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Shadows of Archon II (part 26) - Turn this Ship Around, Buster
Posted By: Wado<wyamauchi@msn.com>
Date: 7 November 2002, 12:00 pm
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"Is anybody out there?" said a faint signal from Earth. "I repeat, is anybody out there? This is Earth ground installation 42."
"Roger, this is GAEA, we read you Earth ground installation 42," replied the GAEA orbital station. "What in Orion's belt happened down there?"
"GAEA, we're alive, I don't know how but we're alive!" said Earth.
What transpired on Earth will go down in the history books as both the greatest miracle and biggest mystery of the 26th century. It seemed a hopeless situation for Earth and the UNSC. The last defenders of Earth were caught in the crossfire between the main Covenant forces that were orbiting Earth and the arrival of yet another Covenant fleet.
In an act of desperation, Earth launched the last of our graviton missiles in a direct line with the Covenant flagship, the Bastion of Light. The sequence of implosions hurled the enormous Covenant flagship into the Earth. When it crashed, its engines exploded with such force as to crack the Earth into many pieces.
Hundreds of millions of people already dead, a strange energy surrounded Earth of unknown origins. When all the smoke cleared, somehow Earth was still there. A billion people still lived to look up -- The sky as blue as a summer day.
In all the words that will be written to describe these events in the years to come, many will find the following excerpt the most intriguing. Ironically they are not the words of a human but of an alien, the Covenant Supreme Fleet Commander Tarkon. Forced to abandon his own vessel, he watched the events from afar in a small escort. Here is what he wrote. The Fall of Earth
We are the Tygers of Wrath,
Humanity's death our path,
We murdered them in their sleep,
No words not even a peep.
We are the great destroyers,
They the pagan lawyers,
Their worlds efficiently glassed,
To hide the records of past.
Only one last task to do,
Kill them for what they knew,
Kill them for what they become,
Heartless devils kingdom come.
In dreams and reality,
We will teach them frailty,
Destroy them all in their shame,
Wielder of fire light thy flame.
We left Earth a blackened sphere,
No one left to shed a tear,
The end of the Human race,
But pride brought us to disgrace.
In the dark and dead silence,
Our brothers broke alliance,
The end was near that was clear,
But not theirs, ours was the fear.
Charred and lifeless human home,
It was written in our tome,
But before our very eyes,
Angels sounded no one dies.
From the dead it rose to life,
A miracle in our strife,
Rings of power in the night,
Close my eyes but still see light.
Drifting above oh so far,
Strikes my soul and leaves a scar,
I throw down my last weapon,
Pray for mercy and beckon.
It is we who are the damned,
Victory lost, I've been blammed,
Blammy, blam, blam, dink, dink, doink,
I've seemed to have lost my point.
Tarkon ------------------------------------------------
Turn this ship around, buster
"Chief, I'm picking up a colossal amount of messages on the Covenant battlenet," said Cortana, "and they all seem... Chief, the Covenant, their surrendering."
"What is going on Cortana?" said John. "Why would the Covenant surrender?"
Close by, the captured Covenant commander, Bartolus, easy drops. "We would never surrender," interjected Bartolus. "What kind of trick is this, do you think I am a fool?"
"You, go back to your corner," ordered John.
"But..." mouthed Bartolus.
"Get moving, you heard me," ordered John as he walked away to the far end of the room. "So what is going on Cortana?"
"I'm not exactly sure but I believe that they believe the gods saved Earth," said Cortana, "and Chief, their leader the Prophet Lextus wants to meet with us. Hold on, now another leader, Supreme Fleet Commander Tarkon, wants to meet with us also."
"Tell them to turn this ship around, we will meet near Earth," said John.
A few hours later, on the Earth orbital station GAEA, the parties meet. Representing the Covenant Common Faith is Supreme Fleet Commander Tarkon and representing the Covenant Knights of Purity is the Prophet Lextus and Commander Bartolus. Representing the UNSC is Admiral Inouye, Captain Jarad Keyes, Special Forces Colonel Chan, Master Chief John 117, and Cortana.
"Order in the assembly," said Admiral Inouye. "I'm going to make this very clear, this is a military assembly, we are not politicians, we are people of action. Now the first order of business, Prophet Lextus what is it that you wish to say?"
"I am not here to speak to humans, I am here to speak to Cortana and the one called Spartan," said Lextus. "I must understand what saved Earth. It is written in our scriptures that the gods will return and only the true Covenant will survive but it is also little known except amongst Prophets that the gods will be reborn -- In the flames of oblivion, shines the light of eternity... Could this refer to the rebirth of Earth? Please explain."
"Prophet Lextus, do you know of the Archons?" asked Cortana.
"Yes, they are the spirits of chaos and the children of eternity," said Lextus. "You mean to say that it was their light that saved Earth?"
"If it were, what does that mean to you?" said Cortana.
"It is hard to say," replied Lextus as he eyes Supreme Fleet Commander Tarkon. "It means nothing."
"Not true," said Tarkon.
"What have you to gain Tarkon, speak of nothing and be divine," said Lextus.
"Go on commander," said Admiral Inouye.
"Very well, tell them," said Lextus.
Tarkon takes a deep breath and then speaks saying, "You, humanity, are our devils but you never knew why. The Forerunners knew but they never told us either. Piece by piece we have put together the evidence until I come here today to speak of it. The Forerunners were messengers -- their message was to prepare the way for the coming of their kind. To aid in their work they created servants; the mighty warrior servants were the Elites. The humans were their most prized creations but the humans were not content to be servants and rebelled against the Forerunners. Many Forerunners died of grief as humans were like their children gone bad -- So it is said but I say that humans threatened the Forerunners because humans understood how to use the Forerunner power."
"You tell them too much," interjected Lextus.
"Too much but not nearly enough," continued Tarkon. "It is written that in a far off galaxy, a great flood afflicted the Forerunners and only few were left. To defend against the human rebellion, the Forerunners entered great machines -- they became caught in between insanity and godhood. That was the end of the Forerunners and the birth of the gods. You may question why we worship gods that we know were not gods to start with. The answer is that we do not. Our gods guide us through their wisdom and protect us from making the horrible mistakes. The Forerunners ascended to a state where they are part of God and through them we worship God. So you [humans] are the fallen children that wish to become gods yourself. You have the neural implants that you will one day use to try to interface with the Forerunner machines and attempt to ascend to godhood."
"Where do the Archons fit into this?" asked John.
"Yes the Archons are the spirits of nature that cursed our gods," said Tarkon. "The Archons came to destroy our gods and convinced many fallen Covenant that our gods were the ultimate evil. In becoming gods, the Forerunners became immortal and with immortality comes a disconnection with life and nature. The Archons claimed that our gods would lose all empathy and would become creatures of pure logic. The Archons hunted down our gods and killed many with the help of the fallen Covenant until one day the Archons suddenly stopped and disappeared. Being chaotic spirits the Archons acted without reason and this was another prime example of that. The Covenant was left split but our survival depended on unity. At least in all the wars, the humans were believed wiped out. Now, there is a large gap in the scriptures here -- all we know is that our gods cleansed the galaxy with a great flood and the fallen Covenant all perished. This renewed our faith in the gods. The rest has been hidden away by the Prophets."
"I will speak now," said Lextus. "Not all of what Tarkon said is the truth but neither do you need to know the whole truth. The Archons did not leave; the gods banished them to a far away place. The gods are the wisest and they created a system of perfect balance. The gods foresaw that the Archons were correct in their thinking that immortality can lead to evil and corruption. So the gods created many laws that restrict even themselves while in machines. So here is where the ways of the Knights of Purity prevail over all other Covenant. The gods will return to organic bodies, in their new bodies they will once again be connected with nature and those restrictions placed upon them will no longer be needed. They will come full circle and walk among mortals again. They will reward the faithful, the rest will perish in a great flood."
"Bravo," said a squeaky anonymous voice over the comm. "I almost believed you Lextus."
"Who is this?" said Admiral Inouye. "And how did you break into a secured conference?"
"Who I am is not important right now," said the voice, "and don't bother trying to trace my transmissions, your security is easier than a Hunter's charge to get around. By the way, this ship of yours, the XX1 as you call it, is fascinating, no doubt it predates the Forerunners, looks to be of Old One origins."
"Won't you at least give us a name to call you by?" asked Cortana.
"Anything for you my sweet," said the voice. "You can call me daddy."
"Daddy?" said Cortana.
"Yes dear," replied the voice.
"Enough of this," said John. "Cortana, can't we cut the power to the comm or something?"
"Wait Spartan," said the voice. "I represent the fallen Covenant, I have a right to be in this discussion..." Some static on the comm and then, "Oh my god."
Alarms go off everywhere. "What's going on?" asked Admiral Inouye over the comm. Everyone else also opens up transmission channels to find out what is happening.
"Sir, we're under attack," said a voice over the UNSC battlenet, "and they're coming out of slip space inside our defensive perimeter. Signatures don't completely match, they could be some kind of new Covenant ships."
"We have angered the gods and now they smite us down," said Lextus.
"It's not us," said Tarkon. "All Covenant ships are standing down."
"Sir, they're bombing Earth," said a voice over the UNSC battlenet. "It looks like they're targeting our remaining military bases."
Over the center of the conference room a large holographic image of the battle area is displayed. Cortana appears next to the image saying, "Sirs this is what is happening as we speak." The image zooms in to an extreme close-up of the enemy bombs. "Analysis of the enemy bombs tells us that they contain two enormous anti-matter warheads. This type of bomb is designed to destroy underground targets; the first warhead drives the second warhead deep underground where the second warhead explodes. Even our most fortified underground facilities are vulnerable. The bombing must be stopped. Admiral, I recommend..."
Cortana has no the time to finish her sentence, the ground shakes and the room explodes. "Aaaaaagh! Medic, we need a medic." GAEA has taken a direct hit from enemy fire; John stands among injured bodies. Admiral Inouye is unconscious, badly burnt. The three Covenant representatives appear okay -- protected by their shields. Colonel Chan and Captain Keyes are hurt but still able to function. As medics take care of the wounded, repair units seal a hole in the room wall that goes through 6 levels.
"That was no lucky shot Chief," said Cortana. "They knew exactly where to hit us."
John faces Lextus saying, "We need to get you all off this base."
"The Black Angels will be happy to escort them out of here," said Colonel Chan. "Come with me, sirs." Chan escorts the Covenant out of the room.
"I'm heading back to the Moon of Orion," said Captain Keyes, "and you Master Chief?"
"Captain, it's a different enemy but I'm going to try plan B," said John as he presents the small ball that contains the nano-machines that were previously intended to take out the Covenant ships. "If that's alright with you sir."
"Good luck Chief, God's speed be with you," replied Keyes just before he exits the room.
"Cortana, get a hold of daddy," said John, "and tell him we need the XX1."
"Message delivered," said Cortana, "He'll meet us in bay 4. Chief, how did you know I was still in contact with him?"
"Just a hunch," said John as he sprints down the corridor. Every second counts, there's no time to lose. However, when he reaches Bay 4, he finds that the Bay is in ruins and the large bay doors are ajar.
"Chief, the doors are broken we need to get to another bay," said Cortana.
"No time Cortana, I can get through this opening," said John. "Have daddy bring the XX1 under us."
"He's on his way, what if you miss?" said Cortana.
"I won't," replied John.
"In 5, 4, 3, 2..."
-- Next, Twilight and the Wizard --
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