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The War of Rage, Ch. 2: The Sermon
Posted By: Das Krueg<st.krueger@comcast.net>
Date: 6 January 2006, 7:02 pm
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The previous chapter and prologue of this story are under the name "The Extermination Begins" if anyone was wondering.
Chapter 2: The Sermon
Covenant Holy City of High Charity
8th Cycle, 5th Division, 3rd Stage, 9th Age of Reclamation (Covenant Holy Calendar)
0455 hours, October 27, 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar)
Tartarus was pacing back and forth in one of High Charity's detention blocks looking into each cell as he passed them by. Each of the cells only had metal bars as doors that Tartarus did not think would be very secure.
One of the cells he passed by had an energy shield behind the bars, and behind the shield was a group of three Unngoy. None of them had masks or methane tanks, which was the reason for the energy shield. They were sitting huddled in the corner of the cell conversing about something in their native tongue. Tartarus paid no attention to them as he patrolled.
Many of the cells were empty, and the only ones left in the cells were the Unngoy, Kig-yar, and the two Humans. All of the Sangheili prisoners had been taken away to be executed because of the Prophets orders to eliminate every single one of their species. Tartarus always had a secret hatred for that race.
The Prophets of Truth and Mercy looked around the council chamber as they rose up on the lift. The chamber was empty save for several of the Jiralhanae Honor Guard and two Unngoy working the monitor that would record and broadcast the Prophets' message to the entire Covenant.
Outside the council chamber, hundreds of Unngoy and Kig-yar were trying to get in to see the Prophet's announcement up close, but the scores of Honor Guard were not letting anyone past due to the Prophet of Truth's request to have the chamber vacant during his speech.
Inside, Truth had signaled for the little Unngoy to start recording.
"Creatures of the Covenant, we have recently had some unfortunate incidents occur within our Covenant, yet there have also been a few events to celebrate. Brother Mercy and I regret to inform all of you that the Sangheili have betrayed us. They have neglected their duty to protect the Prophets, and in doing so allowed the Prophet of Regret to die by the hands of the Demon.
"Shortly after my decision to recommission the Honor Guard of the Prophets to the Jiralhanae, the Sangheili threatened to quit the High Council saying that the change of the guard was an outrage. And since we recently learned of the Arbiter's failure to claim the Sacred Icon, the Sangheili councilors followed through with their threat declaring that the Arbiter had been purposely sent to his death. That is utterly false. Mercy and I had the utmost confidence that the Arbiter would succeed with all of the support that we sent with him. But with this unfortunate turn of events, the Sangheili have seceded from the Covenant and have openly declared war on us. But do not fear. We will prevail as we always have.
"When we learned of the Arbiter's death, we sent the Jiralhanae down to Halo to retrieve the Sacred Icon. However, when they had arrived, they discovered that the Sangheili had released the Flood to try to prevent the Jiralhanae from securing the Icon. We are, all of us, gravely concerned. The release of the parasite was unexpected, unfortunate, but there is no need to panic. In truth, this is a time to rejoice, a moment that all the Covenant should savor, for the Sacred Icon has been found! With it our path is clear, our entry into the Divine Beyond guaranteed. The Great Journey is nigh, and nothing, not even the Flood, can stop it."
As soon as Truth had finished his speech, a cylinder of pulsating yellow light appeared on the podium behind the two Unngoy at the monitor. A large figure clad in green armor had emerged from the light when it had dissipated. The Prophets immediately recognized the figure, which had just scared the Unngoy technicians.
"Kill the Demon!" Truth yelled at the Jiralhanae next to him. Two other Jiralhanae put their pikes in front of the Hierarchs in an attempt to shield them, but moments later, the Prophets were on their way down the lift.
"Hurry, Brother Mercy," said Truth when they had reached the bottom of the lift. "We must find Tartarus and complete the rest of our plan."
Tartarus waited impatiently in the detention block for the Hierarchs arrive. His moment of fame was close. It was the greatest honor ever to be the one to unite the Sacred Icon with the Core and start the Great Journey. He was determined to do whatever it took to complete the task, even if that meant fighting an entire army of Flood single-handedly.
He walked past the Humans' cell and looked in as he went by. The Humans were sitting against opposite walls. From what he overheard of the Humans' conversations with each other, he learned that the female must have been one of their Ship Masters. But the curious thing was that the Humans apparently had two different ranks of Ship Masters: one called a Commander, and the other called a Captain. The female Human in the cell was one of the lesser, a Commander. The other Human was a male and was obviously not as high ranked as the female. All this came as a surprise to Tartarus. He had never heard of a female of any species being able to join their military, much less obtain a prestigious rank such as Ship Master.
Most of the Humans' conversations had something to do with a planet they called "Earth". After a while, Tartarus concluded that "Earth" must be the planet that the Covenant had just recently attacked, which also happened to be their home world. It wouldn't be around for much longer though. The Prophets would be sure of that.
Unfortunately, the one thing Tartarus was hoping to hear about was news of the Demon, which they called "Master Chief." The Humans did not mention a word about it. The Covenant had received no word about the Demon since the death of the Prophet of Regret. Many were starting to believe that the Demon was dead, but Tartarus knew that if there were no signs that it was dead then it was still alive.
The door at the opposite end of the corridor where Tartarus stood hissed open and the Prophets floated in on their thrones.
"Tartarus!" Truth was almost screaming at him. "Open the Humans' cell! We are leaving right away! The Demon is here!"
"Right away, Holy Ones," Tartarus obliged. All of a sudden, a million questions went through his mind. The Demon? On High Charity? How did it get here? How many guards has it killed already? Is it still alive?...
"Come, Humans. We are leaving." Tartarus grabbed them by the arm and pulled them out of the cell. Together the Prophets, Tartarus, and the Humans walked out of the cellblock. On the way out, the two Honor Guard who had been guarding the cellblock entrance followed behind them.
"We must get the Oracle from our private sanctum," Mercy said as the approached a gravity lift. "It will provide you with instructions as you perform your final task."
"Lies!" Kado 'Toromee yelled as he slammed his fist on the communications pod. "I do not, and will not, believe this! We did not release the parasite against the Jiralhanae. They released it on US! The Prophets are spreading these lies to the entire Covenant. And may the Forerunners help them if the Arbiter is still alive."
The Sangheili warrior had blindingly white armor, which signified that he was Covert Operatives Field Master. He had the utmost respect from everyone under his command. He had seen countless battles in his time as a Field Master and the majority of those had been victories. He had even won an encounter with a Demon, which he had a scar to remember it by.
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