The Truth is Told

Otto landed, watching as the two dive back into the Scarab when they spotted a Phantom heading towards them. It was not one of theirs. The Scarab turned and fired upon the Phantom, and then started to slowly lumber across the lake. Otto turned back around and walked through the fiery doors. As soon as he came upon a chamber, he found several Jiralhanae come in.

"Do not let the Arbiter enter the chamber!" called one of the Brutes dressed in honor guard armor. "The Chieftain must complete his holy work."

There's nothing holy about these rings, Otto snorted as he ducked into invisibility. He tossed some grenades at two of the Jiralhanae and watched as they exploded. He brought out his plasma sword and dashed toward the other Brutes, swinging as he went. One of the Jiralhanae dropped his weapon and decided to meet the Arbiter with his own head-butt, trying to slam his shoulder into Otto's chest. Otto swiftly ran up the side of a column and flipped over the Brute, slicing him from behind.

So that's how Telek does it, Otto thought. Another Jiralhanae made a move for him with a shotgun. The shots impacted upon his shield, depleting it. Otto leapt up and spun in the air, swinging his sword arm around. He took a double slice at the Jiralhanae, coming down to the floor just as the Brute fell. Then, he faced the one with the honor guard armor.

"That does not belong to you!" Otto called.

"Come and get it, then, Arbiter," he sniffed back.

The Brute shot at the Arbiter with his Brute Shot. Otto ducked back and forth from the explosions of the grenades it threw at him. Then, the Jiralhanae smacked Otto up against his back, slicing at him with the blade at the butt end of his weapon. The Arbiter growled, spreading his mandibles wide, turning and slicing the Brute with his sword. He took another slice and the Brute fell on its back.

"Don't ever cut me again, primitive," Otto growled. He walked down the corridor into the Control Room chamber where he found Tartarus with the Human Telek called Miranda. One of his Jiralhanae held onto the Oracle 343 Guilty Spark. Tartarus was trying to get Miranda to use the Icon and activate Halo.

"Come, human, it is easy," he began, leaning over Miranda. "Take the Icon in your hands." Miranda shook her head defiantly. Tartarus growled and slammed the Index down on the control panel. "And do as you are told!"

"Please!" called Spark. "Use caution! This Reclaimer is delicate."

"One more word, Oracle, and I'll rip your eye from its socket!" Tartars barked back at the Monitor. Then, he turned to Miranda. "Which is nothing compared to what I'll do to you."

"Tartarus, stop!" called Otto, walking down towards the platform where he was.

Tartarus glanced back: "Impossible!"

"Improbable is the word…" came another voice from behind Otto. It was Telek.

"Telek!" called Miranda.

"Let go of Miranda, and no one will get hurt," Telek warned, holding up the rocket launcher.

"Tartarus, put down the Icon," Otto continued, motioning for Telek to lower his weapon. Telek clacked his mandibles in frustration.

"Put it down?" Tartarus asked. "And disobey the Hierarchs?"

"There are some things about Halo even the Hierarchs do not understand," said Otto in an almost defeated tone. Telek nodded.

The other Jiralhanae growled, but Tartarus stepped forward.

"Take care, Arbiter," Tartarus warned. "What you say is heresy."

"Sounds like something you told me once," Telek whispered to him.

Otto only sighed: "Is it? Oracle? What is Halo's purpose?"

"Collectively, the seven…" began Spark, but Tartarus interrupted him, shaking him and growling angrily.

"Not another word!" Tartarus bellowed.

"Please, don't shake the light bulb," began another voice. Telek and Otto parted, revealing Johnson with a plasma beam rifle in his hands. Tartarus growled, ready to attack him. But Johnson stepped forward, fingering the trigger. "If you want to keep your brain inside your head, I'd tell those boys to chill!"

Telek nodded. He glanced back, noticing other Sangheili warriors walking up to him. One of them was another gold Zealot—a Field Master. The others were a mix batch, ranging from Minor Ranks to Major Ranks, with a few Spec Ops Elite thrown in. And then there were the Councilors as well. He turned back to the Councilors and nodded.

"I want you two to hear this," he growled at them. "And then, you tell me if I deserved what I got."

"Go ahead, do your thing," Johnson nodded towards Otto. Otto looked back at the Monitor.

"The sacred rings…what are they?" the Arbiter asked.

"Weapons of last resort, built by the Forerunners to eliminate potential Flood hosts, thereby rendering the parasite harmless," replied Spark.

"And those who made the rings?" Otto continued his questioning. "What happened to the Forerunners?"

"After exhausting every other strategic option, my creators activated the rings," replied Spark. "They, and all additional sentient life in three radii of the galactic center, died…as planned. Would you like to see the relevant data?"

Otto lowered his head in sadness. What Telek had said, what the Chief had said, what the Heretic Leader had said, what Gravemind had said, now it was undoubtedly true. There was no going back on it.

"Told you," Telek whispered to the Councilors. "I told you!"

"We—we didn't know…" one of them whispered in complete horror and astonishment. "We didn't know."

"No one ever listens to me," Telek sighed.

"Tartarus," began Otto, his voice almost breaking into a sob from this news. "The Prophets—have betrayed us."

"Now, you know how I feel," Telek said. "Everything that I believed in, everything you've believed in—all lies."

But Tartarus was not going to believe. He could not believe. This had to be some sort of Sangheili trick. And he got angry, tossing the Monitor at Johnson and knocking him out.

"Johnson!" called Telek, kneeling down to the Human.

"No, Arbiter!" called Tartarus. He leaned down upon Miranda and forced her to shove the Index into the control panel. "The Great Journey has begun! And the Jiralhanae, not the Sangheili, shall be the Prophets' escort."

Just then, the whole chamber reacted, twisting and turning as an enormous beam began to shout straight out from the center of the platform.

"Oh, shit!" Telek called. "Not good! Halo's about to fire!"

"What do we do?" asked one of the Councilors. "Can we escape?"

"No, you dumb-ass," Telek growled back. "You heard the Monitor. When they activated the rings, they died! There's no where to run!"

Tartarus chuckled as he leapt onto the hovering platform near the beam. In the center was the Index. He was guarding it. Telek knelt down and grabbed Miranda by the arm.

"Admiral," she gasped. "Johnson!"

Telek pointed at Johnson: "Hey, you, Zealot! Wake him up!"

The Gold Elite nodded, slapping Johnson's face.

"What the—fuck happened?" Johnson asked. He glanced up at the Zealot. "You're not Telek!"

"We've got a big problem," Telek said, walking over to him. "That idiot Tartarus has started the firing sequence."

"Well, somebody better 'un-start' it and fast!" Johnson breathed as he got up. He watched as several Sangheili and the Arbiter leapt off one platform and headed down towards where Tartarus was. The other Sangheili warriors took out the rest of the Brutes. Telek noticed that Tartarus had some sort of glowing aura around him. It was a shield.

"He's got a shield," Telek said. "That Brute's using our own technology against us."

"Charging sequence initiated," said Spark as he floated around the three. "Primary generators coming on-line."

Telek glanced up: "Well shut them down!"

"Apologies," began Spark. "Protocol does not allow me to interfere with any aspect."

"Crap," Telek sighed.

"Then, how do we stop it?" Miranda asked.

"Well, it will take some time to go over the proper procedures…" Spark replied. "I…"

"Quit stalling, you moron!" Telek bellowed. "This thing's about to go any minute!"

He got up, glancing down as he watched the Arbiter try to take Tartarus down. But each time, even with the plasma sword, he could not penetrate that shield. And Tartarus swung left and right with his hammer, knocking Sangheili after Sangheili off the platform.

"Well, under controlled circumstances," began Spark. "I would simply ask the Reclaimer to just remove the Index."

"That's it!" Miranda called. "Johnson, I'm on it."

"Hang tight, Ma'am!" called Johnson. "Not until that Brute is dead."

"Nothing's going through that shield," said Telek. "Johnson, use your beam rifle. Maybe, with it—it'll take down the shield and Otto can kill him."

"Aye, aye, Admiral," Johnson nodded, aiming for the Brute. He fired two shots at Tartarus, taking out the shield.

"Hah!" called Tartarus. "Lucky shot, but you will not get another."

"No?" Otto asked. "Then, perhaps I will."

Otto fired a red plasma rifle at Tartarus and the Jiralhanae finally fell. Otto fell to his knees, exhausted. The whole platform shook, about read to fire the beam. Miranda leapt upon the platform, ducking down as another platform moved above her. She jumped out again and rand for the Index, yanking it from its position. A beam shot out from the center and out towards space—to the very center of the ring. The light fizzled and faded away. Nothing happened.

Telek glanced up, letting loose a wild laugh. He slammed his fists against the stone floor in triumph.

"It seems that my luck hasn't run out yet," he breathed. "Oh—thank what ever god is out there looking down upon me!"

He glanced down and saw a holo-screen appear at the center of the platform. He, and the other remaining Elites leapt down onto the platform where Miranda was. Johnson held onto Spark as it floated him down towards Miranda. Telek saw the image appear on the screen and recognized the other six Halos. There was one flashing red. He knew it to be Halo 04. But then, there was another bit that was flashing as well, something he recognized. His eyes lit up when he saw it, remembering that it was the missing part of the text he could not completely translate. Telek glanced down at his comlink and contacted his ship.

"Tom, I want you to send down to my holo projector in my comlink the text," he whispered.

"Right, sir," Tom replied.

"What's that?" Miranda asked, pointing at the screen.

"A beacon," replied Spark.

"What's it doing?" Miranda asked.

"Communicating at superluminal speeds with a frequency of…"

"Communicating with what?" asked Miranda.

"The other installations," replied Spark.

"Show me," ordered Miranda.

"Fail-safe protocol: in the event of unexpected shut-down, the entire system will move to standby status," replied Spark. "All platforms are now ready for remote activation."

Telek typed out in his holographic projector, relaying the information he got from the holographic screens in the control room along with the information he had from the text. Otto glanced over at him, noticing his busy work. Telek began to map out the coordinates these holograms were giving him. Then, his eyes lit up.

"So—that's why," Telek breathed. "The missing piece of the puzzle."

"Remote activation?" asked Miranda. "From here?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Sparks called.

"Listen, Tinkerbelle, don't make me…" began Johnson.

"Then, where?" asked Miranda. "Where would one go to activate the other rings?"

"Why, the Ark," replied Spark. "Of course."

"And, where, Oracle is that?" asked Otto.

"Earth," Telek replied. "The Ark, the Covenant coming to Earth. It makes so much sense now. Finally, the last bit of the puzzle, from what I've gathered in my translations. That's why they came to Earth! Regret he was looking for the Ark."

"Wait," Johnson glanced back at Telek. "Why the fuck didn't you tell us, Squiddy? Waitin' for the opportune time to say something?"

"I—I didn't know," Telek replied. "I only had most of the text deciphered, but not about the Ark. That was the part that was so hard to decipher. It was smudged do to age. I'm lucky to have most of it readable. Tom, did you get that?"

"Got it," said Tom. "I just fed this information into the missing piece of the text."

Telek turned to Miranda, Johnson, Otto, and the other Sangheili who had jumped down from the higher platform.

"The Forerunner have been to Earth," Telek said. "Miranda—I seem to remember something in your—religious stories about an ark."

"There were two arks," Miranda said. "Noah's Ark, and the Ark of the Covenant. One was a very large boat, and the other—a box that held the Ten Commandments. But what does this have to do with…"

"Mitchell!" Telek cried. "He would know. He minored in—religious studies, right?"

"He wanted to be a clergyman," Miranda shrugged. "But…"

"Tell him to get out that book…" Telek began. "The Bible. Tell him to get it out and turn to the pages that have to do with both Noah and the Ten Commandments. I want to know everything."

"Before your head explodes, Telek," began Johnson. "Just what the fuck are you talking about?"

"Your stories, mostly your myths and religious stories," began Telek. "Often pertain to real-life occurrences, things that were so great you could never explain them. And sometimes, they pertained to events that actually happened, or hidden messages. I think we had the answers to the Halos the whole time—written some where in some of your own religious texts."

"Excellency," began one of the Spec Ops Sangheili. "The Humans knew about Halo even before the Prophets did?"

"Knew about them?" Telek chuckled. "Don't you get it? They built them!"

"What?" Otto asked. "Telek, I've believed you about Halo being both a weapon and a containment facility—about the Prophets lying, and everything else—until you just said the Humans built Halo. Now, you are mad."

"Either they built them," began Telek. "Or, some how they had some sort of connection with the Forerunners."

"Like we did," Otto said.

"No," Telek said. "I don't think we ever had any connections with the Forerunners."

"So, either the Humans are descendants of Forerunners," began Otto. "Or—some how they have some sort of connection with them."

Telek glanced up at Spark: "You! Monitor! Tell me, what connections do the Humans have with the Forerunners?"

"They are the Reclaimers, of course," Spark replied.

"Yes, I know that," said Telek. "But why? What is the Ark? Why are they the Reclaimers?"

"The Ark is a safe haven," Spark replied. "Some of the Forerunner went to seek another planet to call home during the time of the Flood…"

"The Flood," Miranda replied. "And God said unto Noah: 'Build me an Ark for I am about to destroy the world with a great Flood. Bring onto you the animals two by two, two of each—clean and unclean and they shall call this Ark home…' My, God, Telek. The Great Flood…"

"Coincidence?" Telek asked. "I think not."

"May I continue?" Spark asked.

"Please!" Telek replied. "Tell me more."

"They brought with them seeds from planets they visited," said Spark. "And life of all kinds to this world. These survivors were very few."

"Noah, and his wife, and his sons, and their wives…" Miranda whispered.

"They brought with them, though," began Spark. "Very little of their technology, but enough to fire all seven installations should the Flood get out of hand and an activation of one of the rings be halted."

"Very few technology," Telek said, glancing back at Otto. "Possibly only enough to sustain a few generations? And then, when they did their duties, fired the Halos, the Forerunners went out into the world, procreated, multiplied—their history becoming myths and stories—lost in the generations—and then forgotten all together."

"More or less," said Spark. "From what I gathered from the Pillar of Autumn's memory banks…"

"Do you need anymore proof than that?" Telek asked. "Brothers, I would like you to meet our Lords—the Forerunners."

He motioned over to Miranda and Johnson. Otto actually fainted.

"Looks like he just had an overdose of TMI," Johnson chuckled.

"I noticed right away when I saw your architecture," said Telek. "And how the Halos almost mimic an Earth-like environment. It resembled so much of your home. And the Halos' structures, looked like your buildings and structures back on New Mombassa."

"Okay, so we built the Halos, fired them…" began Johnson. "And a few of us managed to escape to Earth, where we forgot everything and just lived happy lives—that is until we found the Covenant—who wanted to kill us in the name of their Lords. Ironically, it happens to be us. So, you guys wanted to kill your gods—and now, here we are, back on Halo—'reclaimin' our lost technology and because of the Flood outbreak, we have fire the Halos. And only we can fire them because we are the descendants of the Forerunners."

"Tom," began Telek. "What is it do you want to tell me?"

"Admiral," began Tom. "A ship had just launched itself from High Charity. It has the Chief's transponder on it. The Chief is with them. It's Truth, I believe, that left the station. Half of the Covenant fleet went with them. Of course, the other half stayed here. They've got Elites on them."

"Truth left in a ship with half the Covenant fleet with him," Telek said. "Miranda, he's heading for Earth to get to the Ark and fire all seven Halos—well—the six remaining ones."

"And there's plenty of Humans down there to help him," Miranda sighed. "Crap."

Telek knelt down to Otto and slapped him awake.

"Huh?" Otto asked. "Telek, I just—had a dream where the Forerunner were the Humans we have been hunting and killing for the past 30 years."

"Not a dream," said Telek. "Otto, we have to stop Truth before he gets to the Ark and does something really bad."

"You mean that you are not going to quell this infestation?" Spark asked.

"We are," Miranda replied. "But not through the Halos."

"These installations are the only thing that can destroy the Flood…"

"It don't destroy the Flood," Telek said. "It just destroys life that will sustain the Flood, and they stay here in this nice ring—sleeping for thousands of years in dormancy."

"Maybe the Forerunner could not figure out how to destroy the Flood," began Miranda. "Because it became too overwhelming for them to handle. But now, they're few in number compared to what our stories—and your data recalls. They're few enough to destroy in a single place. We have to destroy this ring."

"And the other rings too," Telek said. "Even the ones that don't contain Flood. They all do the same thing. I can't risk this happening to life."

"There are rings that don't contain Flood?" the Arbiter asked. "Telek…"

"Yes, I found one," Telek replied. "Been using it as a hiding spot for some time now. I've got a map to all the installations. I know where all of them are. Spark, where is the Ark in relationship to all of these rings?"

"Unfortunately, that information is not within my databanks," said Spark. "I am not clearanced to hold such valued information on the nature of the Ark. Protocols of course lest I be captured."

"Is there a way to find out?" Telek asked.

"The information is in the Ark," said the Monitor. "That is all I can tell you."

"The San'Shyumm would use the Ark," began Telek. "Fire all the Halos and thus get rid of their age old enemy in the process—meaning us Sangheili. In the end, they would rule alone. Did any of you get all of that?"

"We did," replied the Councilors. "How dare they…"

"Now, you're eyes have been opened," Telek said. "Now, you know the real truth behind Truth. More like the Prophet of Lying and Backstabbing! Old grudges never leave. It's the Great War we fought against the Prophets all over again. They were using us, feeding us all of this Forerunner crap so that we would be their dogs and find the rings for them."

The other Sangheili nodded in agreement.

"And now," began Telek. "They are going to pay for their treachery. We are going to annihilate them! Hopefully all of your ships aren't Flood infested, because we are going to need them to make an attack on Truth."

Johnson could only stand there and listen.

"Admiral," began Miranda. "What about Halo?"

"Well, first," began Telek. "Keep that by your side."

He pointed at the Index.

"Then, we've got to get out of here," Telek said. "And back to Colonel Norrington. He, Wago, and Rtas are making a move on the Regret and Reconciliation. They are going to try and destroy it to destroy Halo. I'll tell them to hold off for a moment."

"My ship was taken up to High Charity," said Miranda. "It has Flood on it."

"When Truth took that ship from High Charity," began Telek. "He shut down the station's ability to go into slip space. That ship is a Forerunner ship and it powered the entire city. Without it, High Charity isn't going anywhere."

Telek knelt down and picked up the hammer from Tartarus' fallen corpse. He pointed the head of the hammer at the Monitor and activated its magnetic field.

"W—what are you doing!" Spark asked as he found himself once more attached to the hammer.

"Taking you with us," Telek chuckled. "And don't try anything—stupid, like calling for Enforces and Sentinels on our position."

"For your information," began Spark. "I do not have command over the Sentinels and Enforcers on this station."

"Good," Telek smiled. "But you're still coming along for the ride. You're coming with me to the Ark."

"Oh—how—wonderful," Spark sighed.

"And when we get to Norrington," began Telek. "We'll all sit down and Mitchell can tell us the story of Noah's Ark. Maybe it can tell us where the Forerunner's Ark is located."

"A lot of those stories happened around the land of Mesopotamia," said Miranda. 'The land between the Two Rivers—the Tigris and the Euphrates. But it was theorized that humans all came from Africa."

"Good enough place to start," Telek shrugged.

"Admiral," began Tom over the com. "I've got some more news for you."

"Good or bad?" Telek asked.

"Bad," Tom replied. "Phantoms filled with Brutes are heading for your position."

"Well, that's good news, Tom!" Telek chuckled.

"How can that be good news?" Johnson asked.

"More Phantoms to hijack," Telek grinned.

"You insane bastard!" Johnson cried. "I'm gonna beat you to a pulp when we're done running for our lives!"

Telek looked up at the high platform, and then back to Spark.

"Okay, Q-ball," he began. "That platform's too high for us to get to. Any other way out?"

"Oh—through there," Spark replied. "That corridor will lead you out."

"You heard him," Telek said to the others. "This way."

They found the corridor over on the left side of the lower platform. As soon as they got out around through the short corridor they found themselves at the front of the control room opening and the Scarab still waiting for them. Johnson pointed down towards where the Scarab was, seeing that two Brutes were trying to get inside.

"Hey!" he called. "They're hijacking our stolen ride!"

"Miranda, go with Otto," said Telek. "Johnson, hop on my back."

"Why?" Johnson asked.

"I'm going to jump down there and you and I are gonna take that from them," said Telek.

"He's right," Otto nodded in agreement. "Having a Scarab against the Phantoms is better than nothing at all."

Telek glanced up, seeing at least three Phantoms heading for them. Down below, the two Jiralhanae were pointed up at the Sangheili and their Human allies.

"Get the Arbiter and the Sangheili!" one of them cried. "They've killed the Chieftain!"

Telek detached 343 Guilty Spark from the end of Tartarus' hammer and handed him over to Miranda.

"Take him with you," he said to her. Telek leaned down as Johnson got up on his back, wrapping his arms around Telek's neck. Telek backed up and darted for the edge of the cliff. Then, with one mighty leap, he bounded into the air, diving for the Scarab. Otto chuckled as he watched Telek flipping in the air before he slammed his boot into the cheekbone of one of the Jiralhanae. The Brute went flying like a bullet off of the Scarab and into the lake below. Johnson leapt off of Telek's back just as the Zealot swung the hammer around and sent the other Brute flying off the Scarab.

"Damn," Miranda breathed.

"What?" Otto asked.

"It's—I've never seen Telek fight until I saw you and he back at the Library, and now here," she replied.

"He's a Zealot," said Otto. "That's how a Zealot fights. Relentless, without mercy. And Telek is one of the best martial artists the Covenant ever had. Come. We must leave."

"This way, Arbiter!" called the Field Master Zealot. "There's a path down the cliff."

Telek and Johnson got into the Scarab just as the Phantoms were in range to fire their siege weapons on the others.

"Not so fast, monkeys!" Johnson cried over the loudspeaker. "Say hello to my little friend!"

Telek turned the Scarab around and Johnson aimed the cannon upwards at the Phantoms. The blue, plasma blast from the insect-like jugernaught completely incinerated the two attacking Phantoms. The other Phantom that was heading onto their position turned around at that moment and flew away.

"That's right, mother-fuckers!" Johnson cried. "You better turn tail!"

"Telek," Otto called over the comlink. "Rtas's camp is this way."

"I think Rtas will need this Scarab more than I will," Telek said. "Tom, bring the ship around to Rtas's camp and get ready to pick me up."

"Aye, Admiral," said Tom.

"Those Phantoms were probably heading for the cruiser," began Miranda over the comlink.

"That's what I'm thinking too," said Telek. "Though, I'm surprised that even with Tartarus gone, the Jiralhanae still have some form of leadership going on."

"Perhaps there is more to them than being just mindless animals," Otto sniffed. "They must be extremely dedicated to the Prophets to keep an organized system even with Tartarus dead."

"I know you killed Tartarus," began Telek. "So, therefore, you deserve to have his hammer as a trophy more than I do. But I would love to see the look on Truth's face when I come walking in with it."

"You need it as well to keep the Oracle with you as well, Telek," said Otto. "You'll be needing him to find the Ark."

"Miranda," began Telek. "I'll be also needing Mitchell as well. In return, I'll give your crew my medic Doc. How's that for a switch? And I want you to come with me."

"No, Telek," said Miranda. "I'm staying here to make sure Halo 06 gets destroyed."

"Miranda…" Telek sighed. "I promised myself that I'd bring you back to Earth safely."

"You know you can't make a promise like that," said Miranda.

Telek pulled the Scarab around towards Rtas's camp. Colonel Norrington, Spec Ops Commander Rtas 'Vadumee, and Ship Master Wago 'Tawunee were there, waiting for them. Above them was Telek's enormous Capital Ship the Shade of Darkness, de-cloaked for all to see. Her gravity lift was already activated, sending down supplies for Rtas and Norrington. The Arbiter, and the other Sangheili appeared over the hill along with Miranda. Behind them, Telek parked the Scarab. He and Johnson got out. As soon as both were on the ground, Telek walked over to Miranda.

"I want you on my ship, Commander," he began in a stern, commanding voice. "That's an order."

"Not this time," Miranda shook her head. "I'm sorry, sir, but I must decline your request. I can still also get to my ship and destroy her as well. And only I have the command codes for the self-destruct sequence."

"High Charity is overrun by Flood," Telek began. "You'll never be able to get to the In Amber Clad alive."

"I have to try," Miranda said.

"And risk having you turned into Flood like your father?" Telek growled. "Out of the question, Commander!"

"Telek," Miranda began. "My father would have done the same thing."

"You're not your father," Telek began, kneeling down to her.

"That's why I'm going to make it," Miranda said. "I've trusted you, my father has trusted you—Lord Hood has trusted you. Now, you have to put your faith in me, and trust me. I'll make it. You're not the only one capable of pulling off a few miracles."

"I'll remain here as well," Otto began. "To see that the job is done. And I will protect her for you. She'll make it."

Telek lowered his head and sighed: "Miranda…"

"I know you wouldn't have protested so much if you didn't love me, Telek," Miranda smiled. "I know that you do, even if you can't admit it."

"I have admitted it," Telek smiled grimly at her. "Miranda, I love you."

"I wonder if enter-species relationships can work," Miranda chuckled.

"I—guess we'll find out when the war is over," he replied. "Of course—I'll have to resign from the UNSC to really make it work."

Miranda laughed and lightly kissed him on the cheek: "It's for good luck."

Telek leaned up and looked back at his ship. Mitchell came running towards him.

"I've got the pages saved for you," he said.

"Good," Telek replied. "Otto, be careful out there."

"I will," said Otto. "I was wrong for what I said to you. You are still the best student I have ever had."

"I had a good teacher," Telek said.

"You mean 'swell'!" Johnson called back.

"Johnson…" Telek sighed. "Keep Shri and Ysoa with you. Take good care of them."

"I will, Admiral," Johnson said. He clicked his heals together as he stood at attention and saluted. "Good luck, sir."

Telek leaned up and returned the salute: "Thank you, Sergeant Major."

"Excellency," called Wago. "I got replies from the remaining Sangheili controlled starships. They are wanting to join you in the battle on Earth."

"Looks like I'll be bringing a miracle along with me after all," Telek chuckled. "Tell them to follow directly behind me."

"Right," Wago nodded.

Telek walked under the purple beam of the gravity lift and looked up. He leapt into the air and the lift caught him, sending him straight up into the bay of his ship. Mitchell followed him, disappearing into the beam as well. Then, the lift shut off and the Shade of Darkness rose higher and higher into the atmosphere. Then, as soon as it was high enough, the ship disappeared in a glowing nimbus of a slip-space rupture.

"Come on," called Wago. "We have a ship to destroy."

0

"Admiral on the bridge!" called Tom Jimenez, saluting just as Telek entered the room.

"I see you've kept her in one piece, Captain," Telek chuckled. Behind him waked in Flynn Mitchell, who had the Bible in his hand. Telek turned around and took the black book from him, turning to the pages he saved.

"What's our destination, sir?" Tom asked.

"We need help," said Telek. "Lots of help. I hate to say this, but let's go to Sangheilos."

Tekn's eyes widened: "Are you drunk?"

"Why does everyone ask me that?" Telek asked. "Mitchell?"

"We may need to make a pit-stop before we go," said Mitchell. "I'm—not very familiar with the Old Testament, however, I know someone who may know something I don't about this Ark and the connection to Noah's Ark."

"Who is he?" Telek asked.

"Well, he's a cop," Flynn began. "For one—and for the other—he's a 45 thousand year old Great Eastern Dragon. If anyone knows what happened during that time—it would be him."

"A Great Dragon?" Tom asked. "You know a Great Dragon?"

Flynn Mitchell glanced down at Telek's holster and spied his modified Magnum at his hip.

"Yeah, I do," he replied. "He was the previous owner of that gun you carry with you, Admiral."

"The Magnum Jacob gave me?" Telek asked. "This—dragon owned it?"

"Yeah," Mitchell replied. "He did. And you might wanna give it back to him when we meet him. Because he knows how to really unlock its secrets."

Telek pulled the gun from his side and raised it up: "Secrets?"

He spied a panel that was on the side of the gun and he tapped it with a gloved finger. The panel opened up revealing glowing, blue-white circuitry underneath and familiar symbols.

"I don't believe it…" Telek breathed. "This Magnum—is a weapon built by the Forerunners. A genuine Forerunner gun. Who is this—guy again?"

"He's an old friend of mine," Mitchell replied. "A very old friend of mine."

"Alright, we'll pick him up on the way over to Sangheilos," said Telek. "Full speed ahead, Tekn. Time is not on our side."

"Aye, sir," Tekn nodded, commanding the ship to leave the system. "But I still advise against it."

"Tekn," Telek began. "How can they hate me more now than the Prophets?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "Some of them are reminded by the fact you booted half of them off their ships."

"Trust me, it'll work," Telek smiled. Then, he turned away, taking a swig of his tin. "I hope…"