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The Shepherd's Diary by Reign_of_Fire90
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The Shepherd's Diary: Genesis: Part 1 of 5
Date: 11 July 2006, 3:13 pm
I have been waiting for the gate to open
I was at the beginning; I will stand at the end
I have fought the Angles and Demons
I hold the key to life and death
I walk the silent tomb and the waiting
I see the souls of the forgotten, I know their place
I see the dead, but not know the living.
Pg. 45
GENESIS
CHAPTER 1
As the lift fell through the dark passage Tricost brooded over the current situation, the parasite now named "The Flood" had grown rapidly and progressed with dangerous pace. Even considering their powerful technology every attempt to stop them seemed futile. He remembered how they fought planet over planet and that the flood continued to make its way through the galaxy hungry for food and ceasing at nothing to get it. He remembered after the outbreak the battles fought over contaminated planets and how he saw his comrades overcome with the mutation and became something worse than death itself.
Originally the project known as RESTLESS was to create a biological agent that could conquer other worlds and then be recalled into withdrawal. It was the perfect weapon, it didn't sleep, speak, disobey orders or even think. All we would have to do is drop three or four specimens on a certain part of the planet and then they would flourish, at the end of the mission they would be recalled back to the ship.
The failsafe program was a small chip implanted in the parasite that would replicate when the organism infected another being. It would then be activated which would "shut down" all infected organisms so they could be collected and while some were destroyed because they were unnecessary, others were kept in hibernation.
However there was a fluke in the genetics table, which resulted in severe mutation. The parasite became more violent and aggressive than before and was hungrier. Their genetic makeup changed and they started to think and understand, something obviously that wasn't supposed to happen. Eventually they overrode the chip and it became powerless to stop them.
There was one parasite changed however more than all the others, he seemed to have some sort of power over them and controlled them. It however was killed, but then it came back. When this was discovered even the top scientists were baffled, the organism defied death itself so scientists named it Gravemind. While the scientists wanted to try and study it the Council absolutely forbid such actions and "Gravemind" was moved, killed, then stored in one of the eight containment rings, surrounded by steel and rock it was encased to never get out, even if it did come back to life.
The eight ring stations named "Halo" were created long before the project held containment structures in case something like this happened. They were created to contain anything necessary and hide it among the surface from anything that would come along seeking it. However once it became aware how dangerous the parasite was the structures were augmented with a special weapon that would be the ultimate failsafe protocol to stop them.
Originally other Forerunners were stationed on the structures but when the Forerunners started to lose the war, and the call to arms came, they were replaced with machines designed to do their job. The machines named Sentinels were governed by another, yet smaller, machine named Moniters. Still, Tricost thought that there was something being kept hidden among the machines that their leaders would not share with the rest of their people. But then again such things are not for thinking in his position, better left to the Spiritual Hierarchy.
His assignment however was not to think on such things but was a different mission instead. He was instructed to build a structure where all the weapons could be activated and a safe haven would be ensured from them. It was named "The Ark" and would remote detonate all the Halos but at the same time shield those in its presence. The project was hidden underground to prevent later species from discovering it. Although the present species on the current planet posed no threat, and were extremely primitive.
Biometric scans and genetic predictions proposed the later evolution of the species could discover it unless hidden. The striking thing however was that if predictions proved to be correct the evolved species would look quite similar to his own race. But it wouldn't matter, by the time it was activated and its purpose used it wouldn't matter if the species discovered it or not.
The lift came to an end and white lights spilled onto the platform in unrecognizable symbols indicating the lift had stopped. Tricost stepped off the lift and proceeded toward the doorway. As he walked through the double doors a large image of a planet covered in blue, brown, green, and white filled the enormous deck window. Tricost thought that throughout his travels this was possibly the most beautiful planet he had ever seen. Around the control room lights from solid holo-computers lit the area. In the center a hologram was projected where it showed the project on the planet's surface being built.
Tricost walked over to the hologram and touched a highlighted yellow section, an area indicating where the main construction was. Instantly a voice appeared in his ear, which just so happened to belong to Shepherd,
"Commander?" he asked
"Status report" Tricost demanded. "The project is going exceedingly well commander, we should be ready before schedule" he replied,
"Very well continue to keep me posted" Shepherd said
And the link went dead. Immediately strange symbols appeared in midair and started to scroll down, as Tricost read the full progress report everything seemed to be going as Shepherd said. He closed the report with a wave of his hand, forwarding it to the Spiritual Hierarchy.
CHAPTER 2
As Shepherd surveyed the area, there were long beaches where the water churned and broke onto shore spilling white foam and then spread out flat and thin and rushed up the coast then back down leaving a print that would then disappear.
Further from that there was solid ground and trees surrounding it. The trees swayed in the breeze and played a softening melody for their guests A few birds flew across the sky and were swallowed up in a cloud of white and then vanished. While the sun in this solar system was smaller than the one in theirs it still shone brighter and bigger than it did back on their home planet.
As Shepherd looked around again he wondered what would happen to this world if it came under Flood control. He'd seen what happened to the other planets, their surface scarred and blackened from the devoid amount of life. On a Flood world, or Death Sphere as he called them, there was nothing, no color, no structures, no nothing.
All that would be left were ships taken from the enemy so they could fly to another world. The Flood, however mechanical they were, grew with knowledge quickly and rapidly soon they were able to fire weapons and pilot ships.
The Flood consumed everything and left nothing, he once saw a Flood so hungry it was trying to suck the energy out of a rock but then he quickly ended it's troubles with a swift death from his weapon. Indeed while he much rather preferred to be here in this paradise, he felt that something was wrong and something...just wasn't right....
But the land before him however was neither charred nor barren but bristled with activity as metals were constructed to erect a second tower, a third was being built diagonally across from it while the first pillar was already standing reflecting the blazing sunshine.
The twelve structures formed to raise an energy shield spouting from it's tips that would cover the entire planet in a protective shield. The towers also collapsed upon the inner part of the structure but would set up a perimeter that would deflect seismic waves to conceal it's presence. However in order for the machine to work it needed to have seven Keys that would activate the Ark and would then send up a cut-light beam that would clear an entrance for the Ark.
The seven Keys however were scattered though the galaxy, or were soon to be anyway, they had to all be placed on the planet's surface which would send the signal to activate the facility. The Keys themselves were seven ancient relics that contained amazing powers, powers that even their own race had yet to comprehend.
Thinking of the crystals he looked around him to see if he was alone. When he was satisfied that he was he reached into his uniform and took out a small crystal about an inch long on a string and held it in his hand. The crystal was warm and pulsed in his hand as if it was happy to be held again, the fragmented crystal was in fact part of one of the Keys that broke off when they were transporting it out of the cave they found it in.
He knew he shouldn't have taken it but he couldn't resist and it seemed to almost beckon to him. Even though it was rather small he knew that if he was caught with it then he would face death for his treason. They would accuse him of keeping one of the most scared holy artifacts to, and for, himself.
The Shepherd's Diary: Genesis: Part 2 of 5
Date: 1 August 2006, 5:36 pm
CHAPTER 3
In space it was quiet, the stars glinted and shone with their brightness forming various constellations. Planets made their slow journey of orbiting, while rocks or other satellites orbited the different colored planets.
Suddenly a hole ripped open in space showing a darker deeper black than space itself. As a medium sized craft shot out of subspace the star that it entered engulfed it with it's bright blues, warm reds, gleaming whites and soft purples. Bits of stardust bounced off the ship's wings while some managed to find a small enough crack to stick in.
As the ship moved its way though the galaxy the starlight filled it's interior reflecting the face of the Forerunner named Hermes. Hermes squinted into the bright starlight and activated the tinted window by reaching up and touching the ship's main window. As the window tinted to the appropriate darkness Hermes looked down at the map in front of him. According to it he was in quadrant five, section 17, sub-section 3. Perfect. Hermes looked behind him and saw seven mechanicalized boxes, each containing one of the holy crystals, or Keys as they now were called.
His mission was a simple one, given by the leader of the Spiritual Hierarchy himself, take each of the seven keys and scatter it among the galaxy. He had been traveling for a day now looking for an excellent place to hide them. Though he did not understand why all of them had to be hidden, and separately too. If someone needed to find the seven Keys shouldn't the all be together in one place for connivance? After all, if the Keys were in fact needed then there should be no time wasted to find them.
As he left the star behind him the window returned to its normal shade. He continued his way, quickly coming upon the planet he was looking for. The planet itself was relatively small compared to all the others. However it was a maze of plateaus and canyons, making the perfect spot to hide what he needed to. As he descended into the planet's atmosphere he met little resistance as it was a rather thin and small. When he raced across it's surface, the un-leveled ground dark pits seemed to race him and jump out at him, almost as if they were trying to touch the bottom of his ship, as if it were a game.
He kept going until he reached a formidable destination. As he unstrapped himself from his seat he wondered which of the canisters he should take with him. Of course it didn't matter since they were all the same but none the less he decided to pick the one that was closest to him. When he lift it up, it took most of his strength, hobbling over to the platform and set it down with a loud "CLANG". Panting slightly he merely put his hand on top the barrel and breathed in slowly. The floor below him changed from a dull grey to a slight purple.
When he felt his feet touch the dusty, soft earth he opened his eyes. There beside him was the barrel, just as it was on the ship. He bent down and pressed three buttons on the bottom lid and the entire thing popped up about a foot into the air. Satisfied that the anti-gravity gear was working he started to push his cargo along the top of the plateau, making his way to a large cave. When he was inside he proceeded deeper and deeper into the darkness.
When Hermes came back to the ship without his package he pressed a small button on his uniform, closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. When he materialized back onto the ship he re-activated it's controls and set course for another planet.
CHAPTER 4
It was quiet in the Council Room, almost too quiet for Veritas's taste. He had lived many years and most of them were spent in this room. He remembered the loud noises of the chancellors, the angry retaliations of the elders and the rebellious remarks of the newly appointed leaders. He remembered when he was just a young boy, he wanted to grow up to be a ship captain, he once built his own raft and sailed on the creek by his home. He smiled at the memories, but no longer was there happiness, or that little boy. Many things had happened since then, since the RESTLESS project.
He remembered the project very well, he was the one that authorized it. He gave the order for the testing to begin, for convicts to secretly be injected with the toxic substance that made them the Flood. He was the one that turned his own people into such monsters, the monsters that they now are trying to destroy, but no one knew that, no one knew the truth. The guilt that he feels everyday weighs more and more upon every passing second. He knew this was all his fault, the death of hundreds of thousands.....all his fault. His only hope was that he could end the war as swiftly as possible and thereby correcting his mistakes.
Lost in thought, he did not hear the approach of Aleno. "My lord?" he asked uncertainly, seeing the look upon Veritas's face. Quickly Veritas snapped out of his thoughts, "What is it Aleno?" he asked. "I have come to report that Hermes has hid 5 of the 7 Keys" he replied "Is that all?" Veritas asked "That and Tricost has sent the progress report on the building of the Ark". Veritas now paid full attention to the man bowing before him "Well?" he asked "Where is it? Let me see it" Aleno handed Veritas a small thin square that only had a deep blue circle engraved on it. "Thank you Aleno" Veritas said as he took it "You are welcome my lord" Aleno said, he then kept his bow and left the room quickly.
The Ark. Of course, how could he forget it? The Ark was built to kill all life in the galaxy, to be the final and last weapon in the war. It would be a cleansing wind that would sweep throughout the stars, eradicating all life and thereby starting a new chapter in the universe. A chapter that would not start with war, sorrow, death and fighting but instead a new chance for the universe to grow into something better than what it was now....a battlefield.
The Shepherd's Diary: Genesis: Part 3 of 5
Date: 1 August 2006, 5:52 pm
CHAPTER 5
It was black. The only light, whatever it's worth, came from the small blinking lights on the various control panels. Switching on and off they resembled twinkling stars in the night sky. Suddenly, shattering the silence to a thousand pieces, a large churning noise could be heard, then a thump…another…and another, then high above there was a flicker of light.
On the third time the flicker burst into full-fledged light and other lights beside it went off down the corridor in a row, illuminating the room. After all the noise had settled down a small floating machine gently floated down the walkway. The machine was not sharp and jagged, mush like the walls and other machines that surrounded it, instead it was smooth and the light reflected off its silver coating. A blue light pulsed throughout it and as it progressed it started to hum gently. It was a merry tune, one almost that someone could dance too.
As 343 Guilty Spark made his way down the lit corridor to the control room he reviewed the current status of the ring. Things were progressing quite smoothly, there were no large incidents or outbreaks, and the flood had been contained and cryogenically frozen successfully within the past week.
Much unlike some other installations, he recalled the situation on installation 06 when there was a small outbreak of the flood. Took half of the sentinel team to suppress it, the other half was lost, most unfortunate. He must say, if it was within his programming to do so, that his creators made him the best and smartest. He said to himself "I am a genius, hehehe, much unlike those other monitors".
As Guilty Spark entered the control room the main panel in the center flickered to life, colors of light scrolled across it and it started to gently purr with life. He, Guilty Spark, was there to receive his updated information and orders. When he approached the console a spark of small "lightning" shot from the center of his "eye" and began it's daily download.
When he was done he moved his attention to the sentinel's direction command as he uploaded the new guidelines and protocols for the containment of the flood he reflected over the curious bit of information about the Halos from the Hierarchy.
Darkness again. This time though there were no blinking lights, no humming, nothing, just darkness. In the room an enormous creature laid, encased in a deep, deep slumber. In his mind he was plagued with wisps of fog and shadow as he struggled to remember who and what he was, where was he, and why was he here.
The creature had grown impressively in a remarkably short amount of time, expanding far into his room and coiling around any rock or metal he could find. He…he began to remember people in white, a room of white…everything white…except for what they had in their hands, it was black. He couldn't…. remember……..pain…there was a massive pain…a voice….it said….something……he couldn't remember….he awoke in another room of white….people were screaming…..running……then more pain….then this…..
CHAPTER 6
Given the fact he almost died on two planets the operation had run well Hermes thought as he approached the second to last planet. Upon the surface Hermes proceeded with the usual task of getting the Key out of the ship, teleporting, and moving the crystal to a desolate cave.
However, once in the cave Hermes looked around him with his glow stick, switching the setting to full to light up the entire area. There was no one there. Yet Hermes still felt as though someone was watching him in what he was about to do.
Hermes placed the glow stick upon the Key case and took out a small laser pen, no bigger than a twig. With it he started to write on the wall, when he was done there was about a small paragraph written. Hermes looked around him again as he pocketed the laser as if expecting someone to jump out and say "AH HA!" But no one did.
Back in his ship, and continuing the journey to hide the last Key, Hermes thought over what he just did. In the cave Hermes left a riddle as to how to find the last crystal, even though he had not hidden it yet he knew where, by using the geological space 3-D map on his ship. And now he was bound to that location, or make the riddle a lie.
Hermes, upon his journey, could not stand the thought of leaving all the Keys, everything that stood between the galaxy and death, totally isolated and leaving only luck to find them. It went against his moral code and ideals to do such a thing.
Instead, since the first crystal, he had left clues and riddles to the location of the next crystal, and the next and so on. However he did not feel totally comfortable doing this, he knew that for whatever reasons the counsel would imprison him, for they became more paranoid with every passing day.
If caught, he would simply deny leaving direct directions to the next Key. After all, had he not left confusing riddles and clues to help conceal the location of the other crystals? Yes, that would be his ace in the hole, but he prayed he would never have to use it.
In the last cave, for the last crystal Hermes slowly, deliberately took the crystal to the hidden location. This was the last one, after this his journey would be over, he felt somewhat saddened by the fact and could not, for some reason, let a tear escape from his eye. He stood before the wall, oh what looming wall it was, he placed the package upon it and again, for the last time, took out his laser pen.
Upon the wall he wrote:
This is the seventh, upon more there are if not all found yet
After that he left a clue to the first crystal, now it was a cycle, a complete circle, now it was done.
The creature continued to stir in the blackness of his room, thoughts and memories slowly came back to him, he was starting to remember his name. Yes…. it was……….Gravemind….yes, that was him, he was certain. He lifted his head and looked around, but he could see nothing, he concentrated harder and harder.
Slowly a green light began to pulsate from his body, enveloping him a green mist that gave off light and played with the shadows on the wall. Gravemind didn't know where he was, but that didn't matter, he needed a way out.
He looked around the room and yet saw nothing, he drooped with sadness, he was doomed to spend eternity in this darkly prison. And yet…..he was not alone…..he kept hearing voices….then it came to him, these were not his voices, but the ones outside this room, this prison.
He struggled to hear, to concentrate on them and communicate with them. He knew that there was no way out, but for now he would listen to the world, he would listen through rock and metal and time.
Back at Earth the Ark Project was still undergoing construction, due to some fluke and a cave-in new workers were needed to not only to rebuild the Ark but also to build a memorial to those who died from the cave-ins. Fortunately it was not too many, it could have been worse, however now due to the shortage Shepherd himself had to work in the Ark.
Unbelievable, he was just two ranks below ship commander and yet here he was among grunts doing hard labor? At least he was able to command a portion of the workers, about a quarter, but from time to time, which was becoming more frequent; he was needed to work in the mines. But there was good news, rumor was that there is supposed to be a celebration party once the project is finished, but he had not yet asked Tricost about it.
Just the idea alone made him laugh; he played out the scene in his mind "Tricost?" "Yes Shepherd?" "Is there going to be a party tonight?". Eventually Shepherd decided he would anyway and touched his com-link headset to open a private connection.
"Ticost?"
"What is it Shepherd? Is there a problem?"
"No problem commander, but…"Then Shepherd suddenly thought up an excuse to his absurd call "Its getting to be annoying, some of the grunts are too excited to work"
"Excited? Why?"
"I don't know, they keep saying something about a 'party'".
"A party?"
"For when we celebrate finishing building the Ark"…silence….Shepherd suddenly started to shift with unease, perhaps this had been a worse idea then he thought…"Sir, its just that its getting hard to control them, you know how the grunts can be"
"I do, Shepherd listen, there is a party after the construction but do not tell them, it will only rile them up more"
"I understand sir, thank you sir"
"Oh, and Shepherd?"
"Yes commander?"
"You're a horrible liar"
And he hung up. Shepherd looked back among the workers feeling highly embarrassed but also slightly amused, he and Tricost had been friends since the academy, but Tricost had always been just a little bit better than him at…just about everything, even lying.
It was three weeks later when the entire Ark project was finished, as promised Tricost was indeed holding a small party on the main cruiser. However Shepherd was still in the Ark, fixing up electrical problems because the proton-electric engineers had left and the grunts were too stupid to do it.
As he worked he could hear ships take off into the outer atmosphere to the main cruiser. He wanted to get out of the Ark, he felt that if he didn't get on one of the ships then he would be left behind, he knew that would never happen but the idea always haunts him.
Almost before he finished a voice appeared in his ear,
"Captain Shepherd?" it said, it was Logan, the pilot for the last group of workers still on the planet
"I thou-"
Suddenly the crystal around Shepherd's neck started to glow
"-ght you sh-h-h-h-h"
Shepherd tapped his earpiece, static was filling the channel and he couldn't understand what Logan was saying
"Hello? Logan?"
"Sh-h-hepar-r-r-rd the"
The crystal glowed even brighter, more static filled the channel
"la-a-a-a….wi…in about…."
"Logan? Logan! Logan I can't understand you there's too much interference!"
Back at the landing deck Logan repeated "Captain Shepherd! I thought you should know we're leaving in about fifteen minutes, can you hear me?"
But Shepherd couldn't understand him, couldn't even hear him.
Shepherd turned off his com link channel, it obviously wasn't working, when he did the crystal started to dim and returned to it's original color.
It was about fifteen minutes later that the last party started to load the ships leaving the planet, as the workers piled aboard Logan stood to the side counting them off, making sure everyone was here. Eventually he got all 227 and when piled on the plane, he started the engines and the ship roared to life.
As he flew later on into the atmosphere and then into space he would not realize his greatest error, there were not 227 passengers aboard the ship but 226.
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