Chapter 5: Together In This
Date: May 23, 2553 / 1431 Hours Location: Aboard Armoroid-Class A Vessel / Unknown region of space
The Master Chief sat in the oversized chair without ease. He was aboard an unknown alien flagship, they had taken his weapons for inspection and personal security, and he was alone. Well, he wished he could say he was alone, because Cortana wouldn't shut up with fascinations about the Eternals, and their ship. They had been nice enough so far, but the Master Chief's training had always told him to keep his guard up, and that's just what he was doing.
"Ok," said the Dom, "Let me begin by saying I am pleased to meet you and host you aboard our ship. We have longed for a long time to actually meet a Spartan such as yourself." Hearing this, the Chief spoke up. "What did you say? How did you know what I was?" He asked. "We have been studying the human race for over 200 years in secret. When the Covenant started their invasion, we began to see traces of heroic bravery and skill in some of the military's operations. We decided to investigate and found you. Master Chief, Spartan 117, etc. We know everything about you, except what happened when you left the battle for Reach." The Dom said.
The Master Chief sighed and began to tell his tale about halo, the flood, and his narrow escape. "I'm impressed." The Dom said, after he had finished. "Yeah, whatever." The Master Chief said, his lack of enthusiasm showing. The Master Chief was furious inside. They had read one of the UNSC's top-secret projects as easily as an open book. All that they had struggled to protect was in vein. And he had to tell his damn story into the hell known as halo again. But the chief's thoughts halted on a single fact. They knew were Earth was, but they hadn't attacked.
The Dom continued his conversation. "Anyway, now for the bad news." He sat up straighter in his chair, and the Chief inhaled a sharp, cold breath. "We, in the past, were partners with the Covenant. We were one of their strongest allies. However, when they began to enslave other races into their own and using them for their military and religious purposes, we decided that they were not what we needed to be affiliated with. So we disbanded from them and have been neutral ever since. We never fully trusted them from the start, so we slowly worked our spies into their main networks. They have been keeping tabs on them for us for quite a while and now have discovered something horrific. The Covenant have plans to attack earth as close as a year from now and will enter the system with their largest scripted battle group. We have deemed this unacceptable and are willing to assist you in defending your homeworld." The Dom spoke with pride in his offer.
"Wow," said Cortana, "I can't believe this. What do you think, Chief?" She asked. The Master Chief was equally stunned. He couldn't understand still, even though the Dom had told him, why they would want to help him. But dazzled as he was, he wasn't about to pass up such an offer. "What's in it for you?" the Chief asked.
The Dom replied as if he was expecting this response "Revenge. We do not believe in their torture of other races. And we feel that you can be trusted. We can offer you more than enough military to defend your homeworld, as well as something more. But we'll get to that later. Can we be partners?"
The Master Chief sat on the thought no longer than a heartbeat. He had found his miracle. "Yes. We'll be together in this mess. Now, how soon until we arrive at Earth?" he asked.
"There are several ways in which we can enter your system. We can enter your system by a standard slipstream jump, and risk harm to our ships until you can form our alliance with the rest of your kind, or we can use our own special technology, which takes the light bending ways of slipstream, and inverts them, making us undetectable by any means of detection. The only problem with our technology is that our speed is quite slow. It would take us around 11 months to arrive at your planet. Seeing as that our spies say that the Earth invasion isn't for at least a year, that should still give us ample time to arrive, do our business, and prepare to ward off the Covenant." The Dom said, giving the choice to the Master Chief.
"I think I would prefer to take the stealth route. But answer this first. If we receive word that the Covenant attack ahead of schedule, could we escape this inverted slipstream and make a normal one there?" he asked.
"Yes, yes of course, and our slipstream systems are even more advanced than the Covenant's. We concluded that It took you 3 hours to arrive from Reach to Halo. It would have taken us less than 20 minutes." He said proudly. "And, we have already prepared a cryo-tube for you to sleep most of the journey away in. Just give me the order, and I'll start our trek.
"Go. Go now." The Master Chief said.
"Very well then." The Dom turned his head and barked something in his native tongue to one of the officers sitting behind a table, and the officer began the slipstream jump, as did the rest of the massive fleet. The Master Chief had forgotten that he was even talking to the ship's AI the whole time and at the same time, stared out of the front view screen. Thousands of tears in space appeared as each one drifted into their own contorted and inverted vortex. This Slipstream, unlike the Covenant's and the UNSC's, was black, with a tint of red color around the exterior of the tear. The ship drifted closer and closer until he suddenly felt his bones being ripped apart, and his shields drained completely. But after they had drifted into the slipstream, he felt normal again. The Dom spoke up, and the AI began its flawless translation again.
"Agh. I hate that part. First time is the worst." He chuckled slightly and continued. "My officers and personel will escort you to your cryo-tube and quarters. This cryo-tube, just like most of our things, is different too. Inside this chamber, not only will you be automatically ejected just before we arrive, but you will also have the ability to leave through the AI you carry in your head. She will be able to sense when you are ready to awaken and will start and monitor the procedure. Any questions?" he concluded.
"I will?" said Cortana, a little dazzed by what she had heard and was wondering how this would happen.
"Well, since you already know about her, no sense in trying to hide her. She has a question. How will she be able to tell?" the Master Chief asked.
"I don't fully understand the process, but I've done it several times myself, and it works." The Dom replied.
"Fine. Wake me up when I'm there." The Master Chief said as he got up from his seat, and left the room.
Date: May 23, 2553 / 1431 Hours Location: Aboard Armoroid-Class A Vessel / Unknown region of space
The Master Chief sat in the oversized chair without ease. He was aboard an unknown alien flagship, they had taken his weapons for inspection and personal security, and he was alone. Well, he wished he could say he was alone, because Cortana wouldn't shut up with fascinations about the Eternals, and their ship. They had been nice enough so far, but the Master Chief's training had always told him to keep his guard up, and that's just what he was doing.
"Ok," said the Dom, "Let me begin by saying I am pleased to meet you and host you aboard our ship. We have longed for a long time to actually meet a Spartan such as yourself." Hearing this, the Chief spoke up. "What did you say? How did you know what I was?" He asked. "We have been studying the human race for over 200 years in secret. When the Covenant started their invasion, we began to see traces of heroic bravery and skill in some of the military's operations. We decided to investigate and found you. Master Chief, Spartan 117, etc. We know everything about you, except what happened when you left the battle for Reach." The Dom said.
The Master Chief sighed and began to tell his tale about halo, the flood, and his narrow escape. "I'm impressed." The Dom said, after he had finished. "Yeah, whatever." The Master Chief said, his lack of enthusiasm showing. The Master Chief was furious inside. They had read one of the UNSC's top-secret projects as easily as an open book. All that they had struggled to protect was in vein. And he had to tell his damn story into the hell known as halo again. But the chief's thoughts halted on a single fact. They knew were Earth was, but they hadn't attacked.
The Dom continued his conversation. "Anyway, now for the bad news." He sat up straighter in his chair, and the Chief inhaled a sharp, cold breath. "We, in the past, were partners with the Covenant. We were one of their strongest allies. However, when they began to enslave other races into their own and using them for their military and religious purposes, we decided that they were not what we needed to be affiliated with. So we disbanded from them and have been neutral ever since. We never fully trusted them from the start, so we slowly worked our spies into their main networks. They have been keeping tabs on them for us for quite a while and now have discovered something horrific. The Covenant have plans to attack earth as close as a year from now and will enter the system with their largest scripted battle group. We have deemed this unacceptable and are willing to assist you in defending your homeworld." The Dom spoke with pride in his offer.
"Wow," said Cortana, "I can't believe this. What do you think, Chief?" She asked. The Master Chief was equally stunned. He couldn't understand still, even though the Dom had told him, why they would want to help him. But dazzled as he was, he wasn't about to pass up such an offer. "What's in it for you?" the Chief asked.
The Dom replied as if he was expecting this response "Revenge. We do not believe in their torture of other races. And we feel that you can be trusted. We can offer you more than enough military to defend your homeworld, as well as something more. But we'll get to that later. Can we be partners?"
The Master Chief sat on the thought no longer than a heartbeat. He had found his miracle. "Yes. We'll be together in this mess. Now, how soon until we arrive at Earth?" he asked.
"There are several ways in which we can enter your system. We can enter your system by a standard slipstream jump, and risk harm to our ships until you can form our alliance with the rest of your kind, or we can use our own special technology, which takes the light bending ways of slipstream, and inverts them, making us undetectable by any means of detection. The only problem with our technology is that our speed is quite slow. It would take us around 11 months to arrive at your planet. Seeing as that our spies say that the Earth invasion isn't for at least a year, that should still give us ample time to arrive, do our business, and prepare to ward off the Covenant." The Dom said, giving the choice to the Master Chief.
"I think I would prefer to take the stealth route. But answer this first. If we receive word that the Covenant attack ahead of schedule, could we escape this inverted slipstream and make a normal one there?" he asked.
"Yes, yes of course, and our slipstream systems are even more advanced than the Covenant's. We concluded that It took you 3 hours to arrive from Reach to Halo. It would have taken us less than 20 minutes." He said proudly. "And, we have already prepared a cryo-tube for you to sleep most of the journey away in. Just give me the order, and I'll start our trek.
"Go. Go now." The Master Chief said.
"Very well then." The Dom turned his head and barked something in his native tongue to one of the officers sitting behind a table, and the officer began the slipstream jump, as did the rest of the massive fleet. The Master Chief had forgotten that he was even talking to the ship's AI the whole time and at the same time, stared out of the front view screen. Thousands of tears in space appeared as each one drifted into their own contorted and inverted vortex. This Slipstream, unlike the Covenant's and the UNSC's, was black, with a tint of red color around the exterior of the tear. The ship drifted closer and closer until he suddenly felt his bones being ripped apart, and his shields drained completely. But after they had drifted into the slipstream, he felt normal again. The Dom spoke up, and the AI began its flawless translation again.
"Agh. I hate that part. First time is the worst." He chuckled slightly and continued. "My officers and personel will escort you to your cryo-tube and quarters. This cryo-tube, just like most of our things, is different too. Inside this chamber, not only will you be automatically ejected just before we arrive, but you will also have the ability to leave through the AI you carry in your head. She will be able to sense when you are ready to awaken and will start and monitor the procedure. Any questions?" he concluded.
"I will?" said Cortana, a little dazzed by what she had heard and was wondering how this would happen.
"Well, since you already know about her, no sense in trying to hide her. She has a question. How will she be able to tell?" the Master Chief asked.
"I don't fully understand the process, but I've done it several times myself, and it works." The Dom replied.
"Fine. Wake me up when I'm there." The Master Chief said as he got up from his seat, and left the room.