Chapter 17
The hallway leading to the Comms hall was more lively than anywhere else in the base. As Shapiro made his way down he could hear the stationed personnel talking amongst themselves, music playing in the background while they had very little to do. Shapiro didn't mind. As long as they kept doing their jobs he didn't care how they went about it. If they spent hours sitting in their chairs talking to one another or listening to music it didn't matter. As long as they did their jobs when the time came.
Stepping into the hall he glanced around. The long hall was filled with several different pieces of communications and radar tech. Personnel sitting at their stations with their headphones around their necks simply speaking to one another while glancing back at their displays for any changes every few moments.
Shapiro grinned as he watched them all. A close group of friends. He was glad that the men and women of his base were able to get along with each other so well. Perhaps if they find out about Tz'eal they might be as welcoming. He doubted that. As far as they were aware he was their enemy. But one could hope. He slowly entered the hall proper and waited for the nearby men and women to notice him. Those who did just stared for a few moments before realization sunk in. Their eyes almost bulging as they notice him before turning back to their station to look like they are working.
Chuckling quietly to himself he made his way down the hall, each person who noticed him slowly turning back to their desk as he passed them. Until he reached the far end of the hall, his communications experts sat at their desks not paying attention to anything while having their conversation.
"Honestly I don't know. We can talk shit and make bets all we want but we all know we're never going to find out." The first said as she tapped a pen to a notepad on her desk.
"You never know. Something as important that it requires an ODST escort and a biohazard team on standby? Something's not right there. I think it might be some nuclear find personally." The other said as he slowly spun around in his chair, his head tilted back, eye glued to the roof.
"You really think Shapiro will let something as dangerous as that into the base?" The first asked as she scribbled a note down on the pad which Shapiro was barely able to read. 'Nuclear material?'
"I mean no offence to the old man when I say this but I wouldn't put it past him. He basically lets Drake walk all over him and the man gets away with it." The second said as he glanced down from the ceiling, his eyes locking with Shapiro's who simply smiled and raised his eyebrows.
"No he doesn't. I know Drake can be an ass, I've known him half my life, but Shapiro is in complete control of him. At least I hope so." The first replied quietly as she crossed out what had just been noted down.
"What if it was something that ONI wanted their hands on? There was that Agent in the base not too long ago." Shapiro suggested as the second expert turned away and glared at his display, his face glowing bright red.
"That would make sense. ONI wouldn't go out of there way to come here about nothing. What if it was something to do with The Covenant? You might actually be on to something there-" The first began as she spun on her chair and looked up to Shapiro who was still smiling. "Commander Shapiro."
"I think I might be, Private Clarke." Shapiro replied as he leaned over to read her name plate on her uniform.
"Uhh Kara. Umm, what brings you down here Commander?" Kara Clarke asked as she fumbled with her words, grabbing her headphones and placing them on her head slowly.
"I've got something that I need a communications expert to look at. You wouldn't happen to know where I can find one? All I see here are two kids that seem to be talking more than working." Shapiro said with a grin as he leaned over to read the other one's name plate. Smyth.
"We were just discussing what Wayfinder One might have brought back. We did listen in to the conversation as per our orders sir." Smyth replied without looking up, his face still flaring bright red.
"Well that information is currently on a need to know basis, and right now you don't need to know." Shapiro replied calmly as he pulled up a chair and sat between the pair.
"I've got two things I need to ask of you. First of all is this." Shapiro began as he pulled out the small device and showed it to the pair who looked both interested and confused.
"What is this sir?" Kara asked as she picked up the device.
"It's a small part of the big picture of what Wayfinder One picked up. We believe it to be some sort of communications device the Elites use. Watson, were you able to find anything out about it?" Shapiro asked aloud as the orange hologram of the Englishman appeared on a nearby plinth.
"Yes sir. After scanning the device and studying the molecular composition of it, it seems to be made of the same kind of material that we have picked up from the creatures you call 'Engineers'. The device seems to shape itself to be accepted universally." Watson explained as Kara took a vacant connecting cable and brought it close to the device. As the connection neared a small slot seemed to open on the side, the interior changing to match the input required to connect to human tech.
"This is amazing. Imagine if we were able to use such technology ourselves? We'd never have to worry about tech getting outdated. Everything would work together without issues." Kara began to gush as she connected the device. A soft purple glow began to emit from the device as it powered on before her display flashed purple for a moment.
"Watson, what just happened?" She asked as he pushed her chair back a few feet in shock.
"It seems to be tuning to our frequencies. Almost like it is learning our language." Watson replied as Kara slowly returned to the desk.
"I need you to use it. We think it might be able to pick up Covenant communications and translate them into our system. If we can use it to listen in to them I need to know how." Shapiro said with a nod as Kara settled back down at her desk and began tuning her station for different frequencies.
"Before you do that however there's one other thing I need you to do. I need you to take a look at this." He said as he pulled out his console and connected it to Smyth's station. Pulling up the recording of Tz'eal, Shapiro played the file back, his voice playing quietly from the speakers as Smyth and Kara listened in.
"Wayfinder One picked this up while he was out. I need to know what it says." Shapiro said as he glanced at Smyth.
"I don't speak the language sir." Smyth said quietly.
"The go get me someone who does." Shapiro said with a growl of impatience as Smyth quickly stood up and began striding away to find a Sangheili translator.
"Smyth! Sit down before you break another headset." Kara called out as Smyth was pulled backwards, the wire of his headset still plugged into his station going taut and almost snapping.
"Private? You're belaying one of my orders?" Shapiro asked, sounding frustrated as Kara waved a hand at him. He leaned back in shock and anger as she disregarded him. She reached past him and tapped his console display, playing the file back again as she listened to it again and again.
"I've never heard this from a living Elite before." She said quietly as she set the file to repeat and closed her eyes, listening to the file over and over again.
"You speak their language?" Smyth asked, sounding as shocked as Shapiro looked.
"Yeah, my mother is...was, a xenobiologist. I traveled with her all over the place when she found out about The Covenant. I studied them alongside her. So learning their language was almost a hobby for me." Kara replieds as she placed her hands on both headphones and pressed them to her ears listening as intently as she could.
"Well. I'm waiting Private." Shapiro said loudly as he tapped Kara on the forehead. She slipped one earphone off of her ear so she could listen to the file and Shapiro at the same time.
"It's an old Sangheili Lore Song." She explained as she continued to listen.
"Lore Song? As in a story told through music?" Shapiro asked to which Kara simply nodded in response.
"I don't get it." Smyth said quietly as he shuffled in his seat.
"The Elites don't write their history like we do. They try to live and create their history with their actions. But sometimes something very important is recorded in a song. Stories are easy to forget, songs, not so much." Kara explained as she mouthed along with the file.
"So what does it say?" Shapiro asked as he leaned back in his chair.
"It's an old Lore Song. The Lyrics go into detail about a Male and Female Sangheili who were mates, but from two different, warring Keeps." Kara began as he listened closely.
"The Female did whatever she could to be with her mate which ultimately led to her betraying her Keep. She abandoned her own family in order to be with the one she loved." Kara continued with a smile as she began rocking in her chair listening to the song.
"But it doesn't go well at the end. She gets caught and, as Honor is something the Elites care about the most, abandoning her Keep was seen as something unforgivable. Her Mate's Keep sentences her to Death. Her mate is the one who has to do it but she's happy. Happy that he is the one to kill her so he knows she will forever be safe in his hearts." She continued quietly as she then slowly began translating the Lyrics.
"There's nothing left to lose. The Fight will never end. I can not face the Dark without you. Holding the hand that holds me down. I forgive you. I forget you. Until the end. Holding the hand that holds me down. I forgive you. I forget you. Until the end." Kara sang quietly as she translated the lyrics into english.
"It seems like one of the Elites out there is questioning their Covenant from what I can gleam off of this." Kara said as she wiped her face, two small tears flowing down her cheeks as she smiled.
"What makes you say that?" Shapiro asked.
"The story is about an Elite who gave up everything they had. Their family, their home and friends for someone else. They sacrificed their honor to be with the one she thought was right for her." Kara explained as Shapiro clasped his hands in thought. If this was true then perhaps the trust he was trying to place in Tz'eal would be well placed. No Elite would go out of their way to do something so dishonorable. Unless they thought it was the right thing to do.
"Thank you Private. That'll be all for now. Keep scanning those frequencies with that device and report directly to me if there's something you find." Shapiro said as he stood up from his chair with a nod and began slowly walking away.
"I'm going to assume we're not going to be allowed to talk about this to anyone, sir?" Smyth asked as Shapiro took a few paces away from them.
"Not yet. I have plans to let everyone know everything that we've found soon enough. I just need to make sure it's safe before I do so. So your discretion would be greatly appreciated." Shapiro said quietly as he glanced down at the pair.
"We'll keep our mouths shut Commander. You can count on us." Kara said confidently as Shapiro smiled at her.
"You're doing good work here Clarke, Smyth. Keep it up. Just remember that your CO can and will show up randomly to make sure you're still working." Shapiro replied with a grin which caused Smyth to turn back to his display, his cheeks going pink once again.
"Now I've got somewhere to be. Keep up the good work." Shapiro repeated as he turned on the spot and began leaving the hall, heading towards his office where he would brief Drake and the rest of Wayfinder on their upcoming task of hunting down an Elite recovery team.