Chapter 36: Raku

"You handled that well," 'Rylan said as he found Raku after showing 'Dauram his temporary quarters. The hint of sarcasm in his voice was impossible to miss.

"I'm an assassin," Raku said. "Not some general keeping a rowdy group of minors in line."

"I suppose that's true," 'Rylan sighed. "And speaking of the truth, at least we got that."

"That's what I aimed for," Raku said.

'Rylan had returned to the Sacred Provenance after the battle to inspect the damage, and to be there while Raku dealt with Kel 'Dauram. If it weren't for that, he would already be aboard one of the stealth corvettes ready to make the jump to Zezar.

Luckily they hadn't lost any of their stealth corvettes, but that was about all they could be happy about. Because of that supercruiser, the Prophet of Doom likely wouldn't survive the engagement with the Supreme Crusader, and they were down several more ships as well.

But they would deal with what they were given. A death in battle was better than cowardice.

The crates and vehicles on the Provenance were scattered all over the corridors and the hangar decks, 'Veraskee's manoeuvres had made quite a mess. The ship had scraped against the supercruiser during the attack as well, which had critically damaged the ship's sensor vanes and ventral hull.

But at least we won, Raku told himself. He wasn't sure if he could say that again after the next battle.

"Is this attack still on?" 'Rylan asked.

"It is," Raku said. "We're not backing down."

"Good. Then I will return to the Blade of Ages."

Raku nodded, and watched the former Shipmaster turn to leave, wishing he could come with. He looked down at his harness, at the damage that the Jiralhanae had done to him. At the wounds that were barely being held together by stitches.

He barely had time to recover from the shipyard assault, and he still was in no condition to fight. Perhaps I will be ready by the time we arrive, he thought hopefully.

"I'm coming with you," Raku said. "I will join the assault."

'Rylan stopped, and faced Raku with a confused expression. But in that expression he saw a kind of admiration as well.

"Are you well enough to fight?" 'Rylan asked.

"My condition matters not," Raku said. "Even if I had lost an arm, I would still be well enough to fight."

"Then I will fly us both there."

The two entered the messy hangar deck, and navigated around the dislodged crates and scattered weapons. They decided to take the phantom that 'Dauram had taken there, as it belonged to the crew of the Blade of Ages.

When 'Rylan sat at the transport's controls, he stared at them for an uncomfortable amount of time.

"Is… something wrong?" Raku felt the need to ask.

"Apologies," 'Rylan said, taking the flight controls in his hands. "This phantom has a control scheme I've never seen before."

'Rylan pulled the phantom out of the hangar very slowly, and carefully turned them toward the Blade of Ages.

"Whoever this ship belongs to must be insane," 'Rylan said.

"I'm no pilot, so I'll take your word for it."

'Rylan alerted 'Nasamai that they were boarding his ship. The corvette stopped moving to let them land. Raku hadn't yet been aboard the ship, he hadn't seen the mess that had been made of the hangar deck. It wasn't nearly as bad as it had been described, but that was because it was mostly cleaned up.

At the hangar deck was a Sangheili wearing a light blue flight harness, who seemed to have been waiting for them. Raku and 'Rylan exited the phantom together, but 'Rylan moved quickly to meet the pilot.

"'Cinatee!" 'Rylan exclaimed, clearly excited to see the pilot.

"I was worried you were going to keep my phantom," 'Cinatee said, clasping his hand with 'Rylan's. "And it is 'Cinat now."

"Of course," 'Rylan said. "I should have known that phantom was yours."

'Rylan stepped aside, and noticed Raku had been silently watching them. An awkward silence fell between the three, though Raku didn't understand why. Perhaps they weren't supposed to show camaraderie in front of their superiors. Another thing the Prophets forced out of us.

"I am Raku 'Sol," Raku introduced himself with a respectful bow.

"Jors 'Cinat at your service," the pilot said, returning the bow. "I've heard of you. You're the one leading this fleet."

"I am," Raku said.

'Cinat nodded, and he led the two down to the crew compartment where all of the ship's warriors waited. The two other Sangheili were oddly quiet, though Raku understood why now. He was usually the same when he was around his superiors in the Covenant. But in their fleet, he was the highest ranking one. He never wanted to be a superior officer, but he didn't have a choice this time. This time, it had to be him.

They entered a large storage compartment that was crowded with other Sangheili, Unggoy, and even a few Kig-Yar. Everyone seemed to be deep in some conversation with another, and they all had stopped and turned as Raku entered.

"The Hidden Blade has come to lead us to victory!" one of the Sangheili shouted, breaking the silence.

Cheers erupted from all the Sangheili in the room, and they raised their weapons high. Raku was almost overwhelmed by the praise from his fellow warriors, almost nobody knew he even existed during the time of the Covenant. But now everyone in the fleet looked up to him as their saviour, and their leader. It was a lot of pressure, some of which Raku didn't feel he deserved.

But Raku didn't let any of his negative feelings get to him. He let their praise warm him, he let it prepare him for the coming fight. He stood tall, and firm. He waited for the cheers to quiet down before he spoke.

"Ever since the day of our conception, the day the Forerunners gave us life," Raku started, "we have had our destiny laid out for us. Our time has been tough, and tragic. We have led lives full of strife, and hatred. Bitterness for a betrayal we could not have seen coming. But that is not all our destiny has held for us.

"Since the day the first Sangheili drew his breath, we have been destined to be the greatest warriors this galaxy has ever seen! The strife, the hatred, the bitterness, it has all made us stronger. No longer do we have an equal to stand against us! No longer are we held back by the lies of the Prophets! Now, we are free. Free to show the galaxy why we are its finest warriors! Today, we will show the Covenant why they should never have betrayed us!"

The cheers erupted once more. He was sure his words would inspire them to be the best warriors they could be, to give all of their strength in this next strike against the Covenant. First the shipyard, now the Crusader, both relatively minor targets in the grand scheme of things, but important in the war against the Covenant. They were just the first two strikes back at their betrayers, they certainly weren't going to be the last.

Raku waited for the cheers to die down again, and for the warriors to realise he had more to say. When they did, the room fell quiet once more.

"We will strike back against the Covenant again," Raku continued. "And again. Until there is nothing left. And then, we will finally achieve our ultimate goal. We will do what the Prophets could not, what they have promised us time and time again, and failed to do. After we have wiped the Covenant from the face of the galaxy, we will finally become as Gods."

Another round of cheers went around the crowd, though this time was quieter. Raku could tell who was more dedicated to their ultimate goal by their silence. Those Sangheili took the moment to pray, while those who only cared about the fight were the ones that cheered.

Their ultimate goal was the Assembly, and it would provide them more power than anything the Prophets could have ever given them. That was why they fought.

Raku was finally done talking, and he pushed through the crowds to find a quiet spot in the corner of the room. 'Rylan followed him there, and they both sat together on top of a crate.

"You have become very popular," 'Rylan said.

"Indeed," Raku replied, watching over the other warriors as they conversed amongst themselves again. "It has been a long journey from when very few knew of my existence at all."

"I think you are handling it well."

Raku nodded. He wouldn't dare admit that he wasn't sure of himself, he wasn't going to show weakness at a time like this. He needed to be strong for himself, and for his people.


Raku made his way to the control room as it came time to exit slipspace. The command crew of the Blade of Ages consisted of Fural 'Nasamai, Jors 'Cinat, Endo 'Lethum, and an Unggoy named Zimling.

He had never heard of an Unggoy bridge officer before, but he wasn't going to question it. Without the rules and the regulations of the Covenant, ship crews were bound to be unorthodox. According to 'Nasamai, they also had a Kig-Yar named Rahg working there before he was injured, but that was significantly less questionable than an Unggoy manning a weapons station.

"Are you sure you do not need another gunner?" Raku asked.

"Zimling has been handling our weapons just fine," 'Nasamai said. "He is worth at least four gunners at this point."

"I suppose I'll take your word for it."

Everyone had their eyes on the screen at the front of the room, except for 'Cinat who didn't take his eyes away from his station. Raku was sure they all felt the same tension. The racing of their hearts, the aching of their muscles; it was what Raku felt before every battle.

But this battle was different from the others. While every other battle Raku fought in had been in his favour, this one was not. But it is like you said: you are the finest warriors of this galaxy, he reminded himself.

This was their time to prove that, to show the Covenant their mistake in betraying the Sangheili. Because if a warrior can prove themself against impossible odds, then they are something to not just be feared, but to be respected.

"We will be exiting slipspace in five minutes," Jors said.

"All of the warriors are ready?" 'Nasamai asked.

"They are," Raku said.

"Good. I will be joining you once we make contact."

The warriors aboard the Blade of Ages were already gathered in the docking bay. As soon as they left slipspace, it would be a race to get to the Supreme Crusader.

"One minute," 'Cinat warned after four minutes of silence.

"Endo, engage active camouflage," 'Nasamai ordered.

The lights in the control room dimmed, and turned a darker shade of blue to indicate that the stealth systems were engaged. In the earlier days of the war with the humans, this was all Raku would see. After everything that's happened since he landed on Zezar, it was nice to be somewhere familiar.

As one, the fleet exited slipspace. The corvettes were hidden in the shadows of the Sacred Provenance and Prophet of Doom, the Covenant would not see them coming.

And there was the Supreme Crusader, dead ahead of the fleet. The light of the sun behind it and the glowing nebulae surrounding the system made only the ship's silhouette appear, but it was still as glorious as any other Covenant vessel. The only thing that soured Raku's mood was the fact that the Jiralhanae were running the vessel, but that was going to change.

The Blade of Ages broke away from the fleet alongside the rest of the stealth corvettes. The Crusader didn't seem to pick up on why they were there yet, they would still have time before the Jiralhanae realised what was going on.

"Our fighters are away," 'Kalrah announced across the fleet's channel. "We will keep the Jiralhanae occupied."

"We will draw the Crusader's fire," 'Veraskee replied.

"We'll move along the ship's starboard side and disable the weapon systems," Raku said. "We'll make our way to the control room from there, the other teams will make their way down the port side, and the engine room."

All of the Prophet of Doom's fighters were away by the time the Crusader began to turn. The Provenance fired at the Crusader with its pulse lasers to bait the ship into firing back, but it didn't.

A salvo of plasma torpedoes were launched from both the Prophet of Doom, and the Provenance, but the Crusader allowed each one to hit, shrugging them off with ease.

"We're in position," 'Nasamai said as they matched course with the Crusader just above the ship's ventral side. "We just need those shields lowered."

"They're not firing back," 'Veraskee said. "They're going to let us beat upon their shields until we're out of munitions."

"The only way we're getting those shields down is by giving them all we've got!" 'Kalrah chimed in. "They must know we're not here to kill them."

"I suppose this Jiralhanae shipmaster is not the dumbest of them all," Raku sighed.

"You counted on them being dumb?" 'Nasamai asked.

"I counted on them being aggressive, wanting to end this battle as soon as it came. I counted on them being Jiralhanae."

"So what do we do?"

'Kalrah was right, giving the Crusader hell was their only chance at getting inside now. But they didn't have the shipyards to repair anything if it got damaged, and there was a lot of damage that could be done between the Prophet of Doom and the Provenance.

"Give it everything you've got," Raku said. "Though I still urge you keep the damage to a minimum."

"That might not be possible, but understood," said 'Veraskee.

'Kalrah took little convincing. The Prophet of Doom's plasma lance was already ready to fire, and the shipmaster began to carve into the carrier's shields on the dorsal side. The Provenance opened fire on the ventral side, bombarding it until whoever was commanding the ship decided to shoot back.

The Crusader's shipmaster finally realised they were done being tested. They got their first opening as a portion of the shields went down to allow a pulse laser battery to shoot down incoming plasma torpedoes. 'Cinat didn't waste their chance, he flew them right underneath the shields.

"We're in," the pilot said.

"Our entry point is the main hangar bay," Raku said.

'Cinat nodded, and guided the ship in. Fighters began launching from the Crusader's hangar. Seraphs and banshees soared past the Blade of Ages as they passed through the hangar doors. Two seraphs and a banshee slammed into the front of the Blade as they attempted to launch.

"They know we're here now!" 'Cinat shouted.

"Disengage stealth systems!" 'Nasamai ordered. "Zimling, shoot down those fighters before they can launch!"

"Yes boss!" the Unggoy happily acknowledged.

The lights in the control room went bright again. The Blade's plasma cannons went hot, and started blasting the fighter bays inside the hangar. Two seraphs were able to launch, they hovered behind the Blade and began bombarding the hull with fuel rods.

"Jors! I need plasma beam angle!" Zimling shouted.

'Cinat whipped the ship around, and Zimling used the ship's plasma beam to cut the two seraphs apart before they had a chance to flee. Raku watched from the back of the control room as the Sangheili took orders from the Unggoy, which wasn't something he was used to seeing.

"Jors, you're in charge while I'm gone," 'Nasamai said as he stood up from his seat.

Raku and 'Nasamai made their way out of the control room. They sprinted to the docking bay as it opened, and all the warriors jumped out into the hangar.

"Give us cover!" 'Nasamai shouted to Jors over his ship's communications channel.

The main hangar of the Crusader was large enough to fit hundreds of fighters, and even several frigates. There was enough room for a ship as big as the Blade of Ages to manoeuvre around and provide air support.

Chaos quickly ensued in the main hangar. Jiralhanae soldiers rushed in, followed by Unggoy, Kig-Yar, and Yanme'e who were still loyal to the Covenant. The streams of plasma and projectiles from Jiralhanae weaponry were almost impossible to avoid.

The Sangheili moved up between vehicles and fighter repair stations scattered all across the main hangar for cover. 'Nasamai stayed at a distance and fired into the ranks of approaching Covenant soldiers with his carbine, while Raku moved to get closer.

He joined a squad of Sangheili majors while they weaved between a row of inactive wraiths. When he came into contact with his first Jiralhanae target, he relentlessly fired into it with his plasma rifle. The beast's power armour shrugged off the blasts long enough for it to grab one of the majors, and snap his neck. But the armour couldn't hold out forever. It broke apart, and the brute melted under a barrage of plasma fire.

Raku heard 'Nasamai's carbine behind him, and he turned to see two Kig-Yar fall dead on the floor just a few metres away from him. Nobody would be sneaking up on them with 'Nasamai watching their backs.

"Banshee's launching from the port bays!" shouted one of the majors.

"Eyes up," 'Nasamai said over his crew's channel. "We've got another fighter launch."

"Take cover!" the major shouted.

The wraith in front of them exploded, shattering into hundreds of pieces as four banshees flew overhead. The explosion knocked everyone to the ground, but they all got back on their feet pretty quickly. All of them except for Raku.

'Nasamai reached a hand out for Raku, but he was reluctant to grab it. I shouldn't be here, Raku thought to himself. His muscles still ached, and his harness warned him that he would start bleeding again if he continued fighting so aggressively.

Raku hesitated for so long that 'Nasamai grabbed him and dragged him onto his feet anyway. The blademaster reloaded his carbine and pressed it into Raku's chest.

"We're taking this ship," 'Nasamai said, locking eyes with him. "You can stay down, but you can't stay out of the fight."

Raku took the carbine. It wasn't his kind of weapon, but it had better range than his plasma rifle. If it was the way he had to fight to keep himself alive, then it was the way he was going to fight.

'Nasamai and Raku exchanged a nod before the blademaster ignited his blade, and rushed to the front of the battle. Raku took position in the carapace of a wraith, and looked through the carbine's scope. He watched the door to the hangar, waiting for it to open so he could take down whoever else entered the battle.

The Blade of Ages passed overhead as it continued manoeuvring around the hangar. Another blast from its beam cannon, and the banshees came down, spilling wreckage all across the hangar floor. The place was already so much of a mess that it was probably never going to be fully cleaned, and the battle hadn't even lasted an hour yet.

"This is the crew of the Heaven's Edge, we've made it to the slipspace drive," the commander of the assault on engineering. "Our Huragok is taking it offline now."

It seemed with the amount of soldiers they were throwing into the hangar, the Jiralhanae considered the Blade's incursion to be more important. Though they were sure to lose more soldiers in the hangar, this still worked in their favour.

The door opened, and out came another squad of Jiralhanae. Raku squeezed the trigger of the carbine, hitting one Jiralhanae in the head. All it did was cause it to stumble, but that gave Fural enough time to gain the advantage. Raku fired at each Jiralhanae, and Fural cut them down without much resistance.

Another squad of Jiralhanae fell victim to the Blade of Ages's plasma cannons, as four of the beasts were vaporised in an explosion. Swarms of Yanme'e were cut down by fire from the Sangheili on the ground, and support from the Blade's plasma beam.
The fighting in the hangar began to die down, the Jiralhanae must have realised that they were throwing soldiers into a losing battle. Raku slid off of the wraith and landed in a pool of blood. A Sangheili ranger lay dead against the back of the tank, his harness ripped apart by the Jiralhanae's projectile weaponry. More dead Sangheili were scattered across the hangar, ones that Raku didn't even see go down while he was focused on the fighting.

Despite all the operations Raku had taken part in, he wasn't usually involved in battles of larger scale. He'd seen hundreds of Sangheili die over the course of his life, but he hadn't seen nearly as many die before than he had in just these past few weeks.

It was never easy to see.

Raku turned away from the dead, and found 'Rylan as the warriors gathered at the hangar doors. The former shipmaster's helmet was as expressionless as ever, but Raku could see an excitement in the way he moved. Even with all the destruction happening around them, he was happy to be getting his ship back. Jors 'Cinat joined them as well now that the hangar was clear, leaving Endo and Zimling to guard the Blade of Ages.

"The transport tubes are offline," 'Rylan said. "Executive command from the control room, no Huragok will be able to override it."

"So we're taking the long way then," Raku said.

"Yes, we should be able to navigate through the maintenance corridors. I'll lead the way."

"Everyone behind 'Rylan!" Raku ordered.

'Rylan gestured for 'Nasamai to cut open a door, which led into the maintenance corridors. They were big enough to fit Sangheili through, but they hadn't been built to accommodate more than a few. Moving through would be a slog.

Raku was first behind 'Rylan. All the other Sangheili crowded through the corridor while 'Nasamai and 'Cinat brought up the rear. The gravity lift intended to lead to the next deck was offline, meaning they would have to take the ladders up and spend even more time in the ducts.

"Easy to Drift has managed to hack into the Crusader's comms," 'Cinat said over the fleet's channel, causing everyone to slow down as they made it to the next level. The group of Sangheili was so spread out that Raku could only hear him over the comms channel. "You all need to hear this."

"The main hangar is off limits. Depressurize all non-essential sectors and funnel our boarders into the preserve. They'll be slaughtered there."

The voice was one that Raku was all-too familiar with, one he wished he'd never heard again.

"That is a Sangheili speaking, isn't it?" 'Cinat asked.

"Yes," Raku confirmed. "And this isn't some kind of trick or trap, I know who that is."

"What Sangheili would still be serving the Prophets after what they did?" 'Rylan asked. "Who is it that is out of their mind?"

"His name is Nos 'Attrumai," Raku said. "He's the one the Prophets ordered to steal your ship."

"Who is he?"

Raku became hesitant to answer. There hadn't been definitive proof, but Raku had known enough to know that 'Attrumai was involved in the Prophets' betrayal, and Sen's death. Hearing now that he was commanding a Jiralhanae ship was enough to tell him that everything had been true, that everything Nos had done for him was a lie.

"A dead man is who he is," Raku growled.

Raku felt the aching of his muscles and the pain in his body fade as his anger rose. It fueled him more than anything had before. Now this mission was personal.