Halo: The Dunes of 2560

Chapter 6: Particular Justice

The platoon prepare to arrive at the Underground SFA Base on Number 19, Pilot will utilize teleportation technologies on the Vessel to instantly place them on the base, and then place them back aboard. They all cannot go onto the Base however, so Crystal will stay aboard. The five of them arm themselves with SFA weaponry, Pilot suggests to them to use the modified pistols and shotguns, since it'll be close quarters combat they will engage in, and the pistol is very deadly at medium ranges. Vixon ponders about Thel 'Vadam, he wonders if he will actually meet the Sangheili who he has idolized since the first stories came out in 2553 about Thel and John-117's exploits. He thought about the Forward Unto Dawn's capsule and wondered what was so important about it, and how Thel survived on a ship split in half. Vixon spoke out loud matter of factually, "It's not possible Thel 'Vadam, the Arbiter, could've survived when the Forward Unto Dawn split apart. Did anyone else realize that?" Trent and Red look at each other, confused, Trent points out, "Well, Sangheili armor don't usually encapsulate their entire bodies, as evident with you two." Vixon cuts in, "Not true, there are different armors in the Sangheili armory that can keep one safe in space, but the truth is Thel 'Vadam did not have it. At the time he was cut away on the Forward Unto Dawn, he was still utilizing the Arbiter Armor. Not ideal armor for being in Space with no pressurization." The thought of this really hurt the morale of Vixon, Red, and Crystal, and Candy questions the notion, "If you're saying Thel 'Vadam is not alive... Then why would they claim he is? We all know that John-117 only went for him because he had the Cortana. But other than that, how would Cortana not fall into Covenant or Flood hands if he were dead? Clearly there's more to the whole situation of what happened to Thel 'Vadam and John-117. And if I'm going to make assumptions, I assume they're both alive and well, and we need to find them." Pilot chimed in, "You are all aware of the Sangheilios Great Depression of 2555? Right?" They all turned to him, and Vixon took off his helmet, he was completely perplexed, "Yeah?" Pilot continued, "Naval Intelligence started it on purpose back in 2545, it was a secret program called The Divide, in this program, they aimed to cause separatism through manipulating their intelligence communities by sending signals through stolen Covenant technology, giving them false information, while actively suppressing Covenant Intelligence from contacting Sangheilios. During that time, they had very little to no space superiority, so battles held in secret around Sangheilios were common between the SFA and the Covenant as they tried very hard to acquire the Sangheili as their allies again. But the SFA kept them Divided, in an Economic Depression, so that they'd not only be allies with the humans, they'd absolutely RELY on the UNSC and the Naval Groups as their saviors." Vixon was disgruntled, "So they just fucked with us to take our hand, and keep it. What is the point? We're just a bunch of... Split jaws..." He was frustrated, trying to comprehend all this information. Red pats his back, "Hey, it makes sense actually, because that is what got me fucked back when I was in the Covenant. Back in 2549, I had relayed information but it got intercepted, and I was framed, I knew it but I didn't say anything because I knew that it was better that it got intercepted. I was going to relay intel on positions of a Scientific group, which was where Cortana was developed. I learned that when I was on trial on Sangheilios, jailed for a few years, brought to my homeworld and tried again, jailed for a few years, then got tried by the Prophets of my Covenant Branch, was subsequently boiled in human blood in 2555. Good times... But it explains a lot. I'm a victim of the SFA too Vixon." Pilot grabs hold of the panel, "You done?" They appear inside a dark room, Trent activates his night vision and he sees that they're in a storage room, surrounded by cardboard boxes, crates, and ammo boxes. He finds a light switch and flicks it, Vixon looks at the boxes and they are just utilities, spare tablets, helmets, and parts. He reaches into a box that is partially open and pulls the box off, it falls off and inside is an arm. Candy grabs it, "Looks like Pilot's arm. Strange." Red opens the door slightly, and sees that nobody is in the hallway, he whispers, "Move!" They enter the hallway, and it's empty, but the sound of activity resonates, there are definitely people in the facility. They move across the hallway, and try a few doors until one opens. Inside is a scientist tinkering with a hologram projector, he sees them and knows right away these 6 individuals shouldn't be here. David rushes him and gets him to the ground, covering his mouth, David whispers to the scientist, "Do not make a sound, or I will remove your head from your shoulders. Got it? Wink for a yes." The scientist winks, so he uncovers his mouth. The scientist speaks low, in a quivery squeak, "Are you going to kill me?" Vixon kneels down close to him, removing his helmet, "No, we will not kill you. We just want some information regarding something very important."