If you haven't played Marathon, this story may not make much sense to you, but I strive to be as clear as possible.

I don't own any of the characters.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1:

R'Onari'Kell walked down the catwalk above the slave pit. His footsteps rang out loudly, and the slaves below fell silent. A visit from any member of the crew rarely boded well for them. However, for once the three meter hunter was not interested in a ritual sacrifice or a murderous frenzy. He was simply observing the numbers.

A trooper or fighter raised a fist at him. This, this was an insult. He would not let this slight go unpunished. He strode over to the jump pad that linked down to the pit below, shoving aside a blue armoured aide.

"I shall deal with this myself!", he declaimed angrily, knowing that any sign of weakness or dependance could mean his assassination or even execution.

As the familiar nausea of dematerialization then materialization suffused him, he let a hint of battle rage suffuse him. Deactivating the minor sedative drip, designed to stop a shipload of hunters from killing each other too much before the voyages end, he stepped off of the pedestal and through the airlock like set of doors into the room full of subjugated pfhor.

The prisoners shrunk back, but no one was pushed forward by traitorous fellow inmates.

"Give him to me, or I will torture you all until i find out who it was!", he roared, causing the front row to shrink back. "And then I will burn whatever is left of you after, and feed it too the rest of you!"

With unsurprising speed, the pathetic looking creatures shoved one of their own forward, then drew back as quickly as they could. R'Onari'Kell took three steps, then ran the offending fighter through it's chitinous thorax. In the same motion, he lifted it into the air as it coughed out it's yellow blood onto the cold, hard steel of the deck.

Point made, R'Onari'Kell returned slowly to the jump bad, reactivating his sedatives just before beaming up four meters to the side of his blank faced aide.

"Continue were you left off, tell me more about this communique the elder council sent. We are tasked with the minor glory of the conquest of the human planet are we not? Earth or some other barbarous name?", he growled as another, more junior assistant wiped the blood off of his shield

"Yes, Lord-Captain.", he replied.

R'Onari'Kell began to salivate at the thought of all the killing that would lake place.

The Marine found himself rather nervous. It was something he was used to, especially after the chaos caused by the W'rkncacnter. But this was something different. The normal straight lines of a human ship, or even the strange technological wonders of an alien ship, were non-present. Above him was a stretch of sky, something he had only encountered on Lh'owon.

I must be planet-side. I wonder were I can find a terminal. After all, what was the point of his presence, if not to complete some mission?

But his surroundings left much to be desired in the way of terminals, or even technology. The buildings were of a white stone, chipped into graceful columns and statues. The peacefulness of this setting relaxed him. He brushed his hand against a column as he climbed the short flight of stairs into one of the larger, high roofed buildings, wondering if the stone would be cool if he could feel it.

Suddenly, he realized he could feel it, and with this realization, panic flooded him. Not only was the familiar crackle of his shields against an object not there, he also was unarmed! He did not even have his brass knuckles!

He darted between two pillars, his adrenaline powered battle reflexes kicked in. He dived between two of the pillars, scanning for pfhor or other hostiles.

As he began to realize the area was deserted, he took the time for a full self examination. Along with having no weapons or shields, he had no HUD or armour. Instead, he was wearing a large piece of fabric draped over himself and secured in some fashion, along with a pair of thick soles secured to his feet with straps of an unknown fabric.

The air brushing against his newly exposed skin was cool and refreshing, seeming to wipe away chafing from his body, something he hadn't realized his suit had been causing. He never even realized that the suit was not part of him.

The clouds drifted past. Nothing happened. If someone was coming to attack me, they would've by now. Carefully, he slid out of his hiding spot.

He turned, then saw a figure. He threw himself backwards, expecting a barrage of energy or metal. Instead, a voice called out.

"Is that you?", the voice said, softer and higher than any he'd heard before. "Of course, then again, you wouldn't know who you are, would you?"

The Marine poked his head out cautiously. He understood the words, though this was the first time he had heard words other than commands and brief comments from BOBs. He saw a figure that he guessed was human, except it had longer hair and two odd bulges of flesh projecting from it's upper chest. He turned to run, thinking it was a new form of the humanoid simulacrums that had interfered with him in missions past.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you.", it said, "I'm here to help you."

He ran away. After all, why would anything but a simulacrum say something as strange as that it would not hurt him? Everything tried to hurt him, even the humans. Trusting got you killed.

"The S'pht'kr sent me! I'm not here to hurt you.", it said, it's tone soft and slow.

He stopped. It could be a trap, but he would have plenty of time to run if it charged him. He faced it, taking a wide, defensive stance that he used for hand to hand combat.

"It was Durandal and Tycho that did this too you, wasn't it?", it murmured, more to it's self than to him.

The Marine waited patiently for instructions. Maybe it would tell him were some weapons were. He could use some weapons.

"The S'pht'Kr sent me to help you get better.", it told him, "I suppose you have a few questions about where this is and what's going on?"

He did, but he was more concerned about his weapons. Anyway, it wasn't his job to ask questions. He waited for it to continue it's inevitably long-winded speech about some amazing plan or some other irrelevant detail.

"You can't speak, can you?", it asked, stupefied.

He stared at it. He had heard of Compilers and Fighters, Troopers and Enforcers, Talkers in the form of AIs, but never Conversers. He chuckled silently.

"Oh no! Well, it's just another thing to deal with.", the Converser sighed. "Come with me please."

He followed, keeping his distance, and checking around corners from a distance. But nothing happened as they made their way among the temples and smaller buildings.

After a few minutes, they arrived at an archway in a large, open-air construct. The Marine could hear the sound of water echoing down the passageway. He felt a vague sense of trepidation. He was not afraid of drowning, but he almost had enough times to make him vaguely nervous.

As they entered the passage, he went into high alert, checking the ceiling for openings that might let a pfhor fighter drop down behind him after he had passed. The tunnel was clear however, and he passed through it uneventfully.

On the other side of the tunnel was a set of stairs. Following the Converser, he climbed them, arriving at the top surprisingly out of breath. This was also something new. What had happened to the boundless stamina that had let him run for hours and kill thousands of pfhor without pause?

After catching his breath, he looked up and promptly released the fore mentioned breath in a loud gasp. The Converser stood majestically down a few steps from where he had stood, arms outstretched. In front of it was a fountain, at least as the open topped building that housed it. It was a beautiful piece of sculpture, blending with the wild garden of shrubs and flowers growing on it's multiple tiers.

Seeing his shocked face, it laughed, and in a strange way, he found it attractive.

"Not something you see everyday is it?", it half-shouted over the roar of the cascading water.

He wished he could reply, but his mouth did not know how. It was strange, and confusing. As he followed it down, a drop of moisture ran down his cheek. He panicked, unsure if this was some new symptom of his new weakness, making a scream that had sent even Hunters running for cover in the past.

Shocked, the Converser turned to look at him, and saw his hands clutching to his face, which was now streaming with droplets.

"Oh! Don't worry!", it said, placing a hand cautiously on his broad arm, "Those are tears. They are just water that comes out of your eyes when you experience sadness or another extreme of emotion."

The Marine found the gesture strangely comforting, then slowly gasped out, in a halting, lisping, voice, "Tttt...eeerrz?"

"Yes, tears. They're not going to hurt you."

"Her...ttt meee... Ttt...eerz herrttt meeee..."

"No, they don't hurt you. You feel confused, so you're crying."

More calm now, the Marine stopped crying, and the Converser dried his face. How can it not hurt me? Everything hurts me.

Then the pair walked down the steps, to the bottom of the fountain.

"Look!", the Converser said, and indicated to the somehow still water at the base of the fountain.

The marine looked down, and saw himself staring back. He had seen glimpses of himself, in windows of ships and in the eyes of the creatures he mowed down, but never clear, and never this much.

He saw a man, like the BOBs, but maybe a bit taller than average. Most of his body was a sickly white, except for the part of his face where his helmet had not covered him, where the skin was an angry red, burned from the heat of explosions too close to bare remembering without a shudder.

"Meee?", he gargled out inquisitively, striving to get his tongue, an organ he had never had much use for, to wrap around the word in a way that would not distort them.

"Yes, that's you.", the Converser stated. "At least, that's what Durandal and Tycho made you into. My job is to change that."

"Eww... Yah-eeww ih-saaa?", he asked, trying to get the feel for the words.

"Who am I?", it said, "I'm Leela."

This is not the end. There will be more coming soon.