- soulguard
- |
- Exalted Mythic Member
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.