In Hunt the Truth episode 10, we accompany Benjamin Giraud in exile. Just prior to this, he had hacked into a senate meeting among powerful leaders and delivered some damning evidence incriminating ONI.
Ben had holed up in an undisclosed location, losing sleep over the uncertainty of what was going on. It had been days since he’d heard from Mshak, and the guilt of being the reason that ONI might have gone after him was eating away at Ben. They’d probably gotten Mshak, and now they were coming for Ben. Every unfamiliar sound was an intruder, and it would send Ben right into hiding. The night that he’d deviated from his protocol, he ended up sleeping soundly under the floor boards. He found sweet solace after days restless paranoia.
Politicians were still trying to channel public outrage over the Master Chief’s supposed attack on the embassy on Biko, and Senator Del Rio was at the forefront of this movement. He was gunning for the SPARTAN-IIs to be decommissioned, all because of that incident, while praising SPARTAN-IVs for being infallible. The man knew how to get a crowd worked up.
Distracted by Del Rio, or perhaps overconfident in daylight, Ben almost didn’t hear that someone had made their way in. He was alerted to the intruder’s presence when his tripwire was set off sending him into a panic. The intruder didn’t even attempt to be discreet, and voiced his obvious disapproval. Ben immediately recognized the voice and went to check; there stood his friend, Ray, tangled in fishing line and metal eating implements.
At this point, the story becomes infinitely more interesting. Previous episodes of Hunt the Truth have brought answers, but even more new questions, every time. This episode stays true to that, and brings us answers.
It turns out that Mshak had taught Ray how to comb through the slush, the cesspool of data transmissions siphoned off of unsecured networks. What Ray found was of extreme importance: A transmission from the Sangheili alien race sent to the Unified Earth Government on Earth, stating that they had nothing to do with the massacre on Biko, and neither did the “demon.” Master Chief had killed thousands of their soldiers in the past, so this unfriendly nickname was understandable. The Sangheili are known for speaking the truth, so if they were behind it, they would have been talking about kill count, not washing their hands of the matter.
To everyone else, Biko appeared to be peaceful, but evidence said otherwise. Ravi, a man who makes a living going to dangerous territories and selling information to the highest bidder, had sold info on Biko to Ray. Protests, riots, martial law, and politicians’ public silence. That was what was going on on Biko.
Ravi’s government contacts were talking behind closed doors, though. Sekibo’s people wanted to clear the name of the Sangheili, but Magistrate Adams had ordered government and media silence. It turns out that a week before the peace talks, Ambassador Sekibo had discovered a serious security breach and had asked the UEG for help. The senators turned him down automatically. Regional stability was at stake, so Sekibo attended the meeting despite being aware of the risks. When asked who was behind the Biko massacre, all Ravi’s contacts could give him was “not the Sangheili.”
Once FERO’s leaks broke and the Master Chief was made out to be the villain, Biko’s people launched a quiet investigation of their own. What they found was a group called Sapien Sunrise, a group that believed alien integration in human colonies was destroying civilization. Sekibo’s talks would have highlighted everything they hated, so they had motivation to ruin the talks. Their plan was simple: Assassinate Sekibo, blame it on the aliens, and that would be the end of the peace talks.
The investigations had turned up that four of the dead “civilians” were Sapien Sunrise members from the local chapter, as well as four embassy guards and Sekibo’s personal bodyguard. Chief’s first kill was that bodyguard, who would have had the most access to the ambassador. That accounts for 9 of the 19 fatalities, and the Chief took them all out. It may not have been the best way to do it, but perhaps it was the only way.
We also find out that the others that Chief had taken out were not innocents. Last time we discussed Hunt the Truth, we’d speculated that the surveillance still that was provided was either manipulated, or one of many versions. Now we’re finding out that there was another camera at the location, but obviously only the incriminating photo was released to the public. This footage could clear the Chief's and the Sangheili's name, but they couldn’t access it.
Sekibo’s requests for assistance from the UEG – in forging a better world in a region of space where things looked bleak – went unnoticed, but the Chief answered their plea. He had rushed to their aid, neutralized a potentially war-triggering situation, and he still got called a murderer. Without the second video, or documentation that the UEG had neglected Sekibo, there was nothing that Ben could use.
Even without the footage from the second surveillance camera, all of the information that Ray had gotten from Ravi was still important. It was likely that he paid a high price for these pieces, but nothing is ever really given for free. Ray needed a favor. He needed help contacting his parents, and Ravi couldn’t help, so he turned to the recluse that had been shut in for days. Ben might not have gone out at all in recent times, but he still had contact with Petra, and could check with her to see what’s happening on Earth.
Ben thought he couldn’t do anything to help, but he called Petra anyway. Surprisingly, Petra had a lead for him, one that she had hesitated giving to him, but now realized he needed. Coordinates to an anomaly, where there would be a lack of security for a solid 72 hours. She wasn’t sure what was there, but it could be something useful.
Petra tells Ben to bring everything he’s got, because “these people only speak in bribe.” Ben decides to go back to his apartment to gather his “rainy day fund,” which he’d stashed in his apartment. Walking up to his building, though, he was greeted by an unpleasant surprise: The building had been declared unfit for human habitation, and completely vacated of its tenants. Each of the units had their doors ajar, and Ben could see that all their furniture and fixtures had been covered in plastic sheet. All the doors were open, except his. He opens the door, and finds absolutely nothing. The apartment was completely gutted, all his possessions had been seized. It looked like nothing had ever been there, almost erasing Ben’s existence.
We’re staying tuned for the next episode of Hunt the Truth.
Were you on Master Chief’s side even when he was declared the most wanted man in the galaxy? Are you still hoping that Mshak will miraculously show up? What do you think Ben will do next, given that he’s now homeless and penniless? Tell us what you think in the comments, and let’s see if your predictions/speculations come true when the next episode rolls out.
