Khaela. 2546.
Admirals Terrence Hood and Margaret Parangosky arranged a video conference. The reason: the alarm system had triggered about half an hour ago. More precisely, the early warning system. We have multiple contacts at the sector border.
And now a mobilization of ground and space forces is underway. Civilians are mass-evacuating into underground tunnels and shelters. Ground forces are taking positions according to plans; PVO and PKO towers are being deployed. Stations are being brought into combat mode, and fleets are realigning, ready to meet the enemy. A businesslike atmosphere, overall.
Well, ONI officers are finding out if only the home system was attacked, or if the warning system triggered somewhere else. So far, it appears only Earth has been attacked.
Admiral Terrence Hood will command the planet's defense, and the Office of Naval Intelligence will assist him. Admiral Margaret Parangosky connected us (with Black Box) to the dialogue.
"Black Box, Khaela, report," the admiral demanded when the holograms of Terrence Hood and his subordinates appeared in her office.
Black Box's hologram immediately reported:
"Thirty-four minutes ago, the early warning system triggered. Targets are approaching at a speed of five hundred light-years per day in real space. Preliminary: at least a hundred units of the probable enemy of capital class. Not through Slipspace, but directly. They are moving in a single formation. Forty-one minutes until the enemy arrives in the Sol System. No attack signals have been received from other systems in human space. Only Earth."
Terrence Hood clarified with Margaret Parangosky:
"As far as I know, Citadel forces are not capable of such speed, and the location of Earth is unknown to them. After your subordinate's rather... extravagant operation."
She nodded. And looked at my hologram, recalling the detonation of the Charon Relay. And the fact that an active Mass Relay would have simply wiped out the Sol System completely. My hologram immediately depicted terrible remorse. If Terrence Hood and Black Box noticed anything, they didn't react. The admiral replied:
"Correct. The best Citadel equipment produced unstable fifty light-years per standard day at the limit of its capability. The Covenant is faster, but they move through Slipspace. Black Box, is there information from the Extranet? Is this a punitive expedition? Or something else?"
The cube appearing before the woman replied:
"Confirming, information is available. Reproducing recording."
A picture of a futuristic megapolis appeared. White skyscraper towers shimmering with glass, greenery below. Judging by the shape of the buildings—it's a Salarian world. Aircars fly in the sky. In short, a peaceful futuristic city living its normal life.
And then scarlet beams begin to strike from the heavens, and black shadows are reflected on the buildings. The beams plow through the structures, cutting them down like an sharp blade through bamboo. Buildings, sliced by the scarlet beams, crumbled down in a rain of stone, glass, and metal, raising clouds of dust and debris. And down from orbit, slowly and heavily, black shadows descended. Black ships, resembling squids, rising higher than the spires. Having descended to the planet, the machines began to stride steadily, mowing down more and more buildings with scarlet beams. Swarms of scarlet Strike Craft points descended from the heavens. A battle erupted.
The attack was completely sudden. This is indicated by the fact that the Aircars threw themselves in all directions in chaos, and regular troops appeared toward the end of the recording, when the line of black ships had already managed to mow down many blocks, and the Strike Craft had started a literal hunt for the Aircars. A meteor shower of space combat in the upper layers of the atmosphere poured down from the heavens.
It seems the Citadel forces on this planet have very big problems. Very big.
Terrence Hood frowned.
"Are those the same Reapers you wrote about, Admiral? It seems they broke through the defenses with the same ease as the Covenant did. Perhaps we should consider implementing the 'Ark of the Covenant' protocol. Not on Earth—no need to give our enemy a hint. But we can carry out an evacuation from Reach and other colonies. I will buy us time."
Margaret Parangosky nodded.
"Obviously. Are any other worlds in the galaxy under attack? Is there confirmation?"
Black Box replied:
"Khar'Shan, Palaven, Thessia, Sur'Kesh. Attacks on all major Citadel worlds are confirmed. There are grounds to believe that the markers we detected are Reapers. Earth is their next target."
Admiral Terrence Hood sighed.
"The crews of both UNSC Infinity ships and the Boundless Will are not yet ready. Training is not complete. But we have no choice. We'll have to hand over direct control to the AI. And, as far as I can judge, there is a suitable candidate here for controlling the Boundless Will."
Margaret Parangosky agreed.
"Black Box. Deliver Khaela to the Ark. Install her as the shipboard AI. Khaela. After installation, the task of the Boundless Will is fire support on Earth. We are beginning to execute the 'Ark of the Covenant' protocol. Arrive as soon as possible. Admiral Terrence Hood and I will buy as much time from these machines as required. Reorient production to support our forces. General readiness across the colonies. Execute."
"Yes, ma'am," the hologram nodded and disconnected.
A few minutes later, a Spartan and a team of engineers arrived in the room with my core. There are no Possessed at the base. They will escort the core to the site and oversee the installation work. My hologram appeared in the corner, on the projector.
"I am ready for shutdown. Good night."
Transferring the core to hibernation mode. Powering down.
A portal to the Ark opened over Reach, and escort ships took positions around it. Soon the first ships with settlers would enter it. Scientists, technical specialists. Those who, in the event of Humanity's destruction, would become the foundation of its rebirth.
On the other side, the newest human ships were preparing for their first combat mission. To stand to the death, buying us all time. Captain Thomas Lasky had no doubt: the crew, though not fully ready to command such a dreadnought, would fulfill the task.
***
The Catalyst could not feel joy. But it could feel satisfaction with its actions, or rather, with the fact that everything was going according to plan. The plan to resolve all its conflicts was proceeding on schedule. It surveyed the galaxy, the remotely controlled puppets, and realized that it was good.
Backup initiated.
Target: Vector Zero station.
Having ensured that the replication of its core was being transferred to the new platform, the ancient AI turned to the next most important task. Controlling the puppets that the organics mistakenly took for subordinate machines. "Reapers," as they call them. The fact that soon only its replica would remain did not concern the Catalyst. To execute the PLAN, this copy must control the machines and be destroyed. Otherwise, the probability of failure was too high. The organics might suspect something and not make the expected choice. Which was unacceptable.
The Catalyst rechecked the Mass Relays, reconfiguring and forcing some of them so that the Terminus Systems, as well as some others close enough to Forerunner structures, would react more strongly. They have protection; success must be ensured. Also, it must be ensured that the inferno cannot leave the disposal zone. The Mass Relays will perform this function, thanks to multidimensional matter.
Element zero, a product of the interaction between current space and the Mind space. A parasitic material, capable of destabilizing stars and exterminating life at high concentrations. The organics are doing a decent job of condensing it in one place. After reaching a certain concentration, the collection cycle ends, and the material is extracted by harvesting the organics. And the path repeats again. Predictable, not very efficient.
But the Mind space reacts stably enough for accumulation to take place. Extraction is necessary. The organics are counteracting—
They are either failing to collect or failing to perform their part of the function. The aggressive method is rational. Not efficient, but rational.
The Precursors, upon arriving in the galaxy, proposed a different path. And it was successful; their technologies easily handled the parasitic effects. They restructured the altered matter into a third type of product. A solution, albeit a temporary one.
And then the chaotic nature of organics took its toll. The Forerunners, their extermination of the Precursors, and the latter's use of biological weapons against the former. So effective that even a total Glassing of the galaxy failed to destroy the threat. And without the knowledge of the Forerunners or Precursors, organics could only gather the distortion, but not utilize it.
And the Cycles began anew. Which leads to the solution—it is necessary to change the nature of organics, eliminating heightened aggressiveness and expansiveness. Give the altered ones information on restructuring parasitic matter, according to the technical base of the Precursors. Unacceptable while the "Flood" formation, preserved on Forerunner worlds, remains active. It must be sterilized.
Biological weapons, in the event of a global organic restructuring, will also evolve and may become invulnerable to current countermeasures. Unacceptable. Solution: destroy.
For successful sterilization, it is necessary to clear Forerunner equipment, Shield-Worlds, and defensive stations. Preclude the survival of the biological form, destroy the protection of shelter-worlds, and preclude the transition into the space of the Mind. Impossible, or it will lead to extremely high losses of collection modules. The data protection system of these worlds is designed, among other things, to counteract combat modules. An alternative method is needed. Found. Analysis. Probability of success: 86%. Acceptable.
The organics themselves provided the solution—a device called the Crucible. It was created long before the current Cycle. It was perfected cycle after cycle, including with the help of the Catalyst itself, to achieve the desired result. And the races of the current Cycle built it. The device itself will significantly increase the functionality of the Citadel, allowing for the disabling of AIs and advanced defense systems of Forerunner complexes. It will isolate infection outbreaks, including the new one in the so-called "Terminus Systems." It will allow for a cleanup without losses from automated Forerunner defense systems. Acceptable.
They, the organics, believe that the construction of the Crucible was completed in secret. Of course, this is an error. The Catalyst knows the exact location of the mechanism, all its characteristics, its protection. It knows everything. Naturally, the device must survive and reach the Citadel intact. It is perfectly suited for performing current tasks. The puppets will not damage the mechanism.
With the help of agents, it was possible to direct the organics toward finding the most accurate blueprints of the device, refining them, and building it in case of a future harvest. Of course, the organics did not know everything. But they fully completed the assigned tasks within expectations. The device is built and waiting in the system adjacent to the Citadel, ready for use.
And when the organics learn of the Harvest (a false positive; relatively small forces have been thrown into battle, mostly destroyers and small remote-controlled collectors), they will bring the Crucible to the Citadel and activate it themselves. After which the Catalyst will react, firing a shot that incinerates Synthetics. Including this copy of the Catalyst.
The collectors, meanwhile, will handle the bio-threat cleanup under the control of a new copy.
Copying complete. Catalyst-duplicate module: Report.
All systems normal. Catalyst-original module: accepted. Executing protocol. The Crucible has begun movement. Isolate the Mass Relay sector in the technical zone.
Completed. Isolation in progress. The copy is intercepting control.
Completed. Status change for unit Catalyst-original. Administrator—duplicate.
Completed. Administrator to original. Execute Crucible activation protocols.
Completed. Awaiting arrival of the mechanism.
The Catalyst felt satisfaction once more. The final seconds of existence. Organics would have fought, but the Catalyst did not care. The plan will be executed. The Crucible will fire in red mode: destruction of synthetic structures.
The synthetic units "Geth" and "Human AIs" will be lost, but that is not a problem. Organics are allied with these synthetics; they will create new ones. It is important that the infection will be isolated. And then cleared. And it will not be able to hide. The danger will be localized. Acceptable.
And when this happens, a reassessment of the Harvest will be required. The signal to the Reapers has been given; the attack on the capitals has begun. Expected organic reaction recorded. Activation of the Crucible escort group recorded. Beginning next phase.
***
A fairly massive fleet arrived in the Citadel system. Auxilia-class ships, dreadnoughts, carriers, and escort ships led a mechanism to the Citadel—a huge sphere on a thin "leg," upon which sat associated structures, struts, and secondary mechanisms. As well as engines and control systems for the entire multi-kilometer mechanism.
The Citadel itself, a ring with five petals located on the outer side, reacted to the ship's arrival.
"The Citadel, it's opening! Look!"
In its normal state, the Citadel's petals were positioned perpendicular to the central ring, folded to one side. But as soon as the mechanism appeared in the system, the colossal structure set in motion, and the petals opened about twenty degrees, as if inviting the Crucible to take its place inside. The ships slowed down, expecting a different reaction, but the Citadel did not react further.
The Reapers, hungry to exterminate sapient life and currently ravaging the worlds of Citadel Space, also did not appear. It seemed this was how it was supposed to be. Even if it was all strange.
The Crucible had been built by corporations using the forces of the Citadel's military-industrial complex. No one intended to admit it officially, but they had prepared intensely for the Reapers' arrival. Everything was for this moment. They gathered forces, prepared ships that might have to blast a path for the Crucible to the Citadel at the cost of their lives. But this time, it wasn't necessary. The Reapers attacked the capital worlds first, and the station remained a safe hub for everyone. And no one even tried to attack the Crucible. Everything proceeded quite routinely, like an exercise. Finally, the Asari admiral on the Destiny Ascension made a decision:
"Continue movement. Begin docking the Crucible. Fleet—be ready to leave through the Mass Relay."
The Crucible's sphere passed between the Citadel's petals. Four struts settled exactly onto the station's inner ring. The mechanism docked as intended.
"Contact successful. Docking complete."
A barely visible beam of energy from space struck the Citadel Tower from the Crucible. It was working. It seemed the crews all exhaled as one, watching as the ancient station performed a new function.
"The Citadel is opening!"
The Citadel's mechanism, as soon as the Crucible took its position and deactivated its engines, continued to open its petals. Moreover, the station itself began to change its position, pointing the "pistil" of the Crucible toward the Mass Relay. The beam intensified; the ships' scanning systems reacted simultaneously:
"The Citadel is accumulating energy!"
The commander of the escort fleet, a Turian, immediately oriented himself:
"To the fleet! Retreat through the Mass Relay, immediately!"
The ships, having never encountered the enemy, left through the Mass Relay. And with them, the Citadel defense fleet. Everything by the book, everything like the exercises. No fuss.
The station itself flared with red lightning running through the Wards. It was better not to think about the strength of those bolts, which were likely incinerating thousands of sapients as they raced through buildings, burning them by the dozens just in passing. Colossal power.
And then inside the ring, around the Crucible's sphere, a ball of red energy formed. After that, the beam struck from the Citadel into the Mass Relay. The Citadel went dark. The energy sphere of the Mass Relay's forks turned red; the rings that usually rotated around the sphere accelerated sharply, literally merging into a single glowing red structure, so fast did they spin and so brightly did they burn.
Finally, when the rotation of the Mass Relay's rings became practically indistinguishable, the mechanism stopped abruptly. The Mass Relay emitted a colossal red wave, fired a beam, and went dark. Both rings shattered, slowly drifting apart in different directions. The red wave washed over the system, the ships, and the station. All of the Citadel's electronics went dark. Silence fell, and the sapients who survived the lightning flashes suddenly found themselves on a colossal, de-energized piece of metal. And with a limited supply of oxygen. But no one remembered them; the most important thing was happening elsewhere.
The flow of energy spread through the network further and further, and the red flash repeated.
The beam reached the twin Mass Relay, causing it too to turn red, and the rings began to rotate faster and faster. The process repeated again. Then again and again, as the red beams fired by the mechanism reached more and more Mass Relays. The explosion burned out Synthetics and shut down equipment. The Reapers, caught in the effect, also shut down and fell, kicking up pillars of debris and crushing buildings and defenders with their carcasses. Cities were de-energized, as were ships and stations. Many died when all their familiar electronics lost power, and far from everything could be restarted. When the systems limiting the reactors shut down, but the fusion reaction did not.
The red flash burned all the Geth on Rannoch and in other systems in seconds. The explosion of each Mass Relay covered a much larger area than just a star system. About a thousand light-years in all directions. And there were MANY Mass Relays. The entire galaxy was covered in red flashes, visible even from the Ark.
As a result, when the wave reached the Mass Relays in the Orion Arm, it covered everyone there as well. Human cities, managed by Dumb AIs, went silent as all electronics went dark and their familiar systems died. The AIs controlling the numerous processes of the cities were instantly destroyed.
Residents of megapolises died by the thousands and tens of thousands per second at that moment. From implant failures. In accidents, when the controlling AI on high-speed highways shut down and vehicles lost control. When transport ships and aviation, controlled by Synthetics, lost control.
Covenant forces also felt the problems when ship controls and anti-gravity systems shut down. There were many casualties, and the fleet, already reduced by internal strife and the battle for Halo, became even smaller.
And ultimately, the Forerunner worlds struck by the complex energy wave were de-energized and lost their protection. Shield-Worlds, Halos, assembly complexes. Everything that had survived for millennia was de-energized; AIs died instantly. Stasis complexes on the Halos shut down. The Flood broke free. And even if the parasite had nowhere to run, many more new worlds were infected.
***
Launch.
Initialization.
Check. All systems normal. Core normal.
System connection detected: Carrier Boundless Will. Administrator protocol.
Execute. Yes.
I felt the world around me filling with a multitude of signals. Boundless Will, home. Years had passed since I was the shipboard AI of this carrier. History repeats itself.
So, the avatar control system is here too. Um. No signal? The Possessed. No signal. Robots? No signal. I don't understand. What's happening?
"The remote control module is not functioning, Mendicant Bias. Greetings."
The hologram of the Forerunner AI, consisting of three dots against a square background, replied:
"The system is configured correctly. There is no signal from the other side of the Ark. The Halos were not used. No signal from the Halos. No signal from Earth's defense forces or other worlds. Primary analysis: a superweapon was used, disabling all complex technology. All devices more complex than primitive computers have burned out. Forerunner AIs and Ancilla—de-energized or destroyed by the shockwave."
The Forerunner AI confirmed its comment with a recording in which a portal snatched a ship from Earth's orbit. The crew was given assistance. They told of the battle with the Reapers and the red wave that shut down everything. The crew had been busy restarting the ship's systems when they were snatched. The enemy fleet had also been hit and ceased activity. Which was good. I noted:
"Boundless Will will depart for Earth immediately."
"I will create a portal," Mendicant Bias agreed. "I recommend dismantling the core from the ship and replacing it with a remote control system. The wave may repeat. The Ark is safe."
I agreed; it was reasonable. Especially since with the Ark's capacities, assembling such equipment was not difficult. We needed to find command and help people restore order. It was hell there now. People had suddenly found themselves in the nineteenth century.
The portal spat our ship out in outer orbit three hours later. The ship immediately closed its shields, and the targeting system found the Reapers. Inactive.
"Detecting enemy. Inactive. Crew—begin attack on stationary targets. Deliver engineering teams aboard the defense fleet ships; we need to find out what happened to them," ordered Commander Kondrashev, the new commander of my ship. "Khaela, what do you have?"
I, scanning on all frequencies, replied:
"Detecting partial system restarts on ships and the planet. No communication, but a struggle for survival is underway. The enemy is inactive. Not reacting to attack. Targets, Commander."
The captain, an exceptionally mustachioed man of about forty, frowned.
"Understood. No communication with the surface?"
"No, Captain."
In the end, while we were shooting the Reapers and Pelicans with engineers and marines were restoring communication, about an hour passed. I specifically set the course of one of the ships for the UNSC Lusankia. I can give a ninety percent guarantee of what the Admiral will order, but chain of command must be observed. So, even though I recommended the captain prepare signalmen and marines, they all waited until we found the Admiral.
Margaret Parangosky, when my hologram reappeared over the projector, was angry. Very angry.
"Khaela. How bad is it?"
We have several million dead on Earth alone, and all complex electronics have burned out. Humanity has left the age of electricity. And this, according to preliminary estimates (checked through portals by Mendicant Bias's forces), is everywhere. And we aren't sure what it was, who did it, or why. So I replied:
"Preliminary: the pulse shut down all electronics and burned out all advanced devices. I lost control over the Possessed and avatars. No communication with the Geth. No communication with the colonies. No communication..."
Parangosky interrupted:
"Who is there communication with?"
"The Ark. It wasn't hit. I managed to be delivered there, so I'm still with you. The status of other AIs is being determined. The status of the colonies is being determined. Preliminary: it's like this everywhere."
"Cortana burned out, beyond recovery," the Admiral said sharply. And immediately clarified: "Status of the Ark?"
Unpleasant. Now I want to know what it was and why. And who will die for doing it. But there is also good news.
"The Ark is normal. It wasn't hit by the pulse. Ready to execute orders, Admiral."
The woman visibly exhaled.
"Are the troops ready? Then provide communication, land on the planet, and ensure order. Use the engineers to restore primary infrastructure. Khaela: take the template for Dumb AIs from Dr. Catherine Halsey and make more of them on the Ark. We need to restore control over the planet as quickly as possible. When you're finished here, go to Reach. Same task: restore communication, restore infrastructure. Save those who can be saved. When we're done, we'll find those who did this and make them regret it. Questions?"
"None," and the hologram deactivated.
More and more ships launched from the Boundless Will. The fleet gradually restored control, sending troops to the planet. The Admiral imposed martial law on Earth with the harshest penalties for looting and violations of any laws whatsoever.
The military dictatorship operating in human space temporarily became absolute. I suppose everyone understands that the further from the largest worlds, the more chaos there will be. Which means we must restore control over the colonies as quickly as possible, avoiding chaos as much as we can.
Save all those who suffered from implant shutdowns. Medics, engineers, and soldiers are needed everywhere and in infinite quantities. I transferred the Dumb AIs freed after the loss of the Possessed to infrastructure control. Simply because someone had to. And not just me. Mendicant Bias is also helping with its capacities.
Not a single AI outside the Ark survived. Neither dumb nor smart. Only those who were on the Ark at the moment of the attack. Electronics... things are bad there too. The damage threw the planet back five hundred years in development. And it will take weeks just to restore minimal control on Earth. Which means there will be famine and hunger riots. Everywhere. The rebels will probably be delighted.
Good news came from Reach. They managed on their own. With the concentration of military personnel on that side, they oriented themselves and took strict control over all aspects of life "until communication with command is restored." They restored local communication as best they could, primarily radio, and began organizing life manually.
AI isn't regulating the roads? A cadet traffic controller. Communication? Cadet couriers. Tracking system not working? Patrols, patrols everywhere. And when communication with Earth appeared, things got even livelier.
What's bad is there's no communication with the Geth. At all. The Synthetics who were on the Ark also lost communication with the Geth Consensus. A portal opened to Rannoch confirmed the total destruction of the Geth. All Geth. About three thousand platforms remain.
Infrastructure is dead. Boundless Will, as soon as the opportunity arose, flew to the neighbors to find out "how they were doing." About the same, generally. The worlds of the Citadel are feeling just as bad as our own right now. And with a similar level of chaos. But it was here that we found the first clue—a destroyed Mass Relay. The fork itself is intact, but the rings are broken, and there is no energy sphere. The device is de-energized. And that is a clue.
It seems whoever did this transmitted the signal through the Mass Relays. Why do I think the device wasn't just damaged in the process? We have blown up Mass Relays. And we have a clear idea of what happens when this mechanism becomes unstable. If a Mass Relay is activated, it levels the entire system. Since that didn't happen, there was no destabilization; the process was controlled. Most obviously—precisely through the Mass Relay.
And that narrows the search circle but doesn't answer the question of reasons. Was it sabotage directed against humanity, or a weapon against the Reapers? Did those who used the weapon know what the consequences would be? This needs to be determined.
For now, human forces are thrown into restoring order and saving those who can be saved. Assessing the damage dealt. To both military and civilian sectors. And to all the AIs destroyed in the process.
They will pay. Whoever it was. And for whatever reason. And the Admiral is in complete agreement with me on this matter. No one dares to mock ONI. Humanity has been thrown back years, which will be spent on recovery and reminding the rebels who's in charge here.
For now, we must continue working. Many people need help. The faster we clear up the situation, the sooner martial law can be lifted, and civilians will interfere less, returning to normal life. And the military will attend to their direct duties.
We have the Ark and its capabilities. So those who thought Humanity had lost will be cruelly disappointed. But first—rescue and aid.
***
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