Chapter Eighteen: Proving Grounds Pt. II
"The easy way out is always mined."
- UNSC Marine Corps Handbook (Unofficial)
CAS-Class Assault Carrier Shadow of Intent
Slipspace, En-Route to Second Key
Levas woke with a start, the first thing her eyes saw being the craning head of The Arbiter looking down upon her, his expression unreadable.
"Wake up Captain," he said, his tone quiet and surprisingly gentle. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes with her hands Levas tossed off the blanket she had been sleeping under and swung her legs out from the cot onto the ground. She stood and stretched, watching as the Arbiter woke the other three Asari of her former Guard.
As she was stretching Levas looked around the dark hangar, overhead lights greatly dimmed to allow the Asari some moderate darkness to sleep in. The Captain gazed over the small sea of cots and the sleeping figures of her fellow Asari, a few bodies here and there stirring from dreams or attemtping to get more comfortable. A couple more were awake and reading, bathed in the soft light blue of their datapads.
She turned when she saw the Arbiter out of the corner of her vision, and he said to her, "Follow me."
The four Asari gathered their weapons they had been keeping near their cots and started after the large alien as he led them out of the Hangar and down the quiet hallways of the ship. Levas yawned, taking note of how empty the corridors were. When she had been walking first with her Sangheili escorts and then the Arbiter himself a few hours ago they were bustling with the activity of the various Sangheili purposefully moving to accomplish whatever their goals might have been.
"These corridors are very quiet," said Levas, voicing her thoughts.
"Indeed," replied the Arbiter. "We are currently in slipspace, our form of Faster-Than-Light travel. No foe can reach us, so the majority of our warriors and crew are resting."
"Ah, of course," said Levas. "Well, where are we going now?"
"I am taking you four up to my private ready room where you will meet the Sangheili you will be fighting alongside. You will be assigned new armor, weapons, and gear. Then, your real training will begin."
The group continued the rest of the journey in silence, walking through the empty corridors of the Intent until they reached a tram lift, then through more corridors and up various ramps and stairways higher into the ship.
They finally reached a set of double doorways that when opened by the palm of the Arbiter revealed a medium-sized room populated by the jet-black armored forms of several Sangheili standing around quietly conversing. The walls of the room were lined by large lockers that followed the same kind of design principles like the rest of the ship, gracefully curved and ergonomic.
The Arbiter entered the room, looking back at the Asari and motioning them to follow. The Sangheili inside the room stood to attention at the Arbiter's arrival and saluted him with arms crossed against their chests.
Thel returned their salutes and said, "Brothers, allow me to introduce four newfound Sisters of the Sacred Mission who might be fighting alongside us."
Having now fully entered the ready room Levas could clearly see the twenty imposing Sangheili taking pause from what they were doing and looking up and down the relatively small and lithe Asari. The doubt and apprehension on their unfamiliar faces needed little translating by the Asari.
"Most of us have been fighting together for several years so I do not believe that simple verbal introductions would be the best way to start off our integration," Thel said.
"I agree," said Levas, looking up at him. "What would you have us do instead?"
"Go and meld with them," said the Arbiter, his words causing more than a few Sangheili's heads to peak up. "Show them that you are true disciples of the Sacred Mission. Show them that you are all capable warriors of confident character. Share any background information you feel comfortable revealing as well if you please. We have less than three days before we reach the next Key, and I have a strong feeling that the better we all know each other the smoother the training shall go."
One of the Sangheili near the front of the group spoke up, asking, "What is this you speak of Arbiter? A 'meld'?"
"I would try and describe it N'Tho," said the Arbiter, glancing down to Levas, "Although another could likely could explain the process better than I could."
"Right," said Levas, straightening up and clearing her throat. All twenty-four pairs of eyes in the room where on her and the Asari Captain couldn't help but the tell-tale tinge of nervousness creeping into her stomach. There is no need to be worried, the rational part of her mind told her. The Sangheili have been nothing but hospitable to the Asari, and now that the Sacred Path had been revealed to her they were all Comrades-in-Arms.
"A meld is something that Asari can do that will link together the minds of her and her chosen partner. Though it is mainly used for reproductive purposes a meld can also be used to share memories, experiences, and thoughts between the two involved," she explained.
"Sharing ones memories with another…" said the same Sangheili who had spoken up previously, N'tho was his name she remembered. "Couldn't such a thing be done simply by talking?"
"Of course, but doing so through a meld is much more visceral. When being shown the experiences of your partner it is as if you were really there when it happened, experiencing it for yourself," explained Levas.
"I see. I am still wary however, what if I have memories that I would not like to share?" asked N'tho.
"There is no need to worry about snooping, if that's what you're wondering," assured Levas. "The only things that are shared during the meld are what the individuals themselves wish to share. It is entirely a matter of choice, we cannot go into your mind and view memories you don't want us to see. Anyone with a strong will can prevent us from seeing that which they do not wish us to see"
That wasn't entirely accurate but Levas had no intention of mentally interrogating the Sangheili warriors. She had to establish some form of rapport and trust and this was the fastest way. She just had to present it in a way they would find acceptable…even if it was a bit of a half truth.
"Well, that puts my mind at ease," said N'Tho. "And if you have the Arbiter's trust then you have mine as well. Now if you please, I would like to experience what one of your melds is like firsthand."
"Absolutely," said Levas, giving the Sangheili a small smile. She looked back to the other Asari and gave a small hand gesture for them to join her.
The Arbiter stood back and watched as the four Asari made their way through the Sangheili, melding with each and everyone of them. Though the Asari probably didn't recognize the change in the Sangheili's facial expressions after they melded for the first time, Thel certainly did.
Their expressions changed from ones of mostly wary curiosity to ones of both acceptance and understanding. Through the melds the Asari and his Sangheili learned each others names, personalities, histories, and more. Information that would have taken several days or even weeks to learn otherwise was shared in instants.
The four Asari melded with Thel as well. There was Teva Janissa, 'Jani' for short, a Sergeant who had followed Captain Levas when she got reassigned to the mining colony. An middle-aged Matron but a capable, veteran NCO with two centuries of military service.
Corporal Leigh D'avi, a former mercenary who left her organization in favor of the more structured and far less scrupulous Asari military. Nearing Matron age herself, her combat style favored the fast-paced and aggressive use of biotics.
Private Rascha Vaya, who was born and raised on the mining colony of Tarissa and who enlisted with the Guard as soon as she was able too. Still a young Maiden she barely had any combat experience other than the Reaper invasion, but she had a remarkable aptitude when it came to biotics. Her raw talent was undoubtedly what kept her alive when the Reapers attacked.
Then of course was Captain Levas. Thel more or less already knew her background and had no need to see if she truly was a disciple of the Sacred Mission, as he was the one that transmitted The Message to her in the first place. Instead Thel just learned Levas' first name, Erissa, and saw that Levas wanted to know more about him. More specifically, his role and history in the military and what his title of 'Arbiter' actually meant.
So, Thel showed her. Through their meld Thel shared the major memories of his service in the Covenant. His journey to become a Fleetmaster, the debacle at the first Halo, his introduction to the horrors that were the Flood, the stripping of his rank by the False Prophets due to his loss of the first Halo, and his literal 'branding' as the Arbiter of their will.
His mission against the Sangheili Heretic that had resulted in the first seeds of doubt being sown in his mind and the discovery and subsequent fighting on Delta Halo. The Betrayal of the Brutes, and his slaying of the traitorous Tartarus. Then his campaign on the surface of Earth against the Prophet's forces and later the Flood on both the Human world and the Ark.
His silencing of the Prophet of Truth, his escape from the destruction of the Ark and his return to Sanghelios. The immediate thrust into another war, this one a civil one between those Sangheili who still believed the Prophets lies and those who did not.
As the meld ended Levas visibly recoiled, and rightfully so as well. She had just learned a large portion about the Covenant and its troubled past and present, all in the real-time span of a couple of seconds. Thel offered a hand to steady her, but Levas quickly regained her bearings and waved him off.
"Wow…" she said quietly, "That was - a lot to process."
"You asked, so I showed," replied the Arbiter simply.
Levas still looked deep in thought, but as Thel looked around the room it seemed that the other three Asari had finished melding with all of his Sangheili. Rather than separate themselves like they did when they first met the Asari now stood within the Sangheili ranks, displaying the newfound comfort amongst each other that came with intimate knowledge of ones personality.
"Have you melded with each Sangheili?" asked Thel, addressing Levas. She nodded in the affirmative and Thel said, "Very good. Now, we will fit you with your new armor."
"Armor?" questioned Rascha Vaya, "We don't usually wear armor. Biotic barriers can do the job just as well."
"Can you use your biotics while wearing armor?" asked Thel, genuinely curious.
"Yes, but most standard armors are too bulky or restricting to allow for effective biotic usage," answered Levas. "Armor for biotics needs to allow for a large range of movement and can't be too heavy. Using biotics requires a lot of energy, so the lighter the armor the better. Puts less strain on the wearer."
Sergeant Janissa added her opinion to the conversation, saying, "The problem is, the armor sets that can do what Levas mentioned correctly are among some of the most expensive in the galaxy. On Terissa the only armor we could have afforded was standard human combat armor, which did neither of those things. So, we just decided to go with full-body biotic barriers over our uniforms. It worked just fine for your typical day-to-day guard duty, but when those monsters showed up and started trashing the colony we just weren't ready for their kind of firepower."
"I see," said the Arbiter. "Well I can assure you that your armor will be both lightweight and flexible, and will not cost you anything. N'tho, call the Huragok. You four, follow me."
Thel lead the four Asari through the group of Sangheili towards a corner of the ready room. He gestured to a grouping of four lockers and said, "These four lockers belong to you. Choose one by placing your hand on the imprint pad."
The Asari did as they were told, the security device scanning their hand and coding the locks to their individual handprints. As they did so the locker doors slid open, revealing four large sets of jet-black armor hung up inside. To the side of the armor hung an equally black thin suit which Levas guessed accompanied the armor.
Levas looked back to the Sangheili and then back to the armor inside of the locker, making the connection. "Is this the same model of armor all of you are wearing?" Thel nodded, and Levas continued with, "They look a little big."
"Indeed they would be, but we have a way to remedy that," said the Arbiter.
Levas was about to ask what he meant by that, but her attention was captured by a new being that floated into the room from what she guessed was a large ventilation shaft. Levas immediately compared the creature to a Hanar, as it came to a standstill hover above the ground and had four long tentacles hanging loosely at its sides. Unlike the translucent Hanar however this creature had several dark colored bumps covering its round body. She counted three black eyes on each side of its small, elongated head that was tilted to look at the four Asari. She could not help but feel an aura of serene innocence coming from the being.
"Usze, N'tho, take the men to the Combat Simulator and run them through some basic drills. The Asari and I will be along shortly," ordered Thel. The two Sangheili answered him with salutes and led their two lances out of the ready room. The Arbiter gestured towards the Huragok, saying, "This is a Huragok. Their main job is upkeep and maintenance of our ships, among many other things. They are some of our most treasured, and capable, crewmembers."
"Does it have a name?" asked Corporal D'avi.
[I am called 'Adequately Balanced']
Thel could tell that the Huragok's speech took the Asari by surprise, probably because the Huragok didn't have a mouth that it moved. Rather it 'spoke' via a translation program transmitting through a small speaker below its mouth.
"Adequately Balanced?" said Levas, "That's an interesting name."
[We are given our names based on our buoyancy. When I was constructed it was found that I was adequately balanced.] The Huragok gestured towards the stock of the rifle peeking out from over Levas' shoulder. [Your weapon, it is not familiar to me. Could I examine it?]
Levas looked to Thel and asked, "Should I?"
"Huragok are also very curious when it comes to new technology," said Thel. "There is no harm in letting it take a look."
Levas shrugged and withdrew the weapon from her back, holding it out to Adequately Balanced. The Huragok took the rifle into its four tentacles and spun it around, six eyes examining the weapon with what Levas thought was a critical gaze. Then, in a display that caused Levas' jaw to drop in amazement, the end of Adequately Balanced' tentacles split into hundreds of thousands of tiny cilia and proceeded to break down and reassemble the rifle at a microscopic level in a matter of seconds.
Adequately Balanced handed the rifle back to Levas and said, [Fascinating technology. The element that is used to create the alternating gravitational fields that allow the projectile to be accelerated at such velocities, what is it called?]
"We call it Element Zero," answered Levas, still in wonder from what she just saw the Huragok do.
[Element Zero. Noted. I have improved both the magazine capacity and accuracy of your rifle by optimizing heat dissipation and removing barrel irregularities.]
"Uh, thanks," said Levas, running her hands over the Phaeston Rifle. She noticed that it felt lighter and more ergonomically in her hands as well before returning it to the magnetic plates on her back.
"Adequately Balanced will now fit you for your armor," said Thel.
The Huragok floated towards the Asari's lockers and they parted to allow it to pass. Stopping in front of Captain Levas' locker Adequately Balanced took the black bodysuit into two of its tentacles and splayed it out, showing just how big the Sangheili were compared to the Asari.
The Huragok lowered the garment to get a good view of Levas. [Stand still please.]
It floated in a circle around her, elongated head traversing up and down as it calculated her body measurements. After two full rotations the Huragok halted, and then grasped the bodysuit in all four of his appendages. Adequately Balanced spent about a dozen seconds breaking down and rebuilding the suit until he was satisfied. When it finished it held out the modified body suit to Levas, the suit looking much more like it would fit the Asari's figure.
[Are my measurements correct?] asked the Huragok.
"Well I'd have to try it on first," said Levas, glancing at Thel in a 'could you give us some privacy' look that the Sangheili got quickly, despite being of a different species.
"I will be waiting just outside. Balanced, let me know when you are finished with their armor suits. Follow any instructions they have when it comes to customization," said Thel.
[Affirmative.]
Thel stepped out and it wasn't too long before the door slid open and Adequately Balanced head popped out. [I have finished.]
The Arbiter nodded and stepped back into the ready room, seeing four newly armor-clad Asari shuffling around getting used to their new gear. "Now you look like proper warriors."
Levas looked at him, and Thel could see her navigating her various HUD elements through the clear helmet visor. "This is a fancy suit," she said. "Motion tracker, shields, aiming assistance uplinks, eye-activated comms control, real-time squadmate views…"
"The tactical pad on your wrist can bring up an overhead map or imaging scans taken from orbital or aerial craft as well," mentioned Thel.
"And tailor-made to each of us," said Sergeant Jani. "An armor set like this could cost someone at least half a million credits back in Asari space."
"Consider it a gift," said Thel. "Are any of you having any trouble with navigating the suit systems?"
"Jani and I both have experience with armor suites similar to this one," said Levas. Tilting her head in the direction of D'avi and Raya she continued with, "Those two might need some time to get used to it though."
"We'll figure it out," D'avi assured, "Adequately Balanced made the whole thing pretty intuitive."
His requested work complete, the Huragok had already departed the room, no doubt going to some other part of the ship in his never-ending drive to maintain the Shadow of Intent. When Thel had said that the Huragok were their most treasured crewmembers he truly meant it. With the dissolution of the Covenant many Huragok chose to abandon their posts of often time forced labor. Where they had gone Thel had no clue, but the precious few who remained became more valuable than the ships that they used to maintain.
For thousands of years the Sangheili race had been bred for a singular purpose: Combat. The drive to create the perfect society of warriors had all but extinguished the Sangheili fields of Science and the Humanities, from the most advanced engineering practices to the simplest of farming techniques.
While sure, the Arbiter had the most capable and elite cadre of warriors, ships, and shipmasters he could hope for to spearhead the search for the Keys, without a way to maintain and repair their vessels they would likely be dead in space after only a short time. This was slowly changing as the Sangheili under Thel's orders were trying diversifying their fields of expertise to ones other than warfare. There would always be a need for warriors they desperately needed engineers, scientists, artisans and poets. These would be the first steps in addressing their weakened state as a people, but it was quiet the long road ahead.
"It also upgraded all of our weapons in some way or another. Pretty nice," said Private Raya.
"That reminds me of something I have been meaning to ask," started Thel. "Do you have adequate ammunition for your weapons? At least for our next operation."
"Yeah, I saw a few crates worth of thermal clips that were brought up along with the other supplies. Enough for a couple of months by my estimate," said Levas.
"That is good. We have weapons that we can train you on, but that would just add another layer on top of what we already need to teach you. If you can just use the weapons you're comfortable with that would be preferable."
"Of course," said Levas.
"Come, let us make our way to the secondary training facility. The rest of the team is waiting for us," said Thel, starting for the doors. The four Asari followed after him, still giving the occasional arm swing or leg kick as they continued to get adjusted to their new armor.
While Jani, D'avi, and Raya stayed to the rear Levas quickened her pace to fall in besides Thel. Peering upwards towards the Arbiter she asked, "I noticed that we all have these small silver-grey rectangles just above our right breastplates. What does that signify?"
"Those are your rank squares," said Thel. "Since you will be working alongside Special Operations Sangheili you have all been assigned the rank of 'Operative'. It is the lowest rank within the Special Operations Group but will serve to legitimize your positions aboard this ship and the fleet. You will not be able to order anyone around, but you will not be ordered around either unless it is by me or the other Sangheili you will be fighting alongside."
"I see," said Levas, nodding in understanding.
"Consider it a promotion," said Thel. "Certainly better than the other three hundred Asari. When they have been trained they will start out as Minors, the lowest rank in the Sangheili military."
Their destination was not much farther down the long sloping corridors of the ship, and Levas guessed they had reached their destination when they passed through a set of open double-wide doors that revealed a room a little lesser in area than the hangar the Asari had been put in.
In the center of the featureless room she could see the Sangheili from the ready room running through hand-to-hand combat drills in pairs, save for two Sangheili that were walking around, observing. As Thel motioned for them to continue towards the group Levas continued to watch the sparring and was surprised to discover how quick and agile the Sangheili were, given their large size. The strikes and counter strikes, throws, rolls, and finishers they were throwing at each other were simple yet powerful. There was nothing fancy or eye-pleasing, just as it should be in Levas' eyes. In close quarters combat you simply didn't have the time needed to pull of that seven step disarm-body throw. You needed to be swift and deadly, less your opponent get the advantage.
One of the Sangheili that was watching the sparring noticed as Thel and the Asari arrived and motioned to the other. An order was given which caused the Sangheili to stop their sparring and as the main group gathered themselves the two overseers both began to make their way towards Thel.
"Asari, you remember N'tho Sraom and Usze 'Taham," said Thel, gesturing to each of the two Sangheili as he mentioned them. "N'tho is the leader of First Lance, and Usze is the leader of Second Lance. They will be your direct superiors."
N'tho and Usze both gave the Arbiter a arm-across-chest salute and nodded their heads in acknowledgement of the four Asari.
"Operative Levas, Operative Vaya, you two are hereby assigned to First Lance under the command of Officer 'Sraom. Operative Janissa, Operative D'avi, you are assigned to Second Lance under the command of Officer 'Taham," said Thel. The reasoning for his choices were simple: he wanted to balance the amount of biotic experience within each lance as best he could. That is why he paired the most experienced of the group, former Captain Levas, with the least experienced, former Private Vaya. The same reasoning followed for Janissa's and D'avi's grouping.
"Now, let us see how quickly you can learn," said Thel. "'Sraom, demonstrate formations."
"Of course," responded 'Sraom. Looking towards the Asari he started, "Welcome to N'tho's crash course in Special Operations combat formations."
The SpecOps Officer walked towards his lance, who had arranged themselves in a horizontal line, and took his place in the middle of it. "The lance is one of the more specialized combat units that we have fielded throughout the centuries. Ten Sangheili, no insignificant amount of men and firepower. The numbers of a lance allows for flexibility in combat. This is where formations come in. Different formations can and will be used for different instances, depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the formation."
"For example, what you see now is the basic Standard Formation," said N'tho. He gestured towards his lance, who were all standing relatively near each other. "In this formation we stay together, move together, and fight together. This is the formation from which all others branch off of. To keep things simple, we use number nomenclature for the majority of our formations."
"When two Sangheili split off from the main formation it is called an 8-2 formation. When four do, it is called a 6-4." As he said the formations the Sangheili of both First and Second Lance separated into the respective callouts to demonstrate them to the Asari.
"Those that split off can either maneuver alone, as pairs, or as a smaller group in the 6-4. An even 5-5 split is simply called Split formation. The Split formation can fragment even further into a 4-1 or a 3-2. When the entire lance splits into pairs it is simply called, 'Pairs'. When we all split off by ourselves it is called a 'Break' formation," said 'Sraom. "That may not seem very complicated, but that's exactly the way we want it. In combat simplicity is more important than many think. It also makes everything easier to memorize."
"So, where do we fit into these formations?" asked Levas.
"Myself, Officer 'Taham, and the Arbiter discussed this a great deal," said 'Sraom. "You four are to be glued to me, Officer 'Taham, and our second-in-commands Officer 'Visan and Officer 'Zal at all times. As a result, whatever part of a formation we are a part of, you will be too. Even in the event of a Break formation, you will stick with us."
For the rest of the day they went over formations, movement within those formations, basic and advanced open-field tactics, and other various techniques over and over and over again until they were all but perfected. To their credit the Asari were quick learners, no doubt their previous military experience helped in that aspect.
By the second and third days they moved into more realistic combat scenarios, learning that their training space was actually an advanced terrain generating environment that worked by using realistic holograms and modifying the actual floor of the room.
They practiced fighting in open fields, close-quarters indoor environments, urban sprawl, heavy woodlands, and most of all, snowy, mountainous territory - the typical climate of the planet they were travelling too.
It was during this time when they determined how exactly Asari biotics would benefit the Lance. After the demonstration of several powers and their implementations into combat exercises the Arbiter, N'tho, and Usze came to the conclusion that their Asari's biotics should be mainly used as defensive and/or crowd control options. Singularities, Stasis Bubbles, Pulls, staggering Throws and armor weakening Warps all offered prime chances for the highly trained, heavily armed Sangheili to wreak havoc amongst the vulnerable targets.
The fact that the typical biotic explosions had the potential to do as much damage as their infantry-borne heavy weapons was not lost on the three commanding Sangheili as well.
When they were eight hours from their destination the Arbiter halted their training, satisfied with the length that the Asari had progressed when it came to integrating into his two Lances. Confident that they would perform admirably in the upcoming Retrieval, Thel resigned himself to a much needed deep sleep...
CAS-Class Assault Carrier Shadow of Intent
Noveria, Pax System, Horse Head Nebula
"System information coming onscreen Shipmaster."
From his chair R'tas nodded at the notification by a Sangheili bridgeman and made sure the orbital drones had been dispatched, closely watching as new information materialized on the large holoscreen splayed out in front of him. It was a four-planet system with a yellow sun smaller than that of Sol. There was only one planet that had some sparse space traffic to and fro and the only one that had detectable build-ups of civilization. Specifically, a spaceport and several small-to-medium sized bases scattered throughout a large mountain range circling the northern pole. After a moment of further study he found there was another isolated center near the equator.
"Any sign of the Reapers?" asked R'tas to the bridge crew.
"No Shipmaster, just small spacecraft that were already in-system when we arrived," replied another bridgeman.
"How small? And what are they doing?"
"None larger than a hundred meters. Most that were closer to the planet have turned back, but some are making for the Mass Relay."
R'tas nodded, it made sense. Their presence would have been noted almost instantly upon their transition to real space. Depending on their positioning ships would either try and break for the Relay or back to the planet and its assumed safety. "Notify me if anything larger than that shows up."
"Shipmaster, we're receiving an incoming communication. I've traced its origin back to the spaceport," alerted the bridge communications officer.
"Let it play," said R'tas, and the bridge speakers came to life with the sound of a human female's voice.
"Attention unidentified vessels, you are trespassing in the privately chartered territory of the Noveria Development Corporation. State your business."
The voice behind the communication tried its best to sound intimidating and commanding, but R'tas could easily detect the wavers in her speech. He guessed that the woman was scared, or at least a little off-put, by the sudden and unannounced arrival of their six-strong group of gigantic, alien warships.
"Shall we respond Shipmaster?" asked the communications officer.
R'tas nodded and the communications officer pressed some holographic keys to open a link.
"Noveria Development Corporation official, this is the commander of this ship group. We have urgent business that must be attended to on the surface of your planet. Your cooperation in this matter would be much appreciated" he said.
"Commander, our cooperation is not given. You do not have permission to conduct any type of 'business' on our planet. Leave now or the appropriate authorities will be contacted and retaliatory measures will be enacted. How copy?"
R'tas didn't even care to respond, and just closed the link. If they truly wanted to test him, he would give them an answer. "How long until we have eyes above our mission site?"
"The orbital drone will be in position… now."
The feed from the drones popped into life in the corner of his holoscreen and with the tap of a finger he maximized it to fill the majority of the space available. He then pressed his mandibles together in a frown.
The site of the Door was supposed to be at the Northern side of a medium-sized clearing surrounded on all sides by high, jagged mountain peaks which would have made the site accessible by air is what the Transmittance had showed them. However, all he saw upon closer inspection was a huge mass of what looked to be snow, rock, and ice covering where the Door should have been.
He started to cycle through the drone's different camera setting but found nothing of interest. Where is the Door? It should be here…
"Move us in closer. Have our sensor suite focus on the site where the Door should be, I want a deep scan of the area."
The Shadow of Intent lumbered as it started to move and R'tas keyed in a channel to Thel.
"Arbiter, there is a problem," he said as the channel opened.
"What kind of problem?" responded Thel.
"Drone scans are not showing any sign of the Door in the location the Transmittance showed it would be."
"And what is there instead?"
"Some large buildups of snow, rock, and ice. I am currently moving our ships to take place directly above the location so that the Intent can perform a deep scan, which will be able to pierce through the surface and determine if the Door is there or not."
"And if it isn't?" asked the Arbiter.
"Well, hopefully it won't come to that," said R'tas. If that was the case, then that also meant that the Transmittance had lied to them. "I will notify you as soon as I find out."
It only took a couple of minutes to get into position and soon the Assault Carrier's much more powerful sensor suite was busy performing the deep scan that would penetrate through the obstructions. The three dimensional imaging that returned from the scan was building up on R'tas' holoscreen, and his interest was piqued when he saw that there was a structure buried underneath all the snow and rock on the surface.
A very large structure at that. "Arbiter, the deep scan has revealed a large structure about as large as a CRS-Class buried underneath the surface."
"A structure? Is it Hers?" asked Thel.
"I do not believe so. It should have been revealed in the Transmittance if it was," reasoned R'tas.
"Could it be inside the structure? It seems too convenient that this structure would be in the exact position the Door is supposed to be."
"Possibly," mused R'tas.
"Can you tell if the structure is inhabited or not?"
"I do not believe so. There is no evidence of entrances or exits to and from the structure and the surface, and the deep scan did not reveal any sort of thermal activity that would signify either power sources or personnel activity.
"So, possibly inactive or even abandoned, yet buried underneath the surface… why?"
"I am not sure. We will still need to find out either way."
"How do you propose we get into this structure? Excavation? It is certainly an area which we have familiarity with after all…"
"We could, but that would take longer than I am comfortable waiting. A low-intensity strike from the ventral energy projector would accomplish the same thing in much less time," said R'tas.
"The ventral energy projector?" asked Thel, the skepticism evident through the transmission.
"It will most likely damage the structure, but not any Precursor ones that might be further hidden within. We both know that no weapon we possess would be capable of destroying the Key."
"If you think it is the best course of action," said Thel. "My lances are armed, armored, and aboard our Phantoms. Just give the word."
"Of course Arbiter. I will contact you shortly." R'tas closed the link and spoke to his bridge crew, "Prepare the ventral energy projector. Target the southernmost outer corner of the buried structure at our lowest energy level, just enough to blast through the surface."
The Intent was ready to fire and with a nod towards the waiting weapons officers R'tas gave the order. At its lowest intensity the vibration of the beam wasn't felt through the deck like it would have been at its highest power, yet R'tas was able to see the beam impact through the camera feed of the drones above the site
The beam, red and blue instead of pure white due to the atmospheric interference, blasted through the rock and ice easily, along with most of the southern corner of the structure hidden underneath.
Since it had retreated to a safe distance it took a couple of minutes for the drone network to get back into a position where it could closely examine the site, and when R'tas saw that there was a clear opening within the structure that lead into the inside he keyed in Ultra 'Harum's communicator.
"Ultra 'Harum, an opening has presented itself. I am sending you the coordinates of the landing zone now. Once you have dropped in and secured the landing zone I will send down the Arbiter and his two lances so they can perform the Retrieval."
"Understood Shipmaster. We will start our drop now."
R'tas watched as the forty-one drop pods rocketed away from the Assault Carrier towards the exposed structure and landed amongst the wreckage created by the energy projector strike, hoping that they wouldn't have to go through the same ordeals that they did when retrieving the First Key.
The Arbiter stepped out of the Phantom to where 'Harum and his platoon of Rangers were dug in, some sort of mess hall he assumed based on the myriad of long tables and chairs that had been repurposed into makeshift barriers alongside of standard portable energy barriers.
He quickly spotted Rael 'Harum conversing with two of his sub-commanders, adorned in the same sealed Ranger armor as the Sangheili he was leading. However, to signify his rank as Ultra instead of the pastel white of the standard Rangers his armor was a brighter white with purple accents near the edges. Much like his standard Ultra armor, but with an enclosed helmet and a jetpack attached to the upper back armor.
Rangers had been chosen to secure the landing zone instead of mainline troops not because their jetpacks would be particularly useful within the base, but rather if something went wrong the Rangers would be able to evac by jetting upwards to the surface through the hole that was created by the Shadow of Intent.
"Fill in the line," said Thel to his unit as he approached 'Harum, and they did so.
"Arbiter," acknowledged 'Harum, foregoing the typical salute he would give due to the fact that they were in a combat zone. "We have secured this hall and the rooms surrounding it."
"Any activity?"
"None so far. It appears that this research base's power is offline. No lights, and no heat."
Thel quickly checked his HUD readout and saw that the outside temperature was well below freezing. Inside of his armor with its automatic temperature regulation he didn't feel the biting cold. It was also quite dark. Light was flooding in from the sizable hole that the Shadow of Intent had blasted through the rock and ice in order to allow them entrance, but not even a dozen meters into the structure the black, inky darkness had to be penetrated by the bright beams of Sangheili helmet headlamps.
"Research base?" asked Thel, curious as to why the Ultra referred to the structure as such.
'Harum gestured for Thel to follow him and directed him towards a close by wall which upon closer inspection had a large map of what Thel assumed was the whole facility. As the Arbiter studied it diligently his helmet's software recorded the floor plans and constructed a HUD-accessible map which was distributed to the rest of his team.
"See here, the lettering above this map says, 'Cerberus Research Base: Abominable.'" said 'Harum. "Or, at least that is what I believe it says. When it comes to English your reading skills are likely better than mine."
"No, you are correct," said the Arbiter, checking for himself. "Levas, does the name 'Cerberus' mean anything to you?"
Standing behind a portable energy barrier, the Asari took a second to respond to Thel's inquiry and he could see as she cocked her head that her helmet tilted to one side. "Cerberus? The name's familiar… I'm pretty sure they're some kind of Human separatist group, but I can't say I know much more unfortunately. They stayed out of Asari space."
"Hmmm…" said Thel. "Anyone else?"
He was met by negatives in some form or another by the other three Asari as well. That didn't exactly help, but he can't say that he was expecting a comprehensive explanation on what this 'Cerberus' was or why it had a base right where the Key was supposed to be.
"So, this structure is a research base of some kind. But what could they have possibly been researching?" continued the Arbiter. "There is nothing that could have realistically been gained from studying the Door or the chamber the Key is contained in… not that they would have been able to open the Key's safe and access it anyway."
'Harum shrugged. "I am not sure Arbiter. Whatever they were doing must have not been very successful judging by the status of the base right now."
The Arbiter shook his head slightly, saying, "Typically a failed research project just results in a decommissioning, not burying the entire structure a kilometer underground. Something is not right here."
"I have the same feeling," said 'Harum.
The Arbiter took another look at the map, focusing on a large, open area on one side of the base that had a much greater area than most other rooms he could see. If this base truly was built around studying what She had left behind, than that is where he guessed it would be.
"If I had to guess, the Key is in this large room right here," said Thel, pointing towards the space on the physical map so 'Harum could see as well. He also took special note of two larger rooms labelled 'Hangar' and 'Project Storage'. "We will make our way towards it and investigate these rooms we pass along the way to see if we cannot figure out what transpired here."
'Harum saw as the rooms on the path towards the Arbiter's destination were highlighted to show that he intended to search and clear them. Nodding, he said, "I will keep a force to secure our exfiltration point and send out roving patrols to the areas that your men will not cover."
"Excellent. Keep in contact if you discover anything, I will do the same," said Thel. He turned to walk away, but swiveled his head back to 'Harum and said, "That Ranger armor suits you."
Through the transparent visor of the helmet Thel could see as Rael parted his mandibles in a grin and the Ultra said, "Indeed, it is nice to finally be able to wear it again."
From what the Arbiter knew about 'Harum the Sangheili had started off his military career as a Ranger, going so far as to become First Major, in charge of an entire company of the elite Sangheili troops. It was only because of the Great Schism that 'Harum was called up to command a battalion of troops and promoted to Ultra, as many officers were killed due to the betrayals of the Prophets and the Jiralhanae.
With some blinks of his eyes the Arbiter updated his unit's map of the facility with the route they would take. His communicator channel open, all of his Sangheili and the four Asari heard the conversation with 'Harum and knew the basics of the situation. "Let's move out."
"How shall we proceed?" asked Lance leader 'Sraom.
Thel thought for a moment. Initially he wanted them to go forth while in stealth, but upon second thought he realized that would drastically reduce their visibility. While all of their visors certainly had night-vision settings, they worked on the principle of amplifying what light was available. The only light available was coming from the hole that they came in through, but the deeper they went into the base the darker it would get.
"Cautiously," he just ended up saying. "We will have to use our helmet lamps in order to see. The base seems to be deactivated and empty of personnel, but something does not sit right with me. We should stay alert,"
The group made their way past the Ranger's beaming lights illuminating the dark corners of the map and towards their first door. Thankfully it was wide open, but if they came across closed doors that they wouldn't be able to open because of the power outage they had brought plasma cutters and breaching charges just in case.
Fortunately their path was relatively straight forwards, and as they started forwards the Arbiter ordered, "'Sraom, two-six-two formation. 'Taham, two-two-two-four. 'Sraom, your six will take point and 'Taham's four will guard our backs. Pairs, search the rooms. Look for anything that describes what they were researching here, or why they buried it."
They made their way through the facility's cold, dark rooms and hallways slowly yet steadily, thoroughly searching for any sign as to what happened here. It didn't take long before they found something, but it was certainly different from what they were expecting.
"In here Arbiter, look," said one of his Sangheili, gesturing towards a small office. The first thing Thel noticed was that the door wasn't open, nor was it closed. Instead it seemed to have been torn open. Pieces of the door littered the floor around him and the jagged edges of what door was still left meant that Thel had to carefully maneuver his way into the office.
Headlamps shining brightly, he was soon witness to the surprising amount of carnage that had obviously taken place here. Streaks and pools of dried red blood somewhat liberally covered the floor, wall, and even ceiling. He could also see this brackish, green fluid dried amongst the blood as well. Most of the office furniture was destroyed, most notably the metal desk that had been sheared in two down the middle.
It was certainly gruesome. "'Harum, are you seeing this?"
"I am," responded the Ultra, watching the live feed that Thel was transmitting to him. "I was about to contact you, some of my troops are finding similar scenes. Lots of blood, destroyed equipment, and bullet scarring."
"There must have been some kind of battle then," concluded Thel. He stepped out of the room and as he was talking followed N'tho's finger towards a six bullet holes that stitched the wall further up the hallway. "One that encompassed most of the facility… Any luck in accessing any computers or finding any sort of datapads?"
"Finding them? Yes. Accessing them? No. All we have come across are either destroyed or otherwise dead."
Thel grunted, seeing as the computer terminal in the office he was in looked to be smashed in as well. "Keep looking, and stay alert."
"As always."
Thel closed the link and on his team's frequency asked, "Has anyone else found anything?"
His question was met with negatives. "Very well. Continue onwards."
And so they did, quickly yet diligently checking the various offices, small storage rooms, and laboratories they passed as they made their way towards the Key. Mostly it was the same scene as was in that office he saw, only a scant few rooms were left unmarred by whatever had taken place here. Passing through the different laboratories especially Thel wanted to spend some more time analyzing what equipment was left undestroyed to gain some clues, but he also didn't want to loiter.
What he did want to spend some extra time investigating were the rooms labelled on the map of the facility as 'Hangar' and 'Project Storage', the first of which was coming up on their right.
"N'tho, have your lance make your way towards the Project Storage room. Usze, with me," said the Arbiter, taking position near the closed hangar doors. Two Sangheili from 'Taham's lance came forwards with a plasma torch and attached it to the door, superheated jets of plasma making quick progress through the thick metal.
"Headlamps off, stealth on," said Thel and the area was plunged into darkness as helmet lights were extinguished. They shimmered into thin air as their active camouflage systems activated and 'Taham took place right in front of the door, levelling his leg and delivering a powerful kick to the weakened metal.
The section caved in as a result of the powerful strike and the stealthed Sangheili rushed in through the opening, fanning out from the newly created entryway with weapons raised and the two Asari ready to raise biotic barriers if need be.
After a few seconds Thel determined that if there was anyone waiting to fire upon the opening of the door they would have done so already. It was dark enough that he could barely see, so he decided to give the order to turn headlamps back on and exit stealth.
They stayed alert, ready just in case there was a welcoming committee who was just waiting until a target physically revealed itself. No fire was directed their way, and Thel said, "Pair off and spread out. Clear the Hangar."
The first thing the Arbiter saw were several aircraft parked on the deck in the middle of the hangar. Or rather, the remains of them. Pieces of broken cockpit glass and shards of sheared, blackened metal hull littered the ground, and Thel had to watch where he put his feet to avoid stepping on them.
He looked up and down the burnt out hulks, the headlamps from other Sangheili lighting up the wrecks from different angles.
"We're clear," Usze announced over their lance channel.
The Arbiter started to walk around the aircraft, noting how they were unmoved from their designating landing spot judging by the large fluorescent lines on the floor. He looked down at his feet again, narrowing his eyes as he saw another smear of dried blood.
Out of curiosity he glanced up and he was glad he did as he saw several large-caliber turrets jutting out of the ceiling. The Arbiter instinctively flinched and took a step back, but the turrets didn't fire. They weren't even pointed at him, Thel quickly realized. Instead they had their barrels aimed surprisingly at the destroyed aircraft below them.
Thel looked between the two a few times and Sergeant Jani who was standing nearby quickly took notice as well.
"Did those weapons destroy these shuttles?" she wondered.
"I am not sure. It certainly seems that way," said Thel. "You know these are shuttlecraft?"
"Yeah, I recognize the model. Kodiaks, a human design," said the Asari. "If they did destroy their own shuttles, then why?"
"Perhaps for the same reason the whole research base was buried underground," hypothesized Thel. "N'tho, report."
"We've just finished clearing the storage area. No signs of battle, whether it be bodies, blood, weapons scarring, or other kinds damage to the equipment stored within."
"And what kind of equipment would that be?" asked Thel.
"Missiles," replied the Special Forces Officer, "Lots of missiles. Large ones, nearly as long as a Spirit Dropship with a decent width too, about a meter. I count twelve."
"Missiles?" repeated Thel, tapping one of his long fingers against the side of his Carbine. Based on their described size those missiles could have yields equivalent to UNSC Shiva nuclear missiles, which if Thel remembered correctly had similar dimensions. "Do they looked primed for launch?"
"No, they're stored in racks on their sides. Each one has warheads attached however."
Thel noticed a flashing light in the corner of his HUD which he recognized as Ultra 'Harum's communicator signal.
"Hold one 'Taham," he said, switching over to 'Harum's channel. "What is it Rael?"
"We've discovered some sort of communication office that still has power. It's sending an outbound signal."
"A signal?" asked Thel, "To whom?"
Bridge of the Shadow of Intent
"Shipmaster, forty-three new contacts four-hundred thousand kilometers to our East in sector 270-3."
"Classifications?" asked R'tas, bringing up the sensor view on his own holoscreen.
"One twelve-hundred meter, two nine-hundred meters, ten seven-hundred meters, and thirty one-hundred meters," replied the Sangheili bridge officer.
Rather on the small side R'tas noted. "Orientation?"
"They are arranged in a triple layered V-formation and are maneuvering to face our direction, but they aren't otherwise accelerating from their current position."
"Any signs that they are trying to communicate?"
"No, I am not detecting any sort of incoming hails."
R'tas clacked his mandibles together in a sign of agitation. Could these ships be the 'appropriate authorities' the Noveria Development Corporation mentioned when they first arrived? The Shipmaster didn't think so. They weren't trying to communicate with him to either give him his final warning or to announce their impending destruction for disobeying their laws, nor were they maneuvering into weapons range in order to be able to do so.
He took a look at the designs of the ships now available to him since their long-range imaging scans had completed. Most of the vessels were thin and sharply angular, and after a few seconds of observation he thought he recognized the design… but from where?
Another few seconds of contemplation the realization came to him. He had seen designs similar to these above Second Earth. These ships had surprising similarities to those from the Systems Alliance. In fact, taking a look at a comparison from the seven-hundred meter cruiser-weight ships they looked exactly similar save for some paint coloration. Yet at the same time they seemed…darker and exuded an air of menace he couldn't quite shake.
A second idea of why these ships were here originated in R'tas' mind. He had just gotten word from 'Harum not a few minutes ago that they had found a communications room that not only had power, but was also transmitting an outgoing signal. How long that signal had been transmitting R'tas didn't know, but he had a feeling that it coincided with their not-so-subtle blasting into the base.
So, maybe they were here to see why an inactive base had suddenly come back online. But would that warrant a fleet as comparatively large as this one however?
"Do we have targeting solutions?" asked R'tas, wanting to be prepared just in case.
"Yes Shipmaster. The Eternal Repentance is still in atmosphere though. Should we pull her up back into our formation?"
"No. Keep her in support of the Arbiter and Ultra 'Harum for now," ordered R'tas. Keying in Thel's communicator channel he continued with, "Arbiter, you may wish to hasten your search for the Key…"
"How long will it take?"
"For a door of this thickness, maybe two minutes."
The Arbiter nodded at the two Sangheili manning the plasma torch and turned back towards the hallway from which they had came. They weren't trying to plasma torch through the Precursor Door, rather the one that this Cerberus faction must have constructed in front of it. It was of remarkable thickness however, most likely to protect what lay within.
The twenty-five strong team was currently in a medium-sized antichamber arranged in defensive lines around the door towards the Precursor chamber that held the Key. Four hallways branched off from the room, bright headlamps illuminating what dark corners they could. l
"Arbiter, this is 'Harum! We've been engaged!"
They all perked up at that, and Thel replied, "What? By whom?"
"Infantry! Humanoid appearance!" The Arbiter could hear the distinct whine of rapid plasma fire accompanied by what he had to guess was gunfire. "Most are shielded, but some are heavily armored. They're using projectile weapons and are definitely coordinated. We're seeing suppressing fire, deployable cover, and attempts to set up heavy weapons!"
"How many?"
"Unknown! Their formations are similar to what we have seen of UNSC troopers. I am counting two platoons, maybe more. They certainly have us outnumbered."
"We are nearly at the Key. Can you hold?" asked Thel urgently.
"We're managing to keep our outer perimeter intact, but if they keep pushing at us like they are we are going to have to give ground. If we get forced back into the meal hall I'll call the Repentance for additional support."
"How long?" barked Thel to the plasma cutter crew who signaled him a response of just under a minute. "R'tas, did you hear that?"
"Yes, I was listening," replied the Shipmaster from orbit.
"Who is this attacking? Forces from the new fleet that just arrived?" he asked.
"I do not know who else it could be, but we have not detected any sort of dropships coming from either the fleet, nor from locations groundside. Remnants from the base collapse? Or planetary defense forces who knew of another way in?"
The cutting pair motioned to him that there were only a few seconds left until they gained access. "I must go, we are about to retrieve the Key."
As the cutting team was disassembling their torch Thel said, "I shall go first. N'tho, your lance will follow right behind me. Usze, stay in a defensive posture here in case the soldiers attacking 'Harum come here."
He was met by a series of affirmatives and thus took his place in front of the large metal section that had been chosen by the cutting team, edges still glowing from the intense heat. He shouldered his Carbine and grasped the two handles that had been attached to the piece of metal with strong adhesive. Thel pulled hard and felt as the heavy slab gave way alongside the plasma cuts. He quickly set the piece down to the side and looked through the Sangheili-sized hole, Carbine at the ready once more.
The first thing Thel noticed was that Her Door was open, which alarmed him because it should have been closed. The Key's Transmittance had shown them that it would be closed and only the Arbiter's touch would have been able to open it.
The next thing he noticed was that the large chamber which the Key was located in, a vast area about the size of one of the Intent's hangar bays with bare walls that sloped upwards, was that the air was semi-saturated with fine dust particles floating lazily through the air.
He knew that his armor and the armor suits of his team were fully sealed and that they had been running off of their own oxygen supplies since the start of the mission, but with a quick flick of his eyes he double checked just to make sure.
Thel rushed through the opening into the chamber with his Carbine raised, followed close behind by the rest of N'tho's lance. They scanned up and down the eerily colored room, finding nothing except for the all-encompassing particles in the air and of course, the tall pedestal that housed the safe on top of it which contained what they were searching for, the Key.
"This fog is unsettling," offered 'Sraom over the comms.
Thel just grunted in response. "Stay alert. Move towards the Key, circular formation. Asari in the middle, watch all angles."
They quickly made their way to the pedestal without opposition and Thel took position to open the Safe. He placed his hand on the bare metal face of the strongbox and a seam immediately appeared down the middle on the side he was facing. Without any pomp or circumstance the Safe slid apart and the Arbiter reached inside, withdrawing the thin cylindrical Key from its containment field and placing it in an armored compartment on his beltline.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw the flash of red on his motion tracker for just a split second before he was hit to the ground with enough force to completely shatter his shields, send his Carbine flying, and send alarms warbling through his ears.
He looked upwards from his back to see what had knocked him to the ground and spread his mandibles in shock as he saw a figure that sent fear, anger, and pure, instinctual rage all throughout his body. It was Human, key word being was. The skin was a sickly pale yellow-green, the head was listed at an unnatural angle, and several pieces of sharp bones were sticking out of places they shouldn't have been.
The hilt of his energy sword was already in his hands, and plunged the activating blade of plasma into the thing's midsection. With a guttural roar he brought the blade upwards, vivisecting the creature vertically and sending a torrent of brackish fluid splashing onto his helmet and armor.
He shoved the thing off of him and sprung to his feet just in time to see another one attempt to fall from above on top of Officer 'Sraom. Given the seconds of warning from the opening attack on the Arbiter, N'tho was able to sidestep the falling creature and stitch into it at near point-blank range with both of his Plasma Rifles. It fell in a heap of molten, boiling skin an instant later.
He shot a glance at the form of what he had just bisected with his sword and upon seeing the long, thick tentacle that had replaced the left arm and form of doubt he had vanished.
"The Parasite! Back to the entrance!" he bellowed, scooping up his Carbine and slinging it across his back, drawing the Plasma Rifle he had in the hand not holding his energy sword.
His motion tracker was suddenly flooded with red on all sides and dozens of shrouded figures started to rushed the lance through the now thickening fog. Streams of burning blue plasma and yellow tracer rounds shot out to meet them but Thel knew that they would barely make a dent in the literal wave of Flood that was approaching them.
"Biotic Sphere, now!" he shouted, using the nomenclature for the Asari biotic technique that was one of many that had been integrated into their lance's stratagem. Operative Levas quickly followed Thel's command and erected a hemispherical biotic barrier around the lance that would block anything trying to come in but allow their own fire to pass through outwards. Operative Vaya channeled her own power into the seasoned biotic performing the technique.
It came not a moment too soon as the torrential rush of mass impacted the barrier with enough force to cause the two Asari to stumble. As their new enemies threw themselves at the Sangheili with vicious abandon the operatives returned withering fire of their own, but for every monstrosity they cut down another three took their place.
With a blink of his eye Thel opened the command comms channel with Shipmaster 'Vadum and Ultra 'Harum and urgently growled, "The Parasite is here! They were waiting for us to retrieve the Key!"
"The Parasite!" shouted R'tas through his headset, "What!? How!"
"I do not know!" snarled Thel, putting a quartet of plasma globules in the upper chest of a Parasite form beating on the barrier. The same questions were racing through Thel' s mind. The Parasite was supposed to be gone. Dead. Exterminated once and for all from his galaxy. But now here they were, in this sacred place left by the she herself. The Transmittance had mentioned absolutely nothing about them. "We are attempting to make it back to the extraction point but are under heavy melee assault!"
As he said that a trio of tentacles simultaneously delivered cracking blows to the barrier and Thel saw the two Asari's knees and elbows buckle under the strain. The pair wouldn't last much longer under pressure like this, and they still had just passed the halfway mark back to the Door. He could barely see the fire and biotics of 'Taham's team as they attempted to keep their only exit open.
"'Harum! Can you hold our landing site!" asked Thel above the whine of plasma, the shouts and roars of his Sangheili, and the vile screams and gurglings of the Flood pressing in from all sides.
"Against our current infantry foes, yes. Against the Parasite, not without reinforcements," responded the Ultra.
Thel grimaced, he knew 'Harum had fought the Parasite at High Charity, Delta Halo, and the Ark. He knew perfectly well that his relatively small force of Sangheili would eventually succumb to the overwhelming numbers and unending tenacity of the Parasite.
"I am sending Mgalekgolo pairs to reinforce 'Harum's position," said R'tas. 'If worse comes to worst they can perform a delaying action while the rest of you extract. I am also maneuvering our ships in preparation for a glassing operation around the site as soon as the Key is secure."
"What of the other fleet in orbit?" asked Thel. He was acutely aware of the fact that the Shipmaster said when the Key was secured, not when their team was safe. They both knew what was at stake.
"They have not budged. This is a much more grave situation than what potential threat they might present," replied R'tas.
The Arbiter agreed wholeheartedly. He thought back to the last planet they had fought the Flood on, Earth. R'tas had wanted to glass the entire world, but Fleet Admiral Hood had convinced him to limit the destruction to the area surrounding Voi city. Now though, on this sparsely populated planet owned by a secretive, mostly hostile corporation, Thel was contemplating whether or not to turn the entire ice ball into molten glass.
Thel could see just barely start to see the headlamps of 'Taham's team when Operative Vaya passed out from the strain of trying to hold back the seemingly never-ending legions of Flood throwing themselves at their barrier. Without missing a beat N'tho holstered one of his Plasma Rifles and scooped the unconscious form of Vaya off the ground, flinging her limp body over his shoulder.
Their protective barrier suddenly shrunk as Raya's energy stopped reinforcing Levas, and the Sangheili suddenly found themselves pushed closely together as they tried to stay within the confines of their biotic salvation.
Levas screamed with exertion as she fought to keep the barrier intact, her entire being encompassed by a field of swirling blue biotic energy. In his HUD Thel could see that her heart rate, breathing, and brain activity were off the charts. It wouldn't be long before Levas met the same fate as Vaya and passed out from the strain.
They were so close to 'Taham's team but Thel didn't think Levas' barrier would last, which he had no doubt would result in all of their immediate deaths and more importantly, the loss of the Key. They needed to clear a corridor towards the Door, at least for the couple of seconds it would take to sprint to the relative safety of the other team.
"Double grenade volley to the sides and rear, then focus all fire front!" barked Thel, "Burn a path towards the door!"
Without hesitation the Sangheili halted firing for a split second and sent two flaming blue grenades each through the shield and impacting with the mass of Flood. As they cut a path through the Flood in front of them with concentrated fire the grenades detonated, twenty-two orbs of plasma detonated and summarily incinerated every Parasitic organism within ten meters of the biotic sphere.
The force of the explosions against the biotic sphere proved to be the breaking point for Levas as she slipped into the bliss of unconsciousness and the shield fell.
"Go!" yelled Thel as he picked Levas up from the ground and sprinted towards the 'Taham's waiting line, a gap forming to let their brothers and sisters through. Operatives Jani and D'avi both deployed singularities right in front of the door as the last of N'tho's lance passed through and the couple of dozen flood forms that had closed the gap were lifted into the air by the oscillating mass effect fields.
"Back to the landing zone, move!" ordered Thel and the Sangheili took off in a sprint down the corridors they had came from. To the surprise of the Jani and D'avi they were picked up by their Sangheili 'guardians' due to the fact that they could not run as fast as the Sangheili and would be left behind in the all out sprint.
Thel chanced a glance backwards just in time to see a tentacle whip out from the darkness behind them and wrap itself around the leg of the most trailing Sangheili, Operative 'Kalim. He gave a cry of surprise as he was yanked back into the rushing mass of Flood that was soon cut short as his vitals flatlined in Thel's HUD.
Aware that one of his lancemates had been killed by the gaining Flood 'Taham ordered them to drop more grenades in an attempt to buy them some more time. Thel activated his last two remaining Plasma grenade and tossed them a bit behind him, never losing a stride. Everyone else did the same and soon after the dark hallways were bathed in cleansing blue-white light.
Thel checked his motion tracker and saw that the mass of red behind them had receded significantly, evidence that their technique had worked. Checking his map he noticed that they were only two turns away from reaching the meal hall that served as their extraction point. Already he could hear the staccato of gunfire and high-pitched whine of plasma fire signifying the ongoing battle between 'Harum's forces and their unknown attackers.
"'Harum! We are approaching your position from the southeast corridor!" said Thel into his comm.
"Affirmative! We will focus fire on that sector to try and thin out resistance!" replied the Ultra.
"Prepare for immediate extraction, the Parasite mass is right on our hooves," warned Thel.
'Harum didn't reply, likely caught up in the heat of the battle. It was only a few more seconds until they reached the last stretch of hallway that would lead them into the mess hall. Already he could see the faint beams of light that were filtering in through the hole the Intent had blasted through the ice, accompanied by the increasing volume of battle.
"Contact front!" called N'tho who was near the head of the loose formation. The leading Sangheili engaged the remaining infantry attackers to their front who were in their way. Not expecting enemies coming from behind plasma fire raked into the human-sized troopers exposed backsides, popping shields, melting through armor, and burning through skin.
The Sangheili didn't break stride as they surged past the crumpled infantry line and Thel noticed that several prone beings had the markings of death by fuel rod cannons: blackened, slagged, and still bubbling armor as well as missing body parts.
'Harum's forces were waiting for the two Special Operations lances and ushered them towards the back of the mess hall where a Phantom was waiting for them, troop compartment doors opened and a black-armored Unggoy giving suppressive fire with his Type-52 Plasma Turret.
The Arbiter saw two pairs of Mgalekgolo pouring fuel rod fire into various locations, the superheated irradiated-explosive annihilating what was left of their mysterious armored infantry troopers.
"To the Phantom Arbiter, go!" shouted 'Harum, pouring rounds into the now emerging waves of Flood pouring into the mess hall from his Plasma Repeater.
Thel needed no convincing and his team bounded into the waiting craft. He turned back and watched as 'Harum's Rangers and the Mgalekgolo engaged the emerging Flood waves, steadily backing up as they were pressured from every available angle.
The Arbiter clenched his jaws in frustration as he saw a couple of prone Sangheili figures scattered about, and that there appeared to be even more of the Parasite than he had could have imagined. As the remaining Separatist forces were pushed backwards he saw 'Harum give a hand signal and his Rangers started to evacuate through the hole, jetting upwards from outcropping to outcropping on their way up to the top and their respective waiting Phantoms.
As Thel's Phantom lifted off he asked, "'Harum! How are the Mgalekgolo going to extract?"
"They're not. They volunteered to stay behind in order to buy my men enough time to get away."
As the troop compartments started to close Thel saw more Rangers streak upwards to safety, the looming shadow of the CCS-Cruiser Eternal Repentance starting to cast over them in preparation for the imminent glassing.
He switched through the local Battlenet channels until he came across the one being used by the Mgalekgolo still in the research base. It took him a couple of seconds to understand what he was hearing, but he soon realized that they were singing a battle hymn.
He listened to the almost haunting bass reverberations until he could hear them no longer.
It had been three hours since the Arbiter, 'Harum, and their forces returned to the Shadow of Intent upon retrieving the Key. Following their departure it was revealed that the Flood had control of several launch sites scattered around the research base that sent supersonic missiles crashing into Noveria's spaceport and what had been revealed by Sergeant Jani to be a resort at the equator.
Orbital observation revealed that the missiles contained some kind of biological weapon that to the horror of everyone on the bridge turned all those exposed into various forms of the Parasite. He had immediately ordered a planetwide glassing operation and deployed every single Seraph and Banshee fighter to prevent any potentially infected smaller craft from escaping.
As the orbital cleansing had begun he was bombarded by pleas to stop by the Noveria Development Corporation, but they had fallen on deaf ears. The Flood had the potential to destroy this entire galaxy if even one active spore escaped. Soon the pleas for mercy ceased as the spaceport and spa resort were turned to molten glass. The rest of the planet followed close behind, the Sangheili ever vigilant to make sure that nothing escaped off world. No vessels were spared, whether they were private shuttles, cargo freighters, small fighters, it didn't matter.
While the snow and ice of Noveria boiled and bubbled away the forty-three vessels that had arrived in-system never budged, standing by and watching as the world in front of them was reduced to nothingness.
When it was all said and done and the Shipmaster was recalling his fighter wings and reforming his warships a Sangheili bridge-mate called out that they were being contacted by their opposite gathering of vessels.
R'tas gave the order to play and the sound of a male human voice drifted out of the bridge speakers.
"To the the commander of the six ship task-force in front of what used to be Noveria, my name is General Oleg Petrovsky. I would very much like to both give and gain insight as to what happened here, as well as extend an offer that would mutually benefit our two parties. I know both the location of the next artifact you seek, and how to retrieve it."
Special thanks to my beta JonHaper