Chapter 5 – Second Blood


--The Ecaz--

The Duke was sitting at his desk reviewing the most recent reports from his scouts. The past two months had gone better than he had expected. Around a week after he had officially declared war against the Covenant, his people had set up a colony on what was the planet Ecaz in this universe. It was out of UNSC space and after informing his now allies, they had marked that area off as belonging to House Ecaz. The PR and propaganda wing under his command had also done a spectacular job on introducing Human AI's to the people of House Ecaz. There had been only scattered reports of violence and his spies reported that there were no coups being planned. The relations between the two powers had improved rapidly but mainly due to the UNSC's desperation in finding an ally to help save them from extinction. Now that they had found one they were sharing all they knew on the Covenant. Or that's what they said.

The holo panel embedded in the Duke's desk hummed to life, and the figure of a young girl in Medieval armor appeared. Heh, the Duke thought to himself. Relations between the UNSC were so good that they had expanded on their original officer exchange. The Duke sent over ten of his mentats and in return the UNSC sent an AI over. At the moment it was temporary but it was interesting. Looking at the Duke Joan spoke, "Good Morning Admiral, you're computer systems are still very interesting and spacious, and you say you only allowed me access to the communications equipment?" She shook her head, "By the way, Commander Johann would like to talk to you, it seems that you are about to meet the Covenant."

"Understood Joan. Oh, and don't try and hack your way into any other systems, my men are the best." Replied the Duke. "You can let the Commander through now."

Nodding Joan dissolved from view to be replaced by the face of Commander Johann. "Hello Admiral," he said, "My superiors have decided to make a stand against the Covenant at the planet Sigma Octanus. They request that you send several of your ships their to help in its defense."

"Understood Commander, I'll collect several of my ships and head their in an hour." Replied the Duke.

Relief obviously flowing into his face, Johann said, "Thank you Duke Ecaz." The face of Commander Johann disappeared to be replaced by Joan.

"Finally," she said, "I'll get to see what this thing can do." Joan said over the speakers

--UNSC Leviathan--

Admiral Stanforth sat in his command chair aboard the UNSC Leviathan. He thought back on the communique he had received after he had returned from the Iroquois, their new friends were heading here. If the message was correct they were already here. That confused him greatly, had they got lost, had they turned their backs on the UNSC, had they run away? He didn't know and that annoyed him. Dammit, he thought, they'd have to rely on the plan they had already thought up. Help or no help, the UNSC would win here.

"Sir, we are receiving a short range message using UNSC protocols but there is no ship in the direction of the signal." Shouted the comms officer.

Puzzled even more by this development Stanforth said, "Patch it through lieutenant."

"Aye, sir."

"..repeat. UNSC Leviathan. This is The Ecaz, we have arrived and are watching you. When the Covenant ships arrive, don't shoot until we unleash our first salvo. I repeat..."

What the hell, Stanforth thought. The bridge crew looked at him searching for his order. Mulling it over he finally came to a decision. Trying to look as if this were part of the plan he said, "People, these are our new allies, they will be helping us in this battle. They know their ships best so I intend to let them have the first shot. But, if the Covenant ships get too close. We'll blow em to hell."

The bridge relaxed and everyone returned to their tasks. Stanforth wished he was as trusting as the men and women under his command.

--The Ecaz--

The Duke stood in the CiC on his ship, he looked at a corner of the holo display that took up most of this large room. There they were, the Covenant taskforce that was trying to take over this space. He thought back to the message he had sent Admiral Stanforth. It must have been a shock for him to get a transmission from nowhere. Hopefully he had listened to him and would let The Ecaz take the first shot. The Duke relaxed back into his chair. He had done all he could do. The Ecaz was now sitting between Sigma Octanus and the Covenant and in a few minutes they would be scurrying for cover. All he could do was wait.

--UNSC Leviathan--

Admiral Stanforth was standing in the center of the Bridge. Right now he was waiting for the Covenant to attack. And with the Ecazians nowhere to be seen the trust he had in them was decreasing faster and faster.

"All ships in position Admiral. The docks are ready and waiting for your order. "Said an officer.

":Understood, begin countdown. Open fire as they enter optimum range. The Ecazians will have fired by then."

"Aye sir."

Stanforth quietly hoped he was right because if he wasn't the battle had just become much harder for him and his people.

--The Ecaz--

"Helm." The Duke said, "Decloak and comms open a channel on all frequencies."

Quietly the monolith that was The Ecaz appeared between Sigma Octanus and the Covenant.

"Channel open sir." said the officer on comms.

"Understood." The Duke replied as he walked towards the holo display. "Ships of the Covenant Hegomany. The beings of the UNSC are our allies. If you do not leave the area now we will be forced to destroy you. We have also declared war upon your government. If you wish to negotiate a cease-fire we will mediate."

--Cleansing Light--

Shipmaster Shik looked at the screen trying to comprehend what had just happened. The alien ship had appeared out of nowher. No energy trails or distortions could explain how they just appeared. But, he knew that if they were going to defend these pitiful huu-mans then they would die just like them. Tapping a command into the console in front of him, he broadcast a message in english, "Aliens, we are the Covenant Hegomany, you will die before us. You death is the will of the gods and we are still their chosen instrument." Closing the channel he ordered his ships to destroy the new alien ship.

--The Ecaz--

The Duke listened to the transmission quietly. As soon as it ended the sensor officer shouted, "Sir the energy levels on the enemy ships is rising. The UNSC data indicates they are about to fire their energy torpedoes."

"Understood, Fire Control, target the Covenant ship that broadcast their response."

"Affirmative sir." Replied an officer.

Slowly the largest guns aboard The Ecaz turned to target the Covenant cruiser.

"Sir, we have a firing solution on the Covenant cruiser." Shouted the officer at the weapons station.

"Understood, prepare to fire." Ordered the Duke reopening the channel h had just used the Duke said simply. "All ships, open fire. I repeat, all ships open fire."

His orders will quickly followed by the heavy guns aboard The Ecaz flashing and launching lances of energy towards the Covenant. As the massive beams hit the Covenant shields flared brightly and the shot went straight through. The movement of the Covenant ship brought even more damage upon it as the beam racked along its hull. As the beam cut away from the cruiser, the stresses of the loss of so much tore the cruiser Cleansing Light to pieces.

Quickly all the other ships the Duke had brought with him decloaked and opened fire. Within a minute it was all over. The Covenant had been destroyed before they could react. But, the Duke knew he had the firepower, and surprise on his side. In the future it would not be so easy.

--UNSC Leviathan--

Admiral Stanforth stared in disbelief, the Ecazian ships had first appeared out of nowhere, and then destroyed the Covenant ships with ease. For the first time in awhile, Stanforth dared to hope that the human race may survive.

--UNSC Iroquois--

The newly promoted Captain Keyes stared at the monitor with the rest of his crew for the next several minutes. Who were these people and why are they helping us was all he could think of. They had destroyed those ships as though they were a disgusting bug.

Suddenly Lieutenant Dominique spoke, "Sir, we are receiving a transmission from the Admiral."

Shaking his head he told Dominique to patch the transmission through.

"...is Admiral Stanforth, I repeat, DO NOT fire on the new alien ships. They are our allies. You will all be briefed soon. This has been the first time they have fought beside us. We now have a chance of winning against the Covenant. This is Admiral.."

Ensign Lovell said, "No fucking way, how the hell did they destroy..." His voice trailed off as he knew there were no answers right now.

Keyes just looked out the viewport and wondered what was going to happen now.

-- The Ecaz--

The Duke was reviewing several reports from his army on the ground of Sigma Octanus. After the battle above the planet, the UNSC had asked if the Duke could spare some forces for a ground assault. After thinking about it for a day, the Duke had sent a Frigate of light infantry to assist the UNSC Marines. But a recent report had thrown his mind into disarray. A Bene Gesserit ship had just made contact with the scout ship Pride of Taihape. They wanted to meet with him over Rakis. He couldn't miss this meeting so he had been very busy preparing all his deputies for his departure.

Quietly the holo projector in the Duke's desk hummed to life and Joan appeared.

"Hello Joan."

"Good Morning M'Lord." Replied Joan, "This is one impressive ship. After how it performed in the recent battle."

"Thank you Joan. What do you want to ask me about the Great Convention?" said Brian as he relaxed back in his chair.

Joan was thrown by this question. How did he know I was looking at the Great Convention? She decided to ask a question then, "Why do you think I would be asking you about that?"

"Because you've been hacking into the archives on board my ship." The Duke replied holding up a report from his database staff. "I told you they were the best. The only reason they didn't terminate the connection was because their standing orders are to watch you and only intervene when you try for a classified area. Thereby giving us data on how you operate."

Quietly cursing herself Joan decided to press on, "Well I guess I'll just ask you the question I have. As I scanned the Great Convention I found passages talking about a bomb called an atomic. The wording of the document implied that these bombs were able to destroy a planet. Is this true?"

Sitting quietly in his chair, the Duke debated on what to do. On one hand she'll find out in time. On the other it would show trust to tell them now. "Joan, what you read was true." Said the Duke as he typed several commands into his console. Suddenly the picture of an atomic was displayed on a wall screen, with a video of its effect on an uninhabitable planet during a test. Joan just stared at the video, horrified and amazed at such raw power. The Duke continued, "These use of these weapons was banned by the Great Convention. But after the Tyrant, The Great Convention has fallen. But no one has dared to use them at their full power. My fleet carries several hundred atomics including stone-burners which are extremely nasty."

Joan continued to stare for awhile then asked, "How big are these... atomics?"

The largest are about the size of a lighter. Most are the size of a small missile though, and they are still able to blow a planet in half."

"Please excuse me M'Lord, I need to tell my superiors this."

"Understood." Said the Duke, "But remember, this is only one of our secrets. Just like you, we have not told everything."

Joan hurriedly left, preparing a report for UNSC High Command. Locking down the holo-projector the Duke returned to the task at hand. Two hours later he was ready to go and went to the bridge.

"Comms," he ordered, "open a channel to the UNSC Leviathan."

"Channel open sir." Replied the ensign.

Speaking up the Duke said. "Please pass this message along to the Admiral. Admiral Stanforth, I'm sorry to say but there is some pressing business that I have to attend to. Commodore Poole of the Waka will be the representative of House Ecaz until I return. If you need to contact me place your request through them. Until later, goodbye." Shutting the channel down the Duke ordered, "Helm, plot a course to Rakis and jump when ready."

--Naihim--

Ground Commander Callen stood on a hill 20 kilometres away from the town of Naihim observing while his command station was set up. The first detachment of troops under his command had launched from the Firgate Reistey in lighters to reinforce the UNSC Marines. Now the town was under siege, no one was getting in or out. He spotted a communications technician running up to him out the corner of his eye. Turning around to address the technician, the technician spoke first.

"Sir, The Reistey has landed and begun disembarking its troops, they should be here in two hours. The Captain of the Reistey has given us command of three thopter squadrons and the techs aboard the Taihape have managed to get one of the heavy direct fire cannons moving. That should be here in the half hour and is being flown in by carryall." Said the tech.

"Well done soldier, tell them to put the cannon beside us and get the Thopters to fly CAS over the town." Ordered Callen.

"Understood sir." said the tech as he ran off.

Callen tapped his com board and said, "Intel, I want fly-eyes over that town now. Start getting life tracers on everything in it as well."

Callen tried to relax as his orders were carried out. Looking at the town he knew that those aliens were fighting a losing battle nothing would stop his Duke and House Ecaz. He then looked up at the sky, he was one of the few men on the ground that knew the Duke had left on urgent business. The only clue he had was a single word sent in battle language. 'Worms.'

--Chenoah--

Reverend Mother Kethve Siave stood quietly in the command center as she waited for contact from the Duke of House Ecaz. After a quick council with the other Reverend Mothers in the taskforce, they had come to a decision to contact the Duke. There were so many unknowns in the universe and the Duke needed to know about them lest he destroy everyone. An acolyte ran up to her and began to speak, "Reverend Mother, The Ecaz has just appeared in orbit. They have launched three lighters and they are proceeding here right now."

"Understood, inform the landing flat controller that the three lighters are to be allowed landing clearence." Katherine replied as she headed to the groundcar waiting outside.

--The Duke's Lighter--

Brian sat in silence as the pilot brought the lighter to the landing flat that they had detected with their sensors. He couldn't believe it, this was Rakis. Still here and still desert. Micheal sat across the aisle sifting through all the data he could. Brian had many questions to ask this Reverend Mother. But he knew something very important was happening for the Bene Gesserit to reveal this secret. The buffeting quietened down and Brian looked out of the viewport. There it was, the landing flat. Already spice silos had been constructed. It suddenly hit Brian and everyone else in the lighter that had seen it. There are worms here. Is the Tyrant here? Even more questions piled into his mind as the pilot made the final approach.

--Landing Flat--

Kethve watched silently as the Duke's lighter braked and slowed as it came into land. The repulsors finally activated and the lighter floated towards the small group slowly. As it finally touched down, Kethve could smell the burnt metal of the lighters hull. With a hiss, the main airlock on the lighter opened slowly. The Duke was the first one down and walked straight towards Katherine. Stopping before her he said,

"Mother Superior, thank you for allowing an audience with you. I would like to get straight to business."

"Very well M'Lord." She replied and gestured to the waiting groundcars.

As the door in the groundcar shut the Duke asked the question on everyone's mind, "What do you want Mother Superior?"

"There is much to talk about M'Lord, not the least is the war you have just got yourself into. You have to make sure you don't destroy anything of importance."

Grumbling the Duke replied, "Reverend Mother, my House affairs are my choice. With the revalation that Rakis is here and that there are worms I have many questions."

"Well lets start, shall we?"

"Okay, first, how many harvesters do you need?"

"About twenty at the moment. The newest ones with hover jets that don't disturb the spice bed."

"Understood, second, I want to set up a colony here for our own purposes."

Chuckling, Katherine replied, "I thought you might want to do that." She handed over a sheet of Riduilan Crystal, "There are several good sites for a colony set out there. Of course, when you set a colony up we will need to make mutual defense agreements."

"Of course." The Duke paused a few seconds before adding, "What are you planning to do with the spice?"

"Stockpile it of course." Replied Katherine.

"You do know that we will want intelligence on the UNSC and Covenant if possible in repayment for the harvesters."

"We know, the first report should be ready for you to view in another week." The groundcar pulled up to a frigate that had landed and formed outskirts of the town and landing flat., "Would you like to have some lunch before we talk any further?"

"That would be a good idea Mother Superior. Lead the way." The Duke said following the Bene Gesserit into the Frigate. He quietly wondered what would happen next.

--Outside Naihim--

Callen waited as the Direct Fire cannon warmed up a the crew made their final checks. Now they were ready to assault the Covenant. The plan was simple enough, find the largest pockets of Covenant and attack them with either the cannon, the CAS Thopters and the UNSC Atellery. But with any plan their were problems. They would be unable to level the entire city so that meant entering the city with infantry.

An aide walked up to Callen, "Sir, all troops have been deployed and we are ready to assault the town."

"Understood, begin phase one." Was the simple reply.

Slowly the humming that was coming from the cannon grew. The turret moved targeting a Mortar Tank that was behind a barricade. After reaching full power the gunner pulled the trigger. The humming dropped and the cannon threw a blazing line of fire straight at the enemy tank. The beam passed straight through the barricade and then the tank. Demolishing it. Seeing that the beam was overpowered the gunner ordered the reactor techs to only bring it up to half power. The next tank fell to the power of the cannon within the minute. Callen ordered the thopters to begin their strikes. A sensor tech ran up to the Ground Commander looking worried. "Sir, we have just lost lock with about a tenth of the enemy force."

Callen looked at the UNSC attache, he responded, "Ground Commander, those are most likely cloaked elites. We know no way of detecting them.

Callen pondered this for several seconds before requesting the status of phase one. "Sir, Phase one is nearly finished, all concentrated areas of enemy troops have been destroyed." Replied one of his men.

"Understood, begin phase two." Callen ordered.

Slowly two of the three squadrons on thopters landed and were quickly loaded with as many soldiers as they could carry. After he saw them off, Callen opened a channel to the allied forces within the area, "All troops are to begin their assault." There was a click and the line went dead. As he entered the command tent Callen watched the symbols move towards the town. About a quarter of the Covenant force had been destroyed before they decided to spread out. Now the combined UNSC and Ecaz forces engaged the Covenant. The first reports were mixed, some groups won with ease while others needed reinforcements. There were also reports of two new Covenant species. The nastiest ones were walking tanks, covered in armor plating concentrated fire from several lasguns or heavy anti-tank weapons were required to bring them down. Anything less just made them angry. The other one was harmless and didn't care who was who.

A few minutes later a large group of contacts appeared on the map. Looking closely Callen saw that they were the reinforcements from the Taihape. Walking quickly over to the comms station, Callen ordered the new units to where they were needed and got the heavy weapons to set up on the hill he was on.

Six hours later and several hundred casualties later, Naihim was finally liberated from the Covenant. As Callen reviewed the preliminary reports the Covenant were able to adapt towards the end of the fighting. The cloaking devices would have to be dealt with soon, over 60 of Ecazian casualties resulted from cloaked elites alone. To top it off the armored tanks the Covenant employed could only be brought down with several lasguns or heavy weapons. Over all, the combined Ecazian UNSC forces had performed well in their first outing. After composing his first report, Callen sent it off to the Duke and went to talk with his men.