AN: Thank you all for you continued support! I'm sorry if this is a shorter chapter than expected. I've been suffering from a bit of writer's block.
Chapter 4
Jaina approached the table that was occupied by the young Jedi's friends, Guilty Spark hovering nearby. He was observing various alien species that were unfamiliar to him, something he had been doing as they navigated the halls of the Praxeum. She greeted her fellow apprentices as she sat down next to Lowbacca.
"Did you all sleep well?" she inquired.
Tenel Ka and Tahiri confirmed that they had, indeed, slept well. Zekk muttered a half-hearted affirmative. He was still beating himself up over his actions during his tenure with the Shadow Academy. Lowbacca rumbled an affirmative as well, and then noticed Spark. He asked the obvious question.
Jaina looked back at the spherical droid. "Oh, you remember that burned-out sphere I found a few weeks back? Well, this is it. Him," she corrected herself.
Spark took this as his cue. "Greetings!" he began his customary introduction. "My name is 343 Guilty Spark, presumptive Monitor of Installation Praxeum."
The young Jedi stared at this, Jaina included. "What happened to the 'Installation 04' bit?"
"Installation 04 was destroyed, if you recall. Now I have only one purpose: to help you, Reclaimer. In this instance, that means overseeing the defense of this installation; something that has been seriously neglected, even after the Shadow Academy's assault on the Praxeum."
Zekk lowered his head in shame, remembering the acts he had committed while under their influence. Jaina felt his distress, and quickly steered the conversation away from that particular subject. "Well, why not tell them a bit about yourself, Spark?"
"If you insist, Reclaimer," he replied, with a hint of annoyance, Jaina thought. Was it the nickname?
"I am the former Monitor of Installation 04," Guilty Spark began, "and oversaw said installation for nearly one hundred thousand years before its destruction. Before that, I— well, I suppose you could say I was human."
The young Jedi all wore shocked expressions upon hearing this. Spark had never mentioned that before, Jaina thought.
"How is that possible?" Tahiri asked. Lowbacca groaned in agreement. They had heard of the ships that the Ssi-ruuk powered with the life-energy of other beings, but it was still unthinkable to them.
"I am afraid that I do not know, Reclaimer," Guilty Spark answered. "I am an installation Monitor, not a scientist. If you were ask me about the proper containment protocols for a Flood outbreak or the specifications of any given second generation Halo then I would be able to answer. My creators wisely limited my knowledge of Forerunner technological and scientific advancements and procedures. Compartmentalization, in case I was ever captured by the Flood."
Jaina winced at the mention of the parasitic species, and prayed that none of the others would ask about them. It was a futile effort.
"What's the Flood?" Zekk asked.
Jaina quickly turned to face him, shaking her head. "You don't wanna—"
But it was too late. Spark had already begun his speech about the parasite, reciting all known encounters with it, explaining its nature and different forms of appearance, how the Halo Array was meant to starve the Flood to death by killing its food. Needless to say, the young Jedi lost their appetites. Tahiri and Tenel Ka had turned green, while Zekk was pasty white. The Wookiee beside Jaina groaned mournfully.
"You were right," Zekk said at last, his voice hollow. "I didn't want to know."
And now, my responses to some comments.
Just a reader: I have no doubt that Covenant weaponry is far more powerful than Star Wars blasters and turbolasers. I was trying to convey that the Star Wars galaxy's residents have a bit more control over the properties of their energy weapons: ion bolts, stun bolts, etc. And your right, Elite energy swords outclass lightsabers in a fair fight (i.e. no Force powers).
Slope too steep: Thank you for the reminder. I actually did forget Guilty Spark's origins when I started this.