Halo: Indelible Past/Chapter Twenty-Eight

Two heavily armed Path Walkers escorted Shinsu down a maze of twisting passages that brought them deeper and deeper into the Salvation's Voyage. Everywhere they went, squads of dull-armored warriors paused in their duties to look their visitor over in cold appraisal. They passed through more than a few spacious holds where warriors attended to garages filled with Ghosts, Wraiths, and other war machines and at one point they even marched past a hangar packed full of Seraph fighters.

The entire journey was completely unnecessary, of course. Shinsu could have been loaded onto one of the cruiser's rapid transit systems and been shot over to anywhere on the ship in no time at all. He suspected that Urei 'Cazal had arranged everything: the over-abundance of patrols, the inordinately full garages and hangars, this long, plodding march, as a means of putting him in his place. See the power at our disposal? the Voyage's crew seemed to be saying. And you presume to treat with us?

Such pageantry was a waste of time and resources and Shinsu found it all utterly tedious. Shows of force had their uses of course; they could be useful for inspiring allies and deterring enemies. But it was more than a little disappointing that Urei had thought such a ploy might be enough to intimidate him. Such underestimation might prove useful in these negotiations, but it could also cripple any chance of the alliance the Cleansing Blade so desperately needed.

Shinsu smiled at the thought of all the time and coordination that must have gone into preparing his tour of the Voyage. He hoped Urei had at least delegated most of that work to subordinates rather than plotting it all himself.