Chapter 21: Insignificantia
-Three months after cast off-
It's been a few months since we have cast off, and while this time has been calm, it most certainly has not been uneventful.
To my lack of surprise, being the Shipmistress of a cruiser this large wasn't exactly like piloting a gigantic seraph. The command crew and all the menial workers onboard were definitely not for show as it took a massive amount of teamwork and expertise to operate every part of the ship.
Everything from the communications officer to the reactor maintenance crew to the weapons technicians were all important parts of the crew that I have done my best to get to know.
It was one of the few instances that I have been grateful for the ranking system of the Covenant military, as it made it significantly easier to find out who was responsible for what. While I have done my best at trying to get to know my crew, the simple fact was that the ship was simply too large and too diverse to know every single person onboard and what their tasks were.
I had to mainly rely on those I trusted beneath me to keep everything in check, which Ussa and Aris most certainly helped with.
Ussa immediately fell into step as my second in command onboard the cruiser, and all of the stationed sangheili fell into step under the two of us. I could tell that the former honor guard's mood was a bit brighter in his new station as he took to his new station like a fish to water.
The gold armored elite was surprisingly patient and an extremely good teacher when it came time to learn how to command my ship. He has been teaching me everything I've needed to know, and has been quizzing me on theoretical encounters we might have in the future.
My new mentor touched on everything from reactor failures to surprise ambushes to large scale naval strategy, and over time I like to think I have been doing better. Naval ships like this definitely required much more study to manage than a simple fighter craft.
Aris, on the other hand, was a surprisingly good leader and friend… though I don't think that she expected my training to go the way it did.
The first thing I needed to understand was her current level of combat prowess, and that started with a simple hand to hand spar. While I could tell she has had some training with close quarters combat, the skill gap reminded me a bit too much of when I started with Bero all those years ago on Sangheilios.
There have been a few things I have noticed about Aris's behavior that have really made me want to turn the ship around and throttle the old bag that was training her before. Obvious signs of abuse like the reflexive flinches away from any strike and the immediate submissive behavior when I tried to criticize her form have definitely been something I have been trying to work on.
Nonetheless, she was just as persistent as I was, and has been improving, where she shined the most was her sleight of hand and finesse. There have been times I have startled her and ended up with a needler aiming in my direction quicker than I thought possible.
Not that her combat was the only thing about her that was of note. She commanded an extremely devout following of those within her clan, to the point where I felt a bit self conscious about the difference in attitudes seen between the two of us. While I typically got a respectful salute, she usually had several people prostrating themselves flat in front of her as the two of us held a conversation.
She didn't seem to even notice the behavior as she continued on, acting as if what I was seeing was completely normal, but I certainly did.
After I began to point out the odd behaviors, it's become a bit of a running joke between us as we try to go out of our way to react to the other's subordinates. It has led to several stunned worker unggoy and floundering gladiatorial clansmen, which only fueled the behavior and our friendship.
Even after all these months, I am still learning many new things about my ship and crew.
Just like right now.
Glancing up from the holographic display, I see an oddly garbed unggoy shifting his weight. The unggoy seemed to be wearing an odd assortment of red clothes that almost appeared to be a robe. Sadly, the image was thrown off a hit by the recognizable form of the pyramid-like silhouette of his methane tank peeking through an opening in the back. He wore no armor plating, and was very obviously not a warrior of any kind.
"I am told you wish to speak to me…?"
He also appeared to be a bit nervous for some reason, as he seemed to bring his chitinous hand up to adjust his strange red robes.
"Yes, Shipmistress. I have been requesting an audience with you for some time now…"
A moment of awkward silence comes and goes before I become a bit curious. Typically, the people around me are rather free with their ideas and words, but this unggoy seemed to be waiting for permission to speak. Gesturing with a hand for him to continue, I realize I need to correct the issue of calling him 'the strangely dressed unggoy' in my mind.
"And you are?"
The nervous unggoy stands up a bit taller as he seems to gain some confidence.
"I am Dimyap, your Deacon."
Blinking in confusion, it took me a moment to fully register what he said. The rank wasn't a part of the normal military structure, but my memories eventually switched back to my old basic training days.
Deacon? Aren't those religious advisors sent by the Ministry of Tranquility?
"I was unaware I even had a Deacon…"
Turning to Ussa who seemed to be examining the nervous unggoy with steel in his eyes, I voice my concerns.
"Aren't unggoy deacons typically posted to smaller ships?"
A slight nod was my only response from the sangheili, though thankfully it seems as if Dimyap wanted to answer the question himself.
"I don't think any of the minor prophets in the ministry wanted to take the journey into the deep dark advising a lowly kig yar, so they sent me."
Immediately, the bridge grew quiet as everyone turned to the unggoy. It took him a second, but the moment he understood what he just said he began to backtrack nervously.
"Not that I think such ignorant thoughts, Shipmistress. I'm merely stating an observation."
Shifting my weight, it didn't take me very long to realize what he was doing. The unggoy was very obviously trying to appeal to whatever ego I might have in order to save himself from any offense he might have committed. I have seen this instinct in unggoy under my command before, and each time I see it, it bothers me.
Though with the attitudes of all the other kig yar out there I have met, the survival instinct makes sense.
"Worry not, no offense taken. I am, however, interested in what it is that you might be advising me about?"
The unggoy perked up, seemingly happy to answer the question.
"Oh! I have studied our holy texts for years under the tutelage of the san'shyuum. I will be able to advise you as to the holy writ and the results of most luminary scans, assuming something of the sort comes up."
Our conversation was interrupted by a familiar voice calling out from his spot off to the side.
"I say we assign him to waste management."
Sighing, I turn to Nath who hasn't even turned his head from his console.
"Well then it is a good thing I am in charge and not you, eh?"
A nondescript hum came from my friend, causing me to shake my head in fond annoyance before I returned my attention to Dimyap.
"So you are just a religious advisor then?"
The unggoy nods his head, before giving me a grunty eye smile.
"Indeed, and that leads me to the first thing that I wish to bring up."
What?
Other than routine drills and learning how my ship worked so far, we haven't even done anything of note yet. I honestly couldn't think of anything involving any holy writ that could be commented on.
"And that is…?"
The unggoy reaches into his robes and pulls out a small datapad. Waddling around the holographic display, he reaches me and offers the device without another word.
Turning my attention to the datapad, I see only a small bit of writing on the screen.
"May I please have an assigned room? I have been sleeping in a supply closet since I arrived because everyone I have talked to so far has ignored me."
After reading it over a few times, I look back to the unggoy with a bit of horror in my eyes. A few previously unnoticed facts about the unggoy in front of me came to my attention. Like how his clothes appeared extremely wrinkled, or how badly he smelled.
After a moment, I regain my bearings as I hand the datapad back to the unggoy.
"Ussa, take control of the bridge for a moment. I need to right a wrong."
Hearing the thump of a fist impacting an armored chest, I grabbed the unggoy's arm and began to walk towards the door.
"As you command."
Dragging the poor unggoy along, I swiftly made my way out of the bridge. Hearing the door slide shut behind us, I spin around to the yet again nervous looking unggoy.
"You have not received a dwelling quarters yet?"
The unggoy shakes his head, looking up at me with anxious beady eyes.
"No, Shipmistress. None of the sangheili want to give me the time of day, and all of the kig yar I have found have been warriors and can't help me."
Blinking, I began to go over everything he said in my head. It made sense, as the vast majority of my crew were either menial workers or warriors. In all of my lessons so far, there hasn't been a single mention of any sort of managerial staff.
Come to think of it, who is keeping track of our rations or supplies?
These were all things that I knew I would need to bring up with Ussa when I returned to the bridge, but for now I will settle on simply helping this grunt out. Turning to make my way towards the somewhat large methane suite where the unggoy were housed, I gestured for Dimyap to follow.
"Don't worry, we will solve this issue here and now."
Hearing the soft metallic thumps of his chitinous feet behind me, I wasn't quite expecting him to begin to protest my actions.
"Shipmistress, you don't need to waste your time with this. I don't wish to distract you from your-"
Spinning around, I shook my head.
"Nonsense. This is my ship, and anything that happens on it is my responsibility. You have been improperly treated so far, and I intend to right this wrong."
I could tell I surprised the unggoy, as he appeared to flounder for a moment. After a moment, he seemed to tear up when I heard a surprisingly emotional voice come up from the religious advisor.
"Thank you Shipmistress. Thank you."
(\\\(*v*)/)
-Seven months after cast off-
Deactivating my sword, I glance down to the prone form of my new sparring partner.
It wasn't until I began challenging other sangheili that were stationed on my ship to a spar, that I realized exactly how much of a skill gap there was between the average sangheili and Bero.
It was times like this that I really missed my old mentor, as I helped the prone sangheili minor to his feet. Sure, this person in front of me could rip me in half with his bare hands, but that was only if he could touch me.
Which he couldn't.
"Well fought Shipmistress! I can see how you earned your position."
Giving the minor a bright smile, I dip my head in respect as he dusts himself off.
"Thank you. I learned under the best after all."
The sangheili simply returned the gesture before making his way towards the small grouping of elites.
We have recently cleared out one of the hangar bays in order to allow the warriors onboard to hone their skills in spars.
Ever since we left, we have not found any inhabitable planets. I'm sure that a few of the rather large moons we have found could maybe be terraformed, but as it was that would require ministry approval. Not that it stopped us from using the surface to keep our low gravity combat sharp.
Looking around the empty hangar, I spotted Aris chatting with a few of her clansmen. Just like normal, it looked as if they were all hanging on every word she was saying.
I bet if she began talking about watching paint dry, they would think it was the most interesting thing ever.
The main issue I have working against the matriarch queen's progress was her ego. It wasn't exactly hard to understand, considering she was literally treated like a queen by those under her, but it was a bit frustrating at times.
I could easily tell that the main reason she wasn't as trained as she could have been at the age she was at was simply because none of her clansmen actually wanted to fight her. I have watched as she demonstrated her 'skills' to me, only to watch as a slightly younger male intentionally throws a fight in order to gain favor.
Something that she definitely learned I would not do.
Feeling a bit vindictive, I look over to see the sangheili quartermaster standing off to the side passing out training quarterstaffs to two blue clad minors.
Perfect.
Casually strolling over to the quartermaster, I politely wait until he is done with what he was doing. It didn't take him very long before he noticed me, though he did seem a bit surprised once he did.
"Shipmistress!"
The elite blinked for a moment before he looked out toward the open area I was fighting in just a moment ago.
"You have completed your bout already? I looked away for only a moment!"
Dipping my head low in respect, I feel a bit of embarrassment flood into me. I very much appreciated the fact that my armor hid my face, as I was sure I was blushing. Bringing my arm up to scratch at my exposed feathers, I let out a small laugh.
"Yeah, it almost seems a bit too easy now that I have energy shields. I've spent my whole life thinking that any wrong move could be my last, but now that I have room for error…"
The elite grunts, looking towards the two minors.
"Perhaps training like that might whip these ones into shape. Pain is an excellent motivator, after all."
Laughing, I simply give the quartermaster a toothy smile.
"Feel free to join in on the spars if you want. I'm sure your contribution to their scars and bruises will be welcome."
The elite lets out a hearty laugh, which definitely was not something that was common among his people. It took him a moment to calm down, but once he did his mood returned to business.
"I just might do that, but I'm sure you didn't come to sate my appetite for conversation."
Nodding, I point to the small stack of wooden sticks.
"I need two quarterstaffs. I don't believe I have done my daily training with Aris quite yet."
The elite seemed to perk up at that as he retrieved two pieces of timber. Inspecting them for a few moments under an experienced eye, he seemed satisfied as he handed them over.
"These should hold against the strain of anything you might throw at it, though it would be appreciated if we could stop for a resupply soon. Timber like this does not hold very long against training days like this."
Smiling, I nod my head in understanding.
"Have a list of any supplies you want during the next resupply run to the bridge by the end of the cycle, and I shall do my best."
The sangheili gives me a quick salute before he returns to what he was doing.
"By your word, Shipmistress."
Smiling, I turn around and begin to make my way towards my unofficial apprentice. As I made my way to the group, I could hear her voice as she loudly spoke to the small grouping around her.
"-And then I ducked below her strike and punched her in the gut, sending her straight to the floor! She was so surprised by this, that she couldn't do anything as I pinned her neck below my staff and forced her to yield!"
The group of clansmen seemed awed by the story, chirping and cheering loudly in praise of their mighty matriarch.
I knew immediately what she was talking about. During our spar yesterday, the maneuver that she is talking about definitely happened, but there was only one problem with her version of events.
I was the one that pinned her.
"Oh really?"
"Eep!"
If terror had an image, it would be Aris's face right now as she whipped around so quickly, I saw at least one feather fall out.
Holding up one of the quarterstaffs, I gesture with my head towards the open area.
"Mind demonstrating your excellent combat prowess again?"
The crowd around her seems to perk up, as this was the first time that we would be doing these lessons where people could see.
"Yeah!"
"Go get her!"
"Maybe they will promote you to Zealot too!"
Even through the praises of her clan, which would usually brighten her mood, she uncharacteristically remained quiet and maintained direct eye contact with me. Her slit pupils seemed to enlarge in front of me as I was able to visibly watch the adrenaline take effect.
Very slightly, almost unnoticeable, I saw her try to subtly shake her head no, showing that this was not a fight she wanted.
Not a chance in hell after that fake story.
Throwing one of the staffs in her direction, I watched as she caught the piece of timber. Glancing down at it for only a second, she looked up to me in absolute horror.
"After you, your highness."
After an audible gulp, and more words of encouragement from her clansmen, we stood only units apart in an open area. All around us were sangheili warriors, kig yar, and some unggoy workers all stopping to watch the bout. Even out of the corner of my eye, I could easily see a few of the clansmen taking bets with those around them. The majority seemed to be betting on their queen, but I could see one ruuhtian kig yar going around and collecting as many bets in my favor as he could.
"Come on, if you are so sure your little queen is going to win, then what do you have to lose! I had personally fought her, and I am only betting in her favor because I feel bad, I promise."
I felt my eye twitch as I recognized the voice as Nath's, but in the end I could only teach one lesson at a time.
Though in the back of my mind, I knew who was next.
Focusing my attention back on my student, I saw as she was already coiled and ready for a fight. Absolutely all of her attention was on me, and I couldn't exactly blame her.
After all, her first weekly training went far worse than my own did.
Without even bothering to coil myself into a defensive stance, I give my student the most bloodthirsty smile I could. Watching an extremely visible shiver go through her, I grip my staff tightly as I prepare myself to avenge my image.
"Begin!"
(\\\(*v*)/)
-Fourteen months after cast off-
"Bwwwooooo"
…
"Yeah, you think so?"
…
"Brrreeuuuu."
…
"Yeah, I see your point. The targeting adjuster could be an issue…"
I am sitting in Timore's workshop, which was just the largest spare storage room near one of the rear engines, taking a bit of time to relax. Oddly enough, the constantly busy workshop was a place where I could sit and relax without the constant barrage of day to day tasks that a ship of this size required.
Thankfully, Timore helped me out and set up a small cushioned area off to the side where I could simply sit and relax for a bit.
Which is where I am now.
Content with my spot off to the side, I watch as two of my best friends fiddle with some odd form of technology.
Their odd relationship they have formed over time was endearing, if a bit strange. For instance, it still bothered me how Timore could somehow understand floats without looking at him.
Great minds think alike I suppose.
"Do you think it is still worth a test?"
"Brerwwww."
Blinking, I realized that behind Timore's back, Floats was violently shaking his head back and forth in an obvious 'no' motion.
"Alright then, let's give it a go!"
Pressing a button, I tilt my head in confusion as I see an odd device begin to hover onto the table by itself. It was definitely not something that I have ever seen before, but that wasn't too out of the ordinary for these two.
It was an odd relationship these two shared, as I contemplated it for a moment. Timore was definitely more of an experimental genius when it came to tech, but Floats was able to bring a few of his creations back towards reality.
Timore seemed satisfied as he took a few steps away from the device. Holding what appeared to be a strange button in his hand, he moved his large thumb over it as he began to count down.
"Alright testing in three… two… one…"
A soft blue light lit up from the top of the device, illuminating the area for a moment. Timore seemed satisfied with the result, smiling towards Floats who definitely did not appear nearly as happy as Timore was.
"It looks like we programmed it correctly, so now all we have to do is-"
He didn't get to finish, as a white hot beam of light burst from the device, burning into the ground and melting into the metallic floor. The gravity lift holding the device up seemed to sputter before pulsing in a way that it definitely should not be doing.
Watching as the white hot beam of energy becomes unstable, I look in horror as it begins to spin and bob uncontrollably.
My eyes grew wide as I realized that this thing could be a very serious danger to everyone inside. Springing into action I activate my sword and run towards the device.
On my mad sprint towards the erratic laser of doom, the beam crossed my path and I noted idly that nearly one third of my shields dropped from the small exposure. That alone caused my heart to drop as the energy shields in my combat harness were nothing to scoff at.
Eventually closing the distance, I sink my blade into the device and thankfully it sputters and lets out a small puff of smoke before failing completely.
Deactivating my sword, I look around the room only to see nearly everything was completely destroyed.
Hearing a crackle of a fire behind me, I turn to see the small cushion I was sitting on just moments before had a bright diagonal slash through it where a fire was just starting.
"Well, I think we might need to work on the targeting adjusters a bit more."
Hearing the deep voice of Timore, I turn around to see the brute glowing with a bright blue energy shield, and a very angry looking huragok behind him.
Sadly, even the quick reflexes of Floats didn't seem to be able to save some of Timore's fur, as there was a singed and smoking line that burned into the exposed fur on his right arm.
Hearing another explosion coming from the device, I reflexively activate my sword once again and turn around only to see more smoke emanating from the gravity lift.
"And maybe we should make sure the lift isn't faulty either."
"Bwwooo."
"Agreed."
(\\\(*v*)/)
-Two years after cast off-
Glancing toward the worn golden helmet of my Champion armor, I sigh deeply. Running a talon down the scratches and dents along the protective metal, I feel an odd sense of nostalgia.
Despite all the time spent inside the armored shell, it almost felt strange to know that I will never need to wear it again.
Shaking my head, I turn and examine my surroundings.
It's been two years since we have first cast off on our journey, but the immense size of my quarters still surprised me. I wasn't really sure what I was expecting when Ussa first brought me to my new sleeping quarters, but the luxurious quarters I have found myself in was definitely not it.
There were several things that could grab someone's attention inside of my new room, but the large bed that could hold multiple sangheili in it definitely commanded the most attention.
There have been times that I have gone to lay down in my bed, only to realize it was far too large or too soft. Years spent on my old ship cooped up in a glorified closet, sharing the same basic foot space as the place where I groom and bathe has trained me to expect certain things… and yet now when I wake up, I need to literally crawl for several seconds to the edge of my nest… it was jarring at first.
Turning my attention back to the large armor stands that line the wall, I look to the two empty spots. It appears as if these stands are intended for multiple armor sets, and yet all I had was the one specially made Zealot armor and my old worn champion armor.
Shaking my head out of my thoughts, I began to make my way out of the large room. Walking over to the large door, I take in a deep breath before I press the command button.
Opening the door, I walk out directly onto the command deck. Immediately, all eyes were on me as a few gave me professional salutes.
That is another thing I don't think I will ever get used to.
Walking over to my hover throne, I begin to climb onto the overly large chair.
We have recently returned to our border patrol from a refueling run, which gave my crew a much needed small vacation. I decided it would be a good idea to go out of my way to allow my new sangheili crew to return home for a little while.
I knew that it has been a long while since any of us has seen more than the inside of this ship or barren rocky moons and comets, and over this time I have found out that the san'shyuum were lying about the rampant piracy problem.
It turns out that since there weren't any ships to loot and no colonies to sell the nonexistent plunder to, the only thing outside of the Covenant borders was empty star systems and a black void.
Thankfully, my crew remained surprisingly supportive of my odd choice to continue exploring the vast nothingness of the universe, and the small vacation back on their home planet seemed to bring a new level of brightness to everyone's mood.
Not that the lack of finding anything has stopped me from looking. After all, I knew there was something out there worth finding.
"Shipmistress, here is the full report of our current status for the cycle."
Looking down, I spotted a young ruuhtian looking up at me from below. He was holding a softly glowing datapad, but didn't appear to be overly enthusiastic about his job.
Reaching down to grab the device, I thank the worker who simply nods and walks away.
Sighing, I resign myself to looking over paperwork and redundant reports yet again. Looking down to the datapad in my hand, I began to go over all of the information that came from our recent supply run.
"With the recent influx of kig yar volunteers to bolster our ranks, staffing for all posts has been trivial..."
It turns out in our absence, the majority of kig yar mercenaries in the Covenant all requested a transfer to my ship. While this obviously was a good thing for our low staffing, it also told me that my fame back home hasn't diminished.
Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be able to take a mate and raise a family. Even if the war doesn't happen anytime soon, the idea that any house I buy will be immediately swarmed by a crowd of people ran through my mind for a moment before I shook the idea off.
I just don't have time for that right now.
Forcing myself to continue reading the datapad, I begin to drum my free hand against the seat of my hover throne.
"Fuel has been replenished to the optimal levels and remaining supplies are satisfactory, however rations are still running low since Malurok did not have a big enough surplus supply for a ship our size. Recommended that we make a stop sometime in the next three monthly cycles to a more fertile world…"
Making a mental note to plan a quick stop at the closest refit station in two months, I shifted my weight and continued on. As far as I could tell, everything was going fine. The ship was relatively fully stocked and all systems onboard were running at optimum capacity.
"Shipmistress, I have something that might interest you."
Glancing up from the datapad in front of me, I look over to see my communications officer waving me over. Stepping off of my oversized chair, I made my way to him.
"Yes?"
The sangheili officer seems to be examining his terminal very closely for a moment before he shakes his head and turns to me.
"Well, I have done as you have asked for each of our scheduled scanning periods, and I have picked up something… odd."
Intrigued, I looked over his shoulder to the terminal, but as it was all I could see was an odd jumble of symbols and commands. It hasn't been the first time I don't exactly know what is on the screen, but if it warranted my attention then I would do my best.
"Odd? In what way?"
The elite grumbles for a moment, gaining my attention. He appeared a bit frustrated for a second, furiously tapping on a few of the commands which shifted the display to something completely different before stepping aside.
"That's just the thing Shipmistress, I don't quite know what these are. The odd signal was poorly encoded, but it was obviously transmitted from something, but I don't recognize any of it."
Looking at the screen for a moment, I felt my breath leave me. Taking a second to realize exactly what this was, I read the strange but yet familiar words in front of me.
DCS.REG#HOP-000987111
ENGINE FAILURE.
MY DRIVE IS DAMAGED.
CAN YOU PROVIDE ASSISTANCE?
The message itself wasn't what caught my attention. If I received this transmission normally, there would be no doubt that I would jump at the opportunity to help whoever was onboard. No, the reason I was studying the message on the screen so closely was because it was in a different language entirely.
English.
"Can you trace it?"
The communications officer takes a second before he sits back down in his spot. Tapping on his screen faster than I can follow, I eventually receive my response.
"Yes, Shipmistress. I have rough coordinates. Sending them to the navigator."
Glancing over my shoulder, I see Nath focused entirely on what is on his screen. After a moment, he glances in my direction. Knowing what he was asking for, I gave him a quick nod.
"Wait… The symbols, they are changing…"
Turning back to the communications officer, I look back over his shoulder again. Sure enough, some of the words have changed.
DCS.REG#HOP-000987111
WILLFUL HARM.
MY DRIVE IS DAMAGED.
IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED.
Willful harm?
Turning back to Nath, I made my way over to him quickly.
"How far are we from these coordinates?"
The kig yar was surprisingly serious as he did his work. After a few moments, he seemed satisfied as he turned back to me.
"From what I can tell, about thirty units."
With no hesitation whatsoever, I nodded my head.
"Get us there."
Spinning back to his console, he entered his own little world, and all I got for confirmation that my orders were being followed was a quick, "You got it boss."
Spinning around, I made my way back to my hover throne. At this point, my nerves were getting the better of me. Climbing the chair, I sit down and begin to drum my claws nervously on the armrest.
Willful harm? I hope I'm not too late.
"Shipmistress?"
Looking down from my perch, I see Ussa glancing up to me in concern.
"Yes?"
The gold clad sangheili appeared almost nervous to bring up whatever it was that he wanted, but eventually he spoke up.
"You appear… agitated. Is something wrong?"
Taking a quick moment to compose myself, I shake my head.
"I don't know Ussa… I don't know."
(\\\(*v*)/)
Dust and echos.
That is all we found. It looked like whatever it was that used to be transmitting the signal simply exploded. It also appeared as if it happened a long while ago, if the distance that the debris traveled from each other piece was any indication.
WILLFUL HARM.
Feeling my feathers unconsciously press themselves against my skin, I try not to think about the poor souls onboard the craft. Flying my seraph slowly through the slowly spinning metal, I grit my teeth angrily.
Whoever did this, obviously didn't want to leave any evidence…
After a few moments of looking for anything that might have survived the explosion, Ussa's voice comes through the console in front of me.
"Anything to report?"
Sighing, I press a rune on the console and begin my return to my ship.
"No, just scrap and dust. Tell the communications officer to continue scanning for another signal."
Angling the teardrop craft into the hangar bay, I hear my second in command's voice come through once again.
"As you command."
Stepping out of the fighter, I simply jump off of the ship and onto an upper walkway. Not bothering to speak to anyone I pass, I made my way towards the command deck.
At this point, my mind was working overtime, but nothing I was thinking of was helping.
Am I already too late? Has the war started? What do I do?
Sadly, I knew none of that was going to help. Trying to go over the calming exercises that Bero taught me, I manage to calm my frayed nerves a bit before I reach the bridge.
"Shipmistress, I have received another signal!"
Not even bothering to sound proper, I simply point at the elite.
"Track it! Same as last time."
The sangheili nods, but decides to add his own thoughts on the matter.
"Shipmistress, it seems as if the signals are moving only at the speed of light. That is why we arrived so long after the signal… disappeared."
Ussa decided to put in his own thoughts on the matter, gesturing towards the active holographic map of the nearby star systems.
"So you are saying that there is a significant chance we are days behind whatever it was that destroyed that vessel?"
The communications officer simply nodded, confirming his previous thoughts.
Walking over to the holographic map, I gesture to the communications officer.
"Do you have those coordinates?"
A quick moment comes and goes before I hear a simple, "Yes, Shipmistress."
"Good." Turning to Nath, I point towards him. "Get us there. If we are too late again, we won't stick around. Continue on a straight line in the path between the two points while dropping out every ten units for a scan. I don't want anything the size of a pebble passing us without me knowing about it."
Nath nods, seemingly content to type away on his console. Glancing towards the sensors officer, he seemed equally determined, which gave me at least a little bit of relief.
Turning to look towards the holographic display, I watch as the small red triangle that represents the Rapid Conversion slowly makes its way indirectly towards a nearby solar system.
—Authors Note—
Hello everyone!
So, this entire chapter was just intended to set up the next major arc. 10 points to those that guess where it is!
Sadly, it was kinda just fluffy filler to kill the last 2 years of time between the last arc and the next with some plot at the end. Hope it was fun to read, but the next chapter is the
It turns out, I get bored easily. I literally sat down to edit the rest of my fanfic, and ended up just writing this… Yay?
I don't know if I should be proud of myself or disappointed. I only got through fixing 3 chapters before my attention span fell apart. Oh well, I'll try again later.
Anyway, some of you might recognize what is about to happen, but again, it's AU. Ima have fun ruining all the expectations most of you will have for "cannon events" in this fanfic.
Honestly, I really hate it when a new character is introduced in a franchise, like a SI or a crossover, and then NOTHING CHANGES!?! Oh come on! The lack of creative liberty in some of those fics really bothers me.
A lot of the predictions I got were just "cannon but better" and it bothered me. Don't expect cannon. All those people saying "she should save noble six on reach"... do you honestly think that even after all the set up I did, that the 27 year long war will happen -exactly- the same way and Sohm will just be on the autumn with chief?
Come on! I can do better than that!
Anyway, if you like the chapter, consider giving me a follow and a favorite, and if you feel so inclined a review. I love hearing feedback, even if I just whined about it. :)