-Chapter 2-
Quiet Before the Storm
~23 January 2551 (Military Calendar)/
In slipstream space;
Battle Group Zeta Echo
'Combined Fleet' - UNSC Despair's Light
It'd been days since the battle group had departed Epsilon Eridani II. And Jane still struggled to sleep. Her mind was racing; not from anxiety, but from distracting memories. This time, it was her mom, Lisa. A part of Jane had never gotten over her mother's death. Maybe it was the same way for her father. Her dad was probably in his personal quarters right about now. Probably unable to sleep himself. Jane hadn't been to see him - in fact, she hadn't met with him in person in a very long time. Him and his rivalries were the reason why Jane had been caught up in ONI mess. It was why Jane was still caught up with ONI. Although she'd successfully filtered her way back to the 34th, Jane was under pending-assignment orders; after Operation: HELLZONE II finished - success or failure - Jane would be officially transferred out the ranks of the ODSTs to serve within ONI itself. If she survived that long.
Jane rolled onto her side, the small cot slightly uncomfortable beneath her. Let out a sigh. They'd promoted her after her successes on Gao. And now they wanted her full-time. Jane wasn't the type to get attached, whether it be to places or people. But the last thing she wanted to do was leave the 34th to serve with Intelligence. Unfortunately, she had no choice.
Recognizing that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep, Jane got off her cot and stretched. She was dressed in about as 'casual' attire as she had: her ODST workout compress-shirt with BDU pants. She also wore a couple items she'd gotten back on Gao - a rektail-skin wristband, and a headband. The style had grown on Jane during her time on the planet, and she found herself often wearing the small items whenever she could. She also had a mask that covered the lower half of her face, but stuff like that wasn't allowed on UNSC personnel; not while on duty, at least. So she left it in her bag.
Jane put on a pair of boots and emerged from her small room. It was located on one of the halls reserved for the officers, and as Jane glanced to her right and left, she realized she was currently alone. Most of the officers had been spending the bulk of their time among their units. A gesture of solidarity, and close-bondedness, in preparation for the brutal campaign ahead. Jane was currently the commanding officer of Fox Company, and though she'd never gotten close to the unit, she had established acquaintances with several of them. In particular, Sergeants Lucius Cain and Jain Zarr. She decided to head to the company barracks and check around to see what was up. It beat lying around all the time.
It took about 20 minutes for Jane to navigate the complicated maze of Despair's Light. The main barracks was located on one of the lower levels, far from where the officers and crew staff spent their time. Jane figured that if she knew the ship better, she probably would have gotten to the barracks quicker, but the Despair's Light was about as familiar to her as a random labyrinth. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found the section labeled for Fox Company.
Inside the barracks, makeshift tables had been set up all over the place in-between the spaces separating bunks. ODSTs in similar black attire were all over the place, along with some of the Faeris commando guys, doing whatever they could find to pass the time. Someone had set up a tattoo booth on one end; there were tables of troopers playing the card game 71' Sparks; a group of ODSTs on the far end were playing musical instruments and singing. Near the front of the barracks was a makeshift barbershop, and Jane recognized Sergeant Pall as he cut thick locks of hair off someone's head. Pall looked up as Jane entered and waved; she waved back.
"Seen Lucius anywhere?" Jane asked as she approached, giving a slight nod to the others sitting around waiting.
Pall flicked his head to somewhere in the back left of the barracks. "Some guy from Easy Company forced everybody out of the REC to turn it into a 'NCO Pit'. Lucius is in there somewhere. Very much against UNSC regulations," Pall said. Then he looked up and pointed at Jane with his clippers. "As are your accessories. Ma'am."
Jane cocked her head to the side. "Noted, Pall."
Pall just shrugged and went back to cutting hair, so Jane headed off deeper into the barracks.
When she got to the 'NCO Pit', a young lance corporal was at the large entryway, her arms crossed and a bored look on her face. When Jane approached, she rolled her eyes. "NCOs only, apparently."
"Who told you to stand here?" Jane demanded.
"Sergeant Nefertari."
Jane pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "Get out of here. Now."
The lance corporal hesitated a moment, then shrugged and headed off.
Jane made her way through the NCO Pit, looking for Nefertari. It was setup more or less like the open area of the barracks, except it was less crowded and had even better air conditioning. In the ranks of the ODSTs, NCOs carried a significant amount of respect. More so than in any other component of the UNSC. That was because many ODSTs would die in battle long before reaching that level. It was seen as a testament of commitment, courage and skill for a trooper to reach the rank of Sergeant, and each ODST that did so was considered an accomplished brother or sister. Battle-tested and reliable. Leaders. And so NCOs often had the influence to pull stuff like this 'NCO Pit'. Everyone here was Sergeant and above, and the distinction was noticeable to an experienced eye.
Before Jane could find Nefertari, she heard a familiar voice call her from off in the distance. She turned to see Jain Zarr waving at her from across the room.
Jane couldn't help the smile on her face when she reached Jain.
"Look who it is," Jain said over her shoulder.
Jane looked past her. On a couch sat Lucius Cain, and on a lazyboy next to him sat Mago Rictus. They were playing some kind of video game on a holotable built into the floor. She smiled at Lucius, glad at the fact that he'd dodged the court-martial, and that he was here instead of being left behind on Reach. Last she'd seen or heard from him, he'd been called to appear before a board. Lucius slid over on the couch.
"Saved you a spot," he said. "On the couch. Not the game, unfortunately." Then he added, "But the way I'm beating this kid, won't be long before he gives the controller up."
Jane's eyes jumped to Mago, and he was watching her. It was her first time seeing him in... She wasn't even certain. He still had those same grey eyes, but there was a distance to them that hadn't been there before. And he had a tattoo on his arm that hadn't been there before. They stared at each other for a silent moment.
"Sergeant," Jane said by way of greeting.
Mago gave a small smile and nodded at the spot next to Lucius.
"Maybe I'll clutch up now that my CO's watching," Mago joked, which was a rare thing in her experience
Jain took the only other couch and stretched out on it. So Jane ended up picking the spot next to Lucius, not even fully sure what she was doing here. She hadn't played a video game since she was a kid. So she had no idea what they were playing; all she could tell what that there were two characters fighting each other on the holotable, and one of them was getting beat badly.
"So this is how we're preparing for Magma V," Jane observed sarcastically.
Lucius leaned over without taking his eyes off the 3-D figures. "Might wanna look away - this is gonna be graphic."
On the game, one of the characters pulled out a sword and stood still. The other one ran at the swordbearer and went for a kick. But the swordbearer leaped over the attack, and brought the blade down in a strike that happened so fast Jane almost missed it. The sword cut the other fighter in half down the middle.
"Terminality!" a voice in the game shouted.
"Mag, you suuuck," Jain joked.
"Want to give it a go?" Lucius asked.
"Not really," Jane told him. "Any of you seen Nefertari? I'm shutting this 'Pit' stuff down."
Lucius and Jain shook their heads, but Mago stood, setting the game controller aside. "I'll take you to him - you're probably gonna need an extra."
"Why's that?"
He glanced at Lucius for a second. There was some unspoken communication there, and Jane couldn't read it. She thought she spotted a smirk creep across his face. "You'll see when we get there," Mago told her then.
"Ohkay. After you."
Together, they walked off and headed deeper into the NCO Pit, where things got notably louder. ODST culture was a hell of a thing, and Jane nearly laughed from some of the bullshit she saw. Beer chugging contests. A game of darts, except being played with combat knives. A topless trooper, singing 'Helljumper, Where You Been?' while washing off beneath an activated sprinkler. Someone was getting a branding on their shoulder. One trooper stood high off the ground on top of several stacked crates. Someone shouted 'Jump!', and the trooper leaped off the crates and hit the ground with a clunky roll. Around one corner, there were two troopers doing push-ups on the floor in a competition. The crowd surrounding them were cheering them on, and periodically, someone would add a set of weights to each of their backs. Trying to see who could last the longest. Mago, for his part, barely seemed to notice it.
Which was a good thing.
Because Jane's attention had been caught up when Mago suddenly put out a hand to stop her in her tracks.
A second later, a trooper came sprinting down the corridor from the lefthand side, carrying a battle-rifle with a bayonet extended from the barrel. The ODST flew by, then slid across the floor several feet before stabbing sharply into the air.
"Yeah!" She screamed, rolling to her feet and stabbing again in one fluid motion. "That's how a fucking trooper does it!" Then she relaxed, disarmed the bayonet from her rifle, and sheathed it into a holster around her belt. Suddenly so calm that it was as though she was high off drugs. "And recover..."
"Is it always like this?" Jane asked Mago as they continued.
"I forgot you're still not used to this. Usually it calms down when an officer's around. Everybody's letting loose 'cause of this new op, though."
"Let's hope the Admiral doesn't come down here," she told him. "I see at least three fire hazards."
He glanced at her, an inquisitive expression on his face. "Is everything ohkay with you?
"About as ohkay as usual. Why?"
For a moment, Jane thought he wouldn't say anything. And it looked as if he wouldn't, but he changed his mind. Shook his head. Lowered his voice. "Things just feel out of control lately. Different. I dunno."
"Like you're caught in a web?"
"Yes, exactly. I don't know how to process it."
Jane could relate. Mago had always been an oddball to her - and an annoyance - but she definitely appreciated his presence now. Partly because of shared experiences. There was a lot that they had in common. But also because of trust. One thing Jane had learned since being in the UNSC was that trust was an incredibly rare commodity. Incredibly rare, and incredibly valuable. She'd had disagreements with Mago, but at least he seemed authentic. Honest.
"I've still got that thing you gave me," she told him.
"That HACPAD? Hold onto that thing tight."
"Yeah, I've come to a newfound appreciation for it."
"Well, that's something," he said with a smirk. "Maybe I'll patent it if I ever get out the UNSC. Make a living off my own pet project."
"It's illegal tech. They're not going to just let you hustle like that."
"That's what the Protectorate's for."
"Oh yeah?"
"They're good people. And the cost of living is even better."
They rounded a corner. They came across more... Raucous acts, and many of the troopers were from different companies and battalions. Mago's talkative today, she thought. She pressed him on. "I guess that's good."
"The UNSC is always pushing everyone to move to Reach after discharge. What they don't mention is how expensive everything is," he said. Jane had never lived on any other worlds aside from Reach, so she didn't have anything to compare it to. And the thought of 'expensive' hadn't ever really occurred to her back then; Jane had come from a very wealthy background compared to Mago. She imagined Reach was probably starkly different from Mago's homeworld New Carthage.
"Out in the Protectorate, a pension goes a long way," Mago finished.
"I didn't take you for the... Adventurous type. Romantic."
His expression changed. His smile faded. That distant, hard edge returned to his features. "I just want to be as far away from this as possible. All of it." Before she could ask what he meant, he pointed ahead. "This door connects to Easy Company's spot."
They came up on a large automatic doorway that split apart when they approached. On the other side was an open lounge area filled with ODSTs. She recognized a few of them, but most were in Easy. A group of them were huddled around one table in particular, where a serious game of 71' Sparks was taking place. Jane spotted Nefertari at the table, his eyes glued to the cards in his hands. Nefertari slammed a card down on the table and let out a booming laugh.
"Might teach you kids a thing or two - after I take all your credits!" Nefertari said with a laugh as he scooped up a handful of credits off the table. "Somebody stop me!"
Mago leaned in close to her and lowered his voice. "Know what? Let me play a few hands. Take his money, first."
"You can play Sparks?"
"That's how I used to make credits back in high school, up 'til I got my job at the factory."
She looked at him. "You're full of surprises. Are you good enough to beat him? He seems... Skilled."
"It'll be easy."
Admiral Bren J. Shepard stood alone in the Despair's Light's superstructural observation deck. Though there wasn't much to see. Slipspace was a strange and mysterious thing, and he only knew about it's strategical applications. The advanced foundational science behind it was far above his head; as such, he couldn't tell anyone what the weird fluctuations of light were. But they surrounded his vessel, and made him wonder what'd happen if they were to touch the ship. On occasion, dangerous anomalies and 'uncausal reality distortions' could take place. Singular persons could suffer "external reality displacement". Which was a more technical way to say "deleted from existence." Indeed, entire ships, or even whole fleets, were known to vanish in rare instances. Theoretical physicists often surmised that there was in fact a non-zero chance of temporal displacement; that is, time travel. Somewhere out in that mist, the other vessels of the Combined Fleet were similarly packed into these slipspace bubbles. And Shepard had to rely on pure hope and luck that the whole fleet would actually arrive at Magma V at the correct point in time. Unlike whole disappearances, it wasn't that uncommon for fleets to arrive in separate phases, with some vessels arriving notably sooner or later than others. Then again, time itself became a relative concept fairly quickly on stellar scales.
No matter how much planning Shepard could do, he'd always be subjected to the strange laws of physical reality.
"Want to play a game of chess?" Roxet asked, their voice flooding the room through the intercom, breaking Bren's concentration. They appeared on a nearby holotable.
"I don't play," he told Roxet. "Not like I used to."
"What about a sim-battle? Surely it beats... Whatever it is you're doing."
A couple weeks ago, Roxet had introduced Bren to these so-called 'sim-battles'. It was something that straddled a fine line between simulator and game, where each player commanded a force in an attempt to win a preset battle scenario. They'd been growing on Bren, and ever since he'd finally mastered the controls, he hadn't lost. Roxet was an incredibly brilliant AI, but they were no military commander. Running sim-battles allowed Bren to try out different approaches and strategies, to see how certain courses of action were likely to unfold given specific conditions.
He wished that there were programs to add Covenant vessels into the mix. It would truly be like practicing for the real thing.
Hmm. Sim-battles. Maybe Shepard had finally discovered his true calling in life.
"Those modifications - have you made any progress?" Bren asked.
Roxet changed colors. "We have."
A holographic display of the Despair's Light appeared over the holotable. The projection rotated slowly, and several key sections of the ship flashed a light green. It was more than a ship to Shepard. At this point, it was Bren's home - and the home of thousands of others.
Due to its size, the Despair's Light was capable of storing other UNSC vessels within its colossal hangars, such as frigates and even certain kinds of battleships. Prior to departing Reach, however, Bren had made sure to retrofit one of the hangars in particular. For a very specific ploy he planned to go for. Not only had he done his ship this way, but also all other ships in the Combined Fleet that'd be doing SOEIV insertions.
"Good," Bren told Roxet, a smile forming on his face. "They won't be expecting that."
Roxet split apart on the holotable, each half standing on either side of the rotating Despair's Light display. One half was blue, the other half red. "To be fair," blue Roxet started. "That's a reeeaally risky move," red Roxet finished. "And we'd see that coming," they said at the same time.
"Well, lucky for me, you're not commanding the Covenant forces on Magma V."
"True," Roxet said as they merged back into one figure. "Then again... What have your sources turned up about the enemy fleetmaster?"
Bren took a seat at the holotable and shook his head. "Not much, unfortunately." He keyed in a string of codes on the console. Moments later, a file appeared on the holotable. Bren touched a small holographic pad with his hand and slid his fingers across it. The file rotated until it stood 'upright' in front of him.
ONE-WAY INTELLIGENCE LINK [REDACTED] LOG: 21
DATA SCRIBEMASTER(S): M.I.S.T. CAPTAIN ALEXANDER GREE
RR-ONLY
Beneath that header was a series of obscure data packet travel logs that didn't mean anything to Bren. Beneath those logs was the actual report itself, and it was very short and lacked many specific details. It was essentially Captain Gree explaining his - and a smart AI called Phoenix - attempts to uncover information about key Covenant military leaders, including the fleetmaster at Magma V. They hadn't found much, and their contact source had recently became "problematic".
Bren sighed. "This file doesn't tell us anything. Whoever it is, let's hope he's incompetent."
High orbit over Magma V
Fourth Fleet of Ubiquitous Sanguinity
ORS-class heavy cruiser Infinite Potential
Fleetmaster Gedo Nar 'Kululee said a silent prayer. First, he prayed to the gods. That they would forgive him of his failures and shortcomings - and that should he die in battle in the near future, they remember his faith and works, and not leave him behind on the Great Journey. Next, he prayed to his ancestors. He asked for their strength in mind, body and spirit. For them to bestow upon him the wisdom he needed to see his ancestral home again before his death. Lastly, he recited the Oath.
His eyes opened. He was standing in his command spire. Surrounding him were the high officers of Ubiquitous Sanguinity and of the Ghalossus. Luminescent bulbs gave everything in the spire a low-light purple glint. It contrasted well with the vibrant armor colors of the present sangheili commanders. All of them were cast in yellow, silver-white, or dark violet. And all of their armors bore unique cosmetic designs and flourishes.
"You called us here for more than prayers, I hope," General Iytan 'Moripee spoke, his thick voice filling the chamber like smoke. "You interrupted a ... Profitable game of stihr."
Gedo smirked. Iytan was referring to the common sangheili pastime. Stihr were small, multi-sided figures where the faces each contained the symbol of a holy relic. The game was typically played with corresponding datapads that also contained special hieroglyphic symbols. And the prize was almost always gekz.
"Attest your eyes," Gedo spoke to the assembly.
Before him, the holographic viewport morphed into a collage of blurry hieroglyphics. The symbols filtered and shifted through one another; some of them winked out of existence, while others changed form altogether. His vessel's decryption system bit through the interference. Moments later, the hieroglyphic report finally coalesced into one coherent message.
Voices filled the chamber as the gathered sangheili reacted to the message. They fussed with one another until one in particular rose his voice above the rest.
"Lies!" Iytan exclaimed, taking a step forward. His small cape fluttered about his back. "The words of a serpent. Trace this signal and alert the Imperial Admiral."
Gedo nodded toward the general. "My first thoughts as well, brother. The jackal pirate cannot be trusted. However..." Gedo pulled up a second message. This one had been received by his crew several minutes after the first. It contained an intercepted COM file from the humans. Although Gedo knew some of their language, it'd taken him all morning to decipher the communications.
"The humans?" Zealot-Marshal Kareg spoke up for the first time. He stood apart from the others, in voice, in armor and in composure.
"Indeed. I've deciphered what I can. It seems they plan to attack in force," Gedo told them. A ruckus of voices rose up then. He raised a hand. "Cool your heads, brothers. I need to hear opinions, not complaints."
None of them spoke for a while as they processed the information. Such was to be expected. The heretic jackal pirate Chol Kam was not to be trusted. It wouldn't be the first time the wretch had engaged in subterfuge against the Covenant. Those earlier times, however, had been to lure out the foolish so as to ambush them; such as when the shamed Meta 'Barutam allowed the destruction of the Fourth Glorious Consequence at the hands of Kam. But this time was different. It was a warning.
"They should not be aware of the Ghalossus," Kareg observed. He stepped forward, the light bouncing reflectively off his dark maroon battle-dress. Every sangheili here was of considerable rank and standing, but they all parted when Kareg approached. There were very few beings in existence that Kareg bent his knee to, and even Gedo wasn't one of them. "Either this is a ruse, or the humans have been tipped off."
"True," Gedo said. The Zealot-Marshal's thoughts echoed his own. "And I imagine Chol Kam would be the one to do such a thing. Especially given the last contact we had with her."
Kareg stopped just a few paces shy of the holo-viewport, standing beside Gedo. "Which means..."
"If we are under threat of attack, the humans do not know that we are aware of them," Gedo finished.
"Are you saying the serpent aids us?" General Iytan asked.
"The serpent aids naught but herself. Kam is playing at a long game."
"Then what do we do?"
There was a brief silence. For a time, it seemed none would speak up.
"We make ready for war!" someone shouted from the back of the room. Dozens of voices roared in agreement. All of them made a fist and banged it on their chests a single time, in unison. Including both Gedo and Kareg. The moment was a memorable one.
"Brothers," Gedo started. "I have already sent word to the Imperial Admiral requesting aid. In the meantime..." he said, shifting his focus to the holo-viewport. His hands traced a delicate pattern along the control node. Moments later, a holographic representation of Ubiquitous Sanguinity appeared. "Preparations are underway to repel the enemy fleet."
Ghalossus City was beginning its defensive preparations in case of a ground attack, which seemed most likely. Outer regions surrounding the Ghalossus City, the Ghalossus Inferior by official name, were bolstering their numbers with unggoy, kig-yar, jiralhanae and some sangheili. Most of Ghalossus Inferior was listening stations, macroculture farms, storage facilities and rejuvenation sites. These locations were important in their own right and worth defending. And would stand as a line of defense protecting the city. Unfortunately, the majority of the Covenant in Ghalossus City were inexperienced. And many of them were civilian in their own right. The time was fast approaching that they'd be battle-tested. That Ghalossus City would become embroiled in a siege. Such a thing seemed fantasy, even now. Yet the threat was real.
Which was why Gedo needed to best the enemy fleet. Multiple vessels in his own fleet had already begun moving into ideal positions surrounding the high-orbit construction half of Ghalossus - the orbital facility network known as Ghalossus Superior. Mega-cranes and hydrosolar-powered grafting machinery floated about and worked in tandem with one another, the entire network spanning roughly twelve dozen kilometers in diameter. A bulk of the construction was on new ships for the greater Covenant Fleets, as well as refit and repair for damaged ships of the line. Of special note, of course, was the secretive Triumphant Fist being developed separately from the shipbuilding yard itself.
It was, in total, a lot of stuff to defend. There weren't that many vessels in the Fourth Ubiquitous Sanguinity - only 30 ships in total - but Gedo was confident he could fend off any UNSC fleet they could muster. He'd begun making a number of tactical modifications to all the ships under his command, specifically with orbital defense in mind. More importantly, however, was that he'd taken the liberty of increasing the work detail and energy output of the engineering-systems for the Triumphant Fist.
"Will the weapon be ready in time?" Kareg asked him. Together, they watched the holographic representation rotate slowly. The giga-cannon was still under construction, and wasn't scheduled to be completed until a long time from now.
"Our engineers say it might be in a firing state within the month... Firing, and unstable."
"Could this be what the humans are targeting? Perhaps there are demons coming to destroy it. Perhaps, The Demon," Iytan suggested.
"Possibly. It yet remains unclear. I, for one, doubt that they'd be willing to brave an attack against the Triumphant Fist. Chol Kam does not have enough intel for that."
Kareg nodded. "They are for Ghalossus City, then. Perhaps they seek to reclaim the world? Which means a ground war."
"Their intentions will be made clearer once they arrive. Once we welcome them."
Kareg turned to face Gedo. "Agreed. I'll begin mustering defenses."
Gedo nodded himself, and they clasped each other on the shoulder. "Aye, Zealot-Marshal." Then he turned to address the assembly.
"Ready yourselves. War is at hand, and we will be on our own for the foreseeable future. The humans are coming, and they will die at the ends of our blades. Our charge is to safeguard the Ghalossus against those who would threaten the holy empire. We will not fail in this charge. When we joined the Covenant, we took an Oath!"
Several minutes later, when the meeting had ended and Gedo was again alone on the bridge, he reached out a hand to activate the communications sensor. Multiple buttons floated just above the spire, and he tapped one in particular. Seconds went by. A low beep noise resounded through the room. Then a query appeared on a nearby holographic display. Gedo keyed in a specific sequence. The display swallowed the information whole. As though it were hungry for data after more than a week of disuse. Then, the display flickered a light-blue color and began beeping again. Gedo waited patiently as it beeped several times. Then, finally, the display expanded in size and gave him the message 'COMMUNICATION SECURED'.
On the holographic display was his wife, Aexacuu. A beautiful sight for horrendously sore eyes. He took in the sight of her as though he were afraid it'd be his last time seeing her. Her light brown skin, her small and compact mandibles, her red eyes. Even the silver robes she was wearing.
"Gedo... I was not expecting your call."
Gedo dipped his head. As always, he felt exposed when in her presence. Gedo instinctively glanced around his bridge once more, although he knew he was alone. "Apologies, Aexa'... Recent events have consumed my attention."
"Well," she started. Her mandibles spread ever so slightly. "It is good to hear from you. Is everything alright?"
Gedo would have to lie to her. Or, at the very least, conceal the truth. As yet, he couldn't divulge information of the pending human attack. Not until it was necessary. Not until evacuation was a viable strategic decision.
"I just..." Gedo searched for the right words. He longed to be down in the city with her. But he feared that he'd never get that opportunity again. Not until this coming battle was over. And it would be a long time before it was over. "Needed to hear your voice, is all."