UNSC Dominion, Brig
October 31st, 2359 Local Time, 2552
Set had been having a relatively difficult day even before the Humans had decided to start shooting things. While the radio jammer in his hands proved sufficient to prevent any pain from forming in his mind, there was still a distant, spectral whispering in his ears. It was as if a thousand incredibly tiny creatures stood upon his shoulder, speaking to him all at once, and all of whom were saying something different.
The noise was utterly meaningless to him, and it had quickly gone from being a minor curiosity to a major annoyance. Sadly, Doctor Chase had been unable to help him get it to stop, no matter what she had tried. Eventually, he asked to be left alone, with the hopes that maybe some silence would drive the whispering to finally cease.
No such luck. Set grumbled to himself.
"What is the meaning of this, Oracle? Am I supposed to understand this?" Set spoke aloud. There was a degree of genuine irritation creeping into his voice, in spite of the fact that he was talking to a creation of the Gods. He wasn't even sure if the Oracle could hear him or not, but he felt a need to ask anyway. Of course, there was no answer.
Eventually, Set had tried to get some sleep, only to be shaken awake as the Humans fired their only truly capable weapon. After vocalizing his contempt for the Human's impertinent timing, he returned to bed, and eventually managed to force himself to sleep.
Now, he was awake again, and he couldn't help but feel as if something was wrong. His body was tense and his mind alert, despite having been fast-asleep only moments prior. It was as if he had been shaken awake by a superior so that he may perform his duties, but his cell was empty, and there was no sign of whatever had woken him up.
Then, he realized what had changed. The infernal whispering had ceased, leaving him in a state of absolute silence. Once he noticed it, the absence of sound seemed unnatural, as if enforced by some unseen power.
I shall not complain, I am happy to be rid of those nonsensical ramblings. Set thought with a huff of satisfaction.
He went to get out of his bed, but inadvertently kicked something that had been left on the floor, knocking it over. Looking down, he saw that it was the radio jammer that the Humans had left him, and by kicking it, he had managed to turn it off. Immediately, he braced himself for the apocalyptic headaches that he had felt previously, but they never came.
"Hmm, another thing that I am grateful to be rid of!" He muttered as he reached down to pick up the device, confirming that it was powered off. "Although… Why has this happened? What's changed?"
Experimentally, he turned the jammer on and off again, but nothing happened. No waves of pain struck him, and the sound of whispering remained nothing more than a memory.
"I should tell the Humans." Set muttered aloud.
He used the Human Datapad to call for the Doctor, and a few minutes later, a very weary-looking Doctor Chase opened the door to his cell. Unlike before, she had only a single bodyguard, who looked just about as exhausted as she did.
"Greetings, Humans." Set said. Such a pleasantry felt very alien leaving his mouth, but it seemed to be the appropriate thing to do. "Something has changed. I no longer hear the voices."
Chase gave a morbid chuckle as she withdrew an electronic device from her belt. "You know, if you were one of my other patients, that would probably be a little more concerning."
For a moment, Set was very confused. Had the Oracle spoken to some of the Humans, or were they also hearing some of the strange whispering? However, he realized from the Doctor's facial features, as well as her tone of voice, that she was probably not being sincere.
It's difficult to see when a Human is being sarcastic. Set noticed. I think the Demon proved more expressive in that regard, and it displayed no face.
"Hmm, I suppose that would be a concern." Set replied. "I also tried turning off the jamming device, and my headaches are gone as well."
He tried to hand her the device, but she brushed it aside. "Keep it for now, we've certainly got no shortage of them, and your symptoms might come back. On that note, I'm going to run a scan on your brain, maybe it'll give us a better idea about what happened to you."
"We can only hope." Set muttered.
The Doctor withdrew some kind of scanning tool from her belt, which she held beside his head for a few moments, before frowning. "Ah, goddamnit."
"What is it?" Set asked.
"Well, your brain activity is perfectly normal and healthy, and you certainly aren't in any pain. But from the looks of things, you've still got one of those signals running through your head." Chase remarked.
Set pursed his jaws in confusion. "Is that necessarily a bad thing?"
The Doctor shrugged. "I guess not, at least, not from what I'm seeing. Whatever was communicating with you earlier still seems to be there, but at least it's not hurting you anymore. Man, this is weird..."
"Is there nothing more that you can tell me?" Set asked. He was more surprised by the Human's lack of an answer than he was insulted, as so far the Medical Humans had proven to be very resourceful, considering how little they knew about what was happening.
"What can I say? You're a scientific anomaly." The Doctor replied. "Nobody in our history has ever seen anything like this before. For what it's worth, I wish I had a better answer for you, but I just don't."
"Urgh…" Set grumbled in frustration. "Why could that Oracle not have given me some kind of warning about all of this, or at the very least an explanation? I would have at least liked some kind of assistance-"
With absolutely nothing in the way of warning, a floating blue light around thirty centimeters across spontaneously appeared in the center of Set's cell with a soft sound not unlike that of blowing winds. Immediately, it began to slowly expand and grow brighter, beginning to form a swirl as the noise grew louder.
Even if it didn't make any sense, Set immediately recognized the oddity forming in the middle of the room. It was a Void Rift, the same kind of portal that the Human and Covenant starships used to transition to the field of Slipspace for interdimensional travel, albeit on a much smaller scale.
The ominous noises given off by the Rift filled the room, and the door to his cell opened after the electronics responsible for keeping it shut short-circuited. Through the blue glow, he could see Doctor Chase and her bodyguard, both of whom were staring at the portal in stunned, fearful awe.
"Run Humans! The Portal will consume you!" Set shouted to them in warning. He'd been an unwilling witness to the destruction of the Long Night of Solace during the Campaign on the Human Fortress Reach, and knew that even a small rift like this was deadly. If any of them were stood inside of it when it collapsed, it would transport either them or whatever parts of them were within the boundaries of the Rift, and that could very easily be fatal.
The Humans did not heed his words, as they probably couldn't even hear him over the noise of the Void Rift. Thus, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He sprinted around the portal, being careful not to touch it, and shoved both of the stupefied Humans out of the open door.
While there was undoubtedly a chance that he could hurt them in the process, as he was many times stronger than them, any injury suffered would undoubtedly be superficial compared to the hellish fate of being consumed by a Void Rift. Thankfully, they both fell on their rears, still looking as stunned as before.
"Flee!" He shouted again, with no small amount of frustration at their inaction. "What are you doing?! Run!"
The Doctor's bodyguard blinked, looking up at him in absolute confusion and fear, before reaching out to grab the Doctor and pulling her to her feet. The two Humans sprinted down the Corridor and out of view.
At last! What in the Hells was wrong with them?! Set thought before turning around to face the Void Rift.
The portal had grown up to well over a meter in diameter. It was bright enough that he had to squint his eyes just to look at it, and it only continued to grow as the sounds it made began to sound like a spectral, ghostly wail.
"Oracle!" Set called out to the only being that could possibly be responsible. "Is this your doing?! What is the meaning of this?! Have I displeased you?!"
He received no answer as the portal continued to grow brighter and brighter, until Set was forced to turn away. He only heard the portal collapse, and when he turned to face the cell again, he was faced with many, many more questions.
Floating in his cell where the Void Rift had previously been, was a Huragok, the same creature that Humans called "Engineers". For a moment, it looked around the Cell, as if it were just as confused as Set was, before softly floating over towards the door of the Cell, seemingly intent on leaving.
If the Humans see this, they'll kill it! Set quickly realized. Even if he didn't know why this creature was here, he did not want to see it come to any harm. He reached out to grab onto the Huragok by one it's tentacles and stop it, but the creature nimbly dodged his grip by pulling the appendage back at the last moment. "Hey! What are you doing? Why are you here?"
It was admittedly a bit fruitless to try and communicate with the Huragok, as while they could speak using a language consisting of a combination of strange sounds and gestures, Set did not know how to speak it. That seemed to be a moot point however, as the Engineer did not even grace him with a response as it came to a steady hover next to the door to the Cell. Rather than leaving the Room, it then used some of its appendages to somehow remove a small piece of the wall, revealing the internal circuitry.
Oh. I suppose I should have seen that coming. The realization set in fairly quickly. While the Huragok were very intelligent, they also had an irresistible urge to fix anything that was broken, and that urge likely overpowered whatever interest the creature had in him.
After only a few moments of work, the Engineer had expertly repaired the door to his Cell, which closed on it's own. Only once the panel of the wall was back in place did the Huragok show him any attention, as it turned it's snakelike head to face him and made a very strange warbling sound.
"How… did you get here?" Set asked.
The Engineer attempted to respond by gesturing with its appendages and making a faint "cooing" sound, but Set brushed it aside. "-No, I don't understand how to speak your tongue. Can you speak mine, or even Human?"
The Huragok placed one of it's cilia-covered tentacles under its chin, as if mimicking a pose of thought, before floating over to Set's bed. It withdrew the Human datapad from beneath it, and proceeded to completely disassemble the device in less than a second.
How am I ever going to explain this to the Humans? Set wondered with a mix of trepidation and frustration as the Huragok did… something, to the datapad.
Once it's work was completed, it pressed a single button on the datapad, which spoke the Human language in a monotone, digital voice. "Can you understand this?"
"Thank the Gods." Set muttered. He had many questions, but in the interest of understanding more about the creature before the Humans inevitably returned, he kept it short. "Now tell me, who are you, and why are you here? Do you even know where you are?"
The Huragok spoke through the tablet again, although how it was able to do so without pushing a single button was a mystery that was beyond him. "I am Functions Inconsistently. You called me here to provide assistance. This is the Brig of a warship belonging to the Reclaimers."
Even though the Engineer's answers had raised further questions, Set couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. For the first time, it was starting to look like he might actually get answers to some of the big questions lingering in his mind.
However, as if to completely derail any chance of his life finally gaining some semblance of order, the door to his Cell flew open. Three Human Marines and an Imp wearing red-accented armor poured into the room, all armed with shotguns. They kept their barrels trained squarely on Set and Functions Inconsistently.
"Wait! Don't shoot!" Set shouted. "This is an Engineer, it won't hurt you... I won't either!"
"Oh yeah? Fancy that." The Imp replied calmly, before gesturing aggressively at the Engineer and shouting. "Where the hell did it come from?!"
Set grumbled aloud at the impossible question. The Human's suspicions were perfectly understandable, after all, if Set were trying to escape, a Huragok would make that effort trivial. Having it teleport itself into his cell was also an obvious cause of concern, and not just for the Humans.
It said that I called it here, but how? Set wondered. Unfortunately, that question would clearly have to wait, as the Imp was getting agitated at his lack of an answer.
"Please do not be agitated, Reclaimer." The Huragok spoke up, it's monotone robotic voice clearly taking the Humans somewhat off-guard. "This Warrior Servant and I mean you no harm. I am only here to provide assistance."
The Imp stared him down for a few more tense, critical seconds, before gesturing towards one of the Marines beside her. "Lawson, go get the Doctor, and make sure the Commander knows what's going on."
"Yes Sergeant!" The Marine replied, dashing down the hallway as Set spared the Huragok beside him one more awkward look of exasperation.
This is going to be a long day… Set thought.
UNSC Dominion, Brig
November 1st, 0024 Local Time, 2552
This is going to be a long month, isn't it? Richard thought as the doors to the elevator shut, and he started to make his way toward the Dominion's Brig.
Around half an hour ago, he had been awoken by an urgent call from Ensign Williams. A Slipspace Rupture had been detected, and while the implications of that were terrifying enough on their own, he then explained that it had been detected in the Dominion's Brig. Richard immediately ordered any available Marines to arm up and secure the Brig, threw on his uniform, and reluctantly accepted that he probably wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.
The ten minutes that followed had been filled with conflicting reports, false information, and unashamed panic. Were the circumstances any less strange, Richard honestly would have felt a little embarrassed at the performance of his crew, but given what had actually happened, he was more inclined to show some forgiveness. It's not like they were trained for anything like this… Still, we'll need to work on that for the future, this cannot happen again.
Eventually, Doctor Chase had managed to provide him with a more clear-cut picture of what had happened. She and a bodyguard had gone down to the brig to examine some kind of change regarding the Elite's unusual medical condition, and had been witness to the impossible. As if by magic, a tiny Slipspace Portal had opened in Set's cell, depositing another alien into the Dominion's Brig, and not just any alien either.
Most of Richard's knowledge about the Engineers came secondhand from rumors and scuttlebutt that had been abound during his time in the Office of Naval Intelligence, and were thus about five years old. Curie had a little bit more information that had much better sources, and what she said pretty much confirmed what Richard had heard.
The Engineers were a race of floating semi-biological supercomputers, superficially resembling some kind of squid. ONI believed that the Covenant had enslaved the Engineers at some point prior to their war with Humanity. They were apparently staunch pacifists, but possessed other qualities that apparently made them a very attractive target for ONI. Dozens of agents had lost their lives trying to capture one or more of the strange aliens, but none had ever succeeded.
Although seemingly irrelevant, that last detail was of particular interest to Richard, purely because it implied that the Engineers possessed some kind of quality that was important enough to ONI for them to risk so many of their personnel. For all of the horrible things ONI had done, they never wasted Human Lives, they spent them like they would any other resource.
And now one of these things has just shown up in our Brig… It would be foolish not to have a degree of suspicion as to exactly how much Set had to do with the Engineer's appearance. Doctor Chase seemed to be convinced that he was just as clueless as the rest of them, and while Richard was generally unconvinced by whatever the Elite had to say, he had done one specific thing that had caught Richard's attention.
When the portal had appeared, Set had gone out of his way to make sure that Doctor Chase and her Bodyguard made it away from the portal, which they had all assumed to be dangerous. An Elite trying to save the life of a Human was very out of the ordinary, and while it had claimed to have a change of heart regarding his loyalty to the cause of exterminating Humanity, this was the first truly solid piece of evidence that they had to back up those claims.
He could have taken out the guard bare-handed, easily. From there, he could have taken the rifle and caused a hell of a lot of havoc, but he didn't. Richard thought as he watched the security footage. That was the reason why he had elected to go and talk to Set himself.
When he arrived at the Brig, he was relieved to see that the Marines had everything completely under control. All of the cells were locked down, and at least a dozen Leathernecks in full combat gear kept a watchful eye on the prisoners, including Corporal Sato, who was currently supervising the security effort. "Any developments, Corporal?"
She gave a sharp salute. "No Sir. We've got the whole deck on lockdown, nothing's getting past us!"
"Good. Where's the Doctor?" He asked.
Yu gestured down the corridor. "Talking to the Split-Lip and the Gasbag. We're keeping them in the same cell for now. No trouble with them so far, but, if I may speak frankly, I don't trust those damn things."
Richard raised an eyebrow. "The Engineer can speak?"
"Kind of… it somehow managed to rig a datapad to translate itself. So far, it's been pretty stubborn about answering any questions." Yu explained. "It's safe to go in, so you can speak to them yourself if you really want."
"That's why I'm here. I've got a few things that I'd like to ask the sly bastard." Richard commented with a scowl. "Keep your guard up for the time being. If anything else teleports aboard, detain it and bring it here, only kill it if you have to."
"Sir, yes Sir!" Yu replied.
He walked down to the end of the corridor, and through the one-way viewing wall of Set's cell, Richard got a look at a living Engineer for the first time in his life. Even though he knew it was pretty much harmless, he still felt a small degree of fear spike up in his mind at the sight of another alien. It reminded him that if the Covenant ever did find Shunspace and Remnant, there would be no way to fight them off forever.
Then again, the thing that Set talked to apparently claimed that the Covenant aren't out to get us anymore… If anything, that was an even more chilling possibility. He honestly couldn't think of anything that could force the Covenant to fight alongside Humanity, but if what it had said was the truth, it boded very poorly for the rest of the UNSC. I don't know if it or Set was lying, but for once, I hope to god they aren't telling the truth.
He opened the door to the cell, and found Set already in the middle of an explanation to Doctor Chase. "-Huragok are very intelligent, but they are unfortunately very easily distracted. If they do not understand something, they will seek to understand it, and if it is broken, they will repair it."
True to his word, the Engineer floated lazily beside Set, distracted entirely by a disassembled electronic of some kind. Exactly how it was interacting with the device was very unusual, sometimes its tentacles touched it, sometimes they didn't. Sometimes the Engineer would briefly create some kind of small bioluminescence, before extinguishing the light just as quickly.
"I see… and are there any limits to what it can fix?" Chase asked.
Set shook his head. "None that we have yet found. Ancient scriptures spoke of them as servants of the Gods… and although I now question the validity of those texts, it does make some sense. They are adept mechanics, and your title of "Engineer" is entirely befitting of them."
That certainly explains why ONI's so interested in them. The strategic potential of such a creature was now very obvious, even a single one could potentially unlock the secrets behind numerous advanced Covenant technologies. "That's very interesting. Would it do this on command if asked?"
Set turned to face him with an expression that he had never seen from an Elite before. "Ah, the Shipmaster, good. To answer your question, I believe so. A Huragok will only refuse an order if it is called upon to perform any kind of violent act, or bring harm upon another living being, even something as simple as an insect."
All of them turned their attention to the Engineer, who shamelessly looked back at them with all of the eyes along the right side of its head. It made some kind of warbling noise, before returning its attention squarely back to its work.
"Where did it come from?" Richard asked, although he had a feeling what kind of answer he was going to get.
Predictably, Set grumbled in frustration. "As I told your Doctor, Imp, and your Marines, I do not know. My best guess is that the Oracle sent it, but that does not explain why it is here, nor why it felt the need to arrive in such a dangerous manner!"
"I am here to provide assistance, as requested." The Engineer said. It was very unusual to hear it speak via the datapad, talking in the same monotone voice that would normally tell Richard when his laundry was ready to be picked up.
"...So you have said, repeatedly." Set quietly fumed.
I don't think anybody can pretend to be angry that well. Richard noted, further reaffirming that Set truthfully did not know where the Engineer had come from. "Exactly what kind of assistance are you here to provide… do you have a name?"
"Yes, I am Functions Inconsistently. I am capable of solving any number of technical, mathematical, or logical problems." The Engineer replied without even looking up from its work.
Well, that's a mouthful. Richard thought with a degree of bemusement. "What problem were you called here to solve? And who summoned you?"
Functions Inconsistently looked up from their work, turned to face them, and pointed a single tentacle squarely at Set. "The Warrior Servant, of course. I was summoned to-"
"What nonsense!" Set protested and interrupted it. "Do you seek to frame me for attempted murder, you maniacal creature?! Shipmaster, I swear on the blood of my Fathers, I have no idea how this thing got here!"
Richard remained silent, and shifted his gaze back and forth between the Engineer and the Elite. Half of him was debating as to who was telling the truth, if indeed either of them were. The other half of him was wondering if Set was just some kind of magnet for bizarre, anomalous events. It's kind of hard not to be sympathetic, I'd hate to be in his shoes on a Covenant ship.
"Set, what if you did it unintentionally?" Doctor Chase spoke up. "You were asking why the Oracle hadn't offered you any explanation before that portal appeared, maybe this is the result?"
Set's eyes widened as he looked down at his hands in shock. "That's… that's not possible! I cannot will things to happen through idle comment! I am no God! I have no… what is the Human word? Magic? I have no magic!"
A horrible chill ran down Richard's spine as he remembered what Ozpin had shown him during the Vytal Conference. Neither Set or the Doctor knew about that of course, but the comparison was still an uncomfortable reminder. Mercifully, this was nothing even close to what that had been. Whatever Ozpin had done gave him a feeling that made him nauseous with some kind of instinctual fear, whereas this was just strange and confusing.
"Hmm… I think I have an idea." Chase announced. "Commander, do you still have your Scroll?"
Immediately, the realization clicked for him, and he gave Doctor Chase a look of extreme doubt. "Doctor, I know what you're thinking, and it's impossible. It's-"
He paused mid-sentence, as he remembered that he was standing in the same room as an Engineer capable of slipspace travel, an Elite that didn't want to immediately gut him just for existing, and was only seconds earlier thinking about the time that he had been witness to genuine magic. Clearly, he was not one to judge what was possible or not
"Erm, Humans, what are you talking about?" Set asked, completely blind as to what was being discussed.
With a hefty, somewhat nervous sigh, Richard handed his Scroll over to the Doctor, which she then opened. Set's eyes widened somewhat at the display of hardlight technology in Human hands, but she paid him no mind as she opened an application on the Scroll, designed to show the strength of any nearby Auras.
Three contacts appeared on the screen immediately, Doctor Chase, her Marine bodyguard, and himself, all with full Auras and listed by their full was however, a fourth, listed only as a line of three question marks, who had a slightly depleted Aura.
"You've got to be fucking joking…" Richard muttered.
He and Chase both looked up to Set, then back to the Scroll. There was very little doubt left as to who the fourth Aura belonged to.
"Doctor? Your silence is… concerning." Set commented, but Richard found it very hard to pay attention to what he was saying.
"How the hell is this possible?" Richard asked. "Nobody could have activated his Aura, we still have some of the crew who need to be activated!"
"He wouldn't need to have somebody else to help him. Specialist Schnee told me that a person's Aura can actually be activated without any outside assistance." Chase explained. "Of course, there's a bit more to it than that. The user has to go through some kind of strong emotional event in order to activate it, like say, losing a loved one."
"...Or a crisis of faith." Richard pointed out as he turned back towards Set. The Elite opened his mandibles as if to protest, but ultimately did not speak.
"Well, if nothing else, I believe we've solved the mystery of where the Engineer came from." Chase remarked. "Clearly, Set did summon it, and he used his Semblance to do it."
Despite how ridiculous that statement sounded, it made far too much sense for Richard to disagree and for not the last time he cursed the new world they had stumbled into.
"My Semblance of what?" Set asked with no small degree of agitation. "Is there some kind of other meaning to that word in your tongue?"
"Easy Set, we'll explain everything." Chase said.
"The hell we will!" Richard immediately protested. "Doctor, who's to say we can trust him? Who knows how many people he's killed?!"
"Commander, with all due respect, how are we any different?" Chase Shot back. "Im not asking you to forget what he may have done in the past, I'm asking you to take a chance for our future. With his abilities... There's no telling what we might be able to accomplish."
Unbelievably, Richard found himself put on the back foot by her argument. It was true that Set had undeniably acted in defense of her and her bodyguard, and he had adamantly claimed that he no longer wished to be humanity's enemy. If he genuinely could be trusted, he would undeniably be a powerful ally, having the ability to summon an Engineer was something that ONI would've (and likely had) killed to achieve.
If his emotional crisis was genuine enough to activate his Aura, does that mean that he's genuinely changed, or is that just wishful thinking? Richard wondered.
On the other hand, that same ability made him a gigantic potential threat if he were ever freed, and his motivation to exterminate humanity reinvigorated. He could only speculate what somebody like Set would do if he somehow found his way into Salem's company, with an Engineer on her side...
The risk is unavoidable, but that kind of ability just isn't something we can ignore. We might finally figure out some of the Covenant's technology. Richard thought. "Goddamnit… fine. Put together a team to bring him up to speed on where we are, what we've learned, and to try and get his abilities under control. Curie and Penny should be your first picks since they don't need to sleep."
Chase gave a genuine smile. "Thank you, Commander. I know we're taking a chance here…. but I think that we'll look back on this as a good decision."
"We'll see, Doctor." Richard replied as he turned to leave.
"I am… very confused. What is happening?" He heard Set ask as the door closed.
The story of Remnant. Richard thought. He took the extra minute to dismiss the Marines from their duty and lift the lockdown in the Brig, before returning to his cabin in a vain effort to get some sleep. Surprisingly, it wasn't as vain as he had feared.
Menagerie, White Fang Camp
November 1st, 0755 Local Time, 2552
The more that Doctor Watts learned about the White Fang, the more he realized that Salem had been right about them on every front. They were well-motivated, had a middling degree of training and expertise in a surprisingly wide array of sciences and fields of warfare, and possessed a substantial arsenal even after their Headquarters had fallen. In spite of all of that however, he could also tell that they were doomed to lose the war that they had found themselves in.
They would put up a ferocious, bitter fight, and it would undoubtedly cost many, many lives on both sides, but from his own perspective, he just didn't see a way for the Faunus to win. They didn't have the sheer numbers to overwhelm the UNSC, their public support was waning, and they had a technological disadvantage that no amount of racial pride could overcome. Their one true chance was to break the UNSC's will to fight, and from what Watts had seen, both of the factions involved were far too stubborn and brainless for that to happen.
Ultimately, the White Fang would serve as little more than sacrificial soldiers for Salem, unaware of the cause that they were truly fighting for, exactly as she had predicted from the very beginning of the conflict.
I suppose that's yet more evidence that she's the one who's going to come out on top, after all of this fighting is over. Watts thought with a satisfied grin, confident that he had made the correct choice in who to serve. On that note, I believe that it's high time that I reported our arrival. She'll want to know what we've learned.
After excusing himself from the camp, ostensibly to relieve himself, he made his way deep in the surrounding jungle, taking great care to ensure that he wasn't followed. Just moving through the slick mud, dense undergrowth, and humid weather was utterly exhausting, but he had always held the belief that security took priority over comfort.
He found a small gully in the terrain a decent distance from the camp, and once he was certain that there were no eavesdroppers present, he placed the bag on the ground and opened it. Usually, the Seer Grimm would then float out of the bag, and he could command it to provide him with a line of communication to Salem. Which was why it was so unusual to find the Grimm totally unresponsive to its newfound freedom, almost as if it was afraid of the surrounding undergrowth.
"What are you waiting for, you insufferable thing? Get out of there and do your job!" Watts dismissively muttered, giving the bag an encouraging kick to the flank. At the gesture, it finally levitated out of the bag up to around waist height, but it did not float any higher. It's Tentacles were limp, and it's reflective spherical head displayed only his own face and the surrounding jungle.
"What is wrong with you?" Watts muttered, now more confused than anything else. Nothing like this had ever happened before; in his experience, Seers had always been perfectly reliable. "Seer, Let me speak with the Queen."
The Seer did nothing, floating lazily, almost as if it had not heard his order.
Experimentally, he gave the creature a gentle prod with his finger, and the only resistance that was offered was inertia. It moved several inches backwards, before again coming to a mid-air halt. It was as if the creature was completely braindead.
Has it broken somehow? He theorized, but that made no sense. The Grimm showed no signs of injury or damage, so clearly that wasn't the problem. It's intellect similarly shouldn't have been an issue, as the actual intelligence of a Seer was basically nonexistent, instead operating under more-or-less the direct command of Salem, and it was obviously impossible to interrupt her command over the Grimm.
...Or is it? He wondered. It would certainly explain the sudden lack of activity on behalf of the Seer, but then, it also didn't explain how Salem would have lost control of it. Perhaps there was some unforeseen complication; after all, her control over the Grimm is not faultless.
An idea suddenly came upon him, perhaps whatever was happening here had only happened to his Seer. It was far from the only one of its kind, and perhaps another could reach Salem to deliver his message. That being said, finding a Seer in the wild was all but impossible, as none ever went anywhere without Salem's direct instruction, but there was another place that he knew for a fact a Seer was located.
Using the UNSC Datapad, he sent a message to the Headmaster of Haven Academy, Leonardo Lionheart. "Pardon the interruption Leonardo, but my asset is unable to contact the Queen. Is yours able to deliver a message on my behalf?"
After around a minute of waiting, he received a reply. "No. It's not moving, or responding to me at all."
So it isn't just this one, it must be all of them. Watts realized. He didn't bother contacting Cinder or her damned children, as they were all still undercover at Haven, and therefore possessed no Seer. There was also little point in contacting Hazel, or any of the others who might have been operating in Vale, as none of them would have Seers either.
His datapad made an electronic chirp, signalling a new message from Lionheart. "What do we do now?"
After only a moment's thought, Watts calmly typed back; "Continue as planned. We have our orders, and you and I both know what's going to happen if we don't follow them."
Lionheart did not send another reply, but he didn't need to, Watts already knew how he would react. All that the Headmaster needed was a reminder of who was really in charge, and his cooperation would be assured.
The main issue remained however, what was wrong with the Seers? Or perhaps more accurately, what was wrong with Salem, and did it bode any further investigation?
Tyrian will certainly want to know more, but I'm afraid that's just not very feasible at the moment. Watts thought as he inspected his watch. It wouldn't be long before his absence would make the White Fang suspicious, and even if something was wrong with Salem, she had still given him his orders.
We all have our part to play, and we all know our orders. Watts reminded himself as he packed the limp Grimm into his doctor's bag. All we have to do is our jobs, and after that, we can have whatever we want.
Kuo Kuana, Docks
November 1st, 1007 Local Time, 2552
As Fairfire stepped off of the gangplank and onto the deck of the newly recommissioned UNSC Thunderchild, she couldn't help but revel in the sensation of the gently rolling sea beneath her once again. Prior to her visit yesterday, she hadn't been aboard a boat of any kind for over a decade, and she had missed the calming, rocking sensation of the flowing water.
It reminded her of better days, of travelling the vast seas of Emerald Cove aboard a fibreglass sailboat with her Father. She hadn't gotten out of the house very much, but when she did, it was always to either go surfing or sailing, and what a joy it had been.
"Damn, this thing looks a lot bigger now that I'm standing on it." Nathan remarked. Behind him were Meadows, Yu, and Peggy, all of whom were carrying heavy storage crates, all filled with practically everything that the Thunderchild would need for its upgraded Navigation Suite.
"How the hell did Mags afford this?" Yu asked.
"She fought a Kraken and saved a merchant convoy; they financed the ship's refurbishment. Didn't you read the report?" Meadows asked.
Yu burped very loudly and unprofessionally. "What report?"
Fairfire could only grin behind her helmet, it was good to have the whole squad together again, well, most of it. I hope Ben gets better soon, we're gonna need him. Jorge should be around here somewhere...
Meadows grumbled in irritation at Yu's comment while Fairfire led the way forward. The ship's superstructure was rather short, only around two stories tall, with only a few major exceptions, including the crows nest and two massive funnels that stuck out of the ship's rear. As a result, navigation above deck was actually quite easy, in spite of the ship still being somewhat unfamiliar. There was one important part of the ship that she hadn't gotten to explore while she was acting as the Commander's bodyguard and that was the Bridge, so she was just as surprised as the rest of the team to see what it actually looked like.
As she had expected, the actual design of the compartment showed quite a degree of age, but everything was in very good condition. The floorboards were worn and scuffed after many decades of use, but stayed very sturdy. The white and navy-blue paint scheme of the ship was applied on the Bridge as well as the ship's exterior, and she couldn't spot a single fault in the coat anywhere. In the center of the whole place was a large, swiveling leather seat, complete with cupholders.
All around the Bridge were a handful of people, dressed about as strangely as Fairfire had come to expect. Among them however, were Mags, Stan, and Jorge, who were seemingly looking over some old equipment.
"Hey Mags!" Fairfire said. "Where did you want this Nav gear?"
Mags turned to face them with a wide grin. "Good to see ya Helljumpers, just put all of that with the other crates in the corner. We've got to pack up all of the old gear before we can install everything that you brought aboard."
"Join us once you're done, we've got a lot to do." Jorge added.
The ODSTs dropped off their crates as ordered, and began to help out across the Bridge wherever they could. Everything from novelty knicknacks to entire mechanical computers had to be moved, so there was no shortage of work to be done.
Obsolete didn't even begin to describe the state of the gear, and Fairfire had to stifle a chuckle, as she didn't want to hurt Mags' pride. It was her ship after all, and if there was anything that she'd learned about the Squids in the UNSC Navy, it was that they loved their ships.
Amongst the gear being moved out, she spotted an analog compass, a set of maps that looked even older than the Thunderchild itself, and another device that none of them had even recognized, but that Mags was happy to explain.
"This is a chronometer, you use it with a bunch of other tools to find out how far you've travelled, and therefore where you're at on the globe." She explained. "This thing would count the passage of time."
"So… It's a watch?" Meadows asked.
"Are you kidding me, look at the size of it!" Nathan argued. "If that's a watch, then my rifle is a holepunch."
Mags looked over the device with a sad but loving gaze. "Yeah, I'm not even gonna pretend like this thing is worth our time. It's been a museum piece for decades, I just never had the heart to actually donate it."
"Hey, cheer up Captain." Stan butted in on their conversation, carrying with him a UNSC Computer terminal that was to be installed on the Bridge. "We ain't really losing much of anything here, quite the opposite. Some of the stuff these guys are bringing aboard is… well, it's pretty crazy."
Mags softly chuckled. "You ain't gotta tell me Stan, I've been to Outer Space!"
Fairfire couldn't help but smile as she listened to the two sailors discuss all manner of things as she worked. Occasionally she would dig up the odd curiosity, but for the most part, it felt more like she was robbing an old maritime museum than she was packing up equipment to be retired.
Out of everything that she found, one folded poster caught her attention more than any other, purely because of its contents. It displayed silhouettes of what she could only assume to be seaborne Grimm, some of which were truly titanic in scale. It featured their names, scale references to measure their size, and even some suggested methods to kill them. A handful of the creatures were vaguely familiar, the "Kaiman" for example, which was specially labeled as not being a Grimm, seemed to resemble a massive crocodile.
Suggested Action: Retreat. Fairfire noted. "Hey Mags, what's this for?"
She walked over and gave a low whistle as she examined the paper. "That right there Sergeant, is a silhouette recognition chart. Back in the day, whenever the lookouts would spot a big Grimm off in the distance, you could compare its silhouette to the ones on a chart like this and figure out what you might be in for."
"Huh, neat. Any of these things look familiar?" Fairfire asked.
"Oh sure. This one here, the Watcher, you'll see them all the time out at sea." Mags said, pointing at one somewhat spherical creature that had some vaguely crustacean-like features. "That thing in the middle of it is actually one giant eyeball, and weirdly enough, they never seem to attack anyone. That doesn't mean they aren't creepy, but they usually run off if you shoot them."
"Most things tend to do that, in my experience." Fairfire remarked. "Do you mind if I pass this over to the Lieutenant? I know that Curie's looking for any intel she can get on the Grimm."
Mags shook her head. "Nah, go right ahead. Just bear in mind, a bunch of the things on that sheet are actually extinct, so maybe have her come by me so I can tell her which ones."
"Extinct?" Fairfire asked. It went without saying that the Grimm were very much alive, even if they were being refreshingly quiet lately. Therefore, calling them "extinct" was just incorrect.
"Well, maybe not extinct, more so that nobody's seen em' around for a while." Mags elaborated. "This one here, the Harvestman? Nobody's seen one of these since the Great War ended."
"And that's a damn good thing too!" Stan butted in from across the room. "Bastards tore up whole convoys during the war. Count yourself lucky that we'll never have to see one!"
Fairfire looked down at the Chart again, and struggled to imagine how something that resembled a horribly mangled cross between a spider and a crab could pose such a threat. Still, she had learned better than to question the resident experts when it came to the Grimm. "I certainly will."
She folded the sheet back up, placed it into one of her magazine pouches, and got back to work. There was still much to be done.