[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] anton1792 On what grounds did he accept Thel's proposal? What can Humanity actually offer the Elites at this point?[/quote] - Cortana's solution; there's no guarantee that she'd give it to the Sangheili if humans weren't present, never mind John. - A home base in Earth. If the Sangheili left through the Portal without us, could they be sure we wouldn't close it behind them or set a trap for their return? - Honour. A common enemy was shared, a noble goal the Sangheili could respect. They must have felt shame at being duped by the Covenant for so long; no doubt they wished to prove themselves again - to us, as well as themselves. - John. As one of only two known people to make contact with the Gravemind and survive, he's a valuable asset to the Sangheili - that's discounting his fighting skills, and the fear he'll strike into the Covenant loyalists. - 343's assistance; whilst he loses sight of this towards the end, Spark does value the lives of Reclaimers. In CEA's terminals, he orders the Covenant to cease hostile action upon us or he will retaliate. If the Sangheili simply glassed Earth and pissed off, I don't think Spark would react too kindly. I mean, I can see your point. But it's not as easy as R'tas deciding he doesn't want to play with us, and taking his toys home.