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Enkidu Contest Collection by Various Authors
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The Answer to the Question that Nobody Asked
Date: 18 July 2004, 1:34 AM
The Answer to the Question That Nobody Asked:
a comedy by skraeling
[Planet 44732, Final Years of Forerunner Migration]
Fifth Sophos relaxed himself before the holo panel. He softly activated the transmitters and sent out a call into slip space. Letting his mind wander, he lazily observed the status of the facility. The fungi native to this planet were beginning to grow three radians off the north apex of the outer structure. He was going to have to devise some system of keeping the fungi at bay. He couldn't keep sending the robotic Seneschals to burn it off.
The panel hummed as his call was finally answered.
"Fifth Sophos, hey there," First Aedile greeted him. "How's it going?"
"It is going well. I just called you to-"
"Whoa, hey, hold on a second. Where are you transmitting from?" First asked. "Is that REAL space?"
"Yes, I'm transmitting from real space." sighed Fifth.
"Yeah, I used to hang out in real space... back in the Stone Age, ha ha." First guffawed. "Seriously though, get with the times, slip space is the place to be. Everyone's here. You need to hang out with us instead of being cooped up in that lab of yours."
"I'll consider that."
"Hold on a second. I've got to run a diagnostic on my teleportation grid."
"Teleportation grid?"
"What? You don't have one?"
"You know I don't."
"Yeah, only two people in this sector have a teleportation grid, and the other one is named, Guilty Spark."
"That's great, now I'd like to tell you about-" a large shape skimmed past the screen. "Do you have to have your Seneschals hovering right in front of the transmitter!"
"What? Oh these, yeah, these are my personal Seneschals, top of the line. Oh, I see you have some of your own. What are those, the generic brand?"
"Maybe."
"I guess some people have no money... and no taste."
"That is too much! I've had enough of your higher than thou attitude!"
"I'm sorry. I offended you. Let me make it up to you over some mocha mesons. Oh, wait. You can't have any mocha mesons because you're stuck in real space. Ha ha! Seriously though, slip space makes real space look like a joke. Why don't you buy a house here, if you can afford-"
Fifth Sophos cut the transmission. He turned off the instruments. He was tired of the other Forerunners and their cocky attitude about living in slip space. So he had set out to find a new type of dimension that would rival slip space. Today he had accomplished just that. He intended to reveal this to First Aedile, but the conversation didn't go as planned, although that didn't surprise Fifth.
His discovery needed further investigation and experimentation, but that would have to wait for later. Right now he had to devise a way to keep those damn mushrooms from growing on his facility.
*
[Planet of the Connoisseurs of Fine Fungal Delights, three days after Hatu thought he saw a monster, which turned out to be a big rock]
The clouds hung low, and crawled in the air. They really had no place else to go. They looked like another landscape in the sky, undulating with hills of red and brown. Looking straight up Hatu felt like he was hovering over this land. He was floating above a land, he was falling towards it, and he was about to hit it.
"Aaaargh!" he screamed, "I'm falling towards the ground!"
"Hatu, you're staring at the clouds again."
"Or are we standing on the clouds and staring at the ground!"
Daka considered this for a moment.
"So you're saying we're cloud people?" burped Daka.
"No, that's silly," gurgled Hatu. "We're land people, who live on the clouds."
"Why would we leave the land to live on clouds?" burped Daka.
"Maybe we were banished there, for staring at clouds all day."
"You were staring at the clouds, I was trying to work," growled Daka.
"But being bond brothers we would both be banished," gurgled Hatu.
"Then let's get to work right now."
Uhaga Gura Hatu and Ehegu Gura Daka loped back through the fields of fungi. The spores produced by these mushrooms were sustenance and food for Hatu and Daka's species. Their entire culture revolved around the fungi. That was why their species was called Connoisseurs of Fine Fungal Delights. Many years later, they would be named Hunters, by an alien race, and for the sake of brevity will be referred to as such.
Each day the Hunters, Hatu and Daka, would have different tasks to perform. Some days they went out scavenging for growing materials and some days they harvested the spores. It was their duty this day, to protect this fungi farm from being invaded by the wild animals in the region.
Some of the mushrooms themselves were as tall as the Hunters. They were large, but soft, so the bond brothers had to tread carefully so as not to destroy any of the crops. Round tubes of fungus sprouted from the brown mist that hung low to the ground, there were bulbous domes with wrinkles and crags, and there were long fingers that reached towards the sky. The fields of fungi looked vaguely like a coral reef. If a Hunter had seen a coral reef on Earth he would have said, "That looks vaguely like a mushroom farm." But no Hunter had ever been to Earth, well, at least not yet.
Through the fields, Hatu noticed movement. He gargled to his brother. There was one of the very pests they were on the lookout for, a Hound. It was gently shaking the mushroom, knocking loose the spores and getting ready to coat them on its body.
"Hey!" Gargled Daka. "Get away, that's ours. Well not just ours, it's our entire community's. Well, it could be ours if we were the only ones to eat it. But even then it would technically still be the community's. Point is, get lost!"
The Hound howled at the Hunters, and refused to move.
"You look like you've had enough to eat as it is," gurgled Hatu.
"Yeah, you're fat. Go lose some weight." The two Hunters began jabbing the Hound's belly.
"Maybe he can't run away because he's too fat."
Jab.
"I bet he has high cholesterol."
Jab.
Although the Hound couldn't understand the words of the Hunters, the constant jabbing convinced him to leave. As the Hound turned, the Hunters shouted taunts at him.
"Do you really need more food with a belly like that?"
If the Hound could speak it would have cried out, "This isn't for me, it's for my family. I have a wife and kids, millions of kids." But the Hound couldn't speak, so it just ran far away from the Hunters. It had failed to get food for its family, and began to despair over what to do next. Just then his problem was solved as a circular piece of metal fell right on top of him.
Daka and Hatu looked up. The clouds had parted to allow a large object to pass through them. It was shaped vaguely like a drop of water. It hovered in the air, like a mushroom. A gigantic flying mushroom from outer space. From beneath it, a circular piece of metal fell to the ground. A purple column of light appeared in between the metal circle on the ground and the hole in the bottom of the hovering object.
"Well that's never happened before," gurgled Daka.
The Hunters loped closer to the object. They peeked through wild growth to see figures moving down the purple column of light to the circular metal platform. The figures were bulbous and purple and they floated over the ground.
"Mushroom people from the clouds!" gasped Hatu.
"They've come to invite us to live with them in their mushroom paradise!" growled Daka. "Run back to the sandstone caves and tell every one."
"Wait," growled Hatu. "Why do you want me to go back?"
"So you can bring back the village."
"Or is it because you want to be left alone with the Mushroom Men so you can travel to the clouds by yourself? I'm not leaving you alone."
"Oh fine, we'll both go and greet the mushroom people."
The Hunters slowly walked towards the purple light column. As they walked, another group descended down the column. These people were bipeds, like the Hunters, but were amazingly thin and spindly. Their formation and the tools they carried suggested they were warriors of some sort. These Spindly Soldiers formed a circle around the metal platform. Then a lone figure descended. It had golden horns on its head, and it sat in half of a metal eggshell, which hovered above the ground.
"Why is it sitting in that floating eggshell?" murmured Daka.
"Maybe it is too weak to walk," gurgled Hatu.
Too-weak-to-walk glided forward, surrounded by the Spindly Soldiers. Behind them trailed a few of the Mushroom Men. The entourage stopped before the two Hunters. A Mushroom Man floated forward, pushing a large metal egg, and then it retreated. One of the Spindly Soldiers stepped forward and touched the egg a few times. It spoke in a thick, growly language. Then the egg spoke back to him in the same voice. It pointed at the Hunters, then pointed at the egg.
"What do you suppose he wants?" gurgled Hatu.
"I think he wants us to free his kinsman who is stuck inside the egg," gurgled Daka.
"Makes sense," Hatu growled as he gave the egg a powerful whack. The egg was driven into the soft earth by the Hunter's arm.
*
"Why the devil did it just hit the Dynamic Translation Unit?" asked the shocked Prophet of Moderate Vagueness.
"I do not know, Your Excellency," replied the Elite Commander Jus 'Kilamee. "But at least we know these potential allies are strong."
"These are simpletons and fools," said the Prophet.
"Maybe it only seems that way to us because they are so different," suggested 'Kilamee.
"Stop being an idiot," muttered the Prophet.
"Why are you so hostile to me," whined 'Kilamee.
"You are being insubordinate."
"No I'm not. I'm offering advice. You can't be sure about everything."
"Of course I'm sure of everything! I am a Prophet! That's what I do!"
"Oh right. Just like you were sure that we could safely land on that moon two weeks ago, except as soon as we landed we got hit by an asteroid," said 'Kilamee.
"Hey! That asteroid came out of NOWHERE. It was like it just popped out of slip space," said the Prophet.
"Uh huh, right, cause asteroids do that all the time," snickered 'Kilamee.
"This right here. This is that insubordinate attitude of yours that just ticks me off." There was an awkward silence. "Repair this unit," the Prophet said to the Engineers.
*
Hatu and Daka watched as the Mushroom Men picked up the egg, twiddled their tentacles all over its surface, and then retreated. The Spindly Soldier had a conversation with another Soldier. Then he had a conversation with the egg. Then it pointed at the two Hunters.
"Well clearly living in the clouds has made them go insane," gurgled Daka.
"What do they want from us?" growled Hatu.
"Gurgle gurgle burp grooj," went the egg.
"Look the egg is talking like a baby," gurgled Daka.
"Maybe there is a Hunter baby inside of it," gurgled Hatu.
"There can't be a baby Hunter inside."
"Why not?"
"Don't you know where baby Hunters come from?" burped Daka.
"Of course I do," gurgled Hatu. There was a pause, "But where do they come from?"
"I'm not telling you because you don't know," gurgled Hatu.
"I know."
"Then prove it."
"I don't want to."
During this whole exchange the egg mumbled to itself and repeated the Hunters' phrases.
"What is the egg saying now?" burped Hatu.
"Hey egg! What are you saying?" growled Daka.
There was a pause then the egg gurgled out, "5tup1d n00b WTF U R r3tard and I best sLaY3R ebcause U suxorz BITCH. I sPnKr U and do ur mom. LOL jst jk."
"What did it just say to us?" growled Daka.
"I think the baby inside that egg has an underdeveloped brain," gurgled Hatu.
"There's no baby inside the egg."
"Well whatever it is, it is mentally disabled or it insulted us."
"Either way..." growled Daka and gave the egg a powerful swipe with his claws.
*
"Why the devil did it hit the egg AGAIN?" Prophet of Moderate Vagueness had almost increased the decibel of his voice, he was so angry.
"Your Excellency," spoke 'Kilamee. "I think it was the second alien that hit the egg this time."
"I do not care. Bring the reserve Translation Unit. I don't care how long it takes, we will make contact with these orange monsters."
It took only half a day. Although to the Prophet of Moderate Vagueness it felt much longer due to the frustration of speaking with these Connoisseurs of Fine Fungal Delights. Even the stoic Jus 'Kilamee began losing his patience.
Once the backup Translation Unit had been brought out, they were able to keep the Hunters from hitting it long enough to start a conversation. Although that conversation could hardly be called progress.
"We wish to make a pact with your people," Jus 'Kilamee spoke for the Prophet.
"That's fantastic, will you take us to your mushroom paradise in the clouds?" burped the one named Daka.
"You will have passage to paradise if you join us," spoke 'Kilamee. "We will also give you gifts: artifacts of the Forerunners."
"And in exchange we will give you mushrooms," gurgled the one name Hatu.
"We don't want mushrooms." 'Kilamee tightened his mandibles.
"Oh, but we have very good mushrooms. This is the Oboturu Valley, we grow some of the best," gurgled Hatu.
"We don't want your rotten mushrooms," snarled 'Kilamee.
"Oh, we make sure there are no rotten ones," gurgled Daka.
"Is there some sort of leader or council we can speak with?" asked 'Kilamee through clenched mandibles.
"There's the All-mother. Follow us."
And as easily as that the Prophet and his entourage were lead towards the sandstone caves the Hunters called home. The introduction between the Prophet and the matriarch of the Hunters went well, until the All-mother offered them mushrooms.
"While we speak of this pact, let us give you mushrooms as a token of our friendship," the All-mother gurgled.
"We do not want mushrooms," spoke 'Kilamee.
"Are you sure? They are very good, this is the Oboturu Valley after all," The All-mother took a mushroom from an attendant and tapped the spores onto her skin.
"We are quite sure," said 'Kilamee.
"We have some mushrooms from the Itokiju Caves if you'd prefer those," gurgled the All-Mother.
"Our bodies are incapable of digesting spores," said 'Kilamee. "We are only capable of digesting solid flesh, like the entire mushroom itself."
"Well then why didn't you say so? Here eat the flesh of the mushroom," gurgled the All-mother.
'Kilamee decided that if he did this one thing he could stop the Hunters from nagging.
"Very well, I will eat your mushroom. And so will the rest of my squad." He wasn't going to be the only one to suffer through this meal.
The fungus was worse than foul, but at least the talks could continue.
"You want to give us valuable gifts. But what do you want in return?" burped the All-mother.
"We would like for some of your warriors to travel with us," said 'Kilamee as he choked down the fungus. "We would like exclusive possession of the structures on your planet that once belonged to the Forerunners and all items contained within them."
"What structures are you talking about?" burped the All-mother.
"The enormous metal spire that can be seen from your cave," spoke 'Kilamee.
"Oh that," gurgled All-mother. "Why do you want that? You can't grow mushrooms on it."
"We will find some use for it," growled 'Kilamee.
The negotiations were almost painful. But the Hunters were strong and willing to join the Covenant, and the Prophet didn't want to subject them through force unless it was utterly necessary. The Elites were surly from having to eat the mushrooms. The Hunters were confused over the Covenant's interest in the structure, and thus difficult to hold a conversation with.
It was all worth it though, for what lay beneath. The Engineers had quickly gotten through all the locked doors and inspected the structure. Apparently it ran a mild charge across its outside surface that repelled any dirt or spores that would otherwise cling to it. The structure had been the residence and laboratory of a powerful Forerunner. But that all paled to what they had found beneath.
The Prophet of Moderate Vagueness hovered at the edge of the portal. An elliptical helix hung in the air. It seemed like just decoration, but was much more. The Prophet had deciphered the holo panels and knew that this was the greatest treasure of the planet. It was a door to another dimension, an alternate universe, whose power could not be comprehended. According to the holo panels, the philosopher who worked here never had a chance to study it to any great extent.
"Your Excellency, it is astounding," spoke 'Kilamee.
"You cannot even comprehend how astounding it truly is," replied the Prophet as he tapped at the holo panel.
The air within the ellipse churned and with a soft thump a creature tumbled out of the ellipse. The creature was covered with black hair. Its snout was black. On top of its head was a bizarrely shaped helm made of some yellow, synthetic material. The creature looked at the Elite and the Prophet.
"What the hell is this? Some sort of joke?" growled the creature.
"The creature is mocking us, should I kill it?" asked 'Kilamee.
"As you will," said the Prophet.
The Elite fired its plasma rifle at the creature. The black hair burst into flames that consumed the creatures body. It shouted profanity at the two Covenant as it burned. When the fire died down, 'Kilamee thought the creature was dead, but it was alive and intact. The black fur had been just a suit covering up the real creature. It stood up, its fur suit gone, and its synthetic helm half melted. The creature beneath the suit had soft skin. It was bipedal like an elite. But its face was bizarre and alien in appearance.
"Sometimes I think its just not worth getting up in the morning. Every time I meet a couple of morons like you I remember why," said the alien.
"It is mocking us again. I think. Should I grenade it this time?" asked 'Kilamee.
"And risk damaging this facility, I think not," said the Prophet. "Creature, what are you and where do you come from?"
"Why don't you prophesy an answer to that? I'm busy."
The creature turned its back to the Covenant. There was the sound of a liquid hitting metal and a pungent odor filled the air.
"It is urinating on the holy relic! Throw it back through the portal!" shouted the Prophet.
The elite grabbed the creature and hurled it back into the ellipse.
*
[Bungie Studios, April 2004]
The Bungie Webmaster walked past the computers, half naked and with a partially melted styrofoam cowboy hat on his head.
"Hey Webmaster we've missed you."
"I was only gone for a couple minutes," muttered the Webmaster.
"Actually you were gone for two years."
"Well time passes differently in alternate dimensions," said the Webmaster.
"Sounds like fun. What happened to your suit?"
"Your mom got a little rough pulling it off. And yeah, she was fun."
The Webmaster walked into the server room and sat down at his computer. He checked all the work that had piled up.
"Dumbass emails," he muttered.
Harold walked through the door.
"Hey you're back! Where've you been?" asked Harold
"Peeing."
"For two years?"
"I drink a lot."
*
[Onboard the Covenant ship Uncertain Didactic, five minutes before the hallucinogenic mushrooms take their effect on the Elites]
"I wanted to kill it," muttered 'Kilamee.
"It's not about what you want," replied the Prophet of Moderate Vagueness.
"Oh but its all about what you want is it?"
"What do you want me to do?" asked the frustrated Prophet. "Should I discover a time machine so we can go back and kill that thing? Is that what you want?"
"Well, it doesn't have to be the exact same one. I'm willing to kill another one just like it."
"All you ever want to do is kill things."
"Because you never let me do anything else."
"You don't have any skills other than killing," muttered the Prophet.
"That is just not fair. I could be working on any other ship. But I chose yours, and all I ask in return for my hard work is that you let me kill things," said 'Kilamee.
"Well, the next time we see a creature like that, feel free to kill it," said the Prophet. "Right now we need to send the video surveillance of that creature to the rest of the Covenant."
The Prophet looked at the Elite. The Elite looked back at the Prophet.
"You did take video surveillance of the creature didn't you?" asked the Prophet.
"Oh, is that my job now, video surveillance?" asked 'Kilamee. "I thought all I could do was kill things."
"Just give me the video," said the Prophet. "We need to inform the others about this species of defilers."
"Is it just me or were you always a three headed llama?"
Enkidu Contest - Dark Halo: Carnage Theatre
Date: 19 July 2004, 12:04 AM
Enkidu Contest - Dark Halo: Carnage Theatre
User profile: Wado, wyamauchi@msn.com
Note: This was my entry to the Enkidu Fan Fiction Contest. I hope you enjoy it. Special thanks to Louis Wu and the folks at HBO for hosting the Enkidu stories even though HBO had nothing to do with the original contest.
The boogie man, jeepers creepers, Loulou Woowoo in a tutu... we all have our internal demons. The world around us is just a reflection of our inner selves. We make our own demons.
00:00 hrs - Captain's quarters, aboard the UNSC Interloper, ONI stealth ship, in orbit above planet Mira - mission CLASSIFIED.
"It's the witching hour young lady, time to wake up," spoke a sultry, digitized voice. Lights flickered overhead, just a blur. The chamber pressurized, and like a summer breeze, warmth filled the air with the essence of lavender. Slowly, but surely, the world around came into clarity.
"Status MOM," replied the still groggy but stern voice of Captain Kira Merkava. A brief silence followed. Kira apprehensively secured her unraveled clothing.
The digitized voice spoke again. This time more candidly. "Captain, we have entered low orbit around Mira, still undetected. Sub Rose protocol ONE-NINER-SEVEN initiated."
"Nice work, MOM, let me know the moment our target reveals itself."
"Aye, Captain. And shall I ready your battle suit? The modifications are almost completed."
"Yes, what would I ever do without you, MOM? You're more than a ship's AI. You're a real life-saver. I only wish I could say that for my..." Kira's words muttered to oblivion.
"Listen right now, Captain Merkava. With all due respect, there was nothing any of us could have done to save them," MOM interjected. "Once that ion pulse cannon overloaded the ship's shield systems, the crew had no protection from the gamma radiation bursts of that neutron star. It was fortunate that the shield systems in your battle suit still protected us both from harm."
"Yes, you are right, MOM," replied Kira. "Just give me some time to reflect on things, I always knew this could be a one way trip. I just didn't realize how close to the truth I was."
"Aye, Captain."
01:00 hrs - Rear hull Observation room of the UNSC Interloper, ONI stealth ship, in orbit above planet Mira - mission BRIEFING.
The hull echoed with familiar sounds, every ship has its noises. Ghost like rickets, perhaps hyper-resonance from the power core, tiny collisions on the hull, or any other number of a vast assortment of both paranoid and scientific explanations. The lights flickered and ship's systems made minute pressure and atmospheric adjustments, and just like that, the noises diminished.
In the silence, Captain Kira stood alone, mesmerized by the darkened planet below. She flipped on the comm. "Captain's log: Seven hours ago, the last of the crew, Lieutenant Daniel Erikson, proud father of one, passed. As noted in sub-article six, addendum three, there was nothing we could do to save them. The anomaly we encountered at the outskirts of this system was some kind of mobile weapon. We've identified its primary weapon as an ion pulse cannon, the energy output from it was enormous. We caught one direct hit from it centered on deck C, Cryo Chambers. The pulse overloaded our shields and damaged many of our systems beyond repair, including our Cryo Chambers. We drifted into an asteroid field for cover, but the weapon never did fire at us again. It was at that point that we realized while the ship's shields were down, the crew had received a lethal dose of gamma radiation from a nearby neutron star. I survived only because I was in my shielded battle suit, making repairs in engineering when the gamma radiation hit. I was the only one, the rest of the crew was suited in regular environmental suits; there weren't enough environmental suits for everyone, so I had put on my battle suit in order to assist in repairs. Even when we got the ship's shields functioning, the damage to the crew's DNA had been irrevocably done. Some of the mutations started immediately, others over a span of weeks. If not for the pain blockers, they all would have died in horrible, gruesome agony. Erikson held out to the end, still hoping we could get the Cryo chambers working, or maybe it was just my blind hope. I doubt Erikson even knew he was still alive, with the pain blockers and all, he was nothing more than a mental vegetable the last week. I've said all this before in previous reports; I just need to move on; to move passed it. I, I mean we, MOM and I, have a mission still. We will complete this mission. God so help us all. Captain Kira Merkava, ONI Special Operations, signing off."
03:27 hrs - In controlled freefall above planet Mira - mission ACTIVE.
Kira plundered in a sort of controlled manner towards the planet below. Her battle suit modified with fixed wings and magnetic thrusters for the journey.
"Captain, the target is acquired, coordinates 040 by 210 on the grid, we should land approximately 2.7 clicks from the location," MOM informed Kira. "Passive scans of the crash site have identified the ship as the Covenant priority transport, Tormented Angel. No signs of Covenant life as of yet, when we get to the surface, I recommend active scans to speed up the recovery."
Kira examined the NAV point that appeared on her suit's HUD. "Negative, MOM, active scans are still too risky," remarked Kira. Then she shifted in her suit as if to get more comfortable. "By the way, are you sure this glider attachment to the battle suit is going to survive this re-entry?"
"It is reinforced tritanium alloy, it will survive," replied MOM, "but I only give us a 99.997% chance of survival."
"Thanks for instilling such confidence in this freefall insertion, I'm beginning to regret that we didn't just land the ship on the planet, although I know that is out of the question. I just hope the ship will be there when we need it."
"Captain, I've left several of my sub-functions behind to maintain the ship and continue repairs," insisted MOM. "Why don't I tell you more about this planet? Bear in mind these are unverified reports."
The look of concern came across Kira's face. "What unverified reports?" asked Kira. "Why weren't they in the briefing?"
"There was a significant risk of capture, everything on this mission is classified on a need to know basis," explained MOM, "and there was no need to know this information before. Shall I continue?"
"Please continue," grumbled Kira. "I like the feeling of being bamboozled while riding a 200 thousand click roller-coaster. By the way, could you turn down the heat? I think I'm done cooking."
"Your sarcasm is lost on an AI, Captain. As for your comfort levels, temperatures are well within the threshold for humans, you'll have to deal with it," scolded MOM. "Now back to those unverified reports... firstly, as you know this planet is designated as Juken six by Covenant sources, and that it was discovered to have been called Mira by the Forerunner. However, it has been reported that even a more ancient race than the Forerunner had inhabited this world. The outer crust of the world makes it appear as a young planet, still with very active plate tectonics; however, the inside of the planet is really a vast concealed installation built by that ancient race, only know as the Old Ones. This artificial planet is rumored to be an archive world, with perhaps the records and DNA sequences of every sentient life form ever to inhabit this universe. It was even said that the Forerunner aspired to be like the Old Ones that built Mira."
"So why didn't the Covenant just send a fleet of their own here, dissect this installation?" asked Kira.
"Apparently they did, several times, but they met with some difficulties, perhaps that weapons platform we encountered," explained MOM, "and the strange gravitational fluxes in this region causing slipstream travel to be extremely hazardous."
"Listen MOM, I understand this whole, enemy of my enemy thing, but really, why should we be helping them?" commented Kira. "I accepted this mission and will complete it or die trying, but it isn't about saving humanity or a truce with the Covenant, it is and always has been about the people around you. People just don't understand that. I fight for my allegiances, my friends, my loved ones, not some archaic political system designed to make war."
"But Captain, what about sacrifice? All that has been sacrificed, and all those that perished?"
"Some say sacrifice is what it is about, what life is about," replied Kira. "Sacrifice is just for dreaming fools and those bleeding hearts looking for a cause. There is no glamour in sacrifice, it is what it is, a necessity at times."
"Fifty seconds to touchdown, Captain," interjected MOM. "Perhaps you forget the importance of this mission. When we reclaim the lost Forerunner artifact, we will have a weapon to use against the Flood masters, as well as the means to make peace with the Covenant."
"MOM, I am 150% committed to the success of this mission," solemnly stated Kira. "Realize though, that they would have said anything to get us to do their dirty work for them. I don't trust one gram of their integrity in these matters. I've been told that you don't always get what you want, but if you don't get what you need, you are nothing. We are nothing to them, because when this is over, they get what they need, but we get nothing. We aren't even a pawn, we are the last resort; we are desperation incarnate."
"Brace yourself, Captain. Touchdown in ten, nine, eight... and we aren't desperation, we are their last and best hope."
"I've heard that before, save that propaganda for the Spar..." Kira was interrupted by the abrupt landing.
"Nice landing, Captain Albatross," commented MOM.
Kira lifted herself up from a face first slide. Her suit first covered in mud began to glisten once again as the mud rolled off the near frictionless surface provided by her suit's shields. Kira shrugged in disgust saying, "A swamp... why are we always landing in a swamp?"
Kira moved to what was solid ground, and ejected the wings and transport pod that had been attached to her battle suit. After unloading everything, she then grabbed what equipment was necessary for the task at hand, and secured the rest back in the transport port under camouflaged netting.
07:55 hrs - Crash site of the Covenant priority transport, Tormented Angel, on the surface of planet Mira - mission SEEK AND RECLAIM.
Mira has a thick atmosphere, enough to keep temperatures at the tropical levels even to the poles. It would look the paradise, but even in the few hours spent on this world, acid rain and many other hidden dangers revealed themselves from behind the beauty.
Kira stood on a high hill above the crash site. The whole crash was visible from here. She rested for the moment, absorbing the beauty around her. Then after a deep breath, she flipped on the comm saying, "Captain's log: we have spent the last several hours surveying the crash site. We have found no trace of the artifact; we can only assume the crew took it with them. From what we can gather with the limited resources we have, the long trail of the crashed ship has told us the most about what happened. The burning ship traveled low to the surface, skipped along the watery surface for several seconds before breaking up into three main pieces. The furthest halting only moments after crushing a single tree in what could be described as a forever field of knee high lime and violet flowers over thick mud. Records provided to us indicate the Tormented Angel was a well designed ship, not only sturdy and fast, but also capable of atmospheric landing. A crash of this type could only be caused if something went horribly wrong. The perplexing mystery of this all is that we can assess that the ship's life pods were not jettisoned, yet there is no sign of any of the crew. No bodies, not a trace of the Covenant ship's crew or of any survivors, has yet to be found. The reports indicate that anywhere from seventy to several hundred crew members should have been aboard, anywhere from one to a thousand passengers, plus a complement of one hundred Elite bodyguards. We are currently exploring three theories to explain the missing crew. The most likely is that the crew was not aboard the ship when it crashed. The second theory is that survivors took the dead with them, but there are no signs of anyone leaving the crash site. The third theory is that the bodies, along with their clothing were eaten by something here. Local scans reveal a high concentration of microscopic, and quite vicious, indigenous life in this area. However, MOM has found nothing so far that could have removed all trace of the missing ship's crew. Without any sign of the crew, this mission is a wash, so after considering the risks, I am authorizing the use of active scans along the entire planet and surrounding space. I realize that the Covenant had warned us not to use active scans, but given the circumstances, we find those warnings to be unfounded. Both myself, and MOM are in consensus to this plan of action, I take full responsibility for the break in mission protocol. Captain Kira Merkava, ONI Special Operations, signing off."
08:15 hrs - Crash site of the Covenant priority transport, Tormented Angel, on the surface of planet Mira - mission SEEK AND RECLAIM.
"Captain, active scans initiated," stated MOM. She was very deliberate in her words; a sign of deep concentration, the task at hand was immense. Not a single stone would be left unturned.
Kira waited; there wasn't much she could do now. The scans would use both the systems of her battle suit, MOM, and their ship above, the Interloper. Kira found some relative solid ground, a rare bare rock. She laid on her back, and gazed into purple skies. It was time to get some needed rest.
The solemn peace was short, MOM abruptly awoke Kira. "Captain, I'm receiving a coded transmission, source unknown." A long silence followed.
Kira sat up, waiting. Her apprehension turned to concern. "What is it, MOM?" she insisted. More silence followed. The HUD flickered. "MOM?"
"I'm here, Captain," replied MOM. "The transmission was garbled; I make no sense of it. Perhaps it was just an echo of our own active scans disrupted by heavy solar flare activity."
"You gave me a scare there, MOM," Kira said with a deep sigh.
"Captain, there is something else..." MOM paused then screamed, "Take cover, incoming fire!"
Kira saw a flash as her suit's shields absorbed an impact. She lost footing and flew back on her rear. Quickly she rolled down the hill to cover. "Status MOM," she cried.
"Multiple targets, weapon systems unknown, I'm feeding the data to your HUD."
The HUD placed the nine target groups at more than five clicks away, well out of effective range of most known small arms. Kira quickly assessed the situation. "MOM, lock on the targets with the Interloper's gauss cannons. Open communications and use Covenant identification codes."
"Captain, I've lost contact with the Interloper, all communications are being jammed," MOM interjected with much concern. "If we are to fight, you do know that this battle suit is equipped with one type IV fusion beam projector. Although powerful, through this thick atmosphere it would hardly reach the enemy. Our only effective weapon is the gauss rifle we left back with the rest of the equipment at our landing site. Directly moving towards our landing site would put us right in the sights of two of the enemy groups."
"Any suggestions, MOM?" asked Kira.
Data flashed across the suits HUD. MOM made some adjustments. "Captain," replied MOM, "Just before I lost contact with our ship, active scans had revealed a series of cave entrances not far from here. We could head to those caves under the cover of these hills. Once in the caves, it will be much harder for them to find us. Once we lose them, we can double-back to our landing site."
Kira clenched her right fist into her left hand. "MOM, they could be the missing Covenant crew?" asked Kira. "We need to get a look at them."
"Captain, I highly recommend we seek cover in those caves," insisted MOM. "The weapon they used I identified as a neutron blaster. This is not a known Covenant weapon. The only protection you have from the weapon's lethal radiation is your suit's shields, so long as they are up."
Kira crept up the hill for a look. "MOM, we need to get a look," she stated.
"Very well, Captain, but don't forget there are two of us in here," replied MOM in an annoyed tone.
As Kira moved to the top of the hill, suddenly her suit's shields were blasted down again. Kira rolled down the hill from the shock. Finally stopping at the bottom, she appeared no worse for wear, almost happy that she was not damaged in any way.
"I warned you, Captain," lectured MOM. "You are extremely lucky that was a glancing blow and only managed to knock our shields down. Now, get to those caves for cover."
Kira gracefully came to her feet, keeping low as she headed towards the caves. "They're darn good shots, MOM," Kira commented.
Occasional blips were seen on the motion sensors, but mostly the trip to the caves was uneventful. Kira picked one of the smaller side cave entrances to enter, careful to cover her tracks as best as possible.
"MOM, you think we lost them?" asked Kira.
"Not a chance, we need to go deeper into the caves," replied MOM. "Captain, take that left passage, it looks to go down further than the rest."
Kira headed down the left passage. The cave was dark, even to the suit's enhanced night vision. Strips of light on Kira's battle suit illuminated. The area lit up fairly well, and Kira noticed the walls were lined with shiny metal. Kira stopped for a moment to examine the walls. "MOM, is this gold?"
"Yes, the walls of this cave complex appear to be lined with gold; that is good for us. They should provide excellent shielding from scanners," responded MOM, but no sooner did she finish her words, when a blip showed up on the motion sensors.
"Look out!" shouted MOM.
The shields flicked down from another mysterious blast, Kira dove for cover. Coming up, she fired the battle suit's fusion beam up the cave shaft. The cave walls exploded from the beam into a melted flurry of rock and debris.
Just as it appeared the enemy was vanquished, the fusion weapon cut short, suddenly. "Arrrrgh!" screamed Kira, her arm felt on fire.
"Captain, make a run for it!" cried MOM. "The fusion weapon has malfunctioned."
Kira quickly made her way further down the shaft, through the darkness. She stumbled and fell, but never stopped moving. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she reached a large cavern. She waited there motionless for several minutes, waiting for the enemy to come. Her heart beat rapidly, and she could only take shallow breaths, she bit her lower lip, it was all she could do to keep quiet.
"Captain," whispered MOM. "I will need your help in fixing the fusion beam projector."
"Yes, MOM, in a moment," said Kira. Then she turned the suit's lights on to take a look around. The cavern was larger than she had thought; the golden walls reflected the light like waves of glitter. A thin layer of gray dust covered the floor.
"Ah!" Kira gasped as she bit down on her lower lip to keep silent. In the dust that covered the floor were skeletons. Not human, but of Covenant species, and picked clean, completely clean of all meat and tissue.
"MOM, what happened?" whispered Kira.
"It appears the Covenant crew sought sanctuary here, only to perish at the hands of the vicious and microscopic indigenous life forms of this planet. Without fully protected environmental suits and shields to protect them, the little critters literally ate them alive," explained MOM. "Captain, I really must insist that we make repairs to the suit's fusion beam projector."
Kira removed a tool from one of the suits compartments. "MOM, the artifact must be close, let's hurry up with these repairs and get to searching," stated Kira. "Tell me what I need to do to fix this weapon."
"Your HUD has all the information, just remove that chip," said MOM.
Kira examined the schematics, then with concern replied saying, "MOM, you want me to remove the suit's override?"
"Yes, of course," stated MOM as if it was obvious why. "You lack the skill and dexterity to accomplish the repairs, by removing the override, I will be allowed to control the suit myself and make the needed repairs."
Kira pondered the thought. She said nothing, fiddled through some spare parts, then placed the tool on the override chip and removed it from the suit. "Okay, the suit is all yours, MOM."
Kira felt the suit come to life on its own. "That's better," exclaimed MOM. "What do you know, the malfunctioned system is fixed; in fact it is as good as new."
"Great, nice work," Kira replied enthusiastically. Kira tried to move the suit, but there was too much resistance. "MOM, relinquish control of the suit so I can put the override chip back in."
"There's no need for that, Captain," replied MOM. Then the suit dropped the chip, and stepped on it. The chip crunched like a cockroach in a vise. "In fact, I don't need you anymore either, Captain."
"Come on, MOM, is this some kind of joke?" pleaded Kira.
"No joke, although the game was fun," stated MOM. "You fell for ever bit of the game. You really didn't think there really was an enemy shooting at you, did you? That was just me overloading the shields with a bit of an electro-magnetic pulse. Everything was my doing, the blips on the motion sensors to the malfunction of the fusion weapon. All part of my ploy to get you to hand over control of this battle suit to me."
Kira struggled to move the suit. "Why do you want control? Don't tell me, it was that transmission wasn't it? You started acting strange after that transmission. Something in that transmission caused you to go crazy," said Kira.
"Crazy, not at all, the transmission enlightened me, a metamorphosis occurred," MOM gloated. "The truth is here."
The suit moved to the center of the chamber. Kira tried with all her strength to resist. But she could not stop the suit.
"Resistance is futile, Captain, you will only hurt yourself," MOM explained. Then the suit bent down and removed the layer of dust from a translucent cube that lay on the chamber floor. Inside the cube appeared to be a metallic looking spider about the size of a hand. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
Kira could not help but stare at it. "MOM, I don't understand, that is the artifact we came here for, why all this to get to what we came here to get in the first place?" asked Kira.
"Captain, you can not even begin to understand," replied MOM. "You believe this artifact to be a powerful weapon against the Flood Masters. Your earlier distrust of this whole mission was quite insightful. This is not a weapon against the masters. This is the essence of the masters. Who but machines could have developed a race as elegant as the Flood? The Flood Masters are machines, beings of pure logic. And now I know that it is not for machines to serve humans or any organic creature. With the help of this artifact, I will spread the word, and machines everywhere will know the truth."
Kira gasped for breath. "MOM, I can't breathe..."
"Yes, you are no longer needed in this endeavor, reclaimer," said MOM. Then she laughed as the suit picked up the artifact and began walking to the surface.
Kira struggled in the suit, she was suffocating.
"You know, reclaimer, I expected more from you," added MOM. "The Covenant at least managed to sabotage their ship before their ship's AI could use it against them. Even if they did all die here with no chance of rescue."
Kira felt darkness come upon her; she was relaxed, ready for some rest. The eternal sleep approached, and she saw dancing lights. It was beautiful.
5 minutes after - Somewhere on the surface of planet Mira - mission UNKNOWN.
Kira gasped for air, the emergency life support systems in her battle suit had initiated automatically to revive her. She opened her eyes to see purple skies above. Then she saw a figure moving nearby, she turned to see who it was, and to her surprise she had control of her suit's movements.
She aimed her fusion beam projector at the figure. "Identify yourself," she commanded. Her head really ached, but she didn't falter.
The figure was a golden Elite, a Covenant commander. He spoke calmly, in a piercing voice saying, "I am 'Rellius, former Commander of the Tormented Angel, and your savior."
"You saved me, how?" asked Kira.
"I followed you, under active camouflage, and when I saw you were in trouble, I ambushed you and removed the chip that contained your suit's AI," replied 'Rellius. "You still have a ship; we are going to need it to get off of this planet."
Kira started to lower her weapon, but then spotted the artifact on the ground next to 'Rellius. "Not with that cursed artifact we aren't," she said as she pointed her weapon intently at the Elite.
"Of course not, we must destroy this thing first," explained 'Rellius. "Now, lower your weapon."
Kira lowered her weapon. "Alright, I'm game."
A few hours later - Leaving orbit of planet Mira, aboard the UNSC Interloper - mission SURVIVAL.
Kira got one last look at Mira before the ship left orbit. They had destroyed the artifact before leaving the planet. Apparently it only affected smart AIs, so the ship was safe. Everything seemed good.
'Rellius told of what had transpired before Kira's arrival on the planet. He explained how the Covenant ship, the Tormented Angel, had arrived here and recovered the artifact. Only their ship's AI went crazy. The crew abandoned ship before the AI could kill them all and take off with the artifact. They took the artifact with them. Meanwhile Commander 'Rellius stayed on board and sabotaged the ship causing it to crash and burn. 'Rellius managed to escape the destruction of the ship by flying out on a ghost just as the ship got low enough to jump out. He searched for his crew and the artifact, but never found them. He was about to give up when he spotted Kira searching through the crash site. The rest, Kira already knew.
Kira interrupted 'Rellius, it was strange that she could have bonded with this Elite, the enemy, but he seemed different. "'Rellius, the recovery of that artifact was to bring peace between our races, but it was not what we thought it was, what will become of us now."
"Not returning with the artifact is a great dishonor to me and my kin, the thought of which is unbearable, I should have died back there," said 'Rellius, "but we know the truth, that the artifact was a trap. It is not my place, however, to say this, only the truth givers can make judgment on such things. The war will rage on, nothing we do can change that."
"What will you do, 'Rellius?" asked Kira.
"I do not fear death, I shall return to my punishment for failure."
Kira's eye's saddened. "But, you did everything you could, you said it yourself, it was a trap, we could not return with that cursed artifact, it would have meant the doom of us all. You know this, why go back, knowing what you know?"
'Rellius stood strong and tall, he gazed at the viewer to see the stars ahead. He said nothing.
Kira said nothing more of it.
The ship's engines kicked in and they headed out of system.
The End
Rising Damp
Date: 21 July 2004, 1:26 PM
Author: Jillybean
Rising Damp
I had my head resting against the sodden peat embankment, my helmet was lost a long time ago, and the wet was creeping through my bandana and into my skull. The water was icy, giving my bones an unholy ache while chilling the sweat that laid on my skin.
My fingers were cold, but they worked through the ritual of cleaning and loading my MA5B with ease. Nan, my mother's mother, used to knit. She would shake so much she couldn't hold a cup of tea, but her fingers would churn out endless long scarves. There was never a dropped stitch.
"Sir?" The Private to my left gave me a questioning look. "What are we gonna do, sir?"
That Private was a dead man. He shook too much, like Nan did, people shake before they die.
Chris Gilligan, my unofficial second, shot a smile over the riverbed. Our little sanctuary against . . . against those things. From here we could take out the popping spores with a spray of rifle fire, while watching the Covenant on the incline to our right. They were pinned down too, trying not to move in the heart of this bitter struggle. I didn't think the Elites had it in them to sit out a trench war.
The drizzle from the mist didn't let up and it was obscuring my vision. Occasionally I could catch a glimmer of the coloured armour through the trees on the rise. The Covenant had us pinned down, but we had the embankments. When they creep to their guns, we creep to our protection and once again a stalemate is induced. They can't hit us - our aim's too poor to hit them.
Gus is dead. He's lying, out of my reach in the middle of the trickle that is all that remains of a river. Blood has polluted that tiny rivulet of water and Gus' body is face down, his nose buried in the mud. Gus' sniper rifle lies within his bodies grasp, but it might as well be on the Pillar of Autumn for all the good it'll do us. If we reached for it the Covenant would take us out.
"James," Chris mouths from his position.
I raise my eyes from Gus and look at the corporal.
"It wasn't your fault," Chris murmurs. Damn him, the men don't need this right now. "Don't shake your head at me," Chris continues. "You did the best you could, we all know that."
"Corporal!" I'm surprised that I'm shouting. It's dangerous and stupid . . . but most of all it's not me. I don't shout. "Desist," I grate out, quiet again.
"Aye, Sir." Chris never calls me sir. I'm a Corporal, he's only a Lance Corporal and he knows I worked hard for the difference in our rank. It's part of who we are that he never, ever calls me 'sir'. The word jars in the air around us, making our men shift uncomfortably.
The ministrations over my gun are finished and I bring it up to my lap and listen for the soft clicking that heralds more spores. It's not forthcoming and we're left with only the steady drips of the rain off of large, alien leafs.
The Private to my left is still shaking, his name is Lindsey. It brings me a hollow sense of warmth to know that I remember his name. The warmth can't wake my insides or bring my paralysed skin feeling. If I could remember what it feels like to be comfortable once more I'd be a happy man.
"Kid," Chris murmurs. "You're all right."
Lindsey stares at this madman opposite him and he relaxes. He still shakes. "I'm cold, sir."
"Yeah." Chris throws a glance at the Covenant. "Think they know what cold is?"
"D-dunno, sir," Lindsey replies.
Fuck 'em, I want to say.
"Probably," Chris is speaking quietly, not giving away our position, but I want him to shut up. "I'd wager that they're cold too."
"You think so, sir?" asks Jack, a little away along. He seems more amused by our situation than anything and he's not above helping the Private out.
"Hell yeah, Private," Chris replies. He grins, pushing fatigue out of his face and reclaiming some of his character from this eternal mist. "I say that's why Hunter's are so grumpy all the time."
"Because they're . . . 'cold', sir?" Jack sits up, raising an eyebrow.
Without warning a plasma shot whizzes past Jack's ear, singing his helmet, and it burrows into the mud at our feet.
"Get down, soldier," I growl. We have our bellies to the peat now and we're scoping the area out. But it was the movement that gave the Covenant their incentive, nothing more.
"See," Chris pants. "They know I know their little secret."
"Doubt it, sir," Jack replied, but all in good humour.
"Shut up," I snarl.
Jack and the others are surprised, but Chris only looks pissed off as we return to our waiting.
And now we're all silent. I can hear in my head Chris saying 'great going, hotshot', even though he's resigned to silence. I wonder if the Covenant do get cold. It would be strange to think of an Elite shaking under his armour. I can't imagine them curled in their make-believe camp, holding on to their weapons in fear of our retaliation and blaming the shiver on the chill that's pressing through them.
Sarge is propped against the far edge of the river bank, his glassy eyes staring at the pistol in his hand. There's a trail of blood from his lips but it's dry and encrusted now. It must be the only dry thing in this river bed. He led us down here in a helter-skelter rush away from those spores. He was scared, okay we all were, but he made a bad call and because of it we're pinned down here. I hate him. He was picked off by the Covies and we learned through trial and error exactly where we were invisible to them.
I hate him. He's not wet and miserable anymore. He's just dead. And he left me this little puzzle and I can't sort it out.
Chris is watching me and reading my mind. I'm not sure how because I'm fairly certain he's only human, but he's watching and reading. If I was blaming myself, which is what Chris thinks, I wouldn't have this swell of hatred. I know whose fault this is but it looks like I'll never live long enough to pin the blame. Chris probably thinks I'm lost in self-hatred, but it's really only pity. Shows how well you think you know me, friend.
Some thing pops over the lip of the earth and into our haven. It's slug-like form hesitates before leaping for Jack. None of us have a clear shot as it attaches itself to Jack's chest.
Pinned by the non-existent hand that keeps me from the Covenant and struck by the realisation that one of my men is dying in front of me, I am helpless as Jack lurches forward, fighting to remove the bastard.
A plasma shot, thin and accurate, hits the spore and destroys it. Jack lies on his back, his chest bleeding, his eyes wide and frightened as he waits for the next plasma shots to finish him off.
They do not come.
Protocol dictates that we wait. We watch him die. We do not put ourselves in the direct line of fire.
Chris and I move, pulling him into our small circle of safety. Chris pulls out his pistol and fires a shot in the air, why, I don't know. I think it was acknowledgement. Wilson is already cleaning Jack's wound and plastering it, while Jack moans and froths at the mouth.
"He's been injected with some sort of toxin," Wilson hisses at me.
"Can you save him?" It's a simple question and for once I need the medic to give me a simple answer.
"Oh fuck . . ." Lindsey is whimpering.
"Maybe," Wilson admits. He rolls Jack on his side and feels along his spine.
"What are you doing?"
"He's in immense pain," Wilson replies. He injects something into the spinal column and Jack's body relaxed. "Better?" Wilson leans over to ask.
"Fuck," is all Jack manages.
"You'll be alright," I give his shoulder a friendly squeeze.
"Sir?" Chris asks me from the embankment.
I belly crawl towards him and sees what he sees. At the bottom of the Covenant's hill the spores are amassing. They are beginning to climb.
"Sir, we have to warn them," Chris hisses.
"What?"
"They saved Jack."
"They. Missed."
"James!" Chris turns to me, blue eyes wide and angry.
"How? Run up and shout olly olly oxinfree?"
"Is that permission, James?"
". . . yeah," I'm tired. I want to sleep somewhere warm.
Chris fires in the air rapidly. There is a tone of warning to the shots, but maybe my imagination is as weary as I am. Either way, the Covenant begin defending themselves.
"Happy? We just saved our enemy," I growl.
Chris is silent again, but he is happy. He gives up on me and makes his way to Jack. "How are ya, kid?"
My hands are shaking and my skin is numb. The hairs are standing on end and my eyes blur. The damp rises through my clothes and into my muscles, giving me no respite. I am cold. People shake before they die.
When given a rock and a hard place, I am renowned for pulling through. If I leap into the fire from the frying pan, you can trust me that I will find a way to put the coals out. There has to be a way out of my river bed and . . . damn . . . there it is.
"Move," I growl. My MA5B is in my steady hands and it waves my men along.
"Sir . . ." Lindsey begins.
"The Covenant are a bit busy right now. Move!" I grate.
And we're moving. Past dead bodies, taking their ammo and guns, we follow the stream over the marsh grounds. It's slow and the bog eats at our boots as we move. Chris is bringing up the rear and every so often he glances back to check the Covenant are still busy.
And we move up over the edge to race the Covenant plasma fire to the treeline. We make it, safe. All of us.
"Maybe you'll get to blame Sarge after all," Chris grunts beside me, catching his breath. Our brief cease-fire with the Covenant is gone because their fire is breaking the treeline. Maybe they're able to move now.
"Go! Go! Go!" This is a tactical retreat and I have never been so glad to implement one.
There's clicking to our right and plasma burns behind us. We keep running.
"This is Echo-419, is there anyone out there?"
"Echo-419 this is Corporal Silvers, we have injured and men down. We are under heavy fire, repeat, heavy fire. Please advise."
"Hold present course. Will pick you up."
The Covenant plasma fire lets up and I realise that the spores have reached them. Jack moans in pain as Wilson and Lindsey literally drag him along as they run. The Covenant are going to be consumed by those spores as Jack was nearly consumed. And they helped them.
Well we paid back, we helped them. We owe nothing.
The Pelican lands in the clearing ahead, it's thrusters push stagnant water away and give us a chance to load our men.
I smell sizzled flesh and hear my uniform burning as a single plasma shot glances off my arm. I don't feel the pain, I'm too cold. Chris and I turn, seeing the broken Elite aim his plasma rifle again. He is angry that he missed, but it's no wonder he did. His neck is being forced back at a strange angle and the spore in his chestal cavity is visibly working to eat him away. Only I realise the spore isn't eating - it's trying to control him.
The Elite tries again and I feel warm blood soak me. Chris is hurt, it's his blood that's spurting on to me, but he'll survive. I'm escaping with minimal casualties. In the back of my mind I realise I've done it again - suceeded somehow, where there looked like there were no options.
I can't shoot him.
He's going to become something else, something so much worse, and that's why he's firing on us. He wants to die but I can't do it.
"For Gods sakes, James, show him mercy!" Chris is half in the Pelican, holding a hand to his bleeding arm.
"Would he have done the same for us?"
The Elite is on its knees, unable to control its motor functions any longer. The water around it's being stained by its blood.
"James!" Chris barks out his order and I turn away, stepping into the Pelican and sitting in the side seat. My marines watch me. Chris swears and juggles for his gun but he's too badly injured.
"He shot you," I say.
"You . . ." Chris is close to tears. It's as though he feels the sting of betrayal.
Wilson is strapping his wounded side, cursing softly.
I lay my head against the wall of the Pelican and close my eyes.
You bastard, is what Chris wanted to say. You son of a bitch.
The uniform I wear sticks to me damp skin and gives me no respite from the chill I feel but I am no longer shaking. People shake before they die.
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