By the time the Master Chief and Blue Team had returned, I was already gone. Despite the fun time I was having watching Cortana try to plan out humanity's future, she had other things to worry about, as did I.
I had left her instructions on how to act, so she wouldn't be dropping anything too earthshaking on the Spartans anytime soon. While it certainly would speed things up lore-wise, we still had to get these humans back to Reach so they could rescue Halsey, get the crystal, and then destroy the massive Covenant fleet.
That was all up to Cortana now; I was heading toward Installation 05. Despite having cleared out the place once already, I didn't trust the Monitors to keep things secure, not with a potential Gravemind involved.
On the way to the ring, the Gacha pinged, so I would at least be amused during the trip.
[Gift from beyond the veil, 1x Random Bronze Ticket](NPC_4561)
[Gift from beyond the veil, 1x Random Gold Ticket] (KingJr66777)
I made sure the Princeps wasn't around to watch me zone out, then I spun the two tickets.
[Spinning, spinning, spinning, done!]
[Larger than Life]
|Common Trait|
People feel like your presence is larger than it should be. Even if you are a head shorter than them, it will still feel like you are towering over them.
Finally, something useful! I knew the Spartans were tall and all, but it was a bit annoying having to look up at them so much. Not to mention every Forerunner left alive was still taller than me, except a few Manipulars, at least.
The only things somewhat near my height were Lust, the desert sisters, and the freaking Snowmen army! So this would be nice to have.
[Hell Flame]
|Rare Ability|
Hell Flame allows you to conjure and shape infernal flames often used by demons. Hell flames are especially strong against living beings, burning their vitality along with their flesh, weakening them while also being hard to heal due to their unholy attribute. But using these flames is rather energy-intensive compared to normal flames unless the user is an Infernal.
Nice, extra fire. It's not like I can't already make nukes within the palm of my hand!
Dealing with Installation 05 wasn't the only thing I had on my plate either. I had only brought my flagship, the Vengeful, with me on this little trip. My escorts were currently at 05, and I was on my way, but the Spirit of Fire was also doing something.
Since Anders wouldn't be dying from old age or disease anytime soon, I had put her to work on something that kept her and nearly a dozen other great minds from the Forerunners busy. Making an interdimensional portal.
I loved Halo. I loved the characters, the story, the weapons, my ship; all of it was amazing. Not to mention getting to see the galaxy with my own two eyes, even if it was full of Flood, humans, and Covenant.
It still wasn't home, however. I had unfinished business on the other side of the multiverse, and I was really looking forward to getting back. I know the Gacha and ROB had promised to give me a way out once Humanity took hold of the Mantle, but that would take a while.
So, I wanted to see what Forerunner tech and human ingenuity could do when left alone and with one goal. It may not be Ander's specialty, but it would be a good thing to include her since she brings the human aspect of this.
Despite how brilliant our scientists were, I still didn't want the Builders doing this alone. If they saw that another race was capable of using their technology in new and exciting ways, they would immediately spring into action to explore once more.
As interesting a people as they were, I don't think I could take all of them with me when I left this galaxy. I certainly took a lot of them, but I didn't have enough space for all of them, and I didn't feel like tugging along dozens of colony ships.
If I did, I would need more escort ships. Then I would need a bigger flagship, and it would take a few years for them to resize the Vengeful; then we'd need more ships to fill in the gaps even more, and before you know it, we'd have a massive armada flying through space.
As cool as that sounds, I didn't want to lead all of that. Unfortunately, that is what the Forerunners see me as; with no Librarian, Master Builder, or Didact, I was the best thing they had.
Even then, most Forerunners were happy staying as they were, primitive and leading simpleish lives on the Ark. Most were living as humans do: go to work, pay bills, raise a family.
I didn't mind that, but I didn't want to leave them at the mercy of the Covenant, much less ONI. So they would have to be moved with us somehow, which meant a bigger fleet. The Ark was currently working on the fleet, but I still needed a commander who could actually rally the Forerunners and keep them safe.
For that, I needed the Ur-Didact. Before going under into my own Cryptum, I had taken a ship to go fix his. I know how bad it was for me to be alone with my thoughts; I didn't want the Didact to be as broken as he should have been after being stuck within the burns.
He'd already been hanging onto scraps of what used to be his sanity, but by fixing his Cryptum, I was able to shove his mind into what was left of the Domain. Within it, he began to heal and was helping the Domain itself heal over time as he kept the Warden Eternal in check.
I knew he was probably mostly healed by now, but letting him sit in peace for another few years wouldn't do any harm. I still had to get a fleet for him to command first, after all, not to mention dealing with everything else going on.
[Gift from beyond the veil, 1x Random Gold Ticket] (KingJr66777)
I sighed as the Gacha broke my train of thought, but I rolled the ticket regardless.
[Spinning, spinning, spinning, done!]
[Sandblast]
|Uncommon Ability|
Allows you to launch blasts of high-velocity sand clouds, capable of rending and shredding metals and especially flesh
Another useless ability for the pile, I guess.
I don't know why, but getting this ability messed me up so bad that I remembered the Banished were a thing. It seems I've forgotten to include them in the massive plan I have in place. How I was able to include the Spirit of Fire and not the Banished, I have no idea.
I started making a file on them while I was thinking about them. I'm pretty sure they're active right now. I know the UNSC knows nothing about them, yet, but the Covenant should know plenty about the Banished.
"Mendicant. Next time we engage the Covenant, remind me to connect you to one of their command ships so we can find out how powerful the Banished are at this point."
{Affirmative.}
"Have recon ships sent to the Jiralhanae homeworld as well. I'm sure Atriox will be watching for a chance to liberate his home."
{It shall be done.}
With that out of the way, I finished the file. Inside it were who, what, and why the Banished were. It also spoke of their tactics since I would be sending this to my Princeps and Cutter. I'm sure it would be a very unwelcome surprise waiting for the Covenant, Banished, and UNSC when they all found their way to the Ark.
I should probably do something about the Guardians scattered around as well. . .