High Charity: Drang

Drang looked hard at the floor as Truth rambled on. He had walked into the room only to be told to stay on his knees and to be quiet. He knew what it was about immediately.

"And, I want to know why you would fake a fight to talk to my prisoner?" Truth asked, Drang didn't miss the my part of the question. "Don't answer that, because I know why. It is because you are conspiring against me! You wish to kill me so that the Prophet of Peace may take my place. But I will not let that happen. You will be placed in the cell of your co-conspiritators and the guards will be changed. Guards!"

Two Sangheili walked into the room and grabbed Drang. He looked at Truth and screamed, "You will die! When we make our move, you will die, I promise."

The guards dragged him to the cell and threw him in. He blacked out as Mitch hit him over the head.

High Charity: Sop

Sop grabbed Mitch and ripped him off. He threw him against the wall and looked at Drang. Mitch came in again. Thek grabbed him by the collar and held him back from attacking the unconscious Sangheili.

"Why was he thrown in here?" Charlie asked.

"Most likely because of what I told you," Sop replied. "We must be ready to move. I will make a watch for us to keep an eye on Mitch so he doesn't kill my friend. Thek! Hold him back; knock him out if you can!"

Sop went to the cell door and yelled, "We have an injured cell mate! He needs medical attention."

A Sangheili walked up and whispered, "Shut up! We are leaving in one hour be prepared! Drang told me the plan with you just before he was thrown in jail, I hope he was right in trusting you!"

An hour later

Sop nodded at the guard who let them out of the cell. "What's going on?" he asked. "We have been hearing a lot of gunfire and shouts until you let us out."

"We are leaving, but we have to fight our way out," the Sangheili said as he handed the group their weapons from a nearby table.

And they left to the landing pad where Sop and his team had landed when they arrived at High Charity. When they burst through the last door, everyone caught their breath. The scene was horrible.

Ships fought out in space, Jiralhanae led small groups of Unngoy into battle against the Sangheili. Kig-Yar tore apart and fought against each other. The team had enough cover to make it to the pelican without too much attention. The guard signaled and the group sprinted forward.

"The prisoners are esca-" Was all an Unngoy could say before Sop grabbed him and threw him twenty meters to slam into a wall.

But the Unngoy got enough out to get the attention of five Jiralhanae and two Unngoy. The assailants turned and fired. Mitch pulled out a fragmentation grenade and threw it behind his back to kill them. It didn't work.

"Wait up!" Mitch yelled.

The human turned and fired his MA37 Assault Rifle at the lead Jiralhanae, taking its shields down. The behemoth screamed and fired back, catching Mitch just above the heart with his Spiker. He threw his fist up in triumph before everyone else let a barrage fly his way.

Sop grabbed Mitch by the arm and threw him over his shoulder before running the rest of the way. Charlie followed before Sharon and the guard, with Drang over his shoulder, showed up with bad news.

"A whole pack of Jiralhanae is on its way," Sharon said.

Great!, thought Sop. Now we have to deal with a whole pack! What could be worse?

"Um, guys, we have to go now!" The guard urged. "A pair of Lek 'golo are about twenty meters away and are closing in fast!"

Sop jumped to the back of the ramp and looked. Yep, they were doomed. Charlie and Sharon jumped into the cockpit and started the transport. Sop and the guard fired out the back ramp.

"Watch it!" was all anyone heard before a green ball of plasma smacked into the back of the ramp, killing the guard just after he threw Drang onto the ground.

"Hang on!" Charlie shouted. "We have to fly through a battle, don't know how bumpy it will be, so might want to sit tight and hold on to something!"

Sop grabbed Drang and strapped him into one of the seats before sitting down himself. He thought of what Drang had told him.

The Sangheili breaking away from the Covenant? But why? He decided he would ask Drang when he woke up. For now, he had to think of what they were going to say to the human leaders. Sop closed his eyes and waited for the trip to end.

Three hours later

Sop woke and looked around the cabin. Drang was up and eating a ration. Charlie was up front with Thek while Sharon slept. Sop looked to the end of the ship and saw Mitch sharpening his knife.

"So you're up," Drang noted. "We will arrive at our destination in one hour."

Sop grunted and stood, stretching. "Sorry you were knocked out by Mitch. He still hasn't taking a liking to us." He whispered the last part.

"It's alright, what can you expect when we tried killing his whole species? I'm more worried about when we reach the human planet."

"Don't be, they know not to kill your kind," Charlie said from the cockpit. "Just what about your army? Will they kill us in the middle of battle?"

"No. I was able to get to a contact before I was thrown in prison, they will not kill you."

The rest of the trip was made in silence before Thek walked into the back to let Sharon take over as co-pilot. He announced that they had arrived.

The pelican landed and its occupants spilled out. A platoon of Marines surrounded the landing pad, training their weapons on the hatch. Sop walked out after Mitch and before Charlie. The team filed out and three Marines walked forward.

"You are wanted in the City Hall," the lead soldier said. He shifted nervously at being so close to the enemy. "We will escort you there, the governor has announced the treaty to the public and we anticipate that they will try to attack you on your way to the City Hall."

Mitch nodded and walked behind the escort. As the team walked off the steps, the platoon made a column around them. As they walked forward, people lined the street, gawking at the spectacle. Anyone of those people lining the roofs could have a gun trained on me or my team, thought Sop. I just hope that the people here agree with the treaty, if not, then there will probably be bloodshed soon.

They were led to the City Hall and ushered through quickly. The room was lit the same as the last time they had arrived.

"So, what was the reply of the Covenant?" said the first man.

"Not the Covenant, but the Sangheili," Charlie answered. "They said yes, that they would help us combat this evil. The Covenant leaders thought that this new alien race is a hoax."

The group heard whispers in the darkness. "When will we meet the leaders of the Elites?"

Charlie's face turned red with anger. "They prefer to be called by their real name, Sangheili. How 'bout your name? What is it?"

"My name is of no conc-"

"Yes it is, now tell me it."

"Fine my name is Michael Snatch." The first man's voice sounded like he was fixing to explode with rage.

"Alright Snatch; I'll just make fun of you now."

Michael finally exploded. "GET OUT OF HERE!" he yelled. "Don't disrespect me like that again!"

The team left and headed to a hotel that had been reserved for them. A guard was posted outside the building and outside their door. The team was barely able to sleep that night, not knowing what was going to happen later that night.