(1)
Ludo 'Macdemee sat waiting in a Spectre while his commander, Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadumee, spoke with the Arbiter. The duo were doing reconnaissance on a Jiralhanae encampment, where they spotted a parked Scarab, when they stumbled upon the Arbiter leading a large lance of survivors on foot along the coast. His presence was a shock in and of itself, as he was reported by Tartarus to have been killed in his retrieval of the Icon.
"What is that place?" the Arbiter asked, staring at an old Forerunner structure in the distance.
Rtas was in his Wraith with the hatch open, resting his arms on the hood. He replied, "Where the Councilors were meant to watch the consecration of the Icon. The start of the Great Journey."
The Councilors.
Ludo was still coming to terms with what the Arbiter had reported. The Prophets and their betrayal to the High Council, how they'd ordered the Brutes to wage a genocidal campaign against the Elites. To make matters worse, the Arbiter also believed the Sacred Ring might actually be a weapon of galactic destruction and there was only a matter of time to stop Tartarus from activating it.
"I must get inside," the Arbiter declared.
"Then mount up, Arbiter. I know a way to break those doors," Rtas replied before disappearing into the Wraith and closing the hatch.