Halo: The Onyx wars (Fan-fic)

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Chapter 1
October 25th 2581
UNSC Spirit of fire, somewhere in the Sigma Octanus Star System.
***

“Captain, wake up, We’ve found something.” Professor Ellen Anders waited eagerly for her colleague to wake up, tapping frantically on the glass of a Cryo chamber. She was clearly bewildered by something, and was desperate to alert Captain Cutter of her discovery. The temperature inside the glass container began to rise, and the captain’s muffled voice leaked from inside of it.
“How long have I been in here?” He questioned, placing his hand on the side of the chamber and hauling himself out.
“That’s not important right now,” The professor snapped, “You have to take a look at this reading.”
The elegant gentleman rose to his feet and nodded in acceptance, allowing the professor to escort him to the ship’s bridge.

As the captain entered the command room, Professor Anders was already bashing at one of the keypads. The ship’s main display unit lit up with a sudden whir, displaying a map with relevant information; such as the ship’s current position.
“As you see, captain, we are here.” The professor stated, pointing at a flashing blue dot in the centre of the screen. “And if you look over here, you can see what appears to be a planet of sorts.” She repositioned her finger so that it pointed at a large metallic object on the map.
“Are there life forms?” The captain asked, puzzled as to why the professor was making so much fuss over such an ordinary occurrence.
“It doesn’t appear so,” She responded, “However looking at the planets data through my scanners; it appears to be designed using forerunner technology.” She glanced at the captain with a meaningful glare, but he was deep in thought.

“The forerunners were a race beyond comparison,” she continued, disregarding her captain’s lack of interest, “They built entire planets using technology far greater than anything that could ever be replicated. Some say they are still out there, however it is believed that they are now extinct.”
She did not know why she was explaining them, for both she and the captain knew the stories.
“Exactly,” Cutter snapped, overcoming his state of ignorance, “so why is this planet anything special?”
“Take a closer look at the data, captain.” Anders forwarded the map reading to a data analysis page. “The planet is no more than 120 years old.” She finished, beaming at the monitor.
“How is that possible?” The captain seemed more bewildered than ever now. “The forerunners died out centuries ago. . .”
“That’s exactly why I’m so excited by it.” She smiled, returning her focus to Captain Cutter.

“If the data is correct, and trust me I have checked it over several times, then we are looking at proof that these ‘forerunners’ still exist.”
The captain seemed a little more enthusiastic about the discovery now. He raised an arm and placed it onto Anders’ shoulder, walking her to the ship’s cockpit.
“Professor, we are looking at a monumental discovery here. We can’t let this go amiss.” With richness to his voice, he declared the plan of action. “We fly the Spirit of Fire close to the planet. I’ll be the one to lead the expedition, surveying the planet’s surface and searching for life forms. I want you, Anders, to stay on-board the ship and assist me from the air. If anything serious develops, you get me out of there fast. Got it?”
The professor was understandably a little underwhelmed by the plan. She had rather hoped to excavate the planet’s surface herself, but she knew that Cutter was right. The mission was too dangerous for a civilian to undergo, and so she signalled her agreement with the captain and took control of the primary thrusters. Cutter sat beside her and set the ship’s speed and altitude. He glanced across and noticed the look of un-fulfilment in Anders’ eyes.
“Hey,” he calmly added, “Maybe one day it’ll be you in command.”
This remark brought an involuntary smile to her face and she sat back into the seat, knowing where her place was.
She glanced at the stars as they jetted past, in awe of the mission ahead.

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Chapter 2
December 15th 2581.
A forest, deep beneath the surface of planet Onyx.
***

Dr Halsey calmly awoke, murmuring to herself as she did so. It seemed that every day, when she opened her eyes, the forest looked different. Different types of tree, new metallic formations, or perhaps just a change in soil fertility. She had spent the last two weeks trying to figure it out. ‘The altering forest’, she had named it, assuming that no one had done so previously. Despite the effort and time she had put into her research though, she had reached no conclusion. What puzzled her most however was the fact that; no matter how far she travelled, her location feedback emitter always returned the same co-ordinates. From what she could tell, the only probable conclusion was that she was trapped. Trapped in a place where time flowed differently, and likewise so did space.
“Space is all around.” She scribed a new entry into what appeared to be a journal. “Not only is it a holding place for the stars and planets that make up our universe, it acts as a sort of continuum that holds everything in place. If that continuum could be broken, then things would happen differently. The flow of time may be disrupted, causing a sort of real-life time lapse.  Things may appear to change overnight. You could walk a thousand miles in a day and have never moved in the first place. This is the logic of the Altering forest.”
She read the article back to herself, checking that it all made sense, and then closed the journal and returned it to her lab coat pocket. It was not a conclusion, but it was a start.