Carolina

Jungle Temple – Present Day

Caboose stepped out of the light beam at the Jungle Temple, announcing his return with a cheer, "I'm back!" Meanwhile, Tucker flew out of the gateway temple again—he failed his second trial.

"Caboose! What happened?" Grey asked, shocked to see him walking just fine.

Carolina, however, walked over to Tucker to check on him. "Tucker, are you alright?"

Tucker slowly got up, shaking slightly. "I... I couldn't protect them," he offered. "Just like before." Sighing, he deduced, "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"What happened, Caboose?" Chruch asked. Caboose's escape from the gateway was the smoothest. Whereas Carolina rolled out and Tucker flew out twice, something was different about how Caboose carried himself. Whether it was ignorance or confidence, Carolina didn't know.

"Ah, yeah. Well, I went to the bathroom. And it wasn't really a bathroom. At least, I don't think it was. They separated red from blue, which I found weird. Then I met an alien. And we became best friends! And he told me everything about the universe! And then—"

"Wait, and alien?" Tucker asked, running to his friend. "Does that mean you're a—"

"Greetings, travelers," a familiar voice said.

With a red flash behind Caboose revealing the alien, everyone stepped back in shock. Carolina aimed her gun at the hologram but didn't fire. She didn't know what to think of it. Never having seen a Sangheili, Grey screamed, "Woah!"

"My apologies," Santa started, staring at Caboose. It looked at the others, trying to read their faces through their visors. "But is there anyone else I could speak to? Perhaps someone with a wider vocabulary?"

"Who... What are you?" Carolina questioned.

Epsilon slowly floated to the other construct, circling and scanning it. "It's an A.I...."

"Correct. I am the construct left behind by my creatures to ensure their gifts are only passed down to those who are worthy," Santa followed Church's motions as it explained.

"Yes. And that is why I have named him," Caboose paused for dramatic effect, "Santa."

Carolina looked at the blue moron, puzzled. "Santa," she repeated.

"Santa."

"Santa?" Tucker asked, not sure if he'd heard his teammate correctly.

Caboose nodded happily. "Santa."

"Santa," The Sangheili hologram confirmed.

"Santa. The alien A.I. construct," Epsilon joined, shaking his head in disappointment.

"It is an honor to meet you, noble warriors." The Sangheili ignored Epsilon's annoyance and descended upon the group, bowing to them.

Carolina stared at the hologram before her. Never, in a million years, did she think a Sangheili would bow before her, A.I. or not. A million questions raced through her mind. But before she could ask any, she thought to radio General Kimball with an update. The Director always trained them to communicate constantly on the battlefield, though that usually fell apart in practice. It was a lesson the Generals of Chorus tried instilling in their armies, though to mixed results. "General Kimball, this is Agent Carolina. We've arrived at the temple and..." she paused, looking at the alien. "We found an alien A.I. const—"

"Santa," the A.I. interrupted.

"We found Santa," she corrected. She didn't know if the machine could do anything to them, but she didn't want to risk it. She didn't try to refer to it as a machine again.

"I'm sorry, what?" she heard Wash respond. "Did I just hear that right?"

"Yeah, you did. Can you pass the message on to Kimball?" she asked.

"Yeah, of course. I think we're getting close to Alpha. I think I can see some tractor beams in the distance. Should be there soon. Over."

"Thanks, Wash," She nodded as though the soldier were standing before her. She switched to her local frequency and turned to her friends. "Kimball's moving ahead with the assault and should be reaching Alpha any minute."

"So we should probably wrap up here, then go help them," Tucker reasoned.

"I am certain there is no end to your questions," Santa interjected, particularly watching Grey.

"Oh, oh, oh! You have absolutely no idea!" Grey squealed, vibrating with anticipation. "So, first of all, how—"

Church materialized between the two, waving a hand at her. "Alright, alright. Let's not start foaming at the mouth. Let's get the important stuff out of the way before we get to any of your fun questions."

Grey cleared her throat and quieted down, just bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I can foam wherever I want, thank you very much! But fine, let's start simple: What are these temples?" Grey asked.

"The legacy of my creators is scattered throughout the galaxy. Their history and technology all left behind for future species to discover. This planet, Eudemon—or as you call it, Chorus—was one of great importance to our species. Many temples throughout our galaxy were based on those found on this planet."

"What kind of temples?" Tucker asked. "Are they protecting monitors like the one on Installation 00? I was in charge of protecting a few monitors." Carolina stared at him, not understanding half of what he said. She knew about the Installations—the giant rings created by the Forerunners destroyed all life in a certain radius—but they didn't know much about the monitors. Church, reading her mind, showed her what Tucker was talking about, how Caboose moved him to another monitor for a short time.

The Santa A.I. explained, "My creators bequeathed many gifts, which you will find locked away within the temples. You may access them with the Great Key, like the one you possess, Lavernius Tucker. You activated the Temple of Arms. With its power, you reactivated combat vehicles, weaponry, and a myriad of other technological models from the time long past. Should you need more, you may activate it to receive them from the temple's storage. These are merely a fraction of the gifts left behind by my creators."

"That's amazing!" Grey exclaimed. "What other temples exist?"

"Wait! Before you answer that, why did you turn it off if Tucker activated it with a valid sword?" Epsilon asked.

"There was an... anomaly. The temples can only be activated with a key wielded by a true warrior. When my program scanned the planet's temples, I found this planet's key lay unclaimed. Further research suggested one of my temples had been meddled with. Given my limited understanding of this planet's predicament, I can infer it was those you are currently fighting."

Carolina confirmed its guess. "Right. Charon's men likely bypassed the security protocols at the tractor beam."

"The Temple of Gravity Manipulation was designed to form a defensive barrier around the planet through the disruption of subatomic particles dispersed throughout space. These meddlers circumvented my security measures, though not entirely. They may alter the mass of any object in the upper atmosphere, forcing it to crash or helping it achieve slipspace velocity."

"Tell him how the elves are involved, Santa," Caboose wished.

Epsilon would have rolled his eyes if he could. "He's talking about the tractor beams."

"Activating the temples should have been impossible without access to the Great Key. Which brings me to you, Lavernius."

"Me?"

"I sensed your key's power at the Temple of Arms and allowed you to activate it. However, your Sangheili was a poor attempt at mimicking our language. While I understood parts of your speech, it was not enough to persuade me of your worthiness. But when you arrived and explained your intentions further, your vocabulary had improved greatly. While not a true warrior, your claim to being an ambassador had great merit. Working alongside the only true warrior since the Sangheili abandoned this planet, my programming dictated you should gain access to our resources."

"And it was Caboose who swayed your mind completely?" Carolina asked, doubtful of her friend's capabilities. Church had shared stories about Caboose's fascination with technology and his ability to ally himself with anything mechanical, but this was absurd.

"Correct. Had he not been worthy, I would not be granting you access to the temples, especially not before claiming this planet's key for yourselves. We do not keep a record of every key-bearer, so I did not know which planet your key originated at. But after analyzing it inside the gateway, I now see it came from Muloqt: the planet known to face hardship after hardship in the Unggoy Rebellion and the Great Schism. How you bear this key is beyond my knowledge. But that is irrelevant. What matters is that your key is authentic, forged by my creators."

Church hummed in the back of Carolina's mind, sharing the same question as the former freelancer. "Where is this other key?" Carolina voiced. "We should get it, even if it's just to make sure Charon's men don't claim it either."

"It lies in a mountain temple to the west. Following the discovery of the meddlers, I have increased its security measures tenfold. You will not require it to access the other temples but may still claim it if you desire. Lavernius Tucker, should you claim the second key yourself, you may be one step closer to unlocking... it."

"It?"

"One of the oldest creations in the universe. I know very little of it beyond the fact it predates us, the San'Shyuum, and even the Forerunners. An old tale of an ancient weapon that requires multiple keys and an army of true warriors to access. But it is irrelevant to you." Santa scanned the soldiers, recognizing how far each was from being worthy.

Carolina brushed the idea off. If the alien didn't know much about it, she wouldn't put much thought into it. She'd heard stories from her time in basic training of the relics and artifacts of long ago, many of which were only rumors. This could be one too, especially if the computer lacked its knowledge. "To clarify, though: Tucker's key is enough to access the other temples. Right?"

"Correct."

Grey jumped and cheered. "Wonderful! Alien weaponry for everyone!"

Epsilon grew to Santa's height. There was one part of its speech Church found interesting, and it was one Carolina wanted to know about too. "And you said that was only a fraction of the stuff that's here, right?"

"Correct."

"Well, not to sound greedy or anything," Carolina started, looking at her A.I.

"But what else ya got?" Church finished the question.

"Hmm... Some of our other temples include the Temple of Weather Manipulation, Bountiful Harvest, Interior Decoration, Procreation, Communication, Grav—"

"Wait, what was that last one?" Carolina interrupted.

"Communication. Activating this temple will allow you to send a message to every communication device in the galaxy."

"And what was the one before that?" Tucker asked.

"The Temple of Procreation. Activating this temple will throw the inhabitants of Chorus into a ravenous, sexual frenzy with the intent to increase a potentially dwindling population."

"We... won't be needing that one," Carolina said, glaring at Tucker as though she knew what was on his mind.

"Let's not rule anything out!" Tucker suggested.

Church's synapses fired rapidly. Carolina was used to that small, buzzing feeling in the back of her mind, recognizing it as Church trying to come up with a plan of some kind. With a sudden realization, Church called to the hologram. "Hey, yo. Alien dude!"

"Santa," the A.I. corrected.

"I refuse to call you that. Look: we have an important message to send to Earth. You might know it as Erde-Tyrene, I think? I don't know how far away it is, but the guys we're fighting set up a bunch of radio jammers that are stopping us from getting our message out. Do you think the communication temple will be strong enough to break through them?"

"Without question. If those towers truly inhibit your ability to communicate, the temple will overwhelm and destroy them instantly."

"Well then, that's it! We don't need a full-on assault. We don't even need the alien weapons! We just gotta get to that temple and call for help!" Church reasoned.

"Then, let's go radio Kimball and get out of here," Carolina agreed.

Just before the group started walking away, Santa stopped them. "Wait. Before you go, I must warn you. The gifts left behind by my creators are immensely powerful. If taken by those less than worthy, the results could be catastrophic. Imbalances in the ecosystem. The destruction of a planet. And that could ripple beyond. For this reason alone, my creators constructed the Purge."

"That doesn't sound ominous at all," Tucker said sarcastically, lowering his guard.

Santa turned to the aqua-clad soldier. "As its bearer, the Great Key will remain bound to you and you alone until the moment your heart stops. If you believe the inhabitants of this planet are not worthy of my creators' gifts, activating the Purgle will cleanse them."

Carolina trembled. The A.I.'s word choice was unsettling and indirect. She didn't know what it meant to cleanse someone. But knowing what little she did about the Sangheili, she wasn't very hopeful. Determined to find out, she asked, "And by 'cleanse,' you mean?"

"All sentient life on Chorus will be exterminated."

Everyone fell silent as they processed the Sangheili's explanation. A light breeze blew by, the rustling of the leaves loud and clear in the tense silence. The weight of failure fell heavily on their shoulders. "Dude, buzzkill."

"And just so we know not to activate it, where is this thing?" Epsilon asked.

"Here," the alien said, snapping its fingers and revealing a red, holographic map of Chorus. It was the same projection they had seen at the Temple of Arms. A red dot appeared close to the center, indicating their current position. Another dot appeared on a small island in the Far East. "I will also update all previously sent maps with temple locations so you may access them as you see fit afterward."

"Thanks," Church said flatly, turning to face his host. "Look. Carolina. We gotta—" his voice quickly trailed off as he realized what Santa said. He turned back to the Sangheili. "Wait, what do you mean, 'all previously sent maps?'"

"The maps that were sent to all the temples."

Church and Carolina came to the same realization. "All of the temples?" asked the A.I.

"Of course."

"Oh no..." Footsteps sounded through the temple, the leaves rustling louder and louder as a group of soldiers converged on the Away Team. "Carolina!" Church yelled, not hesitating to deploy the bubble shield just as the bullets fired. The team looked around and saw ten space pirates surrounding them, guns high, waiting for the golden, hexagonal shield to drop.

"That was close," Caboose commented.

"Charon's here?" Grey asked, panic filling her voice. She saw how Carolina barely handed Felix at the Federal Army base months ago. Her wound had reopened at the gas station when she lunged at a space pirate. Grey worried Carolina would do something reckless and that it would cost them everything.

Carolina couldn't blame her for the concern. If Charon's men were there, it would be reasonable to assume Locus or Felix were there too, maybe even both. And they weren't ready for that battle. Carolina knew it. She thought she could take one on, but definitely not both. Especially not while trying to protect the others at the same time.

Carolina looked at her radar, wondering how she'd missed seeing Charon's men arriving. But she noticed there were no dots. No yellow indicators for her allies, and no reds for her opponents. "They must've been here the entire time," Church considered.

"That's right," A gruff voice appeared from nowhere. It was unfamiliar, not one Carolina recognized. She looked around for a specially-suited soldier but didn't find one. But when a single set of footsteps sounded from above her, she made eye contact with a man much larger than Locus or Felix. He wore black armor with red trims. "And now, thanks to you, we have all the intel we need." The soldier turned to his allies. "As soon as their shield falls, open fire. Just leave the freelancer alive for me."

Carolina scoffed. "You really think these people are enough to stop us? I've infiltrated bases with more soldiers than this before breakfast," she announced confidently.

You only had to worry about yourself. This is different, Church hummed in her head. He didn't want to step on her bravado; he knew better than to make her look bad in front of the enemy.

"You're only as safe for as long as that shield is up. Then you've got no cover and a failing A.I. So yeah, I do."

"Failing A.I.?" Carolina asked, turning to Epsilon. "What the hell is he talking about?"

"It's nearing the end of its life cycle, can't you tell? That old thing is seven years old. It was a fragment when it started, and it's been through hell and back. Most A.I. last a decade before needing repair or termination. The Epsilon A.I. won't make it to eight," the mercenary claimed.

"How the hell does he know so much about us?" Carolina mumbled. "The mercs are thorough, but I didn't think they'd be that thorough..."

"Our files don't have anywhere near that level of detail, though. The only way they'd know that is from the Director or the Counselor. Or we can chalk that up to illegal espionage."

"C.T." Carolina wondered. "Could she have ratted us out? She was a double agent for the Insurrection. That was under Hargrove's control, right?"

"Can't say. I never met her. Would she really know that much?"

"Quiet," the black-clad soldier ordered. "There's no point in resisting. Soon enough, this will all be over. You'll fail here, just like your friends at Alpha."

"W-What?" Grey screamed. The soldier knew much, much more than he should have. If he knew about the attack at Alpha, did the others know too? Were they preparing for a face-off? Was this a trap? Was there a mole? She didn't know.

"I hope you said something meaningful the last time you saw them," he announced, stepping away from the cliff and turning around, "because you won't be seeing them again." He laughed as he stepped away. Minutes later, a Pelican flew over the soldiers' heads, traveling to the mountain temple in the west.