Halo: Renaissance - Ch. 1

                       1 - Nekama

- Rebel -

            My name is Nekama. I'm a female ex-marine in the UNSC. It's the year 2568. The Covenant have been conquered for 16 years. And with the UNSC retired from war, no one is really focused on anything other than washing their hands of the Covenant-Human war and cleaning up the mess around the globe. The Flood haven't been exterminated yet. They're probably trying to create a new Gravemind in the depths of the abyss in space.
            I believe there is a small fleet of Covenant that still exists out there in the galaxy. My speculation must not be uttered around anyone. Even though the Loyalists have been quiet for so long, the Seperationists haven't communicated with us, either.
            Did you know that, even in a society as now peaceful as this one, I'm an outcast? I can't fight or train with my squad. In fact, I feel as though I wasn't even human. As if something supernatural was tugging at my soul, telling me to find my true identity. That is why I look towards the stars for comfort; as if I belong there. And that is why my dream is to travel into space searching for the Lost Fleet in their new Holy City that I am more than certain truly does exist. No, I wish not to kill them.

            I want to join the Covenant...

            It's Sunday, May 6, 2568 and today is the day I make a life-long decision. I plan to leave this place and travel to where the Covenant are. But because these meticulous creatures have concealed themselves and their Holy City well, I can only predict the general coordinates but vaguely. My assumption is that they reside farther than what a spacecraft could travel and slipspace is useless with out a proper destination.  However, I hold the key that no one else has in which I intend on using to reach my goal.
            My father once owned a facility, which was abandoned because of some  rumor that his ghost lives there. He used that place to gather information of a Forerunner Crystal that my father found before I was born. My reason for leaving this place is caused by all the ridicule from my peers. I would go with my father where he worked and entertained myself there. Though, being curious had truly killed him. He was electrocuted by something I played with and he tried to stop me during the incident. I was only seven. My peers used to call me a murderer. My father was once a famous researcher of the crystal and of a legend regarding the Ringworlds called Halo; and now he is gone. On top of that, ever since the Corp took my little sister I had no one to look after and no one to look after me.
            Ever since then, I felt alone, unloved, and unwanted. I went throughout my entire life until I was seventeen slowly hating humanity; and myself. In turn, my love for my mother and friends dried up, as well. I moved out and went from place to place like a nomad. I thrived off of garbage for food and anything for shelter. I'm now twenty-three and am back for a liberating adventure. I'm going to make sure the Crystal works and really can transport me anywhere in the universe, like my father had said it could do. I will go on a journey no human has gone before...

            And I'm NEVER coming back.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

- Home Dusty Home -

            I turned on the lights, that came on one by one in a rythymic pattern, of the empty and bone-chilling room of my father's research facility. This room contained plenty of memories involving my history of my father and I working here. I had tried to run away from my past for so long. But I knew that there was only one way to escape my dreadful fate of being human: restoring life to the Forerunner Crystal Artifact my father had been attemtping to understand his whole life. And woe was me, I had destroyed a life. Surely, my childish ignorance was not just curiosity but a comatose hatred waiting to attack at the most opportune moment. Therefore, to destroy myself, I must give birth to something else inside of me; a Covenant Warrior.
            I put on a Vac-suit for my short journey. I turned around and became happier. There it was, the Crystal laying dormant for so many years. And now I would finally attmept to use it. I punched in a couple numbers on the keyboard of the computer to turn on the entire sytem. On the screen, it read:
            
            VOICE COMMAND REQUIRED

            "Nekama, daughter of Professor Dalton," I said. The screen went blank and welcomed me by saying my name. "Good morning, Sophia," I said activating the AI who, like the Artifact, has been dormant for more than seven years.
            "Nekama? Oh my God, you came back!" Sophia exclaimed as she appeared into the system. I forgot how slow it was when she appeared in front of me; explaining the sluggish awakening.
            "It's time for me to leave, Sophia. And I need you to activate that thing," I said pointing to the Crystal. "So that I can embark my true path, once and for all," I told her zealously. She sighed and closed her eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Her voice sounded disappointed.
            "Yes, I'm sure. I don't belong here."
            "You do know you're about to jeopardize the existance of the entire universe, correct?"
            "Affirmative. But you are the only one who understands what it is like to be dehumanized." I informed her.
            "Alright," She sighed again. "I've been monitoring the Covenant's movements after you left and I found where they reside. I've entered the coordinates of the Supercarrier called Sent To Infinity, which is where the Lost Covenant Fleet are located. They are approximately 250 lightyears from our position. That is all I know about their location. There is something else though. They may either be going into or coming out of the Blackest Hole. If they aren't coming out of it, you might be torn apart before they even enter it. Only a Supercarrier has the protection of that ravenous void. Human flesh cannot withstand the Blackest Hole and it's power, which I am aware you regret having. Hopefully, they've come out of the Hole by the time you teleport there. In any case, I'll fire up the Crystal's interface and lock it onto the destination," After a few seconds I found myself puzzling how the AI's do this stuff. Her voice broke my thought process. "I've lowered the energy of the crystal so that when you touch it, it will not harm you. But there's no telling how this thing will react to you or anything else around it," She explained as I took it into my hands. She may be a rampant AI, but she always kept this to herself.
            "You done babbling, my dear friend?" She smiled and nodded. "Good, I'm ready." The crystal grew brighter with a blue hue surrounding it. I couldn't stare at it any longer when it reached it's maxium luminosity. At that point, it stung my palms but I barely felt it. I momentarily imagined how it might have felt if Sophia hadn't lessened it's power. The last thing I would hear from her was "Good luck".
            All at once, I felt my body float with nothing beneath me. Fortunately, I had not misplaced the Artifact. I slipped it into my pocket and zipped it to make sure it would not become lost. The darkness was suffocating yet brilliant. The stars were amazing. I saw the Blackest Hole. I grinned. I was nowhere near it and felt less tension that came along with the fear. I watched for the Infinity, only imagining what it would look like. To the right I glanced ,then left. Nothing but darkness. I looked up hoping it was there, nope. Behind? Not even. Below...WHOA! It was gigantic! I knew those markings! They're Covenant! That was definitely a Covenant Carrier! I tried to fight the antigravity space had forced upon me. With a jetpack turned on, I eventually made it to the Carrier.
            I looked for an opening to get into the ship. Luckily, the hangar had just opened for a couple Banshees. I had wished for time to stop. And just as that thought had came into my head, the Banshees had seemed to pause; inching so slowly it was remarkable. I looked into my pocket; the artifact was glowing. I knew then that it was working fine. I peered through the hanger and how vast it was. I climbed through and hid behind a barrel of weapons. Suddenly, everything began to move again and life abundantly flowed once more. The Banshees stopped and out came a couple of Brutes. I awed at the their masculinity and power. I waited for them to be gone in order to somehow get to the Sanctum of the Hierarch. I doubt he'll listen to me, however, with appropriate words and courage, he may at least allow me to speak my reasoning; no matter how inferior it is compared to his own. I wallowed in self pity of my humanity; I cursed it. Whilst begging to the Gods to be some kind of respected warrior, I then found myself beneath a very tall shadow of a certain vicious creature...