Halo: 3 Times as Different
St. Dragon and the Sangheili
"Well, he's a cop," Flynn began. "For one—and for the other—he's a 45 thousand year old Great Eastern Dragon. If anyone knows what happened during that time—it would be him."
"A Great Dragon?" Tom asked. "You know a Great Dragon?"
Flynn Mitchell glanced down at Telek's holster and spied his modified Magnum at his hip.
"Yeah, I do," he replied. "He was the previous owner of that gun you carry with you, Admiral."
"The Magnum Jacob gave me?" Telek asked. "This—dragon owned it?"
"Yeah," Mitchell replied. "He did. And you might wanna give it back to him when we meet him. Because he knows how to really unlock its secrets."
Telek pulled the gun from his side and raised it up: "Secrets?"
He spied a panel that was on the side of the gun and he tapped it with a gloved finger. The panel opened up revealing glowing, blue-white circuitry underneath and familiar symbols.
"I don't believe it…" Telek breathed. "This Magnum—is a weapon built by the Forerunners. A genuine Forerunner gun. Who is this—guy again?"
"He's an old friend of mine," Mitchell replied. "A very old friend of mine."
"Alright, we'll pick him up on the way over to Sangheilos," said Telek. "Full speed ahead, Tekn. Time is not on our side."
"Aye, sir," Tekn nodded, commanding the ship to leave the system. "But I still advise against it."
"Tekn," Telek began. "How can they hate me more now than the Prophets?"
"I don't know," he sighed. "Some of them are reminded by the fact you booted half of them off their ships."
"Trust me, it'll work," Telek smiled. Then, he turned away, taking a swig of his tin. "I hope…"
A Great Dragon….
Telek had never met one before and he did not know what to expect. He had heard his fare share of stories. One particular was the story of Lofwyr, the Western Dragon who ran Saeder-Krupp back on Earth and who funded much of the projects that powered the defenses of the UNSC. He had heard that Lofwyr was not a dragon anyone wanted to mess with and that he was far from being nice to anyone, especially those who work for him. Then, there was Soñador Malcho, a Great Feathered Serpent believed to be as old as time itself. Malcho owned Omak Technologies, who funded the weapons for every UNSC owned ship. Malcho was also the one who brought back Technomancy—a forbidden technology that looked strangely similar to the technology used by Forerunners and the Covenant. Now, Telek knew why—the humans were the Forerunners and this Malcho was only giving them back what they lost. Though from what Kiryuu described Technomancy as being—he could not see how the Forerunners used magic to boost their technological society. From what he heard from Mitchell, this Dragon knew the answers to everything, even some of the still un-translated parts of the text Telek found 14 years ago.
"So, what is this Marx like?" Telek asked, glancing down at Dr. Flynn Mitchell.
"He's funny," Flynn replied. "He's got a sense of humor."
"Okay," Telek said as he took a swig from his tin.
"Uh, you might want to put that away, Admiral," Flynn began. "He's a cop, you know."
"A cop that has no jurisdiction out in space," Telek said. "He can't write me a ticket for drunkenness. I'm not even in public. This is my ship, remember? Where is he from, exactly?"
"Miami Beach," replied Flynn. "In the Caribbean League."
"He's a beach cop?" Telek asked. "What does he do most of the time, bust drunks mooning hot babes on sail boats?"
"How about drug addicts and homicidal alcoholics," Flynn crossed his arms just as the Pelican entered the launching bay. "And the occasional spouse abuse, both homosexual and heterosexual."
"That's right…" Telek began with a grin. "Miami Beach…land of the pink flamingoes."
"I find that offensive," Flynn growled.
Telek cocked an eyebrow.
"I'm gay as well…" Flynn continued.
"Remind me never to have my back to you then," Telek sniffed.
"I guess there are no homosexuals among the Sangheili species, then."
"No," Telek replied. "There isn't. There's no purpose for it."
"Apparently, me talking about it is a little unsettling to you…" Flynn glanced up at the big alien.
"Flynn, I respect you as a doctor," Telek began. "But I don't wanna know what you do in your spare time. The only time I ever wanna hear you 'going inside a man' is when you're performing surgery on his vital organs. That's all. Understood?"
"Aye, aye, Admiral," Flynn saluted.
"Blech," Telek sighed. "They need to reinstate that 'don't ask don't tell' rule. Now I only hope our civilian guest isn't…a bit…er…fruity."
"He's straight," Flynn rolled his eyes. "There aren't any gays among dragons either. Like you, they don't see any purpose in it either."
"Thank you, Merciful God…" Telek sighed in relief. "And if you put in the report that I said that…"
"I know, you'll throw me out the airlock…" Flynn sighed. "I really don't care, Admiral. Really. I accept the fact that your culture is different than mine—even if it's a bit phobic on 'my preferences'. Let's leave it at that and drop it."
Telek grinned: "Just as long as you don't make me bend over and pick it up in front of you."
Flynn growled and rolled his eyes, shaking his head. The back end of the Pelican opened up and a man dressed in a Marine's outfit stepped out.
"Dragons shape-shift, right?" Telek asked.
"Yes," Flynn replied.
"Is that him?"
"Nope," he replied.
The Marine grabbed a duffle bag and walked on over to the side. Then, something else looking very much less human than the Marine soon followed. As the creature stepped out, it banged its head against the hatch door.
"Ow!" called a sultry, mental voice inside Telek's mind. "Don't they make these things bigger?"
"You would fit in it, sir," began the Marine. "If you were in your human form."
"Well, something tells me these guys won't believe about me being what I am…" the creature grunted as it reared to his full height.
"That's Detective Tim Marx," said Flynn. Telek just blinked.
Standing before him was a creature about 15 feet tall, standing on its toes much like a Sangheili would. Its feet were bare, and they held sharp talons. The creature was long and serpentine with glittery, azure scales and sea green markings on its back. A mane of emerald ran from the top of its head, running the full length of its back and tail, and then it ended in a feathery brush at the tip. The neck, belly, and underside of the tail was armored with light blue, scaly plates that looked like they could actually deflect a bullet. On its head were two ivory-white horns that branched majestically. At its nose were two fleshy-like whiskers that draped down to about its shoulders. Its neck was long as well as its tail. Its head dipped down and it combed back its green mane with a foreclaw. A pare of blue tinted sunglasses were on the creature's face and it was dressed in a white tank top with 'MBPD' written in black, bold, block letters. Over the tank top was a white shirt with black tribal designs. Around its waist was a gun belt that held a tonfa-shaped, black night stick and an empty gun holster. A silvery, police badge was clipped at its hip.
"Someone call for Leviathan?" the Eastern Dragon asked. "The East Guardian of Atlantis?"
"Rear Admiral Telek 'Herosee," began Flynn. "Meet the Great Eastern Dragon Manda, or as the Atlanteans refer to him as—Leviathan…or in Miami, Tim Marx."
"Okay…" Telek blinked. "So that's what a dragon looks like."
"Well, one species…" Manda grinned. His violet eyes turned to a particular gun holstered on Telek's hip. Smiling, he snapped his claws. Before Telek could say anything, the Magnum at his side suddenly slipped out of its holster and flew into the dragon's claw. Manda gave the Magnum a spin, glancing back at the Sangheili.
"Hey!" Telek cried, igniting his plasma sword. He charged for the dragon as Manda took out a magazine and placed it into the Magnum. Then, with one swift move, Manda fired the gun directly at Telek, sending a charge of lighting exploding out from its barrel. Telek let loose a yelp as the charged ball of electricity flew at him, blasting him and attaching him to the far wall of the bay. Telek was pinned to the wall, electricity sparking up around him, disabling his body shields. He shook slightly with the charge, trying to wiggle himself free from the wall. Sangheili warriors and Marines all lifted their weapons up at the Great Dragon, ready to fire upon him for shooting their superior officer.
"It's okay!" called Flynn. "Lower your weapons."
They did not respond.
"Telek," Flynn called. "Tell your crew to lower them."
"Why should I?" Telek asked. "He shot me! What the hell is this?"
"Forerunner technology," Manda replied. "And this is my gun, not yours."
"Put me down, and I'll order them to lower their weapons," Telek called.
Manda waved a claw and the electrical field that stuck Telek to the wall disappeared. The Sangheili came falling to the floor. Manda holster his Magnum.
"Lower your weapons," Telek gasped and his men obeyed. He got off the metallic floor and glanced up at Manda. "What the hell was that? I don't seem to remember my Magnum firing those kinds of bullets."
Manda took out the gun: "This is called a caster gun. It fire shells embedded with Technomancy—the core element in Forerunner Technology. I'm surprised your people managed to recreate it."
"What was that, an insult?" Telek asked. "Look, pal, you wouldn't be here if Flynn hadn't convinced me that we needed your knowledge. Now do you know about the Ark or not?"
"I do," Manda replied. He motioned for Telek to come closer to him. "Come here, and I'll tell you."
The Admiral came closer and the dragon leaned down to whisper into his ear. The moment Telek came close and Manda's scaly lips was to his ear, the dragon bellowed out a powerful roar that shook even the floor of the ship. Telek leapt back, falling to his back and gripping his chest. He could feel his multiple hearts quiver from the detrimental shock of the dragon's bellow. Manda looked at him with a straight face, not even his lips curled into a smile. He snapped his claw and the duffle bag that the Marine held came floating towards him.
"Now that's over with," Manda began. "There is something I do need to tell you."
"Please, no more…" Telek gasped. "I'll—have you know—I'm a very sick man…and I'm not—exactly as young as I used to be."
"I can tell you have Ataxia, Admiral," began Manda. "Your body seems to be convulsing a bit like someone who suffers from ethanol poisoning would."
"And you—probably made my condition worse, you blue gecko!" the Sangheili cried, his body shifting uncontrollably. He took in a few breaths, trying to calm himself down as he rose to his shaky feet. "I don't care who or what you are. You're a guest on my ship, and it's you against all of them."
Though the Sangheili showed no fear, the Humans that were around them shifted in their positions and mumbled to themselves. They knew what angering a Great Dragon meant. Telek could feel their discomfort.
"And unfortunately, you and your species are a bit naïve to mine," Manda chuckled. "I may look 15 feet tall now, but in my true size, I'm over 800 feet in length. And I can take any punishment you can dish out."
Telek paused for a moment and just blinked. Then, he cleared his throat and regained his composure: "Eh, my ship's bigger."
"There is something I need to tell you, Admiral," began Manda. "It's from Kiryuu Knight. He wants to inform you that you've been promoted to Vice Admiral."
"I was barely a Rear Admiral and he promotes me?"
"He's running out of admirals and he decided to make more," said Manda. "His rules, not mine. Here."
He produced from his duffle bag a box in which he opened. Six stars, three for each shoulder sparkled in the violet light inside the box. Telek took them and took off the two stars he had and penned the two pairs of three stars on either side of his collar.
"How bad is it?" Telek asked.
"Bad," Manda replied. "The Covenant are just starting to excavate the site in New Mombassa. It's site where the Cartographer is."
"The what?" Telek asked.
"The Cartographer," Manda replied. "It creates a slip-space bridge between Earth and Installation 00. The Ark."
"The Ark isn't on Earth?" Flynn asked.
"Nope," Manda replied. "It's in space—very far in space. A place out of reach of the Flood."
"You know about the Flood?" Telek asked with a slight, defeated sigh.
"Yeah, I do," the Great Dragon replied. "And they have some relationship to the plight of Horrors that seem to come at the end of every era of magic on Earth. But I don't know what. I just know because the Forerunners told me that. Now, before I answer anymore questions, can I get to my room? I've traveled a long way."
"You need me to fetch a bellhop for you?" Telek sneered.
Manda growled, showing off a glistening fang.
Telek rolled his eyes: "Come on."
0
After a few hours of settling into his room, Manda made his way to the executive dining room where Telek and his main officers ate. Telek sat at the head of the table, wine glass in one hand, steak knife in the other. He looked up at the Great Dragon, who did not take one bite of his food.
"I suppose eating isn't something you do either," Telek began.
"Actually I have no need to eat anymore," said Manda. "You can thank the Forerunners for that."
"You knew them," began Tekn. "The ones who survived to populate Earth?"
"I knew them," said Manda. "That which were the Forerunners. I'm guessing by now you've heard the word Reclaimers blurted out by a Monitor or two when you went to Halo."
"Yeah," Telek said. "And we figured it out. Humans and Forerunners are the same."
"Not exactly," Manda corrected. "Humans are the heirs to the Forerunner's knowledge. The Forerunners did in fact look very human when they came to Earth, but they were not exactly human. But they did mingle with the humans after much time passed and the line between Forerunner and human blurred, but there were primitive humans on Earth prior to the Forerunner's arrival."
"You mean—we're not the descendants of the Forerunners?" Tom asked. "Then why…"
Just as Tom was about to finish his sentence, he heard the sound of gleeful humming echoing through the corridor behind them. Telek clacked his mandibles, his crystal blue eyes turning towards the sound.
"Ah, here's someone who might be able to shed some light onto this problem," he began. Telek grinned as a spherical, metallic, construct floated into the dining room. Manda's eyes widened when he saw the sphere float in.
"Oh, my," began the construct. "It seems we've taken on a new passenger. Hello, I am 343 Guilty Spark and I am the Monitor of Installation 04."
"You have a Monitor on your ship, Telek?" Manda cried. Then, he burst out laughing.
"Oh, dear, it seems he is suffering from some sort of emotional collapse," Spark began.
"Don't bust a circuit on it, Sparky," Telek chuckled. "He's just tired from his trip."
"Please, reframe from using that inaccurate title for me," Spark began. "I am 343 Guilty…"
"Yeah, yeah," Telek growled. "Shut up." He turned around to the Monitor and leaned his elbow on the table. "It seems yours and his stories are a bit conflicting. This is Manda, he states he's been around Forerunners since they arrived on Earth. He says that the Forerunners aren't human, but you've basically stated that they are."
"They are the Reclaimers," Spark began.
"Apparently, you two use the same terms," Telek grunted. "But either of you have been able to really clarify on that. So, which is it, are they the Forerunners or aren't they?"
"Yes and no," Manda replied. "You haven't given me a chance to really explain it in detail. Spark, is it?"
"That is correct," said the Monitor.
"I am Leviathan," began Manda. "The Eastern Guardian of Atlantis, the final stronghold of the Forerunners."
"Leviathan?" Spark asked. A blue beam flashed on and scanned over Manda's body. Manda stared at him with some question as to why the construct did it. When the scan was over, Spark looked over the Great Dragon. "You are who you say you are. I see that the Forerunner technology has indeed extended you beyond the mortal decline of your species."
"Extended?" Tekn asked.
"Normally my species doesn't leave passed their 25 thousandth year," Manda stated flatly. "I've been alive for over 45 thousand years. But there's one that's older than me—Malcho. He's well into his 60 thousandth year. From what I've heard, he actually stole the technology and used it on himself. He just says he's around 30 or 40 thousand."
"I would think by that time, you guys would have lost count," Telek shook his head. He turned to Spark. "From what I've been told, Macho is the one who revived the Forerunner technology in the 21st Century of Earth, Spark. It was then banned in the 23rd Century due to the fact the humans started making war with it." He looked back at Manda. "Kiryuu told me that."
"Not all Technomancy has been banned," said Manda.
"I think it's high time you give it to me straight, dragon," Telek leaned over to Manda. "Because that floating disco ball hasn't been much help. And I'm tired of pickin' through that damned ancient relic for answers."
"40 thousand years ago, the Forerunners came to Earth," said Manda. "They looked like humans, only that they had tan skin, white hair, and blue eyes. But they were compatible with the being known as Cro-Magnon Man. Cro-Magnon looked like modern humans do today, but his mind was primitive. They chose Cro-Magnon to be their heirs because of like genetics. When the Halos were fired, the Forerunners took the Cro-Magnon to the Ark and kept them safe from the blast of the Halos."
"But when the Halos fired, your kind should have been killed as well," said Telek. "It kills biological life that the Flood can feed off of."
"We should have died," said Manda. "But we didn't. At the time, my kind was in Shal-Mora, our Astro Plane cocooning protected us from the blast. Magic on Earth was just returning, but it wasn't enough to awaken us yet. But even through Shal-Mora, we still could see all that was going on, so we weren't oblivious in our—hibernation state. The Forerunners didn't know that we existed until we finally awoke after they severed the link between 00 and Earth. And we were just as shocked to find that aliens had invaded our planet. We dragons are very territorial." He took in a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, trying to recall exactly what had happened. "I was—the first to make a friendly gesture to our—new guests. I was fascinated by their advanced technology. Then I learned it was a combination of magical energies they had from their planet and the very life force of the universe itself. Magic can speed up technology. They told me why they chose Earth. They stated because the by-products of the Gold Demon—the Horrors—took a special interest in this planet. I wouldn't deny it. The energies of that monster is what mutated the life on Earth into what it is now. It's like we were specifically designed to be Ghidorah food. Apparently the Forerunners had their own purpose—to destroy the Gold Monster—and they attempted to do it too by creating a virus that, well, backfired on them."
"The Flood," said Telek.
"Monitor, how did they create the Flood?" Manda asked.
"My creators gathered up cells from the Hydra in attempt to create a virus that would affect only it," replied Spark. "But it instead created Flood."
Manda lowered his head. His face looked anguished and tired.
"Three tries," he began. "Three tries and each time, they failed. This monster can't be killed. He doesn't follow the rules of our universe. He came from another—a horrible place beyond our universe."
"Three tries?" Telek asked.
"The first was the creation of the Flood," Manda replied. "Then, the second came about 10 thousand years ago when the now integrated Forerunner/Cro-Magnon, advanced country known as Atlantis tried to drive him away. We managed to do that, but we knew he would return, so we developed a weapon to kill him with—but it sank our continent instead. Everything we built—gone. The third try was made by now Humans—when they built Kiryuu. And even he failed."
Telek took a sip of his wine: "The Flood was created from King Ghidorah's cells. So, everything…the Forerunners, Halo…your Atlantis, and even the President of the UNSC all are related to one thing—that damned golden, three-headed monstrosity. Manda, apparently on Halo 06, the Flood had evolved so much that this—creature—this Flood called Gravemind existed. He spoke, even. He spoke to my old commander Otto. He could manipulate the technology on Halo."
"I wouldn't know where to begin to tell you about that," Manda shrugged. "Because I don't know about this creature called Gravemind."
"We had him locked in High Charity," said Tekn. "We just hope he hasn't fixed the drives."
"Technomancy has one purpose," said Manda. "That is to figure out how to get rid of Ghidorah. That's it. It has no other purpose."
"Then, Technomancy and Forerunner technology is the same," said Telek.
"Yes," Manda nodded. "It is. It uses and recycles the life force of the planet and gathers the vast information stored in an enormous computer called the Array. All their knowledge comes from the Array because it gained its knowledge from the life force passing through it. They access it through the Towers. The Forerunners were going to use that knowledge to destroy Ghidorah with. And they were not successful."
Telek rose up from his seat. His crew followed him. Manda rose from his seat as well. The Admiral smiled at the dragon and placed his hands on the table.
"Gecko, you've just answered every question I had," Telek stated. "Every question. So, the humans of today are basically the love child of the Forerunners and Cro-Magnon Man. And each and every human today possesses a gene even on a chromosomal level that links them to the Forerunners."
"And that's the truth, Telek," said Manda. "So, yes, in a way, they are Forerunners, and then again, they are not. Still, it's their job to finish what the Forerunners started."
Telek turned back to his human crew: "No pressure, huh?"
"Nice," Tom sighed. "The fate of the universe rests on the shoulders of us hairless apes. Boy, is it ever doomed. We can barely keep ourselves from killing each other. I mean, the only reason why we're not killing each other now is because the Covenant is busy doing that for us!"
"Blame it on the Forerunners," Telek shrugged. "They're the ones who gave you the responsibility. Glad it was your species and not mine. We can just sit back and let you guys do all the work."
"You've got to be kidding me…" Flynn breathed. "So…the story of the Ark…is based off of a journey between Earth and some distant station in space. Well, that cracks up my theological study back in college. Wait till my old professor hears about this."
"Who cares," Telek chuckled. "I just got my answers. Oh, Truth was extremely off. At least I came close."
"So much for the Covenant religion…" Tekn sighed. "That's it, there's nothing else."
"Hey, I already stated that when I discovered the truth about the Halos," Telek called.
"Kinda makes me wish we didn't put that ban on Technomancy," began Tom. "We really do need it now."
"Well, we've got one person who knows it," Telek said, turning back to Manda.
"It'll take years for me to teach everyone on this ship," Manda grunted.
"Not asking for you to teach us," Telek said. "Just use it when the situation occurs."
"Oh, it's been centuries since I've seen an Array Connection performed," Spark called in a cheerful tone.
"Yeah…" Manda sighed. "Hate to tell you this, Spark, but I haven't Connected in about 10 thousand years. So, that makes two of us. The only two I know of who have recently connected are Malcho and Kiryuu. And I'm well outside the Mana sphere of Earth, so that means my regular magic doesn't work all that well either. The only thing I can do effectively is breathe lightning and make myself smaller and fly through the air."
"Well, if ever I need for any of your talents, I'll give you a call," Telek smiled smugly. His head jerked up when he heard the sounds of sirens blaring through the hallway. "What the fuck is that? I'm trying to eat here!"
"It seems we may be under attack," Spark began.
"No, really?" Telek asked. He pressed a thumb to a holo-panel button on the table. "All hands, all hands, report! Who's attacking us?"
"Sir, they're everywhere!" called a human's voice. "Everywhere! No…no…leave me alone!"
"What's everywhere?" Telek asked.
"Flood!" the human replied.
"Flood?" Telek asked. The others jerked up to their standing positions.
"Yes—sir…no…don't touch me…ahh!" the speaker fell silent.
"Flood—on my ship?!" Telek cried. "Flood!"
"Sir, we're out in the middle of no where," began Tom. "There's no where to run. We're trapped."
"We need to get off this ship and blow it up before they get control," said Telek. "I'll not have my ship to be used as a means to carry infection forms around." He turned to Tekn and Tom. "To the bridge, gentlemen."
"Aye, sir!" Tom called.
"Yes, Excellency," Tekn called.
"Pick up any weapon you can find," Telek continued. "Shotguns are the best thing to use against them…plasma swords…a flame thrower or two…"
"Telek," began Manda. "This is excellent against them too."
He raised the modified Magnum up.
"What?" Telek asked. "I've never really used it against the Flood."
"It's because you've never had the right amo for the job," Manda began as he loaded the gun with a violet-glowing magazine. "This is what we Atlanteans managed to develop before we sank beneath the waves. It's called a #13 shell. It fires a pulse of dark energy that will collide with the Flood and suck them into an unstable singularity."
"You've got to be kidding…" Telek breathed.
"The singularity only lasts for a few seconds before it disappears, but it's long enough to suck in a whole batch of those horrible monsters," Marx continued. "The downside is it also requires payment from the shooter."
"What?"
"A piece of your life force energy," he said. "And it's a bit painful when it extracts it."
"You can fire this?" Telek asked.
"Yeah," he said.
"Do it," the Sangheili ordered as he opened the doors. "Come on, let's go."
Telek took one last drink of his wine glass and headed out the door with the others. The armory was close by and they each grabbed a shotgun. Telek made for his own modified shotguns with the lever action reload. Manda loaded a #13 shell into the Magnum. Rising it up, he pressed the button that unlocked the safety and the gun itself began to glow blue around the grooves. Just as the door blasted open and several Flood combat forms came out, Manda aimed the Magnum at them.
"Get going and start the countdown," he called to Telek.
Turning back to Tekn, he called out for them: "Get going!"
"Excellency, I need you there too to help unlock the self-destruct," Tekn called back.
Telek glanced back when he saw a purple light build up around the end of the Magnum. The energy swirled around the barrel and then contracted to a fine point. Telek blinked as the purple ball exploded forth and impacted upon the swarm of Flood that raced for them. The Flood stretched out like spaghetti, contracting into the purple ball until there was nothing left of them. The ball's color turned to black as it returned back to Manda.
"Marx!" Telek cried.
Manda closed his eyes as the inky, black ball strike his chest with a bolt of violet lightning. He reared back in pain and fell to the floor. The ball disappeared after that.
"Detective!" the Sangheili warrior rushed out and knelt down before him.
"I'm—alright," Manda gasped. "It just hurts like hell…"
"Maybe you shouldn't fire that shell," Telek said as he helped the Eastern Dragon up. "It'll only slow you down. Save it for a last resort."
"That's—generally what it's used for…" Manda swallowed. He handed the Magnum to Telek. "I think you can use this thing better than I can."
"Keep it," Telek said. "For now. But I want it back soon. You gave it to Keyes and he gave it to me."
Then, Telek glanced back at another swarm of Flood forms leaping out. He grabbed for his sword and ignited it. Leaping from wall to wall, he dove into the swarm, slicing down at the combat forms. Manda slithered out, taking the shotgun and pumped it, firing on them as well. Green flesh splattered on the metallic, purple walls. Swinging his tail around, he sent a few Flood mutated humans splattering on the wall. Then, a tentacle lashed out and knocked him to the floor.
"Chiili wux siofme wux shilta svent ve, Haruhe Sargt?" asked a guttural, reverberating voice. Manda glanced up to see a Flood-infected Elite looking down at him.
"What?" Manda asked, surprised that this Flood could speak Draconic. What surprised and even feared him more was the voice itself. It sounded so familiar to him.
"Wux chiili ti vucot ve?" the Flood asked.
"No…it can't be…" Manda breathed. The tentacle wrapped around his throat and he felt the air being cut off.
"Wux vucot ve…" the voice said. "Axun…Daar Ghidorah…"
"Origato ve gethrisj!" Manda cried.
A blue flash appeared before Manda's eyes and the Flood form was sliced in half. Telek stood behind it with his sword in hand.
"You alright?" Telek asked.
"I'm fine," Manda replied.
"The Flood are everywhere," Telek pointed out. "Come on, we don't have time."
He helped the Eastern Dragon up as best as he could. Manda reared back onto his hind legs and glanced around. There were Flood forms in front and in the back. Infection forms scurried about the floor. Telek glanced up when he heard an annoyed bellow come from Manda as he batted away the little balloon-like creatures climbing onto his back. The Eastern Dragon snapped his jaws upon one of the little Infection forms and it popped instantly.
"You better not be inhaling that crap, gecko!" Telek cried. "I still need you to help me get to the Ark. The last thing I need to do is skewer a Flood-infected Great Dragon."
"Well, I'm alright now," Manda smiled.
"You better hope so," Telek growled. "Or you'll find yourself impaled on my sword."
Manda spat: "My saliva is highly corrosive."
Telek glanced down at the loogie Manda spat out and noticed it starting to eat through the floor.
"Don't ever sneeze on me," Telek glanced up at the dragon. They backed up against each other as the Flood came closer and closer to them.
"Telek!" cried Tom on the comlink. "Where the hell are you?"
"Surrounded by Flood forms!" Telek called.
"Tekn gave me the codes to start the countdown," said Tom. "I've started it. We need to get off this ship. It's gonna blow in 10 minutes."
"Lovely," Telek sighed. "We'll meet you at the launching bay. We'll take a Seraph out."
"Yes, sir," Tom nodded.
"We need to get off this thing now, Manda," Telek growled.
"I've got an idea," Manda said. He leapt into the air and grabbed Telek by the shoulders with his claws. Telek's eyes grew wide as he just found himself being carted by the Great Eastern Dragon as he flew through the corridors. Manda's body whipped about like a ribbon as he flew gracefully down the hall. A mass of Flood combat forms gathered at the opening of the corridor, their arms opening wide to catch the two fleeing from them.
"Manda, pull up, we're gonna crash!" Telek bellowed.
Manda sneered and belched forth a fiery blast from his jaws, exploding the line of Combat forms that stood in his way.
"Okay…never mind, then," Telek swallowed just as the Great Dragon flew passed the smoldering mound of ash that was on the floor. "Tell me, why didn't you do that before? Why use the #13 shell?"
"I breathe a cone of fire so hot it can melt spells and reduce any creature down to their basic components," Manda replied. "The area I had to fire such a blast was too small. The shell's width is much smaller than the cone of fire. And firing the shell does not deplete my cache. Anyways, you needed an example."
"You're a show-off…" Telek snorted. Manda chuckled. Just as soon as the Eastern Dragon swiftly whipped through the corridors as door after door closed behind him, he landed in the bay where the various Seraphs began to take off. Landing on his all fours, Manda looked around and saw Captain Tomas Jimenez bent over on the floor beside a fallen Elite. In Tom's hand was an ignited plasma sword. Spark floated above them. Telek ran for Tom.
"Tom!" he gasped. "Tom! What happened?"
He glanced down and found that the Sangheili on the floor was Tekn 'Morudee. Tekn looked like he was partially mutated into a Flood Combat form. Telek shook his head in dismay.
"I'm—I'm sorry, Admiral…" Tom began. "I—I had to do it. They—got to him."
Telek growled, igniting his sword and slashed the blade down upon Tekn's body. The body crumpled and fell apart. Marx came up behind him and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Telek," he rumbled.
"If it was Tom—he would have done the same thing," Telek sighed. "Tom, it's okay. Let's go."
"It was very unfortunate," said Spark.
"Wait!" cried Flynn as he ran up behind them. Behind Flynn was Colonel Acanthus Davis. "Wait for us."
"About time you got here, Flynn," said Telek.
"Telek, the Flood is everywhere," said Davis.
"Well, they're about to meet their maker," Telek growled. "Come on! We've got five minutes left before this ship goes up. And though I'm her Shipmaster, I don't want to go up in smoke with her."
Everyone piled into the Phantom and Telek got in behind the controls. Pulling back on the controls, Telek commanded the Seraph to lift off, flying through the opening of the bay itself. The moment they got far enough away from the Shade of Darkness she finally exploded in a ball of blue-white fire. The passengers braced themselves against the walls when they felt the Seraph shake. Telek looked out through the window and saw nothing more than shards of debris float through the cold, empty space—the last remains of his beautiful, deadly, cloak-enabled ship. He sighed though, a feeling of remorse came upon him. Tom walked over and patted his shoulder.
"I know—you miss your ship…" Tom said.
"No, it's not the ship," Telek sighed. "Well—yeah, part of it is. But Tekn. Tekn's been with me since I defected. We've been through it all together. Without Tekn, I would never had gotten a hold of the Shade and escaped High Charity. Now—he's gone."
"He's not gone so long as you remember him, Admiral," said Davis.
"Spark," Telek began. "Are there any Flood that tried to hitch a ride on the Seraph?"
"No Flood forms are detected," Spark replied.
"That's good," Telek sighed. "I don't want to blow this thing up. Now, we're in a Seraph. This thing can jump through slip-space—but only short distances. After that, we've depleted a good deal of our fuel. But we're full on fuel now. So—there's hope."
"How far is it to the next system?" Manda asked.
"Two week's jump," Telek sighed.
"Nice…" Manda shook his head. "Can this thing jump that far?"
"It can only jump one week," Telek replied, his shoulders heavy. "I'm sending out a distress signal. This is a frequent trade route. I'm sure someone will pick us up." He turned back to the others. "Looks like we have a long flight ahead of us."
"We can't get to Sangheilos now," said Tom. "Or Earth. We're stuck out here."
"Yeah," Telek sighed. "I know."
"Sensors indicate that no other Seraph or Phantom made it off the ship in time," said Tom. "We're all that's left."
"Son of a bitch…" Telek growled, taking a swig of his rum. "What a day this has been…"
Manda settled himself down as best as he could and coiled his lengthy body against the wall of the Seraph. Straightening out his long whiskers, he laid his head down over his forelegs. Flynn sat down beside him, arching his legs up and resting his arms on his knees. Telek stared out at the window as he took the Seraph farther and farther away from the debris of the exploded assault carrier Shade of Darkness. Tom sat down in the co-pilot's seat beside him and leaned back in the chair, looking up at the billions of twinkling stars and glittering dust that shined out the windshield. It was indeed going to be a long trip.