Cath

The Cradle

Freyr nodded, mulling things over while taking another long sip of water.

It scared her to death, not knowing who was pulling the strings. Her work on the Cradle over the past decade had given her a glimpse of how labyrinthine the corridors of power on Outremer. But it felt like ever since the jewel in her adopted home planet’s crown had woken up, some kind of long-arranged plan had begun to unfold. People were saying one thing to her face, and then doing completely the opposite.

Looking at Vreta, Dr Lang realised that she did trust him. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that every Rothian she’d met was reading from a script - at least at certain times. The Rahn’Saki had looked like they were wearing a mask at their first formal conference. The lack of discord among their lizard friends troubled her.

Freyr watched Vreta continue talking while she mulled things over, only half listening. Then, an encrypted message popped up on her neural net through the cruiser's distribution network. It was from Masgard Xandrus - her eyes clouded over while she accessed it.

Message

Hey.

Glad to hear you’re awake. Did you get my get-well-soon gift? Pretty much the entire government wants to talk to you. I’ve told them you need time, but i don't know if i can stall them for long. Let me know when you’re ready to face them.

M

Freyr closed down her neural interface and sighed. “It seems I am in high demand.” She contemplated the prospect of getting back to work, and immediately got the imprint of a voice whispering in her ear, and her face submerged in water. Her heart began pounding in her chest, and Freyr’s next few breaths were fast and juddery. Then all of a sudden it was gone.

“I don’t know…if I can face working today. How is my team? How is, erm, Wallace? She was there before I passed out. With those two masked people.”

Song Reference time

I said, he doesn't look a thing like Jesus! But he, talks like a gentleman

Halo: Aegis Team

Tar heard Vael’s callout in her ear, then a moment later the solid impact of his sword pommel against her side. The Hunter Killer was so intent on forcing his sword into his opponent’s chest that he didn’t notice. He growled again and redoubled his efforts. White hot pain exploded at two points across her chest, and Tar screamed out.

She grasped at Vael's sword pommel, turning it round so her fingers fit snugly around it. She pushed it up towards the Hunter Killer’s side and activated it. A bright blue blade burst through his armour on both sides of his body. A look of surprise flashed into his eyes; his body tautened and his growl turned into a wet gurgle.

Tar kept her embattled left arm straight, and pushed with her sword arm. The Sangheili on top of her flopped to the side, still holding his own blade. She rolled with him to avoid accidentally slicing the flesh of her arm on his sword.

Once the Hunter Killer was on the floor, she pushed herself away and teased the sword tip out of her chest. The pain was excruciating - a wave of blindness rolled across Tar's vision and she nearly collapsed. Desperately holding her senses together, she awkwardly manoeuvred the blade away from her, then scrambled up and on top of her assailant. He struggled weakly against Tar’s weapon which was still in his side.

The Commando leaned in close. “WHERE is Falx?” She hissed. “Does he still live?” The dying Elite under her tried to laugh, but ended up coughing bright purple blood.

“TELL ME!” Tar yelled, letting go of her sword pommel to grab his armour at both shoulders and shake violently.

The Cradle

Freyr looked down at her hands briefly when the Doctor mentioned a sensory uplink, but couldn’t spot anything attached to her. She looked back up at them. “Thank you. I will get up soon and see how I feel.” She looked back to Vreta, trying to process what he was saying.

“Terrorists? But…who-” Her fuzzy brain suddenly etched a portrait of the man who’d apprehended them on the bridge, on their way to the Cradle those weeks ago. His lips moved: “You have the power to stop this, before it's too late.” The tattoo of a scythe under his eye wiggled as he smiled, revealing a set of sharpened synthetic teeth. “If you don’t, well…the Guild doesn’t look kindly on traitors.”

“Skinners? Why do they want to kill us? We’re just trying to understand what we’ve gotten ourselves into…” Dr Lang searched Vreta’Sori’s reptilian eyes, as if to find the answer to her question.

The Cradle

Freyr struggled to comprehend what Vreta was telling her. Were those noises in the back of her head memories of deafening in-atmosphere engines and explosions?

She received the bottle sippy cup and greedily drank from it, peering blankly over at the assortment of clothing. The water trickled down her dry pipes, invigorating her slightly, but her mind still span.

“Was there an attack? My memory is a little hazy…”

The Cradle

Freyr stared blankly into space, searching her memory while the doctors spoke to her. Her mind tried to piece together what had happened and how she’d arrived in this strange place - but the last couple of days were an uncomfortable blur. She distractedly hummed out an earworm; the beginning of a song she didn’t know.

She looked over when another Rothian entered, and it took a few seconds for her to recognise Vreta’Sori. He asked her how she was, and Freyr looked down at her hands as if to see if she’d contracted leprosy. “Groggy. Where am i?” She replied eventually. She smacked her lips, finding them dry. “Water.” She murmured. The Human doctor made a note and then signalled at the attendant droid.

Halo: Aegis Team

Tar lit up the Hunter Killer’s shield in the dark with two shots from her carbine. Then she turned her gun sideways and chucked it forward.

Her assailant paused on the top step for half a second, raising one arm to deflect the heavy object whipping toward him through the rain. He was taller than Tar, but not by much. He didn’t have much mass on her either, but he was astonishingly fast.

Seizing her chance while her opponent was distracted, Tar lunged forward and trapped his sword hand under her left armpit. The dual-tips buzzed behind her ear, her shields activated and the smell of singed metal assaulted her senses.

Pushing with all her might, Tar shoved the Hunter Killer up against one side of the door frame he’d just emerged from. Sheets of water poured over them from above. The male looked straight in her face from a few inches away and hissed. “So it is you.”

His left fist smashed into the side of her helmet, blurring Tar’s vision and toppling them both over. While in free fall, the black-clad Hunter Killer jerked his sword free of Tar’s armpit. She crashed onto her back and her assailant leapt on top to pin her. She punched him meatily in the neck as his free hand pushed her chest down. Then she saw him raise his sword and plunge it towards her neck.

Raising her left hand on instinct, Tar caught the handle between the sword’s two deadly spikes. White-hot pain exploded on either side of her hand as the energy bit into her flesh. She roared.

The Hunter Killer leaned into his attack, pressing the blade closer to her head. “Deserting your…Keep, for that PATHETIC…excuse of a Kaidon.” He spat, growling as his weapon slowly came into contact with Tar’s armour plating.

Tar scrabbled frantically for her right thigh holster, her other arm still holding back the sword. But the Sangheili straddling her had his knee in the way of her Mauler. So she groped her arm out manically around her, searching for anything to use.

Despite the carnage and imminent danger all around him, the Hunter Killer appeared to be relishing this moment. He leaned in even more. “Such a shame you’re…too late to save…your brother!”

Tar growled, activating comms while he spoke. "Urgent target on my IFF." She whispered as quietly as she could. She wasn't about to let him escape.

The Cradle

“Agreed, let's get the hell out of here!” Masgard yelled over the sirens, hefting the cannon as he turned back to the group. His usually perfect hair hung down along his forehead, dripping wet from the fire control system.

Most of the civilians had begun a stampede back through the red-hued corridor in the opposite direction. But the fight had only lasted half a minute at most, so the Institute operators at the back were able to shepherd them up and point them in the right direction. The ones in the front fanned out to check the corridor ahead.

Skopec rose to his knees and pushed his helmet back. He peeled a warped slither of armour flex away from his neck, breathing ragged. That done, the Sergeant waved away offers of assistance and clambered unsteadily to his feet, pistol in hand. He looked angry. “As I was saying… I'll make sure everyone gets out. Go!”

---

Not long after, they reached the large corner unit of their floor. A Rothian transport had cut through the glass and was waiting for them with the doors open. They all fit on, except some of the soldiers who went to help their CO, and the craft lifted off. The arcology they had all briefly called home was lit up with a multitude of fires, raging against a dark and rainy background. Police lights flashed through the city below.

Chapter 7 - The Alliance

Freyr slept without dreams for the next 28 hours. The first time in a while. She woke in unfamiliar surroundings.

The Cradle

The droid swinging Skopec released him after hitting Vreta. Not by design; it had just lost control of its arms. They continued to spin wildly around.

Milliseconds after the Sergeant flew through the air, Masgard rose to his feet with the second droid’s discarded energy cannon. Cradling it in his arms, he charged the weapon to full power, aimed and fired.

vvvvVVVVBOOM

The corridor flashed, and the top half of the first droid disappeared. Its legs stumbled forward a step, before pitching over on the floor.

Masgard grinned, relieved. It didn’t last long though, and he fumbled to cool the gun’s energy core for another shot as Skopec crashed into Nirann from behind.

Somehow, the Institute Sergeant managed to push free of the fire door that had been integrated with his armour since the fight began. This slab of metal whacked the Rothian AI on the back at high speed, and the armoured man fell shorter, impacting the base of Nirann’s tail.

The droid on the other side of Nirann didn’t stop charging forward. The energy sword sawed the arm holding the girder clean off; it clanged to the floor. But with Nirann pushed forward from behind the droid used its side to keep the blade’s edge away from puncturing its chest - merely singeing its frame. It took a side step before lunging forward, grabbing Nirann around the neck and pulled him savagely into the stairwell area.

Using its opponent’s momentum, the droid pushed Nirann down towards the other legless machine on the floor.

This one knew that without a knee joint, it was no use in a conventional fight. So it had immediately begun priming its emergency self-destruct charge. The module was embedded in its chest and had been designed for activation either by a human standing in front of the droid, or remotely. So it had taken a couple of seconds to prepare, but the charge now flashed red. A prerecorded message blared for workers to stand back, as Nirann’s head was plunged toward it.

Song Reference time

Do you feeeeeel
The weight of the world singing sorrow?
Or to you is it just not real
Because you got your own things
Yeah we all have our things, I guess.