The Jungle - Half An Hour Later
"We should have neutralized them."
"And as I keep telling you, that would have been a bad idea. Greek mythology is filled with stories of monsters and creatures being slain, only to have the gods come back and curse the slayers. Plus, I highly doubt the owner of this island would appreciate the wanton slaughter of her subjects."
Grim bit back his reply to that. He understood Phoebe's reasoning. The Spartan's education from Deja had been extensive and covered many of the aspects of Greek mythology. At least those that the higher-ups deemed relevant. Stories such as that of Prometheus, Achilles, and Perseus were meant to encourage critical thinking as well as hold the children's attention for other lessons. But his militaristic mind was struggling to accept it. He wasn't a politician or diplomat, he was a soldier, and right now all he saw was a threat that needed to be addressed.
Phoebe sighed into his helmet as she continued to rationalize her decision. "Look, I understand why you want to neutralize them but think of it like this. They don't appear to be journeying too far beyond the island. Because if they were, I would have noticed it when we connected with the satellites. Ships don't just go missing without some sort of notice from the government. Which means their impact is isolated to this island and surrounding waters. Making them only dangerous to those that manage to end up on this island." She reasoned.
Grim seemed to absorb that with the stoicism his generation was known for, i.e. blanked-faced and quiet. Phoebe took that as a sign that she had won, or at least pushed the argument out to a later date. Preferably when they both weren't trapped on an invisible island.
Thus, she turned back to monitoring the jungle's surrounding radiation signature. It was a scant hope, but she figured that there'd at least be something the suit's sensor suite would be able to detect. If not, it gave her something else to do as Grim traversed through the jungle. Currently, he was carving a path through the foliage with his kukri. Cutting through dense vines as if they were little more than spider webs hanging in his way.
With another swipe, a beam of sunlight appeared in front of them. Cutting its way through the shadows that surrounded them. Grim brushed a low-hanging vine out of his way as he sheathed his blade. The ground squelched underneath his boots as he walked towards the light.
He emerged upon the edge of a small meadow with a stream running through it. Off to his left, the ground rose sharply upwards. Forming the start of another large cliff-face. To his right, the jungle seemed to surround this small area of grass and flowers. But in the middle of the patch of flowers, laid a large crater. Its rounded edges digging into the earth at a sixty-degree angle, facing away from the North-eastern approach.
Grim explored around the deep hole, gauging the size of the craft that had once rested there. Its angle of approach suggested it wasn't a controlled landing, but there weren't any pieces of debris floating around so it must have remained relatively intact. He paused in his examination and crouched down near the bottom of the crater. He reached down and crushed a bit of dirt between his fingers. His suit ran a quick scan on the minerals and radiation within.
"I'm showing elevated levels of radiation along with another energy signature." Phoebe read off.
"Possible chemical leak?"
"No. The… the signature doesn't match anything I have on file. It's closest to light or heat, but doesn't fit into either… Strange." Phoebe explained with a bit of awe seeping into her tone.
Grim cleaned his fingers with a quick flick as his eyes scanned the surrounding jungle, looking for signs of where the craft might have gone. But there was nothing. No drag marks or evidence of the craft ever leaving the crash site. It was as if it had just teleported away.
He then stood and started to make his way towards the surrounding trees. The stream babbled quietly beside him as he walked. He panned his gaze towards its waters and noticed for the first time a strange glow within. Making the water appear a bright cyan. He crouched down and dipped his hand into its flow. Instantly, a cacophony of readings and data appeared on his HUD as Phoebe cycled through.
"It's not bacteria or any other sort of organic compound," Phoebe stated. "It reads as if the water were supercharged with additional oxygen molecules, yet it's maintaining its chemical structure as H2O and not changing into trioxide or another chemical."
"Organically?"
"No, there's another energy signature but it doesn't match that of the crater. This one must be isolated to that of the island." Phoebe deduced.
"Can we trace either signature back to its source?" Grim asked as he stood.
"One second," Phoebe answered as another group of readings appeared on his HUD. This one is more focused on the surrounding air and the elements within. After a few seconds, a bar graph appeared as Phoebe read through the data. The bars raised and lowered until the center-most bar blinked twice and the surrounding bars disappeared. All the other readings blinked away as the bar was moved to the right side of his HUD.
"Alright, I've isolated the energy signal in the water. We should be able to trace it back to its source and hopeful whatever it was that fell out of the sky."
Grim said nothing as he moved towards the cliff face and readied his grappleshot, the bar rising slightly as he moved.
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Circe's Palace
Circe's heels clicked as she made her through her throne room. A pride of lions trailed behind her as she walked. Their golden fur matched the surrounding purple, gold, and white theme she had chosen. Long, purple curtains flowed down from the surrounding walls with golden embroidery. Her feasting tables were carved from the whitest of marble and decorated with golden silverware. Behind each golden chair, a pillar of cyan water flowed down, surrounded by thin strands of gold. As if it were trying to climb up the pillar of water like plants do trees.
At the back of the room, and overlooking its magnificence, sat her throne. A large raised platform that was covered in a purple mattress and white pillows. It allowed her to stretch out while also offering additional space for her many animals, Nymphs, and…guests.
She quickly ascended her steps and spun, throwing herself backward and into her throne's waiting arms. She closed her eyes and huffed out a frustrated sigh. All around her, the pride settled. Taking up whatever space they could as they awaited their master's orders. One of the braver lions nudged her shoulder with his snout. Causing an annoyed groan to emerge from the woman.
"Not now Theron." She gently scolded as she pushed the lion away.
The goddess was frustrated. Hermes has been more annoying as of late. The messenger god had been making a sport of trespassing on her island and stealing away one or two of her Nymphs. Only to return them days later with their memories expunged. In doing so, he was weakening her enchantments surrounding the island as well as the general beauty of the island. Such as the large crater that had yet to be repaired after some sort of craft tumbled onto her island.
When she managed to capture Hermes in a grouping of vines and plants a few days ago, the god had remained frustratingly aloof as to his motives. Only answering with the blank platitude that Zeus himself had ordered this little game. Beyond that, the god was just as in the dark as Circe. He had then broken out of her trap and raced away, but not before taking away another of her Nymphs. This time, it was one of her newest servants. A young woman named Grace that had washed up on her shores with a group of revellers. Circe was pulled from her thoughts as another of her servants approached her throne.
"Mistress!" The young woman cried.
Circe sighed loudly as she forced herself back up. She eyed the nervous woman before her. She was dressed in a black tunic, highlighting the pale white of her skin and the amber curls in her hair. Like all her Nymphs, the woman was strikingly beautiful.
"Yes, Barbara?" Circe prodded gently, trying her best to keep her frustration out of her voice. It wasn't her fault that Circe was so bothered.
"One of the sirens brings news of a new visitor to our isle. A large, dark knight she says." Barbara explained. She made sure to maintain her bow and keep her eyes firmly planted on the purple carpet below her.
"A knight?" Circe questioned, her tone curious if not a little amused.
"Yes, Mistress. She describes a tall man, completely encased in darkened metal."
"Tell me, Barbara. You are one of my newest daughters are you not?" Circe asked.
"Yes, Mistress," Barbara answered nervously.
"Do knights still exist in this new age? I must admit, my memory is a bit hazy but I can't recall another instance of a knight on my isle."
Barbara shifted uncomfortably as she thought out her answer. "No Mistress. Knights and knighthood fell out of fashion a few hundred years ago. The title is now more symbolic and exceedingly rare. The world also no longer uses plate armor like the siren described. It's more focused on Kevlar and concealed plates."
Circe hummed as she stood. She slowly sauntered down the steps before gently pulling Barbara's gaze as she cupped her face.
"Then what do you think is on our isle, méli?"
Barbara's eyes flicked off to Circe's left, a note of panic in her gaze. Circe held back another sigh. It often took her daughters a few years to accept their new stations and immortality and it seemed Barbara still had a ways to go. Circe stroked the girl's cheeks and tried to send her a comforting smile.
Seemingly steeling herself, Barbara answered. "It may be a robot, Mistress. I don't know of anything else it could be."
Circe eyed the woman for a moment as if silently weighing her answer, before releasing her hold and turning back to her throne.
"Go assemble your sisters. We shall greet the automaton within these chambers." Circe ordered. Barbara scrambled to do as she was told, all but fleeing the room.
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Circe's Palace - A Half Hour Later
Barbara stood behind Circe's throne, surrounded by about forty other women. All of them were dressed in various ancient Greek tunics and cloaks, highlighting their beauty. Some of them seemed perfectly content if not a little blasé about being summoned to the goddess's side, having been trapped on the island for centuries by this point. But others, like her, fidgeted nervously.
Barbara had only been trapped on the island for a little over two months after her archeological expedition went off script during a particularly bad storm. Only she and one of the ship's deckhands had survived long enough to wash up on the beach. They had gotten separated in the jungle surrounding Circe's palace and Barbara hadn't seen the man since. But that may have been a mercy in hindsight. At least he wasn't trapped on the island, forced to become immortal and serve the local goddess until the end of time.
She snapped out of her spiraling thoughts as Circe spared a glance back towards her and the woman around her. She stiffened and schooled her expression as best she could. She didn't want to draw the woman's ire if she could help it. The last woman that had was now serving as one of the goddess's faithful lions. Curled up on a pile of pillows as if she didn't have any cares in the world.
Luckily for her, the island's new visitor chose that moment to appear at the entrance of the throne room. His large form casting a long shadow into the throne room as the sun set in the sky behind him. He stalked forward, his footsteps silent and gaze unwavering.
Two of Circe's lions stood, emitting a loud snarl as the robot approached. Their hackles raised and claws readied. Even the soothing touch of their Mistress did nothing to calm them. Although, from what little Barbara could see of the goddess's face, she seemed far more amused than anything else as the bot approached.
A few seconds later, the robot came to a standstill at the bottom of Circe's stairs. His golden visage locked on the woman above him as her lions spread themselves out behind her. Their eyes looked hungry.
"Greetings automaton." Circe greeted blandly. Seeing no need to waste pleasantries on an inanimate object.
Below her, the robot raised its right hand and flipped it to be palm side up. A second later, a hologram appeared, using the hand as if it were a platform.
Barbara shifted, her curiosity driving her to be closer. Never before had she seen actual hologram tech in action. There had been rumors that LexCorp was working on a viable prototype for consumer use, but it was still years away. Yet, here before her was a fully functioning hologram, dressed as if it were another Greek goddess. The hologram bowed as it began to speak.
"Greetings your Highness." Her voice was rich and warm.
"What an interesting little bauble," Circe cooed with amusement. "Tell me, why project this fallacy when you've been designed to resemble your creators?"
Barbara watched as the small figure tilted their head and looked between the golden visage behind her and the goddess perched upon her throne above her. Eventually, she seemed to have reached some sort of conclusion.
"Ah! Apologies, I am UNSC AI PHE-953025. But you can call me Phoebe. I've been paired with UNSC Spartan operator 096 and I serve as his combat support specialist," The AI or Phoebe explained.
Circe's head tilted as she stared in confusion at the little figure. "So, you are not an automaton?" she questioned.
"No, I am an automaton, your grace. I'm merely explaining that I'm acting as a liaison between you and Sparton-096," Phoebe answered.
Circe eyed the hologram for a second, before, with a wave, she called Barbara forth. "Minerva."
Barbara jerked into motion, quickly making her way to her Mistress's side as quickly and gracefully as possible. She bowed to the woman and awaited whatever order the woman benighted to give her.
"I fear I must apologize as well. I'm a bit out of touch with the modern world. Barbara, méli, could you perhaps clarify things for me?" Circe ordered sweetly.
"Of course Mistress! Phoebe is an AI or artificial intelligence. Essentially, she's a computer that's able to think like that of a man, but as you can see she has no material form. Rather, she is a tool that was assigned to Spartan-096." Barbara explained.
"So the dark figure before me is not Phoebe?" Circe asked.
Barbara opened her mouth to answer, but the figure beat her to the punch.
"No." He said in a deep and cold voice. Causing a ball of ice to settle in Barbara's stomach.
"So it speaks!" Circe laughed "and it seems that we have a man in our midst."
She then stood and sauntered down towards the Spartan. Doing her best to accentuate her curves and figure. Her chest puffed and her best lustful expression plastered on her face. The Spartan tracked her as she approached, his body statuesque.
"Such an impressive specimen." Circe purred once she was close enough to touch the man. She reached up and allowed her hand to run seductively down the right-hand side of his chest. The Spartan only stared at her for a second until his hand came up to gently guide her hand off him.
"Please refrain from touching him." Phoebe requested for the Spartan.
"But why?" Circe pouted as she began to circle the man. Her eyes leered appreciatively up and down his form. Yet the only thing that seemed to move was his head, tracking her as she made her way around him.
"Surely, it is not out of the question for one to appreciate his…..bulk. I'd imagine he is quite…..gifted." Circe purred once more.
"Spartans are machines of war, your Highness. They're not meant to be ogled at." Phoebe answered, doing her best to remain diplomatic.
"You speak as if he could not be both," Circe responded in her best sultry voice.
"I believe we are getting off track, your Highness. We're here in search of a ship or rock that recently crash-landed on this island." Phoebe explained.
"Ah, that!" Circe said as she turned and stalked back up the stairs, putting an exaggerated sway in her hips while throwing a look over her shoulder. She then spun and settled back on her throne, while pulling two of the lions towards her.
"I must admit, I'm surprised that such a trivial matter would attract your attention." She said as she scratched one of the lion's chins.
"It may have information we need, so we'd appreciate any assistance you could provide us for locating it." Phoebe pressed.
"Well, it seems I have good tidings then! There's no need to go searching as I have it here." Circe answered absentmindedly. She was entirely focused on lavishing the lion before her with attention.
Both the AI and Barbara eyed the goddess warily.
"Where?" The Spartan asked. Breaking the silence that had descended on the room.
The goddess smiled and turned toward the man before holding out her palm. Instantly, a golden bubble appeared with a pill-shaped object held within. Upon closer inspection, there appeared to be small holes and gaps scattered along the craft. Whether it was due to damage or thruster placement, Barbara couldn't say.
Below them, the Spartan took a step forward as Phoebe disappeared back into his armor.
"Uh, uh, uh." Circe tutted as the glowing orb disappeared. "We haven't come to an arrangement yet."
The man paused in his movements, weighing the goddess's words.
"What do you want?" He asked flatly. Yet, Barbara could tell he was hesitant to concede any sort of ground to the woman in front of him.
Circe chuckled, "What everyone wants darling. Power, riches, knowledge, love. Surely there must be something you can offer."
The man clenched and unclenched his fists as he thought through his options. It seemed he found each option more distasteful than the last. Until his fists clenched one final time.
"I can offer you a data pad filled with non-classified science that is centuries ahead of this world, or I can offer passage off this island and to whatever destination you request." He offered.
Circe hummed. "Such interesting options…..and yet I still find them lacking." She purred.
"Mistress!" Barbara injected, aghast, before she could stop herself. Circe turned her gaze to her, a silent demand in her eyes.
"I apologize for speaking out of turn, but you should consider this man's offer of knowledge. His tech is unlike any I have seen before. Think of what you could do with such knowledge." Barbara nearly pleaded.
Circe scoffed, "I am a goddess, daughter. I have no need for such trivialities."
"I am not your daughter." Barbara snarled, surprising herself once more.
Circe's gaze became cold as she looked toward the woman.
"Mind your tongue and your place. It'd be such a shame to silence you." She threatened.
"Do it!" Barbara challenged as an unnamed spark ignited behind her eyes.
At first, she couldn't tell what it was that had inspired such boldness in herself. She wasn't one to challenge authority or to speak up unless spoken to. Hell, the last two months had been a monument to her meekness.
But now, faced with a reminder of the world beyond the island. The potential and life that dwelled outside this little bubble, she found it in herself to be bold. Her life, as it was now, wasn't worth living. She was trapped, awaiting the day Stockholm syndrome claimed her. In the light of that, all options were preferable.
"You know not what you ask for, child." Circe snarled.
"No, I don't! I just know whatever it is, it's preferable to being locked on this island with a group of traumatized women! All seeking to bend and break themselves so that you can live out your twisted fantasy called love!" Barbara shouted.
"Is that what you wish?" Circe demanded. The facade of caring now completely broken.
Somehow, Barbara found the strength to nod. Her throat was too choked with fear to utter any sort of response. But strangely, she felt at peace despite the potential horror before her.
Circe wasted no more words on her rebellious daughter. Instead, she raised and snapped her fingers, casting both a spell and curse. Barbara fell to the ground as its effects took hold.
"Be grateful I am merciful, méli," Circe sneered.
Below her, Barbara spasmed as her skin began to change. It went from its pale white to that of golden yellow, with dark brown spots scattered around. The bridge of her nose lengthed along with that of her ears. The sound of tearing flesh then ripped through the throne room as a tail appeared from under her dress. Followed by the tips of her fingers and toes lengthening into black claws. She screamed in agony, revealing sharpened fans within her maw.
Eventually, the woman ceased her cries and spasms. Lying bonelessly on the floor as the goddess stared down at her in disgust. She then turned back toward the Spartan. Finding he had some sort of black object pointed at her.
"I have a deal for you Spartan." Circe spat. "I'll take your data and give you the vessel in return. But, you must also take this xediántropi pórni with you." She demanded.
"Why?" The Spartan questioned as he lowered the object in his hands.
"Because it will destroy her," Circe answered with malice. She then awaited the Spartan's response. Only to receive a terse nod as the black object was hoisted over his shoulder and onto his back. Circe called the golden orb back into her palm.
"It's a simple spell. Place it upon the ground and then douse it with water. This will release the vessel from its bindings. But be aware, it will grow rapidly, so be sure to do this outside of a confined space." She instructed.
The Spartan just gave her another curt nod as he palmed the orb. A second later, it disappeared into the bag on his thigh. He then crouched and pulled the unconscious woman into his arms. Trying to be as gentle as possible. Settling her into a princess carry. With a final glare, he turned and started to make his way out of the throne room.
At about the halfway mark, Circe called out to him.
"Oh! And Spartan! Do be sure to come back and visit me sometime! I'm sure it'll be much more….pleasurable than this visit!" She purred.
Grim resumed his pace as if the woman had never uttered a word. But one thought ran rampant through his mind.
"If I have to come back here, I'm going to turn you and this island into nothing but glass and ash."