I Sold My Soul

1334 Hours, February 27, 2553

Governor's Office, Shinar

He stared at the pad sitting on his desk, the large contract made to look even bigger by the small screen of the device. He looked up only briefly to see the aging man in the white suit, hat in hand and a quartet of armed guards behind him. He felt numb, the day's earlier crisis making it hard to think straight, even as he signed his name on the pad and placed his thumb on the bio-scanner. He sat it back down on the desk and the man, grinning from ear to ear, picked it up and looked it over for a moment before placing inside his finely tailored suit. There was something... unnerving about the man's smile, like the Governor had just signed away something precious and only he truly knew what it was.

The man in the suit began speaking, his voice soft and accented, like something out of an old movie, "It has been a pleasure doing business with you, Governor Ovalle, we'll begin establishing our presence here as soon as the current security situation is dealt with."

Ovalle was only partially listening as he thought back to the events that had caused this. Shinar had lost contact with the UNSC in 2533, and was abandoned shortly afterwards, most of the population fleeing deeper into human space for protection as the Covenant moved deeper into the Outer Colonies and, eventually, into the Inner ones. Late in 2551, as the Covenant closed in on the final human strongholds, small groups of people began moving back to abandoned worlds like Shinar, hoping the Covenant, having already passed over them, would not return again to finish them off. This plan had gone well until late December last year, when a small group of Covenant ships had dropped out of Slipspace above the planet. Instead of glassing them, incinerating their cities and people from orbit, they had disgorged a mass of dropships, carrying a legion of the hulking, ape-like Brutes. The planet's militia tried their best to fight them off, but it was a losing battle, and in the end the Brutes pulled out on their own accord. In the aftermath, after the bodies and equipment had been recovered, the authorities had come to the conclusion that this was not an attempt to wipe them out, but raid them for supplies.

Over the next few months, the raids continued, and each time the Brutes made away with more irreplaceable resources, manufacturing and agricultural equipment, food and water, people. The already fragile planetary government was on the verge of collapse, in a place the UNSC could not readily provide any meaningful aid. It was then, during this most recent raid, that they arrived. A group of human frigates dropped out of Slipspace and engaged the small Covenant ships, damaging or destroying them in a matter of minutes, before launching an assault force of their own. These black armored soldiers made quick work of the Brutes, pushing the survivors back into the forests outside of the city.

It was only then that he was contacted by this man in the white suit, who claimed to represent Baal Defense Solutions, a private security firm with interests in providing relief and protection to the colony. When the issue of payment arouse, the man did everything he could to assure Ovalle that money was of no concern to his company, that protecting the vulnerable people of Shinar was a much higher priority. His words sounded sweet, like but with a hint of bitterness that gave Ovalle the sneaking suspicion that it was some kind of trap, but if it was, it was too late to escape. He had already signed the contract and he had a feeling, deep down in his gut, that these were not the people who would let him back out of it so easily. A sickening feeling was building up in the pit of his stomach, like he was on the verge of puking, and the more he thought of it, the worse the feeling got.

"Governor, are you alright? You're looking rather pale." The man in the suit chimed in, snapping Ovalle out of it. It seemed he had been waiting for a response while Ovalle was lost in thought.

"That's wonderful knews, Señor Anderson. I have full faith in you and your people. I cannot express my gratitude enough for what you have done already."

The man, Anderson, smiled that Incubus grin of his and nodded, "All in a day's work, Governor. I know we can do great things on this world."

The way he emphasized 'great' made him uncomfortable in a slew of new ways and, for a moment, he thought to himself that the 'we' might not have been referring to the Governor and Anderson. Anderson placed his hat back on his head, nodded once, and then left, motioning for his entourage to follow after. Left alone in his office, Ovalle wiped his hand across his forehead and realized just how profusely he had been sweating. He looked out his window and towards the sky, where the frigates hung quietly, an increasing number of troops and supplies being brought down to the surface. He kept thinking to himself that he had done this for the people, to keep them safe from the alien marauders, but no matter what he said, he couldn't help but believe that he had just sold them all out.