[b]Part 17 - Things never go according to plan[/b] Scribes and scholars observed Sorran and Hem with awe as the two grandly dressed Honour Guard strode through the tight corridors which littered the study district of High Charity. Sorran felt nervous, jumping at every shadow, glaring at every person who glanced their way. And all the while, he was expected to keep his stave in sync with Hem's, so the two formed a barrier in front of Restraint. Sorran's head rose up and down as he constantly checked the rooftops. They seemed to be an awful security risk; any fool who was a dab hand with a rifle could pick the Minister off. Or could they? Sorran had no idea just how powerful Restraint's personal energy shields were. Hem didn't seem to be worried, and if he was, the old Sangheili certainly didn't show it outright. He walked tall and confident, his being giving off a sense of power. Even Hunters assigned to guard posts moved out of his way anxiously. Sorran, on the other hand, evidently radiated an air of uncertainty. Fellow Sangheili leered at him suspiciously, Unggoy glared at him bitterly, Jackals stared at him between narrow eyes. As he was staring at a rooftop in paranoia, he suddenly felt himself smash into something solid and fall to the ground. Dazed, he looked up to see a Hunter surveying him in anger. "Be mindful of where you walk!" The Hunter's voice rumbled like the crashing of a thousand lightning storms, sending fear straight down Sorran's spine. A crowd had gathered around Sorran and the Hunter, no doubt wanting to see the blind Honour Guard stomped upon by the raging behemoth towering over him. Sorran swallowed nervously. "Sorry," he muttered, trying to scramble to his feet. The Hunter stared incredulously at his bond brother behind him, before turning back to the frightened Sangheili. "So you should be!" The Hunter hefted Sorran up with a lone hand, ramming him painfully into the wall of the book keeper's, causing the metal to dint. Sorran managed to break out of his panicking stupor, and glared at the Hunter, who had the clear look of murder about him. Without waiting to find out if the Hunter would grow angrier, Sorran reached down to his belt with a clear hand and drew out his energy sword, driving it into the left leg of the huge beast. Lekgolo worms tumbled to the ground as they died, burned to death by the searing hot plasma. The Hunter cried out in pain, dropping Sorran to the ground. The Hunter removed the sword from its leg with a yowl, before leering down at Sorran. It swung its heavy shield in the Honour Guard's direction, raging. Sorran ducked the blow, which instead took a sizeable chunk out of the building it struck. The Sangheili hefted his dropped stave from the ground, igniting its charge. He aimed it at the Hunter's exposed torso, and-- "Part fools!" a familiar voice cried out over the turmoil of the small fight. A moment later, Hem came into few, his own energy sword drawn. He stared at Sorran, stave raised; and the Hunter, Assault Cannon glowing a dangerous green as it warmed up. Understanding the situation, Hem grabbed the startled Hunter by the folds in its armour, somehow driving the huge juggernaut against the opposite wall menacingly. The Hunter's bond brother stood, uncertain, as was the crowd looking on. "Do you realise who you brawl with [i]worm[/i]?" Hem demanded of the Hunter, and there was a sharp intake of breath from the crowd. 'Worm' was one of the worst insults one could attribute to the Mglekgolo. "We--" the Hunter began to justify, voice uncertain. "That was a rhetorical question! Speak not, and know your place. I and my friend whom you scrap with are regal Honour Guards of the noble Minister of Restraint," Hem informed the Hunter, the Lekgolo eels which formed it each growing paler. The crowd had grown wide-eyed; Restraint was not a name to be bandied about lightly. Whilst he may not be Hierarch anymore, he still commanded a lot of influence with the Council. "We did not know--" Hunters always referred to themselves as 'we', never 'I'. "Quite evidently. Only a fool would pick a fight with Restraint's Guard. I should have you thrown to imprisoned Jackals; they could make good use of the meat," Hem threatened. Sorran clambered to his feet, staring darkly at the Hunter. And at the same time he was astounded. Long ago, had such a fight occurred, he would have been torn to shreds by the Hunter, who would receive no punishment. Being an Honour Guard of one so respected has its advantages. "What has transpired here?" the voice was Restraint's. All faces turned to survey the Prophet as he moved through the parting ensemble. Hem growled one last time at the Hunter, before tearing his gaze away. "Noble master, this...leech has deemed it appropriate to attack Honour Guard Sorran," Hem explained to the Minister, who regarded the Hunter and his bond brother (who seemed to be trying to distance himself from his mate) through narrowed eyes. "Really now? And was this attack provoked?" Restraint demanded. The circle of onlookers around them instantly began to shake their heads in Sorran's favour. Sorran hesitated. "I may have bumped into the Hunter by accident. But it overreacted," he said, not wanting to Hunter to be killed just for offending him. Restraint turned to the Hunter. "Is this true?" There was silence for a few moments, in which the Hunter shifted on its feet nervously. "Perhaps." Restraint's eyebrows rose at the behemoth's ambiguous reply, "We mean; yes, noble one. We apologise." The Minister sighed, before frowning. "We have wasted much time here. Hunter, your life shall be spared. You and your bond brother will, however, report to your superior for reassignment of the negative kind. Do you understand my wishes?" Restraint instructed the Hunter and his paired mate. Sorran thought it a little unfair that the other Hunter was to be punished for his bond brother's crime. Then again, the two were telepathically linked, both being formed by eels of the same colony, so it made sense. "Yes, noble Minster," the two Hunters replied in unison, marching off glumly. Restraint smiled, satisfied. Hem still seemed angry about the incident. "Don't you have better affairs to attend to?" he demanded of the awed crowd, who instantly scurried away, busying themselves. Restraint glided over to Sorran. "Are you hurt?" the Minister questioned. Sorran shrugged. "A little bruised, but I think the Hunter ended up worse off." Hem walked up to the Minister, seeming upset with the Prophet. "Tell me old friend, [i]why[/i] did you allow that worm to leave with his life? You should have thrown him in a vat of hot oil for his insolence. Attacking an Honour Guard! How dare he even have the--" "Hem, you're rambling," Restraint told his friend with a laugh, holding up a hand. Sorran smiled wryly. "I heard the trait of senility came with age," he joked, which received the young Honour Guard a shove from the older. "Killing one who has offended you is a very low thing to do. I am no Prophet of Truth," Restraint explained. The mood between the group of three turned darker at Truth's mention. "I suppose you are right," Hem grumbled, sounding very much like the old Sangheili he was, "but that doesn't mean I like it." "And you don't have to. Such is the blessing of free will. Now come, we must hurry if we are to reach the Great Library before all the pesky scholars awaken. No offence intended Sorran," the Minister added the last part in response to Sorran's wordless protest. "Oh, and Sorran? Try not to pick another fight with someone twice the height of you." * * * * * * * * * * [i]"I am in position Ahkrin. Are you?"[/i] Ahkrin hesitated for a few moments, wondering one last time if his hastily thrown together plan was a sound one. Then he cleared his head of doubtful thoughts. "Of course," he told Zharn over the channel with false bravado. The Ultra scoffed, before terminating the link. Ahkrin looked down at the humans below, by the warehouse. The Demon was still there -- his weapon was holstered, but Ahkrin knew that the Spartan would be able to kill him in a hundred different ways without the assistance of fire arms. Then the signal came. A single human shot was fired in the air, followed by a surge of plasma fire. The sounds came from the distance, back down in the valley where the snipers had sat positioned. Immediately the human shoulders were alert, bringing out their primitive weapons, squinting hard down the valley. Colonel Errand frowned. "We've got Covenant. 038, take ten of my men and head down to find out what the hell is going on with Sierra Bravo 1." The Demon nodded, signalling for a group of marines to follow him. The group trudged off into the distance, into the mist. The human Colonel below scowled, and shouted something unintelligible at a group of ODSTs, followed by a command. The troopers moved around the corner of the warehouse, leaving Errand on his lonesome. Errand stared at the skies nervously. He should have kept his eyes on the ground. Ahkrin disengaged his stealth camouflage in front of the Colonel, punching him in the face. Armour met skin, and the Sangheili felt several bones smash under his fist. The Colonel went reeling back, holding his bloodied nose in shock. Ahkrin gave the human no respite, landing a solid kick in the human's gut. Errand collapsed to the ground in pain, staring up desperately at his attacker. Ahkrin grew arrogant, believing the Colonel beat. Therefore, he was shocked when Errand drew out from his coat a small object, tossing it in Ahkrin's direction. The Sangheili stared at it curiously, before he realised with horror just what he was staring at. Flashbang. Before Ahkrin could avert his eyes, the world exploded in a flurry of light and sound.