Chapter 3
"...what?" John-117 asked in a small, stunned voice.
"ONI wants to kill me, John," Dr. Halsey reiterated. "If you report my recovery and bring me back to the Infinity, I won't last a week."
This was insane. Impossible. John had always been wary of spooks, having rarely worked alongside them even though the Office of Naval Intelligence had authorized and funded the Spartan II program that had given him and his siblings their purpose in this galaxy. This, though...this just couldn't be.
"That-that's impossible," he said, a weak resolution tinging his voice. "You're important. An Alpha level asset. You've given them years of service-"
"I've given humanity years of service, John," Halsey responded in a soft but firm tone. "Humanity, and the particular humans I care most for," at this she looked around at the rest of the Spartans present.
Her sentimental statement went unnoticed by the Master Chief, who was still trying to process what his mother was attempting to tell him. "You-you must be mistaken. Lord Hood would never allow-"
Dr. Halsey interrupted again, patiently trying to get John to accept the truth. "Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood has his hands full trying to keep the entire UNSC military together and in recovery. He is not omniscient. Nor is ONI in the habit of keeping him in the loop when they are able to avoid it. Trust me John, I've worked for them for most of my adult life. I know how they think, and I know how they operate."
John-117 stared at her blankly. He couldn't accept it. He wouldn't.
His mother sighed. "John...how do you think I lost my arm?" she asked, gesturing to the stump located about 15cm from her left shoulder. The Master Chief had of course noticed it. In fact, he fully expected to be furious about what 'Mdama had obviously done to her after the mission, when he allowed himself to emotionally process what he had seen.
What she said next eliminated his ability to wait that long.
"I lost it when a Spartan IV shot me. On orders from ONI to end my life."
The Master Chief instinctually went into Spartan Time. The world slowed around him. However, unlike all of the other times he had entered it over the past 30 years, the effect was accompanied by a red haze descending over his vision.
John let out a feral, animalistic sound, somewhere between a growl and a roar. He started to pace the floor, turning his head this way and that, looking for something to rip to pieces. Or, rather, looking for someone. Someone responsible. Someone who had hurt his family. Who had tried to destroy his family. Distantly he heard voices, perhaps calling out to him. This was unimportant. There were threats to those he loved. He would find them, crush them, make them pay!
As he turned around he saw one of his sisters...Kelly...looking directly into his eyes with a pleading expression. Her skin, like his own, was unnaturally pale, a drawback of spending so much time encased in armor. Her blue eyes were wide with concern. Her brown hair, kept just under max regulation length, was tousled from her helmet. Wait...her helmet...her helmet was off in a combat zone!
The Master Chief was back in an instant. "Blue Three, put your helmet back on, now!" he barked with all of the authority a lifetime as a non-commissioned officer had given him.
"Ah, thank goodness," Dr. Halsey sighed in relief, as Kelly obediently and swiftly re-donned her Mark VI helmet. "You're back amongst the living."
Her voice riveted the Master Chief's attention to the aging doctor. He was in serious danger of slipping back into irrationality when Blue One...Fred...interrupted.
"Uh, Blue Lead, we've been up here a while. You might want to check in with Blue Two," he said cautiously.
"Blue Two, status report, over" the Chief commed.
"Blue Lead, I am having difficulty repelling Storm reinforcements. Recommend finishing up in there and pulling out before I run out of rounds, sir, over," she responded.
"Copy that, Blue Two, Blue Lead out," the Master Chief said. He looked toward his squadmates and the VIP. "Alright, we'll continue this discussion in a secure location." Dr. Halsey looked about to interrupt. "We'll hold off on notifying Infinity until after we've discussed this. We'll talk on the Pelican," he said, which seemed to satisfy her.
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Blue Team quickly evacuated the facility, waiting for the Storm reinforcements within the mine to fall back and regroup before retreating to the Pelican as fast as they safely could. Dr. Halsey was held in a bridal carry, albeit by Kelly this time. Once again she had protested vigorously and once again the Master Chief had insisted. The good doctor may have worked to keep herself fit but 6 months in Storm captivity and her 66 years of age meant that she would slow Blue Team down to an unacceptable speed. She was at least slightly mollified when the Chief had agreed to transport several data cubes and Forerunner relics, which he had put in packs and distributed amongst Blue Team for convenience. They also set several timed demolition charges on the most valuable items that they could not transport, thus denying valuable assets to the Storm Covenant's war effort.
As they made their way back, the Master Chief was careful not to reflect on what had transpired in the command center. Although "research center" was probably more appropriate. He could not afford to have a repeat of his...episode...while in the field, especially now that they were entering the final stretch of the operation. Just before everything is done is the most likely place for things to go wrong due to carelessness, after all.
Fortunately they managed to reach the dropship without encountering any Storm patrols. The battle had gone decidedly against the aliens now and 'Mdama would most likely be forced to retreat before long. The religious leader had certainly overextended his forces striking this far into UEG territory. The Chief suspected his motivation for doing so was currently residing in several packs carried by him and his squadmates.
They reached the Pelican and the Chief ordered Blue One to release a small UAV recon drone to alert them of any approaching threats. They opted not to use it before due to the high probability of it being detected and shot down by the Storm, thus ruining the element of surprise. With the op largely complete and the battle having moved a hundred kilometers away, according to comms chatter, the Chief decided to risk detection in favor of having advance warning.
The meter-wide disc shaped UAV rose into the air, the Pelican doors closed, Blue Team set down their burdens, and John no longer had an excuse to put off what he desperately didn't want to think about. He decided to confront the enemy head on.
"Why would ONI want to have you killed?" he asked Dr. Halsey. The good doctor sighed, and took a seat on one of the chairs lining the wall of the troop compartment. She fidgeted briefly, frowning at the uncomfortable seat, before starting her explanation.
"Several reasons," she responded carefully. "The proverbial last straw was most likely my...activities on the Infinity." She paused, looking thoughtful, before continuing, "I had been called to the flagship to assist in researching the planet designated 'Requiem.' However, I was working under considerable restraints. ONI didn't like my scheme to take you and your remaining siblings to the planet Onyx, and used that as an excuse to have me imprisoned." She was referring to an incident wherein Halsey had essentially abducted an unconscious Kelly, stolen a ship, set course for a secret ONI colony on Onyx, and sent a message to UNSC High Command to "Send Spartans." Her stated reason for doing so was to recover Forerunner relics that could prove critical to winning the war. They didn't find any.
"An excuse?" Fred asked in a confused tone.
"Yes, Frederic. I have always butted heads with ONI command. Over the years our...disagreements built into a steady animosity and distrust. I suspect they had been looking for a way to get rid of me for years. As for Requiem," Halsey took a deep breath, "I was able to covertly contact Jul 'Mdama and attempt to use him to gain information on Requiem that the Infinity had no access to. I tricked him into believing I was willing to share intelligence and scientific knowledge and was in the process of extracting valuable data from him when my scheme was discovered. 'Mdama managed to take me captive, and ONI tried to have me killed."
The members of Blue Team just stared at her.
"That's...a pretty high stakes game, Doctor," Linda spoke up.
"What in space were you thinking?" John asked. How was it possible that the smartest person he had ever known could do something so reckless?
The Doctor's response was as sincere as it was shameless. "Because it needed to be done. 'Mdama could have unearthed the secrets of Requiem. We needed to beat him to it if humanity was going to survive."
"And only you could see what needed to be done," John said wearily, understanding. Dr. Halsey had always been a bit of an egotist but this really took the prize.
"That is correct, actually, and I would appreciate it if you didn't take that tone with me, young man," she scolded.
John smiled beneath his helmet in spite of himself. It was good to see the crazy old woman again.
He decided to bring the discussion back to the present. "The question is, what do we do now-"
He was interrupted by a tremor shaking the Pelican.
"Blue One, report," he told Fred, who promptly checked the data feed from the UAV.
"Nothing near here, Blue Lead."
"It is a Guardian," Dr. Halsey said.
"A what?" John asked.
"A Guardian. An ancient Forerunner device of inestimable power. It was buried here millenia ago. I was researching it when you found me. It seems something, or someone, has activated it."
Another Forerunner superweapon, John thought, groaning internally.
"How do we stop it?"
"I'm afraid that there's nothing you can do to stop this one," she said sadly.
"'This one?'" he demanded.
"Yes. I'm afraid this is not the first Guardian to be awakened. Nor, I fear, will it be the last." Halsey gestured to the gear that the Spartans had carried back to the Pelican. "With the data and Forerunner devices we brought with us I believe I can predict where the next one will surface. Perhaps even determine how to stop them. And before you ask, no, I don't yet know what their exact function is," Halsey said, looking far more disturbed about her own ignorance than she had about ONI putting a kill order on her.
Another tremor shook the Pelican.
"That one was bigger than the first," Kelly observed.
"They will only get bigger, until the Guardian emerges from the ground," Halsey assured her, "Then it will release an EMP powerful enough to disable any unshielded electronics on the planet, rise into high orbit, and disappear into slipspace."
"We need to get this data back to the Infinity immediately," the Master Chief said.
"If we tell them about this they'll kill Dr. Halsey," Kelly objected. "We need to figure out what to do with her first."
"That information will likely be wasted in official hands," Dr. Halsey interjected. "ONI has been working hard to cover up any knowledge of the Guardians from leaking to the public. Try to report this and they will in all probability secret it away and order you not to speak a word of it."
"That's insane. ONI isn't that stupid," the Chief responded.
Another tremor shook the Pelican, this one large enough to force the Spartans to brace themselves to avoid falling over.
"No?" Halsey demanded. "Fred, Linda, Kelly. You were all on Onyx. Do you remember the Forerunner ruins on that planet?"
They all nodded. It would be hard to forget a colony world that had been inhabited for years only to turn out to be an artificial construct. They had lost Spartans preventing the Covenant from getting their claws on any of that technology.
"ONI knew about those ruins for years before the Covenant even invaded. Years before anyone else knew about the existence of sapient alien life. They kept it secret from everyone who was not directly employed by the Office of Naval Intelligence." Halsey began speaking swiftly and animatedly, her voice tinged with outrage. "Even as the Human-Covenant War stretched on for years, as world after world fell, they kept it secret. No universities were allowed to send their researchers there. No private technology firms were permitted to reverse engineer valuable technology from the ruins. No marine, navy, or army engineers were permitted access. ONI was convinced only they could unlock the secrets of the Forerunner ruins. And when they couldn't do it, they pulled all of the science teams off of it and simply let the Forerunner ruins sit idle!"
The Spartans paused for a moment, considering that. The UNSC had been at a severe technological disadvantage for the entirety of the war. The UNSC was only now able to even outfit its ships with energy shields, a technology the Covenant had had for centuries. Access to Forerunner inspired tech could conceivably have changed the course of the war.
"ONI views itself to be all powerful. They probably give themselves sole credit for the defeat of the Covenant. They think that if things are just kept quiet and they are allowed to operate with impunity, then they will be able to solve any crisis up to and including wild Forerunner doomsday machines."
The members of Blue Team looked at each other. Kelly seemed uncertain. Fred seemed skeptical. Linda was as unreadable as ever. John simply sat still a moment, and asked a question.
"Are you suggesting we handle this by ourselves?"
Dr. Halsey paused. "I am suggesting that you will have to choose how best to utilize these resources." She looked directly into John's polarized faceplate. He got the impression, impossible though it was, that she could still see directly into his eyes. "I am suggesting that you must decide for yourselves."
The Pelican shook violently, forcing the Spartans to secure all gear lest any of it go flying around the compartment.
"Whatever we're doing, we better do it fast!" Fred warned.
"John, there's more..."
The Master Chief looked at Doctor Halsey. What else could she possibly spring on him?
"It's Cortana."
John-117 froze. "What?" he asked.
"The signals I've interpreted from this and other Guardians show a distinct fingerprint." She once again looked past his faceplate and into his eyes. "Somehow, Cortana is directly involved with the Guardians awakening. If we find the source of these occurrences, we may find her. Or at the very least," she replied hesitantly, "what's left of her."
"Is she alive?" the Chief demanded.
"I don't know, John! It's not that simple with AIs," Halsey responded. "Throw Forerunner technology into the mix and the uncertainty grows exponentially! But...it is possible."
John abruptly sat down, his legs collapsing from under him. The seat groaned in protest as his half-ton bulk suddenly crashed onto it.
Too much. This was too much. His mother, his partner, the institution that created him...It felt like his entire world was collapsing. He put his hands to the sides of his helmet as he desperately tried to center himself.
Suddenly, unbidden, a memory overtook him.
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"I can give you over forty thousand reasons why I know that sun isn't real."
Cortana was referring to the micro-star deep within the Forerunner "planet" Requiem. It was visible outside the viewpoint that Cortana's hologram was "standing" in front of.
The false sun shone brightly on the beautiful landscape built in the interior of the artificial world. Enormous, impossibly tall towers of metal, emblazoned with Forerunner hieroglyphs, jutted into the sky. Vast oceans and lakes reflected the sunlight, sparkling dazzlingly bright. Entire forests teemed with life; fauna ranging from small scavengers to enormous birds of prey roamed the surface. The Forerunner's home held multiple biomes, from arid desert landscapes to frigid tundras. It was strange that the home of a genocidal maniac seemed to be built to celebrate the diversity of life.
"I know it because the emitter's Rayleigh effect is disproportionate to its suggested size. I know it because its stellar cycle is more symmetrical than that of an actual star."
The Master Chief listened as he continued to prep his gear for the coming fight. Captain Del Rio, current CO of the Infinity, had refused to pursue the Didact, intending to retreat and regroup. They didn't have that kind of time. If the Didact managed to escape Requiem there was no telling what the insane Forerunner general would be capable of. The billions of deaths in the Human-Covenant War might well be a skirmish compared to what the Didact could potentially unleash. When Del Rio had attempted to take Cortana offline, citing regulations concerning rampant artificial intelligences, the Chief had had enough. He needed Cortana. If Del Rio was too much of a coward to face this threat, than they would do it themselves. His duty was clear.
"But for all that, I'll never actually know if it looks real...if it feels real."
Cortana was speaking in a wistful tone that made the Master Chief feel distinctly uncomfortable. She had been nearly resigned to her impending death when she first revealed that she was suffering the effects of rampancy. Seeing his friend experience mood swings, suddenly divert into rambling tangents about topics completely unrelated to anything they were dealing with, and gradually losing her ability to effectively utilize her virtual skills had been difficult. Seeing her so close to losing hope, had been unbearable. They would have to get her help fast once the Didact had been defeated.
Cortana's hologram "turned around" to find him finishing up cleaning his assault rifle.
John felt uneasy under her gaze. She knew that he had been listening, right? After all, AIs didn't actually see out of their holograms. The holograms were produced by subroutines that mimicked the AIs mental and emotional responses. She could see him the entire time, not to mention pick up on the subtle biological cues that indicated he had been paying attention. Right?
"Before this is all over, promise me you'll figure out which one of us is the machine."
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What did that mean? The Master Chief asked himself. What did any of it mean? He looked down at his hands. He had been unable to save his friend. He had been unable to save so many of his family. Now he was being given information that could save the human race, but also told that the people he trusted to tell him who and where to fight would not use it? That those very same people had tried to murder his mother? The Chief had, effectively, gone rogue before. He defied orders to stand down when he pursued the Didact. But this...Refusing to hand over essential intelligence, cutting the entire UNSC brass out of the loop, was unquestionably treason. At the very least it was gross dereliction of duty.
Cortana may be alive.
John-117 decided that he had never really liked ONI in the first place.
The Master Chief stood up and turned to the rest of Blue Team.
"I'm coming with you," Linda said before he could tell them to return to base.
"Linda that's-"
"I'm in, too," Fred added.
"Three," Kelly said.
"Well, you won't get far without me," Dr. Halsey quipped.
John was at a loss for words.
"Look at it this way, Blue Lead," Fred said casually, "they can't court martial all of us!"
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The Pelican dropship rose into the air as the ground continued to quake. The human soldier remained concealed in the blue-green foliage and watched as the Pelican rose into the air and out of sight...carrying his target.
"Osiris Lead to Control, over."
"Go ahead, Osiris Lead, over."
"We have a snag..."
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Spartan Jameson Locke was not happy. In fact, you could say he was actually rather pissed off.
His target had escaped. It was a simple kill mission. Hunt down a traitor ONI egghead, put a bullet between her eyes, exfil, and call for evac. Simple. It wasn't until he had hit planetside that everything went to hell.
First, his target hadn't been where intel said she'd be. Turns out the Covenant had gotten one over the ONI agents assigned to decipher the intercepted comms. Fed them false information. Pathetic. He never would have made such a rookie mistake when he'd been openly with ONI.
Then, it turned out that the location she was in was about to be assaulted by the one group that Control absolutely, positively, did not want coming into contact with her: Blue Team. The only surviving Spartan IIs. The good doctor's twisted "children."
Locke had arrived too late to intervene. Not that he was sure what he could have done to stop them. A single Spartan II he could take, but a squad of them in full combat gear? Locke was confident but he wasn't stupid. He had stayed hidden as he watched Blue Team retrieve the target, take her to their evac site, and take off. With the target.
Worst of all, he hadn't detected any transmissions go out from either Blue Team themselves or their Pelican. His fears were confirmed when he got back to Infinity and discovered that, no, Blue Team hadn't checked in and, no, there was no word about what had happened to Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey.
All of which was a long way of saying that Locke had failed his mission. Due to circumstances completely beyond his control. Other people had botched their jobs, and now he would have a black mark on his record. Shit.
Thus it was with a sense of frustration that he approached one of the private communications terminals in the Infinitiy's recreation wing. He smiled at one of the female technicians before stepping inside the enclosed booth to talk to his "girlfriend." Once inside, he took out his personal datapad, removed a device from a hidden compartment in its casing, and attached it to the interior of the door. The device would jam any active monitoring equipment and broadcast vibrations through the door. Any snooping passersby would hear a pre-recorded conversation between Locke and his fictional "girlfriend." It would, of course, be unacceptable for the officers of the Infinity to learn that they were not really the one's giving Locke his orders.
He logged into the terminal and input the correct address. Within seconds he was greeted not by a video feed of the other party, as was standard for waypoint calls, but with a simple gray outline of a human, similar to what one would see on the door to a ship's lavatory, set against a white background. It was the default user image, and it was all Locke ever saw of his superiors in the Office of Naval Intelligence.
"Report, Omega-1," the Disembodied Voice commanded. As always, the voice was garbled to prevent any possible means of identification.
"Mission was a complete failure," Locke grimaced to himself. "Package evaded elimination and rendezvoused with Alpha Delta. Alpha Delta has subsequently gone AWOL. Please advise."
"Stand by," DV responded. As the minutes stretched on Locke began to get nervous. He was a high-level asset. He didn't have anything to worry about. Right?
"Report on the entity," the DV at last continued, referring to the Forerunner device.
"Entity activated in accordance with expectations," the Spartan IV responded. A rather inadequate description for something so awe-inspiring, if you asked him. The thing had burst from the ground, rising into the air like a robot out of a bad monster movie, and let out an EMP that made Locke's shields flare bright orange. It had then risen into space where it had swiftly disappeared into slipspace before either the UNSC or Covenant fleets could disengage from each other and target it. If Locke hadn't retrieved some data and Forerunner relics from the mining complex before following Blue Team to its LZ they probably wouldn't have any more data on it than they had gained before Conrad's Point.
Another long pause. Locke was really starting to dislike those.
"You have a new assignment, Omega-1," DV said at last. "You are to locate and recover Alpha Delta. It must be returned to its proper place ASAP. Resources and further instructions will be delivered to you via official channels."
"Clarification request. Should I continue previous assignment?" Locke asked, wondering how Blue Team would respond to him killing their "mother." He decided he would rather not find out.
"Negative, Omega-1. Return previous target to UNSC custody if possible but do not pursue previous objective. Doing so would create potential obstacles to current objective."
Locke sighed in relief. Now all he had to do was figure out a way to subdue 4 rogue Spartan II supersoldiers and transport them back to UNSC custody. Practically a milk run. Right.
What DV said next made his new task even more unpleasant to contemplate.
"You will be given command of a fireteam. Said team will be your companions for the foreseeable future. End transmission."
The screen abruptly returned to its home page.
A squad. Fantastic. Just what he needed.