Chapter VII
Legacy Of The Precursors
Chapter VII
Conner began to speak but halted himself, he knew that he should continue the briefing but he no longer had the urge to talk, and it would require allot of talking. "I think that it would be best if we adjourned for today." Puzzled Pepper asked why. "Because sir, it will be easier to explain at a later date."
Pepper thought it over. "If that is your wish."
"It is sir."
"I guess the meeting is over."
"Not quite." Conner interrupted.
Pepper was startled. "Is there something else?"
Conner took a deep breath, what he was about to say would take allot out of him. "There still is the matter of me being stuck in this part of the universe, I have no way to get back home, and while I have the resources to survive I have nothing worth doing." He explained steadily, while calm on the outside his core was a whirlpool of uncertainty flowing from the problem he had yet to address, what would he do now?
He was lost, the UNSC will never find him and he doubted he would find them either if he went searching for his home galaxy. That was considering if they were even close. For all he knew it was on the opposite side of the universe. He was a tool without a guiding hand, and errant tools can be harmful to all.
He was created to fight for and defend humanity, he could no longer do that. He had already failed his crew. He was the only human left. Which all came full circle to the original question, what would he do?
Epsilon had suggested that he ally himself with these...cornerians. It was a sound plan, it was just he was molded to fight aliens, not to work for them. It was almost an instinctual repellence. Still he had already expended too much effort in trusting them, however little he did, to just abandon the A.I's plot. And if things worked out the tool would have its guiding hand.
"I see your dilemma." Pepper said thoughtfully. "But what do you want from us?"
"I...wish to....pledge my services." He ground out finally. There he said it, he managed to force the words out of his mouth.
Pepper and the others muzzles dropped in confusion. "Why would you want to?"
"From what I've been told, if I was forced to pick a side here, that yours would be the best." He told them haltingly, clearly it was not a decision he took lightly.
Pepper took a long time to think about it, the room was silent until he came to his conclusion. "In order to join you would have to submit to the oath." He warned.
'An oath?' He was hesitant to learn more. "What would that require?"
"You would have to pledge yourself to the safety of Lylat and her people."
Conner debated internally. He was torn between his loyalty to the UNSC, and the chance to have a purpose again. "I...I...I..." For the first time since Starfox met him he sounded unsure, and maybe even a little lost. "I........accept." He said haltingly. "With a condition."
Pepper frowned, "and that would be?"
"I will have to work on my own ship and be a separate entity to the defense force."
"In other words a mercenary."
"Not necessarily, I would only be employed by the CDF and no other faction could seek to hire me."
"I...suppose that could work." Pepper agreed after a second.
"Good." Was Conner's reply.
"What about your crew?" Krystal asked shattering his small victory.
"......crew?" He said slowly.
"Surely such a large ship would have an equally large crew."
The others looked to him interested in his response, they to had been wondering about the spartans crew.
"They...uh...." He cleared his throat "you see the wormhole had a lethal amount of radiation...my suit saved me."
The office was deathly quiet. "You mean to say..." Fox asked the unasked question.
"Yes." Conner said steadfastly. "But it is alright, they were sent off with honor." His voice was normal, as if discussing the weather.
Krystal stared at the crimson visor of the spartan trying to glimpse any tell in his movement. He was as still as stone. How could someone, even an alien, be so cold and distant? She asked herself. She was tempted to peer into his mind, but a quick thought back to earlier stayed that motion.
"If I may ask?" Miyu said grabbing his attention, he turned his head till the visor was looking at her. "How many people did you have on your ship?"
"...six hundred loyal men and women."
"Six hundred, merciful gods." Peppy said sadly.
"How do you cope?" Slippy wondered.
"Cope? What is there worth coping, they died doing their duty, if we all were so lucky."
"I wouldn't call that luck!" Fay grumbled.
"It is all I could ever hope to aspire to." Conner said confidently.
"You aspire...to die in combat?" Falco said disbelievingly.
"Yes, it is what I was created for, there is no other future for me." They could tell he earnestly believed that.
"That can't be true!" Krystal denied.
"It is, its what I sacrificed for my people, any chance at a normal life, to become what they needed."
They looked at the towering spartan with sadness. How could someone wholeheartedly think that?
"We are off topic," the spartan grunted "is our business concluded?" He asked Pepper, who looked at him sadly and nodded. "Very well then commander I will contact my ship." He walked over to the desk and dropped a small sheet of metal with writing on it that he took from a container on his belt. "This is the frequency you can use to contact me." Once he was sure the old bloodhound got it he made for the exit. "Let me know when you have an assignment." And then he was gone.
Pepper looked to Fox with a grim expression on his face, "I've never met a more stone cold man."
Fox agreed, "I don't think he knows how to be normal."
"It's just not right!" Fay said indignantly "he should care about his life, I haven't know him long but I care!" Krystal just stared at the wall sadly. Falco and Miyu just looked at the door he left through. One thoughtful, the other introspective.
Peppy looked to Fox. "In all my years I have never seen a more effective soldier, or such a broken man."
Pepper cleared his throat grabbing the attention of the group. "I have another assignment for you, I want you to work with the spartan, as of now you are to report to his ship, if he objects tell him it's an order."
Fox nodded and got up to leave. The others following after him. As the door opened the bloodhound had one last thing to say. "And Fox, help him." Fox nodded once more and left the room with his team in tow.
Conner stormed down the hallway emotions swirling in his head. What was wrong? He had relived his stress, why was he still bothered by his thoughts. Those inquiries should never have effected him so! They made him question himself.
He had answered as he usually did but, on the inside, he began to doubt. Maybe he deserved to live a normal life, to laugh, to smile, to play...to love. He crushed those traitorous thoughts cruelly and buried them deep, but ever so slowly they would bubble back up to the surface, sparking another burst of doubt. With a deep growl he rammed a gauntlet into the wall next to him smashing through the foot thick metal. He turned his gaze to the fist he had plunged into the wall and then to the cornerians in the hallway.
They looked at him in fear. And for a bizarre moment he felt like apologizing and explaining himself. Instead he retracted his armored fist from the wall, still clenched, and stormed out of the building, cornerians quickly vacating the area in front of him.
Outside he leaned on the wall and tried to establish contact with epsilon. "What is it spartan?" The A.I asked once he had connected.
"I think something's wrong with me." He explained.
"Elaborate."
"I have bouts of rage and other emotions, what is going on?" His outer helms speakers were off so no one else could hear the conversation. Which made it a little disconcerting to see a seven foot tall armored being pace outside the building and wave his hands, as if arguing with someone who wasn't there.
"What do you mean nothing's wrong!" Conner demanded. "Spartans don't have this problem!"
"It is not a problem." Epsilon replied cooly in the face of his rage. "It's normal."
"Spartans. Are. Not. Normal!" He growled. "I have never had this happen before! Is something wrong with my brain?"
"I am not detecting any anomalies, besides the ones from the augmentation."
"Then what is happening to me?" He sounded almost desperate in his need for a answer.
"Nothing."
Fox lead the team out of the room and chased after the spartan. "This is certainly going to be one of our more interesting assignments." He said with a slight chuckle.
No else laughed.
Krystal was one of the last member of the group alongside Miyu and Fay. She thought back to the moment Conner, as she found out his name was, carried her. He seemed almost normal, maybe even caring. But then in the office he was so...machine like, emotionless and distant.
The group stopped when they noticed all the people in the hallway crowding around a hole in the metallic wall. They were gossiping amongst themselves.
"Did you see that, right through the wall!" A ferret exclaimed.
"What do you it was, a robot?" The cat next to him asked.
"I don't think so, robots don't randomly punch holes into walls." A bear said thoughtfully.
Fox walked up to the bear and tapped him on he shoulder. He turned around and Fox asked "what happened?"
"A massive thing in armor came down the hallway and randomly stopped and made this here hole with its fist." He gestured to the large jagged crater.
Fox was worried, was he having another episode? He looked over to Falco who had a similar expression. "We should find him quickly."
Falco addressed the bear. "Where did it go?"
"It just straight up and left the building."
Fox thanked him and made for the exit. Krystal and the their women were just as worried if not more so then the men. Upon leaving the building they saw a small crowd starring at the spartan. He was pacing on the sidewalk near the door and waving his hands in an upset fashion.
Fox gulped audibly and walked over to him.
"You're lying! There can't be nothing wrong!" He ranted at the A.I, before he could continue he felt a light hesitant tap on his back. Mid step he turned to see Fox looking up at him.
"Hey Conner." Was all he said.
Now back to earth so to speak, Conner took the time to take a quick poll of his surroundings. There was a large crowd on the opposite side of the surface street. It seems he had lost control again. He usually would never had gestured so aggressively during a conversation no matter how frustrating. He wasn't even angry anymore, he just sighed and said "yeah Fox?"
"General Pepper has orders."
Good something to occupy his mind with. "What are they?"
"He wants us to assist you on your ship."
Or maybe not so good. "Orders?"
"Yes orders."
"Fine." He grunted. "But I am in charge." He warned.
"Of course."
"Do you and your team need anything?"
"Our ships and some other things." Fox Listed.
"Very well, head back to your ship and prepare yourselves. I will take my gunship and return to the Spirit, when it arrives I expect you to be ready." He warned.
"Roger that!" Fox said and went back to his friends. Huh....friends, it would be nice to have friends Conner thought absentmindedly, and then upon realizing what he said growled and shook his head before following after Fox.
They watched Fox talk with the spartan and after a minute head back with him. "Alright guys let's get going!" The vulpine said enthusiastically. Fox hailed a guard and requested another APC. Shortly one rolled out of the garage next to the building and lowered the rear hatch. The spartan was the first one in. Fay Miyu and Krystal went next and then the others.
Conner was confused. Why did the women insist on being so close. There was plenty of room in the vehicle, yet they sat in the seats around him. It was uncomfortable. Then to make it worse they revived the questioning.
"So Conner, how old are you?" Fay asked and then leaned on him.
"Irrelevant." He said stiffly
"Come on." She drawled slowly, "tell us."
"No."
"Please."
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"....please?"
"..........no."
It continued like that until the APC stopped at the starport. Her Inane questioning beginning to gnaw on his sanity. "Pleaseeeeees." She attempted one last time with a puppy dog expression. Krystal and Miyu watched all of this with smiles on their muzzles.
"...................No." He tried to escape, smoothly exiting the vehicle as fast as possible. But it was pointless, she would still be living on his ship for an interminable among of time. With that in mind he sighed resignedly.
Life was about to get complicated.
Fox was waiting in the hanger with everyone. Conner had left half an hour ago. So there they sat....waiting. He sighed.
"How much longer?" Slippy groaned impatiently. Ever since he found out they would be spending time on the human ship he had become jittery. He wanted to get a look at it. To see how it ticked. Fox had a bad feeling that Conner would not appreciate that.
"Settle down slip." He growled, Slippy having exhausted his patience.
"Yeah toad, shut it!" Falco grumbled, Fox was surprised that the avian had managed to hold it in for so long. Even Peppy had a pained look. The toad's childlike antics grating away at him. The girls had retreated out of hearing range to the opposite side of the hanger.
Before Slippy could fire off his retort the human ship materialized. They could see it through the shielding separating the hanger from the airlessness of space. It was majestic in a ferocious way. It's beauty was defined by its militaristic appearance. As if humans had turned war into an art form. If they had not alerted the fleet over Corneria their probably would have been a huge panic.
"There! you happy?" Falco shouted. Slippy didn't answer.
Fox rallied the troops, made sure that the belongings they were bringing were loaded into the Arwings, and told everyone to get into their respective craft. Soon they were spaceborn. As they approached the ship they got an even better view of it.
"Damn, it's even bigger then I thought." Falco said in awe on the communication frequency between the fighters.
"Can you imagine what it would take to power it?" Slippy wondered openly.
"Not really." Miyu replied.
Just before Fox could wonder on how exactly they would get inside, a part of the plating on the hull of the ship separated to reveal a cavernous hanger. Seeing it, the team flew in and landed by a couple of intimidating fighters.
Once landed, they departed their Arwings and gathered by Fox's. "So, now that we're here, what do we do?" Falco asked.
"I guess we wait."
No more then two minutes later, the spartan arrived to greet them. "Welcome."
"Uh...hey." Fox said.
"Follow me and I will show you to your rooms." He turned and began to walk away. Looking at each other, they followed.
They spent a good ten minutes walking through the ship with the spartan. He didn't say a word the entire time. Since he was silent they decided to study the ship.
Its corridors were wide and tall, most likely to accommodate the spartans dimensions. The walls were gunmetal grey and undecorated. Conner stopped outside a large room with severely cots. "You can bunk here."
The room was surprisingly spacious, and must have been near the outer hull because it had a fairly large viewport of the surrounding space. "Not bad, not bad." Falco said as he took in the surroundings.
"I will have to ask for the women to follow me." Conner said.
"Why?" Krystal wondered.
"You'll see." Was his answer.
"Dinner will be at 2000 hours. If you need directions you can consult the ships A.I." Conner said to the guys before walking away.
"A.I?" Slippy asked, but he was already gone.
Fox shrugged and said his goodbyes to the women and they left, following after the spartan.
"Well then guys, let's get settled in." Fox said as he claimed the cot closest to the door.
The girls followed the spartan as he trudged through the corridors. He was once again unspeaking. Fay attempted to break the silence. "Excuse me?"
He stopped "yes?"
"Where are we going?"
"To your rooms, I take it you would appreciate some privacy."
They were surprised by his thoughtfulness. "Yes, thank you."
"Good." He continued walking. Krystal was mystified by this human. He was a unsolvable enigma. He rarely shows emotion, and yet he has shown interest in their comfort. He trim was a strange individual.
"Here are your rooms." He gestured to a set of doors, one for each of them. "They belonged to my bridge staff, they won't need them anymore." With that pleasant bit of news he turned around and walked away.
The women took awhile to set up their rooms to their standards. At 8:00 they were alerted by a new voice from inside their rooms that dinner would be ready at the dining hall. Krystal was sitting on the marginally stiff for when she received the call.
"Excuse me lady Krystal, but dinner will be ready soon."
"Who was that?" She asked fearfully as she looked about her room for the owner of the voice.
"It is I, the ships artificial intelligence, Epsilon." A holographic figure appeared on a small stand at the desk in her room. She noticed that it was also covered in a suit of concealing armor.
"Oh."
"Sorry if I worried you. Out people are quite used to the likes of I. I had not though to calculate the differences between our cultures, I shall endeavor to correct any more mistakes."
"Oh it's perfectly alright." She forgave.
"Yes well as per my original instructions, I must inform you that dinner will be ready."
That was good, she was getting a little peckish. One problem though, where was the dining hall. Sensing this Epsilon preemptively answered. "I will guide you to the hall, just listen to my instructions and you should get there without any trouble."
"Thank you." She got up and left her room. Outside she could see Miyu and Fay talking. They turned to her when she showed up.
"Magical voice?" Was all she said.
"Yep."
"Come along, it's best we not tarry." They heard the voice of the A.I interrupt. Grumbling about robots taking over Miyu and the others left to find the dining hall.