Life At Best is Bittersweet
Alan was dimly aware of the eyes of everyone on the bridge peering straight at him. He, however, did not return the looks, continuing to peer at the spot where King Ghidorah had disappeared. It seemed that the events of the last minute had rendered everyone too shocked to speak. The silence was only broken by Alistair, who had turned back to the flashing pilot's console.
"Uh, Captain?" he said quietly. "I'm getting hailed by all the ships in the fleet." It was a few moments before Alan pulled himself out of his shock long enough to answer.
"Put them all through on a conference call," he said, before moving to the co-pilot's chair, now looking very drained.
"If you don't mind, Captain Tyler," said Shri 'Canthon as her face appeared along with the other Shipmasters. "I would like to speak to the Supreme Commander."
Alan turned back to see Telek walking up behind him. His face was a sullen blank stare. He could not bring himself to even say anything about seeing King Ghidorah once more in all of his glory, whole again to once more create havoc across the galaxy.
"Telek?" said Shri.
"Hey, Telek, you alright?" asked Cujo.
Telek finally let loose a sigh: "Yeah. I'm fine. Now, I want an answer to all of this. Who let them off my ship? Who gave them the okay to come save us?"
"It was not I, Excellency," said Shri. "I swear."
"Okay," said Telek. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. Apparently Gravemind had finally did what he intended to do. He didn't need us to become Flood chow after all. The Na'vi and all life on that moon was enough to allow him to grow a new body. And somehow, I feel this is all my fault."
"Skipper, it's not your fault," said Tom. "I was the one who ordered Tekn to take the Shade of Darkness to the first Halo. I saw those coordinates and ordered him to jump."
"But I was the one who told Jacob to follow you," said Telek. "And then Jacob had to go and not listen to me and—accidentally released the Flood there. And then this mess as well on Halo 06. And then I agreed to let Kiryuu ride on my ship to the Ark. Because of me letting him on my ship, he's a damned vegetable! Now King Ghidorah's loose and we've got no way to fight him."
"He's solid," said Wago. "We can easily take that down with our plasma cannons."
"Did you see how fucking big he was?" Telek asked. "The three-headed dragon's the same size as my damned ship! And all he has to do is go to the other Installations and gather more Flood and he can get bigger! Or he could make duplicates of himself. Or hell, I don't know! Even if we blow him up, there's always that chance of him coming back and he's just as dangerous as a ghost as he is as a solid being. If he can take control over Kiryuu gain, he can gain control over me again, he can take the minds of you as well. There is no stopping him! It's hopeless! He's a bad toothache. He always comes back. God, I can't believe I said 'hopeless'."
"You should return to the ship, Excellency," said Shri.
"Right," said Telek. He looked back at Alan. "Well, you heard her. Get me back on my ship."
"Right," said Alan. "Yes, sir."
"When we get back on my ship, Captain Tyler," Telek began. "You and I are going to have a long discussion with your crew. I want the full story. And then, we'll have a look at Kiryuu. I'm not giving up on him. As much as I love the idea of him not being able to open that pompous, smartassed mouth of his, I promised myself I'd bring him home whole, not brain-dead."
"Yes, sir," said Alan. "Alistair, take us out."
"Yes, sir," Alistair breathed.
By the time the Serenity landed back in the Shadow of Darkness' hangar, the sense of apprehension amongst the crew had grown so thick it could have been cut with a knife. None of the Serenity crew or their passengers spoke as they stepped down the ramp and back into the hangar. Kiryuu was quickly transferred to the medical bay; Alan watched the motionless shell be transported in that direction while he, Telek, John and the Serenity crew made their way back to the bridge.
Upon reaching the main podium on the bridge, they found Shri there to greet them. She looked in an incredibly foul mood; when Alistair approached, she glared at him and began to crack her knuckles. Telek turned to the Serenity crew, his arms folded and throwing a similarly nasty glare at Alistair.
"Alright, big-beak," he said in a very dangerous voice. "You mind tellin' me how you even got outta my ship to go down there uninvited? Tell me and I might not toss yer sorry asses outta the airlock. No promises."
"It was all my idea," Alistair said firmly, in a manner that sounded too rehearsed. "When you missed your deadline and the fleet were preparing to glass the place, José and I talked it over. We decided we couldn't leave you guys down there; we figured if our plan didn't work, we were dead anyway. We persuaded Bishop and Rachel to fake a life-support failure in the hangar, which forced everyone to evacuate it. When the coast was clear, we got in there, got on the Serenity and got down to the planet. We couldn't pick up your locations on the surface, so when we saw those dirty great holes we had a hunch you'd be down there. You know the rest."
Alan noticed that Alistair had omitted one key detail from his account. He had not mentioned Cortana's involvement at all, and since Rachel was making no effort to correct him it seemed that they had all agreed not to drag her into this. Even John seemed to be remaining silent on the issue. Alan was sure that Telek wouldn't buy Alistair's story; the gargoyle's speech sounded too rehearsed, and though he was doing his best to hide it something in his manner suggested that he was not being entirely honest. He decided to step in before Telek tried to ask any awkward questions.
"It doesn't matter how you did it," he said firmly. "Were you paying attention to Telek earlier? The Flood has the ability to control entire ships! What if the Serenity had been infected? It could have gone on to infect the fleet! I can't pretend that I'm not disappointed in you. You all deliberately disobeyed me, and what's worse you put yourselves, the ship and the entire fleet in danger!"
"I know, Captain!" said Alistair defiantly. "We knew the risk we were taking, but we all agreed that we couldn't leave you guys down there! No-one should get left behind! If that gets us a one-way trip into the vacuum of space, at least I'll know we didn't die for nothing!"
Telek sighed and took off his helmet. He gave his bald head a scratch and shook it.
"No one gets left behind..." he said.
"Isn't that why you came for us, Admiral?" Cortana's voice finally spoke up. She was finally rejoined with the Master Chief despite her current condition.
"That's why, darlin'," said Telek. "What...Cortana?"
"I'm sorry, Admiral," she said. "I was the one who got them off the ship. I didn't want you to be left behind either."
"Cortana, you know better than that," Telek said. "You know what the Flood does."
"I know," she said. "But I wanted to return the favour."
"I suppose I can't stay mad," Telek said. "The whole purpose for us gettin' down there was to get Kiryuu. We succeeded in that even if the Gold Demon managed to remake his body. Alright, let's not discuss this any further. I won't toss y'all's sorry hides out the airlock, for now. But don't disobey a direct order from me again, understood?"
"Yes, sir," said Alistair.
"Sí, jefe," said José.
"Good," said Telek. "And that goes double for you, princess."
"Yes, Admiral," said Cortana.
"Okay, now let's focus on reviving Kiryuu, if there is a way to do that," said Telek. "How much did the worm eat away?"
"Plenty," said Bishop. "Much of his programming has been lost. The very part of his personality has been compromised."
"Never thought Kiryuu would be the one to give up," said Telek. "What can we do to save it?"
Alan thought hard. He wasn't sure if Kiryuu had ever had the foresight to keep backups of his own mind anywhere. Perhaps it had never ocurred to him that something like this might happen someday. It was then that something stirred in the back of his memory, something Manda had mentioned over 500 years ago. As he tried to remember, he saw Manda's face before him, glaring accusingly at Kiryuu:
"How long have you been feeding your sub-matrixes through every grid in the world? Making copies of yourself and seeding them in dark places within the Internet?"
It was then that a sudden idea hit him.
"I think I know a way," he said to the others. "It's a long shot, but it might be the only chance we've got."
"Glad you've come up with something," Alistair said, "because I'm bloody stumped."
"Back in the old days, Kiryuu was once accused of making copies of himself and scattering them all over the Internet," said Alan. "Kiryuu of course denied it, but I wouldn't put it past him to do something like that. I don't believe he won't have foreseen something like this." He turned to look at Bishop. "Do you reckon such a thing's possible?"
"It's certainly possible," Bishop replied. "Kiryuu was the most advanced AI that has ever existed or will probably ever exist. If he had the inclination to fragment pieces of his own programming and scatter it across a network, he would certainly be capable of doing it. These fragments could be used to rebuild what was lost, though there is no guarantee that he would be exactly how he was."
"Well, I can't think of a better idea," said Alan. "I also think it's fairly safe to assume that we're not going to find this data way out here."
"You mean we have to go back to Earth now?" Rachel asked tentatively. "But what about Lofwyr?"
"My deal with him was that I bring Kiryuu back," Alan replied. "I'm going to do that now. If, for any reason, he objects to us trying to restore Kiryuu, then tough titties." At this, he started to walk off the podium. "Earth's not far from here." With that, before anyone could say a word, he had left the bridge.
"I do like a man with an objective," said Telek with a chuckle. "Alright, make it so. Come on! Twiddle Brothers, plot a course to Earth. Signal the fleet, and advise them to follow. When we get near Earth, tell Lord Hood I got the three most important packages in the world and I'm deliverin' them home."
"Yes, Excellency," said Joli.
"Of course, Excellency," said Rolu.
Telek sat on his command chair and grinned. A spark of hope once more gleamed in his eyes.
Alan eventually found the large med-bay, a space which was clearly equipped for more Sangheili than the current crew quota. Kiryuu was occupying one of the bunks, as still as he had been before. Erin was standing over him, keeping an eye on a monitor close to the bunk. He gave a polite nod to Alan as the mutant walked over and sat down next to the bunk. Alan really wasn't sure what he was doing there; he had never been very good at saying comforting words to people, and even if he was there was no way of telling whether or not Kiryuu would hear him. However, he reasoned that, if Kiryuu was even the least bit aware, then he was thinking about what had happened, about what he had done. Alan leaned closer to him, placing a claw on his shoulder.
"It wasn't you," he said. "I know it wasn't you. I... I've made really big mistakes, especially recently. But – and it took me a trip to outer space to realise this – a man isn't measured by the mistakes he's made. He's measured by what he does about them." He sighed, getting back to his feet, and began to walk away from the bunk. Alan knew that what he had said was a load of babble, and that he might as well have talked to a plate of boiled cabbage.
Yet, more than ever, he was sure that he could help him. He knew that if Kiryuu ever woke up and he was hurting, then he would be there to help him set things right.
0
The journey back to Earth was short and uneventful, and when Alan got a glimpse of the cloudy, blue-green sphere, he realised just how alien it looked to him now. After so long in space he had gotten so used to the idea that he would never see Earth again, and so was rather taken aback by the fact that soon he would be stepping back onto Earth's surface with Kiryuu in tow. He tried to silence a part of him that dreaded this return, for he still wasn't sure how everyone was going to react to the return of someone they all believed to be a thief and kidnapper.
Telek had granted the Serenity crew permission to transport himself, John, Cortana and Kiryuu down to the surface. He had contacted the UNSC High Command on the approach to Earth and their landing arrangements had been taken care of. The other Shipmasters would be making their way down in their own transports. The Serenity had barely left the hangar of the Shadow of Darkness, however, when the ship received a transmission.
"Someone's trying to hail us, Captain," Bishop said. "The frequency matches those used by... Saeder-Krupp..."
"Lofwyr," Alan muttered. "I should've guessed he'd be getting in touch at some point. Alright, patch him through."
"Alan Tyler," Lofwyr's grand voice soon said through the communicator. "How strange to see you again so relatively quickly, and with friends, no less! I do hope you are not thinking of landing your stolen vessel with your kidnapped crew empty-handed. You know what awaits you if you do."
"Sling yer shit somewhere else, wiz-wyrm," Telek snarled, leaning over Bishop to speak into the communicator. "The kid's kept to his end of your deal, and with any luck he'll earn bonus credit. We're on a tight schedule, and we've got clearance from Hood himself to land, so get the fuck outta our way if you ain't gonna help!"
"No need to be rude, Telek 'Heros," replied Lofwyr, in a much quieter tone. "I assume you'll be making your way to HICOM now. I shall be there myself soon. I will decide what is to be done when I see Kiryuu's body with my own eyes." With that, he signed off.
"I had a lovely trip, thank you very much," Alan said sardonically, shaking his head.
"He's gonna put his foot in his mouth once he sees Kiryuu, the Chief, and Cortana," said Telek. "I'm gonna do you a favor, kid. I'm gonna let you off the hook with Lord Hood. Already, that little kidnapping you did after you knocked me out has pretty much spread all over the UNSC by now. They will not be happy." He pulled something from his utility belt and raised it up. It was the heart-shaped blue crystal. "Besides, if Lofwyr gives us any trouble, I've got a surprise for him."
He leaned back and then pointed towards the Cairo, one of the orbital defense grids guns. He pressed a button on the Serenity's console.
"Terrence," Telek began. "This is Telek."
"It's good to hear from you again, Telek," said Lord Hood. "And I see that you have brought back Saeder-Krupp's stolen property."
"Yeah, we've gotta talk about that," said Telek. "Apparently our esteemed Lofwyr Goldensnout allowed his ship to be stolen."
"You've got witnesses to this?" Hood asked.
"I've got Serenity's crew to vouch for it," said Telek. "The reason why he said it was stolen was because he wanted to make sure the guy who he hired to go after Kiryuu would not come back empty-handed."
"And you have the former President with you?" Hood asked.
"I have Kiryuu, Master Chief John-117, and Cortana with me," said Telek.
"You found all of them?" Terence asked, dumbfounded. "Are they alright? Are they alive?"
"Kiryuu is very bad off," said Telek. "I need access to the UNSC deep internal servers to possibly revive him. He tried to kill himself—because of an incident he viewed was his fault. As for John, he's fine. Cortana is equally in as much bad shape as Kiryuu. Her programming is about to give out. Her time within the Halo's control systems has shortened her life. It's suggested that Kiryuu may be able to save her, but Kiryuu needs to get running again too."
"I see," said Terrence. "I'm hopping onto a transport ship. Have the Serenity land near the Office of Naval Intelligence in New York City. There, I'll notify Kiryuu's maintence crew and they'll be there as well. Don't worry, we'll get both of them up and running. Hopefully Lofwyr will realize how serious this is. And I'll make sure he stays off your new friend's ass. If not, I'll personally shove a rocket launcher up his snout. Rescuing Kiryuu, the Chief, and Cortana is probably the best miracle you have done, Telek."
"Well, I had help," said Telek. "Don't give me all the credit. Also, I think Lofwyr will be interested in this as well. I have Dorva 'Elus on board Cujo's ship too. I think you remember him."
"The asshole who betrayed Reach's location to the Covenant," said Lord Hood. "I remember. Nice work. We'll make sure Lofwyr stays on his best behaviour. I'll not have my old friend become dragon chow."
"Right," said Telek with a chuckle. "Telek out. See you there." As soon as Terrence Hood's face was gone from the screen, Telek turned back to Alan. "You owe me big time, kid. I'm not only gonna make sure Lofwyr doesn't turn you into dessert, but I'm keeping the UNSC off your back as well. And don't worry about ONI when we land. I'll handle them too. After pulling this case off, I think Terrence is going to owe me as well. Hopefully it'll be enough to keep me out of prison with the Sangheili."
"Let's hope so," said Alan, his arms folded. "Getting locked up now will be too much after everything we've just been through." He leaned against the railing near the co-pilot's console and gazed out of the window as Africa slid into view. "I appreciate all you've done, Telek. I know I don't deserve it. If you ever need anything, give me a shout and I'll come running. And if this plan to save Kiryuu goes belly-up you can kick my arse from here to Hades."
"And if it doesn't, and the big lug recovers, I'll take you up on that offer," replied Telek. "Even if you are a snot-nosed, reckless blockhead."
"Flattery will get you everywhere, Your Excellency," said Alan, smirking. "Bishop, head for New York. We've got work to do."
"Roger," Bishop replied. Minutes later, the ship rattled as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere for the first time in nearly six months. After several minutes the ship descended into a sunset-orange sky, and the tall buildings of the Manhattan skyline could be seen approaching them. Alan was uncomfortably reminded of the hi-tech skyscrapers of Illium, and wondered what would be said and done once they landed. All he knew was that he had to keep his temper; he could not afford any more mistakes.
The ONI building was a large triangular building, every surface of it completely flat and blank, made out of what looked like dark metal. A large multi-levelled courtyard stretched out in front of it, containing (surprisingly enough to Alan) patches of greenery and even a few trees. The whole complex was surrounded by a high oval-shaped wall, giving Alan the impression of looking at a football stadium.
There was enough space in the courtyard to land the Serenity, and Bishop did so, the ship rocking slightly as it landed. A large crowd of technicians, engineers and soldiers were already gathering around the ship as the cargo ramp lowered. Alan and Telek were the first to step off, followed by Alistair, John and Rachel. Bishop and José brought up the rear, pushing a gurney carrying the unconscious Kiryuu between them. Striding towards them through the crowd was Lord Terrence Hood, white-haired, his face lined with age but full of an evident inner fire and sense of purpose to his stride. Dressed in a smart white naval uniform with dozens of awards displayed on his chest, he saluted with a warm smile to Telek, who returned the salute.
"Telek, it's good to see you again," said Lord Hood. "Though I thought the war wasn't over for you."
"Well, you know me," said Telek. "I have an affinity of disobeying orders."
"Makes me wonder how you managed to get so high in rank inside the Covenant," Hood said with a chuckle.
"You know that Sangheili rank is based on kills than merits," said Telek. "More warriors I kill off during a battle, the higher in rank I get. And I've killed a lot of innocent human soldiers to get where I am. Not proud of that one bit."
"I know," said Lord Hood. "But I think switching over to the merit system has made you a better warrior in the long run."
"Well, it makes earning the rank more honourable," said Telek. "Which is why I am here. As you can see, I've done one more good deed."
Lord Hood turned to the body of Kiryuu Knight who was still on the stretcher. His eyes became dark when he saw the still body and he lowered his head.
"I told him he shouldn't have gone," he said. "I told him."
"You think you could stop Kiryuu from doing what he wanted to do?" Telek asked.
"No," he said. "But I wanted to."
"Well," said Telek. "I told you I had help."
"Yes," said Lord Hood. "Now, about this Alan Tyler."
"Alan," said Telek. "I would like you to meet five-star Admiral Terrence Hood."
"Mr. Tyler," said Lord Hood. "I must say, a ragtag, skeleton crew going out on your own to rescue Kiryuu Knight. Quite a feat. A foolish one, but a feat nonetheless. I'd expect this sort of thing from Telek, and believe me, he can handle it, but not someone like you."
"I've made a career of doing the unexpected, sir," Alan replied frostily, folding his arms. He wasn't sure if he liked Lord Hood; in fact, he felt rather offended at this apparent dismissal of his efforts due to him not being a decorated soldier.
"Lay off, both of ya," said Telek. "Besides we have bigger problems."
"You sent me the file on that," said Lord Hood. "So, Monster Zero is back."
"I'm afraid so," said Telek.
"We've just dealt with the Covenant, now we have that monster that could potentially arrive and cause trouble," said Lord Hood. "Wonderful."
"Take it one step at a time, Terrence," said Telek.
Lord Hood looked up and saw a Falcon fly overhead. It was a personal Falcon and it had the logo of Saeder Krupp emblazoned on the side.
"Well, looks like Lofwyr is here," said Telek.
"I'll handle Lofwyr if he gets out of hand," said Terrence.
"Well, let's not waste any more time then," said Alan. "Let's hope this works."
"Lead the way, Terrence," said Telek.
Lord Hood nodded, and ordered his technicians to take Kiryuu's gurney into the building. He and the technicians moved quickly, with Alan, Telek, John and the Serenity crew running to catch up. They were led deep inside the ONI building, eventually reaching what looked like a large server room, filled high to the ceiling with computer equipment. The room seemed to be at the top of the building, for a skylight could be seen revealing the sunset sky. Kiryuu was immediately attached to some of the servers, his technicians bustling about and giving orders to each other.
"Ideally we'd have an AI assisting us in this," Lord Hood said gravely. "I won't risk Cortana's life with this, though. It could push her too far, and she might end up destroying herself in the process."
"If I may, sir," Bishop chimed in, "my life-expectancy is still within reasonable parameters. I have had a close look at Kiryuu's sub-matrixes, and I know what to look for out in the networks. I believe I can offer assistance to your repair teams."
"A Bishop Unit, huh?" said Lord Hood, raising an eyebrow. "You sure your processors are up to the job?"
"I can vouch for Bishop's abilities," said Alan. "We would never have made it this far without him. It's because of him that there's anything left of Kiryuu to save now."
"I agree," Telek chimed in. "The droid's done alright by my book."
"Alright then," Lord Hood said, turning back to Bishop. "You go do what you can for him."
"Yes, sir," said Bishop, giving a quick salute before joining the technicians. Even with Bishop's help piecing together fragments of Kiryuu's memory would be a long and laborious process.
Just then, the server room had a new visitor, in the form the grey-haired, smartly-suited Lofwyr. From the looks he was receiving now, especially from Alan, he was the least-welcome person on the site. He strode right past Alan and the others, peering out towards the unconscious Kiryuu.
"So he really is here..." Lofwyr murmured. "And not in a good way, from the looks of things." He turned to look at Alan. "Would you kindly tell me where you found him?"
Against his better judgement, Alan told of his experiences on Pandora, of Kiryuu's attempted suicide and of King Ghidorah's return. For once, Lofwyr seemed to be listening carefully, and when he heard of King Ghidorah's return his face became very grave.
"You are certain about this?" he asked.
"Why would the kid lie to you about something like that?" said Telek. "I saw the bastard myself, and so did everyone in the fleet."
Lofwyr nodded. "I must discuss this news with Malcho and Manda. It may take a long time before King Ghidorah makes another attempt on our world; I suspect the only reason he has not attacked now is because he is preparing something to increase his chances. He knows we are capable of resisting him, and I am sure he will take time to prepare himself. No matter how long it takes for him to return, we must make sure that we are ready." With that, he turned back to Alan. "Now to more immediate concerns. About our little bargain..."
"I brought Kiryuu back, just like you said," Alan replied. "Over the last five months I've been poisoned, mauled, shot at and nearly became Flood food, all for his sake. I think that's earned me a reprieve, if not a pardon."
"Yes, I must admit I had not expected you to actually bring the President back," Lofwyr said, before his lips curled into a cold smile. "However, clearly you forgot about the other condition I attached."
"What other condition?" Alan demanded, feeling like the bottom of his stomach had just fallen out of him.
"To bring my ship back in one piece," the dragon replied, his smile becoming more vicious. "I made a quick examination of the Serenity as soon as I arrived. Did you really think I would not notice the extensive modifications made to the ship, clearly intended to cover up for crippling amounts of damage? I wanted you to bring the ship back how she was when she left Earth, and I am not satisfied that you have met this requirement." He turned to Lord Hood. "Lord Hood, I want this mutant placed under arrest for the theft and vandalism of my property, and for him to be placed in my custody." He looked back at Alan with a very hungry look in his eyes and he licked his lips.
"You backstabbing-!" Alan roared, his fist clenched. He would have sprung at Lofwyr there and then if Telek and John had not rushed forward to restrain him. Both shot identical warning glances at him (at least Alan assumed John had, since his face remained covered by his helmet). He wasn't the only one, for the room suddenly exploded in a cacophony of indignant shouts. Alistair, José and even Rachel had all charged forward too, and they were now yelling angrily at Lofwyr as the guards struggled to hold them back. Lord Hood bellowed at the top of his voice to try to restore order, but even he found it hard to make himself heard above the din.
It was then that, even amidst the chaos that had unfolded, Alan saw a pale blue mist seeping its way out of a pouch on Telek's belt.
"Lofwyr!" called a familiar voice to him as the blue mist reformed into a silvery dragon with blue markings. "You will do no such thing!"
Lofwyr was aghast as the dragon approached him.
"Dunkelzahn?" he asked.
"Call him my Ace," said Telek. "I do believe you two know each other."
"Do you have any idea what Alan has been through?" Dunkelzahn asked. "The Flood, King Ghidorah's return, and more besides? Be thankful that he brought your ship back mostly in one piece or even at all. He had no choice but to modify the ship with Sangheili technology. It was the only thing he could do to even make it as far as he did. He went outside the galaxy, he has made contact with an alien species that is actually benevolent—who want to meet with Earth peacefully. He has helped in the capture of one who glassed your beloved Reach. I think for that, you should let him go. He has gone above and beyond the original request. He has brought back not only Kiryuu Knight, but the two others who went missing as well. I realize your plans were to finally feast upon him after all these years, but those times are over. We have to think about what we are going to do after this war. Eating Alan should be the last thing on your mind right now. Alan has ensured the protection of your crew, placing their safety before his own. He's not the selfish child you once remembered. Has your time in Voi taught you nothing?"
"You allowed your ship to be stolen," said Telek. "And I pretty much got the testimony from the Serenity crew to account this. So, there are no grounds for arrest. Granted, he kidnapped me, but I'm not pressing any charges. As a big man, I'm gonna let that slip. But I see that you aren't a big man. I don't care how big you really are, but you are a very small man. And one day, you will be squished." He looked back at Alan. "I promised Alan that I would make sure you wouldn't do a thing to him. And I keep my promises. You make one move towards the kid, and I'll turn you into a charred spot on the pavement."
He pointed up towards his massive super carrier, which slowly as if cued descended from the sky. The Shadow of Darkness covered the area with its enormous shadow, blocking out the sun.
"I think your main concern is to help in reviving Kiryuu," said Dunkelzahn. "Our long time friend. Because he has a lot to tell us."
"Aren't you going to do something about this?" Lofwyr asked Lord Hood. "He threatened me!"
"Hmm?" Lord Hood spoke up. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What just happened?"
Telek chuckled.
"How dare you!" Lofwyr cried. "I am the one who makes your ships!"
"Because you were drafted into doing so," said Lord Hood. "Not because you wanted to. And unless you want to find yourself in some underground prison for the rest of your near immortal life, I suggest you back down, Mr. Goldensnout. You will continue to make our ships. ONI has some nasty files on you; files that not even your lawyers can dig you out of. I suggest you watch what you say."
"You see," Dunklezhan began. "They are not afraid of you anymore. Times have changed."
Lofwyr finally backed off, fuming in his mind over this incident. He could not have Alan for lunch. After all these centuries, he could not have Alan. It was not Kiryuu who was protecting the mutant this time. He had earned powerful friends who wanted to protect him. And that was what it was all about.
"Very well then," he finally said, in a rather sulky tone. "I shall be staying in this area, as I wish to hear Knight's account if he awakens. Good day to you all." With that, he spun on his heel and walked straight out of the room.
Alan, meanwhile, felt as if his knees would give way. He felt an inexpressible rush of gratitude for Dunkelzahn, Telek and his crew. After everything that had happened, he knew that he would never be able to adequately thank them all for what they had done for him this day. He opened his mouth to say something, but Dunkelzahn raised a claw, shaking his head with a warm smile.
"You do not need to say it to any of us, Alan," the dragon said warmly. "You are very welcome." With that, he once again dissolved into mist and retreated back into Telek's pouch. Everything was silent for several seconds. It seemed that, in the heat of the moment, everyone had momentarily lost themselves. Finally, the silence was broken by Lord Hood, who cleared his throat.
"Well, that was fun," he said idly. "But now we must return to the matter at hand." He turned back towards the technicians, who were still working feverishly at restoring Kiryuu. "Bishop, have you had any success so far?"
"Alan's theory was sound," Bishop replied. "We have been able to retrieve some minor subroutines from the UNSC servers, but his code is proving to be very elusive. I do not wish to attempt re-activation until we have every piece of his code. Total retrieval will take several days, at the very least."
"Is there any danger of the worm resurfacing?" asked Lord Hood.
"Not the first one he created, sir," replied Bishop. "I managed to destroy that worm, and I am keeping his systems under constant surveillance. Even if he tries to create a new worm, it can be caught and destroyed before it has time to generate."
"Understood," said Lord Hood. "You keep on it, but don't any of you burn yourselves out over this. I'd rather the work took time than any of you getting sloppy from being too tired to work." He turned back to the others. "As you heard, this might take a while. Official debriefings can wait. You all go and get yourselves some rest. You've earned it."
With one more salute, he stepped out of the server room.
0
The ONI building received a wide variety of visitors over the days that followed. The other Shipmasters and various crew members in the Fleet Shadow of Fury frequently came by, each retelling their stories to interested parties. Of course, their accounts differed greatly; Tom tried to downplay the embarrassing manner of his capture on Pandora six months ago, while Wago seemed to greatly exaggerate his role in the events on Eletania.
"Of course I was the one who single-handedly rescued the crew from near death from a voracious parasite," Wago continued, lifting his head up proudly. "They were lucky to have such a skilled Shipmaster at their side at the time. And I hope they will be eternally grateful. Who knows what might have happened if Tulsa was there instead."
"Shut up, Wago!" Tulsa bellowed.
"Seriously, nobody likes you!" Mitsu called as well.
"Alright, that's enough bickering," said Telek.
"Yes, Excellency," they all said, looking sheepish.
Lofwyr, of course, stayed in the area, and was very subdued whenever he was around, hardly speaking to anyone. His actions had made him very unpopular, and he was having trouble adjusting to the idea that nobody feared him anymore. Indeed he seemed a much more deflated figure than he had been before. The news of Kiryuu's return seemed to have spread quickly in some circles, for the other two dragons Alan knew, Manda and Malcho, came by. Manda was friendly to Alan and eagerly sat through his account of all that had happened to him since they parted company, while Malcho remained polite yet distant, apparently disappointed that Omak-Argon had not played a larger role in the mission.
"After all that he had been through with King Ghidorah," said Manda. "I'm surprised he made it back in this state. It could have been worse."
"Kiryuu is tough," said Malcho. "He can make it through anything."
"Just to think though that he tried to commit suicide though," Manda sighed. "I never thought he would be the one to take that route."
"I know, amigo," said Malcho. "Let's just hope that he's not too damaged from the ordeal."
Kiryuu had many visitors; even though he was unresponsive, there seemed to be a general consensus that, rather like with coma victims, talking to him may help him somehow. There was an atmosphere of great excitement in the building, but Alan knew that there would be no reason to celebrate until Kiryuu had awakened. Through all the excitement and chatter, Bishop and the technicians worked around-the-clock to retrieve the shattered pieces of Kiryuu's memory.
Finally, on the ninth day, Alan received the news that he had waited for; all of Kiryuu's data had been recovered, and the technicians would be attempting re-activation later that day...
0
Bishop stood up from the computer and turned around to the other technicians.
"I do believe that what needs to be done now in order to activate him properly is to remove the AI itself," he said. "Because he is so many fragments, they all need to be compiled into one inside his AI through a direct line."
"How do we remove the AI?" asked one of the technicians. "That is only done when Kiryuu is in his true size. The AI itself is the size of two medicine balls and it weighs almost a thousand pounds."
"I do believe we now have a way to return him to his true size," said Bishop. "If one of the dragons will be so willing to–as the saying goes 'zap' him. We will need to move Kiryuu out into the courtyard. It has enough room to fit his near 200-foot size."
They all lifted Kiryuu's body up from the bed and placed him back on the stretcher. As they came outside, Alan and the others were waiting for the news. Alan stood up, confused as to what was going on. Why were they moving Kiryuu?
"What's happening?" asked Alan. "Is he awake?"
"Not yet," said Bishop. "We're moving him outside."
"Why?" Telek asked.
"We need him to be in his true size," said Bishop. "I have to now remove the CPU from Kiryuu's body."
"Remove it?" Telek said. "Can that be done?"
"Yes," said Bishop. "When Kiryuu Knight was first built, his programmer Will Penter made it easy to have the AI removed from its casing. Especially when they needed to move Kiryuu from place to place. Just in case something happened to the body on transit, the AI would still be usable. There is a maintenance shaft in Kiryuu's neck that leads directly into his central processing unit–the very essence of what makes Kiryuu. We will just remove it and bring it inside in order to compile the fragments into one. It is very simple."
"Well, hurry up and do it," said Telek.
"I will need the assistance of one of the dragons," said Bishop. "To make him return back to his true size."
"I volunteer," said Manda.
"No, I will," said Malcho.
"Malcho, I think you've done enough already," said Manda. "Considering that was your tower that Truth took up to the Ark–which gave reason for Kiryuu to follow in the first place. If anything else is said, this is your fault."
"All the more reason for me to do it," said Malcho. "I was the one who screwed up. Let me do it, por favor."
"No," said Manda. "Not this time. I'll do it. You just watch as I do it."
"Caramba," said Malcho, "Fine!"
When they moved Kiryuu out to the courtyard, they lowered him onto the pavement. He laid face down. Manda motioned for everyone to move back. With a simple gesture of his hand, Kiryuu was suddenly switched from his humanoid size to his true monstrous size. His green dreadlocks moved away from the back of his neck and the access portal was exposed. Bishop pointed to the access shaft and the technicians began to climb up around the enormous spines. One of the technicians began to type in a code into the door and the door slid open. Slowly, he began to descend followed by other technicians into the recesses of Kiryuu's biomechanical body. Metallic armoured parts gave way to biosyntech as they neared the core of Kiryuu's AI, his central processing unit.
There it was, Kiryuu's spheroid artificial intelligence. It was black and shiny with dimly lit blue lights running along the groves of the casing. Biosyntech tendrils grew out from circular, glowing ports along the unit, extending out to attach themselves to the various parts of the mecha itself. A technician came to the sphere and touched its side, feeling along the surface for an impression. Then, he came to it and pushed it. A panel slid out from the sphere, revealing a cyan blue data pad. He pressed several sequences of code into it as well. The data pad retracted and the biosyntech wires then retracted from the slots along the walls into the sphere itself.
The AI was now ready for removal. With a simple push, they began to roll the AI out the shaft. Manda had appeared over the hole and concentrated his mind on the sphere. With his own powers, he began to ease their work, lifting Kiryuu's AI out through telekinesis. Finally he brought the AI out as the technicians climbed out the shaft. Manda slowly lowered the AI softly onto the ground. Telek stood back, his eyes wide when he saw the sphere lower to the ground.
"Holy shit, that thing's huge!" he said.
"Would you believe it was once the size of a beach ball when Kiryuu was first activated?" asked Manda. "That's what Will told me." He turned to Alan. "Well, there he is. Kiryuu Knight–everything that is Kiryuu, his memories, his hopes, his dreams, his emotions–they all reside inside that huge sphere."
"Bloody hell..." Alan breathed. He had never seen Kiryuu's actual AI before. The sphere itself was even taller than Telek. It had a diameter of 15 feet.
"As Kiryuu aged," Manda continued. "He had to make his AI bigger in order to encompass all the memories he had gained. Some memories he could dump in other places where he could then retrieve them later–like swapping out hard drives in a computer."
"Kiryuu's AI is over half a yotta byte in storage space with 3 exa bytes for RAM," said Bishop. "I'm surprised we managed to get most of his fragments within such a short time. And some of those fragments he used to create other UNSC AIs. Which is why each UNSC AI like Cortana refers to Kiryuu as grandfather. They are pieces of him and they cannot live without him. Probably to keep things safe, he kept bits of himself in the servers so that the other AIs would not fret about losing him."
"No doubt if he had to go bigger," said Lord Hood. "He would never be able to fit in his body. That's why he fragments himself, I suspect. His true AI is just too damned big even for that thing. Are we just gonna roll the CPU back into building?"
"That is the plan," said Bishop.
They had to lift the massive AI onto a gurney and roll it into a wide warehouse door at the back of the building. The technicians rode up a maintenance elevator with the AI until they reached the IT floor where they had started from. The others again followed and watched with anticipation as they hooked the sphere up to the computer system that held the fragments. The AI opened up, each panel rising out from the casing to reveal the massive, cyan blue circuitry of all the hardware inside. Kiryuu's AI now looked like a spiky blue, spherical, crystalline geode. The cyan blue circuitry flickered on as Bishop began to type in the correct commands to reprogram the AI with the fragments. Then, he turned to the screen and Kiryuu's operating system flashed on.
MECHAGODZILLA AILOADING...OK...
MECHAGODZILLA AI01001101 01100101 01100011 01101000 01100001 01100111 01101111 01100100 01111010 01101001 01101100 01101100 01100001 00100000 01000001 01001001 00100000 01010111 01101111 01110010 01101011 01101001 01101110 01100111 00101110 00101110 00101110 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 01000001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01110011 01111001 01110011 01110100 01100101 01101101 01110011 00100000 01100111 01110010 01100101 01100101 01101110 00101110 00101110 00101110 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 01000110 01101111 01110101 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101110 01100101 01110111 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110010 01100100 01110111 01100001 01110010 01100101 00101100 00100000 01110101 01110000 01100100 01100001 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00101110 00101110 00101110 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 01000011 01101000 01100101 01100011 01101011 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01101111 01110101 01110100 01110000 01110101 01110100 00101110 00100000 00100000 01001111 01001011 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 01001000 01100101 01100001 01100100 00100000 01001111 01001011 00001101 00001010 01001110 01100101 01100011 01101011 00100000 01001111 01001011 00001101 00001010 01010010 00100000 01000001 01110010 01101101 00100000 01001111 01001011 00001101 00001010 01001100 00100000 01000001 01110010 01101101 00100000 01001111 01001011 00001101 00001010 01000001 01000011 01011010 00100000 01001111 01001011 00001101 00001010 01010010 00100000 01000101 01111001 01100101 00100000 01001111 01001011 00001101 00001010 01001100 00100000 01100101 01111001 01100101 00100000 01001111 01001011 00001101 00001010 01010010 00100000 01001100 01100101 01100111 00100000 01001111 01001011 00001101 00001010 01010111 01100001 01101001 01110011 01110100 00100000 01001111 01001011 00001101 00001010 01010100 01100001 01101001 01101100 00100000 01001111 01001011 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 01001100 00100000 01001100 01100101 01100111 00100000 01001111 01001011 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010
MECHAGODZILLA AIAll systems green...
Found new hardware, updating...
Checking all output. OK
Head OK
Neck OK
R Arm OK
L Arm OK
ACZ OK
R Eye OK
L eye OK
R Leg OK
Waist OK
Tail OK
MECHAGODZILLA AI77 101 99 104 97 103 111 100 122 105 108 108 97 32 65 73 32 87 111 114 107 105 110 103 46 46 46 13 10 13 10 65 108 108 32 115 121 115 116 101 109 115 32 103 114 101 101 110 46 46 46 13 10 13 10 70 111 117 110 100 32 110 101 119 32 104 97 114 100 119 97 114 101 44 32 117 112 100 97 116 105 110 103 46 46 46 13 10 13 10 67 104 101 99 107 105 110 103 32 97 108 108 32 111 117 116 112 117 116 46 32 32 79 75 13 10 13 10 72 101 97 100 32 79 75 13 10 78 101 99 107 32 79 75 13 10 82 32 65 114 109 32 79 75 13 10 76 32 65 114 109 32 79 75 13 10 65 67 90 32 79 75 13 10 82 32 69 121 101 32 79 75 13 10 76 32 101 121 101 32 79 75 13 10 82 32 76 101 103 32 79 75 13 10 87 97 105 115 116 32 79 75 13 10 84 97 105 108 32 79 75 13 10 13 10 76 32 76 101 103 32 79 75 13 10 13 10 13 10
When all that was finished, Bishop typed in the first sentence to the AI.
Hello, Kiryuu.
MechaGHello.
How are you feeling?
MechaGWhere am I? I cannot see.
You are not connected to your body. So, your eyes do not work.
MechaGYou have not answered my question. Who are you?
My designation is Bishop.
MechaGA Bishop Unit? Where am I?
You are in the Office of Naval Intelligence building located in New York City.
MechaGI have been returned to Earth? What happened to King Ghidorah?
Do you remember where you were last?
MechaGI remember I was on P–Pandora. Is that what it was called?
Do you remember anything else?
MechaGDeath...the Flood. I...
Bishop looked away from the screen when he heard a whirling sound coming from the AI. The internal glowing began to flicker violently like it was about to have a spasm. Bishop swiftly came back to the keyboard.
Do not think about that. It is not important anymore.
MechaGI did...something horrible...
The whirling continued, growing louder.
If you continue that, you will burn out your circuitry. I will be forced to shut you down if you continue. We don't want you to fry any of your circuitry. We have worked hard to put you back together.
MechaGWhy? After all that I have done, why?
Because there are people who care about you.
MechaGMy memory is still...fuzzy.
You have yet to compile everything we have downloaded. It seems that only your past memories were affected. Your more recent ones were not. However, we have saved those memories. So, you will be complete again.
MechaGNever complete. Now, I am just a copy.
The screen fell silent after that. Bishop shook his head and then turned to the others who were waiting patiently.
"For now, this is the best we can do," he said. "He thinks he is a copy now, not the real Kiryuu. Which is partially correct. This version is a copy from the original, but at the same time, it is also Kiryuu because much of what I managed to save before the worm would have wiped it all out is the original Kiryuu. Half of him is a copy and the other half is the original. Kiryuu's speech program has also been found as well as the original sample of Gordon Knight's voice. So, he will sound like he did before. But there will be differences. Because of his ordeal with King Ghidorah, he has completely changed. I suggest that an artificial intelligence psychologist be brought in to help work with Kiryuu. If that cannot be done, then, a more drastic measure may be taken. We may have to lobotomise some of Kiryuu's memories, preferably, the ones that revolve around what happened between him and King Ghidorah these last 5 months."
"You're gonna lobotomise Kiryuu Knight?" asked Telek. "Would he want that?"
"Considering what we will be removing, he may," said Bishop. "He would not want to remember it. The memory of King Ghidorah returning will remain and we can work in a line of code that will tell Kiryuu that he was captured by King Ghidorah and tormented and then forced to release the Flood on Pandora, but how it was done, all the details that King Ghidorah did, that will be removed."
"We're talking about Kiryuu Knight, Bishop," said Lord Hood. "The former president of the UNSC. He's a citizen, he has rights. He's more than a computer. Yes, if it were any other UNSC AI, I would agree, but, Kiryuu is legally seen as a person. That legal document regarding that he is in fact a person not a computer has been around since 2007. And everyone born since then has always seen Kiryuu as a person. I know what I'm looking at when I see that sphere. I've seen it before, but it's still a person inside that sphere. The matter is different."
"It is what you may decide," said Bishop. "But so far, Kiryuu has been recovered. His systems are working with optimum efficiency. However, it is the emotional scars inside of him that may affect his performance."
"When will you hook up Kiryuu's voice?" asked Lord Hood.
"In a half an hour," said Bishop. "One of the things that the worm began to eat away was the vocal sample of Gordon Knight's voice. Kiryuu obviously did not want to respond to anyone after the ordeal. But as I said, we have the original sample thanks to the Utah Foundation's current CEO."
"Well, get to it," said Lord Hood. "Inform me when you are finished."
Alan stepped out of the room at this point. He leaned against a wall in the corridor, his arms folded. When he had seen Kiryuu's words on the screen, he could clearly picture the tortured expression on his face that he had seen in the dream-prison, and more recently on Pandora. Part of him couldn't help but feel that King Ghidorah had a point in that reviving him may have made things worse. He shook himself angrily, ashamed of even having such thoughts. After a few moments, Manda approached him.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Not really," Alan replied. "I mean, I expected Kiryuu to be in a bad way after all he's been through, but... Well, I guess nothing really prepares you for it." He sighed, looking back towards the server room. "I just... I dunno, I want to say something to him. I want to give him a good kick up the arse and let him know that we didn't expect to be wasting our time when we brought him back."
Manda looked at him, raising his eyebrows. "Not the way I would put it, but what's stopping you?"
Alan looked over at Manda for a moment, trying to find an adequate answer to that question. When he found that he had none, he nodded and walked back to the server room. Only Bishop and the technicians remained, still working to restore Kiryuu's voice, his older memories and any stray code that they thought they might have missed.
"Bishop," said Alan. "Mind if I try and say a few things?"
"Of course not, Captain," replied Bishop. "Communication should not interfere with our work. Keep in mind that he may have difficulty remembering you, for he is still compiling his older memory files."
Alan moved towards the keyboard and paused for a moment. Now that he was here he wasn't sure what he wanted to say or if Kiryuu would even respond. In the end, he thought it best to just test the waters at first and began to type.
Hey, granddad.
MechaGCortana?
No, it isn't Cortana. It's Alan.
MechaGAlan…Tyler. Have you…come to gloat over how I deserved this? Because I do. I have lived a selfish life.
I might have in a past life. Things change. I didn't go through all the trouble I went through to bring you back just to kick you when you're down.
MechaGYou... brought me back?
Don't you remember the dream-world? Don't you remember the promise I made to you then?
MechaGI'm sorry, Alan... My memory is still hazy.
I left Earth five months ago promising to bring you back home. I ran into a lot of problems. I did what I set out to do and then some, but not without a lot of help. You've made a lot of friends out there who wanted to bring you home.
MechaGI do not deserve them. I never deserved those who counted themselves as friends. All I have ever done is hurt them. I cannot even be near my own family without bringing them suffering. Everything I do just makes things worse; Pandora was proof of that. You should have just let me die.
Alan frowned as he began to type again. He was getting more and more frustrated with Kiryuu's behaviour.
I never thought I'd see the day when you gave up, Chrome-Crotch. I know that bastard King Ghidorah has put you through Hell over the last five months, and I'm sorry you had to go through that. I really am. But there's a saying out there: "If you're going through Hell, keep going."
MechaGWinston Churchill... Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War 2...
Exactly. Now out here they're talking about practically lobotomising you, thinking that erasing your memories will help you. I hoped it wouldn't have to come to that, as I thought you were stronger than this. You were stronger than any of us. Of course, if you'd rather sit there and whine like a quarian with an upset stomach, then be my guest.
MechaG... What is a quarian?
Hitting on a sudden idea, Alan turned to Bishop.
"Can I borrow the info that Cujo sent you before we went to Illium?" he asked.
"Of course, Captain," replied Bishop, though he looked a little unsure.
After he had received the data, Alan sat there and spent the next fifteen minutes manually typing in as much of the information as he could. He didn't want to risk downloading it, not at this critical stage, in case something went wrong. He told Kiryuu about the alien races and other sights he had encountered on his journey. Kiryuu seemed to be interested in learning about the life out in the galaxy; though it was difficult to tell through the text, doing so seemed to have taken his mind off the horrifying events on Pandora for the time being.
You see? Life's still going on in the galaxy thanks to you. This Citadel Council plans to make contact with the Earth sooner or later. When they do, and they find out about the Flood and the Halos, they'll want to meet the person who saved everyone in the galaxy. They'd be disappointed if they found out that same person now has fewer peppy moments than an emo album.
Nothing else came onto the screen after that. Alan wondered whether Kiryuu was contemplating what Alan had said. Part of him felt as if he had tried to talk to a wall, with the way Kiryuu was feeling, but he couldn't think of what else to do. It was then that Bishop looked up from his work and contacted Lord Hood.
"Sir," he said, "we've just finished restoring the voice sample. We were about to turn on Kiryuu's voicebox and audio receptors."
Alan backed away as one of the technicians began his work. By inserting a few lines of code, the technician began to compile the data for Kiryuu's auditory sensors and his voice box.
"Alright," he said. "Finished. Mr. Knight, would you like to say something as a test of your voice?"
"I could never truly do Gordon Knight's voice justice," Kiryuu said. That was his voice, the same voice that Gordon Knight once had. Kiryuu, by living for so long had made Gordon Knight practically immortal. Still, it held such saidness and pity that it did not seem the same as it once did. "Perhaps Gordon was right about me. I should have been shut off the moment I became rampant."
"You can't just sit there and sulk!" Alan said. "That is not the Kiryuu I knew."
"Then I am not him, Alan Tyler," said Kiryuu. "He died because of his sins done in the name of King Ghidorah. I am just a fragment of what he was."
"I won't let you think like that about yourself," said Alan.
"If Lord Hood so wishes to remove those memories from my database," Kiryuu began. "Then I will not stop him. It's better to not remember than to continue on with the memory. You do not understand. If I continue on with these memories, then I will die."
"Bullshit!" Alan shouted. "No-one ever died from a bad memory! I can't believe you'd just give up!"
"Please, Mr. Tyler," began the technician. "Mr. Knight is still fragile. Give him time. He may change his mind. But don't upset him right now. It would only make his condition worse."
Alan could not adequately describe his frustration. At that very moment he would have liked nothing better than to smash Kiryuu's AI and be done with it. He was on the verge of doing so, but barely held himself in. He tried to keep his breathing steady, trying to suppress the roar of pure rage that wanted to escape from him.
"It's your choice, Kiryuu," he said, in a low and very bitter tone. "Just remember though that I'm not letting him win. Or just erase that too, if it's really that easy."
Without waiting for Kiryuu to reply he marched straight out of the server room. He leaned against the wall just outside the door, shaking from head to foot. He felt as if his whole mission had been a waste of effort, as if Kiryuu had personally spat him in the eye as his way of showing gratitude. He was in such a foul mood that he didn't notice Lord Hood until he was right next to him.
"I got Bishop's message," said Lord Hood. "Are you coming in?"
"No," replied Alan. "I'd rather not be here for this."
Before Lord Hood could ask what he meant by that, Alan was already walking down the corridors, past Kiryuu's other well-wishers and out into the courtyard. Kiryuu's enormous body still lay there, and Alan turned his head away, now feeling disgusted whenever he saw the figure. He had half a mind to just take the Serenity and put as much distance between himself and Kiryuu as possible. He had never felt so ashamed.
He could not believe that he was now thinking fondly of the old Kiryuu; the one he had known for so long. That Kiryuu had shown time and again that, even when his world had been destroyed, when he was tired and broken and his future was hopeless, that was when he stood up. That was when he would fight back. This "Kiryuu" in the server room seemed to him to be packing it all in now that all signs were pointing to him being a failure. Bitterly, Alan thought that perhaps the AI was right; he really was just a pale imitation of the real deal, like the figures from the dream-prison.
Kiryuu sat inside his CPU, trying to file all the memories he had regained from the procedure. All of these memories that he once had, that he purposefully tried to erase came flooding back to him. One particular memory spoke out to him the most. He remembered when Gordon Knight ordered Will to try and reprogram him after he first showed signs of rampancy. He remembered that he would not let that happen. Kiryuu fought back, telling Will that his mind was his own and that no one shall alter it. He remembered rerouting the programming Will attempted to make on his AI as well, and then tricking Gordon into thinking he was reprogrammed. Then, Kiryuu struck, setting off the alarms and tricking the base to letting him go fight Godzilla when there was no sign of the monster anywhere. Kiryuu made his move and attacked Tokyo. No one was going to stop him. He remembered fighting against the spirit of Gojira, the very essence that inhabited the bones of the mecha's body.
He would not go down without a fight. He would not let anyone alter his AI unless it was just to repair it. Now, he was willing to allow people to erase his memories.
How the mighty have fallen, Kiryuu thought with regret. Why? Why am I doing this? Is it because I have become so old and so weary that I have lost my strength to stand up? I wanted to go out with a bang, but instead I am now going out with a whimper. I am not Kiryuu Knight. This is not me.
He sighed within his processors and reclined back.
Do you think that I would allow you to go out like that? A voice came prying into his processors. After all this time? I have given you my gift, my powers, sacrificed myself to ensure that you could face him, and this is how you repay me?
Two eyes stared back from the darkness as green, vine-like appendages snaked around his ethereal form. Kiryuu looked around at them and then focused on the eyes.
Erica? He asked.
Who else?
Erica Munson, also known as Biollante, a monster created by the United States, a remnant in his processors, still was there even after the worm had worked its magic.
After all you have been through, you are giving in at last, she said.
What are you doing here?
When you began to make copies of yourself back in the early 21st Century, you made a copy of me, she replied. So, I live on in you. And I will not let you go out like this. You are Kiryuu Knight. You are not a copy. These fragments that you created were your security lest anything were to happen to the main AI. You made them so that you could live on, so that you could be restored. And you will still keep on being what you are. Don't let King Ghidorah win, even if he cannot be destroyed. As long as there are people to fight him, he will never win.
With that, the green vines retracted and the eyes disappeared. Kiryuu concentrated and allowed Biollante's gift to once more touch his mind. He could sense the outside world, see the people outside his AI's casing working diligently on him. He could see Lord Hood standing there with Bishop, ready to erase those memories. Then, he decided to speak.
"Stop!"
His powerful voice reverberated through the walls and it startled everyone in the room.
"Mr. President?" Lord Hood asked.
"You will not be altering any more of my mind, Admiral Hood," said Kiryuu. "I do believe that I shall keep those memories I had received from King Ghidorah. After all, to forget will only cause more mistakes. And I intend to make no mistakes."
His voice sounded firm. That was the voice of Kiryuu Knight. Strong, resourceful, and of course charismatic. Lord Hood's mouth raised into a slight smile. Then he turned to his technicians.
"You heard him!" he bellowed. "Leave the former President be."
"Yes, sir," said one of the technicians.
"Terrence," Kiryuu began. "There is much to be discussed after you place me back into my body. For one thing, I am concerned for the wellbeing of Cortana and the vital knowledge she contains. After all, she gained that knowledge from Dr. Catherine Halsey while she was on Reach. There is much missing in the ONI file Halsey sent to me before her disappearance. Cortana is the one who holds that knowledge."
"Yes, sir," said Lord Hood.
"Continue with repairs," said Kiryuu. "I want to be functioning fully when we are ready to put me back into my body. Secondly, Alan had proposed an interesting issue regarding this new civilization of aliens. We must look into this. After all, with Halsey's information from Reach, if we were to delve any further, making new allies along with the Sangheili will prove fruitful. After all, with Dr. Iqbal's continuation of research on Forerunner artefacts, we must be careful in what we are dealing with."
"That can be arranged," said Lord Hood. "But we must focus on rebuilding our forces again as well. There are still Covenant out there amongst the stars. And it will have to be up to the new president to decide that."
"I can only make suggestions, Terrence," said Kiryuu. "However, I do suggest that Turpin look into the re-terraformation of the planet Reach. Because it still holds the much-needed titanium Earth requires in building our ships, the UNSC should consider that as an option. I am certain that Lofwyr will be more than pleased about this as well. After all, the war is over, we can rebuild the planets we have lost. Reach should be one of the top priorities."
"Mr. Knight," said Terrence. "It's good to have you back."
"It is good to be back," said Kiryuu. "And do inform Alan Tyler that I have no wish to lose ever again. And if you don't mind, bring him back in here; I have been keeping something safe, as a favour to a mutual friend, that he may find interesting."
"Yes, sir," said Lord Hood.
"Alan, do you read me?" Bishop said into his commlink. "Kiryuu wants to see you."
"Why?" replied Alan. "Does he need me to pick what memories to get rid of?"
"Quite the opposite, in fact," said Bishop. "He wanted to inform you that – and these are his words – he has no wish to lose ever again. He also says he has something which may be of interest to you."
There was silence on the other end for a few moments, before Alan replied:
"I'm on my way."
There were a few moments of silence while the technicians resumed work. Then Alan strode back into the server room. From his expression it was clear that he was still annoyed at how Kiryuu had behaved before.
"This had better be good," he said irritably.
"Is that any way to talk to Mr. Knight, son?" said Lord Hood firmly.
"No, Terrence," said Kiryuu. "Alan has every right to be angry after my behaviour towards him before. Things were said which I am not proud of. I should have remembered that to forget the past would be to doom myself to repeat it. I hope that, in time, Alan will find it in his heart to forgive a foolish old man." There was a moment of silence. "Alan, will you give me temporary access to your commlink? I have been keeping some data files safe for you, and I believe now is as good a time as any to receive them, as my way of an apology."
Alan was hesitant at first, but in the end he agreed. He walked closer to the enormous ball of circuitry and held out his arm, showing his commlink in plain view. At once a small bio-syntech tendril snaked its way out of one of the access ports and plugged itself into a slot in the commlink. Lines of computer code filled Alan's screen for a moment, before the tendril retracted itself back into the sphere. Examining the new data, Alan found that it consisted of a video file and numerous photographs; the video was dated from the mid-22nd century. Opening the video file, Alan let out a sudden gasp.
On the screen was Miki Saegusa, a woman who had been very close to Alan back in the late 21st century. She was now lying in bed and had aged considerably, with a shock of white hair and lines on her face. She was looking just off to the side, as if addressing someone off-camera.
"Is it recording?" she asked. Upon apparent confirmation she turned back to the screen.
"Hello, Alan," she said. "By the time you see this I'll be long gone. However, before the end, I wanted to make arrangements so that someday you might see this message. I don't know what sort of world you will awaken to, but I hope it is a happier one than the one you left, and even if it isn't I'm sure you'll pull through. I also hope our mutual acquaintance Kiryuu Knight is keeping his promise.
"There is a lot to tell about my life since we parted ways. After you were frozen I left Seattle; there was nothing left there to keep me in that city. I moved shortly afterwards to Manhattan. I know how risky that was, especially with the presence of Xanatos Enterprises and the trouble we caused them. However, it turned out to be the safest place to be, for the Manhattan Clan gave me their protection. I became a sort of honorary member of the clan, like Elisa. David Xanatos knew better than to touch me or anyone I was close to, knowing he would always risk facing reprisal from both the clan and Kiryuu.
"A month after I moved I met the man who would become my husband, Frank Glenn, God rest his soul. He was such a dear to me during such a difficult time. I was still a shadowrunner, but that was losing its appeal with all of us now gone our separate ways. We settled down, had our own children, and lived very happy lives together. We were even named as godparents to Brooklyn's second child, Eguardo. Hopefully there should be some photos of us with this message. To cut a long story short, life was never dull for us.
"At the time that I am recording this, my husband died three years ago. He never knew the truth about you; all that he knew was that you were an old friend who our son was named after. I sometimes wondered how things might have turned out had you not been snatched from my life in so cruel a manner, but I knew that I had to go on living. I know that you would never have wanted me to go through my life lamenting what might have been. I hope that you will now do the same.
"Of course, as you might have guessed, I still never forgot about you. I have lived an absolutely wonderful life, and I have never forgotten your part in it. As I remember the time we spent together, I look back on it with warm feelings, fond memories and a special place in my heart. Now go live your life; I know you will keep fighting the good fight, and I can leave this life confident in that knowledge." It was then that Miki let out a hacking cough; it was clear to Alan that she would not have had much longer to live after this video had been recorded.
"Goodbye, Alan," she finished, putting on a brave smile. "And good luck." With that, the recording ceased. Once it was over, Alan began to sift through the photos that he had been given. They were family photos, most of them showing Miki and a fair-haired, smiling man who Alan took to be Glenn. There were baby pictures of two children, one boy and one girl, and as Miki and Glenn grew older so did they. Some photos showed visits from various members of the Manhattan Clan, including the small gargoyle Eguardo, who was the pot model of his father.
As the photos progressed and the occupants visibly aged, Alan saw a whole life unfold before his eyes. Ever since he had awakened he had wondered what had become of Miki, but had never known the truth. Now, at last, he could bring some closure to that aspect of his life. She had lived a full and happy life, and that was all that mattered to him. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to shed some dignified tears.
Even after Alan had finished viewing the photos no-one in the server room spoke. All had apparently come to a silent agreement that there was nothing that needed to be said.
