Ravine Facility – Shield World 'Requiem' – February 9th, 2558
Gabab had always admired Forerunner architecture. It made sense; they were the holy gifts left behind by their diving masters, so of course they were something to be admired. And the titanic citadel looming in-front of him was no exception. It was a thing of elegant beauty; floating metal shifted flawlessly from place to place, and the size only seemed to hint at how massive the interior must be, and the importance of such a structure. It made the Unggoy feel even more dwarfed than usual, though the fact that his Sangheili commander; a particularly belligerent Minor by the name of Grik 'Vahran was standing behind him wasn't helping.
He was part of a salvage team sent out here by Jul 'Mdama to recover... whatever it is he said to recover from the citadel. He didn't exactly remember, but it was important. The team was small, as to not attract the attention of the newly arrived humans; about ten Unggoy, a Sangheili, and five Promethean Crawlers. He knew that there was no way they could remove everything from the citadel with a crew this size; but there was something inside the structure that they needed. Grik then let out a growl, glaring daggers at the Unggoy below him.
"What do you wait for, Unggoy? The Didact's Hand will not wait, and we must enter the temple." Gabab gave a nod, waving his stubby claw as he replied.
"Sorry, boss. Got distracted by its... majesty for a second." The Sangheili then snarled, clenching one of his fists.
"Don't let it happen again; failure will not be tolerated, especially not in-front of one of our lords' gifts." The Unggoy blinked in surprise underneath his breath mask, as a large, imposing figure stomped next to Gabab for emphasis, its hooked, orange Hardlight Blade far too close for comfort. Looking up, Gabab gazed up at the Promethean Knight Lancer, its Light Rifle raised, as it gave a bizarre, almost feral growl, though its movements were anything but feral. It moved with lethal purpose and efficiency, uncaring of the others around it. It had a task, it completed it; end of story. Gabab then looked back to 'Vahran, before speaking.
"Y-yes boss. I'll shape up." The Sangheili stepped forward, biting back a response, as the other Unggoy in Gabab's unit moved up to follow, the Knight taking point, along with the quadrupedal Crawlers moving in sync with the larger construct. Shaking his head, Gabab rushed to follow, running as fast as his short legs could carry him to keep up with the rest of the salvage team.
Gabab was at least grateful for his rank, even if he wasn't the best soldier in the unit. Just because he had survived the Battle of Delta Halo (Admittedly by hiding as the green demon slaughtered his way through to the Prophet of Regret), upon his induction into Jul 'Mdama's army, he had been granted the rank of Unggoy Imperial, and authorised special equipment; a red armoured combat helmet, better armour, and his favourite of all toys, Plasma Grenades. He was now allowed to chuck Plasma Grenades as much as he wanted, as long as he didn't hit any allies on purpose. It wasn't his fault that those stupid Kig-Yar were standing near those humans during the original expedition to Requiem, after all.
Suddenly, the team stopped at the edge of the Ravine when the Unggoys' Commander, a fellow Unggoy Imperial clad in purple battle armour, by the name of Poonflip, spoke.
"How we supposed to get across if there no bridge?" 'Vahran then retorted, scoffing.
"The gods' gifts, of course. Do you doubt their abilities?" Poonflip enthusiastically shook his head, as the Knight Lancer stepped forward. Suddenly, it hunched over, as the large wings on its back spread, disgorging a floating Watcher, the machine quickly flying above the group. Then, it drifted quickly over to the other side of the Ravine, before firing a blue beam at something unseen on the walls of the citadel. Suddenly, two prongs stretched out from the other side, projecting a bridge of glowing blue light to the other side. The Knight and Crawlers took the first steps, moving across it without breaking their stride. 'Vahran then followed, strutting proudly as if to say 'I was right', before the Unggoy followed, raising their Plasma Pistols; just in-case. Gabab followed suit, raising his own as they moved across into the courtyard of the citadel; suddenly, the walls surrounding them felt dominating and intimidating more than graceful, as they cast a titanic shadow over the group. The Watcher then moved to the edge of the courtyard, before firing the same blue beam at the wall.
And then, as if by magic, what was once a wall became a door, sliding back to reveal a short tunnel, leading to a lift of flowing energy; a gravity lift. The Knight, once again, took point, stepping through, its Light Rifle raised, as the Crawlers moved in behind it, the Watcher returning to its back. 'Vahran then followed, raising his own Storm Rifle as he stepped into the lift, letting the energies carry him down.
Gabab then stepped into the gravity lift and felt his limbs go limp, as the energies carried him down the looming chasm, leading further down into the structure below.
As he landed, the weightless feeling vanished, as he buckled on the ground. Quickly rising, he realised that he couldn't see a thing beyond the glowing spines of the Prometheans, and the glow of his Plasma Pistol, and switched on the low-light vision on his mask. The other Unggoy, however, were not as lucky as Gabab, and had to rely on their own natural sight. Suddenly, the surroundings quickly became clear, if a bit greenish. The group were in a massive, ornate platform, leading below into dozens of different winding passages and tunnels. 'Vahran then let out a low growl, commanding one of the other Unggoy, Radap.
"Activate the Kindlers, and make haste; the gods will not wait." Soon, Radap removed two spherical devices from his back, flicking them on. Gabab watched as the two devices started to float, each projecting twin oscillating scanners, before speeding off down the tunnels. 'Vahran then switched on a Holomap, as the tunnels slowly became mapped by the Kindlers. Both the Sangheili and Knight watched the map intently, while the Crawlers and other Unggoy took positions around the platform, their weapons ready. Then, 'Vahran barked, glaring at the Unggoy.
"It's time; the way has been lit. Onward, brothers!" Falling in behind the Sangheili and Knight, Gabab rushed through, his Plasma Pistol raised as they moved through the tunnels. The first thing he noticed was that the metal was shifting all around them; bridges were formed, and removed just as quickly, paths were quickly blocked off as new ones were revealed, and the sound of distant grinding metal and pulsing energy echoed through the halls of this fortress.
Soon, the group reached a small antechamber, with a glowing blue console right in the middle. The Sangheili stepped forward first, speaking.
"Appears to be some kind of power-station. From here, we should be able to restore this temple to its full grandeur." 'Vahran then looked back to the Knight, as it deployed the Watcher again. The Watcher then drifted to the console, firing the blue beam again, as the room began to pulse with bright blue energies.
Gabab then flicked off his low-light mode, as the room began to light up. The Unggoy swore he could see the tiniest of grins on the Sangheili's mandibles, as he moved around the chamber, speaking to Poonflip.
"Major, have half of your Unggoy and the Crawlers secure this chamber. I will take the other half and the Knight and secure the primary artifact. Am I clear?" Poonflip enthusiastically nodded his head, before giving a salute.
"Yes, boss! No stinkin' human gets in here!" Gabab then watched as 'Vahran pointed at several other Unggoy, barking.
"You three, prepare your weapons. You're with me." He then pointed to Gabab, as the Unggoy's eyes widened. "And you..." He then snarled, pointing to the Unggoy's Plasma Grenades. "You're in the rear, use your grenades sparingly. If you hit any of us with them, I will ensure that your death is painful. Understood?" Gabab gave a nod, trembling under the Sangheili's gaze as he replied.
"Y-yes boss. I'll be c-careful." The Sangheili bared his mandibles, before turning around, moving down further to the tunnel, followed by the Knight and the four Unggoy. As they moved through, Gabab quickly realised that the Sangheili and Knight were following the pulsing lines of energy, as if they were important somehow. They probably were important somehow. These kinds of things usually were.
As the group continued through, they eventually came across yet another massive chamber; a large, circular platform suspended over a pit that seemed to be endless, with a large, pulsing light in the middle on a raised dais of some kind. It was blinding, even through Gabab's helmet, forcing him to cover his eyes as the Sangheili bowed his head reverently. The Knight then stepped forward, followed by 'Vahran, moving closer to the glowing energy, as a light bridge extended for them. Then the Sangheili spoke, turning around to bark orders at the Unggoy.
"Spread out! Secure this chamber at once!" The Unggoy then moved over the Light Bridge, weapons raised, as Gabab looked back to his Plasma Grenades; oh, if anything attacked, he would be ready for them!
Suddenly, a holopanel was projected from the light; it appeared to be another console. Detaching the Watcher yet again, the Knight stood back as the floating device drifted over to it, firing off yet another blue beam. Though, unlike before, something went wrong, and the panel started to repeatedly flash dark crimson, before projecting a symbol Gabab recognised as the symbol of the Librarian. Gabab's grip on his Plasma Pistol tightened, as the Knight Lancer stepped back, raising its Light Rifle cautiously, glancing around as the blue energies were replaced with dark crimson, the light bridge vanishing. 'Vahran then raised his Storm Rifle, looking around for the threat as he snarled.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Gabab then yelled out, becoming more and more nervous with each passing second.
"Not my fault!" Suddenly, the group heard the dull throbs and hums of energy, as dozens of constructs rose from the pit, quickly surrounding them; Sentinels, mostly a dull silver, though some were clad in resplendent golden plating, all armed, and aimed at them. The Watcher quickly moved to protect its Knight, projecting a Hardlight Shield in-front of it, as 'Vahran took a defensive stance. Then, one of the Sentinels fired, shooting an orange beam into Radap, spilling his blue blood onto the structure as he collapsed, barely having time to yelp. Then, 'Vahran called out.
"A test of our faith? Then we shall pass! Destroy them!" Then, the Sangheili fired off a burst from his Storm Rifle, downing a Sentinel as the rest began to open fire, showering the platform with orange and blue beams of light. The Knight quickly jumped out of the way of one of the beams, firing its Light Rifle at one of the golden Sentinels, sending it plummeting back down into the pit, ablaze as its systems melted.
Gabab then began to fire his own Plasma Pistol pressing down the trigger repeatedly as he sent green bolts of plasma at the Sentinels, who responded with more beam fire. Then, remembering his Grenades, he removed one from his pouch, before pressing down on the button, hurling it with all the force in his little body at one of the silver Sentinels. It stuck, glowing brighter and brighter as the Sentinel continued to fire, until exploding in a white-hot fireball of Plasma, taking another Sentinel down with it. 'Vahran, meanwhile, continued to fire burst after burst from his Storm Rifle, roaring in anger as he downed another Sentinel, but with each one they seemed to take down, another rose up, taking its place, more firing beams that claimed the lives of the other two remaining Unggoy, burning their bodies in a grisly fashion, leaving Gabab, 'Vahran, the Watcher and the Knight alone.
Gabab watched as a beam impacted the Knight, bouncing off of its shields as it then turned, firing its Light Rifle again and again, scoring kill after kill. It was obvious just by looking at the Knight that it was far superior in every way to the Sentinels. All while, the glowing dais in the centre of the platform continued to glow brighter and brighter, soon joined by a beam from the ceiling. The Unggoy's eyes widened, all while the wave of Sentinels... stopped. No more were rising, and the Knight was swiftly cutting down the remaining ones with accurate blasts from its Light Rifle. 'Vahran then cheered, yelling out.
"None may match the majesty of our Gods' true servants! Not even the False Sentinels!" Gabab wasn't so sure that they had won, however, as he heard a far deeper, more terrifying pulse of energy below, almost like the Anti-Grav engines of a Wraith. Then, slowly, an imposing, gigantic form drifted up behind 'Vahran, as Gabab's eyes widened in horror. Trembling, he raised his Plasma Pistol, just above the Sangheili. Turning around, 'Vahran came face to face with the twin energy shields of a Sentinel Enforcer, pulse lasers primed and ready. Quickly rushing to the Sangheili, the Watcher then projected another Hardlight Shield, deflecting the first barrage of red pulse lasers, though Gabab quickly noticed the Watcher's shield blink from blue to red. It wouldn't last another volley like that. The Knight then began to fire at the Enforcer, as the light in the centre grew almost blinding.
Suddenly, a pulse laser round slammed into the Watcher, and it began to retreat, its lights flashing orange indicating damage, before it reinserted itself onto the Knight's back to initiate self-repair, shutting down entirely.
Quickly raising his Storm Rifle, 'Vahran ducked out from behind the Hardlight Shield, emptying it at full auto into the shields. He watched as the Enforcer's own shields flared red, before dissipating, exposing the construct, as the Knight and 'Vahran poured more and more fire into it, though it just seemed to bounce off of its tough exterior. The massive construct fired again, this time aimed at the Knight. Suddenly, the Knight seemed to fold in on itself, before disappearing in a flash. Then, just as suddenly, it appeared on the other end of the platform, firing on the Enforcer again, though this time the shields reappeared, having recharged. It then brought its guns to bear on the Knight, firing off a barrage of rockets that slammed into it, just breaking its shields, and forcing it to kneel briefly. 'Vahran then tried to fire again, before a volley of pulse lasers slammed into him, sending him reeling to the floor, violet blood splattering across the platform as he let out a roar of agony.
Gabab then took aim, his claw trembling as he started to hold down the trigger on his Plasma Pistol, allowing it to overcharge. He watched as the pistol started to heat up and vibrate, a glowing green orb appearing at the end of the gun. He took aim, ready to let go of the trigger.
Then, a stray pulse laser round slammed into the ground next to him, the shock-wave throwing his aim off as he went flying, the overcharged shot going wild. Gabab felt himself go flying, landing just at the edge of the platform, almost sailing off until one of his surprisingly nimble claws managed to latch onto the edge of the platform, his other claw continuing to hold onto the Plasma Pistol as if his life depended on it. Feeling his short legs dangling helplessly below, he started to pull himself up, using all of his strength to get his head just above the platform again. Finally setting his elbows down, he breathed a sigh of relief into his breath-mask. Then, that relief vanished as he realised where the shot went; right for the glowing orb in the centre.
The green bolt slammed into the orb, before sending out a pulse of energy, causing the orb and beam to vanish in a flash of light; no shock-wave, no big explosion, nothing. It just made Gabab feel all tingly and weird. Pulling himself back up to the platform, Gabab watched as the Enforcer fell from its height, its Anti-Grav projectors suddenly failing, its glowing optic fading out into nothing, as it fell into oblivion. Gabab then stood up, looking to the others; the other Unggoy were all dead, 'Vahran was dead, and the Knight...
The Knight had collapsed to the surface of the platform, lying there as if dead, its orange lights flickering between orange and dull lifeless grey. But it wasn't fading away, disintegrating and purging its data like a Knight usually would after suffering so much damage. Gabab's eyes widened in horror as he realised his mistake; he had harmed one of the Gods' true servants; if 'Vahran had still been alive, he would probably have thrown him down into the pit himself for such a mistake.
Concerned, Gabab looked to the Knight, his helmet obscuring his shocked expression underneath. Then, the Knight started to rise, and Gabab initially felt a sense of relief as the glowing orange lights fully reasserted themselves. That relief vanished as he watched the Knight's movements carefully. Gone was that graceful sense of methodical, ruthless efficiency; the cold, calculated movements that struck fear in Gabab every time he saw a Promethean Knight in action. Instead, the Knight's movements appeared unstable, unsure of itself, almost like Gabab got when coming down from an Infusion high. The Knight rose to a knee, moving slowly, as it looked to its surroundings, utterly confused. Then, it rose up, looking to the ceiling. Finally, it looked down to itself, seeming to tremble...
And let out a piercing, fearsome metallic shriek that made Gabab wince and collapse to the ground, clutching his ears in pain as the Knight seemed to panic, constantly looking around the chamber in what appeared to be a mix of terror and confusion.
In an eye-blink, it had felt like someone had flicked on a switch, turned something on, and it all came rushing back. The first thing dominating Lucy's mindscape was the pain; that pure and total agony that threatened to never go away, as everything vanished entirely.
Then the memories came flooding back, and with them, the nightmares. Almost mechanically, the memories seemed to be listed off in her head. She was Lucy Grayson, born August 12th, 2541 in New Alexandria, Reach. Her father was Miles Grayson, accountant for Breakout Team Warthog. Her mother, Amanda Grayson, Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Weapons Officer aboard the UNSC Pillar of Autumn, killed in the aftermath of the Fall of Reach. She was a resident of New Phoenix. She was human.
She escaped Reach, leaving her mother behind, watched as thousands died in-front of her eyes, watched as people she never even knew and would never get to know were cut down in-front of her trying to save her life. She could still feel the blood on her face as if it were fresh, as if it had just happened. So much blood, rubble, death, glass, ash, pain, agony-
Kneeling to the ground, Lucy felt registers ping as it felt as if her head was being cradled. Wait... ping? Shaking the thought away, she then tried to open her eyes. Instead, everything just seemed to... come into focus, like wearing glasses, as she felt power and strength return to her; she could move! Though as she tried to, her body felt... unfamiliar. The instincts to move were still there, but something felt out of place. Slowly rising to her knee, she looked around, expecting to see a hospital room; something must have gone wrong. An attack by a Covenant terrorist or Innie sympathiser, and she must have been hit badly by it. Oh, her father would be so worried... As she looked around, she realised with confusion that this probably wasn't Earth. She then stood up, looking around as she took in the chamber. She stood on a massive, ornate, circular disk, suspended in the air of a larger chamber, lit only by pulsing blue lines of energy over the walls of the utterly alien chamber.
This wasn't right; not one bit. What had even happened? She then looked down to try and breathe, calm herself down, before terror gripped her, and she noticed not her own familiar human body, but something else... something different.
She stood at least three times as tall as she used to, with tall, powerful legs of shifting, floating armoured metal, elegant with lines of fierce orange energy pulsing through her body. Just above that, she just barely saw two small arms, very much like her own, though moving them felt difficult, like they weren't actual arms. Trying to move them, she then looked to what had actually replaced her arms. Both arms were powerful, clad in the same metal as her legs, with her left arm ending in a wicked hooked blade of pure orange light, projecting out from it, whilst in her other hand, she carried a strange, floating rifle of some kind. It didn't feel normal, more as if was built into her arm, rather than being held in a hand like a rifle should be.
So, Lucy did the only thing she could think of when faced with such circumstances.
She screamed.
Gabab watched as the Knight flailed about in terror with some curiosity, continuing to clutch his Plasma Pistol tightly just in-case. He gulped quietly, realising that this was his fault. He somehow broke a Knight; one of the Gods' true servants! No-one had ever managed to do that before, not even the green demon guy back when the Didact was around!
He then turned around, terrified as he looked for an exit; the Light Bridge was still out, and the way back to the tunnel looked way too far to jump, even if he expended methane from his tank to try and jump real high. There didn't even seem to be any controls or consoles he could use to get the bridge back on, and the Watcher was still on the Knight's back. Then, he heard a strange, curious noise; a strange metallic whine. As he turned to the noise's origin, he saw the Knight, now collapsed to its knees, cradling its head with those weird little hands on its torso, making the strange noises. Except, the noises sounded somehow familiar, as if he knew what they were.
It almost sounded like sobbing...
He had to do something to fix this; even if 'Vahran was a smoking corpse now, if he came back to the ship with a broken Knight and no artifact, he doubted that the Didact's Hand would be merciful. He decided to step forward, trembling as he began to speak, looking up at the Lancer.
"Uh... y-y-you alright, big guy?"
The Knight then turned quickly to look right at him, glaring at the diminutive Unggoy with those narrow, blazing orange slits it had for eyes, as it seemed to tremble. Why was it doing that?
'Covenant! Please no! Not again!' Lucy's mind went into overdrive as she stared at the Grunt standing before her; it seemed to be afraid of her as she watched it. As she looked over it, she started to rise again, and came to a realisation that provided some amusement; not enough to distract from the horror of her situation, but enough to at least calm her down slightly. The crab-like creatures that once stood at around her height just barely stood over her knees now. At this height, they no longer looked intimidating, or threatening. They honestly looked rather pathetic, more of a pest than anything else.
She stepped back slightly, wincing as she felt the heavy impacts of her new feet on the metal ground. The Grunt then tilted its head in confusion, before speaking again, its voice filtered through the strange orange battle-helmet it wore.
"Something wrong?" It then seemed to mutter to himself, shaking its head. "Please don't be broken, please don't be broken, please don't be broken..." Lucy then processed the information she was hearing, coming to a conclusion; she could understand the Grunt. It wasn't speaking English. She then decided to try and communicate. She attempted to speak.
"H-... H-..." She tried to sound it out, though her voice terrified her; it sounded like her in stereo, except far more metallic and intimidating, with a rumbling air of malevolence beneath the voice. "Hello...?" The act seemed to surprise the Grunt more than scaring it, as it jumped back slightly, replying with wonder in its tinny, high-pitched voice.
"You Knights talk?! I didn't know that!" Lucy raised her head slightly in surprise, as she replied, her voice just as hesitant as she tried to acclimatise to speaking.
"K-kni...ght? But... I'm human..." The Grunt then gave an awkward laugh, replying nervously.
"O-oh man, and you're s-such a great kidder, too! Knights being humans. R-real funny." Giving a harsh, mechanical snarl, Lucy stepped forward, looming over the Grunt as she brandished the blade on her left arm uncomfortably close to the Grunt's head.
"I-... am human!" The Grunt quickly fell to his knees, cowering before her as he held up his hands.
"Okay, okay! You're h-human! No n-need to h-hurt me!" Lucy then relented, stepping back as she lowered her body slightly, watching as the Grunt stood back up, shaking its head as it muttered. "Oh gods, they're going to kill me when we get back..." Lucy then let out a huff, looking to her surroundings, then back to the Grunt, before speaking.
"Where-... a-re... w-...e?" The Grunt seemed to be taken aback, before replying, trying to be as friendly as possible, despite its fear.
"Uh... R-requiem. Some 'Shield World' or whatever the big Sangheili up top keep calling it." Lucy then tried to think; she didn't know about even half of what the Grunt was talking about. She then let out a mechanical sigh (Though it came out sounding more like a metallic growl than anything else), before looking back around. She noticed a corridor in the distance, before looking back to the Grunt, speaking.
"D-do... you know... way out?" If Lucy still had a face, she would have given such a proud grin; she was actually starting to get the hang of talking. At least one thing was starting to go right today. The Grunt actually gave a nod, replying.
"What, up to the Ravine? Suuuure! We can just go the way we came in!" His enthusiasm then vanished as he looked back to the corridor, sighing. "But I can't jump far enough with the Light Bridge out. The 'ol Grunty feet aren't strong enough for a jump like that." Lucy then turned to look at the chasm surrounding the platform; the distance was, indeed, far too far for even a peak athlete to make. You would need a Spartan to make a jump like that. She looked back, as the Grunt seemed to have an idea, raising its hand as it excitedly jumped up and down. "Oh, I know! I know! You're big and strong! Can just pick me up, jump across no problem!" Lucy then looked back to the chasm, considering the Grunt's words, before realising something. This body wasn't a peak athlete. From what she saw, it looked stronger than a Spartan even.
She could make the jump.
Looking back to the Grunt, she then replied, looming over him once more.
"H-hold on." Turning around, she then knelt down, anomalous sensors pinging the Grunt climb up onto her back, grabbing on-to some of the spines with his claws, before she rose back up to her full height. She then moved to the opposite end of the platform, bracing herself, before breaking into a heavy sprint. The Grunt on her back buckled and held on for dear life as she ran, until she reached the edge, and leapt off. She sailed through the air, feeling a sense of weightlessness that she knew that she shouldn't have been feeling, two edges of the large frill on her back unfolding into wings of some kind, causing her to glide gracefully, until she reached the other end, buckling onto a knee, and throwing the Grunt on her back right into the wall.
The Grunt lay flat on the ground, moaning in pain, though it was obvious that it wasn't anything serious. It then stood up, brushing itself off, as it looked back up to her. Then, it spoke, trying to be friendly, though still nervous.
"S-so... What do... uh... what do I call you...? I'm Gabab, in-case y-you're wondering." He then paused, before hastily adding. "I-I-I mean, i-if... uh... if you w-want to call me something else, t-then by all m-means! I g-g-graciously accept!" Lucy then stepped forward, looking the Grun- Gabab directly into his helmet, before speaking, trying to sound as clear as possible.
"I-I'm... L-... Lucy..." Gabab then seemed to blink, before replying, laughing.
"Lucy... Real weird name. Not like Unggoy names. Ours make sense, at least." Lucy then sighed, ignoring the comment as Gabab turned around to the corridor, calling out.
"Follow me then, Lucy!" Watching as Gabab quickly began to sprint down the corridor, Lucy then followed, her tall strides easily keeping up with the tiny Grunt, now lost with only her thoughts. What happened to her? She knew that there was no chance this was a dream; the pain had been all too real to be one, and nothing seemed right in the slightest. She had to figure out what had happened, and fast, especially if the Covenant were here all around her.