“The Subject’s squad is in last, again. They may not survive the night without a meal, especially her.”
“Whether or not the squad survives does not matter. It’s if the Subject survives that does. She’s special, we all know that, but she will be given no exceptions from the program. It is life or death for every candidate.”
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B312
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Light.
That was all that greeted the Spartan, other than a dizziness that made her want to vomit. Remembering her training, Six struggled to get to her feet, despite seeing everything as a blur. She took a knee, shaking her head, and breathing heavily as everything became clearer, in more than one aspect than one. She was still, alive? Reach burned, Noble Team was dead, and the remnants of the fleet were in ruins, yet she was breathing? Six’s train of thought was interrupted as a blip appeared on the edge of her radar.
The alien, if it wasn’t just another robot, seemed exhausted. At first it just shook it’s head, as if trying to stay awake, resting a limb on one of it’s legs, letting it’s knee rest on the floor. It wasn’t making a sound, convincing Daring it wasn’t just an ordinary creature. That and the fact that it was wearing armour. If it was tired, like she thought, it would be panting, or indicating it was tired somehow. It had what could only be considered a helmet on, covering its entire head.
She was a pretty safe distance away from it, 12-15 feet was more than enough for Daring to react to anything the creature did. All of a sudden though, the creature raised it’s head and stared at her. Daring backed another foot, for safe measures. The only way she could tell it was looking at her was a visor, a blue one to be specific, pointed directly at the explorer. With lightning reflexes the entity bolted to it’s feet, and brought out a knife. Daring did the same, not wanting to take risks.
The two stood there, examining each other, thinking of potential weak spots, waiting for the other to make the first move. Daring wondered if the creature could understand her even if she did try to talk. Was this a “reclaimer” the monitor mentioned?
Six was baffled. The creature looked somewhat resemblant to some creatures on the planets she had been to, but instead looked so different. Not to mention it wore some clothing. It had bags on it’s side, kind of like backpacks, and a holster for the knife it cupped in it’s hoof right below the neck. It was up to her chest, almost as tall as most marines, and almost certainly heavier than them, considering how much mass most quadrupeds took up. Still, there was no way it could have been heavier than a full armoured spartan.
Something rung off the distance, a sound familiar to the soldier, but not. It sounded like a focus rifle, but too distorted to be one. Six sprinted past the strange looking horse after the sound. It was repeated again, and again, as she rushed around the corners. The ringing grew louder, until she finally found the source. A floating orb, firing large golden bursts of light, at something blocked by the walls. She crept forwards, knife in her left hand, careful not to alarm the automaton, enough for it and it’s target to appear on radar. The dot was gray, but turned into bright red as it charged, it’s roar deafening out the cruel shrieks of light.
Six ran forward, trying to get to the robot before it was too late, but the monster got their first.
The beast pounced, at the monitor, clenching it whole in it’s jaws, biting it to it menacingly. One last blare from the sphere’s beam futilely freed it, extending it’s life for a few more seconds. It began to fly out of control, hitting the wall to it’s right, before smashing into the one on it’s left, smashing to the ground, as the spark of light from it’s center went dark. The animal turned it’s attention towards six, discarding it’s previous foe. She could only say it resembled a bear. It had high shoulders and a sloping back, and outsized her by at least half a foot, which wouldn’t matter. but if it’s fangs could penetrate metal, that would be very problematic.
It’s flesh was exposed from the chest to the bottom of it’s mouth in a long fat line from the lasers the automaton fired at it, but it was unphased by the pain. The monster roared, beginning to charge. It lowered it’s head, trying to clench Six’s head and neck in it’s jaws. She simply ducked, digging her feet into the ground, dodging the bear’s jaws digging her hands into it’s chest, forcing it back on it’s hind legs, backing it up. When it refused to fall backwards, she reached upwards with her knife, slashing the side of it’s face, unable to get a clean hit.
The bear roared in response, pushing six on her back. It raised it’s razor sharp claw going in for the kill, but was met with the unsatisfying ‘clank’ against the floor. Awestruck at where the nuisance went, his question was answered with a knife through it’s eye. Rearing back in pain, it yelped in surprise, if only for a second, before returning to it’s stance, growling as it backed away, cautiously fleeing around the corner.. Six would have normally finished off the weaker prey, but it was tough. The only thing that Six had ever fought that hadn’t died after she had gotten an eye stab was a brute, and they were almost as good brawlers as Six herself.
Six turned around to see the other creature she met today, except this one hadn’t tried to kill her, yet. It walked forwards, unfazed by her, with worrisome eyes, examining the monster’s victim, but it’s eyes widened in surprise, sprinted the other direction. Had the thing reminded her of something?
“The archives!” Daring had remembered. Before it died, Shard said everything would be explained in the them. She weaved through the halls back to the primary room, thoughts from the gruesome fight absent from her mind. For now, she needed it’s knowledge. How many of these things could come from the there? If it could singlehandedly make a Nandi flee, Equestria was in danger if an army sprung. Though the scout wouldn’t admit it, she wanted to be away from the alien as long as she could.
As she arrived to the generator room there was already a digital screen open, playing what appeared to be a video.
“Dearest reclaimer, We forerunners have been watching your kind much longer than you could even imagine.”
The screen turned from black into colors, as the a picture of the monitor in the facility in it’s younger days played, looking at this very screen.
“After the corruption of Mendicant Bias, My creators set me and any other of the monitor’s former associates aside, to do much lighter tasks, and it is in my personal opinion to believe this very experiment was simply to get away from much more pressing matters.”
The creature that Daring had now suspected was just a lab experiment, stepped to her right side, looking at the same video she had been watching. Neither of the two noticed each other. The screen turned to show more monitors, in a circle, possibly conversing, and then turning away from each other, and floating away.
“My creators ordered me to create daily logs of no less than 100 pages of content, likely to keep my mind at work instead of thinking of the flood, and why I was here. Most artificial intelligences can print out one hundred pages in not even a minute, but that’s only if they have something to say. I spent most of my time making logs, especially as the years pressed on. I still put in time to contemplate on the war, and the odds that this project would be deemed a success.”
“It hadn’t taken long for me to grow desperate. fifty eight nine hundred and thirty four years ago the power to my installation had run out, and with it the lights and defenses to it, and I had to fend off the indigenous population on my own.”
The picture changed, to the monitor firing it’s beam in the dark facility, at a strange bipedal creature, almost hitting the ceiling with it’s head, and struggling to use it’s makeshift club.
I had struggled, nearly getting killed many times, bringing me to the point where I can barely operate independently. I would likely not survive another year alone, until you came.”
The screen shifted to the monitor watching, as Daring walked towards the entrance of the temple, not even an hour before it’s death.
I do not speak of the reclaimers, I speak of you, equine, for you have helped me fulfill the purpose I had been told to do a hundred thousand years ago. I know I am dead, for I need to be for you to read this. But know this reclaimer, You have been saved for a reason.”
The screen disappeared, leaving the two bewildered at what they had just seen. Six rested on the table the projection played from, and rested her head in her hands, and Daring simply sat on her haunches, trying to process the wave of information just said.
Six waited, not looking at the horse, waiting for it to do something, anything. She was literally wordless. Could this creature even understand English? She had to say something, maybe this creature knew the monitor? Six looked up, a little, just enough to see the creature. The pony had to have some language, and judging by the packs on it’s side, it traveled far.
“Who... Are you?” Daring mumbled, putting her head in her hooves, wanting this situation to be over.
Six sighed inwardly. The truth honestly was that she didn’t know. She was an enigma, never to be known, even to herself. Nobody had ever called her by her real name, and Six still wondered why she remembered it after all those years. It was only natural that she would simply want to be called what her squadmates had grown so used to calling her.
Closing her eyes, annoyed she was playing this game, “I’m a soldier.” Six replied, keeping everything no longer than it had to be.
Daring grew from confused to curious, quickly, now that a window of conversation had actually been established. “That’s it? No name, just soldier?”
Putting her palm to her face, Six already hated the... Whatever it was. “Noble Six”
“Huh?”
“Noble Six, that’s who I am. Six for short.” Six muttered. “What am I doing? I should be fighting covenant, not playing charades.” thinking to herself “ And who are you?”
“I’m Daring Do. Pegasus, explorer... Hmmm, thats all I can think of.” Daring said, thinking she really should have said something better for the occasion. First impressions are everything, and this ‘Noble Six’ was no ordinary Soldier. That much was certain. Still, she didn’t want to piss the alien off. “And why does shard keep calling you a reclaimer?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know? You have to have some idea of what it is!”
“I don’t know, the answer isn’t changing.”
Daring closed her eyes, and put her hoof through her mane, annoyed, “You don’t know anything about these...robots?”
“Can’t say I have.” Most humans would be freaking out, seeing a sentient bug eyed quadruped, that spoke perfect english. Six was one of them, she just chose not to show it. The ability came easy to the Spartan, although mostly anyone that made it through torture training became pretty good at it. Still, Six did wonder. “Where am I?”
Daring put on a sly smile. “You seriously don’t know? You’re in Equestria.”