Chapter 25: New Conversations

"Don't you find any of this the least bit unsettling?" Kelly asked her siblings. They were standing in the interior of the Lich transport, waiting for it to arrive at the first survey location. Specifically, they were examining the spare weapons in the armory. They had been given permission to utilize whatever weaponry they might find useful. They had all trained with them back during the Human-Covenant War, so inexperience wouldn't be a problem. Some of them would even fit their skillsets better than the assault rifles they were currently carrying.

Fred frowned. This was the third time Kelly had started this kind of conversation. It wasn't like a Spartan II to repeat themself.

"Of course it bothers me," Linda replied via a series of HUD flashes. None of them were foolish enough to have this kind of conversation openly. They were communicating by making their ID signatures blink in Morse code. If the aliens noticed it at all, which would require them monitoring their secure transmissions, they would most likely think it was simply an equipment malfunction. Linda gestured across the compartment to where the Chief was overseeing the huragok's efforts to incorporate Dr. Halsey's scanning equipment into the Sword recon drones. "That doesn't mean it isn't logical. We need their help. Trying to withhold the tech from them would only increase their distrust and erode cooperation, which is not something we can afford."

Linda reached into the armory and pulled out a Type 27 beam rifle. The 176cm long alien weapon projected a beam of energy in a laser-straight line that remained effective for several kilometers in an atmosphere. The sniper hefted it experimentally. It wasn't Nornfang, but it would have to do.

Now it was Fred's turn. He took a minute to think it over. "I'll admit, it does bug me a bit, too. I'd really prefer not to work with sangheili at all. Linda's right, though. We need their help. We'll just have to adapt to the situation. It's what Spartans are the best at, right?" he said jokingly, reaching for his own new weapon. Designated the Type-51 Carbine, it was the sangheili weapon that most resembled a human rifle, albeit with organic curves in place of the hard angles that human weapons tended to possess. It had been dubbed the 'Covenant Carbine' during the War. This was a rather offensive misnomer to Fred as it was a precision marksman's weapon.

Next up was Kelly.

"I'll stick with my current gear," Kelly said. Fred was surprised. Kelly was currently carrying an assault rifle, which was not the best fit for her skillset. This was on top of their dwindling ammunition supplies.

"Are you sure?" he asked hesitantly. "There's not really a sangheili equivalent to your shotgun, but-"

"I said I'm fine!"

The statement was still said via Morse code, but Kelly's posture had gone rigid. Her fists were clenched and her visor had snapped to look directly at Fred's. Someone who didn't spend a lot of time around people in face-concealing armor might have no idea what was going on. To the Spartan IIs, it was about as close to an emotional outburst they could have while armored up.

Neither of her siblings had any idea how to react to this. Fred glanced at Linda, taking care not to move his head and give away the action. Kelly seemed to pick up on it anyway as she glanced from one of them to the other and back.

"...I'm going to go catch some z's. Wake me if you need me," she commed out loud. Her voice was utterly devoid of emotion. She walked away and sat upright against a wall. Her breathing indicated she had fallen asleep almost immediately, a trick common amongst professional soldiers.

Fred and Linda glanced at each other again. The Master Chief joined them at that moment. He picked up that something was wrong right away.

"There a problem?" he asked via Morse code. Linda responded first.

"We're green, sir," she said. Fred backed her up. Whatever Kelly was going through, she would be able to keep it professional. She was Blue Team, after all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

John stared at the crack in his visor. The Lich had almost arrived at its first destination. He was waiting with the rest of Blue Team.

Waiting, and thinking.

Thinking about the crack he could always see in the corner of his eye. Would always see from now on. Thinking about how he had gotten it. The man who had given it to him. It was a subject that was beginning to dominate his idle moments, even more than memories of Cortana.

The transport slowed to a stop and hovered in mid-air. Various members of the academic team started getting ready to exit the ship. They had finally arrived at their destination. Blue Team readied themselves as well. The Chief drew his assault rifle. Fred shook Kelly awake.

The hatch in the ventral side of the Lich cycled open. One of 'Khebrem's students dropped several survey drones out. The meter-wide machines came to life and spread out in every direction, rushing off to gather the precious data that would allow Blue Team to complete their mission.

The gravity lift over the ventral hatch activated. Several sangheili warriors stepped into it, the device lowering them to the ground as swiftly as it could without injuring them. Blue Team followed suit.

They found themselves in an arid region, likely some kind of desert. Sands and rock formations stretched out in every direction, broken up only by a river that flowed to the east. There was an extensive system of ruins spread around them. It wasn't large enough to be a city. Given the design of the remaining stone buildings the Chief surmised it was some kind of temple or tomb.

"Secure the area," the Master Chief ordered. The sangheili warriors were under his command for the duration of the mission. He was sure there would have been a mutiny over that had the order not been delivered by the Arbiter himself. He would swear he could feel them chafe at having to take orders from a 'vermin' like him.

The Chief smiled behind his polarized visor.

After a few minutes, he declared the area clear. The Lich landed and opened its starboard hatch. 'Khebrem and the rest of his team walked down the extended ramp.

"We will enter the main tomb and begin our investigation there," the academic leader informed them. "I assume you will remain on the surface to ensure security?"

The Master Chief shook his head. "Actually, I would like to accompany you inside, along with Blue Three. We have the most direct experience with the objectives of our search. We may notice something you could miss." The Chief would not admit, even to himself, the real reason he wanted to accompany them into the tomb. Remaining on guard would be too close to inactivity. His mind might start drifting to...unproductive subjects once again.

All of the sangheili present seemed to dislike his decision. Fortunately, even the academics were too well disciplined to openly object to his orders. The benefits of a warrior society.

"Very well," 'Khebrem said, his mandibles clutched tightly to his face. "Perhaps this will enlighten you on the sangheili people. Please do be careful, though. Even the floors may house information that could be invaluable to our work."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The party made its way downward into the tomb, the Spartans taking the lead. The academics were carrying some kind of flashlights and torches. The bright white light illuminated the halls for tens of meters. The Spartans were uneasy. Any potential foe would be able to see them coming from a long way away. The Chief supposed it made sense from the academic's point of view. Enhanced light modes, while useful, tended to wash out colors. Given the paintings and writings that they began to find on the walls, he could understand their desire to see all of the details in the light of day, so to speak.

He still felt on edge about it.

'Khebrem and his students practically fawned over what they found. They recorded every detail of every square centimeter, both in video and via note taking. Apparently this was a bigger deal than he had realized.

"I hope you realize what an extraordinary honor has been bestowed upon you," 'Khebrem said, confirming the Chief's suspicion. The sangheili scribbled away on the compad attached to his left wrist as he spoke. "These tombs were declared off-limits to all centuries ago. Only after the Great Schism and the demise of the Covenant did the Arbiter declare them open to select parties. We are the first to see these halls for generations."

The academic continued his examination of the walls. He became particularly engrossed in a deptiction of what appeared to be sangheili farmers. 'Khebrem began talking in a fast-paced, quiet voice once again.

"Seeds were sown into a nursery by males and transported later into primary fields by females. Fields were surrounded by artificial embankments and were flooded at select times. Fascinating. Coordinator Ya-yap should be most interested in this..."

The Master Chief was perplexed. "Did you say 'Ya-yap'?" he asked. That sounded more like an unggoy name than a sangheili one.

'Khebrem paused. He then chuckled, seeming to know something that the Spartan didn't. The Chief grew rather annoyed.

"Yes, he is the unggoy in command of many of the agricultural efforts upon Sanghelios," the sangheili said. He turned to the Chief before continuing. "Tell me, Spartan, what do you know of sangheili culture in the time of the Covenant? Particularly its view of a sangheili pursuing non-warrior professions?"

That was a line of thinking that the Spartan had never considered. The sangheili were an overwhelmingly martial society. Everything about their culture seemed to relate back to combat and the glorification of warfare. The idea of a sangheili even being something other than a soldier seemed almost a contradiction in terms. The Chief wracked his brain trying to remember even a passing reference to a non-warrior sangheili in all his decades of fighting them.

Eventually, the Chief had to concede defeat. "I'm afraid I don't know much of anything," he confessed. "I imagine they weren't held in high regard."

"Hah!" 'Khebrem exclaimed. "An understatement, if ever there was one! Being anything other than a soldier was reviled amongst my people during the time of the Covenant. A sangheili who tried would be viewed as bringing shame to his entire clan. In the beginning it was likely quite different," he said, gesturing to the paintings of sangheili farmers, "but by the time of the Covenant's end we had become firmly entrenched in our place as the head of the warrior caste. We were reliant upon the other races for everything, from food to industry. This is why unggoy like Ya-yap were the natural choice to lead us in rediscovering certain lost arts—they are the only ones we can rely on who have the necessary experience. The huragok may have the expertise, but they lack any of the creativity or imagination necessary for this task; they only craft what you tell them to."

The academic shook his head and sighed, likely thinking of his own engineer. He returned to his history lesson. "Eventually all agriculture was banned from the surface of Sanghelios. This was a world only for warriors. Now that the Covenant is no more, my people must find a way to survive without its support systems. Unfortunately, knowledge of how we lived before the Covenant has proven difficult to find. I suspect there were many purges of...unseemly knowledge from the keeps over the past 2 millenia. Even basic depictions such as these could prove invaluable to Ya-yap's endeavors."

The Master Chief was confused. "I'm surprised your people would be willing to become reliant upon any other race."

"I fear you do not understand what it was like," 'Khebrem replied, sighing once again. "In the records I have found I discovered that the Kaidons, our version of your 'lords', would take as much as 60% of the annual yields of the peasant farmers' labors. 60%! With little to no services provided in return. The craftsmen and merchants were not treated much better. Nearly all who were not warriors lived in abject poverty for their entire lives. Can you truly blame them for jumping at the chance to become warriors themselves? To advance up the ranks of society now that their services were not strictly needed? To look with disdain upon those who did not share their ambitions?" The academic looked at the paintings once again. He emitted what sounded like a low growl and muttered something about 'sightless fools' under his breath. The Chief thought he detected significant bitterness lingering just beneath the surface. 'Khebrem shook himself and finished his speech. "No, the Covenant did not have much difficulty manipulating my people into becoming wholly dependent upon its infrastructure."

"And now? Aren't you still dependent upon other races, like the unggoy?" the Chief pressed, inexplicably fascinated. Was his curiosity born of a desire to know one's enemy?

"Take care, Spartan," 'Khebrem nearly growled. His posture became more aggressive. He noticed Blue Three tense just out of sight. The sangheili continued, "the Arbiter has granted you passage, but even I do not take well to insults to my people." The Chief paused, then nodded in acceptance. The sangheili was a civilian and the Spartan recognized the necessity of treating him differently than he would a regular subordinate.

"In answer to your question," the academic said, "we are merely utilizing the unggoy's expertise for the time being. Once we have come to a sufficient mastery of our world, we will bid the unggoy farewell. Some will be welcome to stay in recognition of their service but the fate of the sangheili will once again be in the hands of the sangheili." The Master Chief nodded once more. 'Khebrem went back to his work.

John was beginning to feel distinctly uncomfortable. He still wasn't quite sure why...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The office chair groaned as Captain Lasky leaned back. He glanced over his disciplinary orders one last time before sending them to the relevant officers. This had always been one of the least favorite parts of his job.

The video of the Master Chief supposedly attacking an embassy had led to a number of infractions on the part of his crew, in addition to the initial brawl a few days prior. Lasky could sympathize with them to a degree. Many of them had families who were in danger because of the widespread unrest sparked by the controversy. It was hard for anyone to keep their cool with that lingering in the back of their head. Lasky had taken measures to keep his soldiers distracted, even requisitioning the download of several new sim games for them to play in their down time. It was enormously expensive to do so this far out but he believed they had helped keep the peace.

Empathy aside, discipline had to be maintained and those who had caused trouble needed to be punished. Lasky had to be the Captain.

Thank God for latrine duty, Lasky thought with a grin. That was one function that the UNSC Navy had never bothered to automate. Scrubbing toilets was simply too useful a punishment to abandon, regardless of any short term increases in efficiency.

The compad on his desk chirped. The Marine guarding the door to his office notified him of a visitor. Ah. His appointment had arrived. On time, too, which was a pleasant surprise given the man's history. Lasky told the Marine to let his guest in.

Captain Lasky stood as the door opened. Sergeant Kojo 'Romeo' Agu, leader of ODST squad Alpha Nine, stepped into the room, approached the desk, and traded salutes with his superior. "Sgt. Agu, reporting as ordered, sir," he said, crisply.

"Thank you, sergeant. Please, have a seat," Lasky replied, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. The two soldiers sat down on their respective sides. "It's my understanding that you and your squad were involved in one of the earlier disturbances aboard my ship," the Captain said, deciding to cut straight to the chase.

The non-com managed to keep his cool. He sat a bit straighter and looked directly over Lasky's shoulder, perfectly in regulation, and answered, "Sir, I take full responsibility. I should have known better and reigned myself and my squadmates in. I will accept whatever disciplinary measures you deem appropriate."

Lasky was impressed. From what Spartan Buck had told him, 'Romeo' had a history of difficulty with authority figures. Taking the responsible, logical approach spoke well of how he had adapted to command. Now to test that adaptability...

"I appreciate the sentiment, sergeant," the Captain said, "but I'm afraid my hands are tied. You and your men will be taken off the Infinity Task Group's duty roster. Here's your new assignment," he said, placing a data cube on the desk.

Sgt. Agu just sat there in shock, his mouth hanging open. He and his team had worked hard to earn their posting in the flagship fleet of the UNSC. To be summarily removed over an infraction that a large percentage of the crew were also guilty of must have been unbearable. To Lasky's relief, the sergeant continued to maintain his composure. He nodded curtly and slotted the data cube into his own compad.

There was no 'yes sir' or other verbal acknowledgment. Given his eye movements, Agu was simply skimming the document. So maybe he wasn't quite as composed as he liked to believe. Lasky suppressed a smile.

Within moments, Sgt. Agu's eyes widened and he paused mid-text. Lasky could tell he was scrolling back to the top of the document and reading it more thoroughly.

Come on, sergeant, don't let me down, theCaptain thought.

Once he was finished reading, Sgt. Agu looked Lasky dead in the eyes. He seemed to regard the superior officer carefully for several seconds before speaking again. "We're to ship out for this assignment immediately, sir?"

"That is correct, sergeant," Lasky replied with a relieved smile. He wiped his face clean of emotion before continuing. "You and your men will need to depart by the end of the day."

Sgt. Agu nodded, flashing his own smile for only a second before replacing it with a false scowl. The man stood and saluted Lasky before leaving the room. He hadn't used any specific terms, hadn't questioned what the hell was going on, hadn't given any indication that the orders he had just received were in any way unusual. He had kept his cool and played the game well.

Lasky breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to know that Agu would be able to work covertly. He would need to if things got as bad as Lasky was beginning to fear they would get.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The few hours after Lasky's meeting with Sgt. Agu were spent fulfilling the general duties required of a ship captain. As usual, the grind nearly pushed him into the floor. His compad chirped another alert. This time it was a very different man at his door.

Dr. Alexander Hamilton entered and shook Lasky's hand respectfully. The man was what one would expect a scientist to look like: short brown hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and a headset that resembled an old pair of tortoise shell glasses. He had been transferred to Lasky's oversight after the...disaster over Meridian. Another group of assets that ONI would no longer be able to exploit.

Lasky banished any such thoughts from his head. Any speculation about whatever game Admiral Hood was playing would only distract him from his current assignment. Hood's orders for Sgt. Agu and the rest of Alpha Nine already constituted more involvement than he would prefer.

The Fleet Admiral himself promptly arrived via a hologram projected over Lasky's desk. The Captain was rather pleased to report that things were progressing nicely since their last meeting. The Cradle had nearly completed the scheduled repairs, the lost servicemen had been replaced, and the Infinity should be ready to move out within a few days. Things were finally looking up.

It took only a few minutes for Lasky's entire world to be upended again.

"The next Guardian is where?!"