[IC] Eternal Galaxy: Phoenix

[S121]

Planet Dua - Mirror Sea - Isle of Spirits
Manor of Eternity - Sanctuary of Light

John was a little confused about what Aurora meant about phoenixes and the galaxy, but he would ask about that later. Right now, he wanted his question answered, not have it avoided like it had been so many times before. If John needed to be specific, then he would be.

"Exactly.", John commented at what Reaper had said.

"How are you connected to this building's computer system? Where are the computer's access ports located? Which access port can I use to uplink with this building's computer?", John asked Aurora.





Crash Site - Nevaaras

Ethan saw numerous tiny red triangles appear along his visor, along his peripheral vision, but as he looked at the triangles, the creatures disappeared from sight. As Ethan continued to walk, he heard SimO speak about a service elevator up ahead, but that they would need to take the emergency ladder. It was a shame, especially since they had to climb up five floors, but Ethan came prepared. Within Ethan's suit was an anti-gravity module, and similarly to thruster jets, it allowed Ethan to fly and hover.

"Once we get there, I'll fly up the elevator shaft and scout ahead for everyone else, maybe secure the area. It's hard to fight back when you're trying to climb up a ladder.", Ethan said as he followed SimO.

[Koishi]

Isle of Spirits

---

"Considering the technology, there's a chance there may not be one, or, if so, not compatible, or degraded to a point due to time." The Reaper theorized.

---

Crash Site

---

"That is agreeable. My legs can also quickly traverse it." SimO said. It was hard to tell whether he was being truthful or sarcastic.

[Cucoo5]

Sanctuary

Aurora paused for a moment, the unstable flickering beginning to return again. "I....I AAAAAAAM not C-c-c-CON-NN-NN-NNN-NECTED to anything HERE. I AM energy Offfff tHe GaLaXy. I ExiST as the MEDIATOR of THE BaSIs of the Galaxy. The Energy that serves as the building blocks of this Galaxy are a part of me."

[SUSTIC]

Nevaaras - CY-001

Megumi looked at Morice as she uncovered her face. The flame over her eye had vanished as she looked at him cautiously. She was about to reach her hand out to him however something odd happened. She winced in pain as she grabbed her head. It was obvious she was experiencing some sort of pain, but what exactly is unknown. After the pain faded she looked back up at Morice, the same deadpan look from before came over her face as she looked around.

"... I'm not at the crash site..." She said to herself as she turned to Morice. "You... I saw you... where am I?" She said in a somewhat emotionless, yet somewhat innocently harsh tone...


Crash Site - Nevaaras

The remaining armored men remained cautious as they aimed their assault rifles around the room, keeping a close eye out for anything. They all followed SimO and Ethan.



Nevaaras Headquarters - Nevaaras

Meanwhile back at the HQ of the Nevaaras Colony 001 or "CY-001" The Captain of the squad of soldiers had gone up to Miranda's office. She was awake finally, but still a little out of it. Miranda was a bit... off. Her face was a bright red, and she looked like she was drunk however it is just the side-effects of the "Knock Out Drug" the Squad Captain had injected her with.

She looked at the Squad Captain with a stupid drunk look on her face and she spoke.

"What's up... buddy...? Do you know what time it... is? I need to go file a report for the... for the... oh... crap I forgot..." Miranda said as she slumped over her desk.

"Uh Ma'am I just came to inform you that one of the 'tourists' as you call them wishes to speak with you in private soon."

"Oh... well ain't that just DANDY!" She said as she looked up. "Just... send him or her in..."

"But Ma'am-"

"Just... just do it okay! If you do I'll do the... the... the thing you like that I do..." She said as the Squad Captain sighed.

"Yes Ma'am... right away..." He said as he left. Miranda then took an empty bottle of what appears to be an alcoholic beverage. She then tried to drink out of the bottle, but she found it was empty.

"F%#k... should have asked him to get me more of my drink..."

[Cucoo5]

Nevaaras Headquarters

Grey had followed the Soldier to the headquarters and was waiting outside, arms crossed. However, when he had entered the building he pulled down his hood revealing his hair tied in a messy ponytail. In addition, he took off the red goggles, revealing his eyes with red irises. His scarf however still covered the lower half of his face. He was silent as the man walked out of the room.

[bookdragon2000]

Nevaaras-Colony-001

Eorthe wandered around the colony, looking at the daily going-on, everything looked quite normal for a human community. She continued walking for a while, ignoring the strange looks she was getting due to both her strange look and unsuitable attire. Finally she gave up and just headed for the most official looking place she could find and started hunting around for an official looking person. She located what looked like a guard and approached him. "Can you tell me where I can acquire some aura crystals?" She said rather stiffly.

[wonderweiss]

Nevaaras

---

Morice took a slow pause. He then looked at his hand and took it back. He turned to hide the shame of going to help someone.

"You're in a room. I decided to rent this room, so I guess it's mine. For god's sake, you collapsed in the middle of an alley way. Where are you from? You're obviously not aware of the power of the heat over you. Be more careful next time! You're lucky I decided to heal you up than take you away for eavesdropping.... And you made me look like a fool just now..."

[S121]

Planet Dua - Mirror Sea - Isle of Spirits
Manor of Eternity - Sanctuary of Light

As Aurora spoke, John couldn't help but feel confused. How exactly could a computer be connected to the entire galaxy? Just what exactly was this computer capable of? Due to being connected straight to John's brain, Cortana could tell what John was thinking, and decided to answer his questions.

"This computer that Aurora is in, most likely works by altering quantum physics. This would allow it to alter the very physics that govern how matter and energy behaves. We don't have anything quite as advanced as this, so I don't actually know all the details of how the computer functions. All I know is what I've read.", Cortana explained to John.

The more and more Cortana thought about the information she didn't have, the more she began to want it. Due to her being an AI, she had an insatiable want for knowledge she didn't have, and having quantum physic's biggest secrets being dangled right in front of her eyes was enough for her to want it. With the right technology, she could change how a particular tool or item worked, change the physics of anything she wanted, and could use it to better herself and John. The various theoretical applications of such information was too good to pass up.

"If you plug me into the system, I should be able to figure out how it works. We might be able to use that information.", Cortana said to John.

John lightly sighed as he thought about what Cortana was saying. He had been with Cortana for 8 years, so he knew exactly why she wanted that information. Of course, John knew that Cortana would only try and ask for the opportunity to gather information if it was truly important. John didn't know if there would be a way to interface with the Sanctuary of Light's computer, so he didn't make any promises to her about the computer.

"We still don't know if we can interface with it. If we can, then I'll see what I can do.", John calmly said to Cortana.

"Okay.", Cortana said to John in a slightly disappointed, but understanding tone.

After speaking with Cortana, John turned his attention back to Aurora and asked another question.

"How is the sanctuary's computer system connected to the galaxy? How is it that a computer can effect an entire galaxy? Why was this computer made, and why were you made to govern over it?", John asked Aurora.





Crash Site - Nevaaras

To be honest, Ethan didn't quite know whether or not SimO was being sarcastic, but then again, he doubted anyone would be sarcastic in a situation where they could ensure the soldiers' safety. Perhaps it was simply SimO's voice system making him sound sarcastic. Either way, Ethan was ready to do what was needed of him. After walking to the elevator shaft, Ethan activated his anti-gravity module and floated into the elevator shaft. As Ethan floated into the shaft, he quickly looked at the area above and floated up the shaft.

[Cucoo5]

Manor of Eternity - Sanctuary of Light

Aurora hesitated as she tried to understand the questions. She hovered for a moment before she finally started to respond. "....The computer existed...as a means to bring everlasting life to the galaxy. I was a means to control-" Suddenly she stopped. Her eyes went wide and she went limp like a puppet, trembling slightly. A moment passed, it could faintly be seen that fiery wings were now materializing from her back. Her clothes gained a more reddish hue.

Spoiler:

"...Help...me...restore the Galaxy." She muttered. as she lifted herself back upright while still hovering in the air. "The galaxy is dead. It must be restored. From the ashes it shall be reborn. The galaxy must be cleansed of all things so that it can be restored. All things must be returned to their base state in order to begin the restoration." She then turned her attention back to the group. "Help me....remove the barrier, please... I cannot initiate the process while the barrier stands..."

[S121]

Planet Dua - Mirror Sea - Isle of Spirits
Manor of Eternity - Sanctuary of Light

John was surprised by what Aurora was saying, as well as her transformation. What she was saying was that she wanted to purge the entire galaxy. He couldn't help but think about the Halo Arrays and how they were tools meant to purge galaxies of sentient life. If Aurora was trying to kill off all life, then just like he did so long ago, he would have to stop her. Luckily, this instance was much easier than when he was back on Installation 4. Instead of blowing up a ringworld, all he had to do was not break the barrier. After a moment of silence, John spoke.

"I'm sorry Aurora, but we can't let you do that. If the galaxy was dead, then we wouldn't even be here. It has been a very long time since whatever happened here. People have either moved on, or new people have moved in. You can't kill whoever else is in the galaxy.", John said to Aurora.

[Koishi]

Sanctuary of Light

---

"Woah, woah, woah. Why the sudden topic change?" Mima said, stepped up a little. "You don't change the topic in the middle of the sentence, that's just rude."

---

Crash Site

---

SimO climbed up the ladder, not even holding onto the rails with his arms, simply leaping up the ladder, three steps at a time, easily keeping pace with Ethan.

"Practical. I must inquire about that technology later." SimO said casually while climbing.

[Cucoo5]

Manor of Eternity - Sanctuary of Light

"The Venturian Galaxy is dead. All original advanced sentient life is dead, excluding you and my children: the Noxarcs." She said referring to everyone in the room. "In order to revive the original species of sentient life, the Galaxy must be prepared for restoration. The Venturian Galaxy was to be Eternal...I must restore it so that all previous species may continue to thrive. The people....my friends...All that existed before...the death of all things was not a part of the determined setting." She paused for a moment. "I need to restore everything...for my friends...The inevitable conclusion...We fought so long to stop it...It was our purpose...but now...there's still time...to bring everything back...to undo the death of the galaxy...but I can't because...of this barrier."

[S121]

Planet Dua - Mirror Sea - Isle of Spirits
Manor of Eternity - Sanctuary of Light

John remained silent for a moment, thinking about what Aurora had said. To be honest, John didn't know whether or not anybody was still out there. After all, Aurora only mentioned that the original inhabitants of the galaxy were dead. A lot could have happened within 10,000 years, and if the Sanctuary of Light's computer was any indication of the current technology, then surely a hyper-advanced race of beings would have appeared. 519 trillion years was a lot of time for a civilization to improve their technology, and if Humanity was anything to go by, then they would have advanced very quickly. After taking a moment to think about what Aurora had said, John spoke.

"I have only one question, but I want you to answer truthfully. Are there other sentient beings in the galaxy at this moment?", John asked Aurora in a calm, serious tone.





Crash Site - Nevaaras

Ethan lightly smiled in his helmet as SimO's remark, but remained silent. After all, they were scouting for enemies, which required silence and stealth. As Ethan reached their destination, he carefully and quietly hovered towards the shut elevator door and lightly placed his hands on it as he quietly placed the side of his helmet against the door. After that, he then carefully listened to what was on the other side, just in case there were hostiles on the other side.

[Koishi]

Nevaaras

---

Beyond the door, shuffling was heard, like a man limping. A gurgling sound followed, as the shuffling seemed to go in the other direction.

SimO quietly came up next to Ethan, using the maintenance platform on the side.

"Infected." SimO whispered. "The sound is unmistakable."

[S121]

Crash Site - Nevaaras

When SimO said the word "Infected", Ethan looked ovr to him and raised an eyebrow in his helmet. If Ethan didn't know better, SimO was referring to something akin to zombies.

"You mean to tell me that there's spores in there that can basically turn you into a zombie?", Ethan quietly whispered to SimO in a slightly surprised tone.