Chapter 196: Arcadia "Little Brothers"

After issuing the reminder, the hollow voice returned to silence.

Samuel, who had already mentally prepared himself, remained emotionally unaffected.

Based on previous experiences, whenever he and Atlas triggered or completed some significant event in a universe, his biological sons with shared bloodlines would "descend from the heavens."

"Mr. Young."

At this moment, Ap appeared as a life-sized holographic projection beside the control console through Samuel's dedicated device. She looked up at the three-dimensional star map and reported:

"Just as you predicted two days ago, this seems to be a transit station established by the Forerunners, and there's also a research lab dedicated to studying the Flood. 

Wait, I've also found the defense system installed on Harvest! While the firepower leaves much to be desired, it will allow me to more comprehensively monitor the star system, and no warp jump will escape my notice. 

The knowledge contained here... It's simply overwhelming! Mr. Young! This place is a treasure trove!"

Having accessed the Forerunner system, Ap was overwhelmed by the vast amount of data and technology, momentarily losing her composure. Her excitement was palpable.

Fortunately, the AI quickly "cooled down." Her holographic image flickered a few times before returning to its usual calm state.

She continued reporting: "Mr. Young, one of the key pieces of information stored in this transit station points to an inhabited world colonized by the UEG and UNSC in the Southern River Three-Star System—Arcadia."

The Arcadia Ap referred to is featured in Halo Wars 1, a mission location with a population of nearly three million people.

Additionally, in the primeval forests of Arcadia, there are coordinates and some records related to "Shield World 0459."

Two days ago, Samuel had mentioned to his sons the "celestial facility," which was indeed Shield World 0459.

In Halo, the Shield Worlds were massive fortresses built by the Forerunners, equipped with complete ecosystems, resembling hollowed-out planets.

From a distance, Shield Worlds look like Earth-like planets with beautiful environments.

But in reality, the surface shell of a Shield World is composed of modular metal structures, along with "dumb" AI systems called Sentinels.

At the core of these Shield Worlds lies a miniature artificial star that provides both light and energy.

As the name suggests, Shield Worlds were designed by the Forerunners as massive defensive structures to protect their species when activating their world-ending weapons—the Halos.

However, the Flood's Gravemind could "infect" and "convert" even non-organic AI, giving them control over Forerunner fleets and other key technologies.

Ultimately, the Forerunners, unable to retreat into the Shield Worlds, had no choice but to sacrifice themselves to eradicate most of the Flood, giving the galaxy of the Halo universe a second chance at life.

Nevertheless, a few Flood remnants survived.

By 2531, during the Halo Wars 1 timeline, Flood had already overrun the surface of Shield World 0459.

During Samuel's gameplay, the developers didn't reveal much about how the Flood infestation had spread, but Samuel speculated that the Flood trapped on 0459 had somehow avoided destruction when the Halo array was fired.

Over the following millennia, although the Flood broke free from their containment, the Sentinels had prevented them from evolving beyond their primitive state, until the Covenant discovered 0459.

In the game, when the Covenant opens the door to the Harvest relic, there's a dialogue:

"What if the relic is infected?"

"I don't care about your life! Open it!"

This indicated that the Covenant had discovered the Flood-infected Shield World 0459, inadvertently providing the Flood with fresh "food," enabling them to start forming new Graveminds.

The current timeline of Universe 08 is 2511, twenty years before the events of Halo Wars 1.

Whether or not the Covenant had reached 0459 is unknown, but Samuel was certain that wild Flood still inhabited the Shield World. 

If they could cleanse the Flood from 0459, Atlas would immediately gain the strength to face the Covenant head-on. After all, the Shield World harbored a dormant Forerunner fleet within its docking bays.

In any case, Samuel and Atlas needed to reach 0459 first, and either claim it for themselves or destroy it to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

Samuel, after a moment of thought, gave Ap an order:

"Send detailed intelligence on Arcadia to the Investigation Department, and arrange for one of the transport ships stationed at the Harvest Orbital Station to discreetly carry elite investigators and a team from the Engineering Department responsible for installing the Ark teleportation device. Have them proceed to Arcadia under a legitimate route and proper protocols.

Top researchers from the Science Division will analyze the Forerunner's texts, knowledge, and technology here, and you will assist them as necessary.

But make sure everything is done cautiously.

Lastly, keep an eye on the company's plans to retrofit the Seren and Fides-class ships. When the time is right, we will proceed to Reach and secretly capture the high-value target, Dr. Catherine Halsey."

"Understood, Mr. Young," Ap replied.

"Good."

Samuel nodded and turned to walk out of the ruins. "You three, come with me."

Hearing this, the three young primarchs quickly followed their father, retracing their steps back to the surface.

The four of them boarded a lift that brought them back to the landing platform on the ice cap, where they boarded a pre-notified Phantom assault craft, flying toward the depths of the polar region.

In the second-level cabin:

"Fulgrim, Angron."

Seated across from his sons, Samuel instructed the well-behaved Fulgrim and Angron:

"You two will follow the orders of the Investigation Department, assisting the investigators in handling any dangerous situations during infiltration. At the same time, you will gain firsthand experience of the cultures and geography of Universe 08.

The company's strategic goals will take several, if not more than ten, years to achieve. Eventually, this universe will be under your command."

"Father, what about me..." Leman spoke up, feeling left out.

"You'll stay by my side to deal with the Zerg threat," Samuel explained directly, dispelling any concerns Leman might have.

At this moment, Samuel sensed that the Phantom was about to arrive at the location of his other sons. He stood and made his way to the first-level cabin.

Fulgrim, Angron, and Leman followed him downstairs, waiting patiently for the Phantom to land.

Although their father had not revealed the purpose of this trip, based on the stories Vulcan had told them, along with their vague psychic senses, the three brothers had already guessed the purpose of this mission: to find their newly arrived younger brother—or brothers.

When the Phantom finally landed and its doors opened, they followed their father to the edge of a frozen lake, where they saw two brothers in deep slumber.

One had fair skin and handsome features, with slightly long black hair.

The other, also fair-skinned but with a faint grayish tint, appeared somewhat thin and gaunt.

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