Chapter 9: TBD

=the fleet picks up the presence of a unsc frigate and the signal from smaller ship mounted with a slipspace drive=

sir what do we do about the frigate

ignore them. for now head to the smaller ship it's probably the freelancer

*Soldier*
Okay, then would you like us to repair your ship and send you on your way?
=The soldiers and medical personnel stayed together as a group, not wanting to accidentally antagonize these new aliens=

"Aren't we all." A large ship was picked up by the computer's scanner. "These must be the guys with the job."

(Alphonse)
I eventually make it to the bridge and enter it silently. Trying not to disrupt the crew from their jobs.
Honestly I don't know why I'm here, I just don't have anywhere else to be.

=The lights on a few in the vicinity flowed through color patterns for a few moments before landing on white again=

Where will we go?

=There was another brief pause=

We require nutrients.

*Soldier*
You'll have to speak to someone else on that one, but I think we may be able to supply you with some provisions. Not sure if they'll be safe for you and your crew to eat though.

James nodded. "Yeah...I guess he are aren't we?" he smiled under his helmet

=Their lights faded to a pale yellow=

Is it toxic?

=the ships move forward and stop about 1/2 a mile from the small ship before opening comms=

this is zeru ishtar of the trophaeum i'd like to speak to the owner of the ship

=The Bridge of the Guild Navigator had been listening for transmissions, and picked up a weak signal, seemingly coming from the supership. The captain looked around the bridge before summoning Feyd up. They took a walk down towards the Mess Hall, and had a long talk=

C- Feyd, I know you may not like this idea, but it may well be our last chance.

F- Lieutenant Colonel Dormii. You really think I can take that monster? He's probably killed more Marines than the Covenant, single-handedly, not to mention some of my own friends.

C- Listen to me, Lieutenant. You and I both know what the risks are. But if there is a shot, any chance at all, we have to take it. And that means you putting aside your personal grudges. You're a Spartan, dammit, not some kid on the school playground. Understood?

F- Yes, sir...

C- Good. Now get yourself and your squad prepared. We'll attempt contact in 30 minutes.

F- Yes, sir.

=The captain walked off back to the Bridge. Feyd went back to the Hanger and gave his squad the news. He was not happy about this mission at all, but he knew his duty...=

(Dormii)
the other prisoners...they know...they know what I can do...I've tried to keep it a secret, trying to hide it...but they found out. I'm in isolation now...for what I did...that prisoner...Jeris, he tried...tried to fight me...wanted to prove himself, or...something. he wouldn't listen...none of them will listen...I'm just a freak...a monster...a thing instead of a man...my arm is still chained, every once in a while they swap them out. Taking the opportunity when they knock me out to experiment, testing my strength or blood loss capacity...sometimes even my will to live. They've been saying they captured Jay, took her to somewhere on the base so they can kill her if I get out of hand...I have to save her...but, but anyway. Jeris, he wanted to make a name of himself. He was a scrawny man...barely past being a boy. He wanted to show he was strong, worthy of being accepted into their group...he waited until the guards were gone, then came at me with a knife...just some glass with some tape around it...I killed him without even trying to...I just moved and grabbed and...broke him...a quick snap like a twig and he collapsed...he didn't even hurt me...I killed and...

=i don't know why i was repeating this to myself in my head...I didn't have a recorder, so I guess this was my way of making sure everything was chronicled. I don't know why, but I guess I just had to=

The Rising Dawn exited slipspace, struggling to catch up with the massive vessel. The exit jarred Sora and Rika, causing them to end up tangled in arms, legs, and blankets. It took them a few minutes to untangle themselves, but finally they were separated and up, wondering what was up. Xion flashed to existance.
"They exited Slipspace. We're a few hours behind them, but not badly. All frigates are ready."
"Do we have a fallback point?"
"Yeah." Xion said. The holocrystals warmed, and a planet appeared on the bridge. "Arzenchel. UNSC Fortress World, the last to stand before Earth. Precious few cruisers and carriers remain, and three of these now stand at Arzenchel; Salvation's Rising Light, a Valiant-Class cruiser...one of only a few, very few, left. Next is the Eve of Repentence, a Marathon-Class heavy. It has just finished a refit in the Drydocks of Arzenchel. Finally, the Cole-Class supercarrier Fall From Grace. These form the core of the Arzenchel defense fleet; the rest of the fleet is comprised of a regular carrier, the Stars Above Hades, five destroyers, and twelve frigates...and I count ten corvettes, mostly Mako."
"Seems like an excellent fallback point if things go to hell."
Sora and Rika spun around, their instincts throwing them into combat stances. But it was only Jeremy, twirling a Black King in his fingers.
"Sorry, was tempting. Xion, the lights are flickering and disrupting our game."
"I'll look into it." She promised, and Jeremy took his leave, allowing Sora and Rika to collapse back on the blanket and just hold each other close.

=the crew detects the new arrival and preps the whole ship just incase=

come on how many damm unsc are going to show up want everyone on their guard until we know what they want

William flipped a switch on the console, opening his communicator. "I hear you Trophaeum, this is William Gitz, of The Final Horizon. I am the proud owner of this fine ship."

well them mister Gitz come aboard and we'll get started, land in bay 11

=gives the commands and the crew starts prepping the hangar=

"Copy that." William grabs the controls and maneuvers toward the docking bay. He keeps the ship's speed low while he flies in.

(Alphonse)
"Zeru, sir. Should I go to bay 11 to make sure everything is well?"

(Alphonse)
"Of course, sir."
I equip my BR and leave the room. Then starting a jog through the hallway and byways towards Hanger 11.

James sighed. "This should be good...are you sure we can trust the client though?" He was holding a makeshift handheld scanner. "We got UNSC everywhere...meaning they might not take to kindly to my being here...civilians don't really 'get' Spartans ya know?" He put the scanner in his bag and readied his needler...just a precaution

"Well, you can't always be sure of anything. But if he's planning on screwing us over, then it won't be 'til after we do his job." William shut the ship's power off, then started making his way toward the hatch. Still keeping his assault rifle against the console, and taking his sidearms.

James got up and followed his new aquaintence toward the exit with his needler in his right hand...he checked his shield readings incase of an extended fight...he sighed "well...lets see what we gotta do...im ready for something to do...years in cryosleep made me rusty and i need the practice..."

I finally make it to Hanger 11 and see the freelance ship. It being different then all the others here.
After a quick look at it I jog over to it and try to catch my breath when I stop. The crew that's here doesn't seem to notice me...

=While everyone was busy with their affairs on the surface (and in the orbit) of Haven, Jason's orders pertaining to the ships upgrades and Sentinel modifications were being carried out. New reactors and shield emitters were either brought out of their vaults, or were constructed on existing assembly lines. Sentinel production facilities accepted the new designs for the suicide variants without issue, and soon hundreds, thousands of them were created, hovering in swarms separate from the original variants=

=The captain of the Guild Navigator sighed and gave a signal to one of the men on the Bridge. The man punched a few commands into his console, and the Trophaeum was hailed=

C- This is Captain Haskell of the UNSC Guild Navigator to Unidentified Supership. We wish to speak with your Captain. Respond.

=the crew gets a comm message from the usnc ship=

open it[u]

yes sir

[u] this is the captain zeru of the trophaeum state your business with us

=Captain Haskell thought to himself frustratedly=

C- This is not a good situation....

Captain Ishtar, as I'm sure you are well aware, there is quite the bounty on your head throughout UNSC space for numerous crimes...

=He paused=

We wish to negotiate with you.

C- You may recall some time ago when a certain X No Delta offered you to the UNSC under conditional surrender. You were executed publicly by firing squad, yet here you are. The terms for your surrender were the full pardons of the crimes of all your... friends. Well, obviously you never surrendered to us in the first place. The one who was executed was later identified as an ODST Prisoner of War. What I'm getting at is that the terms of the deal are void because you still live. But we would like to negotiate that.

=He cleared his throat=

Full pardon for all past crimes of you and your friends and crew, if you will help us locate and capture Lieutenant Commander Fortunii, who as I'm sure you know is responsible for more deaths than any among us can bear the thought of. Under his rapsheet is listed "Crimes against Humanity".

=scowls under his helmet and adds small amount of venom his voice=

and what makes you think i'd betray a friend and comrade just to clear my name

=The Captain Sighed=

Because i know that somewhere in you, you still know right from wrong. Fortuni has more human blood on his hands than the entire Insurrection.

=He paused and gave a look of sympathy=

Look, I don't want to see Dormii locked up in some cage for the rest of his days, nor to see his blood splattered on the pavement for the whole Human race to see... And neither do my superiors... Not anymore. With the Insurrection, the Covenant Wars, and the XNNOs, Humanity is down to its last breath... And as much as some may hate to admit it...

=He paused=

We need Fortuni's help...

We need him to help us combat the Covenant. Turns out, some of them still want us all dead. If we ever see the end of this war, Fortuni will have earned his pardon, as well as an honored place among his people again.

=He paused again=

We know Dormii is an unstoppable machine of war. If he will fight for us once more... He damn well may save our species from extinction...

so we help you and we're pretty much given a clean slate

=thinks it over for a second before coming to a decision=

very well where do we begin

We were hoping you would know. But, I must say this. The Guild Navigator is ordered to aid in exploring this planet below, so we cannot accompany you. However, I am authorized to send five of my men to help you in any way they can, a Spartan and four ODST's. They are ready to depart at any time, if you will have them.

William pressed the button to lower the hatch once more, revealing a hanger of engineers and other personnel walking about. Gitz walked down the ramp, and approached the single person that seemed to be there to greet them. "What, no balloons?" William kept his hands ready near his weapons. Can never be too careful.

"Nope. No balloons. Just a Spartan here to make sure you don't try to kill anyone. Nothing personal."
Might as well show him what he'll be dealing with if he starts trouble.
"I'm pretty sure the captain here would like to meet you. If you wouldn't mind following me."

Another Spartan? Well I guess the theory is they don't die. William inspected the Spartan, looking for weak points in the armor he wore. Nothing towards him personally, but whenever you meet someone new, you should always find out how to kill 'em. "Please, lead the way."

I turn around and start heading down the way I came from. My battle Rifle equipped and ready to go.

James spoke to the other spartan. "What is your designation and rank soldier?" He wanted to see how this one reacted to another spartan...he hefted his needler and got a better grip on it...he also wanted to see this man jump at the voice of someone he ignored completely.

Wait, that isn't this guy's voice.
I look behind me to see that there is indeed another Spartan following me. Hopefully he isn't a Spartan II. Otherwise I'm done for.
"Oh. Uh... I'm kinda... well. I'm no longer with the UNSC due to a couple things."

James walked up to the other spartan and looked at him closly "Spartan III i take it? Hmph...what did all the other Spartan IIs die or something why i was in cryo? At the verry least tell me your name soldier...the name is Sargent Darnok Spartan 666. You get my first name when i find you a worthy allie ((hope i spelled that right)). And i am very curious as to why you left the UNSC..." he made sure to adjust the grip on his needler again...

=waits for them to arrive while turrets activted and followed the trio keeping the 2 new arrivals in their sights discreetly=

-the turrets are trained to detect and shoot at a speed of a heartbeat as well other forms of detection-

make sure if things go south alphonse has a chance to get out safely

roger that

Oh crap, Spartan II. I don't stand a chance with both him and this other guy. Might as well play along.
"My name is Alphonse Zoloman, Spartan 507. I didn't really leave the UNSC, they kinda kicked me out after I was framed for someone else's crimes. And by kicked me out, I mean they would've killed me if I didn't have a 'friend' on the inside. And yes, most Spartan II's have died. Where have you been?"

*Soldier*
That depends. If your biology is compatible then the food we have should be safe for you to eat. It's just that we've had encounters with another race that can't even accept our medicine because it would be poison us to them.

==XAZ Candlelight==

=There was a brief pause among the figures=

Our bodies should be able to process it if yours can.




==UNSC Guild Navigator==

=Feyd recieved his orders from the bridge. He and his squad loaded up into the Pelican and departed towards the Trophaeum=

(Dormii)
=the door opened, and someone in. It was him, that doctor. I wasn't a patient to him, I was a reusable cadaver. He's opened me up and looked around inside me, poked and prodded and tested my insides and outsides. He drew samples of my blood and flesh, looking for gods know what. He looked at me with those cold eyes. There was no thought of humanity in them, those were the eyes of someone looking at an interesting data point. He gestured behind him and a guard stepped up to his shoulder. He raised his rifle and the world went bright white, then black=

Of course, the one thing no one thought of was that Xion purposely liked to screw up, just to annoy Sora. So when Sora said jump in five, as she was just starting to get dressed, Xion decided to jump in five...seconds.
That caused Sora to slam into Rika, sending them both to the floor in a tangle of arms, legs, and clothes. The chessboard moved a bit, but the two boys kept playing as if nothing happened.

Untangled, the two girls struggled to their feet as they quickly continued getting dressed.
Of course, Xion had also misplaced a zero.

The Rising Dawn was sitting a few hundred meters above the massive Trophaeum.

Xion turned to Sora. "Orders?"
Sora flipped Xion off. "Go fuck yourself."
"Tsk tsk. Language." The AI smirked, spinning.
Sora cursed under her breath and she pulled on a black T-shirt with the PRIEST Team insignia on the breast.
That AI was gonna drive her over the edge.

*Soldier*
Yeah well, looks can be deceiving. These guys were around the same size as us, and looked the same and it would still be toxic to them.

==XAZ Candlelight==

=There was another brief pause=

Perhaps we may test these substances to find if they will be usable to us.