Part 3 (2/2)

CHAPTER FIFTY.

SANGHEILI-OCCUPIED s.h.i.+P INFINITE SPOILS, INFINITE SPOILS,.

THE RUBBLE, 23 LIBRAE.

Thel looked over the reports that Zhar had patiently gathered for him. The humans had dug around the Kig-Yar battle net, which had been poorly secured.”These are details on where the Unggoy Redoubt is,” Zhar said. ”Including force strength, s.h.i.+ps, how they will shuttle the Unggoy to the Rubble for an attack, and plans for an invasion of one of their habitats called 'Exodus'. The humans have the whole Kig-Yar battle plan for themselves now.””Well, they are clever creatures,” Thel said. He shut the display down. ”You yourself admired that, if I remember correctly.””This is troubling, though,” Zhar said. ”It means the Kig-Yar, Reth, may have been telling the truth.”Thel sighed. ”That they plan to trick the humans out of the location to their homeworld?””Yes. And that he was doing a holy duty for a Hierarch. You must admit the possibility, looking over those plans to attack the humans. These have been in place for years.”Thel rubbed the bottom of a mandible thoughtfully. ”It is a possibility, now. I agree.””Then we may have crossed the Hierarch,” Zhar said. ”You of all should know how that chills my heart.””A Hierarch,” Thel said, cautiously. Hierarch,” Thel said, cautiously.”What do you mean?””What I mean is that we were given a set of orders that put us in conflict with orders given by another Prophet.”Zhar shook his head. ”These things border on heresy.””Then do not speak of them ever again,” Thel said. ”But it does not change our situation.””But-””So we shall also send a message to Reth,” Thel said, trying to add a note of rea.s.surance to his voice. ”We will not approach or attack the Exodus asteroid that the Kig-Yar want. We will attack the other human parts of the Rubble, working to destroy the humans there.”Zhar swallowed. ”Will that be enough to convince the Prophet of Regret that we did what we were asked?”Thel grumbled. ”We will destroy the Rubble. We will grind it to pieces from this Kig-Yar s.h.i.+p. How will they doubt our zealotry, then, Zhar? We offer Reth our agreement to leave their habitat alone, and maybe we will come out ahead.””Maybe?” Zhar left the c.o.c.kpit in a dark mood, and Thel sat down on the s.h.i.+pmaster's chair with a sneer. This was not Covenant standard; it was designed for Kig-Yar. It was an insult and an expression of their rebellious impulses. And even worse, it was an uncomfortable fit for the Sangheili. Nonetheless, it would be a good spot from which to oversee the destruction of the Rubble.The sooner this mess was wrapped up, the sooner Thel imagined a more normal life would resume. Betrayals and intrigues were not his strong suit.Sangheili were almost always more... direct.Thel punched the console in front of him in frustration, shattering the screen and denting the metal.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE.

METISETTE, 23 LIBRAE.

Peter Bonifacio unstrapped himself from the pilot's seat of the escape capsule. The long-burn engine had run out; he'd kept the thing maxed to get well clear of the d.a.m.n Spartans that had hunted down Distancia. Distancia.Now he coasted toward Metisette.What was that d.a.m.n Kig-Yar's code? Bonifacio hunted through sc.r.a.ps of paper in his pockets until he found the tiny card.He plugged the frequency into the escape pod's controls and transmitted the emergency.Then he waited nervously until the speaker crackled with the sound of Kig-Yar voices. ”Peter Bonifacio. Proceed.””I need help,” Bonifacio blurted out. ”I'm in a capsule, headed toward Metisette. I need to be picked up!””And do you have our navigation data with you?””Is this Reth?” Bonifacio asked.A moment as the question was transmitted, and then translated. ”This is Reth,” came the response. ”Our data?”Bonifacio swallowed nervously. This was indeed Reth, he told himself. He'd done a lot of business with the Kig-Yar. This was about business. And a partner like Reth would understand a setback. He was dealing with a trade-oriented species, just like himself. Reth would understand. ”The data was stolen from me,” Bonifacio finally admitted.”Stolen? What use is this to us? Why did you bother even calling to admit this?” Bonifacio couldn't tell because of the delay and monotone of the translation device, but it felt to him that Reth sounded angry.”I know where they will be taking the data,” Bonifacio said quickly. ”Please, if you come help me I'll help you get the data.”Another pause before the reply, then, ”You are a useless lump of nothing that once glittered to us, Bonifacio. We gave you weapons to smuggle, and make a profit on. We gave you docking rights, and helped you in every way we could imagine. And all we asked is this one favor, for which you failed us.””No!” Bonifacio screamed over the radio. He started babbling. ”You can't just abandon me, you owe me. We worked well together. We were good together.”Only silence came from the other end.”I'll tell you where they are taking it, if you do me this last favor,” Bonifacio begged.”Where are they taking it?” Reth asked.”To the Exodus asteroid,” Bonifacio said. ”And if you do me the favor of picking me up, I'll tell you where it is.”Reth laughed. ”I already know where it is, thank you. We will be taking it for ourselves soon enough.”Bonifacio's mouth dried with fear. He'd been wrong, he realized. About the Kig-Yar. Probably about everything. But he still had his life to save. ”But...””I will do you this last favor, Bonifacio,” Reth said. ”I will not come pick up your pod. Because right now, were I to pick you up, the last moments of your life would be horrible indeed. Good-bye, human.”The radio went silent.Bonifacio was alone, floating toward Metisette, looking out the tiny portholes of his escape pod at the distant ruddy orb.He wondered if the air would run out before the heater stopped.

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO.

SOMEWHERE NEAR CHARYBDIS IX.

The Prophet of Regret stood in front of a giant screen that showed his fleet a.s.sembled in the far distance: tiny specks of light waiting to be flung through s.p.a.ce wherever he wished.He turned his chair about to regard the other body in the room: the Prophet of Truth.Regret frowned as Truth rebuked him. ”You are, as ever, too hasty.””How is this?” Regret whined. ”I have sent my hunters out to find the source of what I thought was trouble. I have hunted the humans. I have acted acted.””You have not acted well. My plan was more elegant.”Truth, Regret thought, always did like working his intrigues. He shouldn't have been this surprised to find out Truth was behind the design of these smuggled weapons.They were all just an attempt to furtively find the human homeworld, Truth had said, without further fleet engagements. Never mind that Regret knew they could smash the humans, one world after another. Truth worried about the secret of humans, and their first encounter with them. Particularly since the three Hierarchs had worked so hard to hide that secret.”Does it matter now what we have done?” Truth said. ”There is a mess, and it needs cleaning. The fleet needs to return to this world. If the Kig-Yar have the location of the human homeworld, we can use it and the Unggoy quartered there. If not, then we destroy all traces of this... experiment.””I agree,” Regret said, finding himself once again following Truth's lead.”The Jiralhanae who betrayed your Sangheili s.h.i.+pmaster, they will need to be destroyed. Their loyalty is commendable, but the knowledge of what they saw must die with them. We do not need any in High Charity High Charity speaking of this.” speaking of this.”Regret agreed. ”You will travel to this world with us, and watch the fleet in action?”The Prophet of Truth bobbed his head. ”I want to see this all concluded, yes. I have had my effects brought onto your flags.h.i.+p. We will have joint command. Together we will fix any problems. As we always have.”Regret turned and looked at the screen, with its live images of the fleet. Truth had plat.i.tudes, words about being brothers, now that his experiment had failed. But they were only brothers with a shared secret while the humans lived.If they ever got rid of the threat humans presented, then Truth would have no need of Regret. More than ever, Regret realized, if he ever had the chance to destroy the humans first and keep control of his position in the Covenant, he would have to move fast in the future. Faster than Truth's intrigues.Regret shook himself from his thoughts. ”Then it is time for us to go there,” he said. And using the controls on his floating throne, he keyed in a channel to the s.h.i.+p's bridge and gave the order for the fleet to make the jump.

PART IV.

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE.

PETYA, NEAR HABITAT TIAGO, NEAR HABITAT TIAGO,.

THE RUBBLE, 23 LIBRAE.

Delgado sat down in the c.o.c.kpit of the Spartan's freighter, finding it strangely rea.s.suring to be back aboard.Keyes had joined the Spartans aboard the Petya, Petya, along with Markov and Delgado. The other ODSTs remained out on the docks, cleaning up after the firefight. along with Markov and Delgado. The other ODSTs remained out on the docks, cleaning up after the firefight.Things were happening all across the Rubble, Delgado felt. Juliana was off in some vast, spread out, processing mode that made it hard for her to focus on one small area. But she'd asked them all to get ready for a conference. So now they were just waiting, Mike running checks on the Petya, Petya, Jai and Adriana in the back examining his armor after the battle. Jai and Adriana in the back examining his armor after the battle.Keyes paced the c.o.c.kpit, waiting for information, frustrated. Markov just stared at the metal floor, somewhat sh.e.l.l-shocked at the death of his commanding officer, Faison.Everyone surged into the c.o.c.kpit, though, when Juliana finally returned to manifest herself.”I'm sorry for my absence,” she said, appearing over the communications console. ”I was verifying the data I had taken from the Kig-Yar s.h.i.+p. I'm also presenting this information to all members of the Rubble Security Council.”She faded away, and in her place the moon Metisette appeared. It zoomed large, until its clouds hung in front of the crowd in the c.o.c.kpit. The image increased, until an irregular oval appeared on the rocky ground of Metisette's surface.Another leap in perspective showed it to be the remains of a crater. Liquid covered the very bottom, filled by a river of some sort with a waterfall. Delgado looked at the shapes by the waterfall's edge. ”Are those structures?””The Kig-Yar have created a natural home for hundreds of thousands of Unggoy,” Juliana's voice said. ”This structure, parked over a methane waterfall where the mists are thick enough with methane that the Unggoy can breathe out in the open, is called the Redoubt. Right now, as we speak, Unggoy are being readied for an invasion of the Rubble.”Juliana let that sink in.”When do they mobilize?” Keyes asked.”Within the next twenty-four hours,” Juliana said. The image of Metisette faded, replaced by pictures of Kig-Yar s.h.i.+ps moving out of orbit down to Metisette. ”As soon as they pick up the Unggoy.”Those images faded as well, to be replaced by Juliana. She c.o.c.ked her head, listening to someone else. ”The Council wants to know what our Kig-Yar contacts are saying about all this.””That would tip the hand of any defense the Rubble might need,” Keyes muttered.Juliana nodded. ”May I offer another point of importance?””Please,” Jai said from the c.o.c.kpit's entrance. He'd removed his helmet, and his brown eyes were fixed on Juliana.”The Kig-Yar know about the Exodus project.” Juliana had dropped a bombsh.e.l.l, Delgado realized. Their most tightly held secret, something he hadn't known about, had been in the Kig-Yar databanks. It angered him. ”And once Bonifacio had delivered the navigation data to them, the Kig-Yar were going to use the asteroid as a troop carrier to invade Earth.”Delgado felt vaguely sick.Keyes looked confused, but didn't ask any questions for now. This was the first he had heard of the Exodus project, and while he could infer what it might entail from the AI's statement, he was hoping it would let something more solid slip.Juliana waited for this, too, to sink in. ”I'm unwilling to lose the Rubble. It's everything I exist for. I say we attack first. We use our ma.s.s drivers like MACs. We get Keyes and his men back aboard the Midsummer Night. Midsummer Night. If we start attacking them while their main force is on the ground, we have a chance of winning this.” If we start attacking them while their main force is on the ground, we have a chance of winning this.”Keyes fiddled with a pen as he looked around. ”The Midsummer Night Midsummer Night has the capacity to go up against that big Jackal s.h.i.+p, but we could get overwhelmed by sheer numbers with all these other craft they have parked throughout the Rubble. And then there's the other issue: have these Jackals been working alone? Because if not, all they have to do is call in support. One stealth frigate won't be much use against what the Covenant usually bring to a fight.” has the capacity to go up against that big Jackal s.h.i.+p, but we could get overwhelmed by sheer numbers with all these other craft they have parked throughout the Rubble. And then there's the other issue: have these Jackals been working alone? Because if not, all they have to do is call in support. One stealth frigate won't be much use against what the Covenant usually bring to a fight.””I can't speak to that,” Juliana said. ”But now we have another problem. The Security Council is getting ready for a meeting. They're shutting me out. This isn't something I can override without drawing attention. Delgado, Maria was Diego's closest relative, and has been given a temporary seat on the Council to represent him. Can you get down there? I don't want us out of the loop here.”Delgado was already up. ”Take me there, I'll go in.”Jai and Mike looked at each other. Jai shook his head. ”We don't want to risk taking Petya Petya into the heart of the Rubble. We're already exposing ourselves enough with the AI and Delgado aboard.” into the heart of the Rubble. We're already exposing ourselves enough with the AI and Delgado aboard.””I'll take tube cars,” Delgado said.

Outside of the tall faux-marble columns of the Council Chambers, Maria Esquival looked over at Delgado. The chambers were buried deep in the heart of Korrah, one of the first Rubble habitats, and he had rushed to get there. ”You got over here quickly.” She looked like she hadn't slept in days, with bags under her eyes. She pushed a stray wisp of hair aside.Delgado broke protocol and gave her a long hug. ”I'm so sorry about Diego.”She let go and looked up at him. ”They said that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Bonifacio is in an escape pod somewhere with the Kig-Yar?””As far as we know, yes. When this crisis is over, I will personally hunt that c.o.c.kroach down.”Maria cleared her throat. ”The Security Council just had an emergency meeting to figure out what to do next. I stood in for Diego. I had no voting rights, but I could talk if needed.””I know. What can you tell me?””The summary is that we're grateful for all the risks you've taken, though I think half the Council is ready to string you all up for releasing the UNSC prisoners without locators, or without authority.””We didn't have a lot of time to confer or ask permission, and Juliana was helping.””That disturbs them almost as much as anything. You know the AI is well past her useful age.”Delgado nodded. ”She's unpredictable. But I think, deep down, what she cares about is the Rubble. What is the Council going to do?””You're not going to like this.””Really?” Delgado raised an eyebrow.”They've called the Kig-Yar. They want to see if there is any negotiation to be done.”Delgado stared at Maria. ”They what what?””Understand-from their position, the Kig-Yar have only helped. And don't lecture me about the destruction of Madrigal. The fact is, you know a lot of people trust the Kig-Yar here. They've worked with us to build the Rubble. They've traded with us. They consider them allies.””They really did it?””Yes. We're waiting for a response.”Delgado walked away, shaking his head. ”We've completely tipped our hand.”Maria looked down at the ground. ”I don't know. Maybe not. We're just asking for meetings. I'm not sure what else we can do except get ready to defend ourselves. We have a Council, it's the way the Rubble works. They've spoken.””But they were wrong,” Delgado snapped.”What would you have us be?” Maria asked. ”We're ruled by representatives, and by our votes.””This is a disaster.””Maybe not.” Maria grabbed his arm. ”Again, all we've done is ask for meetings. We haven't asked why. Certainly with all the recent activity around the Rubble it would make sense that we're jumpy.”Delgado looked at her. ”I really hope so.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR.

THE REDOUBT, METISETTE, 23 LIBRAE.

Reth lay in a soft collection of pillows in an approximation of a nest. His skin had been bandaged, cuts and bruises covered with medicines that stank, and he was giddy from pain medication. The damage the Sangheili had done to him still throbbed, but he was beginning to feel like the worst of the pain was over now that a Kig-Yar healer had spent time with him.The soft sound of air fans lulled him near the edge of sleep when the door to his room opened.”I was not to be disturbed during this sleep cycle,” Reth snapped, his eyes still closed.”It is the humans.” A lesser Kig-Yar groveled by Reth's feet. ”They keep contacting us, requesting meetings.””About what?” Reth opened his eyes. The room was decorated with bits and pieces of art from around Covenant s.p.a.ce randomly piled in corners and hanging off shelves in random chaos and clutter. All were pieces stolen or traded from all the species the Kig-Yar dealt with-a riot of shapes, colors, sizes, and function. It may have looked like random junk, but any Kig-Yar in the room would know it was Reth's h.o.a.rd. In the corner was a handmade Sangheili practice helmet, carved out of a hard wood and painted black. Reth's most prized piece of the collection.Sangheili didn't part with their handmade gifts easily. Reth had to work hard to pilfer that particular item.”They won't say,” the Kig-Yar by his feet said.Reth sat up, wincing as split skin on his shoulder recracked and started bleeding again. ”Send word to all Kig-Yar in the Rubble to pull out. Have them stand ready to act as our front wave. The humans may be getting wind of our plan, somehow. Let's not leave our brothers sitting within easy reach of the aliens.””Yes, lord. But... we have worked with these humans for so long. We have built good things with them. Are you sure we must destroy them?”Reth sighed. ”Any day now the Hierarchs will arrive. Do you wish to look like you were helping heretics? Our task is to fetch the location of Earth, and destroy them. Now we are to do this.”Time was growing short, Reth felt, if the humans were getting antsy. He was going to have to launch Kig-Yar s.h.i.+ps against the Rubble before the Unggoy were even on their shuttles for the invasion.No matter, he thought. That would just soften up the Rubble before he took it.Once he had the Exodus asteroid, Reth thought, all these stolen baubles in his room would be meaningless compared to that fat prize.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE.

PETYA, JUST OFF HABITAT TIAGO, JUST OFF HABITAT TIAGO,.

THE RUBBLE, 23 LIBRAE.

Keyes turned to Jai at the back of the c.o.c.kpit. ”You and your team should leave. The Council seems to think things are unchanged; they might even fight to prevent us getting back aboard the Midsummer Night. Midsummer Night. I don't see the sense in us weighing you down.” I don't see the sense in us weighing you down.””I don't see the sense in leaving either,” Jai said.”I could make it an order,” Keyes said.”You do outrank me. You may well order me to do it.” Jai looked at Keyes. The unspoken second half of the sentence in the air was that Jai would refuse.Keyes raised an eyebrow and drew in a breath to ream the Spartan out, but from behind him Mike spoke up. ”Say what you will about Spartans, Lieutenant, one thing we don't do is leave fellow soldiers behind to die.”Jai raised a finger. ”With us at your side retaking your s.h.i.+p will not be hard to do. With Petya's Petya's navigation charts and the computers synchronized-” navigation charts and the computers synchronized-””We won't be leaving citizens behind to be ma.s.sacred,” ma.s.sacred,” Keyes interrupted. He already had to live with leaving Charybdis IX on its own. He couldn't bring himself to run away from yet another fight. Keyes interrupted. He already had to live with leaving Charybdis IX on its own. He couldn't bring himself to run away from yet another fight.”The Rubble has no love for the UNSC,” Jai said. ”They are mostly Insurrectionists.”Keyes wondered if the Spartan was really that cold, having been trained to do nothing but kill Insurrectionists, and unable to shake that training. Or if Jai was somehow testing him.”There are children, Spartan, and citizens. They will be slaughtered. I will offer my services to them, and we will be ready to fight for the Rubble.”Jai folded his arms. ”Look-””The Jackals are moving out of the Rubble,” Dante Kirtley shouted.Keyes snapped his head up in interest. ”They're moving out?””He's right. Take a look.” Up at the front Mike tapped one of the many screens before his seat.Jackal s.h.i.+ps all eased their way out from the Rubble, according to the contacts on the radar and reports from all over the Rubble. ”Like rats from a sinking s.h.i.+p,” Keyes muttered.Jai moved in for a closer look himself. ”Does the Council know? Where's Juliana? Get that d.a.m.n AI here, she has to have spotted this.”Keyes stepped back. The Spartan sounded agitated.”My, my, temper, little Spartan,” Juliana said. She'd appeared at their sides.”Time is short!” Jai said. ”We don't have the time to sit around and debate things. We need to move quickly.””What's going on?” Keyes asked, realizing that Jai's frustration mainly came from leading a small team, alone, and now being part of a committee trying to figure out how to defend an entire community.Jai was somewhat out of his element.Keyes, on the other hand, had expected something to happen. The Rubble was basically a very large, slow s.h.i.+p, and it was constantly making course corrections.”I come bearing news,” Juliana said. ”The Council has rethought their approach based on this behavior. I had them recast their votes. They're willing to consider our plans. Second: aboard that Kig-Yar s.h.i.+p I stole some encryption keys. I've been tracking their chatter. We're in even more trouble than just the Kig-Yar attacking-according to the Kig-Yar, they're expecting high ranking officials from the very top of the Covenant hierarchy, and possibly a Covenant fleet, to arrive shortly.””When?” Keyes asked.”Even they don't know. Just... soon.”Keyes looked at Jai. ”Still think we can even make a stand now?”Jai slowly shook his head. ”A whole Covenant fleet? Not without some minor miracle. These people are all doomed.”Keyes felt he had to agree. It was a chilling feeling.”The Council agrees,” Juliana said. ”They have decided to launch the Exodus habitat and evacuate the Rubble.””The Exodus habitat?” Keyes asked. ”You mentioned the name before. I need to ask, what is it?”Jai turned back to look at him. ”Right, you need to get caught up a bit.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX.

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