Cath

The Cradle

“Yes! Where are they? Hey! Answer me!” Freyr pleaded, standing still on the steps, switching her comms to private. She didn’t want the others to hear her like this. The voice didn’t respond, and the vision of her husband subsided.

Even if 595 had recognised her charge’s distress inside her suit, now was definitely not the time to have her elaborate. She pushed the scientist forward again, continually looking back down the stairs. Lots of slimy shapes were surging into the subway.

Despite her emotions, Freyr gasped when she emerged from the mouth of the stairway and looked upwards. She switched back to team comms. “Woah! That’s new...” The skeins of purple light crisscrossing the sim ceiling above were pulsing 24% brighter than previous records, her suit informed her. This bathed the low, circular shape of GCHQ and the surrounding parks in sickly purple twilight. Freyr wondered if this was a sign of the Object assuming direct control over the Cradle.

Vreta’s questioning woke Freyr from her reverie “Oh, ummmm…Let me think...”.

“Anywhere but here, please.” 595 interjected, her back nearly touching Freyr’s. A dozen smaller versions of the monsters they’d just killed were congregating around the eviscerated corpses and chittering angrily. The Agent pointed her shotgun down the stairs, ready to shoot.

“Ok! Erm...one of the Ops Centres i suppose. I was hoping CraSec would take us right there. I think that's a side entrance over there.” Freyr pointed to a brightly lit gateway between four pillars. “That’s good enough for me, lets get a move on!” 595 urged.

Halo: Aegis Team

There was no time to waste for any of the crew aboard the Magnificent Defiance. So normal activity quickly resumed once Tar had removed herself from the situation, with dozens of orderlies and droids transporting cargo to be stowed in the various holds.

Unfortunately, Tar was intent on striding right through their operating space as she brooded on the task at hand and the unexpected help she was receiving. Some of it welcome, some of it not. Suddenly, a platform containing tightly bound crates whooshed down the ramp of a Pelican to be collected by one of the automated hangar grabbers.

It appeared on one side of Tar’s peripheral vision and she quickly turned to face it. She seized the platform in mid-swing and transferred the energy through her stance, tipped it over and away from her. The servos whined as the platform attempted to right itself, but Tar offered no apology. She carried on through to the armoury, deep in thought.

There weren’t many alternatives to murdering Uztel, if she got her hands on him. If by some miracle she could convince the Keep to recognise her as rightful successor while he still lived, she could banish him from Brissekh. But there was always the chance he could plot her death from afar. That wouldn’t do at all!

Tar stalked into the armoury with potential plans and speeches circulating in her head. Her blades will have been packed up and sent to her quarters along with her other effects. She’d need to go and get those before deployment. An armourer on the ship she’d travelled with Silent Shadow on had developed a special mount for both handles on the small of her back, which meant she could carry more weapons and gear in the field.

Tar made the most of it, clipping four Spike Grenades to her belly. After pondering it for a little while, she followed up by stowing a Carbine and a Storm Rifle on her back and a Mauler on each thigh. She stared longingly at some of the ammo vests on display, but none would fit around her torso and armour. She also watched some of the other UNSC troops attaching front holsters to their chests. The Humans had inferior armour, but their ingenuity and resourcefulness was still impressive.

Her attention was diverted by Aegis team’s leader talking to one of the machines. Some interesting objects caught her eye in the crate they were examining. She walked over. “Forerunner weapons?” She asked. She didn’t know much about them.

The Cradle

595’s suit sent an enhanced ping through the subway, and her motion tracker blew up with objects. All converging on their location from the four tunnel openings. “I see them. Get going, now!” She snapped, pushing Freyr up the steps ahead of her. She grasped the shotgun magnetised to her chestplate and pulled it away from her - it expanded out again into a combat ready state.

With a steady hand, she flicked the spent battery out from underneath the weapon. The sound of it clattering down the stairs echoed around the now-peaceful subway station.However, simmering beyond the border of regular hearing she could just about detect more chittering and the click-clack of legs. Breathing deeply and evenly, 595 pulled another energy cell away from her armour and clicked it into the shotgun’s battery housing.

A sharp pain from her leg made 595 hiss. She could feel her suit performing emergency surgery on her thigh to stop the bleeding and maximise operational effectiveness. The Agent was starting to feel weird, like when they had been inside the Navigator the second time around. She blinked heavily multiple times to try and clear her head.

595 glanced behind and below her at the subway station entrance. Superimposed on her view, the image of two novitiates looking at her against the backdrop of Interceptor troop bay flickered into being. She recognised them immediately.”Such...violence, in our name. Who knows what you’ll do next.” A hoarse whisper wrapped around her mind.

Freyr faltered on the steps as the shimmering impression of David appeared in front of her, leaning in for their first kiss at one of the university fundraisers they both attended. Freyr felt the hair on top of his head between her fingers as her eyes closed. “Would you really sacrifice yourself, to save someone you loved?” A voice murmured.

A different voice appeared in Vreta’s mind, speaking as a native Rothian would. “I have lived long enough to know that all things come to an end. Have you?”

The Cradle

“I can’t get free, I’m gonna need to angle it.” Freyr looked up at the Agent with wide eyes, still holding the leg.

“Just fucking get it out, I don’t care ho-“ 595 yelled against gritted teeth as Freyr moved the leg from side to side while pulling hard. The Agent glanced over at Vreta as he succeeded in cutting the male creature in half. A giant spray of ichor coated his armour. At least that was one less thing to worry about. She groaned again as Freyr twisted the spike, then looked down as with a squelch it came free.

“I got it!” Freyr announced, pleased with her handiwork. She dumped the twitching leg onto the floor. “Thanks.” 595 grunted, checking the wound. Where the spike had pierced her armour, she could see a slick black underlayer creeping over her skin to close it off again. She instructed her suit to clean the wound and stitch her thigh back together as best it could.

“About time.” 595 tapped her wrist while looking at Vreta. “We’ve well and truly missed our window now.”

“We have to keep going. The entity may still be contactable.” Freyr asserted, surprising even herself. More than half of her being wanted to get as far away from the Cradle as possible. It just so happened that the smaller half was the half that mattered.

Halo: Aegis Team

Tar snarled, reflexively flaring her mandibles to show the Human her teeth. This one seemed like he was trying to provoke her. She raised Flint a bit higher, and balled up her free hand into a fist. Then, she heard Yalu clear his throat and speak to her from nearby.

She turned her head slightly to listen as he appealed to reason. Unfortunately, he did make sense. Tar didn’t particularly like that the UNSC was so heavily involved in this very sensitive mission for her. But, the Human warriors around them were preparing to potentially sacrifice everything to help. She didn’t want to spit on their commitment, for one single Human.

A shout in the background triggered Tar’s hearing. She looked around at the hangar, and noticed a fair few eyes on them. “Put him down!” Another Human yelled anonymously from the throng. The Commando hummed, looking back at Flint. “Tread lightly, Human.” She warned, before dropping him from nearly a metre up in the air. "Commander." She grunted, inclining her head by a fraction of an inch by way of an apology.

With that, Tar turned back towards the armoury and stalked away. A Human pushing a trolley of cargo stopped to let her pass.

The Cradle

Grabbing hold of Freyr’s hand, 595 pulled herself up and immediately yelled out in pain as the female’s leg moved with her. Looking down, she saw that the sharp hooked end was still embedded in her flesh. The Agent glanced up at the brawl unfolding; she couldn’t help right away, but she held something that could.

“Hot on your left, catch!” 595 called, underarm flicking the activated energy sword through the air towards the Rothian. It was a good throw - left unattended her suit projected it would spin clean through the slugging match. Plenty of opportunity to be creative with it. A stream of energy bolts preceded the sword from Freyr’s pistol, melting into the beast’s battered carapace and splashing off Vreta’s shields.

“Quick. Hold the leg.” 595 pointed, holding onto the bottom of the handrail heading up the stairs to steady herself. Freyr nodded as her pistol powered down, stepping hastily over the twitching corpse to get in a better position. 595 gritted her teeth when the scientist held the leg taut, then pulled. Pain.

The male creature, meanwhile, screeched and recoiled under the blows to various parts of its body. It surged forward, thrusting its front legs at the big lizard, then backed up to try and escape. The pillar it was up against seemed to disagree; it groaned and dust fell from the ceiling. The creature’s long tail wrapped around Vreta’s right leg and pulled hard.

The Cradle

Vreta’s maneuver would’ve panned out, if it weren’t for some unusually dexterous arms on the monster’s front. As the Rothian tried to guide the male creature into a pillar, they reached down and grabbed hold of his helmet, grasping tight. Instead of being propelled away, some of the force was transferred back into Vreta’s legs as the creature swung round.

With a chittering squeal it wrapped around him like an apron, back two insect legs scraping and dancing along the ground. The front two legs flicked back and forth, trying to make a purchase on his shoulders and chestplate. What was left of its jaw crunched against the top of Vreta’s head.

Freyr screamed and let go of Vreta’s tail, firing full auto into the melee as she made a run towards the stairs. She didn’t make it far, as the desperate female creature in front lunged at her. Unfortunately, that sudden movement applied the final bit of pressure required to finish 595’s work.

The front half of the female came free from the back half. A bright plasma cut through the middle opened up. Gouts of black ichor sprayed all over Freyr and the Agent. The creature’s egg sac burst, sending a slurry of fluid and eggs all over 595 as she struggled to get up. The two parts of the female collapsed in opposite directions, twitching furiously on the floor.

“Help me!” 595 winced, extending an arm from her position, partially covered by the front half. Her other hand held the activated energy sword. Freyr rushed over and started to pull her from the mess. Shrieking filled the subway from the separate struggle nearby.

Halo: Aegis Team

Surprised and enraged in equal measure by the audacity of this Human’s response, Tar chuckled. Not a cheerful sound, but a hoarse, venomous warning that any living being with sense would run from. When she spoke, her voice was soft and conspiratorial, with a razor-sharp edge. “Ah... A beggar, here for knowledge that isn’t yours. Did you know, little one, there are a lot of places to hide a bag of skin and bone like yours on a Hekar Taa?”

Tar softly grasped the front of Flint’s shirt with her right hand as she said this. She slowly lifted him off the ground until the Human was right in front of her face. “Not to mention the black maw of space, patiently waiting to swallow you forever.” She gestured subtly with her head towards the dark canvas they had just come from in the Pelican, visible behind the forcefield off to one side. “Tell me why I shouldn't slay you right now for your insolence.” Tar hissed.

Halo: Aegis Team

Tar nodded in response to Ryker; pleased despite the dark cloud hanging overhead.

“I’m glad.” She rasped.

---

The Commando was silent for the entire Pelican flight from their lodgings in HIGHCOM Bravo-6 to the Magnificent Defiance. She held onto an overhead rail as the ship rattled through the atmosphere and into space, glowering at the space between atoms in front of her.

She still couldn’t fully believe that Uztel had betrayed the family. There wasn’t much worse you could do in a close-knit Blood Keep. The missing pieces nagged at the back of her mind; what possessed her little brother to do it - was it greed? Or was something else motivating him now? Tar had to find out.

The sounds, smells and cavernous tremors of the hangar bay assaulted Tar’s senses from the moment the ramp started lowering. She immediately yearned for somewhere quieter, so she could contemplate the situation further. She was following Spartan Ryker towards the door her map indicated went to the armoury, when she heard someone talking to Vael and Grik on one side. The words made Tar grit her mandibles together.

Circling back behind the small Human as they extended a hand in greeting, Tar stalked up to their shoulder. “And what does this one propose to exploit, on my homeworld?” She purred, butting in, staring menacingly down on the man. She was small among the other Sangheili, but still loomed over the new arrival.

The Cradle

As soon as the creature reared up, 595 crawled backwards over the uneven vines, one arm reaching for the Rothian sword. She wasn’t looking when a second barrage of plasma splashed all over her attacker’s neck area. The superheated particles on the exterior joined with the coating that was currently melting the creature’s throat. The monster’s head listed alarmingly towards Vreta, and its screech slurred into a loud humming. Its leg glowed bright as the third shot sprayed it, but the incredibly strong superstructure remained intact.

595 grasped the sword with one hand and turned to look at the creature just as one of its legs came down on her thigh, piercing the armour and the flesh behind her bone. The Agent roared out loud as the razor-sharp end twisted around when the creature tried to drunkenly pivot towards the Rothian. Activating the sword in her left hand, 595 swung it into the insect’s midriff and tried to pull it through. She added her other hand to the hilt as the beast writhed sluggishly around, a sickly slicing sound filling the subway.

The other creature did not take this well. Issuing a final terrifying war cry, it raised its front arms as if to throttle Vreta, who was in front of it, and shambled forward alarmingly fast. Freyr moved with Vreta’s tail as he swivelled to address the other threat, and noticed now that the other creature was considerably smaller and stockier than the female 595 was now cutting into. The shots to its legs slowed it slightly, but it carried on despite the risk of collapse. It used its tail to cross the final distance, leaping at Vreta like some flying, plasmafied spider. Freyr screamed and fired at its underside, flaring the Rothian’s shields again by mistake.