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Eternal War: Prologue: The Reason for War
Date: 1 January 2004, 7:48 PM
Short explanation of ancient races and their history:
The Forerunners and Prophets:
The planet Kartago has been a peaceful place for many years, and on this planet, one million years ago, the Forerunner Commandos and Forerunner Bio-tanks evolved. This means that the foundation of Forerunner military forces began on Kartago, the progenitary planet of the Forerunner. The introduction of a new species known as the "Prophets" also began on this world.
About 700,000 years ago, the first organized communication grid spanned Kartago, and it was Forerunner made. Fifty thousand years later, the Prophets followed.
The Prophets, based on simple desire, mentally placed themselves higher on the evolutionary ladder than the Forerunner. This false pretense carried over into later years, where it led to the Prophets' belief in their imminent superiority and their belief that they were more intelligent than the Forerunner.
The golden ages:
Commandos and Bio-tanks, the principal parts of the Forerunner military, conducted several civil wars throughout their history, which slightly burdened them, but eventually, peace reached the war-torn Forerunner.
New techniques were invented during the age that the Forerunner alliance was created, and slip space travel were made for the first time during this era, 685,000 years ago.
Throughout their golden age, the Forerunners were able to spread their technology to other highly evolved species throughout the star clusters, resulting in both affirmative and negative reactions. Several species, most notably the species later known as Snipers (they prefer to call themselves Assassins if you translate it from their tongue), appreciated the beneficial boost that the alliance granted them, and they later went so far as to become a part of the Forerunner alliance.
Another race, later known to be Elites, didn't think that this initiative was bad, but they suspected that the Forerunners didn't share everything that they had, and jealousy began to ferment among the Elites.
On Kartago, the Forerunners felt that their moral obligations forced them to share their technologies with the Prophets, though they didn't like it, since the Prophets had never given anything in return for the favors they had been given. Their suspicions were well founded.
Now, the Prophets had a chance to grow stronger, and behind the backs of their helpers, they persuaded the Elites to join them, basically by promising them that the religion they had would be beneficial, and a total exchange of technological knowledge's.
However, there were Elites that felt loyal to the Forerunners, and those Elites suddenly joined the Forerunner alliance, because they knew that if they, without protection, didn't follow the orders from the Prophets, they would have the wrath of their former allies upon them.
The rest of the Elites willingly took the orders from the Prophets, and they created a more advanced society and more effective ways to communicate. The Prophets and Elites started to cooperate more closely, and on the planet Kartago, the Elites were now welcome by the Prophets. All of the Forerunners looked skeptically at this, but with their naïve eyes they saw the good in this, and hoped to get some beneficial deal out of the technology. This was not to be.
Eras of smaller conflicts:
Tensions were rising in the shadows of the planet. The Forerunners tried to empower their army, and the Elites that had joined the Forerunners had now become most necessary for the Forerunners, since the majority of the scientists were Elites. The Prophets saw this, and found a need to empower their own position; they didn't like the risk of losing to the Forerunners. As a result to this fear, the alliance named "The Covenant" was created, and simply was an enforcement of the alliance already existing between the Prophets and Elites. The time of tension, the time when the Covenant was created, is officially called "The age of silent fears" and it lasted for nearly a millennium.
The advancements of the Forerunner society were enormous after the Elites had joined. Three hundred years into The age of silent fears, the Forerunner Elites took a slightly different path of evolution, and when they, to a Human scientist, were another race, they called themselves Engineers. This made the original Elites angry, not to mention afraid, as they quickly became wary of the Forerunner's evolutionary abilities.
The Covenant traveled the universe, looking for allies after their enemies' evolutionary progress, but to any civilized man or woman, this should not be called "travel", it should have been called a crusade. Many races, which were even more advanced than some Forerunner species, had to face the fact that they were militarily weaker than the Covenant, and therefore were annihilated. The largest losses of advanced species were lost in the "Sea Conflict" on the planet Xoreed, where the indigenous species, a highly advanced piscine civilization, were lost, and the "Dune War" on Kerthas, where an extremely intelligent form of arthropods were annihilated.
Many races had a choice: be wiped out, or follow the Covenant and their religion. Many of the species would have had a chance if they had just joined, and then tried to break free of the Covenant yoke, but pride took over, and they chose death. There was one species that was too afraid of death, seeing as how their society was cowardly. This was a species that was too weak to break free, and they stayed in command of the Covenant. The species was later known as the Jackals.
Fortunately, there was a roadblock to the Covenant Crusade, and this appeared after that the crusade had been going on for almost five years. This setback took the form of another race alliance, called the Barbarian Combine. Hunters and Brutes, as they later would be called, had allied, and they were far more powerful than the Covenant. The only problem was the rate of reproduction, which was too low. Their level of technology was decently high, but slightly lower than their enemy.
Wars were fought, between the Covenant and their new enemy. At first, the Barbarian Combine almost always got out of ground conflicts as the winner. Later on, they had suffered large losses, and they didn't get new blood to fight the battles. For a long time, The age of silent fears kept the lid on the bubbling hatred that was between the Covenant and the Forerunners. It would take nearly 80,000 years before the first Covenant breakthrough was attempted. Still, the Barbarian Combine kept them busy, fighting them almost constantly.
The revolutionary times:
The first revolution that took place in the Milky Way seems to have started on Kartago. It was called "The land revolution", since it resulted in a system where the Covenant got land of their own where they wanted it. Earlier, land had not been divided by species at Kartago, and anyone could settle down there. But on January 5th, 612,083 BC, the Covenant demanded 50% of the land area, due to the fact that they were one of the two alliances living on the planet. They didn't seem to worry about the fact that they were outnumbered ten to one by the Forerunner.
Another demand was that the rest of the ground would be available for the Covenant to settle on, but rather than let the Forerunners go in peace, the Covenant wanted that all the Forerunner on "their land" would be at their mercy. Of course, the Forerunners found this unacceptable. Still, many of the diplomats thought that the conflict could be solved, if not the Covenant demands about free reign over Forerunner civilians had came.
But because the Forerunners decided justly, and their formerly charitable nature was gone, sapped by the friction between the two alliances, the Covenant only got to control the third largest continent, named Salid, and Forerunners there would be under Forerunner command, not Covenant. This was still a generous offer, since the continent covered 10% of the planets surface, and the Covenant comprised 10% of the population of the Forerunners.
Needless to say, but the Covenant was furious about this, and they came up with a new proposal, one that said that they would also have the largest continent, Yhju, or the eight and ninth largest landmasses, called Omred and Turys, giving them a total 30% of Kartagos land areas. This one was found more acceptable, but the Forerunners didn't change for the better (at least for the Covenant), and instead, on June 29th, 612,081 BC, they sent a letter to the leaders of the Covenant, which read: "We, the Forerunners, have had patience with you Covenant, and we still think that we do. We have pondered the proposals that we have received, and they are found unacceptable; to deliver the continents Omred and Tyrus, or Yhju alone, is practically and politically impossible. We will not cleanse the most populated continents of Forerunners. We have been looking for your best a long time, but looking for your best does not include leaving entire continents in your hands." The last, and most important line read: "Salid is yours, and if you're not satisfied, leave the planet Kartago, or we will be forced to undo the species that find themselves as parts of the Covenant alliance."
For 5000 years, this threat was large enough to make the Covenant maintain a low profile, but on December 8th, 607,326 BC, an official declaration of war was received in the Forerunner headquarters, saying: "The planet Kartago is the rightful property of the Covenant, leave it or surrender. Either way, the messengers of the gods will have to speak!" The Forerunners answered to this new threat with military actions, and the Engineer Commander in Chief, Oleet, decided that a hydrogen-bomb carpet over Salid was the best cause of action. These orders were initiated on February 14 of the following year, and the few Covenant that still existed after that, were given a chance to live, but had to leave the planet Kartago, and promise to never come back. In fear of their lives and survival as a race, the Covenant people escaped Kartago, and would not be seen for long.
The second declaration of war:
More than hundred thousand years had passed, without any Forerunner-Covenant contact, but this was about to change. On March 19th, 502,639 BC, a Covenant armada materialized in orbit around Kartago, and delivered a message: "We have not forgotten your pointless slaughter, and we will take Kartago, it is our own ground and our property. This time, the messengers of the gods will speak directly to you!" together with several anti-material bombs, aimed at Yhju. This was the declaration for the "Eternal War".
Authors note:Thanks to witelancer for making a beta on this story, and the massive work you have done with the G/S correction. Thanks.
Eternal War: Chapter 1: Threatened
Date: 18 January 2004, 12:22 AM
History:
The first battle of the "Eternal War", the battle for Kartago, had been won long ago, when the Forerunners bombed the Covenant away. The Covenant bombed Yhju away, it was lost, and it was a scorched continent, a desert where billions had lived moments before the Covenant strike. But the counter strike was immediate and more powerful than anyone had imagined. From the surface of Kartago, fifty anti-material charges were sent towards the attacking ships, causing them to explode, and they took many others with them in numerous chain-reactions. This little presentation of the Forerunners military powers infused great fear in the remaining Covenant, and they fled.
Ever since, many fierce attempts at retribution had been directed at the Forerunners for "stealing" the "rightful property" of the Covenant, attempts that mostly have been doomed to fail.
This story starts 502 562 BC, when the war between Covenant and Forerunners has been going on for more than seven and a half decade. Recently, the Covenant have - with renewed zeal - tried to take control of the solar system Orogurum 5. (Rich occurrence of precious metals has given the system its name.) Even the Barbarian Combine has shown interest in the solar system, and they pose a serious threat to both Covenant and Forerunners.
A gas giant, called Shining Ruby, has been exposed to the most powerful attacks, since it keeps many moons with valuable metals in orbit, and most valuable are the three largest moons called Ferrum, Light Glitter and Aurum. These moons have large deposits of strong metals, platinum and gold. Calculations tell that there is in fact more than 3.72 million tonnes of gold on Aurum. Mining has been easy here, none of moons have a liquid core, so mining is simple - just drill down to the metals and collect them.
The problem of mining on these satellites is that if they are emptied of metals, they will have less mass, and won't have the same stabilizing effects on the planets they circle around, in this case Ruby Star. This will make its axis to shift location, take the moons with it, and in the end, bring serious consequences to - or even annihilate - the life that exists on them. Due to this fact, the Forerunners have been cautious when mining from moons, and replaced the lost weight with the same mass of non-precious materials. This has made mining slow near Shining Ruby, and to wash the mark of treasure off Shining Ruby has been difficult. And as with all treasure, it is desired by many, including the Covenant.
502 562 BC, July 10th, 02.30 p.m.
In the captains private quarters of the Forerunner battle cruiser named Striker
"Your Excellency, we have reports of a new Covenant attack, launched against Light Glitter." a Forerunner Commando told a ten-foot creature that wore sapphire-blue armour, had exposed skin that showed to be yellow, and a long tail; he spoke to the captain, a Bio-tank named S'xo, as he stood there in all of his pride.
"I don't have time for this, Ra'loal. We must find a long-term way to keep the Covenant and Combine away." S'xo said with calmness in his voice, waving his tail slowly in anxiousness.
"But there is no such way, Excellency!" Ra'loal yelled in desperation as he held his open hands near the chest and shook them, as a sign of his feelings.
"Not yet, but there will be soon. You see, the Covenant and the Combine just have to fight each other for us to succeed. If we keep them off the surface of the moons, and find ways to make it look like it was the other alliance that did it, we'll be safe." the captain said, very confidently.
"But for now, the Covenant are approaching on their own." Ra'loal informed.
"We'll send small reinforcements to the moon, and then they and the defences already on the satellite will take care of the rest." S'xo said.
"How can you tell me that? You know the fact that they'll be crushed like bugs under the feet of the Elite armada." Ra'loal underlined.
"I know that the possibility is there, but not that it will happen. The most powerful weapons that the Forerunners know of today is at the surface of the moons. Do you really think that we should send everything we have down there?" S'xo said as if he was a parent of Ra'loal, while leaning his head to the left side, letting his shimmering shields reflect more light while he looked oddly at the Commando.
"Your Excellency, we can't ever be secure when handling Covenant." Ra'loal yelled.
"You're right, but if we never can get secure when meeting the enemy, why send reinforcements? Do you really think that what we have here is enough if the ground forces can't handle the situation?" the Bio-tank said, staring deep into the eyes of his inferior.
"Okay, you win. But don't come creeping to me when all of this have failed." the Commando said, sounding sad.
"This won't fail." the commander told his companion.
"S'xo, no one hopes more than me that you're right, but no one thinks less than me that you are." the Commando said while leaving the room with heavy footsteps, weighted by grief for his race, which he thought might lose this war because of his commander's pride.
"Then, during the following days, you'll have the opportunity to be proven wrong." S'xo said with the friendliest tone of voice that he could ever utter.
"I wish I will, S'xo, I wish I will."
The same day, 4.00 p.m.
At the surface of Light Glitter
"Your highness, we're awaiting orders." the Engineer Admiral Qroucaotat said through the communication link to S'xo.
"We are sending you small teams of Bio-tanks and Commandos, but still, we recommend you to use the Stationary Magnetic Plasma Accelerators frequently as anti-infantry weapons, it's dangerous, but more safe than the alternatives." S'xo informed.
"Aye, your highness. Can you please tell me the prioritising of the moons?" the Admiral asked gently.
"The goal of keeping Light Glitter gets the third highest prioritising, to keep the Ruby-system is prioritised highest, and to protect Value is second. Ferrum isn't that important, but still it is worth defending." S'xo informed.
"I understand, your Excellency. Personally I had hoped for more reinforcements on this moon, but the main goal must be achieved. If we succeed in defending the moon, we will, upon showed desire, send troops to Striker. I see that the drop ships are coming in, so I must have some time to organize the defences." The admiral replied.
"You'll have the time that you find necessary. I expect a report before 6.00."
"You'll get one, I assure you. Qroucaotat out."
Qroucaotat watched a dozen stone-grey aeroplanes with strangely thick wings, and the ships were not very long; he watched drop ships. Clouds of sand and dust were created when the drop ships slowly and softly reached the ground, before they opened small doors from which the reinforcements came. Green and blue reflections of the sun in the system swirled around on the sand of the hilltop as Commandos and Bio-tanks ran to their new commander, Qroucaotat, and joined the forces already on the planet.
"We are yours to command, Qroucaotat!" the troops said as they awaited orders.
"I want you to man the Stationary MPAs on the hillside below us, Commandos. Bio-tanks, you will be behind them, and see to it that no one gets to fire a single shot towards the Commandos." ordered Qroucaotat.
"Aye, commander!" the forces said in unison as they welcomed their new orders.
Qroucaotat:
"Sounds good, now there's only one thing missing, our enemies."
Fifteen minutes later, thirty drop ships, shaped like drops of water and coloured purple, headed for the ground.
Blue light found its way out of the urn-looking SMPAs, before several plasma charges were sent in a straight line towards the enemy vehicles, and six of them hit their targets. As plasma with a temperature higher than 10 million Fahrenheit met the metal alloy that the drop ships were made out of, melted metal dropped to the ground, and the fuel inside the ships started to burn explosively. The fires slowly ate their way out of the ships, but two of the vehicles didn't even last to that moment, they exploded in mid air, and took two more drop ships with them.
There were now twenty-two drop ships that were ready to land Elites, and they did; twelve Elites came out of every ship, and an assault on the hill was launched.
Those who manned the SMPAs got nervous, and thereby a lot of trouble. Several plasma charges were wasted, and desperation started to make its way into the minds of the Forerunners.
"Bio-tanks, I want you to know that if we don't succeed in taking them out before they reach the foot of the hill, you're allowed to show what you're capable of." Qroucaotat said as he saw charge after charge be wasted on nothing but air.
Elites that were colour coded red were the base of the Covenant attack against the Forerunners, but a few yellow Elites were also fit for fight.
Hatred against the Forerunners burned in the hearts of the Elites, and they rushed forward, demanding blood to be shed, blood to extinguish the flame of hatred, burning in their hearts and fusing their charges of anger. It was almost as if a rain of heated plasma shots washed hill-sections clean of resistance, but the Covenant held their positions, constantly standing far away, knowing that if they went for close combat, they would be decimated into nothing before they got to fight their enemy.
When the Covenant did this, the SMPAs became the one fact that gave the Forerunners a chance to hold the upper hand. Their gunners put themselves together, and concentrated really hard on their appointed task.
Numerous plasma charges were sent out towards the Covenant enemies, who had to make serious regroupings and small evacuations from certain areas to have a chance. But the Covenant took it, and after a while, they were tired, but alive, and that was the only thing that mattered. They had more of the SMPA gunners taken out, and the path was clear for a small advancement, but they kept off the hill.
"I'm getting seriously tired of the Covenant. Bio-tanks, take them out, by any means necessary." Qroucaotat said as he watched the Covenant assault.
"Any?" one of the Bio-tanks asked.
"Any." the commander replied.
It sounded as if the commander had unleashed a thunderstorm by saying this word, the sound of Bio-tank feet that met the ground was that strong. A hundred Bio-tanks ran down the hill and charged nearly 200 Elites. Green and blue shots filled the air as the forces engaged each other in close combat, and several big blasts enlightened the area in the same colour as the shots. Screams and wails from fighters on the brink of death could be heard out sounding the blasts of the grenades, and the soughing of plasma that went through the air in high speed.
The ground shook, almost as if it was frightened, beneath the feet of the Bio-tanks, when they attacked their enemies by making them fall towards the slender grass of the valley, and thereafter have their skulls crushed when all of the Forerunners put their feet on the craniums of Elites, and used the power of their full weight to crack bone. This caused smaller losses among the Covenant forces, and filled with an unbelievable rage, they stormed forwards, firing plasma rifles and swinging blue swords. Limbs of Forerunners flied through the air as great losses became a fact, and the Forerunners were forced to organize themselves. Gathered in a clung, protecting each and everyone's back, four dozens of Bio-tanks stood stubbornly, determinately taking out every piece of resistance.
"Bio-tanks, withdraw, we have a few... hot presents that we want to give to the Covenant." The admiral ordered.
Every Forerunner face began to smile, as they knew that they could fight their way back to the rest of their forces.
Focused on their target, the Commandos unleashed the full power of the SMPA:s on their foes when there was no Forerunner near. Four volleys of heated plasma flied down from the middle of the hill, landed at the beginning of the slope, and burned everything it got in contact with away. There were no longer any present opposition to the Forerunners.
8.00 p.m.
Back on Striker
Once again, Ra'loal entered the captains private quarters, now with a much more sorrowed face. He looked at S'xo, who was sitting in the other end of the room, reading a report from Light Glitter, as Ra'loal placed himself in the middle of the area. S'xo looked up from his big, metal table, and looked questioning at his companion.
Agony filled the mind of the Commando, and he couldn't even look at his commander, his eyes felt as if they were attached to the floor.
"Well?" the captain asked.
As a response to this question, Ra'loal looked briefly at S'xo and tried to say something, before the weight of sorrow forced his head down once more. Tears filled the eyes of the Commando as he thought of the casualties that would follow from the message he carried. Something forced the face of the terrified Forerunner to focus on S'xo, and Ra'loal started to speak:
"Your Excellency, I am in a shock too great to read this message out loud to you, so therefore I ask you to read it yourself."
"Okay, I'll read it personally, please give it to me." said S'xo calmly and wondering.
Ra'loal slowly walked to the table where S'xo sat, put a silver-made cylinder with a lid that had the shape of a halved sphere in each end on the table. The cylinder was given a slight and effortless push by an indolent Commando, and it rolled slowly and nearly soundlessly on the metal table. A few flaws in the otherwise perfectly round surface of the silver lids created a sound that was alone in the dead silence of the room when they hit the cold metal of the table.
When the silver cylinder stopped, the sound did so too. S'xo picked the little thing up, and lifted one of the lids away before his fingers grasped the fragile paper of the scroll inside. As the seal was broken and the scroll rolled out, S'xo started to read.
At first, his eyes read the letters with calm ease, the captain was worried, but still, he read with ease. Suddenly, he was almost as frozen when his eyes swept over the letters in fear.
Time passed by, and S'xo tensed more and more of his muscles as he read. After a few minutes, he didn't move at all, save for the eyes that shook forth and back as they watched the letters on the paper over and over. The Commando could hear that his captain started to hyperventilate, but S'xo calmed down after a while. Still, he breathed loudly, and he was in too much of a shock to breath smoothly.
"What you have felt to this day is but a taste of what will come. Along with the meaningless slaughters on Kartago, you've pushed and drawn us in the mud of exile, not to mention disgracing us, as well as our gods. To put the survivors of Kartago into exile, and thereby denying them their rightful planet was unacceptable and we will make you pay! Despite the horrible crime you've committed - a crime that you cannot be punished enough for - we are merciful, and we give you a choice. Either you surrender to us, destroy all of the disgusting filth that is called "Forerunner technology" and abandon Kartago, or we will be forced to take use of our full power and use it against your empire. In order to show you that we are serious, we will expose you to a little part of this power by washing the shine of the Ruby with the burning tears of our gods. Don't pay enough heed to this warning, and we will be forced to offer the same treatment to the rest of your inhabited planets."
That was the exact words that were on the scroll, which S'xo ripped apart when he was done reading. Three pieces of paper laid on the table afterwards, all with tears where the captain had put his claws.
"Ra'loal, what is the chance that this will happen?" the captain said while looking at the pieces of the scroll that earlier had infused so much fear into him.
"98,3 per cent. But since the Covenant have mentioned their gods, I think that they meant what they wrote." the Commando says while hanging with his head in despair, and show an empty face.
"Then we need to think something out. Hmm... of course! That's what they mean!" S'xo said as he looked up, and suddenly his eyes started to glow like the eyes of a scientist that have found something revolutionary out. He shook his head for a brief moment, almost as if his idea was too good to be true, and he tried to shake it out of his mind. Though, it stayed and he got more and more happy as he realized that the Forerunner alliance was capable of stopping the threat from being taken into action.
"Your Excellency, I'm not with you here. What does the Covenant mean by... what?" Ra'loal asked.
"They wrote: "... by washing the shine of the Ruby with the burning tears of our gods." This is the most important thing. They cannot drown the moons, since water doesn't burn, and anything that does is too expensive to bring here in the necessary amounts. Bombs are difficult when we talk about twenty moons, and glassing them is equally difficult. They're going to use something that is here already." S'xo informed.
"But what would that be? What is large and fragile enough to shatter and thereby cleanse the moons of Forerunners?" Ra'loal asked because he was very confused.
"Mark the word "washing" in their text. Think of it, what is the only moon that we don't mine from?" the captain said as if everyone would know what he thought of.
"Flaw is useless, mining isn't possible there, and it doesn't hold anything precious. But why would the Covenant want it?" wondered the Commander.
"Why wouldn't we mine from it even if it was possible?"
"Because it basically is a collection of space dust, rocks and boulders. If an asteroid hit it... ... it would shatter into many pieces! Of course, that's why they can use it! Put a bomb, even as simple as a fission charge, in the middle, and the shine of the Ruby will be no more." Ra'loal said as he got what his captain had said.
"That's right. Do you have any reports about a new Covenant attack?" S'xo wondered anxiously.
"An operation called "Tears of Planets" have been launched, but I've had no idea about what the name means until recently. What do you suggest as a counter action?" the Commando said behind his green, heavy battle suit.
"This situation is a little difficult, but to board the main vessel in the operation should do the trick. And then, we'll let the Covenant have a taste of their own medicine—in the form of a star ship." the captain replied between the smiles that kept coming when he thought about the surprise he had prepared for the enemy.
"Erdroth! Report in my quarters within a minute!" he thereafter shouted through the ships communication system.
A few seconds later, a Bio-tank entered the room, and this one walked with loud steps, and with a despising attitude to S'xo. Erdroth, as this one was named, was one of the strongest creatures on the Striker, and probably one of the strongest ones that saw themselves as Forerunners. Though, following orders had never been his thing, and due to this fact, he never got a higher position than Field Commander.
He snorted arrogantly, as he looked at S'xo, shifted for Ra'loal, and shifted back. This went on for a while, and when he got to S'xo for the third time, he said:
"What am I doing here?"
"If you have forgotten, you're now receiving the news that you're under my command." S'xo replied quickly and calmly, almost as if he hadn't noticed the negligent style of Erdroth.
"An evil you could have spared me." Erdroth said after another snort.
"Now listen, how soon could you have a team ready to board a Covenant vessel? We're not talking small scale here, you'll lead a team that will sneak aboard a large Covenant battle cruiser, and take control of it." the captain wondered.
"It is impossible." the Field Commander replied.
"It is as impossible as seeing you not taking orders. We're serious here, I order you to do it before the end of the day."
"Ha! I don't want to, or can follow these orders. You'll have to look for someone in another age to fix it." Erdroth said with some sort of superiority in his despising tone of voice.
S'xo slowly rose from the chair he sat in, and walked calmly to Erdroth, and stopped a foot away from the Bio-tank. After that, he pushed Erdroth towards a wall, and pressed the throat of his inferior with his underarm so hard that it stopped him from breathing.
"You will do as I say, the Forerunner alliance is depending on it. I know that you aren't the biggest fan of me, but I am your commander, and I'm the one that makes disproportionately large salaries finding their way into your pocket. Will you give me something in return for these big pay-checks?" the commander asked as he looked at Erdroth with an angry face.
"Yes, I will. Since you're using so persuasive methods, I guess that I have no other choice than follow your orders." Erdroth said with the last of his air as he spoke behind gritted teeth.
S'xo released the pressure at the throat of Erdroth, but he didn't leave control of his inferior, he just wanted him to get enough of air to live to the end of the next order.
Once again Erdroths air pipe was closed, and once again S'xo spoke:
"You will also send a message to the other Forerunners near, asking for reinforcements. Since the ones in greatest knowing of the threat is the Covenant, I want you to do it with their coding, and don't send the signal to special locations, send it out through the universe. Do this and the other things that you've been told, and you will keep your salary, you might even be promoted. But fail me, and I'll make certain that the rest of your day will be considerably longer than the rest of your life."
The pressure on Erdroths throat was released, and he could breathe again. Erdroth cleared his throat, swallowed and ran out. Fright had prevented him from saying anything, so he ran to the place where he belonged; the privates deck on the ship.
The Bio-tank rushed in to the dining room, and at the top of his lungs he yelled:
"I want everyone to listen, and listen carefully. Today, a very dangerous operation will be made, and I've been directed to make the enlistment for it. In fact, it is so dangerous that I can only enlist volunteers. I can't force anyone to join, but I'd recommend anyone that takes pride in his or her existence to do it."
"This is a routine mission, huh?" an unknown voice from the masses said.
"If you're used to board Covenant battle cruisers, yes." Erdroth replied before an unpleasant fear sneaked into the hearts of the Forerunners he spoke to.
"What exactly does this mission comprise?" the same voice that had spoken earlier said.
"To board and take control of the Covenant main vessel in their forthcoming attack before it reaches the surface of Flaw, and then send the vessel towards the rest of the Covenant armada. One of the cornerstones in this mission will be to stay away from the centre of attention, to speak clearly: this is a stealth operation. Anyone that is willing to fight for the Forerunner existence?" asked Erdroth, with a tone of voice that urged the others to fight.
The most foolishly stood up at first, but they did it with pride in their faces, and it seemed as if these ones were encouraging and raising the moral in the strong but smart Forerunners, making them stand too. Later, half of the crew had signalled that they were ready to fight, and they cheered to each other, clapped each other's backs and excitedly talked about destroying the Covenant vessel.
"How could those fools be cheering? Don't they know what's awaiting them? One thing is for sure: it will be great to lead them into battle." Erdroth thought to himself, as he joined the troops in their happiness.
Authors note: Dispraiser and witelancer, you have both been of great help, and I want to thank you for your backup. It would have been a less good story without your help.
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