The Price of Failure

Destroyed, only fragments were left of its great majesty. But the story of Halo was far from over. The once great ring that remained stationary for over a hundred thousand years, a fortress that kept the life consuming parasite from spreading, now was nothing more than shards, floating out in an endless void. And someone had to answer for this tragedy; some one must make amends for this atrocity. Ships gathered, slick and dark, circling the ruined ring. And before them was a living space station, a world of council. And they gathered around the city of High Charity. The city itself was smoky, lights dim as usual. The whole city shimmered its metallic color of blues and deep violets. Glowing orbs of turquoise floated around before the Council Chambers. The streets were littered with the various species that belonged the Covenant. Unggoy waved their over-sized, blue-hued arms around, chiming out their high-pitched voices in cheers. Before them was a Zealot Sangheili being escorted by Honor Guards. He had a slight slump in his shoulders as he walked into the Council Chambers. Halo's destruction was his mistake.

Fleet Supreme Commander Otto 'Gamamee's golden armor shined brilliantly and almost defiantly in the ambient light of the Council Chambers. On one side of him were the Councilors of the Sangheili race, and the other side were lesser Prophets. Before him, floating in thrones only a few feet off the ground were the three Prophet Hierarchs. The doors closed slowly behind him and the proceedings began. Halo was his fault; the great Ring was destroyed because of his bumbling. That is what the Prophets began to deduce. The Sangheili Councilors agreed. This was a mark on their honor as well, a black mark that stained their glorious success throughout the ages. Here, now in the Ninth Age of Reclamation, the hope of the Great Journey slowly slipping away from them.

"It was only one ship," Otto began.

"One?" the Prophet of Truth asked, questioning the Sangheili's mathematics. How could one human ship do so much damage? "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Otto sighed. "They called it the Pillar of Autumn."

"I question this greatly," Truth said. "For we had reports there was another ship alongside the Human's vessel. One of our own that we have not seen in a while. A ship which could be seen only when she wants to."

"The Shade of Darkness!" the Prophet of Mercy cried. "That laggard Telek 'Herosee's ship! And with the heretic in your grasp, why did you not destroy him? And why was the Human ship not destroyed along with the rest of the fleet?"

"They fled as we set fire to the planet," Otto replied. "And I followed her with all the ships under my command. 'Herosee must have followed me as well. I did not know he was there because the Shade's experimental cloaking device. 'Herosee's ship was cloaked the entire time."

"And we had reports of various Spirits bearing 'Herosee's marking fly in and give aid to the Humans," said the Prophet of Regret. Otto turned to him. Regret was there only in holographic form. His ship was on a quest to find more artifacts of the Great Ones' legacy and perhaps another Halo. "He even supplied them with some of our Lords' devices and weapons!"

Truth held up a gnarled looking hand: "When you first saw Halo, were you blinded by its majesty?"

"Blinded?" Otto asked.

"Paralyzed?" Mercy asked. "Dumbstruck?"

"No!" Otto gasped. Such a thing could not have happened to him.

"And yet the Humans were able to evade your ships," began Regret. "Land on the Sacred Ring and desecrate it with their filthy footsteps!"

Otto glanced around, hearing the murmurs and the shouting from the Council. They wanted this matter dealt with swiftly. Such failure did not look kindly upon them.

"Noble Hierarchs!" Otto pleaded. "Surely you must realize that I had no idea 'Herosee was with them. He kept out of sight! And once the parasite attacked…"

Again the Council shouted out in an angered uproar and Otto was silenced again.

"There will be order in this Council!" Mercy cried out, slamming his fist against the arm of his hovering chair. Truth held up a silencing hand. He floated closer to Otto.

"You were right to focus your attention on the Flood, Supreme Commander 'Gamamee," he said. "But this Demon, this 'Master Chief'…"

"By the time I learned of the Demon's intent," began Otto. "There was nothing I could do."

"No doubt he had 'Herosee's help in the destruction of Halo," sniffed Truth. "Or else he would not have known what to do."

The Councilors rose from their seats, shaking their fits at Otto.

"You told us that you did not know that 'Herosee was there," began Truth. "But we managed to get a black box log from the ruined Truth and Reconciliation that stated otherwise. 'Herosee, like the Ship Master of this Pillar of Autumn, was captured. He was tortured, and tormented until he could stand no longer. But then the Demon came and rescued 'Herosee along with the Autumn's Ship Master and some of her crew. We know that you have held respect for 'Herosee. When he was with the Covenant, he brought great credit to the title of Fleet Master—and great credit to you as well."

"Are you accusing me of protecting the heretic?" Otto was now horrified by Truth's description.

"What I am saying that perhaps it was possible you overlooked his presence, 'Gamamee," Truth continued. "Because of your admiration for him."

"I assure you, Holiness," Otto called. "That if 'Herosee stood before me, I would have struck him down with my sword. I would have glorified in having his blood on my hands!"

The Council once more rumbled in displeasure. Behind Otto 'Gamamee was Tartarus, the Chieftain of the Jiralhanae stood with is broad, muscular, hairy arms crossed. He gave off a satisfied chuckle. This Sangheili was going to pay for his failure, one more reason why the Sangheili should be taken out. To him, the tall, lean creatures were nothing more than worthless weaklings. He did not care that the Sangheili helped in creating the Covenant, it held no use for them now.

"Noble Prophet of Truth," began Regret as his hologram floated closer to him. "This has gone on long enough. Make an example of this bungler. The Council demands it!"

"You are one of our most treasured instruments," Truth rumbled. "Long have you led your fleet with honor and distinction. But your inability to safe guard Halo was a colossal failure."

"Nay!" called one of the lesser Prophets in the Council. He stood up on his feet, thrusting his angered fist upward. "It was heresy!"

The Council roared out in agreement. Otto's helmed head lowered even more. He glanced back at the Prophet Hierarchs.

"I shall continue my campaign against the Humans!" he called back, hoping that he could regain his lost honor with their destruction. It was their fault, not his. And it was Telek 'Herosee's fault as well. Both would be made to pay.

"No," Truth disagreed. "You will not."

The Prophet raised a dismissing hand. Tartarus barked out a command to his Jiralhanae commanders. They stepped up to Otto, taking him by both arms and led him away from the center of the Council Chambers.

"Soon," Truth continued. "The Great Journey shall begin. But when it does, the weight of your heresy shall stay your feet and you shall be left behind."

The Guards lead Otto 'Gamamee out of the chambers. He knew what punishment awaited him now, a punishment that the Prophets granted Telek 'Herosee. But 'Herosee took no shame in what he did, unlike 'Gamamee. Otto remembered the look on Telek's face when they stripped him of his gleaming, golden, Zealot armor and his body suit until nothing more than his body's shame was displayed before an enormous, mocking crowd. Telek was more muscular than most Sangheili were, his shoulders were broad, his arms were thick and his legs rippled with power.

Otto remembered that 'Herosee laughed loudly as Tartarus burned the Mark of Shame on the Sangheili's chest. He did not beg, he did not cry, he just laughed. Then, he shouted how foolishly blinded Tartarus was for following the likes of the 'False Prophets' and that if he died now, there was no true hope for the Covenant. He even spat in Tartarus' eyes after the Mark was burned into his chest. And Tartarus smacked him across the face. But Telek still laughed defiantly. Some sort of madness had taken him. There was sadness in 'Herosee's eyes when he was tormented, and a shame—but not for his own deeds, rather for the deeds of the Covenant itself. And 'Gamamee could never understand why he had that shame.

Tartarus led his Jiralhanae guards and their prisoner to the center of a roaring mob. Around Otto's feet were the chants of Unggoy, shaking their fits and dancing mockingly at him.

"Heretic!" the squat, masked creatures chanted. "Heretic!"

They mocked Telek liked that before as well. Before, 'Gamamee only watched on the sidelines as the proud officer, a great commander of Covenant fleets, being lead to an arena for the torment proceedings. Now, it was 'Gamamee's turn. 'Herosee served under 'Gamamee's command. His servant was punished for his deeds, now the commander was being punished in the same manner. Otto glanced over the ledge, hearing the sounds of cheering Covenant spectators in the bleachers before him. And beyond that was the city of High Charity. The lights of the city were defused in the misty air.

"You've drawn quite a crowd," Tartarus commented. "Just as large as the one 'Herosee drew during his sentence."

"If they came to hear me beg," Otto growled at the hairy creature. "They will be disappointed."

"Are you sure?" Tartarus' eyebrows rose and a smirked played across his thick lips. He remembered that 'Herosee had made a similar statement.

They bound him in energy shackles. Otto glanced around at his shackles, feeling a burning sensation pulse through his body. The shackles glowed brightly. His honey colored eyes closed tightly and he gritted his teeth as he felt the heat burn through him. The heat was so great; it stained his armor a sickly brown.

"There can be no greater heresy!" Tartarus called out to the crowd below. "Let him be an example to all who would break our Covenant!"

The same words he said during 'Herosee's punishment. The Jiralhanae gripped the edges of Otto's armored vest and pulled. The armor, now weakened from the heat, tore from the Sangheili's body. They stripped his armor off piece by piece, clawing at him at the same time. Tartarus turned up the heat again and Otto winced once more. He felt his strength begin to fail. The body suit around Otto's form came off finally and Tartarus reached up to his head. He gripped Otto's tri-tipped helmet and tossed it to the ground as well as the armor around the Sangheili's mandibles. Otto hung from his shackles, breathing heavily as a branding iron rose up from a slot in the floor. Tartarus grinned as he lifted the branding iron up from its pedestal. Otto's head lifted up, shaking with weakness as the hairy creature drew close to him. Tartarus gripped the iron tightly and pushed the heated side up against Otto's chest. Otto's eyes widened and his mandibles spread wide, letting loose a pained scream. The Mark of Shame was burned deep into his chest. He heard the sound of the crowd again cheering when they heard his wail. For a moment, he almost felt that same sadness that 'Herosee felt when he was branded. The ways of the Covenant did not have the same appeal as it did before. The heat of the iron's tip and the pain that ruptured through his body caused Otto 'Gamamee to black out. Though, this was not going to be the end. He was taken away to be sent to a cell to await his execution.

0

"Ah!" he screamed when he felt a pain pierce his leg. He glanced down for a moment, seeing where the pain had come from.

"Sorry about that, mate," said an Australian accented voice at his foot. "My fingers got the slip again, sir. Your legs don't exactly bend the way ours do."

"You don't have to stick me every time you pin the pant leg, Hector," Telek 'Herosee sighed. He was being outfitted for a dress uniform for the award's ceremony tomorrow. Lord Hood agreed that he should be there mostly because he was going to aid in awarding two of the United Nation's Space Command's finest men. One of them of course was the late Captain Jacob Keyes. In receiving that medal, his daughter, Commander Miranda Keyes was going to be there. Telek winced again when he felt another pierce on his ankle.

"That's it!" the Sangheili roared. "I am not wearing this uniform! I've got armor that is suited for an occasion like this, I'll wear that."

"You have to," called a new voice into the room. "You're the UNSC's newest Rear Admiral. You have to follow protocol."

Telek turned his helmed head towards the voice, his blue eyes lit up in recognition. There she was, Commander Miranda Keyes, leaning up against the tailor shop's door face. She wore her gray, common uniform and her shoulder length hair was pulled back from her eyes. She stood there with crossed arms, looking at the nearly 9-foot tall alien with some expectancy.

"Besides," she continued. "You don't look half bad in one of our uniforms."

She walked up to him, examining the work that was being done. Telek had the white coat on and had it buttoned down. His arms hung out slightly because of the pins around the cuffs.

"One 2-inch stripe and one 1½-inch stripe," she said, looking at the cuffs. "And two stars on the shoulders. You're a Rear Admiral alright."

"Once more it's an honorary title," Telek grunted as he felt another poke at his leg. "Like Captain was. All because the UNSC needs an admiral with Covenant battle tactic knowledge. The President did promise me that I'd be up near the equivalent to the Covenant Fleet Master rank if I pulled a good stunt off. I think hijacking three Covenant capital ships was a good enough stunt while still evading the fleet attacking me after Halo Installation 04 blew up." His head lowered. "If only I could have pulled off one more miracle to save your father, Miranda."

"He died doing his duty, Telek," she said. "It was as simple as that."

Telek winced again: "Hector! You're gonna stain the pant leg with my purple blood. And I don't have time to get this thing dry-cleaned. The awards ceremony on the Cairo Station is tomorrow."

"I'm sorry, sir," Hector said. "But like you said, we are in a bit of a rush. You needed this uniform to be made in two days. Usually, it takes a week for a dress uniform to be made."

"That's because I just got in from evading Covenant forces a few days ago," Telek growled. "How the hell was I supposed to know I had to have a UNSC dress uniform now? I thought my armor was good enough."

"You're lucky Hood's giving you some time out to get this uniform made for you," Miranda said. "He's got Command up in stitches since we heard the Covenant is heading for Earth. You sure the Shade of Darkness doesn't need you?"

"Commander Jimenez knows what he's doing," Telek said. "I've trained him well enough on how to handle the Shade's systems. Thanks to my great tutelage, he now knows how to read Covenant glyphs."

"Thanks to a lot of what you've given us," began Miranda. "We now can correctly translate and decode Covenant messages."

"It pays to have someone who's been on the inside," the Sangheili chuckled. "I trust Jimenez enough with my baby. He'll give those Prophet-loving bastards a good kick in the ass."

Miranda giggled slightly.

"Okay, sir," began Hector. "I'm all finished. I'll have it ready by tonight."

"It better be," Telek sighed. "Lord Hood's expecting me to look pretty tomorrow, and I aim to do so."

The Sangheili stepped off the podium that he stood upon in order to get his uniformed pinned and tailored. Telek disappeared behind a dressing room, ducking slightly inward in order to even get through the door.

"Damn-it!" he cried when he banged his shoulder against the door face as he went in. "This room is too small! Why do you Humans have to be so short?"

Again Miranda laughed. After a few minutes of cursing and struggling, Telek managed to get out of the dress uniform and back into his Sangheili full body suit and armor. He war his gold armor and helm like he always has. But the only thing lacking was his mandible armor. Under his gold helmet though was a black bandana with several prints of the Jolly Roger in white. The Jolly Roger, the symbol of piracy. And that is what Telek was—a pirate. Before he even joined up with the UNSC, after he was punished for 'murdering' a minor Prophet, broadcasting 'lies' on the Covenant network, Telek and his crew of the Shade of Darkness took up piracy. They hijacked Covenant ships and gave them to the UNSC. It was not true piracy because he made no profit from it, but at least in return the UNSC gave him food and supplies to continue on with his hijacking. He was slowing the Covenant down. And at the same time, he managed to pick up faithful followers that believed in these 'lies' he told. They were not lies, they were truths. The truth was that what the Covenant believed in was more than wrong; it would mean death for the universe if they obtained it. The Great Journey—it was neither 'great 'or a 'journey', it was a one way trip to oblivion. Confrontation from the AI Cortana only proved what Telek had discovered, the Sacred Rings were no gateways to immortality, they were weapons of mass destruction. Thanks to the Master Chief, there was one less Halo the Covenant had. But he knew that there were other Halos out there, he knew because he had discovered one. Halo Installation 05, it was marked on his charts on the ship. But luckily this Halo did not contain those horrid parasitical monstrosities known as the Flood.

There were seven fortress worlds, each one numbered according to when they were made. According to the text Telek properly had deciphered—Forerunner text that was incorrectly deciphered by the Prophets, even-numbered Halos contained Flood, while odd-numbered Halos did not. Why they did not, Telek had yet to decipher. There was still much of the 'Holy Text' that Telek had yet to decipher. But he deciphered enough of the text to find out the true purpose of each of the Halos. And for that he was branded a heretic. Upon his left breast he bears the branded scar of the Mark of Shame he received nearly 13 years ago. He went into hiding, hijacking his own ship in order to escape his execution. He took his crew with him and made a blind jump into slip-space, accidentally discovering Installation 05. And more of the text was found and deciphered. So far, not even the Covenant could find him. 05 was far off in the outskirts of Orion's Arm, and far enough away from the Covenant. They did not even know that this other Halo existed. When the Master Chief destroyed Installation 04, Telek knew that his Halo would eventually be destroyed as well. Being on the landscape of Halo took his breath away each time he visited. How could he destroy something that was so beautiful? But unfortunately, that beauty had a beast and that beast has to be slain before any other damages occurred.

Telek finally put on the last bit of his armor and stepped out. The vinyl-like suit he wore was a dark greenish blue and his gloves were almost black. His golden armor was trimmed with black and spots around his collar bone and under the ribs pulsed with glowing blue. Spots beneath his forearm armor and his lower leg armor glowed as well golden. Miranda could see how much his armored glowed when he was in the shadow of the changing room. As soon as Telek stepped out, the glow of the florescent lights on the ceiling danced across his golden, metallic polished armor. Telek adjusted his armored vest and straightened out his helmet before he finally approached her.

"It'll be done tonight Admiral," said Hector as Telek stepped out.

"That's fine," Telek nodded. He turned back to Miranda. "Care to join me for a little walk to my Phantom?"

Miranda laughed again as the Sangheili held out his arm to take. She was only 5-foot and 7 inches, so she had to reach up a bit to even take his arm. Telek was tall for an Elite. He was somewhere around 9-foot 2 inches, where as most Sangheili averaged out around 8-foot 3 inches. Miranda barely came up to his elbow. Most humans usually came up around the center of his chest. He was an imposing figure to look up at, but his warm demeanor usually could melt any fear some Humans had around him. Telek lead her out of the tailor shop.

Telek heard a beeping sound coming from his armor. He touched a glowing spot on his chest and a voice came through. It was his communicator.

"Telek here," he said. The voice that he heard through a speaker in his helmet spoke in his natural tongue. He replied back, his voice giving off an almost deep, monstrous, grating sound. "Tahw? Ereht thgir eb lliwi. No dloh."

"What happened?" Miranda asked.

"That was Ship Master Mitsu 'Kimamee," he replied. "He has some interesting news for me that I need to see him about on his ship. I'm sorry, Commander, I have cut our walk short."

"We're all on call, Admiral," she smiled. "Anything important?"

"It's urgent enough," Telek replied. "I'll let you know about it later."

The wind began to pick up around them as a dark shadow appeared in the sky. Telek glanced skyward as a metallic purple Phantom descended down towards him. He tossed an alien looking device at Miranda.

"Here!" he called. "Take my Phantom. I think I left it parked somewhere I shouldn't have. You remember what I taught you right?"

"Don't worry, Telek!" Miranda called back. "I remember. You're a good teacher."

Telek glanced up as a violet beam shined upon him. It was the Phantom's gravity lift. Miranda watched as the Elite was whisked away up into the drop ship's insides. Then, she turned away, walking towards where Telek had parked his craft.

The Holy Justice was once a destroyer belonging to the Covenant fleet. Now, she served the UNSC. One of the 10 Covenant ships that was outfitted with an experimental cloaking device that allowed the ship to become invisible, the Holy Justice was a formidable ship, named for the fleet she once was assigned to. Her cannons could rip through enemy craft with one fire. Though many Sangheili believed that cloaking their ships in battle was a sign of cowardice. So, the technology was abandoned. It made no sense to Mitsu 'Kimamee why they thought cloaking ships was cowardice when using active camouflage for Stealth Warriors was fine. When he was Covenant, he did not shut down his cloaking device, he used it regularly. Now, he is a Separatist, allied with the UNSC. On the flank of the Holy Justice was a white symbol—a skull with two cross bones. It was the symbol of the Jolly Roger, a symbol 'Herosee had taken on. Now, even Mitsu used the symbol to separate his ship from the Covenant fleet. He too had become a pirate. Though, unlike Telek's ship, Mitsu's ship did not have a mixed crew of Human and Separatist on board. All of his crew were loyal Sangheili and Unggoy.

Mitsu stood on his command platform with a semi-circle of holo-control panels floating in front of him. He watched them with his eyes as all Ship Masters have done. Everything inside this ship could be controlled right from his station. Unlike Human ships, Covenant ships did not need as many personnel manning the helm. He did have a helmsman, a navigator trained in the best of star charts. His helmsman sat at a holo-panel station, mining his own work. His helmsman also served as his second in command. The helmsman was dressed in shiny black armor with gold trimming and detailing. Mitsu heard the sound of the automatic doors opening up behind him. Two black armored-clad Sangheili led a gold and black trimmed-armored Sangheili into the bridge. Mitsu stepped down from his platform and greeted his fellow Elite. While Mitsu's armor was all gold without any other color detail or trimming, the black trimming on this Sangheili's armor denoted him as a Fleet Master—a rank higher than his own.

"Welcome aboard, Excellency," 'Kimamee bowed in respect.

Telek 'Herosee chuckled: "We're a part of the UNSC, Mitsu. You don't have to refer to me as 'Excellency' anymore."

"Sorry, Excellency," Mitsu smiled back. "Force of habit."

It was protocol habit, Telek had to admit. He recalled Spec Ops Commander Shri 'Canthonee who began to serve under Commander Miranda Keyes since they had returned to Earth, referring to Miranda as 'Excellency' whenever she received her orders. Despite Miranda's attempts at correcting the female Sangheili, Shri continued say: "Yes, Excellency. No, Excellency. Right away, Excellency." By that time, Miranda had given up on correcting her. Shri's servitude on board Miranda's ship was an order by Telek himself—who felt that at least one Keyes should have a Sangheili around her whether she liked it or not. He wanted to make sure that nothing was going to happen to her—like what happened to her father.

Telek cleared his throat as Mitsu lead him up to the command platform. The bridge was dimly lit, only by pale lavender lighting coming from columns along the walls. The ceiling of the bridge was lit by a soft glow of blue. The walls and floors of the bridge ranged from oily, metallic blue, to oily metallic purple and deep violet. These colors were more than comfortable to those who commanded these ships. Telek noted that Commander Jimenez who sits as his second in command slowly because used to the color around ship. But unlike Mitsu's ship, Tomas Jimenez stood beside Telek on the command platform, not in the helmsman seat. Jimenez helped Telek in watching the enormous holographic screens before him.

"Now, what is it that was so urgent, Ship Master?" Telek asked. "That you needed me to see?"

"I've been listening on the Covenant network like always, Excellency," Mitsu began. "Trying to see how far away the fleet is from Earth. I've been monitoring their progress like you ordered me to."

"Yes," Telek nodded. "And?"

"Well, something has come up," said Mitsu. "A new transmission, Telek. Here, you need to see this."

Mitsu raised a gloved hand up and began to press several holographic buttons on the panel in a certain order. The panel itself spread wide until it was a full holographic video screen. A figure appeared standing in the middle of the screen. It was a Sangheili, but it was not dressed in the usual Covenant armor Sangheili were normally dressed. The warrior lacked a helmet, instead he wore goggles. A breathing apparatus was mounted on his back and his armor was bronze in color.

"Listen to what he has to say, Telek," said Mitsu.

The holographic began to play: "Our Prophets are false! Open your eyes, my brothers! Can you not see that the role of the Covenant is based on a lie? They are feeding you this lie about the Great Journey, not telling you what the real truth is. The Great Journey is nothing more than a lie. The Halos will not bring us to Salvation; instead, if we fire the Halos, they will kill us!"

"Interesting," Telek mused. "But if I'm correct, we're the only ones with the correctly deciphered text. Where did this warrior get the information about the Halos' true purpose?"

"I'm not sure," Mitsu shrugged.

"He doesn't look familiar," Telek said. "He wasn't in one of my fleets when I was Covenant."

"No, I believe he was a Zealot though," said Mitsu. "A Field Master. With this transmission, he managed to rally himself a handful of followers."

"This broadcasting has been shown on every Covenant network?" Telek asked.

"Yes," said Mitsu. "And no doubt the Prophets will be trying to silence this renegade."

"Where is he hiding?" Telek asked.

"Threshold," said Mitsu. "The ruins of Halo 04. He's wearing a breathing apparatus in order to survive in the atmosphere. Long exposure to the gasses in Threshold is dangerous. But one can stay on there without breathing equipment for a short time."

"But this warrior is living there," Telek said. "Who has he won over?"

"Mixed batch of Unggoy and Sangheili," replied Mitsu. "Just like you did. He mentions you a few times in his broadcasting as well, saying that you were right all along and that the punishment of heresy placed upon you was not right. You were merely trying to save the Covenant from the Prophets' blinded vision of false salvation."

"Which is only fueling the fires over my head no doubt," Telek chuckled.

"They say the price on your head keeps getting higher and higher," Mitsu chuckled. "Now with this new rebellion. The Prophets are worried that you've started an avalanche."

"An avalanche can be easily started with the simple roll of a small pebble," Telek smirked. "I was that pebble. Now, the Prophets cannot stop it. Give me this recording. I'm going to show it to Lord Hood. Perhaps with his permission we can invite these rebels onto the right side of the war for once. Let them know that they are not alone in this. And send this recording to the Shade of Darkness. Let my crew see it as well. I'm sure they'll be laughing. Even Tom might get a good chuckle out of it."

0

He was used to the low lights inside the bridge of the Shade of Darkness. Tomas Jimenez glanced around at the semi-circle of holographic screens that revolved around the command platform. This was not the first time Telek 'Herosee had left him to command the Shade of Darkness, and he knew his way around the ship pretty well now. Standing beside him though was his second command, a black with gold trim-armored Elite named Tekn 'Morudee. The command screens were enormous and it was hard for a 6-foot tall human to reach all of them. That was why Tekn was standing beside him. The Elite could reach up and push buttons that were too high for Jimenez to reach. The bridge of the Shade of Darkness was enormous. One could fit a small house inside it and still have room for a four car garage. All Covenant capital ships were enormous even in their smallest rooms. They were the pride of the Covenant Armada. One Covenant capital ship could tear through several of the toughest of UNSC battle cruisers. And the Shade of Darkness was no different.

Jimenez straightened out his naval uniform as he glanced around at the various screens before him. The Separatist Covenant capital ship was on patrol around Jupiter along side three other UNSC Halcyon-class cruisers, one Separatist Covenant CPV-class destroyer, and three other Separatist Covenant frigates. It was an odd mixture of two different technologies, but it worked. The Covenant destroyer—the Divine Journey was commanded by Ship Master Cujo 'Mentatalee, Telek 'Herosee's old second in command, while the three Covenant frigates were commanded by Human captains. Though the Shade of Darkness was a flagship, Tom Jimenez told to take his orders from Cujo when the battle started. Mostly because Telek knew that Cujo was more knowledgeable in Covenant battle strategies than Tom was. But as always, the enormous capital ship led the small groups of ships behind her. This was a patrol unit and nothing more. Jimenez admired how the ship herself could actually make adjustments on her own. Covenant technology was astounding.

The name Shade of Darkness did not follow Covenant ship chrRtasning traditions. Usually, the name of a ship had some sort of religious significance. The Shade's name held none of that. In fact, it held more meaning to what it could do—which was cloak in order to sneak around the Covenant controlled areas. But right now, the cloak was deactivated, and the Shade of Darkness' dark, metallic, violet, smooth hull was shown for all to see.

"Excellency," began Tekn 'Morudee. "We are receiving a transmission from the Holy Justice."

"Put it on screen, Tekn," said the Commander.

"Aye," the Elite nodded and pressed a flashing red light on the holo-panel in front of him. The screen spread wide until a hologram of a familiar face was projected onto them.

"Admiral 'Herosee," Tom smiled.

"Tom," Telek began. "Everything in ship-shape order?"

"Yes, sir," Tom nodded.

"Good," the Elite nodded. "I've got a present for you and the rest of the crew on board. In fact, send this to the Devine Journey as well."

The message began to play as another holographic image appeared next to Telek's image. It was the image of that strange Elite wearing the breathing apparatus. The message had not been translated to English yet so Tom could not understand what he was saying. Though he could read Covenant glyphs, but that was the limit to what he could do. He glanced over though, hearing a slight chuckle from Tekn 'Morudee. Obviously, the Elite was amused by this message.

"Tekn, put that through a translator filter," Tom ordered.

"Yes, Excellency," Tekn nodded, pressing a few green glowing buttons on the holo-panel.

The message began to replay again, this time, the words were translated into English.

"Our Prophets are false! Open your eyes, my brothers! Can you not see that the role of the Covenant is based on a lie? They are feeding you this lie about the Great Journey, not telling you what the real truth is. The Great Journey is nothing more than a lie. The Halos will not bring us to Salvation; instead, if we fire the Halos, they will kill us!"

"This is something, sir," Tom nodded. "I'll send this to Cujo immediately."

Tom pressed a few buttons on the screen and began to transmit the message over to the Devine Journey.

"Thanks, Tom," Telek smiled back. "I'll be keeping in touch. You'll have to remain in command of my ship until the ceremony was over. How close is the Covenant fleet to Earth?"

"Last we heard about another day's jump," replied Tom. "I'm keeping watch along with the Divine Journey and the three Halcyon cruisers, the Enterprise, the Lincoln, and the Knoxville."

"Keep it up," Telek said. "I'll be checking in now and then. 'Herosee out."

"Yes, sir," Tom nodded as the image of Telek 'Herosee vanished from the holographic screen.

"What do you think about that message, Tekn?" Tom asked.

Tekn glanced over and gave his version of a smile. He became used to the idea that his superior officers were now asking his opinion. In the Covenant such things were rare if not at all.

"What do I think?" the Elite asked. "This Sangheili has gotten a hold of something that has told him the truth about the Halos. The Sacred Rings are weapons; they hold no salvation for my species. It is possible this could cause a conflict within the Covenant High Council. I think this is an advantage. It'll blind our enemies."

"But, this Sangheili could become an ally to us, just like 'Herosee did," Tom said. "Perhaps 'Herosee might ask to help this rebel in his cause."

"That would be one course of action," Tekn nodded. "But another would be to let this rebel go about things on his own and cause chaos within the Covenant itself—then, mop up the stragglers afterwards. After all, the Covenant must be horrified that the so-called Sacred Rings hold these monstrosities known as the Flood. I guess they aren't as Sacred as the Covenant thought, Excellency."

"Good point," Tom nodded.

"Excellency, we're receiving a message from the Devine Journey," Tekn said.

"Patch it through," Tom said.

"Tommy!" Cujo's face came onto the screen. "Who found this?"

The Sangheili was in stitches, laughing at the top of his lungs after hearing the message.

"The Admiral sent it to me from Ship Master Mitsu 'Kimamee's ship," said Tom.

"This is the funniest thing I've ever heard!" Cujo laughed. "I bet the Prophets are in knots about this!"

"That's what we're thinking," said Tom.

"Another thorn in their asses," Cujo snickered. "Is Telek sending this to Lord Hood?"

"Don't know," Tom shrugged. "He didn't say."

"He should," Cujo said. "Who is that guy? I don't know him."

"I've never seen him before either, Excellency," said Tekn.

"I know that I don't know him," said Tom.

Cujo just chuckled again. Of course Jimenez would not know him.

"If he does, it would be Lord Hood's call on that," said Tom. "Though with the Covenant so close, this situation may be placed on the back burner."

0

"Our Prophets are false! Open your eyes, my brothers! Can you not see that the role of the Covenant is based on a lie? They are feeding you this lie about the Great Journey, not telling you what the real truth is. The Great Journey is nothing more than a lie. The Halos will not bring us to Salvation; instead, if we fire the Halos, they will kill us!"

Lord Hood leaned back in his chair and stared at the holographic Elite before him. Telek sat down across the desk from Lord Hood, resting his head on his knuckles. Lord Hood lifted his cap up and scratched his head.

"So, another group of rebels have broken off from the Covenant," began Hood. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"I'd like to offer some support to them," Telek began. "After all, he knows the truth just as well as I do."

"Do you know who he is?" Hood asked.

"From what I've heard, he used to be a Field Master Zealot," Telek replied. "But he has never been on one of my ships."

"I'm afraid that I must deny your request, Rear Admiral," Hood said. Telek's head lowered. Hood called his attention again. "For now. Only for now. We'll come back and rethink this after we deal with the Covenant coming to Earth. I need you here for this. We need all the fire power we can get."

"I understand," Telek sighed for a moment. He did not know how long this battle may last before he could get to this band of rebels before the Covenant does.

"I understand your concern for your people, Telek," said Lord Hood. "If I was you, I'd be feeling the same thing. But I can't have you running off when ever some ragtag group of Covenant soldiers decide to rebel against their masters."

"Yes, sir," Telek nodded as he rose up from his chair. "Still, adding to our forces may be the best thing. Sooner or later the Covenant is going to get to them and they'll do the same thing to this guy what they did to me. They're gonna kill him. I got lucky when I escaped, but I'm still scarred by it."

His gloved hand gripped the left side of his chest as he remembered the burning sensation of the Mark of Shame being burned into his chest. It still was sore. He had it burned in once before, nearly over 13 years ago, but he then managed to graft his own skin over the mark. Then, when he was captured on board the Truth and Reconciliation, the lower ranking Prophet brought out another branding iron and burned the mark again on his chest. Once more, he was lucky he got out that time with help from the SPARTAN soldier known as the Master Chief. Telek owed him one after that, though, after the second branding, every Human finally realized that Telek would not go back on his word. The Covenant wanted nothing else to do with him; he was worth only as a corpse to them. He had no where else to go. Earth was his home now.

"I know what you're feeling right now," said Hood. "But I can't allow it. Not right now at least. Keep monitoring him though, but you need to focus your attention here."

"Yes, sir," the Sangheili sighed again. "I won't let you down."

"I know you won't," Hood nodded. "Dismissed. I will see you at the ceremony tomorrow."

Telek clicked his heels and saluted, and then turned on the ball of his hoof to exit Lord Hood's office. His training reminded him never to question a higher ranking officer's decision, no matter how much he disagreed with it. Though, deep inside, he wanted to be there to help this ex-Field Master—save him from a Living Death that he now feels. Telek had been hunted down constantly by the Covenant. Now, the last place he had of refuge was about to be lost. He had captured many Covenant ships to replace the UNSC ships he destroyed, but now he was not sure that they would be enough. Though, the UNSC had more than just ships to defend Earth against the storm about to come. They had MAC-Gun Orbital Defense Platform Stations as well. And Telek stood upon one of these stations. She was the Cairo. As the Sangheili walked down the glass corridor, he glanced up seeing an enormous rail gun sticking up like a tall monolith of power. The MAC-Gun, a supped up piston that could fire a single shot which could tear his capital ship—the Shade of Darkness—in two. Like all Human weapons, this also fired ballistic ammunition—giant-sized heavily armored shells. And this station was one of 300. Telek only hoped that the fleet coming to Earth did not out number the stations that orbited it.

Telek stopped for a moment and glanced out the enormous glass window before him. He leaned up against the glass, spying the two other stations that were in view. The Athens and the Malta both armed with MAC-Guns. He spotted a trio of UNSC ships streaking across the horizon of the Earth. They were over Africa right now. Telek could see how much of a desert the great continent was. Now he knew why Humans had to leave their home world. It could no longer sustain them like it must have long before Humans found a way to leave. There were some patches of green in some places around Africa, but not as much as there used to be. Still, this was a vibrant world. Telek once more saw another cluster of ships passing by. He saw 'Kimamee's destroyer pass under the Cairo, gliding softly alongside three other UNSC destroyers. A mixture of Longswords and Seraphs flew in tight formation around the four ships. They were already practicing their formations. He saw two Seraphs break from formation, doing some sort of entwined barrel roll. Telek chuckled, knowing who piloted those Seraphs.

"Boom Brothers," he chuckled. "Trevor and 'Tolumee, you two are show-offs."

The two Seraphs once more rejoined the formation, following the Holy Justice. No doubt 'Kimamee was giving them some hell about it. Once more, Telek took in a heavy sigh, saying some silent prayer to what ever true divine power out there that could hear him—hoping to grant he and his fellow warriors the strength to fight this battle.