GRRRRRR gonna have to fix the editing, it got screwed when I saved.

p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"Chapter Two: Shipmaster Kesh 'Vadam/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"Kesh did not like being aboard human vessels. They were too cold, and inevitably smelled like humans. Human shipbuilders did not know, or at least did not share, the Sangheili appreciation of scent diffusers and humidifiers on ships. Nalo had never been on a human ship before, at least as far as Kesh knew, and Fusho had perhaps been on too many. Promoted out of the line of obedientiaries into the evocati for his invaluable expertise in boarding actions, he had personally carved his way through multiple human vessels. Kesh prayed that he could keep his mandibles shut until they were back on the Spirit./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"He turned to Bipzam, "I am already familiar with this pattern of ship and it's capabilities, how many warriors and shuttlecraft are embarked aboard it?" Bipzam quickly relayed his message to the human shipmaster, Mifune, who just as quickly replied. emHe's been expecting this question, he isn't a lackey promoted out of his ability, or at least hasn't shown himself to be one yet. Very polite./em/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""emVicksburg/em has 120 marines and four pelican dropships. Major Litvak," he said pointing to the human female, "is their obedientiary, they can deploy 40 of them at once." Fusho squirmed in his seat. He was a traditionalist, even though the Swords -by necessity- accepted females into their ranks, there was still strong opposition from senior members that they be made obedientiaries. "Calm yourself," Kesh said quietly to Fusho./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"Mifune then asked a question to Bipzam, who translated "Captain Mifune has never encountered this pattern of ship before and asks what it's capabilities are." At this, 'Vadam was surprised. emThe /emEsterem-pattern is not a rare type, he must be a very junior shipmaster. Worrying./em "emSword of Unity/em is armed with one plasma lance, two beam emitters, a battery of plasma cannons and a pulse laser array." He said to Bipzam, who obviously knew this but still wanted to carry the spirit of the shipmaster's message to Mifune./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"Bipzam had been a coup for Kesh to find. She had been a serf of 'Vadam keep but had chosen to stay after the Arbiter had abolished serfdom on his return to Sanghelios. Like most Unggoy, she had a gift for languages and the anatomy to speak them, and when the Arbiter had given Kesh command of the emUnity/em, she had volunteered to serve as his translator in exchange for transport to Balaho at the end of the cruise./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"She wasn't the only Unggoy aboard, Unity had about 30 Unggoy thralls- emnot thralls, workers /em-aboard, not enough to make the ship fully functional, but enough. But her spirit and presence among the bridge crew was very welcome, and she and Kesh had become friends./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""As for warriors," continued Kesh, "we have 50 obedientiaries and 100 warriors, which we can deploy with four emR'shwupa/em-pattern strikers, four emRu'swum/em-pattern transports, and two emR'sisho/em-pattern breachers. We also carry two talons each of five emElsedda/em-pattern strike fighters."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"Bipzam paused for a while, struggling to remember what the human words for all this technical equipment were. She had to ask some questions of the human officers for the correct terminology, but eventually made her point across. Mifune leaned back in his chair, uneasy but not upset, then spoke to Bipzam, who paused briefly to find the best way to phrase the human captain's message./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""Captain Mifune recognizes that you will be the senior partner in this operation and asks how he and emVicksburg/em may be of the greatest utility." Kesh felt surprised. emHe would cede the position of senior shipmaster so quickly?/em This was a trait of humanity that he admired, if he didn't fully understand. An innate knowledge of how and when to give up one position to take another, he had seen it on the ground as a warrior just as much as a superior on a ship. Fusho kept quiet and unmoving, but Kesh knew he would respect the move. 'Kazar looked confused./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"Nalo 'Kazar was part of emUnity/em's crew already when Kesh had arrived, serving as the master of the superiors. He was absurdly young for this position, and Kesh was profoundly worried that 'Kazar had been promoted beyond his ability. Thankfully, emUnity/em only had a few dozen superiors aboard, so the stakes of any failure would be minor, if it ever came./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"emAn untested youth, a nihilist veteran, and a 'Vadam, our delegation is the perfect microcosm of the Swords of Sanghelios./em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""I accept your offer in the spirit in which it was given," Kesh said to Bipzam, who readily relayed it to the human captain, "if possible, we would like to second Bipzam to your ship," he said, gesturing at the Unggoy, "as a full-time translator and liaison. Bipzam?" he addressed her directly, "would you be able to do this." Bipzam nodded, a human gesture she adored "Yes! We'll have to have a methane pod transferred across to live in, but I can do it, and find a replacement translator for emUnity/em too." Her enthusiasm lightened Kesh's heart, and he gestured to her to tell the humans./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"Mifune smiled politely, Litvak frowned, and Heinemann beamed in delight. Mifune spoke to Bipzam, who turned to Kesh and said that they would be very happy to provide her quarters. "And Captain Mifune thinks it best to contact the Gedgow government now to receive our orders." Kesh agreed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""To make a full disclosure," Kesh told Mifune through Bipzam, "the emUnity/em's mission here is twofold. Primarily we seek to deter slave ships alongside our honorable allies, but there are some hundred Sangheili that were trapped on Balaho when the Great Schism started. We are also here to negotiate their safe transit to Sanghelios, and then deliver them home."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"Mifune sighed deeply. emWe should've told the humans about this before they arrived, but the human inability to communicate in slipspace will prove difficult./em Bipzam relayed a message from the concerned captain, "will you be gone for long?" Kesh replied in the negative, and Mifune looked relieved to hear it, "ten human days at the longest."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"The human ship's ancilla, a strange green man, appeared between the human and Sangheili delegations, spoke to Captain Mifune, and then vanished, leaving Mifune with an alert, serious expression, he spoke curtly to Bipzam, and then turned and left. A Kig-Yar raider had been spotted./p