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Present Darkness, Chapter Four
Posted By: russ687<russ687@hotmail.com>
Date: 6 December 2004, 7:13 AM
Read/Post Comments
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Chapter Four
Unknown Intentions
0640 hours, November 21, 2552 (Military Calendar)
UNSC Carrier Stanton Bay
In orbit above Planet Red Dawn (Codename), Theta 1440+90 System
"What we have is a Covenant rebellion, where we're seeing the complete chain of authority being intentionally disobeyed by Covenant sects that find the higher goals of their leadership incompetent, or not in their own best interest. What other alternative or explanation is there? As for the timing of this event, it would lead me to conclude that this is a mere coincidence with our operation here at Red Dawn, and that the Covenant rebellion has nothing to do with our presence here."
Foster leaned back and nearly smirked at the Major Stephens, Deputy Commander of the Battalion, who conversed with Nodern and the rest his executive staff.
"Look at the facts before us; reports of heavy intra-Covenant fighting from our recon teams, and there isn't even a squad of Marines present or near those locations. The added fact that our troops have reported discontinued contact with the Covenant shows that the Covenant is in fact undergoing some sort of radical change in the means of a higher threat; something far more important then 'humans' being on their planet. They want to subdue this rebellion before it spreads, and that means focusing entirely on that problem, not the Marines on the surface. Therefore, the analysis of this being a Covenant sect rebellion has to be the only possibility."
Nodern absorbed the argument Stephens' was making. The facts did line up with his hypothesis, so he couldn't flat out deny the claim.
He was dealing with information of extreme importance, probably more important then that of the operation they were currently running on the surface. What would this information mean, though? Of what importance could this be to him, or to his superiors, or to the UNSC?
The obvious answer. The reason this information was far more important then anything at the moment was because if this was true, the Covenant as a whole could fall apart, giving them the upper hand to ward off this threat. It would be the turning point in where humanity was able to push back the once powerful hordes of these aliens and restore the status of humanity back to where it was prior to this war. Part of him did not believe his Deputy Commander, something like this just didn't happen, but he wanted to believe this; he wanted to see the tides change where they were no longer harassed and slaughtered by these beings that claimed a holy war against them.
Nodern turned and looked at the other end of the table, past his staff to Major Foster. While Stephens was competent and useful, Nodern always turned to his Intel Officer for another opinion.
"The smile you've been suppressing tells me you have another side," Nodern said, catching Foster off guard.
That man is too good with people, Foster thought. "While the facts of the situation are compatible with that theory, from my view they point in an entirely different direction." Foster began; all eyes were now on him. "From what I've observed from Intel reports to actual transmissions from our troops surface-side, the idea of a Covenant sect rebellion doesn't stand up to the scrutiny.
"The Covenant are not having a rebellion of ranks; that idea can be tossed out. Rather, what we are seeing is a new type of Covenant that is, for some unknown reason, finding the mainstream Covenant forces as threats as well as our troops. We have done full global recon, and it is safe to say that there are no other forces inhabiting this planet other then the Covenant, which in turn leads us to believe this new Covenant force must have been created by the Covenant themselves. I can't speculate as to where or why they have been produced, but the fact remains that they are now running their own course independent of the main Covenant authority."
The Battalions Deputy Commander stood silently as Foster finished his rebuttal to the argument, and by the look on Nodern's face, he found more logic in Foster's reasoning than in his own DC.
"So, where does that leave us?" His CO asked.
Foster thought for a moment. "In terms of our mission: unchanged. In terms of our fight against the Covenant as a whole, well that is up to our superiors to decide. The best action we can take with this knowledge is to alert our commanders in the field, then to pass it up the Chain of Command. This new type of Covenant, even though finding the Covenant hostile as well, is still a threat to us; a threat with a much higher potential in the long run. I'm not sure how this may impede future operations, if these beings are present, but for the meantime we must view this as a unilateral hostile operation."
"Have we ever encountered anything like this in the past?" Nodern asked.
"Not to my recollection. However, if any UNSC forces have, it is certainly is under wraps, otherwise we would have heard about it."
Foster let his own hypothesis sink in with the staff standing around the table. His assessment seemed to match all the facts and reports that they knew of, and certainly proved more realistic then a Covenant in-ranks rebellion. The odds of that were beyond slim, since their chain of command was highly disciplined and enforced, in addition to the fact that this was no simple war for them; this was their perception of good verses evil; where their regions beliefs dictated their will against humanity.
He took a sip from his now cold coffee and turned around to face the main entrance door to the Ground Forces Combat Information Center. Two figures stood against the wall, their faces indistinguishable in the dark-red lighting of the GFCIC, but Foster could tell they were out of place. Among the busy and seemingly crowded operations and duties running in this center, their presence was known and somewhat unmistaken; to him, at least.
Foster continued staring at them, taking another sip from his mug. They were within hearing distance, despite the noises of this command center, and had no doubt heard the conversation that had ended a minute earlier. For what possible reason were these two idle men standing in this restricted area, overhearing a conversation containing sensitive material?
"They know."
The two men stared back at the ODST Battalion staff that had just finished ruling out the situation on the planet. They both remained still as a single officer looked back at them, obviously suspicious of their presence.
"We have the higher authority not to let this information get to anyone else."
"Which leaves us where?"
There was a short pause.
"In the best interest of the UNSC, and to fulfill our current duties, make sure that these men do not pass this information on to anyone, regardless of the situation. Word of this among the Fleet Commander would mean a further inquiry to the events on the surface, and subsequently to the Covenant biological weapons, which is unacceptable per our terms."
The men silently looked back at the Battalion staff as they closed from their briefing. Those staffers were getting ready to pass the information along, spreading the word about the Covenant and their new experiments; but allowing that would be in violation of their own orders.
Word of this was not supposed to be surfaced until the proper time, when they would have an effective counter to the new Covenant enemy. Keeping this under wraps was their task, and it was the priorities of those "higher-ups" who controlled the black operations and secretive missions behind the scenes of this war. Their superiors deemed this information too sensitive for circulation through the UNSC chain of command, which meant that exposure to this Covenant force was to be kept secret until they deemed it time.
No one expected that this would surface prematurely, and no one even thought about the same event occurring twice. The odds were extremely low, but the fact that they had now encountered this twice was proof to show that it was indeed a real threat, thus restating their entire objective of keeping this silent.
The two men waited for the staff to disperse before turning and leaving the GFCIC; moving to start completing their duties.
Silence the sources of this information.
This was not their first time performing operations like this, and the two men were not fools at how to make this happen the right way; the right way leaving no traces or clues that could be followed back to them.
Or back to the Office of Naval Intelligence.
0645 hours, November 21, 2552 (Military Calendar)
7 Kilometers North of Drop Zone Mike X-Ray
Planet Red Dawn (Codename), Theta 1440+90 System
Lynn could detect the fear among the group as they moved into the darkness of the tunnel from the lift room. The aroma of this underground facility, combined with the images of just a few minutes ago, proved to be a demoralizing combination for them all. While the only noise they could be heard were that of themselves, the feeling of another presence here was unmistakable.
And nobody could help but wonder what lurked in the rooms ahead.
Was this really a good idea? The questions about whether or not they should have ventured down here began rerunning through his head. His basic survival instincts called for him to turn around, to go back up the lift and back into daylight, where the mysteries, and dangers, of this underground realm would be left behind.
The very present fact that these beings had neutralized every Covenant thus far was another fact that ate away. To see Grunts dead from these crazed beings was one thing, but to see their leaders in the same condition was testimony to the ferocity these possessed-Covenant had.
But despite it all, beyond the fear and sickness that lay in this Covenant facility, there was the will to see what was causing these beings into existence. He had heard many stories before of a relentless existence of beings that consumed flesh and inhabited their prey's bodies, but those seemed nothing more then tales from the locker-rooms; down here, however, they seemed far more present, far more possible,
Far more real.
Lynn kept his rifle shouldered and walked into the illumination of more purple light as they entered a second room from the dark tunnel. With Wilson and Johnson right behind him, he stepped into the room and swept the distance with his rifle, keeping a critical eye on every shadow.
This room was similar to the last, minus a Covenant antigravity lift. It was filled with turned-over crates and spilled contents, and with many of the electrical systems broken and sparking. These beings had left nothing normal in their path.
The sight of dead bodies scattered the area, of both the Covenant and creatures. The fight had well extended into this room, and the winner was evident, seeing the fact that the previous room had the same scene of dead Covenant. This room had four exits, including the one they had entered from, indicating they were approaching a more central location of this facility. They were working their way deeper into the enemy's lair.
Lynn silently pointed to the first exit to their right, and the Marines of his group nodded. They moved for it, cautiously stepping over bodies, through blood trails, and around crates. The scenes of death were very similar to the last room, and with every body they came across, the dark feeling of this place rose. They weren't in any normal Covenant facility, or at any simple location; they were in a pit of wolves, where the offspring proved deadly to both the inhabitants.
And to any visitors.
The group slowed their pace as they came into the light of yet another room. This one, however, was different. Instead of a simple storage place filled with crates, it had a wide walkway running straight along with rows of small rooms on each side; the end being no less then three hundred meters away.
Each room was closed off with thick bars.
Lynn felt the chill sweep over him as he scanned the long hallway ahead of him. Running along each side were separate, relatively small rooms, each with thick, prison-like bars. The sight brought new fears to his mind as he gazed down the long corridor; what possible reason would the Covenant build rooms to contain and hold...
...Them?
He looked at a single body lying before him; a dead, crazed Jackal. These were no doubt holding cells for those beings, and for obvious reasons, the Covenant feared these creatures as well. In addition to a standard force-field around each room, they had constructed thick black bars to keep these beings from escaping. Part of it was clear to him now: The Covenant knew these beings would kill, not only their common enemy, but themselves as well.
The group took cautious steps into the hallway, absorbing the sight. Between every barred room a white light flashed, probably a breach warning indicator. At only a few rooms the force-fields were flickering on and off, malfunctioning, but at nearly every room in sight, shields were down and the thick bars were bent apart. Lynn looked in awe at the strength it must have taken to bend such large bars.
His mind flashed back to the images of that large, black-coated creature in the lift room. It was larger then an Elite, and with the enhanced capabilities he had noticed from these beings, that large creature could have done this. What else could?
The weapons from each man in the group came up as a shrill, high-pitched wail shot through the long room. It was loud, indicating the creature emitting it was close. Lynn looked down the long hallway, not able to see every room well at such a distance, but knew it must be in this large, prison hallway. They were getting closer to the heart of this secret.
"Stay alert," Lynn whispered, motioning for everyone to begin moving down the long hallway.
The Marines did not need to be reminded, and began moving down the long hallway cautiously, checking each individual room. Lynn did the same, and deduced that there had to be at least one hundred rooms on each side of this walkway. This large numbers of rooms indicated the Covenant had possessed a high number of these creatures, and this probably was not even the first of a dozen prison chambers like this.
He took careful looks at the architecture of this place. The tight quarters if these prison-rooms clearly showed that the Covenant had no regard for the well being of these creatures. Each room was no more then two meters long and two meters high, and they didn't go back very far. In the center of each room were broken shackles; tie-downs for these possessed beings that were condemned to a small hell. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to be shoved inside one of these small rooms, chained to the walls, and left for what was probably weeks on end.
Were these creatures intelligent? Able to discriminate against different situations, able communicate, think logically, be rational, or have emotions? From what he knew, they were Covenant species, altered through some process to become what they are now, crazed. But was there more to these creatures then what met the eye? Did these creatures have the ability to work together, and wage a war against their captors and to any other unknown force they came across?
They had made it this far, fighting against the reputable Covenant on the surface. They had broken out of this bondage and fought their way pass their armed creators to the surface, all seemingly with precision and speed. This foe could be more then just a possessed group of beings.
They could be a lot more.
There it was; a single room with the force-field still functional, with the bars still intact. Lynn kept his distance from the room and strafed to get a better view of the insides. This was no doubt where those screams were originating from.
He nearly jumped when the piercing nose shot out again. There it was, a crazed Jackal, weakly struggling against the shackles from inside the chamber. The being looked right back at him, its red eyes connecting with his own. There was anger, death, and threatening messages coming silently from those two eyes that seemed to pierce through him. This was how they contained the beings; in tiny prisons, chained down.
"They keep these things alive," Wilson said, looking at the creature struggle again, trying to free itself. "For what purpose would these things be kept alive?"
Lynn had wondered that as well, but the answer was evident. The Covenant, while their logic tainted and their ingenuity misled, continued to find more ways to kill, more ways to end the lives of their enemies. Even if it meant resorting to using their own as these ruthless, mindless attackers.
"They're weapons," Lynn said softly. "These creatures are the Covenant's new attackers in which they plan to use against us."
Keeton nodded, letting his silenced pistol slowly drop. "They're fast, quiet, and have no fear. They're the perfect instrument of battle to be used. All you have to do is let them loose."
A very potent weapon, Lynn thought, taking a step closer to the occupied room. New, twisted ways of raging war was the sole purpose of this facility. What he was accustomed to, and probably the entire UNSC as a whole, was not the case here; this was basically a laboratory, where they developed this new sick method of turning their own into lifeless combatants for the sole purpose of defeating humanity. The reality of the situation sunk in as the realization washed over him; the Covenant were willing to go to these lengths just to beat us, thus proving the absolute willpower that these aliens had to kill.
The UNSC, despite all the rumors that abounded from each ship to each planet, would never take the fight to such a degree as seen here. Humans would never be turned from respectable lives to crazed beings that would stop at nothing to taste blood, because this war was to preserve human life; this was not evident with the Covenant, however, where they would be willing do this to their own.
Lynn looked away from the sight of the Jackal to the end of the long hallway. They had passed through the facility's entrance, passed the Covenant storage rooms, and had now seen the prison's built to hold these creatures. Only one thing remained for them to see.
Where these beings came from.
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