CHAPTER 9 - THE PATH OF PIPPIN AND THE ARBITER
After their recent victory at Helm's deep, the remaining members of the Fellowship journeyed back to Edoras, the capital of Rohan, where a great feast was held in honor of those who had fought for Rohan's freedom. All of the Marines who had participated in the battle were present.
The DJ for the feast was somewhat questionable in his choice of music, however. All had been going well on the dance floor when suddenly a german song entitled "Guten Tag Meine Freund" began playing over the loudspeaker. Not knowing what to do, most of the Marines simply stood there in awe of a song with words they could not understand. Panic ensued, however, when a chorus of children joined in on the recording. Sergeant Johnson was the first to break the ice by break dancing to the song. Soon all of the other marines joined in on the fun and held a break dancing competition. Sergeant Johnson, needless to say, won.
The only marine who understood German simply stood off to the side an shook his head, amazed at the fact that everyone else had no idea what the words they were dancing to meant in English.
After the break dancing was over, Merry and Pippin got the bright idea to do the popular comedy routine, "Who's on first, what's on second..." It took only about a minute for them to be laughed off of the stage. Now bored to tears, they went to the buffet table and filled enough plates with food to feed four marines each. They sat down next to Master Chief and the Arbiter.
"You two eat a lot of food," remarked the Chief.
"Grunts are known for their immense appetites," the Arbiter said in answer.
Meanwhile, Gimli and Half Jaw were having a drinking contest. The last one standing would win. Since hunters were a group of organisms living in a "hive" with a single conscience, they had a large alcohol tolerance. It was unknown, however, what an Elite could withstand. The drinking continued for quite a while, but to everyone's surprise, Half Jaw won. Gimli simply collapsed onto the floor in a large heap of blue armor, shield, and fuel rod cannon.
So much fun had been had that night that nearly every single soul who attended was exhausted. There were a few that were up and about. Namely, Merry, Pippin, Master Chief, and Half Jaw. Pippin had gotten up to take a look at the strange device which he had pulled from the water at Isengard. The chief was outside talking with Half Jaw.
"Do you think that Frodo and Sam could have survived the crash?"
"We survived, didn't we? So did Merry and Pippin."
"I suppose."
The Chief looked at the upward curvature of the ring. There was a massive cloud system approaching from Mordor.
"Looks like Gravemind is working overtime," observed the Chief.
"He is sending out a cloud to block all sunlight. The flood do not fight well in day time conditions. He is creating permanent night so that he can invade the rest of the ring."
"He's moving to attack?"
"It would appear so."
Inside, Pippin was cautiously sneaking up to the Arbiter's knapsack. He opened it up and looked at it. Merry was peering over his shoulder.
"What that?"
"It look like grenade."
Pippin, out of a curiosity to see if it would explode, pressed a button on its side and threw it out of an open window. It floated back in.
"What the!" Pippin screamed, "Possessed grenade!"
It wasn't a grenade, however. It turned out to be a holo drone, because it flew over to Pippin and projected an image of Gravemind which surrounded him and engulfed him. The shrieks of both Merry and Pippin were enough to awake the entire barracks...
The next morning the Arbiter was standing in front of Sergeant Johnson, describing what Pippin had recounted to him.
"He saw a glimpse of the enemy's plan. Gravemind plans to strike the city of Relic, opening the door to the rest of the ring. We must go to Gondor and aid them."
"Tell me something," said Johnson, "Why should we help them if they didn't give a crap about us?"
"Because once Gravemind takes control of Gondor he will take control of you."
"Look, even if I wanted to help them, I am direct orders not to unless the emergency beacon is lit. If Lord Hood doesn't ask for reinforcements, he won't get any."
Knowing that Johnson was sincere, and that he would not win the argument, he exited and made his way to the Garage, where his ghost was kept. Pippin was ordered to follow.
"Me no understand," he protested, "Me only look once."
Merry took him aside, "Idiot. Gravemind think you have index. He coming for you."
At that, Pippin was shocked and frightened. An entire army of flood was out to get him because of his curiosity? He followed the Arbiter to the garage and mounted his ghost, sitting in front of him.
"How far to Relic?" he inquired.
"Three days ride as the Nazgul flies," the Arbiter answered.
The Nazgul had given up trying to chase the index down on ghosts. They had instead upgraded to Seraph fighters. They were now an even greater threat than they had been before.
And so they both took off. They raced along little known roads as fast as their little ghost could carry them. For three days they raced onward, speeding toward their goal. At long last they passed into the realm of Gondor. After finally coming to a stop on a small hill, they looked upon a magnificent site.
The city of Relic was built around the largest structure ever created by the Forerunners aside from the ring, which shared the name of the city. The actual structure was a long platform that rose about a hundred feet above the valley floor. At the front was a pair of gigantic towers that reached nearly a thousand feet into the sky. At the top of this was a platform that connected the two. Buildings were built on every possible surface of this structure, and even inside of it (there was also a big hollow area in the front which served as the main entrance.)
So they continued onward and were admitted through the main gate, and Pippin looked around in awe. The inside of Relic was very big, with its ceiling being nearly one hundred feet high. There were homes, military structures, and all sorts of other buildings in this space. The Arbiter drove his ghost along the main roadway through the middle until they came to a ramp that led up onto the surface of Relic. They were now at the back of the city which was touching the mountain, and had to drive lengthwise along the main road again until they were between the two towers in the front. There was a massive elevator there which the Arbiter maneuvered his ghost onto. The attendant activated a control, and the elevator sped upward at a frightening pace.
Pippin was scared of heights, and was not very comfortable with the fact that he could see through the transparent panel in the center of the elevator all the way down to the ground. Nor was he comfortable with the way the elevator moved. The elevator had been there ever since the Forerunners had built the structure, and so it moved using antigravity energy. That meant that if the power were to unexpectedly fail, they would plummet over 900 feet to their deaths, not to mention the fact that there were no guides for the elevator and they might miss the hole in the platform at the top.
Whatever could happen, it thankfully didn't. They all reached the top of the tower in one piece. The Arbiter moved the ghost to a suitable area and powered down. He got out followed by Pippin, and then proceeded to a large administrative building.
"Listen to me, Pippin. We are going to see the steward of Gondor: Lord Hood. He is Sergeant McKinsey's stepfather. So don't say anything of what happened on the Uncontested Valor. And say nothing of Frodo and the index either."
He paused to think.
"Perhaps it is better if you do not say anything at all."
Pippin nodded in agreement.
They both entered through large doors and made their way down a long marble chamber, at the end of which was sitting Lord Hood, apparently bent over a Marine's helmet.
"Hail Lord Hood, steward of Gondor. I bring you good news in this dark hour as well as counsel."
"Perhaps you came to explain this to me?"
He held up the helmet. The word "McKinsey" was stenciled on the back. Pippin was shocked, and felt sorry for Lord Hood, because he could see the grief in his eyes.
"McKinsey die for us," Pippin knelt down on one knee in front of Lord Hood, "He fight flood while we run to safe part of ship. Me offer service in return."
The Arbiter lightly shoved him aside, disappointed in Pippin once again.
"There will be a time to grieve for your son, but it is not now. Mordor's armies are marching on your doorstep. As steward you are charged with the protection of the country. Where are your infantry divisions?"
"You think you are wise, Arbiter, by trying to tell me how to rule my kingdom."
"You are not king, and therefore you have no kingdom."
"You wish to restore a king to this throne. I know what it is you are hiding. I have been given reports of this "Master Chief" of the Spartan program. I tell you now, I will not bow to this "super" soldier from the North."
"You are steward, not king."
At this, Lord Hood stood up in his seat and exclaimed, "The rule of Gondor is mine and no other's!"
The Arbiter and Pippin left the room and made their way to their quarters on the lower front part of the city. The day grew dark, and night soon came upon Relic. The view from their room was magnificent. One could see the vast plains before the city, Osgiliath which lay on the Anduin river, and Mordor beyond. The atmosphere within glowed a dull orange as light from Barad Dur and the Library were reflected off of a heavy snow that was falling there. The air was chill in Relic as well, and the stars above the city were becoming veiled by the oncoming cloud of cold weather from Mordor. A snowflake or two could be seen falling from the sky. As the Arbiter and Pippin looked out across the landscape, a sudden bright light startled them.
A beacon like that which fired off from Isengard every so often shot into the sky. Unlike Isengard's beacon, however, this one was continuous. It didn't stop firing after about a second like a normal one did. The Arbiter recognized the source instantly.
"Minas Morgul. The fortress of darkness."
"What?"
"There is a fortress where that light is coming from. It was built by the forerunners but was then taken over by the flood when gravemind rose to power. It is sending a signal to Mordor. The board is set and the pieces are moving."
He thought to himself, then spoke out loud, "And with Lord Hood in his current state of mind, we will have to activate the beacon for Rohan ourselves.
"What you mean?"
The next morning Pippin climbed up to a raised platform behind the two support towers of Relic. On that platform was the activation switch for the beacon. It would be a trick to avoid the guards, but that was something he was good at. Stealthily sneaking by when their heads were turned, he eventually entered a small room with a holographic symbol floating in the middle. He touched it, and a low whining noise created by gigantic ancient generators reverberated throughout the city. Pippin, now frightened, scrambled back down the platform as fast as he could, not even worrying about whether he was seen or not. To him, the noise meant big scary things doing something destructive. As he finally made it into the street, he saw that everyone was looking upward. When he turned he head in that direction, he finally understood what it was he had just done.
The towers were glowing blue. That was the beacon.
The Arbiter was watching from a distance. He turned his head toward the mountains, where a much smaller tower stuck out of the ground. It remained static for several seconds, then also began to glow blue. The system was working, and Rohan would come to their aid.
Pippin had been sworn into Lord Hood's service. He was standing in the presence of the steward the next day, and was asked to sing a song for him. Daunted, he proceeded to protest.
"Me no good at singing."
"It doesn't matter. I just want to hear the way you sing, that's all."
Pippin hesitated, "It's a small world after all-"
Lord Hood nearly choked on his food and glared at Pippin, who decided to remain silent. The Arbiter, meanwhile, was sadly watching as Corporal Perez, Lord Hood's second stepson, was going to certain doom.
Osgiliath had been overrun by flood. Perez, in an attempt to please his father, was going to lead a contingent of troops to retake the city. The Arbiter's attempt to stop the sortie failed. He watched as Perez led the column of Warthogs out of the main gate. They accelerated to top speed in an attempt to catch the flood by surprise. That did not work. The flood were waiting for them; each one armed with a rocket launcher. The only one who returned alive was Perez, who had somehow managed to drive his burning warthog back to the gates of Relic, which were opened briefly to allow his passage in. He was helped out of the Warthog, after which he slipped into unconsciousness.
The gates were then locked shut, and for good reason. A great host of thousands of Flood were marching upon the city. Upon the platform at the top of Relic, Lord Hood came out to meet the group that was carrying his last remaining son. Convinced he was dead, he grieved inconsolably. Staggering away, he looked out across the plain and was completely startled to see a nearly infinite number of flood all lined up across the fields. They had brought portable MAC guns with them, and began to fire upon the city, completely decimating entire blocks. He screamed for all to abandon their posts into a microphone that fed into the city's loudspeaker system.
He was immediately cut off by the sound of someone hitting another person with reasonable force. The voice of the Arbiter then came over the loudspeaker, "Prepare for Battle."
Ordering everyone to return to their posts, he rode down to the lower levels on his ghost. Disembarking, he took command of all of the city's stationary MAC guns and ordered them to return fire. Immense holes were created in the flood ranks by the high velocity rounds. They were, however, not combat ready, and soon ran out of ammo.
The flood began to barrage the gates will all manner of rocket, tank, and plasma fire, and it was not long before they crumbled away. The flood now had access to the lower region of the city. The only thing to do was to retreat to the higher outdoor section and seal off the lower levels. There was no time to save anybody.
Pippin, meanwhile, observed Lord Hood carrying his son on a stretcher to an ammunition storage facility. Following them, he found out that Lord Hood meant to set off a charge within the facility, destroying both it and all those within. He had given up. Pippin fervently protested..
"He no dead! Perez no dead!"
"I will not have you interfere again. I release you from my service. Go and die whatever way you please."
Hood threw Pippin out the doorway with relative ease. Pippin, not knowing what else to do, ran the entire way down to the level where the Arbiter was securing the gate between the lower level and the outdoor city.
"Lord Hood burning Perez alive!"
The Arbiter quickly pulled him into his ghost and boosted with all due haste toward the upper level. They had just reached the elevator when a black Seraph came from the sky and hovered just a few feet above the ground in front of them. A flood dressed in a black cloak and a metal head dress emerged from a hatch on the front.
"You shall both die!" hissed the Nazgul king.
Using some unseen force, the Nazul ruptured the gas tank on the ghost from afar. The Arbiter and Pippin had seconds to react before the ghost erupted in a fireball of blue flame. The Nazgul then moved to attack them, but was drawn off by a horn blowing on the fields below.
Despite having been attacked, the two made their way to the top platform and neared the ammunition storage.
"Pippin, get as far away from this facility as you can."
Pippin did as he was asked, and ran about a hundred yards and ducked beneath a fallen support beam. The Arbiter engaged his active camouflage and entered the bunker. He had just seconds to get to Perez before he was seen. Just as he was about to scoop Perez up and bolt for the exit, his camouflage disengaged. He grabbed Perez anyway and ran as fast as he could. Lord Hood, convinced that he could not escape, threw a grenade into a crate of C4 explosives.
The resulting blast destroyed the ammunition bunker and all within. The Arbiter was flung all the way to Pippin's position, his shields depleted. Perez landed next to him, apparently jolted into a state of semi consciousness from the blast.
The Arbiter checked Perez for life signs, and then casually walked over to where Pippin was. Instead of finding him cowering, however, he saw the little grunt looking down into the fields below.
To the north was a gigantic row of thousands of Warthogs.