The large room was filled with thousands of chairs, all filled with various species of alien; Brutes, Grunts, Jackals, Hunters and Elites, all in their respective corners. The walls were covered in strange markings in an unknown language, and each exit, and there were 2 for each species, in order of size (for hunters were vastly bigger than grunts), was guarded by 2 spec-ops grunts armed with fuel-rod guns. The grunts looked amusing with such large weapons; the guns themselves were almost as large the 2 guards.
In the centre of the room, which was circular, on a LeviPod, sat the High Prophet of Truth in all his glory. His armed guard of 2 high-level Brutes stood tall and ferocious, both armed with Gravity Hammers and a two Brute spikers in their holsters on each foreleg. The leaders of each of the Covenant races sat at the head of their people. The Arbiter surveyed the other species and the Prophet with suspicion.
"And now, if any other leader wishes to make a point to the High Council to discuss?" exclaimed the High Prophet of Truth. He looked round for any of the 5 leaders' pods to lift. "Ah, Thel 'Vadamee, leader of the Elites. Please rise, and you may put your point forward. The council is listening."
"Over the past few months, an alarming thing has come to my mind," said the Arbiter, Thel 'Vadumee, calmly. "At first, along with the late High Prophet of Mercy, you replaced the Elites in your personal guard with these new Brutes. For this you gave no reason, and my people were greatly offended by the act." He paused after this sentence, and when the High Prophet made no effort to reply, he carried on.
"At the Battle of Installation 05, you deliberately ignored our advice to keep in the Phantoms which were heading for Regret, and instead withdrew them, even though they could have prevented Regret's death and even caused the death of the Demon. After this idiotic decision which cost us so much, you further demoted our race by handing control of our fleets to the Brutes, leaving us virtually powerless in the Covenant. Furthermore, my spies have uncovered that once the Brutes had almost completely taken over from us, you gave the order to assassinate many ruling Elites in the High Council. That, in fact, is the only reason that I'm now in charge of our race. You shamed us publicly, you shamed us secretly. We are disgraced by your actions, High Prophet, and are proud to leave this heap of lies known as the Covenant! If anyone wishes to join our rebellion, just come along!" Yelled out Thel 'Vadumee, ending his speech. Whispers and gasps echoed around the courtroom, as the councillors realised what had been happening to the Elites over the past few months. They now understood why the Brutes took the Elites places in nearly everything that the Elites had stood for. A single Grunt stood up, and the entire room went silent.
"You know what, Truth? I don't give a fuck for your whole Covenant. I've fought for 10 years, and I certainly haven't seen any of the promised reward!" The Grunt breathed deeply after it said this, and remained on its feet. After a few seconds of more silence, the entire room burst into applause, and shouts of many criticising words aimed at Truth and the Covenant roared across the crowds.
"This is an outrage! I'll have your life for this, traitor!!!" Yelled out Truth at the Arbiter. "My life is worth nothing, compared to uncovering the lies you've been feeding us for so long!" Replied Thel 'Vadumee. "From now on, let me be known as Thel 'Vadum, to commemorate my boycotting of the Covenant, to form the Covenant Separatists! There was honour in our Covenant once, and there shall be again!"
"You'll never get away with this! GUARDS, GET THEM!" Screamed Truth. By this time, the Separatists had gathered around Thel 'Vadum and drawn their weapons to protect their new leader. The 10 Grunts and 2 Brutes looked pitiful in comparison with the new army formed, even with their formidable weapons. Nevertheless, they knew better than to disobey Truth's order, and unleashed fire upon the Separatists. The room echoed with the deafening sound of 10 Fuel-Rod Guns, the same as the Hunters use. Added to the sound of the Gravity Hammers, the effect was positively shattering. The windows lining the edge of the circular room all splintered simultaneously, and the anti-vacuum window lining immediately turned on and a metal shield pulled out over the gap. The momentary distraction was all the Separatists needed to gain the upper hand over the guards, and they were completely annihilated within a few seconds.
Truth began to run from the scene, but the doors had all locked themselves in anti-vacuum procedure and couldn't open unless it was from the main control room of High Charity. He hid underneath a grandstand made for the Hunters and waited, where he wouldn't be found.
At this time, an Assault Carrier spectacularly crashed through the glass ceiling, yet again triggering a vacuum which was sealed, as much as it could be, with a great lump of ship stuck in it. The Arbiter must've called for the rest of the Elites to help him escape thought Truth. The entire Separatist army climbed into the Assault Cruiser, with Thel 'Vadum coming in last. After he stepped onto the ship, he heard Truth whisper weakly, "You've never disgraced me like this before, Arbiter. This hasn't happened since the Grunt Rebellion!"
Thel 'Vadum looked back, smiled, and replied, "Except this is one civil war that you won't win." Truth looked on, alone, as the cargo hatch on the Assault Cruiser closed, and the ship removed itself from its lodging in the roof and flew away. "I swear, 'Vadumee, I'll get you for this outrage!" he yelled to something long gone.