Prologue: Chel 'Quraee
The Song of Unity, the grand flagship of the Fleet of Sanctity, dove through the darkness of space. It was nowhere in particular. No planets were to be seen, the nearest sun was little more than a speck against the dark. As with nearly anywhere in space, it was a perfect hiding place. The business in which the Fleetmaster, Chel 'Quraee, was about to take part in was something that no one else was allowed to see.
A pair of Akton-pattern escort frigates appeared on the Song of Unity's sensors, and Chel's underlings guided them in. The Fleetmaster stood from his hovering chair, and quietly left the carrier's control room to meet with his fellow Shipmasters.
The Unity was a Kerel-pattern assault carrier. The ship, its complement, and its fleet had conducted a siege against a human colony for five of their years. The human world of Zehar VI was still under siege, but the artefacts that Chel's warriors found there put him on a trail of something greater.
He was on the hunt for a Forerunner fortress world known only as the Assembly. He envisioned himself capturing the world and taking control of its shipyards to deploy a fleet of unimaginable power, and he would use it to subjugate both humanity and the Covenant. He would establish a new power in the galaxy of his own vision.
Chel approached the transport tube that would bring him to the hangar, and outside of it awaited his second in command. One of the few others that knew of his true goals, Teran 'Jerisee. Though Chel technically outranked Teran, the two of them had such a mutual respect that they saw each other as equals. Neither of them bowed to one another.
"The Resplendent Advance has docked," Teran informed Chel as they both stepped into the tube. It shot along the Song of Unity's spine towards the main hangar. "The Rapturous Spirit is falling behind."
"No matter," Chel assured his friend. "We are not currently in a rush. Do they have the samples?"
Teran gave Chel a swift nod. The transport tube came to a halt once it reached the main hangar, and the two of them stepped away from it. Another of Chel's underlings awaited them, a Sangheili Major named Namar So'hioee. Though Chel had taken a liking to the Major, he was one of the many who could not know of the Fleetmaster's true goals.
The Major seemed like he was about to inform Chel of something, but stopped. He bowed to Chel and stepped away as the Resplendent Advance opened its doors. Chel stared down at the Major and gestured for him to leave the hangar. He bowed again and silently moved to the transport tube.
The Shipmaster of the Resplendent Advance was an unusually tall and lean Sangheili named Godo 'Intramee. Chel figured he must have come from a Sangheili colony with lower gravity. The way 'Intramee stomped toward him in the Unity's gravity confirmed his thoughts.
"We have brought you the specimens," 'Intramee stated as he stopped in front of Chel. "They are dormant, and the containers are sealed."
"Good," Chel said. He had to fight to keep excitement from appearing in his voice. This was something he had waited a long time for. Behind 'Intramee he could see the menials pushing large containers off of the Resplendent Advance. It was a great sight.
'Intramee awkwardly stood in front of Chel waiting for him to say something else. But Chel waited for the tall Sangheili to turn before speaking again. 'Intramee was another of the few in on Chel's plans, though he wasn't someone the Fleetmaster particularly liked. It caused Chel some joy to inconvenience him from time to time.
"Tell me," Chel began, "what is the situation aboard the Rapturous Spirit? They are approaching, but they have not yet docked."
"Nor are they responding to my hails," Teran added. He crossed his arms.
"You were alongside them when you infiltrated the Fleet of Particular Justice, were you not?"
"I was," 'Intramee breathed, the annoyance in his voice was clear. He slowly turned back to the two Sangheili. "We made a stop along the way to refuel with the fleet above Zehar."
'Intramee stopped, hoping to annoy Chel in return. Chel bared his teeth and lowered his arms to his sides, leaving one hand close to the energy sword hilt on his hip. 'Intramee was taken aback by the threat.
"We were attacked," 'Intramee said. "A commandeered Phantom breached the Rapturous Spirit, but 'Bestrumee has assured me that the situation has been dealt with."
Chel took a deep breath and slowly released it. The menials from the Resplendent Advance had offloaded all of the containers, and the crew of the Song of Unity had begun to take them to the storage bays. The contents of the containers were precious to Chel and his followers, if anything had happened to them that would be considered blasphemy. But if the Rapturous Spirit was compromised, so were all of his plans.
"Song of Unity, this is your Fleetmaster," Chel said as he opened a channel to the bridge crew. "Strike down the Rapturous Spirit. I need every available warrior in the main hangar in case it makes a landing."
Chel closed the channel and crossed his arms. He wished he could stare 'Intramee down, but he had to look up to stare the Shipmaster in his eyes. He gestured to Teran without breaking his gaze.
"'Jerisee. Execute the Shipmaster for his incompetence," Chel ordered.
"What? Surely you-" 'Intramee's voice was cut off as Teran slammed an energy sword into his abdomen. Teran pulled the blade back, and the Shipmaster fell onto the floor. Chel crouched next to him, relishing in the fact that he could now look down upon the failed Shipmaster.
"What you have done threatens everything we've worked for," Chel said, his voice little more than a whisper. "I will not allow your recklessness to be the end of my grand design."
'Intramee attempted to respond, but only choked on the blood that was being forced up his throat. He raised a hand as Chel stood once more, and when Chel planted his foot against the Shipmaster's neck, the light faded from his eyes.
Ranks of warriors began to gather in the hangar as the Rapturous Spirit approached, the ship was being torn apart by the Unity's guns, but it would make a landing soon. Chel and Teran made their way to the transport tube to let the other fighters deal with the mess that was about to happen. There was something that was far more important to Chel than anything else.
The transport tube moved along the ship as it brought them to the storage bays. The containers that the Resplendent Advance had offloaded were already there, and Chel couldn't wait to see the contents inside.
Chel received a message from So'hioee that had confirmed his suspicions. A group of human soldiers had left the Rapturous Spirit and engaged the warriors in the hangar. There was something else in the message, something of dire importance. A single word. Demons.
"Does an infiltration matter that little to you?" Teran asked as the transport tube came to a stop.
"What can they do against our full complement?" Chel asked as he stepped into the storage bay. There were no menials there. Just Chel, Teran, and the cargo.
"Did you not see So'hioee's message?"
"I did. The Demons will not get far. If you would like to join in the defence, then you may go. This… This here is far more important to me."
"I understand," Teran nodded. He stayed behind on the tube. "I will not let the humans get far."
"Good. I am counting on you," Chel said without turning away from the containers.
The tube closed behind him and sped back to the hangar. Now Chel was completely alone. He took a deep breath as he approached one of the larger containers. He pressed a few of the buttons on its side, and one of the side panels opened.
The twisted horror of flesh inside sat dormant, surrounded in liquids that kept it suspended. To many others, the Flood combat form was an abomination meant to be purged. But to Chel 'Quraee, it was a thing of beauty. It was the next step in the evolution of the galaxy. It was with the Flood that he would achieve his goal of galactic unity.
He had to fight himself to not release the Flood specimen and become one with them at that very moment. The time to unify the galaxy would come soon, but he still had plans in place to be carried out. He stepped away from the specimen and called the bridge crew. It was time to continue on their way.
The next step to reaching the Assembly was visiting the Forerunner shield world known as Seiginis III. Through the siege of Zehar VI, Chel had discovered Seiginis III's location, and that was where they were headed next. The human incursion wouldn't even slow them down.
The Assembly would belong to him, and nothing would stand in his way.
