Eve of Fate
Chapter 11: Reassignment
'Yuteryi sat still inside his cell.
The brig on the Eternal Reverence was hellhole. The cells - no different from the one 'Yuteryi was put into – were extremely small. They offered barely enough space for a sitting occupant.
'Yuteryi had spent the last three nights there as part of his arrest ordered by the Prophet of Regret. He had very little information on why he was arrested in the first place, and the guards refused to answer him.
Being ever so bored, 'Yuteryi activated his eye and looked around, seeing past the thick material of the walls and into the surrounding area of the ship. He watched as Elites with assorted Grunts and Jackals patrolled the hallways of the carrier, and for a moment, 'Yuteryi even watched the pair of guards standing outside his cell.
'Yuteryi's mechanical eye was a bizarre tool. The more he thought about it, the more he revered it with greater respect. Never before had he been able to see in so much detail. Reams of information were instantly available to him. He could peer through walls, track multiple enemies, and shoot perfect shots. It burned and irritated the side of his head and the flesh around his eye, but he would eventually get used to the pain of it.
If being forced to endure pain resulted in an advantage for himself, 'Yuteryi wouldn't even notice himself accepting it.
Looking through the walls yet again, 'Yuteryi then spotted a group of SpecOps Elites. There were a half dozen of them, closing in towards the brig. As soon as they entered the brig, they headed straight for 'Yuteryi's cell.
"Guards, stand down," the leader ordered. "We are to escort the Commander to a hearing regarding his fate."
The guards nodded and backed off from the cell. The leader opened it and stepped back, the other five closing in with their plasma rifles trained on 'Yuteryi's head.
'Yuteryi eyed the Elites, taking the time to scan their plasma rifles – and noting how they were recently charged – as well as take note of their disgusted faces as they stared into 'Yuteryi's mechanical eye.
So far, this did not seem even close to that of a mere prisoner escort.
The leader then stepped up to 'Yuteryi and fixed a pair of restraining cuffs on his wrists, and then pulled him out.
"Move, prisoner" the leader ordered, lightly pushing 'Yuteryi into the direction of the door.
'Yuteryi took this as the cue to begin walking. Following the leader, 'Yuteryi began his walk, while the others marched in formation around him.
Minutes later, they arrived at the Prophet's chambers. After passing the security tests, they walked inside. The chamber was darker than usual. 'Yuteryi tried to pick out the details of what was hidden in the darkness, but he remembered his eye. Switching to another vision mode, he was then able to see through the darkness at several Councilors and Elites standing at attention, as well as a contingent of Honor Guard. They were probably all here to witness 'Yuteryi's trial.
'Yuteryi's guards stopped him at a short podium that was in front of the Prophet of Regret.
"Noble Prophet of Regret, we have brought the prisoner."
"Release him, and leave at once" the Prophet replied, waving a thin arm.
The leader reached for 'Yuteryi's hands and removed the restraining cuffs, and almost immediately left the chamber. Stepping onto the podium, 'Yuteryi's trial began.
"Do you know why you are here, Commander?" the Prophet asked.
"I have been brought to trial regarding my apparent disobeying of orders" 'Yuteryi replied, his voice low, yet simple and straight to the point.
"Indeed," the Prophet replied. "We shall start on the subject of the operation four days ago, in which you had chosen to lead."
'Yuteryi bowed his head in shame. The operation to sweep in and capture or kill the resistance members was a fiasco. Worse, since 'Yuteryi led the mission, it made him liable to blame for what happened.
"The mission ended in failure due to bad intelligence," 'Yuteryi explained, trying to keep his voice steady. "Our source was reliable in the past, but failed that night."
"And what a horrific failure it was," the Prophet angrily added. "This, 'source' you once relied so highly upon resulted in the deaths of several of our finest warriors!"
Each word burned 'Yuteryi deeply. It was a terrible feeling – to be held accountable for the deaths of his soldiers. It was his responsibility as their commander, but this incident made it worse for him.
"Commander, I have noticed a disturbing trend in your actions," the Prophet continued. "You have failed again and again to successfully combat the human insurgents, and this is resulting in only losses for our Covenant, and yet renewed vigor for the humans! Are you not able to lead your troops? Are you not fit to command?"
'Yuteryi felt himself shrink. He felt weaker as the Prophet continued to berate him. Worse, he felt humiliated for being criticized by the Prophet so easily.
"With all due respect, Holy One, I am still capable of leading our troops," 'Yuteryi said, stepping forward, suddenly ignoring all protocol and routine when speaking to the Prophets. "But I cannot defeat them with so many limitations set upon me. The humans live and know this city too well, and can successfully wage war from within it. Unless I can use heavier support to flush the humans out of hiding, only then can we-"
'Yuteriy then stopped, and realized where he was going. The entire room was silent. The Councilors watched on, their faces expressionless and cold as they watched and judged 'Yuteryi. The Prophet looked down at 'Yuteryi, shaking his head in anger.
"Commander, this brings us to our next point of discussion." The Prophet waved a hand, and a voice recording played throughout the room.
"To any bomber units able to receive this, take off now and destroy the surrounding street around vehicle hangar twelve. Do so, now! Destroy the humans, all of them!"
'Yuteryi realized it was his own voice, and he realized in horror where the Prophet was leading him.
"We had met moments before you issued this order, am I correct, Commander?" the Prophet asked, his voice strangely calm.
"Yes, Holy One."
"And it was I who informed you that such force was not to be used against the humans, am I correct?"
"Yes, Holy One."
The Prophet of Regret then angrily snapped out, hitting the side of his gravity throne with his hand.
"If so, then why had you sought to make such an order, if you knew well that doing so is against regulation!"
"The Demon was there!" 'Yuteryi argued back, raising his voice for the first time against a Prophet.
'Yuteryi was not able to control himself. The Prophet wanted a reason, and it was one that only 'Yuteryi understood.
"We had the chance to eliminate a great majority of the human resistance fighters! The chance was there, and we missed it, and because of that, the humans still hide amongst their city, just waiting to attack, and the Demon still lives!"
Around the Prophet's chambers, the assembled Councilors and Elites watched him – judged him. 'Yuteryi suddenly felt small, realizing how fearful he was over how they watched him. The Prophet's face had one of shock that faded away quickly.
It was only now that 'Yuteryi realized that he had stepped out of place and shouted at a Hierarch.
"My suspicions are made true by what I see before me," the Prophet replied to 'Yuteryi's outburst. "You are no longer a capable commander. You are no longer tactful, but vengeful, and your blatant disregard for duty and protocol threatens the sanctity of our lords, and dares to defy the duty of our Covenant."
"This violation of duty calls for a branding of the Mark of Shame, and thereafter, execution."
'Yuteryi felt the inside of him pale and whither away. Was this his ultimate fate, to be branded and have his rank taken from him, and then killed?
"But, given the circumstances, you are to be spared," the Prophet continued. "What you have done was wrong, but you are still a valuable instrument that still wields countless potential."
Was 'Yuteryi hearing this correctly? First, the Prophet of Regret blasted him for disobeying orders and condemned him with death, but now he spares him? Regardless of his confusion, 'Yuteryi was happier at least, that he won't be killed.
Behind him, the doors then opened, and another team of Elites walked in. Amongst the six warriors was a gold armoued commander. 'Yuteryi was tempted to think this one was being brought for trial as well, but his hands were free, and the Elites escorting him held a loose formation.
The new commander walked up to the Prophet, his back straightened and his head held high. 'Yuteryi scanned his armour, noting how new it was, meaning that this commander was only recently promoted.
'Yuteryi then noticed another Elite, one so small, it was obscured behind the shapes of the larger warriors. This Elite wore green civilian armour, and as soon as his face came into view, 'Yuteryi remembered he was.
"Hail, Noble Prophet of Regret!" the Abnormal, one named Sonan 'Jeryima, greeted with enthusiasm, as did the new commander.
"'Yuteryi, I would like to present to you, Commander Eyhisa 'Enkiree, recently commended and rewarded with the rank of commander for his actions in destroying the heretics on verge of threatening High Charity," the Prophet introduced.
"My faith is strong!" 'Enkiree cried. "I serve only the Covenant!"
'Yuteryi already didn't like 'Enkiree. He seemed overly enthusiastic, as well as fitting the description of a stereotypical loyal-to-the-death soldier. 'Enkiree seemed ready to give his life in a suicidal charge if a Prophet ordered him, and if so, he stood at a contrast to 'Yuteryi.
"He shall be taking over as the commander of our forces occupying this planet" the Prophet then said.
A streak of rage then crept through 'Yuteryi, shaking him to his very core. He was at a loss for words. He looked angrily from 'Enkiree and back to the Prophet.
"What is the meaning of this? You cannot possibly reassign my position to him!"
"'Enkiree is a fine and capable, and most importantly, loyal, commander, a greater asset to our forces on this planet" the Prophet answered, speaking nothing but praise for 'Enkiree.
'Yuteryi was not willing to accept this. He turned to face 'Enkiree.
"Tell me, what type of experience qualifies you to command our forces here?"
'Enkiree grunted as he straightened himself and answered.
"I have fought the heretics who have chosen to abandon our Covenant. The heretics are all the same, be it a traitorous Unggoy or a primitive human."
"Those heretics fight according to skills they learned from serving our Covenant," 'Yuteryi replied, his tone harsh and mocking. "On this planet, I fight humans within their own city, and their fighting is far superior to those of a misguided heretic. The last time you've probably fought a human was when you were several ranks inferior to me, when I dominated their planet once and for all."
"Enough, both of you!" the Prophet ordered, a pair of Honor Guard stepping in to separate the two. 'Yuteryi backed off, but kept a long, hateful stare at 'Enkiree.
"Commander 'Enkiree shall begin his duties immediately. As for yourself, 'Yuteryi, you are destined for another role." The Prophet then waved a hand and a holographic image appeared next to him. The image slowly changed into one of a map, particularly of the surrounding area around the human city.
"For ages now, we have sought The Compendium," the Prophet of Regret explained. "A structure that bears with it the full extent of our Lord's knowledge, and we have found it on this world. The mere presence of this structure is why you are being charged, 'Yuteryi, for attempting to order an air strike, for fears that it may be damaged. The importance of this relic is why we have chosen to spare this world and its inhabitants, so that the Compendium shall not fall under harm."
'Yuteryi watched on. He had heard the story many times now – structures or items of interest left behind by the Forerunners. When he was younger they fascinated him, but now they bored him greatly, and in his current state, 'Yuteryi was in no mood to be listening to anything regarding them anymore.
"Your duties, 'Yuteryi, shall be to escort a group of Huragok researchers led by Sonan 'Jeryima to the location of the Compendium, and help recover any vital knowledge the Forerunners have left behind. Do you have any type of questions regarding your reassignment?"
'Yuteryi grunted, planning to ignore the Prophet and get on with whatever he needed, until he noticed something. It was small, but it was there nonetheless. It calmed 'Yuteryi down, but made him question many things inside his head.
"Prophet of Regret, when were these ruins discovered?"
The Prophet raised an eyebrow at him in curiosity over 'Yuteryi's question.
"We have found them only recently a week ago. Why do you ask such a simple question?"
It then came together inside 'Yuteryi's head – a single theory that instantly shattered part of his loyalty to the Covenant. If the Prophet was speaking the truth about the discovery of the Compendium, then everything he knew was a lie.
"Well, what question do you wish to ask, 'Yuteryi?"
"If the Compendium is the sole reason why we have spared the humans, and it was just discovered, then why have we spared them for so long? In fact, the discovery of Forerunner artifacts many years ago, shouldn't we have excavated them by now? The discovery of the Compendium and your relating arguments puzzle me."
The Prophet of Regret froze. His eyes widened as he contemplated 'Yuteryi's question. 'Yuteryi himself froze as the thoughts processed inside his head. If was true though - the general claim was that the Forerunner artifacts were discovered and reported to the Prophets, and that halted the attack and forced the Covenant to watch the humans instead of killing them. But as 'Yuteryi thought about it, he never once seen or heard any recent developments about the supposed artifacts. In fact, the only mention towards the Forerunners that was made in recent sense was what the Prophet of Regret said, about the Compendium, and he spoke of it as though it was the only artifact discovered. It felt as though minutes passed before the Prophet could come up with an answer.
"You shall receive your answers in all due time, 'Yuteryi. In the meantime, this discussion is over. 'Enkiree shall begin his duties immediately, and you shall meet with the Huragok researchers later today."
The Prophet of Regret then floated away into a room further back into his sanctum. He took this as a sign that he was allowed to leave.
His muscles felt strange. The feeling of being so close to execution left his nerves more frayed than he could have ever imagined. The question he asked, as well as the Prophet's answer, still lingered in his head. He rethought it several times, over and over, trying to find an answer.
He only found one, though – everything was a lie.
Was he lied to? Did the Prophets lie to him about why the Covenant had to spare its greatest enemy? The presence of the Compendium made sense as to why the planet was to be spared, but if they never knew of its location so long ago, then why was it being used now? What has the Covenant been doing for so long now?
'Yuteryi pushed it aside for a moment and continued with his duties. A surge of anger grew inside of him yet again as he realized where his reassignment was going to take him. After briefly meeting and assembling with the Engineers, as well as the Abnormal 'Jeryima, 'Yuteryi found himself on a Phantom on a heading far outside the human city and into the scarred and dead lands that surrounded it. It was barely an hour past noon on the human world, the sun tediously hanging overhead.
With his eye, 'Yuteryi looked past the hull of the Phantom and down at the city below. The image was quite blurry and it was difficult to see beyond the ship, but he could have sworn there was fire from down below.
"Pilot, what is happening on the ground?" he asked.
The pilot accessed a computer display from his cockpit and reported back.
"The humans are attacking with vehicles. Their lines of attack are scattered and weak!"
The pilot paid no attention, but 'Yuteryi watched as much as he could from his position. The human attack was quite scattered and it was doing very little damage, other than killing the occasional Elite. However, the attack was for another purpose, 'Yuteryi predicted – it was a sign that the humans weren't fazed by the recent events.
If 'Enkiree was indeed taking over 'Yuteryi's duty as commander, he hoped that he would at least have half a wit regarding how to deal with the humans.
The Prophet of Regret entered his quarters, surrounded by the constantly patrolling Honor Guards. The trial of Commander 'Yuteryi had, almost surprisingly, shaken him. His question at the end of the trial remained in the Prophet's head. He had to do something regarding it.
"Guards, leave me, at once."
Motioning a hand, the Honor Guard quickly emptied out of the Prophet's quarters, leaving him alone. Moving towards a set of holographic displays, Regret activated them and a pair of holograms appeared.
"Noble Truth, noble Mercy" he greeted.
The Prophets of Truth and Mercy greeted him back, and their conversation began.
"How goes High Charity?" Regret asked.
"Today, we have executed even more deserters and heretics!" Mercy angrily cried. "And there may be even more that shall leave our side and join the heretics!"
"Quite true," Truth replied to his brother's cries. "The situation here is degrading rapidly. The Sangheili are restless, and they have begun asking and seeking answers for their concerns."
"Just recently, I had placed the commander of our forces under arrest and on trial for disobeying our order to leave the city alone," Regret reported. "And he too, has begun to question our occupation on the human world, and the reasons for it."
"This is unacceptable!" Mercy cried once again in anger. "The destruction of the heretic leaders by the blade of the Arbiter so long ago should have kept the heretics silenced!"
"Quite true," Truth replied. "But the Arbiter fell as he should, and we lack the resources to make a full offensive against the heretics. And we also must consider that the Heretic 'Kisayoree has not yet been slain, and he continues his campaign against us."
Kairo 'Kisayoree was the name of one of the heretic leaders. His name was spoken with both hate and respect. He was a fine and noble warrior and a charismatic and daring leader, but now he was the enemy, inspiring his Sangheili brothers to rise up against the Prophets.
Regret knew of the Arbiter's mission against the heretics. The blessed warrior was successful in thinning the heretic's ranks and assassinating the leaders. However, like the other Arbiters before him, he too fell in combat. But regardless of the Arbiter's work, 'Kisayoree had risen as the next leader, and he was still a problem for the rest of the Covenant.
"How goes the discovery of The Compendium, noble Regret?" Truth inquired.
"This is going all to plan. However, the former Commander has questioned the timing of The Compendium's discovery, and has disputed the claims of Forerunner artifacts. I fear he may know of our plans."
"This is still unacceptable!" Mercy berated him. "You should have branded and executed the incompetent! The mere fact that he still lives is a threat to our Great Journey!"
"Be calm, brother," Truth said, waving a hand. "Commander 'Yuteryi is a valuable asset. He still may be of use to us, but we must keep close watch on him - he may have realized the true nature of the artifacts' discovery."
"I shall do so" Regret answered.
"In the meantime, we must keep up this ruse," Truth explained. "The Sangheili and the others must be kept to this…lie, but this has gone on long enough. We must accelerate to the next phase. The Sangheili must be silenced. We are to begin the changing of the guard, and the Jiralhanae are proven to be a most loyal replacement."
The primitive Jiralhanae were vile, retarded, and heartless beasts, but their brutal stupidity worked well to the Prophets' advantage. They never questioned anything or embarked on anything their society has not conformed towards – a plausible reason why they had yet to develop their own method of space travel. But if swayed, they would be loyal even after death, made so by their firm belief in the Covenant theocracy.
"How soon are we to begin?" Regret inquired.
"As soon as we can, so long as this does not raise suspicion amongst the ranks," Truth replied. "Do what you must to maintain the illusion of a status-quo.
"As for the former Commander, you are to keep him under the closest watch possible, Noble Regret."
Regret listened intently to Truth's orders.
"If he begins to even think about suspect our motives, Commander 'Yuteryi is to be executed – at once."
"Yes, brother" Regret answered, taking note of what he must do, if necessary.
"Our path is clear," Truth continued. "And nothing stands in the way of our Great Journey. With it, we shall achieve our lords' ultimate salvation."
A trio of Warthogs slowly drove through the dark tunnel, before turning and parking in an underground assembly area.
The Master Chief got out of the driver's seat and signaled for the technicians to begin their work repairing the now battered vehicles. Angry plasma scoring covered the Warthogs, giving them the hardened and battle-scarred image likened to the animal of which they were named from.
There were grunts and moans as the other soldiers got off the vehicles, particularly those who were wounded in the last attack on the Covenant positions. Still, despite their wounds, the soldiers were confident and in high hopes. Most even shrugged off their burns and laughed, bragging about how previous wounds didn't stop them from going back out to get more.
"Welcome back Chief. Good work out there" Stacker greeted, walking out of a doorway that lead deeper into the base.
The recent attack was made into the heart of the city, harassing Covenant ground forces and positions. It was a quick, clean attack, more out of moral purposes than anything – a symbol to the Covenant that even if the human resistance fighters were beaten and bloodied, they would still fight.
The betrayal by Hawkins set Fist-Alpha back quite a bit, but the soldiers held on. The bases and tunnels located to the outer districts of the city were practically untouched by the Covenant, however, and the ones outside the city, far from the prying eyes of Covenant infantry and command, were not even noticed by the Covenant.
The forces had lost their main forward tunnels closest to the centre of the city, but in exchange, they secured greater safety. They were not in as much risk of being spotted by Covenant patrols, and this granted the soldiers more breathing space in between attacks, as well as a more comfortable resting ground for them other than the dark and grimy tunnels in the centre of the city.
Moral was still high, especially after Rhineland decided to join in with the resistance. The former ODST sniper was now passing his skills down to a younger generation, and had even went as far as to create a sniper division to provide fire during their attacks. The recent attack was even aided by Rhineland and his new cadre of snipers, and for a first mission, they performed admirably.
From out of the darkness of the tunnel came laughter and speech, as Rhineland and the others came into the light.
"For the last time Leggit, that kill did not count!"
"Wha-? That split-lip was still moving, it counted!"
"It was twitching, not moving, twitching! It was already dead, so the most you did was waste ammo."
Rhineland was the first to come into view. His sandy beard was shaven down to a thin layer, and he worn overtop of his armour a rough camouflage net to hide the shape of his body. In his arms was his customized sniper rifle, fitted with the modifications he needed for the mission.
The others came into the light, carrying Battle Rifles and scavenged sniper rifles. Other than the camouflage netting, the snipers lead by Rhineland were recognized by the gray berets they wore in place of helmets.
The soldiers shared their congratulations with each other for a moment as they left the tunnel and walked into the rest of the base. It was just one more mission of which they had walked out of still in one piece, and the fact they were still alive gave them all the reason to celebrate.
The Master Chief walked along with the soldiers and then left them to their celebrations. Walking down another hallway and into another room, the Master Chief found himself inside the command centre of their new base. The new command centre was slightly smaller, but the large tables and adequate shelving space, as well as the salvaged computers made up for its size.
The room was empty for the moment, with the exception of one individual sitting in front of a large map of the city with several books and technical displays open. As the Master Chief walked closer, the individual, a woman with shoulder length dark hair and crystal blue eyes turned around and smiled.
"I thought I heard you sneaking up on me," Cortana teased. "Did everybody come back okay?"
Cortana dressed simply, wearing a sweater and a knee length skirt. In spite of the situation that there was a war being fought just outside, Cortana came off in such a way that suggested everything was fine. In her fingers, she held a pair of glasses. She didn't specifically need them, but she claimed it would help her read the diagrams and writing much easier.
The Master Chief then realized he didn't respond just yet.
"The mission went off without a hitch," he finally replied. "How are things back here?"
Cortana quickly looked around the room, almost admiring the crude layout and unorganized machines and shelves inside.
"It's great to be back," she replied, a second later correcting herself.
"Not with the resistance, since I wasn't with them to begin with, but back, in the command position and doing the planning and things."
Cortana wouldn't be able to tell, but the Master Chief was forced to crack a smile underneath his helmet. When she was still an AI construct, she was chatty and proud of herself. Now, inside a physical body, she was still the same, but she was able to express herself with motion, facial expressions, tone of voice…
The Cortana sitting in front of the Master Chief was far different from the disembodied voice that resided inside his helmet so long ago. And for that reason, the Master Chief wanted to be around her more.
His mind drifted back to the night at the apartment. It was that single thought that still remained in his head, and had remained so for so long. The Spartan wanted to talk to Cortana more, have a more casual conversation with her, something other than ones about tactics or warfare.
The Master Chief had the chance now, but he could not find the words to say. Worse, his current lack of action was leaving an uneasy silence between the two.
Sets of footsteps then approached, and several individuals walked in. Looking towards them, the Master Chief turned to greet Stacker, Rhineland, and Foley.
"Hey Chief," Foley greeted as he walked in, weakly waving a hand.
Of all the soldiers within Fist-Alpha, Foley was hit the hardest in the aftermath of Hawkins's betrayal. They obeyed Hawkins's wishes, however, to let Foley lead Fist-Alpha, and Foley reluctantly did so. So far, he was unconfident with his abilities to lead, but Foley was an effective soldier underneath, and was being supplemented by Stacker.
Stacker was becoming a huge aid to Fist-Alpha. He was far too old to fight on the battlefield, but what he lacked in youthful strength, he made up for in tactical intellect. He helped to plan and coordinate operations that would be made into the city, as well as deal with moral and training at base.
"Anything new?' Cortana asked the new arrivals.
"The attack was successful, Cathy," Stacker explained. "We've damaged a few Covenant facilities within the area, and Rhineland here has taken note of several fine locations that would make excellent sniper and observation posts."
"Been to them myself," Rhineland said in response to Stacker's explanation. "They overlook the arcology and the surrounding areas for around two klicks, so we can set a few guys there to keep a lookout, and to plick a few of them off when we're on the offence."
It was good news overall. Stacker's advice regarding tactics and training, as well as Rhineland's skill helped greatly.
"While you guys were out there," Foley then spoke up, his voice quiet and sorrowed. "I had some business to look after."
He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag and handed it to Stacker. Contained inside was a pair of rusted dog tags with the name, HAWKINS GERALD E, stamped onto the metal. Foley kept his gaze low, while Stacker looked on in sadness.
"That bastard Ackerson was telling the truth," Foley angrily said. "The body was all decomposed, but our quick test came back positive – the Covies did kill Hawkins's daughter."
A thick silence filled the room, as all eyes gazed upon the rusted pair of dog tags.
"Well, what now?" Rhineland finally asked, breaking the silence.
"I know it sounds hasty, but we've got to step up the attacks," Foley replied. "It's either hit them harder wherever we can, or make a direct hit."
Stacker turned his attention from the dog tags to Foley, raising an eyebrow after hearing Foley's last comment.
"A direct hit?"
Foley walked over to the map next to Cortana and pointed a finger straight at the centre of the city. His face was straight and serious – Foley was not just suggesting an idea, he was pushing it forward.
"We've got to take the arcology."
A brief moment of shock passed over the others, the Master Chief in particular. Even he wasn't thinking of such a move just yet. The Master Chief had to hand it to Foley though – he had guts to be thinking of doing that.
"And how would you plan on doing THAT?" Stacker replied, dumbstruck over Foley's battle plan. "We get within thirty yards of it and get fried."
Foley scratched his head, trying to think of something to support his planning. The arcology was heavily defended, not just by legions of Covenant troops, but a system of automated defenses that opened fire on anything not Covenant that got too close. To even come close to attacking the arcology would be a Herculaneum task worthy of legend.
"I don't know, but it's a start at least. Have you found anything we can use Cathy, anything that's even remotely related to the arcology or the Covenant?"
"Well, let me check."
Cortana got up from the table and walked to a shelf, where she quickly scanned the spines of various books and binders. The Master Chief watched on, almost chuckling as he watched Cortana look from book to book for what she needed. She reminded him of a librarian, and in some way, Cortana even looked the part.
Cortana was definitely much different from the AI she used to be.
"Where'd you get this idea anyways?" Rhineland asked.
"When we were dug up Olivia's grave," Foley explained, speaking in an uncomfortable tone. "We also found…others."
"Others?" Rhineland asked uneasily.
"We found mass graves." Foley said, bluntly. "After the defeat of the UNSC thirty-five years back, the Covies rounded up a certain number of humans up and put them into this city, and the others who didn't make the cut were brought out to part of the city outside of their established area and executed them."
The Master Chief grimaced at the thought of what appeared to have happened. He couldn't imagine the thought of hundreds of thousands of humans being dragged out there, only to be killed by the hands of humanity's most brutal and deadliest enemy.
"When we found them, the guys who were with me just fell apart," Foley continued. "One guy lost the will to fight, another was unresponsive during the discovery and trip back, and another tried to kill himself.
"The point is, this war we're fighting has gone on for a long time, and I'm not sure how much longer the guys can last. That mass grave we found is going to be a huge hit on our moral, to know that the Covies did that to us and could easily to it again."
Stacker folded his arms, his face grim and unaffected by the idea of it.
"Don't worry about it, Foley. The Covies murdered a lot of our people, and we can turn that sadness into rage, and make 'em pay for what they've done to humanity."
"I'm hoping," Foley responded. "Either way, we need to do something big, something that could either be taken as a symbol, or something to produce results, and if we can coordinate a large enough attack and take the arcology, I think we have a chance."
"Got it!" Cortana shouted in triumph as she took a binder off a shelf and laid it down on the table.
"This binder has all the information ever recorded regarding the arcology since the Covenant landed" Cortana explained as she opened the binder and flipped through the pages inside.
Foley picked it up and flipped through it, looking at the pages in surprise from the sheer amount of information that it contained.
"Since when did we have this?" he asked, not remembering that such a resource even existed.
"It's been here for quite awhile, but I put it together in order two days ago," Cortana replied with a smile on her face, clearly proud of her organizational skills.
Foley continued to flip through, trying to absorb all the information on the pages. He then stopped at one page, staring at it continuously with interest.
"Cortana, what's this? It looks like a Shadow, but it's larger and better armoured."
Looking over, Cortana instantly recognized what the page was for.
"Oh, that. That's not armour, Foley."
Stepping up beside Foley, the Master Chief looked at the same page. A rough drawing of a Covenant vehicle filled the page. As Foley suggested, it did resemble a Shadow, but it was certainly larger and more bulbous. If anything, it looked like a larger variant of a Shadow.
But the interesting thing was, however, the lack of weapon hard points, as well as a cockpit of any kind. As far as what the drawing was displaying, it was a large and defenseless bug-like vehicle.
"If it ain't armour, then what is it?" Foley asked in response to Cortana.
"These vehicles are automated, and they move from the arcology, out past the wall and into the outside ruins and back again," Cortana explained, pointing to the map from around the position of the base to the arcology. "Those things aren't armoured at all – a single burst from a Battle Rifle would pierce its hull quite easily, but that would be a terrible thing."
"Terrible?" Foley asked in confusion.
"Just read the case report" Cortana replied.
Foley flipped through and found the report. He quickly skimmed through it, picking up the general points of the report. His eyes then widened in horror.
"What the-? Holy shit!"
Stacker and Rhineland walked towards him and looked at the report as well. Their responses were almost the exact same.
"What's wrong?" the Master Chief asked.
"These things are ferrying Covenant shit!" Elias screamed in sickness.
"Seriously, Elias, what are they carrying?" the Master Chief asked, again, in response to Elias's apparent overreaction.
"No, Chief, it actually is Covenant shit," Cortana replied, her language much to the surprise of the Master Chief. "These vehicles are loaded back at the arcology with Covenant fecal matter, and are sent outside to dump them. The case report was a record of a squad that mistaken one as a Shadow and began opening fire on it."
"And then the entire thing ruptured and showered them with steamy bits of Covenant shit," Elias finished. "Then again, these things do go straight into the arcology. We've got free transportation pretty much."
Stacker took a step back, looking at Foley with a disbelieved look.
"Hold on, Foley, are you suggesting we sneak our guys into the arcology with those things?"
Foley paused for a moment, looking back at the image of the vehicle.
"Maybe. Actually, no, not all of us, but a small few," Foley continued, trying to think of his plan on the fly. "That's it – we sneak a small force of soldiers inside using this…shit wagon, and disrupt the Covies from the inside and find a way to disable the automated defenses, and let the others attack from the front."
Stacker remained quiet as the plan sunk into his head, as did everybody else. It had potential, but there were still some points that needed to be considered. First off, how well defended was the interior of the arcology, as opposed to the outside? Then, there was the consideration of how to even disable the defenses.
"Trojan Horse pretty much?" Rhineland responded, taking note of Foley's plan. "It might work. All we'd need to do is figure out what's on the inside, and then organize the offensive. I'm with you with this plan."
"Alright, hold on both of you," Stacker interrupted. "First off, the plan is a good idea, but we've got so little to work with. How would we even find on what's on the inside? Then, how are we going to attack it? Then what about the Covenant capital ship, and the small Covenant fleet that orbits the rest of the planet? There's still a hell of a lot of things to consider."
"Actually, not really," Cortana replied as she reached for another binder, taking it and laying it open on the table. "We've got the construction blueprints to the arcology – every floor and detail necessary. At the same time, there's still more information we can consider into the planning as well."
Cortana reached for yet another binder, opening it up and displaying the diagrams drawn inside its pages.
"For example, I've discovered, based off of Covenant transmissions, a communications network hub that sits somewhere in the arcology that could send messages for details to the other ships. I'm thinking we can use this to our advantage."
"Well, we could always spam 'em to death" Foley jokingly said.
"I was thinking we'd upload a virus from this hub and let it infect the ships and maybe disable them. If I'm given enough time, I could do some coding and get something together to do that."
Stacker remained silent as the ideas gathered. Within moments, everybody sat down and began throwing ideas around. The Master Chief remained silent as he listened to the ideas. The planning intensified, and it was beyond the point of just a simple idea.
It was the beginning of a mission.
End Note: This chapter was a combination of the old draft's Chapter 9, as well as with some other material. It focuses on 'Yuteryi, and here is where he begins to question his loyalty. I had a similar bit to the old Chapter, but I made his anger more directed as a result of the things happening around him - him failing the last few missions and him ordering the bombing run when he was told not to use such assets. At the same time, I included a bit with the Prophets, for the sake of foreshadowing. Needless to say, they're up to something, and I've managed to tie the 'changing of the guard' scenes from Halo 2 and 'Yuteryi questioning his loyalty to it. The Prophet's conversation will also be referenced later in the future, particularly the name they mention...(okay, too much info there...)
Also, I changed the name of the structure, I called 'The Codex' to 'The Compendium.' I did so after watching the machinima series The Codex, and I felt...uneasy about using the name in my fic, so I changed it. Besides, come to think about it, I like 'compendium' more than I do 'codex.'
Well, this concludes the first of the updated rewritten chapters, updated as of April. 13th, 2006. I hope everybody has enjoyed them thus far. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll get to work on the next chapter, a rewriting of the massive attack on the Covenant. If it goes to plan, it will be the longest and most intricate chapter yet, dwarfing its old draft equivalent. It will take me awhile, but I will hope I can get it done as soon as possible.
Until next time...whenever the hell that might be.