Chapter 8 NAME "Shit Happens" Part 6

(Jason)
Well, you met them. Now, let's get started.
=I motioned for both the Council and Delta's people to move into the chamber=

=The six followed Jason and the Councilmembers into the chamber, still remaining silent=

(Jason)
=The Council took their seats at the semi-circle of a table at one end of the chamber. Thankfully, there was another table set up, with chairs, like last time, for Delta and his people. I waited until both groups were seated, and then decided to start things off=

So, we're gathered here today, to renew our diplomatic talks. Delta, would you please enlighten me and the Council with what you had in mind?

=I moved through the blast doors, BR ready. Silence. No enemies. Odd...=

"Caesar, it's clear."

=They must be planning something. Another part of the ship.=

=I followed Jamie.=

"Summer, is there any transport?"

Summer: There's a pelican in the hangar, however, it is damaged.

"Better than nothing. What do ya say Jamie?"

"Damaged Pelican? Sounds better than anything else."

=I continued to dart my eyes around the room, to make sure there weren't any slippery Covenant hiding around.=

"To the hangar it is."

=I scanned the next room quickly.=

"Clear."

=I followed along, still trying to figure out what the Covenants plan here was.=

"Hey, how's the ship holding up?"

Summer: She'll hold... for now. Perhaps we should hurr-

=She was cut off by a burst from my Rifle, which brought down an unsuspecting brute.=

"It was alone, shields down... dumb bastard. We should probably hurry."

=I began to jog, hearing the few survivors copy me.=

=I jogged after him.=

"They don't seem very organised. They're brutes, I know, but the Covenant always have some sort of plan."

=A thought dawned on me.=

"Shit," =I lowered my voice.= "Jamie, you heard what happened on Cairo, Malta and Athens stations when they invaded Earth?"

"Nope, I'm not really up to date in my Knowledge of well... Everything..."

=He had lowered his voice. Was it a covenant tactic? Bombs? Something?=

=Word began to spread of the want of Lady Creed's meeting with Dante rather quickly, but in his current state he could not have possibly gotten up and went down. His solution was to sleep it all off. A sound plan. Lynn stayed by his side while he slept, protecting him. Just before he fell back under he had asked for Lynn's hand in marriage. She paused for a second and squeezed his hand tightly. Their lips pressed together and that was the only confirmation that he needed. It is only the natural thing, they do love each other, despite Dante's complete lack of pulling through during the beginning of their reintroduction to their relationship. He stayed true to his word to stay loyal=

=He had awoken with a start after another dream of his horrors. His bones were still a bit hurt, but he had healed up quite decently. He recieved the news of the meeting and had decided to stay aboard the Whisper. Lynn and Grace had helped him into a wheelchair. The damage to his spine from the slamming against the wall had left his legs unusable for a short time. That's what Grace had told him at least. He is fashioned in his usual attire. A white t-shirt and black pants. The only difference now is the white bandages that are wrapped around his right eye and head=

=They help wheel him to the meeting room where a large projection shows Sarah waiting. He enters the room and she gasps. Complete worry in her voice=

Sarah: Dante...

=He holds up his only hand for her to not speak. The tech boys had not yet created a substitute arm and it appears as though with their current status, they wouldn't be able to any time soon=

Dante: Do not worry, Sarah. I'm fine.

"They used bombs. Only Cairo station was left, because they had 117. We need to leave. Now. Summer, Fastest route to the Hangar?"

Summer: This corridor. The others are either inaccessible or have hull breaches along them.

=She shakes her head at his lie and sighs=

Sarah: You're not. I can see that much, Dante...

=He tries to fill his voice with as much reassurance as possible, but it just comes out in his normal monotone voice=

Dante: Do not worry about me. What's up?

Sarah: I just needed to see you. It's been awhile. I had hoped you would have come down planetside, but I guess this is better.

=Lynn and Grace stand at his side, a look of concern on their faces=

Lynn: What did you want?

Sarah: You were here for the first portion of the retaking. The enemies regrouped and we went to war with Yolsen.

Grace: What does this have to do with us?

=Sarah is noticeably taken off guard by this interruption. He looks up to Grace with a look that says "shut it down"=

Dante: Please, continue.

=Delta stood and faced the Council, his mind nowhere else but here=

Del- We are here to renegotiate peace terms with the planet Haven, and, if possible, its addition to the Di-Lumnus alliance.

=There was silence in the chamber for a few seconds, then David rose from his seat=

(David)
Delta, while we are honored that you would consider asking us to join your alliance, I'm afraid that is just not possible at this point in time. The wounds we bear right now, are still too fresh for us to join you and this alliance. But peace? Peace, we are more than open to.

(Carolyn)
We are not declaring ourselves as hostile when we say this Delta. Surely you can understand why we would decline joining.

=She gives a slight pause before going on=

Sarah: The war has passed. We lost many men and found traitors amongst us.

=He nods, still following her=

Sarah: Warren had passed. Leonardo became a traitor, but knew his time would be short lived. He surrendered. I don't know if it was just luck that you had happened to come here at this time... or...

Dante: We came here for an escape. I knew that this would be a friendly area for us to regroup after most of my ships were attacked.

=She pauses again and nods=

Sarah: As you know, I am the leader of Freemont and therefore leader of Terra... When the war was finished I had become the leader of Sovereign and Yolsen... Can you guess my question to you, Dante?

=He looks to Lynn who looks to him. She nods=

Dante: We may know.

Sarah: Then, Dante... will you take a seat as the leader of Sovereign?

=It was silent again in the chamber, as the Council waited for Delta, or one of his compatriots, to respond to the statement made by David and Carolyn=

(Jason)
=I decided to step in=
Delta, I am curious to hear how we would establish peace between our two groups. Peace alone would be hard to attain, let alone forging an alliance. As my peers have said, there is still much blood between us. How would we make peace from that?

=Delta was a fairly confused by Jason's question, for to him and the other XNNOs, the answer was clear.=

Del- The same way we made truce when you and your fleet disabled the Armada's weapons when the UNSC attacked the now-destroyed Obsidian Wolf.

=He paused for a moment=

We must find mutually agreeable terms which both parties shall uphold.

=He thought again for a moment=

In our minds, the answer is very simple. All we need do is agree not to attack eachother, in part or in full. A full-scale War between the people of Haven and the XNNOs can only lead to absolute obliteration for the entirety of each side.

(Jason)
Well I'm sure we can agree to th--

(Hans)
=I felt that now was the time for me to speak. I rose, and said in a loud voice=
No!

=The Council and Jason were stunned by my outburst=
How dare we even discuss the idea of peace? I have been content, to sit by and watch as you all rebuild, and care for our people. But I will not stand idle, as we break bed with these monsters.

=Speaking now through the tiny headset I had within my shirt's collar, I spoke to my agents in my city=
My brothers!

=I pulled a device out of my pocket, a trigger to disable the Council Tower=
The time for our revolution, is now!

=i pressed the button=

=The six of them drew their weapons and loaded them, all aimed for Councilman Grimm. The XNNOs were edgy as it was about being inside of a potentially hostile world, and this set them off. Delta's voice was clearly angry=

Del- Shall I remind you, Human, that we have Six superships armed with as much weaponry as your fleet, and a great many more that could be here in a moment's notice?

=Alpha commed Aebeir to tell him something was happening, and to get the SS to the Council Chamber as fast as possible=

=Time seemed to slow down. Delta and his people had their weapons drawn and loaded within the time it took for Hans to make his little speech. Not that it mattered though. The button that Hans pressed was not to a bomb. In reality, it was to deactivate the engines for the Council Tower. One moment, the tower was suspended in Haven's inner atmosphere. The next, it plummeted straight down, and everyone in the chamber, including Jason, was soon free falling inside the room. Except Hans. While everyone was distracted in the mere seconds of him pressing the button, he had made a break for the door. When the room dropped from beneath his feet, he flew forward, momentum carrying him to the door frame, already opening in response to his presence. He managed to grab onto the frame, and pull himself out of the room=


=Meanwhile, in both the city state of Yuktobania and in orbit over Haven, Hans' people began their coup. That button did more than disable the Council Tower's engines; it also disabled the Sentinel network of the entire planet. Every Sentinel unit on Haven dropped out of the sky, disabled for an hour. Military ships, loyal to Hans, opened fire on both Jason's vessels, and Delta's vessels. They were too few in number to tangle with both groups for long, so they immediately split, and headed for the surface. While on the ground, agents within all three main bases seized transport vessels, stocked now with weapons and armor, or carrying troops, and left for the rebel ships. In the city state, security vessels descended to transport civilians, and send them to the transport ships in the dockyards. While they had never rehearsed this, they managed to perform the evacuation without flaw. Soon, within 30 minutes, the ships were already being packed with people=

=In the confusion caused in Orbit, the crewmen on the bridge of the Mahogany Star sent out a beacon for the Alliance. They were met with quick replies=

Code:

>>>Incoming Transmissions:

>Sin of Wrath; New Coveneant
Inbound. ETA 30 Minutes.

>Sethalii fleet
Inbound. ETA 30 Minutes.

>Srevaera fleet
Inbound. ETA 30 minutes.

>Xenos Armada
Inbound. ETA 10 minutes.

>>>End transmissions.

=Meanwhile, the six superships primed their weapons and aimed past the fleet, directly at Haven. The ships fell silent, most praying that they would not recieve the order that could well spark the fire that would lead to the totall extermination of two entire civilizations. The Schism Bomb.=

=He takes a moment to run through the decision in his head=

It would be a chance to create a home...

=He looks to Lynn then to Grace=

To protect my dearest friends

=He thinks of everyone aboard the ships, including Jay and Dormii=
=He nods=

Dante: Sarah, it would be an honour to take a seat as their leader.

=Sarah's face brights up considerably as she smacks her hands together with a smile. Grace and Lynn are looking down upon him and are thinking of why he would agree, but choose against saying anything. Whatever reasons he held are the reasons that are good enough=

Sarah: I will notify the people immediately.

Dante: I shall notify my own people as well. Thank you, Sarah.

(Silver Light)
=The tower was falling. The tower was falling. I had only seconds before the tower would crash into the surface of Haven, and then the Inheritor, the Council, and even the visitors, would be dead. Thankfully, I worked fast. While it may have seemed like seconds to them, it was hours for me at the rate I could process data and send commands. I restarted the engines, and they came back online slowing our descent, though the velocity we had gained was still too much. We would still come down into the mountain range below us, though I felt I could perhaps steer the tower enough so that we landed in a relatively safe area=

(Jason)
=One minute, we were all free falling in the chamber, and Hans had escaped. The next, I landed back on the floor, and Silver's voice rang in the room=

(Silver Light)
I have slowed our descent, though we are still going to land on the surface!

(Jason)
=Ignoring that, I broke into a run for the door, calling to Delta and his people=
Delta, help me stop him!

=She shakes her head with asmile larger than before=

Sarah: No, Dante. Thank you. You don't know how much easier it will be.

=With a small wave, the hologram disappears and they are left in the large room. He looks down to his lap and then back up. First to Lynn, who is wearing her own, albeit, smaller smile. He can sense that she is somewhat uneasy, but it is just in her nature. He then looks to Grace's back. She had already run out to begin to notify people of the news=

Dante: That girl has so much energy.

=Lynn giggles and takes the handles of the wheelchair and pushes him out into the hallway=

Lynn: She's excited.

Dante: Are you?

=She pauses at this question=

Lynn: I don't know. It may be for the best, that's why you accepted? Right?

=He simply nods=

Dante: Let's head to the bridge and contact the other ships.

=It is her turn to nod and they are off=

(Jason)
=No sooner did I cross the threshold of that door, than a bolt of plasma came racing down the hallway from my right, straight for my midsection. The bolt flared against the shields of my combat skin, though I still dove for cover within an alcove set in the wall. I chanced a peek to see who the shooter was; It wasn't Hans, but one of the Tower Guards, a Forerunner plasma pistol in their hand and aimed in my direction. The business end of the weapon glowed faintly from the recent shot. Behind the guard, I saw Hans running, not once looking back, another Tower Guard running with him. The sight of both guards aiding Hans filled me with a sense of rage and betrayal=

TRAITORS!!!

=The guard slowly edged backwards, pistol now firing off shots to keep me in cover=

=It takes them a fair number of minutes to get to the bridge, what with them being stopped again and again for people to express their happiness. After all of the interruptions they enter in and he gets right to work with Atlas=

Dante: Send a message across all of the ships and have their respective heads read it for the crews.

Atlas: I will.

=For the first time in a long while, he is speechless. He doesn't come up with the words quick enough, but pushes through with his speech. He's given many, but not one on this scale. He's been in charge of a small scale of people, namely, his squad. After that he was bumped up to the leader of a ship, then two, then, three. Now he stands at the foot of the final destination of his life. He is so young, but feels as though he has lived many lives. He opens his mouth and a small tear escapes from his left eye=

Dante: It has been an honour knowing you all... Fighting with you all... Going about and living... This world that is below us... this is a new start for the lot of us...

=He takes a pause, gathering himself=

Dante: We've been running for so long, thought we had it good... only for it to turn into a lie... We have strong allies here, if anyone dares to oppose us, they will be declaring war upon this world. Upon our world. Zephyre... I have been given the opportunity to lead the people of Yolsen, in which I have accepted. The future is an uncertain one, but let us make it great. Once more, I thank you all.

=He ends the message there and with a long breath, looks to Lynn=

Dante: I thank you the most.

=i was in the medbay, trying to figure out what to say to Jay. I was siting down next to her. I held her hand in mine, and watched her sleep. I listened to the announcement, and figured that might be a good way to talk to her=

Quote :

Well, looks like we have a home now. A home other than this ship. We might have actual ground beneath our feet now, if we ever leave. But, I have even better news. I may have a way of getting the UNSC off of us for good. No more running, Jay. We can finally live in peace.

=i squeezed her hand and kissed her, before sitting back down again=

Quote :

All I have to do, is help the UNSC capture some people. We know where they are, and who they are. So it'll be easy. No, no, don't worry. Nothing will happen. We help them get these people, and it's done. It's over. We don't have to worry about them chasing us any more.

=i squeeze her hand again=

Quote :

It'll be perfect. Just you see. Now, I gotta go talk with the others. I might not be back for a bit, but hang in there. I'll be back eventually, I promise.

=i gave her one final kiss on the forehead then got up and walked out. I sent a message to Atlas, to forward to Draco, asking if he could meet me somewhere for a talk on the future=

=She smiles again and bends down to kiss him. Atlas cuts their kiss short however, somewhat annoying her and him=

Atlas: Sorry sir, but Dormii would like to meet with you.

=He nods=

Dante: Yes, tell him to meet us in the meeting room.

=With that, Atlas sends the message and Lynn and he are off once more, back to where they ha come from=

=i got the message and started heading towards the meeting room. I was trying to think of how to say it, to tell people. It was something I was still trying to fully understand myself=

(TheRecruits)
=we were all training, practicing. Working on our suits abilities, having decided not to care about the state of the room's walls and ceiling=

=The trip is the same as the one to the bridge, albeit less interrupted, but it progressed the same way. Eventually they find themselves in the meeting room, he goes to the far end to await Dormii's arrival=

Lynn: What do you think it's about?

=She whispers to him=

Dante: I do not know.

(Dormii)
=i stopped at the door to the meeting room, before opening it and looking at Lynn and Draco. I closed the door behind me=

Quote :

I think we have a way to get the UNSC off of us. For good.

=Lynn doesn't waste a second answering him. Forgetting to translate for Draco, she switches to Latin=

Lynn: What is it?

=He looks up to her expectantly and she looks down surprised that she had forgotten=

Lynn: He said he may have a way to get the UNSC off of us.

=He nods, not repeating the question

=i take a deep breath=

Quote :

We help them capture the Rebel leaders. I was given their location, appearances, names, everything.

=Lynn takes a step back and raises her hands up. Pressing the tips of her fingers together. She is unsure if she should tell this to Draco or not. She sighs and reluctantly translates=

Lynn: He wants us to work for them.

=His left eye grows wide at this news. The muscles on the right side nearly move the bandages off. His left hand tightens into a fist and a frown forms on his face. He gathers everything he can into one large breath and exhales=

Dante: You want us to work for them. Now, of all times.

=It is not a question, but a statement. Lynn translates=

Quote :

I don't like this any more than you do. Don't forget that I hate them just as much. But this isn't something to just ignore. They are offering a chance for everything we've done, and they've done to just be wiped away. And Lynn, I can understand him. I just can't talk to him directly.

Lynn: He doesn't like it any more than we do... they are offering a chance to wipe everything we have done...

=He stops to think a moment=

Dante: Think about this. You had attacked a station recently and they contact you for a chance to wipe that away? Do you not think it's somewhat fishy?

Quote :

Yes, I damn well do. I'm not suggesting we go in there, thinking cheerfully that they keep their word. I'm suggesting we try it. Send a few people in, not everyone. That way, if it is a trap, then the others are still free, and if it's not a trap, then we get to live in peace.

Lynn: He says he feels it is fishy. He also says to just send a few people in to check.

=He sits silently. Going through scenarios in his head=

Dante: We have lost too many people already. Going with the UNSC would not leave a grand mark on the ships under my command, nor will it leave a grand mark on my career in politics. I will not take part in this, Dormii for reasons that I have just stated as well as others. However, if you feel it is something that you must do.

=He pauses and closes his eye=

I leave you Repent and the soldiers aboard it.

=i nod=

Quote :

I wasn't asking if you would join me. I wouldn't do that. Not now. You've lost too much because of me.

=i paused for a moment=

Quote :

I'll only need my squad, and transport. Thank you for offering the ship, but I probably won't use it, save for a glorified taxi service

Lynn: He'll only need his squad and transport.

=He nods=

Dante: Very well then. I will not stop you from what you feel that you need to do. Just be on heavy watch the entire time. Do not let your guard down for an instant. Do not get into deep trouble. I'll get hell from Jay if that happens.

=i smile jokingly=

Quote :

Hey, when do I ever get in too much trouble?

=He doesn't wait for Lynn's translation. The smile alone said he had said something he normally would about danger and the like. Lynn stands there, looking somewhat annoyed at him for cutting her off=

Dante: Go on with this. I will keep a close eye on Jay. You don't need to worry about her. I was just about to check her mental activity anyway.

=the smile faded and i asked seriously=

Quote :

If Jay wakes up and I'm not here. You know what to do?

Lynn: You know what to do if she wakes up and he is gone?

Dante: Tell her that you're alright and about this decision that you've come to that could either kill you or save us? Just taking a stab in the proverbial dark here.

=He gives a small shrug=

=i nod=

Quote :

And give her a copy of the information. I'll leave it in the ship's database to let you act, should you decide to do so. Keep her safe.

Lynn: Keep her safe...

=She says it with a sort of downcast infliction and he looks up to her before taking her hand into his and squeezing it. He looks to Dormii and nods=

Dante: You know I will.

=i nod again=

Quote :

Thank you. I'll head out to the Repent now. I want to get this done as quickly as possible. I'll be back as soon as it is done.

=i nod to both of them one last time then walked out off the room and headed towards my own. I was going to get my armor on, call my squad up to the hanger bay, then leave a copy of the information in the ship, like I said I would=