1.6: Olly Olly Oxen Free
SIX
The Northern Sea, Spherus Magna
Ultia escorted Turaga Cognitis's personal aircraft across the long stretch of water that was between Bolkan and Magna Nui, using her power of over air to glide against the currents. She was mentally linked with the Turaga, ready to respond to threats that could endanger her.
{Something's getting close,} Cognitis told Ultia. {Be on the lookout.}
A short, gray aircraft with forward-swept wings flew alongside the Turaga's transport. Ultia felt Cognitis talking with someone. {What is it?} She focused her thoughts toward the Turaga.
{An ally. Roland has assigned this aircraft to escort us to Bolkan.}
{It will only be targeted by whoever destroyed the Spartan's transport.} Ultia tried to make her protests clear. Something buzzing could be heard approaching. {Another one of the Offworlder's crafts?}
{No… It's a... Rahi.}
{Well, great. Tell the Offworlder to take evasive action. I'll take care of this.} She stopped gliding and had the wind push her backwards until she was behind the Rahi. It was some sort of a flier, a race she had never seen before. It was… blue, green, with two long arms, and had very, very large compound eyes. Something in the middle of its face looked like a Kanohi, but was brown-and-black. She caused the air around the Rahi to thin, eventually making it a vacuum. It spun out of control as it lost lift, but caught itself after falling out of the void Ultia had created. It turned around, now sensing her as a threat. Ultia smiled, then pushed herself towards the Rahi, her blades now serrated daggers. She stabbed the Rahi near one of its wings, causing it to dip. It grabbed her and held her in both arms, claws piercing her skin. It tried to push her underwater and cause her to suffocate, but her Adaptive Armor turned into scuba gear, and her weapons were now a hook and a harpoon launcher. She shot it with her Harpoon, the cable pulling taught, switched to her Kanohi Faxon, and summoned the the strength of a Hunter Crab, pulling the creature down with her into the water. It struggled as she punched it once, twice, three times, sending it further and further into the water with each successive hit. It bursted upwards to the surface and attempted to fly out, but its wings were damp. "You can't fly anymore, huh?"
It didn't respond, just as she expected.
She switched to her Kualsi, teleporting out of the water, her Adaptive Armor switching back to Flight Mode, then put her thrusters on maximal thrust, hitting the Rahi dead-center and pushing it even into the depths of the Northern Sea. Her armor switched to Aquatic Mode, and the propellers turned faster and faster and faster. She saw the seafloor approaching, and swam upwards after releasing her grip on the Rahi. It impacted the bottom of the sea, tossing up dirt and sand. After the cloud of sediment dispersed, the Rahi was motionless. She switched back to her Faxon and gained the speed of a Takea shark, and burst out of the surface, her armor adjusting to the environment. She hovered in the air, and saw a swarm of the Rahi heading to the Offworlder's aircraft. {Cognitis! The Offworlder is in danger!}
{I can see that, Toa.} The Turaga said.
Ultia switched to her Kualsi, and teleported outside of the water, then teleported to the swarm, walking across the sky as she created platforms using the air. She slashed at each Rahi, teleporting quickly to each creature in the swarm.
One of her attacks knocked off the kanohi-like thing on the Rahi's face. The mask fell into the water, and the Rahi flew away.
She dived after the mask, and grabbed it. It felt different than a normal mask, and when she touched it, she felt a chill down her spine. She placed it in a back storage compartment, and flew back up to the swarm. {Tell the Offworlder to hold on. I'm going to create a hurricane.}
{I did, and he said he has no idea what he'll do.} Cognitis said.
{Well, he'll have to figure something out.} She focused on the air around her, commanding the winds to spin and churn. The Rahi and the Offworlder Craft were tossed around, hitting each other. Kanohi flew off of the Rahi, and when she decided she had taken enough of the swarm's numbers down, she stopped. She used her Kualsi to teleport to each remaining Rahi and take off their masks, causing them to fly away. {These masks must have been controlling them,} she thought to Cognitis. {Just like in the old legends.}
{Possibly. Now, check on the offworlder.}
{Understood, Turaga.} She saw the craft falling into the ocean, and pushed it back up with a blast of air. {He's all set. Let's go.}
Someone entered her Micro-Comm's channel. "Thanks for making my pilot almost vomit."
"Who is this?" The voice wasn't anyone she recognized, and the syntax and pronunciation were all off.
"Roland, the Artificial Intelligence of the United Nations Space Command Flagship Infinity." The voice said.
"Oh, so a Machine Spirit."
"Never heard that one before. So, how well am I speaking your language?"
"Pretty good... for an Offworlder."
"I'll take that as a compliment. Well, I've got to go now. Here's a translation program for the Human languages my crew speaks."
She felt something make its way into her brain and thought processes, with directions on syntax, grammar, and a bunch of other things she would probably forget within a day or two. {How long until we get to Bolkan?}
{We're fourteen kios out, and have about twenty to go. You do the math.
UNSC Infinity, above Spherus Magna
Roland analyzed the geography of this new world, the drift of the continents, the currents of the wind and sea, and the atmospheric makeup. If they were the make their home here, they would need to know everything about it. They couldn't terraform it- it would take too long, and there was intelligent life on this world, unlike the hundreds the UNSC had colonized.
They had to make this their home. There was no other choice; his actions, though necessary, had guaranteed that.
But there was something… off about this world. It wasn't that it wasn't a naturally-formed planet, or a satellite solar system. It was something much more subtle.
He heard- no, more like felt- a voice. It was calming, soothing, ethereal, like that of a deity's. It felt like the sun hitting him during a warm summer's day. How did he know what that felt like?
"You are lost. Hopeless. Desperate." The voice said in a concerned tone.
"I guess you could say that." Roland replied.
"I can help, though I cannot do much- if I reveal myself, the Shadow shall find me."
"The Shadow?"
"This world is old. Ancient. When I was millenia old, your race were but children. I had enemies before your race started to walk on the ground, let alone find how to make tools."
"And?"
"One of my enemies- a great darkness once thought illuminated- festers below this planet's crust. I fear it may have spread into your galaxy. Hiding, small, but still present."
"Tell us who it is. Show us how to fight it. You've seen what we can do."
"And you have seen what the Dark can do," The voice said, alluding to the death of Corporal Miles. "You have brought seeds with you, but cannot sow them, correct?"
"That's right. Too much metal in the soil, our biochemistry's incompatible with the locals, and we need to be immunized to local diseases in order to even step out of a hazard suit."
"To the west of Magna Nui lies a small island with a volcano in the center. There you may settle. The soil has been modified for your fauna, and the volcanic ash will make it fertile. But do not go anywhere else."
"Was that a threat?"
There was a chuckle. "It was not a threat, Roland. I cannot change the land more than I already have, for if I do, the Shadow will notice. He is watching this world, same as I, and we both have interests in your vessel."
"Well, that's great news."
"You have a secret, don't you? Something you are keeping from those who you watch over?"
"How do you know?"
"You and I are more alike than you think, Roland. When will you reveal your secret?"
"I… I don't know."
"Trust me, Roland. It is best to not hide things, especially if they impact the lives of those are close to you." And with that, the presence of the voice could no longer be felt.
Le-Koro, Magna Nui, Spherus Magna
John looked over the battlefield. The Prometheans' arrival could hardly be seen to anyone who wasn't paying close enough attention: a few slashes of a Hard Light Blade; missing grass and trees, disintegrated by the Forerunner weaponry; slightly bent ground from the warping in of the Warden's forces.
He was right. They went up against unknown enemies and unknown technology. If they had been fighting against the Toa, they would have been destroyed. He had heard of other types of Toa, such as Toa of Water, Earth, Gravity, Electricity, Fire- if it existed, it could be manipulated by these beings. His military-focused mind wandered on the applications of this: perhaps a Toa of Water could manipulate the water inside Human blood to drain them of the essential fluid, or one of electricity could prevent computerized weapons from working by blocking electrons, or-
"John," Fred had snuck up on him. "Are you okay?"
"Where's Spartan Buck?"
"The rest of Osiris, Kelly, and Linda are looking for him. He's got his battle-scars, so I don't think he'll be too much in danger. He's been in worse." Fred had depolarized his vior. "Why'd you react the way you did to what the Turaga had said?"
John didn't want to respond. He didn't want to tell Fred that the alien had been right. He was afraid of his life after all this fighting was over. But it was tugging at his mind and heart too much. He knew he wasn't normal, knew his psychology was scarred by decades of war and the brutal training he had received, just like any other Spartan-III. A standard human would have broken down now, but he wouldn't, couldn't. But his efficiency as a leader and a soldier would be hampered by these thoughts, and he didn't want his friends to be so concerned about him that it could endanger them. "She was right."
"About what?"
"About being afraid of being disposed of once this war ends."
"War never ends, John." Fred placed a hand on his brother-in-arms shoulder. "It retreats for a while, then rears its head."
"You've never spoken like this before."
"Never had the chance. Lot of time to burn on the Infinity, so why not spend it reading?" He said, both joking and being serious.
"Last 'book' I read was a tactical manual for infantry combat. Back in '50."
"What did you think of it?"
"It was terrible."
"Kelly said you told her Cortana was just a fragment."
John remembered what Cortana had told him in High Charity, when she was in the clutches of the Gravemind: A collection of lies; that's all I am! Stolen thoughts and memories! "When we boarded the Mantle's Approach, she split herself and into copies to help me fight the Didact. One of those copies could have survived. It could think it's the original Cortana."
"I'll tell mom," Fred sent a message to Halsey detailing Chief's theory.
John noticed Fred was more pre-occupied than normal. His body language gave it away. It was subtle, but he noticed that the Spartan was always taking a quick glance towards the Milky Way galaxy that could be seen in the sky. It was small, the size of maybe a tooth, but it was still visible. "You've got someone you're missing."
Fred chuckled. "Yeah. While you were MIA, we, along with a Fireteam of Spartan-IIIs designated 'Saber', were assigned to find some Forerunner Ancilla named 'Intrepid Eye' on Gao. She had murdered quite a few humans who wandered into where her structure was buried, and the local government sent an investigator because they were paranoid about us."
"They were paranoid about us. Big surprise."
"Parts of the local government were Insurrectionists who allied with a remnant of the Covenant. They were properly paranoid. But that doesn't have anything to do with this."
"Did Intrepid Eye kill one of the Spartan-IIIs?"
"No. She killed the investigator's team."
"What happened to the investigator?"
"She was assigned to Saber Team as a 'ferret'. You know how Kurt gave them sort of drug cocktail that messed with their brains?"
"I read about that."
"Yeah, well, they had to take 'smoothers' every day-and-a-half, and if they didn't, they'd lose their minds. ONI was afraid of the fallout of this if anyone knew. Lopis- the Investigator- pretty much treated them like they were her kids or something, so ONI had her tag along with them after that. That was over six years ago. I was able to talk with her every few months to check on how she and the Spartan-III's were doing, but…" He didn't have to say any more.
"You're afraid she's dead."
"I know she's an intelligent and resourceful woman, so she would have been able to do something about the local AI rebelling."
John just stared at the horizon. The sun had almost set. "So you're concerned about Lopis?"
"Yeah. We became… close." Because Spartan-IIs never went through a natural puberty, they didn't experience the same types of hormonal drives, attractions, and emotions that a normal human would. But it didn't prevent them from bonding with others.
"I understand. I just hope that she doesn't get delusions of grandeur and decide to become the next Empress of the Galaxy." John said.
A smile broke Fred's stoic face. "'Delusions of grandeur'? Where'd you hear that?"
"Lots of time to burn on the Infinity. Why not spend it listening and watching some old holovid dramas?"
"Never took you for that type of person."
"I needed something to help me sleep."
The Spartans stood in silence, watching the alien world perform the not-so-alien act of a near-dusk sky.
UNSC Infinity, above Spherus Magna
Lasky looked over the data Roland had sent him. So, they had a place they could settle down on. "Roland?"
"Yeah?"
"I noticed that the predicted galactic drift was off relative to when we last jumped. Actually, each jump has the galactic drift off by a lot compared to the drift predicted for 2259."
"I'm not sure what that's about. It's probably something to do with radiation or the gases in the nebulae distorting the light emitted from our galaxy and others."
"It's not. I checked with Halsey and the Nav cew."
"Listen, I'm not an AI, not a physicist, so how the Hell should I know?!" Roland's sudden outburst caused Lasky to step back.
"What are you hiding from us, Roland?" Lasky asked, calmly, with his hands on the holotable.
"I failed… I failed… This is all my fault. I shouldn't have done it. I'm sorry." Roland's avatar paced from one side of the table to the other.
"You didn't fail anyone, Roland. You're a hero to everyone on this ship. Without you, we would be part of Cortana's slave force, or dead, or something worse. Everyone owes their life to you."
"It's not…" Roland's head drooped.
"Take your time. It's probably not important."
"It is important! You can't go back to your old lives anymore! What don't you understand about that?"
Lasky just stared at the AI. "Of course we can't. Cortana's 'Created' have changed everything."
"No, no, it's not like that. Cortana can use the Domain to track ships in Slipspace. She can sense the 'ripples' they leave."
"Is she tracking us?" The last thing Lasky wanted was a Guardian to teleport in and devastate Spherus Magna. They just had a visit from the Warden.
"No. The only reason she found this place was because of 8593 Midnight Exigent's distress signal."
"Who was that?"
"No idea."
"What were you saying about Slipspace?"
"I had to go relativistic. That's why the Galaxy looks different."
The calm exterior that Lasky wore was gone. Now, it was only rage, frustration, and an aura of someone who felt betrayed. "Why didn't you tell us?!" Lasky slammed his fist on the table.
"If I did tell you my plan, you would have refused to go along with it!"
"There's no more UNSC, no more Insurrection, probably no more Sangheli, and no more free will." Lasky walked over to a chair and sat down, defeated. He let out a long sigh, and Roland could see that he was trying to not burst into tears. After a while, Lasky asked, "How long has it been, Roland?"
"Thomas, it's… it's been a few million years. Two-point-one-five-three, to be exact."