Again, I have not dropped off the face of the Earth. I just had to get this chapter just right in a limited amount of time, but more will be on the way. Enjoy!
Chapter 28
Admiral Bradley King looked up sharply from his monitor and gave Lord Hood a thoroughly confused glance as static popped up on the monitor in the corner, a monitor whose computer they had not been using. Spoken works were coming through the static, coming from a long distance away in another system, and were just making themselves clear through the speakers of the electric system.
Fahjad's eyes widened in disbelief as the words coming through the speakers finally made themselves out, and Tina gave a disgusted snarl from where she was preparing the man's medication. "You have GOT to be kidding me," the blonde matron muttered as she counted out pills and measured liquids.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we interrupt your usually scheduled entertainment program, propaganda network, and mission schematics for an exciting announcement!" A male voice cackled over the speakers across numerous colonies, ships, and planets. Heavy guitar music, loud and raucous, began playing, and static everywhere dissipated in favor of seizure-inducing bright colors and the painted face of some guy with short blue hair, a rockstar who only made himself into some sort of deranged clown. "And that announcement is the start of a new game show!"
"What the hell is this garbage?" someone muttered, but North remained entirely fixated on the screen in front of him as the lights stopped flashing and the erratically-dressed host collapsed into a rather…surreal armchair of black and red.
"The Terra Betan Supremacist Army is pleased to present, for the first time since the 22nd century, a game of epic proportions, a test of the ultimate survival skills! Yes, it is 'Amazon Hour!'" The host pressed a button on a bright blue box in his hand, and the recording of an audience clapping echoed through the sound system. "And with me tonight, co-hosting our special program, is none other than our illustrious leader…Kao Jin!"
North was able to finally get a look at the man that had been a thorn in Dawn's side for years. He was tall, muscular, with a handsome face and long brown hair. What caught his attention, though, was the armor that the man was wearing.
"Loving the new armor there, Mr. Jin," the first host commented as he offered a seat to the TBSA leader, who sat down nobly and crossed his legs, stretching his arms across the back of the white and green chair he sat in.
"Why, thank you, Jerry," Kao Jin gave a deep rumble, bowing his head to his co-host. "Just a little something I picked up someplace."
"VERY impressive," Jerry gave the armor an appraising glance that had North bristling. "Now, onto business. Tell the viewers, why exactly did you start up this little spectacle?"
"As you know, Jerry, I love seeing people prove themselves for what they're worth and always falling short of their expectations. I just figured that I would share my delight with everyone else out there, to show that their supposed 'heroines' are just scared little girls who can't face the real world."
"That's bullshit," Texas growled, but North waved his hand to quiet her down. The hosts were just beginning to shift towards the actual contestants for 'Amazon Hour.'
"Well, we've certainly got an interesting first line-up, eh?" Jerry asked, looking over a data pad in his brightly colored hands. "Five very INTERESTING women, competing for the opportunity to live beyond tomorrow?"
"Picked them out myself," Jin said smugly. North wanted to punch the man. "Let's look at the first one, shall we?" The screen shifted to a muted green color, and a very familiar red-headed face popped up on the screen.
"Raised in an orphanage on Earth, with no place to call home, this wild beauty has stunned many with her quick thinking, quicker feet, and her sharp tongue, which have made her an invaluable asset to the ONI Project Freelancer. Give it up for…Agent Carolina!" There came some stills and short clips of Carolina running in front of security cameras on several images, as well as some…questionable images that had North wondering who managed to sneak cameras into the Freelancer women's locker room. A live feed was shown, grainy and grey, of the Freelancer team leader wandering a rocky corridor, missing her bluish-green armor and dressed only in her under armor. There came whispers and mutters from people (mostly York) about how this madman had managed to capture a Freelancer, but the hosts of this debacle were speaking again.
"And here's another…raised on our own planet of Terra Beta, this blonde beauty is practically royalty in the Operator hierarchy. She's trained with the best and the worst, and she's made her name as an efficient killer. She followed her primary mentor to work temporarily in the UNSC as a double agent, but now she's back and better than ever, and in more ways than one. Let's hear it for…Agent Virginia!" More stills came forward of the silver-visored, blue-armored Freelancers on missions for Project Freelancer, and then a few shots from her earlier time on Terra Beta: a tall girl with well-defined muscles, curly blonde hair, and a black circular tattoo around her right eye. The live feed for Carolina shifted from the center of the screen to the right, and a video of Virginia came up of the female agent (again, without armor) feeling her way along rocky walls, making significantly more progress than the befuddled Carolina.
"We've got a feisty vixen here as well, Jerry," Kao Jin proclaimed smugly, looking so much like his son, Kilt at the moment. "Also from Freelancer, she's constantly been put in the shadow of her twin brother because of her slightly inferior skills and uncontrollable temper. Still, that doesn't mean that she won't kill when necessary, and her allies had better watch their backs because she will stab them in the back if she feels they're getting in her way. Presenting…Agent South Dakota!" North's stomach dropped out of its regular position as videos and pictures of South scrolled across the screen so quickly, it nearly made him sick.
"I hope someone is trying to track where this feed is coming from!" he called back to the room at large. Someone responded, but North was more fixated on the live feed of South, where she seemed to be ranting and punching everything in reach with an unarmored fist. Well, at least she was alive and safe. He slowly let out a breath that he didn't realize he had been holding.
"We've got some more royalty to take into account, and they're NOT from our little 'problem pack' here on Terra Beta," Jerry snickered, looking into another file. "Listen to this apt description: constant performance above and beyond the call of duty, a former ODST, commander of a division in her time of active service, a graduate from the Corbullah Military Academy before its razing by the Covenant, and supposed protégé to Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood of the UNSC. Let's hope that this exemplary record is enough for…Admiral Mia Tyette!" The Spartans behind the Freelancers gave small hisses of anger as the video showed their superior leaning against some rocky wall, feeling her way along slowly. The woman's platinum-blonde hair was damp and dirty from exposure to the underground system, and she had numerous scratches across her face.
"You certainly made a bold move there, Kao Jin," Jerry remarked, reclining back in his seat unconcernedly. "I mean, kidnapping one of the UNSC's elite for this show? I'm impressed."
"It was not very difficult," Kao Jin shrugged off the remark. "She just happened to be right in front of me. It was no problem snatching her away when all those Spartans' backs were turned." The two men laughed. North's skin prickled as he felt the nerves of every single Spartan tingling at the jab to their record. They were Spartans, they were meant to be flawless and mysterious. Being publicly humiliated like this was not something that sat well with them.
"But even the Admiral is not the jewel to your crown, is she?" Jerry asked the TBSA leader, who shook his head.
"No, indeed. My personal favorite is one of the fabled Operators, a war hero for the TB weaklings that decided to overthrow me. Presenting for the final time…the Black Phoenix!" North's heart froze as he saw his lover standing all alone in her own stone prison, watching the camera evidently pointed at her with a raised eyebrow. Her gaze was disbelieving.
"Now, you have a special history with Black Phoenix, do you not?" Jerry asked the question daintily, and Kao Jin smirked, pressing his black armored hands together evilly.
"I certainly do, Jerry. Black Phoenix betrayed her own people to try and align herself with…the right side of our little argument. We had a little spat, and she decided to betray me and return to her people. How's that for loyalty?" Kao Jin asked sarcastically, and the two men laughed. North's palm felt wet with a burning heat, and he opened his palm to see that his aggravation at their words had caused him to form such tight fists that his fingernails had cut into his skin. Blood dripped into the creases of his hand in angry drops.
"Mr. Jin, while we are broadcasting this show across the galaxy, to the Innies and Independents and the UNSC alike, is there something that MIGHT just save the lives of these women?" Jerry asked, his eyebrow raised. Kao Jin took a breath and looked at the screen, a weird smile running across his face.
"I would be willing to consider removing them from my little arena…if the Insurrectionists will align with me and place Terra Beta back under my control, or if the UNSC will release my son and refuse to recognize Black Phoenix's government. I will also expect Articles of Surrender from the people of Terra Beta, detailing that they will offer no resistance."
"No easy way out, I suppose," Jerry shrugged. "Well, that's all the time that we have for today, folks. Next time, we'll be broadcasting footage about what these bodacious babes have been up to while you were away, and see if any of them made it through their first day alive. This is Jerry and Kao Jin, signing off for 'Amazon Hour.'" With a flash of static, the screen faded to black.
"North, are you okay?" York asked, noticing that North was tense and shaking from his position. With a roar of unusual anger, North took his bloody fist and sent it into the stone wall beside him. Stone pieces and dust flew everywhere in his display of anger, and his knuckles stung from the impact. York leapt back to avoid his friend's fist.
"That son of a bitch went too far this time!" North snarled angrily, blood dripping down his hand in a gruesome spectacle. "He's messing with things he can't even begin to comprehend. He took Dawn, and now he has my sister!"
"North, we know," Texas placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Getting angry and shattering the wall isn't going to do shit if we want to save them."
"Listening to that mad man on the screen won't do us any favors either," Hoya spoke finally from his place more towards the front of the line of Spartans. "Your friend's right: this guy has gone too far."
"We need to get in contact with the UNSC, try and figure out this mess," Fred came up. "Is there any place that we can link into a satellite or something so that we can get in contact with ONI?"
"I have just initiated a comm. Patch with the other Operators, the Babylon station, and the UNSC Infinity, Spartans." Chickadee appeared on her holographic pillar, her feathers ruffled in agitation. "You'd all best get to the conference room. Captain Lasky and Lord Hood both request your presence."
War of Ascendant Destiny roared and smashed his hand into the electronic console before him, cursing loudly in the old Forerunner tongue. Sparks flew in his fury at the failure of his experiment.
"You cannot destroy your work so quickly as this," Mendicant Bias tempered the angry Forerunner male. "You have progressed quickly beyond the machinations of your mentor. You need more time and more equipment to make this machine properly functional."
"Time is a luxury that is not easily afforded," Ascendant Destiny growled, staring through the haze of chemicals in the separation ward at the dull shape collapsed on the ground. "And this…mess shows only that I have created more errors than I have successes."
"A price that must be paid in order for our goals to be reached," Mendicant Bias insisted to the embroiled warrior. "What is one more failure? You know what to correct, so proceed as such."
"You are right," Ascendant Destiny conceded, calling for a few Storm Covenant Brutes to come to his side. "You three, get rid of that," he waved a finger at the failed experiment still hidden by the gases. "He is of no use to me any longer." With various grunts of reverence, the Brutes headed towards the door that would lead to the separation ward.
"I did not think you would move forward with the development of this machines with one of your sons as the payment," Bias mused as his fluorescent core stared to where the Brutes were gathering up the shape haphazardly in their gigantic arms. Ascendant Destiny only sniffed derisively.
"He has served his purpose. It is a small price to pay," the Forerunner snarled, watching as his misshapen son was eventually dragged away by the Brutes.
"Indeed," was Bias' only reply as he glided out of the control room to report to his other Master.
Another update will be available soon for your enjoyment! Until next time! ;)