Fractured
Heller's eyes drifted around the ship lazily, looking for anything interesting. He had been crammed into this luxury soup can for at least three of four days now, sharing it with the sworn enemy of his race, an Elite, and a smart one at that too. Although she had left him alone out of respect for him from their previous engagement, he still didn't trust her. But, after these past few days of silence, he was getting agitated. She had shown him some of the basic controls of the ship, so he could look out windows if he wished, not that there was much to look at, when traveling through Slipspace.
He turned his attention to the Elite, as she rested with her back to him in the pilot seat up front. He floated over to her slowly, going slowly so as not to stress his arm. He had dislocated his arm and smashed up his hand badly in his fight with her, but his time as a doctor in his early years, along with the interesting piece of technology she had placed on his arm, was helping him greatly. It was a small bracer of sorts, that generated a gravity bubble. With it the gravity could either be turned up or down, depending on the situation he was in. Right now, since the ship had no gravity going for it, it was off for the most part, turned on for short spans. If he let his muscles go, his arm wouldn't heal right in the zero-g environment. But, when they made landfall, he may need it. He floated over gently to the back of the purple chair, tapping on the Elite's shoulder with his good hand.
In an instant, a four fingered hand, much larger than his, grasped his, about to crush it, when she realized who it was. She looked back to him, her one predatory green eye glaring briefly at him. She spoke, sleepily, her mandibles slurring her English.
"Heller, itsss you, what do youu need?"
Heller replied gruffly.
"Could do with someone to talk to right about now."
She finally released his hand, and now being free, Heller floated back to his corner as she clambered out of her chair, facing him, wiping the sleep out of her good eye, the other, closed shut, with still fresh scars and shrapnel from their battle. Every time he saw it, Heller felt a pang of guilt for her. She watched him now, waiting for him.
"I've got something that's been bugging me for a little while now. Well, a few things actually."
She gestured with her hand, a, "lets hear it" kind of gesture.
It wasn't so easy talking to her, especially what he wanted to ask. Heller felt like they were on a teeter totter, and eventually, one of them would say something that would tip the balance, but his nagging questions proved to be more persuasive.
"I've uh, fought my fair share of your people before, and I've never come across, well, any others like you. I always figured you weren't part of Covenant military, or not allowed."
T'soona nodded.
"That is a correct assumption, but there is one exception to that rule. In your tongue, I would be known as an Exemplar. Every few generations, the various newborn females are tested, just as the males are, and, like the males, only the strongest are inducted into military service. We serve as shining beacons to our fellow sisters, and brothers."
Heller refrained from visibly wincing. What she had mentioned some time ago, about him dishonoring her in his sensible words and battle tactics, must have stung her even more considering her unique position. He decided to change the subject.
"So, ugh, you got any plans for how we'll deal with our situation once we arrive?"
T'soona crossed her arms, briefly stroking her mandibles in thought.
"I cant say much right now, and will have to wait until the situation presents itself. But, a sure thing is, you will have to remain here, inside the ship. I will either refuel this one, or acquire a new one, and sneak you on board."
T'soona's features contorted into something like that of disdain when she mentioned sneaking him on to another ship. Elites always liked being out in the open didn't they? Heller spoke up,
"You know, you don't have to do this right? You could just dump me off on some dump of a planet and leave me to my fate. It would probably be better off for both of us."
T'soona shook her head.
"No. You have shamed me more than once, but proven yourself as a worthy adversary. The least I can do is return you to human occupied space. Then return with a fleet, in the hopes that I will meet you on the battlefield again, and show you what a true Sangheili warrior is."
Heller snorted,
"What if when you landed at that outpost, I stepped out behind you, all smiles and hello's to the rest of your buddies? That plan of yours would go right down the drain."
T'soona made what was a smile, but there was a hint of danger in her eye, as she watched Heller.
"Then I guess when we land, if you're so eager to ruin my plans, you can step out first."
He had to admit, she had him there. They were both stuck.
"Well, when you drop me off in human territory, you can bet I won't stick around for very long then."
She seemed intrigued now.
"You would not fight for your kind, even if you knew we were coming?"
Heller smirked.
"No T'soona, I wouldn't. I'm not after glory or honour. In fact, I've seen what your Covenant has done to those who had honour and what not. Men and women who stayed behind to buy time for civilians to escape. Good people, who got nothing in return at the end of it all. No T'soona, I want to survive. Even if that means turning my back."
T'soona could practically feel the hostility coming from Heller. Now was not the time for a fight. As much as she hated to admit it, she wanted to survive as well. Instead, she chose to diffuse the situation.
"Get some rest. Our journey will be a few more hours. We should both be ready to move, or fight if the need arises."
Heller nodded, quietly stretching into his corner, uneasily closing his eyes. He hoped he wouldn't have anymore shit dreams this time. T'soona returned to her chair, gazing at the holographic controls, before closing her eye. Neither of them had any idea what they would be getting into in the next few hours...
In the few hours rest the two had, the ship's lights began to flicker, until the interior was dim, with only the blackness of Slipspace to comfort them. Heller awoke first, frantically placing his helmet back on. Alarms blared, and T'soona was quick to wake up in response. In an instant, her hands danced across the dying controls. She snapped quickly.
"Brace yourself Heller! I'll have to make an emergency exit from the void!"
Heller did so, trying to hold on to something, bracing his wounded arm. Sure enough, the ship rattled and shook violently, as it was forced back into real space. If the gravity were on, Heller would have been tossed around like a rag doll, but the lack of it was a blessing this time. He was still tossed around, but not as much as he would have been in normal gravity. He ended up in a crumbled floating heap near the pilot seat with T'soona. T'soona was too busy to notice, attempting to analyze the situation that was being shown to her.
"This can't be right! What in the gods is happening out there!?"
She brought up a display, and as Heller recovered, he spotted what the problem was. Above the large asteroid they were headed for, were nearly over a dozen Covenant ships, Cruisers, Carriers, and Corvettes, all split up and firing amongst each other. Plasma Torpedo's lit up the darkness of space as they criss-crossed and detonated on energy shields. Point energy beams sliced across space ripping through shields and hulls. T'soona lowered the map, keying in more commands at the controls.
"It doesn't matter what's going on out there right now, we have to pass through that, and get onto the station before the ship fails!"
T'soona keyed in more commands, and Heller watched as two joysticks extended from a compact compartment. T'soona gripped them in both hands.
"You'd better hang on, tighter than last time Heller. This isn't going to be a nice ride."
Heller nodded, as he tried to look for something he could get a hold of. There wasn't much, just like last time. He sighed, resigned to his fate. What a shit time to wake up to.
T'soona gunned the ship, pushing it to as fast as it could manage on it's failing energy reserves. She wanted to pass between the battle as fast as she could. The longer they were out here, the more chance they could be mistaken for someone in the fight.
She blazed past two ships in the process of cutting each other apart, rolled and weaved as she passed still glowing debris. The station was only a few thousand kilometers off, but the airspace was filled with plasma and ships. Alarms blared in the ship as she passed dangerously close to a cruiser, as it fired a volley of plasma torpedoes. More alarms blared as the ship picked up three tailing them. She had no way to get them off her tail! She gunned the engines, skimming along the surface of another ship, hoping the torpedoes would hit the shields. As if by magic, they simply traveled straight up, and then began spiraling downwards towards them like vultures.
T'soona tried every trick she knew, but the torpedoes were closing the distance faster than she could outrun them.
"Heller! I can't outrun what's tailing us! We're going to have to jump!"
Heller was being tossed around, but managed to utter out an anguished cry,
"What!?"
"There's no time for delay!"
T'soona frantically keyed in commands, as the ship began piloting itself again. Unstrapping herself, she frantically reached for her floating helmet, placing it on and sealing it. She had no idea if it was properly sealed, the grenade Heller had thrown at her in their fight had gone off to close to her, sending shrapnel into her suit which luckily patched itself, but cut through and made it to her eye. The visor was still intact, but cracked from Heller's earlier struggles. It would have to do. It was either this or death. She grabbed Heller up off the floor, keeping him tight to her with one arm.
"We're going to jump! Stay as close to me as possible!"
Heller only had a second or two to yell something incoherent as T'soona dragged him along to the back of the ship, slammed on the release panel, and as the back of the ship slid open, the two were sucked into the vacuum as the ship continued on it's course. Both of their visors polarized as three torpedoes passed less than a kilometer away from them, trailing after their ship.
Heller couldn't see the explosion, as his visor polarized to protect him from the intense light, but he knew when it happened, as a wave of heat passed over him and they were sent spinning in all directions. T'soona's grip remained steady, as she struggled to right herself. His visor now returning to normal, Heller was in awe to what unfolded around him. The starry sky was criss-crossed with streaks of plasma, trails from fighters duking it out like swarms of bees, and shimmering shields of Covenant ships as they traded fire. Unknown to him, T'soona was headed on a collision course for one of these ships below them. She yelled into her comms.
"Heller! Hang on tight! I can't stop where we're headed!"
Heller turned, again totally awestruck to the events around him. Ahead of them, lay a massive Covenant Carrier, passing directly underneath them. As they silently descended upon it, the two impacted the shields, bouncing off as the ship moved along under them. Although it was a silent void, Heller knew streaks of plasma were passing overhead, as the shield rippled, sending them flying along in unpredictable manners. In a stronger blast, T'soona lost her grip and was suddenly floating away from him, or he was floating away from her, tumbling headlong opposite from her.
T'soona was quick to recover, using her suit's thruster pack to cover the distance between them, grabbing him by the foot and pulling him out of his unending spin.
"You're lucky I honour my word Heller!"
Heller was breathless. For all his fight, he could've died if T'soona let him go. He could still die now if they didn't get out of this storm of ships and plasma.
"Thanks. What's the plan?"
T'soona held him by the shoulder dragging him along as they drifted silently through the battle, plasma continuing to light up the darkness, hulls melting along with it.
"We have no way out now. We'll have to find another ship, down on the mining station. Chances are, we'll have to fight for it. Can you fight with one arm?"
Heller watched as they slowly drifted towards the station far below, eventually leaving the airspace of the battle.
"I wouldn't be an ODST if I couldn't. I'd be a bad doctor if I didn't fix it up right either. I can use both hands if I have to."
The two drifted silently for what seemed like forever, until they finally neared the surface of the asteroid the station was on. Now that he was close, it reminded Heller of the pyramids back on Earth, except purple, and rounded with that signature Covenant architecture. He could make out what he thought looked like airlocks on the ground, and large hangar bays, with shimmering shield doors. And then, he spotted the scarabs docked outside.
"Oh shit. That's not good."
T'soona spotted them too, and as their feet made contact with the dusty surface, she stood in front of Heller.
"Chances are they aren't manned right now. There's no movement and no lights indicating they're powered up. But we can't waste any time out here. To be sure, stay behind me."
Heller followed behind her large strides as they crossed the grey dusty landscape, coming ever closer to the building and docked scarabs. She was right, there was no movement, and no lights either, but he didn't like walking out in the open, especially near something like a scarab. The journey was uneventful, and every so often Heller turned to watch the battle above. Things seemed to be slowing down now, as there were less ships to shoot at each other as more and more were destroyed or crippled. T'soona stopped in her tracks and Heller almost absent absentmindedly bumped into her. She motioned to the fighting ships above,
"I think what's happening out there has found it's way down here as well. There should be a barrier around the station, right around where we currently stand. And there are scorch marks along the outside. We should take more care, there's no telling what's going on here."
Heller was trying to add the scenarios up in his head, but nothing really fit. It was known that the Covenant had it's own black markets, mobs and gangs, and various rouges and pirates, but not on such a scale like this. Maybe they had rebels too? The pair passed the scarabs, and made their way to a large protruding hallway on the ground, one of many docking areas no doubt. They passed through a shield door, and waited for the door in front of them to slide open. T'soona took the lead again, readying herself for whatever may be on the other side, but the door slid apart in a silent hiss and closed behind them. There was a hiss as air filled the room slowly, as the lighting in the room changed from red to green when it was full. T'soona removed her helmet, tossing it to the floor. Heller spoke up.
"You sure that's a wise idea?"
Her green eye caught his through his visor.
"I'm not doing anything in the void in that again. Besides, I still have more protection to make up for it."
Heller turned the device strapped to his arm on, feeling relief as a portion of his arm was weightless again against the gravity generators of the station.
"If we can, we should grab some weapons or something, before we try anything with getting a ship, right?"
She nodded, and resumed a ready stance, her face going tight as years of combat took over.
"I'm going to open the door, be ready."
The door slid open in a barely audible hiss, revealing to them a large hangar bay, and a lot of bodies. For T'soona, the air smelled horrid as the stench of carbonized flesh reached her nostrils, and for Heller, the multi coloured blood of multiple aliens everywhere stood out to him amongst the purple of the hangar.
"The fuck happened here?"
T'soona walked out to the nearest bundle of corpses, trying to make out the charred remains.
"Unggoy and Kig-Yar formations. The usual tactic in defense."
She walked amongst the dead in the hangar, until something gave her pause. Heller crept from the airlock, coming to her side. This corpse was easily identified compared to the others, being larger than all the others by at least 3 or 4 feet. It was an Elite, clad in the commonly seen blue armour worn by rookies. T'soona's face was emotionless as she stared down at her comrade, but before she went on she made sure to close his still open eyes. The act caught Heller off guard, how oddly familiar it was. He had seen it all before, what felt like a lifetime ago.
The two continued in silence, making their way through the now quiet scene of battle, before distant wheezing caught the attention of both of them. T'soona was over the source of the sound in a moment, with Heller trying to figure out which way she went. He found her, kneeling over an Elite, another rookie, still alive, for whatever that was worth at this point, as most of his insides were outside. The Elite's unfocused gaze focused as he spotted T'soona, something of a smile coming over his mandibles as she hovered over him. He wheezed happily,
"Aha, such a sight to see before I go, an Exemplar! I do you great shame in my last moments, please, forgive me sister."
T'soona held fast, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You do no such thing brother! This field of battle is your proof of prowess, many have been slain here."
The Elite coughed up blood, choking before struggling to speak.
"There was no honour here today sister, only fools, the both of us, defenders and attackers."
T'soona held a look of puzzlement on her face as her stern look was replaced by her slowly parting mandibles.
"Explain brother, quickly now!"
The Elite coughed more blood up, as his eyes became unfocused again, as he drifted off.
"The Prophets have......."
T'soona shook him, trying to get him to come around.
"Have what brother!?"
With his last breath, the Elite managed,
"The Prophets......."
before his eyes closed and the the remainder of his breath left him.
T'soona remained there for some time, when Heller finally interrupted.
"Sorry, but I didn't catch that exchange between you two. Did he have anything to say."
T'soona returned to her feet, scanning the hangar.
"He tried. He mentioned that both sides were fools in this fight, and couldn't finish the rest."
She reached down to the floor, picking up a plasma rifle near her fallen comrade, and handed it to Heller.
"You know how to use this?"
Heller took hold of it, adding his other hand to support it gingerly.
"Point and shoot right?"
T'soona walked onwards, Heller struggling to catch up with her.
"What did he say? I don't think you're telling me everything."
They continued to walk through the hangar, with T'soona talking as she made quick strides.
"He tried to tell me something about the Hierarchs. He never finished, but it troubles me."
Heller almost tripped amongst the dead as he hurried along behind her.
"The who?"
"The Hierarchs, our leaders."
"Oh, something I should know?"
"It's not important right now. But before we leave this station, I want to find out what happened here."
The two were near the exit to the hangar, another large door composed of multiple sliding parts.
"I thought you said we get in, get out? We'd be in trouble if we...."
T'soona shoved him to the side against the wall as the door slid open, as T'soona raised her hands into the air. Heller kept quiet from the pain in his shoulder. It was a rough shove, but likely necessary for what was on the other side of the door.
T'soona stared down the cramped hallway as a hulking Lekgolo was scrunched into the corridor with several Unggoy and Kig-Yar behind it. It raised it's massive arms in a fighting manner, but she noted it had no weaponry on either of it's arms. Even still, fighting this close to one was extremely dangerous. The Lekgolo relaxed, giving the signal for the guns pointed at her to be lowered. It's voice thundered through the hallway as it spoke.
"Have care, you point your weapons at an Exemplar, and one that we believe is not a part of the hoard attacking this base. You have our apologies Exemplar, what brings you to this troubled station at such a time?"
T'soona lowered her hands, taking command of the situation quickly.
"My ship was damaged in an attack, and I had no choice but to make an emergency jump to the closest system with anything in it. But now that I am here, your situation is my concern. Why are you being attacked, and in such force?"
The Lekgolo remained silent, before it's reverberating voice sounded out again.
"We believe you should discuss these matters with the Minister of this station. We will escort you to him if you wish."
"That would be most humble of you. Before we go, I have another matter to bring to attention. There was another survivor of the engagement my ship came from. He is a human, and has valuable information regarding human worlds and territories. I would request you imprison him, but DO NOT HARM HIM. He is ready to talk on my command."
The guns went up behind the Lekgolo again, as T'soona reached back around the doorway for Heller. She snapped in English quickly into his ears,
"Drop your weapon, and act like a prisoner. It's the only way you'll get through this day alive."
Heller barely had time to process this before he was dragged into the face of a massive Hunter and a hoard of Grunts and Jackals armed to the teeth and pointing their weapons at him. Everything in him told him to fight, or flee, but he remained calm and stoic. He had to trust T'soona right now, but it was hard to do when facing down a Hunter and it's allies in such close quarters. He was pushed gently by T'soona to the Hunter, and was ushered into the group of Jackals and Grunts. Heller almost jumped as it spoke to two of them in a deep voice he could feel in his bones. The two pushed harder than T'soona did for him to get a move on. He dared not look backward as he felt the vibrations of the Hunter fade as it went down another hallway with T'soona in tow. He was in shit now.
T'soona walked beside the Lekgolo through the purple halls, noting the plasma scorched walls and bloodstains.
"The fighting got this far?"
The Lekgolo continued on, ducking under the short doorways as they went.
"Yes. Your kind were most persistent in their advances. I am sad to say we had to use the most force we could to keep them at bay."
T'soona chuckled.
"I doubt Unggoy and Kig-Yar could fend off such an attack as you state. What was your tactic?"
The Lekgolo paused briefly.
"Send in my kind."
The Lekgolo was silent for a large portion of the trip as they made their way through more plasma scorched halls. In some sections Unggoy were still clearing out the corpses from the fighting. The Lekgolo rumbled in it's strange speech again.
"You have my apologies Exemplar. Not to make light of your people's fighting abilities, but we did what we had to. I know not why these Sangheili arrived in such numbers, or why they were intent on attacking this station. Perhaps the Minister may have more answers for you."
T'soona was put off by this odd Lekgolo. It was apparent it had no bond brother, due to it's lack of spines, and it was weaponless. It spoke far more than other Lekgolo in her experiences, and was rather fluent in her language and others as well. She was briefly distracted from the troubling situation at the moment, curious about this odd being.
"What is your name?"
The Lekgolo continued without pause, the eel-like creatures vibrating with each other to articulate it's strange speech.
"We are known to most on this station as Insu, Exemplar. On the subject of titles, what is yours?"
"T'soona Dasumee."
"It is good to meet one of your stature, T'soona Dasumee. We wish you luck in your dealings with the Minister. You will find he is somewhat uneasy at the moment, and may make things difficult, especially for one of your kind at the moment."
T'soona didn't even notice, but they had arrived at the central lift of the station, the gravity beams beckoning to her.
"Thank you Insu, I hope that I might see you again before my business here is concluded."
As she stepped onto the lift responsible for taking her to the top of the station, the Lekgolo rumbled as she began to rise.
"We will ensure your friend is unharmed, T'soona Dasumee. You can be certain we will meet again before this day is over."
T'soona had no time to reply as she rose above the floor the Lekgolo was on, and was immediately uneasy at the revelation of it's knowledge to her. How could it possibly know? She continued to ride the beam upwards, setting aside her worry. She would have some answers before she left this ever growing time bomb.
Heller sat at the end of a cramped purple room, as the same Grunt and Jackal that brought him here sat watch at the doorway. He guessed it was a medical room of sorts, as there was a table or bed of sorts, with various panels that looked like they opened up. Guess a place like this wouldn't exactly be equipped for prisoners. He had nothing to do, and nowhere to go, so all he could do was take in his surroundings.
His captors kept a watchful eye over him, but from time to time would speak in their alien tongues. The grunt, a rather beat up looking one at that, with a noticeable slash over one of it's eyes, was the only one he could remotely understand. Somewhere in his suit whatever was responsible for translations must have taken a hit at some point, as the grunt's gruff, jagged voice was replaced with gibberish he couldn't make out.
As far as he could tell from listening to partial translations, they had orders not to touch him, just simply stand guard. He found himself thanking whatever gods there were again. T'soona was one to live up to her word, that was for sure. He still had the problem of getting out of here though when the time came. His hands were bound by some energy shackles they had placed on him, and he doubted he could do much to his guards with just his feet.
The grunt looked like it had been through a lot, and the jackal, well, he knew they were fast buggers. This one seemed like it would be faster than a normal one, it had an athletic, skinny frame to it, and was watching him carefully. It looked more aggressive too, it's bright orange plumage added to it's intimidating display. If he didn't know better, he could have sworn that the Jackal had a feminine shape to it, but couldn't tell for sure. He put his thoughts aside, thinking of what would come later. Better to wait for the right moment if it presented itself. But all this waiting was getting to him. The longer he was here, the more doors would close. He hoped T'soona got her damn answers soon.
T'soona finished the brief trip up the lift, landing in a small hallway with an elegant doorway, the sliding parts of the door etched with various bright minerals. Oddly, there were no guards to the entrance, which was just another mystery at this point. Why a Hierarch would be left defenseless in a time such as this was puzzling. She stepped up to the doors, and they slid apart, revealing the most elegant and decorated room on the station. Herbal scents filled the room, along with glittering crystals, suspended on small gravity pylons. A large window dominated one side of the room, and as the star of the system shone, it's light caught on the crystals, illuminating the room in various patterns. In the center of it all, sat the Minister of Toil, awaiting her arrival.
T'soona stepped into the room, bowing before the San' Shyuum, until he gave her the command to rise. She stayed bowed, but the Minister objected.
"There is no need to be so formal with me, Sangheili, although you do flatter me with such a display. Rise, and we shall see if I can answer your questions."
T'soona rose silently, watching as the Minister, sitting in his floating throne, his elegant chair etched with volcanic stone and minerals came to a rest on the floor, and he slowly stepped out, his frail looking body that wasn't covered by robes containing a wiry strength as he did so.
"I never did care for those chairs. If one tends to sit around too much, then sitting is all one can do in time. Now, tell me, Exemplar, what brings you here in these troubled times?"
The Minister walked around her, studying her battle scarred armour, before turning to the large window, watching the stars. T'soona stood next to him, watching the stars as well.
"Minister, originally, I had a ship before arriving here, and was the sole survivor in an engagement with humans. Our ship ambushed theirs, but they resorted to desperate tactics, and destroyed ours with theirs. I came here in the hopes of surviving, and perhaps linking up with another starship."
The Minister simply watched, stroking some of the thin grey hairs on his chin. His face was like that of his title, etched with ancient lines, as if he himself was made from stone.
"But when I arrived, and found our own ships firing upon each other, as well as finding my brothers down in the hangar bay and about this station, I needed answers."
The Minister sighed, rubbing his forehead, before turning to her.
"These are troubling times Exemplar. There have been recent political shifts in power at the heart of our great empire. The Jiralhanae have been climbing the political ladder, and now things have come to a head, as expected."
T'soona knew the Jiralhanae were fierce competitors, as stupid as they were, and had been growing in strength these past few years, but that didn't exactly explain the warring ships. The Minister continued,
"One of the High Prophets was assassinated, after stumbling upon what we believe to be the home world of humans. His force was overwhelmed, and fled, by chance, to a Sacred Ring. It was there that a "demon" assassinated him, with his force of Sangheili utterly decimated. This monumental fiasco shifted the Jiralhanae as the new protectors of the Hierarchs, and in doing so, I am sad to say your people have resigned from the Covenant."
T'soona was speechless, but the Minister was talking for her.
"So, where does this land you, Exemplar? Considering I know that you brought a human captive aboard this station, when he was not in fact a captive at all?"
T'soona was again almost shocked into silence, but muttered,
"How could you know?"
The Minister chuckled, scratching his chin, as he turned to face her, his large brown eyes containing the fire and mirth of a young child.
"The odd one, the Lekgolo that greeted you when you first arrived. I've had it's armour rigged with listening devices from the very day it arrived on this station. It is, indeed, one of the strangest specimens of it's kind I have encountered. At first I was suspicious of it, which was why I had it's armour rigged, but overtime, it became a valuable tool in monitoring this station."
T'soona clenched her fists, preparing for what was coming. It never arrived, as the Minster walked back to his chair.
"No need for such things Exemplar. Your secret is safe with me, under some conditions of course. And, after all, officially we're all no longer in the Covenant."
T'soona continued watching from out the window, still tense.
"All I ask is that you never return to this station, and, I have something for you. I give to you my personal corvette, a fast sturdy ship that has served me well in my long life. In it you will find what I wish you to do. You may take your human with you as well. In fact I dare say he may be instrumental by being with you on your journey. Now, leave me to my fate, Exemplar."
T'soona was on her knees now, lost.
"Minister, I do not understand!"
The Minister was back in his elegant chair now, floating over to her.
"There is more to this than just your people resigning from the Covenant Exemplar. I fear the High Prophets have been playing for too long in the shadows, and now ugly, rotten things are coming to light. You have seen the battle up above. Jiralhanae and Sangheili. Your people will hunt me, will hunt all of my kind without rest for the treason of the High Prophets, and I cannot bear to continue a lie and use the Jiralhanae. No, this station will fight, both sides."
T'soona rose from her knees, now more confused than ever. The Minister placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.
"Fear not Exemplar, your questions will be answered in time. Some will upset you, you can be sure, as it has haunted me. But this must be done while there is still time. I appoint this task to you now. Now go, with your human, and have your answers."
T'soona was silent on the trip down, and was met with the titanic form of Insu standing guard at the lift. The Lekgolo greeted her with a bow, before lumbering off with her in stride. It rumbled as it walked along.
"Tell me, T'soona Dasumee, did you find answers you were seeking?"
T'soona shook her head, trying to process everything the Minister had said just a few minutes earlier.
"That is unfortunate. We hope that you find what you seek on the path the Minister has set for you, whatever it may be. His ship will be waiting in a hangar for you. Note that it will be somewhat large for only two occupants, so stay close to your friend, if you do not want him to get lost."
The Lekgolo's oddly calm words helped put her mind at ease from her troubles, but she chose to remain silent on the rest of the trip. The two entered another part of the station, and took a grav lift down, deep into the heart of the station, near the center of the large asteroid it was built on. It was there that they landed, in a hangar bay at least three times the size of the one Heller and her had entered into earlier, with one ship taking up the entire hangar. It was sleek and silver, like most covenant space faring vessels, with that classic teardrop shape.
Waiting beneath the ship's grav lift was Heller, and the Kig-Yar and Unggoy that had gone off with him earlier. His hands were free but he stayed put as she approached. The Kig-Yar approached Insu as he lumbered forward, and surprising to both Heller and T'soona, Insu stopped rather than continuing forward over the alien as a normal Lekgolo would, and bowed to the Kig-Yar. T'soona walked over to Heller, extending her hand to him. Rather than shake it, he flat out hugged her briefly.
"You know, I'm not much of a praying man, but ever since I've been with you, I've done a lot of it recently. Jesus H Christ, I don't know what you did, but whatever it was, I'm fucking happy you did it. Let's get out of here."
T'soona was caught off guard from Heller's greeting, as Insu, the Kig-Yar, and even the Unggoy watched. Heller ended the hug, returning to normal, waiting for T'soona to say something.
"I'm afraid this isn't over yet Heller. I got us a new ship, but we've a task to do with it."
She could see the human's shoulders sink even in his armour. She couldn't blame him right now. At the revelation of the Covenant falling to pieces, T'soona felt the same way at this point. Insu interrupted by placing a massive boot down near them as he stepped closer.
"T'soona Dasumee, although we enjoy your company, there is a pressing matter. The warring fleet has finally chosen a victor. They will likely swarm this station in a few minutes. Your ship needs to be gone before then."
T'soona nodded.
"Take care then, Insu. You are aware the Minister will pit this station against both sides?"
Insu nodded.
"Yes, and we will remain here, and fight with him. Just because our Covenant is falling to pieces, does not mean our loyalty should do so as well. We wish you safe passage."
Without a word, Insu backed off, as did the Unggoy and Kig-Yar, as the lift on the ship floating above them activated, pulling Heller and T'soona up into the belly of the ship. As soon as the two were in the ship, automated functions took over, and they both felt the slight movement of the ship as it came to life. T'soona fell to her knees, simply sitting there. Heller crouched down near her, removing his helmet. It was good to hear his voice through something other than his comms for once.
"You all right?"
Her one green eye looked up into his, and Heller could see it right away.
"No, Heller. I am not. Everything I have based my life on is falling apart, and I still have little to no answers why. There is a split in our Covenant now, and two sides are fighting. The Minister has sent me on gods only know what kind of journey."
Heller sat down next to her.
"You know, we have a ship now, and can just leave all this behind. You can drop me off somewhere, and then go your own way if you wish."
Some of the fire returned to her eye.
"Although you could not understand the Lekgolo, he said something to me, before we departed. Just because our Covenant is falling apart, does not mean our loyalty should as well."
Heller sighed.
"So you're telling me, the Covenant is over as we know it, and yet you're still going on?"
T'soona shook her head solemnly.
"It's not that simple Heller. The Covenant isn't over, and I'm not going forward for the sake of going forward. The Minister talked to me, revealed what happened."
Heller ruffled his rough hair, watching her.
"Well then, what happened?"
T'soona's head lowered.
"I am sorry Heller. It's your home world. One of the Hierarchs discovered it by accident, then fled your defenses, and was pursued, all the way to a Holy Ring, and assassinated. Faith in my kind as defenders faltered, all the way to a point were we were no longer defenders. Our bastard competitors, usurped us, and the rest fell into place."
Heller sat in silence, as T'soona got back up to her feet. She offered her hand to him.
"You and I are in the same situation Heller. We both must be strong."
Heller rose up to his feet by himself. It was clear from seeing his face he wasn't pleased.
"How can you say that!? That's a load of bullshit and you know it! My home, one of the only worlds left, is, or will be under attack! I don't give two shits about your split! I hope they wipe each other out and do humanity a god damn favour!"
T'soona took it all in, not saying a word. She walked away, leaving Heller fuming. She could understand his anger. His supposedly last world was under the threat of annihilation, and he was stuck with her. Things were changing now, for her, and Heller. He could very well be one of the no doubt dwindling number of his kind left in this galaxy. And, she hated to admit it, her kind may be under threat as well. They were military masters, but under the combined might of the rest of the Covenant, who knew how long they would last? Time was running out for both of them, and there was nothing either of them could do.
She stalked through the empty halls, leaving Heller to himself. It was time to see what exactly was happening and where they were going. She could have let him go earlier. She could have left him on the station, to the mercy of whoever his torturers would be. She could have killed them when they first met, but even then, there was something about him. The man was not afraid to do what was necessary to survive, even if he shamed himself. There was a drive, an indomitable will in him. He would have made a good Sangheili if given the right skills. But, for a human, he would do. She wondered how long it would be before they fought again. She knew, eventually, he wouldn't wait as his species burned. As he said, his home world was basically the last bastion left.
At that point would she stand aside for him, or stand in his way? Only the Gods knew at this point. Times were changing, and by the end of this, the galaxy would be a different place, for better or for worse. She stalked through the maze of corridors, following the path to the bridge, feeling comfortable in these halls. She knew the layout of this type of ship, and for the first time in a long while, felt at home. She arrived at the bridge, entering into a large circular room, with a large hologram display in the middle, with various monitoring stations around it. There were large windows here, just like the Minister's chamber back on the station, and the lighting in the room was pleasant with the starlight shining through. Clearly, the ship was made for luxury rather than combat purposes, but it was better than the bucket they flew into the station with.
The hologram was currently displaying the system they were in, Mir Dakana. The ship was already on it's course, preparing to make a jump into the void, long past the chaos of the station. She was surprised to see no ships tailing them. After all, the Minister was the target of both sides, it was logical to assume they would go after his ship if they spotted it. Her hands found the controls of of the hologram, and began searching. What she was looking for was here, as she expected. A message from the Minister. She paused, anxiously. What he had told her today was already enough, that she didn't want to believe. But she had seen those ships fighting with her own eyes. She had seen her brothers with her own eyes, and comforted one in his last moments with her very hands. She activated the message.
The large hologram was replaced with that of the Minister, looking as stony as before, those lines etched into his face like stone, yet the fire of youth in his eyes. The Minister began.
"To the handsome Exemplar who is no doubt on this ship, and therefore on the path I have set for them, I will say now, that I regret it had to be you. But, perhaps the gods are still at work yet this day.
The task I have set you upon will be dangerous, but, again, the gods were at work. One such as your kind would jump into danger for honour and glory, but have haste! There are shadows on your battlefield now, and lines are now blurring.
The first task I have set for you, is to venture to the Holy City, High Charity. There you will find information that I have left behind, that will reveal the nature of this utmost important task. The information will be be given to your suit's devices upon arrival.
In the meantime, I will say this. Safeguard the human with you, as you will need him for what lies ahead. The Lekgolo, Insu, tells me of your fondness for him. You should remain as you are currently, and not become attached to the vermin. He is merely a tool to something greater. Were these normal circumstances, and our Covenant whole, you would have been branded, and executed for your crimes. Truly, you seem to have the luck of the gods on your side then, for such a timely arrival.
I wish you the utmost fortune on your journey T'soona Dasumee, for you will need it upon arriving at the Holy City. It is the main center of strife, and even more so, near a Divine Ring. Go now with my blessings of good fortunes."
T'soona stood at the table for some time, pondering the Ministers words. Was it really that far spread? The split was all the way up to the Holy City? She had hoped this was merely a temporary situation, like those of the past, such as the Unggoy rebellions. But never before had the Covenant been so torn apart.
She was drawn away from her thoughts as the the room grew dark as protective armour enclosed the windows of the bridge. No doubt they were preparing for a journey through the void now. She had decided something. As angry as Heller was, she needed to talk to him. She left the bridge, heading back down to the bay where they first entered the ship. Sure enough, Heller was still there. He was running laps around the large room with his gear still on. She stepped out onto his field of vision, but he kept going.
"Heller, we need to talk."
Heller ran on buy, muttering as he went.
"Nothing to talk about."
Heller continued his laps. T'soona considered sweeping him off his legs as he went buy, but decided being civil would be better in this case. She started slowly jogging along side him as he passed, making sure not to get ahead of him with her large strides.
"Heller, I really do apologize about your home world."
Heller stopped mid stride, his blue eyes coming to stare at her as she stopped alongside him. He was still angry.
"It's not a problem I have with you T'soona, you're okay for one of your kind. Hell, I've been alive with you all this time, and you've saved my ass more times and stayed true to your word more than most people I've known. But I can't just stay here like this."
He wiped sweat off his forehead, his glaring eyes cutting into her. She posed a question to him.
"Were you not earlier proclaiming you would turn your back on your own kind if we arrived at a world you were on?"
Heller stopped, thinking.
"I did. But this is some Outer Colony or Inner Colony I was talking about. Once your people show up out there, there's no fucking hope anyway. But this is my home world. The ground I was born on. And as far as I know, the last matchstick in the bunch. Hell, the ship I was on before I met you was heading to an outer colony, and I'm not even sure if it was there anymore! The higher ups were talking about it!"
T'soona went to object but Heller continued.
"I wasn't there, but the reports from Reach are still coming in. Your fucking people came in, on our god damn doorstep, and cleared out one of our best strongholds in nearly a day! And I'm sitting here, on the wrong god damn side of things, while your Covenant is sharpening their knives, just waiting to take the last shot at us! Like I said, you're alright, but I wont do that to them. Me being here with you and both of us alive is something wrong, but I can get over that. But I won't fucking sit here while my home burns, while those people, back on my ship, payed with their lives for me!"
T'soona stepped in close to Heller, placing both hands on his shoulders, and looking him square in the eyes.
"You don't know that Heller! If you didn't notice, the Covenant isn't exactly whole at the moment! You saw what I saw at that station! And I talked with the Minister. He's got me traveling all the way to the Holy City, which apparently is tearing itself apart as we speak! The Holy City is the very center of our empire Heller!"
At this Heller seemed to calm down a bit, relaxing.
"You think they'd put plans on hold for their own current problems?"
T'soona continued watching him.
"I cant say for sure, but we'll be able to find out more when we arrive there. Tell you what Heller, if your world really is under attack, you have my word, that after I finish what I need to at the Holy City, then I will make sure to drop you off there, so that you may fight. Deal?"
She stuck out her hand in that funny human gesture she had learned from him. He was hesitant, but grasped her hand eventually, giving a firm shake. They eventually parted, with Heller seeming more relaxed. He was about to start running again, when his stomach growled. Now that she thought about it, she was hungry too. Maybe a visit to the mess hall would clear things up. She grabbed Heller by his good hand again.
"Come with me now. You're hungry, and so am I. Let's see if we can't find something to eat for the both of us?"
It looked like Heller was about to object, but he sighed, walking along with her.
"Okay, but you don't have to hold my hand all the way there, I ain't a kid you know."
She smiled, watching his rough face.
"No matter. You don't have to be young to get lost."
They walked out of the hangar, T'soona taking her time to keep in step with Heller's smaller ones.
"Okay, fine. But since I'm being treated like a kid here, I get to ask all the annoying questions until we find whatever passes for a mess hall in this place, deal?"
T'soona nodded.
"It's a deal."
"That's good, because I'm curious as to what the hell a sacred ring is, and what this holy city of yours is, or what it is."
They walked off through the halls, talking as they went. T'soona felt shame inside for resorting to such dirty trickery to keep Heller going along. But in truth, she really wasn't sure if Humanity was as high of a target right now. That didn't matter though. She was glad she convinced him to stick around a little longer. Even if he was no Sangheili, he was nice to have around, even if he did get a little on edge at times.
She hoped their business would go as smooth on the Holy City as it did on the station. But deep down, she knew there was trouble ahead, of some kind. She would have to teach Heller his way around Covenant weapons. At some point they would both have to fight. She hoped they could complete this task, and shed light on what exactly the Minister had tasked them with.
In the meantime, she would enjoy this peace, for however long it lasted. Hopefully Heller would too.