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Description
Fate.

- In orbit around Sangheilios -

- CSO Supercarrier, Purity of Thought -

- December 2555 -

Aside from brief moments of consciousness, Thel 'Vadam hasn't been awake in some time. Memories come in slowly, then pick up speed. He remembers fighting alongside his human ally, the Spartan, inside the Cartographer. They had found the map room, located the Library, then they were ambushed by Zealots. He was knocked unconscious and the thought of being left in such a vulnerable state angers him.

Before opening his eyes, he uses his other senses to analyze his environment. He appears to be standing, with his arms locked to his sides, much like he was when he received the Mark of Shame. He can feel the subtle vibrations of a ship's heartbeat beneath his hooves, indicating that he's no longer on the surface anymore.

The first thing he notices upon opening his eyes is the armour he's wearing. Thel 'Vadam is no longer wearing the blue armour of a Minor, but the armour of the Arbiter. Despite the new gold color of the suit, it feels exactly the same as it did when he last wore it.

He lifts his head and he finds himself in the middle of a circular room with a staircase at the far end leading up to a throne. Sitting on the grand chair is a female Sangheili clad in sophisticated armour with a cape.

Imperial Admiral Zireid 'Jar Takhai.

"Welcome, Arbiter," she finally says. "It is good to see you out of the role of the lowly Minor and back in your rightful armour."

Her expression reveals admiration, contempt and something else Thel could not identify.

Zireid sighs and shakes her head. "There was a time when I would have believed that the union of our bloodlines would have produced the next great hero of Sangheilios, but such days are past us now,"

She presses a button on the arm of her throne and the hovering shackles around Thel's wrists deactivate. The Arbiter brings his arms down and notices there's an Energy Sword holstered to his thigh.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demands. "Why have you brought me here?"

"You are truly something of an oddity among our species, Arbiter. How can someone who has fought the humans for as long as you have wish for peace with them? And why would you wish to reunite the Covenant after what the San 'Shyuum and the Jiralhanae have done to us?"

Thel wonders why his captor left him with a weapon, but he answers her question anyway.

"Because ceaseless war would only lead to mutually assured destruction,"

The Imperial Admiral opens her mandibles and laughs.

"And that is what makes you so strange! You want to avoid destruction through peace. Our brothers, on the other hand, wish for nothing but destruction and death for anyone they wish,"

She stops laughing and asks him,

"Do you know of what happened at Forsaken Voyage?"

The Arbiter hesitates as he recalls the pieces of information he's gleamed from his comrades and the Space Pirate prisoner.

"The Jiralhanae Alpha Male was killed,"

"And?"

"Was he assassinated by Sangheili?"

Zireid cocks her head and thinks.

"So the Jiralhanae claim, but they were too busy squabbling over themselves trying to take possession of the Fist of Rukt and attacking our brothers to go into much detail. My point, however, is that the Sangheili on the council didn't try to reason or pacify the Brutes. When the Jiralhanae attacked, our brothers simply reached for their weapons and fought back. It was like the final days of High Charity all over again,"

Thel processes this information. The former Brute Army Commander had fought against the Space Pirates, learned of the San 'Shyuum's lies and approached him with a sincere offer to stop his pack brothers from enforcing the will of the Prophet of Foresight. Together with the Prophet of Compassion, they tried to rebuild the Covenant.

"What of the Prophet of Compassion? Where was he?"

"He and his personal guards went missing just before the Alpha Male was killed,"

He points his finger at the Imperial Admiral.

"Was it you who ordered his assassination?!"

"Why would I sabotage one of our only chances for peace? Despite its futility, it was a noble effort nonetheless,"

Thel can not get a good read on this female. Her intentions are completely unknown to him. She speaks as if peace was a noble effort and yet Usze 'Taham told him that she was opposed to peace with the humans.

Zireid resumes speaking.

"To answer your question, Arbiter, I had no involvement in his assassination. It could have been anybody. You are mistaken if you believe that I have control over all Sangheili fleets. There are dozens of warlords throughout space who lead the jagged pieces of the Covenant. I am merely one of them,"

"Then do not waste my time with talk, Imperial Admiral," Thel says as he turns his back on her and makes for the exit, only to find that the door is locked.

"Would you prefer to speak with swords instead, Arbiter?"

Growing frustrated, Thel turns to face her again and demands, "What is it that you seek? Why bring me here? Why declare war on the humans?"

Zireid laughs humourlessly, "Would it comfort you to know that I have no personal quarrel with the humans? Why would I hate the species whose destruction brought so much honour and glory for myself and my clan? I was grateful for their existence,"

The Arbiter grows more confused by the second. Zireid looks away for a moment and shakes her head.

"It is our brothers who continue to despise and loath the humans. I have merely come to terms with the true state of our race,"

"And what state is that?"

She looks at him again and the look in her eyes unsettles him.

"After the Great Schism, my eyes were opened in more ways than one. I saw how pitiful we were without the Covenant. Our people are warriors, but nothing else. From the moment we can walk, we are trained to fight, kill and die. All for what? Too few of our race knows how to farm, build, tinker with machinery or any other menial task. We have left these matters in the hands of the other species. We were too preoccupied with being the Prophets' warriors, following their every command until death,"

"The war has also corrupted the minds of our brothers. We have been fighting the humans for too long and there are too few left who remember the days of peace that came before it. Nobody wishes for peace. Our brothers only wish to do what they've always known and that is to fight,"

"You make us sound like warmongering barbarians!" accuses Thel.

"And that is exactly what we are! There are Sangheili who have broken the peace treaty and continue to raze human colonies in search of Forerunner artifacts. There are those who have sunk so low as to hire themselves out as mercenaries. Don't you see? Our brothers care nothing for honour, family and nobility. They choose to fight only for greed and power,"

"There is still honour left in our race!"

Zireid leans forwards in her throne and laughs.

"Honour, ha! Whatever honour we had was lost millennia ago when we surrendered to the San 'Shyuum. We have allowed them to bend and twist our concept of honour for their own benefit, just like they did to the badge of Arbiter."

She leans back against her chair and smirks at Thel.

"Tell me, was it honourable to slaughter the weak and the defenceless? That is what we did. We killed humans without discrimination, even the children and those who chose not to fight. We burned them from orbit where they had no means of fighting back. We did it all for the Prophets' favour. They made us believe that humans were unclean, faithless and desecrators of all that is holy. Honour meant nothing. We let our rage fuel us and we killed them without pity,"

Thel bristles at her words. During the war, he tried to preserve his sense of honour. He led more ground engagements than orbital bombardments. He gave the human solders a chance to reach for their weapons before he fought them.

"Don't you see, Arbiter? Our honour is as worthless as the Mantle!"

"Enough!"

Thel takes his sword in hand and activates it. He can not stand listening to this madwoman any longer.

"If it is a fight you seek, come down from your throne so we may exchange blades. I will not listen to you insult our race any longer,"

Zireid snorts in derision at him.

"How predictable. Letting battle decide everything. That is another thing we have in common with the Jiralhanae. Like them, we cannot resist fighting. Like them, we devour our enemies, especially when they're alive. Like them, we fought over the Prophets' favour,"

Thel steps towards the throne and hesitates. He's still not certain what her intentions are, or whether she's goading him on. Zireid 'Jar Takhai stands up and removes her cape before climbing down the stairs. She doesn't appear eager to do battle. Her face shows disappointment, even a touch of boredom.

The Arbter steels himself. Even though she's female, he knows for a fact that she's a master of the sword, hence the "ai" suffix in her name.

"Have you no faith left in your race?" Thel asks her.

"All my faith was lost during the Great Schism. My brothers betrayed me. The San 'Shyuum and Jiralhanae betrayed us. That's when I realized what fools we have always been. Blind, deluded and battle-hungry fools,"

She smiles and the two Elites circle each other in the ring. She hasn't even drawn her weapon yet.

"I wish to see how far our pathetic species will go before realizing their mistakes, if we ever do. I will lead our fleets on a Great Journey to wipe out all of our enemies, starting with the humans,"

Thel almost attacks her at that very moment, but he can tell by her stance that she would be ready to counter in the time it would take for him to close the distance.

"Reigniting the war will serve nothing,"

Zireid laughs again.

"I agree, Arbiter, but it will satisfy the bloodlust of our race. We will finish the job of eradicating the humans or die trying. Once they're eliminated, we will focus our attention on the Jiralhanae and what's left of the San 'Shyuum. Then we'll destroy the Kig-Yar and the wretched Space Pirates. With our primary enemies eliminated, I'll have us destroy the Yanme'e, the Unggoy and the Lekgolo for their betrayals during the Great Schism,"

The Arbiter cannot believe what he's hearing.

"Once we have cleansed the galaxy, we will no doubt turn on each other, or perhaps during our crusade. It makes no difference. Our race is doomed to extinction or disgrace, one way or another. Our colonies will be destroyed. Sangheilios and her people will be reduced to-"

"This is madness! How can you condemn our people to this cursed path? I will not allow it!"

Zireid smiles wickedly at him.

"And that is what makes you special. You are the only one who thinks he can make a difference. The only one deluded enough to believe our people can know peace. You have fought the humans for as long as any of us. You were there when we were betrayed by the Jiralhanae and the San 'Shyuum and yet you still wish for an end to the fighting. You chose to shed the armour of Arbiter and don the rank of Minor to prove yourself all over again. Not one single Sangheili would have ever done that, but nobody can deny that it was the honourable choice,"

"Is that why you brought me here? To return me to my former rank and stop you?" The Arbiter asks.

The Imperial Admiral shakes her head. She wants to see if she can break him.

She swiftly grabs her sword, activates it and feints a charge before turning invisible. Thel had prepared to block her attack but then he sees her disappear. Luckily, his armour retains its active camo and he vanishes from sight as well.

"Would you endanger the children of Sangheilios? Even your children?" Thel's voice speaks from somewhere in the room.

Now Zireid's voice sounds angry.

"Since when have our people cared for life at all? The lives of children mean nothing to the clans! They are slaughtered without pity or mercy if even a single relative shows the slightest sign of weakness. As for my children, I once watched with pride as they trained hard, but now I see them as training to fight and die for some worthless cause like the rest of us,"

A blur of movement in the corner of the room and two swords clash against each other, followed by an energy dagger slicing through nothing before the air becomes still again.

"Killing me would accomplish nothing, Arbiter! Our brothers will continue to slaughter whomever they wish. Your attempt at reuniting the Covenant has only proven how little we care for peace. The Sangheili care nothing for honour and I would rather see us all die before we sink any lower!"

"Lower?" Thel's voice is enraged but curious. "I didn't think it possible for you to think less of our race,"

The Imperial Admiral deactivates her camouflage and turns off her energy sword. Her eyes show nothing but disdain, contempt and despair.

"If Jul has found what he claims, then there is no hope left for our species,"

"Jul?" The Arbiter reveals himself as well. "Jul 'Mdama? What has he found?"

"Requiem. He believes it is the resting place of the last Forerunner,"

Thel blinks in surprise. The Oracle told him that all Forerunners had died.

Zireid shakes her head. "If he succeeds in awakening this 'Didact', as he calls it, then our brothers will once again become the slaves of a false god,"

"Where is this Requiem?"

"He only shares its location with his most trusted followers. Their numbers grow by the day and soon many of my more zealous brothers will join him,"

The Arbiter remembers to keep his guard up while processing what he's heard. A living Forerunner. An Imperial Admiral leading her brothers to slaughter and self-extinction. Is there no end to this madness?

Zireid turns her back on him and returns to her throne.

"You tell me, Arbiter. Which is the least honourable course? Dying as savages or dying for a lie?"

Thel dislikes seeing his opponent turn her back on him. It's almost asking him to run his energy sword through her twin hearts, but is that what she expects?

"It doesn't have to be either way. Honour is not lost to us,"

Zireid laughs humourlessly as she sits back down.

"You are the only truly honourable Sangheili left and there are too few like you to make a difference. The number of human sympathizers is small and insufficient. Your followers may be loyal to you but not your ideals,"

An explosion is heard outside the doors to the throne room. Thel looks over his shoulder while Zireid smiles.

"It seems the mutiny has started sooner than I expected,"

"What is the meaning of this?!" Thel is confused and afraid. This madwoman keeps throwing one surprise after another.

"My fleet has been listening and watching all of this. Now they have come for my head,"

As the mutineers try to break through the sturdy doors, Thel wraps his own head around everything that she's said. Zireid leaves her throne and walks past the Arbiter.

"Do not try to help or hinder me or I will kill you too, 'Vadam. I do not expect to survive this; but if I do, I will not stop until our brothers realize what fools they are for mindlessly seeking battle and for being the honour-less wretches we have allowed ourselves to become. If that means driving our race to extinction, then so be it,"

The Imperial Admiral activates her sword as the doors are blown inward. The Arbiter merely watches in the background as she charges into battle, deflecting plasma bolts as she leaves the throne room.

Thel 'Vadam glances at the empty throne, then down the corridor where she left. Energy blasts, explosions, alarms and the cries of dying Sangheili fill the ship. The Arbiter realizes that these noises bring no joy to him. No exhilaration or anticipation of battle. Instead, those sounds seem hollow and meaningless.

Description
Fate.

- In orbit around Sangheilios -

- CSO Supercarrier, Purity of Thought -

- December 2555 -

Aside from brief moments of consciousness, Thel 'Vadam hasn't been awake in some time. Memories come in slowly, then pick up speed. He remembers fighting alongside his human ally, the Spartan, inside the Cartographer. They had found the map room, located the Library, then they were ambushed by Zealots. He was knocked unconscious and the thought of being left in such a vulnerable state angers him.

Before opening his eyes, he uses his other senses to analyze his environment. He appears to be standing, with his arms locked to his sides, much like he was when he received the Mark of Shame. He can feel the subtle vibrations of a ship's heartbeat beneath his hooves, indicating that he's no longer on the surface anymore.

The first thing he notices upon opening his eyes is the armour he's wearing. Thel 'Vadam is no longer wearing the blue armour of a Minor, but the armour of the Arbiter. Despite the new gold color of the suit, it feels exactly the same as it did when he last wore it.

He lifts his head and he finds himself in the middle of a circular room with a staircase at the far end leading up to a throne. Sitting on the grand chair is a female Sangheili clad in sophisticated armour with a cape.

Imperial Admiral Zireid 'Jar Takhai.

"Welcome, Arbiter," she finally says. "It is good to see you out of the role of the lowly Minor and back in your rightful armour."

Her expression reveals admiration, contempt and something else Thel could not identify.

Zireid sighs and shakes her head. "There was a time when I would have believed that the union of our bloodlines would have produced the next great hero of Sangheilios, but such days are past us now,"

She presses a button on the arm of her throne and the hovering shackles around Thel's wrists deactivate. The Arbiter brings his arms down and notices there's an Energy Sword holstered to his thigh.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demands. "Why have you brought me here?"

"You are truly something of an oddity among our species, Arbiter. How can someone who has fought the humans for as long as you have wish for peace with them? And why would you wish to reunite the Covenant after what the San 'Shyuum and the Jiralhanae have done to us?"

Thel wonders why his captor left him with a weapon, but he answers her question anyway.

"Because ceaseless war would only lead to mutually assured destruction,"

The Imperial Admiral opens her mandibles and laughs.

"And that is what makes you so strange! You want to avoid destruction through peace. Our brothers, on the other hand, wish for nothing but destruction and death for anyone they wish,"

She stops laughing and asks him,

"Do you know of what happened at Forsaken Voyage?"

The Arbiter hesitates as he recalls the pieces of information he's gleamed from his comrades and the Space Pirate prisoner.

"The Jiralhanae Alpha Male was killed,"

"And?"

"Was he assassinated by Sangheili?"

Zireid cocks her head and thinks.

"So the Jiralhanae claim, but they were too busy squabbling over themselves trying to take possession of the Fist of Rukt and attacking our brothers to go into much detail. My point, however, is that the Sangheili on the council didn't try to reason or pacify the Brutes. When the Jiralhanae attacked, our brothers simply reached for their weapons and fought back. It was like the final days of High Charity all over again,"

Thel processes this information. The former Brute Army Commander had fought against the Space Pirates, learned of the San 'Shyuum's lies and approached him with a sincere offer to stop his pack brothers from enforcing the will of the Prophet of Foresight. Together with the Prophet of Compassion, they tried to rebuild the Covenant.

"What of the Prophet of Compassion? Where was he?"

"He and his personal guards went missing just before the Alpha Male was killed,"

He points his finger at the Imperial Admiral.

"Was it you who ordered his assassination?!"

"Why would I sabotage one of our only chances for peace? Despite its futility, it was a noble effort nonetheless,"

Thel can not get a good read on this female. Her intentions are completely unknown to him. She speaks as if peace was a noble effort and yet Usze 'Taham told him that she was opposed to peace with the humans.

Zireid resumes speaking.

"To answer your question, Arbiter, I had no involvement in his assassination. It could have been anybody. You are mistaken if you believe that I have control over all Sangheili fleets. There are dozens of warlords throughout space who lead the jagged pieces of the Covenant. I am merely one of them,"

"Then do not waste my time with talk, Imperial Admiral," Thel says as he turns his back on her and makes for the exit, only to find that the door is locked.

"Would you prefer to speak with swords instead, Arbiter?"

Growing frustrated, Thel turns to face her again and demands, "What is it that you seek? Why bring me here? Why declare war on the humans?"

Zireid laughs humourlessly, "Would it comfort you to know that I have no personal quarrel with the humans? Why would I hate the species whose destruction brought so much honour and glory for myself and my clan? I was grateful for their existence,"

The Arbiter grows more confused by the second. Zireid looks away for a moment and shakes her head.

"It is our brothers who continue to despise and loath the humans. I have merely come to terms with the true state of our race,"

"And what state is that?"

She looks at him again and the look in her eyes unsettles him.

"After the Great Schism, my eyes were opened in more ways than one. I saw how pitiful we were without the Covenant. Our people are warriors, but nothing else. From the moment we can walk, we are trained to fight, kill and die. All for what? Too few of our race knows how to farm, build, tinker with machinery or any other menial task. We have left these matters in the hands of the other species. We were too preoccupied with being the Prophets' warriors, following their every command until death,"

"The war has also corrupted the minds of our brothers. We have been fighting the humans for too long and there are too few left who remember the days of peace that came before it. Nobody wishes for peace. Our brothers only wish to do what they've always known and that is to fight,"

"You make us sound like warmongering barbarians!" accuses Thel.

"And that is exactly what we are! There are Sangheili who have broken the peace treaty and continue to raze human colonies in search of Forerunner artifacts. There are those who have sunk so low as to hire themselves out as mercenaries. Don't you see? Our brothers care nothing for honour, family and nobility. They choose to fight only for greed and power,"

"There is still honour left in our race!"

Zireid leans forwards in her throne and laughs.

"Honour, ha! Whatever honour we had was lost millennia ago when we surrendered to the San 'Shyuum. We have allowed them to bend and twist our concept of honour for their own benefit, just like they did to the badge of Arbiter."

She leans back against her chair and smirks at Thel.

"Tell me, was it honourable to slaughter the weak and the defenceless? That is what we did. We killed humans without discrimination, even the children and those who chose not to fight. We burned them from orbit where they had no means of fighting back. We did it all for the Prophets' favour. They made us believe that humans were unclean, faithless and desecrators of all that is holy. Honour meant nothing. We let our rage fuel us and we killed them without pity,"

Thel bristles at her words. During the war, he tried to preserve his sense of honour. He led more ground engagements than orbital bombardments. He gave the human solders a chance to reach for their weapons before he fought them.

"Don't you see, Arbiter? Our honour is as worthless as the Mantle!"

"Enough!"

Thel takes his sword in hand and activates it. He can not stand listening to this madwoman any longer.

"If it is a fight you seek, come down from your throne so we may exchange blades. I will not listen to you insult our race any longer,"

Zireid snorts in derision at him.

"How predictable. Letting battle decide everything. That is another thing we have in common with the Jiralhanae. Like them, we cannot resist fighting. Like them, we devour our enemies, especially when they're alive. Like them, we fought over the Prophets' favour,"

Thel steps towards the throne and hesitates. He's still not certain what her intentions are, or whether she's goading him on. Zireid 'Jar Takhai stands up and removes her cape before climbing down the stairs. She doesn't appear eager to do battle. Her face shows disappointment, even a touch of boredom.

The Arbter steels himself. Even though she's female, he knows for a fact that she's a master of the sword, hence the "ai" suffix in her name.

"Have you no faith left in your race?" Thel asks her.

"All my faith was lost during the Great Schism. My brothers betrayed me. The San 'Shyuum and Jiralhanae betrayed us. That's when I realized what fools we have always been. Blind, deluded and battle-hungry fools,"

She smiles and the two Elites circle each other in the ring. She hasn't even drawn her weapon yet.

"I wish to see how far our pathetic species will go before realizing their mistakes, if we ever do. I will lead our fleets on a Great Journey to wipe out all of our enemies, starting with the humans,"

Thel almost attacks her at that very moment, but he can tell by her stance that she would be ready to counter in the time it would take for him to close the distance.

"Reigniting the war will serve nothing,"

Zireid laughs again.

"I agree, Arbiter, but it will satisfy the bloodlust of our race. We will finish the job of eradicating the humans or die trying. Once they're eliminated, we will focus our attention on the Jiralhanae and what's left of the San 'Shyuum. Then we'll destroy the Kig-Yar and the wretched Space Pirates. With our primary enemies eliminated, I'll have us destroy the Yanme'e, the Unggoy and the Lekgolo for their betrayals during the Great Schism,"

The Arbiter cannot believe what he's hearing.

"Once we have cleansed the galaxy, we will no doubt turn on each other, or perhaps during our crusade. It makes no difference. Our race is doomed to extinction or disgrace, one way or another. Our colonies will be destroyed. Sangheilios and her people will be reduced to-"

"This is madness! How can you condemn our people to this cursed path? I will not allow it!"

Zireid smiles wickedly at him.

"And that is what makes you special. You are the only one who thinks he can make a difference. The only one deluded enough to believe our people can know peace. You have fought the humans for as long as any of us. You were there when we were betrayed by the Jiralhanae and the San 'Shyuum and yet you still wish for an end to the fighting. You chose to shed the armour of Arbiter and don the rank of Minor to prove yourself all over again. Not one single Sangheili would have ever done that, but nobody can deny that it was the honourable choice,"

"Is that why you brought me here? To return me to my former rank and stop you?" The Arbiter asks.

The Imperial Admiral shakes her head. She wants to see if she can break him.

She swiftly grabs her sword, activates it and feints a charge before turning invisible. Thel had prepared to block her attack but then he sees her disappear. Luckily, his armour retains its active camo and he vanishes from sight as well.

"Would you endanger the children of Sangheilios? Even your children?" Thel's voice speaks from somewhere in the room.

Now Zireid's voice sounds angry.

"Since when have our people cared for life at all? The lives of children mean nothing to the clans! They are slaughtered without pity or mercy if even a single relative shows the slightest sign of weakness. As for my children, I once watched with pride as they trained hard, but now I see them as training to fight and die for some worthless cause like the rest of us,"

A blur of movement in the corner of the room and two swords clash against each other, followed by an energy dagger slicing through nothing before the air becomes still again.

"Killing me would accomplish nothing, Arbiter! Our brothers will continue to slaughter whomever they wish. Your attempt at reuniting the Covenant has only proven how little we care for peace. The Sangheili care nothing for honour and I would rather see us all die before we sink any lower!"

"Lower?" Thel's voice is enraged but curious. "I didn't think it possible for you to think less of our race,"

The Imperial Admiral deactivates her camouflage and turns off her energy sword. Her eyes show nothing but disdain, contempt and despair.

"If Jul has found what he claims, then there is no hope left for our species,"

"Jul?" The Arbiter reveals himself as well. "Jul 'Mdama? What has he found?"

"Requiem. He believes it is the resting place of the last Forerunner,"

Thel blinks in surprise. The Oracle told him that all Forerunners had died.

Zireid shakes her head. "If he succeeds in awakening this 'Didact', as he calls it, then our brothers will once again become the slaves of a false god,"

"Where is this Requiem?"

"He only shares its location with his most trusted followers. Their numbers grow by the day and soon many of my more zealous brothers will join him,"

The Arbiter remembers to keep his guard up while processing what he's heard. A living Forerunner. An Imperial Admiral leading her brothers to slaughter and self-extinction. Is there no end to this madness?

Zireid turns her back on him and returns to her throne.

"You tell me, Arbiter. Which is the least honourable course? Dying as savages or dying for a lie?"

Thel dislikes seeing his opponent turn her back on him. It's almost asking him to run his energy sword through her twin hearts, but is that what she expects?

"It doesn't have to be either way. Honour is not lost to us,"

Zireid laughs humourlessly as she sits back down.

"You are the only truly honourable Sangheili left and there are too few like you to make a difference. The number of human sympathizers is small and insufficient. Your followers may be loyal to you but not your ideals,"

An explosion is heard outside the doors to the throne room. Thel looks over his shoulder while Zireid smiles.

"It seems the mutiny has started sooner than I expected,"

"What is the meaning of this?!" Thel is confused and afraid. This madwoman keeps throwing one surprise after another.

"My fleet has been listening and watching all of this. Now they have come for my head,"

As the mutineers try to break through the sturdy doors, Thel wraps his own head around everything that she's said. Zireid leaves her throne and walks past the Arbiter.

"Do not try to help or hinder me or I will kill you too, 'Vadam. I do not expect to survive this; but if I do, I will not stop until our brothers realize what fools they are for mindlessly seeking battle and for being the honour-less wretches we have allowed ourselves to become. If that means driving our race to extinction, then so be it,"

The Imperial Admiral activates her sword as the doors are blown inward. The Arbiter merely watches in the background as she charges into battle, deflecting plasma bolts as she leaves the throne room.

Thel 'Vadam glances at the empty throne, then down the corridor where she left. Energy blasts, explosions, alarms and the cries of dying Sangheili fill the ship. The Arbiter realizes that these noises bring no joy to him. No exhilaration or anticipation of battle. Instead, those sounds seem hollow and meaningless.