Stage 8: Uninvited guests
Northern Suez Canal;
Covenant Cruiser: Life and Sacrifice
08:45 October 21, 2552
Port Said, Egypt
Ship Master Medmee Domadree approached the pedestal in the center of the room with a slow grace that gave all of his surrounding elites, and grunts, a renewed since of vigor. He turned and looked over his freed command crew and thought deeply for a moment on their next course of action. Beside him stood a taller elite, his cloaking technology was much more advanced then any standard elite camouflage. The Mirratord warrior went by the name of Bri Gridolee.
The two watched as the human spun nervously in the center of the room, as elites and grunts quickly approached her. The four hunters paid no heed to the single human and walked closer to the center of the room. They encircled the pedestal where the ship master and the Mirratord warrior stood.
Rose wanted to shoot. She wanted to pull the trigger and kill anything that came close, but which one? The aliens were all stepping slowly toward her and she twitched back and forth, from one target to the next; her rifle nervously rattled in her hands. Rose was seconds from blindly pulling the trigger but a sudden explosion of pain coursed down her spine, into her arms, and up the back of her head. She lost all control of her limbs and fell to her knees. Her vision darkened and she dared not to fight it, the pain of death was not nearly as bad as she had thought it would be. No sooner had she slumped forward, her body went numb, and she tumbled backwards and onto the cold metal floor of the holding deck.
"Do not kill the human." Stated an elite, shrouded in a dark hood. The elite's long flowing robe, and silver armor beneath it, marked him as a member of the elite High Council. He stepped forward through the crowd of wounded elites and grunts, and approached the unconscious human. The elite that struck Rose on the back of the head simply bowed his head in respect, as the elder examined her body. "Good, good. She lives."
"Elder Bortello, what wisdom can you share with us?" Ship master Domadree questioned. The elder effortlessly tossed Rose onto his shoulder and approached the pedestal. "What will you do with the human?"
"In our studies of the humans, we have found that they allow their females to fight in combat." The elder stated. "If the humans truly control your ship, then we can perhaps use her as a bargaining tool."
"Bargain with the humans!" An elite from the room growled. "That is against the will of the… prophets." The elite that had stated the outburst quickly lowered his head in shame.
"The will of the prophets no longer has meaning." Domadree stated. "And no longer will we fight blindly in this war."
"More ships must be notified of the prophets' treachery." The elder added. "Can we send a communication to the rest of our fleet?"
"I have been trying, elder, but alas, it is futile." Gridolee stated. The mirratord warrior continued to examine the terminal in the center of the room, trying to understand why he could not control any of the ship's systems. "All communication within the ship has been readjusted to human frequencies, but I can not override. Our ship to ship communications have also been compromised and the humans are monitoring all frequencies; they are sniffing all covenant channels. I believe the humans knew that our ship was the attack fleet command ship. They seemed to have known that this ship played a key role in our attack strategy. How they knew, is the question."
"No matter." Domadree added. "If we can access the command deck we will once again have full control."
"Captain, I do not believe that will be possible." Gridolee added. "I believe some form of construct is in the system, and if this is the case, then the controls on the command deck will also be useless. All attempts to open the holding cell door have failed, but there is no reason why it can not open. If I press the command to open the doors, the system tells me that the door is open, but suddenly it tells me that it can not open. All of the locks are off, but the door will not budge. This is a clear sign of a foreign control; most likely a human construct."
"Then we can not leave?" Domadree questioned.
"Yes captain." Gridolee responded.
"Your thoughts elder." Domadree stated as he turned to the councilor standing at his side. The councilor had placed Rose's body on the floor and was examining her features.
"So many humans have been killed by our hands, and for what?" The elder stated. "The prophets tell us that the humans are an affront to the Gods, an abomination. They are barbaric for allowing their females to fight, but perhaps they use their females because we have reduced their numbers so drastically in this war." The elder straightened his posture and peered into the ship master's eyes. He pulled off the hood of his robe and revealed himself to the elites. His skin showed the wrinkles of age, and the healed scars of many battles. "I say we tell the humans to leave our ship. We will then give them back this female and leave their world. There must be other ships that did not fall to brute attack, we will rally them and warn our brothers of this betrayal."
Wesley held his magnum high, and aimed at the cloaked elite that approached him. Two rounds exploded from the barrel but the elite was unaffected. Suddenly Wesley was kicked in the chest by the elite's massive hoof. Wesley landed and rolled to his side; tending to the pain in his chest. The elite left a dent in his chest plate and he had the wind knocked out of him.
"Wesley, stay calm." Siren stated in his com.
"Easy for you to say." Wesley countered.
"I've recalibrated the ship's scanning frequencies and I've found all of the cloaked elites. There are ten of them, but only one in the room with you." Siren added. Wesley couldn't help but notice that she seemed pleased of her accomplishment.
"And how is that going to save me?" Wesley shouted.
"Nothing will save you human!" The cloaked elite shouted. A roar of approval came from the elites locked in the holding cells.
"Just a moment." Siren stated. Suddenly the hallway door opened and the green MJOLNIR armor of a Spartan burst into the room.
"DEMON!" The elite roared; giving away his position. Will quickly turned and spotted the massive warrior and took aim. The elite's anger brushed away all of his discipline and training. The elite watched as several humans also ran into the room behind the Spartan, but he didn't care. The glory his family would receive if he killed the demon, out weighed his concern for tactics in battle. He charged the Spartan.
"Hold it you two!" Siren stated into the room intercom. "Honorable elite warrior, you can't possibly defeat the Spartan in front of you, and your elder has just made the decision to work out a deal with the humans. Do not fight!" Sirens words were ignored by the elite, and since the elite didn't stop, neither did Will.
Will released several bursts from his rifle, but they had no visual affect against the elite's shields. The elite continued to charge, and suddenly two single bladed plasma swords erupted from both of the elite's hands. Will had never seen the strange single blades before, but he didn't want to get close enough to examine them. He dropped back and waved for Red Squad to retreat out of the room. Wesley had already joined up with the crew and painfully ran out of the room.
"You heard what she said, elite." Will shouted. "A deal can be made." Will's words had fallen on deaf ears, and in some way he was glad that the elite didn't care, because he didn't care either. The elite in front of the Spartan was a serious threat, to him and the squad behind him, and it was a threat that needed to be neutralized.
The Spartan needed cover if he was going to take down the elite. He dodged to the right side of the room, and the elite followed. Will popped the pin on a grenade and let it drop at his feet. He then dropped back, baiting the elite to charge. The elite took the bait and stepped over the grenade just as it detonated. Will sighed in relief, but shock consumed him when the elite dashed out of the smoke cloud from the grenade. The elite's shields flickered but didn't fall. He took aim and put another 3 burst round into the elite's head, but the shields held. Out of options, Will unloaded his rifle into the elite with the same result; the warrior kept chasing him.
"Damn, last clip." Will cursed under his breath. The elite was gaining ground and Will was running out of room to retreat to. The Spartan had already circled around the small cell room 3 times, and the elite didn't show any signs of fatigue. Will took aim and unloaded every shot at the elite's head, but this time the elite dodged several of the three burst rounds.
"He's adjusting to my rhythm of fire." Will stated. The elite was able to adjust to the rate of fire from the battle rifle, and was accurately timing his movements so that the Spartan would miss.
"This isn't good." Will stated. His ammo count flashed zero and he tossed the rifle to the ground, and just as quickly pulled up his side arm. The magnum rounds pinged of the elites shields and Will made a drastic decision. If the elite's technology was superior, then perhaps his only weakness was with hand to hand combat. Will charged and the elite began to wort with approval.
The plasma blades in each of the elites hands sizzle with controlled fury as the blade swiped over Will's head. Will's shields flashed to fifty percent from the close call. The second blade came near and Will grabbed the elites arm. He then raised his foot and kicked the elite, but the warrior held his ground. Will felt a sudden rush as the first blade that he ducked came sweeping back at him. Will reached out with his free hand and grabbed the elite by the head, and the move threw off the elite's balance. The elite stopped his attack and tried to regain his balance, roaring angrily at the Spartan. Will kneed the elite 3 times, and with each blow he could feel the elite's shields push his blows back.
Will could also feel the incredible strength brewing within the warrior. The elite's raw power was giving him doubts, and he realized that he had never fought against an elite with such strength. It almost felt unnatural for something to be so strong. Will began to think that this creature was going to kill him.
Will's shields flashed to zero as the elite's free hand finally made contact, the single plasma blade struck his Will's shields dead on, but the smaller blade was only half as affect as the normal one. Will was thankful that the warrior chose a lighter and more accurate weapon, but sacrificed power. He grabbed the elite's free hand and the two massive enemies struggled for control. Will kicked the elite and its shield generator finally overloaded. The elite was stunned from the blow and watched as its shields faded. Will then head butted the elite and the two of them staggered backwards. Even through his helmet, Will was dazed by the contact, but he gained his senses before the elite could and made one last charge. He rammed his elbow into the elite's neck and the warrior fell to the ground. Will then stomped the elite's head and heard a massive smothered crack. He then waited for the alien to stand up. One last breath escaped the elite's lungs and life left its body. Will collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Red squad filed into the room, and after watching the battle from the hallway, they trained their guns on the fallen corpse of the elite, just in case it tried to stand.
"Siren, you said there were ten of them?" Will exhaustingly stated.
"Only nine now." Siren replied.
"Contact the other Spartans, I can't do this alone." Will stated.
"You are correct Spartan 043." There was edginess in Sirens voice that seemed to startle Will, but he passed the thought on. "Done. I've placed the request to HighCom. You should go back to ground level and get repairs done to your armor; that elite made a mess of you."
"I can't leave the squad, there are more of them out there." Will replied as he gingerly stood to his feet. "We should hunker down until the other Spartans arrive."
"No need." Siren returned. "I was able to lock them all down and contain them. Just like the brute forces on this ship, they are now harmless. Go get repairs. When the other Spartans arrive we will complete this objective."
"What about Rose?" Wesley cut in. "She's all alone in the room."
"Red Squad lets go." Will quickly stated. He picked up his battle rifle and one of the marines gave him a few extra clips.
"Hold it Red Squad." Siren sharply stated. "Currently Rose is surrounded by forty elites, and locked in the room. She is safe, unconscious, but safe. The elite elder has made it clear that she is not to be harmed. They are going to use her as a bargaining chip."
"Damned elites, they won't spare her!" Wesley shouted.
"A lot has changed within the covenant collective." Siren commented. "These elites want justice and are torn between their decision to fight us, or the prophets. Don't worry, private, Rose is safe, for now."
Will once again heard a strange tone in Siren's voice, as if she wasn't telling them everything.
"As for the rest of you, hold you're position until the other Spartans arrive." Siren stated. "Will, get repairs now. I've contacted Sergeant Raynord to report to this section."
"Did you?" Will questioned doubtfully. "This is Spartan 043, do you hear me serge?"
"Loud and clear." Eric stated in the com. "You still on board?"
"Yes. What's your location?"
"Deck 10; on my way to the aft of the ship and then to the brig." Eric replied. "Siren tells me things have become complicated."
"Affirmative." Will replied. He was relived that Siren had actually called Eric. "I'm heading down to the city for repairs and to await the other Spartans."
"Understood." Eric replied. "Leave Wesley in command until I arrive."
"Not a good idea, sergeant." Siren quickly stated into Eric's com. "He's pretty adamant about rescuing Rose." Eric stopped running and gazed into space, shocked by Siren's words. Beside him was Chief Warrant Officer Melanie Peters. She stopped and pondered if Eric was okay.
"Serge, you alright?" Melanie questioned.
"Siren, say again." Eric stated into his com. His heart froze for a moment, hoping that his ears were playing tricks on him.
"Sorry sergeant." Siren replied. "I was unaware of the threat or of the advanced active camouflage…"
"I don't give a damn about that! Tell me what happened to Rose!" Eric roared to the point where his voice echoed throughout the massive corridor.
"The ship captain and several dozen elites have her." Siren stated with a slight nervousness. "I assure you she's fine and she won't be harmed."
"Serge, we should keep moving." Melanie stated. Eric regained his focus and looked at the woman standing in front of him. "Whatever's happening we can't help if we stay here." She was right. Eric nodded and the two raced toward the brig level.
"Will, you can go." Eric stated into the com. "Hicks do you copy?"
"Loud and clear, serge." Chief Warrant Rodney Hicks replied.
"Assume command until I arrive." Eric stated.
Nearly twenty minutes of running and navigating through the immense hull of the Life and Sacrifice, Will finally arrived at the gravity lift. He walked into the massive room and took a mental note of the marines that were eagerly clearing the bodies of other marines, brutes and jackals. The remains of the battle that had taken place when he and Red Squad first boarded the ship. Several marines appeared from the gravity lift and saluted the Spartan in passing; they were caring crates of ammo, supplies and various other tools. Will quickly realized that this was standard procedure for prepping a ship for departure.
"Soldier." Will stated as a marine passed him by. "What's going on?"
"Not sure sir. We were told to load the ship with supplies on the double. Nearly everything from our base camps in the city is being pulled into the ship."
"Who gave this order?" Will questioned.
"Siren did sir."
"Siren, what orders do you have?" Will stated into his com. "This is clearly a departure prep."
"I'll tell you everything on the way down to camp." Siren replied. Will stepped on the gravity lift and quickly began his descent to the ground. The bottom of the ship opened before him and he gazed upon the horizon and city below.
"Well?" Will sighed.
"Basically, I've decided that there is more to this war then anyone can understand. But I want to find out the truth. I needed troops, supplies for those troops, and unfortunately my plans can not include you. Good bye 043. ONI will debrief you if you have any further questions." The gravity lift vanished and Will fell the remaining hundred feet to the ground. The half ton of man and machine crashed into the pavement and sunk nearly three inches into the ground. He looked up and spotted several pelicans flying into the Life and Sacrifice's landing deck and then the shields closed behind them.
"Siren!" Will shouted into his com, but there was no response, only static. "Command this is Spartan 043, the AI has gone rampant. I repeat, Second generation AI Siren has gone rampant."
"Calm yourself 043." Stated an elderly female voice into the com. "You nearly broadcasted that to every nearby command station."
"Major Elizabeth Rawlings, ma'am, what's going on?" Will questioned.
"Not your concern Spartan." The major stated. "But do not speak of this incident to anyone. The mission they are going on is considered Black Ops. Speaking of this could lead you to court martial or execution."
"What about the other Spartans?" Will questioned. "Siren said that they were in route."
"It was a lie." The major coldly stated. "She had to get you off the ship. She made a decision and told you what you wanted to hear."
Will raised his eyes again as the massive covenant cruiser began to lift away from the city. It then suddenly accelerated into the sky and vanished from view.
"Sir what happened?" A marine stated as he ran toward Will with several other marines at his side. "We were just ordered to continue loading supplies but then the ship left. I still have about two hundred men aboard that ship, and there are at least a thousand troops on board from various platoons!"
The squad that he had fought beside for the past few hours was gone. Once again the Spartan felt alone, and as he listened to the numerous questions from the marines, Will could only sit in silence. He turned off his exterior microphone so that he couldn't hear the marine's questions, but that didn't stop his superior officer from speaking through his com channel.
"You have your orders Spartan 043." The major stated. "Report back to Camp Eden, immediately."
"What the hell?" Eric shouted as he braced himself against the wall. He and Melanie had just arrived on the brig level when the ship began to move. The ships rate of acceleration jostled everyone onboard, but no one fell.
"Siren the ship is moving!" Eric shouted into his com, but there was no response. "Siren!"
"Serge." Hicks stated as he ran toward Eric and Melanie. "I've got Red Squad positioned outside of the holding cell door, but Siren told us not to enter. Rose is in there, and Wesley's going nuts."
"Understood." Eric stated firmly, but he himself was at loose for words. The ship was clearly moving, the elites were free, and Siren wasn't responding. Eric thought to himself that if things got any worse they were all going to end up F.U.B.A.R. Eric relaxed slightly when he heard the familiar ping of his com system.
"Sorry for the delay sergeant." Siren stated calmly.
"Damn right you are." Eric sharply replied. He was angry beyond all thought, and he didn't like the fact that he was left in the dark about what was going on.
"Your frustration is understandable, but I need you to trust me at this point." Siren's voice was soft and as pleasing as he had ever heard it. "Please move red squad back to the amphitheater room on deck twelve. All brutes and jackals on these levels have been removed. The only threat left is the command deck. No worries, I locked the brutes out of the system controls. They aren't the ones flying this bird."
"I figured that much." Eric snapped. "What I want to know is why the hell this ship is moving ahead of schedule?"
"I see, so you have been briefed on this mission." Siren quizzically asked.
"Briefed?" Eric fumed. "I volunteered and made the initial strategy, but no one ever said anything about you coming on board. So you see why I'm a little peeved right now. This was supposed to be a clear cut mission, but then we get an AI and take off 3 hours pre-schedule."
"Sergeant, all will be explained." Siren softly stated. There was a timid tone in her voice that caught Eric off guard. "For now, gather Red Squad and any other squad leaders to deck 12."
Eric sighed sharply and tapped his helmet com, saying, "Rodgers, Poll, Mayhew, Green, I need you all on deck twelve for mission debriefing. Double time! Leave your fire squads to continue a ship wide sweep for any enemy stragglers. Raynord out!" Eric tapped his helmet com again and turned his attention back to the matter at hand. He wished he had a face to associate his anger towards. Siren's lifeless form was irritating, and talking into thin air was rather frustrating. "You better have a good explanation for this, Siren."
"Don't worry, sergeant." Siren stated. "What I have to tell you is going to blow your mind."
"Very well construct." Ship Master Domadree stated. He looked to the elder, now standing at his right, and he too agreed. "We will gather at the prophet's auditorium. The amphitheater, as you call it. We will bring the human female, but if this is some form of trap, we will kill her and spill the blood of all humans before we perish."
"No concern needed, ship master Domadree." Siren added. "However, you must understand the humans do have… some resentment toward your kind. Hostility may become an issue. It will be up to both sides to maintain discipline."
"My warriors will obey my commands, construct." Domadree commented. "But we have noted human behavior as unjust. They even have tendencies to disobey their commanding officers." Domadree looked to the elder and motioned for him to speak.
"Construct."
"Yes, elder Bortello." Siren replied. The elder was surprised to hear his name spoken clearly and with respect.
"Why are you willing to trust us, when the humans would rather us be killed?" The elder looked around and noticed that the other elites all clicked their mandibles and nodded, agreeing to the question.
"Simple, elder." Siren stated. "The humans do not understand the logic that you, and your mighty elite brothers, have been lied to. Humanity is not your enemy, we never were."
The room was silent as Red Squad and several other marines and ODSTs rested in the corners of the massive amphitheater. The room spanned nearly 4 decks, with rows of benches circling one central stage at the base. A massive pillar of light poured from the ceiling and created a focal point on the stage. There, upon the stage, sat a small pedestal with two covenant holographic projectors on either side. This room was meant for the prophets to shine their images upon the faces of the elite and brute warriors during their sermons. But for now, it would be used as a stage for introducing the two groups.
"What's keeping her so long?" Eric stated. Wesley sat beside him, thumbing the safety of his battle rifle in frustration. The two men could only watch as the group of marines and ODSTs congregated amongst each other, trying to forget the war that was being held elsewhere. Melanie jogged up from the base of the room and then back down, she was restless and repeated the gesture a few times before she stopped and sat beside Eric.
Melanie was moderately attractive and she and Eric had a long history together. The two met in college and had served together for several years until Eric had been promoted. She never let up on her feelings toward Eric, but she never pressured him about a relationship. The two of them were good friends.
"Any news on Rose?" Melanie asked.
"No." Eric replied sharply.
"She hasn't changed much since college, has she?" Melanie questioned as she wiped the sweat from her brow. "I told you then that she wasn't your type. You should've listened, and you shouldn't have pushed so hard to get stationed with her."
"Shut up, Melanie." Eric sternly stated. But that bit of information had already been overheard by Wesley. He sat quietly and didn't respond.
"No, I won't." Melanie rebuked. "I've been your friend for almost fifteen years, Eric. We know combat, we know war, we know each other. You left the battlefield after my sister died, it traumatized you. But you wouldn't tell me why you left, why you gave up command of our platoon and went to her!" Melanie stopped, and calmed her nerves. She was on the verge of screaming at him in anger, but held her composure.
"A lot of things happened on Troy that none of us were proud of, Melanie." Eric sighed. "I did everything I could to save your sister." Melanie sat silent for a few moments and then turned away from Eric.
"I knew one of us was going to die, eventually." She softly replied. "I just didn't think you would leave us." A sharp hum filled the amphitheater as the holographic generators roared to life. The towering image of a woman with deep blue eyes and blond hair appeared before the group of humans. She was wearing a long flowing white wrap that waved in a wind that didn't exist. It was ruffled all around and tightly hung to her illusionary figure.
"Sorry for the wait." Siren stated through the speaker system. "I need for all of you to gather to my immediate right." Siren lifted her right hand and pointed to Eric. "Gather around the Sergeant." The marines and ODSTs all obeyed and sat comfortably around the general area of Eric. Naturally, the ODSTs sat in their own groups.
"Sergeant I must warn you, things might get a little heated soon." Siren stated. "Please make sure that you keep everyone under control, there is a ceasefire on board this ship as of now." Eric tilted his head in a curious gesture and looked at Sirens image. She rolled her eyes and looked to the opposite side of the room. "Also be warned, Sergeant, you aren't the only ones in this room right now."
The doors opened.
Standing along the edge of the room were eight silhouetted images of cloaked creatures; four on each side of the door.
Eric stood and grabbed his side arm, but didn't draw.
The cloaks faded and standing before them were eight elite warriors dressed in black.
The marines all stood, guns primed, metal shuffled, ammo loaded.
Eric raised his hand; "Lower your weapons."
The marines obeyed.
Eric looked to Siren, she was staring at him but suddenly lowered her eyes.
Eric looked to the door, and two elites walked in. One of the elites wore golden armor and another in a robe with silver armor beneath it.
Rose walked in front of the two massive warriors.
"Let her go you covenant bastards!" Wesley shouted. His roar cut the silence and both sides, humans and elites, began roaring at each other. Curses and hatred were tossed back and forth between the two parties.
Domadree stepped forward, but did not speak. The elites then silenced.
Eric stepped forward but did not speak. The humans then silenced.
The elites began to follow, but Domadree waved for them to hold their positions.
The humans began to follow, but Eric waved for them to hold their positions.
Eric stood toe-to-toe with the massive gold armored elite.
The elite glared deeply at the dark skinned human.
Eric smiled; "How you doing?" He questioned. Rocking his head; clearly showing no fear of the creature that could easily kill him.
The elite smirked, as its mandibles twitched with the effort.
Siren then cut into the silence; "Well, now that we've introduced ourselves, I'd like for everyone to say hello to your new crewmates."
To be continued…