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Chapter One: Dust and Echoes
Date: 13 January 2006, 4:53 am

      "Set off the charges!"

      Jepli cringed behind his plasma barrier as three deafening explosion shook the ground in front of him. Clouds of dust accompanied chunks of rock as they flew twenty d-units into the air, and Jepli opened his eyes just in time to see the shield flare as one rather large specimen landed right on top of it. Despite his training, he couldn't help but yelp in alarm, cover his head, and hope that the shield held.

      A moment later, the ground stopped shaking, and the sangheili in charge of the operation called out orders. Jepli uncurled from the ground, shook his head to stop the ringing, adjusted his rebreather mask, and hopped out from under cover. He waddled over to meet up with his team, helping the other two unggoy struggle with a large container of explosives.

      Half a Tg-unit later, the three unggoy were looking down the hole in the ground, a dozen units wide and twice as deep, made by the several sets of charges they had placed previously. As they peered over the edge, a pair of sangheili arrived and started rappelling down the side of the hole.

      One of the other unggoy, stepping back from the hole, looked to Jepli. "Think they'll find anything down there?"

      "Nope. Scans showed solid ground for a whole tD-unit," said Jepli, as he fiddled with the container's seals, "so help me get this crate open, we need to start fitting the descent rigs onto these charges. The placement team will need them in within a Tg."

      Arne' Thasunee landed lightly on his feet, surveying the cavern the previous blast of charges had uncovered. The beam of illumination from his flashlight pierced through the stale, dusty air, showing a worn ovalish chamber, fifty units wide at it's longest point. His team partner, Arla' Selethas, set down next to him, apprehensively looking at the cracks in the ceiling. Her normally soprano voice was tinged low with worry and muffled by her respirator. "Maybe we should have used smaller charges on that last one."

      "We didn't even know this was here, Arla. Ground scans didn't show empty space for another thousand D-units." Stepping forward toward the far end of the chamber, Arne' shined his flashlight on the walls and ceiling. Something about the walls bothered him. In fact, something about the entire chamber bothered him. "Hold on a unit. This cavern... the walls are too regular." He changed course and quickly made for the end of the chamber. "The stone is worked. Something made this chamber, Arla'!"

      Whipping back around, Arne' fairly ran back to her, grabbing the petite sangheili by the shoulders and picking her up off the ground in his excitement. "We've found it! Three years of jaunting between star systems, and we've finally found it!"

      He set her down and stepped back, taking a breath from his respirator to calm himself, and walked to the far end of the chamber, motioning her to follow. He swiped his hand across the wall, several millenium worth of dust and dirt coming off at his touch. The surface underneath reflected the light of Arla's flashlight, and she stopped in her tracks, amazed.

      "Proof, Arla'. Proof that the Dead Zone was populated before the Cataclysm." The surface underneath the grime was metallic, and set into that metal wall was a door.

      After a Tg-unit of explaining what they had found through their comms and telling the unggoys on demolitions to put the explosives on standby, Arne' and Arla' started documenting the site, which had immediately been designated as Dig-1-1.

      Arla' looked up as she sampled the wall, the chemical sampler in her hand vibrating slightly as it examined the wall's composition. Arne' was busy measuring the chamber's dimensions with a laser-scanner. "Odd that we found this on the first try for this planet," she said, "don't you think?"

      Arne' clicked off the scanner, typing the results onto his wristpad. "Fourty-eight D-units wide at its longest point, thirty for its width, the east end is sealed off by an old lava flow... and to be frank, I had a feeling about this one."

      "You had a feeling about the last two as well, and they turned out to be busts," She retorted, glancing down at the composition display, and read out, "The walls read out as sandstone, but the scans show metallic reinforcement a foot or so inside. This chamber was built to last, it wasn't just luck that kept it from collapsing after the blasts." She held the display out to him, and he busied himself typing in those results into his report.

      "Interesting... and no, this time was different. The last two I was hopeful, I'll admit it, but here I just... knew we had to be here. Felt it in my gut."

      The two locked gazes for a moment, then both looked toward the unopened door at the far end of the room. Without exchanging a word, they packed up their gear and trotted over to the metal wall. Arla' sampled the wall's material, while Arne' took a quick moment to examing the way the wall was set.

      "High-grade aluminum for the first... tenth of a tD... really just a skin over a hardened carbon-based plastic shell. The plastic isn't much more than a tD thick on it's own, too.... ready to open it when you are." She stepped back from the wall, looking up at him. He stepped forward, examining the door. The manual latch was set less than two D-units off the ground, hardly coming to even Arla's waist. He leaned down, fumbled with the latch, and pulled, but the door stayed stubbornly shut. He pulled harder, and slowly forced the door open, long-disused hinges squealing in protest.

      Stale gas rushed out of the open door, causing both of them to take cautious steps back. Arla' held up her sampler, analyzing the gases as they poured out. "Mostly nitrogen, methane, assorted hydrocarbons associated with decomposition.... something died in there, a long, long time ago. You still want to go in?"

      He answered her jibe with a glare, holding up his light and crouching through the three D-unit high door. Arla' followed him in, just having to stoop a little bit to clear the entrance.

      Shining his flashlight around, Arne' revealed a half-cylinder shaped room, twenty D-units long and ten wide. Lining each wall at regular intervals were cot-like beds, and on several of them, piles of long-disused equipment could be seen. Carefully walking to the nearest bunk, he lifted one of the piles by an obvious harness, and examined the bulky apparatus, before setting it back on the bed. Arla's flashlight cut another path through the dust-clogged air, and together they walked to the far end of the enclosure.

      "Rebreathers," Arla' said, motioning to another of the packs as they walked, "and not just any rebreathers." Arne' nodded, and they stopped at the far end of the room, shining their lights on the floor there. The beams lit up the long dead corpses of the room's last two inhabitants.

      "Unggoy rebreathers."

Chapter Two: Here's to the Flights
Date: 20 January 2006, 7:23 am

      "You state that these accomodations found were military barracks. What kind of proof do you have of this?" The Director's voice would have been contemptuous if it hadn't been so emotionless.

      Arne' hesitated, then took a deep breath and answered in the same tone. "Several factors point to that conclusion, Director. As I stated in the report, the planet in question, currently labeled as Seven dash Four due to it being the fourth planet in the seventh star system visited by our exploration team, was of temperate climate with an atmosphere primarily consisting of Nitrogen and Oxygen. Terracompatible. Unggoy are unable to survive without breathing equipment on such a planet due to the lack of atmospheric methane. Secondly, the rebreather packs in the barracks were partially armored, something not necessary during normal activity. Thirdly, we found this." Arne' set a case on the table and cracked the seal, pulling out an object and placing it on the table for inspection.

      The entire board leaned forward, eyes riveted on the device. Even after thousands of years of disuse, the casing still cleanly reflected the light with a green tint. "Obvious trigger mechanism, and a handgrip designed to be held by multiple different hand configurations. This is a weapon. What kind, I don't know, I'm no physicist. But one thing I do know is that weapons would not be needed by civilians."

      "How'd it go? What happened?"

      Arne' had to chuckle a little. Arla' had been practically bouncing off the walls in the waiting room, acting like a child a quarter of her years. He put a steadying hand on her shoulder, and seperated his upper and lower mandibles in a grin. "The entire committee almost leapt out of their chairs when I showed them the gun, and I think the Director is still trying to decide whether to have me commended on my find or have me arrested for bringing the thing into the meeting like that." He paused and glanced around, before leaning down to her and lowering his voice, "They believe us now. It's not official, but they're definately considering our request."

      "You mean..?"

      "Yes, Arla'. Three more transport ships, twice that in scouts, as many trained workers as they can carry, the equipment to outfit them, and a complete overhaul for the Looking Glass. We won't be some half-amateur crew with delusions of grandeur anymore. Backing, funding, and labor, and the more we find, the more we can ask for."

      The entire auditorium was packed full of Unggoy and Sangheili, with even a few Lek'Golo taking up floorspace. The two Unggoy working on the holoprojector flashed Arne' a ready signal. Arne' checked his headset to make sure his microphone was in place, and stepped out onto the floor. After a few moments the auditorium quieted, and he nodded to the Unggoy at the computer. A holograph of the Storm of Gems came into focus behind him, intentionally blurred except for a small portion of explored space. The in-focus area started flashing blue, and he started speaking.

      "In the four thousand years since the Cataclysm, the Consolidation of Races has yet leave our colonized area of space. Reasons for this are many and varied, as you know, but the main worry among our leaders has been that exploration into the Dead Zones would bring on a second Cataclysm. Three years ago, approval was finally granted for a small expedition to push into the Inward Spin of our arm of the galaxy, and see what we could find. Our ship, the Looking Glass, was outfitted with a survey crew, and in that time has explored seven terracompatible planets. On the last one, we found what we were looking for. We now have undeniable proof that the Dead Zones were not only inhabited before the Cataclysm, but in fact were inhabited by one of our own races, the Unggoy." At this, murmers started throughout the room, and Arne' held up a hand to quiet them down.

      "With this discovery, the Exploration Committee on Sangheilus Secundus has granted approval for additional funding and equipment, and for the handpicked selection of the workers and scientists to use that equipment, which brings us to the reason that I called you all here today. We of the Expedition are of the belief that with effort, we will find more about the history of our galaxy. We have been granted the use of three more top of the line science vessels by the Committee, which will be used to spearhead our exploration."

      "Each capital vessel is to be staffed by a crew of thirty, along with thirty additional support crew and fifty Engineers. On each ship will be twenty five researchers, seventy groundside workers, and, thanks to the generosity of the Lek'Golo ambassador, two bond-pairs for heavy labor. Attached to the capital vessels will be two scout ships each, staffed by a crew of ten, with ten additional support and ten Engineers. This will allow each of the four research ships to be used as a seperate base of operations for our journey into the Dead Zones."

      "I do have to point out that we do not know what is out there. Whatever caused the Cataclysm could still be there, not to mention the other dangers of slipspace travel. Because of this, I am not going to make you all go just because the Committee said I could. I am offering you all the chance to be a part of this, the chance to reclaim our history." He paused a moment, gauging the reactions of his audience. "I'm not making you come. I'm only asking for volunteers."

      Arne' turned to look at the hologram of the Storm of Gems, and turned back to the audience.

      "Who here is willing to come with me?"

      Not a single being there stayed behind.

      "Think you talked long enough out there?"

      Arne' snorted and turned away from the window, walking back to the conference table. Seated at the table were the four captains of his ships, along with Arla' and the two Unggoy in charge of the groundside operations. Seating himself at the table, he spent a moment adjusting the cushioned stool before answering. "I'm surprised they reacted so well myself."

      Kihkil, one of the Unggoy, nodded and tapped a button on his datapad. A smaller scale hologram of the Storm of Gem appeared in the center of the table, and he nodded again, satisfied. "Now that we're all seated, we can begin, yes?" The old scientist's voice was higher-pitched than normal, the only outward sign of his excitement.

      Arla' tapped her datapad, and the hologram zoomed in on their explored portion of space. "Yes, we can begin. The Looking Glass will continue to travel Inward Spin along our arm, as before," as she spoke, red arrows designated the path that the ship would take, "under the care of her Captain, Dukat' Ratharel." The older Sangheili lowered his head in acknowledgement. She continued, "I will be accompanying that flightgroup, as the Supervisor of Archeology Operations for the Looking Glass flight group."

      She tapped another button, and a second path was cut through the stars of the hologram. ""The Tekkil's Edge, named after the scientific theory, will travel Inward Spin as well, working toward the galactic south and the arm next to us. Kihkil, who coincidentally is descended from Tekkil, will travel with that flight group, under the command of Captain Cras' Wantesee." The Sangheili sat up a little straighter on his stool, quite pleased that the rather famous Kihkil was coming with him. Kihkil had achieved his Mastery in both Philosophy and Anthropology before achieving his second decade, and was well known throughout the Consolidation as a genius of the highest level.

      "The tides of Knowledge, under the command of Enla' Selethas, will accompany Bane' Danazee's Rediscovery as they jump to the arm galactic north of us," Arla' nodded to her sister, "with Jepli as the groundside Supervisor for the Tides of Knowledge, and Arne' Thasunee as Supervisor for the Rediscovery. I can only hope that Jepli's common sense will keep Arne' from getting himself into too much trouble." The laughter around the table showed how well aimed her jibe was, and she grinned.

      Arne' stood, still chuckling, and waved off the hologram. "I suppose that's everything. Anyone have any last minute concerns? No? Wonderful. I hope then that the next time we all meet, we have all found what we hoped to find."

      Arne' stood out on the balcony, gazing up at the night sky. A small constellation was on the move, as supply ships and transit shuttles met up with the twelve ships of the Expedition flights. He turned around, hearing the door open, to see Arla' standing in the doorway. "There it is right before my eyes," he pointed up at the sky, "and I can still hardly believe it's happening."

      She walked up beside him and rested her head against his shoulder. "Our lives' dreams come true, Arne'." A few moments passed without either of them speaking.

      "Are you sure you're going to be okay with your sister being in my flightgroup?"

      The concern in his voice made her smile. "Yes, I'll be fine. She's captaining the Tides of Knowledge. I doubt she'll even be able to find the time to talk to you, let alone try to make something of it. Besides, I know that she doesn't interest you."

      He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close while they both watched the preparations above. Finally, he broke the silence. "Angels would fear to fly where we're going."

      "Here's to the flights."

Rediscovery, Chapter Three: The String of Pearls
Date: 10 February 2006, 7:01 am

      Arla' set down the datapad and leaned back, stretching the kinks out of her back. She had been pouring over data scans for the past three Tx-Units, and had finally come to a conclusion. The windblown, bleak desert planet they were orbiting called for investigation. They had come insystem a day ago, and preliminary scans showed that of the three planets they had discovered, one was a gas giant and the other didn't even have an atmosphere, let alone a viable biosphere. The third planet, actually the second out from the star, had marginally breathable air, and what appeared to be habitat ruins in several places.

      Bending back over her desk, she tapped on her communicator, routing a call to the bridge of the Looking Glass. A moment passed before the squeaky, high-pitched voice of the Unggoy at the communications counsel replied. "Yes, Director?"

      "Inform Captain Ratharel that I would like to go more in depth with the investigation of Looking Glass Fourteen dash Two. I'll be coming up to the bridge shortly to discuss landing procedures."

      There was a moment's delay, and the Unggoy spoke again. "Captain Ratharel says he would be pleased to have you on the bridge, as it has been rather lifeless with you sequestered away in your..." there was a pause. Arla' leaned back in her chair with a grin on her face as the Unggoy came back on, stumbling over his words with obvious haste to finish. "The Captain says helooks forward toplanning the landprocedures with you seeyouon the bridge bridgeout!" The link went dead, and Arla' burst out laughing, unable to contain her amusement. Standing, she left her quarters and made her way to the bridge, chuckling the entire way.

      Kihkil bounced up and down in his seat like a child as the Tekkil's Edge maneuvered closer to the planet. The entire bridge was filled with an atmosphere of tense excitement, with Captain Wantesee calling out orders and the bridge crew hurrying to comply. The reason for their excitement was displayed by the main holocrystal as it hung in orbit above Tekkil's Edge 3-3.

      Cras' Wantesee glanced at the display again, frowning. "Take us in closer, but I want our forward navigational deflectors kept at full strength." The Tekkil's Edge drifted closer, white flashes forming D-units from her hull as bits of metal and debris bounced off her deflector arrays. After several Tg-units of maneuvering, she matched velocities with her target.

      Every person on the bridge had their eyes rivited on the displays, examining the smooth purple contours of the ancient alien ship.

      The digsite headquarters was situated outside of one of the ruins, far enough away as to not disturb them while they set up camp. Within two Tx-Units of landing, a small village of tents and prefabricated structures had been placed, and by the end of the day all preparations had been made for the first forays into the ruins. The ten members of the digteam who had volunteered to remain planetside for the night sat clustered around a portable heating device, unable to sleep.

      Arla' glanced up at the Unggoy across from her, trying to read his expression behind his respirator mask. The little chemical engineer met her gaze, seemingly completely unperturbed, and she looked back down to her hand. Picking up a pair datachip and a small gemstone, she tossed them into the small pile on the table. "Twentyfive and the green agate I found on TenSeven."

      Without batting an eye, the Unggoy matched her. "Drop 'em. Let's see what you've got."

      Suddenly nervous, Arla' laid out her hand on the table. "Three eights and a Sangheili Journeyman."

      With a flourish, Hickers tossed his cards onto the table. "Three nines and an Unggoy Master!" he crowed, leaning forward and scooping up his winnings. "Supervisor you may be, Arla', but your skills at Tassen need work." He sat back to count his winnings, a satisfied smile behind his mask.

      "That's because I work for a living," she shot back, "which means I don't have the time to waste on it." She crossed her arms, irritated that she'd let him get a rise out of her. After a moment, she sighed. "Good game."

      "Yes, it was. Just keep remember to keep your mandibles still, your bottom left was twitching like a Klek-Tach caught in the sun. It was a dead giveaway."

      She stared at him for a moment, then stood, shaking her head and smirking. "I've got a lot to learn, apparently. Get some sleep, we start early tomorrow." She turned and strode for her tent, hoping to get some sleep herself.

      "We've made hard contact with the primary airlock. Interfacing energy cells now."

      "Message recieved, Team One." Cras' Wantesee turned back to the main holocrystal display, watching Team One's progress through the team leader's helmetcam. The team, composed of three Sangheili soldiers and an equal number of Sangheili field technicians, was using a specially designed transport vehicle that had magnetically attached to the ancient starship's hull. The alien vessel had no active power sources, so the team had brought a load of portable energy cells to power localized systems, such as the airlock doors. The technicians were busy splicing the cell into the door panel, with the soldiers holding their thermal pulse rifles at the ready.

      "We're in, opening airlock now." The airlock door irised open in four sections, and the team stepped through. The door closed behind them, and the red-lit secondary door flashed once before opening. The hallway beyond stood over seven D-units tall and ten wide, dimly illuminated by the flashlights the team waved around. The team moved forward, with one of the techs waving a scanner through the air. "The air isn't breathable, not enough oxygen content. Don't take off your suits. I'm also getting a lot of decomp-hydrocarbons."

      Three doors further in, they came across the first body. Four beams of light revealed the dessicated skeleton of a bipedal creature, with rather birdlike features in the shape of it's skull. The technicians quickly documented the find as the soldiers kept lookout. One of the technicians, examining what the creature had been carrying, tapped his communicator. "Captain, please inform Supervisor Kihkil that we've found a duplicate to the energy pistols on the Unggoy bodies at Seven-dash-Four."

      Cras' clicked in surprise. "Message recieved. I'll inform the Supervisor, but make sure you include your findings in your report." He cut the comlink and turned to his second in command. "Commander, you have the bridge. Keep me informed of any changes in the situation."

      "Supervisor, there's something you should see."

      Arla' glanced up irritably from the pile of paperwork on her desk. After a week of work, they'd hardly scratched the surface of the ruins they were exploring. "Yes?"

      The Sangheili at the entrance to her tent shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "We found something while we were starting up Dig Three. Monitor Hickers thought that we should show you, and let you make the final decision as to what to do at the site."

      Sighing, Arla' walked around her desk, motioning for the worker to lead the way. He lead her past a maze of tents and stacks of equipment, to a two-seater hovercraft. She climbed onto the rear seat as he thumbed it on, and held on as they quickly sped toward the digsite. After a Tg-unit of travel, they reached the digsite, and he pulled up to the group of a dozen workers, all gathered around the small hole that they had already dug out.

      Arla' hopped off the hovercraft, making her way to the hole. After a moment of trying to peer over the shoulders of the workers, she audibly ground her mandibles together. "Excuse me." A hole immediately opened up, and she smirked in satisfaction. She moved into the open space, peering down into the three D-unit wide hole. Her mandibles sagged open in amazement, as inside the hole was a small tangle of orange worms, with thin lines across their slimy bodies fluorescing in the weak morning light. "Those are Golo."

      She straightened, hitting her communicator. "Arla' Selathas to the Looking Glass."

      Captain Ratharel's voice crackled through the communicator. "Yes, Supervisor?"

      "Please ask Goro'tesh and Raso'tesh to come down as soon as possible. Schedule a shuttle flight for them if you need to, we're going to need the bond pair down here very shortly."

      Arla' bowed her head politely to the Lek'Golo pair standing in front of her. "Goro'tesh, I'm glad you and your bondmate could make it down here on such short notice."

      The enormous robed figure bowed in response, and held out one of it's arms. A robotic sounding voice crackled forth from the translator it held. "It is our pleasure to have been asked for assistance, Supervisor Arla' Selethas. Captain Dukat' Ratharel has told us that you have found Golo in the sands of this planet."

      "That is the reason I asked for your presence. Any Lek'Golo on this planet would not have the translation technology to understand us." The Lek'Golo in the Consolidation were highly respected for the effort they made to coexist with the Sangheili and Unggoy. Their cultural structure was highly developed, but along completely different lines than the other two races. They communicated through a form of telepathy that was as yet undetectable by any means the Consolidation had tried, and so relied on their own forms of technology to produce biomechanical translation devices.

      The Lek'Golo turned away from her for a moment, facing its bondmate. When it turned back, it focused on her, and she could see the orange glow under its deep hood despite the bright sunlight. "Indeed. We and our bondmate will assist with the excavations until we are needed for communicating. Do let us know if another Lek'Golo arrives." The huge creature slowly lumbered off, and Arla' released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Goro'tesh, like the rest of his race, dwarfed the largest of her kind, and Arla' barely came up to the shoulder of the average Sangheili. She shook her head to clear it, going back to her tent to finish the paperwork she still had left for the day.

      "Supervisor Thasunee, we've completed scans of the system, the information should be in your datapad now."

      Arne' nodded, reading through the data the scanners had collected before tossing the datapad onto the table. "Another one. That's the fourth one in six systems, Bane'."

      The Rediscovery's captain nodded. "It can't be a coincidence. Planets don't form with that kind of surface composition."

      Arne' sighed, looking back to the main holodisplay. "Log it with the others. Prepare the ship to leave orbit, we'll meet up with the Nappet's Eye at the system she's scouting out." Arne' sighed again as Bane' left to issue the orders, eyes still fixed on the planet in the display. Its glass surface was mirror smooth, shining like a diamond under the light of the system's white star.

Rediscovery, Chapter Four: Conjugation
Date: 24 February 2006, 6:35 am

      The digging effort had slowed to almost a complete halt. After finding the Golo, Arla' had issued orders that all personnel go out in groups of no less than ten, and that only the digsite closest to camp would remain active.

      There was a thundering rumble as Goro'tesh and Raso'tesh teamed their efforts to drag away the debris blocking a building entrance. The mass of rubble had to weigh nearly a full Mx-unit, and Arla' couldn't help but hope that her precautions had been enough.

      She glanced over her shoulder, hearing footsteps behind her, and nodded to the armed Sangheili there. Tase' Krazelee was in charge of the security detail, and she was glad to see him taking the job seriously. He nodded in return, sparing a glance at the bond pair. "We've finished setting up the defensive perimeters. Non-lethal, as you requested."

      She let out a breath in relief. "That was faster than I expected."

      "Contrary to popular belief, my security teams can work well when the situation is serious," Tase' replied, "and there isn't much I can think of that's more serious than the possibility of rampaging Lek'Golo."

      Arla' shuddered, despite the fact that the noonday temperature was well over thirty units. Despite their seemingly calm facade, the Lek'Golo that actively participated in the affairs of the Consolidation worked very hard to keep their instincts in check. They tended to react violently to things that upset them, and one of the things that definately upset Lek'Golo was the unfamiliar. But then, it wasn't their Lek'Golo she was worried about.

      Kihkil was more than happy with the reports in front of him. A full week's work and the derelict vessel had been completely explored, and the crew of the Tekkil's Edge was enthusiastically working through the ship's innards. His communicator beeped, and he tapped it immediately. "Supervisor Kihkil."

      The Sangheili on the other side sounded quite pleased. "Supervisor, we've completed documentation of the alien ship's crew. The data will be coming over shortly, it will complement what was in the previous report."

      "Excellent news, Monitor. Tell your teams that they're to shuttle back over for some recreation, they've been working almost non-stop for the past four days."

      There was a pause as the exploration monitor conferred with his assistants. "We appreciate the thought, Director, but the general consensus is that we don't need the time off. They'd like to continue working."

      Kihkil chuckled. "I'm glad to hear they're keen to finish, but do remind them that the ship has been orbiting this planet for thousands of years, at least. A night's relaxation won't make a difference. But, I'll leave the decision to you. Kikhil out."

      He looked back down to his datapad, opening the new file. The vessel was populated by three different species. Of the smaller creatures, there were two kinds: the bird-like bipedals, standing under 3 D-units tall, and six-legged insectoids, measuring around 2 D-units tall. The larger simian creatures measure 4 D-units on average.
      The majority of the bodies had been found in the communal chambers of the vessel. The bridge was mainly occupied by the simian creatures, while the smaller creatures were mainly in the other rooms. Judging by the layout of the bodies, they had apparently been massed together for some form of meeting when whatever killed them all happened. In each room, the creatures were found in ranks, and from the positioning of the bodies it is assumed that they were practicing some form of prayer ritual, for to be in the positions we found them, they would have needed to be kneeling when they died.

      Kikhil tapped his mask in thought. There was the possibility that it was a ritualistic mass suicide, but that didn't explain the creatures that had been found in the hallways. They had obviously been on patrol, and guards wouldn't be needed if they had meant to die. He hopped off his stool, planning on stopping by the galley before continuing his reading.

      The main camp was in chaos. A Tg-unit ago, the motion sensors had detected something closing in, and before anyone reacted, the feral Lek'Golo had barrelled through the perimeter, breaking through the hastily erected barriers like they were made of glass.

      Arla' hopped out of the hover-transport, signaling the driver to open the loading door. She took a quick look around, seeing that all the noncombat personnel had taken cover. Her eyes fell on the rampaging Lek'Golo and her face went pale. The creature was gigantic, its sand-covered body nearly twice as massive as any other Lek'Golo she'd ever seen. Two of the more athletic Sangheili in the security detail were keeping it distracted in a dangerous parody of a game of tag while two more were dragging a fifth away from the scene.

      She heard a series of heavy thumps behind her, and she whirled around to see Goro'tesh charging across the sands, his heavy robes spreading out behind him in the wind. Without hesitation he barrelled into the other Lek'Golo, driving it back several steps before it was able to regain its balance.

      For a moment the creature seemed taken aback, staring down at the hooded and cloaked figure that had managed to push it backwards, then it wrapped both arms around the interloper. Arla' gasped as the thing picked Goro'tesh up off the ground like a child before throwing him to the side. Goro'tesh landed in a heap a dozen D-units away, and the raging beast focused on the next thing in it's line of sight.

      It was looking at her.

      Work on the alien ship had continued with the same fervor as before. EVA teams had secured docking clamps onto the ship's purple hull, and the Tekkil's Edge was maneuvering to dock with the ancient craft. The ship, found to be named the Pious Templar, was over three times the mass of the Tekkil's Edge, but Cras' wasn't worried. His ship was well designed, and he was confident that the engines would be able to handle the extra mass.

      He turned as Kihkil waddled into the bridge, and nodded in greeting. "Supervisor, maneuvers are under way, we should be hard-docked with the Pious Templar by the end of the Tx."

      "Excellent news, Captain. Once we're secure, we set course for Sangheilus Secundus, yes?" The old scientist's voice was higher than usual in his excitement.

      "As we decided, Supervisor. Considering the extra load, the slipspace trip will probably take seven days, less than that if the Slipflow our sensors detected merges with one leading home. Even adding in the time to finish securing the hard-dock, we'll be back at Sangheilus Secundus by the end of the week. Ten days, Supervisor." Cras' watched as Kihkil shuffled from one foot to the other in his impatience to be off, and smiled at the diminutive Unggoy. "Once the docking maneuvers are completed, I'll join you in your quarters and we can toast to our success."

      Kihkil bobbed his head in agreement. "I've a special brew I've been saving for something like this. It was bottled the year I recieved my first Mastery. It should have aged quite nicely these past fifty years."

      She took a step back as the creature started moving for her. It built up speed with frightening alacrity, and Arla' could feel the ground jump with each footstep. As it closed in, raising one of it's massive fists, a memory flashed before her eyes.

      Her parents had let her stay with Arne's family while they were away on a business trip. The two children were playing in the yard while Arne's mother prepared lunch. He was sputtering as he climbed out of the pool, she having just pushed him in. She backed away laughing, as he stood up dripping wet. He charged toward her, intent on grabbing her and tossing her in. She had a flash of insight, and just as he was too close to change direction, she...

      ...dived between it's legs, rolling onto her feet and running in a single smooth move. The creature broke stride, staring at it's feet in confusion. After a few moments, she glanced over her shoulder to see the thing finally look around and spot her. She kept backpedalling away from it when suddenly a giant hand clamped down on her shoulder. Before she could react, she was tossed lightly to the side, skidding several D-units across the sand. When she looked up, she saw Goro'tesh, his hood down to expose his head, staring down the other Lek'Golo from ten paces away. She saw the larger one tense up and stand perfectly still. There was no sound in the camp as all eyes were on the pair of creatures.

      After what seemed like ages, the other Lek'Golo relaxed, cocking its head to the side. It promptly sat down on the sand, seeming to fold in on itself, and Goro'tesh walked over to her as he pulled his hood back over his head. He pulled out his translator. "We were able to explain our presence here well enough to satisfy him for the moment. His mind is full of rage, instinct, as the Lek'Golo here never have had to learn to interact with other races. He wants to know more of us, Supervisor Arla' Selethas. Why we are all here, what we are doing, what you are. In return, he will tell us of his history."

      She took a moment to let her thoughts catch up with her. "How long will that take? That's a lot of things to explain."

      Goro'tesh didn't respond for a moment, but something about the way he stood there made Arla' think he was laughing. "It will not take very much time at all, Supervisor Arla' Selethas. He demands that we Conjugate so that nothing is left out, either intentionally or by accident."

      The two Lek'Golo stood five units apart outside of the camp, Goro'tesh in his brown robes, the other one covered in the sands of the desert. Arla' stood at the edge of camp, watching, and remembering the things she had learned of the Lek'Golo in her biology classes. The Lek'Golo are an aggregate being, made of a colony of individual worm-like creatures called 'Golo'. A Lek'Golo forms when enough Golo are present in an area to meet a requirement number, which actually changes depending on the individual worms in the area. The creatures bind themselves together, superficially linking their physical structures and nervous systems. The innate telepathic affinity that Golo have for each other allows the Golo that form an entire colony to merge their thoughts, forming a single mind-pattern that governs the actions of the Lek'Golo itself. More than anything else, the Lek'Golo are aware of their many-as-one form, and each Lek'Golo refers to himself in the plural form.
      All Lek'Golo refer to themselves as male, while research has shown that each individual Golo is a hermaphrodite. Lek'Golo reproduce internally, as their individual Golo each have their own variant DNA structure, as much as any other species will. The individual Golo that make up a Lek'Golo undergo sexual reproduction with each other, and the resulting offspring are either included into the Lek'Golo or dropped off to survive on their own, depending on the circumstances.
      In a way that stands out completely from any other species discovered, the Lek'Golo structure allows for the exchange of DNA between two mature Lek'Golo as well. The Lek'Golo refer to this procedure as Conjugation, named as such because of the resemblence to Bacterial Conjugation, the exchange of non-chromosomal DNA between bacteria. To perform Conjugation, each Lek'Golo selects one of its internal Golo, and releases it from the colony, trading the Golo with the other Lek'Golo. The received Golo are then incorporated into the Lek'Golo, providing fresh DNA from an outside source. Because of the fact that each Golo does have a complete, if rudimentary, nervous system, information in the form of memories can also be exchanged.

      As she watched, the larger Lek'Golo stretched forth an arm, and a D-unit long worm detached itself from the arm, dropping off to land heavily on the sand. Goro'tesh did the same, a slightly smaller Golo crawling out of the sleeve of his robe and flopping to the ground. Each worm crawled forward for its new 'host', and the two Lek'Golo bent down to retrieve them. The worms merged flawlessly into their bodies, and the two Lek'Golo bowed once at the waist. They paused for a moment, and then Goro'tesh walked toward the camp, while the other Lek'Golo turned and left for the untamed desert sands.

      Goro'tesh stopped in front of her. "Supervisor Arla' Selethas, Tono'fass sends his greetings and farewell, and hopes that we find what we came here to look for." He paused for a moment. "His memories seem to point to several of the buildings in the city being important. The memories are old, passed down from many generations. He is no longer the same Lek'Golo that witnessed those things, but he still knows where they are. If you will show us a map of the city, we will tell you where to concentrate your efforts." Goro'tesh bowed and went further into camp.

      Arla' watched him as he moved, noticing that his gait seemed more sure-footed in the shifting desert sands.

Rediscovery, Chapter Five: Imperfect Circle
Date: 13 June 2006, 5:13 am

      Goro'tesh led them unerringly through the twisted streets of the ruins, only pausing twice to consult with the map Arla' was holding. After only half an hour, they came to a smaller building, in surprisingly good shape after thousands of years neglect. The hovertransport following them set down, and a small perimeter around the building was quickly established.

      Arla' looked at the squat structure, then to Goro'tesh. "Do you know what's inside?"

      Goro'tesh shooked his robed head. "We are sorry, but Tono'fass has no recollection of what is inside this building. He only remembers that it was important to the races that once lived in this city." Goro'tesh paused, and focused on Arla'. He seemed about to say something, but then turned back to the structure.

      Tase' walked up to them, nodding to Goro'tesh before turning to Arla'. "We've finished establishing the perimeter, and Hickers is rigging some shaped charges for if we can't find a way inside."

      Arla' chuckled at the thought of the explosives-happy Unggoy bent over a workbench, cackling madly as he put together the charges. "Are you sure we should let him do that?"

      The older Sangheili snorted in amusement, regarding the building. "I don't think it'll be necessary, the door should come open with a little work." He nodded to Goro'tesh again and trotted off, shouting a few orders as he went.

      Entering the structure proved an easy task, for once it was found that the door was jammed, Goro'tesh simply tore it out of the wall. A pair of armed Sangheili went inside, followed by Arla', Tase', and Goro'tesh. The Lek'Golo was strangely insistent on going with them, which unnerved Arla' slightly.

      The inside of the structure was covered in a thick layer of dust. The entire building was taken up by a single room, with a five D-unit wide hole in the center. One of the guards shined his flashlight down the hole, peering into the gloom. "Looks like a gravlift shaft to me, goes down about... a hundred D-units. I'll rappel down and check it out." He detached a rope from his belt, and fired the anchoring spar into the floor. Tossing the rope down, he slipped from sight, the other guard shining his own flashlight down to keep an eye on him.

      The edge of a universe, shrivelled into a blackened husk by the fires of damnation.

      The dawn and dusk of an Epoch, doomed to circle its passing without ever ending.

      A land covered in the blood of innocents, sating the ravenous thirst of a false deity.

      The bones of the world ripped out to reveal what should have never have been found.

      Opening his eyes, Arne' sighed and reached for the light. The timepiece next to his hammock read just after 3rd. "Typical..." Ever since discovering the String of Pearls, he had been plagued by formless, shapeless dreams, robbing him of rest and upsetting his thoughts during the day. Grabbing his robe, he shrugged it on as he left his quarters for the galley, hoping that putting something in his stomach would help him sleep.

      He found a pot of protein stew simmering on the all-night stove, and filled a bowl to take to a table. Inside the main room, he saw Bane' sitting at a table as well, similarly attired. Arne' sat down across from him, nodding to the off-duty captain. The older Sangheili nodded back. "Can't sleep either, Arne'?"

      "No, I can't. I keep wondering about these planets we've been finding. Every time we find a system with the right classifications, any planet that's the right distance from the star to support life is.. glass." He paused, staring at the far wall. "It can't be natural. It's as if something targetted every life supporting planet and wiped it out."

      Bane' twitched a mandible. "The crew is picking up on that as well. But you can't blame them, you did handpick them for their intellect." He was silent for a moment, then continued. "Overall, it's starting to cause a loss of moral throughout the ship. We expected to find dead civilizations, but not dead planets. Captain Selethas says that the Tides of Knowledge is experiencing the same problem."

      Arne' took a long swallow of his soup, then looked back at Bane'. "I think it's about time to turn around. The crews could use some time off to relax, and it's getting close to the return date anyways. If you agree with me, I'd like you to ask Enla' tomorrow and see what she thinks." He glanced back to the wall, taking another sip of his soup before meeting Bane's gaze again. "I hate to turn around, though. I can't help but feel like the explanation for the dead planets is staring me in the face."

      Arla' followed Tase' through the darkened corridor, staying a careful five paces behind the experienced security officer. She halted as he held up a warning hand, sweeping his pulse carbine to both sides of a T-intersection. He glanced back at her. "Left tunnel's caved in, same as the rest of the structure. We go right." Fifty paces further in, his barrel-mounted flashlight illuminated a blast door large enough for a Lek'Golo to pass through without having to crouch.

      She shined her flashlight around again, the beam showing walls pockmarked by innumerable craters in the metal. The door itself was covered in scorch marks, the black carbon soot still clinging to the surface after thousands of years. "It looks like a battle was fought down here, Tase'."

      He nodded, still looking at the door. "Judging by the other collapsed corridors and the overall spread of the damage, I would say a retreating action. Whoever it was that was forced to retreat," he gestured to the door, "barricaded themselves behind that." He looked back to her, angling his head slightly. "Do we open it?"

      "We brought the portable powercells for a reason, didn't we?" She nodded to the technician behind them, and he quickly located the door's access panel. Within moments, the corridor lights sputtered with a weak red glow. He moved back, and she stepped forward to the holographic display panel that popped up next to the door. "Amazing that it still works after all this time. It looks like the power outage wiped the lock codes." She looked back to see Tase' and the other two guards taking up firing positions in front of the door. She tapped the activation button. "Here we go."

      The corridor darkened again as the door shuddered, motors protesting loudly after so much disuse. The door juttered open slightly, and screeched to a halt before it had recessed halfway into the wall. The three D-unit wide gap exposed only blackness beyond. Tase' nodded to the other two guards, and carefully stepped through the gap.

      Moments went by, and then Tase's hand stuck back through the opening, motioning them to follow. They walked through the gap single file, those with weapons holding them at ready. Arla' pulled a light-globe out of her pack, thumbed it on, and tossed it ahead.

      The room's size wasn't impressive, no more than fifteen D-units wide and twenty long. The room was a mess, furniture turned over, wall plates ripped out and used as impromptu barricades. What caught their attention were the bodies. A dozen ancient corpses were slumped behind the barriers. She walked up to the nearest one and shined her flashlight over it. The contoured gold armor the body was wearing still cleanly reflected the light.

      "Course set for Sangheilus Secundus, ETA twelve days."

      Bane' nodded, his eyes on Arne's back. The young Sangheili leaned on the bridge railing, staring through the viewscreen into the eerie non-blackness of slipspace. Seeing he was obviously preoccupied with something, Bane' walked up to him, leaning against the railing as well. "Something bothering you, Supervisor?"

      "No, Captain. Everything's fine."

      Bane' snorted, dropping the guise of military protocol. "Nokh-shit. A blind Terak'ii could tell there's something wrong. Tell me what it is, Arne', I can't help if I don't know what it is." He watched the other Sangheili's face closely, gauging his reaction.

      Arne' chuckled ruefully, shaking his head slowly, but saying nothing. Bane' stayed quiet, waiting. The silence stood for several moments. Just as Bane' started to shift uncomfortably, Arne' waved a hand at the blank screen. "I just have a feeling this isn't over yet. Something we've missed, or something that we've still got to see before we get home. I... did you feel that?"

      Bane' narrowed his eyes, looking over his shoulder at the Unggoy at the navigational console. "Why did we change course, helmsman?"

      The Unggoy punched in a few commands, bringing up a holographic map of the surrounding space. "Long range sensors detected a gravitational anomaly on our current course." A black sphere in the holograph started flashing as the holograph zoomed in on the area. "I took the liberty of replotting our course a safe distance around it."

      "I see. Good work, helmsman. Keep me informed." Bane' turned back to Arne', only to find him staring at the starmap. "Something else bothering you now, Arne'?"

      The dawn and dusk of an Epoch, doomed to circle its passing without ever ending.

      Arne' walked toward the holograph, pointing at the marked anomaly. "Is this holograph built realtime with the sensor readings?"

      "Yes, but I don't see..."

      "This gravitational anomaly is lopsided, look. According to the readings, it's consistant with a black hole. But a blackhole wouldn't have this swell to it, it would be perfectly spherical." He turned back to the helmsman. "Replot that course as close as you can safely bring us to that gravity well. I want to take a closer look at it."

      Bane' straightened up a little. "I don't think that's a good..."

      "Do it, Captain, please. We need to look into this closer, I'm sure of it." Arne' walked back to the railing, leaning against it and staring into the main viewscreen again, but this time filled with excitement rather than apprehension.

      The corpse was a Sangheili. Six other Sangheili bodies occupied the room as well, one with faded blue armor and the rest adorned in black. Four dessicated Unggoy were intermixed among them, all of the bodies collapsed behind various parts of the barriers. What Arla' had originally thought was the twelfth body was an empty suit of massive plate armor, piled on the ground next to the bare earth of a stripped out wall.

      Tase' caught her gaze as she and the technician set to work documenting the room. "Impressive find, Supervisor. In one fell swoop you've proven that Sangheili populated the Dead Zones with the Unggoy."

      She twitched a mandible in amusement as she scanned the room, before hitting her communicator. "Arla' Selethas to Base Camp."

      "Base camp reads you clear, go ahead."

      "Please send additional personnel to the building we're at, home in on the transponder signal from our hovertransport. I think we're going to need about twenty people, and have them bring a portable gravlift. We're going to need it to move everything out."

      "Acknowledged, Supervisor. Additional personnel should be there within the Tx-Unit."

      Arla' nodded to herself, satisfied, and bent down to re-examine the gold armored body. The armor was well crafted, with plates covering all of the most vulnerable portions of Sangheili anatomy. "The armor this body is wearing doesn't really looked damaged, there's no obvious wounds on the body that could have killed it. Judging from it's positioning, it looks like it was standing behind this barricade and just fell over."

      Tase' looked over another of the bodies, and peered at the rest of the room. "Same for this one as well. Despite the mess, this room didn't see any combat. Whatever chased them in here didn't follow. Something else killed them, instantly."

      "I wonder what..." Arla' jumped as the door screeched wide open, whirling to point her flashlight at the entrance. Five lightbeams converged to reveal the hulking, cloaked form of Goro'tesh standing in the passageway, the leaves of the blast door shoved fully into the the recesses. "What in the world?!"

      "We apologize for distressing you, Supervisor Arla' Selethas. Tono'fass passed on a memory regarding this room, and we felt it necessary to see this with our own sight." The Lek'Golo stepped fully into the room, looking over the bodies. The orange glow under his hood intensified for a moment as it passed over the golden armored corpse, before coming to rest on the empty suit of armor next to the wall.

      Arla' unconsciously took a step back, clearing her throat. "It's alright, Goro'tesh, but please give us some warning next time you feel like coming down... wait. How did you get down the rope? It shouldn't have been able to support your weight." She felt a shiver run down her spine as the Lek'Golo turned it's gaze on her.

      "We came down because we had to, Supervisor Arla' Selethas." Goro'tesh plodded over to the mass of metal against the wall, reaching down and picking a piece of it up. Without a word, he tucked it into his robe and came over to Arla'. "Tono'fass does remember two things about this room. He was here when the Cataclysm came, though he does not know to call it that." He paused, bending down to touch the chestpiece of the golden armor. "Secondly, this Sangheili was a true champion of his people and a great leader of their military. His name was Sahne' Selethas, and he was your ancestor."

      Arla' felt her stomach go cold as the Lek'Golo straightened to his full height. He pulled out the helmet he had taken from the old armor and placed it on his head. "There is a war coming, Supervisor Arla' Selethas. None will lay a hand upon you with malice in their intent as long as we still stand. Our life, our body is yours to command."

Rediscovery, Chapter Six: Edge of Oblivion
Date: 14 July 2006, 5:09 am

      Oblivion. Far outside the boundaries of Consolidation space, the collapsed star was nevertheless easy to locate because of the effect it had on the nebula it resided in. It had all but been drawn in by Oblivion's gravity on one side, leaving the nebula with a distinctive crescent moon shape. Detected by Consolidation astronomers over a thousand years ago, it was the first black hole to be found and sparked a great interest in filling in the gaps in the knowledge of the distant reaches of space. A fitting name, thought Arne' as he skimmed through the collected reports and files the shipboard computer had on the phenomenon, for Oblivion had quickly been forgotten in the excitement brought on by the constant discoveries being made in its wake.

      Rediscovery hung motionless in realspace a light-month out from Oblivion, as her crew decided what course of action to take regarding the situation. The Tides of Knowledge had already rendezvoused with them and dropped off what excess supplies could be spared, to allow them to spend a few extra days researching. Arne' set down the latest set of reports and keyed the communicator on his desk. "Arne' to Bridge."

      Bane's voice crackled over the comm after a short delay. "Yes, Supervisor?"

      "Have our navigators determined how close we can get to Oblivion? I want to be underway as soon as possible."

      "Yes, they believe they have a minimum safe distance determined, and we should be able to jump in within the day."

      Arne' ground his mandibles together for a moment. He didn't want to delay anymore, but he understood the necessity for extreme caution. "Very well, Captain. Please inform me when we're ready to jump."

      Arla' stood next to Tase', watching as the research team finished loading the discoveries onto the transports. Each of the bodies had been carefully encased in a padded plastic shell for transport to the surface, and the opaque blue coating was tinged purple in the light of the setting desert sun. It looks like blood, she thought as the last crate was loaded. I wonder what they were fighting for when they died.

      She took a quick head count. Everyone was back except for Goro'tesh, still in the bowels of the installation. She had just raised her communicator to contact him when she heard a harsh grinding noise accompanied by the heavy footfalls associated with Lek'Golo. She turned back to the building and took a step back as Goro'tesh emerged into the light.

      Gone were the brown robes and cloak. The Lek'Golo ambassador was encased head to toe in thick blue plate armor, blackened by fire and tarnished with age. Running down his left arm was an articulated shield larger than she was, and his right hand was wrapped around the barrel of an enormous gun. The four balance tentacles that ran in two rows down his back were encased in armored spikes two units long. He looked like a walking tank, prepared for war and waiting for instructions. He looked twice as frightening and ten times as lethal as he had before, and before Arla' had already been more scared of Lek'Golo than anything else she had ever seen.

      All work had stopped. All eyes were watching the armored giant, waiting to see what he would do. No one noticed the other Lek'Golo until it was a bare ten strides from Goro'tesh, a few shouts of alarm announcing it's presence for everyone. The sand-covered goliath stopped five units away from Goro'tesh, and the two bowed to each other. Goro'tesh turned to Arla', holding up his translator. "Tono'fass would speak with you for a moment, Supervisor Arla' Selethas." He then dropped the device into the other Lek'Golo's hand.

      Tono'fass turned to regard her. "I am glad to see that you have discovered what you were looking for. We have waited for thousands of years for ones such as you to come back and reclaim their heritage." He paused, seeming to sigh. "Make much use of the knowledge that you regain here, we believe that it will be needed soon."

      Arla' nodded. She opened her mouth to speak, but the Lek'Golo interrupted her.

      "Our long vigil is ended. Our brother is gone, and we tire of the sentience that this cohesiveness brings. We will go back to the desert and allow ourselves to dissociate and go our seperate ways, as our brother did millenia ago. Another pause, longer than the first one. "We wish you well, Supervisor Arla' Selethas. Never stray from the path that you choose." Tono'fass handed the translator back to Goro'tesh and turned, plodding his way back towards the sands outside the city.

      Rediscovery orbited a healthy distance from the black hole, and was still fighting a constant one gee pull as she held position 'above' it. To conserve some energy, the ship was aligned belly down towards the collapsed star, letting the crew turn off the artificial gravity systems and use Oblivion's own pull to keep everyones feet on the deck. The ship was letting loose a constant stream of sensor sweeps and signals as she kept her altitude.

      Arne' stood on the bridge, reading the information as it came in. Bane' walked quickly from station to station, looking over shoulders and making sure the ship was handling the stress, minor though it was. Finally satisfied, he stopped behind Arne' to look over his shoulder. Arne' glanced back at him, twitching a mandible in amusement. "Yes?"

      "I'm just wondering if the scanners have found anything yet."

      Arne' shook his head. "Nothing yet, but there's a lot of space to go over. How's she holding up?"

      Bane' laughed, stepping back. "Rediscovery's handling fine. At this distance it's the same thing as if we were hovering over a planet surface, which she is perfectly capable of doing. Still," he gestured to the main holodisplay, "It's a damn fool thing for us to do, hovering right over a black hole like this." The humor in his voice took all the sting out of the comment. "It does have some style, though."

      Arne' spread his mandibles in a grin, swept along by Bane's good humor. Despite the possible dangers of the maneuver, the Rediscovery's crew was stepping more lively than it had in weeks. Morale had improved simply because they were doing something. "Yes, this'll be a story to tell back home." He looked back to the sensor data, but the grin didn't leave his face. "We haven't found it yet, but we will."

      Two days later, it was still being very elusive. All the science crew had worked double shifts poring over the data the scanners brought in, and the engineering crew was on constant call to make sure the ship wasn't suffering from the strain of holding position. Arne' was staring at the holodisplay while the science officer gave his report. It was everything that he had expected, yet nothing that he'd hoped for.

      "So, final scanner concludes that there are no sizeable masses, anomalies, or energy sources within one AU of the black hole. The system is empty, as one would expect."

      He sighed, nodding and waving the officer away. He turned to Bane', who was standing nearby. "Captain Danazee, pull us out of our holding position and make ready to enter slipspace." Bane' saluted, and gave out the necessary orders to get the ship moving.

      The bridge was completely silent during the acceleration burn out of orbit. Everyone had been hopeful about finding something during their last stop before heading back home, and the disappointment in the air was almost tangible. After several hours, the engine technicians reported that Oblivion's gravitic influence was weak enough to allow a slipspace transition.

      Arne's gaze bored into the scanner terminal during the entire flight. He knew they were missing something, and he kept hoping that he'd see it during the flight out. The Rediscovery aligned herself toward Sangheilus Secundus, and he felt the slight shifting in the artificial gravity field that signified their entering slipspace. He sighed and dropped his head, and felt Bane's hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. He looked back up and shook his head ruefully. "I'm a fool, Bane'."

      The captain snorted, releasing his shoulder only to clout him on the arm. "It was a good guess, Arne'. Everyone makes mistakes." He looked back at the forward display, smirking. "Look at it this way, you got to put the ship through a test her designers would never have thought up." At that, Arne' had to chuckle. He was about to respond when an Unggoy broke into their conversation, hopping up and down in her excitement. "Supervisor!!"

      The diminutive Unggoy was holding out a datapad and gibbering so quickly that Arne' couldn't even understand her. He missed the pad twice before he was finally able to grab it out of her hand, as she was nearly vibrating. It took him several moments to calm her down enough to be able to even catch what she was saying. "Settle down, I can't understand you when you... slow down..." Finally, he grabbed her by her shoulders and forced her feet back on the floor. "What?!"

      She shook her head, taking a moment to catch her breath. "Supervisor, the slipspace scanners detected a ship in orbit around the black hole, but we didn't notice it because whilewewere in normalspace weweren't using the slipspacescanners but now that we're backinslipspacethe scanners... heeeep... detected thatthereisashipinslipspace inorbitaroundtheblackhole!!!!"

      Arne' stared blankly at her, trying to catch up to what she had just said. "There is a ship? In slipspace? Orbiting Oblivion?"

      She beamed at him from behind her mask. "YES! ...heeeiiizz..." Her eyes crossed as she fought for breath.

      The little Unggoy sat down on the deck to adjust her rebreather as Arne' snapped his attention back to Bane'. "Captain, take us back. We've found it!"

      Arla' tried to relax into her seat as the shuttle prepped for takeoff. In the seat next to her, Tase' had already closed his eyes, but she didn't think he was asleep already. She threw a glance over her shoulder at the back of the cabin at the two seats designed for Lek'Golo, and at the bond pair occupying them. Raso'tesh was leaning over in his seat to examine the armor Goro'tesh had brought up, the speed of the telepathic conversation they were having evident in the rapid flow of their body language. Raso'tesh was... excited, and Goro'tesh wasn't exactly being calm and reserved. It was some of the strangest behavior she'd ever seen in the somewhat aloof Lek'Golo.

      She faced forward again and sighed. At least the armor wasn't screeching as much anymore, maybe Goro'tesh wearing it was helping to work out the dirt in the hinges. Or it was getting lubricated by his mucus coating. She shuddered and tried to find something else to think about, disgusted at that line of thought. She was about to poke Tase' to see if he really was asleep when she felt the shuttle lurch slightly and then smoothly accelerate. A small cheer broke out from some of the dig crew as they took off.

      After a moment, she pulled out her PDA and linked to the external visual sensors, watching the land pass by underneath them. The pilots were taking the ship in a quick orbit around the ruins, for a last look before they rejoined the Looking Glass. Movement on the screen caught her eye, and she zoomed in to find the massive figure of Tono'fass plodding through the desert. Even as she focused in on him the Lek'Golo glanced up at the shuttle passing overhead, and she could almost see the air of satisfaction and completion around him. He shuddered, the ripple passing through his body from head to foot, and then seemed to collapse onto the ground. She watched as his body broke apart, individual Golo squirming free of their enmeshment and burrowing into the ground. Soon, all that was left were his footprints and a shallow depression in the sand, waiting for the winds to erase all traces of his passing.

      Arne' stared into the main viewscreen, at the strange blue space that encompassed Rediscovery. Centered in the view was a black sphere, roiling forth tendrils of darkness that seemed eager to snatch away at the azure surroundings, but unable to grasp it. He tore his gaze away from the spectacle and turned to address the Unggoy technician next to him. "You're sure about this, Vinliy?"

      She nodded back to him, pressing a few icons on her datapad. "Slipspace is more spatially compressed than realspace, so mass and gravity affect slipspace more than realspace, and a massive object will stretch, or smooth it back out as it passes through it. Our ships do it whenever they travel in slipspace." She pointed to the screen. "What we have here is Oblivion, clearly being a very massive object, has smoothed out slipspace for a very wide radius around it. As far as the sensors can tell, slipspace in this area is starting to take on some of the properties of normal space, including allowing the passage of electromagnetic radiation. Which is why we're able to see anything at all on the viewscreen." She held the datapad to up, and Arne' took it and read over it himself. "Still, this is very theoretical," she continued, "as I don't believe anyone's ever been stupid enough to get this close to a black hole, regardless of being in slip or realspace."

      He chuckled, nodding. Vinliy was very good at her field, and spoke a lot of sense when she wasn't bouncing off the walls. He looked back at the viewscreen, taking in the grandeur of Oblivion again, and lost some of his humor. "Have we located the ship?"

      She nodded, and hopped up to snatch the datapad out of his hand. She pressed a few more keys, and a red orbit line appeared on the display, with a small yellow circle travelling along it. It was dangerously close to the black hole, almost within reach of the grabbing wisps of blackness.

      "What are those... tendrils... coming off of it?"

      Vinliy shrugged, then scratched at the top of her head. "Like I said before, no one's ever been this close before. If I had to guess, I would say that because of the compressed nature of slipspace, even after being flattened out there are still uneven areas in the fabric, and so the black hole's event horizon would fluctuate."

      "Final question... can our engines handle that?"

      "Definately maybe." The pad beeped in her hand, and she glanced down at it. "However, I think something just came up that might force your decision."

      He looked back down at her. "And that is?"

      Vinliy held the datapad back up. "We just received an omnidirectional broadcast from the ship. It was weak, but it shows that something on that ship still works."

Rediscovery, Chapter Seven: Eternal Tomb
Date: 20 July 2006, 5:22 am

      "Decrease our altitude another ten thousand Dx-units, and hold altitude there while we readjust the antigrav system." Arne' stood off to one side of the bridge as Bane' called out orders, making judgement calls as needed and quickly interpreting the data being fed to him by Rediscovery's crew. The ship was shaking as she passed through the compressed spatial layers around Oblivion, slowly closing in on her target.

      The ancient vessel orbited serenely half a Light-Unit below them, seemingly undisturbed by the shroud of destruction further down. Even from that distance it was obvious that the craft was huge, almost two Dx-units long, and its blocky, angular hull design made it seem even more massive. The blunt, hexagonal prow of the ship plowed through the hazy slipspace fog, shoving it aside in visible currents and eddies as the blue space rippled out of the way.

      Arne' spent a tense six Tx-units as the Rediscovery's crew handled her like a sporting craft, riding the fluctuating gravity waves like they had been doing it for years. As she finally slotted into an orbital track just above the ship, the waves of gravitic turbulence intensified, making Arne' grab the railing in an effort to stay standing. Bane' barked out a quick order, and the crew brought Rediscovery into position behind the massive craft. The shaking stopped as she slipped into the 'wake' it produced.

      He carefully relaxed his grip on the railing. "Very nice piloting, if I had any doubts about how well you all knew this ship, they're gone now."

      Bane' spared him a quick grin, then turned back to the navigational display. They were a Dx-unit behind the behemoth, fitted neatly into the smoothed out space it left behind. Rediscovery was dwarfed by it, hardly a quarter of its length. Arne' wouldn't have been surprised if their ship could fit inside one of the two engines that took up the majority of the ship's aft.

      An act of desperation leading to an eternal purgatory.

      Arne' blinked, realizing that Bane', along with the rest of the bridge crew, was staring at him. He shook his head to clear it. "Yes?"

      Bane' tilted his head to the side for a moment. "It's your show from here, Supervisor. What next?"

      The ride into orbit was uneventful, and the shuttle settled into the Looking Glass's docking bay without any mishaps. Unloading the cargo they had gathered was accomplished in an orderly fashion, and the dig crews were dismissed for some much needed time off.

      Arla' was one of the last off, only followed by Goro'tesh, who politely but adamantly waited for her to leave before disembarking himself. He stayed behind her the entire way to the bridge, and stood silently to one side as she discussed their departure with Captain Ratharel. When she left to go to her quarters, Goro'tesh fell into step a few paces behind her, escorting her all the way to her door. Thouroughly flustered at this point by his constant shadowing, she nodded to him and retreated into her room. The hatch closed behind her, and after a few units she heard his thudding footsteps as he went back the way they had come.

      Arla' sighed, belly-flopping onto her hammock and staring at the holographic starfield that covered the port wall. The nightside of Fourteen-Two dominated the entire bottom of the view, and the planet's solitary moon was cresting over the curving horizon. Dukat' had wanted to use the satellite as a slingshot to assist their acceleration outsystem. The starfield started to move as the Looking Glass left orbit, closing on the moon.

      Time passed without Arla' noticing, lost in daydreams that didn't need to make sense to her. After a while, she shook her head and focused on the view of space, as the Looking Glass curved into a short orbit. Movement at the moon's horizon caught her eye, and she squinted, focusing on the object.

      It was another ship, moving straight for them on an intercept course. She was just pushing herself up on her elbows when warning alarms went off, and the first shots impacted the hull.

      Rediscovery slid up alongside the gargantuan vessel, floating a bare dozen units off its ventral surface. Sensor scans had detected a series of what appeared to be docking hardpoints there, and the engineering crew was certain they could adapt a boarding tube to fit one of them. Within three Tx-units, they were hard-docked to the flat, angled hull, and a short boarding tube was fitted around the airlock there.

      Arne' stood impatiently in the corridor along with a team of technicians and a squad of soldiers, waiting for the airlock crew to send them a signal. The soldiers were wearing armored EVA hardsuits, while the technicians had less restrictive softsuits. Everyone packed extra research gear and portable power cells.

      The comm in Arne's helmet crackled to life. "We're through, the exterior airlock is open." Quso' Darankhe, the squad leader, motioned everyone into the airlock, and cycled the room. The hullside door opened, and in pairs the boarding crew travelled through the short length of tube to the alien ships airlock door, which gaped open in front of them. It was a tight fit to get everyone inside the five D-unit cube, but they managed, and Arne' had to squeeze past a dozen space-suited Sangheili to get to the inside door where the Unggoy on the boarding team waited.

      The Unggoy motioned to the control panel on the wall. "If you would do the honors, Supervisor?"

      Arne' nodded his thanks, and examined the mechanism. It sat on the wall, two D-units above the floor. There was a touchpad with nine buttons arranged in a three by three square formation, along with two more buttons below them. The nine buttons were labeled with single symbols, while the two at the bottom were green and red rectangular keys. The red button glowed faintly, and he hesitated. Red tended to signify danger or problems in their own devices. "Does anyone see another control in this room, something to close the exterior door?"

      There was a moment of silence over the comm as everyone glanced around. One of the soldiers pointed at a wall. "There's a lever here, looks like it can be flipped up." Everyone packed themselves back away from the exterior door as Arne' gave permission to flip the lever. The airlock rumbled and a strobing red light activated on the ceiling as the outside door slowly hinged shut.

      "Arne' to Bridge. Testing." He sorely hoped that the fiber optics line hadn't been cut by the door.

      The reply came back swiftly. "This is Rediscovery, we read you loud and clear."

      "Good. Standby." Arne' nodded to the others, and looked back to the keypad. The red key was now dark, and the green key pulsed dimly. He pushed it.

      The red light strobing above was replaced by yellow as a hissing noise signified the airlock being repressurized. After a few T-units, the light was again replaced by green, and the interior door opened. Two soldiers swept through the four D-unit tall door with their pulse rifles up. A moment passed, and they sent the all-clear signal. Everyone filed through the door into the main corridor inside. Arne' was the last one through, closing the airlock behind him.

      Arla' stumbled onto the bridge as another blast hit the Looking Glass. The first shot had gone clean through the ships port engine, and as the second shot connected, she felt what acceleration they had left stop. Dukat' was standing tall at the center of the bridge as everyone rushed to make some sort of headway in the situation. She caught up to him after another moment. "Captain!"

      He spared her a quick nod as the damage reports came in. "We've lost power to both engines, and they're closing in fast. Navigation! Use the lateral thrusters to bring us around. We may be dead in space, but we're still armed."

      Looking Glass pivoted to face her attacker as it closed in. The aggressing vessel was larger, and clearly sported several powerful weapon emplacements. Compared to their paltry armaments of two impact torpedo launchers and a light laser turret, Arla' had the feeling it wasn't going to be a long fight.

      Dukat' gave the order for the laser turret to fire at will, and grunted in satisfaction as the first two bursts struck home on the other ship. "Start a barrel roll, one full rotation every ten units plus or minus two at random. We only have one laser, I don't want them to have an easy shot at it."

      Arla' grabbed for a railing as the deck lurched under her feet. "What do you mean, Captain? Why would they bother with the laser when they could just destroy us?"

      "They'll go for our weapons because they want us intact, Supervisor. They're pirates, not marauders." Dukat' looked away from the display as another weak burst hit home. He met her eyes for a moment, his expression grim, and she felt her blood go cold. "They want to make sure they get all of the spoils out of this."

      The darkened corridor was six D-units tall and five wide, with the walls a light tan color underneath their flashlight beams. Arne' held up a scanner, tapping a few buttons, and read the readout. "The air's a nitrogen oxygen composition, roughly eighty twenty ratio. Amazing." He looked up at the walls, and focused on a ventilation duct from which a low hum could be heard. "It's breathable." He looked around and grinned. No one was removing their helmets quite yet.

      Further travel down the corridor led them to a T-intersection, with large colored arrows on the floor pointing down each branch, and one pointing back the way they had come. Arne' turned to Quso', gesturing down the hallway. "We could split up, a group in each direc-"

      "Motion detected."
      "Intruders."
      "Who are they?"
      "What are they doing here?
      "Interlopers."
      "Temperature scans normal."
      "Visual scanners offline."
      "System degredation detected."
      "No identification presented."
      "Who are you to disturb the silence of our tomb with your footsteps?"

      He was interrupted by the cacophony of voices that echoed through the corridor. Everyone started, the soldiers immediately forming a perimeter and sweeping the hallways with their weapons. Quso' looked back at Arne', who shrugged. "Not any language I've ever heard."

      Quso' nodded. "I guess we stay together."

      Arne' looked back to the colored arrows on the floor. Both of them were labeled in strange, blocky symbols. The orange one pointed to the aft of the ship and featured a picture of a gear, while the blue one pointed to the front of the ship and featured a five pointed star. "I say we go that way." He pointed down the right corridor, toward the front of the ship. "If for no other reason than I like the color blue."

      They moved in two groups, a smaller group on point to scout ahead, with the bulk of the team staying a dozen paces behind. Arne' stayed with the front group, giving orders over the comm system. The corridor branched off in several intersections as they went, until they found themselves facing a heavy bulkhead, with a smaller side door. branching off to the left.

      Arne' held up a hand, calling for a halt. Despite the working airlock, many of the systems on the ship were nonfunctional, as they all could see by the lack of lighting in the hallways. However, the keypad attached to this door was lit, and there was a red light flashing next to it. He reached out and carefully tapped the bar at the bottom, but the door remained stubbornly shut.

      "Trespassing detected."
      "What are they?"
      "Visual scanners offline."
      "Incorrect code entry."
      "Motion sensors online, fourteen targets detected."
      "You trespass, intruders. Identify yourselves before you regret your silence."

      He twitched a mandible in consternation. The voices were overlapped horribly and spoke in tongue he had never heard before, he wasn't even sure he was capable of making some of the sounds. He turned back to the rest of the group. "Any ideas?"

      "Short-range communication detected."
      "Radio band identified."
      "Transmission encrypted, decrypting."
      "Encryption cracked."
      "Warning: Loss of stored comm data. Damaged storage area removed from hierarchy."

      Arne' ducked his head in thought. The first two times the voices had spoken up, one came out above all the rest, and seemed to be addressing them. This time, no one voice stood out amongst the others. He looked back at the keypad, and noticed a small grille next to it. Of course, he thought, something detected our comm channel. He ran his hand down the keypad, and pressed a few keys at random. To his utter surprise, the flashing red light switched to a solid green. "Now what are the chances of that?" He pressed the bar at the base of the pad, and the door swung open.

      He nodded to the others, and the point guards went through the doorway. He followed them into a relatively large room, filled with rows of plain metal tables and benches, slightly smaller than he would be comfortable sitting in. Along one wall were several panels containing rows of buttons with indecipherable labels. Two ceiling lights out of a dozen sputtered feebly, providing a dim white light to see with. At the far end of each sidewall was a door. Squinting, he could make out the blue arrow on the floor pointing through the left one. "That one," he said as he lead the others to it. "Same symbol as before, it's where we're going."

      "Communication decrypted."
      "Initializing linguistic protocals."
      "Motion sensors active, fourteen targets detected."
      "Translation initiated."
      "Temperature sensors active, anomaly detected. Target Eleven is below ambient temperature."
      "Root words recognized: Language identified as Elite Battle Language with seven percent probability of error."

      There was a pause in the chaotic mass of sound, and one clear voice spoke out in halting Sangheili.

      "We slaved, toiled, bled, and sweated for our lives. And you took them from us."

Rediscovery, Chapter Eight: Godless
Date: 1 September 2006, 7:06 am

      Alarms blared as the crew of the Looking Glass scrambled about under the red glow of the emergency lights. Dukat' stood strong at the center of the bridge, determined to make the attackers work for their inevitable victory. Arla' gripped one of the bridge rails tightly as she watched the main viewscreen, the pirates' ship quickly becoming larger in the display. The deck lurched as the Looking Glass suffered another volley of laser fire.

      Dukat' narrowed his eyes as he watched the display, gauging the distance left between them and their attacker. "Fire both impact torpedoes on my mark." He watched as the enemy vessel closed yet further. "Launch!" The deck shuddered as both launchers fired in tandem.

      Impact Torpedoes were not meant for combat situations. Intended as a navigation tool for cluttered space such as asteroid belts, they were designed to cause a large concussive shockwave at the point of impact, in order to knock large obstacles out of the way of the firing ship. Slow and awkward, the heavy guided projectiles did not have the speed or agility necessary for ship to ship combat.

      Dukat' had waited until the enemy ship had closed most of the distance between them, hoping to surprise them and deprive them of the time they would need to react to the launch and making the missiles a dangerous threat rather than a worrisome nuissance. He watched as the missiles appeared on the tactical display, curving around toward their target. Turrets on the enemy ship swivelled to target the missiles as it tried to slip inside their turning arc. Dukat' gritted his teeth as the defensive fire caught one of the missiles, but felt a burst of relief as the other slipped through the web of laser blasts. A cheer went up as the torpedo caught the aft of the ship, detonating in a spectacular orange burst and crushing the hull inward around the impact point.

      The ship spun on its center axis as thrusters flared, fighting to halt the wayward tumble the missile had caused. It righted itself and pivoted back around to face them again as turrets locked on. Everyone standing was knocked off their feet as several energy bursts smashed into the Looking Glass. Arla' lost her grip on the railing and felt her head hit something hard, then everything went dark.

      For several units, no one moved. It wasn't the shock of hearing the voice speaking in their own tongue, but the pure hatred that saturated the statement. The members of the team were glancing nervously at each other, none daring to speak and attract the attention of whatever was watching them. A moment passed, then Vinley waddled forward a few steps and gingerly poked the speaker that the voice had come from.

      Arne' held his breath, but nothing happened. Another moment of silence passed, and he carefully walked toward the door at the far end of the room, motioning the others to follow him. They reached the door without mishap, which remained stubbornly shut when he tapped the darkened keypad. He nodded to Quso', who stepped forward along with another Sangheili soldier. Taking a moment to find handholds, they strained at the door, forcing the halves apart and into the wall recesses. A third soldier stepped through the door, weapon ready.

      The door led into the middle of a large hallway, with the right side closed off by a heavy steel blastdoor. To the left, a single door led out of the room at the end of the corridor, marked by the blue arrow they had been following. Arne' followed Quso' and the other two soldiers towards the door as he motioned for the others to wait.

      A mechanical whirring drew his attention to the door. As he watched, a pair of six-barrelled turrets deployed out of a hidden position in the ceiling, and came around to point at them. The voice that had been following them echoed through the open door as the barrels started spinning rapidly. "Your conviction stops now, Zealots. Your arrow will never reach this mark."

      One of the soldiers grabbed Arne' and threw him to the side as the left weapon belched forth a solitary flash of light from the barrel. Quso' grunted as a single solid round impacted against the front of his hardsuit, but failed to penetrate. Arne' watched from the floor mesmerized as metal casings flew out of the backs of the guns with startling rapidity, but no more shots issued forth from their barrels. Sparks flew from one of the guns as the motor jammed, and the weapons silently retreated into their ceiling compartments.

      Quso' helped Arne' to his feet before examining the damage to his hardsuit. The lead slug had scraped a deep gouge in the breastplate of the armor, but hadn't compromised the environmental capabilities of the suit. "I'm alright."

      Arne' soberly got back into position behind the guards as they moved for the door again, all of them much more alert for any more surprises. He bent down to pick up one of the casings, examining it for a moment. The lead slug still sat inside the jacket, and after looking at it for a moment, he pulled the slug out from the metal shell. He tapped the empty jacket on his palm, and a hardened, grainy mass tumbled into his hand. "If I had to guess, this was supposed to be a chemical explosive that propels the projectile out of the shell at high velocity. They must be so old that they've lost their reactivity." He looked up at them as he set the shell back on the floor. "We were lucky."

      "Please hold still, Supervisor! We haven't treated your injury yet!"

      Arla' woke to a throbbing pain in her head and the high pitched voice of an Unggoy. She could hear shouting over the constant wail of alarms, and winced at the cold spray as the medic applied a wound sealant. It solidified quickly, and he set to work applying a dressing over it.

      The distinct smell of burning plastic assaulted her sense of smell, and she forced her eyes open. The primary lights were dark, and the red emergency lights were muted by a pall of black smoke hovering in the air. The Unggoy helped her into a sitting position on the ground, and she took a look around. One crewmember was unmoving on the deck, which seemed to be at an angle compared to how she remembered it, and Dukat' was leaning against a railing, favoring his left leg. He noticed she was awake, and spared a grim smile. "Hurt my leg years ago in basic. It had to go and give out on me today of all days."

      She closed her eyes and laid back out on the deck. "What's our status, Captain?"

      He didn't answer immediately, and she heard the uneven clop of his hooves as he limped over to her. "We've lost main power, and are running on emergency generators. Our weapon systems are disabled, and we don't have any thruster control. The security teams are preparing to repel boarding actions."

      "How long was I out..?"

      "A little over two Tg-units. The only reason they haven't boarded us yet is they're still trying to stop our tumble that we picked up. At least the artificial gravity system is still operational, if not at full strength." He paused. "I have Tase' leading a squad here to help defend the bridge."

      She forced herself up a little, leaning on her elbows. "I don't suppose there's any good news, is there?"

      She felt his hand pat her shoulder clumsily. "Well, most of the crew is alright, and are busy barricading themselves in the hardened portions of the ship. They should be able to hold out against any straight forward assault. Some of the teams were even able to secure themselves in our food stores. So, depending on how determined they are, they may just take our cargo and leave."

      Arla' remembered the grim look he'd given her earlier, and shuddered. "And if they're really determined?" She asked, looking at him.

      He looked away for a moment, then back to her. "I've heard stories about a slave trade in the ungoverned reaches of space. They're always looking for more bodies."

      A clang echoed through the ship as she felt the slant of the deck even out, and another alarm blared over the others. Dukat' stood, making his way back to the railing he had been leaning on, and touched his communicator. "All hands, prepare to repel boarders."

      Arne' stopped in his tracks after stepping around the corner, taken in by the sight in front of him. The room had darkened consoles lining the walls on both sides, and past a partition wall he glimpsed the blue glow of the slipspace bubble. Dessicated bodies were littered across the room, some still strapped into seats in front of the stations, others collapsed on the ground. They were the first corpses they had seen on the ship, and Arne' hastened forward, eager to take a closer look at one.

      A hand clamped onto his shoulder, halting his forward momentum. He twisted around to see Quso', who shook his head. "Slow down a little, Supervisor. We still need to make sure the room is clear."

      Arne' hesitated a moment, then nodded, allowing Quso' to pull him back. "I understand, I can wait. Still, I don't think the floor is going to be electrified in the room itself." He looked again at the equipment inside. "Too much sensitive material to risk boobytrapping, I would think."

      Two Sangheili squeezed past him into the room, scanning the walls and floor with handheld devices. After a few T-units, one motioned Arne' inside. "All clear, Supervisor."

      Arne' stepped into the room, followed by Quso' and several of the team technicians. He suppressed a chuckle as Vinley went straight to the front of the room, absorbed by the view of space outside. He turned back to watch as two Sangheili started documenting one of the bodies lying on the floor. "Arne' to Rediscovery."

      "We read you, Supervisor. Anything to report?"

      "Some of the defensive apparati on the ship are still partially operational, so it's been slow going. But, we've found what I believe to be the ship's command center. We're examining the location now."

      Bane' nodded as he listened to Arne's report. Despite what the young supervisor thought, they were making good time for a ship of that size. He muted the communicator for a moment to take a few status reports, then turned it back on. "Anything else we should be aware of, Supervisor?"

      "Yes, actually. There's some form of intelligence still active onboard this ship. We think it's in the computer system, but we have had no contact with it since it activated the defensive systems." There was a pause. "It can speak Sangheili, and doesn't seem to like us."

      He clicked a mandible, thinking. He was about to reply when the communications officer called out an alarm. "Sir, there's an unauthorized access attempt into our communications net!" Immediately after, another call came out, this time from navigation. "Sir! Navigation controls are offline!" A chorus of shouts from the other stations followed.

      Arne' clicked the communicator again. "Captain? Bane'!" There was no response, not even the nearly inaudible buzzing noise that signified a successful connection. He looked to Quso'. "We just lost contact with Rediscovery." A flash in the lighting caught his attention, and he turned around to stare at the small pedestal that stood next to the darkened plastic partition near the front of the bridge. It sparked again, the top started to glow dimly, and a figure appeared above it.

      The figure was small, hardly a half D-unit high, and was shrouded in a dark hooded robe, reminding Arne' of the robes that the Lek'Golo ambassadors wore. He could make out no other features of it, but realized he could see the plastic panel behind it. A hologram.

      It regarded him for a moment. "You lingered here too long, zealot. Now this shall become your tomb as well as ours."

      "Squad Three, pulling back! There's too many of them!"

      "Squad Seven, we're pinned down at Storage Three!"

      "This is Squad One, they're closing on the bridge! We'll hold them as long as we can!"

      Arla' watched as each successive report caused Dukat's shoulders to slump a little more, his head to droop a little further. The captain had done a remarkable job rallying their defenses, but all the advantages were in the hands of the invaders. They were better armed and they had more manpower, and they already controlled a third of the ship.

      Dukat' shook his head and started giving new orders. "Squad Three, meet up with Squad Four at Deck Three Galley, and give some assistance to Squad Seven, get their attackers into a crossfire." He glanced over at the main holodisplay, which was currently displaying a three dimensional map of the ship and the locations of the attacking and defending forces. "Squad One, retreat to the bridge entrance. Get inside and escort the command personnel to Storage Two." Cutting the comm system, he called out to the crewmembers nearby. "Lock down all system controls, I don't want them to be able to move this ship anywhere under it's own power. Use a hammer if you have to."

      From the other side of the main entrance to the bridge, Arla' could hear shouts and screams, as well as the whining of energy weapons. At Dukat's signal the doors started to open, and the remnants of the security squad started pouring into the gap. Tase' was the last one in, backing through the door and firing his carbine into the hallway. The doors began to close achingly slowly, and Tase' stumbled backwards as an energy beam slammed into his shoulder.

      The doors stopped moving with a clang when there was still a D-unit gap left between them. Arla' saw a metallic wedge caught between the halves of the door, with serrated sides that kept it from slipping out. Several small objects sailed through the open gap and bounced across the floor. Her mind barely had time to register what they were before they exploded, and Arla's vision went black for the second time that day as the concussive force slammed her against the wall.

      Bane' gritted his mandibles as he tore the fiber optics communication line out of the wall port. Whatever it was that had attempted to take over the Rediscovery had done so through their comm net, which meant killing the connection between their ship and the ancient craft to sever the link it was using. However, that meant that Arne' and his team were on their own until they could get a message across. Bane' ordered a small team to suit up in environmental gear and head for the airlock they had used before, while the bridge crew tried to unlock the ship systems.

      The shrouded figure flickered for a moment, and spoke again. "Your cohorts have abandoned you, Zealot. Despite their efforts to escape, they will not survive."

      Arne' didn't know what the being was talking about. He blinked, looking at Quso', then back to the hologram. "I think there's some sort of mistake..?"

      "Silence!" The figure seemed agitated now, and Arne' could see a faint blue glow underneath its hood. "Your Covenant of lies has chased us to the ends of the world, but no further! Your Covenant of lies sought our deaths beyond counting, staining the heavens red with the blood of innocents!" It raised an arm, pointing at the plastic screen behind it, and the screen lit up, displaying a row of three symbols. The rightmost one started changing, three times per T-unit. "Now you pay for your crimes, Zealot! Our final defiance will see you burning in the nuclear fires of retribution!"

      Arne' took a step back in horror as he comprehended what the being meant. It turned to focus on him again, and its voice echoed through the room once more.

      "Our destruction was the will of your gods. Where are your gods now!?"

Rediscovery, Chapter Nine: So Be It
Date: 1 December 2006, 5:09 am

      Arla' slowly felt consciousness, if it could be called that, coming back to her. Part of her murky, half aware mind registered the sound of someone groaning in pain, but couldn't determine why it was important. Voices fluttered in and out of her hearing as she struggled to focus, and then she felt her head turned to the side.

      "She's coming around." She realized that the groaning was coming from her.

      She focused on the feeling of physical contact, and forced her eyes open. Kneeling above her was a Sangheili she didn't recognize, sporting a combat harness that held several varieties of blades and guns. His hand was holding her head to the side and partially obscuring her view, not that there was much more to see as her right eye was swollen halfway shut. The Sangheili snorted in amusement and pulled her into a sitting position against the wall. She shut her eyes, clenching her jaws as sudden nausea made the room spin.

      When her stomach settled, she opened her eyes again. She could see over a dozen Sangheili, much like the one who sat her upright, in clear control of the room. In the corner across from her, she could see the bridge crew and what was left of Tase's security team sitting against the walls, being watched by half of the invaders.

      The one that woke her up spoke for a moment to another, who turned his attention to her. He was the most extravagantly attired one of the bunch, his clothing made from finer fabrics and his gear plated in precious metals, and he had the darkest skintone she had ever seen on a Sangheili. Everything about him screamed smug as he sauntered over to her, his mandibles spread in a grin.

      "I am Baron Yasu' Blackhide, and I welcome you to the bridge of my new ship. I apologize for the mess, she wasn't in the best shape when I acquired her." His voice was deep and rich, dripping with arrogance. He bowed elaborately to her, absently twirling a gaudy, gold-leafed baton, then straightened. "Although, I must say, this ship isn't the most valuable thing that I have found today." He leered, chuckling as she curled up tighter against the wall.

      He was interrupted by a commotion from across the room. Two of the pirates were hardpressed to restrain Dukat', who was striving against them in an attempt to reach him. "Don't you touch her, you animal!"

      Yasu' frowned, then smiled as he turned back to Arla'. "One moment, my sweet. This won't take long." She watched in dismay as Yasu' crossed the bridge to where Dukat' was being held. He eyed the dishevelled captain up and down, then brutally slammed the baton against Dukat's left knee. Dukat' collapsed as his leg gave out, and Yasu' caught him under the jaws with a heavy kick. The older Sangheili flopped backwards onto the deck, moaning in agony as Yasu' planted a foot on his chest and pinned him to the ground. "I do whatever I please on my ship, Captain of Nothing! Remember your place before I make a real example out of you!"

      As if someone threw a switch, he turned back to Arla', all smiles and cheer again. "Now my dear, where were we?"

      Arne' whirled as the blast doors leading out of the bridge slammed shut. He heard muffled shouts from the other side as he ran up to the door, typing in the code he had guessed from before. The panel remained stubbornly red, and he cursed. The Sangheili technician stuck in the room with him pushed him out of the way and started interfacing his datapad to the door terminal. Arne' watched as he quickly linked to the door with the codebreaking software in the pad. "How long?"

      "I don't know, the software has to adapt to the system first. Hold on, just a few more T-uni... what?" The technician stared dumbly at the datapad, then looked back to Arne'. "Something just wiped the memory storage!"

      Arne' looked back to the screen in time to see the leftmost symbol change once. He pounded on the door, shouting so he would be heard through the thick plating. "Zaki'," he said, naming Quso's squad assistant, "We can't get this door open. The ship is counting down to self destruct! Get everyone out there back to the Rediscovery!"

      "Supervisor?!" Arne' could hear the worry in Zaki's voice. The soldier didn't want to leave them behind.

      "Do it, Zaki'!"

      There was a moment's hesitation. "Yes, sir."

      Arne's hurried out of the way to let Quso' and another soldier attempt to pry the doors apart. In the front of the room, he saw that the hologram of the cloaked figure was still manifested on its stand, seemingly frozen in place. He stood and watched the symbols on the view screen for a few moments, his mind racing. His eyes dropped to the hooded figure. "Why are you doing this?"

      The hologram started moving again. "Expect no mercy where your own hatred has burned away all scraps of compassion." The blue glow under the being's hood flared brightly for a moment as it stared at him. "Because you must suffer for your sins."

      He gritted his teeth. "We've never seen anything like you before today. What actions could we possibly have taken to cause you harm?" He gestured around the room, vaguely indicating the bodies. "I don't know what happened to this ship, but we had nothing to do with it."

      The figure turned and watched the leftmost symbol change once more. "Your excuses mean nothing, and your fate is sealed. Pray to your deities, for it will take a miracle to save you."

      Arne' opened his mouth to reply when the figure vanished. It's voice echoed through the air a moment later, tauntingly. "If you do find a way to survive this trial, then we shall speak of your innocence."

      Hickers could feel that the tension in the air inside Storage Bay One was thick enough to slow down a Lek'Golo. Three different security squads were arranged inside the compartment with several placements of manned barricades in the corridor. The leaders of the three teams were gathered with him next to a holoterminal, looking over a tactical display of the ship. Looking over their shoulders stood the menacing form of Goro'tesh, clad in the ancient battleplate they had found.

      He tapped a few commands in, and the view zoomed in to focus on the bridge. The raiders had failed to disable the security surveillance systems in the ship, giving the defenders a much needed edge in their planning. "I count fifteen of them on the bridge. They have most of the command crew gathered right there." He squinted, adjusting his rebreather mask. "They're keeping Arla' seperate from the rest. Judging from the way their leader is paying attention to her, I think he wants to keep her for himself."

      Goro'tesh tensed, and the deckplates seemed to vibrate under Hickers' feet as the massive creature growled. The rumbling sound was the first vocal noise he had ever heard a Lek'Golo make, and the diminutive Unggoy found himself suddenly nervous. A quick glance at the three Sangheili standing with him showed them to be dsconcerted as well.

      "We will not allow that to happen, Monitor Hickers. We will sweep through the ship from front to back and neutralize the invaders." Goro'tesh thundered his way to one of the walls and ripped a sheet of metal off of it, rolling the section of plating into a makeshift club, as long as a Sangheili was tall and as thick as one's leg. "We and Raso'tesh shall lead the charge into battle. Assemble your soldiers and order them to finish off what we leave behind."

      Hickers took his hands away from his ears as the squealing of tortured metal subsided and stared at the giant, then nodded in unison with the Sangheili. The alloy sheet had been as thick as one of his digits and Goro'tesh had bent it like it was made of aluminum foil. None of them felt lucky enough to try and change the Lek'Golo's mind.

      Arla' steeled herself as Yasu' lifted her from her sitting position. The pirate had demonstrated to her quite clearly that any noncompliance on her part would be taken out on the other members of the command crew. As much as she loathed the idea of letting him do anything with her, she hated the idea of her crew suffering in her place more. She had handpicked them from hundreds of volunteers, and felt responsible for them. Still, her teeth grated as he teased the back of his hand down her face.

      "My, but you are beautiful. Beautiful enough that I may not tire of you after you become complacent." He laughed as he started to fiddle with the seals on her uniform, only to be interrupted by another raider. His face twisted in irritation as he grated his acknowledgement. "What is it?"

      The Sangheili looked on edge. "There seems to be some sort of commotion in the foredecks, Baron. Some of the former crew appear to be fighting back."

      Yasu' sighed dramatically as he retrieved his communicator. "What is so important about this that you have to bother me with it?" Annoyance was plain on his face as he held the speaker to his mouth. "Well? What is it?"

      "By the gods, nothing stops it! It's ripping us apart, falling ba-" The voice was cut off by a short, anguished scream and the sound of bones breaking. A feral, animalistic growl unlike anything Arla' had ever heard came through the communicator before Yasu' turned it off. The scowl that had started on his face gave way to trepidation as the growl they had heard loudened into a savage roar that was felt as much as heard, shaking the deck beneath their feet. Even as the sound diminished it started again as another rumbling cry echoed in answer, and it sounded very close.

      Yasu' narrowed his eyes at Arla'. "What manner of creatures do you carry on this ship?"

      Before she could answer, a resounding boom shook the air in the room as part of the blast door dented inward from a blow of massive proportions. Arla' smiled smugly as she spoke, her words the only noise in the silence following the strike. "Perhaps you should have thought about that before you attacked us."

      Arne' stood by the window, staring out at the convoluted event horizon of Oblivion. Everything they tried had come to nothing, and the doors leading out of the bridge stayed closed. In the reflection, he watched Quso' come up behind him, and he turned around. "I'm sorry."

      Quso' shrugged, glancing out the window. "I suppose there are worse ways to die, Supervisor. Chances are that we won't really feel much, since it'll probably be over fast." He smirked. "Nuclear explosions are like that, from what I understand."

      "One minute until reactor detonation."

      Arne' had to laugh as the warning played out through the bridge speakers in several languages, including their own. "At least it has enough courtesy to let us know how much time is left."

      Quso' looked at him quizzically. "You know how long a 'minute' is?"

      In reply Arne' motioned to the countdown on the main screen. "Not exactly, but one of the columns just finished there. I spent a few units watching the countdown while you were at the door, looks like one of their 'minutes' comes to about twenty T-units."

      "I can't believe you took the time to figure that out."

      "It wasn't exactly hard, and what else could I do? The being won't reason with us, and you all were trying everything you could at the door already."

      They stood in silence watching the timer count down the last few moments. As the second column finished, Arne' looked back out the window at Oblivion, and let out some of his frustration. "This is nokh-shit, Quso'. I'm not ready to die."

      He returned his gaze to the countdown just as it finished. There was a moment's pause, and then a dozen red warning lights started flashing on the consoles around them, as alert messages scrolled on the view screen. Arne' and Quso' looked at each other in confusion.

      Through the bridge speakers a monotone, computerized voice announced the message in the aliens' languages and in the Sangheili dialect. "Warning. Insufficient reaction mass to initiate fusion core meltdown. Fusion core self destruct sequence aborted. Repeat. Insufficient reaction mass..."

      Arne' stood quietly for a moment, savoring the feeling of relief that flooded through him, then looked up at the ceiling. "So. Let's talk."

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