Halo: The Interlopers

On the bridge of the assault carrier -- Oath of Retribution, Varo 'Taham slouched comfortably in his gravity chair. His eyes closed, 'Taham gracefully twirled the handle of an inactive Energy Sword in his massive hand. The dimly lit bridge was quiet and serene, with only the gentle hums and howls of the vessel's inner workings being audible.

These short occassions of serenity on the bride were cherished by 'Taham. He saw it as a time of meditation and reflection, a time when he could try to tame the chaos that had been imprinted in his brain by 30 years of constant warfare and loss. He knew he could not heal the scars seered into his memory, but he could dull the pain.

"Fleet Master," said one of the deckhands who effectively broke the silence on the bridge. His sudden outburst nearly made Varo drop the Energy Sword in his claws. "Sensors have located a small cluster of ships nearby."

"Show me," replied Varo in a deep, almost growling tone.

In front of the Fleet Master, a holographic data projection had appeared from thin air. It displayed five small dots, each dot accompanied by statistics which indicated the classification of the vessel it represented. According to the projection, there were four SDV-class heavy corvettes and a CPV-class heavy destroyer which held particularly more interest to Varo than any of the other vessels.