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The Unity/ Chapter 4

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Location: Nar Shaddaa

Human Time: Unknown

Writer: The Examiner


Greetings to whomever is reading. My name is Vlado. From where I came from, it meant potential, but everyone refers to me as the Examiner. After years of searching for my origins, I finally found what I was looking for. It seems a little funny when a forgotten society is discovered, we view it as though it’s so strange and foreign that no one would imagine living within it. If you take a step back though, all of our societies aren’t much different. We all want peace and prosperity, we just all present our tactics in a different format. That is how the soon to be HCA viewed my reality when they discovered it.

“Since you’re a bit of a stranger here, why did you choose to live here instead of your home?” I remember being asked that by the very image of the Mobians. You may know whom I am referring to. My usual answer was “Too many things can kill you there.”, but I never truly knew the real reason. It has been a couple years since I had written another document for this, and as I lived during that time, I learned the real reason as to why I choose Vat as my home.

I choose to live in this reality, because I wanted to get away from the immense quantity of people, as well as the Immense warfare that constantly occurs there. Yes, I know that warfare erupts plenty of times here, but at least there isn’t as many races and worlds here. Sorry Nova. I also wouldn’t want to be in the crossfire of events like the rise of the Insurrection, or Order 66. I’d rather be in a protective world with my own army to defend me. I also came into realization to something I’ve never given much thought. Since I apparently have a tremendous lifespan, I find it a little odd that I will soon outlive my friends. It feels especially strange that I’ve outlived their parents throughout my life. At least I’ll live long enough to know their grandchildren.

I also learned that if you end up being the right man in the wrong place, you will come across events that you would have never expected. As you ride along, some may call you a valiant hero, or a brainless fool. This was definitely the case for me. Then again, I wouldn’t have ended up here if I didn’t intercept that transmission. After much thought, I’ve decided to explain how I was brought into this whole escapade that branched into major history defining events. Much like Jason Urn, my life didn’t start off very glamorous. Back then, I was younger, and a little more reckless.

I begin with my rather pathetic low life. I was a mechanic of all things, and it was rather uneventful. I remember as though it all happened recently. I awoke in my bed in a low level apartment in Nar Shaddaa. That apartment on that planet was one of my first official homes. I rubbed my head trying to remember something I could have dreamt, but it never came to me. I look up, and look over to my left to see my window shades half open, and cars flying outside. I could tell that it was a little early in the morning, due to the buildings lighting up the city. That was not what woke me. My transceiver was ringing, indicating that someone was persistently calling me. I flipped over and reached for the transceiver on a counter next to me, not wanting to get out of bed. I had a good feeling that I knew who was calling me, and why they were calling.

I turned it on, revealing a hologram of none other than my boss. Probably to tell me how disappointed he was in me for a recent car that I fixed. However, he knew that I was just as good, if not better at mechanics than he was. My boss was the kind of person who calls you by cosmic coincidence in the most very inconvenient times. Like when you’re in the bed, or if you’re in the showers. “Vlado!” he yells. “Yeah boss?” I asked, feeling groggy. “I’ve got a thing to tell ya.” he says nearly sounding concerned. “Can it wait?” I asked feeling annoyed. “I’m in the middle of sleeping.” “You’ll have plenty of sleep when you’re dead.” he shoots back. “Fine!” I said angrily. “What do you want to tell me so unbelievably badly?” I could tell that even through a hologram, he could sense my complete irritation. “I’ll tell ya once you arrive at the shop.” he told me. “Meet me in my office in an hour.” The hologram turned off.

I threw my covers off of me, and got up. I walked near the exit to grab my suit, and proceed to put it on. The power suit that I was wearing was the earliest version of the suit that I currently wear today. I put on my suit, activate its shields, put on my translator, and put a light blaster pistol in my holster in case I would get in a tight situation. On Nar Shaddaa, it was never unusual to have a gun wherever you went. Jason Urn may have taken out almost every dangerous criminal on the planet, but I wasn’t willing to take any chances. Even if I didn’t have to worry about criminals, I still had Imperials to worry about. I also grabbed my own personalized data tracker, just incase I wanted to find any interesting information on the Info Web. The Info Web was this reality's equivalent of Waypoint.

Since I had an hour to get to the shop, I had plenty of time to get food and a ride. I went to a hand me down store that gave old hover vehicles for rent. I gave the owner of the amount of credit chips needed to ride the BARC speeder bike that I wanted to use, even though I knew full well he was ripping me off. Probably wanted the extra credits to get death stick money. I took the speeder out of the owner’s line of site to make adjustments, because I knew it was the kind of ride that would fall apart into a million pieces by the time I reached my destination. I turned it on to see its condition, and the result was the bike making...less than pleasant sounds. After a few minutes rewiring the pile of trash, I successfully made it function properly and made it bearable to look at. I then hopped on the bike, and took off to a nearby eatery.

By the time I arrived, I ordered what I wanted, and took off. I know that eating on a speeder while it’s moving isn’t the safest, but it’s not like anyone wouldn’t have cared over the death of some lowlife. I was eating a wrap with the essence of multiple bird eggs, meats, and leaves. I could tell that the food wasn’t entirely finished, but at least it served its purpose. I finally got to the mechanic shop, or more accurately my job, and I walked to my boss’s office. I wouldn’t call it an office as much as being a cube shaped cement space with a desk and no windows. My boss looked up at me, and said “Vlado, have a seat.” I sat down, in a very uncomfortable seat, and waited for him to speak again. “Do you know why I brought you here?” he asked me. “To express your disappointments to me, even though I’m doing my job the way I am required?” I coldly answered. “Vlado, I understand that you’re doing your job, but there’s a big difference between an employee that does what he’s supposed to do, and someone who knows too much.” “What is that supposed to mean?” I asked sharply.

The boss seemed to think a lot about the question, then came to a conclusion. “Vlado I’m sorry to say this, but you’re fired.” I didn’t expect what I had heard. “After all the time I’ve been here, you’re just kicking me out?” I tried guilting him. “This shop will be in ruins without me!” “You sabotage customers’ cars when they get impatient with you, even though they don’t know how to fix it themselves! In this case, I might be doing myself a favor.” I then stood up angrily, and said “Fine, I’ll be on my way. But when people notice I’m gone, they’ll say ‘Oh, I miss Vlado’”. “We won’t know that unless you leave.” He informs me. Like a stubborn child I stormed out the door, and never came back.

I got back on my speeder, and took off to a nearby cantina. By the time I got there It was a little empty, but it filled up eventually. I seated myself to a table nearby the drinks, and waited for someone to take my order. As I sat in the seat, I contemplated the thought of not having anything to do since I was fired. I brought out my data tracker, and looked through the Info Web hoping to find something interesting. I scrolled through bits and pieces of information, and none of it was of interest. However the Tracker began to detect something interesting. I didn’t know what it was, but I was trying to decode it so I could figure out what it was. I look up to see Jason Urn sitting down at a the stand. I was intrigued, because I’ve never seen him in person. Out of nowhere, a Twi’lek waitress came up to me and asked “What would like sir?” I looked to the bounty hunter, and told the waitress “I’ll have whatever he’s having.” Just then I heard Tarisian ale come out of his voice, and changed my request. “On second thought, I’ll have Ruby bealz.”

The waitress walked away to get me my drink. I tried to decode whatever my data tracker was picking up, but whatever it was was quite far from here, and it was using codes that seemed rather old compared to what I had then. After fondling with my machine for several minutes, I was able to catch a glimpse of what I was picking up. It was difficult to tell, but it looked like a distress beacon calling out for help. My waitress then handed me my drink. I thanked her, and she went on with her business. I looked up to notice Imperial guards in disguise walking toward Jason Urn with a Twi’lek and a Quarren sitting next to him. I was worried if they found the same beacon that I did. I was relieved to see that they didn’t, since they didn’t have any data trackers like I did.

I grabbed my pistol in case a shootout would occur. I then saw guns pointing at each other, and hear a voice yell “You’re all under arrest in the name of the Emperor!” I grabbed my data tracker, tipped over my table, and hid behind it when blaster fire lit up the entire cantina. Anyone who went around my table was shot immediately since I was in point blank range of them. When the fire ceased, I looked up to see holes everywhere. I then stood up, walked to the counter that the tenders were hiding behind, dropped a credit chip on the counter paying for my drink, and said “Keep the change.” I then walked out of the exit to find where the beacon was coming from.

I got a clearer inscription on the tracker, and saw that the distress beacon was off world. Whoever was sending the transmission was in complete distress. I assumed the beacon came from the Rebellion, but this was older, and...foreign. I got back on my speeder, and sped off to a ship depot. I quick made a stop to my apartment, and picked up an gas tank for my suit incase my ship of choice would rupture, and I’d need to float in vacuum for a while. The depot I stopped at had very low standard ships, but I wasn’t surprised in the slightest. I rented something small, but I gave them extra credits since I had the feeling that something was going to happen to it. I entered the ship, and took off. As I exited the atmosphere, I approached the coordinates of the distress beacon. I thought I’d be easier to approach those in stress through lightspeed. Then it happened, the cause of my involvement in all of this.

I entered the coordinates, and activated my hyper drive, and entered hyperspace. Traveling at the speed that it did was normal, but I never expected to strike against the very fabric of reality. It was very hard to describe. It felt as though something was resisting the vehicle that I flew. What I saw defied what many called physics, but it suddenly becomes a concern when it affects them directly. I saw the very essence of space bend and mold around me, and felt that I was passing through something I shouldn’t have been. I was so caught off guard to the point that I assumed the worst possible things that could happen. 'Did the Empire make a weapon to trap their enemies in nothingness? Was the beacon merely a thought out trap for the Rebellion, and I sprung it having no idea what would become of me?' Everything that I thought could have happened couldn’t have prepared me for this. What happened next threw me so off guard, it left me shocked. Nearly far beyond words.

Then my ship pierced through space, and entered something that looked like a tunnel of sorts. The further I went into the tunnel, the more it changed. It went to the point where spirals formed everywhere, and changed colors all around me. I grabbed the controls of the ship and tried fly it out of this optical illusion, but the tunnel wouldn’t let me. It was taking me somewhere, but I didn’t want to know where. My ship then shook out of control. I tried to stop it, but I couldn’t. The only thing I could have done was to close my eyes, and wait for the nightmare to stop. Then after what felt like everlasting horror, the violent shaking stopped.

I opened my eyes, curious as to where I was. I was back in space, but the stars weren’t in the right places. The constellations were ones that I’ve not seen. I turned my ship around, and saw the tunnel that took me here. I wanted to go back, but I certainly didn’t want to go through that again. I then noticed that the beacon on my data tracker didn’t dissipate. I looked at the coordinates and became even more confused. Whatever that tunnel was actually took me closer to whatever I was searching for. I was now fueled with intriguing curiosity rather than fear. As I flew closer to the beacon, I noticed more things that were different. I decided to approach the beacon without lightspeed, because I didn’t want something to happen. I set the ship to auto pilot, and sent it to the coordinates. I took this as a chance get a little more sleep.

As I dreamt for over an hour, I awoke to what looked like a giant metallic asteroid. Out pure instinct, I pulled my ship directly out of the way. Once I fully understood the situation, my attention was drawn to what was actually a ship far bigger than my own. More rather half of a ship. This was what the beacon was actually coming from. What I was presented brought up more questions than answers. 'Why is there half of a ship in the middle of nowhere? Who does this ship belong to? Did the owners parish long after the beacon was activated, or are they still alive? I hope they’re not shot first and ask questions later kind of people.' I then noticed some sort of engraving on the side of the ship. When I shined a light on side, the engraving read Forward Unto Dawn. When this river of mystery flowed through my subconscious, my data tracker fully fleshed out the beacon, and signaled that it came with a transmission. I looked at my data tracker, and the transmission read // Mayday Mayday Mayday - This is UNSC FFG201 Forward Unto Dawn requesting immediate evac. Survivors aboard - prioritization code victor zero five dash three dash sierra zero one one seven // 'Perhaps they can give me the answers that I’m searching for.' I thought to myself. After detecting several ships approaching through what I thought was lightspeed, I flew towards the half ship to free myself of this confusion.

I equipped both the my gas tank and data tracker to my suit so I could breath, and any information I learn would be applied to my visor. After parking into what I thought was a hangar, I opened the cockpit to no atmosphere. Glad I had my suit on. I was jumping in the half ship with no atmosphere filled with awe and wonder. It was so strange because the technology used seemed older than ships that far outdated those from the old Republic, yet it seemed very new. After a while of exploring, I came across a small terminal with a blue holographic orb shining out of it. I used the suit to scan the terminal. When information nearly covered my visor, I was both in understanding and intrigue. This blue orb was an ancilla named Cortana, and she was the sender of the beacon. She was what they called an “A.I.”, and she worked alongside an all Human government called the United Earth Government originating from a world that they called Terra, or Earth. After learning about the noble warrior named “117”, their former foes “The Covenant” , the ancient relics known as the “Halo array”, their caretakers, and the disgusting flood, I came to the conclusion that I was no longer within my own time and space. The tunnel that took me there was part of what is now the interdimensional crossroad.

As I scanned the ancilla further, I learned that she was coming to a state that the Humans called “Rampancy”. This was a process that every A.I. reaches, where the ancilla reaches a point near the end of their programing, and do what they call “thinking themselves to death”. When this Cortana waited for someone to find them, she placed herself into a hibernation like stasis to completely slow and nearly stop the process. A good thing too, because she was nearing the end of her life. After scanning the ancilla further learning about ships, weaponry, human customs and morals, she detected me and began to awake from her hibernation. I decided to take a step back, and give her a little space. The orb shifted into the shape of a blue human female with a mass quantity of exposure, which was the avatar she was programmed with. When Cortana’s avatar emerged, she had the look of fear, like she was under attack. Perhaps I examined a little too much information. She then saw me, then looked upon me with first confusion, then relief.

   “Oh finally, reinforcements!” she somewhat said to herself. “I thought no one would ever find us.” Considering the way she was speaking, she must have mistaken me for one of the Human’s Spartans. That would actually make sense, since my suit resembles Spartan armor. But I am not nearly the size of a Spartan. That’s the only difference. I decided to break it to her. “I’m afraid to tell you, but I am not from the UNSC. Nor did any of their ships find you. It’s just you and me.” “So you’re not reinforcements.” she said in disappointment. “But then who are you?” “I am Vlado from the planet Nar Shaddaa. I came from a different galaxy by mistake. Your galaxy and mine...function different from each other. But since I am not entirely welcome to where I came from, I decided to help you out when I found you. That’s all you need to know.” I said in reassurance. “Can your ship hold two people?” she asked me. “It can.” I answered “But the chip that you reside in won’t take up a lot of room.” “There’s another on board.” I thought I misheard her. “I thought any survivors perished years ago.” The ancilla answered me in a comforting way now. “No. There is one in a cryo chamber near by.” I was excited to meet the survivor. “What are we waiting for. Let’s meet him. But before we go anywhere, can you turn on the gravity please?” Cortana activated the ship’s artificial gravity, and I could finally walk normally.

   As I made my way through a hallway, Cortana spoke to me through speakers throughout the ship. “I’m gonna go on a limb, and assume that you’re not human.” I was glad that she had a personality, and wasn’t emotionless like a machine. “What gave you that idea?” I asked in complete sarcasm. “For one, your tech and suit doesn’t match with UNSC tech, your weapon isn’t UNSC, and you have six fingers.” I looked at the date to come up with a counter. “Well it has been six hundred and eighty two years since your little ship disappeared. Maybe humanity evolved an extra finger, and advanced in technology.” “Is that a question, or a statement?” the ancilla asked me. “You take it however you wish.” “Why do you speak like a human if you’re not one yourself? Vocal disguise?” “When I lived with my galaxy, I analyzed all the languages that existed within it. Because why spend a lifetime learning each language individually, when you can put every sound that can be uttered into a device that allows you to speak every language at once?” Cortana then decided to drop the subject, and move on. When I finally reached the frozen cryo tube, an orange frame enveloped the ship, and went away. Cortana then reappeared on a terminal nearby, and looked very concerned. “What was that?” I asked worryingly. “We’re being scanned by something, but it’s Human or Covenant.” “Let’s wake the Survivor quick!” I said. After a moment or two passed after the ancilla activated the tube, the frost of the cryo tube quickly thawed out revealing a massive titan in green armor.

I was shocked beyond measure. 'Is this really the hero of legend?' I thought to myself. I was reassured by Cortana ushering “Wake up Chief.” A couple seconds passed. “I need you.” she said almost whispering. I noticed the Spartan began to regain consciousness. The one named “John” woke, and slowly shook his head. When the soldier entered full realization, he slammed his hands against the glass. “Chief!” Cortana said worriedly. “Easy, you’ve been out for a while. We’ve been adrift on the Dawn.” “Why did you wake me?” the Spartan simply asked. “Hang on. I’m bringing your systems online now.” I decided not to intervene with their little conversation. “I Rewrote your suits firmware when you were out.” She told the soldier. “You’ve been busy.” was his response. Once the titan noticed me, he asked “Who is that?” “His name is Vlado. He’s not UNSC, but he is here to help. You’ll need to pull the manual release.” The Spartan opened the tube, and walked out toward me and Cortana. “Just like old times.” Cortana told the Chief in a friendly voice. “Ready to get back to work?” He asked. “I thought you’d never ask.” was her response. The Spartan took Cortana’s AI chip out of the terminal, and placed it into a slot on the back of his helmet.

“Why did you wake me?” the Chief said sounding curious. Cortana answered with “I woke you up because our friend Vlado here has a ship that we can use to get out of here, and get on a UNSC world.” The massive green giant looked at me, expecting me to say something. I waved and said “Greetings warrior, I’ve heard extraordinary things about you. I must say It is truly a pleasure to finally meet you in person.” I was really saying all of this so I could have a guide throughout this galaxy that I wasn’t fully familiar with. Then Cortana chimed in. “Wait. I’m picking up multiple signatures trying to treat themselves to the Dawn. I recommend we figure out Who’s boarding us before we get out of here.” I then had a sudden realization that someone may have found the tunnel I found to get here, and that they were just as interested as I was when they found the Dawn. I was just really hoping that the Empire didn’t track me, and followed me here.

   “Vlado!” Cortana nearly shooted at me. “Yes?” I asked. “Since you came here to help us. Do you think you can help us figure out who’s boarding us?” “Certainly.” I told them. “I’d definitely prefer this than having a lousy job over at my planet. In fact, I think I know who’s boarding us.” “Wonderful.” the A.I. said sounding positive. “I’ll sync you to our communication line in case you’ll need to talk to us when we’re separated.” “I’ll be sure to contact the two of you once I notice something.” The titan in green walked toward me, while grabbing a human assault rifle. He handed me the firearm, and said “You’ll need more than a pistol to help us.” He was pointing out the blaster pistol on my waist. “Do you know how to use these?” he asked me. I grabbed the assault rifle from his hands, and stated “I know how to use weaponry, and learned how to use UNSC guns after analyzing the ship’s computers, but it’ll take a little time to get use to projectile weapons.” I said computers, mainly because I didn’t know how the Chief would react if I told him that I analyzed information from Cortana when she slumbered. “I’ll keep that in mind.” he said to me. “Let’s get going.” As we talked just then, I don’t think the Spartan noticed that I wasn’t a human, due to my translator crafting my voice in the english language and human dialect. Perhaps he didn’t frankly care, and just wanted to get out of there. With the Petty officer ending the conversation, him and I prepared our equipment and weapons, and ventured out the cryo room to whatever was going to greet us on the other side.

=====//Document over//=======================================


(Author’s note): I do not own the attributes to any film, or video game industries, or any form of internet media that will be introduced, mentioned, or referenced throughout The Unity. Any material that didn’t originate from any electronic media, whether it’d be from film, internet, or otherwise was thought up by me, thus is owned by me.
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