Chapter 8: The Alternative

Installation 04

"Sir, you might wanna take a look at this."

Captain Price made his way toward the bottom of the snow swept hill, where Gaz had made his discovery.

"What is it, Gaz?" asked Price.

"Look." the soldier returned, as Price peered into the frozen lake. Quickly, the Captain spotted a man underneath the ice. Price frowned, stood upward, then stomped his boot apon the ice, cracking it, and thereby ascending the corpse to the surface.

Price pulled the body out of the water and onto the grass, checking the man's uniform. His backpack read "Sergeant Avery Johnson".

"He must've been frozen to death."

"No," Price answered softly, checking the head of the body, "He was shot."

"Sir, you don't think-"

"Head to the top of the hill and grab our gear. MacMillan couldn't have gone far."

Onboard the CH-64 Sea Knight, Big Bird, inside of the Covenant Flagship Ascendant Justice

The helicopter pilot reached into his pocket, then handed MacMillan a photo of a golden armored Sangheili.

"He should be at the front of the bridge; good luck, Captain."

"Thanks, Big Bird!" the Scotsman replied, patting his comrade on the shoulder, then exiting the helicopter.

Ascendant Justice, outside of the bridge

"Oi, that was most boring ten minutes of me life." MacMillan said, who had been walking down corridor after empty corridor. Where was the action? Where were all of the Covenant soldiers? He didn't care, anymore- he knew what had to be done.

The Captain walked through the triangular auto-door, and as he scanned the bridge with his M21, he witnessed something magnificent. UNSC soldiers were being torn left and right by the might of the [future, or perhaps not] Arbiter's sword. The Sangheili stood apon a wide platform which could only be reached by climbing a relatively steep ramp. And with only one marine left, there was nobody to push him upward. Ontop of that, the soldier had but one foot to help him climb the ramp. Oh, yes; this guy was screwed.

The badbuttness of the Arbiter at that moment could hardly be described by mere text, though his skills were that of which could only be rivaled by MacMillan himself.

"Captain, did you see that?!" Big Bird exclaimed through the com, "He just took out an entire shipload of marines in only ten seconds!"

"Put on quite a show, he did." MacMillan said, his mind still processing what he just saw.

"Y'know, come to think of it, he could actually be of some help. Do you have your Zune with you?"

"Of course." the Captain replied, "Why do you ask?"

"I've sent you a cutscene from Halo 2. Show it to him, and he's sure to join us!"

"Are you sure about this, Bird Bird? I mean-"

"Trust me on this, Captain. Big Bird out."

MacMillan sighed, and as he walked toward the ramp of the purple-coated chamber, he heard the Arbiter speak.

"Halt, demon, or I'll have you hung by your entrails!" (a foreshadowing of nothing, though a rather risky recycling of Halo 2 lines)

"Impressive work, laddie." MacMillan said, ignoring the Sangheili's command. The Captain pulled out his Zune handheld device, thereby revealing it to the Arbiter as he walked up the ramp.

"Here, watch this." the Scotsman found the video that Big Bird had sent him. Considering he'd never played Halo before in his life, the SAS Captain was unsure as to what this cinematic would contain. However, he was certain that his trust in Big Bird would pay off.

Hold onto your seatbelts, it's The Cinematic Minute!

"There was only one ship.", the Sangheili said softly.

"One? Are you sure?", the Prophet of Truth asked from the middle of the group.

"Yes. They called it....Pillar of Autumn."

"Why was it not destroyed," barked the Prophet of Mercy, who sat just left of Truth, "with the rest of their fleet?"

"It fled," answered the Commander "as we set fire to their planet.

"But I followed with all the ships in my command."

To the right of Truth sat the Prophet of Regret, who appeared in a beaconing, holographic form.

"When you first saw Halo, were you blinded by its majesty?", asked the Prophet.

"Blinded?"

"Paralyzed? Dumbstruck?"

"No.", replied the golden-clad Elite, who was begining to feel irritated.

"Yet the humans were able to evade your ships," Regret said "land on the Sacred Ring, and desecrate it with their filthy footsteps?"

"Noble Heirarchs....surely you understand that once the parasite attacked...."

Not two seconds later, nearly the entire council chamber burst into the shouting. However, they quickly became quiet once the Prophet of Mercy slammed his left wrist on the arm of his chair.

"There will be order in this council!", the light-haired Prophet exclaimed. Shortly after, Truth began scooting his chair closer to the Elite.

"You were right to focus your attention on the Flood, but this Demon, this 'Master Chief'...."
"By the time I learned the Demon's intent," the Sangheili replied "there was nothing I could do."

Once again, the Council erupted, and in the darkened corner of the chamber, the Jiralhanae known as Tartarus-with his hands across his chest-was chuckling to himself.
To keep the Council members from becoming angry once again, Regret leaned closer toward Truth and whispered "Prophet of Truth, this has gone on long enough. Make an example of this bungler. The Council demands it.".

Truth nodded, raised his right hand towards the Council, and said to the Commander "You are one of our most treasured instruments. Long have you led your fleet with honor and distinction, but your inability to safeguard Halo....was a colossal failure."

A split-second later, a Council Prophet shot upward from his seat, raised his fist, and shouted, "Nay, it was heresy!"

Once more, the chamber was filled with angry shouts until the Commander interupted "I will continue my campaign against the humans."

"No!" Truth exclaimed "You will not."

Suddenly, a pair of vicious Brutes crept from the shadows, grabbed the golden-clad Elite by his hands, and lead him toward the door at the other end of the chamber.

"Soon the Great Journey shall began." the Hierarch told him "But when it does, the weight of your heresy will stay your feet, and you shall be left behind."

And that's The Cinematic Minute!

(What a lazy mother. This first installment of The Cinematic Minute was taken straight from Part II of Halo: Unggoy Evolved. As if anyone cares, right? Oh....)

"What is this? Where did you get this footage?" The Arbiter asked quickly.

"Come with me; I'll fill you in." MacMillan replied.

"What are your terms?"

"I promise you an opportunity for revenge."

"Is that all?" asked the Sangheili, tapping his bulky left foot on the platform.

"Hm..." MacMillan thought, "Want an Xbox 360?"

"You make a good case."