A/N - Hey guys, so recently my work has kinda been kicking my ass as we go into the summer months so I've not really been able to stay as active in my writing as I thought I would be. However I've manage to keep going and get a few chapters done recently, this being the most recent completion. I chose to do something a little new, which I did in the first chapter and do a scene break. This is going to let me add more content to a chapter instead of having those scenes play out as their own individual chapters. This will hopefully make chapters longer which will make the overall length of the story shorter as there'll be less chapters. Let me know what you think of this change, if it's good I'll keep running with it and have longer chapters with more stuff in those chapters or if I should go back to what I was going and basically have each scene be their own chapter. Anyway I hope you enjoy this one. - Fangzy
Several days had passed since the incident in the Range involving Derek and Kara. Since then Tz'eal had taken it upon himself to join the ranks of the Humans, walking among them regardless of the sneering glares or the remarks made against him. He was there to help them, regardless if they believed him or not. He had not done much in his time. Commander Shapiro had still not provided him any kind of duty within the base so his time was completely free. Most of that time was spent training, making sure he was ready to fight at a moment's notice. However, doing nothing but training without a break to do something else with his time was getting tiresome.
He would watch the Marines and Engineers going about their duties. Cleaning areas of the base, maintaining the wiring and mechanisms within, even some of the more mundane tasks such as removing excess waste. He wished he could do something like that as it would take his mind off of his training for a time and allow him to interact with humans other than Drake and Kara.
He was in his quarters training, lifting his body off the floor with his hands, using a bar that Drake had installed in the frame of the doorway leading to the 'bathroom'. There were tools in the 'gym' that Drake had explained were used to lift different weights. It was a tool designed to increase a human's strength. However when he tried lifting the weights most of them were of no challenge for him, except for one which required him to lay on his back on some sort of table. The tool would be over his chest and he would need to lift it over his head. He was fully capable of doing so however it was very uncomfortable for him. His head and neck not designed for that kind of setup.
So he spoke with Drake about another way to keep himself healthy and physically fit to fight. This was their decision. It was not perfect and it would not let him progress beyond a point but it would occupy his time while he had it. And he seemed to have a lot of it.
In the middle of his session he heard his door hiss open to his side as he continued to train. Either Drake or Shapiro had come to speak to him as they were the only two with access to his quarters. He glanced to his side to see Drake walk into his blind spot and head over to his bed, sitting down on it as he continued to watch Tz'eal.
Focused on his training Tz'eal did not stop. He continued to lift his whole body off the floor over and over again before he finally spoke.
"Why...are you….here?" He asked Drake, taking a moment after lowering himself each time to speak.
"Here to make sure you're fit and ready to fight. That's all." Drake replied as he continued to watch Tz'eal.
"I...have been fit...to fight...my...entire life." Tz'eal replied without looking around.
"Good because like I said before Shapiro has called for us. Looks like we're about to go and see some action together as a fireteam." Drake said with a smile, this prompted Tz'eal to let go and drop to the floor, looking over to Drake who was simply nodding.
"I knew that'd get your attention. Seems like there's an insurgent base in the system that we're going to take a look at. Might get into a fight, might be really sneaky. We'll have to wait and see what Shap has instore for us." Drake explained.
"When do we leave?" Tz'eal asked as he crossed the room, picking up a 'towel' as the humans called it and used it to wipe himself clean.
"Once we've been given our briefing, which we'll go to as soon as you're ready." Drake replied as he watched Tz'eal toss the towel over his shoulder into a crate full of dirty rags and towels.
"Then I shall prepare now." Tz'eal said quietly as he immediately began stripping his undersuit off of his body. He had almost completely removed it from him before Drake abruptly stood up and walked towards the door.
"I'll wait for you outside while you're doing….that." Drake said to Tz'eal as he walked, a tone of embarrassment clear in his voice. Tz'eal looked to his back feeling confused. He was about to ask Drake what was wrong before his door hissed closed. Perhaps humans were not comfortable around each other without clothing? He did not know. He shook the thought from his head as he continued to strip himself of his sweat covered undersuit, changing into a cleaner suit and fixing his combat harness to it.
He picked up his Zealot Headdress and looked at it for a few moments. The new Olive colour giving it a strange appearance. He had only ever felt nervous before combat one time. When he had first joined the Covenant Military. A new Minor yet to prove himself. Now, a new member of the UNSC, the feeling had finally returned. His hearts were beating rapidly in his chest as he considered what could happen.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Nodding once he had calmed himself he flipped his headdress over and placed it atop himself. He walked into the bathroom and took one final look at himself in the mirror, happy with his appearance before leaving his quarters to join Drake who was leaning up against the wall.
"Alright, let's go." Drake said simply, his face still a little red from embarrassment as he turned and began walking away. Tz'eal considered asking him about it but kept quiet. Perhaps once they had finished their operation.
The walk to the briefing room was short but quiet. Tz'eal noted Drake's expression as they walked, completely focused. It was as if a switch had been flipped in his head. Gone from relaxed and able to enjoy himself with others to completely focused on their mission. He reached over and pressed his hand to a console by the door, the screen flashing green as the door hissed open. Drake glanced to Tz'eal and gestured him inside the darkened room. With slight hesitation Tz'eal slowly entered the room, Shapiro was on the other side beside a large screen while Drake entered behind and closed the door.
"Welcome Tz'eal. I can only apologize for how bored you must have been during your time here. Because we've been deployed here in this somewhat remote system with a very small insurgent presence. However, that presence is about to be snuffed out completely." Shapiro began as he turned to the screen which slowly began to glow as it powered on, letting their eyes adjust from the darkness.
"We've been dealing with this group for a long time here. Before some of our men and women were deployed to Reach. However since that is no longer a problem we must shift our focus back." Shapiro began as the screen reached its full illumination. He tapped the display of his console and the screen flashed with the image of a human male. He looked to be an older male with a dark skin tone, black hair and what looked to be a single large scar over his right eye.
"Harrison?" Drake asked, sounding surprised as he leaned forward.
"We've found him. Finally." Shapiro replied with a nod as he continued to tap his display.
"He's currently doing an inspection of a nearby installation. We've been hunting him down for a long time and the reason we were unable to find him is primarily due to where they have been hiding." Shapiro explained, glancing at Tz'eal.
"One of our drones caught a glimpse of him entering a ship which was docked in what looked to be a research station located within an asteroid belt. Getting a drone closer, from the outside it is just that, a research station which is independently owned. However it would seem that is a front to cover their HQ." Shapiro continued as the screen slowly darkened to display a floating rock with some kind of structure built into it.
"Clever. Hiding somewhere we wouldn't really expect to look for him in." Drake commented as he looked up to the screen while crossing his arms.
"A civilian owned outpost which was marked as a research station. I personally wouldn't expect him to hide somewhere like that." Shapiro commented as he glanced at Tz'eal who was emitting a low growl.
"Only a coward uses civilians as a shield." He said while glaring at the picture of this 'Harrison'.
"Well be glad you're going to go in and remove him from power. As far as we're aware the station does have an atmosphere so we can see about getting a civilian Pelican to get you inside without being detected." Shapiro said with a nod and a smile.
"Do you still have the bodies of the two Sangheili that we killed during the raid on this base?" Tz'eal asked as he considered the task before him.
"We don't but what we do have is their armour. With you joining us I thought it would be prudent to have some armour for you as a backup should something happen to your current set." Shapiro said with a smile and a nod.
"Good. I will require the Harness and undersuit of the Sangheili I killed and the Helmet of the one Drake killed." Tz'eal said as he continued to glare at the picture.
"Why? You should be good with what you have right?" Drake asked, sounding confused at the request.
"You said this Harrison is in control of the station, correct?" Tz'eal asked, turning to Shapiro.
"Correct. Even though it has been shown as a civilian outpost from our intel it would seem that Harrison is in complete control of the outpost." Shapiro said while nodding his head.
"If that is the case for him to kill me he would need to simply remove the atmosphere." Tz'eal said calmly.
"This harness is not rated for combat in the vacuum of space. Should the atmosphere be vented I would die almost instantly." Tz'eal explained as he reached up and ran a digit across one of his mandibles.
"So you need a suit and harness which is rated for use in a vacuum. You can speak to our Armour Master about getting the harness and suit before you deploy but I see no issue with this." Shapiro said with a nod.
"So what's our plan of action?" Drake asked as he looked towards the screen, the image slowly transitioning from Harrisons face to a blueprint of the outpost.
"Insertion point will be here, the closest airlock. Drake you'll go in dressed as a civilian engineer, there to conduct repairs to the outpost. Tz'eal you'll keep your camo active until you are engaged. Can't exactly have you blend in with all the Humans in the area." Shapiro began explaining as Tz'eal nodded in agreement.
"Try to make your way through the station and make contact with Harrison. If you can take him out quietly, do it. Otherwise gather your gear and go loud. I don't care how you kill him so long as he dies. If he escapes we might never get a chance like this again." Shapiro warned as the screen transitioned back to Harrisons face.
"We'll get it done." Drake said confidently.
"I hope you do. If this works out then that'll be all the proof the UNSC brass need to believe Tz'eal is here to help us. That'll also keep everyone off your back." Shapiro explained.
"Once I prove myself I only hope that everyone will relax around me at the very least." Tz'eal said, sounding hopeful as he turned to the door which hissed as it opened slowly. Drake and Shapiro both looked over to the door looking confused as Kara stepped into the room. She smiled at Tz'eal and Drake before looking over to Shapiro, her expression showing concern.
"Private? What seems to be the problem?" Shapiro asked as Kara walked over to him.
"I managed to pick something up from the device you gave me. I need you to come take a look at this." Kara replied quietly as she glanced over to Tz'eal.
"Really? The 'You really need to look at this' cliché? I thought you were better than Kara." Drake said with a chuckle as he shook his head.
"I know how it sounds but this is serious Drake. Commander, I'll be waiting for you down in Comms once you're done here." Kara said as she walked back out the room and quickly as she entered. Drake's smile vanished quickly as he watched her leave before looking over to Shapiro.
"It must be very serious then if she's acting like that. You'd best go see what she's on about. We'll get ready to ship out." Drake said with a nod as he turned to the doorway.
"Gather your gear, I'll see you in the hangar bay and see you both off." Shapiro said with a nod as he watched Drake and Tz'eal leave the briefing room. He had asked Kara to do exactly what she had done, report to him if she heard something concerning on the Covenant battle net. He glanced up to the screen and looked at the depiction of Harrison one final time before he too stepped across the room and out of the door, making his way to comms to see what Kara had for him.
Drake strode into the armoury, glancing around looking for Frank once again wanting to get Tz'eal his gear as soon as possible so that the pair could leave for their op. Within the cage Frank was already preparing the undersuit and harness as the pair approached him. He hadn't turned around before he spoke to Drake.
"So your 'Distraction' turned out to be a split-lip? You'd better watch your back out there Drake. Won't be surprised if you just so happen to die out there while it comes back alive." Frank said, still refusing to turn around.
"It?" Tz'eal asked looking from the older Human to Drake who had raised a hand to Tz'eal.
"Leave it to me." Drake replied quietly as he fully stepped towards the cage.
"I need the harness. Just pass it over and we can go. I don't want to hear it." Drake continued as Frank finally turned to face him.
"You're too trusting. I'm going to keep it's things in my armoury to keep Commander Shapiro happy. Armour, weapons, everything that I'm told I have to keep for it. But I'm warning you now; if that thing takes one step inside this room going forward from today, i'm going to put a shell of buckshot into it." Frank warned as he unceremoniously dumped the harness and undersuit onto the table and slid it over to Drake.
"Do that and I'll kill you myself Frank." Drake warned with a shake of his head, getting tired of telling people over and over again that he'll kill them if they hurt Tz'eal.
"You'd need ammo to do that Drake and your ammo privilege just got revoked. Whatever you have on your is all you're getting from me. Until the Commander tells me otherwise, I wish you the best of luck." Frank replied with an expressionless face. Drake sighed and shook his head as he picked up Tz'eals gear and turned around.
"I thought you of all people would be better than this Frank. Well it was nice having you as armour master while it lasted. Willingly sabotaging an operation. Potentially causing injury or even death to members of the UNSC. This could easily be seen as treason. I'd wager a guess at life on some backwater planet, or even the death sentence. Enjoy your time while it lasts, I know Shap isn't going to let this go easily." Drake explained with a forced smile as he turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Tz'eal behind with Frank for a few moments.
Tz'eal turned towards the Armour Master and considered speaking to him to attempt to bridge a gap that could ease the tension between them however as he raised a hand to speak Frank turned away abruptly. Tz'eal sighed and shook his head, slowly he turned and left the armoury, increasing his pace in order to catch up to Drake who was angrily walking towards Tz'eals quarters.
"Are you okay?" Tz'eal asked as they reached his door. Drake crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall while shaking his head slightly.
"I just want this op to be over with. Once we're done and everyone understands then hopefully shit like this won't happen. Doesn't change the fact of the matter that Shapiro is going to tear him a new one. And I for one, can't wait to watch." Drake replied as Tz'eal slowly opened his door. He stepped inside before turning back to Drake giving him another quick glance of concern.
"As curious as I am to see what you look like while naked can you please just go in and get changed so we can go?" Drake said without looking over. Tz'eal recoiled slightly at the aggression. He sighed quietly as he closed the door and began changing into the Ranger undersuit and harness.
He could understand why Drake was getting upset. He had tried so hard to make sure Tz'eal was welcomed into Destiny and there were very few people who had. It must be infuriating for him to know that his effort was going to waste for such a long period of time.
Not wanting to waste more time Tz'eal quickly stripped himself of his Zealot combat harness and undersuit before replacing them with that of the Ranger. He felt more at home in this harness. It was lighter weight and sealed. He had spent Summers using this harness, it felt like home. Clicking his lower mandible several times he nodded to himself as he stepped outside, Drake glanced up at him and finally managed a smile.
"Just like old times right?" Drake asked as he pushed off of the wall and began walking back down the hall, leading to a new section of the base Tz'eal had yet to explore.
"It does feel comfortable to be in a harness I have used for a long time. I only hope that I will not require the use of it. The Humans within the outpost will most likely be sacrificed if we are detected." Tz'eal commented as they entered a large open hangar bay, Pelicans and Falcons running side by side down the long hall, pilots working on their craft. Tz'eal took another deep breath to calm himself as he and Drake approached a concerned looking Shapiro.
"Everything alright Shap?" Drake asked with a smile as they approached him stood next to a white and orange painted Pelican.
"Everything will be I hope. I'll explain when you get back, I need you to focus on what you're both about to do. Tz'eal are you ready?" Shapiro explained before asking Tz'eal.
"I will be fine. I am ready." Tz'eal said trying to sound as confident as he could but he did not think he could deceive Shapiro. He looked up at Tz'eal looking stoic before he simply nodded.
"Maurice will be your pilot. We have a cover for you Drake. You're going to be Scott Smith. Engineer being brought over from Arcadia. One of the outposts' vital subsystems is in need of a service to ensure it is working efficiently and you're one of the few who are trained to do so. Use that cover, get in, deal with Harrison then get out. Quietly if possible. Loud if you need to." Shapiro explained once again as he pushed over a duffel bag that looked to be filled with come engineer coveralls and a hardhat.
"Got it. We'll be back before you know it." Drake said with a smile as he picked up the bag and threw it into the back of the Pelican.
"Tz'eal, engage your camo and follow behind Drake as close as you can without exposing yourself. If Drake is compromised you have my full authorization to light the place up." Shapiro continued as he turned to Tz'eal who simply nodded in response.
"This is going to be a vital operation for you both. Fireteam Heretic, your operation is a go. Good hunting." Shapiro said confidently as he announced their fireteam name. Drake smiled and shook his head with a chuckle as Tz'eal climbed aboard the Pelican, clicking his lower mandible several times as he too shook his head at the irony of the name.
"Don't do anything stupid while you're out there you two. I get the feeling we're going to need you both back here now more than ever." Shapiro said ominously as the rear ramp of the Pelican slowly closed as the thrusters roared into life, the Pelican slowly lifting itself into the air before leaving the hangar.
Shapiro slowly walked down the long hall of Comms, making his way down to Kara's station. He couldn't help but smile at Drake's comment about her coming to them being cliché as it did seem to be, but something about her expression told him something was off. It didn't matter if it turned out to be nothing. She was simply doing what he had asked her to do, report anything she hears from the comms device he gave to her directly to him. For her first report he hoped it wasn't something too bad.
Looking around at the other Communications officers they were all being quite relaxed at their posts, chatting amongst themselves as he passed. He knew he couldn't change them from being so relaxed; there was so little action in this system as of late that the only action they had been a part of recently was finding Harrison. That and what Kara had gotten so riled up about. He approached her station and saw her leaning over, one headphone over her ear listening to something while being hunched over her desk, scribbling something down on a piece of paper. Next to her wasn't her usual partner but a Pilot. He was hunched over looking at her paper and nodding before giving her a thumbs up.
"What is going on here?" Shapiro asked as he got close. The Pilot, a Warrant Officer, stood from his chair and gave Shapiro a salute before turning away from both him and Kara and walked away.
"Ty is probably one of the best astro navigators we've got here. I needed his help triangulating these coordinates I overheard from The Covenant Battle net. With his help I think I've narrowed down where they're going." Kara explained as she took off her headphones and placed them down on the table.
"From the top, explained." Shapiro said as he took the seat Ty had vacated.
"I have been listening to Covenant chatter since you brought this thing down to us. There hasn't been much going on, the usual crap about us being heretics and a few minor orders being issued to ships but nothing too serious. Until yesterday." Kara began as she turned her paper around and showed it to Shapiro. Written upon it were a string of numbers that looked to have been translated into coordinates.
"Yesterday their net almost exploded with comms. From what I could translate they've found something that got them super excited since it was apparently another step 'towards the Human eradication by our glorious hands.'" She continued as she waved her fingers in the air. Shapiro kept quiet and nodded as he listened to her, noticing his silence she continued.
"They began broadcasting something about their newest discovery. An instrument of their gods which will forge their path to the holy relics which will begin their Great Journey. They then sent out coordinates to a location. Stating that their destination is a planet named 'Erdetirine.' it's not a planet i've ever heard of." She continued as Shapiro shook his head.
"I've never heard of that either."
"Exactly so I figured it was a named planet in their language, something we probably have never heard of. So I took down the coordinates of that planet and began writing down more. The ships in the fleet began transmitting their location to the source of the broadcast. Once I got their locations I then began working out where they were going from what information they received." Kara continued as she began tapping a few keys on her console to bring up a galactic map.
"The coordinates of the 'Erdetirine' were difficult to narrow down but I managed to work it out with Ty's help. Don't worry about him, he knows to keep quiet about all of this." Kara continued as Shapiro tried to calm himself, his feeling of unease getting worse.
"The coordinates lead to here." Kara finished as she brought up the location on her map. 0,0,0.
"Oh fuck." Shapiro whispered to himself as he looked the map over.
"What are we going to do sir?" Kara asked, sounding scared. Galactic zero was the Sol system.
"Are you confident that your translation and calculations are going to take them to Sol?" Shapiro asked as he stared at the display.
"Absolutely. I'm beginning to think that if we were to translate 'Erdetirine' it would probably mean Earth." Kara replied, her voice betraying her fear clearly.
"We get this operation completed before we send this info over to ONI and UNSC brass. They need to know they have a fleet inbound to Earth." Shapiro said quietly as he stood up from his chair.
"Should I do that now?" Kara asked as Shapiro slowly began walking away.
"No. Wait until this operation with Drake and Tz'eal is over. Once they're back we can focus on this development. Keep listening in and inform me of any changes. I need to go see those two off. And again Kara, I know I don't need to say this but I have to stress, no one else can know of this." Shapiro said as he glanced over his shoulder at her.
"I understand sir. I'll wait until your go to broadcast this to UNSC Brass and ONI." Kara said with a slowly nod as Shapiro turned away from her, leaving for the hangar bay now knowing that the Covenant were about to find Earth, whether they knew it or not.