Hello everyone. Short chapter this time, and after such a long wait I apologize. I haven't been very inspired recently, and so this chapter got cut in half. Things should speed up after this though. See you all later!

Even knowing what he did, the ring was awe-inspiring to Draken. It was almost wide enough to fit around Earth and held an entire ecosystem on the inside of a metal shell. There were trees, lakes, mountains, valleys, and fields of grass. Draken didn't trust it.

"Shipmaster, I suggest that we not go down in one enormous force," he said quietly to the Elite, making him turn to the Kligher incredulously. "I have misgivings about… what we discussed, and would take caution in the approach." He raised his voice just enough for the crew to hear. "After all, the entirety of this ship walking upon its surface at once might show disrespect." T'Shlaa thought hard about what Draken said, knowing what he did and why he suggested what he did. He eventually nodded at Draken's suggestion and ordered him to scout the ring with a small contingent, and bring back any information or "holy artifacts" he could find.

Draken gathered the remaining able-bodied members of his squad (he had to leave one behind in the med bay, unfortunately) and filled in the blanks with Elites suggested by T'Shlaa. They took a single phantom from the vehicle bay and flew down to the surface of the ring without delay. They landed, and though they wished to explore the ring freely, Draken had them form up and stay alert.

"None of us know what's here, there could be traps left for heretics," Draken suggested, appealing to their religious side. "Move out, and look for a way into the ring." They called in every half unit, reaffirming that all was well each time, and explored the surface thoroughly. It didn't take long for a doorway to be found, and Draken led his squad down into the ring.

"High Judi… can't ge… gnal is we…" spat Draken's radio, static replacing most of the words.

"The ring is blocking radio contact," Draken said, taking his hand away from his helmet. He gestured to one of the Elites. "You two, head back up and report that we've found a way down and that everything is alright, we won't be much further down." The Elites nodded and turned to jog back up the tunnel. "We'll be on our own from here, stay alert for anything." They kept walking down the metal hallway, turning every once in a while before going down more inclines. Areas opened up along the path, vast halls that Draken could only guess at the purpose of. They were rejoined by the Elites Draken had sent earlier in one of these halls, and everyone was ordered to turn on beacons and spread out to look for any relics or important items. A few units into the search, one of the beacons pinged on Draken's radar, and he called in to see if the Skirmisher was alright. His radio was filled with screams and sounds that didn't belong to any Covenant.

"Weapons ready, investigate his location!" Draken ordered over his radio, running to the Skirmisher himself. When he got there, at the same time as the rest of his squad, he found the Covenant soldier covered in some kind of creatures with bulbous bodies and spindly legs, digging at his flesh and tearing into his neck. "Open fire!" The ones running at them were shot first, and then the creatures attacking the Skirmisher were carefully shot and hit off. He was bleeding and delirious, but alive. Draken ordered a full retreat, and the Skirmisher was carried on an Elite's shoulders as they ran. Finally, they emerged onto open ground, and Draken ordered his men back to the ship to prep for takeoff while he captured a sample for the scientists.

"Sir, with all due respect-" began a Skirmisher, but Draken cut him off.

"Go now, I can handle them and we need to know what we're up against," he ordered. "Fly low overhead when you can, but for now, run dammit!" His men saluted and ran back to the ship. He turned back to the entrance to the ring, activating his sword and wielding a plasma pistol in his free hand.

"This is a great plan, by the way. I love it," Gutrot said, sarcasm as heavy as a cruiser. "Send off your squad, and hope they get back in time to save you from your own stupidity while you play whack-a-mole with the weird plants and try to bring one of them onto the goddamn ship."

"I said a sample, I never said anything about it being attached," Draken corrected, prompting a quiet "oh" from Gutrot. The creatures finally caught up to Draken, and he backpedaled rapidly while he swung and shot at the things, popping them like over-full blisters. When the swarm had thinned considerably and he could hear the Phantom coming close, Draken snatched a tendril from a falling corpse and dashed towards the sound of engines, leaving the monsters in the dust.

"Go higher, I want no chance for these things to get back with us," Draken ordered the pilot over the radio.

"Sir, will you be able to make the jump?"

"I can jump three times as high as you're flying right now, and that's where I want you. Do it." His orders were obeyed, and he strained to make the leap to the door on the side of the craft. He snatched the metal lip at the bottom and pulled himself in, barely having the strength to jump that high. After falling into a seat, he put a hand to the side of his helmet. "Get back to the Virtuous Retribution as fast as you can."

An hour later, after making sure the injured Skirmisher was in good hands, Draken stood in the same room as Shipmaster T'Shlaa and a hologram of Truth.

"The holy ring we've found is infested with monsters, some amalgamation of plant and sentient life." Draken showed images of the enemy as he spoke, and had lab reports of the sample he'd collected. "According to these reports, their genetic makeup is so well refined that they'd have to exist for millennia, before any current race existed, maybe even as an enemy of the Gods. They kill and consume rapidly. The T'Vaoan under my command who came into contact with these things is being treated for necrosis as we speak, meaning that these things kill even cells at an astounding rate. I have no doubt that he would be dead if we helped him even seconds later."

"… I see…" Truth said, uncomfortable with this new enemy. "What do you suggest, High Judicator?"

"Systematic extinction. We need to wipe these things out, fast," Draken stated quickly. "However, this campaign is underequipped for the job. We'll need more vessels for support, and if necessary, termination of infected ships." T'Shlaa gaped at the High Judicator.

"Termination?!" Draken interrupted before his rant could gain steam.

"In case of infected vessels, yes. Would you prefer to lose a ship or a fleet, Shipmaster? Their speed of attack is incredible, and there was a whole swarm reacting to a small team. What do you think they would do with entire ships of infectable hosts?" The captain turned pale and sat down heavily in the nearest chair. He turned back to the Prophet. "I refuse to allow this campaign to end so close to a Ring, much less accept defeat from an enemy that has desecrated said Ring. I won't allow failure, nor death, but this campaign lacks resources to wipe out these creatures, as I said. Will you send what we need, my Prophet?"

"Yes, right away. Wipe this scum from existence, High Judicator, as you would the heretic scourge," Truth replied in anger, directed at the enemy that would dare set foot on a Holy Ring. Draken saluted and bowed his head as the hologram faded away, and turned to T'Shlaa.

"We have preparations to make, Shipmaster, and time is of the essence now that our element of surprise is gone." The Shipmaster nodded, standing and taking a deep breath.

"You are right," he acknowledged. "Let us make ready to face the enemy."