Trials of the Ancients
Much like the Halos, the Shield Installations were worlds which would defy all logic. They were literally worlds that existed within worlds, created on the inside layer of vast Dyson Spheres, though the outer layer of Onyx was long gone. All around and above the team, as they made their way carefully through a thick forest of ancient trees, vast stretches of land and water were visible, surrounding them and giving the impression of a world turned inside-out. In the centre of the vast cavity was a small sun, illuminating every surface in the installation. Of the current Serenity crew, only Alan and Alistair had been inside a Shield Installation before, and he could see that Dorva and Nicole were struggling to contain their shock and awe at what they were seeing. It was indeed a spectacular sight for those not used to it, but all Alan could think about were Megellan's words. He couldn't help peering into every shadow, into every tree and bush, hoping against hope that something wasn't waiting to spring out of the shadows.
As the group made their way through the jungle, fallen branches and grass crunching under their feet, it occurred to Alan that he had not heard a single sound that the group themselves hadn't made. There were no sounds of life, no animals or insects or anything that indicated any activity, not even so much as a breeze. In spite of all the plants around them, and the fact that the air in the installation was breathe-able, the whole place seemed to be dead. A great sense of foreboding filled Alan, and made him wonder if whatever nightmare Megellan had mentioned had anything to do with this.
"Any luck, Nicole?" he asked. The Spartan had kept one eye on her commlink, but she just shook her head.
"No, Captain," she said. "No sign of any kind of transmission. It's like they really don't want to be found."
"Or they don't want something to find them..." Megellan muttered, looking very uneasy.
"Keep trying," said Alan to Nicole. "I don't want to stay here any longer than is necessary."
They were following a trail where the grass and bushes were not as thick as elsewhere in the forest, winding through the trees like a natural path that had been worn down over time. After several more minutes of marching in the gaunt quiet, they found that the path came to a rest at the side of a great gorge, thousands of feet deep through which a river ran at the very bottom. Looking to either side of him, Alan saw that it had to stretch for miles. To try to walk around it would take days. It was then that he noticed a small control panel close to where he was standing, of a similar design to those on the Halos.
"Nicole..." he began, but the Spartan seemed to have noticed the control panel too, as she stepped in front of him.
"Way ahead of you, Captain," she said, pushing her hand against the panel. All at once a long path made of nothing but pure light formed, spanning the width of the chasm. It was the same sort of blue hard-light that the platform had been made of back in Megellan's cell, as when Alan put his foot on it to test it it held firm, as if he was standing on solid ground. He motioned for the others to follow him as he led the way across the bridge, not daring to look down.
They were about halfway across the bridge, when suddenly what looked like small orange sparks appeared in mid-air on the other side of the gorge. Out of these sparks streams of orange light gushed out, merging together and forming humanoid figures apparently out of thin air. Within a mere second the figures were now stood on the far side of the bridge, blocking the group's exit. They were bipedal figures with two sets of arms; artificial arms growing out of each shoulder made of several segments held in place by an energy field, and smaller arms below the shoulders with small, five-fingered hands which were more organic-looking and physically attached to the body. Their appearance resembled knights wearing armour, and their heads were covered by helmets, with glowing eyes and jaws that seemed to be fixed in a permanent, unnerving grimace, showing two rows of teeth. Their bodies were covered in patterns of light with a fiery glow about their heads. Each carried a gun in one hand and a hard-light sword in the other, and before Alan could fully process what he was seeing the figures raised their guns and opened fire on the group, streaks of orange energy shooting dangerously close to them.
"Get down!" Alan yelled, and he, Dorva and Nicole flattened themselves against the blue hard-light, the shots whizzing past them. As he raised his head and drew his gun to return fire, he saw that the shots were no longer reaching them. A wall made of a cyan light resembling a glowing spider's web had appeared in front of the group. Looking behind him, he saw that Megellan had taken out his Technomantic cords and was forming the shield, his face contorted in concentration. A similar shield had been formed behind the group, deflecting the shots coming from more of the bipeds that had appeared at the point they entered the area from.
"Can you keep this up?" shouted Alan to Megellan.
"For as long as is necessary," replied Megellan, though his attempts to smile looked more like a pained grimace.
"Then let's get out of here fast!" Alan called, getting back to his feet. He had a very bad feeling about Megellan pushing himself so hard, considering what he had just done. Nevertheless, as soon as everyone was on their feet Megellan advanced forward, keeping the shields up while the group returned fire. The shielding on these figures was strong and they proved to be immensely agile, darting all over the place. They even had the annoying habit of suddenly disappearing and then reappearing elsewhere. They kept trying to flank the group, but mercifully the shields held firm. As each of these 'knights' was cut down by gunfire they dissolved, breaking down into cube-like shapes of orange light before disappearing.
Quickly the group managed to get to the other side of the ravine, and it was then that they saw several smaller drones flying overhead. The small curved bodies were flanked by two large discs on either side, and there did not seem to be anything holding all of the different segments together. Some of them swooped overhead, opening fire on the group, while others hovered above the soldiers, forming hard-light shields in front of them that caused the group's bullets to just bounce off them.
"Take down those drones!" shouted Alan, struggling to make himself heard above the sounds of gunfire. The others seemed to get the message, however, as soon Dorva and Nicole had shot down several of the drones, each blasting apart as they were taken down. Down a steep hill lined with trees the group ran, shooting at the strange mechanoids that suddenly appeared and shot at them from all sides. Megellan devoted his energies to maintaining the shield, slowing down to allow the others to aim with greater accuracy. Luckily for the group it seemed that the soldiers could not teleport inside the shield. After the initial panic of facing these new enemies, the group managed to calm themselves down enough to become more proficient at killing them, though the big concern was that they would run out of ammunition before the attackers gave up. Finally, as the group reached the bottom of the hill, where a low building that resembled a bunker was seen, no more of the strange creatures appeared to challenge them. The group breathed a collective sigh of relief, Nicole and Dorva holstering their still-smoking guns while Megellan retracted the cords, holding a claw up to his head.
"You alright?" Alan asked the Precursor.
"I'm fine," replied Megellan. "Just a headache. I'm still feeling a little fragile after pulling this world into reality."
Alan looked around him apprehensively, now expecting any number of those mechanoid-looking soldiers to suddenly teleport in and start shooting again. He looked over towards the door of the bunker.
"Let's see what's in here," he said. "Maybe there's something in there that can help against those... things."
Nicole walked over to the small control panel beside the door and waved her hand over it. However, unlike the other control panels, this one did not respond. She waved over it again, tapped on it, even beat it with her fist, but there was no response.
"What's wrong?" asked Alan.
"I don't know..." replied Nicole, shaking her head. "These things are supposed to react to humans, right? So why isn't this one working?" Alan looked over at Megellan, who was looking at the bunker, the eyes flashing once again.
"Somebody has hacked the security systems of this bunker," he said. "They have done everything in their power to render this place undetectable. No outgoing transmissions, no heat emissions to detect life-signs through infra-red, even the door controls have been sabotaged... I would say that this place is empty, but these security measures would suggest otherwise."
"Any way we can get past them?" asked Alan.
"I could disable them long enough for us to get inside," said Megellan. "It is likely that these measures are in place to prevent the creatures from finding whoever is in here. The instant the fields go down they will doubtless detect any signatures coming from inside." When he saw the concerned look on Alan's face he added, "It will certainly be easier than deflecting rifle fire."
"Okay," said Alan. "Get us in there."
Megellan nodded, and sent the cords over to the control panel. Within seconds there was a beeping noise, and the heavy doors slid open, revealing a dimly-lit chamber beyond. The group quickly stepped inside, the last one being Megellan, who quickly shut the door behind him as strange noises could be heard coming from outside.
The group took this moment to catch their breath, trying to relax after the intensity of the fight and the tension of any further attacks. However, they had to raise their weapons again as the sound of heavy footsteps came charging towards them. The bunker consisted of a single room with a ramp leading downwards at the other end, but as the group raised their weapons several figures came up the ramp, drawing assault rifles and pointing them right at the group.
"Drop the weapons!" one of them barked with a female voice, as four soldiers in total lined up in front of them, raising their rifles. It took Alan a moment to realise that all of them were wearing green MJOLNIR armour; the standard-issue combat wear for a certain breed of super-soldier back in the UNSC.
"Spartans..." he said, looking over at Nicole.
"I wonder if they're Dr. Halsey's entourage," said Nicole, lowering her rifle to the floor. "Better do as they say, Captain. Spartan's aren't known for giving idle threats."
"I'll take your word for it," replied Alan, turning to Dorva. "Weapons down." With that, he and Dorva lowered their own weapons to the ground. Two of the Spartans gathered up the dropped guns while the others kept their rifles trained on the intruders, their expressions unseen behind the opaque visors of their helmets. Nicole pulled off her own helmet, peering at the Spartan who had commanded them earlier. Alan followed her eyes, and saw that she was looking at a small emblem on the chest plate that resembled a rabbit.
"Kelly?" asked Nicole, her eyes widening.
"You know her?" asked Alan, as he removed his own helm. As he did so, he saw the Spartans' grip on their rifles tighten out of the corner of his eye.
"Only by reputation," replied Nicole. "Kelly-087 was nicknamed 'Rabbit' by her squad, because she used herself as quick bait to lure enemy soldiers into traps. She was said to be the fastest Spartan alive!" She spoke with a tone of the upmost awe in her voice. "We're standing before a UNSC legend here, Captain."
"So we're not entirely forgotten by the outside world," an older-sounding female voice said from further down the ramp. More footsteps were heard, then the voice's owner appeared. She was an older woman with short white hair, wearing the white lab coat of a UNSC science officer. In spite of the signs of aging on her face she held an impressive figure with authority in her stride. As she reached the top of the ramp and stood beside the Spartan with the rabbit insignia, she regarded the group with a hard look from her grey eyes. With a start, it occurred to Alan that the woman looked like how he imagined the UNSC AI known as Cortana might look if she aged about twenty years, but there was none of the warmth of Cortana to this woman. She looked much colder and harder, with even the voice having a frosty edge to it. With a start, Alan realised he could take a good guess as to who was now standing before them.
"A Spartan," Dr. Catherine Halsey said, looking at each group member in turn. "An Elite." She paused when she looked at Alan and Megellan, her brow furrowed. "I'm not even sure what to call the two of you. Tell me who you all are and why you are here, and my Spartans may not need to shoot you."
0
Inside it, the Collector Homeworld looked like a larger-scale version of the Collector Ship. The walls were still covered in the same brown chitin, with the same fungus-like lights hanging overhead, and whatever surfaces were not covered in chitin consisted of the same dark metal as the ship. The tunnels were larger, and gaping chasms could be seen on either side of the large paths. A murky mist seemed to cling to every surface, and the Collectors swarmed from all sides, seeming to jump out of every wall and drop down from the incredibly high ceiling. There was no sign of any art, no indication that the Collectors did anything creative. Shepard recalled a discussion she had with Mordin prior to the attack on the Heretic station, when she had learned that he was a keen follower of the works of Gilbert and Sullivan; he theorised that everything about the Collectors, even their very souls, had been replaced by technology. There was nothing about the Forerunners that was left, certainly not any inclination towards culture or a desire to express themselves or ask questions about the way they perceived the universe. All of that was gone, with no hope of salvation; all that remained were the machines that carried out King Ghidorah's orders without question.
She, Grunt and Thane had gunned down countless waves of Collector drones as they had fought their way through the dimly-lit passages, stopping every now and then to open the gates in the ventilation shaft so that Tali could proceed and avoid getting cooked. Now they had reached the heavy doors that separated them from the central area. The last she had heard, Garrus' team had reached the other set of doors and were pinned down by Collectors, waiting on Tali to get the doors open. Grunt was in his element, cutting down Collectors three at a time with the huge Claymore shotgun that he carried, while Thane sent bullets through the heads of distant drones with his rifle as if he was psychically guiding each bullet to their goal.
"We're in position!" barked Shepard into her commlink. "Get this door open now!" A few seconds passed, as she and her companions dived for cover, bracing themselves for powerful shots from the flame-covered Collector, the one possessed by King Ghidorah himself.
"Something's wrong!" Tali's voice answered. "I can't get the door open!"
Shepard mentally read every prayer that she had ever heard. As if in answer, the door suddenly slid open a fraction, enough for her, Thane and Grunt to slip inside. Tali was kneeled beside the door, her fingers frantically flying over the holographic controls.
"Here they come!" shouted Shepard as she fired behind her, cutting down more Collector drones. More of them were gathering, preparing to charge the door. Behind Shepard, Garrus directed the others towards the door; Tali had been able to open their door first and close it.
"Suppressing fire!" the Turian barked, as the others lined up in front of him, weapons at the ready. "Don't let anyone through!"
All ten members of the squad fired simultaneously, decimating the wave of drones before them. After a few seconds of concentrated fire, the door slammed shut. Tali gasped, trying to stop herself from shaking.
"Nice one, Tali," said Shepard, kneeling over to catch her breath. "I knew you wouldn't let me down." Tali just nodded as she made sure the door was locked good and tight before pulling herself to her feet.
"Shepard," said Miranda, looking behind the group to the chamber beyond. "You need to see this!"
The others turned to look where Miranda was facing, and before them they saw the central chamber. It was a vast space, with Collector pods lining the wall. Above them they saw huge pipes stretching down the length of the cavern before them. Most of the Collector pods were at floor level, and peering inside the team saw that they all contained the missing Normandy crew, unconscious and apparently oblivious to the outside world. The closest tube contained a dark-haired woman who was not one of the crew.
"Looks like one of the missing colonists," said Miranda. Unbeknownst to any of the group, the woman was Lilith from the Horizon colony. While the others went to inspect the other pods, Shepard moved closer to Lilith's pod. The woman stirred as a sickly-looking gas was pumped into the pod. Red blotches began to appear on her skin, and her eyes snapped open.
"Oh God!" Shepard exclaimed. "She's still alive!"
Lilith panicked and began beating her fists against the clear front of the pod, the blotches turning darker and covering more of her skin, until they covered her whole body and became as red as blood. As she continued to beat the glass in vain, her flesh began to stick to it. Shepard tried to pull the pod open, but it was no use, and she came to the horrifying realisation that the woman was being eaten alive! A horrific scream came from inside the pod, but was quickly silenced, as the unfortunate victim seemed to disintegrate before Shepard's appalled eyes, every piece of her – clothes, flesh, even bone and hair – dissolving into a thick grey paste.
"Get them out of there!" Shepard yelled to her strike team, pointing at the stricken Normandy crew. "Hurry!"
The others didn't hesitate, and set to on breaking open the pods. Some were able to be pulled open through sheer force, while others had the glass fronts smashed. It was frantic, back-breaking work, especially as there was no telling when the mist would be pumped into the pods and any of them would be destroyed. Thankfully, the pods quickly yielded, thanks in no small part to the combined Technomancy of Miranda and Jacob, and each member of the crew was released, dazed and fearful. The last to be released was Dr. Chakwas, who was pulled out by Shepard after Miranda had managed to pull the pod open.
"Dr. Chakwas!" called Shepard, as she laid the aged doctor on the ground beside the rest of the recovering crew. "Are you okay?!" Chakwas stirred, and she raised her chest off the ground, as all around her the rest of the crew hobbled to their feet, aided by the strike team.
"Shepard?" she said, her eyes widening as she saw her commanding officer. "You... You came for us."
"No-one gets left behind," said Shepard firmly, reaching out a hand and pulling Chakwas to her feet.
"Thank God you got here in time," gasped Kelly Chambers, looking on the verge of tears. "A few more seconds, and... I don't even want to think about it."
"The colonists were... processed," said Dr. Chakwas, clutching her side and looking up at the pipes. "That gas contains swarms of little robots, and they..." She paused, as if hardly daring to believe her own words. "They melted their bodies into grey liquid and pumped it through these tubes."
"Why are they doing this?" asked Shepard, shaking her head. "What are they doing with our genetic material?"
"I don't know," replied Chakwas, her eyes closed. "I'm just glad you got here before the same thing happened to us."
"So are we," said Miranda, standing beside Shepard and looking around the rest of the group. "But we still have a job to do. We've done well so far. Let's hope we can finish the job."
"Joker?" said Shepard into her commlink. "Can you get a fix on our position?"
"Roger that, Commander," replied Joker. "All those tubes lead into the main control room right above you. The route is blocked by a security door, but there's another chamber that runs parallel to the one you're in."
"I cannot recommend that," EDI chimed in. "Thermal emissions suggest the chamber is overrun with Seeker Swarms. Mordin's countermeasure cannot protect you against so many at once."
"Conventional weapons would be useless," said Shepard. "They'd tear us apart."
"Maybe not," Samara suddenly said. "I might be able to generate a biotic field to keep them at bay. I won't be able to protect all of us, but I could get a small team through if they stayed close."
"Right," said Shepard, nodding. "Samara and I will take Jacob and Legion through the swarms."
Both Jacob and Legion readied their weapons and stood forward, Jacob simply saluting while Legion gave a robotic "Acknowledged."
"The rest of you," said Shepard, turning back to the others, "go with Garrus and provide a diversion by going through the main passage. We'll open the security doors from the other side and meet you there."
"We'll keep 'em busy, Shepard," nodded Garrus. "Just sneak through the back as quickly as you can."
"What about me and the rest of the crew, Shepard?" asked Chakwas. "We're in no shape to fight."
"Commander?" Joker suddenly cut in. "We have enough systems back online to do a pickup, but we'd need to land back from your position."
"We can't afford to go back, Shepard!" said Miranda, shaking her head. "Not now!"
"They'll never make it without help," replied Shepard.
"Joker," Mordin suddenly cut in, speaking into his Omni-Tool. "Need location of landing zone. Will meet you there." Apparently the Salarian had just volunteered himself to be the crew's escort, and Shepard didn't feel that there was any time to argue. She knew she had to trust Mordin to get the rest of the crew back to safety.
"We all have our assignements," barked Shepard, as everyone organised themselves into their various teams. "Let's move out!" Trying to steady her nerves again, she led Samara, Jacob and Legion towards the next passage, watching Garrus lead the others another way and Mordin leading the crew back the way they had come. She gripped the barrel of her rifle tightly, knowing that they had even more reason to stop the Collectors in their tracks, and that the mission was getting more dangerous by the minute.
0
After the Serenity crew had made introductions and explained what they were doing there, Dr. Halsey had not changed her expression. She still maintained a frosty look at the group, even as she ordered the Spartan soldiers to stand down and led the group down into the bunker. She had not made any indication of surprise or disbelief at the group's account. Alan was sure that she was doing it to keep the group on their toes and ensure that they were never comfortable. After everything he had heard about Dr. Halsey, Alan's opinion of her wasn't in any way raised by this.
The bunker was littered with UNSC terminals and other equipment, arranged to form a hastily-made camp, complete with weapon racks and computer consoles with holographic displays. One of the displays showed a holographic map of the Shield Installation. The area was dimly-lit, and there did not seem to be any obvious beds; the camp was designed for functionality rather than comfort. Manning some of the consoles were three large bulbous creatures that seemed to radiate a soft violet light of their own.
"What the hell are those?!" whispered Nicole, peering at them with wide eyes.
"Huragoks," replied Alan. "Don't worry; they're harmless." He recognised Huragoks, as one known as Swifty served on the Shadow of Darkness as the chief engineer. They did not speak, only whistled, but their capability with machinery and technology was second to none. Also in the room was a man in military fatigues, with balding silver hair, blue eyes and scars running from his brow to his chiselled chin. He was hunched over one of the consoles where one of the Huragok was stationed.
"So even though we got the shields back in place," he was saying in a gruff tone, "that few seconds would be enough for them to get a lock on us?" The Huragok gave a sad-sounding whistle and nodded.
"Damnit..." the man growled, before turning away and walking up to Halsey. "Looks like we'd better start the evacuation. No doubt the Didact's already picked up our trail and is on his way here."
"You've got these clowns to thank for that," said Halsey, nudging her thumb back towards the Serenity crew. "They're the ones who tore down our barriers to get inside."
"Oh yeah?" the soldier replied, looking at the team for the briefest of moments. "And who the hell are they supposed to be? This the UNSC's idea of a cavalry?"
"They say that they're part of the Fleet Shadow of Fury," said Halsey. "If that's true, then Telek 'Heros' standards have certainly slipped if he's allowing rabble such as this to serve under his command. They say they came here under orders from Kiryuu Knight to find us, but had a run-in with the Prometheans outside. I don't hold much hope for this rescue mission if this is how it has started."
"Hey!" bellowed Alan, now looking very indignant. "We're standing right here!" He began to step towards the doctor, but the Spartan known as Kelly stomped in front of him and held him firm.
"That's close enough, Fright Features," she said firmly, pushing against Alan with a lot of force. The mutant staggered back, looking past Kelly to focus on the back of Halsey's head, looking as if he was looking for a good place to stick a knife in it.
"Tell me what the fuck's going on!" shouted Alan, losing his temper. "What were those fucking things that attacked us, what the fuck is a Didact, and how the fuck did this place end up in slipspace?!"
"In case it wasn't abundantly clear, Alan Tyler," replied Dr. Halsey in a venomous tone, spinning around on her heel to glare at him, "we have no time to answer questions. Thanks to you bunglers we now have to evacuate this base before-"
"Knock it off, Halsey," the soldier cut in gruffly, frowning at Halsey. "They weren't to know about this place, or the Prometheans. Now that they're here, we're just gonna have to make the best of it, and we owe 'em some form of explanation." He turned to look at the Serenity crew. "I'm Senior Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez of the UNSC. You've already met Dr. Catherine Halsey and Blue Team." He indicated Halsey and the Spartans who were unresponsive, but Nicole let out a small gasp.
"John-117's old unit?!" she said in utter awe. "Everyone thought they were all dead!"
"We've had losses along the way," replied Mendez, shaking his head, "but we've kept the name alive all this time in the honour of those who've died. Kelly's team, made up of Spartan-IIs and Spartan-IIIs, is probably the finest team of Spartans I have ever seen."
"Proud to be here with you, sir," said Kelly, as she and the other Spartans saluted Mendez.
"Have your team pack up all the gear that they can and prime what we can't take to blow," said Mendez, returning a salute. "We'll be bugging out soon." As Kelly and her team moved over to begin packing equipment away, the veteran returned a salute before turning back to Alan, who was now scratching his chin.
"Spartan-IIs and IIIs?" the mutant asked. "The Spartan program's up to the Spartan-IV mark now. How long have you been stuck here?"
"Must be about two years now," replied Mendez. "By our reckoning, at least. We were first pulled here when the Sentinels that made up Onyx's outer surface woke up and tore the whole planet apart. Last I heard we were still trying to stop the Covenant from blowing the whole galaxy to Kingdom Come." He peered over at Dorva, whose eyes had closed and his head hung; the guilt of the crimes they had committed during the Covenant War stayed with most Sangheili to this day, and with Dorva more than most.
"That must have been about seven years ago, by our count," said Alan, rubbing the back of his head. "The distortions must have affected how time works here. A lot's changed since you arrived here, mate."
"You can tell me all about it when we get out of here," said Mendez. "Right now, all that matters is what's relevant to our current situation. You asked us what the Prometheans are, and who the Didact is. I think that one's best left to Dr. Halsey to answer."
"From what we have been able to learn from the archives on this installation," said Halsey, "they are a combination of the digital and the organic. The Forerunners discovered what they believed was the key to immortality; by using a device called the Composer, they found a way to convert organic matter into digital data. However, it didn't work as they had hoped; the stored personalities fragmented and attempts to restore their physical forms failed."
"The arrogance of the Usurpers will never cease to amaze me," muttered Megellan. Alan had not told Halsey exactly what Megellan was; at this point, he wanted to avoid any more awkward questions, though Halsey was bound to notice the signs of Technomancy on the Precursor.
"As for the Didact," continued Halsey, apparently not hearing Megellan, "the data suggests that he was the commander of the entire Forerunner military. He came up with the idea of using the Prometheans to fight the Flood, as they had no organic matter to consume. To this end, he actually used the Composer on a human population that had been moved to protect them from the firing of the Halos, turning them into Prometheans under his command."
"Wait, wait..." Alan interrupted, waving his hands and then pointing up towards the door. "Are you telling me that those things out there were human?!"
"Yes, Tyler," said Halsey, folding her arms. "That's exactly what I'm telling you. Eventually a Forerunner scientist called Keisad Ishan learned what he had done and managed to imprison him here, reprogramming his Promethean army to guard his prison. The Composer was hidden away on Halo 03." With a start, Alan recognised the name 'Keisad Ishan'; it was the name of the Forerunner that the Monitor known as Vigil had its personality imprints based on, and also one of the scientists who had worked to sabotage the Citadel and create the Conduit. If it had not been for their efforts, the Reapers would have been able to gain total control of the Relay network and resume their Cycle of Extinction long ago. Alan looked over at Megellan, who looked deep in thought. He assumed it was rare to hear of a Forerunner who apparently sympathised with Humanity. There was a great deal that Dr. Halsey and her group didn't know, but bringing them up to speed would have to wait.
"That's how it was until a few weeks ago," said Mendez. He looked over to one of the Spartans, who oddly enough seemed smaller than the others. "Lucy there could tell you all about what happened." At this Lucy froze, and a sigh could be heard coming from her as she shook her head and then carried on with preparing her assault rifle.
"She followed what she thought was a signal from normal space," said Halsey, frowning. "She figured it would lead her to a transmission array that we could use to get a message to the UNSC. It led right to the Didact's Cryptum, which opened when Lucy tried to use the controls on it. He was in turn able to bring the Prometheans back under his control."
"To be fair," Mendez cut in, "she redeemed herself by finding those Huragoks. They helped us set up our defence systems to keep us off the Didact's radar. Neither he nor the Prometheans could detect us while the shields were up. From what Lucy told us, he's got a God complex and a chip on his shoulder the size of the Orion Arm. He hates humans, and wants us all either dead or part of his robot army. We figure he's gonna try to get off Onyx and find the Composer, and if he manages that then we're all in serious trouble."
"Now thanks to your efforts," Halsey chimed in with a glare, "we'll be the first ones on the list. He now knows where we are, and I suspect it won't be long until he gets here and kills us all. He's a Technomantic Master, and Lucy is very lucky to even be alive."
"Well excuse me," Alan retorted, "but we didn't exactly have time to knock on the door and ask you to let us in."
"We're ready to go here, sir," Kelly interrupted, her team and the Huragoks now laden with bundles containing the equipment they could spare. "Scuttle charges are set with a ten minute countdown."
All of a sudden there was a violent crash coming from above the group, and everyone looked upwards, their faces very grave. The Spartans raised their weapons to the ceiling, where already the sounds of heavy footsteps could be heard. Mendez pointed to a nearby table, where the Serenity crew's weapons had been placed, and nodded. It was clear that he saw no choice but to let them wander around armed, though something in his expression told Alan that soon it wouldn't matter.
"Is there a back door to this place?" Alan said in a whisper as he grabbed his Technomantic weaponry before handing the rest of the guns to Dorva and Nicole. Mendez could only briefly nod, and as he did so large cracks appeared in the ceiling, and the whole thing suddenly seemed to dissolve, the group getting showered by debris. As everyone gasped for air, every surface around them covered in a layer of dust, a deep, cold, hissing voice could be heard that seemed to resound all around them, as fine teal cords began to descend from the room above.
"So fades the great harvest of my betrayer. Keisad Ishan left little to chance, turning my own guardians – my own world – against me. But what hubris to believe that he could protect his pets from me forever." The cords crept closer to each person, until one of them actually touched Dorva, causing him almost to shout out loud. "If you haven't mastered even these primitives, then Humanity has not attained the Mantle. Your ascendance may yet be prevented."
It was then that the speaker floated down into the camp, just as the cords suddenly reached out and grabbed everyone. As much as they struggled they could not break free from the ghostly Technomantic cords. As Alan raised his head, he saw that the figure was wearing ornate silver combat armour, lined with fiery red lights. A silver helmet with red eye-lights peeled itself back, revealing a pale face with no hair, snake-like nostrils where a nose should be, and long fangs that made him somewhat resemble a vampire. He bore the markings of being connected to the Array; the triangular tattoos on his cheeks and a cyan glow masking his true eye colour. As he looked around at each of the human faces, his face was a perfect mask of disgust and contempt. Alan realised that this could only be the Didact.
"Time was once your ally, humans," the Didact continued, now peering deeply into Halsey's eyes as she was lifted off her feet, struggling against her bonds, suddenly crying out in pain as if something was being jabbed into her. "But now it has abandoned you. The Forerunners have returned. This tomb is now yours."
0
It was a close call. Shepard's team had barely made it through the winding passages, infested with Seeker Swarms. They had tried their hardest to pierce Samara's biotic shielding with no success, and they had been attacked every step of the way by drones and Husks. Samara herself had been on the verge of collapse, her mind taxed to its limits trying to maintain the shield. Fortunately her resolve had held, and she had detonated her biotic bubble when all four team members had reached the exit, causing the Seekers and all surviving drones to be blasted away, their bodies splashed to the four winds. By the time they regrouped, the door was already sealed and Shepard's team was safe.
The rest of the squad were saved too, for Legion had succeeded in hacking the door controls long enough for them to get through to safety, sealing the security door behind them. There had been a moment of panic when Garrus had stumbled against the wall, clutching his side, but thankfully that had been a false alarm; he was just catching his breath and clutching a stitch in his side. He recovered quickly and went to join the others in the centre of the chamber. This appeared to be a large antechamber before the main control room, with a raised podium that Shepard recognised as one of the hexagon-shaped floating platforms, similar in design to the ones in the Collector ship. Her squad would be safe here for the time-being; while they had a moment to breathe, she decided to check on the rest of the Normandy crew.
"Joker," she said into her commlink, "are you at the rendezvous point?"
"I'm here, Commander," said Joker. "Mordin just showed up with Chakwas and the rest of the crew. No casualties."
"Excellent," said Miranda, who was listening in. "Now let's make it count. EDI, what's our next step?"
"There should be some nearby platforms that will take you to the main control console," was EDI's reply. "From there you can overload the system and destroy the base."
"Uh, Commander?" Joker chimed in. "You got a problem. Hostiles massing just outside the door. Won't be long until they bust through."
Shepard climbed onto the raised platform, looking back at the rest of the group. They had survived this long, but she knew that if they all went into the central control room the Collectors would overwhelm them. They had to hold them here, buy a smaller group enough time to overload the station's systems.
"A rearguard could defend this position and keep the Collectors from overwhelming us," she said. "Miranda and Tali will go with me. The rest of you bunker down and keep the Collectors off our backs." She figured that she would not need brute strength to overload the systems; Tali's expertise and Miranda's Technomancy would suffice. Experienced fighters like Garrus and Grunt would be better suited to helping stave off the overwhelming numbers the rearguard would doubtless face.
"Anything you want to say before we do this?" asked Miranda, as she prepared her pistol. Shepard looked down at the rest of the group, feeling everyone's eyes on her. There was a great deal of expectation on their faces; clearly they were all looking to her to achieve the impossible, and they all knew the stakes.
"The Collectors, the Reapers..." Shepard began. "They're not a threat to us; they're a threat to everything and everyone. Those are the lives we're fighting for. That's the scale." She paced in front of everyone, peering into each face with an expression of pride. Below her everyone looked resolute; she even saw Grunt beating his fist into his palm, clearly ready for the fight.
"It's been a long journey," she continued, "and no-one's coming out without scars. But it all comes down to this moment. We win or lose it all in the next few minutes. Make me proud." She stopped and looked around at everyone, her arms folded and with fire in her eyes. "Make yourselves proud."
"Well said," said Miranda, smiling. "Let's go finish this."
It was then that the platform began to move, down a long and winding tunnel, following the large tubes that Shepard had seen earlier. Some of the walls were open, revealing the accretion disk outside, shining brightly in the dust. More platforms appeared with more Collectors riding on them, but they were cut down quickly by a combination of gunfire and Technomantic attacks. When the waves of drones desisted, Shepard looked around her, noticing that the number of tubes was increasing the further down the tunnel they floated. Clearly, they were getting close.
"This is it," she said. "All the tubes lead to this spot. EDI, what can you tell us? What are they doing?"
"The tubes are feeding into some kind of super-structure," said EDI. "It's emitting both organic and non-organic energy signatures. Given these readings, it must be massive." The platform reached the end of the tunnel, which opened out into a gigantic chamber, dimly lit with a blue light. Much of the chamber was in darkness, as a shadow from a colossal object fell over a bunch of connected floating platforms. As the platform flew closer, Shepard's eyes widened when she saw exactly what the object was.
"Shepard," EDI continued, her tone becoming very grave, "if my calculations are correct, the super-structure... is a Reaper."
"Not just any Reaper..." Shepard breathed, for as the platform docked the group now got a good look at what the super-structure looked like. "A Human Reaper."
"Precisely," finished EDI.
The structure looked like the top half of a gigantic metal skeleton, supported from the ceiling by huge metal pipes connecting into its shoulders. It was clearly incomplete, as only the skull, the arms and part of the chest were present, with the core visible inside an incomplete ribcage and the spinal column exposed. The complex circuitry inside glowed with a blue light, every piston and joint visible. Shepard could now guess as to what the Collectors were doing with humans, and it made her sick to think of how they were constructing this mockery of human life.
"Keelah..." Tali gasped. She raised her Omni-Tool and swept it in front of her; apparently she was now recording everything that was going on in front of her.
"It appears that the Collectors have processed tens of thousands of humans," said EDI, a tone of disgust now audible underneath her efforts to remain analytical. "Significantly more will be required to complete the Reaper."
"How many more are we talking here?" asked Miranda, looking mortified.
"Millions," breathed EDI. "Perhaps more. Impossible to know for certain. This Reaper appears to be in a very early stage of development; an embryo, in human terms."
"So it's not alive yet?" asked Shepard. "We can still stop it from being... created?"
"The process can be stopped," said EDI, "but it is unclear exactly how much it has developed. I cannot, for example, tell you if it has awareness."
"They're building it to look like a human," said Tali, shaking her head. "Why? Sovereign looked nothing like this, and was much bigger."
"It appears that a Reaper's shape is based upon the species used to create it," mused EDI. "The cuttlefish appearance we associate with Reapers may in fact be a kind of protective shell, hiding the true Reaper inside. If that is true, then the relationship between the Reaper and the shell is symbiotic."
"Reapers are machines," said Shepard. "Why do they need humans at all?"
"Incorrect," said EDI. "Reapers are sapient constructs; a hybrid of organic and inorganic material. The exact construction methods are unclear, but it seems probable that the Reapers absorb the essence of a species, utilising it in their own reproduction process."
"That still doesn't explain what King Ghidorah hopes to gain by turning humans into this Reaper shell," said Shepard. "The other Reapers are like parts or clones of him; Sovereign told me this himself. I thought King Ghidorah divided himself over and over to make them."
"It may be the case that facilitating that method of reproduction exhausted him to the point where he was no longer capable of doing so," said EDI. "It is probable that he had to seek alternative methods during the Cycle of Extinction, and this was the result. Or it may serve another purpose entirely. Cerberus has little information regarding King Ghidorah's precise nature. I am merely offering hypothetical scenarios, and I do not have the necessary data to speculate further. However, it is clear that the Collectors are merely pawns. The technology and the ability needed to create this Reaper is not their own. It is likely that different species construct each Reaper. In this case, the Collectors provide the labour."
"The Collectors are just Forerunners," said Tali, shrugging. "Why would they help King Ghidorah?"
"The Reapers subdued the Forerunners long ago," said EDI. "Probabilities suggest that the Hydra tried to create a Forerunner Reaper, and failed due to the detonation of the Halos. Over time he adapted the surviving Forerunners to suit his needs. Changed them. Cloned them and turned them into workers; tools for his Reaper spawn. The Collectors are, in essence, Forerunner Husks."
While EDI had been speaking, Shepard had been peering at the Human Reaper with her chin on her hand and a thoughtful expression. She could not get EDI's idea about this creature serving a purpose other than reproduction out of her head. She looked over at Miranda for a moment, who looked revolted. A theory was forming in Shepard's head, but she knew that she had wasted enough time trying to understand what the Reapers were doing. Further speculation had to wait, especially as she was sure she could hear the low hum of approaching platforms.
"This thing is an abomination," she snarled, raising her rifle. "EDI, how can we destroy it?"
"The large tubes injecting the fluid are a weak structural link," said EDI. "Destroying them would cause the supports to collapse, and the Reaper to fall."As Shepard watched, she saw metal plates on the four tubes sliding back, revealing plexiglass underneath that showed the vile fluid generated from the processed humans. What purpose this served Shepard could not say for certain, but she knew that it was giving her something she could shoot at. However, she saw that they could not shoot at the tubes immediately, for the platforms that Shepard had heard were now approaching, and all three women were forced to dive for cover as the Collectors opened fire on them.
"Give us a minute, EDI," grunted Shepard, holding her rifle close to her chest. "We've gotta take care of some old friends first."