Halo - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Sangheili Pirate in the UNSC ❯ A Hack-job with the Shade of Darkness ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Ghostwalker2061
Telek tries to figure out who hacked into his ship when he first arrived here. While trying to figure out who did it, he also decides to delve into his future boss' past--a past he finds that his people actually shares. That old saying the enemy of my enemy is my friend...

Non Anime: Halo - Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy / Cyberpunk / Sci-fi | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.05.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 342 | Status: Completed

2202 Hours, August 30, 2547 (Military Calendar)\Reach
Telek glanced under the desk, searching for something, though the other Ship Masters did not know what. Leaning back up, he started poking around the walls, looking behind corners and feeling up doors and various other depressions along the wall of the debriefing room. Cujo took his gold helmet off and leaned his head down, folding his fingers on top of his crown. He shook his head in irritation over the antics of his superior officer. Mitsu also shook his head, glancing over at Tulsa for some sort of comfort in what Telek was doing. Dr. Erin Venamee, Telek's chief medical officer, was also in the room, studying Telek's rather odd behavior. Shri just wagged her head.
“You sure he hasn't been drinking?” Erin asked.
“Well, not since he got back from the meeting,” said Tulsa. “He started too, but he stopped afterwards.”
“Telek,” began Erin. “You seem very distressed right now, and you've pulled the ship away from Reach. What are you doing?”
“Making sure we're not being watched,” Telek replied.
“Who's watching us?” Erin asked.
“Mr. Knight,” said Mitsu replied. “He's been doing sweeps after sweeps for something that Mr. Knight could—hook up to.”
“Telek, Mr. Knight is at Earth,” said Erin.
“Well, apparently, that didn't stop him from hacking into my ship now, did it?” the Fleet Master asked as he glanced under each individual chair.
“He hacked the Shade of Darkness?” Erin asked.
“I can vouch for that,” said Tekn. “Though he didn't get far.”
“Our systems are too different,” said Telek. “Tekn, you did remove all information on the Text didn't you? You stored it in a separate data crystal, right?”
“Yes, Excellency,” replied Tekn.
“Good,” the Zealot sighed. “At least we'll keep Halo out of his sights. I don't want that ring discovered.”
“No human has ever hacked into a Covenant ship before,” said Erin. “Not that I remember—anyways…”
“That's it, isn't it?” Telek asked. “No human has. But Kiryuu Knight isn't human. He's a machine.”
“A machine is their leader?” Erin asked.
“Yes, a machine,” said Shri. “He's some sort of cybernetic version of one of their prehistoric reptiles.”
Erin's brow cocked up and he slowly turned his head towards Telek.
“Is this true?” he asked.
“Yes,” said Telek.
“I think I liked you better when you were drunk,” Erin sighed.
Telek settled down on his chair and took off his gold and black helmet. He laid his head down and grabbed the mug of beer.
“I think I liked me better that way too…” he sighed as he took a swig of it. Telek leaned his head back as he gulped down the frothy brew until the mug was completely emptied. “Tekn, return to the bridge and keep an eye out for any other potential attacks to the computer system. I don't want secrets that Knight character's not supposed to know about leak out of the system.”
“Yes, Excellency,” said Tekn as he rose up and walked out.
“Knight wants secrets about the Covenant,” said Mitsu. “What are we gonna tell him?”
“Everything except about the Forerunners, Halo, and the truth about the Great Journey,” said Telek, pouring another round of beer into his mug. “He and ONI want tactics. We'll give him tactics. He wants to know our language and have us teach his people how to operate our ships, we'll do that. But everything that we have on Halo, he will never know about. We'll do the same thing we've been doing—every Covenant ship we hijack, we erase all files on the Halos and the Great Journey.”
“There might come a time when we'll need to tell them about Halo,” said Cujo.
“Why can't we tell them?” Tulsa asked.
Telek rose up from his chair and slammed his fist down onto the purple, glossy table: “If we tell them what Halo is, they'll want to know what it does. And if we tell them that, they might try to use it—which will be bad. We all know what it does, we all know what it holds. It's a weapon, yes, but a weapon that will kill even those who use it. The fate of the Forerunners will be ours as well. And Truth will have his mass suicide that he calls the Great Journey. I don't know what this Knight creature will do with such knowledge. Hell, I don't even know if he's immune to the pulse that the Halos emit. He may not be because he's also partially organic—but he could very well be because he's also a machine. I don't know what he might do. So, I won't divulge that information to him. I'm protecting humanity from making an idiotic mistake—the same idiotic mistake that the Covenant plans on doing.”
“You also don't trust him,” said Cujo.
“No,” Telek replied. “I don't. There's something about that guy I really don't like. He irks me in a really bad way. But, I'll play his game. I'll become his little party prize and be a Captain.”
“Irked?” Shri asked. “Been using that word a day calendar?”
“Helps doesn't it?” Telek chuckled. “But I'll make one condition that you all will remain under my command.”
“I believe Don stated that we would,” said Cujo.
“I know, but I want to make that point come across to Kiryuu,” said Telek.
“I suppose reminding him that we won't follow anyone else but you would be a good idea,” shrugged Tulsa. “Make sense, Excellency.”
Telek leaned back again as he sat down and spread his mandibles wide in a yawn. He poured another round and quickly downed the beer and then let loose a belch.
“Are you expertly liquored?” Shri asked.
“No,” Telek replied.
“Can you take us back to our ships now?” asked Cujo. “I wanna make sure Knight didn't hack the Divine Journey.”
“Same here,” said Mitsu.
“I'll second that,” said Tulsa. “But first, I'm going to check up on Little Tulsa.”
Telek chuckled with admiration to the Zealot Ship Master's emotions of brotherly love. Ever since Tulsa `Yuromee had died a year ago, `Duroshee and `Tolumee were becoming closer as brothers should. Though `Duroshee felt that he needed to check up on `Tolumee every day and night to make sure that he was alright since he was the last little brother `Duroshee had left. Tulsa `Duroshee got up and walked out of the briefing room, heading for the barracks were Major Domo Tulsa `Tolumee was. Telek glanced back at the remaining two Ship Masters Cujo and Mitsu.
“I'll get you all back to your ships,” he said. “And do a sweep. In fact, order your assistants to perform the search now so it'll be done before you board your ships.”
“Yes, Excellency,” said Mitsu.
“No problem,” Cujo nodded.
“Dismissed,” said Telek as he got up and left the room. Cujo and Mitsu headed back for the main cargo hold of the Shade of Darkness while Telek headed towards the bridge. Erin returned to sick bay. As soon as he got there, he found Tekn running system scans on the ship's computer.
“Excellency,” he began. “I've found no files were accessed. Apparently Kiryuu doesn't have the ability yet to hack into our encrypted folders.”
“That's a relief,” Telek sighed. “Did he look?”
“He made the attempt,” said Tekn. “But failed. I've removed all files containing information on the Halos. Here.” He handed Telek the data crystal. “It's all stored in there and with a password. It's Jack Sparrow.”
“Jack Sparrow?” Telek asked. “My favorite pirate from human folklore. Excellent work, Tekn.”
“Thank you, sir,” Tekn grinned.
Telek grabbed the full tin of vodka and took a drink of it: “Tomorrow, I don't care what Shri says, I am going there a bit hammered. I think that's the only way I can safely face Kiryuu without going completely insane over him.”
“You're worried about him,” said Tekn.
“I don't know what he's gonna do,” said Telek. “I don't know what he'll say—I don't know anything. I just don't trust a computer that can think like—us.”
“Us as in Sangheili?” Tekn asked. “Or us as in sentient beings as a whole?”
“He has more than human intelligence, Tekn,” said Telek. “Us as in Sangheili—no—more like the Prophets. He's manipulative like Truth. He's got the humans all worshipping him like some sort of god!”
“I noticed that,” said Tekn. “That's not good.”
“He won't trick me,” said Telek. “No—he may be powerful, but he's not as powerful as the Covenant Armada. That's why he needs me. He knows what the Covenant could do to him if they get a hold of him. It's not just Earth we're protecting here; we're protecting him as well.”
“You know, he could just be a nice guy just concerned with the welfare of his people,” said Tekn. “And that's why he does these things.”
Telek shook his head: “No. I don't believe in that.”
“It's because of Truth,” Tekn said. “This guy reminds you of Truth. Kiryuu could be the opposite.”
Telek wagged his head in disagreement again. He just could not believe that a computer could rise to so much power just because people liked him and he promised good for all—those were Truth's ideals! No, he could not believe that one bit. Kiryuu may be concerned for human safety now, but what would happen when the war was over? What would Kiryuu do then? Telek could not figure out or even begin to perceive the First Computer's actions.
“Tekn,” Telek began. “You know I never go into battle without knowing information about the enemy I'm facing. I never want to be caught with my pants down.”
“Of course, Excellency,” Tekn nodded.
Telek pressed several holographic buttons on the control screen encircling the platform he stood upon.
“What are you doing?” Tekn asked.
“Learning about Kiryuu Knight,” Telek replied.
“He's not our enemy. Besides, tomorrow he'll be your boss.”
“True,” the Zealot nodded. “But I still want to know about who I'll be selling my soul to. Ah, here we go. Files that go all the way back to Earth's 20th Century. Now, let's see…1949, 50, 51, ah! October 31st, 1952. United States of America tested the most powerful hydrogen bomb it has ever created, ranging 10 megatons of TNT. Its code name was Mike. The blast was so powerful it sent debris fallout 20 miles into the stratosphere. The westerly trade winds caught the debris and it fell on a small island known as Ogasawara. Tekn, how big a blast can one of the UNSC NOVA bombs produce?”
“Twice that—maybe three…” Tekn replied.
“What was the largest bomb they detonated during this time?” Telek asked.
“Tsar Bomba,” said Tekn, pulling up the information on the screen. “50 megatons, detonated by the Soviet Union.”
“Human arrogance,” Telek sighed. “Don is right. Why were the Soviet's bombs so much bigger?”
“Targeting systems, Excellency,” said Tekn. “The Soviets didn't have the superior targeting systems that the Americans had. Better to make a big blast just in case you miss the target by a few hundred miles—at least you'd get the target somehow.”
“But the Soviets didn't test in the South Pacific,” said Telek.
“No, but the Americans did,” said Tekn. “That's the bomb. See? Two years later a large sea monster shows up the Japanese call Gojira.”
“Gojira?”
“The Americans call it Godzilla,” said Tekn. “Came to this small island, then it headed for the main island of Honshu, started tearing up the place.”
“Why?”
“I don't know, it just did,” replied Tekn, reading from the files. “The JDSF managed to drive it back to the ocean, but it returned the next night. They weren't able to kill it until a scientist came along with some sort of weapon that created bubbles in the water—which ate the flesh off of this creature.”
“Do you know the weapon's name?”
“Doesn't say,” he said. “But the same weapon was mentioned in 2007, and then again in 2055. After that, no more weapon. Said the scientist who created the weapon died, and the one used in 1954 was the only weapon he had—except…”
“Kiryuu…” Telek sighed. “Kiryuu—the greatest hacker Earth has ever produced—managed to get the information and use it. A weapon…”
“Hacking systems he's familiar with,” Tekn nodded. “But our systems…”
“He's a learning machine,” said Telek. “He'll keep pushing until he's figured it out. That's why he's trying. He wants information because he knows that we may not share everything with him. He'll get it either through us or through his own means. He can have it—but not Halo.”
Tekn sighed as he turned back to the screen, flipping through the pages of each newspaper printed during the late 20th Century and early 21st Century. He saw various images of Kiryuu fighting other monsters and he shook his head in disbelief. Telek just laughed when he saw the various images of Kiryuu, especially Kiryuu standing beside buildings—which gave Telek a sense of Kiryuu's true size.
“Whoo-wee,” Telek chuckled. “President Knight really is BIG! Eh, my ship is bigger.”
“Humans and their weapons, our weapon tests never created such horrors,” he said. “Why did theirs?”
“Human insanity,” Telek shrugged. “Or a really bad B-movie. Oh, look at that, they fought the green monkeys from the black hole too. Kiryuu defeated them. We've got something in common, he defeated them and we—we glassed whatever planets they had left and made them extinct. Hold it!” He stopped the scrolling of the images when he spotted one he recognized. A golden dragon with three heads. “No—that can't be.”
“Excellency…” Tekn gasped. “It's him! It's the Gold Demon.”
“Harodihg,” Telek breathed. “Not even the Covenant could kill him.”
“Kiryuu did,” said Tekn. “With that special weapon. They called him Monster Zero.”
“Funny, they had the power to destroy something the Covenant could not, but they could not stop the Covenant from glassing their planets one after another,” Telek shook his head.
“That's a little on the irony side, isn't it?”
“Sounds like it,” he agreed. Telek's eyes scanned the images of newspaper clips he found. “Kiryuu Knight, CEO of the Utah Foundation of Bio-Organic Research uses strange weapon on Chicago, Illinois, to fight bug spirits known as the Invae in 2055. UCAS President Kiryuu Knight establishes network of various telescopes and electro-magnetic sensors on various mountain peaks to watch the sky in 2060. Technomancy helps in curing Goblinization in 2061. What the hell is Technomancy?” He leaned in a bit more and looked at the various strange blue towers set up around various large cities—something similar he had seen with Forerunner technology. “Why does it look like—Forerunner technology?”
“These humans are strange…” Tekn shrugged.
“No,” Telek began. “No, there's something missing. I feel like I'm staring at the greatest answer ever known but I don't know what the question is.”
He took another swig of his tin and sat down on the glossy, blue-violet floor.
“Humans with Forerunner technology…” Telek shook his head again. “Humans…and Forerunner…Tekn—I'm confused.”
“So am I,” Tekn nodded. “And I'm tired.”
“Right,” Telek sighed. “The boys must be wondering why my ship isn't moving. Let's go back to Reach. I'm sure someone's told Witcom that I kinda ran off for a moment. And I'm probably gonna be chewed out too.”
He rose up off the floor and ran his gloved fingers over the controls and felt his ship come to life at his command. The assault carrier slowly faded back into invisibility and through its impulse engines and little by little it crept back towards Reach. As soon as the ship dipped down below the clouds, its gravity platform was released and the cloak soon disabled. The Shade of Darkness anchored itself back down onto the ground. Three Ship Masters descended down the purple, glowing beam and silently went back to their own ships. Telek stood there watching them return to their ships, his mouth hung in a deep frown. He felt defeated, exhausted, and once more at his wit's end. Telek slowly left the control room and went back to his quarters. Tekn stood there alone as he saw his superior officer leave the room, knowing that Telek needed some time to think. Things were just moving a bit too fast and even more so, too strangely for him to even take. Nothing made sense to him anymore. Telek dragged himself into this room and collapsed on the bed with his tin in his hand. His crystal blue eyes shut tightly and his body fell limp, drifting off to sleep again.