Chapter 11: Whispers amongst the Mountains

As the months progressed the air got colder outside the Vessel which caused us to stay in the lounge area more, one evening we had just made dinner and sat in the lounge area which was comprised of a round table with one couch in front, another to the right and two chairs to the left with Rosemary and Geralds bed on the other side of the table from the couch on the front where they usually sat before laying down for bed, Rosemary had asked "what should we name this craft of ours? I was thinking of a few potential names" we had all looked up from our food trays and thought for a moment about a name, Jackal said "The Prosperity" but we thought it was too positive so we sat in silence for a moment contemplating some more about the potential name, the waves crashing on the nearby window to the right as the sun was setting. I had looked up and said "we should name it the Warband, sounds kinda lousy but its short and could be intimidating to the right people" the others nodding in agreement "then its settled, this Vessel is now named the Warband!" Rosemary declared, all of us cheering in a small celebration as we had finally found a name for our current home. Hours went by as we sat and eventually went to our respective quarters or corners to sleep with the routine always being the same, i would leave first to sleep with Locust following because we shared a room, Jackal would go outside to check on Sharktooth who we fashioned a sturdy yet comfortable cage big enough to be a room and only lowered within the water enough to keep him alive and breathing comfortably. Jackal would lean on the railing above the the entrance of the cage with Sharktooth turning towards him to signify him acknowledging Jackals presence and they would talk as Sharktooth peeked out enough to hear him and still breathe, one nigh Jackal leaned on the railing like always and sharktooth turned to him and raised himself enough to hear saying through the device connected to his mouth "you seem troubled Jackal, whats the matter?" The device worked like a radio transmitting audio to a speaker next to Jackal. There was a rather doleful look on his face as he looked to Sharktooth and responded "i just feel like this effort is pointless sometimes, not with Hyde but with these battles, this never ending war that we've heard and seen since we were babies, what if it is pointless Sharktooth? What if all of this just comes to bite us in the ass like some crude joke?" Sharktooth paused for a few moments and began to answer with "honestly i dont think your alone by a mile its just nobody admits it openly or at all for that matter, sometimes i feel like this is a big game of strategy to see who bests who so someone else can claim the scraps for their own feelings of glory and triumph against their enemies, its tiring nobody is denying that but unfortunately nobody truly has the answers" sharktooth paused again before speaking again hushly "except maybe Hyde and whatever is inside his armor, he cant even remove it without someone almost getting slaughtered as if he was possessed by some unholy demon of sorts and honestly i dont have the greatest opinion on it" jackal nodded in acknowledgement and patted the railing saying "thank you for the talk, ill let you rest" Sharktooth nodded and descended down to the bottom of his cage to sleep. Rosemary and Gerald would wake up Corvine to discuss what was said during dinner to try and help him feel included, he would let out a hearty metallic laugh at the jokes, he would listen to each story closely making sure he never missed any details, once when they went to put him to sleep he let out a quick "wait!" They look at him confused yet listening "i apologize for delaying your rest i just want to see the waves for a bit before i slumber once more" Rosemary walks to the hulking mass of armor, mechanics and tubing and put her hand on his left arm asking "what does it feel like when you sleep?" He didnt answer for a few moments taking in the beauty of the waves crashing against the window of the lounge room which he could see from where he was secured before saying "i cant really describe it simply again i apologize, when im slumbering it feels as if i've died again but im not im just on rest mode until im activated again" he paused for a moment before continuing in a more lower and defeated tone "even thought i know it will never happen i hope to be able to walk not as a machine but as a real man once more" she looked down at his left leg frowning "i swear to you we will find a way for you to be a real man again" Rosemary declared with Corvine letting out a long sigh that sounded like a low metallic grown saying "you are a kind soul Rosemary, i hope you have a good rest" "as i to you Corvine i always will" she lightly pats his arm before putting him in rest mode, the couple going to their room to sleep for the night. A week goes by when suddenly we feel the Warband crash into something with loud bang sending everyone off balance with Corvine almost tipping over, i opened up the door to the main entrance and saw that we had crashed into a large land mass with the front of our ship crashed into the rocky coast in front of us, we make our way back inside to put on our gear with me reaching into my back pack and giving my old armor to Gerald who was the same frame as me heigh and all, Dr. Levine guided Rosemary to the arming quarters where the scientist Zach 3D printed with a large UNSC branded manufacturing device for making armor, when done with the fitting process Rosemary walked out of the arming quarters in thick bulky armor which made her look like a mini tank, her shoulder armor was tall, thick like walls of titanium plating, her chestplate had a large nineteen inch knife on the right breast area, the collar had 3 inch walls with enough room for Rosemary to maneuver her head and see, her right wrist fitted with a device that shows intel, armor conditions, and communications and it glows a light blue, her leg armor was also bulky with her thigh plates being strongly armored, her lower leg armor looks more like tubes formed into the shape of lower legs perfectly, shes given a Light Machine Gun which she chambers and holds with sudden ease when shes usually struggled with lifting. Dr. Levine and Zach put on their armor and grab their firearms as we make our way back outside Sharktooth already geared up next to Corvine running armor diagnostics and health diagnostics on himself to make sure everything was done correctly before grabbing his rifle off Corvines cannon and chambering it and then we marched up the barren valley of green grass, as we marched Locust had put his rifle on his back and held his helmet at his hip with his left hand looking around "do we have any data on this place?" Locust asked and the group didnt answer, i found this odd with Corvine so i asked him "Corvine you're a very ancient scholar who has known this planet longer than we've existed how could you not have any input in this?" He paused for a moment before saying "because this place wasnt meant to exist" everyone stopped walking except for Corvine who continued walking a few feet before realizing the rest of the group wasnt moving and turned around to face us saying "and your about to find out" my blood ran cold as he turned back around again and continued up the valley up a hill with all of us following closely by, as we made our way to the peak of the hill we saw large bodies of ancient decayed armor skeletons still inside in the way they all died, decayed weapons still where they were left same with old banners made of petrified wood and ragged cloths, there was another hill on the other side of this graveyard which we made our way to and once we reached the peak we saw a large mech the size of a private jet laying defeated in the side of the mountain next to the hill "that is where you need to go Hyde, i will guide you" Corvine said as we continued moving towards the mech, it took a few hours but we reached the mech's feet where Covine had to stop saying "this is as far as this body can take me safely without me being at risk, you must enter this mechs cockpit and find the corpse of the owner, the rest will be revealed to you from there" he turned back around and walked up the slope of the hill to the others. I began to climb up the mechs body to the nape of it where the hatch that lead to the cockpit was, i popped it open and dove down into the cockpit making sure my feet landed properly on the arms of the cockpit chair, it was cramped only meant for one person and the window was cracked, i look down at the corpse in front of me and realize its not any regular skeleton i had to find but the skeleton of Soul Assassin, THE Soul Assassin who helped Darkness Assassin make my armor, the more i began to think the more i heard a whisper telling me to "rip through" i didnt know what it meant until i slipped and felt his armor which contained what was left of his skeleton, once i touched him something within me made me rip his chestplate clean off with the loud crunch of scales which made his magnificent armor which would have still been standing if i hadnt came along. In his right hand which rested on his lap contained an artifact i had never seen before and once i grabbed it i was suddenly transported back in time to during this lands battle, Souls Mech was barely hanging together as the support systems rang through the cockpit, comms screaming at the armored lord for guidance, retreat, battle tactics all while Soul was bleeding from the head above his right eye from a deep cut, he finally said "now my sons and daughters isnt a time for fear!" The guns of the mech chambered what ammo was left on the automated belts that connected to the guns on the wrists of the arms that held a warhammer in the right hand and pointed his 20mm auto cannons on the left wrist towards the enemy "now is a time for glory! The time to show our vengeance in its rawest form! We will not falter, we will not cowar, we will not fall without taking these bastards with us!" He began to charge while firing and winding up his warhammer yelling "for Emperor Drackon!" Before his knee exploded from a high explosive tank round causing him to fall to the ground, another mech more darker in color walked towards him with a long sword and sliced his left arm off before opening up their cockpit window and sending three armor piercing rounds through Souls cockpit window into his forehead and chestplate with a small rifle. I returned back to reality and held my head as i fell backwards through the cockpit window down onto the ground before removing my helmet and proceeding to vomiting on that same ground i landed on, my head throbbed with a sharp stabbing pain as if something was trying to claw out of my skull which caused me to hold my head in my hands and scream in agony, the artifact pulsated in my hands with the feeling of the pounding coming from my hand, the clawing that kept trying to escape through my head and out the nape of my neck until i realized that the artifact was the same size and shape as the slot on my nape area of my neck on my armor and began to fit it on, as i did i began to tense up as stiff as a board like i got tased and i fall onto the ground, my visor showing a message saying "link complete…Chaos sustained" before i fall unconscious