Cicirnius IV, High Orbit
April 26, 2526
The debris field was dense to navigate as three Atlas Interceptors blew through the scattering of Covenant and Allied parts fluttering about. With their hull dampeners flared and their engines streaking a blue trail of ion particles in their wake; they swirled and banked around several obstacles in their path. Each fighter barreled past the many dead and floating bodies of Covenant, Human, and Rachni corpses that fluttered through the depths of the battle. Ahead of the small trio of fighters, a distant Covenant Corvette trailed smoke along the end of the field. Scanners could detect three punctures where MAC rounds ripped right through the ship.
That was the opening they needed.
"Target Locked." Came the voice of a single Tactical Droid.
At the engagement of a tracking sensor, all three interceptors locked their primary and secondary weapons on the Corvette. When they reached nearly nine hundred meters to the target, the interceptors unloaded their missiles into the reactor point of the Corvette and pumped the rest of the vessel's critical systems with the interceptor's quad-mounted chainguns putting down its explosive 105-SABOT rounds into the disabled ship. Seeing the explosions going off inside the Corvette, the interceptors banked off from the vessel and let the ship explode.
"Corvette destroyed." Confirmed the driver, just as a big white flash of plasma consumed the distant vessel.
However, as the Interceptor confirmed the destruction of the Covenant asset, the fighter detected several IFF's moving fast from the hostile territory. Before the three interceptors could re-engage, a bright lance of light penetrated the fighter's hull and brought it into a deathly explosion. Hovering over the debris of the fighter, a CCS Battlecruiser cruised over the space of the destroyed vessel and onto a formation of a distant fleet.
By now, the sector became a heavy-weight battleground of Cruisers and Destroyers.
On the Covenant side, five CCS-Battlecruiser and sixteen Corvettes made a push through the debris field with a contingent of two-hundred banshees and fifty Seraph fighters barreling towards the planet. Their power cores were activated and their shields were prepared for the incoming response of the heretic battle line.
Heading right for the battlegroup, nineteen Atlas Frigates, one Atlas Battlecruiser, Seventy Interceptors, and Five Ion Frigates headed the enemy battle formation. Hidden in the debris field, six Prowler Destroyers awaited the incoming destruction before deactivating cloak to engage the battle line.
Once The Covenant forces were Five Kilometers closer to the Atlas formation, five bright streaks of light would hit the Covenant Battlecruisers with deadly efficiency. What came next after the beams of light hit, a full volley of MAC rounds penetrated the Battleships shield gap, causing minimal, yet necessary damage to the enemy combat effectiveness. The power cores of the battlecruisers dimmed and the heavyweight ships held the formation back, slowing the Covenant down.
Due to the high honor and pride The Covenant Shipmasters held, all of the Corvettes began their assault without the direct support of the Battlecruisers. Whether this was a contingency plan to keep the heat off of the battlecruisers or a bluff, all sixteen corvettes and their fighter supports followed them in one large assault.
That was when the Atlas Battlecruiser ignited its two Ion Cannons and the Ion Frigates ignited theirs in a single attack against seven corvettes, allowing the MAC Frigates to put a few rounds into those ships and bring the Covenant fleet to 50% combat effectiveness. Many pulses of plasma explosions rippled the space ahead and the corvettes that were targeted blew up in shattering plasma waves. However, when the nine corvettes were in range of the Atlas fleet, plasma torpedoes and pulse cannons started ripping into the Atlas battlegroup.
Overall, when the effective ranges were met on both sides, Atlas Frigates didn't stand a chance. However, as the Ion Frigates made their waves in enemy shielding, the MAC Frigates gave final shots into the corvette line and took out at least 25% of the enemy effectiveness before they were destroyed in ship-to-ship combat. The Atlas interceptors were highly effective against the Seraph and Banshee squadrons as mini-missiles and SABOT rounds ripped through shields and hulls like butter. Due to the size of the force and the superior tech the enemy had, thirty Atlas Interceptors were left after completing their engagements with the enemy fighter cover.
Once they were able to re-engage the corvette assault force, a few well-placed SABOT rounds and several missiles disabled the fighting capacity of the corvettes in a single swing. Engines were destroyed, reactor cores hit, and hundreds of AI systems compromised by the planetary grid. With as many Cyber Operation centers all over the gridded planetary system, compromised ships meant easy data for the crippled ships. However, with payloads expended and a weakened battlegroup, the last and final remaining Battlecruiser on the Atlas line, it would begin to make for the heavily engaged Cairo stations firing continuously at the incoming Covenant armada.
With the remaining CCS Battleships, the Prowlers would decloak and immediately went to boarding the enemy ships.
Cicirnius IV, Command and Control Center
The space battle above the planet had taken a toll on Griffin where he meditated. By his mental link to the very aspects of his blood, his sires, his people... their deaths in orbit tore into the man's heart at the ceasing of communion and ultimate sacrifices of all of them. He commanded them all into a desperate, perilous fight against the masses of The Covenant Armada, to which many would see his tactics viewed as a tremendous victory. In his mind however...
Their screams and cries in death shook Griffin to his core. Sadness welled in his mind, so many dead in the face of an enemy that demanded extinction.
He could see by the masses of their defense system, the offensive that The Covenant unleashed was akin to an unimaginable hailstorm of death and destruction, bathed in the blood of those who fought and those who were innocent. He could feel what The Covenant were doing, based on the effects of how many lives were lost in defending a flank, a middle point, or a vector that the enemy chose to assault. Collectively, the furious display of defending the colony caused a pause in The Covenant's assault in the beginning...
It was the voices of the sages who had stilled his spirit from collapsing on the weight of the emotional burden and his dragon offspring bringing words of focus into his direction. There was still hope, a chance, and a will to fight... and Griffin felt their courage mirrored in the ones who sacrificed. Many of the Dragon Riders who meditated with him reminded the man to honor the fallen by finishing what they started. With the collective pull to keep him in the fight, Griffin kept on tactically issuing orders and using every skill he had to block, feint, deflect, and counter the Covenant armada as best he could.
Yet, Griffin was dealing with Ripa 'Moramee, a tactician in the manner of breaking and subduing entire populations in the ground as well as in orbit. And he could feel the sheer brutality of the enemy at the doorsteps of the planet. He was lucky to have planned ahead for orbital bombardment shelters in the wake of enemy assault, but nothing could predict just how desperate The Covenant were becoming in their desire to hit something on the planet. Still, that did not prevent a couple of cities from being leveled by the preempted bombardments on unprotected zones.
With so many forces on the planet anticipating the attack to come at any moment, Griffin prepared them all by ordering them to ground... to wait for the right moment to come up from the wave of incoming plasma torpedoes. The incoming rumbles of bombs shook the foundation of the gravel and the concrete walls around him. However, the awaited battle thumped in his heart and the ache of lost lives pained him greatly...
Is this what it felt to bear the burden of command?
"ALERT: COVENANT FORCES IN FULL ASSAULT. ENGAGE ALL ORBITAL SYSTEMS TO GRID 5."
In hearing the alert, Griffin focused his attention on the grid. Much to his expectations, the counter-offensive on the flanking maneuvers worked to his favor. However, this left an open hole in his defensive sphere. With such a glaring hole, fifteen CCS-Battlecruisers, all three Assault Carriers, and what was left of the Corvette bulk made a break into his line. It was as if he witnessed a hole in a pipe that caused the whole flow of water to pour open. Ahead of the Covenant formation, all three of his Cairo Station MAC cannons laid bare and open for their assault.
There was a heavy choice to make here...
Focus attack patterns on the main Assault Carriers and damage two out of the three of them, obliterate one of them, or kill as many smaller vessels as possible?
"Give a final command to the space stations to cripple the Assault Carriers as best they could. Deploy the Halcyon Cruisers on intercept course, activate the planetary Interceptor response squadrons, and bring every orbital force to take down as many Battlecruisers and Corvettes possible to delay the enemy advance. Activate all planetary defenses when The Covenant armada breaches high orbit."
In the conclusion to giving the final orders for the battle in space, Griffin would open his eyes and break his meditation. Here, he would stand up from his sitting position and looked to the rest of the room. He would see Augustine and her soothsayers, all beginning to awaken from the trance they had to keep the man stable and coordinated. Behind them were the sixty Dragon Riders he chosen and their dragon companions. In the rear, were all seven of the Dragonflight aspects and the Rachni Queens who awaited them.
Looking directly to Augustine and her shamans, Griffin nodded to them.
"Go, join your people. Head to the mountains and prepare for the ground offensive." Griffin spoke, looking at Augustine and bowing his head in respect.
"May the Sky Mother watch over you," Augustine smirked. The double meaning was not lost to the man and he smiled in return for her to be safe. In seeing the Empress and the nineteen shamans leave the chambers to head for the tunnels that would take them directly to the mountains, Griffin would turn his attention to Mack.
The Tactical droid would walk up to Griffin and point to the battlezone.
"The Assault Carriers microjumped past the Cairo stations and are headed directly for us. All MAC cannons in the region are now firing their payloads to slow down the enemy advance. The rest of the Armada has begun mopping up the rest of our scattered battle line. However, due to the contrasting firepower of our remaining forces, we will bring the Covenant forces into a 25% combat effective stance, leaving the Assault Carriers as the only threat on the field."
"Then we may have a chance, are there any signs that they may center their forces along forward operating bases?"
"No, they are making a direct line for the city. Navigational charts detect the carriers are headed right over this facility."
At that moment, Griffin widened his eyes in horror.
"Mack, focus all of our forces to bring those three carriers down!" He roared, immediately turning his attention to the Dragon Riders, and his Aspects. "It is time my sires, my friends, and grand-sires. Today we fly with our fellow brothers and sisters in blood and fight The Covenant before they can reach the city!" He would telepathically speak to his fellow warriors in arms. "...and have my Dragon Riders meshed well with their personal AI's?" He asked.
"Orders sent, and yes Phoenix."
Griffin would look to the Dragon Riders and see their Mando crests and their Dragon companions all armored up and geared to the brim with tech and weapons to help them survive in battle. It was now time to see what powers were within dragonkind and to bring the cadets out of the training grounds...
And into the Covenant War.
Bridge of The Heretic's Bane, Cicirnius IV
This day could not go any worse for The Prophet of Clarity as he observed The Arbiter's reckless handling of the Ministry's resources. Already, half of their initial assault capacity was destroyed in orbit and the rest of their escorts were scattered all throughout the space of the heretic's planet in small skirmishes. What made his day even worse, was the fact that this heretic named Phoenix was countering every assault at every corner. Even the successful attempt through the heretic's gap left two carriers down on their primary weapons systems and their main assault ship damaged along its port side.
What kept The Prophet's attention on the most was how this Phoenix knew...
How did he know his name?
Ever since this fact and consideration, The Prophet was kept away from the bridge unless he was requested to make a supervisory order. All of the military counsel and command was left to Ripa 'Moramee, even if that Sangheili was the first to be named by the human in question. If this was what the heretic wanted, then the human was playing his part well. He already brought and challenged The Arbiter's ire and that made the Sangheili potentially easy to predict.
Yet, as the prophet looked into the Luminary's holographic projection over the human planet, there was one bright artifact that was detected at one of the untouched heretic cities. If it was there, in the center, then the heretics had something that could very well threaten The Great Journey.
Tightening his gravity belt, The Prophet took a deep breath and calculated his next moves very carefully.
It was time to inform The Arbiter of the mission and to retrieve this artifact with all due haste.
New Peragus, Cicirnius IV
Lasky was very much concerned as he looked over the fires, rubble, and destroyed sections of the city center. Atop of a nearby building adjacent to the Atlas building, the young Dragon Rider watched the people below preparing for the assault that was coming and the aliens who they were all going to face. What kept him even more focused on the looming battle that was going to occur...
He was worried for Talon.
All of the dragons he had ever touched with his mind began to act strange with the battle in orbit. He most especially felt this strange behavior with Talon as the dragon was far more aware of the stakes or afraid of what was to come. However it seemed, Lasky stood beside his dragon and looked to his companion and lifted his hand to touch its armor. It was now something that all Dragon Riders and their companions had to wear now as the battle drew near. Having a combat skin now for the dragons, however moot it was-was something that was needed and necessary.
And in truth, all dragons looked like kings and queens in the silver coated armor they wore.
"You look like you have seen something grim," Lasky implied to the dragon as he patted his long and armored neck.
Talon merely shook his head like a dog and soon looked to Lasky. "More. I can feel something... burning in my chest. I feel it in the others, we all can." Talon telepathically voiced himself to Lasky. "I saw... all those lives lost through Phoenix's eyes. The pain our Ur-Father is feeling, it is difficult to understand. Yet, we feel this is what we must accept in order for change to happen. We can only keep on moving forward, living, to honor those that have fallen."
"It is the right kind of change Talon, if we forget who we're fighting for, we lose everything."
In hearing these words of wisdom, Talon's happiness touched Lasky's mind in a show of affection. "Thank you Lasky," the dragon brimmed in the aftermath of hearing such words. It was not long before the dragon lowered his body and let the young man embark upon his nape.
"Anytime Talon, let's make sure we survive to sort out the burning in your chest." Lasky smiled, tapping Talon's armor plating to let him know he was sorted and ready to embark.
"And may we get field promotions from here on out!" Talon bellowed in a humoring remark.
"That is a guarantee, just don't let it get to your head. We have yet to battle in aerial combat."
"Details-details." Talon chuckled and leaned on the very edge of the building, causing Lasky to crack his neck and wait for the dragon to make the leap. And when the dragon lunged forward and tucked its wings for the dive, Lasky clutched the dragons safety handle and let the male gain them some altitude.
What was the greatest part about being a Dragon Rider, all mental faculties between the dragon and the rider were linked. And when Talon flapped its wings and started to climb the smoky and charred air, Lasky would navigate the foggy conditions with his helmet cams to help the dragon bypass the smoke. Once through the essence of the skyscrapers, six-hundred dragons were already climbing up into the air with him. Tracking the fellow tags of his squadmates, Lasky was able to detect the scattered positions of every Dragon Rider preparing to depart...
He especially tracked a special tag rising from the skyscrapers...
Chyler Silva and her dragoness, an Aquatic female appropriately named Tsunami. She, like her dragoness were eloquent and very prestige in their status and position. What separated Silva from the rest of the Dragon Riders, she was specifically chosen by Tsunami to be her Dragon Rider from the egg. Not only was this rare, The Aspect of the Aquatic Dragons, who was named Queen Coral; was the mother of Tsunami. In the emerging royalty of a growing Aquatic Dragon Society, the fact that a literal Princess chose to be the companion of this woman was very odd indeed.
And so Lasky chose to fly over to her and fight beside the woman for the first time, to make sure she was okay as well as the princess.
Not that Talon didn't mind.
"Father, are you sure this isn't something you designed for us?" Queen Coral asked from the looming figure of the human that stood at the entrance of the massive Atlas deployment chamber. It was huge enough to allow the seven aspects to enter the command and control center with comfort and not out of a painful necessity. Behind the human was the Aspects of all the flights. All the leaders of the Blue, Black, Green, Red, Purple, Bronze, and Grey Dragonflights had waited, wondering what was happening to them as their Ur-Father pondered the change.
"This is not my doing, but it is something that you all are doing collectively." Griffin replied, thinking about what exactly was happening to his children, his creation from blood. "It could very well be something that you all have collectively chosen directly or indirectly. Your life paths are your own and it is something I do not have the power to change. If by your choice you seek to evolve into... it is what you have chosen. I am here to guide, not to command, neither to control nor manipulate what you are."
"How do we determine what change we have supposedly chosen?" Questioned Alexstrasza, the one red dragoness queen Griffin had decided to name her by her place among the dragons. He looked at her like an older sibling, one who gave love unconditionally and protected the other aspects with as much care as the mother they did not have.
"At what point did you all feel like this change started happening?" Griffin asked.
"Since the beginning of the battle." Stated the Aspect of the Gray Dragonflight, a dragon named AuRue spoke. The Gray dragon was inquisitive, intelligent, and one who competed in the arts of stealth and deception like his sister; Kinkajou who was the Aspect of the Green Dragonflight.
"It could very well be related to the emotions you felt in the wake of this war. Is it of protection, or anger? I leave it up to you to decide my children." Griffin replied, looking to Malefor, leader of the Purple Dragonflight and nodding. He sensed most of the raw, unbridled welling of grief within the dragon the most. The dragon was the closest to The Rachni and their Queens. And with the deaths of many song-speakers, the dragon felt their cries the hardest. Griffin felt the dragons anger mirrored in his, but the most important key here was something to be done about it.
"Whatever keeps the Covenant from killing anymore of our friends, our broods, and those we protect." Malefor spoke, making Griffin smile before walking ahead to see the rest of the city being repaired.
"Good, then no matter what happens, we all will keep on moving forward to be better for those we protect and those we serve with. Stand up for one another and let not a single creature tell you otherwise, we are the strongest when unified and the weakest when alone. Never forget these lessons my children, for our greatest test so far has come." Griffin would speak, soon looking to Ancalagon and motioning the dragon to come ahead of all the aspects. With the massive dragon taking his place beside the human, the man ignited his jetpack systems on his ankles, back, and sides to send himself to the nape of the black dragons body.
Ever with the timing of his namesake, Nozdormu walked to the side of Ancalagon and spoke.
"We won't have enough time to secure all of our flights, the most we will have is seven-thousand among us." The leader of the Bronze Dragonflight implied. Griffin merely turned to the bronze-scaled dragon and his eyes flickered. "If that is the case, send the remaining five-thousand dragons to their broods, gather what is left of all our kind and send them to the final evacuation ships; my own ship especially." The man spoke, nodding to Nozdormu.
Bowing his head, the dragon would close his eyes and send the message to the rest of their kin.
Griffin, satisfied in all of his children, he would finalize his last actions of the command and control center and activated his holographic projector to face him. He plugged the order for the recording to be broadcasted on all frequencies, before he started to speak.
"Today we fight for the protection of our young, our friends, and those who have yet to exist. Fight for the young and for the old, the whole, and the broken. We are guardians of the living and avengers of the fallen. The Covenant has ordered a Crusade against us, and we shall not be found wanting!" He soon took out his energy blade and held the hilt up for everyone to see. "With this sword, the songs of The Rachni, and the roars of The Dragons, we begin our fight for survival! For the people we protect, for the loved ones cherished and lost!"
He soon ignited his blade and soon the roars of The Dragons and the songs of The Rachni bellowed throughout the city and radiated all over the planet.
In the end of the broadcast, the cheers of humanity resonated with the calls of the dragons and the rachni who started to emerge. He sensed the humans in the city locking their weapons and getting to their positions for the incoming Covenant Carriers and their assaulting force in numbers. Above the city, the shadow of a thousand Interceptor Fighters echoed and shook the foundation of the grounds in their passing. The looming roars of a Halcyon Cruiser were soon seen following the fighters in a distant looming approach to the East.
Raising his sword, Griffin pointed into the direction where their battlefield would be met.
"Into the Skies, for the light of tomorrow!"
At that very moment, Griffin would widen his eyes when instead of flames coming out of the maws of his children in cheer, he would feel a special essence from within all of dragonkind awakening. In the cries for a better tomorrow, the young man witnessed his seven offspring open their maws and look to the skies. He heard a familiar sound resonating from their chests as something resonated from the core and glowed brightly from their maws like an orb. In seconds, Griffin witnessed dragonkind let out several lines of balling light from their maws that spread out and dissipated into thin air.
The only thing that came into memory or recognition of the balls of light... was one of a special dragon series. In recognition of this memory, Griffin let in a smile and connected to Mack.
"Mack, relay this message to all of The Dragon Riders. This is for them if they want to win this engagement."
Skies fifty miles East from New Peragus, Cicirnius IV
Lasky clutched his handles as the safeties in his metallic saddle locked him into place. The wind currents were heavy in the brightest days of the spring and the sunlight broke through the calm-white resonations of the cumulus cloud cover. It was almost tranquil up here in the skies, marred with the masses of dragons, a few riders, and the looming clouds of nearby Interceptors soaring in sections of the sky that was above, below, and behind them. Even the massive Halcyon Cruiser Lasky saw hovering over the city with its Frigate compliments hung back with the expectation to hold back any Covenant force that broke through.
Sensational was the feeling of the wind currents brushing through the opening of his armor. Yet, the wind and the background noises of the environment were not his main drive of attention at the moment. From the sensations of the environment, he felt his mind closer to Talon than ever before. Ever since the information regarding the dragons newfound abilities in all the flights, a strange sense lingered in what used to be fear in his heart. Through this new feeling, he was closer to his dragon and thus felt as the dragon did.
Between the world of appearances and in the world of forms, they were one.
And as they were going through the test of flight, the looming silence broke in the voice of static.
"Prepare your dragons, we are collectively ascending towards the cloud cover on my mark." Came the order from Griffin as Lasky witnessed the massive black shadow of The Aspect of the Black Dragonflight taking a swift flight burst ahead of the formation of seven-thousand dragons.
To see the massive dragon carry Griffin, the leading force behind all of the small victories against the masses of an uncompromising, hellish foe brought Lasky to clutch Talon and close his eyes. He would soon lock his mind with Talon's and they would soon see the world from the dragons vision. Once Griffin's voice moved in with the command, Talon perched his head up and swiftly tucked his wings to burrow up higher in motion to the upper limits of the sky. Ancalagon would be seen climbing at a higher flight, whilst the thousands of dragons followed with every wing flap.
With Lasky and Talon flying at a higher rate than the other dragons, the two would see Griffin from the position of Ancalagon and the man looked directly at the two.
"Lasky, Talon, remember my instructions. The energy within Talon acts like a biological homing missile, it will keep you alive!"
"Yes sir," Both Lasky and Talon spoke as one, causing Griffin to smirk as they would climb high enough where the dragon hordes bore on the highest altitude for cloud cover. It was freezing at this altitude, but the satellite imaging displayed one important factor:
They were above the Covenant Carriers.
What was even better, the Interceptors and the Atlas-made escort fleet were merely decoys and in numbers. Lasky could sense that was what Griffin banked on... and it was a successful bet. By fully activating the infrared visor systems, he would be able to see the sheer mass of The CAS Assault Carriers Phoenix spoke of...
And the enemy had no idea what was coming.
"DIVE-DIVE-DIVE!"
Without even thinking, Talon and Lasky tucked their heads down and dove right down with Talon's wings pulled right in. Unlike the slow and steady ease into the sky... the swift, quick, and rapid nosedive brought Lasky to lose sense of the moment as the shear winds and G-Force lurched his stomach into his asshole. Happy that his safeties were working, Lasky would immediately look right where they were heading. Directly underneath them, there was the main Carrier at the center of two others at their flank in a triangular formation. Aiming his focus right on the main ship, Talon locked at the main gun that normally shot down a Halcyon Class cruiser in memory from Griffin.
"Good thinking Talon, let's get that thing before it kills our escort!"
As Lasky felt the distance to the Carrier closing and closing, he would begin to see from the dissipating cloud cover that the legions of dragons were taking the same course of actions on all three of the carriers.. take out the enemies primary weapon systems and move onto the rest of the enemies systems. In his vision, he began to see Talon, Silva's Dragoness, and every other dragon's mouth glow brightly as they came nearest to their targets.
5km...4km...2km...1km.
Closest as they could be, Lasky roared as Talon released the homing missiles in his mouth. Like a burst of light from a ball, there were nine streaks of bright violet light that shot from Talon's mouth and shot directly into the carrier. However... the second the homing missiles made impact, they would strike a shield protecting the weapon from damage. Yet, when Talon spread his wings and angled their flight path away from the ship and around it, the rest of the seven Dragonflights made their impacts on the shield. It looked like one massive spring of fireworks rushing into the top of the carrier as thousands of these streaks of light made their marks.
That was to say now that battle had begun and explosions rung all over the tops of these ships. Cheers rang into the minds of the dragons as the aerial defenses were taken out on the top of the enemy vessels. Yet, as the dragons begun to wrap around the ships hulls to gain some distance for a pass at the other systems...
The Dragonflights had been discovered by thousands of screaming Banshees and Seraphs burrowed plasma rounds into the approaching dragon hordes in a quick rush to stop the impending assault. The rush of combat was swift as screams of hundreds of dragons were hit as they fell from the passes the hostile air force made. Strafing runs and multiple locks of homing missiles streamed all over the sky as the chaos of aerial combat was engaged. Hundreds of Banshees and Seraphs exploded as these homing missiles struck and blew the enemy forces into smithereens.
Lasky and Talon were in the thick of the fight, ducking under a Seraphs attempted strafing run and using the Keyes loop tactic to make Covenant torpedoes strike other Covenant vessels in the rapid assault. Both Lasky and Talon's hearts raced as explosive rounds pummeled their visions and the rush through the enemy space was vast. Any moment there was a Banshee coming from the tail or the front, a single homing missile blew them away. However, with being at the head, there were far more enemies at the front than in the rear.
Locking onto fifteen Banshees coming in on attack vectors made Lasky smile when Talon opened his maw and let the dragon ripple right through the cloud of Banshees. The main enemy force deployed from underneath the carrier... if he could have enough of a striking force...
"Lasky!" Silva roared in panic as her motion tracker pinged for the man. As he took one look at Silva's direction, there was a gathering of five Seraphs and thirteen Banshees getting ready to take shots at her. At a glance towards Silva's dragoness, the female had suffered plasma damage at the chest, making the dragon unable to fire at the moment.
Talon and Lasky didn't hesitate to shift their speed and angle directly in Silva's direction. With a lock of the Banshees and the Seraphs, Talon released the energy and took out the banshees, leaving the Seraphs easily taken out for a second burst. In seeing Silva and her dragoness flying safelty, Silva waved at Lasky.
"Thanks!"
"Silva, retreat to safer territory! Tsunami can't fight like this and she is wounded!"
"Willco, come back in one piece!"
In seeing Silva and her dragoness take the flight from the battle, Lasky sighed in relief as he would see five Aquatic dragons escort the Princess away from the battle in earnest. He was happy that at least one of them would make it...
Until the screaming plasma rounds of an incoming Banshee broke his concentration and made him duck into his dragon. However, that Banshee would not land a hit when it exploded and fell into the smog's of many falling banshee and dragon bodies vanishing into the vastness of the grounds below. That was when Orenski and her Purple Dragon, Aeros, appeared beside Lasky in the flight.
"Get your head out of your ass Lasky! Follow me!" She roared into the comms.
"Yes sir!" Roared the man, and the both of them would make their way towards the underside of the carrier with five Dragon Riders and sixty Dragons following their flight path. They would meet heavy resistance as their visibility from the plasma round exploding around them and the contact with homing missiles against Covenant aircraft, and the explosions of Plasma Torpedoes met them in earnest.
Yet, when the dragons broke through the air cover, they would be within 1km of the hangar bay below the ship. It was a massive and glowing opening that threw out hundreds of Banshees and Seraph fighters out at a time. With what energy they had left, Orenski and the remaining dragons screamed out in a last push and felt the energy inside of them surge with the power within.
That was when everything nearby Lasky and Talon went white and a flurry of the bright homing missiles swirled from the maws of the few Dragons and let their power swell and burst right into Covenant ships and systems. Hundreds of these bright homing missiles burst towards the hordes of banshees and seraphs in their way, causing them to explode and fall to the ground. Not only did the aircraft get destroyed, the hangar bay shield was wiped out too. Once the shields were down, Orensky and the remaining dragons began to scatter.
"Lasky, scatter!" Came Griffin's voice.
Taking the momentum, Talon swung the flight path to the right, leaving the massive size of Ancalagon flying towards the broken Hangar bay with Griffin on it. Before Lasky had a chance to ask, Ancalagon opened its maw and fifteen massive bright-white homing missiles struck the ruined hangar, disabling the enemy control systems and leaving a pitch black aftermath.
Lasky would soon see Fifty Pelicans rise from the underside of the cloud cover along with the distant flights of the interceptors coming to assist the dragons fight.
More questions for later.
All Lasky did now, was rejoin the fight and call out to the Dragon Riders.
"All flights, this Carrier is being boarded, disable the ship's cannons and take care of its escorts!" He roared into the comms.
"Too late! Mack has informed of Covenant reinforcements in fifteen minutes! The Battlecruisers are making their descent and five Corvettes are on their way, we have to end the ships now!" Michael Sullivan replied in the comms.
"No, we give Griffin all the time he needs, disable the glassing beams and the ships weapons systems, that was the plan, we should stick with it!" Lasky roared, causing many of the dragons to side with Lasky, causing the other dragon riders to take a deep sigh. "Anyone who is wounded or cannot fight, flee to safer territory, we end this now!"
"Kill the bastards!" Sarah roared, causing the remaining Dragon Riders to cheer in the comms.
The Heretic's Bane, Cicirnius IV
Griffin knew this was the ship Zo Reskin was on. What he didn't realize out of the winds of battle, so too was Ripa 'Moramee and Tartarus themselves. By extending his telepathy to the minds of those in the ship... the masses of countless hundreds of thousands of Covenant voices led to the senses of the Prophet and their leaders. Since then, the young man had taken form in the three individual's minds... one to torment...one to bring disbelief... and one to goad. In his tumultuous attempts into getting into their minds...
It was easy to bring Tartarus to torment, to make the male observe himself watching his people be turned into pawns of The Flood. To foreshadow what he will always be, for how beastly and primal savages they always had been... Griffin tortured the Jiralhane rapidly. He clouded Tartarus in the darkness of the rooms, overwhelming his senses, stilling his heart at the humans appearance. Should one view what Tartarus saw in his own mind... it would be worse than any scare in a movie... and Griffin made the brute even feel the pain of being converted into a Combat Form.
Turning his attention to Ripa 'Moramee and taunting the brute of the Sangheili was easy to do. Calling his religion false and proclaiming he was nothing more than a pawn to bring his ire from the tactical maproom and bring him to moving out of the bridge and towards the hangar to face him. Distracting The Arbiter was a better play to lure him out than let him control the warfront.
However, The young man brought his full presence to Zo Reskin... he was not someone who would let Mken's wishes be lost with this male.
Griffin would stand up in the broken hangar and allowed the fifty Pelicans come and for Ancalagon to leave him here. With the opening of the Pelican's hatches, the young man ordered the release of the fighters. Motioning his head, the young man watched as thirty Pelicans released a hundred deactivated droids from each of their compartments. When activated, the machines would synchronously power on, stand up in their formations and took out what looked like familiar rifles.
The Commando Droids had been deployed, not only with their swords, but they held energy rifles...
"Lasguns." Griffin chuckled.
Three thousand Commando Droids would soon begin their charge into the smoky ruins of the hangars entrance and begun firing into the rushing and confused masses of Covenant forces. Griffin widened his eyes and knew he did not give the order... but he knew Mack did. Knowing that the AI was gunning for Tartarus, the man merely sighed.
"Mack, do not harm The Prophet Zo Reskin. Capture the ship's AI, capture The Prophet, execute Tatarus and everyone else." He ordered the AI, causing an automatic ping to sound in his helmet. The bastard didn't even have the interests of speaking to him directly. Turning around, the young man would see hundreds of Rachni swarming out of the twenty-five remaining Pelicans. Many of them were rushing around, gathering tech, and even putting themselves to work by making swift B-Lines towards Engineers.
No longer questioning the resolve of what was happening, Griffin took out his Pistols and started to make his way into the bloodbath.
Zo Reskin paced back and forth in his chair, the explosions these creatures made rocked the ship back and forth. It rumbled in his very core, his very being as he protected the Luminary. Even the scholars in the carrier were dead by accident, especially when these humans wiped out what remaining defenses they had in mere moments of an assault. This ship, this one large ship... left vulnerable to the boarding actions of whatever these heretics had at their arsenal.
The Reformist inside was offended at the mere notion these creatures could interfere in the holy mission of retrieving a great relic...
The San'Shyuum inside wanted to know what this singular human was capable of. There was something to the supposed self-proclaimed Reclaimer and sought to know why he knew so much. What manipulations he could machinate, the harder it was to accept the fact that he himself was being manipulated. He witnessed both of the head chargers of this battle so easily be drawn to traps, attack feints, and outright surprises. He was playing them like a fiddle and drew so many casualties in turn.
Before Zo Reskin could think anymore... the young reformist widened his eyes and felt something tingle the back of his mind.
In one moment he was staring at an empty chamber with only the Luminary inside.
The second he blinked, he witnessed that very same human sitting on a strange chair, on a strange table, eating some kind of meal nearby the Luminary. It drove the prophet to take his pistol out to fire, but realized the human was simply... there.
Was he hallucinating?
"No, you are not hallucinating. I simply was able to find your mind and communicate with it. Funny, I had assumed you were capable of so much more, Communications officer... descendant of Mken."
Zo gritted his teeth and replied back at the human. "What do you know of my ancestor, human!?" He roared right after the human.
All he would receive was the man simply taking off his helmet and letting the thing vanish. The human simply looked at Zo, wiped his face with some sort of napkin, and stand up. He even snapped the table and the chair away before he approached the prophet. "Everything, even the truths he never told you. Down to the minute detail." The human bluffed... or was it an admission.
The second Zo was about to ask a proof of evidence, the human simply raised his hand in the San'Shyuum for. 'Shut up' and simply spoke.
"Mken was a part of a short-lived Rebellion called The Rending where a Sangheili faction called 'The Ussans', led by Ussa 'Xellus of Clan Xellus waged a small rebellion on Sangheilios and fled to a Shield World called 'The Refuge' against The Writ of Union. He calls the creators The Great Ones instead of Forerunners. In addition to point out the fact I know what no machine would give you... Mken knew The Ussans survived, his notes will reflect it."
Zo at this point was completely dumbfounded by how this one person, one who had outwitted every action and every move in this battle so methodically. It had to be true... he knew everything at this given moment. Not even the most perceptive of Hierarchs could deny what the man showed, everything was truth, not a manipulation or an influence. The man was there, standing ahead of him, watching. Was the man simply amused at his confoundment or was he expecting something?
"Neither, I am afraid. You see, you are possibly the most redeemable San'Shyuum that could possibly be a solution to this mess your people have started. Everything that has led to this single point, it has been The Reformist's projection to achieve a destiny... a destiny that in itself... is false." The human started. "And that destiny puts all of creation in jeopardy."
"What are you?"
"I am a simple man trying to make my way through the universe. Not a god nor a simple individual, just... am and will be."
"You're lying, how else would a god know my innermost secrets or that of my ancestor?"
"Would it please you that I know of the gods you wish and simply not be them... or contain their wisdom to not be one?" He questioned Zo.
"Then you are one."
"Are you so hard set into The Reformist belief that your Great Journey compels you to seek godhood even if the truth tells you otherwise?" In that half second of realization, the human stopped and spoke again. "Don't answer that. What the main lesson imparted to you is that there is no godhood that The Forerunners achieved, they are all dead... The true key here is not to seek divinity, for you cast life aside and bring the galaxy closer to death. To reject that path and grasp the truth, while seeking not to be the gods and be yourself is how you achieve it... not what your Reformist philosophy has brought."
"Then tell me, human, what is that death that brings you to me?" Zo replied arrogantly.
"The Halo Rings." He replied specifically.
Now that threw Zo for a circle... the Rings were spoken of being the key to the Great Journey!
"H-how...?" Zo asked.
Instead of simply being told what it did...
The human showed the whole purpose of The Rings. Everything from its creation on The Ark, to the creation of The Monitors, the portals leading The Rings to seven different locations in the galaxy... then to its sudden use of them to the complete obliteration of all Sentient life in the galaxy. He was shown the great Keyships and the reseeding of The Galaxy, with Humans, San'Shyuum, and every race in The Covenant being brought out of capsules within the Dreadnoughts.
However, the human left out the reason Why The Forerunners were doing this... why would they cleanse the Galaxy... and leave it?
"That, descendant of Mken, is a truth that you are not ready for. If you seek to save your people, your race, and all of life in this Galaxy... then I will keep my word and tell you. There are things that require more time, locations to explain all that has happened in this galaxy. The Halo's were the greatest tragedies of all in existence... one day I will be sure to tell you."
Zo at this point was silent... before the human walked towards the San'Shyuum and looked him in the eyes. The Prophet could see the human's eyes radiating of power, like a million voices speaking at once, looking at him... not even the ancestors of humanity spoke through the man... but it was as if the million souls that were there weren't human, but that of all the life that was, is, and will be.
"What do you choose, Prophet? Do choose life for the galaxy... or do you choose death for all?"
"I choose... life." Zo conceded, lowering his head.
"Then stay where you are and wait until I come... when we finally meet... order the surrender of the fleet. I do not wish anymore death if I can't help it."
At that moment, Zo Reskin would feel the human leave his mind, with the prophet's hands on the luminary. When the device activated to show where the artifact was located... the prophet widened his eyes...
The bright and glowing artifact was aboard!
And it was moving towards his location on the ship.
Aaaaaand another chapter complete!
Now we are starting to get somewhere! I really do apologize if I could not be able to get this chapter uploaded on schedule, apparently if you lose your 2fa token and your password on Discord, you lose access to your whole account. So, after getting 40 or so servers back into my control, everything is back up again!
However, if you are a friend on my old Discord, my new tag is this:
TrueForgiveness#0508
With that being said, the battle has begun and now things will be even more on fire! Yes, if you all have guessed about the dragons, I forgot about the hidden fifth series I loved and that people don't know much of these days (I feel your pain 90's men and women, let us raise for the national anthem: Nostalgia.) which is the Panzer Dragoon series! Sure, this may be a SIGNIFICANT power boost, but, this gives me more enjoyment to keep on giving you all more juicy action and crazy plot points! If any of you know anything about that series, you will know why one dragon was feared by a single empire.
However, this gives us more pointers, yes, because I didn't get a lot of feedback on the dragons names, I stuck with easy to pick out names for their namesake. Now you know what dragon series I like, resonating in the dragons (because why not), and having them get into the fight. Obviously, there will be losses for them, in The Rachni, and even the Solarians who have yet to come!
Also keep in mind, I am not leaving my Cyberpunk peeps out here. The Sandevisdand, Hacking Tech, and so much more Cyber stuff will come in very quickly in the next chapter! Also, I do not know if I pointed this out but... those pistols that Griffin uses...
They are modeled after Johnny Silverhand's in Cyberpunk 2077, just in case y'all didn't know ha-ha!
Regarding my Warhammer 40K buds, yes, I have decided that the Lasgun is an acceptable and easy to make product that is easily written into the storyline. If Ion Cannons from Homeworld are acceptable, then Lasgun is an easy fix! However, there is more in store for y'all in a bit!
Thank you all for your time and have a Happy New Year!
-True
Please don't be afraid to plant fireworks in the Fav, Follow, and Feedback columns doorsteps tonight!