Author's Notes: Hey folks, at long last I have a spare moment to devote to this fanfic, and I present you with a new chapter. Deployments and various other taskings for my ship have kept me away from writing for far too long, and unfortunately, this chance appears to be an exception, rather than the new rule. So, I'll continue to update when I'm able. I had originally intended this chapter to be longer, but after a second review, I think that it ends in a rather… interesting spot. Read on to see if you agree…
0517, October 3, 2552, Local Time
Control Center, Echoes of Eternity
"You have got to be kidding me," Sergeant Avery said into the silence that followed Cortana's statement. "We lost two good people for nothing?" She made no attempt at concealing the disgust in her voice.
"Cool it, Sergeant," Mitchell warned. "It's not their fault."
But neither John nor Linda were listening. "Where is she?" the Master Chief asked Cortana.
"Wish I could tell you, Chief," came the apologetic reply. "This console has been locked down, and the others in this compartment probably have as well. I can't access the ship's mainframe from the control center at all." She paused for a moment. "Hmm. Interesting. It looks like the AI herself locked these systems down. The lockdown program is carrying a software authorization sequence; it's not an actual hardware block."
"Which means… what?" Linda prompted.
"It's possible the AI is operating autonomously, without direct commands from her Covenant overseers."
"She won't download willingly," John said grimly. "Get what you can from the console's built in hard drives, Cortana. As soon as you're done, we're moving out. We'll have to do this the hard way."
"Already done," she said. "There's nothing here. It's all been wiped. I'm ready to be transferred back to your suit."
"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like the 'hard way?'" Mitchell asked.
"Because you're not," John answered as he removed Cortana's card and inserted it back into his suit. He was silent for a moment as her icy presence once again washed through his awareness. "We're going to have to search the ship, but we can't stay long enough for us to do it as one force. We'll have to split up into scouting parties."
"That'll be suicide!" Avery protested.
"No it won't," piped Dupont from where she was sitting on one of the consoles, watching the nearest entrance. "It'll be just like playing cat and mouse with my brothers in the fields on my parents' farm back home. The mouse moves quickly and silently, trying to spot the cats before he gets caught, all the while trying to reach the cheese." She tapped the side of her head with one finger. "You just gotta know how the cats think."
It wasn't the comparison that John would have used, but it worked well enough, he supposed. "We have to assume the Covenant know what we're after now," he put in. "They know that we're already onboard the ship and that we have enough firepower to stop just about anything they throw at us, if we're careful. They won't waste time patrolling useless corridors or compartments. They'll guard vital systems and areas, especially the AI's central location. What we have to do is determine where that central location is, and get to it before the Covenant realize we've found it."
"But how do we do that?" Avery said bluntly.
"Small forces," the Master Chief said. "Five four-man fire teams. We'll split up and check out the most likely locations first. When one team finds it, they'll report to the others, and we'll rendezvous on them before making our move. I'll lead Alpha Team. Linda, Bravo; Mitchell, Charlie; Avery, Delta; Sergeant Harris," he pointed at another of the Marines, " you lead Echo. Mitchell, you know your Marines best. Split them up as you see fit."
"Can I go with the Master Chief?" Dupont interrupted.
"No, you're going with me," Avery said sternly.
Mitchell just chuckled. "No offense, Sergeant, but she'll probably be safer with the Master Chief. Let her go with him."
Avery looked sullen, but nodded.
"All right," the Gunnery Sergeant went on, "Leeds, Starks, you're on Alpha; Dean, Cromwell, Jacobs, you're on Bravo…"
Moments later, the five fire teams had dispersed, each moving away from the control center in a different direction. The search pattern that Cortana had come up with for them to follow was hastily put together, at best. She'd selected the sections of the ship she considered most likely for the Covenant to keep the AI's central systems in. In order to keep their search coordinated, each of the teams were to constantly update their current positions with the other teams. The two Spartans could use their HUDs for guidance, while the Marines were using hardcopy charts. The charts were standard issue for boarding parties, now, but they were only general outlines; any Covenant ship that had been customized or built to different specs would be unique. And the Eternity was already proving to be very unique indeed.
The first problem surfaced less than five minutes into their search.
"Cortana, Echo Lead, we've got issues," Sergeant Harris' voice crackled over the comm.
"Talk to me," Cortana piped casually, as if she weren't concerned at all.
"According to my chart, I'm supposed to be looking at a hatch. Instead, I've got a bulkhead covered in piping and display screens."
"Where are you?"
"Uh… one deck down, about 100 meters aft of the control center."
"Stand by." Cortana was silent for a few seconds as she pondered the version of the charts she had stored in her memory files. "Can you go starboard?"
"Affirmative."
"About fifty meters down, there should be another access heading aft. Try there."
"Copy. Echo Lead out."
Nor was it the first such issue. Avery on Delta called twice in just as many minutes for help navigating around some sort of lab facility that shouldn't have been there. Linda's Bravo Team reported finding an entire extra flight bay where there should have been storerooms; unfortunately, it had been burned out during the crash. In fact, only Charlie and Alpha Teams seemed to have any luck following their original chosen routes.
"I hate this, " Dupont muttered directly behind the Master Chief. "All this sneaking around in these tight corridors like rodents. I'd rather be out in the open."
"Rodents in the open aren't much of a challenge," John said cryptically.
"What's that mean?" she asked.
"I think it means you need to shut up, or you're gonna get us all killed," Lance Corporal Leeds said sourly.
The redhead shrugged apologetically and fell silent.
Twice, John had to halt his fire team in order to avoid running into Covenant. They were only small parties – either patrols or stragglers trying to regroup, he couldn't tell – and he had little doubt that he and the Marines could take them. But he couldn't afford to take any casualties, or waste ammunition… or attract attention. If they hoped to complete their mission, they needed to remain unseen for as long as possible.
"This is really weird," Sergeant Harris' voice crackled over the comm suddenly.
"Say again?" Linda asked.
"Sorry, Echo Lead to all teams," the Marine corrected himself. "We just found something strange down here."
"Care to elaborate, Sergeant?" Mitchell put in impatiently.
"Covenant," came the response. "Two Elites, two Jackals, dead."
"Probably killed in the crash," John said. "I'm surprised we haven't seen more bodies."
"Negative," Harris said. "I don't think that's what killed them, sir. There's no blood, no wounds. They're just laying here in the corridor."
The comm went silent. No one knew what to say.
"Sergeant, where are you?" Cortana asked suddenly.
"Uh… just a corridor as far as I can tell."
"Can you see blast doors?"
"There's none on the charts." He paused. "Wait, yeah, I see them. They're not listed but we've got one forward of us about ten meters, and another one aft about five meters."
"It's an internal airlock," the AI said urgently. "Sergeant, you and your fire team need to get out of there, now."
"Why, what's –"
"Do it!" she shouted loud enough to make John wince.
The Marine's training kicked in, overcoming his confusion. "Moving!" he replied. "Fire team, on me! Move!" Unfortunately, it was too late. "Whoa, the doors are closing!" he reported a second later.
"Get out of there, now!" Cortana ordered. "Just run!"
There was a moment of silence as the rest of the fire teams waited with baited breath, listening for any sound at all. Then…
"They're trapped inside! They're trapped inside! The rest of my team is still inside!" It was Harris. "The doors closed too fast! Kadee, talk to me! What's going on in there?" There was no answer. "Something's going on. I can see them, but something's wrong! Burning stars, I think they're suffocating! The atmosphere is being sucked out! Cortana, I need this airlock open now!"
"There's nothing I can do," Cortana responded, barely loud enough to be heard over the Sergeant's shouting. She sounded sad, and John felt his heart sink. He knew how this was going to end up.
"Cortana!" Harris howled. "Open this airlock! My people are dying in there!"
"I can't do anything!" Cortana yelled back. "I don't have any links with the ship's systems! I have no way to get that door open!"
"Shoot it!" Avery screamed over the comm. "Shoot the door! You have to do something!"
Automatic gunfire crackled in everyone's earpieces, making them jump in surprise.
"No effect!" Harris shouted. "I can't even find controls! Where are the burning controls!? I need to get this door open! Kadee, Janson, someone talk to me in there! What's your status? What's your status!?"
