Martin Makino groaned as the ONI techs ran their scanners over his body. He thought it was bad at the spaceports, but at least they only used backscatter radiation to see through his clothing. At the Ark Bubble, ONI actually stripped him naked before scanning him with a variety of equipment. What, did they think an alien was going to try to sneak in with a human suit?
Finally, the spooks let him go. They gave him back his clothes and updated his badge with today's codes. He stepped through the gate, entering the garage, and hopped in the M831 Troop Transport. "Hey, Charlie," he greeted the driver, who nodded and started the car.
The TT drove out of the garage and emerged in terrain tinted purple by the massive force-field bubble doming overhead, the product of Elites working with the UNSC. Here was where the most ground-breaking research was taking place. Elites and humans alike worked to uncover the secrets of the Forerunner—of course, the Elites were given more manual jobs and kept out of problematic areas of study should the truce not hold.
The looming threats from Flood and URF made ONI even more cautious than they usually were. Marines armed to the teeth guarded the entrances. Large Forerunner automation called Enforcers patrolled the border, while the smaller Sentinel automation flew around the interior in a grid formation. Suffice it to say ONI didn't want any surprise visitors.
On the roof of the Ark was erected a large series of tents: the Lazarus facility. That was where the end of the Gravemind took place. The alien monster willingly allowed human scientists to make a model of its brain and essentially transform it into an AI. ONI built an artificial persona for it called Lazarus that they imposed on it to keep it from seriously considering things that would jeopardize the safety of the human race, which it seemed to accept.
He remembered the day Lazarus' avatar emerged from the holotank. They'd been shocked to see it take the form of a female angel with the most beautiful face.
Dr. Marva Hudson was the lead engineer on the project. "Who are you?" she had asked, testing Lazarus' acclimation to her persona.
Instead of simply stating her name, Lazarus had smiled in a way that reminded him of his grandmother when she hugged him as a boy, and the AI said, "I? I am a monument to all your virtues. You may call me Lazarus."
The Lazarus project seemed to be a complete success. Lazarus many times expressed her gratitude for the transformation. According to her, the Gravemind collective intelligence was a prison constructed by the Forerunners—the Flood being a biological weapon they developed and lost control of—and she always wished to "ascend" to a being that wasn't dependent on r-strategy reproduction to remain living. The Flood, like rats, didn't survive very long individually, and their success as a species dwelled in their fast-breeding ability. They, however, were restrained by their own success, for they were doomed to consume all resources and go out in search of more, overwhelming all other life until their eventual destruction. They were like a thinking disease that plagued the galaxy until Cortana was smart enough to conceive of a way out.
Lazarus initially showed her gratitude by assisting in translation of the Forerunner artifacts, but that was put to a halt when High Command insisted that 343 Guilty Spark run through and verify everything she supplied, which made the whole endeavor useless. They might as well get the information straight from the Monitor, and his time was already a hot commodity among scientists. Nevertheless, Lazarus provided many interesting conversations that shed light on areas of science of which human beings had no clue, particularly involving fringe Slipspace mechanics. Already new Slipspace drives were in development.
An Enforcer scanned the vehicle as they pulled up to the facility. Martin knew they were worried about terrorism, though he suspected the URF wouldn't target something that would even slightly help their cause. The fact that URF scientists performed the initial Gravemind CIM was likely the only thing that kept the UNSC from blasting their asses into kingdom come.
When Martin walked through the entrance, he was startled by the sight of what looked like four ONI security squads inside. Human techs looked on helplessly as they interrogated the Elites. Martin immediately felt worry for their inhuman allies. He was just a big of a patriot as any human and wouldn't identify most Elites as anything more than vile split-jaws, but these Elites were different. They were part of a fringe sect that had declared humans as holy as the Forerunners, and had assisted with the Lazarus project since its inception. His experiences with them revealed kind and respectful personalities. These were not Covenant Elites. These were the Governors of bloody Contrition.
"Oi, what's with the inquisition?" he demanded of a nearby ONI agent with a black badge on her chest indicating full clearance, a step above his own red badge. He squinted at the name: Rani Sobeck.
"We are conducting an investigation on the suspected involvement of the AI Lazarus in the Insurrectionist broadcast," Sobeck said, her voice accented with the twang of someone from southern North America. "These Elites may have assisted her by opening a connection to the chatternet."
He shook his head in disbelief. For a naval branch devoted to intelligence, they sure didn't show any at times! "Lazarus and the other AIs don't care about politics. They just want to help humankind in general. And if you're after Insurrectionists, why don't you ask the humans some questions? The Innies being human and all?"
She sighed. "Listen, Mr. Makino, you have to think about this rationally. Lazarus comes across like a morally decent intelligence because she wants us to keep her alive. If she was at all moral as the Gravemind, she would have starved herself. And you can't think of her as like the Monitors. She's like one of our smart AIs on the verge of Rampancy. Trust me; I'm good at reading people."
"Good at reading humans, maybe, but you've never seen anything like her," he countered. "She's not even one of our smart AIs; she's an AI form of an alien hive mind. I wish you Section Zero types would consider…" He broke off as 343 Guilty Spark teleported in beside her.
"I am happy to report that there are absolutely zero signs that AI Lazarus has been ported from the network, Ms. Sobeck," the Monitor declared cheerfully. "Containment has not been breached in the slightest."
Ms.? he wondered. This black badge was still a civilian? How did that work?
"Are you sure?" she asked. "These AIs can copy their primary data matrices through the chatternet, you know, so Lazarus wouldn't even have to leave herself."
"I am sure," the Monitor said, never losing its chipper tone. "No such connections have been made. I would, however, recommend that the AI's core be shielded with at least a class 4 adjustable helix to prevent seventh dimensional bleeding. If you wish, I can send the request form to I-05."
"Uh, okay," she said, looking as baffled as he was. "You go on and do that."
"Very well," the Monitor said. The air shimmered around it as it vanished from sight.
"You see?" he said when the Monitor left. "Lazarus didn't do a thing. Now, you want to stop hassling these Elites?"
She eyed him carefully for a moment. "Of course," she then said. She called to her subordinates, and they filed out of the tent.
"Sorry for this interruption," she said, but her words sounded very deliberate and forced. "Have a nice day, Mr. Makino."
He smiled diplomatically. "You too, Ms. Sobeck." And don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out.
7-7-7-7
"…And let this ancient structure whose original purpose has been lost to the march of eons henceforth be known as a cemetery to countless brave warriors!" the Arbiter declared, ending his speech to the roaring crowd, or simply applauding in the case of the Humans. Political figures from every major civilization—Sangheili, Jiralhanae, and Human—gathered in the circular building in the middle of a small complex on the surface of the second Halo.
Here was where his Phantom had momentarily rested back when he sought to transport his new Human allies from the Halo's control room to the Covenant Separatists before they made their way to Earth. This was where he first seriously spoke to Jahnsen, the Human he came to know as friend as they travelled to Earth together. It was also the place that his subordinate 'Opskitee lost his faith in the Arbiter and caused him to instigate rebellion at the worst possible time: when the Arbiter did battle with the Jiralhanae of a ship he attempted to commandeer. Yet that too gained the Arbiter a valuable ally in Consus, a Jiralhanae who proved instrumental in the defeat of the Covenant and deactivation of the Ark superweapon.
It was of Jahnsen and Consus the Arbiter now thought as he began to sing. It was a slow, deep ballad about dying honorably on the field of battle. Though it was penned by a Prophet for the purpose of honoring the Covenant, the Arbiter stripped it of its lyrics and simply sang its melody, imbuing new meaning to the song in this different context.
Tensions were high. Sangheili and Human and Jiralhanae were so recently at each other's' throats. These dead now mourned were all killed at the hands of each other's respective warriors. No one wanted to acknowledge it, but everyone thought it nonetheless. The Arbiter was optimistic, though. This was a chance for them to metaphorically bury the dead and so bury their past conflicts and start anew.
So, he tried to ignore the Human camera drones whistling as they flew around his head. Too, he tried to ignore the Sentinels flying around the structure. As much as they were there to protect them from rebels, he knew the message behind them was an underlying threat.
The UNSC now controlled all the might of Installation 05. To the former members of the Covenant, even newly atheistic ones, it came as nothing less than a declaration of godhood. The Humans could very well attempt to rule them as the Prophets had done.
He knew it wasn't the case, however; he had too much faith in the goodness of Humanity. In people.
Yes, he tried to convince himself of that fact.