1300 hours, January 16th, 2543 (UNSC military calendar)
Orion-Class Carrier Carthage, In orbit of Covenant world: Zhoist.
"Probes are detecting no ships present in the system. We've caught them off guard" Commander Keyes said, looking at his instrumentation. He had just been assigned to his first Carrier posting, and was intent on rising through the ranks by performing his duty with distinction.
It still astounded him how quickly the war had turned. After the intervention of the Citadel, and the massed deployment of its fleets, the Covenant had been caught on a permanent back-foot. Thrown back again and again in the face of a superior strategic doctrine by the Coalition, which the Covenant had been unable to overpower as they had the UNSC alone.
He couldn't help but feel excited at the prospect of leading the first invasion of a Covenant world. As limited as it was. They would punch through the orbital defences, secure a spaceport, and steal everything of value before the Covenant organized a proper response. This would be the first time a UNSC Carrier was used to transport a Citadel force.
It irked Keyes that the UNSC's ODST ranks were so depleted that they had been pulled back to defensive deployments. But Keyes had grown to appreciate the fierce commitment to duty and service that the Turians practised. And the Asari and Salarian auxiliaries had quickly earned his trust by their valiant sacrifices at the Battle of Chi Rho.
That name kept coming back to him. Chi Rho. He still thought of that battle every time he slept. The casualties had been so extensive, and the carnage so bloody. He had been aboard one of the few Everest-Class heavy cruisers to survive the battle without damage and had seen the destruction of the Verdun Supercarrier. The sight of the radiation-cooked bodied as they were retrieved from the wrecked Supercarrier had turned his stomach.
Vice-Admiral Danford Whitcomb glanced at the console built into his chair. The powerfully built officer nodded vigorously, then addressed the bridge crew. "The Turians are ready to drop, and their Command staff is ready for action. Let's show our allies how a proper navy handles an orbital assault. Battle stations."
As the Carthage moved in for the assault, the rest of the fleet sprung into action. A hundred Turian cruisers broke off from the formation, organizing into individual strike forces that ranged ahead of the Carrier, searching for a threat to their charge. As they did, the four Halberd-Class destroyers took up their escort formation around the Carthage, providing the heavy firepower needed to finish off whoever the Turians attacked.
Targeting information was shared, and each Halberd-class was assigned a Turian formation to provide fire support to. Any Covenant ship that tried to stop them, would quickly find itself swarmed by Turian Cruisers, and finished off by a Destroyer the moment their shields dropped.
But when the fleet finally got a visual on Zhoist, there was no Covenant fleet waiting for them, instead, they were met by the sight of an entire continent ablaze, and the undeniable radiation signatures of destroyed reactors.
Keyes mouthed a curse in disbelief. The Covenant had glassed their own world? The idea was immediately stupefying for the Commander. He had never even considered the Covenant could have internal divisions. He had always thought of them as a single grotesque whole, unified in purpose. Just what the hell was going on here? He reported what he saw. "The destruction in the eastern hemisphere matches up with a low-intensity Covenant plasma bombardment."
His console suddenly flashed as the ship detected an incoming transmission. Keyes's eyes went wide as he saw the origin. It was coming from Zhoist!
"We are receiving a message from the planet. It is a dialect of the Elite language, interspersed with words from the Covenant's battle language. I am running translation software" Keyes worked as fast as he could, not wanting to miss even a single word of the transmission. His mind raced with the possibilities of what was going on. There was a brief pause before a translation played out over the speakers.
"This is [Unknown] Gral 'Vramee of the [Closest approximation: City] to the approaching ships. I wish to discuss [Closest approximation: mediated cessation of conflict] terms on behalf of my world."
There was a pause on the bridge as the crew stopped what they were doing at the utterly unimaginable event that had just transpired. The Covenant never talked, they never reached out, and they certainly never asked for diplomatic terms.
"Sir?" Keyes asked, turning around in his chair. "How should I respond?" He anxiously held his hands at the ready to prepare to input a response.
"I don't care." Whitcomb said resolutely. "They sowed the wind. And we are the whirlwind." He reached for a button on his command seat, opening a channel to the fleet. "All UNSC ships. The Covenant have never listened to our surrender requests. We will not listen to theirs. Begin a planet-wide nuclear bombardment. Target their population centres. This is for Harvest."
An eager and savagely dark atmosphere descended across the bridge as the order hit home. Some of the crew began to grin wickedly at the promise of the revenge they were being promised, while others merely went about their duty.
A new message arrived at Keyes's station. It was a message from the Turian contingent of the fleet. Keyes looked at the Vice-Admiral. "The Turian flagship is transmitting a message to us. It's marked as urgent." The officer bit his lower lip, avoiding eye contact with the Admiral, who was growing increasingly dark and sullen.
"Put it on." The Admiral said, his voice a soft barely restrained growl.
The message went out through the bridge's speakers, breaking the tense anticipation from before. The screen at the centre of the bridge lit up with a feed of the Turian Admiral in command of the Carthage's cruiser escorts, as he directly spoke to Danford. "This is Admiral Valtaris of the Turian Hierarchy. I am accepting the surrender of Zhoist. There is no need for slaughter." There was an edge of worry to the words of the Turian, even if his face was as stern as that of any Turian Keyes had seen so far.
Then, in full view of the entire bridge crew, the Turian Dreadnought and its cruiser escorts began to accelerate, putting themselves onto a trajectory that would intersect the MAC guns of the UNSC ships.
There was angry cursing on the bridge, with many colourful insults thrown in the direction of the Turians. Admiral Whitcombe stood up and walked up to the screen at the centre of the CIC. He calmly looked directly into the eyes of the Turian Admiral and glared. "There is definitely a need for justice. Now stop blocking our guns. That is an order."
Danford returned to his seat, then leaned back contentedly. He crossed his fingers and examined the system map. "If anyone on this bridge lacks the guts to do what comes next. Then you had best keep that treasonous talk to yourself. Charge MAC guns."
"The world is transmitting the same message again," Keyed said. "They sound desperate." He looked up at Danford and couldn't understand what was going on. Why was the Vice-Admiral so ready to damage the alliance he'd made? He made a mental note to recommend a psychiatric evaluation the next time the ship entered port. As much as Keyes wanted to, he couldn't conscientiously risk the crew's integrity on a combat deployment.
Not for an enemy world.
"Good." Danford said. "Jam their transmissions. Make sure they know we're not listening." The Admiral sounded almost enthusiastic at the promise of bombarding a Covenant world.
That was it. The transition from a military necessity to cruelty. Keyes was about to stand up and ask the Admiral to stop when the sound of something being thrown against the door to the bridge was heard.
There was a pause, and then the door slid open, revealing what looked to be half a dozen very angry Citadel Generals..Three Turian Generals, two Asari, and one Salarian, all in full Hardsuits. The Marines guarding the bridge looked unsure about what to do, taken by surprise by the sudden intrusion. And going by the presence of two Asari Biotics, woefully unprepared. Keyes caught a glimpse of an Omni-tool on the Salarian's arm, surmising that was how they had approached the bridge undetected.
"Stop this madness, Admiral!" An outraged voice yelled from the entrance of the bridge. It was the Turian General, one Adrien Victus, whom Keyes had seen several times planning the landings on Zhoist in the briefing rooms aboard the Orion-Class Carrier. "This is not why we joined the war! The Turian Hierarchy joined this war to end the violence, not make it worse!"
The Vice-Admiral whirled around in his chair. "You are not in charge here. I am. And I am not letting these Covenant surrender when they never accepted a single surrender from us. With this world in ashes, the rest of the Covenant will know just how serious we are. I have waited too long to see a Covenant world burn. Marines, remove them from the bridge."
Adrien Victus stepped forward, glaring menacingly at the UNSC Marines that protected the bridge. He looked as if he had reached the very limit of his patience. Nobody made a move, but the situation began to tense up. Keyes saw the man next to him quietly undo the strap on his holster. Keyes put a hand on the man's gun, and slowly shook his head.
"We entered this war to end the madness that has consumed this entire galactic arm. We, the Citadel Alliance, decided to enforce our morals and laws upon the Covenant because it was the right thing to do. Don't make us enforce them on you. Now, please, stop this madness!" The Turian's yelling seemed to snap Danford from whatever had consumed him. He sighed and slumped into the back of his chair.
"Stand down. Tell the Covenant their surrender is accepted. Let the Turians have their occupation." He turned his chair around. "Now get off my ship."
"Gladly." The Turian spat back, before leaving the bridge, the rest of the Generals following him.
Keyes just shook his head. He really needed a break.
Adrien Victus quietly grumbled to himself as he and the other Citadel generals left the ship they were supposed to have led the planetary raid from. Their shuttles left the hangar bay, heading towards the Citadel ships that had accompanied the raiding fleet.
The confrontation with the human Admiral had soured Victus's mood. He understood perfectly the raw hatred and anger that the humans had to be feeling after their treatment at the hands of the Covenant, and did not fault them for it. But the prospect of opening fire upon a surrendering world had forced his hand. What if the story spread, and worlds that might once have surrendered, instead fiercely resisted? Millions more could die.
His actions were far too close to a mutiny for his taste, but had, in his mind, been of paramount necessity. The right lawful thing always had to be done, as long as it was within the confines of Turian law. He would most likely face a court-martial over his actions. Or at the very least, a court of inquiry. But if that were to pass, then he'd face the music.
"This is Admiral Valtaris to General Adrien Victus. The Covenant is requesting a 'leader of warriors' to accept 'a pledge of suzerainty'. New translation software is being uploaded to your Omni-Tool. I am diverting your shuttle to accept the formal surrender ASAP. That way this world falls under our Aegis."
"Understood." Victus responded, before adding. "Any sign the Humans are preparing to open fire?"
"Negative. I will keep you informed."
"Affirmative. Keep those Mass Accelerators primed. I don't want to be without orbital fire support."
The journey towards Zhoist allowed Victus to get a good view of the Covenant world. The reports supplied by ONI about the raid in 2526 proved to be true. The world had been surrounded by an orbital ring, whose segments the Spartans had sent crashing down onto the planet below. The sight was an imposing one. It looked as if a chain of metal had been wrapped around the planet. The casualties had to have been enormous.
The Spartans and the legends they caused had begun spreading through the Turian military, but few of them positive. Adrien Victus couldn't help but be disturbed at the need of the humans to keep the existence of their finest soldiers an official secret. Who would hide their finest soldiers and completely wipe away any traces of their existence? Surely doing so would be to dishonor their line, and take away the honor of serving their people.
It all came across as cowardly to say the least. Although Victus still had nothing but respect for the Spartans.
Victus glanced at the viewscreen next to the shuttle's hatch, which showed the rapidly growing planet. When they breached the cloud layer and looked down at the planet below, the sight they greeted them was of a fallen metropolis.
Smoke consumed vast swathes of the city, while massive craters of still-smouldering glass tore holes out of what Victus guessed to be the commercial district.
Whole blocks looked to have been consumed in a fierce urban brawl, with plasma fires raging through the streets as the locals tried to fight them off. Vehicles lay strewn in the streets, many torn and damaged by what his expert eye discerned to be explosives. But the blasts weren't the clean craters left by Covenant plasma bombs. Instead, it looked as if they had been caused by cruder devices, which did not always function fully.
Gral 'Vramee had requested that the Coalition set down upon the massive fortified castle at the centre of the planet's largest city, and so the Turians would. But while they did, they would record and catalogue everything they could, and be ready to use that knowledge in the event the Covenant were pulling a trick of some kind.
It was an imposing structure, made from what looked like kind of brickwork, but composed of some type of Covenant ceramic. It was shaped like a star fortress, with a radius of two kilometres. Each of the triangular bulwarks fitted with large anti-orbital cannons. The walls themselves were covered with hundreds of small defensive emplacements, which would provide a stupefying amount of firepower in all directions.
Within the walls, there was what looked like a mixture of heavy industry, agriculture, and habitation quarters. Enough space to contain an army, and feed it for a year. Just how often do the Covenant fight each other? Adrien Victus thought upon grasping the scale of the fortress. The scale of the defences easily put some Turian citadels to shame.
If there were hidden shield generators which were capable of holding back capital-grade planetary bombardment, and the fortress was fully manned, it would be a tough Krogan skull to crack. Victus guessed he would have needed at least a hundred thousand soldiers with accompanying artillery, air support, and armor, to be able to take it slowly. More if he needed to take it by storm. Multiple fortresses like these had been discovered from orbit. The prospects of a ground campaign into Covenant space sounded like the worst parts of the Krogan Rebellions all over again.
As they approached the landing platform at the top of the citadel, the shuttle quickly cut its propulsion and came to an immediate stop with the aid of its mass effect field. A deceleration that would have pulped the passengers without inertial dampening instead turned into a slight jolt.
He checked his sidearm, and confirmed it was intact. He touched the suicide capsule in his mouth to reassure himself that he wouldn't be captured if this was a conspiracy of some kind. Victus and his bodyguards disembarked from the shuttle, preparing to meet with the Covenant leadership. He had some concern about just who he would come to face with, but also felt confident that any trick this Sangheili might attempt would inevitably fail.
He cursed the lack of diplomats and official leadership with the fleet, but consoled himself with the fact his experience in handling insurrections and rebellion made him the better candidate to handle a delicate situation like this.
"General Victus, be advised." The voice of Admiral Valtaris came through the speakers of his helmet. "We're detecting Gamma radiation signatures indicative of antimatter bombs. This world is tearing itself apart."
"Understood. No planetary surrender, then." Adrien Victus muttered. He slammed his gauntlet on the door to open the shuttle's side hatch and prepared to meet the Regent.
Waiting for their arrival, was a Sangheili in robes who defiantly strode out towards Victus. The Elite carried himself with an empowered concoction of pride and purpose that instantly made him out to be either a leader or at the very least of high standing. In his hands was a chest, which he clutched tightly as he approached the Turians. Behind him followed four other Sangheili, each wearing less ornate robes than the one in the lead, but nevertheless with the same sense of authority about them.
Then Victus noted that they were looking very thin. More so than he had seen of dissected Elites. Was there a famine going on?
The Elite introduced himself in his language, which Victus's equipment quickly translated. With each spoken word, the self-learning translation program improved the accuracy of the translation.
"I Gral 'Vramee, guild master of the Energy Blade guild, and regent of 'Gramee keep hereby welcome you to Zhoist." He opened the chest he was holding, revealing it to be containing several large black crystals. Adrien Victus's helmet identified them to be Xenotime crystals. A phosphate mineral which was rich in Ytterbium and Erbium. Two elements that were vital in the construction of laser and plasma technologies. "I offer this gift and acknowledge you as an arriving leader of warriors."
Adrien Victus nodded, and took the chest. Victus thought of the best response. He had been trained to be a military governor, which gave him some basic insights into diplomacy. It would be best to keep things simple. "I accept this. I agree with your invitation, and as General of the Turian Hierarchy, offer to mediate a cessation of violence".
There was a massive blast at the edge, as a vast section of the city went up in an explosion that quickly formed a large mushroom cloud. His armour's sensors screamed at him. A ten kiloton antimatter charge had just gone off. His guards brought up their guns at the Sangheili, who did not react were instead looking in mute horror at the explosion.
"The arsenal." the guild master cursed something incomprehensible, then turned to Adrien Victus, entirely unconcerned by the guns now aimed at him. "I wanted to keep this simple, Turian, but fate is forcing my hand." The guild master pointed at a column of smoke in the distance, the direction the sound came from. "Our leaders have been imprisoned in High Charity by a usurper, and the Covenant is descending into an Age of Conflict. I don't know why we declared war on the humans, and right now, I don't care. You are not human and therefore not impure, and you are a race of warriors, which makes negotiating with you an option. I will offer you tribute and accept you as suzerain if you help me end the violence consuming my world."
There was another explosion, and then another. The sounds of plasma weapons were beginning to merge into a single combined noise. Victus zoomed in with his helmet, catching a glimpse of a group of Elites and Grunts marching through the streets towards the gate of the 'Keep', one of them holding a silver and gold version of the Covenant's flag. Many had painted their armor in that color, and they looked ready for a fight. A distressingly little amount of fire was aimed at the oncoming attackers. They would most likely take the citadel unless forced out.
Victus's head was racing at the turn of events. A civil war? A usurper? Not knowing why there was a war with humans? And now here he was, and instead of accepting the surrender of a Covenant leader, he was now having some regent asking him for military aid.
Victus mulled it over, then cursed loudly. Divide and Conquer had always been his preferred strategy. But he hadn't expected to employ it. Only one side was actively detonating antimatter bombs on a Garden World, which made the choice of who to help easy. He turned to face the Elite. "I accept suzerainty over your Keep, in the name of the Turian Hierarchy. Now tell your remaining warriors to man their defences."
"Adrien Victus to all Turian forces. I have accepted the surrender of the Sangheili Keep." He used the official name for the Elites. If they were now under a Turian Aegis, it was the right thing to do. "Prepare for rapid drop deployment and a pacification campaign. After that, we're going to figure out what in the name of Palavan is going on in this hellhole of a galactic arm."
