Halo – The Final Assault
Chapter One
First Age of Resistance, Step of Silence-Covenant Holy City "High Charity", Sanctum of the Hierarchs, Holy of Holies.
From a distance, one could easily assume that High Charity was a nest of angry, blue hornets. There were so many ships surrounding the Holy City, that it could easily have been mistaken for a single mass had one not had the proper scanning equipment.
In the Covenant's mind, such a volume of spaceships was highly necessary. The human vermin had been able to beat them back from their homeworld of "Earth" with weapons and technology stronger than they had anticipated, and it was only a matter of time before they began moving on High Charity. As a result, security had been raised to its highest level in all the ages. Probes scanned every single piece of space debris, no matter the size, and subsequently destroyed it all. The most heavily armed ships moved in close proximity to High Charity, which was patrolled regularly by Seraph and Banshee fighters. Authorization codes were updated hourly, and the slightest hesitation in sending the proper responses meant instant destruction.
Inside the city, thousands of the most elite soldiers in the whole of the Covenant stood guard, ready to react at the slightest notion of emergency. Deep within the city was the Sanctum of the Hierarchs, and within that was the Holy of Holies, of which only the High Prophets could enter. Surrounding this most sensitive area in the Covenant Hegemony were over three hundred Sangelli honour guards, dressed in ceremonial armour, their headresses towering over them. Of these honour guards, only three Sangelli were allowed to even be close to the Holy of Holies.
Hovering within the Holy of Holies was the Covenant High Prophet of Truth, deep in meditation, trying to hold back his anger. Repeatedly, his soldiers had failed to halt the advances of the humans, and been systematically hunted down and slaughtered. He could not believe the audacity of these demons, using the Covenant's own technology against them! However, the Prophet had many plans in store that could turn the tide of the war.
Ikno 'Fasolee strode up the walkway which led to the Sanctum of the Hierarchs, a data pad clutched tightly within his hand. He had been this way many times before, and no matter how often he did it, he was always nervous, and the fact that security had been heightened greatly didn't help to calm him down. Usually, to calm his nerves, he would drink a glass of Konar Ale, a favourite amongst his species. But not today, as the Prophet of Truth had ordered him to report on the status of a retaliatory strike on the largest of the human armadas. He sincerely wished he had drank some Konar, as the data he carried with him carried notice of the retaliation's failure.
He came up to the doors, and presented his authorization code to an honour guard.
"The Holy One is currently meditating," whispered the guard, "You will have to wait here."
For a moment, 'Fasolee strongly considered just running away in terror, but reconsidered, since the overzealous Imperial Protectors would simply cut him down with their energy blades, and pitch his corpse off the walkway's edge. So, he stood in silence, and tried some deep breathing exercise to calm himself down. Another honour guard noticed his agitation.
"Are you unwell? You seem nervous?
"I'm fine!" snapped 'Fasolee, almost shouting, "Nothing's wrong!" As he turned back to face the entrance to the Sanctum of the Hierarchs, he noticed that the final two honour guards were glaring suspiciously at him. His heartbeat skyrocketing, he looked at the floor, and silently muttered a prayer, breathing quickly.
Suddenly, the doors began to creak open, and the inside of the Sanctum was revealed, a marvellous spectacle of coloured glass and metals. Though, when 'Fasolee laid eyes upon the High Prophet of Truth and his "Holy Guardians", his heart and stomach were each seized by an intense fear as he bowed. His sweat dripped off his forehead, and formed a small pool on the ground.
"Rise.", whispered the Prophet, "Come closer, and report."
Taking yet another deep breath, 'Fasolee walked inside, moving slowly towards the Prophet. Stepping up to the Holy One, he knelt before him.
"What have you brought for me, Ikno 'Fasolee?"
Not saying a word, 'Fasolee simply raised the data pad. The Prophet seized it with a psychic grip, and brought it up to his face. The Prophet's facial features became even more contorted with rage as he read the report. When he was finished, he furiously hurled the pad back at 'Fasolee, breaking it on his forehead. The Sangelli clenched his mandibles so tightly in fear that he felt his teeth would shatter.
"I am very, very disappointed in you, 'Fasolee.", said the Prophet, "You were the one who organized that strike. You were the one who has just failed miserably at stopping the humans. Now, because of you, it is only a matter of time before the humans reach us. I fully expect that they will be defeated, but that is yet to happen, and this is now. Now is when you will be punished."
The Prophet turned to the Holy Guardians. "Kill him!"
'Fasolee jumped to his feet, powered by his own terror.
"Never!", he hollered, "You'll never take me! I won't allow it!"
One of the Guardians laughed, "Disobeying an order from the High Prophet is punishable by death, especially in times such as these. If you don't fight us, we'll make this nice and quick for you."
'Fasolee ignited his energy sword as the Guardians ignited theirs.
"I would rather mate with a human than surrender!", and with that he lunged.
The first Holy Guardian blocked his attack, and kicked him in the chest, denting his shining golden armour. He heard the hissing of an energy blade behind him, and fell into a roll, narrowly avoiding a blow to the head. Springing to his feet, he stabbed outward, his sword plunging into the torso of the confused guardian, who shrieked in shock and agony as he fell, trying to hold onto his own entrails.
As he reoriented himself, 'Fasolee was punched in the face by the third guardian, who followed up with a lightning fast slash to the throat. Seconds later, the disgraced Sangelli's head hit the floor with a wet thump.
The two guardians ran to their fallen brother, and turned to the Prophet.
"Exalted, he requires immediate medical attention, or he will d!"
The High Prophet of Truth raised his right hand, indicating silence. Only the wounded Sangelli's moans were heard.
"Do you wish to survive, my Holy Guardian?" he asked.
The Sangelli raised his head, and spoke, "I have fought a heretic, and been mortally wounded in combat. Please, Exalted, let me die a martyr."
The Prophet complied with the dying warrior's request, and let him die on the floor of the Sanctum of the Hierarchs. He then turned to the remaining Holy Guardians.
"Prepare his remains for proper storage in their rightful burial place, and select another Holy Guardian to aid you in your duties. Get me the Sangelli known as Tares 'Kaltomee, I wish to know his progress. Go now, children. May the Gods be with you."
The two Holy Guardians stood and bowed low. Then, they hoisted their fallen brother over their shoulders, and carried him out as the Sanctum doors closed behind them.
The Prophet's eyes were averted to the corpse of the Heretic Sangelli. Instantly, he knew what to do. Levitating the head, he impaled it on a nearby spear, so that all others would see the price of failure. Eyeing the corpse, he concentrated hard on it, all his rage over the warrior's failure spilling into his thoughts. The Holy One cried out in rage as the Sangelli's corpse exploded into flame, sending blackened armour and charred flesh to all corners of the room. The creature's skeleton lay smouldering in front of him.
The Prophet's fists tightened into balls.
"No more failures this time. We will not fail in our quest to exterminate the human scum. May the Gods grant us the grace to see their weakness. May we be blessed with the strength and courage that so many do not have. May the humans be eternally cursed, and condemned to damnation."
