We Shall Be Strong
A/N: Sorry this update took so long...But I got so much homework from English... Stupid English... But yeah, enough of me. I'd like to thank all you reviewers for reading my pathetic story. (I have no-slef confidence in my writing...) (A Special thanks to CelestialFan2010 for helping me throughout my decisions regarding wording of the story and plot choices. She is a great writer, and a good friend. Also, a big thanks to Demyx'sBFF who corrected me by saying Amor(e) is Spanish, not Latin.) =)
Also, I plan on starting a transformers fanfic as I'm obsessing over Bumblebee right now, so favourite or alert me if you want to read it! Without further ado onto the story! (Still no editor... Bare with me. ha...haha... Yeah...) Oh yeah, also. This might be my last chapter, depending on how long it is.. I dont know yet. Review and I'll think about making it longer... :D (I appologize for the big bang theory reference... [Schrodinger's Cat] It was too good to pass up.)
Thanks for all the reviews! I didn't think i'd get that many on my first chapter. :) Keep it up and I'll update more often... :D (Muahaha...)
To jjoutlaw - I took your advice don't worry. But As I was writing this in third person, something just didn't seem right. I will try to write more of the story in third person, but no guarantee's. Even so, I thank you for the review. :)
DISCLAIMER – I don't own anything, blah blah blah... I only own my OC's. (Amoren/Sage)
II
"We all have time in our lives. It's how you spend it that counts."
The Mission
The phantom glides soundlessly in the vastness of space as we prepare for what lays ahead. Amoren relaxes beside me while receiving sledom odd looking glares from the other Sangheili. It looks as though he is being looked down upon for sitting with me. Though, now that I think about it: his arm is draped around my shoulder, pressing me against him. I thought it was for comfort or protection from the hard bouncing of the spacecraft. However, the more I think about it the more blood I feel raise to my cheeks and I know he can feel it. So I do the only thing I can think of to avoid the inevitable conversation: Inspect the phantom. For about the hundreth time this ride, I mentally noted all the aspects of the phantom. The onimous purple glow throughout the ship. The curvature of the walls, corners, and seats. The seats were fitted to Sangheili standards and it was veritably hard to get comfortable in them. The way they carry their weapons in the phantom is also different than how humans do it. They strap them under their designated seat as opposed to our latching into the walls. As I'm looking around, my eye's glance upon Amoren and he glances over at me and let's out a worried sigh. "Is everything alright?" he says with an unmistakable tone of distraction.
"Hn...? Oh, Yeah. Just thinking about what is to come of us." I say and immediately feel my face become even more hot. "I mean, of our mission..." I abruptly add.
"Of course you did." Amoren mocks without missing a beat. You know, sometimes I really hate that guy. I quietly think to myself while jabbing a finger at him.
"Oh, you... You know what I mean!" I sigh slightly while feeling flustered. I look over the other elites and see that they are eyeing us with a samurai like concentration. Trying to figure out why or how me and Amoren act together. Or at least, that's what it seemed like.
"Sadly... I do." He replies with a chuckle, and starts examining his weapons for the quite possibly the thousandth time this shuttle ride.
After a while of awkward silence coupled with wide-eyed elite stares, he broke the silence. "Don't worry though." Amoren states. "I won't let you die. Not while I'm alive."
"Awwmoren..." Came the only reply I could think of. It was a combination of my feelings towards him and what he just said that took a tole on me. Resisting the urge to hug him as I normally would've done, I instead just rest my hand upon his. Looking up at him, I see him looking down at me with his mandibles in a wide sangheilian smile.
I hold his gaze in mine but feel something nagging me. Like someone is staring at me. Subtly, I jolt my eye's the the left and find both of Amoren's teamate's staring at us. I'm sure if they had jaw's, they would be on the ground by now. I look back at Amoren, and back at the elite's, hoping he would catch my hint. Finally, my eye's stray over him again and I notice him nod in acceptance. I snake my arms around his body, and he pulls me towards him until I rest on his lap. Bodies pressed together he massages my cheek with his muzzle, while his arms caress my back gently.
I peer over at the elites, cocking my head sideways. They noticed me looking at them and quickly go into conversation with eachother in their own language while peeking back at Amoren and I every so often. After what seemed like five minutes of warm comfort in his arms, we pull apart and stare at eachother waiting for one of us to talk. "I think that did it." I say shyly. Eagerly awaiting his response, I can't help but think what it would be like to spend the rest of my life in his arms. His warm, strong, embrancing, comforting, caring- I get pulled from my stupor at the rumble of his voice.
"Based on what they're saying.. It seems like it." Amoren reassures me with a chuckle, while I just stare at him with a blank expression. "Want me to translate?" He asks.
"That'd be nice..." I say, still feeling warm and fuzzy from our hug. Then I launch off his lap with a bump from the phantom.
"Okay. Keep in mind there are usually no direct translations, so it might be a bit choppy." Amoren warns, and I just nod in acceptance. Hell.. What was I going to do! At least I was getting a translation.
"Right now, Rtha is stating how he wonders how I can stand being so close with you." He pauses and looks over at me and smiles. "We both know how I can." Amoren continues with the translations: " Now he's wondering if we are mates..." His voice trails off and I can sense his notable awkwardness. "Now he's... What's the human word for it. Saying no to yourself...?" He asks, requesting my help with the word.
"Contradicting?" I offer quietly.
"Yes, that's it. He's contra...dicting himself" he says trying to make his mouth form the odd syllables. "by saying that if we were, we wouldn't of only intertwined our arms..."
The elite I've come to know as Rtha looks right at Amoren and speaks to him in the sangheili native tongue. I can see Amoren's face change from a dark bluey colour to a bluey-purple colour after Rtha stopped talking. He motions a finger at me then Amoren shakes his head and says something in Sangheili. I've known Amoren for a week now, spent almost every waking hour with him, and I know that posture. That posture is the equivalent as a humans blush... what is he talking about...? I thought to myself before tuning in to the conversation, trying desperately to make out some words. I strain my ears but to no avail as Amoren ends the conversation and swivels back to me with a blank look on his face. Obviously, I had to ask him. "What were you talking about?"
"Oh... Nothing. Just..." I could see his eye's wandering the roof of the phantom, hoping to find something to tell me, but end up getting lost. In the intricate patterns or in thought.
"Amoren...?" I snap my fingers in front of his muzzle which brings him back to earth... Or, phantom.
"Hn...? Oh. Umm... It was nothing." He says awkwardly and turns to sit forward, facing his two sangheili comrades.
"Comeeee onnnn..." I pester him, while moving closer to him.
Before I knew it, our thigh's are touching and I found my arm snake around him. Almost if it were a natural reflex for me. I could feel the blood rushing through me, tagging my cheek's and he spun around and hugged me. This time genuine. "He asked..." Amoren started, his chest reverberated the sound as he spoke. His muzzle beside my face. The cold steel of the helmet plaguing my cheek. "He asked if I would ever consider you as a mate." He finally finished with a slight warble in his voice, while his grasp on me loosened. The heat radiating off his body was getting hotter. I knew he was nervous, and awaiting my reply. I also know that my reply will make, or break a relationship with us, and I would not like it broken. Yet I would not want it alive. Kind of like Schrodiner's Cat, you could consider our relationship, as it stands both mates, and friends.
Suddenly, a voice boomed from the cockpit speaking sangheili again, but this time it was in a rushed tone. As soon as it finishs, I glanced at Amoren, and he looks over at me with a serious look on his face. "That was the pilot" he explains. "We have arrived and are dropping in a minute minus fourty... What did you humans call it?" Amoren asks. Hopefully he's forgotten about the 'consider you as a mate thing', but I won't remind him about it... Just in case.
"It's called 'twenty seconds' Arbiter..." I say casually, noting his expression when I called him 'Arbiter' instead of Amoren. Wait... Twenty seconds! Oh, wow. I better lock & load. I thought to myself.
"You... Why did you call me Arbiter?" He asks sheepishly. Although, can you blame him? I've been calling him Amoren ever since we met.
"It is your official rank isn't it? I perfer to call people their rank while on the battle field. Though... Arbiter doesn't really suit you. I don't know, I'll say whatever comes out of my mouth." I retort noting my brief blonde moment and hoping he wouldn't think I was stupid or clumsy during the time of war. Thankfully I was told the game plan before we got to the ground, like most of my drills in basic training. Therefore I wouldn't have to make a fool of myself and ask him, in front of the whole squad. I was told... But.. Urgh.. What was is.. Amoren and I in the front, or back.. I sighed out loud and turned around to ask Amoren. But instead of him sitting next to me, I found Rtha, standing beside me, and Amoren was no where to be seen. Oh god.. Amoren? Where's Amoren? Why am I... He's probably just... Ugghhh! Why do I always feel so... so... lonely withou-
"Hello...?" Rtha asks me, and I realize I zoned out and was staring at him the entire time.
"Hn? Oh, sh- I'm sorry... I was thinking." I try to shake his gaze off, but he doesn't fall for it.
"Whatever you say..." He mock-mocks me, while looking at me then towards Amoren. All I could do is just stare at him with my eye's burning a hole in his. Then he turns around, and steps into the gravity well down to the ground, followed by the other elite who's name I never learnt. At least he's developped a sense of humor towards humanity...
Right as Amoren is heading to the drop hole, I grab his arm and pull him back to face me. "One more time before I go down... It was you and I in front, or... in back...?" I question nervously.
"You forgot already Sage...?" he exaggerates his sigh, while I wait patiently tapping my foot. "Okay, okay... You and I are in front. But watch out, we Sangheili take larger strides compared to you humans." Amoren states rather matter-of-factly.
"Okay..." I say, still very nervous about the mission. Yet the phrase that comes next tumbles out of my mouth before I could stop it. "And Amoren..." I said scratching the back of my neck. "I think I can..." I clutch my Battle Rifle hard with one arm hoping I won't have to say more. Watching his posture, his eye's, his body. I wait for a sign of disgust, or acceptance. Anything. Instead of talking to me, he jumps down the gravity well, and motions for me to follow. Well... This is going to be an awkward mission, isn't it. I thought to myself as I step into the gravity port. My head lolls upwards as I feel the gravity presses down against my shoulders and I see the ground slowly approach me. Looking around I see the area around us: There was a lush forest surrounding us, that stretched far off in the distance.
Finally, my feet meet the hardness of the soil. Relieved I bend my knee's, resting my weight on them. Watching the dropship take off, I hear Amoren's deep voice erode from behind me. "Alright, Let's move out. The base is only twenty human miles away." He states while motioning forward with his Carbine. Quickly, I bump my way through the elites and start walking down the path with Amoren right on my tail. It didn't take long for the other elites to catch up as Amoren told the truth. They're strides were quite longer compared to the normal human... Or well. Compared to me.
Feeling his warmth eroding through him and passing into my shivering body, I looked over at him to see him looking down at me. "What did you mean," He questioned suddenly. "When you said that you can?" Amoren continued. My face immediately reddened at his accusation, as I, myself, have no idea why I said that to him when I didn't need to.
"W-w... What?" I managed to studder while caught off guard by his question. I hear the response almost as soon as the last word left my mouth.
"On the Phantom. You said: "I can" before you gripped your human weapon tightly..." His voice trails off as he scans the area ahead with his Carbine. "What did you mean by it?" Amoren almost growls at me and I jump back into him in response. Feeling his chest contact the back of my head, I immediately lift off and my blood rushes to my face.
"Whoop... Sorry." I say as I scratch the back of my neck. "What I mean in the phantom was... Well..." I start confessing, but hear a sound in the tree's up ahead.
"We're here" Amoren mumbles as he rips his carbine up to his eyes, searching the area where the sound had came from. Signalling his brethren to advance, he takes a knee and steadies his breath.
Breaking out of my stupor, I took a knee and held my eye up to the blue tint of the sight. The tree looked discoloured somehow. Near the bottom I saw something stick out of the tree and Immediately shot. The kick of the gun rattling my shoulder while the elite's plasma rifles seared the trunk. Bark chips off the tree sluggishly as we empty round after round into it. The Arbiter raised his hand, signalling to stop firing. He then mumbles something into the team mic and the other sangheili stop firing. Keeping my rifle shouldered, ready to shoot at a moments notice, I crouch-walked up towards it. I stopped when I heard Amoren's commanding voice sound off behind me. Thinking he was merely worried about my well-being, I shrugged it off and continued approaching the danger. My breathing quickend as I slowly approached the intimidating tree. I grip my rifle tighter into my shoulder as my finger trembled on the trigger. Keeping a fair amount of distance from it, I signal Amoren and his squad to move up. Once they are right behind me, I strafe sideways to see a brute body, laying on the ground. Bleeding from every cut and burn on it's body, I was sure it was dead. Contrary to my belief though, it's eye's popped open and a throaty growl emerged from it's mouth. I shrieked as it growled and peppered it with bullets until his skin was visibly ripping apart.
After it's disgusting body stopped squirming, Amoren walks up to it and starts sniffing. Curios as to what he was doing, I walk up to him and suddenly get pushed back by an assaulting arm.
"Umph... Amoren, what the hell was that for." I state rather sternly while whailing my arms in circles trying to retain my balence. I fall on my ass with a suckening thud and Amoren just turns around and looks at me. I could see the confusion in his eye's before his voice was audible.
"Sorry about that, but I couldn't let your scent interfere with the ritual." Amoren says sheepishly and continues to stare at me while I give him the utmost quizzical look I can manage. "Don't you do this ritual as well? I thought you were the most in-touch with us Sangheili." he finishes and my look softens with his explanation.
Accepting his hand, he briskly pulls me up from the ground. "Okay. First of all. Whenever Human's kill an enemy soldier, we congratulate each other. We don't smell their carcass. And Secondly: I am most liklely, the least in-touch with e- Sangheili..." I almost lecture him. By now, Rtha has taken the other Sangheili up the path a little to avoid our little conversation.
"But, you seemed to, as you humans say, warm up to me so fast. And it seems that you have had little trouble talking to me in the first place." He retorts, moving closer on me. No doubt an opinion was forming in his mind.
"I warmed up to you because you were the first Sangheili I talked to! Not only that, but you were nice to me also. No soldiers have been nice to me. Since I'm a girl they always thought that I was joking by joining the army. Guess who's laughing now?" The last comment was mumbled under my breath. I inhaled and got ready to answer his second question. "Further more, I had so much trouble it's insane. The moment you picked me off the floor, outside your room, I was thinking of something to say, but I had never talked to a member of your species before." I said, carefully wording my thoughts so it wasn't in any way offensive. "I didn't even know you spoke english until you spoke to me in it first. After which I was determined to talk to you more, since I sensed you were a nice guy. But I didn't know what to say, so I stuck with answering your questions, and adding a sly, or playful comment in the mix every so often. It's what human friends do any way. I don't know what you do with your friends... Think you could tell me?" I don't know how, but somehow I managed to turn a lecture, into an ass-kiss. I'm way to use to talking to superiors... I thought to myself, and mentally kicked my self the moment I did, as Amoren was technically my superior. The Arbiter to humans may not mean much, but to the Sangheili, it's a symbolic religious rank that is greater than all field militia. Yet lesser than the prophets within political arguments. Though, to me: The rank of Arbiter meant nothing. To me 'Arbiter' was merely a name disguising a genuine character that held a plathera of emotions. During times of Battle, 'the Arbiter' would lead the Sangheili. I would lead him.
"No. Later. Yes." Amoren spoke sternly with a stacco tone. He was clearly distracted by something. I look up at him to see he has moved away and has two fingers laying on the now-deceased brute's head. Caressing it gently until he stood up and announced something that, to me, was a revelation. Something that will make me forever change my way of viewing the Sangheili military rituals, beliefs, and... Them in general.
Amoren took a glance over his shoulder to note that we were behind him, watching every angle of the forest, making sure nothing would surprise us. I lower my weapon as I finally take notice of what he was doing. Amoren had propped the Jiralhanae upright resting on the tree and was mumbling something under his breath. It was barely audible so I creep closer until I was almost touching him. I could hear the stacco panting of his breathing while he said a solemn prayer.. It was surprising to hear that I could make out the words as if they were in english. I listen closer, and found out they were in english and hit myself numerous times. Mentally of course. As I tune in carefully to his carefully selected wording, I suddenly lose myself in his words. "May your soul never taint the great journey, for the prophets have tainted your mind. May your soul ravenge the depths of the prophets egregious caress as they bend you to their will. We release your body to cultivate the soil, as your soul is captured by lies and tainted by greed. May you never find peace in the prophets embrace." With the last word a whisper, barely escaping his mouth. I turn to him fully unknowing why he was saying this.
"Amoren... What was that for? I thought you never gave speeches about the damned." As the last word left my mouth, I get caught in a flashback to his cabin. A conversation we had before our mission.
I usually sat beside him on his bed, as was custom. However, he lay on his bed, head on pillow, with my head resting on his muscular stomach. We relaxed like this for a while, just enjoying the others warmth, and not saying a word. Not that we had to, mind you. Unspoken songs filled the air around us as I lay on my friends chest.Friends... The word echoed in my mind like a broken record before it was shut down by Amoren.
"How do humans treat their dead? Are they like us Sangheili?" He asks me slowly and I can feel every vibration through his warm chest, sending shivers through my spine.
"Well.. That depends. What do you to your fallen comrades?" I retort, anxiously awaiting the next wave, and sure enough, they came.
"We don't really do anything. They die in honour, so we pick their bodies up, and put them in pods to be shipped back to their keep's. We do nothing to hide the damage, because we want the keep to know that their warrior died with and brought honour to the keep. However, it is the keep's decision as a whole, to decide what happens to his body." He says grimly. My guesss is that he is remembering a time of great loss. Most likely someone very dear to him, like the Arbiter before him. He has talked about him a lot after all. I think his name was Thel... I get pulled out of my thoughts when his stomach muscles tightened, and I felt his sitting up. Turning my head to see him, I lifted my arm and gingerly pushed him back down with a playful smile on my face, which he returned instantly.
"Oh... No. What humans do is put the fallen body in a coffin, and then bury the coffin in the ground. Meanwhile sounding a twenty-one gun salute by fellow soldiers." I say as I move up on him, closer to his face. The only response he makes is a slight grunt of approval and looks at me with those ambitious eye's. I felt my face get hotter as I leaned in to take a better look at them. Then I realize I am about an inch from his face. His mandibles seperated slightly at the presents of my mouth just cenetimeters away from his. My body started getting hotter, and my shirt tightened around my chest as I leaned in slowly. My hand moved on it's own accord as it carressed the side of his face. His hand gingerly swept through my hair and pulled me closer. His hot breath moistening my lips as my mind shut-off all thought as to what was happening, and to what was about to happen. My heart quickend as I caressed his head gently. Suddenly, a knock on the door sounded and we ripped away from eachother as Amoren stood up. He walked over to the door while looking at me with a most hungry look in his eye.
I snap out of my flashback when I feel my cheecks getting warm at my sudden lack of willpower. Wondering if I should tell amoren that I have actually came to fancy him over time, I stray over to his muscled body. "I thought it would relate you to this mission... somehow." He says randomly. I was so puzzled at the moment I wanted to just drop the subject. That is, however, before I remember the question I asked him before the warm, comforting thoughts entered my mind.
"Aww... It's okay Amoren." I say softly with a smile. "Nothing in this mission will be normal." I finish while looking straight into his eye's. His dreamy, ambitious, amber eyes. "And Amoren..." I sudden;y spoke without controlling myself.
"Hmm? What is it?" He asks after I remain quiet for a moment and scratch the back of my neck shyly.
"I..." I start but end up sighing. "Do you remember that time in your cabin, where I was laying on your chest..." I finally sum up my courage and am instantly rewarded with Amoren becoming a brighter shade of bluey-grayey-purple.
"Erm... Yes. Why?" He awkward mumbled, making sure none of the other Sangheili would hear him.
"Well..." I start, but am cut short as I hear a plasma rifle go off behind us. Amoren turns around briskly and aims his Carbine down the path searching for his fellow Sangheili. Yet they were no where to be seen. Swiftly circling around Amoren, I head to his side while shouldering my rifle. Searching for where they went. The tension building inside me and sweat started beading on my forehead. Inching slowly towards where I had seen them last, I signal Amoren to follow me, and scan the tree's just incase.
My insight pays off as amoren starts unloading into a treetop. I quickly pivot on my heel and spray into the tree just as Amoren. Yet we did not hear a the squak of a Jackel sniper, nor a skrimisher. Nothing. After my clip runs out, I dispense the empty one and slide another one home, only to refrain from the trigger. Amoren does the same as me with his Carbine as we stare at the tree together. After many minutes, I give up and turn around again searching for the missing Sangheili. Suddenly, I hear a high-pitch moan that sounded something like a chicka-dee from earth. Only no pauses between and a growling tone to it. Staring at the tree, trying to find out what happened, my breath quickens and I feel something on my side.
I shriek and send the butt of my gun flying into the object, only to be obstructed by a Sangheili hand grabbing it. "Amoren.. Don't do that! You scared me!" I whisper quietly to him. Yet, I get no response. Puzzled I turn around to face him again and see Rtha standing there, holding the tip of my rifle with his hand. "W...Where's Amoren?" I studder. To my dismay, all Rtha does is back up to reveal an elite lofting his gun over his shoulder, holding an enormours purple-tinted bird. It had fat-cheeks, a duck-bill, and it's eyes were glazed over. It bore a hole through the center of it's body, where I suspect it had been shot by Amoren.
"Watch out for these. They are extremely poisonous to humans Sage. I would not like it if you were poisoned." Amoren warns me, hardly refraining from chuckling at first from my question.
'Thanks for the tip..." I mumble. Though I am quite grateful, I was just really sad that we never got the intimacy that I, as of lately, desired from his deliciously muscular body.
I turn back to him just in time to see him lunge forward and use his hulky biceps to propel the oval bird forward randomly into the forest. I had almost forgotten about the missing Sangheili. That is, until Amoren reminded me by putting his large hand on my shoulder and angling me toward the spot where the elite went missing. Spying the upturned dirt and rock, my heart sank at the thought that he may be captured by the primal Jiralhanae.
Just when I thought we would continue our move toward the base, I feel an presence staking out my own. Swivelling around, I find another Sangheili rise from behind some bush. Shouldering my rifle, I walk slowly towards him. In response he holds his hands up in a universal 'calm down' sign. Yet my heartbeat quickened as I saw what he was crouching above. The dead body of a Jiralhanae...
Suddenly I see it's shoulder move which makes me pull the trigger as hard as I can and let fly a hail of bullets into the carcass. With my ears dazzled with the staccato of my battle rifle, I didn't see Amoren walk up to me. All I felt was his strong gras upon my shoulder oppoiste my firing arm. I stop firing immediately, though having shot only a five bullets, I didn't reload. I just stand there as I watch Amoren walk up to the 'missing' sangheili, and strike up a conversation. Again, in the Sangheili language. Curse them and their own tongue... Wish I could speak it... I subtly mind out, and frown inwardly at my selfishness.
Finally, they stop talking and we continue on our way through the forest. Yet there was something still bugging me: What the sound in the tree was. Then I remembered Amoren holding the hellish bird in his grasp and successfully manage to stifle my giggle.
#
Fifteen minutes has passed since the treacherous idling of the missing Sangheili. We have regained formation again, with Amoren and me in front, and the two other Sangheili in back. Finally, we managed to stumble across the poorly hidden base of the hairy creatures. It is made of some type of steel alloy material that was covered in branches and dirt. It looked to be quite new actually. Only about 10 years old. The door that was erected at what we had guessed was the entrance, was made up of steel. By the sound it made when we knocked on it, it was thick steel. We were about to 'storm the house' when Amoren catches my arm and pulls me towards him. "Sage. You may be revolted of what you see in here. Whatever you do, I cannot have you leave my side..." Amoren sternly tells me. Obviously worried of loosing me to those barbaric neanderthal's. He then mumbles something but I didn't catch it.
"Don't worry. I won't leave you. I'll be with you until the end." I say, trying to comfort him with a hug. "Until our end..." I whisper almost to myself.
We brake apart as we collecting our courage. Well... Mostly as I collected my courage. Taking the brief time we had to reload my battle rifle, I swiftly eject a cartrige and slide a fresh one into place. Bracing myself for the inevitable war that was surely coming behind the door, I shoulder my rifle and wait as the tension builds.
#
As I stand there staring at the door, a sangheili brushes past me while carrying a strange device. It looks as if it were alien... Of course it was alien I mentally beat myself before returning to reality. He clamps the strange-looking device on the door near the doorknob. Or what I thought to be the doorknob atleast since it had no real handle, instead in it's place was just a button. Directly above the button rested a ominous red light staring me down. Rtha clamped the device right below the doorknob, where the button lay and it suddenly started crepitating. The idiosyncratic tone was rather vexing to be honest. It dug itself deep into my brain and annoyed my brain tissues. At last, the buzzing stopped and instead sounded a delightful chirp. Rtha then retracted the system and meandered the interior with his plasma rifle. Satisfied with his search, he wondered back to his position, behind Amoren and I.
With Amoren treading behind me, I enter through the door carefully. Bracing my back against the hard plated steel-alloy, I shouldered my rifle and searched the scope for any life signatures ahead. Sweeping the room from right-to-left as my militarial insticts had come into place, my mind was a free zone. Plagued with no worry, no remorse. No thought. It was a tranquil zone of zen, as I was free from confusion.
My trivial investigation of the room finally complete, I meander into the it slowly, checking the corners of the room more carefully. With the light soaking the interior delicately I could make out the basic features of the room I was in. It looked had a couch pushed into the left side of the room, and a bed in the right side of the room, pushed back into the corenr where the wall continues past the door. In front of the bed, on the upper-right-most side of the room, there is, what I have to guess as a kitchen. It looks nothing like a normal human kitchen, but more... Alien is the only word that comes to mind. The dimensions of the 'counters' and 'cupboards' were rounded, but not coloured purple like majority of the covenant's interior design. They were a sort of light beigey tint that when your moved your viewing angle, melted into a redish-purple. There is no visible island, but there is a wall pushed out from the rest, kind of like a room devider that is in most eartly apartments. Amoren side-stepped beside me and expertly maneuvering around my stumpy legs and aiming his carbine down the hall that was presently in front of us. I press my soft back against the hard metal of the bunker and watch as Amoren does the same on the other side of the hallway. Swiftly, I raise my hand and wait until he takes notice of it, then start counting down from a full outstretched hand (5) until I make a fist and pull downwards (0). As soon as my first starts plummeting, we break around the corner effortlessly shoulder our weapons. Staring through the blue-tinted sight of my battle rifle, I walked briskly down the hallway with Amoren doing the same opposite me, and fellow Sangheili imitating me behind us.
Wondering through the hall in our basic formation for minutes at least, I start wondering where all the other rooms were. We were in a hallway that seemed to never end and it had no rooms branching off. What the hell was wrong with this. Something screamed at me that this wasn't right. Yet I ignored my gut feeling, as usual, and shrugged it off not wanted to deal with hunches at the moment. I needed facts, and facts alone. The last time I trusted my gut... well. It wasn't pretty. The result at least, was my comrades bickering at me, insulting me, beating me on a daily basis. I wasn't about to let that happen again. Especially on board the Pioneer, or with the Sangheili. Hell, who knows what they would do if I went off my gut. Horid thoughts screech through my mind as we walk quietly through the darkened hall.
My thoughts snapped back to the mission when I hear a guttural grunt resounding off the walls. Beckoning to me, invading and later haunting my ears as it's chesty growl repeated in my mind. I chance a glare at Amoren who was looking intently down the hall-way at the time caught my glance and it seemed as though he hadn't heard it at all. Instantly, I started wondering to myself: Am I going crazy...?
My breathing quickened as I heard it again, yet it seemed... off. Almost as if it were coming from a synthesized voice, or AI. This time I got really scared, and if you have any rational thought left at all. No one likes being scared.
I squint down the hall to find a faint light illuminating from a room off to the side. Suddenly, I feel like someone was watching me. Their eye's baring holes in me. I hate that feeling.
Violently shifting my head aside, I find no one there but a lonely-looking wall. I then look behind me to find every single one of the Sangheili stacked up behind me in a linear formation. "Amoren, what the he-" I start to tell him off for breaking the militarial pattern but he slaps one of his over-sized hands over my mouth. My eye's, rather warm and forgiving towards him to this point, were like shards of ice, boring into his skin. Yet they were chopped and pieced up as my hair had snaked out of the band holding it pony-tail. I'm surprised, to be honest, why they hadn't cut my hair to military length yet. As everyone else I saw aboard the ship had straight cut hair, mine was free-flowing and draught. Though, come to think of it, I did hide it from most of my superior's. Even when I didn't hide it, I was with Amoren and he was always parting my hair with his fingers. I wonder if he's developing a fetish for my- I cut my thoughts of the past and remembrance as I focus on the task at hand. Glaring at Amoren, wishing he would let go of my mouth so I can tell him off. The soothing, tranquil water in my eye's caused by the memories, soon hardens into dagger-like spikes and I become infuriated with him thinking he can just touch me at will.
Amoren winces at the hate that I am emitting to him, but soon shrugs it off and clicks his mandibles. Pointing to the wall just ahead of me, I see him motion the "Hold Position" sign. I sit there against the wall, crouched and helpless as he walks ahead of me. My heart skips a beat as I see him dart into uncharted territory and hear the sepulchral sound of a Jiralhanae choking on what I had to guess was his own blood. Swiftly following the sickening noise, came a loud, yet muffled, thud on the floor. Suddenly, Amoren reappears in front of me with soaked hands. I couldn't see quite clearly in my blackened vision so, all I know is they looked wet. When Amoren and Rtha take up position on the opposite wall just like before, I finally register my thoughts and shake my head angrily at him. Hopeful to shun him into an apologetic gesture of sorts. Wistfully, my gesture went unnoted as he stared blankly ahead of him into the open corridor.
Finallly the delayed stench of the deceased Jiralhanae crept into my nose and I almost hurl at the smell. It reeked of mouldy cheese and 'carbon waste' blended together along with a sweaty guy's shirt. As a nineteen year old, you can imagine how much self-control went into not chunking, or even making a noise. However, I unwillingly got used to it after a while. Either that or the smell dwindled as we make our advance through the hall.
#
"Admiral. You better see this, sir." Said a marine in a rather grim voice. He lays a laptop on desk beside the admiral which held the helmet-feed, live from Sage's camera. Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched, monitered, and her actions towards the alien judged as the mission continues. It came upon the section of the video where Amoren slaps his hand over Sage's mouth, and from the angle of the helmet, it looks like he punched her out.
The Admiral takes a sharp inhale and keeps watching without a word as the aliens appear to leave her alone in the hall and continue with the mission as if nothing had happened.
"I always knew something was fishy with them sending one lone human with three aliens." The Admiral growled aggresively at the computer screen. His rage boiling inside him, he grabs the marine by the collar and lifts him skywards. Smashing him against the bulkhead he demands "Send. Reinforcements. Now."
The lone marine knew he was no match for the admiral's power, nor authority so he has no choice but to obey his order.
"Yes, Sir!" The marine obeys as he is let down roughly by the Admiral. The marien then meanders towards the computer while rubbing his collar, smoothing his clothes, soothing the pain. Upon reaching the portable terminal, the marine tapped in some commands effortlessly then turned to the Admiral. "You have their ear's, Sir." he says.
The Admiral gives the young marine a nod in place of a thank you, then goes on to speak to the reinforcement squad.
"Listen up team!" the Admiral growls into the provided microphone. "Your mission is simple: Go in, get Sage away from those damned Alien traders, and get her back up here." he continues. His voice now softening as he vents into the mic. "This world is a dangerous world. It's full of elite bastards. Weather they will be trader's like the Arbiter and his fellow is unknown, with that being said, I do not want you to shoot any elite sons o' bitches on sight. Only shoot, if they shoot first!" His voice scaling higher with each syllable. "Move out everyone. Make me proud, n' give 'em hell."
Hey everyone. I know this one is significantly shorter than last chapter but bare with me. I'm going to start working on Chapter three right now! Hopefully, it'll be up to par with the the first chapter. After all, Seventeen pages takes a while to right... Hope you enjoy :)
And yes. I know I'm evil for ending it on a massive Cliff Hanger... Muahaha...