* Zharn had once walked a glassed planet of the humans'. The name of it escaped him now; it didn't really matter, he supposed. Names were for things that had meaning, not barren spheres of glass hanging in the night. He'd gone alone. Reflected upon what had happened. The vitrification had been immense, every step he'd taken had cracked the ground. This planet had been the victim of a low orbital glassing, leaving some skyscrapers and other tall structures only partially submerged in the silver pool, like someone had dropped a metropolis on an ocean. What had stricken him most had been the quiet. Not even the winds survived the glassing, the atmosphere almost burnt completely aware. Tectonic activity had all but ceased, the tip of a volcano in the distance smothered by pearl. It had changed him. He'd come back not satisfied with victory as he'd expected, but depressed. What right did mere men have to destroy an entire world? Through all the memories of that solemn walk, the silence stayed with him the strongest. High Charity reminded him of this now. But there had been no glassing, no cataclysmic event. People just stayed inside, terrified of a quarantine and the rumours of human infiltration, and the demon reputed to be stealing souls from the innocent. Smothered in a blanket of fear. "It feels as though we are the only two survivors on a dead world," Orpheus remarked, epitomising Zharn's thoughts perfectly. He merely nodded, trudging along. There was no cracked glass beneath his feet, but the ground he walked on felt just as fragile, just as temporal. "We've seen no humans yet," he observed, the thought troubling him. "Nor any warriors, or even dead bodies. It disturbs me." "Which district is this? I have never been to High Charity before," Orpheus confessed, seeming a little embarrassed. All true Covenant were supposed to make the pilgrimage at least once. "I... don't know," Zharn also admitted, coughing delicately. "I've never been here either. Ironic that our first pilgrimage should be under circumstances such as these." "Ahkrin is here, is he not?" Orpheus asked, looking around as if their friend would just happen to be walking along the same street as they. "Chasing demons, same as we," Zharn filled in. "Or so the hierarchs say." "You don't trust them?" Zharn asked with surprise. Orpheus shrugged. "I have not yet met a San 'Shyuum who could be trusted. We Jiralhanae try to keep clear of the politics of the Covenant as best we can, aside from Tartarus. Their lapdog." "... I know him," Zharn responded easily, thinking back to how the hulking Jiralhanae chieftain had contributed to Sorran's conviction and execution. His blade itched to meet Tartarus' throat. "Wait. I see someone up ahead." It was a guard, standing before a hastily assembled gate of hard light. Not just any guard, but a Light of Helios. The name was a misnomer. Their true loyalty lay not to Sanghelios, but to the Prophets who ruled the world from the shadows. Zharn motioned for Orpheus to get behind him, and approached reluctantly. "Hail," he greeted. The Light merely stared back impassively, his eyes a mystery beneath the helmet he wore. The other Sangheili stood a few inches taller than Zharn. "Turn around, sir," the Light commanded with the air of someone accustomed to being listened to. "We've had reports of plague in this district, and I'm to let--" "Oh, enough with that," Zharn snapped, drawing himself up to full height and failing to meet the Light in the eyes. He took reassurance in the fact that Orpheus at least stood taller. "I know what is really going on here; is the demon within?" The Light seemed to be taken aback by Zharn's words, and look around suspiciously. He flexed his fingers. "Who are you?" he demanded, a hand not a few centimetres from the weapon at his side. Zharn began to tire of this. "I am Fleetmaster Thierr'ee, and this is my Jiralhanae... bodyguard. We've come to investigate the reports of humans on High Charity; my fleet hangs in orbit on the order of the hierarchs." There was an awkward silence for several moments, broken only by the nervous cough of the Light of Helios. "[i]You're[/i]... Thierr'ee?" the Light asked finally, and something in his voice was no quite right. "Zharn, son of Zyn Thierr'ee and sole heir of my house. Scan me if you wish, but I am going inside." "Sure," the Light finally replied, again something not normal in his inflection. "Go right inside, fleetmaster. It's good to have someone of your station here to deal with the situation." A portion of the hard light lost the solidity of its photons, and the Light gestured for he and Orpheus to head right on inside. Zharn after a few seconds moved past the Sangheili, hearing Orpheus in tow. He had not made it even a few steps when he heard the plasma rifle warm up, its heated tip pressing dangerously into his side. "Don't move," the Light warned, speaking to both of them. "Fleetmaster Thierr'ee, I'm placing you under arrest for collaboration with wanted heretics. So much as cough and you'll be dead before the spittle hits the ground." * Savara had always been good at Arums, solving most within six hours. They'd kept her occupied as a child; she'd been raised separately from the other children in her keep, daughter of an Imperial Admiral. Her mother had died giving birth, and Grymar'ee had always resented his child for that no matter how much he'd denied it. She'd never really known love. Sure, her father showed her the mandatory love of a parent. But whenever he looked at her he just saw the thing which killed his wife. If she'd been male it might have been better. A sphere spun, reaching out for the others. An audible click rang through the cell. Convalescence had filled that void left by her father, taking her under his wing when she joined the Covenant against the Imperial Admiral's wishes and influence; no one else had dared accept her and risk her father's wrath, but the minister had convinced Vadam' to allow her on board. Thel wasn't afraid of anyone, not even her father. It was all just a matter of looking at it like a container to be opened; rather than a key, a puzzle unlocked it. She didn't see it as a problem. Her shoulder still ached and she could see her swollen face reflected in one of the Arum's spheres. Then she'd met Sorran. He wasn't the most handsome, strong or powerful Sangheili she'd ever met or had court her. But he'd been honest about his intentions, pure and innocent like no other she'd encountered before. In the few weeks they'd had, everything changed; she'd fallen in love. But then he committed heresy defending a child as any honourable Sangheili would do, and before she'd even heard word of his arrest he'd been found dead in his cell. And all that time she'd just been going about her life, waiting and smiling as her love had been taken from the world. The pattern was beginning to show itself now, and the solution was almost at hand. She winced as her bloodied fingers crept under the concentric spheres and deftly spun them, each flick of the hand revealing a new piece of art. The glitter of the crystal within shone briefly, and she knew she was getting close. Even now her grief was still strong. Except... Pel had given her hope. She knew it was most likely false, another psychological attack designed to wear her down more and more until she broke and told him what he thought she knew. Even so, she had to latch onto that hope no matter how slight it was. She owed that to Sorran at least. [i]Click![/i] the Arum congratulated as the final sphere swung into place and began to peel itself apart. A small, gleaming orb fell to the ground. She studied it closely. Not a crystal, but a holodrone. Tentatively she reached out a finger, touched its shimmering surface. As if it had been waiting for her, the small device came to life, and she gasped. * [Edited on 12.25.2011 12:01 PM PST]