Jeann'ee stared thoughtfully into his drink as he contemplated what they'd told him, and not told him. "So, Truth finally decided to have Restraint killed, eh? The old fool had been challenging the hierarchs and their policies in council lately, my sources tell me. It's his own damn fault he's dead, the doddering high councillor would have been better off keeping quiet--" "Speak one more ill word of Restraint and I'll kill you, guards or no," Sorran threatened in a deadly-quiet voice, hands gripping the side of his chair tightly. Jeann'ee looked at him with surprise, before nodding. "Of course, forgive me. I meant no offence. You have proof that Truth ordered Restraint's death unlawfully, then?" [i]That's the story we agreed upon,[/i] Sorran mused, glancing sideways at Ahkrin, who nodded fluidly. "I was the assassin. Sadly I did not know the truth until I encountered my old friend Sorran in his charge," Ahkrin lied like an artist, his words weaving a flawless dance. "By then it was too late, and Restraint already lay dead in his chair." This seemed to amuse the criminal syndicate leader even more. "I get a death threat for speaking a few ill words of the high councillor, but you and Sorran remain friends even when you were the one to carry out the dirty deed, Descol'ee?" "We share a brotherhood," Sorran explained firmly. "Ahkrin knew not what he did, and I forgive him." "Ah, you are brothers," Jeann'ee realised, clapping his hands together as if to signal a moment of clairvoyance. "We were brothers too, Descol'ee. What happened?" "I saw your true colours," Ahkrin spoke with no little disdain. "Once you started trafficking in slaves--" "The people want what they want, old friend," Jeann'ee interrupted, shrugging as if to shift the weight of his crimes from his shoulders. "Were I not to provide those services, someone far less noble than me might. No one misses a few colony-bound orphans or homeless. I give them purpose." "You give them imprisonment," Ahkrin snapped back, and Sorran saw the return of an argument the two must have waged many years ago. "And it's not just slaves. Narcotics, smuggling, giving weapons to terrorists, dealing in... children--" "I don't need a lecture, Descol'ee," Jeann'ee interjected wearily, examining the tips of his fingers with a sudden interest. "Those things will always be in this sordid world we live in. Don't play the innocent party; once you dealt in those things just as readily as me." "Not children," Ahkrin denied. "Not slaves." "No, just murdering anyone you were paid to kill, eh?" Jeann'ee asked with a sudden intent, his eyes flicking to Sorran playfully. "But your friend doesn't want to hear us bring back rows long dead, old friend. You've asked for sanctuary and I've granted it out of respect for what you once were. Interfere with any of my operations, and I will deliver you to the hierarchs wrapped in a pink bow. I'll leave you both to clean up and make yourself presentable for dinner." Jeann'ee stood up, and marched resolutely out of their given quarters. The doors slid shut firmly, the green changing to red and locking them within. "Are we... under arrest?" Sorran demanded, staring incredulously at the red light playing about the door. Not a single window graced the room, so deep within High Charity's foundations were they. He could feel the humming of the station's dreadnought-powered engines. They were near the tail. "No," Ahkrin assured him, but he didn't sound so confident himself. "Jeann'ee just doesn't want us wandering where we might take offence. You'll see some things here over the next few days or weeks that will instil revulsion into you, Sorran. Remember what I said; now is not the time to be a knight in shining armour." [i]We can't all just turn off our morality like you,[/i] Sorran thought, but didn't voice the comment aloud. Settling for a noncommittal grunt, he began systematically removing the honour guard armour he still wore, wondering if he'd ever feel worthy enough to put it back on. "What next?" he wondered, staring at his reflection in the mirror. Sunken pits for eyes, recent bruises and cuts trailed across his skin. The past few days had been harrowing to say the least. "Restraint left me everything in this crystal." He reached into a fold in his clothing and drew out the storage unit; a galaxy of information flickered within, each shimmering star poised to go supernova. Ahkrin stood up and took it from him, examining the object with interest. "Everything he'd gathered over the years stored within?" Ahkrin asked, his eyes captured by the nexus trapped inside. "This is dangerous, Sorran. It could mean the end of the Covenant. That wouldn't be a good thing." "I know," Sorran agreed, feeling suddenly uneasy with the crystal being out of his hands. "It's not the time yet." "Then when? Do you really think things will be so different a decade from now? Or even a century? This Covenant has existed for thousands of years, Sorran. What makes you think we'll reach a point where the truth of Halo can be shown to the public without everything crashing and burning around us?" "... Restraint believed it, I don't know why--" "Spare me the lies, Sorran. This is something to do with the humans, isn't it? I saw reports in Restraint's manor; the Covenant fully intended to bring them into our society. What made Truth and the others change their minds so violently? What are they afraid of?" Sorran looked across to his friend, Ahkrin's curious eyes burning into him. "Fine. You won't like the answer, though." "No one ever likes the truth, that's why we have lies," Ahkrin spoke back just as quickly, determined in this. Sorran sighed. "As best as we can tell, when the Forerunners activated the sacred rings they died along with all other life in the galaxy. But they preserved some specimens, which is why we're here today. With them gone though, they had to choose a successor." It dawned then upon Ahkrin, and his face grew pale. "Not humanity," he protested. "They're not--" "Restraint believed the humans are the Forerunners who weren't wiped out by Halo. So do the hierarchs. Which is why they started this war. If the Covenant had found out--" "Every single one of us would throw ourselves at the humans' feet," Ahkrin finished, his words sounding as if they were a few seconds ahead of his mind. "The hierarchs would have no power. The Covenant would realise the Great Journey didn't exalt the Forerunners to godhood. Everything would fall to pieces." "They had no choice but to wage war on humanity and call them heretics," Sorran concluded. He'd digested and analysed all this over months, and was throwing it all onto Ahkrin in seconds. "But I'm not so sure they are Forerunners. It doesn't feel right. Still, they have a connection. If the secret to Halo's location is anywhere, it will be somewhere near the humans' grasp." "Do you think they know?" Ahkrin asked, his voice barely a whisper. Sorran shrugged. "I do not think so. Whenever we've found a Forerunner installation on their world it's been concealed, long hidden. Still, through the humans we're close to finding the rings. When we do, we're going to try and activate them." "And wipe out... everything." "We won't let that happen, Ahkrin. If the Covenant reaches that point, it will be time to show them the truth. For better or worse." "So, what... until then, we just let everything carry on as normal? Let the Covenant continue to wipe out humanity, knowing full well they're innocent?" "It's the lives of trillions compared to billions," Sorran quantified, trying to put the lives into statistics and not quite succeeding. "And do you really think that after a decade of war we'll suddenly throw down their weapons and kneel at humanity's feet? Too much blood has been spilled; no doubt the humans would be labelled as Forerunners who weren't worthy of transcendence and deserve to die--" "That could be the truth," Ahkrin grabbed onto the possibility as if it were a floating buoy keeping the guilt from dragging him down to the depths. "I've considered it," Sorran conceded. "It's possible. We don't know enough. We need to find out more." "No, Sorran. This is out of our hands, now. It's not our place to change the world; more than anything now I just want to escape to some forgotten colony far away from the empire's grasp, buy some property, find a family and live a peaceful life." Sorran looked at his friend and saw that he really meant it. Ahkrin hadn't meant to get dragged into all this, he'd started this venture thinking it would clear his house's name and prevent his lineage from fading to black. But then, fate didn't care about what you wanted. "Like it or not, it's in our hands. If you want to leave, then I won't argue. But I won't, I can't yet." "Why not?" Ahkrin demanded firmly, looking for all the world as if he wanted to strike sense into Sorran. Another shuddering as the engines beneath their feet roared. Sorran looked down, his fists balling. "There's only one thing that can help us decide what to do next. The one who set in motion this revelatory beast, nearly ten years ago on this very station." "Who?" Ahkrin asked. "Give me a name and I will bring them here by the morning, and we will get our answers." "Not a [i]who[/i], Ahkrin. Rather, a [i]what.[/i] One who's been here for thousands of years, since before the writ was signed and longer still. The Oracle." *