I would like to say how sorry I am for taking ages to update (again). I know I've said this before, but I'll try to write faster. I really will.


Oblivion

Chapter 11 - Flawless


Vassi was frozen.

She should have been lifting her plasma rifle right now, squeezing the trigger, but her arm felt improbably heavy. She was helpless, and she hated herself for it. The Ship Master had honoured her, put his trust in her to serve him capably, and she had failed him.

As if in slow motion, the demon raised its weapon. The fluorescent light illuminating the ship's bridge gleamed off the metal of its muzzle.

The muscles in Vassi's arm gained new strength just in time, and she swung her plasma rifle into the air. Her thumb had half-depressed the trigger when Ship Master 'Vadamee stepped in front of her.

The roar of bullets was deafening in the enclosed space, more so than it had been in the corridors of the ship. Vassi saw with astonishment that the Ship Master was holding his sword in the path of the demon's fire. The bullets rebounded off the flat of the sword's blade, falling with hollow metallic clinking sounds on the floor.

'Vassi! Take the construct!' Master 'Vadamee barked.

Vassi stumbled a little as she moved to obey. She slipped the crystalline chip out of the slot in the terminal, carrying it between thumb and forefinger. The demon started forward at that, and the Ship Master moved his sword in a swinging arc towards his opponent. The demon dodged the strike, which would have sheared Vassi herself in half, and fired.

It was obvious that the demon's aim had been to injure the Ship Master, but her commanding officer lunged, avoiding the line of fire. The bullets sped past Vassi, one clipping her elbow. She gasped, even though her energy shields had absorbed the hit and prevented her from taking any damage.

Her shielding would have depleted in part, which didn't bode well. Her armour was only that of a Sangheili Minor. Its shielding capacity was limited, and the recharge time slow. Vassi quickly assessed the situation, and realised that there was an excellent chance she would die aboard this human ship.

The thought alarmed her, frightened her even. Vassi was deeply ashamed at that. She was a Sangheili. She wasn't supposed to know fear. In any case, she'd done everything she'd always wanted to have done before the end of her life. She had fought as a soldier in the Covenant army. She had left Sanghelios, she had visited High Charity. She had avoided discrimination on Master 'Vadamee's ship. In truth, she had avoided a lot of things, including marriage.

Instead of thinking of K'ruk, Vassi glanced at the Ship Master. Then she made herself focus. If she was going to die here, it wouldn't be for nothing.

She levelled her plasma rifle, preparing to fire. If she couldn't kill the demon, she could at least die honourably.

'Run!' the Ship Master ordered.

Vassi's eyes widened. 'But -'

'Our orders are to retrieve this construct. Go!' The Ship Master turned, forcing the demon away from the door with another sword strike. Vassi realised he was making room for her to get out.

There were a lot of things she wanted to say. I need to stay. It's my duty. I won't fail you. I won't run where I should stand and fight.

I won't leave you to die.

But none of them managed to force their way into her mouth, and Vassi remained silent. She'd been mentally conditioned all her life to follow orders from anyone who was her superior. There was nothing she could do but run.

And run she did.

Vassi sprinted, going back the same way she and the Ship Master had come in. She passed the evidence of their movement through the ship. She passed the corpses of human soldiers, blistered with plasma burns. Blood pooled on the metallic floor, the result of Master 'Vadamee's sword.

Vassi tried to reassure herself. The Ship Master was a Zealot. His rank alone meant that he had to have personally slain hundreds, even thousands of enemies. He was stronger than she could ever hope to be.

But those human demons -

She had heard the stories. All Sangheili had. Those faceless creatures in their green armour had been responsible for the deaths of many of her race. Vassi knew the Ship Master would look on it as an honour, to face such a deadly opponent in battle.

But would he survive?

That thought stopped her in her tracks. She stood still in the middle of the corridor, silence ringing in her ears.

No! she thought to herself. He gave you an order.

Vassi turned, looking back in the direction of the ship's bridge.

No. If you get off the ship alive, you'll be punished for insubordination.

It was pointless. Her mind was already made up.

Vassi ran back towards the bridge, faster than she'd run away, and almost ran into Ship Master 'Vadamee.

'Disobeying your commanding officer, Apprentice?' The older Sangheili's voice sounded amused.

Vassi stared at him, confounded in a mixture of astonishment and relief. Above all, she felt overwhelming gratitude that he'd survived. She inspected him up and down, looking for the telltale stains of purplish blood. Not only had he survived, but he'd survived uninjured.

'You slew the enemy,' she whispered, with more than a little awe in her voice. 'Prophets be praised.'

'I did not. I merely injured the demon with a plasma grenade.' Vassi realised that the Ship Master was out of breath. 'The damage was done to its left leg. It was still able to walk, although slowly. It attempted to fight me, but I made the decision to leave.'

'Why?' Vassi was even more astounded than she'd been before. The Covenant didn't leave their enemies alive at the end of a battle, especially not the Sangheili. It was seen as insulting to one's opponent to not do them the courtesy of delivering a final blow.

'I was not proud of it.' The Ship Master looked away for a moment. 'But my orders were to complete this mission as quickly as possible, using minimal force. I did not wish to disobey.' He looked back at her, and Vassi saw the reproving look in his eye, tempered with amusement. 'Shall we regroup with the others elsewhere? My thoughts are that this area of the ship will not remain unattended for long.'

Vassi nodded in agreement, falling in behind her superior as they proceeded towards the escape pod. She guessed the Unparalleled Supremacy would be arriving soon to collect them.

They reached the airlocks, and Vassi caught sight of the other Minors. They hadn't been as fortunate as she and Master 'Vadamee. She could see the pockmarks left by human projectile weapons on blue armour. One Sangheili was holding his left arm, as if he could somehow force his blood back inside himself. Vassi pitied him. She wasn't sure if she could stand there as still as he was if a human had disgraced her by spilling her blood.

'Let us return to the escape pod,' the Ship Master called out. 'How did you fare here?'

'Neda moved forward out of the throng, and Vassi saw that he, too, was uninjured. 'I counted our numbers,' he said gravely. 'Some of us have fallen.'

The Ship Master inclined his head for a moment. 'Then they have suffered honourable deaths. And I hope they will not be forgotten when the time of the Great Journey comes.' He motioned for the Minors to follow him inside the pod. Vassi obeyed, glancing out through the glass above one of the other airlocks as she did. Her assessment had been correct. The Unparalleled Supremacy was waiting.

'You still have the construct?' he asked her.

Vassi's pulse raced. She thought for one terrifying moment that she'd left the chip behind, but it was still in her hand. 'Yes, Ship Master,' she replied.

The Ship Master nodded to her. 'Then we have succeeded in our mission, and I congratulate you.'

Vassi's mandibles opened. She wanted to correct her superior, to tell him she didn't need congratulations. I disobeyed an order, she thought. And I still failed to fight for my commander.

She didn't feel as if she ought to be congratulated. She felt more than a little ashamed of herself.