Ever since the official summaries of both Halo: Escalation Issues 2 and 3 were released, an unknown turncoat has been raising questions in our minds. When the summary of Issue 2 was released…
> As Sarah Palmer fights to get the Arbiter and the Brute Ambassador to safety, Captain Lasky sneaks behind enemy lines to reestablish communications with the UNSC Infinity. Their plans for escape are jeopardized, however, by a turncoat in their midst!
…I (and many others) assumed that this “Turncoat” was just the Brute Chieftain and that the hopes of the story moving forward were just crushed to a pulp. However, come the summary of Issues 3…
> Commander Palmer confronts the traitor who has betrayed her team, as the Covenant closes in on their position. With time running out, Lasky is forced to make a costly sacrifice to save the peace delegation from the impending attack.
…It appears that this “Turncoat” is not the Brute Chieftain, but someone else entirely.
It is very possible that this “Turncoat” is associated with ONI, and their quest of weakening/destroying the Sangheili. During the Kilo-5 Trilogy, we see ONI secretly pull the strings and levers behind the war that splits Sangheilios in two. When one side gets too strong, ONI gives resources or assistance to the other. This is demonstrated during The Thursday War when Avu Med 'Telcam launches an assault on the Vadam Keep. 'Telcam had more than enough power to wipe the Arbiter off the face of the universe, so in response to that, ONI sent Infinity to even the odds.
Assuming that ONI’s plot to distract and destroy the Sangheili is still in motion, a treaty between the Arbiter’s Faction and the Chieftain’s Faction would certainly cause immense unbalance between the Sangheili Civil War. If this alliance were to allow the Arbiter to emerge victorious against the various Covenant Remnant factions, it may be possible for him to end up wanting to discover “what exactly gave these rebels so much support”.
Eventually, if the Arbiter were to want to uncover this, ONI would seen be exposed for their betrayals. All of Sanghelios would be united against ONI.
With all of that being said, are we about to see an “epiphany” with Palmer when she realizes that ONI aren’t doing what’s best for us? Are we going to fight alongside the Brutes in Halo 5? Is it possible that the faction that “does what it can to protect humanity” will soon be exposed for their treachery?