章 68: Ten: At Vengeance's End
How long had he been locked up in this cell? Days? Weeks? He wasn't sure, even with the regular deliveries of food and the occasional turn through one of the decks. The food was human, bland but filling, nutritious, unlike what he'd been given in the shield world so long ago. And though his hands were bound every time, the "memorial park" was open and airy, filled with bright green plants - alien, human, but they still reminded him of home. 'Mdama Keep.
Jul 'Mdama sat in quiet meditation in his cell onboard the human ship Infinity. He'd been lucky for once, in a way; the Prometheans turning on him, Sali 'Nyon's coup and the breaking of the Storm Covenant, all of it had stripped away any power or pretensions of power that he thought he had. It had made the Didact's Hand back into a Sangheili, one who was still a pragmatist at heart and sought to survive.
So when the human scientist Halsey had approached him with news of great Forerunner machines waking - waking as everyone's enemies - he'd helped her contact her UNSC. Told them what was happening, where to find them, and waited for the end that was sure to follow. He'd killed many humans in pursuit of his revenge for his wife Raia's death - he'd expected the same in return.
It hadn't come.
The Demons had knocked him unconscious - and he'd woken up here, in this cell. Small for a Sangheili, to be sure, but he wasn't chained to a wall or tortured or interrogated. The Demons who stood guard and brought food were either quiet or coldly courteous, but none of them lifted a hand against him, even though he could see that they very much wanted to.
Then, some time ago - a few human days? - there had been a knock on the door.
He'd lifted his head and blinked. Realizing quickly that a response was expected, he had rasped, "Enter."
The door thunked several times - the locks disengaging, he was familiar with it now - and then a human had stepped in, with four of the Demons as an escort. The human was a male, armed but not armored like the Demons. Instead, he wore a human officer's uniform. "Jul 'Mdama," he had said, "We have a bit of a problem - but for you, it might just be an opportunity."
The Sangheili tilted his head. "I am listening."
"The machines you and Doctor Halsey told us about, the Guardians," the officer had said, "We need to find the place they're going after they're activated. There's one that we know of that's not yet active - but it's on Sanghelios."
Jul had perked up a little at that, and thought through all the legends he knew, anything that might fit. After a moment, he had it. "Sunaion?" he rumbled, "One of these 'Guardians' is the demon that sleeps below the waves?"
The human had seemed both startled and pleased. "That's what Doctor Halsey tells us," he answered, "We're sending in a team, but they need a guide on the ground to get them to the Arbiter. No promises as to what he'll do to you, but it'll get you out of here."
Jul hummed. "Two colo with one stone, is it? A guide for your people - but I am also an enemy, so it would be no great loss if I died in the fighting, would it?"
The human tilted his head in acknowledgement but didn't reply.
Jul had considered for only a moment. "Very well. I will do it. Better to die fighting, than locked in a cell."
He was going home.
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Sali 'Nyon had taken his armor, the armor of the Didact's Hand, before the arrival of the human 'Fireteam Osiris', but the Lich that had come to carry them to Sanghelios had several to spare - those of a Minor, rather than the veteran Jul was normally afforded, but better than nothing. He checked his chosen combat harness carefully before donning it.
He would not be given weapons until they reached the surface of Sanghelios - would not even have his hands unbound until they achieved orbit - so he stood and watched as Halsey and the Demon called Palmer loaded their gear up. There was so much activity all around; the ship was like one of the humans' beehives. After so long alone in the cell, it was more than a little overwhelming.
After a time, two of the Demons approached, the ones called "Locke" and "Vale". "You're loading up, Commander?" the male said.
"We're going to see if Halsey can speak Guardian."
"I'll have a briefing for you by the time we reach Sanghelios," said the scientist.
Locke nodded. "See you planetside." Then he moved off with Vale, but not so far that Jul couldn't hear them.
"So you wrote a target dossier on the Arbiter when you were with ONI," said Vale.
"That was six years ago," the other Demon answered, "What's your point?"
"You recommended assassinating him."
That made Jul look up. If this human had suggested killing the Arbiter, why was he permitting him to set foot on their world? Had he taken leave of his senses? Was he truly as mad as Jul had thought?
"After he killed millions of our people," Locke said as a qualifier.
"So why didn't you?"
"Things changed."
True enough. Jul followed the human's gaze to see one of the Arbiter's Swords of Sanghelios approaching. "The Arbiter is engaged in combat," said the other Sangheili, "We will get you as close as we can."
The other Elite looked at Jul, hummed, then turned to head for the Lich docked with the Infinity. A dismissal, to be sure, but not disparaging - but also a sign that they were ready to depart. He rose and followed the Sangheili and the Demon Vale onto the ship.
The other Sangheili aboard the Lich ignored him for the most part. These were likely some of the Arbiter's most trusted Elites, for he wouldn't have sent anyone else to meet with the humans; few, if any, would be Covenant agents, and they wouldn't dare expose themselves for their disgraced one-time leader, now gone over to the enemy.
In a way, Jul was grateful. Nothing to tempt him back onto the path that had led to so much destruction on all sides, that had left him adrift and hollow when he finally stepped off it.
It made him wonder. If he had actually succeeded in avenging his wife, would he have felt better, accomplished, powerful? Or would he have felt the same when it was over?
(Vengeance did not bring back the dead, only continued the suffering of the living.)
-------------------------------------------
Their Phantom broke away from the Lich when they arrived in orbit, and carried them down to the surface. Vale came over, finally releasing his hands and letting him rub his wrists for a moment to get feeling back. Then she handed him a plasma rifle and a plasma sword - his own sword, the one they had taken from him when he was captured. He nodded his thanks, and she returned the gesture, then pulled her helmet on, her shields coming online with a golden crackle.
The Phantom dropped them off on the surface, in a series of sandstone canyons. "Arbiter has united the keeps and formed a new alliance - the Swords of Sanghelios. With Arbiter's victories and the death of Sali 'Nyon, the Covenant remnants grow desperate," the pilot, one Mahkee 'Chava, said over the COM as they dropped one by one through the gravity lift, "They have begun an assault on 'Vadam lands, targeting Arbiter specifically."
"And Arbiter's location?" Locke asked as they began their advance through the canyons.
"You will find Arbiter at the Elder Council Chambers. Victory to clan and kin, Spartans. Mahkee out."
The Phantom lifted off and disappeared.
"I'm impressed," said Vale, watching it go, "Arbiter has females in his ranks. War has traditionally been a male's job on Sanghelios."
That made Jul blink a little. Truth be told, he hadn't thought the humans had noticed. But then Locke turned to him. "You know the way from here?"
"Near enough. That is Sunaion over there." Jul gestured to the city coming into view as the canyons briefly opened up. The domed structures rose up out of a sea in the distance, swarming with Storm Covenant ships, looking like toys from here. "The 'Vadam Elder Council Chambers will be this way." He pointed.
Locke nodded. "Lead the way."
Jul did so, drawing his rifle. Behind him, he heard the one called "Tanaka" whistle and say, "Gonna need some serious backup to get anywhere near there."
"We need the Swords of Sanghelios," said Locke, "And that means we need Arbiter."
The canyons closed in again, the creek below slowly carving its inexorable path through the sandstone. But it wasn't long before they came across Covenant loyalists holding some broken ruins. Jul fought hard himself, but the humans swiftly displayed the power and skill that had earned them the epithet demons. Even the Shade wasn't enough to inconvenience them much.
Finally, Locke called, "All clear. There's a path carved into the cliff here." Then, "Bodies ahead. Swords of Sanghelios. Covenant must have caught 'em by surprise."
Then, a genuine shock - Vale intoned a prayer for the fallen, and in their tongue, too. When Locke asked what she'd said, it was Jul who spoke first. "A burial prayer," he said, "In your tongue, it is 'a warrior at birth, a warrior in death.' I had not thought you were so learned in our ways."
She shrugged, or seemed to. "I have a gift for languages, and a lot of time when I was younger."
Jul sensed that there was a longer story there, but it wouldn't do to pry if she wasn't willing to share; they hadn't pried with him. He inclined his head to her.
Locke was looking at some of the bodies. "Looks like they were ambushed. Not seeing any Covenant casualties."
Buck tsked. "Arbiter's an ally," he growled, "so these dead here are our brothers as far as I'm concerned."
"Agreed," said Tanaka, "Time for payback."
That made Jul look at them, too. He couldn't think of any reason they might say such things to get on his "good side" - he was their prisoner, soon to be the Arbiter's, and he could hardly guide them into a trap when he no longer had any knowledge of the Covenant's movements.
Could it really be that they said it because they actually meant it?
"Which way from here, Jul?"
Without a word, the Sangheili pointed, then led the way.
The canyon opened up into a half-cavern; parts of the ceiling had fallen in, but there was enough still above them that it could be called a roof. The Covenant had congregated there in numbers, but not for long. The Spartans and their guide fought their way through them all, and it was impossible not to feel a little bit awed at the relative ease at which they mowed through the Covenant. Jul was having a tougher time of it, but admittedly he had been locked in a cell for who knew how long, unable to practice.
(No one recognized him.)
Vale was awed by something else. "These are pre-Covenant Sangheili ruins. They were already ancient history before humanity built the pyramids."
They kept moving, calling to each other as they advanced piecemeal up through the cavern. Finally, Jul heard Locke call, "I'm at the top of the ridge! There's an exit up here!"
"That is the path we seek!" the Sangheili called back, and followed the sounds of fighting up to the ridge. He was the first to reach it after Locke, and both of them laid down cover fire on the few surviving Covenant, letting the other Spartans advance to join them, finishing off the others as they went.
Then they headed through the doorway and into an old carved hall. Not a keep Jul recognized, though perhaps it was ancient 'Vadam. But whoever they had been, they were long dead now.
As they went, Tanaka said, "The Covenant have been talking like they've already got the Arbiter beat."
"If we lose the Arbiter, reaching the Guardian at Sunaion gets complicated," said Locke.
Jul nearly snorted at the magnitude of that understatement. Complicated? More like impossible. The Swords of Sanghelios were held together by the strength of the Arbiter's will; there was no guarantee his successor, if there was one named, would be able to do the same. More than likely, they would fracture as a people and return to what they had been so long ago: a planet and a people of keeps warring amongst themselves, knee-deep in the blood of their ancestors.
As they reached the back of the hall, Locke called, "Covenant flying in."
"Act. Casual. Maybe they won't notice us," said Buck.
"Covies seem convinced they can win this thing," said Tanaka.
"If they kill the Arbiter, they'll be well on their way."
The ships passed them by, heading for a large sandstone structure beyond. There was heavy fighting all around it. "That building's taking a beating," Locke observed.
"The Elder Council Chamber," said Jul, already starting that way, "That is where the Arbiter will be, though I imagine we would have known that without Mahkee telling us. The fighting is always thickest where he is, with every Covenant remnant seeking his death."
"Let's go, Osiris!" Locke called, "Double-time!"
They all jumped across a chasm and entered another structure. It could have once been a meeting hall - but it could have also been a coliseum for battle. In the old days, the lines had been blurred so easily.
They would be now as well. There were Covenant soldiers within, once allies, now foes. They were in the process of clearing them out when Mahkee came over the COM again. "Spartans, I'm coming to you now."
"Got it, Mahkee," Locke answered her, "Spartans, clear the Shipmaster a landing zone."
A few more Covenant fell. Then Tanaka called out, "Spirit inbound."
The dropship swung in - and dropped two Hunters into their midst.
Jul was already in motion. There was an empty Shade turret overlooking the battlefield, belonging to the Arbiter's Swords by the markings. He raced up to it and threw himself into the control seat.
The turret came alive under his touch, and he brought the guns to bear on one of the Hunters. In his short absence, it had herded Vale into a corner and was wearing away at her shields. But it soon turned its attention on him, and he ducked his head to keep out of view but peered through a small gap in the front to keep it in his sights.
Under their combined fire, it wasn't long before it fell. Then they brought their weapons to bear to support the other Spartans against the remaining Hunter, now enraged and sparking. When that one also fell, Locke called the all-clear to Mahkee, who came in with reinforcements and two human machines - Mantises. Jul hopped down from the gun and rejoined the others, where Vale met him.
"A battle well-fought," she said in Sangheili, and bumped arm guards with him before Locke called on them to form up.
The door in front of them opened, revealing the interior of a temple filled with more Covenant infantry. Now it was the Mantises' turn to lead the way, their firepower blasting away the enemy forces with such ease that Jul hardly felt reinforcements were needed. Even when more dropships and drop pods brought in more foes, he only gunned down a few Grunts before the Spartans took care of the rest and continued their advance.
They emerged into an enormous courtyard. "There!" Jul called over the COM to ensure the humans would hear him, even through the mess of fighting there, "The Elder Council Chambers. The Arbiter is somewhere within." He thought he saw the other Sangheili on the upper deck overlooking the interior courtyard but couldn't be sure at this distance.
"Indeed," Mahkee agreed, "We have lost contact with the Arbiter's forces within. Hurry, Spartans!"
"Copy that," said Locke, turning the Mantis's guns on the Covenant swarming the steps, "Let's get the Arbiter out of there."
This was a fight Jul and the others could do more in. Though he still stuck close to the Spartans, there were many more enemies to fight. He lost count of how many he gunned down, how many weapons he traded out because they'd lost their charge. By the time they reached the inner courtyard, it felt like the battle had gone on for years. He'd taken up the sword of one of the fallen Swords of Sanghelios, his own long since drained of power and abandoned.
Jul followed close behind as they finally entered the Council Chambers proper, finding them overrun with fighting Swords and Covenant. The Covenant seemed to know that this was their last chance to see the Arbiter dead, for they were pushing hard, throwing absolutely everything that had into the effort - to no avail.
"He's not here!" Buck shouted, even as he slit the throat of a particularly persistent Jackal.
"Up the stairs!" Jul shouted, already charging up the steps, sword in hand.
And there was the Arbiter, armor gleaming in the dusty light, brandishing his golden sword and surrounded by the corpses of the Covenant who thought to bring glory to themselves by slaying him.
In moments, Mahkee's Phantom arrived, scooped them up, and carried them away.
-------------------------------------------
Jul was unsurprised to be bound again when they reached the Arbiter's camp, but - this time, at least - he wasn't locked in a cell. The prisons were likely full of the fiercely loyal Storm Covenant adherents who had been captured, anyway. Even so, he wasn't thrown inside an already overcrowded cell.
Instead he was permitted to sit under sun and sky in the Arbiter's camp - under guard, of course, but still breathing fresh, clean air. A part of him said that he should not be grateful for these small freedoms, that they were the rights of all Sangheili, but he knew well the fate that awaited many in the prisons. Many would die, one way or another - so many so close bred disease and hunger, and not a few would be killed trying to escape before it could be decided what to do with them. If he was going to die, at least it would be with wind and sun on his hide before the end.
So he watched the activity in the camp, and waited.
And listened.
When Thel arrived, the Arbiter looked him over, then nodded to him as he stepped into his tent, where Locke waited. Jul returned the gesture and slowed his breathing to hear better.
"Spartan Jameson Locke, UNSC. Captain Lasky sends his greetings, and thanks you for your cooperation," the human said formally.
"ONI, out of the shadows," the Arbiter returned, a little aggressive, combative, "The spies announce themselves now, Agent Locke?"
"I'm a Spartan now, sir."
"I know who you are. You were an agent when you volunteered to execute me."
So he did know. Jul squeezed his mandibles, then let them relax and continued listening.
"I saved your life today."
"Yet now you hunt another Spartan, the greatest of your clan."
The Demon. Not just a Demon, a Spartan, but The Demon. That, Jul hadn't heard.
"He's gone in search of Cortana," was Locke's reply, "You might remember her - he went into High Charity to get her."
"I remember." The Arbiter's voice was deep with memory. "He impressed me then, more than any other time. The Oracle said he could fabricate a new key for the Halo, but the Spartan wouldn't hear of leaving her there. Those brave enough go into the heart of a Flood Hive for a single comrade are very few indeed."
"This time it's different. We're… still not completely sure what's going on, but some circumstantial evidence indicates that she's the one activating the Guardians. The Chief seems to think otherwise, and rode one of them out to wherever she is. We need to follow, and find out for sure."
"And you think you can ride this Guardian the way the Demon did?"
"Possibly. We won't know unless we try."
The Arbiter hummed. "Sunaion is the Covenant's final stronghold on Sanghelios. We will move only when victory is assured." Then the Sangheili stepped from the tent and headed off into the camp to speak with his warriors.
Jul watched him go, Locke not far behind. The Spartan headed over to speak with Halsey where she stood on a balcony overlooking the camp. She gestured to a hologram of a Forerunner machine, a Constructor, and seemed to explain what she wanted, but they were too far away to make out.
But he did overhead some other conversations between the Spartans.
"The Master Chief worked with Cortana for a while, right?" Vale only half-asked.
"Yes," Locke confirmed, "He considered her a close friend."
"It's unusual to anthropomorphize an AI so deeply to consider them a friend."
"Unusual, but not unheard of."
Vale hummed, then continued, "I'm reading the Blue Team file you assembled. I knew the rumors about the original Spartans. The kidnappings, the conscriptions. I never wanted to believe it."
"Lesson I learned about history a long time ago," said Buck, "it's full of things you don't want to believe."
"And getting fuller all the time," Tanaka added.
Wasn't that the truth.
"After all Halsey did to the Master Chief and Blue Team, and when they were kids no less," Buck went on, "after all that, she still acts like she cares about them?"
"Psych eval says that Halsey thinks of the Chief as her son," Locke answered him, "She has a motherly attitude towards all of her Spartans."
"I'm glad I haven't read that psych report. Not sure I'd ever feel clean again."
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Jul was left in the camp under guard while the Arbiter's forces went… wherever. Eventually, most returned, including the Spartans. They brought a Constructor with them, which raced off for Halsey the moment it arrived.
Whatever they were doing with it, it took some time for it to finish. During the interim, the Arbiter came over to see him, and - much to Jul's surprise - brought food to share a meal. "Judging by the look of you, the humans did not starve you," the other Sangheili said, "but I cannot imagine that it was anything like home."
"...No, it was not," Jul said finally. The Arbiter removed his manacles and permitted him the freedom to eat.
"I must confess, I am curious," said 'Vadam, "I know of 'Nyon's usurpation, but there must be more than that. Why the change of heart, Jul?"
"Many things, and more every day. 'Nyon and the Prometheans' betrayal stripped the lies from my vision, the ones others told to me and the ones I told to myself. And now this." He looked over to where several Sangheili were gathered around Vale, no doubt chattering with the human in their native tongue. He remembered the prayer she had said for the fallen Swords of Sanghelios, Buck professing that these were their brothers, Tanaka's vow of retribution for their deaths. "I believed it impossible for us to ever make peace with humanity, to work side by side towards a common goal, but here we are."
"The universe seems to enjoy making a mockery of what we believe," Thel agreed quietly, "We believed the Forerunners were gods, and burned dozens of human worlds at the command of the Prophets, but it was all a lie. And when we were betrayed, it might have been self-interest - the humans say 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' - but they still came to our aid, allied with us, and we fought side by side to stop Truth from killing us all."
Jul inclined his head in agreement. It was true. "After everything started coming down, I thought back to my last moments with my wife. She was the reason I formed the Storm Covenant, to get revenge for her death, but she never cared for vengeance for our fallen or finishing what the Prophets started. She was more concerned with the future of our people, how we had become dependent on the other members of the Covenant, and now we had to begin anew, to relearn things we once relegated to others whom we took for granted." He shook his head, closed his eyes. "She did not want to spill more blood, especially not our own. I didn't listen."
"She sounds wise indeed. We are all less for her loss."
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The sun was sinking toward the horizon when the Constructor raced off once more, and the camp exploded in a frenzy to follow it. Again, Jul was left under guard, but he didn't chafe at it. Instead, he watched the distant battle in Sunaion from the edge of the cliffs.
And when the massive Guardian finally emerged from the dark sea below, glowing bright over Sunaion, he prayed. But for what, he didn't know.
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