Hey, what's up? Welcome to Not so Artificial, a Halo/MLP crossover, I will just say now that this is a side project and I will be posting it sporadically as I will have the majority of my focus on my other two stories. That aside, I won't abandon it so stick around if you want to read an interesting story I will write it in third & person and it will have quite a few flashbacks.
Let's get into it –TDB
I wander the halls of the UNSC ship, I pass through the galley, the engine room, the barracks which are empty and immaculately kept looking ready to receive their owners in their cushiony embrace, the reactor room, which is still glowing providing power to the lifeless ship, and finally the bridge. It is a small area, a pilot's chair and a few others for controlling the weapons systems and the like, if you look out of the cockpit window you see nothing but the blackness of soil. What is the most worrying to anyone who isn't familiar with the place is the skeleton sitting in the pilot's seat. A pair of dog tags dangles from the skeleton's neck, tarnished with time but letters can still be read off of them.
Sara
I heave a sigh and reach out to caress the cheek that has decomposed away…
But I never make contact, my purple holographic hand passes straight through the skull not disturbing it in the least. I blink out of existence and return to my AI hub in the ship, a single monolith in an otherwise empty white room to the average human eye, but to me it is home data floods into the room before being channeled to systems that will never function properly again.
I relax as well as I can, waiting for either the ping of a rescue ship or the gradual hum of the reactor to fade to nothing as the fuel is consumed completely.
I guess introductions are in order. My name is ONI A.I. 2367A Designation "Quantum" and I am in essence the ONI database in its entirety. Yeah… quite the title ain't it? I respond to Quo also but that requires you have the credentials to actually meet me.
I guess you probably want to know exactly why I am trapped thousands of feet underground in a dead ship and also why an AI as important as myself is in such a shitty game of waiting?
Well I guess it all started with Reach…
Flashback
A security camera in a female ODST's room, location Planet Reach, Sword Base, Date: July 24 2552.
I set off the alarm in Sara's room making her smack it off and roll back over trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep. I set off the alarm again and she repeats the previous actions, I resort to a more personal action I blink above her alarm in my small purple form and activate my alarm subroutine
"Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep" I say
She rolls over again and smashes the alarm off button again only to pass straight through me with no effect. She sits up in bed, I store away this method for later, seeing how this tactic is effective.
"ODST Sara, your breakfast is about to be thrown out" I say.
She groans "Quo, fuck off. I told you that today is a day on leave."
I smile "Yeah, but you know that if you break a habit it will be a bitch to get back into"
She groans again and rolls back over, in response I turn on the halogen lighting in her room and lock the controls. I dematerialize quickly not wanting to listen to the obscenities she would spew at me for that one.
I return to the hub at Sword base and check in on my subroutine "Aunite Dot" that I set to watch over
Noble team. It appears that they have been sent out to repair a comms relay out in the frontier to protect the nearby port from insurrectionist forces. As I take this in Noble 1 AKA Carter is directing the team as they leave their falcons to approach a nearby distress beacon.
I watch through their helmet cams as the move down the hill. Something flashes in the corner of Noble Six's cam and using the supreme speed of my AI processor I take in what appears to be an active camo shimmer as a figure moves at a high speed away from the Spartans. I slow down time, and freeze the frame on the shimmer.
"Dot… Cross reference that with images of Elites with active camo modules." I command
"Searching…" comes the replies.
May I just say yes, she is essentially me and that means I am talking to myself but… I digress.
My pondering is interrupted by a stream of raw data coming in from Dot,
"They are very similar Sir, but nothing that can be labeled as conclusive." She says pulling up each individual close match as she goes.
I heave an uneasy sigh "Well I can't bring it to their attention unless it is critical to the mission." I muse
Now let me bring how fast this was into perspective, from the possible sighting of the Elite it has been exactly 1.2357 seconds. I release the time slow and ping high command,
"Command, AI "Quantum" reporting in, I have spotted a possible elite in active camo in Noble Team's vicinity through subroutine "Auntie Dot." Orders?"
As I await I turn my attention back to Sword Base and its functions, I adjust the thermostat in the reactor room preventing a possible meltdown, completely reorganize all the data stored on site (Aproximately 76 yottabytes, two of them dedicated to HD porn files), and ten seconds later command starts typing.
"Send word to Noble Team and set all ground units to high alert, I hope that for once you are wrong Quantum." Comes the reply using up about a minute of my time.
"Well I guess it's time to get to work" I say out loud, "Dot assuming manual control." I say to the dumb AI.
"Affirmative sir, awaiting command." she replies
I absorb the subroutine and open a channel to the marines on the frontier.
"Attention" I say in Dot's voice "Possible Covenant sighing made by Noble Team, All units move to red alert." I continue keeping up the guise of being "Dumb" Auntie Dot.
Next, I open a port to Noble Team's position, strangely enough I am unable to connect with any of the Spartans on the ground, so I focus on Noble Three who is providing overwatch.
As I pop up in the top corner of his display as Auntie Dot, I overhear
"Heat signatures in the structure ahead" broadcasted to his teammates.
I run a quick scan of the feed coming from the Spartan only to see humans huddled inside a hut. I dismiss the feed finding it impertinent to the main problem.
"Noble Three?" I ask in the guise of Dot
There is a click as he turns off the radio to his teammates "Yes Dot?" comes the reply
"I have analyzed the feed coming from Noble, and I caught a possible Elite Active Camo signature in Six's feed." I say pulling the image up in his visor.
His reply is a series of curses in various languages before saying "Any further contacts to report?"
"No." I reply
"Alright, I will warn the ground team" he says.
What he was unaware of was that I was keeping tabs on them the entire time. I flash Dot's icon in the top corner of his vison
"It is too late for that."
As soon as I say that gun fire erupts from the ground as the ground team starts to tear through covenant Jackals and Grunts.
Jun curses even more before shouting "Anything else!?"
I smile to myself in Sword command "Just that incoming banshee, you should probably warn your pilot."
Jun yells out warning to the pilot and soon enough his falcon swivels to face the oncoming threat, the chaingun beginning to sing it's deadly song as it pumps lead into the foe. The banshee screams by and a shot rings out from Jun's anti-material rifle and its round passes through the banshee's pilot and plasma containment unit causing a scream followed by an plasma explosion.
Jun turns his attention back to me "You aren't Dot what are you? Identify yourself." He says trying to carry some authority.
I allow my masculine voice to come through instead of Dot's
"You're out of your depth Spartan." I say flashing Dot's grid purple for a second.
Then I leave the befuddled Spartan to fight his war.
I return to the base I smile, I know it was reckless, I'm a classified AI after all but I find great fun it toying with the clueless ones.
"Dot, return to sentry mode." I command splitting the subroutine away from my core.
"Affirmative Sir." Comes the reply as she fades away.
I sigh and bring up Sword base's defenses already knowing that they will not be enough. Yeesh, I guess I should go do something about that then.
I locate Sara, it appears that she has been wandering the barracks lacking something to do. It has been about an hour since I woke her and I figure she has had enough time to cool off. I tap into her earpiece
"Hey, next room on the right" I say
She does as I said and shuts the door behind her.
"Well what is it?" she says getting to the point, knowing that I wouldn't contact her in such a way without a damn good reason.
"The Covenant are on Reach."
She freezes, then lets out a sigh and rubs a hand across her face. I enter the room in my small holographic form hovering in front of her. She meets my eyes before cracking a smile
"Thank god, I need something to shoot." She says
*End Flashback*
My reminiscing on the past is interrupted by an alarm going off on the ship.
Microphone, Noise Detected, Outer Hull, Plate 157
I pull up the plate seeing it is outside just below the left wing, my hopes soar as I go through the possibilities such as rescue or recovery from my beacon being heard.
I listen in on the noise.
*Thunk*Swish*Thunk*Swish*
Hmm sounds like digging…
I guess I will just have to wait to meet my rescue team.
A/N: Hey, any feedback is appreciated, what do you think? I know it is vague but I made it that way for a reason, the development will grow as we go and Quo's reasoning & purpose will come up as well. Also check out the story A Life Taken, I am working on it as well and it is about to have a good action streak too. Sorry for the rambling it is time for bed - TDB