A bit heavy on dialogue and exposition and light on action for this chapter. Things aren't going great for the Covenant, so naturally the UNSC is going to want to take advantage of it any way they can. Even if the Covenant has a bit of a hiccup it doesn't change that the UNSC has been getting the crap beaten out of it for the last 25 years.
Thank you again to everyone who's read, followed, and reviewed.
Standard copyright disclaimer: I do not own Halo or any associated media, characters, or settings which are properties of 343 or Bungie. This is a work of fanfiction written purely for entertainment and not for monetary gain.
1400, 6 September 2550
System P-86307-C2
Everyone on the bridge of the Pillar of Autumn sat silently, as they waited for a response from the unknown vessel. The ship's AI, Yuri, had confirmed he gained access to the other ship's systems short after Captain Mikulin ordered him to send the code, but there had been no activity from the other vessel for several minutes.
Finally, as everyone on the Pillar of Autumn was starting to get antsy, the response arrived. Yuri need only microseconds to decode the response from the sangheili language, and quickly displayed the response in his holographic representation.
"This appears to be a match to the response you specified, can you confirm?" Yuri asked 'Vadam, who nodded.
"It does appear to be correct. That is the response code I provided 'Vadumee."
"How do you know it wasn't tortured out of him?" Shim Vol, standing off to the side, asked.
"He would die before giving up information under interrogation!" 'Vadam angrily snapped back.
"So says everyone. Shim's got a point." Chac Lon added in. "We should be careful. Captain, were you briefed on how they handled me and my crew back when I showed up on the one colony?"
"I was." Captain Mikulin said. "Those protocols will be a useful starting point. Fortunately we are somewhat better armed than Mr. Korhonen was at that moment." Mikulin gestured to the three Spartans on the bridge, though he was also referring to the Autumn itself.
"Heh. I wonder how he's doing." Chac Lon muttered to himself.
Mikulin ignored the kig-yar's comments. "Yuri, select a suitable landing site and communicate our conditions. Let them come to us."
Almost immediately, the AI responded. "Here is a roughly 700 kilometer diameter moon of the planet we are currently orbiting. Ice-covered, no atmosphere, rough scan indicates relatively smooth topography. Should I send it, captain?"
"Yes, do it." Mikulin turned to the rest of the crew. "One-one-seven, you have command of the ground element. Organize an away team – multi-species. Elites and kig-yar will be there in case of negotiations, but top priority is ensuring the safety of you and UNSC assets."
"Understood." The Spartan nodded, before turning and conferring with his two counterparts as they headed aft into the Autumn. Chac Lon nudged Shaon Tol and Shim Vol; "Sounds like we're going outside. The sangheili will probably do most of the talking, but you heard what the captain said."
Seven hours later, the Pillar of Autumn's entire complement of Pelicans headed for the meeting site. A Phantom dropship had already set down on a smooth part of the surface, while the unknown Covenant vessel sat in orbit above. Every weapon on the Autumn including its MAC gun, was armed and ready to fire at a moment's notice if there was any sign of treachery. Hopefully, there would be none.
Chac Lon and six of his kig-yar sat in the back of the last Pelican, along with a squad of ODSTs. The T'vaoan was silent, sitting in his vacuum suit with his helmet in his lap. The same battle rifle he'd used for all the battles on the ring sat by his side, but he wasn't expecting to use it. If there was any fighting the Spartans would be at the front, along with the sangheili who were expecting to do most of the talking. He knew he might get a few questions about his story and why he was with the humans, so he'd prepared himself in his head and taken a few notes on his data pad. Shaon Tol had a lot more written down, and was still furiously typing notes about the Forerunners into her pad.
She'd gotten a hundred lifetime's worth of data on the Forerunners from the ring, and still wished she'd been able to spend more time there. As for Chac Lon, well, the ring definitely had an impressive majesty to it. But the strange Forerunner constructs, and the things that nearly killed him in those tunnels, they scared him. True fear, as he had felt only a few times before. Part of him never wanted to go back. Another part of him knew he and his crew could use this ring to get rich beyond their wildest dreams.
Somehow, he felt like he would return before this war was over.
But now, he was about to land on some nameless moon orbiting a nameless planet around a nameless sun. For a meeting that might truly, finally, split the Covenant into pieces. An outcome that would give Chac Lon not just the chance to survive this war, but to win. Whatever that meant. He still wasn't sure, but he was much closer than when he first defected to the UNSC.
Chac Lon realized he'd have to find a way to get the UNSC to send him back to Eayn for a bit. This was something he'd have to talk about with the rest of his crew. All of them, not just the ones on the Autumn.
The T'vaoan was so deep in thought that he didn't realize the Pelican was about to touch down until he felt the jolt as it landed. Startled, he quickly put his suit helmet on an started checking the seals. As he did, he heard the other kig-yar, and maybe one or two of the humans laughing at him. Chac Lon smiled, and ignored it. A few seconds later, a few pressure checks, and he was ready to go. Gods willing it would be better than the last time he wore a vacuum suit. He twitched slightly.
A minute later, and the door of the Pelican lowered. The sky outside was completely dark; the moon was far enough away from the planet that it covered only a tiny bit of the sky, and most of it was in shadow. Still, the icy ground was shiny enough to wash out all but the brightest of stars. Making his way off the ramp, Chac Lon radioed in to the rest of the team; "Magpie, radio check."
"Copy Magpie, sending your assignment." A location popped up on his datapad, a few hundred meters away and about two hundred from the meeting place. He gestured for Shim Vol and Shaon Tol to follow him towards a small ridge on the ice. That's where they'd be positioned. A few steps out of the back of the Pelican, he saw the Phantom hovering nearby. It held position motionless above the ice; there was no sign of anyone below it. Chac Lon noticed that even though the Phantom was painted in official Covenant colors, it was an older model much like the ones on his ships.
It was only a short wait before the other delegation descended from the Phantom. The other group was mostly sangheili, with three kig-yar in the group. The leader seemed to be wearing grayish-white armor; Chac Lon racked his brain trying to remember what rank that denoted, but came up short. Still, if he was in charge, he was certainly a capable combatant, and his shields would be strong. Not that Chac Lon was worried; all the sangheili were unarmed, just as his crew had been when they first met the humans. Curiously, the three kig-yar were all wearing civilian spacesuits, the kind you'd normally see on a random cargo-hauler. They must be from the crew of the ship they arrived on.
The "UNSC" sangheili advanced forward to meet them, flanked by the three Spartans; 'Vadam approached the other leader and clasped his arm in greeting. Clearly, they were happy to see each other again, that much was visible from their body language even through the spacesuits. Chac Lon wasn't privy to the discussions going on between them, a private frequency had been allotted for them to talk (though the Spartans, ONI, and the AI aboard the Autumn were definitely listening in). So he was left to try and figure it out from watching them. The discussion started off quiet at first, then a few minutes in, it started to get animated. As the sangheili gestured at each other, Chac Lon saw Shim Vol adjusting her grip on her rifle and moving her finger closer to the trigger. He did the same.
Luckily, after a minute or two, they calmed down. The sangheili kept talking; soon four of them were assembled in the center of the meeting area not even an arms' length apart. The rest stood back, looking visibly tense. But Chac Lon relaxed again. It looked like they weren't going to shoot each other, and he wouldn't have to worry about trying to pick out friend or foe from different armor types. As they continued their conversation, Chac Lon saw Shaon Tol tapping her datapad. Likely she was sending them information about the ring, or the Forerunner artifact they'd found back on Tangier II that started this whole show.
Much later, the sangheili finally reached an agreement. Or at least, they seemed to, judging by their body language. Chac Lon was getting ready to leave, when his radio came on. "Magpie, Raven, you're up. Other jackals want to talk."
Those were his and Shaon Tol's callsigns. Evidently the humans did need him after all. He nudged Shim Vol and gestured toward the meeting spot. "If they kill us, kill them first."
"Will do."
Chac Lon and Shim Vol stepped out from behind cover, making their way across the surface of the icy moon. In such low gravity, their boots barely left footsteps, but the impressions were the sangheili had walked were more easily visible. The other three kig-yar stood waiting. As Chac Lon approached, his datapad lit up with the radio frequency for the discussion. Obviously the UNSC would be listening to everything they said; Chac Lon would have been shocked if they weren't. No matter. At least he could speak in his native language to make the UNSC translators work for their pay.
"Can you hear me?" Chac Lon asked, stopping about a dozen paces from the other kig-yar.
"Yes, can you hear me?" One of the other kig-yar responded.
"Yes, good. What's your name?"
"I'm Valat, shipmistress of the vessel that brought us here. And you are?"
"Chac Lon, former captain of the Phantom Chance and wanted fugitive."
"There is quite the bounty on your head." Valat laughed. "Thirty-six days ago I might have thought of collecting it."
"So I've heard. I wouldn't blame you." Chac Lon responded. He continued; "Did the four-jaws bring you here at swordpoint, or is the Covenant actually falling to pieces?"
"I had been hoping to head back to Y'Deio after this, but I don't think I can after ending up here. The humans will take my ship, will they not. But with how bad things were in High Charity... - well, does that answer your question?" Valat sighed.
"It starts. The jiralhanae and the sangheili, they fight there also?"
"The Prophets say the sangheili fired the first shot; one of them killed the Prophet of Regret, so Truth and Mercy demoted them and announced they were being replaced by the jiralhanae." That was news to Chac Lon. One of the hierarchs being murdered? Incredible, he couldn't remember anything like this happening in the history of the Covenant.
Of course, Chac Lon doubted the official story was the truth, and he suspected Valat knew that.
"I can tell you don't believe that's the entire story."
"No, I don't." She responded. "The jiralhanae were too prepared; the fighting started even before Truth and Mercy gave their speech. Maybe not prepared enough though; they were forcing the sangheili off High Charity, but they lost control of the city itself. Whole districts were completely lawless, my crew had to evade roving gangs of kig-yar and jiralhanae, and I heard that unggoy were pushing even into the tower districts. And out in the void the defense fleet was bleeding itself to death. Which is the only reason we were able to get my ship out of High Charity in the first place."
"Gods... you make it sound like the Covenant is completely ripping itself apart." Chac Lon paused. "Have you heard anything about Eayn or T'vao?"
"I'll tell you if you tell me your story, about how you ended up with these humans."
"There'll be enough time for that once we leave here." Left unsaid was that the other kig-yar and sangheili would be coming with the UNSC. Chac Lon was sure that Valat knew that, and that the UNSC wouldn't give them a choice in the matter.
"Indulge me." Valat smiled.
"If you insist. How much do you know about Forerunner relics?"
Chac Lon and Shaon Tol spent nearly a third of an hour telling the other kig-yar their story; their discovery of the relic, seeking refuge with the UNSC, and the battles they had fought in. Installation 04, what they had found on it, and its purpose was left out. That information was to be held for a later time, when it could be more useful. That, and he didn't want to get in trouble with the UNSC for revealing something they likely wanted kept quiet.
"I fulfilled my end of the deal." Chac Lon said as he finished his story. "Now do your side."
Valat sighed. "What's the last you heard? Do you know about the Covenant cutting the heads off the Big 6 and letting all the small-time pirates fight to fill the void?"
"That's last I heard, but that was hundreds of days ago."
"Hmmm. Are you asking for the humans or yourself?"
"I think my interests and the humans' might be the same here." Chac Lon restrained his annoyance; back and forth like this was a normal part of kig-yar negotiations.
"The Big 6 is down to the Big 3. You recognize any of the names Sar Kel, Korlo, or Mezeth?"
"I think I've heard the second, maybe? But no."
Valat laughed. "Neither had any of us. They're not real pirate lords, they're Covenant puppets; whatever san'shyuum bribed the three of them and their underlings to keep things under control. It only works because of the Covenant legions at their back. The Covenant's step has gotten heavier on Eayn, and many are unhappy."
Chac Lon had an idea how it was going. Those three kig-yar were propped up by the Covenant, then they paid off whoever they needed to while siphoning off as much as they could. Still, it was a disruption to the normal traditions. There weren't formal rules for who counted as one of the 'leaders' of the kig-yar, but wholesale ripping out the biggest clans and replacing them was unheard of. Let alone claiming to be independent but relying on someone bigger to do your dirty work.
"So the question of the hour; are those three with the jiralhanae or sangheili?"
"I don't know for sure, but you and I both know it's probably the jiralhanae and san'shyuum." It made sense; they would back their patron, and before this kig-yar generally had a closer kinship to the jiralhanae than the sangheili. Valat continued "I'd bet quite a bit more than nothing that you could find kig-yar in Eayn on either side."
"Eleven in twelve likely don't care either way." Chac Lon cut in.
"Right. Last I heard after the Big 6 got cut down many small time pirates and traders left for other systems, and most of the rest just want to keep their heads down and squeeze out what profit they can."
"As one does." By now Chac Lon was deep in thought. The Covenant had installed unpopular figureheads in Eayn, and with the schism hitting even High Charity their attention would be elsewhere and their fleets would be spread thin. He could definitely use this to his advantage. The real question was; how would he sell it to the humans like he was working for them? He already had an idea, but the details needed to be figured out.
For now, he had what he needed. The Covenant was weakened and stretched thin, and there was discontent on Eayn. If somebody could take advantage of that, especially someone on good terms with another powerful faction...
"Have the humans told you what they intend to do with us once we leave here?" Valat asked, breaking Chac Lon out of his thoughts. She sounded apprehensive; any kig-yar who wasn't an idiot had reason to fear how the humans would treat them based on what their kind had done as part of the Covenant.
"They'll send you to one of the outlying colonies, probably one of the same worlds we were training before coming here." Chac Lon said, thinking of Ballast. "Gods willing they won't let you park you in an open-air prison like they did my crew after we defected. They shouldn't, you won't be the first kig-yar they've dealt with, and I like to think I've cultivated a little respect."
"Or are they just desperate? The Covenant loves to sing of all the victories they've had over the humans, and they can't be completely lying?"
"Yeah, that likely has something to do with it."
"My crew isn't exactly fighters like yours are..." Valat replied. "Half of us that got off High Charity are crippled or well past old."
"As you said, the humans are desperate. They'll find some use for you. Don't worry, I won't let their ONI cut your organs out for fun."
"And what do you want from us in exchange for that? Kig-yar never do favors for random strangers."
"I'll tell you when the time comes. But think about this; once the Covenant's gone, do you want some jiralhanae or sangheili make Eayn into their own personal fiefdom again?"
1500, 21 September 2550
UNSC Camp Saranac, Ballast
The first time in cryo had not been a pleasant experience for the other kig-yar. It still wasn't pleasant for Chac Lon. (Did he dream while he was frozen? He couldn't tell, and that disturbed him a bit.) But, they were back on Ballast, at the same camp where he and his kig-yar had trained months ago. The rest of his crew that hadn't deployed on Operation Black Flag was here as well; the UNSC brought them in a few days before.
While the 'new' kig-yar and sangheili were shuffled off to the other end of the camp to be thoroughly debriefed by the UNSC (including several ONI personnel), after a bit of light questioning they were content to let Chac Lon and his crew rest for a day or two. He needed it, after the last month. Besides, it was a good chance to get his crew up to speed on everything. Not just the ongoing fracturing of the Covenant and the terrible splendor of the Ring, but his thoughts on the future of the kig-yar. Mostly he'd be resting, though.
Chac Lon, Teth, and three other kig-yar were midway through a round of dice when someone knocked at the door to their barracks. Chac Lon scribbled down his score for the round, then got up to answer the knocking, which was getting more insistent.
At the door was a dour-looking sergeant, flanked by a pair of military police. Roughly, he shoved a piece of paper into Chac Lon's hand. "0630, tomorrow, auditorium 39. You, your archaeologist friend, and your officers." The sergeant wrinkled his nose as he inhaled the smell of the room. "And for God's sake, take a shower or whatever it is you chickens do." Before Chac Lon could say anything in respond, the sergeant and his escorted about-faced and headed back to their Warthog parked nearby.
"Well then." Chac Lon unfolded the paper, holding it so Teth could read it as well. He scanned it quickly; all day briefing, might last another day, prepare for deployment off-planet at a time to be determined. The last one caught his eye. He also noticed half a dozen signatures at the bottom of the page; he recognized Korhonen's scrawl, but not the rest of them. They were all high ranking, though. Interesting to get something like this at such short notice.
"Notice he didn't tell us exactly how many to bring." Teth said.
"I did, now that you mention it." Chac Lon muttered, still reading the paper. "You want to bring the entire crew, fill the room?"
"No, that would just make them angry. More than just two or three. How about six?" Chac Lon, Teth, Shaon Tol, and the other three former captains.
"Sounds good, handle it." Chac Lon replied, his mind already turning over possibilities.