Tel 'Szatulai
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Tel 'Szatulai was a Sangheili with the title of First Blade and a member of the Silent Shadow, an elite unit within the Covenant military's Special Operations branch. In 2526, he served then-Fleetmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee, who commanded the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience.[2] During his mission to gather intelligence from human insurrectionists and hunt down the United Nations Space Command's rumored Spartan supersoldiers, 'Szatulai commanded the Bloodstar Flotilla from aboard the Sacred Whisper.[1] ContentsBiography[edit]Early life[edit]Tel 'Szatulai was born circa 2566.[1] He enlisted in the Covenant military when he came of age, as is expected of all male Sangheili. At some point during his service, 'Szatulai earned the title of blademaster, receiving the "-ai" suffix to show his mastery of the sword. By 2526, he had been inducted into the feared Silent Shadow, a unit of experienced Special Operations Sangheili often tasked with the assassination of high-ranking officials that had crossed the Hierarchs.[2] Scouting the colonies[edit]Early in the Human-Covenant War, Tel 'Szatulai served as the leader of the Bloodstars and traveled with the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience. As the fleet made ready to assault the human colonies, he led a squad of Silent Shadow to take measure of these planets' defenses so that Fleetmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee could easily crush any resistance that the humans might throw against the fleet. More importantly, 'Szatulai's squad would also search for any hint that these worlds might have once been occupied by the Forerunners, the deities upon which rested the pillar of the Covenant religion.[2] While scouting out the tenth colony in line for destruction, Amasa, a human courier serving the United Rebel Front delivered a device containing a transmission to 'Szatulai and his squad. The Sangheili warriors captured the courier and forced her to demonstrate how the device worked and that it was safe; then they killed her.[2] 'Szatulai brought the device to 'Kvarosee aboard his flagship, Pious Rampage, with the Minor Minister of Artifact Survey also in attendance. Upon activating the device, they were greeted with a message recorded by General Harper Garvin of the United Rebel Front. The human offered information about the United Nations Space Command—and more specifically, the Spartans, which had recently destroyed two warships from the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience—in exchange for an alliance with the Covenant and the promise that their worlds would not be glassed. Garvin warned that the UNSC would try to replicate their successful boarding actions at Biko when the Covenant fleet arrived. He requested that they send a representative to meet with them in an abandoned ice quarry on Seoba to work out the terms of their alliance. 'Kvarosee and the San'Shyuum ordered 'Szatulai to meet with the insurrectionists on Seoba and learn how they might help combat the Spartans. However, once the humans outlived their use, he was ordered to execute them.[2] To carry out this mission, he took the intrusion corvettes of the Bloodstar Flotilla to the Kolaqoa system, commanding the small force from the Sacred Whisper.[1] Seoba[edit]
On March 19, 2526, the Bloodstar Flotilla arrived in high orbit over Biko without alerting the planet's defense force.[3][1] Despite the intrusion corvettes' active camouflage, the UNSC's Task Force Yama, which had just captured the insurrectionists' base on Seoba, detected the incoming flotilla and began to deploy its prowlers. 'Szatulai stood inside the Sacred Whisper's forward observation blister as he watched the prowlers rise into space, backed by the looming pink disk of Biko. Even though the human vessels could be seen by the naked eye, none of the corvettes' sensors could detect anything to suggest that any vessels at all were leaving Seoba. 'Szatulai summoned Shipmaster Hulon 'Budyasee, pointing out the specks rising from the pale moon. The two of them then visited the reader stations at the rear of the bridge to investigate whether fault was with the bridge crew or their equipment. Going to one of the stations, 'Szatulai questioned the reader as to why he had not reported any enemy vessels on Seoba. Indeed, there were readings to suggest that the ice quarry they were headed for was warmer than the surrounding area, but the data suggested that it was the result of a small comet or asteroid impact rather than a vessel. Yet, the reader conceded that there could be vessels hidden in the quarry and in its cave systems. When informed by 'Szatulai that he had seen with his own eyes at least seven ships leaving the quarry, the reader exclaimed that the impossible has happened as their vessel's sensors surely would have been able detect that. This led 'Szatulai to the disturbing realization that the UNSC had stealth craft that were superior to those fielded by the Covenant. He then ordered the corvettes to fire on the quarry, despite the extreme range and lack of vessels to target, hoping that they could shoot down one of the stealth vessels and recover it to be inspected later on.[1] The barrage successfully downed the UNSC Starry Night, the flagship of the human task force.[4] The vessel impacted the quarry wall, heavily damaging its fuselage and causing an avalanche.[5] The crash killed the Stary Night's captain and much of the crew,[6] and resulted in the prowler coming to a rest atop a massive ice pile.[5] Realizing that the barrage had yielded the desired results, 'Szatulai ordered his flotilla to move in to recover the disabled stealth vessel, all while fending off the other human ships. The Worthy Silence made it to the crash site before the others and deployed Bloodstar forces to secure the wreck. Before it could be recovered, a team of twelve Spartans arrived and contested them. However, with the arrival of a second corvette, the Spartans were forced to restart the avalanche with their grenade launchers, burying half of them in the ice, but also delaying the Covenant.[5][6] As 'Szatulai's Bloodstars fought the Spartans for control of the Starry Night, two more of the intrusion corvettes approached to harass the supersoldiers. Despite this, the humans gained access to the prowler and its nuclear self-destruct system, and a strafing run from the task force destroyed two of the flotilla's corvettes and chased off a third. With the situation turning in the Spartans' favor, the Worthy Silence began lifting the Starry Night into its hangar bay via gravity lift. It was too late, however, as the team inside the prowler armed the nuke and fled in an escape pod. The explosion pulverized both the Starry Night and the Worthy Silence, leaving 'Szatulai with only the Sacred Whisper and one other vessel.[6]
Zhoist[edit]
In April 2526, 'Szatulai was dispatched by Fleetmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee to stop a Spartan attack on the Covenant supply world Zhoist. However, 'Szatulai's efforts failed and he died at the Spartans' hands. [citation needed]
Equipment[edit]Tel 'Szatulai wore the indigo assault armor of the Silent Shadow, including an enclosed helmet with a red visor. As with all members of the Silent Shadow, 'Szatulai carried a Type-1 energy sword on his hip.[2] List of appearances[edit]
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