Then it hit me, I could ask someone if the Forerunners knew. There was one being that possibly may be able to tell me, Johnathan Judas known as the Niodemancer! Suddenly the feeling was lifted and I felt alive again. I was missing chasing down a story! All this time running the Gathering, all the fighting in Black Watch, and I was missing something as simple and basic as running down a story. But I figured why not this may be looking into, if nothing else it would certainly be something to do.
Johnathan Judas the dreaded Niodemancer, one time Captain of a pirate clan called The Crimson Eclipse. Story had it that he had been on the planet Teradron in the Immolia system located within what was then frontier space. It used to be a harsh desolate world filled with only a handful of species all competing for apex predator status. Now believe it or not it is a sub tropical vacation world for big game hunters, thanks to terraforming. Apparently he and his pirate crew had come upon a stasis tube containing a living Forerunner. They cracked the tube and all the stasis gasses spilled out upon breaking of the tube's seal. The crew died as the Forerunner vapors spread amongst them, where they dropped one by one where they stood. Apparently there were things in the gasses that were incompatible to human lungs.
Captain Judas was snatched up by the Forerunner and injected with odd metallic colored fluids, while the Forerunner ripped his consciousness and soul out of his body and stored it in some kind of contraption. The brain and thought patterns produce chemically generated electric waves, the soul is said to be nothing more than the bio-electric signature of the body so I could see that to a degree. The reality of the being is enough to make me believe.
Apparently as his soul and for all intents and purposes his mind were being stored in the Forerunner tech, his body was being remade by the Forerunner itself. His body was flooded with some strange mixture of nano-niode powered tech, which transformed him utterly. Once his form was ready the Forerunner joined his consciousness and soul back with his body while trying to imprint himself into the Captain at the same time.
As a result the Captain and Forerunner wound up fighting for the same mental realty in one head. Apparently the Forerunner did not count on the rage and pain Judas had experienced and was overpowered. Right around the same time the Forerunner succumbed to an unknown ailment. The result was a modified human by Forerunner hands with the encyclopedic knowledge of certain Forerunner topics.
Some pilot found him in the same place in the same stasis tube, a thousand or so years later and accidentally woke him. As a result the monster that used to be Captain Judas was once again unleashed upon the Galaxy. He found his way to Cogwerk Port and started raising hell. As a result the Illyrians were called in and finally able to subdue him, last I heard he was still in their “care”.
So it was with new purpose I contacted the Illyrian embassy and made my request to see their most infamous prisoner. A multitude of comm tag games later, half a world of red tape, and many promises to run free campaign ads for various political parties I finally gained permission to see this man turned monster.
I set off at once for Hegemony space, and in a short while arrived at the Illyrian science center. The place was guarded in every conceivable way. Guards everywhere, automated weapon systems all over, an array of sensors and scanners, as well as a contingent of mechs outfitted to destroy a small moon should the need arise. I started to second guess myself as I was briskly taken to the home/containment cell of Captain Johnathan Judas.
Any doubts I had of him being so drastically altered, or any thoughts of exaggeration about his condition were banished as soon as the door opened and I saw him for the first time. He was almost seven feet in height, with a leaden color to his skin, scars all over his face and hands which were clearly visible in the sterile lights. His hair was long, but upon closer inspection it was seen that “hair” wasn’t the proper term, rather they were fine strands of bronze, gold, and copper filament wires, but most unnerving of all were his eyes. One glowed neon green while the other was a dark dull metallic bronze.
The thing that was Captain Judas nodded as I walked in the door extended an arm and said in a deep base voice, “Ahh yes my visitor come sit down, I hear you have some questions for the ole Captain. Well make yerself at home boy and let’s see what I can do for you.”
I looked this being over carefully still trying to take in what my disbelieving eyes told me. Eventually I did as he bid and sat down. I found my voice finally and said to him,” I have heard you are somewhat of an authority on Forerunners as according to rumor you have one bouncing around in your head. Most know the story of how you came to look as you do, but not many know or understand how you have this information. Perhaps we should start there?“
He grinned crookedly at me before answering, “What most say 'bout me is right, I was made into what I am now. As to the how of it, I could give ya technical descriptions and even schematics. Enough to make yer head spin. But in simple terms, I woke something that never shoulda been woken ya see. This crew of mine found what we thought was Forerunner tech, a weapon even. Turned out it was a Forerunner itself! One that was dying ta boot. Turns out the whole bloomin race had something wrong with em. Some kinda disease. The one who got me was named Roah a part of their science division. He figured putting hisself in stasis would arrest the disease until others of his kind found a cure. He was wrong. We broke his seal, started em up again and also started his disease on its final run through his system. He had just enough time to rebuild me before falling to the inevitable. It was then in his final moments that we did battle in my mind. I won; in doing so I blasted apart his identity, his personality but retained his knowledge base. So in the end there only was me, but a smarter, stronger me, and a world of alien information in my head.”
I was astounded as the creature in front of me told the story like relaying the Clan Wars scores in a bored manner on a Sunday afternoon. His whole demeanor was casual to the point of being unsettling. His mismatched eyes never once wavered, hell he barely even blinked as he recalled the horrific events from his past. I got the chills simply being in the same room with him, but that last bit of information and the way he retold it almost sent me running. Then I remembered I was here for a reason it was all to get the story. If he had information I needed it, what’s more to the point in a strange way I wanted to hear it now.
Suppressing a shudder that I felt from deep within I bravely carried on with the conversation, “Interesting so you have information from a dead Forerunner in your head belonging to their science division. Well then you just may be the one to help me after all. We just recently discovered a new mech called the Ignis. No one knows where it came from or even why it is designed that way. These are the things I want to know.”
He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward a bit at that, I shrank back a little in my chair under his gaze, but in a moment the look passed and he grinned that crooked grin again before saying, “Ignis huh? Ahh yes I know of that beastie. Sit back and relax a bit if ya got time for a story, this one is rather long and takes a bit to tell. Ol Captain Judas knows of the Ignis yes, lemme tell ya how it came to be …..
To be continued...
Submitted by Pat Willis#224534