Halo: Avenger's Quest

Prologue
Senta 'Refum rushed away from the door, her long plain robes billowing around her as she fled down the hallway and into the humble townhouse's main room.

"They're coming!" she called out to the half-dozen other Sangheili who had been reclining nervously around the sparsely decorated room. "The Jiralhanae have reached this sector!"

One of the Sangheili, one of three who wore armor, snarled impatiently. "So? They're killing all the Sangheili on High Charity! They aren't looking for us anymore."

Another armored Sangheili, much taller and commanding than the others, stood up sharply and grabbed a plasma repeater from the hover-couch he'd been sitting in. "It doesn't matter, you fool!" he barked at the one who had spoken. "Just because my brother's madness wasn't the thing that brought them down on us doesn't mean there isn't a danger!"

He gestured to the other Sangheili. "We can't stay here, and I doubt our brethren will care about the heresy in our bloodline anymore. Arm yourselves! We must join the others in the evacuation!"

All of them started moving at once. The two other armored men readied their own weapons and headed to secure the townhouse's back door. Another man wearing the plain robes of a civilian tore open an upright purple crate and tugged a trio of plasma rifles from within it. He handed them out to the two women in the group and kept the third for himself.

Senta rushed over to the corner of the room where a small child was huddled, shivering in fear. "Get ready Tuka! We need to hurry and get away!"

The child, Tuka 'Refum, thrust his small arms around his mother's elongated neck and allowed her to lift him up. He leaned over and whispered in Senta's ear, "Please, mother, make the noises stop." Even from within the secure townhouse, the blasts and plasma fire from the fighting outside could be heard all around the room.

"They will," she promised. "They'll all stop. But first they need to get louder, much louder. You need to be brave if you want them to stop for good, Tuka."

Tuka nodded, his mandibles clenching together as he tried not to be afraid.

Vonu 'Refumee, the tall leader, leaned over a holographic console and entered a short code. He'd been prepared for such an escape ever since his brother, Sesa 'Refumee, had been exposed as a heretic and a traitor. He and the rest of the 'Refum bloodline had fled here in the fear that they'd be targeted and killed for their kinsman's blasphemy, but now it seemed that a far greater heresy was afoot. At least now they'd have the chaos sparked by the Jiralhanae's sudden uprising to cover their escape.

"The front door is sealed," he told the others. "The surveillance systems show that our warriors are holding the alley at the back. We can escape that way, but we need to hurry!"

The three civilians rushed to join the two warriors, their weapons held nervously in their untrained hands.

His plasma repeater in hand, Vonu crossed the room to where Senta held Tuka. "Get moving," he told her gently. "Keep my brother's son safe."

She looked plaintively at him. "And you?"

Vonu spread his mandibles in a thin smile. "No fear, I'll be right behind you."

Another blast from what must have been a Wraith's mortar sounded, this time from behind the house--their escape route.

"No more delays," Vonu snapped, his military instincts kicking in. "Go-!"

There was an even louder explosion, one that rocked the house to its metal foundations. Tuka started to wail.

Vonu sprinted over to the hallway leading to the back door, but it was too late. It was open and the sounds of plasma fire could clearly be heard throughout the room. And an even worse sound could be heard over them: the whistling noise of Jiralhanae spike rifles.

One of the women tumbled in through the open back door, a trio of spikes embedded in her throat. One of the warriors leapt over her corpse as he tumbled back into the house; his shields failed just as he crossed the threshold.

"They broke through!" he bellowed over his shoulder to Vonu. "An entire pack of the mongrels!"

Vonu leaned around the hallway corner, aiming his plasma repeater at the open door. "Get Senta!" he snapped. "Unlock the front and take her through there!"

Before the warrior could reply, a dark figure bounded in through the door. Vonu let off a trio of shots from his repeater, but the Jiralhanae warrior dodged past them and unloaded his spiker into the retreating warrior. Dark purple blood splashed across the walls and the dead warrior's blue armor as he fell.

Vonu primed a plasma grenade and hurled it down the hallway. He didn't even wait to see if it made contact with the enemy warrior as he darted back around the corner and motioned furiously at Senta. "The console! Get to the console and unlock the doors!"

Back in the hallway the plasma grenade exploded and the Jiralhanae howled in agony.

Senta hesitated. "The others--"

"The others are dead! We must save ourselves! We must save your son!"

Senta hurried to the console just as an even larger Jiralhanae rounded the corner and barreled into the room. This one was clad in the elaborate armor of a chieftain, and he held a massive gravity hammer in his hairy claws. Its sparking head scraped against the ceiling, leaving a long scrape as its owner bellowed with pleasure.

Vonu didn't hesitate; he opened fire, spraying the chieftain's armor with the repeater's plasma. But even as he did so, his life was flashing before his eyes. There was no way he could kill this thing before it swung the hammer, and with him so close to Senta... the blast from the weapon would kill her and Tuka in seconds.

There was no time to think.

Discarding his repeater, Vonu lunged for the chieftain and pushed him back into the hallway. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw more Jiralhanae warriors spilling in through the back door. They held their fire, fearing their chieftain's wrath if they struck him by mistake.

Activating his left wrist's energy gauntlet, Vonu plunged the small glowing blade into the chieftain's side. A burst of red blood coursed down the creature's side, but it didn't even flinch. Instead, it tore him from its body with a single massive fist, then hit him from the side with its hammer faster than the eye could see.

Vonu's shields failed immediately and he knew he was dying before he even had time to feel the pain. He collapsed to the floor in a lump of purple blood and broken bones, but he still managed to draw his plasma pistol and let off a few paltry shots.

The chieftain sneered, not even bothering to dodge the green bolts that splattered against its chest armor. "You're kind's days of arrogance are finished," it gloated over the wounded Sangheili. You have held my people in degradation and humiliation for far too long."

It raised its hammer above Vonu, who had already gone limp from the sheer magnitude of his injuries. "May you rot in all the hells that ever were."

But before it could strike, a renewed barrage of plasma bolts struck his armor and drove him back. On the other side of the room, Senta had retrieved Vonu's plasma repeater and was hammering the chieftain with wild, untrained shots.

"Run Tuka!" she cried to her son, who had returned to the corner, trembling with fear. "Run! You have to live!"

The repeater overheated and Senta dropped it, screaming with pain as the weapon released its pent up heat onto her unprotected arms.

Cursing under his breath, the Chieftain crossed the room in a single stride and struck Senta down with a single blow from the blade on the other side of his hammer's magnetic head.

Tuka screamed as his mother's body collapsed, her purple blood staining the folds of her robes.

More Jiralhanae entered the room now, their weapons at the ready. One wearing violet armor stepped over to the shaking Tuka and aimed its spiker at the small child's head. But instead of firing, it merely let out a small growl of disgust and turned back to its chieftain. "Mallunus!" he called. "There's no one left here worth fighting! Let's move on!"

The words embedded themselves in Tuka's grief and terror wracked mind. Mallunus. The name of his mother's killer.

Chieftain Mallunus chucked at his young subordinate. "Brash as ever, Kenpachus. But never fear: there will be plenty more of these Sangheili vermin to dispose of before we've had our fill."

"Have your fill of this, murdering traitors!" thundered a voice from behind them. Three black-armored Sangheili disengaged their active camouflage and lunged at the Jiralhanae with their energy swords. Two warriors were felled with in an instant, but Mallunus and the one called Kenpachus fell back. One Sangheili dodged past Mallunus's hammer and landed a swift blow across his shoulder. The chieftain bellowed with rage, but could do nothing but retreat in the face of the three furious swordsmen.

"We must pursue!" snapped one of the black-armored Sangheili. "Mallunus mustn't escape!"

The one who had wounded the chieftain set a hand on the speaker's arm. "No. We have more pressing matters than vengeance to attend to here."

He stepped respectfully over Vonu's corpse and knelt over Senta's body. Tuka was tugging at his mother's robes as if trying to wake her from a deep slumber."

"You've seen enough, young one," he said gently to the whimpering child. "Come with me. I'll take you away from here."

"She said we'd leave," Tuka whispered helplessly. "She said the noises would stop. But they killed her. Mallunus killed her."

The black-armored leader lifted the child into his arms. "But you're still alive, young one. You can still live on in her name."

He motioned for his comrades and they hurried out the way they'd come.

"My name is Roni 'Visagee," the swordsman said into Tuka's ear as they ran. "You're safe now."

Tuka just closed his eyes as the sounds of fighting got louder and louder. His mother had been right: the noises did need to get louder before they stopped. But after what seemed like an eternity, they did.

His mother and everyone else he'd ever known was dead. But he was still alive and he had the name of the one who had done all that. Mallunus.

One day he would be strong enough to make Mallunus and all the other monsters like him answer for their crimes. He'd be strong enough to make the galaxy safe for everyone.

Someday...

Chapter 1: Graduation
The gathered Sangheili pupils tried to hide their stares as the blademaster introduced their twentieth member, the one who would complete their class size.

''Roni 'Visag nodded at the human by his side. "While I understand that many of you will be uncomfortable working alongside one you view as an outsider, particularly with the many wounds from our long war still taking their time in healing, my decision here is final. I have reviewed him thoroughly, and I judge him worthy of my tutelage. I hope the rest of you will come to the same conclusion."''

''Tuka could feel his classmates struggling to repress their protests. Roni 'Visag was one of the most respected sword instructors on Sanghelios and throughout the whole of Sangheili space, and almost all of them were guests training in his keep at their families' request. As Kaidon of the Visag keep, all of the decisions he made were more than final, they were the law. But this was too much, even for one with Roni's reputation.''

''"This must be a joke," whispered Tuka's friend, Ventu 'Kosol, beside him. "The blademaster's human pet will be training with us?"''

''Tuka didn't whisper back, unwilling to do anything disrespectful towards the person who had been as much a father to him as a teacher for almost as long as he could remember. Instead, he examined the "human pet" more carefully.''

''The human was short, though that was true of most humans when compared to Sangheili. Though Tuka hadn't studied much about them other than what pertained to the Great War, he was fairly certain that this human was young, most likely a phase or so younger than the rest of the class. The hair on his head--Tuka had always thought this to be the strangest thing about humans, the way hair only seemed to grow on their heads--was black and reminded Tuka of a tangled bush he might have seen while hiking in the mountains above the keep. His skin was pale, though this was far less unusual for humans than it was for Sangheili.''

''Roni seemed to have arranged for the keep's tailors to piece together some sort of human-shaped garb for his guest to wear, because the human was wearing what looked like a regular Sangheili robe that had been cut many times too short. A white bandage was wrapped around his head, covering up the forehead, and through the opening in the human's robe Tuka could see more over the chest. He wondered if the human was badly wounded or if he always dressed like that.''

''And then there was the arm. The human's left arm was completely gone at the shoulder, and in its place was a smooth, metallic prosthetic. Tuka could easily tell that it was Sangheili made--the keep's technicians had most likely constructed it--but it had been modeled after a human arm rather than a Sangheili one.''

''Roni had brought this human in several cycles ago, after he had personally led a clan raiding party against a Jiralhanae slaver camp. Tuka had wanted to go, but he was, of course, too young. But he'd be ready soon enough. Ready to go out and hunt down the Jiralhanae that had butchered his family before his eyes so many phases ago.''

''"... show proper patience and thoughtfulness..." Roni was telling the class. Tuka hoped that his mentor wasn't so naive that he'd believe that a little speech like this would convince them all to treat the human well. He'd do his best, if only to please Roni, but he wasn't sure the others would follow his lead.''

''"His name," Roni said, finishing his talk. "Is Simon."''

How strange,Tuka thought. No family name. Doesn't he have some human clan or bloodline he belongs to?

''He took another look at the human, not gazing at him in his entirety and instead concentrating only on his face. There was a look in those strange, grey eyes of his, one that Tuka understood completely. There was a fire in those eyes, one that spoke of steely determination and deep hungers and yearnings. Yes, Tuka understood that look completely. He felt that fire within himself every day.''

Perhaps this human wouldn't be so bad after all...

Two Years Later

The ceremony took place in one of the Visag keep's many gardens. This one was a simple enclosure, with only the grass and a handful of shriveled-looking trees within it. Sparse, perhaps, but like just about everything else within the Visag keep, it had a kind of natural, unassuming beauty about it. The Visag clan had always been as passionate about their natural art as they had been about swordplay, and the gardens within the keep were one of the best testaments to that passion.

The entire class was lined up on the grass, their large, bare feet resting comfortably within its cool blades. In other Sangheili circles, a ceremony like this would have called for some sort of armor or other military apparel, but Roni--or Blademaster 'Visag as he was called in these situations--had requested that the class wear only simple robes for their graduation ceremony. This was as much a celebration of the pupils' growth on their path to adulthood as it was about how well they had mastered Roni's sword teachings.

Tuka 'Refum fought to stand as straight as he could manage. He was certain that the back of his robes had somehow gotten stained, but he wasn't sure how this could have happened or what exactly had put that idea into his head in the first place. At least the suspected stain wasn't on his front where everyone could see it. He felt both furiously excited and terribly nervous at the same time, so much so that he almost felt as if he would split apart right then and there like one of the fruits they cut with their blades in midair during daily exercises. He'd been waiting for this day his whole life: the day the great Roni 'Visag acknowledged him and the rest of his friends as having completed his training and sent them out into the great unknown galaxy.

Well... most of his friends would be acknowledged. One was no longer here to receive such an accolade.

Beside him, Ventu shifted uncomfortably. Tuka's shorter friend had never been much for ceremonies and rituals. A short letter of congratulations from the blademaster would probably have been just as meaningful to him as this observance and most likely would have been far more welcome to boot. Tuka wondered how Ventu would manage once he entered training in the Sangheili military. From what he'd heard, there was just as much ceremony and tradition within those ranks as there had been during the old Covenant times, if not more.

Of course, Tuka wouldn't be in much of a position to learn any of that for himself because he, unlike more than half the class, didn't plan on entering training.

He had more pressing matters to deal with.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the blademaster himself stepped out of a nearby doorway that led into the keep's main building, which had massive wings and dormitories that stretched throughout the keep's walled interior. He was wearing his Kaidon's robes, which were emblazoned with many intricate patterns colored with the Visag clan's signature red and silver markings. His wife, Benta, followed behind him wearing a similar but slightly less elaborate garb.

Roni 'Visag paced across the grass, scanning each and every one of the assembled pupils with his emerald eyes. Time may have been beginning to take its toll, as his slightly stooped shoulders and fading skin could attest to, but in Tuka's eyes he still struck the same imposing figure that he had when he'd rescued him from the Jiralhanae all those years ago. There was a grandeur about him that couldn't be diminished merely by an aging body. The blademaster carried it within him and it shone out from his eyes and through the very words he spoke. All present had been affected by that present at some point during the phases they'd spent training with him, and the utter silence that greeted his appearance was a testament to their unwavering respect for the blademaster. No one so much as twitched a muscle as Roni continued to pace up and down their ranks, appraising them each with his solid, unblinking gaze.

He paced like this at least three times before finally stopping and gazing at them all. Even from his place near the end of the line, Tuka could see the pride that radiated from his eyes. Even if he'd been blind, he'd have been able to understand that merely from how the blademaster sounded when he began to speak.

"When your families sent you from all over our people's territory, they wished for me to teach you all that I knew of swordplay," Roni began solemnly. "They wished for you to honor your bloodlines with the skills I would impart on you, and they were right to do so. Though the Great War may have ended, the sacrifices of my generation have not brought our people a lasting peace. We live in times that are still troubled by war and strife, much of which stems from the divisions we have allowed to come between ourselves. I fear that it must fall to your generation to do what my own could not and purge our great people of the miserable curse of constant warfare.

"Victory will not come from strength of arms, but through our own determination and convictions. Only by holding true to these can we be successful, for without them we are nothing. Family, rank, status; all are worthless without honor and loyalty. Those are the true spirit of the Sangheili, and we must all never forget our duty to uphold them with our dying breaths."

He began to pace again, but he never tore his eyes from the line of his pupils. "I did not set out to teach you how to kill with a blade. My teachings in that regard were merely the vessel through which I gave to you my true gift: the gift of knowledge. After this day you will go out into the galaxy and you will have more than just the skills to survive in it. No, you will also have the teachings of honor, nobility, and faith that have kept us all strong throughout our people's many trials and tribulations. As long as those teachings remain alive, the spirit of our people stays alive as well."

He faced the front once again and snapped his right arm over his chest in the time-honored respectful salute of the Sangheili. "My students, it has been a pleasure to instruct you. I ask you not to seek to honor me with them, but to honor your bloodlines, your ancestors, and your gods."

Tuka and the rest of the class did the same, but they all bowed deeply as well. None of them said a word, and they remained silent after they had risen and the blademaster had begun to walk down their line. He stopped at every pupil and placed his hand at the center of their chests in blessing. Benta followed him and anointed each one on the forehead from the small dish of water she carried with her.

Tuka fought to keep the emotion from showing on his face as Roni neared his place in line. His whole life had been leading up to this moment. Even before he was old enough to be instructed, he had been practicing to wield a blade. Roni had given him everything he had ever needed, but this honor... this honor trumped them all.

As Roni reached him, Tuka locked his body ramrod straight and stared straight ahead. When his mentor placed his hand on his chest, Tuka met his eyes with what he hoped was the steely determination he wished he was feeling at the moment. Instead, his gut was clenched tight with nerves.

Roni merely nodded and moved on. He had never shown Tuka any preferential treatment during the training, and Tuka loved him for it. He inclined his head to Benta to receive the anointing water and as the cold liquid spilled down his forehead he knew that he would feel its cool touch on his skin for the rest of his life.

His training was finally complete. Now his real work could begin.

Roni finished his path down the line. Nineteen pupils had been blessed and anointed. There should have been twenty, but Simon was gone. Tuka had to bite down his disappointment for his friend. He hadn't really reflected on the full cost of the human's departure until now: Roni, the one who had saved him and given him a new life within the keep, would be unable to bless him and welcome him into the Visag fold.

The blademaster bowed again to the line of graduates before heading out the way he had come. None of them moved as he departed, and they remained perfectly still long after he and Benta had vanished into the main household.



Tuka felt strangely drained of energy after the ceremony, as if he'd just undergone a rigorous sparring match rather than a simple ritual. He'd expected to be refreshed and full of energy, but instead he just felt like he needed to go lie down.

But he'd been taught to ignore these feelings, so instead of taking a nap he was helping Ventu pack. It was more of a friendly gesture than anything else, as the living space each student was allowed barely fit one Sangheili, let alone two, but he felt that Ventu appreciated it anyway.

"So," Ventu said, folding one of his robes and settling it into a small bag. "An inspiring ceremony, of course."

Tuka nodded, handing his friend a stack of holopads. "The blademaster would do nothing less for us."

"Well, of course." Ventu inspected the small room for anything they might have missed. "We do have his star pupil in our class, after all."

He cast a meaningful glance at Tuka, who looked intently at a crack on the far wall. Ventu snorted.

"Stop being modest and acknowledge it," he told Tuka. "Everyone knows that you're the best student this keep has ever seen. I bet you'll even be a match for the blademaster himself one of these days."

"The rest of you are just as good as I am," Tuka said quickly. "I've just been swinging a training sword around my whole life, that's all."

"Skilled and modest," Ventu mocked playfully. "You'll make a fine Kaidon yourself if you ever get around to finding a keep of your own."

"It was a good ceremony," Tuka said firmly, changing the subject. "I'm sorry Simon wasn't here to see it."

Ventu snorted. "I'm sure that nasty little human's doing fine out in the real world. You think about these things too much."

Although his words were harsh, his tone remained playful. Ventu had actually been one of the first pupils to really warm to their human classmate. After Simon had beaten him senseless during a sparring match, Ventu seemed to have decided that he was worth getting to know.

"Yes," Ventu continued. "He's probably out there right now, farming rocks or whatever it is humans do when they aren't fighting."

Tuka decided that another subject change was in order.

"What about you?" he asked, stepping out of the cleared-out dormitory. "Joining the military?"

Ventu nodded. "That's where I'm headed once I leave the keep. Once training's over, I'll probably wind up on the frontier, looking out for pirates."

"You don't think you'll be hunting the Fallen, do you?" Tuka asked, thinking about the anti-human separatist faction that the military was fighting as they spoke.

"No, I doubt they'd give that kind of job to a raw trainee like me," Ventu replied, stepping out into the hallway as well. "The Council probably has whole legions of veteran warriors crushing them this very moment."

He paused. "And you? Going to try for the military as well? There's still time for you to apply, you know."

Tuka shook his head. "I wish I could come with you, Ventu, I really do. But there's something else I need to do now that I've graduated from this school."

Ventu stared at him for a moment, then flexed his mandibles slowly. "Oh, right. I keep forgetting about that. I should probably tell you that you haven't got a chance, but I'm sure better tongues than mine have tried that before."

He shouldered his pack and smoothed his robes. "Well, I'm off to my family's keep now. It'll be a while before I can see them again."

Tuka crossed his arm over his chest. "Farewell, Ventu. May the gods smile upon you."

Ventu clicked his mandibles impatiently. He, like many other Sangheili, did not bear the same patience with the gods that Roni had drilled into Tuka. "If they exist," he said in that blunt way of his, but he also returned the salute. "Best of luck finding that chieftain. Try not to get yourself killed."

He headed down the hallway, but threw one last remark over his shoulder as he vanished around a corner. "And if you find Simon out there, tell him I still need to hit him back. He'll know the spot."

Then he was gone, his footsteps vanishing quickly into the air.

Tuka stood in place for several moments. Yes, Ventu had read him right. It was time for him to hunt down that chieftain, Mallunus. Foolhardy? Quite possibly, but Tuka had spent his training getting ready for this. There would be no better time than now.

But there was one person he needed to convince of that. He refused to leave the keep where he had grown up without Roni 'Visag's blessing, and he knew that the blademaster would be opposed to his plan. But he wouldn't give up now, and he knew exactly where to find his mentor.

As he headed towards the keep's council chamber, Tuka pondered the last thing Ventu had told him. He'd been thinking about it himself for some time now, but Ventu's words had driven the idea home.

Once he went out there, he wouldn't just be looking for Mallunus.

He'd also be looking for Simon.

Chapter 2: The Blessing
Tuka walked quietly as he entered the Visag keep's council chambers. Technically he wasn't permitted in this area of the keep at all, but for as long as he could remember Roni had allowed him access to the room so long as the council wasn't in session.

The council room was circular and housed a series of hover-chairs where the Visag elders sat during council meetings. The chamber was large, allowing them to raise themselves high off the ground while discussing clan matters with the Kaidon. This was yet another one of the clan's famous methods of promoting free, natural thought. The irregularity of the hover-chairs' flight paths was meant to remind the Kaidon and elders about the often chaotic nature of the galaxy.

Running up the chamber's walls and onto the ceiling was the Visag clan's family saga: a record of all the greatest deeds performed by their ancestors. Every keep was supposed to have one, but Roni had told Tuka that since the Great Schism many clans had been erasing their sagas and starting fresh. They believed their time in the Covenant had tainted their honor, but the Visag clan felt differently. The Sangheili people had lost countless warriors in defense of the Covenant, and they deserved to be remembered, regardless of whether or not their cause had been completely just.

Tuka gave the saga a respectful bow as he edged past the dormant chairs, arranged in a circle around the room as they always were when not in use. He passed over the tiled floor, which had been painstakingly constructed to form a complex pattern like the one Roni had worn on his robes during the ceremony. When he was younger, Tuka had managed to awe himself every day at the sheer mastery inherent in every aspect of the Visag keep, and even now he couldn't help but admire every architectural work of art in the compound he'd lived in for over half of his life.

Maybe one day, when there was nothing left for him to do out in the galaxy, he'd come back to Sanghelios and tour every keep he could to see if any could match this one's beauty.

But that day would be a long time in coming. There were more important things for him to do in the here and now.

He stepped out of the council chamber and into a long hallway with curved walls and a low ceiling. The hallway lacked any light sources, meaning that Tuka had to rely on the light that entered in from the council chamber and his own body's memory of this path to guide him. He ran his hand over the curving wall as he did so, his fingers feeling the grooves and lines created by a series of carvings etched into the stone, each depicting a different scene from the Sangheili's ancient history.

Reaching the end of the hallway, he paused before a small door. Unlike most doors in the keep, this was not an automatic entrance but rather an archaic wooden one with a simple metal handle set in its center. There were no markings on this door, but there was a small basin of water not unlike the kind Benta had used during the morning's ceremony sitting beside it.

Tuka dipped his finger into the water and anointed his head with it, murmuring a small benediction as he did so. With this finished, he grasped the door handle firmly and pulled it open. Lowering his head in a small genuflection, he entered the Visag keep's chapel.

The Visag bloodline, and Roni in particular, were known not only for their legendary swordsmen but also for their piety and dedication to the gods. Even after the stunning revelation that the Covenant's long sought-after Great Journey was nothing more than a misinterpretation of ancient artifacts--a revelation that Tuka's father, Sesa 'Refumee, had helped spark--and the Sangheili's species-wide descent into religious confusion and disillusionment with even the belief in gods, the Visag clan still clung stubbornly to the gods and traditions that their pre-Covenant ancestors had worshiped. The Great Schism had not disproved the gods' existence, the Visags argued, but had instead showed the Sangheili people just how far from the true path the Covenant had drawn them from. It was not a commonly held belief and certainly not a popular one, but Roni and his clan remained firm in their commitment to upholding it.

Tuka had been raised with this mindset ever since Roni had brought him into the Visag keep and overseen his upbringing. He'd faced skepticism and even derision from his fellow trainees, including friends like Ventu, but he'd remained firmly set in the faith throughout it all. He didn't mind it all that much either. The Sangheili people had just emerged from countless ages of deceit and blindness. It was only natural that their rude awakening would jar many from the path.

This chapel was not the only place of worship in the keep, but it was by far the most important. It was circular, as the council chamber was, but far smaller; at best it could only house about a dozen Sangheili at a time. Carved entirely from stone, it lacked any sort of carvings or even writing on its walls. The only decorations of any kind were located within a series of small alcoves that had been carved along the length of the curved walls. Each alcove housed a statue depicting a different god in the Sangheili pantheon. The statues were the work of master craftsmen who had chiseled lifelike features into the tiny statues.

There were no seats in the chapel save for a single stone bench, which sprouted up from the stone floor as if it had grown from the rock itself. This bench was currently occupied, and the Sangheili sitting in it was gazing at the chapel's centerpiece: a larger alcove protected by a glowing energy barrier, the only source of light in the entire room.

From where he was sitting, Roni 'Visag raised his head at the sound of Tuka's entrance. He didn't turn his head, but Tuka knew that the Kaidon could tell it was him. He stood over the chapel's threshold and hesitated. What should he say?

But Roni beat him to breaking the silence. "Ah, Tuka. I wondered when you would come."

Tuka took a moment to collect his thoughts, which had suddenly been churned up like a cloud of disturbed dust, before replying. "You knew I was coming?"

Roni chuckled softly. He still had not turned to face his pupil. "Tuka, I've known you since you were a child. I haven't gotten so addled that I can't predict my own students."

He motioned towards a space on the bench beside him. "Come, sit with me a moment. Tell me what's on your mind."

If Roni had known that Tuka would seek him out here, than he would also be quite aware of why Tuka had come as well. Tuka couldn't quite grasp why Roni didn't simply get to the point, but then again, that had never been the way the blademaster did things. Although he wouldn't approve of the comparison, Roni carried out everything the same way he carried out his swordplay: calmly and patiently, always giving his sparring partner time to set up their own attacks before he moved in with his own swift combinations.

Tuka slowly crossed across the chapel, the cold stone stinging his bare feet. His robes brushed against the floor and he drew himself up a little straighter as he neared the venerable Kaidon.

In the flickering, watery light cast by the energy field, Tuka saw that Roni had changed out of his formal robes and wore simple robes like his own. And yet even with his aged features and humble garb, the blademaster still radiated wisdom and authority.

Roni indicated the large, shielded alcove, or rather, the object within it. Suspended by a gravity field within the barrier floated a massive sword. Although shaped like a regular energy sword, this blade was composed entirely of grey metal and its twin prongs jutted out far past its grip, which was double rather than single handed.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Roni asked, his voice low with reverence. "Out of all the many treasures within this keep, the Sword of Harka is the one I cherish above all the rest."

Tuka nodded, his gaze fixed on the sword. Harka was a legendary Sangheili warrior who had lived back during the formation of the Covenant. It was he whom the Visag bloodline considered their first ancestor, and it had been he who had become one of the first clan leaders to support the Sangheili people's union with the Covenant. Harka had been the one who opposed the Arbiter Fal 'Chavamee's attempts to oppose the Covenant's formation, and the two warriors had died at each other's hands.

Now that the Covenant had been broken and its promises revealed as lies, many amongst the Visag wished to remove the sword and distance themselves from its owner as much as possible. But as with the clan saga, Roni had refused to do so. To him and to many of the clan elders, the blade was an embodiment of duty and loyalty, and he never missed an opportunity to relate this to his pupils.

"I have spent my whole life looking at that blade," Roni murmured. "I see it every time I grasp my own sword and every time I instruct others in the use of the blade. Though many wish it were not so, it is as much a symbol of our clan as our emblems and colors are."

Tuka had always tried to share his mentor's appreciation for the ancient weapon, but it had always reminded him too much of the savage-looking bladed weapons the Jiralhanae wielded. "I understand why it is so important, Kaidon," he said slowly. "But doesn't it bother you that its wielder was a supporter of the very Covenant that betrayed and led us away from our gods?

Roni inclined his head. "It has occurred to me from time to time," he admitted. "But I believe that a warrior can live and die nobly even if the cause they believe in is the wrong one. We all must believe that, or risk dishonoring the countless warriors who died during our war with the humans."

He sighed. "Even so, we still must make amends for the destruction we brought upon them. I thought I could assuage my own guilt by bringing one in to learn our ways, but I was wrong."

Tuka looked at the Kaidon with surprise. "You didn't make a mistake by bringing Simon to us, Kaidon," he assured him.

Roni's mandibles parted in a slight smile. "I never said that I thought it was a mistake," he said calmly. "But perhaps it was a mistake to let him leave."

Tuka remembered the battered human ship that had somehow found its way to the keep and contacted Simon. There had been someone aboard it, someone who had convinced him to leave the keep and vanish into the galaxy. Roni hadn't lifted a finger to stop his human pupil from leaving; in fact, he had given Simon his blessing as the young man departed. And now it was time to get a blessing for himself.

"When Simon left," he said quietly. "You gave him your blessing. I've come to ask for one as well."

Roni lowered his head and did not speak for several moments. Tuka's entire body was stiff with nerves and anticipation. Would the blademaster be angry at his request?

But the Kaidon merely sighed. "Yes, I know what you're talking about."

He looked up at Tuka with an unreadable expression. "I know that you've been planning this ever since you were old enough to hold a practice blade. Even though you never said anything, I could see it in your eyes as plain as the light of the sun. But tell me this: is avenging your mother worth the effort?"

Tuka blinked. He certainly hadn't expected this response. "I... but... Yes, of course it is!"

"Really? You want to avenge someone you can barely remember, find and kill someone who might not even be alive? It's clear to me that you aren't suffering now because of your loss, so why do you want to set down everything and do this?"

"I've gone through the records of the Chieftains killed during the war," Tuka said stubbornly. "Mallunus wasn't on them then, and I know he's still alive today. Besides, this isn't about vengeance for me, it's about justice."

Roni sighed. "You're still young Tuka. Young and impatient. Leave things like justice to the institutions we put in place to deliver it. If you truly want to become an instrument of justice, join the military and let everything I've taught you guide you through its ranks. Work to achieve a position of power and then you will be worthy to dispense justice."

"Perhaps I may do that," Tuka protested. He had never argued like this with his mentor before, but this was urgent. He felt as if a great weight were pressing down on his chest. Every moment he stood here bartering for Roni's approval was another he could have used in hunting Mallunus. "But I can't do anything with my life before I do this! I can still remember how that monster cut my mother down in front of me; this is something I need to do."

The Kaidon just sighed and looked away. Tuka wondered if he needed to get down on his knees.

"Why do you need my blessing?" Roni asked finally. "You've kept the name of Refum; I have no authority over you now that you're training is complete."

For some reason those words stung Tuka more than he could imagine. "Kaidon, please. You have given me everything I could ever need. You saved me when I was a child. You raised me as if I were your own kin. You gave me a home and a clan to live with. I want nothing more than to be accepted into the Visag bloodline. But before I can do that, I need to avenge my kin."

Roni let out a tired chuckle. "In that case, you should start by killing the one who killed your father. Thel 'Vadam lives as a leader for our people, does he not?"

Tuka drew back. "He did what he did out of duty to the Covenant he served. Mallunus killed my mother in cold blood. It isn't the same."

"Hmmm," said Roni thougthfully. "Have you really forgiven him because of that? Or is it because he is one of our kind and Mallunus is a Jiralhanae? Or perhaps because you never knew your father?"

"I don't understand."

"My point, Tuka, is that you can't apply justice to one thing and deny it to another. Don't treat it as something that can be meted out in one place and not another. If Mallunus, who killed your mother, must die then so too must Thel 'Vadam, who killed your father. Since you have no desire to kill 'Vadam, then you can only call what you ask for vengeance."

But there was one thing that Tuka hadn't told Roni yet. "Finding Mallunus isn't my only desire, Kaidon. I also want to find the one who departed from us and bring him back to you."

He realized that he had chosen his words poorly the moment he said them. Shortly after the end of the war, Roni's own son had departed the keep and vanished after committing some unspeakable crime. Tuka knew that whatever had been done was unforgivable, but no one ever spoke of anything more than that. But Roni seemed to understand.

"You mean Simon?" he asked, and shook his head. "No, I know that I won't see him again. I wish it were otherwise, but he's lost to me. It will take more than my teachings to guide him back to the light."

"What do you mean?"

"Wherever he is, Simon lives in the darkness. I could see it in him from the moment I laid eyes on him. Benta did as well." Roni looked intently at Tuka. "You do know he was a Spartan, don't you?"

Spartans. The Demon warriors who had fought on equal terms with Sangheili warriors and struck terror into the hearts of the Covenant's finest legions. Tuka nodded. "He told Ventu and I, yes."

Roni sighed. "Great enemies during the war, and great allies now as we battle the Fallen. But that one... he was born in darkness and trained in darkness. I saw traces of light in him, and hoped that they would overcome the darkness, but he left before I could realize that dream. I only understood the true nature of the darkness inside him after he had gone and it was too late for me to help him. And I fear that, if left unchecked, he may become a herald of darkness."

Tuka shook his head. "Forgive me, Kaidon, but I still don't understand."

The Kaidon laughed softly. "Ah, I'm just an elder who spends too much time reading ancient scriptures."

"Simon wants the same thing I want. He's told me about his own troubles, and he wants the same vengeance I do."

Roni's laughter ceased and his eyes flashed. "If you are to emerge unscathed from the path you are about to walk," he said sharply. "You must never fool yourself into believing that. You want one chieftain dead, nothing more. But in the depths of his heart... he lusts after a vengeance that is unobtainable, and if he's left alone for too long, it will swallow him up."

He shook his head. "Go find him. He will help you get your revenge, and you in turn must guide him the way I could not. You have my blessing, and I will provide you with the tools you will need to begin your journey. But always bear in mind the things I have taught you. Let the gods and your ancestors guide your feet and you will be victorious."

Tuka bowed low in gratitude. "Thank you, Kaidon. I will bring honor to this clan and to your training."

Roni nodded, but he looked a little sad. "Remember your obligation to me. Tell Simon that he doesn't have to live as an exile consumed by hate. Tell him that there will always be a place in this keep for him. And tell him that his name has been entered into the Visag family roll. From this day forward, no matter what he chooses to call himself, the Visag clan will know him as Simon 'Visag."

Tuka was stunned at the sudden pronouncement. Such a thing--the acceptance of a human into a Sangheili clan--was unknown, at least as far as he knew. But he kept his composure and bowed again. "I will tell him."

"Remember," Roni said, turning back to look at the Sword of Harka once again. "Once you have slain Mallunus, let your blade rest. No matter how good vengeance may feel, do not heap any more blood upon your hands than necessary. Otherwise..."

He shook his head and motioned for Tuka to leave the chapel. "In my time, I have seen far mightier Sangheili than you fall to the temptation of bloodlust. You are the finest swordsman I have ever trained, and it has been my honor to raise you in this keep. I have lost so many family and pupils to the galaxy's unceasing conflict that I can't afford to lose any more. And whether you like it or not, your name as also been added to the family roll. Keep the name of 'Refum, if you desire, but within the walls of this keep you will be known as Tuka 'Visag."

Tuka found that he couldn't speak. He merely bowed as low as he possibly could as he stumbled through the chapel's door and into the cold darkness of the stone hallway.

Chapter 3: The Hospital
Several hundred light years from where Tuka was preparing for his journey, the human that Roni 'Visag feared might become a "herald of darkness" was picking his nose.

Leaning back in a folding chair, Simon dug a finger deeper into his nostril and glared at the tight confines of the prefabricated shack he was in. The entire room, meant to serve as a makeshift rec room, was drenched with the stench of sweat, beer, and tobacco. He'd figured a few days spent dealing with it would make it more tolerable, but so far it smelled as disgusting as ever.

Apart from himself, three other people were in the room. Two men and one woman, all wearing filthy undershirts that exposed muscles the size of Simon's head, were on the other side playing a game of pool. They were engrossed in their game and didn't pay any heed to the scrawny young man as he rolled up a wad of dried snot and flicked it in their direction.

Flexing the metal fingers of his artificial left arm, Simon scratched his mop of black hair with his organic arm and listened to the steady pounding of artillery fire that pulsed throughout the room. He'd at least grown accustomed to that constant noise, as well as the rumble of engines and the drone of energy vehicles.

So this is where I end up, he thought idly, watching as one of the men hit a poor shot and released a string of curse words. From the keep of a Sangheili noble to some turf war in the middle of nowhere that no one gives a shit about.

He sighed and cracked his neck. Maybe he should get back to his ship. Sure, he'd have to listen to Diana's unceasing barrage of insults and sarcasm, but at least he wouldn't have to resist the urge to gag every time he took a breath...

The door to the room burst open and a man wearing a frayed military uniform and some combat armor poked his head in. "They blew the damn bridge! We've got a whole column of Grunts and Elites pinned down on the other side, we gotta move! We aren't paying you to sit on your asses, so move it!"

The pool players grabbed their rifles and darted out as Simon slipped his helmet over his head and retrieved his own weapon. He dashed out after them, fingering the two small energy sword handles strapped to his armor's chestpiece. Yes, he'd definitely gone a few places down the galactic dogpile, but at least this was a living...



It Tuka less than a day after arriving on the colony world Cordial Harmony to realize just how little thought he'd actually put into his grand plan.

As far as supplies and assets, he was more than prepared. The Visag bloodline had been spared much of the cost--in both funds and warriors--that the ravaging war with the Fallen had imposed upon many other keeps, and Roni had been happy to provide Tuka with both a small, Slipspace capable personal transport and a substantial credit account in an Interspecies Union bank, which he had assured the young traveler would be acceptable to most "civilized" humans and Sangheili. Tuka had protested such generosity, but Roni had insisted.

"You will need plenty of money if you plan on succeeding in this venture," he had assured Tuka. "I'm sad to say that you'll find that concepts such as honor and justice hold very little gravity in the places you will need to look. Even Sangheili in those places care only about the amounts of money you can give them."

So he had a new, state of the art personal ship and access to more money than he'd ever imagined, and absolutely no idea of how to go about finding Simon or Mallunus.

He's spent so much time wondering about how he'd go about killing the chieftain that he'd never really stopped to consider just how he'd track him down. As far as the Sangheili military's official records went, there had been a chieftain named Mallunus serving the Covenant at the time of the Great Schism and that he'd participated in several battles following the initial betrayal at High Charity, but other than that... nothing. No mention of him or his pack in accounts of Covenant guerilla actions, no records of any of his activity amongst the Jiralhanae worlds, no mention of him in the listings of various pirate kings and mercenary leaders. It was as if he didn't exist.

But at the moment, Tuka's principle worry was finding Simon, which was proving just as difficult. The best lead he had was that yes, the fleet in orbit above Sangheilios had detected a small human craft enter the atmosphere on the day the shuttle had arrived at the Visag keep and departed with Simon. It had been provided the correct codes that were provided to any commercial vessel headed to Sangheilios, so they had let it come and go without any trouble. The one thing they had done was check its course when it had entered Slipspace and calculated that it had been heading for this sector.

Even without this knowledge, Cordial Harmony was the first place Tuka would have checked. While technically in Sangheili territory and resided under a Sangheili government, it was regarded as the most developed interspecies colony in the galaxy. There were just as many human residents as there were Sangheili ones in addition to hearty amounts of Unggoy, Kig-Yar, and even Lekgolo colonists as well.

From the stories Simon had told Tuka, the young Sangheili could assume that his friend would not head for any human-governed colonies, which left Cordial Harmony as the most appealing destination for a human with only a passing grasp of Sangheili languages.

Unfortunately, this was as far as Tuka's guesswork was going to take him. He couldn't exactly enlist the human government's aid in finding one their renegade operatives and he couldn't run a search on Simon's image either for the exact same reason. Tuka carried a hologram of his face just in case he needed to have anyone identify him, but that wouldn't be useful unless he actually found someone who knew about him. Running a search on the name wouldn't help either. Tuka had been told that "Simon" was a fairly common name among humans and the fact that the only family name his friend had ever provided was a meaningless string of human letters and numbers wasn't much of a help. He couldn't search under "Simon 'Visag" because as far as he knew, Simon had never considered himself to be a true member of the Visag keep.

So here he was in Cordial Harmony's largest city, Obliterated Solitude. Just about every species on the planet had managed to divide the sprawling city into species-specific districts, which had certainly done plenty to reduce racial violence but hadn't seemed to do much to improve the quality of the districts themselves. Tuka found himself appalled at the filth and squalor that he was presented with at every street and building block. He had to keep fighting the urge to gag at ever new stench that presented itself to him.

He was beginning to wonder if he should have gotten out of the keep a bit more when he was younger.

At first, upon entering the district Tuka had been disappointed by the decidedly small population of humans residing there. All it really reminded him of was one of the poorer villages or towns on Sanghelios, albeit with a few dozen humans here and there. Most of these humans were dressed in Sangheili style robes of the kind that Roni had commissioned for Simon when he'd begun training at the Visag keep. Tuka had thought the robes looked awkward enough on one human, but a district full of them was something else entirely. He'd heard that the humans on Cordial Harmony were disruptive and mean-spirited, but silly robes aside these humans seemed quite decent, albeit poor. They walked through the trash-strewn streets, strolled into the Sangheili-style buildings, nodded and smiled at each other and non-humans alike, and could even be heard exchanging greetings in Sangheili languages.

Tuka was quite charmed. Clearly this planet's poor reputation was largely undeserved...

And then he realized that this wasn't the real human district. No, the real human district was actually beneath his feet. And it more than lived up to its infamy.

Back when the city had first been built, its Sangheili colonizers had built a massive network of tunnels underneath its streets to aid in waste disposal, maintenance, and even transportation. But these tunnels weren't needed anymore, and when the plethora of human colonists had migrated to the planet in the years following the Great War, most of them had wound up settling down there.

Tuka was now picking his way through this makeshift town, his dark traveling cloak wrapped tightly around his body. The only light in these tunnels came from a series of lights that had been installed on the roof high above Tuka's head. He could see that they were powered by a wide range of technology, from human generators to Sangheili emergency lighting and even some Lekgolo worms attached to the bulbs. More lights had been strung up along the walls and on the hundreds of prefabricated buildings the humans had installed to live and work in.

Trash was strewn across almost every spot on the ground, and a good amount of that was moist. Tuka was thoroughly regretting his decision to walk bare-footed for this trip; every step he took was met with a repulsive squishing noise and that horrible cold feeling of wetness spreading across the bottoms of his feet. Now he really had to choke down a gag-reflex every time he drew a breath.

Until today, Simon had been the only human he'd ever seen outside of holograms. The humans up on the surface had been tolerable, most likely due to their familiar clothing styles and the presence of the Sangheili they'd mingled with, but now they were everywhere, with their varying skin tones, hair colors, and those odd, bumpy features on their faces. Not to mention those odd horizontal mouths of theirs. Even after all the time he had spent with Simon, Tuka still had to fight back revulsion when he looked at them.

Remember, they think that I'm the ugly one, Tuka reminded himself, doing his best to be patient with both himself and the odd-looking aliens. He thought of one of Roni's many teachings about physical appearances: Go beneath the surface and seek out the true nature of someone through their words and deeds.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem like there was much beneath the surface to find appealing about the tunnel-district's denizens. These humans did not seem quite as grateful for the use of the planet as their surface-dwelling kin had been. They shot glares at Tuka as he walked through the center of the large tunnel--which seemed to have been collectively agreed upon as the street--and he found this universal hostility to be extremely disconcerting. He saw a few Sangheili amidst the throngs of tightly-packed humans, but these all looked as hostile as the humans did.

And it seemed that every other person down here was armed.

Everywhere Tuka looked, he recognized human weaponry from his military study. The humans carried pistols, rifles, those strange Jiralhanae-esque "shotguns", and even the odd plasma weapon. It was as if there was no government on the surface to regulate these sorts of things.

Now Tuka was understanding why Cordial Harmony was the laughingstock of Sangheili space. He felt dizzy trying to take it al in, which certainly wasn't helping him get any closer to finding Simon. Tuka was wondering if he should just pull out the hologram of his friend's face and wave it around. At least then someone might be urged into saying something to the crazy, picture waving Sangheili.

Tuka sighed. It would probably be for the best if he headed back to a Sangheili district for now. By the local time on his chronometer, it was already early evening and he'd been warned by the port authorities when he landed not to be caught wandering the city by himself at night. That, they had said, was how one got murdered for the very clothes on their back, and from what he'd seen so far Tuka believed every word.

This planet needs the Kaidon's piety, he thought to himself. A little meditation and prayer would sort most of the inhabitants out quickly enough.

He was just about to give up and head back to the surface when he noticed a slightly smaller tunnel branching out from the main one and heading off in a different direction. It was still crowded, but there were far less people heading into it than out of it. Perhaps he would find something useful down a less beaten path.

Tuka turned into it and followed it, passing more flimsy buildings and open-air vending stalls along the way. Most of these stalls were selling food or weapons of some kind, the only two things that this district did not seem to be lacking in. He used one hand to keep his cloak up while the other stayed on the hilt of his deactivated energy sword, which hung at his waist. It was his only weapon and most prized possession; he wasn't going to let some thieving vagrant steal it.

The crowds and buildings continued to thin out until only a handful of shops and people remained. A calm, reasonable voice in Tuka's head told him that he wasn't going to find anything useful down here, but he pressed on regardless. At least this was better than heading back, though he wasn't entirely sure what he expected to find. Maybe he'd bump into Simon, sitting out in front of one of these shacks.

Tuka laughed quietly to himself for his optimism. If the gods did choose to smile on his search, then they wouldn't do so in such an abrupt manner. Besides, Roni had taught him that to ask such miracles of them was prideful and unworthy of a humble, devout Sangheili. Nevertheless, Tuka thought up a quick prayer to the gods in case any were listening.

Anything, he asked silently. Give me a lead, a sign, something to tell me I'm looking in the right places...

The tunnel widened and ended. Tuka suddenly found himself standing within a large semi-circle of buildings, and he realized that the constant roar of the crowd that echoed throughout the tunnels behind him had died down to a low murmur. This area was also cleaner, as if some effort had been made to clear away the trash and refuse that littered the rest of the tunnel district, for which Tuka was eternally grateful.

Most of the buildings in the semi-circle were smaller residential ones, with small groups of humans loitering around outside them. As with the rest of the tunnels, most of these people were armed.

The biggest building was at the furthest end of the semi-circle and looked as if several regular prefabricated buildings had been stacked on top and beside each other and then welded together. A large glowing symbol hung over its battered metal front, one that depicted a pair of intersecting red lines. Tuka gazed at the symbol, cocking his head with confusion. He was sure he'd seen that image before in his human studies, some sort of religious icon or talisman, but he couldn't quite place what it meant. Perhaps this was the district's religious center.

Then he noticed that a small crowd had formed just outside of the large building. He made out a few humans, but was surprised to see that there were just as many Sangheili standing before them. And to make everything even more puzzling, these Sangheili were wearing armor.

This was worth investigating. Tuka meandered over towards the group, but as he did so he noticed that many of the humans around it were heading quickly in the opposite direction. People around the semi-circle were retreating into buildings or even leaving for the main tunnel. What were they afraid of?

As Tuka neared, he saw that the group of Sangheili were facing a somewhat larger cluster of humans. A few of these were armed, but just as many were not; all of them wore plain clothes with no armor at all. One Sangheili stood with the humans, unarmored like they were. He carried a human rifle, but from his posture Tuka could tell that he was very nervous.

One of the armored Sangheili stepped forward and shoved a human, pushing him to the ground. As a ray of light from the overhead generators threw the Sangheili into better perspective, Tuka stopped in his tracks. He knew exactly who these Sangheili were.

Fallen. The army of separatists who had opposed the Sangheili's alliance with the humans, currently locked in a brutal war with the regular Sangheili military. These warriors were all willing set aside their honor to accomplish their goals; several years ago they had even gone so far as to abduct Sangheili newborns and tried to blame the humans for their crimes.

What were these Fallen doing here, in a place swarming with humans? There were so many armed humans around here that they could easily overwhelm the Fallen with sheer numbers; why weren't they doing so now?

Tuka stood where he was, frozen with fear. This wasn't his concern, he told himself sharply. Whatever was going on wouldn't help him find Simon, especially not if he got drawn in and killed.

He was close enough now to see and hear the group clearly now. All of the Fallen warriors wore plain white (albeit dirty) armor; all except for one, who had a violet trim to his own. This one didn't seem to have any visible weapon, but the others all carried plasma repeaters and looked as if they knew how to use them.

"You're out of time," the violet-trimmed one spat at the human he'd just pushed down. He was speaking in a human language, and the translator Tuka was wearing in his ear cavity picked it up and deciphered it clearly. "We gave you one of your weeks to pack this building up and leave this place. I don't see any progress."

"Please," the man on the ground gasped. He had short red hair and a small, craggy face. "This hospital... we only use it to treat people down here. It's not a threat!"

The Fallen leader snarled angrily. "This disgusting building is the only thing that's keeping this wretched hive afloat. As far as we're concerned, you bloodletting vermin are polluting this sector more than all the filth your kind coat it with combined!"

Another human, a female, stepped forward and helped the fallen man up. As she faced the Fallen leader, Tuka saw that she was young, younger than most of the other humans in the area. Light brown hair fell down past her slim shoulders and her body lacked much visible muscle. The expression on her face, if Tuka's human studies had taught him anything, was a polite one, but even from this distance he could see a determination in her eyes that belied her unassuming body frame.

"We hardly get any Sangheili patients," she told the leader calmly. "This hospital isn't hurting anyone."

The leader examined her for a moment, as if actually considering her words. Then, with a huff of disgust, he struck her with a backhand across the face that drove her several steps backwards and left a visible welt on her pale cheek but failed to knock her down.

"Speak when you are spoken to, human breeder," the Fallen leader sneered. He turned back to the man the female had helped to his feet. "Your kind gives its breeders far too much liberty. It is but one of the traits that makes you so pathetic."

Something about the female's courage and the way the Fallen leader had dismissed it stirred up something inside Tuka's clenched stomach. He could understand why the Fallen had set aside some honor, but such casual violence against creatures who weren't even armed went against everything Roni had ever taught Tuka about the concept. Tuka placed one trembling foot forward, then the other. His disloyal eyes automatically counted the number of Fallen in the group: ten.

It would be just him and a handful of lightly armed civilians against ten armed, armored, and no doubt experienced Sangheili warriors. This wasn't gallantry on his part. This was suicide.

Nevertheless, Tuka forced himself to continue moving toward the dispute. He was beginning to realize just how sheltered a life he'd led. He'd never faced any real danger before aside from the pain brought on by a training blade's strike. How could he have ever thought he could head out into the galaxy to kill a Jiralhanae chieftain? He wasn't even able to face his own kind.

All of Tuka's self-confidence was gone; he felt like a worm in the face of the rest of the galaxy. But still, he walked on and kept walking until he reached the group. Some of the humans turned towards him, alerting the Fallen group to his presence. Moments later, all eyes were on the young, cloaked Sangheili who seemed to have stumbled into the Fallen's intimidation session.

"What do you want, child?" the Fallen leader asked contemptuously. "Either join our cause or return to the rest of our race's blind acceptance of these vermin."

It took all of Tuka's courage and more to reply. "Perhaps, ah, brother," he said in a quavering voice. "You should take, ah, you're righteous cause elsewhere. Aren't there, ah, far more worthy targets for your warriors', ah, prowess?"

The leader snarled angrily. "Don't meddle in affairs you don't understand," he barked. "These humans defile this Sangheili planet with their foul profession, and yet our kind stand back and do nothing! We are the only ones who see past their pathetic facade, and we will punish them for their impudence!"

Tuka gulped. "Perhaps, ah, a more peaceful solution can be found. We must remember our, ah, honor--"

"Honor?" the leader bellowed, causing Tuka and several of the humans to flinch. "What honor is there, when these vermin are allowed to establish vile pits such as this disgusting sewer on the very planets our ancestors used to bring glory to Sanghelios? What honor is there, when even the most respected keeps whore themselves out to the humans and the unnatural monstrosities they call Spartans? What honor is there when our kind abandon their own families to fight alongside the humans for pay?"

He motioned to one of his warriors. "Show this young fool how we deal with traitors who prostitute themselves to vermin."

The warrior nodded, then brought his plasma repeater up and shot the Sangheili standing with the humans twice in the head. Before anyone could react, the Sangheili's corpse slumped to the ground, his rifle clattering away on the hard floor.

The red-haired human gasped, "Qulo!"

Another one of the humans leapt forward and withdrew a small weapon from his coat. "Bastards!" he snarled, training it on the Fallen.

"No!" the young female yelled. "Don't!"

But it was too late. Another warrior gunned the offending human down in the blink of an eye.

The Fallen leader unclipped an energy sword hilt from his hip and activated it. "Shoot their leader," he instructed calmly. "If anyone around here tries to resist, kill them as well."

Everything seemed to slow down as Tuka watched the warrior who had killed the Sangheili raise his repeater again. Instinct took over then, and Tuka's body acted almost before his mind knew what was happening. He cast off the traveling cloak, seized his own sword, activated it, stepped in, and swung the blade in a deadly blue arc.

The blade struck the warrior at the waist, overloading his shields and burying itself in his body. Tuka wrenched his arm upwards, just like he'd been trained, and he would never forget the slight resistance he felt as he did so, the small effort it took for him to take a life. His sword sliced through the warrior as though it were cutting through a training dummy back at the Visag keep and exited out beside the Fallen's neck.

Purple blood gushed out from the dying warrior, splattering the other Fallen, the humans, and Tuka himself. Without so much as a whimper of pain, the warrior tumbled to the ground and lay still in a widening pool of his own blood.