Chapter Nine

Solemn Penance, Covenant Carrier

Orbit of Meridian, Moon of Hestia V

Hestia V System

April 1st, 2548

Jones, Lea and Samuel crawled their way through what seemed like infinite hallways. Every inch they made was muffled from the plasma coolants passed and the circuitry that enveloped the entire ship in what seemed like a living computer. At times, Jones wondered how the Covenant operated without an A.I. Not that they needed one, it was obvious they were doing just fine without it, but even with all this technology, there was no way humanity would have been able to achieve anything like what the Covenant had without creating some type of artificial intelligence. But maybe that’s why humans were losing the war; the Covenant were superior. Jones battled with his emotions trying to focus on the mission.

Samuel and Lea trialed behind him, crawling at their own speeds. Anytime a species walked by them, all three of them stopped and waited. For the most part, the Spartans were out of sight. At every corner, several gaps in the walls could give away their positions but with how careful they were it would be almost impossible to see or hear them. After the devastation to the Carrier near several docking bays, it would seem like the Spartans had died in the battle there and drifted into space but when they assassinated the patrol group outside the com relay center and then took out their coms jammer, it would seem the Spartans would still be alive, which is why so many Covenant were on alert.

Jones activated his data pad once the area was clear. It displayed their location near another coms relay which several Elites and Engineers were working on getting the station back online. But just below the level was the observation deck where the Captain and Prophet would be. Jones laid there, motionless for a moment, completely stunned they had traveled as far as they did.

“Chris.” Lea said. “What are we doing?”

“We’re above the Observation Deck. I’m betting we’ll find the Prophet in there.” Jones added as his suit adjusted temperature to cool him.

“Ok, and how do we get there?” Samuel asked trying to squeeze up between the other two. Jones looked around. The circuitry was analytical—there was a pattern to it design. Jones followed several circuit nods as they wrapped around dark purple and black panel almost invisible to the eye. He activated his night vision and noticed several panels lying over one another lined up like motherboard within a computer. He looked back at his data pad and rotated the image seeing several crevasses within the walls revealing paths leading deeper into the ship. The inner structure of the walls must have been designed using rows of advanced terminals keeping everything on the floor online. Even the coolant tubes they passed were routed into the inner core of the main framework of the Carrier.

“We’ll find several shafts leading into the interior of the ship but we should end up right above the deck.” Jones said reaching up to panel on his right. He grabbed ahold of the circuit board and pulled, bending it and giving them room to crawl in even lighter spaces.

“You know I hate you, right?” Samuel said, shaking his head as he followed behind Lae. Jones smiled and nodded.

“I know.” He followed behind the two Spartans for about fifty feet until they arrived at an intersection in the middle of the terminal rows. A hole, which was outfitted with coolant tubes and electrical wires, descended into a larger unknown room beneath the floor they were on. The wires were wrapped in a type of plastic like fabric that pulsated with each flow of energy into the inner core of the floor below.

“Alright,” Lea said adjusting herself into a sitting position. “I’m going down.” Jones wasn’t concerned whether she knew to touch the wires but Samuel was.

“Don’t touch anything.” He said.

“Really? I’m going to use the wall to climb down.” Lae reassured. She shook her head as she slowly lowered herself inward. Jones knew Samuel was just trying to keep her safe, after all, they all considered themselves like family but as the old saying went “you cant live with them and you can’t live without them.”

Lea readied herself inside the hatch, each foot and hand pressed hard against walls. The room below pulsated along with a humming noise. Each pulse was followed by what seemed to be tiny plasma particles floating throughout the chamber. It was a coolant core.

“We’re going to have to move fast.” Lea Said. Jones reached over Samuel getting a better view of her location.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“The room beneath is a plasma coolant core chamber. Its generating immense heat and pressure, if we are in there for too long we’ll get sick—almost like radiation poisoning and it will lead to—well, it will bake us from the inside out.”

Jones knew everything about plasma and their coolants but listening to Lea gave him satisfaction in the fact that he truly could trust his squad, not that he didn’t.

“You hear that?” Jones nudged Samuel.

“Yeah” He said. “It means you better find an exit fast because the data pad could get fried.”

Jones was still for a moment realizing he completely looked that over. Good thing his face was behind a helmet.

“Can you see anything?” Jones leaned over and asked Lea.

“Not really. I’ll jump down there and move as fast as I can.” She said.

“Be careful.” Jones said almost as a whisper.

“Always.” She replied looking up at him. Then she pulled her legs and hand away from the wall of the hatch and landed lightly onto a spongey field of webbing and plasma. A light blue mist traveled for several hundred feet in all directions. She was near the rim of the chamber and in the center was a large tube that emitted the mist she was surrounded by. The spongey webbing was hollow with several holes revealing a liquid pool up plasma beneath her. if the webbing ripped somehow or gave way, she would fall and be melted as if she had fell in lava. The walls were obviously coated in some type of plasma repellant seeing as there were possible hundreds of these coolants throughout the entire Carrier. Lea stood up straight balancing herself along the webbing as the coolant generator pulsed releasing cold plasma into the air. She was pressed backward with each pulse as she neared the wall. She studied the chamber and noticed several tubbing’s that carried plasma into the coolant chamber and below it, more tubes curved into a hatch much like the one she descended through. The only issue was that it was located under the webbing.

“I see an exit” Lea yelled out not daring to use her com. Jones leaned over the hatch no longer seeing her.

“How far away is it?” He asked.

“About fifty meters”

Jones nodded and looked back at Samuel who nodded.

“If it’s safe, move toward it. I’ll use the data pad to triangulate your position and we’ll move to you.” Said Jones. Lea shook her head knowing it was probably one of the craziest things she had ever done but thought it would be another remarkable story she could tell. Lifting her arms up by her head, she walked slowly along the webbing getting a good balance and then paced forward until she was in a dead sprint. The webbing lowered closer toward the plasma pool. With the pulsating coolant generator and heat from the pool beneath it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep a steady pace so she leaped forward and grabbed ahold of the webbing as a part of it tore and she hung for her life.

Suspended, above a plasma of pool and near a coolant generator, Lea contemplated her options but she was clearly running out of time as her suits temperature systems were beginning to shut down. If she pulled herself up, the tear would grow larger but if she swung herself toward the plasma pipes then she could potentially get in the hatch before her systems failed. Sounds good to me, she thought. Pulling herself to the side and grabbing ahold of the other side of the tear, Lea let herself go and was swinging side to side. The coolant generator was beginning to pump faster and the plasma pool beneath was growing. The webbing was damp with plasma residue which was slowly burning away at her armor. This isn’t good, she thought. Leaning back and forward, she swung directly into one of the three tubes full of plasma. Her shields dropped as her systems began to malfunction.

“She’s taking too long” Samuel said leaning into the hole. “Lea” He yelled out.

“Don’t be stupid, Sam.” Jones grabbed his shoulder and lowered his voice. “They could hear us”

“Im not gonna let her die in there. I’m going in.” Samuel adjusted himself and hung in the hatch like Lea did and then dropped landing on the webbing. Jones sighed and leaped in the hole landing next to Samuel. The coolant generator was pulsating faster than normal. They must be experiencing depletion somewhere on the ship, Jones thought. On the other side of the room, past the generator was Lea. She was lying on tubes, most likely unconscious and her armor was sizzling. The two Spartans exchanged looks and bolted across the webbing fighting the intense gravitational push with every pulse. The plasma pool beneath them was growing and Lea was roughly fifteen feet from being devoured by it. Jones leaped over the tear as it expanded. Samuel followed but stumbled and the webbing was stretching, lowering the Spartans closer to the rising pool. Jones’s shields broke and his armor was beginning to feel heavy, it was no longer predicting his moves making it extremely difficult to maneuver. Samuel was experiencing the same problems but kept speed regardless.

Jones noticed Samuel next to him and kept pace. The two of them slid along the webbing as they were above Lea. Jones grabbed his knife and cut the webbing near the wall. The circular room was getting smaller as the ceiling was beginning to rotate and pull everyone toward the center. With no time to waste, Samuel and Jones leaped down onto Lea and dragged her into the hatch. The three Spartans tumbled into another, smaller chamber, much like the one they left except this one had a sub reactor in the middle. It was most likely built to help sustain such a large coolant chamber; there must be several nearby.

Samuel was the first to move grabbing Jones’s shoulder and then dragging Lea toward the back of the room away from the plasma that was about to come flowing in. Jones leaped to his feet and raced toward their direction. Above him head was another hatch; this one was closed though.

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“Give me your blade.” He said urgently reaching his hand out. Samuel cocked his head to the side before releasing Jones might have found a way out. He reached up to his chest, unsheathed his knife and tossed it to Jones who caught it effortlessly. He jammed his and Samuels bade into the crevasse of the hatch and ceiling. He pushed upward with as much strength as he could do and with a loud bang the hatch popped off its hinges and slammed into the ceiling above it. Jones reached toward Samuel who handed him Lea. The three of them climbed out of the chamber and found themselves in large room level sectioned by several severs nodes. To their right was a large energy shield with turrets on the other side. Grunts operated their stations while Elites and Jackals patrolled the area. Fortunately for Jones and his team they were on the level above them. The enemy didn’t notice.

Noticing they were hidden, Jones looked down at Lea. Her shields flickered and her visor faded in and out revealing her pale face supported by her blonde bangs. She was unconscious but alive which was enough for Jones. He didn’t want to lose another Spartan. But this mission was only one a Spartan would dream of so there must be causalities, right? He brushed off his doubts and focused on the situation at hand; his data pad was heavy damaged and he had no idea where they were.

“Where are we?” Samuel asked checking his shotgun which was damaged.

“Our weapons wont work.” Jones replied removing the data pad from his arm. “This wont either. We’re going to have to do this blinded.”

Samuel looked out at the Covenant below. Two patrol units consisting of an Elite, two Jackals and a Grunt walked parallel with one another as other Grunts operated the turrets which were still firing at UNSC starships. It was a good feeling for the both Spartans to see humanity still in battle. A heavily armored Elite stepped into view on their left. He was taller than most they had seen before and had extremely extravagant armor color as it seemed to be like chrome becoming whatever it color that was near which in this case was a light blue with a hint of orange and purple. The Elite rested his folded arms on his chest as he view the floor beneath him. Jones and Samuel slowly lowered from view and glanced at each other.

“That cannot be a Zealot?” Samuel exclaimed.

“It might be. Maybe an overseer of some sort.” Jones replied trying to get another look at the Elite without giving away their position.

“We have no weapons, Lea is sleeping and there is a ton of Covenant including a rank we’ve never encountered before” Samuel complained gesturing as he did so. Jones looked at him, offended.

“Hey” He said grabbing Samuels chest piece. “Are you a Spartan? Because you certainly aren’t acting like one.” The two stared for a moment. “Get your shit together, Sam, we are in deep and we need to focus on the Prophet, whether we kill him or not.” Jones’s voice carried weight. Samuel wasn’t used to letting his emotions out. Not since he lost Blake a few years back. He loved her.

Many operations were achieved by Beta Company, a branch of Spartan-III’s. They weren’t as advanced and fleshed out as the original Spartan-II’s like the Master Chief but they certainly were Spartans non-the less. Jones, Lea, Samuel and Blake, their tactical specialist was what they referred to as a “Floater”. She jumped between teams and picked up where other teams lacked. When she joined Alpha Team, a name Jones gave his squad in remembrance of Alpha Company, Blake-A267 was one of the best in her class. She outsmarted Jones in many occasions but declined the role to lead when it was presented to her. She was a warrior and wanted to be up, close and personal with the Covenant. She preferred a shotgun and knife in case she ran out bullets. Samuel admired her charisma and they got along very well.

For the three years she severed with Alpha Team, they bonded well and their success in battle, along with several local teams, was beginning to spread. In 2545, the UNSC conducted recruitment for what would be another Operation much like the one that took the lives of the entire Alpha Company; Operation: TORPEDO. The first few they approached were Alpha Team and Team Foxtrot. Jones declined saying that he wanted to nothing to do with the invasion and chose to keep his Spartans in the hands of Captains incase their ships were invaded. Him and his team were then transferred to Sevenfold Gates under the command of Captain Persie who could care if he has Spartans on his ship. Blake, on the other hand, defied Jones and chose to join Team Foxtrot.

That was the last time Samuel had spoken to her. They hugged and exchanged words for a moment but most of it was a blur for Sam as he focused more on her brown hair and freckles. Her smile was nice too. He knew he couldn’t have children or a real family. That option was taken from him when he became a Spartan and to this day still questioned whether that was right decision. Maybe he could have talked her out of it seeing as she was inclined to stay when Samuel agreed with Jones but it didn’t matter. Once he got word that TORPEDO was classified as a win even though every Spartan in that Operation died, exactly like Alpha Company, Samuel turned his back on humanity and focused on the only thing he had left; revenge. If he could stab and shoot any alien mongrel that stood between him and a weapon, he was up for the job. He knew it was wrong and fought the urge to continue shooting their bodies as they lay dead before him. But still, it gave him not reason to lash out and become unreasonable. Guilt hung heavy above him and Jones viewed that as his only weakness.

The newly-ranked Elite dropped his arms and walked away from the edge getting the Spartans attention. Jones let go of Samuel as he adjusted himself and fought back old memories. Lea sat up taking her helmet off. Shoulder width blonde hair dangled as she wiped sweat from her forehead.

“You ok?” Asked Samuel. Jones turned around, shocked to see her awake. He moved over to her and raised her head to his gaze.

“You’re dehydrated. Let your systems recover for a moment longer before doing anything.”

“What happened?” She asked clearing her voice.

“You past out due to the plasma discharge and heat when you collapsed on the battery tubes.” Jones answered as he gathered a pouch of refreshment from his utility bag located on his left thigh.

“We barely made it out of there and we ended up here.” Samuel said. “Oh and our weapons don’t work.” He added. Lea grabbed her rifle and noticed it was flexible.

The motherboard inside must had been fried early on and she didn’t notice. She tossed the rifle to side. Turrets exploded getting the Spartans attention and they all three moved toward the ledge of the level. Two turrets were blasted off the ship destroying their consoles and killing the Grunts that operated them. The patrol units gathered around as they attended the situation. It looked like Sevenfold Gates had blasted a few rounds into Solemn Penance before pulling back again.

“Go while we have the chance.” Jones ordered.

Samuel and Jones leaped off the edge landing on the Elites in unison. They snapped their necks and then leaped at the Jackals. Jones snapped its arm in three places before snapping its neck and kicking the other Jackal in the knee, bending it backward. As it shrieked, he jammed his elbow behind its neck, breaking its vertebrae and slamming the Jackal, dead, to the floor. Samuel crushed a Jackals face with a single punch. Its body was sent flying toward the other Jackal but it moved out of the way. It ignited a yellow shield and positioned a plasma pistol in the crevasse on the side. Samuel kicked at the weapon before it could fire, the Jackal pulled its broken arm back waving its shield forward. Samuel grabbed and pulled backward breaking its arm until it released the shield. He then stepped on its throat breaking its neck as he threw the shield into the Grunt slicing it in half. The plasma charge from the Grunts pistol set off and hit Jones in the side.

He dropped immediately and scrambled for something to hold on to. Samuel rushed toward him to find a hole in Jones’s stomach. The plasma bolt grazed his side but hit the fabric undergarment. it was strong but even more vulnerable to plasma than their armor. If it would have been a little higher, Jones would no longer have a heart.

“Hey, breathe” Samuel panted as he struggled to grab Jones’s hand who was trying to breath steadily. He was more frustrated and worried about the mission than he was himself. How did I not see that? He asked himself.

“I’ll be fine” He forced to speak taking his helmet off, sweat dripping from his face. Samuel removed his helmet and realized Lea to his right without hers as well. A loud thud came from behind them. Jones opened his eyes for a moment to see the highly ranked Elite.

“He’s an Ultra-Zealot” Lea said in astonishment. Samuel turned to see the Ultra standing roughly twenty meters away. He seemed to be curious but Sam knew the Elites had honor which included not attacking a downed man unless necessary.

“Why isn’t he attacking?” Samuel asked.

“He’s of honor, of course.” Jones muttered. “He’s waiting for me to die and you two fight him.” Samuel glanced back at Jones.

“Christopher.” He said looking at him intently. “You’re not going to die. Not here.”

Jones’s wounds were severe as his intestines were inches away from breaking through burnt skin and falling to the floor. His armor fought hard to maintain body heat but Chris was burning form the inside out. Lea reached for her foam bottle on her kit but it was damage so she only managed to get enough out to stop the wound from progressing. Jones calmed and closed his eyes lying his head on a destroyed turret console.

Samuel stood looking down at Jones as did Lea. The two turned to face the Ultra Zealot who watched the Spartans in admiration.

“You are the ones who have been killing my soldiers.” The Elite spoke, his voice heavy and formal. Samuel lifted his head surprised and looked at Lea who shook her head indicating now wasn’t an appropriate time to talk.

“Yes, we are. And we’re going to kill your Prophet as well.” Samuel said growing angry. The Elite sighed and walked forward a few steps.

“Yes, he is your target, isn’t he?” The Elite mocked. “Even If you managed to kill him, there are more that would replace him for it is their beliefs that lead us not their souls.”

The Elite made a valid point: The UNSC and ONI based Operation: RED FLAG off the knowledge that the Covenant might surrender If one of their leaders was taken out or even held captive. This Ultra-Zealot, not even a Captain, destroyed any hope that the Covenant would break…wait, how many Prophets are there? Samuel thought.

“You’re lying.” Lea forced out adjusting her stance to something more defensive.

“Lie? Filthy humans.” The Elite kept calm making it hard to read his next actions. “I speak of truth, telling you that you are sacrificing yourselves for nothing.” He raised his hand into a fist. “Your kind infects this galaxy with greed and suffering. All your species know is violence and hate. Look at your planets” He waved his hand again. “You fight one another for power and substance yet you miss the entire point of what it truly means to be free.”

“Don’t let your religion cloud your judgement” Samuel said clenching his fists. “You are the ones killing and taking away families!” Samuel yelled out.

The Ultra- Zealot stared at Samuel for a moment and raised his energy sword hilt then dropped it to the floor.

“You are entangled in hate” He commented, Samuels eyes narrowed. “You resent the Covenant because we have taken what you hold dear yet you don’t realize it was your kind that made you a Spartan.” He didn’t know how the Elite knew or understand as much as he did but Samuel didn’t care. He believed it was humanities flaws that made them a unique species; able to adapt and thrive in areas and situations other species could not. In this case, he was determined to rip the head off the Elite as he stood there mocking humanity in his shiny armor. He knew Lea had his back if he decided to attack but wasn’t sure how long she would last or even how strong or fast the Elite was.

Samuel attempted to focus on the Elites vulnerabilities but couldn’t locate any other than joints. The Elite stood about a foot or so above them and was much thicker. His hands alone could wrap around their head and probably be pulled off before they could even react but he had no time to think about that. Samuel was going to go for the legs.

He leaped at the Elite, followed by Lea who launched with fists toward his face. The Elite spun around and grabbed Lea by the neck suspending her in air. She yelped and grabbed his hands trying to pull his large fingers loose. Samuel slid on the floor, looked back and noticed the situation. He pulled another blade from his hip as the Elite turned around and threw Lea at him. The two Spartans collided and slid into the purple metallic walls of the room.

“You are weak.” The Elite began, walking toward the Spartans. “Your kind is nothing. And we will burn every planet until their surface is but— “The Elite was interrupted as an energy sword went through his back and came out his chest. The Elite gasped and tried to move but was kept still with the blade. He dropped to his knees and Jones removed the blade then decapitated the Ultra Zealot. His body collapsed and his head bounced then rolled a few feet.

“Go to hell you son of a bitch.” Jones gasped as he kicked the Elites body with most of his strength. Samuel and Lea looked at Jones and the Elite then exchanged looks.

“He didn’t have a weapon” Lea said referring to the honor which he showed the Spartans; Jones had shown him none.

“That’s the difference between us and them, we know how to survive.” Jones smirked as he dropped to one knee. Lea moved to his side while Samuel assessed the situation at hand looking around the room for an exit.

“How’s the wound?” Lea asked, calmly.

“It hurts but I’ll be ok” Jones stood and straightened his back. The bio foam Lea used was acting like another layer of skill and clogged the hole inside stopping the burn from traveling further. Samuel found a doorway on the ledge the Ultra-Zealot originally stood.

“I bet that leads to the bridge.” Samuel said walking toward the other two.

“Then let’s get moving. Grab any weapons you can find.” Said Jones.

“Mind if I take the sword?” Samuel asked. Jones looked at the alien hilt lying on the floor knowing that he couldn’t use if effectively.

“It’s yours.”

“I found a weapon crate in the back of the room where we were.” Lea added.

“Really?” Jones laughed then grabbed his stomach.

“That would have been useful” Samuel said pointing at the bodies lying of the floor.

“Well” Lea began. “That’s why you have me.” She gave quirky smile.