Halo_ Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe - Eric Nylund [209]
Among all of these incomprehensible human markings he knew exactly what that picture was, and as his widening eyes took it in he knew why he had been called here.
On that picture was a glyph, a sign of his people, and that glyph was the one that tied him to this planet twenty years ago and brought him back again today. That glyph was Faith, and the gods had sent the humans here to help him find it. Now looking at the other documents and pictures, he found a series of images that showed artifacts, clearly Forerunner-created, covered with the glyphs and signs the Covenant had translated and adopted for all of their works. And most importantly, in one picture he saw part of a rounded frame and smooth glass lens that looked exactly like the Forerunner Oracle they had kept in their former capital city High Charity before it was destroyed by the recklessness of the Prophet of Truth. But the pictures showed these relics surrounded by humans, being studied and even dismantled by them, and this sight brought back an anger he hadn’t felt for many years.
Other pictures showed what he could see was the nearby building as it looked before being nearly destroyed. In its former state it had other, less sturdy, structures all around it, and these pictures, along with the beginnings of the tunnel outside, told him everything he needed to know.
Excited now, he rushed outside to the bleeding human and rolled him over roughly to lie flat on the ground next to the pool of blood, now almost black in its cooling color. A small rivulet drained into the nearby hole, and it did not look like much more was left to flow from the human. The Shipmaster tore open the human’s gray-green garb and saw the expected hole in the human’s side where the carbine round had struck him. Rolling the human over to the other side he found a similar hole, more ragged at its edges where the flesh split outward as the round had passed through. He grunted with approval. The wound might not be fatal, as he had seen humans survive surprising wounds on the battlefield. He would do what he could to make sure this one survived, for the Shipmaster would have many questions for him in the days ahead. And the Shipmaster still remembered how to get a human to answer questions . . .
The Shipmaster reengaged his communications and sent a command message to his ship. He called for a medic, a security squad, the ship’s chief engineer, and a patrol of the surrounding skies in case there were more of these humans or Kig-Yar nearby. He had his purpose now and with it the beginnings of a sense of direction.
He no longer needed any Prophets to tell him what the gods desired. It was time for him to find out for himself.
A LETTER FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF XENOARCHAEOLOGICAL
STUDIES AT EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY TO SECURITY-CLEARED
FACULTY AND ONSITE GRADUATE STUDENTS.
* * *
Department of Xenoarchaeology
Jadwin Hall
Edinburgh University
2 Charles Street
Edinburgh
Alba EH8 9ADEarth
ONI MANDATED SECURITY CLEARANCE
INFORMATION: TS_Adjunct and Civilian Personnel
Exception 1492_b 01/31/2553 14:12pm TST
January 31, 2553
From the Office of Dr. William Arthur Iqbal.
Dear Colleagues,
As we are all very aware, the discovery of the Excession at Voi has significant ramifications for our species, as well as the course of our work. Everyone on this distribution list has had some exposure to classified documents regarding the discovery and exposure of what we are now describing as “Forerunner” relics, technology, and architecture. Everyone on this distribution list has no doubt made some educated assumptions about what we’re looking