Chapter 9: TBD

(Jason)
I'm afraid that won't be an option. You killed our people, when we gave no provocation. You murdered an entire race, right down to their children, reasons be damned.

That... is where you are wrong... Human... Three ships... were permitted to escape... so that they might live... and learn... they will teach... their future generations... the price... of War... and Hate... Perhaps... as with the Sethalii... and the Srevaerans... we will foster them... and help them... grow...

(Jason)
I doubt they'd ever welcome you're presence. After all, you destroyed whatever measure of peace they had once achieved.
=I typed another message, detailing that three ships had survived, and sent it to the doctor overseeing Alpha. By now they must have brought her to the med-bay=

They had achieved... nothing... but War... and machines for War... They were responsible... for so much... death... They could not be... permitted to live... The very planet... they lived on... was a Military... fortress world...

=The ship once again bellowed=

I would expect... a species so small... as yourselves... to take greater notice... of a Planet's conversion... into a tool... for destruction...

(Jason)
We do not convert our world into a tool for destruction. We have made this place our home, and whatever weapons we've made here are to defend ourselves from hostile elements. As for the people of Xenos.....
=It was difficult, to stow the anger, the revulsion I held for them, for all that they had done to human kind. That an enemy they provoked killed my own people. But I managed to find it in myself, to say the next few words=

All that they did, that their military did, was in defense of their people, their continued survival. That they slaughtered many innocents to achieve it.....is unforgivable. But I can at least understand, even respect, the reasons behind their actions. They become monsters, if only because the rest of the Galaxy seems to be populated with them.

You are wrong again... human... This Galaxy holds... many life forms... which, unlike the Destroyers... have the capacity... for peace... and have maintained it... for centuries... The Srevaerans.... and the Sethalii... are two such species...

(Jason)
That may be. But all life has the capacity for peace, and the XNNO's were so close to attaining it, and you robbed them of that chance, despite what they've done in the past.
=I took a brief glance around the bridge, to gauge the status of my crew. They all looked nervous, but I could see the confidence in their eyes, their posture=

Now, if nothing else. What are you here for, if not to preach?

I have spoken... I came to destroy you... but I was wrong... in doing so... Now... we wish to learn... from you...

=The four big central lights on the ship's main body lit up slightly before dying back down. There was a pause of almost a minute before it broadcasted again=

My leader... wishes to extend his apologies... for the squad that crashed the Destroyer Ship... into your planet... They were unable... to pilot... such a tiny vessel...

(Jason)
Not exactly much to learn from us. And forgive me for being blunt, but after our little introduction, what makes you think we wish to exchange any form of knowledge with you?

Exchange of Knowledge... with us... can only lead.. to our mutual benefit...

(Jason)
Mutual benefit? You know nothing about us, or our motives and the same goes for you. Most I know about you is that you wiped out a planet and much of its population all because their military happened to peeve you off. You sent a ship crashing into my world, you came to my home intending to destroy it, apology be damned. Why should I exchange anything with you?

You are... angry, Human... This is to be... expected... We know much... about your kind... even now, our Archivists... are adding what information... we gathered from the Destroyers... to our Libraries...

=It bellowed again=

You know... so little... of the worlds beyond... the stars... Outside... your reach... that you may see... from afar... but never are able... to touch... We, however... possess knowledge... which you cannot even comprehend... There is no word... in your primitive tongue... for what we are... or what we do... but know... that it is all... for the benefit... of the Galaxy... for Life...

(Jason)
Whatever you say Squiddy. Truth be told, I'm fine being ignorant of the rest of the universe and its secrets. I'm comfortable where I am, dealing with problems I know how to deal with, not a ship that belongs in the Lovecraft verse.

A ship... You imply... that we are machines...

=It bellowed again=

(Jason)
From where I'm standing, a machine is all you are. Piloted by an organic or another machine, I honestly can't say. But I'm sure of one thing.
=Whether it was for the crew, or to empower my own words I do not know. But I stood up from my chair=

You are not gods. There is nothing magical about you. You just know tricks, control advanced technology, and dangle secrets like a carrot before our nose. Despite your might, you cannot outrun that which shadows all things.

I... am a Machine... such that you... are a Gun... Your human mind... fails you once more...

=The 'ship' opened its many arms, and angled itself upright as a Human would stand to face the Haven fleet. It moved its arms to place its main cannon on its back, and the smaller two on its sides. It sat there, staring at the fleet with its four massive eyes=

We are... not Machines... We are... Hylaan...

(Jason)
=Watching the thing change like that was, I will admit, impressive. Still, not enough to make me gape in awe=
Neat little trick there. And insult me all you want, but it changes nothing. No matter what you are, it changes nothing.

You are... arrogant, Human... It will be... your downfall... If... you will not... exchange... with us... we... will take the information... we desire...


=Lights all around the alien's black armor began to flicker=

I see... You are... at war... with yourselves... again...

(Jason)
Our wars are none of your concern. And if you truly do intend to take information from us, then be prepared to fight for it. You caught us off guard when we first met, but here we are strong. Here, we have something worth fighting for: our home.

You intend... to make war... with us... over information... Truly... your primitive minds... know no other... paths... Perhaps Mehlon... was wrong... about you...

=The alien drew its weapons again, and armed them=

If you intend... to fight... we suggest... you make peace... with your gods... now...

(Jason)
It is not simply about the information. You intend to take what is ours, when we already told you no. In your own arrogance, you intend to steal from those beneath you and threaten us with death when we do what is in our nature-- to defend what is ours. You may be higher, you may be wiser. But in all honesty, you certainly outweigh humans in terms of arrogance.

=From the Xenos system, another of these Aliens sent a comm to the one at Haven=

End this charade... Show them... our true nature...


Very well...


=The alien at Haven charged its weapons for attack, and broadcasted the blaring Siren from before=

Burn...

=It fired, the shots from the smaller cannons shredding the Human ships, and doing severe damage to the Forerunners'=

You will be taught... the meaning... of Destruction...

*Lt. Lake*
Sir, we just lost three frigates!

(Jason)
All ships, fire weapons on the target! Focus fire on the front section!
=On my orders, the 22 Forerunner vessels, combined with the remaining human ships, unleashed the full power of their plasma beams. Dozens of lances of blue white plasma shot across the void, and impacted the ship. On their own, they would have been useless, but together.... The full force of 30 sets of plasma beams, all focused on a single spot on the ship, managed to do the unthinkable: it punched through the shields=

=Though the shields had fallen, the Alien's armor remained strong for a good minute or so before the beams melted through, and all but fried the organic within. The armor began to malfunction, small explosions coming out of many places on the main body, before finally the depressurization from the hole sucked what remained of the alien life form out into the void in a gelatinous mess of greenish-white goop. With the alien dead, the armor's failsafe activated, self destructing both the armor and the weapons it held, leaving nothing behind but wreckage...=

(Jason)
=When the thing blew up, the whole bridge exploded with cheers. Hell, I kinda joined in. For all it's advanced tech, all it's talk of being beyond us, we still managed to destroy it. I calmed myself though, and retook control=
Alright people, settle down. That was just one, and God knows how many more there are. I want sensors running constant sweeps, and the fleet is to maintain formation over Haven until I say otherwise. If one of those things shows up again, give it no opportunity to fire. Focused shots people. We beat them together.

=Over Xenos, a council was being held...=

Kulmorr is dead... They have the technology... to defeat us...

No... They may have taken Kulmorr... but he was only one...

We are many...

Will he come..?

He may... From what we know of Humans... They do not turn down challenges...

He knows we are a threat... He will come to deal with us...

And when we crush them?

The cultivation will continue...

=Down on the planet, an army of the aliens, calling themselves Hylaan, began spraying a reddish-pink mist all over the face of Xenos...=

=sits down on a chair and puts his feet up and waits while checking his hud for various updates but mainly doing nothing important=

(Jason)
=My elation was quickly dimmed, when a call came through from Haven. It was the Council, no doubt hearing about what had happened. I put the call on screen, and all four of the Council members stared at me, grim looks on their face=
Council members. I'm guessing you've heard about what had happened?

(David)
It was rather hard not to. Silver Light already informed us of what had happened.

(Carolyn)
So you have now just declared war upon an alien race that appears to have technology to rival ours.

(Jason)
They left me no choice. Their messenger came here to destroy our world, at first. Then, it chose to try and steal knowledge from us, after it was denied said knowledge. All I did was defend what was ours.

(Alvin)
That's all well and good, but you didn't bother to consult with us, or let us speak to this thing?

(Jason)
It wiped out the XNNO's. All of them save for a few who's location I am not aware of, are dead. Their planet is nothing but a glowing ruin, and they fired on us first without provocation. So, to be fair here, they declared war on us first.

I request a commlink to... um... Burk. Why not? See what he's up to. Sure it's right after a mission and he might be sleeping or something.
Hell, I think he took his armour off. Oh well. I keep head towards the bridge, knowing it will be awhile before I arrive..

The Rising Dawn came out of Slipspace around Sanctum, the three escort frigates tucked safely in their hangers. It powered towards the planet, heading to pick up the Xerxes and then head out to test the Dawn's weapons in an asteroid field three systems away.
The massive vessel ignored all others, focusing solely on getting the Xerxes and bringing it into protective armor plating.

=takes a quick nap while waiting=

(Jason)
=It was roughly an hour later that I had left the Hyperion in orbit with the fleet. We had sustained losses, both in ships, and personnel. I was going to have to write letters to the families, a task I was not looking forward to. The Forerunner ships, despite their damage, were being repaired, as was the rest of the fleet. The large pillars the Forerunner ships docked on could actually fly as fate would have it, and served as repair and refit platforms. Repair Sentinels floated throughout the fleet, repairing the damage that had been done and mopping up the wreckage of our own ships. Thankfully, some good came out of all this death. Every ship in Haven's fleet, both human and Forerunner, was linked to the battle net. All data from the battle with the alien ship had been recorded, and was being processed by Silver Light. The way the alien weapons worked against our ships, and how ours were able to kill the lone vessel, all of that was being analyzed for any sign of a weakness we could exploit. I didn't care what they said they were, those weapons were still machines. That meant they could be beaten. In the meantime, our safest bet was to continue with focused shots on areas of the ships, should they ever return=
First war's not even halfway through and already we're fighting these things. God, why can't people just leave us alone? And why is it that every new alien humanity encounters has to have the pole of arrogance jammed so far up their ass they can poke out your eye when they speak?

=I rubbed my eyes, I was so tired. Sitting at my desk, I continued to look over reports. Alpha had been brought to Alpha Bases Medical Wing (the humor in that statement was not lost on me) and from what I had heard from the doctors, they were doing what they could for her. Human medicine was not an option, but at the very least there was still Forerunner medical science. With luck, that might buy her some time for us to find the XNNO refugees. We still had no idea where they were, or where they could have gone but finding them was critical if we wanted Alpha to live. They were bound to have doctors with them=

(Burk)
=i hit the comm bead=
Yeah Alph? What's up?

(Deniv)
=soon we reached the our destination. Burk stayed outside due to his call but the rest of us walked in=
So, what is it?

(Silver Light)
=Busy at work on the data, I devoted the majority of my run times to examining it. Based on data from the destroyed ships, the weapons of the alien ship overpowered their shields simply through sheer brute force of power, and the same went for our own ships against their one vessel. Where the power for this weapon and its own shields came from was obviously within the ship itself, but how it was able to generate such power was still a mystery. It seemed clear though that focused shots from the plasma beam weapons was enough, but the fleet could hardly be expected to focus their shots on every ship if there was a fleet. Perhaps improved reactor designs for increased power output would work, coupled with improvements to the plasma beams themselves. While not a one hit kill, it would certainly be able to do damage. As for the shields themselves......more improvements would need to be made. Perhaps it was time to stop letting the humans imitate Forerunner technology, and just give them the technology, for that might be the only way to counter these new ships=

The Rising Dawn creaked a bit as the Xerxes/i] carefully backed into it's birth. It was a semi-slow process, as [i]Xerxes had never practiced, but the doors finally closed.
"This is Rising Dawn to crews, we're preparing to hit Slipspace. Next stop...wherever the hell we're going." the AI, Xion said.
Sora rubbed her temples as Jeremy and Rika trudged in, Seth already sitting at a console.
"Back together. Just like old times." Seth said, not bothering to look up. Sora, in contrast, grinned and hugged Jeremy, then wrapped her arms around Rika and kissed her softly before letting go.
Jeremy and Seth bothered to glance at each other, and Jeremy sat away from the black kid.
"When are you two coming out?" Sora teased.
"Oh shut up..." Jeremy said. "Let me fly this thing."
The clicks of three buckles resounded simultaneously as Xion created a holographic lounge chair. "Wake me after their done screaming."

==Over Xenos==

"Clearly this charade plan of yours failed, Mahlon."

"Now they know we don't wish for peace with them..."

"This will complicate things."

"No. They are weak, they will fall."

"And what for the time being?"

"Continue the cultivation."

=Already small reddish vines had started growing all over Xenos where the mist was being sprayed=

"I'm wondering where everyone is and if they're okay."
I put my hands on the top of my head while feeling childish about the question.

(Jason)
=In my office, I had just finished writing the letter that was going to be copied several hundred times. It seemed a rather impersonal thing to do, and a poor way to show respect to the families of the fallen. I wished I could take the time to actually write out a letter specific to each family, but the cold truth was that it would take far too much time, and my time was needed elsewhere. For example, over at the Academy again, to meet with Dr. Matthews and his team. Surprisingly, Silver Light was also going to be there and I wondered what he'd have to say. Miranda had tried to contact me, wanting to talk with me over what had happened with the new aliens. I turned down the talk, responding only that I didn't want to talk about it yet=
Hell, it's still hard to talk about.

=As I walked for the teleporter, I quietly thought of the situation to myself. I wondered how this would impact the war with the Reclaimers. Hell, the XNNO's are practically dead, so there goes one of the original reasons for this war being fought in the first place. Still, they might not care anymore, seeing as the XNNO's were not the only ones on their shit list. I just had to hope whatever these new things were, they'd leave us alone to fight our own battle, because God knows we could not fight a war on two fronts. So either we finish the war with the Reclaimers, and fast, or we direct our attention to the new things. Either way we'd be leaving ourselves open to another attack. I was pulled out of my thoughts though, when I reached the teleporter pad, and was sent to the Academy. The place looked exactly as I remembered it; a large spire standing tall with a large wall encircling the grounds. Same as before, I went through the main entrance and took the tram to the atrium, and from there the elevator down to the Archives. It was only my second time here and already it felt like a routine. Dr. Matthew and his team was waiting for me in their lab, with Silver Light present, floating by the door=

*Dr. Matthew*
Admiral, thank you for coming.

(Jason)
Not like I had much choice gentlemen. What have you got?

*Dr. Matthew*
=He was quite for a moment, as if trying to find the right words=
Sir, other than the guns, the armor, and the mortar Sentinel, we had a few other ideas that we were working on, but had shelved before hand thinking they were a bit.....much. However, in light of the arrival of these new beings, we figured it was time to propose these new designs.

(Caesar)

I walked through the endless throng of refugees, after dumping my bag at a room. With so much bustle, I doubted that anyone would guess I was a spartan.

Isn't this where they sent Fatet? He went MIA. POW?

=wakes up=

no clue u guys should ask since it affects you 4 the most

Don' turn around...
=Denne drops his rifle and quickly whips out a knife and points it at the strange voice behind him=
(Denne)
Who are you?

(Strange man)
You dont know? *tsk, tsk*
=Denne scans him and realizes he is wearing a scarf and fedora.=

(Denne)
How did he know I was here?!
Fancy seeing you here! How was your day?

(Strange man)
It was fine, but its about to get better. Now why don't we drop the knife?

(Denne)
Fine.
=Denne puts down the knife=
Please sit, have a coffee..

(Man)
Fine. Only for a few minutes though. I must be going soon, I need you gone, and I need my lunch. So lets make this quick. My name is Alfonso Lucci, I run the black badger gang, and I need you gone. =cocks his gun then takes a sip of coffee=
Goodb-
=Denne jumps up and slaps the coffee into his face=

GAH!

=Denne takes the gun and throws it on the other side of the roof. he then proceeds to pull out another knife. Alfonso backs up to the edge still wiping his face from the coffee.=

(Alfonso)
You think you've beaten me?

(Denne)
I wouldnt say that. But-

=Alfonso falls back off the ledge into the awning of the store below and rolls off and runs away=

(Denne)
Damnit! He got away.

=Laiara's voice buzzes into his ear=
DENNE! Thank god your okay. We need him gone but we cant afford any collateral damage. Come back to HQ we'll hunt him down and make him pay.

(Denne)
Fine. How the hell did he know where I was?

(Laiara)
I dont know. Come back to HQ we'll try to figure it out.

==Down on the surface of Xenos==

=Two Hylaan met up in a field of reddish vines=

Have any more survivors been recovered?

A small group was found in a bunker near sector 627.

Good. Bring them to The Platform.

Aye.

=One of the Hylaan left the scene to meet up with several others, who would be escorting what seemed to them like a small crate, but was actually a large metal cube filled with XNNO civilians. They launched off from the planet and took the cube up to a massive platform-like station high above the surface, where they were unloaded like countless others. There, they met the ones who called themselves Tikks. They were much closer to XNNOs in size, and seemed to either serve or work with the Hylaan as engineers of some description. They were almost like a humanoid creature's upper half on the body of a Spider or Crab, much like the Centaurs of myth. On the Platform station, they began organizing the Civilians with haste, and setting them into what looked like yellowish cocoons. Fluid was pumped into the cocoons to keep their occupants alive... for the time being...=

(Jason)
Okay. What have you got?

*Dr. Matthews*
Well, for starters one is a defensive measure. Something of an upgrade for shipboard shield technology.
=He tapped a command on a hard light panel, and a hologram of a familiar piece of technology appeared=

(Jason)
The bubble shield technology the Covenant utilize. I thought due to power restraints, the shield could only be maintained for 20 seconds?

*Dr. Matthews*
Yes. However, as with most Covenant technology, it is based off of Forerunner technology, and while a decent imitation, it is nothing like the original. We managed to find schematics for the original technology in the archives, and found that while not permanent, the shield it generates can be maintained for longer than 20 seconds.

(Jason)
Interesting. What about power requirements?

(Silver Light)
Unfortunately, your own power sources will not suffice. Forgive me for being blunt, but they are human made, even though they are based off of the technology of the Forerunners. Which is why I suggest you incorporate the original technology into your ships.

=yawns and takes off his helmet and rubs his eyes before looking at the tech crew nearby=

[u read it out loud[/u]

(Jason)
Wait, incorporate the original Forerunner reactors into our ships? Would that even work?

(Silver Light)
With a few small modifications, yes. After all, your own power systems are based off of Forerunner designs so the reactors will mesh with little difficulty.

(Jason)
=I folded my arms, hand coming up to my chin in thought=
Okay, so power won't be that much of a concern. What about our standard shields? When the Bubble falls, what's left protecting us?

*Dr. Matthews*
Well, if we throw the new reactors into the mix, we might be able to keep our original shields. After all, the bubble shields, while powerful, can't remain up indefinitely.

(Jason)
Okay, so while our main shields remain up, we can form the bubble shield as a secondary defense.

*Dr. Matthews*
Well, there is an interesting thing to note in the designs. The standard Bubble Shield device the Covenant used, was a lone emitter that created a bubble. However, we can place eight separate emitters, four on the top and four on the bottom. Alone, they can't create an entire bubble, they can only create half domes.

(Jason)
That, might actually work better.
=Stepping forward, I tapped a few commands into the console. The hologram of the Bubble Shield device was replaced with a 3D model of one of our ships, a bubble surrounding it. For this next part though, I was going to need Silver Lights help because in all honesty.....I wasn't smart enough to really get the calculations right=

Silver, if you would, please adjust the simulation so that only the four emitters on the front of the ship are working, with power directed towards them.

(Silver Light)
Certainly.
=Taking command of the simulation, I made the adjustments, watching as the bubble turned into a dome of energy in front of the ship. The results were very intriguing=

With more power directed to those emitters, the shield can remain up for a longer period of time, and take more damage before collapsing.

(Fatet)

I was bored. With most of the trainees about to 'graduate' I had nothing to do.

I wonder...

"'Scuse me Captain?"

I ask a captain in Jason's army or navy or whatever.

"Mind asking the Admiral if I can take a look at the UNSC refugee camp?"

He nods and leaves me, presumably to make the call.
"Much apprieciated."

(Jason)
Good. How soon can we make functioning emitters, and have them fitted on the fleet?

*Dr. Matthews*
Uh, let me think....
=He closed his eyes for a moment, running the numbers in his head, though Silver Light beat him to it=

(Silver Light)
With manufacturing facilities working at peak capacity, we can have roughly 18 such emitters fabricated by the end of this week, should the order be given. However, given the projected layout for these emitters, that limits the number of ships that will actually receive them.

(Jason)
We still have 26 vessels, not counting the Forerunner warships and the other Sentinel Carrier. I want the first eight fitted onto the Hyperion, while we save the rest for distribution among our destroyers, then our frigates. However, here's the ratio we're going to use to conserve time and resources. The Hyperion, and all future destroyers are limited to eight, while frigates get four. Any carriers we construct, excluding the Sentinel classes, will also get eight.

(Silver Light)
Please also remember that we must first install the new reactors aboard ships receiving this technology. Otherwise the shields will be insufficiently powered. And estimates for construction of the new reactors, combined with installation aboard the ships will take at least three days.

(Jason)
Then we wait three days and a week. Hopefully, we'll suffer no interruptions while we wait. Okay, what were the other things you had to show me?

The Rising Dawn, once Xerxes was nestled into her hanger, followed the Trophaeum.
Sora and Xion didn't exactly want to let them go.
"And if Cap'n Pick A Captain orders us to turn around?"
"Forge Parangosky's signature "
"She'd love that."
"Yeah, she would "

=the troph starts up it's slipspace drive to a set of coordinates recieved from the data gained so far=

*Dr. Matthews*
Well, the others are weapons. Very....extreme weapons.
=He tapped another button on the console, and the image of the ship enveloped in the bubble shield was replaced with the familiar design of a Sentinel. It looked.....different, however. The two front arms which normally curved downward, were now curled upwards, so that combined with the central headpiece, it looked a lot like a triangle of sorts. I noticed it was also missing the weapon that hung from beneath=

(Jason)
Another new Sentinel design?

*Dr. Matthews*
More like a modification. We sacrificed their weapons to devote more power to their flight capabilities and energy shielding, while at the same time modifying their power cores for increased energy output.

(Jason)
=It didn't take me long to put the pieces together=
Suicide drones....

*Dr. Matthews*
Yes. Technically, we've already utilized suicide drones when the Covenant armada had attacked us when we turned many of the Sentinels into mines. We decided to expand on that idea.
=His fingers danced across the console, and a detailed schematic of the power core appeared=

The increased energy output from their cores means that upon detonation, the explosive force is magnified, dealing greater damage than when a standard Sentinel explodes. We ran a few simulations, and based on the findings, they're powerful enough to tear through a standard UNSC Pelican dropship.

(Jason)
And when you multiply their numbers to the hundreds, or thousands.....
=Hello "World's Greatest Fireworks" display=

*Dr. Matthews*
Indeed. The shields actually aid in this.
=Another movement, and the power core was replaced with an image of the shields=

We modified the shields from the standard bubble, to match something along the lines of the energy blades Elites use. They're not blades so much as a high-temperature energy field formed along the arms and headpiece. This actually allows the Sentinels to burn their way through a wide array of materials, and even punch through energy shields in high numbers. The only drawback is that the same high energy field eventually melts the Sentinels. Once activated, they need to blow up because we can't reuse them, or even repair them. Less time consuming to simply build a new one.