Behold! The next chapter to Halo: Helljumper's Prime! I know I've been lazy, but due to that, this chapter will be significantly longer and more of a doozy, so with that said, enjoy!
-dajsk
ONE WEEK LATER
LOCATION: VA'Z 'KUSOVAI'S SHELTER/HOME
TIME: UNKNOWN
DATE: JULY 22ND, 2552
His eyes opened, how long was he out for? He scanned around the room it felt...familiar. Of course, it was his house. He saw his wife, Han 'Kusovai, sitting next to him, "Va'z? Va'z!" She exclaimed.
He felt like he had been in an eternal rest. "Han-how long was I gone for?" He asked, he saw her trying to not to answer, but she gave in, "You were gone for seven days. Seven days, Va'z. Don't scare me like that, ever again. Please. You prayed to Yu'krahn Vadam'ee that he would protect us from harm or conflict."
She was right, he had done that.
Va'z got up, he saw the bright light creep from the open, stone window. He knew he was in his shelter. "Where are the children?"
Han responded, "The children are out playing. What I am concerned about, Va'z, is you. What is troubling you, husband?"
Va'z knew he had to respond, he could not keep his wife in the dark of what he had seen in Do'mez's eyes. The horrifying images which he wants to keep buried, the tales of his children's fates it told, and the bloodstain which his own in that image, he sighed, "While we were battling in the temple, Do'mez's eye sent images flying through my mind. I do not know why I saw such..vile images. But it is something I want to forget."
There, he had told her, but he did not feel right about it.
He did not want to remember the images, yes, but he also wanted information on them, as well. He closed his eyes and thought back to that fateful day, the day the images crawled into his mind…
LOCATION: VA'Z 'KUSOVAI'S MIND
TIME: UNKNOWN
DATE: UNKNOWN
VA'Z! VA'Z! YOU PROMISED VA'Z!...No! Don't go, father! An image of his dead child appeared quickly, and just as quickly disappeared. Silence! He had not talk to his children like that, before. I must go. An image showed his village burning, dust and ash. Heresy is not something we will hold against you lightly. Heresy? But he followed orders faithfully, and truly! You are no longer worthy of your rank, Va'z 'Kusovai… A light brightly shone in his eyes...And he woke up.
LOCATION: REVERENCE, NO MAN'S LAND HILLTOP
TIME: 4216
DATE: JULY 22ND, 2552
Kai looked through the binoculars his ally had given him. "Looks like they're just gathering vehicles, for now." He said, not taking his eyes off his binoculars. He saw the warthogs, the scorpions, and the mongooses all line up, and saw a man with a mask...That must've been the leader.
He took his silenced sniper rifle, and lined up a shot...He took a breath...Put his crosshairs over the leader's head...And pulled the trigger. It hit the head, but didn't penetrate...Was that mask bullet resistant? The leader sprawled to the floor in shock, he saw the vapor trail of the sniper, and ordered his men to attack the hilltop. He saw scorpion canopies turn, warthog turrets turn, and people looking to the hills.
Two soldiers uncloaked behind him, and went in for stabs. Kai grabbed one of the soldier's arms, and turned the blade with his own arm into his chest. The soldier fell to the ground, his chest bleeding from the wound.
The other soldier got into a knife fight with Kai. Kai connected blades with the soldier, then kicked him in the stomach to the ground. He jumped on the soldier and stabbed him in the neck, killing him swiftly. He turned around and hastily picked up his sniper rifle again, he looked through the sights, the leader pulled out his Magnum and unloaded rounds at his general direction. Kai ducked his head as the bullets collided with the rocks that gave him cover, tiny pieces of said rocks fell onto Kai as the bullets shattered them. Kai leaned to the right as a bullet grazed his visor. He began to frantically breath in and out, his life was on the line.
Just who was this man, and what were his plans?
LOCATION: UNSC Frigate Further Unto Glory
TIME: 1217
DATE: JULY 22ND, 2552
Nathan could still remember the chilling nightmare he had of Kai.
It was just him and Kai in what seemed to be...a void. Kai stood there. Motionless, breathless...lifeless. Nathan reached out his finger, he tapped Kai on his shoulder, his shoulder snapped out of position. Then his other shoulder, then his legs, his chest...then his head, he fell on his knees. His visor shattered, and a pool of blood fountained out. Nathan's face reflected in the blood, but it was not his own face. It was another's.
His face had similarities, was it his? It was. He felt something drop in his hand, a Magnum. He looked back at Kai's fractured body, it looked normal. But there was a gaping hole in the middle of his visor, and fresh smoke emitted from Kai's head and the Magnum. Blood slowly poured out of Kai's blank, black, face.
Nathan looked at his own body, he was coated in blood. Kai's blood. Nathan did not feel concern, remorse, or sadness. His expression was blank. He then pulled the Magnum's barrel back.
He put the Magnum up to his head, and fired.
That's when Nathan shot up, breathing heavily. Was this just his mind playing games with him...or was it a message?
He was going to tell Alice, but he did not want to. He didn't need to. Alice saw Nathan's photos. "Nathan, what's that?" she pointed at Nathan's left hand, the hand which held the photos.
Nathan looked at his hand, "...Just some memories of mine. Some sweet, some...not so sweet." He said as a tear shed, and splashed onto the photos.
LOCATION: ?
TIME: ?
DATE: ?
"That's the third one this week!" he said, holding his part of the assailant's cuff.
"We'll ask the chief what we should with him, he's just a killing machine." said the other man, armed with a Magnum.
He was dragged across the ground on his knees, he felt blood being drawn, but did not mind. He felt blood was meant to be drawn. The door opened, and the men entered the station.
"Chief, sir!" he saluted, "...he's done it again. What should with him?" he cocked his head quickly towards the assailant, sending a physical message.
"...You may leave," the two men saluted and left the room. The chief sat down at the desk. The nameplate on his desk shone in the light, revealing the letters S, e, a and n. The chief's name.
"Alright, Lance Parker. For the past month, you've killed seventy-nine people, and injured, to the point of near death, nineteen people. Sounds to me that you shall be put somewhere other than cell."
"...Go ahead. Do it. Kill me." His voice was raspy and deep.
"I have no intention of killing you, Lance. We're sending you on a UNSC pelican...Cuffed. The prisons here, and on other planets, don't want you on their ground."
"...It's because they're scared. Of me."
"Exactly. So, you will arrive on the UNSC Daychaser, where you will be put in solitary confinement."
"...Just...Just...Kill me. Pull the trigger. Make me kiss an oncoming train. Do something."
"Now now, that's not the attitude I want."
"Why not? It just makes this more fun to me, that's all."
"...Hmph. Now, you'll be scheduled to leave tomorrow. So, say goodbye to your loved ones, pack your stuff, and, for God's sake, stop slaughtering."
"Heheheh, no promises."
A FEW HOURS LATER...
"Tomorrow? But-"
"I know Kai. I'm going to miss you, too. Besides, I haven't seen you for four years."
"...Lance...Why-Why did you have to commit your life to such...such...inhumane actions?"
"Sometimes, a man's brain just-snaps."
"...I understand."
"I'm sure mom would be proud if she could see you today, Kai. I give you my gratitude and pride. See ya, bud."
"Good night."
He hung up.
LOCATION: UNSC Frigate Further Unto Glory
TIME: 1223
DATE: JULY 15TH, 2552
Nathan got out of his room to get some breakfast. "I feel...I feel an outcast here." Daniel said. Nathan looked around, seeing Marines, scientists, and people who generally belonged there. "I know what you mean."
Alice waved towards Nathan, Daniel, and Megan, "Hey guys! Over here!" Nathan turned towards the voice, and saw Alice at a table with an apple, water, and a bowl of oatmeal. "The breakfast here is great!" Alice said, with joy.
Nathan sat down, "Alice. I want to talk with you for a second..." Alice cocked her head, "Sure, ok." she folded her hands under her chin.
Nathan tensed up. Should I even be telling her this? he thought to himself. "...Well, last night...I had...I had a nightmare...About him...About Kai."
Alice's smile turned into her more serious face, "Nathan...What was it about?" She looked eager.
Nathan began to tell her, "It was just me and him in some sort of...void. And Kai just...stood there. No expression or movement, I touched his shoulder and it snapped, then his whole body began to snap out of place. Then his head twisted 180 degrees, his visor exploded and blood fountained. His body was normal again, but his visor had smoke coming out of it. I looked into the pool of blood, and saw me in it, but my face had a large scar. And in my hand, was a Magnum. And it looked recently fired...And...And..."
He weeped. Alice moved closer to Nathan, attempting to comfort him. "Nathan, I think...I think you need some time to yourself. You need some closure with Kai."
Nathan knew Alice was right, but...could he really have closure with Kai? They were friends for...God knows how long. His mind released images, one of the images was him in the fourth grade. Him and Kai. They swore they were friends from there on. Nathan felt himself unconsciously move up and out of his seat. He went to the barracks and sat down, and had a nice talk with him and Kai.
"Hey, man...I want to talk to you." He started the conversation.
LOCATION: VA'Z 'KUSOVAI'S SHELTER/HOME
TIME: UNKNOWN
DATE: JULY 22ND, 2552
Va'z stepped out of his small bedroom, into outside world. The sandy terrain of Sanghelios soothed his tiding, brawling emotions. He looked around him and saw the bustling in the state of Ontom. He saw the carts being pulled with loads of grain and farming utensils. He saw his kids run around with their wooden sticks for training.
His eldest child, Nar'v 'Kusovai, struck one of his five children in the ankle, knocking him over. He was proud of Nar'v, he took his training seriously and when he did, he was almost unstoppable and powerful. His wife stopped him in his tracks, she then spoke, "Va'z, don't leave and put yourself in harm's way. I don't want to risk losing you." she said, still holding onto Va'z's arm.
Va'z knew he loved his wife, but he needed to find Do'mez 'Moramee. He needed to confront him about those "images". He walked out and spoke to his wife, "I'll be back, back before you'll know I'm gone." and he left.
He walked through the tunneling systems used for transportation, the other Sangheili bustled around, and he found the other city of Ontom. He looked around the city, looking for Do'mez's humble abode. That's when he found a peculiar house, Do'mez was known for his strange interest in finding new shapes and designs. He knocked on the stone-type door, to which whom opened it up was Do'mez. Do'mez 'Moramee.
"Ah, my dear friend. Why not come in and discuss this...on a more person level?"
he said, sounding menacing and crude with a deep tone.
How did Do'mez know what Va'z was going to ask about?
LOCATION: REVERENCE, NO MAN'S LAND HILLTOP
TIME: 4225
DATE: JULY 22ND, 2552
Kai lay down low as the gunshots pierced the fragile, sharp rocks. He raised his hand, which held his Magnum, and fired back. He felt his hand sustain a shot. First, he loses his right arm, and now a shot in the hand. He felt his hand drop his Magnum and he quickly covered his hand in cloth, stopping the bleeding and relieving agony. After the pain subsided, he put his Magnum away and then grabbed his radio, "This is Kai Parker, requesting backup! I've been injured and I'm pinned down! I need backup, I repeat, I need backup!" he said, panicking.
More shots pierced the rocks, Kai tucked and rolled to the right side of the small cave. Kai grabbed a grenade and pulled the pin with his teeth, and threw it. He heard people shout, "Grenade!" as the explosion occurred. He looked up in the afternoon sky of Reverence, and saw Falcons clear the clouds. He saw Gabriel hanging on the side of the Falcon, and shout, "It's the rebel forces, you government brown nosers!" It made him break a smile. The Falcon's all unloaded gunfire upon the "government brown nosers" and he saw the army take cover behind a pile of tall, sturdy rocks. Five men stood up and fired SPNKr rockets at the Falcons. A few blew up, but the other trained pilots actually shot the rockets, exploding them in their tracks.
Kai saw the burning debris falling, he climbed over the rocks and slid down the wall. He jumped near the apex of his sped and tackled a soldier, he then got out his knife and stabbed the soldier in the forehead.
He pulled his Magnum back out and shot a few bullets at another. The Falcons fired a volley of rockets at a rock wall and blew the thing to smithereens, a few soldiers fled from the scene and ran off, the Falcon shot at the stragglers. Kai walked to one of the smoking pile of rocks, and a soldier lashed out at him. She nicked Kai with his blade, it cut Kai's sleeve open and drew blood, Kai stabbed back and cut the visor open and saw her eyes. "It's...It's you." Kai said, and staggered back.
Why was she here? After all these years it was her again. Kai was overwhelmed with emotions, happiness, sadness, confusion, and...despair.
"I'm sorry, Kai. I-I didn't want it to come to this." she spoke, sounding sincere. Kai was utterly speechless. It was her. It was HER! His old partner in the UNSC. It was his girlfriend. The girl who was deemed lost eight years ago. It was Lucy.
LOCATION: SECURE CITY, 23 HOURS AFTER COVENANT PATROL
TIME: 3412
DATE: SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2544
The city was dead quiet. Not a sound was heard, not a shot was fired. It was just Kai and Lucy taking a patrol of New Coronoca. Kai and Lucy's CO told them that a Covenant patrol was recently spotted in the city. Kai grabbed Lucy's shoulder, "Lucy, don't worry. I'm here to protect you." She felt warm after Kai's promise, before they landed, she felt scared and anxious. But she knew Kai loved her, and she loved him, so the two would do their best to watch each other.
Lucy looked around the alleys of the city, nothing in sight. She then heard the "tongue" of an Elite and its Grunt squad. She ducked behind the building, nothing came out of the alley. Then, she felt Kai tackle her. "Get down!" a volley of plasma flew over her head. Kai...Kai saved her.
Being an ODST, a few plasma shots to the head would've killed her. Lucy pulled out her Magnum and fired at the direction the plasma came from. She saw a few Jackals fall, Kai got up and shot the Grunt squad, which had gotten out of the alleyway. Lucy saw the Elite walked out, his energy sword was bright, and he drug it across the ground, sparking the street and revealing the Elite's scarred face. Kai glanced at Lucy, and shouted to her, "Run, Lucy! Get out of here!" she got up on her feet and ran.
She looked behind her to see a spark of light, and Kai blocking the energy sword with a piece of debris from the Covenant raids. She regretted running, but it's what Kai told her to do. She sat down on the stone wall, it was like the "bad side" of a city, graffiti, burning cars, all that would make a visitor uncomfortable.
She fell asleep at 3417, and when she woke up it was 3452. She woke up because of Kai, she turned on her helmet lights, to see Kai's face. He didn't have his helmet on. His face was bloodied and he bore a charred scar on his forehead. That must've been from the energy sword, "Kai. What happened?" she spoke, her voice filled with concern.
Kai looked down, thinking of something to say, "...Let's just say...That I bit more than I could chew." She grabbed him by his neck, and held him tightly. It was a hug. She cried in his arms, she felt foolish for taking his word and leaving him behind. She spoke, her voice broken with tears, "I'm sorry, Kai. I should've been there for you. I'm-I'm-I'm...I'm never leaving you again!" Kai held her tightly, as well. "Lucy, I'll never ask of you to leave if you don't want to. I'll let you choose, whether you want to leave, or stay with me."
She nodded, and took off her helmet, and wiped her tears. She got up, "I'm ready...I'm ready to go." Kai looked around, "You sure?" he said, smiling. She nodded, again.
Kai held out his hand, "Alright, hon. Let's get going." she held his hand and they walked off together. Lucy and Kai stayed very close together, Kai stopped Lucy while they were both walking. "Woah woah woah, what was that?" she couldn't hear a thing. She listened very carefully.
Then she heard it, it was a low, deep hum of some kind. It sounded vaguely familiar. She thought very deeply about what it could be:
Is it what I think it is? Is it a-No no no. It can't be, these parts of the city are to thick for those. But...I can't help but shake the feeling that it's a-
A Phantom. She ran in the alleyway she found not an hour ago. She called for Kai's name, he turned and looked up, he saw it and ran towards her. He waited for the Phantom to clear, and he walked out. He grabbed Lucy's hand and slowly walked her out with him. She felt secure with Kai's hand in her's. She walked out with confidence, she knew Kai was her guardian. She saw the Phantom hover over them, stop, slowly loomed over, and then went ahead. She sighed with relief. Yet, she felt the thread of the unknown still had watched over them, waiting. Her fear was right. The ground rumbled, the lights of the city shook, and the buildings crumbled. A cruiser had jumped from slipspace, and the ground rumbled beneath Lucy. The crack of the street had opened, and Lucy fell into it. Kai dove and caught Lucy's hand, "Lucy! Hold onto me!" She started to breathe fast, and heavily, her visor clouded with fog from her breath. "K-Kai! Help!" she said, her voice losing control.
Kai held tightly onto her hand, he felt himself losing grip, but he still held on. Kai shouted, "Lucy! Hold on, t-tighter!" she nodded and tightened her grip. Then, the aftershock of the cruiser entering the city knocked Kai's focus off. He let go. He saw her fall into the darkness. The last thing Lucy heard was Kai's breaking voice, "Lucy!" And she felt her eyes close. Close herself off from the terror. Close herself off...from the world.
LOCATION: REVERENCE, NO MAN'S LAND GROUNDED
TIME: 4228
DATE: JULY 22ND, 2552
Lucy still had the green eyes she had on the day he had lost her, and when he lost his grip, too. Kai grabbed her hand, "I'm sorry, Lucy. I let you down. Figuratively and literally. I'm-I'm sorry," he felt tears leak from his eyes. He looked at her eyes from her open visor, and saw that she, too, was crying, "I'll never let you go, ever." he said, promising her so. Lucy was in a brawl of emotions. Kai was still angry at himself for letting go of Lucy. He never forgave himself after that, and never fully recovered from that day, as well. It all had bundled him up in emotions, but he never once showed sorrow in front of his friends.
Lucy hugged Kai and cried. Just like she did eight years ago. "Kai, I never forgot about you. I'll never forget about you." Kai didn't care about the civil war, when he had finally found Lucy after eight years. "Lucy...H-How did you get here?" she wiped her eyes. "After the UNSC heard of the cruiser in Coronoca, they began to search the rubble and found me buried in the cracks of the road. They got me out, and told me a few months later that I would be shipped to Reverence due to my record, and that I would fight the civil war. Now...I got a question for you." she said, looking concerned. Then, she pointed at his missing right arm, "O-Oh. Well, I sort of was held captive by Brutes." Lucy looked at him, not believing that that was all.
Then Kai, broken, continued, "I turned myself in for the life of a friend, to have them spare her. And the price of that was the dismemberment of my right arm. It was not a pretty sight to see." Lucy grabbed onto him, "Kai, you-you did it again, you idiot. You sacrificed yourself for someone you care about." she hugged him, again.
Kai hugged her, too. "Let's get you out of here, kiddo." he walked her casually through the explosions and gunfire. They were catching up in the middle of a fight. But they did not care. They had found each other again, after eight years.
Kai walked her back to the small camp where he had awoken from. He laid her down, and he laid down next to her. Lucy had started to drift off, until she saw a Brute walk in. "Ah! K-Kai! A Brute!" Kai looked up, and laughed, "Ivona! Had a nice sleep?" Ivona snarled, "I had a nice rest. But not one as forceful like that will ever come over me again in this world." Lucy still looked worried, "Don't worry, this Brute is why I'm here today. Although, he was almost the cause of death." Lucy slowly lied back down, and comforted herself, still keeping aware of the Brute.
But, she was happy she got to see Kai again. She still loved him. And she knew he still loved her. Although their meeting started off bad, it was still a joyous time for Lucy. She decided that she would give up fighting, and maybe lie down low with Kai. Lucy drifted off into a deep sleep, only dreaming of her future with Kai. And the life they would hopefully live together.
LOCATION: UNSC Frigate Further Unto Glory
TIME: 1247
DATE: JULY 22ND, 2552
Nathan had a nice, long discussion with Kai. He talked about their childhood together, and the battles they had fought together. He talked of the hardships, the sacrifices, and the losses they shared. He still couldn't believe Kai was dead. After their years of friendship, he abruptly disconnected from their world. Nathan couldn't help but cry during their discussion.
He cried for a long time, maybe fifteen or twenty minutes, give or take. He sat on his bed, until he heard the door open, it was Alice. "Nate, you doing OK?" Nathan nodded, a lie. He felt awful. His last few sentences were: "Kai, I know we've been friends for a long time. We've had our fair share of arguments and hardships, but...but...I think it's time I let you go, let you run free. I...I...I'll leave you alone." It broke him down to say it.
Nathan put his hands on his face, and his elbows on his knees. Alice put her arm around Nathan, to comfort him. Nathan felt like he betrayed Kai for letting him go. He looked up, the room that was generously offered to them had a skylight. What he saw had awestruck him.
It was...A Halo.
The sky looked as if it were daybreak, the Halo was bright, and surrounded by clouds. He stared at it, was this where the Further Unto Glory headed? To a Halo? If so, why? Was there something on the Halo? Before these questions could be answered, the ship shuddered, it shook, and an explosion was heard.
It was the Covenant. They were boarding Further Unto Glory…
Nathan immediately sat up, "Alice, get your gun. We've got company."
MEANWHILE…
The alarms sounded, the UNSC Marines ran through the hallways with their MA5B Assault rifles. One of the Marines ran into a hallway and was grabbed by the throat, and stabbed in the stomach by an energy sword. Stealth Elites. Nathan crouched, and unloaded his SMG at the Elite. The Elite's shields flared, and the blue energy around it sparked, that's when Alice ran up and delivered a bullet into the Elite's head, it sprawled to the floor. "Alice, I need you to lead a small team of Marines into the hallway over there," he pointed to the nearest hallway, it had a large, red sign that read "ARMORY", he knew it could help them.
Alice nodded, "C'mon, Marines! On me!" she paced herself into the Armory, and a team of Marines followed. Daniel ran out of the cafeteria. He pulled out his SMG and looked around, "You guys crash the party while I was still eating? Haha." Nathan cracked a smile, "Alright, Daniel. You want to prove your fighting capabilities to me? Then follow me…Where's Megan?" Daniel looked around, "Oh, right! She went with Alice! Sooo, it's just you and me I guess, boss." He was right. Nathan had seen how much Daniel grew over the years in his squad, "Alright, Daniel. I trust you with me." Nathan said, with confidence.
Daniel lifted his fist in the air, "All right!" Nathan then waved his hand, "Alright, then follow me, through that hall." It was the hall the Captain led them through to their room. Nathan heard the chatter of a squad of Elites, "Daniel, toss a frag." Daniel nodded, and threw a grenade, it blew up and the cries of Grunts were heard. Nathan rolled and mowed down the Elite, whose shields were lost in the explosion. Nathan charged in with his Magnum and shot the two Elites in the head, and Daniel followed.
Silence loomed through the halls, it was odd. "Why is it so quiet? Isn't this a mass boarding?" Daniel asked, readying his SMG. "Either there is not too much Covenant, or not too much men to hold of the Covenant." Nathan responded.
They roamed the halls, Daniel feeling queasy to this course of action, and Nathan ready to fight whatever appears. They walked safely along to the Bridge. "Where is everyone? Why isn't everyone fighting? Why isn't there anyone to fight?" Daniel asked, seeing Nathan looking at the logs of the ship, "...I don't know...But, this situation brings back some-unwanted memories. Memories that should have died in that fire long, long ago…" Nathan started to space off.
LOCATION: EARTH, BEYOND EXOSPHERE
TIME: UNKNOWN
DATE: MAY 9TH, 2542
Fire burned within their ship, it's eerie embers shooting in the air, and the smoke caught in people's lungs. Nathan was afraid, he saw his crew members shouting and screaming in fear. His mind began to shuffle through questions. And he kept coming back to one question: How was I promoted to captain of this ship? It was a question he felt uncomfortable to answer, perhaps it was his sense of self-pride, perhaps it was the fact that he always hated asking or answering questions that had to do with his life. But, the safety of his men was his sole responsibility, and he would do his job without being afraid. But how? He heard all the shouts from his men: "Nathan, help!" "Nathan, what do we do?!" "Captain, I'm scared!"
All of the shouts coming from his men made him even more scared, this was his first time actually fearing the safety of his men, they were never in serious danger. As he was deep in thought, an engine blew up over him, and sent flames down onto Nathan. He felt pain. So, so much pain. He got up, and ran, feeling the flames eating at him. He danced around, trying to put out the flames. He thought it was all over from here. But, a crew member extinguished him. He looked up, shaking, burnt, and saw Lt. Free, standing over him, and behind him was the fire extinguisher container, glass smashed. He finally made up his mind. He was going to save his men. But...That was until everything came crashing down.
The ship was crashing, it was falling towards Earth. Nathan fell as the ship went from a horizontal trek, to a vertical one. He hit the back of his head on the table in the center of the Bridge. And when he came to, he was in an escape pod. Safe as sound. He got up, bones aching and popping. He opened the hatch, and exited. The stench of smoke filled the air, and he saw the bodies of his crew. He was horrified, at first he was tear-drawn, but then, he realized the reason he was in tears was the fact that he was about to throw up. He couldn't remember what had caused this. Then, he felt something hot run down his leg. He lifted up his pant leg, blood. He felt his forehead, blood. The back of his head, blood. He was mortified, he could not save his men. He saw the monitor in the Bridge, it was fine for some reason. But on the screen, it read: LOG SAVED. He went up to the monitor, and opened up his logs, he tapped on the most recent one.
He heard it all: Hey cap, if you hear this: You're alive! We knew you'd come through. We know you tried to save us, but we didn't want you to. We wanted to keep you safe instead. Now, we know you may not like this decision, but believe me you, I wanted this to happen the moment the ship was under fire. Because, you see, the times when people are scared are the times when the person needs to do something. We can't let fear control us, make us NOT do something we should do. OK, I need to hurry this up, we're about to crash, hahaha...Ahem, listen, cap, you're the best captain I could've asked for. I say that for all of us here. This is Lieutenant Miller, sign-
That was it. The last words of his crew, he dug through his cabinets in the desk, and found a flash drive. He entered it into the monitor, and copied the logs onto the flash drive, and carried it wherever he went. He couldn't help but bear a few tears, he had just let down his crew, although they never said that, he felt as if he did. As he looked up, the entire roof was torn from the ship, the sky burned with a cyan tint to it, and which revealed a Halo. It was a graceful moment. A graceful moment to be alive, that is.
LOCATION: UNSC Frigate Further Unto Glory
TIME: 1259
DATE: JULY 22ND, 2552
Nathan had wandered off in thought, worrying Daniel. Daniel finally snapped his finger, "Hey, Nate!" Nathan shook his head, and then looked at Daniel, "Sorry, Dan. Just got lost in thought, there." Daniel didn't seem to be satisfied with the answer.
Nathan noticed the Bridge had a window, and he saw that outside was the wondrous loop again: the Halo.