1457 hours, September 15th, 2542 (UNSC military calendar)
Turian Cruiser Purity of Conviction, approaching New Ghent.
"We will be entering the New Ghent system in thirty seconds, clearance codes already sent and approved, Commander." the Valkus, the Turian Communications Officer relayed, his voice steady, betraying no hint of distress. "Command has requested your immediate presence aboard Alpha Station for debriefing."
"Understood Lieutenant." Commander Rictarian Captain of the Cruiser, Purity of Conviction, and interim commander of what little remained of the 17th fleet replied. "Helmsman, plot a course for Alpha Station. After I disembark, make for the nearest available drydock for emergency repairs and order the rest of the Fleet to do the same. I want the 17th returned to battle-ready condition as soon as possible."
"Understood, Commander." 1st Lieutenant Prellick, replied succinctly "Dropping out of FTL in three... two... one..."
There was a sudden, hard lurch that would have thrown his crew from their seats had they not strapped themselves in, as the vessel rapidly decelerated on entry into the system, the inertial compensators slow to kick in. Rictarian was grateful that he had the foresight to order the crew into lock-down on approach. It seemed the damage to his vessel was more severe than he had initially realized. As his vessel approached New Ghent he could feel the Purity listing hard to Starboard. Prellick struggled to maintain a steady course towards Coalition High Command, dodging and weaving through the vast armada of warships, support vessels, and construction and supply ships that clogged New Ghent's upper orbit as the Purity made its way towards CHC while the rest of the 17th limped towards the repair and restoration orbital docking platforms.
Within thirty minutes, the full extent of the defenses of New Ghent came into focus. Five of the massive orbital cannons the humans called "Super MAC" loomed into view, with four more under construction. Prellick had already begun to decelerate and ease the Purity towards the nearest airlock clamp as the ship's navigational computer began rapidly making small course corrections to compensate for the damaged Portside engine array. Rictarian clenched his jaw and flexed his mandibles as the cruiser drifted closer to the station, barely hiding his breath of relief as the ship came to a halt in line with the airlock, which quickly extended forth from the station and connected with his vessel.
Rictarian unbuckled himself from his commander's seat and stood, turning towards his Second in Command. "Felonius, you have the bridge. My order still stands, see to the repairs immediately."
"Yes Commander, it will be done." Felonius replied, unbuckling himself from his own seat and shifting into the Captain's chair. Rictarian nodded and made towards the airlock where a pair of Turian Marines stood at attention, ready to escort their commander onto the station. He nodded for them to stand at ease and motioned for them to follow as the pressure sealed door hissed open and he stepped out of his vessel onto Alpha Station. At the opposite end of the airlock, a squad of Human marines were waiting.
"Commander, if you would follow us, we will escort you to the meeting room." One of the Marines spoke.
The Commander nodded before he turned back to his own Marines. "You are dismissed. Return to the ship. Get yourselves something to eat and maybe some rest if you are able. I won't be gone long."
"Yes Sir." They replied, before doing as they were ordered. The Commander chanced a look out the viewport towards his beloved ship and the sight made him cringe. A gaping hole and slagged metal marred the surface of the Purity where her barriers had only managed to partially deflect the impact of a plasma torpedo. Any deeper and the eezo core would have been exposed to the vacuum of space. Scorch marks and small hull breaches lined the hull where concentrated pulse laser fire had melted away at the ablative coating and bitten deep into his ship. The plasma melted portside engine sputtered dangerously as the reactors struggled to keep it burning. It was a miracle that the Purity of Conviction had even survived the battle, let alone make it all the way back to the Coalition staging grounds.
Rictarian forced himself to turn away followed the humans through the winding halls of the Orbital Defense platform, passing by a multitude of workers putting the final finishing touches on the station. They were predominantly human, though there were a number of Turians among them, as well as a handful of Salarians and Asari. Several of them looked up towards him with little interest as he passed before returning to their assigned tasks. Rictarian couldn't help but wonder if the word of his defeat over Fair Meadows had spread among the Coalition, it had been over a week since the disastrous encounter with the Covenant had seen the proud 17th Fleet reduced to but a handful of broken and limping ships crawling back to New Ghent licking their wounds. His fleet now, since the death of Admiral Tarilian, or at least until the Primarch stripped him of his new command and had him reassigned to guarding shipping lanes back in Citadel Space from Terminus Pirates for his failure. It was the fate he resigned himself to. The near annihilation of an entire Turian fleet was not something to be taken lightly, and retreat from battle was not something that the Hierarchy would let go unpunished.
Lost in his thoughts, Rictarian found himself caught off guard as he and his escort arrived at the conference room. One of the marines entered a code into the door control and it hissed opening, revealing the room behind it. A relatively small space on the overall cramped station with a large desk at the back of the room, a podium for speakers in the center and a handful of chairs nearest the doorway for observers. That was one thing that he appreciated about the Hierarchy's new human allies, they did not waste space needlessly. Seated at the desk were Fleer Admiral Karandis, Admiral Cole, Matriarch Aethyta, and Commander Jondum Bau of the STG. Other than them, the room was empty. Rictarian quickly straightened his posture and snapped off a salute, but the Fleet Admiral raised a hand.
"At ease Commander." he spoke coolly, and gestured towards the podium. Rictarian took the hint and stepped up, relaxing his stature and placing his hands on the platform in front of him. "We are here today to discuss with you the incident over Fair Meadows that resulted in the decimation of the 17th Fleet. Please, start from the beginning."
Rictarian swallowed, calming his nerves and steadying his voice. "Of course, my Primarch." He breathed and tapped at his omnitool, pulling up pre-prepared records and statements that he had readied for the inquiry. "The 17th has been on deep range patrol in the outermost bounds of UEG space for the past several months, serving as QRF to blunt Covenant incursions into human systems, as is standard operating procedure. Nine days ago, we received a distress signal from the human world of Fair Meadows, a remote manufacturing world that had yet to be evacuated into the core of UEG Space, warning of a Covenant attack and requesting immediate assistance. As protocol dictates, Admiral Tarilian set course for Fair Meadows and the fleet arrived within 32 hours of the call being received. By this point, the UNSC assets in orbit had been destroyed and the Covenant had made landfall, though their ships remained in high orbit. We made contact with UNSC ground command planetside and learned that they were landing troops in an attempt to seize and destroy surface-to-orbit missile silos before the fleet in orbit moved into position to commence orbital bombardment."
"What was the strength of the enemy fleet, and how did they respond to your arrival? Karandis asked, pressing his fingers together in a V.
"The flagship was a light carrier, escorted by four battlecruisers, half a dozen heavy destroyers and a dozen escorts, predominantly light cruisers and corvettes. Upon our arrival, the Covenant fleet broke off support of ground operations and started to move away from the planet on a course perpendicular to ours. Admiral Tarilian ordered the 17th fleet to intercept and both sides exchanged long range torpedo fire, largely ineffective, though several of our frigates were destroyed, and a cruiser heavily damaged, before the Covenant commander did something... unusual."
"Unusual how?" Jondum Bau inquired, his deep black eyes staring into Rictarion.
"He disengazed and retreated to slipspace, abandoning his forces on the ground."
At this point Admiral Cole leaned forward, his attention held raptly on the Commander. "The Covenant never retreats, even when the odds are utterly against them. They have always acted with near suicidal aggression."
"Yes Sir, we found this behavior unsettling as well, though Admiral Tarilian chalked it up to their commander being young and inexperienced in command. We simply assumed that he had lost his nerve when faced with an opposing force that outnumbered his own nearly ten to one. We should have known that something was wrong then and there."
"An ultimately fatal mistake." Karandis remarked. "But one that cannot be rectified with hindsight. Continue."
"Yes, Sir." Rictarian sucked in another breath. "Admiral Tarilian ordered the fleet to take position in orbit, and began readying our ground divisions to make landfall in support of the UNSC forces planetside. The Covenant on the ground had managed to take several of the silos and had dug themselves in deep. They knew that they had been abandoned by their fleet and they had every intention of selling every inch of their newly taken ground back with blood. Admiral Tarilian ordered much of our strike craft compliment to be armed for ground support, and our transports began landing troops, though the close proximity of human civilians as well as the value of those silos ruled out use of orbital bombardment in support. About an hour into ground operations, our long range scanners detected the same Covenant fleet reemerge back into the system and start making towards the planet in a long sweeping arch, seemingly attempting to find an optimal avenue of attack against the 17th. It seemed that the Covenant commander had decided that death was preferable to dishonor. Admiral Tarilian ordered me to take approximately 40% of the fleet and run an intercept course on the Covenant. So I gave chase with the ships under my command. The Covenant commander continued his arching loop through the system, pushing closer, but then pulling back when my ships moved to block. This kept on for another thirty minutes, taking us farther and farther away from the rest of the fleet and the planet."
"He baited you." Admiral Cole said, a statement rather than a question.
Rictarian locked eyes with the human commander. "Yes, sir. That is exactly what happened. It was at that point that three Covenant Assault Carriers emerged from slipspace at the center of Admiral Tarilian's formation and began firing in upon the fleet. At that close of a range, most of the fleet were unable to bring their primary mass drivers to bear against the enemy vessels, and even with massed fire, our broadside cannons were simply insufficient to penetrate their shields."
"How did the Admiral react to this sudden incursion?" Karandis asked.
"He didn't get the chance sir. His dreadnought was bisected by an Energy Projector from the lead Carrier mere seconds after their emergence. Dozens of more of the 17th were destroyed in rapid succession. The warships on the outermost perimeter attempted to open up the distance and train their main batteries on the carriers, but that was when the enemy commander truly sprung his trap. The rest of his fleet emerged from slipspace in an encircling formation, keeping better part of the 17th trapped between them and the planet. Several dozen battlecruisers, heavy cruisers, and destroyers, and what must have been double that number of escorts. A larger Covenant fleet than any reported by Turian forces. The Carriers performed another slipspace jump out of the center of our fleet formation and joined with the others. We had about as much of a chance as a caged pyjak has against a hungry Krogan.
"What did you do?" Admiral Cole asked.
"I attempted to turn my battlegroup and relieve the rest of the 17th, but the initial Covenant fleet ended their evasive maneuvering and engaged with my forces. Though, it's not as though there was much I could do for my comrades. The Covenant fleet tore them to pieces in a matter of minutes, leaving only burning wreckage and floating corpses in the void. My battlegroup was swiftly outflanked and surrounded, my ships picked off one by one until only a dozen cruisers and twenty escort frigates remained. There were no other fleets near enough to come to our aid, or to save the planet, so the only choices I had were to retreat or let my command die, so I ordered the fleet to scatter, and in keeping with the Cole Protocol, to perform several jumps in random directions in order to shake off pursuit. After several days, and once I was certain that the Covenant was not following me, I regrouped with the remnants of the 17th at preset rendezvous coordinates, reported the incident to command, and began ordered the fleet to return to New Ghent." Rictarian lowered his gaze from theirs. "I do not attempt to excuse my actions, but merely to explain them, and I know I abandoned our men on the ground, and the humans of Fair Meadows to certain death. I will accept whatever judgment this council passes upon me."
"There will be none of that nonsense." Admiral Cole interjected first, much to Rictarian's surprise. "No commander is without flaw. You were faced with an unwinnable situation and you did what you could to get the men under your command back home safely. If you had stayed you and your sailors would have died along with your soldiers and my people on the planet's surface. And we might not have learned of this new threat."
"I must agree with the Vice Admiral." Primarch Fedorian nodded. "The mark of a good soldier is not only fearlessness in the face of adversity, but also to know when a battle is unwinnable, and when to know to cut your losses, fall back and regroup. I would not have you needlessly wasting valuable lives and materials on a no-win situation. You made the right call, and should not concern yourself with any punishment you might imagine you deserve. But what matter is concerning is that of this Covenant commander. He shows a tactical acumen not yet displayed by any of his contemporaries thus far."
"It would be wise to warn other fleet commanders in the neighboring sectors of this new threat, as well." Karandis added "And perhaps to dedicate a task force to hunting down and destroying this fleet as soon as possible. These Covenant are vicious, unrelenting, and cruel. But one of their number that is vicious, unrelenting, cruel with a sense for tactics and misdirection makes my stomach turn."
"The Office of Naval Intelligence may be able to provide aid on this matter." Cole added, "From what I have heard, I believe that the UNSC has faced this individual in battle before, from his Modus Operandi and proclivity for unconventional tactics, we have strong evidence to support that this very same fleetmaster is responsible for the glassings of Camber, Mesa, and Greydown. ONI has assigned a team of agents to assigning a dossier on this fleetmaster. As long as this bastard is still alive, he'll be a thorn in our side that this coalition can not afford to ignore."
"Do we know what he is called?." Matriarch Aethyta asked.
Cole nodded.
"Thel'Vadamee."