Chapter 87

A/N: New replacement for Axel's Nano Armor as I found this design to look better and less edgy.

(New Nano Armor)

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Axel was laying sleep in his bed with Catherine snuggled against his chest. She had just finished her own flash clone project and created an AI that she named Cortana. She had thought about creating a sister AI that was as powerful as Omni since having two powerful AI would speed up research projects significantly and give her a personnel AI that she can utilize.

For Axel this was the first time that he had gotten more than 6 hours of sleep. However, at the same time within these 6 hours that he had been sleeping a major crisis had just occurred above the world of Concord.

As he was sleeping Omni's avatar had appeared next to his desk and started calling his name, "Sir, Sir you need to wake up. There's been a serious incident."

Axel opened his eyes, turning to where heard the voice of Omni's avatar. Catherine shifted next to him, groggily lifting her head. Axel rubbed her head making her lay back down while he turned his head towards Omni.

"What happened Omni, what's going on?" Axel asked. He knew that unless it was something extremely serious then he would not inform him until the morning.

"Sir, the Orbital station above Concord has been destroyed along with all of its crew and 7 ships part of the defense force have been heavily damaged because of a Covenant Antimatter charge onboard the station" Omni explained.

"How did a Covenant Antimatter charge get aboard the station?" Axel asked, confused about how such a thing happened.

"It's a long story, Sir. But to give you the short of it, from the video footage I was able to discover a Covenant ship, under the pretense of a diplomatic mission, docked at the station. Sergeant Brooks, who had been assigned to perform a routine inspection, was attacked instead. He appeared to have eliminated his attacker, but the noise alerted the Elite outside," Omni continued as he had the full report pulled up on a holographic screen in front of Axel. "An explosion followed shortly after."

Axel read through the report making sure to read every word so that he could understand everything that transpired while he was asleep. Once he was done, to say he was angry would put it mildly. Admiral Ross who was basically an old man at this point was the senior Officer in charge when Axel was unavailable but was also instructed to contact Axel should anything serious occur.

But in this instance, that was not the case. It was Admiral Ross who had given the order to negotiate with the Covenant, leading to the events that just transpired.

"Omni, dispatch some MCUs and have Admiral Ross report to my office at once," Axel commanded. He carefully shifted Catherine aside without waking her, then got out of bed and started putting on his uniform.

About half an hour later, Admiral Ross was sitting across from Axel's desk with a serious look on his face. That was the only look he could think of using since he knew that his job and possibly his life was over.

Standing behind Admiral Ross was to MCUs who were standing by to arrest Admiral Ross once all of this was done.

On the other side of the desk, Axel set a timer for 3 minutes and then looked at Admiral Ross "You have 3 minutes, GO!" shouted Axel slamming his hand on the desk.

Admiral Ross didn't need anything else said as he started to explain himself "Sir, I didn't think that this was situation would turn out this way, I thought that we would finally be able to make peace with the Covenant, but I was blinded by my own dream of having peace between us and the Covenant. I allowed the enemy to land on the station and didn't tell you about it because I wanted to handle it myself. I wanted the glory of being the one who brought peace to humanity. I didn't think something as insignificant as a diplomatic meeting would lead to such disastrous results," Admiral Ross confessed, his voice trembling in the silent room.

Axel simply stared at him with cold eyes as Admiral Ross hesitated to get his next words out. Among the entire security council, Admiral Ross was the only one who didn't get the officer enhancements as he didn't see the need for it, and he wanted to retire soon and die of old age.

The officer enhancements were not mandatory amongst the UNSC as that would cross the line into unethical territory. However, it was highly recommended to all senior military personnel as it would boost their physical and mental capabilities and extend their lifespans. Despite being very progressive when it came to the UNSC and promoting people because they had proved themselves vs only promoting people because of how long they had been in, Admiral Ross was a man of old principles which is why he declined.

"You have failed me Admiral Ross, even though you didn't take the officer enhancements I still trusted you to make the correct decisions especially when your old age appeared to be catching up to you. But now you can't even make rational decisions anymore," Axel's voice echoed throughout the room "Your desire for personal glory has cost us thousands of lives"

Admiral Ross sagged in his chair, his face pale. He opened his mouth to speak, but Axel silenced him with a wave of his hand.

"Your time is up," he announced sternly. The two MCUs stepped forward, gripping the Admiral's arms tightly.

"But... I--"

"No." Axel's voice held no room for dispute. "There will be no excuses, no last-minute pleas. You are relieved of your duties and stripped of your rank effective immediately."

Admiral Ross was led from the room in silence, leaving Axel alone with Omni. "Omni," he called out without turning his gaze from the now empty chair across his desk. "I need you to find someone capable of filling Ross' position."

"Aye, Sir I have already found a few capable Admirals" replied Omni already a step ahead.

"Good, select the best one who ensures that they have taken or are willing to take the officer enhancements" Added Axel.

Above Concord efforts were already being made to go through the wreckage of the station searching for bodies so that they could be returned to their families. The damaged ships were already getting repaired while 4 more battle groups had joined them. These battlegroups were the ones that had responded to appearance of Covenant activity within the system. However, when they arrived it was already over.

Concord itself had remained untouched thanks to its planetary shield which prevented debris from falling towards the planet and blocked the explosion.

4 hours had passed since the station's destruction. However, ONI had controlled the spread of the information and kept it under wraps until they were prepared to release the news.

An announcement was made by the UHE that an empire wide broadcast was to be conducted within the next few hours. Despite the mounting tension, life on Concord continued with some semblance of calm. The people went about their day-to-day affairs, oblivious to the bitter loss that humanity had suffered.

Meanwhile on the side of the Covenant, the High council had gathered to receive some horrific news.

The Hierarchs had gathered in the grand sanctum, their ceremonial robes resplendent under the glow of the holographic display illuminating the center of the room.

"Honored Hierarchs," a Sangheili official began as he took a step forward, "we have lost contact with the diplomatic ship sent to negotiate with humanity."

A collective gasp went through the council at this revelation. Only direct attacks or complete destruction could cause such loss of communication.

"The last transmission from the ship indicated they had docked at the human's space station," he continued, ignoring the murmurs and whispers that spread through the chamber like wildfire. "Following that, there has been only silence."

The Prophet of Truth had held his smile back as he spoke up, "We warned you" Started Truth. "The humans cannot be trusted, it's clear that we didn't lose contact with our ship because of an error or a malfunction, but because the humans sabotaged it, possibly even destroying it completely. This is their answer to our gesture of peace. They do not seek harmony like us. They only seek destruction."

There was a murmur of agreement through the hall as heads nodded and voices murmured their assent, their ceremonial robes rustling in the grand sanctum. The rest of the council, initially taken aback by the news, were now visibly angry.

"But there could be other explanations..." a voice said hesitantly, belonging to a Sangheili councilor who had always advocated for peace. "Perhaps there was an accident on board their ship or—"

"No!" Truth banged his fist on his armrest, sending reverberations throughout the silent chamber. "We will not entertain such thoughts. This is yet another brutality by the humans, and we will respond in kind."

A hush fell over the council as they digested his words, none daring to oppose him. The council was divided among those who sought diplomacy and those who sought an aggressive stance against humanity.

Truth then turned his gaze towards a particular holographic display showing the last known location of their diplomatic ship. An intense fire burned in his eyes as he pondered over their next move.

"Prepare our fleets," he commanded in a tone that echoed finality, "It's clear now that peace is off the table. We will give the humans a war they can never forget."

A wave of approval swept through the council at his words as they promptly began preparing for an all-out assault on human space. The chamber filled with fervent activity, as representatives from various sects began issuing orders to their respective fleets and units.

Thousands of ships were now at the command of the Hierarchs as they had secured the support of most councilors, and the others were soon to follow. Hundreds of millions of Covenant troops began to mobilize, ready to invade human space.

Truth, Regret, and Mercy had worked for years waiting for this moment and now it had come. Still Mercy had a lingering doubt in his mind, during his meditations he couldn't see anything but darkness surrounding the Covenant Empire. As Truth and Regret schemed, Mercy retreated to his chambers while muttering the words 'It's too late'.