The Heretic

The Heretic is the first campaign level of Halo 2, consisting entirely of the cinematics involving Thel 'Vadamee's hearing by the Prophets, and John-117 receiving his new MJOLNIR Mark VI armor.

Transcript


{Cutscene}

''Fade in on the broken pieces of Installation 04, still burning. Groups of Covenant s prowl among them.''

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

Covenant Holy City, High Charity

Ninth Age of Reclamation

''Cuts to a 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 Sangheili stand at attention. A single Sangheili 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 stadium seats are filled with Sangheili and San 'Shyuum Councilors, who are muttering 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."



Fades to white and to a flashback: the UNSC Pillar of Autumn escaping from Reach as Covenant ships surround it.


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

Fades to another flashback: a Covenant Cruiser approaches Installation 04, 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."

''Cuts back to the Council Chamber. It is revealed that the Prophet of Regret is not actually present, 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. Mercy bangs his fist down on his chair.''


 * Prophet of Mercy: "There will be order in this Council!"

''The Prophet of Truth comes forward between Regret and Mercy, 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"..."

Fades to white and to a flashback: The destruction of Installation 04.


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

''Cuts back to the Council Chamber. The San 'Shyuum Councilors stand up and yell angrily. Sangheili 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: (to the Hierarchs) "I will continue my campaign against the humans!"


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

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


 * 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..."



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. You know how expensive this gear is, son?"

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


 * Master Chief Petty Officer John-117: "Tell that to the Covenant."

Mistakes

 * The UNSC Pillar of Autumn is represented by the model, despite the fact that it is a . This was likely done to conserve resources during the development of the game.

Miscellaneous

 * This level is one of the only two levels in the entire Halo series in which there is no gameplay; the other one being Noble Actual.
 * This level is not available in cooperative play, 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 new players to be confused when the enemy says "Demon".
 * 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.
 * The two Jiralhanae that accompany Thel 'Vadamee varies in rank during each playthrough. They could be both Major, both Minor, or one Major and one Minor.
 * 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 cutscenes "unplayable" gameplay.

Gallery
File:Walk-of-shame.jpg|Thel 'Vadamee before the Mark of Shame and becoming the Arbiter. File:Armory.jpg|The Master Gunnery Sergeant reviews the old armor's equipment. 