Chapter Four: The Assault on Ceresa
Planet Therisalli, Sword Corvette Saint's Sun, December 15th, 2552…
The Assault Carrier dropped from slipspace with alarming speed, and, as 'Zehirae had ordered, the Saint's Sun had dropped from the kilometer-long hangar bay just as fast. The corvette, specially fitted to get battalions quickly in and out of assaults with extra fast engines and quite durable armor, sped towards the moon of Ceresa at what seemed to be Mach Twelve. The corvette made two small slipspace jumps, and made it to Ceresa within fifteen minutes. The small moon was devoid of life, and in climate was most similar to Luna. The surface was a pale tan color, and was made up of coarse sand. Unlike a desert, however, the planet's temperature was thirty-five degrees below zero. The only thing on the planet created by the Elites were millenia-old wreckage of ancient space battles or the slipspace markers for pinpointing the moon.
"All warriors, prepare your blades and load your weapons, prepare for an air jump. Active camouflage should be turned off until the human tells us." The Major standing next to me ordered the twenty blue-clad Elites standing behind us. The room we were standing in was the airdrop room, a large room big enough to hold a division of soldiers with a wall sized door on the end. The door opened up to the outside, and allowed for every soldier to jump out with ease.
"As soon as we're on the ground, activate camouflage and stay together. Divide the troops into squads if you have them. If not, divide them now." I ordered hesitantly, not wanting to… overstay my welcome by ordering them around. The Major nodded and turned to the soldiers, barking something to them in Sangheili. The soldiers all saluted and got into groups of four.
"Soldiers prepared."
"Good. What's the time to the drop zone?"
"Twenty-two seconds." The Major reported. I nodded and popped a cartridge into my Carbine, slinging it over my back. I then checked that my Energy Sword had full charge, and that the plasma concentrators worked fine.
"Drop point in ten seconds, mark!" The shipmaster of the corvette announced over the ship wide comm.
"Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, doors open, three, two, shields down, one, MARK!" All of the soldiers charged out of the open door as I yelled 'mark.' Knowing that we all had jets on our armor, I got into a dive position as we fell to the ground. The corvette had dropped us seventy-thousand feet in the air, and we wouldn't have to activate the jets until we reached only five hundred feet. The Elites all got into a steady dive - their legs straight behind them and their arms at their sides - and into formation, so that when they hit the ground, they would instantly be in position.
"Twenty-five thousand… Twenty thousand… Fifteen thousand… Ten thousand…" The Major muttered into his comm.
"Five thousand." I announced. The numbers quickly dropped, and in mere seconds, it was at six hundred. I activated my booster jets, swinging myself into an upright position, and glided to the ground slowly, along with the other sixty Elites in the battalions.
"All warriors accounted for, prepared for battle." The Major reported to me. I nodded and pointed in the direction of the sun coming over the horizon.
"Knowing Brute tactics, they'll use the star's glare to get into the system without us visually seeing them. Radar, though, will find them. This is Zachary Reynards to Saint's Sun, keep scanning near the star, overlap of ten degrees." I ordered.
"Acknowledged, Major." The Shipmaster replied. "Wait, hold on. We're getting something on radar, heading one-five-eight by seven-two-zero. Orbital deviation of twelve point five degrees. The object is approaching at mach eight." I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I looked up into the thin sky at space, and saw in the distance a glowing dot.
"Major, another object! Jiralhanae ships!" The Stealth Major announced. Indeed, just below the glaring light of Therisalli's star were four purple-glowing lines. I raised my finger to the comm.
"Shipmaster, can you identify the origin of the first object?"
"Checking now… It's from out of system, and it isn't Sangheili in origin. It looks… human." Said the Shipmaster, hesitation in his voice. I looked up at the glowing dot, breathing out.
"Sir, the Jiralhanae are launching dropships." The Stealth Major said, grabbing my shoulder and pointing at the four Brute ships.
"Break the men into eight groups and send two groups onto that ridge over there. One squad will head due north for two miles to set up a hardened comms unit and radar array. The other three, follow me." I ordered. The Stealth Major deactivated his camouflage and raised his arms, calling the soldiers over.
"'Kseve, send your men north, set up a comms booth for constant communication. 'Tsuta, 'Korus, send your men to the Archer's Line. D'Suvai, 'Kfara and I will follow Reynards." I jumped in surprise at understanding the Stealth Major. Noticing my surprise, he looked over at me. "We auto-installed a translator a few minutes ago."
"Yes, Major. Alright, we're- wait, what? Sir, I'm getting a reading on an object coming into the gravity well at mach twenty." The Shipmaster announced. Indeed, as I looked up, a fiery object streaked across the sky from one horizon to the other.
"Shipmaster, track that object, I want information on it." I asked, looking in the distance and rising smoke from the impact point.
"We're getting some readings now. It looks… like a human ship. But only half of one, the front." The Shipmaster reported, his voice hesitant as he said it.
"I'll send a scout team to check it out, I need you to keep an eye on the crash site. If you see any form of movement, tell me."
"Yessir."
"Okay… Stealth Major, you take up command of this operation. Call back one of the squads from the ridge, I'm going to scout the crash site with them."
"Alright. D'Suvai, fall back to the drop point, you're being reassigned with the Zealot Major."
"Zealot Major?" I asked, still a little curious about the Sangheili ranking system.
"The armor you wear, it is red and has the scales of the Morolaath adorning it. You are of the Zealots and you outrank all of us but the Fleetmaster and the Field Marshal." The Stealth Major said, his yellow eyes flicking along my reddish armor. I nodded and looked over at the smoke in the distance.
"Question. This is just a guess, but, do you think anyone could survive that crash?"
"It depends on what happened to the ship in the first place. And, it matters what species. A Sangheili? We could easily survive that. A human, though, maybe not. But then, miracles can occur."
"A very good point." I muttered. A Stealth Squad walked up to us silently, their camouflage deactivated. In the front was an Elite Zealot Minor.
"You called for us, Stealth Major?"
"Yes. The Zealot Major will take you to scout the crash site. The other squads, led by me, will head to the Archer's Line and set up camp."
"Yes sir! May the Forerunners guide you." The Zealot said before turning to me.
"Let's go, then." I said, walking in the general direction of the site.
"Sir, take a Spectre, it will be a faster trip." The Stealth Major said, pointing to a group of small vehicles that were dropped along with the Stealth Battalions.
"Okay then." I said, climbing into one of the Spectre transports. The Zealot got onto the back gun, and the other six Elites climbed onto the sides, hanging on by the many handrails adorning the smooth purple armor. Once they were all on board, I pushed on the throttle. The craft leapt forwards and sped over the flat rocks that made up the ground.
"I'll bet that the crash site is over this hill!" D'Suvai yelled over the whirring of the Spectre. The smoke had indeed gotten thicker in this area, and the putrid smell of burning fuel and metal.
"Alright. Someone here, scan the area for survivors. The cryotube section on the bow of the ship would be a likely place for surviving crewmembers." I announced, bringing the Spectre to a halt. We all got out of the vehicle to walk over the hill, and, as was said by D'Suvai, the mile-long crash site of the human starship was embedded deep in the ground.
The actual ship was only about nine hundred meters long, but it had skidded along the ground, creating a mile long, seventy-foot deep indent in the rock.
"You two," I pointed to two of the Stealth Elites, "head to the aft of the ship. Me and D'Suvai will head to the bow. If you have anything to report, say it immediately."
"Yes, Zealot." The two soldiers replied in unison, running out into the wreckage. I gestured for D'Suvai to follow me, and we ran down the hill towards the front of the craft.
The ship looked similar to a frigate, but it was too hard to really discern because it was burning, and the markings were blackened and smudged. Pools of liquid metal and stone lined the scarred land, and plumes of steam and smoke billowed into the thin atmosphere.
"Can you do a heat scan of the area?" I asked, pointing at the front of the frigate. D'Suvai nodded and pulled out a small device, pointing at the charred metal.
"Anything?" The Elite nodded his head.
"The very front, there's a slight heat signature that isn't flame." D'Suvai pointed at the very top of the crashed ship, at a small observation deck on the top of it. Cracked and shattered windows lined the black metal walls of the deck, and a thin line of steam trickled out the openings.
"Extension cables?" I asked. D'Suvai nodded and got out two ropes.
"Use your energy dagger for the end."
"That's… where?" D'Suvai pointed to the end of my ark above my hand.
"Take that off and attach it to the end of the cable."
"Right." I slid the deactivated knife off of my hand and tied the end of the black metal cable to it. I activated it, and threw it up to the topside of the frigate. Testing it, I climbed to the side of the human ship, clutching the cable tightly.
"You take that window. I'll head in through this one." I said, pointing to two of the broken windows. D'Suvai nodded and got into position.
"Ready, Major?"
"On my mark. Three, two, one, MARK!" I grabbed the top of the window and threw myself in feet first, landing in a crouch on the floor. It took me a moment to get situated, since the ship had crashed at a twenty-degree angle. D'Suvai walked over and helped me up.
"So, do I scan again?" I looked around after his question. The room was lined with cryotubes, and all but two were destroyed. One was offline and empty, but another was on and completely frozen.
"No need, we've already found what we're looking for. Call the others back." I said. D'Suvai nodded and put a finger to his comms.
"'Desa, 'Nera, fall back to our position, we've found what we need." D'Suvai ordered.
"So, want to crack the case?" I asked. D'Suvai nodded and walked over to the cryotube. He reached over to the keypad, his fingers hovering over the keys.
"Major, I can speak your language, but I do not yet understand the written form. You will have to do this." D'Suvai said, looking over at me. I nodded and walked over to the keypad, punching in the simple UNSC clearance code to get into basic systems. It brought up a status screen of the person inside. Rivers, Cynthia H. was what the name section read in bright blue letters. Under that was a large button labelled simply as OPEN. I pressed the button and watched in anxiety as the door hissed with decompression and lurched open.
"D'Suvai, stand back. They might act hostile." I said, watching as the frozen person inside began to thaw. The person coughed and sputtered as their throat thawed.
"W-who…" The person, Cynthia, croaked out, her bloodshot eyes tracking across me. When her eyes finally landed on D'Suvai and the other Elites coming through the window, she cried out weakly and fell unconscious. I scooped her up, but paused as I hear the signature whirring of a Covenant Phantom Dropship and the war cry of a Brute. I handed Cynthia's limp form to D'Suvai and pointed to the window.
"Quickly! You three, get her back to the camp! I'll hold the Brutes off." I ordered, grabbing the Carbine from my back. D'Suvai nodded and jumped out the window, pausing to look back at me.
"May the Forerunners guide you, Zealot Major." He said. I nodded, and he slid himself down the side of the frigate, careful not to drop Cynthia. I looked upon the alien warriors with respect and turned back, looking for where the Phantom landed. Running to a window, I spotted the large purple craft hovering two meters off of the ground. With the Carbine, I had a range and height advantage, and I could easily snipe them as they dropped from the ship.
"Major! We're off! Good luck!" D'Suvai said through the comms. I put a finger to my comm, but instead of going to D'Suvai's channel, I turned to the Saint's Sun's comm channel.
"Shipmaster, I need orbital fire support on my coordinates!"
"But Major! That will kill you!" The Shipmaster yelled. I looked down on the Brutes, who were grouping together as a pack.
"I'll be deep inside the ship. Do it now, Shipmaster, do it now!" I said, pushing open a bent door at the end of the room and running into the crooked hallway. I sprinted through the corridors as fast as my augmented legs would carry me, trying to get to the middle of the ship. I dodged half-pipes and mini-rivers of molten metal, and slid down an elevator shaft. Above me, I heard the loud bangs of the plasma rounds raining down on the crash site. Panels of metal crashed to the ground, and I had to stop moving unless I wanted to fall through the floor. I also heard the faint, pained cries of the Brutes as they were incinerated.
"We've successfully taken out the Brute scout team! But, in orbit, we are now engaging the enemy!"
"What are the odds?"
"We're outnumbered two to one, they have two frigates!"
"Okay. Hold back and provide fire support for the Seraph squadrons. We'll get the package and the men back up to orbit, and we'll jump back to Therisalli, where we can regroup with your fleet." I said.
"Good plan, we'll be in touch." And with that, the Shipmaster flipped off his comms. I looked around the hall for an opening to the outside.I looked over and kicked a weak wall, the metal panels creaking open, revealing the outside. I slid down the plasma burned hull of the ship to the ground, where I sprinted to the wreckage of the dropship. Right next to the crashed Phantom was a Ghost, which seemed to be functional. I ran over and got onto it, seeing if it still ran. It did. I accelerated out of the crash site and up the hill back towards the main camp.
In the distance, I could see the small encampment set up by the Elites, and I pushed the Ghost to its limits to reach it. A Phantom, colored red, burst through the clouds and touched down at the site. Knowing I was going too fast to slow down, I jumped off of the Ghost and started sprinting to the camp. D'Suvai, who was cleaning a Carbine, looked up at saw me running towards him at full speed, and called to the other Sangheili.
"Major! You made it! Good job with the corvette idea!" D'Suvai called as I slowed to a halt. The Ghost skidded along the ground next to me, and fell to the ground in an unceremonious crash.
"Thanks. How's the person doing?" I asked, referring to Cynthia. D'Suvai looked over to one of the tents and shrugged.
"She is still unconscious, but she is stable. The herbal packs seem to be helping." He announced. Suddenly, my comm rang with static.
"This is Field Marshal Mizume 'Zehirae to Zealot Major Reynards, do you read?"
"I hear you loud and clear, Field Marshal."
"Good. What's the situation on Ceresa?"
"We've encountered the Brutes, and have found a survivor to the crash site."
"What crash site? Oh, nevermind, give me a report when you get back." Mizume said rushedly.
"We'll be back soon, give us a few minutes."
"I'll expect to see you in the hangar. Mizume out." I nodded and turned to D'Suvai, who walked into the ventral lift beam of the red Phantom. I floated up into the Phantom and was soon followed by the other Stealth Elites.
"Pilot, get us out of here!" I yelled to the cockpit. The Phantom lifted off and sped to orbit, flying quickly to the hangar of the Saint's Sun, which was engaged in a long-range firefight with the Brute ships. I got out of the Phantom and sprinted to the bridge, which was only a few hundred feet away from the hangar.
"Zealot Major!" The Shipmaster saluted, standing at attention.
"At ease. Are we prepared to jump to slipspace?"
"Yes sir."
"Then get us out of here." I ordered. The corvette did a full one-eighty and jumped to slipspace, speeding faster than light towards Therisalli. We were only in for a few seconds before we came back to real-space.
Hovering around the planet was a fleet rivaled only by the High Charity fleet, and was the biggest I had ever seen. Hundreds of ships packed the geosynchronous orbit of Therisalli, and fighters flew in swarms from ship to ship on patrols. In the center of the fleet was the largest ship, The Servant of Recompense, which was a CSO-class Supercarrier, and was seventy times larger than any of the other ships in that fleet.
"We are now docking with the Supercarrier." The Shipmaster announced, typing something into a console next to him.
"I'll head to the hangar again."
"Whatever suits you, sir." The Shipmaster said. I nodded and walked down the hall again, bracing myself as the corvette made a rough docking with the Supercarrier. A docking tube extended into the hangar, the airlock on the end opening to reveal three figures. One was Mizume, the other the Fleetmaster, and the third was an Elite so tall that he had to stoop in the Elite-sized hallway, which was already eight feet tall. Spotting me, the Field Marshal walked over.
"The Imperial Admiral wants to speak with you, Major. This concerns a matter greater than my life or honor." Mizume said, gesturing to the tall Elite. I looked him over. He was wearing bright chrome armor that had glowing blue lines running over it, and had a crimson cloak clipped to his shoulders. He wore two Energy Swords on his hip, and had on an elaborate headdress that extended much higher than his head. The headdress fanned out with gold highlights, and had a bright red symbol in the center of the metal fan.
"Imperial Admiral, sir." I kneeled, having seen other Elites to it to superiors.
"Rise, Zealot Major." I rose and looked the Elite in the eye. "We need soldiers like you. Stealthy, quiet, and most importantly, genius. Can you help me train special soldiers for our ranks?" I nodded and put a hand to my chin. This is getting interesting…