Secrets of the Covenant

By Danny Chihdo

Note: Storyline SPOILERS ahead! Proceed at your own risk.

In the original Halo: Combat Evolved, the Covenant was the original enemy for a groundbreaking sci-fi shooter, an alien alliance of many different species, bound by a common fanatical religion and bent on wiping out humanity. Beyond that, what more did gamers need to know?

For the long-awaited, longer-in-development sequel Halo 2, Bungie seems determined to delve much deeper into mankind's mysterious extraterrestrial foes. Much of this new background is revealed via cut scenes featuring the game's second protagonist, the Arbiter, a holy warrior that's the Covenant's answer to Master Chief.

Who is this alien? You'll find out in Halo 2.

Hierarchy
The game opens on High Charity, the spiritual, political, and military center of the Covenant empire (or so it appears). If you thought the humans had worked hard to hide Earth, wait until you see this opening scene. Literally hundreds of massive Covenant cruisers orbit a moon-sized, mushroom-shaped space station. Therein, the Prophets, the holy triumvirate of ancient aliens that guide the alliance, are passing judgment on the Elite warrior who lost the holy ring—the original Halo from the previous game—to the humans. For his crime, he's cast into a torture chamber.

From just this opening scene, we learn much of the Covenant's ways and operation. The Elites are the general caste, the officers of the armies. The grunts, of course, are grunts, but it's really cool to see just how many there are in High Charity alone. These guys must be underfoot wherever you go in Covenant-land. The Prophets are revealed, and you should pay attention to them because they're key to the entire plot. But, the biggest news is that the Elites are falling out of favor after the loss of the Halo, and a new race—the Brutes, whose name is incredibly suitable—are moving in to fill the void. At least one of the Prophets is helping this fracture come to fruition for his own purposes, but another will save the shamed general from death and use him in the upcoming civil war.

This Prophet's never at a loss for words.

Infighting
Over the course of the game, the Arbiter levels continue to give up nifty little cultural tidbits for would-be Covenant scholars. The Arbiter's first mission shows just how bad things are getting—a heretical Elite has taken control of an outpost and is preaching that the Prophets are playing everyone for suckers (thing is, he's probably right). The Arbiter is sent with a crack team of Elite commandoes and grunts to quell the uprising (encountering more of the new Covenant species in the process). The drones, or 'buggers," are flying Geonosian-like aliens that will eventually side against the Elites. The new Honor Guards are extra-creepy, and the jet-pack-powered Elite enemies show just how bad the division is in the empire.

Send in the grunts!

Betrayal
This civil war finally spills into open conflict when the humans follow the Covenant to a second Halo, where Master Chief and the Arbiter will meet.

The Arbiter has been sent to put down an infection—the Flood are here, too. The Covenant call them "the parasite" and have some weapons that are especially well-suited to fighting these deadly creatures, like the explosive brute shot.

The second Halo becomes a fateful battleground for the very soul of the Covenant, as the Prophets finally turn on each other for the power to launch what they call "The Great Journey." They believe—and may even have been led to believe by their oracle, 343 Guilty Spark—that activating all of the Halos in the galaxy is a good thing that will finally take all of the Covenant somewhere extra-special. And, in a way, that's true. Rhere's sure to be some kind of journey after the "holy rings" wipe out every last scrap of organic life in the galaxy, eliminating any potential Flood hosts. One Prophet uses the Brutes to seize control of a gigantic Forerunner starship that was built into the Halo itself and, in the process, forces the Arbiter into a fateful choice.

But, I've spoiled enough. Now, go play Halo 2 and learn more than you ever wanted to know about the Covenant, but were afraid to ask. Don't be surprised if there are still a few mysteries leftover when the credits roll …