Chapter Eight

Orbit above Meridian

Moon of Hestia V

Hestia V System

April 1st 2548

Plasma and bullets scattered throughout the skirmish above Meridian. Frigates and Halcyon class starships kept rotation as they pressured the Covenant. Carriers avoided most of the fire due to the protection the Cruisers provided which a few of them sustained terminal damage. Hoss and her crew watched from the sidelines as the UNSC barricade was coming sevenfold. As ironic as the situation was, she believed Captain Persie was perfect for the job. There weren’t many people still alive that had faith in humanities survival which, she would argue, is the reason so many battles had been lost.

By 2548, fifteen to twenty planets had been lost to the Covenant armada, they penetrated UNSC defenses and eradicated planets as if humans were pests. While the Covenant paved way to victory. Most people would tell you their soldiers are getting tired and worn out but Hoss knew the truth; the Covenant outsmarted them at every turn as if they knew how humans would react in battle or even technology. Anytime ONI would produce high-tech prototypes they would take it out with ease. The most interesting aspect for Hoss was their lack of technological advancement.

For almost thirty years Covenant technology remained fundamentally the same. New weapons and some prototypes had their time in battle but were eventually countered by the UNSC. Though those tests seemed merely for pleasure, Hoss found her studies. She analyzed the Covenant and how they operated. She predicted deaths and eventualities, she was responsible for this whole defense program and its effectiveness. The key component was that the Covenant were here looking for something and as far as humanity was aware the Covenant were going to find it. For Hoss, this was the opportunity to show their weaknesses which she was determined to find out.

A humming noise echoed throughout the com center within Anchor 7 as operations were back up and running. The jammer must have been destroyed, Hoss thought. Good, we need it.

“Ma’am, coms is up and running.”

“Im aware, Corporal. Alert UEG and UNSC bases on ground. Let them know to get ready for an invasion.” Hoss said. The Corporal looked up.

“Ma’am?”

“Don’t ask—do” She replied pacing. The Corporal nodded and followed his orders.

“Ma’am, you have someone on the line.” Another coms operator said.

“Who?” Hoss asked annoyed.

“Catherine Halsey.” She replied. Hoss immediately stopped, smirked and walked toward the closed booth.

“Open the line.” She said and the operator gave her an ear piece.

“Catherine Halsey, how may I help you?” Hoss greeted.

“That’s Dr. Catherine Halsey” Said Halsey. “And I’m curious as to how you stole my program?” Hoss knew it was only a matter of time until she found out but now was not the time. Halsey didn’t seem aware of the battle right now, after all how could she seeing as coms just came back on. Even if she knew she probably wouldn’t care…unless…

“We can discuss that another time. Right now, I have Covenant Carriers and Cruisers treading all over Meridian in search of a Luminary that I located using your program; something that ever personal within ONI and the UNSC should own. So, unless your calling to talk about how we might prevent them from retrieving it I need to end this call.” Hoss said. There was a moment of silence before Halsey eased her way into comfort.

“Yes, that seems like the bigger issue. Seeing as it will take weeks to reach you, all I can do is provide you information I gathered from the empty locations the Covenant excavated—but you seemed to already know all of that, don’t you, Doctor?

“Yes. What I need to know is how they do it and what I should look for.” Hoss said.

“What fleet arrived?” Halsey asked impatiently.

“Solemn Penance.” Hoss said.

“A Prophet? This must be big. I speculated there might be such a Forerunner artifact on a rich colony like Meridian. Still, I’m wondering why a Prophet might be pursuing Luminaries unless he’s guided by them.” Halsey spoke aloud. Most Doctors did that but when Halsey did it, it felt more like an insult because she obviously had more information than anyone else, which is exactly what Hoss thought of her; selfish.

“I know the Covenant believe the Luminaries are some type of map leading them to other Forerunner artifacts but from what you have uncovered” Hoss exaggerated “the Covenant manipulate them. How?”

“Judging by your smart comment, I’m sure you can answer the question yourself. Tell me Doctor, what don’t you know about my personal research.” Halsey asked angrily.

“Like I said, we can discuss that another time. Don’t trail off topic, I need answers if we are to save any lives here.” Hoss said, determined. Halsey was quiet for a moment until Hoss could hear flutter and papers being scattered.

“Found it.” Halsey said. “The Covenant will send Cruisers until they locate the site. As soon as they do, the main Carrier, in this case; Solemn Penance, will descend and position itself above the ground and excavate the site until they have full view of the Luminary. Then they extract it using their gravity lifts. I estimate that the procedure would take anywhere from hours to days depending on the depth of the artifact.” Halsey expected Hoss to ask a question but she was too busy doing her own calculations on her data pad.

“3 and half hours.” Hoss breathed. She wasn’t able to tell, for obvious reasons, if Halsey was shocked but she didn’t have to.

“What?” Halsey asked seeming completely mystified. Hoss was having a hard time understanding it herself. She glanced up at the monitors still displaying the skirmish and it was beginning to look like the Covenant were inching their way toward the Anchor stations, Hoss’s included. By her calculations, if the Covenant managed to break through their defenses it would be a matter of days until the planet was glassed and they’d be on their way toward another star system. The feeling of complete and utter despair filled her heart and her legs gave way. Think you idoit! She yelled at herself. “a diversion, we need a diversion.” She said aloud, somewhat shaken up.

“Yes, I assume the Covenant will reach land within hours so you only have days until they glass—“Halsey was interrupted.

“Thank you, Doctor Halsey, but I can take it from here. If I manage to survive this invasion, which that is more than just “unlikely”, we can continue our conversation. Until then, Good day.” And Hoss yanked her ear piece and aggressively held her hand out for the coms operator to take it which she did carefully.

Doctor Racheal Hoss marched out of the cubicle and down the carpet stairs, her data pad held to her chest, until she reached the bottom floor and then turned around. She faced the entire coms center, like earlier, and she had hoped then like she did now that this would be the last time she would have to address them on such terms. This was her chance to make a difference in the war but most importantly she had to stay alive or else all of it would be for nothing.

“Attention” Hoss announced, the entire center stood. “The Covenant are pushing our defenses and will, inevitably, land on Meridian. Our job Is to ensure they do.” She paused trying to find the right words to say but already people were beginning to whisper.

“The Covenant are here looking for something, we’re going to stall them. I want you all to start communicating with UEG and UNSC bases, have them send cavalry to remote locations, away from civilization. Inform them that the locations are where the Covenant are predicted to land.” Already everyone’s voices began to lift, drowning out hers.

“What are you asking of us?”

“What about the cities? Don’t they need protection?”

“You’re asking us to send them to their deaths.” People began to fill the room with their scared questions and comments.

“Enough!” Hoss yelled. The room was quiet and most operators sat down. Hoss stared at the ones still standing.

“The Covenant are here looking for something” Hoss was trying to calm herself. “They will land in those cities and kill those people, if we stand and do nothing.” She said pointing out at the sight of the northern hemisphere or Meridian.

“But if we spread our troops, have them gather at locations away from the cities, then the Covenant will follow keeping the battle away from civilization and possibly stall them in their search for whatever it is they are looking for.”

Rachel Hoss knew her operators were not stupid, they knew she was very much aware of what the Covenant were here looking for but chose not to announce their objections. Instead, they all nodded and immediately contacted several UEG and UNSC bases ordering them to send troops to random coordinates throughout Meridian. Hoss stood for moment then turned around facing the view of Meridian and the battle taking place above it. She was beginning to feel hopeless, thinking that she couldn’t sustain such a huge defense grid.

Several Captains and Commanders announced their maneuvers and decisions to fire and at what. While a lot of the responsibility of maintaining the defenses were on them they still heavy relied on Hoss’s judgement. She was the only one in the system that understood the Covenant and their technology. She was the only one who would be able to provide insight to their battle strategies and patrol groups. She was one of few who understand their motives and desire to annihilate the human species. And at this very moment, every Captain and Commander in control of the UNSC defense grid was doing exactly what they were supposed to…and yet it didn’t matter. Even with the small fleet that arrived, the Covenant were going to land on Meridian and people were going to die…and the only thing she could do was save as many as possible which is exactly what she was determined to do.