User:Morhek/Priory of Obligation

Sangheili society is extremely militaristic, and even the lowliest commoner is more than proficient with most Covenant weapons. In times of strain on the Covenant military, periods of conscription have seen mass numbers pressed into emergency service, especially during the Human-Covenant War, and while not all of them have been to the highest standard, the practice has allowed the Covenant to concentrate their more experienced members into smaller, specialised groups, under the Covenant Special Operations Command.

CSO-07 is one of a small number of such units - highly trained commandoes with valuable experience in counter-insurgency, infiltration and assassination operations, the "Priory of Obligation" was handpicked by the Prophetess of Obligation during the Unggoy Rebellion to deal with threats that the general infantry was ill-suited to perform, such as the assassination of Unggoy guild leaders and the infiltration of areas where numbers prevented conventional assaults. Equipped with Forerunner-derived active camouflage, specially adapted Phantom and Spirit dropships, and working in tandem with the prototypical CPVX-Class Stealth Frigate Rite of Passage from orbit, the Priory are among some of the most successful Commando groups that served the Covenant, participating in many operations against human space stations or ground emplacements. Over the years, despite the shadowy secrecy that surrounds all SpecOps units, the Priory has attracted a reputation for ruthless efficiency in the name of the Prophets. During the Schism, they joined the Separatist forces, participating in the Delta Halo, High Charity, Ketesh, Earth and Ark theatres of combat, capturing a number of enemy ships, and achieving a kill count somewhere in the hundreds - a significant feat for any species.

History
Given the cloud of secrecy that the Sangheili have traditionally maintained around their Special Operations units, little of their early history can be verified. It is known that they were commossioned by the Prophetess of Obligation at the height of the Unggoy Rebellion, after the disasterous failed invasion of the Unggoy colony of Balau, as a specialist group intended for infiltration, assassination and counter-insurgency operations. The first members were culled from the wider rank and file, given some extra training of strategy and tactics, and deployed - in their early years they saw some major successes, especially the assassination of the Unggoy "seer" Cacap I, the recapture of the CCS Righteous Fury, and participated in the Balaho campaign. These are only some of the verifiable events they participated in - given the scope and timeframe, it is likely that they played a substantially larger part than is known, but it is during this era that the Priory gains its reputation for nearly supernatural efficiency.

Later members would be more selectively recruited from the more experienced military units, and even more secrecy would surround their events - the only actions where their presence is even suspected during the early years of the Human-Covenant War is at Harvest, and then most of these are unverifiable legends attributing to them exaggerated attributes. Other tales conflict each other - some hold that they were present at both Madrigal and Delta Pavonis, but since the two theatres occured at the same time, it is impossible for them to be in two places at once. They were certainly present at Reach, and were charged with exploring the catacombs underneath the ONI military complex CASTLE base, and had a brief run-in with a number of Spartan II's, but were forced to retreat. They may have been present at Earth as part of the Prophet of Regret's assault force, and were aboard the ship when it jumped.

After the Schism, we find their history far easier to follow. They were present at Installation 05 when the conflict broke out, trapped in a region with dense concentrations of Jiralhanae troops, forced to fight their way through to Sangheili lines, and would aid the Arbiter in his struggle to reach the Control Room and defeat Tartarus. Afterwards, they would capture the Jiralhanae-held ship CCS Unending Sorrow, and participated in the battle in space - they hold the unusual distinction of being the first combat unit to capture an Assault Carrier via space insertion, taking control of the Prophet of Regret's former flagship the Infinite Sacrifice, a major coup for the Sangheili. Landing on High Charity, the Priory would search for Sangheili survivors of the Purge - instead, they found the Flood taking over the planetoid, barely escaping with their lives. Later, the Priory would be part of the Sangheili strike force for Earth, aiding the Arbiter and the Master Chief in reaching the crashed Flood ship to retrieve Cortana's message. They'd aid the Arbiter again, bringing down the Second Tower near the Ark's Control Room, and later returned to Earth with the Sangheili fleet.

Afterwards, the Priory would again become shrouded in secrecy. They may have participated in the Battle of Ketesh, and certainly evidence that a Stealth Frigate was present in the system is strong.

Specialist Equipment

 * Type-52 Troop Transport/Stealth Phantom Dropship - although many Special Operations units use the Phantom dropship, the recent suplement and replacement for the Spirit, the priory was the first to test the dedicated Special Operations Phantom variant. Equipped with active camouflage, the original prototypes were otherwise identical to the standard variant - during and after the Schism, the Priory adopted the green colour scheme that the Separatists used to differentiate themselves. More were adopted by other units, but remained rare.
 * DX-Class Troop Transport/Spirit Dropship - though visually identical to the standard Spirit, the modifications made by Special Operations Officer 'Frezhan make it a superior craft by far. Though the Prophets have outlawed the modification of technology without their approval, the ship nevertheless sports two extra plasma turrets, thicker armour and a limited energy shield generator, making it better suited for providing heavy combat air support and exfiltration options where their Stealth Phantom is less suited.
 * CPVX-Class Stealth Frigate Rite of Passage - "appropriated" by the Priory during the raid of the Voldakan System Heretics, the Rite of Passage doesn't techically belong to the Priory at all - it has merely been assigned to serve as their transport and orbital support.

Quotes

 * "We were pinned down by Covenant artillery. Couldn't get a good line of fire on them, no artillery, no tanks, no fighter support. Next thing I know the guns are quiet - the Brutes were slumped in their gunners chairs where they died, strangled. God that was badass."
 * "It is ironic, is it not, that they were handpicked by a Prophet and became their bane."
 * "The call the vermin humans Demons, but the Sangheili are the true demons! The accursed Priory defiles the name of the Prophetess of Obligation, and betray the Prophets who lead us upon the Path, and for that they have earned our undying hatred!"
 * "There are many rumours about us. Did you know, for example, that their leader is supposed to be ten feet tall and can kill a Jiralhanae with a look? Or that they can appear anywhere at any time? Superstition was something that the Prophets encouraged - it helped keep the downtrodden masses stay downtrodden. But I must say, our reputation is at least consistent."