Ivanoff Station, Installation 03
July 27th, 2556 (UNSC Calendar)
~~~~~
“Doctor Tillson, this is Aladdin requesting permission to bring Doctor Halsey and Arbiter Thel Vadam aboard to examine the new Forerunner artifact.” Dr. Tillson gave them the permission they needed as the cloaked prisoner ship revealed itself. Their hangar doors opened to reveal the elderly but just as sharp doctor and the eight and a half foot tall Sangheili warrior.
Not many people knew that Halsey was still alive, much less the elites. In fact, the Arbiter only knew because Admiral Osman had decided recently to tell him to build trust between the UNSC and Covenant.
As her hands were uncuffed, Halsey looked at Tillson with the same look a superior has when looking upon someone lesser. Without even asking where to go, Halsey walked past her and straight down a hallway. Tillson looked at the Sangheili next to her with a tired look. Thel had elected to come not in his silver Arbiter armor, but instead in the robes of an elder of his people. She knew he carried an energy sword somewhere within the folds of the fabric just in case.
She didn’t know why he had requested to come along, only getting a reply from him that he felt he needed to when she asked about it. She led him along down the hallways, eventually catching up to Halsey, who had stopped at a closed door which she couldn’t open without clearance.
She looked impatiently at Tillson, who walked forward with her keycard and opened the bulkhead doors. As Halsey walked into the medium sized room, she noticed four different reactions among the scientists gathered there; awe, disgust, fear, and indifference. ‘Good, they should fear me, after what I’ve done,’ she finished with a brief flash of guilt.
She simply pushed through the crowd to the room which contained the Forerunner device relocated from the surface of Installation 03. It was circular in nature, with medium sized slivers of metal making a spiral design. At about five meters in diameter, it was rather small for a Forerunner device.
Halsey walked forward with a thirst for knowledge present on her face. She cautiously reached out and touched the surface of the metal. It felt cool to the touch and didn’t dissolve and absorb her immediately, so she was off to a good start. Thel and Tillson approached from behind and stayed at a respectful distance.
"When did you find this?" Halsey was insanely curious. This was obviously a type of Forerunner gateway, but there were no markings saying to where it went.
"We found it about four weeks ago on this section of the ring," said Tillson, bringing up a hologram of Installation 03 with the help of the station's AI. Halsey walked forward, using her hands to zoom onto that certain section of the weapon. She examined the crater left over from excavating the gateway.
She walked back to the portal, muttering quietly under her breath. Tillson called out her, "It's useless! We've had all of our best minds trying to get a response from it, but it won't do anything!"
Halsey connected her data pad to the system inside of the portal. "Well, you never had me try it yet, Sandra. I have a feeling your scientists never tried something, like, this." As Halsey finished her statement, the slivers forming a spiral dissolved and began spinning to become a now open portal with a strong resemblance to a slip space rupture.
Tillson, the scientist in her fully awoken, slowly stepped forward with wonder. “I’ve never seen anything like this!” She reached out and touched the metal. Other than the spinning vortex’s image adjusting to her hand, there was no change at all. She turned to Halsey, “What did you do? We tried everything but never got a reaction from it!”
Halsey looked at her like a teacher would with a ‘special’ student. “It was incredibly simple. All I did was use the Forerunner glyph for open, put in equations for the diameter of the border, and accounted the amount of space taken up by each of the slivers in the center.” Halsey finished with an explanation that Tillson slightly understood, but left Thel completely floored; Halsey truly was the greatest thinker of their time.
Thel regained his senses after several second, shaking his head and speaking to Halsey, “But how do we tell where it goes Doctor? It was a great accomplishment getting it to open, but it could lead back to Sangehelios or to the center of a star!”
Halsey became lost in thought again, then replied, “Well, Arbiter Thel Vadam, there is only one way to find out.” She began to walk towards the open doorway, and just as Thel reached out to stop her, a nearby explosion rumbled through the entire station, knocking Tillson and Thel off of their feet and Halsey stumbled away from the portal.
Tillson got out the radio she kept in her shirt pocket and began desperately asking questions into it. “What happened?! Was there a mining accident on one of the asteroids?”
A voice crackled in on radio in reply to her query, “No ma’am! It’s the Covenant cultist leader Jul Mdama! They’ve breached the hangar doors and are quickly spreading through the station! Several of their capitol ships are going straight past the station to the ring; it’s what they’re after!” Suddenly, an explosion blasted through the speaker on the handheld radio, quickly followed by screams, and then silence.
Tillson dropped the radio and fell to her knees. She thought for a few seconds, and then gained a determined but sad face. She stood back up and turned to Thel and Halsey, “Arbiter, you must take her through the portal. This is the best chance you’ll have to get her to safety." She quickly pressed an object to Halsey's hand and backed away.
"What about you?" asked Thel, obviously a little worried that it sounded like she wasn't coming with them.
She slowly replied, "Well, there is something I must stay behind to do. Quickly, go!" And with that, she gave him a little push on uneven ground which sent him tumbling into Halsey, causing them both to fall into the open portal. Tillson tried, but she couldn't help but laugh; from both their comical exit and the finality she began to feel.
She walked through the empty hallways, hearing the sounds of battle in different parts of the station. When she eventually reached her quarters, she walked over to the safe next to her desk and unlocked it. She pulled out the small handheld device and slowly walked to a window overlooking the ring, serenely spinning in the heavens.
"So beautiful, for something so dangerous," she sighed. She opened the panel on the device and quickly typed in her pass code. As the green light lit up signifying it was ready, her door blasted open as a squad of five Sangheili stormed in. One stepped forward and spoke in slurred English.
"You are to come with us, human. Our leader Jul Mdama awaits your interrogation about the holy ring." The elite warrior was impatient obviously enough, but she slowly turned towards him.
"Your people will never learn the secrets of this ring," she said quietly, and pressed down on the green button on the detonator. As the elites watched, twenty miniature suns appeared on a section of the Halo's surface as the Havok-Class nuclear mines were detonated. The giant piece of metal broke off, spinning erratically out of control.
As Tillson closed her eyes for the last time, she thought out to Halsey, "Let the information on that small flash drive help you Catherine." It was funny, she could almost hear Jul's enraged scream as the section of the Halo smashed into the station, leaving nothing behind.
~~~~~~~~~~
John heard muffled voices at the side of his bed. However, before his hearing returned, he noticed that he felt quite strange. He did a quick checklist of his body, suddenly realizing that...
He was completely healed and still human. His hearing returned with brutal suddenness, although he could now hear the conversation going on.
"Leave now you petty guard! I will speak to this 'Bane of Changelings' alone! Leave now!" John heard a grunt of annoyance and the sound of hooves retreating and then the shutting of a door. He turned his head to this newcomer, spotting a pony with a white coat and blond mane. “So, you’re the famous Bane of Changelings.”
“Who are you?” John queried, being incredibly cautious as was in compliance with the soldier in him.
“Shut up scum! You stupid blathering idiot, I am your superior, Prince Blueblood! And you have ruined my plan to usurp Celestia’s throne!” He pulled a knife out from the coat he was wearing and approached John’s bedridden figure.
John tensed up, “What do you mean?”
Blueblood looked at him with disgust, “Who do you think let Chrysalis in and gave her a position to take Cadence’s place? Who do you think gave her general the times of when the guards switched? You have ruined my plans, and now you’re going to pay for them.” The Princeling walked forward and raised his knife, ready to strike.
Suddenly, John’s fist shot forward and hit Blueblood square in the mouth. He made sure he held back about ninety percent of his strength, so he only broke Blueblood’s jaw and sent him flying across the room. He skidded to a stop at Celestia’s front hooves, who had heard everything.
She used her magic and raised him up to eye level, “Ex-prince Blueblood, you are hereby placed under arrest for treason to the crown and attempted assassination of a hero of Canterlot,” she turned to her guards, “Take him away.”
Because of his improved hearing, John could barely hear Celestia whisper to Blueblood as he passed her, “I hope you like bananas.” He would have thought about it a little more, but Celestia was now walking towards him. She stopped next to his bed and spoke to him quietly, “You know, the entire city is worried about you; especially those five guards you fought with.”
John thought about each of those ponies and how well they had fought together. It had felt good to be part of team again.
“Can you walk?” Celestia asked.
“Yes, ma’am.” John rolled out of the tiny bed frame and stood. However, he felt more exposed than ever. He wanted his armor back; he felt weak without it. “Did anything happen while I was out?”
“Not very much; We brought back that set of armor from the Covenant ship for the hunter worms and have begun repairs on the city.” She was right, nothing much had happened. “By the way, the guard Neon Fire is requesting you presence at the bar in the barracks; I would suggest going; she won’t respect you until you beat her in a drinking contest. She’s weird that way, since she won’t respect anyone even if they save her life multiple times.” Celestia looked at him, waiting for his answer.
John merely grunted. He disapproved of such activity, since it impacted how someone reacted during active duty. However, he would need her respect and the other guards’ if they needed to work together again. “Fine.”
Celestia had a small smile on her face as she led John from the room and through the castle. About ten minutes later, they reached the door to a room that he could hear many voices behind. Celestia hesitated for a moment, and then pushed open the door and walked in with John following close behind.
It looked more like a casino than a bar, since there were games of poker on almost every table. Lunar and Day guards sat at these, each occasionally tossing a golden coin into the center of the table. However, there was one table that was devoid of any cards or coins. A lone Lunar guard sat at this table and was easily identifiable by her neon green mane.
The whole room fell silent as they noticed John. For a few seconds, nothing happened, and then all the ponies in the room parted, forming a path for him and the princess to follow. Unsurprisingly, it led straight to Neon Fire.
She looked up, seeing the one she had challenged. A fire almost literally lit up in her eyes because of excitement. The unicorn used her magic and pulled up a second chair, along with a couple of kegs of cider.
“So, you showed up huh? Prepare for defeat!” More guards gathered around, excited to see this showdown; Neon Fire had a reputation for being able to outdrink any stallion or mare in the guard.
John sat down carefully, the chair groaning in protest at heavy weight. Neon reached out with a hoof and pulled her custom-made drinking mug close to her. It was made of glass, which had been exquisitely formed into flames. As she poured her first mug of cider, John saw that it had been designed to look like it was on fire as a liquid passed through it.
She set down her mug and watched John closely as he filled his own (non-custom) mug. He looked into the golden fermented drink and then set it down with his giant hand wrapped around the handle. He looked Neon Fire in the eyes, feeling the spark of challenge light up within him; he would gain her respect, no matter what.
Celestia walked over to the small, round table and looked to both contestants, raising her right hoof slowly. “Defender, are you ready?” asked Celestia, turning to Neon Fire.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Celestia turned to John, “Challenger, are you ready?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The tension in the room could almost literally be cut by a knife because of the unicorns. John stared into the rambunctious yet kind mare’s eyes. As she returned the look, she saw within his eyes the hardness of a soldier who has fought for decades in war.
Just as it seemed one of the contestants would burst a vein, Celestia’s hoof slammed down onto the ground.
“Go!”
~~~~~~~~~~
Camo Flash groaned and slowly opened his eyes, seeing only the bed directly above him where Book Master lay, quietly breathing in and out. As he rolled out of the slightly comfortable bed, he glanced at the clock.
“What?! It’s that late already?!” He quickly stood up on his hind legs and used his front hooves to support himself on Book’s bed. “Book Master! Wake up!”
Book’s eyes snapped open and almost seemed instantly awake. “What do you need Camo? I’m still tired from exerting myself so much during the battle.”
Camo rolled his eyes. “You weren’t even moving that much! In fact, your eyes were closed for most of the battle!” Camo knew very well why Book had had his eyes closed; he had needed the concentration necessary for the spells he had used. However, Camo currently felt like being a sarcastic smartass. Suddenly, he felt the familiar grip of Book’s red magic as he was pushed away from the bed and Book burrowed further into his pillow. “C’mon, Book! We’re going to miss Neon Fire’s challenge against the human!”
At this, Book Master jumped off the bed and trotted to the door, carrying Camo with him the entire time. As he reached the door of the barracks, he ungracefully dropped Camo onto the ground in a jumbled heap.
Looking back, he called out in a calm voice, “Camo, you taking a nap again? Let's go!” The pair walked out of the empty barracks into the light of Celestia’s sun. They crossed the small plaza to a larger building where they could shouts of excitement.
Camo pushed open the wooden door to the bar, seeing absolute chaos. Many of the stallions and mares were yelling at each other on who they thought could win. Camo and Book easily found a way through the shouting crowd, spotting Iron and Silent Scout holding a couple of spots for the two, right next to the table where John and Neon sat.
As Camo took his spot, he observed that although John drank his cider with a steady pace and would calmly refill his mug, Neon would continue drinking like there was no tomorrow. He glanced at the tally board and saw that Neon had a lot more marks than John.
He leaned over to Scout, shouting into his ear, “Looks like Neon is going to win again huh?” Scout merely grunted in reply, paying more attention to the actual contest.
Just as it seemed that neither contestant could drink anymore, Neon keeled over, stood up and muttered a few unintelligible words, and then collapsed to the ground onto her back, plump belly jiggling. John looked at her, mug halfway to his mouth, and then calmly set it down.
As he stood, the whole room went silent in shock. None of them had ever seen Neon Fire beaten in a drinking contest. One of them even took a swig from John's mug to make sure it had alcohol in it.
After confirming that it in fact did, Celestia shouted out, "Mares and gentlecolts, I present to you, the new champion of drinking, John, Spartan-117!"
As the crowd of guards started cheering, John motioned to Celestia, stating he needed to speak with her. She followed him outside into the bright sunlight. Before he could speak though, she quickly asked him, "How did you do it? I mean you don't even appear to be drunk."
He gave her a bemused look before saying, "It was the chemical augmentations I received. They changed my metabolism, so I can't get drunk."
Celestia nodded in slight understanding, before motioning him to speak of what he had originally brought her out here for. "Celestia, where is Lyra?"
The question caught her off guard, not only because she knew, but also because she had no idea he was so observant. But still, she played on. "Why do you ask John? How do you know she didn't just go back to Ponyville?"
This time when he looked at her, there was not a trace of emotion present on his face. His stone-like expression drove into her very soul. He continued in a very guarded voice, "From the few minutes I knew her, she was obsessed with humans. If she acted anything like I thought she would, she would have stayed behind to observe me."
Celestia sighed again and hung her head in defeat. After a few seconds, she rose her head and looked up into John's eyes. "I hate to tell you this John, but Lyra was taken by the changelings."
~~~~~~~~~~
"John, maybe you should consider sitting this one out," stated Cortana as her blue magic pieced together his Mjolnir armor. When he simply grunted in reply, she sighed in exasperation. "Look, you won't even have me there to watch your back this time."
She knew that to him, it was more of a sense of duty than a debt or anything to this Lyra. He had stated he would stay long enough to help with the frigate, grab a warthog, and then be gone. In fact, he wouldn't even take any reinforcements, simply saying that they would get in the way.
She levitated his helmet onto his skull, where it locked into place with a hiss and then a pop. Suddenly, a guard burst through the door, "Princess Cortana! Chief!"
After a few stumbling steps he regained his composure and saluted snappily at the pair. Cortana returned the salute and motioned for the guard to continue. "Ma'am, there's a problem down in the Crystal Caverns. Two creatures came out of nowhere and one of them is using a weird type of glowing sword."
John's head snapped up, and promptly walked over to a rack where he grabbed one of the spears set there. "Let's go."
On their way to the throne room they ran into Luna, who just nodded and joined them in their fast pace. They quickly descended down the steep stairway and reached the bottom in no time. They practically ran after the guard, who could hear the sounds of his comrades defending against the odd beast.
They finally reached the Forerunner doors, which were mysteriously wide open. At the mouth stood a Sangheili warrior, an elder by the designs of his robes. Around him, there were several bodies, but John's armor checked their vitals and saw that they were just fine.
While the elite was distracted, John melted into the shadows and began to flank the alien. Once he got into a good position, he grabbed the spear, jumped out, and swept the elite's legs from underneath him. As he darted over and raised the spear for the killing blow, the elite swung his sword and off the front half of the wooden spear.
He quickly kicked John in the midsection and rolled away to his feet. He activated the energy sword again, bloodlust beginning to fill his eyes.
Suddenly, a very familiar voice cried from the Composer's prison, "John?!"
The elite and John stopped in their tracks to see who had spoken. An elderly woman with grey hair and a white lab coat walked out of the room, staring in wonder at the Spartan.
As she got close to the super soldier, Luna stepped in and held her back with a hoof, "Just who do you two think you are? We don't know you, so We don't trust you."
John pulled Luna back with his hand, speaking softly at the same time, "It's okay, Princess Luna, I know her. Her name is-"
He was cut off by the older woman, who straightened her lab coat as she spoke, "With me is Arbiter Thel Vadam of the Sangheili, and I, am Doctor Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, creator of the Spartan program."