Der' Vishumii shifted uneasily on his hooves, leaning towards one side, and then the other.  His hands were locked in a clasp behind his waist, an action of habit, but difficult in the bulky Pariah armor.  The Sangheili stood last in the line of his fellow race, arranged so they were behind and a little to the left of the table where the Humans took their council.<br/><br/>Vishumii was a tall Sangheili, with a body more lean and toned than normal.  His waist was slightly thicker, and, if one were to remove his helmet, they would be able to see a series of spirals carved into his skin; ritualistic scarring done as a reward for bravery in battle.  Vishumii's red armor, polished to a high sheen, glinted with the fractured reflections of the dim light panels lining the room.  His shoulders bore the tell-tale purple stripes of the Covenant Splinter Army, both displaying his allegiance and his rank.<br/><br/>The Major Veteran kept his mandibles sealed shut against the somewhat metallic air, his dark brown eyes watching the recording play without a single blink.  'Vishumii had seen Flood before.  Fought them, killed them.  The Parasite has claimed numerous soldiers under his command, wreaking untold horrors on their body.  Although his face never moved, his eyes bore the look of grim acceptance.  Somehow, against all odds, the Parasite had broken through the Blockade and was now infesting the few remaining Human colonies.  Although Vishumii had fought Flood before, he had only ever observed them on the field of battle.  Watching them operate like intelligent beings, collecting bodies and... constructing new abominations contradicted everything Vishumii knew about the Parasite.  It was unnerving, and the red armored Sangheili shifted back to his right side.<br/><br/>Still, no matter how repulsed or unsettled he was by them, Vishumii<em>knew </em>that he would have to learn from this recording.  Take advantage of the oppurtunity to observe the Parasite without the red haze of combat obscuring his vision.  Eyes narrowing, Vishumii wondered why the Parasite had waited to kill the Human before adding it to the pile, or why it threw the child in without killing it first.  He catalogued that bit of knowledge away in his memory, saving it for analyzation when he had the time.<br/><br/>Several figures around the table shifted uneasily; one appeared to contort its face into what Vishumii assumed was disgust.  Defining emotions in Humans could be very complicated because of their radically different facial structure.  The mouth seemed to open slightly, the edges aimed downward with a wrinkling of the chin.  A chin!  How terribly ineffecient!<br/><br/>Vishumii refocused on the screen, only to see that it was blank.  The human said something to the wall, apparantly communicating with an intelligence contained there-in.  The Sangheili fought down a wave of disgust at the thought of artificial intelligence; something that remained from his days in the Covenant before the Schism.  Sometimes, Vishumii wished life were still like that.  Simple, unchanging, blissful unawareness.  But then he would look at the here and now, and thanks the Gods, or whoever the Gods<em>actually were</em>, that he had a chance to free himself from the bonds and lies the Prophets rained on him and his brethren.<br/><br/>The Sangheili listened as one of the Demons (formerly a derogatory and hateful term, now one of respect amongst the Sangheili) addressed the aged Human.  His views and ideas were rash, stupid, naive.  Destroy a planet to eliminate an infestation?  Then Vishumii froze, realizing that was the same mentality that had driven the Forerunners, and currently drove the Sangheili in their unending war to contain the Parasite.<br/><br/><em>Sacrifices have to be made.</em><br/><br/>He blinked a couple of times, resolving to think on that subject later.  Until then, he would gather as much intelligence as he could.  While he still could.