Choros

Choros
Biographical information
Died:	June or July 2559 (presumed)
Cause of death:	Presumed killed by overwhelming Covenant loyalist forces aboard the Anodyne Spirit
Personal details
Species:	Jiralhanae
Gender:	Male
Hair color:	Dark
Political and military information
Affiliation:	Covenant (formerly) Banished
Rank:	Captain

Choros was a young Jiralhanae captain formerly in service of the Covenant military, specifically the High Prophet of Truth. He was the nephew of Tartarus, the famous final Chieftain of the Jiralhanae before the Great Schism. After the Human-Covenant War's end, he would be recruited into the Banished, a mercenary faction led by Atriox. Here he would serve Chieftain Minas as the captain of his guard.

Biography

Servant of the Prophets

While part of the Covenant military, Choros had the opportunity to serve alongside his uncle, Tartarus, directly under the Prophet of Truth. During this time, he visited the Anodyne Spirit many times, escorting various San'Shyuum scribes and clerics through the vessel's interior as they recorded its details for future study. Toward the end of the war, he witnessed his uncle unite the Jiralhanae against the Sangheili, taking control of the military. However, when Tartarus was killed by the current Arbiter, Choros began to doubt the promises of the Hierarchs, ultimately refusing to follow Truth to the Ark.

Joining the Banished

After abandoning the Covenant, Choros travelled to Warial, one of the moons of the Jiralhanae homeworld Doisac. There he found work repairing warships in the brimstone-dockyards of Ividar Rux. He was found by Chieftain Minas, a fellow Jiralhanae that had joined the Banished after being sent to hunt down Atriox during the war. Choros shared with Minas his rather unique experiences within the Covenant, including his visits to the holy Forerunner Dreadnought. Over the years, the two would forge a strong bond as they fought together. Choros and Minas were among those selected by Atriox to join him on his journey to the Ark in 2558.

As the Banished continued to battle the crew of the UNSC Spirit of Fire for control of the installation, Atriox decided that he must return to the galaxy to deal with an unknown situation in June or July 2559. To do so, he would need a Forerunner slipspace flake to open a portal to a facility rumored to be hidden on Reach, a human colony that had been glassed by the Covenant nearly seven years earlier. Thankfully, the Anodyne Spirit had been found abandoned by the Prophet of Truth in an uncontested region of the Ark. Like all Forerunner starships, its slipspace drive was powered by one of these crystals. And so, Atriox assembled a strike force to infiltrate the Keyship and retrieve the crystal. Minas was assigned to lead the expedition and brought Choros as his intimate knowledge of the vessel would likely prove useful. For the three days leading up to the mission, Choros poured over schematics of the Keyship found within the Ark's manifest logs to refresh his memory.

Return to the Keyship

Main article: Raid on Anodyne Spirit

Three Phantoms approached the Keyship, which stood amidst the spires of a Forerunner city atop a massive basalt column rising out of the sea. Choros rode in Minas' Phantom with his third of the strike force while Blademaster Okro 'Vagaduun and Captain Zeretus rode in the other two with their own teams. Choros accompanied the Phantom's pilot—Bomarus—in the cockpit as the dropship made its final approach to the vessel's central crux. At Minas' order, his captain notified the pilots of the other two Phantoms to be careful as the Keyship might still be dangerous, despite appearing to be dead. Upon landing, Choros led his ten experienced Jiralhanae warriors, along with some reliable Kig-Yar and Unggoy, to the nearest acces point. Once Minas caught up, he had the Kig-Yar named Itka get to work opening the sealed doorway.

Despite running into both old and new securities, the Kig-Yar had the access port open in no time, revealing a shadowy interior. Choros and Minas personally led their team into the darkness first, finding themselves in a long, empty corridor that went on for over a kilometer. With the other two teams following, they trudged on through the darkness and Zeretus came to the conclusion that the ship had indeed been abandoned. However, 'Vagaduun warned that they should not become too comfortable as the anicent vessel likely still held many secrets, many of them sure to be dangerous. Minas noted that while there may not be any living being aboard, the Forerunners were the masters of autonomous machines. Using his intimate knowledge of the Keyship, Choros led them deeper into the vessel in search of the Adytum, the containment device in which the slipspace crystals were held. After trudging through the darkness for a while, the group came to a wall with several doorways. Choros chose the fourth doorway from the left. They then followed a dimly-lit corridor into an expansive chamber with vaulting walkways that met at a lift at the center of the room. Hundreds of transport cylinders sat waiting to be used to launch personnel up toward the bow of the enormous vessel. Choros directed the others along the closest walkway and Minas chose a cylinder that could accommodate all three strike teams. Using a special code from records recently found in the debris field of the wrecked High Charity, Itka easily activated the lift and the strike force soared upward.

The lift stopped suddenly, disorienting many of the passengers. Choros informed them that the sensation would pass in time and that they should prepare for what lay ahead. Then, the lift's door opened to reveal a vast arcade filled with overgrown flora. Various catwalks arched through the air above, connecting delicate platforms and once-opulent common spaces. Flocks of exotic birds could be seen flitting among the dense foliage that climbed up to the chamber's distant ceilings. Minas led the strike force off of the lift as Choros began to explain the purpose of the chamber to 'Vagaduun.

Just then, Choros was knocked to the floor by a plasma blast, his armor taking the brunt of the damage. Everyone else dove for the nearest cover and Minas dragged the stunned Choros behind a nearby stone barrier while under fire by plasma bolts and carbine rounds. Rousing Choros, Minas ordered him to follow his lead and dashed for the jungle of foliage ahead of them. As they moved, Choros noticed a trio of silhouettes firing down on them from a rafter above and raised his Skewer to return fire. Minas did the same with his Erudo'ma'keth-pattern pulse carbine, forcing their attackers to seek cover. He could hear Zeretus yelling "Impossible!" in the distance, followed by the crash of his gravity hammer and the alarmingly Jiralhanae-like cry of his victim. Choros finished off their three attackers with a shot from his Skewer and the two of them pushed deeper into the arcade. They neared a doorway through which they could see a group of enemy Jiralhanae launch a salvo of plasma at them. Taking cover on either side of the portico, Choros and Minas shared their disbelief that remnants of the Covenant were still occupying the Keyship after all this time, nearly seven years after their empire fell. Putting their shock aside, the two warriors silently signaled to each other their next move. Simultaneously, they wheeled around the corner, unleashing a torrent of plasma at their assailants. Only two Covenant Jiralhanae survived and tried to flee out of the overgrown portico. Okro 'Vagaduun emerged from the shadows to decapitate one Jiralhanae and drive his sword into the back of the other in a single elegant motion.

Noticing that the weapons fire had ceased throughout the arcade, the remaining Banished troops regrouped to discuss what had happened. Choros theorized that these warriors had been ordered by the High Prophet of Truth to stay behind and protect the ship from intruders. They must have never given up their duty, living off of the vast stores of supplies the ship held for over six years. After discussing the situation a bit further, Minas refocused them on the task at hand and had Choros continue to lead the group to the Adytum.

Leaving the chamber, Choros led the group to a walkway that ended in three doorways, picking the rightmost doorway. It led to a narrow transparent hallway suspended high within the largest interior chamber they had encountered yet—the clerestory. In the room's murky depths sat receptacles containing specimens that would have been used to reseed worlds with life after the Halo Array's activation long ago. The group followed Choros along the corridor, which terminated at a well-lit circular balcony that held a small lift leading to the Keyship's drive controls. This room, and the Adytum within it, was suspended in the darkness hundreds of meters above them. This was the furthest Choros had ever been allowed to explore during the time of the Covenant. Examining the lift platform, Minas realized that it was far too small to transport their entire force in a single trip, meaning that they would need to split up. Zeretus observed that the top of the lift would make for a perfect ambush location, with the Covenant loyalists knowing that the entire Banished force could not fit on the lift. Minas agreed but knew that they had no other choice. His team would ascend first and send the lift back down for the next team when they established that the upper platform was clear.

Choros, Minas, and the remainder of their team stepped onto the lift and Itka activated its anti-gravity systems. As the platform accelerated upwards, Minas rested his hand on Choros' shoulder saying, "We do this together, brother." Choros responded with a confident "Together." Before the lift reached the upper platform, the other warriors readied themselves to attack whatever enemies surely awaited them. However, they only found an empty balcony with a single sealed door at its far wall. The strike team stepped off of the lift, which immediately began its trip back to the lower balcony on its own. Choros informed them that the sealed door led to the Adytum, their destination. Itka worked the door controls and the team took position, preparing for the ambush that surely must be waiting for them inside this final chamber.

A few moments later, the door slid open to reveal a room equally devoid of Covenant. The well-lit spherical chamber was filled with tiered platforms that lined its rounded walls. Each platform held terminals used to perform all manner of duties. At the center of the room was the Adytum, an oblong bronze monolith that fell just short of touching both the floor and ceiling. Terminals and interfaces covered its polished exterior, accessible from the platforms resting along the room's walls. Choros and Itka immediately began the process of extracting the shards they sought from within the Adytum. Minutes later, the distinctive sounds of Covenant impulse drives filled the room, alerting the strike team of two Phantom dropships approaching their position. After receiving word that 'Vagaduun was nearing the top of the lift and telling Zeretus to stay where he was, Minas pointed out two more Phantoms that could be seen approaching the platform as well. He then told Choros to hurry Itka along with the extraction of the crystal shards because they had Covenant forces incoming, to which Choros responded saying that they were almost finished.

The first of the Covenant to enter the room was a team of Kig-Yar. Before they could process what they were seeing in the room, they were all cut down by a Banished barrage. Infuriated by the attack, the Covenant Jiralhanae behind them charged into the room. The first few were easily dealt with, but as more streamed into the room it started to look bleak for the strike team. Three Banished Jiralhanae dropped after being pierced by superheated spikes as two more enemies lunged at Minas himself, but he deftly defeated both of them. By the time the firefight was over only two Banished warriors still standing in the room other than Choros and Minas were Burekos and Sopruuz.

Itka had been pinned to the wall and killed by a series of hot spikes. Choros knelt next to his fallen companion and paid homage to him in the form of a brief prayer. Retrieving the small onyx box containing the crystal, Choros regrouped with Minas. He opened the case to reveal three shards, each glowing with an intense blue light. However, Choros was more focused on the corpses of his companions that littered the floor. Hoping to gain some wisdom, he asked Minas what it was that Atriox had told him when they first met. The Chieftain relayed what Atriox had said, telling his captain that everyone should die on their own terms for something that they truly believe in. He contemplated this until Minas closed the onyx case and pushed it back to Choros, telling him that they must hurry back to the lift before the blademaster's forces were overrun. Choros handed the case back to Minas, insisting that he be the one to deliver it to Atriox. Then, they ventured out onto the platform to regroup with the 'Vagaduun and his Sangheili.

By this time, only two enemy Phantoms remained and many of 'Vagaduun's warriors had fallen. The blademaster stood defiantly in the open, unleashing a torrent of plasma from the rifles he held in each hand. As Choros, Minas, Burekos, and Sopruuz made their way back to the lift, they could see six more dropships approaching in the distance. Choros used his skewer to shoot down one of the two nearest Phantoms. The team reached the lift platform and Choros began working at the controls. Just then, a massive Jiralhanae carrying a massive gravity hammer appeared behind them. With a single swing, Burekos and Sopruuz were violently flung from the platform into the darkness below. The last three of 'Vagaduun's Sangheili warriors ignited their energy swords and lunged at the beast, prepared to sacrifice themselves so that the others could escape with the crystal. 'Vagaduun pulled Minas onto the lift just as Choros stepped off of it. Minas and the blademaster urged him to come back to the lift so that they could leave, but Choros refused. He realized that the incoming Phantoms would easily track the lift's descent and pick them off; Minas and 'Vagaduun would need more of a distraction. Before the Chieftain could respond, Choros slammed his fist onto lift's release, sending the two of them speeding back to the clerestory below.

Presumed death and legacy

As the platform above quickly shrank out of their sight range, Minas and 'Vagaduun could see the six dropships exchanging plasma fire with Choros and the Sangheili. Reaching the bottom, Zeretus was shocked to see that only the two of them had returned. To ensure that the others' selfless sacrifices were not in vain, Minas and the remaining strike team immediately rushed back the way they had came. Presumably, Choros and the others provided a sufficient distraction for Minas and the rest of the strike force to made it back to their Phantoms with the crystal, as Atriox would use it to return to the galaxy in October 2559.

Physical description

Choros was tall and dark-furred.

Equipment

During the mission to the Anodyne Spirit, Choros wielded a Skewer to great effect.

List of appearances

• Halo: Shadows of Reach
  • Sacrifice (First appearance)