The Rabbit and the Wolfe
Chapter 9 everyone! Not much of an author's note on this one. Just a quick reminder that school starting up soon will slow my uploads. Besides that, we join back in during the battle of Sanghelios between the Arbiter's forces and that of the Supporters (Another name for the House of Satinee/ other houses that support the continuation of the Covenant-I made it up).
9. An Anchor for a Spartan
Sanghelios
Planet Surface (Vadam Keep-External Temple)
Just open up a little…that's it…Crack! Another one of the lumbering tanks dropped as its midsection exploded in a spray of orange gore. His bond brother fired a stream of unrestrained plasma bolts at the sniper in a fit of rage. Linda merely dipped back behind her barricade as plasma melted and blackened the rock standing between them. Seven massive armored hulks laid motionless on the dirt, their red armor coated with the orange essence of their fallen brothers. Green orbs bounced and clattered towards the large creatures, settling beneath their feet. Dust and debris was thrown into the air as the grenades detonated, obscuring any remaining notable features about the temple.
When the dust cleared only two remained. The third had been torn to ribbons, blue and orange littering the already gore-soaked floor. The massive clusters of worms, overcome with rage, fired blindly at everything that moved. Their exposed weak points taunted the Spartans like annoying children, being forced back into hiding from the creatures. More than one unlucky elite got caught in one blast or another, their cries echoing in the brains of their companions. She could see the walls around her begin to flake and crumble at the amount of unexpected stress placed upon its foundation. Bursts of gunfire bounced off, sending sparks in every direction. Being much more agile than the Covenant mobile tanks, the Arbiter's troops quickly surrounded them, hitting patches of orange worms whenever they presented themselves.
Linda's HUD picked up a white streak careening towards their position. A missile. Switching back to her SRS, she hoped the others would give her the few seconds needed to blow a heat-seeking threat out of the sky. The familiar jolt of the metal in her shoulder was a small comfort as the missile was only knocked off course. Detonating just outside of the frail stone establishment, her visor quickly darkened before she was lifted off her feet and thrown into a nearby wall.
Kelly violently shook her head, trying unsuccessfully to clear the ringing from her ears. At least I don't need to hear to pull the trigger. Flexing her fingers to get the blood pumping, she eased herself into a crouch. All her suit's systems checked out. Small fires slowly burned around her. The smell of death and burning flesh crept through her filters and into her nasal cavity. The building was eerily quiet, as if life itself had been erased. Chunks of sand-eroded stone fell from the ceiling, shattering upon impact. Dust and dirt still lingered in the air, as if gravity was malfunctioning. The ignition of a blue glow dead-center of her vision startled her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, but the creature in front of her did not attack. Merely stuck a hand out. A very human hand. A muffled noise entered her speakers, but with her ears banging like drum, she couldn't make heads or tails of it. She shook her head to clear it again. The hand never moved, as if it was patiently waiting for something to fill it. Finally, her ears clear enough to receive messages.
"What?"
A soft chuckle graced her speakers. "I said to you want a hand?" Kelly gripped the lingering appendage and was pulled to her feet with little effort from Sandra.
"Where did you get the sword?"
"Took it from the Covenant. They'd be rolling in their graves if they saw that a demon is using their own blade to slaughter their brethren." Kelly suddenly felt a pang of emptiness. Her armor was missing the familiar weight of her weapons. As if reading her mind, Sandra pulled something from behind her back. Pumping it with one hand, she placed the loaded weapon in the hands of Blue 4. Kelly nodded to Blue 5 then followed the purple Spartan outside into the starlit sky.
"Found her taking a nap, Lieutenant." Jabbing her thumb to the woman behind her. Fred seemed to ignore the comment. The other three members of Blue Team were clustered to the side of some Ghosts.
"Status update Aura." Chief's voice rumbled through their helmets.
"The Covenant hit us hard. A massive assault directed right at the House of Vadam. Seems like their primary target is the Arbiter. If they get to him…"
"Sangheili-Human relations are set back 5 years." Fred inserted.
"Indeed. He commands his troops from the main keep itself, deep within Iruiru, a region of this continent called Yermo. He has asked Blue Team for assistance in pushing the enemy back. From there, link up with the surviving forces to launch a massive joint strike against the 'Satinee Keep. I wish you luck Reclaimers. Do not perish." Aura cut her feed from TEAMCOM.
"Since when do Sangheili ask for anything?"
"The Arbiter is different." To everyone's mild surprise, none of them had expected their stoic leader to say anything. "Linda, how far?" As they waited for the sniper's reply, the other members of Blue Team mounted the Covenant scout craft. The anti-grav drives thrummed, as if happy to be used again.
"Just shy of 30 klicks, Chief."
"Fall out Blue Team." The five Ghost Ultras raced across sandy dunes and rocky crags, the darkness around them set aflame by the millions of white dots in the sky, and well as the three enormous spheres that orbited the planet. Chief took point, with Blue 2 and 3 in the middle, Kelly and Sandra falling in behind. The quiet peace of the night was ripped apart by the arrival of autocannon fire as a Pelican hunted a fleeing banshee across the sky. Though the Banshee could easily outmaneuver the human transport, the green bird had it beat in speed. In a bright flash of violet, the Covenant craft plummeted into a rock face where it exploded as it met the unmovable object.
The bird veered off in the direction of the main keep in the distance, pushing its thrusters to the max. The next fifteen minutes were spent in unsteady bouts of silence followed the roar and gunfire of dogfights overhead. Sandra was glad for the carapace that shielded her helmet from the sandstorms thrown up by the machines. Otherwise, she would be scraping what might equate to concrete off her visor for hours. It had happened to her once when she used a damaged ghost to provide covering fire to some stranded Marines. Let's just say when she got back to base, someone had to lead her around by hand for the first few hours, as she couldn't remove her helmet in a combat zone.
At first the Vadam Keep had seemed so far, like a mirage in the fading evening light of the desert. Closing in, the purple towers seemed to loom higher and higher over them. The five Spartans had spread out somewhat, but kept a loose formation. Approaching the last hill, Fred's voice came over the coms:
"Focus on the foot soldiers. The Swords will take the armor." Green acknowledgement lights winked in their HUD's, signaling the acceptance of his order. Cresting the hill, the five silver scout craft spread out, lining their trajectories with groups of Covenant. Kelly heard dull thumps and the beginning of blood trails as her ghost plowed through the enemy hordes. Linda skirted along the outskirts of the engagement, picking soldiers off left and right with her vehicle's energy cannons. The Master Chief and Kelly soon followed suit. Sandra and Fred bobbed and weaved their way through the massive army of troops, sending broken bodies towards the sky, like offerings to some ancient deity, as they Ghosts extinguished life after life.
Sanghelios
Planet Surface (Vadam Keep)
Sandra shoved the throttles as far forward as they could go, the high-pitched whine drowning out the sounds of battle. Banking a hard left, the fin gave off a shower of sparks as it was mercilessly scraped against the sandy, stone ground. Like a silver flame to oxygen, she bolted for the nearest group of Covenant troops that were trying to bring down the scout craft with fire from Fuel Rod Guns and Plasma Casters. The shots were wild and flew wide of their mark. A few caster rounds were right on target, blowing the armor that protected the precious drive to pieces. As the poor elites, jackals, and grunts were run down, a pair of hunters came into view. The Spartan cursed as she careened into the armored walls, unable to stop.
The violet explosion beneath her threw the purple Spartan high into the air. Her armor's thrusters tried to correct her poor trajectory, blue flames reaching into the abyss, reaching for any lifeline. Alas, it was too much and Sandra was sent rolling across the ground at almost 60 miles per hour. Picking herself off the dirt, Sandra reached behind her for a weapon. Only she didn't have any. Well, any that fired projectiles anyway. She ignited the sword and smiled behind her visor. Time to get to work.
The battle continued to rage for over three hours, both sides suffering heavy losses. The timely arrival of UNSC reinforcements and the aid of the legendary Spartan team tipped the scales in the Arbiter's favor. Blood soaked the sandy rocks and dunes, leading all the way up to the purple and blue alloys that made up the foundation of the keep. The outside was not the only place that had seen heavy fighting. The hallways and passages were littered with the bodies of the dead. Their blood coated the almost every available space. Like some sick, gory mural of purple, cyan, red, and speckles of orange. The keep itself had fared much better. Broken, melted spires billowed smoke as their charred remains would document to all that this victory had been at a high cost.
But it was not just the soldiers who had suffered irreparable losses. Mothers wept over the mangled bodies of their children who had been mercilessly cut down by the invading monsters. Others had blank looks on their leather-like faces as they had received less debilitating, but just as damaging, scars as their bodies had been violated in a different fashion. Medics ran to and fro, patching up those they could and offering brief comfort to those that they couldn't. Although their fellow humans had arrived to the fight a bit late, they were not without their share of wounded. Or dead. But the doctors didn't seem to mind patching up their alien allies, even if they had to give the occasional suborn one a kick in the shin to get them to sit still.
Kelly walked among the injured, after being cleared by the docs, feeling a little nervous. She hadn't seen Blue 5 since pulling back to offer suppressing fire with the other ghost ultras. It wasn't if she was afraid Sandra might have died, as her vitals were still nominal, but was a little uneasy that the purple supersoldier was not around. Shuffling through a group of awestruck jackals, Kelly found her teammate. Sandra grunted as she feebly tries to pull something stuck to her armor. Tilting her head to the side, Kelly could see that she was struggling to pull out a lone needler shard that had embedded itself in her shoulder pauldron. Even though the black visor blocked her vision of the marvelous woman behind it, Kelly felt a small smile grace her face. Somehow, she knew the SPARTAN-IV was grumbling behind her helmet. The blonde woman dropped her hand in frustration. Kelly strode over and grabbed hold of the pink spine, giving it a light tug to get Sandra's attention.
"Allow me." The private com channel between the two warriors was silent for a moment before Sandra nodded her head. With a single yank, she pulled the pink, explosive crystal out of its purple home before crushing it in her hand.
A huff of annoyance came from the shorter Spartan. "Showoff." Kelly just jerked her head, motioning her to follow. She picked up a Carbine that had been resting next to her and followed her older teammate. Exiting the large storeroom that had been set aside to treat the wounded, they wandered the halls, shying away from the crews assigned with removing the bodies and cleaning up the blood. As they made their way deeper into the keep, the hallways narrowed slightly and the damage seemed to be more severe. Prying open a door that had been partially closed, broken glass and twisted, gnarly metal jutted out to greet them. Bodies littered the floor, but unlike others they had been ripped apart. Some of them even looked like they had been gnawed on. Kelly took one look at them and knew exactly who, or more like what had done this to them.
"Brutes." Their private channel was silent once more as they readied themselves for a fight. Sandra's muscles tensed as her mind recalled her brush with death on the Covenant capital ship. A nod from Kelly ushered the two humans forward, keeping her carbine aimed down the flickering corridor, they moved slowly, stepping over the mutilated corpses. The darkness may have been difficult for others to fight in, but the Spartans felt right at home. There was only one room at the end of the passage. The purple door was closed, but the panel to its side was still lit. Must have a backup power generator, Kelly thought as they cautiously approached. With a nod to the door, Kelly covered their six as Sandra tapped on the console. Almost a full minute of unsettling silence passed before a single green light flashed across the scout's HUD. Taking the other side of the door, she pumped her fist twice, the Spartan signal for 'get ready'.
With another nod, Sandra hit the open symbol. The door hissed open and a purple-grey fog rolled out into the hall. Peeling themselves off the wall, they entered the room, carbine and shotgun leveled, prepared for an attack. The room was dead. In more ways than one. This room had both of them on edge. The fog slowly flowed out of the room, allowing the Spartans an unobstructed view. If it was believable, the Elites in this room had received wounds even more gruesome than the ones out in the hall. They were missing limbs and their faces were twisted in horrific expressions of pain. In the middle of the room, upon a hill of piled furniture, a lone Elite in gold armor was splayed upon it, a plasma sword embedded deep in its chest. A data pad was clutched in his hand as his cold, amber eyes stared up listlessly into space.
About half a dozen brutes, cloaked in the black armor of spec-ops troops were in similar twisted positions, plasma damage being the obvious cause of their demise based upon their half-melted forms. The Spartans cleared the room and Sandra flicked her status light green three times, the sign for 'all clear'. They stood before the elite, unsure of what to do. Well Kelly did. Sandra closed the male's eyes as a final sign of respect before gingerly taking the datapad from the cold, grey hands.
"I counted both males and females. Possibly a family. The ones outside were most likely caught unprepared." Kelly gestured to the Elites around her. "They put up a serious fight. What's on the datapad?" Her question was met with a finger from the other Spartan. The room was silent except for the light taps on the device.
"There is only one file. A recording, perhaps from their final moments? Want me to play it?" Kelly thought for a moment. It was private, but it could be mission critical information. Kelly nodded once and Sandra played the recording, relaying the feed to both of their suits:
"To whomever receives this message, I am…" The words stopped as the Elite coughed and sputtered miserably, vomiting what sounded like thick liquid hitting the floor, most likely blood. "I suppose my name and my past do not matter any longer. My wife and our family are gone, slain by these cowardly beasts." He spat the last word, kicking the hulking creature. "Tell the Arbiter that the peace talks will most certainly fail. The 'Satinees are backing the Covenant. If he dies, the Remnants will be well on their way to victory. I am proud of my service to the Sangheili. I do not regret one minute of it. But I do regret not spending enough time with her. My li-" The vomiting and coughing returned again, this time much more violent. "My body fails me. If you find her… Protect her. Love her. Do all the things I was too busy to do. And when you think her of age, give this to her and tell her that her fa-" His ragged breathing was the only thing the compad was able to pick up.
For a moment, Kelly thought that the transmission was over. What little information he had supplied was outdated and no longer of any relevance. That did not mean the message was meaningless, however. It just meant that it had no tactical insight and was not important to her. But it was important to someone. A soft mumble brought her mind back to the recording that was reaching the final seconds of transmission: "hopes…she…can…forgive…an old…war veteran…like…me…" His final words seemed to stretch out into the room around them, like a dying star using up the last of its precious helium before going dark forever.
Sandra turned to leave when a low growl and a dull thud hit her ears like a freight train. Instantly on edge again, she aimed her carbine at the general direction of the noise. Kelly must have also heard it, for her personal M45 was out and the tactical light had been switched on. Cautiously, they took tentative steps towards the large vent lurking in the corner of the room. Fingers on the trigger, they eased into a crouch. A quick glance to Sandra confirmed she was covered. Reaching out, she gave a small tug and removed the grate, letting it fall unaided to the floor. A whimper came from the small alcove as Kelly shined her light inside. What she saw next would haunt her dreams for years to come.
The child was small, at the most, maybe two, two and a half feet at the most. Her frail grey body was splattered with dried indigo blood, probably from the fight inside the room. Curled up into a ball, the Spartans could see she wore a robe of some kind. The color, indistinguishable after the large amounts of dirt and crime that collected on its surface. Her clothes were not the only thing dirty. Her legs were pressed against her chest and her arms hugged herself, trying to give herself comfort or warmth, they couldn't tell. There were pale scales in her neck, for what, they did not know. Her entire frame shook in fear as she stared at the two armored figures before her, like a deer in headlights. Her amber eyes were tinged red and the grime on her face was smeared, as if she had been crying. Kelly didn't need to be a psychologist to realize that the young Sangheili's eyes held fear, but a hint of curiosity as well. Her four mandibles open and closed silently as if the child was deciding whether to speak.
"Kelly, lower your weapon. Your frightening the kid." The Spartans slowly laid their weapons on the ground, as if trying to seem less intimidating to the child.
"We should go. The survivors might need our help." Sandra's reply was not a pleasant one.
"And what, leave her here?" When she nodded, Kelly could feel the glare even through her polarized faceplate. She swallowed hard, her throat suddenly felt dry again.
"We should contact Spartan-104." Kelly tried to remain calm, a difficult task when she could feel the eyes of her comrade boring straight through her.
"And tell him we found an abandoned Sangheili child? What if he ordered us to leave it here?! Would you do it?" Kelly could tell Sandra was becoming angry, but tried to regain control of the situation.
"Orders are orders." Kelly could hear the Spartan's fist curl in anger. She knew she said the wrong thing. Speaking had never been her strong suit and she wanted to take it back. Sandra's next words cut her to the bone:
"Maybe what they say is true. Maybe you are just a machine under all that armor." She growled out, cutting the channel before Kelly could say anything else. Under any other circumstances, those words would have meant nothing to her. But coming from Sandra, they really hurt. Sandra turned back to the small child, who had not moved.
"Are you hurt?" No response. She eased a gauntlet in, but pulled it out, like she had been burned, when the small child growled warningly at her. Alright, no touching. Maybe she can't understand me? She is quite young. I think. Though, for all I know it could be for another reason entirely.
"Can you understand what I am saying?" A small, hesitant nod. Well at least that makes things easier.
"Are you hurt?" A shake of her head.
"Do you have a name?" Another shake. The Spartan tilted her head in confusion. She doesn't have a name? Well maybe she forgot. Or more likely, too scared to give it.
"Am I scary?" After receiving another nod in return, she moved from her crouched position to sit in front of the vent. She moved her hands up to her helmet and the Elite flinched, thinking the purple creature would do something to hurt her.
"Shhhhh. Relax. I am just taking this off. You don't want me to scare you, right?" Kelly tried to voice her opinion, but Sandra snapped at her, telling the older Spartan to 'shut up'. Kelly clamped her mouth shut, and refrained from further outbursts. She removed the helmet that had protected her battered brain from so many injuries and the first thing that hit her was the smell. It was horrible. Like a mixture of death, rotten eggs, burned leather and tar, and mixture of other scents that she could not put her nose on. Not that she wanted to. It was so strong. Gagging, she resisted the urge to upturn the contents of her stomach. Forcing a smile on her face, she addressed the frightened child yet again.
"See? Harmless." Fear was still evident on her features, but now she seemed intrigued as well. Slowly, ever so slowly. She shifted to a more comfortable position on her stomach. Hesitantly, she crawled forward, moving at what was slower than a snail. But Sandra didn't care. The young girl was moving, on her own no less, and that's what counted. She just prayed 087 next to her wouldn't do anything rash to send her scurrying back into the hole. It took over an hour, but Sandra remained patiently sitting the whole time. Even when she was within arm's reach, purple armor remained motionless. Gingerly, the girl reached out and poked her tanned cheek with a leathery finger. It was smooth and warm, and somehow, oddly enough, soothing. A warm smile spread over the soldier's face as the child continued its poking and prodding, all the while those amber orbs observed her curiously.
"Mother?" The child's eyes were filled with hope and brimmed with tears. Suddenly uncomfortable, Sandra quickly looked away. The only thing that kept her from scrambling backwards was the child on her lap. She scratched the back of her head nervously.
"Your mother is…" Sandra got lost in her thoughts. Should I lie to her? Crap, what do I say?! Finally, she seemed to settle on something that she hoped would suffice. "Your mother is…gone. I'm sorry." She looked down to see her wiping a few tears from her eyes, a sad smile on her face. She moved off the Spartan and crawled back into her cubby hole. Shit! Now what do I do? Her question answered itself as the youngling crawled back out, a datapad in hand. She held out the pad to the soldiers. Sandra slowly reached for it, as to not scare her, but stopped a few inches short.
"May I?" She nodded and Sandra took the pad and gave it to Kelly. The little girl didn't expect such an outcome and squealed in fear, reaching for the purple glowing symbols. Strong arms gently held her back as she tried to calm the girl.
"It's ok. She is just going to read it. I can't translate it without my helmet, but she can. I trust her. Do you trust me?" The squirming child ceased her movements and nodded, still slightly fearful. Kelly quickly read the note before handing it to Sandra.
"I've translated it for you. You will want to read this. I'm so-" the rest of her sentence was cut off when the pad was swiped from her hands. Sandra quickly read the short note, her eyes growing bigger with each word on the display:
This childling is not ours. It was found abandoned on an unknown ship floating in deep space. I know not her name though she is in perfect health. Although she is still learning to speak, she is quite intelligent, understanding both the native Sangheili tongue, and strangely enough, quite a substantial amount of human dialect. To whomever may read this I have a favor to ask. Please care for her as if she was your own daughter. If someone is indeed reading this, then we died protecting her. I told her to hide in the ventilation system until someone she felt comfortable with rescued her. Although I have joined my ancestors in death, I only hope that she chose wisely. Thank you.
Sandra looked between the pad and the smiling child before her. At least she thought she was smiling. If she felt comfortable enough from this short introduction to give… Her mind raced a million miles per hour, trying desperately to piece the fragments together. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. Her mandibles curled into a smile and she pointed at Sandra.
"Mother?" Sandra was floored. This kid thinks I'm its new mother?! Shit! What the hell do I do?! She ran over the message in her head. The female's note on her health came to the forefront of her mind. Of course, health. She should be checked out by a medic. Gingerly, she lifted the Sangheili girl from her lap and placed her on the floor.
"You could be hurt. We should get you to a medic, er, doctor." Said child cross her arms and gave her best version of a pout. Sandra stood to her full height and put her helmet back on, thankful to filter the smell out of her senses.
"Close your eyes. I don't want you to see this." Surprisingly, the child obeyed without question. Sandra quickly scooped both weapons off the bloodied floor. Placing the carbine on her back, she noticed the other Spartan had her hand out.
"You're carrying her." Sandra said simply. Although she made no external reaction, Sandra knew the other woman was giving her a disbelieving look.
"Think of it as a step in the right direction." Kelly gently cradled the child in her arms, waiting for her to relax before following her teammate out the door. The three silently made their trek back to what passed for a medical tent. Thankfully, when they entered things were calm. A few of the combat medics were making their rounds, changing bandages and administering injections. Most of the wounded were out, either by choice or through synthetic methods, but those who were awake gave the two Spartans odd looks. Kelly shifted uneasily as the still-nameless child shifted even closer to her armor. They had been slightly surprised when she opened her eyes but didn't seem to care about the different colors of blood that discolored their armor.
"Spartans?!" A familiar voice called out in surprise and confusion. Chestnut locks wove their way through the sea of cots. Kelly recognized the face that held those teal eyes.
"Dr. Cassidy." Kelly watched as the woman froze mid-step as she turned her body to face her. The doctor gave both of the women a calculating glance, as if sizing them up, before turning her full attention to the creature nestled in the Spartan's arms.
"Why do you have a Sangheili child?" Kelly could feel the teal eyes burning through her faceplate like plasma.
"Long story, ma'am." The Spartan replied. The doctor huffed in aggravation, upset at not being able to draw out a more complete answer from the quiet woman.
"Fine. I assume you want someone to look over her?" The Spartans shared a look before turning their gaze back to her. Dr. Cassidy let out a quiet chuckle.
"I am the closest thing you will find to a xenobiologist. I know them better than anyone. Besides the Sangheili themselves, obviously. Now are you going to hand her over, or not?" Kelly loosened her grip and Dr. Cassidy reach out to pick up the child. She yanked her hands back just in time as mandibles snapped at the air were her fingers were not a moment ago.
"Scarwee wady. Wan mommy." The child called out. Dr. Cassidy's eyebrows rose halfway up her forehead as a smile broke out over her face.
"She speaks English?! Wow…for a child that young…wow. Do I even want to ask about the 'mommy' comment?" The last sentence was meant as a tease but the Spartans shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.
"No." Sandra said flatly. She turned to the child that clung to Kelly's arms.
"Go on. You will be safe with her." The child nodded tentatively, but looked up to Kelly.
"Is mother telwing da truph? Is scarwee wady not scarwee, mommy?" Kelly stood rigid as she witnessed Dr. Cassidy's smile grow even wider, if that was even possible. Not trusting her words, she simply nodded once. Happy with the answers she received from her 'mother' and 'mommy' she crawled into the doctor's awaiting arms. Flashing Kelly a shit-eating grin, she walked off to run tests on the child after telling the Spartans that the Master Chief was looking for them. When the two of them were out of earshot, Kelly opened a private channel.
"We tell no one of this."
"Agreed…mommy." Kelly bristled at the Spartan's playful tone and cheery use of such information, but as long as it stayed between them, it wouldn't be a problem. Kelly took the outstretched Oathsworn offered to her.
"A step in the right direction, 087. Maybe you are just as human as the rest of us." If she wanted her teammate to consider her as such, human that is, a mere number wouldn't suffice.
"Kelly."
"What?" Came Sandra's confused response.
"My name is Kelly." Unbeknownst to each other, they smiled beneath their polarized visors, though for different reasons.
"Well then, Kelly," Sandra couldn't keep the smile out of her voice for getting the other Spartan to open up a little bit. "Let's not keep the legend himself waiting." With that, Sandra killed the private link and fell into step with her sister-in-arms as they exited the storeroom to meet up with the Master Chief.
Come Back Next Time!
Sorry if this kind of turned into somewhat of a filler chapter. That was not my intent. But it actually works better because the action will pick up steam in the next one. I hope you liked my Sangheili child character. She is going to become an important anchor for both Sandra and Kelly, giving structure to the romance portion of this story. And before any of you ask, yes, I already have a name picked out for her. Were just getting started people. I hope you are all enjoying this story (even if it is kind of progressing slowly). Remember to review, follow, and favorite! Till next time…Peace Out!
