"FREE PEOPLE"
Chapter One
I do not own Halo. It is the proporty of Microsoft and Bungie Studios.
Thousands of stars twinkled, like brilliant white eyes, in the dark vastness of space. SangheiliShip Master Lika 'Janamee watched them from the command deck of the Inevitable Justice. He watched them, of course, from a holographic video panel, for the command deck was deep in the center of the ship. 'Janamee had spent nearly all his life in space, and yet he could not help but be drawn in to the incredible display the stars and galaxies painted across the universe. An exceptionally brilliant nebula caught his eye; it swirled and twisted with brilliant reds and oranges.
"Preparations are finished. We await your direction, sir," spoke another Sangheili, Eter 'Dametorne, the ships navigator. "May your unending prowess be a beacon for us."
The Inevitable Justice was a scout ship used to chart out unexplored regions of space. They were always watching for a potential species to absorb into their ranks and, better yet, any new Forerunner objects. Lika 'Janamee's ship, large for its size and with a deep purple-blue tinge, was parked on a Covenant scout station and had just been restocked with supplies recently. It was fresh for takeoff.
It wasn't hard to find an unexplored area. This sector of space was mostly unexplored so far. The problem was deciding which direction to go; a job that required mostly just random choice. 'Janamee, still gazing inquiringly at the nebula that caught his eye, replied to the navigator.
"Engage slipspace cores and set a minimal speed course to the direction of the orange, spiral nebula north-east of our position." Several eyes now glanced toward the view screen the captain stared at. There wasn't any confusion of the nebula he spoke of. It was quite large and was the only one visible in that particular area.
"Of course, Ship Master," 'Dametorne affirmed. He then barked, in a guttural tone, a series of rapid-fire orders to the other crewmen.
'Janamee watched his men working furiously at their stations. It was a good crew, ready to do as commanded, or die trying. It was mostly just Sangheili, which he preferred; but there were some Kig-yar, small-built, bird-like creatures that possessed exceptional senses. There was one engineer. He floated about like a large fleshy balloon, fixing and studying everything he came across with his long, splintery tentacles. Both of these creatures were different from 'Janamee. Sangheili were tall, seven or more feet; they had purple-blue skin that covered their lean muscular bodies. Their legs bent twice, like a dogs, but ended in large hooves. From there heads, which sat on their long necks, protruded 4 small mandibles; instead of a bottom jaw. All of this, however,is nearly hidden by the layer of polished battle armor.
He stroked his mandibles unconsciously and peered back at the view screen. Something in his gut told him that was where they must go. He hoped his gut would not fail them.
Lika 'Janamee left the command center and headed towards his quarters. He had been busy non-stop for the last 3 days and was looking forward to some rest. After all, the ship would be in slip-space for the next several hours; there was nothing else to do but wait. He thought he heard the sound of heavy hoofsteps running, he stopped and listened through the walls but heard nothing more. He was almost to his quarters when he rounded a corner and slammed head on into Nao 'Lamaee, a newly enlisted, inexperienced young Sangheili soldier. He stumbled backwards into the cold metal wall; 'Lamaee fell to the floor.
"My deepest apologies, ship master," he stumbled to his knees and bowed his head, "I should have been watching where I was going."
"No," corrected 'Janamee, "you should have not been running around my ship. May I ask why you were doing so?"
"Again, I apologize, sir," 'Lamaee stammered hastily. "I was trying to catch up to some Kig-yar who stole my weapon back on the station. They ran aboard here and I've been trying to find them."
"By the prophets…" he whispered shaking his head. "And how, may I ask, where they able to take your weapon?"
"Sir, I set my rifle down to don my helmet. They came up from behind and took it."
"Vile beasts. They shame our Covenant. But you should keep an eye on your equipment. A warrior must be aware of his surroundings. Go to the armory and find yourself one of the rifles from the new crates, and try to keep a careful eye on this one."
"Yes sir, thank you, sir," he bowed again.
"Oh," said the ship master, "Also, if you catch those worthless little disgraces, you have my permission to destroy them personally. We need to show these insubordinate beasts who their masters are."
"Of course, sir," 'Lamaee acknowledged. "I will find them and break their scrawny necks."
'Janamee made the mandibular equivalent of a smile and walked past the soldier. He was growing weary of the Kig-yar scum. They've proven themselves worthy in battle, but do not like being under prophet and elite command. This is strange considering they joined the Covenant forces without opposition. Most of them seemed to jump at the chance, actually. They were strange, fierce creatures that would readily eat each other to avoid starving. However, they are useful to the Covenant and will remain apart of it; unless, of course, they one day rebelled or betrayed the Covenant. All species are a part of the Covenant; for those who refuse don't survive long enough to gloat about it.
'The ship master reached his quarters and began to tap a sequence of holographic buttons on the control pad. When the last button was pressed, the door was flooded with blue light and slid open. He was immediately greeted by the sight of his female, Brina 'Solool. Females do not usually travel with the warriors, but this was his mate, so he made an exception.
"Where are we headed to next, Lika," she inquired. "Are we headed back home yet?"
"No," he answered, "We are making another search through one of new systems. If we don't find anything, I promise we will return to our home."
"Indeed…I want our offspring to be born on the Homeplanet," she noted, holding her abdomen, "It's not the norm to be raised on a starship."
"Hmmph," he grunted, "I was born and raised on the Inevitable Justice. I am fine, no?"
"Nonetheless…" she began.
"We will return home," 'Janamee finished. He laid a long fingered hand on his mates shoulder. "I would like to rest for a while; we will return to normal space in a few hours…"