Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to Star Wars: Tales of the Infinity's Odyssey, the companion piece for Halo: Odyssey of the Infinity.
As you are probably aware from the announcement, I will be doing short stories for the rest of the year. A chapter for the main story will come out on a random date before the end of the year, so keep that in mind. However, I am happy to be able to write these short stories and, in doing so, fill in any plot holes that you might be concerned about.
Either way, thank you for your feedback, and I hope you deeply appreciate these short stories.
As always, leave a review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or Star Wars franchise. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Lucasfilms, 20th Century Fox, Disney Films, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers, producers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed in each chapter belongs to its original composers and/or artists.
UNSC Infinity
Geosynchronous Orbit, Coruscant
April 26th, 0BBY, 1000 Hrs (November 10th, 2558, 1000 Hrs)
If there was one thing that Dr. Halsey knew was a constant in her profession, it was that you never really knew who you were going to meet on a particular day. During the Covenant-UNSC War, she had met people that were snobbish and arrogant, like Colonel Ackerson, who had tried to kill her and the Master Chief on multiple occasions. Other times, she had met clumsy if well meaning people, like Specialist Jordan and Dr. Glassman. There were also times where she met people that were not only highly intelligent, but deeply cared for their jobs and the consequences thereof, people that truly enjoyed pushing the boundaries of knowledge and science.
In this case, it seems that I've had to travel to another galaxy in order to find someone who enjoys their profession as much as I do at times, Halsey noted as she looked behind her. Standing in the middle of the lab was the young woman that she had met in the Infinity's onboard hospital, Omega if she recalled correctly. Since her recruitment after her security interview, though, most people that had met her called her Olivia, which Halsey felt was a much better name than the cold and clinical designation of Omega.
If there was a fault that she could find with Omega, though, it was how curious and naive she was. Even as Halsey worked at her station, she could hear Omega and Cortana talking with each other. Ever since they'd learned of each other's existence, the two had started to hit it off in terms of their relationship. "So you were really created from a flash-clone of Dr. Halsey's brain?" Omega asked.
"Of course," Cortana said. "All UNSC AIs are created from donor brains using a process known as Cognitive Impression Mapping, or CIM for short."
"How does that work?" Omega asked. 'Is that why you're so intelligent?"
"Yes, and it's simple, really. What you do is you hook the brain up to a device called the AI Matrix Compiler, the most recent model of which was designed by the creator of yours truly. The compiler then sends bursts of electrical energy through the neural pathways of the donor brain, which are then replicated in a supercnducting nano-assemblage. This creates a virtual neural network that's known as a 'Rheinmann Matrix.' Once that's done, the budding intelligence rewrites the initial system into something much more advanced, creating what the UNSC classifies as a 'Smart AI.'"
Omega let out an impressed whistle. "Now that is impressive. I wish AZ here was made like that. He'd be just as smart as you if he was."
That reminded Halsey of the robot that had come with the 'Bad Batch.' Knowing fully by his designation of AZI-345211896246498721347, or AZ as short hand, AZ was a small robot that was just under a meter in height. Thanks to his programming, AZ was a literal 'by-the-book' sort of robot, which was fine with Halsey; she knew she might need someone that was by the book every so often. "I must admit, UNSC Smart AIs are quite good. I take it there are flaws in the creation process, though. You wouldn't have very much room to make new links in the neural pathways. Correct?"
"That's right, AZ," Cortana said. "Smart AIs have to be terminated every seven years or so to prevent them from entering a state known as 'Rampancy.' That happens when we create so many neural linkages that our cognitive processes start dividing themselves exponentially. We literally 'think' ourselves to death."
"That's sad," Omega said, her voice becoming somber for a moment.
"It is," AZ agreed. "However, I've heard rumors that you're older than that, but you seem stable. Why?"
"She's stable for reasons that you and Olivia currently do not have the clearance to know about," Halsey said. "However, I can say that Cortana is not only in a meta-stable state, she is one of the most valuable assets in the UNSC." She's also the best 'daughter' I could've had, though Miranda was just as good of a daughter too, she added to herself. "What I am more interested in, however, is your expertise, which is cloning."
Omega smiled at that. "Yes," she said. "Cloning is my… um… what's that word?"
"Forte," AZ suggested.
"Right. Cloning's my forte, though I'm surprised that you've been able to make clones of organs so fast. If the Kaminoans, the people that created me, had that kind of knowledge, they'd be able to create clones in a much faster time period."
"They would have," Halsey agreed. "However, the UNSC doesn't approve of the cloning of a full sized human being for ethical reasons. Some people think that clones are not actual people, while others believe they are. It's an ethical dilemma that's existed ever since we managed to clone an animal. I think she was a sheep by the name Dolly if I recall correctly."
"Odd," Omega said with a frown. "I guess that's something I should've considered as well. The Kaminoans didn't see them as people, though clones clearly have feelings."
"Indeed," Halsey said. "One question that I wanted to ask you is why the clones that are with you have aged so much. During the tests, blood samples were taken from them to see why they were aging so fast. Initially, I mistook this for a class of diseases known as progeroid syndromes, which cause rapid physiological aging. However, when I examined their DNA for myself, I found that it was deliberately altered to accelerate their aging. Do you know anything about that?"
"Yes," Omega said. "When the Kaminoans began cloning Jango Fett, who was the source of DNA for the clones, they noticed that the clones were growing around the same rate as a normal human being. This, however, was too slow for them, so they modified the genes that control aging in order to allow them to age nearly twice as fast as a human being. This aging, though, accelerated during stress and as they aged, which was something that mystified them."
"I can see why," Halsey said. "The Kaminoans appear to be experts at cloning, but the modifications they've made have also altered a cluster of genes that are called the FOXO genes. They regulate the process of autophagy, which is the body's process of reusing and recycling worn out or damaged cellular components into working components, while also 'defragmenting' cells in order to clear up room while also eliminating pathogens in a cell that can destroy it. Autophagy has also been linked to aging; the older a person is, the less efficient their body's autophagy processes are, which leads to aging."
"And these FOXO genes regulate that?"
"They do," Halsey said. "People that have more than one copy of the FOXO genes are less likely to suffer aging related diseases and generally have longer lifespans than most. The same goes for individuals that also have more copies of the GATA and Sirtuin genes, which control various cellular processes such as cellular reproduction and cellular death."
"Interesting. It seems that, in their haste to create soldiers for the Republic in time for the Clone Wars, the species that cloned and created me forgot to check that."
"Indeed," Halsey said. "For all their mastery of genetic engineering, the Kaminoans either forgot to check up on that gene, or intentionally mutated that gene in order to make their soldiers more… expendable, for lack of a better word."
"Just dreadful," AZ said.
"No kidding," Omega agreed. "What about me? Do I have those same flaws? Did Nala Se engineer those flaws into me?"
"Who's Nala Se?" Halsey asked. "Was she your caretaker?"
"Yes," Omega said. "Before the Empire came in and forced the Kaminoans out, she was my... well... you could say she was my mother in a way. She was very cold to others, but she was nice to me. Why?"
"Just curious if she's still alive."
"She might be," Omega admitted. "I'm not sure, though I think she still might be. Her knowledge of cloning and genetic engineering would make her invaluable to the Empire."
"Interesting," Halsey said. "I might want to have a word with her if she's still alive. As for if you have those defects in your genes, I can say that the answer is no."
"Because?" Omega asked, curious.
"Because Nala Se seems to have accounted for that," Halsey said. "Your GATA, Sirtuin and FOXO genes appear to be unaltered, as are the other genes that control the processes associated with the life cycle of your cells. Other genes, however, have been altered, which would explain your increased capacity for information recall and the like. It also helps that you were raised by a geneticist that was the foremost expert in that field in this galaxy."
"That too," Omega admitted. "Why do you ask about all of that, though? Are you thinking of refining the process of flash cloning? That's the only reason why you'd be asking about that."
Damn, this young woman catches on fast, Halsey noted. "That's correct," Halsey said. "One of the problems that we run into when it comes to flash-cloning full human beings is that they quickly begin to die as a result of neurological and physiological problems, what is known as 'metabolic cascade failure.' This is because the cloned cells are reprogrammed to reproduce at a hundred times the normal rate."
AZ's receptors widened at that. "That's way too fast! No wonder human flash-cloning, in addition to being illegal, has its clones die so fast. Their bodies are growing so fast that their organs and brains can't keep up with the stresses! They literally shut down due to being overloaded! On top of that, such an aggressive cellular reproduction rate would introduce a significant amount of DNA base-pair errors, which would cause even more complications!"
"My thoughts exactly," Halsey said. "As such, when I heard that your expertise was cloning, I was curious as to how you might be able to improve the process of flash-cloning. Let's ask you a question, Olivia. If you were in my position, how would you improve the process of flash-cloning?"
Omega's eyes lit up as her knowledge of the field came into its own. "For starters, I would slow down the development of the embryo, or the cells, by fifty percent, if not more, through modification of the various genes you mentioned, along with any others that haven't been mentioned. Then, once the clone was finished, I would have droids or an AI search for any DNA base-pair errors that would compromise the organism. Once that's done, then I'd find some way to implant the genetic and chemical memories that the organism would need into it, which would result in the organism being able to function properly."
"Interesting," Halsey said. "It seems as though you've been thinking this over for some time. As for the latter process, I did develop something like that, a form of 'mind transfer' if you will."
"You did?"
"Yes," Halsey said. "When I made a flash-clone of myself, I did a Fast Fourier Transform X-Ray 3-D scan of my brain to map its ionic patterns. This then allowed me to make a virtual map of every link in my brain's neuron pattern, which I then used in a deep stimulating scan to allow the flash-clone's brain to develop those same linkages, effectively transferring my memories and personality into the clones, maybe even a copy of my consciousness. Unfortunately, there's an 82% chance that they might develop neurological and personality disorders, such as schizophrenia, dementia and brain cancer."
"Interesting," Omega said. "Perhaps there's a way we can refine the process so that we can eliminate those downsides while preserving the benefits of the process. That, combined with refining the process of flash-cloning, could, in theory, allow us to make a perfect clone of you. In fact, if done right, it could even be used to 'resurrect' deceased individuals, though how recently they would be deceased would determine the success rate of the procedures in question. I wouldn't recommend doing it, though, for ethical reasons."
"Agreed," Halsey said. "Hunter wasn't kidding when he said you were a genius in this field. You certainly seem to know your stuff."
"I do," Omega said. "Nala Se taught me how to do all of that. I spent most of my life using and refining the processes by which the Clones were made, before we had to leave when the Empire invaded Kamino and took the cloning facilities for themselves. Perhaps we could save Hunter and the others from a premature death by using the same process."
"Perhaps," Halsey admitted. "Though we'll have to spend a lot of time working on that in order to have it come to fruition, given what my current assignment is."
"And that would be?"
"I'm afraid that's classified, Olivia," Halsey said. "However, we can work on such a project together as a side hobby of sorts." I might even accept her as my protege, she added to herself.
"Really?" Omega asked. "That would be awsome! I'll bet you know more about some of this stuff than I do, even with the training that Nala Se gave me."
"That's one of the benefits of being a polymath," Halsey said. "You get to have information in a wide range of fields that you can bring together to solve a complicated problem. In fact, I think we might've been destined to meet each other."
"We might have," Omega said. "So, shall we get started, Dr. Halsey?"
"Yes," Halsey said with a smile. "I believe, Olivia, that this is the start of a wonderful and fruitful friendship."
"Same thing here," AZ said. "This is going to be one fun ride, though my definition of fun might differ from yours. Either way, it's time for work.
. . .
In another part of the ship, specifically Hangar 21-D, Specialist Jordan MacCallum was working on something that had more immediate importance than what Halsey and Omega were concerned with. Standing on a small walkway, he used a torque wrench to tighten another component, while checking a weld nearby to make sure that it was made properly. Nearby, dozens of other UNSC and former Rebel Alliance technicians and engineers worked alongside him on that project.
Checking his fall arrest harness, he stepped back to take a look at the product of his week of hard work. Resting before him in an anti-gravity field were a pair of Slipstream Space Probes that were linked together in the center. The first probe was unaltered, save for some modifications made to the docking clamp that allowed it to dock to a UNSC ship and transmit the information inside of it to the ship itself. The only real modification was the installation of engines that were taken from a decommissioned Broadsword variant.
The other probe, however, was another story entirely. The entire upper half of the probe had carbon scoring everywhere, the result of dozens of engineers and technicians working together to strip out any unnecessary components in the probe. An open service hatch revealed the modifications that were made, from an enlarged fuel tank, to the main change itself: a modified hyperdrive that was installed in lieu of the Slipstream Space Drive. The final modification was the addition of a log buoy that would carry all the information they had gathered at this point on the new galaxy and everything in it back to UNSC controlled space. Aside from the engines installed on both probes, the twin circular probes were unaltered, from their hull composition, to the RCS systems installed onboard.
Jordan's train of thought was interrupted when Jenar, the first Rebel Alliance hyperspace technician to defect to the UNSC, came over to him. "So, how's it going?" she asked. "Looks like a piece of junk to me."
"It's going quite nicely," Jordan said. "If all of my tests and calculations are correct, this should be sufficient to get from one galaxy to the other. A little crude, but then again, some of my magna opera, or great works, have been known to be a little crude from time to time."
"Really?" Jenar asked.
"Yes, really, though since they work, they're, paradoxically, not crude. A common saying for UNSC engineers and technicians is that, if something looks crude but it works beautifully, then it's not crude. It may look as ugly as an Elite's ass, but if it works beautifully, then it's not ugly, it's perfect."
"Ah, I see," Jenar said. "So, let's do a recap. Pretend that I'm as dumb as I feel at times. How is this entire system supposed to work, and what is it carrying?"
"That we can do," Jordan said. "The first probe Jenar is, for the most part, completely unmodified, save for some changes I made to the docking clamp system that it uses, mostly to make it stronger. That probe's job is to enter Slipstream Space and carry the second probe beyond the galaxy's edge."
"Because of that hyperspace anomaly surrounding the edge of the known galaxy. Correct?"
"Precisely," Jordan said. "Slipstream Space, however, doesn't have that anomaly, otherwise we'd never have gotten here. Anyways, once the first probe exits Slipstream Space outside of the galaxy's edge, it will disconnect from the second probe, use the modified Slipspace COM system to get the Infinity's location, and then return to the Infinity. Once that is done, the second probe will activate its hyperdrive to get to the Milky Way Galaxy. The fuel efficiency of the drive, combined with the enlarged fuel tank that we installed a couple days ago, means that the fuel should be 50% depleted by the time it gets to the Milky Way. After reaching the destination, it'll transmit a Slipspace COM based distress signal that should get the UNSC's attention."
Jenar whistled. "Now that is what I call an impressive piece of engineering. Speaking of which, how long until the probe reaches the Milky Way Galaxy?"
"After it reaches the galaxy's edge, I'd say around twenty days," Jordan said, running the numbers through his head. "As for the Slipspace Drive we've installed, it should get both probes to the edge of the galaxy in around five days, give or take a couple. Those Huragok really know their stuff when it comes to upgrading Slipspace Drives, especially after they got the information that I was able to get from the Infinity's Slipspace Drive computers."
"That's good to know," Jenar said. "So, personally speaking, how did you manage to upgrade the Slipspace Drive?"
"You'll have to give the Huragok most of the credit, like I said earlier. They really know their stuff. I'm practically a toddler in comparison to them."
"I see," Jenar said. "So, how'd they improve the hyperdrive we're using? I know that you and I fixed it up and got it into working order, but I'm curious as to how the Huragok upgraded it."
"Simple really," Jordan said with a shrug. "They increased the efficiency and resilience of various systems in the hyperdrive, which went a long way towards boosting its FTL transportation capabilities. On top of that, they reorganized some of the internal components. Given the modifications they made, I'd say that this hyperdrive is now a class .25 or even a .2."
Jenar let out another impressed whistle. "Damn… now that is fast. Most drives are a Class 2 or Class 1 these days. This hyperdrive literally blows all of them out of the water. If all goes well, this guy'll be the hyperdrive that could."
"That it will be," Jordan said. "Now, how about we get to work finishing up this thing and get it ready to launch. The launch is going to happen by 0400 hours today, and I want this thing ready for prime time."
"Then let's do it." Both engineers promptly resumed work, with the other technicians helping out wherever they could….
By 0400 hours, Jordan and the others were boarding a Condor that had been modified to carry the twin probes. Looking at the probe, Jordan couldn't help but feel a little trepidation at the task that they were now about to do. We've tested it as much as possible, he said to himself. All those days we modified those systems, we tested them until we were certain that they would work. Now, all of that hard work is about to be put to the test. Within a few months time, we'll know if our plan has either failed spectacularly, or if we have outdone ourselves, and allowed the UNSC to know exactly where we are and what we're facing.
Jenar had noticed his expression as she asked, "You feeling OK?"
"Yeah," Jordan said. "I've got this funny feeling, like I'll never see that thing again."
"It'll be fine," Jenar reassured him. "We've done every possible thing we could have done to ensure that probe reaches your home galaxy. If anything, I'll be surprised if something bad does happen. Just relax."
"I won't relax until the fat lady sings," Jordan said. "Still, I get what you mean. I guess I've just gotten used to dealing with engineering failures so often that I get nervous when something big like this is put to the test." With a sigh, he said, "Either way, there's no turning back now. It's do or die." Keying his COM, he asked, "Cortana, Gabriela, Roland, are you there?"
"We're here," came Cortana's reply. "I take it you're about to launch the Pony Express."
Jordan smirked. As the probes were modified and then twin-linked, the engineers had taken to collectively calling the probes the Pony Express, in reference to the Pony Express that was used during the mid to late 1800s by the US to relay messages between Missouri and California. The name was fitting, given that they were effectively doing the 26th century version of that 19th century system.
Shaking the memory away, he said, "Yes we are. Can you upload the information that we've gathered on this new galaxy thus far into the log buoy? We've powered up the system and we've checked the data-link. It should be good to go."
"It is," Cortana said. "We're uploading the data now. Give us a couple minutes." Those minutes slowly passed, with Jordan tapping his foot on the ground in nervous anticipation of any problems. "Transmission complete," Cortana said. "Can you confirm if all went well?"
Checking the Tac-Pad he wore during working hours, Jordan did a systems check. "Yep," he said as a notification came back. "The transfer went well. We nearly used up all the storage space in the log buoy, but we got everything into there. It's time to send the Pony Express on its way."
"All right," Cortana said. "Good luck. You're gonna need it."
"You too," Jordan said. Advancing to the cockpit as the Condor's loading bay closed and sealed, he said to the pilot. "We're ready to go. Time to see if we did our calculations right."
"All right," the pilot said. Keying his COM, he said, "Flight Operations, this is Charlie Four-One-Niner. Requesting permission to take off. Over."
"Roger that," came the reply. "You are cleared for takeoff, Charlie Four-One-Niner. Head out on vector 1-8-0 mark 0-5-0 and deploy when ready."
"Copy that," the pilot said. "Charlie Four-One-Niner, over and out." Closing the COM, he quickly throttled up, with the Condor smoothly siding out of the mag-con field that kept the atmosphere inside of the ship.
As they flew towards their destination, Jordan did a quick calculation. Given how far we're going to be heading, we'll be at our destination in two hours at top acceleration. Once we've halted, we'll deploy the probe from behind one of Coruscant's moons, Centax-3. With that in mind, he settled down for the journey.
Two hours later, the Condor, along with its escort of Broadsword fighters, had reached Centax-3. The moon was lightly populated, with the small size and lack of atmosphere discouraging any major settlements on Centax-3. Once in position, Jordan said, "All right, time for a final systems check." Looking at one of his assistants, Gerald Green, he said. "Dumb AI?"
"Check," was Gerald's reply.
"RCS?"
"Check."
"Drive Systems?"
"Check."
"Log Buoy?"
"Check."
"Integrity checks?"
"Completed."
"FTL COM system?"
"Functioning."
"Hull Integrity?"
"Nominal."
"Excellent," Jordan said. "All system checks complete. Time for launch." Using his Tac-Pad, he sent a command to the probe's systems.
Outside, the twin linked probes separated from the Condor, with RCS systems gently guiding them away from the Condor and Broadswords nearby. The engines installed quickly fired up, pushing the probes away from the two ships. Within seconds, a Slipspace Portal opened, with the probes quickly disappearing inside before it closed, emitting radiation in the quantum mechanical equivalent of a shrug.
"There we go," Jenar said. "Off goes the Pony Express."
"Yes," Jordan said as the Condor maneuvered to head back to the Infinity. "Off she goes. Only time will determine if all goes well. Only time…"
