As promised here's another chapter, but first legal feces.
Disclaimer: NO OWN HALO.
Judgment
MC: 2000 Hours, January 16, 2538
Nexus V, Aboard Covenant Cruiser Ascendant Justice
Kara stared nervously at the board in front of her. Not that she was nervous over something as small as a game…not this game anyway. It was the larger, longer waiting game that had her worried. It had been more than a two months since the Fleet Masters last message. Something should have come by now, whether it was a call to trial for Drek'nari and Orna' or an invitation for a meeting with the Hierarchs. Something should have happened.
Kara sighed, a nasty habit that came forward all too often as of late, and decided to end the game of Sava she was playing with her friend and teacher. She leaned over and moved her honor guard forward a few steps, closing the carefully laid trap around Drek'nari's high prophet. Drek'nari studied the board a moment longer before realizing the game was over. "Well played," he said, leaning over to offer a hand in congratulations. Kara grasped it momentarily then returned the gesture in the Sangheili manner. Placing her hands palm up she offered them to Drek'nari who placed his own hands palm down over hers.
As they moved to clean up the game, Drek'nari casually asked a question of the same sort he had been asking for the last week. "Why did you not offer congratulations first?"
Mentally checking a sigh, Kara answered. "The defeated always offers the first congratulations, for the victor to do so would flaunt his victory and dishonor him." Every thing was a test now. The simplest interactions could raise dozens of questions, all designed to keep her understanding of Covenant ways sharp.
A week ago, Drek'nari had deemed her as ready as he could make her for the impending meeting with the Hierarchs. Now all there was to do was to wait. "Exactly," he replied as they finished the cleaning up the game. Glancing at the chronometer the terminal was projecting in its idle state, he realized how late it was. "We should sleep now. The Hierarchs will not be kept waiting for a silly little thing like sleep if their message comes tomorrow."
Kara laughed as she shut the terminal down and moved to her bed. After turning off the lights Drek'nari climbed into his own bunk and settled in for the night. As she drifted to sleep, Kara's last thoughts were that this life might not be so bad after all.
1-2-3
Kara floated through darkness. Darkness that spread out forever as far as the mind could imagine, but it was a darkness different than the one she remembered from her nightmares. It was simply that; darkness, the lack of light. Not the endless, unyielding blackness that had dominated her dreams not long before. As this realization dawned on her, the darkness gave way to light, and a scene she knew well reached out to envelop her.
She stood in a field a few kilometers from her family's house. Her father had the day free and so the family had come here to have a picnic lunch. She stood beside her father as they lined up twin rifles to fire at distant wooden targets. Behind her, fifty or so meters away, her mother and best friend Kelly set up lunch under the sprawling branches of a stand of trees. It was perfect, just the way it had been for 5 long happy years. Something was missing though, she couldn't quite place it, but something that should have been here wasn't. Turning, she found the missing piece to this beautiful puzzle. A short ways away, Raul sat beneath another ancient tree. The full image that met her eyes though, was unexpected. Sitting across a Sava board from Raul was someone who could have never shared this with her. Drek'nari could have never been in this scene, but still he belonged here. Here with the rest of her family.
Kara relaxed and let the dream whisk her away. It was a dream; she knew that deep down in her conscious mind…but dreams were the realm of the subconscious and the imagination. So for the time being she was content to let her fantasies take hold, content to be safe with her family. Both the one she had lost and the one she had found.
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MC:0715 Hours, January 17, 2538
Nexus V, Aboard Covenant Flagship Truth and Reconciliation
By the time dawn came the next morning, Fleet Master Orna' Fulsamee was already up and about. Today was the day. The day he found out if the risk he had taken three short months earlier paid off or if it all came to ruin.
Two months ago he had managed to obtain a private audience with the High Prophet of Truth. The meeting had had only one purpose: to convince Truth that the human child he had saved was strong enough and, perhaps more importantly, worthy of joining the covenant when the rest of her species was scheduled for death. The meeting had been a success; although Truth had kept that fact well hidden until a few short hours ago. Now he could only hope that Drek'nari had succeeded as well. For all of their sakes, the child's included, Orna' hoped that he had.
1-2-3
MC:0700 Hours, January 17, 2538
Nexus V, Aboard Covenant Cruiser Ascendant Justice
Kara awoke with the dawn as she often did; an annoying habit when the time of dawn could move as much as three hours during the year. She found Drek'nari already gone, he rarely slept more than eight hours, and so she climbed out of bed and went to the terminal. Turning it on, she logged into the Fleet-wide battle-net and began to scan the reports as she had every day since she had learned how. Her search ended abruptly as she saw the report on the top of the list; our glorious High Prophet of Truth graces us with his presence, victory and salvation shall be ours. Her blood froze. Truth was here and the waiting game was over. Her stomach tied in knots as all her fear and doubt rushed to the front of her mind.
Taking a deep breath, she stood and began to pace the length of the room, as she did she worked through her doubt. When she met the Prophet, surely if the Prophet had decided against her she would already be dead, she would have to keep her wits about her. She continued to pace the room and systematically squashed her doubts, or at least shoving them aside. Doubt was for later if at all, now she needed to think clearly. She continued her pacing until the door slid open with a familiar hiss.
Kara spun to face the door almost expecting armed guards to be waiting outside. It was just Drek'nari however, much to her relief. He stepped inside, looking, in his own calm way, relieved that she was still there. He glanced briefly at the terminal before sitting down and turning to her. "Good, you already know. Be ready. We'll have an answer soon." After a moment, Kara took up the other chair and placed the Sava board in between them. She needed something to take her mind off the prophet and a game seemed like the ideal distraction. Drek'nari appeared to agree and quickly set up his black metallic forces.
The game moved quickly, neither player putting much thought behind their moves. So when the door opened once more, they had already come close to the end game, Kara's Arbiter stood with two honor-guards, facing down Drek'nari's Prophet and a pair of shield bearers. The pair stood silently to face a pair of elites in black armor. "The Hierarch requests your presence." One of the elites said, looking only slightly surprised at finding a human here. Another soldier dancing unquestioningly to the prophets song. Kara and Drek'nari followed their escort out of the room leaving their game as it stood.
Two more elites joined them outside and led them towards the hangar. The group proceeded silently through the halls of the cruiser. Kara and Drek'nari asked no questions when they saw the halls empty and their guards gave no answers. The procession arrived at the hangar without incident. The hangar was empty like the rest of the ship except for a single Phantom that stood alone near the exit to the hanger. Surrounding it were another dozen elites in black armor.
1-2-3
MC: 1000 Hours, January 17, 2538
In orbit above Nexus V
The Phantom cruised through orbit, moving silently towards its destination. Ahead of them a figure became distinct against the void. The ship, for it was a ship of sorts, began in a giant dome then tapered down to a point. As Kara looked on she couldn't help but gape. It was enormous; it must be two thousand kilometers from top to bottom and over a thousand kilometers across. One of their escorts noticed her look and spoke up, pride and contempt thinly veiled in his voice, "You are right to be in awe of the Holy City. It is a testament to the power of the Forerunners and the wisdom of the Hierarchs. You should feel blessed, you will be the first and last human ever to set foot within its hallowed walls."
Kara glanced at Drek'nari out of the corner of her eye. He caught her eye in the same manner and gave a tiny nod. It was time to see how well she had learned. "I know." She said simply, letting a small amount of the awe she felt creep into her voice. "The Holy City, High Charity. Wherein the High Council of the Covenant meets, and where the Hierarchs make their residence. It also holds the Mausoleum of the Arbiter where every arbiter that has ever served the Covenant sleeps, including the first arbiter who ended the fighting between the Prophets and the Sangheili. It is where Akrani Vi'lentet first spoke the Writ of Union, bonding the Sangheili as the honor guard of the Prophets and forming the first Covenant," she finished. Falling silent, she let the escort contemplate her words. It was part the first history a young Sangheili would learn. More importantly, she had delivered it in their language.
Most of the elites surrounding her refused to meet her eyes so she could not judge her success, but one did meet her eyes briefly and his green orbs showed her all she needed to know. His look, where there would have been open contempt and distrust, showed contemplation. He didn't know what to think, but more importantly she was no longer just a human. She was something different now, something different and maybe something more.
The Phantom docked with High Charity a few minutes later and the whole procession, now sixteen strong, left the ship and proceeded to the high council chamber. Most of the journey was spent on a gravity lift that took the group half the length of the city, dropping them a short way away from the council chambers. The rest of the journey was on foot from the public lift to the doors of the great council chambers. At the steps to the chambers their escort was exchanged for a different one composed of four elites in crimson armor with golden decorations and an elaborate helmet. Each one carried a spear taller than him and tipped with a half a meter long plasma blade. They also carried a plasma rifle and sword at their waist.
When they reached the doors leading into the chambers Kara wasn't surprised when Orna' joined them. He stepped into formation with Drek'nari, one on each side of her and a half a step ahead. The honor guards left them inside the council chambers and took up guard near the entrance. This left the three of them crossing the final distance of the council floor alone, and even though the risers that normally would have held the rest of the high council were empty, all three felt as though the full council was assembled there and every eye watching them. The silence in which they approached Truth was oppressive, and even Drek'nari felt as though he were being judged. Atop a small rise at the end of the room a solitary figure hovered. Truth sat within his customary hover seat awaiting the group. They stopped atop a smaller rise in the middle of the room, Fulsamee and Zoultel knelt before the prophet, and after a moments hesitation Kara knelt as well.
"Welcome." Truth intoned softly, sounding for all the world that this meeting could not, and should not have been the most important thing on the minds of the three before him. "Your success here is to be commended, Fleet Master. Though it is unfortunate that the forerunner structure remains closed, but I am sure you will find the solution soon." The way Truth said this, it was clear that Fulsamee would find it if he intended things to remain as they were.
"Yes, Hierarch." Orna' did his best to keep the nervousness out of his voice. Why was Truth doing this? Why not just pass judgment and be done with it? Why make them sweat? Did he expect the child to break if he waited long enough? Was he toying with them all, seeing which of them would crack first? All very real possibilities, given what Orna' had seen other prophets do.
The prophet continued, moving to the next member of the trio. "Commander Drek'nari Zoultel, I have heard much about you." Truth said smoothly, never raising his voice or giving any indication that this was more than simple meeting between friends. "A highly respected and successful commander, but you have been occupied with other things these last few months. Have you not?"
"Yes, Hierarch." Drek'nari said in a level voice. He never let anyone see that he was afraid or shaken, which he was. Well, at least not since his talk with Kara when she awoke on that first day three months past.
Truth waited a moment longer, letting silence envelop the room once more before moving on to the final member of the group. "But it is you child, that I have heard the most of." With this he tapped a button on the arm of his chair. The air between them shimmered as the chambers holographic projectors sprang to life. Three stocky figures charged a fourth. The taller figure drew a knife and proceeded to slay its attackers with savage precisions. The hologram froze as the image of Kara pressed a plasma pistol to an unfortunate grunts face. "An impressive display even for a last attempt at life. Deserving of recognition perhaps?" As he spoke he looked from Kara to her image and back. Looking at the hologram one last time, he made it vanish. "That, it seems is what we are here to discover."
Gesturing to her, the prophet spoke again. "Rise, human, and make your case. You have shown well enough that you are strong, but now you must prove to me that you are worthy." Once more his voice never rose nor faltered, his voice, and for that matter his face, was empty of emotion.
Kara stood and faced the prophet, wishing that her stomach would stop its acrobatics. She summoned all of the calm she could and remembered Drek'nari's final advice over their last game. "Show no fear. If you can manage that, what you say will matter less. The face you show the Hierarch will be the first thing he will judge you on, aside from your conduct while he speaks. Remember, fear is an ally as long as we control it, the moment it controls us is the moment we die."
"High Prophet of Truth, I have nothing to offer except myself and my deeds. I could tell you I am worthy, but in the end it will be my actions that tell if I am. I would, with your blessing, join this Covenant and prove my worth. Please give me a chance to prove myself." When she finished Kara bowed deeply and knelt once more. For a long time Truth said nothing and instead, sat looking at Kara and the two who now knelt behind her.
Finally, he spoke and his voice showed it's first shred of emotion. "You have taught her well, Commander Zoultel. Come forward, child and I shall teach you The Writ of Union. Then you shall be one of us, bound by your honor and our trust forever."
Kara walked to the base of the dais and knelt, before Truth could speak she began." So full of hate were our eyes; that none of us could see; our war would yield countless dead, but never victory. So let us cast arms aside; and like discard our wrath; thou, in faith, will keep us safe; whilst we find the path…" When she had finished the Writ of Union and the oath of the covenant that followed she remained on her knee waiting for Truth to speak.
When Truth next spoke it was in a whisper. "Yes, you have taught her very well." Turning his attention to Kara, he completed the ritual. "Rise Kara Zoultel, welcome home." Her surprise was visible as she rose. She had given no surname during her oath and hadn't expected Truth to provide one. Drek'nari's surprise was no less clear, if somewhat less obvious. Truth was quick to supply an answer to the confusion. "As she was yours to train, so shall she be yours to raise. Now, you may wait outside. I need to speak with the Fleet Master a moment longer."
1-2-3
Outside, the two of them stood in silence, both just now making sense of the prophet's last words. Kara was the first to break the silence, though she did so in a whisper meant only for her ears. "I was right, he did belong." This was enough to break the silence and open the conversation though and it did.
"You did it." It was all Drek'nari could manage under the circumstances.
"That last bit, what Truth said. I guess that makes you my father now. Adopted father at least." Drek'nari thought she sounded pleased.
"I suppose it does," he said, unsure what that meant or what to feel about it. He had never had any children; his life mate, for he had had one many years ago, had died to illness soon after they had bonded.
It was Kara who solved the dilemma. Offering her hands palm up, she smiled. She had never been one to get emotional in public and her relation with Drek'nari already resembled the one she had shared with her father, so she saw no reason to change anything. Drek'nari returned the gesture and offered his own smile, understanding her silence as well as he would words.
When Fulsamee joined them a few minutes later, he was deep in thought. The trio descended the steps of the council chambers, each wrapped in a cloak of silence and content with their own thoughts. Outside, the twin suns rose across the horizon of Nexus V, a dawn that held the promise of the future.
1-2-3
And there you have it! Another chapter bites the dust. Tune in next time same place, and obviously not the same time or else I'd be on some kind of schedule.
Lord forbid.