A Lasting Peace, Part 2

The Erdellian Emperor had daggers in his eyes as he looked at me. Those dark brown irises hid many secrets, and yet I felt as if his gaze pierced through steel, flesh, and bone to catch sight of the deepest depths of my soul. Not a word did he breathe to me, but the chill of his gravelly, half-bitter voice filled me with wariness towards this leader of men. A thousand worlds took the sword in his name, on his words, and by his command, and the tip of that sword tapped against my chest. Indeed though I have many odious comments directed at him, one in my position must confess that it was he who… was not as disadvantaged as I.
Hmph. To have the Erdellians in such a superior position is was thought that churned in my stomach like undigested meat. And yet the thought was truth. Whether I cared for it or not, the truth was that Erdellian armies were within fifty light-years of Sanghelios. Dangerously close for Erdellians. And yet here their Emperor was: speaking of peace in hollow tones. An Erdellian, as the old saying goes, is simply a Sangheili with no honor.
“Arbiter,” began the Emperor. His voice, like that of the tremors that come before an earthquake, spoke with a menacing rumble. He saw more than a century beyond me, and was, thank the Heavens, nearing the end of his life. “As I have said before, we will honor the ceasefire previously agreed upon. But peace? Lasting peace? We desire it to be achieved here and now. With a formal agreement, grown from blood, and bound by honor.”
He spoke much as a Sangheili would, but the dishonor in his hollow shell resounded greatly in his words. For all the stars in the sky, I would still not trust that man. But then, as the ceasefire’s time of activation came, all the Fleet Masters reported in: Erdellian guns fell silent, and advancing Erdellian troops halted at their positions. It was most unfortunate that this agreement was formed only between my faction and the Erdellians. Many other worlds would see continued fighting despite the ceasefire, and the Erdellians would snatch them away from us while a dagger was lodged in our bellies.
“Then you will cease hostile action against any and all Sangheili within all areas under your occupation.”
“I protect my rear as my forces advance and secure positions, Arbiter,” responded the Emperor. “Surely you have done so in the past, yes?”
The Humans moved uncomfortably in their chairs. They nervously spectated this discussion.
“I have good intelligence that there are Erdellian ‘special task forces’ with singular, secret, and highly explicit orders to kill any Sangheili they encounter. Including women. And childlings. Even as we speak, you are purging whole worlds of their populations, filling them with your own colonists.”
“Those worlds are now part of the Erdellian Empire. And ‘killing’ is a highly inaccurate and uninformed description. We simply remove the hostile populations from our planets. They find new homes in a nation that actually welcomes them, and our colonists are no longer threatened. And thus all parties are satisfied.”
“Those worlds are righteously Sangheili, claimed by our blood and toil.”
“And they have fallen, sir. They have fallen. To All-Erdellia. I must say your people fought on valiantly. Vainly, but valiantly. There are those of your species that do not follow you, and therefore continue to resist us. Peace must be negotiated with them at a separate time. But this time, it is between you and I. The Humans are very welcoming to peace, but are you?”
A silence fell in the room. I would be remiss if I were to continue to suffer the thinly-veiled insults of this beast any further. However, peace between great powers was a desirable situation for both me and the rest of the Swords of Sanghelios. This would relieve Erdellian pressure on us, while simultaneously having their attacks on rival factions maintained, and even increased. I would have gained much satisfaction had an Erdellian plasma axe separated Jul ‘Mdama’s pathetic head from his worthless body. Alas, I had to make do with Humans completing that task. And with the Humans we have made peace. Now, peace must fall between us and our old foes, the Erdellian Empire.
“The Swords of Sanghelios wishes peace, Emperor,” I said, stifling any trace of anger in my voice.
“And the Erdellian Empire will do its utmost to be merciful towards the remaining Sangheili in our space, and we will give them ample time and opportunity to aid them in relocating to territory under Sanghelios government control.”
The Emperor’s word was worth its weight in dust, but I had little tasteful alternative. I had to trust it. If not, I was unsure we would have the strength to resist concentrated Erdellian assaults on us. At the time of this conference, there was a possibility – albeit distant one – of Erdellian warships reaching the Urs system. If a single Erdellian would have set foot on Sanghelios, my warriors would have turned against me. I would have been deposed in shame for allowing an alien to reach our home with anger in his heart and a sword in his hand.
“We must also agree to conduct coordinated military operations against any faction that poses itself as a successor to the Covenant, and a continuer of its policies and war against my people, the Erdellian Empire, and Humanity.”
“I agree,” said Dr. Charet. “Any Covenant rump state represents a significant security risk to all here. It’s only sensible that we should work in concert to neutralize them, and bring their planets under Sanghelios control.”
The Emperor was silent momentarily, his gaze shifting between myself and Dr. Charet. Then, he turned to his daughter, who sat beside him. They looked at one another, and the Emperor nodded. He then returned his attention to the two of us.
“I agree to this course of action. All future worlds that fall will be returned to the Arbiter’s authority. However, all the planets occupied by Erdellian forces before this day will go to the Empire. Any planets partially occupied will also go to the Empire.”
“I cannot agree to the notion that worlds will be ceded when they have not totally slipped from our grasp,” I replied.
“Arbiter,” Dr. Charet quickly said, stepping into the discussion. “If we can’t reach an agreement now, the Erdellians will keep moving forward. And Emperor… are you absolutely certain you can maintain law and order in all the planets you’ve already occupied so far?”
The Emperor and I made eye contact, staring at each other, wondering what our respective responses would be. He spoke first.
“Imperial forces will vacate worlds that are less than half-occupied. Furthermore, we will withdraw from systems where no worlds have ground forces deployed. But those worlds fully under our control will remain ours.”
“Agreed. The Swords of Sanghelios will sheathe the sword against the Erdellian Empire.”
“We are in agreement?” asked Dr. Charet.
“Yes,” said the Emperor and I.
Category:The Weekly