Loot Crate/Transcriptions/Halo Conflict

ARANUKA TERMINUS
UNSC BUTEO'S TALON
31 OCTOBER 2556
0447 STANDARD

//LINE OF SIGHT//PRIVATE TRANSMISSION
//CLASSIFIED//EFFACE AFTER RECEPTION
//RE: INTERSPECIES RELATIONS
//GEN R. DELLERT TO FADM T. HOOD

Terrence, I hope this finds you well.

Let me cut to the chase. My contacts roaming Bravo-6 got word of a specialized S-IV operation not on the books that directly intersects with your current work, namely our political relationship with the Sangheili. My people did some digging and this is what I found…

Apparently, a FIRETEAM APOLLO was dispatched to the exclusion zone earlier this year. Yes, you know the zone I'm talking about — the accretion plane around SOELL IV. The directive reports don't say what they were after, but some files in this compilation are yours. Specifically re: Kenya, back in '52. ONI's looking for something out there, which, in itself, isn't altogether surprising.

The big problem here isn't what they're after. The problem is that they're jeopardizing all of the work you're doing aboveground with the Sangheili, and they're poking the political imbroglio that Charet and the other bureaucrats are in right now because most of the UEG is still pretty pissed we're playing nice with hinge-heads.

If your buddy 'Vadamee were to find out that we had people snooping around in the exclusion zone, it'd be a pile of hot garbage for you to sift through. I reckon he'd be pretty pissed that we can't seem to keep very simple promises (like a 500 l/s quarantine on the other end of Orion), and he might send his own crew out there to start digging for tech, weapons, etc. That's the last thing we need right now.

You may want to have a heart-to-heart with Parangosky.

Good luck with that.

As an aside, my contacts did get me something you might find interesting. Apparently APOLLO actually found an object of value in the exclusion zone. A Covenant cruiser's black box with their leader's first recorded communication on the approach of ALPHA HALO, just before Keyes arrived. The intel inside is… illuminating.

Give it a look. I know 'Vadam's people have offered some of the Covenant's flight records as a show of confidence in our arrangement, but nothing like this. The data here might come in handy the next time you're sitting across the table from them, especially if we're trying to think three steps ahead and mitigate the next group of fanatics confused about the difference between a god and a bunch of extinct aliens with fancy toys and too much time on their hands.

TRANSLATED BY A.I. ADALBERT
DATA CROPPED TO SEC 564-589

//ATTACHMENT//OPERATION: SHELL GAME
//OBJ 4356-V4/SAMPLE//'THE APPROACH'
//SOURCE:'UNDIMINISHED ENTELECHY'

FLEET-WIDE COMM BETWEEN 'SEEKER OF TRUTH' AND 'ASCENDANT JUSTICE' LINGUAL RECONSTRUCTION: DIPLOMATIC CORPS AZIKIWE, MELODY [12-JUL-2556]

257: Bring us closer, but with caution.

114: Is it possible? Could this really be?

257: The human vessel has not yet arrived, but will be here shortly.
257: All ships prepare to engage.

114: It is more majestic than even I had imagined.
114: How did the humans know of this place? Why would they come here?

257: Perhaps they already have a presence on the Ring?

114: Impossible.
114: No doubt, the coordinates were hidden somewhere on their world.
114: When they realized all was lost…
114: They sought to spite us by coming here and desecrating its glory.

257: I would not discount the humans' shrewdness, Steward.
257: They are clever creatures.

114: Do not be foolish, Commander. This is one of the Sacred Rings.
114: How could they possible dwell on the works of the gods?
114: At last, we will have salvation. Nothing will impede our efforts.

257: Transmit to fleet: Each ship spares two fighters.
257: Establish a picket on the perimeter. Engage directly on sight.
257: Obliterate the humans.

114: Do not damage the Ring in your personal ambitions, Commander.
114: We should infiltrate their craft, drag them out of their shell.
114: In their ignorance, they may hold a key to Reclamation.
114: We need to ascertain the source of their knowledge.
114: You know that I have the right of command according to holy writ.
114: The presence of Halo confirms this.

257: We are at war, Steward.
257: I will not relinquish command to a politician during combat.

114: Hand over control or you will suffer shame before the Hierarchs.

257: Then it is a shame I will suffer. Not your impertinence, Steward.
257: Meet me aboard the Seeker. We shall contact High Charity together.