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Confused, the female A.I. seemed to think Lipton insane. Luckily the man was a Major a man who knew enough to lie. It had flashed upon Winter's own HUD to. A sudden blimp of movement and with a moments time Lipton has appeared were a moment before nobody was. This was.. So confusing. Forerunners? She had heard of their A.I.'s like rumors. The technology was so great and vast of course there would be. The system was complex and a amazing example of technology. Beyond even the Covenant. It seemed as if this could be true. In fact, it was, obviously.

"Thats..." Sarah truly didn't know what to say. "Facinating."

"I don't know if we've got a few hours sir. The thing sounded pretty urgent."

He paused to collect himself before he continued.

"This thing looked like one of our AI holograms, only it was shaped like a pillar with a triangle on top, the triangle was cut off about halfway, and there were two prongs sticking out of the top. There was an eye in the middle too. It was looking right at me. Thing flashed and I lost my vision. I don't know if I lost consciousness, all I know is that when I got my vision back, it was shining brighter than the sun, and when it spoke it flashed even brighter. If that makes any sense. It told me, it told me that it wanted to repent for what it did. But that it was not complete. It said that its master knew about this place. I think it meant the ark."

-Through aiding me you aid the reclaimers. I can feel my master reaching out. It knows I am here. There is another. Move closer to the others and more will be revealed-

Lipton stood as though a general had given him a direct order. He moved over to the others and looked Hammer squarely in the visor. It was weird to see the man in this armor. But then again, many things were weird now. He felt the similar sensation of vertigo and the loss of gravity in his stomach before the cave disappeared in a golden flash. This time he saw nothing during the transition. There was only a second or two of darkness before another flash placed them in a structure the likes of which he had never seen before. They were in a tower, but there were several buildings within buildings.

The enormous windows, or what appeared to be windows that lined the structure they were in gave way only to space beyond. Distant flashes in the void were the space battle that was taking place above the Ark. Lipton had seen enormous spires on the way in, maybe they were inside one of those. Before them was a large door, one that seemed sealed against time itself. The wall was lined with odd designs and text similar to what he had seen in the cathedral like spire. An ethereal blue light radiated from glowing crevices etched into the floor in some stylized pattern, one which no doubt meant something to the Forerunner. There was a single pillar that stood free of the walls, there were other pillars to be sure, but this one was the only cylindrical one. As Lipton approached, one of the sides opened and a eye-like holographic sphere flickered to life. The sphere floated freely, and he had never seen the likes of it, but he instinctively knew it was a terminal of some sort. Or maybe that was just the text floating across its surface.

"Sir? I think you should have a look at this."

The Commander stepped over to Lipton slowly, gazing at the bulbous terminal, or so he was informed. Delta and Charlie teams from the 105th, aiding the Master Chief had uncovered one similar, information relayed to him via Angel, his Artificial Intelligence. Her intelligence didn't seem so artificial to him.

On it's screen, or rather inside of it's form gold and red text fluttered up slowly. Blocks, circles, lines, squiggles, none of it made sense. Then he heard the voice as well. A slight wave of nausea and dizziness washed over him, a small tingling coming from the back of his neck. "Those who trespass will find themselves faced with the highest of Marshall Law..."

Michael watched as Angel pieced together the pieces based off of the reading by the voice. On his heads up display bold text appeared in the right side as a reticle followed the text.

"...there will be no trial. There will be no mercy. You have been warned."

"Well that's not creepy or intimidating."

"No trail. No mercy." It was the only words to be voiced from the man's mouth. For that moment his voice had returned. Strength within it. Like a true warning from father to son. Warning him what not to do. Yet the man didn't even reconize himself. Where had they come from? No himself but some strange feeling that pulsed behind his head. Who was this voice from? No Sarah nor another he knew. The Forerunner world he had been brought to gave him a answer.

"We have... Little.. Time. The place is telling.. Us that." It was a strange understanding of such things. Even without the words upon the walls all known to him there was a deeper sense you could reach from the words from your surroundings. You just had to listen. Even his pained and muddled mind there was a single part clear as crystal.

Sarah, silent no more answered. "Now.. What is the quest before us? There is a task at hand.. To be done before consequences appear."

"When that thing spoke to me. It told me that helping it, meant helping the reclaimers. Does that mean Spartans? Or... oh god."

The color drained from Lipton's face and he sunk to his knees. He stared directly ahead, his eyes focusing on nothing but remaining still. He was in shock. Not physical shock, but mental shock. If reclaimers were humans, and he couldn't open a door that could only be opened by humans... what was he? Was he human? Was he some sort of alien that looked human? No that couldn't be it. That couldn't be right. In his heart, he knew it was. In a quiet voice that echoed solemnly through the cavernous structure he spoke.

"Reclaimers are humans."

"Sarah?.. What are you doing?" His voice carried little. The man, hunched against the ground bellow him. The flat floor of the Forerunner complex. It was cool to the touch yet heat grew within him. Fever, and some sort of worry as Sarah bounced through the network of the Forerunners.

"I'm looking.. Theres so much!" Rampant? Her sanity waned with a shout of excitement. "The world is boring. I must.. Learn!" It was her, she was falling away. Overrunning her crystal core bringing forth her own greedy destruction. It was a craving for her. Always and forever for information. More and more she searched. This had always been the foreseen end to her yet now? When he needed her most.

The world was slow. Perceived through new reflexes from his earlier medication. It was a glorious experiance. Each heart beat was felt. He could sense his organs working in unison. He could feel each moment of passing. Each moments towards Sarahs own.. Destruction.

"INF-"

The world. Once more it returned to black. A hole within his mind ripped open. It was the feeling of air being returned to your chests. The world turning to an unpleasant calm. One you could not shake off.

What had happened? Where was Sarah? Was.. She destroyed?

Well, perhaps it would have been best. The rebuke for such thoughts was indeed not expected. Nor pleasant. A single convulsion followed by another, then another started to pulse like heartbeats rippled through his viens. Each one feeling different. Tingling with lightning fast symbols flying through his head. It wasn't his HUD, not it was his mind. Playing things at such speeds you could not comprehend. This, that. What was it? Endless information.

"I... Need... Help..." The voice was week. Female. "I.. Must.. Return to you."

It was no longer Winter whom was the wounded. It was a A.I. sub coming to death. A crawling girls who's white cloak turned dark. Space, black soaking through it like colored liquid.

"Return..."

Pain. It appeared within his mind. It was like a endless wave of insanity. The man tumbled through short buzzed hair. Pulling at anything within reach. Everything around him was so soft. Cool. Nothing to pull to drive the insanity from his mind. His brain.. It felt electrified. Electrodes coming through pulses. Brain cells melting and regenerating with the still lingering effects of Spartan medication. Metal to the head. A surgery without anesthetics. What words could describe it!

"Go away!" The man convulsed for a last, head flinging into the floor bellow. Slowly.. He rose. Feeling a headache from floor contact. But.. The once last feeling pain was a pleasant lingering of pain now gone within his mind. All.. It was all in his mind.

"..Win.. Wint.. Winter?.." The voice was week and distant. Yet this voice was somewhere else. Within his mind.

"Sarah?" It was an out loud voice. The voice that spoke was only to himself.

"Sarah. A.I. Terminated. Code: 34HIJJ309D89GK. Dash 012435. Project dismantled. End cloak enabled. Continue. Service 5/121/246 dash 001 dash DHA31. Startup canceled. Report impossible. Drive damaged. End."

The voice was Sarah's own. Repeated in non emotional lines of perfectly assembled for a boring lecture.

"The world is new. And it is gorgeous."

That it was. Everything seemed to make sense. Nausea bit at the back of his tong. Fumes poured into his nostrils. Like burnt skin. His head ached. But.. Everything made sense.

Everything.

Hammer was the reclaimer the keypad needed. For the Forerunner A.I had decided Lipton not human enough. The symbols told him this. It.. Was strange.

"s**t.. This has been one ******** day."

The soldier slid himself from the floor. A headache still lingered. It was painful but the world around him seemed so amazing. New and fresh. Truly he didn't care. Nor did he understand.

"Today.. Its insane." The soldier voiced. Like a drunk he brought himself to stand. Bearings, they were scrambled. It was the feeling of a newborn child learning to walk. Yet those first two years flew past within moments. The world slower and clearer was his to conquer. Or at least walk across without tripping.

"I am sure as hell not writing this stuff ever up.. The impossible... It happens.." The man coughed. Spewing vile upon the perfectly clean floor. Blood mixed garbled junk. The puke poured across the floor bellow. The man clamped his stomach turning from Lipton to continue his removal of bodily junk.

Somehow he felt better. Where had the sudden urge to spill his stomach onto the floor came from? Perhaps the rebuilding of his organs.. Pushing the stuff through his mouth. Now he realized his chests pained because they had lifted.

"We should go.."

Lipton clamped his jaw and sighed slowly. He stepped back as Winters found his balance and spewed on the floor. The rancid stank of body fluids and hydrochloric acid filled the air. It wasn't overpowering, just slightly sickening. Well they were off to an amazing start. A Spartan, a nut, and someone who wasn't human. Perfect. He turned back to Hammer and frowned.

"Reclaimers are humans. And I'm not a reclaimer. Therefore I'm not a human." He paused, as though he were ready to finish his statement before adding something more as an afterthought.

"Sir."

He might not be human, but he was a Marine, and he wouldn't allow himself to be a fault in the chain of command. Discipline was what kept the Marines alive for over five hundred years.

He walked past the armored Spartan and entered a short hallway. It was like an entry way. The foyer of a tomb. Lights flickered on as Lipton advanced. The architecture inside was identical to what was outside. Cold, metallic, lifeless. There was a pedestal at the far end of the passage in a circular chamber with six passages extending from it. The passages opened on an empty shaft. He looked above and saw the void, he looked below and saw the same. This shaft cut through the entire installation. He knew there was some sort of energy fielding active otherwise he would be dead from exposure to space. He turned back to the pedestal. There was another holopanel with a single button on it. This one bore only a stylized triangular design. He hesitated.

-There. Release my aspects and return that which was taken-

He laid a hand on the panel and felt nothing happen. He pressed the raised section into the console. Patterns swirled and things moved within the holographic display. Inserts broke away from the four corners of the blunted square and there was a deep rumble. Then nothing.

"NO! NO! CURSE HIM! CURSE HIM AND HIS DAMNED FEARS!"

The voice came from the structure itself. It was angry and it was loud.

"What? What's going on?" Lipton asked.

"The one who destroyed me in the skies of a planet far distant from here was an implement far cruder than I. Yet he brought me to this Ark and tore me apart. I now know that he sent those pieces to the stars. I am all that survived of what I was. Who I was. He has bested me once more. You have not found that which was missing, you have simply allowed me greater freedom to move about the systems of this installation.

"Maybe they're somewhere else."

"No. They are not here. They were cast into space within vessels not unlike the Keyship which fell into the hands of the Prophets. Perhaps, in time, they will be found, if they have not already reached their destinations and been destroyed in the heat of a sun. But you must go. Your allies have found the Cartographer. I have given 04-343 hints of the foundry. Glimpses of the bellows. He will seek his prize. The others will stop the activation of the rings. I can stall the signal for only so long. It is time you and the two reclaimers rejoin your comrades and aid them in their fight against the Meddler. Only once he has been stopped can we concentrate on the true threat. My master is upon the doorstep."

Lipton wanted to ask questions, but found himself back in the Cathedral like chamber in the sands. The ODSTs were where he had left them. Hammer and Winters were there as well. It was not a dream. The construct had returned them to where it had begun. There was a task to do. The ODSTs were startled at the sudden return of Major Lipton along with the appearance of a slightly crazed Helljumper and a Spartan. But they weren't going to question luck.