Chapter Two-

V'daa sat alone, rethinking the recent events. The Prophets had betrayed them, order the Brutes to massacre them, after everything they had ever done to support the Covenant! It was they who had led thousands of Unggoy into battle, they who sacrificed themselves for the Covenant, while the Brutes were nowhere to be seen! Now, his brothers had paid for their faith with their lives.

He wished he had the ability to speak as well as 'Rtas Vadum or Thel Vadam. If he could speak well enough to explain it to others, maybe it would make sense in his own mind. He could not speak like them, though, so he was left alone and confused.

He had lost more than brothers on High Charity. He had lost friends, good friends. If he ever saw Truth again, he would kill him- if it was the last thing he did.

Unggoy and Lekgolo were on our side at first, V'daa told himself. We were their leaders. Why the change?

It was true. Arbiter Vadam had explained how at least four Lekgolo had assisted him and Shipmaster Vadum fight through the Jiralhanae so they could reach the scarab that, even though they had not known it at the time, Johnson was in charge of.

Somehow, V'daa knew that alienating the Sangheili would cost the Prophet the war. The Arbiter was fiery and courageous. He could stare death in the eye without flinching. He was not someone you wanted as an enemy. The Prophets first mistake was in pissing off the Arbiter. His second was in killing so many Sangheili, the others could not possibly tolerate being under Prophet rule. His third mistake? Making the Brutes the ruling military class. Any Sangheili loyalists, if there were any, would be treated no better than Unggoy. There was no confusion in the matter. Every single remaining Sangheili felt such rage at the Prophet that every fiber of their being burned with hatred. Piss off the Arbiter, and you were in trouble. Piss off every single living Sangheili, and you were so screwed you did not even know the meaning of the word!

He came out of his thoughts and glanced around. The Sangheili and the Humans did not mingle. Even in the Humans, there was separation, as the females and the males rarely mixed. Every now and then, a female would stare at one of the males with a mix of curiosity and tenderness. Every now and then, the Humans would shoot the Sangheili looks of hatred, discomfort, disgust, or interest. Sangheili would shoot the Humans very similar glances.

Huh, V'daa though, maybe we are not as different as we once imagined. What thoughts go through their mind at this time?

He fiddled with the hilt of his energy sword anxiously.

He caught bits of the conversations taking place among his brothers. He picked up one conversation with interest. Something about a transmission from High Charity. Somewhat reluctantly, the Minor Sangheili joined his brothers.

F'der, a Special Operations Elite Commander, was explaining the transmission to the Scouts who had missed it. "There's some kind of AI inside the computers at High Charity. It is not of Covenant origin. It's widely believed that the Demon brought the AI, and left it behind when he fled the city."

V'daa had once been stationed on the Truth and Reconciliation. He had not actually encountered the Demon, but he remembered the damage the AI had done to their computers. He also had the faintest idea that maybe the Demon depended on the AI.

"What happened next?" Asked a major, S'lvek.

F'der bowed his head. "Unfortunately, the Jiralhanae managed to trace the transmission and sent a pair of Lekgolo. Our brother was killed. We are retreating quickly, before the Jiralhanae figure out where the transmission was sent. All we have to fight is a small hanger of Ghosts and Banshees. We couldn't hold off a boarding party."

V'daa suddenly knew why the Forerunner portal was so important. They were fleeing! If not following orders from their new Human companions, V'daa knew they would have stayed to fight with their brothers. Sangheili were many things, but cowardly was not one of them.

S'lvek spoke again. "This certainly is a tragedy. Our bothers, slaughtered, and us, running from the murderers."

F'der looked glum. "There's more. Seconds before the transmission faded, we saw something. It took several replays before we could identify it… a Flood spore. There are no survivors on High Charity. Not even a Brute."

There was a murmur among the Sangheili. At the mention of the parasite, even the Humans hushed, a feeling of despair and lost hope hung in the air. One of the Human females sobbed openly.

"This ship didn't come from High Charity, did it?" Demanded a male human.

V'daa replied. "Originally, yes, but we were no where no the Holy City when the Schism took place. Don't concern yourselves, Humans- we are 100% sure the parasite is not on board."

That calmed the Humans for now. V'daa knew they still had doubts, concerns, but maybe knowing what they knew now, they would be more hesitant to voice those concerns.

The groups went back to separation. V'daa, being somewhat of a social outcast, separated himself and went back to the supply crate he was originally sitting on.

The parasite was on High Charity. They could never go back, never respectfully bury their fallen brethren, never burn the Prophets dead soldiers who had betrayed the so suddenly and violently, so without cause.

Without warning, the Soul and Honor started jerking.

K'vrak cried out, "I think we are nearing the portal." He pointed to the Sangheili running communications. "Try to open contact with the Humans. Tell them we have their soldiers on board. Do not let them destroy this ship!"

The Humans gasped. "They might destroy this ship, with us on it?"

"Not if we open contact," F'der replied calmly.

V'daa sighed at the frightened Humans. It was harder for them to look death in the eye. The saw living as the honorable option. They were lucky Arbiter Vadam was on their side. They would most definitely learn a few things from him.

The ship came out of the hyperspace jump and the flight smoothed out.

The image of a powerful man appeared on the screen. He wore a white uniform with dozens of medals pinned to his chest. "I am Lord Hood. Sergeant Johnson told me about the… arrangement. It's understood you have our soldiers on your ship?"

The Humans all shouted "Hoo-ah!"

"Your ship is permitted to pass. Continue."

The screen flickered and went dark.

V'daa brushed off his dark blue armor. "I knew it would all be fine," he muttered.

The majority of the trips danger passed, the Humans cheered. Some of the females wrapped one another in what V'daa believed was called a "hug." Humans were too emotional over the silliest things was V'daa's theory.

The Humans glanced around. For some of them, their cheeks turned red when they realized the Sangheili were not celebrating. One of them, a dark-haired man with mocha colored skin and eyes like night, locked his gaze with V'daa. There was nothing special, only hate and discomfort… but there was something different, something hidden behind those emotionless brown orbs. V'daa could not figure it out before the man turned away.

The man was young, too young, in V'daa's opinion. V'daa himself was quite young. He had only left training the equivalent of two Earth years ago. He was still just a Minor Sangheili, with dark blue armor, who dreamed of being promoted to a Major who wore red.

At that point, V'daa decided he would confront the human. Maybe after a conversation, he would understand what the man hid behind his eyes.