Disclaimer: None of the characters from Halo, Halo 2, or the Halo books are mine.
A/N: A friend of mine mentioned something called the Sharquoi or something. It's supposed to be like another species of the Covenant or something like that, but since I know nothing about it, chances are the 'Sharquoi' won't be in the story. This isn't set in stone though, keep that in mind.
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Halo 3: The Fall of the Covenant
Chapter 9
Gathering the Fleet
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"Hey you! Which planet will we arrive at first?" asked Charles as he pointed at the shipmaster.
"I have a name. Take heed of what you say to me. This is my ship and I can have you dead before you can lift a finger," growled the shipmaster.
"Well bring it on! You won't live long enough to regret your actions!"
"I knew you humans weren't trustworthy. You are as bad as the Jiralhanae!"
"Guys! Chill! If we kill each other now, we won't have anything left to throw at the Prophets and their ugly apes!" interrupted Johnson before the fight started.
"I concur with the human called Johnson," agreed Arbiter. "Our alliance must hold firm while we fight the Jiralhanae. All will be lost if we destroy each other now."
"You tell 'em Arbiter!" said Johnson. Then he added. "You can call me Sergeant Johnson by the way. Just Johnson will be okay too."
The Arbiter grunted in acknowledgement but said nothing. After a few seconds of uneasy silence, the shipmaster spoke again.
"My name is Ulna Xelakee, the shipmaster of the Undefeated Glory, and we are going to Antraxia first because it's the closest to us,"
"Thanks. I'm Charles." Most of the hostility in his voice was gone but traces of it still remained. "How long until we get there?"
"About four hours. Our slipspace drives may be stronger and more precise than yours, but it still takes a considerable amount of time to travel from system to system," replied the shipmaster. The hostility wasn't completely gone from his voice either.
The Arbiter sensed the tension between the two and spoke up. "We should get some rest before we get there. We don't know what will be waiting for us when we arrive,"
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"We will be arriving at Antraxia in approximately five minutes, be alert for anything and everything that might board the ship," announced Xelakee at the end of their four hour ride.
"Gotcha," replied Keyes. Then she turned to Johnson and the Spartans "You heard the Elite, arm yourselves!"
"Yes ma'am!" replied Charles, Stephen, and Johnson in unison.
"The armory of this ship is this way, follow me please," announced the Arbiter while he turned to leave, bringing about ten Elites with him. Then he added, "The human weapons we brought aboard are there too. If you wish to use those, then you are welcome to."
Wordlessly, the humans followed the Elites out of the room and to the armory. Once there, they armed themselves with their desired weapons and headed back to the control room.
When they came back, they found Xelakee communicating with the planet Antraxia. An Elite with the mask of a Councillor member was on their view screen.
"We've successfully repelled three waves of attacks from the Covenant, and they were driven back into the Kalari System. We fear that Kalaris has been overrun and that the Jiralhanae are using it as a base," the Councillor said.
"We will confirm that later, what's your status?" asked Xelakee.
"All of our orbital plasma turrets are down except for five and our fleet is crippled from earlier firefights."
"How many operational ships do you have under your command?" interjected the Arbiter.
"Out of the forty-one ships that were originally stationed here, we have only three ships that are completely unharmed. Thirty-three ships are either destroyed, or damaged beyond repair."
"How many ships can be repaired and fully operational within twenty-four hours?"
"Two can be repaired in approximately two hours. The rest will not be fully functional for another ten days or so."
"We don't have that much time! As soon as you are finished with the two ships, send them up here with me."
"Yes Holy Arbiter," replied the Ultra Elite, "If you don't mind me asking, where are you going with all those ships?"
"Earth."
"Earth...sounds familiar. Isn't that the human homeworld?"
"Yes it is. The Jiralhanae and the Prophets are there. We will-"
"Arbiter! Look out! There are Demons behind you! There are humans as well!" exclaimed the Councillor Elite, noticing the Spartans, Johnson, and Keyes for the first time.
"The humans have agreed to assist us when we move against the Jiralhanae; we are in an alliance."
"I see. Very well, we will send the two ships up to you in two hours. We can not give you the three unharmed ones right now because the Jiralhanae might come back" replied the Ultra, although he tone was much colder.
"Understood...Thank you Kimatee."
But he never heard it because the screen went blank before the Arbiter finished thanking him. The Arbiter sighed. "I had hoped that Kimatee's hatred for humans had lessened during this crisis, but apparently it hasn't."
"Let's contact Kalaris to see who is controlling the planet," suggested Xelakee.
"Yes Arbiter," Xelakee replied. He tapped a holo-panel on the ship's controls and Covenant script started to run down the screen where the Councillor member was a few seconds ago. He moved his fingers over a circular pad and a slight humming noise could be heard. A few seconds later an Elite's face appeared on the screen.
"Arbiter! I thought you were dead! Where are you? What's going on?" exclaimed the Elite.
"Raku Yarimee. It has been a long time since we last spoke to each other. How are you holding out? Do you need any reinforments because we are currently holding position above Antraxia and we can get to you within two hours."
"The Jiralhanae have taken control of most of the planet but we still have the Sacred Forerunner Temple. We have walled ourselves in there using Forerunner technology. If we were to come out, the Jiralhanae will annihilate us."
"I see. We will be getting a few ships from Antraxia, then we will come to Kalaris to help you."
"Why only two ships? Why not the whole fleet?"
"The Jiralhanae attacked Antraxia earlier and destroyed or crippled most of the ships Antraxia had under their command. Luckily they were driven back but we can't leave Antraxia defenceless. These two ships are all Antraxia can spare."
"I see. The rest of the Sangheili warriors I have with me will hold out for as long as we can. The Jiralhanae will regret ever spilling Sangheili blood."
"Good luck Yarimee, and may the Forerunners watch over you."
"Thank you Arbiter."
The screen went blank again and the Arbiter turned around. "We will have to go to Kalaris before we go to Earth. We will have to-"
"Hey! What do you mean we have to go to Kalaris? Earth is gonna be overrun any minute and you're around sight seeing! Those Elites there are doomed anyway, even if we do try to help," cried Charles-069.
"Do not try to give orders on my ship human," growled Xelakee.
"I'll do whatever I damn well please you filthy alien!"
The room was completely silent as everyone was shocked by the Spartan's retort. "You have gone too far," growled Xelakee. "Time and time again you have tested my patience but this time you have crossed the line." He activated his Energy Sword with a hiss. "Your blood will run down my blade and I will-"
"Enough!" roared the Arbiter. "Xelakee! You know better than this! What sort of foolishness is this? Have you no self-control at all? That kind of behaviour is for the lowest of Unggoy! Have you no honour? Will you forget everything you've ever learned just because a single human insulted you?"
While the Arbiter was reprimanding Xelakee, Commander Miranda Keyes was yelling at Charles-069 about how bad his behaviour was, although she wasn't quite so loud about it.
"Petty Officer! These Elites are our allies! We can't go around treating them like this! Besides, we're at their mercy right now. You've seen how strong of a warrior the Arbiter is. I doubt that even you two Spartans can get us out of here alive if everyone on the ship turned on us!"
"Yes ma'am," submitted Charles reluctantly.
"I want your word that you won't ever insult these Elites again," continued Keyes.
"Yes ma'am," said Charles, although it was obvious that he would've preferred fighting everyone on the ship than to respect and obey Xelakee.
After several minutes of the Arbiter yelling at Xelakee and Keyes doing the same to Charles, things became quiet again. Then Xelakee noticed something on the ship's radar.
"Arbiter! There is a human vessel approaching our position in normal space!" Xelakee exclaimed.
Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson jerked their heads up in curiosity. The Spartans were also slightly startled but they weren't quite obvious about it.
"How far away is it?" asked Keyes and the Arbiter simultaneously. The Arbiter and Commander Keyes turned to each other and stared. The Arbiter looked slightly amused but Keyes looked a little embarrassed.
"Sorry," she muttered.
"It is quite all right. It is in your nature to be curious about your kind. However, I will have to ask that you remain silent for now...please."
Johnson looked liked he was going to retort but Keyes laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Okay," she replied.
The Arbiter turned back to Xelakee. "How far away are they?"
"Approximately one hundred and fifty thousand kilometres away from us."
"How long will it take them to reach us?"
"In about three hours Holy Arbiter. They are merely drifting and are not gaining any speed at all."
"I see. Xelakee, plot an intercept course towards that ship. We will see what this is about soon enough."
"Yes Arbiter," replied Xelakee as he accelerated the Undefeated Glory towards the human vessel.
The Undefeated Glory slowly decelerated as it approached the unnamed human ship. When it was within range, it opened up a gravity beam and slowly pulled the ship into one of the larger docking bays. Swarms of Elite Rangers with special cutting equipment started to cut down parts of the Titanium-A plating on the ship. Once through that, platoons of Elites and Grunts were sent in to capture anyone in there and bring them to the control room of the Undefeated Glory alive.
After about two hours, several high ranking Elites brought in something that surprised them all. The limp form of a Spartan was carried in by four Elites while several others escorted a very scared and surprised Dr. Halsey.
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A/N: This chapter was kind of a filler...the only reason I wrote this is to recruit another "lost" Spartan into this war. After everyone's united, the chapters will get a lot better...I think...