Chapter 10: Healer

I followed the Arbiter, again, down the endless shiny alien corridors of the Shadow of Intent. Sometimes I would run my hand along one of the walls, feeling the alieness of it all. Everything on board this ship was smooth and streamlined, unlike the Forward Unto Dawn where everything was rough and angular. God I missed that awkward, gangly, ugly hunk of a ship.

Apparently I was now going to meet this Sangheili healer I had been hearing about. The twists and turns that the Arbiter was taking me through were confusing and I hoped they didn't expect me to remember the way. It seemed like we were going down somewhere dark and deep in the ship. The lights were not all on and working properly and I noticed, to my amazement, that the walls were not all as shiny and polished down here. Hey, maybe I'd fit in better in this neglected part of the ship. I was surprised that the Sangheili would let any part of their ship look like this. It felt like I was going somewhere that nobody wanted to go, not even the janitors. It was also deathly quiet and I realized that the rest of the ship had been loud compared to this. There were no sounds of heavily armored feet and clanking armor bustling around, no loud alien roars and exclamations, and no quiet subtle sounds of alien technology buzzing in my ear. All I heard were the sparking of lights and the thudding noise the Arbiter's feet made every time he took a step. I guess we wouldn't be sneaking up on anybody down here.

At the end of the long hallway was a large set of double doors. The Arbiter approached and banged once with his fist. I probably jumped about ten feet when he did this. I mean come on dude; a little warning would be nice! Especially after that long silent trek we had just made. I glared at him for scaring me out of my skin, and I thought I saw what looked like amusement in his eyes for a brief second. Well, if I wasn't good for anything else I guess the Sangheili could use me for comedy. All they'd have to do is come up with creative ways to scare the shit out of me, such as banging on doors and breathing in my face, and they could have a grand old time. I was being sarcastic if you hadn't noticed.

The double doors slid apart with a grace and smoothness that surprised me. I had expected them to moan and complain upon opening, but it seemed like they were well oiled and taken care of. Even more surprising was the alien that stood before us behind the doors. He was Sangheili, but I found myself double checking to make sure since he wasn't that much taller than me, and if you know me then you can imagine just how short this guy was. He was also a pale gray color, which was a stark contrast to most of the Elites I had seen that were usually a darker gray to black. He looked old and wrinkled, almost as if he had shrunk from what he used to be, but his eyes were the most startling. They were bright blue and stared past us into the hallway like he was looking at someone behind us. I must admit I kept glancing behind me the whole time just to make sure he wasn't looking at someone back there. It was so unnerving.

"Master Healer," the Arbiter said and dipped his neck in the Sangheili greeting. His position however commanded respect from the smaller Sangheili and I realized that the Arbiter, despite his respectful words, did not quite respect this small shriveled member of his race. "I bring to you the Human you were told about," the Arbiter continued.

"Enter," was the one word response we received, and the healer backed away into the room. The Arbiter motioned me in and, after glancing at him several times to make sure he wasn't leading me into some weird mad scientist's torture chamber, I tentatively entered the room. The Arbiter followed and I heard the doors behind him smoothly come to a close.

Once inside the room, I was in for even more surprises. Where I had expected something dark and, to be honest, creepy, I was instead shocked to see that the room was actually bright and clean. There were all sorts of bottles and containers containing various ingredients, there were tables and shelves with various oddments all stacked neatly and in their place, and everything seemed to be rather small, more my height. I assumed the size of the objects in the room were because of the size of their owner, but the neatness and the almost pleasant look to the room was so much of a shock after all the alien strangeness I had seen, I almost felt like I was in a hospital back home. What the hell is this?

The small Sangheili was standing towards the back of the room. He, again, looked like he was just staring at a fixed point behind me. I stood as well, feeling very awkward and unsure of what I was supposed to do next. I mean, can you imagine my confusion? I went from being violently thrust into the large, intimidating and ruthless world of the Sangheili just a few hours earlier and losing my connections to my world, right into…whatever this strange and silent situation was. Well, nobody seemed to be making any moves and I sure as hell wasn't going to stand here all day. I turned away from the blue eyed Elite and focused on the Arbiter, "So…I gather that he is the healer. You gonna introduce me? Tell me what I'm supposed to do? Stand there all day and never move until I starve to death?"

The Arbiter seemed shaken from whatever phase his mind had entered upon hearing my voice. That or I had spoken to him with such disrespect he was shocked back into the present. "I cannot introduce you to one without a name. You are here to learn from the Healer. What you will learn I cannot say because I do not know. That is a question for the Healer. I would advise you to use caution when dealing with him. He is not one to be closely associated with. Those who come to him often lose all honor if they cannot conceal that he aided them. You will eat when the Healer has finished with you."

Wait…what? Now my already confused and overwhelmed mind was even more confused. So he was saying that this guy didn't have any honor and it was basically a bad thing to come and see him? Why did Elites come to see him anyways? He was a healer so they must come to see him to get healed…and that's apparently a bad thing in Sangheili custom as I have learned firsthand. So I guess being the one who heals people is even worse than getting healed. Wow, no wonder no one on this ship liked me.

"Healer, you may approach and instruct this human. By order of the Shipmaster," the Arbiter said, directing his words towards the Healer but avoiding his eyes. It seemed to make the Arbiter uncomfortable to be near him.

"You are to remain here during the session?" the small Healer asked.

"Correct, but I will not interfere. I am charged with the protection of the human and must remain with her."

"Alright, alright," I said, interrupting the tense trading of words between the two aliens. "Haven't I been around long enough for you to call me by my name?" I asked the Arbiter. "What? You don't think I'm going to last long enough on this ship to bother remembering it or using it? It would be a lot nicer than being called "the human" the whole time I'm here. It might make me feel like I actually have a place here, though heaven knows I never actually will."

I turned away from him abruptly before he could respond, hoping maybe he would get the idea that I was upset with him, again, for being so insensitive. I instead addressed the Healer Sangheili with as much grace and respect as someone like me could muster. This should make that overgrown metal covered self righteous bastard fume. Or so I hoped, and possibly let the Healer Elite know I was on his side in the matter. We both seemed to be fish out of water on this ship. "My name is Corporal Zoey Henson. I am a medic in the UNSC Marines. It's nice to meet you. I understand you are going to help me learn about Sangheili medicine?"

The blue eyed healer moved his head in my direction, and for once seemed to be looking at me. "Zoey," he said, "That is correct. We can begin straight away. The presence of the Arbiter should not disturb us." The Healer's voice was softer and less harsh than what I was used to from the Arbiter. He also seemed to speak with more ease and fluidity than the Arbiter did…wait, he was speaking English!

"You speak my language," I said, amazed to find another Sangheili other than the Arbiter and R'tas who did. "I did not think many others of your race did unless they dealt with us humans on a regular basis?"

"Most do not, but ever since my kind became aware of yours I have been greatly interested in your species. I learned your language and know of some of your customs. I have been eager to speak with one of you to see how well I learned," he said with his head cocked to one side as if listening intently and looking for my approval.

"Well you are doing very well," I said with a slight smile, "Better than the Arbiter anyways."

At my last words the Arbiter huffed loudly and I heard him shuffling behind me. He grumbled something under his breath in his language and I was sure it wasn't nice. "Why don't you go wait outside until we are done?" I asked him. "It's obvious you don't want to be here."

"I am assigned to protect you," he countered.

"I don't think I need protecting right now. I'll make sure to yell if I need you." I replied, looking towards the small Healer. I doubt there was much he could do to me. We were about the same size after all.

"Very well, ensure that you do," was all the Arbiter said before going back out the double doors.

Now it was just me and the very strange little Sangheili in the large and intriguing room. I started to walk around, inspecting the oddments that I found, not sure what any of them were. I glanced at the Healer, checking to see if what I was doing was ok. He kept his head angled towards me but his eyes continued to stare off into the distance. I pondered that over in my head, and finally came up with a conclusion for his strange behavior.

"You're blind aren't you?" I asked.

The Healer turned his head again in my direction and paused before answering, "It is true that I cannot see, but I would not say that I am blind. I am very aware of what is going on around me. I just use other senses to "see" with. For example, I know exactly where you are and what you have in your hand. I would suggest putting it down. If any of that liquid were to get on your fragile skin I don't believe you would continue to have that hand."

I put the jar down in a hurry. Ok then…guess I won't be touching anything else until I know exactly what it is. I walked over to the healer and stood directly in front of him. I noticed I wasn't scared of him like I was of the other Sangheili. There was something about him, about this place, that put me at more ease than I have been in a while. It certainly wasn't because he was small and blind that I wasn't afraid. Being closer to him now, I could see that he still had the power and grace of the Sangheili and that he could probably kill me just as easily as any of the others could. Being blind almost made him more dangerous because it was easy to let your guard down around someone you felt wasn't a threat and was weak, but I knew he was right. He could "see" just as well as the Arbiter, just not in the same way. So why did this place of dishonor to the Sangheili feel more like home to me? Maybe it was the medical feel to the room or the kind way in which I was spoken too, I don't know, but I didn't want to leave.

"So, what are you planning to show me?" I asked.

"This way," he replied. He moved over towards a terminal and brought up a holographic screen. On the screen was a model of a Sangheili without the armor that I was so used to seeing them in. It was actually rather shocking to see one without the glossy hard shell they were usually covered in. Even the Healer next to me had a set of modified armor covering his body.

"I apologize for not at first introducing myself, and the Arbiter obviously did not find me worthy enough to be introduced. As you probably surmised, I am the Sangheili Healer on board this ship," the small Sangheili told me. "You are here to learn from me of what I know, but I must tell you I do not know all. The one who taught me did not know all, so I expect to learn just as much from you as you will from me."

"What do you mean you don't know all?"

"As you can imagine from what you have experienced, medical science is not well looked on in Sangheili society. It is difficult to learn what little we know."

"So if it's so hard how come you decided to learn it?" I asked.

"From the day I was born I was already lesser than my brothers. Though I was taught to be a warrior, no one expected me to actually take up the profession and so I had to find something I could do that would fit my place in society. I was already disgraced, so I chose a disgraced position, that of a Healer."

Well that makes me feel real great. The medical profession was always one of respect in my world. If you were really good and went through about a decade of school you could even make a lot of money. Here though it seems like me and this Healer guy were at the bottom of the social ladder.

"If healers are so dishonorable, why do they even have one on this ship…why did R'tas even want me on this ship? I'm a human…and a healer! That sounds like a Sangheili's worse nightmare to me."

"That I am not sure of. All I know was that I was told to teach you what I know of my species. Perhaps the Shipmaster and the Arbiter wish to change the way the Sangheili think of healers. It would save us more troops and soldiers if they fought to stay alive rather than throwing their lives away after being injured."

"Maybe they'd think better of you too. You would certainly have more business down here. Have you seen those hallways you have to walk down to get here? It's pretty freaky," I said, shuddering at the thought of having to walk back up to the rest of the ship later.

"Perhaps," he said, "But most likely not. In all honesty I do not think it's going to work. The Sangheili are very deeply set in their beliefs and it takes much to change them. It took the Arbiter and your Demon to change their minds about war with humanity and working with the Covenant."

Okay, so the guy was a bit of a downer, but I guess I should give him a break. He hasn't had a very good life and you can't really blame him for being born the way he was. I was getting tired of talking about the Sangheili and the injustice of their ways so I changed the subject to the matter at hand. "So this here in front of me is a Sangheili. What am I supposed to do with it?" I asked and motioned to the slowly spinning holograph. I then realized that he couldn't see my motion and felt like I was going to be wasting a lot of energy making hand movements and gestures that were going to be completely lost on the healer. He did know what I was talking about though and used a keypad underneath the image to suddenly remove the outer skin of the Sangheili and reveal the muscle structure underneath.

"This is what you will do with it," he explained. "To learn about us you must start at the beginning and with the basics. You are to go through the program I have set up for you and learn the basic structures of the Sangheili body. I would suggest starting with bone structures first. It is easier to remember muscle when you have the bones to fall back on." With that he manipulated the figure to reveal only the bones. It seemed to be quite complicated; the Sangheili bone structure looked very different from human. Just look at all those vertebrae in the neck!

I then noticed a flaw in his plan. "I don't know how to read of speak Sangheili," I said.

"That is why I have converted the program to English as best as I could. I left the original Sangheili on there as well so that you can start to learn our language while you learn our anatomy."

"What!" I protested. "You mean I have to learn all these muscles, bones, and nerves as well as your language?"

"If you would rather go back to your human ship and miss out on this opportunity you are welcomed to do so."

I narrowed my eyes and looked at him. He sure did have an uncanny way of understanding humans. He knew I wasn't about to back down now and was using that fact to his advantage; the sneaky bastard. I have no more sympathy for him. "Fine," I said and sighed really loud before examining the bone structures.

"I will be here if you need me or have any questions. We have wasted much time talking, so do what you can with the time we have left. I fear the Arbiter will start to become impatient." He moved off back to the other side of the room and continued to shred some cloths or something like that. It was amazing how he functioned so well in this environment. Just like a regular Helen Keller. Okay, I know she was blind and deaf and he could hear just fine but I couldn't think of anyone else to compare him too at the time.

I turned back to the hologram and watched as the program spelled out each bone that I indicated in as close to English as it could. The problem was that the Sangheili had many bones that couldn't be related to the human body and that didn't have any human names. I must be the first human that had been given this information. I decided I would have to just come up with the names on my own based on what sounded right.

After about another hour the Arbiter came unexpectedly, and uninvited may I add, into the room. I was startled from the bone structures I had been focused on memorizing and all the old fears came flooding back into my mind at the sight of him. It is true what they say, keeping busy helps take your mind off a lot of things. Well I wasn't happy, as you can imagine, to have all those thoughts come back to me, and I found myself giving him a very nasty glare.

"What," I snapped at him. If at first he hadn't noticed the glare, he certainly noticed the tone in my voice. His eyes seemed to glare back at me when he said, "It is time to leave, unless you wish to stay hear all night and receive no human sustenance."

I shut down the program, figuring I was being stupid to try and argue with a nearly eight foot tall alien. The Healer didn't say a word. He stayed quiet in the back, continuing on with his tasks, and did not even turn our way. I was turning to say goodbye to the Healer when the Arbiter grabbed hold of my arm and twisted me away. "You do not need to address the Healer," he told me.

"And just why shouldn't I?" I asked. "He spent time making that program for me to learn from and he has been very patient with me, which is more than I can say for you," I said, anger in my voice slowly rising until I was almost yelling at the Arbiter. I know I probably shouldn't be too hard on the guy. He was just treating the Healer and I how he had been taught to treat people like us all his life, and the Sangheili had stubborn ways that were hard to change. But I didn't care at that moment. Decent humans don't treat others like that and I liked to think of myself as a decent human.

The Arbiter seemed at a loss for words and just stared at me as I walked over to the Healer. "Thank you for showing me what you have. I hope to see you again soon," I said to him. He inclined his head slightly towards me and I could tell he was keeping a keen ear out for any movement from the Arbiter. I then walked straight passed the Arbiter and out the double doors.

Once in the hall I stopped and waited. I didn't know my way back and I wasn't about to try and find my way in those dark and creepy corridors. I may get irritated easily by the Arbiter, but I was lost in this place without him.

Thank you for the reviews! It is good to hear from you again, and I will take any suggestions for the story into consideration - Dolphinlight