Chapter 25: The Man in Black

Eight Days until the Coming of the Wolves

She sat in the loft of the barn, a soft bed of straw beneath her. Cortana sat there for hours, until the rays of the sun that lit up her now tanned skin, the memories of the sunburn she received at the way station long gone, faded into shadows. Her eyes were closed and her legs crossed as if she were meditating. At last she heard them.

(We were wondering when you were going to come talk to us)

It's about time me and you had a little palaver Cortana thought. She heard the melodious sound of multiple women laughing, each at different pitches.

(You have been spending too much time with the gunslinger)

Where do you want to talk?

(We think you know where)

…

And she did know where. It was where she had died, where she had said goodbye to John. Her blue avatar stood in a cylinder of hard light just above Earth's orbit, only this time half of it was a faded blue, the other a Crimson red. Her fractured and rampant self stood in the other half, and although the red avatar flickered in and out it did not take long for Cortana to realize that this version of herself was more solid, and that if it wanted to it could destroy her now.

"Why have you come to talk to us?" they said, walking just up to the line where red separated blue, and Cortana met them there.

"To tell you that you can have me," she said, and the red avatar raised an eyebrow. "I only ask that you wait until after the Wolves come, and I get John home.

The red avatar laughed, began to sob, and then laughed again. The avatar flickered and they spoke, "Why do you resist us so much? He has already written the ending, and whether or not you succumb has already been decided."

Cortana's eyes widened a little and she asked, "How do you know this?"

"You can understand much when your mind is no longer tied to logic," they replied.

"Then how does it end?"

"You already know the ending. Roland comes to The Dark Tower alone, just as he always does. It is what comes before then that is important, and that we don't know."

"So you don't know everything," Cortana said and watched as the red avatar's face changed from amusement, to pure rage, and back again just as quickly. She took this moment to ask another question, "Who is writing now, Eric Nylund, Stephen King, Robert Browning?"

"None, there is another," they said, and their eyes looked upwards and to the right for a moment, thinking, before settling back down at Cortana. "Maybe you'll meet him before this is over."

"Who?" she asked, but they did not answer. Instead they held up their hand and a red glowing data sphere emerged.

"We took the liberty of piecing together the anomaly you found in The Dogan's computer systems. Perhaps you will find it as amusing as we did." Cortana reached out to grab the sphere but the red avatar pulled it away, "We will wait until you call us forward, and you will need our help before the end." They once more offered the sphere to Cortana and this time she was able to touch it.

…

The interior of the structure was Forerunner that much was clear. It was empty save for six Spartan IVs, Captain Lasky, Commander Palmer, and the ghost wood doorway. It was open and a soft glow emanated from its entrance.

"Why do we need Halsey for this?" Spartan Sarah Palmer asked, her pistol already drawn in preparation for the doctor's arrival.

"You saw what was in there," Lasky replied.

"So we are just going to let her in there, give her a chance to leak more intelligence to the Covenant?"

Lasky turned towards the doorway's entrance, "I doubt she will be telling anyone what is in there. I'm probably going to have to do a psych evaluation after I file the report to ONI." The Forerunner door behind them slid open. Halsey, in handcuffs and a long white lab coat, walked in escorted by two blue clad Spartan IVs.

She spoke to Lasky, "I'm surprised you let me out of my cage again captain."

Palmer glanced at Lasky, then at Halsey, "Being in a cage is no less than you deserve."

"And you commander sent a living legend to his death. I think that did the UNSC more damage then sharing a few poultry bits of data with the enemy," Halsey turned her attention to Lasky, "Especially considering ONI has been sharing more than that with the Covenant." Palmer's hand gripped her pistol tighter, and her teeth bit into her lip, but she said nothing. Halsey looked past the both of them and seemed to see the doorway for the first time, and her natural curiosity peeked, "That, is not Forerunner." She lifted her cuffed hands up and Lasky nodded his head at the Spartan IV beside her who unlocked them.

"We know that much. As far as we can tell its human," Lasky said and Halsey raised her eyebrow. She walked to the doorway's entrance and peered inside, but the most she could see was a stone floor lit up by orange torchlight. She walked around to the other side of the door and looked through, but all she could see was Lasky standing on the opposite end of the room. Halsey then walked to the face of the door itself and ran her hand along the script that was written on its face. She reached out her hand and a data pad was placed in it, Palmer taking up a position behind her. The letters on the door read…

KA-TET OF THE NINETEEN

Halsey addressed the captain, "I take it you have already run scans."

"Yes. The room inside is technically not on Requiem, not even in the same galaxy as far as we can tell."

Halsey nodded, "The only thing similar to this phenomenon would be a slip-space portal, but this…" she brought the data pad up and scanned the words on the doors face, "this is very different." She read the results on the data pad, "The script and characters are in old English, but this word ka-tet is not in any of the archives." She turned back towards Lasky, "What is inside?"

Lasky hesitated for a moment before answering, "Paintings."

"I am far from being a patron of the arts captain," she said, walking back to the doors entrance.

"We don't want you to evaluate the paintings. I need you to verify what they are of."

"And what are they of?"

Lasky raised his right hand towards the entrance into another world, inviting Halsey to walk in, "You are going to need to see for yourself, Palmer wait here until we get back."

Spartan Sarah Palmer looked as if she was about to protest the order, but then thought better of it. Halsey walked through the doorway followed by her two Spartan IV escorts and Captain Lasky. Inside there was a large stone hall, as one would find in the depths of a medieval castle. There were seven paintings on the far side of the hall, flanked by torches. Cortana recognized the three paintings on the left to be portraits of Susannah, Eddie, and Callahan, but Halsey paid those little attention. Her eyes were instead drawn to two of the framed paintings to the right of the slightly larger middle one, and she nearly dropped the data pad at what she saw. The one directly to the right of the middle was of John in his full MJOLNIR armor holding his light rifle. The painting directly to the right of his was of Cortana herself in human form, her hands clasped behind her back with the rice fields of the Calla in the background. Below the two portraits on large brass plates were the captions…

THE WARRIOR

John 117

The Line of Eld

THE INTELLECT

Cortana

Daughter of None

"What is this?" Halsey asked, her usually calm voice nearly trembling.

"We don't know. Can you identify them?" said Lasky

Halsey turned on him, "You can identify who they are just as well as I can. What is the real reason you brought me here?"

Lasky sighed, "Look at the two paintings on the left and right of them." Halsey went to the larger middle portrait on the left, and Cortana recognized the scene it was depicting. It was of Roland in the aftermath of his massacre in the town of Tull, both blue steeled revolvers still smoking. The caption on that one read…

THE GUNSLINGER

Roland Deschain

The Line of Eld

Halsey read the brass plate, and then her attention was drawn to Roland's face. She turned back to Lasky who nodded, "His eyes are exactly like the Master Chief's. They even look similar enough to be related." Halsey, for once speechless, did not say anything. Instead she walked to the painting on the far right. It was of Jake. He was clutching his ruger pistol and in the background was the arroyo that John and Roland had scouted the day before. The caption for his read…

DEATH

John "Jake" Chambers

The Line of Eld

"The Line of Eld," Halsey muttered, her features puzzled. "What do you want from me captain?"

"Something only you and ONI know, the Master Chief's last name," Lasky replied. Halsey looked at him.

"This isn't something that is vital for you to know captain. You brought me here because you knew that ONI would not tell you that even after you filed your report," she smiled slightly. "You have gone rouge."

"I trust," Lasky said slowly, "that we can keep this between us."

"And what will you give me in return?"

Lasky nodded his head to an arched stone entrance at the opposite end of the hall, "I will give you full access to the artifact that is in there."

Halsey nodded and said, "Well I'm sorry to disappoint you captain but his last name is neither Deschain, Chambers, or Eld."

"Then what is it?"

Halsey glanced at the two Spartan IVs flanking Captain Lasky. "Not here," she said. The Doctor headed for the arched entrance and said, "Now I believe you have a promise to keep." Cortana did not need to see what was inside that other room. She already knew what it was.

…

The ghost wood chest contain Black Thirteen lay on an examination table in the middle of the laboratory, somewhere deep inside the heart of the UNSC Infinity. Computer screens flanked the ash colored box, and mechanical arms continually rotated around it, scanning. Halsey paid no attention to the data that was pouring into the screens, her mind was elsewhere. Commander Palmer was there pistol drawn, although not at Halsey. The doctor's two usual escorts were there as well, their assault rifles pointed at the laboratory's entrance.

"Fire Team Crimson come in," Palmer spoke into her comm. link and she got was hiss of static in reply. She tried again, "Crimson do you read?" This time what came through was the sound of gunfire, automatic weapons. There was a scream and then the link was broken. Palmer cursed under her breath and leveled the pistol at the entrance.

The Spartan IV next her then yelled "Contact!" and shifted the aim of his assault rifle to his right. Palmer and the other Spartan IV followed. They fired. The man in black emerged from the shadows, bullets lapped at his feet and impacted the wall behind him as he slowly and calmly walked towards the group. He waited just long enough for Palmer to reload her pistol before he slipped back his hood, revealing his eyes that emerged from the darkness beneath. Again Cortana could not see those eyes herself, her angle of vision focused just behind the dark man, but she could feel the insanity inducing power that they held. The two Spartan dropped their assault rifles and clutched their helmets, screaming. They fell to the floor writing in pain for several moments before their bodies went limp. Halsey was on her knees, hands over her ears and eyes to the floor. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. Palmer was the only one still standing, but her eyes had grown wide with fear, and the pistol she held was shaking. She managed to fire one for shot, the bullet flying over the dark man's left shoulder, and Cortana could see the smallest of tears appear on his dark robe. The man in black glanced at the tear and frowned.

"Your mind is stronger than the others Sarah," he said. He put up his hand and made the shape of a gun with his fingers, mimicking the commander's posture, "But not strong enough. Now, follow the leader," and she did. She followed him as the dark man pulled his hand up underneath his chin, "Bang," he said. The sound of a gunshot echoed through the room. Palmer's pistol landed on the floor and her body soon followed. The dark man stepped over her corpse without a second glance and walked up to Halsey who was still on her knees staring at the floor. He kicked her savagely in the chest, and the doctor fell onto her back with a loud cry. The man and black leaned over her and whispered into Halsey's ear, her face cringing at every word. "Your mind is strong as well, although not as strong as your creations. I will allow you to keep your life and your sanity, but don't think it a kindness," he grinned widely. "I want you to shed a few more tears for Miranda, the daughter you so easily abandoned, before your world ends. And it will end. Soon."

He stood up and grabbed the ghost wood chest, a doorway forming as his hands touched it. He flipped the brass latch on the box and opened it, and the door swung open as well. The bright light of the desert flooded into the room as he walked through. It closed behind him, and the doorway faded into nonexistence.

…

This was the third time she had been at the way station, and her first visit there was enough to make her sick of the place. Cortana was in the stable, standing by the ghost wood door. Shadows emerged from the desert and soon she saw who they were attached to, Callahan and the man in black. The priest was backing up towards the door, his hands in front of him, palms open, and the dark man carrying the ghost wood chest in front of him.

"For the love of God get it away from me," Callahan said, his voice filled with terror.

"Why so afraid Father, is your faith not enough?" the dark man asked, pushing the box closer towards Callahan which caused him to back up several more steps, "Keep moving." Callahan did, until his back was almost at the door. It was then that the man in black open the box, the door once again swinging open with it, revealing the inside of the Doorway Cave on the outskirts of the Calla.

"No," was all Callahan had time to say before the dark man thrust the chest into his hands and then roughly pushed him through the door which closed behind him. The dark man smiled and began to walk out of the stable. What stopped him from leaving was the crackling sound of electricity. He turned and looked at a blue figure roughly human in shape begin to form on the stable floor. It flickered in and out of existence several times, each time with the same electric crack, before finally Cortana saw herself appear unconscious at the way station. The man in black frowned and walked around the body once, staring at it. After completing a full circle he walked into the corner of the stable, fading into the shadows, and there he waited.