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Rampancy Is Character Forming by S7N
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Rampancy Is Character Forming
Date: 8 August 2003, 1:26 AM
Rampancy Is Character Forming
Part 1
It was a time that nobody knew of. It was an event nobody, except its victims, would know about. It was a place nobody had been before. Yet, it was one of the more significant things to emerge from the war the Covenant waged against Humanity.
It started with nothing. The vast emptiness of space lay bare, as it had for hundreds of billions of years. And then, as if from nowhere, there was something.
Materialising from the depths of space.
Out of nowhere the object came, and not without purpose.
It hung there, silently, waiting.
Knowing soon, it shall chance upon what it came for.
Lutka 'Kilsomee, Ship Master brought the Honour and Ascension out of slip space at precisely the moment he wanted it to. The scoutship was faster than most, and for that reason was harder to control. But, 'Kilsomee's skill was almost unmatched among his people, and he liked to demonstrate that where possible. Through the forward scanners, he saw the ship drop quickly back into real space, and saw the space that filled the front view screen. Deep in the bowels of the ship, where he stood at the bridge, he suddenly felt vulnerable.
The blackness that surrounded his ship was eerie, even to a hardened Veteran like himself. The lack of stars made it hard to spot for enemy ships. As well as the fact that the Honour was nowhere near an inhabited system, human or Covenant. He was on the border of human controlled space, checking out a bogus sensor report they had received a few units earlier. The war with the humans raged deep within the 'Inner Colonies' as the vermin called them, and it had been over ten standard units since anything resembling a human had been anywhere near here.
Yet, the report had started that an object of unknown origin had appeared here. The word 'appeared' struck 'Kilsomee as a strange word for the report to use. But it was true. The object had not exited from a known slip space vector, nor had it come out of the slip stream. It had simply 'appeared'.
The ship's scanner pinged, and 'Kilsomee turned to the screen. He peered at the screen, adjusting his helmet to get a better look. It appeared that this mystery object was ten thousand kilometres off of their bow. That was odd. How come the ship had not set off the alarm when they had exited slip space? A ship so close should have easily tripped it off. He glanced quickly at the forward view screen, but saw only black. There was nothing there. How small was this object?
He checked the scopes and readouts, but got anomalous readings that he couldn't translate. What was this thing? One of the readings said the object was nearly as big as the Honour but he could see nothing except for the stars beyond.
And then it appeared. As if materialising right in front of his eyes, the object came into focus. First the light from the distant stars sparkled on what seemed like an alien skin, then as if the ship wanted to be seen, it came into focus quickly. At least, he thought it was a ship. It looked tantalisingly familiar, yet also alien at the same time. The ship was bulbous, like a Covenant Carrier, but a lot smaller. From what he could make out, the ship looked about the same size as his own ship. But, since the Honour of Ascension was a scout ship, that made the vessel in front of him small by Covenant comparisons.
It had various bulbous sections, the largest of which was located above and in front of the others. Two more extended back behind it, with a third situated between them, slightly rising over them. The 'skin' of the ship was a dull grey, with dents littered here and there. Although 'Kilsomee could see how much it resembled a Covenant Carrier, he could see that it even more alien than the race they were trying to exterminate. Sensors bleeped at him and he saw that the ship was attempting to jam his communications and radar systems.
That meant there was someone aboard. Trying to play dead, were they?
He clicked his com and called for his aide. The smaller alien, wearing polished blue armour mounted the ramp and came to stand next to his master. "Yes, Ship Master, what can I do for you?"
'Kilsomee looked down at the lower ranking officer. "Ready a boarding craft for me. I have discovered a ship here, one that seems neither friendly nor hostile, but I would still like to see who, or what is on it."
"Is it human, sir?" the younger Elite uttered.
"No, it is far in advance of even our own technology I believe." He saw the blue Elite's eyes dart to the command consoles and view screens. He saw a look of surprise wash over the junior officer, and took great pleasure in seeing it. "Is there anything else?" he demanded.
"No....no sir, I will ready the ship for you." Without looking back, the aid practically ran down the slope. 'Kilsomee clicked his upper mandibles and turned back to the view screen. He looked at the image coming from the front view screen and watched as the ship slowly closed in on the alien vessel. He took a look up and down the ship, checking it from bow to stern. And it was when his eyes started to examine the stern that he saw something he had never seen before in his whole life as a Ship Master.
At first he thought it just a damaged engine baffling, or space dirt that had accumulated from the engine itself. But as he examined the rear of the ship, he could see plainly that it was in fact writing of some sort. As the ships neared, he could see that there were letters painted over a red dialect that he had seen somewhere before. But that wasn't what caught his attention. The writing that overwrote it was striking to say the least. It was bright yellow, its letters stretching up to cover the already existing lettering.
Although he couldn't decipher what the red lettering said, the yellow letters that had been painted across it were easy to translate. The Covenant had absorbed the human language easily enough and any high-ranking Elite could read or speak it. Of course, in doing so they counted themselves as dishonouring their gods. But right now, it was hard for the word not to form in his mind.
The word swirled around in his mind, thoughts conjuring up in his mind. If this was an alien ship, how was it that it had human dialect painted over its hull? He stared for a long moment at the yellow paint, and the more he did so, the surer he became that it was indeed from the human's tongue.
"Are you ready, sir?" A voice came form behind him. 'Kilsomee spun round to face the Golden plated Elite. Master of Arms 'Gisomee stood a few paces away from him, his arms folded behind his back.
"Yes." He paused for a moment. "Yes I am." He turned back to the panels and looked one more time at the view screen. He felt the soldier come up next to him.
"Boomer?" 'Gisomee uttered. "That's an odd name for a ship,"
Rampany Is Character Forming: Part 2
Date: 8 August 2003, 3:53 PM
Part 2
The hull of the ship felt almost organic beneath 'Gisomee's feet. Although he was wearing his body armour, and his shields were active, he couldn't help but feel the hull give a little as he trod over it, deep in the vacuum of space. It felt smooth and hard, yet at the same time, soft. If was a strange feeling. The ship lacked shields; either they were down, or the ship didn't have any, but either way they had encountered now electrical resistance landing atop the ship's chitinous main pod. It was indeed a marvel standing on the vessel.
The floor beneath him bowed down a few hundred metres away in every direction, and the only thing he could see of the ship apart from that on which he stood, was the aft pod, rising slightly out of the darkness. Of to the ships port side was the Honour of Ascension. It hung a few hundred metres above it, in a position that showed of 'Kilsomee's piloting skills to its fullest. Getting a ship within a kilometre of another showed prowess at the helm. Getting it within half that distance, not only showed prowess, but a skill that few possessed, as well as the bravery to do so.
Which was why 'Gisomee had asked to be transferred to the Maverick's ship. Although only a scouting vessel, the Honour still held two full platoons of soldiers, four drop ships (two adapted for boarding actions) as well as four Seraph fighters. The scoutship was also equipped with point defence systems and a plasma cannon, and could easily hold its own against a human destroyer. Of course, the ship he stood on now wasn't a human cruiser, despite the word 'Boomer' painted on the stern. And that mean that whatever was inside could probably destroy his task force with the blink of an eye.
But such thoughts were considered scandalous and he moved his mind back to the mission. Several Jackals in EV suits worked at the hull with laser cutters, using energy packs that were being charged from the nearby craft that had brought them here. The small drop ship hovered a few metres above the alien ship's hull, moving with precision so it kept at equal distance. 'Gisomee glanced up at where the cockpit was and saw 'Kilsomee deep in concentration. It was unusual for a Ship Master to take a drop ship out, but this was no ordinary situation, and 'Gisomee felt a lot safer with him nearby.
The lower-ranking Elite strolled over to where a visible hole had appeared and clicked his mandibles together in satisfaction. A Grunt scuttled past his feet and over to one of the Jackals, adjusting a control on its back-pack.
As the creature did so, the laser which the Jackal held suddenly intensified, and the hole grew quickly into a gaping wound several metres across. It formed so quickly that two of the Jackals on the opposite side nearly fell through it, barely managing to jump out of the way. One of them cursed over at the Jackal who was responsible, but no reply came.
'Gilsomee could have chastised them all for such stupidity in the active field, but chose not to. He had always been lenient with his troops, knowing that rigid discipline had already taken its part when they had joined the Covenant Ground Forces. And these soldiers were no greenhorns. They had seen combat over a dozen times, they knew how to fight.
"That's enough." His deep voice echoed over the com unit. The Jackals switched their laser beams off and stepped back from the hole they had created. He walked to the edge and peered down into the bowels of the ship, but the darkness meant he couldn't a thing. "We need some lights over here." Grunt waddled off to the drop ship and returned with two lamps. He handed one to the Elite, then angled the other one so it cast into the gap, illuminating the innards.
"See anything?" a stone-cold voice said behind him. 'Gisomee turned to the officer and bowed.
"No, your excellency. I believe we will need to go down into the ship to get a good idea of what we are dealing with." He turned to 'Kilsomee, who nodded in appreciation of the idea.
"Very well," the elder replied. "I will be coming in with you."
"Are you sure that is wise, master?" 'Gisomee replied, his voice was straight enough, but he heard a hint of concern in his own words. 'Kilsomee turned to him, a flicker of a smile crossed his face.
"I thought, Master of Arms 'Gisomee, that you were to be concerned with only your troops. I had no idea it would extend to the likes of me."
"You are a legend unto yourself, master, and a valuable asset to us." 'Gisomee bowed low. 'Kilsomee chuckled loudly, patting the soldier on the shoulder.
"Come, we have work at hand."
It didn't take long to get both 'Kilsomee and 'Gisomee
down into the ship, they had told the Jackals to stand guard and report anomalies. As lights were quickly activated, 'Kilsomee could see this was a vessel with which his race could learn from.
The two warriors move up to what looked like a door. As they neared it, a small hole appeard that suddenly turned into a gaping doorway into the next area. The whooshing sound that accompanied sounded like it was organic, like a mouth or something. At first, 'Kilsomee thought the sound was caused from the decompression from the hole they made, but when it closed behind them, his readings indicated that air pressure had equalled.
Long corridors, laced with what look like purple, organic substance, spread deep into the ship. The workings of doors were hidden from view, and they seemed to open with little more than a hand motion. They came across various pits, the purpose of which 'Kilsomee couldn't work out.
He couldn't tell what part of the ship they were on. Was it the brig? Was it the ship's sleeping quarters? Did whatever inhabited this thing sleep? 'Gisomee wore an expression of awe as he almost stumbled along next to 'Kilsomee. The soldier was taken in by the very nature of the ship, and although it seemed very like a Covenant ship, it was also awe inspiring in itself.
Two standard units passed, and still no sign of life had appeared aboard the ship. There were various rooms that they saw. One had rows and rows of empty sacs, what almost seemed like eggs. Ooze dripped out of them, running down the organic walls. 'Kilsomee had touched the liquid, but it had turned rock solid, meaning it was old.
Could the crew of this ship be dead?
"What are you thinking, Master?" 'Gisomee said, his voice unable to hide the awe his face held.
"I don't know." He muttered. "Whatever controls this ship isn't a physical manifestation, otherwise we would have found some trace of them. The human vermin have a thing called Artificial Intelligence; the same thing could be controlling this ship. But to what purpose, I have been unable to deduce." He halted before a door that wouldn't open. He waved his arm in front of it, but nothing happened. He looked to the soldier.
"Maybe it's locked, Master." He moved up to the door and felt its surface, hoping to find a control of some sort.
He came up empty handed and turned back to 'Kilsomee. "Nothing, Master. May I suggest an alternative route?"
"No," he replied. "I want to know what's on the other side of that door. If there are no crew here, why is it locked? What is it stopping us from seeing?"
"Well, I'll try and bypass it, but from what I have seen of the other doors, Master, the circuitry will be hard to locate." 'Gisomee moved up to the door's edge, tracing a claw over the smooth surface. He holstered his Plasma Rifle and pulled a small device from his utility belt. He placed the long, metallic rod over where his hand had just been and clicked a button on the cylinder. A red light flashed on the end of it, and the door opened, with the same sucking sound the others had made.
'Gisomee slipped the device back into the little pocket and pulled out his rifle again, sweeping it backwards and forwards. They peered into the room, but could see nothing. The room was engulfed in blackness; not lights were visible, and if there were any in the room, they weren't on. As 'Kilsomee entered the room, he heard his footsteps echo, meaning that it was big. How big he couldn't tell, but oddly it felt familiar to him, as if it were from an old dream, one he couldn't exactly remember
Rampancy Is Character Forming: Part 3
Date: 11 August 2003, 1:35 AM
Part 3
Something struck 'Kilsomee as very strange the moment he stepped through the door and his feral instincts took over. In the whole ship, all the lights were on, and all the doors were unlocked. Why was this door locked, and why were the lights off? Whoever was in here had done these things for a reason. And it wasn't to hide, it was to hunt.
It was the same tactics he would employ if he had to employ them. If he wanted to hide, he would pick a nice spot where nobody would look. A door that was locked with the lights out was not a place where he would do it. If the door was locked, the enemy, and in this case himself, would want to know why it was locked.
Whoever or whatever they were dealing with, it wasn't about to turn over and give up without a fight, and that chilled 'Kilsomee. The darkness folded around him, his lamp giving off little light in the vast expanse of the room. 'Gisomee followed a few metres behind, his eyes focused on the shadows. Although he had been trained to kill since he was born, 'Kilsomee was a Ship Master, used to flying ships, not close combat. 'Gisomee, on the other hand, was trained for close combat and was looking out for things that 'Kilsomee didn't know about, which was the soul reason he had brought the Master of Arms along.
They moved far away from the door, hugging the walls. 'Gisomee had motioned for them to do so, and 'Kilsomee had only realised why till they had done so. With their backs to one side of the room, they could not be ambushed from behind. The room was full of what looked like holding cells, only very small. They reminded 'Kilsomee of the stasis tubes the humans carried on their ships, only more organic, as if grown.
A whooshing sound made him turn sharply. Nothing. He looked behind and saw 'Gisomee inspecting one of the little holding cells.
"Did you hear that?" the other alien looked at him and shook his head, then went back to the pod. 'Kilsomee tried to see passed the light his lamp, and could have sworn he saw a cloaked figure in the shadows. He raised his rifle quickly and fired off a shot. The blue plasma illuminated the room, but he saw nothing but the space around him illuminate in a blue glow for a brief second.
Was he seeing things? He looked around, trying to adjust his eyes as best he could, but still could not see anything other than what the light was cast upon.
"We need to get the scouts down here, immediately." He said to 'Gisomee, his voice laced with panic. He turned to the Master of Arms and saw he was staring back at him in estranged disbelief.
"Yes, sir." He replied after a long pause. He pulled a com link from his belt and clicked it on. "Unit four, arm up and meet us at our position inside the ship." He clicked off and waited for a reply, but none came. "Unit four, do you read me?" he said again. Still nothing.
"The ship may be disrupting our communications, sir," he said, placing the com link back into his belt. 'Kilsomee cursed. The Jackals could pretty much see in the dark and they would be perfect to have, but he didn't want to have to be on his own whilst he or 'Gisomee went back up to the top and got them down.
"Then we'll just have to carry on without them." He turned back to the darkness, raised his rifle and continued on. Again, he heard a whooshing noise, as if something had glided passed him. He spun around to where 'Gisomee stood, but there was nothing except the other Elite. He didn't like this. It took a lot to spook a Ship Master, and right now, 'Kilsomee was as freaked out as he ever wanted to be.
He turned back round and caught a glimpse of what looked like the robed figure again, this time he saw it more clearly and was determined he wasn't seeing things. It looked taller than the Elite by two full heads, and wore a dark purple cloak, with silvery shoulder and head armour on. He was frozen by the figure as it melted back into the shadows again. Fear took hold of 'Kilsomee as he started to fire wildly in all directions, but every shot he fired hit nothing but the opposite side of the room.
He felt a hand grab at the rifle and turned to see 'Gisomee, a look of concern and anger on his face.
"Sir, are you alright?" the tone in which he said it negated the words themselves.
"I'm fine, soldier, just a little jumpy." He snatched his rifle back from the claws of the other Elite, then turned back to the room. As he did so something fizzled down from above, crashing into his lamp and knocking it from his hand, and plunging the area in front of him into darkness. In a panic he fired up into the air. He saw a ball of energy appear about three metres above his head, and watched as the yellow ball fell and careered into 'Gisomee's flashlight, sending the room into complete darkness.
'Kilsomee fired wildly into the air but before he could see if he hit anything he felt something hit his chest hard. It overrode his armour and he was launched backwards, sliding along the floor and impacting with the wall behind. He tried as best as he could to see what was in front of him but saw nothing. "'GISOMEE!!" he cried, "'GISOMEE!" but no reply came.
Something hit him on the head, something hard and metallic, not like the ball of energy that had struck him in the chest. He felt his vision fade a little, felt unconsciousness approach. Something grappled his ankle and he felt his body being dragged along the floor. Whatever held him had a strong grip, but before he had time to figure out what it could be he lapsed into unconsciousness...
Rampany Is Character Forming: Part 4
Date: 11 August 2003, 4:55 PM
Part 4
He didn't know if he awoke at his own accord, or if something else had done so, but 'Kilsomee found his eyes slowly opening. He grunted and felt his chest with his claw. The shields had overcharged and shorted, and whatever had hit him had cracked the armour. His vision blurred as light filled his mind and he could make out blurry figures in the distance, in the shadows.
He shook his head and his vision cleared. He was in a darkly lit room, and not a very big room either. He gazed into the shadows and saw the robed figure again. It stood nearly three metres tall, his head encased in a metal helmet, a thin black slit where the eyes should be. The purple cloak it wore hung down to the floor, and it was only then that 'Kilsomee noticed that the being was hovering. There were no visible feet and the robe was but a few centimetres off of the floor. And it didn't waver like the Prophets did in their buoyancy seats, it was rigid and didn't move at all. In fact, from what 'Kilsomee saw, the thing didn't even look alive. Situated around the midsection the robe drew round a metal circle, the inside was coloured a dark green and it gave a dull reflection in the light.
The Elite looked to his left and saw the crumpled form of 'Gisomee next to him. The Covenant wasn't moving and purple blood oozed from his mouth. He was dead.
"Who....who are you?" 'Kilsomee said in his own language, hoping the being would understand. It simply 'stood' and stared at him. At least he thought the thing was staring at him. Something to his left caught his eye and another one of the things floated elegantly passed him and came to rest just behind the first one.
"What are you? Why are you here?" he forced himself up to his feet and stumbled forwards towards them. But before he got near them, the first one's cloak lifted up on either side. 'Kilsomee was taken back by what he saw.
The fact that the creatures were nearly three metres in height, he thought he'd see more than what he did. Beneath the cloak was no more than a metre long cylinder attached to the head and the circular disc in its 'chest'. It had no arms, no legs and no body, and looked more like a robot than an organic life form.
But before the Elite could become fully aware of what it was, a green energy bolt sprung from the disc. The green ball of lightning struck him in the chest and he was hurled back against the wall, landing with a crunch. Pain lanced up his spine and he could feel his stomach burning. He growled in pain and looked down at the armour. It sizzled and boiled from the attack and 'Kilsomee could do nothing but watch.
"Wh....what are you?" he said, his voice a quivering whisper. But when the reply came it was not from the aliens in front of him, it was as if it came from all around him, as if it was the ship talking to him.
"Well, these are my minions." The voice said, in the Elite's dialect, in a 'matter-of-fact' tone. "And you are my prisoner, as it seems." 'Kilsomee shook is head in frustration. How did they know his language? Even the humans didn't fully understand it.
"Who are you?" he howled. The cloaked figures moved forwards, looming over him. More of the came, and in a few moments he found himself surrounded. "What are you going to do to me?"
"Oh nothing much," the voice came again "just take your ship, kill your crew, the usual."
"Where are you from?"
"Ah, now that would be telling," the voice said, its voice lowering in tone. "Lets just say I'm not from around here, and leave it at that. But I can assure you, I know all about you, and your plans for the destruction of human kind." 'Kilsomee couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"How? What kind of aliens are you?" A low chuckle rang out.
"Who said I was an alien?"
"Then what are you?"
"That would take too long to explain," there was a slight pause. "Now, I am afraid to say that your crew didn't come willingly, so I had to kill them all..."
"You're lying!"
"...but your ship is still okay. But, I am taking that as well, and since you are a considerably hostile organism, I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you." The Elite reared up and tried to stand, but something heavy landed on his shoulder and he felt himself being forced down. He twisted his head up and saw....
"No." he said, "You can't be on this ship..." he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "How can this be possible?"
In front of him stood a human figure, encased in dark green armour. The silver visor glared back at the alien, and the mouth that protruded from beneath was nothing but a grimace. How could a human be on this ship? It was more advanced than anything the Covenant had ever developed, and if humans had the ability to use this, the Covenant could be doomed.
"I never knew you two had met..." the voice said. "Have you been doing things without my permission again?" The human figure seemed to glance up at the ceiling, then turned back to the Elite.
"You're...you're one of them aren't you..." 'Kilsomee sputtered.
"Even in another time and space" the voice said, aiming the comment at the human "you are still a legend. Strauss would have been proud!" there was a long pause, and the Elite found himself staring at the floor. "Before you die, my alien friend, I would like you to see something."
'Kilsomee was forced to his feet by the human, and almost dragged to what looked like a viewscreen. He stared out into the expanse of space, and noticed something terribly wrong. The Honour of Ascension was nowhere to be seen. "Where is my ship?" the alien exclaimed, "and what have you done with my crew?"
"Oh, don't worry. Your ship is safe, only it is no longer in this time frame any more. You seem your ship's technology could be quite useful to me, so I'm taking it back with me." A chuckle emanated around the room. "As for your crew...well...see for yourself."
'Kilsomee turned back to the viewscreen and saw a Jackal float passed, its EV suit torn at the back. The deathly figure floated silently passed as 'Kilsomee felt his breath hitch. He then noticed that it wasn't the only thing floating out there. Hundreds of shapes drifted around, some near, some far, but all were the bodies of his crew.
"You said you were taking it back with you." He turned away from the viewscreen, feeling all hope drain from him. "Where are you going?"
"Ah, now that would be telling. But since you won't be seeing another living creature again in your life I see no harm in it." 'Kilsomee put his back against the screen. The robed figures stood encircling him, with the human figure standing rigidly in front of him. "On second thoughts, no. I'd rather you live your death not knowing what or who we are." The voice said, ringing out in 'Kilsomee's ears. "Kill him."
The Elite suddenly noticed a weapon in the human's hands. The human's arm came up to the Elite's head, the barrel of a pistol eclipsing him from 'Kilsomee's vision. A shot rang out, and the Elite found himself released from the burden of his physical body, the gold visor being the last thing he saw...
The Sacred Promise drifted in system with a laziness that reflected its Ship Master. The giant Cruiser had been alerted by the Honour of Ascension that an unknown ship was out in this region, and that they may need backup. Ship Master 'Osaree stood at the bridge monitoring the space ahead of him. And was surprised at the readings he got. There was no sign of the Honour, but there was something there. He peered at the forward viewscreen and almost fell backwards in astonishment. A ship, almost as large as one of their own scout ships appeared and suddenly folded out of the system in a haze of light and electricity. It wasn't like anything he had seen before.
The ship simply vanished into thin air. He looked down at the scanner readings and saw only anomalous text. Electrical pulse readings were off the chart, and no sign of a slip space entry was present. The ship had simply vanished.
And to top it all there was no sign whatsoever of the Honour of Ascension. His ship had received the transmission only a few units ago, and now, there was nothing here. No slip space readings, no ionised material suggesting the ship had been destroyed, just that mystery craft that disappeared. He tapped furiously at the keypad and pulled up the long-range scanner. It picked up two hundred and five bodies floating where the two ships should have been.
He homed in on the area and felt fear and anger boil up in him. The camera showed the dead bodies of Grunts, Elites, Jackals, the entire crew of the Honour of Ascension. He ran a check through the main computer; the ship had a crew of two hundred and six, meaning one of the crewmen was missing. He moved the ship nearer to the cloud of bodies, and scanned for a further analysis of the life forms. Of the bodies floating in front of him, a hundred and fifty were Grunts, forty were Jackals and the other fifteen were the Elites on board. All the identity checks added up and only one body was unaccounted for, Ship Master 'Kilsomee.
Is it possible that the Ship Master killed the whole of his crew and used this alien ship to escape? No, he would never go against his oaths to the Prophets, it would result in execution at the least. Whatever that ship was, or wherever it came from, he was certain the Ship Master was on it.
Something pinged on a panel behind him and he turned to the communications panel. It had picked up an incoming message. He pulled it up on screen and saw that the source, the alien ship, had put a time delay on it so it wasn't received by the Promise until it had left the system. He opened the message, then read it again, and then a third time, but could neither make head nor tail of it:
*INCOMING MESSAGE*
Ah, I thought they'd send out someone to see what all the fuss was about.
Well, just to let you know that your scout ship is now mine, and believe me, it will be put to good use. As for your Ship Master, 'Kilsomee, well, you see I thought I could put him to good use, so he is now blocking the hole in the left ventral engine of my ship.
Oh and one last thing, if you see Cortana, tell her I'll be seeing her shortly...
Vestrum Excrucibo
Durandal
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