FF chapter 14: Artificial Shell
Yeah, I know its been a while since my last chapter post, but let's just say I've been so busy with other Halo stuff that I forget and get carried away.
*Blames Halo anime episode* Fred, you cheeky brat!
So...in case you lost track of what's going on, or if you think you've missed a chapter, let me know and I'll send you a link ;)
Gah! I've nearly finished my Halo: Fall of Reach novel (again)! I don't want it to end yet! It felt like it went to quick, it had John as a kid for only--what, four chapters?
Then a bit of him as 14---then it time warps to the year of the game (but just before the game takes place).
Like it was all 2525, then 2532, now its--VROOM--2552 (our Halo year).
Waaaaaahhh!! *sobs* It's okay--I'll just read it all over again--and now I'm closer to Freddie's book: First Strike--gotta get past The Flood novel first--(its about the events of the first Halo game).
So I might be able to skip some parts on that book--but not really, I'm not like that. Unless it drags without anyone saying stuff.
OKAY! Here's the chapter:
Oh, just a note, I love Spartan-034 (Samuel), when he died in the books I cried, it wasn't in vain, though.
He took a lot of Covenant to hell with him (not that he went to hell--Nah, he just went where all the other Spartans go: MIA.
===================================================================================
Artificial Shell
Chapter XIV
It was late in the afternoon now, John stayed in the cabin almost the entire day looking after Cortana; she hadn't woken yet-that brute must have tampered with the circuitry of Cortana's surrogate when he strangled her.
The surrogate she possessed was part organic part cyborg. John was still unsure how Cortana had gotten it, all she told him was that she tapped into a laboratory system and bribed the scientists for a rental. It had almost every human part on both the inside and out, it felt human, too. Every touch-either sensational or painful-was felt. But the worst: its expiry date was two months. Luckily it had only been three days. But whether that was good news depended on how much longer they were going to be stuck on this rock.
Haru had left half an hour ago to get some dinner for the group, avoiding every alien he could. John was worried for the ally, he'd betrayed his people for the survival of John and Cortana.
John stayed in his armour, too; he felt safer inside of it. The wait for Cortana's regain of consciousness still hadn't changed, she was still out and it made John edgy and anxious. He decided to take a quick nap. Since he was sensible, he let Cortana have the bed-while he still had the small lumpy couch.
“I've got an idea, hand me those warheads.”
“You'll have to stay here and hold them off. That's an order.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Sam knows.”
“I think I can hold them off for that long.”
“That's nothing, we'll get you patched up in no time. Once we get back...”
“Exactly...”
“The hole, we don't have any way to seal it.”
“No..”
“If I step off this boat, I'm dead from the decompression.”
“No. No-everyone gets out alive. We don't leave teammates behind.”
“He has his orders.”
“You've got to leave me. And don't tell me you'll give me your suit. It took those techs on Damascus fifteen minutes to fit us. I wouldn't even know where to start to unzip this thing...Don't waste time talking, our new friends aren't going to wait while we figure this out...There. It's decided. Now-get going, you two.”
“Come on, Spartan. Don't look back.”
John opened his eyes when he heard the door open, Haru entered the room with a tray of food. He glanced at Cortana before shaking his elongated head and setting the food on the table.
John sat up and checked the time: 1900. The General would be having his big dinner party as usual.
“She should be awakening soon,” Haru said, folding his arms. “Any other human being caught in a grasp like that-especially the grasp of a brute-would be dead in seconds.”
“Cortana's not like any other human. She's an AI.”
“She is?”
“She's using a surrogate.”
“Oh. Yes, I have heard of Dr. Creamer's work on surrogates. Very impressive.”
John thought he'd might like a talk with this Dr. Creamer, to see if he could cook up some information about the General and his “business”.
John got up, ignoring the small ache in his neck from the couch, and sat at the table to fill up on the food.
Haru seemed different all of a sudden; he wasn't staring at John so curiously like he usually would. Instead, he was looking down at the deckplates. Maybe he felt guilty, betraying his kind for a human he hardly knew.
“Something wrong?” John asked.
Haru shrugged, “No, nothing.”
John paused, “You know, you took a helluva risk back there. Your friends and allies are going to think of you as a traitor now that you've helped me.”
It'd be much worse if they all knew he was helping a Spartan.
“It would not make much difference,” Haru replied, “I was already a traitor when I joined the Heretic.”
The heretics sounded a lot like the good guys if they were against the Covenant. The Covenant were the ones who were trying to wipe out every living being in the galaxy.
John felt bad for Haru, he might get over it-he might not. But there was no doubt that some of the other aliens in the right wing would shoot him on sight.
After he'd finished his meal, John stood and approached Haru, he was the General's informant-so he obviously knew some valuable secrets.
“You wouldn't mind telling me some things about this place, would you?” John asked.
Haru clicked his mandibles and cocked his head quizzically, “Sure, I'll tell you anything you need.”
John didn't expect such an enthusiastic reply, Haru may have been acting sarcastic, but it didn't seem like him.
“Okay, who is the General, really?”
“General, also known as Jhet Herbert Madsen, was born on Earth in 2504, orphaned at birth and raised by a Japanese mafia known as the Tokyo Bandits. At seventeen he killed the mafia boss because he wanted to lead the gang his way-the gang, however, didn't agree. They've been chasing him across the galaxy since today. So far, while the General's here, he's safe.”
“Why does he hate the UNSC, couldn't he just call for their help?”
“Jhet has his pride, he'd rather work alone-or if in a group, he'd be the leader. He didn't ask for the help of the UNSC simply because they, too, were after him. They knew about the mafia, and they had every member's picture printed out on the wanted list.”
“What kind of “business” does he do here?”
“That, he won't tell me.”
“Guess he's not as stupid as I thought he was.” John muttered.
“One more question, if you don't mind?”
“Shoot.”
“Jhet's the leader of the human settlement here, right? So would there be a chance of having an alien leader for the right wing?”
Haru nodded, “Good guess. Jhet and the Prophet of Pride--”
“There's a prophet here?!” John felt his stomach clench at the one too-familiar word.
“Yes. The Prophet of Pride. He is the leader of the alien's wing. He and the General get on exceptionally well.”
“Damn it!” John muttered, “This is just great.”
“Why so upset?”
“I kinda have a thing with Prophets.”
“How so?”
John looked at him, waiting until he got the hint.
“Oh...that human was you who killed the Prophet of Regret?”
“Mmm hmm.”
“That's quite alright. If it weren't for you, my brothers would not have opened their eyes until it was too late.”
John was glad that he'd listen to his hunch; there really was a leader-a Prophet leader-for the right wing.
Suddenly, Haru looked genuinely happy. John was about to ask what his problem was, until he got a hint from the nearest window's reflection: Cortana was awake.
He spun around to face her, and as he did so she charged into him with her arms wrapped around him. John felt like his blood had run cold, he felt numb and embarrassed. But he was relieved that Cortana seemed to be “okay” and couldn't help but return the hug.
*Blames Halo anime episode* Fred, you cheeky brat!
So...in case you lost track of what's going on, or if you think you've missed a chapter, let me know and I'll send you a link ;)
Gah! I've nearly finished my Halo: Fall of Reach novel (again)! I don't want it to end yet! It felt like it went to quick, it had John as a kid for only--what, four chapters?
Then a bit of him as 14---then it time warps to the year of the game (but just before the game takes place).
Like it was all 2525, then 2532, now its--VROOM--2552 (our Halo year).
Waaaaaahhh!! *sobs* It's okay--I'll just read it all over again--and now I'm closer to Freddie's book: First Strike--gotta get past The Flood novel first--(its about the events of the first Halo game).
So I might be able to skip some parts on that book--but not really, I'm not like that. Unless it drags without anyone saying stuff.
OKAY! Here's the chapter:
Oh, just a note, I love Spartan-034 (Samuel), when he died in the books I cried, it wasn't in vain, though.
He took a lot of Covenant to hell with him (not that he went to hell--Nah, he just went where all the other Spartans go: MIA.
===================================================================================
Artificial Shell
Chapter XIV
It was late in the afternoon now, John stayed in the cabin almost the entire day looking after Cortana; she hadn't woken yet-that brute must have tampered with the circuitry of Cortana's surrogate when he strangled her.
The surrogate she possessed was part organic part cyborg. John was still unsure how Cortana had gotten it, all she told him was that she tapped into a laboratory system and bribed the scientists for a rental. It had almost every human part on both the inside and out, it felt human, too. Every touch-either sensational or painful-was felt. But the worst: its expiry date was two months. Luckily it had only been three days. But whether that was good news depended on how much longer they were going to be stuck on this rock.
Haru had left half an hour ago to get some dinner for the group, avoiding every alien he could. John was worried for the ally, he'd betrayed his people for the survival of John and Cortana.
John stayed in his armour, too; he felt safer inside of it. The wait for Cortana's regain of consciousness still hadn't changed, she was still out and it made John edgy and anxious. He decided to take a quick nap. Since he was sensible, he let Cortana have the bed-while he still had the small lumpy couch.
“I've got an idea, hand me those warheads.”
“You'll have to stay here and hold them off. That's an order.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Sam knows.”
“I think I can hold them off for that long.”
“That's nothing, we'll get you patched up in no time. Once we get back...”
“Exactly...”
“The hole, we don't have any way to seal it.”
“No..”
“If I step off this boat, I'm dead from the decompression.”
“No. No-everyone gets out alive. We don't leave teammates behind.”
“He has his orders.”
“You've got to leave me. And don't tell me you'll give me your suit. It took those techs on Damascus fifteen minutes to fit us. I wouldn't even know where to start to unzip this thing...Don't waste time talking, our new friends aren't going to wait while we figure this out...There. It's decided. Now-get going, you two.”
“Come on, Spartan. Don't look back.”
John opened his eyes when he heard the door open, Haru entered the room with a tray of food. He glanced at Cortana before shaking his elongated head and setting the food on the table.
John sat up and checked the time: 1900. The General would be having his big dinner party as usual.
“She should be awakening soon,” Haru said, folding his arms. “Any other human being caught in a grasp like that-especially the grasp of a brute-would be dead in seconds.”
“Cortana's not like any other human. She's an AI.”
“She is?”
“She's using a surrogate.”
“Oh. Yes, I have heard of Dr. Creamer's work on surrogates. Very impressive.”
John thought he'd might like a talk with this Dr. Creamer, to see if he could cook up some information about the General and his “business”.
John got up, ignoring the small ache in his neck from the couch, and sat at the table to fill up on the food.
Haru seemed different all of a sudden; he wasn't staring at John so curiously like he usually would. Instead, he was looking down at the deckplates. Maybe he felt guilty, betraying his kind for a human he hardly knew.
“Something wrong?” John asked.
Haru shrugged, “No, nothing.”
John paused, “You know, you took a helluva risk back there. Your friends and allies are going to think of you as a traitor now that you've helped me.”
It'd be much worse if they all knew he was helping a Spartan.
“It would not make much difference,” Haru replied, “I was already a traitor when I joined the Heretic.”
The heretics sounded a lot like the good guys if they were against the Covenant. The Covenant were the ones who were trying to wipe out every living being in the galaxy.
John felt bad for Haru, he might get over it-he might not. But there was no doubt that some of the other aliens in the right wing would shoot him on sight.
After he'd finished his meal, John stood and approached Haru, he was the General's informant-so he obviously knew some valuable secrets.
“You wouldn't mind telling me some things about this place, would you?” John asked.
Haru clicked his mandibles and cocked his head quizzically, “Sure, I'll tell you anything you need.”
John didn't expect such an enthusiastic reply, Haru may have been acting sarcastic, but it didn't seem like him.
“Okay, who is the General, really?”
“General, also known as Jhet Herbert Madsen, was born on Earth in 2504, orphaned at birth and raised by a Japanese mafia known as the Tokyo Bandits. At seventeen he killed the mafia boss because he wanted to lead the gang his way-the gang, however, didn't agree. They've been chasing him across the galaxy since today. So far, while the General's here, he's safe.”
“Why does he hate the UNSC, couldn't he just call for their help?”
“Jhet has his pride, he'd rather work alone-or if in a group, he'd be the leader. He didn't ask for the help of the UNSC simply because they, too, were after him. They knew about the mafia, and they had every member's picture printed out on the wanted list.”
“What kind of “business” does he do here?”
“That, he won't tell me.”
“Guess he's not as stupid as I thought he was.” John muttered.
“One more question, if you don't mind?”
“Shoot.”
“Jhet's the leader of the human settlement here, right? So would there be a chance of having an alien leader for the right wing?”
Haru nodded, “Good guess. Jhet and the Prophet of Pride--”
“There's a prophet here?!” John felt his stomach clench at the one too-familiar word.
“Yes. The Prophet of Pride. He is the leader of the alien's wing. He and the General get on exceptionally well.”
“Damn it!” John muttered, “This is just great.”
“Why so upset?”
“I kinda have a thing with Prophets.”
“How so?”
John looked at him, waiting until he got the hint.
“Oh...that human was you who killed the Prophet of Regret?”
“Mmm hmm.”
“That's quite alright. If it weren't for you, my brothers would not have opened their eyes until it was too late.”
John was glad that he'd listen to his hunch; there really was a leader-a Prophet leader-for the right wing.
Suddenly, Haru looked genuinely happy. John was about to ask what his problem was, until he got a hint from the nearest window's reflection: Cortana was awake.
He spun around to face her, and as he did so she charged into him with her arms wrapped around him. John felt like his blood had run cold, he felt numb and embarrassed. But he was relieved that Cortana seemed to be “okay” and couldn't help but return the hug.