Halo: Minorca Saga/Chapter Nineteen

SEVENTH CYCLE, NINTH AGE OF RECLAMATION / COVENANT HOLY 
CITY “HIGH CHARITY”, COUNCIL CHAMBERS
 
 
The Council lined the chamber sides, 
watching and murmuring amongst itself. The Sangheili members kept to one side of 
the room, while the San’Shyuum members kept to the other. The debate was a lot 
more heated ont eh Sangheili side, as Zuro had expected – the Prophets would all 
be in agreement as to the cause of his failure, the results, and the punishment.
 
Ahead of him, the shadows shrouded three 
figures. Hover-Thrones were rare and expensive, and no Prophets lower in status 
than Vice-Minister were afforded. The majority made to with anti-gravity belts. 
Zuro had once tried one – he could never live like that. His muscles would 
atrophy, his posture would curl up, and he would have weakened to the point of 
feebleness rapidly. Since that was the Prophets’ natural state, however, he had 
to admit that they served their purpose well. A Prophet could go his whole life 
without having to touch a floor.
 
Two of the figures emerged from the 
shadows, flanking the third who remained further back. The Hierarchs of Mercy 
and Regret would deal with him, Zuro knew, and he knew that he had to sway at 
least one of them to survive.
 
“The Hierarchy has heard your 
explanation of the events, and has but a few questions to ask,” Regret said, 
looking contemptuously at Zuro. “You explained that the humans were waiting for 
you – how did they know you were proceeding to that planet?”
 
Zuro’s mandibles flexed in irritation. 
“I do not know, Hierarch. Our orders were broadcasted on encrypted channels, and 
were sent to the task force directly from the Ministry of Acquisition. I can 
only assume that the humans have broken one of our codes, and learnt of it 
directly from the source.”
 
There was a rise in the level of 
muttering from the Prophet half of the Council, and Zuro knew they would not 
readily accept that their codes had been broken so easily. He shrugged them off. 
“It is the only explanation that comes to my mind, Excellency.”
 
Regret nodded. “Very well then. The 
Council shall investigate your claim, and if it proves correct then measures 
shall be taken to teach the humans what happens when they nose about where they 
do not belong. You also told us that it was Supreme Commander Kuna ‘Tsunamee who 
ordered your ships in without scouts set.”
 
“Yes. If we had managed to launch 
scouts, we would have seen the humans – we could have been better prepared, we 
could have returned with superior numbers, there are a dozen measures we could 
have taken but were unable to.”
 
“Was Tsunamee following standard 
military protocol?”
 
Zuro’s eyes flickered towards the 
Sangheili councillors. “He was following standard practice, Excellency.”
 
“I see. And standard practice includes 
incompetence, does it?” 
 
Now the Sangheili councillors were 
shifting. Technically, all ships were meant to launch scouts in unknown 
territory, to get a better understanding of the region. But with the use of the 
Luminaries to alert fleet commanders to human presence, and the superiority of 
Covenant sensory equipment, most had dropped the practice, seeing it as 
redundant. Until now, Zuro had agreed with it. He resolved to carry it out every 
time if he returned to his duties.
 
Regret ignored the question he had 
asked, and Zuro realised it had been rhetorical. He had been about to reply, but 
closed his mandibles without saying a word.
 
Mercy piped up, his ancient voice 
croaking through the chamber. “Your ships were destroyed with apparent ease, 
Fleet Master. Superior to the humans’ ships in every way, of sufficient strength 
to crush them, you still lost.”
 
“The debris of the corridor placed much 
strain upon our shields, and there were static build-ups. An electromagnetic 
field hindered our plasma guidance systems, forcing us to rely on short-range 
laser turrets. With such limited weaponry and battered shields, it should not be 
surprising that we were unable to compete.”
 
Mercy frowned. No member of the 
Covenant, regardless of species or status, liked to hear a military commander 
admit inferiority, however circumstantial. Regret chimed in, “Yet their systems 
were unaffected, were they not? Clearly something technical must be factored 
into the equation.”
 
Zuro frowned, but he had to admit that 
the Hierarchs had a point. Either the Covenant’s systems had been tampered with, 
or the human ships had an immunity to the EM field that his did not. That was 
troubling, and he made a mental note to inquire further.
 
“As for your tactic…I do not deny that 
it has been of use, and allowed us to continue more work than we would have. But 
your flee from the battlefield is unacceptable.”
 
Zuro bared his teeth. “I did not “flee”, 
Excellency. I saw no victory, and remaining in such a poor position would have 
been pointless, so I gathered my forces to withdraw. If I had not, High Charity 
would have learned of our failure much later than it did.”
 
Regret stroked his wattles, looking 
thoughtsful. Mercy scowled, but that was the elderly Hierarch’s normal state. At 
last, Regret murmured, “yes…loyalty to the Covenant…irrelevant sacrifice…”
 
Zuro’s hearts leapt. Had he done it? He 
had expected to sway Mercy, who held the military in such high regard. But 
Regret was still a Hierarch,r egardless of his reputation for clumsy ineptitude, 
and his support would give his arguments added weight.
 
Mercy piped up again, clearly intent on 
finding some flaw in his explanation. “So your only thought was to alert the 
High Council? It was not merely saving your own skin?”
 
“It was both.” Zuro hoped the truth 
would be acceptable. “The situation needed to be reported to High Charity 
urgently, yes, but I admit I would preferred to live rather than die, and spend 
the time until the Great Journey continuing to serve the Covenant rather than 
waiting in Death’s Dream Kingdom.”
 
Mercy nodded, as if he’d passed some 
kind of test by reaffirming his loyalty to the Covenant. Empty words for Zuro, 
but not so empty to the old zealot. Regret nodded approvingly, perhaps at the 
way he had endeared himself towards Mercy. And finally, without a word, they 
turned and floated back into the shadows to converse with the third Hierarch, 
the Prophet of Truth.
 
In theory, the Prophet Hierarchs were 
all equals, subservient to none, not even each other. But in practice, Zuro 
knew, it was Truth who lead the Hierarchs and who ruled the Covenant. And no 
matter which of the other two he had persuaded, it would be useless if the 
Prophet of Truth deemed him an incompetent heretic deserving of only execution.
 
There looked to be a heated argument. 
Evidently Zuro had failed to convince at least one of the other Hierarchs. But 
as he peered into the gloom, he made out the shape of Truth raising a hand, 
cutting them off, and the chamber fell silent. The Hierarch had made his 
decision, and all awaited his judgement.
 
The Hierarchs floated forward, Truth now 
joining them, floating ahead of the other two to form an arrowhead formation. 
Even if Zuro had not known it before, he would have seen from the Prophet’s 
bearing and the way that the other two followed his lead that Truth was the true 
leader of the Covenant.
 
He swallowed, his mandibles clicking 
together nervously.
 
Truth looked around the Council, as 
though looking for someone, his gaze resting for a moment among the San’Shyuum 
delegation before returning to Zuro. The Fleet Master could feel the sheer force 
behind them, the keen intellect burning ferociously.
 
He had never feared the Prophets before. 
But he feared this Prophet, and with good reason.
 
He raised his arms up, and the miniscule 
amount of chatter that had broken out died out, leaving a silence just as loud 
as if they had been shouting.
 
“The hierarchy has made its decision. 
While your decision to leave the battlefield was…unusual, the benefits the 
Covenant have reaped outweigh any drawbacks. We were alerted as soon as you 
arrived, and we have had time to prepare again to take the planet that is by 
rights our inheritance. The Fleet of Enlightened Benediction stands by to take 
the planet the humans have claimed. We need only someone of enough skill to  
lead them into battle.
 
“it is useless casting blame. The 
Commander who ordered you into an ambush is now dead, his ship shattered by the 
sheer number of human warships. But numbers can be drowned, and firepower can be 
matched in turn. It is time we showed the humans why the Covenant is feared and 
respected by countless races, and why it is us, and not them, that are the 
rightful inheritors to the Forerunner’s legacy.”
 
He nodded to a figure in the balcony, 
and now even Zuro turned to look, managing to find the figure…the Vice-Minister 
of Acquisition.
 
“Consider this an investment of our 
trust. The chance for glory and redemption are yours once again, but there are 
conditions which we impose. The planet contains a relic of vital importance to 
the Great Journey, and shall light the way along the path. If you accept, then 
you will allow us to appoint the Vice-Minister as the Hierarchs personal 
representatives, to oversee the protection and excavation of the relics. Do you 
accept?”
 
There was a gasp throughout the room, 
and Zuro frowned, hesitant. Such a move was unprecedented – the Writ of Union 
made clear the division between the Sangheili and the San’Shyuum, and to appoint 
a Prophet representative to oversee a battlefield violated it. But the Hierarchs 
words were law, and nothing he culd argue could change that.
 
Besides, what alternative was there? 
Execution for failure, and ignominy and shame for him and his family. His 
children would be taken from their mother and uncle, and taught how their father 
had been a heretic. His clan would be shamed, their titles and lands stripped 
from them. Only shame awaited him if he said no.
 
He drew himself, hoping he looked proud 
and strong, and said, “I accept your offer, Noble Hierarch. And I shall continue 
my campaign against the humans.”
 
The Prophet smiled thinly. “You shall 
indeed, Fleet Master. And I expect results. Do not disappoint.”
 
 
 
 
The Vice-Minister frowned deeply. The 
Councillors and the Fleet Master had departed, as had Regret and Mercy. Only 
Truth remained with him.
 
Acquisition had rarely met the Hierarch 
in person. Holograms were the normal means of communication between them – for 
physical security, and because it meant that they were not seen together. Their 
movements would not be tracked back to each other if they conversed impersonally 
through holographic avatars.
 
It troubled him that Truth had seen fit 
to dispense with that, at least this one time.
 
“Your Minister saw fit to resign today,” 
Truth said, almost conversationally. “He believed that his family needed him, 
especially with his mate carrying his third child. Such fertility is rare, and 
we need all the young we can produce.”
 
Acquisition’s eyes widened in shock, and 
knowing. It was not well known that the Minister was sterile, but his mate had 
still managed to raise two children. But Acquisition had held back the 
implications of such a scandal because it was leverage he could use.
 
Suddenly, he had lost that leverage. And 
he wondered what leverage the Hierarch held.
 
“I…did not know that, Hierarch. Did he 
choose a successor?”
 
“He did not. The speed of his retirement 
took him by surprise, you could say. But as Vice-Minister, of course, your place 
in the Ministerial hierarchy is assured. Tomorrow, you will begin your first day 
as a full Minister by journeying with the fleet, and seeing to it that the 
relics the human world possesses do not fall into their hands.”
 
The Vice-Minister – no, the Minister, 
had to admire the way Truth had manipulated the old coot into stepping down. 
There were rumours about how the current Hierarchs had ascended, but it did not 
pay to dwell upon the legitimacy of your leaders.
 
“The Sangheili are growing suspicious, 
Hierarch. How could they not? Our favouritism toward the Jiralhanae draws their 
ire, and. you have violated the Writ of Union for the first time in centuries”
 
“Surely you are not complaining, 
Minister? To oversee the excavation of a holy relic of the gods is a rare thing, 
especially for one so well preserved and important as this one. You should be 
flattered.”
 
Acquisition bowed his head. “I am, 
Hierarch, and honoured. But I worry that the Sangheili shall suspect more than 
they do already. I cannot guarantee how much time we have, only that it rapidly 
dwindles with every day.”
 
Truth looked thoughtful. “The time is 
fast approaching, Minister, when we must all look at what ideals our guards must 
embody. Nobility or loyalty? Honour or sacrifice? And when that day comes, 
Minister, we must take an extra hard look at the fate of the Covenant, and what 
path we must take them down.”
 
Acquisition was alarmed now – he did not 
wish to be taken into the confidence of a Hierarch. Such people rarely survived 
for long, either from jealous colleagues or by the Hierarchs needs to remove 
complications. But a small part of him felt privileged that the Hierarch had 
deemed him worthy of such confidence nevertheless.
 
“You will accompany the Fleet Master on 
his mission. For too long, we have allowed bumbling ineptitude and disregard for 
sacred relics to cloud the path. Find what we seek, and light the path. And 
above all-”
 
“Do not disappoint?”” Acquisition 
hazarded a guess.
 
Truth raised an eyebrow. “Indeed, 
Minister. Now, do not let me detain you any longer. I’m sure there is much that 
needs attending to.”
 
And with a certain finality, the 
Hierarch hovered out of the doors, leaving the Minister alone with only his 
thoughts.
Category:Minorca Saga