* "My thanks," Ahkrin spoke softly to the quivering Huragok, in the idiosyncratic whistles and clicks of its kind. His hand was wrapped around the frail creature's neck; contrary to appearance, their skin was not moist. Instead, it felt rough and coarse, like the skin of snakes so commonly found on human colonies. In the dark of the data-hub room, its eyes glowed with an eerie bioluminescence. Ahkrin could see terror reflected in the Huragok's eyes, and a pang of guilt struck him. His death threats had performed their job, though. Restraint's Huragok had given him access to the system. It had taken long enough; countless ciphers, trick-locks and expulsion-matrices laced the late-High Councillor's computer system, ones that could not be broken easily without the knowledge of Restraint himself, which now sat in the main lounge dead along with the mind holding it. For a second, Ahkrin entertained the idea of killing the Huragok. It was the sensible thing to do; Forerunners know what it knew. But although on paper it seemed like a sound idea, when faced with the prospect of snuffing out the life of such an innocent, helpless creature-- [i]Hardly something you are adverse to,[/i] he reminded himself cynically. Still, there had been enough death today. No sense in dragging his damned soul even further towards hell. "Get in the corner, keep quiet," he snapped at the Huragok, with as much aggression as could be thrown into those inherently docile speech patterns. "If you try anything, I will rip open your gas bladder and leave you to deflate." Death, in other words. Worriedly, Ahkrin checked the time. Hours had passed since he'd killed the High Councillor, and although Restraint's Honour Guards would not awaken yet for some time, lingering at the site of an assassination seemed... sacrilegious to him, breaking every rule his fanatic mentors had drummed into his mind back in the cult. Mentors he'd later tracked down and killed, he thought with a small smile. What better way to renounce one's mistakes than eliminate their roots? Still, their teachings had kept him alive for many years. To break one of the most important, staying at the location of a contract... it felt alien to him. Any moment he expected someone to burst in and place him under arrest. Ahkrin disliked prison. Except that wouldn't happen, of course. Pel, acting as an arm of the Prophets, had managed to lock down the entirety of High Charity. Right now they were citing foreign contagion. Any reason to keep the public away from Ahkrin's work. Returning to the task at hand, Ahkrin drew out network-interfaces and placed them upon his palms. The soft purple light of the circular devices lit up, and automatically linked with Restraint's network. A holographic display leapt up before him, basking the room in an ephemeral glow. Suddenly he was overwhelmed by a torrent of digital files, which surrounded him in a three-dimensional cylinder. He stared at the names of a few. 'Record of Council meeting C245.35 23rd AoD.' 'Profiling: Vice Minister of Tranquillity C247.76 23rd AoD.' 'CLASSIFIED: re: Jiralhanae assessment C239.48 23rd AoD.' Ahkrin realised that he was looking at data from when Restraint was once a High Councillor; information Restraint should have handed to the Covenant after his succession. On a whim, he opened the Jiralhanae file. Nothing too interesting; surveillance footage of Jiralhanae carrying gas-operated weaponry, threat assessment, names of major cities. After a minute he closed the file; most of that 'classified' information was public domain now. 're: Motions for betterment in Unggoy rights C241.39 23rd AoD.' 'Battle report Fleetmaster Xytan'ee C244.11 23rd AoD.' Looking at all the files, perhaps for the first time Ahkrin felt the weight of what he had done press down on his shoulders. He'd assassinated a man who had once been one of the three most powerful people throughout all the Covenant. It was incredible to think that such a mighty politician who had been able to change the galaxy with a few words now sat dead, huddled in a blanket stained with his own blood. [i]Nothing lasts. Eventually even the greatest oaks bow to death like everything else,[/i] he thought solemnly. Then his train of reverie was broken by something very intriguing. 're: Minor Transgression's first contact C249.86 23rd AoD.' [i]C249.86...[/i] Ahkrin thought to himself. Mere weeks before the declaration of war against humanity had been instigated and the three hierarchs of Obligation, Tolerance and Restraint had stepped down. Unable to help himself, Ahkrin accessed the file. [quote]Dear Obligation and Tolerance, I've just received word that ship (designation: [i]Minor Transgression[/i]) sent a message to Vice Minister Tranquillity shortly before its destruction. Thanks to our operatives watching the Vice Minister on account of his recent suspicious activities, we were able to partially intercept the message (attached). Its contents are troubling, to say the least. It appears than Tranquillity has been employing vessels to scour the edges of Covenant controlled space in search of Forerunner artefacts; no doubt an attempt to win favour should he discover something of interest. [i]Minor Transgression[/i] has encountered something we didn't expect. According to the pre-self destruction message, the ship came into contact with a cargo ship whose profile did not match any ship in our Covenant. Driven by intrigue (and no doubt a little Kig-yar greed,) they proceeded to board said cargo ship and although empty, through it located another ship which had lifesigns within. Upon boarding, they encountered one person within. It was alien, and seemingly aggressive, nearly bludgeoning an Unggoy Deacon to death were it not for the interception of another crew member. They call themselves 'humans,' according to the report. Alas, we were unable to intercept the images sent to Tranquillity, but by the [i]Minor Transgression[/i] captain's description they seem physically capable; some six feet tall, muscular, bi-pedal and primate in nature. Worryingly, the 'human' ship seemed rather sophisticated, possessing a variation of impulse drives, and what appeared to be an AI -- this of course would make 'human' the most advanced species we have made first contact with since the Sangheili thousands of years ago. We know little of them, but they seem to have a colony someone in the 'Epsilon Eridani' system (star-points attached.) Were they to be inducted into our Covenant, they could bring with them much knowledge, and possibly even be another race to match the Sangheili and Jiralhanae, perhaps negating their rivalries. Yes, I am getting far beyond myself. It's wholly possible that 'human' population count might be incredibly small, or perhaps they are only technologically advanced with regards to their space-faring capabilities. Still, the Huragok aboard the [i]Minor Transgression[/i] did not discover any traces of Forerunner technology in their ship, implying that they managed to discover impulse-drive technology by themselves. Who in our Covenant can claim such a feat? I'm returning from my visit to Eayrn to confer with you both on this matter; it must be approached delicately. For all we know they could have their own collective of species akin to our Covenant. Their military might in particular is an unknown variable, and we do not want to dive into water without knowing how deep it is. For now, keep an eye on Tranquillity. He would not be so foolish as to use the Sangheili to his ends; he knows they are loyal to us. But the Vice Minister is a cunning individual underneath that ex-military bluster, and if he wants something badly enough he'll find a way. Let him not anger a sleeping giant. Yours faithfully, High Prophet of Restraint.[/quote] As Ahkrin finished reading, he felt his jaw weighing considerably more than it had. The implications of this message were disturbing. By all appearances, Restraint at least had fully intended to induct the humans into the Covenant. But of course that hadn't happened. Mere weeks after this message had been sent, the three former hierarchs resigned and were replaced by Fortitude, the Philologist Rumnt and Tranquillity. Truth, Mercy and Regret. Then war had been declared by them upon humanity. How had so much changed in just a few weeks? "Descol'ee," a voice sounded from behind him. "What are you doing? I don't remember asking you to access the house's network." Ahkrin turned around, and saw Pel staring at him with a weary, almost-disturbing smile. He hesitated at the command. "Ossoona," he began doubtfully. "I am finding out more about--" "It's none of your concern," Pel repeated, annoyance colouring his voice this time. "Whatever you've read or seen are simply the ramblings and fabrications of a heretic. Pay no heed to them."