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The Number of the Demon -- Chapter One
Posted By: Tamarallion Arothlin<jadefalcon136@yahoo.com>
Date: 13 March 2005, 2:05 AM
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CHAPTER ONE
System M2301
Near Serendipity Station
Human Date/Time: 1241 hours, September 20, 2552
"Uhhh... state your name and verification again?"
The slim figure at the controls of the Chioptera-class scout vessel sighed in exasperation and punched the comm. A hint of irritation carried through in her voice as she gave the requested information. "Dr. Catherine Halsey, civilian consultant 409871. Verification code alpha theta omega eight-seven-two-zero."
As Dr. Halsey clicked off the comm, a sage-armored figure filled the hatchway behind her. "Have we arrived in-system, ma'am?"
Dr. Halsey took a sip of coffee from a vacuum bottle before turning to face the Spartan. "We have indeed," she replied. "No sign of the Covenant yet... for which I am extremely grateful. I believe that it will only be a matter of time, however."
SPARTAN-087, Kelly, gave a slight nod. "It will be good to face the Covenant again, ma'am."
Dr. Halsey hid her smile behind the vacuum bottle as she took another drink. Kelly had been more than a little irate after she had awakened from the tranquilizer, and even after Dr. Halsey's explanation, was doubtless itching to escape the claustrophobic vessel and get back into the action. It doubtless seemed to Kelly like an interminably long time since they had escaped from ONI's CASTLE base on Reach.
"Come on," Dr. Halsey muttered, turning back to the controls. "You may be Colonel Ackerson's pets, but you should still recognize a top-level code when it's given to you. Hurry up..."
"I doubt they can hear you, ma'am," Kelly commented with a dry chuckle.
That drew a laugh from Dr. Halsey, though it was more a laugh of nervous tension than amusement. She had been skirting the fine line between "unusual breadth of discretion" and "treason" for her entire career as a civilian consultant, and one of these days it was going to catch up to her. Today might be the day...
The comm crackled and then a deeper, more authoritative voice came on. "Dr. Halsey, it's good to have you here. Docking instructions are being fed to your computer as we speak, and an orbital shuttle is being prepped. Welcome to Serendipity."
Dr. Halsey gasped in recognition. "Jared? Is that you?"
"Indeed. It's a long story, ma'am... and one that I'll be able to tell you once you get dirtside. SPARTAN-164 over and out."
The gravity in the craft fluctuated as they automatically changed course, but Dr. Halsey did not feel it. Her mouth still hanging open in dumbfounded amazement, she turned to Kelly. Doubtless, the Spartan wore a similar expression under her mirrored visor.
"The Spartans that couldn't come to Reach," Dr. Halsey murmured. "What were the odds?"
"Ma'am, we always tend to turn up where and when we're most needed," Kelly pointed out with a chuckle. "If you're correct about the Covenant, we are going to need all of them." She paused a moment. "It is good to know that they are alive, however."
Dr. Halsey heard her unvoiced comment and smiled reassuringly. "John can take care of the others. Earth is safe with him protecting it."
"Yes, ma'am." Kelly sounded at least a little reassured.
The computer chirped and Dr. Halsey turned back to the forward viewscreen, now filled with the prefabricated space station in orbit around the azure world below them.
The Pelican's engines spooled down, and the large cloud of dust and leaves swirling around the launch pad began to settle back to earth as the hydraulics of the rear hatchway hissed open.
Four figures snapped to attention as Dr. Halsey and Kelly disembarked from the dropship. Three were encased in Mjolnir Mark V armor, polished until its surfaces gleamed under M2301's yellow-white light. The fourth was a man in nondescript olive-drab fatigues. His hair was beginning to gray, but vital energy still radiated out from him and his eyes burned with fire.
Dr. Halsey kept a smile from her face as she nodded to each of them. "Helen, Jared, Lilith... and CPO Mendez. It is good to see all of you again."
A smile came to the face of Chief Petty Officer Mendez as he strode forward and offered his hand to Dr. Halsey, who accepted it. "Dam—ahem, excuse me. Darn good to see you again, ma'am. When the news came in that the Covenant had glassed Reach... I thought they had gotten you too."
"We heard about the mission, but the Reliant was too far away," Jared added. "Did it succeed?"
For a moment, Dr. Halsey hesitated. She really did not feel like telling the whole story at that moment. "John's team is still pursuing it," she replied half-truthfully. "They will succeed. John has never failed in his mission."
The Spartans all nodded. Dr. Halsey felt sure that Kelly would spin out the tale for them once they were apart from her, but right now, it could wait. She wiped sweat from her brow with a sleeve and realized that the atmospheric temperature and humidity were both oppressively high - strange, given that the landscape around them resembled an African savannah more than a tropical rain forest.
Mendez seemed to sense her thoughts. "It gets pretty hot outside when Serendipity is closest to M2301, ma'am. There are two Warthog LRVs parked down in front. Let's get on back to Silversword Base so you can tell us what's going on."
Dr. Halsey followed Mendez and the Spartans down to the idling vehicles at the base of the landing platforms. She noted the impressive single-barreled guns that they were sporting and commented on it to Jared.
"Gauss cannons, ma'am," Jared replied with a hint of excitement in his voice. "Downsized MAC guns like the ones on our capships. New stuff from RD that was sent here not two weeks ago. They'll put a hole right through the armor of a Scorpion battle tank."
Senior Chief Petty Officer Jared jumped into the driver's seat of one of the 'Hogs, while Helen and Lilith took shotgun and the gunner's seat, respectively. Mendez jumped behind the wheel of the other one and Kelly clambered up onto the gauss mount, leaving Dr. Halsey the passenger seat. She fastened her restraints and made sure to check them twice - if her memory served her correctly, CPO Mendez was not exactly a defensive driver.
Her hunch was confirmed as both of the vehicles roared off at full speed, pinning her back against the barely-cushioned seat until they were at full speed. Dirt and bits of grass flew behind them as they made a beeline for the hills in the distance.
"It's going to be a two-hour ride, Doctor," Mendez said over the noise of the Warthog's engine. "Might as well tell me what you're doing here. The sooner I can start helping you, the better."
Dr. Halsey considered this a moment, then nodded. "All right. But first things first - you're running the training program for the SPARTAN-III project. Am I correct?"
She sensed the surprise emanate from Mendez, even though his facial expression didn't change. "Right on, Doctor," he replied after a moment. "Did you and Ackerson get back on good terms?"
"No," she replied coldly. "I despise him and all that he stands for. He despises me, too. His AI threatened to kill me back at CASTLE base."
Mendez blinked, then nodded. "I pretty much figured that was the case. And don't worry, Doctor." He turned to look at her, causing Dr. Halsey to wish very much that he would keep his attention on the ground in front of him. "I'm not doing this for Ackerson. As far as I can see, Ackerson's a lying, scheming son of a bitch that ought to be spaced along with all the Covies. I'm doing this for the rest of the human race."
Dr. Halsey nodded, feeling relief course through her veins. It was good to know that Mendez was firmly on her side.
"I'm sure you've already figured some of this out," the Chief continued, turning his attention back to driving. "Ackerson never did think much of the SPARTAN program's enhancements. He thought that the war should be fought and won by humans, not 'freaks'. However, he was especially interested in the cloning aspect of the program. The first stage of the SPARTAN-III project was to clone a number of duplicates of each of the original program members, with various modifications to aid in telling them apart. Except for one." Mendez grinned, a fearsome sight even when reflected in the 'Hog's windscreen. "There's only one 'John'. And I think you'll enjoy meeting her."
With a start, Dr. Halsey turned to look at him. "Her?"
"That's right. This 'John' is female. And she's one of the best damn commanders I've ever seen."
Dr. Halsey could only shake her head. This was going to take some getting used to.
"Ackerson's original plan was to create an entire regiment of SPARTAN-IIIs," Mendez continued. "We didn't have enough cloning capacity to do it, though, so he settled for a reinforced battalion. I'm training them like the Helljumpers, only I'm taking everything a step or two further."
All Dr. Halsey could do was shake her head. An entire reinforced battalion of young men and women who had the best genetic makeup of the entire human race. She could scarcely believe it. It thrilled her... and frightened her. Who was to say what defects might be caused by the cloning setup? What if Ackerson and his cronies hadn't gotten it right?
Was she really ready to meet more Kellys and Lindas and—
She banished the thought. All of the soldiers in SPARTAN-III were unique individuals, despite their genetics. She would fight to preserve every last one of their lives, even if it meant losing her own.
"A full briefing will have to wait until we are at the base," Dr. Halsey spoke at last. "However, I'll give you the short form now.
"While I was at CASTLE base, I had some time to look through Ackerson's pet projects file after I sent Araquiel to digital oblivion. I found a folder marked 'S-III', which contained only a fragment that Kalimya was able to decipher... the coordinates of this world and your initials."
"Nice of Ackerson to remember me like that," Mendez commented with a smirk.
Dr. Halsey fought back her sadness at the loss of Kalimya and continued. "When I... had some time to spend with Cortana, I got her help in decrypting some other files that I found. Ackerson knew of a Forerunner facility under Reach... and he also suspected the presence of one here. Not just any Forerunner facility, but... an archive, if you will. A place where their collective knowledge could all be held safely in the case of a Flood outbreak. The Halo installation that John explored contained a Library, but that facility contained only a fraction of the Forerunners' total knowledge. What I am hoping most of all is that when we find this archive, it will contain translation software of some sort."
CPO Mendez gave a low whistle, steering to avoid the carcass of something that looked suspiciously like a lion. "That would be handy. All the advantages of the Covenant, and a whole lot more..."
"But there were other data taps," Halsey continued, readjusting her glasses. "Cortana concluded that they came from a Covenant AI like the one she..." She was really getting tired of omitting these things. "...found on a Covenant computer."
Mendez gave her a sharp look. "A Covenant AI?"
"They learn quickly, Mendez. Show the Covenant something once, and they will be able to mimic it perfectly. Which is why it is so vital that we keep the Archive from falling into their hands... wherever it is, and wherever they are."
"Count on it," Mendez replied. "We have four SPARTAN-IIs and a battalion that has more raw promise than any I've ever seen. Ackerson supplied us with plenty of heavy equipment... Scorpion MBTs, chainguns, Pelicans, even a small squad of Longswords. We have the Reliant and the Courageous lurking in the asteroid belt, and they're two of the finest ships in the entire UNSC Navy. But more importantly, we know we can win." Mendez turned to look at the Doctor again. "The battle is fought in the mind before the battlefield... and we've won that one. Now, all that remains is to let the Covenant know they're not welcome whenever they do show up."
Dr. Halsey couldn't help but have her spirits be raised at the Mendez' confidence. She knew, however, that when the Covenant wanted something, they wouldn't give up until it was in their hands.
Either way, she was in for a lot of work over the next little while.
She tried to settle back in the Warthog's uncomfortable seat, knowing that it was probably the most quiet time she'd get for the rest of the month.
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