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Birth of a Covenant Legend: CHAPTER 9
Posted By: Ryst Airasee<RystAirasee0208@AOL.com>
Date: 16 April 2005, 3:39 PM
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CHAPTER 9
Xenris loomed up in 'Zextramee's view, seeming to fill the entire exit of the docking bay. The large, rectangular gap in the wall was covered by a plasma shield; the edges glowed a soft blue. He could see the individual tendrils of white energy snaking through the shield.
The planet itself was quite small. The surface was a mosaic of greens and blues of all different shades. He wondered what it would be like to actually set foot on the ground.
'Pekrumee watched him, thinking. He was interrupted in his thoughts when 'Yelamee approached.
"The High Prophets want to know if you have filed the report on Trainee 00 yet," the orange-clad Sangheili said briskly.
"I am in the process of it," 'Pekrumee replied. "He has already shown superior skills of navigation and is already quite independent. He must be the blessed one..."
"It is far too early to assume that he might be the..." 'Yelamee paused to lower his voice, "...the Augur."
"I know," the Zealot replied, sounding weary. "Yet I cannot turn a blind eye to his abilities."
"No one has asked you to," 'Yelamee snorted. "I am simply saying that it is a bit much to rest all of one's hopes on an infant. I am going to make sure those Kig-yar are not resting. We need this ship to be ready in a timeframe."
With that he left. 'Pekrumee turned his attention to the trainees. They seemed to be losing patience; some of them were even trying to wander off. Yet he noticed that Trainee 00 hadn't moved; he was simply sitting there, his gaze fixed on Xenris.
The Zealot walked up behind him, crouching. "That will be your home for many successions," he said.
"I had a feeling," 'Zextramee said softly. "What will the training be like, Excellency?"
"Hard," 'Pekrumee said, surprised at his lack of words. When he was by this infant, he felt something stirring in his soul, something he could not describe. "Very... hard and long."
"Successions are always long," the black-scaled infant said. "What will it really be like?"
"It differs for each Trainee," 'Pekrumee told him honestly. "Some do not survive it; they crumple under the expectations and the tasks. Others barely pass, and come out extremely weak, never living to see a promotion to Zealot. Yet the ones who do rise to the challenge and succeed... well, they are an incredible force by themselves, with strength and vigor. Yet battle training is not the only thing you will receive; you will also have to take classes and study to pass. Without one, the other fails..."
"I will pass," 'Zextramee replied. "I cannot afford to fail. If I do I will never see mother again..."
"I believe you will, too," the Zealot said. "You already possess surprising intellect..." but he trailed off, not wanting to make the Trainee overconfident.
He stood and left 'Zextramee to oversee the readying of their ship. After a while, though, he turned his gaze to the Trainee again. He was still watching... still waiting.
The rest of the time passed quickly. Under the supervision of both 'Yelamee and 'Pekrumee, the Kig-yar worked quickly. Hunagok also scuttled by, their long tentacles running over the ship, searching for any failures. If a problem was discovered, the one who discovered it would twine its tendrils around and through the machinery, dissembling it, fixing it, and reassembling it in a matter of seconds.
"Trainees," 'Pekrumee called out, "It is time."
The Trainees eagerly ran up to him. The Zealot did a quick headcount before nodding to 'Yelamee. The orange-clad Sangheili led them up into the ship, while 'Pekrumee headed into the ship control.
'Zextramee stared in aw at the massive size of the interior of the ship. The walls curved slightly inward and were hued a deep purple; the floor itself was slightly slippery and was a pale violet. Lights were placed where the walls met the ceiling. The whole ship had an organic feel to it.
'Yelamee lead them through a sliding door. The room behind it was decidedly bare and small. It was square-shaped, with four great columns reaching from the floor to the ceiling in each corner. A couple of uplink station sat against the far wall, and a blue-colored pedestal rose from the center of the floor, glowing holo-glyphs hanging in front of it. This room was lit by a large light embedded in the ceiling.
"Sit," 'Yelamee told them. "The flight to Xenris will be swift."
No sooner had 'Zextramee sat than the ship lurched beneath him. He could feel the movement occurring around him, but it was barely noticeable. He wished there was a shielded opening in the room so he could watch the stars speed past.
"Hello," someone said behind him.
'Zextramee turned to see the Trainee he had helped rescue from the rockslide standing behind him. He was a little smaller than the other trainees, and he seemed very unsure of what was happening around him.
"Hello," 'Zextramee responded.
"I heard that the training is gonna' be hard... really hard," the Trainee continued.
"Yes," 'Zextramee said, not sure where the conversation was going.
"The other T...Train...uh..."
"Trainees."
"Yeah, Trainsies! They all said that they're gonna' go and help each other when the training starts. But... but they said that cuz' I got lost, I'm too stupid to be with them. So I was wondering... maybe you could help me? I mean, you already helped me before..." the Trainee trailed off.
"Okay, but only if we're allowed to help each other. If we break the rules we might not get to finish our training," 'Zextramee told him.
This thought seemed to frighten the Trainee. But he had gotten the answer he wanted, and sat down near his newfound helper.
"Why are you're scales that color?" he asked.
"I don't know," 'Zextramee replied. "I was born this way."
They continued talking, unaware that 'Yelamee was listening in. His speech is so much more evolved than the other Trainee's... perhaps... no. I cannot place my trust in one as small as him. He will probably fail, just like so many others,he thought.
It was another half-timeframe before the ship shuddered slightly, announcing their arrival into Xenris' atmosphere. 'Yelamee waited a few moments while the irregular movement stopped before standing up.
"Trainees!" he called. "Get on your feet and follow me. We are heading to the gravity lift."
Some of them stood up reluctantly, not wanting to get thrown off their feet by any more convulsions, but a single growl from their orange armored overseer got them up and running. 'Yelamee lead them down the massive corridors, making sure that they were following him.
The door to the gravity lift was a bit larger than the others and was adorned with dark purple symbols. They opened slowly, revealing the room inside bit by bit. It wasn't lit by anything. 'Yelamee ushered them in, and the door shut behind them, plunging them into total darkness.
Suddenly, a light sped upwards from the floor to the ceiling, illuminating the whole room in shimmering purple. Individual white particles danced in the purple beam, further glorifying the spectacle in the room. 'Zextramee gasped delightedly, hearing similar sound escape the other Trainee's mouths.
"Walk into it," instructed 'Yelamee. "And embrace your beginnings."
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