Ten: A Dying Empire's Cry

At the order of both the Librarian and the Bornstellar Didact, the Fleet raced for Far Nomdagro, where the Didact's personal ship, the Mantle's Approach, met them. Yet the Forerunner did not transfer to it, instead electing to remain on the Storm in the care of the Fleet's Lifeworkers until Bornstellar and the Librarian joined them.

He asked for the Spartan.

The door to the Didact's rooms hissed open, and John stepped through. The lights within were dim, but not prohibitively or sinisterly so. The Didact was laid out on a couch sized for even his massive frame, eyes closed, hands folded on his chest.

He looked like a corpse, laid in state, but he was alive. The Spartan could hear his breathing, and Déjà confirmed it.

John walked over and sat in a hard light chair the Storm called up for him.

After a long minute of silence, the Forerunner took a shuddering breath and spoke. "I am broken, Spartan," he said. His voice was worn and weary; he actually sounded his age now. "You have saved me from being the Flood's instrument, but the damage it has dealt… it is too great. I am no longer of any use, no more the Didact, only Shadow-of-a-Sundered-Star, and a pale shadow at that."

What was there to say, to such a one in such a state?

"...perhaps that is true," John said finally, "But Bornstellar still bears your skill and wisdom at the front of the Forerunner line, such as that line is now. He wears the mantle of the Didact… but the Librarian did not fall in love with that title, only the person behind it."

The Forerunner lifted his hands to cover his face, an uncharacteristic display of distress. "My wife - she should not see me like this - she should not-"

"It would be a comfort to her," the Spartan interrupted quietly, "to see you in her final days, whatever your state. It would please her to know that you still live."

That made the Didact - no, that made Shadow lower his hands and look at him with confusion. "Her final…? Surely she lived? Surely she, of all our people, saw our triumph over the Flood, such as it may be? Whatever remains after the Array does its awful work?"

John shook his head. "She means to follow in the footsteps of her other self from my world. She means to be on Erde-Tyrene, on Earth when the Array is fired. Exactly what will lead her there, I do not know, but she still means to go."

Shadow sat up at that. "No," he said, an echo of the old Didact's imperiousness resurfacing, "She cannot - she must live, to see all our plans come to fruition-"

"I imagine that changing her mind will be even harder than changing yours."

The Warrior-Servant rose to pace. John watched in silence.

Another long moment passed before Light from Distant Suns (or Sunlight, as she was more commonly known) spoke. "Sirs, the Librarian and the - and the Didact have arrived."

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At Shadow's request, the Didact came to them first. He entered the chambers and paused a moment, examining the Warrior-Servant before him. He seemed to understand, too, but still greeted Shadow with honor and respect. "You have returned to us, my brother," he said, and stepped forward to embrace the other Forerunner, "You have been greatly missed, and we are glad to have you home."

Shadow seemed surprised at the rictus, but accepted and even returned it. When they parted, he said, "I do not deserve your regard. Were it not for the Spartan, I shudder to think of what state I would have been in - what harm I would have done. I shudder to think of what I did do, in his world."

The Didact shook his head, displayed the smallest of smiles. "But he is here, and so are you, and for good or ill, that world is not this one. Will you stand with me, brother?"

Shadow hesitated. John could see that he longed to do it - one last battle, to go out in a blaze of glory - but at last he shook his head. "I do not have the strength, not anymore," he said, voice heavy with grief, "The Flood has taken that from me as well."

"Oh, my brother…" The Didact gave another tiny smile, this one of equal sorrow. "Then I will have the strength for both of us. Be at peace, Ur-Didact. Your battle is over."

They embraced once more.

It was then that the Librarian arrived, and the Didact stepped back to let her greet Shadow. "Husband," she said, warm and gentle.

"Wife," he returned, and they too embraced. All of society had broken down; there was no judgement here for what many would have called an unseemly display of emotion. When they pulled back but still held one another in their arms, he continued, "Wife, the Spartan tells me you mean to be in the path of the Array when it is lit."

"I do," she said softly, cupping his face, "I know not what will lead me there, but Erde-Tyrene is not so terrible a place to meet an end."

"I would come with you," said the Promethean, "I long for battle, but have little will left to fight it. Let me use what I have to stand with you, in defense of you, one last time."

The Librarian's eyes actually grew glassy with unshed tears. "Few things indeed would bring me more joy, my love."

But then alarms began to sound. "Slipspace ruptures detected," said Sunlight, "Precursor star roads. The Flood is coming."

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Shadow handed the Mantle's Approach over to the Didact and went with the Librarian to Audacity. The Fleet surrounded them all, projecting their strange resistance field, and led the way as they followed their Cole Protocol, jumping on synchronized yet randomized vectors to the Ark.

But on the way, they finally heard. All but one of the Halos had been hunted down by the Flood and utterly destroyed, flung into their systems' stars to twist and warp and boil away.

[Then where are the others?!] John demanded, [There are seven rings, I know there are! The Greater Ark cannot manufacture ones so small, so where is the Lesser?! Where is Installation Zero-Zero?!]

'Unknown,' Stormwatch answered, 'We will begin calculations based on your memories, but it is unknown if we will be able to triangulate its location in time. The Flood is following us - it's making for the Ark.'

[...It tracked our passage. It cannot sense where we are because we resist its influence, but now with the galaxy consumed, it can sense where we are not. Alert Mantle's Approach and Audacity.]

'Already done.'

But then there was news in return. "All remaining Forerunners have been brought here," said Offensive Bias, "The last systems have been overwhelmed. There will be no other ships."

There were likely still ships out there, fighting, but they were few and scattered, with no sure way to contact them. Soon to be overtaken, if not by the Flood then by the Array - if indeed there were more Halos.

John was invited down to attend a gathering of the few remaining Forerunner commanders. Of them all, his fleet was the most intact - but also the smallest. Despite Forerunner society nearing its end, there was still infighting, political maneuvering - and more news. When fired, the Array destroyed not just biological lifeforms, but also Precursor architecture, disrupting neural physics as well as neural systems - which explained why the UNSC had never seen any artifacts, despite them being so prevalent during the age of the Forerunners.

And at last, the Lesser Ark. The other Array. John never thought that hearing of Halo's existence would make him rest easy, but now it did. All was as he knew, and time was starting to wind towards its inevitable end.

And this with it: the star roads were coming. The Fleet felt them first through the Gultanr, their minds tracing the lines of the Precursor architecture before they had even arrived in nearby Slipspace, and they alerted the Ark and its defenders.

John was already running for his ships. Cryptic Whisper caught him up and bore him away to the Perfect Storm.

The Librarian contacted him on the way up. She looked harried, Shadow alarmed behind her. "My specimens!" she cried, "The humans - all the peoples and genetic composites - they are down on the Ark!"

"There is a little time, the transit system is not yet compromised - not until the star roads arrive. Transfer all genetic composites and choose at random from each of the living populations, move them to the Fleet; we will take what we can," he told her, "And send more to the Didact; he must get to the other Ark. If the Master Builder is actually telling the truth for once, the Flood will not send the star roads into the path of Omega Halo - it would destroy them. That is our escape route."

Relief washed over both Forerunners, even though they knew it would not be enough. The connection cut even as they hurried to work. There was no time to move anything major, but the Ark was coming alive, preparing to defend itself.

And in the distance, the star roads emerged.

By the time they drew near, the Fleet was full of alien species - and now had guardianship of Guilty Spark's Gargantua-class transport. The very instant he had confirmation, John ordered them up, following the line of Omega Halo as the energy built at its heart.

They all got away just in time.