Mars Mission

"What? Yes, it would be true. From what I've managed to retrieve from their communications, Archelaus has gone to exact revenge on Verax and hopefully rescue Caz. As you heard earlier, Lurinia is in control of their ship, and I believe the others now know how much of a predicament we're in." Cassus was surprisingly calm despite his injuries. They weren't too bad compared to what he'd witnessed in his experience in battle. Besides, he had to stay hopeful to save his sister...

The Leviathan's chief navigator broke the strange silence left from Robless' fairly spiteful retreat from the conversation with Lurinia.

"Sir, we're getting volcano readings now. I think we're nearing Olympus Mons. The other vessel is making a landing approach. We will follow them immediately."

"Right. Comms are still quiet, Verax must've seriously screwed with Mars communication." Therus gave the navigator a green light on landing.

-Zyria stretches inside her mind, preparing to leave. She now knows what she needs to do, and feels it's time to return to her friends.-

-Zyria's subconscious, hearing that Archelaus is attempting to rescue Caz, twitches. Because Zyria is beginning her trek out, her emotions are exposed for a moment, and mix with the businesslike state of her subconscious.-

"Caz is being rescued? I'm........glad."

-And with that, she's back.-

[Yeah, don't look at me. I'm typing random stuff right now, I'm having terrible writer's block.]

-Zyria looks around. They're on a ship, apparently far from Dreston's home.-

"Wha-? What happened? Where is everyone else?"

Having thought that Zyria had zoned out, Cassus was surprised to hear her voice. "Oh, right. Forgot to tell you. We're aboard Dreston's personal ship. The others are following us in an experimental command ship that was undergoing trials at the time I left to find you guys. I believe we're on a landing approach now. I doubt we'll have much time once we hit the ground...any more worries?"

Far above the martian planet, a large fleet of ships seemingly out of nowhere warped into Martian Orbit, and began advancing on the Voyager. All across the planet, a voice broke through all commincation devices, with this message.
"Hello Mars. Do not fear. This is the bounty hunter Dragijh A'Lecto. I have been paid to defend your world and destroy the foreboding cruiser that has been haunting you for the past 30 hours. I will demand nothing more from you. I have agreed to the terms of this contract. However, I would also like to make a more personal request. For the successful liberation and destruction of The Voyager and its acurssed captain, Verax, if anyone should come across the chance, I would be in your debt if anyone could turn over to me......


The head of Valderis Robless."

The crew was left speechless.

Robless spoke amidst this new silence. "Yet another person who wishes to claim their revenge against the former me. Let me speak with him."

Without speaking, a communications officer linked over the communications.

"I am that which you seek. If you want revenge for my former actions, I will make one request. It may seem like a petty excuse, but it is the Thel'ghan'che which had possessed me. If there is one last act I will commit in this world, it is to free Eris-Tam from this parasite that she had taken from me, to save my own life. I may not be redeemable, but I will grant her this much."

His speech faltered slightly at the mention of Eris-Tam, who had been suffering the whole time that they'd been delayed.

"Please, give me this chance."

Afraid of what Dragjh A'Lecto would do to the mission, Robless awaited his response in anxiety. "You may speak."

Dragijh A'lecto responded in understandable contempt. "You took away all my chances. you took away everything from me. Why should I give you... anything? I understand why you wish to save Aurora, to help attone for but one crime. But what of the millions of others you have wronged, hm? What of them? I will possibly, under lucky circumstances, perhaps lightly consider your request. In the meantime, I have a Dreadnought to destroy."

"Understood. Robless out." The commander stood there, blinking slowly. He felt his time was running short. Dragjh A'lecto would kill him. It was only a matter of saving Eris-Tam before then.

"Get the ship on the ground." A few moments later, he was walking down the bridge barking orders to his men. One of the navigators punched in a line of commands and he felt the retro-thrusters engage, the ship lurching to a halt.

Back in the deployment bay, Robless returned to the others. "We're here. Retrieve your gear and finish licking your wounds; it's time to venture into the Cave of (OOC: What the hell did we name the cave?). Eris-Tam's counting on us."

[For reference, this is Zyria's face, basically. > http://www.myfacewhen.com/106/ XD ]

"We're...on a ship...on our way to the cave?"

-Zyria looks around, trying to get a sense of....anything. She shakes her head, rolling with it.-

"All right, I suppose. Caz is....on the verge of being safe, we're on our way, all seems....well, not good, but according to plan. We'll go to this cave, somehow manage to get what we need, and get to Tam, where we'll fix everything." -Zyria would've rolled her eyes if the situation had been less serious.-

"Simple."

<Errrr, I think Archie called it the Cave of the Shattered Stars or something...>

(Works for me.)

"Damn it, where's Archelaus?" Robless slammed his gloves down on a console, attempting to hail the powerful Alteriian. "We need him now, I don't trust going into this cave ourselves."

Just before he finished his sentence, something flashed and his suit read an energy spike. "Caz...and...who's this?" Robless instantly made the connection. "Nevermind, I'm glad to have you all on board anyway, we'll need everyone we can!"

Caz told him what was happening aboard the ship between Verax and Archelaus, now apparently calling himself Archon.

"Archelaus isn't coming back right now?! This is a problem, we'll need him to get us in. An expedition has discovered the cave blocked by a massive gate made of ancient metal. Locals are nowhere to be seen. I doubt any of us can get it open without Archelaus. Stay here for a moment, collect your thoughts."

Turning directly to Caz, Robless told him where Zyria was. "The other ship's landed not far from here. My men have established a campsite between us. Go see Zyria."

Caz hesitated only slightly, glancing a little at Ma'at, before turning to the man.

"Ma'at..." he began, "I'm going to need you to stay here for a while." I want to delay Zyria's finding out for as long as I can... she doesn't need this right now. And when she does find out... I can tell her that we're only friends, that the link works differently for everyone. God, I still love her. No one else. "Don't worry, these are good people. I'll... be back soon." He forced a smile, and then turned to leave and meet Zyria at Dreston's ship.

<OCF>

<Just a tad bit longer, sorry about the wait>

[Can't sleep. How about Zyria's at the camp? It's doubtful Dreston's ship would have the necessities for living beings on his ship, like food, for one.]

-Zyria sits by a fire in the camp, filling up on food. It's the first old-time fire that Zyria's been around since...forever, and she enjoys it as much as she can. It's hard, though, with everything that's going on. They've finally made their way to their destination. But Archelaus, apparently Archon now, a soldier tells her, isn't there with them to help get into said cave. But, he's fighting Verax, and saving Caz. The balance [as in, a literal balance, that you weigh things on] in her head is shifting too much for her to decide if she should be glad or worried.-

-So, she sits, trying not to worry about things she can't control.-

[Yeah, Zyria doesn't really know much, huh? Caz will swoop in and save her, keep her in the loop! Well, other than what's been going on with Caz himself.... ]

Caz trudged, exhausted in a mental way rather than a physical one, to the point of breaking. His mind was clouded with the images of the seemingly unstoppable fight between... Archon and Verax. He thought about Ma'at, and the exhaustion the whole situation brought him. That would be an endless strain--keeping the man at a distance and not letting himself become attached. He thought of Zyria, and what would happen once she found out about his Neiede. He thought of the future exhaustion that would bring him.

It was like everything was piling on him, building up on his shoulders that were already sagging. He couldn't stop it; the more he fought it the heavier the problems seemed to become.

But he trudged into the camp all the same, maybe just for the hope of a few calm moments, a few peaceful seconds before more weight came crashing down.

"Zyria?" he called, unsure of where she was at, but only for a moment. With the extended awareness granted by being within a certain proximity of his Neiede, he sought her mind with his, knowing that he would be able to identify it. And he did. He headed towards her tent, ducking inside and letting his eyes adjust once more to the light. "Zyria?"

-Zyria's laying in her tent, just looking at the ceiling of it, when she hears, "Zyria?"-

-She's up in an instant.-

".....C-Caz? Is it....honestly you? I'm not stuck inside my mind again, am I?"

-She crawls over to him, stands, then touches his cheek. He's really there.-

-Zyria throws herself into an embrace, clutching Caz tightly. He seems tired, but perfectly fine.-

"Oh, jeez, Caz, I can't believe you're here! How did you get out? Did Archon save you? Did you escape yourself? I heard there's a lot going on in Verax's ship..."

-Zyria looks up at Caz, realizing how exhausted he probably is.-

"Oh! I'm sorry, I shouldn't make you talk about this right now, you need to rest."

[Tam, Caz can do whatever you like, talk about it or not, just have him say something.]

"It's fine, really..." his voice is thick and full of sorrow and... almost an emptiness.

"No. Archon didn't save me. Verax did. It was Lurinia, the ship's downloaded AI personality, who had taken control of the Voyager. She kept him hostage and would have used me to power the ship, if not for Verax. We fought, together, to escape. He may be a mass murderer, and he may have lost it years ago, but there is a side of him that isn't like that. It doesn't always come out, not even usually. But it came out while we were trying to escape. To me, that's enough to fight for, enough to try for. He will never be forgiven, but maybe one day he will change." Through every sentence, Caz's voice was hollow and dry, with a lack of more than the slightest tint of emotion.

And Caz knew why. Keeping Ma'at at a mental distance was already wearing him down. Being emotionally separated from his Neiede was causing him to start being emotionally separated from everything else as well, including Zyria.

Caz wished he could just let go, stop fighting, stop trying. But he didn't know what would happen if he did. Still, it was tempting; the way that Archon and Verax had simply ignored him, the way they had dismissed him, cast him aside like he was nothing... it hurt. And it made him feel... so worthless.

Only Zyria made that feeling go away. That's why he wanted to protect her, that's why he went with Verax, why he risked his life so many times and would do it a hundred times more. She needed him. Protecting her gave him a purpose, she was what he had to fight for. He supposed that Ma'at could be the same thing for him, but... he already was in love with someone else.

The universe could be so... cruel, sometimes.

-It's all quite shocking to Zyria. Verax may not be completely evil? Someone else was pulling the strings? If it had been from someone else, Zyria would need to see it to believe it. But this is Caz, she trusts him, no matter how unlikely the truth may seem. Zyria looks into Caz's eyes.-

"Okay. If you say that Verax is worth it, I'm with you. Even if I'm wary at first, I'll still be there." -Zyria turns and picks up some food and drink. Zyria can hear the detachment in his voice, and it worries her.-

-But, Zyria had learned some things when she was in her mind. Sometimes, you're not the one that needs to do the saving. There are some things that need to work themselves out. Zyria didn't want to seem heartless, though. She hands the nourishment to Caz.- "Here. Right now, you're my focus. You're probably hungry, so eat up before you rest. And no, you don't seem tired physically, but you can't protest. I can hear it in your voice, you're exhausted. And after you rest, if you feel up for talking about what's damaged you this much, I will listen. If you don't, though, and you feel as though you're getting better, then I won't press the subject."

I won't play hero if it will just hurt you. No more.

Caz reluctantly accepts, and takes the food. He blindly goes through the motions like a machine, doing only what it was meant to do. She was right; his body did need some form of nourishment, even if it was only his human body that needed it. And she was also right- his human body probably needed rest too. So silently, without saying another word, he ate the food and lay down to sleep.

But he already knew that though he might sleep, rest would not find him. He would not wake feeling less tired, would not be any more ready to face the problems that had lined up for him.

Yet still, he tried to sleep. For Zyria.

-Zyria makes sure Caz eats and drinks, then rests. He doesn't change, though; the food doesn't give him energy, the drink doesn't strengthen him, and he looks just as tense in his sleep.-

-Zyria steps out of the tent, knowing she won't be able to sleep. Not anymore. She sits just outside the entrance, looking up at the stars she can see through the debris, Verax's ship, and the fleet of ships. If one stripped themselves of all scientific reason, one could see the magic to stars. So many of them, so far away. It isn't hard to get from star to star, but if it weren't for technology, the distance would seem far greater. Zyria sighs, and looks down.-

"Oh Caz, what can I do? I try to help, but obviously it's not working. What happened up there that would detach you so much? If I just knew, I could......" -Tears threaten to spill over, but Zyria squeezes her eyes shut until the despair retracts to the recesses of her mind.-

-Somehow, Zyria is going to help Caz. She has no idea how, but she's going to make Caz better. No one deserves the torture of living like this. So Zyria makes a new vow: she is going to find a way to allow Caz to be happy,

At any cost.-

[I don't know, too bold?]

((I think that's fine. ))

<OFC>

<Personal opinion that maybe Zyria wouldn't go for an oath-like promise after Caz has a tummy-ache...
Buuuuut it's not just a tummy ache is it? Maybe she understands somehow how deep the problem is, without being able to put a finger on it.
Works both ways.>

[Yeah, she may not realize it has to do with his Neiede, but she can see the toll being with Verax taken on him, how deeply it runs. And the only reason he went with Verax is because of Zyria. See her reasoning to wanting him to be happy? She not only feels he deserves it, but also that she owes it to him.]

(We need Arch to make his re-entry, epicly or otherwise.)