| abstract | - Purity of Spirit was not unique, not by a long shot. But it was a marvel of engineering and design. Pryo was always interested in how cruisers and carriers worked on all levels. The artificial gravity, the ability to enter slipspace, and other abilities he did not yet understand. The journey through slipstream to Eayn was average on the scale of most jumps. Even then, it took more than one hundred Sangheilios days. While most soldiers spent the trip in a special form of a coma, Pryo decided to try to understand the ship. He had gone throughout the cruiser and observed it's inner workings. Many times he encountered Unggoy tapering with devices, inspecting them, or trying to fix them. He had developed a liking to them. The Unggoy loved the thrill of fighting, as long as they survived. There were so many of them too, he couldn't recall meeting the same one twice through out the entire journey. In talking with them, he had learned a lot about their culture. And they appreciated his interest, they appreciated getting to interact with something other than an occasional Huragok. Pryo learned that the Unggoy claimed they were the smartest race of the entire Covenant because they actually ran away when a battle threatened their lives. Pryo spent the last third of the the jump asleep. An electronic pulse through his spine was used to wake him up, as is done on most cruisers. Pryo would've rather woken up slowly, but the pulse made him fully awake in an instant, and gave him an awful head-ache. Once he awoke, he and every single soldier on the cruiser came to an assembly hall. Every Huragok, Unggoy, and and Sangheili soldier was there. Even Varas was present, and the Mgalekgolo pair was present. As Pryo walked in and turned to go up the aisle, the ship's AI appeared on a small projection unit. The AI spoke first. "Shipmaster?" "Set a course for the city, all weapons on standby. Drop the main gravity lift at the west node. Adjust the cruiser's gravity to match that of Eayn." "All directives understood. Carrying out." "Do not alert me of completion until I am on the bridge." "Directive understood." "End assignment." "Recognized." The AI vanished. The conversations was very quick, Pryo could hardly understand it. He moved up the aisles, he joined Reko. In only a few more moments, the entire auditorium was filled. No on was speaking, the only sound was the hum of the cruiser's engine. "We are decelerating was we approach Eayn, the Kig-Yar home. It's gravity is 61% that of Sangheilios, the gravity this cruiser is set to. It make take some time to be accustomed to the difference." Pryo noticed he felt lighter, and the Unggoy weren't slouching as much. "A group of Kig-Yar have committed many acts of heresy. They attacked, and took a fortification containing large amounts of personal firearms, large explosives, assault vehicles, and an assault gun carriage. Fortunately, they killed everyone at the base who knows how to operate them. They took the base armed with Plasma Pistols, and snipers. What they lacked in strength and ability they made up for in numbers. At the end of the battle, 56 Sangheili dead, 27 taken prisoner. 173 Unggoy dead, 2 taken prisoner. The plan is as follows." A large hologram appeared behind him, it mapped the area around the base. "They are holding in the central communication tower. There are multiple towers in the nearby cities, we think they may have sharpshooters there. Under the cover of night, we will search and take all three nearby towers as quietly as possible. All operatives will be using active camouflage. Three Phantoms will go to each tower, nine total. Twenty Serpahs will fly in the area. Two will escort each Phantom, six total. The infantry Majors have assembled their teams, as have the pilots. They will be listed on the panels as you exist. If your name appears, head down to the hangar. The Phantoms are departing in five units." The hologram disintegrated, Varas stepped back. Slowly, soundlessly they all moved out of the auditorium. The Huragok had little business with combat. They operated holopanels. Most names were in red, some in green. Individual's whose names were in green were directed to the hangar. As he made his way over, he saw his name in green symbols.
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