Chapter 12: An Awkward Alliance
UNSC orbital defense station Cairo, in geosync orbit around Earth
8th Cycle, 5th Division, 3rd Stage, 9th Age of Reclamation (Covenant Holy Calendar)
1410 hours, October 27, 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar)
"Admiral, a Covenant cruiser is preparing to fire on us!" a dark haired male Lieutenant said from the targeting console of the Cairo defense station.
"Lieutenant Lockhardt, rotate platform and target that ship," Fleet Admiral Hood said as he sat in his command chair.
"Aye sir, rotating platform," Lockhardt punched in a few commands. The crew held on as the station quickly rotated. "Cruiser is targeted, but out of range."
"Ensign Kotchevski, be ready to fire on my mark," Lord Hood said. Several long seconds ticked by as the main viewscreen showed the Covenant cruiser drifting towards the station. Red motes of light could be seen collecting on the ship as it charged its weapons.
"Target is in range!" Lockhardt announced.
"Fire!" Hood yelled.
"Firing main cannon," Kotchevski obliged.
The lights on the bridge dimmed and a loud thump was heard as the gigantic MAC hurled a three thousand ton projectile at nearly half the speed of light. The huge projectile instantly smashed into the cruiser before it could fire its plasma torpedoes. The red light dissipated into space and the Covenant ship exploded from the force of the impact. An unlucky Covenant frigate passed behind the cruiser and was also hit by the massive projectile. Large pieces of shrapnel from both ships exploded in every direction.
"Any other targets in the kill-zone?" Hood asked.
"No sir, nothing yet," replied Lieutenant Lockhardt.
"Lieutenant Owen, how is the fleet doing?" Admiral Hood swiveled in his chair.
"They're holding their own, sir," Lieutenant Owen typed a few commands and the main viewscreen showed the main battle.
"Zoom in on the Preston Cole, Lieutenant," Lord Hood requested.
"Aye sir," Owen replied. The view zoomed in until the strange triangular ship, now dubbed the Preston Cole, filled most of the screen. A plasma torpedo splashed on its hull and a bright silver light engulfed the ship. The torpedo didn't even leave a scratch. The energy shield on the Preston Cole was more resilient than anything the Humans ever encountered. It could withstand twice the amount of firepower than normal Covenant shields. This baffled the Human scientists quite a bit. Since, the Covenant's technology was all imitated from other cultures, it left one to wonder why this ship's technology was far greater than everything else the Covenant had, especially if the Forerunners made the ship as the Master Chief had speculated.
A purple beam of light shot from the nose of the spaceship. Several thousand kilometers off screen, the beam struck a Covenant destroyer. The ship exploded as the beam passed through the main reactor. The firepower on the Preston Cole was certainly impressive, but it wasn't enough to give the Humans the upper hand against the Covenant.
"Sir," the Admiral snapped out of his daydream when Lieutenant Owen spoke. "We're receiving another transmission from the Solaris outpost. Nearly two hundred more Covenant ships have arrived in the system, but are holding position outside the asteroid belt."
Admiral Hood let out a long sigh. "Damn, they must have brought their entire fleet here. Is there any way of getting more reinforcements?
"Any reinforcements we call for won't be here for at least another twelve hours, sir," Owen replied.
"Five hundred Covenant ships against two hundred fifty UNSC ships and defense stations…" the Admiral trailed off into thought. There was no way the Humans would be able to survive this.
"Sir, the Covenant ships beyond the asteroid belt are trying to contact us… on our own priority Alpha channel," Lieutenant Owe was very confused at this. Why would the Covenant want to talk to the Humans? They seemed very intent on erasing the Humans from existence, so they obviously weren't asking the Humans to surrender.
"Put it through on the main screen," Admiral Hood stood up and walked to the main viewscreen. The faces that appeared startled the Admiral so much that he involuntarily took a step backwards. For the faces he saw on the screen did not belong to any of the known Covenant species. These were Human faces.
"Keyes! Johnson!" Lord Hood said after regaining his composure.
"I have a lot to tell you, but little time say it in, sir," Keyes said quickly.
"Go on, I won't interrupt," Hood acknowledged. Suddenly he saw the unmistakable figure of an Elite walked behind the Commander. I hope she has an answer for that he thought.
"The Covenant you're fighting now isn't the whole Covenant anymore," the Commander explained. "It only consists of Brutes, Jackals, Drones, and is led by the Prophets. Everyone else, the Elites, Hunters, and Grunts, have broken off from the Covenant. There's no time to explain why, but now the two factions are in a kind of civil war. The Elites now call their faction the Holy Crusaders. They ask to call a truce join us in the fight against the Covenant."
"This is very surprising news, Commander," the Admiral replied. "But how do I know that we can trust these 'Holy Crusaders?'"
"Don't worry about it, Admiral. I can vouch for them," a new voice was heard but nobody besides Keyes and Johnson were in the picture.
"Cortana?" Admiral Hood was again very surprised. Cortana's purple figure suddenly appeared on the screen next to Commander Keyes.
"Yes, Admiral," Cortana said. "These Elites have sworn not to hurt the Commander and Sergeant Johnson while they have been on this ship. They are willing to ally themselves with us to defeat what's left of the Covenant."
"Is that so?" Lord Hood was still a little hesitant about this whole situation. "Let me speak to whoever is in command there."
On the screen, Keyes turned and gestured for someone off screen to come over. An Elite clad in strange, and obviously ceremonial, armor walked on screen and stood behind Keyes and Johnson.
"I am the Arbiter, Supreme Commander of the Holy Crusaders," the Elite said with a powerful voice.
"Yes, I see that," Hood seemed unimpressed. "Tell me, why should we ally with you? You expect us to forget about the thirty years that you slaughtered us just like that?" Hood snapped his fingers.
"I understand your apprehension," the Arbiter began, "but we realize, only too late, that we have been fighting against the wrong race. For over half an age we were led to believe that your destruction was the will of the Gods. Not only did we find out the truth that those 'Gods' were not what they seemed but we found that the Prophets have been lying to us for thousands of your years."
"Took you long enough," Lord Hood muttered under his breath.
"And now that we are at war with the Prophets as you are, we hope to join together with you and fight for our common cause," the Arbiter said.
"Well, it's against my better judgment, but it looks like we need all the help we can get," Admiral Hood said reluctantly.
"We will make you proud," the Arbiter bowed. "Tell us what we may do to help. We will follow your orders."
"I need you to attack the Covenant from the opposite side our forces are attacking," Admiral Hood ordered. "You'll be able to take them by surprise that way."
"I will move my fleet into position right away," the Arbiter bowed once more and walked off the screen.
"Admiral, with all due respect, how is the UNSC fleet supposed to know not to fire on the Holy Crusader ships?" Lieutenant Owen asked from the comm. station. "Don't their ships look exactly like the Covenant ships?"
Admiral Hood stared blankly for a moment and then turned to Cortana on the screen, "Cortana, is there any way we can distinguish the Crusader ships from the Covenant ships?"
"Actually, there is a friend-or-foe identifier on the UNSC ships," Cortana explained. "It is widely unused since our enemy's ships look different from our own. You could send a message to the fleet saying to use the identifier and to label the inbound Covenant ships as friendly."
"Good thinking, Cortana. I had completely forgotten about that option" Hood was relieved. He turned to Lieutenant Owen, "Get working on that message, Lieutenant."
"Aye sir," she replied and turned back to her station.
"We have to go, Admiral," Commander Keyes said. "We're doing an intra-system jump to get to the battle quicker."
"Very well, Commander. Good luck," the Admiral said.
Keyes and Johnson snapped a crisp salute, which Admiral Hood returned, and the screen returned to the main battle.
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Holy Crusader Flagship Perpetual Devotion near Earth
8th Cycle, 5th Division, 3rd Stage, 9th Age of Reclamation (Covenant Holy Calendar)
1415 hours, October 27, 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar)
The vision of a blue and green planet with a small grey moon and a bright orange star in the distance replaced the utter blackness that was Slipspace. Through Slipspace the Holy Crusader fleet traveled two hundred fifty million kilometers in a matter of seconds and arrived in the exact position the Human said. As expected, the Covenant did not see the Holy Crusaders until the latter was almost on top of the former.
"Prepare for a volley!" the Arbiter shouted. "Arm all plasma turrets and pulse lasers."
"Plasma turrets arming. Laser turrets are ready," announced the red-armored Sangheili called Preko 'Kreyamee at the weapons panel.
The Perpetual Devotion was at the point of the conic formation consisting of nearly two hundred Holy Crusader vessels. It was a very vulnerable position for the flagship, but once it fired the first volley the rest of the fleet would follow suit. This would allow the flagship to drop back to a safer position.
"Target the nearest destroyer," the Arbiter said. The bridge crew held on as the ship rotated to port, revealing its flank to the Covenant ship
"Plasma turrets are ready to fire," 'Kreyamee said.
"Fire torpedoes!" yelled the Arbiter.
Seven balls of glowing red plasma floated toward the Covenant destroyer. After several seconds, hundreds more passed the flagship as the rest of the fleet fired. The plasma torpedoes from the Perpetual Devotion then splashed against the shield of the Covenant destroyer in front of it. The destroyer's shield flared bright silver as the first three torpedoes hit and flickered out as the last four impacted the hull. The plasma burned through several layers of reinforced metal as the crew of the destroyer struggled to contain the fires on board.
"Fire lasers!" the Arbiter ordered.
Blue streaks of light flashed towards the destroyer. Several small explosions erupted where the lasers hit. Now the plasma had burned all the way through the ship in some places. A few small black patches started to appear and grow. Finally the lights on the destroyer flickered out and the ship drifted dead still being melted by the plasma.
"'Broktomee, slow us down. Let the rest of the fleet overtake us," the Arbiter said.
"Yes, Arbiter," Lasto 'Broktomee obliged and pressed a few buttons on the operations panel.
Commander Keyes walked up to the Arbiter with a confused look, "Why are we falling back? Why aren't we fighting?"
"Our purpose in this flagship is to initiate the battle and then watch from afar to make tactical decisions," the Arbiter explained. "We will only join the battle when our forces grow thin."
"I see," the Commander anxiously watched the viewscreens. Hundreds of plasma torpedoes impacted the Covenant ships. Combined with the Human weapons from the opposite side, the newly allied force did considerable damage to the Covenant fleet. The Humans were already interspersed within the Covenant ranks as the Holy Crusaders rushed in. Like a cavalry charge in the days of old, the Holy Crusaders' conic formation plowed into the Covenant fleet splitting it in two. Explosions filled the battlefield. Blobs of red plasma flew in all directions. Blue flashes from pulse lasers jumped from ship to ship. White-hot slugs from shipboard and Super MACs blazed through the blackness of space leaving holes in Covenant vessels. And trails of smoke lingered all over the battlefield as missiles traveled through space.
The Covenant fleet was reduced by a third in just over five minutes. The attack from the Holy Crusaders had worked. They caught the Covenant by complete surprise and the latter had paid dearly for it. When the Crusaders had broken all the way through the Covenant lines they started to push outwards. The Human ships regrouped with the Crusaders and contributed to the effort. The Covenant, now significantly outnumbered, began to retreat. One by one, the Covenant ships started to disappear into Slipspace.
"Arbiter, the Covenant is retreating!" 'Broktomee announced.
"Those Jiralhanae cowards," 'Kreyamee sneered.
"Something's not right," commented Commander Keyes. "From past experiences I know that the Covenant wouldn't retreat from a large battle unless it was a distraction for something… Arbiter, hail the Cairo!"
"'Barukomee, you heard the Commander," the Arbiter asserted.
'Barukomee punched a few buttons on the communications panel and the face of the older Human appeared on the forward viewscreen. Commander Keyes and the Arbiter walked up to the screen.
"Admiral Hood, did the Covenant launch any Phantoms before they left?" Keyes asked.
"No, Commander, We have scanned multiple times but have found nothing," the Admiral replied. "I'm sure you're thinking the same thing, but something isn't right. The Covenant wouldn't just give up like that."
"The Jiralhanae are not as persistent as we Sangheili are," the Arbiter said.
"It appears so, Arbiter," the Admiral agreed. "They also use very different tactics. But that can't be the whole reason why they left."
"Perhaps, but you may be overestimating the Jiralhanae's intelligence," stated the Arbiter.
"And you may be underestimating them, just as you did us," Hood retorted. "It is better to prepare for more than you expect than to be caught off your guard. But the reason for the Covenant retreat will have to wait. Tell your fleet to orbit the planet and prepare for an attack from any direction if the Covenant decides to return."
"As you wish, Admiral," the Arbiter nodded his head slightly.
"However," the Admiral continued, "I am going to give you special coordinates and I want your ship to rendezvous with one of our ships there. We need to talk this 'alliance' over."
"Right away," the Arbiter nodded once more before walking away from the screen. He then began to give the orders to fleet.
"We are glad to have you and Johnson back, Commander," the Admiral smiled. "By the way, where is your ship?"
"It was overrun by the Flood, sir," Keyes answered. "It is still back at that other Halo, but it is inoperable."
"I see," Admiral Hood didn't like the sound of that. "Well when the Arbiter's ship meets up with mine, I want you and Johnson to come with him. Oh, and bring Cortana too."
"Yes, sir," Keyes said as she saluted the Admiral.
"You will receive more info in due time. Hood out," the Admiral returned the salute. Admiral Hood's face suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a beautiful view of Earth. Several large dots that were the orbital defense stations were seen scattered around the planet several hundred miles above the surface. A mixture of grey and purple ships from both the UNSC and the Holy Crusaders moved towards the planet preparing to orbit.
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A unit passed as the Perpetual Devotion waited at the given coordinates for a single Human ship. The Arbiter started to wonder if that obviously high ranked Human forgot to meet him there. But as the Arbiter finished his thought he saw a ship moving towards them on the forward viewscreen. The ship was not like any Human ship the Arbiter had ever seen. In fact, it reminded him of a monument, or what he thought was a monument, in the center of the Covenant holy city of High Charity. The ship eventually slowed and stopped right next to the Perpetual Devotion.
"Arbiter, a Human dropship is requesting permission to land in hangar two," Teru 'Barukomee announced.
"Allow them entrance," the Arbiter replied. He turned around to the gold-armored Sangheili waiting in the back of the bridge, "'Zerrazee, you have command of this ship until I come back. I am going to meet the Humans in the hangar."
"Best of luck to you, Arbiter," 'Zerrazee gave the Arbiter a nod and took the latter's place. The Arbiter walked out of the bridge followed by Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson.
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Fleet Admiral Hood stepped out of the Pelican onto the floor of the Covenant flagship's hangar with Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 right behind him. Lord Hood looked around the hangar for a bit and saw the Elite apparently known as the Arbiter walking in from his right. Behind the Arbiter were Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson. Keyes was carrying a small disk with her.
"Commander, Sergeant, if you would please get into the Pelican I would like to get moving as soon as possible," Hood requested.
Keyes and Johnson briefly saluted and walked past Admiral Hood and John. As Miranda walked past John, she handed him the disk, which he promptly inserted into a slot in his helmet.
"Arbiter, if you would like to bring any of your officers you are welcome to. And you may tell your bridge crew to join up with the rest of the fleet when we have left," Admiral Hood said.
"Yes, I will bring a few," the Arbiter replied before walking off to what looked like a small speaker on the wall. He said a few things in his native tongue and returned to Admiral Hood and his entourage. After several minutes, four Elites walked into the hangar and greeted the Arbiter. They all wore armor of different colors, some of which the Admiral had never seen. One had blindingly white armor, that of a covert ops general. Another, also white, had the dressings of the Honor Guard. The two others, one clad in violet armor and the other in red robes with gold trim, held positions that were currently unknown by the Humans.
"Are we ready?" Admiral Hood asked.
"Yes, we are ready," the Arbiter answered. And with that, the Admiral stepped into the Pelican followed by the Elites. The Master Chief was the last one onboard. He would make sure the Elites didn't try anything stupid.