Chapter ten
January 14, 2582. Military Calendar.
ODST 22nd Regiment, Team Delta-7. Unknown location. 0400 Hours.
"Y'know what I love, Shepard?"
John groaned for the fifth time that hour, his rib was broken and he was sure one of his ears was deaf… sadly it wasn't the one that the teams sniper was currently bitching into and had been bitching into for what felt like five hours instead of the actual thirty minutes. Evidently Sharps loved talking when she was a POW, who knew?
"I love being a POW, by aliens no less!" she said, sarcasm thick. "I love being tied to a goddamn chair and subjected to questions I can't even understand!" she went on.
"Why couldn't I be celled with Wrecker?" John said, wincing when he felt his broken rib move in a way he didn't like one bit.
After their capture at the Jamming tower, Shepard and the team had been taken to a command post, likely to be interrogated for information, and had been prisoners of war for… oh, give or take twelve hours, and for half that time they had been questioned by aliens who didn't understand them nor other way around, so interrogations pretty much consisted of the team going in one at a time and spouting random BS at their interrogators for kicks.
And since the interrogation chamber and holding cells were all connected via one way mirrors, they were able to see who was being interrogated, hear it too, but not see their fellow detainees. Right now? It was Wrecker's turn.
Smack!
Wrecker's head snapped to the side, lip torn, blood leaking down his chin to drop onto his undersuit, his armor plating had been removed when he woke up. He chuckled, righting his head again and looking at his steroid abusing Kig-Yar look-a-like. "Bet you fist your mother that way too." he laughed.
It was a blatant sound of amusement and it seemed that if the Aliens had taken anything from he interrogations, is that when the ODSTs laughed in an interrogation, it was a joke that had been said.
Another punch, the chair in which Wrecker was secured fell over with the man still in it. He coughed a bit, spat out blood and tested his jaw, satisfied it wasn't broken he turned and stared right back at his questionee. "Punch… punch me if you ever boned your species version of a dog before. Eh?" he chuckled.
Punch.
Shepard winced at that one, somehow he felt that by the time these aliens learned the human language they'd have a long list of insults to speak with… and what a list it was. He ignored Wrecker's shout of "Take my goddamn jaw off you limp-wristed pus-" and the resulting punches. Wrecker was mad as a hatter and Shepard didn't feel like listening to him torture himself anymore.
"So, Sharps, still bitchy?"
"Nah… Wrecker's killing that mood… oddly though I'm a bit aroused."
"…Really?" Shepard didn't know how to feel about that.
"Don't get hopeful, kid. I have a husband."
"Ah well, can't blame a man for trying." Shepard chuckled, ahh, the teasing in light of the situation. He knew it was all in good fun of course, they just needed to kill time until something good or bad happened. Good being their rescue, bad being their execution.
"I suppose not," Sharps agreed. "So, what do you think they're learning from all this? Y'know, sides a list of insults that could turn sailors red." she snickered.
"Honestly? That every ODST is a little messed up in the head."
They shared a laugh of agreement for that particular statement. That is the only thing that could explain what propelled Wrecker into a cackling fit as he was punched in the gut and tossed to the floor again.
And then a thunderous boom shook the building around them for a moment before finally the walls stilled and even the interrogator seemed surprised, his frustration replaced by surprise before alarms blared across the cells and halls. Another, closer rumble of thunder shook the ODSTs in their chairs.
"Cavalry?" Shepard probed.
"My money's on-" Sharps began when the door to the interrogation cells opened and in came three of the unknown aliens, two dressed like regular grunts while the third they had come to know was the base commander, Desolas Arterius was his name. Least that's what the Lieutenant said when they got here and found themselves sharing space with their missing LT. Would have been fist bumps and cheers all around if it hadn't been for the fact they were chained up, oh and POWs. "Yeah." Sharps finished.
Desolas stepped into the main chamber, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture that made the interrogator stop, reach for a weapon and be stopped by the Commander, who shook his head. They conversed in their language before the interrogator nodded stiffly, his posture was grudging but unwilling to directly question his superior's orders.
The Commander moved over to the cell consoles, he typed in a few commands and then they found their bonds clattering to the floor. Hands freed, the stood, looking at the windows as Desolas stepped towards the now standing Wrecker, a gun in hand. The ODST looking tense, beaten and ready to strike like a coiled cobra if the Commander tried anything.
They couldn't do anything, they were unbound by still in their cells, Wrecker was against four hostiles, unarmed. Desolas approached, fingers flexing on the handle of his handgun, before finally, he turned it over in his hand, raised his arm and held it out to Wrecker grip first with, what they could assume was a straight face. Wrecker looked confused, but took the weapon anyway, raising it slightly.
The alien Commander stepped back, gestured to the others to lower their weapons. Which they did, albeit more grudging than the Commander had, Desolas turned back to the console, tapped another key and their cells opened. They stepped into the main chamber, moving to the aliens, Sharps reached down, grabbing one of their strange weapons, thankfully if was unfolded. She tossed one of the unfolded ones to Shepard, who caught it and kept it trained on the two who had dropped their own.
The Lieutenant stepped out, took the Interrogators weapon, and gestured him to stand alongside Desolas, as did the other two. The four stood side by side, varying expressions. Except Desolas, who instead stared at them with a mild regret, begrudging respect and a little ire. "What the hell is going on, you think?" Sharps whispered to Shepard, who provided security by the door.
"Not a clue, wish we had our radios." Shepard replied honestly. All they had were their ODST undersuits. Their armor and weapons had been confiscated and were likely held elsewhere. Another explosion rocked the building before the doors parted and Shepard raised his weapon in reaction.
He lowered it again when he saw the familiar faceplates of fellow ODSTs and marines staring back at them with their MA6Ks ready to fill him with lead. "What took you guys so long?" Shepard cracked a grin, two teeth missing.
"Sorry, traffic was murder," the other ODST replied without missing a beat as they stepped inside, seeing the four aliens, he nodded for the marines to secure them while he addressed Delta-7. "Sorry it took awhile to get here. A few things have happened in the last five hours and we just now got wind of your locations." he explained to the gathered team. "Your Captain will be pleased to see you're all fine." he paused.
"More or less." they could hear the smirk in his words.
"Cheeky bastard." The Lieutenant shook his head, and the team shared a chuckle. "Right, well, what's happened in the last five hours?" he asked now.
January 14, 2582. Military Calendar.
UNSC Infinity-Class Command Ship Daedalus, Unknown system. 0100 Hours. [Three hours earlier.]
Klaxons blared across the deck, giving Lasky a small headache as he sat in his command chair, listening to his bridge crew chatter and filter him reports on what was going on. But he could see clearly what was going on, and frankly he was relieved. About time they received their desired response, he was beginning to think he'd have to keep his men here for a month. On screen almost three hundred ships drifted towards his battle group, in formation, larger ships pods of smaller ones. Some were different in design, which suggested either different species or manufacturer. Perhaps purpose? Lasky stared at their gathered numbers.
"Lilith, distance to enemy fleet?" The Admiral asked.
"Distance is forty-five thousand and steadily approaching, They will be within optimal firing range in…" The sultry AI's avatar appeared, and she crossed her arms over her chest and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Two minutes. Vectors are offensive formations and sensors indicate their weapons are live."
Lasky suspected as much, three hundred ships to his several dozen, huh? He didn't like those odds in a straight fight. But this wasn't a straight fight, not at all. This was a trap and they were being sprung into it. "Send out the word to the Sangheili fleet. Tell them we are ready to pull our ace out of the sleeve." he ordered her, not tearing his eyes away from the display.
"Aye, Admiral," Lilith nodded. "Their estimated time of arrival is five minutes." she informed him, glancing at the screen even though she didn't need to. "Think you can stall them for three minutes?"
"Lilith, I'm Captain of the most powerful warship the UNSC ever produced, I have a fleet that's a mixture of old and new ships, half of my older models are crippled and we're currently split into three smaller fleets." Lasky paused in his speech, then nodded. "Yeah, I think this old man can do three minutes."
Lilith smirked invitingly. "Oh how I love your confidence, Admiral Just make my code all tingly." her face then went impassive, "We're being hailed and enemy formations are slowing, now stopping at the eighteen thousand distance marker." she blinked, "Cocky bunch now that they have numbers, huh?"
"Yeah, well, they think they've got this. And they probably would," Lasky admitted. "Well, establish connection. Keep firewalls up, be ready for anything. Order all ships to combat alert status alpha, warm the particle cannons and tell our fleets to be ready to make a retreat in case things turn ugly."
Lilith raised a brow. "I thought you were confident you could stall three minutes?"
"I am, but I can't predict everything, can I?" Lasky shook his head, stood and stepped forward, looking at the forward view screen. A moment passed, then it flickered and on screen appeared, what he assumed to be, the enemy flagships command deck. And what surprised him was the alien who stood there, expectant as he was.
Her, least, he assumed it was a her, skin was blue, and instead of hair, she had tentacles. Besides that, she appeared quite humanoid in appearance. Her uniform suggested she was the commander of the fleet he was now facing down. Her stance mirror his own almost perfectly, both knew their positions, both were confident in their gameplan and they were sure of their troops.
He already respected her.
"We're receiving a data ping. Looks like they're trying to send us a data packet," Lilith informed him from her place, finger idly tapping her lip. "Should I accept?"
"Do so." Lasky didn't break his eyes away from the commanding alien. A moment passed, two… three. "Lilith?"
"Package secure, clean, Admiral, appears to be a translation package, probably for their language. Running it… now." Lilith said. "Alright, first contact through verbiage is a go."
"My name is Admiral Thomas Lasky of the UNSC Infinity-Class flagship Daedalus," Lasky began, and the alien visibly tensed and then relaxed at his words. Good, so, she could understand him. "I am in command of this battlegroup." he informed her curtly, bowing his head. "Can you understand me?"
"Yes," her voice surprised him, it sounded human as well, sultry, but curt, inviting, but guarded. Hopeful, but resolute. Her tone held a lot, it seemed. "Admiral, I am General Lethanias Endarys, Captain of the Destiny Ascension and Commander of this fleet. I am here on behalf of the Citadel council, the ruling body of this part of the galaxy." she replied with just as much courtesy. "We are pleased you accepted our communications." she added.
Not as pleased as I am, Lasky thought with an almost frown. Citadel Council, ruling body? So, there was another collection of aliens then. Like the Covenant, except these ones didn't seem nearly as hostile, and were willing to talk. Judging by the size of the fleet, he was willing to bet they were hoping to cow him and his men into surrender. Nice try… but the UNSC had already thought of that move themselves.
"General Endarys," she nodded, "It's no trouble. I'm to understand you represent this… council, and since you're not sending my fleet to oblivion I guess that means this is the part where you politely ask me to stand down or I forfeit my men's lives?" she raised a brow, but her eyes shone with an amused glint. Bingo.
"That is correct, Admiral. If you do not cease all hostilities and withdraw your troops from the surface of the colony, my fleet and I will be forced to attack." Endarys relayed, crossing her arms. "It would behove you to accept this. If you do so, we will not open fire and we can begin making more proper communications between our two governments. The council only wants this to end peacefully without any more bloodshed."
Lasky almost sighed in relief. So, this council believed in diplomacy. That was good, that was very good. All the better then. "I thank you for the generous terms, as it stands my government would like nothing more to settle this peacefully. But, when we were fired upon without so much as a warning, I'm afraid that became impossible." he informed her, looking serious.
"Without warning? That's quite the serious accusation." Endarys said with a frown. It amazed Lasky how similar her and human expressions were. "Do you have proof of this?"
"Ship logs indicated no transmissions received. But, there might have been reason for it, interference at the time with our communications and sensors equipment." Lasky explained, frowning a bit. "So, not proof. But its all we have. I think I speak for a great of both our sides that we wouldn't rather be here."
Sympathy passed through her eyes before they hardened into professionalism. "If we can end this diplomatically, then we would be willing to allow one of your ships, preferably a frigate, to be escorted closer to ours where we will meet with an envoy to discuss peace terms between us. However, before any of that can happen." she began. "You must put down your arms, bring your troops off the colony and hold position at the designated coordinates."
A ping, and an area was highlighted on the TacMap. Lasky looked at it, away from the planet, out of weapons range. A nice spot as any in this situation. "We will then keep your fleet here until we receive clearance from the council that the terms have been made you will be free to go." she finished as his glance ended.
He considered his next words, and Lilith's timer read a minute and twenty seconds left before the Sangheili fleet arrived. "You have an envoy ready?" she nodded. "I see, I'm sorry to say but our diplomatic corps isn't here, we were just sent to occupy this planet and await a response so we can open lines of communication and put an end to hostilities." he gave a short laugh, "Guess we should have brought one now, huh?"
Forty-nine seconds.
"Maybe." Endarys agreed. "Now, Admiral, what is your reply to our conditions?"
Lasky sighed, counting off a few seconds before he looked up at his alien counterpart. "General Endarys, while I am humbled and grateful for your offer of peace and the fairness of your terms. It's more then humanity has gotten before, I must however make you a counter offer," he said, tone grim. And her expression turned into one just as grim as his own. "My counter offer is this, you and your fleet stand down now."
Ten seconds.
"And I will not be forced to make this end any messier." Five seconds. "So, here are my terms. You power down your shields and weapons, maintain your positions and send your envoy out, we will meet them aboard my ship and we can begin discussions for peace."
Lasky paused. Zero seconds.
And on cue with perfect precision, several dozen slipspace ruptures opened up behind the enemy fleet, and on the screen he saw Endarys shouting orders as their own alarms sounded off. And then, here came the Sangheili. One hundred and twenty-two ships began to leave the portals, Supercarriers, CCS-Class battle cruisers, at least thirty of the behemoth like ships appeared, dwarfing their CCS-Class counterparts. Dozens of Frigates and cruisers appeared as well. Weapons warmed, their lateral lines heated, but didn't fire. Their large, bulbous hulls appearing more marine mammal then ship, greens and silver in color. Like a school of whales they lumbered into three perfect formations behind the enemy fleet to create the perfect kill zone.
"Or our allies at your flank will open fire along with my own fleet," Lasky said with a smile that drew Endarys' attention back to him.
"So…" he said offhandedly. "Will those terms work for you?"
The bridge crew had the professionalism not to outright chuckle at the enemy general's expression of shock.
End of chapter ten