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Shadows of Archon II (part 14) - Divine Retribution
Posted By: Wado<wyamauchi@msn.com>
Date: 17 September 2002, 10:57 am
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In the Jukan star system, all seems quiet, deadly quiet. Not even the communications between Covenant ships is heard. Something is wrong, something is very wrong.
In the outskirts of the system, Destiny's Blade and Fate's Reaper arrive via a stargate. With both ships refitted with technologies from the days of the forerunners, the Covenant in the system should be no problem. At best perhaps the Covenant have a few large transports and one cruiser with escorts.
Aboard Fate's Reaper, the lights flicker and alarms come on. "Status Sci," said Commander Thom.
"Commander, Seeker... I mean Fate's Reaper has gone to full alert," said acting Science Officer and Communications Officer Tak, "and Destiny's Blade has done the same. We're picking up a shadow of a cloaked vessel. It doesn't move like a Covenant ship, it looks almost like..."
Before Tak can continue, they are interrupted by a voice over the Comm. It is the voice of Cortana saying, "Commander, Destiny's Blade has entered cloak, I recommend that Fate's Reaper do the same. I've identified the signature of three cloaked forerunner vessels the size of corvettes."
"Fate's Reaper has confirmed Cortana's reading, sir," said Tak.
As Thom gives the go ahead to cloak, Fate's Reaper suddenly initiates evasive maneuvers as it detects a forerunner corvette blinking out of cloak 100,000 Kilometers away.
The forerunner corvette discharges one anti-matter pulse cannon at Fate's Reaper. The pulse cannon unleashes a violent wave of magnetic plasma; within the wave are contained tiny lumps of anti-matter.
Fate's Reaper shakes from the explosive forces as it is hit by the attack.
"Commander, shields down to 90%," said Tak, "and no structural damage, the new Nomdian shields did a fine job. Sir, Fate's Reaper has just entered cloak and has armed disrupter cannons. Waiting for your command to proceed."
Commander Thom surveys the intelligence report on the forerunner vessels. "Sci, let Fate's Reaper handle this battle," said Thom, "and get a secured message to Cortana and Cat on Destiny's Blade. Tell them to hold back and be ready to concentrate fire on any vulnerable forerunner vessels."
Fate's Reaper while more maneuverable than most any other ship of its size, it is far less maneuverable than the smaller forerunner corvettes. Cloaking seems to be of little value either. The forerunner corvettes acquired a good target lock on Fate's Reaper at the beginning of the battle and have managed to stay close enough to her to keep the lock.
"Commander, the corvettes are too maneuverable," said Tak. "Fate's Reaper can't get a good lock to fire. We need to get them out of cloak."
"Sci, program Fate's Reaper to drop facing shields and cut engine output after the next volley that hits, tactic 411 if I remember correctly," said Thom, "and signal Destiny's Blade to stand ready."
"Aye sir."
It doesn't look good for Fate's Reaper. The forerunner corvettes have been able to concentrate fire on the same shielded area several times. They make another pass, again concentrating anti-matter pulse cannons on the aft side shields.
The shield's buckle and come down, engine output is cut down 25%. It appears as though Fate's Reaper has taken a critical hit. The ship slowly turns in an attempt to prevent another hit on the now unshielded area.
The three forerunner corvettes are eager for the kill. They spiral around quickly, partially revealing themselves by their increased engine ion trails. Then they come up from below to face the unshielded aft side of Fate's Reaper, closing to maximum effective range of their weapons. Like clockwork, they fire in sequence at their target.
The instant before the deadly blows strike, the downed shields on Fate's Reaper power up quickly absorbing the hits. Commander Thom's deception has worked to draw the corvettes closer. Commander Thom braces in his seat saying, "Emergency turn, fire all weapons!"
Fate's Reaper fires all four disrupter cannons, two tremor devices, six plasma missiles, and twelve point-defense plasma cannons in a wide dispersion. One disrupter hits the first forerunner corvette, bringing its shields down and momentarily overloading its electronics.
The second corvette is tracked by one of the tremor devices. However, the corvette's shields hold and phase to the tremor frequencies, mostly negating the weapon's effects.
All three corvettes drop electronic countermeasures and veer off in randomized vectors.
Destiny's Blade pounces out from cloak and fires as one single weapon. The phased flux beam strikes the first corvette dead on. This weapon consists of a powerful, phased plasma beam that actually exists in multiple dimensions simultaneously. The destructive force of the weapon slices the unshielded first corvette cleanly in two. The weapon serves as a carrier wave for the flux device -- A weapon unique to the Archons.
As the corvette is sliced in two, the flux device analyzes the molecular signature of the target. The molecular cohesion of the target is disrupted as the target is converted to pure energy. In the ensuing explosion, the flux device causes the energy of the target corvette to shoot out towards the other two forerunner corvettes.
The second corvette is stuck by the energy blast and its shields are brought down. This corvette is still being tracked by one of Fate's Reaper's tremor devices. Without shields, the corvette is ripped into pieces by the tremor device.
Only the third corvette remains. The energy strikes it but the corvette has just enough time to phase its shields to repel the tracking of the flux device so it only takes a glancing blow. Its shields remain intact.
Out gunned the third and only remaining forerunner corvette has a choice: either evade under cloak and hope to get away or attempt the jump into slip space and make a fast getaway. The corvette chooses to attempt to make the jump into slip space.
This is an unfortunate choice for the forerunners. Fate's Reaper is outfitted with a Nomdian slip-space dissipater. The device creates a field that interferes with slip space. The corvette is unable to make the jump into slip space. Out of cloak, with Destiny's Blade in hot pursuit, and two plasma missiles reacquiring lock on it, the corvette desperately attempts to evade.
The smaller and more agile Destiny's Blade, piloted by Cortana and Cat gain a strong lock on the corvette and help guide the missiles into the target. One missile is enough to severely damage the corvette -- two hit it. And just like that, the battle is over.
"Damage report," said Thom. The display shows minor damage to the hull and ships systems -- nothing they can't repair. There is no loss of friendly lives, just a few occurrences of minor injuries and burns.
"Commander, pardon the interruption but mid-ranged scans are picking up a Covenant cruiser in orbit around Jukan," said Sci, "and the cruiser looks nearly dead."
"Cortana, are you picking up any reading on that Covenant cruiser?" asked Thom as he surveys the scan report.
Val answers for Cortana and replies, "Commander Thom, I sense something wrong on that cruiser, it isn't a trick the cruiser is dead but it still could be a trap. Proceed with caution."
Fate's Reaper and Destiny's Blade approach the cruiser with caution. The cruiser is indeed looking dead but closer scans reveal one life reading still on the ship, but the ship's life support is fading.
When they get within range, Sub-commander Zax and Alpha squad are teleported into the main bay area of the Covenant cruiser.
Commander Thom and others observe Alpha squad through viewers.
------------------------------------------------
Divine Retribution
"Commander, we have entered the main bay area," said Sub-commander Zax. "There is still gravity but the atmosphere is too thin to breathe and the lighting system is off."
Blue liquid falls on the right arm of Zax's environmental suit. "What the..." The squad shines their lights up to the ceiling of the bay. High above suspended by their feet from the ceiling by cords are dead grunts. The viewer zooms in to the bodies, they hang upside down naked and partially skinned.
On a dividing wall in the bay, large ancient writing can be seen written in the blood of the grunts. "What do these markings mean?" asked Sub-commander Zax.
The Lady replies over the comm, "Those marking are an ancient forerunner tongue. It's a warning. It says something like, know thy place servants, the gods have returned to reward the faithful and punish the infidel."
"What happened here?" asked Zax. "Did the forerunners do this to these grunts? Why?"
Cat speaks over the comm, "I feel that something horrible has happened here. I believe if you seek out the one life form we detected, the answers will be found."
Alpha squad moves through empty dark corridors and through blood stained rooms. They reach the area that would be the commander's quarters. Horrible screams can be heard ahead. They enter the room.
Inside the room is what is left of a grunt Supreme Commander. It has no arms or legs and the gut has been cut open but is still alive. Strange glyphs glow on the grunt's body.
An eerie feeling touches Alpha squad.
The grunt screams in pain until the squad is seen, then in an ominous voice not belonging to the grunt, the grunt speaks, "The gods have returned to rain death, all bow down to the doom of eternity."
"The glyphs are the work of evil," said the Lady over the comm. "They infuse the grunt with demon kind. We cannot heal this grunt or regenerate his lost limbs. Yet the tortured grunt still lives and cannot die of natural causes."
Cat interjects over the comm, "Get out of there, I have seen the vision. Move back to the main bay and teleport. Don't risk a teleport from where you are. Hurry. Get out, there's nothing there but death and shadows if you stay."
Zax is not one to go against the visions of an Archon, especially when dealing with the unknown. Before he orders the retreat, he says, "Can't die huh, well can't live like this either."
The entire squad opens up on the tortured grunt with plasma rifles. The grunt is fried, leaving only a pile of burned flesh and ashes.
Back on Fate's Reaper, Thom, Zax, Tak, Val, Cat, the Lady, Master Covenstein, and Cortana meet. Cat speaks of her vision.
The vision starts with dark shadows that form into the look of beautiful beings resembling the Archons, but these are not Archons, they are forerunners. They are at work transforming something, working their magic to create life. Yes they create servants. Many of the servants look like modern day Covenant. Each servant is designed to excel in a different role.
At this time the forerunners were at the height of their power -- Creating great wonders of their own in this galaxy. An unstoppable force they believed. They did make war on those that questioned their authority and divine rights - driving their enemies to death or seclusion.
But the vision takes an even darker turn. Long after creating the Covenant, some forerunners became mad with power, corrupt, prideful, taking on the roles of gods. They fought among themselves and reigned with terror over the Covenant until the Covenant could take it no longer and rebelled.
Many forerunners were killed by the Covenant. Weakened by the internal struggles for power and blinded by their own delusions of grander, they never foresaw the uprising of the servants. That was the end of most of the forerunners. So we thought.
We were wrong; many more forerunners than we thought survived and lay in wait until the day that they receive a sign. A sign that the time is right to take back what they believe is theirs and to punish the Covenant. That sign was the activation of the Heart of Darkness, the great Master Portal of the Old Ones.
These forerunners felt the power of the Heart of Darkness. Traveling to Jukan, the source of the strange power they detected, the forerunners arrived here only days ago only to find that the Covenant were here instead of other forerunners. They took out their rage on the Covenant forces here, the poor grunts.
Cat looks at the others saying, "Many more forerunners may have felt the Heart of Darkness and will be heading here when they are ready. We don't have much time to find what we need to and get out of here. We are no match for even one forerunner cruiser."
"Can the forerunners defeat the Covenant," asked Thom.
The Lady speaks, "Perhaps they can if they strike fast and with concentrated forces. The Covenant was weakened by the losses at Halo and now the majority of their ships are heading to destroy Earth. The Covenant home worlds are left with only minimal garrisons. The forerunners have many options at their disposal. They could even try to activate the Halos. A thought they would not have even considered when they were drunk with power, but now they might in their rage to get revenge."
"How ironic," said Master Covenstein, "In all my research I sought to better the lives of the Covenant by bringing back the technologies of the forerunners -- I was hated by the Religious Leaders for doing so. However, I proved too useful in the scientific community for the Religious Leaders to get rid of me. I went so far as to openly question the Religious Leaders' desires to elevate forerunner creations to holy places -- therefore limiting those places to only the religious caste and off limits to all other Covenant. That was then, but now... Well now I find that I want nothing more than to destroy all the forerunner technology, make it so no one ever finds it."
The group sits in silence for a moment.
"We have work to do," said Thom, "and we don't have much time. Let's get a move on."
-- Next, Remembering the Master Chief--
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