Aetiee (Episode 1)

Aetiee is a fan-fiction series set in the Halo science-fiction universe. There will be weekly installments of this story here and on the Halo.bungie.org website every Friday!

1.

When I settled the horses into the barn, I swung the large doors shut, and ran home as fast as I could. The sun was setting into the rocky escarpment called Aetiee that towered over our farm. I bounded over the three wooden steps leading up to the patio, and threw open the screen door on my way inside. Grandfather watched me from one of the windows. An envious smile overcame his typically stoic face.

Following habit, but also aware of the importance of good manners, I slipped off my muddy shoes (without untying them) and put them on the bottom row of the rack by the door. And then I went to find grandfather.

He wasn't in the living room where I saw him looking out, but he had retired to his little study under the stair well. It was a cramped, dusty old place, but he liked it just fine. It made him feel secure, he'd say, and made him feel tied down to the planet.

"I took care of the horses, grandpa, will you tell me your stories now?"

Our relationship was as sweet and serene as any between a boy and his grandfather: hard work, delicious lunches, late-night stories, and (of course) overwhelming love.

He said, "Well alright then." But then a troubled look erased his little smile. It was extremely out-of-character. I asked him what was wrong, but he just shook his head.

He took off his glasses as though he had some terrible news, and his eyes watered up a bit.

He said, "Jimmy, my boy, I've thought about this for awhile now. I think you're old enough and…" he searched for a word, and then said, "and bright enough to listen to the most important stories I have to tell you."

"What do you mean grandfather?" I asked.

"It's nothing for you to be frightened about, my boy, nothing like that. It's just that it becomes rather… rather hard for me to talk about certain things. But I want you to know these things, and it is very important that you listen and remember carefully."

"I always listen to you, grandpa."

Grandfather smiled a little bit once more.

"Yes. Yes, I know."

And then he leaned over his desk and tapped the AstroAtlas that built into his blotter. It came out of sleep-mode, and the Orion Arm of the Milky Way slivered across his desk. Crimson sparkles on the arm (which represented the fifty or so New Inner Colonies) materialized onto the blotter while subdued grey circles highlighted the lost worlds of the war. Grandfather pointed at the outermost of the crimson sparkles.

"This is our star Jimmy. We just call it the sun, but the people on Earth call it—"

"Vega, grandfather."

"Yes, that's right. That's very good." Grandfather's voice choked a little bit when he said, "There were once cities as big as any on Earth itself when I was your age, you know. There were thousands of people in this very valley of ours, in fact."

"I know grandpa," I said, also sad. "They told us in school."

"Did they, now?"

"They told us all about Aetiee; they told us about those squids and prophets. They killed all of those others there, too," I said while I pointed at the grey circles on the AstroAtlas.

Grandfather said, "They shouldn't scare you like that in school."

"It's not scary grandpa! I've even seen the bones myself when daddy takes me plowing the fields; the machines drag 'em up sometimes. And guns, and helmets, and all sorts of stuff."

And then grandfather closed his eyes and shook his head. It was the first time I had ever seen him look genuinely disappointed in me.

When he opened his eyes, he said, "Jimmy, my boy, I fought on Aetiee. I was there."

I froze.

"I fought the Covenant across both continents, in space with the Marines, and even on Earth."

"You were in the war, grandpa?"

"Yes."

"What?! Why didn't you tell—"

"I'm telling you now, aren't I?"

I closed my mouth, and prepared to listen. Grandpa rustled through a box behind his desk and pulled out a card with scribbles and printed letters all over it.

"This was my draft card. Drafting is when the government forced us to join the military."

"Why would they need to force anyone to stop the Covenant, grandpa?"

"Times were different, my boy. No one really wanted anything to do with the war. We knew it was going on, but we thought we were winning! But when the refugees starting coming from closer places like Jericho… Well… People caught on."

"So then they joined?"

"No. They rebelled."

"What?"

"You will never hear about this in school Jimmy, but we hated the UN just as much as we hated the Covenant."

I hated grandfather at that moment. I wanted him to come to school with me – to see the truth about the war. I wanted him to see how humanity rallied to the cause and defeated an overwhelming force (and on the home world, no less).

Grandfather sensed my alarm, and turned off the AstroAtlas.

He said, "Jimmy, let's drive up to the escarpment, and I'll show it to your own eyes."

I nodded, and stood up to leave the study. When my grandpa put his draft card away, I saw other mementos in his box: there was a silver star, uniform ribbons, photographs of starships and soldiers, and dog tags.

The car was parked next to the barn, and I got in and strapped my belt. I was looking out my window when I heard the horses neigh. The engine started, and I turned to my grandpa.

I told him, "How come we've never gone to Aetiee before, grandpa?"

He said, "We're not supposed to."

"Why?" I asked as he pulled out of the driveway.

"There's no need to disturb the poor souls up there unless it's for the good of their memories."

"What are you going to show me, grandpa?"

"Their memories."

I remained quiet as the car drove on the straight road across the valley towards Aetiee.

When the road steepened, though, I said, "I'm scared grandpa."

Grandpa smiled, and said, "Me too, my boy, me too."