Halo Deeper We Go Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Relay SECOND CYCLE, 017 UNITS (COVENANT BATTLE CALENDAR)/ABOARD REVERENCE-CLASS CRUISER MENACE OF THE FAITHLESS – AROUND COVENANT HOLY CITY HIGH CHARITY

Tartarus relaxed in his new gravity chair. The bridge of his flagship, Menace of the Faithless, was crowded with crewmen from his pack, sitting at their stations or relaying reports to each other. They were all, just like Tartarus, getting used to the new ship. The Menace was a Reverence-class Cruiser, a 3km long ship usually serving as flagships for lesser fleets. But it was a rarity for Jiralhanae to posses, perhaps Tartarus was the only Chieftain to command one. But a short while after he had defeated Hirakus, he had been told that the Hierarchs themselves required him and his forces for a mission of dire need, and that he’d receive a new flagship as before-hand payment. Tartarus would soon visit the prophets, but first he had to adjust to his new ship. Unlike his previous warships, all this vessel’s shields and weapon systems were intact, something unprecedented for Jiralhanae vessels, since the Sangheili feared what the Jiralhanae would do if they held all of the Covenant’s advanced technology in their paws. They thought the Jiralhanae would revolt and damage the Covenant. The ship also had capacity to carry many fighters and dropships, the former being something Jiralhanae ships wasn’t even allowed to have. Tartarus had ordered that some of his crew would train to get used to the Seraph-class Fighters so that he had the number of pilots he needed for the time they had to deploy them. A final positive thing about the Menace was that it carried three Energy Projectors; beams of pure energy capable of tearing through almost any vessel with just one blast. Before, the Sangheili had barely allowed the Jiralhanae Ship Masters to have a plasma cannon. With this vessel, Tartarus would give the Jiralhanae fame, and give them the position in the Covenant that they deserved.

Tartarus stepped out of his dropship and onto the plaza in front of the Council Chambers. A row of ten Sangheili Honor Guardsmen stood on each side of the rectangular platform, not moving a muscle as always. However, if anyone were to lift a weapon, they would strike with amazing speed and viciousness; they were among the best the Sangheili had to offer. He walked briskly over the purple-hued metal floor past the Honor Guards, up the small ramp and towards the door. There, the two Honor Guards standing on each side of the door lowered their pikes to block his path. A white-armored Guardsman approached Tartarus from behind and took position in front of him.

“State your business.” The Honor Guard Ultra said calmly, yet threatening. “I am here to meet with the mighty Hierarchs” Tartarus said with as much dignity as he could muster, trying to keep his rage in check. “They requested me to meet with them at this time.” The Ultra sighed loudly, but nodded to his Guardsmen to let the Jiralhanae pass. The Guardsmen raised their pikes and Tartarus moved on. After walking down a small ramp and around a pillar, he was in the chamber. It was several hundred units tall and shining with a bright light; very different from High Charity’s lower districts, were lights were either malfunctioning or too far away to properly light up the streets. Many Jiralhanae, Kig-yar, Unggoy and Yanme’e shared the space in the lower districts, while the Sangheili and the San ‘Shyuum lived in the towers in luxury, although the Sangheili often didn’t live expensively. At the far end of the rectangular chamber, the three Hierarchs sat in their floating Gravity Thrones, but otherwise the room was empty. Tartarus casually walked on, his golden helmet in his hand and Fist of Rukt on his back. Finally, as he stood in front of the Prophets, he bowed deeply. “Rise, Chieftain” the Prophet of Truth said. Tartarus did as commanded, and rose up to his feet. “Your recent actions have been most…interesting” the Prophet of Regret continued. “In fact, we see in you someone who might be able to unify the Jiralhanae under one banner.” “I am honored by your comment, Hierarch” Tartarus replied “but if I’m not mistaken, I was called here for a mission?” “Ah yes” the Prophet of Mercy said. “You may be unifying the Jiralhanae under one leader, yourself. But we, as the leaders of the Covenant, must make sure that the future ‘Chieftain of the Jiralhanae’ is reliable, don’t we? We can’t have someone turning on us.” “Exactly” Truth continued “and to prove your loyalty to us, we have decided to give you a sacred mission that requires that you remain loyal to us at all times, no matter what. Do you think that you are up for a mission like this?” It was a simple question, but Tartarus knew there was a deeper meaning to it; if he refused to take on the mission, he would surely be “taken care of”, as they would have no use for him. But he didn’t want to refuse the mission anyway; it might be what his race needed to step up on the Covenant food chain. “I accept” Tartarus said confidently. “What is this mission?” Truth pressed a few buttons on his throne, and the holographic image of a small system appeared. “This” Truth said as he manipulated the projection slightly to zoom in on one of the system’s gas giants “is the Pure Path system, a small system on the fringes of our empire. Recently, Forerunner ruins were uncovered, and hieroglyphics on a wall in one of the temples suggests a relic known as ‘The Relay’. The Hieroglyphics are inconclusive, but we’ve found three likely locations; the Valor of Dignity system planet Oracle Transcendence, the gas giant

moon Heaven’s Tribute in the Souls of the Forsaken system, or any of the asteroids in the Opio Asteroid Belt in the Riuk system. Your mission is to search these three locations in order for signs of the Relay, and then secure and hold the relic away from intruders.” “Who else would be looking for it?” Tartarus asked. “The Kig-yar Heretics and the humans may be, but I doubt they know of its existence yet” Truth replied. “What we are really worried about are the Masters of Ascendance.” “The Masters of Ascendance?” Tartarus asked. “They are a mysterious sect that started to operate two ages ago” Regret replied. “We don’t know exactly what they want or who their leader is, but we do know that they try everything in their power to infiltrate our ranks for sabotage or to claim relics before we do. It’s classified and kept secret, but many relics have disappeared lately; the work of the sect. To make matters worse, the disappeared relics could prove potentially dangerous in the wrong hands. We fear that they will act on an increased scale now with the Kig-yar Heretic-human crisis.” “That’s why you must keep the Relay safe from anyone; unless one of us is on one of the arriving ships, destroy anything that comes close, no matter what!” Truth added. “Do not fear” Tartarus said, adding a quiet roar and moving his paw to his chest. “I will keep the relic safe, no matter what the cost!”