Biding Time

[Tallulah Sonne]

Tallulah bowed low, fashioning a strange curtsy that could only be described as foreign, the same one she'd performed when she had first met him face to face. The tigress was quick to readjust her posture to her prior stand though. Sarath was obviously aggravated and the longer he waited for what information she could provide, the more chance he'd have of erupting on her.

"Not to worry, my lord. These are good tidings I bring. The remaining count of injured rests at just below fifteen. Nine remain in critical but stable condition. My team is overseeing these individuals as we speak. Fortunately, the crew was able to salvage healing herbs from the remnants of the infirmary. Percentage of those injured back on their feet and ready to work is at 57%, albeit they must return for timely checkups."

[Sarath Crescent]

From the look on Sarath's face it seemed he was doing a small mental calculation based on Tallulah's report. At the end of it a slight grin could be seen for a moment before it faded back to his usual expression. He gave a short nod at Tallulah and then slowly stood, brushing his jacket to the side slightly and causing his rapier to rattle slightly in its sheath.

"Well that is certainly better than the previous reports you have been giving me. Only 15? Yes that is much better than I expected." He took a few steps forwards, still having his back turned to the two girls as he continued, "I trust you will be working hard to reduce that value even further...with the losses we have sustained we require everyone on their feet."

He finally turned to face them, casting a somewhat pleased look at Tallulah before glancing at Lefina, "I trust my dear that you have also been working hard on your task?"

Lefina closed her eyes and bowed her head, bringing her hands up and pressing them against her upper chest. An odd bow like Tallulah's, customary of the Order she had previously been a part of. "My lord, I have been studying the energy source I recovered but I have yet to conclude with certainty on its properties."

She hung her head, obviously displeased with her progress. Sarath stepped forwards, reaching out and lifting her chin before planting a small kiss on her cheek. "My dear Lefina, do not fret. This is not an easy task, perhaps you would like some assistance?"

Sarath turned to look at Tallulah again and smiled slightly, "Yes I believe you may be able to help in this matter. Roxanna is still injured from her previous battles or else I would ask her to assist, and the other girls unfortunately do not have the mental capacity to deal with this."

[Tallulah Sonne]

The look on Tallulah's face upon Sarath's suggestion was one of slight surprise. It was a rare occurrence for Sarath to request the assistance equivalent to that of his most dependable subjects, a high honor at that. She took it with a curt nod of her head. Even if she could find words of thanks to utter, they would do this pleasure no justice. Her address was with a bold confidence, regardless.

"I will work with most meticulously, Lord."

[Sarath Crescent]

"Good excellent. Now I have a certain officer to 'motivate', if you'll excuse me my dears."

Sarath gave a small smile and a chuckle, laced his fingers together and walked past the girls. The bridge crew watched him leave, thankful it wasn't them receiving the 'motivation'.

Lefina meanwhile looked at Tallulah and gave her a nod. "Well we should get started, there is high importance on this task. I'll fill you in as we walk...you're skills in magic should allow you to understand the basics I hope."

Lefina turned slowly and began to walk off the bridge.

[Tallulah Sonne]

Tallulah watched with brief interest as Sarath left them, then followed swiftly after Lefina. She nodded lightly in her direction, although her curiosity peeked through her speech.

"Although I was brought forth from the womb of magic, it's unfortunate to note that I am not as familiar with the genuine artifacts as I'd like. If this will help our Lord though, I'll see to it as well as I can. What have you found out so far, if I may ask?"

[Sarath Crescent]

Lefina gave a small nod as she carried on down the hall. "It's concerning a certain item I came across during our attack on their capitol city. I was sent out to scout the area and discovered a rather interesting magical signature. I'll show you."

She stopped and turned to face a door. Tapping a short code into the door lock it slid open revealing a circular room with a table in the middle. On the table was a swirling mass of red energy, loosely shaped in the shape of a diamond although it had no physical form.

"I extracted this from a gem carried by a certain black hedgehog during the attack. I've consulted the database we downloaded and I believe in its normal state would be called a Chaos Emerald...however I only extracted the energy at the time so it has no physical form. It has some rather unique properties but even the inhabitants of this world do not know what they truly are."

[Tallulah Sonne]

As Lefina continued on in her explanation, Tallulah set to studying the energy with a careful eye. It was safe to say she'd never seen anything quite like it. After taking a moment more to let the information sink in, the tigress turned to the wolf, a sour frown gripping her lips.

"Not even they know what they are? Strange. But not completely surprising. Did it say anything more about them? You say this is an extraction. I wonder if they ever performed this before themselves. Though I'd imagine the effects of this energy would be the either way, if only less concentrated."

[Sarath Crescent]

"There are seven of them,"[/b] continued Lefina, answering Tallulah's questions as she went, "And one larger one that from what I gather has the ability to control the other seven. Their power seems to be multi-purpose, so far being used to power machines, track the other emeralds and super charge a person's inner strength."

Lefina crossed to a wall, switching on a monitor and setting the computer into a rolling slideshow of random photos, news articles and such like. Dr Robotnik and Super Sonic featuring heavily.

"The occupants of this world have been in combat many times over these gems...seemingly they believe they bring unlimited power that is sufficient to take over the world. I have yet to find any evidence that this has happened before although the emeralds themselves have been drained and then restored with energy on a few occasions."

Lefina stopped and turned back to Tallulah. "I've been charged with finding out just how dangerous these gems are to our future plans for this world. Lord Sarath wishes to know exactly what we are dealing with and if we can use it to our advantage. If we cannot he wants to know how we can neutralise any potential threat...however...so far my research has not turned up anything of value. The energy source is very similar to a number of magical energies on my homeworld but it is also completely different."

[Tallulah Sonne]

Tallulah's attention flickered rapidly across the articles and images Lefina presented. The information was more straightforward than she'd expected. Of course, that was partly due to how much precise research it lacked. The wolf hadn't been kidding when she'd noted their little knowledge on the "chaos emeralds" as they were called. She appeared annoyed if only for a moment before her expression changed to one of pooling concentration.

"Well, I'd imagine that, given what evidence we have here, harnessing this power could mean a hefty recovery for his Lordship's forces. It's clear to me that we've suffered an over-significant amount of damage and although two weeks in hiding has proved fruitful in our recovery, we've still lost a lot. More than our Lord bargained for. If these mystical gems have the power to subdue a world..."

Tallulah vaguely waved at an image of the ARK.

"Using them may prove to make an easier victory. Of course, there is another side of the coin though, as I can clearly see..."

She motioned to a blurry photo of a glowing gold silhouette as it flickered by.

"Unlike the previous planets, if I recall correctly, there seems to be some clever individuals. It doesn't look like we'll be fighting solely one front, if we're not careful. And these emeralds have often been the very thing that put a stop to any means of world domination. Suffice to say, I have a feeling these could either prove vital or threatening. That's what I theorize, in any case."

Tallulah paused for only a moment, watching the slideshow. Then pointed suddenly at a round man strapped in a red and black uniform with gold trim.

"What about him?"

[Sarath Crescent]

"Him? Dr Ivo Robotnik...self proclaimed genius and quite a pitiful attempt at a world dominator. That said his schemes over the past years have held some merit...but the same faces always seems to thwart his plans...the same ones that stop our Lord."

Lefina gave a small nod, "You seem to understand the situation. As powerful as we were when we arrived, we are only three ships now and it has been proven that the other two are not a suitable match for the weapons they use on this planet. That means we must find another way to win...and this emerald could either be it or the greatest problem in accomplishing our goal."