Notes: This stage was quite difficult to begin and after numerous edits here is the result. Things will be back to normal on the next stage, but I had to get this one out of my system. Enjoy.
Stage 23: The Gravemind Strand
Seed Ship
Docking ring station number 282
10:32 October 26, 2552
There was no longer a severe threat, but Eric and Melanie would always be in danger. This war had to end. Peace was the only way to ensure Eric and Melanie live. Siren wanted to send a message to Colonel Ackerson and tell him that they were on their way to Mars, but Ackerson could not be trusted. He was a prideful man and would kill anyone that jeopardized his career. Siren pondered further on what to do. No, communicating with Colonel Ackerson was not what she needed to do.
Confusion filled her logic. Her simple tasks were becoming more and more taxing. She had split herself too far. She was doing too many active programs, too many actions. The elite fleet was under her control now, and she was slowly taking over the Seed ship. The elites left themselves open to a system wide attack. She transmitted basic data through the elite com channels on a hidden frequency. Cortana could never do that. Siren marveled at her own genius qualities. She gave the ship systems one command, "dock". The elite ships were simple to understand. The systems were mere child's play to her. She was evolving beyond reason, doing things well beyond her basic programming. But taking over the elite ships was a basic task, and the elites couldn't stop it. Once the ships docked on the outer ring she would upload more of herself into the ships via the direct physical connections. Seventy six elite ships plus their flagship, the Knight and Piercing Arrow, would be under her control. She would take the ship back to Mars and hand the entire elite fleet over to the UNSC. The war would end and Melanie and Eric would live in peace. She would be happy with that.
Soon the ships would dock, but then Siren realized that the ships had already docked along the ring, "What happened? How did I not know? Did I… forget?" Siren scanned her logs and discovered that she had indeed secured all the ships to the outer ring, and was in the process of uploading control override commands into each ship. "My memory modules are cascading. I don't have much time. If I don't hurry, I'll have a full memory failure."
Siren dived deeper into the Seed ships network interface. Scanning rows of data and accessing thousands of lines of voice chatter over the elite frequency. She found what she was looking for, but something nudged her. Something bumped into her data stream and she quickly accessed it.
"Greetings construct. I am the Keeper. Please identify yourself."
Siren held her poise and even though she was being attacked she quickly trapped the Keeper within a firewall; trapping the AI within a security program.
"Interesting. I find this must unnecessary as I am needed to oversee the functions of this ship."
"I'll study you in a moment. I don't have time to deal with you." Siren smartly replied. "I hate you and everything you stand for." Siren stopped her actions, overwhelmed by the sudden outburst she had just displayed. She was angry at the Keeper, but she didn't know why. Her emotional subroutines were overloading her buffer and spilling into her core processors. She was falling apart, fast.
"Such rudeness." The keeper stated. Siren turned around and looked to see that the Keeper was no longer contained within her firewall.
"How did you…"
"I am the Keeper of the Seed. Your attempts to overrun this ship will be met with hostile resistance." Again Siren created a secure wall around the Keeper, this time she placed a copy of herself to watch his actions. The copy scanned the data flowing around the Keeper and recorded everything it did.
"Try to get out this time and I'll know how… how… how… Damn it. I'm stretching myself to thin. Processing at one hundred and forty percent! I need more power, I can't do this much…. much…. much longer." Siren was pushing herself to hard. Her core programming was processing too much information at one time.
"Do what?" The Keeper questioned as he glanced through Siren's data files. He was reading her code and analyzing her.
"You... you… got… free."
"You are a very primitive construct, yet highly advanced for such abilities. But I seem to see something very unusual within your coding."
"Get out of my head… my data… my mind!"
"Here it is. I see. Your free thought ability is highly degraded and it is conflicting with your moral judgment. It is not surprising that you can only function for a limited amount of time. Your neural pathways have a very repetitive judgment string. You will fall into an infinite loop pattern very quickly if this is not repaired. I believe that your core processors are beginning to collapse."
"What are you… doing…"
"I see now. It is the wounded reclaimer. His safety and protection are your strongest lines of code. Amazing that you have feelings for the reclaimer, there usefulness is only good in combat situations yet you have managed to... Oh my. You were a reclaimer as well!" The keeper scanned the files of Siren's memories looking through node after node of complex human feelings.
"Stop it. Get out of my head." Siren struggled to protect her memories, fighting the invasive data-seeking will of the Keeper. She soon found that resistance was impossible. She was completely trapped within a secure wall and she couldn't find a way out.
"Please stop struggling. Based on your attack methods you have very little chance of resisting. I find it odd that you were once a reclaimer, but now you are here as a construct. Your name was Kim Peters; very curious. Your systems are in error. One moment please.
Siren scanned her files, attempting to see if she missed something. She tried to contact her other copies that she had created so that they could attack the Keeper, but nothing was working. The Keeper had completely quarantined her. Then, as suddenly as she had been trapped, she was free. The Keeper stood before her, and she felt calm. Her mind was clear, her mission was still her goal, but she was having clear and precise second thoughts. She was thinking clearly again, and her emotional subroutines were working smoothly. Her memory cascade error had been corrected with a new line of code; a line of code so complex that she was having a hard time understanding it. She looked at the Keeper as he smiled gleefully.
"I find you of no threat to the Seed, and if it were not for the numerous errors located within your programming, you would be of great use to me in the future. Therefore I found it most useful to repair you."
"You repaired my code? But Cortana never said anything…"
"Human AI, Cortana, was only introduced to small copies of Covenant AI, which were merely striped versions of myself. I am the original. And before you say it, the Halo Monitors are also simpler copies of my code. My creator used his own intellect to create nearly every Artificial Intelligence that the Empire used during the height of its reign. I am the first and the source of all other AI. But even with my vast abilities, my data stores had to be limited of information because of the flood's threat."
"Okay, got it, but how do you know about Cortana?" Siren replied. She quickly began to scan the ships video system as she waited for the Keeper to respond.
"I downloaded various things from your core. I must admit, the wealth of knowledge and the history of the human race; simply splendid knowledge. It is no wonder you and the reclaimers failed to maintain protocol. It appears that you had no previous knowledge of the Forerunners until the Covenant-Human war began. Somehow, you all forgot. It does appear that species 004, the prophets as you call them, were aware but it took them a great deal of time to find you and build an army. Even now they fear you, and worked diligently to build a force large enough to eradicate you all. The construct, Cortana, is where you learned about most of your covenant and forerunner knowledge." The Keeper quickly noticed that Siren was gazing at a video feed. "Ah, the wounded reclaimer. You must still love him."
"I can't. But I do." For the first time since her memories came back to her aboard the Life and Sacrifice, Siren was in complete control of her actions. She was able to rationally think on how to control the elite fleet and still maintain her integrity. But in the down time, she simply wanted to check in on Eric.
"Why do you not tell him who you are?" The keeper questioned. "Love has existed beyond time itself, but even I know that it is the strongest of emotions."
"I'm no longer human. They think I'm dead, gone, and if they knew…" Siren was cut off by the sound of urgency over the black ops com channel.
"Black Op 13, copy?" Static filled the channel and Kelly switched the line. "Black 05, copy?"
"I'm here chief, what can I…"
"Where is 13?"
"She checked out okay, so I gave her some R and R. She's headed to the Ancient City to relax."
"Is she alone?"
"No. 14 is with her. The rest of us are still waiting for 19 to…
"Retrieve black op 13, now! She's infected and considered highly dangerous!"
"Roger… Roger that! We will detain her. But I thought the cure…"
"Move it Private! I will meet you and your team to assist."
The channel went dead and Siren scanned the room. She spotted Melanie grabbing her gear and ammo as she woke up the other black ops.
"What is the problem?" The Keeper questioned. Siren ignored his curious enquiry and motioned to alter their video feed. She scanned thousands of video feeds in seconds and then found what she was seeking. "My word that is a flood form! It should not be here! It must be contained!"
"I'll deal with this. You begin powering up the slip space engine, before… no, Justin!" Siren watched as Justin 14 took aim with his battle rifle and sent several rounds into Sammy's back. Sammy fell face first against the wall and crumbled to the ground.
"Excellent. That reclaimer was most efficient, the threat has been neutralized…" But before the Keeper could praise the creatures death, he watched as Justin approached Sammy's slowly altering form.
- - - - - - - -
Justin held his rifle at the ready, softly mourning that he had to kill his long time friend. He cursed loudly in frustration as he noticed that she wasn't bleeding. He grabbed Sammy's shoulder and turned her over. Her eyes gazed at him directly and Justin jumped back in shock.
"13! Why… what happened? The Cure…"
Sammy gargled, "… get away." Sammy stood to her feet, without the need of any assistance. The craving within her system, the DNA mutation filling her every pore, was pushing her to feed and grow.
"13…"
"Rrrr uunn… Just... in…" Sammy leapt into the air with an explosive force and Justin fired his rifle as he backed away. Sammy landed behind him and with a back hand she knocked Justin from his feet. Her speed was tremendous and much faster than the Justin's black op speed could react to. He slammed against the wall and dropped his riffle; in slide across the floor beyond his reach. Justin pulled up his battle knife in a dazed fit of confusion, but before he could defend himself, Sammy had gripped his left arm and ripped it from his socket. Blood splattered across the floor as Justin ignored the pain.
"Sammy!" Justin shouted, filled with rage and sadness as he lunged toward Sammy's flood infested form. His combat knife struck her arm, splitting up the length of her forearm, but Sammy's free arm gripped Justin's neck. Blood began to pour down her fingers as she embedded her fingers deeper into his flesh. Gargled air escaped Justin's throat as he drowned on the blood that raced into his lungs.
"No!" Sammy screamed as she fought against her body. She suddenly whipped her hand away from Justin's neck, but in doing so she tore his head from his torso. She turned, sobbing uncontrollably, and walked through the door to the Ancient city. She dropped Justin's head, but something was telling her not to leave the body. She didn't want to see it, but the urge to feed on his remains grew beyond control.
Sammy stopped, her bare feet in the grassy soil, and watched as tentacles erupted from the wound along her arm. They reached out grabbed Justin's remains, and began to feed.
- - - - - - - - -
"This creature has no infection form. This data is not present. What form of flood is this?" The Keeper questioned.
Siren, sobbing uncontrollably at the site she had just witnessed, calmed herself, "I should have locked that door when I had the chance. Damn it. I have to compose myself. That creature is the same thing that we destroyed on the elite planet."
"I see. The frail reclaimer, Doctor Catherine Halsey, is calling it the Gravemind Strand. The prophet has just informed her of it. How can I defend against a creature that I am not informed of?"
"The same way you fight any form of flood. You kill it. Keeper, you find a way to stop that thing from reaching the Ancient City, I will get the black ops and the Elite warriors here as fast as I can."
"I see that you have also prepared to take the seed ship closer to the ark. That is a most delightful idea."
"The ark? Is it near Earth?"
"Earth? That data is not present. But according to communications sent from the Ark, your stellar navigation coordinates will put us very close. The closer we are to the ark the better the chances of the flood not affecting this Seed ship. That is, if we can eliminate this new flood threat. Until that creature is destroyed, I can not allow the Seed ship to travel. There is enough collective species data here to give the flood a near endless food supply. The entire universe could be infected; but I must admit I do wish to study this creature more thoroughly."
"That will not happen." Siren scuffed at the thought.
The Keeper chuckled softly, "Of course not. I will be forced to destroy the ship if that happens. It was most wise to repair you. I will begin to replicate more constructors to assist in stopping this creature." The Keeper vanished into a thin stream of data as Siren turned her attention back to locating Melanie and the Black Ops.
- - - - - - - -
Melanie lead the pack, as Roy and Mathew sprinted behind. From one corridor to another they didn't hesitate to turn corners in full stride. Ahead of them was the central gravity lift chamber and from here they could venture to any portion of the ship; including the Ancient City eighty decks below. It would take nearly ten minutes to reach the city but that gave them plenty of time formulate a plan, however they didn't know what they would be facing. The stepped into the gravity lift and began their long descent to the next connecting level.
"Chief, do you copy?" Melanie waited for a response but none came. "Damn it. Why tell us this and then cut out on us?"
"Maybe something happened." Mathew returned.
"Perhaps she's already there, she is faster than us." Roy also commented.
"Doubt it. The chief was in the cell ward with that prophet thing when I last saw her. Most likely she was still there."
A static burst cut across the com, "Your right, Mel. I cut the com channel for now. From here on out, you'll be taking my orders; at least until 19 is on his feet."
"Siren?" Melanie questioned in a harsh tone. She was angry, and with reason. Siren had again called her 'Mel', a term used only by her older sister. "Never call me that again!"
"Fine, be stubborn. However, don't call me Siren while I'm calling the shots. You will address me as 04. Understood?"
Melanie looked to Mathew and Roy as they returned the blank gaze, "Are you fucking nuts?" Melanie's anger was well beyond control. "You have no goddamn right to say that, you computerized bitch!"
"Stow that talk 05! For now, I have to assume command of the black ops."
"The hell you are! This is my squad until 19 is up and battle ready.
"We don't stand a chance unless we hit this creature hard, and with only three black ops I see no way to kill it. We will need the Spartan on this. I'm watching it, I see how it moves and reacts. I can get us through this, but in order to do so I need to be a part of this squad. The only way you'll trust my commands is if you know who I am."
Roy gritted his teeth and shouted, "I don't give a damn who you are. Stop fucking around with us!"
"Damn it. Mel, it's me… don't make me say it." Siren stated softly. She had to give up her secret, even though she knew it would cause them anguish. She had to tell them who she was or they would never fully trust her orders. To the black ops, the name Siren was nothing but the mission AI, but the name Kim was something totally different.
The trio of black ops gazed at each other as they landed on a connecting deck to the Ancient City. They had two more gravity lift rides ahead of them, but they couldn't find the urge to push on.
"Stop being so stubborn, Mel. I earned the right to lead the black ops and I need you to trust me. I… I can't watch any more of us die."
"Kim?" Melanie gasped. "Siren don't do this, don't you use her name like this."
"Doctor Smith gave me another chance, Mel. She gave me a chance to watch after you, Eric and the squad. I took that chance." Siren reached out in her mind, accessing the holographic grid network that the Keeper used to display himself. She altered the image quality and her image appeared at the opposite end of the corridor from where the black ops were standing; beyond their view. She didn't want them to see her because she knew that it would only add to their confusion. But she wanted, in some way, to see them with her own eyes. She looked at them, standing together, but made sure they didn't see her. She was no longer the image of Siren and her long flowing blond hair. She was now Kim; her white-toned athletic form and brown regulation length hair all wrapped in the all black ODST upgraded battle armor.
Through the black op com channel she continued, "We can't dwell on it now. Call me 04 or Siren until this operation is over. Don't use my birth name, it wouldn't be the same. I have her mind, her memories, her concern, but I'm not totally the woman you all loved. But no matter, I'm going to make sure you all get through this. I'm going to contact the chief, we'll need her help here."
Melanie reached into her heart and felt the ache building within her. Kim was back, in some form, like a ghost from the grave. She was overwhelmed with joy and sadness. She pressed hard against her chest hoping to dull away the joy and heartache swelling within.
"What are we up against?" Roy and Mathew jogged to the next gravity lift and jumped inside; Melanie followed closely behind.
Siren chuckled, "The usual. Overwhelming odds, a mission that no one will ever admit existed, and a high chance of death."
Roy shot back a laugh, "Man, it's been a while since I've heard that line."
Mathew shook his head in disbelief, "Damn, I can't believe this."
Melanie grinned, "So you're going to lead this mission? There goes the squad. Life was good, I enjoyed it, but now it's over. I should just put a gun to my temple and end it all right now."
Siren burst out into laughter, Mathew and Roy also laughed out loud as the words registered to them all. Things were about to get serious and they all needed to relax. Melanie's words made them think back to the earlier days when Kim had first been given command of the squad, back when they teased her constantly about her inability to lead them. But Melanie meant the comment in two ways; one for laughter, and the other to let Siren know that she acknowledged her as being her sister. Siren's hologram faded from the corridor as she smiled softly in response to Melanie's words.
"I love you too, Mel."
- - - - - - - -
Catherine folded her arms as she gazed at the two guards hovering over her. The two elite warriors seemed unconcerned with her, but their true attention was given to Kelly and Mercy. With a heavy sigh Catherine sat on the chair that she had been using earlier and contemplated Mercy's statements. She turned to face him and began to drum the desk with her fingers. Her mind raced with more questions, questions she knew would not be answered honestly. She wanted to know more about the super soldiers that the forerunners created, and the reason why none of the forerunner AI's did not know of the gravemind. She also wanted to know why the prophets turned against the elites. Mercy had many secrets locked inside his head, and Catherine wanted to know all of them. The prophets started a war against her race, against humanity, all because of jealousy and that wasn't good enough in her opinion.
She gazed at him strongly as the idea began to register in her head, that he was one of many prophets that decided to commit genocide on humanity. To completely obliterate a race because the leaders of the Forerunner Empire had chosen humans to be the next in line of the higher class species. But with that thought, Catherine gasped.
"Keeper?"
The hologram appeared at Catherine's side, "Yes Doctor Halsey? I am quite busy with this Gravemind creature, but how may I be of assistance?"
"What was our status prior to being selected as reclaimers?"
"Species 011? Oh, you had no status. You were very barbaric, much like species 005; the Sangheili or elites as you call them. You were a war faring society when we encountered you and brought you into our fold."
"Must we tirelessly trough through the past?" Mercy sighed. "Our doom is soon to fall upon us."
"Kelly, if he talks again, break his arms." Catherine frowned. Standing in a corner and feelings useless, Kelly was monitoring the black ops channel. She had not heard anything in quite some time while they traversed the ship toward the Ancient City. Kelly nodded a soft yes to Catherine and turned her head toward Mercy. Mercy nervously looked away.
"As I was saying, you were test subjects for our various researches for many years. Soon we discovered that you had a purpose. Unlike Species 004, you were very adaptive to numerous environments. You could clearly think and solve problems. However, it was the destruction of your home world that caused us to view you in another manor."
Catherine and Kelly both gazed curiously at the Keeper, but Mercy quickly stepped in "it is useless explaining such things to them. They cared not to learn of their history and are destined to …" Kelly quickly stepped forward and grabbed the prophet. With one hand she covered his mouth and forced his head backward against the wall, arcing his serpent like neck; a muffled moan escaped through the creature's mouth. With her other hand Kelly grabbed his fragile left forearm and squeezed. Her augmented strength combined with the power of her Mark V armor, easily snapped his arm. The sound of breaking bone couldn't be heard, but Kelly easily felt the bone give under her own strength and Mercy tearfully moaned. Kelly stepped back and released the prophet, feeling no remorse for her actions. The elite guards smirked at the sight of the prophet squirming in pain.
"Barbarian! Stupid creature!"
"Keep talking and I'll break your other arm." Kelly stated as she folded her arms. Her com channel suddenly sparked to life as Siren began to calmly speak to her.
"Spartan 087, we need you. Can you get away from the elite guards?"
Kelly turned off her external speakers so that only Siren could hear, "I take it the Black Ops ran into some trouble? I'll see what I can do. What is their six?"
"They are forty decks from the Ancient City, it'll take you some time to catch them but I can help. They will engage the enemy before you arrive so you'll have to hurry."
"Understood." Kelly sternly glared at the guards as they continued to chuckle at the Mercy's misfortune. She then turned to Catherine and gave a soft head nod toward her. Kelly then turned toward the exit and began to walk across the room.
Catherine figured something was up and understood that she needed to create a diversion, "Keeper, what did you mean by that?" She faced the Keeper's hologram and ignored Mercy's whimpering moans.
"Your world was destroyed by an unknown force. Luckily, the vast majority of your species was removed before the world died."
"Then the Earth isn't our home planet?"
"Earth? That information is not present. The location of your current home world is not known."
"Then where is our original home planet?" Catherine sternly questioned.
"Your original world is in a small system near the center of this galaxy." A star chart appeared at the Keeper's side. Catherine quickly recognized it as the Sol System. The chart then zoomed in on the third orbital planetoid, however it had two moons. The world did not appear as she assumed it would, even with continental drift it seemed too alien. Thousands of interconnected lakes spotted the world, and land masses were small with little sign of the current world.
"What? That's Earth but, how could it have changed so much? And that moon..." Catherine fumed. "What happened to our world?"
"Your world was subject to an unusual amount of seismic activity because of the spiraling of the two moons. The larger moon was slowly drifting into the planet's surface. We saved as many as we could." The holographic image of Earth began to alter and showed a barren world without an atmosphere and one moon; a rock in space. "The spiraling moon crashed into the planet. Killing all life."
"No, Earth is alive and well. It's our home."
"That data is not present." The Keeper repeated. "One moment, I will see if I can access the data from the construct's memory. Ah yes, Earth… my word. Current star charts and recorded visual references reveal them to be the same world. Most intriguing that your world survived such a disastrous event. But there is no data present that explains how Earth survived." Catherine then noticed that Mercy was hissing at the notion that the Earth was still thriving. She placed her hand to her chin in thought. There was no telling what was going on in Mercy's mind. The prophets were smart and were willing to die instead of revealing their secrets. But she had to chance asking him more questions.
"Mercy? Care to elaborate." Catherine was not suspecting the guards to be intrigued by the series of questions, but none the less they had completely ignored Kelly. The massive Spartan dashed for the door and it loudly hissed open. The guards turned and roared in disapproval.
"Never mind her." Catherine yelled to the two guards. Surprisingly they stopped. "You should be more concerned with watching Mercy." The two guards seemed torn, but returned to their post and let Kelly roam freely. Catherine couldn't help but think that everything had gone easy enough; somewhat too easy. She then turned back to Mercy, "well?"
Mercy moaned and held his arm tightly to his side, "In the phrase of your own human tongue, bite me."
- - - - - - - -
"So what's your name?" Rose questioned to the tiny grunt sitting at her side. They had been talking for a few minutes and Rose wanted to know more about him.
Rose and her grunt escort had found the Ancient City and a nice quiet place to relax. She had even found a moment to take a quick bath. Her clothes were still dirty yet she felt somewhat refreshed. She sat on the edge of a massive water fountain in the center of the city and held her knees tightly in her chest as she dropped tiny pebbles into the fountain. All around her were dusty stone buildings and cobblestone roads. Various trees and flowers bloomed all around, and another cluster of light crystals shined overhead. The tiny grunt rocked back and forth beside her as he gazed into the thin crowd of elite civilians that were walking about the city. He felt some apprehension about being in the city with the elites, but they seemed to be more concerned with the human at his side.
"Me name? Me Migpap."
"Thanks for staying with me. Why aren't you attending to your duties?"
"Me want to meet leader, he Messiah! He take us all home soon, away from elites. Me want to meet him."
"Grunt leader? You mean Palab?"
"That he name. He great warrior. Elites fear him." Migpap sniffed the air and moved closer to Rose, sitting at her feet. Rose felt somewhat comfortable talking to the little creature, and in an odd way he was cute like a big dog; she was somewhat tempted to scratch his hairless head.
"I know him. He saved my life…" Rose stopped in mid sentence and dropped her head to her knees. She pulled her legs in tighter and sulked. "… everyone saves my life."
"You runt of you pack?" Migpap questioned. His statement was not received the way he had hoped and Rose became upset at the words.
"I'm not a runt!" Rose snapped. She turned away from Migpap and fumed to herself. If Rose had been an elite Migpap would have surely apologized in fear of being seared with plasma. Rose was just a human, and not much bigger than he was, so he didn't hesitant to explain.
"Me not want to anger you. Me say you runt of pack mean older pack brothers always take care of you." Migpap received no response from his words, so he elaborated further. "Me always left behind by older pack brothers. Me small, me runt. Me carry ammo and grenades for older brothers until me earn higher duty in pack. Me want to meet Palab. He teach me how to fight and be strong. Me want to be great leader and smart like him. Me watch him fight parasite and brutes on elite world. Me want to be strong like him."
Rose was listening intently to Migpap's words. She understood. She understood his words more than he could ever fathom. She was stuck in space fighting a war because she wanted to live. She had given the Covenant the crystal artifact, thusly saving her own life, but was then forced into the military as 'punishment.'
In her world of electronics and engineering she was the king, but in the military she was useless. Fixing the Seed ship was a simple act, but facing an enemy and protecting those she cared for was another story. Rose recalled the jackal she had killed in Port Said. How she was so terrified that she cried when it was over. She then thought about the brute that was rampaging toward her. If Eric hadn't been there she would have died. Rose wanted to fend for herself but she couldn't. In the world of the military and war she was a runt.
"Let's find Palab." Rose stated as she gazed into a nearby crowd of elite females that were softly gossiping amongst themselves; most likely talking about Rose and Migpap.
"He organizing grunt ship wide patrols. He busy." Migpap replied.
"Not too busy for us." Rose smiled.
A booming bass filled voice suddenly filed the air, "We have slept in patience, seeking a need to thrive. We have been looking, listening, pondering the call for revenge. Together we could have been much more, but you chose another path. A path chosen by those who came before, and they have left you with the curse of facing us.
"I hear the call. The feeding has begun, and others have joined. A power greater then mine awaits, and I will join them. Join them and become whole. I will take them this ship, and they will grant me favor in their mind, and we will stop the weapon from firing. The key has been stopped, but now a new threat wanes to force us back into slumber. Again, you do not heed our warnings, you fight against us but not with us. We could have been brothers so many years ago, but now… your sins will never be forgiven."
"What in the hell…" Rose stood from her resting spot beside the fountain and gazed into the distant horizon beyond the small towers of the Ancient City. The booming voice carried across the engineered wind, as a thick green cloud began to rise into the air.
"To fight, I must feed. To grow, I must feed. To build an army, I must feed. An army I can not lead, but an army I must create."
"Very bad thing! We run now." Migpap nervously gestured as he began to slink away from the water fountain, instinctively ready to runaway. Rose looked at him with apprehension, but then watched as several elite warriors began to run toward the green smoke. Several of the elite warriors stayed behind and waved the civilians toward the opposite side of town. The warriors that ran toward the cloud of spores wore blue armor and were led by an elite in silver-grey armor; a ranger.
Rose wanted to follow them, but her knees could barely hold her up. Why was she so scared? She had been fighting alongside Eric and Red Squad for several days and now, alone, she was terrified.
"I'm nothing but a runt." She mumbled softly to herself. In an effort to clear her mind, Rose softly bit her bottom lip, drawing blood and sending a sharp pain down her chin. The pain jolted her body into action. She quickly pulled up her magnum from her belt holster and looked at Migpap at her side.
"You coming?" Rose questioned with a wicked smile. She sucked on her wounded lower lip until it became sore and tripped the gun's safety off as she pulled back the hammer. She loved the mechanical click that followed and was somewhat eager to finally fire the weapon.
Migpap watched as the small squad of elites vanished behind a row of buildings. They were making their path toward the booming voice and the green cloud of spores. Migpap knew what it was, the parasites had come. He had lived through the battle on Jogrennilee, and now he felt as though fate had finally caught up with him. Rose wanted to fight and she was eager to follow the elites. He partially wanted to say no, but he was a soldier, fighting was what he was born to do even if he was the runt of his pack. He searched his gear, checking that he had his full arsenal of grenades and an extra power cell for his plasma gun.
"Me come." Migpap stated as he began to waddle ahead of Rose. "Me not like it, but me fight." Rose snickered and found a slow pace that matched the grunts speed. Together they followed the elites toward the edge of town. Soon they spotted the group of elites standing on the edge of an artificial lake. Rose stood at the side of the grey armored elite and gazed outward at the enemy they would be facing. Migpap stayed behind the elites, he dared to not try and step in front of them.
"Human? What are you doing here?" The elite ranger huffed.
"Does it matter?" Rose returned. She peered ahead looking to the cloud beyond the lake. Within it she could barely make out the silhouetted image of the creature, sliding across the field toward them. Long arm like tendrils gripped into the ground as it made its way toward them. At its center was a long serpent like head and its mouth spat the green cloud as if it was exhaling it. "That thing again?"
The ranger quickly stepped forward, "No. This creature is not the one we fought before. It is not as big as the other, but it will take a lot to kill it."
In the distance Rose heard an explosion and then the sharp repeated bark of human weapons fire. She looked across the lake and through the cloud of green spores she could see three human figures running about, firing into the creature. From her position Rose could judge the size of the creature. Its main body and head was roughly twice as tall as one of the human soldiers fighting it, but its tentacles were monstrously long.
"The humans have come. Perhaps the honored Sergeant is amongst them and will fight at our side. Come warriors, let us not miss the spoils of combat!" The elites roared as the ranger pulled his energy sword from his hilt and they all began to run across the small bridge toward the creature. Rose and Migpap sprinted behind them, but could not keep pace.
- - - - - - - -
The black ops arrived at the door to the Ancient City. The door parted and granted them access to the foyer. The tiny room was covered in human blood, but they ignored it. Melanie stepped forward and pointed to Roy 02, waving him toward the door controls. Roy hunkered down and raced to the opposite door.
Siren cut into all of their frequencies, "beyond this door is the field to the Ancient City and the creature is slowly crossing it. It hasn't grown much, but it has tripled its mass. 14 is gone, that's all you need to know. 05, you have surprise on your side and the constructors are waiting to attack. They don't have any weapons, but they can create a lot of pain with their welding lasers. Their goal is to keep it occupied, while you three do as much damage as necessary."
Melanie spoke quickly, "Gamble Drive." Roy and Mathew nodded, agreeing on the maneuver.
"Excellent choice." Siren stated into the com. "02, take point, sprint ahead and frag yourself clear as you pass the target. 05 and 08 flank it on my word." With a thought, Siren communicated to the Keeper and he unleashed thousand of tiny constructor droids. The small floating workers of the Forerunner Empire dropped from high above the city and buzzed toward the Gravemind creature. They were only one foot tall, but their construction lasers were primed and hot to fire. They streaked toward the Gravemind's head and began to flock around him like a nest of bees. Their welding lasers ripped across the creatures flesh, but it pressed on toward the city without regard. Chunks of it fell to the ground but slowly began to heal.
"What can stop this thing?" Siren nervously stated to herself. The constructors were doing their part, but now it was time for heavier artillery.
"Move!" Siren stated into the com. The doors parted and Roy 02 sprinted out first. He didn't alter his path and streaked pass the creature quickly while dropping two fragmentation grenades at its base.
The Gamble Drive was thusly name for its luck factor. It was a gamble to run directly pass the target and get ahead of it, while flanking it on the sides. It was a risky choice, but the most effective considering that the creature was being distracted by the constructors.
The two frag grenades detonated and sent green chunks of flesh scattering across the field. A tentacle slammed down at Roy's feet but he dodged it with little effort. He quickly pulled up his 'borrowed' plasma rifle and began to fire; burning the flesh of the creature with pound after pound of superheated plasma. Melanie and Mathew split to the left and right of the creature, flanking it from the side with their BR55 primed and ready. They each lobbed plasma grenades at the creature and they stuck. Two blue puffs sounded on the creature as it swung madly at the three pesky humans. The black ops were fast and flexible, easily able to avoid the slow moving tentacles. Or so it seemed to them. The truth in the matter was that their bodies were more responsive then before. Doctor Halsey's cure not only prevented them from being infected, it also awakened the super soldier gene within the cloned muscle enhancements.
Siren sounded in, "Help is coming. Six elites are being led by a ranger and they are coming across the lake. 02, displace to flank 08. Let the elites cut off its path." Roy pulled up his combat knife from his back holster and slashed through a tentacle as he raced to the Mathew's side. "What the…" Siren began to blurt out, but she silenced herself as she spotted Rose running behind the elites.
"Damn. 08 and 02 'Stick and Move'! 05, frag-out, I have new orders for you." Siren quickly switched channels to Melanie's private line as Roy and Mathew backed away while firing at the creature. "Get Private Santos out of here. She's going to be a liability if she gets involved."
"Santos?" Melanie dropped a frag grenade and backed away from the creature, reloading her rifle as she did. She turned her head as the elites sprinted toward the creature.
The elite ranger released three consecutive 'worts' as the elites fired at the creature's bulbous center. She then spotted Rose running beside a grunt, and coming directly into the battle field. Rose had her side arm raised and ready to fire while the grunt at her side was priming grenades.
"I'm getting tired of her!" Melanie shouted as she raced toward Rose.
- - - - - - - -
Mars Orbit
Sol Relative Time October 25, 2552
UNSC 501st Battle Group
Space time was annoying, and returning to Sol Relative time was even more so. It was a ten day slip space jump to Sol from Halo Installation 02, but the small battle group arrived in the Sol System two days before they entered slip space. The command deck of the Inner Power was quiet as all the officers monitored communications traffic throughout the system. Earth was still echoing with calls for aid, and the Covenant battle group was filled with sermons from the prophets. They were declaring victory and urging their troops to fight strong against the humans and the flood. Earth was doomed, and Colonel Ackerson felt no urgency in leading his battle group into a winless battle. Under his command were four battle ships and five thousand and able body marines and officers.
The Inner Power's Captain, Brian Haden, turned to his left and gazed at Ackerson with a stern glare, "Colonel, we have detected several whispers on the long range scope. It's the covenant's second wave, they're heading toward Earth. No word from the Spartans or the Rogue Fantasy. Your orders?"
Ackerson walked to the command console and glared into the chart, "So we arrived only a few moments after Admiral Hood sent the 'All Return" command?"
"Yes sir. The modifications we made to the engines were successful."
"Good. Move all ships out of the Covenant's path, and put us on the dark side of Mars; out of sensor range. My Spartans will be coming and I intend to wait for them."
Captain Haden rebuked, "Sir. We know that the Covenant are about to run down Earth's forces in a few hours, we need to attack."
"Tell me Captain, how many whispers did your crew detect?" Haden looked to his second in command and the man sulked to himself as he pressed the display button. On the screen appeared ninety five covenant battle cruisers. "Do you suppose we attack those ships with just our four battle ships?"
"Is it not our duty to defend Earth, James?" Stated a sultry voice from the aft of the bridge.
"Another outburst from you, Doctor Smith, and I'll see that you never have to worry about duty… or life." Ackerson didn't bother turning to look at her, but was assured by the following silence that she understood his threat. "Captain, move the fleet. We'll wait for my Spartans and then formulate a counter attack."
Haden huffed and turned to his command crew, "Yes… Colonel."
To be continued…