Chapter 26: Kel

"Do you know who I am?" Kel asked. He knew it was stupid to ask that specific question, but he wanted to be sure that this Sangheili wasn't there to kill him.

"Um, no?" the Sangheili replied. Kel could tell that the confusion in his voice was genuine.

"My name is Kel 'Dauram," Kel said carefully. The Sangheili gave no reaction to that information. Then I am safe. Kel let his muscles relax, which he hoped that the other Sangheili didn't notice. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

"I am Fural 'Nasamai," the Sangheili said. His tone was very professional, which made sense knowing now that it was a Blademaster Kel was speaking to. "A virus was sent to my ship to take control of its systems, and then promptly vanished for no reason. I took it as a sign that somebody here wanted me to meet them."

Kel sighed slowly enough that Fural didn't notice it. Wanting to meet him was the last thing Kel wanted, but maybe this could work in his favour. He had a ship, he could help him with his goal. But he wasn't sure if he was ready to trust him with that information. Kel wasn't going to tell this Blademaster about the Assembly yet, but he wasn't going to lie to him.

"Actually the virus was sent to slow you down," Kel said honestly. "I was in the middle of repairing my Phantom when you arrived. More fuel had to be synthesised, but I realised I didn't have enough time to do that before you arrived, virus or not. So the virus was retracted."

Fural stared at Kel suspiciously. The story didn't seem to make much sense to the Blademaster, but Kel realised it wouldn't make much sense to anyone.

"So you didn't want us here," Fural said.

"Us?" Kel asked.

"I didn't come alone. I have an entire crew with me."

"I assumed you were Covenant," Kel said. It was the truth, but he hoped that Fural took it as thinking they were Jiralhanae. "And that you were here to kill me."

"I see…" Fural sighed. "I did not know there was anyone in this system at all when we arrived. I assure you, I am not here to kill you."

"I suppose I should take your word for it."

"Now I have a question for you. What are you doing here?"

"Hiding…" Kel sighed. He knew it was a cowardly thing to admit. "From the Covenant."

To Kel's surprise, Fural gave him an understanding nod. He hadn't said how long he'd been hiding there for, but thankfully Fural didn't question it. The Blademaster seemed to relax a bit more.

"I have a camp nearby," Kel said. "You look like you could use a rest."

"Sure… I'll gather my people," Fural said. "We all need a rest."

Kel followed Fural back to the Phantom he'd used to land on the planet. There he saw three more Sangheili, a pilot and two Minors. As well as two Unggoy and a Kig-Yar. All of them had the same distraught looks on their faces, as if they had just come back from a lifetime of hell. Kel didn't think the fighting between the Sangheili and Jiralhanae was that bad, but he had been wrong about a lot of things. They all gave Kel a strange look, clearly none of them were expecting to see him there.

"This is Kel 'Dauram," Fural said.

"The one who sent the virus?" the pilot asked.

Kel nodded, though that technically wasn't true. Era had sent the virus, not him. He just did whatever it took to not mention the facility in the mountain.

"I have a camp nearby if you need a place to stay," Kel said. "As well as food and water."

"I suppose we can't say no," the pilot said. "As long as you're offering."

"Then come with me," Kel said. "It will be dark soon."

The group silently followed Kel through the forest. Though Kel technically hadn't been alone since he met Era, he still felt like he was. And now that he was actually with other people, he felt strange. He still couldn't shake the feeling that they would kill him if they'd found out what he'd done, but other than that it felt… Good. It was good to not be alone anymore after decades of solitude.

The sun had fully set by the time they reached Kel's Phantom. Kel built a campfire and pushed some logs into place around it so they could sit. He had food in a storage unit aboard the Phantom, which he took out and cooked over the campfire. Fural had gone to a pond nearby to clean the blood off of his armour while the others gathered around the fire.

"I'm Jors 'Cinatee," the pilot said. "Well, Jors 'Cinat now. Not really a part of the Covenant anymore. The Kig-Yar is Rahg, the Unggoy are Dunyap and Zimling, the other two Sangheili are Endo and Kress."

Kel slowly nodded as Jors 'Cinat introduced him to the others. All he could see when he looked at the two Minors was himself, and 'Zeramee, the first Sangheili he'd killed. And in Jors, all he saw was 'Vettrumee. He tried to shake the thoughts, but he couldn't. Jors could clearly see the distress on Kel's face, as he gave him a look of concern.

"What happened to you?" Jors asked. "How did you end up all the way out here?"

Kel looked at the ground and grimaced. He had to fight with himself over whether or not he wanted to lie to these people, these people that seemed like they wanted to be his friends. Even though Kel had never really had friends before, he did know that lying to them was a bad idea. But what will they do to me if I tell the truth?

"I don't remember where I was," Kel said. He was going to tell the truth without saying too much. "I was only a Minor. I took this armour from a dead General to survive, and stole a Phantom with a slipspace drive. It took me here, and this is where I've been staying. I tried to paint the armour purple to honour the dead General, and the other Sangheili blood that had been spilled, but it was washed off in the rain."

"I see," Jors replied.

The pilot's expression was unknowable. Maybe Jors recognised that Kel was skirting around the truth, or maybe he believed everything that was said and took it as that. Kel wouldn't know, as the pilot joined the others by the campfire. Fural returned with his combat harness having been mostly cleaned.

The Blademaster glanced at Kel before standing next to him and crossing his arms. Fural's expression was tired, and very distraught. It was the same as it was when they first encountered each other. Kel had the same questions for them that they had for him.

"What happened to you?" Kel asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"We just fled High Charity," Fural said. He rubbed his hands together before staring down at his palms. He seemed to be questioning what was real, and what wasn't; which was something Kel knew all too well.

"Is it that bad?" Kel asked. Good thing I know what's going on around High Charity.

Kel thought he knew what was happening on High Charity until Fural told him what happened. He spoke of the fighting between the Sangheili and Jiralhanae as it tore apart the city streets, and then the arrival of a parasite called the Flood. Kel had to pretend he knew what the Flood was, but by the sound of what happened, and the tone of the Blademaster's voice, it sounded really bad. The Blademaster also told him about the battle they fought against a Covenant cruiser that chased them away from High Charity, and how they had made a blind jump that brought them to this planet, the same way Kel had been brought there.

Now not only was the Covenant fractured, but their capital that had stood for thousands of years was gone. Turned into a wretched hive of parasites. The talk about the Flood only made Kel question just how much he had missed, but he couldn't ask about what he'd missed without talking about how long he'd been there, and why he was really there in the first place.

"As long as they have control of High Charity, they can go anywhere," Fural said with fear in his voice. "They might as well be able to infect the entire galaxy."

"Then nowhere is safe," Kel breathed. Everything sounded so strange that he almost figured the Blademaster was joking.

You cannot escape salvation, said the voice in Kel's head. For whatever reason it had chosen to remain silent until now. As per usual, he had no idea what it was talking about.

"Correct," Fural sighed. "Nowhere is safe anymore."

Lies for the weak, the voice came again. Only a coward runs from their destiny.

Kel looked around at the others. The two Sangheili Minors seemed to be joking with each other, one of the Unggoy looked on at them as the other slept. The Kig-Yar ate the food that Kel had cooked for him, and Jors watched Fural and Kel closely. He couldn't tell if the voice was talking about them or not. Based on the story Fural told, there was nothing weak or cowardly about them. Only with impressive strength could they have escaped High Charity. Maybe the voice had a deeper meaning, but it didn't tell him what it was if it did.

Of course, Kel had a plan for dealing with High Charity. It could get back at the Covenant, and deal with this parasitic Flood at the same time. All it would take was for Kel to tell Fural of the secret this world held. He didn't want to reveal anything so soon, but he could tell that these people were trustworthy.

Only as one can we all survive, the voice said.

"Blademaster," Kel said. "Can I discuss something with you in private?"

"Of course," Fural said, confused.

The two of them left the campfire while Jors watched them suspiciously. He couldn't tell what the pilot's deal was, maybe he had seen right past Kel's story. Or maybe he just wasn't a very trusting person. Fural and Kel stepped out of everyone's line of sight, and Kel hesitated to speak when they were alone.

"This planet… It holds something that could help you," Kel said. "It could help us."

"And what might that be?" Fural asked.

"A Forerunner telescoping facility," Kel explained. "Using it I discovered a Forerunner forge world known as the Assembly, which is capable of producing fleets of any kind of ship, including Forerunner ships."

"You're joking," Fural said. Kel could tell by his tone that he genuinely believed he was joking, and that he was not amused.

"I am not, I can take you to the facility," Kel said. "You and everyone else, if you do not feel safe going alone."

"So you're telling me that a world I randomly stumbled across has another Sangheili survivor living on it, that also has access to a Forerunner facility that can take me to a world capable of building Forerunner fleets?"

"Yes, that is correct. It sounds insane, but it is just what we need. With it, we can stop the Covenant, the Flood, and the humans."

Fural still clearly wasn't convinced. A younger Kel would have been grateful that the Blademaster didn't believe him, as it meant keeping the knowledge of the Assembly for himself. But now he knew how important it was to have an ally, to have someone else to believe in him. Kel believed that the Gods were watching over him, that they were speaking directly to him. And maybe they watched over Fural too.

"I was brought here for a reason," Kel said. "I made a blind jump and ended up here, the same thing that happened to you. The Gods are watching over both of us, Blademaster. They want you to know about this place just as much as they wanted me to know about it. You must have faith."

Something changed in the Blademaster's expression at the mention of faith. There was sadness, but then there was determination.

"Take me to the facility at once," Fural said. "Me and Jors."

"It's a long walk, and it's dark," Kel objected. "Let us wait until morning."

"If the Gods sent me here to find it, then I will waste no time," Fural said. "Take me to the facility."

"Alright, Blademaster," Kel said. "I will take you there."

Fural went back to the camp, and he told Jors about the facility. The two Sangheili left the others alone as they approached Kel, who silently waited for them. Kel had memorised the path to the facility, though the terrain always looked unfamiliar at night. Through the dense foliage it was sometimes hard to see the mountain in the distance, to know they were going the right way.

Fortunately, Kel was used to the path. He had spent the last couple of decades getting used to the area around him, his new home. Jors and Fural silently followed him without question, and by the time they finally reached the base of the mountain, the sun had begun to rise in the distance. Fural seemed to instantly recognise the entrance of the facility as Forerunner construction.

"So, this is it?" Jors asked as Fural rushed ahead.

"Yes, inside is the telescoping facility," Kel said. "It has systems all over the mountain, but this is the facility itself."

Kel motioned for Fural to slow down, and to follow. Kel led them through the confusing layout of rooms until they reached the door to the monitoring room. But the door closed before they could enter, and Kel heard the familiar ringing sound of Era's sentinel ports. Machines surrounded them before they heard Era's voice coming out of the walls.

"Kel 'Dauram," Era said. "I wish not to alarm you, I was not expecting you to bring others into my facility."

"What is this?" Fural asked, placing his hand on the hilt of his energy sword.

"Era, they're friends," Kel said. "Do not attack them, please."

"I will not," Era said. "I am merely testing whether or not they're threats."

"Can it be?" Jors asked. "Is a holy oracle speaking to us?"

"I am not a 'holy oracle', I am 4182 Bygone Era, the monitor of this facility," Era said.

"My apologies, holy one," Jors said, despite Era having just said it wasn't holy.

"My friends wish to know about Seiginis III," Kel explained. "And the Assembly."

The sentinels retreated back to their ports once Era was sure they weren't a threat, and the door to the monitoring facility opened. Era hovered inside, and Kel gestured for Fural and Jors to follow. The excitement on both of the Sangheili's faces was clear, as they were standing face to face with a creation of their Gods.

"By the Gods, it is an oracle!" Jors exclaimed.

"I did not see one of these on Alpha Halo," Fural said as he looked closely at Era.

"Alpha Halo?" Era asked. "Were you behind its destruction?"

"I was not, but I was there," Fural said.

Kel still wasn't well informed about the Halos, but hearing that the Blademaster had been on one of them made him all the more interesting. Kel was talking to a seasoned war veteran, and the last one that he'd met he'd killed.

"That is a relief to hear," Era said. "I would have hated to have to bring you to justice."

"Can we get back to the Assembly?" Kel asked.

"Oh, yes! Of course, my apologies!"

Era showed Fural and Jors the same things it had shown Kel. The holograms of Seiginis III and the Assembly, and it told the Sangheili all about the planets. About how Seiginis III was a prototype turned fortress world, and that the Assembly was the world capable of producing fleets. Suddenly everything Kel had said didn't seem so insane now that an actual creation of the Forerunners was telling them about it.

"Then we can use these fleets against the Covenant," Fural said. "And the Flood."

"The Flood?" Era asked. The monitor's voice turned panicked, which was something that Kel hadn't heard yet. "Have they escaped containment?"

"I'm afraid they have, holy one," Fural said. "They've taken over High Charity, the Covenant's capital."

"The mobile space station, correct?" Era asked. When Fural nodded, the monitor became more panicked. "Oh no, oh no this is not good at all. The station must be razed at once. If the parasite breaks free from the station, it will all be over."

"That is why we must take the Assembly," Kel said. "We can use its fleets to destroy the parasite."

"That was not the Assembly's purpose," Era said. "If you want to destroy the Flood, then you must fire the Halo array."

"Beginning the Great Journey will destroy the Flood?" Jors asked.

"What the hell is a Great Journey?"

Jors and Fural exchanged a glance, and then looked at Kel with a questioning gaze. Even when Kel didn't believe in it, he still knew what the Great Journey was. Then again, Era had claimed that the Forerunners were not Gods before. Kel was inclined to believe that the monitor had gone insane in its solitude, it had been there significantly longer than Kel and he was going insane as it was.

"Era, may I speak to my friends in private?" Kel asked.

"Yes, Kel 'Dauram," Era said. "I will pause my monitoring of this room."

The monitor flew to one of the sentinel ports and disappeared inside it. Kel sighed and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn't sure if he could explain Era's heresy away, it wasn't even his place to explain it at all.

"How does an oracle know nothing of the Great Journey?" Fural asked.

"I believe Era has gone insane," Kel said. "The monitor has been here alone for thousands of years, about a hundred thousand in fact. Being alone for that long could have damaged its mind."

"That is true," Jors said. "That could be enough for it to turn against its creators."

"Exactly what I think," Kel said. "So there are some things it says that cannot be trusted. But I do firmly believe that the Assembly is real. This facility has the information on it, not just the monitor itself."

"Then that is all that matters," Fural said.

The Blademaster touched the controls on the side of the holotable, and brought up the hologram of the terminus, the pathway to the Assembly. A hologram of Seiginis III appeared next to it, the other way to get to the Assembly. Kel noticed that the human fleet in orbit was gone, and that it had been replaced with a Covenant fleet. He wondered if the Covenant fleet even knew what the world actually was.

"This is the place where we must go," Fural said. "Only once we have destroyed the Covenant will we begin the Great Journey. They cannot be allowed to follow us."

"Agreed," Jors said. "If the Great Journey is the way to defeat the Flood, then we will begin it ourselves."

"Once we're rested, we will set out for this terminus at once."

"Not yet," Kel said. "We cannot do it on our own. We need the rest of the Sangheili at our side. They cannot be left behind."

"And do you have a plan to bring the rest of the Sangheili with us?" Fural asked.

"I do," Kel said.

He went back to the communications terminal, and he found the broadcast from the Sangheili that he'd heard days ago. Jors and Fural listened closely to the rallying call, and Kel saw in their eyes that they agreed.

"If we convince him of the Assembly's promise, then we will bring as many Sangheili with us as we can," Kel said.

"Alright," Fural nodded. "Let's do it."

Kel let out a sigh of relief as Fural agreed to help him. When he at first dreaded the new arrival, he now realised that them showing up was the best thing that had happened to him. They could all benefit from finding the Assembly as long as they all stood together.

Salvation will be yours, said the voice in Kel's head. Whatever it was that spoke to him, this was exactly what it wanted as well. He still couldn't tell if he had simply gone insane, or if it was the Gods themselves speaking to him.

Jors turned around as he received a call on his communicator. Both Fural and Kel turned away from the holograms when they realised that it was something important.

"What's going on?" Kel asked.

"The others are under attack," Jors said. He reached for the plasma rifles on his sides and rushed back the way they came with Fural close behind him. Kel chased after them.

"Wait!" Kel yelled. "What's attacking them?"

"The Jiralhanae," Jors said. "They've found us."