Chapter 8: The Holy Crusaders
Ex-Covenant Cruiser Radiant Essence, vicinity of High Charity and Halo 05
8th Cycle, 5th Division, 3rd Stage, 9th Age of Reclamation (Covenant Holy Calendar)
1015 hours, October 27, 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar)
Kado 'Toromee paced back and forth on the bridge of his newly captured cruiser, Radiant Essence. He rubbed the two nubs where his left mandibles used to be. It was a silly habit he developed whenever he was nervous. He had sent out a Phantom transport to bring the Arbiter back to his ship and was impatiently awaiting his arrival. The Field Master hadn't heard from the Arbiter since they split up, but he had sent out the Phantom hoping that the Arbiter had taken care of the Jiralhanae Chieftain, Tartarus. He was tearing himself apart emotionally while he was waiting. He was sure the Arbiter was still alive, but on the other hand he didn't know what to do if the Arbiter had failed to kill Tartarus. All hope would be lost if the Arbiter failed, for he was the only one who would be able to stand a chance against the powerful Chieftain. 'Toromee pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and hoped for the best.
"Master, incoming message from Phantom D-Six-Two, audio only," said the red-armored Sangheili at the Communications panel.
"Play it," 'Toromee ordered. He walked over the Comm. panel and leaned over the officer's shoulder.
"Kado, I have good news," the Arbiter's voice sounded through the speakers at the Comm. panel. "I'll explain more when I arrive. I'd prefer to speak with you personally."
"Message ended, Master," the Sangheili officer said.
"Master, Phantom D-Six-Two is on approach," announced the Sangheili stationed at the Operations panel. "It will arrive in one third of a unit."
"Very well," 'Toromee said. "Doru 'Forguemee, you are in charge until I get back. I'm going to greet the Arbiter myself."
'Forguemee stood up from his seat at the Comm. panel and gave 'Toromee a bow as he accepted the leadership position. When he sat down, the Field Master turned on his heels and walked out of the bridge.
'Toromee walked into the hangar as the Phantom was settling three meter above the floor. When the Phantom stopped moving, the Arbiter floated down the gravity lift from the rear of the Phantom and was followed by a recruit pushing an unconscious, gold-armored Sangheili on a floating gurney. When they got closer, 'Toromee recognized the Master with one arm laying on the gurney as one of his childhood comrades, Niko 'Gorlomee. Kado, Niko, and the Arbiter used to live in the same housing cluster when they were younger. The three of them had countless units of fun together as adolescents. But 'Toromee pushed the memories aside for now.
"Take him to the forward medical bay, he needs immediate attention," 'Toromee told the recruit. He turned to the Arbiter and put his right hand on the Arbiter's left shoulder, and the Arbiter returned the gesture. "It's good to see you again, Arbiter. I want to know everything that happened back there."
"Before I explain the story," the Arbiter started, "I must let you know that I have two Humans with me, and I do not bring them as prisoners. They helped me defeat Tartarus, and I would like them to stay unharmed."
"As you wish, Arbiter," 'Toromee agreed. He walked over to an intercom on the wall and activated it. "Crew of the Radiant Essence, there are two Humans onboard this ship. They are not prisoners, but I require that you do not touch them. More information will be given later, but for the time being the Humans must remain unharmed." He turned to the Arbiter, "You have much explaining to do."
"I will explain everything in due time. Come with me," the Arbiter said. They walked over to the Phantom and stood by the gravity lift. The Arbiter gave a shout, "You may come out now. Nobody will harm you on this vessel."
The two Sangheili watched as two Humans descended down the gravity lift and gracefully floated to the floor. They looked surprisingly calm for being on a ship full of creatures they had been at war with for the last twenty-seven stages. Perhaps the Covenant had underestimated the Humans' tenacity and courage.
"These are the Humans I told you about," the Arbiter said. "Let us go to the bridge. I will tell you more on the way."
The Arbiter and 'Toromee left the hangar with the Humans following. 'Toromee grabbed two blue-armored recruits and told them to follow behind the Humans. As they made their way to the bridge, the Arbiter told the Field Master all of the major events that transpired after 'Toromee had left to recapture the cruiser they were on now. He told him of the Human that commandeered the Scarab to blast the control room doors away. And how the same Human killed Tartarus's shield so the Arbiter could get in the finishing blows. The Arbiter also mentioned the female Human that grabbed the Sacred Icon and prevented the ring from firing. 'Toromee listened intently to the Arbiter's tale and couldn't help but wonder if they had chosen the wrong adversary to destroy. The Humans had proven to be very a resilient species. They had superior tactics when it came to ground battles, but the only reason the Covenant was winning the war was because the Humans' space technology was greatly inferior to theirs. When he thought about it, 'Toromee decided that the Humans could actually prove to be strong allies.
When they reached the bridge, the Arbiter paused just inside the door. It had only been ten cycles since he had last been on the bridge of a ship, but he was already nostalgic for the command of a ship.
"Go ahead, Arbiter," 'Toromee knew what the Arbiter wanted to do. "Give them a command."
The Arbiter walked up onto the raised platform in the middle of the bridge. The main bridge officers stood at their respective panels on the center platform and waited for the Arbiter to give a command.
"Navigations, make your heading two hundred sixty-three marks," the Arbiter's voice had a very commanding tone.
"Ship facing two-six-three marks, Arbiter," the navigations officer replied as the vessel rotated.
"Ship operations, set engines to three fourths power"
"Engines operating at three fourths, Arbiter," the ops officer tapped the panel and the ship lurched forwards.
"Communications, establish a visual link with the entire fleet. I wish to give them all a message."
"Visual link established, Arbiter," 'Forguemee said. "Ready to record when you are."
"Start recording," the Arbiter ordered. "To all Sangheili Ship Masters: despite what the Prophets' propaganda says, your Arbiter still lives. The Prophets have betrayed us. I require a meeting of all the remaining Ship Masters to decide on our next move. All ships assemble at rally point Armor. The meeting of Ship Masters will be in the auxiliary hall on the flagship Perpetual Devotion in approximately two units. From this point forward I am assuming full command of this fleet. If anyone would like to challenge this motion, bring it up in the meeting. Until then, be forever strong and fear not pain, nor death. This has been the Arbiter."
"Message successfully sent, Arbiter," 'Forguemee announced.
"Very well," the Arbiter said. "Keep us on this heading. We should reach rally point Armor in a full unit."
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The Arbiter walked into the auxiliary hall on the Perpetual Devotion and was met by one hundred eighty-two Ship Masters. The auxiliary hall was a large circular room in the middle section of the flagship. It could be used for anything, but was mainly used for large conferences. A large round table able to seat over two hundred Sangheili sat in the middle of the hall. The hall had the same eerie glow that reflected off the purple metal as all other Covenant structures.
The Arbiter walked to the table and offered seats to the two Humans and Kado 'Toromee. He looked at the Ship Masters before he sat down. Most of them were scowling at the presence of the Humans. Also, he realized that not all of them wore the golden armor of a Ship Master. He looked at all of the Sangheili that wore red armor made a mental note to himself that he should recommend them all for promotions if they survived. It took a great deal of courage and strength for a lesser officer to take up the Ship Master's position if there was no Ship Master. The Arbiter finally took his seat.
"We have several matters to discuss here," the Arbiter began. "First and foremost are these Humans with me. They helped me a great deal in the recent events."
The Arbiter went on to explain the same tale he told 'Toromee to the Ship Masters. The Masters listened intently and seemed to be devising ideas of their own about what to do with the Humans.
"Would you care to say anything?" the Arbiter asked the Humans when he finished his story.
"Yes, I would," the female Human stood up. "I am Commander Miranda Keyes of the United Nations Space Command. We have been fighting you for nearly thirty years, and I think now would be a prime time to form a truce. Since your Prophets have betrayed your species, we now have a common enemy. Neither one of us can take on the Prophets' fleets alone, but if we worked together we could prevent the worst from happening. My species is currently on the verge of destruction, and yours isn't fairing much better. I would just like to put the matter of an alliance between our two races out on the table for discussion. Sergeant, do you have anything to add?"
"Why yes, I do, ma'am," the male Human also stood up. "I am Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson of the United Nations Marine Corps. You couldn't have picked a worse enemy than the Human race! You may be basking in the glory of victory, but its not over yet. The longer you fight us, the more we learn about you, and the better we are able to resist your attacks. Even though I would love to see every last one of you dead, I believe my Commander is right. We need to put our differences aside and help each other rid ourselves of the threat of the Prophets. It won't be easy, but just remember: your Prophets lied to you. They pulled you on this quest across the galaxy for who knows how long looking for something that's just gonna wind up killing you. Salvation, my ass!"
When the two Humans sat back down, a young red-armored Sangheili stood up.
"An alliance like this would be heresy, Arbiter," the young Ship Master protested. "I will never side with the Humans."
"Young Master, do you remember the Writ of Union?" the Arbiter asked.
"Of course, Arbiter"
"Then you know that part of the first canto states 'So let us cast arms aside and like discard our wrath.' We must do this with the Humans now if we want to survive this war."
The young Ship Master sat down without saying a word. A soft murmur came from the other Ship Masters as they talked with each other. The murmur stopped when one of them spoke up.
"We know that these Humans are willing to form an alliance," an older Ship Master said from his seat, "but how do we know that the rest of the Humans will agree to it. And we would also need to get the approval of the entire Sangheili race."
"We will get the rest of the Humans to agree," the Arbiter explained. "These two Humans… excuse me, the Commander and Sergeant Major are willing to be ambassadors for us. They have given their word that they will try their best to convince the Human leaders. As for the rest of our own race, I am not concerned about them at the moment. We must act quickly against the Prophets otherwise there will be no Humans to ally with. We do not have time to get approval from the Sangheili High Council."
"So what do you suppose we do against the Prophets, Arbiter?" the old Sangheili asked. "They control the Jiralhanae fleets. We wouldn't stand a chance if we went to the Humans' planet if we went with the fleet we have now."
"No, we would not," the Arbiter replied. "That is why we need to side with the Humans. Commander Keyes? Anything to add?"
"Earth, our planet, is defended by nearly three hundred orbital defense stations," Keyes said. "We also have a fleet of over two hundred ships. With the addition of your fleet, we would be unstoppable. The Prophets would get their so-called 'salvation' a little early. I suggest that we go to Earth as soon as possible. When we reach the Sol system, we will need to wait outside of the asteroid belt to avoid being misinterpreted as Covenant. From there I will need to contact my superiors to let them know that this fleet is not hostile. Once we take care of the Prophets' fleet, my superiors will most likely need to question you about this alliance. If all goes well, we will then be able to destroy the rest of the Brute fleets as a union."
"A sound plan, Commander," the Arbiter seemed to like her idea. "We will wage war, a war of rage, against the Prophets for their treachery. They will fall in the name of our gods. The ancient gods we used to worship before we formed the Covenant over four thousand stages ago. Our holy crusade against the Prophets will be forever known as our finest moment in all Sangheili history."
The Arbiter's speech got all of the Ship Masters riled up. They all stood when he finished and pumped their fists in the air as they let out growls of anger against the Prophets.
"The Covenant will fear the Holy Crusaders!" one of the younger Sangheili cheered.
"Excuse me, Arbiter," Commander Keyes tapped the Arbiter's shoulder. "May I make a request before we leave for Earth?"
"What is it?" the Arbiter replied.
"I recently received a message on my personal communicator from an Artificial Intelligence construct that belongs to us. Apparently it is stuck in the computer mainframe of your holy city. It contains very important and valuable information and we would like to retrieve it with your permission."
"Will this construct aid you in saving your planet?"
"Yes, the information it contains is vital to our survival."
"Then we will make a short stop at High Charity." The Arbiter turned to the Ship Masters, "Unless anyone else has anything to say, this meeting is over."
None of the Sangheili in the hall said anything. They all stood rigidly waiting for the Arbiter to dismiss them.
"Then get back to your ships. Be ready to make the jump to Earth in four units."