Update before beginning the chapter:
I do greatly apologize for how little everything translated in the previous chapter regarding what ships technically look like and how they worked in reference to the Space Battle. In so answering everyone's questions, I will do my very best to translate fleet compositions, what they look like, and their terminology now:
Atlas-controlled ships: These ships are controlled, made, refitted, and produced by the Atlas megacorporation. Most, if not all of these ships are either refits of UNSC military vessels or ships that were designed to emulate the Taidaani Empire from Homeworld. The fleet composition is listed below.
Taidaani/Homeworld Themed Ships-
-Interceptor Fighter: The size of a Taiidan Interceptor Fighter is 17.4 meters with a singular kinetic autocannon that shoots either 105-SABOT rounds to 30MM MLA Rounds. They are multi-use fighters used for anti-ship assaults to anti-heavy fighters in space combat.
-Bomber: The size of a Taiidan Bomber is 24.7 meters in length with two missile silos to fire out of.
-Assault Frigate: The size of a Taiidan Assault Frigate is 86.7 meters (very small btw compared to the Paris-Class UNSC Frigates) with a singular MAC Cannon and four point-defense cannons to defend themselves with.
-Ion Frigate: The size of a Taiidan Ion Frigate is 120.1 meters (still, pretty small) with one Ion Cannon at the front with no other defense noted. Their maximum effective range is 4 kilometers and they are meant for anti-capital ship type weapons.
-Battlecruiser: The Battlecruiser or Taiidani Heavy Cruiser is 429.8 Meters in length (that is still 100 meters below the length of a UNSC Frigate btw) with two Ion Cannons at the front, Six Mass Driver Cannons, one MAC Cannon, and three soon-to-be laser-based cannons.
-Mobile Shipyard: The Hiigaran Mobile Shipyard is approximately 900 meters in length and are producers of everything up to Battlecruisers, Carriers, and other additional ships. These vessels have their own Slipspace engine, have their own defensive fighter compliments, 12 mass driver cannons, and a defensive fleet protecting them.
Atlas/UNSC Themed/Retrofits: (Any ship with an Atlas design to it for UNSC descriptors, these are the three ships that have been retrofitted into the system)
-UNSC Frigate
-UNSC Halcyon Cruiser
-UNSC Prowler
The Heretic's Bane, Cicirnius IV
Griffin and Mack's legion of Commando Droids made a swift combat rush through the familiar halls of the Covenant decks. What started in the sprint through the bluish fires of the resulting insertion, quickly devolved into a SPNKR Rocket to be burrowed through one door to the next. Every breach into a hall or a chamber in the ship was swift, intense, and full of screams, blood, gore, and the exposure to the burns of plasma exploding all over the place. Shattered entrances and broken bodies were all that began and ended a rush into a section of the ship. It was akin to an arcade sequence of moving into alien corridors, dim lit walls, and the shadows of Grunts, Elites, Jackals, and Hunters turning in quick surprise.
The blood rush kept Griffin going through the streaks of plasma and laser round exchanges. Chaos resonated in the covenant ranks in the complete surprise of ground forces cutting through their numbers so quickly. In some places, several Commando Droids exposed fifteen Grunts to the vacuum of oxygen, suffocating them while they were unable to reach a mask. Those who were semi-prepared were shot in the head before the Grunts were able to put on a resistance.
The Sangheili on the other hand put up the most obstacles in the way of the charge. As Griffin breached a chamber with seventeen of his commando droids on the rush, five of them were taken down by Carbine fire and Needler rifles of well-entrenched elites. Using the plasma pistol he had, Griffin overcharged the pistol to its near maximum and swiftly broke cover and shot it at one of the elites. With its shield taken down, a single shot from a lasgun was enough to kill the towering beast. He could be able to see many of his own droids being taken down by the onslaught of the Sangheili and the Brutes had not revealed themselves as of yet. What was once nearly seven-hundred commando droids dwindled to five hundred, and they were not even remotely close to the bridge where he sensed Zo Reskin was located.
That was when the Rachni displayed what skills Griffin could not anticipate.
As Griffin was nursing a needler round embedded in his arm behind a broken pillar, the young man sensed the Rachni coming out of the chamber ahead of them and behind the line of Elites pinning them down. By breaking from the maintenance tunnels, the Rachni workers ambushed the Sangheili and tore them limb from limb. One even managed to take down two elites with its pair of armor-piercing tendrils from the rear. Whatever Rachni was taken down, their acidic material was splashed on the Sangheili who killed them... causing the contents of the acid to take quick effect and melt the offending elite down in a painful scream.
Even with a complete surprise on the enemy, they needed more forces to take down the Covenant force between here and the bridge.
Yet, when Griffin pulled out the needler round from his arm and applied a touch of biofoam into the limb... The Rachni revealed even more to their deviations than what he had initially thought. The moment when he looked at the rear of their formation, Griffin almost instinctively aimed his pistol at the entrance when Yanme'e started to crawl out of the space.
However...
When many of the drones started to repair the droids instead of ambushing them, Griffin stilled his hand for a single moment. He was going to send a thought communicae to the drones; before a looming Rachni Brood Warrior crawled out of the small entrance for itself and cooed in the direction of the man.
"We sing together, the... Yanme'e fight for us. Our chorus will bring the hollowed note into a whole tune." The Brood Warrior sung both in mind and physically in a couple coos and mixing of the projection of its voice. He could hear slight clicking in its tune, a slight change of the language, but in hearing it; Griffin witnessed the drones listening to the Brood Warrior. Silently complimenting the Rachni with a nod, Griffin would begin to activate his armor and lock himself into the modes of battle.
"We may win this... have you gathered the Hurogock?" Griffin asked the Brood Warrior.
"All have been acquired, nineteen in total. Their whistles mix with our tune, they follow our notes as well."
"Good... get them to my ship. They might help us in the long run. Gather all the Yanme'e you can and get them on a separate Pelican to the surface, we are taking this fight to the heart of The Covenant." Griffin commanded of the Brood Warrior. All he heard was a hummed click and coo before the droids were swiftly repaired and the long push would initiate, with the Yanme'e taking the chance to follow the Brood Warrior's commands.
"Griffin, good news." Came Mack's voice as Griffin walked out and grabbed a few plasma grenades.
"What's the news?" He asked aloud. And before he could make it to pulling out his cycler pistol, the door that was previously locked down on the opposite side of the room opened. Even the maintenance tunnels opened for him to use. Smiling to himself, the young man would take the time to rush into the maintenance tunnel and simply watched as sixteen commando droids followed him.
"You're welcome." Mack chuckled.
"Ass." Griffin replied. In response, the maintenance door in front of him closed right on his face. Sighing, Griffin looked at the droids. "Okay, you did good. How did you do it against a Covenant AI?" The young man asked as the door opened.
"Simple, overload the beast with the other Smart AI, infiltrate its systems, then quarantine, remove and capture it."
"That sounds like Quantum Computing... So wait, you're telling me that you have control of this fucking ship?" The man asked, pausing where he was.
"Yeah."
"Lock down Covenant troops in their chambers, vent a chamber of air if there are too many Covenant Forces in a single area!" Griffin spoke, before he would start to make a sprint down the maintenance tunnel. "Update my tracker, get me closest to Zo Reskin, and move this ship out of the enemy formation. We are capturing this thing! Upload all the information you can get from this vessel!" He spoke with an urgent passion, now seeing the pathways to the bridge. Griffin noticed holes and fires along the tunnels he was venturing through, but they were close to the innermost parts of the ship and not along the outer hull where all of the damage was relegated to.
As Griffin made his rush into the deeper crevices of the inflamed maintenance tunnels, the young man found himself falling to the floor when the motions of the ship started to make a large turn to the right of his vision. He knew the AI were taking control of the vessel and bringing it to a far more maintained location in allied territory. Yet, as the man made his way, there was a detaching THUNK as something broke from the ship.
"Mack, what was that?"
"Tartarus... he has fled using a Corvette."
"We can worry about that later, now we get to the bridge!"
Nearing the end of the tunnel, Griffin would look down from a slight opening into the chamber and discovered that the location was going to be a rough and wild experience:
Under the maintenance tunnel, the opening led to a large Atrium controlled by at least sixty Covenant troops. The enemy knew things were wrong by how several elites patrolled the area and ordered the grunts around to break down certain terminals to find use in something. Griffin smiled and merely activated his armor with a single voice command. His HUD and silver armor outlines glowed in the humans movement to sneak into the chambers of the atrium.
As the grunts cautiously made their way through the dimly lit location, the elites suddenly heard a loud mechanical whirring coming from the shadows. Before they could react, the silver-armored man lunged out from behind a stack of holy glyfs from the entrance of the atrium, wielding a glowing, cybernetic weapon. The grunts quickly raised their own weapons and began to fire, but the human was too fast. With lightning-quick reflexes activated from the back of the man's armor, he dodged the plasma rounds and closed in on the grunts, slicing through them with the energy blade igniting from his off-hand.
The Covenant patrol fought back with everything they had, but the human was relentless. He moved with a deadly grace, his cybernetic armor enhancements allowing him to strike with impossible speed and strength. As the grunts made their way into a firing line, the human's armor flashed for a moment before the man appeared behind the formation with a pistol. When he reloaded his weapon, all six grunts fell to the ground with blood pouring from their heads and bullet casings rolling along the side of their dead bodies.
As the last of the grunts fell, the silver-armored human let out a snort and disappeared into the darkness. The elites at the rear of the formation knew they had a new enemy on their hands, one that would be almost impossible to stop. They would roar and ignite their energy swords, a couple of them used projected energy shields that towered their bodies. Even the Kig'Yar rushed out with their formation against the unknown foe. It was, from their experience that the humans were weak and their technologies not even formidable for a challenge. Yet, with the tech displayed here, the avians thought that killing this human would get them a perfect avenue at new forms of technology to steal.
Yet, when a pair of the jackals turned a corner in the atrium, the human dropped from behind and slashed them both in half with the wave of his blade. In the few seconds he had left before the elites rushed him, the man cut off the arms of one of the jackals and rushed into the shadows with it. When the elites and the jackals came to the scene, they would only find their deformed comrades in bloody pieces.
The man appeared out of nowhere from right above them this time, his cyberpunk gear glinting in the dim light of the atrium. He was armed with two energy blades, weapons that seemed out of place in this world of plasma rifles and energy shields. But the man knew how to use it, and he moved with a fluid grace that belied his heavily augmented armor. The jackals were caught off guard by the sudden appearance of this lone warrior. They were used to facing weak and peon soldiers and their conventional weapons, but this man was something different.
Griffin charged forward, his energy blades humming to life as he closed in on the jackals who were trying to get a good aim on the man. The jackals, realizing the threat that this man posed, unleashed a barrage of plasma fire towards him. But the man was too fast, his cyberpunk gear allowing him to move with incredible speed and agility. He dodged and weaved through the plasma bolts, closing in on the Covenant troops.
The man reached five huddled jackals and began his attack. His energy blades moved with deadly precision, slicing through the jackals gauntlets and cutting down the exposed front-liners with ease. The rest of the jackals, realizing the danger that this man posed, began to retreat, but it was too late. The man was upon them, his energy blade flashing as he cut down the fleeting avians one by one.
As the man fought, he also used his cyberpunk gear to hack into their tech. He was able to gain unfettered access to their internal communications systems, jamming their signals and causing confusion among the patrol in the atrium. He was also able to hack into the elite's energy shields, causing them to overload and explode. The man was a one-man army, moving from the jackals to the roaring elites.
The Sangheili was a powerful warrior, a physique honed by years of battle. They were armed with an energy sword, a weapon that held two pulsing spikes at the front of the blade with its energy combinations protecting the hilt of the blade.
With the hack following through, all sixteen elites were unshielded.
Smiling, Griffin deactivated his off-hand blade and pulled out his kinetic-pistol. As he would rush the elites, seven of them were gunned down by the commando droids with their lasguns appearing from the rear of the atrium, and three more were downed by his pistol shots. His combat suit would allow the man to activate five jet spots in his armor to rush out of an elites energy sword slash, giving him ample time to shoot the elite in the leg before rushing to the Sangheili's partner with a leg slash and eventually a beheading with his blade.
He then turned on the wounded Sangheili and shot him in the head.
Seven miles from New Peragus,
The sky was filled with the roar of engines as hundreds of Phantoms, Banshees, and Seraphs took to the air outside of the two Covenant Assault Carriers, their pilots ready for battle. But with their rush out of their hangars, the chaos of the battle was becoming even more destructive as dragons rushed the formations and were met with their plasma.
The dragons, massive creatures with wings spanning dozens of feet, let out deafening roars as they dove towards the cloud of fire from the Banshees and Seraphs. The pilots of the Covenant vessels scrambled to evade the dragons' homing missiles, but many were not fast enough. Aerial fighters were engulfed in flames, spiraling towards the ground in fiery wrecks.
They were not without their own challenges, however. The combined Covenant landing force fired their weapons at the beasts, sending plasma tearing through their scales. Some dragons were hit and went down in flames, but others pushed through the hail of plasma, continuing their attack. However, with the sight of a Rider being among them, the dragons were able to see the holes in Covenant formations and push right into the aerial scattering of Phantoms and Banshees.
The battle was intense, with both sides taking heavy losses. But the dragons were powerful and relentless, and they quickly gained the upper hand. More and more vessels fell from the sky, and the remaining pilots were forced to retreat. The dragons let out victorious roars as they soared through the smoke and debris of the battle. Though the enemy had put up a good fight. In the end, the dragons had proven to be the superior force in the skies.
That was when one of the carriers ignited their plasma lances and fired upon their formation.
In one fell swoop, two-hundred dragons perished in the attack. A single Rider was among them, falling down to the earth beneath the looming shadow of the carrier.
At the sight of the fleeting Corvette and The Heretic's Bane taking a swift turn towards enemy-held territory, the two Covenant-Held Assault Carriers started firing upon The Heretics Bane and its dragon escorts.
That was when The Atlas-controlled ships, made up of various refitted UNSC models including the Halcyon-class cruiser and a few UNSC Frigates, appeared out of the cloud cover and moved towards the Covenant Assault Carriers. The Atlas task force was well-coordinated, their ships moving in tight formation as they closed in on the Covenant's position. The Assault Carriers, meanwhile, had deployed their own escort ships from the undersides of their hangar bays, including the CRS-class light cruiser and the SDV-class heavy corvette to protect themselves.
The Atlas's flagship led the charge, its MAC firing a massive slug towards the lead Assault Carrier. The Covenant's energy shields absorbed the initial impact, but the slug's kinetic energy was enough to weaken the shield. However, it gave enough time for the captured Assault Carrier to make its escape as it floored its engines and rushed right out of the combat zone. The Atlas cruisers and frigates followed suit, firing their own MAC rounds and Archer missiles at the Covenant's ships. The Covenant ships responded with their plasma turrets and Energy projectors, their weapons firing back at the task force.
At the turn of Atlas's fighters, the Interceptors and the Bombers, launched from their cruisers and engaged the Covenant's Seraph fighters in a dogfight. The Atlas fighters were outnumbered and outgunned in this engagement, but the Tactical Droids input and the SABOT kinetic rounds shot from the fighters cannons gave them an edge in the battle.
The Atlas-controlled cruisers and frigates, now in close proximity to the Assault Carriers, launched a coordinated assault with their own torpedoes, aiming to take out the Covenant's energy shields. The Covenant's shields were breached, and the Atlas ships were able to inflict significant damage to the Assault Carriers. However, at this range, that gave the Assault Carriers time to retaliate fiercely and completely decimate the AI-controlled vessels of the fleet attacking them. Most of the ships dropped to the ground in large, metallic fireballs with the smaller balls of the fighters following suit.
At the sight of this crushing defeat in the glowing eyes of Ancalagon, the great black dragon roared in defiance of the enemy presented before him and prepared to charge. However, with the prize of an entire carrier being protected by the remaining Dragonflights; Alexstraza roared for the great black dragon to fall back with their kin. Looking up, the dragon knew the rest of the Covenant task force was coming for the captured carrier. With the other two carriers on their tail with just as many reinforcements, Ancalagon hoped Griffin could get everything out of that ship before the Covenant could recover it.
So many had been lost in this attack, all to stop the assault on the city, the people defending it, and for many other contingencies.
War was such a cruel thing.
They had to fall back, retreat. Otherwise, more would be lost.
Rachni Tunnels underneath New Peragus,
Deep beneath the city, a vast underground cavern stretched out into the darkness. Its walls were jagged and craggy, and the floor was damp and slippery. The air was thick and musty, and the only light came from the occasional Rachni worker that clung to the walls. The cavern was home to a variety of creatures, from the dragons to the Rachni and the Solarians that dwelled within. The silence was broken only by the occasional drip of water or the rustling of some unseen creature in the shadows. It was a mysterious and dangerous place, one that few had ever explored.
However, beneath all the silence and the emptiness, this home to the insectoid race was filled to the brim with the avians.
In the center of the cavern, there were several hundred rows of ships that were being finalized by the combined works of insect, avian, and droid. Much of the work was done under the pressure of the fighting on the surface, fears of that fighting coming here drew many of the workers to keep a process going since the start of the operation. Nothing stopped the workers from completing ship after ship in a manufacturing buzz... but the pressure still mounted and the rush continued.
At the head of all of this, the leaders of the Solarians and The Queens of the Rachni began to discuss the perchance and the issues that begun to plague the forming societies. The growing Imperial governance of The Solarians and the rather growing independent faction of The Rachni were rather stern with each other. It was one of the faults of trying to emulate cultures in battle, especially political when war was upon them. However, the discussion over the important matters of their future plans of survival was important, even if the great Griffin himself was not among them.
Known as Queen Songbird by the implicit notes of the avian Solarians, she received word that a gathering of Queens from neighboring hives was taking place among the Solarian Empress. She was invited to attend and to speak with the other Queens. Much to the words of many, she was cautious as to not jeopardize her Hive for the sake of Queendoms. Rachni were a collective matriarchy, one that sung in greater tunes.
When Songbird arrived at the gathering, she was pleasantly surprised to find that the other queens were just as cautious as she was. They all greeted her warmly and welcomed Songbird to the gathering with coos and trills. Language was an ever evolving trait, and it was at this point that The Yanme'e were the source of this change. Uniquely, it was appetizing to know that many of the creatures survived and were given roles to help the Hives expand and learn their ways.
However, when the regal Solarians made their entrance into the chambers, Empress Augustine was the first to appear as she came with a shining new set of nearly golden-plated armor. Looking at it from the human perspective, a regular man would have called her armor akin to the motif of a Lothlorien Elf from Lord of The Rings or an Eldar from Warhammer 40K. Queen Songbird was the first to speak on this matter by rising a soft trill to the other Queens. She began by introducing herself and her Hive, and then she shared the stories of their people and the successes that she had achieved as a ruler. The other queens listened intently, and they all praised the queen for her wisdom and leadership. They were a kind people, one that supported each other.
Something that The Empress tried so hard to achieve.
The other queens then began to share their own stories. They told of their own successes and failures, and they discussed the challenges that each Hive faced. Songbird and the Empress listened with great interest, and both were able to learn a great deal from the other queens. Yet, when Augustine rose and spoke, it was difficult to understand her. The only few telepathic words they understood from her were 'Empire', 'Covenant', 'safety', 'protection', and 'help'. Much of what the female was capable of speaking of in the minds of The Rachni, it led to the mental image of seeking some form of help in the fight on the surface... or at least get those in the fight some form of relief.
Songbird, in knowing the mental images the female tried to speak, merely clicked and cooed her response towards the Tactical Droid acting as liaison.
If the Empress requested help, then the help will only come in the defense of the city. It is what Griffin had planned and that is what the creator focused a majority of his attention to when seeking to provide help.
As a response from the Empress, the mental image of Corbulo Academy would come to mind.
"Corbulo Academy is currently being evacuated to the UNSC rendezvous site." The Tactical Droid replied to the Empress, just as the avian Imperial finished speaking with her own words of language.
Augustine spoke in a few chirps and chaws, causing the Rachni Queens to look at the droid for translation. "The Empress has discovered that Corbulo Academy lost observation capability at the start of the attack. We need to ensure key personnel reach the rendezvous." The Tactical Droid returned to the Queens.
Replying in a comforting tune, Songbird would volunteer herself and her hive for the honor of protecting the cherished ones friends and instructors. Those who chose to stay behind in the academy applied tactical feedback to the network, playing defensively at the space elevator where the space station above would provide much-needed protection. Yet, when the space station and the space elevator were shot down in the initial attack, the Empress's information regarding no contact was grave indeed.
"The Empress is sending a portion of her forces to fulfill the orders of Griffin to aid the one who shall assist. Her Shaman shall aid you, Songbird, with a compliment of five Battalions and a Brigade of Armored refitted UNSC Elephants, Warthogs, and Scorpions." The Tactical Droid spoke. As a response, Songbird would give a universal nod, something that caused both the droid and the avian empress to nod to the queen.
"It is arranged then... we shall-"
Interrupted from its translation protocols, a reddish and blaring alarm would sound all throughout the cavernous system. At this alarm, the tactical droid would soon pull out a holographic device and pulled up the command-line defensive protocol log:
/SLIPSPACE RUPTURE DETECTED
/SLIPSPACE RUPTURE DETECTED
/SLIPSPACE RUPTURE DETECTED
/SLIPSPACE RUPTURE DETECTED
/SLIPSPACE RUPTURE DETECTED
"Alert: Covenant forces are now emerging at our outer orbital perimeter. All forces are now being redirected to defensive evacuation positions, escalation timetable has been updated." The Tactical droid spoke, soon looking to Songbird. "Begin your mission immediately. You are now mission critical."
"What about Griffin?" Empress Augustine asked.
"Unknown, combat engagement has rendered his location in the CAS Assault Carrier. We are sending reinforcements to retrieve him and capture the Prophet aboard."
Not even taking a moment's hesitation, the female stood up and shook her head. "Send more," she demanded. "He needs to get out of there!"
"We cannot communicate with his AI from here. The slipspace ruptures have caused EM waves to disrupt direct communication with Phoenix."
With that said, Augustine turned around and started to run. Her bolting was sign enough that the female cared more for Griffin than the meeting here. In seeing this, Songbird cooed to the Queens and instructed them to retreat to the evacuation ships. Now was the time to save their kind from destruction and save others from that miserable fate.
Bridge of The Heretic's Bane, Cicirnius IV
Chaos was a matter which brought Griffin the luxury of a single-mile rush through the Covenant crew's defenses. Utilizing what was essentially a Sandevistan for his armor; Griffin was methodical and swift in killing what forces lay between him and Zo Reskin. He could sense the Prophet was locked inside the chambers of the Luminary, free from the combat that was about to happen. With all of his tech with him, Griffin knew he was prepared to handle the opponents of the bridge. Yet the moment when he entered the room...
No one was there.
The bridge stood out as a distinctive and imposing structure. Accessed via a long ramp from the lower deck where Griffin stood, the bridge was a large circular chamber that spanned several levels. The walls were adorned with glowing symbols and intricate carvings that were characteristic of the Covenant's aesthetic. At the center of the bridge was a raised platform, where the ship's command crew could oversee the ship's operations. The platform was surrounded by multiple stations, each one manned by a different specialist responsible for various aspects of the ship's functions. The stations were arranged in concentric circles, with the crew facing the central platform.
At the top of the platform was where Zo Reskin would have been, which was elevated and positioned to give the commanding officer an unobstructed view of the bridge. Behind that platform, the Luminary chambers were located.
The bridge was bathed in a soft purple light, which added to the otherworldly feel of the Covenant ship. The air was filled with a constant hum of activity, as the AI worked diligently into exfiltrating data from every station. The atmosphere was one of vacant and focused activity, especially with every terminal flickering from all the metadata being processed.
Taking the chance to move, Phoenix and six of the Commando droids following him would enter the bridge. All of them were scanning the room of any hint of movement. VISOR, port scanning, even telepathy was not detecting anything... especially on the perimeter of the bridge. In the walking trail to their initial objectives, the rise through the honeycomb of terminals, holographic interfaces, and partially sparking circuits in the area did not show any sign of an enemy in the area. Through this evidence of a lack of Covenant crews, the Commandos would screen the area with aimed laser rifles before voicing specific pings to internal communications.
"All clear." The leading commando spoke, causing many of the droids to deactivate their rifles and start moving towards the objective:
The Luminary chambers.
Much like the Bridge from Halo: CE, Griffin noted the structural designs were of similarities to the integral function of the Covenant layout. However, in his own screening of the area, his helmet scanned all the port intel that was leaking from the holographic interfaces. Many large packets of information similar to battle tactics, weapon designs, mission parameters, and even troop movements were being leaked from each terminal he passed.
Griffin even grimaced at several packets displaying dragons and their riders being decimated by Carrier point defense cannons. He witnessed their retreating patterns on the signals and displays of their own troop movement, but he hoped there were fewer casualties than what he was witnessing.
"Sir, the chambers are ahead." The leading commando droid pointed to the adjacent chamber that was right across from the bridge walkway. He could be able to witness that the Covenant symbols on the circular door opening had a different insignia to it, symbolizing the significance of this chamber itself. It was violet in coloration and its access lights displayed a blue coloration instead of a reddish one. With access to this room given, the man walked ahead to it. When he was within a few meters in front of the chambers, the door would soon flash and hum a soft tune before the circular locking mechanism in the center of the door spun, locked, then split three ways as the chamber was revealed.
Before Griffin was the familiar shape of a San'Shyuum Prophet sitting upon the infamous shape of an anti-gravity chair. The (in his opinion) frail shape and lanky anatomy of the red clothed and bearing the same golden sigils of a prophet in his ceremonial position. Lanky as any San'Shyuum was, Griffin knew the young Zo Reskin was placed here as a means by Truth, though by what ends was the interesting perception.
The second Zo attempted to speak, Griffin could not interpret the language barrier by means of word of mouth.
"It would be best to continue in the trial of thoughts and mental speech."
In that moment, the San'Shyuum lifted a hand and merely motioned with a rather calm and meaningful gesture... even if Griffin did not understand it. "I merely wish to... at least greet you, as it seems you have been rather forthcoming in your promises." Zo would imply as he rested in his chair. It was easy to pick out even in simple diplomacy that the prophet still battled in the wills of the mind. Yet, Griffin knew this was in a San'Shyuum's playbook and thus easier to predict.
"These promises are meant for us to commune together, yet that isn't why I made them." Griffin returned in compliment, displaying his perspective. "You know I came here to see to the end of this battle. Have they responded?" Griffin asked.
"I was ordered to be executed by Honor Guards... but your... Mack filled the bridge with a vacuum. All crew fled the room, they believe you are a Demon." Zo replied, causing Griffin to sigh and to also smile on this inside.
"Well then, it seems that you are forced to be with us. How does it feel to be an enemy of The Covenant?" Griffin asked, smirking in his helmet as he made his way to the center of the room. Inside, the Luminary, a floating, glowing, cylindrical device hummed before the human who walked around it.
"Sick." Was all the San'Shyuum spoke.
"Good, then that is how Humanity feels now. We fight against a foe that has declared complete and total extermination of our entire race." Griffin spoke, letting the emotions kick into the San'Shyuum where he sat. The human could tell Zo was feeling very much uneasy with himself for the decisions made today. However, Griffin would press on and continue to speak. "But why are we declared as such, so suddenly and so quickly?" He asked, waiting for Zo to answer.
"You hoard Forerunner artifacts and keep us from achieving the Great... Journey. At least, The Hierarchs say that."
"What if I told you that humanity were destined by The Forerunners to ascend? To claim the position and status that The Forerunners once held?"
"Can you prove it?"
In a simple display of this proof, Griffin merely chuckled in his helmet. "Watch." And immediately, he would touch the platform of the Luminary.
Right at the instant he touched the device, the floating Luminary immediately activated and glowed brilliantly with a flickering power... which soon burst and displayed a holographic image of the planet around them. What would be displayed would be the planet of Cicirnius, which displayed the planet in such a transcendent light. It was majestic, shiny, and radiant of the alien symbols of the Forerunners. He could not understand what their symbols meant both in Covenant and Forerunner rune, but he could tell that when it took a moment to load...
The many dots on the planet symbolized the humans on the planet... showing the world to supposedly be full of Forerunner artifacts.
"You see all of this... all of these artifacts?" Griffin asked.
"I... do." Zo implied, showing a curious gaze to the man.
It was here that the man pointed to the symbols that he could see which designated the same Forerunner meaning... the same shape over the planet.
"What does this symbol symbolize in the eyes of the San'Shyuum?" Griffin asked.
"The symbol stands for 'Reclamation'. It stands for how we see ourselves as the chosen people, destined to reclaim the Forerunner legacy and ascend to godhood." Zo would put into perspective, causing Griffin to turn to him from his viewpoint.
"That symbol your people believe in is a lie, it stands for Reclaimer and not Reclamation. Your ancestors have mistranslated the word and now all those you see there are merely humans and not artifacts. Anyone and everyone on that map is an easy target for The Covenant fleets, easy enough to bring those down there into death and destruction." He implied, walking through the map. However, as he looked closer on the holographic projection, there was a singular dot, something that pointed to this ship... what was inside of it. Yet as he observed...
Zo was paused, at a loss. He could sense the San'Shyuum trying to contemplate the truth of the matters. However, given the shaking ship and the explosions throughout the vessel, Griffin would begin summoning his dragon offspring to his location. With the situation beginning to grow dire, it was now time to get out of the ship.
Strangely enough, no communications could be able to be made outside of the ship... strange.
"Commando Droids, use the captured communication devices to call for a scuttling of this ship. We have everything we need. There's an attempt to thwart internal communication in the ship, let's make sure they perish with the vessel." Ordered the man, before he turned to Zo. "There is more to the tale your ancestors kept from you. If you look into Mken's records, he mentions something about his mission to retrieve the females from your homeworld. By his accounts... he knew where The Halo Rings were located, but even the wise former Hierarch of the time was wise enough to tell him that people were more important than the artifacts; no matter what the Luminary spoke of." Griffin informed the male... before he walked to the door.
"I mean... what good is an artifact, when all the information you have now... is me?"
With the raising of his arm, the man would lock an arming mechanism from his armor and a device popped out like a gauntlet. He would cause the armored attachment to shoot out a small missile to the Luminary and it soon exploded. Sparks would fly everywhere as the missile impacted the metal, shattering the crystals inside and blowing the device to several pieces.
"Zo'Reskin, descendant to Mken 'Scre'ah'ben, The Prophet of Inner Conviction... humanity has been imparted to ascend to The Forerunners mantle. However, in our deep history, humans and San'Shyuum were once close as blood and one of unity. Between us, we may bring an end to this war with the Covenant and to be free of extinction after this conflict. The Covenant will fall... but it is up to us to ensure your race can survive the fallout." Griffin continued, before turning to look at Zo and nodding to him.
Armed with the information that there was something deeper to what Griffin had spoken, Zo would merely nod in understanding to the armored warrior with many questions reserved to once this battle was over... if they would be able to see the end of it with their heads on their shoulders.
The second Zo was ready, Griffin nodded and made a motion with his head towards the door.
In that instant, the bridge bulkhead exploded with a bright and violent blast of energetic fire. Griffin and Zo would cover themselves from the initial blast and the debris that scattered all over the place. Grime, metallic pieces, and dust coated the bridge, streaking the exterior light of sunshine billowing through the alien corridors. Before them was Ancalagon and Alexastraza, both blowing an entrance so large that a Pelican can fly through.
"We have retrieved the prophet then..." Ancalagon growled, before he was stopped by Griffin as he waved his hand at the massive black dragon.
"He is with us, let's get out of here!" Griffin roared, soon lifting his free arm to make motions for a Pelican to come inside. The hole in the bridge made it easy for the air to rush inside and freely bring the two leaders to see the sky outside. With the two large and intimidating dragons levying their power to break apart the vessel, it was rather easy for a Pelican to ease its way near to the opening and turn its hull to bring the ramp to the ground. The engines hissed whilst the wind sheared all around them.
"Go-go-go!" Griffin roared and pressed Zo to get inside. He then looked to the Commando droids and started screaming at them. "Commandos let's go!" He roared.
In a sudden rush of an instinctual scream rushing within his senses, Griffin gripped the hilt of his saber and ignited the blade. He only had the rush of a millisecond before he felt his limbs struggling against the connection of an energy sword. The young man found himself being thrown away from the path of the Pelican, the power behind the slash of the energy sword was too great; leaving Griffin slamming into a terminal nearby the walkway. He had seconds to recover before he had to duck his head to the side to keep his head from meeting an energy sword being stabbed into the terminal.
Within that very second, Griffin threw his freehand outwards and threw the attacker backwards with an invisible force projected from him.
Recovering for all but a moment, Griffin stood up and gazed into the revealing and towering form of Ripa 'Moramee. The rapid decloaking of the Sangheili's built-in combat harness bore the creature of command much pertinence before the human who stood in affront to his way.
"Ripa 'Moramee." Griffin grunted, causing the Sangheili to ignite the energy sword on his off-hand.
"You have caused too much annoyance." Snarled the male in reply through his own form of thoughts. "The Prophet will await judgement and you will die by my hand."
Griffin, knowing the power that laid in Ripa 'Moramee's mind now... the young man ignited his second energy blade in response. He knew now of what it looked like to bring an Arbiter of the Covenant to a rage... especially this one. He looked into the eyes of Ripa and knew the Sangheili showed a cold-blooded stare, sign enough that Ripa would not hesitate to kill him if given the opportunity. As he was in the moment of thinking, several clumps and blips of red dots would appear from every entrance in the bridge. Grunts, Elites, Hunters, and Jackals all spilled into the chamber as the extraction team was waiting for him.
Knowing that Ripa was a leader and a ruthless one at that, Griffin would look at the Pelican and roared at the Commando droids and Zo 'Reskin who were there.
"Get out of here!"
Roaring, Alexastraza and Ancalagon started to unleash fire into the Covenant legion, the exchange of energy lance and plasma bolts went off as the screams of the Pelicans engine roared in activation and propulsion.
Suddenly, Ripa 'Moramee rushed forward in a blazing speed to slash at Griffin. The young man attempted to use his Sandevistan... but found that the device was broken. All Griffin could do in that spit-second, was use his own momentum to meet the blade and use the motion to get away from the slash. The human's muscles screamed at his successful move to miss another strike. The Sangheili missed the close-strike, but used the opportunity to diagonally send the human flying with a kick to the chest. Griffin was able to land on his feet this time, but he struggled to recover from the constant assault from the Arbiter.
When the engines of the Pelican screamed and lifted off with Zo and the droids, Ripa 'Moramee would chuckle before he would turn and look at Griffin.
"Just like the rest of your race, weak and undisciplined."
Not even a moment passed before Ripa took a swipe and a cleave at Griffin. This time, however, the human had adapted and met the Sangheili with his blows with a surprising resilience. Griffin tried to meet Ripa, but with the inexperience of fighting Sangheili in sword combat, the young man had to pull at a power he did not commonly use. He grunted painfully as the blades singed his armor, the sparks of plasma and heat burned what unprotected material was attached to his armor plating. The young man knew swiftly that he had to end this quickly before he would find himself impaled by the Sangheili's sword.
It was in that split second of thought that Griffin made his greatest mistake. As he swiped low and struck the abdomen plate of the Arbiters armor, his off-hand blade caught itself between the two long spikes in the energy sword's handle. With a twist of the Sangheili's wrist, Griffin was disarmed rather quickly from his second blade with a drop of the hilt and a kick of his hoof. Panting, Griffin knew he was in deep shit where he stood.
In the peak of the fighting, where the fires and billowing smoke started to catch all throughout the ship, Ripa 'Moramee still made his walk towards the human. Griffin still held his singular blade, but it was easy to tell Ripa looked at the human like he was a mere insect in the ways of dueling.
"You will perish, infidel... much like with the rest of your race." Ripa growled in thought towards the human.
"Interesting you say that Ripa Moram... I could say the same of you." Griffin replied, looking at the Sangheili in spat.
"No one shall survive our Covenant's cleansing flame, not even you... little-" Ripa felt a sudden force wrap itself around his throat, causing the Arbiter to widen his eyes and fall to his knees. The beast, so strong and power in his status, felt powerless against an invisible force that gripped him by the throat. As Ripa 'Moramee looked up from a gagging position, he witnessed the human holding his free hand at him. Griffin looked akin to a darkening creature, tired, put to the edge of his limitations before he realized it.
As he held Ripa low by the use of his hand, Griffin widened his eyes and realized just what he was doing. Yet, with the environment around them going to hell with the explosions of energy and the pained cries of his children, the young man held his grip on Ripa.
"I am not a simple human. You will do well to remember that."
In that sense, the white-robed man started to run into the opening that Ancalagon and Alexastraza kept open. He soon lowered his hand once when he reached the end of the smoky path, witnessing his slightly singed draconic offspring. All around them were scores of dead Covenant troopers, bloody, broken apart, and burning of a great energy.
"Let's get out of here..." Ancalagon growled.
"Let's." Griffin agreed, taking the moment to get on the dragon before looking to the rest of the ship. In moments, additional explosions erupted from the vessel, now giving off a blaring alarm that resounded out of Halo Reach's Covenant Invasion alerts. Not long after this happened, a static sound in his helmet stopped broadcasting. Ancalagon and Alexastraza leaped from the opening of the Assault Carrier and into the skies. From the view of their high rise, the sight of fifty Pelicans moving from the carrier and towards the city with hundreds of dragons spoke what was currently happening.
The moment he exited the range of the Assault Carrier's perimeter, Griffin would hear his communication relays going off. "...-riffin! Can you read me!?" Came the voice of Lasky in the comms channels.
"I am here Lasky, what is happening?"
"We are in a full retreat to New Peragus, a new Covenant Fleet has come in-system! Mack and his AI have taken a lot of Covenant tech and are deploying... spheres all along the city. Are we preparing for a siege? What is going on?"
Griffin felt a little dizzy by the news being given to him, causing the young man to lay low on Ancalagon's crest as the wind shear started to bellow in the man's uneasy and shaky hold on the Aspect. He hoped that the ships were ready for departure as now there would be little time to make an opening for a final evacuation.
"This is a textbook siege by The Covenant, Lasky, return to the command post. We don't have long before things get dire." Griffin ordered Lasky, before he switched to Mack. "Deploy the Spires, I know what you're doing next. Those carriers will be hot on our tail in a few moments, unleash the Defense cannons!"
"Order received."
Seconds after Griffin sent the order into the grid, Ancalagon and Alexstraza dove hard towards the ground as the screams of MAC rounds shot from the city began impacting The Heretic's Bane and the two additional carriers in the distance. The lead and smoking Carrier loomed to make a crash landing, whilst the two other carriers took the rounds without any superficial damage laid onto them.
With Spires being activated all throughout the city, Griffin readied himself for the war that would come barging down his door.
Time to prepare for a siege.
Aaaaand that is a wrap for this chapter!
Holy shit we did it, 100k words and almost 200 favorites for this story! I never really realized just how well this story would be received since this story was made out of a desire to free my mind from the stresses of University work. Now that graduation has been confirmed for May 20 of this year, classes are getting harder, and life is making me uncertain (thank you family who reads this btw, the stress is REALLY helping) about my current future as a CyberSec specialist. Since Christmas (sowwy for not posting since that time ;-;), things have been really wild; like applying for graduation and even getting classes out of the way. However, I have been getting my time sorted and prepared to get things moving rather quickly in the future!
Now, onto the more fun matters!
Griffin using telekinesis: This was bound to happen, but due to the fact that if you haven't really used it as much; it takes a toll on your system. So, like using a new muscle, the struggle to use it has been relegated to push and choke, since those are easier to handle.
Rachni converting the Yanme'e: Honestly, I was not really expecting this to happen, this actually came as a rather interesting discovery of a United States program called 'Insect Allies' from DARPA. Knowing that the Rachni itself is entirely separate from actual program, it just became something of an idea explored to not only benefit the allies, but also present differing ways on how those allies are made. If you look at it closely, evolution and adaptations surround the Rachni along with the introduction of The Queens.
What is the ship that is being referenced?: Think something as large as a Hulk to contain the dragons lmao.
Thank you all so much for your feedback, support, and ideas! If you have an idea, a suggestion, or even a recommendation, please don't hesitate to ask!
Thank you all so much for your time,
True
PS: I am currently on the lookout for a Beta Reader, if this is something that interests you; please don't hesitate to reach out!