Chapter 3: Six for One?
August 5, 2558
0900 hours (Equestrian Time)
The Milky Way Galaxy: Cygnus arm
The bridge of the UNSC Infinity
Captain Thomas Lasky had never been so exited in all his life; a rare smile stretched across his face. In his right hand he held the one half of the Librarian`s Janus Key that Spartan Fireteam Majestic had recovered on Requiem; in his left, the other half that Dr. Halsey had just handed to him with her new, prosthetic left arm; she had lost her left arm during the battle that had raged on said planet.
"Uhh…Doc?" said Roland, the ship`s A.I. "You sure you know what you`re doing?"
"Hey, I still don't trust her," said Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer.
"You never trusted me," said Dr. Catherine Halsey. "But I'm afraid that you have no choice but to Spartan, given that I`m the only one in here who actually saw the Librarian use the key."
"Palmer, curiosity may have killed the cat-" Captain Lasky started.
"-and salted the snail," said Roland.
"Thank you Roland," said Lasky, slightly annoyed.
"No problem, sir," said the yellow, WW2 fighter pilot hologram of Roland.
The Captain returned his attention to the Spartan Commander.
"But how would the rest of the cats and snails have learned from their comrade`s mistake?"
"Fine," said an irritated Palmer. "Let`s just get this over with."
"Okay," said Lasky before he looked to Doctor Halsey. "So, how exactly did the Librarian do this?"
"She just," said Halsey before pausing and then clapping her hands together. "Slapped them together."
"Really?" said Lasky in disbelief. "That`s it?"
"They should feel like magnetic puzzle pieces…or something like that."
"Okay," said the Captain before taking a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."
He held the two pieces out in front of him and slowly brought them together. Suddenly, he felt the magnetic attraction between them, and they pulled each other together.
With a metallic *clang* and a small flash of light, the room was instantly filled with a three-dimensional hologram of what seemed like a bunch of floating, blue gyroscopes.
Lasky realized that he had closed his eyes out of fear. He first opened one eye, to see if he was still alive, and then opened the other to find them both greeted with the sight of the bridge full of astonished faces; except for Dr. Halsey, who was looking at the Captain with an amused smile. A moment later, Lasky broke the stunned silence.
"So," said Lasky. "This is the map?"
"Yes," Halsey responded. "This is it. Although I must admit, I'd forgotten how big it was."
"Captain," said Roland. "If the map is too big for you, I can shrink it down if you place it on the hologram table."
Lasky looked at the table in the center of the room; the grid atop it glowing a turquoise blue shade.
"Alright," he said.
As he walked, the entire map moved with him.
"So I guess this explains why I was only seeing half of it," said Dr. Henry Glassman, the Infinity`s Chief Engineer and head scientist as he dodged one of the blue gyroscopes.
"Yeah," Lasky responded as he centered the Janus Key on the grid. "No wonder."
Suddenly, every floating gyroscope on the bridge flew towards the hologram table as Roland condensed the map into a holographic picture of the Milky Way Galaxy.
"There you have it Captain," said Roland. "The locations of every piece of Forerunner tech in the galaxy right in front of you."
"Outstanding Roland," said the Captain, all resentful feelings of the A.I. forgotten. Lasky gazed at the map for a moment before continuing. "How `bout we start small? Roland, locate the nearest artifact to our current location."
"Way ahead of ya boss, I've already located the nearest six artifacts for you."
"Six? That`s a…strange, number to stop at. Zoom in on them."
"Yessir," said Roland as the map began to expand. Since the map was now contained within the hologram table`s borders, anything that passed them was dropped off and no longer displayed.
Roland continued to zoom until only one big gyroscope was displayed on the table.
"All six artifacts are located on this planet, sir," he said.
"Six for one?" said Lasky excitedly. "And this one`s close, it`s still in the Cygnus arm. Take us there, Roland."
"You got it, boss," said Roland as he got on the ship`s main intercom. "Attention all hands, prep for slip-space jump!"
. . .
August 5, 2558
0905 hours (Equestrian Time)
The Milky Way Galaxy: Cygnus arm
1500 miles above Equestria
The bridge of the UNSC Infinity
The Infinity emerged from a blue portal in orbit above a surprisingly Earth-like planet. Although Dr. Glassman wasn`t the first one to notice this fact, no one was surprised that he was the first to mention it.
"By the looks of it sir," said Glassman as he and a few others were looking out the window on the Bridge`s observation deck. "I'd say this planet is eligible to support life."
"Great," said Palmer sarcastically. "More aliens. Just what we need…again."
"You know," started Dr. Halsey. "Due to the sheer mathematical odds, there has to be another species out there that isn't as hostile as the Covenant."
"All we can do is hope that there`s at least one on this planet that`s a little nicer," said Roland.
"If there are any, we should try contacting them," Lasky declared. "See if they know about the artifacts."
"Umm…sir?" said Roland. "I don't think that will be necessary."
All eyes turned to the A.I.`s yellow, holographic Avatar.
"And why`s that, Roland?" Lasky inquired.
"Because the Infinity appears to be receiving a signal," said Roland, looking around as if there was a fly in the room and he was following it with his eyes, before looking directly at his Captain. "From the planet itself."