The Gumala Mountain Range, Sanghelios…
Several Months after the Battle of the Ark…
The Gumalas flowed from east to west like a stream. Zigzagging and twisting across the northern region of Sanghelios. From one of its mountains, Teesteron, the Ocean can be seen reflecting the triumvirate suns of the Urs system, and its slightly reddish/white sky to the south. Atop Teesteron, near its peak, a small hut sticks out rigidly from the mountain side. Largely made of metal, the hut vigilantly hangs against the harsh climate of the mountain top. The hut's entrance, a roughly made door kept close by a bar, stood before a small trail that twisted down the mountain.
Two figures trekked up the small little path, struggling against the winds and snow. The two were definitely not Sangheili in size or shape, and wore black cloaks that covered most of their features. They made their way to the hut at the top, gingerly watching each step, careful not to fall down the steep drop to the bottom of the mountain. As the two figures finally reached the hut, the door opened before them. An Elite, about seven foot, in bluish robes that covered everything except for his hazel eyes; stood before the two strangers, staring intently at them.
"May we come inside? We just want to talk!" one of the figures, clearly a human female, yelled above the wind. The Elite did not recognize the voice, nor did he trust any humans, especially suspicious pair on his own homeworld. Despite that, he reluctantly invited them inside, seeing that it would be rude if he sent them back all the way down the mountain. The two stepped in, and the Elite closed the door behind them, pushing the door bar in position. They removed their hoods, revealing an Asian female and a male, whose face that the Elite never wanted to see again.
"Nihai! Remember me!" He was an Irish man with a thick accent and a deviously happy tone. He had auburn hair, green eyes and a thick beard. He stood about average height with a moderate build.
"What do you want Agent Gilroy?" Nihai said, bluntly cutting straight to the matter at hand.
"What?! You're not happy to see your old friend? I'm disappointed, I thought we were buddies."
"We made a deal, that's hardly enough for a friendship."
The agent straightened his face, immediately losing the silly attitude. The woman pulled out a large plastic envelope, an ONI insignia printed on the front. "Then let's make another deal." She said.
The two ONI agents sat around Nihai's dining table, ripping open the envelope, revealing a folder of documents. The Sangheili brought a pot over with what the two agents could guess was some kind of stew. He roughly threw over two bowls and slopped the stew into them, before carefully pouring some into his own. Choosing not to risk discovering whatever the stew was made of, the two went straight to business, putting an image before Nihai. The picture was a bird's eye view of a massive city. The city stood on the beach of a large land mass. The city itself was massive, spanning several miles wide, with a massive wall surrounding it. The wall was collapsed on the southern end of the city. A large arm broke off from the city, going towards the east over the ocean. At the end of the arm was a large circular platform, which the Elite recognized to be a gravity lift site for a large CCS Super Carrier. Along the arm and around the upper portions of the city were docking arrays and gravity lift sites for all kinds of ships. A lot of them were unused but several were occupied with large cruisers and frigates, as well as an assortment of smaller ships.
"That's 'Unity of Faith'." The woman stated.
"I know what it is."
"I figured you would, you ran the place before." Agent Gilroy spoke this time. The Elite wasn't surprised that he had known. Unity of Faith is a popular city amongst the covenant, and Nihai was a popular leader. His position as a councilor was partly due to his experience with Faith.
"We've been having some problems with a group of former-UNSC mercenaries known as Victor's Company. They have been raiding several of our bases on the Halo Installations."
"They seem to be focused on retrieving artifacts we collect from the installations. We believe that they are most likely after an Activation Index." The woman added.
"What does this have to do with Faith?"
"An informant told us that the company had been getting payments from someone on Faith using unmarked gold."
"Since we can't get in without risking a full on assault, we need someone resourceful like you to get in and see what you can find out." Gilroy said.
"You'll get a full pardon on your previous actions against the UNSC and your former comrades will be released without harm." The woman offered.
"And if I refuse?" Nihai asked.
"Then you and your comrades will die." Gilroy spoke up again, "We don't have time to play games. If they get an Index, than all they have to do is get to a Halo and activate it. If they activate it, then everyone dies." Nihai understood the destructive power of the Rings; the arbiter made it quite clear. He didn't care much about his own personal safety, and his comrades knew what the risks they were taking when they helped him. What he cared about was Faith.
"I'll find who is behind them and why they are doing it. I will need equipment and transportation."
The Irish man smirked, "Whatever you need… we've got it."