Chapter 3 - Intelligentia
(7th Cycle, 49 Units – Covenant Battle Calendar)
Aratus Sulfi System, Near newly discovered human world
Aboard CCS Battlecruiser Diligent Atonement
:********:
Dressed in his golden combat harness, Fleetmaster Ruca Voramee strode with dignified authority across the bridge of the Diligent Atonement. He marched up the ramp onto the circular Command Platform just as the ship eased out of slipspace.
The planet that revealed itself to him on the central screen immediately gained his attention. He eyed its blue and gray atmosphere, observed its vast oceans, examined its continents, islands and poles and imagined them all aglow with flames. It was a glorious daydream, one he would soon make reality with a single order, a single word.
"Urzai?" Ruca asked, his eyes focused on the screen. "Where is it?"
To the left of the command platform, the Diligent Atonement's Communications Officer, Urzai Utaralee listened to reports from other ships and typed away with furious intensity at the celestial coordinates passing through his station.
"It appears to have crashed on one of the two moons of this world near the equatorial latitudes."
The screen before the Fleetmaster changed to show another planetoid with visible vegetation on the surface. The image zoomed in to a scarred forest. He traced the scar to its end. There, the Heart of Sacrifice lay like a fallen warrior cast far from home.
"What has that foolish shipmaster done?" Ruca hissed under his breath.
Urzai cut in. "The distress signal is still active. However, they have yet to answer our hails."
"Nor will they." Ruca said. "How can the dead speak from beyond the grave? Send the Purity of Purpose to investigate that moon and the derelict ship. I want to know what possessed them to leave the battle without my permission. As for the rest of the Subfleet, our business…" He watched the screen change back to the human world. "Is here."
"Shall I prepare?" It was the Atonement's Weapons Officer, Zora 'Tou Serulee. The Sangheili looked up at the Fleetmaster from his Weapon's station to the right of the command platform. There was a discernable degree of anticipation in his demeanor.
Ruca was pleased by his humble readiness for such sacred work. Both he and his crew had waited days while searching for traces of the Heart of Sacrifice's slipspace wake not long after it fled from the battle. He hadn't expected to suddenly receive the missing vessel's distress signal only earlier today, yet alone to follow it and find a completely new world. More importantly, a human world. There was at least that much to be thankful for. A single one of his ships for another of their planets was a fair trade. His only concern was how many of his ships he might have to sacrifice to find more of them.
"Drain 60% of our available plasma from the capacitors to both fore and mid-ship energy projectors. Send this order to the rest of the Subfleet and have them advance towards the target alongside the Atonement."
Zora's upper and lower mandibles eagerly clicked together in a biting motion. "Understood, Fleetmaster." He turned to his console and began typing in the necessary firing solutions that he would send to the other nine ships. Though he couldn't see his face, Ruca knew that the Weapon's Officer was probably grinning with satisfaction. He often became so excitable when an occasion came for him to demonstrate his specialties.
"Urzai. Send a message to the Supreme Commander. Inform him of our discovery."
"Yes, Fleetmaster." Urzai replied. "Be advised, the Purity of Purpose has detected a single human ship in system…it just entered slipspace. Their wake will be gone in five units. The shipmaster is requesting permission to pursue."
Ruca thought on it, then decided. "No. They're only retreating. Tell the Purity to stay on its course towards that moon." The image of the Sacrifice flashed through his mind. He said under his breath. "I've been separated from and lost enough of my ships already. Just one of their worlds will suffice for now. There will undoubtedly be more for us to burn later."
From his console in front of the Command Platform, the ship's Navigational Officer, Fal Cassumee examined his display and the image of the planet, rubbing a finger across his mandibles in thought. "Where shall we begin, Fleetmaster? There are so many places to choose from."
"We will start on the northernmost continent then work our way across the northwest hemisphere and past the equator. The rest of the fleet will help us once they arrive. As for the Atonement, we'll begin with the Northern Pole."
"Understood, Fleetmaster." Fal said and swiftly began sending out the necessary attack coordinates to the rest of the Subfleet. He was a prodigious helmsman, the proverbial rudder of the ship, and he piloted the Atonement towards the surface of the world.
As they passed through the atmosphere the bridge crew continued to work at their individual stations. Ruca Voramee was left to watch the screen which showed his own ship along with the near dozen under his command heading through the northern atmosphere.
In short time the Atonement came to settle over an expansive icescape.
"Capacitors are drained to 40%. Fore and Midship Energy Projectors are fully charged. Gravitic Impellors and Magnetic Lensings are primed." Zora turned to his commanding officer. "On your command, Fleetmaster."
Ruca nodded and eyed the icescape one last time, looking over its barren lands for a moment. "Commence purification."
Zora did as he was ordered. The ship's two energy projectors fired, unleashing high intensity plasma beams whose red color illuminated the air, searing the landscape below as the sky around them changed to an angry-crimson hue.
Ruca watched the destruction. Then something crossed his mind, a thought. He quickly rejected it, cut it down at the knees and strangled it into submission. It was one that should never be found in Sangheili. Its fears and doubts had already tormented him for so long that he knew how to circumvent and squelch it before it got out of hand, before it asked the question that he could never answer. He refuted it with faith as often as he would like. Still, it always briefly resurfaced at times like these, making him imagine his homeworld in the place of the one he was actively burning.
That thought, he swore, would never come to fruition. Though the question remained, his faith proved stronger, at least for the moment, allowing him to focus on the glassing of the newest addition to a long list of human worlds reduced to cinders.
:********:
Garrison made his way through the halls of B-deck on the Spear of Odysseus, intent on reaching its debriefing room. At current the ship was headed on a random slipspace trajectory, not immediately inbound to any human colonies as per the requirements of Subsection 4, Article 1 of the Cole Protocol. Thankfully it was only that subsection and not the rest of the exhaustive list of precautions meant to keep the Covenant from finding humanity's most prized possession.
They had at minimum another month before they would arrive back at Reach. But he didn't care for waiting so long for a debrief. He wanted answers because as far as he could tell, the entire operation had been a colossal failure. The Covenant had ultimately followed the SOS to the Aratus Sulfi System and undoubtedly found the downed cruiser. They were forced to abandon their charge as a result. Right now, he needed to know what had been accomplished that was worth the blood of Bravo Company ODSTs left spilt on Osiris-7.
He found the room only after asking around for the better part of an hour. The set of double-doors were sealed shut. He tried the handle but it was locked. He noticed a retinal scanner and stepped over to it. A hazy cone of holographic light examined his retinas.
A moment later the doors opened. Lieutenant Commander Cordova peeked out. She looked surprised to see him. "Lieutenant Colonel Garrison, I wasn't expecting you, sir."
"I need to speak with you." Garrison said plainly, discarding formalities altogether.
"I-, I'm…sorry but I'm in the middle of a debriefing."
"And I'm about to be in the middle of one as well."
Cordova could probably tell from the underlying sharpness in his tone that he meant business.
"Is it in regard to the operation, sir?"
"Bullseye."
The ONI agent looked around and thought over her options. Garrison didn't give her many. He had positioned himself so that he was practically inside the doorway already.
She relented. "Please come in then, sir. There's much to discuss."
"I hope so." Garrison said. She let him step inside.
The debriefing room was a rectangular space with a similarly shaped table. Its brown sheen reflected the overhead lights in such a way that he could tell it was made of hickory wood. Its earthy scent filled the room.
"I lost twelve of my guys down there." Garrison said, turning to Cordova. "And I've got twice that many being treated in the Med Bay on C deck. We didn't leave with that cruiser or any Covenant tech from what I saw. So, tell me, what did my troopers die back there for exactly?"
Cordova nodded and pointed to one of the seats. He reluctantly pulled it out and sat down opposite her. "I'll tell you what I've been given clearance to."
Garrison gestured with open hands towards her and rest them on his lap, expecting answers.
"Mr. Green, would you kindly?"
"Certainly, dearie." A disembodied voice said. The overhead lights darkened. A section in the middle of the table opened up, revealing a UNSC-issue holotank. It turned on, emitting Mr. Green's image. To say it was confusing for Garrison to see a 4th Generation Smart AI moving about the table like a paralytic in a wheelchair was a serious understatement. It was like a sick joke, or perhaps a carefully thought-out oxymoron that a construct with near god-like omnipresence was limited to a wheelchair. It was like looking at the interpretation of the paradox of a Christ-like being, fully human and fully God simultaneously.
Mr. Green bowed and introduced himself then opened his hand. An image appeared in the form of a holographic CCS Battlecruiser, the very same one they had just discovered and subsequently abandoned.
"The cruiser that we left behind a short while ago was called the Heart of Sacrifice. It was part of a fleet that discovered the colony of Estuary earlier this year."
The image enlarged to show dozens of similar ships arriving out of slipspace near the simulated planet. They moved to engage the UNSC vessels defending it.
Green's tone turned somber. "Long story short, we lost."
The image fast forwarded. Garrison saw time after time where UNSC ships were destroyed by plasma torpedoes while their Covenant equivalents suffered far less casualties to MAC rounds. Once the action in space was over, the Covenant fleet descended upon the human world. They moved like sharks prowling through water, knowing their prey below were unable to escape. Garrison couldn't help narrowing his eyes as their energy projectors fired, bathing the surface below with columns of superheated plasma. It was never easy to watch a glassing, even a recording of one. That was one aspect of this war that even years of fighting in it could never desensitize him enough to ignore, and it likely never would. Millions lost in a moment. Ash where there were once persons, whole families who were guilty only of the mortal sin that was their very existence. Nothing more.
Garrison's hands slowly clenched into fists. "Is there anything else?"
"Yes." Green said. "I showed you the glassing of Estuary in order to drive my point home."
He took his glasses off and wiped them with a handkerchief. "You see, the Covenant have had the advantage over us from the very beginning. On the ground, we stand a chance. But in space…" He shook his head and put his glasses back on, fixing them on the bridge of his nose as he stared at the recording. "Their technology is far superior to our own. They are centuries ahead of our own developments, if not entire millennia. We needed to gather information on them, to learn how their ships functioned, how their plasma weapons and shielding worked and how they can travel through slipspace in a fraction of the time it takes the average UNSC frigate. The Office of Naval Intelligence gathered data through years of diligent work. Then, four years ago they created what was the culmination of their research."
Garrison folded his arms across his chest. "And what might that be if you don't mind me asking?"
A humble smile rose on Green's face. "Me."
Garrison's brow furrowed. He glanced at Cordova who leaned in to explain. "The Office compiled data from encounters with Covenant tech inclusive of stolen vehicles and hardware, even from operations undertaken by certain elements within the Navy's special forces branches. We created Mr. Green as the first of his kind: An Offensive Software-based AI. He's programed with the information and incursion suites capable of not only engaging with and taking over human technology, but also Covenant."
"A Hybrid?" Garrison commented. "You made a hybrid Human-Covenant AI using tech from both sides?"
"Along those lines, yes, although it's a major oversimplification. He's the brainchild of nearly two decades of desperation and intelligence gathering operations."
"I am no child." Green protested. "I'm four years old I'll have you know. That's roughly middle age in comparison to flesh and blood people."
"Why were you on that ship?" Garrison asked, cutting through the humor and getting straight to the point.
Mr. Green seemed to taste his next thoughts in his mouth, pondering whether it was okay to explain what he had on his mind or not. He turned to Cordova who gave him a confirmatory nod.
"A mission." Mr. Green said. "After multiple simulation-runs of my capabilities, I was sent to Estuary. My purpose was to be captured by the Covenant and brought onto one of their ships to be inspected and searched for any useful information."
Garrison cocked his head. "Are you saying you knew Estuary was going to fall well in advance?"
"It was more like a farsighted prediction than set-in-stone revelation."
"A pretty accurate one at that." Garrison muttered. "Go on."
"Once I was brought onboard, I would attempt to convince the Huragok, the Covenant's engineering caste who would undoubtedly be used to hack me, to instead help connect me to the ship. While they're rarely seen by frontline personnel, we were able to learn about these creatures through secret observations. They have an all-consuming proclivity towards fixing and investigating machines. I used this against them by convincing a few that I had friendly intentions and that if they connected me to the ship, then I would betray my masters and freely grant them access to all the information I knew. They believed my friendly intentions. In truth, I had none."
The image of Estuary's glassing zoomed in to focus on the Heart of Sacrifice as it turned away and headed towards open space. "Once I was connected, I cut off oxygen throughout the ship to kill the crew. Then I took control and jumped to slipspace. The original plan was for me to check the cruiser for any tracking devices in abidance with Subsection 7, Article 1 of the Cole Protocol before taking it wholesale into UNSC space. From there I would send out a specially encrypted signal to Reach warning them I was coming. But…as Moltke taught us…no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy."
The image in his hand changed, showing the Heart of Sacrifice emerging from an abruptly ended slipspace jump. "A Team of Spec Ops Elites who survived managed to manually disconnect me from the slipspace drive. As a result, the Sacrifice hurdled out into real space. I saw it coming beforehand, however, and corrected our course so that I could reach some destination. I figured anything was better than floating aimlessly through interstellar space. I chose New Bara since it was the closest and was also an abandoned system."
The Heart of Sacrifice shuddered as its shields dissipated. It hurdled into the atmosphere of Osiris-7 while explosive decompressions rocked the hull. "To put it plainly, there's a reason why ships don't just fall out of slipspace. Avionic integrity is one of them."
The Sacrifice crashed onto the surface. "It was a hard landing but I made it work. The crew mostly got out then I sealed the doors shut behind them. They squatted outside the whole time. Meanwhile, I learned what I could from interfacing with the Sacrifice' systems. When I thought I'd figured it out, I set off the ship's SOS signal but purposefully in a way that targeted the Epsilon Eridani system and several others."
Mr. Green smiled up at them. "Then, about two months after the crash, the ship we're currently aboard arrived in system. You already know the rest of the story."
Garrison nodded. "So, what exactly did you learn? I know you're ONI so you can't divulge everything, but I'd like to know what I can tell my boys and girls to let them feel that this whole trip was worth it."
"We gained necessary information on how to fly a Covenant ship." Green said. "Before this, we never knew. Even my own piloting of the Sacrifice at first was mostly the result of the situational guesswork involved in my programming. Whenever we had other Covenant ships cornered, they would either fight to the death or self-destruct or commence the latter to achieve the former. Now we know exactly how their systems operate and how to infiltrate them as well as some of their design weaknesses. That opens up a whole new avenue of opportunities for us to turn the tides of this war in humanity's favor. Tell that to your troopers, Lieutenant Colonel. I only hope it can somewhat suffice for those you've lost on my account."
Garrison stared Mr. Green in the eyes for a few seconds before closing his own. He took in a slow breath then breathed out. "Alright. That's something, I guess. The more you know the better, am I right?"
Green nodded in agreement.
"Will that be all, sir?" Cordova asked.
"Yeah, that's good enough for me." Garrison got up, looked at Green one last time and asked. "Of all the people you could've chosen for an avatar, why Roosevelt?"
Mr. Green pursed his lips in thought. "Because despite all his flaws, both physically and personally, he was a man who was able to pull a nation together to fight against a tyrannical enemy seeking the annihilation of others. I'd hoped that that sentiment would still prove pertinent even today."
Garrison hadn't been expecting the deep dive on the AI's philosophical side. But he didn't mind it either. In truth, with his new understanding, he found Green's appearance of a friendly old man in a wheelchair almost endearing.
"I see." He replied. "Thank you, both of you." Garrison nodded to them both then walked out, closing the door behind him.
:********:
The moment the Lieutenant Colonel was gone and the doors sealed shut, Cordova breathed out a sigh of relief. "I hope we haven't divulged too much."
Mr. Green turned to her with sympathy in his eyes. "You cared to give the man peace of mind regarding the sacrifices of his troops. That's a good thing." His brow furrowed as he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. "If only we could have that same peace. But we know too much while we told him just enough. The only downside to learning is that you can never unlearn the less savory side of knowledge."
"You're referring to our debriefing before he arrived?" Cordova asked.
Green nodded. "I'm still…concerned…and reasonably so, about what I found while I had access to the Covenant BattleNet, even if it was only briefly."
"We'll have to work on that once we get back to Reach."
"But my findings won't wait until we get back." The AI pointed out. "What I found lurking in the 51 Pegasi System poses a serious and pressing threat to the UNSC and humanity in its totality. To express myself more clearly, if I could be in front of HIGHCOM's Security Committee right now with the information I have, even at the cost of my remaining lifespan, I would take it without either question or hesitation."
Cordova ran her hands through her hair in an attempt to quell her own frustrations. "I understand that. However, there is no such means of teleportation available so you'll have to settle with our current speed. I'm not downplaying the magnitude of what you've found. You've done groundbreaking work. We just need to concern ourselves with practicality here."
"Really?" Green huffed. "And what's so practical about sending several platoons of Marines to their deaths in an effort to convince the Covenant that you're worth something?"
"We had to." Cordova said. "It was necessary."
"Tell that to Major Bentham and his boys. Oh wait, you can't. We knew it would be a one in a million chance that their deaths would be made worth the loss. The only redeeming thing about this is that we actually got some useful info out of it for Red Flag."
Cordova winced. "Security Code-131-"
"I know already." Green cut in, holding up his hands defensively. "I'm not allowed to divulge that information without the necessary clearance to do so. You don't have to shut off my memory pathways for me to get the point."
Cordova relaxed a little. "Be careful. We don't need any information leaks. We don't even want to risk something that high on the food-chain being divulged in a space like this."
Green scowled. "What, do I have to travel all the way to Sydney just to get this off my chest? I'll say this much, at the rate of things, I doubt CINCONI will be willing to commence the operation until the situation grows more dire. I personally believe it should be done while there are still inner colonies left. This entire mission was to setup the groundwork for the operation after all."
"That decision ultimately lies in HIGHCOM's hands Green, you know that."
"Yes." Green groaned. "Although I'm certain that Agent Tarkovsky would be able to plead my case in a way that would galvanize them into action."
He noticed Cordova shift uncomfortably at the mention of the name. "I'd rather someone like him not get involved in this."
"Why don't you say that to his face the next time you see him?" Green suggested, knowing he was hitting a nerve. She gave him a long glare that made him move on from the subject.
"At the end of the day, my only wish is that I would live long enough to see my work be of use. But I guess whatever future AI inherits my piloting suite will have to get the job done in my stead. On a different note, what about operations we do have the clearance to discuss like Red Sahara?"
Cordova thought it over. "The Covenant that came in system are likely glassing New Bara by now, so I'd say it's a success."
Green ran over the details in his heavily filed mind. Neither Cordova nor himself were willing to explain to Garrison that, shortly after their arrival, he had purposefully sent out the Sacrifice's rescue signal into hostile space in order to lead the Covenant to the system.
Operation RED SAHARA was a highly classified ONI operation. Its purpose; to drip-feed the Covenant the locations of abandoned colony worlds primarily in the outer colonies. They allowed them to capture nav-data mostly wiped except for the location of the specifically abandoned world.
The operation had been approved by the higherups of ONI for Section II in 2537 as a means of taking advantage of the Covenant's zealous nature. Knowing that they would burn any planet with a human presence or even a former human presence, they had been making the aliens waste time and resources for the last seven years. In doing so they were also saving resources for the UNSC to defend inhabited worlds.
New Bara was the most recent addition of worlds fed to the Covenant.
"It's less a success and more a delaying of failure." Green said. "Its all defensive, to buy time. But we have to go on the offensive eventually." He leaned towards Cordova. "Red Flag must be enacted soon, or not at all, for the sake of what we've lost to get this far and what we stand to lose further on."
"Would you like me to send your recommendations directly to CINCONI?" Cordova asked, raising a sarcastic brow at him.
Green smirked up at her. "Nice try, I'm not going to be called rampant and get terminated before my time. Good thing I saw through your threat."
"It's not a threat." Cordova assured. "Only a possibility of an opportunity."
"No, not a possibility of opportunity." Green said. He generated his martini cocktail and slowly drank down its liquid contents. When he was done, he looked at the empty glass and sighed. "It's more like an inevitability of desperation."
Intelligentia - Intelligence