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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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"Ever-Changing Gamble"

January 10 2528 - Hour 0012

Zealot Rtas 'Vadumee

CAS-Class Seeker of Truth, Orbit over Planet of Ballast

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The Grand Operation was now wrapping up in what many had seen to call a minor success.

Despite the seemingly offensive take on their current completed goals, the truth was that the operation had been thought by many to perish before the 'infuriating humans'. Many Generals had been nervous about the recent happenings regarding the slow pace of the war. They tried to paint it as a display of incompetence, of cowardy, of lack of understanding over the needs of a true war of purification.

But the truth was, despite what some of the more overzealous people within the council were willing to shriek left and right, the Prophets were tired of losing, and they were willing to see if this could have really changed the tides of war. In a way, this was an opportunity to make good impressions and gain leverage over them. Thela knew, which is why she took the cautious road over this ordeal.

Planning this offensive took time, resources, and a lot of manpower which had then forced them to lessen their efforts in other ideas such as the probing operations to check mankind's defenses. They were ready to last a lot, but they weren't able to spread all of it coherently over the various planets they struck.

Ballast got the least reinforcements due to its distance from where the human main fleet was located, thus the invasion managed to gain a foothold and force the humans to lose it. Likewise, Fumirole was another human colony that ended up captured. Yet, despite these two successes, both Gamma Pavonis VII and Ariel proved to be nigh-impossible to capture. It wasn't a surprise, or one as big as the major victory recorded in the space-fighting if one was to even see it as one.

The UNSC Fleet deployed had been caught off-guard by the prevalence of battleships employed by the Covenant Fleet. It managed to escape a complete destruction, but roughly 60% of their Capital ships had been decimated, with a good part of those surviving damaged to some extent. This was the real factor that led many to see it as a victory.

With less ships to use, the humans were going to struggle for the next major operations launched against them.

But where many celebrated this as a victory, some didn't. And Field Master Thela 'Vadamee was among that small group. Many couldn't understand why as she had given them a victory worthy of many praises, but a close few officers was aware of some potential issues that led to her foul mood.

Rtas was the only one that knew the full truth, but she could agree that some bickering within the chain of command did lead to some delays in the fighting. Their success was almost jeopardized by a few brazen youths trying to bathe their mandibles in human blood, disregarding the status of the operation itself.

Many were imprisoned, some were stripped of their ranks, and a couple had to actually be killed for trying to cause a revolt in the command.

Yet the recently-promoted Zealot was aware of a single factor that played deeply into her superior officer's bad mood. And it was something she never thought she would end up bringing up while sharing a private time with Thela. A single moment, a topic that was expected and yet not, and the relax that was within Thela's visage faltered into pure scowling.

"Are you upset that you couldn't fight him again?"

The 'him' being a very simple element that could easily get some curious reactions from Thela. From embarrassment to brief bouts of amusements, to actually look as murderous as she was right in that moment.

"It's not always about that human-"

"Yet it is right now," Rtas struck back, surprising the Field Master with that rebuttal. "Still, I don't understand. I thought that you have decided to keep any chances of finding him in the battlefield either limited or discreet enough to not cause rumors to appear."

A slow nod ensued. "And that's indeed the case even now."

...What?

"Thela, that doesn't make any sense."

"That's because you are seeing it from a simplistic and wrong angle," Her leader remarked. "It's not about direct confrontations. It's about 'appearances'."

"This doesn't help me much," Rtas rebuked, and Thela snorted.

"The human is indeed the source of my grim mood. But it's more about the fact that he proved to be far stronger than the troops I dispatched to put him under stress."

...

"I-"

"How would anyone think I am currently harboring heretical thoughts of intimacy with one of our enemy if I am purposely trying to have them killed?" Thela interjected, this time laying her plan bare for Rtas to understand and... be stunned by.

"You wanted him to be subjected to heavy fighting. Him and his team-"

"Are impressive. But I didn't expect them to expand and be more numerous than before. Their military equipment has been upgraded too, which makes them far more fearsome compared to how they were mere months ago."

"But... what if that had been more than enough and killed him?"

Thela showed no doubts in her response. "Then we wouldn't have been fit for each other. If I can't plan a proper response to him and go too excessive, I would be unfit before my understanding of his limits; likewise, he would be unfit if he was unable to stand up to my expectations."

To Rtas the logic was quite simple: Thela was trying to use a very unorthodox but quite natural selection of potential mates: subjecting her potential one to labors. Normally, in Sanghelios, that would be duels and carrying heavy items of importance- but no one exactly put a rule on how to decide the labors themselves.

"An impressive plan, ma'am."

The praise was met by a smile. "Thank you. But... I would be a liar if I said it was just that."

And Rtas was frowning again. "I thought-"

"Its primary function is indeed to test the human. But I was also trying to use this as a way to delve deep into the zealot circles around the council. I am sure you are familiar with the mutinies?"

Rtas nodded quickly. "Troops are believing less to the cause. Defeats have been worsening the disbelief itself."

"And what do you think of it?"

"I... I think it's an expected problem," Rtas answered, this time with a slower pace as she knew Thela was trying to get another answer out of her. "Is there something I didn't notice?"

"I am just thinking on how curious it is how the Oracle in High Charity has been quiet for so long and yet we were unable to get a proper recording of what it proclaimed?"

"...Thela, this kind of topic is-"

"Reasonably within our doctrine if someone has been purposely twisting it for personal gains," The Field Master interrupted. "I am aware of how this may sound heretical, but you can't deny that the San'Shyuum are not shy from betraying people by using anything that allows them to keep power."

"I still don't think this is a good idea," Rtas rebuked, sounding quite nervous at the implications. "What... What drove you to think this was possible? A mistake as you say?"

"I know these revolts were created with the purpose of lashing back to the mutinies," Thela explained as honestly as she could. "The Prophets know that people are starting to think of how odd their recent behavior has been. They all have this need to attack humans, some more than others- and even there a couple have shown reluctance to comply to this collective order."

Rtas frowned at this detail. She was aware that the San'Shyuum have been quite belligerent towards humanity, even more than most of the other species. At first this could be ruled out as a zealous behavior, but this was much more than that. The reluctance has been evident in some sessions of the council-

The San'Shyuum was following this precept against mankind out of order rather than understanding and acceptance of the demand. And some, if the rumors she heard were right, had also been looking into ending the war with the notion that 'perhaps they mistook the meaning of the oracle's message'. That would be incredibly important by their doctrine if proved correct and...

A Civil War would be unavoidable at that point.

"Which is why I will just look and not act for the time being. If there is nothing, then I will keep following orders to the fullest, but the moment I find reason to believe and concede that malicious intent was employed to deliver a false translation, then I shall take action against the Council."

"You and who else?" Rtas inquired, expecting Thela to back down.

Much to her surprise, the fellow female Sangheili smiled in a rather vicious manner.

"I know a few people that would help us within the council."

AN

The main goal of the Covenant under Thela's 'unofficial' control is the decimation of means for humans to go back in an offensive. Similar to how it happened in Canon, but through different means and processes. Where the UNSC Fleet got decimated, this time the battered main fleet is a modest fraction of the main one. The beating was felt, and the alarm bells are ringing left and right within the HIGH-COM.

Also, I started two stories recently, a Lore Olympus and a Cyberpunk Edgerunners/2077 ones. Links are in the Discord Server.