Chapter 334 — The Fall of Regret
Silence fell across the command deck.
Not true silence.
Alarms still screamed throughout the flagship.
Weapons still fired somewhere deeper within the ship. Explosions echoed through its corridors, followed by the groan of twisting metal and collapsing bulkheads.
But on the command deck itself, nobody moved.
Hundreds of Covenant warriors stared at the body hanging limply from Metaurus's grasp.
The Prophet of Regret.
One of the Three Hierarchs.
Dead.
For several seconds, nobody seemed capable of accepting it.
A Sangheili Major stared at the body, his grip tightening around his plasma rifle.
He had fought humanity for decades.
He had watched their worlds burn.
He had watched their ships disappear beneath weapons fire.
He had seen their soldiers die by the thousands.
None of it had prepared him for this.
The Hierarch was supposed to be protected.
Honor Guards surrounded him at all times.
Hunters guarded his command deck.
An entire fleet protected his flagship.
And yet a human had walked onto the ship, fought through all of them, reached the command deck, and killed him.
The Major slowly looked toward Gaius.
The giant stood among the bodies of the Hierarch's protectors.
There was no celebration in his posture.
No raised weapon.
No speech.
He simply stood there, calm and composed, as though he had finished a task.
That frightened the Major more than anything else.
A whisper escaped from somewhere behind him.
"Regret..."
Another warrior answered.
"He's dead."
The words spread through the deck.
Not as an order.
Not as an announcement.
As disbelief.
Officers looked toward one another.
Some lowered their weapons.
Others simply stared at Gaius.
Nobody wanted to be the first to attack.
Nobody wanted to be the first to discover whether the giant was finished.
The report reached the flagship's communications network.
Then its internal battlenet.
Then the rest of the fleet.
The message was brief.
The Hierarch had been killed.
And the humans responsible were still aboard the flagship.
Aboard one of the Covenant reinforcement cruisers, the bridge descended into confusion.
"What do you mean the Hierarch is dead?"
"The command deck has stopped responding!"
"Re-establish contact!"
"We're trying!"
"Try again!"
"We already have!"
"Then keep trying!"
Technicians worked frantically at their stations.
New reports continued arriving.
Boarders had reached the command deck.
Honor Guards were dead.
Hunters were dead.
The Hierarch was dead.
Some officers refused to believe the reports.
Others had already begun looking toward the flagship.
The vessel remained visible on their tactical display.
Still fighting.
Still under attack.
But something was wrong.
Its orders had stopped.
Across the fleet, ships began asking for instructions.
Some received nothing.
Others received contradictory commands.
A vessel that had been moving toward the human defensive line suddenly turned toward the flagship.
Another continued its attack.
A third slowed to await further orders.
The fleet was beginning to separate.
A communications officer looked toward his superior.
"Should we continue the assault?"
The senior officer stared at the tactical display.
He had no answer.
The Hierarch was dead.
The command deck was silent.
And nobody knew who had authority now.
Finally, someone asked the question none of them wanted to hear.
"Who commands us now?"
Nobody answered.
On Cascade, Tony and Halsey watched the battle unfold through the tactical displays.
Covenant ships continued exchanging fire with the human fleet.
Then something changed.
Halsey noticed it first.
"What's happening?"
Tony looked over.
Several Covenant vessels had begun changing course.
Not together.
Not as a formation.
Individually.
Some continued toward the human defensive line. Others slowed. A few turned back toward the flagship.
Tony frowned.
"Cortana."
"I'm seeing it."
"What is it?"
"Their command traffic has dropped sharply."
Halsey looked at the fleet display.
"Communications failure?"
"Not exactly. Their ships are still communicating with one another, but the central command network is no longer coordinating them effectively."
Tony leaned closer.
"Can you tell why?"
"No."
A few seconds passed.
Then another notification appeared.
"JARVIS has confirmed Captain Gaius has completed his objective."
Tony looked toward the display.
"Is he out?"
"Not yet. His extraction beacon is active."
Halsey immediately looked at the timer.
"How long?"
"Approximately six minutes."
Tony nodded.
"Then we need to make sure he gets those six minutes."
He looked back at the Covenant fleet.
Their formation was becoming increasingly disorganized.
"Whatever happened aboard that ship," Tony said, "it hit their command structure hard."
Halsey watched another Covenant vessel break away from the formation.
"They're losing coordination."
"Which means they're going to start making mistakes."
Cortana brought up several projected trajectories.
"Multiple Covenant vessels are attempting to reposition. Their movements are no longer synchronized."
Tony smiled faintly.
"Good."
He turned toward the tactical officers.
"Keep the pressure on them. Prioritize anything moving toward Gaius's extraction route."
Tony looked back at the display.
"Nobody gets near him."
Back aboard the flagship, Gaius continued toward the extraction point.
His armored footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
Covenant warriors heard him approaching.
They moved aside.
Some pressed themselves against the walls.
Others disappeared through nearby doorways.
Nobody ordered them to retreat.
They simply did.
Word had already spread through the ship that the command deck had been breached and that the human boarders were still moving freely through the vessel.
Titus walked beside Gaius, bolter held ready.
Metaurus followed close behind.
The Dreadnought brought up the rear.
The ancient war machine nearly filled the width of the corridor.
Every step shook the deck beneath them.
Damaged doors that failed to open quickly enough were simply pushed aside.
Covenant personnel moved out of the way long before the Ultramarines arrived.
None of them wished to stand before the boarding force that had fought its way to the command deck and back.
Gaius activated his vox.
"JARVIS."
"Captain."
"Status."
"Extraction craft is on approach. Estimated arrival in five minutes and forty seconds."
"Understood."
Titus glanced down the corridor.
"Resistance?"
"Minimal."
Metaurus's vox rumbled.
"Perhaps they have learned their lesson."
Titus gave a short laugh.
"Let's hope they keep learning."
The Ultramarines continued forward.
The flagship was in chaos.
Warning lights flashed through smoke-filled corridors.
Emergency bulkheads sealed damaged sections.
Crew members rushed through passageways carrying equipment and weapons.
Others simply ran.
No one seemed certain where they were supposed to be.
Or who was still giving orders.
None of it mattered to Gaius.
The mission was complete.
Now he was leaving.
They rounded another junction.
A group of Sangheili stood ahead.
The warriors froze.
One of them slowly raised his plasma rifle.
Titus immediately brought his bolter up.
Metaurus's weapon tracked toward the group.
For a moment, neither side moved.
Then the Sangheili's eyes shifted past them.
Past Gaius.
Past Titus.
To the Dreadnought advancing behind them.
The ancient war machine nearly filled the corridor.
Its assault cannon rotated toward the group.
The Sangheili hesitated.
Then lowered his weapon.
Without a word, he stepped aside.
The others followed.
The Ultramarines walked past.
No challenge was issued.
No shots were fired.
The Covenant warriors simply watched them go.
A few minutes later, JARVIS spoke again.
"Captain."
"Report."
"The recovery craft has entered the flagship's vicinity."
"ETA."
"One minute."
Titus grinned.
"Almost home."
Gaius gave a slight nod.
The final stretch passed quickly.
The extraction point came into view.
A deep mechanical roar echoed through the compartment.
Moments later, JARVIS spoke.
"Recovery craft has arrived."
The armored ceiling above the extraction zone split apart.
Smoke and debris were blasted outward as a heavy transport descended into the flagship.
Its engines thundered through the chamber.
The rear ramp lowered.
Without hesitation, Gaius stepped aboard first.
Titus followed, then Metaurus and the two Bladeguard Veterans.
The Dreadnought came last.
The ancient war machine forced its massive frame into the transport, its weight making the deck groan beneath it. Once everyone was aboard, the hatch slammed shut.
"All personnel accounted for."
"Depart," Gaius ordered.
The craft pulled away.
Through the viewing ports, the Covenant flagship grew smaller behind them.
It was still fighting.
But the fleet around it was falling apart.
On Cascade, the tactical display had changed completely.
The Covenant fleet that had entered the system as a single force was now scattered across the battlespace.
Ships were breaking formation.
Some were turning toward the edge of the system.
Others were attempting to regroup around surviving command vessels.
It made little difference.
The human fleet was already among them.
One Covenant cruiser attempted to escape alone.
Three human vessels intercepted it.
Its shields collapsed beneath concentrated fire.
A salvo of missiles struck its exposed hull.
The cruiser erupted.
Another Covenant vessel tried to cover its retreat.
Planetary defense lasers tore through its shields before human ships finished it.
Then another.
And another.
Cortana tracked the destruction across the tactical display.
"They're being picked apart."
Tony watched another Covenant vessel disappear from the display.
"How many are still fighting?"
"Twenty-three operational vessels."
Halsey looked at the number.
"Out of forty-one."
"Correct."
Another contact vanished.
"Twenty-two."
For the first time since the battle began, nobody on the command deck had any doubt about how it would end.
The Covenant were losing.
Not slowly.
They were being destroyed.
Their remaining ships were no longer supporting one another effectively. Officers aboard several vessels were issuing conflicting orders. Others were simply retreating, abandoning damaged ships and isolated formations.
Their morale was collapsing with their fleet.
Cortana displayed intercepted communications.
Panic had begun spreading through the Covenant formations.
Some commanders were demanding reinforcements that would never arrive.
Others were ordering ships to withdraw.
A few were demanding that nearby vessels turn back and help them.
No one was listening.
Tony stared at the display.
"They came here expecting to wipe us out."
Halsey watched another Covenant ship break away from the engagement.
"And now they're running."
Tony nodded.
"Keep hunting them."
The fleet continued firing.
The extraction craft entered Cascade's airspace.
Below, the defensive batteries were still firing at the last Covenant vessels within range.
Above the battlefield, burning wreckage drifted through the atmosphere.
Gaius remained silent as he watched it through the viewport.
The battle was nearly over.
Not because the Covenant had chosen to retreat.
Because there was almost nothing left for them to retreat with.
JARVIS spoke through the transport's vox.
"Captain. Covenant losses have reached thirty vessels."
Gaius looked toward the display.
"Continue."
"Remaining enemy vessels are withdrawing."
A brief pause.
"Several have already been destroyed while attempting to disengage."
Gaius gave a small nod.
Behind him, Titus looked out through the viewport.
"They're finished."
Metaurus looked at the burning wreckage below.
"They were finished the moment their command broke."
The Dreadnought said nothing.
Its ancient bulk remained motionless within the transport, armor still stained with smoke and blood from the fighting aboard the flagship.
The craft descended toward the surface.
The transport touched down inside the defensive complex.
The ramp opened.
Gaius stepped onto the ground.
Titus and Metaurus followed.
The two Bladeguard Veterans came behind them.
Then the Dreadnought emerged from the transport, its immense frame shaking the deck with every step.
Personnel nearby turned toward them.
Nobody needed to ask whether the mission had succeeded.
The answer was obvious.
Above them, the last Covenant ships were withdrawing into space.
A distant explosion illuminated the sky.
Then another.
Cortana's voice came through the command network.
"Another Covenant vessel destroyed."
Tony's voice followed.
"How many?"
"Seven remain."
Halsey looked at the display.
Those seven ships were already separating from one another.
"Will any of them make it out?"
Cortana calculated for a moment.
"Unlikely."
Another marker disappeared.
"Six."
Then another.
"Five."
Tony watched the remaining contacts retreat toward the darkness beyond the battlefield.
The Covenant had arrived with forty-one vessels.
By the end of the battle, they would barely have any left.
And the force that had entered the system with the confidence of an army had been reduced to scattered ships fleeing for their lives.
Gaius looked toward the sky one final time.
The Covenant had come to erase Cascade.
Instead, they were the ones being erased.
He turned away.
"Report to the command center."
The Ultramarines followed.
Behind them, the guns continued firing.
The battle had reached its final stages.
The Covenant were being hunted down one ship at a time.
And for the first time since the invasion began, there was no question about who would be left standing.
~~~
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