Deep in the mountains of Dante's Freezer, a group of wagons slowly waded through the deep snow towards a castle built into the side of a cliff.
Inside the castle's deepest parts a creature alien to the dragon realms stood, his blue armor shining in the glint of the candle light. The creature turned so its head was visible, its head was broad and reptilian like that of a skink from earth. its scales were a crimson color, his eyes a deep golden color, his star was piercing and deadly.
On his hip was holstered a plasma pistol common among his kinds warriors, along with a sword and a rifle strapped to his back.
"Kill the human and Tecarians, but get me that AI, Alive!" a dark voice boomed.
"Consider it done, soon my brothers will arrive and we will ride this universe of these infernal machines." The reptile rasped his eyes shining with fire that could put any creature to shame.
Warfang
"Cameron?" a female voice called
A moment later a Dragoness with deep blue scales and snow white under belly entered the room. She scanned the room slowly until her eyes fell one the corner Cameron was in, her emerald eyes falling right on him. Cameron smirked 'she's the only one that can ever find me in the shadows' , he stepped from the shadows.
"Hey Jasmine"
Jasmine smiled, she wasn't disturbed by his double voice like some other dragons were. But Cameron could see that she had been worried about him, the relief when she saw him was to visible. 'Why does she always worry about me?' Cameron wondered
"Just seeing where you were, the whole city freaked when they felt the earth quake. I looked for you at your room but you weren't there." Jasmine said, her eyes were asking for an answer.
"I was just at the walls" Cameron answered her unasked question, Jasmine nodded already guessing what he was doing 'He was probably staring at the stars' she guessed.
"Jasmine!? Did you find him" another female voice called, before a shiny black head poked around the corner. Dark red eyes with red lines running from above them up and over the dragoness's skull and down her neck and back.
"Yeah I found him Whitey" Jasmine said smiling "Good, I'm going to get some sleep" She said taking her leave. Jasmine said good bye to the former YF-12, before turning towards Cameron. Who was already looking like he was about to fall over from exhaustion.
Cameron yawned and shook his head trying to clear it, "I think I'm..."
He trailed off before passing out cold, Jasmine giggled at Cameron laying flat on his stomach legs sprawled out in all directions. She grabbed him and threw him over her back and began making her way to Cameron's room.
Infirmary
Daniel groaned as he began to wake his eyes bleary, the world spinning around him as he sat up.
"Ah... my head" He groaned, holding his head with both hands until his vision stilled. Daniel looked around to find he was in a building and not the Momentum. 'Great now were am I' he thought bitterly. Daniel fell back as he blacked out, his body turning off from all the pain and abuse it had endured in the last twenty-four hours.
Outskirts of Warfang
A large ape clad in black armor with swirling dark aurora spinning around it, stood on a hill three other apes behind him.
"Tomorrow night we strike, get the siege weapons ready along with the wyverns." The dark ape growled out the order. 'we may have failed the first time but not a second time, this time they will fall.'
The apes sulked away to where their forces lay in wait for the moment to strike.
Pool of Visions
As soon as Cameron left Neb pulled out the holodisk that Ark was stored in, he held it out in front of him a pushed the button on the side. The disk floated up at chest level on its own accord. It flashed blue and hologram of Ark appeared above it. Ark looked around the room, first at the lancers and then to the three slack jawed dragons who were staring at him.
"Hello there" Ark greeted them snapping them out of their stupor.
The green dragon was the first to speak, "Um... yes hello... uh... what are you, if you don't mid me asking?" the green dragon asked
"Ah yes, I am an advanced artificial intelligence designed by the Tecarians, I use to be a living creature like you but when I was about to die a Tecarian scientist saved my brain and converted into a computer and data sequence." The dragons just blinked at him "How about a new subject like what I need help with" The yellow dragon looked at him and tilted his head and gave him the 'please continue look'.
"Ok, my ship crashed on your planet and before it crashed its sensors picked up readings of dark energy in the area you call Dante's Freezer." Ark explained looking at dragons
"A ship? We're miles from any ocean or large river, how could a ship have gotten here?" The blue dragon asked looking puzzled
Ark groaned before looking at the pool of visions, he piloted the disk down onto the surface of the water letting it float on the surface. The water around him began to turn into an image of the Momentum floating through space above a planet, it hull unscarred and immaculate condition.
"My ship"
"What kind of ship is that!" The yellow dragon asked in awe at the vessel.
"That is Momentum, the finest and most advanced research and exploration ship ever built, it utilizes technology from multiple races across the galaxy. three different warp engine types four main rail guns in the nose and an array of point defense." Ark said proudly. "And right now she is beached in the Flat Plains region and is in need of reconstruction. "
"And what are going to do?" The green dragon asked
"Take care of Daniel, we have to fix the reactor and that will contaminate the ship in hazardous material. So he won't be able to stay there." Ark explained "So I'll be leaving him here with you"
The guardians looked at each other and nodded, "Sure he can stay" the yellow dragon said
"Thank you, now I must take my leave gentlemen" Ark said as the disk floated back to Neb who took it and mag locked it to his belt and left the way they had come.
Momentum
Drones and bots began powering up along with the onboard industrial planets which started to produce hull plating along with all the other materials to begin reconstruction. The onboard computer quickly made a log of everything that need to be replaced or fixed, the construction processes had begun. In a month the ship would be space worthy.
Ok a little chapter to set the stage for a longer one, and many thanks to UNSC Inferno for lending me his OC Whitney.
Please R&R,
Shadows of the Kasrkins