Tar and Yalu flew directly to the HIGHCOM facility from the botanic gardens aboard the ONI Pelican. Everything about the craft screamed ‘CLANDESTINE OPS’, yet the only person waiting for them in the troop hold was anything but that. 

As far as Tar could gather, they were a fit middle-aged male, with thick greying hair on their head and circular reflective sunglasses covering their eyes. They wore a loose, bright orange shirt that depicted white flowers and other strange vegetation. It was open down the middle, exposing a compact tactical vest with a pistol strapped to the front, and a white t-shirt that was daubed with sweat marks. The man also wore black shorts that ended just above their tanned knees, and transparent flip flops on their feet.

“Welcome to Sydney.” The man hollered over the noise of the engines, holding onto an overhead railing as they took off. He didn’t say another word, and once the two Sangheili and their handlers stepped off onto one of the Facility’s landing pads, the Pelican screamed off again immediately.

Tar walked with Yalu through the installation until they arrived at the briefing room, where she noticed a significant contingent of Aegis Team had already assembled. She nodded politely to them, uneasy around so many people in this confined space.

Nevertheless, she gravitated towards the front of the pack when the briefing began. This meant that some of her team may have noticed her body language change as soon as her homeworld was mentioned. She gripped the high conference table in front of them with both hands, eliciting a soft scrape of complaining metal. Otherwise, she was silent.

As soon as the AI mentioned a “coup”, a low, barely audible growl emitted from the Commando. It bubbled away under the surface as the machine described unbelievable atrocities against Brissekh’s sacrosanct beauty. Tar didn’t understand how this could’ve happened. No one on the Council held enough support to dethrone her older brother by themselves. And none of the Elders were trusting enough to keep this kind of treachery a secret for long.

Tar’s growl stopped when the Sangheili in strange armour began speaking. She sat in stunned silence when he mentioned her younger brother, then snarled out loud as this stranger alleged that her Falx had fallen. A moment of silence sat heavy over the room.

Then, quick as a flash, Tar balled up her fists and smashed them both into the top of the table and creating large divots with a cacophonous racket. She followed up by giving the large metal conference table a mighty shove; it was bolted to the floor, but some of the stanchions bent which made the table list slightly.

“THAT LITTLE WORM!” Tar roared, filling the room. She pointed a finger at this strange Sangheili across from her. “Do you lie? Tell me now. How do you know this?”