Miranda - Printable Version

Miranda - Printable Version

+- Discovery Gaming Community (https://discoverygc.com/forums)
+-- Forum: Role-Playing (https://discoverygc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=9)
+--- Forum: Stories and Biographies (https://discoverygc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=56)
+--- Thread: Miranda (/showthread.php?tid=165118)

Pages: 1 2 3

Miranda - Tenacity - 10-10-2018

// The first few portions of this thread will be a consolidation of all of the old RP threads involving Miranda. The original character/RP for her was done years ago, so a lot of newer players wont even know who she is. I'll leave little OOC blips like this throughout this thread to explain parts that might raise questions/confusion as best I can. All past story will be dated with the in-RP year to give a basic timeline for the character. This is all in an effort to revive the character/story and in light of an SRP request for this character that is still pending. //

// Brief Character Background and History: Read this if you want to get a general idea of who Miranda is, what she's done, and what she's currently doing. I know this may seem lengthy, but it's a good synopsis and will save you having to read anything else in this thread if you so wish.

Miranda was a zoner captain dedicated to exploring unknown space. Like many zoners, her goal was to get away from established society and civilization and reach into the unknown to establish a new life free of restraints. During her expeditions, she was called to a particular unknown star system by a sort of 'siren song', a series of sensor anomalies, dreams and visions, and other oddities brought her to an ancient alien structure that has since come to be called The Shrine. It was here where Miranda and her zoner crew became the first Oracles: seekers of knowledge beyond what humanity had ever imagined. The Shrine itself was built by the Daam K'vosh, the same ancient empire that created the Nomads, and it served as a repository of the knowledge and understanding that the K'vosh had accumulated and left behind for their creations to one day discover. The Shrine was maintained by an advanced artificial intelligence, and it was this AI that had drawn Miranda to it. The AI had attempted to draw in others, but Miranda was the first to follow the clues and reach the structure, and as such she was 'chosen' by it as a host.

The Shrine's AI essentially 'possessed' Miranda, in much the same way that a nomad can infest and overtake a human, though the relationship was far more symbiotic. Through this possession, Miranda was both mentally and physically altered, and she became the prophet that the Oracles followed in their quest to seek out the mysteries of the universe. The Shrine AI made numerous alterations to Miranda's genome, bestowing upon her gifts of telepathy, telekinesis, and an ability to interface with various K'vosh technology. She used these gifts, for a time, to guide the Oracles and train them. Eventually, Miranda and the Oracles split apart - they had their own quest, but so did she. The AI that had merged with Miranda used her body to seek out various Daam K'vosh relics which were needed to locate and reactivate a K'vosh starship that, to this day, remains hidden somewhere in Sirius.

After some time, the AI departed from Miranda's mind and body, and disappeared entirely - presumably having finished whatever it was using her for, and leaving her abandoned, disoriented, and confused. With the AI's departure, Miranda's telekinetic and telepathic abilities also faded and became dormant, rendering her little more than a typical human. By this time, the Oracles had established a truce with the nomads known as the Keepers, and some Oracles willingly became hosts to a Nomad incubus in order to become "enlightened" and connected to the Mindshare. Miranda, unsure of what to do after being abandoned by the AI, chose to undertake this procedure and bonded with a Nomad in the hopes of finding answers. The Nomad, in turn, was able to identify blocked memories within Miranda's mind that had been walled off by the AI. These memories could not be recovered by the Incubus on its own, so it and Miranda began a journey to Omicron Iota where the Mindshare was centralized, hoping that by either being closer to it or by connecting to it directly the keepers would be able to help Miranda unlock her memories and find answers - both for her as well as them.

Miranda's shuttle, departing from the Shrine, was ambushed in New York by Order agents, and she crash landed on planet pittsburgh. The Order pilots involved presumed her to be dead and thought their mission was accomplished, but Miranda survived. The Nomad she was host to worked through her to slaughter numerous individuals at a mining settlement near their crash site, but she was apprehended by LPI and LSF operatives and detained in a prison facility in Alaska, to be interrogated by the LSF.

Following the interrogations, Miranda was able to escape the facility, stealing a Grizzly shuttle and setting course for Iota. During the trip, the ship ran out of power, life support shut down, and Miranda was clinically dead for nearly a month before being found by the Keepers and the Wild, who took her body to Altair. The nomad incubus inhabiting Miranda had sacraficed itself to keep her alive - though just on the brink of complete death - in an effort to preserve whatever knowledge the Shrine AI had locked inside her mind; as it and the keepers believed that knowledge was of vital importance in their fight against humanity.

Following her revival at Altair, Miranda discovered that she had been changed: her body, while appearing human on the outside, had metamorphosed internally, and she shared more traits, both mental and physical, with a nomad than a human. She was not infested, but still had a link to the mindshare. She was also able to speak telepathically in the same manner as a Nomad could, and was able to extend micro-tendrils through her skin to absorb solar radiation or interface with nomad and human technology. She had become a true nomad-human hybrid, paired together with information and genetic changes enacted by the Shrine AI. She was a mystery to both humanity and to the Nomads, the first of her kind.

With the help of the Oracles, Nomads, and Wild, Miranda commissioned a ship named the Ascendant: an outcast warship that was laced with Nomad mindnodes, power cells, and neural links. This ship became Miranda's mobile base of operations, from which she explored Sirius seeking out clues that might unlock the memories hidden away by the Shrine AI. She was largely unsuccessful in this endeavor, but did have slight successes via the discovery of K'vosh artifacts and ruins that began to solve the puzzles in her brain. This knowledge was shared with the Nomads, and led to some of their expansion throughout the Omicrons. Miranda was able to aid in the reactivation of K'vosh technology, including the Dyson sphere, K'vosh defense satellites, and the "nomad city".

Eventually, The Order caught up with Miranda, and was successful in destroying the Ascendant as part of a retaliatory attack following the destruction of Toledo in the battle of Omicron Minor. Miranda was thought to be killed in this attack, but like a Nomad her consciousness had been stored in the Mindshare, where she existed as a disembodied soul for several years. While she was fully capable of transferring into a Nomad shipform, and did so on several occasions, it was deemed that her hybrid biology was necessary for interacting with K'vosh technology - as a nomad ship, she was incapable of doing many of the things she had done during her time onboard the Ascendant.

Several years later, Wild scientists at Altair were finally successful in producing a clone of Miranda's original body, complete with hybrid physiology, and through the Mindshare Miranda was able to download into her new physical form. This marked the beginning of Miranda's "immortality" - in the same way as the Nomads downloaded their minds into new shipforms, Miranda was now able to download her own mind into a new physical, human-nomad hybrid body whenever she suffered mortal injury. Unlike nomad shipforms, however, there are not banks of empty bodies waiting for her, and each one takes significant time to regrow before it can be used; so she is still quite weary of death.

Finding herself requiring a ship to continue her journey once more, she has turned to the Wild for their aid. //

Miranda: A Timeline

// This is a bullet point layout of Miranda's entire story timeline, and will be updated as the current RP arcs progress. This is intended for anyone needing a quick, easy to read history for the character //

815 A.S. - A Zoner Captain named Miranda, commanding a small exploration vessel, discovers an uncharted system. At the center of this system is a massive, inactive alien structure that eventually comes to be called "The Shrine"
815 A.S. - Miranda and her crew settle on The Shrine and begin to study it, though much of it is sealed off, certain sections are converted into habitation
815 A.S. - Miranda, while exploring deeper sections of the Shrine, comes into contact with an ancient Daam K'vosh Artificial Intelligence (DKAI). Possessed by the DKAI, Miranda is able to reactivate certain systems in The Shrine, and her crew begin to view her as a prophet or religious icon.
815 A.S. - The zoner crew, indoctrinated by Miranda and the DKAI, begin to call themselves "Oracles", and venture out into Sirius to find other open-minded individuals to be indoctrinated at The Shrine. Unknown to them, including Miranda, the DKAI is manipulating them to further its own goals.
815 A.S. - Miranda is subjected, over time, to genetic alteration by the DKAI so that she, as a host body, may more easily interact with unique Daam K'vosh relics, known as "Progenitor Keys". These 'keys' are required to find a remnant of the Daam K'vosh civilization known as the Progenitor.
816 A.S. - As Miranda's genetic manipulation at the hands of the DKAI continues, she temporarily gains access to various psycho-biological gifts such as Telepathy and Telekinesis. It is only by combination with the DKAI's knowledge that she is able to utilize these abilities.
816 A.S. - Miranda, under the influence of the DKAI, traverses Sirius by use of a teleportation mechanism built into The Shrine's superstructure, seeking out Progenitor Keys. She eventually learns that the Progenitor is a starship of Daam K'vosh design.
816 A.S. - With less and less contact to Miranda, the Oracles begin to operate more autonomosly, and begin to form into a Sirius-wide cult revering the Daam K'vosh and the Nomads.
816 A.S. - Miranda officially transfers leadership of the Oracles to her right hand man, Zenon, and commits herself fully to finding the Progenitor. She continues to live and operate from sections of The Shrine inaccessible to anyone but herself and the DKAI.
817 A.S. - Having gathered enough information to continue on its own, and having no further need of a host, the DKAI abandons miranda, leaving her with no guidance and large portions of missing memory. Her access to abilities such as Telekinesis and Telepathy are all but lost, though she remains able to interface with many Daam K'vosh technologies due to the lingering effects of her genetic manipulation.
817 A.S. - Miranda utilizes a mind-relay device on The Shrine to make contact with the Keepers, hoping for additional guidance after the loss of the DKAI. The Keepers recognize that Miranda is an invaluable link to their creators and their past. Following contact, Miranda takes an Incubus seed and becomes a willing host to a Nomad entity in order to utilize the Mindshare to recover her lost memories.
817 A.S. - Miranda and her new symbiote depart The Shrine in an Oracle shuttlecraft, and set a course for Nomad-controlled space to form a stronger link to the Mindshare in the hopes of recovering her memories. While in transit through the New York system, they are ambushed by The Order and crash-land on Planet Pittsburgh.
817 A.S. - Following the crash, Miranda's incubus assumes control of her body and slaughters the population of a mining settlement before being subdued and apprehended by LPI officers, and transferred into LSF custody in the Alaska system.
817 A.S. - Miranda is interrogated and subjected to invasive medical investigations by the LSF, but is able to eventually escape her captors and commandeer a grizzly freighter to continue her journey into Nomad-controlled spaces. During the last leg of the voyage, Miranda's Incubus sacrifices itself in order to keep her alive following total power and life support loss in the freighter. Despite this, Miranda suffers clinical death in the form of a lifeless, deep coma for two months.
817 A.S. - Miranda's ship is found by a Nomad wanderer, and shortly thereafter she is taken to Altair Research Complex by members of Das Wilde. Upon resuscitation, The Wild discover that Miranda has become a human-nomad hybrid, a fluke caused by a combination of her genetic alteration and the symbiote within her sacrificing itself and becoming absorbed into her own cell structure. Internally, Miranda's body functions more like that of a Nomad form, functioning on energy; while outwardly her appearance is still mostly that of a human.
817 A.S. - Working in tandem with The Wild, Keepers, and Oracles, Miranda acquires heavily modified storta-class cruiser blended with an Irra seed. This vessel is named the "Ascendant", and serves as Miranda's personal flagship and mobile headquarters while continuing to search for Progenitor Keys, her efforts now supported fully by the Nomads. The process is slow-going, with months required to seek out each new key and an unknown number of them still required to complete the map to the Progenitor.
819 A.S. - Omicron Minor is assaulted by the Nomads, taking advantage of a massive Core-Order battle in progress. Planet Toledo is destroyed by the "Shamash" Nomad Suncrusher, leaving The Order nearly ruined. In the following months, Order survivors rebuild in other systems, and renew their war against the Nomads with a vengeance.
819 A.S. - Miranda's vessel, the Ascendant, is spotted in the edgeworlds by Order scouts, and she is followed and harassed by Order attacks for several days. The Order is eventually successful, and the Ascendant is destroyed, Miranda dying along with it. Upon death, Miranda's mind and consciousness are transferred into the Mindshare.
820 A.S. - It takes many months, but Miranda eventually learns how to transfer her mind from the Mindshare into vacant Nomad shipforms, allowing her to periodically experience life again. For 3 years, this is her only method of physically leaving the Mindshare, and without a human body she is unable to communicate with the Oracles or other factions.
823 A.S. - Wilde Scientists on Altair Research Complex, working with Miranda in the Mindshare, are finally successful in creating a perfect clone of Miranda's body, largely via the use of Daam K'vosh equipment from The Shrine, lent by the Oracles. Miranda is able to download her mind into this new body just as a Nomad does with their forms.
824 A.S. - With the Order aggressively routing out Wild agents in house space, all Wild personnel depart Altair to return to their posts in Kusari, Liberty, and Rheinland, leaving Miranda stranded aboard the station.
824 A.S. - Miranda periodically leaves her human body to assume a Nomad form, venturing out into Sirius and searching for additional Progenitor Keys. She quickly discovers that, without the genetic modifications of her human body, she is unable to interface with and activate the keys or other Daam K'vosh relics. In order to continue her mission, she requires a starship.
825 A.S. - Miranda decides to attempt modification of the incomplete, unmanned scorpion drones left by the Wild at Altair in order to create a habitable ship that she can directly interface with. Unable to complete the modifications on her own, she sends communications to the Wilde, Oracles, and Aoi Iseijin in a bid for aid; only the Iseijin respond.
825 A.S. - Aoi Iseijin science and engineering personnel are delivered to Altair by the KNF Musashi, and begin to work with Miranda on the Scorpion Drones.
825 A.S. - The scorpion drone project is deemed a failure, conversion is impossible. Miranda resigns to seeking alternatives.
825 A.S. - The Oracle initiate, Lucius Caliban, arrives at Altair and pledges his service to Miranda, becoming her emissary and intermediary when dealing with human organizations.

RE: Miranda - Tenacity - 10-10-2018

// Date: 816 A.S. //

Miranda sat in the center of her meditation chambers, on the top floor of The Shrine. No other human had been in this section of the structure, it was cut off from the rest by peculiar walls that could become solid or liquid as the Shrine saw fit, and it had only let her into this sanctuary. The room wasnt particularly large, perhaps twenty feet across, with arched walls that formed a dome over her head. The walls appeared grown, rather than built, with vein-like tendrils creeping from the base of the floor up to the small, glowing, purple orb at the dome's peak.

Down on both knees, legs folded underneath her and hands relaxed at her sides, Miranda closed her eyes and her mind once again joined with The Shrine. Why it had chosen her, she did not know... perhaps because she was the first Oracle to set foot on the station? Perhaps because she was simply the best choice at the time? Regardless, it had chosen her as it's "host"; just as a nomad can share a body with a human, so did The Shrine share Miranda's mind. She heard it's voice echo in her head, whispering truths and revealing lies.

The Shrine wasnt as much a sentient creature as it was a database, a virtual intelligence interface containing the knowledge of the Daam K'vosh empire. It seemed to be able to make decisions on it's own as any AI would, based on circumstance, but there was no emotion to it... just the cold, hard truth. This was the light that had opened Miranda's eyes, caused her to found the Oracles in the first place. Every time she connected with The Shrine, her mind was filled with images of the violence, slaughter, and depravity that humanity was sowing across Sirius. This place had once been home to one of the greatest empires the galaxy had seen, and now it was overrun by... parasites... feeding off of that mighty empire's remains.

Despite it's vast potential, humanity showed a distinct lack of effort when it came to rising above the level of grubs and maggots. Pointless material possession was all that drove these people of Sirius, greed and hate and lust and want. They lived their entire lives seeing nothing more than the sparkle of credits gleaming before their eyes, and then they died, having done nothing but waste their short lifespan grovelling for that which they could not have.

Miranda knew better... she had once been an explorer, trying to free herself from the laws and greed of the houses when she first stumbled upon The Shrine. She heard it's call across space, like a siren's song beckoning her to follow it's echo. The call lead her to spaces the likes of which humanity had never set eyes on before then, and her crew had come to call this tiny object in space it's home. However, appearances are deceiving, and this Shrine as they had come to call it stored knowledge on a scale so vast that no manmade computer could hope to hold it. Even Miranda's own mind, as unique as it was, strained with the information bestowed upon her.

She opened her eyes, still in a state of trance as the pulsing heartbeat of The Shrine thundered through her bones. Her pupils dialated until her irises were nearly solid black, the floor and walls lit and faded in a hue of purple and green, perfectly in tune with the pulsing she felt within herself. She tilted her head backwards and looked up at the tiny, crystalline ball at the apex of the room's domed ceiling, the light emanating from within it seemed to flow down the walls, enshrouding the area in a bright, purple glow.

Miranda moved her lips, muttering a word hardly louder than a whisper, the sound drowned out entirely by the thunderous roar pounding from the walls:

"...Crete..."

Instantly, the thundering noise ceased, the lights pulsing from the orb above her and the walls around her seemed to stop, her breathing came to a halt, and time stood still. A moment later, the walls tore apart, creating a vortex of metal shards spinning around her, with nothing but darkness beyond, as if she were surrounded by a maelstrom of razor blades in the void of space itself. The light from the orb above her shot down, enveloping her entirely in a bright white beam.

// Notes: Miranda's abilities were at their peak during this time. The Shrine AI had made significant genetic alterations to her DNA in order to create a more capable host suitable for its needs. Throughout these years, the AI was using Miranda to collect various Daam K'vosh artifacts necessary to both locate and re-activate a K'vosh starship hidden somewhere in Sirius. Unknown to Miranda or anyone else, the AI - in its thousands upon thousands of years in complete isolation - had become corrupted and partially insane, and planned to transfer itself into the K'vosh ship in order to find its creators. //

RE: Miranda - Tenacity - 10-10-2018

// Date: 816 A.S. //

The exterior of The Shrine began to rotate, it's leaflike arms slowly grinding into motion as the peak of the structure lit up like a beacon. The shrine turned, pointing it's tip towards Omicron Gamma, lightyears away. As the spinning arms of the structure tilted backwards, a beam of light surged through it from bottom to top, sending a pulse from the Shrine out through space at such blinding speed that the human eye was nearly incapable of witnessing it.

Seconds later, the beam smashes into Crete's surface just beyond the perimeter of a spaceport city. The barren, sandy surface ripples outward, melting and hardening into a reflective pane of glass as the light subsides. Where moments ago there was nothing but dry ground now laid a perfectly circular plate of solid glass, twenty feet across.

Miranda stood as the pure white light around her faded and the walls of the Shrine were replaced by the hazy, open sky of Crete. She looked down, her bare feet caressed by the cold, smooth glass that had been created as a landing sight for her transit. Her thin one piece dress flittered in the light wind as she began to walk forward, towards the spaceport ahead.

The feeling of instantaneous transport across hundreds of lightyears, without so much as a ship to carry her, was nothing short of exhilarating. Her blood rushed through her veins, full of adrenaline and endorphins, and the euphoria of suddenly heightened senses swirled through her mind. She wondered mildly if the K'vosh had once travelled in that way, from one galaxy to another without any need for ships, and not a moment later The Shrine's mind echoed inside her own with the answer.

Shaking her thoughts, she gazed ahead at a small group of Corsairs running towards her, fully armed. The Corsairs, despite their constant dealings with the Nomads and their presence in the ever dangerous borderworlds, were still skittish at anything unusual. Miranda had spoken to Romano often about his past as a Corsair pirate, but had never dealt with any other than him. Once again, she had to pull herself from sideways thoughts and pondering as they drew near.

The sound of boots crunching on sand and gravel came to a sudden halt, and was replaced by clicks and the distinct, high pitched charging sound of laser rifles being armed. Miranda stared down at a small bug crawling over her feet, smiling to herself at it's little, peaceful world, then brought her attention up to the men leveling their weapons at her. They hesitated a moment after realizing she was only a young girl, but their weapons were brought to bear again when they saw the circle of glass embedded in the ground behind her.

"Chica, what are you doing here, and what the hell was that light?"

Miranda said nothing, but donned a coy smile as she stared into the speaker's eyes.

*Peace*

The man's right eye twitched momentarily as Miranda's single thought echoed in his head. He shook it off and pulled his weapon up again, finger tense on the trigger, nearly to the firing point.

"Boys, I think she's a Nomad!"

The full group suddenly became more alert, ready to fire their weapons without hesitation should their leader give the signal. Miranda rolled her eyes and sighed at their lack of cooperation, before raising her right hand, palm up, to eye level. With the motion, the rifles were yanked out of their wielders hands, floating just above their heads, slowly rotating as Miranda held them with willpower alone. The men took a step back, ready to reach for knives, pistols, and anything else they had to spare.

Miranda flicked her hand to the side, sending the floating weapons flying through the air and skidding across the ground. She took a more direct approach this time.

"Perhaps you boys didnt get my meaning, I do not have time for your violent ways, now would you please quit trying to kill me, and take me to the starport?"

They looked at one another, nervously, before nodding and turning from Miranda towards the roar of ships from the starport ahead. Miranda smiled and followed, daintily striding across the desert barefoot behind the thugs.

RE: Miranda - Tenacity - 10-10-2018

// Date: 816 A.S. //

Miranda knelt once again, meditating in a quiet, sandy room as she waited. She had sent the thugs off to find an artifact dealer for her, and as her mind cleared she could feel it's presence getting ever closer, one footstep at a time. It was amazing what one could hear, if one simply opened her ears to listen; though Miranda admittedly had a bit of help from The Shrine when it came to the art of perception.

She smiled, at peace with her surroundings. She felt the flapping of a fly's wings as it buzzed in the corner of the room, the clicking of a beetle's tiny feet as it skittered across the sandstone floor, the whistle of the breeze outside as it passed by the window. Not the tiniest change in the vicinity went unnoticed to her. Hyperawareness was only one of the benefits granted to her by the Shrine; it's evolutionary effect on her mind had granted her telepathy, telekinesis, and other senses she could not yet understand.

Eyes closed, Miranda tracked the artifact dealer beyond the tiny room's closed door. She felt his footsteps through the ground, his breathing through the air, she even heard his thoughts... 'how much will she pay?', 'is she going to kill me?', 'why does a nomad want artifacts?', 'I wonder how good she is in bed?'

She chuckled to herself, shaking her head at the man's narrowmindedness and singular devotion to his material needs. All unenlightened men and women were the same, only money, food, power, and sex mattered to them. Past those simple needs, they had nothing to strive for... at least, nothing they could be bothered to learn of.

Miranda took a breath as the door opened and the artifact dealer stepped in, carrying a large crate full of ancient alien gadgets and gizmos. He smelled of sweat, fear, and arousal.

"Oy, miss, I dunno what you want 'round here but this is all I got to sell right now, make it quick and pay in cash!"

His eagerness to get the deal over with was a sign of defensive behavior, he was uneasy about her and she could feel it.

"I'm not a nomad."

"Wha? I never said you was a nomad!"

"No, but you were thinking it. Set the crate down, please."

The dealer dropped the crate to the ground, almost spilling it's contents out across the floor. He backed up a bit and crossed his arms in front of his chest, expecting her to dig through the pile herself. Miranda relaxed once more, and the crystalline devices began to glow, floating up out of the grate and rotating through the air around her. The dealer's mouth hung open in astonishment as one artifact after another floated in front of Miranda's eyes.

As suddenly as they had floated out of the crate, all but one artifact dropped to the ground, that one still hanging in the air directly in front of Miranda. It was relatively small and cylindrical in shape, made of purple crystal outlined in metallic gold. The artifact hummed and pulsed as Miranda stared at it intently. Most of the other artifacts were simple tools, ranging from personal maps to simple lights and children's toys. This one, however, was significant... it was a piece of the puzzle, one component of the conduit that Miranda sought to rebuild.

She reached out and pulled it from the air, the now-active artifact humming in her hand as it rolled across her palm, warm to the touch. Miranda stood, and slipped the artifact into a small, thin pocket at the waist of her dress. The artifact dealer straightened up, realizing that she was taking one of his precious commodities.

"Hey, you gotta pay for that, I got kids to feed!"

"If you truly care for them, you will teach them to fend for themselves; else like you they will require others for the rest of their lives. Find a new profession, dealer."

Miranda's skin began to glow, dousing the room in pure white light as she once more reconnected with the Shrine. When the light subsided, the dealer found himself alone in the room, his 'customer' having disappeared into thin air as if she was nothing more than a hallucination to begin with. He sighed heavily and began to pick up his artifacts off of the floor, piling them back into the crate.

Miranda once more opened her eyes to find herself within the Shrine, one artifact closer to her goal.

// Notes: Unknown to even most of the Oracles, The Shrine served, at one point, as a form of transportation for the Daam K'vosh who created it. They needed a way to get around quickly, even without ships. The Shrine's inner chamber, accessible only by someone in control of, or connected to, its AI, is capable of instantly teleporting anyone inside of it to any planet where K'vosh ruins exist. //

RE: Miranda - Tenacity - 10-10-2018

// Date: Late 816 A.S. //

Miranda stood before her followers, the assembled Oracles, in the main hall of The Shrine. She closed her eyes momentarily, hearing their thoughts, emotions, and desires echoing throughout the room, as clearly as she heard her own voice when she spoke.

"Oracles, it is with regret that I must inform you that I will soon be departing. I hope that my teachings have had enough of an impact to guide you from this point forward, but there are places I must travel where others cannot follow, to worlds and dimensions beyond this one. I seek to bring back the true masters, and if I succeed I will return with them, but my success is not guaranteed. Fate will decide the course of my journey."

She paused for a moment, soaking in their thoughts once more, they were worried, they were nervous, but it was to be expected. Many Oracles did not truly know what they stood for, they were children in the presence of gods, awstruck and confused, enlightened and thrown to questioning, all at the same time.

Zenon, the first Oracle she had recruited once discovering The Shrine, stepped forward as she motioned towards him. Body language was so primitive, she thought... speaking as well, but none of her followers had attained the level of telepathy or sense that she had. The Shrine had chosen her from the moment she set foot aboard it, years ago... it had chosen her to be it's carrier, it's host, to evolve with it and complete it's purpose.

"Zenon, you I have taught more than any of the others, and so it is you I leave my position to. The Oracles need guidance, they need a leader, and with my absence you are the only one who can fill that need. I do not know if you are ready for the task, but the direction and fate of the Oracles now lies solely in your hands. I trust you wont fail me..."

Zenon bowed slightly, trying to reassure her that he was up to the task.

Miranda turned back to the assembled followers, "Now I must go, the gateway is closing and I cannot miss this chance. Take care of the Shrine, it is important..."

As she said the last words, her voice trailed off. Miranda's body began to glow, as if her flesh was illuminated from beneath, and after several seconds she vanished - disintegrating from foot to head like dust blowing away in the wind. All that remained was the glowing form of her silhouette and, in a flash, that too dissapeared.

The hall was left silent, the remaining Oracles gasping in disbelief at what they had just bore witness to.

---

Zenon watched as Miranda seemingly vanished into thin air. The other oracles remained shocked, but Zenon did not seem even surprised by the occurrence. He turned to face the other oracles.

"Brothers, Sisters, Comrades... We have a difficult path ahead of us, but I have the utmost confidence in each of you. The fate of the humans in Sirius, and perhaps humans as a species is in our hands. Without intervention, as you know they will destroy themselves. We have done all that we can through publicly preaching, there are those who may still join our cause and we must find them and show them the truth."

Zenon bowed his head slightly and closed his eyes... then looked back at his fellow oracles, this time his eyes shimmering with a blueish haze... He spoke with a slightly different tone this time.

"Time runs short. If your race is to survive we must act quickly and we must act together. Ready yourselves."

// Notes: This section occurs inbetween the time period where Miranda officially leaves the Oracles to venture out on her own, and when the Shrine AI abandons her. At this point it is still inhabiting her mind and body, but Miranda knows she cannot lead the Oracles and seek out the Progenitor at the same time. This also coincided with a brief lapse in my time on Discovery, where I needed to leave someone at the helm of the Oracles who I trusted, and Zenon did a fantastic job of it. //

RE: Miranda - Tenacity - 10-10-2018

// Date: Mid 817 A.S. //

<Location: Planet Pittsburgh, New York System Three Weeks Ago>

[Image: 257g0o7.jpg]

[Liberty Police, Inc. Investigation Report #81924]

-Timeline-

0904 Hours - Transmission from Redrock Mining Colony received, transmission as follows:
"Hello? LPI? This is Ryan Thompson, shift manager at the Redrock Mining facility on Pittsburgh. Listen, we need some officers out here... we found a girl in the desert, she was naked and unconscious, looked near dead. When she woke up... well, her eyes were blue like nothin I've ever seen before, she attacked my men and... wait, what'd you say? Hey Parker, get back on that rig! Parker! *pause* oh god she's woken up, help us! Get away from me! No! No! Aaaaaaarrrgghhhh! *static*"

0946 Hours - LPI squadron Gamma Seven arrives on scene, debriefing interview of Mathew Roberts:
"When we got to the mining facility... the place was a slaughterhouse, blood everywhere, people impaled on machinery, dismembered arms... the caller said that it was just a girl they found, there's no way a girl could have done all of that. My officers scoured the area, initially there were no signs of any life, but Sergeant Baker yelled for us, and by the time we got to him he was lying on the ground passed out with that girl standing over him. We hit her with half a dozen stun blasts before she finally collapsed. Baker was ok, but had a mild concussion. We chained the girl up and brought her back to Fort Bush."

1031 Hours - LPI squadron Gamma Seven docks at Fort Bush with suspect, Commentary from Mathew Roberts:
"When we landed back at Bush, several men in black suits were waiting in the docking bay with an armored Grizzly freighter nearby. As I got out of my Liberator, one of them approached and showed an LSF badge, and told me he was taking custody of the suspect. I tried to argue, damn LSF are always getting into our business, but once they show up we really dont have any jurisdiction or say left in the matter. The LSF agents drug her out of my cargo bay and into the Grizzly, took off shortly after, I wonder if I'll ever find out who she was or what happened out there..."

[End of LPI Report]

<Location: Kodiak Research Station, Alaska System, Two Weeks Ago>

[Image: i5bpu0.png]

[LSF Nomad Research Division, Agent Davis Speaking]

"Welcome, gentlemen... glad you could all attend today, for we have procured something incredible that will undoubtedly lead to expansive breakthroughs in military technology. Take your seats, please..."

"Early this week, our agents brought in a specimen we are now referring to as Subject 42. Subject 42 is a young female, deemed to be of either Libertonian or Zoner origin, who was found unconscious on the surface of Planet Pittsburgh, and was captured by LPI officers after she slaughtered the entire population of a small mining facility by unknown means."

"From that point until now, Subject 42 has been kept in a chemically induced coma, in order to prevent any further... outbursts... for her own safety as well as that of this facility's staff. During the next several weeks, Subject 42 will be tested mentally, physically, and in any other manner deemed necessary in order to discover her origins and how she singlehandedly killed over a dozen men without weapons of any sort."

"For now that is all the information we have, another meeting will be called in two weeks to discuss our findings."

Agent Davis stood at the podium, silently waiting for the room to empty, and calling out to one of the attendees before he could make it out of the room, "Doctor Palmer, if I could have a word with you?" The Doctor nodded and returned as the rest of the agents left.

Davis stepped down and sat across the table from the man, "Doctor, I want you to use the holoscan equipment we've been developing on Subject 42, see if she's infected. I know the technology is still new and experimental, but this is the perfect time to test it... learn everything you can, and submit a report back to me tomorrow morning."

Doctor Palmer nodded and stood, heading towards the research labs on Kodiak.

// Notes: This section occurs long after the Shrine AI has left Miranda, and she returned to the Shrine to become host to a Nomad Incubus in an attempt to find her way and recover the locked memories that the AI left behind in her mind. She wound up crashed on planet pittsburgh following an ambush by The Order (this played out in-game, but was sadly not recorded); after crash landing, her Nomad Incubus went into a defensive state and, through Miranda, slaughtered an entire mining outpost on the planet surface before being apprehended by LPI, and then transferred into LSF custody. //

RE: Miranda - Tenacity - 10-10-2018

// Date: 817 A.S. //

<Location: Research Labs, Kodiak Station>

[Image: 2a82h44.png]

Doctor Palmer manipulated the holographic image projected by the machine with his hands, rotating and examining Subject 42's brain... and the imbedded nomad... without ever having to perform invasive surgery. His assistant stood beside him, watching and taking notes.

Palmer spun the brain back around and waved his hand through it, causing the display to change to a cross-section of the organ, "Amazing... we've never had this kind of information on an infected individual before. It looks like the brain is actually being chemically altered, from the back to the front, by the Nomad parasite. The cells on the rear portion of the brain almost perfectly match the cell structure of the Nomad itself... it must control the host by actually merging with the brain on a cellular level."

The assistant frantically scribbled down notes as Palmer analyzed the hologram. The doctor continued to speak, "It appears that when the parasite first entered the host body, it forced it's way into the brain through the spinal chord... probably an extremely painful experience for the living host, unless the Nomad is able to somehow keep the body paralyzed or unconscious while the entry occurs. Remarkably, it looks as if the entry of the parasite into the brain caused no real cellular damage... perhaps the alien is capable of actually squeezing inbetween the human cells by spreading it's own apart, becoming a liquid maybe? I'm not really sure... it doesnt seem possible but this evidence shows that it is."

Palmer grabbed the holographic image on each side with both hands and pulled, causing the picture to expand and zoom in before continuing, "The chemical conversion of the brain to become part of the nomad's own structure probably doesnt allow any of the original host's mind to remain intact. Maybe the Nomad is capable of taking the host consciousness into it's own, along with memories and knowledge... that would explain how these infected individuals can blend in so well, and not seem entirely alien while walking amongst us."

The Doctor shut down the machine, causing the hologram to disappear. "Take those notes to Agent Davis, there's nothing more we can learn from holographic examination."

RE: Miranda - Tenacity - 10-10-2018

// Date: 817 A.S. //

Session 1: Interview of Subject 42

[Image: xlxnw1.jpg]

-Recorded Audio-

Interviewer: "How are you feeling? The sedatives are starting to wear off, can you understand me?"

Subject 42: "I... where am I?"

Interviewer: "You're in a special facility, you're safe. What is your name?"

Subject 42: "My name is... wh... I dont know... I... I cant remember..."

Interviewer: "Do you know where you came from? Who you are? What is the last thing you remember?"

Subject 42: "Red... I remember red, all over, dripping and spraying. What does it mean?"

Interviewer: "There was a tragic event where we found you, a lot of people died, but you survived. Do you know why that is?"

Subject 42: "I dont know... why am I chained to this chair?"

Interviewer: "We're going to give you another sedative, we can talk more tomorrow, ok?"

Subject 42: "N... No, I dont want to sleep, the black claws at me, dark shapes, get away from me! GET AWAY!"

Interviewer: "Tranquilize her, now!"

Medical excerpt - attending physician Dr. Michael Palmer

"I've been tasked with keeping records of physical and behavioral traits of Subject 42 inbetween sessions. As my first entry, I feel I should note that, despite my original findings via holographic projection, it does seem that the host's mind is still intact... to a degree."

"Subject 42 has displayed extensive memory loss, and the holographic scanner shows this is the result of massive hemorrhaging to the brain. The nomad parasite seems to display similar physical damage and has not shown any signs of neural activity, indicating that it is likely in a dormant state after suffering whatever trauma put the host in her condition."

"We have no real information on the anatomy or even the basic functionings of Nomad organisms, so I do not know if it will heal itself over time and resume control... only time will tell."

Session 2: Interview of Subject 42

[Image: 33nagso.jpg]

-Recorded Audio-

Interviewer: "Hello, are you feeling better today?"

Subject 42: "B... Better, I guess. Why am I here?"

Interviewer: "Because it's a safe place. Do you remember anything new?"

Subject 42: "I dont... I dont know... I see flashes, pieces and puzzles and light jigsaws, I cant make sense of it all."

Interviewer: "It's ok, just calm down. Did you remember your name?"

Subject 42: "Name... I have a name, but we dont have names, I hear it like a distant breeze but it isnt strong enough... My name... my name... I... I dont know!"

Interviewer: "Just try to calm down, relax, concentrate... you can remember, I know you can."

Subject 42: "It... it hurts... Miranda... that's what the followers say, that is what they call me, but why? We dont have names, we just know..."

Interviewer: "Miranda? That's a nice name, but what do you mean by 'we'? Are there others, here or somewhere else?"

Miranda: "Here but not here, everywhere but absent, I dont know, I can hear them but they're silent, my... my head, it hurts... I want to sleep now, can I please sleep?"

Interviewer: "Ok, we'll talk again tomorrow. Come sedate her."

Medical excerpt - attending physician Dr. Michael Palmer

"I've been observing Subject 42 in her cell, she seems to be talking to herself. Holographic scans still show that the parasite is dormant, but I'm beginning to wonder if that is really the case... could it be speaking to her, but attempting to remain hidden at the same time?"

"During her last interview, Subject 42 annoucned that her name was Miranda, but she seemed... distressed about it. I havent figured out why, maybe the parasite is attempting to keep her from giving out information? It is still unknown to what degree of control the Nomad really has at this point."

"It should also be noted that since the first interview, Miranda has been sinking into a depressed state. While observing her in her cell, she has at times seemed to simply 'blank out' and stare at the wall for hours at a time, not even blinking. I am almost certain this is the Nomad's doing, but there is no way to be sure."

Session 3: Interview of Miranda, Subject 42

[Image: 29leq0g.jpg]

-Recorded Audio-

Interviewer: "Miranda, are you feeling better today? Is the headache gone?"

Miranda: "It... it still hurts, like eyes on the floor, swimming in rocks and climbing waterfalls..."

Interviewer: "Miranda, you arent making any sense, what do you mean?"

Miranda: "I'm trying, trying to remember, pulling seeds from black and white, trying to grow color... it talks but without voice, I know it was my burden and my blessing, but why? I cant add 1 and B to make yellow..."

Interviewer: "Miranda, can you remember where you came from?"

Miranda: "Spaces of black and blue and purple and green, mottled rainbows without rain. The heat is invisible but I can feel it, it burns but I'm protected, I live in a metal shell and it cant reach me here."

Interviewer: "Miranda I need you to concentrate, answer the question please. Do you know where you came from, how did you get on Pittsburgh?"

Miranda: "Sea of tiny rocks, I remember, it's like pieces of a puzzle, they all fit together if you mash them hard enough, but the pieces break, everything is broken."

Interviewer: "So you remember Pittsburgh, but do you remember how you got there?"

Miranda: "Wings and fins like light swimming through black, flapping like a bird but not moving, just drifting on a ray of sunshine"

Interviewer: "You're not answering my question, Miranda..."

Miranda: "You hear but dont listen, see but dont recognize, you're blind and deaf and you dont even know, they say you're going to die soon, I believe them."

Interviewer: "Who, Miranda? Who says I'm going to die?"

Miranda: "We regrow like plants or lizards, I dont but we do, you dont either. If you die there is nothing, just black and no light, they say that's how it will be for you, soon."

Interviewer: "Sedate her, I've had enough for today."

Miranda: "Soon, quiet you'll see and black you'll hear, soon..."

Medical excerpt - attending physician Dr. Michael Palmer

"Miranda is showing severe signs of mental disorder, confusing words and speaking in exceptionally abstract terms. The interviewer cant even understand what she's saying half the time, and neither can I."

"While she was in session today, I looked around her cell and found strange symbols scattered across the walls. Further examination of the cell and Miranda herself revealed that she has been scratching at the walls in a trance-like state, wearing the skin off of her fingertips and writing in her own blood. This behavior is disturbing to say the least, it shows an incredible tolerance for pain, most likely when the nomad is in control."

"The symbols are like nothing we've ever seen, I sent some images of them to Professor Blair on Cambridge for analysis, he's studied alien ruins before and might know what these writings mean."

"The good news is that Miranda seems to be remembering more and more of her past, though the information drawn out by the Interviewer is still spotty. Holographic scans show that her brain is healing, but so is the Nomad in it... I fear what will happen if it is able to fully retake control of her."

Session 4: Interview of Miranda, Subject 42

[Image: 351vl8w.jpg]

-Recorded Audio-

Interviewer: "I'm tired of games, Miranda, I want some answers. How did you get to Pittsburgh where we found you?"

Miranda: "I repeat and repeat and repeat but nothing registers, in one and out the other."

Interviewer: "Enough riddles, do you want to be chained to that chair forever?"

Miranda: "Chains... Chair... you dont see them anymore, are they really necessary if they arent there? You should remove them."

Interviewer: "I... you're right, what use are chains that arent there, here, let me take those off for you."

Comm: "What are you doing, agent? Dont unlock her restraints!"

Miranda: "They are a threat, they want to kill you, I told you that you would die but you can defend yourself, you have a weapon. They arent your friends, they're traitors, ready to stab you, gut you like a fish... shoot them, before they shoot you!"

Interviewer: "No, I wont let you kill me!"

*Gunshots*

Miranda: "They're all dead now, the man and the others... what should we do?"

Miranda: "We should escape, the gravity here is strange, like a rock sphere but floating."

Miranda: "Yes, escape, but how?"

Miranda: "They use metal shells, ships, we can steal one and rejoin the others, they call to us now..."

Miranda: "His last thoughts are mine, I remember... he wanted to escape, he didnt want to die but he did, he knew how to get out... the docking bay. We'll take his thoughts, they can show us the way."

// Notes: Miranda's mind was damaged over time by the Shrine AI's manipulations and partitioning of her memories. This was further compounded when she became host to the nomad incubus, which suffered some mental alterations of its own after being exposed to K'vosh knowledge that was contained in Miranda's mind. These complications combined to create the appearance of multiple personality disorder; wherein Miranda speaks as if she is many people at once, and also talks to herself. When speaking to herself, she's conversing with the nomad that is inside of her, or it is conversing with her externally. //

RE: Miranda - Tenacity - 10-10-2018

// Date: 817 A.S. //

Miranda leaned down to inspect the firearm of the interrogator... the power cell was dead, he had shot frantically and without control - not an experienced field agent. The nomad within her spoke through her, at her, "Memories return, this place isnt safe, the others wait, we must go."

She stepped over the bodies crowding the entryway and took off, running down the hallway with focused determination. Red lights flashed along the corridors and sirens echoed in the background, all alerting the security forces onboard the station to the escape. She stopped momentarily, "The guard's memories, which way?" after a short pause she answered herself, "This way, quickly." and went back to running.

The Nomad, having been dormant, preserved many of Miranda's memories while her brain healed from the battle before. If it were not for that preservation, she would be braindead now... deaf, blind, useless. She was a good agent, the Nomad could not lose her, it needed her and she needed it. The rush of memories back into her mind from that of the creature during the past few days was exhausting, painful... but now she remembered, now she knew.

"Stop."

"What?"

"Guards are coming, I can feel them, too many... hide."

Her training was slowly coming back to her... a name, Riviera, that was where they taught her, strengthened her, after the shrine had used her for it's own purposes.

Miranda ran towards the wall of the hallway, ran up it, her bare feet clinging to the plastered walls. Stretching across the hall, she grabbed onto an extinguisher fixture and braced herself, holding her body against the ceiling as the guards ran underneath and past her, oblivious to her presence.

After the threat had passed, she dropped gracefully back down to the floor. She spoke to herself once more, "More guards will be by the hangar, how do we get past them?" ... "Memories, this isnt the first mission, not the first task." ... "Manipulate them, yes... I remember, you can do that." ... "We can."

The hallway curved to the left and then back again to the right, branching off with rooms and other halls along it's length. One door blocked the way, with one armed guard... Miranda approached, staring at him like a hawk as he raised his gun and yelled, "You're the escaped prisoner! I cant let you through, get down on the ground or I will open fire!"

Miranda smiled, "I'm not a prisoner, dont you recognize me... I'm your sister."

The guard hesitated a moment, shaking his head as if in a daze, "B... But I dont have a sister, you're lying!"

She shook her head, "Dont you remember? We grew up together... we played and went to school on..." she probed his mind, searching for his memories, "... Los Angeles."

The man backed up a bit, slightly lowering his weapon and staring off into space as he lost concentration, "What are you doing here, little sister?"

Miranda smiled, "I came to visit you, but now my visit is over, I have to go back home. You can let me into the hangar, you can trust me..."

Despite still having a confused look on his face, the guard stepped aside and lowered his gun, "Go ahead to the hangar, and be careful sister... there's an escaped prisoner on the station."

She passed him and approached the door, it was locked and could only be opened by password entry - the simple keypad imbedded into the wall beside it would allow that. Miranda raised her hand to it, hovering her fingers over the keys as tiny tendrils breached through her skin, too small for the eye to see. The tendrils wove through the circuitry of the keypad, sending impulses of energy from the nomad inside of her... telling the console to open the door.

On the other side stretched the hangar bay, filled with dozens of fighters, bombers, freighters, and even a small transport. The closest was the same Grizzly-Class Freighter they had hauled her in on... she had always liked freighters, small but not too small, spacious enough to move around in and stretch... she didnt like feeling trapped behind the steel and glass of a fighter cockpit. She rushed towards the freighter's loading ramp, pulling it closed as she crawled inside the ship.

---

Miranda flipped on the freighter power switches and took hold of the steering column as dozens of security personnel poured into the docking bay. They frantically fired handheld weapons at the freighter, singing it's surface and causing thud sounds to echo through the ship. One more switch and the shield was up, deflecting those minor laser blasts back away from the hull as the guards fired.

The freighter, despite weighing several tons, effortlessly lifted off of the hangar floor as Miranda pulled the control stick back. She twisted the handles, pulling the ship around and backing it out of the hangar as the Grizzly's autoturrets returned fire at the guards, plowing through two of them as the others took cover. As she backed out of the bay, the freighter jolted suddenly, smashing into an invisible shield covering the exit. She could hear steel crunching as she tried to back up further, to no avail.

"There's a shield blocking the exit!"

"Calm down, we can disable it..."

She could feel the nomad in her brain stressing, trying to extend it's reach, and as it did blood started dripping from her nose, and the world began to dim. On the verge of passing out as her partner tapped into the electrical network of the base, the lights in the hangar flickered and shut down. Her vision returned and she watched in amusement as the guards who had just been firing at her ship were sucked into space, no longer protected by the forcefield.

"We're too weak... must escape..."

The nomad went into a dormant state again, to heal itself and regain energy as Miranda piloted the ship out of the bay. It was still wounded, but risked itself to save the both of them... Miranda began to remember how they were merged, how they came to exist in the same body. It was not an act of aggression for either participant, but a willing jump into the void. She needed it as much as it needed her.

She wrapped her fingers around the thrust control and pushed it forward, sending the ship to cruise speed. Alaska wasnt far from friendly space, making it through Omicron Minor would be difficult in a Liberty ship, but from there it was only a short run to Altair. Miranda wiped the blood from her nose and stared out the fogging cockpit window at the shards of ice passing by, finally free again, but for how long? Hopefully the Keepers would have answers, once they were close enough and her nomad could repair itself enough to reconnect with the Mindshare.

---

Miranda woke, shivvering in the cockpit of the Grizzly. A tiny red light flashed, antagonizing her eyes and drawing them to the fuel gauge... it was near empty. Internal environmental controls had been automatically adjusted to conserve power for critical systems, turning the ship into little more than a floating icebox.

Her heart felt like it dropped into her stomach when she realized that the nomad inside her was completely silent. There was... nothing, she wasnt sure if the physical form had died or if it was in a deeper hibernation state than before, but the feeling was unnerving. After having spent so long in commune with it, the creature was almost a part of her, to not hear it's voice in her head was akin to losing a limb.

She fumbled at the flight controls with near frozen fingers, bringing up a local navmap on the display console. She was off of known navigational routes, but her coordinates, and the view out the window, told her that she was definitely within the Omicron Minor system. This shuttle must not have had up to date maps, or perhaps the navy knew less about The Order than she had assumed. The console alerted her to the presence of a gravitational anomaly nearby; could be a jumphole, a planet, a space station, or any other number of large interstellar objects, but there were no engine trails, no residual energy from manmade technology being used here.

Miranda set the autopilot for optimum efficiency, towards whatever object lie in the green clouds ahead. She was, for the first time in as long as she could remember, worried, lost, alone. Her memories were slowly returning, that was of some comfort, but she recalled that even before she had joined with this nomad, she was always confident, eager to take risk and reap the reward. Now there was no voice to help her, she didnt know where she was, her ship was nearly out of power, and she was surrounded by an entire galaxy of hostiles. If her nomad had died, if it was no longer with her, would the others even know who she was? Would they know that she was an ally?

She pulled her arms and legs inside her thin, tattered dress, trying to keep warm to ill effect. The massive green expanse looming ahead slowly began to grow larger, darker, more intimidating. Soon it would engulf the ship entirely, and even her shuttle's sensors would not be able to help her then. Space is more dangerous than most realize... especially the overconfident such as herself.

// Notes: It is at this point that Miranda eventually "dies" due to failing life support on the shuttle, and the Nomad she plays host to sacrifices itself to save her, essentially putting her into a catatonic state to reserve energy and oxygen for as long as possible. Due to Miranda's genetic modifications, when the Nomad inside her died it was absorbed by her body and altered her own cells, completing her transformation into a human-nomad hybrid. //

RE: Miranda - Tenacity - 10-10-2018

// Date: 817 A.S. //

By the time the grizzly was found by wanderers on the border of the Iota system, Miranda's body had lapsed into a Coma, and she was on the brink of death. Physiological changes begun months ago by the nomad she was host to had altered her own cells to the point that they were more Nomad than human - at least on the inside - and those changes were the one thing that kept her from fading entirely.

Cells can be repaired, restored, even human cells... but the consciousness is significantly more prone to damage. Bits and pieces of her memory, her personality, her being, were transferred into the Mindshare. The knowledge that had been locked away deep in her subconscious mind by the entity in the Shrine was slowly pieced back together, bit by bit, image by image. That knowledge could prove to be the salvation of the K'haran efforts in Sirius, a map of sorts to a long lost remnant of an ancient civilization, that of the creators themselves. They could not afford to lose the information she held, but safeguards had been put into place to ensure it could not fall into the wrong hands; they needed her as much as they needed it.

***Awaken***

Miranda gasped her first lungfull of air in weeks, her body felt like it was on fire and frozen cold at the same time, pins and needles raced across her extremities and her mind cried out in agony and ecstasy simultaneously. Her vision was blurred, her ears ringing in more tones than she could count, the voice telling her to rise and live once more echoing in her brain like the reverberations of a drumbeat in a valley.

***(Calm)***

As the panic and anxiety of her sudden revival subsided, she began to make sense of her surroundings. The room came slowly into focus; first the blurry image of her hands in front of her face, blocking against a scrutinizing light, came into clarity... then her feet beyond those, she was sitting up on a cold, steel operating table... the bright light dimmed slightly, revealing a mixture of stainless steel walls and organic material that bore the appearance of slimy volcanic rock.

***(Warmth ... Light)***

***'Life'***

She was surrounded, several humans that appeared to be doctors, but standing among them, between them, behind them, were the beautiful, flowing and glowing forms of her brothers and sisters, K'hara, Nomads. Despite being born a human, she was more akin to them now, both mentally and physically. Her body was still passably human, though her hair and eyes had taken on a luminous gradient of blue and purple, and the faint glow of light tracing the outline of her bones could just barely be seen through her skin.

Miranda clumsily tried to turn and get down from the table, her legs weak beneath her, and the nearest man reached for her arm to help steady her, "Easy now, you've been clinically dead for almost a month, you need to regain your strength."

She looked around once more at the gathering, her memory was fuzzy but came back to her with concentration. She recognized the man who helped her, and several of the others, as agents of Das Wilde, which would explain the hint of Rheinlander accent in his voice. He lead her by the arm over to the opposite side of the room, to the bright light that had pained her eyes when she first awoke. Able to see more clearly now, able to focus, she identified the object the light was emanating from; a Nomad power cell. The blue and purple orb radiated with energy - the energy of the universe itself, the power generated by the stars throughout this galaxy and others.

Almost instinctively, she reached out to it, wisp-thin tendrils stretching through her skin and growing towards the light. Human skin wasnt able to absorb solar energy efficiently, it was dark and inhibitive. Those parts of her being that had transformed to be more physiologically akin to her K'haran brethren, however, were well suited to feeding on such a source, and they stretched beyond the boundaries of her flesh, reaching out to the 'meal' before her.

Her head lulled back and her eyes twitched as she felt the surge of solar radiation run along the tendrils into the core of her body, each pulse restoring strength, each wave bringing with it an almost overwhelming burst of pleasure and sense of fulfillment. Her blue and purple laced irises began to glow from within, sending streams of white light that reflected on particles of dust in the air. Her skeleton could be seen glowing through her skin as if it were irradiated, pulsing with the rythm of a heartbeat.

Eventually the pleasure subsided, as she was unable to absorb any more power without damaging even the nomad half of her biology. She withdrew her hands, staring at them in childish amusement as the bluish tendrils withdrew into her fingertips. She may have been clinically dead the past month, but her body had evolved far past what it was when she had escaped in that cold freighter. She was no longer human, but neither was she a Nomad... she was something inbetween, a true hybrid, defying what was believed possible prior to this point. Before now, hybrids were - in the most simple terms - a human mind occupying a nomad form, linked to the mindshare; a process which took a great deal of time and energy, and put great risk on the participants involved.

Her time aboard the Shrine, the events that took place in its hidden chamber, the long hours of meditation she spent with the entity that had inhabited the station for untold millenia... something must have prepared her for this, altered her physiology to the point of being capable of accepting such a dual existence. Thoughts, questions, were racing through her mind as fast as she could process them, and she slowly came to the realization that not all of them were her own. Long ago, she had become a willing host to a Nomad Incubus, and through it she had indirect access to the mindshare - the telepathic link connecting all Nomads within range - but this was different... stronger... direct. She was no longer a host, the Incubus she had once held had given all the strength it had to keep her alive during the Coma. She was a direct part of the link now, processing the thoughts of a thousand consciousnesses at once, downloading and uploading information without even the need for concentration or an active effort.

Miranda turned toward the Wilde standing next to her, eyes still glowing from her contact with the cell. As she spoke, for the first time since awakening, she felt a strange feedback... she heard her own voice through her ears, but also heard her thoughts echoing in the many minds she was connected to, "What... am I?

The man smiled, and in unison the other humans, as well as the Nomads within the room, replied,
"Evolution."
***Evolution***

"You represent the first true hybrid, Miranda, a feat of genetic engineering that none of us could achieve before now. We dont know exactly how this happened, all we know is that the Shrine somehow altered you, and before you came here you were collecting information for it, information that may be the key to finding our creators."

"The K'vosh..."

"Yes. The information we need is locked in your mind, we were unable to transfer it to the Mindshare. Tell us... do you remember anything from your time on the Shrine? Do you know what it wanted you to find? What it had you search for?"

"Glimpses... I cant remember..."

The man sighed a sigh that was heard throughout the minds of a thousand entities, including hers. "We can only hope it comes back to you soon. Come, we're aboard Altair, I'll show you to your sanctum."