Chapter 29: The Gravemind's Deal
Installation 04, Underground Cavern
"Where am I?" mumbled Roscoe. He opened his eyes and tried to move his arms. He looked at his waist, confused at why he was suspended in the air by a long and slimy tentacle. On his left, the Master Chief was struggling against the tentacles, turning every way to free himself. On his right, the Sangheili in silver armor was also struggling against the tentacle.
In front of him, a gigantic mass of decaying flesh rose from the bottomless pit and growled at them. It's mouth was filled with thousands of small yellow teeth.
"What is that?" asked Cortana. A gravelly voice answered her question
"I… I am a monument to all your sins" it said. It turned his head to the Spartan, breathing out Flood spores as it spoke.
"This one is machine and nerve, its mind concluded." It then turned to face the Arbiter.
"This one is but flesh and faith, and is the more deluded." Finally, it turned its head toward Roscoe. It paused for a moment, unsure of how to address him.
"This one is ravaged and eternal, adrift from both time and home." The Tenno was dumbstruck. Somehow, it had figured out his predicament. The monstrous creature grumbled as it held the Rhino away from him.
"I have seen and heard much from the surface." It spoke. "There is still time to prevent the key from turning."
"I will not allow you to destroy another ring, Demon!" The Sangheili snarled at the Spartan, who had stopped struggling against the tentacle.
"Your Prophets are making a big mistake. Halo is a weapon." countered the Chief.
Roscoe stares at the Sangheili warrior and snaps his fingers, "Aren't you the Supreme Commander?"
The Sangheili stops before and corrects the Tenno.
"I lost my title due to your rash actions," he hisses at Roscoe, "Now, I am the Prophet's chosen warrior, the Arbiter."
The Arbiter ponders over what the Chief said. He had heard the same things from both the heretic and the oracle themselves.
The creature sighed, annoyed at their bickering. ""Your Prophets have promised you freedom from a doomed existence, but you will find no salvation on this ring. Those who built this place knew what they wrought. Do not mistake their intent, or all will perish like they did before" it said.
"You shall search one place," said the creature to the Spartan, "and you another" it said to the Sangheili.
A golden halo appeared behind the two soldiers and engulfed them as they were teleported to their respective places.
There was a brief moment of silence before Roscoe spoke. "How did you know?" he asked.
A cloudy breath of Flood spores obscured his vision as the creature breathed. "First, your puppet body cried out to me, begging to join me and become part of the collective. Secondly, I have seen pictures of your kind" it said.
"That's impossible. We only arrived a few months ago and no one knew about us, except for the UNSC" said the Rhino. "If you claim to have seen us before, where is your proof?" Roscoe demanded.
"It is better if you see it for yourself". A loud humming came from behind and Roscoe was teleported to another underground chamber. A Flood combat form stood in front of him and beckoned him to follow it.
"For eons, I traversed the length and width of this ring, marking my territory. On my journey, I encountered an unknown relic in one of the chambers." it said. Roscoe could see a few metal pieces floating in the air at the end of the hall.
"When I examined it, I knew it was not their creation. It was too primitive and ornate to be their design. Yet, it piqued my interest and I kept it"
At the hall, the mysterious object was suspended in mid-air. It almost looked like the first Sputnik satellite at first glance. However, there were a few notable differences. First, the four radio antennas appeared to be much thicker and were covered in thin gold foil. Secondly, instead of a polished metal sphere, it was an alabaster pentagonal prism, covered in small solar panels. At one end, there was a domed heat shield, which protected the satellite during atmospheric entry.
"I was able to access its data and it revealed a series of videos to me. It seems it was intended for first contact." the Flood creature said. A hologram of the videos appears from a rising slim pedestal.
The video begins with the launching of the terraforming drones from the Terminus station. It shifts to the terraforming drones returning to the Orokin System. An Hunhow-type Sentient hovers above Jupiter's surface. From the floating settlement, a group of gas miners point at the Sentient, mystified by its arrival. There is a loud groan as the Sentient's eyes glow. A ball of white energy gathers at the tip before a lance of white energy vaporizes the floating settlement to obilbion. The scene transitions to show various battles from the Great War. Finally, it ends Hunhow being sealed in the underground tomb on Uranus.
The images of various Warframes casting their abilities triggers past memories to return the Rhino. Leading his fellow brothers and sisters onto the battlefield, the briefing and debriefings with their Dax mission handler.
"Now do you believe me?" the Flood creature asks. Roscoe nodded hesitantly, still in disbelief.
"Where was it found? Were there any records?" the Rhino asks.
"It crash-landed on this Installation many years ago. The Monitor took it to a chamber and disassembled it, hoping to uncover its data. It succeeded and stored the data into this data pad."
A rectangular data pad appears over the pedestal. Roscoe picks it up and pores over the data file.
"Version 1.75.00…. UAE Extraterrestrial Contact Team…. 110 OE" Roscoe half-mumbles as he pores through the data. He notices several phrases being repeated, particularly "multiverse" and "Specium Energy".
"What the hell were the UAE doing?" Roscoe thinks to himself. He turns to the Flood combat form and asks, "Can you open it up?"
The Flood combat form waves his hand, and the satellite is disassembled mid-air. In the satellite's center was a translucent sphere covered in semi-transparent metallic foil. The multi-colored storm of energy inside the sphere glowed. The Flood creature recoiled from the light violently. It stepped backwards and covered itself as much as possible. It howled as it was scorched by the light, turning its rotten skin into charred black flesh.
Roscoe raised his arms to shield himself from the harsh light. It was blinding him and he couldn't see the sphere. He felt a strange tingle spread across his chest. Suddenly, pain washed over him as a lightning bolt from the energy sphere hurled him away. He tumbled away, rolling across the white floor.
The Rhino groaned, struggling to stand up. He clutched the side of his head, dizzy from the reeling lightning bolt. The sphere was still emitting its radiant light, the white walls and floor turning black.
Finally, the Flood form waved his hand again and the satellite was reassembled. It growls at the satellite and sets it on the floor.
"That energy sphere… it may seem harmless, but it's too dangerous to control." The combat form shuffles back to the entrance, dragging its feet behind him.
"I am bringing this satellite back with me." The Flood combat form turns around to see the Tenno standing beside the satellite. It pauses, stroking its chin.
"I will let you have it, if you can complete this task for me"
"What task?" Roscoe asks. The Flood form summons a holoprojector and activates it. The orange image of a metal humanoid appears. "In times of distress, they were summoned to protect their greatest secrets or exterminate their foes. In this case, the Warden will try to eliminate my kind."
The image disappears and Roscoe's heads up display is updated remotely by the Flood form. A loud buzzing noise and a golden light envelops both Roscoe and the Flood form as they are teleported.
A few seconds later, they enter a large coliseum-like room. On either side of the coliseum, the walls are lined with tall computer-like racks. Hovering above the floor is a large crystal chandelier, casting a warm orange light over the coliseum. Embedded in the wall ahead of Roscoe is a large oval metal pod. Orange light emanates from the pod's seams.
"I will return when you have completed your task." The Flood form disappears in a golden light, leaving the Tenno alone in the coliseum.
He chambers a clip into his Tiberon, places it on his back and walks toward the center of the coliseum. As he steps into the coliseum, the chandelier's lights turn fiery red, casting a blood-red light on the Tenno. The pod's outer shell explodes outward, dissipating into nanite particles. A fifteen-foot-tall metal humanoid body hums to life. It opens its orange eyes, squinting at the dim lighting. The humanoid steps out of its pod, looking around the coliseum.
Behind its waist, the Warden pulls out a disc-shaped handle with two rectangles at the ends. The rectangles expand forward, revealing it to be a twin-bladed hardlight sword.
"Who are you, non-Reclaimer?" it growls toward the Tenno. The guardian points the blade at the Warframe, its tip causing Roscoe's blue translucent energy shields to momentarily flicker.
Roscoe pushes the tip aside with his hand and charges into the Warden's torso with Rhino Charge. The Warden gasps in surprise and grabs Roscoe's shoulders, trying to stop his Rhino Charge. Metal grinded on metal as the Forerunner guardian stomps his feet into the floor. The Warden repeatedly slams his left fist over Roscoe's head, trying to break him. However, the metallic Iron Skin saves Roscoe from a brutal concussion.
Finally, the Warden viciously kneed the Tenno's gut and kicked Roscoe squarely in his chest. The Tenno tumbles over, lands on his stomach and hastily rolls to the side as an energy bolt scorches the floor.
The Warden leaps toward the Warframe and swings his twin-bladed sword overhead. Roscoe blocks the blade with his katana. The Warden pushes his sword harder into the katana, forcing the Tenno to push back.
With a flourish, the Tenno pushes the Warden's sword to the side and slams the katana's buttcap into the Forerunner guardian's metal forehead. The Warden stumbles backward, stunned by the move. Roscoe roars at the Warden, channeling his Roar ability throughout his body.
Energized by the revitalizing shout, Roscoe rams the Warden into the computer banks. Electricity crawls over the Warden's metal skin and the guardian twitches rapidly, shortening out his circuits. Taking a chance, he stabs his katana into the head, cracking the metal skull and the Warden howls in pain. He tries to get up but is kicked down by Roscoe, who reaches his Tiberon rifle from his back. He aims his rifle at the head and fires at the skull, the crack spreading across his skull like a spiderweb. Roscoe turns the rifle and hammers the skull with savage overhead swing.
The Warden's eyes go out as his skull breaks apart. His body drops to the floor, his sword contracts into its original form. Roscoe stares at the fallen Warden's body and kicks its chest, unsure if the guardian is truly dead. There is no response.
A yellow light illuminates the room for a brief second. The Flood combat form looks over the warden, its tentacles hovering over its head and chest. The Flood combat form grunts, confirming the Warden's demise.
Roscoe walks over to the inert disc-shaped handle and picks it up. He pulls the small trigger on the handle, wondering if the blades would expand.
An audible 'tik' is heard from behind. He turns around to see the Flood combat form shaking its head.
"Locked and inert it is, its bond remains connected to its owner" Green thin tentacles cover the white handle as the Flood combat form hacks the Forerunner sword. After a few minutes of sparks coming off the weapon, the Flood form returns the sword to its new owner.
Roscoe gingerly picks up the sword and places it in his inventory. Inspecting the black pod, he sees a small chest behind the seat. He drags the seat out of the stasis pod and hauls the chest into the open light.
He unlocks the chest and opens it. Inside the chest is a variety of Forerunner weapons, from a small handheld pistol to a hardlight dagger. He shuts the chest as the Flood form teleports the satellite to their location.
"Your part is done. Now, I shall uphold my part of the deal."
"Wait, please!" The Flood combat form stops midway through the teleportation process.
"Where is the Master Chief and the Sangheili warrior right now?" says the Tenno.
"The coffin is aboard the fools' ship, while the pallbearer is near the keyhole."
In a flash of light, Roscoe's environment transforms from the dark underground coliseum to the azure blue sky made by Halo's artificial environment system. To his right, he recognizes the colossal Library structure. To his left sits the inert satellite and chest.
White noise permeates the air as Roscoe receives an incoming transmission.
"We have a lock on his transponder signal, Lambert!" Jack shouts over the comms.
"Roscoe, are you alright? We lost contact with Captain Miranda and Sergeant Johnson." replies Lieutenant Lambert. There is a tinge of worry in her voice.
"I'm fine, Lambert. The situation has changed. Captain Miranda and Sergeant Johnson have been captured by the Covenant. The Master Chief is aboard High Charity and the Arbiter is near the Library."
"Understood, we are on our way. Sit tight." The comm line breaks off.
Roscoe looks at the gigantic mushroomed-shaped space station in the distance. There were many places the Chief could have been teleported to. The barracks, the prisons, the bridge room… there were too many places.
But, if the Chief was teleported to the Prophets' location… Roscoe chuckled at the imaginary sight of the Master Chief appearing in front of the Prophets, their mouths agape at the hulking sight of a seven-foot tall human man in green powered armor appearing in front of them.
It would be the Covenant's worst nightmare.
