Much to the Master Chief's dismay, the Asguard fleet was not like he expected. Less than fifty ships and only a small handful of ships were anywhere close to the size of Highiron. Jack O'Neill had stressed that those of similar size were strictly personnel and leadership class vessels. Highiron was a flagship guardian, a type of cruiser that was made solely for the purpose of defending the leadership carriers as the main body could lash out behind the foreword guard. All the attacks would hit the Highiron, which could link its shields with the carriers, making an invulnerable sphere of protection against any attackers. Attacks could go out, but they sure as hell weren't getting in. And if this range of defense didn't work, it was best to kiss your little grey ass good-bye.
The fact that these Ori could pierce this ultimate defense and destroy a flagship with ease made John a little scared about facing these almighty god-like creatures. It was like discovering the Covenant for the first time all over again. If the Asguard couldn't finish the fight, why they needed this Earth's defenses and John himself made things all too confusing. His head was way too cluttered with the knowledge of another world. Halo stayed in his mind, as did the Flood. Those mental scars may never leave. He thought of Cortana, risking it all for the chance of humanity rising from the ashes. He felt a pang of regret. He realized with bitter acknowledgement that he could have stayed behind and detonated In Amber Clad's reactors manually and Cortana could have been sent to infiltrate the Forerunner ship. He shook his head. The Asguard would have been waiting for it anyway. She would have been destroyed in the crossfire. The Chief looked out the window.
After an extensive meeting and several small arguments between the Arbiter, Johnson, and Jack O'Neill, John had requested a break. Johnson had ripped out a cigar and stormed off, losing a fight over why they shouldn't just have the Asguard blow up each Halo. Jack and surprisingly, the Arbiter had argued back that the Asguard weren't meant to play God with the Halo's. They needed to focus on the Ori. After this, the Arbiter left for a walk, Jack O'Neill and Thor left to talk with Miranda Keyes over some of the official matters. John hated politics as much as the war, which could be ending soon. The thought made him happy.
The Chief looked out into the darkness of space. The Asguard ships and the human vessels from the UNSC lazily floated by. The battle scarred Earth lay below them. Rouge Covenant still roamed the planet. The Chief vowed to uproot every last one of the purple blooded freaks. He looked into the stars. He thought of all the planets glassed. How many were there now? This new thing, the Stargate offered new hope. Colonization for all. Chief looked up into the stars deeper and saw two that caught his attention. They were next to each other, glowing blue in the night. He stared into them for a full minute. He then realized that the blue stars were his own eyes, reflected off the glass. He noticed his appearance for the first time. His hair was brown and spiky. It was surely longer than military standards, but being in his little Mjolner world made it insignificant. His eyes were weary, but still showed a cold, icy blue fire like always. His face was aged, lines under his eyes from battle. They weren't all that noticeable, as Miranda Keyes had once told him, but he still saw every little groove. He had scars, too, but one from his temple to his cheeks shone silver in the dim light. He traced two fingers down the scarred flesh. A second reflection appeared in the window. He noticed the shape, but this time, he wasn't reaching for a gun. He didn't turn to face the Arbiter, but still nodded.
"Now you know what politics are like for humans…" The Arbiter shook his elongated head. His armor sparkled in the light.
"I have fought many battles… That one was one of the toughest…" The Chief turned to him. A twitch of a smile crossed his lips.
"I think you did very well for someone to come from a hierarchy like that…" Chief said, staring at the tall alien. It seemed so strange to the Master Chief to see one of these things not trying to attack him. His soldier's sense was screaming at him, but his common sense had a stronger hold. He trusted this one, and his troops trusted him. The Chief walked past the Arbiter, walking slowly through the stripped hallway. The Arbiter suddenly spoke, now by the glass.
"It really is beautiful… your planet… I have always been surrounded by steel and punishment, but looking at the Earth… I feel calm… no more anger about the corrupt war or other things…" The Chief looked over his shoulder. He saw the Arbiter run a hand over the glass. He saw the reflection of the Elite and the Earth mix. He had never seen any form of Covenant show compassion for anything human oriented. "Do you think your kind will accept me… my brothers…?"
"They will… in time… Not at first… but give the human race a while… we will be as close as brothers eventually… It may just give some people a strange feeling to see a Grunt shopping for groceries…" The Chief said, smiling. He imagined a pair of Grunts standing on each others shoulders pushing a cart down a Stop-N-Shop, arguing over sales prices. He offered his mind a joke for once in a great while. The Arbiter gave a smile and was about to speak again, when the Elite was engulfed in a streak of light. The Chief sighed and looked at the floor. He felt a queasy sensation and then he was engulfed in a flash of light himself.
He stood in the bridge of the Highiron. Miranda, Johnson, and the Arbiter were standing, looking around in the center of the room. The Chief put his hands in his pockets and watched the control panel. Thor and Trojan stood behind the controls. Jack O'Neill was leaning against the wall, hands crossed. He eyed the Chief.
"I think it's time we showed you what we've got to deal with, eh?" Jack said. Thor nodded and moved a control crystal. A door on the far side hissed open and Trojan walked to the entrance.
"Are you coming or not?" The humans quickly stepped up and followed the little man. The Chief walked forward to catch up with Jack.
"Commander O'Neill…" Jack stopped and turned to the Chief.
"Master Chief… call me Jack. I am not you're superior officer here. I am a neutral party."
"…Jack then… what are you going to show us?" Jack just smiled and walked behind Trojan. Johnson looked at the Chief with a puzzled look and kept walking. They came to a huge door and watched as it hissed open. Inside was nothing but a large stone structure. Jack smiled and walked over to the smaller stone structure. The Chief looked over the stone. It was impressive, but he had always though that the Stargate was some piece of incredibly advanced technology similar to the Asguard ships. This looked like they dug it out of the ground. Jack walked up and placed a hand on the center of the smaller consol. An orange light turned on under his hand. Seven orange triangles appeared in the darkness. An overhead light turned on and revealed a large section of black stone. The Chief marveled at the technology. Jack pressed the first glyph. The inner ring rumbled and began to turn. The Gate groaned as the ancient metal spun and stopped. The lower right chevron lit up brighter and locked in place. Trojan turned to the humans as Jack pressed the second glyph.
"This is the Stargate, or Chaapa'ai in ancient Egyptian speak. Normally, Stargates are usually this size, but the Halo installation that we are going to are much bigger. The Gate works on the laws of physics, using six points in space and a point of origin. This depends of course on the distance." Jack watched as the Gate groaned to a halt and the lower left chevron flashed and locked. The Gate began to turn.
"The Super Gate was designed by the Ori to create a wormhole for instant travel to other Galaxies. The Ori also developed an inter-dimensional wormhole, but we too have harnessed it." The Gate locked and spun again.
"Long ago, the Ancients, the ones who built the Stargates, came here to explore over 10,000 years ago. They met a race called the Forerunners, beings who built the Halos. The Forerunners welcomed the Ancients and the two kinds live in harmony for 200 years. Soon, the Forerunners and the Ancients began to separate. The Forerunners were jealous of how the Ancients had perfected Ascension and had created more advanced technological wonders. A deal was made…" The Gate locked a fourth time and spun again.
"The Ancients were a traveling race, never staying in the same spot for too long. Before they left, the Forerunners proposed a trade. They would get some superior technology to study a new life form they had created, called the Flood. The Ancients saw the potential danger in this new xenoform, so they agreed, on one condition. One Halo installation was to become a super Gate, and no Flood was to be placed on it. The deal formed and the Ancients left through the super Gate…"
The Gate groaned and locked a fifth time. The Arbiter was keeping his eyes on the spinning Gate.
What do you mean 'ascension'…?" The Chief asked. Trojan stared at him.
"…To evolve to a higher plane of existence, where one exists as pure energy with the powers of a lesser God. These Ori are the ones who broke the rules and avoided punishment. The rule is, you can not take action or give advice that may alter the path of lesser life form's evolution. Punishment is banishment and a removal of all memory. A worse punishment is to be destroyed from all existence. Ascension is developed when a person can use more than 80 of their brain capacity. The Ori are the ones who broke off, and play God to human kind. The power of the feeble worshipers strengthens them. The powers of a god in the hands of jealous evil. And if the Covenant creates a holy war with these beings and sees their powers as God-like, the Ori will be strong enough to destroy the rest of humanity in this dimension and our own. We must get to the Halo installation 07 before the Covenant do. One of their leadership survived the explosion and our sensors prove he is heading to the installation with a small band of seventy ships…"
"Oh, only seventy ships… that makes me feel even more triumphant." Keyes remarked. "So how are we going to get there? The Covenant leader still has the advantage of a day's head start." Trojan blinked.
"Our ships can enter hyperspace, a form of travel that exceeds the speed of your 'slip-space' by a factor of ten to the twenty seventh power. A trip that would take you years, will take us only hours at full thrust. We have been en route since we left the bridge. We are going to the other side of the universe. Besides, we will make our way to the Halo through the Stargate. Our mission is to get a composite of ultimate knowledge in the base of Halo. After that, Thor and I can examine the data, and hopefully find a way to stop the Ori. We will arrive instantaneously. The ship will hover above Halo and act as a shield for however long it takes about two hours after we come out."
"Now you're speaking my language!" Johnson barked eagerly. "Were do we suit up?" Trojan walked over to the wall and moved a gem. The Humans were encased in a wall of light and suddenly were suited up. Jack and Johnson were in the regular military vests and gear, while Miranda was in her captains attire with a Battle Rifle slung across her chest. Jack and Johnson took up a P-90 and a SMG each. The Arbiter had a belt of plasma grenades on his side and three deactivated swords on one side. He felt each one and smiled, bearing fangs.
The Chief was suddenly in his Mjolner armor, minus the blood stains and dents. He noticed some improvements in the movement systems and his HUD. A small computer was on his wrist. A small group of Zatn'kitels was attached to his belt. Some hidden compartments and a smaller power source were on his back. Trojan walked to him.
"Your Mjolner armor has been refitted with Asguard and some third generation Goa'uld components. Two shields offer better protection and the weaponry you will find has been given a serious uplift. Your suit has more compartments and more weaponry. The data pad at your right can be verbally or manually commanded to offer some of the hidden weapons…" The Chief typed in a random code in the pad. A small compartment on his arm opened and shut, releasing a small group of tiny spheres. Trojan blinked. "I would advise you to be more careful with those grenades in the future, Master Chief." The marble sized explosives disappeared in a vibrant light. John looked up at the Gate. Six lights were on and the inner ring was quiet. Jack was eyeing the controls and thinking hard.
"Uh… Trojan… What's our point of origin?"
"The second from the left…"
"Uh…"
"The one that looks like a fish, O'Neill…"
Jack eyed the controls a bit longer. He spotted the button.
"Ah! There it is!" The Gate lit up one last time and the top chevron glowed, snapping open and shut. Jack stepped back a foot. The Gate groaned one time and suddenly flared with an explosion of blue light. What looked like a tidal wave arched out and froze before retracting back inside. A rippling surface was seen in the dark room. Jack felt the weight of the Battle Rifle and turned to them. Miranda's eyes were wide open shock, the Arbiter was staring indifferently into the device's rippling center, the Chief's emotions were hidden, but in the helmet, he was staring into the depths. Johnson laughed and slapped Jack's shoulder.
"Is this what your military does all day? Damn! I need a job application!"
"We should go…" Trojan said, eyeing the Gate and stepping up. Jack nodded and stepped through with the Asguard. Miranda walked up to the rippling event horizon and closed her eyes as she stepped through. Johnson, being immature, jumped through screaming. The Arbiter looked up at the Gate and took a look at John. He nodded his head and jogged through. The Chief looked up as he walked up to the Gate. The event horizon rippled in front of him. He heard a whisper in his ear. It sounded familiar. He looked around the empty hanger. As he put his hand in the Gate, he felt like it was drawing him in. With one breath, he stepped into the galaxy.
The Chief first saw darkness. His vision filters adjusted to the dark and he saw a shadowy room in his visor. He turned the filter off. Nothing was in the room. The Gate shut down, plunging them into darkness. He heard Jack.
"Alright…I just need… a light…" Something clattered to the floor. "Son of a bitch! Does anyone got a…" The Arbiter's blue plasma sword formed in the air next to Jack. Jack picked up a flashlight off the floor and looked around. The sword gave light, but not enough. Chief looked down at his pad computer. He pressed a button. The LED lit up. He put the pad to his helmet.
"I need a light." He said. The pad beeped and a tiny sphere clattered to the floor. A set of tripod legs came out the bottom and a light appeared at the top. The room burst into brilliance. It was a plain room, nothing but a DHD and the Gate in it. The metal was similar to that of the previous Halos. Chief had to realize, he was on Halo and not a ship. His blood ran cold as he reached for one of the snakelike guns. He wouldn't use it, but if he needed to, he'd figure it out. Overhead vents and pipes hung from supports, heavy iron gates held them shut. On the far wall, what looked like an awkward pyramid hung from the wall? Jack lowered his gun.
"You didn't say it was going to be one of those head… sucky… grabber things…" He said, staring at the small alien. Trojan looked up at him.
"You will not have to download the knowledge into anyone. I will download it into a control crystal. The process will take about five minutes."
Jack nodded and leaned up against the wall. Johnson copied him on the opposite wall, arms crossed. Miranda walked the perimeter of the room, looking for an alternate doorway other than the Gate. There were none. The Arbiter was watching the Asguard closely, and the Master Chief leaned against the wall, checking his rifle. Something gnawed at his mind. He spoke without looking directly at Jack.
"Is this encyclopedia galatica supposed to be like the one in the Halo mainframe…?" Jack stared at him.
"Yes, but we've already taken a copy of one of them and found it to be… smaller than the ancient data files. The Forerunners had information pertaining to themselves. The Ancients had the knowledge of everyone, even the higher beings." Trojan kept typing but added in.
"The Ancient knowledge was originally supposed to be used by placing your head in front of the device and having it forcefully put the information in your brain. The knowledge is so vast; however, the brain will focus on the information and neglect the bodily functions until the victim suffers complete systematic shut down."
The Chief thought of Cortana after receiving the Halo data. Even that had caused her to act quirkier and shorten her life span. Smart AI's were destined for systematic shutdown, but apparently, this knowledge would do this to a human, much faster.
Jack spoke. "The knowledge will over shadow a person's mind, making them talk Ancient, build ancient weaponry, act upon their merest whim, basically turning them into an ancient. This makes them die in a week. Only one of the air head ascended can retain the information safely."
John mulled this around for a bit before he heard something. It was a slithering sound. Like wet flesh. He recognized that sound, and so did Johnson. They lifted their guns and looked up at the vents. The sounds came from them. Jack walked over to the Asguard.
"How long is this gonna take?"
"Two more minutes."
I DON'T BELIEVE YOU SHALL SUCCSSED.
Everyone froze when the voice spoke. It seemed to come from the walls themselves.
HOW DARE YOU GRACE THESE HALOED HALLS WITH YOUR PRESENCE. THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE ANCIENTS IS SACRED. YOUR PRESENCE SHALL BE TAKEN CARE OF.
The over head vents slammed open and hundred of the Flood Infection forms poured out. The Chief snatched the snake-like Zat gun from his side and aimed it at the Flood. The gun jumped and a lightning bolt slammed into the wave of green. The entire thing exploded, sending gore everywhere. Jack, the Arbiter, Miranda, Johnson, and the Chief formed a tight perimeter around the Asguard. The voice spoke as more Flood came out.
THE ARMORED ONE… YOU HAVE RETURNED…
The Chief grew desperate after seeing the wall of forms coming at them. He lifted his arm pad to his face. Jack saw him.
"What are you doing?"
"RAISE SHIELD!" Screamed the Chief. A sphere of blue exploded outward and forced the entire Flood back into their holes. A timer appeared on the screen. They had forty seconds before the Flood came back. The Asguard swore.
"The core of the device is shielded. I can't get any information out of it!"
The Chief looked at the timer and the group. He thought. What would Cortana do? What would the late Captain Keyes do? What would the entire military class do for their world…?
The Chief grabbed the Asguard and pushed him aside. He snapped his helmet off. His blue eyes looked silver against the dim lighting. Jack yelled something. The Chief put his face closer to it. Two arms grew out of the sides and clamped down on his head. The Chief's vision turned white out.
The Chief was nothing. He knew what he was, but he had no form, no visual appearance. The world was nothing but white. A figure in a black cloak stood in front of him, speaking in the familiar voice.
YOUR BRAVERY WILL NOT GO UNREWARDED, ANCIENT. THROUGH YOUR VIENS RUNS THE BLOOD OF THE GREAT ONES AND YOUR MIND IS EVOLVED TO A NEW LEVEL. ENOUGH TO ASCEND, MY CHILD.
"This is not my doing. My brain was evolved through science."
MORE THAN TWELVE PERCENT IS ENOUGH AND IT IS EVOLVED NONE THE LESS. YOUR TIME IS NIEGH, AND IF ASCENSION IS NOT YOUR PREFERENCE, IT SHALL BE FORCED!
The Chief was screaming, the device clamped to his face. The humans were trying to get it off him, when something new happened. A new arm branched from it and slammed into the Chief's neck. Blood and steam hissed from under the new piece of technology. It moved away to reveal the Earth Glyph in his neck, scar deep in the skin. The Chief yelled in pain one last time and the device let him go. The Chief slumped down to the floor. The timer on his hand hit zero. The Shield wavered. More Flood came rushing through. Miranda yelled. The Chief's eyes flared open and he stood up, whipping a hand down to face the Flood.
"Ego oné on navo Quiatus!" The Chief yelled. A vibrant white light swept down on the Flood. Everyone but the Chief blinked. The light cleared. The Flood were gone. The Chief was on his knees, clutching his arm, which was venting steam. His eyes were fragmented and the scar on his neck was glowing red. Jack swore and leaned over.
"Are you okay?"
The Chief looked up.
"I have one last mission I need to complete…"
Flashback over!
A/N: The mission logs are over and the story will continue from the point of Chief's escape fron Oni Three in the earlier chapter.
Also, the phrase the Chief said in ancient roughly translates to: I am the new Ancient.
I stress 'rough translation', cause there may be a few grammar errors in it.