching for her hairband and undoing it to let her hair fall to its natural length, she rested her hands on her knees and closed her eyes. She would reach for the stars in her mind's eye and clear her thoughts for answers that she could only seek in a realm beyond the physical.

What did destiny have in store for her? What did she need to do next? The maelstrom of possibilities danced around the sight of her mind's eye, coiling tendrils of futures, pasts, and present cabling all around her. Her own thread touched countless other ones, something that Papa always told her meant that she had a tremendous influence on the fate of all things.

It was intimidating really, it seemed like her own cable would touch on every other thread at some point and she was always scared to try and see why her and Arne's destinies mattered so much to so many. She was warned that there would be a great deal of fog obscuring much of the fates of her counterpart and herself. Uncertainties and deliberate attempts to obscure her sight, but answers would come to her as she practised and got closer to the sources of obscuring efforts. It was all just a bit overwhelming to think about, but she couldn't get lost into her own possibilities.

She had to think about something else, whose cable touched that drone the most heavily? She let her mind wander a bit through the pathways of outcomes and fates and the circumstances that lead to them. The less likely ones more ephemeral and shadowy and the more certain ones more solid and real. The thin, wraith-like cord of the drone was hard to see due to being so unimportant. But it was easy to focus on without strain due to how little its existence mattered. But there was a more straining cable that touched it, one that she recognised all too well.

It was a cruel and harsh cable that had brushed against her own ten years ago. Green, spiteful, wrathful. She wasn't sure of the exact nature or the depth of the connection, whether it was only brief involvement or something more sinister. But it was something she couldn't ignore, especially with the snarl his fate had with hers in her own past. The spiteful marshal whom the dragon had entrusted with his troops during the razing of her home. The old warlord and former high command hopeful.

Weavel.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
Consolidated Logbook Entries


Federation Record: Prodigal Program Memo: Concerning User: Regarding the New Student


I would like to inform the faculty of our program that Samus is not a prop for your personal theories regarding the Chozo nor is she a resource to be probed into for insight regarding progenitor cultures. She is a human child and orphan who has specific needs unique to her situation that we will, as is proper for our relation to her; do our utmost to meet while still ensuring her integration with society. Initial analysis suggests that she is reluctant to embrace the reputation accrued from her actions on Zoront and it is also recommended that one not make a habit of bringing up her parents or their sacrifice. Given her diagnosis with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, it is recommended that she have regular contact with a regular therapist. The smell of burning human-like tissue, the sounds of aggressive space pirate vocalisations, and sights reminiscent of the Confederate Enforcer Ridley are known traumatic triggers and it is recommended that these stimuli only be shown to her under controlled conditions with her consent.

Fortunately, her Chozo caretakers seem to have taken excellent care of her over the years, and she has demonstrated a high degree of social energy even if there are a number of social skills that she needs to practice. However, she is easily bored and the degree to which she was educated by the Chozo greatly outstrips the standard for most students here; thus ensuring that she remains properly stimulated remains vital to keep her Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder in check. Further analysis to determine whether she is simply socially awkward and inexperienced with peers or is somewhere on the Autistic spectrum will need to be done before a diagnosis can be committed to.

Addendum: Samus' scan systems are capable of breaching every virtually every form of security we have. Please keep files you do not want her to read to devices that are not connected to any form of external wireless network. Despite initial presumptions, she does not actually require her helmet to be manifested to make use of her scan capabilities. Always assume that she is able to read anything written on an electronic device or can manipulate most such devices she can access that lack shut-door mechanisms to seal off unwanted signals.

- Headmaster Varagyl Stemix.

Samus' Notes:
Oh Old Bird told them I could do that? Ugh, I wanted them to have to figure that out on their own. And again with pushing me in front of everyone. I want to be known for helping people but...I don't want to live under a scanner. I'm hoping I get some privacy.

Arne's Notes:
I find it a little concerning that they have to warn their faculty to not see Samus as a prop for their academic careers. But, they at least have people looking out for her, so it's not all bad.

Omdyn Records: Educational Council Directive: Concerning User: Concerning Arne Skjoldr

There are concerning signs that Arne Skjoldr suffered heavily from abuse during his time among the Alimbics compounded with his traumatic feelings of helplessness brought about by the mysterious Cylosis assault. This has resulted in Arne having a great aversion to confrontations with authority figures he reads as fatherly and continual feelings of self-doubt and intense self-criticism. While he seems to be stable for the time being, he is heavily dependent on the maintenance of healthy social relationships with key peer and caretaker figures and is considered to be at high risk of a prolonged major psychotic break if isolated from them. At once eager to please those who show him kindness but reluctant to trust the sincerity of overtures of kindness, Arne is in need of major psychological therapy to fully heal from his past.

It must also be noted that Zurvduat lost custody of Arne under less than amicable circumstances and regarded him as a high-value asset, and as such the possibility of attempts to retrieve him cannot be ruled out. Physically superior to virtually all known humans with a heavily altered neurology; Arne will be a significant challenge to provide for the needs of. But it is a challenge that we are prepared to accept to fulfil his desire for our care and a chance to interact with peers. Please keep Arne's psychological profile in mind when interacting with him and be aware of his electronic warfare capabilities as well as latent esoterical powers. He had given his trust to us, and we must demonstrate that we are worthy of it. It should also go without saying that subjects on his list of trauma triggers should be broached with extreme care around him and only when he has indicated that he is ready. Do not assume that you are in a position to decide when to handle these issues for him.

Addendum: While his parents and mother, in particular, have an extremely distinguished reputation that he feels strongly attached to, it is best to not hold this over him continually. Do not make him feel as though you are giving him nonstandard treatment due to his blood relations with the former Clan Champion of Grendakal, particularly not when he broaches the topics of trying to reconnect with his maternal Clan. He wishes to feel as though he has earned the right to be mentioned with his parents, not to be simply given it.

- Council Chair Lelygim Asraeni

Samus' Notes:
If Zurvduat wants Arne back, he's going to have to go through me first! I'm happy to know that they're going to take care of him as best as they can at least.

Arne's Notes:
Keeping an entire file on me makes me feel so strange. I'm sure they've got one on everyone, but having so many specific recommendations...Hopefully it's nothing to worry about.

Technology: Communications: Holographic: Holochat Platforms

Developed from hard-light holographic entertainment modules, Holochat Platforms were designed to allow for long-distance communique to be conducted as if the people on the other end were actually there. With hyperluminal transmissions ensuring the accuracy of hard-light replicas and thousands of safety systems built into them, Holochat Platforms are widely utilised throughout the known universe by most civilizations. Though originally considered for possible military applications, the extra vulnerability of hard-light to cryogenic or energy-based attack has made the idea of "hard-light warriors" one of generally dubious value to most analysts save for an emergency backup form of defence in areas with projectors. On the other hand, the technology has also found widespread usage among long-distance romantic bonds due to its ability to facilitate relation consummation. Many users also prefer to alter their holographic avatars' appearances to live out various fantasies or represent themselves in differing ways for conversation groups.

Samus' Notes:
Just needed to make a few modifications to keep the school from being able to peep on our conversations. Sorry, but no eavesdropping please! Especially not when I'm trying to use the tactile functions!

Arne's Notes:
The technology involved in this is pretty sophisticated for non-progenitor artifice, some inefficiencies here and there but nothing I can't fix. Hrm; I could probably salvage a suit upgrade out of one. Never was brave enough to dismantle the one in the Sleipnir.

Movies: Superhero-Adventure: Franchise: Federation Origin: Stylamiera Origin: Yrimoch; Star Traveller.

Yrimoch: Star Traveller is a highly successful film franchise conceived of by Lelthynmir Aeslaera and Eldranthir Staerom and produced by the Eglimranth Studio. Covering the adventures of the fictitious Lancer Yrimoch Hrelima; the series is known for its themes of discovery, defending the weak, Social Justice, and self-betterment through adventure and collaboration. Her films are typically rendered in animated format with a stylized and sleek look to them to suggest greater motion and more exaggerated emoting. Popular particularly among adolescents, the Star Traveller series has more than twelve films under its belt as well as a quartet of seasonised show programmes that have routinely earned an audience across much of Federation space. Now into its twentieth Terran year, the series seeks to expand its reach beyond Federation space somewhat more in an effort to grow the audience further while Lelthynmir and Eldranthir plan out another arc following the conclusion of the twelve film saga.

Samus' Notes:
Yrimoch is the best! She's so suave and graceful and she's got the most wonderful friends! I'm hoping I can live a life like that, for real you know? I'd love to be that kind of travelling hero making all kinds of strange companions in exotic places having fantastical adventures.

Arne's Notes:
The Lancer lifestyle seems to be really interesting if this is anything to go by. I could definitely see myself giving it a go...Huh, I'd probably need a special Lancer codename though. I'll have to think about it, maybe something that starts with an S?

Mechanoids: Confederacy of Dismor: Non-Combatant: Infiltrator: Micromite

Micromite drones are designed to carry out infiltration of facilities while having all the machinery needed to serve as their own intelligence hubs without central direction. Capable of self-replicating, copying and secretly sending out information, and multispectral cloaking, Micromites are one of the most commonly produced Space Pirate infiltration devices. While lacking in any ability to defend themselves from macroscopic aggressors, they are highly evasive and capable of moving at extreme speeds whether on land, in water, or while flying and as such can be quite vexing to catch even for those who can see them. Micromites also possess advanced multispectral scanning devices that are used to keep tabs on virtually anything that their synthetic consciousness deems to be of possible interest or relevance to their mission. And the aforementioned intelligence is sophisticated enough for them to be able to coordinate spying activities without exposing themselves via needing to receive orders.

Samus' Notes:
What could the space pirates want with this place? It must be related to some project of Weavel's to build his forces back up...but this drone's hard-purged so many of its records as soon as I grabbed onto it. Ugh, I'll have to try other methods to find out the answers.

Arne's Notes:
If there's one of these, there's more. And if there's any of these, there are other space pirate infiltrators in the facility. I can't make a precise estimate, but there'd probably be at least hundreds, at most low thousands given the size of the facility. Everyone there is in danger.

Individuals: Confederacy of Dismor: War Criminals: Bermudan: Male: High Marshals: Inferno Pack: Weavel

Demoted from the rank of Grand Marshal at the cusp of his ascension to the prestigious company of the Generalissimo grade among the War-State of Ikamaxin that serves as his home country within the Confederacy; Weavel has become notably bitter at the setback to his career that demotion to High Marshal represents. Though able to avoid execution due to his prior service record and commendable salvaging of the disastrous K-2L operation, Weavel is heavily defined by his spite and scorn and his capacity for cruelty and atrocity has increased markedly as he seeks to reclaim his old rank and put his career back on track. With the Inferno Pack's restructuring following the loss of a large portion of its core fleet at K-2L, Weavel has focused his efforts at establishing his own loyal power base in the clockwise spinwards regions of the Ventelian Galaxy and pursuing independent schemes without relying on High Command's aid.

Samus' Notes:
If he's mad about being demoted he can come on and face me. Then I'll give him so much more to worry about than his career.

Arne's Notes:
If he finds out Samus is still alive he's not going to stop at anything to get even...nor is she. I think she'll come out on top though.

Consolidated Headlines and Article Excerpts

International level News: Federal: Intergalactic Enquirer: Vogl Ergutok of the Torchlight Association re-elected Chairman


In the Grand Parliamentary elections of the Galactic Federation, Vogl Ergutok's Torchlight Association has managed to form a coalition government with the Federal League for Action, the Guardians of Freedom Party, the Federal Progressive Party, and the Movement for a Modern Federation. The electoral victory despite losses to more pacifistic or internalistic party blocs will represent a continued shift towards a more militaristic Federation in the face of rising aggression from the Confederacy of Dismor, the War-Spores, and the Kriken Empire among other powers as well as building tensions with numerous other polities. Most controversial amongst Vogl's policies, however, is his repeated push for the enactment of general conscription among the Federation and to increase integration of the National Militaries of the Federation's component states into overall Federal command.

Samus' Notes:
I don't understand why the Federation wastes so much time and energy on staring contests with people who could be helping them when they should be focusing everything on the Space Pirates. Ugh, the people with power are so dense some times...

Arne's Notes:
Mom wrote about how the Federation or other similar governments would often consider her movement more of a threat than local Space Pirate concentrations because they more directly threatened their power structures. I hope she's not right in this case.

National level News; Federal: Minute Report: Samus Eabha Aran returns to Federation Space

The mysterious saviour of the lost brigade has been revealed to be none other than the only daughter of Rodney and Virginia Aran; Samus. Presumed deceased, Samus has turned out to be more than just alive and well; but also seems to be in possession of Chozo enhanced physiology and technology. While the capabilities and limitations of these gifts remains a mystery, and she has so far shied away from interview attempts, Samus' return to Federation space has already stirred significant speculation as to the course of her upbringing away from Federal territory. Based on the opinions of the experts we have asked, we have come to build a profile of what to expect of her even as she's registered into the privacy of the Prodigal Programs. What all of them agree on though is that what we have seen is going to be the prelude for even more in the future.

Samus' Notes:
By the revered spirits...I really hope this isn't going to be a constant thing. Getting the camera drones out of my face was enough of a problem already. I'd...kind of like people not knowing what I look like beneath my helmet, so I can relax some times without everyone bothering me. Or at least, just...hang out with them as me, not whoever they imagine is under my suit.

Arne's Notes:
I find it weird how their reports kind of overlook my presence as much as possible, but I guess it's only fair. I'm hoping though that they don't push her too hard, she needs her space and a lot of news agencies seem to believe the second your name is widely known you don't get to have any.

International level News: Omdyn: Lector Popularum: Kriken Border Incidents on the Rise

Kriken activity in neighbouring space between the Omdyn and the Empire have been increasing dramatically with the delegation of Archprince Trace to the Elemria Region in the Antennae Galaxy. Though still a minor by the laws of the Kriken Empire, Trace is regarded as extremely vicious and already is in possession of a lengthy record as a war criminal. Trace is believed to be seeking favour from his father; Emperor Kharve; to distinguish himself over his other siblings in the eternal conflict to rise to the top of the pecking order in the Imperial Family. Despite his extremely young age, Trace's command is surprisingly effective and exceedingly aggressive, seeking to escalate numerous border disputes into increasingly deadly raids and skirmishes. The increased Kriken threat has prompted a response of significantly increased military presence and militia readiness in the disputed region.

Samus' Notes:
I don't know as much about the Krikens as I should, but from what I do know...they're as bad as the Space Pirates, and this Trace is in the same Galaxy Arne is. I'm hoping he'll be safe. Mama and Papa, Old Bird, August Wing and all said a lot about how horrible the Kriken Military was, and how rotten the Imperial Family is to the core.

Arne's Notes:
Mom and Dad wrote a lot about the Krikens and Elmorni mentioned something about them being one of the great mistakes of the Order. I think they're going to do something very dangerous soon, I've got this...feeling in the Distant Sight, that something bad is coming.

National level News: Omdyn: Universal Sophont: Arne Eriksen Skjoldr found alive

Arne Eriksen Skjoldr of Clan Grendakal; son of Gyda and Erik Skjoldr has; to the surprise of the whole of our Omdyn; been found to have not perished with the Cylosis raid. In news jubilantly received by Clan Grendakal and the Uskarling populace as a whole, Arne's return from seeming death has been kept relatively quiet out of his desire to avoid an overabundance of direct attention. Having been placed under the care of a progenitor culture during his time away, Arne is reportedly in excellent health but is somewhat reluctant to speak to public officials at the present time. The nature and identity of Cylosis' attackers remains a mystery that the young Skjoldr reportedly has no answer to. At this time, it is expected that his desire for privacy be respected, as is his right.

Samus' Notes:
Well, at least I know I can always talk to Arne about how awkward it is to be the centre of attention like this. I hope he's handling it better than I am.

Arne's Notes:
I'll..maybe talk to them if I feel ready later on. Just, not right now. I need some time to adjust to how different everything here is from home.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
Dreamscape

Arne's mind drifted far from his usual meditative dreams. His mind drifted towards a sight beyond his sphere, a dancing light of deepest crimson in contrast to his cool blue. He chanced a look at his thread of fate, the conduits of possibilities hanging just beyond the dreamscape like seaweed beneath the ocean surface. It was not something he often enjoyed doing; so many possibilities seemed to end in pain or unpleasantries. The apparition of a figure with a bifurcated blue helm, divided by a green line with a blade-like cannon haunted him in particular, something that stalked around possible futures and growled like a beast.

Its voice to him was like family, its gaze towards him more inviting than menacing despite its facelessness. Like it was beckoning him towards the abyss, towards a line where his and Samus' fates could go as they were, bind together stronger than ever...or split in discord and agony. Each branch of the cables of the future splitting into possibilities that would tether into all other things. A degree of responsibility that made him quail and shiver inside. Could he really be expected to handle that much pressure when he struggled to stand on his own two feet? But he turned his attention away from the blue and green figure, turning his attentions to the more immediate future.

The red whisp was once again there, running at the head of a great swarm, entwined with a brutal green cable and its retinue. The red road it carved into the paths of fate was short, but its influence was heavy and its tributaries coiled around a massive swarm of other individuals making their way through time. He took a chance to look a little closer, and saw a pink thread roping into the red one. Orange, Blue, Red, Green, Pink and a myriad of other colours danced around into a spirograph of potentialities. Something important was about to happen. And when he took a closer look at the red thread, he got a visage of a singular yellow eye amidst a red tear dropped shaped head staring right back at him.

"=Get out of my head.=" A shrill, scornful yet imperious and domineering voice commanded. Disdain dripped from the voice as if he had stepped into something foul and Arne realised his abilities had caused him to wander into someone else's thoughts. A combination of his inexperience, his brute force methods, and the other's all-consuming personality had alerted them to Arne's presence.

Their displeasure was experienced in a short, sharp manner, stabbing a sharp limb towards Arne and jolting him awake from the brief sleep he had. He woke up with a start, breathing hard and pushing himself out of his blanket as he wiped some sweat off his brow. The pale skin over his impressively toned and shaped leaned muscles were slick with sweat as he brought his mind back to reality; the bed below him automatically adjusting its shape to account for him no longer resting his back on it.

Arne's Room, Dormitory Cluster Tertius, Magnus Academy

He slept not out of necessity, but more out of finding peace in not having to face the waking world's problems for a few hours. He never allowed himself more than a few hours though, for one he didn't need to sleep to begin with and so it gave him no added restfulness. For another, he had too much to do to waste it with idleness such as sleep. It was a pleasant distraction and a way to spend some free time, nothing more.

He pulled the weighted covers off of himself with a simple tug, rubbing at his eyes and looking around. The darkness of his room concealed nothing from his vision, and he heard the heartbeat of tiny flea-like insectoids hopping around, looking for dead skin cells to munch. The sound of their minuscule muscles moving inside of their carapaces, the sight of their every micronic hair twitching and ruffling together in motion so slow they seemed almost still. Despite their bullet speed jumps, they looked like photographs to him. He realised that he was hyperfixating again, and he shook his head to look towards the poster Solveig got for him; of his parents in full gear.

Gyda standing tall and proud with her weapon in hand, her husband by her side and her team around her in a dramatic pose to give off a sense of heroism as they stood between ghoulish oppressors and the shivering victims of imperialism. Bold colours and even bolder stylised contrast. His heart raced a bit, and a small smile formed on his face at the sight of it as he stood up, brushing his finger against the holoposter to feel the resistance of the hard light. He wondered if his parents would be proud of him now, and sighed as he realised that he couldn't get any answers out of them.

"Hope you're resting well..." He said to himself as he went to get himself washed. The hot water was pleasant, a luxury he was rarely afforded on Sentus Primaris where luxuries were always in short supply. He let his muscles relax and scrubbed himself off thoroughly; not bothering with the cleaning nanites out of not wanting to have the work be done for him. After finishing up with his cleansing rituals, he fetched some clothes, pulling on some underwear and a simple set of practical shorts and a shirt. He didn't really see the point in pyjamas when keeping cool was such an important part of sleep and they only meant another set of clothes in need of cleaning. He slipped on some socks and practical shoes and looked towards the computer terminal placed on a desk in a corner.

Sitting himself down and scooching forward, he typed something on the keyboard. Sure a hard-light or neurotextual interface would be fancier, but the mechanical feedback of pressing keys and receiving output was satisfying in an odd way he couldn't put his finger on. A few clicks and screen taps and he was at the chat application Samus and himself had programmed as a way to fill a lazy afternoon more than a year ago; shared with a few friends as a way to hang out with minimal hassle. All designed to accomodate the two teenagers' immense need for stimulation.

A text conversation with Samus was perhaps a low tech method of communicating with her, but he wanted something more discrete than the holochamber. Plus, he liked feeling like a computer master when he managed to encrypt the conversation in such a way that the Mind-Spider wouldn't notice rather than just relying on his armour or their psychic bond to speak to her. Of course he was sure Zurvduat would have criticised something about his coding, some unnecessarily sloppy structuring or inefficient compilation. Those harsh words had driven him to make it as neat as possible, but he couldn't help but think maybe he made some errors somewhere, maybe there were unneeded holes...maybe the Mind Spider was aware of his work after all.

Samus' profile image of a drawing of herself in armour with her helmet off with Pyonchi on her head and her robotic Gecko pet crawling on her shoulder while she beamed and gave a thumbs up showed up and dragged him from his musings. His own profile image of himself reaching a hand out for his ravens with his helmet removed, looking into the sunset of Sentus Primaris followed suit.

hatchingSentinel: hey arne!!! :D
novaKnight: Hello Samus. <3
hatchingSentinel: <3!
novaKnight: You alright?
hatchingSentinel: yeah things are going pretty good! Just you know, getting used to how things work around here. I'll get the hang of it!!
hatchingSentinel: Buuuut....
novaKnight: :?
hatchingSentinel: What about yoouuuuuu? :eek:
novaKnight: Oh well, yeah things are pretty good here too. Nothing to complain about really. Happier to be talking to you again though, Samus. :) <3.
hatchingSentinel: heehee, awww, thanks, Arne. <3
hatchingSentinel: You know I'm always happier to be talking to you! c:
hatchingSentinel: Now I know you've probably got something important to tell me soooo...well don't keep me waiting! ^_^
novaKnight: Has anyone ever told you that you are relentlessly adorable?
hatchingSentinel: you do every five seconds ;D!!!
novaKnight: Ah, damn, you've got me there.
novaKnight: Okay, getting more serious now.
hatchingSentinel: serious mode on! >:)
novaKnight: Hahaha XD!
hatchingSentinel: :p
novaKnight: Okay...okay.

It was time to get a bit more serious now, this was fun and all of course, but Arne knew that he wasn't just here to catch up with his girlfriend. He thought only briefly about how to broach the topic of what he had just seen in his sleep before committing, his fingers hitting the keys at speeds no unaugmented human would have been able to follow. He breathed in a bit, his typography immaculate as always thanks to Zurvduat's all-consuming perfectionism.

Samus knew that too, she could just feel his pensiveness despite the distance of space that separated them. She knew a lot of people who were involved with one another said that they had a sort of connection, but she imagined when she said it regarding herself and Arne; it was rather more literal than it was with most non-psychics. The grey sensation of his worries was just palpable before her young mind's eye and it drew a frown from her on the other end of the computer.

novaKnight: I just had a dream-vision, similar to what you told me after your trance earlier. I think our problems might be connected somehow? The shapeshifter and the pirate drones.
hatchingSentinel: huh...Okay, that's definitely serious then. :(
hatchingSentinel: What else did you find in the dreamscape?
novaKnight: Well, I think a Kriken Prince might also be involved. I'm not sure how, but my distant sight drew me towards some articles about Trace, and I think I saw him in my vision?
hatchingSentinel: Oh, okay, that is absolutely not a good thing.
hatchingSentinel: Trace is one of the worst out of the whole bunch, and that's saying something, but I can't think of how he could be tied into this. >:?
novaKnight: Well, maybe they're not aware of how they tie into each other? What I do know is that they intersect in the dreamscape, and the consequences that lead out from there are huge.
hatchingSentinel: ...yeah I think I know what you're referring to. It's weird though; I don't think I saw Trace in the dreamscape? Unless you poking around changed some possibilities?
novaKnight: I hope I'm not the one responsible for setting all this into motion. Because so many of those potentials looked so...grim, so...
hatchingSentinel: Arne! Listen!!
hatchingSentinel: It's not your fault, you're not the one who made Trace who he is!!! Don't blame yourself for things you have no control over!!! :mad:
novaKnight: I...yeah you're right Samus. Besides, I saw his whisp diverging to that path before I poked around. Couldn't really tell what they're planning to do though, too complicated to look that far ahead. Or at least, I'm not experienced enough yet.
hatchingSentinel: ugh I know, I wish we didn't have to wait so long for esoteric training. >_<
novaKnight: Yeah, I know. :(
hatchingSentinel: well arne. I think that I can do something on my end. we're going to go and see if we can't find more of the drones.
hatchingSentinel: piece together more of their logs and see if we can't get some solid clues from that.
hatchingSentinel: probably more infiltrators wandering around too, so we're going to see if we can't break the spy ring around here.
hatchingSentinel: if it is all connected, it'd probably help you out too!!! :)

The thought brought a smile to Arne's face, he really would like to join with her in solving a mystery. Even as far apart as they were, doing stuff together was always fun; even when it was as incredibly dangerous as taking on two of the Old Foe and saving a whole sector from annihilation.

A sentiment that Samus of course, couldn't agree with more. After all, if they couldn't help each other even when apart, then could they really be said to be close? Something like this she figured, would be a cakewalk compared to the prior life or death adventure she was in, even with the complicating factor of far more people in harm's way.

novaKnight: Thanks, I'd really appreciate that. :)
novaKnight: I'm going to check around for any possible anomalies. Maybe just explore a bit too, that should help keep my mind at ease.
hatchingSentinel: a good bit of exploration does the mind good!!!
hatchingSentinel: we probably have time anyway, so don't feel bad about taking a bit for yourself you know??
novaKnight: I've been taught that there's a saying regarding pots, kettles, and their black colouration that applies here.
novaKnight: You're not exactly the universal champion at rest and relaxation yourself, have you even been to any of the recreation facilities at your academy yet?
hatchingSentinel: well...i uh...the swimming facilities are full of really cute people and the gym looks...you're right i don't really relax all that often.
hatchingSentinel: there's just so much to do and see.
hatchingSentinel: just feels like a waste of time to sit around and absorb any of them at a time.
novaKnight: I know that feeling, I feel like even taking a nap is wasting hours I could be using to do anything else.
novaKnight: I feel bad even trying the games Solveig wants to show me sometimes.
hatchingSentinel: hah you too??? :D
hatchingSentinel: my podmates are soo pretty and i dont know who to flirt with first.
novaKnight: Honestly, same here. I'd like to be with most of them you know? Maybe one day we could all do a group date?
hatchingSentinel: ooooh that would be so much fun!
novaKnight: I know right? :)
hatchingSentinel: :)
novaKnight: <3
hatchingSentinel: <3
novaKnight: I'm going to do some checking around now. Nice talking to you, and see you soon Samus. I love you.
hatchingSentinel: see you soon too arne. I love you too!
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
Arne smiled mostly to himself. While he'd certainly like a more physical encounter with her, he always loved their chats together. Whatever Zurvduat or Grey Voice said, they loved each other, and he hoped that would never change. Yet these long-distance meetings had a touch of bittersweetness to them. Even the sight of her self-drawn profile picture reminded him of every micron of distance between the two of them. He thought about the group date idea, and what could happen afterwards when they got somewhere quiet and comfy...then he blushed hard and adjusted his shorts. It probably wouldn't go down like that, but at his age, it was hard to not think of it.

"Okay, ah, I should get busy at least." Arne said as he looked back to his computer to break his thoughts away from his hormonal daydreams. He took a moment to think about his objectives. Find something about the Krikens he could report back to Samus so they could compare notes. Hopefully, something useful to both of them would turn up.

He decided to chance a look at any returning alumni of the Magnus academy that might be of interest to him. He sifted through the database with the focus of a laser, doing his utmost to avoid the trap of diving into the endless links and search chains that could lead one astray if they weren't careful. Taking the skills he learned to become a Knight of the Tetrarch Order, he narrowed his search down with a few keystrokes.

Search For: Current Freelancer

Okay, still a very large number of possible persons of interest, too large for him to sift through in one night before it would be time for his next planned outing with friends.

Anti-Kriken Empire activity.

Barely a dent in the parameters, the Kriken Empire; or the Imperial State of Akratik to be more formal; was the boogeyman of a very large array of beings across the universe.

Associated with Magna Lodbrok.

Still way too many people, a smaller list sure, but she had a long life and trained or associated with a great many people who came to this place. Still, he was getting close.

Cosmic Grade Prestige.

That narrowed the list tremendously. The Cosmic Grade of prestige was reserved for the very best of the best; a percentage so small as to be statistically insignificant. Still, this place produced quite a few of that lustrous category. More than he'd want to look for in one night.

Associated with Gyda Skjoldr.

The list dropped to a handful, but one caught his eye. Ordna.

"Whoa...no way she'd be here." Arne muttered in awe, a smile forming on his face before he sensed someone behind him and flicked his head behind him. He was almost ready to summon his armour then and there, but relaxed after the next heartbeat cleared his foresight and he caught a glimpse of red hair.

"Might need to unwind a bit there Urglik." Illarion said as he walked in dressed in little more than boxers to keep cool, Arne flushing in his cheeks as he turned back to his computer.

"So, what are you doing?" The Aelva asked curiously as he approached Arne, sought permission to lay his hand on his shoulder; and after a bit of hesitation, was allowed to do so.

"Looking for people who might be able to help with some Kriken related issues who'd be willing to hear me out for a bit." He reached for a flask filled with self-cooling drink. He took a few sips before swallowing slightly hard and swinging his feet idly. Illarion looked at the electric Azdarchid like alien whose crested head almost seemed too big for her winged body to stand in a bipedal stance, let alone fly properly. Yet he knew that she was regarded as one of the very best that there had ever been.

"Ordna huh?" He said, looking back down to Arne, clearly wishing he'd arrived a bit earlier when he heard Arne using the shower. Oh well. Arne gulped a bit when he caught wind of those thoughts from Illarion and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, I've been following her career a lot recently. She's gotten up to a lot of interesting stuff." Arne said, trying his best to remain focused on his appointed task and closing his eyes.

He took a moment to breathe, then reopened them and flicked through the article presented to him. While he knew most of the stuff that this article spoke of already, he still carefully picked through the presented information to search for anything that might be of interest.

Illarion sat himself on the table and took a look at the screen again, tapping his chin. It was certainly interesting to him, and he sensed that Arne had other priorities for the moment so he'd let this slide until Skjoldr showed he'd be interested in giving it a shot. He was intrigued by him, but he wasn't going to be insistent when Arne was so busy with other things. Especially things he could tell were personal.

"So, how will a top-level freelancer be able to help you with your current situation?" Illarion said, yanking some clothes with his telekinesis towards him to quickly throw on a shirt and some shorts to make the conversation a bit less awkward. Arne gave him a nod of thanks and turned his eyes back to the screen and pointed over to some select paragraphs. He particularly highlighted the portions that spoke of her actions against the house of Zakaza that had ruled the Empire for thousands of years.

"She's managed to meet the Kriken Emperor face to face and fought some of his children. If there's anyone who might know what Archprince Trace is up to, it'd be her." Arne explained, showing Illarion images of Ordna in combat with Imperial Blooded Krikens and attacking assets marked with the sigil of the Zakaza dynasty. A triangle the colour of blood with a single orange eye in its midst amidst a field of rust, sharp blades below of pure white crossed just below, and a circle of deepest black around them. A very hated and feared sigil by many, and one that made Illarion tense slightly. It was a sigil many feared more than even the Triskelion of swords symbol of the Empire itself.

Arne could sense the negative energy that the sigil had, and almost regretted showing it to Illarion based on his negative response. He felt bad, like he had shown him something taboo. Already his mind was thinking of ways to earn his forgiveness so that this wouldn't hang over them in times where he could indulge their mutual interest. But Illarion put that aside by shaking his head and telling him it was fine.

Though Arne wasn't sure on that himself, he accepted the need to move on and carry on with his explanation. He needed to work on swimming around in his tendency to blame himself for everything anyway he reminded himself as he brought up some additional info.

"I've...gotten premonitions revolving around Trace. Dangerous ones, I think he's either involved in something that concerns us now, or is going to get involved soon." Arne said, letting out a sigh and flicking his red eyes over to Illarion who gave a nod of understanding and then a look of contemplation.

"And what would the Archprince even want with us?" Illarion asked. It was a fair question, just one academy in a galaxy on the periphery of Kriken influence was a bit of a small target for someone of Trace's stature. But with his rite of passage years away and his need to prove himself above his siblings as high as it was...

"This is a pretty prestigious place and he is trying to get his credits in...he might also figure there's something being studied here that would get him acclaim back home too. There's a lot of research being done here besides educational services in the lower levels." Arne said, taking a moment to bring up some screens of stuff he'd dug around while bored after his first-day orientation. So far it was all stuff available to anyone with so much as student access. Given the philosophy of the school little was closed off to the public besides what was necessary for privacy reasons.

He flicked through a number of programs involving extranormals, particularly those with especially abnormal mental capabilities or forms of awareness that allowed them to contribute immensely to research. Most of it stuff relating to general civilian science, few things that would really interest a conqueror or a warlord. But he stopped when he got to efforts to explore into the storage void dimensions the Alimbics used to cache away their resources somewhere the couldn't be plundered. Every storage facility had its own individual dimension created just for it, to ensure that no breach would be able to spread even in the unlikely scenario that one was made.

"You think he might be looking into Progenitor studies?" Illarion said, folding his arms and looming over Arne's shoulder as he looked at the screen and folded his lips, staring at other research being done on progenitor relics and knowledge. Perhaps the most precious resource in the universe, far more so than any quantity of Fuel Gel, Xelemir, Psionite, or Cosmium.

"I'd bet he is." Arne said, smirking until Solveig opened the door and gave a courteous knock on the other side of it after having entered. Her characteristic massive beaming smile was written all over her expression, and she giggled like a manic schoolgirl as she held a tablet in her hands. Keeping it close to her chest so that Arne and Illarion couldn't see, she tiptoed over to them, resting her head atop Arne's and making him suddenly aware of the sensation of her chest pressing into his back to get another blush out of him.

"Hey Gremlin girl." Illarion said to Solveig's response of smiling and blowing a kiss at him as she then brought her arms around Arne and showed him what was on the tablet, getting a raised brow out of him as soon as he looked at what was on the screen.

"I figured you could use some help before we went out so because I'm suuuuuper into thinking ahead and just you know, great? I did some digging on my own. And with a bit of my ultra-sleuthing I got some juicy deets to share with you all." Solveig said with enthusiasm as Arne analysed the information presented in front of him.

What immediately caught Arne's attention were some of the materials highlighted by Solveig, a number of suspicious shipments, heavily encrypted communications, and a few people nobody quite recognised slipping in and out of class repeatedly. However, of particular interest to him was a note that the facility was recently visited by an ambassador of the Kriken Empire who was part of the personal retinue of...Archprince Trace! Eureka!

"How did you get some of this stuff? It's...it's great! Honestly, I could just kiss you." Arne said, an enthusiastic Solveig flushing brilliantly and a few bashful glances between the two being exchanged rapidly while Illarion laughed so hard Arne worried he might just fall off the table.

"Well...what's stopping you?" Solveig said almost daringly in a way that made Arne freeze up, not sure if this was a joke or not. He looked at her to confirm, and then leaned in to sneak in a smooch from her as she giggled. A smirk grew on her lips as Illarion then snuck one in from Arne just a little later, getting him to flush even more as he chuckled nervously.

"Ah, gods, we should probably get going before I die of flustration." Arne said with a bright tint to his cheeks. He stood up and as he already had his shoes on, walked outside, looking briefly back at Solveig and Illarion sizing each other up and stealing kisses from each other before they nodded at him to go ahead.

He didn't have to wait for long, as Solveig and Illarion had both come out in their exosuits while Arne's own armour manifested over his body, encapsulating it in the familiar embrace of the ferrochitin he wore so often. It made him feel safe he admitted, as well as powerful. It felt good to be back in the armour, and it felt good to have his friends by his side as they approached behind him.

"Ready to get going Arne? Shouldn't take too long to find Ordna!" She said, smirking as she put the tablet away.

"Yeah, let's get go." Arne said with a nod.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
Arne weaved his way through the mass of people gathered in the halls as deftly as he threaded the needle of hailstorms of incoming fire time and time again. He was quick as always, carefully keeping close to his group while avoiding bumping into anyone as the nocturnal student and faculty body milled about. It almost reminded him of some of the bugs that dwelled on Sentus Primaris, swarming around in their hive patterns according to a logic he found endlessly fascinating.

He had his new helmet on, letting the V-shaped visor feed information into his suit, while the more knightly styled armour fitted comfortably over his body. More rounded looking spaulders fitted over his shoulders, straighter and smoother plating to give a more humanoid, heroic look than something so alien and insectoid, still the same overall colour scheme of course; with his purple varia visor staring out into the world and a darker blue colour scheme to his limb armour. People looked at him and nodded, it felt nice; especially to not be stared at quite so hard.

Taellarja waved over to him as soon as she caught sight of him, the Aelva quickly forming a sly smirk as she swung her legs a bit as she sat atop a large plant pot's rim. Her twin-tailed lustrous black hair hidden by the conical helm she wore, its eyepieces giving a somewhat menacing glare, the bifurcated mouthpiece calling to mind old medieval helms and the hand length blade-shaped horns on the side making her seem considerably more monstrous than she actually was. Lithe and limber and coloured primarily green with some yellow and black, her armour shifted like a living thing as she stood up and then flipped off of her vantage point.

He returned the smile and wave before she dropped onto her feet and made a quick "ta-da!" gesture as she made landfall. Solveig offered a clap while Illarion gave two thumbs up as Taellarja looked inordinately pleased with herself to an almost unbecoming degree based on the avatar she had chosen for the subtitles her suit was sending out for her speech to the others. But she soon slinked over to Arne, taking her time and not seeming to be in a rush as she approached with a catlike smirk on the recorded avatar for her subtitles.

"Whatcha up to at this hour?" She asked slyly, her expression almost smug in its surety that she commanded his attention and focus. He didn't mind this assumption, after all, it wasn't an inaccurate one, and he had to resist the urge to play with her hair as it waved slightly with her movements beneath her helmet as her communications avat showed. It was a tempting distraction from his current tasks, but a distraction all the same.

"I'm looking for Ordna, trying to see if she might have anything on Trace she might not be willing to speak about unless it's well...face to face." Arne said, getting a nod out of the Aelva as she stroked at her face and tapped her foot on the ground in contemplation. She nodded and then raised a finger in triumph as Arne could just about see the light bulb appearing over her head.

"Ah-hah! Ordna's been seen in the building, but she's a bit busy. On the other hand, though, I know a way to get her attention. One that should work every time." She said, proudly rubbing at her chest and giving a cocky grin that made Illarion raise an eyebrow. One could almost take a knife and just cut the scepticism that was radiating off of Illarion as he folded his arms.

"Every time huh?" He said before Taellarja nodded with a smile and almost instant affirmation from Solveig who almost seemed offended that Illarion would even be doubting at all.

"Six million and one per cent sure it'll work!" Solveig said with a thumbs-up as she walked ahead.

"That is...a lot of certainty wow. Okay if you're that confident." Arne said, tapping his chin briefly before nodding at her, stretching slightly and letting the tension in his arms melt a bit as he sensed something he couldn't quite place. Something that made him scratch a bit at the back of his neck and look behind him. He thought he saw a flash of pink for a moment, but it was gone before he could focus on it for too long. He quickened his pace noticeably, drawing his lips into a fine line as he kept close to his friends, just far away enough for him to move into position if needed.

Perhaps it was paranoia; perhaps he did feel something that was truly worth being concerned about. What he did know was that he felt like something was amiss, and it was likely going to keep bothering him for a while yet. He looked towards one of his friends...and being able to call them that did indeed feel nice...and made a small gesture.

"I think someone's watching us." He said quietly, low enough to be sure nobody could hear as the other three looked back at him; their helmets now already up to communicate with the data network around them continually; just as his own was. It was unnecessary, they were speaking through helmet transmissions, but he felt the urge to maintain secrecy all the same. His mind drifting somewhat as he huddled closer to them, moments stretching into eternities as he kept close and part of himself found it impossible to not drift into the past. A reminder of why he had to be on his guard with what he said.

Sentus Primaris, six months ago

The two were exploring a set of abandoned fortifications, the cold architecture offering little in the way of attempted warmth or familiarity. Spartan and utilitarian even by the strange aesthetic standards of the Alimbics as cyclopean reminders of duty no longer possible to fulfill gazed upon the people of the present.

The two of them had secured permission from Elmorni to poke into it, see what they could reclaim from the site. They'd already acquired a number of upgrades even. Yet Samus felt uneasy, looking at the light in the eyes of some of the statues shifting. "I think your dad is watching us." Samus said, making Arne look towards her with concern as he cradled his helmet in his free hand, sitting on a vantage point to look down a hallway while she played around with a terminal.

"Are you sure? He said the security systems here weren't under central control yet." Arne said, chewing on his lower lip slightly as she nodded, Elmorni making a complicated series of hand gestures nearby to access a sealed door. Elmorni being nearby made him feel safe, secure, and protected, but the idea of Zurvduat watching him only made him feel anxious.

"Arne." She said through the Comms in the hopes that Elmorni nor Zurvduat would be able to hear.

"Do you really believe that he hasn't gotten everything running by now?" She asked.

"I...I don't know...maybe?" He remembered saying before the world seemed to fade as he felt something worming into his mind. He could shut it out if he wanted, but the moment he felt the texture of the tendril worming into his thoughts his will to resist melted as the world began to stretch away from his vision until all was black.

"-Why do you waste time on small talk when your mission remains unfulfilled?-" The cold voice of Zurvduat made him feel chills as he just about choked at the feeling of being probed in such a way in this bleak mindspace. The grey form of Zurvduat hovered near him, wispy and nightmarish like some manner of wraith with a dreadful yellow eye staring at him judgingly.

"-Why are you letting her fill you with doubts, Primoris? You have a duty to the Order as a Squire. A duty you have yet to fulfil.-" He said with whispered menace that reverberated in his mind as he yelped and shirked away, hiding his face while the neckless head of the Alimbic got frightfully close to his face.

"W-we're just t...t-talking l-like how friends are supposed to...p-please we'll do the mission!" Arne choked, tears flowing down his eyes as his adoptive fath-

Zurvduat's apparition grew darker shades and the mindspace began to quake with anger while hellish screeching filled his mind's ears. "-YOU ARE NOT MY SON! HOW MANY TIMES MUST YOU LEARN THIS LESSON!? YOU ARE BOUND TO ME BY DUTY, NOT FAMILY!-" A sour thunder in Arne's thoughts made him wail as he hid away, blubbering out apologies.

"-STOP CRYING ALREADY! A KNIGHT HAS NO USE FOR TEARS-" He howled as he started to reach for him before he could feel someone tugging at him, a friendlier presence dragging him back to the light.

"Arne." Samus said before he opened his eyes and then looked at Samus who tilted her head in concern.

Present

"Arne." The voice was wrong, too soft and a bit too high pitched.

He blinked and saw Solveig instead, realising he had spaced out for a period of a few seconds.

"You okay?" She asked. He nodded and shook his head, helmet and all as if to shake off the evil spirits that had clouded his mind.

"Sorry, got lost in thought for a bit." He said, though the avatar expression that Solveig pinged him back with informed him immediately that she wasn't buying that. Though to be entirely honest, just the sensation of soft concern and fizzing doubt that his psychic senses were able to detect would have told him that.

"Traumatic flashback, wasn't it?" Illarion said as Arne felt the need to protest burn inside for a second. He wasn't weak...he didn't need...he bit his lower lip and just gave a small nod, a compromise. Not fully admitting it out loud, but not keeping that truth from them. He felt briefly ashamed at his inability to hide such information from them, but did his best to suppress it.

"Hey, we're all here for you if you need it." Taellarja said as she brought an arm around Arne and helped walk him towards the destination she had in mind. She took a second to look behind herself and squinted and moved a bit quicker as she felt a bit of unease herself.

"So what's all this about Trace anyway?" She asked, humming a bit as she looked to the other two surrounding Arne.

"Arne had a vision dream where Trace singled him out. Maaaaybe, he might have something to do with the feeling of being stalked around here? I mean, I'm not the biggest Kriken expert, but Trace is operating in this galaxy sooo maybe..." Solveig said, her voice almost immediately drowned out by Taellarja choking on her own spittle beneath her helmet as she looked to her friends in stammering disbelief. Solveig's horned helmeted head's darkly coloured visor glinted as she stopped, the flight mask like mouthguard hissing as she sucked in filtrated air while Illarion's crested conical helm clasped the wing like crests at its side a bit closer to his head in surprise.

The next few seconds were quiet enough for Arne to be overly aware of his own heartbeat, his next words coming out largely for the sake of breaking the sudden silence. "I have a feeling that this is supposed to be really, really bad." Arne said, chewing on his lower lip slightly as Taellarja's dialogue avatar looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

"Trace knows about you? Like...you personally?" She said in a whisper as if saying his name too loudly would get the attention of some manner of demon king.

"Well, I don't think he knows my name, but he acknowledged me personally when I strayed into his fatestrand in the Morphoscape." He said as Taellarja tugged at the horns on her helmet and let out a long, wheezing exhale.

"Oooookay we definitely need to get Ordna now then." She hissed.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
"You talk about Trace like he's an archdevil rather than a person." Arne said, clearly mystified about how a single Kriken could command this much fear. But then, he had stared down the Sun Stalker and Moon Hunter and triumphed, so it was hard to feel properly afraid of so many mundane terrors.

"He's just...a Kriken at the end of the day. This is far from Kriken territory, whatever he's planning well...we've got the skill and talent here to put a stop to whatever he's got planned. Just...have a bit of faith really." Arne said, pausing periodically as he tried to guess at what to say next to make sure the others were following. The lack of rapport he had, something that made his conversations with Samus flow so easily, was a bit of a stumbling bloc, his mind constantly worrying about misstepping.

"Arne...Arnie...Trace basically is an Archdevil. The Kriken Imperial Family is...infernally powerful. Like, personally. Like...progenitor warrior strong. And he's got entire armies and fleets under his personal command and he's got more war crimes to his name than he's got centimetres to his height!" She paused before realising what she said and added "Which...admittedly isn't saying much." She added, huffing a bit.

"Oh...yeah that is kind of problematic. Still, I think I can handle myself against him. Just like I'm sure Samus can handle Weavel." Arne said as Solveig stopped and raised her eyebrows in concern.

"She's going to try taking on one of Weavel's schemes...on her own?" She asked, utterly incredulous.

"Not on her own." Solveig at first seemed relieved. As if she hadn't gone off the deep end, holding onto the hope that maybe Samus wasn't completely out of her mind.

"I'll help her, as soon as we've got an opening." Solveig's relief shattered instantly as she shook her head rapidly and muttered "nonononono" even faster, the alarm written on her face making Arne's heart sink as Illarion also stopped to side-eye him, the flash of emoticons on his visor informing Arne he may have made a misstep somewhere.

"Arne, you and Samus are planning to take on Neutronium class war criminals...on your own? War Criminals with huge fleets and armies?" Illarion said, resting his hand on Arne's shoulder as he tilted his head at him, the last of Gyda's line making an embarrassed looking face beneath his helmet, feeling a rush of shame beneath his helmet after all this scrutiny.

"Arne, we're thirteen. Even if you're strong enough to beat them all on your own, how are you going to stop their soldiers from killing trillions? Quadrillions? Quintillions? We're talking armies that can lay waste to entire galaxies. Unless you can tear apart a huge chunk of the universe, you can't stop them from their plans. Not unless it all hinges around something a small group of people can fight over." Illarion said, trying his best to be the voice of reason as Arne slowly nodded and sighed.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" He asked, not wanting to just throw in the towel when there was clearly something he could do. "I can't not use the power I was given. There's got to be something especially important for Weavel and Trace to go so far from their usual operating areas. Something we can stop. I just...look I just have the premonitions. I know there's something I have to do." Arne said, shaking h is head and building his reservoirs of confidence and determination back up. He hardened his resolve, clenching his fists and straightening himself.

"Ordna knows people who can work on that sort of scale. We're talking like...the work of a very large number of Freelancers and Ultramilitants; standing armies and all that. But...you...you're here to be a kid, like us. You can't live your entire life on adventure, even if its fun! And Gods know it'd be really fun to just bounce from one place to the next, never putting down roots...going on quests, helping people in need, raiding dangerous places...but it's a very lonely life. And...and I think you deserve better than that." Solveig said, continually upping her voice every time Arne tried to get his own word in to let him know that she wasn't done talking until she finally nodded her head beneath her helmet and got a look of understanding out of Arne as he reached a hand out to the chin of her helmet and tilted her head upwards to him.

She smiled, her expression visible on his heads up display. "You've suffered enough Arne...can't you take a break at least a little? Throwing yourself so hard into your destiny without thinking about yourself isn't going to end well." She said, her voice soft and full of concern.

"I'm not afraid to die." Arne said.

"It's not that...it's that it's going to be a path of heartbreak and loneliness. You need love and happiness too." She said, Arne taking a look around at the others as Taellarja looked up; having sent a signal ping out to what Arne could only presume was Ordna as the four crossed into a high ceiling room, where airborne or arboreal individuals were busily traversing above them, others moving on walkways or on the ground level alongside them.

"Come on Arne, we didn't say you should do nothing, just...don't do it alone. There's people who can help. Always will be. You and Samus don't have to hold the only two torches in the universe." Taellarja said, putting her hands on her hip and pushing them a little forward, looking up at Arne as he backed a little away from Solveig and gave a small nod.

"Besides, what would be more fun, trying to take on the Inferno Pack and the Tracer Hussars on your own or with friends and a whole bunch of badasses?" Illarion said with a smile as Arne nodded, he did after all have a point that he could hardly just ignore.

Ordna, however, interrupted his thoughts, descending atop a perch that he had his attention away from for a few moments, electricity crackling around her form briefly as straightened her beaked head and scraped her hind claws atop the rock in the room's garden, her lightning-filled eyes humming before she dimmed the glow and stood herself onto her hind legs, her wings collapsing so neatly into the sides of her arms that he could hardly imagine how she could unfurl them again; looking like enormous tonfas projecting past her elbows with hints of feathery sails covered in her electric toned armour more than wings.

Arne swallowed a bit as Ordna reared herself up to a rather formidable height that reminded him that she was about the size of a Quetzalcoatlus, though humans and aelva really were on the rather shorter side of the many sapient species that lived across the universe. Rundas was nearly four meters tall when he properly stretched out his legs, the average Urtraghian space pirate was three and a half meters tall, even Trace for as much as they mocked him was taller than the human average by a considerable margin when he wasn't crouching.

Ordna though?

Ordna made him feel tiny in a way that tickled the animal part of his brain that wanted him to avoid staring back at anything that read like a predator and made him have to look up to meet them in the eye. He fought the instinct down in a hurry but the overall structure of Ordna as her long sinuous spaded tail curled over her head and then straightened back down made him feel a tinge of unpleasant memories. He was thankful for a moment that she only had a single head and primarily was bipedal, and added to that with thanks that her colouration was all wrong to be the five faces of his nightmares.

Yet being in her presence sparked something in him. Awe? She was a legendary warrior whom his mother considered to be a peer worthy of respect. It would only be natural then, for him to offer her his own deference, but without getting on his knees, out of a sensation that such would be construed by the Proud Omdynian as patronising and a sign of having been cowed out of his own sense of self-worth. He gulped and remained standing, standing straight and trying to make sure she couldn't perceive any faltering in his stance or his salutations to her as he offered her a traditional Grendakal salute and extended his hand.

"Hey there...I'm...the son of Gyda." He said clearing his throat and feeling some sweat roll down his forehead as she looked towards him dead on, snapping her beaked head away from the others and crouching somewhat to make it easier to speak to him, all without getting so close as to invade his personal space. He could just about feel the electricity around her, her presence like living storm clouds and her gaze akin to that of the thunder gods of ancient legend or modern religion. She clacked her beak a bit and let out a cawing sound, not one of displeasure, but excitement. She buzzed with delight and clasped her hands together.

"...Gyda and Erik's child? Alive?" She said, looking around and then gesturing to Arne to follow her to somewhere more private, crawling into a room with a number of impressive looking garden spaces whose door closed behind Arne's group as soon as they were through and she could readjust herself. She checked around to make sure nobody was here who shouldn't be, and then looked back at him, turning her head down towards him and letting out a small squawking sound before bringing herself onto all fours in a way that made Arne reflexively flinch backwards.

"So uh...I'm Arne...Eriksen." He said, the other three around him giving him nods of encouragement as she hummed in satisfaction.

"I have been waiting a long time to speak to you Arne. I thought I'd never get the chance...when I got word of what happened to your family I, assumed you were lost to us as well." Her voice broke slightly, the surprisingly high pitched tone buzzing and humming as if autotuned or filtered through an old radio. But the sadness in her tone disappeared quickly as she took another look at Arne, just happy to see that he was alive, healthy, and clad in such wondrous armour. She reached out a hand, asking permission to touch him, and was granted it, rubbing her claws against him and cooing briefly before turning to his new friends.

"You know how lucky you are to be able to know him, yes?" She said, getting a series of nods in response.

"Taellarja, why didn't you tell me he'd be coming here? I'd have had so much more prepared to show him." She said, almost disappointed in the Aelva who leaned against a tree and shrugged.

"I just thought maybe it'd be a bit more secure to let you find out yourself." She said, getting a trilling noise out of Ordna in response.

"So...I heard you might have something that would help us with a problem I've got with Trace and Weavel?" Arne said, the joy from Ordna's expression disappearing frightfully fast as those names were mentioned.

"Tell me everything you know." She said, her voice so cold one could just about imagine the icicles hanging off from her beak while she loomed near Arne, listening intently as he explained his conundrum to her. She remained still throughout the explanation, and when he finished she stood herself up to her full height and flicked her foreclaws up and down in a sign of acceptance. She had heard what she needed to hear.

"I will take a look as soon as I am able to, as for you Arne, I expect you and Samus to take the academic duties given to you seriously. When the time calls that I have something for you, I will give the call and we will hunt together. But keep in mind; you're here to learn to live amongst your own kind, and part of that is learning to let others help you. A knight such as you shouldn't stand on your own." She said, laying a hand on his back and kneeling towards him.

"Ordna...I'd just feel so...useless sitting around when there's things I can do with what I've been given. When I was given this armour...this blood, it was to help people...wasn't it?" He said as Ordna once again made the affirmation claw dip.

"You are, but I'm sure you've been told that you can't bear everyone's burdens on your own. You're still new to the world; let us show you how to navigate it. But don't think I don't want to fight alongside you soon." She said, humming in contentment as Arne sighed and nodded back at her.

"Yeah, Arne we've barely even shown you around. Just...have a little break some times you know? Besides, there's so much fun to be had here!" Solveig said, standing closer to Arne and offering her hand; a gesture he responded to by taking it and Illarion's hand when it was offered as well, feeling a bit flustered to be at the center of this much attention.

"Don't be afraid Arne, I know many who will be able to help make sure that your wait for action won't be long. Now...this...shapeshifter you see so often, that is something that is more your concern. Don't let them know you are aware of being followed. Not just yet." She said, taking another look around and then lowering her head close to him again.

"I was already planning on that. Just, trying to do something to get them into the open." Arne said with a sigh.

"Hrm. Maybe give us a few days, we should think of something to do that." Taellarja said with a grin.

"I'm glad we could come to this understanding. When the streams bring us together again, I hope to fly by your side, brave eagle. Until then, I will stay in touch with you whenever you ask." She said, giving a light peck to his helmeted head and then stretching out her wings to push herself off the ground, the crackle of lightning following her as her wing tips whipped towards the ground and then pushed her through the air.

"I won't forget." Arne said, looking back towards his trio of friends and managing a smile beneath his helmet.

"So where do you guys want to go?" He asked.

"Well, back to the dorm would be nice. I had stuff I wanted to show you." Solveig said, touching her fingers together.

"Same." Illarion added, with Taellarja also raising her hand.

"Oh well, I guess that settles it." Arne said, somewhat surprised at their responses to say the least, having expected to want to show him the night life around here.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
After a pleasant time, Arne checked his messages briefly and was pleased to see that as he expected, Samus had more messages for him. He responded to them as soon as he was able, humming as he tapped at the keyboard that the nanites generated and input his message. He felt a bit of unease and remained in an elevated state of caution, but he had fun, so he was somewhat relaxed at least. Enough so to remove his armour and return to wearing a simple pair of shorts and a shirt, tapping one foot to release some nervous energy while drinking something out of a bottle in one hand.

hatchingSentinel: arne! ive got some really big news!!! :D
novaKnight: Oh?
hatchingSentinel: i managed to get some leads on trace and weavel!
novaKnight: That's really fantastic news! Ordna says we should probably lay low for a bit first though...but uh. Yeah go on, I'm interested. :)
hatchingSentinel: what, just let the adults handle it for a bit? >:?
novaKnight: Yeah I know that's kind of...not our thing.
hatchingSentinel: oh you bet! most of them could get hurt or worse!!!! we can't just sit back and do nothing :mad:
novaKnight: Well, no we can't but aren't our lessons going to start soon?
hatchingSentinel: yeah i know but...we can make time right? Not all of the leads we pursue need to be on foot.
novaKnight: True I guess.
hatchingSentinel: well, what do you have for your first lessons?
novaKnight: History it seems. Should be interesting! You can tell a lot about a society by how they portray history.
hatchingSentinel: oooooooh. same here!!! i'm just hoping that they don't say too many inaccurate things. its going to be really hard to resist the urge to correct them if they do.
novaKnight: Haha! Yeah, I hope your classes are ready for you.
hatchingSentinel: there's also squad fighting too. Hrm, think our drills with our mechanoids or the other kids on Arganti would be useful here? So used to fighting either on my own or well...just with you!
novaKnight: I mean...we built our mechanoid companions like Qaeystra or Ivar.
hatchingSentinel: trueeee but a mechanoid you built to have tea parties with you isn't the same as fighting alongside people who were well...born and have a personality you don't set!
hatchingSentinel: or well, people who don't know as much about the progenitors as we do in general are going to be...weird and hard to deal with.
hatchingSentinel: i just hrm...i'm just wondering if this really is the right place for me? structured schedules and lessons...i've been so used to learning things at my pace.
hatchingSentinel: having to slow down for my teacher sounds hard.
novaKnight: Yeah. Neither of us are really well, familiar with conventional education. Especially just being one in a class and not the single prodigy.
hatchingSentinel: yeah, and well, i guess we're here to learn how to deal with other people and all???
novaKnight: Correct. I think we can handle it...maybe. People here seem nice at least.
hatchingSentinel: don't you mean are nice?
novaKnight: I...yeah I don't think anyone's faking it but I still fear sometimes that well...not everyone's being sincere you know?
novaKnight: Everyone is so nice to me even though I haven't done anything to earn it. Can it be real?
novaKnight: I'm probably just being paranoid honestly. But I just, I'm not sure you know?
novaKnight: I'm not like you, dedicated, caring, energetic, and devoted...you make everything look so effortless and fun. I just, feel like sometimes...what have I actually done to earn your love? Share a tragic backstory with you? Be relatable?
hatchingSentinel: Arne.
novaKnight: Yes Samus?
hatchingSentinel: you deserve friends, being happy and loved! don't let your...former caretaker get in your head. that's what he wants you to think, that you're worthless and don't deserve to be happy!!!
hatchingSentinel: i love you because you're sweet, because you care so much and are willing to go so far to help people. because you've been nothing but understanding with me and i can trust you so much. i can tell you things i just...can't share with anyone else. and you can share me things nobody else will understand. it's just...how many other people in the universe can either of us really relate to?
novaKnight: I...yeah.
novaKnight: You've been nothing but the best to me and I'm happy to have met you. Sorry for the mood swing Samus.
hatchingSentinel: arne, you have nothing to apologise for!!
novaKnight: Alright. :)
hatchingSentinel: :)
novaKnight: I'm really uh, looking forward to our next holodate. Heh...
hatchingSentinenl: what's so funny :?
novaKnight: It's just that well, this is so...mundane and domestic. Setting up a long-distance relationship date and talking about classes and friends we've made.
hatchingSentinel: heeheee! :D
hatchingSentinel: yeah it is very...normal teenage couple stuff huh???
hatchingSentinel: oh right, the stuff about trace and weavel! duh, can't not finish that.
novaKnight: Hrm?
hatchingSentinel: i looked at some more of weavel's drones and i think trace and weavel are planning some sort of exchange facilitated by a third party.
hatchingSentinel: it's over progenitor relics, they need access to something big enough to get the kriken empire and the confederacy to call at least a local truce.
novaKnight: They're going to stab each other in the back as soon as they have access I'd imagine.
hatchingSentinel: ian's told me that we'd call that sort of thing a "sucker's bet".
novaKnight: I don't see what this has to do with suction.
hatchingSentinel: something about being easy to mislead?? like a baby still sucking their bottle.
novaKnight: Ooooh that makes more sense.
novaKnight: Any idea of where it might take place?
hatchingSentinel: not sure, but they probably know that they need some sort of biometric access to progenitor relics.
novaKnight: ...
hatchingSentinel: which i know, means we're direct targets. so stay safe arne.
novaKnight: I will.
novaKnight: Hold on...I don't think I'm alone in the room.

Arne paused as he felt something nearby, air being displaced, something making a move in the causeways of destiny. Possibilities fraying around him as he slowly backed away from the terminal and felt it more than heard it. Air being displaced. A silenced teleport. A sudden elevated sense of danger. A laser already fired just before the tip of the cannon could touch his head.

He ducked out of the way, avoiding the point-blank shot of the stun beam and grabbing at the arm gun of the invisible kidnapper. Hissing and crackling like a combination of rattlesnake and cricket filled his ears as the agent brought a shock gauntlet and jabbed it towards the boy, who sidestepped and smashed the other arm down with an elbow, skin smashing into shielding and making the invisible, once again silenced agent reel. Arne could feel the anti-contact electric charge preparing, not just through his precognition but also through his fingers and his augmented senses. While letting go would spare him the shock, it would give the agent free range of motion.

He gritted his teeth and powered his way through a shock that would have reduced a herd of elephants to ash and plasma, feeling the jolt of pain while ozone filled his nostrils but using the diversion of energy to grab the figure's cannon and smash it into their face, overpowering augmented muscle and power suit mechanics to throw it back, panting slightly and shaking his hand before he conjured up his paralyzer pistol with a thought and shot once at full charge, an ovoid bolt of neutral plasma arresting their energy and allowing Arne to slam them in the chest twice more with his fists; air slightly burning to get out of the way of his fists. He grabbed them and slammed them into the ground, striking them repeatedly in the face until he felt its shields splintering beneath thunderous impacts.

The agent fired off a sizzling blade that he recognised as a matter disruption field that would cut to the subatomic level. He sidestepped the first slash, waited for the displacement of air to inform him they had moved silently to his left and the ducked below their swing. They teleported again behind him, lining up another shot that he dodged with a flip to the side before firing off his next paralyzer shot, the agent managing to deflect it with a parry that prompted Skjoldr to sidestep, jumping back when they teleported again in an effort to cut off his legs at the knee with the blade. His toughened flesh and skin would offer great resistance to the sword, but it'd hurt.

Firing off a shot and wishing that he had more than one stored charged shot at a time on the pistol as the enemy deflected the shot again and forced him out of the way of the deflected bolt, he came to a realisation. If nobody else had been awakened by this point they had to have put something to prevent them from being aware of it.

"You put a silencer field around the room." He said firing off the energy blade mode to his pistol to block their next slash, a twisting strike meant to get at one of his shoulders. He skidded down the blade in the lock and brought his foot down onto the agent's thigh, knowing from sensation that something broke. The two traded a series of exchanges and parries, the agent clearly having had extensive training and experience in fencing and dueling; making usage of what Arne deemed to be a style best suited to rapiers. Very thrust focused, emphasis on the nimbleness of the blade work.

Arne's shirt was a bit loose and a slash dug through it, making him grunt with annoyance as his midriff was shown through the torn cloth. Tossing off his shirt and throwing it forward to provide a quick distraction, he backed up and jabbed the other in the midsection when they had approached to thrust into his gut, deflecting the stab with another movement. He pushed his annoyance to the back of his mind, he needed answers; so he couldn't kill them or overwhelm them to the point that they'd flee immediately. But he was getting tired of this as he pressed the agent towards a wall, his skill with the blade easily outmatching the agent's even with their invisibility and teleportation.

Arne brought up his armour's arm-sword in a flash of blue light after gaining some space by quickly extending the energy blade into a whip and then smashed right where he sensed the hilt of the other's blade, smashing it open and then pinning them to the wall with his next thrust, impaling them through the shoulder and then crumpling their cannon with a clenched hand before enwrapping them with the whip and setting the paralysis field up to maximum. Well, now it was over and he could at last get some answers.

Their armour's stealth field shorted out and Arne could clearly see the burgundy and maroon armour of a Kriken hitman. Their relatively slender armour and tall frame dwarfing the boy, especially in his civilian outfit. Insectoid, with an uncomfortably alimbic esque neckless tear drop shaped floating head with a single cyclopean red eye with no other features on its helmet. Its body spindly and ending in a number of spiked limbs with equally spiked shoulders and knees. They had been rendered unconscious by the paralysis whip's entanglement, and he took a look at the hilt of their blade.

"Kriken deathshiv." He said, mostly to himself as the silencer field came to an end and Solveig, this time hoping to get him on his own, crept into the room with a grin on her face before stopping and looking at the Kriken on the wall and yelping.

Arne looked back at her, the broken sword in his hand as he shrugged. "Oh uh...this guy tried to kidnap me." He said casually, trying to play it off as if this wasn't a complete violation of the entirety of Solveig's idea of safety and security while she rushed towards him, not even caring that he was shirtless as she pawed at him, examing every bit of him in a frenzy to make sure he was okay.

"Arne...you tried to fight a hitman on your own?!" She said with alarm clearly present in her voice.

"I could have won sooner but I wanted them alive for capture and well...silenced invisibility, needed to figure out their capabilities without tipping them off by using a different visor mode that could have seen them." He said, combat was his element. The violation of the idea of safety like this was almost...mundane to him, but he could see that she was on the verge of panicking. This wasn't something that was supposed to happen.

"I'm okay though...I'll look around for any way they could have gott-" He started.

"NO! ARNE NO! STOP! THIS ISN'T....TRAINING TIME THIS IS SERIOUS! SOMEBODY TRIED TO BLACKSHIP YOU AND YOU CAN'T JUST...ACT LIKE THIS IS NORMAL!?!! ARNE PLEASE JUST....Please, you could have been hurt and...Gods of the Clan please don't put yourself in harm's way like that." She said, hugging him close and burying her face in his chest where he realised she was mostly in just a shirt and underwear and flushed a bit.

"I...what do you want me to do?" He asked, looking at the Kriken as they twitched from the energy being fed into it by his pistol.

"I'll get the security team with a Rune." She said, making a few incantations and gestures to create a runic energy letter in the air and blowing it out of the room to reach the school's security personnel, who came running in almost immediate, teleporting where they had to in order to shave down their response time while Arne extracted his sword from the Kriken and let them collect it.

"I'll need some answers at least though. Just...why would they attack me here and now." He said as the Kriken was quickly put in stasis by the synths, one of whom presented him his pistol and nodded.

"Not to worry, we will send you relevant interrogation details as they arise. For the time being though, you will require a security detail." The mechanoid said, getting a glare from Arne.

"A security detail...I can handle mys-" He started before the mechanoid raised a digit.

"Arne Skjoldr, regardless of your combat capability you are thirteen years old. Your priority should be your maturation, not finding battle. Should we require your assistance, we will ask for you. But for now, please try to find safety in the Magnus academy while we attempt to pinpoint the source of this security breach." The Mechanoid said as Arne swallowed his reply and nodded.

"I'm sure they'll call you up...don't worry." Solveig said as she smiled and backed away, slowing her breaths while some of the Mechanoids stayed behind and she looked back at them through her AR glasses.

"Do you require momentary privacy?" One asked.

"Uhhh...we'll be fine." She said.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
Consolidated Logbook Entries

Individuals: Royalty: Male: Kriken: Arkatika: Trace

One of the Archprinces of the Imperial State of Arkatik and a son to Emperor Mould and Empress Muse, Trace is considerably far down in the line of succession and has little chance of ascending to the throne himself. However, he makes up for his distance in the succession from Crown Archprince Skulpt with sheer viciousness, mean-spirited cruelty and blazing ambition. Trace is, like all members of the Zakaza dynasty, is equipped with extremely advanced technology derivative of the Alimbics whom the Krikens consider themselves the sole proper inheritors of. As a true purebred member of the dynasty, Trace carries a genemarker of unknown origins allowing him to make use of Alimbic and Progenitor technology and makes him into a rare breed of warrior above and beyond the majority of even his household. Despite his young age, Trace is already considered a universally renown war criminal responsible for galactic scale cleansings and numerous genocides and massacres. Trace's personal Imperial Army is known as the Ymakazin Ilagzi, the Red Shroud of Death, and is one of the most infamous military forces in the entirety of the known universe.

Samus' Notes: He's a cruel, horrid little monster of a boy and I don't think I have enough foul words memorised to properly describe how he makes me feel. I'm hoping that when the time comes we can either make him reconsider his life, or at least bring it to an end.

Arne's Notes: The worst sort of spoiled brat never told no throughout his entire life, a monster without functioning empathy for most of the rest of the living beings in existence. There's nothing in there but cold malice, and I'm afraid to have to face that.


Individuals: Heads of State: Royalty: Kriken: Emperor Mould

Emperor Mould is one of the most widely and intensely feared beings in the entire known universe. Head of the house of Zakaza, Mould stands at the apex of the hierarchy of Kriken society and has been the reigning Emperor of the Imperial State for the past thirteen and a half thousand Earth years; an immense achievement when until his ascension the average reigning period of an Arkatiki Emperor was less than fifteen years due to the continual assassinations and power plays within the imperial court. Mould has innumerable offspring, most of whom have not survived as long as he has. Many having been killed by Mould himself for failing to live up to his standards. Mould is known for being highly manipulative, ensuring none can overthrow him by keeping all possible claimants constantly locking horns with each other and unable to focus on himself, which has proven to be one of his greatest assets in his quest to ensure that his reign is perpetual. His paranoia is also well known amongst the political spheres of the universe, and few are able to get a physical audience with the Emperor without being carefully screened first.

Samus' Notes: Nobody should be given a crown just for a bloodline. And Mould's cruelty seems to confirm why. He's one of the longest lasting and cruelest tyrants in the universe and he has no claim to it besides his ancestry. The average Kriken lives in misery under him, and all he has to his name is butchery.

Arne's Notes: That the crowned heads of ancient empires are cruel and despotic isn't any surprise. The main surprise is that Mould has endured for so long despite all his cruelty and all the enemies he's made. I can only guess he has more than enough personal combat power to throw off any number of assassins.


Enemies: Sophontic: Organic: Power Armour Equipped: Kriken: Royal Hitman

Royal Hitmen are assassins and kidnappers in service to the Zakazan dynasty; sent out to deal with individuals that the Dynasty has particular ire for. Royal Hitmen are equipped with silencing fields, cloaking devices, variable weapon arm cannons, stasis generators, and disruptor blades all meant to ensure either a quick kill or a clean capture. Royal Hitmen are expected to remain silent and calm at all times, to never give any indication of why they are at their location, who sent them, or even whether the target is slated for death or capture. All to ensure operational secrecy and to prevent their handlers from being targeted for retaliation should a Hitman fail. Hitmen are also extensively augmented beneath their special purpose combat suits to allow them to preform feats far beyond any conventional Kriken soldier, allowing them to have a relatively high chance of dealing with their target with little in the way of backup and should they be discovered before they can fulfill their duty; fight their way to success. A broad array of failsafes are placed on Hitmen to ensure that even if captured, they will not be able to divulge any information they might have on them.

Samus' Notes: How did they get through all the security in the Magnus academy? Even for elite commandos that should be an impossible feat. This has to be some progenitor device allowing them to tunnel through the usual teleportation blocks.

Arne's Notes: A pretty decent fight for me unarmoured, but in my zero suit or my armour it should be pretty easy if this is what the Kriken assassin department has to offer. But I'm curious as to how they ascertained my location so quickly.


States: Monarchist: Superpowers: Imperial State of Arkatika

The Imperial State of Arkatika, better known as the Kriken Empire, is a monarchial state that emerged in the aftermath of the fall of the Alimbic Tetrarch Order. Once an associated and potentially related species of the Alimbics, the Krikens were left with control over a great swathe of former Alimbic Space following the Order's mysterious collapse and the even more shadowy extinction of the Alimbics in the space of a mere handful of years. With the Alimbics gone and most of their technology unusable and incomprehensible to the great majority of the universe, the Krikens simply parasite off of the infrastructure they could use to quickly crawl their way into a major power; spreading far beyond the Tetra galaxy of their origin. A fundamentally autocratic state, Arkatika is predicated on the inherent righteousness of the conquests of the Krikens, believing themselves to be the chosen species of a progenitor culture and therefore above all others. The State is also infamous for sending out the youth of its nobility to constantly find new worlds or prizes for the Empire's enormous military to conquer and absorb and stave off its internal issues a while longer with further growth, and as such is regarded as virtually a rogue state and a universal security risk.

Samus' Notes: One of the great blights on the universe, we're going to have to work hard to win the people who live within it freedom from those who rule over and enslave them. Hopefully soon, before their nobles plunge the cosmos into war.

Arne's Notes: I know that Section 9 has been trying to engender and support revolution within the Imperial State for centuries, but they've never been able to get more than supercluster level rebellions ongoing. We'd need to deal with the leadership to topple the whole thing, I think.


Individuals: Freelancers: Female: Darchida: Omdyni: Ordna

Ordna is regarded as one of the peaks of the Freelancer profession; a consummate fighter, explorer, troubleshooter, commando, and hero whose accolades are as numerous as they are awe-inspiring. Well known for her ability to control and produce electricity in excess of what is typical for her species and her tremendous speed and physical prowess, Ordna further enhances these with a host of customised battlesuits continually being upgraded and modified to fit her ever shifting standards. These abilities have combined with her sense of honour, duty, and responsibility to make her one of the most trusted, adored, and valued freelancers to have ever operated in Omdyn space in the millennia of the Omdyn's operations. While originally born on the world of Zalimi, Ordna has ranged far from her home world and galaxy and has engaged in nearly constant missions across much of the universe, going from galaxy to galaxy or planet to planet and rarely staying in one place for long. Perhaps the only frequent exception being her habit of returning to the Magnus academy where she had honed her abilities originally and made much of the friends she holds now.

Samus' Notes: She's got an amazing career! c: I'm hoping I can get to know her as soon as possible, it says here in her record that she's even on good terms with Rundas.

Arne's Notes: Absolutely astounding in her feats and capabilities, an icon to measure up to and an example for me to set myself by. I can only hope to match or surpass her story.


Cultures: Omdyni: Uskarling

The Uskarling Culture is regarded as one of the most martial yet practical in the cosmos; originally founded by the Uskarling Nation of the Zekunso Species on the homeworld of Agradhof and known for its requirement that all members put in socially necessary labour in exchange for much greater amounts of free time after the burdens of society were fairly shared with all citizens. This included defense and warmaking, leading to every single member of the culture being raised to fight both individually and as units throughout their lives; with regular drills being expected of most members and any member of the culture who has disabilities that would prevent them from fighting at optimal capability being required to receive treatment without charge. While not making a habit of using child soldiers, when Uskarling settlements are attacked and the adults and synths have failed to keep the attacker at bay; all remaining citizens over a certain age are required to mobilise, don levy armour and weapons, and form into units for one last line of defense to either repel the foe or allow some to escape; with the age line being all Uskarlings over the age of ten for humans. When war is declared, all citizens of adulthood who are not needed elsewhere are made to form into units and prepare for mustering orders according to the elected officer corps commands, and civilian craft are submitted for conversion to military purposes where practical while proper military vessels are mobilised or unmothballed. As the Uskarlings accept any who can share the burdens, will uphold the traditions of the Uskarlings and their chosen clan, and follow the standards of honour in return for the rewards regardless of creed or species; most Uskarlings are not Zekunso, and the Union of the Clans of Agradhofa that is the home state of the Uskarlings is one of the most diverse members of the Omdyn. More than half of the Omdyn human population is Uskarling in fact; the largest in the universe outside of the United Nations of Sol.

Samus' Notes: It's a very interesting society from what Arne has shown me of it. I just love the attitude towards the sharing of the burdens of society that they have. It seems so equitable, but I'm worried about their demand that everyone in society needs to be ready for battle at all times. It seems like such a harsh demand.

Arne's Notes: The Uskarlings have endured for tens of thousands of years and shall endure for tens of thousands of years more. Harder than the Herskald we wear as armour, older than the mountains of home, stronger than the sword of Oldoxyr the World Cleaver. We are warriors, explorers, poets, thinkers, revolutionaries, and artists.


Consolidated Headlines and Article Excerpts

Local Level News: Private: Internal Magnus Academy Bulletin: Clan Grendakal representatives hopes to initiate Arne Skjoldr


After discovering the survival of the sole son of Gyda and Erik Skjoldr, the Clan Speakers of Grendakal at the Magnus Academy have agreed on a motion to put Arne; or Vadzidylk to use the warrior name given to him by the clan seer who oversaw his birth; through some of the trials that he has missed in his time away from the embrace of his clan, should he wish to formally join his clan now that he is old enough to be considered ready for battle in Uskarling culture. While it is unclear to the exact degree that he has been augmented, it is expected that he will easily pass the trials based on what evidence exists of his combat capabilities. An event that the seer who had originally given him his warrior name and accompanied his mother during her birthing of the young Skjoldr looks forward to overseeing to ensure that he walks the path with the same honour and dignity that his mother did.

Samus' Notes: Aww, I hope he does well in his initiations. c:

Arne's Notes: Oh...well...I hope I'm ready, I think I'm ready at least.


International News: Engenoid: Republican Triumph: Rantik Mechanical Swarm entering Styrmandin Galaxy

The Rantik Mechanical Swarm, classified as a category-A aggressive hegemonic swarm known for forcibly uploading of cyberizing other life forms and intelligences it encounters has started to enter the Styrmandin Galaxy, putting forces there on high alert in the hopes of driving the swarm back out of the galaxy. Active for over what is estimated to be roughly three billion years based on its first recorded mention in Chozo histories, the Rantik has been diminished from its prior glory days by the progenitors, but has managed to find ways to survive and plague the universe time and time again despite numerous efforts to eradicate them. With much of the attention of the Engenoid Union focused on the Rantik, many are questioning as to whether the embattled Union can deal with Kriken, Ivasti, or Space Pirate interests Styrmandin galaxy that are already taking advantage of the redeployment of forces to deal with the Rantik. The Alliance of Democratic Star Nations has offered its support to their Engenoid allies in these trying times as well in the hopes of propping their comrades up against the Swarm and the opportunists.

Samus' Notes: Well, that is something roughly three billion light-years away, but this was marked in Trace's files of interest. Which means that he regards this as important, which means I have to as well.

Arne's Notes: I feel somewhat drawn to the swarm, maybe I'm supposed to put a stop to it? There's a lot about the duties of the inheritors and ultimas that I'm not very familiar with.


International News: Omdyni: People's Investigation: Kriken activity in Black-Eye galaxy intensifies

The Arkitan Imperial State has in recent days massively increased the flow of its special forces into the black eye galaxy in the search for what might be progenitor relics based on unconfirmed reports by investigators who have managed to break the veil of Kriken secrecy. While this cannot be verified at the moment, it has lead to a major mobilisation order for reservists in the Black Eye Galaxy who are preparing to repel the Kriken incursion force pressing into their space. Already significant skirmishing has begun between the military forces of the Imperial State and thE Omdyn, with attempts to raise protest against the Imperial government falling on deaf ears and the threat of intensifying containment efforts against the Krikens being raised; though as the state of war between the Imperial State and the Omdyn has never ceased since first contact; there is little expectation of any diplomatic solution. Galactic Battlefleet Commander Fiercer than Most has promised a significant retaliation if the Krikens do not withdraw.

Samus' Notes: Oh no! All-out war between major powers at this point in history would do nothing but slaughter multitudes. I'm hoping if we put a stop to Trace's plan mass death can be avoided.

Arne's Notes: A massive amount of life is at stake, but I don't think anything short of stopping Trace from getting what he wants and embarrassing him is going to get him to stop.


National News: Omdyni: Tribune of the Populace: New Omdyn Premier elected to helm Supreme Council

Following the recent general elections across the Omdyn, the Supreme Council has a new Premier in the form of the Synthetic Conscious Mind-Spider known as Andarastim Stylxikt of the member Republic of the Xakil Democratic Council Omnipragmatist Republic, replacing the incumbent Haestomol Vagrami. Representing a movement that seeks to more aggressively respond to threats by external powers while also maximising technological development and the bolstering of the quality of life throughout the Omdyn to allow for outlying spaces to enjoy the same quality of life as the core regions while still improving the core; Andarastim's central executive council is formed with an overwhelming mandate and the approval of the general populace. While her term is to start immediately, she is expected to face her first test in the form of yet another flare-up in conflicts with the Imperial state of Arkatik.

Samus' Notes: I'm always concerned when a more war-hungry leadership is chosen by the populace, but from what I understand the ODCOR is nothing if not eminently democratic. We'll see how she performs soon, I'm hoping my fears are unrealised.

Arne's Notes: She seems to be someone my father held in tremendous regard in particular, while my mother was somewhat cooler in her opinion of her. I'll need to monitor them closely to gauge the shifts they'll bring about.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
Holochamber, Prodigal Program, Zellemite City, Planet Gyldaine, Suramil System, Andromeda Galaxy, Popular Republican Union of Esdemir, Galactic Federation: 16th of September, 50,013.

The first day of class dawned on Samus rather literally as she was busy finishing up a conversation with Arne, separated from him by the gulf of millions of lightyears but joined by holographic conversation. "Arne...why didn't you activate your armour immediately?!" Samus said, worry fraught at her voice at the revelation he had just dropped after they had been relaxing together, likely waiting for her mood to be at its apex before dropping the bombshell that he had just been through a possible assassination attempt and confirming the fears her distant sight gave her.

"I don't know...I just thought...maybe I needed to show that I could handle myself without it. It was the heat of the moment..." Arne said, sheepishly looking away from her as red wroth started to seep into her worry and her face began to slowly change colour from anger. She grinded her teeth slightly and scowled as she looked towards him, hugging her knees to her chest and pulling him towards her direction, gently but letting him know full well that she wanted him to look her in the eyes.

"Arne...at least use your zero suit. You need that shielding...or at least something until you're able to do your own bioshields! You could have been mutilated or killed or...taken...just...Why did you do such a stupid thing!? You know better than to take those kinds of risks!" She said, flashing from anger to choking concern in a few heartbeats as her golden made, freed from its ponytail spilled behind her, waving around with her movements as she curled her fingernails into her palsm and hissed through her teeth.

"I was. I don't know! I just, I was so focused on the challenge I didn't consider better options. Maybe I was scared of tipping my hand further." He said, frowning and trying his best to meet her gaze even though it intimidated him, the way her blue eyes smouldered with worryborn anger. Despite the colour of their eyes, her anger was always the one that burned the brighter and the hotter than his cooler emotional state. He got vindictive and resentful, she had screaming rages that laid waste to everything in their path.

"Arne! Please...I know I'm not the best example to listen to but please! Spirits and Gods! Don't put yourself at risk to prove something. You shouldn't be getting yourself hurt or...or just...don't do that anymore. I can't stand knowing that I'm not there to keep you safe and I'm worrying so much! Now I have this to worry about? If I can help it Arne, you're not leaving that suit until this is over! Do you hear me!?" She said, noting Arne slowly slinking his gaze away from her before she harrumphed. "Arne! Look at me!" She said, raising her voice, reaching towards him and guiding him towards her as she stared intently into his eyes, sitting on the soles of her feet.

"I, I'm sorry. I know I can't promise it won't happen again, but. I'll try to be more careful from now on. I'm being locked out of the investigation so there's not really a whole lot I can do." He said, getting a more understanding nod out of her as she calmed down, exhaled sharply and relaxed, letting her head lay atop his shoulder and then letting loose with a long exhale as she started ahead at the beach they had conjured up with the holochamber, seeing the waves lap upon the shoreline in a rhythmic beat to a dawning sun.

She looked at him through the hololink, hands locked with him in a slow dance after a night of revelry; to celebrate their last night of having the day free to themselves. She pulled slowly from him, giving him some space and resting her forehead on his own, giving a small smile as the two shared a brief but warm kiss.

"I'm glad you're still alright, after everything that happened..." She said with a gentle voice as he laid a hard-light replicated hand on her chest to feel her heartbeat while she had an arm around his neck in return, leaning slightly back with him in tow.

"I'd be disappointed in myself if I got hurt fighting a Hitman." He laughed, trying to brush it off as if it was nothing. She had yelled at him before for taking such a cavalier attitude towards his own safety, it was one of their primary points of friction. Probably would be for some time. But it was anger rooted primarily in concern for him, even if he felt she was something of a pot calling the kettle black. But right now, she brooked no such feelings of anger towards him, they were here and that was what mattered.

He felt her hand stroking his cheek and flushed a bit, holding her a little tighter for a while longer. Almost as if he was willing the clock to go slower. In a way, they were, allowing their perception of time to dilate into their combat reflexes, extending precious moments out so much longer. They stood there, silently keeping each other close. After everything else they did that night, just a moment to hug was more than enough for their needs.

"You shouldn't be disappointed in yourself period. You should learn to have some more pride, like me. Because you're so much better than what Zurvduat thinks you are." She said to him, humming those words, almost singing them really. Gooey, teenage love soliloquy as could be expected from a romance of two adolescents.

"Well, if I can follow your example...yeah I think I can manage that. Thanks for everything, golden girl." He said, lips curling into a smile at the end of that sentence.

"You're very welcome, blueberry." She said with a coy smirk on her face as she let out a little giggle, the laugh soon spreading to the other and resulting in a moment of jovialty.

"And Arne, sorry for yelling..." She said, smiling as he nodded in return.

"It's alright. I know it's because you care." He said, blushing as she gave him one of her traditional thumbs ups as he stood up.

"See you soon, alright?" Arne asked, getting a nod out of Samus as his image faded and the holoroom returned to normal; leaving her alone and with a gentle smile on her face as she stood up and after a quick moment to clean herself in the shower, went to fetch her outfit for today. She dressed mostly according to her own sense of aesthetics, finding an orange shirt, blue trousers, a green vest, and red boots before tying her hair into a ponytail. She checked her teeth and nodded approvingly at their cleanliness and had a moment to look at her nails before she gave a thumbs up to herself.

"I can do this!" She said with a wide grin on her face as Ian knocked on the door and poked his blue haired head in, lowering his sunglasses to make eye contact with her and making a "come hither" gesture, his own body in a blue blazer, white shirt, black trousers, and grey shoes. She didn't take long to follow him, smiling at the sight of him and stepping close to him as the two sized each other up.

"Ready for your first day?" He said with his characteristic easy smirk.

"Absolutely!" She said.

"Great, come on." He said, joining up with the rest of the group as they made their way towards the lecture hall for their homeroom initiation. She took a quick look around once in side, noting the contours of the somewhat polygonal room widening towards the Teacher's space at the very end of it. She examined the other seats, where she found that some of the other students had already arrived. A blond boy with startling blue eyes and an interesting accent someone from the past may have compared to some halfway house between Corsican and Parisian regaled some fellow classmates with tales of bravery, his bold looking slightly messy medium length hair radiant in the light while his white and blue outfit hugged a respectful distance to his frame.

"And that is how I came to learn that the ideal method of dealing with war wasps is a good detonation." He said, speaking to a slender blue haired girl with psi symbols on her collar indicating that she spent much of her time learning the psychic science that Samus felt a pang of remorse for not being allowed to start on yet. Why did she have to wait until she was fifteen to begin? It was hardly fair.

"Were you hurt at all?" One of the other students asked. A rather slender looking human asked. Their own golden hair cut in an androgynous way atop their synthflesh head, blue eyes almost luminescent and yellow-orange outfit eye catching a way that pleased Samus.

"Cere, I was raised by the Ylla. Of course I know what I'm doi-" He never finished that before Samus just about ambushed him, leaping into his personal space and almost causing him to fall over from his chair, stumbling as precognitive reflexes kicked into overdrive and sent him kicking out of the chair, catching himself on a hand before pushing himself onto his feet while Ian tightened his lips and stared.

"Bravo there Sevrin. Gonna break dance or are you done showing off?" Kreat said with a snigger to himself while Sevrin adjusted his stance and pushed himself back up, dusting his shirt off and shaking his head while doing his best to maintain his cool, grumbling about Kreatz always finding something to needle him about before he paused and looked at Samus and blushed slightly upon realising the magnitude of the face that he was looking into, and that she was offering an enthusiastic wave at that.

"Ah...you are..." He said, trying to fumble around with his words while Samus' smile only grew wider and wider.

"Inheritor! I'm Samus!" She said, offering him a hug that he was one of the first people to not complain about her being overly enthusiastic about giving, his musculature holding her back plenty enough while he offered a surprised smile before returning the gesture. They parted shortly as he looked down at her, turning his head a bit and then nodding in approval.

"Sevrin Edgar Agard." He said with a rather chivalrous tone to his voice followed by a slight bow.

"Oh...are you with the Federation?" She asked.

"Ah no, just an exchange student from the Engenoids. Trying to keep the peace and all. I was assigned with this group. Very funny people that lot." He said with a chuckle while the blue haired girl offered a middle digit gesture to him that he rolled his eyes at while Samus tried to decipher the meaning of the ancient mono-finger salute. All while the rest of his own group had also paused to look at Samus' cluster of friends.

"So you're Ian's new friend huh?" The blue-haired girl said after lowering her hand, Samus quickly catching eye of her familial resemblance to Ian, the slavic girl's expression making a pleased looking smile as she rested her hand on her cheek, mid-length and well groomed hair catching Samus' eyes almost as much as her eyes did.

"Lydia..." Ian said with a sharp exhale.

"Relax Ian. I'm not going to embarrass you in front of her. Yet anyway. Samus right? I'm his twin sister." She said, gesturing to Ian and getting a look from Samus behind herself while Yramil offered a wave that Lydia returned with barely any hesitation at all, followed by a shared wink between the two.

"Luna, at least say hi." Lydia said, as Luna offered a small, shy wave to greet everyone else before retreating back to the screen in front of themselves. They looked a bit at the data and then snuck another look at Samus.

"Where's the rest of the gang?" Montauk asked.

"They'll be around...soon." Lydia said.
 

Princet Valiant

Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
Pronouns
Fae/Faer
"What do you mean "around?" Uldrasi asked, a blink of their optics registering to Sevrin's gaze as he shrugged.

"They're not that far away, just have a bit of patience. Come on. I'm sure they're just with well; the rest of the crowd; why come in early?" Lydia said, shrugging to herself as Ian passed her a note that Samus couldn't see or read, but she could feel a sense of raw, powerful unamusement radiating off of Lydia as she gave a hefty eyeroll and handed the note back to Ian with her own writings scrawled on it, getting a small laugh out of him.

"But I wanted to ask you." Uldrasi said, tapping her fingers on the desk and looking more intently at Sevrin while Luna leaned slightly further towards Sevrin to whisper something to him.

"But I was the one who said it." Lydia said, scowling.

"Yes but I don't want to hear it from you because I've already heard enough of you for an entire cycle." Uldrasi responded flatly, getting a series of howling laughs from the room that Samus wasn't quite sure why everyone found it so amusing.

"Come on, Ian, you gonna let her treat your sister like that?" Lydia said, looking to her twin brother who gave a shake of his head and tapped Uldrasi on the top of her head with the end of his stylus. "Thanks bro." She said, finger pistoling him and getting a mock death wail from him in return, clutching his heart dramatically and dropping down in a gesture that made even Samus start to giggle out loud.

"Come on Uldrasi, gotta be nice to my younger sister. Or else I'm going to have to play a tune on your chassis." Ian said with a devilish smirk forming on his face as Lydia's gaze hardened towards him and she muttered some rather...impolite words to him that fished out a grin from him. "Hey, come on, I was born a few minutes ahead of you I'm the older brother here." He said, stretching back and laying his hands on the back of his head and looking very confident in himself.

"Ian, we are twins. There is no older, there is no younger." She said, a thin, devilish smirk forming on her face.

"Isn't Ian technically correct though?" Samus added, looking back at them with a curious expression, slowly tilting her head as Lydia let out a small laugh and Sevrin gave a nod of understanding, pointing towards her to single her out as having a point that he agreed with. Ian smiled and shrugged while Montauk peeked over his dataslate and let out a prolonged sigh before getting back into it; Luna and Mitsuki sharing a few words with each other privately.

"Samus, babe. Gotta give me a few wins here and there. Can't compete with the progenitor warrior princess thing so come on, let me at least be Lydia's big brother." Ian said, the term of affection making Samus blush as she looked down at the desk and put her hands on her cheeks. The term "babe" felt so...cutesy and she wasn't really sure if she should be okay with that. Arne always went for sappier, more poetic terms of endearment, yet Ian was there going for the classics.

"Come on Ian not in class." Kreatz groaned with frustration, seemingly unpleased with his beset friend engaging in yet more flirtation.

"Hey, I've gotta get my game somewhere." Ian shrugged as he caught Mizuki turning her attention from Luna to Uldrasi as she did her best to avoid any attention or contact with Lydia.

"Why don't you like Lydia anyway Uldrasi? She's perfectly nice." Mizuki said, flipping some of her white hair behind herself and leaning slightly closer in as the mechanical girl folded her arms below her chest and huffed.

"She's absolutely awful. You'll see." Uldrasi growled, a frown coming from Samus as she tried to comprehend why Uldrasi's mood towards Ian's sister was so sour. Surely if she really was Ian's sister she couldn't possibly be that bad. They were raised together.

"Now Sevrin, please. Answer me." Uldrasi said, looking straight at Sevrin as he seemed to be glad for a moment that the conversation had drifted away from him until he was reeled right back into it and let out a sigh of defeat.

"They'll just be here soon." He said, his accent just a little thick as he laid his cheek on his hand. Clearly already trying to duck out of the possibility that maybe he was wrong as his eyes turned towards the screen, only for Samus to tap at his shoulder with wonder-filled eyes staring into him. He was appealing to the eye yes, but another Progenitor Inheritor was something that she had seen so very rarely; something she just had to get to know better.

"Eh...yes madame?" He asked.

"What was it like being raised by the Ylla?" She asked, cutting straight to the point as she leaned in almost far too close for his comfort as he cleared his throat and looked ahead. He tapped a bit at his desk as he gave it a bit of thought.

"Tongue tied?" Yramil said with a chortle, smirking as she eased herself into a position behind Samus and gave her hair a small flip, looking ahead and humming mostly to herself.

"No, hardly. I was just not expecting to meet you in the same class. That's all." He said, offering a faint smile before he took a look at the notes for the introduction and shrugged. "Hardly anything worth the time here it seems." He said, having expected something a bit more...meaty for his introduction to life outside of the rather closed circle of the remaining progenitors.

"Well, it's very much like the old stories about being raised by knightly orders I suppose. Very focused on righteousness and proper behaviour." He said, shrugging and reading through the curriculum of the homeroom a bit more and of course, finding nothing. "...Why am I looking through the homeroom syllab-nevermind." He murmured to himself as he met Samus' gaze more fully and stared into her eyes. She almost looked like they could be siblings even, but of course such was impossible. Both were only children.

"The Ylla are so focused on morality and being the holy light to cleanse the darkness and illuminate those who are blinded by it. Something they told me made them quite fond of the Luminoth. Though I've not really seen many of those people anyway. But well, I can hardly complain can I? After the Krikens took my homeworld; it wasn't likely for me to find anywhere else to go." He said, staring into the distance. All inheritors were those taken from homes devastated by attack from one of the younger races, so it was something she was coming to understand as a sad part of the cycle of crises that was gradually coming to consume the cosmos.

"Well, did you enjoy being there?" You asked as he nodded.

"They were quite fair honestly. Very kind, but firm. I had my purpose and I was expected to fulfill it. But what about you? I've heard quite a lot about the Chozo." He asked as she made a wide and happy grin on her face.

"Oh absolutely!" She said. "They're the most wonderful family I could have hoped for. I just wish they got to know my birth parents better...but I wouldn't trade getting to know them for anything." She said, radiant in her contentment with her lot in life. Especially now that she was starting to make so many more new friends. She almost forgot for a moment that she too was being caught in a web of crisis. The machinations of sinister forces all entwining together towards something truly horrid. Something that loomed over her perception of the conduits of destiny like the sword of Damocles, always threatening at the edge. He could sense it too, she could feel it.

"But...and please stop me if I'm prying. What do you know of the Archprince Trace?" She asked, keeping her voice quiet in case he might take offense to her mentioning part of the dynasty whose soldiers razed his own homeworld. And sure enough, he went cold and the hair on his neck stood on its ends while his expression drew into a pencil straight fine line.

"Trace is a monster, one of the very worst of his family. You're on his trail aren't you?" He asked, eyes turning towards her pointedly as she offered a nod of enthusiasm.

"Let me help you then." He said quietly before the others in his group arrived at the helm of a rather large body of students who sieved in through the doors in a wave of new bodies and thoughts, so many people of her own age just finding their seats all around her. It almost made her want to cover her ears as she caught a wave of differing emotions from the great teeming masses of people of so many species; but she managed to focus and block it out, releasing a sigh of relief as she straightened to attention in her seat.

The others who joined his group were easy enough to spot. A red and a blue-skinned figure; both rather human, the blue one male, the red one female; with tails swishing idly behind their backs and ears that swept up into a point before going downwards. The blue boy was tall and wore a well-cut green jacket over a purple shirt, grey trousers having distinctive white stripes going down the middle on the outer sides and ending in brown and orange sneakers. He ran his thin fingers through fluffy, neck length hair and brushed some of his white locks away from his eyes as he chewed on the ends of a stylus. The girl wore a black petticoat, a white shirt, faded green trousers, and grey boots, curling her tail around herself as she crossed her legs, adjusting some of her straightened black hair while burgundy eyes looked ahead.

With them was a small machine that walked around on spider-legs, about the height of a child with an upper body that seemed like an upside down spider with a quartet of crab like-eyestalks emerging from the top and the bottom to allow for all around vision; their yellowish body trivially flipping themselves over to get onto the seat and plugging in some tendrils inside, the green highlights on their chassis starting to glow while their blue optics stared ahead. Finally, the last member, a figure that resembled nothing less than a beetle that walked like a man with large, stag like mandibles, a prominent horn between her eyes, a carapace of purple and blue, and nearly thrice Samus' height, taller than even Montauk. Her green compound eyes and her slightly scintillating and somewhat greenish-grey clothing, including some impressive looking black boots all adding to a figure of someone with tremendous brute power and strength; her top having prominent epaulettes and hugging her four arms in just the right way to inform one of her power, while her wings stuck closer to her back as she walked around like a gorilla.

"This is Elnik, Raskae, Jesil, and Undormir." Sevrin said, gesturing towards them as the Blue boy, the red girl, the double spider-mech boy and the Engekon girl offered acknowledgements of their introductions in turn.

"So you are all from the Engenoid Republics?" Samus asked, getting a nod out of all of them in turn, save for Jesil who undulated his top digits in an s-shape while Undormir made a single, short flap with her wings and let the bioluminescent patches on her cheeks glow reddish as her antennae twitched to the left.

"Gods and Spirits I have so manyq questions for you." Samus said with an exhalation before the instructor at last walked; or rather crawled into the room. A radially symmetric starfish like being that walked on seven tendrilled limbs that stretched and contracted as they needed to walk, seven eye-stalks and seven tentacles with seven fingers emerging from the top side while their orange-purple body clad in fanciful looking blue-grey clothing strode into the centrepiece of the lecture room, rising to their full height of about twice that of a human before tapping once on a holographic screen that greeted them.

"Ah, hello. You all may call me Professor Glastigak. I see that...this is going to be quite the talented homeroom." They said, snail like eye-stalks fixating on the seventy or so students gathered inside; teaching assistants finding their own seats elsewhere.

"Obviously I'm not here to pass you all that much in the way of knowledge, but I'm hoping that we can still forge a great relation together, especially as many of you to my knowledge; are seeking to enter combat training of some sort or are even hoping to be Freelancers or Ultramilitia. Something that you'll find that I can give you quite a few tales about from my time as a Freelancer." He said, holographic images of his freelancing days in twisting, segmented power armour battling Sorgantim War-Spores briefly flashing over his desk. And already, Samus was transfixed, smiling widely while Sevrin simply raised an eyebrow.
 
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