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Ring Of The Forerunners Part VI
Posted By: Locke<Locke1588@aol.com>
Date: 1 March 2003, 10:59 pm
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Author’s note: Well, this is the end of this series. I guess this is the time when I most need feedback, so I can see what people thought about the whole series, collectively, so I can look for changes to make in my next series: The Entar Chronicles.
Covenant cruiser
The Deliverer
Thousands of cutter beams ripped through the ceiling as thin sheets of metal fell down, crumpled by cutter fire. A massive fleet of Forerunner fighters swarmed swiftly into the room, ripping away the entire ceiling as they rushed in. With a whoosh, the air was drained out of the room into the vacuum of space. The Forerunner soldiers woke up, and looked at the horror scene above. Forerunners grabbed onto anything, trying not to get sucked out into the void. Banshees were swarming into the room from the new hole to battle Forerunner fighters, as three large Forerunner escape ships neared the gaping hole in ceiling. Anar had no idea what was happening, only that he couldn’t breathe. Gasping for air, he clutched his neck and stumbled towards the airlock. He lifted one hand away from his neck, and the air was sucked out of the lungs. Gasping, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see, no air. The blood was draining from his head. He banged his open fist against keypad on the door. Nothing, it was locked. He could feel his lungs contracting, no air to fill back up with. Plasma and cutter fire rained down around him, then he began to loose consciousness. Where were the other soldiers? Were they hurt? Were they alive? Suddenly the airlock door swooshed open. Air rushed into his lungs. He saw tons of black armored Elites, firing at him. The closer ones were being sucked toward the door and out into space. Behind all the Elites, was one gold armored Elite. Stumbling across the hall, huge weapons in his hands, drooling, snarling, a determination to kill in his eyes as he gazed at Anar. Garsh: the ruler of the covenant, more respected then the highest prophet. Garsh fired a single shot with a plasma rifle as he raised his larger weapon. The shot from the rifle penetrated Anar’s armor and hit him in the torso. Garsh’s hand reached for the trigger on his larger weapon. He pulled it as the last bit of air was sucked out of the hall. The shot missed it’s mark, as Garsh flew forward with the rushing air. Anar grabbed on to the side arch of the door. Elites flew past him, then up into the void. Garsh reached the arch, and desperately grabbed on to it with one hand. Anar raised his weapon to hit Garsh, but he fumbled as it was sucked out of his hand and he almost lost his grip on the arch. Garsh barked into his com link: “Seal off the doors so I can send these sacrilegious idiots to burn in Hades!” A door further down the hall sealed shut instantly, and the rushing of the air stopped as a final shockwave rushed down the hall. Anar and Garsh both lost their grips, and flew across the room with no roof. They slammed into the wall, both breaking several bones. The air once more drained out of their lungs, as the plasma and cutter fire continues to rain down around him. A cutter beam came from nowhere and sliced off Garsh’s arm, a second one took his leg. Blood flew out into the air. Garsh screamed and went into shock, and then stopped moving completely. He flinched a few times as the air was once again drained out of both Anar and Garsh’s lungs. Anar thought to himself as he blacked out: Victory, Anar, you won, Garsh is defeated. The power core is destroyed, and the Forerunner will get off Halo safely, and that’s all that matters. What is the life of one individual compared to all the Forerunner species? You did what you needed to do.
Later
Anar awoke. He was lying in some kind of tube, purple metal glowed all around him. There was only enough space for him, as if he was lying in some closed empty barrel. He kicked his legs out. Metal. He tried to sit up. More metal. What was this? He banged on the metal. Had he been found and captured by the Covenant? Suddenly the top of the tube swished open. Anar glanced around. He was in a medical facility. There were more purple revivification tubes all around him. He looked down at his torso, and saw that he was wearing new armor, his wounds healed, and his lungs back in full air-pumping condition. Suddenly he saw Gazital standing next to him. He was smiling. <Anar, you are a hero. The entire Forerunner species now know the name of both you and Zaf. And they will always honor you for your sacrifice>. <Where is Zaf? > Anar demanded. The smile was gone from Gazital’s face. < Follow me>. He said. He lead Anar to another chamber. Medical technicians were running everywhere, tending to the many revivification tubes. Anar and Gazital walked into a second revivification facility. Most of the tubes here were empty. Gazital placed his hand on a pad at the end of one of the tubes.
There was a ping, and a bio scan result appeared on a small screen at the end of the tubes. <He’s still in stasis> Said Gazital. <He’s recovering>. <Just open the revivification cell! > Anar demanded. Gazital looked confused. Anar seemed mad, yet everything was going along fine. <Very Well! > Gazital sighed. He entered a code. The top half of the tube collapsed and slid into different sides of the tube. Zaf stirred in the tube, and began recovering from the stasis effects. His face was burned in many places, and he was scarred on the arm. Zaf looked around, and instantly new he had been awakened early. The first words out of his mouth were <Are there any other survivors? > <I’m afraid not> Gazital sighed again. <Just you and Anar>. <But... the other cells? Many of them are full! > <I know> said Gazital. These soldiers were injured defending the evac ships at the GARDUM sector, and we need to get there fast. The same fleet that recovered you destroyed the Covenant missile silos, but many Covenant and Flood still rage across halo, which is why we’ve got to leave fast. Luckily, we’ve dispatched what’s left of our army to contain the Flood and leave later on a second ship>. <What fleet recovered us? > Asked Zaf. <Uh... that’s classified information> said Gazital. <Even I don’t even know the fleet>. <We can’t even know who saved our lives? > Yelled Anar. Gazital rubbed his chin, searching his memory. <It’s someone named 343guiltyspark>.
Later
Guiltyspark and Shang-Zaer stood in the center of the huge, rotating, hologram of Halo. They could see the small pack of Humans walking across the surface, now in a dessert region. They were battling the Flood. This was not good, they new about the Flood! <The missile silos are down, and I myself need to get to an evac ship soon. What is stopping you from destroying the Humans? > “Be patient Zaer. We must wait untill Gazital objects, then, the time will be right. <WHAT? GAZITAL? He doesn’t even know about the Humans! > “Oh, he does, he knows much more about them then you do. In fact, he knows who they really are”.
Later
The GARDUM sector
A hover vehicle carried Anar and several other Forerunner male and female civilians. Other hover vehicles were all around them, heading in the same direction, towards the launch pad. The launch pad was about _ a mile wide, and contained several escape vehicles called colony ships. Each colony ship contained 4 massive modules, a nuclear engine at the bottom, capable of slipstream travel, then 3 modules hooked above that for storage and chyro hibernation cells. Large hover trucks were loading supplies and hibernation equipment onto the various modules. The most noticeable feature was the giant, perfectly round, “snowball” on top of each ark. The snowball was made of frozen gas, harvested from the planet threshold. This was actually a fuel sphere, at least 4 times as large as any of the modules that were hooked together in a line. A tube connected the center of the fuel sphere to the nuclear engine module, allowing fast relativity-enabled speeds, along with slipstream space. The fuel sphere shrunk as it was used up, making the colony ships several tons lighter when the unknown destination was reached.
The hover transports docked at the launch pad star port as the first of the colony ships took off, blue gas spreading everywhere. “Colony1, launched. Second launch in 3 minutes” came the computers voice. Cheers erupted from the crowd of Forerunner. <Get us on one of those things!> Gazital demanded to the hover pilot. <#9 I reserved for this group, commander>. The pilot replied. The Hover ship finally halted. More colonies were already loaded. Some panicked Forerunner had started the second launch early, and a ship blasted off. Suddenly, a blue cloud appeared on the distant horizon. It was banshees and ghosts. “EMERGENCY!” The computer responded instantly. “Main Star port is under siege, primary launch schedule has been terminated”. That was the last straw. People were jumping off hover transports, running to the nearest colony ship. Colony ships started taking off without clearance, many at a time. Shockwaves spread across the launch pad, destroying equipment and knocking down panicking Forerunner. Gazital cursed. <Soldiers!> he barked into his com-link. <Hold them off!> There was various cutter fire from turrets on the launch pad, firing into the cloud of covenant fighters. The covenant formation broke up. Banshees launched an array of guided plasma missiles, hitting the fuel spheres of several colony ships. One colony ship had just gotten off the ground as it’s fuel sphere was pelted with missiles. The giant white ball exploded, causing a chain reaction and destroying the other modules.
Pieces of flaming ship metal rained down on the launch pad. <Zaf, Gazital, lets get on one of those things, fast!> The hovercraft pilot was hit in the chest with a plasma beam. Civilians were diving off of the doomed hover crafts, running towards the remaining colony ships. “REPEAT” the female sounding computer announced, in a very loud voice. “REPEAT, primary launch schedule has been terminated. All colony ships have automatic launch clearance!” Gazital, Zaf, and Anar dove off the side of the hovercraft, landing on their feet. The Hovercraft exploded behind them. Anar and Zaf had their weapons out and started firing at the banshees and ghosts that were now circling the launch pad. Suddenly something inside Gazital’s head clicked. <Get on a ship! I’ll leave after you; I have something to take care of! > Before either of them could object, Gazital was gone. <We follow orders! > Anar yelled to Zaf. They ran across the battlefield, and boarded a half empty colony ship, shoving people aside. Inside the command module, second from the bottom, people were running around panicking, confused. <Why haven’t you taken off? > Zaf yelled to one of the female civilians. <The pilot!> She cried. <We can’t find him! > Anar ran to the control room door. He entered a code, and it swung open, the room was empty. Anar ran up to one of the control stations, flipping a single switch. The nuclear engines hummed, and the slipstream generators started charging. Anar felt the ship shake as it started to lift off. Slowly, Anar and Zaf walked to the window, and took their last look at Halo.
Later
Anar watched as Zaf entered one of the many hibernation cells on the ship. They were in space now. Slowly, the green-transparent lid of the tube sealed shut. Zaf placed a helmet on his head, and slowly fell into a very long sleep. Anar walked into the next tube, the lid closed automatically, and he held the helmet in his hand. But before he put it on, he thought the last thought he would think in a VERY, VERY, VERY long time. Were alive, Garsh is dead, the Flood is contained, and the ghost fleet seems to have mysteriously disappeared.
We won.
1 hour later
Covenant cruiser: The deliverer
The Prophet, Aknar stepped into the vast room, accompanied by 2 priests. The room looked like some kind of scientific lab. In the very center of the room, held in midair by various wires, was what looked like an orange egg, pulsing with bright light. It was transparent, and a large amount of orange liquid could be seen on the inside. A multitude of twisted pipes, tubes, and wires, were attached to it, and attached to every corner of the room. They also connected to various computers and sensors built into the walls. The prophet opened both of his double eyelids, and raised his hand to shield his eyes from the pulsing light. Leaning forward, he gazed into the object high above him. Inside, floating in the orange liquid, was the outline of what could have been a torso, the only body part remaining attached to it was the head. “What is this monstrosity?” The Prophet asked the priests. <FOOOL!> A voice echoed throughout the room. The orange egg lit up brightly, and the tubes, computers, and sensors around the room began to glow. In the bright light, the prophet could clearly see the head in the tank: it was the head of a gold armored elite. His eyes were closed, as if he was sleeping, actually, he looked dead. The head remained attached to the limbless torso as it floated aimlessly in the tank. The light dimmed. <YOU KNOW WHO I AM. > The voice echoed. Where was it coming from? It couldn’t possibly be the dead body that was speaking to him! <DO NOT TAKE THE TIME TO QUESTION ME, YOU SO-CALLED INTELEGENT PROPHET! ANY HALF-WIT COULD TELL YOU MY NAME! I AM GARSH, AND I AM FORERVER TO BE HONORED AMOUNG THE GODS, HIGHER THAN GREAT DANOOK! I AM TO BE WORSHIPPED AND SACRIFICED UNDER, FOR I HAVE GIVEN UP DEATH! I HAVE SENTENCED MYSELF TO FOREVER DWELL IN THIS LIFE, SO I CAN GUIDE YOU PUNY MORTALS TO FULFILL YOUR DESTINIES! > Aknar felt his brain slowing, as if some part of his mind were falling under the control of this wretched creature that called himself a god. Then he said something he would have killed himself for saying. “Yes, great Garsh, god of destiny. You are to be honored as a god, among the highest gods, and to be obeyed for all eternity! What are your wishes, oh great one?” <THERE IS A SPECIES WHO IS A GREAT AFFRONT TO ME, A SPECIES SPOKEN OF IN THE SCROLLS OF DANNOOK! THEY ARE CALLED HUMANS! WIPE THEM OUT, KILL THEM ALL! > One part of the prophet was confused. This creature was telling him to wipe out an entire species! To commit Xenocide! That part of the scroll had never been taken very seriously, and this evil creature wanted to base their religion around it. But another part of him was a mindless drone, desperate to serve the demon. “Yes, oh great one. I will give your word to the people, your orders will be carried out”. Then Aknar came to his senses. This demon was controlling his speech, and some of his thoughts, even his movements, right in front of the priests! No! He cried silently. Get out of me; get out of me you demon, you cadaver! My body is mine and mine alone to control! But he heard an evil voice in his head, his other half, the part that could talk and move, the part owned by the demon. Do not resist me! I cannot get rid of you completely, but your body is mine now, and I will use you to make the covenant worship me! With you, I will fulfill my dreams! For a moment, Aknar felt a flicker of strength, a flicker of control. But then it was gone. NO! Aknar wanted to cry to the priests. Do not sacrifice under this evil creature! Do not preach his word to the people! Do not commit xenocide in his name! But alas, his body was not his to control, instead he said this: “There are some of these humans on Halo, but I trust the remaining Forerunner will take care of them. Instead we must focus on the Human-colonized worlds!” A hologram appeared in front of him, of a human planet. The evil half of him told him what this planet was called by the Humans. It was called Harvest. “We start here.” Aknar said calmly. The priests bowed and left. Fools! Aknar thought. Don’t you know your own, wise prophet enough to know that he would not calmly tell you to commit xenocide! Then, thinking this, he turned and bowed to the evil creature.
Halo
Guiltyspark finally turned to Shang-Zaer, who had fallen asleep. “The time is right, now, master Zaer”. <Wha-huh? > Zaer said as he woke up. “The time is right. My fleet is heading towards the humans to destroy them”. The halo hologram showed the ghost fleet crossing Halo, preparing to swoop down and destroy the pack of humans. <But, I thought you said you would wait until Gazital objected! > Suddenly, the sliding door on the wall swung open. Gazital ran in. <WAIT! STOP! > Sentinels were on him in a second, surrounding him from every direction. <It’s too late, Gazital. The Ghost fleet is on the way to wipe them out>. Zaer smiled when he said this, even though he didn’t really know why they wanted to wipe out the Humans anymore. <NO! You don’t understand! > Yelled Gazital. <You can’t do this! The Humans are really- > Cutter fire sliced through Gazital from all different directions. <WHAT WAS HE ABOUT TO SAY? > Zaer demanded to 343. “That’s not your concern, now leave before the next covenant force arrives!” Confused, Zaer walked out of the room. He would never know the answer to his question. Finally, the door sealed shut. Guiltyspark was alone with his sentinels. He turned to the hologram quickly, and it went into a “zoom out” mode. It showed the Halo coordinates along with the rest of the galaxy. “Begin simulation” guiltyspark said happily. On the hologram, an expanding ring of energy shot out from the dot, representing Halo. It spread across the far reaches of the galaxy, slicing through planets, destroying any life it crossed. Finaly, there was a giant explosion. A ball of energy grew from Halo, and spread, covering the void of space. It was the ultimate biological bomb. All sentient life in the galaxy was wiped out. Guiltyspark looked at the hologram, for a minute, he was motionless. This was his goal. But he would need a living creature to accomplish it. To fulfill his goal, he would need to access Halo’s defenses, and that, he could not do. He turned to another hologram. It showed a Human battle cruiser, called The Pillar of Autumn. He scanned its mapping coordinates. It would eventually encounter Halo. Guiltyspark stared at the picture. Then he laughed.
NO, NOT THE END.
THE BEGENING.
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