Chapter I: Captured
The hums of the Phantom, the lingering stench of decay, and the wild smell of Brute fur awoke Gunnery Sergeant Scott McHale as he gazed at the gargantuan ape-like creatures. He causally craned his head and stared at the pile of bodies littering the Phantom dropship, the bodies of his squad. He could not tell who was alive or dead, not one figure made an attempt to make the most minuscule of and the bodies strewn about were Orbital Drop Shock Troopers who made up the second initial wave against the Covenant on the ring world known as Halo, apparently the second of it's kind that humanity has found.
The In Amber Clad had jumped with the Prophet of Regret's carrier over the New Mombasa skyline back on Earth and ended up what seemed like millions of miles away to this curious installation. His squad didn't go in HEV pods with the other ODSTs and Spartan-117, or Master Chief as he was commonly know. Instead, they landed on Halo inside a Pelican after they were signaled that Chief and another squad of Marines and ODST's breached an alien temple based in the center of a , it was bad timing. When they got to their landing zone, a Covenant capital ship appeared over the temple and blasted it away with the Marines and Chief still residing in it. Their dismay was interrupted by a neon-green round from a Fuel Rod cannon that tore apart their Pelican, effectively isolating them from any rescue. Looks like the Chief didn't completely clear out the area of all Covenant forces beforehand after all. Nobody saw the Brutes stationed anywhere on the Halo and it was a surprise to see the apes blitzing out of the jungle around them. Those cunning, yet savage, creatures waited for the Pelican to set down and drop it's precious soldiers before attacking. The initial Fuel Rod round and Brute Shot grenades rendered the Pelican inoperable and a smoldering wreak.
Returning back to the present, McHale saw that the attack had taken it's toll on his squad, some of whom were now showing signs of life. Private Paul Anderson lay motionless near the foot of a Brute, his head apparently caved in by the giant's foot with bone, brain, and blood pooled together. Corporal Mohamed Al-Kali was sitting with his back against the Phantom's wall, but he was either dead or resting, Scott couldn't tell. Privates George and Richard Hodges were looking alive, at least for the time , he felt the Phantom jerk to a grinding halt and witnessed the hatches open. He was promptly picked up by a gray haired Brute, along with the other living members of his squad, and taken off the ship. A blinding light momentarily made him wince his eye's before the polarization of his helmet kicked in, but when it did all he could do was gaze in majesty. Before him was the seemingly limitless sight of a Covenant city with a three pronged triangular tower in the middle, all in the classic violet the Covenant loved so much.
It was High Charity, the holiest city of the Covenant war machine who's majesty was eclipsed only by the Halo his neck to the left he noticed another Phantom go to the opposite side of this station, probably another batch of prisoners unlucky enough to be subdued by the Covenant, which made this whole situation all the more bizarre as the Covenant never took prisoners before. The outside view quickly disappeared as he was led into a dark hallway, only lit by dim violet and crimson lighting, and to an anti-gravity elevator. The ultimate destination of this platform was an area that many humans could identify, a prison. Inside he found there were other prisoners, though certainly not human. Angry, rabid Jackals snapped at them with a blazing fire in their eye's and a creamy white froth excreting form their beaks. Richard was thrown in their cell, his screams hauntingly hinting at what was being done to him. His brother George tried to break free from the iron grip of his Brute captors, but was quickly recaptured by one of the Brute's and thrown into an empty, dank cell. Al-Kali and McHale were tossed into a separate cell across from George's. His helmet flew away from his face and his senses were all attacked at once. The death of Richard, the horrific stench of the cells, and a pulsating migraine were too much for McHale to handle . He found the embrace of unconsciousness once more.
Elsewhere on High Charity, in the midst of the Prophets, a green "demon" appeared in a dazzling yellow shroud. His judgment would be the one that would reign supreme in the Prophet's domain.