GST Odean 13, 13246, 09:12. Galactic Standard Time.

(January 8, 2008, 21:12 UTC, Earth Equivalent.)

System Primary Nexus Outpost MWVAE-22009- Monocerotis Station

Theglia’s thin fingers danced across the tactile interface in front of her as she entered the coordinates. The System would be updating in minutes, and when it did her intrusions wouldn't just be detected, they'd be deleted. But only if she wasn't finished. Most of her squad, fellow Forerunners who’d gotten her this far, lay dead behind her, their blood staining the rough stone floor.

There wasn’t much she could do for them, except complete the mission. It never would’ve been like this when she first joined the Forerunners. There’d been ways around the System. But every decade there was a new patch, and every patch closed more holes and restricted more freedoms. Until they’d been left with no recourse other than to resist using brute force. Her friends behind her hadn’t fallen to beasts, maniacal bandits, or killer robots. They’d died deflecting the System away from Theglia. She was the only one with the skills to ensure a smooth integration. To give the next wave a chance to do what they couldn't. Now, only Theglia and her sister Belthar remained.

With the co-ordinates locked in, Theglia moved to connect the Integration Matrices. These were highly experimental Matrices she’d designed and built herself. Once a user was Integrated with one, it would grant them priority access to restricted aspects of the System. They’d tried using them on already Integrated species, but the System prevented the removal of existing cores. Not even binding them during childhood would work. The System started early. And you couldn’t remove a core without killing the host.

So Theglia was prepping the Artificial Integrated that would graft these cores into volunteers. Though the term volunteers could only be used loosely. There were restrictions on what an integrated could say to free sapients. And those were especially strict for an AI. Which meant the AI would need to take some liberties. At least it should put them on a relatively safe world for their integration. Whether they'd be able to return home in time would be up to them.

Checking the connection, Theglia paused when she noticed Belthar on her knees clutching at her head. That was a good sign. It meant the System hadn't killed her in a single scan. They might just have time.

The irony that the core she was loading was the most impressive space-time related Matrix ever discovered by a non-Creator species was not lost on her. Whoever the AI selected for this core was going to have abilities even the Creators would fear.

‘Ha. Serves them right, the bastards.’

Glancing out the window as she waited for the core to shift into position, Theglia saw the accretion disk that surrounded the nearby world of Akilo. Akilo had been inhabited once but then the System had marked it as a training world. The exodus had been one of the greatest challenges of her life. She knew that hidden inside that black hole was an entire star system, reserved for Creators to play in. Black holes were used to keep any but Citizens out of their little developmental worlds. But with a direct connection to a space-time Matrix, Theglia expected the User who received it to be able to bypass that restriction. Eventually.

Theglia didn't slow as she ruminated on the Creators and their little pet worlds. She'd practiced this procedure as often as she could before they started, but she still didn't feel fast enough. She had to get everything in place before the patch hit. If she could do that, then her custom code should allow the AI and the matrices to be integrated without being deleted or restricted. No matter how long it took for that to happen.

After loading the last core, Theglia turned to her sister to let her know it was done. But she'd been too slow. Her sister’s gemstone eyes lacked their usual spark as she stared up into space, the System having ripped out her soul when she denied it access. If only they'd learned this wave was being integrated sooner.

They just hadn't had enough time.

Sitting down next to her sister, Theglia closed Belthar's eyes and prepared to die.

They'd done what they came for. It was a long shot, but they'd done the impossible. This would be their last mission. Looking out once more, she watched the disk continue to spin, slowly making its way around an empty hole in the sky.

It was beautiful.

Whatever came of it, the Forerunner Initiative had begun.