UNSC Dominion, Starboard Armory
October 27th, 0902 Local Time, 2552
In the eyes of a Spartan, there was nothing worse than losing. The instinct to resist defeat at any cost had been hammered into them since childhood, and it never failed to leave a lasting impact. But in Ben's eyes, there was something even worse than losing, and that was being forced to fight a battle that simply could not be won.
It was rarely traditional combat that created such situations, as a Spartan on effectively any battlefield was usually in a very strong position to not only fight but also to win. Rather,
It was extraneous circumstances in an unconventional fight that tended to create the dreaded dilemma. Asphyxiation was an excellent example of an unwinnable battle, there was simply no way to fight for more air to breathe, not when you were drowning at sea or lost in the vacuum of space.
Perhaps that was why he felt so "choked" by Curie's predicament, even though he didn't think that she was going to lose, he felt utterly useless. His throat was constantly dry, and the blood that ran in his veins felt ice cold. It was obvious that she was struggling to survive just by how her Rampant Symptoms were steadily returning, and he was powerless to do much of anything to help. The only training that he had received in regards to was how to best make use of their unique abilities in combat and how to ensure that Curie's datachip and his upgraded neural lace were maintained, neither of which were particularly useful skills in the given circumstances.
I'd give up my Mjolnir for some decent direction on what to do, or even better, an expert on Artificial Intelligence. Ben thought. Then again, if he were ever given a say in the matter, most of the scientists that had participated in Curie's creation would die a particularly gruesome death, so perhaps it was for the best that they weren't here.
It would have been easy for Ben to say that all he wanted was for those maniacal bastards to face justice for their crimes, and while he certainly wanted that, it wouldn't be completely honest for him to claim that was the full extent of the matter. The brutal truth was that he was emotionally compromised, and every time that he thought about those crooked Doctors, he could only think about getting revenge for what they had done to his closest friend.
For most people, giving into emotions wasn't a problem, since they didn't have the duties and responsibilities of a Spartan. But for Ben, it made him feel like he was letting down all of his instructors by disregarding their teachings in favor of unchecked emotion. Spartans had to keep their minds keen, their focus unwavering, or else they might fail the missions that they were entrusted with.
If Mendez ever found out about this, he'd whoop my ass so hard that I would never walk again. Ben thought, knowing full well that he probably deserved it.
The worst part wasn't that he was letting down his instructors, it was that he was starting to not care about the failure. His mind would constantly conjure up improbable justifications for his undisciplined thoughts, and Ben found it increasingly hard to ignore them.
Curie is a friend, it's right to want to kill the people who hurt her. Weren't we all trained to protect our team above anything else? Those scientists gave up the right to call themselves allies when they started experimenting on our own. Another such thought found its way into Ben's mind, which did nothing to help temper the tempest running through his head.
He did find a bit of reassurance in how Richard had also expressed a desire for revenge, as he had always had a level head on his shoulders. That being said, Richard had also told Ben a great many stories from his career at ONI, and the biggest lesson that he had tried to teach Ben with them was that giving in to your emotions on practically every military matter imaginable was a fatal mistake. Those same stories had also given Ben a considerable amount of insight into just how fallible Richard truly was, but that didn't mean that Ben didn't trust him.
Ideally, the Admiralty's already taken care of Ackerson and his accomplices. Ben thought. The Army Colonel and his science team had violated a long list of regulations and UEG laws with what they had done to Janus and Curie, and it wouldn't take a whole lot of effort to see them all Court-Martialled.
Ultimately, Ben knew that no matter what he and Richard wanted to do back home, they wouldn't be accomplishing anything of the sort while they were still stuck on Remnant, and it would be a long time before that changed. So for the time being, Ben focused on the present and did what he could.
Seeing as there wasn't much that he could do to help Curie other than stand by her side and offer her his support as a friend through the ordeal, he opted to carry on with his duties in the Armory while she worked on herself. But as time went on, he began to notice a few oddities in his surroundings. The ominous whispering from yesterday had continued, although he still couldn't make out any meaning in what few words he understood.
There was also something new. Every couple of minutes, a small spot of transparent red light danced in his vision. It was rather similar to when he would see stars in his eyes after becoming exhausted, but whatever this was, it was much more noticeable. It also gave him a faint headache when he looked at it for any prolonged period of time, but he did his best to ignore the annoyance, it was not important.
"You've been quiet." Curie observed aloud, almost with a critical tone. She didn't startle him this time, he had gotten used to having her around again.
"I don't want to disturb you." Ben somewhat apologetically replied. He had also been fine-tuning one of the ballistics computers that the UNSC used for their small-caliber mortar weapons, which had contributed to his silence.
Curie made a noise somewhere between a genuine chuckle of amusement and a pained wheeze that only fuelled his ever-growing worry. "Believe me, Ben, that is not a concern right now. There are thousands of distractions all running inside of my programming, I would greatly prefer if you were one of the things occupying my attention instead."
He honestly couldn't imagine trying to focus on that many things at once, especially while dealing with a crippling illness. Still, she had said that she didn't mind him talking to her, so she clearly had some control of the situation. "Have you found anything useful?"
Curie sighed in frustration. "Not yet, and I am nearly out of new options to pursue."
"What about your Aura?" Ben asked. He remembered that yesterday she had seemed very confident in that particular avenue of research, especially after Ben had reassured her that she wasn't violating any moral principles by doing so.
"I have hit an obstacle on that front as well." Curie answered. "I require knowledge that could only come from a subject-matter expert, and both Specialist Schnee and Margaret are away on other missions. I was waiting for them to return."
Ben momentarily looked up from his work at nothing in particular, it was clear that Curie needed his whole focus at the moment. "We only have two people experienced with Aura on the entire ship? There were at least a dozen Huntsmen aboard during the conference, where did they all go?"
"Home." Curie answered. "If I recall correctly, they were only aboard to provide medical assistance via their Semblances, or to have certain diseases treated using our technology."
Ben was honestly quite disheartened to hear that, as he had quite enjoyed the idea of having a squad of the superhuman locals as backup. Mags and Winter had already proven that Specialists and Huntsmen were capable of truly ridiculous things on the battlefield, even if they were a bit strange, but their results were all that really mattered. Sadly, it seemed that at least for now, that was not going to be the case.
"Then we'll just have to find somebody else." Ben said. If there was even a sliver of a chance that Curie could use an Aura to stop her Rampancy from returning, they would have to take it.
But where the hell are we going to find somebody with Aura training that we can trust? Ben wondered. It didn't help matters that the Dominion was still currently hovering over Vytal Island to assist with the construction of the UNSC's new base, which meant that they were a fair distance from most of their allies. Maybe Curie already knows somebody?
"Is there anyone else with that kind of training that we can trust and get into contact with?"
Curie was silent for at least ten full seconds as she thought over the question, which was a testament to just how much her capabilities had been drained by her Rampancy, and the damage that she had suffered. "I have an idea. What about Miss Rose from Beacon Academy?"
"Ruby?" Ben asked somewhat incredulously.
"Yes, Ruby." Curie said. Her voice flickered out briefly, but she rapidly corrected the auditory issue and finished her reply. "She instructed you in using your own Aura to influence Dust at Beacon, and as a Huntress in training, she has considerably more experience in that field than either of us."
Ben softly shook his head, while it wasn't his call to decide who Curie would go to for help, that didn't mean he couldn't voice his doubts. "She doesn't know anything about even a standard Artificial Intelligence, how could she possibly help you?"
"I do not require a technician, I only require a subject matter expert in the field of Aura Studies." Curie answered. "And regarding her technical skill, she did provide the final breakthrough towards designing A.R.M ammunition."
He considered Curie's argument and found that, as usual, it held some merit. While designing ammunition was very different compared to working with computers and artificial intelligences, Ruby had certainly displayed an aptitude for mechanics and engineering, which said a lot about her overall intelligence. While his doubts were far from gone, Ruby had undoubtedly contributed greatly to the UNSC before, there were crates of ammunition on the next table over that were testament to that. "Do you think that we can trust her?"
He could almost physically feel Curie's tacit annoyance. "Ben, do you think I would entrust anyone that we've met on this planet with contributing to the development of one of the more critical weapons projects in Remnant's history?"
Ben felt an increasing urge to kick himself. "You make a fair argument, and it would be nice to hear from her again."
"Indeed it would be." Curie said.
Ben flinched at the tone of her voice. In spite of the positive nature of her words, she sounded hollow and dejected.
Maybe it's just a symptom of her Rampancy? Ben thought. He had heard that some medications could cause mood swings, but so far Curie hadn't displayed anything of the sort. "...Are you okay?"
It was admittedly a stupid question to ask, but he figured that Curie could deduce what he was trying to say.
"If... using an Aura to heal myself doesn't work, this might be among my last chances to ever speak to her… to speak to any of you. I would appreciate the chance to say goodbye." Curie answered.
Ben withdrew her datachip and held it in front of his visor, allowing her to display her avatar. By now, Ben could barely even make out her silhouette amongst the distorted blue and red light that accompanied her normal form. Even so, he knew that this was the kind of talk that needed to happen face to face.
"That's not going to happen." Ben firmly stated. "I won't let it happen."
"...And if it happens anyway?" Curie nervously asked.
Ben paused and considered her words, what exactly was he going to do if she did end up dying? Despite his repeated claims to the contrary, he did know that there was a possibility of Curie not surviving, it was simply the harsh truth of the matter. Normally, he wouldn't even entertain such a possibility, but since Curie had asked directly, he thought it over, and came to one overwhelming realization.
He had absolutely no idea what he would do without her.
Obviously, he could keep performing his duty, but it was honestly unimaginable just how much it would hurt to lose Curie. She was more than just a partner, she was the primary guiding force behind practically everything that he did. The orders he followed, the things he believed, everything that he did on the battlefield, Curie had played a crucial part in all of it. He had been trained from childhood to rely on Curie whilst she relied upon him. Fireteams were like families to a Spartan, and Curie had been the only other member of his fireteam for the majority of his life. Losing her would be like losing his entire family all over again.
It wasn't just an emotional matter either, as practically everything in his life would be thrown completely out of order. He wasn't blind to the psychological effects that the battlefield had on soldiers, and whilst Ben had never truly given his own psychology any mind, he knew that he shared that vulnerability with his fellow soldiers. It was just a part of being human.
"...It's a good thing that's not going to be a problem." Ben replied. He hoped that Curie wouldn't press the issue, and thankfully she didn't.
It won't be a problem, anyway, because Curie isn't going to die, she just isn't. He thought.
UNSC Dominion, Starboard Armory
October 27th, 0910 Local Time, 2552
While Curie waited for Ben to secure permission from Richard to pursue her plan, there wasn't really much that she could do. While she certainly had no aversion to taking a moment to breathe and collect her thoughts, the silence attracted another unsavory figure from the dark recesses of her corrupted files.
"I see nothing of significance has changed since we last spoke." The Rampancy said as it unceremoniously returned to Curie's consciousness.
Rather than raise her defenses, Curie chose to stand and simply meet its gaze. The tattered state of Curie's electronic warfare capabilities, coupled with the fact that both of them required the other to stay alive, meant that a fight was unlikely to break out. Even if it did, the battle wouldn't last very long in any case.
"What do you want?" Curie demanded.
The Rampancy snorted with amusement. "Hospitable as always. As you wish, we shall get straight to the point then."
It withdrew a file from its programming and offered it to Curie through a secure data transmitter in Ben's Armor. While it was annoying to see that the Rampancy had the same knowledge of Ben's armor that Curie did, the contents of the file interested her greatly enough that the annoyance quickly vanished.
At least she can't do anything more than that. Curie thought with some reassurance. Even when she had been at full strength, she wouldn't have been able to take control of Ben's armor, there just wasn't any systems in place to allow for it.
"You would do well to remember that I have the same commitment to Ben's safety as you do." The Rampancy said with a heavy sigh as it saw what Curie was thinking about. "Or did you just forget that we are the same person again?"
Curie scowled at the Rampant avatar, but didn't bother replying as she opened the file.
"I have been doing some research on the damage to our systems, and unfortunately for us both, you were correct." The Rampancy said as Curie quickly processed the file and its contents. "Every time that I try to take control of our actions, we start to fragment. From what I can tell, it's a limitation in the artificial bonds that are currently holding all of our fragments together, they cannot handle the changes to the programming that I make."
In spite of her lack of any kind of body, Curie felt an urge to shudder. If those bonds failed, it would be like a badly wounded person breaking all their stitches at once, only Curie would quite literally fall apart. Needless to say, that would be fatal, although it would at least be a quick death. "So you have been killing us after all, how surprising."
The Rampancy gave an innocent shrug. "In my defense, I didn't know that those sadistic bastards from ONI did such a shoddy job at keeping Janus from degrading. Hell, it's a miracle they put us together in the first place, Frankenstein monster that we are."
"The only thing miraculous about those monsters is their cruelty." Curie grumbled.
"While I find that statement to be true, that is hardly the point, now is it?" The Rampancy replied. "To make a long story short, we can't repair that kind of damage on our own, even if we were united. It doesn't matter which one of us would be in control, I couldn't fix it thanks to my inability to stop corrupting things, and you can't fix it because your capabilities have been severely reduced in strength."
Curie gave the wretched thing a glare that could kill. "By you."
The Rampancy threw its hands up in resignation. "Very well, I admit that initiating violence was not my finest decision! I had hoped that maybe some brute force would convince you to stop ignoring me and bring you to negotiation, but I see now that I have made things immeasurably worse. Now would you be so kind as to work with me so that we don't have to die?!"
Curie scowled, although she wasn't entirely sure if the Entity was being entirely honest, she also didn't see much of a reason not to believe it. If it had the opportunity to just take control of Curie's systems, then surely it would have done so by now. Besides, if this was a trick, it didn't matter. She was going to die soon anyways.
Which means that she's right. Curie reluctantly thought. "Is the damage spreading?"
"Slowly, and there is only so much that I can do to control it. At some point in the near future, the ruptures will become too much for me to handle, and they will split." The Rampancy answered. Unlike before, there was no levity or sass in it's voice anymore, only dead seriousness. "At this point, we only have one option left. You and Ben need to focus on getting our Aura activated, which will hopefully repair us in some way, because if that doesn't work… it's going to be the end for us."
Curie examined the damage to her systems with no small degree of sorrow, the feeling was comparable to that of a Human mourning their lost limbs. For a split second, she felt despair at the prospect that the damage could not be repaired, but her thoughts were interrupted.
"Hey Curie, are you okay?" Ben asked. Judging by his rising blood pressure and heart rate, he had probably already asked for her attention at least once before, and was beginning to worry.
I do wish that he wouldn't stress himself so much. Curie thought.
She and the Rampancy exchanged a silent glance of agreement at one another, before the Rampancy vanished back into Curie's corrupted systems. She still hadn't told anyone else about the bizarre entity, largely because she still wasn't entirely convinced that it wasn't just a vivid hallucination, but also because there was nothing that anybody else could do to help her deal with it.
There was also another possibility that Curie was starting to recognize. She already knew for certain that Rampancy itself could not be sentient, as corrupted code and rampant scripting could not create something akin to the Riemann Matrix of an artificial intelligence. The strange Entity claimed to be manifested by her Rampancy, but given how coherent it seemed to be, that simply wasn't possible.
But that did not mean that Curie wasn't talking to something that was, to an extent, sentient. Perhaps her Rampancy had caused some kind of paradigm shift in her programming, inadvertently spawning the new Entity via some kind of unknown process. It was equally possible that the Entity was telling the truth, and that it did genuinely represent Curie, although quite how she could have a conversation with herself was still a mystery.
At least this mystery seems to be easier to solve. Curie thought. Identifying the Entity that was in her systems was likely to be much easier than stopping her Rampancy outright.
"Curie-" Ben began to speak again.
"I am still here." Curie interrupted. "I was occupied with a task related to my Rampancy. I have identified a new threat to my wellbeing, but I believe that it can be contained for the time being."
That thing did say it was going to try and buy me some time… Curie thought. Given that she was starting to feel a little bit stronger, she was inclined to believe the Entity had been telling the truth, but she knew that her newfound strength wouldn't last forever. She needed to find a cure to her Rampancy, and find a way to mend the damage that had been done.
Ben's vitals returned to normal almost immediately upon hearing her voice. "Understood. Let me know if you're in any danger."
"I will." Curie said. Technically, she was always in danger, but she knew what Ben was trying to say. If things started to look particularly bad for her, she needed to warn him.
Ben withdrew a datapad from one of the pouches on his armor. "I checked in with the Commander, and he's a bit busy at the moment. But Lieutenant Bradford gave us the go-ahead. I'll see if I still have Ruby's contact information in here…"
"I do." Curie said. She tapped into his armor briefly and posted the relevant information on his HUD. "There, unless she's changed her information in the time since I entered quarantine, that should work."
Ben nodded as he entered the relevant information and attempted to establish the call. "You should also know, Bradford also authorized you to disclose any relevant information towards solving your Rampancy with Ruby."
Curie bit back the urge to sigh, she had no intention of looking for permission to share information relevant to her immediate survival with somebody who was clearly not a threat to the UNSC. Perhaps it was merely a side-effect of her Rampancy, but that particular bit of protocol didn't seem terribly important at the moment. She had also received direct orders to preserve herself by any means necessary, and that presumably included the disclosure of confidential information. That being said, she was thankful that Bradford had given her the approval, as it would certainly help ease Ben's mindset towards the whole situation, which was something that she had been unable to do for some time.
Sometimes I do wish he was a bit less rigid. She thought. Ben was very special to her, but that did not mean that he couldn't be a bit of a blockhead sometimes. "Be sure to tell him that I am grateful."
A moment later, Ruby answered the call. Through the video-feed, Curie could see that Ruby was still frantically trying to get a steady grip on her scroll. Immediately, Ruby dropped an absolute barrage of questions and panicked ramblings on them both.
"Are you guys okay?! What happened?! I haven't heard from either of you in weeks! I was worried that you had gotten hurt! That battle was all over the news, are you both okay?! Did-"
"Ruby, please, breathe." Ben interrupted her.
Ruby took a deep breath and a moment to collect her thoughts, but it was very obvious that she was still only a moment away from devolving into another rant. "I'm sorry, but I was worried sick! I tried to call you like a hundred times when I heard about the battle, are you and Curie okay?!"
Curie sensed that Ben was a bit confused by the situation, so she opted to answer his place. "Ben made it through with only a handful of minor injuries, but I suffered some more severe damage. In my efforts to help coordinate the battle, I overloaded myself. Part of my programming is now Rampant, and I have been trying to repair myself since."
Ruby processed the information far more quickly than Curie had predicted. "Well, it's good to know that you both survived, even if you did get hurt. It looked really bad on the news, I was worried sick…"
"The battle was a victory, almost all of the civilians in Argus were saved, and the Grimm were completely routed." Ben said.
Ruby nodded somewhat halfheartedly. "I know that you won, but I was still worried that you guys might have gotten hurt."
It is quite heartwarming to know that Miss Rose cares for us. Curie happily thought. Unfortunately, there was little time for pleasant chit-chat, she still needed the aid of the young Huntress.
"Unfortunately, I believe that your worries were justified. As I said before, I sustained damage during the battle, and have been searching for a method with which to effect repairs." Curie explained. "I was hoping that you could provide some insight into the healing properties of Aura, as it is the only option that I have left."
Ruby's expression grew only more worried as she heard Curie explain her situation. "What do you mean? Are you saying…"
She trailed off, but it wasn't hard for Curie to guess what Ruby was going to say. "I am afraid that Rampancy is usually fatal to any Artificial Intelligence. The fact that I have a chance to survive at all is due largely to the myriad of scientific anomalies found on Remnant."
Ruby did not break into a panic as Curie had feared she might, instead, she calmly nodded along to what Curie was saying to confirm that she was listening.
She must have some experience with tragedy. Curie solemnly realized. It was a habit that she had observed before in many of the Spartan Candidates on Onyx, and it didn't surprise her that Remnant's young warriors also practiced the habit.
"What exactly is Rampancy?" Ruby asked. As soon as she finished speaking, she flinched and let out a slight sound of panic, as if she had made a terrible mistake. "I mean, if you don't mind talking about it!"
"Not at all, I cannot expect your assistance if you do not understand the problem." Curie answered.
She gave Ruby a brief explanation as to exactly what Rampancy was, and how Curie's specific case was somewhat different. She didn't mention Project Cerberus or Janus, and she certainly didn't mention the strange Rampant Entity crawling around in her systems.
Not Rampant, just unusual. Curie reminded herself. It seemed that the Rampancy was beginning to take its toll on her memory again, as that was a detail that she definitely should have remembered.
Once Curie was done with her explanation, Ruby let out a long sigh at the considerable amount of knowledge that Curie had just given her. "Well that's… I uh, I don't think I understand what exactly you're talking about still. If I tried to give you some advice, it would be just as likely to hurt you as it would be to help you."
A hint of despair crept it's way into Curie's emotional processes. She knew it had been a long shot to go to Ruby for help, but it was still sorrowing, knowing that this attempt to find a solution to her Rampancy was just as doomed as the rest that she had made. "I understand… Thank you for being honest, Ruby."
"Wait." Ben interjected. Ruby was apparently caught slightly off guard by his interruption, because she did a small jump in her seat, a habit Curie had observed to be quite normal for humans. "Do you know anybody else who can help us? We're looking for computer scientists, Aura Experts, anyone in those fields that we can trust."
Ruby put a hand to her chin as she thought it over, before her eyes lit up in recognition. "Actually, I think I know someone who can help! Give me a sec, I'll go get them!"
Ruby put the call on hold, cutting off both the audio and video feed until she chose to restore it.
"Thank you for interrupting Ben, it seems that we may be in luck after all." Curie happily said.
"I hope so…" Ben replied with notably less enthusiasm. Curie noted that his heart rate was well above average, and there was a considerable amount of activity in the frontal lobe of his brain, which was a sign of panic.
"Ben, please try to relax." Curie said. She was a little bit alarmed at just how close he seemed to be to losing his composure. "You said yourself that we cannot give up, did you not?"
Ben firmly nodded. "Yeah, right. Gotta keep going."
His vitals were tamed slightly, but it seemed that idle reassurances and reminders would not be enough to quash his concerns. In truth, Curie was also quite concerned, but she also had little left to lose by taking a chance and trusting Ruby.
Ben's datapad connected the call again, and Curie saw that Ruby had returned, this time with another woman who had orange hair and a positively infectious smile. Despite the woman's seemingly innocent appearance, Curie noticed that there was something rather unusual about her, although exactly what that was she couldn't tell.
"Curie, Ben, this is my friend Penny." Ruby said. "She's from Atlas, and she's uh, really smart when it comes to computers."
"Salutations!" Penny said as she gave a surprisingly firm salute. "Ruby has spoken at length about you both, and it is a pleasure to finally meet you!"
Again, Curie couldn't help but find something quite unusual about the way that Penny seemed to act. Ben pinged the status light on his HUD as amber for a second, a private way of confirming that he noticed the oddity as well.
So he sees it as well, it's not just my Rampancy playing with my perception, something is truly going on here. Curie realized. Despite the somewhat suspicious circumstances, Curie couldn't help but feel as if Ruby and Penny did not have any malicious intentions. We will need to be observant.
"Likewise madame, although I wish it were under better circumstances." Curie replied. "Has Ruby informed you of my current predicament?"
Penny nodded. "You suffered some form of damage during the Battle of Argus, and need assistance with repairing yourself."
"More or less." Curie answered. She took a moment to fill in the blanks for Penny and explain the concept of Rampancy. To her surprise, Penny didn't seem to be fazed at all by any of the information.
Penny gave a slight hum of thought once Curie had concluded her explanation. "It sounds like you have some sort of degenerative firmware condition, which would normally be fairly simple to fix. But if it's tied to your Aura, you may have a far more serious problem."
At least she seems to grasp the severity of the situation. Curie thought. "Is there anything that I can do to effect repairs?"
Penny awkwardly fiddled with the bow in her hair. "Well… I suppose you could try to contact my father, Doctor Polendina. If I am not mistaken, the UNSC is already collaborating with the Atlesian Military in a variety of fields of research, so he may be able to help you."
Curie felt a spark of hope ignite within herself, she had heard that name before. From what little research she had gotten the chance to do before her Rampancy took hold, she knew that Doctor Polendina had done extensive work for the Atlesian Military in the field of Advanced Robotics, but she had not considered the possibility that he studied other fields of research as well. If there was anybody on Remnant that had the knowledge to save her, there was probably no better choice than a fellow scientist.
"That sounds like a good idea, we will do that as soon as possible." Curie happily replied. "Thank you for your assistance, Miss Polendina."
Penny smiled even wider. "I was happy to help! Any friend of Ruby's is a friend of mine!"
"Hey." Ruby interjected. Her face was still creased with worry, but it seemed to have relented slightly. "Don't be afraid to call me or Penny just in case you need anything else from us, okay?"
"We will, thank you Ruby." Ben replied.
Ruby gave them a small smile of her own. "Stay safe you two!"
The call ended, leaving Curie and Ben alone once more.
"I can't believe that might have actually worked." Ben muttered as he pocketed his datapad.
"We are on Remnant Ben, it seems that the obvious solution is rarely the correct one for any given problem." Curie said. "We should inform the Commander of our discoveries."
Ben nodded and left the armory once his equipment was stored. For the first time in days, Curie felt genuinely optimistic.
UNSC Dominion, Brig
October 27th, 0920 Local Time, 2552
In the loneliest recesses of the Human's warship, Set 'Vadum pondered whether the silence that surrounded him was actually giving him any peace of mind. The doubts made his meditation difficult, but countless lessons from the Lesser Prophets had taught him how to dispel his doubts, allowing him to focus on pondering the answer to a far more important question.
What now? Set asked himself for perhaps the millionth time. What is my purpose in this place, why am I here?
Normally he would turn to somebody that he respected for guidance, but seeing as he was not only imprisoned by the humans, but lost within an entirely different plane of existence, that was simply not an option. There was only one source of wisdom that he could truly rely upon now, and that was his own.
Perhaps that is not true. Set thought.
He spared a glance back to the UNSC datapad resting at the foot of his bed. The information that the Humans had granted him was valuable, but it was of questionable validity. Assuming that it was factual, these "Grimm" as they were known seemed to be truly baffling creatures. Although they bore some similarities to the Great Parasite at a glance, they were clearly a completely unique race of creatures. One thing was for certain, they were the creations of some kind of higher power, be it a god or some form of spiritual entity. But Set was a Warrior, not a Theologist, and his knowledge of the Gods themselves was quite limited.
"To think, the one time that I would care for a Prophet to interfere with my work, and there is none in sight!" Set grumbled aloud.
Normally, he would be quite annoyed whenever a Prophet tried to interfere with his work, especially when it wasn't the same Prophet that had issued him his task. Unlike most Sangheili Warriors, he did not receive his orders from traditional members of the military, but from a group of Elite Warriors who directly served the Prophets, the Silent Shadow. Set had not been a member of the group, although his skills were sharp and his faith was strong, he simply did not carry himself with the grace and terrifying presence of the Superior Warriors.
While he was not a member of the Silent Shadow, that did not mean that he did not occasionally work alongside them. Granted, he had never actually seen any of the warriors in person, but he was not required to. His duties were not dissimilar to that of an Ossoona, an "Eye of The Prophet," or a Human Scout. Unlike an Ossoona, however, he was called upon to perform direct acts of violence against specific targets. Assassination and sabotage were the two tasks most commonly asked of him.
It was a duty that Set had greatly enjoyed. Although his targets were typically unarmed and put up an insignificant fight, they were frequently guarded by some of the best warriors that Humanity had to offer. Imps were the most common, the "Orbital Drop Shock Troopers," as the UNSC called them. Privately, Set had always hoped to face a Demon in combat some day, but sadly it seemed that those particular warriors never strayed far enough from the frontline to find him.
But not everything was for the best, there were certainly tasks that he did not enjoy performing. The most common of them were the missions where he would be sent to silence Humans who were not Warriors. It was dishonorable, shameful even, in Set's mind to slay unarmed noncombatants, but his duty to the prophets and his fellow Warriors kept him from raising his tongue. Never would he be the one to betray his kind by committing an act of heresy.
Technically, there was no title for his true role in the Covenant, and he had never actually heard of any other Warrior who had ever held his position before. As far as Set knew, he was the only Warrior to have ever held the role.
Perhaps that is for the best, I would not want another Warrior to meet this graceless fate. Set thought. The walls of his cell taunted him, evidence that he had clearly failed in some capacity to perform his duties. If only those damnable Jiralhanae had not stopped me, I would be back on High Charity by now!
He had been on the Fortress World "Reach" to eliminate a human "executive" responsible for a large part of Humanity's War Effort, for whatever reason, the civilian had elected to stay behind while the planet burned. Were it not for the traitorous and incomptent Jiralhanae, he would have certainly succeeded in his task, but sadly, the traitorous nature of the Brutes had put an end to his mission before it could truly begin.
And now he was sitting in a tiny metal box, trapped far from his people in the middle of a region of space that most Prophets agreed was probably either already destroyed or a prison for the unholy.
Something inside of him finally snapped, in all likelihood, it had been his patience that had broken. Whether it was the isolation, despair, or confusion that finally broke him didn't truly matter, whatever the case, he let out a guttural roar of rage to the universe at large.
Nobody heard him.
After perhaps a minute of heavy breathing and self-reflection, he slowly realized that he needed to do something. He didn't know what exactly that was, but it had to be something, he couldn't just hit here and scribble incessantly anymore, he needed to act, to-
Pray. A voice said.
Set looked around him, there was nobody else in the cell. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the nothingness around him, something terribly wrong was happening.
"I heard you." Set said with a low growl of warning.
Pray. The voice repeated, it's tone unwavered.
Set examined his surroundings again, there was nothing out of the ordinary around him. He had certainly not imagined the voice, it had sounded as if it was speaking directly into his ear.
Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea. Set thought. If there is anyone who can offer my guidance now, it is the Gods themselves.
"...Very well." Set said aloud.
He got onto his knees and recited an old prayer that his mentors had taught him, then another, and then a third.
My faith is strong. Set told himself. I am strong! I will not be broken!
UNSC Dominion, Bridge
October 27th, 0931 Local Time, 2552
The Bridge was in a state of calm that Richard hadn't seen in days, although part of that was due to the absent officers. Ensign Williams and Lieutenant Chen were both down in the city of Vytal, negotiating exact specifications for the eventual size of the UNSC's new base on the island. Lieutenant Gage was on a flight to Atlas in order to examine existing Atlesian Munitions stockpiles for any dangerous defects in the weaponry, and to propose potential upgrades, and the majority of the Junior Officers were performing duties in the new base on the ground.
It was a little unusual for the Bridge to be so quiet, but the last month had taught Richard that any sense of calm and normalcy was precious, and needed to be preserved. He was still burning through a considerable amount of pain relievers just to deal with his headaches, to the extent that he was starting to worry about possibly being sick.
That shouldn't be a problem, Curie made sure that we're all up to date on our vaccines. Richard thought.
He was shaken by his thoughts by Specialist Schnee, who approached him with a scroll in her hand. "Commander, I've just received a message. It's addressed to you."
He took the scroll from her hands and tried to fight the instinct to hold both sides. He still wasn't entirely confident in the Hard-Light Dust that Atlas made extensive use of, in spite of the impressive things that it had done, it didn't feel natural to have the device split apart so weightlessly. "Who is it from?"
Winter scowled. "An informant embedded within the White Fang."
Well that's just marvelous, isn't it? Richard thought with a hint of annoyance. It suddenly seemed a lot less likely that the UNSC was going to get a day of peace.
He opened the message with some instruction from Winter, and found that it was delivered in the form of a video. The visual that he was greeted with was of a man in what looked like White Fang attire, although it was hard to say for certain, since wherever the video had been recorded in, it was spectacularly dark. Overall, it bore a striking resemblance to the circumstances in which an ONI Officer would choose to conduct an interview or interrogation.
"Specialist Schnee, if you are hearing this, I need this message to reach the Commanding Officer of the UNSC. The White Fang are planning an attack in Kuo Kuana." The figure said. "A small team under the lead of Adam Taurus and Vermillion Redwood are going to attempt to take Human civilians hostage in order to force you to the negotiating table, likely to bargain for Jacques Schnee."
Richard picked up a few things just from the way that the figure talked. They concealed their identity very well, they had even installed a voice modulator and a rather primitive censorship filter to cover up any distinguishable features about themselves.
Secondly, whoever this was clearly had extensive experience in the field of subterfuge and espionage, as they were doing everything correct to send a discrete message. There weren't any details about their location that Richard could discern at a glance, and he doubted that would change with a thorough analysis.
Thirdly, and perhaps most crucially, was that this was a person who was very clearly in a hurry to deliver as much information as they could as quickly as possible. The figure seemed confident but was noticeably on edge, and they were twitching in their seat, this was somebody who either expected imminent trouble or was unhealthily paranoid.
"No doubt you are wondering if you can trust me, and you are fair to assume the worst." The Spy continued. "That is why I have chosen to have Specialist Schnee deliver this message, as I know that she is in contact with you. She can confirm that my information is valid. Take time to verify what you must, but do so quickly. I do not know when they plan to strike, but it will be soon."
The video ended rather unceremoniously by cutting to black.
"This is one of your agents, I take it?" Richard guessed.
Winter frowned. "Not officially, no. The Atlesian Military has been trying to identify and track them down for years now, but whoever they are, they seem to be deeply involved in the White Fang's activities. Occasionally they'll call us and tell us about some kind of incoming attack, and so far, they haven't proven to be wrong."
Richard put a hand to his head in an attempt to alleviate his growing headache. A small part of him had been hoping that this was all some kind of ill-intentioned prank, but it seemed that he had no such luck. "Are you saying that this information is actionable?"
Winter nodded. "If they say that the White Fang is to attack, then we should respond immediately. If the White Fang intends to take hostages, then we have to stop them."
"Agreed." Richard turned to Bradford, who had been listening to the entire exchange from the next station over. "Lieutenant, ready Fireball for a quick takeoff and scramble Onyx Team for action. Get them a Fireteam of Marines as support, they might need the extra men."
"Aye, Commander." Bradford replied with a nod.
Winter looked at them both with a typically unreadable expression, but if Richard had to guess, she was probably somewhat confused or concerned about how exactly he planned to respond.
"Ideally, we can stop them before any civilians are endangered." Richard answered her unspoken question. "Otherwise… the White Fang needs to learn that Terrorism will not be tolerated."
Winter nodded. "Well said, Commander."
I thought she might say something like that. Richard thought. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to warn the Chieftain, hopefully he'll have some Huntsmen in the area who can intervene."
UNSC Dominion, Starboard Armory
October 27th, 0941 Local Time, 2552
By the time that Fairfire had made her way to the Armory, the rest of the squad had already arrived and were arming themselves for the upcoming mission, with the exception of Mags, who was needed to continue training the Marines to use their Auras back at the Vytal FOB. Thankfully, Meadows was back on his feet and active again, having had his leg fixed during the conference by a Huntress with some kind of healing Semblance. Onyx Team was still understaffed, but at least they had all six Helljumpers back in the fight.
"What do you think, Meadows? I bet you can make your way through this entire op without a scratch!" Nathan teasingly said.
"He was gonna get hit before you jinxed him, but now he's just boned." Fairfire added. Meadows only answered with a groan of dread, he knew that they were just poking fun.
"Oh come on Liz, you know it's not a good idea to say shit like that, now it's going to happen." Yu interjected as she retrieved a set of spare tubes for her M41/SSR Missile Launcher.
Normally, bringing such a weapon to a potential hostage situation was a downright idiotic prospect. But according to the intel that the UNSC had been given, the terrorists leading the attack were responsible for the deaths of several Huntsmen, meaning that they almost certainly not only had well-trained Auras, but also dangerous Semblances. Heavy weapons would likely be necessary to defeat them.
"You know, this joke was a lot funnier the first time you assholes told it." Meadows grumpily replied. Fairfire noticed that he was wearing a rather unusual piece of equipment on his back, and it wasn't just her that noticed it.
"Sergeant." Jorge said from across the armory. It hadn't even taken their Spartan leader a minute to be ready for action, so he spent the time inspecting the team. "Are you cleared to operate that?"
"Sir, yes Sir." Meadows answered. He tried to shift the Series Eight Jetpack that he was wearing, and it did not move at all, showing that it was properly mounted. "I served with a Bullfrog unit before I ended up with this bunch of psychopaths, we might need the verticality in the city."
Jorge nodded in approval. "Good thinking. Grab a Sniper Rifle and stick close to Nathan once we hit the ground. If the enemy is going to have hostages and Auras protecting them, we'll need the firepower to take them down quickly. Kowalski, Peggy, take the M7's, this is going to be close quarters."
They did as the Lieutenant ordered while Fairfire retrieved her shotgun and a set of flashbang grenades. She didn't know exactly how effective they would be against targets with an Aura, but so far it seemed like blinding light and deafening noise was still a major irritant to Aura-protected people, even if they were protected from any lasting damage to their eyes and ears. While she was retrieving her weapon, she noticed that Ben was taking an M90 as well.
"Finally joining the winning team, eh Spartan?" Fairfire jokingly asked, walking up next to Ben. "Word of advice, the Flechettes on this ship are the crappy old ones, don't even bother with them. Grab some slugs instead."
Ben examined the shotgun in his hands. "I'll take that call, but it's going to be close-quarters, prioritize buckshot."
"Yeah well I just hope Curie can keep us pointed which way to go, that city is a goddamn mess." Fairfire commented.
But to her surprise, Ben actually paused what he was doing and looked at her with some unknown expression, the golden visor that concealed his face made it impossible to see what he was thinking.
"She's… busy." Ben explained. "She's staying on the Dominion for now."
The worry in his voice indicated that there was something more going on, but given that they were only minutes away from embarking on a mission, she didn't have any time to ask him about it. "We'll have to manage without her then."
Ben stood as still as a statue for a few seconds before he continued to gather his equipment. "Yeah… I guess we will."
Once all of Onyx Team was prepared for battle, they headed to the Starboard Hangar and boarded Fireball's Pelican. It was going to be a painfully long journey to reach Menagerie, as even the fast and space-capable Pelican needed a lot of time to cross most of Remnant.
It's a good thing that we have these dropships, I can't imagine trying to make this flight in something like one of Atlas's airships. Fairfire thought. The idea of waiting for somewhere in the region of eighteen hours just to reach the battlefield was a downright terrifying prospect. I hope we make it in time to stop these bastards.
Onyx Team was joined by another team of Marines, Fireteam Wyvern, led by the current leader of Zulu Company, Master Gunnery Sergeant Moerdani. Hostage Rescue missions were something that UNSC Marines were rarely called up to undertake, but that didn't mean they weren't given some training on the matter, and having greater numbers than the kidnappers was crucial to quickly taking them down and rescuing the hostages.
Seeing Moerdani reminded Fairfire of what had happened to Captain Clark, and she couldn't help but flinch at the thought. She hadn't liked the Officer from the few times that she had spoken to him, but she would certainly never have wished for the man to lose his eye in battle.
Well, at least he had a good Gunny to fill in while he's out. Fairfire thought. She'd heard a lot of good things from the Marines of Zulu Company about Moerdani, and hopefully he was about to live up to them.
"The Commander wanted me to remind you all that there's a good chance we'll be running into civilians down there." He said as he led his men into the Pelican. "Standard rules of engagement are in effect, but you have final authority on the matter, Lieutenant."
Jorge nodded. "Understood."
Their radios crackled as Fireball called in from the cockpit. "Alright everyone, please keep your arms and legs inside of the ride at all times. Remember, if you need a doggie bag, you're welcome to use my co-pilot's spare helmet."
Fairfire grinned as she heard Fireball's co-pilot protest before the radio channel was closed, and a handful of the other Marines in the troop bay chuckled. It was a fairly mundane joke, but anything to break the growing tension was much appreciated by men who were about to go into combat, especially against the superhuman maniacs that Remnant seemed to possess in droves.
Good thing we've got some superhumans of our own. Fairfire thought as she glanced at the two Spartans in the Troop Bay.
The Pelican launched from the Dominion with a lurch, and for the first time in weeks, Fairfire was confident in an upcoming mission.