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  • Subject: "Path of Reclamation" Level 16
Subject: "Path of Reclamation" Level 16

Phoenix is dead, long live Phoenix!
Is it?

Mysterious, yet at the same time very very reveiling.

Nice prelude to the filler chapters, I like what I see.

Legends are the pinnicle of History are they not?

  • 08.01.2007 9:45 PM PDT
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Posted by: tejan55
so the House of Yal trained the Honour Guards that is very interesting indeed, so now the question that has been bugging me since The Mirratord is why was Sim's father killed? i understand now why the first told the elder not to speak the name of his house during his induction if he is that last of that house, which we now is rebuilt... well nearly


However, this is not know to Simyaldee, since his only mate was taken from him a long time ago. Once Simyaldee knows he has a son, hmmmmmm, idk what will happen.

Oh boy, a fun filled August and September.

  • 08.02.2007 8:02 AM PDT
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well, I haven't posted in a very long time but I must say that I'm still just as gripped to the story as ever. It's amazing to see one's (soulguard's) writing style evolve and improve in the short time since SFFH. it's awesome. Also, I liked the new twist you added with Grimleon and his brutes retreating because isn't that not the brutes style? but yea, i can't wait until the next installment....Halo 3....and of course to get back to the normal story.

  • 08.02.2007 9:26 AM PDT
Subject: "Path of Reclamation" Level 15 posted 7/18 --p88-
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I am a Sangheili Bard.
Tomes of the History of the Mirratord
For the honor of the Mirratord!

The image then showed the difference of two spores, one that looked nearly identical to the other, but one of them began to attack the nearby bacteria and microorganisms, consuming them, while the other began a homogenous relationship with the other cells.

Catherine sat back in shock. “They did it… they injected us all... we are the carriers of the Flood gene. The spores aren’t the carriers of the trait … we are. Dear God, what did they do to us?” Catherine stood, her hands shacking nervously. “They found a way to link the Flood spore into our DNA. Why… for what purpose?”


Ahem... didnt you just tell me you failed chemistry and biology? This sort of thing makes for some pretty dense biology, microorganisms, cells... the depth of description is beleiveable, makes it seem plausible. I liked it. But what was the point in telling me windies like that? You're better at this than you claim. Great level, lots of questions answered, lots of them asked, preparation for the next installment in progress. And Simyaldee and Eric butting heads! Ouch.

What was the part about the Brute calling him Sim'yald, though? I didnt understand that part.
~Aardvark

  • 08.02.2007 12:10 PM PDT
Subject: "Path of Reclamation" Level 16

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I live!

My bout with work, the ferocious roar of two combating warriors, has ended... though I still have a meeting in the morn, but that will deal with itself.

fastrigger117 Glad you enjoyed it.
bbender Thanks, I've been thinking about how to do it since IIWYH, but it took the Halo 3 ARG stuff to really give me an idea of an approach.
spartan104fred Yup, I was sure that at one point someone was going to start reading as soon as posted that first page, but and then would wonder where the rest was. lol. sorry I caught you off guard.
tejan55 Ohhh, you are asking a fairly deep question there, tejan. "Warhammer" is many things, but he will have a lot to do with the next 5-6 levels beyond the Path of Reclamation ties. I can't say if he is one of the "two", but their is another hint at whom it may be. Remember, Cortana-Siren wasn't speaking to a covenant... it was to Reclaimers... humans. Think about it, it'll come to you. We all know who it is, but the question is which one is it?
And the idea behind Simyaldee's father is actually bigger then it seems. Martyr complex. But it will be explained. He died, there was a reason for it, and everyone knew and thought they were all dead.
warbirds Glad you liked. The next level will really play into those of you who are "Mirratord" fans.... again.
Lai TashaIndeed they are. Indeed they are. Welcome back to the forums. Hope the break was enjoyable this year. (gosh, I actually remember you taking your break last year. lol small world.)
HLC3 Very observant HLC3. The brutes are prideful warriors the strive on winning an encounter even if it means fighting to the last man... er-Brute. But for a Chieftain to signal a retreat? Awkward. And don't forget his "attitude" toward Truth. Grimleon is a smart one... very smart. Welcome back to the thread.
Aardvark Thank wikipedia for being nice to me. lol. I do suck at bio, but I'm good at gathering data for an idea. ha! Glad it at least sounded plausible. Still, I'm sure someone will stumble along and say "that is not possible. Cells don't blah blah blah with blah!" But it conveyed the idea. A soulguard WIN! And let's hope that Simyaldee and Eric don't bump heads. I think the world would miss the Senior Chief Raynord... cause he'd probably get pwnd quickly.
Simyaldee addressed himself (as well as Grimleon) as Sim'yald. He left off his military "Honorific", 'ee'. This was a play on him speaking directly of his familial name without any ties. It also referes to this : Elite background for Halo 3. Scroll to the bottom and notice that the warriors of the "Fleet of Retribution" do not add their honorifics. Something I plan to play with... as it adds more to the Canon material.

~soulguard


[Edited on 08.02.2007 1:21 PM PDT]

  • 08.02.2007 1:16 PM PDT

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I hide my Gamertag because I don't want to play with you :).

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I see, well all is good Soulguard! I see you will be adding new material to the novel, excellent and good luck!

  • 08.02.2007 2:28 PM PDT

Hey Soul. Great Chapter. I especially liked the part about Grimleon as it opens up a complete different part of the story. I also am looking forward to the story about Grimleon having the chance to become chief instead of Tartarus...? Anyway I'm looking foward to the next chapter (as always).

  • 08.04.2007 11:47 AM PDT

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I hide my Gamertag because I don't want to play with you :).

"With great mustache, comes great responsibility"

Soulguard, when will the next installment be up?

  • 08.05.2007 4:27 PM PDT

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update
Thanks for the support. I actually didn't think too many people would like this level as I was in a bit of a writing rut. Nothing seemed to moved me, and I generally only write what sparks my interest. But I'm glad you all enjoyed it.

That aside, I have a progress report as we close in our 9/25... thanks to Gamepro, and EGM, I have a ton more info to push forward toward the Halo 3/Path of Reclamation breaking point. This means that I can fully see the flow (no, I don't really know anymore info about the game) of where the story will go. And seeing that I'm not going to follow the Chief's path off planet after beating/forcing Truth out of the Ark, I can now wrap this story up. I've had the details of how POR would end, but I just didn't know how I could tie that into the Halo 3 story.

My plan now, is to release the final chapter of PoR the week following Halo 3's release. If I do my magic correctly, PoR will end at somepoint during the Halo 3 campaign, and you will know exactly the point that I am talking about when you read the final two levels. So, let's put all of this aside and look to level 17.


LEVEL 17 will pick up where 16 ended, with the introduction of Simyaldee's (Sim'yald) familial enemy. The Red Clan is the hated enemy of of the House of Yal, why? well it has something to do with their past. Now, before you get too confused, this isn't a family feud, this is all out hatred, one that Simyaldee was not truly aware of, as it started before he was born.

"BUT SOULGUARD, ACCORDING TO THE MIRRATORD, THE BRUTES ENTERED THE COVENANT AFTER SIMYALDEE WAS BORN. HOW CAN HIS FATHER HAVE MET THEM AND CAUSED TROUBLE?"

Why Timmy, that is a very good question. If you recall, the Covenant Hierarchs seemed to be know a lot about the Brutes, including their location and their strength's and weakness. Beyond just their remembered knowledge of being reborn after the Halo wave, the Hierarchs seem to know a lot of details about nearly every species in the Galaxy, except humanity. Simyaldee's father, the elder of the House of Yal, had a large play in that. And thus, we shall explore the tail of the House of Yal in the coming levels. Don't worry, this isn't an all out flashback, as I am leaving a little mystery in Simyaldee's father's past.

Look for level 17 around friday.
~soulguard

  • 08.06.2007 6:18 AM PDT

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Oh how exciting, the mystery of Simyaldee's fathers past will be revealed i see, can't wait for the last two level!

  • 08.06.2007 7:02 AM PDT
Subject: "Path of Reclamation" Level 16 posted 8/01 --p90-
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Help!!! how do i play halo 2 online with other people..... every time i am ready to play on my 360, it ends up sayin......You can only play with friends and clan members etc..........help@!@@!!!

  • 08.06.2007 7:22 AM PDT
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Posted by: baseballdude0826
Help!!! how do i play halo 2 online with other people..... every time i am ready to play on my 360, it ends up sayin......You can only play with friends and clan members etc..........help@!@@!!!


Stop spamming this thread. Call 1-800-4MY-XBOX if your having issues, but stop spamming.

  • 08.06.2007 7:30 AM PDT
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I am a Sangheili Bard.
Tomes of the History of the Mirratord
For the honor of the Mirratord!

Good that someone can wring something out of Wikipidia... all I ever get is turned in circles. Rrug. So if there are two levels until September's release date, does that mean they'll be that painfully spaced out or are we going to have to wait until the last minute to see them both?

~Aardvark

  • 08.07.2007 1:17 PM PDT

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whoops, I think there was some confusion.. I have a tendency to do that.

There will be more levels between now and 9/25, about 4 .I was trying to say that once Halo 3 is released, the final 2 level will come out around that time. I think there are at least 7-8 levels left until the end of the story.

Hope that clear things up. ...

... a little.

~soulguard
*^_^*

  • 08.07.2007 6:10 PM PDT

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I hide my Gamertag because I don't want to play with you :).

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Posted by: soulguard
whoops, I think there was some confusion.. I have a tendency to do that.

There will be more levels between now and 9/25, about 4 .I was trying to say that once Halo 3 is released, the final 2 level will come out around that time. I think there are at least 7-8 levels left until the end of the story.

Hope that clear things up. ...

... a little.

~soulguard
*^_^*


Totally thanks man

[Edited on 08.07.2007 7:11 PM PDT]

  • 08.07.2007 7:10 PM PDT
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Posted by: fastrigger117
Posted by: soulguard
whoops, I think there was some confusion.. I have a tendency to do that.

There will be more levels between now and 9/25, about 4 .I was trying to say that once Halo 3 is released, the final 2 level will come out around that time. I think there are at least 7-8 levels left until the end of the story.

Hope that clear things up. ...

... a little.

~soulguard
*^_^*


Totally thanks man


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOO
only seven or eight more levels. i think a small part of me died today. what will you do after POR is done?

  • 08.08.2007 7:08 AM PDT

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HAHA

Don't worry too much fred, after PoR is done, you'll have Halo 3 and Halo wars to fill the gap. lol
Well, PoR will be the last book of the Trilogy so the side story will be complete. After that I will be venturing back into my numerous other projects, including getting published and attempting to work more on my online comic. I have a lot of things I want to do before the 2009 starts, so this fall will be very busy for me, and then there are all of the amazing games coming out... Mass Effect, Assassins Creed, Orange Box (played most of them, but I gotta have team Fortress 2), Haze, Bioshock (which will be my last FPS! Come on MGS, enough with the FPSs.. give us some old school action!!!) and Army of Two... *phew*... just to name a few. That's a lot of games... a lot of GREAT LOOKING FUN games!!

But yeah, I will still be a constant b.net supporter, though I am an Halo fanboy, I must back away and pursue my writing career if I want to see my dream come true. :D
~soulguard

edit: I meant 2008. I forgot what years "THIS" is. lol

[Edited on 08.08.2007 11:03 AM PDT]

  • 08.08.2007 8:09 AM PDT

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I hide my Gamertag because I don't want to play with you :).

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Posted by: soulguard
HAHA

Don't worry too much fred, after PoR is done, you'll have Halo 3 and Halo wars to fill the gap. lol
Well, PoR will be the last book of the Trilogy so the side story will be complete. After that I will be venturing back into my numerous other projects, including getting published and attempting to work more on my online comic. I have a lot of things I want to do before the 2009 starts, so this fall will be very busy for me, and then there are all of the amazing games coming out... Mass Effect, Assassins Creed, Orange Box (played most of them, but I gotta have team Fortress 2), Haze, Bioshock (which will be my last FPS! Come on MGS, enough with the FPSs.. give us some old school action!!!) and Army of Two... *phew*... just to name a few. That's a lot of games... a lot of GREAT LOOKING FUN games!!

But yeah, I will still be a constant b.net supporter, though I am an Halo fanboy, I must back away and pursue my writing career if I want to see my dream come true. :D
~soulguard

Wow thanks for the update, and you should pursue your dream if thats what you want, we are behind you 110% of the way!

  • 08.08.2007 8:24 AM PDT
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Still not back from my holidays and only had time to catch up on the reading of the chapters that were released in my absence so anyways here it goes, spelling is great i hardly notice any mistakes and the ones i do i correct them mentally while reading so no complains there, the story in a good way but my only complain is that the human team is still full of "invisibles" 1 grunt, 2 elites and 2 "black spartans" so the thing is that being so invincible there is hardly any dificulty in their way, they can basicly defeat anyone in their path, the grunt can even take on 4 brutes or more, i know there has been a recent kill but i think if more one or two of them dies....there will be a lot more space for a lot more action which turns it more exiting, and this is not a negative comment, it's just what i call a "bu" since the story is great.

  • 08.08.2007 8:30 AM PDT

Phoenix is dead, long live Phoenix!
Is it?

It will be wierd when this ends. There has always seemed to be a little bit of hope that something else will follow, some other intruiging tale for me to put my teeth into, something to look forward to.

I do hope that you will put all the Path Of Reclaimation into a special collation, edited fully, and including the side stories and all the little teasers such as fragment that you have used from time to time.

As I see it it is your mark on Halo's history, nothing else comes close to what you have done.
~~~~~The History of The Reclaimers and The Mirratord, Their Journey to Reclaimation.~~~~~


ps. Will you be redelving into the world of Star Wars anytime soon?

  • 08.09.2007 12:47 AM PDT

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Posted by: x Lai Tasha x
It will be wierd when this ends. There has always seemed to be a little bit of hope that something else will follow, some other intruiging tale for me to put my teeth into, something to look forward to.

I do hope that you will put all the Path Of Reclaimation into a special collation, edited fully, and including the side stories and all the little teasers such as fragment that you have used from time to time.

As I see it it is your mark on Halo's history, nothing else comes close to what you have done.
~~~~~The History of The Reclaimers and The Mirratord, Their Journey to Reclaimation.~~~~~


ps. Will you be redelving into the world of Star Wars anytime soon?


Thanks Lai, that was actually pretty touching. One thing I do have planned is to go through and Edit the Time, Locations, and grammer and then push this onto the interwebz in the form of a PDF. Howevver, SFFH, will have to sit by and wait as I am thinking of talking to B.net and Tor about possibly pushing it out to the world. I doubt they'll agree to it, but we'll see.

As for star wars, it will always have a special place in my heart. Though I really want to work on my novel and get it to an editor and see about publication as well. But I think the talks for SFFH will come first. Also, speaking of SFFH, because of this, I may need to pull it off of FF.net and delete the thread in New Mombasa (SFFH not IIWYH). But we'll see, that's a few months away.

~soulguard

  • 08.09.2007 5:13 AM PDT

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I hide my Gamertag because I don't want to play with you :).

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Well good luck getting a publisher Soulguard, it will be tough, but you can pull it off

  • 08.09.2007 10:12 AM PDT

Phoenix is dead, long live Phoenix!
Is it?

Since you are thinking of submitting SFFH to Bungie, I'll give it proper a review sometime in the near future.

  • 08.10.2007 2:15 AM PDT

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Note: This is a rather slow level, it is informative, but slow. It is mainly a build up for what is to come. Rough, mostly unedited.
********************************

Level 17: Enemies and Allies

Northern Camp Eden
November 10, 2552

With the Brutes on the retreat, and Camp Eden now in complete control of allied forces, repairs to the shield grid began. Eden was beginning to show signs of hope. Civilian workers were allowed topside in order to begin refortifying the massive camp-city. Their main priority was to rebuild the shield which had been completely destroyed, as well as the wall and various Anti Aircraft guns.

With Siren’s aid, the Brute ship was now completely under the control of the Mirratord, and the majority of all Sangheili forces moved aboard the ship in order to rest, re-coup and re-arm. A few human platoons also joined them in order to help give the ship more of an alliance feel. However, capturing the ship did not give anyone any great sense of rejoice, it was only one ship against an entire armada. At anytime, truth could send a small attack wave of ships and blow the elites out of the sky. It was only a matter of time, but for now Siren kept her eyes to the horizons; listening and watching. Two other Brute controlled ship sat in the distance, yet they did not advance or threaten the camp. They were too busy digging. Something that everyone monitored and were extremely concerned with.

Back at the southern area, near the entrance to the lower levels of Camp Eden, Eric and Mathew took the liberty of assisting the civilians in digging graves for the hundreds of fallen marines and civilian workers that hadn’t escaped the brute’s first attack. Their crashing ship caught everyone off guard. But Eric and Mathew couldn’t spare too much time on grave detail as they had to see to the refortifications of their zones. They mainly wanted to police one body.

The sun cast a thick shadow as Mathew thumbed the dirt between his fingers and looked at the depth of the grave. Numerous plots lay about the courtyard, a make shift graveyard, and the sobs of loved ones carried across the level field. At the base of the grave was a wrapped female body and Eric huddle atop it. Mathew couldn’t stand it any longer. He stood, gripped his shovel and walked to another grave, assisting others in tossing dirt over the dead.

Eric had puller Melanie’s hand out of her white body bag and rubbed it gently between his own. She had been dead for nearly two days, but he didn’t care. He knew that eventually she would be dug up again, after the war, and given a proper burial, but for now they had to dispose of the body. He didn’t shed a tear. He remembered how many times Mel had held his hand. He then thought about Kim; Melanie’s older sister and the core of what made Siren. He laughed at the idea of doing a brain scan of Mel, there wasn’t much left of her head in order to do that, but he wouldn’t put her through such an ordeal anyway. Eric hated the idea of having a friend or loved one’s brain scanned. This was the main reason why he could not fully embrace Siren.

Eric’s radio chirped. “Can I see her?” Siren’s voice radioed in his ear.

Eric stood and grabbed his helmet and then angled the faceplate toward Mel’s prone form.

Siren accessed his HUD recorder and began a live feed. “Will you… will you miss her?”

Eric found it hard to speak, his throat was tight with emotions but he couldn’t shed tears. “W-what do you think?” Eric held his helmet under his left arm, while his right hand examined Mel’s hand again.

“I think… you loved her more then you’re willing to share.”

“She was family. We never talked about it, we never said anything. We simply knew … she was like a little sister.” His throat tightened up once again. Became dry.

“You know… she thought of you very highly. She talked about you all the time. Did you recover her will? I should up date it with the rest of the soldiers that have died in the past few weeks.” Eric remained silent for a while as he pulled Melanie’s data recorder chip from his pocket. He thumbed it in his hand and inserted it into his helmet. Siren quickly accessed it. “Did you get the flask?”

“Yeah.” He chocked.

“I’m glad she gave it to you. It meant a lot to her. She really loved you.” Siren paused. Being an AI, she could quickly access words to say in this situation, but there were lines of code inside her emotional subroutines that forced her to talk slowly, in breaks, to sound as though she were upset, or tearful. The silence grew as she sat and watched Mel’s form. She wanted to see her, all of her, “can you open the bag a little more? I’d like to see the rest of her.”

“No.”

“… Eric. Please…”

Eric sighed. “Her face is bruised beyond recognition. Her head was smashed, multiple skull fractures and severe brain trauma. You don’t want your last memories of her to be this.”

“Is … that why you are only holding her hand?” Eric remained silent. Siren began to mumble, “I never thought I would out live her… she was so much stronger then I was; a better shooter, smarter, faster.”

Eric laughed, forgetting himself, “she actually did hate the idea that you became a Senior Chief before she did.”

“I should have done more. Eric, I failed her.”

“… no, I failed you both. She said in her will that it wasn’t my fault, but it was. I brought you into this mess. I urged you all to join the core. I started this, but you all went before me. I should have died so many times… but…” Eric paused. He raised his head and looked around the tight confines of the grave. He realized he wasn’t talking to anyone. In his head he could hear Kim’s voice, Siren’s voice, but the voice was only that of an AI. His voice became stern. “Siren, turn off your emotions.”

Siren replied with a heavy voice, cracking as if she were crying. “I want to feel… just for a little longer. Let me feel this. I lost my sister, Eric. We lost her… ”

“She’s not your sister.” Eric commanded. He gently tucked Mel’s hand into her wrapping and then climbed out of the grave.

Siren was silent for a moment, “I’m sorry, 19.” Her voice sounded more professional, less emotional. “I should have considered your feelings in this.” Eric began to toss dirt onto Mel, not looking at her only focusing on the dirt. Before long he had covered her completely but he was still a long way from finishing.

Mathew slowly walked back to Eric’s side and began to shovel, not saying anything, only working. After a few minutes they had completely filled Mel’s temporary resting spot. If humanity survived the war, she would be transferred to a family grave spot, and given full honors. Though no one would know she was a Black Ops, only that she was a soldier in the UNSC Navy.

Eric sat and wiped the sweat from his brow. Mathew passed him a canteen of water and they sat and watched as hundreds of other civilians and marines filled similar plots. The sun slowly descended into the western horizon.

Siren commented on the line. “19, I know you need a minute to reflect, but Doctor Halsey is still waiting for an answer.”

“Tell her to get the coordinates. Then find Captain Monroe.” Eric tapped his COM head set. “Simyaldee do you copy?”

“I read you, Chief Raynord.”

“I need a few of your men to come with me. I have an escorting mission to the south. Can you spare Gridolee and perhaps a few grunts?”

- - - - - - - -

Sangheili Controlled vessel: The Hammer of God
Northern Camp Eden

Simyaldee powered off his COM and walked to the edge of the Command platform. He looked out over the thin Sangheili command crew, and the even thinner number of human Naval officers assigned to help, it would have to be enough. “Gridolee, take a team of Unggoy and join the honorable human.”

Gridolee looked up and nodded toward the second. “Immediately, sir.”

Simyaldee twitched his mandibles. “Have you begun repairing your blades? You will need them.”

“I repaired one. I will fix the other soon.” Gridolee stated as he raced off the deck.

Simyaldee watched the door close behind his youngest warrior in the Mirratord and then turned his attention back to the COM settings. The Fleet of Retribution was acquiring numbers faster and faster. The elder, below the command podium, was now in contact with dozens of other Sangheili ship masters scattered across the planet. Most were human sympathizers, and thusly agreed to continue to lend aid to the humans, but there main objective was to gather support and strike against Truth. He turned and walked toward the opposite corner, and he gasped as the pain of his recent surgery shot up his side. The surgery repaired the internal damage, but it would be a few hours until the wound completely healed.

A shout came from the communications station. “Confirmed, the Arbiter is still alive. He is moving toward the Ark structure with the Demon… the Master Chief. The humans have begun to attack with the last of their mobile forces. Shall we go to their aid?”

“No. We wait.” Simyaldee commanded. He was eager to get back into the battle, especially with a ship under his temporary command, but there was little chance of his forces being needed. At least not yet. For now they would stay and protect the Elders and the human’s zone. Simyaldee also pondered why the Brutes were so interested in taking over the area.

  • 08.10.2007 6:21 AM PDT
Subject: "Path of Reclamation" Level 17

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The COM officer barked once again. “Sir, long distance transmission on the Seed Ship’s bandwidth. Truth is not blocking this frequency. It is from… High Elder Vornaldea!”

- - - - - - - -

Seed Ship
November 1, 2552- -Slip Space Time difference - - nine relative hours.

High Elder Vornaldea stood at the edge of a massive metal precipice. Beyond his eyes floated a fleet of ships. Nearly thirty cruisers, battleships and carriers were being repaired and modified. Dozen’s of sentinel drones buzzed about the monstrous enclosure doing the work to the ships as his elite’s rested. They had found the firepower they were looking for, but instead of returning to Earth, they were ordered to another path.

Vornaldea had been struggling for hours to understand the “Path of Reclamation”, but no matter how he viewed it, something was off. For once, he actually wished the human Doctor Halsey, was still around. She was filled with insightful viewpoints, and her intellect was beyond compare. She could make since of what the Queen’s forces were looking for.

Vornaldea waited patiently for the shuttle to arrive, but they had just disembarked from the Key of Deliverance only a few minutes ago. It would take an older Spirit drop ship a few minutes to cross the massive dry dock of the Seed ship.

After nearly four minutes the drop ship swung to dock with the metal platform where Vornaldea and his contingent of honor guards waited. The side bay doors opened and six massive elites strode down the ramp. Behind them floated three sentinels and a large black box. Vornaldea instantly realized the box was the stasis chamber used to house the Queen. He was approached by the most decorated warrior in the group, he stood a full heads length taller then Vornaldea, and his bulk was insanely ridged.

Commander Yalsmadee was a tower of muscle.

He knelt before Vornaldea and addressed him, “High Elder of the High Council. I am the ground forces Commander for the Fleet, Altez Yalsmadee.”

“Indeed you are.” Vornaldea smirked. “You remind me so much of your father, when he was younger.” Vornaldea shook the thought from his mind. “Drones, take the Queen to the Ancient City.” The sentinels paused and waited for an understanding of the term “Ancient City”. They accessed the Seed Ships mainframe and the Keeper spoke to them, informing them where to go.

The Drones dragged the floating stasis locked box toward the main corridor. Yalsmadee turned to his team and nodded, ordering them to follow.

The Keeper spoke through a local intercom, but did not appear. “The terminology you use to describe locations is rather false, but I will not alter your words. However, this Ancient City you refer to is simply the living quarters.” The Keepers voice faded.

“What was that?” Yalsmadee questioned.

“The Construct for this ship.” Vornaldea replied. He motioned for Yalsmadee to follow him as they slowly made their way behind the stasis chamber. “There is much we must discuss.”

“First,” Yalsmadee interrupted, “you must inform me how you were able to remove the Seed Ship from its resting place. Then, I will need to know its full battle compliment and potential. It is far larger then we imagined it would be. It is nearly double the size of High Charity. We can make excellent use of this and the Construct, the one called the Keeper. Its ability to control these Drones will be needed when we arrive at Halo.”

“Halo?” Vornaldea questioned.

“Yes, it must be destroyed. I am sure the Prime are now aware of our new potential and they will adjust. They always adjust.” Yalsmadee was a well disciplined warrior. Vornaldea easily could comprehend this. Even though his mother, the Queen, was in an unknown state, Yalsmadee focused completely on his mission.

“Who are the Prime?” Vornaldea questioned.

“The last race of the Empire. They were an unprivileged society that had yet to be assimilated into the Empire. They taught us all that they knew.”

“They had survived the Halo’s first fireing?”

“Yes. Their civilization was beyond the range of Halo’s destructive wave. They were not full members of the Empire, though they longed to be. Since the fall of the Empire, they have watched, studied and waited for the Path of Reclamation to be fulfilled. Our Queen chose to save our kin, knowing that if the Halos fired, our race would be destroyed. After we learned that one Halo had been destroyed and we immediately sought to aid in the destructions of the others. We must stop the humans for firing Halo. They must not reach Reclamation.”

Vornaldea chuckled. “You know much more then we do, but you are still not up to date. Let me inform you of the Covenant calendar, the Ninth Age of Reclamation.”

After walking for nearly an hour, through the vast corridors of the Seed ship, the group arrived at the Ancient City, where the civilians who survived Dorenth’s destruction lived and played. Vornaldea continued to recount the happenings of the past eighty years; the Brute alliance, the first contact with humans, the Hierarchs unquestioned path to destroy them, and the civil war.

Yalsmadee paused at the drones carried the Queen deeper into the city, watching as thousand came out to see what the new machines were doing. “Then the Hierarchs are not as stupid as we believed. We knew the humans would eventually attempt to fire Halo, it is their destiny, but this Demon, this Master Chief, destroyed Halo instead. I am somewhat confused. We feared the great journey, knowing that this was merely a fool’s ploy.”

“Correct.” Vornaldea added.

“But the humans are not attempting to fire Halo. They are simply resisting the Covenant’s advance.”

“Also, correct.”

“Why? The Reclaimers destiny is to rebuild the Empire. They are defying the will of the Forerunners.”

Vornaldea was not aware of this information, but assumed that this was knowledge learned through the Prime. “It would seem, that the humans wish to live. They wish to live without the Forerunners return.”

“The Quarantine station, it said that a Halo had misfired?” Yalsmadee questioned eagerly. “Who attempted to fire it? Halo can only be fired by a Reclaimer!”

“Tartarus, the Brute Chieftain. He was ordered to use a human in an attempt to fire one of the Halos.”

“I see.” Yalsmadee continued to follow his mother’s chamber as he pondered what to do. It was taken to a highly decorated building that had been setup the moment it was known that the Queen would be coming aboard. Honor guards lined the building only allowing a select few to enter. The drones disconnected from the stasis locked box and quickly exited the building. Queen Vasmeola lay unseen, inside the black box as it floated gingerly above the center of the room. It was engulfed in a swirling orb of light, trapped between dimensions. Female elders walked into the room, carrying flowers and fine hand crafted Sangheili clothing. They lined everything neatly near the Queen’s resting tomb so that when she awoke the first thing she would see would be the offerings of her people.

Yalsmadee and Vornaldea walked into the room and scanned every guard and visitor. “The Queens Honor Guards will assume her private protection. Inform the Mirratord to protect the building itself.”

Vornaldea shifted slightly, “the Mirratord?”

“Yes elder, I know of them. They are my birth right after all.”

Vornaldea smirked, “indeed, it was your ancestor who created the idea. However, we found it best that the Mirratord remain on Earth to assist in stopping Truth.”

“The human world?” Yalsmadee once again began to think deeply on this. “Then Simyaldee is there as well?”

“Yes.”

Yalsmadee turned and looked at a cloaked female with two Honor Guards at her side. She nodded respectfully and then left the building with her guards. “She is pleased to know that.”

Vornaldea watched the old female depart. “Ancestors be praised, she lives. The head of the House of Yal.”

Yalsmadee gripped the elders shoulder to ease his joy, and said, “There are only ten of us who know this. She has asked to remain anonymous, even amongst this great reunion. Upon my birth, she blessed me with the name of Yal and welcomed me into her home.”

“Yes, you have a great weight upon your shoulders. I will contain myself in her presence. She shall have access to this building at anytime she sees fit.” Vornaldea looked up at the young warrior. “I realized that you carried the name of Yal, but I did not think she still drew breath. This is a great revelation.”

Yalsmadee clasped his hands behind his back and exhaled softly. “If the humans are attempting to stop Truth, then we must do what little we can. What troubles me is our next course of action. Do we join our brothers at Earth, and try to stop Truth there? Or do we risk destroying the Ring in case Truth succeeds?”

Both Vornaldea and Yalsmadee debated this as four Huragok, the race of creatures known as engineers, floated into the room. They were watched carefully by every elite eye. The engineers extended the four tentacles and examined the Queen’s state. The creatures seemed to be unaffected by the stasis barrier, something that Yalsmadee found odd. The creatures floated about, switching locations in technological bliss. The elites cautiously let them work, though they stood ready to kill the non aggressive creatures if they showed any negative acts; after all they were once the primary workers for the prophets.


[Edited on 08.10.2007 6:30 AM PDT]

  • 08.10.2007 6:21 AM PDT