The Heretic (Level)

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The Heretic
Game:	Halo 2
Player:	None
Date:	October 20, 2552
Location:	Aboard High Charity and Cairo Station
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Template:Article Quote The Heretic is the first level of Halo 2, consisting entirely of the cinematics involving Thel 'Vadamee's hearing by the Prophets, and SPARTAN-117 receiving his new armor, the Mark VI.

Transcript

The broken Installation 04

{Cutscene}

Fade in on the broken pieces of Installation 04, still burning. Groups of Covenant CCS-class Battlecruisers prowl among them.

An Assault Carrier flies by. The camera pans with it to a giant Covenant structure.

Covenant Holy City, High Charity. Ninth Age of Reclamation

Close up of High Charity. Hundreds of Covenant ships swarm around it.

Fade to a ledge across from tiers of stadium-like seats; several Banshees patrol around. The camera slowly zooms toward a door on the back of the ledge.

• Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee: "There was only one ship."

Fade in to the Council Chamber. Rows of Honor Guard Elites stand at attention. A single Zealot stands at the end, facing two High Prophets.

• Prophet of Regret: "One? Are you sure?"

• Thel 'Vadamee: "Yes. They called it the Pillar of Autumn."

The camera focuses on the stadium seats filled with Elite and Prophet Councilors. They mutter amongst themselves.

• Prophet of Mercy: "Why was it not destroyed, with the rest of their fleet?"

• Thel 'Vadamee: "It fled, as we set fire to their planet."

The Human planet Reach being glassed by the Covenant fleet.

(Flashback): The Pillar of Autumn flees Reach as Covenant ships glass it.

• Thel 'Vadamee: "But I followed with all the ships in my command."

(Flashback): a Covenant Cruiser approaches Halo, several dozen smaller ships are already in orbit above it.

• Prophet of Regret: "When you first saw Halo, were you blinded by its majesty?"

• Thel 'Vadamee: "Blinded?"

• Prophet of Regret: "Paralyzed? Dumbstruck?"

• Thel 'Vadamee: "No."

(End flashback) It is revealed that the Prophet of Regret is not actually here, but rather speaking through a holographic image of himself. Next to him is the Prophet of Mercy.

• Prophet of Regret: (angrily) "Yet the humans were able to evade your ships, land on the Sacred Ring, and desecrate it with their filthy footsteps!"

• Thel 'Vadamee: "Noble Hierarchs, surely you understand that once the parasite attacked-"

The Council members mutter angrily. 'Vadamee looks around at them.

• Prophet of Mercy: (bangs his fist down on his chair) "There will be order in this Council!"

The Prophet of Truth comes forward and raises his hand. The room falls into complete silence.

• Prophet of Truth: "You were right to focus your attention on the Flood. But this Demon, this "Master Chief"..."

(Flashback): The destruction of Halo

• Thel 'Vadamee: "By the time I learned the Demon's intent, there was nothing I could do."

(End flashback) The Prophet Councilors stand up and yell angrily. Elite Councilors mutter to each other. Tartarus, standing nearby, chuckles to himself.

• Prophet of Regret: (whispers to Truth) "Noble Prophet of Truth, this has gone on long enough. Make an example of this bungler. The Council demands it."

Truth holds up a hand, silencing Regret.

• Prophet of Truth: (to 'Vadamee) "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."

• Prophet of Objection: (Stands up and shows a fist) "Nay, it was heresy!"

The Councilors yell. 'Vadamee looks back and forth between them.

• Thel 'Vadamee: "I will continue my campaign against the humans!"

• Prophet of Truth: "No! You will not."

Truth glances at Tartarus, and the Brute Chieftain barks a command. Two Brutes approach 'Vadamee and try to grab him, but he shakes them off and he starts walking to his fate willingly. They escort him out.

• Prophet of Truth: "Soon the Great Journey shall begin. But when it does, the weight of your heresy will stay your feet. And you shall be left behind."

View fades to a new background. The circular ornament on the Prophet of Truth's headpiece is replaced by Earth's moon. The view then pans to Earth itself, focusing on three orbital MAC stations in orbit. A few UNSC ships fly past.

Earth Defense Platform, Cairo. 10.20.2552 (Military Calendar)

Cut to a close-up of the nearest platform.

• Master Gunnery Sergeant: "Your plating was about to fail, there's viscosity throughout the gel layer..."

Master Chief with his new armor.

Cut to the armory of Cairo Station. The officer handles equipment on a table.

• Master Gunnery Sergeant: "Optics - totally fried. And let's not even talk about the power supply." The view shows the Chief's new helmet on the table "You know how expensive this gear is, son?"

The view pans up the Chief's body, showing off his new armor. He fits his helmet into place just in time to block the player's view of his face.

• Master Chief: "Tell that to the Covenant."

Trivia

Mistakes

• The Pillar of Autumn can be seen in this cutscene. It is a Halcyon-class cruiser, although many think it is wrongly shown as a Marathon-class cruiser, in fact, it is just a remodeled version of the former.

Easter Eggs

• By using modding tools, it is possible to see the Master Chief hidden behind one of the pillars above the Councilors. This is due to the fact that Bungie needed to place an avatar in cutscenes to allow for the AI, thus making cut scenes "unplayable" game play.

References

• Near the conclusion of the cutscene, Thel 'Vadamee's helmet creates a bursting graphic texture. Joseph Staten revealed this bug on the Halo 3 Legendary Edition bonus disk and he stated that he could never fix the bug.

Miscellaneous

• This level is one of the only levels in the entire Halo Trilogy in which you do not play; the other level being Arrival.
• This level is not available in co-op, since it contains only cutscenes, and is not necessary for co-op gameplay
• This is the first and only level in the entire Halo Trilogy where any member of the Covenant, in this case the Prophet of Truth, refers to John-117 as the Master Chief. This is probably because Bungie doesn't want players to be confused when the enemy says "Demon".
• This is the first level in the Halo series that Councilors, Prophets and Brutes are seen.
• In this level, Thel 'Vadamee mentions the Pillar of Autumn, which is the second to last time in the trilogy which they reference the ship, the other being when Cortana says she will light the fusion reactors on "In Amber Clad", she says she'll light them just like the Autumn, but this is the last time that the ship itself is shown. However, a holographic representation is seen briefly in Halo Wars.

Gallery

• 

  Thel 'Vadamee before the Mark of Shame and becoming the Arbiter.

Preceded by Halo Credits

Halo 2 Campaign Missions The Heretic

Succeeded by The Armory