Departing High Charity

The following is a reenactment of the scene just before Truth and the Brutes leave High Charity:

Prophet of Truth (PoT): All the hopes and dreams of the Covenant rest on your shoulders, chieftain.

Tartarus (Tar): My faith is strong, I will not--wait a minute, ALL the hopes and dreams?

PoT: Yes, all of them.

Tar: Wow...I gotta be honest with you; I don't think I can handle that much pressure. I mean, if I fuck up, that's a lot of aliens that are gonna be disappointed. How many are we talking about?

PoT: By last count, 5 trillion.

Tar: Hoooo boy...Yeah, look, I'm not sure I can do this, so you need to find someone else.

PoT: I'll give you an Italian soda if you do.

Tar: No way! Really?!...Wait a minute, what kind?

PoT: Hmm...Cherry.

Tar: Ecch! No way, man, cherry ones taste like cough syrup!

PoT: Fine, then! Watermelon!

Tar: Fuck yeah! Let's do this!!!

(The Flood swarm out of High Charity and attack the group of Brutes and Prophets. One of the infection forms latches on to the Prophet of Mercy (PoM). Tartarus reaches out to help him.)

PoT: Let him be! The Great Journey waits for no one, Brother. Not even you.

Tar: You know, I could just pull that thing off of him—

PoT: It's too late! There is no helping him now!

Tar: Seriously, he could still make it, it's not like it burrowed too much into him.

PoT: No, I've already delivered the dramatic line! Besides, health insurance has been kind of iffy for the prophets lately, and I'll be damned if I'm stuck paying his medical bills!

Tar: Why would you be paying his medical bills?

PoT: Well…er…hey, there's more Flood coming, we'd better get onto the ship!

Tar: Shit! You're right! This way, your Holiness! (they board the ship)

PoM: You know, you're all a bunch of fucking assholes!

(End!)