The New Covenant

Blay'de Haulduur, former Supreme Commander, marched out onto a balcony, overlooking an enormous force of Covenant soldiers. At the sight of Blay'de, a condemned prisoner, the troops began to shift and whisper, looking suspiciously at him. Blay'de sighed, he would only get one chance at this, and if he got it wrong, the army would tear him to pieces in their wrath.

"My brothers!" he boomed to the crowds. He immediately got their attention. "The High Prophets have lied to you!" Now they were all staring at him. If he messed up now, then they wouldn't take kindly to him…

"They have spun tales to you of eliminating all species in the universe, but in reality, we only need be rid of one!" he pressed a button on his wrist armor, and it showed a hologram of a human, floating in front of him. "The humans are the one species we need destroy, for they are the sacrilegious descendants of the Forerunners!"

He really had the Covenants attention now. He was questioning their religion, what they had been raised on, the reason they were fighting this war.

"The humans were born in disgusting circumstances, and now have taken over from the Forerunners. Because of them, our deities are now gone. They must be eliminated!"

Some of the Covenant cheered at this, but he still had to sway the races less dependent on religion, such as the Brutes, or the Hunters.

"And also," he continued, "the High Prophets have kept incredible technology of the Forerunners from us! They attempt to keep us in a primitive dark, while they live in light and luxury!" Now, Blay'de reached under the balcony railing, where a few Jackals, loyal to his cause, had hidden what he needed.

Soon, Blay'de found what he was looking for, detached it from the railing, and raised it high.

"See what they have kept from us!" he roared to the crowds, holding a long silver rifle aloft.

The crowds looked impassively at the weapon. It didn't look that impressive.

Blay'de frowned, "They have kept from us mighty weapons that do incredible things!"

He turned the silver rifle on a pillar, which stretched up at the door to the balcony, and fired. A glistening blue ball of energy streaked out of the gun, and blasted into the pillar.

The pillar was instantly vaporized by a burst of blue light.

Blay'de turned back to the crowds and raised the weapon high.

"With these weapons, we will be able to destroy the humans, and any others who stand in our way!"

Now the crowds roared their approval. They had a new purpose, and the means of which to reach it.

Blay'de smiled. He was no longer Supreme Commander, he was the New Prophet, and he had the full force of the Covenant at his fingertips.