HALO: Redemption Volume One -
Disclaimer: The HALO series and all related characters, information, and pictures (not done by me) are property of Bungie.
Azeroth and all of its races, characters, regions, and history within World of Warcraft are the property of Blizzard Entertainment. I am not making any money from this; this story is being written purely for my enjoyment, for no monetary gains whatsoever, and I hope you all like what I put forth.
Yeah, same disclaimer, same deal. Again, major, major props to the author Freedom Guard, as it is his take on the time frame of the WOW universe that I am taking inspiration from.
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Chapter Two: Myths and Legends Unveiled -
/ Personal Datalog Entry 0026 ... /
- My mission has begun in earnest. My progenitor's memories have led me and my welcome allies to what will hopefully be the first discovery of many long-hidden Shield Worlds and Forerunner installations that were left by my departed creators, hidden cleverly by both the slipspace coördinates left in my vast data archives, as well as the ingenious slipspace tunnel to this place that only the vessels bearing the navigation beacons of the Forerunners and humanity can find.
- According to my data logs, the hidden beacon on the planet we are now approaching - named Azeroth - leads to a portal installation, and then, most likely, a undiscovered Shield World, along with all the guarded treasures enshrined there, still awaiting their use in defense of the Mantle. I only hope that we have come here in time to safeguard them from misuse by those who are not ready to wield them, or for whom they are not meant for.
- Currently, both Rico and I are in deep scrutiny of the cloaked drone network's extensive historical logs pertaining to the population and current world events on Azeroth, and I must say, it is quite amazing to behold. On this vast world below us, several different and very unique races call Azeroth home - humanity being among them, - and here, we are privy to a great revelation: the concept of MAGIC. Long considered by ancient humans on Earth as deviltry, demonology, or witchcraft in the past, it actually exists here on this world, in high quantity, and in many varying types as well. It is well-known to advanced ancilla like Rico, Argus, and myself that the superior technology, armor, and powerful weaponry like that of the Forerunners would indeed seem to be 'magical' in nature to the younger races. Still, of even greater importance, we cannot in any way allow the technology and weapons of the Forerunners to fall into the hands of those who are not ready for it, who would use it to cause destruction, and those who would harm others to further their own goals. We will not allow it.
- Of great interest to me here, on this world we have found, is that not only does humanity exist here, but many other offshoots of its base genome once thought to be pure myth. Elves, long-lived and wise beings who live and function within nature's bosom - with such types as High Elves, Night Elves, and even the Blood Elves, to name a few, - are an intriguing sight, to say the very least. Just as interesting to me are the Dwarves, as well as the Gnomes, for their love of technology and their appreciation for creativity. And still more enlightening, is the existence of the cadre of races known as the Horde - the Orcs, Trolls, Tauren, and even the undead Forsaken - all bound together by the very common goal to stand fast against the continuing battles against the enemy known as the Burning Legion. Tales of dark gods and titans that could quake the skies, battles between bloodlust-filled monsters and valiant creatures like dragons and gryphons: these now have come and passed through my mind and become part of my memories. I shudder within myself, painfully recalling how much all of this mirrors the long millenia of war that the Forerunners faced against the Flood, as well as what the Covenant and humanity have endured to bring themselves to where they are now.
- We are approximately one week's time from the planet Azeroth, as we have decided to approach slowly, while what we have learned so far from the network will allow me to acclimate to the environment better when I choose to descend to the surface. What awaits me there, I do not yet know, but I will face it as I must. That is my mission. I will not see it fail.
/ End Journal Entry. /
As Adjudicant Bias finished his journal entry, he returned his focus to the work being done by his ancilla duplicate, Argus-One, and by Rico, the A.I. commanding the 'Redemption,' as they compiled all the historical data coming their way from the cloaked satellite drones orbiting the planet they were now en route to. 'Azeroth.' Reno mused to himself as his own bio-technological mind watched the incoming data scroll past his enhanced eyes, seeing how the magical energies of the planet ebbed and flowed in several different areas of the planet, as well as the level of engineering and mining of the planet's resources, and how all the races had applied these techniques to their daily lives and activities. There was much to understand here, and much to prepare for, as their eventual arrival to Azeroth approached minute by minute. Presently, Argus One contacted Reno from the bridge.
- Brother Reno, are you still reviewing the data logs? -
"Yes, I am, A-1. About ten more minutes, and then, I'm going to go rest my systems. When I wake up, I'll put in my next journal entry, and then return to my data review."
- Understood. Rest easy; Rico or I will contact you if anything pops up on our way to Azeroth. -
"Thank you, Argus. Will contact you after my rest cycle."
- Acknowledged. -
Ceasing his absorption of the incoming data from the cloaked data network around Azeroth, Adjudicant paused and saved his place on his console, nodded to his bridge crew, and then headed off to his personal quarters to get in a few hours' rest. Reno had found out very quickly that when he allowed himself to act like a normal human being, such as taking short naps and partaking of the real 'dreaming' cycle, his mind and his body would awaken and function at a better level than it would without it. 'Another insurance that I learn and understand more of what it means to be part of humanity.' Reno remarked as he came to his quarters, entered it, and headed for his sleeping pod. Linking his inner ancilla-systems to it, Reno closed his eyes, and once again, he dreamed of things that only living machines could think of.
A few hours later, his internal timing systems chiming at him, Reno's data presence roused itself from its completed sleeping cycle, and promptly logged into his personal journal console.
/ ... Personal Journal Entry 27... /
- I wake from my regular sleep cycle, and from what my resting pod's inner holographic are telling me from the current transit through this system, both the 'Redemption' and the 'Paladin' are actually now four days' travel from Azeroth. This has given Rico, A-1, and I all time to better gauge how to go ahead upon our upcoming arrival. I have decided on implementing some cosmetic changes to my personal arsenal for when I and my Promethean Warrior brethren descend to the surface of Azeroth. Rico and A-1 are still hard at work charting the best landing site for us; I'll leave that in their capable hands, unless something drastic comes up.
- I have requested that Rico and A-1 hold back the more heavily armed and traditional looking, bio-mechanical Promethean soldiers for now, and that we make use of the vast number of Forerunner combat skins that we have in our reserve stores, but in a different fashion. We do not want to seem as a new invading force on Azeroth, like this Burning Legion the data logs have stated exist and continue to plague the races of this world. And so, we can retrofit a number of the combat skins with several of the stored Promethean Warrior-Durances aboard to make them seem more humanoid, and thus, less threatening to others, and hopefully avoid any violent confrontations. I thought I might make some further changes to how they appear, but the addition of simple cloaking nodes will carry out the same feat with less reprogramming and repurposing.
- While the reconfigured combat skins will indeed have characteristics that will set them apart from the normal Humans of Azeroth, the ideas I have for their cloaking nodes will not hide the fact that their weapons and their abilities will still stay just as deadly and as capable as the Forerunners and the Prometheans meant them to be. The original types of Promethean Knights will remain on standby, though; I will take no chances, even with all of my skills and abilities, and the Knights, per their own protocols - instituted by Rico himself and the ones who resurrected me - will keep a close eye on me, while a pair of upgraded War Sphinxes will support them, once they have been reconfigured to look like some of the native animal species on Azeroth.
- I myself have focused on a very interesting find I discovered some time after I began perusing the human databases that the Paladin and the Redemption have allowed me to see, scanned during my retrofit and installment into my synthetic shell. One of them was described as being a repository of entertainment called 'video games,' and though I have no use for it myself, the artwork and graphic designs that were used there are quite intricate. One genre in particular made liberal use of elements of the supernatural, as well as the human spirit, from a time period in the 21st century. To that effect, the Paladin's own manufacturing facilities that were set aside to keep up my Promethean War Panzer armor unit and its available arsenal - which I hopefully will not make use of any time soon on Azeroth - have built and field-tested twin stylized firearms. The first one is a hard light beam-type, and the second is a plasma-class weapon. I've given them both names, as was the old custom back on Earth in the middle ages: the hard light one is now known as Helios, and the plasma firearm carries the name Pyrus. They will go with me on my journey to the surface of Azeroth, so that I meet those races on even footing.
- Also, I've had the facilities repurpose and redesign a Promethean hard light blade for my upcoming excursion, following another intricate weapon design from the human databases. This one entails one of the most formidable and durable mêlée weapons created by humanity from the island nation of Japan: the katana sword. The ancient warrior order of the Samurai carried this weapon with true honor and courage, and to not be humbled by that knowledge is foolhardy. This time around, though, this particular katana will have an edge or two. The weapon has been designed with two innate modes: its normal non-powered state, but with superiorly-hardened molecular density, and a quantum laser-sharpened and flawless edge capable of cutting clean through Sanghelli battle armor; and its hardlight-enabled battle state, which literally wraps the active energy field around and within the blade, multiplying its destructive force tenfold. Argus One actually took the initiative and named this new weapon after seeing it perform during its field tests on the Paladin's training level: Seraphim. Fitting, indeed. He also said that he might just make a larger model for me to make use of with my Panzer-class armor. That would be a sight, indeed.
- My already prepared Promethean-style combat armor needs no remodeling before my landing party and I eventually arrive, and with my Manipular drones, shielding systems, and constraint field generators, I am more than well prepared for any type of hand-to-hand or long-range combat, if need be. For now, I'm going to further update my data archives on what the cloaked satellite network is now sending us. Somehow, I believe that the site of this Forerunner beacon is only the first of several mysteries that will be solved during our time here.
/ End Journal Entry. /
As Reno completed his latest journal entry, he also reviewed the basics of a background file he had started for himself to use after landing on the planet. His chosen name was to be Renovus Hyzaaren, and his group of warriors and compatriots were to be known as the Azuron Ecumene. The repurposed Prometheans were to be their elite Hoplites, guardians of their landing site and the visual aspect of their armed forces. As to where they were from on Azeroth, if asked, that aspect was the main thing that Reno was still working on. Presently, Argus called Reno on his hard light screen, which glowed for a moment before their faces were looking at each other.
"Reno here."
- So, how does the new weaponry work for you so far, Brother Reno? -
"Very well, Argus. The firearms handle magnificently, and Seraphim, well... it's a true testament to Forerunner weapon technology, and engineering. Thanks again for naming it, Argus."
- They'll serve you well, I imagine, but I also see that you're nearly done with simulations for an alternate type of projectile weapon, my brother in arms. Really, Brother Reno? A longbow? -
"A favorite of many races on Azeroth, obviously. Always helps to be versatile on your travels, Argus."
- Well said. -
"Anything new?"
- A landing point has been determined, my brother ancilla. Come to the bridge when you are able. -
"On my way."
A minute after Reno returned to the bridge, the holographic image of Argus turned to note his presence, and then, gestured to the viewing screen before himself.
- From the network's archives and latest updated data logs, this place here is called Azuremyst Isle. It is now the settlement of a non-terrestrial bipedal race called the Draenei, and they are currently members of the human-led Alliance of races against this Burning Legion of monsters that have tried to gain a permanent foothold here on Azeroth. -
"Non-terrestrial?"
- Yes, Brother Reno; they are not originally from Azeroth. Both Rico and I have already confirmed this fact independently with our long-range sensors, by virtue of this. -
Argus quickly brought up a secondary screen from one side, one that had a more in-depth scan of the cloaked network's own continental map of Azeroth, and focused on the reason for the deduction reached by both himself and Rico.
"A ship. Damaged, obviously, from a forced landing on the planet, and judging by the state of the hull there, but it's a space-faring vessel, without a doubt."
- Correct, Brother Reno. A sound choice for our landing site, don't you agree? The Huragoks would have a field day, if we were to let them run wild around there. -
"Indeed."
Reno leaned closer to the screen, tapping it a few times to alter and change the type of information he was receiving. He soon indicated what had caught his eye to Argus.
"These exotic energy readings that are being picked up by the cloaked satellite network, and our own sensors, are all over the radiological spectrum, both here around the ship, Argus, and in several different areas. The forced landing here most likely dispersed a vast amount of unknown radiation around the isle, and heavily among the environment as well. It's obviously the cause of the noted number of mutations of the normal creatures and plant life in the area. Noting the highest readings to be investigated later."
- Agreed. -
"Well, then, that fact should keep the Prometheans busy protecting our position, I imagine. Any threats or danger to our systems and our weaponry from that much radiation, Argus?"
- Initial scans say no, Brother Reno, but I would recommend keeping our personal shielding systems active at all times, and with alternating harmonic modulation protocols operating at Level Five to detect and to isolate the phase variance of the energy type present. That should counteract the radiation, and over time, make our systems immune to any adverse effects. -
"Acknowledged. Send this intel over to Rico ASAP. Time to orbit now, Argus?"
- Three and three-quarters standard days, at current speeds. -
"And, so far, no contacts?"
- None, Brother Reno. -
"How much do we need to increase our pace by to get to Azeroth within two days, Argus? All of our repurposing and reconfiguring our troops for this mission should be done well before then."
- Twenty percent, Brother Reno. A little anxious, are we? -
"As humans say, 'antsy,' Argus. Check with Rico, and see if that's can be done with him."
- One moment. (PING!) Rico agrees. Increasing pace by twenty percent to reach Azeroth by requested time frame. -
"Understood. I'll be ready by then."
- So will we, Brother Reno. So will we. -
The following day, Reno had headed into the training level on the Paladin, and was refreshing his skills when he received the silent alerts from Rico and A-1. Quickly finishing up his latest round of mobile target practice runs, Reno holstered both of his new firearms, Helios and Pyrus, into his shoulder holsters, and then logged out of the training level after recording his progress. Reno then clipped the special hardlight-equipped constraint field sheath for his new katana, Seraphim, to his belt as he answered the hails of his brother ancilla on his internal comm.
"Reno here. What's going on, Rico, A-1?"
/ A very interesting development has been found, Reno. /
- Most interesting, indeed. -
"Well, don't keep me in suspense, you two. What's the discovery?"
/ Argus, may I? /
- Have at it, Brother Rico. -
/ Thank you, Brother Argus. Reno, our long-range sensor scans have just detected another satellite drone orbiting Azeroth, and it is NOT of Forerunner OR Covenant design. /
Reno shook his head at the revelation from the two A.I. speaking with him, and voiced his shock poignantly.
"How in the name of the cosmos is THAT possible!?"
- Simple, Brother Reno. The satellite we've detected is of HUMAN design, from the types that we are well acquainted with; specifically, from the United Space Naval Command, or UNSC. It's their hardware, undoubtedly. -
"Argus, Rico,... show me."
Reno's face grew very serious as he quickly moved to the nearest input terminal near the training level's exit doors. With but a single forceful data burst 'thought' from his Contender-class A.I. abilities toward the panel, Reno activated it and patched it through to both Rico and Argus so that he could see what they had found. Moments later, the orbital trajectory around Azeroth was depicted before Reno, as were the schematics of the functioning drone as it circled the planet per its own protocols.
"How? How did it even get here? That's clearly a Clarion spy drone, and only the UNSC made use of them with that type of construction and composition! Yet, as far as we can tell, the UNSC have never traveled in this direction from Earth, and the humans on the planet obviously do not have this kind of technology."
- Agreed, Brother Reno. I will attempt to... -
/ I'll spare you the trouble of doing that, Argus, Reno. I am now detecting a massive structure on the planet, located in the lands of the continent called Kalimdor, in the areas claimed by the race called the Night Elves, and its construction is composed of a vast amount of Titanium-A. /
"Yet another creation of humanity. Is it a ship, Rico?"
/ Scanning now... amazing. Correction, Reno: it is half of a UNSC Charon-class light frigate, and from the looks of it, it was cut in half, probably by a collapsing slipspace portal, if my residual energy readings are correct - and they are, - right down amidships, from top to bottom. /
Reno's enhanced eyes viewed and calculated a number of outcomes and possibilities in his mind, but he only spoke on the one that stood out most in his thoughts.
"Has it, or the drone, detected us on approach yet?"
/ Negative, Reno. I only detected the crash site after sifting through other levels of all the energy readings that are on the planet now. Argus? /
- Confirmed, Brother Rico. The drone is currently directing all of its scanning measures on the planet itself, obviously gathering intel for its owner on the ground. -
"Any idea who that might be, Rico, Argus?"
/ Searching now... visual images will take another minute, Reno, but I now have full tactical updates on the location of the ship's impact site... and its surrounding base of operations. /
"A base, you say? Then, there are human survivors from the ship down there now!"
- Most likely, Brother Reno. And, judging from the looks of this very formidable establishment, it is someone who is far from foreign to the art of war and combat of all kinds. -
/ Reno, do you have any guesses about whom that could be? /
"The most logical assumption I have, my fellow Contenders, is that if there are UNSC survivors down there, at least one of them... is a Spartan Commando."
/ The renowned 'demon' protectors of humanity, you say? /
- Their literal swords and shields, guarding them from the enemy in all their forms,... here, of all places? Fascinating. -
"Agreed, my brethren ancilla. Rico, about those visual images you said would be coming in?..."
/ The cloaked Forerunner satellite network is answering my scanning requests as we speak, Reno. Five more seconds to visual transmission and display... three, two, one, mark. /
The three Forerunner 'journeymen' were soon quite impressed at the hardy construction and sound fortifications of the solidified base from the visual images they could see of the surface, and they were also quite surprised to see aspects of so many of the races of Azeroth in the base as well. 'Working together, perhaps.' Reno mused to himself as he looked over the data. Still, Reno was the first of his brethren to recognize the engraved name and insignia on the starboard side of the remaining half of the ship.
"That's the UNSC logo on the hull, without a doubt, and the designation there... 'Forward Unto Dawn'... no... can it be?"
- Brother Reno? What do you see? -
"Argus, Rico, this very ship, the Forward Unto Dawn, was involved in the last battle at a hidden HALO installation array, the very one that utterly wiped out the Flood from the Milky Way Galaxy, some three months ago. From the data banks available to me when I was brought back online for my revival, I know for a fact that the forward section of that ship returned to Earthspace, crash-landing on the planet with the noble Arbiter Thal 'Vadam on board. That would mean, on board this aft section here, was the Spartan-II Commando John-117, the warrior and well-respected leader known to all Spartans and UNSC Marines as 'THE Demon,' and the true hero of the long war against the Covenant and the Flood. Their greatest champion has survived, yet again."
/ Amazing... he simply will not give up. /
- It seems that Death is not ready to claim him yet. -
"No, my brethren. For the Spartans, as it has been said to his people by their superiors, they simply do not die. For this one, this John-117, that is all the more clear."
- Amazing. -
"Rico, time to Azeroth?"
/ Twenty-two hours, thirty-five minutes,... mark. /
"Prepare our brethren for arrival, Argus; I believe that, for now, only three of our modified Hudal-class support vessels, their full troop complements, and adequate supplies for repairs and refueling should suffice, with the repurposed combat skin-augmented Durances on board as well, and keep the main Promethean Warrior contingents on standby if needed. Tell the Huragoks that they will get their chance to look over the technology of that Draenei ship down there in due time, but not until I'm sure that no harm will come to any of them. I'm going to go prepare my armor for transit."
/ Are you sure, Reno? /
"I will not make my brethren Warriors do what I would not do myself, my brother ancilla. This is MY mission, my quest. I will complete it with my own hands."
- Very well, Brother Reno. May the spirits of the Forerunners guide you when you reach the planet. -
/ Always on guard, Reno. /
"Acknowledged."
With that, Reno quickly headed off to the personal arsenal alcove that was linked to his quarters, intent on making sure he was ready for whatever was to come his way. The moment he was there, he powered up and opened the alcove, revealing his dormant, but very impressive sized Promethean-styled War Panzer armor unit. Linked to his personal combat skin, functioning as one when needed, Reno keyed in his access codes, opening up the battle armor and allowing him to easily slide into its confines. Seconds later, the active armor closed up around his body, seamlessly fitting to him, and the helmet sealed shut around his head with a gentle HISS! His humming combat skin soon linked itself to the War Panzer armor, and as the two armors fully powered up in tandem, Reno calmly spoke out loud as the armor's heads-up display and system checks were done.
"Are you there, my friend?"
A powerful voice answered Reno's words.
FOR YOU, COMMANDER BIAS, ALWAYS.
The synthesized voice that answered Reno back was that of his armor's personal combat assistance A.I., Mentor to Penance. As the full systems check of the armor came back as 100% operational, Reno smiled, and spoke again to his second set of eyes.
"Everything's online and ready to go, I see, Mentor."
STANDING BY FOR DEPLOYMENT, COMMANDER BIAS.
"Just over twenty-two hours, Mentor. Refresh all systems, and I'll be back to link up with you again before we board the Hudals to make the drop planet-side. You'll have your weaponry complement updated then as well. Confirm."
UNDERSTOOD, COMMANDER.
With that, Reno logged out of his armor, separated himself from it, and headed back to his quarters to meditate within his synthetic self, focusing himself for the tasks to come, and for the eventual landing on the planet of Azeroth, now only a short twenty-plus hours' travel away.
End Chapter Two -
