Unbound
The wind howled, blowing sand against his cracked visor. The dual stars of this world shone brightly down on it, blasting and scorching everything to dust and sand, bombarding the planet with radiation. This would have been mostly true, and by all means, he should be a dead man right now, sitting on this sun blasted rock. But this wasn't a normal sun blasted rock at all, and shouldn't even be capable of supporting an atmosphere. But that's why he was here now, trudging through sand and more sand. Not that it was really his choice in the first place. He always had to open his mouth.
He pressed onwards against the howl of the wind, finally coming to a halt on the edge of the great dune he had been climbing for the past half hour. Far below among more dunes lay the crashed remains of a phantom, bits of it scattered along the sand, most of the ship was buried, partially from impact, partially from all the sand being blown over it. He started down the dune, but as he went, the shockwave from a Covenant ship entering the atmosphere shook him violently, and he was sent tumbling head over heels down the dune. He rolled head over heels for what seemed like forever until he eventually came to a stop, laying face up to the sky, everything hurting, stretched, and kinked from his unnecessary trip down.
As he lay in the sand, something much like thunder passed over him, but he knew it wasn't that. The bottom of a massive Covenant ship passed miles above him, sinking rapidly. It sailed off into the distance, towards the oncoming sandstorm. Trailing it, were the very same distinct shapes he had seen when they arrived here. A silver orb, with three orbiting boons. He could tell they were linked together now, their forms being larger than that of a singular one. Two of these linked machines chased after the sinking craft as it sailed over the horizon into the oncoming storm. And suddenly, the air was split like thunder again as a beam of energy, hot and bright, much like the two stars above, shot forth from one of the machines, cutting through the hull of the ship. He watched as their ever smaller silhouettes vanished into the sandstorm.
He got back onto his feet. The wind was blowing against his face, which meant the storm was headed this way too. He had to reach the phantom before the storm hit, or he would be doomed, if he already wasn't. He had to find T'soona.
Two Weeks Earlier
Heller walked along the silent corridors of the ship in its night cycle, dim, blue lights shone in the halls blending in nicely with the purple. He arrived at the doors to the bridge, and they slid apart, revealing who he was looking for, sitting cross legged on the floor, observing a giant ring spin slowly through the air as it rotated. He walked over to her quietly and sat down beside her. She turned her head and smiled, her green eye showing hints of amusement.
"You come like clockwork now, every night."
Heller yawned, stretching his arms.
"Only because you're here every night."
She smiled, returning her attention to the ring above, watching the clouds move along on it as it spun, crossing over oceans and mountains. Heller ruffled a hand through his hair.
"So, how's your leg?"
Her face showed just the tiniest hint of disdain at his prodding. Over the last week and a half, she had more than gotten used to his medical prodding and checkups, and was almost over her disgust with doctors.
"My leg is fine. It's the burns from the grenade that bother me. My armour irritates them."
Heller nodded silently. It had been a week and a half since they left High Charity, and every day, T'soona had kept whatever was left of her damaged armour on. They hadn't seen anyone, or anything at all, not the slightest hint of pursuers or them bumping into someone. They were in the ass end of nowhere, with no chance of combat, but she kept it on anyway. He watched as she held a small device in her hand, toying with it as she watched the ring spin. He was no psychologist, but something told him she kept it with her for other reasons.
"I'm no specialist on your people, but I think I can say sleep affects you the same way it does us. And, I don't think you're getting enough, staying up here for so long."
She stood up now, stretching her arms as she stood to her full height, dwarfing him. She was a tough person to deal with in regards to arguments and convincing her to do something, when she was bigger, stronger, faster, and most of all, stubborn. Heller spotted her place the small device in her hand back into a compartment in her armour.
"Thank you, for checking up on me like this. I can get lost in my thoughts when I'm on my own."
She turned off the hologram of the ring, and the bridge was left in the glow of the starlight and dim lights of the ship's night cycle. Heller raised an eyebrow to her.
"I think you know I come up here for more than that T'soona. And believe me, it's okay. Hell, I've had the same problem."
She scowled.
"It's not a problem."
Heller took the hint and said no more on the subject.
"Okay then, will you at the very least come and get some rest?"
Her mandibles formed a sly smile as she walked past him.
"And how would I do that when we both share the same sleeping quarters?"
Heller followed her. Now, that was a good question. Maybe he could give her an answer once they got there.
One Week Ago
"You're stuck T'soona! There's no running away from it!"
T'soona came down with a mighty stomp where Heller lay just seconds before, Heller rolling out of the way just in time. It started out as a friendly sparring match, but as Heller pressed the fact that they were doing this in the middle of the "night" on the ship, she became more and more aggressive in their match. But he wasn't going to give up just because she became more aggressive in her attacks. If anything, he could finally see her walls breaking down as he jabbed at her in the physical sense, and the mental. If this was the only way to talk to her on the matter, then that was what he was going to do.
He rolled back onto his feet and weaved to the side as she made a grabbing lunge for him. He held out his leg as she traveled past him, sending her sprawling onto the floor.
"I know what it's like being stuck like this, stuck between lives, between doing what you've done for so long, and something new. It eats away at you doesn't it, not knowing what to do?"
She was back on her feet faster than he was, assaulting him with more blows. All that time spent getting beaten by her in their sparring matches was starting to help him. She was still stronger, and still faster, but he was becoming familiar with her attacks, and knew what punches and jabs he could handle and the ones he couldn't. His only problem was getting a shot in at an opening, she left little room for one and was quick to correct her mistakes.
Another weave, another dodge, but Heller made a slip and caught a blow square in the chest, sending him sprawling back onto the floor. T'soona triumphantly walked over to him, and held out her hand to him.
"You're getting better at this Heller. But you've still got a long way to go."
Now was his chance. He took her hand, and tugged unexpectedly on her, pushing back against her feet to help send her over the edge. Sure enough, she went toppling forward, Heller rolling out of the way to avoid being crushed. Heller wasted no time, and was lucky she wasn't expecting him to do that, and scrambled over top of her as she tried to sit up. Her arms shot up in an attempt to lift him off her, but he caught her hands in his and struggled to keep them that way, moving them away from himself.
"And you've got a way to go too, before you learn some of MY tricks. Now that we're comfy, let's talk for a minute."
Her triumphant look had all but vanished, now replaced with one of frustration.
"I'm not stuck Heller. I'm........"
"You're what then? Anxious? Irritated?"
"I'm not stuck."
"Yes you are. And I know, for you it's gotta be the worst feeling in the world. But you're waiting for signs from gods that won't come, and answers you won't get. You have to face it, your life is your own now, and you decide what you do with it. No gods, no commanding officers, no hierarchs. Just you."
Her mandibles relaxed, resigned.
"But how I am I to know what to do?"
Heller chuckled quietly.
"It's not something I can explain, but every single person goes through it. You have to go where the wind takes you, and you're the only one that can figure that out. But, I've got an idea on how we can start."
Her mandibles tensed. She knew as well as he did the major source of her worries, her anxieties, and doubts. Her mandibles formed the words,
"The data chip."
Heller let her go, and stood up, helping T'soona up off the floor. She retrieved the small purple device from one of the compartments in her armour, clutching it in her hand. She could crush it with one hand, and end all of her doubts, right now. Heller watched her, prodding her onwards.
"Destroy it. You'll be free, from everything. This is the last thing holding you back."
T'soona clutched it, watching it. Her thoughts raced, and then, she had her answer. Her eye looked down into Heller's, as he waited.
"No."
Heller's eyebrows shot up, as he slowly lowered his crossed arms in disbelief.
"What?"
She watched him now, as he watched her, trying to figure out what it was she was up to.
"You said, no one can do it for me, and that I'd have to make the decisions myself. I choose, to find out what's being kept in here."
And with that she started off without another word towards the bridge, with Heller running after her.
"You know, I'm flattered that you picked up so quickly on making your own choices, but making the opposite choice when someone's trying to give you some good advice, isn't really the way to go T'soona. I think that's a mistake."
She walked faster with each stride, with Heller having to jog behind her, trying to keep up.
"Then it's my mistake to make, and mine to learn from, if necessary."
The two were on the bridge shortly, with T'soona approaching the large central table. Heller arrived through the doors, rushing up to her.
"You're right T'soona, it is your choice, but please, think about what you could be doing."
She stood at the table, holding the chip. She watched the stars through the windows of the bridge, pass by as the ship slid through the quiet vacuum of space. She pressed the chip against a slot on the table.
"I'm not done yet. Whatever's in this device, must be seen to, and completed. For my sake."
She pressed the device into the slot, and the table came to life, its hologram projecting as it worked through the coding in the device. Alien language flashed on the hologram as it passed through more walls and encryptions, until, something flashed up, and remained there.
T'soona and Heller both watched, as a tiny planet, orbited two stars, one a bright yellow, the other a massive red star. A single symbol was shown above the planet, one Covenant glyph. T'soona's mandibles parted as she struggled to understand the glyph. Heller was the first to speak.
"What's it mean?"
She traced the blue glyph with her fingers, marking the points and connecting them with each other.
"I was not trained in the deciphering of the gods writing. And this symbol is not ours, but one of theirs. I know little of the meaning, but what I can make out, it means trove, or cache."
Heller pointed to the alien writing displayed underneath the planet. It was rapidly shifting symbols, growing smaller and smaller as time passed.
"And that is?"
T'soona's eye fell over the writing as it counted down. Her mandibles went slack again, as all she could utter was,
"No."
Surprising Heller even with her speed, she ripped the device out from the slot, and crushed it in her hand. Heller was concerned now, as he watched the countdown grow to one symbol, and then vanish.
"What the hell's going on with tha......"
Heller watched as the hologram of the planet vanished, and brought one up of their ship. Their ship was radiating a signal, and as the wave traveled, another ship appeared, and another, and another, until the view zoomed out of their system, to the Orion arm of the galaxy. Lights lit up as the wave continued, now being magnified and passed along by other ships and installations.
Heller could have guessed what that meant. He watched, frozen as more lights lit up, entire clusters representing armadas or large systems. T'soona stood, helpless.
"The device, was primed to upload the data to any and all Covenant vessels upon activation. It just sent a signal across our entire battle net to any that will listen."
The hologram faded now, leaving them alone on the bridge with the starlight. T'soona watched where the display once was. She stared out into space.
"Heller. You know we have to....."
Heller sighed quite visibly.
"Yeah, I know."
"I've checked our battle net, and everything's a mess! It's a free for all right now, there is no Covenant. But a cache, a trove of weapons, or ships, anything, will bring all of them runn......."
"I know."
"We need to get there first! We have to destroy it!"
"I'm with you."
Two Days Ago
Heller leaned back against the wall as warm water poured over him.
"You can stay on the ship if you like."
T'soona sat next to him, leaned up against the wall as well.
He sighed. She had been trying to apologize to him in any way possible for the past few days. It was kind of funny, all seriousness on the issue aside, for such a stubborn, strong, massive alien to be apologizing to him at every turn and corner. She would not bend, and would ignore reason for long periods of time, and was unflinching in her ways as a soldier. And now she was butter. But he couldn't stay mad at her.
"I'll pass. Sun baked dust ball filled with aliens looking for the treasure chest sounds fun."
T'soona slunk down the wall even further.
"This is something you won't ever forgive me for is it?"
Heller sighed.
"If you can forgive me for throwing a grenade at you once on purpose, and again trying to save you, then I think I can too. It'll just sting for a little while."
They both sat in the shower in silence for the rest of the duration. Heller enjoyed the quiet while it lasted. He knew. He KNEW, he'd be looking back on the past week as soon as they arrived, wanting to go back to peace and quiet.
Five Hours Ago
"Heller, get to the hanger and wait for me!"
"Wait hold up! What's the plan here!?"
Heller watched the display as it showed three of the strange advancing machines come together, and merge into one.
"Our ship doesn't stand a chance against those machines, it'll end up just like the Jiralhanae ships on the other side of the planet! I'm going to take us in low, and fast! It'll give the machines a distraction, and keep the Jiralhanae from going for us. They already know what happens when they get too close to the planet!"
The ship shook violently as one of the machines fired, easily overcoming the defense shields, and cut through whatever part of the hull it was aiming at.
"What's the phantom for then!?"
"If you felt that shaking, that means our ship's not going to last very long coming down! We need to leave it!"
Another shake and rattle through the deck of the ship as it was attacked again.
"Go! I'll be right behind you!"
Heller broke off in a full on sprint out of the bridge, struggling to keep his balance as the ship shook uncontrollably. Wires and conduits were hanging from the ceiling, as panels on the walls burst free. The rattles and shakes were getting faster now, more violent as the ship no doubt descended onto the planet. The machines probably weren't doing anything at this point, the ship was tearing itself apart fine own its own.
The phantom lay suspended in the hangar, simply waiting for someone to step aboard. Heller hustled over to the grav lift, riding it upwards into the belly of the craft. He waited anxiously in the ship, before heading over to the cockpit. He wasn't just going to stand around and wait for something to happen, they needed to move! Lucky enough for him, even though he never went to flight school, a lone hologram shone in the cramped cockpit. Heller pressed the control and watched as power traveled throughout the various parts of the controls, bringing to life more holograms until the entire room was filled with blinking controls and displays.
It was then that T'soona finally joined him, panting heavily as she eased past Heller and into the pilot seat. She turned back briefly to Heller as she powered everything up.
"I know you're not a fan of rough rides, but you're going to need to hang on."
She winked at him before returning to the controls. The shaking of the ship around them grew more violent, but the squeals and groans as the ship continued to tear itself apart grew silent as the doors sealed shut. The engines whined to life, and Heller felt the docking clamp release the phantom as it floated freely now. There was a bone shaking rattle as he was tossed to the back of the phantom. Heller scrambled up to his feet and hurried back to the front.
"What the hell was that!?"
T'soona was dancing across the controls with her hands as she spoke.
"The landing bay just detached itself from the ship! We're still inside!"
Heller's thoughts were racing. What could they do!? If they tried to leave, the hanger might tear their craft apart, and if they stayed here, they would surely hit the ground with it. T'soona was already keying in commands on the holograms, working ahead of him. He clung tightly to the back of the seat. He knew what she was going to do. Their best chance was trying to force their way out. It was better than nothing. T'soona turned to Heller briefly. There was an eerie calm, a silence that seemed to fall over everything, for just an instant.
"It's as your people sometimes say Heller, see you on the other side. Here we go."
Heller managed a smile.
"Here we go."
Current Time, Two and a Half Hours after crash
The ruins of the phantom lay sprawled and scattered amongst the sand, the blackened and scorched trail of its landing was already being buried under new sand, and a small dune was piling up against the craft that faced the wind. As far as Heller could tell, it was upside down, perched on its side. There were no footprints around the site, but then again, his own trail was quickly vanishing behind him. Before him, far beyond, lay the oncoming sandstorm, like a massive wall. She had to be in there. She knew as well as he did, that was her only chance of survival. But then, he had been out a while....... What if the storm was a more recent development?
Heller limped slowly across the sand, getting closer and closer to the site, as the wind only howled harder and louder against his cracked visor. He traveled as best he could behind the crash to avoid the brunt of the wind and sand, and once or twice tripped over fallen debris. Getting back up was tiring to him. The heat and the sand made him just want to lay there, and stay put. But he knew that safety was only a few meters away. Approaching the site, he examined the side of the phantom that was away from the wind, its damaged hatch laying open in the sand, the dark interior looking inviting and cool.
He cautiously ducked in, letting his eyes adjust to the light before moving around. He stepped slowly over the miscellaneous clamps and hooks that were usually on the ceiling, which was now the floor, looking around for T'soona. He called, and received no reply. Growing anxious, he headed to the cockpit, and spotted a pair of white armoured arms hanging from the "ceiling." Rushing over as best he could, he tried reaching around the chair, but from the awkward angle the ceiling curved, he was forced to crawl on his back under the chair.
T'soona merely hung there as he crawled under. He checked her pulse, and looked for any injuries, and to his relief, she only appeared unconscious. Straps held her in place on the chair, and he began unlatching them. He wasn't sure how this was going to work out, but he knew the feeling of hanging around upside down for too long. Unlatching the last strap, Heller attempted to ease her landing, but was caught off guard by how heavy she was, and collapsed as she slid from the chair onto him. Heller sighed noticeably. He wasn't thinking straight. He tried shifting her so he could move, but found his movements sluggish and unresponsive. Eventually he gave up, laying his head back. He could just sleep, right here and now.
The humidity in the phantom was high, but the heat was lessened by the fact that the interior was dark for the most part, and sealed to the outside. Using the one arm of his that wasn't pinned under T'soona, he began absent mindedly sliding it across her armour. It was barely the shining, clean white he remembered from when he first laid eyes on her, now covered in dents, tears, scrapes, blast marks, and residue from the horrid abominations on High Charity. And like her armour, she had changed with it as well.
She was more caring, understanding of others, learning to use her head and make her own decisions, rather than be led. She was still as stubborn as ever, but then again, so was he. He couldn't stay mad at her. She was right in a way, about making her own mistakes. That was part of the game. He was glad, to be sitting there with her, with her and her mistakes. No one was ever there for him, and he had to live with his mistakes, save for one. He was forgiven, by her, and the very thought brought an uncomfortable feeling to him. The only one that had ever forgiven him, the only one that could, was somebody from another species, the very species responsible for pushing human kind to the brink.
It was some sort of cosmic irony to him, the way things worked out. But he was thankful for his time here, with her. He didn't know what was coming in the following days, or maybe even hours, but something in him, deep inside, told him that this was it. This was the end of the road. Not necessarily in a bad way, but this was the end of the line. He hoped it worked out in the end, but right now, he tried to enjoy this quiet, this peace, of being in familiar territory.
He slid his hand along her beaten armour, and over to her neck, the one part of her that wasn't covered in armour or under armour. Even now, after a tumble in this upside down bucket, her skin had not even the tiniest of scratches or bruises, and retained its velvety smoothness. She was beautiful even when she was knocked out. Heller chuckled at the thought. The only person who had ever said he looked beautiful knocked out was the guy who beat him to unconsciousness in the first place.
T'soona stirring interrupted his train of thoughts, as she moaned and brought a hand over her head. Heller placed his free hand over hers, holding it reassuringly as she came to. When he was sure she was awake enough to register what was happening, he spoke, quietly.
"Hey, welcome back. You had me worried there."
T'soona twisted her head around, as her eye caught sight of him. Her mandibles formed a weak smile. She spoke, just as quietly as him.
"By the gods, I'd thought I lost you. That hit we took that sent you out of the hatch.........."
Heller cracked another smile.
"Lucky thing you were flying low. And another stroke of luck that I landed on a sand dune. The trip down wasn't fun, and I did twist a few things that shouldn't have been twisted, but I'm fine."
T'soona looked puzzled, her eyebrow raising to him.
"The how did you find me?"
Heller chuckled.
"I followed the smoke trail. Rolled down a few more dunes to get here, and saw a sight that was worth taking a picture of, then I found you."
T'soona still had a raised eyebrow.
"How did you get under me?"
"I was still a little, you could say, out of my head. Found you laying upside down unconscious, figured I'd save you the pain of hanging around like that and waking up to it, and then we got here."
T'soona shifted, trying to move around. She sighed, when she didn't get very far.
"Thank you Heller, for thinking of me. But how do we get out of this cramped situation? I don't think I can move my legs enough to get under the chair, and my armour is causing some issues."
Heller waved his one free hand.
"You got me there. Besides, I'm the one under you. Not much I can do to help with only one free hand."
T'soona laid her head back too, pondering what she could do. Then something came to her. Heller watched, as she reached up, and began fiddling with the armour on her legs and feet. There wasn't much room for even that, and every movement was slow and had to be done multiple times at different angles to get what she wanted done. But eventually, she had removed, or loosened the armour over her knees and feet.
T'soona turned back to him, already breathing heavily. The dampness didn't help things.
"I'm going to try and turn, or twist myself so that I can push myself up with my arms, and let you slip out. Once you're free, it should be easy to get out of here."
Heller nodded. Seemed like a good enough plan. Heller watched, as T'soona struggled to maneuver herself around in the confined space. It wasn't easy for her, the extra joint in her legs limiting some of her options for twisting or turning. Heller tried giving her any helpful pushes he could, but ultimately, he let T'soona do her thing. Eventually, she was twisted around enough, so that she could now lift herself up. She faced Heller, watching him.
"Ready to move? I can't push myself up for long, this position is uncomfortable."
Heller smiled.
"Ready when you are."
T'soona pushed, lifting herself off of Heller. He wasted no time, willing his body to move, as he awkwardly pulled himself out, until at last, he was free. Fumbling for T'soona as she lowered herself, almost doing a complete flip now that she had more room, she laid her back on the floor and extended her arms out to grasp the back of the seat, but Heller grabbed her hands instead. He pulled and she pushed, until she too, was free. Heller fell over after she was out, the pins and needles in his body proving too much. T'soona fared better, standing up to stretch her sore limbs. She wandered over to him as he simply lay there, smiling.
"Are you all right Heller?"
Heller continued beaming at her.
"Yeah, good chunk of my body fell asleep, but it'll pass. This is, really funny, you know that right?"
T'soona held her hand out to him. Heller grasped it clumsily, and was pulled to his feet.
"I fail to see the humor Heller."
Heller started laughing.
"Here we are, in the middle of whatever this is, trying to beat a bunch of gorillas to the only structure on this planet. And we're stuck in this ship, having such a blast just trying to free ourselves from a seat! God damn that's one for the history books!"
T'soona scowled, and made her way to the only working, non-buried hatch in the phantom. She stepped out briefly, before returning. She closed the hatch behind her, sealing it shut tightly. She still had the scowl on her mandibles.
"I take it the massive storm headed our way is the sight you mentioned earlier?"
Heller had stopped laughing, but couldn't help but chuckle as he replied.
"No, it was a ship full of those hairy apes that flew over me. They got shot down by a few of those drones, flew right into the storm. It's always given me pleasure to see Covenant tech fry, no offense."
T'soona smiled now, sitting down against one of the walls. Heller went and sat down with her.
"None taken Heller. The fact that it was full of Jiralhanae adds humor to it for me. I hope the barbarians choke in the sand."
The two remained quiet for a short while, before T'soona broke the silence.
"We'll probably be here for a while Heller. Hope you have something interesting to talk about. Why don't you talk more about what we discussed some time ago?"
Heller pondered it briefly, before he had a better idea.
"Well, I already told you a lot about myself, and a lot of things about people. But I've never heard you say anything. What are your people like? I'm sure you have your own quirks and cultures. Care to talk?"
T'soona simply nodded.
"I'm afraid I can't give you much on myself. I was conscripted at an early age, along with all the other potential Exemplars, and never really got a chance to go out and see much."
"Well, what about before you were conscripted?"
"The only thing I ever remember from before then is this one day, when I was very young. My mother had finished all of her duties for the day, she decided to take a trip down to the markets, and took me with her."
Heller let her continue.
"I remember, seeing this beautiful dress. I think it was imported from one of the farther city states. It caught my mother's eyes too. So she bought it and put it on. She looked so stunning in it, and I remember, I wanted to look like her when I was older, to wear something like that."
"And that's all you remember?"
"Yes. A few months after that I was conscripted into Exemplar training."
"And how was that?"
"It is the same as the training males receive, except that it had a lot more rejects. First came the qualifications for the training. Everyone was matched up in a ring, one on one, and given a simple staff as a weapon. The victor would be qualified to advance into training."
"I more along the lines meant how was it for you? Leaving your family for a life like that?"
"It was, difficult. With the qualifying tests, you were allowed to leave if you so wished. But even the act of being selected as a potential Exemplar marks you. Returning to your family meant that you failed. So it was either leave your family behind, or return to them in shame. I wanted to remember my mother as she was, and not what she would be if I returned in shame. But I still missed her, and my father, and my brother. But I knew if I came back, none of them would ever be the same around me again."
"So you chose to go on then?"
"I did."
"How old were you when you joined? I know with some stuff like that if you throw a kid at something and teach them only that at a young enough age, they forget their childhood almost completely."
"I was four when I was brought in for the qualifying tests. I trained for twenty years, and then finally joined the military."
"Just in time for humanity right?"
T'soona raised an eyebrow to him.
"No, I served another twenty years before we encountered your species."
Heller was adding up numbers in his head. That couldn't be right. It was his turn to raise his brows.
"That puts you at about 70 something then?"
T'soona nodded.
"That's unbelievable! I mean, I'm not far behind you, and if you took all the years of cryo out of me, I'd be out of service by now. In all my years, I never heard anything about covenant ships using cryo for long voyages. So that means you're unaltered. You're purely 70 something."
T'soona nodded.
"You have me confused Heller. What do you mean alterations?"
"We use cryo a lot of the time for trips, because they're so long. And I guess that's why you don't because your ships are a lot faster than ours. When we're frozen, we don't age, but we still count the time passed anyway. I joined service when I was twenty, did ten years of the Insurrection bullshit, and throw in almost thirty with fighting your people. I'm in my sixties, but because all the time I spent on ice I look like I'm in my late thirties. If I looked and aged like I was in my sixties, I wouldn't be in service now, I'd be retired."
"But why retire so early?"
Heller was somewhat lost now, just as T'soona.
"Sixty isn't early for us T'soona. Over half our lifespan is gone when we're sixty. If we're lucky, we can go until we're about seventy, maybe eighty. I know there's more people in their nineties and hundreds than from a few hundred years ago, but the average for us is about seventy years. If you look so good at your age, then how the hell long do your people live for?"
"I'm only at about half of my lifespan right now. So the average for us is one hundred and forty."
It was something else for Heller. All the time he was finding out new things that showed how different she was compared to him. But yet, at the same time, she was as human as anybody else he had met. T'soona changed the subject.
"What do you think will happen when we reach the structure?"
Heller shrugged.
"Your guess is as good as mine. Hopefully from there we can find a way to shut this place down, although, not that we really know what this place is exactly. All we have to go on is the one tower, the only structure on this rock."
T'soona looked thoughtful as she pondered things.
"The gods work in many ways. Sometimes, a lot of times, their machinations and work remains hidden, buried under the surface, waiting to be uncovered. The tower could be the tip of it all. What I hate to say is, the defense drones worry me the most."
Heller chuckled.
"And you ignore the fleets of Brutes up above?"
T'soona waved her hand dismissively.
"The Jiralhanae are relatively new to combat in space. The drones will keep them occupied for some time. But we've seen those drones before Heller. Not only do their weapons and shielding become stronger the more they combine, but their deadliest attribute is their power of logic and memory. You can only ever pull a maneuver off on the drones once. And the more you fight, the more, and faster they learn, to the point that they will eventually outstep you in your own tactics and battle plans."
"So how are we going to get to the tower then?"
"For now, the drones seem occupied with the fleets above. But if they find survivors on the ground, they will quickly split their numbers to deal with both problems. We'll have to move fast, and hope that time will be on our side before the drones discover no doubt, us, and the Jiralhanae on the ground."
Heller leaned his head back against the wall.
"You sure you don't want to sit this one out?"
"I won't Heller. This was my mistake, and I will rectify it. I will not let the Jiralhanae get their claws on what this world holds. We were struck a blow by their uprising, most of our high Councilors dead, our fleets dealt crippling losses. If the Jiralhanae get whatever is kept here, they could use it against my people."
Heller was thinking too.
"But, what if your people get whatever is locked up here? What would they do to us humans? You and I both heard what Den said on High Charity. Some of yours will forgive and forget. Others won't. What if yours decide to finish us while we're down?"
T'soona watched him.
"What if your species decides the same? This place.......MUST be destroyed for the benefit of all."
"Then we'll go through with this then?"
"We have to. This is a critical moment for both our kind. If yours or mine discover this place, or the Jiralhanae get what is concealed here, then we'll be doomed. My ancestors fought against one single ship, piloted by the San Shyuum, and were brought to their knees. Through our prowess though, we also secured a victory, two sides, with a gun to each other's heads. But my point still stands. If one ship could pose such a threat to our fleets, imagine what even a handful could do."
Heller stayed silent briefly.
"You know, now that I think about it, this place is a time bomb. Even if you never sent the location to everybody and their mothers, somebody else would have found it eventually. And they would have opened it. But what are we going to do?"
T'soona placed her hand over his.
"We'll cross that path when we arrive on it."
The two were silent for the rest of the time. They rested quietly as the sandstorm howled outside, now enveloping their craft. There was no telling how long it would be here, and for the better part of a day, there was no hint of it moving or slowing.
They rested for hours, spent more time talking and discussing things to pass the time, while the temperature in the phantom slowly went up, it's cool interior becoming more and more humid with every passing hour. T'soona was resting against a patch of cooler metal, as Heller simply lay up against a wall. As far as she could tell, he was sleeping, and it gave her time to think on her own.
The task they were going to perform, assuming they could get out of the phantom alive to start with, was something they both had the possibility of being killed with. It would be even worse than their time on High Charity, for which they only pulled through because of Den's actions to save both their lives. And the stoic Sangheili was no longer with them. Heller was willingly walking into the fire with her this time, because he loved her, and would do everything in his power to help her.
Every passing day she grew to love him more too. He tried his best to make her happy, and was there for her at any moment. She dared to think that his efforts would surpass any male of her species attempts at courtship. And, for all his flaws that came with being a human, she overlooked them, and accepted them. But through it all, he was the one on the giving end. As she pondered this, something struck her. In the coming days, hours even, either one of them could be killed. They might not even get to leave this phantom if the sandstorm persisted. It could even be their tomb. The thought disturbed her.
She wouldn't want to leave Heller, or have him leave her, without repaying him in kind, for everything he'd done for her, and everything that he was to her. And she wanted him to know that she returned his affections, his worries, his need to care for her. She was going to make sure, that if either of them failed, he knew how much she loved him. She crept over to him as he slept. His helmet was laying discarded nearby. She raised a hand to his cheek, sliding it gently across his rough skin. He stirred from the touch, opening his eyes slightly. Upon seeing T'soona's face, he sat up. She had a pleasant look on her face, one he had seen little of before, a happy, calm of sorts, a warmth to her one eye. Gently, she asked,
"Can I show you something?"
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Heller nodded. She stood up, bringing him with her. He wasn't sure what exactly she could show him, especially in here.
"Did you find something that could help us?"
She led him to the middle of the room, placing a hand over his shoulder.
"Stay here Heller. Don't turn around."
"T'soona, I think you've lost me here, I......."
She put a hand over his mouth,
"Don't worry Heller, it's okay. It's something nice, a surprise."
Heller stopped his questions and stood there, waiting. He faintly heard the smooth clicking of armour.
T'soona couldn't mask the fact that she was taking her armour off, but set it down quiet enough so that it hardly made a sound at all. She had to admit, she felt a lot better now that she had it off. It was starting to get warm up to almost uncomfortable temperatures. Heller remained facing the other way, waiting. She had a feeling she would enjoy this as much as he would.
Heller stood, waiting and listening, when to his surprise, T'soona snaked her arms over his shoulders. Instinctively, he looked upwards, and found her smiling down at him. She brought a finger to his mouth as he opened it to ask something.
"All I ask is that you relax Heller, and enjoy this. I'll take care of everything."
Heller remained in place as she pressed against him and began working on undoing the straps that held his armour all in place. She was deliberately slow, making sure to shift her weight from one foot to the other, brushing against his backside as she moved strap by strap. As she worked, Heller couldn't help but comment.
"I didn't take you for being such a risk taker T'soona. The stern, unbending shining example of her people likes to play naughty in dangerous places."
Pieces of his armour began falling off, one by one. She smiled as she traveled lower, working on more straps.
"We're not in immediate danger Heller, and I want the chance to show you that I love you, if we don't survive the coming hours."
"You could just say I love you and give me a kiss?"
More armour fell to the floor, and T'soona reached a hand over the bulge in his pants.
"I could. But I'd like you to FEEL it too."
Heller had no complaints about the current situation, but a burning question now stuck in his head. What was it like being a good looking male of their species? The thought of an Elite walking into a bar and getting jumped by all the females briefly filled his mind, before he was brought back by the sound of the last of his armour falling to the floor.
Before he could say or think anything more, T'soona moved around him, and was now pushing him back against the nearest wall. Her hand slid under his shirt and lifted it off him with ease. She pressed closer to him and kissed him, undoing his pants in the process, before backing away. She strayed from him, a hand coming to rest at the zipper to her under suit, as she slowly slid it down, until her chest was almost revealed to him. She approached him again, noticeably swaying her hips as she pressed closer again, bringing both hands to his face as she kissed him.
Heller wasn't one to wait around, and slowly slid the zipper of her suit down further, revealing more of her body to him. The slack gave T'soona more room to slip out of the suit as she slid her arms out, and pulled it down, until she stepped out of it completely. She was now completely exposed to him, as he was to her. Heller's hands were instantly brought up to explore. He wanted to feel everything about her.
T'soona could see that he was eager to touch her, and pressed herself as close to him as possible. After all, she wanted to feel the same thing. Her own hands found themselves brought up, as they explored across his body, wanting to feel every inch. Heller roamed across her backside, tracing the curve of her spine with his fingertips, sending shivers up in response. He couldn't be any happier right now, as T'soona pressed against him, the warmth of her body merged with his, the feel of her skin, that addicting, velvet like skin.
She held him close, prompting him to hold her tightly, as he looked up into her one eye. She was relaxed, for the first time in........ a long time. She didn't know if it was night on this planet, but she knew if she could spend every night like this with him, she would. She ruffled a hand through his dirty short hair, always attracted to the odd feeling off it. The words finally caught her mandibles now, as she was ready for them.
"I love you Heller. Don't you ever leave me."
Heller could only smile as he looked up into her face.
"Not if I can help it."
T'soona returned the smile, before moving around once again, pressing herself against his backside. She didn't initially notice it, but it was hot inside the phantom now, and they were both sweating, even from something as simple as this. She wanted to do more, but they would need the energy in the following hours. But for now she would have to be content with just simply being here with him.
She slid down the cool metal wall, and brought Heller with her. She leaned back against it, and wrapped her legs around Heller as he sat down between them. He leaned back against her, his head comfortably coming to rest in between her breasts. She snaked her arms over his shoulders again, one resting on his chest, over his still bandaged wound, keeping him close, the other held tightly in his hand. Heller gently and slowly stroked her leg with his free hand, tracing its unique curves, before coming to a stop. The two simply rested like that for hours, enjoying the freedom to explore one another, as the temperature rose in the ship and the storm outside howled, without end.
One day later, things finally began to slow, and the storm moved on, finally passing over them and over another part of the planet. T'soona was the first one to wake, and heard the telltale sound outside. There was only silence. She ruffled through Heller's hair as he slept, until the attention woke him. She stayed with him like that for a while until they both woke up fully, before finally deciding to move. She spoke in his ear gently.
"Time to go Heller. The storm's passed."
The two got up slowly, and began the task of finding their bits and pieces of armour strewn about the ship, and putting them on. The heat in the ship was intense, and before they knew it, both didn't feel like moving or doing anything. But they kept on. Time was of the essence. After they both finally got their gear on, Heller approached T'soona, giving her a long kiss before parting. He slipped his helmet on, watching her through his cracked visor.
"You ready to finish this?"
T'soona nodded.
"About as ready as I can be. Heller, be careful. I don't want to lose you."
Heller simply nodded.
"Same to you T'soona."
The two moved over to the hatch of the phantom, and pressed against it, struggling to open it as they pressed against the sand that had built up. Eventually, they succeeded, and both stumbled out of the phantom onto the sand as the hatch gave out. In an instant the heat hit them like a brick wall, the rays of the dual stars bearing down on them.
It was clear why they had so much trouble getting out, their phantom was almost completely concealed under a small dune of sand. Had their hatch been facing a different direction, they would have been stuck and buried for sure. Heller turned his head upward to the horizon, as his eyes fell upon the only visible structure on this planet, a massive tower, standing kilometers tall, shining silver, etched with lines and glows of cool, calm blues. From orbit the tower looked almost featureless, like a giant smooth pillar, but now that he was on the ground not several kilometers away, and with no sand blowing, he could see it was anything but.
Distinct parts of it hovered away from the main structure, while others were clearly moving, like pistons, but with no visible levers or anything. The tower was beyond anything he'd ever seen, Covenant or Human. It was as if it was geometrically perfect, to the point that it seemed almost too perfect, so that it was wrong instead.
T'soona began walking, as did Heller, towards the tower. The walk would be long, and they were unarmed. He hoped they could make the journey with little trouble. And so they walked, as the dual stars shone down on them and blasted them and the dunes with sweltering heat, the journey went on, and slowly, the tower loomed ever closer, but still unreachable. They crossed over great dunes, once or twice having to pick each other up from falling back down, and taking great care not fall down the other side. Heller didn't like the idea of getting another kink in his neck with another trip down like before.
The closer they slowly made their way to the tower, the more various struggles and battles became evident. Other small craft, phantoms, spirits, and even seraphs littered the area around the tower, having been cut precisely apart like nothing, their occupants either ejected in atmosphere, or killed down here in the sand. It was like passing through a graveyard.
As they passed a nearby phantom, Heller caught the distinct smell of Brutes. But there were none alive to bring them worry. Their carcasses lay were they fell, having been partially blown over by sand. And for the first time, Heller got a real close look at one of the machines guarding this world. It was nothing but a relatively small, silver rounded sphere, with three floating boons, now lying about as it was deactivated. It was hard to believe something so simple and elegant looking could cause so much destruction. It lay in the clutches of a now dead chieftain, the only brute he had seen in this mass graveyard to have any evidence of any victory over these machines. Heller motioned to T'soona.
"Hey, come over here for a second, I found something."
T'soona trotted over, taking in the scene. Her eyes fell over to the chieftain.
"Even for a Jiralhanae, that one was strong, a pack leader for a reason. He would have commanded respect while alive, and has earned mine."
Heller walked closer, wanting to examine the fallen machine. The stench of the Brutes was awful, but curiosity drove him on. Sitting on his haunches, he looked into the eye of the machine. This technology was amazing to him. Covenant tech was too, but this thing, was way beyond the Covenant. The race that created it must have been advanced, real advanced. But then again, he had already seen some evidence of their long lost technological prowess, the giant ring that High Charity had been orbiting around, supposedly one in a giant network of genocide wheels.
T'soona stood by him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Come Heller, we should go. We shouldn't linger in this place for too long."
Heller lingered before standing back up.
"You think anything's still alive out here?"
"Maybe not, but the number of fallen in this area indicates something. There are bodies, some fresh, others not. This was a hotspot, and still may be. The guardians will be back. We do not want to be here when they arrive."
Heller turned back to catch up with T'soona as she began moving away from the site, when he stumbled over one of the boons belonging to the machine, laying in the sand. Heller did a double take on things. He didn't trip over it. Taking his foot off the boon, he watched as it moved through the sand on its own, towards the core of the machine still in the clutches of the dead chieftain. Heller was sprinting past T'soona as she turned to face him, and as soon as she saw the machine recollecting itself, she was sprinting too.
"There's no way we can beat it Heller! Not like this! We have to split up in the wreckage!"
"We've got to think of something! We can't outrun that thing when it can fly!"
"That's my point! One of us draws its fire while the other comes up with something!"
Heller nodded, catching one last glimpse of T'soona as she broke off in another direction, now running at top speed now that he wasn't following. Their goal was the looming tower ahead, so even if they broke far apart it would be okay. But what could they possibly do? Heller caught a bright flare out of the corner of his eye, followed by the rolling sound of thunder after the machine fired. He was coming up to a phantom now, not much of anything intact, but maybe it still had a turret? Another wave of thunder as the machine fired again. Heller was comforted briefly by the fact that a second meant she was dodging.
Looking through the wreckage in a panic, Heller found what he was hoping for, a turret, still intact, half buried in the sand. Heller grabbed the handle, wrenching it out of the sand. Looking skyward, he caught the distinct flash of its hull, followed by another bright, orange beam directed downward. Heller took aim, and fired, sending a spray of plasma in the machines direction, some bolts hitting it and reflecting off its shielding harmlessly. Heller cursed. Everything had shields. The machine was charging another beam up, when it stopped, and now directed its gaze over to him. He saw it, looming above him, watching. Heller dropped the turret, much to his relief, and began running. He saw the flash of light in the corner of his eye, heard the roll of thunder, and rolled to the side, coming back up to his feet.
To his sudden surprise, nothing landed near him. There was no impact, no heat wave, no sand turned into glass from the intense heat of the beam. The machine had almost completely ignored him! Dots began connecting themselves in his head, one after the other, as he was taken back to High Charity.
"It was always a mystery to us, but you humans, always seemed to have a special touch with the god's machinations. This is because, the gods left their machinations, to you."
Den's words came back to him, as he ran towards the machine, which was no longer moving, but hovering in the sky. T'soona was pinned. Heller ran as fast as he could, when he suddenly tripped over something in the sand. Getting back on his hands and feet, he watched as another machine rose from the sand, oblivious to him as it glided upward, it's three silver boons aligning themselves as it flew. Heller started running again, as yet another wave of thunder rolled over the graveyard of ships.
He had to get to her. He didn't know what he was going to do, but Den's words kept circling in his head as he ran towards the machine as fast as he could go. The heat was intense, and his body was unwilling to move as the exhaustion and pain over the past few days was adding up. He pushed harder as the second machine joined the first, and the two now alternated their fire, trying to catch her. She wasn't going to last long with two of them going at it.
His boots kicked up sand as he came across T'soona, who was inside the melted remains of a phantom, as the machines were cutting through it. He waved his arms frantically at T'soona as a third beam from another machine tore through her cover, and she was forced to move. As she vaulted from out of the slagged remains, she narrowly avoided one beam as her shields flared from its proximity, avoided another as it cut across her path, and was struck square on the side of her stomach by a third, and fell as her shields failed.
The three machines all prepared to fire as she lay in the sand, as Heller waved his arms frantically, trying to reach her in time. He wasn't going to make it. Their weapons charged too fast. He yelled as he ran hoping that maybe he would distract them again.
"STOP GOD DAMMIT, SHE'S NOT AN ENEMY!!!"
Orange light flared from their cores as they prepared to fire.
"STAND DOWN! FRIENDLY FIRE! GOD DAMMIT LISTEN TO ME, THAT'S AN ORDER!!!!!"
One of the machines stopped charging its weapon as it hovered in place. The other two held their charge, but didn't fire. Heller ran over to T'soona, as she was struggling to pick herself up in the sand. He skidded onto his knees beside her. She tried pushing him away as he rolled her over.
"Run Heller! What are you doing!?"
Heller grabbed both her hands in his.
"It's okay, I know what I'm doing!"
As he spoke one of the machines glided down towards him, as the two remained ready to fire. It flew low until it hovered just above the sand, as its central eye was now blue rather than white hot orange. Scrambled sounds were coming from it as they slowly began to sound more cohesive, until he was hearing his own voice played back to him. Heller spoke as the machine hovered close to him, with T'soona looking on in awe.
"Yes, that's it! We're not hostile!"
The machine played his voice again, this time in perfect clarity, before it spoke with its own, in English.
" Reclaimer, clearance accepted, non-hostile. Sangheili, logged as potential hostile, granted clearance by Reclaimer."
Heller started laughing, as tears rolled down his cheeks from the words played to him. T'soona still held a look of awe but it was quickly replaced by a smile as she grabbed Heller and kissed him as long as she could manage. The machine stayed nearby, as the other two floated gently down and hovered with the first. The first interrupted their kiss as it spoke again.
"Does Reclaimer seek transport?"
Heller broke off from his kiss with T'soona as they both now watched the machine intently.
"Where will you take us?"
"The Reclaimer and Sangheili will be brought to the citadel. The citadel is protected from the current assault, and will await your commands, after your needs are taken care of and you are brought to the Controller."
"What is the controller?"
"Data unauthorized. Does Reclaimer seek transport?"
Heller looked at T'soona. The look, and feel of relief, was overwhelming for both of them.
"What do you think T'soona?"
She watched him, as a strange look came over her face. Was it glee? Excitement? Heller had never seen her excited before.
"Yes Heller!"
Heller nodded.
"We would like transport."
The machine made no response, but shifted its three boons, so that they were now packed close to each other, like a makeshift truck bed. Another quickly merged its boons, widening the bed for both of them, as it joined with the other, both spheres now orbiting each other while their makeshift flatbed held perfectly still.
Heller helped T'soona up to her feet, as he slowly stepped onto the bed.
"You sure you want to ride on something that just tried to kill you?"
T'soona smiled, clutching the side that had received the blast that broke her shields.
"I've done worse before."
T'soona stepped up onto the bed with Heller, before the two sat down. The boons, as unsteady as they looked, remained perfectly still, as if held together by glue. Slowly, the merged machines rose up into the air, not particularly high, but enough that they could fly over the wreckage without worry. They began flying forward gently, the third following close by. Soon the dunes and wreckage was left behind, as the towering structure loomed closer, close enough that they were now entering the long shadow cast by it. Heller looked into the distance to see distant thunderstorms, before looking back to T'soona.
Although mildly burned from earlier, and exhausted from running, she had an energy about her, something happy. Heller could almost see her as a child, happy and excited to be in the marketplace with her mother. She looked the same right about now. Heller smiled too. They were both going into something unknown, but this time, it was different. The machines had listened to him. What Den had said was real then. Heller began dreaming of what they might find at this citadel. He felt like a little kid at the marketplace too.