1045 hours, Fourth Month on the 12th day, 100,000 B.C.E.(Forerunner Calendar)
Epoloch System, Shield World 0001
Planet Requiem

Time Remaining until activation of Halo Arrays
Days Hours Minutes
02 : 01 : 15

She stood before the might of the Didacts forces, his Promethean Knights. How many of them were the humans she fought so hard to protect? How many lives thrown away in a hopeless cause to ensure Forerunner supremacy? Too many to count. Too much blood stained her hand from her inaction. Now her husband was hidden away here in his own world. She had chosen to lock him away, unable to bring herself to kill him. Now this place that once stood as a monument to the Didacts hatred stands as her last hope to save all life from the unending Flood.

"Librarian", she turned with a start, having ventured deep into her own thoughts. Standing before her was her longtime assistant known only as the Constable "The last of the Seed Ships have been stored within Requiem, until the date they may go forth into the galaxy and replant life to this dead Galaxy... But, we believe the Flood have discovered our plans."

That thought alone sent an unnatural chill threw out the Librarians whole body. The Parasitic Infection known as the Flood had become the scourge of her entire race. For the past three centuries the Forerunner have fought against the unending tied of the Flood as they invest more and more of their planets with their vial presence. Had they listened to the Humans warnings sooner... Had she listened, it might never have come to this point.

She did not respond immediately, instead choosing to move to a nearby console. After inputting a few commands a Galaxy map appeared. Looking upon it she could see the spread of the Flood from the beginning until now, "So much loss... Had we not started fighting the Humans we may have beaten the Flood". These thoughts were not old. They were what dominated her for the past two hundred years. "We must not allow the Flood to stop our plans. Deploy as many ships as we can spare to protect the Rings... What of the Gateway?"

The Constable paused at that in consideration. The Gateway was his brain child, his project even before the Flood. "It has been completed on schedule, but I fear I must tell you that only one of our duplicate seed ships made it to the Gateway". Once the Gateway was to allow the Forerunner to expand their knowledge to new realms of space and time. When the decision was made to use the Halo Rings the purpose of the Gateway had changed to that of a third chance for the species of this galaxy. Now most were lost.

This news struck the Librarian hard. Two hundred years of research and planning was in ruins. Only one Seed Ship was left. She quickly sifted through the data and saw that the only Seed Ship to arrive at the Gateway was for the Humans. This brought a smile to her face, feeling glade that at least she could save the humans. Her anger during the Forerunner/Human war was what brought the Forerunner to their knees now, and what drove her husband to Madness.

"A small blessing at least." Extending her hand out to the hologram she touched it with some sense of affection. A fragile smile crossed her face as she looked upon the holographic image. She cared so much for these creatures, at least they would have more than one chance to survive. "It will have to do. Have you finished the Calculation for when the Seed Ship shall deploy?"

This had been the true challenge that plagued the entire Gateway Project. The Gateway itself was one of the most powerful slip space generators ever created by the Forerunner. Slip space itself was an entirely different realm of existence that the Forerunner have used for thousands of Years. Even going so far as to place entire worlds within Slip space, and then bring them back. The Gateway was much more impressive, even by Forerunner standards. It was capable of creating a Slip Space Bridge from one Reality to another, bridging the two threw slip space allowing the Gateway to exist in three places at once.

"Indeed we have. It would seem our Slip space capacitors are unable to fully compensate for the time displacement. It would seem that on that side of the Gateway it will be five hundred years in the past." The Constable sighed heavily, wishing he had more time to perfect the process. Too much room for error for his liking. He only hope that the Monitor and Sentinels that he placed on Gateway would suffice. That monitor was programed to reopen the Gateway on a specific date and time five hundred years from now. If his calculations were right, then at that time the copy Human Seed Ship will depart Gateway at the same time the See Ships here on Requiem depart. Thus, both arriving at the same locations at the same time, dispersing the same humans at the same locations.

The Librarian only nodded as she worked at the console. As she sifted through the data, the information regarding the second to last Cargo ship enroute to Gateway. This one had a level twelve Biohazard warning. This ship contained samples of the nightmare that plagued the Galaxy, the Flood. Like on the Halo rings, specimen were being stored on Gateway. It is hoped that in time the humans that shall be deposited within the secondary realm would reopen the Gateway and study the Flood, possibly finding the cure that the Forerunner could never find. Still, she had to be sure they did not escape Gateway. She began to manipulate the controls, bringing up the Promethean control systems.

The Constable tilted his head to the side as he watched her actions, "Librarian. What are you doing?"

"Requiem currently holds more than enough Prometheans to keep this place safe," She replied, not even looking from her work. "I am dispatching half the Prometheans here on Requiem to Gateway. There they will remain vigilant over the Flood. The Parasite must not be allowed to spread beyond this Realm. Now, let us finish our preparations. Our time is running out."

Elsewhere on Requiem, Promethean Knights exited there places of hiding within Slip space and boarded one of the last ships to leave Requiem, bound for Gateway. As the ship rose from the surface of Requiem, it made its course for the opening. Only when it was beyond Requiems gravitational field did it enter Slip space. Its course, Gateway.

0834 hours, Fourth Month on the 13th Day, 100,000 B.C.E.
Voyager Cluster, The Gateway

Days Hours Minutes
01 : 16 : 26

Monitor 8917 supervised the Work of his Sentinels with the installation of the new systems to store an maintain the Promethean Knights. It had only been notified of this addition four hours before, and was not happy with not having more notice. "Intolerable", he voiced again as he installed the final power control unit.

As he moved on to his next task, not liking how his schedule was drastically interrupted by this sudden addition to 'His' Installations systems. A shimmering golden glow engulfed him as he vanished.

Gateway was an almost exact duplicate of Installation OO, or as his creators call the Ark. What stood it apart from the Ark was its center. On the ark there was a great opening from which a replacement Halo may be produced. On Gateway it was where the source of Gateways abilities was focused. A massive spherical Slip Space generator. At the top of sphere stood three tower pylons that focused the Energy of Gateway out, then around the Installation.

This created an artificial pocket of Normal Space around Gateway. This, and the immense size of the Slip space Generator, allowed Gateway to enter slip space and create a bridge between the two universes. It would allow Gateway to exist in two different realities, and two different time frames, at the same exact time.

At that same instant he reappeared on a distant part of the array where the Flood specimens were being stored. Everything was operating at its optimum efficiency. It looked upon the Specimen with a preprogramed set of emotions. His emotions were allowing him to experience a sense of excitement at his coming studies of the Flood. Perhaps it would succeed where is Creators failed

suddenly its thoughts were broken as the holographic image of the Constable appeared on the nearby Terminal. He floated over to the image and greeted, "Greetings Constable. I am pleased to inform you that all systems have been brought online and we are ready to proceed. The new Promethean systems are also online."

The Constables face was hidden behind his helmet, so the Monitor was unable to gage if he was pleased or not for a few seconds, until the constable replied, "Very good. I am pleased that my choice in Monitors was not misplaced. This shall be our last conversation with each other, I'm afraid I must say."

The Monitor felt somewhat sadden by this. He considered the Constable to be a rather worthy adversary for debate. Still, what must be done must be done, "Of course Constable. Once the Halo Arrays fire, I will personally place Gateway into Slip space until the day we activated the Bridge"

Constable nodded, lost to his own thoughts for a moment. The Monitor simply waited for a new command, unconcerned about what the Constable might be feeling. "Very good Monitor. I wish you good luck, and a good journey. May the Galaxy flourish with Life once more." With that, the holographic image faded.

With that, the Monitor departed from the terminal and returned to its previous task. Shame about the Constable and the Librarian. He rather enjoyed having intellectual debates with them. Perhaps when Life has returned to the Galaxy, and they discover Gateway he will meet someone else equally worth speaking to?

1159 hours, Fourth Month on the 14th Day, 100,000 B.C.E.
Voyager Cluster, the Gateway

Days Hours Minutes
00: 00: 01

All Forerunner ships still under their control were destroyed, save for those stored in distant Installations for the Humans to find.

All Forerunner still alive within their remaining colonies were now gathered together in their final moments. Better to be together at the end.

The Flood now spread without hindrance, landing upon helpless colonies and invading. Even at the end the continued to spread.

00: 00: 00

The Rings fired.

From each of the seven Rings, an Energy cascade shot forth into space, spreading in a spherical pattern.

On distant habitable worlds, creatures of all shapes and sizes looked up to the skies or across the land, as the wave hit their worlds.

Within seconds, those worlds were devoid of all life capable of supporting the Flood.

As two converging Energy Cascades approached Gateway, it slipped into the safety of Slip space at the last moment.

Within less than twenty four hours, all sentient life was eradicated. Only there buildings remained. All traces of the Flood was gone.

0100 hours, Fourth Month on the 15th Day, 100,000 B.C.E.
Within Slip space, The Gateway

Days Hours Minutes
500: 00: 00

As the Monitor scanned threw the data sent from the Halo Array's, regarding the firing of Halo, he was fascinated.

All Galaxy was now devoid of life, save for that which shall be spread from Requiem.

As the data was finished being cataloged and copied, the Monitor returned to its duties.

Little did it know what chaos would befall its Installation. In a distant future it would be the sight of a battle between two Universes, as the dread of one Galaxy shall meet the other.

And on that day the fate of two Galaxies shall be decided...