Nictus fragment
Overview
From the Task Force "The Kheldian War" given by Moonfire.
Souvenir's Text
Nictus fragment
This fragment of a Nictus has decayed and lost its powers. Nevertheless, it is a potent reminder of your pivotal role in:
The Kheldian War
It began with a request from a mysterious watcher: Moonfire, a woman fused with the life force of a Kheldian alien. Though she wanted your help, she was unsure as to whether she could trust you with the secrets of her race. To earn her trust, you took down a nest of vampyri on Striga Isle.
At Moonfire's request, you went next to a cavern network, where you encountered a legion of War Wolves. You defeated the creatures, and came away with a strange flask, which seemed to contain a quivering energy form.
Moonfire sent you to the wise witch known as Stephanie Peebles, who was able to determine that the flask contained a fragment of a life form. She wove a complex spell to bind the energy to you, so that you could make use of its powers. Moonfire was troubled by what you learned. She was now convinced that the flask contained a fragment of a Nictus, the sworn enemies of the Kheldian.
She told you the terrible history of the Kheldians: how the Nictus, once a part of the Kheldian populace, began preying on their own kind, thus becoming beings of pure darkness. Intent on finding another Nictus fragment, she sent you to one of Arakhn's strongholds. There you discovered a number of Council recruits who were about to be combined with such fragments against their will. You learned that by doing so, they would gain the powers of the Galaxy troops. Those who were less lucky would instead be transformed into War Wolves. You freed the unwilling recruits and learned of another prisoner, a Dr. Roberta Todd.
Whatever Arakhn wanted with Dr. Todd, you knew it could not be good. You resolved to find her. You had to interrogate quite a few troops to do so, but at last you learned the doctor's location. When you rescued her, you learned that she had been forced to help Arakhn build some sort of machine for transferring energy.
Moonfire was stunned. She was convinced this machine was a replica of the one the Nictus had originally used to suck out the life forces of Kheldians, allowing them to feed on the aliens' energy from afar. For the sake of every remaining Kheldian, this had to be stopped! However, when you investigated another of Arakhn's bases, the blueprints you found did not support Moonfire's conclusions. Dr. Ann-Marie Engles told you that the machine was probably used to permanently merge Nictus life forces with those of unwilling humans.
The threat was different than Moonfire had imagined, but it was no less dire. She hatched a brilliant plan. First, you had to uncover the names of Arakhn's intended victims.
Then, Moonfire's plan swung into motion. While you delayed Arakhn, the Kheldians went to the intended victims and asked their permission to merge with them temporarily. They could thereby catch the Nictus invaders once and for all and perhaps bring their long war to a close. You managed to defeat Arakhn, and, as Moonfire suspected, her minions put the fiendish plan into work. The Nictus invaders were unleashed on their intended victims, but instead of helpless innocents, they found people infused with the power of the Kheldian army. In the end, Moonfire was unsure of how complete her victory had been. Several of the Kheldians chose to remain merged with their willing human counterparts, and she had to wonder: could any of the Nictus have made it to willing humans as well? Could there, even now, be half-Nictus hybrids preparing to take up arms within Paragon City? Only time will tell.
