- soulguard
- |
- Exalted Mythic Member
It was amazing to watch them analyze and study, their tentacles flipping from control to control in absolute silence. Then they stopped working in unison. They slowly floated away from the tomb as a 3D image floated above their heads.
“My Queen!” Yalsmadee gasped as he saw Queen Vasmola’s image floating above the room. It was a visual image from inside the stasis chamber. She was unconscious, or asleep, but she seemed healthy. One of the engineers floated toward the chamber and entered more information. Suddenly a visual monitor appeared showing her health readings.
“Well now, she is very healthy, as I told you.” The keeper stated as he appeared in the room. His hologram emerged directly beside Vornaldea.
Yalsmadee gasped. “A Prime? The construct is one of the Prime?”
The Keeper simply smiled. “Oh, yes, I should have known you would have met them. I was modeled after my maker. He was one of the Prime.” The Keeper, a biped humanoid hologram, wearing a highly decorated robe, stood before them. Its reptile skin was leathery and a long pony tail of hair stretched from its head to the floor.
“The enemy you have been fighting, is the designer of the construct?” Vornaldea questioned.
The Keeper interrupted. “The Prime were very intelligent beings, they assisted in many tasks that the Forerunner found… tedious. Though they were not a part of the Empire, they were still resourceful. Remember, the Empire was glorious, and no race resisted its demands. Otherwise, the Empire unleashed its army against them. And no one wanted to be on the receiving end of the … Sangheili.”
“We can not trust this construct!” Yalsmadee roared.
The Keeper simply smiled. “Unlike the Monitor, I am not bound to my objectives. I will not do you any harm. After all, I created you all. It was I who oversaw the Repopulation Engine and planted your seeds. My goal is to protect, not destroy. Defend, not obliterate. You have no need to fear me… child of Vastegrin.”
“Vastegrin?” Vornaldea questioned. “Keeper, where did you learn this name?”
“It is not important.” The Keeper smirked.
“The drones also called our Queen by this title.” Yalsmadee added.
Vornaldea stared at the hologram. “Speak.”
The Keeper sighed. “Vastergin is the name of your blood type sample taken from the ruling Elite during the Forerunner war. It was this blood sample that created your seed for the Repopulation Engine. There were thousands of samples, from various families, but this was the most important. Like I said, not important.”
Vornaldea smirked, “as for the Prime, it would seem they were critical to the Empire during its time. I question why they wish for the Halo’s to fire.”
“It is because of the Path of Reclamation.” Yalsmadee added. He walked closer to the stasis chamber and placed his hand close to his mother’s holographic form. It lay silent on its back, unmoving, lifeless yet alive. “The Prime know that we are all carriers of the Flood.”
“What?” Vornaldea questioned.
The Keeper coughed, catching the attention of the group. “If ever there was a document that should have been destroyed, that was the one. The Path of Reclamation was created as a warning… a testament to the failures of the Empire. It was never planed to introduce the … soldier gene as you call it, into the populace. The Path of Reclamation is a warning, a guide, a map, a collection of tools needed by the Reclaimers in order to assist them in rebuilding the Empire. To teach them how not to make the same mistakes the Forerunners did.”
Vornaldea walked closer to the Queens chamber and crossed his arms in thought. “I will need to investigate this more thoroughly, as well as our science teams. However, I will add that the humans have no desires of firing the Halo weapons…”
“I would think differently,” the Keeper said, “they have not fully understood this rather interesting piece of Forerunner work. The Path of Reclamation can easily remind them of how … pointless it is to find a cure. Your human friend, Catherine Halsey stumbled upon what she thought could be a cure. If she were familiar with the Path of Reclamation, she would understand it was pointless.”
“Then we will need for her, as well as the humans, to understand the Path of Reclamation.” Vornaldea stated.
“No,” countered Yalsmadee, “telling them would only remind them of their purpose. We can not risk it. The Forerunners were wise in choosing the humans, they are smart and powerful, and would be equally ferocious in battle as the Brutes. Humans, as the Prime told us, are exceptional weapons.” Yalsmadee faced Vornaldea, “if it is true that we have formed and awkward alliance with them, then we must pray that they never understand the Path of Reclamation completely. If they do … ancestors have mercy on us.”
“I worked with Doctor Halsey for many days, understanding this ship and the cloning process.” Vornaldea sighed. “Your thinking is much like the Prophets. The humans wish only to survive. It was we who attacked them. At these turn of events, I do not question the human’s anger toward us, but I know that we need each other.”
Yalsmadee looked to the Keeper after briefly thinking over Vornaldea’s words. “Keeper. Tell me… whom do you trust more, to complete your Forerunner plans?”
“Why, the Reclaimers of course. It is there duty to end the Flood threat.”
“Now tell me why. Why do you so fully support the Reclaimers?”
The Keeper smiled. “Because …they will remember and they will… seek the path.”
Yalsmadee looked back to Vornaldea. “High Elder. We chose to destroy the Halo’s to eliminate any chance of the humans seeking this path… the Path of Reclamation. To them, it will be the only option left. If they understand, or learn the truth of the Flood spore, we are all doomed. If I sound like the Prophets, then forgive me. But I will agree on one thing. Truth was correct in fearing them.”
- - - - - - - -
A few hours passed and Yalsmadee sat alone in his mother’s room. Their was little more he could do to convince the High Elder about being cautious with the humans, but the Elder was feeling sympathetic to what his race had been ordered to do to them. Yalsmadee shared no such regret. He almost agreed with Truth, but the thought of agreeing to the Prophets actions of genocide made him gag.
He paced around the stone structure as virtual nighttime began. The rooms lights adjusted and the crystal overhanging the city dimmed to only a moonlit glow. He walked to the window and looked outward at the young Sangheili playing in the streets. From the Queen’s room he could overlook the entire city and lakes beyond, and even see the ship’s massive doors into the ship area.
The Seed Ship was a perfect escape for his kin, but it was not a full world. Eventually the Sangheili race would once again flourish, and the Seed ship would not be big enough to support them all. He had been told about High Charity, the central home of the Covenant, and how many races lived upon the ship as if it were a home. He never comprehended how that could be possible, but the Seed ship clearly exemplified it.
A Dabdough walked the edge of a nearby lake, it was a male. He had been told stories of those creatures as well. The six foot tall creatures were timid but gave a good hunt for the young. They breed rapidly with their powerful female counterparts, so their numbers were always in good supply. He never had the chance to hunt the creature. Yalsmadee was born far on the other side of the galaxy, and he longed to take a part in the old Sangheili traditions of his home. To walk the streets of the Academy in the Parade of the Watchmen, to attend classes with other Sangheili and learn the techniques of being a warrior, history, to take the Trials of the Watchmen and prove his worthiness to the council and his kin. He wanted to prove his right to be a warrior and do everything that was denied him thanks to the Prophets.
Yalsmadee turned to look as his mother’s hologram, “it must have been difficult for you, mother, to be an outcast and shunned simply because you were a female and the head of the oldest House. I look around and I see what you mean by everything being dominated by us males, it has helped me to understand your anger and determination. We will start over. Once we have ended the Prophets plans, and destroyed Halo and the Flood, we will build the Sangheili race in the way you have dreamt it. Equal.”
A group of four females entered the room, catching Yalsmadee’s attention. They carried foods, drink, and fresh clothing. “Commander,” the lead female spoke, “I took notice that you have not left the Queen’s side all day. We have brought you food and drink. I will take your armor and clean it for you.”
She placed clothing on the table in the corner of the room as the other females left the food in the center of the room. She stood quietly to the side and waited for his orders.
Yalsmadee was unaccustomed to the typical roles of the Sangheili women, he had been surrounded by warriors all of his life, even the women of the fleet fought. “Thank you. But I do not need my armor cleaned. I wear these scratched and tears with honor, as it is my proof of being a warrior.”
The female bowed and turned to exit the room. Yalsmadee spoke up, “Wait. Tell me, why you have done this? I could acquire food of my own.”
The female turned, her head low, “Warriors do not have time to do medial tasks. We who are female, are here to aid you in your strength, and to make sure you do not forget to take care of yourself … and your enemy. We are your aid.”
“Thank you.”