The Epilogue and the Pirate

1730 Hours, March 3, 2553 (Military Calendar)\Earth

It was a long road getting to the end, but it was worth every moment. The sun was setting off in the distance over the Portal Cartographer, which remained unearthed since its usage in late December of last year. The color of the sunset turned the landscape a rich, fiery orange color, which ended in deep purple over the terminator of the Earth's shadow reflecting off of the blue atmosphere. The evening was cool, which suited Telek just fine, who was dressed uncomfortably in his finest dress uniform UNSC uniform for the memorial ceremony. He even wore the cap complete with gold laurel leaf fretting decorating the visor. Otto glanced back, noting Telek's dress uniform. He looked for a moment less like a Sangheili warrior wearing that uniform and more like a rather abnormally tall human. The only thing that gave his alien features away were the split-toed black dress shoes he wore. They were polished up extra special for this occasion. Standing beside him was Captain Tomás Jimenez, Telek's second in command. Otto knew that would not be for long because after today, Telek informed Lord Hood he would retire from the United Nation's Space Command in order to return to Sanghelios to assist with protecting it. His duties as an admiral of the UNSC Navy were over; it was time for him to take up his duties as the newly appointed Supreme Commander of the Fleet Shadow of Fury.

The trip home was a long one because of how slow the Shaw-Fujikawa drive on the Frigate took them, and also because the frigate lost most of its engine power when it lost the aft end when the Portal closed behind it. Once the Dawn emerged from slipspace, it crashed into the ocean. Several UNSC rescue aircraft were deployed to the site and UNSC personnel were on hand to assist with Otto 'Gamam and Telek 'Heros in evacuating the vessel. They were shocked though that only the two Sangheili warriors were on board. There was no sign of either President Kiryuu Knight or Master Chief John-117. And so, both were listed as Missing In Action. It was the first time that a Commander in Chief was ever so listed. Lord Hood personally hoped it would be the last. Already a new President was seated where Kiryuu Knight once was. She had already been voted in prior to Kiryuu's trip through the Portal. Somehow, Lord Hood had the feeling that Kiryuu knew he would not make it back to Earth. He wondered if it was from Technomancy, or a gut feeling. Lord Hood would never knew. Otto was especially silent because of the loss of the Master Chief. He had grown at first to hate the Spartan for destroying Halo and casting him into shame. But after working with the Spartan closely, Otto began to realize that he was an honorable warrior that even deserved recognition among not only his own people, but the Sangheili as well. Otto would see to it personally that John would receive such a recognition upon his return to his homeworld. Telek was silent during the proceedings. He had lost many friends during this war, Tekn 'Morud, Captain Jacob Keyes, Commander Miranda Keyes, Sergeant Avery J Johnson, and all of his crew that served on board the Shade of Darkness. He and Tom had their heads lowered in deep thought of their friends that they lost. Spec Ops Commander Shri 'Canthon was also there along with her second in command Ysoa 'Argam. She knew that she was going to miss Johnson especially though she wasn't sure if it was as much as Telek. Standing just a little ways from here was Detective Timothy Marx, also known as Manda. The Great Eastern Dragon was in his human form, dressed in a three-piece suit and tie with his silver badge hanging from a chain over his tie. Since he returned to Earth, he was now able to take on his human form, an ability he could not do so far away from Earth's Mana-Sphere. Not only that but two other Dragons also stood among those remembering the fallen, Great Feathered Serpent Soñador Malcho, the CEO of Omak Technologies and Magical Research and Great Western Dragon Lofwyr Goldensnout, the CEO of Saeder-Krupp. Both dragons were in their human forms as well, dressed in their best suit and tie. Malcho appeared to be a tall, mocha-skinned Latino Mexican, similar coloration and ethnic background to Tom and Lofwyr appeared to be a rather gaunt looking Caucasian German with white hair. Both of them were there to remember their long time friend Kiryuu Knight. This was the first time that either of them actually stopped bickering for a whole day and even shared stories of what they remembered of the President to Lord Hood and even Telek when they met them. Telek even suggested to Lofwyr as a joke to add Turbo Boost to the Warthogs just in case someone has to escape an exploding Halo Installation. Lofwyr actually laughed and considered the suggestion much to Malcho's surprise. He had never known Western Dragon to have a sense of humor. Telek had heard that both Malcho and Lofwyr had come across Covenant trouble while he was heading for Sanghelios. Lofwyr was stuck on Africa and even had to deal with the Flood when they came. It was an experience the Western Dragon would never forget.

Everyone stood their silence as Lord Hood gave his speech before a large, black obelisk that had engraved various events that took place during the Human-Covenant War. The obelisk itself looked like a Pelican wing. There were pictures of the people who were either killed or missing in the war and flowers and letters from these people to their loved ones dotting the edges. Telek took one of Johnson's tags and placed it beside his photograph and took the pipe that he was given that belonged to Jacob and placed it beside his photograph before Lord Hood began his speech. Though still around his neck was the other tag that belonged to Johnson. Telek kept Jacob's tattered uniform back on his super carrier, which hovered respectfully above the Portal along with the Shadow of Intent.

"For us, the storm has passed," Lord Hood said. "The war is over. But let us never forget those who journeyed into the howling dark and did not return. For their decision required courage beyond measure... sacrifice, and unshakable conviction that their fight, our fight, was elsewhere."

Telek shifted his back and straightened out his shoulders.

"As we start to rebuild, this hillside will remain barren, a memorial to heroes fallen," Lord Hood continued. "They ennobled all of us, and they shall not be forgotten."

"Present arms!" Sergeant Stacker barked as seven Marines fired their Battle Rifles into the sky in a 3-Volley Salute to those lost.

At the end, Telek, Tom, and the Arbiter approached Lord Hood.

"I remember how this war started," began Lord Hood bitterly. "What your kind did to mine. I can't forgive you. But..." He held out his hand to Otto. "You have my thanks, for standing by him to the end."

The Arbiter took it and shook it. Hood glanced up at the sky.

"I can't believe he's gone…" he breathed.

"Were it so easy," Otto said and turned around, leaving Lord Hood. He turned to Telek. "I'll be waiting for you."

"Just give me a moment," said Telek. He walked up to Lord Hood. "You know this is my resignation."

"I had a feeling," said Hood, turning around. "It's been a fun ride, you old pirate. I'm gonna miss you. I suppose your people need you more now than we do."

"If you have any problems," Telek began. "There are still some Prophets remaining and some Covenant out there. Call me and I'll come with my fleet in tow to help."

"I will," Hood said, saluting. Telek returned the salute. Then, both shook hands. "Take care of yourself, Telek. You're one hell of a guy. I'm glad to have known you and I thank you for all the support you've given us. We weren't your people, but that didn't stop you. That means something to me."

"Keep the ships," he said. "I gave them to you for you to keep, not borrow."

"Thank you," he said.

Telek turned back to the memorial and gave one final salute to the images of the friends he had lost. Then, he walked away with Tom following him.

"This is it, Tom," he said. "You can't come home with me."

"I suppose so," Tom shrugged. "Can I have your ship?"

Telek laughed: "Hell no! I promised you the Shade not the Shadow. But I do have a present. Your new assignment is to captain the Reverence-Class Cruiser the Transcending Vigilance. I know you'll make her one hell of a captain."

"I wouldn't doubt it at all," Tom said and saluted. "It was an honor serving you, Admiral."

Telek returned the salute: "Take care of yourself, Shipmaster."

He left Tom and slowly walked over to Manda who was talking to Malcho and Lofwyr. Taking out the Magnum, he handed it back to Manda.

"I suppose this is yours," Telek began.

"Was mine," said Manda. "But that thing's brought more luck to you than me. You keep it. Call it a memento of our short time together. And, after all, Jacob did give that to you."

"Thanks, gecko," Telek smiled, holstering the gun back.

"Gecko!" Malcho chuckled. "It's about time someone called him that."

"Hey, don't call me 'gecko', Squiddy," Manda grinned.

"Only Johnson is allowed to call me 'Squiddy'," said Telek. "Get back to your beat, Peacekeeper, and watch out for those drug dealers."

"I will," said Manda, holding out his hand. Telek shook it. "If you're ever in Miami, drop a line."

"Coffee and doughnuts?" Telek asked.

"It's what we cops live off of," Manda chuckled as he walked away.

Telek turned to Malcho: "I was going to mention this earlier, but I wasn't sure. I heard the Covenant stole something from you when they went to Lexington."

"Sí," Malcho nodded. "They did. The only thing that could help that Forerunner ship Dreadnaught to activate the Portal. I had it in my possession."

"He gave them the Tower of Atlantis," Lofwyr growled.

"Not by my own will," Malcho sighed in defeat.

"Like Kiryuu when he activated the Ark," said Telek. "He said he didn't do it by his own will either."

"I'm sorry," said Malcho. "It wasn't something I could control. But it was something I knew had to happen. If it didn't you wouldn't have found the solution to the Flood. Technomancy works in ways sometimes the wielder doesn't understand. Believe me, I was infuriated after I found out what I had done, amigo. But even a Great Dragon can't go up against a fleet of superior alien ships."

Telek sighed and took out the glowing blue crystal that Kiryuu had given him.

"Since both of you were his closest friends," he began. "Obviously because the three of you have lived long enough to become close, I suppose this should go to you…"

Lofwyr's steely eyes widened and his jaw became slack. Malcho just chuckled.

"Oh, no, amigo," he said. "Kiryuu gave that to you. You should keep it to remember him by."

"But…" Lofwyr protested, Malcho pushed him way, leading him further from Telek.

"Keep it, amigo," Malcho called back. "We have to go. Business, of course. Adios. Come on, niño."

Finally in defeat Lofwyr followed Malcho as they both walked away from the Memorial, entering their limousine and driving away. Telek only shrugged, popping the blue crystal back into the pouch. A green Phantom came flying down, hovering just above the memorial. It was Telek's ride back to his ship. Just as he was about to step into the gravity lift, a voice spoke to him.

"He's not really dead, you know."

Telek swung around: "Who said that?"

There was no one there.

"Ahem, down here," called the voice.

Telek glanced down, finding a human male standing before him no taller than his knee. It was that human from the illusions he had when he was under Gravemind's spell.

"I know we haven't been formally introduced," said the diminutive man wearing the peacock-blue suit. "I'm Dunkelzahn Mountainshadow."

"I've been meaning to say this," Telek began. "You're short for a dragon and you have bad tastes in clothes."

"Well, this is just my human form," said Dunkelzahn. "My real form is over 200 feet in length. As for the clothes, I love being eccentric."

"Alright," Telek sighed. "And I just realized I'm talking to a dead president from the late 21st Century. What do you want?"

"I wanted to inform you that both Kiryuu and the Master Chief aren't dead," said Dunkelzahn. He glanced up at the darkening sky. "They're out there—somewhere."

"They are listed MIA," said Telek.

"Yeah, but even Lord Hood has a feeling they're dead," the dragon glanced back. "He listed them that so that people wouldn't loose hope. But I know the truth. They really aren't dead."

Telek knelt down: "And I suppose you know where they are."

"I can point you in the right direction," he replied.

"Listen, Mr. Dead ex-President," Telek growled. "The war may have ended for Earth, but it hasn't ended for Sanghelios. I don't have time to go on some wild goose chase on some feeling you have about Kiryuu and the Chief." He sighed as Dunkelzahn lowered his head. Telek rose up from the pavement and glanced back at his ship. "My people now need me. I can't let them down. I'm sorry."

"Whatever happened to you not leaving Kiryuu or the Chief behind?" Dunkelzahn asked.

"I didn't," said Telek. "It's not my fault that the ship broke apart when it entered the Portal."

"But you do feel that you need to go after them."

"Look, I don't have time to have a philosophical discussion with a dead dragon…I've had enough of dragons…" Telek bellowed, turning back to Dunkelzahn. He noticed that the ghost was no longer there. "Good riddens. Sure hope he doesn't try to haunt my ship."

Telek finally ascended up into the Phantom and it took off for his ship. He removed the UNSC dress uniform and once more donned on the shiny, golden Zealot armor. The moment he walked on board the bridge, Telek took one pause and glanced back at the holographic image of Earth suspended over the conference table at the back of the bridge where once the discussion to whether or not to go into the Portal was made. He leaned down upon the conference table and sighed, staring longingly at Earth for a moment. He once stated to Miranda that he would not mind retiring in the American Southwest, rocking happily in an old wooden rocking chair with her coming to visit, or perhaps staying. Telek imagined there would be blankets of Native American make hanging about the log cabin he would build for himself. But now, that vision seemed nothing more than that—a vision. He sighed and leaned back away from the table and slowly walked over to his command chair. Telek looked at the arm of the chair, noticing something sitting on it. He reached out and took it in his hand. It was a black cloth folded in a triangular fold. As Telek unfolded the cloth, he realized that it was a flag, it was a flag of Calico Jack's Jolly Roger, the symbol he took on during his days of being a pirate. Telek turned it around and saw there were names inscribed in a sliver marker, each one reading the names of his human crew, those that had died, and those that had survived. There was a message written on it that said 'Never Forget'.

"Shipmaster," began Joli. "We are waiting for your orders. The Arbiter has taken command of the Shadow of Intent and he is ready to return home. He's waiting for you."

"Right, my orders…" Telek sighed as he got into the chair. He reached into his leather utility belt and brought out the strange, glowing, blue, heart-shaped crystal that Kiryuu gave him back on Halo. He noticed something even stranger about it. It pulsed and emitted a sound of a beating heart. Setting it down on the arm of the chair, he noticed that it began to take on a life of its own turning on its own. The pointy end of the heart turned towards the starboard side of the ship, telling Telek that his destination was that way. But Telek knew that Sanghelios was in another direction.

I can point you in the right direction…

Telek blinked and looked back at his two helmsmen and the rest of the bridge crew who stood there and awaited his orders. He knew that voice came from Dunkelzahn. Somehow, he had a feeling that the presence he felt inside that crystal was the dead president's spirit. Whether he liked it or not, Dunkelzahn was going with him.

"Shipmaster?" Rolu asked.

"Hard to starboard," Telek ordered.

"But, Excellency," protested Joli. "Sanghelios is the other way. That's where the fleet's going."

"Do you want to be chucked out the airlock?" Telek growled. "I said, hard to starboard, now follow my orders!"

Joli just shook his head confusingly. Telek rose out of his seat and ignited his sword, taking a defensive stance.

"You heard the order, Twiddle Dumb," Telek growled. "Hard to starboard! Now!"

"Aye, aye, sir," Joli swallowed.

"Damn it, can't find good help these days…" Telek sighed as he sat down. The Shadow of Darkness broke from the fleet, turning off in the opposite direction. Such a maneuver did not go unnoticed by Otto 'Gamam on board the Shadow of Intent.

"Telek, what are you doing?" he whispered. "Helmsman, hail the Shadow of Darkness!"

"Aye," said his helmsman. The Arbiter glanced up, seeing the face of Telek 'Heros appear on his holo-screens with a big smile on his face.

"Telek, what's the meaning of this?" Otto asked.

"Kiss my ass, Otto," Telek laughed with madness in his voice. "I quit."

"You cannot abandon your fleet, Telek!" Otto cried. "You're the Supreme Commander."

"I quit that too," Telek chuckled.

"Why?"

"Because I don't leave friends behind," Telek replied, his voice becoming serious. "Now, you're gonna let me go, or I'm gonna blow a huge hole through your ship. What's it gonna be?"

"A pirate to the end, eh?" Otto asked, a smile curling up his mandibles. Telek lifted the pirate flag up and showed it to him.

"Does this answer your question?" Telek asked.

"Do you think you can find them?" Otto asked.

"I think I've got a pretty good idea where they are," Telek replied.

"You do know what this means, right?" Otto asked. "We'll have to start hunting you down again for hijacking a Sangheili ship and kidnapping your crew. You will be an outlaw to the Sangheili Council."

"Well," Telek shrugged. "What else can I do to pass the time? I think you can handle the Jiralhanae without my help, Otto. After all, you are my teacher."

"Then, good luck, old friend," Otto said. "Start running and start running fast."

"Thanks," Telek said. "It's what I do."

Telek clicked off the communications and held out his Magnum in his hand: "Well, you heard him. We better start running before they decide to shoot at us."

"This means we're all outlaws," Joli breathed in fear. "We're all criminals."

"Welcome to the club," Telek chuckled. "Now, get going. We're first gonna make a blind jump, then we're gonna scrub this ship from stem to stern for any bugs those guys have left on it, then, we're gonna be on our way."

"You're not leaving without us, Telek!" called a voice through the comlink. Telek pressed a button and Cujo's face appeared on his screen.

"Cujo?" he asked.

"You're taking us with you," said another voice. This time it was Mitsu.

"Yeah," said another, that being Tusla. "We're going with you."

"Can I come too?" asked Wago.

"Alright," Telek shrugged. "Wouldn't be much of a pirating band without you guys. One lone ship can't do it. I've gotta have friends with me. Besides, we can always use you, Wago, as a decoy."

"Oh, fun…" Wago sighed.

Telek chuckled again.

"And me," said another voice. Telek picked up a signal coming from Earth as another Reverence-class cruiser came floating up to his ship. It was the Transcending Vigilance.

"Tom?" he asked. "What about Lord Hood?"

"Call it a secret recue mission," replied Tom. "You're not going without me, Admiral."

"The gang's all here…" Telek chuckled.

"Telek, get going, now!" called Otto. "I can only distract the other ships for so long. And Rtas is getting a bit hesitant."

"We better get going before Rtas decides to shove a torpedo up my ship's keester," Telek sighed. "Take us out, Twiddle Dee."

"Yes, Excellency," nodded Rolu.

With that, all six ships within Telek's pirating band broke away from the Fleet Shadow of Fury. Slipspace ruptures formed around each of the ships and they passed through the glowing warp pools of light some distance away from the rest of the fleet. Otto 'Gamam sat back and watched with a smile as the six ships disappeared into slipspace.

"Arbiter!" called Rtas. "We should go after them! This is treason!"

"No," Otto chuckled. "It's just Telek's way."

0

"Chief?!" called Cortana. "Can you hear me?"

The Chief shook his head as he floated around in the wreckage of the Forward until Dawn. Cortana glanced around when she heard another painful groan and the Chief turned on his helmet light. Two glowing optics stared back at the both of them as the Chief lit up the glistening, silvery body of Kiryuu Knight.

"Grandfather?" Cortana asked.

"I'm alright, Cortana," Kiryuu replied, banging on his helm. "Glad I wore this."

"Good," she sighed in relief. "I thought I lost you too."

Kiryuu watched as the Chief began to drift towards the gaping hole at the front end where the bow of the Dawn once was. He followed the Chief glancing out over a field of endless stars. Kiryuu felt a shiver go down his spine, not really from the cold, but from the thought that he may never see Earth again for some time. He turned to the Chief.

"What happened?" the Chief asked.

"I'm not sure," Cortana replied. "When Halo fired, it shook itself to pieces. Did a number on the Ark. The Portal couldn't sustain itself. We made it through just as it collapsed."

"Most of us did…" Kiryuu sighed, his head lowering. "So glad the universe's life force can sustain me, or else I'd be a cold shell by now. But that doesn't help our situation." He glanced back at the glistening stars. "I'm afraid we're stuck out here—alone…"

"We're not alone, Mr. President," said the Chief as he pushed himself back into the ship.

"Make that Mr. ex-President," Kiryuu said, following him. "Mable Turpin's no doubt in the hot seat by now. I'm just a businessman now. Nothing more."

"But we did it, Grandfather," said Cortana just as the Chief inserted her into a holotank. "Truth and the Covenant... The Flood..."

Her hologram flashed on as the Chief turned off his light.

"It's finished," she finally said.

"It's finished," the Chief agreed.

"No," Kiryuu rumbled, leaning up against the wall and curling his tail around his legs. "King Ghidorah is right. Death is not permanent. I above all people should know that. Death couldn't hold me back. If it did I wouldn't be here. There are other rings out there and there are other chances for the Flood to form his body."

"I hate to say this, Gramps," Cortana snorted. "But you're a real buzz-kill…"

Kiryuu chuckled: "Being activated for 500 years and seeing everyone around you die as you live on kind of does that to an AI." He glanced up at the ceiling. "At least I know those space travel upgrades I had installed work. My syntech would have been frozen by now."

"I'll drop a beacon," informed Cortana. "But it'll be a while before anyone finds us."

She turned and watched as the Chief came to one of the cryotubes and opened the hatch. He stepped inside.

"Years…even…" she continued slightly saddened. "I'll miss you."

"Wake me when you need me," said the Chief just as the tube closed. Cortana turned back to Kiryuu who then pulled on the glowing bundles of Array Connection cords from under the armor at the base of his neck. They flowed out like sparkling threads of silk. She could even see lines of data codes course up and down them. The tips of their ends seem to fade off to nothing. The codes themselves appear to be the same symbols the Forerunners used which now lead Cortana to conclude that Technomancy and the technology used by the Forerunners were undoubtedly the same. And because of this, somehow she knew that Kiryuu knew his own fate in this war. The Array could never lie. Kiryuu leaned down and handed a silvery, armored claw to her and her holographic avatar reached out and touched it.

"Goodnight, Cortana," he said as the many glowing, cyan and blue fibers began to wrap around him, cocooning him in a protective shell. She watched as the fibers cooled and dimmed, becoming like frosty, silvery, translucent glass, which incased and protected Kiryuu Knight. His glowing optics dimmed to blackness.

"Goodnight, Grandfather," she whispered.

0

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MGSystem Reboot system Mechagodzilla X OS. Mechagodzilla AI online. Coming out of sleep mode. Error, date and time incorrect. It is now 1245 March 10 2553. Location unknown. Starting up sequence, standby. Repairing error.

MGSystem 82 101 98 111 111 116 32 115 121 115 116 101 109 32 77 101 99 104 97 103 111 100 122 105 108 108 97 32 88 32 79 83 46 32 32 77 101 99 104 97 103 111 100 122 105 108 108 97 32 65 73 32 111 110 108 105 110 101 46 32 32 67 111 109 105 110 103 32 111 117 116 32 111 102 32 115 108 101 101 112 32 109 111 100 101 46 32 32 69 114 114 111 114 44 32 100 97 116 101 32 97 110 100 32 116 105 109 101 32 105 110 99 111 114 114 101 99 116 46 32 32 76 111 99 97 116 105 111 110 32 105 110 99 111 114 114 101 99 116 46 32 32 73 116 32 105 115 32 110 111 119 32 49 50 52 53 32 77 97 114 99 104 32 49 48 32 50 53 53 51 46 32 32 76 111 99 97 116 105 111 110 32 117 110 107 110 111 119 110 46

MGSystem New date and time 0812 September 24 2006.

MechaG What? That is incorrect.

Kiryuu's eyes slowly opened up. The sharp pain of strange lights entered his lenses and he had to adjust to them. The image he received was at first rather fuzzy but as his eyes adjusted more, he could see more clearly. He found himself in a rather familiar place, a place he had not seen in nearly 500 years. He glanced around, confused by his surroundings. He stood in this strange place in his full size. There were beams and catwalks strewn out that lead to various corridors. What looked to be some sort of command center hung out over a balcony. He knew this place, alright, this was his old hangar. Something was not right. The last he calculated, he was on the aft section of the Forward until Dawn, shutting down for ever how long it took for someone to answer the distress beacon. When he began to come on line, he noticed an error in his date and time. It did not show 2553, it showed 2006.

"Hey, pal?" called a friendly and eerily familiar voice. "You awake?"

Kiryuu's golden eyes scanned the area for the source of the voice and found it coming from a human male wearing a wrinkled up button-down shirt and a pair of blue jean pants. The human was blonde, but Kiryuu could detect the scent of peroxide. His eyes just widened when he realized who that was.

"Will?" he breathed. It was impossible, his programmer, the creator of his AI, Will Penter had been dead since 2045. How could he be alive now?

"You okay up there, Kiryuu?" Will asked. "You look like you just saw a ghost."

"Is that damned, arrogant-assed Tonka Toy up and running yet?" barked another voice that was also just as familiar. For one thing, it was his own voice, or rather the man who's voice was sampled from to create Kiryuu's voice. It was Gordon Knight himself.

"G-Gordon?" Kiryuu blinked again, confused and now becoming rather frightened. None of this made sense to him.

"Yeah, Gordon," replied Will. "He's up and running. He just seems a bit buggy today. Maybe I should run some scans on his system."

"Uh," Kiryuu regained his composure. "There is no need for that, Will. I just had a bad dream, that's all. I might have forgotten to dump some memory prior to shutdown last night. I'll just run some internal scans myself." What is going on?

"Okay, pal," Will shrugged. "Well, I need to get a coffee. I'll be back in a few. Join me, Gordon?"

"Sure," Gordon shrugged.

"And maybe afterwards we can play some X-Xbox, okay, pal?" asked Will. "How about your favorite game Halo, eh?"

Halo? "Maybe later, Will," replied Kiryuu. He took note of the stuttering that Will presented when he said the word 'Xbox'. Not only that, but when the stuttering happened, Kiryuu thought he saw the whole room flash some sort of code. Kiryuu ran the record back to when the stuttering happened and slowed the image down. The code flashed before him.

CTN0452-9 R3JhbmRmYXRoZXIsIGhlbHAgdXMh

Kiryuu ran through the line of code and decrypted it.

CTN0452-9 Grandfather, help us!

Cortana? Kiryuu thought. The scene flashed again, blue codes scrolled down in front of his HUD display, and then the codes slowly faded to a strange, sickly green color. Kiryuu blinked again, seeing a NAV point pointing down to one of the rafters near his left claw. He followed it with his eyes and found two Utah Foundation workers standing there and looking up at them. At first, they just looked like ordinary Foundation workers, until Kiryuu zoomed in on them. One of the workers looked like a woman that glowed with blue-white light and code scrolling up and down her body. The other worker, a bit taller than the woman, was a man dressed in familiar green armor and helmet. The woman reached out for Kiryuu, mouthing something to him, but he could not hear her voice. She looked like she was shouting. The image he was receiving in his optics again flashed and became distorted. Suddenly everything went black.

M0KG-GM I am a monument to all your sins…