* <[i]Quarters of the Hierarch Regret, High Charity.[/i]> "Hierarch! You need to wake up." Regret was slow to stir from beneath his quilts and duvets, made of rich fabrics from the most exotic corners of the empire. Not matter how many times he saw it, Amn always thought it -blam!- when he saw the noble prophet without his robes and headpiece of office; he looked just like any other member of his ugly race, albeit leaner through battle and exercise. A young woman lay in bed next to him, asleep; no doubt one of his many concubines. She did not rouse. "Amn. What is it?" Regret asked groggily, rubbing the sleep from his drooping eyes. His familiarity was nothing new, but it still made Amn feel uncomfortable; Obligation had never addressed him by his birth-name - it had always been 'guard' or 'light.' Now was not the time for pointless protests, though. "You're required in the council chambers for an emergency meeting. Truth and Mercy are already there, as are all the high councillors. Come, quickly." Amn was already moving to open the door, taking care not to let his ornate cloak catch on any of Regret's many tomes - Covenant and human alike. The latter were banned throughout all the empire, but the laws did not apply to those who made them. "Wait. What's happening?" Regret asked after him, hearing the urgency in Amn's voice and garbing himself hastily; Amn frowned disapprovingly and adjusted the man's crown, which was askew. At least he did not have to carry the man over to a gravity chair; Regret fought against the paraplegic ails that so often plagued his kind, training every day - at best he was as strong as an average kig-yarl, but it meant he could walk with a straight back and fight too; he was admired by many Sangheili for his dedication to dignity. "High Charity jumped while you slept, hierarch. Jumped to... Harvest. We're in danger." "Harvest?" Regret demanded with indignation. "Who sanctioned this? We do not take the holy city to areas of risk--" "It wasn't sanctioned," Amn explained, knowing they should already have been on their way to the council chambers. "Someone sabotaged the auxiliary impulse drives... it'll be a long time before the Huragok can jump us again." "Damn that Ossoona's incompetence... it has to be them," Regret muttered, and Amn frowned. He knew better than to question any of the hierarch's frequent mumbling though. "There's a human fleet by the planet, hierarch, and Thierr'ee's fleet wasn't in our sphere of influence when we void-jumped. A hail has been sent to the garrison at the nearest colony, but they will take time... High Charity--" "She moves faster through the void than standard ships, by the grace of the Forerunners," Regret finished. He nodded. "We must make haste to the council chambers, Amn. Guard me well as we walk, on this day I trust not a single shadow." They left through the door swiftly, and hastened down the long corridor of Regret's mansion. On the way Regret paused to stare out of the window and look at the skies around High Charity; his heavy brow furrowed with worry when he saw the human fleet, which hadn't moved to engage yet. No small wonder; High Charity was a behemoth amongst starships, they would never have seen anything of its ilk. "What of the home flotilla?" Regret asked Amn quietly as they moved, and too slowly for his liking. He would not dare suggest he carry the hierarch on his back to quicken their progress. "Already being mobilised," Amn informed him. "But with all respect, they will not be enough." "Of course not," Regret dismissed. "Not against an entire human fleet. They will buy us time, but we need a greater power if we're to survive this." Amn knew what he meant, and it was not a new suggestion; when he had left the council chambers, there had been murmuring amongst the San 'Shyuum of the same intent. Even sworn as he was to serve the hierarchs, Amn could not hear such an extreme statement and keep his peace. He stopped and looked into Regret's eyes to convey his sincerity. "That cannot happen," he told Regret. "Hierarch you may be, but the Writ is greater than all three of you together; its doctrine unquestionable. The Sangheili High Councillors will [i]never[/i] agree--" "There has been a precedent," Regret argued. "In the 3rd Age of Disharmony, when the false Prophet of Cabal led his army of traitors to seize High Charity, the council met and debated over whether to give the dreadnought back its weapons--" "And it took three days whilst the councillors argued, at which point Cabal had already laid siege to half the city," Amn countered just as readily. "Not to mention that it was finally done without the majority consent of the council, and the three hierarchs who ordered it were forced to step down afterwards." "Then I will force the council to accept my plan," Regret decided. "The Writ be damned, over twenty million lives are at risk! If I should step down as hierarch afterwards, then so be it." "Truth will not so readily surrender his power as you," Amn mentioned in conspirator's tones. Regret looked at him with an odd mixture of agreement and discomfort. "My brother hierarch will do what is right. As you said, the Writ is greater than all three of us. If we break its accord, then we must stand down. It is the law." "Do not be so sure. He would do anything to maintain his position," Amn shot back, and he could tell Regret knew this. "It is not your place to say. It is our only option. Our only defence." "I cannot in good faith as your adviser and loyal servant allow you to carry out with this folly without--" "You're a good friend, Amn, but on this matter I will hear no objections," Regret finished as they reached the exit of the mansion. A dozen regular honour guards surrounded him in a tight box, and an executive transport awaited a few metres away. "I will not require your presence at the council chambers. Make sure my son is safe." "As you command, hierarch, yet there is not much I can do once the humans break through High Charity's shield and start raining down fire upon the city." "Just keep him safe, Amn," Regret pleaded, a father's worry about his eyes. "You know how much he means to me." "And me, hierarch," Amn affirmed. "I have watched over him since that night--" Regret shot him a stern look which silenced him, but nodded all the same and gave him a smile. Then the hierarch turned his back and strode towards the transport, leaving Amn standing in the early morning cold. [i]'My son,' he says. I suppose Regret is all the father the boy will ever know, now that man is dead.[/i] Amn looked up and saw the human fleet again, a host of black angels gathered about a frozen hell. It would not be so long before they moved to engage. He shuddered, and not for the briskness of the morning. The dreadnought loomed fiercely in the distance, and the reasons it had first been disarmed swam about his mind. [i]To fight a war of men with the weapons of gods. It is blasphemy. Regret speaks truly though; if we do not use the dreadnought's power, High Charity is doomed. Forerunners forgive our heresy.[/i] [Edited on 07.29.2012 2:12 AM PDT]