AN: This story is primarily posted on AO3 (under the same name), due to the superior interface and content options. I wanted to share it here too for anyone who doesn't use AO3. But be aware - this version is incomplete. For example, I have made one illustration for the story so far, which I can't post here. Some formatting, summaries, and notes may be missing as well. As always, my stories do not contain NSFW content.

Captain's log

Captain J. O'Brian, UNSC science vessel Fremont

June 17, 2562

The Fremont is en route to a planet called Caladas VII, on the far side of the Orion arm. It's on the fringes of Covenant space, far from any human world.

Almost 20 years ago, a Covenant survey flagged this planet as a possible human colony. A Kig-Yar explorer claimed she detected human life signs there. The report was dismissed without followup for multiple reasons:

- Caladas VII was far from any known Human colony, and outside the known range of UNSC slipspace drives.

- The resources to investigate were required for the war effort.

- The surface gravity on Caladas VII is 2.5G. Higher than the Jiralhanae homeworld, Doisac. No human should be able to live there for long.

The UNSC became aware of this report just 2 months ago, when it was forwarded to us by the Swords of Sanghelios. For some reason, the powers that be have decided it's worth investigating. They've dispatched us to see what we can find.

We're accompanied by a SoS corvette, the Unyielding Conviction, commanded by Usze 'Taham. 'Taham is one of the Arbiter's top liaisons to the UNSC, and has experience with missions like this.

Other than the report of human life signs, it's a routine survey mission. If we find no humans on Caladas VII, we are to do a standard survey of the system, search for Forerunner artifacts, and report back. If we do find humans there… I won't say "discovery of the century," considering all that has happened in the last few decades. But it will certainly re-write the history of human space exploration.

June 21, 2562

1150 UTC

Captain O'Brian

I stepped onto the Fremont's bridge. Today was the day. After 43 days in slipspace, we were due to arrive at the mysterious planet the Covenant had labeled Caladas VII.

"Captain on deck!" barked Lt. Ferreira, my XO. I returned her salute. "At ease, everyone." Although we were a military ship, I didn't see the need for strict protocol, especially when we weren't on a military mission. My crew was professional, they didn't need constant reminders of rank and duty.

"Anything to report?" I asked the room.

"We're due to exit slipspace in 2 minutes," said Ferreira. "Taham and his crew report all green on their end. Our exit vectors are synced." I nodded with a smile. "Very good Lieutenant." Turning back to address the whole bridge crew, I said. "Alright people, it's been a long ride. You all know the mission, we're in unknown territory. We're not expecting any trouble, but stay on your toes." I took my seat in the captain's chair.

"Slipspace transition in 1 minute, Captain," said the nav officer. I nodded.

The transition back to realspace was perfectly smooth. The Fremont and the Unyielding Conviction soared together into orbit over a large, rocky planet. It didn't look particularly hospitable. It resembled photos of Mars in the early stages of terraforming - large rusty deserts broken up by small patches of green and even smaller bodies of water.

"Terrestrial planet, 24,500km in diameter, surface gravity 2.5G," reported the science officer. "Atmosphere is human breathable, oxygen and CO2 levels slightly higher than standard. Very strong magnetic field. One moon, approximately 6,000km in diameter, with a trace atmosphere."

"Any technosignatures or human life signs?" I asked. The science officer shook his head. "Nothing yet, sir. There are strong local magnetic fields, the interference is hard to penetrate."

I looked out at the desert world below us. I wracked my brain, trying to imagine how humans could live here. If they had found a Forerunner outpost, they could be using gravity reduction or even Forerunner armor…. But that would almost certainly have attracted the Covenant's attention. The original report made no mention of Forerunner technology.

"Comms," I said, "Hail the Unyielding Conviction." A Sanghelli face appeared on the main screen after a moment.

"Shipmaster 'Taham," I said in greeting. "Have you detected anything yet?"

"I was just about to call you, Captain," he said. "We have found no human life or technology so far. But there appear to be many Lekgolo on the planet." This surprised me. "Really?" The shipmaster wasn't surprised. "Yes, it is not unusual. They are hardy creatures, and they are found on hundreds of worlds. They could have been placed here thousands of years ago, and the records have been lost."

I nodded. Well, there was another point against finding any humans here. The hive-minded worms didn't tend to get along with us - or us with them.

"How well are your sensors able to penetrate the magnetic field?" I asked the Shipmaster. "They struggle," he admitted. "We have to use focused scans on certain areas, it is a slow process." I nodded. "Same for us. We should coordinate our scans so we don't waste time covering the same areas." "That is a good idea," he said, "I am a warrior, not a scientist, so I will let my crew handle that. We will inform you if we find anything else." "Thank you Shipmaster," I replied, "we'll do the same." He nodded and closed the connection.

I told the science officer to coordinate with his Sanghelli counterpart - but he had already begun. I sat back in my chair, thinking as I waited for news.

Long minutes went by.

"Sir, I've got something!" the science officer exclaimed. "Yes Ensign?" I asked. "It's a large metallic object, partial match for a Phoenix-class colony ship!" I stood up. "Let's see it."

He mirrored his station to the main screen, showing the raw sensor data and a visible image. The sensor return was from something partially buried at the bottom of a large canyon. We had spotted it at just the right moment - it was only visible at a narrow angle. If we had scanned that area just a few minutes earlier or later, we would have missed it. That's probably why 'Taham's crew didn't spot it - their ship was a couple hundred kilometers away from us.

"Run the recognition algorithm again," I told the Ensign. "Already done sir, results should be up in a moment." And they were. 57.98% match to the profile of a first generation Phoenix-class, based on shape and composition.