Volume 2: Chapter 1: Thus They Carry Onwards
Originally Drafted: May 11th, 2022
Originally Uploaded: May 19th, 2022
Updated On: August 8th, 2022
/ UNSC Eternity, Bridge | November 18th, 2558. 0800 hrs. /
Though more than a week had passed since the incident at the Academy, the tension hadn't dissipated. It was still awkward to be interacting with most of the staff.
Especially after the revelation that one of their own had been the infamous thief known as Fouquet.
Many of them were thankful to the UNSC for stopping Fouquet, but they were also apprehensive over the amount of destruction they caused ― understandably so.
With the rather offhand remark from the UNSC at how they were capable of unleashing such devastation through the use of their common soldiery, armed with their strange and powerful munitions. It brought the more military minded amongst them to a heated stand off at the thought.
Captain Morgan felt a headache coming up over having to interrupt them in the middle of repairs, just to make a simple request from them. He knew they still didn't fully trust the UNSC. But, he didn't mind. After all, were he in their shoes; he'd have done the same.
Moving over to the communications suite he asked the crewman manning it to patch him through to the Director's end.
Though it seemed to be taking a while.
"Still nothing?" The Captain asked in confusion.
The Director was usually punctual when answering.
"No, sir. I don't think there's anyone at home. Or, maybe the Director has turned off his end, for some reason."
This was not a good sign. He hoped it wasn't anything serious.
"He could just be out of the room at the moment. Should I try hailing him again?"
"Do it. If they don't respond this time, we'll be sending someone over."
Another attempt was made to call. Thankfully, this time it went through.
But instead of the familiar bearded face of the Director, it was Professor Colbert on the other end.
"Oh, greetings, Captain. I wasn't expecting a call from you today." The man said, flustered at his unfamiliarity with the device.
"Professor? What are you doing here, where's the Director?"
"Ah, I'm manning this station at the moment." He revealed the rather empty office to the Eternity's crew.
"The Director was summoned by the Court Royale for reasons unknown to me at the moment. Did you have some business with him?"
"Yes, actually. But if he isn't here do you know when he'll be back? We have an… issue that needs his expertise." Captain Morgan admitted.
"An issue? Well, Captain. I assure you; if it's expertise in all manners of magic and such. I can be of service." Colbert offered.
The Captain thought about it. Colbert had already proven himself trustworthy when he offered to help the Sangheili with their own research; he'd be just as good in this scenario as the Director would have been.
"That would be appreciated. We'll send over a Pelican to pick you up in a few hours. It's a rather delicate issue that shouldn't be spoken about in the open."
Colbert seemed excited at the idea. While he was no stranger to flying, he'd been interested in seeing how the UNSC saw the skies from inside their own aircraft.
"I shall see you then, Captain." He smiled.
"Delusions and Grandeur."
「 Court Royale, Capital of Tristain. 」
Old Osmond stood before the rows of aristocrats eyeing him with scrutiny. He'd been summoned here last week at the end of the incident, and he thought it was the end of that.
But, that, unfortunately, did not seem to be the case.
"While normally we would have berated you for your failures ― that is not what we have summoned you for." A Minister said to Osmond. A portly looking man who'd seemed like he'd seen better days.
"Then, what for? There must be a reason I was called here." Osmond demanded.
The Ministers discussed amongst themselves, taking enough precious time that Osmond felt wasted just waiting there.
"Ahem." One of them, the Head Minister coughed, catching the others attention.
"We're not going to get anything done with all of you prancing about the issue." He said sternly.
"Yes, yes, you're right." A sigh escaped the lips of another.
"Director Osmond. It has come to our attention that these… UNSC, are providing free aid to the commoners, no?" He asked, though it seemed as if he knew that question already.
Osmond merely shrugged. "I'm a little sparse on the details. But it is what their Captain has told me in our short conversations."
The Minister who asked the question leaned forward.
"Then, would you be able to tell him that we wish to have someone attached to oversee them? Make sure they're actually doing what they promised to do."
"Yes, quite right. How else would we know that they are not using this opportunity to usurp our own influence?" Another added.
Osmond blinked. They seemed to be scheming something. This was the kind of thing that led him to distance himself from politics, inside he was a bit annoyed at being dragged into their problems.
"Is this truly necessary? They seemed quite honest enough when dealing with us." Osmond rebutted.
"Nonsense. Do you really blindly trust the words of some… foreigners? Commoners at that! How do we know they're not arming the locals and planning a revolt?" Another accused.
"What use would they have for doing so? I've seen the powers they wielded. They carry more Staves of Destruction than we can count! They wouldn't need to resort to such a thing as an insurrection to force us to heel." Osmond retorted in disgust.
Despite all the proof of the capabilities the UNSC displayed. The more stuck up amongst the Court were still opportunistic enough to want to undermine them.
"Your words sound treasonous, Directeur." One of them accused, pointing his fingers squarely at Old Osmond's position.
"I only speak the truth." The old mage was starting to feel annoyed at their attempts of intimidation.
He'd much rather have been near to his former secrétaire at the moment, a criminal and traitor though she may be.
"Is this why you let these barbarians destroy part of the Académie? The funds required to do all those repairs come out of our own citizens' pockets! Think of the outrage they would feel if they heard of this?"
Money you're extorting from them! Osmond thought, but wouldn't let it surface. This meeting was draining the life out of him were he to hear any more of their absurd accusations.
"Enough." The Head Minister declared. "We're never going to get anything done at this rate."
"Agreed." The others begrudgingly said.
"We mentioned before that we would have one of our own attached to oversee them. We've already decided on who." The Head Minister declared.
He motioned for the guards overseeing the room to open the doors adjacent to them ― revealing a familiar head of pink and her parent.
"Miss Vallière?" Osmond said in disbelief at the sight. "What is the meaning of this? She's just a child."
"A child though she may be. But I'm told she's just as capable as her mother at that age." One of the Ministers said.
Causing Louise to swallow in her nerves. She didn't expect much attention to be thrown her way today.
"Duke Centurion, are you certain about this?" Osmond asked her father. Who remained stoic in the face of the gathered people around them.
"I am. I trust my daughter as much as my wife." He declared.
Osmond could only sigh in defeat as he processed the events happening.
"Very well, I'll be sure to inform Captain Morgan of this… development."
"Make sure to do so. Every day they spend out there unsupervised, is another day for them to grow their influence. We cannot allow this, Director." The Head Minister ordered before adjourning the meeting.
Old Osmond eyed them warily as he exited the room. They resembled more like vultures than those born of nobility with how they behaved. A complete change from the years before under the rule of King Henry and his father before him.
Osmond wasn't sure whether or not anyone within the Court Royale was even trustworthy, given what they'd learned about the traitors in their midst ― it seems that particular bit of information was kept under wraps at the moment.
The only other ones aside from himself who were kept in the know: being the Queen herself, the Duchess and the Cardinal.
While Osmond himself was known as a bit of a lecher, he could be serious when he needed to. And right now, warranted such a change in behavior.
/ UNSC Eternity, Vehicle Bay, November 18th, 2558. 0940 hrs. /
After having requested one of the available Pelicans for the job. Albeit one accepted begrudgingly by the pilot, saying: "I'm not a glorified taxi service!"
Captain Morgan decided to do an impromptu inspection around the Eternity. While he knew he could just immediately receive reports on the condition of the ship, courtesy of Monty. He'd much preferred seeing it for himself.
Making his way past the Vehicle Bay and onto the Crew's Quarters, making use of the many elevators and transit systems within the ship itself along the way.
He was met with the sight of the crew, hard at work, as usual. Many among them gave him a salute or an acknowledgement whenever he passed. Though, not many had the time to brief him on their work. Most of them appeared to be too busy for that.
The ship, though still buzzing with activity, seemed a lot more quiet nowadays. As many of the crew had opted to make use of the facilities outside on Alpha Base ― which itself was almost becoming like a fledgling colony. Appearing less like a Military Base and more like a miniature settlement one could find on the fringes of UNSC space, albeit a heavily armed one.
His mind was brought back to thinking about the rest of the UNSC after that tangent. He still felt guilty about essentially sitting out the war against the Created. He and the crew should have been at least with their brothers and sisters in arms. The thought plagued him, and his short little trip around the ship had done little to help with his state of mind.
But there's nothing you can do about it now, is there? He said to himself. He still felt bitter about it.
Abandoning Earth. Abandoning the rest of the UNSC ― only to wind up stranded on a primitive planet like this had left his conscience in turmoil.
While in the middle of his thinking, he'd somehow found himself within one of the many cafeterias aboard the ship. Sparsely populated at the moment, with the exception of a lone figure eating by himself at one of the tables and the occasional chefs preparing food for those who would be coming later.
The Captain recognized the figure. It was hard to forget one of the only Spartans under your command after all. Though he was out of armor, revealing a surprisingly worn face, one that told the signs of years of combat piling up on it. If he didn't know any better he'd have thought him his senior, given how haggard the man looked.
Outside of his armor, he wore an unassuming uniform worn by many of the repair crew aboard that serviced their vehicles.
Strange to think that one of the deadliest men on the ship could look so passive. Shaking his head out of the thought, he moved towards him.
"Hey, surprised to see you here." He called out to the Spartan.
David turned to look behind him. Snapping quickly into attention upon seeing the Captain of the ship walking up to him.
"Sir." He offered a quick salute. Crisp and precise in its execution. As if the action was drilled into his mind to be done perfectly.
"At ease. What are you doing here, Spartan?" He decided to ask. It wasn't always you could see a Spartan off-duty.
Glancing downwards at his partially eaten tray of food then back at the Captain he said. "The Lieutenant offered me a break. Said I should take them from time to time."
"You don't take breaks?" Captain Morgan seemed shocked and confused at this.
"No, not unless I'm injured or ordered to."
"That seems a little unreasonable. May I ask why?"
The Spartan seemed hesitant to explain. Balling his fists in a quiet simmering within him. Almost as if he was unwilling to do so. "You don't have to if you don't want to." Captain Morgan said after realizing he seemed uncomfortable at the question.
"Thank you… Sir. May I please return to my break?"
The Captain only gave a nod in response before the man quickly resumed his previous action. Almost robotically turning on the spot and seating himself with mechanical precision.
When the Captain exited the cafeteria. He was surprised to run into the Lieutenant of all things. It seemed he was busy, as he was fiddling with a datapad he held in his hands, muttering something about logistics and operations.
The Captain didn't pay him any mind as he seemed to have been focusing on his work as he walked. He was about to do the same, only to be called upon by the Lieutenant as he passed.
"Captain, I need to speak with you for a moment." He called out, halting him in his tracks.
"Yes, Lieutenant? Is there a problem?" He turned upon hearing himself being called.
"I need your permission on something." Lieutenant Redding said as he swiped on his datapad. Going through pages of information in seconds.
"And what would that be?" The Captain crossed his arms. He didn't want to be caught up in another one of ONI's schemes if he could help it.
"If you're going to be sabotaging our prospective allies again then my answer is no. Lieutenant, we can't afford to antagonize these people and waste our munitions on a pointless war."
The Lieutenant simply chuckled. "Not at all, Captain. It's for something else."
He showed him the reports from his Agents. The Lieutenant had apparently been embedding ONI personnel throughout the continent and on Albion itself. Building up quite the information network.
"You've stationed ONI Agents on the floating island? Why?" The Captain didn't realize the extent of what ONI had been up to behind his back.
"Preemptive measures. Making sure the kingdoms won't be able to hurt us. And right now, our best bet at making a loyal ally, would be to aid the Loyalists in Albion." He pulled up the profile of one of the remaining Monarchs on the floating island: The Heir to the Throne of the Albish Crown, Prince Wales Tudor.
"He seems rather young. And he's leading the Loyalists? I pity the poor bastard." He held some sympathy for them, fighting a losing war. It was something they all could relate to.
"With your permission, Captain. He doesn't have to be. I am requesting some munitions and men to accompany my agents aboard the Isle of Albion. Establish a foothold and root out the Reconquista at their source." The Lieutenant stated as casually in a manner akin to listing off his itinerary for the day.
"Surely, you can't be serious?"
"I am serious, and don't call me Shirley." The Lieutenant deadpanned. He didn't know he was capable of making jokes.
"That's a tall order, Lieutenant. I can hardly convince the natives with our own Humanitarian Missions. They'd likely be alerted by us moving materiel to aid the Loyalists."
"I respectfully disagree, Captain. Besides, I'm only requesting a small force for now. Once we've got the Loyalists on our side we can get them to officially ask for our aid. The other Kingdoms could hardly complain at that point, seeing as they've left their sibling nation to die."
The Captain thought about it for a moment. The Lieutenant's idea had merit. "Fine. But keep our involvement to a minimum. We can't let the others catch wind of this so soon."
The Lieutenant gave him a smile and a polite nod at this. "You can count on us to be discreet."
The Lieutenant excused himself before turning away from the Captain. He moved towards the Spartan sitting inside the cafeteria. It seemed he had some business there as well.
Seeing nothing else to do, the Captain made his way back towards the bridge.
「 UNSC Pelican, En-route to Alpha Base, 1300 hrs. 」
The Professor had finished up most of his tasks for the day before informing some of his colleagues about his plans to meet with the UNSC, and not long after, he was picked up by them after the familiar sounds of a Pelican hovered over the Academy once more.
It landed outside of the campus grounds as to not disturb the ongoing repair and construction efforts inside. He was greeted by a man wearing some sort of harness over a dull colored jumpsuit and a glass visored helmet. Ushering him inside before they took off.
Colbert sat in the backseat of the pilot's onboard the Pelican. He was the only other person with him, as the pilot apparently decided to come alone for this occasion; seeing as it was a quick job.
Seeing the skies of Halkeginia from above was nothing new to him. He'd done so on numerous occasions, but sitting inside the cockpit of a UNSC aircraft was something completely new to him.
It fascinated Colbert as he watched the Pilot manipulate the vessel by interacting with the controls situated in front of him.
Instead of pulling the reins like on a Gryphon or Horseback; the Pilot manipulated levers and buttons on a dashboard. A skill which looked deceptively simple, but Colbert knew if he tried to control this aircraft he wouldn't have been able to ― seeing as he wasn't trained for its use.
"Are you comfortable back there, Professor?" The Pilot asked over his shoulder.
"Yes, I am. These seats are surprisingly soft compared to a horse pulled carriage." Colbert responded.
"I can imagine. You people don't even have suspensions yet."
"Pardon? What are suspensions for?"
"They're to cushion the undercarriage. Makes the ride feel smoother." The Pilot explained.
"Though I'm not an engineer so I'm not too familiar with how it exactly works." He sheepishly admitted.
Interesting. "Is this common knowledge to your people's?" Colbert asked.
"Hundreds of years ago, yeah. But we've largely moved past using animals like that. Unless you're old fashioned like the Amish people from Earth." Colbert was attentive at his every word.
While he enjoyed talking to many of the UNSC personnel who were with him. Many of them were often crude, making inappropriate jokes and acting unprofessional in casual settings.
"You seem quite well versed. How far along was your education?" Colbert asked.
"Education?" The Pilot thought about it for a moment. "Well, let's just say if I stayed a civilian I would have been a lawyer by now." He chuckled. "But I found my calling as a pilot when the war came to my planet. Signed up back in '48 and have been flying since."
The war. The UNSC had referred to it in passing numerous times, yet they never seemed to expand upon it. It seemed to be a fairly recent event as many were apparently veterans.
"Your people often mention this… war. But you never expand on it. Would you mind if I ask?" Colbert tried to gently ask the man.
The Pilot froze at the question. His gaze looking outwards past the canopy. "No, please... Don't ask." He shakily responded.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend." Colbert felt apologetic upon seeing the Pilot act this way.
The pair sat in quiet silence for the next few minutes before the sight of the UNSC Eternity came into view. Even from afar the ship seemed absolutely gigantic to Colbert.
"We're coming up on Alpha Base, hold tight." The Pilot said, breaking their silence.
The Pelican smoothly glided over past many prefabricated structures on the ground. Touching down on a designated landing spot in the middle of the base.
"Thank you for the ride." Colbert said to the Pilot.
"It's no problem." The Pilot said before opening the rear of the Pelican and shutting off the engines.
Colbert looked on in amazement at the sprawling base the UNSC had erected within the forest. From up above it looked impressive, but the scale of it was easily missed until he actually set foot on the ground.
The base was filled with activity at the moment. Numerous personnel could be seen performing drills and exercises around the perimeter. Bipedal walkers walked about, carrying material with them towards construction crew ― others helped ferry supplies out to their large carrying vehicles. A box shaped design which could possibly hold tons of supplies and material onboard.
Colbert felt overwhelmed at seeing all this. The UNSC seemed coordinated enough to be able to conduct such operations simultaneously. He could imagine the headaches coming should the militaries of the Kingdoms of Halkeginia attempt a similar scale of discipline.
They just could not compare.
Colbert now stood in a daze. Wondering as to what he was supposed to do next before a familiar face walked up to him. A being that stood at 8 feet tall, clad in ornate red and white armor.
"Lord V'tas." Colbert greeted. "It is good to see you again."
"Likewise, Professor." He greeted, with his hand over his chest. "What brings you here?" The Sangheili asked.
"Our good friend, Captain Morgan invited me. He said he had something he wished to ask. But I'm afraid I do not know which way to go from here." He admitted, slightly embarrassed.
V'tas gave out a humph. "If you'll follow me, I shall escort you aboard the Eternity." He offered.
"That would be appreciated, thank you, Lord V'tas."
The pair made their way through the hustle and bustle of the Military Base/Settlement. Encountering many things which made Colbert curious at the sight.
Author's Notes: Probably going to end up shorter than usual. I apologize. Trying to do longer chapters drain my motivation really quick.
I'm going to aim for at least 2000 words at a minimum from now on.
I apologize if I just made some characters feel faceless. I'm not too confident in making up characters on the spot, leaving them blank and only be referred to by their titles.
If you've any suggestions for that I'd love to hear it.
If you have any suggestions or comments. Feel free to join the Discord server: /sDgJN8F4tY
Thanks for reading. And as always. I'll see you in the next one. じゃ、またね