Tar barely heard the mission details being discussed. Her ears were ringing like she’d been struck. Her own brother had betrayed the entire family with his treachery. She should have seen this coming! The warning signs had been there, now she really thought about it in this conference room, with the sound of others talking droned on in the background.

When the three of them were just children, Falx, Tar and Uztel spent many hours hunting [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/halo/images/0/0e/Concept08_8_1280.jpg/revision/latest/smart/width/250/height/250?cb=20080310112343]Du’nak[/url] in the forests outside their Keep with the other younglings. Imported from Sanghelios centuries before and rewilded by accident soon after, these animals had adapted well to the cold, wet hillsides of Brissekh and grown suspicious of Sangheili again.

Operating as a pair, Tar and Falx, her older brother, had wounded and cornered a prime specimen. An adult alpha with long, broad tusks and mature back-horns resting within a muscular frame - the ultimate prize. They’d been closing in on the wounded animal after harassing and tracking it for the entire morning. Finally, they found it collapsed up against a rock formation, with dense bushes on one side and a steep drop on the other. They had it trapped.

But as they approached to strike the killer blow and claim the animal as their own, a spear flew through the undergrowth and pierced the Du’nak’s head, killing it instantly. Uztel appeared. Tar & Falx had exploded with fury as Uztel calmly collected his weapon.

“I’m sorry, siblings. I didn’t see you there! Forgive me.” He proclaimed. But Tar saw a glimmer of amusement in her brother’s eyes that day. A sadistic streak that thrived on reaping rewards for minimal personal risk. Uztel swore he had not been stalking the pair of them once he knew they had a worthy prize. Yet, Tar later found out her younger brother’s hunting partner had lost sight of him hours before the incident had happened.

Tar returned from her reverie just as the Human female dismissed them.

“No one touches my brother, except me.” Tar growled, tapping her chestplate with one fingernail as the others turned to leave. “If I fall in battle, you leave and allow Brissekh to decide Uztel’s fate. Or you find Falx and free him, if he still lives. Those are my terms.”