Jamie leapt out of bed the next morning after hearing the radio blip at her for ten minutes straight. "Okay, okay... I'm coming…" She yawned and kicked her chair out of the way so she could stand in front of the screen. It just said "Jay" over and over and over again. She sighed and gave a little smile.

Yes?

"Good morning, Jay."

Good morning, Ilamaj :)

"What is that?"

It's a– oh gosh you really must be foreign. It's an expression of happiness.

"Oh, really?"

It's popular.

"Oh"

":)"

You woke me up early, Ilamaj, do you need something?

"No."

You can't hear me, but I just sighed.

"I figured you'd gotten enough sleep by now."

It's been six hours, Private Zuri, I'd like more sleep than that.

"You've had enough."

And you're needy.

"Are you irritated? You showed an expression of happiness."

I just thought for a second you needed to tell me something, or that something happened.

"No, I just wanted to talk to you."

Are you that bored? Don't you have better things to do?

"No."

Jamie sighed again, she really was getting a little irritated, but she didn't have much anything else to do either. Work was slow, and she worked by commission, which she hadn't gotten a new one in almost a week. Most days during which, she spent talking to Ilamaj over the radio.

Why am I so interesting to you?

Jamie waited anxiously at this one. She was, after all getting a lot of immediate attention from someone so far away.

"I… don't know."

Is there a lot to do on the ship?

"Not really…"

Oh so that's it.

Disappointed, Jamie sighed.

"What's it?"

You're only talking to me because you're bored.

"...Were you not doing the same?"

That's… True. I guess I didn't think of it that way.

"We are on equal footing, you and I."

At least on the level of /why/ we're talking.

"I would like to believe it is so on all levels."

I don't know about that, Illimaj, I feel that you're probably physically stronger than me.

"Blasphemy."

That last part made Jamie laugh.

"I would like to bet we are equals on all levels."

Blasphemy.

She threw that word back at him, laughing. She thought herself so clever. He, on the other hand, was taken aback by how bold she was being.

You're in the military and I can't even do a push-up.

Zuri had no idea what a "pushup" was, but maybe it was some clan thing. It was at least obvious to him that she was trying to make a point. He was a Jar head, but not that much of a Jar head to not read context clues. Though, he thought of himself smart because of it, so he was at least that much of a Jar-head.

"I'm sure you would fare fine against me."

Against?

Jamie was confused, but, she could only translate it one way in that moment: was that sexual? She took her hands off of the keyboard while she waited for the next reply. What else was "against?" supposed to mean? Even if he meant wrestling it still implies bodies and friction.

"You know, like sparring."

Cultural differences, cultural differences, she reminded herself about six or seven times before she could calm down and try and communicate with him again. Maybe it's just not a Reach thing, she considered, but she couldn't fully wipe the former ideas from her mind.

Do you... spar with a lot of girls?

"Well… no,"

So… am I the only girl you've asked this, or…?

"In a long while, I suppose. Yes."

And you mean sparring sparring, not like… anything else?

"I am not sure what else I would be referring to."

So like… fight, spar, wrestle, /that/ sort of sparring?

"Did I say something wrong?"

No, I just wasn't sure if we were talking about the same thing.

"How would we not be?"

Well, don't you ever say one thing and secretly mean another? Like… a codeword?

"A codeword."

Yes, like a nickname, but like a commonly used codeword, or you just say it sort of similiar to a code word, so it implies it is one?

"I am confused. Does it mean something else or does it mean what it means?"

Lets just move on.

Cultural differences. Cultural Differences.

You must have a very honest society where you live.

"People find ways to be dishonest regardless. There is much bloodshed in some regions. One has had trouble with backstabbing and banishment recently."

Oh, that sounds terrible.

"I assumed it was the same for you."

No, it's quite peaceful where I live.

"I would appreciate a place like that."

Is the ship not peaceful?

"We've been having trouble on the ship with Unngoy."

With a what?

"Unngoy."

Repeating it isn't going to make me know what it is any more than the first time you said it.

"I don't really know how to explain it…"

It must be some sort of military thing, right? Are you allowed to be telling me about this? Is it a /codeword/?

"I was never told specifically not to mention them."

Is it some sort of /super weapon/?

"As if. They're useless. We have to use them, though."

Even if they might ruin the ship?

"Yes."

Don't you have someone to fix stuff like that?

"We were supposed to have an engineer on the ship, but I'm not sure what happened to that. Maybe he was the guy who was put out the airlock."

Someone was put out the airlock?!

"Because of the Unngoy."

No wonder I heard we're doing bad in the war.

"You heard that? Where?"

Just around, I have a few military friends. They're not happy.

"So you… talk to a lot of other Males?"

Males? Not really… Mr. Zuri, are you hitting on me?

"Mr?"

God forbid you hit on a girl over the radio instead of in person. Shame on you.

Zuri spent the next few moments trying to decode her speech. Did she really wish shame upon him? What did M–R–dot stand for? Was that some sort of title- was that what her clan used to denote military personnel? He theorized about it a little, it would explain why she could have a name ending in "-mie," which sounded eerily close to the more popularized "-ee" that was used only for the names of military personnel.

Jamie backed away from the Keyboard, though, it really did seem like he was hitting on her now. He was interested in who she was talking to, which is a lot different than talking to her just out of boredom. There was a chance that it was all just a curiosity more than anything else, but she couldn't get it out of her mind that maybe, just maybe, he might like her a little bit.

"Shame on me?"

Not really shame. It's one of those codewords I guess.

"So shame stands for something else?"

It means… well…

"It means well?"

No, I'm just having trouble describing it. Especially without the enunciation of it… similar phrases to it all sound the same if you don't know it.

"But… you know what it means but cannot say it? Is it bad?"

It could be, depending on how you'd see it.

"I do not understand."

If it were something… unrequited… like possible one-sided affection.

"Affection itself is positive."

One-sided can hurt someone, and if I somehow believed you were expressing that interest in me… and was responding with the same…

"That sounds positive."

So... you do have an interest in me?

"I am highly interested in you. You are interesting."

The phone by her desk started to ring. She tried to type a reply quickly, but she couldn't get to it very quickly at all. It seemed like it was a request for a commision that day. After jotting down everything she needed she typed something real quick to Zuri so that he'd know she'd be busy for a little while.

No matter how much she wanted to ask more, she would have to eat the next few weeks.

Most of the way would be quiet, but the hardware store would be accompanied by a call from Jamie's mother. Jamie sighed as she threw a few bolts into her handbasket and answered it.

"Hey moooom," she dragged on as she entered another ailse.

"Electromagnetic… electromagnetic…" she said under her breath as she looked.

"Jamie! How are you?" Her mother's voice was loud and eccentric. Certainly too loud for the volume Jamie's phone was set to. She had to move it away from her ear and then back again.

"I'm good mom, just shopping for a commission. They want something Twenty-Second Century. How are You?"

"I'm doing good. That satellite thing work with Steven?"

Jamie grumbled at the sound of it. The damn satellite thing that didn't want to work. She almost forgot how much fun she'd been having with it since.

"Not really. It hasn't been working and I haven't called him," Jamie shrugged and looked at some old versions of Holographic screens. She waved down an employee to ask about a smaller, more archaic size.

"Aw honey I'm sorry."

"But! I met someone new recently who's also been fooling around with radio equipment- some military guy who's kind of foreign," Jamie couldn't keep herself from smiling. She felt blessed her mother could not see her.

"He's not going to report you, is he? Honey…" Her mother started to sound concerned.

"Mom, I actually think this military guy might have a thing for me," she corrected her mother as an employee returned with the screen she needed.

"Really? You with-? Honey you know we're at war…" Jamie's mother put the emphasis on war as if it really changed anything for Jamie. Jamie didn't see too much of a difference.

Anyone could die any day.

"I know, I know- but like- this never happens! And I'm actually kinda hittin it off, y'know?" Another aisle, only a few more items left. She wondered if the reprimand would last the entire shopping trip.

"Just be careful about it, alright. If you get too attached and the first time you meet him he's in a casket-"

"Mom!" Jamie gasped. You don't say things like that, even informally it just sounds wrong.

"I'm just saying this because you might not have thought about it."

"I have thought about it. I've thought about all of it," Jamie allowed her voice to raise a little.

"Have you been using that old radio equipment to talk to him?" Her mother asked as if it was an accusation.

"...I thought that was obvious?" Jamie's confusion actually make her stop walking in the middle of an aisle.

"Jamie! What if someone starts thinking you're an insurrectionist? They'll be less careful and forgiving right now than last time."

Jamie didn't need to be reminded of last time, when she had UNSC officers knocking on her door and asking about how she'd bought too many red flag items in one week.

They thought she was going to build a bomb.

"I have a right to use my own equipment, Mom, it's not like I've been doing actual suspicious activity," she shrugged and grabbed a new set of 2100s wire. It wasn't like an old satellite could actually hurt anybody- and he wasn't selling her military or tech secrets.

"Be careful, though, is all I'm saying," her voice sounded concerned- stern- parental. Most of all, it felt annoying to Jamie.

"I am," Jamie gritted her teeth at the phone. She wasn't a baby, she was working a job and generating her own revenue, and she didn't need her mother to police her decisions.

"Mom I gotta go, something's catching on fire. Gotta be super careful and put it out," Jamie said sarcastically before hanging up on her mother. She tossed her phone into her bag and walked to the checkout.

She was going to continue talking to Ilamaj Zuri, it wasn't a bad idea to her, and it wasn't going to cause her trouble.

Something similar was brewing elsewhere, though, if not too similar to be true.


"Field Marshall," Zuri started.

"Gamee." Field Marshall Gamee corrected him.

"Gamee… are we doing bad in the war?" Zuri tried to at least hesitate, but the words fumbled out of his mouth all too easily.

"Where might you have heard that?" The Field Marshall turned, relaxed his mandibles, and tilted his head. Zuri has his full attention, and Zuri did not like that.

"What if I heard it from a Sangheili? What would that mean?" Zuri asked nervously.

Gamee sighed and leaned his arm on his leg joint, "Some… some Generals on our home planet were against the war… but a low ranking officer wouldn't technically be allowed to know that. So… forget about it." Gamee tried to end the conversation there, hoped to leave it to rest.

Zuri looked down at the floor, he had found something out he wasn't supposed to.

"Is morale low on Sanghelios?" He asked, almost shocked. He'd never seen a Sangheili be very defiant against the war, or at least not one very open about it.

"In some places, yes morale is low, but you shouldn't let it get to you." Gamee's shoulders hunched as he leaned away and closed off. The less Zuri knew, the better.

"Gamee… I have another question," Zuri asked, still looking at the floor.

"Yes?" Gamee responded, clearly annoyed.

"Would it be wrong to… incite a feeling of some sort… over minimal contact?"

"What do you mean?" Gamee spun around, completely confused. His demeanor changed, which made Zuri feel better, most likely because they'd switched topics entirely.

"When you spend a short time with someone, but you want them to be okay. You feel connected in some way. Is it wrong?" Zuri finally looked up from the floor, some genuine form of both curiosity and honesty was visible to Gamee. The field marshal could see that something must have happened.

"I wouldn't think it strange. There are a great many of soldiers I have felt respect for over a short, short time." He nodded, some form of smile was almost visible, but Zuri could not read the field marshal's smile.

"Would it be wrong to feel anything other than respect?" Zuri looked away.

"With a soldier?" Gamee spat, surprised.

"No, with like a civilian, if I were to send a letter to her, and care about her a lot after only one reply." Zuri could feel something warm about his words as they slipped from his mandibles.

Gamee sighed, relieved. "Nothing wrong with that. Did you send some form of letter to a female Sangheili?" Gamee almost sneered, both proud and mocking at Zuri. Sort of the human equivalent of when a family member finds out you have a secret significant other.

"Something like that," Zuri felt blood rushing to his mandibles, "It is nothing."

"It is not nothing," Gamee tilted his head. His words were soft, comforting.

"I have little experience with things of that nature, but… if you ever need anything, I would not mind trying to help you figure it out," He nodded and tried not to let one word linger too long, should it become more awkward that it already was.

"As a… fellow soldier?"

"As a… as a friend." Gamee hesitated, but he nodded. He might not have been the most open back towards Zuri, but he genuinely wanted to help any way he could.

"A friend…" Zuri clicked his mandibles together He hadn't thought he could consider the Field Marshall a friend. "Do you…? Do you know if there is some other meaning to 'sparring' besides fighting?" Zuri asked. He was a little more comfortable and figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"What?"

"In any way at all?" Zuri wrung his hands together a little bit.

"It would have to depend upon the context to which it was said, but I don't think it could be interpreted strange in normal conversation," Gamee's brow crumpled and he looked around. Zuri had the strangest conversation topics.

"That was what I had hoped," Zuri seemed to become more perplexed regardless.

"You really have me curious, Zuri, you speak of such strange things."

"I have been thinking strange things, Field Marshal."

"Gamee," the CO corrected once more.

"Gamee," Zuri repeated with a nod. After Zuri had exhausted his questions, and assumed he'd done the same to Gamee's patience, he decided to find something other than speaking with his CO or messing with the machine to entertain his downtime.

He looked forward to communicating with Jamie again, but he knew it could be awhile. The deck probably needed to be patrolled or something anyways.