I am really behind on my writing, and I am trying very hard to get this story done, to the point of writing when I am on break at work. Please R&R, it helps me along.
Species unknown: The gravemind is the... center of the hive mind. The flood is a lot harder to kill with a Gravemind.
~x~ (back on board the UNSC Infinity, Halseys lab)
I was writing reports on engine flux feedback when mothers Glasses beeped from her pocket. She put them on and started muttering to her self. After a moment she spoke.
"Cortana... Check the data logs from the transport earlier... I am getting strange readings from the analysis."
I pushed my chair over to the computer and access the sensor logs. Most was standard readings, some slight changes from the guys jumping off right before the zap, but other than... Bio readings. Strange readings, DNA from a known source, but it was classified. I did not have the clearance. I sent it to Lasky so he could have a look at it.
After a few minutes, I got a reply. 'File unlocked'
I opened it and started reading the complicated mathematical equations. data made sence, some other... not so much. I pulled up the recording of the teleport on the holotable. It showed the guys on the platform waiting for the zap. Destiny was carried in by Halsey and she gave her to Doug. Destiny was asleep curled up, her arms were wrapped around the shirt that Adam gave her.
After a minute, the platform started charging, and Destiny shifted in Dougs arms. The shirt fell loose and three things came out from it. Black roses, Doug say them and yelled at the others to get off, he put Destiny down and then got off himself. Right as he did, the platform activated and Destiny fadded out as a bolt of electricity jumped from the celine to the floor. I used my tablet and put the data from the logs in, the table projected some boxes showing what I had input to the table.
Tiny particles were magnified and the info boxes displayed what they were composed of. All organic matter, half alien tissue, half plant life. The alien tissue was unknown and very old, the plant half however was decade to almost dust. I ran a analysis and waited.
(Adam/Max's POV aboard a unknown forruner ship.)
"Stephen, whats the plan? How's Essern going to do once we get back?" I asked him.
"He will leave a ghost A.I. to fly this into the closest star, Radar blackout and scan nullifiers to keep any info from getting into the wrong hands."
Doug spoke up from the chair he was in. "I thought the UNSC were the good guys."
"Normally yes, but this technology is light years ahead of humans. If ONY knew this ship was coming, then they would do everything they could to get even a picture of it." Adam spoke up.
I nodded and started writing a message for Essern. 'How is he doing? This sudden change of things must be putting a strain on him.' I sent it and quickly got one back, but before I could read it, Skarlet pulled me off the bridge and into the hallway leading to the rest of the ship.
"You lied to me!" She hissed as she pushed me into a wall.
"I never told you the whole truth no, but I told you what I could." I said.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"My real name is Adam, I am from Northern Kentucky, I am only a senior in high school."
"Earth is gone, besides, the USA was dissolved years ago, the states mean nothing now. Stop lying"
"They mean nothing unless I come from the year 2012."
She paused.
"They all come from different times, but I was the first to come through, and there is something else, all this, the halos, forerunners, the whole universe is a video game from my time." I said to her.
Stephen shouted from the bridge. "If you two are done making out, you guys should see this."
I gently push Skarlet away from me and walk up to the bridge. Through the view screen I could see a halo ring.
"05?" I asked.
"01" Stephen corrected me.
"So the first ring built?" Doug asked.
"Last really." Stephen said.
"I thought we were going back to Infinity." I said checking what I could with the instruments.
"We sliped in and then without warning, we sliped out, the device we got from the station was producing its own slipspace field." Carolina said.
"Aliens 100,000 years ago built weapons, and then a upgrade for that weapon. You would think they would leave some sort of manual." Skarlet said.
"Well lets check it out, there may have been writing somewhere on it." I suggested.
"I'm game." Adam said as he got out of his chair awkwardly, he must have been still getting used to his suit and Spartan body.
We walked down to a cargo area about the size of a soccer field with the device sitting in the center. I started inspecting the sides and found symbols running along the sides, I did a quick scan and sent a copy to Stephen.
"Can you translate those?" I asked him.
"Essern is not translating it, what about you?"
"I got nothing, the translation software I brought is still experimental without Cortanas help." I said.
"Any way of getting a copy of the scan to her?" Doug took off his helmet and scratched his head.
"No-" I was cut off by Stephen.
"I think there is a way. Hold on..." Stephen moved a small plate on his arm, and brought out a small cylinder. "This is a bio-bomb meant for the flood, its meant for use in space... slipspace."
"A bomb is not useful to us right now." I said.
"We could rewire it to detonate a data pulse that the Infinity could pick up."
"Would that work?" I asked Adam, who had stayed quiet for the entire conversation.
"From my short time working internal security onboard. Yes, but I am not sure if anyone will catch it."
"Worth a shot..." I said. "What could the data pulse transmit?"
"An image. And thats it." Stephen said and he twisted and pulled the bomb apart slowly.
"OK, get working on that, we have been near the Halo too long for nothing to happen." I left for the bridge.
I passed Skarlet on my way and found her sifting through some data files she was projecting from her suit.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Family history, Great great great grandfather originally from earth was living in northern Kentucky during that time." She said as she set a projection of a file infront of me. "His online name was zeze and he was marred to this girl named japanny1. He mentions a friend that had moved to Japan with zeze and japanny1 and two others that have been not been named."
"And whats his friends name?" I asked.
"I never found the real name of his friend, but he had many online names... hold on."
I waited, only because zeze was my friend I knew from school. We meet freshman year, but never really got to know each other till the next year.
"Ah, his name was Geekycord."
"Never heard of that name. I got work to do. How much history do you have on that thing?" I ask.
"Back till the early days of the 19th century. Why?"
"Could be useful. bring it with you too the bridge." I walked off and a moment later she followed me to the bridge.
I turned on my radio and used the ships communication systems to extend the range to the halo.
-Forruner A.I. please respond.-
Only static.
-This is Spartan team black, please respond.-
Static again.
"WE ARE BEING LOCKED ON!" Carolina shouted.
"By what?" Adam asked.
"By the halo" I said to him before going back to the radio. -We are human, the rings worked for a while, but it did not kill all the flood- I was cut off.
-Hu...human..?-It was the A.I. that 343 was talking to before being deployed to 04. -The archives mention homo-sapens. But never mentioned them as space worthy beings...-
-It has been over 100,000 years since the firing of the ring, we had many planets, but lost them in a war.-
-I will not allow this ring to be used as a weapon against your enimes.-
-The enime is the flood, the very thing that the ring was built for. We have some sort of device onboard that the forerunners made, but we have no idea what it does, we do not intend to use the ring. Just the info on a device we recovered if you permit us.-
There was several moments of radio silence, and then Carolina spoke up.
"We are no longer being targeted, Flight path downloaded."
-I will allow this breach in protocol, but heed my warning... Try anything and I will not hesitate to kill all of you.- The A.I. said.
-Thank you.-
~x~ several minutes later
We landed and waited for the A.I. to show himself. Stephen set up a copy of the data from Skarlets history as a offer for his help. Of course some of it was censored for the safety of humanity of course.