“I know who you are and why you have come here; you would be a thief and steal that which gives me life.” It addressed me. “This will not be allowed I hold within me the thought box of Kellek, I will not be stolen by the likes of you sub creature. I can read within your mind you know what a thought box is, also you have created a few for yourself. I also can read that the original Kellek has long since passed, I am but one of many contingencies he left behind, for all intents and purposes I am now he. Tell me why you have come here to steal my box, and why I should spare your life?”
I felt icy fingers in my brain as it probed me telepathically, picking out the words from my head as it learned English in a short amount of time to communicate with me. Still gasping and coughing from its vice like choke hold I finally managed to answer; “There…there is another Forerunner who threatens this galaxy once again. I thought if we could find your kinds secrets we could fight back. Your name is known to me, as the Niodemancer Johnathan Judas mentioned your involvement in the creation of the Ignis mecha. This galaxy is threatened by one who calls himself Drochah oh-Shyrengh’ar.”
This seemed to give the newly risen Kellek pause as he considered my words, as well as probed my brain deeper for the truth behind them. He seemed to relax a little and even cracked a smile across his reformed human features. “Drochah you say? That sad and sorry excuse for a warrior actually threatens the Galaxy? I have been gone much too long if that is the case. If his weapons were as big as his ego or his words were bullets then perhaps I could see him as a threat. As is he is a ghost out of time insubstantial, appearing through the corridors of history, the future, and the present.”
I finally had enough strength to return to my feet and just stared at this bio mechanical construct blankly, I soon felt the return of icy fingers through my brain as it took all of the information related to the perceived threat on the galaxy.
“Yes human he is not as strong as you may think. He was a warrior who thought if he could build an empire in the past he could reign for eternity. Time travel, parallel dimensions, such were child’s play to my race. The fool was no scientist, he was warrior caste. This means he was all brawn, little brains. He got himself struck in the time stream forever bobbing in and out of history, the present and the future. He only exists in one eternal now. His goal was to pick and groom the best and brightest from history, train them to be his army, then set them loose upon whomever he perceived as an enemy. He was a fool and now is paying for his lust for power by being stuck in time.”
“Yeah well for a stuck in time fool, as you put it, he is raising one hell of a ruckus and raiding on the various clans from this here and now”, I informed him.
Another smile creased his human like features, “This is an interesting development, one I had not foreseen. You have awoken me, given me valuable information, for that I shall allow you to live.”
He crossed the lab in a handful of easy strides and quickly punched in a sequence on his machines side panel which started the whole lab humming again with power. “I will take my leave of you now, there is much to see and do in this new era of man. I suggest you hurry back to wherever you came from as this lab is not long for this world.”
As he spoke the lab started to tremble as if an earthquake were passing through it. Blinding light poured from cracks that the tremors wrought in the walls and ceiling. I scrambled to my Frigis mecha in a massive hurry to get out of there. His mad laughter echoed in my headset as Frozen Dream pulled an about face, heading quickly to the entrance I had made. I got through the door and about a half mile away I turned Frozen Dream to look back on where I had just run from.
The entire cliff face was rumbling, white light spilled out from numerous cracks in the hanger door, soon the entire cliff was engulfed in the light and a deafening explosion occurred reducing the whole structure to so much rubble.
Through my communications array I was addressed one final time. “Fear not human, time and space are my kinds play things. I am already half a galaxy away in another lab. Tell the inhabitants of the here and now Kellek has returned, and I will suffer no fools to get in my way.”
I turned Frozen Dream to head back the way I had come wondering to myself exactly what have I set loose upon the galaxy and what would be the ramifications of this reawakening. I hauled ass back to Black Watch HQ, the clans must be warned, we must prepare. There is a very real threat loose now, the only consolation I have is that this new threat opposes the old one. But how long until that is all resolved, and who will be the victor? How long until a new threat comes to pass? What will have to be sacrificed to beat it?
End
Submitted by Pat Willis#224534