Disclaimer – I don't own Halo. Never have, extremely unlikely I ever will.
The Arbiter's Tale
Chapter 6
The Sentinel Wall
As Thel 'Vadamee stepped off the lift and into the large, ornate Sanctum of the Hierarchs, he was met with a terrible sight – Jiralhanae stripping the armour off Sangheili Honor Guardsmen. Throughout the chamber, Jiralhanae were either receiving pieces of armour and adorning it themselves, or fiddling around with the Guardsmen's energy staves. Even as he watched, several more Jiralhanae passed by him on either side, moving quickly to acquire any remaining pieces of Honor Guardsman equipment.
'Truly, these creatures are barbarians' thought Thel, as he walked down the central path towards the large gold-lit doors that led to the Inner Sanctum. The aesthetic beauty of the room was spoiled by the presence of such savages. Ordinarily, no species were permitted in the Sanctum other than the Hierarchs themselves and their protectors.
'What is happening?'
Like the majority of rooms in High Charity, the Sanctum of the Hierarchs was massive, with very little machinery serving to reduce its scale. It was very dimly lit, with small light sources high up on the walls doing little to dispel the gloom.
Several large levitating pillars were positioned at intervals on either side of the path. These decorative effects were the only real structures in the room, besides several small consoles in a sunken area closer to the Inner Sanctum.
As he neared the doors, he heard snarling behind him. Turning his head, he saw two Jiralhanae fighting over an Honor Guardsman's helm. The short fight was ended when one Jiralhanae smashed the helmet hard into the others head, knocking the beast out cold. Huffing happily, the victor proudly placed the helm over its head.
Growling under his breath and muttering incomprehensible curses under his breath, Thel waited for the doors to switch from a soft gold colour to a pulsating purple. The doors then opened, first the sides opened, than the main door split in two, allowing Thel to enter.
Thel walked between two fully clad Jiralhanae Honor Guardsmen holding energy staves in their bestial paws. They silently watched him as he passed, heading for the far corner, where he saw two of the Hierarchs in conversation with several Sangheili.
As he neared the group, he heard the Prophet of Truths voice "… a Hierarch is dead, Commander."
The leader of the Sangheili troupe was Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee himself. I was he who had led the attack on the Gas Mine, and through his excellent command, ensured that most of his team were able to escape before the station plunged into the Gas Giant Threshold's volatile atmosphere. Thel and 'Vadumee had happily greeted one another after the former had returned from his successful mission at the Gas Mine.
"His murderer was within our grasp" the Commander said, the anger going unchecked in his voice. "If you had not withdrawn our Phantoms…"
"Are you questioning my decision? Truth cut him off before he could say another word. Although he didn't raise his voice, the question was laden with menace, and Thel judged it would be wise for the Commander to hold his tongue.
'Vadumee quickly shook his head. "No, Holy One. I only wish to express my concern that the Jiralhanae…"
Again, the Commander was cut off by Truth, who raised his hand, long fingers faced outwards to indicate that he be silent. "Re-commissioning the guards was a radical step… but recent events have made it abundantly clear that the Sangheili cannot guarantee our safety."
"I shall relay your decision… to the Council." 'Vadumee bowed his head, voice laden with disappointment, before turning to leave the chamber, his Special Operations Sangheili in tow. As they passed by Thel, who waited nearby, the Commander nodded wearily to him. Thel returned the gesture and then walked up to the Hierarchs.
"Politics… how tiresome" the Prophet of Truth muttered, as much to Thel as to himself. As he faced the leaders of the Covenant, Truth addressed him directly.
"Do you know, Arbiter? The Sangheili have threatened to resign. To quit the High Council. Because of this… exchange of hats?
Thel felt anger boil up inside him. Ever since the Sangheili and San Shyuum had formed the Covenant, their race had been the guardians of the San Shyuum as they scoured the galaxy for Forerunner artefacts. It was decreed in the Writ of Union. There was no changing it. Now, the Hierarchs were effectively destroying the Pact. It was an unforgivable insult to the Sangheili species.
All of a sudden, Thel heard in his mind the last words of Sesa 'Refumee, the commander of the heretic forces at the Gas Mine. Once a good friend of Thel, he had been forced to kill him in the name of the Covenant.
'Very soon… you will witness the full extent of the Prophets betrayal.'
Disturbed, Thel tried to force the thoughts out of his head, and he focused on replying to the Prophets. Still feeling anger inside him at the Hierarch's declaration, he chose his next words very carefully.
"We have always been your protectors." He stated, trying to keep his voice level.
The reply that he received was as much of a trivial excuse as the 'exchange of hats."
"These are trying times, for all of us."
"Even as the humans' annihilation filled us with satisfaction," the Prophet of Mercy piped up, "the loss of one of the Sacred Rings wracked our hearts with grief." The older Hierarch bowed his head in sadness.
"Putting aside our sorrow" Truth started, raising a hand. "We renewed our faith in the prophecy that other rings would be found. And see how our faith has been rewarded."
With that, he moved to the side, allowing Thel to observe the large view screen behind them. Thel was taken aback by the sight.
Another Halo Ring!
Thel could not believe his eyes. Truly this was a gift from the gods. The Covenant had another means of achieving the Great Journey. After suffering terrible punishment for effectively stopping the Great Journey indefinitely in allowing the Demon to destroy the first Halo, here was another one. There was yet a chance!
Thel was inwardly happy that this time he was not still a Supreme Commander. While the post was an honor-filled and highly regarded one, he did not wish to be the one to let it be destroyed, as happened with the first Halo.
Only the lower side of a small section of the ring was visible. Thel could see the metallic structures and latticework that formed the true structure of the ring. However this was not all that the ring consisted of; Thel knew that the inner-facing surface was alive with forests, tundra, deserts and oceans, for this was what he had seen at the first Sacred Ring. The rings had breathable atmosphere, and were highly capable of sustaining life.
The Prophet of Mercy spread his arms wide in a prayer pose, bowing his head in reverence as he spoke.
"Halo! Its divine winds will rush through the stars, propelling all who are worthy along the path to salvation."
"Put how to start this process?" Truth said, thoughtfully stroking the wattle that hung under his chin. "For ages, we searched for one who might unlock the secrets of the ring. An Oracle. And with your help we found it."
The two Covenant leaders turned, and so Thel did so too. He found himself facing the central pedestal in the room, which the Oracle now hovered above. It was held in a stasis field that extended from the pedestal up to another generator above.
As he looked upon the Oracle, Thel again remembered the heretic leader's words.
No, he told himself. He could not let thoughts like that trouble him. Not now, when in the presence of the Sacred Ring, and the start of the Covenant's Great Journey.
Thel had been brought up to be a true believer in the Covenant religion, and he wasn't going to be so easily dissuaded.
"With appropriate humility we plied the Oracle with questions." Mercy told Thel as they moved closer. "And it, with clarity and grace, has shown us… the key." He finished, pressing a symbol on the armrest of his gravity throne.
Beside the Oracle, the holographic representation of a small, roughly 'T' shaped object came into existence, slowly rotating in the air. It was composed of a grey casing, with luminous green lighting down the sides of the longer section of its body. Simple in construction, the artefact still exuded importance from its very being.
"You shall journey to the surface of the ring and retrieve this Sacred Icon." The Prophet of Truth addressed Thel.
"With it, we shall fulfil our promise."
The Prophet of Mercy raised his arms. "Salvation for all!" the older Hierarch proclaimed.
"And begin the Great Journey." Truth added. Regarding the Icon for several heartbeats, Thel then turned to Truth.
"I shall depart at once, Your Eminence." He said. "I require no assistance on this mission, for I believe that it is necessary for me alone to carry out my task. In failing to prevent the destruction of the first Holy Ring, I shall bring glory to our Covenant in allowing us to begin the Great Journey here.
"Ah." Stated the Prophet of Truth. "I have sent other teams before you, but I have not received any word from them, so I believe they have been compromised. You will succeed where they have failed."
"Yes, Holy One." Thel said obediently.
"Excellent." Truth began. "You are a fine warrior. You succeeded in ending the heretic leader, and I believe that you will too succeed on this mission. Go. Bring glory to the Covenant. Do not fail us."
Thel bowed down deeply, "Yes, my lord. I will not fail."
Turning, Thel strode out of the chamber. Another mission, another chance to prove his worth to the Covenant. This was his most important mission yet. As the Arbiter, he was going to find this Sacred Icon. No longer was he going to fail the Covenant. He would be remembered as the one who made the Great Journey possible.
Once the Sangheili had left the room, the Prophet of Truth turned to his fellow Hierarch.
"So, the mighty Arbiter has returned victorious from his mission at the mine." He said. "When I heard this news, I was most troubled, noble Mercy. It was expected that he would die there. But no, instead the Sangheili somehow survived. He needs to be killed before I implement my plans for the new Covenant. I do have a plan to deal with him, however."
Truth tapped a button on his gravity throne.
"Tartarus, report to the Sanctum of the Hierarchs right now." Truth said, before pressing the button again, cutting Tartarus off.
The older Prophet of Mercy looked at him, large eyes meeting Truths. "How goes your fleet's uncovering of the Portal?"
"Excavation will soon be complete." Truth assured him. "My faithful Commander Cerberus heads the effort. Brother, that warrior demonstrates typifies the unwavering faith and obedience of the Jiralhanae species. While they are a primitive race, the Jiralhanae are perfect for our means. They do not hold the foolish virtues of honour that the Sangheili are burdened by. We have no need for the Sangheili anymore. Time after time they have failed our Covenant, and it is time to rid ourselves of them."
Mercy nodded in understanding. The opposite door opened, and Tartarus strode in, his large Gravity Hammer, the Fist of Rukt slung over his back. He marched over to the Hierarchs, before dropping into a deep bow before them.
"Your Eminence, I am here as requested."
"Yes, Tartarus." Truth started. "I am sure you too have noticed that our prestigious Arbiter has returned quite unscathed from his previous mission. And this is a particular concern of mine."
Tartarus looked up, his orange eyes glowing in interest. "Yes, Holy One. I have noticed."
"Well, as you no doubt realise, he needs to be removed as a factor before we can continue our plans to be rid of the Sangheili." Truth mused. "I want you to transport the Arbiter to his destination, a wall on the Holy Ring that surrounds the Library, where the Sacred Icon is located.
"If the Arbiter should fall in battle, it is on your shoulders that the task of retrieving the Icon falls. If the Arbiter does succeed in his mission, you are to take the Icon from him and kill him. I do not wish to see him again.
"Now go. The Arbiter departs very soon. Go to him, and get him to his landing zone. Just two things: have the Sacred Icon in your possession, and ensure that the Arbiter is dead."
"Without question, Holy One." Tartarus bared his teeth in a barely-concealed grin. "You will be done."
Tartarus' Phantom accelerated at the maximum possible speed towards the surface of the Sacred Ring. Thel stood in the troop bay of the dropship with about half a dozen Jiralhanae. They were merely travelling on the dropship with Tartarus; they weren't part of Thel's mission.
This is a good thing too. Thel said to himself. This is a true warrior's battle.
He hated being in such close proximity to the Jiralhanae, but thankfully it wouldn't be long as the ship was making good pace towards the wall. Unfortunately the Library was protected by a defensive energy barrier that was projected from this wall. It was the task of the Arbiter to push through to the locks that kept the barrier up, and deactivate it.
Once this was done, Tartarus would pick him up and transport him straight to the Library, where he would have the honour of retrieving the Sacred Icon and advancing the Covenant further in their quest to achieve the Great Journey.
Thel wasn't sure what to expect in terms of resistance, but he knew that other teams had tried to bring down the shield before, and had supposedly been killed, as they had stopped broadcasting. Thel packed a Carbine as his primary weapon, along with dual Plasma Rifles in reserve. He knew that humans had made landfall, but he was unsure if they knew about the Library. Still, he was ready for them. Evidently, there was something there.
Thel could hear Tartarus telling the pilot to head to the Library immediately after the shield was deactivated due to his fear of keeping the Hierarchs waiting. Thel asked Tartarus a question that was on his mind.
"The human that killed the Prophet of Regret… who was it?"
Even as he spoke, Thel felt a slight tightening in his gut.
"Who do you think?" Tartarus replied sarcastically.
I knew it!
"The Demon is here?" He asked in confirmation. He received a grunt of acknowledgement.
"Why? Looking for a little payback?" Asked Tartarus, a slightly mocking tone in his words.
Thel reached behind him, grasped his Carbine and readied it, pushing a clip into the receiver. "Retrieving the Icon is my only concern." He said. Inside, he would be happy if he never had to come across the Demon in combat. It which had slaughtered so many. Although he was loath to admit it, and it was an insult to the Sangheili's pride, but he was slightly frightened by the mythological being. It was rumoured among some in the Covenant that the Demons were long-dead soldiers reanimated by dark magic to fight the human's battles. Although Thel wasn't privy to these rumours, he was still sure that it was no normal human under the armour.
The Chieftain of the Jiralhanae laughed sceptically. "Of course."
I wish the Demon would slay you, stupid oaf. Thel said to himself.
He felt the Phantom decelerate as it neared Thel's destination – the wall. It was a massive structure with several equally spaced towers that projected the barrier, a large sphere all around the Library. The wall surrounded the whole Library, massive in both height and thickness.
The ship began to slow and the pilot activated the ships gravity lift. Breathing in, Thel walked into the lift, descending down onto a ledge that protruded out of a gap in the wall. The Phantom flew off as soon as he was safely down.
Thel took in his surroundings. He could see a Covenant communications node and several opened weapons crates. Thel could see several corpses of Unggoy and Kig-Yar soldiers still smoking as well as wreckage from Sentinels. There was plasma scoring on the walls and blood belonging to the fallen Covenant. The very ledge he stood on showed heavy damage, and it looked as though a large piece had been blown off.
Hazarding a guess, Thel concluded that a Covenant team had landed here, engaged the Forerunner constructs and taken casualties before moving on. Even as he surveyed the carnage, the Sangheili heard a loud mechanical groaning behind him. Thel turned, and found himself face-to-face with a massive hovering machine. It had a bulky body with one large glowing light near the top, two large legs that dangled below and a pair of smaller 'arms' which it raised ready to strike.
Without thinking, Thel raised his Carbine and fired several shots at the monster's eye. His fire seemed to have no effect, and the machine moved closer before a streak of plasma smashed into its right leg, completely mangling the limb and causing it to fall off. Tartarus' Phantom flew past.
"Lower the shield, Arbiter!" He shouted. "I'll pick you up when you've finished."
The hostile immediately turned and gave chase to the dropship, which flew away out of sight around the wall. Thel gave a silent thank-you to Tartarus and turned back around, ready to begin his mission.
Tartarus roared in frustration as the persistent Forerunner construct continued its pursuit of his Phantom.
"Pilot, stop!" He commanded. "It is weak, we must finish it. Bring your turrets to bear on its other leg." The pilot obeyed, and superheated red-white plasma flew out of the Phantom's trio of heavy plasma turrets. The plasma burned the machines one remaining leg as easily as it had done the first.
The 'Enforcer' shook the useless limb off but it was far from beaten. A large blue-coloured barrier blinked into life, shielding it from the front while a barrage of missiles flew out of the top of the machine. They were obviously mortars, as they flew up in a high arc before coming down with surprising speed towards the Covenant dropship.
"Move!" Tartarus bellowed at the pilot. The younger Jiralhanae did not need much persuading and he quickly jerked the bulky ship back, allowing the missile barrage to miss. "Quickly, keep up a storm of fire to break through that shield and then blow this pesky machine out of the sky."
Again the plasma turrets roared. The energy shield projected by the Enforcer seemed to be designed to resist ballistic projectiles, as it quickly fell in the face of the plasma blasts. The Phantom hosed the front of the machine with plasma, destroying it's 'eye' and numerous other pieces, including what appeared to be smaller anti-personnel weapons. The Enforcer tried to launch another salvo of rockets, but the damage it was sustaining became too much. It exploded in a burst of flame, and the wrecked pieces fell to the ground far below.
Tartarus clapped the young pilot on the shoulder. "A fine kill." He complemented. "But I fear there will be more of those machines so stay viligant. Hold while I locate the Arbiter." Tartarus checked a nearby console that was tracking the Sangheili. He saw that the Arbiter was getting near to one of the locks. He spoke into his communications unit.
"Arbiter, you are nearing one of the shield generators. Many of my Jiralhanae have fallen attempting to take it down." Tartarus said, remembering how several Jiralhanae in his pack had led the previous, failed attack on the core. He added in a cynical one,
"Let's see if you fare better."
Thel 'Vadamee waited for his overheated Plasma Rifles to cool down, before stitching to his empty Carbine and slotting a new magazine in place. His journey through this first part of the wall had been harrowing – the wall was heavily manned by Sentinels which were continually spawned through ports build into the walls and ceilings of the corridors. Thankfully he had not run into any more of the larger, floating automatons; the small cramped quarters didn't permit them room to function.
The various sections of the wall were separated by pistons which could only be accessed by one running their hand over the console that was present on them. They were one-way, as each time one opened; it lifted up off the ground leaving Thel to jump down to a lower level before the piston closed up again. Thel knew it had been designed with the Sentinels in mind. Due to the large presence of the Forerunner constructs, Thel found himself wondering what they were trying to defend from.
Thel had passed by many corpses of Covenant soldiers, primarily Unggoy and Kig-Yar, but he had also found several dead Jiralhanae. At first he questioned the presence of the Jiralhanae, as the Sangheili usually led such assaults. Thel knew this was a bad sign as it probably alluded to the Hierarch's newfound favouritism of the Jiralhanae.
Despite this, he had found no live Jiralhanae on his journey, instead only finding several cowering Unggoy and a lone Kig-Yar who were desperate to leave. Thel had told them that they were not going anywhere until they reached the shield controls so the lesser Covenant had no choice but to follow.
Eventually after navigating through nearly a dozen corridors filled with Sentinel guardians, Thel and his team – three Unggoy and one Kig-Yar dropped down a final piston which took them to a small corridor which led them to the edge of a large open room which consisted of multiple levels. Thel could see a large platform ahead, over which another of the larger machines hovered. Thel knew that they weren't the first to make it this far, as the blackened craters and strewn body parts suggested.
Immediately, Thel started to fire his Carbine at the monster, but each round was absorbed by a large blue barrier that projected from the front of it.
Tartarus' voice crackled through Thel's receiver. "It is useless to attack an Enforcer from the front, especially when its shields are up. Wait till it loses interest, and then strike the beast when its back is turned."
The Enforcer unleashed a massive barrage of mortars from its rear mounted rocket launcher. Bunched up in the small corridor, the Covenant team would be decimated.
Go! Get out of the corridor!" Howled Thel, diving out of the enclosed space as the rockets began to fall. The slower Unggoy had no chance; they were blown apart even as they tried to move. The Kig-Yar's arm-mounted energy shield, despite being resistant to the majority of small-arms ballistic rounds offered no protection from explosive rounds and the avian Covenant unit was destroyed almost as fast as the Unggoy were.
By this time Thel had found cover in a lower part of the room. It wasn't completely safe, as the half-melted Jiralhanae's corpse told him, but it offered adequate protection from the Enforcers missiles. Losing sight of Thel the Enforcer drifted off; its limited artificial intelligence not allowing it the ability to further seek him out.
However, Thel did hear the hum of a Sentinel launcher as it activated on a nearby wall, the protective panel sliding up to expose its internal mechanisms. Almost immediately, an Aggressor Sentinel was produced, and the small construct flew into Thel's view.
The wary Sangheili fired several shots that staggered then destroyed the machine. He knew that it would be continually replaced until he destroyed the launcher so he engaged his armour's active camouflage and crept out of his temporary shelter. He spied the white-lit opening high up on the closest wall and he fired five shots, which destroyed the generator and caused an explosion which launched pieces of destroyed metal down onto the platform.
Unfortunately this exposed him to the Enforcer, and the patrolling machine locked onto him. Instead of bombarding him with another round of missiles, the large machine instead opened fire with a pair of smaller weapons behind its shield. A large number of solid red needles flew forth at a high speed towards the Sangheili. They resembled the ammunition of the Covenant Needler weapon, but as Thel leapt down a level to escape, he noticed with relief that they lacked the latter weapons homing ability.
Thel cloaked himself again and ran across the lower level of the platform before ascending a small ramp that led to the open upper level. The Enforcer was turned away so he drew a Plasma Grenade and hurled it with all his might. The small blue adhesive sphere flew through the air and stuck to the back of the Enforcer. When it detonated, Thel saw a shower of sparks and pieces of metal go flying, but the machine remained in the air.
Growling in frustration, Thel withdrew before the Enforcer could draw a bead on him. These constructs can take some punishment, he thought. Thankfully they were not very bright, and Thel was able to come in from another angle with another grenade to the weakened section of the Enforcer. This second explosion was too much for the beast, and it exploded, showering the platform with large pieces of debris.
Sighing in relief, Thel turned his attention to four short yet sturdy pillars that were situated at roughly the edges of the platform. Tartarus spoke again to him.
"Those pillars you see, those are the locks that keep the shields power source in place. Overload them, Arbiter."
Thel paused in front of the closest one, before reaching out and touching the illuminated section in a similar way to how he had dealt with the pistons. Thankfully the operation was the same, and the cyan-coloured light switched to a deep blue and with a whirr, he heard the lock disengage.
He repeated this with the other three locks, and as soon as he had deactivated the final lock, he heard the squeak of machinery behind him. A small section of the platform rose up slightly, and Thel saw a small interface blink into life. Tartarus once again spoke to him.
"Release the power source. Now, find a way to remove it from its cradle."
Thel lowered his Carbine and approached the console. It consisted of several geometric lines with two separated parts that looked like they slotted in with the rest. There was also a protruding six-fingered 'hand' in the centre. It was obvious to Thel that this was where it was activated from. He pressed his hand palm down on the console. The hand withdrew and the two separated pieces locked in place.
For a moment nothing happened, than a loud explosion met Thel's ears as the remaining closed Sentinel launchers on the walls exploded simultaneously. The large doors opposite Thel opened, and the Sangheili was nearly knocked off balance as the platform suddenly sharply descended about 10 metres. Thel looked at the view ahead.
He could see another massive door that was closed in the distance, across a large expanse which the platform slowly began to move across. He watched as the large cyan-tinted energy barrier deactivated. It powered down from the top down to the towers, so it was a splendid sight as the glowing energy projected from beyond slowly vanished. Tartarus' Phantom passed by his platform and flew alongside him.
"Our path to the Library is clear." He informed Thel. "I'll pick you up on the ledge ahead."
The Phantom pulled ahead, where it waited by the closed doors for Thel's platform to get near enough. Eventually the doors did open, but what Thel saw caused him to raise his Carbine in alert. Another Enforcer hovered high over the area where the platform was to come to rest, and it unleashed a barrage of missiles at the Phantom. Tartarus cursed as several of the missiles impacted the top of the ship, rocking it in the air.
"Blasted machines!" the Jiralhanae shouted. "Make your own way through the wall Arbiter."
The Enforcer was not the only threat in the area. On the raised ledge, several large doors opened up and a slew of humanoid creatures leapt out. On first glance Thel thought they were human marines, due to their general profile and the fact that they possessed human weapons, but then he realised the truth.
The Flood is here.
The creatures were combat forms, similar to those he had encountered on the Gas Mine, however unlike those ones; these were not derived from Sangheili. Instead these combat forms were human soldiers infested by the Flood parasite. They still wore remnants of combat armour on their bodies, but from their upper torso protruded the controlling infection form, which had forced the human's necks roughly aside. The sensory tentacles waved in the air as the infection form directed the corpse about. Thel could see the massive clawed appendage that had replaced one of the human arms.
The Flood forms wielded an assortment of human rifles, submachine guns and pistols which they fired up at the Enforcer. Furthermore, several more Sentinel launchers opened up on the walls, and the Forerunner guardians emerged firing their beams in an effort to cut down the parasitic outbreak.
Thel's platform came to a halt, and rose until it was level with the ledge. In moments, the whole area descended into chaos.
How did humans get here before me? Thel wondered. I have only just now deactivated the barrier, yet humans have been able to somehow slip in prior to this and they have encountered the Parasite My mission has just got a great deal more complicated.
Authors note: Another chapter complete, thank goodness. I was able to produce this one much faster because there are no longer any imminent examinations, tests or other miscellaneous crap to contend with for the time being. But this is only a small gap – real important exams in late April-May, my finals before I leave school to go onto University. History and Archaeology, that's my course. Not sure what to expect really but I hope I will be able to continue writing then. If all else fails, I may yet have a stab at writing as a job. You never know. This is certainly good practice. Anyway, enough of my ramblings – hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review as all constructive criticism is welcome.