95 Instant Replay
The various amenities of the Workshop had been shuffled when things had expanded into a medium sized country. This led to a rearrangement of both the facilities that had been granted by my power and the various ones that had been added by my duplicates. Most of those stayed in the caverns and tunnels of the volcano, but there were a few exceptions. The lockers that held the items supplied by my power remained close to the entryway, while other power-granted items saw their own rearrangement, even if they were in a custom built structure rather than the locker they arrived in.
That was how the lounge around the Super Sea Snails tank ended up shuffled down with the rest of the items. It was a significant shift, but better than having it in the middle of a mostly empty volcano. It also meant that there was a seating area conveniently located near both the main entrance and the computer core that made for an excellent location for reviewing the recordings of the recent sparring session that pitted me and Tetra against pretty much everyone who could pitch in against that level of power.
The pace of the fight had been such that it was pretty much just a collection of bright flashes to the human eye. Even the Aura-enhanced human eye. Survey's accounts of the fight could break things down, but trying to watch them during the spar meant being about twenty engagements back from what was actually happening.
Thus, the post-spar review. Floating holographic screens displayed records of the fight while I sat on a couch next to Tetra's human form and Aisha lounged in an armchair by the Super Sea Snail tank. The sea snails also seemed to be engrossed by the fight in their wide-eyed endearing way, which was probably why no one had been able to bring themselves to harvest their shells yet. Even with prosthetic replacements available, it was decided that it was better to wait out the snail's life span rather than resort to surgery to acquire one of the boosts the shells could grant to items of clothing.
At least it was decided by everyone but Garment. Still, Garment had at least backed down on the subject of the snails, probably to focus on the upcoming utilization of colors from the Prismatic Laboratory. It was a project that seemed to excite Garment nearly as much as the upcoming charity event.
Speaking of which, Survey, Garment, Fleet, and Tybalt were absent, having returned to the Regency Center to close things down for the night. Well, close them down and hand out the last of Garment's gifts for the volunteer staff. My enhanced blessing of Hera and logistic delivery powers had made sure none of the volunteers had been overlooked, something that Garment was very proud of.
From the feed Survey was supplying from the Regency Center, which were displayed on one of the side screens in the lounge, things seemed to have come together exceptionally well. Of course, Garment had a few last minute tweaks to the design, but with her expanded telekinesis she was more than able to handle it even while congratulating and thanking everyone who had worked like mad to manage the rushed schedule.
Garment was currently standing in the middle of the show floor giving her thank you speech to the volunteers who had stayed late. Really, she was just gesturing emphatically, but everyone stood in rapt attention like she was the most eloquent person on the planet. They even broke into a round of applause when she finished, signaling the end of work for the night.
It was only a temporary stand down as the crowds would be back in the morning to get things ready for the event that afternoon. Then the changeover from the preparation volunteers to the event volunteers. Some fell into both categories, but for the most part it took a lot more people to get the place together than it took to keep things running.
The Matrix was still in the Workshop, dealing with the aftermath from the sparring session, but also effectively at the Regency Centre. It was the advantage of being a distributed consciousness. They were still content to remain both visibly and magically concealed in the storage room, managing inventory as needed.
Like when a few of the volunteers circled back at the end of the night to see if there were any of those box meals left over. As luck would have it, they just happened to find an overlooked stack that had been misplaced in the earlier rush. Handy, that. Almost as if it was intentional while also being tailored to the preferences and dietary restrictions of them and their closest associates.
Okay, the synergy that Survey and the Matrix could pull off when they pooled their abilities was incredible to see. Also a little scary when you considered just how much information Survey had collected on everyone in the city.
For her part Survey was neither in the Workshop nor at the Regency Center, at least technically speaking. She had returned to her scrying chamber immediately after the spar, leaving the first practical example of my human replica droid technology to take her place beside Garment. The actual manufacturing had needed to be done by the Matrix rather than me, if only to avoid the kind of beauty and quality powers that made Survey's cape persona problematic. Still, the resulting droid was an exact match for her civilian persona, could be controlled perfectly through an integrated quantum communicator. Because of the effects of Mechanical Genius it would actually appear more human than Survey's core body if subjected to any invasive scans or medical tests.
"I'm surprised that you didn't want to tag along. Now that you can like, talk and blend in and stuff." Aisha said to Tetra. "Sort of blend in, I mean." She added.
Tetra shook her head. "I'm kind of there already. And here, and back in the Skyforge too."
"Right. The connection thing." Aisha said. It was definitely the most remarkable aspect of Tetra's creation, and that was quite the claim, though not an unwarranted one. The implication of exactly what it meant took some getting used to. Effectively never being separated from Tetra was something that was difficult to wrap your mind around, to say nothing of the plethora of other applications.
"And I have ways to blend in properly." She said excitedly. We watched as the brilliant red drained from her hair, eyes, lips, and nails. There was also a slight shift to her build and features. Life fibers had inherent shape changing abilities, even more so than Cybertonium. And Tetra also had access to Cybertonium's shapeshifting qualities. Frankly, her form was so mutable that the four base modes were more landmarks for her to navigate by than any kind of restriction.
When the changes finished Tetra was sporting light auburn hair, green eyes, and features that were mundane, but still striking. Specifically, the resemblance to Survey's human form was even more apparent.
"Survey helped me get a real identity with paperwork and everything. I'm supposed to be the younger sister of her lawyer. Tetra Mertens." She looked contemplative for a moment. When she spoke again it was in a near perfect match to the ambiguously European accent that Survey had developed for Delphine Mertens. "I hope we can convince people we're related."
Aisha and I shared a look. Given how Survey and Tetra behaved and continued to behave, I didn't think they'd have a problem.
"I'm sure you'll do fine." Aisha said encouragingly. "So, you're going tomorrow?"
"I am." She declared. It would be interesting to see how people would react to the scary lawyer's little sister at the charity event. No matter how it played out, I had the feeling Tetra would have the time of her life. "Even though the guest lists are filling up, Garment made sure there was room for me."
"Figures." Aisha looked between Tetra and me. "Two days of blitzing invitations while everyone drags their feet, then suddenly they're desperate for a spot."
"Day and a half, to be fair." I said. "And you can't blame them for not being sure this was going to come together."
"I guess. At least now you can get grandma drunk enough to help you manage things." Aisha quipped.
I let out a breath. "I really wish you wouldn't talk about Hera like that."
"Um…" Tetra said, drawing our attention. "Is she my grandma too?" She asked. "I mean, we aren't clear what parts I got, right?"
I considered her question. Demigod powers were based on divine ichor rather than genetics. Some of my demigod affinities had transferred to Tetra when we separated, but it was hard to tell what was the influence of Hephaestus rather than just the technical skills inherent to life fibers.
"Probably at least an aunt, right?" Aisha suggested to me.
"Sure." I said. "Sounds about right." Tetra's face bloomed into a smile. Honestly, as bad as I felt about forcing Tetra to be related to the mess that was the Greek pantheon, I still rated it slightly above the level of baggage that came from her connection to my own family.
We shifted our attention away from Survey's feeds of the Regency Center and back to the replays of the sparring match. That was the best term I could come up with for something that frankly dwarfed Endbringer battles in terms of energy output and collateral damage. If it wasn't my own workshop that was being trashed I would feel awful about the level of devastation inflicted by what was basically a field test.
And it wasn't just a field test for Tetra's Kamui abilities. Everyone involved was using it as a chance to cut loose and try out whatever powers and attacks had been gained or developed over the past few days. They were throwing out whatever they could to see if I could dodge, tank, or deflect them. Tetra counted as both a weapon and defensive equipment meaning my combination of powers that facilitated my invincibility was in full effect, even without my lantern shield deployed. Which was good, because using it along with Tetra complicated things considerably.
Tetra wasn't just a Kamui. I mean, Kamuis are already terrifyingly powerful creations even without the quality improvements and extra abilities that my power can grant. But Tetra wasn't just a Kamui with extra features. She was also a Teigu. A fully functional example of an Imperial Relic, the power and might of a beast of legend bound into a finite form and linked to a wielder on a spiritual level.
Tetra was as close to the ultimate Teigu as it was possible for me to create, which was pretty damn close. The process had been completed with no loss of power or agency from the subject 'used', effectively granting new abilities with no loss of self. Organism type Teigus were normally dormant without a link to supply spiritual energy, but Tetra didn't have that problem. The extra power from our connection was just a way to supercharge her other abilities.
The problem was balancing that link with the connection I already had to my lantern shield. It was technically possible to use two Teigus simultaneously, but the strain would be instantly fatal for most people. Even in the most exceptional of cases it would need to be used sparingly as a desperate trump card.
I wasn't most people. I could handle the strain of using Tetra and Trauma at the same time, but there was another effect that I hadn't accounted for. That was the reason for these kinds of tests, to figure out these kinds of interactions in advance so you didn't end up wondering why features of your two Teigus were bleeding across each other while also trying to deal with some kind of active threat.
Beyond the opportunity to find out about unexpected features of your equipment, the fight also gave everyone a chance to show off. Effectively, the battle was five on one, though technically it was five on two. Still, it wasn't like Tetra and I were functioning independently of each other. We watched the screens as clips of the various overpowered attacks launched by the combatants played out.
"Crazy how only Fleet and Tybalt were able to even knock you back." Aisha said, indicating how Tetra and I had easily weathered blasts of magic and exotic energy from my duplicates and Survey, but were sent flying from the impacts of Fleet's strikes and Tybalt's tackles.
"Completely different class." I explained. "Fleet was built entirely as a divine object. He has conceptual weight behind his movements. It makes the balances of forces a bit wonky."
"Huh." Aisha said, watching a clip from the time Fleet managed to jump from ground level and clothesline me across the neck.
The fight had been serious enough for him to actually activate his combat form, a core feature of the military android that served as the base of his design, but one he'd never had any cause to use. The change wasn't that visibly dramatic. Washed out skin, a bulkier build, and a pattern that highlighted the definition to his muscles. The real difference was his abilities, particularly his speed. Effectively, Fleet had been operating in first gear all this time. With this fight he finally had an opportunity to cut loose.
Even with the absolutely insane speed, it would have been trivial to avoid that attack. Of course, that assumed I'd be using the full range of abilities available to me. Obviously, I wasn't. The entire point of the exercise was to get a feel for Kamui based combat, not to stonewall opponents with exotic abilities that had nothing to do with Tetra. It was the same reason that Tybalt wasn't using his divine authority over weapons to end the fight before it had begun.
"So, was it the same thing with Tybalt? God power juicing things up?" Aisha continued.
"Sort of." I said.
With a thought the screens shifted over to my engagements with Tybalt. It had been his first excuse to actually break out his Berserker training. A legendary rage further boosted by his Glory to Me ability was no joke. In addition to becoming a tiny juggernaut he was effectively unkillable as long as he maintained the rage. Fully deploying his War Regalia also made up for a lot of the difference between our physical abilities, even though his life fiber uniform was nowhere near Tetra's level.
The dormant form of Tybalt's War Regalia was still fairly impressive, as had been evident at Somer's Rock, but when fully deployed it was something else entirely. The massive overbuilt suit almost looked comedic on Tybalt's cat body, but there was nothing funny about the power it possessed.
Normally it would have been so bulky that the person wearing it could barely move, but one of Tybalt's powers was called Hard Target. A basic power that ensured that armor would never be uncomfortable or get in the way of the person using it. A small boost in most cases, unless someone custom built the most excessive suit of battle plate and handed it to an empowered demigod of war.
"I mean, the divinity definitely helps." I continued as the desperate running battle between us played out across the screens with Tybalt bouncing off the platforms of his semblance with insane speed and coordination, particularly considering the mad look in his eyes from his Berserker state. "But mainly that was The Cole Train."
Aisha blinked. "That what?"
"One of Tybalt's powers. Comes from the same universe that gave him his armor and the ability to swear really well." I explained. "It's on the level of some of my own stronger abilities. Not the major ones, but it has the same cost as powers that gave me entire alien technology systems, only it's entirely focused on making your charges more effective."
Aisha looked up to where Tybalt had managed to tackle me out of midair, sending both of us spiraling towards the ground. "Oh." She said simply as the plume of dust from our impact began to form a mushroom cloud. "Didn't know he had that."
"Hasn't had much reason to break it out." I replied. "This was kind of an opportunity for everyone to cut loose."
"Yeah, I kind of figured that when Fleet started riding tornados." She said with a grin.
I returned the smile as I shook my head. "Probably not the most effective tactic he could have used, but it was an impressive application of his wind element."
"And it looked really cool." Tetra said, looking at the display of Fleet mounted on an animated funnel cloud as four more twisters fell into formation around him. It wasn't like the force of even an F6 tornado was going to impede me and Tetra, but it certainly made an effective distraction for some of the coordinated attacks.
We were focusing on the moments from the fight where the other parties had actually managed to gain some ground, but they were few and far between. As a method of scaling the power of Tetra's Kamui form it had certainly been a success. The vast majority of attacks hadn't even been worth acknowledging.
Even Survey cutting loose with the absolute peak of her combined biotics, psionics, and Valkyrur powers had been nothing more than a light show. Following that she had shifted into more of a support role for the other combatants, using her lightning element for mobility while exercising her biotics to either assist her teammates or attempt to contain the collateral damage from the fight. I mean, when she wasn't contributing to it by tearing up chunks of the landscape with biotic manipulation and hurling them into the fray. It was an excellent showing of how versatile a combatant she was, even if her offensive output lacked exotic effects needed to deal with opponents like me and Tetra.
My duplicates were pretty much the polar opposite, as they did their best to break out every exotic ability in my arsenal over the course of the battle. Things like the Chain of Heaven and Earth were actually a bit tricky to deal with since the indestructibility of the weapon wasn't something I could overcome. At one point I'd needed to lean into Tetra's Bifröst based powers to avoid getting entangled in unbreakable chains. I mean, I could have just teleported away, but this was a test of Kamui abilities, not the full range of my other abilities.
It helped that my duplicates were working from minimal levels of Mantra. We 'only' had to deal with chains that were hundreds of meters long and occasionally hybridized with the Bright Spear to give them precise mental control of its movements. Not a fun prospect, but better than fighting the weapon in a state where it could stretch for kilometers and rip mountains from the ground. Or asteroids from the sky, but that was a level of Mantra well beyond what we had access to.
I wasn't using Mantra directly since once again, test of Kamui abilities. Despite being able to emulate Mantra tech, Tetra didn't have the training to either use or passively generate Mantra. It was an avenue we could potentially pursue, one that had serious implications when combined with her ability to maintain connections, but not something we were close to breaking out in a fight against my duplicates.
Things didn't get easier when one of my duplicates merged with the shadow hybridized Transformer body while the other started projecting as many mechs as he could. Which was a lot of mechs. Fortunately, they didn't completely count as weapons meaning I could tear through them, but even moving at hypersonic speed, it was kind of a slog. I guess that was the consequence of being on the other side of my crafting powers.
Once spiral energy got involved even Fleet fell back to a support role, leaving things three on two as far as spiral wielders were concerned. Tetra was extremely new at using Spiral, but we could pool our generation much more effectively than my duplicates and Tybalt. The exchanges of swirling green energy supplemented by reds and rainbow displays turned the fight into even more of a lightshow than it had been to begin with.
"What was that big attack that finished the fight?" Aisha asked. "I know big fire blasts are a thing for you and the copies and Tybalt, but that looked different."
"It was." I said. "That was a Triple Tech. Tybalt and I have a power called Combination Attack. It lets us combine magic or physical attacks to make much more powerful effects. Normally we'd be limited to Double Techs, but…"
"Duplicates. Got it." Aisha said.
"I wish I could do that." Tetra said. Looking up at the recording of the combined casting.
I gave her a regretful look. "Unfortunately, not something I can share or teach. You can still combine magical effects, but it's just multiple people feeding into the same spell, not something like that."
"Right." Aisha said as the spell bloomed to life on the monitor. "So, what the hell was that anyway?" She paused. "Actually, 'hell' seems about right in this case."
"The Triple Tech is a combination of three high level spells from that magic system, Dark Matter, Black Hole, and Flare. My duplicates provided the first two and Tybalt was the one who cast Flare. They combine into a really powerful example of fire and dark magic."
"Does that thing have a name?" Aisha asked. "I mean, that's the stuff that's based on a video game or something, right? They love naming attacks."
"It does." I said, looking up at the black void ringed in fire. "It's called Accretion Disk."
Aisha's eyes widened. "Um, is that just a name, or are we actually looking at spatial and energetic effects on that scale?" She asked. Looking at the screen the display showed the moment when the swirling mass of fiery blackness finally dissipated leaving a crater dozens of miles across carved into the landscape. "Cause, I mean it's impressive, but I don't think it was putting out the radiation levels that kind of thing is supposed to."
I had to smile at more evidence of Aisha's technical knowledge coming to the forefront. "It's a magical effect, so it's mostly directed. Focused, at least to a degree. Also, Fleet, Survey, and the Matrix were working to contain the damage."
"The Matrix even saved the animals." Tetra explained. At her prompting a display of the various animals the Matrix had portaled or otherwise teleported out of danger was pulled up. It gave the appearance of the world's most confusing petting zoo as bears, wolves, rabbits, and other small animals milled around various immaculately constructed pens while the Matrix worked with the mantic circuits to restore the damaged area.
Normally, carving a wasteland in the center of your workshop would be a bit of a poor decision, but I both had the space to spare and the means to restore the damage in a timely manner. The Matrix was even taking it as a trial run for disaster recovery and refugee management. Their efforts had ensured that not even a single bee or dragonfly was harmed in the spar while also working to moderate the damage as it happened. Generally, they were much more interested in the reconstruction portion of a conflict than any part of the fight itself.
A live feed showed the state of the workshop, with the wide crater in the center of the island slowly being filled in by mantic forces and the direct action of the Matrix's nanobots. The only things left standing inside the area of devastation were the various structures my duplicates had constructed after we received Titan's Blood. This meant there were pyramids, monuments, and ziggurats surrounded by scorched wasteland, casting a certain dramatic tone to the entire scene.
"Big finish, but have to say, I'm kind of disappointed it was mostly just flying around and punching people." Aisha said. "You didn't get into the crazy stuff until the fight was almost over." She inclined her head towards the final moments of the fight where active use of spiral-based weapon manifestation, technology emulation, and dimensional effects from Tetra started to be more consistently used.
"It was a test drive, not a stress test." I explained. "It took a while to feel out how to work together."
"But it worked really well when we got it down." Tetra said proudly, pulling up a recording of us manifesting a massive drill and clashing against a similar construct Tybalt had manifested from his War Regalia.
The struggle was one of the few drawn out moments in the otherwise blindly paced fight. Tybalt was better with Spiral than I was, but I was pooling my efforts with Tetra. He had ended up summoning the flames of war to rocket him forward while I had deployed my shield, merging its Teigu aspects with Tetra as we drilled through aether lines for extra traction.
As expected with that much spiral energy involved, it ended in a massive explosion that launched both of us away as we scrambled for our next move.
"No question." Aisha said with a nod. "I get why you said this is excessive for most of what we'll be dealing with."
I could feel Tetra wilt slightly beside me. "There are still the Endbringers, plus whatever that big threat from the passengers themselves is. And you know, if things get out of hand during a 'normal' conflict and we need to make a statement."
"Yeah. Statement." Aisha said. "I think this will be able to pull that off on like, a couple of levels." She entered some commands on her tablet and pulled up a picture of Tetra's Kamui form.
I was really grateful I'd been able to moderate the design as much as I had. If I'd been working with nothing but the knowledge that came from my Tailor power I'd probably need to go with something close to Garment's old barbarian style designs just to manage the thermal and neurological issues. While the design still needed a degree of limited coverage, I had managed to restrict that to an exposed chest. With actual full-length pants and at least some coverage on my upper body I was comfortable with the design.
That was important, since how you felt about the Kamui seriously impacted the nature of the connection. That kind of link was a lot more direct and intense than any of my previous exposure to life fibers, save maybe the immediate aftermath of March's ambush. Really, that kind of altered mindset was why it was so important to be careful about the nature of the connection.
Speaking of connections, I could feel one forming from my power. The slow rotation of the constellations had come around again with the largest amount of reach I had ever amassed. Enough for even the extreme outliers among my power set to be secured. I watched as the Knowledge constellation circled toward me and a connection formed to one of the large motes. Unlike the usual effort required to secure a mote of that scale, my current level of reach easily dislodged the power and pulled a nova of burning potential towards me with contemptuous ease.
Humanity is a strength forged in adversity. The human spirit is a hard thing to kill not just because it's resilient, but because it's dangerous. Always ready to fight, no matter the odds. Human aspiration is a beautiful thing, but when pressed we're not just hard as nails, we're ready to strike back with everything we have.
That was the mentality that suffused my latest power. Resilience, determination, and an attitude that would literally never say die. The scattered memories and focused knowledge I received weren't even focused on the military, but it didn't matter. It was a link to a universe where humanity had been pressed to the breaking point and rather than shatter, they had come together to collectively tell their enemies to go fuck themselves.
It was Halo. I had just received an incredibly strong connection to the world of one of the most insufferable online shooters in history. Seeing it from the inside definitely gave me a new perspective on things. I had a previous link to that universe with my Space Command Engineer power, but that was middling at best. Some vague understanding of the principles and technology in play that was mostly overshadowed by the sudden appearance of a god damn brain implant.
I knew about that brain implant now. Previously I had understood the principles, how to use it and the mechanics of how it functioned. Now I understood its development, its intended use, the difference between it and more specialized versions, how it was developed, how it could be improved, the concessions made with mass manufacture and implantation and hundreds of other insights into the science behind it.
Because I understood that science. I was exceptionally well-versed in nearly all human sciences of the twenty fifth century, but not as some kind of abstract academic exercise. There was a drive and desperation behind that acquisition of knowledge, something that expressed itself through my actual specialization, the study of Covenant and Forerunner technology.
In those memories, in that universe, I hadn't been military, but in that situation it didn't really matter. Civilian Consultant, working on the same problem as everyone else. Specifically, finding a way for humanity to make it through the war.
War is both good and bad as far as scientific development goes. You get funding, focus, and directives that open up new projects, but the wider fields of research suffer. There's a push to apply everything you can, but only what you can. Anything that can't be brought to the field within a practical timeframe tends to be cast aside. The military equipment commonly seen in that 'setting' wasn't the best technology humanity had to offer; but they were what could be brought to the front lines in a sufficient volume to actually make a difference.
Like with most of my powers, I only had scattered memories. Just enough to provide context to the information. Still, with the volume of information that this power granted me, there was a lot of context to be had. I could remember my role, experiences with both the military and others in the scientific community. One of the best minds, at least in terms of cognitive abilities. Not enough to rival top researchers in their own specializations, but within my own field I was one of the best. And given the importance of that field with respect to the near insurmountable opponent we were up against, it was a fairly active role.
Most of my work wasn't the kind of thing that saw application to military hardware. The technology I specialized in was either incompatible with current military technology, too complicated to manufacture, or too expensive to produce. No, I studied the most impressive tech in the galaxy for the purpose of finding better ways to break it.
I picked apart the works of the Covenant to find better ways to pick them apart in battle. I took the base sciences of humanity and smashed them into the works of ancient alien gods for the purpose of finding the cracks, flaws, and exploits that would let our troops bring them down just a little bit faster. For instance, it would have been wonderful if I could have figured out a way to reproduce energy shielding on a level that would allow it to be applied to UNSC vessels, but more often my shield studies were being used for more effective MAC targeting to help bring down Covenant ships.
It was possibly the most hostile relationship you could possibly have with the focus of your life's work. The best comparison I could make would be a marine biologist at the top of their field signing onto the crew of a whaling ship. Of course, if whales represented the kind of threat posed by the Covenant you likely wouldn't be able to hand out harpoons fast enough.
Thinking back to what I knew about the Halo series in terms of the video games and comparing it to my new experiences was disorienting on a number of levels. I could understand the significance of every piece of technology present in the games, whether human, Covenant, or Forerunner. I could recognize the source technology of the Spartan program, even if it was a bit outside of my core field.
Actually, did they use my shield research in the development of the MJOLNIR armor? Maybe in a general sense, but I was certain I never worked directly on that project. It was strange to think that whoever I had been may have had a connection to such a core element of the series. An element I could only contextualize from an external perspective.
There was a lot of that. God, I would have killed to be on the Halo installation. I think I knew about it, but I only had scattered knowledge of specific events. Like with the Spartan program, I definitely wasn't involved directly. Instead I get to look at it through the lens of multiplayer matches where idiots pretending to be Spartans shoot each other on top of a scientific treasure trove. It was like a researcher from the Manhattan Project watching someone hold a paintball game on top of the Large Hadron Collider.
I mean, the Large Hadron Collider back before the Simurgh happened.
I turned my mind away from that less than happy line of thinking to a much more exciting subject. Because I didn't just have memories from the Halo universe. I also had my ship.
The UNSC Eleventh Hour. My ship. It was a Gladius-class Heavy Corvette. Two hundred and forty-three meters in length. It easily fit into one of the Garage bays, though I shudder to imagine how it would have arrived back when I had been working out of a handful of rooms. Despite being the size of a naval battleship, it was basically a blip as far as the UNSC forces are concerned. The type of thing that wasn't a threat to any Covenant opponent unless it had an extreme numerical advantage or was operating as part of a much larger battle force.
But that was kind of the idea. It wasn't meant to attract attention. It didn't even have the fancy stealth systems you saw on the Prowler class. It wasn't a spy ship, just a way to get a research team where they needed to go. Considering what I was researching were the remains of enemy technology, that put me closer to the battlelines than you would ever want to send a science vessel. Thus my assignment to what was basically the smallest ship in the UNSC fleet that was still capable of operating independently.
But it was my ship, or had effectively become such over the course of the time I had in that universe. It wasn't like it was some super special invincible hero vessel. Standard policy for even a hint of enemy activity was to turn and run. Most studies took place either in UNSC controlled systems that had been fully secured or in remote systems where it was unlikely to encounter any hostile forces.
That's where things undoubtedly got a bit dicey. Covenant technology was easy enough to come by, so to speak, but examples of Forerunner tech were much more challenging to acquire, much less well understand. Definitely one of the more outlandish fields of study for a civilian consultant, but still a valuable one. I had memories of plenty of exploratory missions, setting out with a skeleton staff on a ship that only needed fifteen crew members under normal circumstances, with most of the crew also functioning as research assistants. Basically, a heavily armed research team sent out in a mostly expendable ship hunting for something that might help turn the tide of the war.
I don't know if I actually accomplished anything of note in that universe. I don't even know if the version of it I remembered was the same as the one that hosted those multiplayer deathmatches. What I do know is I had a lot of scientific knowledge. There was a full understanding of the complete span of human sciences. Everything from cybernetics to genetic engineering, medical technology, nanotech, weapons, material science, power systems, computers, A.I. development, and even FTL drives. But beyond that I knew about Covenant and, to a lesser extent, Forerunner technology. Not enough to recreate it in that universe, but enough to provide a foundation for building on those principles with the help of my current power set.
The power also provided another boost to my reverse engineering abilities. Not enough to instantly solve Bakuda's code, but it was safe to say we were looking at a full decryption well before the start of the charity event.
"You got a ship?" Aisha asked as she reviewed the reports my duplicates were already submitting. "A big ship."
I smiled. "Pretty small in context. It's from Halo."
"Seriously?" She asked. "I mean, I know you got some stuff from that game, but really…" She trailed off.
"Yeah." I shrugged. "Just got a lot more than 'some stuff'. Pretty much all the human tech and a good foundation in the alien stuff. Plus the requisite memories of doing science during an interstellar war."
"Shit. Is it bad?" She asked.
I shook my head. "Not as bad as some of the ones I've been hit with. I mean, it's not pleasant, but I was research staff, not a front-line soldier." She nodded.
"And you got a ship?" She asked.
I shrugged. "Need to get around somehow." Frankly, the fact that I had been issued my own military vessel, even if it was pretty much the smallest one on offer, implied some significant things about my position in that universe. Unfortunately, I didn't have a complete enough picture to put things together. It was frustrating, but that was the way with a lot of my powers.
The Eleventh Hour, like all UNSC ships, was long and thin, built around its central magnet accelerator cannon. The MAC on the Gladius-class was pretty much the lightest variant of that weapon that still counted as a proper MAC. At that scale you'd need mass fire to threaten even moderate Covenant shielding, but when compared to a more conventional scale it was a terrifying weapon.
I mean, by normal metrics. By the standards of the Celestial Forge it was barely a slingshot.
"So, what are you planning to do with it?" Aisha asked, looking up at the where the ship was suspended by massive docking clamps in the Garage bay. The vessel lay like a skyscraper on it's side and really drove home the scale of space battle in that universe. "It'll probably be a bit noticeable if you want to take it for a spin around the city. Or the solar system, or whatever."
I smiled. "I have some ideas." I said, my mind racing with all the improvements and modifications I could implement.
A hologram of Survey flickered into existence next to us. She nodded to Aisha and Tetra before turning to me. "Fleet also has a range of suggestions for upgrades and modifications to the vessel. He is currently returning from the Regency Center with Garment and my replica droid. He is also exceeding the local speed limit by a considerable margin and violating a substantial number of traffic laws."
"Well, I'm glad they were able to wrap up everything for the event preparations." I replied.
I checked in with Fleet and he assured me that there were no police officers who would observe him on his planned route and he had disabled all red-light cameras and similar detection systems. Which was good, but also kind of concerning.
Garment needed to actually be driven back to her studio, as opposed to Tybalt who had been able to slip off and duck through the first available access door. He had already joined us at the ship, finding the highest point on the vessel and thoroughly enjoying the view.
Even with Fleet's capacity for violating road safety laws, there would still be a delay before he could arrive. He was compensating for that by swarming the ship, inside and out, with his tiny vehicles. His excitement was understandable, given that this was the largest single vehicle that had been provided by my power, as well as one with personal significance to me.
"So, is this a 'drop everything' situation, or one of those things that gets filed away for later?" Aisha asked.
I shook my head. "No rush. I mean, there's loads of potential with the tech and lots I'd want to do with the ship, but that's going to take time to work through. And most of it can be farmed out to my duplicates."
I was hitting the end of the duration of my current duplicates, meaning another telepathic share session was coming. Something that was easier now that we had gone through our Synchronicity Event. It would be interesting seeing the sparring match from both sides, including actually being able to try out that triple tech.
It would also be the last set of duplicates formed with a potion that didn't have the benefits of my Titan's Blood power. The next set was going to be a lot more significant. The boosts hadn't affected duration or durability, but added entirely new features to the potion. It was going to be a much stronger link between us, to the point that the telepathic updates might not even be necessary.
"Nothing that will delay the rest of the plans for the night." I continued.
"So, movie night and training?" Aisha asked, looking back in the direction of the computer core.
I nodded. "The Serial Phantasm has reached the point where it can handle active ki effects. Not full magic just yet, but it's getting close."
"That's fine." She said. "I've been meaning to get some Alkahestry practice in. Active ki means it can do remote alchemy and healing, right?"
I nodded. "It can, but emulating the flow of ki through the ground is harder to do accurately. You can practice in there, but it's going to be a bit of an adjustment outside the simulation."
"That's fine." She said, "Adjustment is better than fumbling with basic concepts." She smiled at Tetra. "We can't all be naturals."
"Ki is really close to life fiber energy." Tetra said. "It made Alkahestry easy to learn." She smiled. "And I can stay connected to things I sense with it."
"Seriously?" Aisha asked, looking between us. I nodded. "Shit, I knew that connection thing was big, but… What, can you like, track people? Heal? Do the remote alchemy thing?"
"As Alkahestry functions through connections to the energy currents expressed as the 'Dragon's Pulse', Tetra is able to maintain awareness of any such links due to her inherent abilities facilitated by the combination of ability 274-H-44-Hex-Alpha 'Daedalus' Student' and 390-M-11-Pent 'Titan's Blood'." Survey explained. "It provides an exceptional and perpetual capacity to monitor both individuals and environments, one facilitated by the advantageous timing of her conversion to a Kamui in relation to granted abilities."
"Right." Aisha said. "Not that you're jealous or anything."
"I am pleased at the significance of Tetra's inherent abilities and understand the circumstances that made such advantages possible in her case." Survey's response was a little stiff. Possibly because she had still been lagging behind Tetra in terms of Alkahestry even before Tetra gained the ability to perpetually monitor someone's physical state and location just from being close enough to sense them once.
"So, you're focusing on ki training?" I asked Aisha in an attempt to redirect the conversation.
"Ki stuff, plus a bunch of tech I want to get caught up on, including some of the new stuff. Oh, and Tybalt is going to start on ninja training after he gets back from his night out with Fleet." She explained, glancing up to where Tybalt had curled up on an antenna tower.
I gave her a concerned look. "How much are you planning to cover tonight?" I asked.
"A whole bunch." She replied with a smile. "One of the duplicates got Hera totally smashed and worked out a training schedule for me. Totally blessed and guaranteed to work."
I kept my face neutral as I reached out, both to the duplicate in question and to the workshop records.
"Okay." I said calmly. "This is fairly ambitious for one night."
"There's a lot to cover, and it's got that downtime and lesson plan thing we did this morning." She replied.
"This morning was a group project and it was still over a year's worth of time, no matter how you break it down. You're planning four times as much, on your own?" I asked.
"Yeah?" She said, "I mean, other people will be tagging in as well. You were going to do ki stuff with Tetra, right? And Tybalt's covering the second half of it."
Which meant two years of combat training with Tybalt, on top of all of her planned studies and ki training. Ninja training in the Spiritron simulation wouldn't help with physical conditioning, but that's less of an obstacle now that everyone had activated their Aura. Tybalt could still focus on technique and ki use to some devastating effects.
Devastating was the key word, because he definitely didn't hold back when it came to combat training. Probably a consequence of the proficiency coming from Ares, meaning he approached things with all the care and compassion you would find from the ancient Spartan equivalent of a drill sergeant.
"What's the problem?" She asked. "I mean, you were going to do this kind of stuff too, weren't you?"
There wasn't a good response other than 'it's different for me', but that was the case. In addition to having more life experience, I had multiple life experiences, plus the mentality of a Transformer that was kind of designed for long periods of monotonous tasks without incurring psychological stress. I didn't doubt that the schedule my duplicate put together was perfectly balanced to avoid burnout, but I wasn't comfortable essentially sending Aisha off to a four year college course overnight.
Thankfully, Survey came to the rescue in an exceptionally frank manner.
"While your current training plan would provide an advantageous acquisition of skills and abilities, the intensity of the program and topics of study present a high probability of contributing to behavioral and outlook changes that would attract undue attention in your civilian life." She explained clinically. "Unless you wish to include instruction in infiltration, disguise, and deception techniques, it would be advisable to restrain yourself to a reduced schedule between points of contact with your family members."
Aisha looked a little crestfallen, but nodded. "I guess."
"In that case I can request that Tybalt expand his Ninjutsu program to include social aspects of the martial art which should provide adequate skills to conceal any behavioral changes." Survey offered happily.
"Uh, no." Aisha said. "The other one. The reduced schedule."
Survey nodded without a hint of judgment. "It should be easy enough to truncate the current program. Reducing training time to twenty five percent of the intended length with periods of time external to the simulation should suffice. Still, I would recommend the use of divine abilities as a means of refining the new schedule."
Aisha grinned at me. "Looks like Grandma's getting sloshed tonight. Think she's one of those old people who get really ornery when they drink, or one of the ones who pass out after a single gin and tonic?"
"I have no idea." I said, shaking my head. Even the cut down schedule represented a significant length of time in the simulation, but it was better than the original plan of spending an entire night at several thousand times normal speed.
The concern about losing touch with things outside the Workshop was a something I had considered myself. Really, it was tempting to just jump into the Spiritron core and not come out until you had mastered every technique that could be studied in that level of Serial Phantasm. Unfortunately, I had commitments that needed to be managed in the outside world, not to mention the importance of the few social connections I was still juggling for both the sake of my mental health and Spiritual Energy recovery. Which might actually be the same thing, come to think of it.
At least I didn't need to be the one to talk Aisha down from departing on some kind of training arc like she was a comic book character at the end of a story arc. The new schedule wasn't exactly light, but at least it wasn't the kind of thing that would basically have her coming back as a different person.
Exactly the kind of thing I needed to worry about for myself. Given the kind of threats we were dealing with, limiting time in the Spiritron Core didn't seem like a practical decision, but we still needed to be aware of the impact something like that could have. It had only been capable of its current level of acceleration since this morning and already multi-year excursions were being planned. And that would only get more tempting as it became possible to emulate more advanced concepts and abilities.
"We're still going to be able to cover Star Wars tech, right?" Aisha asked.
"The basics, at least." I said. "What, do you want to make your own lightsaber?" I joked.
"Um, maybe?" She admitted, glancing down. "That's supposed to be a big deal, right? I mean, I at least want to know how they work."
"I'll make sure we cover that, at least." I assured her. Lightsabers weren't that complicated. They were just very precise. Even if she had to fabricate an artificial crystal, Aisha could probably manage the assembly with her current level of Alchemy. It wouldn't be close to what I could make, but it was evident that pretty much nothing was.
I could also teach her how to build a Halo energy sword. Well, I mean a T-1 EW/S. Or potentially a Sangheili fireblade, depending on your preference in terminology. Not as iconic or significant as a lightsaber, but it definitely has a certain appeal, and not just in showing up the stupid plasma loop that Uber tried to fight me with back at the storage yard.
The slow rotation of the constellations passed by with a failed connection to the remaining mote from the Time constellation as Survey announced the arrival of Fleet, Garment, and her own replica droid. The droid was left in the studio as Garment flowed into the workshop. Meanwhile, Fleet appeared in a burst of speed that rivaled some of his maneuvers during the sparring session.
There was a sense of reverence as he regarded the Eleventh Hour. Funny, if I had imagined Fleet freaking out over a Corvette, I probably would have pictured the car rather than the class of ship.
"This ship has seen active combat." He said as he continued to examine the vehicle. It was a statement, not a question.
"To the best of my understanding, yes, it has." I said. "But I don't remember enough to place any specific engagements." Any memories not related to the information and skills provided by Erudition were either incredibly foggy or completely absent. There was enough context to know that Fleet was right about the ship's history, but my recollections were too patchy to fill in the details.
"There is ample room for improvement in the design of this vehicle." He said. "However it would be understandable if you deem it an unnecessary project due to the limited utility of orbital warship with respect to our currently active operations." His tone of voice came across like a kid forcing himself to say that he would understand if Christmas had to be canceled.
"No." I said as I looked up at the ship. At my ship. It was much smaller than the city ship I had printed in seconds, but it was special. It was mine, and that meant something. "We're going to do an overhaul. I want to see how far we can take this."
Fleet nodded once, but I could literally feel the excitement radiating off him. "What do you believe we should include in the rebuild?"
I smiled. "Everything." I looked up at the ship, the vessel that had been mine in another universe. The UNSC Eleventh Hour. "I want as much technology, magic, and supporting features as we can cram into one vessel. Everything we can come up with, combine, or figure out how to integrate, I want in that ship."
And I wanted a reason to take it out of the workshop. Any reason. It was tempting fate to a horrible degree, but I was actually looking forward to the next Endbringer attack. People could kick up a fuss over displays of force and restricted technology, but when it came to Endbringers everything was fair game. And I was going to see the end of at least one of them from the bridge of my own ship.
"So, that 'everything'?" Aisha asked. "Does that include the flying ship technology from the power that gave you the pirate flag?"
"Sky Machinist." I said. My duplicates had managed to transmute the moonstone necessary for that technology, but I hadn't done anything with it yet.
"Moonstone integration would substantially improve atmospheric maneuverability." Fleet said innocently. He was already digging through the technology records in the data core, flagging systems that he was either recommending for immediate integration or further research and development. I wasn't sure about replacing the MAC with an oversized Super-Dimension-Energy Cannon, but I could definitely see the appeal.
"I think we can work something out." I said with a grin. Really, I was ready to go full project-car on this ship in addition to turning it into a test bed for whatever I could come up with, or whatever my power decided to give me in the future. It was already excessive in its base form. I might as well see how far I could take it.
After a quick tour of the crew areas of the ship, which were rather sparse considering the size of the vessel, everyone fell into the familiar patterns of winding down to close out the night with what had become the unofficial end of the day. Movie night was coming up, which meant a trip into the Spiritron Core. A longer trip for those who were set for a training or study program, and a shorter one so Fleet and Tybalt could make it to Faultline's club.
I was a little concerned about that, but I didn't want to pester either of them about it. I was happy that Fleet was taking the initiative on something like that and knew that Tybalt would be able to manage any situation that might put Fleet on the back foot. Lines of communication would always be open if they needed help, but I was prepared to stay out of this particular event.
While everyone else congregated towards the computer core I had one last thing to do before the end of my duplicate's duration. Another trip into the omni-sphere and another opportunity to experience the perspective of my duplicates in all its manic and wonderful glory.
It came in a wave. Every memory, every thought and inclination, every shred of inspiration that had occurred to my duplicates across the limited span of their existence. I got to experience the construction of the shadow-construct that I'd fused with as a Transformer. Not just the assembly, but the design process stretching back to the first moments of inspiration. I got to see Tetra's procedure from an external perspective as my duplicates played supporting roles to my own efforts. I got to experience the joys and frustrations of the sparring match as every overpowered attack they could throw at me and Tetra was defeated with what had come across as much less effort than we were actually putting into the fight.
All those moments flowed into me, surrounded by the context of my duplicate's unique perspectives on life. It was an experience even stronger than before, boosted by our enhanced and growing psionic abilities.
And then it was over. And my duplicates were gone. Another duration spent and another potion lined up and ready to go.
Except this time it was a potion brewed with the power of primordial deities. The strength of my Titan's Blood power had infused the mixture, expanding its effects into a new direction. To something stronger and better than it had been before.
I downed the glowing liquid in two gulps and like before each duplicate stepped out from me. Unlike before, they didn't separate, at least not on every level. There was a connection there. Well, there had always been, but it had been in one direction. Certain abilities that my duplicates used could draw from my reserves, but without being able to provide anything back.
That wasn't the case anymore. They weren't just pulling from my pool of spiritual energy, they were actively sharing it. Able to deplete it, but also help it recover. And that wasn't the only link. The spiritual connection went much deeper, extending to almost every metaphysical level. Any non-physical aspects of training, development, or recovery were shared, and would be retained when the duration expired.
It was something that was going to make a much stronger imprint on the Exsphere. We were going to see stacking benefits very soon. After that, it was a short road before it became a Cruxis Crystal.
"Yeah, we should probably keep an eye on that." My first duplicate said, following along with my chain of thought. "We're dealing with divine concerns without spontaneously manifesting angel wings."
"If that's the only downside of this, I think we can manage." I said.
"Hey, seems like a good thing to me." The second duplicate said. "No more wasted magic or psionic training. Better energy management, retained experience, good all around."
"Yeah, no question." I said. It was true, but the strength of the connection would take some getting used to. I had only started to adjust to being in telepathic contact with my duplicates. The spiritual link had been an unexpected development to say the least.
"Great." The first said. "So, you go to movie night. We'll start on the to do lists. Including updating Aisha's training plan."
"Libations to Hera?" I asked.
"Hey, don't disparage that. I bet Hera makes a great drunk grandma. Definitely seems like the type." The second added. I just shook my head before focusing for a moment and teleporting to the computer core, where I encountered an unexpected problem.
It was Aisha's turn to pick the movie.
I wouldn't have expected that to be a problem, but apparently she was paralyzed by the choice to the point of holding off her entry to the computer core.
"Aisha, it's fine." I assured her. "Nobody is going to mind what you pick. I mean, Survey picked a foreign language film and nobody judged her for her choice."
"They did. Repeatedly." Survey offered unhelpfully. She had returned her physical body from the scrying chamber for the purposes of movie night and seemed keen to minimize the time away from her divination tools. "Judgements were made both before, after, and during the viewing."
"I'm pretty sure those were mostly about the mandatory Swedish language course, not the film itself." I clarified.
"The majority of judgements included topics of both the film and the course, despite the language course's utility with respect to the alternate language track on the musical rendition of the Ungodly Hour provided by the band Sabaton." Survey replied.
I decided that pursuing that line of discussion wouldn't be particularly helpful. "Aisha, it's fine. Just pick something you like."
She let out a laugh. "What, some cartoon I saw as a kid? Of a rom com or mindless action film from the summer?"
"Tybalt picked a cartoon, and Fleet chose an action film." I said.
"Yeah, but those were classics." She said, "Maybe I should pick something from your power? Like, give us more context."
"Aisha, this doesn't need to be some kind of support exercise. And it's not about how cultured you are or the refinement of your tastes." Survey bristled slightly at that. "The point is getting to know each other, not impressing the group. They want to see what kind of movie you enjoy."
Behind me Garment made an encouraging gesture while Fleet gave a simple nod that was eventually mirrored by the Matrix, but it was Tetra who stepped forward.
"I'd like to know what kinds of movies you like to watch." She said to Aisha. "What was the last movie you really liked?"
"Fuck." Aisha slumped slightly. "You're not going to like it."
"Doesn't matter. Your choice." I said.
"Okay. You remember that Maggie Holt adaptation from a couple years ago?" She asked.
I felt myself tense. "The one that covered the Abyss arc?" I asked.
"Yeah." Aisha said nervously. "I mean, I know it had too many special effects, and that they went overboard with the guest stars, and it kind of butchered the adaptation, but it was really popular. I saw it the weekend it came out and everyone was talking about it for weeks. Actually made school kind of bearable for a while." She looked up and saw the expression on my face. "What? Bad choice? Is it because of how they handled the Bogeyman stuff with Blake?"
"No, that was fine." I said, schooling my features. "It was a good movie. Saw it when it came out."
I had seen it in my second year of college. Early in the year, because of course they'd release a movie like that for Halloween. Half the engineering class had gotten together to see it, including Sabah. It was back before she started avoiding the group events, but I had been the one to invite her to the movie. And we had watched the movie together and talked about it afterwards and I had actually entertained thoughts that things were going well.
Wonderful experience at the time, horrible when looked at in hindsight. But that was well behind me now. I couldn't change those mistakes, just make sure I didn't repeat them. Memories like that were still raw, even with the full weight of everything that had happened to me since getting my powers. But I could deal with them. Put it behind me and move forward. Sabah was in my past. It wasn't like I'd get an opportunity to make up for those mistakes, but at least I wouldn't have to worry about repeating them.
"So, it's okay?" Aisha asked.
"Of course." I said. Tetra was clearly excited to see the film, and Survey had accepted it for its cultural relevance, if nothing else. "Come on, it's time for movie night."
Jumpchain abilities this chapter:
Erudition (Halo) 600:
Ever since the rise of Dr. Catherine Halsey, many were on the lookout for who might become the next intellectual prodigy. Someone who was able to perform as well as she could, someone who could help turn the tide of the war. With this, that someone is now you. Your cognitive capabilities are on par with the good doctor now, making you exceptionally well-versed in nearly all modern human sciences while holding specialties in at least a few fields. Of course, thanks to that you are also rather exceptional at reverse-engineering technology, which allows you to do such things like obtain working knowledge of the mechanics behind Covenant technology and even begin to understand the 'hows' behind some of the mundane pieces of Forerunner technology currently littering the galaxy. Perhaps you could eventually reclaim them. 'Erudition' allows you to make Smart A.I.s
Gladius-class Heavy Corvette (Halo) Free:
While this ship is more meant for patrols and security roles rather than an actual ship of war, the Gladius-class serves its function well. Its armaments are somewhat smaller than most ships as a result, carrying only one small Magnetic Accelerator Cannon and two Archer missile pods with six Rampart point-defense cannons, but it does come with an extensive sensor suite to scan for anomalies and actively track targets for other ships to find and utterly obliterate. Seeing as it's two hundred and forty-three meters in length however, it would be wise to simply retreat from any Covenant space presence.
-Slipspace Drive: The Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine finally allowed Humanity access to fasterthan-light travel in the form of Slipstream Space, and thus opened their path to the stars themselves. This device works by creating ruptures in between normal space and Slipspace while surrounding the ship in a quantum field to protect them from the dangers of the alternate dimension. The engine itself does not propel the vessel through Slipspace however; it relies on the engines to do so. The more powerful the traditional propulsion of the ship, the faster it goes. However, normal models tend to be erratic and jumps can take from several weeks to months of travel time depending on the distance, with exit destinations becoming off by a matter of hundreds of thousands of kilometers. A dangerous gambit, but it's better than nothing.
-Self-Destruct Function: When it was clear that the Covenant were engaging in a war of extermination rather than one of conquest, the Cole Protocol was initiated. One of those requirements was that in the event of capture, a UNSC ship is to self-destruct to prevent the alien menace from collecting vital data such as navigation coordinates. It's a drastic measure, but ultimately necessary to prevent them from finding the most important of Human worlds like Reach or Earth.
-Escape Pods/Life Boats: While going down with the ship is often seen as an honorable act so that the Covenant do not gleam anything useful from your mind, that doesn't always have to be the case with everyone else. What if you're transporting some VIPs or you want the rest of your crew to survive? Don't make the same mistake as the ships of old. This gives your ship a slew of escape pods and lifeboats dotted all along the vessel, allowing the whole crew to evacuate on a moment's notice if something goes wrong. It could be a lifesaver.
-Life Support System: People need air to breathe. There's just no way of getting around this, as even the mighty SPARTAN soldiers have an air requirement. That's why every ship has air scrubbers and environmental control so that not only can you keep a stable atmosphere going but also to stay comfortable while on these long journeys as well.