FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 6 - Ghost Sector

Xal shivered quietly and brushed his hands over his shoulder, growling under his breath in frustration as he tried to access his HUD. He was not sure what damage it could have taken in the last ten minutes, but its failure was worrisome, and he knew he was too reliant on it. He was just outside of the Security lobby, and cautiously walked into the chamber, which held an elevated service desk in the center, and stairwells positioned at each wall. He found terminals in the service desk active and sat under the desk and attempted to contact Elsv, but the screen flickered before shutting off, and leaned his head back in annoyance.

He shifted up and peered over the console curiously, and slid his hand across the panel, which responded with a low hum and soft, iridescent purple light. He ducked slightly as if to avoid it, but searched for his floor level, and knew now he was indeed seven floors below Kvaz. The elevators were much like the rest of the facility, darkened and ostensibly unusable; three were marked as damaged out of the five present. He looked over the schematics of the facility which he was denied any access to previously.

"I am currently in the Security Lobby--there is the, Airlock, Cargo, and Station Maintenance, then-- there, Scimed." Xal sighed quietly with relief, seeing each tower possessed similar facilities. The horizontal section of the ship to which all the spires connected to, which reminded Xal of a dead bug, seemed to be a modified part of the station. He could not see what it held, but dismissed the knowledge for the time being and prepared his next trajectory from the Lobby to the nearest working Elevator at the Security Storage Sector.

_This damn place could service as a temporary colony--_Xal glanced around the room, momentarily wondering how this ship could possibly have been constructed by High Charity. The superannuated technology was as well unusual, the architecture did not belong to the Sangheili species or to the Jiralhanea and he felt curious about the true origins of the ship.

Xal began to sift through the files that could be easily accessed, inputting the necessary key when required, hoping the system would not shut down as it did previously. He located the last logs that took place before the outbreak; according to the log it was fifty-three units before today. He found reports of aggressive behavior amongst the occupants that culminated after it was in orbit for only half a Cycle, and logs of unusual behavior of patients with symptoms of fever which led to catatonic behavior. Xal also found reports written by the Security Patrols of having found catatonic workers in their rooms, who muttered quietly about hallucinations, and headaches.

Suspicions in Xal arose when he came across a video log entitled Cycle 1: Unit 131, Incident 67. It was short, only two minutes recorded and he decided to view it; adjusting so that the volume was low enough only he could hear it. He observed a Medical Room with several Sangheili resting on Operating Tables, visible secured against them. There were three scientists present, clad in a protective white suit, and they approached one of the patients, who was completely motionless. They poked and prodded his body, commenting on his comatose state that he was unresponsive to any kind of stimuli, even pain. One of the men present retrieved a surgical knife from the table and began to cut open the male's skull slightly, which Xal knew was a huge blasphemy for their own kind. Afterwards the male remained motionless, and the three officials walked away.

Then it was sudden, as Xal had blinked the Sangheili was writhing and convulsing, growling under his breath. He could not ascertain the words but they were horribly frantic, repeating the phrase over and over in a harsh whisper. When the scientists walked back to ask him what he was saying, he roared out and snapped one arm free of the restraints, proceeding to claw away at the incision on his skull. Xal only caught a moment as the flesh was brutally severed with intensity, as blood began to spill over the immaculate suits, and the video shut off.

So they experimented on their own kind--or at least, attempted to examine symptoms. He could not access the medical logs as they were deliberately kept hidden from all non authorized Medical Personnel, but there was something about that video which stirred in him curiosity. Security chips, fevers and comas did not bode well the image of the Popul Vuh, or the strangeness of the infected aboard who had yet to explode and reproduce The Flood, as was conventional. One of his commanders must have known this, he knew that if not one then both of them were hired to retrieve the information.

"Elsv, this is Xal." He quickly hissed into his receiver, hoping it functioned, "Are you there?"

A moment of silence drifted by and he felt anxiousness grow, when Elsv replied it eased him up, and he lowered him-self under the desk to reply.

"Xal have you found a way up to Kvaz yet?"

"Almost; I am at the Security Lobby, I can get an Elevator at Security Storage. Seems it possesses an elevator that can take me to almost any floor on this spire--I still do not know why such old things were used."

"Good, my friend! I hope you have been safe, I've just begun to climb into--"

"Elsv I need to know what you know about this ship." Xal quickly began with a stern tone, "I've just reviewed security logs about the incidents before Popul Vuh went dark. Our commanders, the fevers, the security chips--this is adding up to something that only a naïve fool would write off as coincidence."

Elsv sighed a bit and Xal could tell by that his friend knew more than he seemed to let on. The Sangheili proceeded to explain that he knew very little of the experiments performed, but the history of the ship was mysterious; it emerged from the Eradinus Supervoid, and its source could be traced by to Charum Hakkor. The ship has existed since before 110,000 BCE, but beyond that Elsv knew nothing else about it, except it was repurposed by High Charity to serve as a research facility.

"If High Charity believes activating the Halos will gate them another life--why are they studying, or what are they studying specifically?"

"The Flood Virus, as far as I know; but there were hints that it would help usher in salvation and dominance. They were very secretive about their efforts and purposes--in fact few at home know about this ship. We know experiments with the flood were performed, which is why we were sent here to reclaim any and all information about it."

"Then why do you think--that someone intentionally tried to kill us off?"

Elsv fell silent for a moment, "I--do not know. Xal before the explosion occurred; I followed our commanders out to the Transit Terminal Office, to stop their argument. Anfi stormed off and when the explosion occurred Z ba and I ran to where you were; it was in flames, the entire tunnel incased in fire! Afterwards Z ba presumed Anfi caused it and pursued him--a wave of the infected brothers separated me from him, and since then I've been unable to contact him."

"What if it was intentional?" Xal quickly added, "The experiments with Resonance of Salvation seemed fantastical enough to warrant more caution than curiosity. The strings things I have seen in the logs--I think there is information that only one of them wants to keep, for them-selves."

"You think they both betrayed High Charity?" Elsv began slowly, "To be honest I suspected as much my-self. I do not know which one I distrust more--I think it wise to be wary of both."

Xal looked down nodding and thought over everything, trying to piece together any links or clues about what had been happening and what led to the outbreak. It was staged, he now could no longer deny it, but he knew not what could be gained from it except a mass murdering. He shot his face up as he remembered the voice from before--it gave him chills as he recalled its anger and madness, and indiscernible location from which it shouted at him or the strangeness of the catatonic infected. He hurried explained to Elsv all of it that had occurred in as vivid detail as he could, and Elsv seemed convinced of Xal's sincerity, remarking he never took him as one to be frightened.

"No--my pride does not permit it normally. However, when a monstrous, invisible foe threatens to disembowel you while a pale, gaping mouth audience stands at attention--there is something beyond unnatural about it." Xal confessed it truly did frighten him, mentioning he knew not how Kvaz had endured the strife, and admired his endurance. Elsv was confused and unnerved by what Xal had witnessed but did not doubt his friend's word, warning him that he should never expose him-self as he did again.

"This is why we need to get him medical attention soon. Xal, continue to find a means of accessing him; you know the path, yes?"

"I do, yes."

"Then lets continue; Kvaz will know the safest way off of this damn thing--I sometimes find my-self getting lost in it."

Xal turned off the terminal above him and scaled the stairs out of the room into a large auditorium with an upper level, and quickly climbed to the second floor, and followed the eastern door out into the main access tunnels that the soldiers used. He felt the space above his eyes hurting as it had done earlier, the headache was dull, but he felt it beginning to grow slowly. There was not as much cosmetic damage to the area as was the quarters where the occupants and family members lived. He released the tension on his jaw from having bitten down his teeth as he arrived at a juncture, and he continued to move forward as he thought over the information.

He shook his head as he considered that maybe he had misheard the infected--their rigidness could have been because he had gone into hiding. The idea of some intangible hunter had become less sensational; and he regretted telling Elsv now, and felt foolish.

Tap. . . tap. . . tap

Xal spun around at the sound of footsteps and retrieved his rifle from his hip, as he heard slow steps far behind him. He stepped back cautiously, reaching with his free hand to feel the wall, and then slipped into a dark room with a window that looked out into the hallway. The taps stopped for a moment but began again with a much quicker rhythm, evolving into the sound of something running and he wondered if it were a survivor. As the steps grew closer he anticipated what he would see, until they stopped suddenly, and he felt a stab of eeriness embed into him. He presumed it was playing cat and mouse, so he opened the door, tossing a small object from the desk down the hall. Loud clattering echoed down the hall, and as Xal winced, there was no response from whatever it was had been running.

"If you want to hide from me--then fine." Xal muttered under his breath, removing him-self from the room and stepped boldly out into the hallway. He felt his skin shiver with distress and the room had grown colder than before; the smell was different now, it was like cold steel that made him feel dizzy. The atmosphere turned disquiet and the Kig-yar approached the corner of the juncture to his left, and leaned his snout around to examine.

Emptiness greeted his eyes, and he felt his skin crawling as he moved into the hall, keeping him-self against the wall. Tinnitus began to ring in his ears, and he could feel a tension in the air; something stirred around him in the ether that brought a sickening sensation of being observed. He craned his head to look over his shoulder behind him, and turned around to face the hall, thinking perhaps the creature had run past him originally. Xal sighed and lowered his weapon, closing his eyes for a moment to breathe as he tried to calm his heart.

Xal flinched when he felt something graze over his arms, and his eyes darted around to see what he had brushed his arm into. Xal backed away from the corner of the juncture and he could not anticipate what incident would next occur that would nearly send him over the edge of his threshold.

The suddenness of his assault had brought a blinding flurry of shock to his mind and chest that the next few seconds were but a blur! He shrieked out in shock as he felt his body hurled against the wall and he crashed onto his shoulder, scampering up onto his feet with his rifle raised, and firing off maddeningly into the darkness! He shouted in the gibberish that occurred when a creature was too excited to communicate and could not even understand him-self. Xal panted and had taken several steps away in the dark, closing his eyes for a moment with his hand over his face to stifle the throbbing pain behind his eyes. He cursed up a storm before coming to his senses, giving a slight twitch to his hands when he saw someone standing at the end of the hall. A Sangheili had been there, he presumed for the last minute as he lost his mind; it did not seem dead, not immediately.

"I am Skirmisher Commander Xal; we came aboard this ship three days ago to find any survivors." He enunciated as calmly as he could; he straightened him-self up and took a step forward, lowering his rifle, cautiously speaking to him. "You're--the first one I have seen, other than your commander. He is in danger right now; I could use your help."

The Sangheili looked back at him in utter silence, and Xal attempted to converse with him once more; he felt that rigid eeriness about the hall, worried now if the male was setting a trap for him. In that instant he turned on his heel and ran from Xal into the dark hallway, and Xal, with no better sense had charged after him, demanding he slow down!

"Stop!" He shouted loudly, "What the hell are you doing, come back!"

The male neared another juncture and skid to a stop, looking frantically over his shoulders and backed up against the wall, seemingly unarmed but having his fists raised. When Xal neared him he cautiously approached, trying once more to communicate to the male, who was making abnormally silent gestures. Xal pleaded that he was not a threat and had motioned to remove his rifle, but the male flung his arms in the air and pointed harshly at him, and Xal grew frustrated, not knowing what he was trying to say!

"What--what in the hell are you trying to tell me!" Xal demanded to know as the Sangheili backed away from him, and neared one of the stairwells. Xal stepped towards him and tried to snap his fingers to get the male's attention as he was looking even more deranged, his hands trembling. He was not accustomed to the species showing such a level of fear, and it bothered him more that the male was utterly silent. He tripped over him-self as he backed up the stairs, and then frantically crawled up to the top, before sprinting away.

"God dammit you lunatic," He hissed harshly through his teeth, "You are starting to piss me off!"

When he reached the top Xal panted and held his ribs and head, groaning out loudly in pain as the headache had begun to surge even more. He lays his eyes upon the male who had swung his arms around maddeningly and fought at the dark air, his mandibles erect in rictus, dancing as if to avoid something! Xal was confused and disoriented by this display, his headache only dulling his senses, but he ran to the male to try to subdue him, and figure out who he was. He dodged an arm and quickly pushed the male against the wall and grasped at his arm, trying to get him to calm down.

Palsy had grasped hold of his body in that instance; his neck went through a convulsive motion and his fingers tightened around the arm as his eyes widened as he opened his mouth to scream! His heart gave but a single pulse before he felt the tremors of it being suspended against his chest as if it had stopped for the moments he stood there. Cognition had dissolved into a swirl of pain and feverish delirium; a single glance up to the male brought to his eyes a putrefied and monstrous idol whose eyes relentlessly glowered down Xal's! He shrieked now in a desperate moment to reclaim his body from the ensnaring horror that had overcome him, and he was then flown across the room with maddening force, slamming against the wall. When he came to, the male had since begun to carve open his neck with his claws, digging and peeling away at the skin, hunching over. Xal rolled his head back only to catch site of the deep cuts that began to appear over his dark skin and he watched in awe, and horror at the brutal sight, but his faculties were impaired by his sudden sickness.

When blood had begun to puddle around the floor at the soldier's feet it slumped into the wall and weakly flung him-self away and slid across the wall to a room before throwing him-self in. Xal slid onto his feet and steadied him-self against the wall, holding onto his chest as he tried to walk towards the room where the male had locked him-self. The floor had become cool and slick from the blood, and the Kig-yar weakly tried brought his arm up to steady him-self against the wall. He knew not what had become of his body, or that of the male; he felt the cold, emptiness of death had washed over him.

He could hear the low groans of agony that chocked out from the mutilated throat with a sob that had become liquescent from blood and saliva. Xal saw the door where the male had ran to, and whether or not he intended to investigate, he was guided to it without reason. When he reared the door open, the hideous realization of what lay before him had caused the Kig-yar to collapse onto his knees and cry in revulsion, and tremblingly reared his HUD up to confirm the site.

The body of the Sangheili had withered greatly, perhaps age had suddenly snuck up to claim it in but the mere moments it lay in the darkness. The flesh had withered into long dark flaps of skin, draped loosely over the bones and vestigial meat underneath. The armor had been removed and lay scattered around the floor, where a dark, black, smelly mass had triggered Xal's nausea. The male's hands were still lodged at his throat, having reduced the spot to nothing but a jarring mess of indescribable anatomy. It was the eyes that brought Xal a hideous disgust; the dark sockets were barren, but he felt the constricting repulsion of knowing that they were affixed on him, just like moments before. He struggled up finally and forced him-self to drag his eyes from the site, breathing shallowly through his mouth and caught him-self against the wall.

SLAM!!!!!

"God dammit!" Xal cried out as the door had slammed it-self shut with such force that he could no longer contain him-self and shrilled out to be left alone!

He screamed and cussed into the blackness, that whatever demon or god that was present could go to hell! When he looked to see where the blood had accumulated on the floor, he saw the smearing of the liquid and foot prints that led away in all directions. He trembled all over now as he nervously looked around him-self but felt his vision was too obfuscated to understand what he happened to see. Another violent shove to his chest sent him against the wall and his head slammed in the steel, and Xal shrilled out in fear, his hands trembling as he held onto his rifle!

Splat. . . splat. . . splat. The wet smack of a foot haunted him now from nowhere, but he could hear it--stepping slowly, maddeningly slow.

" Aaaargh! Who are you!" He spit out into the darkness, "Stop hiding from me! Come on you bastard, show me your god damn face!"

The door that had slammed shut had now opened it-self gently, and Xal backed away frantically. Nothing emerged, save for the low sodden groan of pain that he could hear whispered inside of the dark space, and the sounds of foot-steps far off in the distance.

Too racked by the fear that had now consumed him, Xal charged away from the location to hide him-self away inside of a ventilation duct, panting and pleading under his breath to not be followed, to not be seen or to be known. He trembled and grasped hold of his arms, his eyes with an unflinching gaze at the gate to the air duct; when he heard quiet steps occasionally walk by, he would hold his breath for what seemed like hours. Time passed slowly, and quickly; for what seemed like hours as the hideous wet feet would march away into the distance.

_I--do not understand. I do not understand how--what was it? What the hell was--any of this?! He--how--_Xal dropped his face into his arms. He had never before felt such a fear and vulnerability--he knew not if a malicious bastard in active camo had tormented him effortlessly or-- if something else had done so. He could not explain what he had witnessed in the hall, the intensity of the fear and ache he felt when he touched the male's arm. He stuttered as he tried to speak to him-self, his own thoughts fluttering around in his brain and he was unable to do anything but beg now for his friend's company.

"E-E-Elsv--Elsv please report!" Xal managed to whisper into his gauntlet. He lowered his head and waited--waiting endlessly, begging for his friend to answer. "Elsv I need you to answer me right now!"

When Elsv did Xal hesitated to speak, drawing up his energy and raised his head up, groaning lowly.

"Xal I am here! I am here--my friend what happened? Are you ok?"

"I--I am fine." Xal quietly lied to him, the weight of the mental strain and exhaustion permitting him but only small sentences.

"I saw something--worse than before on the tram, worse than that--god damn voice."

Elsv waited quietly for a moment, before asking him what it was, for which Xal answered he did not even know; he could not tell Elsv, not yet at least. He only wished to hear his friend's voice for the time being, and Elsv stayed with him, talking quietly to try to ease his nerves. Xal had fought hundreds before--killed more than he could remember in close combat--but he had never before felt more afraid, or vulnerable. It was not human, he told Elsv, and that whatever it was, was the fault of the experiments.

"I observed a video--and the logs before the initial outbreak; this damn place is hell." Xal spit angrily, "Men went insane--people were delusional and violent and whatever the hell it was that caused it is still here! This place is a megalithic incarnation of hell , god damn this!"

"Xal you need to calm down!" Elsv called over him quickly! "I know you are--scared, but you need to calm yourself! If I lose you to this mess then there is no hope of any of us getting off of this ship; and I cannot stand to hear a friend be so hysterical!"

Xal closed his eyes and sighed, taking in a breath and sat more up right, nodding. It was hard to say that he would continue with his pursuit to the elevator, but a moment's rest relieved him of the initial shock--he worried if he would encounter it again. Elsv confided in him that he should avoid the main corridors if possible from now on, and Xal agreed; after dismissing the call Xal crawled through the aid ducts as silently as possible. He followed the tube until he had reached the area over the room where he originally hid, and lingered inside of it for a moment, peering down into the hall way.

Not like last time--I'll wait, to see if you come running for me again. He scowled as he rested on his hand and peered through the metal blinds, and waited patiently--not intending to be fooled twice. He heard the steps run through, the eerie, bodiless steps disappearing underneath of him and vanishing off into the distance. Xal quickly crawled through the duct, following it all the way until he had managed to reach the end, spider-crawling up the vertical shaft to the next level.

Ok I am close--not much farther to the Elevator--and then to Kvaz. Xal reassured him-self, as he carefully stepped into a large sector of glass partitioned isles, filled with shelves lined with containers. It was unlike any Storage Sector he had seen before, but there were signs that it had been ransacked after the outbreak; shelves were in disarray as survivors searched for ammunition, or weapons. It was devoir of the usual color scheme, replaced with cool blue steel and the polished glass was equally unusual; upon inspection he saw it was a massive interface that catalogued the contents. It no longer functioned, which was no surprise to him, but it was furthermore it solidified Elsv's claims that the ship was not of The Sangheili Army, but in fact older.

If this was repurposed from the Forerunners, it explains all of the odd things. I still do not know there are no teleportation grids on the ship-- as he looked overhead to see endless bridges connecting to each other, which disappeared beyond his vision. Xal hurriedly made his way to where the Elevator was located, feeling relief. This respite was interrupted as he found an open panel on the wall, and viewed two damaged compression cylinders.

"Of course--of course." He repeated under his breath, gripping the gun tightly and slammed the butt against the wall! He stomped away from it, and then groaned out loudly, "God--damn--all of you. You just do not want to make this easy on me, do you!? All--I want--is to get off of this god damn thing! So leave me the hell alone!"

Xal shouted at the elevator damning it to all hell he could before leaning his back against the wall and held his face, rubbing his temples with his fingers. He decided what he would try next instead of losing his temper any further and opened up his eyes to look around. The site he caught would have previously shocked him, and while it did stun him and leave him silent, he was less alarmed by it than before. He caught sight of a pale Sangheili limping away from behind glass, between his fingers he watched the movements, deciding whether or not he should follow. The body was injured terribly with sever gashes across the shoulder blades, and deep gashes at his waist which his hand held onto. It shivered and stumbles forwards, falling onto its knees for a moment before climbing back up, and being obfuscated by the refraction of the glass panes for a moment.

Xal was all the more disturbed by this, crouching behind the glass wall. The Sangheili--or whatever it was, he understood it as dead now, reached up to the wall and scratched at it with one hand, weakly dragging its arm down the metal plating. This happened for another minute before it was suddenly thrust backwards into the glass and fell limp to the ground, all without a single noise emitted. He cautiously made his way to where the body was, taking his eyes off it but for a mere moment, and when he looked up it was gone; all that remained was the crack in the glass pane, and remnants of blood on the ground.

Safe to say I have lost my mind--but if I can at least get off here, I'll be fine being insane somewhere else. Xal looked up to the wall where deep scratches from claws decorated a single panel, and brought up his HUD to illuminate the surrounding area. He searched over the ground and found a small trace of blood that was cut off by the panel, and cast his eyes over the section. Turning his rifle around in his hands, he slammed the blade down between the panels and growled low, prying it back slowly with a satisfying pop! It took several more times to fully pry off the panel and he gently laid it on the ground beside him.

Sneaky bastards--you hid an emergency exit. This obviously belongs to the forerunners. Xal reached up to feel over the elegantly carved stone structure and ancient elevator console. It illuminated with a soft blue hue that felt reassuring; quickly he accessed the inside, darting in without a second's notice, and set his destination to the original floor with Kvaz. He sighed in relief as the transit began to move quickly, closing his eyes and sitting down for a moment to relax. _ _

"Elsv I have found an elevator and am on my way to Kvaz. I did not have time to secure an oxygen tank--but I'll need you to guide me to the next station."

"Xal! I am glad to hear you are ok--that was quick, was the elevator operational?"

"No, but I found one hidden in the wall with a stone visage." Xal chuckled and rolled his head back and croaked, "Damn place--I am beginning to lose my mind."

"Well not before you and I get out of here! When you get up top, take Kvaz to Sector F, Location 43. That is the Medical Bay where you can treat him. I'll give you further instructions."

"Wait! I thought you were going to meet up with me!" Xal immediately protested and sat up.

"I know--I know. I am sorry my friend, but I said that just to motivate--if I had not, I feared you may have instead waited for me, and there is no way I would have been able to get to you." Elsv sighed quietly, "I am at the Departure Control's Center, trying to see if I can restore energy to the tractor beam, and figure out where the ship is. I am at the very base of this spire, and it could take me hours to get to you, I'll try to find a way up there, ok?"

Xal growled with annoyance, but smirked and laughed quietly, admitting he would have been too nervous to leave Kvaz alone had Elsv not convinced him. He appreciated the motivation, even if it was a lie, and wished Elsv good luck on getting them home. After the Elevator had stopped, Xal wasted no time tracking down the commander and roping him up off the floor; Kvaz was still breathing, but it was thin.

"Commander--Kvaz, this is Xal--come on, I need you to wake up." Xal gently grasped the Sangheili's shoulder, trying to stir him as quietly as possible. Kvaz weakly muttered to him and Xal moved under him, forcefully pulling the Sangheili onto his knees, and then gradually the commander stood up. His legs buckled several times, but he seemed to fight to keep him-self up right, and Xal guided him away from the room. The hall loomed to his left, where Kvaz had his break down--it had only been an hour or more since it occurred, but it seemed like infinity had passed.

Turning away from this he guided the commander as briskly as he could across the grated floor, to the end of the hall and then to the right. Kvaz muttered and stumbled over his feet, dropping his head and Xal pressured him to keep it together, until they could reach the medical bay.

"I am sorry I could not bring supplies commander--had I left you alone any longer, I do not know what would have happened." Xal apologized quietly as he felt the Sangheili's weight beginning to burden his neck. He looked up to see half lidded yellow eyes and sticky blood over the side of the Commander's face; it was horribly swollen, which was even more worrisome.

Reaching the elevator Xal could relax as they now traveled to the Medical Bay He braced him-self when they exited the bay was not isolated. There were various infected in the distance walking along the end of a great hall, and motionless bodies lay in a heap. Xal felt sick to his stomach but asked Kvaz not to speak, and quietly walked along the ground, gently easing both of them away from any overturned gurneys, medical apparatus, and the likes. He did not know exactly where he would need to take Kvaz, but he took to the right which was less deserted, thankful that most of the bodies seemed to be in a sleep like state. When some of them had stirred Xal was quick to hide him and Kvaz behind an overturned guest, holding his breath until the sickly breathing and whispering had ceased.

"Come on Kvaz--up these stairs, we're almost there." Xal assured him, as he began to make more noise, and moan in pain.

At the top of the staircase he took a left, and found a large room that was better preserved; immediate access to the door was denied, but inputting the code seemed to help. He closed the metal guard over the windows having placed the Sangheili in a surgical pod, and finally sighed out loud in relief, having the pain in his shoulders dissipate.

"Elsv I am here--do any of these rooms have auxiliary generators?"

"Yes--there should be one behind a panel mounted on the northern wall."

Xal nodded and again pried open a steel panel, this time greeted by a steel wall with a simple screen; he activated it, input his code, and restored power to the room alone. He winced and closed his eyes as the bright white, sterile room came into view, and he made sure that the window was fully shut, and the door locked before continuing. He could see Kvaz in full light and grimaced at the amount of damage his body bore-- shallow and deep cuts that he had immaturely stitched together, to the swelling over his left temple. His body was visually wrecked and the armor he wore was filthy, coated in blood and abrasions that left him looking almost like he was dead. His breathing was still shallow, and Xal further asked Elsv what he needed to do to relieve Kvaz.

"He has intense swelling over the left side of his head--his breathing is thin." Xal relayed, "So what am I expected to do?"

"On the Surgical Pod you'll need to set the commands for what it should do. This will be painful, so make sure he is put under--the pod will provide plentiful oxygen. It should not take long--this procedure used to take a long time, especially in the recovery stages."

Xal looked over the panel at the foreign words and medical procedures, but nervously began by selecting the Sanitization Stage. The Pod was filled with a spray that very quickly washed away the body, and then Xal was directed to click on the silhouette of a Sangheili head, and chose Decompressive Craniectomy. Kvaz's breathing began to slow and his heart rate was displayed on screen as the oxygen levels arose, and a small metallic scissor arm with a syringe injected something into his leg. Three minutes passed before the next movements began, and Xal watched as the scissor arms worked quickly to cut, and drain the swollen section of his head. He winced, finding it macabre and it churned his stomach to observe, as Elsv explained the process to him, and Xal was still very baffled by his extensive medical knowledge.

The skin was burned by a green laser and slowly opened by a knife; like clockwork the arms worked to pull back a layer of skin over his temple. Xal rest his hands on the edge of the pod as he watched a drill plant three holes into the skull, and then remove the flap of bone.

"Abnormality detected in epidermis." The Machine's voice alerted him, "Metallic object lodged into epidermis."

"Elsv!" Xal called out to his friend immediately, who quieted him down and asked him to see what it was before he lost his cool. Xal peered in and could not make out the object immediately, but described it as a square shaped metal plate that on the backside of his skin.

"They must have implanted the security chips there. Have it removed; inform the machine to Dislodge Anomaly."

Xal nodded and looked down at the console where a red flashing message was, and tapped his claw against the command. Kvaz's breathing was still slow and steady, but deeper, and his heart rate seemed stable as well. The pod then performed a U shaped cut into the Dura Mater, which Elsv said would alleviate pressure on his brain. After this was done a strange device appeared which presented a purple light and beamed it directly into the skin, and Xal watched it for a moment; the device lingered until, steadily beaming the light until the machine informed him it would now perform the Cranioplasty, and close up the area. He was thankful to no longer see the strange blood vessels and exposed area, feeling very sickened by it; the bone flap was sealed in place and then covered in a metal mesh, which was then sealed into place further. Afterwards the machine stitched together the skin, cleaned up the surrounding area.

"The operation is done--" Xal began slowly, "How long--before he wakes up?"

"It could be a few hours. Forerunner Surgical Procedures are the Hallmark of advancement in this field--these pods exist only on this ship. The anesthesia should were off soon; after he wakes up give him time to adjust, he may be dizzy. However--these devices perform miracles, he'll be fine in nothing short of but a few hours. Get some sleep Xal, you've done well."

Xal smiled and sighed, "Thank you my friend. Good luck to you as well--when Kvaz wakes up we'll plan our next move."

"I will see you in time Xal, take care."

Xal closed out the transmission and looked over to the Sangheili, watching him sleep with more peace to him. The Pod began to display a screen where it monitored vitals, and Xal moved to a chair at the back wall and placed the heavy pack from his back on the ground; there was plenty of food for when Kvaz awoke, and water too. His headache had thankfully subsided and Xal breathed air of relief and sat back, leaning his head against the wall and closed his eyes. He drifted in and out of sleep, sometimes opening his eyes ten minutes later thinking that hours had passed; and then when hours did pass, he would open his eyes, not realizing how long it had been. Before he finally feel into a deep sleep he thought back to his cousin--and he how regretted ever allowing him to come with him on this journey.

As Kvaz slept--his dreams were wild, fantastical, and jarring. He could not tell from where his vision oriented it-self but it would loom from over head from some creature, and be from the eyes of a wandering body. He stumbled up a hill to a great stone tower without walls; only four support beams covered in flowers, and tangled vines that resembled bones. Inside of it--his vista transformed into what seemed like another dream above his eyes, a strange puddle of outer space that he stared down into. When he looked upwards to where the walls might be, they transformed into the oceanfront of his home-world. It seemed as if he would blink his eyes and then reappear somewhere else--high, it felt, far away from everyone else. There were many around him but he knew not who they were, but someone had been in agony, and a voice said to them "You were never in pain--only scared, like the rest of us."