The halls of Vendratis, a sacred place among the Hives of old. It was where the first traitor Vendratis redeemed himself by saving the Empress in Red at the cost of his own life. It was the only place considered to be sacred ground during the civil war, where no changeling blood was ever to be split. It was here where the final surrender was ratified and the war came to an end when the last Venator Xarix gave his life to save both sides from a sudden dragon attack.
It is an ancient position. One that has been held by many a traitor for hundreds of years. Its mission was simple: To uphold the Swarms Code, no matter the cost. The position was equally respected as it was feared, honorable yet shameful. A Venators duty only ends in death. Such was the main thought that went through Mobius’s head as he was brought before the blood-red doors of the Halls.
The upside-down heart, the symbol of the Venator, was emblazoned all across the large pair of doors as the names of previous Venators were imprinted on each and every heart with the details of their death described beneath them. His gaze jumping from heart to heart he managed to find the heart of Xarix.
He had met the Venator several times before during the war. He was… quiet to say the least. He only spoke when required to and only if what he said was substantial enough to be useful to him and his fellow Kommandants. Mobius himself didn't know all the details when it came to why he was made Venator as he was away at the northern front.
From what he could discover though Xarix had been hoarding his love rations for his own personal stash, breaking the 3rd Tennant of the Swarms Code. He used to be a member of her majesty's praetorians, earning him the opportunity to become a Venator to pay for his crimes.
He was a terror on the battlefield whenever Mobius caught a glimpse of him during the war. He threw himself at the enemy’s lines, with no regard for his own life. He was the Venator and nothing would prevent him from completing his penance to the Swarm. And now… now it would be Mobius to carry the mantle for as long as he lived.
The door to the halls crept open allowing the trio inside its sacred walls. The walls were a bloody red as statues of the Empress stuck out above them. Adorning the blood red walls were several ancient and bloodied weapons put on display as a painting of a battlefield stood above it. The weapon on the wall taking a prominent role in the artworks above it. A large golden upside-down heart stood in the center of the room, the silhouette of an armor stand visible before it. To its right stood the caretaker of the halls, the red glow emanating from their eyes boring into Mobius’s soul as they watched the newest Venator approach.
Queen Chrysalis soon entered from Mobius’s left as she took up position next to the ancient armor sitting before Mobius. Its color was an abyssal black, dark green splotches adorned its surface as a single red one was visible upon the armor's helmet.
The Queen looked towards the caretaker and nodded. Then she looked towards the praetorians flanking Mobius and motioned for them to leave. They did so reluctantly with the pair bowing and leaving without another word. Meanwhile, Mobius’s eyes were watching the caretaker of the halls move behind the large heart and re-emerged with a dagger in one hand and a tome in the other.
“Kommandant Mobius of the Xeraxis Hive.” Spoke the Queen drawing his attention away from the caretaker. “You have been granted the opportunity to find redemption in service to the Red Empress as her Venator.” She moved to the side, allowing the caretaker to step forward before the Queen spoke once again.
“Now you must choose. Take the tome and die now as a traitor to the Empress. Or take the blade and seek redemption as her next Venator. Mobius of the Xeraxis Hive, make your choice now.”
Mobius’s gaze flipped from his Queen to the Caretaker and then the objects they held. His mind was a whirlwind as he looked at the objects before him. Before suddenly a serene calmness overtook him as something powerful grazed against his mind. His vision began to tint slightly red around the edges when he looked towards the dagger.
‘Take it’
His mind heard from the dagger before him.
‘Become the instrument of my will’
His Empress whispered in his ear. Its power was strong, its emotions serene, its will impossible to comprehend. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t speak! But now he knows what he must do.
He grabbed the dagger as the redness faded and the presence receded. “What must I do?” Asked the Venator towards his Queen.
“ Spill your blood against the Armor and repeat after me to complete the ritual.” Answered Chrysalis, moving to the opposite side of the armor stand.
Mobius nodded resolutely as he raised his front hooves above the armor and deftly cut his empty hoof, spilling his green blood upon the armor below.
“I Mobius of the Xeraxis Hive do solemnly swear.” Began the Queen with Mobius swiftly repeating. “To pledge my life to the Empress as penance for my crimes.” Continued the Queen, Mobius repeating as the armor below him began to glow slightly. “I shall become her next Venator and enact her will until death redeems me from Damnation.” The Armor began to shake slightly as Mobius repeated his Queen's words. “I am now no longer Kommandant Mobius of the Xeraxis Hive. I shall now be known as Venator Mobius of the Red Empress.”
At the bleeding changeling utterance of the final verse, the armor below him suddenly sprang up towards its new Venator. The military dress uniform was thrown aside as the armor found its new home. It crawled along Mobius’s Carapace as its shell fastened itself against his Kitin. A strong burning sensation instantly erupted all across Mobius’s chitin causing him to drop to the floor, yelling in pain as the armor finished its work.
Its seemingly living metal burned into his chitin, fastening it permanently against his body. The changeling panted in exhaustion as he shakily stood back up onto his holed hooves, a slight billowing of smoke rose from the edges of the armor as the last of its body burned itself into his chitin. His hearts were racing as he began to look over his newly armored body.
Most of his previously exposed carapace was now covered by the armor with his wings visible being given two small slits to hang out of. His hooves had suffered the same fate as very little of his hooves were now exposed to the outside world. Mobius could even feel the metal within the holes that covered his hooves. Finally, there came his chest that was also covered. However, just below his neck was a large area of exposed Chitin shaped in the form of an upside-down heart.
His head was also covered by the armor whilst his face was free of the living metal covering the rest of his skin.
“Rise Venator Mobius. Until the day the Empress comes for you, that armor shall remain affixed to you. Removal is impossible, but it will serve you well as it has many a Venator before you.” The Queen looked to the side, grabbing a sword and shield that appeared to be made of the same material as the armor. “ You are the Empress's sword as you are the Swarm's shield.” Finished the Queen, handing the weapons to Mobius.
He grabbed them carefully as they were suddenly connected to his armor and moved across his body to be sheathed against his wings. Mobius watched as his weapons moved to their own across his body before he looked back towards his Queen, a red fire behind his eyes.
“What would you have your Venator do, my Queen?”
And a predatory smile overtook her face.
“I believe some of my children need to be avenged. Don’t you think so too, my Venator?”
I wonder if Mobius will be following the same path the playable Elite from Halo 2 took.
11037846
you mean the Arbiter? considering the power difference between him and Six unless that armor is comparable to MJOLNIR Armor he doesn't really stand a chance
11037846
Possibly, it'd be fun to see a changling Arbiter
11037846
I would be bummed if hey do.
Is wrong that I want him to get his ass handed to him again when he faces Six?
11037854
Yes, we will see I guess.
11037864
It would be interesting to see.
11037871
We will just have to see what happens.
Sacrefice of a hero of a race is just wasting military ressources...
But if we follow Halo 2 lore...
Well, the Changelings are going to learn, very quickly, why the Sangheili, Kig-Yar, Ungoy, and even the Jiralhane refer to Spartans as "Demons."
11037846
I really hope so, because changelings are awesome, even when... uh... committing genocide on the level of the Covies....
Hey, at least the Venerator can't be responsible for the murder of hundreds of billions of ponies. Can't glass planets if there's only one....
11037904
He aint no hero. He’s a failure that is being punished through service until the Empress decides his time has come.
11037911
My man 🤜
11037904
He's not considered a hero when the one evaluating him is too arrogant to comprehend that he was facing a foe that they had absolutely no hope of defeating. Queenie here is assuming that he was so grossly incompetent that he lost his soldiers to an ordinary pony. Chrysalis won't believe Six's strength until the Spartan curbstomps her personally.
11037876
i want the to team up like chief and arbiter
11037930
So we dont follow Halo 2 lore were Arbiters are hero's and political powers that the leadership was afraid of become opposition the next big fuck up following?
11037941
They ‘were’ Hero’s until the first arbeiter that rose up against the prophets. Now at the point in halo 2 it is cconsidered a mark of shame. My Venators were never heros or leaders. They were the condemned. The punished. The traitors. And Vendratis was the first traitor.
Arbeiters are the leaders of the sangheili. They used to be the what amounts to head of states before the Covenant.
11037952
Yes but i mean the Leadership framed or blames Sangheli that got to powerful or might outgrow control. Is it the same here?
11037960
It depends on a queens interpretation of the Swarms code
I am curious to see what happens next when the 2 come face to face with one another.
11037963
Specifically the Tennant of ‘Serve the Swarm’
A Queen could interpret any possible threats against her power as a violation of this tennant.
A Venator may only be a ling that has broken the code and is, under the discression of the Queen and the Halls Caretaker, worthy of its position as the sword of the Empress in Red and the shield of the Swarm itself.
11037911
Yeah, Changelings are awesome! That's true.
This reaks of bullshit.
11037911
That sounds like a challenge.
I see Thorax being important later on. I have two ideas that have him in both.
1st: Thorax will be leading the "Heretic" Changelings that seen through the lies of Chrysalis, and ends up getting killed by Mobius. But not before he plants doubt in Mobius s mind.
2nd: Thorax has enough and ends up starting another Civil War in the Swarm. Half remaining loyal to Chrysalis(Loyalists), and the rest side with Thorax and his ideals(Separatists).
I can`t wait til the Main 6 finally get to see Six. I mean a Pegasus that is the size of Luna, and stronger than even Big Mac(Supposedly the strongest pony([aside from Alicorns] in Equestria)? Rainbow is probably gonna go fangirl, and Applejack would be honoured, while also being a bit jealous.
Also I love the fact that instead of being a position of honour like in the Covenant, instead Venator is a position of shame and dishonour in the Swarm.
So, we see our pony form of the Arbiter. Yet... not. This is a far more brutal version, I would think. I don't think this Venator will be taking the same route. But then again, I like to be proven wrong.
You know.. if the changelings could feed on arrogance, they'd never have to leave the Hive.
11038186
The Elites pre-covenant held the role of Arbeiter highly, when one rebelled the Covenant made it the highest shame. Any who got the role were sent to die, Thel 'Vadamee was never meant to live as long as he did during the events of halo 2.
11038186
The detail that you're missing is that Chrysalis is not the leader of the changelings here. The Red Empress is and we haven't met her yet. Also, Thorax is still missing he can't lead anything.
Ah but Mobius, you're not her Venator, you belong to the Empress and Chrysalis is not the Empress.
That said given what this chapter is based of I am very suspicious about the "presence" that influenced his "choice"
11038049
An even if he was hoarding love, the question of "Why?" comes up.
11038515
See, the chronology is a bit weird here. It would seem that the order of events is either wedding, unification, war with Equestria, or unification, wedding, war. It is really a question of whether the unification occurred before or after the wedding and a bit of cause and effect. the wedding could have led to a war with Equestria and/or the need for unification. Alternatively, the unification could have progressed to the war with Equestria and the wedding was simply an attempt at a quick and decisive win.
11038505
Me too. It seems to be the primary difference between the original event in Halo, and the Hive. In the video game, the Arbiter chose because he had no other real choice. But it was still his decision. Here, Mobius was made to choose by someone else. Either Chrysalis using her power as the Hive Queen to manipulate her soldier, or some other power. In either case, he didn't actually make the critical choice of his own will. That might be a very significant point later on.
Edit: Something that just occurred to me. We're commenting on how this reads a lot like Halo. What if it's Six's presence in Equestria that's causing this? What if whatever force that reincarnated her here is causing some random spillover across the planet? As a result, events she'd find eerily similar are happening across the world. If she's caught in some kind of causality wave, the real questions would be two. First, is she fated to fill the role of the Master chief? And second, if so, how does it end?
11038520
Its unification - Wedding - War
11038531
thankyou
11038503
Oh shit, I did? Well I`m a fucking idiot........... still sticking with my theory. Its just too perfect.
11038695
I'm not too sure. Until we meet the Red Empress we can't know the core motivation of the changelings and thus (I don't know why we're rooting on Thorax) we can't really guess at whether or not he agrees and if he would feel the need to defect at all. The fact that they are unified, Chrysalis is not leading their race, and that they are properly at war changes everything. Generally, people tolerate a lot more during wartime than during peacetime because it is presented and viewed as a necessary evil to defeat a greater evil. I would be remiss though if I did not say that (by virtue of the uncertainty of choice) choosing the greater evil can sometimes lead to the most good.
Bruh Venator is a class of Star Destroyer used by the Galactic Republic so you callin' him a ship?
11038774
You wanna ship him?
Ya know i was confused when connor asked me what it was like as the Red empress on discord and my new name.
Now I realize im a dead queenie with my own brutal version of the Arbiter.
Nice.
11038838
*Goblin laughter*
11038841
Oi you Lil shit come here
Distant running and shouts
11038842
11038707
Oh I know that, sometimes to do some good, you have to be the villain. My ideas are just based on the idea that the authors story follows the same lines as Halo 2 and Halo 3. After all I only got those ideas because(although different) Mobius ends up disgraced and ends up becoming a dishonoured warrior, just like Arbiter. Ya feel me?
11038774
You trotted into that one
11037846
I think he will. Mobius will learn that his queen's plans are more sinister than he thought and many Changelings will side with him on the side of honor.
Mobius should have taken the tome and died. He was mind controlled into becoming a Venator. If that had not happened he would have just taken the tome
Poor dude is being set up. He just doesn't know it yet.
"What would you have your arbiter do?" Is one of my favorite lines.