by Matt Forbeck
“Thank you so much,” Asha said. “We really don’t want to be any trouble at all. We’re just thrilled to be here.”
Yong chuckled. “As she says, yeah, we’re excited to join you, and we’re looking forward to getting to work.”
“We’re pleased you two decided to join our team,” Director Mendez said. “Our mission here has immeasurable value, as I’m sure you are both fully aware. The three of us”—he included the two Spartans—“barely survived the Covenant War. If this place offers any hope of stopping another conflict like that, it’s obviously worth every effort we can possibly muster. You two are incredibly important to that end.”
Lucy cleared her throat and shot a glance toward Molly.
“My apologies.” Director Mendez fixed Molly with his steely eyes and smiled. “All three of you. Paxopolis isn’t just a collection of the greatest Forerunner experts in the galaxy. It’s a community of families too. That’s actually central to what this city was designed for: not just research, but for all our citizens to build their lives alongside each other, together.”
“Are you going around and checking in with every group of new arrivals?” Asha said.
Director Mendez shook his head. “No, unfortunately not. It’s a big city with a lot of folks moving in right now, and we don’t have the staff to manage that. We’re here because of your particular expertise. The work you’ve done in the past has been revolutionary. Director Barton is eager to get you into the field and get your eyes on the asset, so we wanted to come by personally to welcome you and make sure everything was taken care of.”
“Is that safe?” Molly interjected. “The field, I mean.”
There was a brief pause as the three traded looks.
“That’s a bit of a loaded question,” Tom said with a wry smile. Then his voice became serious. “In a sense, all of Onyx is ‘the field,’ and most of Onyx is far from safe.”
“But Paxopolis itself is secure,” Lucy said reassuringly, “as is Trevelyan and most of the outskirts in this part of Onyx. And that’s mainly because our team works hard around the clock to keep it that way.”
“Technically speaking, everything within three kilometers of a paved street is fine,” Mendez said. “We’ve actually widened the perimeter far beyond that, but it’s a good rule of thumb to stick within those borders. If you bring up a map on one of the service pylons, the latest safety boundaries are updated automatically. We are constantly in the process of pushing out those borders and securing more and more of Onyx, but unless you have a UNSC escort with you at the time, you’re required to stay within the specified perimeter. We also have a strict curfew. No children allowed outdoors after dark, unless accompanied by an adult.”
“This includes teenagers of your age,” Tom added.
“Out of curiosity, what’s the point of that?” Molly asked, surprising herself with boldness. She was mildly insulted that she wouldn’t be trusted to be out on her own, and partially concerned with why that might be.
Mendez nodded at her with sympathy. “Much as some of the people living here would like to pretend otherwise, Onyx isn’t exactly a civilized place, even in our sector. And it won’t be for some time. We’re living inside an almost entirely unsettled frontier, populated with all sorts of strange creatures, many of which we’ve never seen or catalogued in any human database. According to the records we have here, most of what we see in this sphere was gathered from across the galaxy over a hundred thousand years ago. Put your eyes on some of the critters in this place for even a second, and you’ll see very quickly the wisdom in curfews and perimeter fences.”
“Not to mention the Forerunner technology and automated machines that are scattered everywhere,” Tom said. “This place is untamed in many ways. If you stumble across anything you feel threatened by or can’t make sense of, you probably need to report it to us immediately. Humans have been here for years, and we’ve accomplished quite a bit, but there’s so much about this place that we still don’t know. And not all of it is harmless.”
“Which is why we’re here,” Asha said, as she put a comforting hand on Molly’s shoulder. “To help further that understanding with our research.”
“Exactly,” Lucy said. “Our goal in providing security is to keep you happy and healthy while you do it.”
Mendez glanced at Molly for a second before leveling his gaze at Asha and Yong. “Permission to speak privately?”
Molly’s Newparents exchanged a look before nodding for her to go upstairs. She wasn’t thrilled by this, but she didn’t want to look stubborn or childish, especially in front of the Spartans, so she quickly obeyed. This wasn’t the first time this kind of thing had happened, and Molly knew the importance of keeping secrets.
Well, somewhat . . . Molly climbed the stairs but remained within earshot, now very interested in what they might discuss. She could see the group through the gaps in the stairwell’s banister.
Mendez began speaking in hushed tones as soon as he thought Molly was gone. “I’d like to give you folks more time to settle in, but we may need to accelerate your onboarding. ONI is getting more reports from our local comms relay of signal tremors on colonies spread out across human-occupied space, just as your research a year ago suggested might happen.”
Asha’s brow furrowed in concern. “You’re referring to Project: GOLIATH? You think the Forerunner machine we discovered last year has something to do with that?”
Molly had heard Asha and Yong use that word—goliath—before, but she had never understood what they were talking about. The two of them had spent long periods together last year researching something, but she’d mostly ignored it. All that she’d been able to glean from her Newparents’ conversations about it was that this artifact was huge—possibly larger than any other they’d researched—and mysterious. And it had apparently been hidden on some remote world, deep underground.
“Some analysts are seeing a pattern with these events,” Mendez continued. “And there seems to be a connection to the one we found on Onyx. Many of the planets that fit the parameters you folks established are now pinging a long-range communication signal that matches the one you proposed we’d see during your time on GOLIATH. It could be a coincidence . . .”
“But it probably isn’t,” Yong finished. “We completely understand, Director. We’ll get right to work.”
“As soon as we make sure Molly’s settled in,” Asha said.
“Of course,” Mendez said with a measured smile. “We’ll clearly need your full attention on your work, and that means making sure you’re not worried about any issues at home.”
“We’re glad to hear that,” said Yong.
“That’s where my security team comes in.” Director Mendez motioned toward Tom and Lucy. “Honestly, I’m just an old soldier who knows a thing or two about operating large-scale projects, especially classified ones in remote parts of the galaxy. I help manage security, but most of my work keeps me behind the desk. Tom and Lucy are part of our boots on the ground here. They’re directly in charge of security for this sector of Onyx, and they roam wherever they’re needed.”
“We’re peacekeepers here,” said Tom. “Our team is mainly composed of personnel from the Corps. We generally patrol the perimeter, keeping the community safe from outside threats and also making sure everyone gets along. We’re obviously trying out something very new with this place and its . . . population. We want to make sure that everything remains copacetic and operable at all times.”
“Have you had many problems with that?” Asha asked. “Internal issues, I mean.”
Tom and Lucy glanced at each other so fast Molly didn’t think anyone else noticed, but Director Mendez didn’t flinch. “Some,” he said. “They’ve mostly been between humans and the Sangheili. A lot of people on both sides are still haunted by ghosts from the war.”
For Molly, that was worth an interruption.
She headed downstairs casually, as though she were getting a drink. The others were so
deep in conversation that no one seemed to notice at first. Molly sidled up to Asha, who gave her shoulder a squeeze and a knowing look.
“Yeah . . . it’s hard to blame them,” Molly said sympathetically. “You don’t get over things like that easy.”
“We understand that as much as anyone,” said Lucy.
Molly believed her. As Spartans, both Lucy and Tom had to have fought against the Covenant for years. She didn’t know their personal history, but they’d probably lost more friends than either could count. Molly wasn’t naive; she’d done her research and knew what the war had cost every soldier who’d been involved. She’d seen it with her own eyes.
Toward the end, Molly had believed in the mantra “Spartans never die.” She’d been younger at the time, but she’d wanted it to be true.
Most details about the Spartans hadn’t been known until the very end of the conflict, but by then ONI was going out of its way to release vids and stills of them from the front lines. These messages showed Spartan after unstoppable Spartan plowing through enemy lines.
Later, when all the shooting finally stopped and people started counting up their losses, Molly just knew that part had to be a lie: Spartans do die. Even the Master Chief had gone missing for a while and was presumed dead for a few years. That he’d eventually come back didn’t change the reality that many Spartans—and countless other UNSC soldiers, including Yong’s sister—had not.
Still, Molly couldn’t help but wonder if any of them had lost their entire family to the Covenant—not to mention their home planet—as she had. She imagined that it might actually have happened for soldiers like Tom and Lucy—and probably with remarkable frequency. People like them might risk their lives to stop a threat from killing innocents, only to return home and discover that everything they’d personally fought to protect had been destroyed.
“I want to reassure you that we’ve checked out everyone here,” Director Mendez said. “On top of that, we’re keeping everyone under a watchful eye. We don’t expect any trouble, so you shouldn’t either. Rest assured, you will be protected by our people.”
“And to help ease any internal tensions,” Lucy said, “ONI’s designed cross-cultural-encounter training lessons. You can tap into those from any network terminal, either here in your home or elsewhere. Once you’ve completed those, you’re welcome to attend cross-cultural events too, where you can meet and get to know your new neighbors—human or otherwise.”
Molly sighed deeply, looking away from the guests. She still had no desire to meet any aliens or have training lessons on what to do around them. She didn’t plan to be around them at all. When she saw the sheer size of this place—and even the area they’d be calling home—she genuinely hoped that she might somehow manage to avoid them altogether. To Molly, that still seemed like the right path, no matter what assurances for her safety the director or the Spartans gave.
“The war’s over,” Director Mendez said. “We aim to make sure it stays that way.”
As he said this, Molly saw some movement behind him, back in the street he and the Spartans had entered from. She craned her neck around to see who it might be. When Molly finally spotted the stranger in the road, she stiffened in horror.
It was a Sangheili.
The revulsion Molly felt at seeing such a creature in person was so overpowering she had to physically will herself not to scream. She turned away and braced herself, refusing to run for the safety of her bedroom. The glimpse she had of the monster, though—even at this distance—was enough to make her stomach turn.
Director Mendez squinted at her for a moment, then glanced back toward the street and frowned. “You have sharp eyes there, Molly. I take it that’s the first Sangheili you’ve seen?”
Molly wanted to respond—to somehow explain—but she couldn’t. She just gave him a solemn nod, not daring to put her eyes back on the alien for an instant. Asha gave Molly a sideways hug, and Yong stepped next to her to hold her hand.
“It’s all right, Molly,” Asha said in a low voice. “No one’s going to hurt you here.”
With all her heart, Molly wanted to believe that, but that same muscle began hammering in her chest. Flashes of her past came thundering to the fore of her mind. That creature was one of the things controlling the ships that killed her homeworld.
The rush of emotions that came with those memories was almost too much for Molly to bear. It was all that she could do to fight back tears of panic.
Lucy leaned over to gaze into Molly’s eyes, giving her an understanding nod. “You don’t have to worry, Molly. That’s Kasha ‘Hilot. She’s the headmaster at our school.”
“Given our accelerated timeline for your work, she would like to personally introduce herself,” Tom said to Molly’s Newparents, “but she obviously has some concerns about how that might affect Molly. That’s why she’s been hanging back so far.”
“I’m sure it would be all right,” Yong said, eager to see such an alien up close for the first time.
Asha shot him a sharp frown. No.
Molly disagreed too. She didn’t think that meeting a Sangheili outside her new home, or anywhere else, would be all right. Why would I? It was bad enough that this Kasha ‘Hilot already knew where Molly lived, but now the thought that she would be running the school Molly had to attend made her stomach flip. All of the excitement for Onyx that she had built up on the way to this house suddenly vanished, as if a storm cloud had scudded over the place.
Yong looked down at Molly with determination in his eyes. “It has to happen sooner or later. Better here and now, while we’re with you, than on your first day at school, right?”
His comment reminded Molly that she had agreed to steel herself to attend school here—even though she was pretty confident there would be Sangheili students with her. She wouldn’t be able to ignore the aliens in this place. Still, she had thought she would have a little more time to prepare herself and possibly find a way to keep her distance.
But here Kasha ‘Hilot was, and Molly had no place to run.
Director Mendez cocked his head to one side and looked at Molly’s eyes while he spoke. “Part of the philosophy behind this little town of ours—really the main purpose that Paxopolis exists the way it does—is that we want to show people how it might be possible for humans and other intelligent species to coexist. We can’t manage that if we all stay huddled in our own little segregated groups. So the school is a natural place for this community to learn more about each other and how we can live together.
“It’s also critical for us to see each other as equal partners in this venture. That’s why ONI insisted we have a Sangheili in charge of our school. We’ve been working with Kasha for about four years now to get it operational and working like clockwork. Despite the many challenges with how to educate a variety of different species and cultures at the same time, she’s done a fine job. Remarkable, actually.”
“We believe you, Director,” Asha said, “but perhaps now’s not the right time. For Molly’s sake.”
Molly knew that Asha was trying to protect her, but something inside Molly now rose to the challenge, stronger than her fear. The bottom line for Molly was that she couldn’t stomach the idea that she might dishonor her parents’ memories by cringing in front of a member of the race of aliens who’d killed them.
Perhaps Kasha ‘Hilot hadn’t destroyed Paris IV. She hadn’t tried to kill Molly or her parents. But she probably hadn’t tried stopping the aliens either, not while they were wiping out human worlds one by one.
Then Molly realized something.
She could make this argument for humans in the different wars they’d fought in the past too. Not every one of the same people were responsible for the acts of their government or even for the actions of their fellow citizens. Why was this argument so hard for her to make for a Sangheili?
Although Kasha ‘Hilot had been part of a civilization that had caused horrific destruction for thirty years, she might never have lifted a
finger to help the Covenant. Maybe her mate had been on one of the warships Molly had seen? Or her father, or a sibling? Maybe she’d been training her own children from the earliest age to kill humans, right up until the very moment the war stopped.
Or maybe none of that was true at all.
“No,” Molly said, preparing herself for the inevitable.
All of the adults focused on Molly. She fought the desire to turn around and flee.
“You don’t have to do this,” Asha whispered. She was still trying to protect Molly, but Molly knew everyone could hear at this point. Maybe even Kasha ‘Hilot. And that made her less okay with backing down. Molly would rather face a Sangheili now to prove to everyone there—especially the Spartans—that she wasn’t afraid than cower back in shame.
“It’s okay.” Molly hoped no one else could detect the quiver in her voice. She took a deep breath. “I’ll be fine.”
With that, Director Mendez, Tom, and Lucy stepped aside, revealing the gigantic Sangheili now standing at the end of the sidewalk. Molly took a step forward, out onto the porch, determined to overcompensate for any fear. Her Newparents recognized that and fell in behind, one to each side. Molly could feel their presence, and it somehow gave her the strength to open her mouth.
“Hi.”
“Hello.” The alien’s voice was much deeper than Molly had expected, especially for a female. “I am Kasha ‘Hilot. You may call me Kasha.”
She spoke a human language—and surprisingly well.
But that wasn’t all. Molly could hear a kindness in the Sangheili’s tone that surprised her.
“I’m Molly Patel. Molly.”
Kasha stood at least a full head over everyone else present, even Tom. As the alien stepped forward, she crouched down on her strange, muscular legs to get a better look. Her posture and gait were unnerving, too strange to even describe, as she leaned forward and dropped to eye level with Molly.