Monomachiarum is a multifandom experiece that takes the characters into the chaotic future of the 30th century in the great expanse of space. Our lore is a combination of worlds brought in from other franchises, lore created by the site founder, and user-submitted information in order to make a vast and diverse setting. Add your pages to our grand story no matter who your characters might be or where they came from before. This is a place meant to explore possibilities and open new doors. Canons and OCs are welcome, just so long as they can fit into the setting with a little bit of reasonable modification here and there if necessary. So what are you waiting for? Join us today! If you'd like to get to know our community more, feel free to check out our Discord channel.
May 2023 It's been hectic this last year, but we are alive and celebrating our fifth year of adventure and tales. A lot has been worked on to help make the Monoverse one that everyone can enjoy and explore their story while becoming a part of the greater cosmos. All of you, new and long time players, stay safe, and see you in the Sea of Stars!
After contact was lost with the The'nau tribe research nest on planet SR388-C, known to the Chozo as "Ili Agár Nalíma", just before the Kromus Pirates invaded and took Zebes, it has been a mystery what exactly happened to the researchers and their experiments conducted in the colony nest. Though Zebes has been abandoned and evacuated of the Chozo and their most important relics, the remaining Cho'za tribe members would still see the enigma answered as to what occurred. Contacting his adopted daughter, Maru implores her to traverse the galactic core regions and recover all data and records that could answer what happened on Agár. It is a task that would be simple enough, even for her alone, though such a task is often best done with companions
It is what else lurks in SR388, though, that will be of greater concern.
I AM THE END OF OUR TIME...AND THE BEGINNING TO HERS.
2978.323, Trevelyan Research Station, Sarcophagus Stellar Location [REDACTED]
A datapad rested in the Chozo tiercel's talons as Maru waited for the resident commanding officer at the human facilities on the massive shield world known as the Sarcophagus. He had carefully gone over his message currently on the tablet several times, knowing to be cautious with details as to his location as well as any other sensitive information. But he needed to contact his daughter, give her assurance that he and the other remaining members of the Zebes nest were doing alright, and to make a request of her that would bring some answers, as well as possibly prevent the Kromus from obtaining certain things that, if he was right, may have been better off never existing.
It had been over two years, after all.
"Apologies for the wait, appreciate your patience, Maru."
That would be Colonel Hawthorne, the liaison for the Chozo now that they were protected refugees at the Trevelyan Point research station. A click emanated from Maru's beak, as he shifted his stance and leaned more on the staff held in his left hand. "It was short notice, Colonel. I appreciate you making time for me so soon." The tablet came up as amber spheres would blink and gaze at the human who was almost at matching eye level to the avian. "My message for Miss Aran, prepared for your review and hopefully cleared transmission."
With a nod as the woman accepted the datapad and made a quick read over of the on screen contents. "I'll need to further clear it through Advanced Warfare, but I'll try and get it pushed through as fast as possible." A brown eye shifted to meet Maru's reflective gaze, a sense of understanding in Hawthorne's own expression. "Look, Maru. I know she means a lot to you. You raised her for over a decade as a promise to Captain Aran, and Admiral Dane has gotten you a fair amount of contact clearance. DAW just wants to make sure everything here stays safe since this is a Forerunner installation."
"I'm also concerned for her as Admiral Borjigin had seen fit over the last two years to declassify a number of documents regarding Zebes and what actually occurred there."
The human officer once more nodded as she understood what was bothering Maru. "And along with it, information regarding Miss Aran's involvement as well as her connections to your people." There was a faint smile on Hawthorne's lips as she lowered the tablet and gave the Chozo a comforting pat on his right arm. "We've been over this before. The gene augments you had to give her have been kept off the released documents, Maru. All that is public record now is that your people found her and kept her safe for all those years. Truth be told, the galaxy reveres your people enough that it actually does her a lot of credit, and it's been a bit of a morale lift during the chaos going on."
A feathered brow creased. To Maru, it sounded like his adopted daughter was being touted by the Confederation as a piece of propaganda media. "I'm not sure her birth-parents would want her to be seen as a part of war propaganda, and I certainly don't."
"Nothing like that, Maru. If anything, a lot was still redacted from the released documents, as Captain Osman is well aware of your concerns." With a sigh, Hawthorne took one last look at the tablet, then tapped a few commands into it before smiling. "I'll send this off to Captain Osman's staff for review, but it looks pretty clear of anything compromising to me." The woman handed the tablet back over to the Chozo, then suddenly lifted it back just as Maru reached to reclaim his datapad. "I noticed you requested her time to head to look at something called 'Ili Agár Nalíma'. Curious as to what that is."
Again, his eyes were narrowed, but the Chozo kept his breathing controlled. "It was a research nest that we lost contact with just before the invasion of Zebes, the metroid life forms that the Kromus have taken to using as attack forms were being studied there for their rather unique energy absorbing and conducting properties." Not the entire truth, but enough of it without saying everything he knew. "I was hoping she might be able to see what happened there, as I have to assume they were lost after two years."
"And what is 'erris'?"
Ah, yes. That word didn't exactly translate within context. Both a boon, yet also a problem. "There was some wildlife study they were conducting on the planet since they had arrived there just under eight standard cycles ago, I was hoping she might be able to recover it if the nest itself was lost since it is an otherwise uncharted planet in the core regions."
He could see the distrust flicker over Hawthorne's eyes. She knew he wasn't telling her certain details or the actual context of that research, especially since the metroids were involved, but he wasn't about to say much more. It was why he had limited his message to the minimal details needed. Hawthorne had been cordial enough to the Chozo, but she was also part of Confederation intelligence, and Maru was not naive enough to believe that the human deep operations divisions would be above getting any details they could glean on ancient Chozo caches. It had been only weeks after their arrival at Sarcophagus two years prior that the gates to access the Cryptum had been restored to a mimicry of their state back in the ancient Chozo capital, and the floating Huragok engineers had immediately been set to task on reactivating the transit rings as they had not been since thousands of years ago. And they were, it seemed, very close to it now.
They wanted access to the ancient fleets. They wanted to be able to study all the technology of his ancestors that the Cryptum would present. He wasn't ignorant, but he had to still keep hope that his people's legacy would inspire greatness, and that the faith his ancestors had put in humanity was not in vain.
On the other side of that coin, however...that the Huragok were restoring access to the Cryptum meant that the bounties within had to be shared with the Sangheili, and eventually it would disseminate throughout the allied worlds of the Federation. Perhaps as his ancestors had intended, even maybe foreseen in their mastery of the Distant Sight.
"I understand that you consider her as good as your born daughter, Maru. But just bringing her here is something I can't say yes to. You know as well as I do how sensitive this location is. Even Admiral Dane is not cleared to know the actual location of this installation, he just knows it exists. It's up to Vice Admiral Borjigin."
That had been the last of the arguments between Maru and Colonel Hawthorne regarding his requests to have an actual visit from his daughter, conducted several weeks ago just after confirmation that Samus had recieved his message. He had not seen the young woman outside of relayed communications videos since the events at Zebes, and he had not been able to set foot off this deception of a world since assisting in the recovery of the most important relics of his ancestors from the ancient city.
Yet he needed to speak to her. To hold her and cradle her again, as if she were still a tiny human seeking a warm hold to assure her everything was going to be alright. Seventeen years now it had been since he had found the toddler wandering in the rubble of the K-2L colony, the only survivor of a Kromus raid for afloraltite resources.
More importantly, he needed to make sure she was not being hindered in what he needed done. Because despite the promises made by Hawthorne, he knew that Confederation Intelligence had gleaned far more than admitted from his previous attempt to inform her about Agár and the importance of recovering all information from the The'nau research labs, even to the point of informing him that she was going to have fleet support when she went into the core to make sure nothing went wrong. It was, sadly, a fact of living in the graces of Advanced Warfare and their superiors, but the comfort was that Borjigin took Samus' curious fame in the Spur as something worth keeping intact.
And yet, when a chime came from his desk, the tiercel was surprised. He hesitated a moment before tapping the acceptance key that floated in projection over the desks surface, allowing the image of Colonel Hawthorne to manifest. "I was not expecting to hear from you today, Colonel." His feathered brow creased. "Does Confederation Intelligence need some information regarding my ancestors' works and the Cryptum's entry functions?"
"Maru, we need you to prepare for transfer to the Beta Five research station. You leave in one hour, make sure you have anything you need for what could be an extended stay, and any records you brought with you from Zebes regarding the Erris and Metroids, Admiral Dane will be meeting you there."
His hearts felt like they had suddenly seized up. The research station in question, to his knowledge, was located in the remains of what humans once called Betelgeuse, specifically placed there for isolation and rapid quarantine procedure. And for the use of the nearby singularity that had been left when the red supergiant had gone supernova in the last millenia, in the event of needing to terminate the station.
It was an outbreak research center. Tasked with developing emergency countermeasures to dangerous parasites and anything that might even come close to the dangers that were presented by the Flood. As far as he knew, the Confederation had not been anywhere near so foolish as to keep that particular horror in containment there, but the level of threat assessment such would have entailed was kept there out of rightful paranoia for anything they were studying. He only knew of it due to a few stray conversations he had overheard between a few less wary members of the staff on Sarcophagus, and information was not as restricted here at Trevalyan as it would be in the open. If anything, Chozo insight was considered a boon.
Why did they need him there? Why did it involve the life forms from Agár? Were they bringing back Metroids? After the horrors the Pirates had inflicted using the life-draining abominations, he would be less surprised by an order to just exterminate the planet's biosphere and raze it to the rock.
And then true horror caused his blood to run cold mere moments before he heard Hawthorne confirm his fears.
"They have Samus, she's in emergency stasis. They need you and everything you have now if there's going to be any chance of saving her from whatever is killing her."
There was a growl as Samus tapped at the solid screen of the depot's fuel center. It was her own fault for not refueling her gunship's stores sooner and waiting until she was all but "running on fumes", as the old terran saying went. But the cost of deuterium fuel slush for fusion engines was getting a little high for someone who wasn't making tens of thousands of seguru per bounty job, even with the reasoning that Kromus raids were making processing harder. Considering what she had done to help that war effort, a little slack would have been appreciated. Even with the decade and a half of survivor benefits granted to her from the fleet on orders from General Morris in her parents' memory, Samus Aran did not have anything resembling a bottomless trust fund.
Which sometimes led to a bounty job's entire payroll going to just maintaining her ship and fuel costs.
We thank you for your patronage. Safe travels.
"Sídur echáti ata'mis."
The cover panel slid shut in ignorance of her words, leaving Samus to walk away and give a very human gesture in response as she headed for the depot's hanger bay. The resupply should have been finished by now, meaning she could get back to Daiban soon enough and start taking some jobs to help cover how much this stop had set her back.
Which was when her wristcom beeped to inform her that a message had just come through to her private channels. There weren't many who had that particular line of contact, meaning it could only have come from one person.
"Papa," she whispered, now sprinting across the hanger catwalks and hopping over guardrails to drop down nearly twenty feet and land without even a flinch, to the surprise of the various hanger crew who were now staring in shock. Samus ignored the looks her actions had garnered her, racing for her gunship and boarding with her wristcom already reesynching with her message boxes. Moments later, it appeared, marked with ID encryptions that she had come to recognize in the last two years since she had driven the Kromus off Zebes. A tap at the projected holo-screen, and her eyes were reading quickly.
He needed any data and possible samples recovered from Ili Agár Nalíma and the research nest there. Maru had been vague in his wording but, she knew what he was trying to be subtle about. Advanced Warfare was coming over every message that he sent and received, and the fact he was being careful in his phrasing of the requests told her enough. Maru wanted to learn what happened at the research facility and why they had gone silent, and anything that could be recovered needed to be salvaged.
A reply was already under way. Samus was no fool; DAW was going to review anything she sent back, be it video or text. No doubt they had already gone over this letter to her with multiple AIs and probably had gleaned the coordinates for Agár already. Fortunately, she could get there faster, but it did not miss her thoughts that having a fleet presence while she did this recovery run was not a bad idea.
She would need some further back up as well, someone she trusted enough to not go behind her back on this. Eresh would probably be up for it. She wasn't so sure he wouldn't tell the Maw'kin military commander about where she was going if she recruited him, but she could still out run them to the Narada system, get what she was there for, and get out.
And some backup in case the Kromus showed up was a plus as well. They had been found still trying to use the metroids for their own goals still, and no doubt they were trying to use Agár as a source for the creatures.
As soon as she finished her return message and sent it off into the data net to relay to DAW, Samus began a second communique, with the hope that she wasn't shooting herself in the foot by telling the Maw'kin bounty hunter of her intentions. Either way, the young woman had very little time to wait.
As fate would have it, the Mawkin exile-turned-bounty hunter had just returned to place of residence after completing a mission dealing with a small time drug trafficking ring, so suffice to say he had been rather unimpressed. While Eresh had been earning a reputation for taking bounties of all varieties, particularly those related to rumors of the trafficking of illegal substances or senti-sapient beings.. he couldn’t help but feel a sense of .. boredom as of late- he felt as if his skills weren’t being properly exercised.
So when his ship’s communication systems informed him of an incoming message from Samus Aran, he was quick to answer it. Upon seeing that she was requesting his assistance on a mission, a smile tugged at the corners of his beak as he sent his reply.
++I would be honored to accompany you on this assignment. You are a comrade, and I like to believe we’ve become rather good friends atop of that; I couldn’t possibly refuse. May I ask about the particulars of this mission, Ha’chidari?++
That adding of hummingbird to the end of his message may have been unprofessional, but he couldn’t resist a little playful banter. After all, if he knew anything by now, the Hunter wouldn’t ask for his aid unless she trusted him- and his curiosity was now piqued.
When the response came in over the network, Samus' gunship had already been tearing through the slipstream as fast as it could push. Every minute, she crossed the span of almost three and a half parsecs, leaving less than an hour before she entered the Al'kya sector and returned to Daiban. A few commands found their way into the navigation AI, allowing her to leave the ship to itself as she read the return message.
She was already readying a reply for recording as she tapped at the keys of the communications system. "I don't have a lot I can say, just make sure that you're ready to go. I'll be at Daiban in about an hour, so pack quickly and pack for about a week's round trip." A pause as she considered a few things. He was likely to inform the Maw'kin leaders anyway, be it encrypt message or through the embassy they now had at Daiban. May as well use that. "Maybe let your bosses back on Tarín know that we're heading into a deep core nest. I'll tell you more when I get in. We leave in two days."
Transmitted. He'd likely receive the message as she was entering Al'kya system space, but giving him a couple days to get ready also allowed her to do some intelligence work of her own. Confed Advanced Warfare undoubtedly knew about what her father had asked of her already, probably had already gotten the coordinates figured out and were planning their own incursion into the core regions. Contacting Dane might be prudent to avoid issues.
Another message set up, this time set to be transmitted directly to Sol Sector, and to the Confederation military. Samus knew she could not avoid a DAW presence in this, but she might be able to use it to her needs. And just maybe she could negotiate a damn visit in person with Maru, after two years of him being hidden away in whatever secret location that the Zebes survivors had been stashed away at.
++This sounds to be something more impactful than our typical hunts. Worry not, I will be prepared by the time you arrive. I trust that you remember which hangar I have rented, yes?++
After sending his reply he would sit back and take a moment to think. He had been working with Samus for a while, and aside from their first meeting he hadn’t quite heard that tone before. It wasn’t fear.. anxiety? And the emphasis she put on him informing his Tribesmen of what they were doing gave him the distinct impression that while she made that suggestion out of courtesy.. she hoped that he wouldn’t.
And that was where he felt conflicted. He respected her greatly, and considered her to be a close friend at this point- but his greater mission superseded any other obligation he had. And so as he prepared for his friends arrival and their journey.. he would send a secure message directly to Ash’kar himself.
++The Hunter has requested my assistance on an expedition to one of the Core Nestworlds. I request advisement on what you would have me do regarding the ongoing assignment.++
Post by Ash'kar Be-hek on Jan 13, 2023 18:41:58 GMT
Ash'kar had not ever held particular love for matters of politics, even when it was merely a war council. He'd largely kept to an observer role, unable to commit but the most token of forces in most of the campaigns of this war against the Kromus. As a result, he was not at all opposed to receiving the message when Eresh's transmission reached him, and with a murmured apology, the Mawkin fleetmaster excused himself to return to his personal vessel, the Itorash.
"Go with her, Eresh," Ash'kar instructed when he finally received the younger warrior's message. "Aid her in her mission. My ship is being prepared as we speak. As you must surely suspect as well, there feels more to this than a mere bounty mission. From what I understand of her, the Hunter would not ask for aid lightly. I will be contacting her shortly, so that I might know how best to assist. Good hunting, Eresh Tarren," he dictated his reply, then sent the message before opening a secure channel using the comms frequency and data given to him by Maru some time ago.
"Miss Aran, I hope I find you well?" the Mawkin commander opened. "I am told you may be in need of some assistance in a matter most sensitive. I thought it prudent to contact you before setting forth."
Her gunship had just erupted back into normal space and was in an orbital pattern over Daiban when the communication came over her private frequency. Her father had not been able to use that line in two years since he and the other survivors from Zebes, which meant one other tiercel who did have access to it. A moment later, as she tapped the acceptance, the warbled voice speaking stilted Terran English did not disappoint her expectations.
"General Be-hek," came her professionally polite response. She had expected Eresu to contact his clan leaders, even if she had not mentioned it to him. No amount of "officially exiled" status could make her buy the oldest method of plausible deniability for a government or military, especially one in the precarious spot that the Mawkin were in. "I asked Eresh to accompany me to a research nest in the deep core regions, the The'nau tribe had a study there that hasn't been heard from since the Kromus took Zebes over two years ago."
For some reason, she didn't want to say too much. The Mawkin military leader might have been on cordial terms of contact with her father prior to the evacuation of Zebes, and he may just be looking out for his people and those he considered close allies, but he wasn't Chozo, not in the sense she knew. She didn't know all the details on the Avía-rá and their relation to Chozo Ancients, but they were a different culture altogether as far as she was concerned.
"I'm not sure how you might be able to assist, the charts for getting to the nest in question are sparse as it is, and I'm sure you have enough that you and your tribe elders are working through with the Federations committees."
Post by Ash'kar Be-hek on Jan 14, 2023 3:39:25 GMT
Crimson red eyes blinked slowly as the towering warrior weighed Samus's words carefully, thinking on how best to frame his concerns without causing undue alarm. In the time since making contact with the Chozo, Ash'kar had learned much of the culture his people had once been part of, much to the remarkably energetic delight of Na'kira, and there had apparently once been among the Tho'ha those that saw glimpses of what was yet to be. He had no desire to give the false impression that he might possess such a gift, when he simply had a well-honed set of instincts and a few fragments of knowledge.
"It may come as a surprise, Daughter of Maru, but I can see when things may be..risky. Nests do not simply fall silent, and I do not expect that this Nest would be taken without resistance. You know this, as well, or at very least, suspect, or you would not call upon another to accompany you. Another set of eyes and talons may be beneficial, and between you and I," he added with a soft chuff. "I grow weary of sitting in endless meetings. But this is your decision to make, Miss Aran. I shall abide by it, and hope for your father's sake and that of your friend's that all goes well. And that I do not pluck out my own feathers in frustration with this..Fro'mal, was it? But I wander. I await your word, and proper directions, should you accept my aid."
The young woman felt her brow crease as she contemplated the Maw'kin's words. On the one hand, she was already going outside her father's request by even bringing Eresh into things as her backup. On the other, Ash'kar had a point that the more eyes on deck she had, the better this would be. And to be fair, he was considered a ranking official of a world with an embassy on Daiban, even if it was merely a sign of open relations with the Federation and not actual membership. It wasn't much if they ran into political based issues after the fact, but it might be better than nothing.
So long as he understood why she was allowing him along.
"I don't know what your plan would be for getting there unless you plan to ask me for a lift." A pause as Samus tapped a series of flight patterns into her autopilot, setting it to take her to the hanger bay she had on lease. "It's going to be in the deep core, probably less than 400 parsecs from the Al'byss core cluster, which means a lot of gravitational anomalies and some series navigation hell getting there."
His response was brief, and the Mawkin would return to organizing the supplies for the mission at hand: munitions, rations, forementioned armor repair kits. He idly would look about the hangar that served as his improvised place of residence for a few moments- eyes resting on the stand that held his armor whenever he had the rare opportunity to be outside of it- a rarer and rarer occasion these days with all the work requests and open commissions he partook in.. and he would absently stretch his shoulders- the creases on the pale gray tunic he wore vanishing for a moment as he gave a sigh of contemplation.
Had he made the right choice, contacting the general? The Mission demanded that Eresh kept Ash’kar informed of such matters when they happened, true, but at the same time a part of him- that part who had become quite fond of the young huntress- felt a degree of unease. He worried that Samus might take this as a cause to mistrust him, and would distance herself from the Chozo.. perhaps even causing their friendship to fizzle away. That thought, and a few others along those lines made the feathers along his crown to ruffle in agitation.
Standing up, he would walk to the armor stand and deftly disrobed from the tunic and trousers he had been wearing- now simply clad in the clay-brown body glove that was like a second skin as he began to clad himself in his battle plate- piece by piece. And as the minutes passed and he finished the process- he hoped that he would be able to distract himself from those uncharacteristic thoughts of doubt clinging to the inside of his skull like dust.
Post by Ash'kar Be-hek on Jan 14, 2023 18:47:53 GMT
Another soft chuff of amusement left Ash'kar's mouth at the prospect of being given a ride. "As generous as your father, I see. However, I do not know that I would..fit. Still, you provide a valid point." He leaned back in his chair as the Mawkin's demeanor grew more serious. "How long will you take to arrive? By what you say, my craft would require some two of your weeks, possibly three. Do any others accompany you in this mission?" he wondered. Perhaps enough others would be going with her to make certain that she would be safe? He doubted that was the case, though. Far too much of this smacked of secrecy. So many unknowns. To say it ruffled his feathers was to speak in understatements, and it likely showed, given he in fact had feathers to be ruffled. "I do not mean to pry, Miss Aran, but much of this mission seems to me as if there is a danger neither of us yet know, and I would not wish the dishonor of negligence, after all your father has done in aiding my people and providing me counsel. All that said, this matter is, as I stated before, your decision."
Sometimes she forgot how fast her gunship was compared to even the largest Federation vessels when it came to faster than light travel velocities. What could take even the fastest capital ship weeks was a matter of days for her tiny craft. Something she was sure was advisable to keep under wraps instead of parading around.
"I have…certain resources that let me chart faster routes in and out of places." Not persay a lie, but bending the truth all the same. "If you intend to meet up with me, I can get coordinates to you before I leave in two days. I don't expect to be there long, so, it's up to you if you want to try and get there."
The curious point though, that he was trying to sweet talk his way there. Was this just his own curiosity, or was the general hoping to learn something in the Naraka system? And if so, what, exactly?
Post by Ash'kar Be-hek on Jan 15, 2023 1:08:28 GMT
Ash'kar's expression remained largely impassive, though a brief ripple of surprise did cross his avian features, something that Samus would no doubt pick up on, given her familiarity with the Chozo. After all, while the Avia-Ra, including the Mawkin, had long ago developed their own culture, some aspects showed their shared roots, and body language was among them. Even with good routes, it surely took her at least as long as his own vessel would to cross the distances in question? Still, though, he did not know Samus so well that he could expect secrets to be shared, and he suspected even what she had told him was more secrets than she might normally have said.
"You are curious why I wish to go with you," he stated more than asked after a moment of deliberation. "It is as I have said. but there is more. I am the military commander of my people, but we are in no position to wage war on any serious scale, and it is likely that this will not change before the time comes that I must pass on my mantle to another. There is only so much I can do to serve, liaising with the commanders of the Federation, yet still I must serve. A lost Nest bears investigation, and may help us to relearn the ways we now only half-remember. I would send others, but from the first I have heard of this Nest was from our rogue, and this tells me great danger awaits. I will accept your offer, Miss Aran, and hope that perhaps I am wrong in these guesses when we arrive."