Chapter Twelve
Titan
Above Harvest
The Arbiter knelt, awash in signals in the holographic projection chamber. Next to him stood Commander Kerrigan and Fleet Admiral Wallace, observing his reactions. "This truly is an amazing place," the Arbiter whispered. "It resembles much of the halls of the Forerunners, yet is much different in cadence, in the rhythm of its workings."
"Our technology is advanced as yours it seems, Arbiter," Wallace agreed. "Though I do have to wonder, who are these "Forerunners" you speak of?"
"Our gods," the Arbiter spoke. "Long ago, the Forerunners were real, and lived and breathed, as do all of us. They were overcome by a Great Darkness, in some texts referred to as the Flood. They built a series of Sacred Rings, and used them to begin the Great Journey, where they left this plane and became true gods. They are with us still, in spirit."
"Forerunners." Kerrigan's mouth rolled the word around her mouth. It somehow…felt right. "Did they leave anything of theirs behind? Cities, technology?"
"Yes they did. In fact, that is what Covenant technology is primarily based off of, as we seek to emulate our Gods in every way possible."
The three left the chamber, and continued onwards. The Arbiter's suspicions about the UNSC's technology had been confirmed correct long ago, and seeing more was just a luxury. This warship combined Covenant aesthetics with Forerunner technology, but in a totally different way. It was very pleasant on the eyes, certainly, but strange.
The Arbiter did not notice as Wallace gave a subtle glance at Kerrigan, who merely nodded. They both knew the sheer value of what the Arbiter had just accidentally diverged. "Sir, if I have your permission there is a cargo shipment that I must see to."
"Permission granted, Commander. Good loading."
"Thank you, sir. Arbiter." With a polite nod, she turned and left the two, moving quickly to the Bridge. She sat in the command chair. "Get me a direct line to Command."
Connecting…line established, Commander.
"Thank you Dahak. This is Commander Kerrigan, reporting a Class-One Omega. Command respond."
"What have you got, Commander?"
"Sir, we've just received intel from our guest on a group of advanced aliens called the Forerunners…"
Admiral Wallace excused himself from the Arbiter, ordering an ensign who happened to walk by to escort the Arbiter to wherever he requested. Then the nervous ensign was left with the tall alien. "Do you have a meditation chamber on board this vessel?" the Arbiter inquired.
"Um, we have a chapel, and a small garden in hydroponics, which is sometimes used for that," the ensign said. She was slightly intimidated by this huge creature, especially encased in its armor like that.
The Arbiter paused. "I do not know of this "chapel." Please show me to the garden."
The two soon came upon the garden, and the ensign's words were if anything an understatement. A sanctuary for exotic plants and animals, the garden was also a place for the crew to walk through and relax in during their off-duty hours. The Arbiter marveled at the variety of life around him, and he was pleased. "My thanks. You may stand guard at the entrance; I wish to be alone."
"Yes, sir." The ensign moved to the door, but positioned herself to keep an eye on her guest.
The Arbiter ignored her, moving through the life, mulling over his past decisions. He had informally joined into an alliance with these humans, and had even gone so far as to give them star charts and intelligence on Unggoy territory. It was within an Arbiter's privileges, he knew, but he wondered if he was morally right. The Covenant could fight and defeat the Unggoy, it would probably take longer than normal.
The alien warrior shook his head, nudging the leaves with his snout. No, he determined; this was a matter of honor, and these humans possessed it, just as any Sangheili possessed the blood-honor of their clans. The Unggoy had attacked them, and thus the…UNSC…deserved their chance at vengeance. The Arbiter snarled; he had made up his mind. He was not in the wrong.
He left the thick foliage, motioning to the ensign. "I wish to see space."
"Um, there's an observation bay, if you'd like to look."
"Yes." Within minutes and the use of a grav-lift they were there, and this time the Arbiter merely continued on to the windows. The ensign backed off like last time. The Arbiter spent his time staring out the thick portholes at the stars, and especially at the fleet of massive warships that surrounded them. He traced their lines, noting the different configurations of their lines, their different classes, though the Arbiter had no clue what their differences were.
He noticed a flare of light out beyond their flotilla, and could barely make out the distant outlines of Covenant ships from their Slipspace emergences, a few dozen ships. The Arbiter was pleased; the Brute had gotten back to Covenant space, and here were the first speakers and diplomats to speak with the humans. He was surprised it had taken this long, though.
Which belied his surprise when the sky lit with fire, plasma torpedoes and beams lashing out at mid-range, smashing into the surprised human ships and smoting upon their hulls with full force. The attack continued, and ships began dying, hulls rupturing and warheads exploding from the titanic sustained bombardment. The Arbiter, in his horror, could see hundreds more Slipspace flashes, thousands, until it seemed as all of the sky was filled with Covenant ships.
But the humans were clearly preparing to fight back. Though they had lost a few ships, the Arbiter could see the ships turning into the fire with missiles and beams ready for firing. The dim blue flicker of shield systems came online, and the Arbiter's view of death was abated as no more ships died. Then…the fire. Dozens of beams lashed out, and where they smote ships died. Covenant ships, ripped, sliced into dozens of pieces, drifted. All of space was filled with the wreckage of metal ships, and corpses.
He heard a click behind him. The ensign was holding a massive pistol to his head, one which no doubt even it could kill him at such close range. "You are under our custody, Arbiter, until we know what's going on!"
The intercom flared. "Arbiter to the Bridge. Repeat, Arbiter to the Bridge."
The Ensign swallowed, tears trickling down her face. She had seen the death too. "In front of me." The Arbiter complied, hands behind him so she could see they were empty. She guided him to a specific grav-tube, and they shot up, their destination the Bridge.
Fleet Admiral Wallace was there waiting for him, as well as a squad of armored Marines, in some form of body-encompassing armored suits, like the ones Sangheili possess. The friendly grin on the Admiral's face was gone, replaced by suspicion and hatred, but not necessarily towards him, the Arbiter could tell. The ensign nudged him towards them, and the Arbiter was quickly relieved of his weapons, including his ceremonial plasma sword, but left him his armor. When they were done Wallace gestured towards thee combat hologram floating in the center of the Bridge, showing the carnage. Kerrigan was busy directing combat maneuvers, but she gave the Arbiter a suspicious glance before continuing. "Care to tell me what the hell's going on?" Wallace snarled.
The Arbiter shook his head. "I do not know, Ship Master Wallace. You saw me give the information to Hades, and compose that said information. I do not know why they are doing this."
"Admiral, we're receiving a transmission…in English."
"Put it up, let's hear it." Wallace motioned the Arbiter forward, and he complied, followed by the massive rifles of the alert Marines.
The transmission was visual. An image of the Prophet of Reconciliation floated above the CIC, and behind him stood… "Hades," the Arbiter sighed, then his voice tightened in a building rage, deep inside of him. The Brute had done this, somehow.
The Prophet spoke, one sentence, a sentence that bade everyone in the room pause and listen attentively. Your destruction is the will of the Gods, and we are their instrument. The transmission and image ceased, replaced by the 3D view of the battlefield.
Everyone's attention shifted to the Arbiter. Wallace's voice was restrained and cold. "Put him in the brig. We've got a battle to win."