Nar Hekka
Four hours after Ben's departure…
Ben sat in the pilot's chair as he guided the Flying Fortress towards the debris field above Nar Hekka. The shower and nap had cheered him up, and he seemed to slightly bounce in his seat as he flew.
"We'll be in the debris field in thirty seconds." Ed informed, appearing on his holoprojector.
"Anything on the scanners?" Ben asked.
"The debris field makes it difficult to detect anything, so no." Ed said.
"Lovely, looks like we're going in blind." Ben said, rolling his eyes. "Keep an eye out for any power spikes."
"Power spikes?" Ed asked. "What, like a MAC powering up?" Ben nodded. "You think they'd waste a MAC on a freighter?"
"We don't know how long the UNSC has been out here, or what they've encountered in their time here, so it's best to be cautious." Ben said. And with that, he guided the Flying Fortress into the debris field. The remains of various ships floated in space, twirling aimlessly in the vast darkness. Ben slowed the ship to avoid damage, and to take more thorough readings on the debris.
"The oldest debris in this field are Hutt patrol ships, and everything after that are little more than salvage ships or personal starships. Curious explorers no doubt." Ed said.
"Curiosity killed the cat." Ben said. And there it was, a small power spike.
"Power spike detected at the edge of the debris field." Ed reported.
"Excellent, raise the colors, Ed!" Ben said. "Raising the colors" as Ben put it meant activating the UNSC IFF tag installed on the ship. It remained off when it was not needed, mainly to avoid undue attention…or Covenant ships. As soon as the IFF was activated, the power spike disappeared. A moment later, Ben answered an incoming called.
"This is the UNSC Leyte Gulf to the Flying Fortress, identify yourself!" The captain of the Leyte Gulf demanded.
"This is Ben Vantress, formerly of the UNSC planet Sentinel's Watch, captain. I come in peace and I want to talk." Ben answered. There was a pause before the response.
"Sending a course for you to dock with us, Flying Fortress. It's nice to see a friendly face." The captain said.
"Believe me, Leyte Gulf, you'll be seeing more friendly faces soon." Ben answered cheerfully. He guided the Flying Fortress along the course provided for him, exited the debris field, and he gaped at what he saw. There thirteen ships in total: one Epoch-class carrier, two Halberd-class destroyers, and eight Paris-class frigates, one of which had sustained what looked like turbolaser damage recently. But it was the thirteenth ship that caused the gape; a massive, blocky ship with numerous attachments to the sides of it. It wasn't a warship, that was for sure. "Ed?"
"I've got nothing on that ship." Ed answered.
"We'll find out once we arrive." Ben said. He flew towards the Leyte Gulf, the Epoch-class carrier, as it hung just beside the massive ship. The ship's name, the UNSC Carnegie was plastered in blocky letters across the side. "This thing must've been an experimental project for the UNSC back home; it could be a new colony ship."
"No. What scanning I've done on it suggests it has a very large amount of raw and processed materials on board." Ed observed. "It could be ship-borne factory."
"Interesting." Ben said. He flew the Flying Fortress into one of the Leyte Gulf's side hangars and landed. As he landed, several squads of ODSTs appeared, led by two massive soldiers. "Who the hell are they?" Ben asked as he landed.
"I've got nothing again." Ed said.
"Can you be any less useful?" Ben jabbed as he unplugged Ed from the ship and into his neck. Once he felt Ed's cooling presence in his brain, he left the ship. He wore part of his combat uniform, primarily the UNSC plate for his torso and shoulders, and kept his two lightsabers on his belt. As the ramp descended, he walked down it with his hands in the air. Once he had come off the ramp, a trio of ODSTs approached him, weapons held steadily at him.
"Keep those hands where we can see them." The lead one ordered. Ben did so as the other two searched him for anything that may be cause for concern. One of the two big soldiers approached and inspected him.
"You're a Jedi." The soldier said, pointing to the lightsabers. Ben sighed.
"Technically I'm not, but if it makes your day easier, sure." He replied. "I'm guessing you're Tano's friends?"
"That depends, are you one of her's?" The soldier asked as the ODSTs stepped away with Ben's lightsabers. Ben shrugged.
"She trusted me enough to tell me where her friends got pinged from. I just went where she told me to." He replied. The soldier nodded and motioned for another ODST to approach.
"Is it him?" He asked the ODST. The fourth ODST looked Ben up and down.
"Do you have any family?" The ODST asked. Ben narrowed his eyes.
"Before Sentinel's Watch or after?" He asked.
"After." The ODST answered.
"My parents died when the Covenant attacked, and I got split from my two brothers, Jack and Kyle during the evacuation of the planet." Ben replied. The ODST pulled a photograph from a pouch pocket and held it up. Ben's eyes flicked over the photo and widened. It was his family. "No…" The ODST pulled the helmet off, revealing the middle child of the family, Kyle. "No way this is happening…there's no way." After what felt like an hour of just staring, Kyle stepped forward and hugged his younger brother. "Can I put my hands down now?" The other ODSTs chuckled and walked away, leaving the lightsabers with the big soldier.
"Hey bro." Kyle said as Ben returned the hug.
"How did you get here?" He asked. Kyle pulled away a shook his head.
"We don't know, but we're here now. And at least I found you." He said happily.
"And look at you!" Ben said, slapping his brother's armor. "A damn ODST! How'd that happen?" The pair laughed as the big soldier cleared his throat, offering the lightsabers back to Ben. "Second question: who the hell and what the hell are you?"
"He's my boss." Kyle said. "Spartan B-001." 01 nodded.
"What'd ONI feed you?" Ben asked. "There's no way the Navy or the Army came up with you." 01 nodded.
"They fed me with plenty of Covenant." The Spartan joked. Ben smirked as he looked back to Kyle.
"So, what now?" He asked.
"The commodore wants to see you." Kyle said, placing his helmet back on and gesturing for Ben to follow. "He's hoping you have good news for us."
"Oh, do I." Ben said knowingly. The walks and elevator rides were filled with conversation on what the two had been doing in their time apart, while the Spartan remained silent and listened. As they arrived at the conference room, Kyle split off from Ben and the Spartan, allowing them entrance into the room. Inside, the captains of the UNSC ships all stood to greet Ben, thirteen men in total.
"Mr. Vantress, I assume?" Said an older man who bore the rank of commodore on his chest.
"Yes, and you are?" Ben asked, extending a hand.
"Commodore Jeremiah Vern, glad see another friendly face." Vern said, taking Ben's hand and shaking it.
"It's good to find more of us out here." Ben said. "Now, I have to ask, what's the deal with the Carnegie?"
"That's classified." Vern answered, causing Ben to sigh.
"Do you have an AI on board?" He asked, pulling Ed from his slot.
"We do, why?" Vern asked. The AI appeared in the center of the table, a man dressed as an engineer.
"AI Howard, at your service." Howard greeted.
"Excellent, is there room for one more?" Ben asked. Howard narrowed his eyes.
"Possibly." Howard said, and Ben inserted Ed into a slot on the table. A moment later, Ed appeared next to Howard, extending a hand, a physical representation of an AI handshake protocol. Howard took it and shook.
"We're friends now." Ed said.
"Commodore, Mr. Vantress has the necessary clearance." Howard reported. Vern narrowed his eyes at Ben.
"What exactly are you, Mr. Vantress?" Vern asked, suspicious. Ben sighed again.
"Nobility in one corner of the galaxy, and to UNSC refugees, I use the title of 'director'." Ben said. "I basically took over a system or two to provide security for UNSC refugees." Vern crossed his arms.
"And the title of director?" He asked.
"I can explain that." Ed chimed in. "The title of director was granted to Ben three years ago by Rear-Admiral John Ellison before he had secured his place in the Free Dynasty systems; a collection of systems owned by a self-proclaimed royal family that grants power to those they believe would serve them best. Ben is to direct UNSC refugees to his systems and to the Nidus system from which he came and integrate them into galactic society. He was chosen based upon his affinity to the galactic 'energy flow' called the Force, his membership of a galactic warrior society, and his ability to…commune with the planet of Nidus. Shortly after, Ben was granted the title of Lord after defeating the previous lord of the Free Hold systems in a series of challenges and has since established new population centers and shipyards for UNSC refugees. He is also the director of Freemen Systems and Ships Engineering, a UNSC created company to integrate our technology with technology of this galaxy." Ed smiled. "And he's only twenty."
"You forgot the mercenary part." Ben said. Ed shrugged.
"Bonus material." The AI replied. The collected officers all stared at the twenty-year-old before them, wondering how he had achieved so much.
"Define 'commune'." Vern said.
"Ah, that." Ben said. "So, the Force is technically a living entity, like God but his prophets have telekinetic powers, can manipulate nature, and can enhance their own abilities, to name a few. The planet Nidus is a Force nexus, meaning it's a place where the Force is very, very strong and very active, and as such the planet's ecosystem can be considered…self-aware. On that planet, I am the only 'prophet' of the Force and so I can talk to the ecosystem."
"And why do you need to…talk to the planet?" Vern asked.
"Because it doesn't like its plants and trees being uprooted by strangers." Ben answered. "Kinda like how we don't like the Covenant glassing our planets, but at least I can talk to the planet and make it see reason."
"And how is it you are the only one who can do this?" Vern pressed.
"I'm the only one of the UNSC refugees that's Force-sensitive." Ben explained. "The only thing the planet can talk to is a Force-sensitive, hence me. It really doesn't help a five-year old's development to be the only thing capable of talking to a strange planet."
"So what, you expect us to obey your orders?" Vern asked. "I have an asset to protect here."
"No, but you should probably listen to a rear-admiral's orders." Ben said. "Hit it, Ed." Ed's image disappeared and was replaced by that of Rear-Admiral John Ellison, a black man with a mustache and short dark hair.
"To any UNSC forces receiving this message, I am Rear-Admiral John Ellison. Like you, I have been stranded in this strange galaxy, where we know nothing and no-one. However, we have found refuge in what we call the Nidus system; a nest from where we can sprout wings and fly once more, away from the Covenant and galactic politics. To aide in our growth and development, I have appointed Benjamin Vantress, one of us who has been gifted with abilities not of our own galaxy, as Director. You are to listen and obey his orders, as he has the most experience in this galaxy and will aid us in our development. He will give you the coordinates for our system and will help facilitate your integration into this new galaxy. If you have not met Director Vantress and are viewing this message in some other way, you are ordered to hold in place, but spread word to any star-farers so that they can spread this message. In that time, I must advise caution; elements of the Covenant, like us, have become stranded in this new galaxy, and will relentlessly pursue the mission of their religion: to wipe out humanity. The Cole-Protocol is still in effect; we cannot allow them the ability to find Earth, or our colonies, if they manage to return to our galaxy. I hope to see you all soon, Rear-Admiral Ellison, out." Ed reappeared as the message finished. Ben cleared his throat.
"Whatever orders you had previously are null and void; they don't matter now. What matters is the survival and eventual reestablishment of the UNSC as a power in this galaxy, and we need everyone we can get." He said. "That includes you and your battlegroup, Commodore." Vern sighed. "So, I need to know what the Carnegie is, so I can figure out how I can integrate it into the systems already in place,"
"The UNSC Carnegie is an experimental production ship that can, once safe harbor is found, be rebuilt as a production station. HIGHCOM ordered my group to deploy it in a system that was previously found rich in raw material and to defend it at all costs." Vern explained. Ben nodded.
"Ed, how would that work with FSSE?" He asked.
"We would need the Qillo system for it to work." Ed answered. "If we established mining operations there, the Carnegie could set up shop there and produce UNSC tech and whatever the FSSE needs." He smiled down at Vern. "You can still accomplish your mission, Commodore." Vern nodded.
"Not all the ships are under my command, we have two ships in an ONI task force." He said, stepping aside for two other captains. "Captain Alexander Wright and Captain William McIrvin are a part of the Hidden Cities group; basically, three stealth enabled Paris-class frigates." Ben's eyebrows climbed up his forehead.
"Stealth enabled?" He asked.
"Visual and systems stealth." One of the captains said, Captain Wright.
"Aye, sneaky bastards they are." Captain McIrvin chimed in with a thick Scottish accent.
"Where's the third one?" Ben asked. The two captains shrugged.
"We were all separated when we arrived in this galaxy; McIrvin and I only just found each other when I arrived in system." Wright explained. Ben nodded.
"I think there's one more item on the agenda before I can send you to Nidus." Ben said, sighing. "The Covenant."
"We know about them." Wright said. Ben looked confused.
"How?" Wright looked at the Spartan, who nodded.
"We…encountered an Elite who has discovered that the entire Human-Covenant War is built upon a lie." 01 explained. Ben blinked.
"Uh…what?"
"Doesn't matter; what matters is we have an Elite on our side who's given us basic info on the Covenant itself." Wright said.
"Did he come from the Corner?" Ben asked.
"The Corner?"
"The Corner is a region of space where the Covenant have established themselves." Ben explained. Ed displayed an image of the galaxy and highlighted a small cluster of stars, painting a purple hue over it. "They're here, and Nidus is over here." Ed highlighted another cluster of stars on the opposite side of the galaxy. "And so far, the Covenant has remained in their little corner…until about a month ago. The station I have out there detected an uptick in Slipspace distortions, meaning the Covenant were sending out scouts." Brim shook his long head.
"At last check, the Covenant had about fifty ships in the Corner, one of which was an assault carrier." He said. "They are here in force."
"So, what do we do?" Vern asked.
"You will take your task force and go to the Free Hold systems, and from there I can direct you to the Nidus system. From there, we'll integrate you and your crews where they need to be." Ben answered. Vern and the captains all nodded.
"Sir?" 01 spoke up.
"Yes, Spartan?" Vern replied.
"With your permission, I'd like to take Spartan 1-5 and a squad of each of our units with Director Vantress. It is my strategic assessment that by going with him, we can gather intel on this new galaxy better than we could if we waited until after integration." 01 requested. Vern considered the request.
"Director, is that alright with you?" He asked. Ben considered it for a moment before nodding.
"Tell whoever you bring I have limited sleeping options on board, so they better bring sleeping supplies." Ben said. 01 nodded and left the conference room. "Believe me when I say that myself and the rest of the UNSC refugees will be extremely happy to see you in our skies." He shook the hands of the captains. "It'll take you about a month of Slipspace time to arrive, but we'll have the welcome mat well prepared and the red carpet thrown out for your arrival. I spare no expense when we find more of our lost comrades."
"Thank you, Director, it'll be nice to go to sleep without fear of alien ships attacking for once." Vern said. Ben smiled.
"And to Captains Wright and McIrvin, if I hear anything about a single Paris-class with stealth capabilities, I will inform you straight away." Ben said. "In the meantime, safe travels gentlemen. I believe Ed will leave you with the coordinates?"
"Ed has already uploaded them to the me." Howard said. And with that, Ben removed Ed from the systems, said goodbye one last time, and left. As he made his way back down to the hangar bay, Ben felt a wave of satisfaction roll over him. Bring his brothers and sisters in the UNSC to safety was a very satisfying and relieving experience, one that brought joy and a new set of problems to deal with. But he pushed the problems to the back of his mind as he strode into the hangar bay…and almost had a heart attack. For helping the ODSTs and Spartans load crates onto the Flying Fortress was a Spec-Ops Elite with a Ranger helmet. His armor was colored black with white bones and the Ranger helmet was a depiction of his skull.
"I'm sorry, when did we let the Elite version of the skull and crossbones flag onto UNSC ships?" Ed asked as Ben walked slowly down to his ship. 01 looked up, saw Ben, saw where his eyes were locked on, and quickly went over to him.
"Who the hell, what the hell, and why the hell?" Ben asked as the Spartan approached.
"That is Jauu Blava', we call him Grim." 01 explained. "He's the Elite we found."
"Okay, that explains who the hell, now what the hell is he doing loading onto my ship?"
"He's my responsibility; I found him, I convinced my captain to let him stay on, and hence he stays with me." 01 looked back at Grim. "And if why the hell is in reference to his armor, that's something my Reapers did." Ben looked between the ODSTs and Grim and understood.
"Unit solidarity?"
"Basically." 01 said. Jauu glanced over at the pair and approached.
"Oh, good lord it's coming over to me." Ben realized with a hint of terror in his voice.
"Grim, this is Ben Vantress, the captain of the ship we'll be on." 01 introduced. Jauu's head bowed slightly.
"Greetings, Captain Vantress."
"Uh, hi." Ben said, quickly correcting himself and extending a hand. Then he realized that Jauu had no idea what a handshake was. "It's a handshake; a way of greeting others." The Elite grasped Ben's hand and the human shook.
"Interesting." Jauu said.
"Not as interesting as this relationship will be." Ed said. "Excuse me while I go make some popcorn; this'll be a show well worth the comedy." Ben smiled at Jauu. If there was going to be an Elite, a friendly one at that, on his ship he might as well make the best of it. Before he could go any further with Jauu, the other Spartan approached.
"Spartan 1-5." He introduced and extended his hand. Ben took it and immediately felt the super soldier squeezing his hand. He smirked as he gathered the Force around him, concentrated it into his hand, and returned the squeeze. "Huh, so Jedi can enhance themselves with their…life force?" Ben laughed.
"Force users can enhance their physical abilities for a short time yes. And I'm not a Jedi."
"So what are you then?" Before Ben could answer, there was another interruption; this time a distinct CLANG from onboard the Flying Fortress. A pair of ODSTs with bones painted on their armor looked at each other.
"Did we bring Heavy and Mo?" Ben sprinted aboard his ship to find two floating squid…things messing with some of the panels.
"WHO THE HELL, WHAT THE HELL, WHY THE HELL?"