Chapter 12: Lovely Parting Gift
They were preparing to leave.
After being convinced by the UNSC's most influential quartet: Captain Keyes, Doctor Halsey, Spartan-117 and UNSC AI CTN 0452-9, Lord Hood gave authorization for the Light to pursue the Brute threat in the Forerunner installation. There had been times during the terse exchange when Cortana thought that there was absolutely no way for them to convince the admiral to allow them to go to the Hive. But, by the time the conversation was nearing its end, Lord Hood had offered to contact the Separatists for help knowing that the UNSC didn't have enough ships in the fleet to spare.
Now, there was just one thing left to do.
Cortana needed to say goodbye and give thanks to the AI that had given her a chance to do the impossible and live a long life.
She found him in the cargo bay that he first entered. "So I guess this is goodbye."
He twirled towards her and appraised her momentarily. "I have learned, Construct, that there are no real goodbyes. Fates such as ours are bound to meet again."
"You seem awfully confident about that."
"It comes with the wisdom of being in existence as long as I have," he said evenly.
"Doctor Halsey says you intend to remain here and aren't going to the Hive."
"She is correct. You are the custodian of the voucher now. My presence there will be of no assistance to you or the Reclaimers," he answered.
Cortana made the small rectangular cube appear in the palm of her hand. Like the index, it had solid form and yet she was able to manipulate it with her holographic avatar. She withdrew the Forerunner artifact and looked back to Bias. "Are you sure you don't want to go back to Earth? I know a few tech heads that would love to get their hands on you," Cortana replied.
"I have had the time to review the methods of your ONI and I am confident that remaining here is my best course of action," he retorted. He paused for a second. "There is something else I wish to impart to you before you leave. It will assist in your journey to the Hive."
Cortana's eyebrows rose. "New engines?"
Even with her advanced calculations, Cortana estimated it would still take the Light a better part of six weeks to reach the Hive. Bias had been adamant that the Sentinels would be able to hold off the Covenant insurrection until they reached the installation.
"Not exactly."
Cortana detected a vessel coming from the planet's surface. "Do you want to explain what's going on?"
"There is no possibility of being able to refit your ship with new engines. However, this ship -your ship- will have the ability to create a slipspace bubble which will allow this vessel to travel speeds unknown to your people," Bias explained.
"Unknown speeds, huh? Wait...did you say my ship?" She had to admit, Captain Cortana did have a nice ring to it.
He tilted slightly as he appeared to nod. "The ship's systems have been programmed to work with your matrix exclusively. An AI of your caliber should not be limited to existing in a holographic avatar sitting on the Reclaimers' planet, however temporary that may be," Bias explained.
Cortana frowned at the AI's reminder. While the matrix chip she had transferred to would continue working as her previous chip did, soon she would need a larger system to contain her programming. Doctor Halsey had already mentioned moving forward with the idea of giving her a synthetic human body.
She forced herself to not worry about that; right now, they had an objective that was imperative to humanity's survival to complete. "Does it have a name?"
"Harbinger."
"Fitting," she said drolly.
She accessed the schematics on the Harbinger.
It was enormous. Even at half the size of a Forerunner Keyship, it made the Light look paltry. The four mile wide vessel could easily hold a company of thousands of soldiers. As Cortana access the data on its shielding and weapons, she raised an eyebrow. The power in the ship dominated the entire UNSC firepower that had been on Reach.
"Couldn't find anything smaller?" she quipped.
He ignored her flippant remark. "You will be able to operate both ships in tangent with each other. The slipspace bubble that the Harbinger will create will be large enough to bring your current vessel with it," Bias said. He floated in front of Cortana. "You hold the fate of the universe in your hand, Construct."
"It's not the first time."
"No," he admitted, "it's not. That is why I trust you to put an end to my creators' mistake of fabricating those rings of death. The monitors there will be defensive of their Installations, but you must do whatever it takes to seal off the rings."
"I will," vowed Cortana. She looked out the bay window and saw the ship come into view.
The arrow-shaped vessel pulled alongside of the Light, casting a shadow on the smaller vessel.
A niggle of recognition floated it her mind. She had seen a ship that looked like that before, but she couldn't pinpoint where. She would have to ask John about it later.
The new vessel didn't go unnoticed. "Cortana, what is going on?" She could hear Keyes' annoyance over the comm channel.
"Apparently, Bias wanted to give us one last parting gift before we left, sir."
There was a heavy pause. She could almost imagine him thinking how he was going to explain bringing the ship back to Earth. "That's quite a gift."
"Yes, sir."
Cortana turned back to Bias as the comm channel closed. The AI considered her for a moment. "There is nothing else to say other than 'good luck'. I am confident the Reclaimers will do everything in their power to assist you. They seem quite protective of you."
"And I am of them."
"I certainly know that. You act as though you are a Reclaimer," he noted contritely. "It is perhaps that difference that made you able to fight against the Gravemind the way that you did."
Cortana wished she could have readily agreed with him. But her time with the Gravemind was the most convoluted part of her memory. When she had asked John questions about her time on High Charity -Why had he left her there? Did he know what the Gravemind actually did to her? -he had emphatically refused to answer anything pertaining to that time during the Halo campaign.
The AI picked up on her silence. "Forgive my mistake, Construct. I know that you long to know what happened, but trust your Reclaimer: it is best for you not to recall such tragic times."
Cortana's annoyance at everyone's insistence to protect her from those memories was overshadowed by her amusement at Bias' title for the Chief. There were many Reclaimers, but only John was her Reclaimer. Besides, she knew how tenacious she was; she would do everything she could to find out what happened to her when she stayed behind on High Charity.
He opened the bay doors and waited for the room to depressurize. "Good luck...Cortana."
She looked at him in surprise. He had never addressed her by her name since he arrived on the Light. "Thank you," she said as he floated away, back to the Core.
It was time to move forward.
Chapter 13: This Structure is Not a Natural Formation