UNSC Expeditionary Warship Columbus docking with the Infinite Epitaph,
Unknown Space
March 28, 2558
The Columbus was quite large for a Human ship. It was not large by Sangheili standards, but its size was quite noticeable, nonetheless. It lacked the bright coloration of the halls of a Covenant warship: instead, its designers chose more subtle tones such as grey and white. And to make matters worse, the majority of the crew was the disunited apes that the Sangheili called "allies". This, unlike for most Sangheili, was not a problem for Zun Ul S'mar. Finding whatever group of these Humans he was operating with was, however.
Zun was infatuated with the idea of working with Humans, and had been for years. Since his youth, he had heard stories of the heretic warriors and their "demons", or "Spartans", as their allies called them, defying the now-deceased traitorous Prophets. Zun had just graduated from a war college when the war ended. One door had closed to him, but opened another to him. Soon after the war, Earth opened itself up to allow the Sangheili to study its culture and vice versa. Zun took the opportunity and eventually landed himself in the UNSC's recolonization task force, otherwise known as the Survey Corps.
Zun now found himself wandering the crowded halls of the Human ships, passing human soldiers from various divisions of their military and several of his Sangheili kinsmen before finding the company roster. There was already a younger human soldier looking for his comrades staring at the board. Zun stood behind him, looking for his own group.
"Name and rank?" a voice inquired.
"What?" replied the Sangheili, looking down to find the human soldier looking back at him. The trooper's eyes were a deep green, his flesh a pale pink. His fur, or 'hair', as his species called it, was as black as the night sky. He boy had a lean build and spoke with a slight drawl. The soldier spoke again.
"What's your name and rank?" he repeated. "This list goes by name and rank."
"I see." Zun said. "Zun Ul S'mar, and my rank is... lieutenant, if I memorized my rank conversions correctly."
"Okay." the human replied, turning back to the list.
Zun wondered what kind of soldiers he would be working with. He hoped it would be the fabled Spartans, or perhaps some ordinary marines. The Sangheili's question was about to be answered, and perhaps too soon.
"You're with ODSTs," the human stated, with a grin beginning to take shape on his lips. "501st Division, Apollo Company, Third Platoon, First Squad...which just happens to be my squad."
Zun didn't know what scared him more. Was it the trooper's smile, a human gesture of kindness, to which he was unfamiliar to, or was it the fact that he was given over to perhaps the most xenophobic group of soldiers? ODSTs were shock troopers, often deployed behind Covenant lines and inflicting and receiving mass casualties. Panic overcame the Sangheili. The human gave him a blank stare.
"What's wrong, Lieutenant?" he inquired.
"Nothing." Zun assured the soldier. "Nothing at all."
"Well, c'mon then." the ODST urged, playfully punching the towering Sangheili. "Apollo is on D-Deck."
The soldier grabbed his rucksack and started walking towards the nearest elevator. Zun followed closely, now wishing he'd been posted with some Marines. The elevator ride was mostly silent; the music coming from the PA was the only thing making any sort of noise. The ODST seemed to be getting uncomfortable and began talking.
"My name's Scott, by the way..." he said. "You can call me 'Jet' though."
"'Jet'? Why so?" replied Zun.
"It's my call sign." Scott explained. "It's the name you're assigned for when you go out into the field."
"Will I be assigned one?" Zun inquired.
"I dunno. It's kinda a thing of personal preference. " Remarked Scott.
The elevator slowed to a stop at C Deck. The doors opened with a soft hiss, and suddenly Scott, or "Jet", snapped to attention and saluted. Zun shot him a look, and then looked back at the doorway. There stood another human, an officer, in a black naval outfit. His silvery hair was slightly longer then what was Zun had understood was standard for all branches of the Human military. And he had bright red eyes that seemed to peer into Zun's soul.
"Colonel" Scott stated.
The officer took his eyes off of Zun and addressed the younger soldier.
"At ease, Private." the Colonel replied. "You must be one of the co-op personnel."
"What…Oh, yes." Zun sputtered. "My name is Zun-"
"-Ul S'mar." the Colonel stated. "Yes, I know exactly who you are."
The officer turned to the alien. Despite his smaller stature, the Colonel was very imposing, frightening to even the brave warrior. Even more disturbingly, the human's eyes had changed from their blood red color to a golden color.
"I know that you are an excellent swordsman and marksman. I know that you value honor greatly, but the lives of your comrades even more. You'd put yourself in front of an attack for those who serve you- whether they are Sangheili or not." he paused, for tension, then he continued. "That is why I placed you with Apollo 3-1. Now that you've had your present career explained to you, are there any other questions you have?"
Zun was stunned. How did this human know anything about him? These kinds of things weren't listed in the registration requirements for this mission, so how could know the officer know that about him?
"By your continued silence, I figure you don't. Good. I don't enjoy needlessly long conversations." The Colonel chimed. He pulled out some device from his pocket and looked down at it. "The elevator should be stopping in approximately five... four... three..."
The elevator stopped and the doors opened before he could finish his countdown. Disgruntled, the Colonel shook the device and tapped on its casing.
"Damn it." he muttered. "The blasted thing is off by two point thirty four seconds! Humph. Well, you two should probably be off to your quarters."
Scott grabbed his rucksack and headed off down the hallway. Or would have, had he not had to come back and retrieve the speechless Sangheili.
"C'mon!" the younger soldier urged. "We've gotta make it there before they call roll."
Zun snapped out of his stupor a second later. Looking around, he realized that the Human officer was no longer in the elevator with him. Zun was beginning to grow ever more suspicious of UNSC officers by the second. He hurried out, practically dragging Scott down the hall with him.
The pair barely made in time for roll call. With only seconds to spare, the two took their places in the first rank. Shortly thereafter, a young female officer walked in front of the formation.
"When I call your name, respond with 'Here, Ma'am.' or 'Here, Lieutenant.'" she ordered.
Sun took the opportunity to learn the names of his teammates. The young blonde Englishwoman to his left was Lance Corporal Lydia Cromwell, the squad leader. Next to her was a light- haired Corporal of Irish or Scottish descent (Sun couldn't distinguish between accents) named John McHenry. Next was PFC Katrina Ugwonyi, another female but was of African descent. She had a certain energy about her, but Sun couldn't tell what kind. Next to her was Scott, whom he had already met, finally after him was Dmitry Vendaya, a shifty -looking Russian. Zun knew he was in for a rough ride just by looking at his squad mates.
Special thanks to Raiba for editing this chapter! Next Chapter: Who is the Colonel? And why is he so creepy?