We Sin No More
Chapter 1
Reach
9th Age of Reclamation
23 cycles
57 units
I woke up to see the familiar faint purple light of the sleeping quarters of the Covenant Corvette, Ardent Prayer. I heard a voice calling to me. It was more of a series of barks and squeaks, but still, I knew that voice. It was the voice of an Unggoy. It was my assistant, Pufuk.
I sat up and swung my legs over the side of my bed in the barracks. "What is it, Pufuk?" I growled, turning on my universal translator.
"Mistress Koma wants to see you on the bridge, sir!" He barked, waddling forward a bit.
Koma 'Suramee. Perhaps one of the only female Sangheili in the covenant armada to wield a covenant ship. Much less, one of the only females to ever be accepted into the armada. She was ruthless. Smart and cunning too. She was the warrior every Sangheili wanted to be. Yet, no one wanted to be like her. And it was all because of her gender.
It was very frowned upon for a women to fight. They were supposed to stay back on Sangheilios and keep the farms going, cook, and clean. So when the diplomats back on Sangheilios found out about Koma being inducted into the Covenant, they were outraged. But the Holy Prophets themselves defended her. They had said she showed every sign that she could keep up with the males. And perhaps even more. And that's just what happened. She became the first female to gain the control of a ship. And if this artifact retrieval went well, she would be able to control a small fleet.
"Send word to her that I will be there soon." I said, getting up from my bed and walking out of the room.
"Yes boss!" Pufuk had said before the automatic doors closed.
After the forty-five unit walk to the bridge, I found Koma sitting in her command chair as always. She looked back to see who had come in and gestured me over.
I complied and went over to her, kneeling down in front of her to show my respect. "Why have you called me, Shipmaster?"
"Tizo, Do you know what the mission is?" Koma asked.
"Er, yes… It is to retrieve an artifact left behind by the Forerunners." I answered.
"Well, yes. That was the original plan. But the ship that had fled from the battle over in Sigma Octanus IV was tracked to where we are going. So either it's just a coincidence, or we're coming up on a Human settlement. So I will be placing you and three others in command of a battalion. Three of you will be sent down to the planet's surface, and one will stay behind to protect the ship should any form of resistance climb aboard my vessel."
She stopped for a moment. It almost seemed like she was expecting me to say something, but then she continued speaking.
"Once we have a scan of the planet, we will inform you on the location of your deployment. And if any Human resistance is found, you are to destroy them. Leave no survivors in your wake. If you fair well, then your place in the Great Journey will be even greater. Your service is invaluable to the Covenant. Now, leave me. Prepare yourself for deployment. Meet your troops. They are waiting for you in the armory."
"Yes Shipmaster." I said, getting up and leaving the bridge. When the doors opened, I found Pufuk waiting for me.
"So?" He asked in a high pitched squeak. "What did she say?"
"She said, prepare for deployment." I answered, walking past the Unggoy. "Follow me to the armory, we are to meet our battalion there."
"Yes boss!" He said, jogging behind me to keep up with my long strides.
The Armory was a large place, sealed off in the lower middle section of the ship. It was just below the hangar. The large assortment of weapons and tools always amazed me. It ranged from the simple Plasma Pistol, to the complex Fuel Rod Cannon, to the long ranged Beam Rifle, and then to the few Energy Swords the ship carried for the swordsmen aboard the ship.
I found my battalion waiting for me all lined up in from of the medium ranged weapons.
"Move to the other side!" I shouted. "The whole lot of you!" And just like that, the entire line moved over to the side with the long range rifles, except one lone Kig 'Yar who screeched in protest. It was carrying a Carbine Rifle. My weapon of choice.
I stormed over to the Kig 'Yar and snatched the rifle from it's grasp, then lifted the alien with my other hand by it's neck. It clawed at my hand with it's small fingers. "Now listen here you de-feathered bird, I don't know who you are, and I don't care. You are under my command. You listen to me now." I growled. I dropped the alien, watching it gasp for air and hold it's neck.
I lifted the rifle and peered down the scope and looked it over. "You have a nice weapon, Kig 'Yar. Treat it nicely." I said, handing the rifle back to the alien, still crouched on the floor. It took it and weakly got up, heading over to the line of troops on the other side and joining their ranks.
I picked up another Carbine Rifle from the display of weapons on the steely grey shelf it was held on. I gazed through the scope and set my sights on a lone Unggoy at the end of the line. I fired, and the shot landed just at his feet. I yelped and cowered. "Scope set too high, and to the right…" I muttered, setting it back on the shelf and picking up another one.
I pointed to one of my fellow Sangheili and said, "You there, stand at the far end of this column. And put your shields on."
He obeyed and stood at the far end, clicking a small, hidden button on his blue forearm guard. He was of the Minor rank. He had potential to progress through the rank like I had, but he most likely had no combat experience.
I raised my rifle and took aim for his head. "Your shields are on?" I asked, putting my finger on the trigger.
"Yes sir." He said.
I fired my rifle and saw it hit his shield right where I wanted it to. Right between the eyes. He flinched and staggered back a bit.
"That is all, move back into the ranks." I said, putting the rifle on my white and glowing orange armor's main weapon holder. I then went over to the side arms section and picked up a Sangheili favorite. A Plasma Rifle. Technically not a side arm, but it was small enough to fit on the side arms holder in the armor. And since I had the mark II version of the Sangheili Ultra Rank armor, it had a stronger magnetic pull towards the material the side arms (and the Plasma Rifle) were made out of.
I turned and found Pufuk behind me, waiting to grab his own weapons. I crouched down and met him in the eyes. "I want you to stay behind. Stay here and help out with the ship. Follow any orders Koma says. When I come back, I'll give you twenty-four cycles off." Said, having some sympathy for the Unggoy.
"Y-yes boss…" He muttered.
"Now, go back to the barracks. We still have some time until we finish the jump."
Pufuk nodded and started heading out of the armory.
"Now!" I shouted, standing up. "Does everyone have their weapons?!"
"Yes sir!" They shouted in unison.
"Now then! We will be coming out of the jump in less than one, cycle!" I shouted, clipping the Plasma Rifle to my side. "Shipmaster Kuma wants us to search for a Forerunner artifact! But, there may be Human resistance in the general vicinity! So it is our job to burn a path through the wall, and find the key so that the Great Journey may begin!" I shouted, the majority of troops roaring in appreciation. "March to the hangar! Stop at Phantom seven seven six eight through seven seven seven three!"
I pointed to a Sangheili clad in red armor, a Major ranked Sangheili. "You there! Lead the way!" He nodded and started the march to the hangar, the rest of the troops falling in line right behind him, following him. Only when everybody else had left, did I follow behind. I made sure that every one of my troops had went and did not cower away.
When I had arrived, I had found my troops waiting at their respective phantom dropships. Thirty troops to each phantom. Except one. The first phantom we had been assigned, seven seven six eight, had only twenty-nine troops waiting. They were saving a spot just for me. Each phantom had the standard troop layout. Sixteen Unggoy, ten Kig 'Yar, and four Sangheili.
The Sangheili Major I had sent to start the march was waiting at the first dropship as well. I strode over to him and asked, "You. What is your name?"
He stood at attention and said, "Rora 'Nuntakee, sir!"
"How many cycles of experience do you have? What is your specialty?"
"I have been in the Covenant for 3,652 cycles. I am a tactician specialist."
"Good." I said, patting his shoulder and keeping my hand there for a moment. "I will need your help."
I removed my hand and boarded the ship, signaling for the rest of my troops to do the same.
The inside of the phantom was simple. A black and purple interior with dim lights glowing from the floor. A gravity lift was implemented near the back of the ship, and where the bay doors opened up, there was a Plasma Turret on either side. On the bottom was a cannon of sorts, not too unlike the Concussion Rifle, which could do some serious damage if you let it.
Once everyone was on board, I heard a bit of static in my COM radio, then a voice.
"Tizo? Tizo are you and your troops ready to go? We are about to re-enter normal space." The voice belonged to Shipmaster Koma.
I held a finger to a spot on my neck and spoke, allowing the radio to send my message. "Yes Shipmaster. My troops and I are in the dropships now, awaiting your orders."
"Good. Once we leave slipspace, and scan the planet, I will send your ship a hologram with the location of your deployment."
"Yes Shipmaster." I said.
After the dropships had left the hangar bay, a hologram popped up in the center of ship. A red ripple showed near the northern part of the planet. We were being deployed near what looked like a large crater that had filled with water.
"We are being deployed here. Our mission is to search for an artifact, our secondary mission is to kill any Human we see. We do not know what this artifact is or what it looks like, but we know it is here." I said, pacing around the hologram. It disappeared soon after and I returned to my spot in front of my troops. "Now, prepare for deployment. We should arrive within the planet's atmosphere any time now."
'Now is the time. Now is when I prove myself along the path of the Great Journey. I will quench any Human rebellion. I will find the artifact. And I will bring it to the Holy Prophets myself. This, is how my story starts. This is the beginning of my transcendence into godhood.' I thought to myself, trying to get my mind into a state in which I would fight until the very end. I would fight the Humans until I died. 'This is my role. This is my story. And I will tell it. I will be a hero.'
The bay doors opened and every one of my troops filed out. All one-hundred and fifty of them. But as soon as the dropships left, I felt something wrong. Something was off somehow. I didn't know what it was, but it was not good. And then, I heard something. A shuffling that was not of my warriors.
Then, something shouted. It shouted, "Open fire!"
And every one of my troops soon fell under the fire of Human bullets. Humans were here. And things just got complicated.