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The Shepherd's Diary: Genesis: Part 2 of 5
Posted By: Reign_of_Fire90
Date: 1 August 2006, 5:36 pm
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CHAPTER 3
In space it was quiet, the stars glinted and shone with their brightness forming various constellations. Planets made their slow journey of orbiting, while rocks or other satellites orbited the different colored planets.
Suddenly a hole ripped open in space showing a darker deeper black than space itself. As a medium sized craft shot out of subspace the star that it entered engulfed it with it's bright blues, warm reds, gleaming whites and soft purples. Bits of stardust bounced off the ship's wings while some managed to find a small enough crack to stick in.
As the ship moved its way though the galaxy the starlight filled it's interior reflecting the face of the Forerunner named Hermes. Hermes squinted into the bright starlight and activated the tinted window by reaching up and touching the ship's main window. As the window tinted to the appropriate darkness Hermes looked down at the map in front of him. According to it he was in quadrant five, section 17, sub-section 3. Perfect. Hermes looked behind him and saw seven mechanicalized boxes, each containing one of the holy crystals, or Keys as they now were called.
His mission was a simple one, given by the leader of the Spiritual Hierarchy himself, take each of the seven keys and scatter it among the galaxy. He had been traveling for a day now looking for an excellent place to hide them. Though he did not understand why all of them had to be hidden, and separately too. If someone needed to find the seven Keys shouldn't the all be together in one place for connivance? After all, if the Keys were in fact needed then there should be no time wasted to find them.
As he left the star behind him the window returned to its normal shade. He continued his way, quickly coming upon the planet he was looking for. The planet itself was relatively small compared to all the others. However it was a maze of plateaus and canyons, making the perfect spot to hide what he needed to. As he descended into the planet's atmosphere he met little resistance as it was a rather thin and small. When he raced across it's surface, the un-leveled ground dark pits seemed to race him and jump out at him, almost as if they were trying to touch the bottom of his ship, as if it were a game.
He kept going until he reached a formidable destination. As he unstrapped himself from his seat he wondered which of the canisters he should take with him. Of course it didn't matter since they were all the same but none the less he decided to pick the one that was closest to him. When he lift it up, it took most of his strength, hobbling over to the platform and set it down with a loud "CLANG". Panting slightly he merely put his hand on top the barrel and breathed in slowly. The floor below him changed from a dull grey to a slight purple.
When he felt his feet touch the dusty, soft earth he opened his eyes. There beside him was the barrel, just as it was on the ship. He bent down and pressed three buttons on the bottom lid and the entire thing popped up about a foot into the air. Satisfied that the anti-gravity gear was working he started to push his cargo along the top of the plateau, making his way to a large cave. When he was inside he proceeded deeper and deeper into the darkness.
When Hermes came back to the ship without his package he pressed a small button on his uniform, closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. When he materialized back onto the ship he re-activated it's controls and set course for another planet.
CHAPTER 4
It was quiet in the Council Room, almost too quiet for Veritas's taste. He had lived many years and most of them were spent in this room. He remembered the loud noises of the chancellors, the angry retaliations of the elders and the rebellious remarks of the newly appointed leaders. He remembered when he was just a young boy, he wanted to grow up to be a ship captain, he once built his own raft and sailed on the creek by his home. He smiled at the memories, but no longer was there happiness, or that little boy. Many things had happened since then, since the RESTLESS project.
He remembered the project very well, he was the one that authorized it. He gave the order for the testing to begin, for convicts to secretly be injected with the toxic substance that made them the Flood. He was the one that turned his own people into such monsters, the monsters that they now are trying to destroy, but no one knew that, no one knew the truth. The guilt that he feels everyday weighs more and more upon every passing second. He knew this was all his fault, the death of hundreds of thousands.....all his fault. His only hope was that he could end the war as swiftly as possible and thereby correcting his mistakes.
Lost in thought, he did not hear the approach of Aleno. "My lord?" he asked uncertainly, seeing the look upon Veritas's face. Quickly Veritas snapped out of his thoughts, "What is it Aleno?" he asked. "I have come to report that Hermes has hid 5 of the 7 Keys" he replied "Is that all?" Veritas asked "That and Tricost has sent the progress report on the building of the Ark". Veritas now paid full attention to the man bowing before him "Well?" he asked "Where is it? Let me see it" Aleno handed Veritas a small thin square that only had a deep blue circle engraved on it. "Thank you Aleno" Veritas said as he took it "You are welcome my lord" Aleno said, he then kept his bow and left the room quickly.
The Ark. Of course, how could he forget it? The Ark was built to kill all life in the galaxy, to be the final and last weapon in the war. It would be a cleansing wind that would sweep throughout the stars, eradicating all life and thereby starting a new chapter in the universe. A chapter that would not start with war, sorrow, death and fighting but instead a new chance for the universe to grow into something better than what it was now....a battlefield.
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