Disclaimer: I do not own Halo, nor do I own any of the Halo characters appearing in this fanfic, except the OCs (or would an Original Race be OR?).
This fanfic is my first, and is going to be slightly AU, as two things in Halo 3 piss me off. For those of you who have played, and beat, Halo 3, they will be obvious within the first few chapters. If you have yet to beat said game, I suggest you do so. For those of you who could guess from my not-so-subtle hint up top, the will have a new species in it, one that will appear in many of my stories. I'll try to stay as "In character" as possible. For example, MC will not hug a Grunt. Please, review, and if you must criticize my work, mention what I did wrong, so I might not make the same mistake in the future.
Wrath of the Black Flame
Part I
Discovery
John, the SPARTAN-117, looked at the monitor in the cruiser 'observation deck.' He was aboard an Elite vessel, the Sword of Holy Revenge. The Elites had refitted the ship for a more diplomatic approach than blowing up the human ships. Now that the two races were allied, such actions were considered a bit less than considerate. As it had been adapted, the Ship Master in charge had, rather reluctantly, decided to make it more 'human-friendly,' and tried to make it more like a human ship.
He found that, while the Elites were beginning to learn about the humans' aesthetic side, they still had trouble adapting. These Elite observation decks were a good example: like the Elites' vessels' bridges, they were set into the ship, with any view of space seen through a monitor, to better protect the captain and his crew, as opposed to a human vessel, where they were often at the front edge of a ship, to allow the captain, or observer, to actually see space with their own eyes, rather than through a screen.
"Chief! There you are. Captain wants you on the bridge, seems like the ship's about to jump back into normal space, wants you there for the meeting with the Arbiter."
Sergeant Major Avery Johnson stepped out of the grav lift that the Elites used as an elevator. "She says full armor, wants you lookin' your best. Hell, she even has me in my white dress uniform."
John took one last look at the massive screen, then walked over to the lift. He usually wore his full set of armor around the Elites. They might be allies, but he had seen too many friends and planets fall to them to ever truthfully be at ease in an Elite ship. The memories of Truth and Reconciliation didn't help, either. He wondered briefly how the Arbiter felt. In order to 'facilitate diplomatic relations and express the cultures of both species,' as the bureaucrats put it, John was to travel in an Elite for the better part of a year, and the Arbiter was to travel in a human ship. The real reason behind this was, the scientists aboard the vessel were examining the Covenant technology. The Elites apparently had not realized this, why else would they allow such spies on board? Of course, why had the brass agreed to let the Arbiter on a human ship? None of this made any sense, and the thought made him uneasy.
Light-years across the void of space, the Arbiter felt much the same. He, too, was at an observatory platform, and felt exposed and vulnerable, with only glass between him and certain death.
How the humans found this to be relaxing, he did not know.
Still, he did have to admit that the direct view of space, without the use of a terminal, was strangely fascinating. On a Sangheli ship, he would only view space through a targeting terminal, attempting to blow any enemy vessel into relatively small bits of plasma-fried metal and glass. Without the medium of a terminal, and without the nervousness that accompanied him in space battles, he found he could actually contemplate the distance, and see the stars and planets as what they were, instead of annoying little obstacles preventing him from maneuvering his ship to its full potential.
He heard the steady tread of hooves behind him, and turned to see the Ship Master piloting this vessel, one Tala 'Manalaree. The Ship Master was newly promoted, unsure of himself, but the Arbiter could see great potential in him. Unfortunately, Tala was a member of the steadily growing group of Elites who revered, almost worshiped him, and had an annoying habit of bowing, as he was doing now.
"Honored Arbiter, we are about to jump back into... what did the human call it? Real Space? Whatever, we are about to leave this... Bah, these human terminologies are crude and ungainly! We are about to reach the system. I thought that you would wish to be on the 'span,' or whatever the humans call that deathtrap, to meet the Ship Master and Commander when we arrived."
The Arbiter nodded. "'Manalaree, please, stop bowing. I am not 'honored,' nor do I desire your reverence. I shall head to the bridge soon, and I shall meet Keyes and her crew when we jump out of Slipspace." He made sure to put a decent amount of emphasis on the proper terms.
The Arbiter took one last look out the observation window, feeling uneasy. He always did in space, where a single powered down Jiralhanae ship could ambush and destroy a vessel before anyone could know. He was once a Fleet Master, but even then, he still disliked space battle.
But, as soon as the Arbiter and the Chief jumped in-system, their uneasiness would be the least of their problems.