Halo: The Path of Reclamation

by soulguard

Book 3: The Human Covenant war has shifted and time is more crucial then ever, as Earth is completely under the rule of the fierce Brute campaign. Can the last human efforts stop Truth's war machine? The final chapter of the Halo Side Trilogy has begun

9. Return of Sangheili Honor

Level 9: Return of Sangheili Honor

Abu Simbel Airfield, Egypt
November 2, 2552

A plume of superheated dust and matter, vaulted into the air as a bubble of over pressurized air swept across the region. In its wake was an ever expanding avalanche of rocks and dust. Anything in its path would be instantly vaporized, or crushed under the immense wave of debris. A Fury Tactical Nuke, though clean of radiation, was still a devastating weapon.

The earth rumbled as the ever expanding pressure rolled outward from the detonation point. Instantly the Flood winked out of existence, no longer a threat to humanity or the Brute occupants. The Brute ship rocked sideways as the powerful explosion washed over its shields, but those same shields also protected it, saving the thousands of Brute forces on board.

Yet on the ground, speeding toward the north, were seven ghosts and one specter. Racing ahead of the wave of destruction and attempting to avoid death. The weapon was released before they had expected, but none the less they retreated from the area with only a hairs breath of a chance to survive.

Palab's ghost quickly took the lead, his smaller frame provided a lighter weight on the ghost's engines and naturally made him faster then the Elites at his side. He looked into his rear, and watched as the sky flashed red, then orange and pink, before returning to what was considered a normal hue of yellow and blue. The plume of smoke was a clear sign that this was a bad place to be, and he quickly faced forward to make sure his path was clear.

Simyaldee's Specter trailed the pack. It was slower then the ghosts, but still putting up a decent amount of speed. At the gun turret stood the massive Elite, Gridolee. He hung for dear life, knowing that behind him was a storm of heat and debris. Together their chances of escaping were slim, and even though they had a two minute head start before the explosion occurred, neither of the Mirratord Warriors was sure if it was enough. The human weapon had a reputation of being effective.

Simyaldee turned on his team channel. "No matter what happens brothers, do not stop!" His voice echoed into the ears of all the Elites. The rumble of rocks and wind crept louder into Simyaldee's ear. He looked back, and showed no concern as a boulder the size of a wraith rolled behind him and was gaining at a faster pace, and it was consumed in a cloud of dust and sand. He looked up to Gridolee as the young Mirratord Warrior forcefully looked down to him from the gun turret. His eyes showed his nervousness, and Simyaldee sensed his fear, but no words could calm him.

Simyaldee faced forward held down the accelerator and closed his eyes, not in fear, but in thought. He could not outrun the boulder, and if he attempted to turn the Specter out of the boulder's path he would loose momentum. Simyaldee did not fear death. Death was inevitable, and any warrior accepted its prospect. It loomed in the face of anyone who lifted a weapon or stood on a battlefield. To die in battle while defending what you believed in was a death of honor.

With his eyes closed, a distant memory flashed before him. A figure he had long considered gone from his conscious thought. Her scent filled his mind as if she sat at his side; a forgotten love. Simyaldee had embraced being a soldier, determined to lead the Mirratord and find the truth in the Prophets lies, but his determination had overshadowed his past. He had nearly forgotten her, and though she died many years ago, she remained his reason for leading the Mirratord.

Simyaldee opened his eyes and looked into the dusty sky. "Vasmeola…" The name escaped his mandibles with a soft mumbled that only his heart could hear. But soon the sound of metal churning in rocks filled his ears. The two warriors were tossed to the wind as a pulverizing amount of pressure swelled around them.

Simyaldee pulled his arms and legs inward, turning himself into a ball. He closed his eyes and struggled to hold himself as tightly as he could. He was caught in the wave of destruction, and the sound of rocks bouncing off of his enhanced Mirratord shields constantly filled his ears. He knew that Gridolee was out there going through the same ordeal, and his heart went out to the young warrior. It seemed as though he was being tossed around forever, but eventually he could no longer hear anything but a loud hum. Then there was no longer any pain or movement. Only silence filled the world.

The nothingness at the end of life.

Several hundred yards ahead of Simyaldee and Gridolee's resting spot, Palab plowed forward as the Elites at his side began to mutter over the channel.

"We lost the Lieutenants!"

"By the blood of our ancestors, we will avenge them!"

"They shall not be forgotten!"

Palab sat in his ghost and faced forward. The Mirratord second was gone, killed in an act of desperation by the very humans he had stayed behind to help protect. Was this betrayal? Did the humans do this on purpose? He looked back and watched as the sand began to slow, the rocks quickly vanished and the powerful wave of destruction was left behind. They had made it to the two mile border of the Nuke's radius.

Palab slowed down and eventually stopped. The Elites at his side did the same. Palab watched the wind in the upper atmosphere catch the crest of the plume cloud and begin to drag it away slowly. It was a beautiful sight, he thought, but not the way a warrior of Simyaldee's legend should have died.

"Sir." A Sangheili in red questioned. "The Jiralhanae ship still approaches." In the distance, in the heart of the blast plume, the gigantic Assault Carrier parted through the cloud and came to a stop.

"Find he body." Palab stated.

"Sir?" The Elite questioned.

"Simyaldee. We find he body. We not leave him here."

The Elites looked to each other in confusion. "Sir, we do not dishonor the death of a warrior who has died in combat, by removing them from the battlefield. We must leave Simyaldee and Gridolee's bodies to rest here."

Palab looked to the Elite, and lowered his head. He knew that was their way, but Simyaldee was a legend. In countless contests, on countless worlds, Simyaldee's name echoed on the tips of every Elite tongue, but Palab knew him as his leader, and the one Elite that respected his kin.

"… Palab, Simyaldee… somebody answer me!" The transmission was filled with static, but Palab knew the voice of the honorable human, Eric Raynord.

"Me copy." He replied with a heavy brow. Palab knew that Eric had nothing to do with this dishonorable act, but he was still human.

"What's your status?" Eric questioned over the COM, as the signal finally cleared.

Palab looked up as Eric's Pelican slowly began to lower in the distance. "Simyaldee gone and Gridolee gone. They not get away from human weapon."

"What?" Eric questioned in a shocked reply. The Pelican settled and the Grunts literally began to roll out of the ships belly.

Melanie was the first to run to Palab's side. "We lost Simyaldee?" She questioned as she stopped near the group of Elites. Their anger was apparent as they encircled her and began to snarl.

"Back off!" Palab shouted to the enraged Elites. "She follow orders, fight with Simyaldee. She not to blame."

"The humans cower behind their weapons and would not send aid or support!" An angry Elite roared. "This female human is no better then the others! Our brothers' blood is on her hands!"

"Easy big fella!" Melanie fumed as the towering Elite stalked forward; yet she wasn't going to back down. "They would have killed me as well, if you didn't notice! You're not the only one that stayed behind!"

"Stop it!" Palab shouted. He stood between Melanie and the Elite and pushed them apart. "We no fight each other. Brute's coming."

Eric jogged toward the commotion. "Don't dishonor Simyaldee by loosing your temper. We need to prep our defenses and get ready to make a stand. Palab…" Eric paused as he looked down at the Grunt, he could sense that a part of Palab was gone. Simyaldee's death affected him, it affected all of them. "Palab, get your troops to the southern gate of Camp Eden. That Nuke didn't destroy the ship, but it looks like it slowed them down. At least we don't have to worry about the Flood."

Eric powered up his COM, "Chief, you copy."

"Roger. Status." Kelly replied.

"Simyaldee and Gridolee are KIA. Palab and some of the Elites are on their way to you."

"Simyaldee's dead?" Kelly questioned. "Understood. I'll notify the rest of the Elites ground forces."

"Careful, Sir, they may not take the news too well. I advise telling the Elder."

"I'll take that under advisement. Get your group up here ASAP."

"Roger that." Eric ended the COM. "Palab, the Chief is going to pass on the word to the Elder and the rest of the Elites in the tank division. We should hurry and catch up."

"Sergeant Palab, Sir, look!" An Elite pointed into the distance as the Jiralhanae assault cruiser stopped over the remains of the airfield, and powered on multiple grav-lifts. "What are they doing?"

Palab sniffed the air and turned back to his ghost. "Giving me more time to prepare. We go to human Camp."

Eric and Melanie quickly made there way back to the Pelican and the Sangheili and Grunts raced to Camp Eden, to prepare for what would most likely become humanities last stronghold.

- - - - - - - -

Mythic Beast
Jiralhanae Assault Cruiser
Abu Simbel Crater site // Abu Simbel, Egypt
November 2, 2552

"Move us closer to the crater site and deploy a search team." The head Chieftain of the attack division growled. His gravity hammer rested upon his back as he crossed his arms over his expansive chest. He walked closer to the readings and examined the findings. "The humans have done us a favor by dropping their weapon on the Flood. This blast crater is deep, meaning we will not have to waste time digging this time. "

"First teams have been deployed, mighty Chieftain." A crewmate replied. "It is only a mater of time before they find it."

"Do not be so gleeful." The brute snarled. "We have found many traces in earlier dig sites and even if we find a trace of it, it could still be a great distance away. But it will be a clear sign that we are headed in the right direction."

Another crewman added. "Chieftain, our Seraph team has confirmed that the human bombing ship returned to the distant base; Camp Eden."

The Chieftain chuckled to himself. "Everything is being pointed in the direction of the human's stronghold. Are they stupid enough to keep something of such value in the same location as their civilians?"

"We found it!" A Brute shouted. "Another vein!"

The door to the control deck parted and a hover chair floated toward the center. "His holiness Truth will be much pleased."

The Chieftain knelt at the Prophets presence. "High Prophet of Signs, you were once again correct in your decree. We grow ever closer to the Tree of Life."

"Yes, though we are not sure if it is in fact the same." Signs stated. He looked to the screen and thumbed his stubble at the site. "This is the fourth vein we have found. This is very promising, though our tool to confuse the Humans has been destroyed. Have any bodies been found amongst the debris?"

"We have only been searching the crater for the vein, I did not tell my teams to search for Flood hosts. We will not find any adequate hosts in the crater. The human weapon no doubt vaporized any flesh. We will broaden our search beyond the crater."

"Excellent. I will tell my scientists to prepare our last supply of Flood Spores." Signs smirked.

"Your holiness, may I express my concerns. The Flood nearly became too large to contain during that last push."

"This is but another sign of the great beyond, my young Chieftain." Signs smiled. "If the Flood consumes this world, it is of no concern, for the Grand Design is at hand and the Great Journey does not wait for the faint of heart."

Nearly one and half miles away from the crater site, a team of Brutes began to search the rubble for adequate flood hosts. Crumbled human bodies and dismembered Sangheili and Grunts were pulled out from buried pits in the sand and loaded onto transports. One Flood spore would be unleashed into the pile and from there it would eventually spread into the other cadavers, but for now they simply needed to find more bodies.

Several Brutes eventually neared the very edge of the explosion radius and hoped to find more suitable figures to host as combat forms, but the pickings were slim, until they uncovered the prone form of a black armored Sangheili.

"By the Prophets decree!" A Brute shouted. "This one is a Special Operations."

"Ha! What say we keep this one and cook him? He has not been dead long, and his meat may still be tender."

Another Brute bellowed. "The Prophets would not be pleased if we ate a host. But my belly has not had real meat in many days."

But the fourth Brute in the search party silenced them. "Toss it in the transport, you fools. Start looking for others."

The Brutes sighed in displeasure and gripped the leg of the fallen elite. Yet the two brutes that had gripped him noticed that his shield was still active.

"It still has an active shield unit?" The Brute questioned. But his stunned displacement did not stop there. He watched as the bloodied Elites slowly stood to his feet and glared into his eyes.

The four Brutes didn't know what to think of it. "Is it a Flood?"

"No, it is not possible." A Brute returned. "This Sangheili is merely half dead. I'll finish the job…"

"Is … there… a Prophet … on your ship?" The Elite questioned in a staggered slur. Dust fell from his armor as blood dripped from his numerous wounds.

"It still draws the strength to speak." The lead Brute chuckled. "It is no matter to you, Sangheili. You will be dead soon."

"Do not … speak… our name, cur!" Two twin blades exploded from his hands as the bloody Sangheili sprang forward with one quick lunge. His twin blades cut down the two closest Brutes with a deadly first strike. Plasma from the other two Brutes rained over his shields, but the enhanced shield units of the Mirratord held perfectly. The last two Brutes emptied their ammo into the Elite, but his shields did not fall.

"How is this possible?" The Brute roared as he pulled up his Spiker hand gun. Yet before he could pull the trigger the Elite had stabbed its blade into his gut, spilling his blood onto the rocky ground. The Brute roared in pain, but he was still alive, struggling against the Sangheili's power to pull the sword out of himself. The second Brute tossed his weapons and smashed his fist to his chest in a display of power and rage. He then stampeded toward the Elite and the wounded Brute in his grasp. The Elite simply extended his other blade outward, impaling the charging Brute in the head. The massive creature's own momentum propelled it further upon the energy sword and ended its life.

The Elite scanned the area for other Brutes and then looked back at the creature he had stabbed in the stomach. "Is there a Prophet on your ship?" The Brute gargled on its own blood as it attempted to say something, but only garbled gibberish came forth. "Speak!"

"… yes… and he … will end you all." The Brute spat as his life faded. The Elite raised his blade, severing the Brute's torso from bowel to skull.

The Elite's COM burst with static and he listened in on the channel. "This is Sergeant Palab to all forces. We lost Lieutenant Simyaldee and Gridolee. Me lead human base defense. Survivors of supply base need to gather at human base. We form defense there against Jiralhanae ship."

"Forgive me Sergeant." He mumbled to himself as he powered off his com. "If I am presumed dead, then I will do what I can from the shadows. This sudden call in my heart… I can not ignore it now. I nearly lost my life before avenging my loss." He glared at the ship and snarled between exposed teeth. "If it is a war you want Prophets, then it is a war I will bring you!"

Simyaldee paused for a moment, and looked around the area. Gridolee was out there, dead or alive. He thought to look for the young warrior and see if he had survived, but time was critical. Simyaldee knew he had to get to the ship while the gravity lifts were still active. He clipped the hilts of his twin blades to his waist belt, and began his short jog toward the ship's main gravity lift. He could feel his muscles ache with every step, but it didn't matter, he would fight through the pain. Simyaldee looked to his wrist and noticed that his active camouflage was damaged, but his shield generator still functioned at optimal levels. That would have to be enough.

As Simyaldee approached, he could see several Brute search parties scattered about, looking for bodies and at something inside the crater. He ducked inside the remains of the airport hanger and examined the area. He had to slip inside the ship quietly, but surely the smell of his own blood was not going to go unnoticed by the Brutes' nostrils; his suit was stained in his own purple-blue blood. He quickly, and silently, sprinted to the river. A quick dip in the water washed away the blood, but did nothing for his still exposed wounds. He powered on one of his energy swords and held it close enough to the wounds that they were instantly cauterized. The superheated forged energy seared his wounds closed. The pain was excruciating, but he held back his scream of agony. A few short minutes and he had closed all of his wounds, stunting the blood flow. Another quick wash and the smell of fresh blood was gone.

With that taken care of, Simyaldee silently crept out of the waters edge, snapped the neck of Brute that had come to close to his position, and proceeded to a nearby rocky outcropping. From this cover he could see into the crater, and noticed that the Brutes were digging into what appeared to be a giant diamond. It was long, and stretched from one end of the crater to the other. Was this what they were after? They could not have been this lucky to have the humans expose the object in an attempt to kill the Flood. Simyaldee was now split on his next action. Surely he had to get onboard the ship, but the object the Brute's had found demanded his attention.

He cautiously snuck closer, being ever aware of any Brute that so much as seemed curious at his locations. Simyaldee eventually snuck close enough to hear one of the Brute diggers.

"I don't care what the Prophets think, I believe we should kill all the humans first, and then remove the Tree of Life."

Simyaldee nearly gasped at the words. The Tree of Life was also on Earth?

"You don't know anything." A second Brute returned. "The humans are defeated. They won't put up a fight. Besides, they'll make a better meal then anything else on this pathetic world." The two Brutes laughed and Simyaldee slipped passed them toward the gravity lift.

Simyaldee thought to himself, "They found the Tree of Life, but what is it? I remember my teachings from the Academy. The Prophets lecture of faith and religion, and the Tree of Life was the container of all knowledge. But why would that be here?" Simyaldee looked around, and noticed that two of the guards near the Grav-lift had been killed; their bodies lie motionless upon the ground. Simyaldee crept closer, keeping his eyes sharp. He removed the numerous grenades from their armor and examined how they had been killed. Their necks had been cleanly broken, using a powerful two handed approach; pressure to the base of the skull and quickly pushing the head opposite direction. Killing a Brute in such a manor was not easy, and to kill two was very skillful.

"Gridolee?" Simyaldee questioned. "He must have gone into the ship, thinking the same as I have." Quickly he jumped into the lift and was pulled upward into the belly of the giant ship.

Without his active camouflage there was no longer a need to be sneaky, the Brutes would see him as soon as he entered the cargo bay. Simyaldee knew what would be waiting for him at the top of the lift. He unclipped his twin blades and powered them on. The bulkhead above him parted and he was lifted into the main cargo room. He spun his head and looked around. Sixteen Brutes were in various positions and instantly dropped everything they were doing once he entered the room. If Gridolee was amongst them, he was hiding well, or he had pushed on and was already deeper into the ship. Simyaldee couldn't rest on any assumptions; he had to fight his way out of this.

The gravity lift powered off and lowered him to the bulkhead. Instantly his shields began to spark as hundreds of rounds impacted him. He lurched forward, spanning a five yard gap between him and the nearest Brute in one stride. He cut the creature down and moved to the next. His shields sparked madly as dozens of weapons discharges impacted him, but Simyaldee kept moving. He ducked behind a wraith, giving his enhanced shields a moment to recover and leapt out at the next Brutes in his path. He flung two Brute grenades, impaling them into two unfortunate Brutes. He ducked past them as the grenades exploded, sending needles into all directions. The needles jammed into other brutes nearby as well as the walls and ammo crates. The ammo inside the crates exploded from the needles, creating a chain reaction in the cargo bay.

Simyaldee dashed to the furthest side of the bay, slashing his way through Brutes with every step. An explosion puffed before his eyes as a Brute fired his brute shot grenades at him. Simyaldee ducked as the last round exploded nearby, and he watched as the brute began to reload the heavy weapon. He quickly tossed a plasma grenade and stuck the brute on his arm. The massive creature panicked and dropped his weapon and clawed his armor, desperately attempting to remove the plasma grenade that had stuck to his armor. He unlatched the armor from his arm and pushed it off just as the grenade exploded. The Brute was thrown backwards and impacted the bulkhead. Simyaldee knew the creature was still alive, but he turned and attacked several more of the Brutes.

The Brute that had nearly been killed, reached up and pressed his COM. "Chieftain, a Sangheili Spec Ops has bordered us!"

"A Sangheili?" The Chieftain questioned with an awkward laugh. "Kill him."

"It has already slain half of our deck crew!" The Brute roared over the line. There was several large explosions and the Brute began to scream in agony before static filled the line.

A moment later the line turned on again with a deep Sangheili voice. "Let me speak to the Prophet in charge."

The Chieftain pulled down his hammer and waved for his team to join him, but Signs held his arm. "Wait. I will speak with him before you go."

Signs opened the com. "I am the Prophet of Signs, Sangheili. You may speak to me."

Simyaldee replied over the line. "You! My luck could not be any better. You are the instructor who turned our young watchmen against us!"

"Your young were simple minded and naïve. They lost their way a long time ago. I merely showed them a better way. All for the glory of the Grand Design. Now, if you surrender and tell me everything the Arbiter is doing I will make your death as painless as possible."

Simyaldee replied over the line. "In darkness, we will see light. In light, we will see darkness. No matter the location, we will see victory."/i Signs gripped his chair with a nervous tingle that could only be generated by the deepest root of fear. His eyes widened, his heart rate quickened and his breathing became sporadic. i"If we fail, no one will know. Like a ghost, our presence is a mystery … Prepare yourself, Prophet. I will bathe in your blood." The channel ended.

All eyes gazed toward Signs as he looked toward the Brute Chieftain. "Seal off the deck! Scramble your best soldiers and guard me! Find that Sangheili and kill him! Unleash everything against him! Unleash the Sharquoi!"

The Chieftain squinted curiously at the Prophets hysterical banter. "We do not need that beast to slay one Sangheili."

"You fool… that is no normal Sangheili. He is with the Mirratord!"

The Chieftain grunted. "Mirratord? I know nothing of it. But it does not matter, your Excellency, we will deal with it."

A Brute at a control station began to shout. "Chieftain, I have lost contact with the landing deck."

"What? Someone must be away from there terminal."

"No, Chieftain. I have been using direct communications with their headsets. They are all gone."

Another Brute shouted. "Sir, numerous weapons fire on deck two. It is… wait…. silence. Our forces have been neutralized!"

The Chieftain gritted his teeth and squeezed the hilt of his hammer tighter. "How many of those damnable Sangheili's are on my ship? I have nearly four thousand troops under my command and I will not be hindered by a small boarding party! Combat status! All hands begin search parties… find that damned Elite and bring me his head." The Chieftain turned to the Prophet and watched as the frail lizard like creature began to float backwards into a corner; he was fearful of even his own shadow. The Chieftain then turned to the deck hands. "Lock down the command deck and summon the wranglers. Tell them to bring the Sharquoi."

- - - - - - - -

Seed Ship
Slip Space
October 31, 2552 // Slip Space time distortion present

Three days ago….

Supreme Commander Timnaldee stood poised in the center of the Seed Ship's established command center. The multilevel forerunner deck spanned three levels and was bustling with command officers who were attending to each of the various systems and terminal. The ship was once controlled by the Sangheili Elders, but Timnaldee ordered them to return to the Ancient City at the center of the gigantic Forerunner ship; he trusted his command officers much more then the failing eyes of the Elders. Timnaldee glanced over the transmission band, looking for further contact with the Human fleet.

"Any communications?" Timnaldee asked his crew.

"None sir. We left the human system very suddenly, perhaps their transmission has not yet arrived to us."

High Elder Vornaldea, leader of the Sangheili Council of Elders, approached Timnaldee from the rear of the deck. "You made the correct decision, Supreme Commander. The Flood had arrived in the system, and we warned the humans that we would leave at the first sign of Flood activity. Hopefully the humans received our transmission before we left."

Timnaldee was shocked to see the Elder; he spun to face him, flinging his long red clock with a majestic toss. "Forgive me High Elder. I know what we told the humans, but I do not enjoy fleeing a battle. I should have stayed. The Knight and Piercing Arrow is fully repaired and ready to disembark. The Arbiter needs my aid and my men. The fleet…"

"All is not lost, Supreme Commander." Vornaldea added as he humbly raised his palm to ease Timnaldee's heartache. "The Arbiter has taken responsibility of our ground forces upon the human world, and you are not the only one that is having difficulty dealing with this. Look around you, see that your brothers in arm are also feeling the call of battle." Timnaldee's golden armor and red cloak hung from his shoulder and piled upon the floor at his feet. His helmet was the elaborate golden headdress of the Supreme Commander of the Sangheili fleet. As he looked around the room, the lights reflected off his armor and shined upon the walls. The majestic banners of the Sangheili hung from the upper levels as he examined every eye of his command crew.

Timnaldee looked to Vornaldea. "High Elder, what are you not telling me?" He sensed that the elder was holding information, and as Supreme Commander he needed to know everything.

"The council has adjourned. And we have made a decision." High Elder Vornaldea looked to the eyes of the command crew before returning his gaze to Timnaldee. "Once we are at a safe distance from the human system, we will let you take the fleet back to Earth."

Timnaldee stood in shock. "But High Elder, this is … completely opposite of your earlier decision."

Vornaldea lowered his head. "There was a transmission received on an older frequency earlier today, was there not?"

"Yes." Timnaldee replied. "But it was weak and degraded. We could not distinguish what it was, or who sent it. You took over the investigation."

"Indeed. We have uncovered the source of this transmission. Once your fleet returns to Earth, we will travel to the source of it. This ship's ability to travel in the other dimension is much greater then any of our ships. We will arrive at the location of the transmission in a short time. "

Timnaldee began to protest. "You will make this journey without the fleet? Elder I can not permit…"

Vornaldea raised his hand and silenced him once again. "We have nothing to fear of them. We know them well. Or I should say, we 'knew' them well."

"No matter elder. Without adequate protection it is unadvisable for you to take such a journey."

"Your concerns are noted, but you must consider the future." Vornaldea replied. "At first, I believed it best to run and hope that the Arbiter and the Commander could deal with Truth, and stop the destruction of the galaxy. But now, I see that there is no escaping our fate. None of us can escape this ordeal, young and old must join in the fight. I am sending you to aid the Arbiter and to command our forces, while the Elders and I journey to the distant star and retrieve what we once lost. We will throw everything we have at the Prophets and regain our Honor!"

Timnaldee could see the passion in Vornaldea's eyes. "Who are they?" Timnaldee eagerly questioned.

"They are the purist of our Bloodline. They are those we once thought were dead, murdered by the Prophets, but we had no proof of the Prophets' involvement. We have found them."

"Are they aware of the Covenant's betrayal? Will they side with us?" Timnaldee questioned further.

"We are not sure, it will take much time for them to receive our transmission however, if we can use the full resources of this Seed ship we hope to return with their army before the Prophets unleash their plans. And there will be nothing that can stop us from finally being free of the Prophets and those wretched Jiralhanae."

Timnaldee lowered his head in thought. This was a complete mystery to him, and the Elder was not revealing much information. "This army you speak of, is it of Sangheili blood?"

"As I said, Supreme Commander, it is of the purist Sangheili blood!" Vornaldea raised his lower mandibles and formed a smile. "We thought it was gone, but now it has been found. Our Queen, Supreme Commander. Our Queen lives!"

To be continued…