AN: Got to love when the muse actually latches on to something eh? I'm getting this up a fair bit faster than usual. Once again, focusing more on the UNSC here...including the Spirit of Fire. That part was almost as fun to write as the Arbiter's last one was. Hope you all enjoy it! :D
1745 Hours, November 17th, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
UNSC Dusk, Forerunner Shield World 0459
With a flash of radiation and purple-blue light, the UNSC Dusk came barreling out of hyperspace, having finally reached its destination. The pitch-black ship slowed slightly, as it activated its stealth systems, up to and including a Goa'uld cloak. On the bridge, the crew looked out and saw a rather shocking sight. For instead of entering orbit of a world, which should have happened if the coordinates from the Steward were correct, they entered a massive debris field. Bits and pieces of silvery metal bounced off the ships light armor, as large pieces floated around them.
"What the hell happened here?" the commander, Richard Lash, asked with a bit of awe in his voice.
"Looks like the planet just...blew up...sir," Lieutenant Joe Yang commented from his sensor station.
Indeed, that is what had appeared to happen. Where there should have been a planet, there was only an asteroid belt of sorts. Bits and pieces of stone and earth were interspaced with Forerunner metals, all floating around. There was no sign of the Spirit of Fire however...just the ruined planetary remains.
"How long has it been like this?" Lash finally asked.
"According to the sensors...about twenty years," Yang replied, "whatever happened here, it happened when the Spirit was around."
That was sobering. Bad enough that something had blown up a Forerunner planet, but if one added in the fact it happened when the ship they were looking for had been in the area...suddenly the odds of the Spirit of Fire still being intact were even slimmer than they had been. And they had been pretty damn slim to begin with.
"Increase the sensor radius," Lash ordered, "there might be something else out there we aren't seeing with all this debris."
It was a long shot, but what other choice did they have?
"I'm picking up...something sir," Yang piped up after some time scanning the area.
"What is it?"
"I can't tell from here...the debris isn't letting me get a clear picture. But it looks like the remains of a trail from Phoenix-class engines."
Lash nodded, "Like the Spirit. Drop the cloak and pull up the shields. We'll have to go through that debris and I don't want an asteroid hitting something important."
The crew nodded, and with a slight shimmer, the Dusk decloaked. If there had been anyone around to notice, it was still doubtful they would have seen anything though. The cloak was a nice bonus, but the old Prowler systems were still there too. The only way anyone would notice the ship is the slight golden flare of its shields pushing aside debris. As it was, there wasn't a soul in this system who could notice the small Prowler.
Something that was a blessing to be sure. As a Prowler, the Dusk lacked any viable weapons to use on other warships. At best, it could cloak and ring out a nuke next to an enemy. And with the amount of debris, using the cloak was a risk...something made clear as a shattered Forerunner hull-plate careened off the shield. Thus, the Dusk flared its engines and went 'up' relative to the plane of debris. A destroyed planet left a lot of material behind, and it would have taken too long to get through it from end-to-end. Presuming a large piece didn't crush the ship, shield or no shield.
"Clearing the debris in five...four...three...two...we're clear sir," the helmsman reported.
"Sensors?" Lash asked.
The powerful sensors on the UNSC Prowler focused in on the sensor ghost they had received in the debris field.
"Scanning...that trail is definitely from a Phoenix," Yang replied, a small bit of hope in his voice, "following the trail...its at the edge of the system, but I have what looks like a ship!"
The small crew looked amongst themselves, relief visible on their faces. After twenty years, none of them had really expected the Spirit to still be around. Aside from the occasional nut who suggested that Cutter had fled the war or defected to an Insurrectionist group, most in the UNSC presumed the ship had been destroyed decades ago. But now...maybe this ship was what they had been looking for. It would be quite the irony, that the 'official' reason for retaking Arcadia actually bore fruit.
"Micro-jump us to that ship. But bring us out far enough away to activate the cloak...I'm not taking any risks here," Lash ordered, keeping his head in the game.
"In case its a Covenant ship sir?" one of the crew asked.
Lash nodded, "I wouldn't put it past the Covvies to have a ship or two out here. Maybe salvagers getting what they can from that debris belt. I know we'll probably start mining it for resources ourselves, if only because we don't have a surplus of Forerunner metal like it does."
That sentence was punctuated by yet another piece of said metal bouncing off the ship as it moved further out and oriented itself for the jump to hyperspace. The Dusk didn't have an AI like Cortana to plot the jump, so it took a bit more time for the helmsman to do it himself. Years of training in Slipspace didn't translate to Hyperspace overnight.
Still though, not even a few minutes after finding the sensor ghost, the Dusk once more launched into hyperspace...popping out not even a handful of seconds later at the edge of the star system. Where a familiar site awaited them, a damaged Phoenix class Colony Ship with the words Spirit of Fire proudly written on its flanks...
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Onboard that damaged ship, long-dormant systems began to come to life. On the darkened bridge, a single pinpoint of light came to life, growing brighter by the second. Soon it had coalesced into the familiar form of a human woman, beautiful features looking confused as she used the ships damaged sensor net to try and identify what had 'woken' her from her self-induced slumber. It was said slumber that even allowed her to activate...long after she should have gone rampant.
"What are you?" Serina, the AI of the Spirit of Fire, muttered as the radiation that had triggered the override on her systems dissipated.
She didn't recognized the remains of the radiation. It was similar to a ship exiting slipspace, but different at the same time. And try as she might, the AI couldn't actually find a ship in the vicinity. It was possible that a Prowler had come across the Spirit, but even the most advanced Prowler could be spotted if one looked hard enough. Still though, regardless of what had awoken her, the fact remained that something was out there. So Serina began activating specific cryopods...namely the bridge crew.
The first of the pods to open was Captain Cutter's, the older man quickly getting to his feet and moving into the bridge.
"Report," Cutter said, sitting down in his chair and looking at Serina.
"The sensors have picked up a flash of radiation similar to a slipspace portal sir," the AI replied, "however, I cannot detect a ship."
Cutter frowned, "A cloak of some sort? And how long have we been drifting?"
"A cloak is probable," Serina agreed, "and it has been twenty-one years sir."
Cutter's frown got deeper at that. The Spirit of Fire had been drifting through space after destroying the Forerunner world for twenty years? What could have happened in that time period? Did the Covenant finally win the war? Or did the UNSC push them back enough to get a cease-fire? So many things could have happened, that the state of the galaxy would probably be completely foreign to the Spirit's crew.
"Receiving a message," Serina broke into the Captain's thoughts.
"Frequency?"
"Standard UNSC broadcast," the AI replied, before the message came through the speakers, "This is Commander Richard Lash of the UNSC Dusk. Do you read me Spirit of Fire?"
Neither the Captain or the AI recognized the name of the ship or her commander. Then again, twenty years was enough time for an entirely new generation of soldiers to be trained and put on the front, so there wasn't anything surprising there. And in any case, they were too busy being relieved that it was the UNSC who had found them...even if they still couldn't see the ship in question. Actually, that was a good question...why couldn't they see the Dusk?
"This is Captain Cutter of the Spirit," Cutter answered the message, "it is good to know the UNSC has found us, but where exactly are you?"
There was momentary silence, before, "We had to confirm it was still you in command sir. Dropping cloak now."
With a slight shimmering effect, the familiar shape of a UNSC Prowler took form off the bow of the old colony ship. That was certainly new...the UNSC hadn't even been close to developing an optical cloak of that level when the Spirit had left Arcadia. Certainly not one that could fool an AI of Serina's abilities. Made one wonder what else they had developed in the twenty years the ship had slumbered.
"That's an interesting device you have there," Cutter said, as the Dusk closed formation with the Spirit.
"That's just one new thing we've gotten in the last year," Lash replied proudly, "that being said, we'll probably upgrade the Spirit back at Arcadia. Is your slipspace drive functional?"
Cutter frowned, both at the fact Arcadia was evidently still in USNC control despite the fighting retreat he had fought there, and the fact that he didn't even have a slipspace drive to report on.
"I assume you saw the planet, or what was left of it, correct?"
"Yes we did. We weren't sure what happened there though."
"That was our slipspace drive. The Covenant found a fleet of, what they called 'Forerunner' ships, hidden at the core of an artificial world. We had to use our slipspace drive as a makeshift bomb at the core of an artificial star powering the world."
Silence came over the comms again, as the crew on the Dusk let that information flow through their heads. An entire fleet of Forerunner warships? That the Covenant had almost gotten their hands on? That could have been disastrous for the UNSC, even with their new upgrades. It also explained two things...what exactly a Shield World was, and why the Spirit had been floating dead in space for twenty years. No slipspace drive meant they couldn't have returned to the UNSC even if they had wanted to. It also caused a problem though...while it was possible to tow a ship through Hyperspace, it required the towing ship to be bigger than the ship being towed. And the Dusk was certainly not bigger than the fairly massive Spirit of Fire.
"That could be a problem. The Dusk isn't large enough to tow you back to Arcadia. Is your ship functional enough to last while we get further aid?"
"Serina?" Cutter asked.
The AI's body got slightly brighter as she scanned old systems and looked over 'her' ship, "Most systems are intact, if operating at lower than preferable levels. Sitting twenty years without maintenance is hardly a good thing...sir."
Cutter sighed at that, "We're operational, but I don't know if we'll last long enough for you to return to Arcadia and back here. That would be at least a month-long trip."
"Actually it would only be a couple days at most. We have a Hyperdrive now, something that I'm sure will be explained to you once we get back to Arcadia."
With that, the Dusk curved away from the Spirit and flashed into a portal that looked like a slipspace one, but different at the same time. Needless to say, none of the still groggy crew had the slightest clue what a hyperdrive was. But if the Dusk could get to Arcadia and back in a couple days, it certainly made things easier.
"Wake up the rest of the crew Serina. I'm sure they'll appreciate the good news," Cutter ordered, setting about getting his ship back into shape.
"Roger that sir," the AI replied with a small smile.
1500 Hours, November 17th, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Earth, Cairo Station
"Forerunner?" Lord Hood asked, a touch of disbelief in his voice.
Sam nodded, "The scans don't lie sir. Whatever is down there is the same technology as Installation 02 and 04...Halo."
The Commander of the UNSC Navy shook his head, "And how did they manage to build something so big, and keep it hidden so long? People have been living there for as long as humanity has existed."
The man made a good point. Or he would have, if they hadn't talked to Grieving Light. Thus, SG-1 knew that it wasn't impossible that the Forerunner had built things on Earth. They had on Arcadia and Reach after all. It would only make sense, especially if Earth was Erde-Tyrene, what Light had mentioned as being where humanity was relocated to after the Forerunner-Human War.
"If they wanted to hide something, they probably could quite easily sir," Sam replied, "I'm more curious what exactly it is."
"Ain't we all?" Johnson said gruffly from the side.
"How are we going to figure that out though?" Hood brought up, "We can't just force everyone out of New Mombasa and start digging. There are millions of people in that city."
"We can keep scanning it to figure out exactly what we're dealing with," Daniel suggested, the archeologist inside of him quite interested in anything Forerunner.
That was about all they could do at this point. Hood was right that trying to excavate would require forcing millions of people to leave their homes and lives, at a time when living space was at a premium in the UNSC. Not to mention they didn't know if the structure had failsafes to prevent tampering or anything like that. It was probably for the best that they merely studied it, and did nothing more. After all, they had an entire Halo Ring to themselves, so whatever this structure was couldn't be more important than that...right?
Of course, Murphy's Law had a liking for messing with SG-1, and that translated to their new friends in the UNSC. For they weren't the only ones to know of the structure.
"Slipspace ruptures sir!" an aid called out.
Everyone on the station shared looks at that. The UNSC had long-since phased out Slipspace drives in favor of the far more versatile Hyperdrives. That could only mean one thing...
"Damn it," Cam said, summing the thoughts of everyone up, "the Covenant found Earth."
A fleet of Covenant warships, lead by three Assault Carriers, came out of Slipspace. The ships halted for a second, seemingly shocked that the humans were actually on Earth. That shock went away quickly enough however, as the fleet flared their engines and began charging headlong at...Africa? Oh damn...they didn't know about the structure did they?
"This is Admiral Harper, we are engaging the enemy now," a voice came over the radio, as a group of ships lead by the Valiant herself moved forward.
"Belay that!" Hood called out, "something isn't right here...that fleet is tiny by Covenant standards. And they are heading directly for Africa. Is it possible the Covenant know of the structure we found?"
"Wouldn't surprise me," Cam replied, "they know a lot more than we would like anyway."
"Still, we should focus on keeping them away from Earth if they do," Hood said, "get the Odyssey out there and hold them off. We can't orient enough ODPs quickly enough if they blitz us."
"The Amber Clad will help where we can," Miranda added, saluting and rushing to her ship with Johnson.
For their part, SG-1 merely beamed aboard their own ship, the tiny Odyssey moving against the much larger Covenant ships...in time to see an ODP shell from Athens Station blast through the lead carrier. The other ships merely pushed through the debris however, not slowing down in the slightest. As the Odyssey moved forward though, swarms of landing craft split off from the ships, angling at the Super MAC platforms.
Unfortunately for the Covenant, plans had been made for just this eventuality. Flights of Saber fighters moved forward, with Longswords holding back with their more long-ranged weapons, firing into the landing craft and tearing dozens apart. When the Covenant brought in their own fighters, the job of blowing landing craft out of the 'sky' turned to the ODP's themselves, the newly fitted railguns scything them out of the sky. And then what few survived the withering fire blew apart as they collided with the shields.
"That didn't end well for them," Cam said, with a grim smile as the Odyssey swept in and nuked a CCS-class cruiser to pieces.
"No it didn't...but I still don't understand this," Sam mused, as one of the carriers flew right past the Odyssey before the 304 could do anything.
"Damn it, stop that ship!" Harper's voice came over the radio again, as the Valiant and its Marathon escorts fired everything they had at the ship.
Unfortunately, the second carrier drew enough fire off the first one that it was able to slip by, heading straight for New Mombasa. And while the UNSC Home Fleet was busy tearing apart its escorts, the Prophet of Regret continued on the mission he had been assigned by Truth...to find a Forerunner secret, and use it against the humans...
Installation 05, Quarantine Zone
Ninth Age of Reclamation
Meanwhile, the battle with the Flood continued on Installation 05. The Covenant, now that the Sentinel Wall had fallen, had moved various ships into the Quarantine Zone, firing down on the Flood. It pained the crews to fire on the Holy Ring, but the other option was letting the Flood escape. So as Thel's Phantom moved towards the Library, all he could do was watch as cruisers and frigates fired plasma down on Flood strongholds. Sentinels tried in vain to stop the ships, but even a group of Enforcers were hardly able to dent a shield on a Covenant capital ship.
"So much destruction," Thel muttered, as he watched the carnage outside the dropship.
"I don't believe any of us enjoy seeing the Holy Ring damaged like this Arbiter," Rtas said, standing next to his comrade.
"But none of us would enjoy the Parasite escaping either," Nar added, as he was looking over the troops for any wounds.
Thel nodded, as the Phantom banked around an Enforcer...that was promptly blown to pieces by a passing Seraph. The Covenant weren't playing around this time, they were very determined to get the Arbiter and his team to the Library, as quickly as possible. Thus, the fact that the Seraph pulled up next to the Phantom, escorting it as the dropship approached the menacing Forerunner structure. It wasn't readily apparent how one was supposed to actually enter the Library, however.
"Pilot, do you see an entrance?!" the Arbiter called up to the cockpit.
"No!" the pilot called back.
Thus, the Phantom started circling the Library, looking for a way in. The grey Forerunner metal offered little in the way of a clue, as the spires of the structure pointed into the air, illuminated by fires raging around it. On the third pass though, the Phantom pilot noticed a small opening in the face of the structure, and lowered his craft down to it. Small was a relative term however, as the opening provided plenty of space for the Phantom to fly in. It appeared, judging from the Gondola at the end of the passageway, that it was meant for a Gondola. Nonetheless, the Phantom would suffice.
"I wonder if the Parasite has penetrated, even into the Library," Rtas said, as the Phantom set down next to the inactive Gondola.
"I would not be surprised," Thel replied, readying his 'borrowed' Hammer.
As the Phantom's hatches opened, the Sword (plus Rtas) charged out, and quickly set up a formation around the landing site. The Arbiter walked to the front of his men, looking around the area with a keen eye. The area was empty for the most part, aside from a few destroyed Sentinels. That didn't mean the Flood weren't around however, as the foul stench of the Parasite still suffused the area. In fact, Thel could see blood stains on the occasional surface.
"I will continue on alone," the Arbiter decided, "guard the Phantom."
Nar looked dubious, "Are you certain Arbiter?"
Thel looked back at his second-in-command, "Yes. If I am to regain my honor, I must retrieve the Index on my own. In any case, someone must guard the Phantom."
With that said, the Arbiter shimmered and vanished as his camo systems took effect, while the Sword (and Rtas) guarded the Phantom. Thel moved silently through the halls of the Library, passing Infection Forms and the occasional Carrier Form, but no Combat Forms. None of the Flood made any effort to attack him, even on the occasional time he had to pause to recharge the ancient cloak. There was something distinctly odd about that. This view was reinforced when he reached the central chamber.
For the Index was not alone. The shattered ruins of an Enforcer (or two) lay scattered around the central platform, with obvious Flood tentacles draped across the metal. Thel exchanged the Hammer for his Energy Sword, warily walking towards the floating Index. His eyes scanned the area, watching for any Flood. Yet, none came. The central chamber was eerily empty and silent, not a single sign of the Flood aside from the tentacles and the ruined Enforcer(s).
The Index...surely it can't be this easy... Thel thought warily, as he used a piece of the Enforcer as a makeshift bridge to grab the green object.
"Well done Arbiter," a familiar voice said from behind him.
As Thel turned around, he saw the Chieftain that had been in the Sentinel Wall. The Jiralhanae had followed him here?
"What do you want?"
"The Sacred Icon," the Brute replied simply.
Thel growled at that, "Retrieving the Index is my mission Jiralhanae."
The ape actually snorted at that, "A mission given to you by what claimed to be an Oracle. The Prophets have decreed that I am to return it to High Charity."
Thel looked around, seeing more of the apes surrounding him. He growled again, but there wasn't a choice here. He didn't understand what the Prophets were asking of him in giving the Index to a Brute, but if what the ape said was true...he had no choice. The Arbiter could not go against the Prophets, such had been true for centuries.
"Very well," Thel said, handing the device over.
"Good...bye Arbiter," the Jiralahane replied, suddenly spinning around and slamming Thel with his Hammer...sending the Arbiter flying down the central path...into darkness.
AN: Remember how I said Arc 2 would be mostly Halo 2/Halo 3? This is what I meant. Butterfly effect aside, several events are happening more or less the same. Though in this case, Regret was sent to Earth by Truth, specifically in the hopes of getting him killed while uncovering the Ark (Portal). That got him out of the way at Delta Halo, allowing the betrayal of the Elites to move forward without the Elite-friendly Regret around to mess with his plans.
Say what you will about him, Truth isn't stupid. In any case, let me know what you think! I can't believe this story is almost at 500 reviews, and I love seeing people enjoying reading it! :D