Location: Shipyard 9: Covenant Capital Ship (Un-named)

Date: Nov. 5, 2552

Approaching a glowing purple hued circle on the ground, Tom was propelled vertically towards what he assumed was the highest level of the ship. Within seconds Nico'l, Yuz and Cal had jumped into the grav-lift and were flung upwards as well. They walked for several minutes before approaching a large three pieced door. As they neared this door, a low chime echoed to signal the door opening. Walking forward they entered a vast room that seemed to have been designed in a tier system. In front of them was a vast array of control panels and very uncomfortable looking seats. On the second level more seats could be seen, as well as several control panels and the large main screen that showed all readouts and what was in front of the ship. Towards the back half of the second tier was what appeared to be a table with holographic axis showing a 3-dimensional image of the area around the ship and the location of any other ships marked with a friendly tag. Upon this holographic map appeared two large dots. The first had been marked with a large flashing 'x', and the second with a flashing question mark shaped object. Tom and the other assumed these were to identify the flood infected ships in the area. Finally on the third level of the tiered room was a large chair and several smaller chairs that appeared to belong to officers, and the grander of the chairs to the captain of the ship. This large chair had several panels inlaid into the arms, and seemed to have more padding than any of the others.

"Well boys and girl," Cal said in amazement at the enormous size of the room, "I do believe we've found our way to get clear of this place."

"You might just be right" said Tom.

"Might? Why might?" Cal asked somewhat confused by Tom's statement.

"Well, do you happen to know how to drive this thing?" Tom asked pointedly

"No, but um… What about that smart ass AI of yours?" Cal replied.

Tom reached to the back of his helmet, and removed the chip that held Agent, looking for a slot to place it into. Checking all of the consoles on the lower level, he approached a grav-lift which propelled him to the second tier, and continued his search there but to no avail. Deciding to give the final level a try he jumped into the lift stream of the lift, and landed softly on the third tier. Looking at the three panels in front of what he assumed were officers chairs, he saw no slots. Almost ready to give up, he decided to take a last look at the large chair that rose above the others on a slight pedestal. Peering at the inlaid screens, he noticed a small cover with an indent that looked to be made for opening the cover. Reaching down he slowly lifted the cover, revealing two small slots. One Tom didn't recognize, but the other was a human data chip slot. Placing the chip into the slot, Tom noticed that a small light came on below the slot.

Suddenly a pedestal raised from the floor several paces in front of the chair, revealing a holographic projector. Standing atop this projector was the silhouette of Agent's form. Agent appeared to be thinking as his body pulsed every few seconds. Finally as if seeming to notice that the group had congregated around the pedestal, Agent turned to face them.

"You will all be happy to know several things about this ship" he stated clearly so they could all hear. "It has been equipped with the newest engines the Covenant have designed as well as the newest weapons systems. Finally, you'll be happy to know that this ship is fully stocked with food and medical supplies as well as several gyms, armories and recreational areas."

"I'm glad to hear that" Cal said, but looked nervously at the large display that showed the flood infested frigates looming above the damaged areas of the shipyards now skeletal structure. "But could we please get the hell out of here?"

"I would be glad to oblige, but this ship has an activation protocol that must be followed first. I'll help as I can, but first off you need to choose a name for this ship." Agent advised them.

Looking at each other, the group began discussing what would be a good name for the ship they hoped to escape in. Several moments passed before Yuz made a suggestion to which Nico'l had to translate for Tom.

"Undying Salvation?" Tom repeated, finding a slight ring to it.

"I like it" Said Cal.

"Quite a description" Nico'l said

Yuz's only reply was a smile on his 'beak' that seemed to give away his pride in his suggestion.

"It looks like we've decided on a name" Tom told Agent. "Undying Salvation."

"Very well then" Agent replied and began pulsing. "The ship has now been named, now it only requires a Captain's DNA and the three Lieutenants DNA to complete the setup. So who shall be the Captain?"

Looking at each other wondering who would try to claim the title, Tom decided to make a suggestion. "I say we hold a vote. No one can vote for themselves though just to make this easier."

"Alright" Cal said, and the others nodded in agreement.

"All in favor of Yuz?" Tom asked and upon seeing no one raise their hands moved onto the next name. "All in favor of Cal?" still no hands. "All in favor of Nico'l?" Tom raised his own hand, but noticed no one else. "And last but not least, all in favor of me?" Nico'l, Yuz and even Cal raised their hands in agreement.

Noticing this Agent chimed in, "Alright then 'Captain' Please take a seat in your chair and place your right palm against the forward most control panel. You'll notice a slight sting." He said

As Tom placed his bare palm against the cold control panel he wondered what Agent meant by a 'slight' sting. A few seconds passed and he felt nothing but suddenly he was hit by what felt like a static shock as a needle pricked his palm and extracted several drops of blood before retracting and emitting a low ding.

"That was… uncomfortable" Tom said with a grimace as he looked at his palm and noticed a small pin hole in the heel of his hand.

"Now the rest of you please choose a seat, and do the same" Agent spoke.

The procedure repeated itself but with a slightly new reaction from Cal who squirmed as the needle made contact.

"Okay then everyone, we're now ready to begin" Agent explained to them as all the displays hummed to life on the bridge. "I'll turn us around and open fire on those frigates so they cannot pursue us."

With that, the ship began to turn or at least looking at the screen in the front of the bridge showed it moving in a slow but steady arc to face the two frigates. Settling in its new position a bright pulse began to streak across the space between the Capital ship and the closest frigate. When the beam made contact, the ship seemed to burst into a large ball of light as the beam passed through its middle. After the initial shot, the aft portion of the first ship began to spiral towards the second and hit with enough force to tear a portion of the second's bridge off.

"I do believe that will slow them down a bit" Agent said with a smirk across his face for what he'd just done.

"Where shall we head captain?" Agent smirked as he spoke.

"Any suggestions?" asked Tom.

Everyone looked at each other realizing they'd never really thought that part through. Tom knew they could not just head for Earth in a stolen Covenant Capital ship and Reach was clearly out of the question as it had been glassed prior. Another though occurred to him though. He had heard of a sect that had broken off from the Covenant. A sect of 'heretics' as the Covenant called them.

"Nico'l, Yuz, Cal?" he spoke softly. "Seeing as it would not be wise to head to Earth or any of your respective home planets, how would you feel about seeking refuge with the 'heretics'? I'm sure they would love us for this great big present we have."

Nico'l and Yuz looked at him puzzled for a few moments, and Cal was just plain confused because he didn't know what the 'heretics' Tom spoke of where. After several minutes of Nico'l, Tom and Yuz explaining to him he fell into agreement with Tom. Now the only dilemma was whether Nico'l and Yuz would accept this choice. Finally Yuz seemed to reluctantly admonish to the idea. Tom looked at Nico'l wondering what she was thinking now.

"This is a very hard decision for you I'm sure" Tom said as he walked closer to her. "I'd love to visit Sanghelios but I don't think this would be a good time to do so." He stated.

Nico'l looked at him sadly, and finally spoke. "I will go with you on this, but first you must promise me one thing."

Tom was the one that looked confused as he asked "And what would you like me to promise?"

Nico'l leaned close to his ear and spoke so only he could hear her. "I want you to promise that you'll never leave me alone and that someday you'll take me to see your world" she said with smile now forming on her face.

"I promise" he said softly so only she could hear him.

"Set a course to the location of the 'heretics'" Tom ordered Agent.

Agent pulsed for a few moments before the ship began to turn, and slowly accelerated forward into the depths of space.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. (no it's not really the end of the story, so don't worry it's got a few more chapters to go!)

Thanks again for all the reviews, comments and all the info!

Dragon

p.s. If you think you're weird for reading this, just think how weird I must be for writing this. See ya soon folks! ;)

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