1900 hours, May 14th, 2542
Dock 109, Spires of Plenty, High Charity
"Lady Vellana, why are you so interested in accompanying the Shipmaster? Your family doesn't run a ministry, and it has no great holdings to its name. What do you have to gain by risking your life?" the Minister of Discovery said, tinkering with a small spherical device, on a shelf attached to his chair. A new gravity grenade he'd been developing. He and Vado 'Mavamee's unexpected companion were sat in a dockmaster's office near the pier the Herald of Abundance was docked at.
Len'Vellana shook her head solemnly. "That is why I wish to join. The blood of my line has run thin, and only a handful remain. I am the only fertile member of my family left. With me being on the Roll of Celibates, my family's legacy has come to an end." At that point, she straightened up, her eyes shining with a zealous determination. "So I will give us a worthy end, something that will make sure we're remembered until the Great Journey begins."
The Minister of Discovery raised an eyebrow, his wattles jiggling as he did so. "You are still upon the roll? I thought with your augmentations you would be able to repeal such a thing."
"My family did appeal, Minister. However, merely convincing the Ministry of Preparation to augment me cost most of our wealth - so much we could not counter the bribes offered by our rivals. My appeal was rejected." Len'Vellana admitted, her normally stoic voice giving way to dejection. "Now I have the powers of a Prelate yet none of the privilege, and I am still on the roll." She sighed. "I wish to bring my family's line to a glorious end, and spreading the faith to this… "Citadel" would be a fine way to do so."
"Ah, so you fashion yourself a missionary, then?" the Minister of Discovery mused. "That sounds like an excellent suggestion. If you swear that you are acting solely under your own initiative and will not interfere in the affairs of my ministry or jeopardize the mission in any way, you will have my blessing and support in spreading the faith."
"Thank you, Ministe-"
Suddenly, sirens blared, cutting Len'Vellana off. Seconds later the expression of surprise on her face gave way to shock. Realizing that the young San'Shyuum was staring at the viewport behind him, the Minister turned around to see just what it was.
It was an assault carrier, bound for their section of the docks, and it had clearly seen better days. The once-mighty ship's hull was pockmarked with impact craters and scorch marks, armor plates knocked loose and several plasma fires burning amidships. The bow had clearly taken the worst of the damage: multiple compartments were exposed to space, and the distinctive ventral "hook" was missing altogether, with only a few twisted frames and spars remaining. Two of the carrier's main engines were clearly barely working, their drive plumes flickering unsteadily. The stricken ship proceeded to limp towards a pier not far from the Herald of Abundance's berth, tugs trailing behind and rescue ships spraying the carrier's hull with special foam.
As the two San'Shyuum stared in shock, a Sangheili dockmaster spoke over the public speakers dockside, "The carrier Ravager has sustained severe damage and is requesting assistance. Registering hull breaches, damage from secondary explosions, fires on multiple decks. Rescue ships and menials dispatched. All non-essential personnel are to stay clear of Dock 109."
The Minister of Discovery was shocked. Surely a ship that badly damaged would not dock with High Charity, he thought, except for the most dire situations. Unless...
Then it clicked: a hostile first contact would certainly qualify, and, considering Vado 'Mavamee's reports, it was a highly likely scenario. The Ravager had clearly survived a battle against the humans and their new allies and fled to the holy city to report on what happened. With that in mind, the Minister turned around, opened the door and floated onto the pier, motioning Len'Vellana to follow.
Meanwhile, massive docking claws extended from the docks to grab the carrier, gripping the hull tightly and dragging it into the dock. Fire suppression turrets unfolded from the ceiling, spraying foam across the hull and aiding the efforts of the rescue ships. The dock immediately became a frenzy of activity as dozens, hundreds, and then thousands of Unggoy in white respirators emerged from every entrance, carrying firefighting equipment. The ship docked, the closest airlock cycled, and a single shipmaster stepped out, covered in bandages, his right arm tied to the side. He saw the Minister of Discovery and walked over to him, saluting with his good arm.
"Your grace, I bring news of a new foe upon our frontier… one allied with the humans."
1400 hours, May 15th, 2542
High Council Chambers, High Charity
"This is unacceptable!" the shrill voice of a female San'Shyuum cried out.
The High Council was in an uproar at the word of a new coalition of species working alongside the humans. An emergency session involving all the ministries had been convened to address the issue, even as the Hierarchs urged everyone to stay calm and tried to play down what had happened.
The Minister of Discovery sat in the same seat as always, attentively observing the proceedings. He was most likely the only one in the chambers with prior knowledge of the Citadel. Something that he would have to be cautious about revealing. He'd see about prodding the Covenant towards a path he himself could profit from the most.
"As the Ministress of Conversion, it is my divine duty to fulfill our mandate - to spread the faith. And now I hear I was not informed of half a dozen races uniting against us!?" The Prophetess slammed her decrepit hand on the gilded armrest. "This is a serious breach of the mandate of both the Ministry of Resolution and the Ministry of Conversion. The Ministry of Resolution is authorised to exterminate pirates and heretics on the frontier, not wage interstellar war - not without approval by the Council! You threaten the sacred union with your breach of protocol!"
"Peace, Minister," Truth intoned in his soft velvety voice,. "We are not at war with this "Citadel", merely the humans they so foolishly attempt to protect. We will formulate a new plan to deal with them. Surely you understand that the Ministry of Resolution had no way to predict the sudden appearance of several thousand alien ships in the theater? They have not broken their mandate." The Prophet was far too mild and timid for Discovery's tastes, always toning down the situation and refusing to escalate the war against the humans, which mostly involved a single Ministry.
"And what might that new plan be?" a Sangheili councillor spoke up. "Do we mobilize for war? We don't even know where they came from! You can't expect us to work with so little information. Tell us more, noble Hierarch, so we can plan for the defense of the Covenant." Murmurs of agreement went through the assembled Sangheili - and even several San'Shyuum. The Minister of Discovery nodded along.
"We should contact this "Citadel" openly, establish diplomatic contact and see what motivated their actions," the Minister of Tribute, a thin well-dressed San'Shyuum who managed the schedules of the Covenant's many tithe fleets, loudly proclaimed. "Only the humans have destroyed the relics of the gods, have they not? This "Citadel"... these newcomers, while outsiders, are not heretics as far as we know. We have never met another interstellar coalition before. Surely it would be most prudent to first discover what motivates them? If they can field thousands of ships, then they must be rich indeed. What if they merely fear we will attempt to absorb them through conquest? We should look into offering them the status of a tributary in exchange for peace."
This idea rankled the Sangheili, who angrily muttered under their breath; a few even yelled their disapproval. San'Shyuum councillors seemed more receptive to the idea, as more than a few of them started quietly discussing this plan of action.
The Ministress of Concert, the San'Shyuum responsible for representing all non-Sangheili or San'Shyuum races in the Covenant, stood up. It was a young, deceptively fresh-faced female whom the Minister of Discovery recognized as a former concubine of Truth, but anyone who suspected her of achieving her rank through seduction would quickly be proven wrong by her political acumen. She held up a hand, motioning for silence as she spoke; her voice was smooth, kind and motherly. "I must agree with the Minister of Tribute in that a diplomatic solution might be desirable. High Charity is already struggling to support the thronging masses of the faithful, and the full integration of what must be a powerful and prosperous interstellar alliance could greatly increase the tensions between the Unggoy and Kig-Yar, which are already high. Whatever is decided, the Ministry of Concert will not back any attempt to incorporate another species into the Covenant, unless the mandate of our ministry is expanded… or we create a ministry dedicated purely to governing them."
The Sangheili Councillors were greatly outraged by the idea. "Coward!" one of them yelled. "We are the Covenant, chosen by the gods. You merely want an excuse to expand your ministry beyond its current mandate! Your power play is clear for all to see!" The Sangheili surrounding the councillor nodded in agreement. "We merely need to bring them into the fold by force, dismantle them into tributaries states, and stop them from rebuilding their fleets, then ban them from colonizing new worlds. That is all we need."
As the debate became more and more heated, Discovery could see that the High Council was split into two camps. The moderates, led by the Minister of Tribute, were in favor of diplomatic overtures towards the Citadel and peaceful integration, backed by the Ministry of Concert. The two ministries were a formidable power bloc, controlling both the Covenant's many tithe fleets and most of its subservient races.
The other camp, spearheaded by the Sangheili,e wanted war. They had yet to rally behind a central figure, but they all shared the opinion that the Covenant had to gather information on their new enemy and then decide on the best plan of action to force the Citadel into submission. The issue was that the offensive stance was the only common point they had. The councillors of the Sangheili core worlds wanted a measured response, whereas those representing younger colonies wanted a glorious war to increase their standing in the Covenant.
The Hierarchs were silent, as if content to merely observe what happened.
Then the Prophet of Truth spoke up, holding up a hand to silence the bickering councillors.
"Until this Council reaches agreement, I propose that each Ministry distribute their fleets across Covenant space in a defensive posture. While this is done, the war against the humans will continue, with the full force of the Ministry of Resolution behind it. This process might be slow, but it shall not be stopped. We shall not take any risks when dealing with this "Citadel", and will only move in force when the humans have been defeated."
Several of the more aggressively-minded Sangheili looked at each other, surprised by the response, although most councillors seemed to agree with the compromise, a typical outcome for a High Council session. While the Minister of Discovery was not particularly fond of such half-measures in private, at least it got things moving; the political machinery of the Covenant was unwieldy enough without a deadlock.
-
The Minister of Discovery left the chambers of the High Council, deep in thought. The old San'Shyuum felt conflicted about the Hierarchs' decision. On one hand, the Hierarchs were the highest authority. On the other hand, he'd never known Truth to be reckless. He could not fathom a reason the Hierarchs would ignore the Citadel and instead focus on wiping out the humans first.
But Truth isn't really focusing on exterminating the humans, is he? Discovery wondered. Truth was still only deploying a limited contingent, a fraction of the forces available to him. For all the Prophet was emphasizing destruction of the humans over combating the new enemy that was in league with those same humans, he was certainly taking his time. All of this, as well as some of the odder choices the Hierarchs made over the years, started to coalesce into a pattern. A flash of realization hit the old minister: Truth did not want anyone he didn't trust participating in the extermination of humans. That was why even now he downplayed the threat of the Citadel in order to keep the forces of other ministries - save for a select few commanders - from getting too involved in his holy war.
However, the Minister had known Truth for decades, and the High Prophet had never been particularly religious. Of course, Truth always gave the faith its dues, but it could hardly be the only reason for the war against the humans; there had to be something else besides the humans ostensibly being an affront to the gods.
Truth needs the humans wiped out, Discovery mused. Truth needs the humans wiped out, but is being careful to only allow the forces he trusts to be a part of it.
But doubt immediately beset him. Discovery could not for the life of himself imagine what could have Truth behave this way. Greed? Ambition? Fear? Either way, it was something only the Hierarchs and their inner circle knew.
He decided he'd continue investigating this mystery… with due caution, of course. If he could find whatever drove Truth, it could give him excellent political leverage.
Or have the High Prophet deposed. The idea jumped into his head. If Truth is hiding something, and I could profit greatly from discovering just what it was. Combined with the discoveries made in Citadel space, their technologies, the priceless star maps Vado could provide… just what kind of heights could I reach?
The Minister of Discovery grinned; today wasn't so bad after all. He pressed a button on his armrest, and the gravity chair lifted off the ground, turning towards the Ministry, and flew off, nearly causing a crash when High Charity's automated traffic control network slammed an Unggoy ship to a complete stop to let Discovery pass. He did not care, though. He had plans to draft. Deals to make. Technology to design. Yes. He would need new weapons for what was to come. Powerful ones
With his course of action decided, the ancient San'Shyuum leant back in his chair. Power plays would have to wait until the shipmaster gave him his first reports. But after that? The fun could truly begin. His childhood dreams of a technocratic Covenant could perhaps become a reality after all.