Chapter 4: Graveyard Shift

Nietzsche
Slipspace transit, en route to Threshold

"My god," Kay smirked as she glanced at the new control console, "these guys seriously weren't kidding when they said they'd totally revamp the ship."

"I agree." Hal chimed, "My diagnostics show a 27 percent increase in overall efficiency."

"I wish we had more time to repaint and replace some of the older parts of the ship," Kay grumbled, glancing at Kyle, "but Kyle here insisted we leave because his girlfriend asked him so nicely."

"It's not like that. Besides, I doubt you'd want to end up in the middle of a Covenant/Human slugfest." Kyle said, quickly changing the subject.

"True enough."

"Speaking of Lynn, where'd she go?" Kyle glanced around the empty bridge. "She always keeps running off without telling anybody."

"Scanning." Hal said, "I can confirm where Sanah is. She is currently in data repository synchronizing her database with mine. Lynn is apparently at the sensor control module."

"Wait, 'data synchronization'? What the heck is that?" Kyle asked.

"I don't know, I think it's some sort of AI sex or something." Kay replied.

"Okay, I totally regret asking that question now."

"Unlike biological creatures, we AIs are incapable of sexual intercourse." Hal said, somewhat offended and annoyed.

"Yeah, it's pretty much the only thing they can't do." Kay grinned, "Maybe that's why they're always so obnoxious and uptight most of the time."

Kyle decided to exit the room before the argument got a little too hectic. Better to be out of the way before Hal decided to vent the bridge's atmosphere... again.

Sensor Module

"I guess it's not enough that you decide to abandon your fleet, but sabotage my ship?" Kyle walked up to the open access panel Lynn was leaning into. "Geez, you sure know how to make a good impression."

"Don't be silly, I'm just trying to get something."

Lynn reached into the open module and pulled out a fairly large, metal case. She unhooked the latches and with a faint, pressurized hiss, the case opened to reveal a sheathed sword sitting within.

"What in god's name is that, and what was it doing in there?" Kyle asked suspiciously.

"It's my sword, you dummy." Lynn said simply. "I hid it here in case they decided to scan the ship. The EM field around the sensor casing would've masked it."

"Wait… is that the same sword that I'm thinking about?"

"That's the one."

"They actually let you KEEP it?!"

"Well of course not, why did you think I had to hide it in here?" Lynn grinned.

The sword in question was a Forerunner Phase Sword, which Kyle and Lynn had recovered from an old Forerunner installation two years ago. They were unsure of what was so special about the sword at first, until they discovered that it could cut through just about anything with little apparent effort. Intense research and study on the weapon revealed that the blade was partly existing in both Slipspace and realspace, with the ability to completely phase into either dimension. The sword actually reacted to its wielder's mind and would cut only what its wielder wanted to cut. If it came across any obstacles, the sword would merely phase into Slipspace, bypassing any type of matter or energy and then phase back into realspace when it contacted the actual target. This rendered all types of armor and shielding useless against the blade, making it incredibly deadly. Of course, being a melee weapon, the wielder would have to first find a way to get close to the enemy without getting shot.

Last time Kyle had seen the sword, it was in the possession of the Fleet's research division. The scientists there were hoping to find some way to reverse-engineer the sword's phase technology. Kyle had no idea how Lynn managed to recover the sword, though he was fairly sure that it involved diving into a few people's heads.

"Brings back some old memories, doesn't it?" Lynn said as she strapped the sheath and the sword to her belt.

"Oh yeah. The Covvies weren't too happy to find out we beat them to it." Kyle laughed, "They gave us a hell of a parting gift though."

"Yeah, Laevateinn remembers it too. She's also glad to see that you're okay." Lynn patted the sword.

When she had obtained it, Lynn named the Forerunner weapon "Laevateinn", after a legendary weapon from Norse mythology. Lynn always insisted that the sword had a will of its own, and that it had given itself the name Laevateinn, not Lynn. Of course, whether she was right or not depended wholly on one's point of view, but Kyle usually tried not to think about it. Having a sword that could cleave through anything was scary enough, but one that could think for itself? Frightening.

"Isn't great? It feels just like that time we went off on some wild journey into the stars to find something of unknown power and origin. I really envy you, Kyle."

"You could always just tag along with us, like you are now."

"I'd love to, but..." Lynn sighed, "I can't just abandon the Fleet. It's the only home I have, and I can never leave it until I'm sure I'm ready to."

Before Kyle had the chance to say anything, Hal's voice cut through the air.

"We are preparing to exit Slipspace in approximately two minutes. Please find a seat and secure yourselves."

"So there you are!" Sanah sighed in relief as she walked in, "I've been looking for you two everywhere. I've tried asking Hal but he apparently hit some kind of mood swing and kept saying he couldn't do it."

"Yeah, he does get kind of troublesome like that." Kyle laughed and glanced at Lynn. "Let's go see what your crazy little plan has landed us into."

Nietzsche
In orbit around Threshold

"It's not exactly the most cheerful looking gas giant out here." Kay grunted as the planet Threshold began to fill the viewscreen. "Any idea what we're looking for out here?"

"No." Lynn said flatly.

"Well, that's just great." Kay sighed, "Hal, do a full sensor sweep of the system."

"Will do. While the scan is running, I noticed that there is quite a lot of space debris out there. This is very inconvenient, as the ship wreckage is interrupting my scans."

"I think the point of the scan was to find stuff like ship wreckage you stupid twat." Kay kicked the AI control console.

"There used to be life here." Lynn said blankly as she looked at the dark void, "Thousands and thousands of them, swarming all over this system…"

"Well, if there was, it definitely isn't here now." Kyle pointed at the debris that started to become visible. "From what I can tell, this stuff has been floating here for a pretty long time."

"I've scanned the nearby debris, and it mostly consists of metals and materials that are consistent with both Covenant and Forerunner construction." Hal said.

"That makes no sense." Sanah's head clicked as her data cores kicked in, "The Covenant would have little reason to try and destroy anything of Forerunner origin, due to their fundamental religious beliefs."

"Yeah, well, something happened here." Kyle flipped several switches and began powering up Nietzsche's shields and weapons. "My guess, they touched something they weren't supposed to and got blown to bits by Sentinels."

"I do not believe your assumption is correct." Hal hummed, "Closer analysis of the Covenant wreckage reveals that the damage is not consistent with Forerunner energy weaponry. In fact, most of the damage appears to have been caused by physical force. Scorch marks and structural tears indicate the use of missiles, while shattered and cracked superstructures suggest the use of a magnetic accelerator cannon."

"But there are no human ships here." Kay scanned the debris field.

"Incorrect. You shouldn't rely on your inferior human senses so much. Human eyes are notoriously inefficient."

"Hal, either get to the point or shut up." Kay growled.

"My scans have shown a single capital ship-sized piece of debris that is consistent with pre-Exodus Human construction. Unlike the other debris around it, it is generating a faint, but detectable energy signature."

"I think that's it," Lynn said, her heart beating faster. "Take us there."

"I do have to warn you, the debris field is beginning to get thicker. I'd hate to have a piece of wreckage scrape the side of the ship and ruin such a nice coat of paint…"

"Hal!" Kay violently kicked the AI console again.

"Setting course now." Hal said quickly.

Three minutes later…

The derelict ship was an ominous sight as Nietzsche slowly pulled alongside it. Compared to the corvette, the dead craft was massive. At least the size of a small battle cruiser. Also apparent was the heavy damage all over the hull. Deep energy scores from plasma, ruptured holes and gouges from secondary explosions, and shattered debris was scattered all across the ship. At the rear, the section where the engines were supposed to be were completely burned out, as if somebody had taken a giant, red hot spoon and just gouged out everything inside. The windows were dark, and there were no signs of life.

"Well, whatever this ship was, it's definitely seen better days." Kay remarked.

"Wait," Kyle narrowed his eyes and pointed at a section of the hull. "Put some light on that spot right there."

Nietzsche's twin spotlights flashed to life like twin suns and began to illuminate the damaged hull, casting deep shadows in all sides and revealing a much darker side of the long dead battle.

"Bodies." Kyle muttered, "Lots of them."

"I count approximately two hundred and sixty three." Sanah said matter-of-factly.

Flash frozen and preserved in the vacuum of space, the shriveled, ghostly corpses of both human and Covenant floated among the wreckage of the debris field. It was the dark side of space combat that nobody ever wanted to talk about. After all, drifting in the lifeless void was a very frightening prospect.

The spotlights began to shift and crawl across the hull until it found something. They were faint and worn from time and combat, but the giant, white painted letters finally divulged the ship's long lost name.

The Pillar of Autumn

"Supported by the wings of Autumn…" Lynn whispered.

"What?" Kyle asked.

"We have to get on that ship." Lynn got out of her seat. "Whatever we're looking for is in there."

"Hey wait, we don't even know the condition-"

"My preliminary scans show that despite the damage, a large percentage of the ship is still pressurized." Hal chimed. "This is really quite amazing, for a derelict ship to maintain a stable environment for so long."

"You know what that means." Kay said.

"Yeah." Kyle nodded, "There's something alive in there."

Docking Collar

While they were waiting for the docking collar to latch onto one of the few intact airlocks, the group began checking on their equipment. Both Kyle and Kay were suited up with EXCALIBUR mk II powered armor, which were the basic suits pretty much everybody had. They were painted in drab gray colors for use in urban and dark environments. Sanah had similar armor, though it was painted in olive drab, the standard color scheme for Fleet Marines.

Lynn, however, was donning the pearl white EXCALIBUR mk III she had taken with her. Unlike the older suits, the mk III sacrificed a bit of armor to add in a small propulsion system and also had a minor energy shield, as well as numerous technical improvements and a larger array of electronic warfare equipment. The small boosters in her back allowed her to move in incredibly quick bursts of speed, and the minor shielding somewhat made up for the reduction in armor.

As was standard in almost all powered armor, they were pressurized and rated to operate in vacuum and zero gravity environments. Though it wouldn't be necessary, it was still a useful function since there was no telling how long the ship would remain pressurized, especially in its current condition.

The docking collar rumbled as it made contact with Pillar of Autumn, and there was a silent hiss as the collar pressurized.

Kyle loaded his rail rifle and made sure it was powered. "Let's roll."

If the group thought that the outside was haunting enough, the interior of the Pillar of Autumn was just hideous. Since the interior was still pressurized and had atmosphere, the bodies inside had begun to rot and decay. Skeletal figures of both humans and various Covenant littered the halls.

"One hell of a party." Kay said as she nimbly stepped over a long dead Sangheli.

"Okay, this is where we split up, team." Kyle waved to a crossroad. "Kay, you and Sanah will go the bridge. Try to find out what the hell this ship was doing here and what happened. Meanwhile, me and Lynn will go check out-"

"The cryo-bay." Lynn snapped to attention. "We have to go to the cryo-bay."

Kyle nodded. "Alright, let's do this then."

Armory

Kyle and Lynn noticed that the weapon racks in the armory were completely stripped bare. Not surprising, seeing the scale of the battle here. From the looks of it, the fighting had been carried into the interior of the armory itself, as evidenced from bullet and plasma damage on the walls.

"There's something not right here." Lynn glanced around the darkened room, her heart pounding. "I can feel it. It's hungry. It wants to feed, to grow…"

"Relax." Kyle rested his hand on Lynn's shoulder to calm her down. "There's nothing in here. Let's keep going."

Bridge

"Damn, this isn't good." Kay muttered. She knelt down at the door and began scanning.

"What's the problem?" Sanah asked.

"It looks like the bridge has been compromised. The door is sealed and if we try to open it right now, we'll blow the seal and pretty much every pressurized compartment with it."

"Well what should we do?" Sanah glanced around.

"See that door?" Kay pointed to the hatch they had just entered from. "Seal it, and then hold on to your butt."

Kay waited for the android to close the hatch as well as the beep to confirm it was sealed. She then attached a shaped charge to the door's hinges, backed off, and detonated them. The doors were blown out, and Kay held on as the air in the room rushed out in an attempt to equalize the pressure. Multiple warnings in her suit began to whine and it began to automatically seal itself, activate internal temperature control, and switch breathing to a pre-filled air supply.

"Right." Kay rubbed her hands together. "Let's get to work."

Debris Field

Hal gently hummed to himself, keeping track of the sensors and the crew's positions within the Pillar of Autumn. It was very common for him to be left in the care of the entire ship while Kyle and Kay were away on missions. That was how things went. To pass the time, Hal usually tried counting the number of planetary bodies in range of his visual sensors.

Suddenly, Hal's sensors pinged, warning him of a ship dropping out of Slipspace. Thinking quickly, Hal disengaged the docking collar, shuttled toward a rather large hunk of debris, powered down the primary systems, and waited.

Like a wraith from the shadows, a small corvette slid into view. The rather ugly, rectangular craft was no match for the newly upgraded Nietzsche, but Hal didn't dare try to engage. He calculated a 94.433 percent chance that stray fire from either ship would hit the derelict Pillar of Autumn, which was unacceptable. Hal's morality and loyalty algorithms advised him of the danger that it would pose to Kyle and the others. Instead, Hal sent a quick burst of static to everybody's comm systems. If the strangers intercepted it, they would assume it was random interference, but Kyle and Kay would know what was going on.

Cryo-bay

"Jeez, what a dump." Kyle scanned the bay. "Most of the pods here are either empty or destroyed. What makes you think we'll find anything n here?"

"Wait." Lynn bent down near a sealed hatch. "In here."

"But that's a launch tube." Kyle said, puzzled. "Whatever pod was there, it got vented into space a looong time ago."

"No, this one is stuck." Lynn pressed her hand against the metal. "Hold on, this is going to be rough."

Lynn breathed slowly, and then flicked her wrist. The hatch suddenly opened up. Since the tube was not pressurized, air began rush into the tube like water in a drain. Fighting the inrush of air, Lynn reached her arm out as if grabbing something, and then pulled with all her might.

Kyle ducked as a cryo pod shot out of the tube like a cannonball. Lynn released her telekinetic hold on the hatch, letting it auto-seal and then concentrated on the pod. She stopped its midair flight and slowly set it down on the ground.

"A little more warning next time."

Lynn cocked her head curiously. "I thought I did."

Their attention then turned to the mysterious cryo tube that Lynn had just pulled into the ship. Kyle moved up next to the tube and examined it.

"It's still powered." Kyle said in amazement. "And I think there's somebody inside it."

"Can we open it?" Lynn asked.

"Here? I don't think so." Kyle scratched his head. "It's better we leave him in there until we can get back to Nietzsche."

Suddenly, Lynn cranked her comm system's volume down and said, "Kyle, you'd better-"

Kyle winced as a sudden shriek of static burst into his ears.

"Damn!" He cursed. "This is not good!"

"We're not alone now, are we?"

"Drop your weapons!"

Lynn and Kyle whipped around to see five armored individuals behind them, each aiming a rail rifle straight in their direction. With little choice, Lynn and Kyle tossed their weapons aside. One of the mystery men then strode forward, inspecting the two strangers and the cryo pod..

"Well, what's all this then?" He asked, eyes glinting.