Hey all! Gotta say, having a blast writing this one. I loved the overall plot of Halo 4, and cant wait to get to the good parts.
This chapters a little slow, but then, most chapters at the start are. Please feel free to comment on things you liked or didnt, and Favorite/Follow if you did like it!
Anyways, I wont keep you waiting. Enjoy!
Chapter 2: Welcome to Requiem
"You will become the best we can make you…"
John gasped, taking in a raspy breath. He willed his body to move, but it wouldn't respond. He opened his eyes, his vision blurry at first. As his surroundings cleared, he realized that he was pinned under a large sheet of metal. Grunting with exertion, he slowly pushed the heavy debris of himself, slowly sitting up when he could.
Around him was complete destruction, the wreckages of ships all around him. Human gray mixed with Covenant Purple, the wreckages as far as he could see, disappearing over a nearby mountain range. The sky was blocked out, smoke and shrapnel still clouding his view of above. He examined the natural features around him to find that he was in a natural, wide crevice within a canyon. He concluded that this probably saved his life, the much larger chunks of metal remaining above.
He got up, his body radiating with aches and pains, but he ignored them. One question still plagued him. Where exactly where they?
"Cortana, where are we?" he asked aloud, giving voice to his thoughts.
"Checking impact data…" She began. She went silent for a moment, John awaiting the answer to his question. A sudden blast of static made John wince.
"We have asked you give up your family, your childhood, your future…"
John yanked Cortana out of his head. The Static noises, combined with her random words had been too painful. Still, she wouldn't have just done it without reason.
"Cortana?" He questioned. She appeared out of her chip, an odd look on her face.
"I'm sorry. It's just the crash, I'm fine." She replied, attempting to avoid the unspoken question. Her answer didn't sit right with him, but he couldn't figure out why. So he remained silent, staring down at her.
"Chief, really. I'm fine." She said, sounding annoyed. She frowned, but again, John got the sense that something was wrong.
"Cortana…" He said again. The bond between them was strong, strong enough for John to know when she was telling a lie. She looked like she might continue her ruse, but she sighed, backing down. She looked up at John, opening her mouth as if thinking how to start.
She sighed. "I was put into service eight years ago." She started. John nodded, aware of how long she'd been active for. "A.I begin to deteriorate after seven Chief."
He stopped breathing. Of course. How could he have forgotten? His mind raced, trying to avoid her point. After she began to deteriorate, she would go rampant, and then…No, he could, would, think of something.
"Halsey." He stated. Yes, Halsey could fix her, extend her life. He was sure of it.
She closed her eyes, taking a sharp breath. "Chief…"She began, but he cut her off, refusing to hear what she would say.
"We need to find Halsey."
"Chief please!" She said, louder. She looked like she wanted to cry, but again, John refused to accept what she was telling him.
"She made you, she can fix you."
"I won't recover from rampancy John…" She said, her eyes pleading for him to stop. But he couldn't, wouldn't.
"If we can just get back to Earth, and find Halsey, she can fix this."
Cortana looked up at him sadly, clearly struggling to say what she wanted to say. She swallowed. "Don't, make a girl a promise you can't keep."
He stared down at her, unsure how to reply. She had told him this before, back on High Charity. But he'd come for her, rescued her from the Gravemind. And he could rescue her again. He didn't get time to continue arguing though, as the high whine of two Banshee's reached his ears. The fighters appeared in the sky moments later, search lights active on their fronts. John instinctively ducked down, narrowly staying out of the beam.
"We need to move." Cortana told him, all business once again. John didn't want to argue with that, so he began moving through the wreckages. Swiftly hiding when a searchlight neared, he moved quickly, jumping and sliding in and around the vast ruins. He climbed inside what would have once been a Covenant bridge, but now it was in pieces, the roof missing as well as some of its walls. An Elite struggled to stand, its unseeing eyes looking right through John. With a last raggedy breath it fell, unmoving. John continued out of the bridge and ducked and dived, making his way toward a tunnel in the rock wall, faint light emanating from the other side. The passage was a tight fit, the sounds of his armor scraping against the rock walls echoing faintly. He continued to inch through, each step an effort.
"Chief, I'm picking up something..." Cortana informed him, playing the sound through the speakers in his helmet. It was mostly static, but he heard something amongst all the white noise. Whether it was a voice or not, he couldn't tell yet.
"Keep me updated." He said, continuing to inch along. He was nearly at the end of the passage, the walls widening. Appreciating the room, he moved forward, into the light. It was blinding after being in the tunnel, causing John to shield his eyes with a hand. As his vison adjusted, he took in his surroundings.
Up above him, giant pillars hovered above the ground, connecting with a very distant ceiling. John could make out metal glints in the sky, further proof that they were inside the planet. Other than that, the sky was beautiful, blue with sparse clouds lining the sky. He looked further on, spotting grassy green hills in the distance, as well as more of the large pillars. To his left, much closer, was a part of the Dawn. John guessed it was some of the hanger, as ruined Warthogs and Scorpions lay scattered around it. He looked down directly below him, noticing they stood on a natural path on a Cliffside.
"Maybe one of those hogs is still functional…" He thought to himself, making his way over to the wreckage. He paid attention to make sure he didn't touch any exposed cable, which still sparked. Cortana's distress beacon was still playing on repeat. He began looking at the Jeeps that seemed to have the least damage, and found one with all its wheels and engine still intact. He jumped into the driver's seat and removed one of its interior panels, moving to fiddle with its wires and jumpstart it.
"You know, you might be on to something about Halsey…" Cortana said quietly as John played with the wiring.
"Hmm?" He commented, wanting her to continue.
"Well, since you brought it up…It might be possible for Halsey to recompile my neural net. But that means we need to find her, soon."
She didn't sound hopeful, but to John it sounded like exactly what they needed to do. First, he would find out where they were, before figuring out how to escape and head back home. The Hog suddenly roared to life, the headlights flickering on and the engine growling. Satisfied with himself, John pressed his foot on the gas, the jeep flying out of the wreckage. He drove alone the Cliffside, moving down to the green hills he saw before. The hog rolled up and down them slowly, the sounds of soft wind reaching him. He supposed this place would be considered beautiful, to someone who would appreciate it.
They drove through more of the Dawns wreckage, its framework sticking out of the earth like an old corpse. The smoke blocked out the sky once again, blocking out the view and leaving John in the dark. The Hogs lights cut through the darkness like a knife, allowing him to see where he was going. The lights, combined with the smoky darkness, made the metal of the wreckage shine green. Like Samus's visor.
John suddenly wondered about Samus. If it had been four to five years, what had she been doing? Had she even made it back to earth?
"Cortana?" He asked aloud, swerving to dodge a piece of metal sticking out of the ground.
"Yeah?"
"Do you know if…the other half of the Dawn made it through the portal?"
"Yes it did, I detected it just before the portal shut." She said, before pausing. "Care if I ask why?"
"Just wondering if the others would have made it." He said, keeping his voice neutral. Cortana didn't comment.
If Samus did make it back, what would she have done? Did she join the UNSC? Become a civilian? Questions John had no hope of figuring out on his own. His radar suddenly beeped, just as they came out of the wreckage and into the open again. The sky was bright once more, as they drove into a small clearing littered with large rocks.
"Chief, Covenant ahead."
He stopped the car, just short of driving into the open. He hopped out and peered around the corner of their cover, hoping to get an idea of what lay ahead. Directly in front of them was an Elite, which seemed to be scolding a Grunt. The two argued, backs turned, while another Grunt clung to a turret, resting its beady head on a large hand. John shifted his eyes and spotted a purple gleam. A Ghost lay not a few feet from the small group, unattended. He checked to see if he could sneak past them, but the cover was sparse, making a sneak attack unlikely. That left one option.
He returned to the Hog, jumping in the driver's seat. He took a moment to ready himself, before pressing the pedal hard. The Hog roared around the corner, dirt spraying up as the tires dug into the earth for traction. He skidded, bringing the front of the Jeep to face the group, before flooring it right for the Elite. The Alien barely had time to register what was happening, before the Hog ploughed into it, its body vanishing under the Jeep. A bump confirmed that John had run it over. He quickly swerved, making the back wheels skid and causing the rear of the jeep to spin, colliding with the first grunt. He hopped out, running for the second Grunt. It started to scream, before two tonnes of Spartan collided with it at high speed. The Grunt slammed into the rock, fell to the ground, and was still.
John quickly surveyed his surroundings, making sure he hadn't missed any Covenant. None showed themselves. He then turned his attention to the Ghost. He hopped in, fiddling with the controls. He had used Ghosts before, but had yet to learn exactly what was what. He pressed a large button, and the Ghost suddenly purred to life, lifting of the ground. John did a quick test drive, moving its two sticks to check that it worked. The Ghost hovered around effortlessly.
"Any more ahead?" John asked, turning his gaze toward the windy path ahead, between the large rock formations.
"Yep, sure are." Cortana commented.
John revved the Ghost forward, its ability to strafe sideways coming in handy. He moved between the rocks quickly, pulling of maneuvers that the Hog wouldn't be capable of. Occasionally, a Grunt or two would appear from a rocky corner, but they son met a quick death, run over by the purple vehicle. They soon left the rocks behind, moving into a much more open area. On the other side, leading back into the mountains, was a small blockade, made up of a Plasma Turret and a sniper tower. The Elite on the turret opened fire, causing John to strafe back behind a rock. He popped back out to pepper the blockade to shots from his Ghost. A few grunts took cover behind purple shields, but the Elite on the turret didn't move in time, its shields dissipating instantly, before being torn up by the rest. It cried out, falling to the ground with a thud.
The turret not a threat any longer, John pushed the Ghost to high speed, flying right for the blockade. At seeing this, the Grunts all threw their weapons away and ran for it, though a Jackal in the tower continued to shoot at him, the sounds of its Beam rifle electronic in nature. John continued to speed right for the blockade, before jumping out at the last moment. The Ghost collided with a shield, causing a large purple explosion. He then quickly pulled out a Grenade, pulling the pin and tossing it up onto the tower. John watched as the pair of Jackals tried to pick it up and throw it back. But it was too late, the Grenade exploding in one's hand and destroying the tower.
John moved passed the blockade, stopping only to pick up a Beam rifle on the ground. He holstered it on his back, reluctantly letting go of his own rifle. It was nearly out of ammo, and no human weapons were laying around. He checked his other rifle, a Battle rifle, and was pleased to see it still had ammo, for the moment. He would have to use it sparingly. He moved further away from the now ruined blockade, heading back into the Rocky Mountains. He followed another natural path, spotting Covenant gear laying around. He figured it must lead to somewhere, and he didn't have a better idea as to where to go, so he moved along it, his rifle resting in his arms.
"Hmm…" He mused to himself out loud.
"Something on your mind?" Cortana asked.
"I was just thinking we could hijack a ship from the Covenant. We've done so before." He said, stepping over a rock in the way.
"If we're going to hijack a ship, we'll need to find where they're landing first…"
"I don't suppose you have an idea for that?"
She laughed. "You could always ask nicely?"
"Asking's not my strong suit." He said with a smirk.
"Nice, channeling your inner Samus." She said, laughing again.
They emerged into another open area littered with rocks, though from all sides they seemed to be surrounded by mountain faces. On the other side of the clearing, was a Forerunner building, which seemed to continue into a mountain itself. John spotted Covenant ambling around, none of them alert. He analyzed his surroundings, noticing a lot of opportunities for stealth. He decided to try and sneak as far up the building as he could.
He crept though the rocks, making his way toward the base of the building, stopping to let Covenant pass. He nearly bumped into a Grunt, who was seemingly staring at a wall for no reason. John went around it, making sure to leave a lot of space. He reached the ground level of the Forerunner building, eyeing ramps leading upward along its sides. He crept upward, stopping only to let Covenant pass him. He moved silently, somewhat amused that the Aliens had no idea he was among them. He made his way to the top, moving up a final ramp which led to a doorway in the rock face. His radar pinged, but when he looked at it, it was clean.
He paused, suddenly feeling uneasy. He moved forward, cautiously. It pinged again, this time right behind him. He spun, just in time to catch an Elite swinging an Energy sword at him. John raised his rifle, the only thing he had to defend himself. The sword cut through the metal gun like it wasn't there, its front half clunking to the floor. The Elite jumped back, vanishing into thin air. Active Camo.
John walked backward slowly, still moving for the door. His eyes darted every which way, trying to spot the shimmer in the air that would give his foe away. In the end, the Elite betrayed itself, his radar showing it running at him from behind. He whirled, reaching out to grab the alien's sword arm. With a twist, he turned the table, impaling the Elite on its own blade. It hissed, collapsing. The sword de-activated and its body became fully visible. A distant roar reached his ears, indicating that the other Covenant had heard the scuffle. He heard feet moving toward him.
"Cortana, can we use the Camo?" He asked, ripping the Camo module off the body. He also grabbed the sword, holstering it on his thigh.
"Yep, patching it now." She said. John attached it to his back, before activating it. With a second to spare, he vanished, not daring to move. A group of Elites, all baring swords came up the ramp, kneeling down to inspect the body.
"He was killed by an energy blade…" One muttered. Another scoffed.
"It was the Demon, we know it survived the crash!"
Another pointed a finger. "You would blame the demon. We all know how much you hated him!" It said, pointing down at the body.
"Yes!" The first agreed. "It must have been you!"
John watched them argue a moment longer, confused by what he was seeing exactly, before deciding to move on. He moved slowly, careful not to break the Camo on his armor. He moved for the doorway, worried about the Elites noticing. They seemed to be in their own world however, arguing about something called a 'food nipple'. The Door opened, and John slipped inside.
His camo gave out shortly after, his green armor exposed once more. He moved further into the building, which seemed to continue deep into the mountain. Inside was a large room, filled with strange devices he couldn't understand. Sentinels hovered about, seemingly unaware of his presence.
"I was wondering when they'd show up…" Cortana commented. "In any event, I can see a terminal on the other side. Plug me in, maybe we can find out where we are…"
John walked across the room, grateful for a moment of quiet. He had thought more Covenant would be inside, but the place was empty, save for the sentinels. He spotted the terminal Cortana mentioned, sticking out of the floor and surrounded by screens on the far end of the room. He made his way to it, pulling Cortana out of his head, and slotting her into the terminal. She popped up a moment later, her avatar pushing holo screens aside as she sifted through information.
"Let's see…this is a localized site cartographer." She began, sounding fascinated. John was happy to see she still enjoyed learning, but felt the urge to hurry her. He remained quiet, not wanting another outburst like earlier. "Hmm…In service of Forerunner Shield World designate Requiem."
"Requiem?" John asked, pausing. "At least we know where we are now."
"I'll try to see what the Covenant have been so interested in…" She said distantly, still sorting. The screens suddenly flickered, and vanished, along with Cortana's avatar. John quickly pulled her out of the terminal, placing her back inside his head. Cortana however, seemed fine.
"Huh"
"What happened?" He asked, still worried.
"It locked up…let me back in, I'll try to re-open it."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" John asked, hesitant. The last thing he needed was Cortana corrupted by some Forerunner virus.
She groaned. "Yes, come on! We don't have all day."
Reluctantly, he removed the chip from his head again, and placed it back inside the terminal. Cortana didn't pop up this time, though John heard her noises of frustration as she fought to re-open the console. John's ears were suddenly filled with white noise, like the sounds he'd heard earlier. Only this time, he clearly heard the voice of a man, as well as a name, 'Infinity'.
"Infinity?" He mused. He didn't know any ships named Infinity, but it sounded like something the UNSC would call a ship.
"I've heard about it before, when I was…poking where I shouldn't be. It supposed to be a massive ship, the biggest humanity ever made." She said, before chuckling in victory. The screens lit back up and Cortana appeared again. "Maybe I could use this terminal to find out where they are, they have to be close if we're hearing them."
John didn't see a reason not to. He nodded, standing by. Cortana began touching and sorting through the holographic interface. A large map of the planet appeared above them, covered in a lot of red dots, or pings. Cortana grunted with annoyance.
"It keeps acting like the transmission is coming from everywhere on the planet at once. It doesn't want to triangulate Infinity's position." She growled, her eyes narrowed as she worked. She pressed a few more commands, sighing, before throwing her arms up, giving in. The map suddenly changed, now with a single red dot.
"Huh, I got it." She said, sounding pleased.
But John wasn't listening, he was looking at the dot. According to the map, Infinity was near the center of the planet, already inside. He shook his head. "That can't be right. Scan again."
Cortana shrugged. "We've already passed through one layer, is it so crazy to think that someone else made it further?"
"Why would Infinity be here in the first place?" John asked her. It just didn't seem right to him, it felt…off.
"Who knows? Could be any number of reasons." She said. "Let me see if I can figure out a way to reach those co-ordinates that doesn't involve you digging a really large hole." She moved a few more screens, the planet vanishing in favor of a more generic map, which showed two blinking spots. John figured one was them, and another where they needed to go.
"There's a terminus on the far side of this complex. I can portal us to the planets core from there." She said, confirming his thoughts.
John reached down and pulled her out, causing the maps to vanish. Putting her back inside his head, he turned and made his way for the door behind them, which according to the map, was a straight shot for the portal room they were after. The hallway they entered was long and featureless, seemingly endless. John pressed forward, eyeing the far away exit. His mind drifted as he walked.
He suddenly chuckled, an amusing thought coming to him.
"What?" Cortana asked.
"We're about to go exploring inside a planet. Now I know how Samus feels." He chuckled. She'd mentioned to him how she'd been sent on missions inside planets before. She'd described it as feeling isolated, alone. John had Cortana, but he was staring to agree, the thought of him being on this world making him feel very alone.
She chuckled. "You'll have to share the story with her, it's about time someone told her something epic, instead of the other way around."
They continued in silence. John wasn't sure how much time had passed before they reached the other side. It had felt like hours. They entered another large open room, this one with a lift at the other end. Or at least John assumed it was a lift. He spotted sentinels moving about, again ignoring the Spartans presence. He moved for the lift, looking around at the walls. He had never paid much mind to Forerunner architecture but he was noticing some differences between this place and other sites. For one, the walls and floor pulsed a bright orange color, instead of the usual blue. While the blue was calming, mystifying, this color was a lot more aggressive, and set John on edge.
He stepped up onto the lift, Cortana activating it from within. The lift began to ascend silently. The room and its orange pulses vanished slowly, in favor of the more traditional blue lines in the lift shaft. The lift soon reached the top, an opening appearing behind John. He turned, eyeing the room before him, before making his way inside. The room was much larger than it appeared, the floor he stood on was a walkway, which vanished into darkness underneath him. The roof was also hidden in the dark. All around him were pillars, seemingly decorative. At the far end of the walkway, was the terminus. John walked slowly, the room making him uneasy. His footsteps echoed throughout the room, the only noise save for his own breathing.
He reached the terminal and plugged Cortana in. She appeared and set to work, once again sifting through holo screens and activating the system within. The Floor they stood on suddenly lurched, moving up and away from the walkway. All around him things moved, platforms hovered nearby and the pillars moved up with them. Again, John felt uneasy.
Cortana started talking, making him jump. "According to the data, this Terminus is just one small node on a large transit grid that spans the entire planet…" She said, trailing off.
"What is it?" John asked, keeping one eye on the room.
She didn't answer right away, as if unsure herself. "When I tried to access the outlet closest to the Infinity's signal, the system responded with this." She said, gesturing. A symbol appeared behind her. To John, it looked eerily familiar.
"What is it?"
"That's the kicker. It's the Forerunner symbol for Reclaimer." She said. Reclaimer. John had heard that before. It was apparently what the Forerunners had called ancient humans, according to Samus. After the Flood began to wipe them both out.
"Humanity…That's got to be Infinity." John said. "Open a portal and let's get moving."
Cortana nodded, beginning to fiddle with the controls once again. A loud noise suddenly echoed throughout the room. John spun, Beam rifle in hand. The pillars behind them began to rise, as the sounds of machines powering up reached his ears.
"Cortana?" He asked, checking it wasn't her.
"I'm picking up unknown energy signatures…" She stated, continuing to work the controls. John did a quick scan of the room, spotting no threats. Yet.
"Where?"
Cortana scoffed. "This doesn't make any sense…"
Suddenly, on the pillars appeared beings John had never seen before. They stood tall, and thickly armored. To John, they looked like machines. They pulsed blue, and all of them peered down at him with beady blue eyes. One screeched at him, making a loud mechanical sound. John took action.
"Set a way point out of the tower, now." John ordered, raising his rifle at one of the creatures. It hissed, but made no move toward him. Cortana didn't reply, still working. Had she heard him? "Cortana?!"
A portal appeared before him, blue on its edge and black within. The Machines roared at the sight of it, clearly unhappy. Cortana whirled, looking confused.
"How did…never mind, Chief, thought the portal now!" She shouted. John grabbed her chip, placing it back in his head. One of the machines jumped onto another platform, much closer to him. It roared again, its back 'shell' flexing slightly, like a beetles. John pointed his weapon at it, but it vanished. It re-appeared back on its old platform. They could teleport.
John eyed the machines. It was strange, they clearly weren't happy he was here, and yet they didn't make any advances, even though they outnumbered him. He almost left like…it was a warning, or a threat.
"John! Go!" Cortana screamed, shaking his thoughts. He turned and ran for the portal, his last sight before going through an army of angry mechanical monsters.
"Where's my mommy?" Samus cried, tears of fright flowing down her cheeks. The large monster in front of her seemed to chuckle, its large snout folding back into a toothy grin.
"She's gone little girl" it hissed, red eyes glowing with delight. "But do not worry, you will soon join her!"
It roared and ran at her. Little Samus screamed and hid her eyes…
Samus shot awake, gasping for air. Her forehead was damp with sweat, hair clinging to her. She sat up, looking around frantically. She was still in her gunship, still in the pilot's seat she had fallen asleep in. She wiped her forehead, still breathing rapidly.
"Samus? Your heart rates skyrocketing, are you alright?" Adam said worriedly, appearing in front of her on the dashboard. His holographic blue body illuminated the dimly lit cabin, his features showing concern. Samus took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
"I'm fine." She muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Adam didn't seem to buy it, still looking at her with that frown.
"The dream again?" He asked, the question feeling like a blow. But of course, he was right.
"Yeah…the dream again." She said, getting up and moving to the command table behind her. "I haven't had that dream in…well, awhile."
Adam nodded, frown deepening. "You used to have nightmares all the time. Do you think you might be starting up again?"
Now it was her turn to frown. "No, one random nightmare doesn't mean I'm going to have more. It was just a random coincidence."
She looked down at the table, pushing buttons to bring up a display. According to the screen, she'd slept through most of the slip space jump to their destination. They would arrive at the co-ordinates within minutes.
"Any more messages from the Infinity or any other parties?" She asked Adam, moving to the bathroom. She grabbed a spare hand towel and ran it under the sink, squeezing it to drain the water out. She wiped it over her brow, feeling ever so slightly refreshed.
"Negative, though I will be dropping a beacon when we arrive. You know, in case of trouble." He said, turning to look out the pitch black window.
Samus chuckled. "We're in the middle of nowhere, I doubt there's anything 'waiting' for us." She said, mocking him.
Adam shrugged. "Better to be prepared than dead."
"A good point, you win this time." Samus said, stepping out of the bathroom. She willed her armor to activate, the psychic bond between her and the suit springing to life. Her body was enveloped in light for a single second, before fading to reveal her in her armor. Her armor gave her a lot more height, adding to her intimidation factor, something she loved.
"We're about to drop out of slip space." Adam said.
Samus nodded, returning to her chair. "I swear, if the damn Dawn isn't here, I'm gonna-" She began to say, but then they dropped out of slip space.
What greeted her was not half a ship. It wasn't even part of a ship. It was parts of many ships, debris floating in space as far as the eye could see. Some pieces were as small as her ship, and others dwarfed it. Her keep eyes immediately spotted that most of the chunks of metal were purple, and metallic. That told her that the Covenant had been here. She frowned.
In the aftermath of Earth, the Covenant had all but vanished, save for a few small factions desperate to cling to power. In fact, Samus herself had helped Thel, the Arbiter, quell a few of these groups herself. Fanatics who still believed the Forerunners were gods, despite the evidence. If a Covenant fleet had been here, it either meant that the smaller factions were bigger than she first thought, or Thel had something to do with this.
She was thinking the likely hood of the Arbiter being involved over when she spotted another chunk of metal. This one was gun gray, and had been a part of an outer hull from the looks of it. It rotated slowly in space, fading in and out of the light. Samus thought she spotted what would have been words on the side.
"Adam, scan that piece of debris." She said, pointing it out on the computer. She moved the ship in closer, dodging chunks of ship as she flew.
Adam was silent a moment. "Samus, it's the…"
He didn't need to finish. As that neared it, it rotated again, moving into the light. From here, she could see the word that once would have been on display proudly.
Dawn.
The Forward unto Dawn. She'd finally found it, in ruins. Destroyed. And it's cargo…
"No." She said aloud. "I didn't come this far just to let him get off that easily. We'll have to scan the entire area, look for a life pod."
"Samus, the likely hood of them surviving this is…"
"No!" She shouted, slamming her fist on the console in front of her. The Ships thrusters came to life, lighting up the area. She grumbled and de-activated them, the darkness of space enclosing around them again. "We will look. I promised I'd find him, even if he's a corpse."
Adam frowned, looking away. He squinted his eyes, as if looking at something far away. Then his eyes widened. "Samus incoming!"
She looked at where he was looking, a red beam of energy flying through space at an incredible speed. She went to move the ship but it was too late, the beam hit them head on. Cursing, she waited for Adam to tell her the damage. But he didn't say anything. She realized that whatever this was, it wasn't an attack. The beam passed through the ship harmlessly, passed through her. Then, just as quickly, it vanished.
"What was that?" Samus asked, peering through the window. She couldn't see its origin point, only blackness.
"If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it was a long range scanner." He said, frowning. He looked deep in thought.
"A scanner? Who is scanning stuff way out here?" She said, puzzled. A noise caught her attention, making her turn back to the window. In the distance, she could see a light forming. It was small at first, but it kept growing.
"Adam…"
"Working on it…Hmm." He muttered.
The light grew more. As it did, it illuminated the area around it. What Samus had thought was nothing but darkness, was actually a planet. Or at least, what looked like one. A huge spherical shape loomed in front of them, the light glinting off its surface. That led Samus to believe it was metal, but that was unlikely. Who makes a metal planet?
"The Planetoid is metal. And appears to be hollow. The light we are seeing is an artificial sun on the inside." Adam informed her.
"Can you tell me its origin?"
"Again, guessing. But there's only one race who could have created something like this." He said knowingly.
Samus frowned, looking at the opening in the planet. The Forerunners, it had to be. Question was, what exactly was this place?
"Samus, I'm detecting the planets emitting powerful gravity waves coming from the opening. It's pulling in everything around it." Adam said, sounding alarmed.
"Hmm." She commented. She was silent a moment, watching the gravity begin to pull in the debris around its opening, sucking it in hungrily.
"Adam." She said suddenly. "Can you use our long range scanners to peek inside?"
"What for?" He asked.
"Check to see if any of the Forward unto Dawn made it inside."
He nodded, though he looked doubtful. He closed his eyes. "I'm seeing several large pieces of the Dawn inside. It was torn up pretty bad, but some parts of the ship are still functional."
She nodded, remaining motionless. Adam frowned, as if asking her what she was thinking. Suddenly, his eyes lit up in understanding.
"No."
"They might have made it inside. Plus, even if he didn't, we still need to search this place, tell the Infinity. Might have a nice pay bonus in it." She said, smile slowly growing.
He sighed. "Samus, the gravity well would prevent us from leaving, and I imagine it has powerful radio jammers. Otherwise I'd have seen it the moment we arrived."
She shrugged. "One problem at a time. I'm doing this, be ready."
He grumbled, but nodded. "Alright, I dropped the beacon, at least Infinity will know where we are."
She took a deep breath, before moving the ship forward. They moved through the debris field, weaving through the large pieces of ship. Soon though, the pieces were moving, sucked in by the planets gravity. Samus frowned in deep concentration as she navigated the area, mindful not to crash. Her ship soon began fighting her controls, the gravity affecting it. Instead of trying to pull away, she pushed forward, letting the gravity take her. She heard a loud scrape as the side of her ship brushed pass a much larger piece that hurtled toward the planet's surface.
"Damage?" Samus asked, not daring to look away.
"Minimal. I'll keep you updated on any major damages." Adam said.
She continued to fly straight through the opening, only moving if a piece of ship lay right in her path. Another loud screech rang out, making Samus cringe. A warning siren wailed out.
"Damage to one of the rear engines, placing more energy in rear shield to compensate."
"No." Samus said. "I want all shield power to the front. If we hit something, we're gonna need it."
They passed through the opening, a tiny blip compared to the huge chunks of metal that now rained down from the sky. She barely registered the environment inside, dense jungle under them. She still concentrated on flying.
The ship suddenly shook, a loud bang rocking the inside. She hissed, as more warning sirens played.
"Major armor damage to the left side." Adam said, his tone tense.
"Are we clear of the gravity?" She asked through gritted teeth.
"Yes, we are now."
She pushed the ship forward, fast. The soared across the sky, moving far from the range of the deadly debris. She now looked down, eyeing a suitable landing sight. She spotted a clearing in the jungles below them, initiating the landing sequence. She took a big breath, visibly relaxing. She realized her hands were shaking, and she chuckled.
"Well, that was close."
"Not sure how you can joke, we could have died." Adam said, frowning. She waved him off.
"Once we're down, begin the auto repair on the damaged area. I'm going to begin recon and assess the area. I want you to keep me updated, tell me if you find anything." She told him, getting up.
She disembarked from the ship, stepping off the lift to examine the damage. The entire left side had been scrapped clean, the orange color replaced with the plain metal beneath. Several large gouges ran through the other plating, cutting deep into the metal. She turned to look at the damaged engine, which was sparking and emitting black smoke. She grimaced, realizing just how close they had come to dying.
"I've identified the object emitting the gravity waves." Adam told her over radio, making her eyebrows go up.
"How did you find out so fast?"
"This world is like one giant computer. It has systems I can access all over the place." He informed her. "The gravity well is a large tower located a ways west from here. Though, we currently do not possess any weaponry capable of destroying it."
She cursed. "Can you identify the systems that run it? I could disable it manually."
"I'll keep looking, there's a lot of information here." He said, before pausing. "Also, I have some even greater news. I have detected another A.I on the planet. Her neural net is very familiar."
She paused, before bursting out into a grin. "I knew he wasn't dead!" She said, struggling with the urge to shout for joy. "Oh thank god. Alright, do you have his co-ordinates?"
"I did, though it seems they used a teleporter, I can't get an exact reading on them yet." He muttered, as if thinking. "I can't contact her. I can sense her presence, but it's like I'm being blocked from pinging her. You're going to have to find them on your own."
She nodded, turning to survey the jungle around them. "Can you direct me to the nearest teleporter transit?"
"I can, there's one not too far from our landing zone. I'll give you a map schematic." He said.
The map downloaded, allowing her to view the full scope of this place. It was massive. The planet was actually made up of many more layers then she could have thought possible. It went several more layers deep than she was currently, which actually made her chuckle as she looked at the metal ceiling behind the blue sky. She looked back to the map, noticing the area Adam had highlighted. She could make out a clear enough path to the location she needed to get to, and began to walk off.
"Keep the ship on lockdown, make sure it's ready when I get back with them." She said, stepping into the dense jungle.
"Be cautious Samus. I might be able to access the system, but I'm sure there's a lot it won't let me see. I don't know what kind of defenses this world might have."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. What could possibly be tougher than me?" She joked, moving out of sight from the ship.
"A lot of things. Better watch yourself lady." Adam remarked.
But she was already gone.