Miranda's New Pet
A green Phantom flew slowly down into the one of the holes of the landing bays in the Crow's Nest. The Crow's Nest was a deep underground base that was built back in the late 20th Century by the United States for a policing action for the United Nations. It was an old base, but it was good enough for what the UNSC needed to keep an eye on things in Mombasa.
The Green Phantoms, a new type of transport that was placed on board Wago 'Tawunee's assault carrier. So far, his carrier was the only one that was outfitted with them, however, they were not used during the assault on New Mombasa. These new Phantoms had the ability to cloak but they were so few in numbers that Regret did not want to implement them just yet. Originally, these Phantoms were painted the usual purple metallic colors, but Wago had a better idea to help in differentiate these Phantoms from the Covenant Loyalists ones. He wanted to paint them the Army Green color that the Marines painted their Pelicans with. He began to realize that though the Army Green was rather an ugly color, it served well for camouflage against a green background and the added cloaks made the transport ships far more superior to that of what was in the Covenant right now. His ship was the only one outfitted with these Green Phantoms and they were currently in production on Sanghelios. That meant that only the Sangheili would have them, another tactful advantages over the Jiralhanae, Wago had to add.
This particular Phantom was being flown by the Arbiter, who had on board Commander Keyes, and as well as Doc Erin, Spec Ops Officer Ysoa and Commander Shri and a few other Special Operations Sangheili bearing the Jolly Roger on their armor. Johnson on the other hand was flying in a Pelican, checking out the strange structure under the lakebed along with Colonel Norrington. Already, they sent word to the Crow's Nest to inform them that the approaching Phantom meant no harm to the base. The Regret and Reconciliation hovered quietly above the base. The Phantom slowly descended into the landing bay and hovered just a bit allowing their passengers to exit the gravity lift below. A co-pilot took control of the craft as the Arbiter left the cockpit and descended down the gravity lift. He glanced up just as the Phantom flew off through the hole up at the top. Doors closed with mechanical sounds and squeaks of barely lubricated gears. Otto glanced about the dingy, rusted base inside the old cavern below the ground.
"Wow," said Shri. "This place looks old."
"Almost 500 years old," said Miranda. "Built in the late 1990s. We've been keeping the maintenance up as best as we could."
"Werc ecnanetniam eht erif ot deen uoy ekil skool," she whispered. Erin elbowed her in the side. Shri glanced back. "What?!"
Erin just shook his head: "It's a nice place, Miranda."
"It's a dump," echoed another voice. Miranda glanced up to see Gunnery Sergeant Stacker walk down the ramp. He paused and saluted. "Commander Keyes."
"Gunnery Sergeant Stacker," Miranda returned the salute.
"Ma'am," Stacker nodded. "Shop's all set up, Commander. Lord Hood ordered road blocks on the Tsavo Highway."
"There is no doubt about it now," said Miranda. "The Covenant is going to return."
Stacker sighed: "I kinda figured that, ma'am."
"As you know, this is Dr. Erin 'Venamee," began Miranda. "Zealot rank. And this is Spec Ops Commander Shri 'Canthonee and her second in command Ysoa 'Argamee. And this is the Arbiter Otto 'Gamamee. The Sangheili are making an alliance with us—all of them."
"We do need the help," Stacker said. "The previous commander of this base had already received his orders and left. But he left something that you need to see."
"Something?" Miranda asked.
"If you don't mind," Stacker began. "Please, follow me."
As they walked down through the rusty, moss-covered corridors of the base, Otto glanced around for a moment to gather in how the base was built. Some of the corridors were wide enough to allow light armor to roll through, which he noted by a Warthog driving down. Erin was thinking to himself, wondering just how bad the fight will soon become. He was no warrior, he was no fighter, he was a healer, a doctor. Despite the fact he wore the armor of a Zealot, he rarely saw combat. He did not even carry a plasma sword, mostly because he was not an aristocrat like Telek, Otto, and Shri were. His various promotions with the Covenant were determined on how well he followed orders and how many warriors' lives he saved through is expert medical training. He had a feeling that he would see more lives on the cutting table again very soon.
"Are the medical facilities well stocked?" Erin asked Stacker.
"They are," Stacker replied. "I'm guessin' because the Commander called you doctor that you're the medic."
"Head surgeon," Erin replied. "Was the head surgeon on the Shade of Darkness, now, I suppose since the trade, I'm the Commander's head surgeon."
"Temporarily," said Miranda. "Until Telek returns Flynn to me. Telek needed information on the Ark and Flynn knew somebody who could give it to him."
"I heard that somebody was a Great Eastern Dragon," Norrington chuckled. "Normally the wyrms don't leave Earth, but this one could."
"Dragon?" Otto asked. "I'm unfamiliar with that word. What is a dragon?"
"You're about to see in a second," Stacker chuckled. "We got one right here."
Miranda paused: "Excuse me? There's a dragon inside the Crow's Nest?"
Stacker just chuckled: "Yep."
"Is that the something the other commander left?" Miranda asked.
"Yep," Stacker replied. "We picked him up not just a few hours ago before you arrived. He broke through the roadblock on the Tsavo Highway. Actually, he stepped over it. It was reported he wanted to get arrested. Then, he escaped for a moment, flew over that site where that Covenant ship accidently unearthed some sort of alien artifact when that ship destroyed Mombasa. We had to take him down with a couple of Pelicans and some Scorpion tanks."
"Why did he try to break through the roadblock?" asked Miranda.
"Because he wanted to find out what happened to New Mombasa's Space Elevator," said Stacker, leading them further down to the detention area of the base. "Because he built it."
"Built it?" Miranda asked. "Wait a moment…"
Stacker led them down a tight corridor and he stopped at the end to a door.
"Open up," he ordered the Marine who unlocked it.
"You're not talking about…" Miranda breathed as the door opened. She glanced inside to see a gaunt, tall, business-dressed man with graying ash-blonde hair lying on the dirty mattress. His coat was slung over a rusting chair and he laid down with his arms crossed behind his head. Miranda finally finished her sentence with a gasp: "Lofwyr…"
At the sound of his name, the man sat up.
"Get off the bed, wizwyrm," Stacker said. "You've got visitors."
"I appreciate it if you wouldn't call me that," Lofwyr growled.
"Wizwyrm is an insult to dragons," Stacker chuckled his explanation to the Sangheili. "They hate being called that. It's like us calling you guys squids."
"And we dragons call you humans two-legged, soft bodies," Lofwyr growled.
"Cut the crap, Goldilocks," Stacker said. "I'd like you to meet the new commander of the base, Commander Miranda Keyes."
"Master Lofwyr…" Miranda breathed. "I'm shocked that you're here."
"I'm more than astonished by the destruction caused to New Mombasa," Lofwyr began. "Which is why I'm here. All I want to do is make a personal assessment of that damage and I will be on my way, but no one here is willing to allow me near the city."
"That's because we have a feeling the Covenant will come back," said Stacker.
"They are coming back," said Miranda. "Very soon. It isn't safe for civilians, Great Western Dragons or regular humans, it isn't safe. You should leave, Lofwyr."
"If the Covenant truly will return," Lofwyr began. "Then nowhere on Earth is it safe. This whole planet will be nothing more than a barren ball of black glass." He paused and glanced away sadly. "Just like Reach."
"No, the Covenant deem this planet to be valuable," began Otto. "Because of the Ark. They won't glass it, not just yet."
Lofwyr raised his head and looked back at the four alien beings standing with Miranda. Many times has he heard of the reports on the Sangheili and even saw pictures of them attacking UNSC Marines in combat, but this was the first time he had ever met them personally. They looked just as alien as he suspected with their mandible mouths and satyr-like legs. They were much taller than the humans as well. These were the creatures that glassed Reach.
"Elites," he began. "I've seen pictures of your kind before."
"Sangheili, to be exact," said Erin. "And don't think I haven't heard your name, Lofwyr Goldensout. The CEO of the Saeder-Krupp, the builder of the ships on Reach. You lost a lot of factories on that planet, no wonder you take Reach rather personally. That's what I heard too."
"You've met this human?" Otto asked.
"Never met him," Erin shrugged.
"Telek says that Kiryuu talks about him a lot," said Shri. "That's how we know."
"And I'm no human," Lofwyr growled. "This is merely a convenient disguise."
"Not much of a disguise when everyone knows what you really are," said Erin. "He just uses that shape because it's more convenient for him to move around in. Not many places around Earth are big enough for a 200-foot long, winged reptile to walk around in."
Lofwyr's face softened slightly when he saw the Jolly Roger painted on the armor of the Zealot. He had heard stories of Telek 'Herosee and his infamous band of renegade separatist Sangheili pirates. Though Reach was glassed, Lofwyr had to thank Telek for his efforts to commandeer Covenant ships to replace what was lost. Of course these Sangheili with the Jolly Roger on their armor would know of what a dragon was after hearing that word a few times. This other Sangheili, the one with the archaic looking armor, he was of some concern to Lofwyr, and not because of his ignorance to the Western Dragon's own people.
"You're a few of Telek's pirates," Lofwyr smiled. "He has my gratitude."
"Well, if and when Telek returns," began Erin. "You can tell him yourself."
"Lofwyr," began Miranda. "You can't stay here."
"I'm afraid, Commander," began Lofwyr. "If you are insisting upon escorting me back to the blockade, I will attempt to refuse. I don't think you can afford the loss of your men at this time, or the destruction of some of your vehicles."
"And I wish to inform you that although you are a dragon, you are not above the law," said Miranda. "You're not allowed to be here. When the Covenant come, they will be coming here. They won't be stopping anywhere else. You are safer in Essen, Germany, than you are here. Great Dragon or not, I don't think you can go up against Covenant warships."
"I am not leaving, Commander," Lofwyr began. "I think I have a right to do what I please with my life at this point. I've lived through a lot more battles than you have."
"But not battles like this," said Miranda. "The battles you've lived through were battles fought with swords, arrows, and catapults. This is different."
"I'm still not leaving," Lofwyr protested, crossing his arms. "And your men have not the strength to drag me out."
"Maybe not the physical strength," Miranda agreed. "Fine. The last thing I want happen is for my own men to fire upon a citizen regardless to what species he is. Fine, you may do as you please, but stay out of our way and get to cover when the Covenant comes. The last thing we need is a Great Dragon being held prisoner by Truth. If this base has to be evacuated, you are to leave as well, understand?"
"Of course," Lofwyr nodded.
Miranda sighed and walked out the cell, followed by Stacker and Norrington.
"I can't believe you're gonna let the wizwyrm stay," Stacker sighed.
"As long as he doesn't get in the way of things," said Miranda. "I don't see the harm."
Lofwyr followed the Sangheili out, keeping a slight grin on his face. Again, he has won another argument.
"I'm Erin 'Venamee," said Erin, holding his hand to Lofwyr. "Head surgeon."
"Shri 'Canthonee, Telek's head Special Operations Commander," said Shri. "And my second in command Ysoa 'Argamee. That's Otto 'Gamamee. He was the Supreme Commander of the fleet Telek belonged to, but now he has been made into the Arbiter."
"My fleet was responsible for the glassing of Reach," Otto rumbled deeply.
"A part of me wants to kill you and devour you right now," Lofwyr growled.
"As Telek has said many times," began Otto. "'I was only doing what I was ordered to do.'"
"I suppose getting angry at the one just following orders is the incorrect method," Lofwyr began. "I should be angrier at the one who ordered it."
"That was Truth," said Shri. "And he's heading here right now."
"I still don't understand," began Otto. "They call you a dragon. I have no idea what a dragon is, but I know a human when I see one. You do not look like anything else but human. Though, I have noted that you have a distinct scent that the humans don't share."
"Sulfur," said Lofwyr. "You smell that?"
"Yes," said Otto.
"Western Dragons tend to smell like sulfur," he replied. "My scent isn't as strong because I use cologne to cover it."
"I still don't see other than the smell how you differ from a human," Otto continued. "What is the difference between a human and a dragon?"
Miranda and the others stopped cold in their tracks. Erin knew the difference and so did Shri. They have seen pictures of dragons. One dragon named Ghostwalker who was believed to be the younger brother of the late President Dunkelzahn, trashed Denver within a few hours and Shri and Erin had seen videos of that. They even have seen videos of Lofwyr in his dragon form fighting against his brother Alamaise over parts of Eastern Europe, and of course that battle between Lofwyr and the Great Feathered Serpent Malcho over the East Coast of North America. Otto felt the stare of eyes from the group and he was rather confused as to why they stared. Even Erin and Shri and Ysoa stared with shock at him.
"I'm sorry," he began. "Did I ask a wrong question?"
"It was more like: 'Oh, my God, I can't believe you don't know the difference'," began Shri.
"Is a demonstration in order?" Lofwyr asked.
"You don't have room, Goldie," said Stacker. He pulled a pocket mirror from his belt and tossed it to Otto. "Hold that up to his face, Arbiter."
Otto nodded and held up the mirror in front of Lofwyr.
"Now, look at his reflection," said Stacker.
Otto leaned down and looked at the reflection in the mirror. He did not see the face of the gaunt human in the mirror; instead, he saw the reptilian visage of a golden-scaled creature he was unfamiliar with. This creature sported a long, toothy snout, horns, a mane, and even frilled ears. This reflection was what Lofwyr really looked like.
"That's a dragon, Arbiter," said Stacker. "That form he's taking on right now is an illusion. His shadow and his reflection show what he really is."
"And I thought seeing Mr. Knight for the first time was shocking," Otto breathed, handing Stacker the mirror. "What sort of world is this?"
"Just our home, Arbiter," said Miranda. "You didn't think the humans were the only intelligent beings on Earth, did you?
"I'm surprised I have yet to meet any more of your kind," said Otto.
"Outside of Earth, you wouldn't," said Lofwyr. "We can't leave this world. There are exceptions. One is Manda, the Great Eastern Dragon of Atlantis, and other I suspect is Malcho."
"Manda is the one heading to Telek to give him information on the Ark to tell the Sangheili Council, Otto," said Erin. He saw Otto's still disbelieving expression. "Don't worry. This is the first time I've met a dragon too. We've just seen pictures."
"But still, when you heard that word, you knew what to expect," said Otto. "You knew what to expect of Mr. Knight as well."
"Not to be insulting of our hosts," began Shri. "But yeah, this place is strange, very strange. There's something about Earth, something strange. If Telek was here, he'd think that the strange stuff that goes on this planet was the thing that brought the Forerunners here to study it."
"Forgive me for saying so," Otto began. "But your real form reminds me of the drawings of Harodihg without the two extra heads."
"Harodihg?" Lofwyr asked.
"You call him Monster Zero," said Erin.
"The Gold Hydra Demon?" Lofwyr's eyes widened. "King Ghidorah? You know who King Ghidorah is? And you think I look like him?"
"Not a good thing to say," said Stacker.
"He didn't mean it, Lofwyr," said Miranda.
"King Ghidorah has slaughtered many of my kind," said Lofwyr. "We're nothing alike."
"Harodihg has done some nasty things to our planet too," said Erin.
"As important as this may seem," began Miranda. "We do need to go to the Ops Center. Lord Hood is waiting. I suppose you'll join us, Master Lofwyr?"
"Yes," Lofwyr gasped, still miffed by Otto's words. "I will."
"Good," she said. "I hope you will explain to Lord Hood why you were flying around that structure under the Voi Lake."
As they went into the Ops Center, Miranda glanced around to see all the technicians setting up the screens.
"How's the connection?" she asked.
"It's good," replied one of the technicians. "We got him."
The screen flashed on and the image of Lord Hood came on.
"Commander?" he asked. "Are you all set up?"
"Yes, sir," she replied.
"Good," said Lord Hood. "I've also got Cujo on the other line."
The screen split in two and Cujo's face appeared on the other section.
"I've been keeping an eye on things," said Cujo. "They are getting really close. We're receiving some strange whispers again coming from Io. It won't be long now."
"Sir," began Miranda. "We have a guest here as well."
"Guest?" Hood asked.
Miranda glanced back as Lofwyr stepped forward. Lord Hood's eyes widened.
"I'll be damned," he whispered. "Lofwyr. What the hell are you doing here?"
"My business is with assessing the damage to the Space Elevator in New Mombasa," he replied.
"I don't recall you making personal visits," Hood snorted. "Get him outta there! That's an order!"
"Sir," began Miranda. "Lofwyr might know something about the Ark."
"Ark?" Lofwyr asked.
"Really?" Lord Hood asked. "Alright, Lofwyr, what do you know?"
Lofwyr looked over at Miranda confusingly and shook his head.
"Lofwyr," said Miranda. "That structure. Is that the Ark?"
"Many thousands of years ago," began the Great Dragon. "Before I was born, aliens came to this planet and built a structure. They saved Primitive Man from a terrible weapon—a weapon they built and fired to destroy the Demon Hydra."
"You're talking about Monster Zero," said Miranda.
"But you're also talking about the Parasite," said Otto. "The Flood. And these aliens you speak of were the Forerunners."
"I've heard those word many times," said Lofwyr. "That structure in the lakebed. We called it the Device. The Device was activated when we Dragons were in our Shal-Mora sleep because there was no magic at the time to sustain us. Well, most of us were asleep, except for two. Manda and Malcho."
"When the Device was activated," began Miranda. "The Ark, that's what you're talking about. It activated the Halo rings. Manda and Malcho should have been killed. How did they survive?"
"The only thing I recall Malcho saying was he was in the company of the Great Library of Alexandria," Lofwyr shrugged. "Manda—well we've never really spoken to each other. I don't know his story except the part where the Forerunners took him and altered him. To us, he's not a dragon anymore, he's a mutation created from their technology. To be more specific, he's a cyborg."
"Manda's part machine…" breathed Miranda.
"Manda is the one who knows what the Device does," said Lofwyr. "But I have no doubts that so does Malcho."
"Is that structure what you call the Device, is it the Ark?" Otto asked.
"Malcho described it as a portal," said Lofwyr. "These were the stories he told me when I was young and he was my mentor. He said that the Forerunners took the primitive humans into their ships. He said there was something in the middle of the Device that was needed to activate it. It was a ship, something he called a Key Ship. This ship shot a beam into the sky as the Device opened up and it created a portal. Then, the ships departed, going inside the portal, taking the humans with them."
"Where did they take them?" Miranda asked.
Lofwyr pointed to the ceiling of the cave: "Up there, somewhere. I don't know. Malcho sensed something was wrong after that and he said the Horrors came."
"Horrors?" Cujo asked.
"The Horrors," began Lord Hood. "Are the demon spawn of Monster Zero, from what we learned from President Knight's many reports over the 500 years since the Sixth World began."
"The Horrors," began Lofwyr. "Take on many forms. I'm sure that a few of you Sangheili have heard of the stories about wraiths, banshees, ghouls, and all sorts of other creatures. Maybe you've heard about the Invae, insect creatures that can bite into a living creature and possess them, mutating them into insect monstrosities."
"Sounds like the Flood almost," said Erin.
"These monsters are the Horrors," replied Lofwyr. "They are the collective conscience of King Ghidorah. The Flood and the Horrors are the same."
"The Invae still exist," said Lord Hood. "We've got them contained in Chicago, what we refer to as the Bug City Containment Zone. Kiryuu, prior to becoming the President of the UNSC, fired off a weapon of unknown origins to destroy most of them. It didn't destroy them all and so, there's a shield built around the city to keep them from spreading. And we regularly fire off plasma explosions to sterilize the land. The whole state of Illinois is uninhabitable because of that. At one time, though, the entire eastern half of North America was crawling with those things. Kiryuu said the Invae were trying to reform a body for Monster Zero to come back and attack our planet again like he did in 2007. It took everything we got to fight them back. That was when we resorted to Technomancy. This planet went to hell in a hand basket, which is why we started searching elsewhere for other planets to live on. We just couldn't stand it."
"Well," began Lofwyr. "When the Horrors came, that was when Malcho said the whole sky lit up bright white. The planet trembled as this wave of blue-white light washed over it. He said he saw the Horrors scream in pain and then die off. This light only affected their possessed bodies, but the parasites that possessed these bodies were still alive and they withdrew."
"The Halos," said Miranda. "They fired and it killed the hosts that the Flood possessed."
"We dragons survived it because of Shal-Mora," said Lofwyr. "They did not possess us because they could not find us. We awoke centuries later to a Horror-free Earth. By that time, the primitive humans returned but their time up in the stars had faded into nothing more than myths and stories. What we did find was that a new city had been built in the Atlantic Ocean. This city was called Atlantis, the new home for the remaining aliens that saved the humans."
"The Atlanteans are the Forerunners," Miranda smiled.
"Through the centuries though, even they lost a bit of their history," Lofwyr Continued. "And then King Ghidorah returned. The Atlanteans managed to fight off King Ghidorah, but they knew he would return again, so they attempted to rely on their ancestors' great technology to fight him off with. It proved fatal for them and their great, technologically-advanced city sank beneath the waves. The Atlanteans that were left were scattered all over the globe and they mingled with the other humans until I suppose genetically you couldn't tell them apart. And that's the truth."
"Why didn't they use the Device again?" asked Otto.
"The Device was buried when the aliens returned," said Lofwyr. "They didn't want it to be used again. Also, the Atlanteans only possessed one part of the key to activate the device. They needed the other part, the ship."
"And what is this one part?" Lord Hood asked.
"The first Tower to ever be built on Earth," replied Lofwyr. "The Tower of Atlantis. But the Tower, from what Malcho had told me, cannot work without a Key Ship."
"How the hell does Malcho know this?" Lord Hood cried.
"Because he has the Tower of Atlantis," Cujo replied.
"How the hell do you know that?" Lord Hood asked.
"Mr. Knight wasn't the only one who caught me snooping," Cujo chuckled. "Malcho caught me too."
"I'm gonna have a talk with Telek about you, Cujo," Lord Hood growled.
"The Covenant then may not only come back to Africa," began Miranda. "They might be heading for North America too."
"God damn Malcho," Lofwyr growled. "And I have no doubt he's still using Technomancy despite the ban. He brought this on himself!"
"Well, having that Tower will open a huge can of trouble for him when the Covenant come," said Cujo. "Lord Hood, if you don't mind, Mitsu and I can hover around Lexington, Kentucky."
"Alright," Lord Hood said. "Someone has to warn Malcho. I believe it's still the early hours of the morning. The sun hasn't even risen there yet."
"Don't warn him," protested Lofwyr. "This is his fault."
"I don't care about your little grievance that you have with Malcho," began Lord Hood. "I will warn him myself, if I have to."
Lofwyr let loose an inhuman growl and turned away. For once he would love to see that pompous, overbearing Feathered Serpent go down for his mistakes. This would have been his chance to see that, but Lord Hood would ruin that plan.
"Cujo, I've heard that you have been in contact with Malcho before," began Lord Hood. "Warn him of the coming attack."
"I just hope he's in a good mood," smiled Cujo. Suddenly, an alarm went off inside Cujo's ship. "Uh-oh. Lord Hood, guess who just showed up for dinner."
Another screen flashed on showing a rather large fleet of Covenant warships breaking out of slipspace.
"This fleet isn't as big as I thought was going to be," said Lord Hood.
"This is just the first wave," began Otto.
"Is Truth's ship among them?" asked Miranda.
"Negative," replied Cujo. "I don't see Dreadnaught anywhere. He'll probably come in on the next wave."
"Cujo, you and Mitsu shove off to Lexington," said Lord Hood. "Warn Malcho."
"Aye, aye," said Cujo. "Looks like we have some tailgaters too. My ship's heading for the direction of North America and there's a carrier and three cruisers following me. They know what I'm trying to do."
"Be careful, Shipmaster," said Miranda.
"Don't worry," smiled Cujo. "I'll make sure they won't turn Malcho into a stylish feather duster."
"Feather duster?" Otto asked.
"Malcho's a dragon too," said Stacker.
"This planet really is strange," he sighed, shaking his head.