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Halo 2: Uprising - Chapter 1
Posted By: Mad Max<madmax6251991@hotmail.com>
Date: 22 December 2007, 1:47 am
Read/Post Comments
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Chapter 1
Covenant Holy City, High Charity
Ninth Age of Reclamation
Weeks after the destruction of Alpha Halo
After the destruction of Installation 04, the system became a flurry of activity. Covenant ships swarm around High Charity, ready to pounce on anything that would so much dare as to attack the holiest city in Covenant history.
High Charity is a mobile planetoid station and known as the Holy City of the Covenant, and specifically the Prophets. It is a large mushroom-shaped structure estimated to be 348 kilometers in diameter. At the apex of this "mushroom" is an artificial star that simulates night and day within the city, and it doubles as an opening for the launch of the Forerunner Dreadnought. The stalk peters out to a point, with various branches leading off from it.
The interior of High Charity is effectively a massive city. At its center sits the Forerunner Dreadnought, entombed within the city after the formation of the Covenant as a symbol of peace between Sangheili and San 'Shyuum. The Dreadnoughts engines are the primary power source for much of city. The city itself contains many sacred locations to the Covenant, such as the Council Chamber, the Sanctum of the Hierarchs, and the Mausoleum of the Arbiter. As a construct, High Charity is very similar to the Unyielding Hierophant, the Repair & Refit station, containing many courtyards and other spaces throughout which attempt to seem natural. The interior is also, of course, laced with the Covenant's unique architecture, of a lighter tone than their naval vessels. All of the structures within the city float above a methane rich field in which the grunts dwell. The towers at the center are large volcanic spires and are used by the San 'Shyuum as offices and private residences.
High Charity is important enough to the Covenant to wield its own personal fleets, consisting of dozens of battleships, carriers, and cruisers, making up some of the largest fleets in the entire Covenant, such as the Second Fleet of Homogeneous Clarity, and the Fleet of Particular Justice.
Upon the discovery of Installation 04 by the Covenant, High Charity was supposed to perform a Slipspace jump to the Halo along with its fleet, where the High Prophets would activate the ring. They sent the Fleet of Particular Justice to secure the ring in preparation for the planetoid's arrival, but they did not know about the Flood, and did not expect interference from the humans. When High Charity and its fleet arrived at Threshold, they found that both the Halo and the Fleet of Particular Justice had been utterly destroyed.
Now, Vala 'Yosumee stood within the Council Chamber on a raised platform at the center. As Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice, he knew he would be held accountable for his actions.
To his left, minor Prophet Councilors were seated in bleachers. To his right sat contingents of Elite Honor Guards who's sole purpose is to guard the High Prophets. Slightly off to the right, at the front, stood the Brute Chieftain Tartarus.
Vala had a passionate dislike for the Brute race as a whole. They were unintelligent, unapologetically brutal, and lacked finesse in the Supreme Commander's eyes. Tartarus, though, had this arrogant air about himself that Vala couldn't stand. The Chieftain glared menacingly at the Supreme Commander, and 'Yosumee casted his own sidelong glance at the arrogant beast.
At the front of the Council Chamber were two of the three High Prophets: the Prophet of Mercy and the Prophet of Regret. These two, along with the Prophet of Truth, were the religious leaders of the Covenant and the glue that held all the races together. With the recent addition of the Brute race however, there were rumors circulating that the Jiralhanaes would replace his kind for the Honor Guard positions. Vala dismissed such petty gossip, as it did not directly apply to him. But if his failure to safeguard the Sacred Ring was any indication, a shift could soon occur.
But for the moment, Vala was only concerned about his future, and answering the Prophets' questions.
"There was only one ship," Vala said.
"One? Are you sure?" the Prophet of Regret asked, squinting his eyes, his voice laced with disbelief.
"Yes," Vala replied. "They called it...the Pillar of Autumn."
The Councilors and seated Honor Guards quietly spoke amongst themselves.
The Prophet of Mercy took this opportunity to speak: "Why was it not destroyed with the rest of their fleet?"
Supreme Commander 'Yosumee shifted uneasily and lowered his gaze slightly. "They fled, as we set fire to their planet."
He thought back in time to that day, remembering clearly how he had broken off from the main battle group, and how he and his Fleet had given chase to the human vessel.
"But I followed with all the ships in my command," Vala finally said. The image of Halo snapped into his head.
"When you first saw Halo," Regret said, "were you blinded by its majesty?"
"Blinded?" Vala was taken aback slightly by Regret's choice of words.
"Paralyzed? Dumbstruck?"
"No." The Elite's attention came back to the present. Maybe he had been blinded, seeing as though while thinking of the Sacred Ring, he got distracted. The imperceptible shrug that followed this thought was mainly to himself.
Somehow, the fact that Regret was only at this trail in holographic form, and that Vala hadn't noticed this before, spoke volumes about his distraction. He cursed himself for this failure to notice.
"Yet the humans were able to evade your ships, land on the Sacred Ring-" Regret raised his voice in anger. "-and desecrate it with their filthy footsteps!"
"Noble Hierarchs," Vala quickly said. "Surely you understand that once the parasite attacked--"
The Council members erupteed in angry mutters, and Vala 'Yosumee looked around at them.
The Prophet of Mercy inched forward, and bellowed in a shaky hoarse voice, "There will be order in this Council!"
The Prophet of Truth took this moment to let his prescense be known. He levitated from the shadows to where Mercy and the hologram of Regret hovered. He raised his hands, and the chamber fell into complete silence. Truth then directed his gaze to the Supreme Commander.
"You were right to focus your attention on the Flood," Truth asserted, his tone calm unlike his counterparts. "But this Demon, this 'Master Chief'..."
The Sacred Ring's destruction flashed into 'Yosumee's mind and he said, "By the time I learned the Demon's intent, there was nothing I could do."
The Prophet Councilers started yelling angrily at the Elite, as the Honor Guard Councilors spoke amongst each other. Tartarus chuckled, which caused Vala to shoot the Chieftain a piercing glare.
The hologram of Regret leaned in toward Truth and whispered, "Noble Prophet of Truth, this has gone on long enough. Make an example of this bungler, the Council demands it."
Truth held up his right hand, silencing Regret. He cleared his throat before speaking to Vala again. "You are one of our most treasured instruments. Long have you led your fleet with honor and distinction. But your inability to safeguard Halo...was a colossal failure."
"Nay!" a voice cried out from the bleachers. It was the Prophet of Objection. "It was heresy!"
The Councilors all howled for Vala's blood at once. He cursed all of these political-minded fools. None of them, except for the Honor Guards, had any idea what combat was like. Anything can change the outcome of a conflict. This was no exception, but everything was political to them. His anger was slowly increasing, and then he couldn't take it anymore.
"I will continue my campaign against the humans," he bellowed against the screams of the Councilors.
"No! You will not," Truth countered, casting his gaze to Tartarus, who barked a command. Two Brutes appraoched Vala and tried to grab his broad shoulders, but he immediately recoiled and shook the vile pair's hands off of his shoulders. They began to escort the commander out of the Council Chamber.
"Soon the Great Journey shall begin," Truth said to Vala as he was leaving. He paused. "But when it does, the weight of your heresy will stay your feet, and you shall be left behind."
Earth Defense Platform Cairo
October 20, 2552 (Military Calendar)
For the past thirty years, the Covenant had slowly destroyed human colonies, starting with the Outer Colonies, followed by the Inner Colonies, and culminating with the destruction of Reach, the United Nations Space Command's only planetary retreat. Of all the measures taken, the Cole Protocol was the only line of defense to prevent the discovery of one planet: Earth.
But for what it's worth, even with this measure, the Covenant still managed to locate the birthplace of humanity.
Morale was waning within the UNSC, and the Covenant's discovery of Earth only worsened the fear of total annilhilation. However, the UNSC had gotten the warning it needed, and the remaining ships in the battered fleet assembled in space, along with several orbital Magnetic Acceleration Cannon stations. Three stations (the Malta, Athens, and Cairo) were covering Earth's most vulnerable sector; each station also had three vessels at its command.
Fleet Admiral Lord Hood was in command of the orbital station Cairo and he had taken in the warrior responsible for Earth's warning. An attack on Earth was imminent, and his visitor had to have his upgrades integrated, so he had ordered the warrior to the station's armory.
Master Gunnery Sergeant James Livingston had two pieces of equipment laid out on a table as he ticked off the problems to the warrior. Sergeant Livingston was unphased by the warrior's prescense, because he had dealt with his kind before. The man's new helmet sined bright as it rested on the table.
"Your plating was about to fail, there's viscosity through the gel layer..." The sergeant's voice trailed off as he picked up a burnt, blackened piece of hardware and held it up. "Optics, totally fried..." He pointed to a small device next to the previous piece. "And let's not even talk about the power supply."
One of the last of his kind picked up his new helmet to examine it.
"Do you know how expensive this gear is, son?" Sergeant Livingston quipped.
"Tell that to the Covenant," Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117 replied as he secured his new helmet
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