- soulguard
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- Exalted Mythic Member
“Check your scanners, we are entering the system now. Please, vent your reserves! The Luminous Key is the verge of implosion!”
The ship master’s hand hovered over the control, ready to destroy the ship in the blink of an eye if needed. He looked over the scanner and watched as a massive ship of unknown design winked into the system. The gravity displacement by the ship’s mass was so large that it registered as a small moon, but upon further inspection it truly was a ship.
“We have control of the Sentinel drones, you and your crew are no longer in danger. Please, your Luminous Key has reached threshold limits! It will implode!”
The ship master vented the reserve energy buildup within the Luminous Key, but he did not reverse it to normal settings; he had to be sure that this was not a hoax.
Vornaldea exhaled over the COM. “Excellent. Now, we will have our Queen returned to your ship and we will tow you out of there. Thank the ancestors we arrived just in time.”
The first voice returned to the COM. “It would seem that you did not give the proper counter-response. A pity your species did not retain your memories, then you would understand the implications of your actions. However, I do understand that you wish to live, and that the Quarantine Station is not up to date on the current situation of the Halos. The Quarantine station is off line, for now, however I feel that we should stress the need of these Sentinels. They are far more resourceful then … oh my. Queen Vastegrin’s descendant? Now I understand why the drones were so determined in capturing her.”
“Vastegrin.” The ship master stated as the surviving command crewmen finished taking out their anger upon the motionless drones. “You mean our Queen? She was taken from us, construct. Return her at once!”
“Construct?” The voice questioned. “I am the Keeper of the Seed Installation, and referring to me as a construct is degrading. Aside from your insult, I will reprogram a select number of the drones to tow your ship to the Seed ship’s docking bay. Repairs will begin immediately. As for the Queen … I am afraid she was already placed into stasis containment. She is isolated on another programming segment. It will take some time to remove her.”
“Then at least return her!”
“I can not. She is currently split between dimensions for study and analysis, deep within the drone factory. I can relay her coordinates to you, but I advise against removing her until the studies are complete. Removing her before analysis can be completed will result in her death. You see, she will be split between this plane and the other, awakening her in that state will alter her ….”
“Stop it!” The ship master shouted. “Is she in danger?”
“No, don’t be ridiculous. She is quite safe inside the stasis field. It is impenetrable.”
“Those machines can produce such devices?”
“No, the stasis field used to capture her was merely to subdue her motor functions. The true study location is located inside the drone factory, where a multidimensional stasis field holds her. You may send your ‘warriors’ to guard her, though it really is not needed.”
“How long before she is released?”
“Time is irrelevant for a species of her genetic makeup. She is quite rare. I will need to reprogram...”
“How long?” The ship master reiterated.
“Study and analysis will occur on multiple dimensional planes. Time on one plane does not equate to time on another. It could take one minute or it could take two hundred years. As I said, there is nothing to fear. She is quiet safe, I assure you. I will reprogram the analysis face to be short, however, I do not have any control on when these studies will be complete.”
“Two hundred years?” The ship master questioned.
Vornaldea returned to the COM. “This is unacceptable, Keeper. Ship master, we will get to the bottom of this, but for now we must know, are you the last of your army?”
“No, Elder, we have well over eighty ships in our fleet.” The ship master stumbled as the Persistence and Vigilance began to be towed away from the mass of floating debris which was once a planet. Now it was only a factory of Sentinels, floating aimlessly in space. “The rest of our fleet is at a safe distance.”
“Who is in command of the Fleet?”
“Commander Yalsmadee.”
“Yalsmadee? Of the house of Yal?”
“Yes, though the Queen is his natural mother.”
“Tell me, ship master, whom is the father?” The elder’s question was shocking, family names were often private and not something shared publicly unless it was shared by a family member, but Yalsmadee’s past was no secret, everyone knew of his mother, but his father… that was another story.
“Elder, such information is…”
“You said, Yal, I happen to know that at one time, Vasmeola had a mate… the Queen had a mate before she was taken from us. Was there a member of the House of Yal amongst you; an elder female who could honorably pass on her name?”
“Elder… there are thousands of us. Such knowledge is beyond me.”
There was a pause. “Forgive me, Ship master. The news of a child born from the House of Vas and Yal, would be exceptional news. They are the oldest Houses in our society. Their clan names date back… forgive me, I am rambling. Ship master, contact your commander, I would very much like to meet with him.”
- - - - - - - -
Northern Camp Eden
Central Egypt
November 8, 2552
The stars overhead slowly began to fade from view as a thick cloud layer rolled overhead. Either by divine intervention or pure luck, the path ahead was now completely washed away from any form of light. A human advantage as the Brutes quickly bathed themselves in light fixtures scattered about the area. Eric and his team knelt behind a wall of crumbling concrete as they all switched to knight vision. He had called for radio silence several minutes ago, using hand signals only. This made traversing the path difficult for the Elites, but the warriors stuck close to the humans, following and mimicking their every action.
Of the initial front line attack platoon, only ten humans were hand picked for this assault. With Senior Chief Raynord at point, and twenty-five members of the Mirratord closely following the rear, this was a mission that would depend entirely on stealth.
Eric found it familiar to the attack on Port Said, which was now a distant memory, but the similarity was striking. Yet this time, they didn’t have an advanced attack wing providing cover, or a Spartan to help lead the charge. This time they were on their own, and without the added strength of the Black Ops.
Eric peeped around the corner as the Brutes huddled about their light flooded area. Several patrol groups of Grunts and jackals orbited the perimeter like feral watchdogs, eagerly awaiting the call to battle. Overhead sat the looming ships that had made their way into the area several days before. The three ships sat motionless, but only one ship was directly over the northern camp, and beneath it were the Brutes’ supply camps. The camps guarded each of the carrier’s two gravity lifts, but Eric had his eyes on the troop gravity lift at the bow of the ship. It would put his team closer to the command deck and it was only guarded by fast moving troops; unlike the supply gravity lift at the center of the ship which was unloading weapons and tanks.
Eric held up a fist and circled three times over his head, then quickly pointed two fingers to his eyes. The Marines and ODST understood; circle the area and watch for spotters. Once everyone was in place, Eric turned to Mathew and placed his fist over each other; slapping them together twice and then pointing his fingers toward the brute camp. Mathew returned a thumbs up and ran back into the night; vanishing. Eric sighed as he understood that the next phase was out of his hands. Everything from here on rested in the hands of twelve little grunts and Siren. The Virus form AI, Siren, had taken the news of Melanie’s death easier then Eric thought it would. The one time sister of Melanie, simply paused for a brief moment, and then continued her inquiry into their attack plan. Yet Eric couldn’t shack the feeling that Siren was not going to forget about what happened to Mel.
Mathew neared the trailing group of Grunts and leaned closer to Palab. “Alpha and Beta teams are in position. You ready?”
“Me team ready.” Palab huffed.
“I spotted six perimeter patrols, mostly Grunts and a few Jackals. Stay clear of them until the fireworks are over. I can’t stress enough how important it is that you do this quietly. Do you remember the plan?”
“Me remember. If me team get into trouble, we cloak, and retreat. That signal for you to attack.” Palab looked over his team of hand picked Mirratord grunts. They had all been trained under Migpap, Palab’s chosen second in command and first disciple to the Unggoy King. They all had re-learned the ancient ways of their kin, and knew how to use their agility as well as their weapons. They were ready, they had to be. “Migpap, you lead second group. Follow me group into camp.”