1250 hours, May 8th, 2542
On approach to High Charity, remote sector
The corvette, Righteous Intent, was approaching High Charity. It had just transmitted its identification codes to receive landing clearance.
Vado 'Mavamee silently observed the goings-on of the bridge, deep in thought about the events on the human world. He'd been going through what had been recovered ever since, trying to make a measure of sense out of it all.
The corvette he was on was notorious in the Ministry of Discovery for being the personal ship of the Minister of Discovery. His best bodyguards, assassins, mercenaries, and artisans-armorers used the stealth ship as a mobile base of operations.
"Shipmaster, the Minister of Discovery is asking to speak to Vado 'Mavamee. In private." The Major at the communications console said, breaking the silence on the bridge.
The shipmaster of the corvette turned to look at Vado. "Take the message in my quarters." He was blunt and to the point, with no respect in his voice.
Vado 'Mavamee nodded and walked out of the bridge, heading towards the quarters he'd been directed to. He still had not gotten the name of the captain, or anyone aboard for that matter. And it was starting to grate on him at this point.
He had barely spoken to anyone else on the ship during their trip, besides the Ultra who had recovered the communications device. The two of them had been the only survivors of the original expedition and felt ill at ease aboard the corvette. These were Rangers and Spec Ops, warriors who struck from the shadows or from a distance. A respectable field, but not one he respected as much as heavy infantry. And these were especially quiet and reserved. No boasting, no duels, no bragging, just quiet determination.
To his surprise Vado had discovered that the corvette was crewed only by Sangheili and Huragok. Not even Grunts for menial labor. He was starting to suspect this ship was one of Discovery's more personal assets, something the minister used when something had to be moved discreetly. The San'Shyuum were inherently political creatures, and it was important to keep this in mind when dealing with them. You had to think like them, or they would outmanoeuvre you and have you replaced with someone more pliable.
He entered the personal quarters of the Shipmaster, where an active hologram was waiting for him. The Minister of Discovery sat on an unadorned gravity chair. The Prophet was an ancient member of his species, with long drooping wattles, a crooked back, and an atrophied body.
Vado kneeled down before the minister, awaiting what he had to say.
"Shipmaster, I have received the report of your failure on the human world. The stories you've sent me are quite fascinating. And for that I must thank you." The Minister's gaze darkened. "But that does not forgive your loss of a battlecruiser to the humans. If word of this came out, it would be my ministry that was sanctioned for it. You will dock at High Charity and speak of what happened to -no one-. Break your silence, and I will see you branded with the Mark of Shame."
"But what about the ships that survived?" Vado asked incredulously. He'd been worried the Minister would try to tie up loose ends, but hadn't expected him to be this blunt about it. Vado had no doubt Discovery could get away with it but he was still shocked that the Prophet had actually gone through with it.
"What ships?" The San'Shyuum said, grinning at the shipmaster and leaning back in his chair. "I'm afraid they jumped into a system patrolled by the humans and were destroyed to their last, their final transmission to me, unfortunately, not going through."
"I… see, your grace. What happens now?" If he had been on his own ship, he could have taken a recording of that sentence before the Sangheili high council. But this ship was firmly under the control of the Minister.
"After you dock, I expect to see you as you arrive. I will speak with you in person. Be dressed as a shipmaster on pilgrimage. Do not head directly to me; lose yourself in the masses of the middle city before heading to me in case you are followed."
The shipmaster nodded.
"It's a good thing you returned to me with something useful, or I would have been forced to have you gutted, skinned, and paraded through the city as punishment for the capture of your ship. I am taking a great risk to hide -your- failure, because you have served me faithfully for years, and you are one of my best shipmasters. Gods light your way, Shipmaster."
Now the shipmaster knew how Discovery ensured the loyalty of everyone aboard the corvette.
The San'Shyuum was right: he had failed, and he would suffer if word came out. The Minister was taking a great risk to hide his failure, but why? He wanted to know more.
The corvette docked at High Charity, and after two heartbeats, the airlock opened and Vado 'Mavamee stepped out. It was good to be back in the holy city, even if it wasn't under the best of circumstances. He was dressed in traditional Sangheili robes, marking him as a pilgrim to the city, with his golden shipmaster armor beneath the cloth. The shipmaster wore no helmet, and he had hidden his energy sword in the folds of the intricate robes.
He took a moment to look at the docks. A Tithe Fleet had recently arrived to High Charity: a flotilla of fifty bulk cargo ships, each a venerable six kilometer long brigantine. The tithe fleets brought their cargo of pilgrims, as well as raw resources and foodstuffs for High Charity. His first command had been a ship like that, gathering tithes from the Covenant fringe and bringing them to High Charity. It had been a good way to start his path towards the Great Journey.
One of the ships docked, and a plethora of white-robed pilgrims poured forth from it, most of them species from the far fringes of the Covenant he didn't even recognize. A few of them looked at Vado in awe as they moved across the docks, following the route assigned to pilgrims. Anti-grav barges had been prepared for them, and they all clambered aboard. He saw that their path would cross the Ministry decided to join them.
The shipmaster stepped onto one of the grav barges and was almost immediately overwhelmed by pilgrims reaching out to touch him, muttering in their own tongues. He did not show it, but he enjoyed the respect the pilgrims gave him.
After they were all done, he turned back to look out of the grav barge as they passed through the city. They were in the middle of High Charity at the moment, and it gave a great view of the bustling life of the Covenant capital. Merchants from thousands of worlds sold their wares to the Covenant middle class, the artisans, artists, lower-ranking priests, guards, and the people of the city. It was a truly bustling metropolis.
Their barge moved into one of the upper air-lanes, moving at a precisely mandated speed to avoid collision. They flew alongside a barge carrying a massive Yanme'e queen, who was attended by dozens of drones, while the vehicle in front of the pilgrim barge contained wealthy Unggoy merchants clad in fine respirator harnesses, inlaid with gold and adorned with jewels.
The barge started descending and landed on another transit platform. Vado got off the platform, and decided that he'd walk to the nearest elevator instead, so he could take in the sights.
"Infusions, infusions! Try the latest infusions. Fresh from the fringe!" An Unggoy trader was hawking his wares along with many others of his kind. They had set up a stand and were selling small packs of infusions to Unggoy, and even a few Sangheili. The shipmaster nodded and went on his way.
He passed restaurants, theatres, temples and small shrines as he walked through the city. The Covenant's many races rarely saw eye to eye, but trade was one of the few things that could easily bring them all together.
Vado smelled something nice and saw a Kig-Yar at a respectable-looking stand, selling fine cuts of meat. He didn't recognize it, but it smelled nice. Placing three gekz on the counter and taking a metal rod with bits of meat impaled on it; the meat was enjoyable. He immediately bought a small cup of the cutlets and nodded to the trader.
He continued to walk the bustling streets of High Charity, sidestepping large groups of pilgrims travelling from shrine to shrine, and looking over what the merchants had brought in.
There were baubles and trinkets from far flung worlds he had never even heard of. Prayer beads with each bead made from the rock of a Covenant homeworld. Scriptures written by hand on fine velum, or printed yet still covered in smudges.
Choir barges flew overhead, scores of Unggoy singing religious hymns to the Forerunners and instilling the virtues of the Covenant. A young female San'Shyuum walked by with the assistance of a gravity belt, escorted by two Sangheili in white armor. Vado bowed respectfully to her as she passed, as Covenant society demanded.
The San'Shyuum stopped and turned to look at him. "What brings a shipmaster on pilgrimage to this part of the city?"
He put a hand across his two hearts and respectfully bowed. "I wished to see just how life in High Charity was after being away for years. I am travelling to the ministries on the upper levels."
The San'Shyuum smiled and continued on her way. He looked at her as she walked, striking up conversations with those she passed, asking them if their needs were being met, inquiring about the state of the water supply or how safe things were. The sight got him to crack a rare smile. It was rare to see a San'Shyuum care about the lower classes.
Vado walked to a ledge that overlooked the bustling streets below, looking at just what he could find on this level of High Charity alone.
He saw enclosed methane-filled Unggoy habitats, the Kig-Yar broodnests on the tower, the Yanme'e hives built into the ceiling in defiance of gravity, and above it all, he saw a sense of unity and faith that bound the Covenant together. He had never walked the streets alongside the other races, and it was quickly proving to be a most enlightening experience. He started feeling a nagging sense of guilt about the way he treated the other species of the Covenant. Weren't they all a part of it? Searching for the Great Journey? He would fast and meditate on this.
He saw a crowd of Sangheili pilgrims headingalong the street towards the nearest elevator, and quickly joined them, blending into the crowd.
"Welcome, brother. What brings you to High Charity?" One of them asked, an older Sangheili in plain white robes. He was scarred and weary, but his eyes were still bright with life.
Vado smiled. "I am here to see life in the holy city, and to walk the path of pilgrimage."
"A noble pursuit!" The elder said. "I have come here so I'll have visited the holy city before my death."
"Ancients be with you, elder." The shipmaster said, taking a left and heading towards one of the smaller elevators reserved for official business. He stepped inside and pressed the button indicating the sixth ministry level. The anti-gravity elevator shot up, the acceleration being all but unnoticeable. After a few quiet minutes of listening to the psalms that played inside, he stepped out into the beautifully crafted halls of the sixth ministry level. He said the customary prayer upon arrival and headed for the Ministry of Discovery.
Vado passed San'Shyuum floating on their gravity thrones, an Unggoy matriarch in a breathing suit made of a single massive piece of gemstone that had been carved to fit her, leading ten younger Unggoy clad in silk vestments and carrying their own respirators, followed by a Huragok that tended to them. He caught himself staring and wondered what allowed an Unggoy to become so fabulously wealthy..
As he walked, the shipmaster took in everything around him.
Kig-Yar missionaries haggling with Sangheili from the Ministry of Conversion about the location of some primitive species discovered on the frontier. Gekz changed hands, as did the property rights for valuable mining operations throughout the vast Covenant empire.
He could overhear a Jiralhanae discussing colonization rights with a Yanme'e queen, as well as weapons deals. The Yanme'e was trying to convince the Jiralhanae to settle one of her worlds, in exchange for serving as mercenaries during an inter-hive war with one of her sisters.
This was the Covenant. This was what he served. The shipmaster felt more convinced than ever about his path in life.
He reached the entry to the Ministry of Discovery complex, a vast multi-story building that defied gravity with its asymmetrical architecture that seemed to confound any attempt to properly look at it. The building was styled after the legendary capital of the Forerunners, Maethrillian, hallowed be its name, and had been constructed as nine different buildings, which moved together by use of precision gravity engines.
Two Mgalekgolo stood around the entrance, their armor a stark white that marked them out as having served inside the holy dreadnought itself. Vado 'Mavamee didn't even want to contemplate what a pair of these had cost as bodyguards. Worlds were cheaper, most likely.
He entered, and was immediately overtaken by the smell of incense the sounds of prayer, as well as those of quill meeting paper and runes being pressed. He was taken aback by the scale of what he saw: he'd worked for the Ministry of Discovery all his life, but he had never been inside its headquarters in High Charity.
Vado wished he had done so sooner, for it was beautiful. Silk was draped from walls of polished purple metal, while the carpets were made of what he could only assume to be the hide of some great beast. Vado quickly set out for the main chamber of the Minister.
He first passed through a large hall filled with Unggoy, each of them sitting behind a computer and plowing through the endless bureaucratic work that kept the Covenant running as smoothly as it could. He nodded in approval of their hard work. Then a bell sounded, and as one, all the Unggoy signed off, got off their chairs, and began heading for the methane room. New Unggoy moved into the room from side passages, took their places and resumed their work.
The shipmaster ascended eight flights of stairs, each made from the finest marble, and on his way up he saw temples and shrines where new relics of the gods were being examined, great classrooms where a hundred Unggoyy at a time could be taught their new task in the Ministry, vast libraries filled with data-stacks and written records. There was even a whole floor dedicated to Huragok who were given free reign to do what they wished.
Eventually Vado got to the top floor, which was surprisingly barren compared to the rest of the magnificent building. It was built of pure marble, with no decorations of any kind. As he walked through the building, he saw the many San'Shyuum at work at their desks, each performing their own bureaucratic tasks, ranging from compiling star charts, to authorizing an expansion of the living quarters for the Unggoy in the ministry's employ.
Vado 'Mavamee approached the large door that marked the entry to the Minister of Discovery's personal sanctum. He knocked and knelt, waiting for the door to open.
It slid open, and the Minister stood before him without his chair.
"Enter, Shipmaster. We have much to discuss."
The office of the Minister of Discovery was as unadorned as the rest of the floor, but it was filled with computers, datapads, vellum, pencils, and devices whose nature he could not even fathom. At the center of the table he saw the items he and the Ultra had recovered from the human world. It had evidently been brought here faster than he could walk.
"I trust you had a pleasant journey through the city, Shipmaster?"
"Yes, your grace. I did as you commanded and blended in with the people of the holy city as I made my way here. I took precautions to make sure none followed me, and I succeeded." He said, putting a hand across his hearts in salute.
The Minister waddled over to his desk and picked up the orange gauntlet. "This fascinating device has taken some work. But eventually my Huragok was able to discern some interesting information from it. Specifically, the origin of these new arrivals."
The Huragok floated forward from a corner of the room Vado 'Mavamee had not checked, and disassembled the armored gauntlet, and then re-assembled it, the hologram turning off and on as it did. While doing so, the creature made some gestures with its tendrils that Vado did not understand but the Minister evidently did.
"Needs More Helium has been invaluable in analysing and trying to figure out the workings of their technology. And although he has made little progress so far in determining their homeworld, he has made a fascinating discovery. He has managed to recover some kind of information packet that the soldier had been gifted with. I've transferred it to a datapad for your perusal later."
"The Huragok tells me that these races must have come from the galactic north, outside of this galactic arm. Apparently he was able to reconstruct nearly enough wiped data to be able to put together a single message, which talked of crossing a "relay" to this galactic arm. The owner of this device received the message, and scolded the sender for breaching protocol, then wiped it, but evidently did not take into account the abilities of the Huragok."
Needs More Helium bobbed up and down and made some weird noises with one of its sacks.
The shipmaster nodded. "When do we we crusade against these heretics?" He asked eagerly. He wished to atone for his failure.
"We won't. Word of what has transpired will stay between the two of us. Instead I have a different task for you."
"How can I serve, your grace." Vado 'Mavamee said, kneeling before the minister.
"Sooner or later the rest of the Covenant will discover these arrivals, and the war upon them will begin in the earnest. Better this than to come forward with -your- loss of a battlecruiser to the enemy. I've worked hard, but I managed to strike it from all our records. It will just appear to be some pirate fleet that got defeated by the humans, if anyone discovers the wreckage again."
Vado 'Mavamee nodded slowly, wondering what the Minister wanted.
"Instead I want you to take a small crew into the galactic north, cross the void between our galactic arms, and begin to map their territory. When the war begins, a mapped slipspace route will be immensely valuable. I could raise the prominence of our Ministry tenfold by selling the transit rights."
The shipmaster nodded slowly. The concept sounded underhanded, but there was a level of cunning to it that he appreciated.
"While you do that, make contact with their rebels, their outcasts, unaligned species. I want maps, history books, names of their leaders, census data, anything that I can barter away to increase the standing of our Ministry. We've been small for -far- too long, overshadowed by the Ministry of Fervent Intercession ever since this war with the humans started. But if we lay the groundwork for the conversion and integration of these new races, we can both rise to great standing."
"What will I have at my disposal?" Vado 'Mavamee asked.
"I have called in favors and pulled some strings to create a modified storm cutter for you, one equipped with an experimental holographic projection system that will allow you to take on the appearance of another ship. Its crew is loyal, but you'll have final say over them. Pick your own crew if need be."
"Any crew, Minister?"
"So long it's not a human, yes."
"This is not official, is it, Minister?" Vado asked quietly.
"No. Your mission will only be known to you, and your crew. But you will receive my protection if your mission is discovered. Officially, you are testing a new class of exploration ship."
The shipmaster felt conflicted about this. He felt it should infringe upon his honor, but he was being asked by a San'Shyuum, a minister no less. To refuse was heresy, and the prospects did sound tempting.
"I understand." He cautiously asked. "But, if the standing of the Ministry of Discovery grew, would that mean we could expand our fleet? Perhaps a carrier." He tried not to let desire taint his voice.
The Minister smiled with his prehensile lips. "If our Ministry rises to prominence like I expect it to, I will build you a supercarrier, and a keep for each of your daughters."
Vado 'Mavamee nodded. He would get his daughters their own keeps. That was all he needed to hear. "I will head to the realms of these outsiders, and I will bring the light of the gods to them, and I shall elevate our Ministry to greatness." He said, now convinced by the plan. What he was doing was no worse than Spec Ops work, and it could bring great power and prestige to his bloodline.
The San'Shyuum nodded. "Your ship will be ready to leave in one week."
Vado stood up. "I'll begin assembling a strike team. A small group I can take to the surface of hostile worlds and leave before we're spotted. I require the Ultra who recovered this device." He paused. "I could use a Huragok as well."
The Minister pointed at Needs More Helium. "By all means, take this one. He's already worked with the technology of the enemy."
The Minister was beyond relieved when the shipmaster had left. The shame and disgrace of having a ship captured by the humans would have ruined him. He was thankful to the gods that he'd tied up all loose ends. He might have just saved his career.
And the prospect of being the first to gather detailed information about the new arrivals could prove fortuitous. The Ministry of Discovery was far from what it had once been, and its fleets had largely begun to succumb to age. But he trusted Vado 'Mavamee, and he had faith that the ship would be up to the task.
It had better be. Nearly all his remaining funds had gone into it, and if it failed, the Ministry would be dismantled and added to the Ministry of Fervent Intercession.