Chapter 9: TBD

=A message of no particular urgency came in to Haven from Srevaera. It was signed by Vera Zantomee=

Code:

TO: Haven, Shepard Admiral
FROM: Srevaera, Sin of Wrath
SUBJECT: Attack

Greetings Inheritor Shepard. You may recall we met under less worrying conditions during the peace negotiations between Haven and the Alliance. I am writing this to you now as a request in the hopes that you might have something that could help us. We know what happened to the XNNOs, but we dont know why, and we dont know by who, or what. Word has it however that you know what attacked Xenos, and even faced one in Combat. We wish to know whatever you know about what can be used to defeat them. The New Covenant is launching an assault on Xenos in less than twenty-four Earth Hours. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

-Vera'Revar Zantomee

=Alpha woke up on a Medical table, in extreme pain, even for an XNNO, vision blurred and mind not quite straight. She tried to sit up, but was stopped by the pain of so many broken bones. She looked around the room, seeing only white and light gray colors and blue lights, standing in stark contrast to XNNO design. Wherever she was, she knew it wasnt home=

Wh... where am I...? Whats going on..!?

--Alpha Base Medical Wing--

=When Alpha had woken up, and began calling out, the machines she was hooked up to sent out a message to the staff. The doctor assigned to her walked into the room a few seconds later=

*Doctor*
Alpha, you're awake. Good. Try to relax, otherwise you'll put yourself in even more pain.


--Archives--

(Jason)
=I was about to ask what the other designs were, when Silver Light floated over to me, his central light flashing=

(Silver Light)
Inheritor, a message has come for you. Two in fact. One is from Alpha Base, a request from Fatet to go see the UNSC refugee camp.

(Jason)
Hmm....he's cleared, but not without supervision. His guard detail is to keep an eye on him, as are two Sentinels. What's the other message?

(Silver Light)
A message from Sangheili known as Vera Zantomee. He says he knows what happened to Xenos, but not by who or how. He does know however that you do know what happened, and fought one of the beings that did it. He wants information, and he's planning an attack on Xenos that will start in 24 hours.

(Jason)
=I panicked. Vera had no idea what he was walking into, and it would be a slaughter=
Send a message back to him. Tell him to abort the attack, do not go anywhere near Xenos. If he wants answers, fine. Tell him I'll meet him in orbit over Haven in three hours, and I'll tell him what's been going on.

(Silver Light)
=It was not difficult, making the message as the Inheritor spoke. Once it was done, I sent it through the superilluminal communications system, back to sender=
Done.

(Fatet)

Having been cleared by Jason, I readied myself for the teleport, and of course, met my guards.

When we arrived, I was taken aback by the sheer number that were here.

"It's sad, how much the covenant destroyed, how much suffering they caused."

I spoke to no one in particualar, aiming it mostly at my human guard.

"It's good of Jason to allow them to stay here. He should-"

I stopped, catching sight of someone I hadn't seen for years.

Caesar? You sneaky bastard, how'd a spartan sneak over here...? I need to follow him. But I'll need to lose my guards somehow...

=Alpha sturggled to the best of her ability=

Who are you..!? What are you doing to me..!?



=Vera got the message on his console aboard the Sin of Wrath, but it was just slightly too late. The New Covenant had jumped to slipspace only moments before, heading towards Xenos. Only a minute or so before they would have arrived, Vera opened the message and read it. He gave the order to adjust flight and avoid the Xenos system, and drop out of Slipspace to chart a course for Haven=

*Doctor*
=He slowly moved forward, doing his best to not agitate his patient=
Please Alpha, try to remain calm. You're on Haven in the medical wing of Alpha Base. Before you ask, no we're not using any medication on you specific to humans.


--Archives--

(Jason)
Gentlemen, forgive me but I need to make preparations for an arrival. The first two designs I approve, so I suggest we begin production. Send the other designs to my office though for me to overlook, and I'll respond in time.

*Dr. Matthews*
Very well sir. Thank you.

(Jason)
=Nodding a farewell, I departed from the room, making my way for the elevator towards the Atrium=

=She continued to struggle=

Why am I here...!? What are you doing to me..!?

*Doctor*
Well, for starters, we're trying to take care of you. And you struggling like that is not helping your condition Alpha. As for why you're here, Haven has the most advanced medical care available, so it seemed only logical for you to be brought here to treat you.
=His tone took on a firm quality, filled with authority=

Now please, I must ask you to stop struggling, or else you'll do more damage to yourself. You're bones are broken and need time to reset, mend.

=heads to the bridge and sits down in the commanders chair and sighs=

hope this place has better results

--Alpha Base, Barracks--

(Conner)
=The whole base was abuzz with activity. Soldiers moved to different sections of the base, while Sentinels patrolled the air-space above. There was tension in the air, so much that it was a palpable thing. I was no stranger to this feeling, having served at a few UNSC ground bases in the path of the Covenant during my time in the UNSC. That feeling that something alien, powerful, and unknown, was heading for you, something that was just on the horizon. It was an all too familiar feeling, and after years of fighting the Covenant, of just waiting for them to arrive and attack, I could safely say that I was comfortable in this climate of fear that gripped our base, our world. I couldn't say the same for all the others though. They were still rookies, not used to this kind of fear. Even my own team was not immune to it. Wierzbowski sat in a corner of the room, silently drinking from a bottle, and it seemed clear that he was savoring each drop as if it could be his last. I should have reprimanded him for the drink, especially if we were on the verge of combat, but I remembered how even I had taken a few last minute drinks on base=

Liquid courage. That was what some of the senior officers called it...

=Chris and Tim were busy playing a game of cards, using a bunk as a table while they sat on small stools. I couldn't see Tim's face, his back was to me. But I could see Vasquez's expression. While she was able to hide some of it, I knew enough about what to look for, to see it on her face. She was worried, even afraid. Oddly, that made me worry about her a little. Hell, I worried about all of them. They were my team, my friends even, and while I myself was used to the feeling of fear on the base.....I would never get used to seeing the fear in the eyes of my team=

Not them. Not again. I won't lose my friends again....

=A portal opened in Slipspace above Haven, and out of it spewed the wreckage of close to a dozen Covenant Ships torn to shreds. Lastly, the Sin of Wrath, with about two thirds of the ship's Starboard section missing, engines barely functioning, and holes all throughout, came out of the portal. Lights all over the ship were flickering, as if they were trying desperately onboard to keep the power from failing, and the ship itself looked as though it were only holding together by some miracle of invisible technology, or perhaps incomprehensible luck. A weak signal came through from the ship, full of Static=


=The Video feed was fuzzy, and the signal was poor. It revealed the Bridge of the Sin of Wrath, a few consoles broken and one or two dead crewmen lying on the floor. The rest were struggling with their interfaces to keep the ship together. The lights were failing, and occasionally sparked. Vera supported himself on his console, hunched over the comms panel with one hand over a hole in his armor that was bleeding slightly=

This is... the NCS Sin of Wrath... To Haven... Come in...

(Jason)
=I had arrived at Alpha Base through the teleporter around the same time Vera's ships had emerged from slip-space. Or at least, what was left of his ships. Breaking into a run, I made my way for the Command Center of the base, staying in contact with the CC, and getting reports. We were receiving a signal from the lead ship, the Sin of Wrath, and thankfully Vera was still alive, at least judging by the sound of his voice. I cleared a group of frigates and a destroyer to head for the ship and the surrounding wreckage to aid in evacuations. In the meantime, I was going to have to figure out where to put Vera and his people once we brought them groundside. I doubted they'd be welcome in the human refugee camp=

=takes off his helmet and stretches his neck getting out any kinks in it=

much better

=The group of ships began positioning themselves alongside the Sin of Wrath, the frigates being the smallest entering through some of the gaping holes of the ship, while the destroyer simply docked with one of the ships many airlocks. Sentinels swarmed over the ship, even entering through smaller holes. The whole thing resembled a shoal of fish eating a carcass, the only difference being that the ships were here to help. Other swarms of Sentinels flocked to the wreckage of other ships, looking for survivors or guiding the debris into stable orbits around Haven. Troopers in sealed combat skins began to enter the ship, doing a sweep for survivors. One group in particular headed for the bridge=


(Molly)
=Talon Squadron and I, along with several other squadrons, were weaving through the wreckage of the Covenant ships. While the Sentinels were busy searching for survivors and sorting out the debris, our job was to keep an eye out for anything odd. Maybe traps left among the wreckage, stuff like that. Sensors from Haven didn't show anything, but it never hurt to check. One of the problems though was that our current region of space over Haven, where the ships had arrived, was entering its night cycle. Haven itself blocked out the sun for this system, and things were becoming pitch black. We had to rely on our sensors alone to weave through the debris field without hitting anything, and it also made our job of seeing anything very difficult=

=Scans would show less than 400 survivors aboard the Sin of Wrath, and none from any of the other ships in the fleet. The Wrath's power continued to flux, lights fading in and out as they struggled to stay on. Vera continued radioing the rest of the ship, trying to keep contact with all the survivor groups. From what he could tell, they were on the Bridge, in Engineering, in the Barracks and Armory, and in the Training Hall. From his console, he uploaded pings to the Haven fighters' maps, showing these locations, for the Wrath was not precisely a typical Covenant ship in design=

=The rescue teams aboard the ship began receiving help from the bridge, pings appearing on their HUD showing the location of survivors. Moving through the ship, they opened doors that were green lit, leading to sections that still had atmosphere and gravity. They were able to find dozens of survivors, some of them injured while others were more or less uninjured and aiding their fellows=

*Soldier*
We're with Haven, and we're here to help!

=Not exactly an official way to introduce themselves, but it was the best they had=

Soon, I make my way to the bridge where I believe I was summoned to be. I enter and see a sea of people in chairs.
Okay, that's exaggerating a bit but it's still a bunch of people. But I'm only looking for one in particular.
Which isn't too hard to do, his commander's seat is bigger then most others. Probably the biggest.
I make my way over to him in a casual manner and my hands behind my back. Once I'm in his presence, I salute.

=turns and salutes back=

so what can i do for you al

"I believe you called for me sir?"

=The rescue teams did what they could for the wounded, loading them up on transports to get back to the destroyer and the frigates. Granted, it wasn't exactly easy. Most of the crew were still Sangheili, and in their culture any form of medical attention was seen as a mark of shame, both for them and the doctor. Hopefully though, the concept of the "New Covenant" didn't carry that particular belief=

(Jason)
=Standing in the CC of Alpha Base, I watched as a holographic display showed me what was going on in orbit. Small dots representing fighters and Sentinels weaved their way through wreckage while the frigates still clung to the sides of the ship, the destroyer floating above the group. Small readouts appeared by the image of each ship, though I didn't have much need to read what was on them=
Dammit Vera, what the hell happened? You were supposed to cancel the attack.

"What might that be sir?"

simple we send you off to wherever you want to do your own thing but try and reqruit new people and ships and occasionally report back and keeps us informed of your progress and and what all you've done on your adventures

=stands up=

so how does that sound

"So, I'd be able to go wherever I may roam, recruiting anyone I come across for you? Sounds... good."

"Understood. So I'm getting myself a ship then?"

yes and a small crew to help run it.

=walks over to a holo display and bring the image up=

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OoKuuhVN7qA/T9RtKANdbVI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/vEV5DNKXF0U/s1600/spaceship06.jpg

it's big enough for you and 11 others with plenty of room to have no problem, we could get more but we had to account for supply space as well

=turns the display the other way=

it's armament is as of now only a single pulse laser on top of the ship and the bottom,they've been down graded to avoid having to drain any energy from the ship so long as you fire every 10 seconds per gun and their damage isn't much because of that but it will be enough to give you some protection which nowadays is better then nothing, it also has some shields but not enough to handle more then a dozen archers possible less,
it has cloaking in addition to stealth but hopefully you won't have to use them, now we put alot of work into this ship and we have the data but it'd take us quite awhile to build it should it be destroyed so please be careful with it

"So you're giving me a prototype? Okay. Crew of eleven too, they'd be loyal to me, right?"

to you and me anyone else they're ordered to ignore now follow me

=starts heading to a hangar=

"Yes sir."
I follow him to wherever he's going.

=after a 10 minute walk they arrive at the hangar and the lights turn on brightly showing the ship with the words Shadows Night on the side=

congrats alphonse your now in comnmand of U.O.F:Shadows night

"Thank you sir. I'm honored."
I raise my hand up for a handshake. It's the least I can do to show my gratitude.

=shakes his hand=

when are you able to start the test?

"I'd like to stay here a little longer. Just until we exit slip space."

good go meet with the ships crew get to known them and what they do and in thirty minutes we're going to have you all do a simulated drop out of slipspace to test the platform system

=starts heading for the bridge=

"Sir yes sir."
I walk past and opposite of him, towards the ship. The ship's crew are all there and accounted for I suppose. He said eleven right?
But what I notice when I walk up to them, they all stand in a horizontal line and salute...

==heads back to the bridge and stand and looks at the screen in front of him showing the progress of the current project=

is it compatible with out fighters yet?

-bridge crewman- yes sir almost ready to begin final tests and we will be ready for some more tests

zeru- good keep me informed of the project

-crewman -roger that

=heads to the commanders chair and sits back down and checks on some recent data sent to the bridge=

=The Warriors and Crew go willingly with the Humans, having immediately recognized them as Allies. Vera stayed on the bridge, awaiting either Humans at the door, or word from the Inheritor=

=It wasn't long until one of the teams finally reached the bridge. Instead of cutting through the door though, they banged on the outside of it, two times=

*Soldier*
Haven Soldiers! Open up!

Sora was dozed off on the bridge, helmet resting on the floor by her foot. She snored softly, her armor scattered around the command chair of the empty bridge. She had been lazy, just setting up shop there. No one else was going to be here; she had the AI for that.
Of course, with the bridge off limits to most people, she didn't expect the one person she had explicitly said could come on to find her.
Rika.
The red-haired girl stepped onto the bridge, then smiled as she saw Sora's head. Stepping in, she quietly walked over and gently kissed the girl's lips. She held there for a few seconds, then found herself airborne.
With a quick twist, she landed on her feet, arms locked against Sora's.
Then the grip relaxed, and a soft chuckle came out.
"Sorry. You startled me."
"Was the plan."
Sora smiled, pulling Rika into a tight embrace. "Missed ya."
Rika smiled, kissing Sora again. "I know. Sorry I had to run so fast; on the bright side, I'm not leaving like that again. Ever."
"Good." Sora gave Rika another kiss. "I got a killer sound system here. You'll love it."

(Molly)
=We had soon received orders from the surface to cease our patrol of the wreckage. The combined scans of the Sentinels and Haven's own sensors showed no abnormal energy signatures and nothing that looked like any form of trap or hidden explosive. So now our orders were to return to a small patrol route around the group of ships=
Alright Talon, we're done with the debris field. We're to maintain position around the response ships.

*Laura*
Fine by me. This debris field is giving me the creeps. I don't mind flying with sensors, but still...

(Molly)
=Yeah, it was easy to sympathize with that feeling. Sure, I was a skilled pilot, maybe one of the best on Haven. But I relied on my eyes just as much as my sensors. Hell, maybe more than my sensors, and flying through a debris field in the pitch black of space was certainly unnerving. But of course, I couldn't let my team know that I was nervous=
Easy does it Cadman, you're doing fine. Just let the sensors plot a path and stick to it. Same goes for the rest of you.

*Cameron*
No problem Molly.

=Two of Vera's elite guards went over to the door to the Bridge and opened it for the Haven soldeirs. One of the Guards was badly wounded, a piece of flying metal had cleaved right through his armor and slashed open his side, while the other simply looked frustrated. They lead the Humans in. Vera turned to face them, still holding his own wound with one hand=

So... You're here to take us out of here, I assume. Well then, we may as well get on with it. Less than ten still alive on this Bridge.

*Soldier*
Understood. We'll get the rest of your people out of here Vera, but right now you're going to have to come with us. The Admiral want's to speak with you and he gave us orders to bring you in on an express transport.

=While he spoke, other soldiers and medical personnel moved through the bridge, helping who they could, either to their feet or simply medical aid=

=Vera sighed before grabbing his Helmet off the console=

Very well, Humans. Korri, you are in charge of the warriors until I return.

=He followed the Humans=

=The soldiers, three in number, led Vera through the hallway of the ship towards the airlock. They weren't going to be able to go straight to the transport though. None of the hangars on the Sin of Wrath were in any condition to hold sufficient atmosphere, so they were going to have to go through the destroyer docked with the ship=

(Jason)
=I got confirmation that Vera was found, and being escorted to a transport. Good, he and I needed to talk=

=has the crew prep for the Shadow's Night's exit =

(Alphonse)
"Hello. How is everyone?"

(Crewmen)
"Fine sir!"

(Alphonse)
"Good. Good. How about we get better acquainted before we leave? I'd like to know who I'm going with."
I point to one whose somewhere in the middle.
"What's your name?

(Crew member)
"My name is Cyrus, sir."

(Alphonse)
I ask another person, and another person, and another, so on so forth. Until I eventually know all their names.

=checks the timer and notices it's been 30 minutes so he contacts the shadow's night=

we're almost to the test point get ready

(Alphonse)
After I found out a little about everybody, everyone climbs aboard the Shadow's Night. Not long after we're contacted by Zeru.
Telling us that we're to get ready because we're exiting slip space. Then we'll be at the drop off point...
Why do I feel this is sudden... too sudden. I don't know, maybe I can call this whole thing off. No, that would go against his orders.
And... and... even if we do find Dormii, alive, I wouldn't be able to face him after what I did. I just can't do it...

I order everyone to prepare to exit slip space and get ready to fly this thing out of here. They obey without question.
Closing the ship's doors, starting up the engines and the shields. You know, just turning everything on.

=The escort and Vera soon reached the hangar bay of the destroyer, a dropship waiting for them. Climbing aboard, they gave the go ahead to the pilot who exited the hangar and began the descent towards Alpha Base. The flight would take some time, considering the fact that Alpha Bases' location had moved from beneath the group of ships as Haven rotated. The fleet would need to move Vera's ship into a geosynchronous orbit over Alpha Base later (or at least over a location they could evacuate and house the wounded)=

=the bridge crew hit input the commands and the platform the Shadow'a Night is on start moving the ship to the hangar exit which starts opening up=

now remember al just do whatever the hell you want which reminds me we're sending you all to a world full of hotsprings apparently it's one of those private club places so enjoy your vacation

=the doors finally open up and the barrier makes sure it's still safe inside the hangar when a 60 second timer appears on thr Night's command console=