Chapter 13
1400 Hours, September 19
2547 (Military Calendar)/
Approaching Covenant Corvette
Arcadia Atmosphere
Raven was terrified. All she wanted was to break down and melt into a pool of tears, and hide from everything that's happened in the last few days. Somehow, she had become entrapped in a struggle between the Covenant and the UNSC and managed to make an enemy of them both, not to mention becoming an outcast of the rebels. All that was left was to kill Sheal, and bring some sort of justice to Arcadia.
The Spartan had decided to keep her alive until they reached the Corvette, which gave her exactly no time to figure out a plan. She could already see the ship sliding into view from the front of the seraph, the Spartan's AI guiding the vessel. Raven wasn't sure who she'd rather be imprisoned by; the Covenant or this soldier. He'd barely spoken a word to her, hovering just a few feet from her at all times. She'd tried to ask his name, or what his plan was or why a Spartan was even on Arcadia, but all she got was the cold metallic shoulder. His AI wasn't much help either, offering a few quip comments and then quietly flying the seraph closer to her death. All-in-all they were a quite the frustrating duo.
"Spartan," the computer chimed, "the party's going to start in roughly three hundred meters. Oh, and I'm not entirely positive on how to dock this flying horseshoe so be prepared for some bumps."
"Got it. I'll unplug you before then, what about the shipmaster's location?" The Spartan asked, his voice surprisingly young. Raven had heard rumors of the UNSC snatching children, but never had she imagined they were actually true. It's no wonder there is an insurrection; what government would condone child soldiers? One that needed to be changed. She was suddenly glad she ended up on the side of the rebels, joining with the UNSC would have been a sickening mistake.
"The Corvette's shields are messing with my scanners, but I do have the vessel's schematics, so finding the bastard shouldn't be too difficult."
"How much longer until we can board?"
"Assuming they open the doors for us, our trajectory will take us into the landing bay in thirty-three seconds." The Spartan nodded, and finally turned to look down at Raven. He paused for a moment, as if considering what to say.
"Why did you go to Abaskun? We may have never found you if you fled deeper into the forest, and the Covenant definitely wouldn't have without a locator. Up until now, it seemed like you had a pretty good idea what you were doing, and going into that city was a rookie mistake. Not to mention because of you the residents there were killed." He said calmly, total indifference radiating from behind his darkened visor.
"I was looking for a ship. I needed a ride to get up here. The Shipmaster, Sheal, he is responsible for the deaths of my people. The Covenant is here because of me, and I need to make this right."
"And you want him dead."
"That too."
"Well, if it's any consolation, I plan on killing him too." Raven pursed her lips. She hadn't considered making it halfway up to Sheal only to have someone else kill him. Raven had absolute confidence that this Spartan would kill Sheal'Ahljm, and take the rest of the ship with him, but knowing she would not be the one to watch the life seep from his eyes did not sit well with her. They glared at each other a moment longer, before the armored soldier turned and removed his AI chip from the console. Raven studied him as he plugged the little chip into the back of his helmet, similar to hers. He was tall, almost inhumanly so, and the armor he wore was a dull silver, dented and lightly stained with blood. It seemed like the Spartan had been through the ringer as well, and she found it hard to believe this person would soon be her murderer.
"The bay doors are opening!" The AI called, bringing her attention back to the present. The Spartan yanked the shotgun from his back and stood ready, waiting for the seraph door to lower as we entered the larger vessel. At first all was silent, and suddenly a torrent of plasma and eruptions rocked the entire ship, exploding in from the opening in the floor. The Spartan was launched through the front shield of the seraph and disappeared from view immediately, leaving Raven reeling back in the flames. Her hands stung and her ears screamed with a high pitch ringing, eyes burning from the searing plasma. Stumbling to her feet, she looked for the Spartan, half expecting a barrel in her face. She could hear muffled shots and wailing coming from outside, massive concussive booms bouncing off the walls.
What the hell hit us? Somehow they knew we had their seraph! Raven steamed, tripping out of the crumpled seraph and collapsing to the floor of the Corvette. Her vision still fuzzy, she could barely make out the war raging around her. The Spartan was a one-man army, bright flashes coming from the barrel of his gun and knife hacking whenever an enemy dared to come too close. Two massive beasts stood near the center of the landing bay, firing green bolts of plasma, blasting away grunts and jackals alike in their frantic effort to hit the Spartan. They had spikes reaching from their orange, wriggling backs and rock-hard shields attached to their left arms. Hunters, Raven realized, fear settling into a knot in her throat. She'd never seen them, but remembered Colonel Kam telling her stories of the monsters with a cannon for an arm.
Gathering herself up, she stumbled towards the nearest exit, a violet hue emanating from the hallway, dodging plasma shots as they rained down from above her. A grunt noticed her attempt to flee and began to draw attention to her, but Raven quickly tackled the Unggoy to the floor and ripped off its horrid mask, leaving it sucking for air and choking on its own blood. She stood before anyone else could notice her, and sprinted towards the open hall hoping all eyes were still on the Spartan.
Covenant had stopped streaming in from all sides, their bodies littering the floor, the sounds of gunfire occurring less and less frequently. Raven wouldn't be surprised if the Spartan had managed to kill the two hunters or escaped as she had, but the only thing on her mind was finding the shipmaster. At first, she stuck to the shadows, randomly winding her way through the ship until she realized she hadn't run into a single alien since leaving the landing bay. It was as if the entire ship was empty, even the sounds of battle had quieted to absolute silence. She continued to wander, finding nothing but vacant chambers and monitors with strange symbols adorning them.
Am I the only one left on this god damn ship? She thought, her frustration building. She had made it all the way up to the Corvette, survived their ambush and somehow evaded the Spartan sent to kill her, and Sheal was nowhere to be found! Fuming, she stomped further down the hallway, coming to the last door before it dead-ended.
Inside appeared to be similar to the other rooms, except a single red glow lit the room in the very center, and screens littered the front, showing different images across the ship. The surveillance room, she realized, coming closer to peer at the monitors. One was pointed towards the landing bay, blue blood covering the floor and plasma burns marking every corner, the lifeless hulk of two hunters sticking out amongst the other corpses. Another was pointed down a dim hallway, and another showed what seemed to be the main bridge. Finally, she could see a couple of grunts and elites manning the control room, but the telltale sign of red armor marking the shipmaster was nowhere to be seen. As if on cue, the Spartan burst onto the monitor showing the navigation crew and disposed of them quickly and ruthlessly, appearing to be searching for the shipmaster as well. He paused for a moment, scanning the chamber, and then turned and marched out, moving on to the next.
Her eyes drifted to the remaining monitor, only to be met with confusion. It showed an image of another set of monitors, which seemed to show exactly the same images. Befuddled, she leaned closer, and the camera suddenly zoomed closer. A sick feeling marred her stomach, and she slowly covered one eye, testing her theory. Half of the screen showed blackness, while the other continued to portray what she was seeing. Horrified, Raven lurched backwards, turning and sinking to the floor.
"My god," she mumbled, "they've been watching me this whole time." The Covenant had been watching with her eyes, listening with her ears to everything since the day she had the chip implanted. The Colonel really did utterly stab her in the back. Raven had the intense urge to rip the NACC chip from her head and crush it, but the discovery enraged her even further, and strengthened her resolve. Angrily spinning towards the door, she found it already open. A hulking form stood in the hallway, on the cusp of illumination by the red light. It had to be pushing seven feet, and it definitely wasn't the Spartan. Raven paled as the massive elite stepped into the room, blood red armor gleaming, and came to a stop just a few meters before her. Neither said a word, moved a muscle, or breathed. The air itself seemed to pause with anticipation.
All at once the elite roared and leapt toward her, Raven yanking out her one knife and diving out of the way, rolling to a crouch and whirling to ready herself.
"You've come all this way to face me, and now you shall have what you wished for insect!" He snarled, charging at her again. Every bone ached, but the adrenaline pumping through her veins masked the pain and let her nimbly dodge his attack, swiping at the exposed flesh behind his kneecap. Her knife bounced violently off the elite's shield, sending a shockwave up her arm that left her sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath. She rocketed to her feet and spun out of the way just as Sheal's massive fist struck where she had been just a moment before.
There was no way she could win. All she had was a knife and determination. She noticed the shipmaster had not unsheathed his energy sword yet, most likely too arrogant to believe he would need it. If she could somehow get her hands on it, she stood a much greater chance. The only problem being it was literally attached at the hip to the elite, and getting that close would be extremely hazardous. Although, it's not like she had a plethora of options.
Gripping her knife tighter and gritting her teeth, she sprinted at him, knife held like she intended an overhead attack. A glint flashed in his yellow eyes, imagining the human was running to her death, he slashed at Raven's exposed chest, fingertips just missing as she jerked to the left and snatched the sword right from under him. She hit the floor immediately, anticipating his next strike, and rolled out of the way and back to her feet. She could almost feel the anger radiating off of him. She fumbled with the handle for a moment, trying to figure out how to turn it on, only for the blade to erupt in a blight flash and sizzle in her hand.
Suddenly she was on the attack, the shipmaster dodging her rapid slashes as he tried to avoid the blade's stinging bite. It was so hot, it singed the hair on Raven's hand and nearly burned her skin just holding the handle, she couldn't even imagine what it would do to living flesh. Hopefully, she was about to find out.
The shipmaster became more enraged as her strikes got closer and closer to their target, until she finally slashed up his right shoulder, and sent him stumbling backwards.
"You maggot!" He snarled, blue blood gushing from the wound. "I will have your head on my mantle!"
"You deserve worse for what you've done! Be thankful all I want is you dead." He curled his fists in anger, screeching something unintelligible. The radiance that illuminated them both cast a deathly shadow, and made the hulking beast in front of her even more terrifying. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and jutted the cackling sword towards the alien, beckoning him forward. He paused for a moment, then rushed to meet her faster than she could react. She swung a moment too late, missing his chest and slicing through nothing but air. His armored foot connected with her ribcage which crumpled inward under the immense pressure and sent her spinning to the floor, the sword flying from her grasp and landing somewhere over her shoulder. The pain was immediate, burning and screaming in her chest for relief. Wheezing, she rolled onto her stomach away from the elite and cried out in pain when her broken ribs slashed at her insides. It was like a million tiny knives pierced her flesh and were ripping away at her intestines every time she tried to take a breath.
He's got me. The elite marched over to her, his breathing ragged, his armor glistening, and hovered just above Raven, watching her writhe in agony. Her vision blurred once more, anger seeping from her until all that remained was a frightened woman not ready to die. She had known in her line of business an early death was more than likely, but not like this. Not on the ground, beaten and broken.
Forcing her eyes open, she was startled to see the shipmaster was not standing over her, but lay sprawled on the ground a few meters away, similarly dazed as she was. A smoking barrel held steady near the center of the room, the Spartan behind it. She clutched her chest and wobbled to her feet, unsure if she should be happy or alarmed. She pushed her feelings to the side; this was about finding justice for the people who were killed, not revenge.
"Your welcome." The Spartan remarked, turning his attention back to the elite and firing again into its chest. Sheal'Ahljm's shielding sparked and disappeared, leaving him gasping and vulnerable. He sprung up and quickly dashed at the Spartan, closing the short distance and forcing the Spartan to drop the shotgun and block the elite's assault. The Spartan yanked out his knife with one hand and slashed across the shipmaster's chest, shattering his armor and leaving a deep wound. Sheal roared in agony, but flung himself at the Spartan in retaliation and bashed him to the floor, gripping the hand the knife held. They struggled for a moment, both fighting for the upper hand. Seeing her opportunity, Raven lurched dizzily to her feet and searched blindly for the fallen energy sword, discovering it close by. She hurriedly fumbled for the indentation to turn it on, and limped toward the battling elite and Spartan. Raven reached them just as the shipmaster knocked the blade from the soldier's hand, and she swung at his neck with everything she had left. A sickening shrump echoed as Sheal'Ahljm's head fell to the floor, a spurt of blood accompanying it. The Spartan heaved the headless cadaver off of himself and stood, assumingly eyeing her carefully.
Raven let out a breath she had been holding for two days, "I win, you alien bastard," and threw the sword to the ground and collapsed on all fours. She didn't really care if the UNSC killed her now, she had set things right and even death couldn't steal that from her.
Before she could ask the Spartan when exactly he did plan on killing her, another explosion rocked the vessel and once again knocked her to the hard floor.
"The ship's lost one of its thrusters from all the ruckus in our entrance, we're about to fall out of the sky." She heard the AI announce from the speakers. The Spartan paused briefly, glaring down at her, then strode forward and yanked her off the ground and towards the door.
"Hey! Where are we going?" No answer. "What is happening?!" Silence. Irritated, she tried to yank from his grip but simply couldn't muster anything more from her battered body, so she settled with giving up and stumbling after him. The Spartan seemed to know exactly where he was going, taking several turns back the way he had come, corpses littering the purple hallway and the sound of blood squishing beneath their feet. It wasn't long before they came to three separate hatches, each with a panel next to the opening.
"Get inside," he barked, tossing her in and mashing buttons from the outside. "You might want to buckle up." She looked around the strange compartment, recognizing it as a Covenant escape pod. He means to shoot me back to Arcadia! She jumped for the single seat, fumbling awkwardly with the strange contraption and hindered by her wounds. A red light began to flash inside the tiny pod, and her heart jumped to her throat as she could suddenly see Arcadia's two moons flash by. Everything outside the small window spiraled and spun about, thrashing her back and forth. If she had any food in her stomach, she probably would have blown chunks all over in there. The muffled sound of thrusters kicked in, slowing the pod's velocity, until the sweeping forest came into view from the window and rapidly enlarged as Raven hurtled towards the earth. She clenched her eyes shut, gasping desperately for breath, whole body reeling.
A moment that lasted an eternity passed before the breath whipped from Raven's lungs and the bars that held her in place slammed against her shoulders, the pod shaking and groaning from impact. It rolled twice, bouncing completely off the ground only to hit again until it finally landed in its resting place. Raven hung, suspended by her seat, waiting for the stars to leave her eyes and the ringing to leave her ears. That…could have gone all kinds of better.
She stayed like that for a long time, blacking in and out on consciousness, before realizing she was wheezing for air. Frantically pulling on what she thought to be the release mechanism, the seat groaned one last time and opened up, dropping her heavily onto the bottom of the pod. She beat on the hatch weakly, slowly cracking it open until she could squeeze all the way out. Flopping onto Arcadia's wet dirt had never felt better, the cool soil seeping away some of her pain. She was content to lie there, and hope the Covenant would decide she is too much trouble for what she's worth and leave Arcadia be.
Looking up, the sky glowed a beautiful golden red, both from the setting sun and the light from the falling Corvette, which would land somewhere over the ocean. She could already see the two moons drifting up from behind the mountains, the last rays of light disappearing. She wished this moment would last forever.
"Is it everything you wanted?" A voice said from over her shoulder. She jumped at first, before recognizing exactly who it was.
"Yes. We brought retribution to everyone who died here. If I had the choice to do it all again, I would."
"Good." The Spartan was silent then. Both of them knew what had to happen, and neither seemed eager to get it over with. They stared at the setting sun for a long while.
"I'm going to give you a choice," he paused, "you can take out the chip, and I'll let you stay here until you die, or I can shoot you right now."
"Can I wait for the sun to set?" She quietly asked. The Spartan didn't reply immediately, but he nodded after a moment. And so they waited, feeling the coolness of nightfall trickle in from all around them. The distant smell of ash and smoke barely reached them, and one could even mistake it for the musky smells of the forest.
Raven sighed, satisfied, and reached for the back of her head, closing her eyes. She gripped the little chip between her fingers, paused for a brief moment, and slid the device out, the world instantly collapsing into darkness.
Axton stepped forward, and picked up the chip after it had fallen from her grip. He stopped and looked into her eyes, but there was simply nothing left. He stood, and intended to crush the chip in his palm before Saratoga stopped him.
"Plug it in, I should be able to get around the encryption. Let's figure out exactly why this all happened." Axton complied, and plugged in the rebel's chip to his helmet and waited for Saratoga. The AI was silent for a minute before scoffing.
"It's…gossip. Dirt on every higher-up in the UNSC. Some of it is court martial worthy, it looks like whoever made the file hid it on this backwater planet for later use. They never expected anyone to find it." A brief spell of anger flowed through Axton, all of this chaos for something so insignificant. He suddenly understood why a General such as Walkers would be all the way out here. He shook his head, and turned to leave, each step heavier than the last.
Hello lovely readers, thank you to everyone who read this! I hope you enjoyed it, and it didn't break your heart too much at the end. Let me know what you think, if it was good, awful or somewhere in between. I happily accept any feedback!