Chapter 4: The Prophets' Escape

Covenant Holy City High Charity

8th Cycle, 5th Division, 3rd Stage, 9th Age of Reclamation (Covenant Holy Calendar)

0630 hours, October 27, 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar)

The Prophets and their escort hurried through the halls of High Charity toward one of the many Phantom docks. Tartarus led the group with the Prophets of Truth and Mercy following. Two Honor Guard were next pushing the two Humans along and one of them had the Oracle under his arm. And two more Honor Guards that they had picked up in the Prophets' sanctum were guarding the rear.

"Brother Truth," Mercy spoke up, "I think the Covenant needs to hear your voice. This is a very difficult crisis and they need you to reassure them that we will be triumphant."

"Your right, Brother Mercy," Truth replied. "The Covenant does need reassurance. I shall continue my announcement while we make our way to towards the Phantoms, the announcement during which I was so rudely interrupted by the Demon."

The group came to an intersection and turned to the right. Suddenly they were face-to-face with a group of six Sangheili warriors.

"Holy Ones!" Tartarus yelled, "Continue on our previous path. You can reach the dock that way. I will meet you there."

The Prophets and two of the Jiralhanae Honor Guard turned back towards the intersection and turned right again while Tartarus and the other two Jiralhanae clashed with the Sangheili.

Once the Prophets were far enough from the skirmish Truth thumbed a button on the armrest of his throne. What he said after could be heard throughout the entire city.

"Fear not my brothers, for the Sacred Icon is secure. It was Tartarus and his Jiralhanae who took the Icon from the Flood. For this, they have our thanks."

A door in the side of the hallway automatically opened and the form of a dead and mangled body of a Sangheili warrior flew out and hit the wall. The Prophets briefly looked in on their way by and saw two Jiralhanae engaging in hand-to-hand combat with two more Sangheili.

"The Sangheili have failed to protect the Prophets, and in so doing put all our lives at risk. Let no warrior forget his oaths. Thou, in faith, will keep us safe whilst we find the path. And with my blessings, the Jiralhanae now lead our fleets. They ask for your allegiance, and you shall give it to them."

The Prophets then saw a trio of Kig-Yar patrolling the hallway and walking towards them. They hissed their appreciation towards the Prophets in their native language and asked for a blessing. The Prophets stopped and the Kig-Yar kneeled in front of them. The Prophets touched each of them on their heads and then their shoulders while saying, "While the Prophets guide you, may the Forerunner watch over you as you walk the path to glorious salvation."

The Honor Guards with them were getting impatient. One of them said, "Noble Hierarchs, we have no time for this. We must get to the docks."

The Prophets quickly finished their blessings and continued on, and Truth pressed the broadcast button again.

"Creatures of the Covenant, the path is clear, and we shall walk it side by side. At this moment, the Council is gathered on Halo to see the Icon safely placed."

Suddenly, Tartarus's voice could be heard throughout High Charity, "Rise, my brothers! Cast down the Sangheili!"

Truth continued as if he hadn't heard Tartarus, "There are those who said this day would never come. What have they to say now?"

"Once the towers are clear, we'll drive them from the lower districts," came Tartarus's voice again. Truth and Tartarus continued back and forth over the broadcasting channels.

"I have listened to the Oracle, and it has confirmed now: the Great Journey begins at Earth."

"The Sangheili are falling back to the mausoleum. Fools! Their Arbiter can do nothing for them now."

"Who will doubt the Prophets? What have we foretold that has not come to pass?"

The Prophets then came to a hole in the ground, floated over it, and gracefully descended down the gravity lift. When they neared the bottom, the tube of the gravity lift ended and they could see the dock below and most of High Charity in the distance. The reached the bottom and walked over to the three Phantom dropships waiting for them.

"We will wait for Tartarus here," said Truth. "He should be arriving soon."

As the Prophets waited, one of the Guards standing with them suddenly spotted a large grey object that apparently crashed into the outer wall of High Charity.

"What is that?" he pointed at the large object.

"It looks like a Human vessel, doesn't it Mercy?" Truth asked.

"Yes, it does," replied the other Prophet. "But how would a Human vessel be able to enter High Charity?"

"I don't know, Brother. But that must be how the Demon was able to get inside and terrorize the city."

After a few more minutes of waiting, Tartarus and his two Jiralhanae guards with the Humans came down the gravity lift and walked over to the Prophets.

"Split them up," Tartarus ordered. "One in each Phantom."

One of the Jiralhanae smacked the male Human on the side of the head and pushed him towards the Phantom on the right. The other took the Oracle and the female Human to the middle Phantom.

Tartarus walked up to the Prophet of Truth, knelt in front of him, and bowed his head.

"The hopes of all the Covenant rest on your shoulders Chieftain," truth said as he pulled the Icon out of the holder in his throne. He handed it to Tartarus.

"My faith is strong," Tartarus looked up to take the Icon. "I will not fail." He bowed again.

But just as Tartarus took the Icon, a swarm of Flood infection forms crawled over one edge of the platform. Tartarus saw this out of the corner of his eye and quickly stood up. He barked a command to the two Honor Guards standing near and they got into a line. When the little squid-like bubbles were close enough, the Jiralhanae started smashing them to bits with their hands and feet. Unfortunately, one of the infection forms managed to get past the huge guards and latched onto the Prophet of Mercy's long neck. Mercy screamed and fell out of his throne as the infection form pierced his neck with a long spindly tentacle. Mercy felt the tentacle searching inside his neck and find his spinal cord. He let out another blood curdling scream as the infection form injected its DNA into his spinal cord.

Tartarus heard the screams and turned around. He saw Mercy lying on his back on the ground with the parasite attached to his neck. Tartarus reached down to remove the parasite but Truth told him to stop.

"Let him be," Truth commanded. He looked at Mercy on the floor, "the Great Journey waits for no one, Brother. Not even you."

Truth and his two Honor Guard turned and entered the Phantom on the left, but Tartarus hesitated as he watched Mercy struggle with the parasite. He finally turned and entered the middle Phantom.

Mercy still lay on the ground as he watched the blurry vision of the three Phantoms take off and fly away. And seconds later another blurry vision of a green armored figure filled his view. A figure he could never mistake as anything but the Demon. Mercy was very surprised when it spoke to him rather than put a gun to his head.

"Your pal… where's he going?" said the Demon.

"Earth," Mercy barely managed to get his mouth to work. "To finish what we started. And this time, none of you will be left behind."

And with that, Mercy's vision went black as the parasite attacked his nervous system. He screamed again when he felt the infection form being pulled from his neck and the tentacle being ripped out. With so much of his nervous system damaged by the Flood and having nothing to sustain him, Mercy passed on to the Divine Beyond.