[After killing the traitor of the Covenant, Sesa Refumee, the Arbiter was tasked to retrieve the holy codex of Installation 05. Little did he know that this mission in another Halo ring, would change his life yet again.]

Inside a Covenant drop ship, Thel sat in silence over a supply crate, waiting for the moment to descend on the cold surface of the ring. Not only was the pressence of humans on the holy relic, but also the stench of the all consuming Flood parasite...

"Tch... Were It so easy..."

He mumbles to himself, absently staring at his own Arbiter helmet in his hands. Mandibles tightly pressed as he remembers the words of the heretic... He should consider Sesa no better than a plague, a traitor to the Great Journey. But the other sangheili had served under Thel's command once upon a time.

"For a man of that conviction, to suddently become a traitor? It doesn't make sense."

And that confused and angered the current Arbiter more than humanity or the Demon could ever do at this point.

"Blasted It all to hell. Focus, Arbiter. You're not Thel anymore, you are the will of the Prophets in the form of a warrior, you'll die for the cause, and you will redeem your sins when that happens..."

He puts on his helmet and stands up, energy sword in hand as he looks at the scene below, ancient Forerunner structures and the chaos of war between the factions he has become accustomed to after years in the battlefield.

"Still... Why It feels like my hearts pound with... Doubt? Has fear suddently overcome my judgement? Or It could be... No... I refuse to believe hesitation has made it's way through my Spirit."