May 8, 3350, 1007 hours, RN Vengeful Black, Crew Quarters
Kitha dropped her backpack beside her bunk before taking the time to place her belongings inside the built-in storage compartment like everyone else around her.
The environment was filled with excitement and tension among her comrades of the 94th Ascetic Regiment. They've been briefed about their new major assault an hour ago, a coordinated attack against a possibly Rahkoan-occupied shield world. A shield world that wasn't found in any Forerunner records.
What they did know was that the shield world was constructed around the time of the Forerunner-Flood War, which got many of them on edge.
Because shield worlds constructed around those times meant one thing: possibility of Flood infestation.
Everyone in the galaxy knew how horrifying the parasite could be. The utter nightmare they brought towards the Milky Way for not just once, but twice.
She and her fellow brothers and sisters weren't born during the time but they've all studied the documentations of the Galactic Flood Invasion. Or to the Forerunners, the Second Flood War.
Kitha couldn't stop thinking about everything she studied about that time period. A time period when the Flood was at its strongest, far stronger when they fought against the Forerunners. A time period when the Flood almost consumed the galaxy in an unending nightmare. A time period when the galaxy almost died.
Kitha took a moment to get those thoughts out of her mind. As a Chief Warrant Officer, she must maintain an air of confidence and sense of control to her fellow brothers and sisters.
After she finished sorting her belongings in the compartment, Kitha laid inside her bunk and watched her other Sangheili comrades continue to get acquainted with their new quarters.
They were all part of the Ascetics, an elite military force that had a rich presence in Sangheili culture and history. They weren't considered the best fighters in the galaxy by any means but they were still astounding by their own rights. Not every Sangheili could be fit to join the Ascetics but that doesn't stop anyone from trying. And to those that succeeded become welcomed into a great brotherhood of warriors.
This invitation was open to other races as well. Despite the Ascetics being Sangheili-oriented, it wasn't too uncommon for other species to become accepted as long as they proved themselves. However, the number of non-Sangheili tend to be small.
Kitha was watching a non-Sangheili Ascetic, right now.
Just a few bunks away from her was Corey, a sapient mech and one of the 100 non-Sangheili in her regiment. He's been an Ascetic for two decades already, and has been well established with everyone else.
Not a lot was known about his life before the military but they managed to get some things out of him. From what they learned, he was built by humans to protect financial assets, gained sapience one day, punched his manager, and decided to enlist.
. . . That was all they could get out of him.
Corey closed his storage compartment and stood up, his height nearly that of a male Sangheili. The structure of his body was round and robust covered in scratches and faded burns, he often joked about them as being his war scars.
Kitha remembered how so many humans in the MWR would compare him to mech from Star Wars called K2-SO. She never bothered to look into it so she didn't understand and neither did she care.
Corey turned to Kitha with a flask in hand and walked towards her.
"That better not be alcohol," Kitha warned with an annoyed look, receiving curious glances from the other Sangheili.
"I was trying to lighten the mood, and this is the thanks I get?"
"You got us all in trouble from the Field Master," she replied with a growl.
"An unfortunate day but it could've been far worse," Corey said quite jovially. "Really. I calculated it."
"Then what is it, Corey?"
"Something to alleviate some of the tension." Corey took the cap off his flask which allowed the hot steam to seep out. He held the flask closer towards Kitha, motioning her to take a sniff.
She complied and breathed in some of the steam, taking in the pleasant fragrant of herbs and flowers. It was a beautiful scent that actually put her mind and body at ease, briefly putting her in a calmer state of mind.
The realization kicked her, her eyes opened wide in excitement along with a smile that formed on her mandibles.
"Mahkas tea," Kitha nearly shouted in shock. This made everyone within ear shot look at them in surprise (mainly at Corey).
"What?!" Vorik 'Karoth immediately got on his feet and marched towards Corey.
"Is it really so?" Odell 'Thium followed suit along with six other Sangheili.
"Don't crowd around me," Corey warned to the group oncoming group, but they ignored it. He noticed that Vorik 'Karoth was preparing to swipe the flask out of his hand, and reacted by clenching it further to his side. "I wouldn't do that, Vorik. There's a high possibility you'll make me spill it, and no one here wants that."
Vorik let out an annoyed growl-like rumble before he slowly brought out an open palm. "Could I please see it?"
Corey responded by giving him the flask, which he quickly sniffed the steaming vapor flowing out of the opening.
"By the ancients, it really is!" Vorik said in utter bewilderment and passed it to Odell.
"There is no mistaking it, this is actual mahkas," commented Odell after taking a whiff, and then proceeded to pass it to the other Sangheili.
"Be careful with that," Corey cautioned as he watched everyone passing around the flask.
"Where did you get this?" Vorik asked with rising suspicion.
Kitha brought herself to sit upright as she gave Corey a cautious look. "And how did you get it? Like every other expensive drink you snuck with you."
"It's never sneaking if all of the items were bought fairly," Corey answered matter-o-factly.
"The bottle of famous human wine."
"You're never going to let that down, will you? And this is tea we're talking about here, perfectly fine to drink on a naval vessel."
"Expensive tea," Odell clarified. "This flask could be worth 50,000 credits."
"Good. Then it will make this a special occasion."
"Brothers! Look over here!" shouted a Sangheili away from the group.
He was Guthras, one of the youngest members of the regiment. He was kneeling in front of Corey's storage compartment, which he opened and was searching through his things.
"Guthras, what did I tell you about. . .! Oh forget it." Corey slumped, irritably. "You're already ignoring me."
The young Sangheili brought three more flasks from the compartment and held them high for all to see.
"These are all full of mahkas! And that's not the end of it." Guthras put the metal cylinders beside him and went back to sifting through the storage compartment. A moment later, he brought out a large handful of tea bags that widened the eyes of every Ascetic in utter surprise.
Not even Kitha could hide her shock as she got up from her bunk and stared at Guthras with wide eyes.
Mahkas was more than just simple tea to her people, it was a legendary extension of Sangheili culture. Throughout her species' history, way before the Covenant even, mahkas was viewed as something to instantly cleanse minds and rejuvenate souls. However, these myths had been debunked for centuries, but that didn't decrease the tea's value.
Mahkas tea came from a dried flower of which it was named from. In ancient Sangheili times, it would be served only to the kaidons and their most respected warriors. For centuries this tea would be famous for not only its health benefits but for its relaxation effect of the mind, bringing force a sense of tranquility and focus to a stressed conscious.
And it was indeed delicious.
A significant reason why the tea was this expensive was because mahkas flowers had to go through a complicated series of harvesting and drying. While new technologies had helped make these processes less arduous with increased yields, cultivation of the plants was still difficult, especially with producers wanting to maintain the teas' famously high quality.
Kitha remembered her time as a child during the Week of Survival, dancing and cheering with the other Sangheili children in her keep. The adults were either supervising them, chatted, meditated, or had their own fun during the festivities.
The week long holiday was meant to celebrate the end of the Second Flood War and commemorate the trillions upon trillions of souls who died horribly during that time. It was to remind them how the galaxy was nearly devoured in abominable horror, how so many people back then fought so hard and suffered to grant them a tomorrow.
She remembered when they received a large cart from their neighboring keeps which were filled with an assortment of meats, alcoholic beverages for the adults, and mahkas tea bags.
It was her first time drinking mahkas and it turned into an unforgettable experience. And it taking place during one the most famous galactic holidays further increased its personal value.
"Corey. . ." Kitha looked at him with rising suspicion. "How did you get all of that mahkas?"
"And what are you going to use it for?" Vorik asked in astonishment.
"It's all meant for you and whatever amount I could share with the regiment," Corey answered.
"There's not enough here for all of the Ascetics," Guthras called out as he put all of the tea bags back into the compartment.
"Not unless everyone takes very small sips," Corey replied with an obvious hint of sarcasm, but returned to being more serious. "But, no, there really isn't enough for everyone."
"We're getting off topic," said Kitha, bringing back all attention on her. "Again, how and where did you get all of that mahkas?"
Corey did not hesitate to answer, "I met someone from the 'Roan clan on vacation."
"How did you manage to gain entry to any of the 'Roan keeps?" Odell asked.
"I didn't meet him anywhere near their territories, we bumped into each other in Reach," Corey explained. "He almost got into an accident and I, well, pulled him away from it just in time."
"You saved the life of a Sangheili who's from one of the most affluent clan names known for mahkas production?" Kitha asked.
"I didn't know anything about the 'Raon clan, beforehand. And I wouldn't say I saved his life, but I did prevent him from possibly losing his legs."
All of the other Ascetics merely exchanged glances between one another, not saying a single word but watch Corey.
"How long ago was this?" Kitha asked
"Two months ago," Corey answered, nonchalantly.
"And you didn't tell anyone about it?"
"Nope."
"Why?"
"Low calculated chance any of you would believe me. So I didn't bother."
"Except now."
"What?"
"You calculated the chances to reveal this now would be very high. That is why you're revealing all of this," Kitha hypothesized.
Corey remained quiet for a moment, his mechanical eyes looking up and down her body.
Kitha didn't show it but she was getting annoyed. There wasn't much body language being displayed from the mech, no defining facial features to read, absolutely nothing for her to gain any understanding to what he's thinking.
"That explanation is just absurd," Corey replied. "I brought up the tea to help calm you all down and boost morale. Not to incite this drama."
"Did you really expect none of us would be suspicious of you bringing mahkas aboard?" Odell asked curiously, but there was no anger or sternness.
"I expected you to be surprised and then just take the bloody tea."
"Did you get all of it from your friend from 'Roan?" Vorik asked.
"I did, actually." Corey nodded. "After the briefing, I found out he was on Trinity for a business trip. I called him and asked if he had some mahkas to spare for the 'hard-fighting Ascetics' and he gladly had those couriered to me."
"That's it?"
"That's it," Corey answered somewhat cheerful.
"All of this is for us?" Kitha spoke up.
"All of you can share one flask and one bag per person. I want to even these out to as much of the regiment as I could."
"You better start now, then." Kitha shifted her head towards Guthras, who was still at the far back. "Help him by putting the mahkas back in his backpack."
"Leave out eight of them for everyone here," Corey added.
Guthras just nodded and he went to doing what they told him to do.
Once the young Sangheili finished, Corey walked up to him and took the backpack as he made his way towards the exit.
"Don't forget to give one to the General," Kitha said loudly as Corey stopped right in front of the doors.
The mech turned around to look at Kitha (along at everyone else). "I won't. That would be bad mistake." He turned back around and left, the automatic doors closing right behind him.
Guthras walked towards the rest of the Sangheili that still stood in front of Kitha, and began passing a tea bag to everyone.
"First it was those lavish human wines, now it's mahkas," Vorik said in disbelief while looking at both the flash and the tea bag in his hands.
"And he saved the life of a member from 'Roam," Odell added.
"Remember when he brought in that baby kangaroo last year?" asked a different Ascetic in the group, M'thro.
"Corey is just full of surprises." Kitha moved closer to the group which garnered their attention. She then looked at the flask in Vorik's hand. "Alright everyone, grab a cup and start passing around the mahkas. The fleet won't be ready for some time, let's enjoy the time while we have it."
Everyone in front of her agreed and walked to their bunks to put away their tea bags and find anything that could be used for cups. When that was over, they gathered in the middle of the room, evenly distributing the tea amongst each other and then drank it.
They were all enjoying it. Some of them let out sighs of relief as they felt their tensions built up in their minds seeped away and replaced with a tranquil calm. The combined aromas from all of their cups began to fill the room, further relaxing them.
Kitha took another sip from her cup, the soothing taste of the mahkas brought back more good memories that put her in a better state of mind. It was a wonderful feeling that she and her fellow warriors would never take for granted. The sense of tranquility and the taste of a beloved tea by her species.
"Everyone, give me your cups. There's still enough for one more round," Vorik said, and everybody complied almost immediately.
Kitha was the last to react as she just looked at her brothers in arms with the Sangheili equivalent of a smile. Seeing all of the joy on their faces made her feel good inside, something she was also taught not take for granted.
Once everyone else got their refills, she brought out her cup and eagerly waited for hers.
With how important the next engagement would be, this could possibly be their last time doing something like this. And none of them were going to waste it.
Matoaba Airbase, Spartan Armory B
Maintenance drones flew around Calem as he stood atop a round podium, performing scans and diagnosing his armor's systems.
His fellow Demon, Luca-35019, stood some meters away; arms crossed and his back slumped against the wall and simply watched.
It's already been some time since the rest of the Demons arrived. They redid the briefing to ensure everybody was up to speed, nothing new to Calem. What was new was that everyone pitched in different ideas and strategies to complete their objectives more effectively. It was a set of discussions that almost took an hour but it ended with some new tactics being accepted while others were rejected for not seeming practical to the situation.
Once the briefing ended, he and Luca went to one of the Spartan armories to have their MJOLNIRs analyzed for anomalies.
They were both wearing GEN6 MJOLNIR like all Spartans with the exception of their colored black.
Luca wore the whole body variant for EOD as he had extensive experience with explosives. However, he chose the Wrath helmet over the traditional EOD helmet as he preferred the larger field of vision it offered.
Calem wore the Standard variant of the armor as he liked how it was good for a little bit of everything. It wasn't spectacular for anything too specific but it was reliable, durable, and it still got the job done. And Calem's wasn't the kind of person to transition to a completely different set of armor so easily.
Like many Spartans and Demons, he grew attached to his MJOLNIR. He wore it so long, it became an extension of his own body. There had been times he would wear different variants because the mission would demand it, or just stop wearing it while on vacation or seeing family. Besides all of that, he would always get back to wearing his Standard MJOLNIR because it was his very first set of armor, it was like another set of skin to him.
And he personally loved the look. He'd admit he was a sucker the iconic Mark VI (or GEN3) appearance.
"Diagnosis complete. Everything is fully operational, Demon. You are free to go," said one of the maintenance drones as it hovered in front of Calem's visor.
"Thank you." And with that, all of the drones flew away to check on the equipment within the armory.
"Is there anything else you need to do?" Luca asked as he walked towards him.
"No. How about you?"
"Nein. Let's to get to the ship."
"Alrighty then."
After that being said, the two Demons walked side by side and left the armory.
Author's Notes: New chapter is done! Whoo! A lot shorter than the first one, though I try to keep a word count of at least 3,000 words (make it longer if I could).
Again, nothing huge happens here. It's more about getting to know the characters and implement some world building, slowly getting the feel for it. The next chapter I plan to have more exciting things happen. Like combat and finally showing the appearing of the Rahkoans!
Also, thank you guys very much for following and faving this fic! You guys don't what it's like for me to check my emails only to see the notifications of people taking the time read, follow, or favorite this thing! Really guys, thank you.
And please leave a review and let me know what you think. I really do like reading reviews. Please don't go too tough on me, I'm still getting into the groove of typing fanfiction.
On a last note, I don't know when I'll get the third chapter out; it could be a while. I have mid-terms in college I have to deal with along with family obligations. I won't have plenty of free time to write, thought I'll try to put in some words here-and-there. Again, it'll be some time before I get the third chapter out.
Thank you all again for reading! You all have a nice day and enjoy these new CODEX ENTRIES.
PS: I'm not gonna lie here, everyone: I went pretty lazy on this. This fic was a very old project of mine from highschool that I quit for a time and began doing a complete overhaul. The Codex Entry is directly from the old original chapter that I just copy and pasted here and done a few changes; so it's going to look a tad. . . off
I tried rewriting everything about the technologies but I ended up getting way too stressed about it. I probably won't do these as much, however, I do want to get into the habit of it.
Milky Way Republic Codex:
DG119-TC/G Garuda: Being the successors of the old UNSC Pelican, Covenant Phantoms and various Forerunner gunships, Garudas were made with the designs, specifications and technologies of all races. They've been implemented by pieces of ancient human technologies that were discovered in many excavations, mixed with the MWR's current level of technology.
All of these factors made the combat and transporting capabilities of the Garuda efficient and devastating. They're able to carry a larger sum of troops than a Phantom, while still possessing room for additional supplies. If need be, the cargo holds of the dropships could be turned into an expanded section of the troop bay, giving them the capability to transport even more personnel, if the need for it ever arose.
The dropships themselves possess a deadly array of weapons that use plasma, lasers, hardlight, or ballistic rounds. Of course, they were also armed with missile launchers, whenever the use of devastating firepower should be needed in a combat scenario. Also, a Garuda contained strong layers of armor and energy shielding that were durable enough to shrug heavy fire, lessening damage to the overall craft and protecting its occupants, while the metals' composition being modified to not put any heavy weight that would hamper its speed or maneuverability.
Due to this dropship's combat capabilities, a gunship variant was never needed to be produced as the current design for the troop carrier had the armaments to fit that role (TC/G stood for Troop Carrier/Gunship).
Standard Plasma Assault Rifle: The standard-issued weapon assigned to many servicemen in all branches of the military.
Twenty-five feet in length and designed to be remarkably easy to handle, this plasma rifle would be the very first weapon that almost every recruit will be appointed by the military after basic training. Being a direct energy weapon, it fired strong bolts of ionized, superheated plasma that could severely damage an opponent's energy shields and burn through multiple layers of thick armor. SPARs could fire sixty-four of these bolts before the power cell's energy supply becomes drained. This kind of rifle was made with two barrels, capable of simultaneously firing two plasma bolts whenever the trigger was pulled, each paired shot only costs one percent of energy from the weapon's power cells. The small cells that were built into almost every kind of energy weapon in the MWR Military were self-rechargeable, and would near-instantly replenish the energy that was lost after a brief recharge period.
Civilian Personal Armor: After the Forerunners' return to the Milky Way galaxy the use of advance personal armor systems became high in demand and mandatory in almost every planet in the Republic (especially during the Second Flood War). Though not possessing as much offensive and defensive capabilities as the suits or combat skins made for military personnel; civilian variants still had immense durability to defend the wearer from a multitude array of dangerous attacks and hazardous situations. The armor's endurance was further increased by energy shields installed into the suit's systems.
Another important feature that the civilian variant held was its room for customization; like many sets of combat armor in the military, the designs of the suit were made to allow the wearer to modify and install an immeasurable variety of hardware or software to suit their own preference.
However, it should be noted that while civilian personal armor was indeed made to help people survive the harshest of environments and even combat to some degree; it was never meant to be suit used for war. No matter how much somebody equips their personal armor with modifications to be used as impromptu weapons, which was illegal in most circumstances; the suit was never meant to be aggressively used in warfare. It has, and always, been made to provide civilians maximum amounts of protection from those situations, never meant to equip them to actively engage in combat.