"Your destruction is the will of the Gods,
and we are their instrument."
Orbit of Harvest, Covenant Mother-ship.
Inside, engineers floated about the ship, mending the broken conduits that hung from the walls. some of them stopped and communicated with one-another, before going their separate ways. Others ducked inside maintenance shafts to get around quicker and easier.
Unggoy shuffled along the wide purple corridors, occasionally making way for the wide berth of sangheili council members. Their full white armor separated them from Zealots, ultras, and minors alike. Their graciously designed helmets gave them a unique aura. They were specifically made for elites that sat on the council, and for nothing else. They very rarely visited combat, but combat was the entire reason for getting on the Council itself.
Elites were bathed in battle, regardless of rank. They were the firsthand warriors of the covenant, and almost nothing could stand against them in the universe. Except for a spartan.
No-one was eager to stay in this elite's way, though. This was Harkas Yarn. He was one of the senior members of not only the Covenant, but of the council, the eldest of the sangheili and San 'Shyuum alike.
Unggoy and Kig-Yar stepped back against the sides of the walls as Harkas walked past. He towered above ever single covenant in the hall. Small, nervous screeches were heard from the timid jackals. some of them were scared to even look at the elite. Others tried to look confident and impress their Higher up "allies", but Harkas did not care. He only wished to get to the meeting before it started. He looked at none of them. The Arbiter would have some troubling words about the human presence on the ship. If it were Yarn's choice, the human would be exterminated. The council member had no wish to be in the same room with a human, unless he were killing one. But he would maintain his patience, and peace, for what he had left of it.
The Prophet of Regret reigned high on his gravity-bending throne. Unggoy and Sangheili bowed in respect as they walked in. To the San 'Shyuum, they looked like puppets. Puppets he could control with only his words. The San 'Shyuum stood for every Covenant's value: Order, Faith, and most of all, the Great Journey. Even with the diversity of the Covenant, with the Sangheili, Unggoy, Yanme'e, Kig-Yar, jiralhanae, and Mgalekgolo, the Prophets were the only species that were capable of keeping them in line. If the covenant crumbled now, all that Regret and his ancestors fought and stood for for centuries, would become nothing. No, they would last long enough. Long enough to activate the Ark.
A sangheili pushed through the crowded pavilion, bowing before the prophet. "Your excellency," he began, his head still low. "May I come forth?" A slight grin emerged on Regret's face. At least, for now, he was in control. "You may. But be quick, the Hearing will start shortly." The elite officer did another slight bow, before coming to the pedestal. "Great Prophet of Regret, the human wishes to be present for his trial." The San 'Shyuum waved his hand carelessly. "Yes, of course. But have two of the Brutes guard him. He may not be dangerous, but he is to be treated as such." "Yes, sire." He quickly left the room.
Harkas took his seat inside. He watched as two Jiralhanae marched the human inside, and commanded him to take his seat at the bench below. A few growls were produced, but quickly suppressed by the wave of the Prophet's hand.
"The council is in progress. Would anyone like to speak up about this supposed... Heretic, in our midst?"
The arbiter rose. "If I may, Sire." He walked to the pedestal, his armor fully secured and he looked like a monster. His casual manner was a reminder of himself. "Your Excellency," He began, "I do not believe the human should be granted amnesty." The prophet seemed intrigued. Explain your reasoning, Arbiter." "He is a human, Sire! Is that not reason enough?" Occasionally glancing at the human across the room. " You said it yourself, Regret. The Humans should be wiped out. They are a very disgrace to the Gods. I fear that if we allow this demon into our Covenant, he may stow our feet. We would be left behind as the Great Journey begins. And who will be the blame for tha-"
"Enough!" The prophet's words were sharp. "You are overstepping your bounds, Arbiter." He gazed towards the human. "This Human is the first of his kind. His mind is open. Most of his race are close-minded individuals, unworthy to be bestowed upon the Majesty of the gods. Yet this one welcomes the covenant, with open arms. He believes that the way to get to the Divine, is to activate the Halo Rings, and cleanse the galaxy of filth, and faith-less Demons." He glared slightly at the Arbiter, before his vision returned to the human. "Would you like to add anything, Officer Smith?"
Harkas bristled sharply. It was bad enough that the human was receiving a fair trial. But being able to speak for himself? Other elites obviously thought the same way Harkas did, as a few unappreciative growls were heard.
Officer Smith stood up, brushing his clothes off. He paid no attention to the guttural growls received from the Jiralhanae that guarded him. Walking to the pedestal, the Arbiter growled as well, but receded, not eager to attack. If he did, it would surely mean death for him. "Sire, thank you." He looked towards the Sangheili council. "Forgive me, but, may I ask, what have I ever done to you?" He questioned. Nothing but silence. "Have I ever tried to hurt you, or exile you at all? I have been gracious to you. I am willing to sacrifice my life for the Great Journey." he paced, thinking about his next move. What he said now, and today, would make the difference between him keeping, or losing his life. He looked back at them. " Is it because we simply exist? Do you despise the human race, because we are an obstacle? I am prepared to annihilate the rest of my species if that is what it takes." Some elites in the benches squirmed. "Is it because we are a threat? we never attacked you. You came to us." he said, starting to lose his focus. A thousand covenant were staring right at him. Any second he may die.
"I ask you to trust me. I ask that you give me the chance to prove myself." he said, his tone cold. he turned back to Regret, "Thank you sire." and walked back to his seat. Elites talked among themselves, and word traveled to Harkas that they were not against the idea of having him tested, and most likely approved. He was infuriated, but even more disappointed. His own brothers going against their core beliefs. The very beliefs that the Covenant stand for. Suddenly, the senior General of the Sangheili Council stood. "Do you have something to say, Shipmaster?" He nodded. "Yes sir. We, as a council, have reached a verdict. We believe that he should be a trial member of the Covenant."
Outraged, Harkas stood up, and left the room. They watched him storm out. "Very well, Shipmaster." he turned to the human. "Officer Smith, you have been granted an extended trial. But if you do not prove yourself, you will be punished. You will not live. That is all." And they all left, and Smith was left to his own devices.
Will they ever listen to me,
if they give me this wreath of gold
Will their thoughts and actions
mimic what I foretold?
When the end comes
and they weep with sorrow
I will stand with no remorse
nor cry for death tomorrow
Thanks guys! I'm going to edit the post soon for more writing.
Will they ever listen to me,
if they give me this wreath of gold
Will their thoughts and actions
mimic what I foretold?
When the end comes
and they weep with sorrow
I will stand with no remorse
nor cry for death tomorrow
hey guys! I know a few people on the site might be waiting for the second part, but, in honor of the first preview, I have come up with one for the second. Enjoy! BTW, I might have rushed through it a bit at the end :/
Samuel's head throbbed painfully. His eyes fluttered open, his ears still ringing as he vaguely attempted to look around. Even though it wasn't all visible, what Remorse saw made him want to shut his eyes again.
All around him, former steel beams and broken bits off the roof lay in messy heaps. The room that used to surround him was almost entirely gone, even the door frame was in its worst shape. The place looked like a nuclear warhead was unleashed inside. He reached for a fallen steel support beam, and grabbed it, stabilizing himself so he could stand. It took a bit of effort,but he made it to his feet. He took a second look, unsure if he saw correctly the first time. The destruction was still there. What could have caused that?
Samuel was so confused and distracted by the carnage around him, that he forgot about his Artificial Intelligence, Code name Paradox, was with him, until he whispered in Gordon's ear. "Initializing interface...complete. Verifying The Cole Protocol... Cole Protocol identified. No insecure information. No identifiable threats in the nearby radius. Initializing user interface..."
Samuel felt a slight tingle, or shock, at the base of his skull, for about three seconds, before subsiding. "Samuel! Why didn't you power me-" He paused, seeing through Samuel's recording headset. Gordon made a mental note: This was how to make an AI speechless...for about five seconds. "What happened, Samuel?" His voice was slightly clenched. "I don't know, Paradox. But do a sweep. I'll try and get back to the surface." Paradox remained silent for at least three seconds. "Samuel, follow the navigation marker. I'm reading two life signatures, but one is slightly unstable. The other appears to be hiding." Gordon flinched. That was probably Shadow and Star. If one of them were hurt, it might mean trouble for them. Remorse was still in slight pain from the discharge of plasma that brought him here, to the infirmary. Now it was just a pile of rubble. He looked around one last time for anything salvageable: weapons, medical supplies, anything useful, but there was nothing. He took three steps and he was gone.
There was a considerable distance between him and the two life signs. he continued to walk, slightly focused on the distance and meters, and also watching his motion tracker to make sure nothing was lurking around him. suddenly, the navigation marker on his HUD disappeared. "What was that, Paradox?" "I don't know. The suit seems to be malfunctioning." Samuel groaned with frustration as the rest of his Visual HUD started to fade as well. "Again? That's the third time in a week!" Paradox sighed. "Apparently. I don't know how to stop it." The rest of his screen disappeared. "Dammit." he walked forwards again. "Paradox, can you give me directions?" "Of course. Take a left at this corner. Once done, continue ten meters ahead and turn right. They should be somewhere in that area." Gordon nodded, and trudged on.
He was about 50 meters away from them now. He heard a slight ping inside his helmet, and his HUD slowly came back into focus. "Done. Remorse, I got your HUD back. Try not to break it this time." "Very funny, Parasocks." Samuel smirked. He knew that would set Para off. "For the last time, I was designated PARADOX. Why must you insist on calling me such a foolish name?" Gordon stopped for a brief moment. "You could say, it brings me "joy" or it makes me happy." Paradox huffed in frustration, but didn't say anymore. Samuel began to turn the corner, and saw Shadow behind a brick wall with a Sniper Rifle.
He patched into the Com system. "Shadow," he began while he looked around, "I'm behind you. Don't shoot me this time." Timothy responded with a short laugh. "Sure I won't. come on up, but be quiet about it. Stay low." and he ended the radio connection. Samuel crouched low and began to walk towards his position. He saw Star laying on the ground, not moving, and immediately went to her side. "She's fine, Sam. Just a bump on the head." shadow said, looking back. " some of the roof collapsed on her, so I brought her with me." she groaned, but didn't make a sound. As much as Remorse wanted to stay by her side, he had to help Shadow. He left her and joined Tim's cover. " If you haven't already, I think you need to see this." He handed the Rifle to him. Samuel took it and looked through the scope.
Banshees flew by and around the entire mountain. They circled, as if unsure whether or not to kill them or wait for a while. Maybe they didn't even see them, but he couldn't be sure. covenant foot soldiers stood patrol on the ground, around a thousand meters ahead. Grunts slept by Wraiths that were being prepped for combat. Samuel froze. How could they take on fire power like that? It was too powerful for their small arms weapons. elites made temporary camp and barracks all around the area. Samuel was enraged. How did they get to the surface? There was no way the MAC cannons could- "Samuel, obviously it hasn't clicked for you yet, so let me make it plain. Look at the sky the ground. Look at the inside of the mountain and tell me what you think happened." Samuel took the scope from his visor. He looked at the ground, at the sky. And looked back inside where he came from. And he dropped the rifle. He looked back outside, back at the smoldering ground. "Scan complete... Samuel. The Covenant glassed Reach." Gordon swallowed. He refused to believe it, even though the evidence was right in front of him. The plasma burned grass, the boiling sky. But he swallowed his disbelief and finally accepted it. "Shadow," he said, "Get Star up. We're going to war."
I hope you guys like it, and thank you all for being so patient!
Will they ever listen to me,
if they give me this wreath of gold
Will their thoughts and actions
mimic what I foretold?
When the end comes
and they weep with sorrow
I will stand with no remorse
nor cry for death tomorrow
Hey guys!
As maybe a few of you know, at the moment I'm on a leave of absence, for school, family, and a number of other reasons. But, even with this absence I am still working. I am hoping that I can finish at least one more part to this story when I return, and, maybe as well, if not at least edit and perfect my present pieces. I wish you all a great Summer when it rolls around!
-Remorse
Will they ever listen to me,
if they give me this wreath of gold
Will their thoughts and actions
mimic what I foretold?
When the end comes
and they weep with sorrow
I will stand with no remorse
nor cry for death tomorrow
