@Darkstar
Waiting in a darkroom, a towering figure sits on a chair by the glowering embers of a brick fireplace. It gazed at an open old book in its hand, flipping through the half-written pages, sighing. A creak from the wooden floor caught the ears and so is the figure's head, turning to the direction of the sound slowly.
"Ah! I did not see you there, welcome welcome. This room is not much but I can assure you, there is charm."
It closed the book and sets it on the floor, "You know, there are some stories that come and go, a few being like embers on the wind or a fire that garnishes its steak until it gets burnt."
"I for one, love to have my steak well done Hah! But that's not what I'm looking for no?" It leans forward and hovers its hand on the fireplace. In an instant, a flaming book materialized out of the orange and yellow fingers that appears from the embers.
"What I'm looking for is... Something simple, slow, nothing too complex. I believe that this," it taps the book, shaking out any ashes, "could do the trick."
Setting it on its lap, the figure opens it up and a blank page meets its eyes, "Perfection," the figure smiles. "Now this story continues after the battle of the four forces. A kingdom that has been enslaved, waiting for its original master to come back. An empire that was prosperous but ridiculed by its bloody past. A shadowed superpower that was once the beacon of hope. And now, a foreign nation that stumbled on the cobwebs of a mysterious play."
The figure starts to write with its fingers, "This foreign nation was able to gather exquisite data from the battle and managed to garner a few artifacts. The three daring soldiers in green barely escaped after the spacecraft self-destructed into millions of fragments. As for the enslaved kingdom, many questions have arisen, where did this new player come from and who were the mysterious ships that helped won the battle?"
It stops writing and taps its foot, "I'll leave the rest open for a bit, till next time." The fire starts to dwindle bit by bit, fading the barren room to naught.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Beep! One. Beep! Two. Beep! Three. H-How long will he not answer?" said Captain Qwaldon moving back and forth in his chair on the bridge.
The ship's AI, Valdon, rolled its eyes, "The communication array was shot from the explosion sir, can't contact Admiral Yawaldo without that."
"Tsk, Tsk. What to do from here, what to do."
"Should I suggest arranging a scouting party? The wreckage does have some nice valuables, sir."
"Ah!" Qwaldon's ear fins flashed up, "Not a bad idea, send them down Valdon."
The AI nods, "Will do sir."
"By the way, any news from our mysterious friends? I don't see their ships on the radar," Qwaldon glances at the radar screen positioned at the ceiling facing him.
"Interefence from the explosion captain, that ship or whatever it was, contained a massive core."
"No joke, just look how it destroyed half of the patrol group. Just like an Aagri tearing its prey."
Getting up from his chair, Qwaldon looks over the front window and observes the wreckage. The constant explosions of leftover energy cells glowed bright red, painting its ghastly light on the bridge.
"I hope that this does not mean war."
Meanwhile
A D77-TC pelican landed in one of the hangars of a UNSC ship. Red team emerged out of the craft, walking through the busy bees of marines and personnel. Heading towards the elevator Alice looks at an ancient-looking box in her hand that was retrieved from the Zqsal ship.
"To blow up the entire ship because of this, now that pulls some serious nerve," she commented.
Douglas jumps in, "Pandora's box, can't wait to see it."
Three entered the lone elevator.
"Whatever is in that, should give us answers," Jerome pushed the bridge button.
Alice sighs, "You know, that kid was helpful back there. He could've joined."
"Yet he stayed behind because of his brethren. Can't blame him," Douglas looks up at the light source.
At the bridge, the captain awaits them by his chair and got up.
"Jerome, report," he crossed his arm.
Alice placed the device on the star chart table.
"Sir, we have come into possession of a device that was handled by the captain. After we neutralized him, Alice was able to decipher fragments of an ancient text, some saying the destruction of Earth," Jerome looks at the box.
"Is it Promethean?" the captain leans over.
Jerome answered, "Not that we know of sir. What shall we do?"
Rubbing his hand on his chin, the captain thinks for a moment...
(Your ball park Flub, take control)