Chapter 6

"Play content…" Thel told the voice activated computer after he plugged the storage construct into it. Soon the screen turned on and sitting on a chair in the center of the picture was a human male in his late forties. His eyes were azure and his hair was black and short.

"Alexander…"

"Hello there Thel, it's been a long time since we last spoke. If you are seeing this then…then it means I am no longer amongst the living. It also means you found my life's work."

"Life's work; what is he talking about?"

"I'm sure you don't know what I am talking about so I'll start from the beginning…"

"Al! Al where u at!" Someone yelled in a broken and child-like voice.

Alex looked over and Thel stared as he picked up a five-year-old Angel wearing a white dress and white sandals and set her on his lap. He whispered something in her ear and she looked at the camera curiously with her bright crimson eyes.

"This is Creation 1-18; my, my father's, and my grandfather's life's work. She appears to be human but she is so much more. You see Thel, even before the war was going on O.N.I wanted a Smart A.I that could last a very long time. Smart live roughly seven years before they go insane and destroy themselves. This was a problem because these would become dangerous and could cause heavy casualties if left unattended. O.N.I wanted a solution….."

Angel laid there on her bed unable to sleep. She was afraid that if she tried to all she would have is nightmares about what happened today. She knew she wouldn't be able to bear such a burden. She had to get out of the room; out of the alien base. She needed time and air to think. She got up and snuck over to the door. When she opened it a little she could see the two Sangheili standing guard. She quickly thought up a plan to get around them. She rummaged around through some containers in the room and found a hologram projector. She placed it on her back and it attached to her bodysuit.

"Ability upgrade attached." She said to herself quietly then picked up a voice filter. She modified it and turned it into a necklace. After putting it on she tweaked it so she would sound like the ornate armored Sangheili. "Alright, we're ready to go." She said with Thel's voice.

Angel crept up quietly to the door and opened it enough so she could see down the hall and around the corner. She then aimed the hologram down around the corner just out of the guards' sight then fired it up. A hologram replica of Thel appeared and she smiled. "Now let's see if this works… I hope it does…"

She used a small controller to make the hologram walk out from around the corner and towards her and the guards. The two guards looked at him curiously.

"Arbiter, we did not expect you back so soon. Have you already finished going over the data in that storage Construct?" One guard asked.

"Yes… I have. You may go and rest now; I will be guarding the prisoner for the rest of the night. I have quite a few questions I wish to ask her." Angel spoke through the filter as the Hologram Thel's mandibles moved; making him appear that it was he who was talking.

"Are you certain?" The other asked.

"Yes, I believe that I can handle one human child by myself or are you two doubting me?"

"N-No Arbiter! We do not doubt you!"

"Calm yourselves, there is no reason to be panicking like that."

"Y-Yes…perhaps you are correct. We will turn in for the night." One of the guards replied.

The two walked away quickly and Angel opened the door. "Haha, way too easy."

She then looked up at the hologram and turned the filter back on. "It seems we're the smarter of the species here." It mouthed as the words came out of the filter. "Now, let's get going before the real Arbiter decides to come back for another visit."

Thel walked out of his room, contemplating his thoughts and all that he had just learned from Alex's storage construct. He suddenly noticed the Sangheili he had put in charge of guarding Angel's room walking towards him.

"What are you two doing here? I thought I told you to stay there and watch the child."

The two Sangheili looked at each other then looked at Thel with quite a bit of confusion. "Arbiter, you were just down there. How did you get up here so quickly?"

"What are you talking about? I have not left my room since I left her with the storage construct in my hand."

"That's not right… You just told us that you were going to watch over the prisoner for the rest of the night and you had lots of questions to ask."

Thel and the two guards stood there in silence for a moment then they all took off back down the hall to the room. Thel opened the door and saw that the boxes of broken ability amplifiers were opened and Angel was gone. Thel growled as one of the guards raised the alarm.

"Attention; the child has escaped! All units scan the area and recapture her! Repeat; the human child has escaped!"

"…She's not human… She's something else entirely."

"Oh boy, I'm in trouble." Angel said to herself as she snuck quietly through the outside of the base. The alarms were going off and she had heard one of the guards yell over the loud speakers.

She had repaired and taken a few more ability amplifiers that she thought would be helpful. She had packed a jetpack, active cammo, and a drop shield amplifier in a bag that looked like a purple backpack with blue lights on it.

She heard footsteps and quickly attached the modified active cammo amplifier to her back. She activated it and melted into the scenery. A small group of Grunts and Jackals ran right past her and around to the other side of the building.

"Heehee, fooled them. This is kinda fun." She giggled as she deactivated the active cammo and ran towards the woods across the landing pads.

When she was just a few feet from the tree line she was suddenly tripped and fell to the ground. Before she could even figure out what happened something grabbed her ankle and lifted her off the ground upside-down. She looked and saw a large Hunter holding her up to where she could look at him directly in the eye. She watched as he turned on his C.O.M.M.

"I found her, Arbiter."

"Good work Targus, I'll be over to your location in a moment." Thel replied with a growl.

Angel could hear in his voice that he was irritated by her escape attempt.

"Understood. I'll wait for you here."

"Hey, put me down!" Angel yelled at the Hunter who only stared at her.

"You're causing a lot of headache around the base today, Tiny One." He told her.

"Hey I'm not tiny! You're just gigantic! Let me leave and I won't cause any more problems!"

"I cannot do that. The Arbiter wants you to remain here where you will be safe and protected." Targus replied.

"I don't want to be protected! I'm perfectly capable of defending myself when I have to!"

Targus chuckled and looked at her "Not from where I'm standing, Tiny One."

"STOP CALLING ME TINY!"

Thel heard the little girl yelling and quickly ran with Major Dros and some others to where they were. When they reached their location they were surprised to see Targus holding a flailing and yelling Angel by her left ankle and laughing as she tried to hit him. "My my, you certainly are an energetic child, Tiny One."

"I'M NOT TINY! I'M TEN YEARS OLD!" She yelled as she flailed her arms around trying to hit him hard but her strikes weren't even noticeable to the large being.

Targus then noticed Thel and the others. "Ah, looks like the fun is over, Tiny One."

"What are you…uh-oh." She said as she turned and looked at Thel.

He growled and walked over as Targus chuckled. "Someone's in trouble."

"Put me down! Put me down! Put me down!" Angel whispered and she tried to pull her leg out of the Hunter's grasp.

Thel took ahold of her wrist then looked at Targus. "You can put her down now; I'll handle it from here."

The hunter nodded and gently put her on the ground. "Please be gentle with this Tiny One, Arbiter. She is very amusing to me."

Thel nodded and pulled her to her feet. "What did I tell you? Behave and don't cause trouble." He growled.

Angel stared at him and pulled against his grasp. "Let go of me!"

"And let you run off again? I don't think so." He told her.

"I'm NOT your prisoner!" She yelled at him, surprising the Sangheili.

"Who said you were a prisoner, child? You are no prisoner."

"Oh and I suppose you tell all your guests to stay in their rooms and place guards in front of their doors so they can't leave at all? I may be just a child but I'm far from stupid." She told him as she finally pulled out of his grasp.

"I'm not your prisoner and I'm not your problem. My Papa told me to give you that storage device; that's it. I accomplished his last wish… now I'm leaving...and you have no right to stop me."

"On the contrary, I do… Creation 1-18."

Angel paused and looked up at him.

"I know all about you child…who you are, what you are, what you were created for, and why O.N.I wants to capture you. That storage device told everything."

"Arbiter, what are you talking about?" Major Dros asked.

Thel approached her and knelt down in front of her. "You're not human although you appear to be. You are much more than that. A creature meant to bring peace to all species and protect them from evils like the Flood and wars."

Angel back away from him a little. "Why would Papa tell you all of that?"

"Because I was a close friend of his… and now I am your guardian until further notice."

"W-What?"