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Istallation 07:Ch 2-The Enemies New Face
Posted By: Recent Flood Victim<Stonesourfan696@Yahoo.com>
Date: 14 February 2005, 12:24 AM
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Second chapter: Thank you MC for the advice. -RFV-
1232 hours, October 19, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Eden system, On Halo construct Zero Seven
Carter rushed down the beach, followed closely by the platoon of huffing Marines and his trip companion. He knew that he should slow down and let the others catch up, but there was something of interest only meters ahead. Fox barked at the men behind him as he sped up. Carter soon saw the spot where the Marines were parked and pushed himself faster. He came up to the group of Marines huffing loudly wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Carter gazed at what some Marines were busy digging up with personal shovels. He could only fathom what the large object was. Buried deeply in the sand, he could still tell that its length was nearly ten meters long and at least seven wide. It wasn't what he would exactly call a ship, but the engine cones on the back evened out the answer. He stumbled a bit in the loose sand as he walked up to it. Placing his hand to the cold metal and a sudden surge of life could be felt as it flowed through the dead object. A surge of energy emitted through the craft and external lights began to glow. Carter quickly pulled his hand away and backed up slowly.
The ship slowly lifted itself from the ground with invisible thrusters and was hovering a meter from the sand with a minute. A rear hatch hissed open and a ramp detached itself and slid to the ground with the most graceful ease. Carter stepped walked cautiously to the adjacent door. Only feet away he smelled the aroma of death. The scent drifted through the air and lodged itself into his nostrils. Wincing back and covering his nose, he staggered to Foxes position.
"Damn...that stinks." Fox said with out the slightest emotion. Carter looked up at him and gagged as the smell entered his nostrils once more. "Marines masks!" Fox yelled out, and the platoon of green soldiers donned their protective masks. Carter did the same and breathed a fresh sigh of relief. He then turned back to the hovering ship and approached the opening.
He peered around the side into the vacant compartment. The inside was basically empty, except for a rather odd metal box that was lying on the floor. Carter looked behind him and saw Fox and the others covering his entry. Slowly and cautiously he placed his titanium-reinforced boot onto the ancient metal ramp. The vessel swayed a bit under the weight but instantly evened out. And now with a revered confidence placed his second foot on the ramp and walked up to the threshold. The metal box he saw before was now where he could make a more thorough investigation of it. He reached out and brushed his hand against the cold metal and as what happened when he touched the ship, the metal box unfolded into a floating robot.
The now unfurled bot floated in front of a stunned Carter. It had long angular like arms and in the middle of its face was a large red eye. It just floated there for five seconds as if trying to figure out what Carter was before floating by him and out of the ship. The Marines out side raised their guns at the new target and prepared to fire. Carter instantly regained his composure and burst from the alien vessel before the fire squad could pull off a round.
"No! Put down your weapons!" Fox looked at him then lowered his rifle, the others following suit. Carter looked at the odd angular machine as it floated high into the sky, then disappeared in the blink of an eye into a golden curtain. Sparks rained down to the ground then disappeared into the sand. "What in the h-"
"Mind telling me what that was." Fox looked at him, shock in his face. Carter tried to remove his mask, but stopped as the smell entered his nose again.
"I don't know." He said filtering his air of the foul smell once more. "But I really want to."
In the midst of a dark room sat and orb upon a metal frame. But soon the room was filled with shadows as a guardian of the parasite materialized. The orb turned to the guardian as if knowing what was happening.
"They have come as I thought they would. The monitor of Installation Zero Four was right in that. Now my knowledge will play its role to finding our prize. Take me to them." And with a golden flash they disappeared.
"Hey sir, how much farther. This damn hill is huge." A Marine Private called from the back of the line. He pulled the Jackhammer rocket launcher farther up on his shoulder, the strap biting into his flesh. Carter was ten men forward and looked back as his hand reached for an ancient tree limb. Fox stopped and did the same.
"Marine quite bitching." Carter looked forward at the ancient building meters ahead of him. A metal platform knifed out into the air; for what reason was unknown to him. Placing each foot before the other he climbed the last part of the steep hill.
Brushing his hands against each other, Carter strode forward towards the out stretch of a building. He ignored the others behind him and walked straight up to a closed door way. Ancient markings lined the exterior from the floor to the top of the blunt building. Dark green moss grew in the crevices of the odd lines and circles, giving the sense of age a boost.
"Any idea how it opens?" Fox asked walking up behind Carter.
"May I can be of some assistants?" Fox and Carter turned quickly, Fox pulling out his pistol. What they saw had stunned the Marines in their tracks. Carter looked at the machine being quizzically then raised his hand.
"Low...lower your weapons." Carter stepped forward slowly as Fox lowered his gun reluctantly. "Are...are you the monitor of this ring?" The odd configured droid nodded what they could only guess was its head. His metal frame groaned as the ancient metal rubbed against itself.
"Yes, I am the monitor of Installation of Zero Seven. My name is 117649 Deranged Guilt, at your service." It bowed as gracefully as its hard mechanical body would allow. Carter looked at Fox and then bowed the same. "Now how may I help you Reclaimer?"
"Uh...well first if you could show me how to open this door." The mechanical being walked to the door and touched a small rectangle hidden underneath the thick moss and over growth. The weathered metal door slid apart from the middle, and disappeared into the walls.
"There you are sir. Now please follow me to the production line." Fox grabbed Carter by the shoulder and pulled him back.
"What in the hell is that thing?" He said through clenched teeth, gripping tightly into Carter's shoulder.
"It's a monitor of the ring. From Cortana's report on the first ring she tells of the Chief helping the monitor of the ring control the Flood. I can only guess that this thing is just like that one. Don't be afraid of it." Fox released his grip and back down.
"Who ever said I was afraid?" He turned and started barking down orders to the men. Carter turned back to the Monitor and followed him into the building.
"This is one of many production factories I have started since you were last here. It has turned out a very good, how would you say...crop. Might you like to see?" Carter looked at the Monitor and nodded. The droid moved forward down a descending ramp into a well-illuminated hall.
"Squad two guard our rear, squad three follow the Doc." Carter heard Fox over the COM in his glasses. He then heard metal soles clang down the stone slope.
The ramp leveled out into a hall, which extended a hundred meters each way. The hall was wide enough to fit a Warthog through and was about seven meters tall. The droid took a left and walked down the hall, motioning Carter to follow whose eyes began to wander around at the odd carvings.
"Do you not like what has happened to them?" Carter looked at the droid quickly.
"What do mean?"
"I mean what has happened to them since your last departure. I have tried to keep them in better shape, but my attention has been towards improving the production line." Carter took his finger off the odd carvings and walked over to the droid.
"What is this production line?" The orb's green eye instantly became brighter as if filled with excitement.
"Ah yes, right this way." He walked down the hall to another ancient door. It slid apart as our presence became aware and revealed an enormous room. The room was filled with droid bodies much like those of the Monitor's. Smaller machines zipped around filling the air with a bright light from the laser they produced. "This production line is the soul development of my latest creation, the Reclaimed Sentinel." His arms opened wide as if to take all of the droids in a giant hug.
"Why are they called the Reclaimed Sentinel?" Carter asked reaching out to touch one of the small flying objects. It chirped loudly and sped off.
"Please be gentle with the Constructors, they are very delicate. And to answer your query, to name them took very long. So long in fact that I would just end up calling them Guardians. But then I noticed their body shape and began think about my masters. And then I thought about the last reclaimer and there in I found the name." Carter walked down two steps, cold air nipped at his bare skin causing a shiver to run down his spine. He turned to the Monitor who was looking up at the ceiling.
"If you will please excuse me Reclaimer I have much to do. There is a small outbreak in Quarantine zone six which I must attend to." Carter's features grew grim as he heard the words pass through the air. His hands began to sweat and shake, and the video of Captain Keyes and his squad being consumed past through his thoughts.
"How small of an outbreak?" He asked, forcing the words from his mouth.
"Oh nothing for you to worry about. Only a small stasis chamber was opened on accident. Do not worry Reclaimer all will be well. Now please feel free to explore the factory and other installments. I will return once my work is done." And with the end of his words the monitor disappeared into a golden cloud.
Corporal Amy Calhoun was one of the ten in charge of keeping their borders safe. Though none of them saw any reason why.
"Hey Amy got a smoke?" Corporal Mick Johnson asked as he shouldered his rifle, walking through the loose sand up to her. Amy reached in to her right breast pocket and pulled out the contraband items. She pulled out two and passed one to Mick. He pulled the instant ignite tip on the end filling the air with a bright flash and the wafting smell of tobacco. Amy did the same and sat down on one of the few scattered rocks along the beach. Mick sat in the sand next to her and they both looked out at the disillusioned endlessness of the sea.
"It's beautiful." She said, then inhaling the smoke into her lungs. Mick laid his rifle against the rock and pulled a picture from his jacket. He tapped Amy on the shoulder and handed her the picture. "What's this?"
"That's me and my wife Elise. She's really the only thing I'm fighting for right now." Amy looked long and hard at the picture taking, in every detail of the couple. Mick stood next to Elise, who was wrapped in his arms. His then long hair was blowing in the wind and he smiled widely, a gleam in his eye. She then looked at Elise.
Her long brown hair, faint blue eyes and the sundress she wore which was captured in a waving motion as the wind passed over the cloth. Amy noticed the sun setting in the background shining a brilliant arrangement of reds, oranges and yellows.
Mick looked up at her and noticed moisture around the rims of her eyes. He quickly looked away knowing the stress that the picture most put on her. He quickly stood and politely took the picture from her fingers.
"I'm sorry...I forgot." He stuffed the picture back into his pocket and threw his cigarette into the sand. "Well let's get back to post."
Amy wiped the moisture from her eyes, resenting the emotion she had so bluntly exposed. Cursing to her self she threw her cigarette into the passing wind and hurried to catch up with Mick.
Captain Tecumseh sat at his mahogany desk and wrote up notes of the day into his log. An old an out dated method; it still stored pride in his heart. He leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh of disappointment.
"Teddy tell me again." He ordered out to the shipboard AI. A six-inch figure appeared on a holopad on his desk. The brisk man whacked his large wooden cane into his hand.
"Why?" He queried noticing the half empty scotch bottle on the Captain's desk.
"Just do it." The Captain blurted out through his drunkenness, agitation clouding his emotions.
"Fine. When we passed through the center of the ring a large plasma bolt struck our aft port. The impact severed all Archer missile pods in that section and also dropped aft defense 42%. It also caused twenty casualties. The count is nine have minor contusions and abrasions, six have broken bones, and five are dead. And the apparent cause of death is due to a collapsing catwalk caused by the impact." The Captain let out another long sigh.
"How could I have been so reckless?" He asked himself pouring and downing yet another drink.
"With all due respect there was no way of calculating the event. It was simply a random thing of being in the right place at the right moment." Teddy tried his best to console, but nothing worked. The Captain picked himself up from the chair and walked to his bed, bottle in hand.
"Teddy, tell the crew I'm not to be bothered until morning."
"Yes sir."
Carter adjusted the settings on his pop-up tent and looked up at the sky. He could barely make out their ship passing soundly overhead. The tent popped into shape and the air inside settled. He unhooked the flap and stepped inside, it was roomy but still cramped.
"Your nerve network is a mess. May I suggest some sleep?" Carter yawned, stretching his arms back till the elbows popped. He had done that since he was a kid, and old habits die-hard.
"You may, but may I suggest you stop reading my thoughts?" A sheer tone of annoyance came from his speakers as Lexine snapped back.
"Must I remind you I am in your thought matrix? It's not to hard to read each one."
"Just stay away from the important ones, okay." He settled back onto his cot, relaxing each muscle.
"You still miss her don't you?" Her voice had cooled and was now sympathetic.
"She died...as did I that day." Carter closed his eyes and drifted into the sleep, the loud barks of Fox died into silence.
"This Reclaimer is so much what I hoped for. Now we may begin the journey of a billion souls." The odd shaped being let out a high pitched laugh and pressed a symbol on a luminous panel. It turned a sharp red then cooled to blue. The Monitor looked into the room, which was protected by thick crystalized glass, at the five dark green figures who were grouped together.
One shouted at the others and they brought their weapons to bare. The doors around them illuminated a sharp green and opened. A flood of small balloon like creatures piled out towards the figures. The well-illuminated room was filled with flashes and racing steel as the figures fought for their lives. But their actions were futile as the small creature flooded over them, consuming them.
"And so it begins." The odd droid pressed another symbol and the door leading into the room opened. The hoards of tiny creature stormed out into the open, hungry and ready to consume. "May only the righteous survive."
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