Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my MechWarrior/BattleTech - Halo crossover.
Thank you all for your wonderful support and feedback. I deeply appreciate it. I am also quite pleased to see that all of you enjoyed that chapter immensely.
Chapter 12 has been reworked and revised. If you want to see the newly revised chapter, you're more than free to do so.
As always, leave a review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or MechWarrior/BattleTech franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, WizKids, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
Soel III
Soell III Shipyards
December 3rd, 2525
Walking along inside one of the pressurized arms of the Soel III Shipyards, Nicholas Kerensky could see the technological marvel that was helping SLDF WarShips refit, while allowing them to build entirely brand new ones. It was inventions like this that helped remind him of what he was fighting for, as well as why he was the director of the SLIC. It also reminds me of what we might stand to lose in the war if we fail, he added.
That reminded him of their newest acquisition, though it wasn't present at the shipyard. The Covenant WarShip that Epsilon and Blue Teams had captured was now in the same star system, with EVA crews at a YardShip working to tear the ship apart so that the engineers and scientists could pick apart its secrets. Other crews were also making sure that the initial sweep for tracking devices hadn't missed anything important.
That reminded Kerensky of the new protocol that he and Cole were sending to all inhabited UNSC colonies. Once the Cole Protocol is in place, we'll be able to slow the Covenant down tremendously. Hiding the locations of colonies, and forcing all maritime captains to make random jumps before heading to their intended destination would do well in slowing down the Covenant. It would make some people angry, but that was a small price to pay when the other alternative was allowing the Covenant to destroy worlds that they could find willy-nilly.
Nicholas' attention was promptly drawn to a pair of SLDF Servicemen that were approaching him. Both men were guarding a face that Nicholas quickly recognized. "General DeChavilier," he greeted while saluting. "I was not told to be expecting you here, sir."
"I like to come in unannounced," Aaron informed Nicholas. "Allows me to see what's really going on without someone dressing it all up." Losing the casual tone in his voice, said, "So, that ship we saw enter that YardShip was the one that fired on the Commonwealth and Vishnu. Rather pretty… despite it's purpose."
"It is," Nicholas agreed. "When I look at a Covenant WarShip, it gives me the impression of the ship having been grown, rather than being assembled in a shipyard. Still, the fact that we captured that ship shows that the Covenant is not as invincible as it likes to believe itself to be."
"I can agree with that," Aaron concurred. "Speaking of which, did you make sure the ship was swept thoroughly for bugs? We don't want to have the ship transmitting the location of Soel III to the Covenant, or Halo for that matter."
"My bug sweeping crews are the best ones out there," Nicholas reassured Aaron. "I trust their judgment, and I trust that their capabilities also extend to finding Covenant listening devices. Still, I am taking all necessary precautions, and I've sent out another bug sweeping crew to make sure that the initial sweeps didn't miss anything."
"Good." Aaron's voice soon took on a more serious tone. "Mind if we travel back to the Graveyard? I've got a feeling that your interrogators have been quite busy with the prisoners of war that we managed to snag from the ship.'
"That they have," Kerensky agreed, even as they began to head for the shuttle bay…
There were few places on Soel III where one might go that could be considered rather boring or unpleasant to look at. One of those places were the Tintavel Wastes located on the southern hemisphere of Soel III. That region was aptly named, with the Tintavel Wastes being nothing more than an inhospitable desert. Here, temperatures could climb upwards of 55° Celsius which, given that the Tintavel Wastes were the size of the Sahara Desert on Terra, meant that anyone that was unlucky enough to have trouble there simply would not survive, not without immediate intervention.
That single fact also made it an idea location to build the Soell III Planetary Penitentiary , known by it's nickname 'Sand Yard', as well as an SLDF Blacksite. Blacksite T-33/2, also known as the 'Graveyard' was one facility the SLIC used for containing incredibly dangerous threats to it's existence. The facility's nickname was quite appropriate; once a prisoner was brought their, their lifepsans could be measured in minutes. Very rarely were they measured in years, and that was if the SLIC wanted those individuals for uses of their own.
To Kerensky, the facility was nothing short of an impregnable fortress, though even he knew that all penitentiaries had their fair share of weaknesses. As the shuttle came in for a landing, he could feel a wave of heat hit him in the face as the loading ramp deployed. Nearby, he could hear Aaron wince as the heat also moved around and through him.
Walking out of the ramp, he could plainly see the gunmetal gray walls, razor wire and some of the guard towers that made up the outer perimeter of the prison itself. A pair of guards advanced towards the Cobra that had brought them to the facility. "Director Kerensky, General DeChavilier," they greeted. "Welcome to the Graveyard."
"I take it the newcomers are doing well?" Kerensky asked.
The guards knew immediately what he had meant by 'newcomers.' "Yes sir," the first guard replied. "Do you want to see them?"
"Yes. Lead the way." With those orders given, they began to move towards the facility. Passing through a pair of armored security doors, they left the blistering heat behind, and moved into the cool interior, one of the few comforts the facility had for it's prisoners.
The rest of the facility was harsh and cold. Reinforced ferro-crete was used in the walls, with the material being reinforced to the point where it could take a direct hit from a nuclear warhead and remain intact. Ferro-Glass was used in the windows, making it impossible for prisoners to escape even from their cells via the windows. This led to a popular adage being used frequently in the Graveyard, 'once you check in, you never check out.'
That adage was quite true for the inmates kept at this particular Blacksite. Nicholas knew, for instance, that the facility housed some of the most dangerous personnel that had ever tried to get into the facility. It was the same facility that housed Robert Watts, the former head of the URF cell in the Insurrection. It was also the same facility were the Covenant inmates were being held at.
Walking along the gunmetal gray hallways of the facility, Nicholas came to an elevator door. Walking inside, he punched in a series of numbers, causing the elevator doors to close, and the elevator car to descend. After a few seconds of descent, the elevator doors opened, allowing him to proceed down the hallways of the level he'd arrived at. Sublevel 2 was where the inmates were kept at, including the interrogation chambers for those inmates.
Much of the level was, as a result, occupied by 4x4 meter cells, each one designed to house a single person comfortably. There were larger cells, though, with those being around eight meters in each dimension. Those were reserved for larger individual, or even groups of individuals if need be.
As he and Aaron proceeded through the hallways, Nicholas spotted a cluster of guards that were near one of the smaller cells. Walking over, he found that the cell in question was where they were holding the single alien that had not attacked Epsilon Team at Chi Ceti IV. Two men, interrogators according to their uniforms, were trying to talk to the alien, but where getting nowhere from the looks of it. Walking inside and closing the door, Nicholas turned to them. "What's going on here?" he asked.
"We're trying to figure out how to talk to this thing," one of the interrogators growled. "Hell, I'm a certified linguist, and trying to talk to this thing is like trying to pull teeth out of an elephant. Stupid fucking thing!" In his frustration, he hurled his noteputer in the alien's general direction.
What happened next had everyone surprised. The alien, spotting the noteputer flying towards it, deftly caught the pad with one of it's tendrils. It examined it for a few seconds, running a pair of tendrils over the device, before those tendrils split into many smaller ones. Nicholas watched, amazed, as the noteputer was promptly disassembled into it's constituent components, then reassembled. The alien repeated the process twice, then handed the device back to the interrogator.
At that moment, Nicholas asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "What the hell just happened?"
"I don't know," Aaron remarked as he used the intercom on the cell door. Looking at the interrogator, he asked, "What's your name?"
"Richard Cleveland, sir," was the reply.
"Well then, Richard, how about you figure out what that alien did to your noteputer."
"Yes sir,' Richard replied. Taking the datapad from his assistant, he began to examine it, before punching in a few commands. "Whoa! Now that's amazing!"
"What is?" Nicholas asked.
"Whatever the hell that alien did, it's boosted the performance of my noteputer! It's working tremendously fast now and… hang on. There's a file that wasn't there before. I'm activating the translator device on the noteputer now." Punching in a few buttons, he asked the alien, "Can you understand me?"
The alien made a few trilling sounds, along with gestures from it's tendrils. As he had a direct line of sight to the noteputer, Nicholas was surprised to see words appear. The response, he noted, was a simple, "Yes."
"OK," Richard noted. "Are you hostile to us?"
"No."
"What were you doing on the Covenant WarShip that attacked us?"
The alien's reply was immediate. "Maintenance and repair."
"So it was a civilian," Aaron noted.
"Epsilon Team was right," Nicholas agreed. "It was the engineer for the ship." Clearing his throat, he asked, "What is your name?"
The alien was quick to respond. "Easy-To-Adjust."
Richard laughed. "That's a funky name for an alien."
"Why are you called that?" Nicholas asked, ignoring Richard's quip.
Apparently, this was something the now named Easy-To-Adjust was eager to talk about, as it said, "My species reproduce by having two individuals create a new member that has the knowledge of it's parents. The name comes from when the gases that keep us afloat are injected into the offspring, and its sometimes difficult to get the balance right. We're named depending on if we float, sink or remain level initially."
"Ah, I see." Looking at the noteputer, he asked, "When our men attacked your ship, you were hiding in a corner space. Why?"
"I didn't want to die," Easy-To-Adjust explained. "When I heard the explosions, I began working on repairing the damage. When your Reclaimers boarded the ship and began firing their weapons, I retreated to Engineering and tried to hide as best as I could."
That was understandable. Nicholas knew that as a civilian, he'd done the same thing more than once. What had his attention, though, was what the alien had called Epsilon Team. "You know of our species?" he asked.
"Yes," Easy-To-Adjust replied, the alien nodding it's head rapidly. "The Librarian imprinted the memory of your species into our genes. When I saw your Reclaimers, I understood that they had returned to reclaim what they had lost. Why do you ask?"
"Just curious," Nicholas said. In actuality, he knew that this was a major find. Turning to Aaron, he asked, "We'll need 343 Guilty Spark here on the double."
"I already invited him to this facility," Aaron remarked. "He has the security clearance needed to come here. He should be here by now."
"I'm here!" came the expected voice. Moments later, Guilty Spark flew into view. "My apologies for my tardiness. I was taking care of a leaking plasma conduit when I got the call." He looked into the cell, conveyed the impression that he was surprised and pleased by what he saw. "Ah! A Huragok!"
"You know this species?"
"Indubitably, Aaron!" Guilty Spark replied, his voice filled with excitement. "The Huragok were created by the Forerunners to maintain and repair their facilities. To have found one is most fortunate! How many were found on the Covenant ship?"
"Two, to be precise," Nicholas replied. "Why?"
"Splendid! That means that the species can reproduce. All you need are the required components, and then they'll assemble those components into another Huragok. I'll send you the materials in a short while. Is there another reason why you called me down here?"
"Yes," Nicholas rejoined. "We're going to interrogate the Captain of the ship we captured. Want to come along?"
"Yes!" Guilty Spark agreed, a note of anger present in his voice. "I want to know why those Covenant barbarians are trying to harm you, my masters. I wouldn't be surprised if all I heard was religious madness."
"Same here," Aaron added. Leaving the cell that the Huragok was in, they proceeded towards one of the larger holding cells in the blacksite. Entering a door marked 'Observation', they entered a room that had recording equipment, as well as a pair of technicians that were monitoring the equipment carefully.
On the monitors were feeds from hidden cameras that showed the room that the enemy Shipmaster was in. To most, the room was significantly more comfortable than the smaller cells, with a comfortably sized bed, a desk, some lights, as well as a few chairs near the desk. Currently, however, the alien in the room was restrained to the desk via chains made out of ferro-titanium. "How's the prisoner?" Nicholas asked.
"Fine so far," one of the technicians replied. "He was quite uncooperative when he was locked to that table. He cussed for a considerable amount of time before calming down. My guess is that he really doesn't like how we prevented him from killing himself."
Nicholas nodded. One thing that was kept in mind when building the cells was to make sure the inmates wouldn't kill themselves. "Is it safe to go inside?"
"Definitely," the technician replied, "though you might want to have an agent make sure the cuffs are locked in securely. Some prisoners have been known to make lockpicks out of just about anything."
"We'll keep that in mind," Aaron noted. Looking at Kerensky, he asked, "Do you want to handle this guy?" Nicholas didn't reply. Instead, he walked out of the room and into the cell that the Shipmaster was in. Before he sat down, he checked the cuffs to make sure that the alien was locked in securely, even going so far as to give the cuffs a tug. When they didn't open, he smiled and then sat down.
There was a full minute of silence as Nicholas made sure he was ready. Pulling out the noteputer that the Huragok had modified, he activated the recording button. "SLIC Interrogation # 250-B. Director Nicholas Kerensky attending. Subject of interrogation is an alien reptilian of unknown origin. Subject is currently calm, though past records indicate problems with anger management."
With that out of the way, Kerensky began the interrogation. "So, what is your name?" It was an easy question, one that would start the entire interview.
Apparently, the files that the Huragok had uploaded to the noteputer's translation program also extended to the language the alien spoke. He, as the alien's voice was unmistakably male, growled at Kerensky. "I am Shipmaster Corevas 'Vortumee, and I have nothing to say to you, heretic."
"You use that term as though it has any relevance," Kerensky noted. "Does it?"
"Of course," 'Vortumee growled. "You have defiled the gods gifts to us, destroyed a repository of their sacred knowledge. Why do you ask such inane questions when you already know the answers."
"What repository of knowledge?" Kerensky asked. "Until near the beginning of the year 2525, we had no knowledge that your species, or the Covenant, ever existed. How could we commit something your kind would consider sacrilegious if we do not know of your religion or it's doctrine?"
That caused 'Vortumee to pause, then he said, "Because the Prophets have declared it so. What reason is there besides that?"
That gave Nicholas a good clue as to what was going on. So, they believe that we are heretics because their 'Prophets' claim that we destroyed what they call 'sacred knowledge.' With that in mind, he decided to ask another question. "What proof do you have that we did this?"
"I do not need proof. What the Prophets say is all that I need, Nishum."
"I see," Kerensky noted. "Perhaps you and your Prophets have the wrong impression about us." A moment later, he sent a subtle cue to the cameras watching the room.
Right on schedule, Guilty Spark came inside. The change in 'Vortumee's behavior was almost immediate, as he looked directly at Guilty Spark almost immediately. "An Oracle?!" he gasped in wonder. "A holy messenger of the gods!" Then that wonder became anger as he directed his gaze at Kerensky. "It's a trick! It must be, or you've somehow coerced the Oracle to serve you! How else could you convince me otherwise?!"
"Oh, really?" Guilty Spark asked, anger clearly evident in his voice. "Why would the Reclaimers seek to trick you when it comes to your ridiculous religious beliefs? Such foolishness from one so deluded."
"As you can see," Nicholas said to 'Vortumee, "343 Guilty Spark, the 'Oracle' as you call him, works for us. Why? Well the answer is simple: we are the Reclaimers, the ones that were destined to inherit the technology that you claim was made by your gods."
That caused 'Vortumee to snarl loudly, with the alien jerking on the cuffs holding him to the table. The ferro-titanium, though, held strong, even as 'Vortumee roared with anger. "LIES!" he snarled. "TRICKS BY THE HERETICS! I -!"
At that moment, Guilty Spark became extremely angry. The ocular sensor on the front of his chassis went from a calm blue to an angry red. At the same time, an energy beam shot out of a port in the center, knocking 'Vortumee back into the seat he'd tried to jump out of. "YOU SHUT UP," Guilty Spark roared in anger, "AND LISTEN!"
The display of anger, while surprising everyone in the room, had the desired effect. 'Vortumee went silent almost immediately. Certain that he wouldn't be interrupted, Guilty Spark continued to speak. "I was not forced to work for the Reclaimers, Corevas 'Vortumee. I chose to serve them of my own free will! I could have easily refused to have worked for them. Instead, I chose to do so because I wanted to. The species you are attempting to destroy are my masters by choice, not by deception or trickery, you deluded fool!" By the time he finished, Guilty Spark was shouting at 'Vortumee.
The alien looked at Guilty Spark with disbelief. "You-you chose to serve the heretics?!"
"Of course I did!" Guilty Spark snarled. "Are your ears deaf as well?! And don't ask how I could choose to serve heretics! I already know the answer to that question, but I will tell you it again because you clearly didn't listen to me the first time. THEY! ARE! THE! RECLAIMERS!"
The silence that followed was deafening. 'Vortumme looked at Nicholas Kerensky, eyes filled with a mixture of loathing and shock. "How…?" he asked, stunned. "How is this possible?"
"I can explain that quite clearly," Nicholas remarked. "According to Guilty Spark, well over a hundred thousand years ago, we Humans or Nishum as you seem to derisively refer to us, were an empire that equaled your gods, the Forerunners, in power and might. That all changed when a parasitic species known as the Flood came to try and destroy all life in the galaxy. The Forerunners, in an enormous act of self-sacrifice, activated a series of weapons known as the Halo Array, to -."
That had 'Vortumee's attention immediately. "You know of the holy Halo?" he asked, cutting off Kerensky.
"We do," Nicholas asked, irritated that he was interrupted. "Why do you ask?"
"They are the holiest of the gods artifacts," 'Vortumee explained, his voice gaining a reverent tone. "The Prophets say that it was through Halo that the gods ascended from mere mortal bodies into the divine beings they are today. It is our destiny to activate Halo and ascend to where the gods went as well."
Hearing this, Guilty Spark shook his head in disbelief. "By the Librarian, this man is ignorant." Looking at 'Vortumee, he said, "That isn't the function that Halo is supposed to fulfill."
Shock reigned on 'Vortumee's face, then confusion. "I… I don't understand," he stammered.
"Allow me to enlighten you," Guilty Spark remarked. "The Halo Array, as Kerensky was about to say before you rudely interrupted him, isn't designed to allow a species to achieve apotheosis, the process of becoming a god. It is designed to kill and disintegrate all life within the entire galaxy. Just one of the Halos is enough to destroy all life within a diameter of twenty five thousand light years."
Again, the silence was deafening, as 'Vortumee's mind processed the information. "I hate to break it to you," Kerensky added, "but your Prophets have lied to you. All this time, since whenever your religion formed, they've been making you dance around like a puppet master controlling a marionette."
"I-Impossible!" 'Vortumee gasped, shock and horror suffusing his veins. "The Prophets -"
"Are fallible beings that, apparently, have a little too much power," Nicholas countered. "I wouldn't be surprised if they made up this religion in order to control your species more effectively." Just as he said this, he heard a knock on the door. "Excuse me. I'd suggest you talk with Guilty Spark some more. I'm certain he'll be happy to enlighten you."
Getting up, he walked out of the cell and locked the door behind himself. Seeing the agent that had knocked at the door, he asked, "What is it?"
"One of the feathered aliens wants to speak with you," the agent said a moment later. "He says he has information on the Covenant, as well as its religion."
"Bring him over to the alien that I'm interrogating," Nicholas ordered. "I'm certain that this might be enlightening." With that, he walked inside and sat down again.
Just a few seconds later, the agent entered, this time with one of the black feathered aliens that had been found in the ship's crew quarters. The alien was promptly hauled over to a second chair, before the agent roughly sat it down. "Hey!" the alien croaked, his voice echoing in the room as the noteputer translated his language. "I can sit down by myself, thank you!"
"We can clearly see that," Nicholas remarked. Having the agent stand near the door, he asked, "What's your name?"
"Povact," the bird-like alien replied. "I'm a T'Vao."
"Nicholas Kerensky, and a T'Vao is?"
"We're a subspeces of the Kig-Yar, our actual species name," Povact explained. That was when he looked at Guilty Spark. "An Oracle, eh? Well, at least someone was sensible to bring one around."
"Do not speak so flippantly about the Oracle!" 'Vortumee snarled.
"Why shouldn't I?" Povact retorted. "Its obvious that its working with the 'heretics' that are standing before us." Looking at Nicholas, he said. "I swear, those Sangheili are so into the Covenant's religion that it makes me want to throw up onto their hoofs."
"Sangheili?" Nicholas asked. "Is that 'Vortumee's species?"
"Yes," Povact replied. "That it is."
"I see," Nicholas remarked. Leaning back, he said, "Well, its obvious that you're significantly more reasonable and intelligent than 'Vortumee here. Why is that?"
"I only signed up with the Covenant to feed my hatchlings," Povact explained. "I never really bought into the Covenant's religion. I likely got that influence from my parents, who were pirates."
"So you're more secular than your compatriots."
"All Kig-Yar are more 'secular' than the rest of the Covenant," Povact said dismissively. "Its in our nature to want to be independent. The only reason we joined the Covenant was because we were forced to… at gunpoint."
"You dare speak ill of the Covenant?!" 'Vortumee snarled.
"Why shouldn't I?" Povact growled. "All you guys have done is mistreat us. I'd say its time that you got a taste of your own medicine. Anyways, as I was telling your lackey, Nicholas, the Covenant religion is the foundation of our society. I even know the beginning Writ of Union, which is the Covenant's scripture."
"How does it go?" Nicholas asked.
Povact cleared his throat, then he spoke, though he uttered the words like lead weights dropping from his beak. "So full of hate were our eyes, That none of us could see,
"Our war would yield countless dead, But never victory,
"So let us cast arms aside, And like discard our wrath,
"Thou, in faith, will keep us safe, Whilst we find the path."
Nicholas leaned in, noting the words used. "I see," he mused. "So, that is the oath that you took upon joining the Covenant?"
"Yes," Povact replied. "Shall I continue speaking?"
"Please do," Kerensky remarked. As Povact spoke, Kerensky knew one thing: it was going to be a long day.
(Author's Q&A)
RoyalTwinFangs: Yes.
clonezero: Yes. That chapter was done much better than the one in the older stories.
edboy4926: Thank you.
SulliMike23: That it will.
Danny79: Yes. The war is soon going to reach a fever pitch.
Drago - X6627: Yes it does. And you are correct. What they've now got is a lot of tech to study and reverse-engineer.
bigbossHayden98: Yeah. Also good story suggestion. I'll see what I can do.
Krieger Techpriest: An excellent question.
Deathleaper90: I have. Right now, I'm just sticking to this website.
Guest: Thank you.
Believer218: Find out soon.
MarauderPrime12: Thank you.
Just a Crazy-Man: Same here, man.
Chronus1326: You're about to find out.