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The Number of the Demon by Tamarallion Arothlin
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The Number of the Demon -- Prologue
Date: 13 March 2005, 2:00 AM
THE NUMBER OF THE DEMON
A Story in the Halo Universe
Written by Tamarallion Arothlin
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DISCLAIMERS
The author does not own Halo, Halo 2, or any part thereof. Halo is property of Microsoft, Inc. No challenge to the status of these copyrights is intended.
I have read all of the books, but I am not in current possession of The Fall of Reach. I also do not own an Xbox, although I have played through both campaigns. Please excuse any discrepancies in the story or character.
Enough tedious stuff, enjoy!
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PROLOGUE
Ninth Age of Reclamation, Step of Silence
Covenant Holy City "High Charity", Sanctum of the Hierarchs
Human Date/Time: 0734 hours, September 6, 2552
The massive doors separating the Sanctum of the Hierarchs from the rest of the holy city split down the middle and groaned as they moved apart. Light from outside poured in through the widening crack, silhouetting a single figure just outside the doorway.
At the other end of the room, two red-robed Prophets hovered silently above the raised dais in ornamented hover-thrones. One of them beckoned silently for the figure to approach.
Ship Master Rala 'Kanthamee hesitated briefly before stepping over the threshold into the Sanctum. He had to admit to himself that he was at least a little nervous being called before the Hierarchs like this. He thought that he had performed well at Reach... but Truth and Mercy could see far more clearly than he. Perhaps there was a flaw in him—
He quickly banished the thoughts and strode towards the dais, head held as high as he could without appearing too presumptuous. The Prophets did not just punish those who failed the Covenant; they also rewarded those who served the Covenant faithfully and with skill. Perhaps he had attracted their attention in a favorable way.
'Kanthamee knelt in front of the dais and bowed, touching his helmeted head to the floor before straightening. "You requested my presence, noble Prophets?"
"Indeed so," Truth replied in an even voice that held no clue to the Prophet's intent. "You were present at the assault on the human fortress world? The one they called Reach?"
'Kanthamee replied with a nod, knowing full well that Truth had full details on the entire conflict. After all, the Hierarchs could see into his very soul.
Truth regarded him a moment longer before speaking again. "Rala 'Kanthamee, you have proven to be an effective instrument against the humans time and time again. You have served the Covenant with honor and skill in a great many conflicts. I believe it is time that you were given a command that made full use of your abilities."
With a startled expression on his mandibles, 'Kanthamee glanced up. What did Truth mean by that?
"Do not look so surprised," Mercy grated, moving alongside Truth. "We noted your effectiveness against the humans and so had one of our Eyes monitor your activities. Most Ship Masters do not waste time studying human tactics, much less implementing them."
Mercy paused, and 'Kanthamee sensed that a reply was necessary. "Noble Hierarchs, the humans should have been extinguished a decade ago. Somehow, however, they resist our ground forces without the aid of the Forerunners' holy technology and the wisdom of the Prophets. I wished to discover how."
"And it seems that your discoveries have been fruitful indeed," Truth interjected. "However, time is short and I wish to come to the point." 'Kanthamee sensed a slight rebuke of Mercy in those words, but quickly quelled the thought and blanked his expression lest Mercy feel offended. "You are familiar with the demon-soldiers employed by the humans?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Ship Master 'Kanthamee growled, letting his mandibles grind a little in frustration. The armored demons had proven to be incredibly powerful and resourceful enemies. The helmet of one that he had personally slain in combat was one of his favorite trophies.
"We have learned that one of the human leaders has begun to create an entire legion of demons." Truth's gaze bored into 'Kanthamee. "The leader intended to hide this plan from everyone - even the other humans - but he could not hide it from us."
'Kanthamee felt a thrill of terror and excitement all at once. An entire legion of demon-soldiers could storm High Charity itself and have a chance to succeed. Now, the Hierarchs were offering him a chance to stop this plan and put an end to human hopes of victory once and for all.
How could he possibly refuse?
"You do me far more honor than I deserve," 'Kanthamee replied, straining to keep the excitement and anticipation from his voice as he bowed again. "I will not betray your trust."
"I expected nothing less of you, Ship Master." The satisfaction in the Prophet's voice was faint, but clearly discernable. A projector orb floated silently to 'Kanthamee, who took it from the air and tapped the activation rune on top. The air above the orb flickered, then showed a rotating image of a powerful Firebrand-class Grand Cruiser, almost the equal of a carrier in firepower but lacking the troop-carrying capacity and extensive fighter bays. The ship design was new, recently recovered from artifacts discovered in another human system. 'Kanthamee cycled through the other ships, his old cruiser plus two smaller destroyers, and glanced at the equipment manifest. The Hierarchs were certainly not sending him unprepared.
"Your ships and soldiers await only your presence, Ship Master," Truth said. "Do not tarry, for every hour you lose is an hour that the humans have to complete their plans."
'Kanthamee bowed, then got to his feet. "I depart at once, then. Thank you for this opportunity, Noble Hierarchs." He turned and began to stride back towards the doors at the far end of the Sanctum.
"Do not thank us with words, Ship Master," Truth regarded 'Kanthamee's retreating back solemnly. "Thank us by fulfilling your duties, as you have never yet failed to do."
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As soon as the doors closed, Mercy turned to Truth with an irate expression. He tapped a control on his throne and a silvery field sprang up around them to keep their words from the guards below them.
"You have yet to explain to me why it is necessary to send so many of our best soldiers on a trivial mission to the edge of known space, Prophet Truth. Why now, when the humans are reeling from our might and the discovery of the Ark is nigh?"
Truth held up a claw. "You will have your answers, Mercy. Tell me, when you were examining Ship Master 'Kanthamee's activities and his record, did anything strike you as unusual?"
"Other than the fact that he examines and adapts human tactics, nothing."
"He thinks too much." Truth tapped the holo-pad of his throne and a tiny, shimmering picture of 'Kanthamee seated behind a terminal sprang into existence. "He, and many of the others I am assigning to his new command, has a history of questioning and examination. They are not content to know what we wish; instead, they also want to know why we wish it and what it means for those around them."
"Is this not admirable?" Mercy asked in puzzlement.
"No," Truth replied firmly. "Not in these times, with the Great Journey so close at hand. Obedience and loyalty are paramount above all other values.
"Besides, who can say what will happen?" An expression that could have passed for a smile appeared on Truth's face. "Perhaps the humans are ahead of schedule and some of the demons are ready for combat. 'Kanthamee will enjoy the fight of his life before the Great Journey sweeps him up. A fitting reward, no?"
The Number of the Demon -- Chapter One
Date: 13 March 2005, 2:05 AM
CHAPTER ONE
System M2301
Near Serendipity Station
Human Date/Time: 1241 hours, September 20, 2552
"Uhhh... state your name and verification again?"
The slim figure at the controls of the Chioptera-class scout vessel sighed in exasperation and punched the comm. A hint of irritation carried through in her voice as she gave the requested information. "Dr. Catherine Halsey, civilian consultant 409871. Verification code alpha theta omega eight-seven-two-zero."
As Dr. Halsey clicked off the comm, a sage-armored figure filled the hatchway behind her. "Have we arrived in-system, ma'am?"
Dr. Halsey took a sip of coffee from a vacuum bottle before turning to face the Spartan. "We have indeed," she replied. "No sign of the Covenant yet... for which I am extremely grateful. I believe that it will only be a matter of time, however."
SPARTAN-087, Kelly, gave a slight nod. "It will be good to face the Covenant again, ma'am."
Dr. Halsey hid her smile behind the vacuum bottle as she took another drink. Kelly had been more than a little irate after she had awakened from the tranquilizer, and even after Dr. Halsey's explanation, was doubtless itching to escape the claustrophobic vessel and get back into the action. It doubtless seemed to Kelly like an interminably long time since they had escaped from ONI's CASTLE base on Reach.
"Come on," Dr. Halsey muttered, turning back to the controls. "You may be Colonel Ackerson's pets, but you should still recognize a top-level code when it's given to you. Hurry up..."
"I doubt they can hear you, ma'am," Kelly commented with a dry chuckle.
That drew a laugh from Dr. Halsey, though it was more a laugh of nervous tension than amusement. She had been skirting the fine line between "unusual breadth of discretion" and "treason" for her entire career as a civilian consultant, and one of these days it was going to catch up to her. Today might be the day...
The comm crackled and then a deeper, more authoritative voice came on. "Dr. Halsey, it's good to have you here. Docking instructions are being fed to your computer as we speak, and an orbital shuttle is being prepped. Welcome to Serendipity."
Dr. Halsey gasped in recognition. "Jared? Is that you?"
"Indeed. It's a long story, ma'am... and one that I'll be able to tell you once you get dirtside. SPARTAN-164 over and out."
The gravity in the craft fluctuated as they automatically changed course, but Dr. Halsey did not feel it. Her mouth still hanging open in dumbfounded amazement, she turned to Kelly. Doubtless, the Spartan wore a similar expression under her mirrored visor.
"The Spartans that couldn't come to Reach," Dr. Halsey murmured. "What were the odds?"
"Ma'am, we always tend to turn up where and when we're most needed," Kelly pointed out with a chuckle. "If you're correct about the Covenant, we are going to need all of them." She paused a moment. "It is good to know that they are alive, however."
Dr. Halsey heard her unvoiced comment and smiled reassuringly. "John can take care of the others. Earth is safe with him protecting it."
"Yes, ma'am." Kelly sounded at least a little reassured.
The computer chirped and Dr. Halsey turned back to the forward viewscreen, now filled with the prefabricated space station in orbit around the azure world below them.
The Pelican's engines spooled down, and the large cloud of dust and leaves swirling around the launch pad began to settle back to earth as the hydraulics of the rear hatchway hissed open.
Four figures snapped to attention as Dr. Halsey and Kelly disembarked from the dropship. Three were encased in Mjolnir Mark V armor, polished until its surfaces gleamed under M2301's yellow-white light. The fourth was a man in nondescript olive-drab fatigues. His hair was beginning to gray, but vital energy still radiated out from him and his eyes burned with fire.
Dr. Halsey kept a smile from her face as she nodded to each of them. "Helen, Jared, Lilith... and CPO Mendez. It is good to see all of you again."
A smile came to the face of Chief Petty Officer Mendez as he strode forward and offered his hand to Dr. Halsey, who accepted it. "Dam—ahem, excuse me. Darn good to see you again, ma'am. When the news came in that the Covenant had glassed Reach... I thought they had gotten you too."
"We heard about the mission, but the Reliant was too far away," Jared added. "Did it succeed?"
For a moment, Dr. Halsey hesitated. She really did not feel like telling the whole story at that moment. "John's team is still pursuing it," she replied half-truthfully. "They will succeed. John has never failed in his mission."
The Spartans all nodded. Dr. Halsey felt sure that Kelly would spin out the tale for them once they were apart from her, but right now, it could wait. She wiped sweat from her brow with a sleeve and realized that the atmospheric temperature and humidity were both oppressively high - strange, given that the landscape around them resembled an African savannah more than a tropical rain forest.
Mendez seemed to sense her thoughts. "It gets pretty hot outside when Serendipity is closest to M2301, ma'am. There are two Warthog LRVs parked down in front. Let's get on back to Silversword Base so you can tell us what's going on."
Dr. Halsey followed Mendez and the Spartans down to the idling vehicles at the base of the landing platforms. She noted the impressive single-barreled guns that they were sporting and commented on it to Jared.
"Gauss cannons, ma'am," Jared replied with a hint of excitement in his voice. "Downsized MAC guns like the ones on our capships. New stuff from RD that was sent here not two weeks ago. They'll put a hole right through the armor of a Scorpion battle tank."
Senior Chief Petty Officer Jared jumped into the driver's seat of one of the 'Hogs, while Helen and Lilith took shotgun and the gunner's seat, respectively. Mendez jumped behind the wheel of the other one and Kelly clambered up onto the gauss mount, leaving Dr. Halsey the passenger seat. She fastened her restraints and made sure to check them twice - if her memory served her correctly, CPO Mendez was not exactly a defensive driver.
Her hunch was confirmed as both of the vehicles roared off at full speed, pinning her back against the barely-cushioned seat until they were at full speed. Dirt and bits of grass flew behind them as they made a beeline for the hills in the distance.
"It's going to be a two-hour ride, Doctor," Mendez said over the noise of the Warthog's engine. "Might as well tell me what you're doing here. The sooner I can start helping you, the better."
Dr. Halsey considered this a moment, then nodded. "All right. But first things first - you're running the training program for the SPARTAN-III project. Am I correct?"
She sensed the surprise emanate from Mendez, even though his facial expression didn't change. "Right on, Doctor," he replied after a moment. "Did you and Ackerson get back on good terms?"
"No," she replied coldly. "I despise him and all that he stands for. He despises me, too. His AI threatened to kill me back at CASTLE base."
Mendez blinked, then nodded. "I pretty much figured that was the case. And don't worry, Doctor." He turned to look at her, causing Dr. Halsey to wish very much that he would keep his attention on the ground in front of him. "I'm not doing this for Ackerson. As far as I can see, Ackerson's a lying, scheming son of a bitch that ought to be spaced along with all the Covies. I'm doing this for the rest of the human race."
Dr. Halsey nodded, feeling relief course through her veins. It was good to know that Mendez was firmly on her side.
"I'm sure you've already figured some of this out," the Chief continued, turning his attention back to driving. "Ackerson never did think much of the SPARTAN program's enhancements. He thought that the war should be fought and won by humans, not 'freaks'. However, he was especially interested in the cloning aspect of the program. The first stage of the SPARTAN-III project was to clone a number of duplicates of each of the original program members, with various modifications to aid in telling them apart. Except for one." Mendez grinned, a fearsome sight even when reflected in the 'Hog's windscreen. "There's only one 'John'. And I think you'll enjoy meeting her."
With a start, Dr. Halsey turned to look at him. "Her?"
"That's right. This 'John' is female. And she's one of the best damn commanders I've ever seen."
Dr. Halsey could only shake her head. This was going to take some getting used to.
"Ackerson's original plan was to create an entire regiment of SPARTAN-IIIs," Mendez continued. "We didn't have enough cloning capacity to do it, though, so he settled for a reinforced battalion. I'm training them like the Helljumpers, only I'm taking everything a step or two further."
All Dr. Halsey could do was shake her head. An entire reinforced battalion of young men and women who had the best genetic makeup of the entire human race. She could scarcely believe it. It thrilled her... and frightened her. Who was to say what defects might be caused by the cloning setup? What if Ackerson and his cronies hadn't gotten it right?
Was she really ready to meet more Kellys and Lindas and—
She banished the thought. All of the soldiers in SPARTAN-III were unique individuals, despite their genetics. She would fight to preserve every last one of their lives, even if it meant losing her own.
"A full briefing will have to wait until we are at the base," Dr. Halsey spoke at last. "However, I'll give you the short form now.
"While I was at CASTLE base, I had some time to look through Ackerson's pet projects file after I sent Araquiel to digital oblivion. I found a folder marked 'S-III', which contained only a fragment that Kalimya was able to decipher... the coordinates of this world and your initials."
"Nice of Ackerson to remember me like that," Mendez commented with a smirk.
Dr. Halsey fought back her sadness at the loss of Kalimya and continued. "When I... had some time to spend with Cortana, I got her help in decrypting some other files that I found. Ackerson knew of a Forerunner facility under Reach... and he also suspected the presence of one here. Not just any Forerunner facility, but... an archive, if you will. A place where their collective knowledge could all be held safely in the case of a Flood outbreak. The Halo installation that John explored contained a Library, but that facility contained only a fraction of the Forerunners' total knowledge. What I am hoping most of all is that when we find this archive, it will contain translation software of some sort."
CPO Mendez gave a low whistle, steering to avoid the carcass of something that looked suspiciously like a lion. "That would be handy. All the advantages of the Covenant, and a whole lot more..."
"But there were other data taps," Halsey continued, readjusting her glasses. "Cortana concluded that they came from a Covenant AI like the one she..." She was really getting tired of omitting these things. "...found on a Covenant computer."
Mendez gave her a sharp look. "A Covenant AI?"
"They learn quickly, Mendez. Show the Covenant something once, and they will be able to mimic it perfectly. Which is why it is so vital that we keep the Archive from falling into their hands... wherever it is, and wherever they are."
"Count on it," Mendez replied. "We have four SPARTAN-IIs and a battalion that has more raw promise than any I've ever seen. Ackerson supplied us with plenty of heavy equipment... Scorpion MBTs, chainguns, Pelicans, even a small squad of Longswords. We have the Reliant and the Courageous lurking in the asteroid belt, and they're two of the finest ships in the entire UNSC Navy. But more importantly, we know we can win." Mendez turned to look at the Doctor again. "The battle is fought in the mind before the battlefield... and we've won that one. Now, all that remains is to let the Covenant know they're not welcome whenever they do show up."
Dr. Halsey couldn't help but have her spirits be raised at the Mendez' confidence. She knew, however, that when the Covenant wanted something, they wouldn't give up until it was in their hands.
Either way, she was in for a lot of work over the next little while.
She tried to settle back in the Warthog's uncomfortable seat, knowing that it was probably the most quiet time she'd get for the rest of the month.
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