The chapter begins immediately off of Chapter 2, tense, filled with caution and paranoia. The nightingales engine's can be heard clearly now. But that wasn't the only thing everyone heard, all fauna in the area was silent.
"Extraction imminent, get moving odst's."
Said Finch, breaking the tense silence, brow furrowed and forhead creased. The twitching had halted but the quick darting of her eyes told the same paranoid story.
Milo approached his mother, placing a hand on her wrist.
"M-mother... are you ok?"
Finch nods, glancing down to Milo, his widen eyes reflecting her sharpened own. She'd holster the firearm glance behind her and moved forward toward the descending nightingale.
As they approached the voice of Cutter tore through the tension like a hot knife through butter.
"Agent, I want a report the moment you return to Theta Base, that's an order."
Agent Finch said nothing but the subtle crease in her forehead relaxed as she and the others climbed onto the Nightingale, it's engines now deafening, but the memory of the previous silence was even more so.
As the Nightingale took to the sky, the floral scent seemed to spike one last time before vanishing completely.
Finch closed her eyes, bringing both hands together and underneath her chin to rest on.
"That scent, always accompanying it."
Her eyes darkened a bit as the scent of ozone began to diminish and vanish. She said nothing more, earning a few glances from Milo, Anders and the odst's.
"She definitely saw something"
She thought to herself, taking a breath to steady the rising and falling of her knee.
"As to what I'm unsure. Oni won't share anything, that means I need to get information before Oni shuts down all operations on the Ark... I need to hurry."
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Back at the wreckage, the Nightingales engine's had alerted the attention of some unsavory folk. A squad of Unggoy and it's Jiralhanae captain.
They had just seen the Nightingale take off with researchers and soldiers.
"I wonder what's gotten the humans all razzled"
One grunt asked, plasma pistol at his side, another elbowed him, attempting to correct him.
"It's not 'razzled' it's frazzled, get it right dummy"
The brute captain behind them smacked both of their heads.
"Idiots, the both of you. It's rattled."
The Brute said, huffing dramatically before continuing.
"Those humans don't spook easily, so i want to know what's made them flee"
"Maybe it was those retriever sentinels"
The Brute grunted, lightly shoving the grunt with the back of his Mauler pistol.
"Wrong again, those sentinels protect important forerunner installations, and this."
He paused so he can gesture around him, thrusting his arm out to point at the wreckage of the Enduring Conviction.
"Is not a forerunner installation!"
The grunt huffed, making a squeaking sound after as the squad entered the wreckage zone, the scent of ozone brushing past their senses.
The Brute clicked it's teeth, brows creasing.
"Grrr, let's make this quick, i despite burnt Nanolaminate."
One of the grunts glanced at his captain, a brow rose and head tilted.
"Burnt? I don't smell anything, it smells way to flowery"
The brute growled.
"Shut up, split up and looked around before I toss you off the nearest ledge!"
The group of grunts made a collective whine.
"Why!! We always go first!!"
One said, hunching over melodramatically as the others slowly did as they're told, grumbling in the process.
The Brute captain said nothing more, merely huffing as he to entered the wreckage field to investigate, he'd get a communication ping from his chieftain.
"Vindicitimus, do you BZZZCHHHT"
The captain: Vindicitimus, growled as he brought a hand to his wrist mounted communicator.
"This is Vindicitimus, there's interference, can you say that again?"
He responded, eyes glancing to his communicator and narrowing. He tried again as the scent of something floral brushed up against his nose.
"I repeat, there's interference. Can you repeat that?"
He said, growling from the scent.
----------
"I wonder what's got Vindicitimus annoyed?"
One of the Unggoy said, glancing to their captain. Watching him growl and tap the communicator with increasing force.
"Us, the Brutes can't handle the Unggoy charm, take YapYap, his charm is extraordinary!"
Another responded, plucking at some twisted girder of the wreckage, eventually pulling it out. The two giggled as one of their squadmates turned to them.
"Hey Kipyip, Tenten, c'mere, look at what I found!"
The two Unggoy quickly waddled over, passing by scortch marks before coming face to face with something mildly unknown.
"Ooh... it's pretty. Lucky find Bipbap."
Bipbap nodded, chin held high with a very present confidence.
"Why thank you.. look how pretty it is, it's like a miniature constellation."
Tenten hummed.
"I think it's called, Bowliullminessence"
Kipyip corrected in a 'matter of fact'.
"I think it's bioluminescence, Tenten."
Tenten only rolled his eyes before pulling out his recording doohickey. Several dim flashes of light followed.
"There. I think this warrants a report."
Bipbap said, a smile beneath his respirator. But that smile soon vanished when the screen blinked, flashed static, then went dark, leaving a faint high-pitched whine in the air.
"Awe...."
Kipyip and Tenten laughed.
"Unlucky Bipbap. Come on, we should get back to investigating before Vindicitimus gets even more angry."
The squad of Unggoy resumed their investigation, spreading out. They wouldn't get far into their investigation when the scent intensified, making several Unggoy recoil, the shaking of their shoulder evident.
"Oh! That smells way to sweet"
Bipbap said pawing at his respirator.
"Too sweet! Too sweet!"
Kipyip squeaked, shaking his head side to side as something glossy shifted behind a slab of superstructure, its surface catching the light like a river before vanishing.
"Ah!! I saw something!"
The grunts turned to Kipyip and ran over, finally catching the attention of Vindicitimus.
He growled and marched over, ready to scold the gremlins before noticing how tense they were.
He grinned, at first glance it wasn't unusual, Grunts were naturally cowardice. His smirk dissipated as the cloying scent struck his nose.
"Grrr! That scent. Report!!"
The grunts turned to the captain as he marched over, his voice echoing off the wreckage and debri.
"Kipyip saw something!"
Vindicitimus glanced to Kipyip.
"Was it human?!"
He barked. Kipyip shook his head so, his voice squeaking.
"Not human! Not human! Like river light! Bioluminescent!"
Tenten nodded.
"Yes, bioluminescent!"
Vindicitimus eyes sharpened, jaw tightening, his voice turning dark.
"Pull back, now!"
He barked, raising his Mauler pistol at the wreckage, finger off the trigger but ready. He'd tap his communicator once more: a distress signal, as movement entered his eyes.
It was too quick for Vindicitimus, but Bipbap saw it.
"Eep! Sparkle curtain! Left left."
The squad began to back up as the floral scent grew heavy, an unnatural warmth spreading through their minds.
"Quiet!!"
Vindicitimus roared. The Unggoy squeaked and fell silent as he looked around, Mauler raised and ready.
A growl escaped followed by a dark tone, the hairs of his forearms bristled, his instinct screaming before his mind could name the threat.
"We aren't alone.... this isn't Forerunner...".
----------
The moment became tense, the hairs on the Brutes arms had raised, teeth were bared and the rumbling growl became consistent.
He and Unggoy's were backing up, catching only glimpses of something "other" passing around, flickering light like an aurora, shifting as if it's form was a suggestion, not a fact.
"This feels way to similar like Flood Vindicitimus!"
Tenten said, shakily holding his plasma pistol at whatever he thought the shifting form was.
"No Tenten, this is not Flood, pavium and Voridus already took care of it... besides."
Vindicitimus looked around, his growls lowering.
"The Flood doesn't look like starlight."
Silence befell the squad as they managed to inch closer to the wreckage perimeter, the hissing of the Unggoy methane canisters slowly diminishing.
Calm would return, the fear of the unggoy slowly diminished as Kipyip's back touched a slab of the ruined Enduring Conviction, making him jump with a quick gasp.
Kipyip exhaled shakily, patting the wreckage behind him.
"Oh, it was just the wreckage, I almost got scar--"
The hiss of his methane tank changed pitch. All eyes turned as a faint blue shimmer crawled across its surface, like starlight sliding over glass.
"Kipyip, don't move," Vindicitimus growled, Mauler snapping up too late, his finger already on the trigger. The light spilled downward, forming ribbons that snaked along Kipyip's legs.
"Ah! It's on me! It's on me!"
Kipyip squealed, clawing at the glowing filaments, but they only tightened. In a single, fluid motion, he was dragged backward into the shadows, his methane tank screeching against the metal as it scraped, leaving behind a glowing trail before vanishing into one of the enduring Convictions ruined corridors.
Only the sound of his panicked breathing over comms remained cut short a heartbeat later by static.
Before Vindicitimus could follow and engage whatever monstrosity that was, more shimmering tendrils became visible and for once the Jiralhanae hesitated.
His eyes widened, his growl dimmed and his breath hitched.
"Pull back!! Now!!"
The brute captain fired off his mauler, it's shots ringing out across the field of debris as he and the Unggoy retreated.
"Th-that thing wasn't forerunner!!"
Tenten yelped.
Vindicitimus quietly agreed.
"Nor human, it's new."
The remaining squad continued their retreat, Bipbap risked a glance behind him, only to whimper when two ovaloid eyes stared right back at him.
"I-it's letting us go."
Vindicitimus growled darkly, glancing back as the squad managed to leave the debri field.
"Then that thing is intelligent."
"This is Vindicitimus to Cheiftain, we have an issue at the wreckage of the Enduring Conviction, sending distress signal now"
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In orbit, within the spirit of fire 10 minutes after Agent Finch and the researchers had returned to Theta Base:
"This mystery is already getting out of hand."
Cutter spoke, his brows creased.
"It seems it has. Agent Finch's report is... Unsettling..."
Cutter dryly responded, voice lowering.
"There are too many similarities."
Isabel looked up to Isabel, the bridge silent, several of the bridge crew and leaned toward the conversation, all eyes on their captain and AI.
"To the flood, you mean."
It wasn't a question, far from it, even as an AI, the expression on Isabel's face shifted to a barely open mouth, widened eyes and curved brows.
Cutter turned to Isabel.
"I'm afraid so, the flood breifly escaped 6 months ago, thankfully we had minimal losses and the banished suffered immensely to contain, eradicate the infection before it got out of hand."
Isabel nodded.
"We should be grateful luck is still on our side."
Cutter chuckled.
"Half a crew Isabel, an old one at that."
Isabel's expression softened, the slight curve of her lips rose, remembering their first conversation a year ago.
The moment of reprieve was needed, however the wicked never rested.
"Sir, Banished Encrypted burst detected, it repeats! It's likely a distress signal!"
The voice of one of the senior communications echoed in the bridge, Cutter turned, brows furrowed once more.
"Isabel, triangulate it's location"
"Already on it!"
Isabel's hands swung to the side as the holographic table updated, revealing the updated ARK map where a bright red blip blinked.
"Captain, it's the wreckage of the Enduring Conviction again, seems like Banished forces followed Agent Finch and Anders"
Cutter brought a hand to his beard and stroked.
"Begin decryption, I want to know if that message corroborates with Finch's testimony."
Isabel nodded, holograms of the visual distress frequency appearing.
"No rest for the wicked."
Isabel said dryly, making Cutter's mouth twitch.
"Easy Isabel, you sound like Serina.... let's get that message decrypted..."
Cutter turned to the comms terminal, turned it on and contacted Red team on Theta Base.
"Jerome, get red team ready, i have a mission for you."