Here's Part Nine, the story is warming up. Enjoy.
Part Nine - Immortal Repentance
Immortal Repentance Infirmary
"My
my my, this is indeed a potent poison." spoke the minor Prophet of
Convalescence, as he shuffled towards the table upon which Sorran lay.
Zharn nodded grimly.
"Can it be purged holy one?" Zharn
questioned of the Prophet, who's wise brow furrowed. Convalescence was
old, even by the standards of the San 'Shyuum, but a lifetime of
hurrying around on the battlefield as a medic of the Covenant had kept
his body strong. Zharn admired the surgeon's independence, most
Prophets used Gravity belts, or chairs at such an age. This one still
used his own feet.
"Of course it can, it is but a basic human
substance, I think the humans call it 'Botulinum'. I was merely
commenting upon the fact that the poison was powerful. Help me take off
young Sorran's armour Major." Convalescence instructed, and Zharn
gingerly assisted the Prophet in stripping Sorran of his cumbersome
attire. The poisoned Elite Minor soon lay naked upon the surface of the
table.
"Do you wish that I should fetch a blanket, so as to
cover up Sorran holy one?" Zharn questioned of Convalescence, who shook
his head in protest.
"No Major, I need to see his full body in order to see which areas have been affected most." the Prophet chastised.
"But, what of the dishonour noble one?" Zharn refuted.
"There
is no dishonour in being healed Zharn. I often find myself wishing that
the Sangheili would do away with their sense of honour, it makes my
task only harder."
Zharn flushed at the elderly Prophet's rebuke, knowing him to be right.
"Of course holy one. Even as you say. Do you require my assistance further, or may I part?"
"You
may leave Zharn, I shall send a runner once Sorran has awoken. May the
ancients guide you." the Prophet nodded, turning away from the Elite
Major.
"And lead us all upon the path." Zharn completed the
ritual, marching out through the sliding doors of the infirmary. Ahkrin
awaited on the other side, alert.
"Well?" the Stealth Sangheili questioned of Zharn, who's shoulders rose.
"Convalescence told me to come back later. The poison is not critical, Sorran will live."
"'tis
indeed good news, in these troubling times. Come, a Kig-Yar messenger
came to me but a moment ago. The Zealot requests our presence." Ahkrin
replied solemnly, and Zharn's head rose, curious.
"The Zealot? Truly? Why bother himself with ones such as us?"
"Perhaps he has heard about your triumph over the Demon." Ahkrin mused doubtfully.
"Have you told any of the encounter?" Zharn questioned, suspicious.
"Well, nay, but perhaps one of the Brutes upon the Phantom overheard us."
There was a pause, as Zharn thought about the situation.
"Perhaps. We shall soon discover the truth ourselves, let us go Ahkrin. Where is the Zealot?"
Ahkrin shrugged, puzzled.
"I'm
not entirely sure brother; I presume he would be in the officer's
living quarters." replied the Stealth Sangheili, and Zharn sighed
exasperatingly.
"Not entirely sure? Ahkrin, the Immortal Repentance is colossal. We could spend all week searching for the honoured Zealot." the Major cried out.
"I'm sure we can find one of the Honour Guard to lead us to him Zharn, worry not. Let us move, Sorran isn't going anywhere."
"By your word, Ahkrin."
Eventually,
an hour later, the two Sangheili stumbled into the Zealot's quarters,
tired. Zharn had been right, it had taken a long time to find the ship
master of the Immortal Repentance. They found the Zealot to be
standing by an observation window, deep in thought. Zharn looked at
Ahkrin nervously, wondering if they should announce themselves. There
was no need.
"Major Zharn, Operative Ahkrin. It's good to see
you." the Zealot spoke , turning around. Zharn nodded uneasily; he'd
never met the Sangheili before in his life.
"You beckoned us great one?" Ahkrin asked in a timid tone of voice he usually reserved for the Prophets themselves.
"I
did. I heard about what happened at the outpost. I'm sorry for your
losses, would it that I could have sent reinforcements in time." the
Zealot apologised, and Zharn nodded sadly, narrowing his eyes to slits
at the same time. The high ranking Sangheili hadn't called them merely
to convey condolences.
"Thank you, noble one." Zharn replied suspiciously.
"But
I did not call you here for that. The truth is, the Prophets have
commanded this ship to stage an attack upon a human city on 'Eridanus
II'. It is a small one, yet it produces many weapons and vehicles the
humans need. I would lead the attack myself, but I don't trust anyone
to command the Repentance in my absence, and my Sub Commander
is getting a little too defiant. I need to keep an eye upon him." the
Zealot told both Zharn and Ahkrin, who nodded.
"Of course noble one. But, if I may be so impertinent as to ask, what does this have to do with us?" Ahkrin questioned boldly.
"Everything.
I heard about how you invaded a human base on your own, to save a
fellow warrior. Zharn, I wish you to command the attack, with your
friend Ahkrin under you. If the one named Sorran is recovered by then,
take him along too. You leave in a week."
"But noble Zealot, I
am a mere Major, not permitted to command such an operation. As a
Stealth Sangheili, Ahkrin may be qualified, but I am not." Zharn
protested, and the Zealot smiled, nodding.
"Which is why I put
your name forward for a promotion to Ultra, and it has been approved.
Congratulations are in order Zharn, Sangheili Ultra. Go down to the
armoury, and you shall find that I have prepared you a set of new
armour, as well as your own Energy blade."
Zharn stood there,
speechless, his mouth open in shock. He couldn't utter a word, all his
life he had dreamed of becoming an Ultra, like his late father. And
now, his wish was fulfilled.
"You're catching flies Zharn." Ahkrin commented wryly, nudging him. Zharn snapped out of his stupor, and bowed to the Zealot.
"Thank you noble one, you have no idea what an honour this is." the now Ultra thanked, stuttering slightly. The Zealot smirked.
"Oh,
I think I do. Go Zharn, collect that which is your right. And never let
it be said that Thel Vadam'ee does not reward those faithful to the
path."
Ahkrin and Zharn bowed in respect, and left the chamber.
"You
know what this means, don't you?" Zharn asked of Ahkrin as the two
walked past the Honour Guards, exiting the Zealot's rooms.
"That you finally achieved your lifelong dream?" Ahkrin guessed, smiling.
"Well,
yes, but it also means that I'm of a higher rank than you now. I can
command you as I will." Zharn told the Stealth Sangheili, who laughed
with mirth.
"Ah, Zharn, my friend. Try that, and I'm afraid that even our bond shall not stay my blade from entering your throat."
*******************
: > 0430 Hours, September 15, 2530 (Military Calendar)/ UNSC Planet Eridanus II/ Delta Base
"The prisoner escaped?!?"
"It would seem so Ambassador Errand. The best we can tell, two other Elites infiltrated the base, and escaped with him."
"And Spartan 078?"
"MIA
sir, the Super Intendant class AI has footage of him being thrown off
the cliff by one of the Elites. There's no possible way he could have
survived."
Errand ran a hand across his face, trying to think.
What would ONI say when they heard one of their golden boys, one of
Halsey's pet freaks, had been killed? It certainly wouldn't do him any
favours.
Of course, he wasn't an Ambassador. Nor was his name
even Errand. That was an alias he was known by throughout non military
personnel. The marines and Navy knew him as Colonel Errand. James
Ackerson was forever careful to keep his true identity a secret.
It wouldn't matter in the future, not if his own project was approved by Section III. But for now, every single Spartan was a gold mine. Precious and finite.
"*** it. Any idea where the Elites went?" Ackerson growled at the technician, who shook his head.
"Negative Ambassador, a Phantom picked them up, and jumped ship through slip space above atmosphere. They could be anywhere."
"I
guess they won this round then." Ackerson sighed, sitting down. He
hated the fact that the Covenant were more advanced than humanity.
As he reached for his cold glass of lager on the table, a speaker in the corner blared.
"Ambassador
Errand sir; I've got someone here you might want to see. It's him sir,
the Spartan." a women's voice called, and Ackerson's face brightened
considerably. At least Vice Admiral Parangosky wouldn't have his head
now.
"Show him in. Rogers, you're dismissed." Ackerson ordered,
and the technician left his office, a little disappointed. As he left,
a huge figure entered.
The Spartan looked rough. A huge welt
covered the left hand side of his face, and one of his eyes was puffy
and black. His armour was covered with dirt, grime, and general
tarnish. The super soldier's mouth was bloodied and swollen. One of the
Spartan's arms was bent backwards at an unnatural angle. Still, 078
somehow managed to salute at Ackerson.
"Sir, Spartan 078 reporting."
Ackerson
scowled; he hated each and every one of the Spartans. Freaks, the lot
of them. Still, he had an alias to keep up, and 'Errand' harboured no
resent against the Spartans. So Ackerson forced himself to smile.
"Good to see you son. What happened?" Ackerson spoke.
"The Elite took me by surprise, collapsed a wall on top of me. I was weakened, and it managed to throw me off the cliff."
"That's a change, you Spartans are usually the ones with success." Ackerson commented bitterly, and 078 frowned.
"Yes sir, well, not this time. Do you know where the Elites went?"
"That's a negative Spartan."
"Well, if and when they come back, I'm going to hunt them down, and kill them...sir" the Spartan vowed.
"I doubt you'll be able to distinguish them. An Elite is an Elite." Ackerson said, bored already.
"Not so sir, I can tell the difference."
"We'll see. You'd better go patch yourself up Spartan. Head down to the med bay"
"Yes
sir, Colonel Ackerson." the Spartan saluted one last time, with the
hint of a mocking smile. Ackerson watched the man leave his room
calmly, reclining back and taking a drink. He paused mid sip, and then
froze. The Spartan had known his name! How? Impossible, no one here
knew it.
Ackerson would have to follow up on this later. He
settled back down, troubled. Did the Spartan also know what his real
reasons for being on Eridanus II were?
**********************
Immortal Repentance Infirmary
Sorran
looked around the room he was in. The aesthetics seemed to be of the
Covenant. He sighed in relief. It was a small chamber, thick with the
heavy smell of incense and medicine. Hunched in a corner was...
"Prophet."
Sorran wheezed out, intending to say more, but breaking into a coughing
fit. The elderly San 'Shyuum turned around, a smile upon his wizened
face.
"Ah, you've awoken. Excellent. I was beginning to worry. My name is Convalescence."
Sorran
nodded weakly, and attempted to rise. Convalescence shuffled towards
him and pressed Sorran down gently, despite the Sangheili's resistance.
Sorran knew then he must have been as frail as a Huragok youngling, to
be physically bested by a Prophet. The Elite looked down, and his eyes
widened.
"My clothes..." Sorran breathed, feeling the heat rise to his face. Convalescence nodded distractedly.
"Yes,
we had to remove them. Fear not, I shall have my acolyte fetch you some
new attire momentarily. For now, drink this liquid, it shall restore
some of your strength."
The Prophet passed over a wooden mug,
hand made by the look of it, and Sorran gratefully accepted it. He
drank, and felt energy rush through his limbs. He gave his thanks to
the Prophet, who was ordering his 'acolyte' via a communication array
to bring up some clothes for him.
"Where am I?" Sorran
questioned of the Prophet, who smiled once again. He was very unlike
the cold, haughty San 'Shyuum Sorran was used to seeing in the Great
Library of High Charity.
"Aboard the great vessel Immortal Repentance."
Convalescence replied softly. The name sounded familiar to Sorran, and
he realised that it was the name of the ship Zharn had requested
reinforcements from before the outpost was attacked by the humans. They
had never arrived.
"Have you seen a Major named Zharn, and a
Stealth Sangheili named Ahkrin around here, holy one?" Sorran
questioned of the Prophet, who nodded.
"Yes, they were here a
few hours ago. They bid me to inform them once you had awoken, I shall
ask an Unggoy to lead you to them soon, they sent me a runner but a
short moment ago telling me they were in the armoury. And ah, here is
Savara with you clothes." Convalescence noted, and Sorran turned his
head towards the door. A young, pretty looking Sangheili female entered
the room timidly, carrying a bundle of light garments. She looked
around the room, and, noticing Sorran's nudity, flushed, turning away.
"I'm sorry great ones, I should have knocked." Savara apologised softly.
"Hmm?
Ah, yes, think nothing of it my child. If anything, it is my fault, I
should have given Sorran here a piece of material to cover himself
with." Convalescence replied to the Sangheili aide, who nodded meekly.
"Here
are your clothes noble warrior." she said, pressing the bundle upon
Sorran's chest. He caught her staring, and she gasped, blushing. She
turned away, hurrying out the room. The Prophet chuckled.
"I
believe she was quite taken by you, young warrior. If you wish, I can
introduce you properly, perhaps you can go for a meal or a stroll." the
San 'Shyuum laughed, and now it was Sorran's turn to blush. He didn't,
however, reply. Perhaps he would take up the Prophet's offer.
"Could I trouble you for a hand to help me rise?" Sorran asked without thinking, and the Prophet shook his head.
"Not unless you wished to have to nurse me
back to health Sangheili. I am not as young as I once would, and
supporting your weight would no doubt tear me apart." Convalescence
chided, and Sorran nodded, suddenly feeling foolish. He rose out of the
makeshift bed himself, with effort, and pulled the soft, civilian
clothes over his body. Strangely, he still felt naked without his
armour on, which he had grown used to over the past few weeks.
"Thank you holy one, for tending to me. Is there anyway I can repay you?" Sorran asked, and the Prophet chuckled.
"Nay
my son, all I ask is that you continue to do what's right for the
Covenant. Now come, I shall see if I can find an Unggoy outside to lead
you to your companions."
"This one has forgotten whether it's heatsink is over capacity. It wonders whether the criminal scum considers itself fortunate" ~ Blasto, the only Hanar Spectre.