The Reclaimer Legacy

Chapter 9

By BrokenPoet12

X

Forerunner Planet Requiem

Location: Storm Covenant Stronghold

Just Prior to the Destruction of Requiem

Jul 'Mdama was furious. The humans had deceived and lied again and again. Glassman had activated the Librarian's shield and escaped before he could release her. Then Catherine Halsey had entered the very location that he himself had been ordained to go. The human filth had bested him again. And Catherine Halsey was the most deceptive of them all. She had emerged with a holy artifact, tried to keep it hidden from him. From him; the Diadact's own, the anointed one. But she had failed and he had retrieved half of the artifact. He knew that soon it would give him what he wanted. It was a matter of time before the gifts of the Forerunners were revealed to him.

And yet, what a turn of events there had been when the Lifeshaper had appeared before Jul. Bathed in holy light, brighter than the purest plasma and blinding to all who were near. Jul had been frightened at first. Since the disappearance of the Diadact, Jul had begun to wonder what his blind faith would get him. He feared following the foolish path that had led Telcam to his death. And Raia…but Raia had not been foolish. No. She had done her duty as a Sanghelli woman and the wife of a Keep elder. Yet all it had gotten her was death at the hands of the human betrayers.

When Lifeshaper had appeared and offered Jul the secrets he had been seeking, he knew in that moment that he would be found worthy. This time he would ensure that all of the secrets he sought were revealed and he would take control. With his new technology and his new power he would rid the faithful of the human menace and destroy the likes of Thel Vadam. And so when Lifeshaper ordered the world destroyed, promising that its secrets were all but wasted, gone. Jul had happily obliged, keeping Catherine Halsey and the artifact close at hand. With a few commands, he ordered his followers to their ships and set about putting Requiem on a course into the sun. With luck, maybe he would destroy the Infinity and he crew full of pests and interlopers. It would do him good to see it burn.

So with half of the Janis key locked safely in his room on board the cruiser, Jul watched the planet fall away from his view screen as the crew prepared to slip to a new location. Standing beside him, silent and foreboding was the Forerunner being Lifeshaper. Jul was afraid to approach him, but he had so many questions and there was no time to lose. Nodding to a subordinate male, Jul stood from the command console and went to kneel in front of the Lifeshaper. Keeping his head low, he rested a clawed hand against the metal floor and gathered his courage to speak. Just before he did, the Forerunner cleared his throat.

"Speak being. You have questions."

"Yes my Lord. Your servant would know where we travel if you would tell it."

"What makes you believe you are worthy to know?" At this, Jul tensed. His hand curled into a fist against to cool metal of the floor and he waited, almost afraid that a killing blow would fall. Instead he was surprised when he felt the weight of the Lifeshapers hand resting against his bowed neck. "Stand Jul 'Mdama. You served Diadact. You serve Lifeshaper."

"It is so my Lord." Jul rose to his full height, taller than the Forerunner by a good six or seven inches. Lifeshaper motioned Jul to follow him and the two left the bridge. As they walked down the hallways, Lifeshaper was silent for long minutes. Jul tried to ply him with questions, but received nothing in return. Their journey ended several minutes later in the bowels of the ship. The only thing down this low was engineering and the brig. One cell was occupied.

"Bring Halsey out and treat her wound. Then we shall speak." Without warning, Lifeshaper was gone. Jul swung his head around, but there was no sign of him. Resigned, he wrenched open the cell door and went in to speak with his 'guest.'

"You are in luck human, your Demon missed anything vital."

"I don't know that I would call this lucky Jul." Catherine Halsey stood and managed to walk out of the cell without betraying the pain she was in. The wound in her shoulder ached and she was dizzy from blood loss. She knew enough about Sanghelli culture to know that a good doctor would be nonexistent. Jul 'Mdama followed on her heels and steered her to a gravity lift. They rose to one of the uppermost decks and he pulled her again until they were in a sterile room with nothing more than a bed and a counter full of sharp instruments. Sneering, Jul reached for a small blade and turned on Halsey.

"This will be most unpleasant Doctor." Just before he reached her, he activated the medical suites systems and Halsey found herself restrained and falling into unconsciousness. The last thing she was aware of was a close up view of the hinged jaw of a very angry Sanghelli.

Covenant Ship: The Righteous Hand

Unknown Location in Slipspace

It was several hours later that found Lifeshaper, Jul 'Mdama, and a recovering Catherine Halsey gathered in what she assumed was the ships wardroom. The Forerunner across the table from her sat completely motionless, his eyes closed and his hands resting palms down on the flat surface. She threw a quick glance towards Jul and was rewarded with his stoic glare. When it seemed as if no one would speak, Halsey decided to be the one to break the silence.

"Exactly where are we going?"

"Silence Human. Do not question what you do not understand." Jul snapped, pounding a fist against the table.

"Since I am here because of you, I believe that you and I are in the same situation regarding what is and isn't understood. Furthermore, I am the Reclaimer here, not you." Smugly, she regarded Jul and watched fury darken his features. He stood and reached for his energy sword, but before he could get his hand on the hilt the Lifeshaper had moved. His eyes were open and he held a hand up for silence.

"Both of you will listen to me and you will not speak." Throwing a vicious glance at Halsey, Jul sat heavily in his chair and worked his jaws in frustration. "What do you want Reclaimer?"

"I want to learn your secrets. I want to understand…"

"No. You are not motivated by anything as noble as the quest for enlightenment. You seek something else." His voice was quiet and Halsey could detect neither censure nor sarcasm. Still, she could hear the underlying danger in his tone. She thought for a moment, felt as if her mind was almost being spread open, rifled through, and recoiled at the sensation. She looked to Lifeshaper again, questioning but he only stared back. "Ah, it is clear now. I know what you seek."

"And what is it that you believe that is?"

"Why, revenge, of course." He smiled knowingly and turned to 'Mdama. "As do you Sanghelli. As do I. We are united it seems. Very well. We shall have it. There is much to do. I have given your navigation AI the coordinates for the world we must travel to. We must arrive quickly, ahead of the Librarian and her puppets. When we get there, we will activate an ancient portal that will lead us to the means for what we seek. Go now Jul 'Mdama, start the journey." Rising, Lifeshaper wasted no time in departing, leaving a stunned Halsey and silent 'Mdama behind. The two beings looked at each other again, this time appraising one another. With a soft snort, Jul nodded his head and stood also.

Halsey sat there for a long time after they had both left. In her mind she was seeing all of the choices that had led her to then and now. She recoiled a bit when she thought of Fred and Kelley, Linda, Kurt and John. Especially John. Deep down she knew that he would never see her as anything but the kind old lady that had looked after him as he grew and she couldn't reconcile that piece of knowledge with what she was doing now. However she was able to push it to the back of her mind, and lock it away with so many of her other memories and regrets. In doing that she also knew that what she was doing would make her the enemy to her Spartans. This knowledge haunted her. She reached unthinkingly to where her arm had been and winced as her fingers brushed the bandaged wound. This, she thought, this would be a reminder of why she had chosen the path she now walked on. This was her reason for revenge.

X

Forerunner Ship: Light The Darkness

Enroute to Forerunner Shield World

Human Year 2557

John found Cortana sitting with her back to the bulkhead, arms around her knees, and face hidden. He stood uncertainly, watching the sobs wracking her small form and didn't know what he was supposed to do. He understood loss and grief, perhaps better than most. But the difference between seeing it as an observer and living through it every day were stark. He knew that he should comfort her, but he wasn't sure that how. John knew that most emotions and responses to emotional stimuli had been trained out of him and his fellow Spartans. He knew about the augmentations and the inhibitors, and knew that they had been necessary to keep the Spartans impartial and unbiased, even when it was their own that were dead or dying. Over the years these things had dulled in him and he found himself able to more easily empathize with those around him. Part of him had been shocked at the amount of grief he had felt when Cortana had been lost the final time. And yet part of him welcomed it. In some ways he felt more alive, knowing that the pain he was feeling meant something. Seeing her now, hurt and afraid pulled at him more than anything else he could ever remember. But he was afraid again, afraid of doing the wrong thing. In the end, she did it for him.

Cortana felt him enter the room before she heard the telltale footfalls coming quietly to her side. She could feel the discomfort and uncertainty rolling off of him in waves and she knew it for what it was. He was worried about her, in his own way he was expressing himself and she was grateful for it. The last few days they had been together had shown her a Spartan she had never imagined existed. He had been so sure of himself and of her, so willing to do anything and everything to make sure she survived. And when they had destroyed the Diadact and she had sacrificed herself to save him one last time the grief she had felt from him had stunned her. It was at the moment, when she felt him beneath her fingers for the first time that she understood exactly what human emotion entailed. One more than any other; love. He was her protector and her guardian. Her friend, her confidant, and her link to the humanity she had started to crave so desperately in the end. She knew that she had loved him for a long time as she was saying goodbye. Her one regret was that she could never tell him. Yet somehow, she knew that he understood and she knew that he had loved her just as strongly.

He heard his name even though she had whispered it almost inaudibly. In an instant he had dropped to his knees and was reaching tentatively for her. He found she folded into his arms easily, despite the armor he was encased in. She molded herself against him and he felt her sobbing still, her breath harsh against his ear, her clean, warm scent filling his nose. Without realizing it, her pressed his face against her neck and drew her fully onto his knees, pulling her legs around his waist. The woman in his arms had suffered more than anyone he knew, save very few people, and he knew that he had failed in some way if she was suffering still. Whispering quietly, he began to tell her about all of the times she had saved his life, every memory he could think of when she had lifted his spirits. Gradually she relaxed in his arms and sighed against him. Pulling back, he took in her tear streaked face and her downcast eyes. Freeing his hand, John pulled his glove off and brought his hand to her chin. He nudged her until she met his eyes and then leaned in briefly.

Cortana stiffened slightly when his lips met hers. Not out of unwillingness or discomfort, just shock. John was one of the least expressive humans she had ever encountered and just the act of comforting her spoke volumes. As he pulled away he watched her with guarded eyes before tilting her head back and kissing her again. This time she didn't stiffen and let herself fall into the heat of his mouth. She could not remember ever cataloguing anything remotely close to what she was feeling at that moment, and after that thought she didn't care anymore. Unbidden, a moan escaped her lips, startling them both. John pulled away at last, resting his forehead against hers. Neither of them spoke, Cortana opting to weave her fingers through the short hair at the base of his neck. More gray than brown now she noted, a soft smile crossing her features. John took in the play of emotion and looked at her questioningly.

"We have been through so much together."

"Mm, we have." He agreed, letting Cortana lean in and kiss the edge of his jaw. "But we are still her." John turned his head and caught her lips again. Wrapping his arms tight around her, he heaved himself up from the floor and walked through the main corridor of the ship. Cortana's weight was negligible as he walked and she held on tighter to him.

"We still have each other John." They arrived into the crew section of the ship and a door slid apart to reveal a cluster of several large, open rooms. Pausing a second to get his bearings, John noticed several platforms made up with blankets and headed towards the nearest one. He gently bent and deposited Cortana onto it, then knelt in front of her.

"I want you to listen to me. Nothing will ever change this. I lost you once, I wont lose you again. We are supposed to take care of one another and I failed you."

"No you didn't John." He shook his head at her interruption and continued.

"I wont let that happen again. I promise."

"What now?" Cortana asked, almost shyly. She eyed the bed she was on and then looked up at John, a blush creeping into her features. He caught her meaning and a smile crossed his face briefly.

"Now we need to rest."

"Rest. Right." Sarcasm tinged her voice and he couldn't help but smile.

"For now Cortana."

"Stay with me John. Please?" They regarded each other silently for a long time, before John nodded his assent.

"All right Cortana. Let me go an have the Librarian store my armor and I'll stay with you."

"Always?" She asked, grabbing his hand before he turned away.

"Always."

X X

I couldn't help the amount of sap that came out. I apologize.

Thanks for reading.

By the way, I don't have any one proofing this so there are errors and typos. Please forgive that. Kay thanks bye!