Author's Note:  THERE WON'T BE A CHAPTER IN DECEMBER BECAUSE OF THE HOLIDAYS

  (See you all next year)

  Taking a sip of his coffee, Samuel sat down. Initially, he thought the two-hundred-kilometer exclusion zone around the ship was excessive, but now he was grateful for Colonel Vega’s foresight. The outer walls were heavily fortified, while the interior wall, protecting vital infrastructure, was lined with barricades and a tall chain-link fence, providing clear lines of sight for nearby firebases. The wide buffer zone between the walls gave Chief Kasongo’s people enough space to set up their town.

  As Samuel read through the reports, mostly updates on various projects, he noted that the roads were now properly established, and a water line had been completed, connecting to the tribesmen’s camp. Construction of training schools had also begun, and within a few weeks, his officers would be able to start training new personnel.

  One report caught his eye. Labeled “Proposals,” it made him wonder if they truly needed to abandon the Prometheus. After serving aboard her for so long, it was hard not to feel sentimental. Still, the technology they had uncovered was far superior to what they had. “Apollo, connect me to the Icarus. I need to speak with Calliope.”

  Apollo’s avatar quickly appeared on a nearby projector. “One moment, sir.” In seconds, Calliope’s voice came through the room’s speakers. It seemed the two constructs were in a tug-of-war, as the projector's light flickered between blue and orange.

  “Good evening, Admiral Irons,” Calliope greeted.

  Though the title still felt strange, Samuel knew he would have to accept it sooner or ter. “Hello, Calliope. That will be all for now, Apollo. Thank you.” Once the projector stopped flickering, Samuel began his inquiry. “Calliope, this report mentions that you partnered with an agent of the Ghostwalkers. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, sir. Specialist Markus Bke was once part of ONI Section Four, Xeno Materials Exploitation Group. I needed his expertise for the reverse engineering efforts on the Icarus.”

  Samuel struggled to trust anyone from ONI, despite his efforts. He had hoped Calliope would keep everything under wraps until he could approve it, but it seemed his new title carried little weight, as ONI was already involved. “I see,” he said dryly. There was no point in crying over spilled milk. “I haven’t finished reading the report, but since you’re here, would you care to give me a presentation instead?”

  “Gdly,” Calliope said, maniputing the projector to dispy various blueprints hovering around them. “First, let’s give an overview of what we’re working with.” She brought forth a 3D model of the Icarus. “The mothership, originally named the Pride of Hiigara, was found adrift near asteroid 433 Eros during a recon mission toward Mars. This ship is far more advanced than anything we’ve encountered so far. When it was reactivated, we discovered that it’s capable of building ships dozens of times faster than any UNSC shipyard. Possibly due to that, the Hiigaran navy’s doctrine differs significantly from ours, according to the data left on the ship’s databanks.”

  “Different in what way?” Samuel asked, taking a sip of his coffee while scrolling on his datapad.

  “UNSC ships are typically equipped with a variety of primary and secondary systems—weaponry and equipment designed to handle any scenario they might face. A jack-of-all-trades approach. Hiigaran vessels, on the other hand, have specific ‘roles,’ creating variants of the same ship equipped with different weapons to tackle different problems. Because of this, their ships are small, compact, uncomplicated, and easy to manufacture. However, this makes most of their ships incompatible with our battle doctrine.”

  Calliope continued, “While their ships may not be of much use to us, their technology could be, if properly utilized.” She brought up a new projection, with its specs and details hovering neatly beside it. “Here we have the Taiidani Defense Field Generator. Much to Specialist Markus’ disappointment, this technology is not a ‘shield.’ It’s a device that emits an electromagnetic field around itself, which disrupts fast-moving projectiles and weakens the effects of energy weapons.”

  Though it wasn’t a true shield, a means of protecting ships from energy weapons was still a blessing. However, Samuel had some concerns. “Wouldn’t that interfere with our MAC systems?” Not only that, but the electromagnetic field could likely jam their sensors, disrupt communications, and cause missiles to miss their targets.

  “That’s correct, sir,” Calliope replied. “The data suggests it could theoretically counter Covenant weaponry, but testing and determining how to properly integrate it into our fleet will require further study.”

  Samuel nodded, imagining the tactical advantage this technology could offer the UNSC. He continued scrolling on his datapad. “A Vaygrian Cloak Generator,” he muttered. As the name suggested, its purpose was pretty straightforward. He noted that there is an attached pending request to install one on the ONI Prowler. Frowning, he scrolled back up. “Hang on. Earlier it was Taiidani, and now it’s Vaygrian,” he said, confused by the changing names.

  “The Hiigaran foundries have a means of reverse-engineering technologies acquired through trade or captured from opposing factions,” Calliope expined. “That’s why the ship’s systems were able to accept UNSC schematics with minimal complications.”

  Samuel was taken aback by this. The Covenant had always been a dozen steps ahead of them through sheer technological superiority. Yet, despite these disadvantages, they had secured numerous victories against them. "How exactly are they performing this... 'capture'?" He wondered about the possibility of acquiring Covenant shield technology, imagining how it could level the pying field.

  “Either through the use of an Infiltrator Frigate, which is basically an ODST troop transport,” Calliope began. “SOEIV pods would puncture a hole through the hull, allowing the boarding party to enter the enemy vessel.” A tactic the UNSC navy had used extensively in the past. Though it worked against Insurrectionist groups, it had never succeeded against the Covenant. Even with a dozen ships’ entire contingent of ODSTs, fighting against hundreds of thousands of Grunts, Jackals, and Elites within would be an uphill battle.

  “Or through Salvage Corvettes,” Calliope continued, dispying 3D models of both ships. “These are vessels equipped with tractor beams, designed to maneuver disabled enemy ships and push them to the rear lines, either for boarding or salvaging.”

  Samuel frowned as he pondered both options. Both seemed risky. Who in their right mind would tow an enemy vessel next to theirs? There was always the risk of the enemy self-destructing and damaging everything nearby. Worse, they might stage a counter-boarding action, abandoning their crippled vessel to take over yours. Still, between the two, the corvette option seemed less risky and could have its uses.

  "Calliope, would it be possible to install those tractor beams onto our HLVs?" Samuel asked. The D20 Herons were vital for ground operations, capable of deploying firebases, but outside of that, they were mostly slow cargo haulers. This new technology could give these ships a new purpose.

  Calliope quickly pulled up a projection of the Heavy Lift Vehicle schematics. Considering the retively small size of the alien salvage corvette, it seemed feasible to swap out parts to fit the new tractor beam module. “I’d need to build several prototypes to finalize the design, sir. A hull redesign and additional armor would be necessary to increase its survival chances in combat. What should we call this new vessel, Admiral?”

  “Can’t we just use ‘Heron’ again?” Samuel asked.

  Calliope shook her head. The UNSC had a tradition of naming small crafts after birds—the Pelican, Condor, Albatross. Samuel thought for a moment. “How about ‘Weaver’?” he suggested, referencing a small bird native to sub-Saharan Africa. He’d been trying to learn more about the continent where they now found themselves. Calliope nodded, registering the new ship css in her database.

  Moving on, Samuel checked the list again. “Your next proposal... a carrier. I don’t recognize this design.” He examined the schematics, noting its dimensions till he realized that this ship has a warfactory simir to the Icarus but at a smaller scale. And the fact that it was capable of traveling through space on its own. He frowned. “Insurrectionists could capture this. It would be best to just build a stationary shipyard complex. That way, we can make it as rge and heavily fortified as we want.”

  Before Calliope could expin, Samuel shot down the idea entirely. This surprised the AI construct—she had not accounted for their old enemies. “I have failed to consider the possible reemergence of Insurrectionists,” she admitted. With humanity once again expanding and colonizing pnets throughout the gaxy, old enemies could potentially reappear. Calliope had been so focused on dealing with the Covenant that she overlooked this possibility. “Very well. If we begin construction of the orbital shipyard around Mars, it would take about a year to complete and would render the Icarus unavaible for that duration. Shall I proceed, Admiral?”

  A year... That’s far too long. In just a few weeks, the new recruits would need ships to train on. The thought of the Icarus, their current lifeline, sitting unguarded for such an extended time also bothered him. Even now, the Prometheus had to send half of its combat pilots to train so they could maintain a perimeter around it using newly built Longswords. Samuel hesitated before finally relenting. “Fine, build your carrier,” he said. The new carrier could construct the components for the orbital facility, it would probably slow down the construction time but it would leave the Icarus free for future operations.

  He then recalled how massive the Reyes-McLees Orbital Shipyards on Mars were, and trying to hide something of that size would be difficult. “What about those cloak generators?” he asked. “Can you install them throughout the orbital facility? Make sure they’re activated whenever the station could be spotted from Earth?”

  “Hide the entire facility from the public? That can be arranged, Sir,” Calliope replied. In the background, the Icarus’ war factories began construction. Ores and minerals were processed with high-intensity heat, while assembly cranes and automated foundries busily manufactured materials for the task.

  “One more thing—does this mobile shipyard of yours have FTL drives? If so, remove them.” At the very least, if the carrier were stolen, it would only be able to travel as far as its sublight engines could take it.

  “Understood, Sir,” Calliope said.

  “Speaking of which,” Samuel continued, “can we build slipspace drives?”

  “The system is sensitive enough to build critical components of the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine,” Calliope expined. “However, the Hiigarans use a different FTL system called Hyperspace Modules, which we can also build.”

  “Are theirs better than ours?” Samuel wondered. Over the years, dozens of studies had been conducted on different forms of faster-than-light travel. It made him curious—what if they had discovered something other than slipspace first? But the old saying crossed his mind: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. There’d be no point in studying a new jump drive system unless it offered a clear advantage.

  "Without building one, all I can offer is the intel avaible in their database. Theoretically, it seems possible to use their FTL system for longer distances, but it would affect accuracy and could send a ship veering light-years off course—possibly into unknown and dangerous locations. Additionally, using such devices requires vast amounts of energy, so they can't be used while the ship is moving. However, they are accurate enough for intra-system jumps."

  “But having to stop in the middle of combat is not ideal either,” Irons pondered for a moment. “Is it possible to move entire space stations through Slipspace?”

  “Technically, yes. But I don’t see how moving a space station would be of any use to us, sir,” Calliope replied. "If we needed a new station, it would be more viable to build one instead of asking an existing one to jump across the sector."

  “You mentioned the Hyperdrive Modules are accurate for short-range jumps,” Samuel said, a thought forming.

  Calliope began to understand. “I think I see where you’re heading, Admiral.” Hundreds of Orbital Defense Ptforms (ODPs) were required to protect a pnet from every angle—an expensive endeavor. But if stations could simply jump into position, a couple dozen would be more than enough. "Though may I ask, if we build these, where would we pce them? They also would have to be Moncton-css ptforms, Sir."

  The Moncton-css Orbital Defense Ptform fires slower than other systems but has an onboard reactor, making it ideal if it would have to warp in and out of its position. It contrasts with the Erod-css, which fires faster but relies on ground-based reactors—a weakness exploited at Reach when Covenant Zealots disabled ground stations, allowing an invasion.

  “What about behind Luna?” Samuel suggested. The moon’s consistent rotation made the dark side an ideal location for positioning MAC ptforms.

  “A fine choice, Admiral,” Calliope acknowledged.

  “Though we should probably focus on the shipyard first,” Samuel said, steering the conversation back. “You may build a few of the alien ships for testing purposes. Just ensure they're properly disposed of afterward.”

  “Acknowledged, sir.”

  “And as we train new sailors, build a number of Scholte-css ships as well,” Samuel added. The Scholte-css missile corvette had a reputation for reliability, capable of punching above its weight css. It had served the UNSC in training new recruits for decades.

  “May I suggest we provide them with Lancers instead, Admiral?” Calliope interjected. Though the Scholte-css was once state-of-the-art, it was slow and has limited slipspace capabilities. Additionally, it primarily relied on missiles—which, due to their small magazine size, are ineffective against shielded Covenant ships. The Lancers on the other hand are built for speed and employing wolf pack tactics, were better suited for harassing rger vessels.

  Irons considered her point before nodding. "Very well. Anything else?"

  “I have several more ideas, Admiral,” Calliope replied. “However, we currently ck the facilities to pursue them.” Unlocking the secrets of the Icarus had only scratched the surface. The new technologies they had discovered were merely the tip of the iceberg, and building a fleet powerful enough to repel the Covenant would require much more than just ships.