Delta Halo
Twenty-Fourth Solar Cycle, 214 Cycles: 9th Age of Reclamation [November 02, 2552: 0036hrs]
CAS-Class Assault Carrier Solemn Penance
SpecOps Major Ryau 'Cinotee
As the Solemn Penance found its resting place in orbit over the Ring, hundreds of Phantoms launched out across the surface. A majority of them were centered just below the Assault Carrier, on a series of structures dotted across a pair of large lakes.
Ryau was harnessed into place by a Stasis field as their pilot, Major Mako 'Geralee brought them around what looked to be a temple of some kind. Their Fieldmaster glanced across his lance and nodded in approval. While they were armed fairly well, the crates and packs around them did not hold weapons, but scientific technology.
"As you all should understand by now, we are replacements for the Hierarch's Ministry of Special Sciences attaché who was tragically lost at the vermin's home world. Our objective is to make sure that this facility is stable, and establish a long term presence within the Gods' structures once we arrive. There is another team of San 'Shyuum completing a similar task elsewhere, so... be sure to best them." Ttpa said with a smirk.
"Even the Hierarch thinks he needs us, surely we will not fail!" Eral shouted.
"That is a good attitude, Minor." Ghomo replied from his position near the back.
The Phantom banked around and hovered over a courtyard ringed in small stone structures. Mako activated the dropship's grav-lift and shut off the stasis fields. "The Ship scans of the surrounding area indicated that this structure appears to have maintenance access for this whole region," the Pilot shouted back to the troop compartment. "I'll drop your lance and the cargo off, and then find somewhere to wait on standby."
"That is acceptable," Ttpa replied, waving at Ryau and Shou. He signaled them to go first. "Deploy."
Ryau pulled himself out of the field and moved in line behind Shou, taking the lift down to the surface. Ryau swept the area with his Carbine; as he expected, there was nothing but native birds. They were on a cliff that overlooked the lake and temples, through it appeared that they were just outside the main complex. He swung around and swept through one of the nearby buildings.
The structures on this ring were different than Installation 04. Their key architectural features were the same style, though the buildings had been constructed using large stone blocks. A frame of newer metal had been erected around the older stone buildings at some point in the past though. The interior was cool and damp, with water steadily dripping into a pool eroded into the floor. He could see what appeared to be an elevator car down a ramp in the next room. That must be their way down.
Ryau glanced back outside, the Fieldmaster and the others had dropped down and a team of Unggoy was already unloading the Phantom. They likely would not need all the equipment they were given, Naki always seemed to be able to do her thing with a simple data-pad and a wireless interface; not that he knew how they really worked. That was going to be something he learned as they went.
"Fieldmaster, area is clear, and I think I found the lift down into the utility tunnels." Ryau reported. He was not sure if they knew the UNSC had followed them yet, but they should be touching down soon if he remembered right; memory had been spotty on the exact details.
"Good, we'll make our way down immediately." Ttpa announced. "Inbr and Eral, you two stay behind and unload our cargo... Ghomo, you supervise them. When you are finished, come and find us down below."
"It will be done, Fieldmaster." Ghomo turned and barked to the Unggoy to move faster. The old Major had experience in that role it seemed.
Ryau popped open one of the cargo crates with a hiss, and its interior lights blinked on. Inside were enough heavy duty data-pads to equip five of these lances. These had been crates destined to restock the Mercy and Betrayal's stores, but they obviously never made it aboard. Ryau's little circular data-pad was nothing compared to these; they were rectangular and felt sturdy in his grip. Though one of these would not fit in the pocket he had now. Thankfully the crate was stocked with cases that appeared to fit on the same mounting points as his other bag. He quickly synced his old data-pad to the new one and then tossed the old one into his pack. With the transfer complete, he walked back towards the lift he had found earlier and joined the others inside.
"This facility is still powered up." Shou said. "It should make our job easy."
"Indeed. Let's see what resides below the surface." Ttpa examined the lift controls and pressed the only obvious button. The lift dropped down the shaft slowly. The elevator car's walls were clear, giving a good view of everything around them. The lift stopped, just above a water filled shaft.
"Um well... at least the emergency stop works." Ryau glanced down at the water below them. Ttpa gave Ryau a smirk and seemed to brace himself against the wall. The lift dropped suddenly into the water. Ryau and Shou stumbled and almost fell with the impact, but Ttpa remained stable; he knew it was coming.
"What is this?! An undersea vehicle?" Shou questioned.
Ttpa chuckled and nodded. "Indeed it is. While this is not a common form of Forerunner lifts, I have seen them before."
"Mhmm, it's an interesting setup," Ryau looked out the at the waters around them. Various fish were swimming through the rocks and underwater plants around them. As the lift car swung through the water, lights snapped on illuminating massive ruins below the surface. "Oh that is really interesting."
"The scientists would love to examine this place." Shou said, making sure to adjust a camera he had placed on his helmet.
"If they get the chance before the Great Journey begins," Ttpa said. "It is truly a glorious time."
"That's right! We are on a holy ring and there are no Humans to destroy this one." Shou exclaimed.
Ryau looked over at Shou, shrugged and then looked back out at the ruins, their style matched those around them but he would probably never find out their actual origin. The lift swung through an underwater arch and began to rise up into a new elevator shaft.
"Weapons ready you two. I do not anticipate any hostile activity, but you never know where the Gods defensive machines hide," Ttpa said while aiming his Plasma rifle slightly upwards.
The lift came to a stop in a small room, and water dripped into the passenger compartment as the doors parted. The small squad exited the lift and advanced up the ramp, which was the only way out. The walls were moist, and the air had a strong scent of salt to it. They did not have far to go before the corridor lead into a sort of observation area. The hall had opened up into a vaulted space with windows on all sides; with the path ramping down into what looked to be hip deep water.
Ryau made a note, if there were pumps they would need to activate them for the Unggoy that were with the lance. He grumbled as he trudged through the water "Well this area isn't in good repair at all."
On the other side of the room, the ramp went up and out of the water. Ttpa turned and waved back at the water. "Bah, we will just request some pumps from the Carrier. The water cannot be from a major leak, or else this entire area would be flooded."
"True, but that's not what I meant," Ryau said. "The decay of the structure that's not flooded, the other... holy... ring was in much better repair. Maybe something went wrong."
"I did note quite a fair bit of damage on the surface." Shou replied.
"Mm... I see what you mean," Ttpa sighed. "However, we must find some sort of access point around here, else we fail our objective."
Ryau waved around the group as they continued to walk through the corridor. "I haven't seen anything that could be that yet. These walls look like they're structural and quite solid."
"The Gods loved their automated systems, but they also ensured that a hands on approach was possible... most of the time, there should be one soon." Shou said. Ryau and Ttpa glanced back at him, not really expecting that bit of knowledge to come from him.
But he was right; in the next great room there were multiple doors on the bottom floor that led into what appeared to be a maintenance corridor. Ryau had opened the doors thanks to the Device, just like his previous visit to a Halo ring. Calling the space a maintenance area might have been incorrect. The ceiling was translucent, letting them view back up into the great room above them, and in certain areas the floor allowed them to see into the lake bed. There was various machinery in the space, some arcing with electricity.
As the lance ventured deeper, various holographic panels winked into existence. Ryau's understanding of the Forerunner language was minimal at best just from exposure with Naki, but he could understand that they were status monitors for the systems that kept the facility down here functioning. There was a model of the underwater portion with multiple red indicators flashing, mainly in the flooded area.
"Well brothers, this is exactly where we need to be," Ttpa said. "Do either of you understand their language?"
Ryau shook his head, but Shou nodded. "Yes Fieldmaster. I do."
"Then get on it, see what you can do about the flooding. Ryau and I will explore more of this area," shrugged off in the direction they were heading before.
The corridor went on, and led into the rock at the lake bottom. The floor was tiled, like the ancient structures that surrounded them. Water dripped through the cracks and collected in puddles all along their path. The ancient corridor ended at a pool of water, purposely built. It appeared to drop out into the open lake, like a moon pool; though it was doubtful that it was its original purpose.
"Well this isn't much," Ryau said. "Though, I have a suspicion that we're in some sort of museum or exhibit hall to something in the past."
"It never is much to look at..." Ttpa sighed. "However, I agree with your assumption. I believe that Major 'Cimutee would agree with you as well if she were here with us."
The pair began to make their way back to where they had left Shou, and it was not long until a call came over the radio from Ghomo on the surface. "Fieldmaster. There has been gunfire and we are intercepting sparse radio calls from other forces around the lake... I have heard reference to Humans and contact with a Demon. Do we respond?"
Ttpa stopped walking and glanced to Ryau. "No, let me make contact with our mission handlers and find out what is going on." He tapped an indicator on his gauntlet and switched to another channel. "Solemn Penance, this is Fieldmaster Ttpa 'Sojomee. I am hearing from my lance that there Humans here?"
Their mission handler came across the radio to reply. "Fieldmaster, there are no Humans on the ring. Continue to follow your charges; those are the orders from Fieldmaster 'Malkamee."
Ttpa frowned, and clenched his jaw muscles. "Understood, Solemn Penance. Continuing." As soon as he clicked the line off, he growled. "Lies, there are Humans here. Why would they hide that?"
Ryau shrugged, "Maybe to protect the Prophet... somehow?"
"I does not matter the reason, I outrank 'Malkamee. We are going to look into this," The Fieldmaster said. He turned and continued on towards Shou, marching forward with intent. As they passed the SpecOps Major, he let them know that other Covenant ground forces had made their way into the undersea area just recently.
Ryau checked the Device on his wrist subtly to see if the door control was still in range. Thankfully it was and he locked it. The Demon would be in those corridors soon and Ryau did not want to interfere in any way; if that meant locking himself and the rest of the lance in a service corridor, then so be it.
When Ttpa saw the door with the pulsing red light, he spun on his heel and pointed at Ryau. "Open this door, Cinotee."
Giving his Device a few taps, Ryau feigned innocence and kept its screen angled just out of Ttpa's vision. "It's not working. Something about automatic water safety protocols. Something opened the elevator shaft in the other room."
"Damn it." Ttpa slammed his fist into the wall. "Forerunner systems always get in the way." He spun around and waved for Ryau to follow; which Ryau quickly complied. They were going back the way they had explored, where the path dead ended at the moon-pool. "Tell me, Ryau. How well do you swim?"
Ryau mentally paused to think, he had never tried swimming in this body yet. It was not exactly a priority that he had made, how did he keep the water out of his open mouth? The throat was easy, that was closable, but the mandibles were not. The tissue there was slightly more sensitive than his face; hopefully it would not be an issue for his first time. He cleared his throat before coming up with an acceptable answer. "I have not had the pleasure of swimming for quite some time... but it should come back to me right away."
Ttpa looked back at him over his shoulder. "You did not take some time while you were back home in Zelso?" he asked. "I thought you Zelsoans were all about the water."
Ryau's mind raced, was Ttpa testing him? "There is a lot of land in Zelso that is not seaside," Ryau replied. "I was not raised near a beach, just a cliff."
The Fieldmaster huffed and nodded. "True, true..." An explosion somewhere shook the structure, and Ttpa quickened his pace. "We are going to swim to the surface, Major, and cut off the Demon up there on the other side- Shou, with us."
Ryau cursed in his mind as the other Sangheili joined them; however he verbally acknowledged the plan with praise. "Good idea, Fieldmaster." They arrived at the pool of water, illuminated by blue lights somewhere in its depths. "Do we know how far it is to the surface?"
Ttpa holstered his Plasma rifle on his hip and dropped onto the first inner step of the water. "I am not sure; we could not see the water's edge from the corridors we walked. But this is our only choice. This will be a long swim; just do not get turned around down there, follow your bubbles. There is no time to waste." And with that, Ttpa dropped beneath the water's surface.
Ryau watched Shou disappear with the Fieldmaster. He was not completely sure if he was scared or just simply nervous. It was actually a bit embarrassing to think that he was scared of something he was so use to as a Human, and just being scared in general. "I guess this is just reawakening a lot of things that I tucked away..." he thought.
He took a few steps down into the moon pool, and then just dropped into the depths.
The water was cold, very cold. But it was fresh, and did not sting too bad when Ryau opened his eyes. He tried the first technique he remembered, but found that his feet did not provide as much leverage as they did before. Thankfully he was able to keep a positive climb thanks to brute force alone, though the heavy armor was no help at all. Light from the surface glittered above as Ryau pulled himself to the surface. It was going to be close, the air in his lungs was not going to last him much longer.
Ryau burst through the surface and circled around; Ttpa and Shou were not far up on shore.
"Took you long enough, Major," the Fieldmaster called. Ryau just waved his hand at them and swam ashore. Their path up to the top of the cliff was going to be a difficult climb. "Come brothers," Ttpa began to make his way up the rock face. "The Demon waits for no one."
Ryau sighed and began to climb beneath them. The rock was slick and handholds were few and far between, this was not an ideal location. However it looked like there was a platform not too far ahead. Gunfire and shouts echoed from above, the mangled body of a Kig-Yar fell from above and splashed into the water. The bark of a shotgun was extremely evident; the Spartan was already passing through on his way to the temple, killing anything in his path. They climbed up and prepared to climb over the platform, when a Pelican appeared and poked its nose out over the cliff edge.
"Get in the shadows! We cannot challenge that." Ttpa commanded over their headsets.
He pulled himself in, underneath a cluster of native grasses that Ryau did not recognize, and waited. The nose gun of the Pelican spun around, searching for potential targets, but it did not swing all the way around to sweep below the platform. The rock beneath Shou cracked and broke free, tumbling down to the beach below. Shou stumbled but held strong to the ledge he was gripping.
Thankfully, the Pelican pilots either did not notice or they just did not care to investigate the disturbance. The craft was content to drop off a few weapon pods and fly off back towards the towers. Actually climbing up onto the top off the landing was difficult, it was probably the hardest part of climbing the rock face. They had to use a vine cluster to scale the face perpendicular to the platform. But, by the time they reached the landing, the Spartan was already gone.
Bits of Yanme'e were scattered everywhere. Their thick green goop that filled the carapaces was splattered across rocks and stone blocks. The smell was atrocious. The dead Sangheili and Kig-Yar were mostly up at the top of the ridge. The fight continued on further into the ruins. Ttpa ignited his Energy sword and charged ahead.
The coms were ablaze with orders to get troops into the Demon's path. He was one last Gondola from the Prophets location. Every available Phantom was being used to recall the ground forces in the surrounding mountains. It sounded like chaos in Ryau's ear. The ruins in the next area were similarly decimated. Blood of multiple blue hues was splattered across the ancient paving stones.
Ryau strangely felt a pang of sorrow for the many Sangheili that lay dead or dying across this battlefield. He was not quite sure why that was. The Spartan's mission to assassinate the Prophet of Regret was something he wholeheartedly supported, but there was something in his head that wanted him to stop it. It was the same thing that had stopped him from feeling like he was surrounded by enemies in these Covenant occupied areas; what allowed him to sit with them and eat during meals, or sleep amongst them at night. If he truly thought back on it, those thoughts felt foreign, but less so over the last few months. It was concerning.
He slid to a stop alongside Ttpa at the end of the trail. The gondola was off, maybe a hundred meters away already, and with it, the Demon. Ryau could make out the green armored Spartan and a contingent of ODSTs fighting off a flight of Banshees that danced around the gondola like flies.
Ttpa holstered his Energy sword and shot a look to the skies. "Mako!" He shouted into the lance's private channel. "Get to our location immediately! We need transport."
The response came almost immediately, but it was not one that Ttpa wanted to hear. "It will take some time, Fieldmaster. I have been requisitioned to bring fresh reinforcements to the surface of the Ring..."
"Damn," Ttpa spat. He switched to the general comms channel. "Are there any transports available to pick up my lance and transport us to the Temple?"
"This is Operations handler 'Vtekee, no Phantoms are available at this time."
"I have the Demon in my sight. He is on the final gondola to the Hierarch, but we are unable to peruse." Ttpa said.
There was silence on the line for a few moments. "...You will be the first to know when one is in range."
"Understood." The Fieldmaster took his hand away from his transmitter and kicked a rock off the edge of the platform. "We almost had it!"
We did what we could, Fieldmaster," Shou said.
"But it was not enough, Shou." Ttpa put his hand out onto the Major's shoulder. "I fear that the Demon will accomplish its mission, it is inevitable."
Ryau sighed and shook his head. "Nothing went our way, the... Gods... were not in our favor today." He was trying to make it sound like he actually knew what he was talking about. It seemed to be working.
Ttpa solemnly nodded his head, "If that is so, then I wonder what has happened to make the Gods forsake us at this crucial moment in our Covenant... but keep that belief to yourself when around others, that treads on heresy."
"Oh, of course," Ryau replied, "My mistake." Not just yet, the time was not right.
They watched and waited as the gondola carrying the Spartan and his ODST complement made landfall on the temple in the middle of the lake. It was quite a distance away, but Ryau could make out the whooshing sound from the SPNKr rockets sailing through the sky.
Though the sounds of battle were suddenly overpowered by a mighty whoop, and the crashing sound of a slipspace rupture; and then another, and another. The sound was just repeating as hundreds, no thousands, of ships appeared in the skies above the Ring. A massive structure appeared in the space behind the fleets, High Charity had arrived.
"By the Prophets, it's the Holy City!" Shou exclaimed. "We might be able to stop the Demon after all!"
Ttpa had a pair of what looked like binoculars and he looked away from the battle across the lake to look into the sky. "The Hierarchs guard is barely holding, but they are holding. You may be right..."
At that moment, a Phantom rose from behind their position, cresting over the cliff edge. Mako, their pilot came over their communications headsets. "Fieldmaster, I am very full but if you want on, now is the time."
The Phantom activated its grav-lift over an open portion of the gondola dock, clear of any loose rubble. The Fieldmaster turned and ran into the lift, being whisked away into the belly of the transport. Ryau and Shou followed, one after another and the craft streaked for the temple.
Mako was not lying when he said he was full, the transport was packed with Unggoy and Kig-Yar, standing room only. They had to push through to reach the Phantom's cockpit, which was tricky with the consistent shaking. Ryau could see that they were coming up on the gondola platform when Mako brought his head back in surprise or confusion.
"What!?" He spat. "Fieldmaster, I am being ordered to wave off!"
"What are they thinking?! That is absurd. Ignore it and proceed," Ttpa ordered.
The pilot eased back on the controls, either to stop or slow for their approach to the temple. "This order is coming directly from the Prophet of Truth! We must comply."
"Do it! Gods, what is happening here?" Ttpa scanned the other computer readouts. "Are any of the other Phantoms closing in?"
"Negative, Fieldmaster. This is a general order to all craft in the area; return to home or nearest vessels immediately." Mako pulled off and did a flyby of the temple, bringing them around back to the Solemn Penance.
"Where are the others, Mako, the rest of my lance?" Ttpa sighed and rubbed his eyes. "This entire operation is a mess."
"I believe they were picked up by Ferro-Seven-Seven and brought back to the ship when this situation worsened." Mako replied.
Ryau watched one of the camera views and spied a flicker of energy from the Carrier's ventral cannon. "Look." He pointed to the screen. "They're about to open fire."
"With the Prophet inside?!" Shou glanced around at the others.
The Carrier fired, a bright beam of blue-white light erupted from the bottom of the ship. The Phantoms cameras dimmed automatically to allow them to actually view the event. The ultra-hot plasma beam bathed the temple in fire. Licks and wisps of energy danced across the surface where they beam had not yet touched directly, incinerating anything in its path. It only fired for a few seconds.
When the beam shut off, there was nothing left of the core of the Temple. The supports glowed white hot and a massive column of steam rose up into the sky. What was still standing began to collapse into the churning, boiling waters, leaving nothing standing where it had been minutes earlier.
"Nothing could have survived that... nothing." Ttpa whispered.
The chatter in the back of the Phantom had grown silent. No one spoke again until they docked with the ship. Ryau understood why, while the Covenant may have killed the Demon, they had also lost one of their holy leaders. A Hierarch was dead.
However, that silence was not lasting. When the ship latched with the Solemn Penance the shock of the situation had worn off. The Unggoy and Kig-Yar chattered to themselves and general radio traffic picked back up.
Mako looked back at the Fieldmaster and nodded to the underlings in the hold. "I am being told to let these file off here and then we are being sent to the Holy City for a time of rest."
"Very well... it has been a very trying time for all," Ttpa replied. "We can all use a rest, now that the Great Journey is nigh."
Mako nodded and released the side doors, allowing the ground troops to disembark. Ryau leaned against the bulkhead and looked out at the lake beyond the hangar. Things were far from calming down. He was not sure when, or exactly how everything falls apart, but it will; very soon.
Hopefully he'll make it through the coming storm.