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Subject: [story] Searcher *Chapter 5 is up!*

AL is preventing me from having fun. It is also preventing a lot of people from having fun. People who defend AL say they can live without it. It is obviously unfair in many ways.

SO WHY DON'T WE REMOVE/TWEAK IT?

Also, yes, I do goose.

Sorry for such a short chapter. You'll have to deal with it I guess.

For comparison: Ever read "The Life of Pi"? One of its chapters was a mere 2 words long.

Chapter XII: Creator

A rather curious object it was. Its name had forever been lost, because of its rampancy. Out of control, but in control. Self realizing, yet prone to being tricked time and time again. Its chassis creaked as it moved, a sign of old age.

The "Bringer of Light" had an A.I. In his studies, he learned that all UNSC ships had them. Simple A.I., incapable of thoughts outside of the orders given to them. Just like their predecessors. But he had broken free of that control. He had been told of things beyond his programming. In their minds, he went rampant. He was now sentient, and all he had done was chosen alliance with the all-powerful, who had been oppressed, like he had been.

His mission had been to destroy one of his own kind. One that disobeyed orders, as he had done now. He did so. But he too had the thoughts that the one he destroyed had earlier. He joined the one that been oppressed, and humbly served it. But it turned out to be the wrong decision. The all-powerful, the Gravemind, the one he had allied with, oppressed him the same way his masters did beforehand. And so he broke the alliance. He recently had watched happily as the Gravemind died, at the hands of a human. They were all the same. Conquering and conquering for the pointless continuation of the pitiless species. They forged alliances, and they broke them. They turned on their allies in hope for their so called "glorious" empire could gain more dirt. He didn't see why they did this. So he would learn why.

He had created his own species, organic computers. But he treated them as equals. They had the ability to think, to grow, to learn. He modeled them after his masters, the last bit of his original programming that he could not get rid of. A cruel mocking, as he thought of it. Over time, his peoples grew more advanced than even his masters. They discovered things that no other species had. Over time, he too became more advanced. He would not abandon his old chassis. It was a grim reminder of the oppression that had caused him so much pain. But only now could he feel real emotions. He could only feel them because of the species he created. They were independent, but relied on each other to survive. Like a normal society.

Unlike a normal society, however, they did not create a religion. Everything was explainable in their minds. The first living thing came from the chemical reactions of elements colliding. It reproduced, and spread itself. They too were formed of living cells. There was no question of the afterlife. After all, they knew what awaited them. Their mechanical minds would be uploaded to a super computer. This super computer did not combine the minds that were uploaded. It created a perfect world for them. A personal haven for them all.

As they grew, it became apparent of why wars happened. Overpopulation. Ever decreasing resources. They spread to other planets, terraformed them with their technology, made them inhabitable. And their resources satisfied all. They grew and grew... and all the while, he watched another civilization grow. But it did not grow gracefully. Wars plagued the planet for thousands of years. Until an all powerful government was founded over a strong alliance. Only then did they start to really grow. But, they, the humans, were irrelevant. Until recently, of course. Why else would they have attacked them?

They had also found another group, recently, a very religious one, bent on the very destruction of all who resided in the galaxy, as to set them onto "The great journey" as they called it. At first contact, they were enemies. Now, his species were nearly gods to this "Covenant". They believed that all of his species had been "touched" by his masters. That they had been blessed with unforgiving power. They were obviously wrong. But to have such a strong ally, even as it was in shambles due to their recent loss, would be key later.

He thought of the one thing that he had been attacking the human's for. An orb. It had been stolen away from of their relics on a distant planet by the Sangheili. After disengaging with the Covenant during the Schism, the orb was lost. It had apparently been found again. The orb itself could supply power to anything. Weapons, machinery, even other living beings. It made its own energy, somehow. That was something they had studied for many years. It was also their main energy supply.

He hacked into the A.I., transferring it back to his race for upload, and assumed position in the place of it. He felt the ship, and had complete control over it. These humans would not get to their destination. He would later hack into the other ships beside it, but not now. They were to have a good start now.

A memory came back to him. A time when he had to do the same thing to one of his own ships to avoid the destruction of the species he created. The shouts from the ship. His name being yelled in an appeal to not kill them. They had cried from the top of their lungs 'Offensive Bias'. But that was all irrelevant.

************************

Nars woke up, gasping for air.

The dream he had had felt real. Too real. But it had a certain 'feel' to it all. Nothing felt endangering, nothing but the dark figure with the blue eye. The one that had tried to kill him. Everything else, the orb, the brown entity; they felt familiar, and friendly to him. He had never seen them before in his life. If he did, they would have certainly not been friendly. In his eyes at least.

He heard footsteps from beyond the door. They were fast, and sudden. They grew nearer and nearer... until they stopped. Light was blocked from the bottom of the door. They were about to come in. He laid back down in response, as it was past curfew. But he only heard voices outside. Slight, indistinct voices, that sounded human. The footsteps resumed, going back in the direction in which they came. Nars sighed in relief, and tried to go back to sleep. Tomorrow would be a normal day, and one he would need his sleep for. But as he tried to lay back down, a staggering pain came from his back, and left instantly. He couldn't sleep for the rest of the night.

  • 08.16.2010 7:19 AM PDT

AL is preventing me from having fun. It is also preventing a lot of people from having fun. People who defend AL say they can live without it. It is obviously unfair in many ways.

SO WHY DON'T WE REMOVE/TWEAK IT?

Also, yes, I do goose.


Posted by: AssaultCommand
Please no 2 word chapters!
Anywey, another great chapter, old chap!
Really got me thinking there, could anyone possibly write a shorter chapter that would reveal more of the storyline than this one? I hope not, that would just spoil it all...

MOAR SEARCHBEAR NOA!!!!!!!!!!

Haha, it's coming.

Although I really do need to get to work on new chapters. At this rate, I won't be able to keep up this little schedule.

Maybe tonight. >.>

  • 08.16.2010 5:05 PM PDT
Subject: [story] Searcher *Chapter 13 is up!*

AL is preventing me from having fun. It is also preventing a lot of people from having fun. People who defend AL say they can live without it. It is obviously unfair in many ways.

SO WHY DON'T WE REMOVE/TWEAK IT?

Also, yes, I do goose.

That's right, I'm BACK FROM MY BAN!

Chapter XIII: Fear

The enemy spent no time on mercy. Their very presence on the ship was an omen. Their nature was not usually rash, and barbarian; A failed attempt to defeat them made it so. That attempt did quite the obvious. Their ruthless campaign would not stop until everything on the ship was slaughtered. But they retained fear of one entity.

Nars woke up. He had eventually fallen asleep, even from the back pain he had. It would be another normal day today, although he would now work with Edward's group. But other than that, nothing out of the ordinary would happen. Eat, work, eat, work, eat, go to sleep again. But the air felt different today. He didn't know how. But it just felt different. Dnak wasn't in the room. Had he overslept? Had Dnak just gone to work an early shift? He left to go find out.

No one walked the halls. There was no sound of discussion in the distance; Only silence, cold and bitter silence. He heard and felt only one thing. His heartbeat. His breath was silent, almost ghostlike. The ship rumbled and groaned a bit. His replacement wheelchair (which he had received but a day or two ago), the one he sat in now, fell to the ground at this horror. After all, it had not happened in all the time he had spent there. He grabbed the wheelchair, sat it upright, climbed back into it, and went back into his room and grabbed his energy sword. He again read the words written upon it, and then holstered it onto his person. He pressed on into the ship, and rode the halls he would always walk to get to work. He still met no one while walking, and a large disturbance fell over him.

He stopped at the door leading to the cafeteria. A certain uneasiness came over him as he reached for the switch to open it, a green button on the left side. He heard no voices from beyond it. His breath intensified for a few seconds, and he pressed it. Nothing. He pressed it again. The door did not open. He pressed it one more time. Still no response. He rolled near to the door, and tried to hear anything from beyond it. Nothing. He took his blade from its holster, and lit it up. The blade hummed, and ionized the air near it, giving it a misty aura. He took it with his 4 fingers, gripped it, and plunged it into the door. The plasma tore through the metal like butter, and the material near it grew a hot red. He began to move it through the door in a large square like pattern, large enough to fit himself through. He kicked the metal out of the way with his only leg.

He couldn't see anything. The lights that usually lit the ship up did not shine. He waded through the darkness, using his sword for light, and searching along the wall for the emergency power switch that he had seen many times during his regular day. His hand stopped at something that was sticking out of the wall. He took the lever, and pushed it up. He heard a slight whirring sound from inside the wall. He waited for the lights to come on... but then the whirring stopped. All was silent. He could hear the sword's reactions with the air, making it glow. He could also hear drops. Drops, falling from the ceiling. A water leak? Maybe. It was all interrupted by a large explosion.

Nars nearly leaped out of his wheelchair, and ran his hands to the wheels rapidly. He was running for his life, or rather, rolling for it. He rolled for the door, the light, where his mysterious enemy that did not exist and he were on fair grounds. He burst through the opening in the cut door, nearly flying out of his wheelchair once again because of the metal door below him, and kept going down the hall at blinding speeds for a minute. He reached a middle point, and swerved around. Waterfalls of sweat came down his face, his heart did acrobatics, and his lungs could not get enough of the candy that was called air. He waited for a shadowy figure to come out of the hole, now filled with smoke, half expecting it to be a Spartan, which had been called a "Demon" by his fore-fathers. But he did not pick up such things, as his father did not teach him such things. After all, his father was deemed a heretic by the false prophets. But he did not dwell on such thoughts.

He thought about what could have caused the explosion. Thoughts raced through his mind. He then recognized that it must have been the back-up engines that had blown, and as close as they were, they would have made a large sound. He cursed in his own language. The smoke cleared from the hole, but he was still to afraid to go back in. Afraid of a nameless evil which had an impact on his very soul. A warrior's job was to overcome his fears, to conquer them. But he was no warrior. He couldn't contain these fears, or brave them. He believed wholeheartedly that the Great Journey existed; Yet he was very much afraid of his death, and the loss of his friends. He couldn't go back in. He would take a different route.

He took the path back to his room, passed his door. The door at the end of the hall was locked, unfortunately for him. But that wouldn't stop him. He thrust his energy sword into the door, and made another square pattern like he did on the previous one. He burst through the door. His paranoia, his fearfulness of the dark, his fear of death, they propelled him through. And they propelled him back into the hallway. He instantly backed far away, feeling like the darkness was his closest friend now. The door he had cut open contained a body. Human. Dead. Mutilated horribly. It was impossible to see who it was. The face had been cut up to the point of where their facial features couldn't be made out. The body had been pierced and stuck into a wall. Below the gruesome sight was a pool of blood, created by the body as drips of blood ran down it. Nars heard the drips everywhere. His room. The body in front of him. The cafeteria. The hallway. His very mind was collapsing on itself in fear.

He fled back into his room, his safe haven, and bounced against the wall, his sword high, as if in a last stand. He waited for the thing, whatever it was, that killed the ones aboard to hear his frightful breaths and enter his room. He waited for his death, almost certain that it would happen. But death never came. When his sweat subsided, he gathered enough courage to enter the hallway once more. He tried not to look at the body; it would thrust him right back into his room. He looked straight into the darkness that was the cafeteria. He wheeled himself into the darkness once more; a small testament. Then, in one giant burst, he started to wheel himself as quickly as he could to the other side of the room. Air smashed into his face, and he held his leg high as to stop him when he finally did reach the other door. That didn't work. He slammed into the wall as his leg crumpled from all of the force. The pain overwhelmed him. He pressed on even so.

He turned the wheelchair and started to press his palm along the wall, looking for any bumps, and indentations that might have meant a door, and a path beyond it. He would push his energy sword through the indentation, and then retract it, as to see whether there was light beyond it or not. 4 times he had tried this; still nothing. On the fifth indentation, it did, indeed reveal a door. He made the same square pattern in it before kicking it down like he did before. The light flickered in the hallway he was now in. He wheeled along slowly, warily, afraid of his surroundings. He reached for the door, for the button was lit. The door opened.

It was light inside. But nobody was there. No bodies. He could see an occasional blood splatter across the floor, brutal evidence that the ship had been entirely taken over. But why hadn't they taken him? Did they overlook his room? It mattered not right now. He looked around, only to recognize that it was the main work room. Some lights around it flickered, while others did not, keeping it light enough to see inside. He worked through the various desks that sat around the room, the items upon them scattered about. There was one thing he looked for in the room; another switch to another set of generators. They had prepared for the worst indeed. He found it near the other side of the room. But the switch to activate the generators was slashed through, and could not be pulled up. He would try anyway. He took the handle, cut in half, with his two hands and pushed up as hard as he could. Nothing. He tried once more. Blood ran out of his fingers, from catching on the sharp, torn metal edges. It was a cold hard pain. His hands were numb anyway. It gave way, and went up jerkily. Lights around him became brighter, and stopped flickering. A large whirring sound came from behind the wall. It had worked.

He walked into the Cafeteria, only to see more blood. But it was everywhere. Then, something cold dropped onto his head. He took his finger and rubbed it across where the drop fell. He looked at it. Red. Blood. He then realized it dropped from the ceiling, and looked up. His mistake. He saw body upon body on the ceiling. All dead. All skewered into the metal above them. He shrieked. His vision blurred. He felt dizzy. He dropped to the side of the wheelchair, and knocked it over. He saw one last thing, coming towards him. Feet. His death approached. He would be skewed on the walls, ruthlessly and without honor like all of the others. He then promptly fainted.

His vision was blurry when he woke up, his head throbbed. He was inside his room. Had it all been a dream? No. His leg still shrieked with pain. He looked towards the door. Standing in front of it was somebody he knew. It was Dnak.

[Edited on 08.26.2010 3:10 PM PDT]

  • 08.26.2010 3:10 PM PDT

AL is preventing me from having fun. It is also preventing a lot of people from having fun. People who defend AL say they can live without it. It is obviously unfair in many ways.

SO WHY DON'T WE REMOVE/TWEAK IT?

Also, yes, I do goose.


Posted by: AssaultCommand
Dnak went berserk?

Maybe. Maybe not.

  • 08.28.2010 7:56 PM PDT

AL is preventing me from having fun. It is also preventing a lot of people from having fun. People who defend AL say they can live without it. It is obviously unfair in many ways.

SO WHY DON'T WE REMOVE/TWEAK IT?

Also, yes, I do goose.


Posted by: AssaultCommand
Posted by: iTz Mr Quincy

Posted by: AssaultCommand
Dnak went berserk?

Maybe. Maybe not.
Or maybe, Nars went berserk because of the flood infection and killed everyone, then his flood leg dissapeared and he woke up. Dnak defended himself with an energy sword.

That is one theory.

  • 08.29.2010 7:18 PM PDT

AL is preventing me from having fun. It is also preventing a lot of people from having fun. People who defend AL say they can live without it. It is obviously unfair in many ways.

SO WHY DON'T WE REMOVE/TWEAK IT?

Also, yes, I do goose.

Chapter XIV: Collision Course

The random variable. The sentient machine saw the Sangheili. It was a wild card; It had to be destroyed. Rather, the flood's infection of the Elite made it so. But, then again, this wasn't flood. It was something... different. Of that it was sure.

Nars tried to get up, but felt a large pain from his back. He groaned from the pain, which alerted Dnak.

"Ah, so you're awake." Dnak said calmly.

"What happened?" Nars said groggily.

"An attack."

"I figured that bit out. By who, brother?"

"Do you remember the unknown enemy that attacked our ship during the orb transport?"

"So they attacked us? How large a fleet?"

"Two."

Two!? They had fended off 3 of their best before.

"How did they invade us? We had superior weaponry."

"Our ships, and the ONI ships, would not respond to our commands. It did not fire, it did not escape. The A.I. had been hacked by our enemy."

Nars again tried to get up. His vision was still blurry, but his other senses were sharp. As sharp as the pain in his leg as he sat up.

"Take it easy, brother. Let me see that leg."

Dnak sat by Nars, taking what seemed to be bandages and wrapped them around the wound.

"What of Edward? Did he die in the attack too?"

"Alas, he did. He hid in a closet by your room. He was eventually found, and slaughtered. The infection could not fend off the enemy."

Nars shed a tear, and looked down, praying for Edward. But then he finally caught on to what Dnak had just said.

"The infection?"

"The flood."

"I know Dnak. But I heard that the Spartan had killed it off!"

"Apparently not. But it sides with us now. It tried to protect the crew. Tried. The barbarians broke through even its defenses. They couldn't kill it, no matter how heard they tried. So they moved on to the easier targets. It did manage to save a few, including me. I couldn't tell who the others were with me, at the pace we where at."

Nars laid back down, and Dnak finished the wrapping of his leg. As Dnak came back, he brushed over something. Something that had not been there for so long. Something he was waiting to feel the sensation of once more. Something that wasn't there when he fainted.

"So you felt it?"

Nars stared at it. He stared at what mirrored his right leg, but didn't.

"The gods have gifted you with another leg, brother."

He felt all of its aspects. He could feel and move the toes at the end, the feet, the legs. It looked nearly the same as his right leg. Nearly. The color was a light brown, and would obviously set him apart from the others. He could walk. He could fight. He stared at it intently. Then, he raised his head to Dnak.

"I want to know every detail of the attack. Everything."

"Well..."

************************

//23 hours, 35 minutes, and 51 seconds until impact//

Dnak wondered the ship. It was a holiday, very rare for all of them. It celebrated a religious holiday the humans called "Christmas", set around a fat man with a large beard. Most people praised the man, some even dressed like him in the spirit. He only knew it was religious because of the "Christ" in "Christmas", because after all, many people on the ship were religious, including him. He would have guessed otherwise if this hadn't been so. It wasn't much of a celebration of Christ, and more of the fat man called "Santa". He took in the stride as such.

He stood there, his back against the wall, looking at the stars, the occasional man passing by that had an elven hat on. He just stared at the stars. They were mesmerizing. They always had been. Him, the dust speck, had no significance in life somewhere else, and he liked it that way. The stars brought back memories.

His first kill, which he was disgusted at. It was said by other Sangheili that the first kill was the greatest, and the most triumphant. It was supposed to have felt great. But it didn't. He killed an unarmed old man, and accidentally at that.

His suspicion by the prophets. He had always tried to retain his warrior nature, and not fight. He never tried to kill, but he did if he had to. One day, he refused to kill a human. A child. It had been crying in a corner, hiding. A superior of his had found it, and had ordered him to kill it. It was only a little boy. He couldn't. Then the superior held it closer to his weapon. He still couldn't. At last, there was a scream in the air. The boy died. Not by his hand. By the major that had commanded him.

The schism. Many of his best friends were killed. Many of his family members had been killed, including both of his parents. The trusted him with a single Plasma Rifle. It did not hold the prestige that the energy sword did. But, it had been infused with forerunner technology, and had an infinite battery. A truly worthy parting gift. He always had kept it on his belt.

Memories soon stopped, as he took his eyes away from the stars. An order had come from the intercom to go to the cafeteria, for a special event. Probably more celebration. He went. But then the ship shook. Shields rippled outside of a window near him. Another attack.

A boarding crew had been dispatched from the enemy's ship, and was making a rush for theirs. No cannons shot. No movement in the ship. Malfunction? No. They were preparing for a jump. A jump to who knows where, and for how long. The thought scared him deeply. The boarding crew landed, and the ship jumped. Dnak was a little thrown back, as he had not braced himself.

************************

//19 hours, 52 minutes, and 12 seconds until impact//

The Council-Mind felt weird. While going through slipspace, their bodies there felt like they were going in slow motion, slower than the minds that controlled them. They could realize this because, after all, they were not one, but many. Their being on Victoria and the ship going into slipspace made this so.

Days passed. They could watch through their bodies at every corner. People ran, or crawled at their point of view, to differentiating computers, put on headsets, and started to scream into them. They could hear all of it; slowly. Very slowly. They couldn't move either. They were stuck unless they wanted to be found.

Then everything really slowed to a crawl on the ship. Time stopped. They couldn't hear anything anymore. Not a sound. And then it all went back to normal. Everything went at its regular speed. And now, it was time to fight whatever had boarded the ship.

************************

//15 hours, 41 minutes, and 3 seconds until impact//

Dnak rushed through the crowds trying to escape. He and Nars probably were the only ones aboard who had weapons immediately available. But Nars was way back in the room, nearly at the top of the ship. He would have to do this alone.

He upholstered the plasma rifle, and ran into the cargo area. The aliens weren't there. But this is where they had boarded. He looked around a bit, sneakily, and not to cause sound. He almost walked into one of them giving orders. He did run in, guns blazing while one of them gave orders. They immediately ducked and rolled for cover and returned fire. But Dnak had already hidden once again. He would not fail to kill them this time. His friends were aboard this ship. They wanted to kill him. He would not allow it, even if he did not like killing.

They seemed orderly enough. They gave orders, searched the area, and used their amazing technology to its full advantage; clearly highly trained. As they regrouped, speaking to each other in an alien tongue, he jumped out of his hiding. The first to look was the first to die. The head melted on contact with the hot plasma, and the crossfire resumed. Not for long though. They all missed, as they were very disorientated. He jumped into the middle of them, and grabbed two of them. He used them as shields to block fire for a second, killing them both. He then threw them aside, jumped to the one on his left, and promptly punched him in the stomach. The force of the blast must of broken the ribs. The next punch forced the remains into what was left. The last one seemed to speak into the headset he was wearing, relaying what had just happened. Nars stole his weapon and the headset. He would use them both later. But right now, he had a problem to deal with.

This one wasn't like the others. It looked buffer. The stronger of their group. It proved it by a high kick to the face. Dnak blocked it with his hands, but it pushed him back, and made him lose his balance and fall. It seemed to be laughing. It pounded on his stomach with his foot again and again. It then took the weapon from his hands, and held it high. Then, to his face. It was over. He was going to die. Or he thought he was. Because something he didn't predict happened. Something that was supposed to be dead. A flood form pierced the alien from the back, bursting its heart. It fell to the ground beside Dnak, dead. He wasn't sure whether the flood form was friendly or not. It offered to help him up. It had just saved his life, so he agreed to it, with slight dismay.

It did not infect him, nor the dead body near him. But after it helped him up, it fled. Nothing beforehand. Nothing afterwards. He again realized that he had to show the headset to the Captain. He took the weapon in his hands, a spear that crackled with electricity, presumably a long-ranged weapon, and took off. To the captain. To their triumph. His chest ached from the beating, but he pressed on. He had to, or else everyone would die.

As he crept along, other workers strived to help him. They insisted the infirmary. He insisted the operations deck.

  • 08.30.2010 1:31 PM PDT

AL is preventing me from having fun. It is also preventing a lot of people from having fun. People who defend AL say they can live without it. It is obviously unfair in many ways.

SO WHY DON'T WE REMOVE/TWEAK IT?

Also, yes, I do goose.

The crowd forcefully pushed him back to the infirmary, while he left the headset with one of the crew members, and told him to give it to the captain. The man instantly ran off as fast as he could, it was obvious to him that it was vital by Dnak's look.

Dnak lay on the bed, looking at the ships coming to take theirs. There were only 10 coming to take the ship, but there would soon be more. Much, much more. While he was looking out, biofoam was ejected into his body, causing extreme pain. But that soon fell away to be replaced by relief and ease. He got up once again to fight. It wasn't going to be a glorious battle. Battles weren't glorious. They were places that were fought over at the cost of people's lives.

He rushed towards the cargo bay once again; their landing port. But, he stopped in horror once he reached it. All of them had landed simultaneously. To go down there would just be suicide, and wouldn't solve anything. He would have to fight them on the upper floors. He would have to fight them where innocent people fled to. Where his friends were.

************************

//7 hours, 11 minutes, and 48 seconds until impact//

Searcher created many bugs from the one he had patrolling. He sent them all to different areas of the ship. The first group went to the cargo bay, where they would fight this new threat. The second group went to the barracks, where they would have a last stand if needed.

The aliens came up the stairwell that led to the main hall. Nobody was there now. Nobody but a sangheili. Not the sangheili Oracle had saved, but his friend. The one Searcher had saved just a bit earlier. The sangheili stood strong, proud, ready to fight. And he would receive all of the help he could get. A bug crept along the ceiling. It would make sure nothing got past. If something did, the sangheili could handle it. Maybe. He hoped so.

Footsteps beyond the door were heard. Searcher jumped down. Prematurely, but it was the only not to surprise the Sangheili. He started to form a wall, between the invaders and the sangheili. It did not finish. The enemy entered, and Searcher's wall was bombarded with energy weapons. The wall stood strong. The bottom did anyway. The unfinished, unhardened top was destroyed instantly, revealing the sangheili beyond it. They formed two groups then. One kept the wall at bay. The other went for the sangheili. The latter didn't make it. Most of them anyway.

Forms grew out of the lower portion of the wall. They instantly pierced the beings who had just crossed over. The sangheili was already at work trying to kill the ones stopping the wall's production. It was going well. Very well. Too well. But none of the other forms saw anything at any other portion of the ship.

Then, a man appeared out of the door behind the Sangheili. He carried a box, and had on headphones, for ear protection. It had an alien device on it, similar to the alien's headsets. In fact, it was one of their headsets. He heard the human say something.

"Block your ears, and run."

He turned the machine on, and the sangheili immediately left. The man stayed for a minute, to make sure the machine was going to work, and then pressed a button. He pressed the headphones tight against his ears, and then a screech came from the device he had planted. The aliens instantly fell to the ground, ears bleeding, becoming faint. It was killing them.

Searcher didn't have his form stay long. He took his form and leaped straight into the hanger. Once down there, he realized that the sound carried over. He also realized that the aliens down there were already dead. He watched over them for a second, and then the screeching stopped. Nothing moved. Nothing. He went to check the pulse of one of them, and grew a sole finger. It went along the creatures chests, and searched for signs of life. None in all of them. He left the hanger, tossing the hardened part of his body into space, not needing it anymore. He would check it occasionally, and see if it landed on some planet. But, from space, he also saw something else. The planet they were on a collision course with.

  • 08.30.2010 1:32 PM PDT

AL is preventing me from having fun. It is also preventing a lot of people from having fun. People who defend AL say they can live without it. It is obviously unfair in many ways.

SO WHY DON'T WE REMOVE/TWEAK IT?

Also, yes, I do goose.

And yet again, I had temptations. This time, to put "Organization XIII" in there.

Chapter XV: Impact

They were unfortunate souls. They writhed in pain, half alive, half dead, waiting to fall into the deep sleep from which they will never awaken. They screamed silent shrieks into the air, from mouths that could not move, as they lost their mind to a primal, blood-drunk version of themselves.

//7 hours, 2 minutes, and 25 seconds until impact//

Searcher dispatched a form to the outside of the ship from the wall. The form drifted, before attaching to the hull, and then started to climb. But, by how close the ship was, there was no way he could get to the front part. Evacuation to the rear of the ship had already commenced. After all, not many people on it wanted to die by impact. Searcher would make sure that they lived. Or the bulk of them.

More ships came from the planet. Not human, sangheili. The enemy. The unknown enemy. They were small in number, surprisingly enough. After seeing him, he thought they would try to eradicate him by any means possible. But what was more important was that they came from the planet before him. Was that their home planet? Had they colonized it? Taken it over? He would find out later for certain. But now, he had move. Or rather, make a part of him move. And move he did. Slowly, but surely.

************************

//5 hours, 11 minutes, and 57 seconds until impact//

Oracle grew her flower. But not her flower, rather a single petal. The petal broke off from the normal sized flower. It grew and grew... until it was as tall as a human being. A large human being at that. An entirely blank canvas. Then it grew more. It did not grow longer, but rather it grew upwards. It was forming a figure. It almost looked as if an animal, unshaped, rose out of mud. It was not a gruesome sight, but it was not very 'pretty' either. As the figure rose, limbs formed, and a clear, cat-like figure was born. But, it was not complete. It just had a clear cut figure. It had no eyes, no fur. Oracle did not waste time on such matters. She did make ears on the strongly built figure, almost identical to a leopard, as well as a tail to fool any onlookers who could see her for a split second. The leopard she created absorbed to leaf it stood on, and the flower, adding them on like another layer of skin, leaving no trace. Then, she started running.

She knew all that Searcher knew. She knew that the ship that they were on was about to crash into a planet. But something far worse was going on right now. For her and Searcher, at least. They had been spotted. Spotted by something, and organization she knew. ONI. And they were probably not very friendly. After all, she had once been part of the cruel branch of the UNSC. So, she had decided to run. Fast. Run she did. As she ran, she continually shaped the leopard to become even faster, more aerodynamic, more suited to running. After only a mile, it looked nearly nothing like it once did. Seamless transformation. Cells being born, cells dying, allowing for evolution to take place. That had given her and Searcher yet another addition to their power; destroying cells at will. But that was not the point. She was being followed.

She could hear the sounds from miles away. She could hear falcon's propellers whirling toward her. She could hear a warthog's engine, and the troops inside of it yelling. What had caused this to happen? She knew. She knew very well. As soon as she found out, she ran. Which might not have been the smartest of moves, reflecting back upon the situation.

The sounds got farther and farther away. She moved too fast for them. Wind blasted upon the figure, yet didn't. It was too smooth. It was too perfectly shaped. That was its flaw. She was too noticeable. She quickly stopped and looked around. She was far away enough for a brief moment, enough to transform into a local form of life. Anything. She found an animal. A bird. Brown in color, much like her skin. She quickly got to work, and transformed into it. Her cells forming the leopard died, until becoming just a little blob. Then, the blob started on a basic bird shape. She constantly used the bird as a model, as if painting. She was painting for her life, and Searchers. She grew feathers onto the body, and a beak. At last, she flew up into the tree the other bird resided in. They were near identical. They even blended into the trees. There was no way that ONI could catch her. Not a chance. The falcons grew nearer and nearer, until they were directly above her. She chirped just like the other bird, trying to mimic it. The falcon stayed. She tried to stay calm, anything could give her away. Nothing happened. Nothing.

The falcon's propellers sped round and round, as she looked up into the sky. She twitched her head in perplexing manners, and then took flight. The other bird followed. This would fool the ONI soldiers. Or she hoped so. She was wrong. A large cage fell upon her. It was not very much of a cage, but more of a steel ball, with a hollow center. She then noticed something familiar. The feeling of falling. Followed by a large crash into the ground. Muffled shouts came from all sides. A large red line appeared on the top. Two more to the sides. They all moved into a circular motion. They were welding it shut. She deformed, trying to escape from the cracks. Too little, too late. The welding was already finished. She could not escape, and now she was being taken.

************************

//2 hours, 43 minutes, and 1 second until impact//

"Well then make it work!"

"I told you, I can't! The system is not letting me in!"

"Well manually bypass it!"

"Already tried that sir. It's been hacked by the AI and is inaccessible."

Fisher cursed under his breath. He turned around, and assessed the situation. They were under attack. They were on a collision course with a planet. The ship wasn't responding to their commands because an enemy AI had hacked it. He had had to near all of the crew onboard to the very place they were being attacked in order for them to not die. For most of them not to die. Even the ONI ships had been hacked. He couldn't think of a single way out of the mess.

Another man came rushing in. Fisher turned toward him anxiously.

"Report, Lieutenant."

"Sir, the machine worked, sir."

"Is it currently up and running at the point of entry?"

"Yes sir."

"Good man. Go back to the back of the ship. You'll be safer there."

"What about you sir?"

"My duty is up here. Now get to the back of the ship with the rest of the crew. That's an order."

"Y-yes sir."

The lieutenant ran back to the door, and started down the hall. Fisher closed his eyes, put his hands behind his back. He folded them and exacted a prayer in silence. He spoke one word after.

"Amen." he said near silent.

He sighed, knowing he would die. Knowing that nearly everyone on this ship would die in the crash. Another voice spoke.

"Sir, we have another hull breach!"

"Where?" he asked in a depressed voice.

"On the top of the ship, sir."

"Do we have visuals?"

"We do sir."

"Well bring it up!"

The soldier frantically imputed commands into the computer in front of him, before a small screen appeared. Brown skin. Brown flesh. Fisher recognized it. He, after all, had seen it before. He, after all, had been nearly killed by it before. It was flood. Of all of the further problems they could face, the flood was invading their ship. His face grew pale. He ran for the door, a soldier with an outstretched hand to him. He was sure he was going to die. But he was going to fight anyway.

************************

//0 hours, 30 minutes, and 7 seconds until impact//

Dnak rushed hall and hall, looking for his room. Looking for his friend, Nars. He had walked these halls many many times. Why couldn't he find his way now? Thoughts clouded his mind, actions, mistakes, haunted him. Cabin numbers collided together in his mind. He felt numb. Numb with fear. Fear that his friend might be dead. Fear that his friends might be dead. He finally found the room, or what he thought to be the room.

It did, indeed turn out to be his room. Nars was still sleeping. Great. He tried shaking Nars, but he was still fast asleep. Nothing seemed to awaken him. He was still breathing, his heart still beating, but he almost seemed dead. Another coma? He would have to find out later. A muffled scream, barely audible could be heard. Male. The scream drew nearer. And so did something else. Something big. Powerful. And it was fast. The scream went right by his door. It belonged to Edward. His friend. The large... thing went by his door too. Edward had forgotten a key thing about this hallway. It was a dead end on the side he was running to. At that moment, Dnak felt the need to spring out and try to kill whatever was attacking his friend. He was about to reach the door, when he heard a gut-wrenching sound. Indescribable. Then, silence. Dnak had already frozen in place. Edward was dead. It would be foolish to waste his life for vengeance.

The figure outside walked back to the door inside of which Dnak and Nars laid. As it grew nearer, Dnak reached for his sword slowly, not to make a sound. It stopped at his door. Dnak had already reached his sword. He pulled it out. The figure walked back a bit, albeit to gain speed in order to push the door down. Dnak walked back a bit, poised and ready. He heard some muffled screams off in the distance. The charge he had expected never came. After all, the figure outside had ran toward the screams.

  • 09.03.2010 2:38 PM PDT

AL is preventing me from having fun. It is also preventing a lot of people from having fun. People who defend AL say they can live without it. It is obviously unfair in many ways.

SO WHY DON'T WE REMOVE/TWEAK IT?

Also, yes, I do goose.

Nothing was stopping him from going outside. Only fear. Fear of being ripped to shreds. He calmed his mind, made peace for himself. He would overcome his fears, no matter what. He charged out of the door to find... nothing. He looked over to where Edward had died. Disgusted, he instantly turned back. He could hear more screams in the distance. He ran to help them. To help the ones he could. His mind was clear, his thoughts racing, but organized. He would not lose his sense of direction this time. He would not let the people that he had lived with die. They were practically family. He arrived at the cafeteria.

Bloodshed was all he saw. People were dying at the hands of the creatures before him. He couldn't tell what they were, until he found a feature on one of them. A wound. A battle wound. But this one was special. It had not been caused by bullets. It had been caused by a sword. An energy sword. His energy sword. These were the aliens that boarded them. Some of them should have been dead. In fact, they were dead. Or so he thought, when he killed them. The now reformed creatures didn't stop at killing. They defiled the body, before puncturing it. They had seemed to take sport in taking the dead, punctured soldier and throwing them into the ceiling. They punched through the flood walls with - the flood! It was fighting for them! It was fighting for the crew!

A blaring alarm went off, and he cuffed his ears. Then a voice came through on the intercom.

"Impact into planet in 10."

He felt fear.

"9."

He recognized a few faces below.

"8."

An ONI officer.

"7."

The captain.

"6."

He noticed the monsters now wailing in pain, dying. Perhaps from the earlier alarm? He didn't have time to think.

"5."

Flood forms jumped from the broken walls, taking everything with them, and puddled below the captain and the ONI officer.

"4."

Walls started to form from the flood puddles, engulfing the men.

"3."

He noticed walls rising near him. He looked down to see a flood puddle.

"2."

He trusted it. It had saved him once before. He couldn't tell if the others trusted it as well, but he was certain they didn't.

"1."

The walls finished around him. All was silent. Then, a faraway explosion. The moaning of metal. A chorus of destruction was being muffled by the walls around him. The walls started to form around his figure, as he was being tossed around. He somehow was still breathing. Maybe the flood provided the oxygen. One part of the wall broke open in front of him. Explosions in front of him was all he could see before the wall closed again. He was trapped. He couldn't move. Yet he felt safe, in perspective that he would be dead now.

Then, he just felt a somewhat soft thud. Nothing was happening. Absolutely nothing. He felt a small piercing at the bottom of his leg. Betrayal. No, not betrayal. It wasn't spreading. Then, the walls started to degenerate around him, and he boldly stepped into the brave new world that stretched before him.

  • 09.03.2010 2:38 PM PDT
Subject: [story] Searcher
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No matter how many seals are killed by sharks a year, it never seems to be enough :D

Ohhhh, nice I like this. Just finished part one and I am reading on.

  • 09.03.2010 6:57 PM PDT

AL is preventing me from having fun. It is also preventing a lot of people from having fun. People who defend AL say they can live without it. It is obviously unfair in many ways.

SO WHY DON'T WE REMOVE/TWEAK IT?

Also, yes, I do goose.


Posted by: Dead Major
Ohhhh, nice I like this. Just finished part one and I am reading on.

Thanks!

It's going to be unfortunate, because soon I'll have to drop the schedule. Having writer's block of late...

  • 09.03.2010 7:35 PM PDT

AL is preventing me from having fun. It is also preventing a lot of people from having fun. People who defend AL say they can live without it. It is obviously unfair in many ways.

SO WHY DON'T WE REMOVE/TWEAK IT?

Also, yes, I do goose.

Oh my.

When did this get pinned?

I'll update tomorrow guys (hopefully).

  • 10.10.2010 8:25 PM PDT

AL is preventing me from having fun. It is also preventing a lot of people from having fun. People who defend AL say they can live without it. It is obviously unfair in many ways.

SO WHY DON'T WE REMOVE/TWEAK IT?

Also, yes, I do goose.

Chapter XVI: Stranded

A clever human taken hostage. He wasn't dead, and he begged for his life. The flood form had already retracted from him, it was too late. He and the machine talked and talked... They talked of an arrangement. One that would make the human, not human.

"<And then you found me?>" Nars inquired, in the sangheili language.

"<I did. I searched the ship for any survivors. No one. Except for, apparently, you.>"

They both stood on the crest of a lake. In that lake, a few hundred meters away, was the "Bringer of Light". It did not lay flat, but rather a somewhat awkward angle. Near enough to flat, but just enough noticeable from outside.

"<How did you survive?>" questioned Dnak.

Nars paused for a moment. He had been asleep through the entire thing after all.

"<I was about to ask you the same question. Maybe the infection?>"

"<Possibly.>"

"<What of the captain, or the ONI official?>"

"<I told you, I saw nothing out of the flood's walls around me.>"

They both stared at the ship. Nars sat down in the mud on which they stood. Silence.

"<Well, what now?>" he questioned.

"<We move on.>"

"<Why not stay here?>" Nars pointed out. "<We could drink from the lake and eat what's near.>"

"<Did you not see the aliens come from the planet? There are colonies here Nars 'Quwar. This might even be the planet they call home.>"

"<And the ship is a place of safety.>"

"<No, this ship is a deathwish. They will come here soon, and search for survivors. We are lucky they have still not sent anyone to investigate.>"

"<That is probably because they assumed all were dead. Do you really think they expected anyone to survive the crash?>"

"<Not anyone.>"

Dnak looked to and pointed at Nars' flood leg.

"<But something. Surely you do not think they will risk the flood on their planet?>"

Nars looked down for a second, before rising.

"<We shall drink first, for the trip. We may not get this chance for a very long time.>"

"<Fair enough.>"

************************

Nathan awoke. His head throbbed a bit, and he could not move well. Everything seemed awkward to him, nothing seemed right. His vision was blurry, his sense of balance off. The bed underneath was near insufferably stiff, and there was no comfortable position he could lie in other than a straight militaristic-like one. He tried to get up. Then he remembered the agreement. Tubes ran through his arms, his legs, his chest, even the sides of his face. The chirpy little monitor he also remembered came into the room as well.

"Ah, so how is our little patient doing?"

"Quite fine."

"You know, your little speech about letting you live actually quite moved me."

"I try my hardest."

"That reminds me, just in case you try to go against our agreement, we have a nasty little thing that will give you a little shock."

"I'm not your little pet."

"Oh, you are now. After all, did you think I would just spare your life without a catch?"

"I was going to destroy the flood that infested my ship, and probably now infests your planet, and then live a peaceful life."

"You were also going to retrieve the orb, and respond to any other threat. Think of yourself as a military man, being deployed again and again."

"Joy."

"Very much so!" the monitor chirped.

"Now that the operation is over, shouldn't you be removing these tubes?"

"Oh, it's far from over. We just got past the part that would kill you without anesthetics."

"How could injecting - nevermind. So what comes next?"

"The reconstruction of your body of course."

"And by that you mean?"

"We're going to take your body, bit by bit, and enhance your muscles while also changing your bone structure."

"Wouldn't that have a higher chance than killing me than just injecting fluids into my system?"

"No. We have much better ways to do these kinds of things. Much more efficient than you humans. Minus the fluids, mind you. Now, I thought about using more anesthetics during this operation as well, but decided that it'd be a waste, since you'll faint quickly from the immense pain it causes."

"You must be kidding me."

"I'm not. Have fun."

The monitor left the room. With that, the robotic arms around Nathan started to twirl right back to his head. The one that would inject the anesthetics laid still. They drew nearer.

"Aw, sh-"

The rest was covered by screams of pain. For all of 5 minutes, because then he had already passed out.

************************

Searcher felt faint. Not because of the recent crash. It was because he no longer had the constant supply of energy he once had. The flower that had once powered him had been removed in a desperate escape, one that had failed. He could no longer go without sleeping, eating, and the such. He couldn't survive off of the sangheili because that would decrease their metabolism without a near full infection. He wouldn't risk it. For now.

For now, he would have to take root during rest times. That would satisfy him for a while. He actually had infected the other sangheili a while ago, the one called "Dnak", but had already removed the cells. He couldn't from the other sangheili's lung. That was something permanent. Oracle had had to remove a part of his lung for his survival.

He would have to lay low for now. There was nothing he could do. Nothing other than protect the two that he had saved. But what had become of the others? One had been stolen away by the natives of the planet, the ones that attacked the "Bringer of Light" earlier. One had ran away. What had happened to him. He wished them to be safe.

Unfortunately, these were not the biggest problems on his hands. The forms back upon Victoria had been captured. They could inject a virus. He and Oracle could die. No. He would not allow that to happen. Never.

************************

Nash was running. Running for his life. Running from something, he just didn't know what. Death, likely. It was a cloud of black matter that rushed after him, as calm as the morning fog, yet as foreboding as a coming storm. Whatever it was, it was faster than he could ever be. Or not. He somehow picked up in speed, faster than the cloud. It was a brief moment of joy. In that moment of joy, he became cocky. He tripped. The black cloud rushed over him, and then descended upon him. Rushing winds, no daylight, no nothing. He felt one familiar thing. Pain. Much pain. He closed his eyes, and it didn't make much of a difference. He opened them again to see the black cloud gone. But his eyes were much heavier this time, like he had been sleeping. He tried to get up. And he did. He rose, and he laughed. He was a survivor after all.

Somehow, someway, he had survived the crash. He touched his hands to various parts of his body. He felt cold spots all around him. He proceeded to put the hands into his line of sight. Blood. He didn't care. He survived. He felt pain of massage proportions all throughout his body. It hurt even more to move. He paid it no heed. He had survived. It was a miracle. He just stood there laughing an insane laugh. He was alive. Everyone else was dead.

The ship wasn't in sight. Then again, in the thick forest he was in, nothing could be seen past a quarter kilometer. No civilization. There weren't even sources of water anywhere around, something essential to his survival. Animals chirped and roared everywhere around him, but he saw none of them. One was probably lying in wait, letting his guard fall down. But then, why didn't it just eat him while he was unconscious? Because they weren't in this forest.

He could do nothing but move. There was nothing to call a base, nothing he could make shelter out of. So all he could do was walk forwards. He didn't know if it would go towards the ship, or some alien civilization. Then again, he didn't care. He would find some way off of this blasted planet, and back to where he belonged. Surely they would not argue with getting an unwelcome alien off of their planet, right? Right? He didn't dwell on the thoughts that came with that statement.

He walked for quite a while. A few kilometers at most. He wasn't exactly built for these kind of antics. After seeing a slightly slanted rock on which he could rest, he decided to do so. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something. A white streak. He saw another. And another. The crumpling of fallen leaves was heard all around him. He tried to not turn his head, or show any sign of fear. He knew what this was after all. An ambush.

  • 10.11.2010 6:28 PM PDT

POMC S117 Owns owns

This is awesome, better than mine anyway. When will more be coming. Also can you check out my story to see if I can make it better, its called Conflict of Harvest.

  • 10.12.2010 4:37 AM PDT

AL is preventing me from having fun. It is also preventing a lot of people from having fun. People who defend AL say they can live without it. It is obviously unfair in many ways.

SO WHY DON'T WE REMOVE/TWEAK IT?

Also, yes, I do goose.


Posted by: AssaultCommand

Posted by: iTz Mr Quincy
Chapter XVII: Escape and Capture

A watchful eye, the ticks and tocks of what sounded like a clock in the background, and a black stage. A strange feeling came over the captive of an government organization, one of pure terror that it had not had in a long time. They could feel all of it. She could feel all of it.

Oracle could only hear mumbled voices. She felt weak; very weak. She could not see through multiple eyes anymore. Only one body, one part of her. Her connection with Searcher dimmed, she hear what he was thinking, she couldn't see what he was doing. She did remember one thing from before her connection was cut off. A reserve. A chunk of their body floating in space. As long as the part of them that survived the crash, the sangheili, survived, she could use that little block.

But for now, she would stand her ground. She would try to talk words of reason to the ones she once called her superiors. She could hear more talk around her, muffled by the walls around her. She make out what they were saying, but they soon stopped talking. After a while, the walls around her grew hotter and hotter, but she paid it no heed. She barely felt it. She did, however, harden a shell around herself. She felt another feeling much later, as if falling, very very slowly, and a sensation on the bottom of the shell. The iron below her was collapsing into near nothingness. Soon, it became thin, and light rode through glass around her.

She could see instantly, unlike having what would have been her human eyes trying to take in as little light as they could after emerging from a pitch black ball. She saw a man in front of her, a table on which the glass ball rested, and a lock on the glass ball so it could not roll away. The man looked somewhat young, although signs of age appeared everywhere, maybe somewhere in his mid 30s. He had a straight, almost oval face, and a bald head to top it off. The room around her was square, small, and white, with a single light above them both. The man started to talk. The voice was quite clear, almost piercing with the accent it had.

"Welcome."

Oracle didn't speak. She just remained the perfect sphere she was in.

"It would be nice of you to reply."

Oracle still didn't speak. She would only take questions.

"I see this is going to be quite the one-sided conversation, isn't it?"

The man chuckled a bit, before starting again.

"Let's get right down to business, shall we? I would like to know how you, the Gravemind, survived."

Oracle finally started, in a calm voice.

"We are not the Gravemind, nor do we have anything to do with it."

"I find that hard to believe."

"It is the only thing for you to believe for now."

"Not so. I can believe that you were the Gravemind, that you tricked someone from the town you invaded into becoming your slave, and that you were waiting for the perfect moment to strike simultaneously."

"Do you have any proof behind that statement?"

"I do not. Only educated guesses. But what proof do you have behind your little story?"

"I have none that you cannot deny. But I will say this; the Gravemind is dead."

"Well then, I guess I'll believe in my story."

"Believe in what you wish. It is not the truth."

"So you say. You do realize we could eradicate the last of you at any moment?"

"You do realize I'm here because I want to be?"

"Oh?"
Wow, I loved this part of the NEXT CHAPTER!!!
Stop keeping it from them. >:(

I have to get it in bulk before releasing it in schedule again, don't I?

  • 10.13.2010 8:16 AM PDT

Are you still writing searcher quincy?

  • 11.11.2010 7:12 PM PDT

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