Governors of Contrition

The Governors of Contrition are a radical fringe sect of the Covenant. While they believe in the Covenant religion, they subscribe to a more extreme view than that of most of the empire, believing that all of the creations of the Forerunners are sacrosanct. This notably manifests in their view on the Flood, believing the parasite to be the Forerunners' creation and thus, a perfect life-form. Due to this, the Governors believe that it is the duty of the Covenant to protect and embrace the Flood. Despite these radical beliefs, they were tolerated among the empire (prior to its collapse) provided they did not endanger others with their beliefs. They remain active in the post-war era, having become dispersed throughout the former-Covenant's territories.

History

The Covenant

The Governors of Contrition were active while the Covenant was at the height of its power, even despite the empire's previous historical encounters with the Flood. They were tolerated in the empire as long as they did not endanger others with their beliefs. This status changed following the destruction of Installation 04 in September 2552, which had been partially-caused by a catastrophic outbreak on the ringworld. At this point, the Governors were largely shunned and exiled from High Charity, the Covenant's capital city-station, and deployed to further-flung administrative outposts far from the centres of power in the empire. This, ironically, meant the Governors were not present aboard High Charity in November that year when the station was boarded and infected by the Flood, who proceeded to convert it into a Flood hive. This was a source of anger for the Governors, with the Minister of Aretology Kanto'Boreft feeling that he had been denied his "rightful ascension" due to being situated far from the city.

While this process was ongoing, the Covenant was erupting into civil war with a massive space battle fought around the station. The chaos of the battle proved a perfect environment for the Flood to exploit, boarding and infecting several warships. A member of the Governors, Shipmaster Tano 'Inanraree of the Incorruptible, tried to have his ship to be boarded by the Flood, believing that their assimilation into the Flood would fulfill his faith. However, he was shot and killed by one of his junior officers, Voro 'Mantakree, before the Flood were able to infect the crew.

Post-war

The exile of the Governors meant that they largely survived the empire's collapse, retaining their faith. The Minister of Aretology led his own cult from his assignment aboard the Ninth Watchtower of August Attendance, stationed over the planet Atropos. From here, they regularly traded with a group of humans who had been marooned on the world prior to the Human-Covenant War and had no knowledge of the Covenant's attempted genocide of their species, including the Festival of Joyous Partition which saw the two groups come together to trade and trade stories of their respective cultures.

In late 2558, the Minister's wishes were fulfilled when a Condor dropship commandeered by the Flood in a disastrous outbreak at Site 22 exited slipspace and crashed on Atropos. The Minister, as such, ordered the Ninth Watchtower's disassembly and began to use an old Covenant Citadel on the world as a site from which to cultivate a new hive of the Flood. The Governors on the planet would regularly elevate one of their own to the position of "Chosen", sacrificing them to the hive in a religious ceremony until the sacrifice of Atun 'Etaree in April 2560, at which point the Flood had accumulated enough biomass for a new outbreak - escaping the Citadel and proceeding to infect the rest of the planet.

Known members

• Kanto'Boreft, the Minister of Atretology (assimilated by the Flood, 2560)
• Tano 'Inanraree, Sangheili shipmaster of the Incorruptible (killed by Voro 'Mantakree, 2552)
• Atun 'Etaree, Sangheili arum-maker and servant of Kanto'Boreft (assimilated by the Flood, 2560)

List of appearances

• Halo: Ghosts of Onyx (First appearance)
• Halo: Ascension on Atropos