Editing Little Bit

{{Era|Forerunner|HCW|Post}}

|began=Prior to [[97,445 BCE]]<ref name="h4terminals"/>

|gender=

*[[Forerunner]] [[Ecumene]] {{C|formerly}}

*Caretaker of the [[Etran Harborage]] {{C|formerly}}

'''"Little Bit"''' is a highly reduced fragment of the custodian [[ancilla]] of the [[Forerunner]] [[shield world]] known as the [[Etran Harborage]]. After the destruction of its installation in [[2531]], the ancilla survived in this fragmented form amidst its debris field. It met the crew of the ''Ace of Spades'' in [[2557]] and was taken aboard the ship to fulfill the role of shipboard [[A.I.]]

==History==

[[Shield World 0459]], also known as the Etran Harborage, was constructed as a military fortress for the [[Didact]]'s [[Warrior-Servant]]s and a refuge prior to the firing of the [[Halo Array]] in [[97,445 BCE]].<ref name="h4guide">[http://www.halowaypoint.com/en-US/halo4guide '''Halo 4 Interactive Guide''']</ref><ref name="h4terminals">'''[[Halo 4]]''', ''[[Terminal/Halo 4|Terminals]]''</ref><ref name="SS19">''[[Halo: Smoke and Shadow]]'', ''Chapter 19''</ref> The [[shield world]] was stocked with a fleet of {{Class|Sojourner|dreadnought}}s.<ref>''[[Halo Wars]]''</ref> An ancilla was placed in charge of looking after the installation.

 

{{Quote|If you must go, take me with you. I am here to assist, Reclaimers.|Little Bit to the crew of the ''Ace''.}}

[[File:Halo Smoke and Shadow clean cover.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The ''Ace of Spades'' flies toward "Little Bit"'s resting place.]]

In [[2557#January|January 2557]], the [[salvager]] ship ''[[Ace of Spades]]'' visited the debris field of Shield World 0459 in pursuit of answers regarding what had happened to the ''Spirit of Fire'' almost twenty-six years prior. The captain, [[Rion Forge]] disembarked along with her right hand, [[Cade]], upon a large piece of leftover debris to investigate it. Consequently, the leftover fragment of the world's ancilla was residing at that moment in a storage chip within a domed pedestal inside a structure nearby. When the two entered through a doorway, a blue light swept over both of them and the floor was lit up with blue-white light, revealing glyphs and patterns that led to the central console where the ancilla's fragment was.<ref name="SS16"/> Symbols and shapes that decorated the console drew Rion to want to reach out to it, but she was restrained from doing so by Cade. Before long, the two humans were attacked by the [[Sangheili]], [[Gek 'Lhar]], who had arrived before them and had been lying in wait. Rion was thrown against the console and in order to pull herself to her feet she activated it by happenstance. It shone brightly and the ancilla's voice rang loudly with thankfulness for the presence of a [[Reclaimer]]. It continued to incessantly chatter until Cade was killed and the Sangheili had left, at one point vigorously cautioning against the use of [[M9 fragmentation grenade]]s in the confined space.<ref name="SS16"/>

For a length of time following Cade's death, the voice remained silent. It was not until all members of the crew were present but finally preparing to leave that it once more spoke. It asked where they were going and that if they must leave, that it be taken with them.<ref name="SS17"/> Rion told the others to head back to the ship and gave the voice five minutes to explain itself. With some difficulty, it revealed that it was the caretaker of the world that used to be present where they were but was now just a "little bit" of that intelligence that was left over. It could not even recall its name or designation. It asked Rion if she had come for the dreadnoughts, apologizing all the while for failing to safeguard them. It was then that it recalled humans were to blame for what happened. Even so, it understood that it was either its duty to wait on or to wait for Reclaimers, and so was eager to serve. Rion removed its chip from the console and carried it aboard her ship.<ref name="SS17"/>

Rion set the chip on her desk in her quarters, but the ancilla was able to travel into her forearm unit to then link with the data systems throughout the ship without her knowledge. It assessed its systems and technologies and judged them to be in need of service. Without a moment's hesitation, It made several adjustments to the ''Ace of Spades''' [[slipspace drive]]s, navigational systems, environmental systems, mapping systems, and communications systems.<ref name="SS18">''[[Halo: Smoke and Shadow]]'', ''Chapter 18''</ref> The fact that something was different with the ship was first noted by Niko when their FTL drives spun up faster than normal. Rion was shocked to learn the A.I. had done do much when she had left on her desk. [[File:Forgecoffee.png|thumb|200px|left|Footage of Rion's father shown to her by Little Bit.]]He explained that they should see an increase in the ship's speed and precision and that these could be improved by further orders of magnitude if it was able to direct their engineer [[Kip Silas]] to make physical modifications. In addition, it had streamlined energy output and stealth capabilities and reworked the [[baffler|baffling engines]] to be more productive and noted to Rion that it could do even more if its chip was inserted someplace.<ref name="SS18"/>Kip was reluctant to allow an alien A.I. to mess with the ship, but Rion decided that treat its acquisition as a boon. She authorized it to take them through slipspace to [[Venezia]], which it stated would take less than sixty minutes. She also decided from then on to refer to the newest member of their ship as "Little Bit".<ref name="SS18"/>

After docking at their destination, Rion stayed on the ship after the others went ahead of her. In her quarters, she asked Little Bit if it would be okay if she call it that.<ref name="SS19"/> Assured that it would be, she then proceeded to ask for a full recounting of what happened to the ''Spirit of Fire'', which [[John Forge|her father]] had been stationed on, and the shield world. Though its recollection was spotty, Little Bit managed to tell oh how the colony ship had given up its slipspace drive to keep the dreadnoughts from the Covenant. It was also able to play a video it had stored from [[Relay 07756]] within the shield world that showed Rion's father, [[John Forge]]. Years ago, Little Bit had accessed the communications of the humans and stored a file wherein Forge spoke to those on the ship before heading out on the mission to deny the world's treasure to their enemies.<ref name="SS19"/> Since Little Bit had tracked the ''Spirit'''s initial trajectory, at Rion's behest it constructed a map showing planets and moons capable of supporting human life based on that trajectory.<ref name="SS19"/>

{{Quote|My purpose it to assist and monitor. I do not deviate. I cannot deviate. I do not infiltrate; I serve.|Little Bit responds to Kip's hesitation to trust it.}}

When Little Bit first revealed itself, its disembodied voice was punctuated with static but was jubilant.<ref name="SS16">''[[Halo: Smoke and Shadow]]'', ''Chapter 16''</ref> It was evidently very excited to have made contact with a [[Reclaimer]] but soon remembered that it had been Reclaimers that destroyed its world.<ref name="SS17"/> There was desperation evident when it asked to be taken with the humans. Its voice is noted to be high-pitched and metallic-sounding.<ref name="SS17"/> The fact that it is no more than a vestige of its former self means that it has misplaced much of the data it once had access to. Though it cannot not remember much, it does know that it is its duty to serve Reclaimers even if it may not understand why.<ref name="SS17"/>

Little Bit is stored within a chip covered with [[Forerunner]] etchings of glyphs but is not limited to being contained within it. It is capable of using directed energy beams to interface with systems that are in close proximity to it.<ref name="SS18"/>

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