[i]Well this has all gone just terribly,[/i] Pel thought angrily as he paced up and down the room, glancing every few seconds at the inert holographic display on nearby. The hierarchs certainly took their time. Truth was the only one Pel respected; the other two were just his stooges. He'd seen Truth openly strike Regret in the past, and Mercy was just a dithering old man who happened to know more than he should. Whatever their secret was, Pel didn't know the specifics and he didn't want to know. It involved the great journey, that much he was sure of. But all he needed to be certain of was that the hierarchs held the Covenant together, and were doing a good job wiping out the bastard humans. Oh, how he'd hated playing the role of human sympathiser to first gain the attention of one of Restraint's guards. That whole thing had been elaborately staged, of course. Except for the honour guard who had come to arrest him, that unfortunate soul wasn't supposed to die. It was of no matter. He'd been in. Learned everything. Or so he'd thought. [i]How did the true identity of Sorran slip by me?[/i] The hierarchs would have his head for this, when they found out. It seemed the gods had decided to play a very cruel trick on them all. The assassin the hierarchs chose to assassinate Restraint, one of Sorran's sworn brothers. At least they'd been thrown one bone, in the form of that delicate little flower currently going at the Arum he'd thrown her. He could see her on the monitor next to the holographic display. She reminded him of his daughter. That troubled him. He shouldn't have killed the interrogator, he knew it. But when he'd seen how sorely the man had beaten that girl... well, it was nice to know that he still had some honour at least. Or maybe it was just him clinging to the memory of his own little girl. [i]Not the time.[/i] Sorran and Ahkrin were a dangerous pair. The assassin especially; Pel still heard legends about him floating around High Charity, even so long after he'd left that life. Pel was a good warrior unlike most others holding his rank, but he knew that in a fight he'd be out-matched against Ahkrin. Sorran was no push-over either. But the latter had a weakness; Savara. And Sorran's weakness was Ahkrin's weakness. The bait had been set, all that remained was to wait for them to come into their trap. This could still be recovered. High Charity was still in lock-down, thank the gods. Their fake story about a demon let loose on the city had seemingly fooled whatever fleetmaster the prophets had chosen to blockade High Charity, the rest of the people believing in the quarantine lie. So gullible were the Covenant. Thousands of years' worth indoctrination did that. Even Pel felt its effects at times, so deeply instilled into Covenant consciousness faith was. It was in the middle of this thought that the holographic display leapt to life. Pel swung to face it, dusting a bit of dirt from his armour. He was painfully aware of the bruise on his head from where Hem had struck him. "Ossoona," Truth's treacle-like voice greeted. "Restraint's manor is on fire; I didn't order that, who started it?" [i]Not me.[/i] Pel looked sideways, wondering how best to tell the bad news. "High Councillor Restraint is dead, noble Prophet," Pel reported, deciding to begin with the good news. Whatever satisfied smile was creeping up Truth's scheming face died with his next words. "But one of his honour guards survived." "Incompetent fool," Truth insulted casually, like one might comment on the weather. "I trust our assassin is in pursuit?" Oh, this wasn't going to go down well. "That's the thing, hierarch," Pel coughed anxiously, his fingers fidgeting behind his back. "The honour guard is more than we thought he was. Sorran. The one you sentenced to death some months back. Restraint evidently faked the death in his cell, and" "By the rings," Truth gasped, one of the only times Pel had actually seen the hierarch look genuinely shocked. "Descol'ee... he's--" "One of Sorran's closest friends, yes," Pel winced out. "I was... caught unawares. They escaped. With the data you wanted destroyed. Must have burnt down the manor afterwards." "You'd better have a plan," Truth grit out, and Pel could see the fire in his eyes. "We have someone Sorran wants," he hastily explained. "We'll put out word that we have her, and they'll be drawn here. I will see this done, hierarchs. Leave everything to me." "... I'll have Tartarus search with his Jiralhanae," Truth decided after a few moments. "No!" Pel shouted, perhaps a bit louder than he should have. Truth's eyebrow raised, that mere gesture striking him with fear. "I mean; this is a delicate operation, noble Prophet. Jiralhanae are all well and good when you need a door breaking down, but subterfuge is hardly their strong point." "Judging by the mess you've made, I'd say it's hardly yours either," Truth ground out through ice. Pel flinched. "But I will abide by your wishes for now... I feel like there's something else. Sorran, you say? Tell me, does he have any other... [i]brothers?[/i]" The San 'Shyuum spoke the word like he found it laughable. "Just one," Pel answered, puzzled. "The recently appointed Fleetmaster Thierr'ee--" He stopped as he saw the effect that name had on the hierarch, who suddenly looked out of a window. Through the camera Pel could see the fleet hanging in the sky, brought in by-- "Oh, please no," he begged of the gods, knowing his worst fear to be true. "Truth; the fleetmaster of that blockade. It's not...?" Truth was already reaching for a terminal on a nearby desk, bony fingers deftly pressing runes. "This is the High Prophet of Truth. Fleetmaster Thierr'ee is to be relieved of command and thrown in a cell immediately until further notice." A few seconds of hanging silence. Then, static and white noise. "Communication to the fleet is blocked," Truth realised. "On Regret's orders, the damned fool! And they have strict orders to shoot any ship down. What cruel fate that two of our most important pieces in this game are playing for the other side." "So long as they keep jamming communications, we have nothing to worry about," Pel assured, talking to himself more than anyone. "There's no way for Sorran or Ahkrin to contact Thierr'ee. The plan still stands, we wait for them to come to us." "Yes," Truth muttered absently. "I will endeavour to make contact with Thierr'ee fleet. Keep me updated. If you let them slip through the net, Ossoona, there were be severe consequences. You'll wish you'd died with your daughter at Chi Ceti." The holographic image of the hierarch shut down maliciously, leaving Pel alone in the dark room. He wiped his eyes, and cleared his head of all turmoil. [i]The next few hours are key. Now, to deal with that Unggoy of Restraint's I found... perhaps he can be put to good use.[/i] *