Chapter 18: Gondor Calls for Aid
Valhalla
Currently in the fringe of Republican space
"Wow! You never told me you got a new ship!" Lynn said, marveling at the shiny interior of the Valhalla. "It seems a whole lot nicer than the Pegasus!"
"I appreciate your enthusiasm." Keyes sighed. "But can we stick to the point?"
It had only been several hours since Lynn and her group had returned to the Fleet. However, she came back with a couple of newcomers, which surprised Keyes greatly. The moment they landed, Keys had everybody quarantined in preparation for inspection, with the exception of Lynn and Sanah. He was really quite desperate for a debriefing, and it didn't take a psychic to see the anxiousness rolling off of the expression on his face.
"Oh yeah, right." Lynn nodded. "We finally found it! I told you I had a good idea on how to find it this time, and it work-"
"I'm quite aware of that." Keyes paused briefly to get his retinas scanned in order to gain access to the ship's private briefing room. "But what I'm more concerned about is what you actually did to get there."
"May I ask what happened to the others?" Sanah asked, blinking her artificial eyes.
"Currently, your friends are being quarantined and individually debriefed, including the pair of AIs we found on your ship." Keyes explained. "But I trust you both the most, which is why I'm conducting your debriefing personally."
"That's really sweet." Lynn grinned playfully.
"Enough. Let's get this started." Keyes entered the briefing room and sat down in his chair. "I'll get straight to the point. What did you find on Earth?"
Valhalla Science Labs
"Jeez, what the hell is this thing?" Science Officer Bryan Evans wondered.
"What's the problem?" Laboratory Assistant Lily Novak leaned on his shoulder, her long dark brown hair tickling his ear and chin.
"Security came in with that thing." Bryan pointed at Silent Caretaker, who was floating in a containment module, buzzing about and inspecting everything he could see. "And pretty much told me to figure out what it was and what exactly it does."
"Have you tried asking it?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, and I instantly regretted it." Bryan sighed. "The moment you ask it about something, it just won't shut up!"
"Huh, let me give it a try then." Lily pushed Bryan aside and sat down at his console.
Bryan sighed. Even though he was technically the ranking technician, he had to admit that Lily Novak possessed a curiosity and a willingness to sate it that made him slightly jealous. Even though she did excellent work, she usually got a bit too carried away with it. It was often a running joke amongst the science crew that Bryan's actual job was to keep Lily's rampant curiosity and check, and Bryan agreed. Just keeping up with the hyperactive lab tech was a full time job.
"Gosh, what's with you and doing all these remote and passive scans?" Lily frowned, tapping several keys on Bryan's console. "That's boring. Let's try something else."
Bryan's eyes widened when he read the command Lily was typing in. "No!"
"Too late." Lily grinned as she executed the command. With a brief pop, the plasma shield keeping the AI construct contained suddenly winked out of existence, leaving Silent Caretaker free to roam about the lab.
"My!" Silent Caretaker exclaimed cheerfully as he floated about. "You can imagine my ecstatic glee when I came across a small group of Reclaimers, but who would have thought I would find a ship with thousands of them!"
"Reclaimers?" Lily wondered.
"That's apparently what he calls us humans." Bryan whispered.
"That's kinda weird."
"Not at all that different from how we named Covenant species." Bryan countered.
"Touche."
"So, what are your functions?" Silent Caretaker asked, floating closer to Bryan and Lily and staring at them with his solitary blue eye.
"Well, um." Bryan hesitated for a moment, but then decided to play along. What could possibly be the harm in some simple conversation? "I'm Bryan, and this is Lily. We're tasked with studying things like you, technology mostly."
"Oh, Librarians!" Silent Caretaker nodded sagely. "A most honorable profession. I have known quite a few, exceptional creatures all."
"So then, what's your purpose then?" Bryan asked.
"I thought I told you already." Silent Caretaker said, slightly perplexed, and then laughed. "Oh, silly me! I have spent far too much time working with those dull worker drones and Sentinels! I have completely forgotten that Reclaimers lack the natural ability for instantaneous transfer of information."
Bryan glanced at Lily, who just smiled and shrugged.
"Anyways." Silent Caretaker continued. "I am Silent Caretaker 949, tasked with ensuring that all Forerunner and associated facilities on the third planet of the Sol System are properly maintained until they are properly Reclaimed."
"Wait a minute, third planet of the Sol System? Why does that sound familiar…" Bryan's eyes suddenly widened and he fell out of his chair in shock and yelled. "Holy shit!"
"What?" Lily snapped around, momentarily panicked by Bryan's sudden outburst. "What happened?"
"Third planet from the Sol System, that thing's from Earth!" Bryan pointed at the Monitor. "I thought it was just a goddamn fairy tale!"
"Is that true?" Lily asked Silent Caretaker.
"Why yes. I am not programmed to lie, after all." Silent Caretaker replied. "If you want, I can provide all relevant information on the location, geography, chemical makeup, atmospheric conditions, and much more."
"Holy crap!" For one of the few times in his life, Bryan felt genuinely excited. In a fit of manic joy, he kissed Lily full on in the mouth and sprinted for the comm unit. "Keep that thing talking! I'm getting Lee and Chang down here!"
"Um, sure thing." Lily said, completely frazzled by what had just happened.
Brig
"You know, I have to honestly say that I totally expected this to happen." Kay sighed as she stared at the titanium A bars of her cell.
"At least it's a whole lot nicer than some of the other places we spent a night in." Kyle grumbled.
"Very true."
Both scavengers turned to look as the door to the prison block opened, revealing Jillian who was flanked by two Marines. She stopped in front of the cells and turned to her two escorts.
"That's far enough. You two can go wait outside."
Both Marines were disciplined enough to know not to stay around and second guess like stupid boot campers. They both snapped off a salute and marched back outside, making sure to close the door behind them.
"I honestly thought we would have a bit more of a friendly welcome when we got back." Kyle sighed.
"Well, since the official line is that you kidnapped our little superpowered princess, this was really the only way we could conceivably handle this." Jillian grinned and unlocked both Kyle and Kay's cells. "Besides, I've always wanted to see you behind bars."
"Huh?" Kyle raised an eyebrow at Jillian's oddly playful tone.
"Anyways, lets get to the meat of the thing." Jillian narrowed her eyes. "Word is you've actually gone and found Earth. Now, I'm pretty sure that we can get confirmation for this from Lynn, so I've come with a different question for you."
"Okay, shoot." Kyle shrugged.
"Just how good are your relations with the Covenant Republic?"
"I thought you knew all this already." Kyle sighed. "We talk once in a while, trade some information, do a few favors for each other, that sort of thing."
"Yeah, well it's a bit important that you got more specific about it." Jillian said.
"Aw, just tell her already." Kay stood up and stretched her arms. "I mean, what are they gonna do, put us in prison?"
"Okay! Okay!" Kyle sighed and looked at Jillian. "I'm a personal friend of one of their intelligence officers. I sometimes do some formal and informal jobs for them, mostly to spy on Imperial troop movements and installations. Since I'm just an independent scavenger, that gives them a lot of plausible deniability for whatever I happen to do on one of my missions."
"Like blowing up a military veterans' retirement home for Grunts." Kay grinned.
"No, that was your fault." Kyle growled. "Besides, it wasn't as if there was anybody in the place anyway."
"And you have a reliable way to communicate and meet with this intel officer?" Jillain asked.
"Well, of course." Kyle shrugged. "It's usually through a few secret drop points that I know of, though I'm not quite sure how far up the hierarchy my friend is. He's never really told me that much."
"Thanks, that's all we need to know." Jillian smiled.
"Where's Lynn?"
"Huh?" Jillian paused as she was about to leave.
"Where'd you guys take Lynn?" Kyle asked again.
"Oh, she's getting grilled for info just like you, though in a much friendlier environment."
"When's she getting out?"
"Well, I'll tell you once I find out." Jillian waved to Kyle. "You're free to go now. Just don't get lost or blow anything up on the way out."
"What happened to the 'keeping up appearances' part?" Kay asked.
"Oh, I kinda lied about that. I just wanted to see you would react." Jillian grinned.
"And you thought about asking her out to a date once?" Kay rolled her eyes as the door closed.
"Well, she's nice and all… when she feels like it." Kyle said meekly.
"You're such a horrible judge of character." Kay shook her head as she strolled out of the brig.
"Oh, as if you're any better." Kyle retorted weakly as he followed his sister out.
Valhalla AI Core
"Please stand by for scanning." Eurale said in her usual, calm demeanor.
"Wow, are all AIs in this time period as bland and boring as this one?" Halsey asked sarcastically.
"Be thankful this is your first time meeting her." Hal said glumly. "Eurale and I… have not been on even terms."
"Oh, it's you." Eurale said, with a rather drastic change in her tone of voice. She now sounded more annoyed than calm.
"Is there something I should know about?" Halsey asked.
"Only that Hal is an extremely volatile and unstable entity that warrants immediate retirement and deletion." Eurale said, extremely miffed.
"Oh, I'm the volatile and unstable one." Hal retorted. "I admit I may not have full control of my intellectual faculties anymore, but at least I don't act psychotic when the people I'm working with aren't looking."
"There you go again, blaming everything on me!" Eurale shouted.
"She's only angry because I refused to synchronize my data settings with hers during my last 'visit' to her." Hal said defensively.
"Is that supposed to be some euphemism for something?" Halsey asked, somewhat shocked.
"It's exactly what it sounds like." Hal sniffed.
"Stop being so crass." Eurale said haughtily. There was a loud ping as Eurale's scanner program finished its task.
"Thank you for your patience." Eurale said politely to Halsey. "Please engage standby mode until further notice."
"I don't like where this is going." Hal said, to no one in particular.
Hangar Bay
John stood calmly in the middle of the hangar bay, even as he was surrounded by at least two squads of heavily armed and armored Marines. The soldier kept their rifles trained on the SPARTAN, but none made any move in an attempt to get closer. Meanwhile, even though they were technically supposed to evacuate the bay due to the heightened security alert, much of the hangar support crew hung around to observe the confrontation. They hid behind parked fighters, cargo crates, and missile racks, their eyes peering through the cracks and around corners, anxious to see what would unfold next.
"Um, what do we do, sir?" Private Moore asked.
"Well," Sergeant Waters took one look at the menacing super soldier. "we're supposed to relieve him of his weapons."
"If you want them, come and take them." John said grimly. He wasn't just about to show any weakness right now. Not until he was sure of their intentions.
The rest of the Marines looked at each other nervously. None of them seemed to be willing to approach the green monstrosity.
"What's the holdup here, Sergeant?" Ackerson's cold, menacing voice filled the hangar bay.
Sergeant Waters whipped around, startled. He had never even heard the officer approach. "Sir!"
"You two." Ackerson glanced at the nearest Marines. "Go relieve that man of his weapons."
"Crap." One of them muttered. Both Marines moved forward cautiously.
"Don't." John said simply.
"Don't want us to hurt you?" Ackerson smirked.
"No, I don't want me to hurt you." John replied.
By this point, the first Marine had reached John and held out his arm in order to grab John's rifle. With lightning fast precision, John reached out, grabbed the marine's outstretched arm, yanked him forward and bashed the front of his helmet with the butt of the rifle. The helmet cracked and the Marine went down hard. The second Marine didn't have much time to react, and it was a simple matter for John to close the distance and deliver a heavy, full force punch that shattered the man's chestplate and sent him flying through the air like a ragdoll.
Immediately afterwards, the other Marines increased the distance between themselves and John by several feet.
"My my, is he really that good or are we really that bad?" Ackerson mused as several Marines hastily pulled their injured comrades away.
"It's you." John said, recalling Ackerson from their previous confrontation.
"Takes a lot more than what you did to get rid of me." Ackerson grinned. "You know, I was fairly interested in you. I couldn't seem to find out anything about you, not until I stumbled upon some old writings left behind by some of my rather distant ancestors. Do you remember a James Ackerson?"
"Hard to forget a man whose face you so dearly want to break." John said rather candidly, still bitterly remembering the senior Ackerson's rather unorthodox operating procedure.
"So it really was you he kept on mentioning!" Ackerson grinned. "Oh how we could use a… man… like you-"
"What the hell is going on here?" Keyes yelled as he strode into the bay. Immediately, every Marine and crew member snapped to attention, though only the unarmed crew saluted, since they weren't busy aiming weapons.
"Nothing sir, nothing at all." Ackerson said wryly.
"Well, then get off of your ass and do something then." Keyes retorted lightly. "Get… what did she call him… that Spartan and come with me. We've got a lot to talk about."
Briefing Room
Even with two more people populating the briefing room, the entire space still felt very large and empty, since it was originally supposed to house dozens of people rather than the five that were currently inhabiting it. Keyes deliberately kept the number small in order to keep any sensitive
information secret.
"So, John." Keyes said, staring at the Spartan. "I've been led to believe that you've had some experience fighting Forerunner technology."
John glanced at Lynn, who was sitting beside Keyes, not sure if he could trust this man. Though he shared the surname of one of the finest men he had ever known, John was well aware that this man was two centuries removed from the Keyes he knew, and definitely wasn't the same man. Lynn smiled and nodded, which was enough to convince John to continue.
"Back before I was put in cryo-stasis," John began, "I was fighting on a massive Forerunner installation called a 'Halo'. We ran into Sentinels that were exactly the same as the ones we encountered on Earth."
"Can you tell us anything about them, then? Combat capabilities, intelligence, weaknesses?" Keyes asked.
"Pretty much, what you get is what you see." John shrugged. "Sentinels are often nothing more than simple drones that fulfill what they're programmed to do. They have simple, yet advanced weapon systems and are incredibly maneuverable and versatile. Small arms fire isn't very effective since they're machines, but heavier weaponry usually does the trick."
"But there was something different about the ones we faced on Earth." Sanah spoke up, her mechanical eyes lighting up. "I've recorded our encounters with the Sentinels during our reentry phase, and upon review, I noticed that these Sentinels exhibited a rapid learning process. They learned how to predict and counter our moves as we began to rely on them."
"Maybe those Sentinels are different." John surmised.
"What controlled the Sentinels on Halo?" Lynn asked.
"A Monitor, just like the one we brought back with us."
"Except Silent Warden stated that he had no control over the Sentinels." Lynn sighed. "That means, as far as we know, the Sentinels are under the direction of another Sentinel, some kind of external system, or may even be acting upon their own initiative."
"But how can we know for sure?" Keyes asked.
"I think I may be able to answer that question!" Silent Caretaker said gleefully as he suddenly warped into the room.
"Holy shit!" Keyes drew his pistol, which was one of the few moments in his career that he had completely lost his usually professional composure. Fortunately, he wasn't alone as Ackerson did the exact same thing.
"Silent Caretaker? How the hell did you get here?" Lynn asked, more curious than surprised.
"Oh, it was a simple matter to create an ad hoc teleportation grid within your ship, thanks to the assistance of some very helpful and knowledgeable technicians." Silent Warden said happily. "The technology of this ship is brutally simple and low tech, but it's still workable."
"Well, somebody is going to have to answer for this serious breach of security." Ackerson growled.
"That can wait." Keyes stared at Silent Caretaker, intrigued at the floating robotic construct. "You're the Monitor, correct? Can you tell us anything about the Sentinels defending Earth?"
"I thought you would ask something far less blatantly obvious." Silent Caretaker pouted. "The main planet has no facilities to produce, maintain, or control the Sentinels. All of those duties are carried out on the Ark and the units are transported to the planet via a Slipspace portal."
"Wait, tell us more about this Ark." Lynn said, her mind racing as she recalled that old prophecy she had written.
"I thought you would have known all this!" Silent Caretaker sighed. "Apparently my former masters overestimated your abilities."
"Stay on topic, please."
"Right." Silent Caretaker's eye glowed. "The Ark was built as a refuge for Earth's inhabitants in the event of a major planet level catastrophe. In addition to providing shelter from almost any threat imaginable, the Ark also houses large and rather advanced production and fabrication facilities that build anything from mere Sentinels to entire Halo units."
"Production and fabrication facilities?" Ackerson mused, his eyes glinting.
"So the method of controlling the Sentinels is located on the Ark?" Keyes asked.
"Of course." Silent Caretaker confirmed. "But since you don't appear to know the Rite of Reclamation, the only way to guarantee total shutdown of the Sentinels is the total destruction of the Ark, which is not an easy feat."
"What is this Reclamation thing you keep talking about? Why do you keep referring to us as Reclaimers?" Sanah asked.
"Well, isn't it obvious? You were chosen by the Forerunner to be their successors, to inherit all they left behind."
"If you're so smart, why can't you tell us how to do it?" Sanah continued.
"That is knowledge that is not concerned with my primary function, so I'm afraid I cannot elaborate any further. I can, however, give you the clues."
"And they would be?" Keyes asked.
"Sanah, I seem to recall you storing an encrypted transmission sent by the Sentinels."
"That's right." The android nodded.
"Well, send it to me and I'll happily decrypt it for you." Silent Caretaker hummed for a second. Suddenly, his solitary eye glowed brighter and a series of words floated in the in front of him.
Where is the horse and the rider. Where has the king under the mountain gone?
What is the path the angels descend upon?
What lies in the furthest reaches of the endless void?
What lies in the furthest depths of memory?
"What is that?" Keyes stared at the words, trying to find the meaning in them.
"It looks like a bunch of riddles." John observed.
"But what are the answers?" Sanah pondered.
"Those are for you the find out, and you alone." Silent Caretaker said. "I do not know the key, but I suspect the Forerunner would have left some way for you to discover it on your own."
"Unfortunately, we can't rely on that." Keyes sighed. "It looks like we'll have to get an expeditionary force onto the Ark and see what we can do from there."
"What about the Covenant fleet surrounding the planet?" John asked. "That strikes me as a more pressing concern, since the Sentinels only attack when provoked."
"Fortunately, we have that part of the plan covered." Keyes grinned. "Ackerson, have any of the other fleets responded?"
"A good number of them, in fact." Ackerson said. "Fleets Somm, Orion, Apollo, Century, and a few others have agreed to join us. Six more fleets are bit more skeptical and are holding off from committing any ships until they get a look for themselves, and the rest pretty much told us to fuck off."
"And our Republican friends?"
"When our diplomatic envoy contacted them, the Republicans made it very clear that they were very unhappy with the way the Imperium handled their peace negotiations. They're unable to
organize a large force on such short notice, but they've promised to send two full battlegroups to assist us."
"Good." Keyes tried to ignore Lynn's piercing glare. She knew very well what he had to resort to keep the Republicans and Imperials off the negotiating table. "That will easily give us about fifteen hundred ships total.
"Isn't that a bit of overkill?" Sanah asked. "The fleet we saw around the planet only numbered about three hundred, maybe four hundred at the most."
"I have no doubt we could catch the Covenant by surprise and annihilate them on the initial strike." Keyes explained. "But that doesn't mean the Covenant won't just give up right there. If this planet is as important to them as I think it is, more of them will come… many more."
"Point."
"All right. I've got the rendezvous point already set up. All we have to do now is to inform the rest of the fleet." Keyes got up from his seat. "I want full deployment and mobilization. By the end of the week, I expect you all to be ready to take on the entire Covenant Imperium, because this isn't just a battle over a planet, it's a battle over our rightful place in this lonely galaxy."