Chapter 10- Fight of the Night

Scott wheezed a little as he lowered himself onto a stump, bending his body over as he caught his breath. He listened as Bota sat on the stump next to him with a grunt, raising his fist to support his head.

The elite let out a long breath. "The short amount of time we get to train is frustrating to me. Having to split single lessons amongst separate days hampers the process."

Scott lightly chuckled as he felt himself cool off, then said, "I wouldn't worry about it. They did that stuff in school all the time, and I turned out pretty sharp."

Bota huffed, then turned to Scott and said, "You are not like how I imagined."

Curious, Scott tilted his head and asked, "Whatcha mean?"

Bota bobbed his head as he thought, then said, "I expected you to exude more qualities of my own kind, seeing as you have proven to be an honorable human, but you have proven to be more similar to Sil than any sangheili I know."

Scott pointed behind him at the T'vaoan and asked, "But you keep her around, so she can't be that bad, huh?"

He watched the elite slowly shake his head, then he looked out into the forest and said, "Not at all. Simply irritating."

He then turned to Scott and said, "But I am glad you trust us, at least enough to come willingly now. We were taking a risk in trusting you not to get us killed in some ambush."

Scott twisted the tip of his blade against the stump he sat on, then shrugged his shoulders and said, "Trust me, I couldn't get you guys killed. Whether I like you or not, it just wouldn't sit right with me, and the idea certainly doesn't either."

He looked up through his visor to see Bota looking at him, then the elite's head panned back to the forest and said, "Perhaps you are similar to my kind."

The two sat in silence for a couple of minutes as Scott tried to cool off. He didn't want to go back to camp looking like he just ran a marathon, so the last few minutes of their sessions would have to consist of a long break. Something that was much to Bota's dismay.

Scott spun his blade around in his hand, then looked up to Bota and asked, "So, am I really the only human who's ever spared one of you? That you at least know of?"

Bota nodded his head and said, "It is something your kind is obviously incapable of. Everything I've seen of humanity is a perfect reflection of what the Prophets, our leaders, said about your kind. Honorless, mindless, cowardly, weak, and a threat to our religion that must be eliminated."

Scott froze up as he listened to Bota. He knew the Covenant didn't like humanity, but to say all of that? None of it was true, well, at least Scott would like to think so. Compared to the massive aliens that they fought against, Scott could see where they were coming from, but why were they a threat?

Scott slowly shook his head, then asked, "Wait, then why…"

Bota interrupted him and said, "But you are an exception. A rarity. The only human with honor, capable of sparing my life. You are so much more than the rest of your kind, and I only hope these lessons will serve you well in surviving this war as long as possible."

The elite's words were tying Scott's thoughts in knots. Was he complimenting him or insulting him? Was this because he held Scott in high regard or because he cared about his 'oh so important honor'?

With these questions in mind, Scott asked, "You don't actually think I'm the only human with positive qualities, do you?"

With a light snort, Bota raised his head and said, "Of course I do, it's the only explanation. The Prophets have not been wrong before, and I doubt they are now."

The comment made Scott silently huff. Those were the kind of thoughts a dictator would love to have their subjects believe. Not only were they simple, but they were dangerously ignorant.

Scott's opinion on Bota was shifting, then he nervously swallowed a lump in his throat and asked, "You, uh, still want the rest of my kind dead?"

Bota lowered his head to face him, then he stood up silently. He stayed silent for almost a minute, then sternly said, "I will do what must be done. Eliminating a race was never something I wished to do, but if I am given the orders, I shall. You are an exception in every category, so you have nothing to worry about."

Scott's body was frozen on that stump for a few minutes, pondering Bota's words. He was an idiot, all of his kind were idiots if they believed that as well.

He would've argued with Bota further, but he felt an elbow strike his side, then winced and turned to see Sil snickering. She gestured away with her head and said, "Time to get moving, sweet cheeks. Don't want your fellow humans to suspect anything."

Scott stood up before Sil roughly thrusted Scott's rifle into his arms, gruffly saying, "And don't tell me your name's Scott, or I swear I will…"

With a light push with his stock, Scott made Sil stumble backward, then snickered and said, "You won't do anything, big bird. Now, kindly lead me back."

He could see a spark in Sil's eyes as a tiny snarl escaped her maw, but she kept silent as she turned and walked off into the forest. Scott followed behind her, then watched as Zuhl followed next to him.

Zuhl turned to Scott and said, "Do not worry about Bota's beliefs. Though strange, he is an honorable warrior, and he keeps his word. No harm will befall you or your friends while under our care."

Scott huffed as he shoulder his rifle, then said, "While you have any control over the situation, that is. What if we get attacked? Not like you'll fire at your own allies."

Zuhl shook his head, then said, "No, but we will be sure to warn you, somehow. Like now, Bota is likely to report back to our commander with close coordinates so that he can keep up with these sessions."

Scott whipped his head to Zuhl and loudly asked, "What the hell!? And he didn't tell me?"

Zuhl winced at the sudden sound, then waved his hands in a calming manner and said, "He left it up to me to tell, he did not forget. Their estimated arrival to the coordinates is a few hours, so you can get your rest in before they show up during your second shift. Is this correct?"

Scott slowly calmed down, then nodded and said, "Yeah, yeah that's right."

Sil spoke up from ahead and said, "Be sure to stay alive, I would miss seeing your cake every day!"

The two watched as she cackled to herself, then Scott turned back to Zuhl and asked, "Who taught her English?"

Zuhl shook his head with a sigh, then said, "Not me, nor Bota. Most likely some kind of pirate friend of hers, I would assume."

A grin grew on Scott's lips, then he asked, "Oh, so you guys got pirates of your own, eh?"

Zuhl nodded and said, "Of course, a problem the Covenant has been dealing with for a while. Sil was raised by pirates, explaining her less than desirable traits."

"HEY!" Sil snapped as she listened in on the two.

Zuhl watched her for a few seconds, then turned back to Scott and said, "I won't be surprised if she leaves the Covenant one day to pursue her pirate roots. Though, I say that not as an insult to her. She is one of the most capable soldiers I've had the pleasure of working with."

Scott stared at the aged skirmisher, then tilted his head and said, "I'm getting mixed feelings from you about her."

The sound of a grunt came from ahead, then Sil turned around and said, "Get used to it. The uncharacteristic brick wall that he is, he rarely makes sense. But, that's not a bad idea, Zuhl. Getting my ass out of this military before the useless leadership does some stupid shit. I wouldn't be surprised if they got our entire race purged in one invasion."

Scott chuckled. "You don't seem to have much faith in your leadership."

Sil snarled lightly, "Faith isn't in my vocabulary. I'm only in the military for the money and practice. Or thrill, whichever works for you."

After some walking, Sil paused and peeked around the tree. She was silent for a few seconds, then she turned to Scott and asked, "I'm curious, and it's only fair since you know my reason now. Why are you fighting, sweet cheeks? Despite your skill, your attitude doesn't exude someone who wants to kill."

Scott lightly chuckled, then patted his rifle and said, "I'd say otherwise. Here, I'll be fair and tell you. You guys have been nice enough not to kill me. To be frank, I joined for revenge."

Sil chuckled as she trilled, then said, "I don't know who Frank is, but revenge I know well. So, revenge on the Covenant makes-"

Scott shook his head and said, "I joined the military before this war started. I was out for revenge against the Innies."

He watched the two birds look at him with confused expressions, then he sighed and said, "Rebels. Basically terrorists. They were responsible for burning my dad's farm and leveling our house on Reach."

Zuhl took a step forward and said, "I assume this Reach is one of your human colonies."

Scott nodded his head, then pointed at him and said, "Yeah, and you aren't getting any more out of me. That was out of common courtesy. I still don't fully trust you, I hope you can understand."

Zuhl simply nodded, then Sil took a step towards him, getting too close for comfort, and said, "That just means you're smart. Before we part, I want to say, you have quite an impressive tongue."

Caught off guard, Scott froze with confusion, then watched Sil flick her tongue like a snake and walk away. He was left with Zuhl, who then leaned towards him and said, "She compliments very few people, you should feel honored."

Scott then watched Zuhl follow Sil into the darkness, then splayed his hands out and asked out loud, "What the hell was the compliment!?"

After a few seconds of silence, Scott sighed and turned around. He walked off in the direction of his camp, more confused now than ever as he began a 10 minute trek..

It wasn't long until he could see a faint trail of smoke floating upward from behind a crowd of bushes. With a sigh of relief, he made his way to the trail, about to walk through the bush. Before he could reach the bushes, however, his rifle was ripped from his back and his legs were swept out from under him.

He slammed into the ground on his face, his hand immediately shooting up to his knife as he felt arms grab him by the back. As he was lifted up, he spun around in the arms' grasp and tried to place the tip of his knife against his aggressor's neck, only for it to 'dink' against the brim of a helmet. He stared at the brim in confusion for a second, then lowered his eyes to see Claire's chuckling body gripping him by the armor.

Scott pushed himself off her with a grunt, then sheathed his knife and said, "If you wanna play rough, warn me first."

Claire chuckled as she lifted his rifle up, then held it forward and said, "I wasn't expecting you to be so quick with that knife! If I was a bit taller you would've had me by the throat."

Scott disgruntledly grabbed his rifle from her, then put it on his back and said, "Guess your lack of height is good for something. Why did you do that anyway? You could've gotten shot."

Claire walked through the bushes towards camp, then playfully said, "Oh you couldn't harm a fly! Plus, I was testing you, wondered if you were too tired to fight back?"

Scott tilted his head as he followed and asked, "And?"

Her shoulders shrugged, "I would've been at knifepoint if I was a bit taller, so we'll say you're fine. You pass the test today, Scott."

With a long sigh, he shook his head and asked, "Please don't keep doing this."

Claire laughed as they neared the warthogs and said, "Don't worry, I'll stop. I don't really care what you do out there on patrol. And knowing you, I don't really want to know anyway."

Scott scoffed. "What do you take me for, a sinner?"

Claire nodded her head with a chuckle, making Scott huff sarcastically and look off to the side. The two walked into camp, Scott's head turning to see the three sleeping ODST's.

Melly's head was resting on Johnson's shoulder while Meyers was sitting in the driver's seat of the warthog, his head slumped forward.

Claire raised a finger, an obvious smile under her helmet, then pulled the rifle off her back. She walked next to the sleeping Meyers, then spun the rifle around and rammed the butt into Meyer's side. He yelped to life, flipping into the passenger's seat as Claire and Scott laughed at him.

Meyers was gripping the edges of the seats, his heavy breathing slowly subsiding as he watched the two laugh. Once he was calmed down, he grumbled and pulled himself out of the warthog. He slipped his helmet on as Claire hopped into the seat herself, wiggling herself into the cushion.

Scott pulled his helmet off his head with a sigh, then watched as Meyers walked over to Melly and patted her shoulder. She slowly stirred as Meyers prepared himself for his shift, then Scott waved to her and said, "Don't worry, once you're up I can take your place. We do want Johnson as comfortable as possible, don't we?"

Melly actually snickered with a groggy shake of her head, then she slowly stood up and said, "It would be a good bonding moment for you two."

Claire peeked forward from her position and said, "And it would be a good picture!"

Scott lowered himself to the ground with a grunt, then sat his weapons down and laid down on the ground. He felt a light tap on his leg and looked up to see Meyer's shift his battle rifle and say, "Get some rest. I'm going out now."

Scott nodded his head as he reached into his armor. After some searching, he pulled out his earbuds and put them into his ears. He fished his music player out and clicked a button, then quickly tucked it away and rested his head on his forearm. His exhaustion was hitting him like a freight train, but he knew he wouldn't get anywhere near as much rest as he needed. When he was woken up for his shift, he knew he'd have to warn everyone back the incoming Covie's so they could escape. Then, he had to march for hours until they came to their next stop.

Scott's thoughts were quickly drowned out by the music as he drifted to sleep, the only other sound audible being Claire's light shuffling in the warthog.

#

Scott was rudely awoken by the butt of a rifle landing right on his stomach. He curled up with a loud grunt and gripped his gut. All he heard was chuckling around him, then groaned and sat up to look at his three squadmates looking down at him.

Meyers grabbed Scott's rifle from the warthog and held it out to him saying, "Your turn to get back out there."

Scott grumbled as he took the rifle, then laid it on his lap and said, "Give me a minute, I just woke up."

Meyers nodded his head with a huff, then climbed into the warthog and took his helmet off. He picked his helmet up and placed it over his head as he stood up, then turned to see Melly return next to Johnson's sleeping form. Scott huffed as he looked at Johnson. Guy had gotten nothing but rest after a night of full sleep. Granted, he was injured and sleeping on the same forest ground. His issue wasn't with Johnson not doing anything, it was how glad he seemed to do so, despite him getting injured in order to do nothing.

A tap brought Scott back to reality, then he turned to see Claire pointing at the forest. She gestured with her head and asked, "You want me to go out there for you? You seem… tired."

Scott shook his head, quickly walked past her, then said, "I got it, don't worry. Plus, I have better eyes than you, I'm just the better one for the job."

Claire placed a hand on her hip as she watched him walk past, then said, "Not when you're sleep-deprived."

Scott chuckled and said, "Even then."

He listened to her let out a quiet groan as he marched into the forest. He knew a patrol would be nearby soon, and he needed to spot them first. He turned to the direction they came from and began carefully marching. Keeping himself as quiet as possible, Scott made his way through the forest, occasionally raising his scope and looking off in the distance.

After a few minutes of slow walking and watching, he felt a twig fall onto his shoulder from above. He whipped his head up, only to see a golden armored skirmisher put a finger to their beak and quickly hush him. Scott lowered himself to a crouch as he recognized Sil, then watched as she slowly climbed down the tree and silently dropped next to him.

Sil pointed forward and quietly said, "There right past those trees, and they brought a ghost."

Scott muttered under his breath, then said, "How many?"

Sil ducked her head lower and said, "Four sangheili minors, a major, eight grunts and a kig-yar sniper, along with that grunt piloted ghost. A bit much for so few humans, hm?"

Scott aimed his rifle forward, looking through the scope until he saw the heads of waddling grunts. He didn't need to see any more to believe what Sil said and began slowly backing away, then said, "Yeah, but if they catch wind to what direction we're going, that ghost can catch up real quick."

Sil tilted her head and asked, "So what are you going to do?"

Scott was now walking away while crouched and said, "Get the squad moving ahead, then staying back to get rid of the ghost from afar."

Sil's head nodded, then her body disappeared with a cloak as she said, "Good luck, sweet cheeks."

Scott turned away from her and made his way back through the forest, checking his back once in a while. Soon enough he neared the camp, and he could see Claire's head poking up from behind a warthog. As he quickly pushed his way through the bushes, she noticed him and walked around the warthog.

Once they were close she asked, "What's wrong?"

Scott pointed the way he came and said, "Covies, a whole patrol. They're coming close, we gotta move. Get everyone up."

Claire nodded her head, then swiftly spun around and began waking everyone up. They all grumbled to life, and it took a few seconds for them to process Claire's words, but once they did all of them jumped to life. Melly and Meyers scrambled for their gear and weapons as Scott and Claire covered the forest line.

Meyers heaved Johnson to his feet, the two quickly moving off, then Scott turned to Meyers and said, "They have a ghost, and that thing will be able to catch up to us real quick if I don't take it out."

Meyers grunted and said, "Just do what you gotta do, Scott! You know where we'll be heading."

Scott nodded, then he turned to Claire and said, "You follow them, I'll catch up."

Before he could move, Claire grabbed his arm and asked, "Where are you going? Now's not the time to-"

Scott yanked himself from her grasp and said, "I'm going to do my job. We need that ghost gone if we want to outpace the patrol. I'll be back."

Without a second word, he bolted off into the forest. He was running right for where he saw them last, ready to crack some skulls the moment he saw one. After a minute, he pressed his back against a tree as the sound of the ghost slowly crept closer.

With a small peek around the tree, he could see the patrol marching forward. They were moving through the widest gaps of the trees, attempting to navigate the forest with the ghost. Unfortunately, Scott didn't have a good angle on the ghost. He needed to kill the pilot and destroy the control with his rifle, but right now he could only see the front end.

An idea popped into Scott's head as he looked at the distant patrol, then he slowly cranked his head upwards to look at the tree he was pressed against. It had some thick branches farther up, along with enough leaves to give him good cover.

After contemplating for a few moments, Scott cursed under his breath as he put his rifle on his back. He jumped up onto the tree and began scaling it as quickly as he could. A few twigs broke off as he scrambled upward, eliciting a quiet curse from Scott as he begged the aliens wouldn't hear him.

Soon he reached one of the thicker branches and parked his ass on it. He pulled his rifle off his back and swung it forward, the barrel barely poking out of the tree's leaves. The view of the scope was covered a bit, but as he angled his rifle downward at the ghost, it cleared up and he had a perfect view on the grunt sitting in it.

With a grin on his lips, Scott squeezed a trigger and sent a round drilling through the grunt's head. The grunt flew off the ghost as the elites let out loud worts. Scott quickly placed two more shot's into the ghost's controls, disabling it for future use, then turned to find the jackal sniper. Right as he laid his sights on the alien, they were aiming directly at him.

The two simultaneously shot, Scott's round flying over the jackal's beam. The bullet punched through the jackal's head, launching the body backwards. The beam struck the bark next to Scott's face, making him jump away and stumble off the branch.

He crashed into the ground on his back with a loud grunt. When he struck his back, it accidentally turned on his music player, and his still in earbuds screamed into his ears.

"Woah, come with me now

I'm gonna take you down…"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck you Kongo, fucking me right up the ass!"

Scott heaved himself up as the new music blasted into his ears. Despite the music, he could hear the plasma shots he saw whizzing past his position. He stayed crouched behind the brush, reloading his sniper rifle, then leaped away and began running wildly away from the Covenant. He instinctively raised his left hand to grab at the earbuds, but he only smacked into his helmet and grunted.

He turned his head to look behind him, seeing the distant form of elites tracking him. One, in particular, was running very fast, probably seeing him. Scott stopped behind a tree, taking a moment to breathe, then spun around and aimed his rifle forward.

He yelped as the sangheili was already on him, throwing their plasma rifle in a downward strike to knock his rifle away. Scott jumped back, letting the elite's weapon smack into the ground. Before the elite could fire, Scott raised his barrel and squeezed the trigger, firing a bullet through the elite's head point-blank.

The elite's body sagged backward, giving Scott a clear view of the slower approaching elites behind. The second the body fell, they laid eyes on him and opened fire, making him turn and keep running.

Scott hopped on a log then spun around as he jumped off and fired at the sprinting elites. His shot punched through one's head, sending their body staggering into their comrade. Scott quickly turned and kept running, purposely leading the elites away from where his team was heading.

He scrambled over a rock as the aliens' footsteps got louder, then weaved through the tree. The trees had become denser now, making Scott confident to hide behind one for another breather. Once he caught his breath, he peeked his head around the tree to see the last three elites.

The major huffed to the two minors, pointing in different directions. With that, the three split up and slowly marched through the dense trees.

With a sigh of relief, Scott hugged his rifle closer to his chest. The fact that they were slowing down meant they didn't know where he was. He could use this as a chance to escape.

Before he could act on his advantage, however, he heard footsteps approaching him. He froze for a moment, then watched as the hand of the elite major grasped the edge of the tree. Scott held his breath as the elites head poked slightly out, not looking around the tree.

In a flash, Scott ripped his knife from its sheath with his right hand and thrust upwards with as much force as he could muster. The sound of the knife unsheathing turned the major's head, but it wasn't fast enough to dodge as the knife cut into its throat. With a gurgling snarl, the elite grabbed Scott's arm and threw him backward. Scott stumbled back away from his tree, watching as the major took a step forward before it fell down, clutching its' neck.

Loud stomps made Scott spin around with his rifle, firing a shot at a fast-approaching elite. The elite was still a good distance away as Scott's shot tore through its neck, the body tumbling and disappearing into the bushes.

Stomps from the other direction made Scott spin around, seeing the last minor rushing towards him. Scott raised his rifle and squeezed the trigger, and the click of an empty magazine made his heart skip a beat.

"Woah, come with me now

I'm gonna show you how…"

"Motherfucker!"

Before he could reload, the elite began opening fire, making Scott dive around another tree for cover. The plasma ate away at the bark, forcing Scott to continue moving to use more trees. Soon enough he was in a full sprint, gripping his knife with his right hand, rifle on his back now. For a moment, it felt like he was going to lose the elite, only for a loud bellow to sound off right next to him, followed by the elite slamming into Scott.

Scott flew right into two trees, propping him up as he watched the elite snarl and rush him again, clearly intent on bludgeoning him to death. The elite raised their plasma rifle, but Scott dove under its downward strike and plunged his knife into its gut as its weapons crashed into the trees.

Scott naturally switched his grip into the knife still embedded in the alien's stomach, letting him cut it through their side as he moved under the elite's arm. He finally pulled the blade out and spun around to face the elite, watching it grip its bleeding side as it turned to face him.

It whipped its plasma rifle up to shoot, but Scott unexpectedly closed the distance, getting under the weapons' fire. Scott was right under the weapon when he thrust his knife upward, plunging it directly into the elite's throat.

Before he could properly retreat, the elite bashed him over the head with their weapon, sending both him and his knife crashing into the ground.

Scott grabbed his knife and rolled away from the elite, expecting plasma fire to start riddling him. Instead, he heard a metallic crash and turned to see the elite had dropped their weapon. It was gripping both its neck and side, blood running down between its fingers. It stumbled to the side, falling limply into a bush.

Heaving for air, Scott sat up and stared at the dying elite. Its upper body was hidden in the shrubbery, only their slowly moving legs visible. There was a growing puddle of blood visible under the bush, then the legs stopped movement and a heavy sigh left the elite.

Relieved, Scott grunted and stood himself up, brushing off his knees and leaning on a tree. He stared at the body for a few seconds, then raised his bloody knife and stared at it for a bit. After some time catching his breath, he wiped the knife on his sleeve and sheathed it, before pulling out his sniper rifle and began to reload it.

Luckily the grunts seemed to have lost their leaders in the forest, letting Scott confidently make his way where his squad went.

Suddenly, the rustling of leaves came from above and he spun around with his rifle raised. Before he could shoot, a body landed directly on top of him, squishing him against the ground. He let out a loud grunt as the wind left his stomach, then turned his head to see excited amber eyes staring at him.

"Hi!"

"Sil, get off me. You're squishing my dick."

With a cackle, the skirmish rolled off Scott and jumped back onto her feet. Scott lifted himself up with a sigh, then asked, "Please tell me the grunts were left in the dust?"

Sil chuckled, then said, "They're wandering around blindly like orphans in a plaza. I gotta say, seeing you at work, you're more dangerous than I thought."

Scott turned his gaze away from the alien, not knowing how to feel about her complimenting him, then said, "The adrenaline makes me better."

Sil squawked, then said, "You better make it back to your friends. They'd need someone like you defending them while one of them is injured."

Scott grunted as walked past her, then said, "Good to know I'm someone's favorite."

He heard a light snicker, then Sil quietly said, "That you are… Nice-ass!"

Instinctively, Scott spanked his ass and yelled back, "I got it from my mother!"

With that, he disappeared into the wilderness, leaving the T'vaoan to retreat back into the trees, making her way back to her boss.

Scott grumbled as he jogged through the brush, branches smacking his helmet and arms as he went. He was extremely tired from the chase, having to stop for a short break every few minutes. Fortunately, it wasn't much longer until he saw a grey, bobbing head past some bushes.

He put his rifle on his back, then waved his hands and called out, "I'm alive! I don't know how, but I'm alive!"

He watched the head freeze and look around, then he broke through the bush to see his squad looking. They all spun to him as he burst through the brush, then he laughed while heaving for air and said, "I… kicked… their asses!"

Suddenly, a clattering made him raise his head, only for Claire to leap onto him, her legs suddenly wrapping around his waist as her hands wrapped over his shoulders. With a yelp, he gripped her shoulders, lifting her off him, then set her down and said, "I have a wife, temptress!"

Claire, however, didn't laugh this time around. She stared at him, then planted her hands over her visor and said, "I'm sorry, I-I… God, why did you do that!?"

With a nervous chuckle, he sighed and said more seriously, "Hey, they knew where we were, and they had a ghost. Someone had to take it out or they would've caught us on the move! Look, I'm fine, stop worrying about me. Especially enough to clutch me like some star-crossed lover with your legs."

He chuckled as he finished, only eliciting a small huff of amusement from her, then Meyers approached him. He planted his hands on Scott's shoulders and asked, "So, are the Covies taken care of?"

With a nod, Scott straightened his back and said, "The only thing left was some grunts to run back to their precious food nipple."

With a sigh of relief, Meyers patted Scott's shoulder, then turned back to help Johnson and said, "Alright. Next time there are bad guys to kill, you are not going alone. We were in too much of a panic, I shouldn't have let you go. Now, let's move out. We want to get as much distance between us and that army!"

Scott let out a long sigh as his squad continued forward, then slowly followed in step. They still had at most a week until they reached the city, and Scott had no clue whether they would make it or not. Though, a little spur of confidence did spark in him. Even if the Covenant got close, he did have some buddies who'd warn him about it.

Yeah, buddies, he just called them buddies. Great, now he was attached. Scott grumbled to himself as he marched forward, annoyed at himself now. With stuff like this in his head, this was gonna be a long walk.

Heya! Been a bit. Sorry for the delay, this past month or two has been awful for me. But, I'm back with a chapter. Check out my favorite buddy Locusrvb and less favorite but still pretty good The Quackster. Why? They're nice, that's why.

Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed the chapter. Hopefully I post sooner next time, and have a good day or night!