Ministry of Penance

The Ministry of Penance was the primary Covenant ministry charged with judicial matters and law enforcement across the Holy Ecumene. It was one of several ministries that grew considerably after the Second Illumination. The Ministry of Penance was in some ways the enforcement arm of the Ecumenic Courts of High Charity, though the Courts also had their own security forces and would at times employ other ministries to fulfill their goals.

The main agents of the Ministry of Penance were known as Quaestors.

Quaestors
The Quaestors were the principal law enforcement officers within the Covenant in its later history, and continue to remain prevalent in many domains. They are paramilitary officers that aim for total impartiality by separating themselves from loyalties to clan or fiefdom, rather answering only to High Charity itself. One of the primary roles that originally gave rise to the Quaestors within the Covenant was tax collection, or ensuring that worlds paid their tithes. They represented a more formalized and regulated system than the corsairs the Covenant had traditionally employed, a reform that was in many places regarded as an improvement by the locals.

Quaestors were organized into prefectures, overseen by Prefects. The prefecture was often synonymous with the territory of a domain, though this could vary; populated domains might encompass more than one prefecture, while two or three less densely inhabited domains may be covered by a single prefecture. The prefectures employed a force of Quaestors but also mercenaries, corsairs, bounty hunters and rangers at their discretion and depending on the task at hand and the resources available; especially early on, the use of external mercenaries was common. The role of Prefects was largely high-level, supervising the activities of local lords and, in some cases, criminals those lords were unable to stop with their own forces. The push toward the ecumene-wide prefectures is widely seen as another way to place checks on Sangheili feudal power since the Covenant's Feudal Period, and the number and jurisdiction of Ministry Quaestors within the domains grew considerably since the Second Illumination. Particularly in the marches, this also caused friction with the Redeemers, who had traditionally served as the main lawmen there.

New members to the Questors' ranks are often inducted from various outcasts: orphans, abandoned sons, and the offspring of noble families who, for one reason or the other, do not fit in; those with past tainted by shame could also consign their offspring to the Ministry to give them a fresh start. This was arranged to prevent clan loyalties from getting in the way of their impartiality. Despite this, the Quaestors' authority remains widely respected due to their rigorous training, conditioning and traditions. They are exceedingly trained in martial arts and unarmed combat as they often seek to capture rather than kill in order to bring their quarries to justice. While members often remain in the Quaestors' ranks for life, they can pursue careers in the more military-oriented ministries such as Resolution or Preservation. This in turn may in time land them a superior social status and potential land precaria by the ecclesiarchy.

In the Covenant's later years, Jiralhanae were being inducted increasingly into the Quaestors' number as part of the Prophet of Truth's schemes, which perturbed many Sangheili. Like the clanless, they were largely free of the ties that would have bound Sangheili, and were known to be more merciless. After the Great Schism began, all Quaestors and their Prefects were to be replaced with Jiralhanae, though in practice this was never realized in most prefectures. Most prefectures survived the outbreak of the Schism and now continue to operate independently from the now-defunct Ministry of Preservation. Their factional loyalties are largely contingent on those of the overarching state(s) whose territory they are assigned to police, though some have come into conflict with those very states out of ideological differences. Still, the majority of the Quaestor prefectures would later be part of the Concord of Reconciliation.

Equipment
The signature weapon and symbol of authority of the Quaestors is the energy scepter, a multi-function energy weapon used as both a close-combat and ranged weapon. The scepter can be used for melee or ranged combat, flinging bolts of plasma (similar to miniature plasma torpedoes) when set on a certain setting and swung a certain way. The bolts can even be guided to a limited extent by altering the arc of the scepter's swing, though mastering this is notoriously difficult and most junior Quaestors have enough difficulty using the ranged option as it is. Overall, the weapon requires great care and skill to use properly and so only senior Quaestors are able to truly master it. The other end of the staff has a gravitic stasis field function for restraining offenders. The exact design, color and capabilities of the scepter vary by a Questor's station and rank, with high-ranked officials being issued the most versatile types.

The specific garb and equipment of Quaestors vary somewhat by region and specialty, though all use a form of combat harness and wear the Quaestors' band: a single robe-like garment on top of their armor overlaid with a thinner silver band inscribed with their Oath. Exact regalia and coloration vary by rank and individual. Quaestor specialists also use oculae, surveillance and support drones controlled through a neural link.

The vessels used by Quaestors vary, and overlap partly with the mainline ministerial types, though they do also use a handful of ship types unique to their order.

Rank structure
Prior to the reforms of the Second Illumination, the Quaestors' organization was much simpler. The increased presence of the Quaestors and the growth of the order led to various organizational reforms as well.


 * Prefect — leads a Quaestor prefecture. Universally Sangheili, though during the 9th Age of Reclamation a handful of Jiralhanae were inducted to the role.
 * Vice Prefect — deputies and assistants to the Prefect.
 * Warden — various officials and clerks within the prefecture.
 * Prime Quaestor — high-ranked law enforcer; experienced Senior Quaestors who serve as a bridge between the Quaestors and the Prefect.
 * Senior Quaestor — high-ranked law enforcer; leads lesser Quaestors.
 * Quaestor — mainline law enforcers. Usually Sangheili.
 * Quaestor Initiate — Where Sangheili inductees start.
 * Vigile — low-ranked species (Unggoy, Kig-Yar), act as assistants to Quaestors and Prefects. Often fulfill various secondary duties, e.g. disaster relief. In rare cases, may achieve Quaestor status. Early on, Kig-Yar vigiles were little more than government-sanctioned mercenaries, and corruption was common. This has somewhat stabilized later on in most domains, though corsairs continue to be used particularly in the marches.