Enjoy guys


Thankfully there were no further delays as Alt walked down the corridors of the ship, though he could already hear troops all talking about what should be done about it all. He knew that listening in as he walked would be the worst idea but at the same time he needed to make sure that nothing too bad was being planned. He didn't think for a moment that they would trying something like a mutiny or a coup but he needed to be safe as it wasn't him he was worried about.

Though thankfully two things seemed to stop that from happening, the first was his own little speech about how dangerous the enemy was and how deadly of threat they represented, it was hard to stay angry at your CO when the enemy wanted to wipe out your species. The second was Diggs, even as others were taking Thomas away, he could hear the Seargent of the ODST's taking command of the situation and berating anyone who so much as muttered bad words about him.

Normally Alt would be concerned about Diggs safety but he shook that thought free, Diggs knew what he was doing and there was no way in hell he didn't command the absolute respect from those who served under him. Alt even winced a little when he heard what Diggs was telling Thomas what he was going to do to the younger man when he made it out of the med bay. Or what was going to try and do, it depended on whether or not Alt let him stay on board at all. He wasn't sure what the best action would be, instead leaving it to the others. He'll ask Khane and get her input on the situation.

Entering his dad's lab, he expected what he saw. Everyone on his dad's team seemed to have forgotten about the tasks they had before and seemed to surround the containment unit with their computers, all of them working on something related to their new friend "what about sign language?" one of them asked the group.

Though the others shook their head "there's to many appendages, we'd never be able to tell what it's trying to say"

"Ok, what about a type of bioluminescence" another added "there is a faint trace of colour along it's skin" she added and the others did agree for a moment.

Alt ignored them for a minute and focused on the Huragok, the alien seemed to be floating there without too much trouble but something seemed wrong with it, all of its limbs where dangling without much movement and its head was barely being held up. It almost looked at least to Alt's eyes, either board or depressed. Something he didn't like at all.

"Everyone" they all turned to the door at the sound of his voice, many of them straightened up at his presence "what's going on?" he asked them all though he was only looking at his dad.

Stevens stepped away from the computer and turned to look at him "we finished the first phase of scans and tests, we can say pretty confidently that the Huragok isn't a danger to others, at least from a disease sense. So, we need someone to make the final call on if we let it out"

Alt slowly nodded at the situation, it made sense. Even if they were all a hundred percent sure that the Huragok was a slave, it was still a complete unknown and they had no idea what it would do, or even something like what they eat or drink.

"Which I still think isn't his call to make" one of them said as Alt walked around them and towards the containment unit. He did notice that the alien seemed to perk up at his presence "no offence sir" he added as he turned to look at Alt "but while you're in charge you're not captain of the ship and the protocol is clear" he added.

Another fair point, yes Atlas was in charge of the mission but this was Khanes ship. That was never in question, when it came to something like letting an alien roam free, that was something that couldn't be done without Khanes approval. Not to mention Alt wasn't sure himself that he wanted this guy to have free reign, god only knows how the rest of the crew would react.

"What were you doing just now?" Alt asked them as he tilted his head at the Huragok, the alien floated slightly higher so their heads were level with each other. He couldn't help but think that the alien was trying to tell him something, though he didn't know what.

"Now that we know it's not a threat to us from a sickness standpoint, the next phase on integration is attempted communication" Stevens started to explain to him "we're trying to come up with the best plan for that but it's going to be a slow process"

That went without saying, learning a new language from scratch with nothing known previously is a very long process, even for someone like him it would take time. At least that was assuming there was nothing that could help them in the process.

That was when something stood out to him, the Huragok wasn't looking at him, its head was facing him true but its eyes weren't. While it didn't have pupils like humans, there was a very small lump in each of its eyes that he assumed worked the same as pupils in humans. Using his mind to create a perfect line of where they were all pointing and turning his head to see what it was looking at. He saw that a tablet that was resting on a table "lockdown the lab" he said out loud.

The others all turned to look at him but after a moment, the one of the team closest to the door 'Adam' if he remembered correctly, he pressed a couple of keys on the side of the door and Alt could hear the sound of locks being engaged. Then without a word, he reached forward and pressed the correct combination on the unit "Alt, you sure about this?" his dad asked him, clearly not very happy with the idea.

"Yeah" he said, surprising himself with how certain he was. He pressed the final key and the door opened for the Huragok. There was a small hiss as the air seal and magnetic locks released themselves. As it heard the sounds, the alien perked up and moved forward before the door even opened, the eagerness was expected considering it's been in there for nearly ten hours now.

Alt gripped the handle and opened the door, stepping back as he did so the alien would have room to move away from the unit. All of his dad's team watched with a good mixture of caution and interest "mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" it... said? The second it was free, it moved over to Alt when it was and he stayed still when it did so. Then something very surprising happened, it brought its head forward and rubbed it against Alt cheek.

The act caught Alt and everyone else by surprised. Alt's mind was sent back to when he was a kid, he and dad had very recently gone to Reach for the first time and Steven's wanted to do something special for him, so he took Alt on a day trip to a small zoo. It had a small petting zoo within it, and he remembered laughing when a young Moa came up to him and rubbed itself against him.

Bringing his mind back to the present, Alt smiled slightly at the gesture though it did seem quite awkward "err... your welcome?" he said taking another step back while giving his dad a look but only getting a shrug in return. The Huragok floated away from him slightly before turning and moving towards the table. One of his dad's team looked like they wanted to stop it but a shake from Alt got them to not move.

Well, expect for all the notes that where being both written and typed down "mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" it said again as it looked to the table and saw a data pad. It reached forward and made to grab it.

"What are you doing?" Alt asked it, at the question. The Huragok turned its head to look at him.

"mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" it hummed as one of its limbs pointed to the device in a poking gesture. It was clear enough that it wanted it though he had no idea why.

"I don't understand you" he said slowly and gently, he took a step towards it and thankfully it didn't shy away or look intimidated by him.

"mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" it hummed at him again before it turned around and reached for the data pad. No one stopped it, as it's two most forward limbs reached forward, to the shock of the others, the front of them slip open in three directions, pieces of flesh pulling back and giving way to what seemed like thousands of hair thin strands of the same flesh as the rest of it.

Alt and everyone else watched with amazement as with all those little strands, the Huragok picked up the data pad and seemingly without any trouble took it apart pieces by pieces. Alt was amazed by the process and he started to get an idea about why this guy was being used the way it was. If it was smart enough to take the machine apart so seamlessly, it would have to be smart "mmmmmmmmmmmmmm" it said again as the data pad was completely taken apart and was being held by the strands that came out of one it's limbs.

Then it turned and started to move towards the wall, where a table full of lab and computer equipment rested "are we just letting this happen?" one of them said, if he remembered her name right then it was Lucy who spoke up.

"I think that would be for the best" Steven's added as they all watched the alien move towards the computer and used its other limb to take pieces of it apart as well.

"This is amazing" Alt started as it took a couple of steps forward "I'm only just keeping up" a statement that caused no small amount of shock from the others.

The Huragok turned to look at them all, it's limbs full of different pieces of tech and for a moment it looked at them "mmmmmmmmmmmm" was what it said before, to the amazement of everyone present. It started to put the two machines together into one thing, all while it floated calmly in the air.

Alt could only stare in shock as he tried to keep up with every single piece being fused together, every circuit, screw, ship and piece of plastic to keep it all together "incredible" was all he could say. The Huragok started to move forward slightly as it finished. What was left was a data pad that was once a small tablet turn into the general shape of a laptop.

Then to his surprise, the Huragok turned to look at him as its limbs closed up and turned back to the regular thicker ones he's used to seeing. It looked to Alt and then beckoned him forward towards it, seeing no reason not to. He moved forward until he stopped just next to the alien. The screen showed a blue screen within nothing on it "mmmmmmmmmmmmm" it said as he lifted its limb forward and placed on what he assumed was where the mouse pad would be.

He and all the others watched with interest as the limb which was the same type of blue flesh colour, slowly started to show small changes of colour that seemed to just show bellow the outer layer of skin. It was defiantly a form of bioluminescence, that was easy to notice but what was harder the believe was that when he looked at the screen.

Text started to show.

"Greetings, I am Slightly Deflated. I wish to request the exchange of data" the screen showed them. All those present collectively dropped their jaws at the sight "holy shit" a mutter came from Lucy.

Alt himself found his mind going over all the things he could ask, all the answers that they might get. Though he was able to come up with the most important "you're slightly deflated? Do you need help, medical attention? Wait, can you understand me without this machine?" he asked. Turning to look at the alien.

"mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" it said again but the others all turned to the screen "I do not require repairs at this time, Slightly Deflated is the designation I was given upon my creation. I am able to understand you without the aid of the machine. Is my request of data exchange being granted?"

"This is amazing" Steven's said as he slowly started to make his way towards the front of the group "what data are you requesting?" he asked, still unsure about what it meant, since it could have been anything.

Upon hearing the question, Slightly Deflated turned its head to look at him "I request data regarding the creator" the screen showed as one of the alien's limbs reached up and pointed at Alt. Something that caused no small amount of confusion.

Alt opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he saw his dad looked just as confused "creator" Alt said in a low voice, but it was loud enough to be heard, he himself was very shocked at what was happening. A small thread of hope appeared in his chest, wondering if he would get a chance to know more about who he is or where he came from that didn't require a fight.

"Correct, you have the aura of the creators around you. The others were declared heretics and traitors by the high council" the message was typed up and after he read it, Alt made a quick decision "you are an unknown, but you are different to them"

He quickly took a couple of steps back and turned around the face the door. Next to it was a small panel that was just used to lock it down but he moved and pressed a button "Lab A to bridge, this is Atlas, how copy?" he spoke into it.

The answer came not even a few seconds later "solid copy Lab A" Khanes voice came through "what is it?" she asked.

"Emergency override, disregard all previous orders. Change course immediately for the Sol system, get me to Earth as fast as possible. I need to speak to Lord Hood immediately" his voice was firm and uncompromising, Alt has yet to make this type of command before as he never had a reason to but that didn't mean he couldn't.

"Understood sir, making the course corrections now. ETA to Earth will be twenty-nine hours" Khanes voice was very much professional, that wasn't too much of a surprise considering she was surrounded by the other crew members on the bridge. He didn't doubt she would have questions and would even be angry when she learns that he let the alien out of containment without her knowing.

At least that's what he assumed and that would only be a thing if she decided that she wanted to spend the night with him again and he doubted it. That only happened every couple of days. Turning back to the Hura... Slightly Deflated, he came back forward "you called me creator, why?" he asked.

"mmmmmmmmmmmmmm" he moaned at him before all those present turned to look back at the screen "You give off the aura of the creators, those that designed and built my kind. After the firing of the great array, the creators left the care of their technology to us. We protect the technology until the creators return" it told them.

"And these creators" Steven's started before Alt could ask "who were they? What happened to them?" Alt didn't interject as he would very much like to know himself.

"The creators are the Kryptonians, the holders of the Mantal. After the firing of the great array that was used to fight against the parasite. Sacrificing themselves in order to eradicate the enemy. Where were to wait and keep the technology safe and functional until some returned to govern it once again" it told them and Alt was taking everything he was hearing to a vault in his mind that he wouldn't forget any time soon.

It seems he wasn't the only one either, he could tell from the looks at the others that they were paying just as much attention as he was or trying to at the very least. Getting all the details he has would have been tricky considering the limitations of the human mind "why were you on that ship?" he found himself asking quickly "is it because the others of my kind lead them?" he added.

"That is incorrect" the text on the screen said at his command "we do not serve the traitors; we were built to maintain and care for the technology left behind by the creators. That is our purpose, those that you call the Covenant have taken that technology. So, we go with them to forfil our purpose"

The amount of information they were getting was staggering and Alt now had no doubt in his mind that Slightly Deflated was better than any prisoner they could have gotten otherwise "you've said that before, traitors. What makes the others of my kind traitors?" he asked.

"The traitors are those who followed Captain General Zod and aided him in his coup against the ruling council of Krypton. Captain General Zod led an assault on the home of the Great Builder Jor-El. The result was the death of the Great Builder and the capture of the Captain General and his subordinates. Through methods that are unknown to me, the follows of Captain General Zod were freed from their prison and now lead the others. They are worshipped as gods and the lesser races follow their will with little question"


'This was more information than we ever thought we would get' he thought to himself.

He didn't leave the lab for the entire journey to Earth, while the others came and went. Both for rest, food and the like, Alt didn't leave for a single moment. Taking in all the information he could get, the amount of information he was getting was staggering, it was all he ever wanted.

He learnt so much about his people, where they came from and how they evolved. He was told about their society, how they could create the most impressive and amazing pieces of technology that scattered around the galaxy. Alt found himself beyond impressive when he was told the scale of what his people, the Kryptonians where capable of. Dyson spheres, artificial planets and a mastery of Slip Space that they wouldn't hope to get for generations.

After a couple of hours, Alt asked the question that perhaps he wanted to know the answer to the most. He asked what happened to his people, were they went. No-one else was present when he asked that one.

Slightly Deflated told him of how the Kryptonians came into contact with another species. That was what truly surprised him, the other species where humans. He had to do a double take on that one and even brought the entire team right back to the lab so they could listen to this. The Huragok didn't know every detail, but it was enough to inform them that soon after their first meeting between the two species turned into a battle and from there a war.

Slightly Delated spoke about how it lasted for centuries, though it wasn't until they believed that Humanity was wiped out did the truth of the matter come forth. The war started because humanity was aggressively pushing into the Kryptonians borders expending their own. But that wasn't the case, they weren't expanding.

They were running.

Doing anything they could that would save them. They couldn't do it, humanity wasn't able to survive a war with the Kryptonians while at the same time fighting another enemy that was behind them. The question came not from him but Steven's, how where they fighting?

That was when the most horrifying information was brought forth. The parasite, an organism that took over all they came across, a monster that wouldn't be stopped, the more they killed the more its numbers grew. They were all told that just like humanity before them, the Kryptonians tried everything they could to stop the advancing horde, but nothing seemed to work.

Except for the final option, the last master work of the great builder. Something called the Halo array. Slightly Deflated didn't know much about them, but from what it could tell them, was terrifying. Eighteen massive devices that when put together were powerful enough to wipe out all life in the galaxy.

Which is what happened before, by wiping out all life, they eliminated not only the parasites but their food source as well so if any came here, they would starve. While the pragmatist in him could understand how should thing could work and might even be needed. The more morally comparing part of him was horrified that such a thing could be created.

One of the team as asked if it was already then used then how could they all be here. Slightly Deflated spoke of it was thanks to the work of the Librarian, wife of the builder that they were here, that before the rings where fired. She took members of every race and species she could find and after the rings were used, she placed protocols in place that would release those members onto different worlds so they could begin again.

Alt then made an executive decision that all of this information would be classified to the highest order. This could break almost every religion they had, it would cause complete chaos.

Then of course came the more modern information, mainly about the enemy. It told them about how the Covenant operated and what their chain of command functioned. About their leader Fura-Ur, the second to the Captain General and her forces for the sole purpose of finding Zod so he could lead them again. The San'Shyuum who were able to free her and the other Kryptonians from the prison they were placed in by the ruling council after their attempted coup.

Then one by one they brought in the other races to serve their will, then killing all those who got in their way. Over time their empire has grown to what it is now. It told them about their weapons, ships, history. Everything.

Not soon after that came arguably the most useful information, about Slightly Deflated itself and what it was exactly. It told them that it and the others like it where more commonly called engineers, that they were used for building and maintenance. That they only serve the Covenant because they carry the Kryptonian technology. That was when Alt got the idea that they could use them for themselves instead.

He asked if that was something that could be done, and much to his and everyone else's surprise and joy, it told them that it would serve its purpose. Since Alt carry's the same aura as the builder, it would serve him as best as it was able. This was more than they ever could have hoped, in his mind. Alt was already preparing a report that stressed to the highest order that if any other Huragok was seen in the field they must be recovered by any means necessary. The strategic value they have was undeniable.

"All hands, prep for Slip Space exit" Khane's voice came through the com system overhead that seemed to knock him out this very long conversation that he just had. It was him, his dad a one more from the team, Matt if he was remembering correctly.

"Right" he said standing up "as much as it pains me too, I need to leave and get ready. Need to make sure Hood meets us at the dock" he turned started to make his way out "wait!" he stopped suddenly and turned around to face the others "never mind that, it'll be better if I bring him here. It'll be easier for everyone"


Lord Hood allowed himself a small amount of respite that came in the form of leaning back in his chair and letting out a sigh. On the left of him, he turned and looked out the large window that gave him a great view of earth, the home world. For a good couple of years now, Hood has made this Orbital defence platform his personal base of operations. The reports coming in where not getting any better, there have been three more interactions with the Covenant since the Atlas contingency was called and all three ended in their loss.

It was becoming very clear that if they were going to have any chance at winning this, their rules of war were going to need to change. They would need to stick to guerilla warfare and hit and run tactics, that was unless one of their worlds was at risk. In which case they would have no choice but to stand and defend them.

The only solace he found in this was that one of the worlds they just lost was in prior insurrectionists hands. Thankfully it was one of the worlds under their control that they were able to provide weapons, vehicles and ammunition too. At the very least they could die defending their home... ok, they would have done that against them but at least they defended their worlds against those who would destroy it.

He hated to admit it out loud but if they couldn't find an edge against them then the odds of them coming out of this war in any way that was salvageable was very low. He hated the fact that they found themselves relaying on Atlas as much as they were, first it was his prowess on the battlefield, his ideas that can only work with him and now it was his research plans.

He liked Atlas, he thought he was a good man and Hood wasn't questioning his loyalties, but he hated the fact that this war effort was starting to become dependent on him. If they lose Atlas the blow to moral alone would be huge not to mention all the plans he has would be over as well.

They would have hollowed out and made a Marathon class Cruiser useless as he knew very well that the only one who would make anything useful from that would be him. The sound of a small chime caught his attention and he looked to his computer screen, seeing that someone was requesting entrance to his office.

Taking one more deep breath, he sat up and pressed a couple of keys on his keyboard. The door opened and he watched as his secretary came in with the dress uniform that was expected of her, it was a professional environment, hence the blonde hair tied back in a tight bun "What is it Jessica?" he asked her as she walked forward, he didn't look at her as much as give her a glance while he read the report on his computer screen.

"Sir, the Ajax has just arrived in system" Lord Hood looked up as he heard that and frowned slightly in confusion. It was deffinelty unexpected. He and he suspected many other high-ranking members of the government kept a close eye on Atlas and the Ajax "Atlas is requesting your presence on board immediately. Says it's a priority one situation"

"Priority one?" he asked back, it was unexpected. He was aware that Atlas had a mission to take a prisoner, it was most likely related to that "he wants me to come aboard his ship?"

"He refused to say anything else on the matter" was what she said back.

It was unexpected, that much was true and if being honest it was down right insulting. Though he kept himself in check for a moment, knowing that Atlas wouldn't do something like this unless he had a very good reason, if not then he could reprimand him for it in person. Standing up he grabbed his cap and started to walk out "have a ship and escort prepped" he ordered.

"Yes sir" she said with a salute before she reached for her waist to grab her radio and make the call. He didn't doubt that a ship would be ready before he made it to the hanger.


And we shall call it here. I hope now most of you know why getting a Huragok is such a big deal now, these guys are floating super computers that act little mini builders. This is a huge win for humanity and now Atlas has a much better idea about where he came from and what they're facing. The engineer not knowing everything is expected but what it does know is very useful for humanity going forward.

I wanted to say that there's going to be a delay between this chapter and next as I'm going to a festival so there's not going to be a chapter on the 10th and it will be pushed back to the 15th

Anyway, let me know what you all think and I'll see you in the next chapter.

Next Story Update: A New Guardian