VI

1220, September 10, 2560 (Military Time)\ New Lleneli\ Shi'lithra

Kedzuel moved his ship down below the atmosphere, scanning for any sort of underground base.

"I'm surprised as large as your ships are," began Telek. "They didn't break apart coming so close to the planet."

"Non-phased ships this size can't get this close to the planet," said Kedzuel. "But a phased ship can dip below the gravity well of a planet and then drop out of phase with little harm."

"That's good," said Telek. "They can't see us, right?"

"Nope," replied Kedzuel. "They can't. Unless they have sensors that can detect a ship out of phase with reality."

The two paused as Telek detected movement at the corner of his eye upon the screen in front of them. For a few minutes, they stood still, silently watching the dusty, rusty ground. the two kept their eyes upon it, waiting just for something, anything to pop out of the rock formation the Shi'lithra landed near.

Nothing moved, not even the pebbles in the wind.

Kedzuel and Telek looked to each other, their eyes wide, holding their breaths. Still nothing came. Kedzuel exhaled and combed his fingers through his loose bangs. The Blitzardi rumbled a chuckle and crossed his arms. A blue screen flashed on and a vector of the landscape appeared with the strange curly language of the Blitzardi. They blinked red, hovering over a spot on a hill near a dried up riverbed.

"There we go," said Kedzuel.

"What's that?"

"Reaper tech," he replied. "Wait."

He pointed to the vector of a bulbous shape moving towards them on the screen. Through the walls, they could see the purple, bulbous shape of an aircraft hovering over. Telek and Kedzuel looked up, seeing one of the Covenant Remnant assault carriers hovering in the hazy blue sky above. Though they were inside Kedzul's ship, the two could see all around them in every direction as if no walls blocked their view. Kedzuel lowered the ship completely to the ground and the ship's bridge and only two occupants looked like they were standing in the riverbed itself.

"This looks weird," said Telek.

"Hang on," said Kedzuel.

"We can spy on them, walk around them," said Telek. "If only I could do this when I was fightin' Covenant. The active cammo we had wasn't perfect, certainly wasn't like this."

Kedzuel's finger flew across the blue screen, shifting holographic, angular shaped boxes and spheres around. From Telek's point of view, it looked like he was doing something important, but the Sangheili could not tell what it was.

"There's Forerunner tech down there too," said the Blitzardi.

"I'm not surprised," said Telek. "When we discovered New Llanelli during the war, we found it all because the luminari that is installed on all Covenant ships showed Forerunner technology under the surface. The Fleet Master responsible knew whatever artifacts that were underneath would not be harmed by the orbital bombardment. Rarely did the Covenant deploy troops. Most battles were fought above the planet."

"Deep space battles too?" Kedzuel asked.

"No," said Telek. "Always in a system, especially a planet 'we' wanted to glass. Or space stations the Covenant wanted to destroy. It got so bad that Admiral Cole from the UNSC ordered the Cole Protocol. If running into a Covenant ship ment blindly jumping into who knows where just to lead them astray from human worlds. Ship logs were often wiped clean to prevent the coordinates of Earth being discovered. Or they would destroy their ships. Anything to keep the Covenant away from the inner planets." He smiled. "When I defected from the Covenant, I would hijack Covenant ships, scrub them of any bugs and deliver them as a present to the UNSC to replace the ships they lost."

Kedzuel started to laugh: "So that's why she called you a pirate!"

"Uh-yeah," said Telek. "Who's she?"

"Oh, just a friend I met," replied Kedzuel.

"Well, yeah, they call me a pirate," said Telek. "Though sometimes I thought of myself as a Robin Hood of sorts...if you go by Earth literature. Steal from the technologically advanced and give to the technologically poor as it were."

Kedzuel chortled at the Sangheili's self description of his deeds.

"Kiryuu wanted me on his team," said Telek. "How could I refuse? I could finally kick Truth in his lying teeth. I discovered the truth of the Halos, and it destroyed my reality, so I revolted against the establishment. I made some good friends, and I lost some good friends. You never forget the day you lose those that matter the most to you."

"I know," said Kedzuel. "I lost many friends during the revolution against my uncle. You really don't no matter how long its been."

"Well, I helped a species that my own sectioned off for genocide," said Telek. "The humans called me a miracle worker. Luck was always on my side then. Now, in my silver years, I feel that luck is slowly running out."

"I wouldn't say that," said Kedzuel. "I found you. And I'm here to give you some fresh luck."

"I do appreciate that," said Telek.

They returned their attention to the Sangheili who jump from their phantoms upon the bank of the riverbed. They leaned down towards a small depression in the hill itself and removed a piece of rock. There, a holographic screen appeared before them and the leader of the group proceeded to input a group of codes into the pad. Once the door chimed approvingly, and a door hidden by the rock face slid open, the Sangheili warriors walked on through into the dark space inside. Telek felt disoriented as he watched his own kind now no larger than his toe shuffle themselves into the door from the transport.

"I am a giant among midgets," he said.

Telek got to his knees, watching as the Neru Pe Odossima filed on into the bunker underneath the hill. He lowered his head down, closing one eye as he peered into the tunnel the Sangheili went into. He could not help but to notice how they were dressed, their armor looked like a mish-mash of plating and harnesses from everywhere. He saw the shoulders from a zealot, the helm from a minor, the thorax armor from Special Operations, thighs from a Majors. The big Elite shook his head. Even he never devolved to such saverage, to wearing haphazard armor, mismatched, stained, painted with tacky markings of their faith on their blue armor. They did not look like warriors. Despite their misshapen armor, they still walked like warriors.

Then, the door closed and Telek got up from the ground.

"We need to see what's inside there," he said, turning back towards Kedzuel. "How do we do it? I'm used to sneaking in...but age...caught up with me. I'm not as nimble as I used to be, so I generally just send in Shri."

"I got something better," said Kedzuel. The Blitzardi raised his claw, holding it level. As he raised it, a meter was glowing underneath it. Kedzuel slowly lowered his hand down the meter and telek watched as they began to phase down through the bedrock. They lowered down through the levels carved under the rock. Telek leaned down again, but he found the size he had now a bit cumbersome.

"This ain't gonna work," he said. "We're too big. It's like tryin' to peek into the window of a doll house."

"Sorry about that," said Kedzuel. "My species is like one of ten who are this size. I know it isn't normal. Most sentient species are your size or a foot or two larger or smaller than you. Monsters, monsters are our size." He crossed his arms. "We were one of the lucky ones who didn't end up like the monsters of old. But there have been a few monsters among us."

"There's monsters among everyone," said Telek. "You don't need to be giant sized to be a monster. I learned that the hard way. Truth was definitely a monster."

"So very true," said Kedzuel. "Truth may have been your monster you had to slay, Khan was mine."

Telek leaned down again, trying to see what was going on down below.

"I can barely see anything," he said. "We have to get in there."

He leaned up ducking around the tunnels, his head fitted in.

"Can we?"

"We can," said Kedzuel. "Let's do it."

Telek turned back to one of the rooms were the Neru Pe Odossima was. He leaned up, his eyes focusing upon a holographic screen casting a cold blue hue upon the room and its occupants. He saw what looked like a human on the screen.

"Hang on," began Telek. "You got a recording device?"

"Yes," replied Kedzuel. "The only problem is...it is sound. So long as we are phased, there will not be any sound."

"Don't need it right now," said Telek. "Video is fine."

Kedzuel pressed a few blue keys upon his hard-light screen. A speck of light flew out of a silvery panel from the ceiling and floated just above Kedzuel. The Blitzardi guided the little light down towards the Elites who stood in front of the screen.

"I think I see Jul 'Mdama there," said Telek. "He's that one with the blue armor, the white hand on his harness and the glowing stripe on his helm."

He looked up at the screen the probe projected upon the wall. Telek moved closer towards it, his crystal eyes widening when he saw the familiar golden, angular symbol on the left hand corner of the screen itself. Telek took in a deep breath.

"Cerberus!" he said in a chilled hiss. Telek turned to Kedzuel. "Before we act, we need to send this to Kiryuu. Jul's rubbin' elbows with Cerberus."

Kedzuel held up his hand, commanding the meter to raise the ship above the surface. His battle-chariot ascended into an orbit around the planet once more. He walked over to Telek as the probe flew over his shoulder. The two only looked at each other.

"On my ship?" Telek asked.

"Yes," said Kedzuel. "I can make the transmission." He took Telek's arm. "One, two, three…"

Upon the Shadow of Darkness, the three Shipmasters, Kedzuel, and Dunkelzahn watched the probe playback the scene. Dunkelzahn shook his head.

"Cerberus," said Tulsa. "Why are these people working with them?"

"Look at how they're dressed," said Telek. "The beat up armor…"

"I've used the Shi's scanners on their ships," began Megellan. "Lots of coolant leaks. Patched fuel lines. They're small, but very noticeable. The only thing that are working are the new upgrades from King Ghidorah. They are using his energy to seek you out."

"Okay," began Cujo. "Where did they get it? How? And was it through Cerberus?"

"I don't seem to recall Cerberus being employed by King Ghidorah," said Tulsa.

"They aren't," said Telek. "It don't mean they can't use his shit for their means. And isn't that's what that space freak wants, us to use his stuff so we could be easier to control?"

"That's exactly what he wants," said Kedzuel. "King Ghidorah will not stop until we're calling upon him to brush our teeth. Absolute control." He wiped his mouth and fluffed his bangs. "It's no wonder why he...my uncle...fell to King Ghidorah's charms."

Telek sighed, nodding slowly. Deep down, he hated the fact that he fell to King Ghidorah twice in his life., the last one happening just two years ago. The three headed, golden dragon from another reality was becoming more and more up front, more visual with his actions.

"He was appearing everywhere, and his Reapers were not even in the galaxy yet," said Telek.

"Trying to psyche everyone out, Excellency," said Tulsa.

"I'm inclined to agree with Telek," said Shri.

Cujo took his helmet off, plopping it onto the metallic, iridescent table with a loud clang.

"That's it," he said. "When I see Cerberus, Jul 'Mdama, and King Ghdiorah, I'm shoving plasma grenades down each of their throats. All the plasma grenades."

"Right there behind you," said Tulsa. "But replace the throats with the asses."

"Both ends," said Telek.

Kedzuel just chuckled and nodded with agreement. Telek shook his head with a disgruntled grunt.

"I want to know how the hell did they get the tech," he said.

"We need to go down there to see what sort of Reaper they've got," said Kedzuel. "If I am going to help you, we need some solid evidence that will convict Jul, and also convince my High Council that it is necessary that I be involved in this."

"Don't tell me, your High Council are a bunch of bureaucratic sticks in the mud too," said Telek.

"The biggest in the universe," said Kedzuel. "And the less I deal with them the better. Just give them what they want and I can get what I want quicker."

"Damn it," the big Sangheili sighed. "Well, I can provide you with that proof. We just need to go down there and infiltrate their facilities."

"No, I need to go down there," said Shri. "You have to stay up here. Doctor's orders."

Telek grunted disapprovingly, sneering and beating the table with his fist.

"I ain't an old man, Shri."

"You're old enough."

"Well, he's older," he said as he pointed at Kedzuel.

"Um, actually, if my life span was the same as yours," the Blitzardi began. "I'd be in my late 30s."

"Which is a good 30 years younger than Telek is," said Shri. "See, he's younger."

"He's got gray hair!"

Telek flipped a silvery lock in Kedzuel's auburn mane.

"The crown is a heavy burden," said Kedzuel, smoothing his bangs back.. "Has a habit of turning many emperors' hair white. Khan's hair was snow white before I lopped his head off. If his scales were pale enough, he'd look like an Auri."

"Sounds like the Presidency," said Dunkelzahn with a chuckle. "I'm surprised neither myself or Kiryuu didn't have white hair by the end of our terms."

Telek returned his gaze upon the Cerberus agent on the screen. The man had pale olive skin, black hair tied in a ponytail and black eyes.

"Alright, here's the plan," he said. "We're gonna call Kiryuu up and send this his way. Maybe he can identify who this agent is. Cujo, get Knight on the phone, pronto!"

"Aye, aye, Supreme Commander," said Cujo. He got up, walking towards a light, rosy hued panel and began to tap his gloved fingers upon the surface. The holographic screen appeared before him as the triangular glyphs of the Sangheili language flashed purple on black, informing Cujo that the call was going through. Then, within just a few seconds, a face appeared upon the screen. She was of the sub-race of the trolls, lovely tanned skin and striking violet eyes and full lips with a little collagen injections. Her horns were curved gracefully over her long, silky, heavy black hair. She almost looked like a supermodel.

"Utah Foundation of Bio-Organic Research, Tammy speaking, how can I help you?"

"Knight seems to have a new secretary every day," whispered Telek. "Trolls. I think he has an Orc assistant that serves him coffee, and an elf who at least does his nails."

Kedzuel chuckled: "Well, at least he's got good taste in women. I like the horns on that one."

"Uh, yeah," said Cujo. "I'm Shipmaster Cujo of Telek's fleet, I need to talk to Mr. Knight, is he in?"

"I am terribly sorry, sir," Tammy began. "But Mr. Knight is out of the office, can I take a message?"

"You've gotta be shittin' me!" Telek barked. "This is Kiryuu's direct line. Where the hell is he?"

"I apologize but Mr. Knight wishes not to be disturbed."

"Where the hell is he?" Telek asked.

"Private location, sir. He wishes not to be disturbed."

"Oh yeah?" Telek asked as he rose from his seat. "Do you know who he is?" He pointed his finger right at Kedzuel. "He's the fucking Emperor of the God Damned Known Universe! And when the Emperor of the Known Universe calls Kiryuu Knight, he better damn well answer the fucking phone, do you hear me?"

Kedzuel waved and grinned embarrassingly at the secretary. He rose from his seat and patted Telek's shoulder.

"It's okay," he said. "I can contact him…"

"Do you know his phone number?" asked Telek.

"His phone number on the Array," said Kedzuel. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Telek began to chuckle and then grinned at the secretary.

"You're in deep shit now, sweetie," he told her. "The Emperor of the Known Universe is about to get your boss on the phone."

Kedzuel's eyes opened and he opened his arms up, revealing a cyan-colored screen and a flushed face of Kiryuu Knight upon that screen.

"Tammy!" Kiryuu barked. "When Emperor Kedzuel Draconis calls, you forward his call to me!"

"I'm...I'm sorry, Mr. Knight," she said. "You told me to make sure no one disturbs you."

"Admiral Telek 'Heros and Emperor Kedzuel Draconis are the ones who can, got that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good," he said. "What's going on, Your Highness?"

Just as Kiryuu asked the question, Kedzuel heard a familiar voice off to the side.

"Is that Emperor Kedzuel?"

"Yes, Liara, it is," said Kiryuu.

Kedzuel's smile broadened: "Is Liara there with you, Kiryuu?"

"She is assisting me with my little science experiment, yes," said Kiryuu. "Do need me to pass a love note or something?"

Telek coughed and cleared his throat, calling everyone's attention to him.

"I'm sure this is all very interesting, but I have something you should know about, Kiryuu," he said. "Cerberus is working with Jul 'Mdama. And they have Reaper tech on their ships."

"I know about the Reaper tech when Kedzuel left to find you," said Kiryuu, his face twisting into a cold, furious scowl. "But what does this have to do with Cerberus?"

"I'd figure you'd tell me that," said Telek. "Didn't you send me a memo informing about the Collector Base being destroyed and how pissed off the Illusive Man was when he heard about it."

"I do seem to recall that," said Kiryuu. "That was the day I met Kedzuel as well when Malcho decided to blow me off."

"I am so sorry about that," said Kedzuel.

Kiryuu rumbled dismissively, waving his paw. Telek snapped his fingers and pointed to the screen.

"Kiryuu," he said. "Do you know this guy?"

Kiryuu Knight turned his eyes towards the screen that showed the Cerberus face. The biomechanical dinosaur wagged his head and shrugged.

"No, I am not familiar with him," he said. "Though I can see the Cerberus logo on his armor. Send this file to Ms. Tammy, Telek."

"Right," said Telek.

It was then that Telek noticed exactly where Kiryuu happened to be. Behind the mecha was a gigantic skull inside a dimly lit warehouse. There were four draconic skulls lying behind Kiryuu Knight.

"What the hell is that?" he asked.

Kedzuel leaned in as Kiryuu glanced behind his own shoulder.

"That is the remains of King Ghidorah, Telek," the biomecha replied. "When he came to Earth for the second time after the London attack."

"King Ghidorah's skeleton?" asked Telek. "What the hell are doing with King Ghidorah's skeleton?"

Kiryuu sighed and wagged his head: "Because David Xanatos originally was supposed to dispose of them. I hired his company for that purpose. However, he did not. And instead, he experimented with them. Alan's last mission before he was frozen was dealing with Xanatos' illegal experimentation. I found that Xanatos is in fact linked in some way to Cerberus. Cerberus didn't exist back then, but I believe Xanatos' descendants had once controlled Cerberus before it came under the Illusive Man. It would explain why the Illusive Man is so interested in studying King Ghidorah. Because Xanatos' research is already in Cerberus' files and have been there since the late 21st Century."

Telek sighed and pulled his helmet off, giving a rub to his head.

"Well, this got bad," he said.

"Makes me wonder," began Kedzuel. "Did this Xanatos become indoctrinated?"

"Yes," said Kiryuu. "He did. You probably already know this, Kedzuel, but every piece of King Ghidorah can insure indoctrination. It doesn't have to be a Reaper, it can easily be the bones from the dragon as well."

"Then, what the hell are you doing with them, Kiryuu?" asked Telek. "Get rid of them! King Ghidorah already tried to control me two years ago. We've both been indoctrinated before, he could do it again!"

"I know," said Kiryuu. "Which is why I've been trying to find a way to properly dispose of them. I can't just toss them out to sea, Telek." His eyes came to Kedzuel. "Which is what I'm hoping you could do for me, Your Highness. You need something of King Ghidorah to test your ship's weapons on. I have something I need to dispose."

"I see," said Kedzuel. "Yes, that would be more than perfect to use, Kiryuu."

Then, Liara's head poked up from the screen.

"And I've been helping Kiryuu with the study," she said.

Kiryuu chuckled: "It's what I've needed her expertise with."

"I have learned so much about King Ghidorah," she said. "Beyond what even the Shadow Broker had."

"I've kept a tight file on King Ghidorah," said Kiryuu. "Mostly paper. Less likely to be snatched through the Extranet."

"When you are ready," said Kedzuel. "I'll be there to blast that skeleton back where it came from."

"There's a base down there," began Telek. "And I've seen 'Mdama. Or what looked to be 'Mdama. He wore the same uniform that 'Mdama had."

"Are you sure it's him?" asked Kiryuu.

"We're gonna go down there to find out," said Telek.

"Do you plan on killing him?"

"No," said Telek. "Those religious yahoos will praise him as a martyr if I do. But if I drag him back to Sanghelios, have him tried and made the fool he is, it'll drive his popularity down. Incarcerate the bastard. And only then will we kill him...when he's dead to the world. Ain't nothin' worse to Sangheili than people forgettin' your name."

"Sounds like you've got a plan," said Kiryuu. "Alright. Keep me posted. It's good to see you safe, Telek."

"And here I thought you were happy to be rid of old Telek!"

"Now what gave you that idea?" Kiryuu asked with a grin and Telek chuckled.

Kiryuu looked away for a moment to something they could not hear, then he turned back to the screen.

"I should not keep you," he said. "I may be out of contact for a while. I have to go and handle something very urgent."

"What is it?" Kedzuel asked.

"I'm afraid in light of the Reapers returning, Chicago may be destabilizing," said Kiryuu. "King Ghidorah is not just going to be relying on his Reapers to attack Earth. He may use the Invae as well."

"Those giant bug creatures in Chicago?" asked Telek. "Cujo and Alan faced those things, right?"

"Yes," said Kiryuu. "It was the first thing I sent Alan on when he was thawed into this century. I do not like leaving loose ends open. I have to make sure the barrier around Chicago will hold when the Reapers arrive."

"Liara, are you going with him?" asked Kedzuel.

"Yes," she said. "I figured it would be a learning experience to see Mr. Knight in action."

"Someone of the Council race can finally see what it was I was originally built for," said Kiryuu.

"Bashin' the heads of giant monsters," said Telek with a chuckle. "Good luck!"

"And to you," said Kiryuu. "Also, Telek, if you discover what it is these Sangheili are doing with Cerberus, my suggestion is to find Commander Shepard. She has ex-Cerberus operatives on board the Normandy. They maybe willing to give you intell about the Illusive Man's next move."

"How do we find her?" asked Telek. "She's on the run right now."

"The same way Kedzuel found you," said Kiryuu. "Those Cerberus operatives on board her ship are also Technomancers."

Kedzuel smiled: "I can find them."

"Good luck," Kiryuu said as he clicked off.

The other screen with his secretary also clicked off.

"Megellan," began Kedzuel. "I've got the images of the hallways logged into the ship's teleporter. I need you to get to the Shi'lithra's bridge and monitor their movement. Also start setting up the planetary fence."

"What's that?" Dunkelzahn asked.

"An energy barrier we set up as a means of controlling planets that may be a danger to the Imperium," replied Kedzuel. "We basically put that planet on a time-out preventing anything coming or going from it."

"Time outs for planets?" asked Telek. "You ground planets like bad little children."

"Basically," said Kedzuel.

"Kedzuel," began Megellan. "I don't have access to the fence."

Kedzuel huffed and raised a claw as a projected blue screen appeared underneath it. He pressed a sequence of keys and then the screen vanished. He gave a nod back to the Lengodo.

"Now, you do," he said. "I think you can drive my ship without my help, Mel."

"I can," he said, shrugging. "Just don't ask me to do tricks with this thing. It's too big!"

"Only because this was my uncle's ship," said Kedzuel. "He had to have room to house his fat ego."

"Shri," said Telek. "Start getting your Spec Ops ready, we're going down there to infiltrate the base." Then, he returned to Kedzuel. "We'll be invisible the entire time though…"

"There's no need for that," said Kedzuel. "My replicators can create the armor to disguise you all in. And I'll be joining you."

"You can make us disguises?" asked Shri. "That's great! We can sneak in and access their files without being caught."

"Wait," said Telek. "You said that you're coming with us. No offense, but you don't look like a Sangheili, Kedzuel. We can pass for one of them, but you can't."

The Blitzardi chuckled as his body flashed and sparked. One final bright flash and as the light cleared, instead of a Blitzardi standing there, there was another Sangheili with glowing cyan eyes and three black triangular markings on his cheeks. He was dressed similar to the Neru Pe Odosima.

"Now I look like I'll fit," he said.

"You're a shape shifter," said Telek. "Interesting."

"Blitzardi are the only ones of our species who can shapeshift," said Megellan. "And it is perfect as well. Meaning, it is undetectable, unless he is around other Blitzardi."

"Not bad," said Telek. "But even if the shape is undetectable, I highly doubt you've been studying the Sangheili language since you got here. So, you better let Shri and I do the talking."

"That's fine," said Kedzuel.

"Are you sure you wish to do this, Your Highness?" asked Shri.

"My ship is currently running on a skeleton crew," said Kedzuel. "And though while it is sailable, it is still not quite complete. I need them to remain on board. And I'm the only one that doesn't have some important job to do, so, why not me? I can handle myself. Don't worry. And I need some of the Reaper tech samples they have down there so we can discover what it is they are using it for."

"Alright, then," said Telek. "Let's go."

§§§

They slowly began to walk through the long, dark corridors of the Neru Pe Odosima's base. A few times, they passed guards whom Telek greeted properly. They were all dressed in the haphazard, beat up armor these fanatical Sangheili wore. Kedzuel held to a carbine rifle in his hands keeping silent and following behind Shri and Ysoa. The paused for a moment when they came to the inner chambers where Telek spied them communicating with the Cerberus agent. The tri-valve door opened up with a chime and slowly Telek and his team slid in.

"Ysoa," said Shri. "Joss, keep watch of the door."

"Yes, Excellency," said Ysoa. He lifted his chin in silent command of the other Spec Ops and the two guarded the door.

"Alright," said Telek. "Let's see what this thing has."

He pressed his fingers across the holographic panel, shifting through the triangular lettering of the Sangheili language. Kedzuel looked up, not making hair nor tails of the language itself.

"Let's see what Jul's been hiding," he said. The screen flashed read and Telek grunted. "Password protected."

"Of course it is," said Shri. "What did you expect? Move over, I'll see if I can crack it."

"Well, excuse me, Princess," said Telek.

Shri 'Canthon began to shift through the panels, pulling up the login screen one more time. She pulled a device from a pouch in her armor and held it up to the computer. On the screen, Sangheili numerals began to flash, cycling through. The screen flashed green and several other screens zoomed on as the computer accepted the password. Shri placed the device away and tapped her fingers around the console.

"Here we go," she said. "Telek, I need that drive so we can start transferring this data over."

Telek pulled a purple hued, oblong device from a pouch and handed it to Shri. She stuck it into a port and began to download the information.

"It says here," she began. "That the Neru Pe Odosima were contacted by Cerberus the moment they got wind of its creation. Cerberus was more than willing to give them technology they needed in order to repair ships."

"Does it give a location as to where they are getting it from?" asked Telek.

"No," said Shri. "Nothing. Cerberus must meet them somewhere and they probably have that logged on their ships."

"Shri, Telek," hissed Ysoa. "Someone's coming."

Telek turned around to find what he thought was Jul 'Mdama coming in with a group of Sangheili. Their weapons were out.

"What's going on here?" the leader in Sangheili. "Who are any of you?"

"Uh, we're the night janitors," replied Telek. "Just making sure the place is clean."

The leader growled and walked towards Kedzuel.

"Is this true?" he asked the disguised Emperor. Kedzuel could not answer. Instead, he looked rather confused to the Sangheili, not understanding what he just asked. The Sangheili barked. "Well, can't you speak? Do you understand what I'm saying, warrior?"

Kedzuel swallowed and then replied in his own language: "Sey f'dor mo?"

Telek growled, leaning his head into his hands.

"What did he say?" the leader asked. "What language is that?"

"Excellency," began one of his guards. "That warrior is an imposter. They're all imposters!"

The leader took out his sword emitter and the plasma sword turned on with a clash. Telek brought his out as well and his modified Technomantic pistol.

"Telek 'Heros!" the leader called, recognizing the pistol. "I should have known!"

Shri pulled her sword out as well and Ysoa and Joss began to fire from behind. Kedzuel backed up trying to figure out just how the Sangheili carbine rifle worked.

"How do you fire this thing?" he asked in English.

"You've got to be kidding me," said Telek as he fired off a round from his pistol. "Use the trigger."

"Where's the trigger, this gun has four different finger grips!"

A Sangheili warrior leapt upon Kedzuel, knocking the disguised Blitzardi down with a roar. He ignited one of the plasma daggers from the cuff of his bracer, pointed it right between Kedzuel's eyes.

"Die, imposter," he said. Before the Sangheili could strike his dagger straight through the disguised Blitzardi's fored, he gurgled and then fell over, twitching violently. Kedzuel pushed him off and raised his now ignited Technomantic energy sword.

"No thank you," Kedzuel grinned. He looked around to see Telek clashing swords with the leader, the one who Telek thought was Jul 'Mdama. Telek roundhouse kicked his opponent into a stack of boxes.

Telek slid in a Medusa shell and pointed right at the commanding Sangheili. He rose up from the boxes, shaking off the toss and growling deeply.

"You will pay for that, heretic," he said.

"I hated being called heretic back during the Covenant War, and I don't like being called one now," said Telek as a charge of purple white sparked up upon the end of the barrel of the gun. Before the Sangheili could even dodge, Telek fired the shell upon him. The Sangheili instantly froze in place, purple-white streaks of nimbus charged energy flowed up and down his body. Kedzuel sniffed, blinking with some amazement at what Telek had done.

"A caster gun," he said. "I haven't seen one of those in a long while. Not bad at all, Telek. Now, here's my version." Kedzuel raised his hands as his disguise faded away, revealing his true form. Purple-white ribbons of electricity lept out from his talons, striking the enemy Sangheili. The bolts lept from one Sangheili to another until all of them were now frozen solid. "There we go."

Shri, Ysoa, and Shri's other Spec Ops Sangheili stepped away, lowering their weapons. Telek walked over to the leader Sangheili and knocked his helmet off. He stepped back, his blue eyes wide.

"You ain't Jul 'Mdama!" he said.

"What?" Shri asked. She came around and wagged her head. "It's not him."

Kedzuel walked over and then touched the frozen Sangheili commander's forehead, freeing it up.

"Alright," said Telek. "Where's Jul 'Mdama?"

"You think that I would ever tell a heretic like you?" he asked. "Jul 'Mdama walks among us all. He guides us now in place of the Prophets. He is the new voice for the gods!"

"The Forerunners ain't gods, you idiot," said Telek. "They stole the technology they had from these guys." He pointed at Kedzuel. "The Forerunners are thieves, not gods."

"This is the the lie a heretic like you would say, Telek 'Heros," he said.

"Where's Jul 'Mdama?" Telek ordered again. "Tell me!"

The Sangheili laughed, spreading his mandibles wide. Then, he barked out his language and the computer console responded. It flashed on the screen a series of codes and then numerals counting down. Telek heard the numbers sounding in his language, understanding with horrid realization what was about to happen. Kedzuel, however, still was a little lost.

"The base has been set on self destruct!" said Shri.

"Kedzuel," called Megellan through the commlink. "The Sangheili ships are creating slipspace ruptures. They're trying to escape."

"Does that fence stop slipspace ruptures?" asked Telek.

"Yes," said Kedzuel. "But it does make ships explode when they try to get beyond it."

"We will all become martyrs!" said the leader. "We will die gloriously taking our enemies with us! For the glory of our gods!"

Telek's eyes widened and he turned back to Kedzuel.

"Get us the fuck outta here!"

§§§

Below the Shi'lithra the glimmering brilliance of the ships and the base exploding expanded out in a bright, white, spherical swell of heat, fire, and energy. Megellan watched on, waiting with bated breath, silently sending a message to You Know Who in hoping that they all made it back to the ship before the fireball caught them. As the fireball faded away, all that remained of the location of the base was a gigantic crater. His ears twitched and he looked up, hearing a soft chime.

"We're on board," said the sound of Kedzuel's voice through the speakers.

Megellan finally released his breath in a sigh of relief. His shoulders relaxed and he smiled.

"And we've got guests!"

"Wait, what?" Megellan asked.

"Get to the brig, Mel."

He swiftly rushed out of the bridge and through the barrier that held the internal pocket dimension within the ship. Megellan swiftly ran through the courtyard, following the wooden walkway down a large, grassy, flowering hill that the great Imperial Palace sat upon. Blitzardi guards stood at attention turning to allow the Lengodo passage. Down into the lower caverns of the palace, he finally came to the brig where he found Kedzuel standing there with Telek 'Heros. Telek was at his regular size, no larger than Kedzuel's toenail. Beyond the energy barrier that separated them from the cell, Megellan spied several Sangheili encased in smaller, energy cubes that kept them separated from each other. Megellan placed his emerald claw upon Kedzuel's shoulder.

"Thank goodness you're safe," he said. "Zhane would flay me if you got hurt."

"I'm fine," said Kedzuel.

"Why do we have Sangheili prisoners?" asked Megellan.

"Telek came up with the brilliant idea to teach these Sangheili a lesson," said Kedzuel. "By letting them be prisoners of giants."

"Oh."

"Now, tell me one more time," began Telek. "Or I'll get the big one to step on ya. Where's Jul 'Mdama?"

"I will not speak to a heretic," said the leader. "Nor his monstrous demon minions."

"Demon minions?" asked Kedzuel. "Hey, I'm not a demon or a minion. You're on my ship, buddy!"

"Where is 'Mdama?!" Telek roared. "Tell me!"

"Kill me then," said the leader. "For I will never tell. I shall die with the secret still held upon my tongue and you none the wiser, Telek."

"Telek, he's not wanting to cooperate," said Kedzuel. "Besides, perhaps simmering in a cell surrounded by guards that can easily step on them might make one of them talk later. And we do have the leads Kiryuu gave us."

Telek sighed as Kedzuel leaned down, laying his hand flat to the ground. The Sangheili climbed into the palm and looked back the prisoners as the Blitzardi slowly stood. They left the prisoners, walking up the wooden walkway towards the palace.

"Are you sure you can find Commander Shepard's ship," asked Telek.

"If they have Technomancers on it, I can," said Kedzuel.

"Good enough for me."