Chapter 25: Fural
Fural trudged through the swamp, his footsteps and his breath heavy as he made it to the clearing that Jors had designated for him. He decided to take a seat against a rock, though he knew it was a terrible idea to let his guard down.
He had killed the creature that killed Dom, but part of him continued to think that the thing would be back. He lifted his head, pressing his neck against the rock behind him. He didn't care about the water from the rain running down his back.
And as if he could control the weather, the rain began to stop. Fural looked up at the canopy, and he could see glimpses of the sun shining through. He closed his eyes and breathed, wishing he could actually feel the warmth of the sun against his skin. The thought that he would be able to feel it again at some point was comforting.
He pushed against the ground and got back onto his feet, examining his surroundings. With the fog clearing out everything became more clear. Across from him was a pond, and at the edge of the pond was a crashed human transport. A Pelican.
Fural pushed his way to the Pelican and examined it. He came to see that it hadn't crashed, but that it had landed there with no sign of the pilot. Good to know the Flood is still out there, he joked to himself. He took a step back, surprised that he even still had it in him to make a joke, even if it was a really bad one.
He ran his hand along the smooth armour plating of the Pelican, studying the imperfections of the human design. It was primitive, but effective. He closed his eyes and stepped back. He wondered where the human he escaped with was, if it even made it out of the swamp.
Perhaps he would never know, and that was something he was fine with. He never really cared for humans other than when it came to fighting them. The one he had escaped with only lived on in his mind because he didn't immediately kill it, and it didn't immediately kill him. That was something he was always going to remember.
The wind soon carried the sound of the Undiminishing Conviction's engines. Jors would be there soon. The sound of the Phantom's plasma cannon startled Fural as it fired, tearing the canopy above apart. The Phantom lowered into the clearing, throwing up mud and water with its drives as burning leaves fell to the ground. The gravity lift activated, and Fural floated inside.
The Conviction was empty inside. It had always been empty, except for Jors, Fural, and Dom. Without Dom it felt different.
Fural saw Jors in the cockpit as he stepped into the troop bay and the lift deactivated behind him. The pilot looked back at Fural, but didn't say anything. Fural expected him to ask about Dom, but his brother's absence told the pilot all he needed to know.
"Let's go," Fural said. Jors turned back to the controls, and the Phantom moved. "I will make the report to 'Vadamee."
Fural watched Jors nod without speaking, and the door to the cockpit closed. Fural turned to the terminal at the back of the Phantom, and opened a communication to the Supreme Commander.
"Nasamai," Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee's voice sounded from the terminal.
"It's Fural," he said, "I assume you're well aware of the current crisis."
"I am," 'Vadamee said a few seconds later, "the Flood are ravaging my troops across the ring. The garrison at the control room has fallen once more, and we still don't know where the means to activate the ring are. We've searched the Library and found nothing."
Fural was surprised at how much the Supreme Commander was telling him. He wondered if he would have always been this open if Dom hadn't been the one to make the reports all the time.
"So, tell me. What happened at the weapons facility? And where is Dom?"
Fural sighed. "The weapons… The weapons were the Flood. Not something that would give us an edge. As far as I can tell, no one else made it out of the facility. Dom was infected, but he is dead now."
Fural's first ever report to the Supreme Commander, and he was lying. He wasn't the only one to make it out of the facility, but he wasn't going to tell 'Vadamee about the human. He felt it wasn't even a relevant part of the story.
"In that case, it could have been worse," 'Vadamee responded after a few seconds of consideration. "I could have lost both of you."
Fural couldn't tell if 'Vadamee was just trying to make him feel better, or if that was a genuine compliment. Knowing how serious higher ranked members of the Covenant were, that was probably an actual compliment. Either way, that was something that was nice to hear.
"Dom died with honour," Fural said.
"Good. That is the only way a warrior should die," 'Vadamee fell silent again for a few more seconds. "I'm getting reports that the Flood has breached the fleet, and that activity is picking up again near the crashed human ship. You are to return to the Supreme Crusader. Shipmaster 'Rylanee will have orders for you there."
"Understood, Supreme Commander," Fural said. He bowed, even though there was no visual feed.
"Good. Dismissed."
The connection dropped. Fural sighed and folded his hands. He sat down on the floor of the troop bay and pressed his back against the wall. Never let your feelings get in the way of a fight, Dom told him once, when he was young. Emotion is an effective driver, but to focus you must be relaxed. To win, you must be professional.
Fural took a deep breath and got back onto his feet. He wasn't going to let his brother's death bring him down anymore. He had his time to grieve, and he took it. There was still a war going on, a war that Fural intended to win.
He stepped toward the cockpit and opened the door, Jors gave him a look that was almost surprised.
"We are to return to the Supreme Crusader," Fural said, professionally clasping his hands behind his back.
"Understood," Jors said with a nod. He input the course to the Crusader, and Fural felt the Phantom shift under his feet as it moved.
Fural stared at the viewscreen as the Conviction approached the Crusader. The giant Syfon-pattern carrier had always been a sight to behold, but it felt different now. Like Fural was returning home after a lifetime of battle.
Jors flew the Phantom into one of the smaller hangar bays on the carrier's port side, and Fural dropped out from the gravity lift. He stepped onto the grey-plated hangar floor and looked around. The change of scenery was jarring. He had grown used to the open spaces and tight grey corridors on the ring in the short time he had been down there.
He walked through the hangar to the exit, aware of the looks he was getting from other members of the crew. He knew he looked terrible. Combat with the Flood and the unforgiving terrain of the swamp had significantly dirtied his armour.
Fural stopped by an armoury, and dropped his armour off. He knew it was unprofessional to talk to the Shipmaster in just his undersuit, but it would probably be more unprofessional to drip blood and mud all over the control room floor.
He arrived at the control room. Like the control rooms on other carriers, the Crusader's was large. Almost too large. It would've been a great room for Dom and Fural to spar in, had it not housed the ship's most important functions.
The spacious room was lit up by consoles, which Sangheili and Kig-Yar crew members operated. They lined the walls of the room. On the opposite end from the entrance was a large view screen that showed the space outside the front of the ship. Of course the control room wasn't really at the front of the ship, nor did the ship have windows, but the screen emulated both effects.
Mace 'Rylanee, the Crusader's Shipmaster, sat in a chair that hovered above a light in the floor. 'Rylanee's chair turned, and he stood once Fural entered. He beckoned for Fural to approach, and he did. Fural knelt before his Shipmaster.
"I've heard the news of your brother," 'Rylanee said, his voice as smooth as ever. He raised his arm for Fural to rise. "May he rest with honour."
Fural nodded and stood, clasping his hands behind his back as Dom sometimes did. 'Rylanee turned toward the view screen at the front of the room. On the screen a Mjern-pattern support ship was highlighted in red. The word 'Outbreak' was under it.
"The Supreme Commander told me the fleet has been breached?" Fural said, looking at the screen as well.
"Yes," 'Rylanee said, "but it has already been handled. The Infinite Succor is on a course toward the system's sun. We're sweeping all the ships in the fleet for another potential outbreak, nothing so far."
Fural nodded, and looked down at the floor. With the outbreak of the Flood, and the spread of the infection to a ship in the fleet, Fural feared the battle of Halo would soon be over. And he feared that neither Covenant, nor the humans, would win.
"What are my orders?" Fural asked, clearing his throat before he spoke.
'Rylanee turned back toward Fural. "You have no more orders. The battle is done. We are returning to High Charity."
Fural looked up, his eyes slightly widened. "We're abandoning the mission?"
"No," 'Rylanee shook his head, "your mission is accomplished. You deserve rest, and a moment to recover."
"I am perfectly capable of continuing the fight," Fural protested, "once my armour is back in good condition I can head back down."
'Rylanee clasped his hands behind his back, his eyes slowly gravitating toward the wound on Fural's shoulder. The one that was filled with the human biofoam.
"Use this moment to calm down," 'Rylanee said, his voice calm. "There are plenty more wars ahead. Now, rest. That's an order."
Fural reluctantly nodded. 'Rylanee was right. He would be in another battle soon enough. And maybe he did need some time to rest.
"Am I dismissed?" Fural asked.
'Rylanee replied with a nod, and a polite gesture toward the control room's entrance. Fural bowed and left the room. Instead of going to his quarters, or to the armoury, he returned to the hangar where Jors had parked. Not to disobey his orders and head back down, but to watch the ring.
He stared out of the shielded hangar at the ringworld. The giant, beautiful, deadly ringworld that was Halo. The place where his life changed forever.