Hey all! I'm back with a new (albeit short) chapter for your veiwing pleasure. Enjoy! :D
"Normal Speech"; "Thoughts and memories"; "Forerunner Speech"; "Memory of a memory (it makes sense later, trust me!)"
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Halo.
Chapter Three: Learning Curves
It had been about a week since the Council had agreed to allow Fred and the others to stay. Dr. Halsey had wasted no time conversing with Arisaya about the Forerunners, and the two had immediately started looking for a way back to Earth. Meanwhile, Chief Mendez and the other Spartans did their best to learn about the new culture, and made every effort to avoid attacking the various members of the Covenant. It was, to say the least, odd for them to see a human conversing easily with an Elite or a Jackal in the middle of a street.
Speaking of which, Fred noticed the S-IIIs grouped together up a street, surrounded by a number of armed and armored Forerunner warriors. This doesn't look good, he thought as he sprinted forward.
"What happened here?" he directed the question to Ash, who was sporting a black eye. Looking closer at one of the human soldiers, he noticed quite a few bruises and a bloody nose.
"He shoved me, sir, and ordered me to get out of his way," the young Spartan replied. "None of us moved, so he tried to hit Mark. I guess I lost control, sir. It won't happen again."
Fred scowled. "It had better not, Spartan. I don't care if he was at fault or not, once you hit him you crossed the line. Now get back to the quarters, all of you."
The three Spartans knew better than to argue; they saluted and moved in a perfect formation back to Arisaya's house. Meanwhile, Fred turned and prepared to deal with the Forerunners. Surprisingly, they seemed more impressed than angry.
"They are good fighters, for mere children," one of the Elites voiced, his warbling speech distorting the words a little.
"They also have a slight aggression problem. I'll try to keep a better eye on them in the future. They know better than to finish a fight like this, at least they should." I'll need to talk to the Chief, he thought. They need to be reminded that we need to be careful. We're skating on thin ice, here—if they wanted they could execute every one of us.
"How is it that you allow children such as these in your ranks?" the wounded human asked; he sounded disgusted to have been bloodied by a twelve-year-old. "They have no discipline." Fred inwardly bristled at the comment—he and all his teammates had been conscripted as kids, and here was someone who had no idea how hard it had been sneering at every one of them! He forced himself to keep his head, though, merely displaying a slightly more stiffened posture.
"We have our reasons," Fred replied curtly before turning away and heading back to Arisaya's home. He could see what had caused Ash to lose his temper, his own was a little frayed after that encounter. Maybe I should also have a word with Arisaya, in case she knows how we could avoid this in the future.
--
"So Alaya herself created the shieldworlds and the ringworlds?"
"No, Dr. Hal-see," Arisaya replied hesitantly: she was still having trouble pronouncing Dr. Halsey's name. "The ancestors had built the ringworlds to serve as science stations, for our research. They were working with bacteria at the time, and it was thought to be safer than having them on a planet's surface. When the Flood appeared, the Council began using them as staging points for military operations. While the soldiers came and went, the scientists kept trying to find new ways to fight the Flood. Alaya was one of their best researchers."
Dr. Halsey smiled; clearly, Arisaya thought the legendary Forerunner scientist a hero. No doubt Alaya made a significant number of discoveries. I need to learn more. "But she did create the shieldworlds."
"The Council at that time had asked her to find a safe haven, in case it was ever needed. It took her many years, but eventually she created the portals that led you here. There are others scattered throughout the galaxy our ancestors inhabited, but no one knows exactly where now. It has been many millennia since we first came here, and we have never left it." A faint smile graced the younger woman's features. "That is partly why it took so long for us to open the cryopods you brought with you: we have the technical readouts, but we have not used such technology in all the time we have been here. In truth, I had no idea such technology had survived the ages."
"Which means both of us have much to learn, young Arisaya," Dr. Halsey stated; Arisaya nodded.
"There is something you should see," the girl said as she pressed a holographic control. Numerous glyphs and symbols appeared in the air above the two scientists; Dr. Halsey could read them to some degree and guessed they referred to parts of Forerunner history. Arisaya touched one of the holographic symbols, and an older image of the young scientist appeared in the air.
"Council members, I do not understand. Why do you wish me to destroy all life?" The woman was truly surprised and visibly upset.
"Alaya, we may have no choice but to do so. The Flood spreads throughout the galaxy with each passing day, and our forces are falling even as we speak. There may come a day when we cannot continue the fight. What would you have us do? If we do not take this action we will be destroyed, we and all sentient life within the galaxy."
"What of the havens I designed? Could we not use those to hide from the Flood, rather than destroy the galaxy entirely? We could hide there, wait for the Flood to go dormant at the very least until we found a more permanent solution."
"Alaya, you above all know how long it takes for the Flood to consume a host. Would you have multitudes of people suffering so? Would you have others go through the same pain your brother suffered?" The Council Master looked gravely into the young human's eyes, a look of sadness and regret meeting a look of hurt and grief. "Though you found a way to save him, we cannot give your cure to everyone, nor can we free those already consumed. At the least we can grant them a swift death to ease their suffering."
"Then what of the havens? Could they not be used as a shelter when the weapon is fired? I could design them to protect us." The council nodded, seeming as pleased at the circumstances would allow them to be.
"We will go to the havens once we know the Flood will be stopped. You must ensure that this weapon you build will not reach us there."
The young scientist bowed. "I cannot promise anything, but I will do what I can."
Arisaya stopped the recording, and played a new one: a security feed from a laboratory came online.
Alaya worked silently, viewing the latest reports from the frontlines as she ran a series of experiments with subspace pulses. The reports were frightening: several more planets had been lost to the Flood, and their military resources were spread thin.
"Alaya, child, are you well?" An elderly San 'Shyuum came into view beside the young woman, resting a bony hand on her shoulder.
"As well as can be expected, Thaddeus," she replied quietly. The older being glanced at the reports and shook his head.
"You worry overmuch, Alaya. Corin and the others will defeat the Flood, and there will be no need for this weapon the Council has requested."
Alaya sighed heavily. "I pray you are right, old one. Yet some part of me feels that we fight a hopeless battle. The warriors lose more soldiers to the Flood every day, while we gain no ground in fighting them or stopping them completely."
"We will find a way, child." The old being patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Hope springs eternal."
Alaya looked after him, brushing a few tears off her face. "Hope springs eternal, but what hope have we against so many? I fear we fight only to lose."
Dr. Halsey studied the young woman on the hologram after Arisaya paused the recording. Why does she seem so familiar? "She created the weapons on the ringworlds?"
"She was not too pleased about it, but the reports swayed her: the soldiers were dying and the Flood were spreading." A small smile graced her face again, but her eyes were sad. "I believe if her brother and her lover had not been involved with the military, she would not have been swayed so easily."
"Brother, lover?"
"Her younger brother was killed by the Flood some time after this was recorded, and she had fallen in love with a platoon leader shortly afterwards. She had more than enough motivation to craft a weapon, if only to protect the man she loved and avenge the brother she'd lost. Her father was also a general, and she valued his teachings almost as much as his love."
"Indeed." Alaya was certainly a woman of many facets, she mused. I must certainly learn more about her. It would take some time, but Dr. Halsey was confident she would learn what she needed.