Chapter 1

The Arbiter watched the main screen from his spot beside Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum. For the past 5 years the UNSC united with the separatist had been tracking down and destroying what remained of the covenant loyalist. Through all these years the Arbiter had been very active in the campaign against the loyalist. The years of fighting were evident by the scratches on his armor and scares along his body. "Will you follow?" The Arbiter asked as he watched a loyalist's ship retreat on the main view.

"Yes." Rtas replied. "Follow them." He ordered. The crew sprung into action. The ship's engines faired to life as they perused the retreating ships.

"Do we know why they came here?" The Arbiter asked. They had come across the ship by chance while scouting an unclaimed system.

"Not yet Arbiter but it matters not. Whatever they were planning won't matter after we've destroyed them." Rtas replied keeping his eyes on the main screen. The Arbiter had to admit that he admired the commander. When the truth of the halos had been realized he was wise enough to listen to the Arbiter and join forces with the humans to stop the prophets. He had even volunteered to assist in the fight against the remaining loyalists.

The years had been hard though. It was not easy to forget the hatred that the war had caused between the species. They were trying though and that was enough for now. The Arbiter had learned to ignore the glares he got from the few humans on the ship. They were really only there to make it appear that there were no problems between the humans and sangheili. It was all so that the public would think that they had set aside their differences and forgotten the past for the good of their shared goal. In truth the two armies were very separate. The humans aboard the ship didn't do much of anything. Every once in a while they took stock of the weapons but beside that they had no duties. The separatists remained on their own ships while the UNSC stayed on theirs. The closest the two armies had ever come to being one was when they journeyed to the ark to stop the prophets form activating all of the halos. Since then the two have tried to stay separate while appearing together.

The Arbiter looked over the empty system they were currently in. "What do we know of the system?" He asked turning back to the shipmaster.

Rtas looked over the information of the system before replying. "There seems to be only one planet that can sustain life. According to a report there were sightings of sentinels at one of the planets. The fleet master took troops down to the planet's surface, trying to strike some human troops. Unfortunately an explosion took out the fleet master and all of his troops. The shipmaster leaned forward putting his wait on his left forearm. "I do not understand. The sentinels were reported to have attacked out ships even though we hailed them as allies."

"Are there any survivors from the event?" The Arbiter asked searching the screen for the planet that he reports had supposedly taken place on. "And what of the planet?"

"No, the crew all died." Rtas replied with a heavy sigh. "The pole was destroyed but over all the planet was fine. It seems the humans called it Onyx. Though there report says that is no longer in use."

"Onyx." The Arbiter repeated oddly intrigued by the name. "That is where we must go." He said.

"If that is what you advise." Rtas replied before turning to the navigator and giving him the order. "Set course for Onyx."

End chapter 1