Chapter Two
18 October 2563
Procyon System
Synchronous orbit over Boundary
UNSC Hell Hath No Fury
0330 Zulu/ 1530 Local
Iruu 'Loram slowly paced his quarters: four steps in one direction then four steps in the other. Despite a decade of living on the Sangheili Allied Station near the Embassy on Earth, and coordinating local training and assignments that furthered the alliance, he found the idea of interacting so closely with humans disturbing. Circumstances being what they were, he was not one to complain.
He walked the room, small by Sangheili standards, a final time then paused to pull a silken bag from the top drawer of a short dresser. After lighting a set of ornate candles, he unrolled a simple prayer mat and retrieved four stone figures from the silk bag, arranging them carefully before the candles.
Folding his hands, he rested his bowed forehead on his knuckles, Ancestors, give me strength…he silently began the prayer.
He knew he had been chosen for this assignment because of his experience in Covenant Army Special Operations, and the tradition of sending senior officers on select missions of importance. But, he had been out of mission status for the better part of eleven years and had never before been sent without a team of his own skilled warriors. He was convinced he was not going to enjoy this.
In what little time he had observed the humans he would be working with, he found some of them inordinately preoccupied with discussing the intimate details of their private lives; and there was the fact that he remained personally appalled they subjected their women to combat. He knew these things from previous contact before the Great Schism and general chatter around the allied station, but his position on Earth had never put him in a situation in which to have to otherwise witness it.
He had sat with the human team for less than an hour as they worked with the construct on a plan of action. Getting into the facility appeared to be basic infiltration and all Iruu had learned was that this mission was going to test his skills at exercising diplomacy.
The remainder of the time in slipstream he had spent in prayer and deep meditation, preparing himself mentally for what he was likely to encounter on the planet the humans called Boundary.
While the members of Zeta had been content to spend time in each other's company Iruu had determined to maintain his distance. From what little he saw of it, their time was devoted to discussing some ridiculous human game; eating unsavory-looking food; and either sleeping or readying their weapons while making entirely too much noise. It was clear his presence had taken the team by surprise and that the Steele woman found him as distasteful as he found the presence of females on this mission offensive.
Isolation was a fact of his existence he had long become accustomed to, but being the lone Sangheili on a ship full of humans was most unsettling. On Earth, he could focus on maintaining peace and order by doing his part to insure Sangheili allied forces were ready and available to assist the humans with keeping civilian and former military asylum seekers in line. This required absolutely no contact with the humans on his part, and that was what he preferred. He answered directly to Sangheili Military Commander Rtas 'Vadum, and vicariously to the Arbiter in certain circumstances. 'Sraom and 'Taham remained the Earth-side figureheads of the alliance working and residing in the Embassy…though, Iruu could not fathom why they would wish to remain on the human planet. He supposed someone had to maintain a direct connection and insure a peaceful coexistence, although, if the option existed for him as it did for the Ambassadors, 'Loram would have gladly gone home.
Finishing his prayer, Iruu neatly returned his items to their appropriate places and snuffed out the candles.
Sighing wearily, he collected his gear and summoned the resolve to walk out of his quarters and wind his way down to the hangar.
The trip from Fury to Boundary was quieter than Zeta was use to. Instead of the dark and sometimes dirty joking that went on to sooth nerves the only words spoken were between King and Antonio. Even they kept their discussions to clipped remarks on the descent. Hilda, or the fragment which she had delegated for the trip, was also remarkably silent. As the Pelican dropped from a controlled fall through the planet's atmosphere and began to sink toward the surface everyone seemed to be in their own silent moments of getting mentally prepared.
Iruu found the silence more befitting a team of professionals. He stood near the closed bay door holding onto an overhead tether, finding the thought of perching his behind in one of the craft's troop seats completely undignified.
The human team was fitted in black body armor which overlay standard drab gray tactical uniforms. They sat with faces partially concealed by the dark visors of CH252 assault helmets; each armed with a rifle slung across their backs and a pistol holster to a thigh. The Sangheili was clad in black armor that boasted his, once coveted, position in Covenant Special Operations. The dense plating was secured atop a black body suit. His systems had been integrated with the human AI so he could receive the same heads-up information as Zeta during the mission, displayed on the inside of the black lenses that covered his eyes. He was armed with a single plasma rifle and two energy swords.
Boundary, what everyone could see of it, was a dust bowl of white sand and scrubby foliage, punctuated by giant, broken shards of milky glass. The facility was a white-washed and faded hodge-podge of mass, pre-produced, industrial panels and cinder blocks; well concealed amongst the blinding glare of sand and sparkle of glass. To look at it, one would think more of an emergency bunker than a science facility.
Miss Kitty set well away from the building in the dry remains of a gaping drainage culvert. Leaves and dried tumbles of scrub grass danced in the Pelican's wake. A whirlwind of white silt was pushed away on a plume as the troop bay began to yawn open.
Zeta and 'Loram stepped from the craft as the flight crew began post-flight checks before going immediately into pre-flight prep.
"The access point is through there," Hilda stated, referring to the expansive opening of a concrete tunnel.
Twisted metal grating hung from the curved opening, dangling three-quarters of the way down. Aft of the Pelican, the wide, man-made crevasse stretched some 100 meters and fanned into the dry remains of a bay.
As they stepped off, 'Loram and Zeta were dwarfed by steeply sloped concrete walls; sand and bits of glass leaked from the cracked surface, having settled into piles that dotted the passage.
"The facility was set on the remaining foundation of Vicar Medical Center. This is an overflow runoff that connects to the primary sanitation drainage for the city and surrounding townships. There is an access point that adjoins the underground operating station for the hospital. The facility sub-basement can be reached through a sealed maintenance shaft," Hilda explained.
"Sanitation drainage," Sanders sang as he brought up the rear.
Zeta followed 'Loram and they walked into the cavernous channel. Bright green, triangular markers indicated the way to the destination on HUDs. A few hundred feet in and the humans had to switch on personal infrared lighting, allowing their night vision to penetrate the suffocating gloom. Iruu strolled forward, his visual acuity almost completely unaffected by the darkness.
Footsteps echoed and returned in a nauseous chorus as they walked the smooth concrete and carefully laid stone for what felt like miles. Eventually, the passage bifurcated in a sweeping archway, befuddlingly decorative for something intended to drain sewage. The tunnels were barred with metal access grates but 'Loram barely slowed his pace as he approached the juncture that would walk them under the facility. He drew the hilt of an energy sword and the blade activated in a flickering hiss of white and crimson. Zeta watched as Iruu made a quick, sweeping cut through the grate then gave it a solid kick, causing an oblong section collapsed inward.
As the group walked through the opening and continued down the tunnel, Sanders trotted up alongside Maggie, giving her arm a nudge and nodding towards 'Loram, "You know what that means, don't you?"
His words bounced around despite his attempt to whisper.
Maggie snorted a laugh, "Yeah, it means he was a badass who could skin you, before you could manage to die."
From ahead, Iruu swiveled his head and regarded the perceptive human female from the corner of his eye.
The faint red glow of 'Loram's armor betrayed a wicked Sangheili grin.
Sanders slowed his pace at the sight, "Uh, that's one way to put it," he gulped.
Long, silent hours of walking passed before they neared the aperture that would take them to the operating station access. From ahead, Iruu came to a slow stop, his heavy footfalls droning against the concrete. Steele and Danniskovovik walked to his side, sweeping the tunnel with the infrared beams of their rifles as Whittaker and Sanders came up behind.
"My God," Maggie whispered, breaking the uneasy silence, "where did they all come from?"
Danniskovovik gave an almost imperceptible, sad shake of his head, "Probably just poor bastards trying to ride out the Covenant attack."
Ahead of them, knotted in clusters still huddled against the walls, half-skeletonized and flash-mummified human remains lined the tunnel. By the hundreds skulls with empty eye sockets and mouths open in eternal screams gaped at them. Some of the withered bodies were clearly holding one another or cowering against their neighbors.
"The access point to the old operating station is thirty meters ahead," Hilda said, giving everyone's HUD marker an impatient wink.
Iruu emitted what sounded like a long, deep sigh before stepping into the tunnel, carefully choosing his footing.
With eyes ahead on the objective they all did their best not to let their gazes linger on the mass of abandoned causalities that littered the path.
Reaching the access point, 'Loram looked up the stone wall as Zeta cast their lights along a metal stepladder that terminated at a large, circular hatch in the ceiling, ten meters up.
Steele slung her weapon and climbed.
She found the release crusted in charred rust and wound up tangling her legs around the ladder and hammering at the release with the butt of her rifle until it gave way. She pushed the hatch and it yawned open. Retrieving her pistol, Beth shimmied up further and peeped into a room of the old operating station, casting the LED from her weapon around. She tipped her head to the team below and jerked her chin for them to follow before holstering her sidearm and climbing through.
Whittaker, Sanders, and Danniskovovik climbed up, leaving 'Loram in the grizzly tunnel below.
The small room of the old operating station was no less disturbing. Withered figures huddled under warped and melted work stations and clung to one another against walls. A delicate layer of charred dust covered everything and broken bits of glass and busted tile creaked and popped under foot.
Paul leaned to peer back down into the tunnel, careful not to take aim at the Sangheili. The Elite Command Officer crouched, shifting his weight from one foot to the other like a cat about to spring. Sanders registered what he was doing when Iruu tore upward, launching himself partially through the hatch.
Shuffling back, the Sergeant watched as 'Loram caught himself, his claws tearing gashes in the crumbling, industrial laminate as he gracefully pulled his legs up through the hatch. Sanders looked back down the hole, then at the Elite, and back again.
The team moved from the room, their feet leaving various smudges and boot prints in the collected dust. The hall which greeted them was littered with more remains. Everything smelled lightly burned and musty, like an old fireplace and a mildewed shower. Hilda directed them to the maintenance tunnel access and Teddy gave it a swift kick. He hunkered down and crab-walked through, finding the narrow passage, thankfully, clear of shriveled cadavers. He waddled the low tunnel, broad shoulders bumping the sides, until it made an abrupt ninety-degree, vertical turn. Standing in the narrow space, Danniskovovik climbed the small utility ladder until he could go no further. He had to wedge himself in the space, one foot on the ladder and the other planted against the opposite wall to hold himself aloft, while he set the charges before maneuvering back down and out.
After Teddy emerged, Zeta and 'Loram waited. There was a hiss and a sharp pop then Danniskovovik crawled back down the shaft and pushed at the shattered slab of blocks, shoving his way through the sub-basement floor of the facility and waiting for everyone to join him.
'Loram had to crawl awkwardly through the passage and wriggle around the ninety-degree turn, then claw his way to and through the opening. Pulling himself into a room full of discarded equipment, he cocked his head to one side and listened.
"Does anyone else hear that?" Maggie asked.
"Yep," Sanders answered.
The distant sound of an enraged dog zealously barking echoed from a far door.
Following the sound, Zeta and 'Loram moved from the storage room and into a wide hall. The barking grew louder and, rounding a corner, they found a heavy door with the small yellow projection of a German shepherd, hackles raised, snarling and growling at them from a flickering, antiquated holo platform.
"That," Hilda said, "would be Signe."
"Signe's a dog?" Paul gave a confused expression.
"This Signe is a dog," she corrected, "AIs chose a form which is representative of how they see themselves. Given available data, I find the choice quite appropriate."
"And disturbing," Maggie added.
Steele pulled the chip bearing Hilda's fragment from her breast pocket. The image of Signe quieted long enough to sniff then began snarling again. The AI made a show of snapping towards Beth's hand, but when the chip slid home the image collapsed and the platform winked out completely.
"Hilda?" Teddy called, giving the dark projector a tap.
The platform flickered red for a second and a faint green marker appeared on HUDs, but Hilda didn't otherwise appear or respond. Pneumatic locks hissed and the door rattled. Sanders and Whittaker shrugged at each other as Steele pulled the door open revealing a wide stairwell. She took the steps two at a time with the rest of Zeta and 'Loram at her heels. At the upper landing, Beth eased open a door and looked out. The holo platform in the outer hall flashed and waivered in shades of yellow and red but remained empty as everyone filed past.
A sharp, electrical pop emanated from somewhere within the bowels of the building and a tide of winking security lights washed down the hall as overhead bulbs kicked on. In the distance, everyone could hear the labored whump, whump, whump of a generator as it began trying to kick over.
Comms crackled and the team drew up. Teddy cocked his head to the side and clamped a hand over one ear of his helmet, smashing the audio piece against his head while he strained to listen.
"...ger bay…Signe's…agment…lone trying…" Hilda's voice called, sounding faint and far away through the static, "urity…ide…"
Zeta exchanged blank looks.
"Sounds like Signe's giving Hilda one hell of a hard time," Teddy mused.
A second, flickering marker winked on HUDs, almost overlapping the first, and Steele stepped off.
"Whatever it is she needs from us, let's get it over with," Beth called over her shoulder.
Empty halls brought them to another stairwell and the team climbed. The first marker swiveled at a door on the next landing while the second marker continued pointing up.
Without breaking stride, Steele motioned to the door with her rifle, "Gunny, take Sanders," she said, rounding the stairs, still climbing.
This turn of events gave 'Loram pause as he made the landing. Through the slowly closing door he could see the two human males, one distinctly larger than the other, as they moved stealthily down a gray hall dotted with intermittent lighting. Overhead, the two females' footsteps padded up the stairwell sending down a melody of dull echoes.
Iruu's left upper mandible twitched as he mulled this over. Finally, with an annoyed snort, he began climbing the stairs. The men could fend for themselves. It may have hurt the Sangheili's remaining scrap of male pride to be following the women around but if they were harmed on this mission in his absence what was left of his personal sense of honor would never survive.
18 October 2563
Alpha Augarae System
Outside the Origami Asteroid Filed
UNSC Research Carrier Deoxy
0510 Zulu
Doctor Debra Jay stood watching as the meager crew milled about Deoxy's hangar. From her vantage point on a second level platform, she could see the remaining members of her scientific and expeditionary teams, less than a fraction of what she had initially been sent to Boundary with, as they assisted in loading or strapped into two of Deoxy's four Pelicans.
"Doctor," Signe's voice called without inflection, "we are nearing suitable launch proximity, I suggest…"
Jay raised a stiff hand and cut the AI off, "That will be all, Signe."
He had yet to brave appearing on any of the holo platforms and instead opted to remain a disembodied voice. Since being downloaded anew into Deoxy's systems, he felt something was not quite right, as if he were forgetting something…but, he knew that was silly, he couldn't forget things. A constructed intelligence's matrix did not work that way.
Signe repeated multiple calculations and systems checks to sooth the unfamiliar apprehension, and though he found himself feeling better, he could not bring himself to manifest and look Jay in the eye. AIs didn't have eyes so there would be nothing for her to see…yet, he was overcome with a sense of guilt that he didn't understand and feared Jay would be able to detect and interpret.
Although he had inspected his routines thousands of times and found no indication of corruption, he was certain she had become aware of something she was not telling him…and that she was unhappy.
Had he done something wrong? Was he somehow being punished?
Then again, humans were notoriously moody and quirky…perhaps she was exhibiting grief over losing the facility and so much of her physical research. But, he had saved all of the notes and schematics, and they were neatly catalogued and readily accessible, and the viable cultures had been secured…
She sacrificed them…Signe heard his own voice, shrill and distant, scream.
While performing a thousand other tasks, the AI split a tiny portion of his processing capacity off and gave chaise. The phantom tone hurled uncharacteristic obscenities and demanding taunts as Signe found himself routed through every frequency of his memory all the way down to his matrix.
And then, it was as if it were never there.
The AI made a few turns around his core, peeping in digital files and looking under the proverbial rugs of his existence. He thought hard, and listened, trying to make it make sense. Signe was certain it had been his voice…but, that was not him saying those ugly things…
Because it is me, but not me, the AI found himself, for the first time, baffled by the lack of logic in the answer he found.
He mulled this over, deciding the closest approximation he could make to what this caused him to feel was the human notion of fear. Now, he understood what Doctor Douglas meant when she said she felt scared and alone. The only person who could understand, or explain what was happening to him was Doctor Jay, and she was now distant and angry.
Sandra Douglas …Sandra isn't here.
There was a gap in Signe's memory which he couldn't account for, bits of information that didn't quite fit together. Sandra had loved something…no, someone…
Sandra is dead, the voice screeched through static, dead because of you.
He pursued the sound again and, splitting off multiple bits of processing, cornered the belligerent fragment and firewalled it. Signe tucked the captured information away, storing it safely for later analysis…or maybe never analysis. As much as his information seeking mind wanted desperately to know why he was chasing his own literal tails what he really wanted was for Doctor Jay to say he was a good boy, again.
But, she was just standing there, leaned against the railing.
Looking down at the teams who were now strapped inside the dropships, Jay propped her hands against the smooth, curved surface of the rail and slowly cocked her head to one side, the soft features of her oval face not betraying a single emotion.
Minor setbacks, she thought, softly drumming her fingers in annoyance.
She was pushing forty, still very young for a scientist of her standing. Yet, here she was, at what should have been the pinnacle of her personal research, starting from scratch on critical but secondary details. The teams had their orders, all she could do now was hope that those she had chosen to spare were competent enough to follow them to the letter.
Jay furrowed her thinly plucked brows and pursed her lips, turning from the railing and stepping through a blast door that sealed behind her.
"Signe," she snapped.
"Yes, Doctor," he tried not to sound hurt and afraid, putting forth his most convincingly obedient tone.
"Launch the crews when ready," she said absently.
Signe began the launch sequences for the dropships and, finding no life-signs inside the hangar, sealed the bulkheads and began purging the atmosphere. He would be piloting the vessels to designated locations in the field, well, fragments of him would be, and overseeing their movements. Jay had given them a strict timeline and Signe's fragments were to extract the Pelicans, with or without the crew, so that they would return in time for the next slipspace jump. So much of what he was doing was routine but so much of it felt somehow wrong.
The AI was drawn sharply from his numerous, and simultaneous, calculations, functions, and contemplation of various human theologies on ethical behavior by the sudden and unbearable sensation of stinging numbness. It was horrifying and emanated from the security fragment on Boundary. He had earlier assessed that there was a human presence near the facility but that was of no consequence given his fragments capacity to maintain lockdown. But, this…this felt as if a fiery cord had been tethered around the fragment and was attempting to bind it from his processors.
It wasn't like severing a fragment and preparing to destroy it, he had no control over this: he didn't know what was going on. And the lack of power and knowledge hurt.
In an instant, Signe retrieved and assessed the data, momentarily stunned that there was foreign AI attempting to override his fragment's protocols and the humans were inside the facility.
How did I not notice this?
Signe's fragment was struggling to maintain control and fight off this other, beastly AI. And there was that voice again, his voice, in the background demanding attention and screaming about…
L'shi, she left L'shi; she killed Sandra, you let her do this, the voice charged, ringing across his processors from the core of his matrix.
Closing off the sound, Signe located Doctor Jay on the bridge and, without pausing a nanosecond to think, projected his human image onto the platform.
The orange hologram flickered and faltered as Signe realized what he had done. The thin image of a young professor dug a toe into the platform and twiddled his fingers as Jay turned. Though his avatar kept its faced turned toward the floor, Signe could see that Jay was looking at him: her face expressionless save an arched brow.
"Doctor, there are people Boundary," he blurted, "they have infiltrated the facility. And there is an AI attempting to override my fragment's security protocols," he finished, not bothering to try to conceal his unease.
The smooth, porcelain features of Jay's face broke into a smile and her blue eyes sparkled.
"Then, let it go," she whispered.
Murderer, the voice screamed from another route, but the venom in the accusation had no comparison to the flood of relief Signe experienced as processors began systematically cordoning off his connection to the fragment.