AN: Guess who just crawled out from underneath his little rock in the Netherlands? That's right, me.
The year 2020 rolled over and the first half of 2021 went out with…well, not with a bang, but the sound a balloon makes when you slowly deflate it. I hope everybody's doing alright in these shitty times.
A couple of story-technical things to clear some uncertainties.
Johnson's segments are loosely based on an eroge-turned-emotional-rollercoaster videogame called "Monster Girl Quest", based upon the Monster Girl encyclopaedia which in turn laid the foundation for the entire Monster Girl genre. I think. Of course, the setting being a Halo/Mass Effect crossover, there's a lot more going on there than simple erotic antics. Eventually. Mostly.
Also, Derek and Kyuri are just platonic buddies. Nothing romantic going on there. Also, technically Derek's not an OC, but we'll get there sooner than later.
~0~
"Imagine being some poor conscripted batarian soldier and the last thing you see is f*cking Chad Joe human no-scoping your ass with a tomahawk while doing a backflip with enough whiskey in his system to kill a krogan."
- Anonymous turian soldier, observing the UNSC Marine Corps Tactical Tomahawk
~0~
Unidentified planet
Luka had bounced all possibilities through his mind and none of them made sense. The ONI Agent had been planetside for several days now, and every day that passed made him feel more out of his depth.
"Sergeant Major, what's the deal with this place?" Luka asked Johnson, who hung back several meters behind the Marine and the strange Lamia. "Is this some sort of…abandoned UEG world? A colony lost in bureaucracy?"
"Wrong on both accounts," the Sergeant Major replied. "It's not in any of the UNSC's records. Council only noticed because the Mass Relay reactivated a couple of weeks ago."
"But there's humans here. And Liminals."
"I know. Beats me."
It didn't make sense. Nothing about this made sense. Desolas obviously knew about this place; his base of operations had a Forerunner portal connected to this world.
"If you didn't know about this place, why did you even come here?" The girl – Alice – asked him. "In fact, forget the why. How did you get here?"
As a Spectre candidate, Sergeant Major Johnson had all the clearance he needed. Hell, he was there during the Battle of the Ark. Chances were this man knew more than Luka himself. But Alice had zero clearance. She was a civilian – a very powerful civilian who knew more than she let on – but a civilian nonetheless.
"I was on a mission to learn more about this warlord the Sergeant Major told you about," Luka replied, carefully mulling over his words. "An ancient teleporting device brought me here."
"Uh-huh," she replied, looking more than a little sceptical. "An ancient teleporting device."
Luka had to admit, it sounded too ludicrous to be true. Well, he didn't care if she believed him or not. "It's not like this place makes more sense. Monster Girls running around, raping and killing humans? What's the point of that?"
To her credit, Alice didn't at all try to deflect his allegations. She closed her eyes for a moment, before calmly replying, "All Monsters here are female. Consequently, they require human males to reproduce. Of course, you humans despise Monsters so much that they are left very little choice. Or do you expect Monsters to choose extinction instead?"
All other possibilities are preferable to extinction…
Yes, Luka could see her point. But that left him with even more questions. "And that makes no sense to me. Where I come from, Monsters – or Liminals, if you want to be politically correct – have been living together with humans for centuries. Hell, the only reason we survived the War was because we had united to such a degree. "
"And that makes no sense to me," Alice replied. "Humans are too faithful to even think about being with Monsters. They believe that this entity they call "Illias" forbids them from doing so. They worship her as their goddess."
Humans did a lot of strange, sometimes harmful things because of their faith. They killed, stole, raped and lied in the name of their religion. But for the majority of people that was a long time ago. The discovery of entities like Devils, Angels, Dullahans and Spirits changed the way people looked at life. These days, religious dogma that extreme only extended to the Covenant, the more extreme factions of the Templars and the fringe regions.
But these people seemed like they lived in the dark ages. Expecting them to simply discard an entire history of spirituality at that point was unreasonable.
Luka was about to reply when he saw that Alice was looking around, scanning the forest for…something.
Johnson saw it too. "Something on your mind?"
Alice sighed. "There are more Monsters here, too. I half expected them to jump you two already," she explained.
Johnson scoffed. "You were looking to disappear on our asses again, weren't you!"
"I already said that I won't offer special help to humans. And I don't want to be seen with humans, either," she replied.
That made sense, in a twisted, the-strong-will-survive type of way. But with the kind of bad blood between Monsters and humans, Luka could see her reason. What he didn't understand was why the ever-lustful, ever-present Monster Girls wouldn't take this opportunity to "wring out" two peak-fit men? It fit with their MO, from what the locals had told him.
"If you can sense them, can't they sense you?" Luka sked.
Alice's lips parted in a little smile. "Of course not. Nobody can sense me if I don't want them to. You two however should have attracted every hungry Monster in this forest. Well, not you," she added, nodding at Johnson. "You don't smell half as good as he does."
Luka didn't know if that was a compliment or an insult. Maybe it was the age difference? He knew that the Sergeant Major was old; he had been there when the Human-Covenant War started and when it ended. That swordswoman, Granberia, had been able to sense his age even through his Nightfall armour.
Called him a boy, to boot…
"What's the matter Alice? Don't like the scent of a real man?" Johnson laughed.
Alice rolled her eyes. "Real man? Try old man," she said with a teasing smirk. "Any girl who goes after you has to be desperate, or starving."
"Hah! The kids I'd produce would be supreme little badasses!" The Marine fired back.
"So why haven't they come for us, then?" Luka asked before any of them could escalate. "Can they sense that we're offworlders?"
"Not sure what they sensed," Alice said. "But I don't care either way. Better to be eaten by me than Monsters like them, don't you think?"
Maybe she was right. It didn't – wait, what?
Luka shot a quick glance at Johnson, who didn't seem at disturbed by what Alice just said.
Well, if the Sergeant Major thought it made sense, there wasn't really anything to complain about.
"Fair enough," Luka replied. "Anyway, we should be just about clear of the forest now. The port should be right ahead."
"Filled with seafood specialties…" Alice replied dreamily. "Hehe, I'll look forward to it."
According to the Sergeant Major – and verified by the local humans – the linchpin of this global conflict was a person called the Monster Lord. She was the strongest Monster of all and thus their leader. If anyone knew what Desolas did on this planet, it would be her.
Problem was, her castle had been built on a whole different continent. Getting there meant crossing the sea, hence Illiasport.
However, once the group arrived at said port, Luka noticed something was off. The port looked almost deserted. He thought there would be a couple of stores and other businesses lining the streets, with merchants showing off their goods at the visitors.
"For a port town, it isn't very lively," Alice sighed.
To Luka, towns that usually buzzed with activity suddenly appearing desolate was a very bad thing. He nervously eyed the rooftops, memories of hidden gunmen fresh in his mind.
But Johnson didn't seem to care. "'Scuse me," he said to the nearest shopkeeper, "is there a reason this port is so empty?"
Luka took a sharp breath, once again scanning his surroundings for any sign of danger. He felt Alice's eyes burn in his back, making him feel that much more uncomfortable.
"Of course it's deserted," he heard the shopkeeper reply. "Since last year, nobody's made a round trip to the Sentora continent."
"And why's that?"
"There's a horrible storm," the shopkeeper explained in short, hushed words, as if he was scared someone could overhear him. "Every time a ship leaves the port, it gets hit by a terrible storm."
"You telling me this storm starts every time a ship leaves?" Johnson asked incredulously.
"Yes, exactly. No matter how clear it looks, as soon as a ship sets out it starts storming."
To Luka, that sounded like magic. The work of Nature Spirits, perhaps.
"As rumours go, it's the work of the monsters," the shopkeeper continued. "They're harassing us, but ehm…I don't really know."
Alice suddenly nodded. "Hmm…I see."
"You do?" Luka asked.
She closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her ample chest. "A little."
The Vulpes agent eyed her suspiciously. "Is this something you can share with us?"
"I can't share too much about it," she replied. "A strong Monster is keeping the ships from crossing. They don't want people crossing over, apparently."
Luka bit back a sigh. This mission just got a lot more complicated. Without any form of UNSC backup, he was completely dependent on the local infrastructure. But getting the port city back into working order didn't seem like it would rate high on ONI's to-do list.
"I don't know about you, but I don't feel like swimming today," Johnson said, having finished his interrogation of the shopkeeper. "Let's go do something about that."
"Really, sir?" Luka replied. "Isn't looking for alternative transport easier? Don't you have access to vehicles that could take us?"
"Gotcha. Except…" The man paused to light an exceptionally big cigar. "The people here need those ships working to keep the port going and we need to keep folks from tearing each other apart. That's part of being a Ghost, too."
"Spectre, sir," Luka corrected him.
"Damn right!"
"You wouldn't stand a chance against her," Alice flatly stated. Her eyes were stern and cold, but then she sighed and her entire body seemed to relax. "But at this rate, I won't be able to enjoy any of the foreign delicacies…"
"Sylph, any luck?" Johnson then said.
A moment later, the holographic representation of an Artificial Intelligence sprang from his omni-tool. She looked a bit like a pixie; a young girl with curly, white hair and large eyes. "From what I've gathered, if you go out of the town and head east a ways, you'll come across a cave that contains treasure. It is said to belong to the late "Captain Selene", who was a legendary pirate over a hundred years ago. People say that, if you use her treasure, your ship won't sink, no matter how the sea rages!"
"I'm sensing a 'but'," Luka said.
"But the cave is said to be a monster's den. I know that, because many adventurers tried to get the treasure, but never returned," Sylph replied, much too happy-sounding for the agent's liking.
"A pirate's treasure…I wonder how long that's going to take…" Alice mused.
Sylph shrugged. "Maybe you should ask around first, see if the locals here known anything else?"
"Good idea," Johnson said. "Keep us posted."
"Will do!"
The ease with which the Sergeant Major just accepted all the weirdness around him made it hard for Luka to protest. He silently followed the Spectre candidate as be began to question the other locals.
As they walked around the port town, Luka felt like they learned some interesting things. The people here weren't very fond of the "Monsters", but they didn't seem overly bothered by their presence either. The blockade itself was treated like the biggest problem, with the idea that the person responsible being a Liminal being regarded as secondary at best. The priests in the local church were the exception of course, but Luka didn't care about their opinion.
"I did see a little fox earlier in the port," an old man pointed out when Luka asked if he saw anything usual lately. "I was surprised, I didn't think they would be out of the countryside like that."
A dark look crossed Alice's features. "…let's find the fox and east it," she growled.
"Not a fan of foxes?" Luka asked, hoping he misunderstood and that Alice was just hungry.
"No," she said, her voice utterly calm despite the storm that raged in her eyes. "Not particularly."
The Vulpes Agent made a mental note not to mention his unit to Alice.
At one point, the Sergeant Major declared that he had learned enough and that it was time to visit the infamous Treasure Cave. Again, Luka asked if they had any Pelican dropships nearby and again, the Sergeant Major said that they would take a hike.
Said hike turned out to last a couple of hours. They were about two-thirds of the way there when night fell.
"We should stop here and make camp," Luka said. "We don't know what's in these woods."
"Agreed," Johnson replied. "You get a fire going. I'll set up camp."
"Yes sir."
While Luka began gathering fuel for a fire, Alice suddenly asked, "Where you come from, are all humans like you?"
"Like what?"
Alice rested her serpentine body on a fallen log and looked at him solemnly. "When you fought Granberia, your movements were just like that of a Monster. Compared to the men from this world, you are faster and stronger. But you are also vicious in your strikes. You never lived by the blade, but you carry yourself like a warrior. So…what sets you apart?"
Luka stared at her. She was much more perceptive than he realized. What else did she learn about him, simply by observing? What did she know about Johnson?
"Not all people are like me," Luka carefully replied. By all accounts, this was First Contact between the UEG and Alice and her people. He shouldn't overplay the abilities of the UNSC to risk appearing like a threat, but he also couldn't make the UNSC appear weak at risk of provoking an attack. "Or should I say, I'm not like all people."
"Your humans are vastly different from these," Alice said. "Older, wiser…angrier. That man Johnson seems boastful, but he never lied or bragged once."
"Well, that's because of the war," Luka admitted, seeing no point in lying to her. "Did Sergeant Major Johnson tell you about it?"
"He alluded to it. He said it united your people instead of dividing them. Monsters and humans living and fighting together…" her voice trailed off, but she didn't sound sceptical. If anything, her voice seemed…wishful.
Maybe he was imagining things. "A lot happened during the war," Luka quietly replied. "We're still trying to recover. Don't think we ever will."
"But you did not answer my question."
"It's not something I'm supposed to freely talk about," Luka admitted.
Alice sighed. "And that tells me all I need to know."
He supposed it did.
Johnson was back sooner than he anticipated. Together the two of them build a temporary shelter and got a fire going. Since Luka had been sent in without supplies, it was up the Sergeant Major to prepare the food.
When Johnson popped open the MRE's, Luka half expected Alice to murder them all. Six-hundred years of warfare and humanity still had not elevated the field rations beyond "depressing". But it looked like Johnson had acquired basic ingredients along the way that didn't taste like vomit. It made for a simple, if pleasant evening meal.
"If this is the pinnacle of your culinary development, I doubt I ever want to visit your worlds," Alice sighed after she finished her portion.
"This shit pans out, I'm personally taking the two of you to a grade-A restaurant," Johnson replied. "Surf and turf. Until then, Treasure Cove's the only way forwards."
Nobody disagreed.
The next morning, they broke up camp and made it to the cave in a relatively short time. Luka expected all manners of traps and ambushes along the way and constantly kept his guard up, constantly sweeping the group's six with his rifle.
This constant lack of enemy activity bothered him greatly. Where did the hostile elements go? This planet was one of Desolas' strongholds, it couldn't be this empty.
"This the place?" Johnson asked.
"Definitely!" The AI, Sylph, replied. "I'm picking up strange energy readings comparable to a Queen-Class Liminal. Times ten."
"Magic?" Growled Johnson.
"Magic."
"So you can detect magic?" Alice asked.
"Some of us, sometimes," Johnson retorted.
Luka nervously shifted his weight from his left to his right leg. "Am I understanding this right? We're facing a threat ten times as powerful as a Queen-Class Liminal?"
"As I said, you don't stand a chance," Alice replied. She slithered closer to the entrance of the cave. Then paused. "Hmm…it smells like a fox," she added with disgust.
Luka stared at her. "What does a fox even smell like?"
"Thin fried tofu," the Lamia hissed.
The two humans exchanged a look. It seemed like Johnson didn't get it either. Better to just keep moving…
"What does your weapon do, anyway?" Alice suddenly asked, snapping Luka from his focus.
"Uhm…it fires 7,62mm Full Metal Jacket Armour-Piercing rounds," he absentmindedly replied. The walls and ceiling looked sturdy, but not at all natural.
Alice gave him a blank look.
"It accelerates a piece of metal at high speed, up to a thousand shots per minute. "
He thought he saw a glimmer of recognition in her eyes. "Who came up with that? With weapons like that, what is to stop one person from committing a massacre?"
Luka frowned. These were…civil questions. Concerns from a war before the war. For him, there was no life before the war. Only the Covenant and the batarians…before General Eventide took him in. Him and the other children. "We developed them because they were necessary," he retorted. "There were always people who wanted to hurt others because of religion, or appearance or greed. We had to destroy the enemy before they could destroy us. Even then, when the Covenant came - "
"I'm not judging you," Alice interrupted him. "The weak need a way to defend themselves against the strong. I just wonder what you hope to find here, in this land. Another enemy, perhaps?"
"Come on you two, you're going to disturb the ghosts if you keep yapping like that," Johnson called from deeper into the cave.
Alice stiffened and her eyes widened. "G…ghosts?" She stammered.
"Why, what's wrong?"
The Lamia tried to scoff, but it didn't look convincing. "Nothing. D-does that thing work against ghosts, too?"
She didn't sound convincing, either. "I don't think so," Luka replied, checking his sights. "No. As far as we know, ghosts can only be harmed by magic and plasma."
Before Luka even finished his sentence, Alice had basically forced herself down his suit. It was almost like she used him as human shield, grabbing him by his shoulders and turning him between her and the dark tunnel Johnson had disappeared into.
"Why are you so close?" The Vulpes Agent asked.
"You…you're the who's close to me," Alice grumbled.
"But – "
"Besides! Why would you think I'd be afraid of anything like this!" She called out to Johnson. "You would know, with your technology! Ghosts are so unscientific and everything. Just an ignorant product of foolish humans."
All of a sudden, Luka saw something move in the darkness. "Hey, what's that?" He called out.
Alice uttered a shrill cry and jumped at him, wrapping her tail around him.
"Hey, watch out!" With her tail around him, Luka staggered at the huge weight. "I just saw something!"
"A ghost?"
"No, not a ghost –"
"Don't say that word!"
"Come on, I need to focus-!"
With a huge effort, he managed to scrape the Lamia off him. He immediately brought his rifle to his shoulder, ready to defend himself against Desolas' troops.
A figure detached itself from the shadows, rushing straight at them. It wasn't an alien, but a Liminal. She had long, white fox ears and two thick tails.
"Look Alice, a Kitsune," Luka quipped, but there was no response. "Alice?"
He looked around. Alice was nowhere to be seen.
"Of course…"
The Kitsune had nearly slammed against him by the time she realized that she wasn't alone. "Ah! A human!" She yelped, immediately backing away from him like he was the threat. "What are you doing here?"
Luka didn't respond. The Kitsune seemed young, but when it came to Liminals, looks could be deceiving. Two tails meant she was relatively low on the Kitsune power scale, but those villagers didn't go missing for no reason.
"I'm looking for the – "
"No! Tamamo told me not to let humans take Poseidon's Bell!" The girl exclaimed, cutting him off. "I won't let you pass!"
"Who's Tamamo? And what did you do to Johnson?" Luka asked, lowering his rifle again.
"Not telling you! And I won't let you pass!"
Luka slowly took aim at the ground between the girl's feet. She might look like a child, he reasoned, but the Monster Girls here had certain…cravings that he did not feel comfortable with.
Three thunderclaps rang out as the stone underneath the Kitsune shattered. She cried out in surprise and, upon seeing he took aim at her next, turned tail and ran for her life.
He held his position for a couple of moments, then slowly lowered his rifle again, frowning. Taking aim at children would never feel normal to him.
"Are you finished?" Alice asked, having appeared by his side once more. "But this place is still infested with foxes. That type of Monster shouldn't be here."
"She said she worked for someone named Tamamo. She was ordered to prevent us from getting the bell."
Alice sighed. "My, what annoying creatures…"
"Let's…let's just keep going."
Johnson was nowhere to be seen. Alice and Luka came across a myriad of activated traps, including giant boulders, balls with spikes and pitfalls. None of them had claimed any victims however, which meant whoever passed by was either fast or string enough to shrug the traps off.
"What does a Kitsune want with Poseidon's Bell anyway?" Luka eventually asked. "Simply to deny us?"
"So you can use your head if you really try," Alice replied. "Going to all the trouble to cause a huge storm would be pointless if a human could just get the bell and sail through."
That made sense, but something was off. Those villagers said this storm came last year. If the Bell was so important, why wait until now to claim it? And during the same window of opportunity, no less?
As if reading his thoughts, Alice smirked and said, "I see you haven't completely lost your ability to think freely. Most humans would never try to venture this deep into the cave. Thinking that nobody would try, they probably left it where it was."
As she said that, Luka spotted movement deeper in the cave. With his augmented vision he could see the little Kitsune from before. She stood in a far passageway, waiting for them.
Wait, not quite. She was struggling in a giant cobweb. It looked like an Arachne's trap. Friendly fire? It seemed too convenient.
Luka dropped to one knee, carefully scanning the passageway for any sign of traps. "How did she get in there?" He muttered.
"Not all Monsters consider each other allies," Alice replied. "Like humans, they sometimes fight each other for stupid reasons. Insect-types for instance will make almost anyone their meal. The Kitsune was just stupid."
Sentient creatures eating other. In the wake of the Covenant invasion and the Brutes, that hit particularly badly. Luka rose to his feet even as Alice disappeared and retrieved his combat knife. Arachne silk had an incredible tensile strength and was very hard to cut. But the sheer degree to which the UNSC could sharpen their knifes could offset that perfectly.
People eating people? Over his dead body.
"Easy. Easy," the Vulpes Agent said, carefully slicing through the cords that kept the little Kitsune stuck. "I'm getting you out of here."
Through her panicked cries and struggles, the Liminal suddenly cried, "Watch out!"
A dark form appeared above him. He didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately flung himself aside, barely in time to prevent the web's owner from pinning him to the ground.
A pale, grey-skinned Arachne rose to her many feet, propping herself up between the web and the Agent. She didn't look like any Arachne he had ever seen or fought with; her carapace was a sickly green and her human torso thin and lean. Her two eyes gleamed with hunger as she grinned.
"Ara…another stupid catch appears willingly in my web," she purred. "And a human at that!"
"Move!" Luka yelled at the Kitsune. He didn't plan on killing anyone today, but Arachnes had a tendency of forcing your hand. Even with his augmentations, training and Nightfall armour, Arachnes were still faster and stronger. If it came to it, only overwhelming violence would work.
The girl laughed and gestured with her chitin-covered, human hands. The thin wires of her web pulled taut and the entire thing seemed to fold in on itself. With another simple movement, she then tried to collapse the net around him.
Luka took two large steps back and thrust his left hand out, catching the web before it could trap him. The sticky strands wound themselves all the way around his armoured forearm.
"There you go, don't resist," the Arachne said, gripping the other end of the web with her spider legs and pulling him closer. "I'm just going to – "
Throwing his entire weight in reverse, Luka jerked his arm back and then behind him. Strong or not, the Arachne girl couldn't have weighted more than fifty kilograms. Luka, with his Nightfall armour, weapons, gear and extra ammunition, easily weighed twice as much. The Spider Girl cried out in alarm as she was hauled from her spot in the passageway.
Luka's gauntlet impacted on her chin, where her face wasn't protected by chitinous armour. She stumbled back against the wall, growling, but he already had his sidearm in his hand. He put one round through each of her human arm, the suppressed rounds still sounding eerily loud in the confined quarters.
The Arachne screamed as the munition punched through her slender arms and she threw herself backwards, desperately scrambling away with her spider legs. The hunger in her eyes had been displaced by mortal fear.
A decade of training under General Eventide had Luka sight in on the girl's forehead, his finger already on the trigger. It was the logical thing to do. It was the easy thing to do. He had done this many times before, why should this time be different?
Because that's not why you are here, a voice in the back of his mind said. And it was right; he was here to track down a rogue turian General. Anything else would be collateral damage.
Needless collateral damage.
"I'm not some human villager for you to prey on," Luka told the fallen Arachne. "I'm a UNSC soldier on official business. Now get out of here."
He didn't wait to see if the girl managed to scurry away after that. It looked like the Kitsune managed to escape, which likely drove her deeper into the cave, towards her master. Whoever that was.
"You finished?" Alice's voice came from somewhere behind him. "That was some brutality. Why not go all the way and kill her?"
"Because," Luka quietly replied, "There was no need. She was not a threat anymore."
"But you thought about it."
Her voice was calm and honest. She knew what went through his head, but she didn't judge him? "Of course. After the Covenant and the batarians...every human has the instinct of a killer. It's become natural."
"That Spider Girl needs to eat, too," Alice replied, her voice still one of careful indifference. "If she doesn't, she'll die. That's only natural too. Or do you think the act of hunting and eating is evil? Wouldn't that make all of nature evil too?"
"Not when the victim is sentient," Luka replied. He must not have sounded very convincing, since he could practically hear Alice shaking her head.
"It seems to be human nature to want to help when something happens in front of them, sentient victim or mere animal. Denouncing such an act in self-righteousness while still committing it yourself is…hypocrisy."
"Maybe. But in this galaxy, where humanity is hunted no matter where it turns, there will be always be people who want to help out the weaker ones."
"I'll see where that belief gets you…if you even believe it yourself," Alice said with a hint of finality.
Well, that was just fine with him.
It wasn't that much father into the cave. They didn't run into Johnson, but they did find the wrecked remains of what looked like an old-fashioned treasure chest.
"Mimic…" Luka said upon giving the chest a closer look. The pale, dark-haired girl that made up the inside of the "wood" had been knocked unconscious. "Looks like the Sergeant Major was too chewy."
"He is almost a Monster in and of himself," Alice replied. "Were he a true Monster, he would easily rank as a Queen."
Queen Johnson. Sergeant Major Queen. Queen-Sergeant Major Johnson. If ONI's profile on the man was in any way accurate, he would not even mind that. "Let's…let's just keep going."
They reached the deepest part of the cave not a few minutes later. Luka found himself - and only himself, which meant trouble – standing before an old, rusted door. A Liminal stood between him and said door, as if blocking the way. She had the lower body of a large vixen and the upper body of a…voluptuous young woman with fox ears.
A cold chill started at the base of his spine and slithered over his neck. She had an astounding seven tails that, according to the Encyclopaedia, made her the physical equivalent of a Spartan among teens. Or a Hunter around Grunts. Either way, physical violence wouldn't cut it here.
This might be bad, Luka thought. Nonetheless, he steeled himself and attempted to meet the Liminal's gaze. She had Power, with a capital P. It was a physical presence, a pressure weighing down on him simply by proximity. "Are you with the other Kitsune?" He asked.
"Yes," she replied. "I am Nanabi. Past this door lies the treasure…so I can't let you pass. If you choose not to turn back…"
"I figured that," Luka replied. He had his rifle out and trained on her chest in a heartbeat, his finger hovering over the trigger. There was no going back, not far any of them. The UNSC had done too many terrible things, destroyed too many innocent lives, for anyone to back down now.
Nanabi drew herself up, as if ready to unleash some powerful curse or other spell on him.
Luka's finger pressed down against the trigger –
The steel door behind Nanabi suddenly opened outwards. Out came Sergeant Major Johnson and a young-looking girl wearing a white and purple kimono. Her eyes were large and green and a pair of large, fluffy ears protruded from her blond hair, identifying her as another Kitsune.
Luka took his finger off the trigger and lowered his rifle again, while Nanani turned around. Her eyes widened when she saw the Spectre candidate. "Where – how - !"
"And that's when I said, "haha, real funny, I'm still shooting!"" Johnson laughed as he escorted the Liminal out.
"My, I can't believe how far your people have gotten!" The Kitsune replied with a smile, pressing the tip of a folded fan to her lips. "It's so good to see you become strong and wise on your own merits as a species!"
Luka quietly counted. One, two, three…seven…nine tails. She had nine tails.
A nine-tailed Kitsune. Luka didn't think ONI had ever located a true, nine-tailed Kitsune. Since Kitsune powers scaled exponentially with the amount of tails they had, it was very probable that this one could be up to forty times more powerful than Nanabi was.
Luka felt his knees tremble. This wasn't like staring down the barrel of a Hunter's cannon. This was like staring down the plasma cannons of a Covenant warship. She was a demi-god in all but name.
"I can't believe you didn't employ more security, Tamamo," Johnson simply replied. "Anyone could just walk into this place."
"There was only one door, Avery. And you did not walk through it."
"Details!"
"No way!" Alice's voice sounded from behind the ONI Agent. "What is that man doing with that woman?"
He wondered the exact same thing.
Tamamo's eyes then settled on Luka. Nothing about her suggested she was any kind of threat. No hostility, no pressure, no magic. Nothing. That in itself was eerie enough. "Hmm…so you're Luka?"
The Vulpes Agent nervously swallowed. What on Earth was Johnson doing? "Yes."
She laughed. "So cute. I would love to play with someone cute like you in my bed."
"That would be a pass, for now," Luka dryly replied. As he turned his gaze lower, he saw that Tamamo held a bell in her hand. An incredibly old bell attached to a string. "Is that…?"
"Indeed," this is Poseidon's Bell," she replied. "Crossing over to Sentora is so annoying, so I'm taking this. Honestly, it doesn't really matter to me, but Alma Elma is so annoying as well…"
Luka believed her. He didn't sense any form of hostility from her. "Who is Alma Elma?"
"One of the Four Heavenly Knights as well," Alice sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Causing a storm to block the route…sheesh, what was she thinking?"
"What reason do they have to block our progress?" Luka asked.
Tamamo's smile never wavered as she said, "She probably thinks bad things will happen if the Reclaimers make it deeper into our world."
…that didn't mean anything to him. It obviously meant something to Johnson, as he scoffed and looked away.
Tamamo flicked her fan open and raised a slender eyebrow. "With that said…if you want this bell, what are you going to do?"
"If I need it for the mission, I'll have to take it."
But before he could even think of raising his rifle again, Alice grabbed his wrist and jerked it down. "Stop. She isn't someone you can face."
Luka levelled a glare at the Lamia. "They never are. But if we don't face them, who will?"
"Fool," Alice muttered, her eyes dead serious. "You utter fool. How utterly hopeless your people must have been."
Watching the two of them, Tamamo suddenly started laughing. "That's surprising, that human caught your interest, Monster Lord? Even after all the warnings the Didact left behind, all these millennia ago?"
~0~
Emerald Cove
New Barbados
The streets thrummed with life. As the evening went on and the alcohol flowed aplenty, the individual members of the team began to tentatively reach out to one another. Their voices grew louder as the drinks washed away their initial apprehension at being there, more willing to share with each other as the various cafes and little restaurants around them filled up.
"And then she said, 'that's the ultimate difference between Marines and other servicemen," Miia laughed. "'When I break out the strap-on, the Marine's ready to spread those – ""
John didn't like the sound of that one bit.
"Really?" Kyuri said, having grown more energetic as the evening continued. "Is that how Marines roll, Will?"
Said Marine took a carefully measured drink. "Some of them, I guess."
At that, Miia and Draco looked at each other slyly. The Chief, for his part, felt very out of depth here. Draco and Miia seemed to dominate the conversations and Kyuri was no slouch either. Now that the sun was completely gone, her attitude did a complete one-eighty.
Was it easier for Sergeant Derek? He didn't look bothered by all of this. According to his psych profile – which Cortana confirmed – his mind wasn't all there anymore. At least not all the time. So how did he do it?
"Some of them?" Kyuri said, a little bit too eager to be innocent. "What about you?"
Derek kept his expression perfectly straight. "I have been known to occasionally shove things up my ass, yeah."
The girls erupted in laughter. Maybe they thought he was joking. John would assume that the sniper was serious. People always compared Marines and ODST's to Spartans, Elites, Brutes and Liminals. In those comparisons, the normal human soldier always came up short. What those people tended to forget was that Marines were pretty crazy by themselves.
Case in point.
"It comes naturally to some people," Miia laughed, before taking another sip from her drink.
Rachnera shifted, brushing a bang of hair out of her face. She'd downed a couple of drinks in the course of the evening and her cheeks were a healthy shade of red. "Hmm…how'd you get those scars, Will?" She asked, her voice almost predatory.
Plasma scarring covered a portion of the left side of Sergeant William Derek's face, running from his eyebrow to his cheek. His skin there was darker and rougher. With the way Covenant Plasma worked, it was a miracle the man still retained full use of his eye.
"Got shot at," Derek replied after a moment of silence. "Jackal snipers."
The girls looked at him with anticipation, but when he didn't continue, John saw that anticipation turn to annoyance.
"How'd it happen?" Miia grumbled. "Come on, tell us!"
Derek was silent for a couple of moments, looking pensively at his drink. The corners of his mouth tugged up into a little smile, but John doubted it was genuine. "Had to work my way through one of their teams. The last one was on oversight. " He shrugged, never looking up from his glass as he talked. "It was faster."
"But it didn't blow your head off?" Draco said with a snort.
John winced. "Draco…" He quietly said, hoping his tone was enough to make the young woman back off.
Dracosa gave him a quick look, scoffed, then looked away.
"I caught it scoped in on me," Derek explained. "I rolled to the right. Should have gone for the left."
"And it nearly took your face off," Rachnera said. Her tone was empathic enough, but her scarlet gaze held something predatory.
Derek looked up from his glass and met Rachnera's gaze. For a moment, his dull grey eyes were as predatory as hers. "Yeah. But I was still faster."
John blinked. Something was going on there and he didn't much care for it. However, he had no idea what it was and the moment immediately passed when Derek frowned, looked back down at the table and plucked Draco's straw from her glass.
The Dragon blinked in surprise, but by the time she realized what had happened. Derek had already shoved it into his own glass. "It's not all bad," he said, his tone back to its normal hazy, distant state. "I'm just naturally ugly."
Draco stared at the young Sergeant in utter disbelief while Kyuri struggled for air. John couldn't help but admire the man's audacity – even though he knew for a fact that Draco would get some violent payback for that.
"Maybe give yourself a shave," laughed Miia. "Without that beard, you'll be much more of a pretty boy."
"There's a nickname I haven't heard in a while…" Muttered Derek.
After that, the intense physical demands of talking became too much for Will and he became quiet again. At that point, Miia and Kyuri were happy to shift their attention back to John instead, although Rachnera looked…almost wary of the airplane-mode sniper.
Something was definitely going on there. He'd ask Cortana to look into it.
John met Kyuri's gaze. He saw the hungry glint in her eyes. It was time to go.
"Kyuri and I are heading back," he said. "We'll see you tomorrow."
Miia pouted, but she didn't object.
The others would probably push further into the city. Perhaps one of these days, the Chief would understand the appeal. As it was now, it was bit too much for him to handle.
But Kyuri didn't seem that bothered. She gazed at the sights around them with open wonder, skipping from one side of the road to the next, a little bit like a Harpy.
"I've never been to a city like this before," Kyuri said, eyeing a store that sold clothes more suitable for a warmer climate. "It's so much bigger, so much better organized than where I'm from."
If John recalled correctly, Kyuri said she came from Arcadia. She had been stuck in cryostasis for three years. "Were you born on Arcadia? Is that where your family lived?"
"No, I was born on Falaknuma, in the Inner Colonies," Kyuri replied. "My people have a large presence on Falaknuma. You could say that they own it."
With the Vampire lifestyle, that made Falaknuma a planet that an entire Liminal subspecies could call their own. And still Kyuri left. She would prefer risking her life to returning to her father.
A horrible through occurred to him. "Kyuri," John asked in a low voice, "You said you didn't want to return to your father, not ever. Did he…was he…?"
She turned to look at him, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "What? Oh, no, no! It's not like that! No, father would never do anything to physically hurt me. It's just…he had certain expectations that I couldn't live up to. He…all of them wanted me to be a person I couldn't be." Kyuri shook her head. "If I stayed there, I…I…"
John placed his hand on her shoulder, gently nudging her. "You don't have to explain if you don't want to," he said. Some things took time. Time that, for the longest time, nobody knew they would have. Now, for the first time in two decades, people could take their time exploring their relationships with other people. It was a frightening prospect for many.
Kyuri paused when he said that. She took a deep breath. "No, you have a right to know. You all risk your lives doing things nobody wants to do, and I tried to hurt you. And you still accepted me in your team."
"Unless that personal information will influence the mission, your mental welfare has priority," John simply said.
The Vampire smiled, a sliver of white canines showing. "I don't think it will. I doubt the mission will take us to Falaknuma."
John certainly hoped it wouldn't.
They walked underneath an arch woven from trees which took them straight past what had to be the swimming pool. John had only ever heard about such leisure activities. Artificial beaches, small enough to fit in your garden. These things, constructed with Liminal species in mind, certainly didn't look like they could fit in a garden. They were large enough for Miia to easily swim around.
John watched with amusement as an Ogre tried to convince her turian boyfriend to swim with her. The turian looked absolutely mortified, even though the water wouldn't reach much higher than his knees if he joined her.
Would Saren have the same aversion to what was basically recreation for children?
The apartments were only a minute away from there. They were not very crowded. Most of the vacation-goers had gone to the pools or to the bar. John did not need enhanced senses to hear them laughing and splashing in the water, or the strange music that came from the restaurant next over.
"Why don't you want to tell us your name?" Kyuri suddenly asked. "Everybody wants to distance themselves from the fighting, Not you?"
John looked away. It was a part of him he did not feel comfortable with sharing. The less she knew about him – the less anyone knew about him – the better. The media had turned his brothers and sisters into larger-than-life heroes, ushered forth the belief that Spartans never died, never faltered, never failed.
Someone once said that the existence of children raised for war was humanity's greatest failure. The vast majority of civilized space would agree. John understood why. If any member of his team were to find out…
"It's…" he shook his head. Trust was one of, if not the most important standards a soldier could possess. Withholding personal information was paramount to lying to his team, something he vowed never to do.
Damned if he did, damned if he didn't.
"Spartans don't have much left," John murmured. "No matter what happened, who or what we lost, we would always have our name. We…don't share it easily."
"So what do you want to be called?"
What did he want?
Taken aback, John shot the girl a puzzled look. He couldn't remember the last time anyone asked him a question like that. The first answer that came to mind was a simple "I don't know", but that wasn't true. He missed the familiarity with his Spartans.
…maybe "I don't know" wasn't that simple after all. "Miia and Rachnera seem to have made up their minds," he replied.
"They do like to tease you, yes. I guess it's just that easy."
Yes, the Chief supposed it was.
It was a lot quieter back inside of the apartment. The noise from the other guests wasn't as audible in there and once Kyuri shut the drapes, John felt a modicum of privacy.
"How do you want to do this?" He asked as he sat down on the bed. Just like Rachnera, her mouth was full of razor-sharp, shark-like teeth and yet…something about Kyuri made him more uneasy. He felt true fear and at the same time, a hint of longing.
Kyuri didn't say a word. With a single stroke of her wings she landed atop the bed, half next to him and half behind him. She folded her long, black thumbs around the base of his neck and leant towards him. Her lips brushed against the nape of his exposed neck, her hot breath tickling his skin.
Her eagerness took him by surprise and he flinched at the sudden contact. Uncertainty welled up inside of him, but he forced himself to remain still, to remain calm. A quiver ran through Kyuri's slender body – the only warning John got before she sunk her teeth into his neck.
He felt a twinge of sharp pain, but that lasted only a second or two before turning into something different, something he was completely unfamiliar with. He felt the tension seep from his muscles and every thought even remotely connected to resisting just ebbed away.
It felt pleasant in a strange sort of way. John never thought that having his blood sucked by a Vampire could feel like this. He had spent so many years within his suit that he couldn't even remember the last time someone touched him and now, he almost felt sense deprived.
Her hair brushed against his pale, sensitive skin and her smell was almost tantalizing.
Kyuri shifted, circling to his left and pressing herself against his side. Without thinking about it, John wrapped his arms around her in return, careful not to hurt her. Her thin body felt burning hot to his touch.
John's heart pounded in his ears. His body felt warm and hot – it was an unfamiliar feeling, something he usually associated with an infection or heavy medication but different somehow. There was no more discomfort or apprehension; he felt calm. His unease at being outside of his armour faded away. It left him free to notice things he never noticed before.
But then Kyuri pulled away, a thin trail of blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. "You're a virgin?"
She got that just from his blood?
"How are you still a virgin?" She murmured. Her voice sounded like it came from underwater. The look in her eyes sent a shiver down his spine.
Is that bad?" He asked in a daze, struggling to gather his thoughts His mind felt like it was on fire. He reached up almost compulsively to feel where her fangs had penetrated his skin.
She parted rather abruptly, quickly disentangling herself from their embrace. She looked almost mortified. "But…someone like…with your..."
John still felt his heart hammering away in his chest. Did he make a mistake? Neglect something important?
The Vampire stared at him, still looking shaken. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to presume," she quietly said. "I just never thought…no, I'm sorry."
He cocked an eyebrow. She was sorry? If both of them believed they wronged the other, was there even a problem? "Slow down. What happened? What's the problem?"
Kyuri's expression was…odd, to say the least. She looked at him like she had never seen him before. A moment later, she softly shook her head and said, "Come on, let's get out of here."
"Out?" John asked, looking at her questioningly.
"Out," Kyuri repeated eagerly. "The city. Night life. I want to see it. With you."
Tentatively, John reached out for the bite mark on his neck. It tingled in an odd, pleasant way. His skin was warm and sensitive there. It almost felt like narcotics were in play.
Night life. The city would be loud. Confusing. Going out there would be a bad idea. But…he wanted to go anyway. He knew that a part of him was off. Compared to the others, he was…he didn't function like they did. He was a soldier, but not a person. Not like the others.
He couldn't be there for his team if he didn't grow as a person. That required change and an open mind.
No matter how uncomfortable it was. .
"Sure," he replied. "Of course."
They got redressed. Kyuri helped him pick different clothes. He hadn't packed that much, but she was confident she could make it work.
A minute or ten later, she was confident that they could go shopping the next day. After that, they headed back into the city.
They went to a little sidewalk café and got something to drink. It wasn't terribly exciting, but it was cosy and private. They talked. Kyuri laughed.
It was fun.
John hadn't had fun in a long, long time.
~0~
Draco waking up, looking for her family
Dracosa bolted up in her bed, a scream frozen in her throat. For several nightmarish seconds, she didn't know where she was, didn't know if the images conjured by her mind were real or nor. She blinked and frantically rubbed at her blurry eyes, wiping at the tears and cold sweat long enough to see where she was.
Irrational fear coursed through her heart like a drug. Where was mom? Dad?
It took her several agonizing moments of confused, panicked breathing before the memories came again, as did the raw, torturous moment of realization that she was alone.
Draco put her hands over her face and began to cry.
Time went by. She didn't keep track. The memories were all that remained, every wound reopened again. Despair and hatred enveloped her thoughts like a storm, threatening to consume every rational part of her mind that still remained.
Why are you alive? They asked her. Why haven't you avenged us? They demanded.
She couldn't get them out of her head. No matter how much blood she shed, no matter how many corpses she piled up, their voices only grew louder – screaming at her, calling out to her, inescapable and irrefutable.
This was her morning. It had been her morning yesterday. It would be her morning the next day.
Forever.
She couldn't put it out of her head.
Oh God…
But David had taught her. He taught her to find a balance. A strong mind in a strong body. Keep living. Keep fighting. Keep fighting for the people who died. Keep fighting for a miracle to happen.
Draco slowly opened her eyes again, The sun was rising already. It was morning. Couldn't be much later than nine.
She pulled her sleeve across her face, wiped away the tears. She put on her face, the one the Marines taught her was the only one the world would respect. Then, the she looked over at the other people in the room.
Miia ay curled up in her bed, hugging a pillow. Rachnera hung in a makeshift hammock from the ceiling.
Naked.
For a moment, Draco just stared at the Arachne. She had a very pretty body, with gracious curves and a well-endowed chest. She wouldn't look out of place on the cover of one of those beauty magazines. Many Liminals were like that. Draco hadn't met enough Dragons to know if that went for her people, too.
Whatever. What would she care? Excess fat was just a hindrance in combat. Made for a larger target.
…did Chief know Rachnera slept naked, too?
Draco looked around the room, but she didn't spot him. Maybe an early morning run?
She swung her feet from the bed and rubbed her eyes. Shore leave didn't change a lot of things for her in the morning. She took a quick shower, washing off the cold sweat she had worked up during the night terrors. She brushed her teeth, polished her scales and then decided on a set of civilian clothes to wear. It was going to be a warm day and they were bound to hit the beach, so she picked something seasonal.
Chief didn't return.
Worry began to gnaw at her mind. What if he hadn't returned with Kyuri last night, at all? What if she had done something to him? Even the greatest warrior in the galaxy wasn't invulnerable if caught off guard.
The Dragon strapped her boots on, careful not to accidentally cut the leather, then grabbed her phone – one of the few civilian items she had on her – and opened the door to the hall.
Some people were already up. Children played at the pool, families enjoyed breakfast at tables made from white wood. Draco couldn't recall if Miia ordered an all-inclusive stay, but neither the Chief nor Kyuri struck her as the type to grab breakfast on their own.
Trouble?
Draco paced back and forth for a moment, unsure of what to do. All these civilians around her made her nervous.
She pulled out her phone and, not sure what else to do, decided to try and contact Cortana. The AI had proven to be ferociously protective of the Chief. If she could supervise spacebattles between a hundred modern warships, she could find one Spartan on vacation.
But how would she contact her? It wasn't like Cortana had a number to call, did she? From what she understood, civilian channels and military channels weren't compatible.
Draco shrugged, then pulled up an extranet search engine and asked it where the Chief was instead.
Maybe a second or four later, someone gave her a call.
"Uhm…hello?" Draco answered.
"Good morning. You're up early."
"Not really…Cortana, is this you?" Draco asked.
"Yup. I couldn't help but take a peek at your browser history – "
"History?"
" -and noticed your question. Don't worry; he's fine. He went ahead to scout the route to the beach. Kyuri's sleeping in one of the rooms – not sure which. He'll be back any minute now."
Fair enough. That made. Draco hung up and returned to her room, where the others were finally waking up.
Rachnera seemed to have locked herself in the bathroom, clothes included. Probably a privacy thing. Miia had some trouble waking up, if her angry grumbling was anything to go by.
Draco could hear the guys laughing and shouting from two rooms away. She guessed everybody wanted to start the day early.
Eventually the Arachne emerged from the bathroom again. She was dressed seasonably too. In fact, her appearance made Draco feel overdressed. The bikini underneath her white jacket didn't leave much to the imagination. In that, her fashion tastes were much like Miia's.
"Better, don't you think?" Rachnera said with a cocky grin. "Don't be coy. I caught you sneaking a peek, when you thought I was sleeping."
Draco felt her ears flush with heat. "I don't peek," she growled. "And I'm a girl, so who cares?"
"A girl, right," Rachnera replied. "The way you dress, people might assume otherwise."
Draco blinked in confusion. Assume otherwise?
"You can't work with what you don't have," Miia said, stretching lazily in her bed before stifling a yawn.
Draco felt her face growing redder. "S-Shut up!" She hissed at the two women. "What's the point? They're j-just a hindrance to a soldier!"
Rachnera raised a slender brow. "A hindrance?" She repeated, surprised. "You can't be a soldier a hundred percent of the time. You need to relax and have fun, too. What's the point of living if you can't enjoy your time?"
Draco wasn't sure how to reply to that. She managed to avoid such things for now, but the damn Arachne might have a point.
Thankfully, the Chief chose that moment to return from his recon. His stern, pale gaze moved from Rachnera to Miia before settling on Draco herself.
"Morning," he quietly said
"Morning darling!" Miia practically purred. "You were up early."
"It seems the beach is open," replied the Spartan.
"My my, all serious and stuff," Rachnera said, waving her hand dismissively. "It's a beach. It's always open."
"There's more," Chief replied. "After Emerald Cove was recolonized, it became home to a large population of merfolk, displaced by the war."
Rachnera's expression lost its cheer. "Is that…a problem?" She asked.
Draco shrugged. Wouldn't be a problem for her; she could swim.
"Nobody here has any problems with merfolk, no," Miia said, frowning. "Uhm…at least, not that I am aware?"
The three of them turned their gaze towards the Spartan. With a service history like his, it wouldn't be impossible for some trauma regarding merfolk to have occurred. These days, almost everybody had a gaping, festering wound in their soul. Most people could hide it and pretend to function in their everyday life. So long as nothing reminded them of what they had lost - what had been done to them.
The Chief's brows furrowed. "The beach won't be…private."
"…it's a beach, darling," Miia said, while Rachnera just stared at the Spartan. "It's not supposed to be private. Being there with other people is part of the fun. I don't see how Mermaids can take away from that fun."
Chief couldn't argue with that. So, while Miia swiftly got dressed and started packing her things, Draco went to get the other guys. Stacker and Dubbo lay on their beds, dressed in civilian clothes. William Derek was up too, having dressed in that ridiculous civilian outfit he picked back on the Reach. Black shorts, blue tinted shirt and jungle hat in all their hideous colour schemes.
He sat there, cleaning his boots and oiling his combat knife. It was the Marine equivalent of a girl painting her nails, something which Draco didn't hesitate to explain to the man as she dragged him towards the door.
Somewhere along the way, Kyuri joined them too. Draco had no idea where she came from – nobody even noticed her until she stood right behind the Chief, scaring the daylights out of both Miia and Dubbo.
Stealth came more naturally to some than others.
The Vampire handed Chief a yellow bottle. "Sunscreen," she said with a tired little smile. "We're going to need it."
It wasn't a surprise. They were both pale, with bruises from restless nights shadowing their eyes. Chief could have easily passed for a Vampire himself.
When everybody was packed and ready to go, they headed towards the beach. It was a beautiful day and apparently, that meant everybody wanted to hit the water. Nerves tingled underneath Draco's scales as the concentration of civilians increased. Her pulse quickened.
Her instinct, shaped and hardened by years of training and fighting, screamed at her that she was in danger. Every man who came close to her was a threat, every alien a target.
Covertly, she watched the rest of the group. The others didn't look nervous. Miia didn't look nervous. She was calm, and laughed at a joke Stacker made.
What's the point of living if you can't enjoy your time?
Deep down, Dracosa Victorias knew that she wasn't right in the head. People talked. She always pretended she couldn't hear them, but she did.
She never cared for their petty little opinions. Fighting was all she had. She lived for the rush of warmth and pleasure she got whenever she tore apart another monster. She longed for the sensation of hot blood splattering across her bare skin. Only then did she feel alive.
But when that ended, she felt…hollow. Empty.
Alone.
What else was there for her?
The trail led them across a series of dunes. Beyond that was the clearest, most beautiful sea Draco had ever seen. Emerald Cove had been a treasure of a planet before the UNSC was forced to abandon it, but now it was something else entirely. No wonder even the aliens wanted to come here.
Soft, white sand stretched out before them, to the left and to the right. Someone had constructed what looked like small villages in the sea, roughly twenty meters from the coast.
"Oh wow!" Miia exclaimed. "Those look beautiful! Do you think the Mermaids built them?"
Draco didn't care either way. The only Mermaids she ever met were part of the Mer Armed Forces, Dark Activities Squadron.
"According to the brochure, they're supposed to be the beach's luxury activities," Stacker said, pulling a paper brochure from out of his shorts. "Eel Mermaid massages, electrostimulations – shit, they even got a barber!"
"A barber…" Derek muttered.
"Thinking about catching a shave?" Dubbo laughed.
The sniper made a vague, grunting noise in return.
" Electrostimulations? We should write Saren down for one," Miia said.
"Speaking of that asshole, where'd he go?"
The Chief took off his jacket, revealing a white shirt that barely fit his broad-shouldered frame. "He struck out on his own," he said in a deep, gravelly tone. "He'll be around."
Draco assumed that Chief didn't care at all about the shady turian, so she presumed to not give a shit either. She followed close behind the group as they came upon the beach. The sound of the waves was beautiful to listen to, although she didn't care for the smell of salt.
Miia picked a spot seemingly at random, though Draco noted that it was relatively far away from the other guests enjoying the beach.. It was a sunny day and the beach was a popular place to spend it. Lots of people around. Humans too. Fit, young and loud, enjoying themselves with a whole myriad of games involving balls, inflatables and physical contact.
Draco snorted and looked away. She wouldn't be much better off with the Mermaids; a man like the Chief stepping on the beach was bound to get all sorts of attention. He caught more than a fair amount of looks, though not all of them were appreciative.
The Chief was big for a human. Big, muscled and eerily pale. More than that, he was a killer, in a different way than Draco was. She would tear combatants limb from limb in a moment of heated adrenaline and passion. The Chief would hold a prisoner of war underwater beneath his boot until they stopped struggling and never feel a thing.
Draco believed that meant the Chief was, on some level, as fucked up as people thought she was. But where she had simply experienced too much bad things, she felt like he never experienced the good things. And that was arguably even worse.
So fuck what the others thought. Draco clutched Chief's right hand and held on to it, glaring venomously at anyone who dared to stare at the man.
"Are you much of a swimmer, darling?" Miia asked as she set down her backpack, before pulling out what looked like a parasol divided into twenty different parts.
"It's been a while," Chief replied in a low voice.
They settled down on the hot sand, maybe twenty meters away from the sea. Stacker and Dubbo lasted perhaps ten seconds before they both decided they had to where the Mermaids were and ran off.. Maybe it was for the better.
Of course, Draco didn't miss the enormous blink the Sergeant offered the Chief.
She snorted. Men.
Chief didn't look like he understood its meaning. He sat down on the sand, staring at the waves as they gently rolled across the water.
Kyuri sat down underneath the parasol, her pale visage protected from the sun by a pair of massive sunglasses. She pulled out a paperback book from the bag. Where did she even find that?
It didn't take long for Miia to lose her patience and hit the water herself. Draco had to admit, she was pretty to look at. The way her breasts were held up by her strapless bikini top, or the way the lower piece of her swimsuit clung to her athletic body. She was lean and fit and attracted more than a few appreciative looks.
"The water's great, come on!" Miia yelled at them.
Before Rachnera could make a move, Dracosa clutched the Chief's hand again and pulled at it. Her own audacity surprised her and she froze, if only for a moment.
His eyes met hers and she swallowed a lump in her throat.
Not backing out now.
She tugged the Chief to his feet, carefully of course. He looked at her quizzically, but thankfully didn't protest or pull free.
Draco didn't consider herself a swimmer. Dragons belonged in the sky, with the land as their dominion. Water didn't agree with her. Her tail made swimming difficult and her wings produced too much drag for her to make any meaningful distance or depth.
But yes, the water was nice.
Chief didn't have any difficulty in the water. With the Spartans being the ultimate special forces, it only made sense that there wasn't an element in which they didn't excel.
In the water, Draco felt her eyes drift towards Chief's body. She noticed the myriad of scars he had collected during his career as a Spartan. Angry, red lines pocketed his body, too symmetrical and straight to be scars. Nature abhorred straight lines. Those looked like surgical cuts. Strange.
She wasn't sure if he noticed her looking. She thought she caught him looking at her and the others a few times, drawing his gaze across their bodies too. He wasn't subtle about it. He wasn't anything about it, except maybe professional. Distant. Appraising the body of a fellow warrior, not someone he was attracted to.
But maybe she was wrong about that. She was wrong about lots of things not relevant to fighting.
Rachnera's words echoed through her mind again and she suddenly felt a bit more conscious of her own body. Maybe Chief didn't appraise her that way because he didn't think she was attractive enough? Like Miia and Rachnera herself were?
She snorted. Not possible. She was a Dragon; the most powerful race in the galaxy. Of course someone like Chief would be attracted to her.
Miia appeared out of nowhere and dragged her tail across the water, slapping a large wave of salty water towards Chief's face.
His left forearm was up in an instant to shield him from the sudden attack, but he still got soaked for his troubles.
"Come on, you're both so serious," Miia laughed. "Loosen up!"
Anger had something ugly on her tongue in an instant, but a second's thought made her reconsider. Miia meant well. More than that, she cared for the people on her team. She meant good, which was better.
"Is this your idea of loosening up?" Chief wryly said, wiping some of the water from his eyes.
Miia shrugged. "It's a start. Once you start getting with the small things, it'll be easier to have fun with the big things." She grinned lazily, as if she just made a joke, but then realized neither Chief nor Draco got what she meant. "Or, you know, something like that."
As they talked, more of the Mermaids hit the water around them. The curious water-dwelling Liminals circled around the beach-goers and Draco found herself pressing closer to the Chief.
"God, look at these two killing machines," Miia said with exasperation. "The bane of the Covenant and the Hegemony, scared of some swimmy girls."
"Who said anything about being scared?" Chief replied with a hint of amusement. After that, he took a breathe and dove under the water like an absolute lunatic.
Miia laughed and ducked underwater as well.
Draco would rather eat Derek's bush-covered sniper rifle than admit she was scared, but she was a lousy swimmer. Trying to follow those two and drowning in the process didn't constitute much fun.
Then again, she would rather drown than be left behind.
So she dove as well.
People could say about the Mermaids what they would, but they had tended to this world with loving, almost maternal care. The aquatic ecosystem had flourished under their watchful eye. The ocean floor was covered with sprawling coral reefs like an underwater rainforest. Every form, colour and texture imaginable.
Draco had only ever read about coral reefs. To finally see them with her own eyes…it was beautiful.
Miia climbed through a circle-shaped piece of reef, her long, serpentine body graceful and powerful. Her long, crimson hair trailed after her as she turned mid-glide, observing her surroundings with a calm, serene gaze.
She was beautiful.
Everywhere around her, Draco saw life. Fish that ranged from little things barely visible with the naked eyes to large prey animals that would feed an entire family once caught. Of course, the Mermaids were all around them, too. Playing with humans and aliens and other Liminals. Entertaining others in more…intimate ways.
They looked so serene. So natural in their element.
Then she spotted the Chief. The man had lungs of steel. He swam back up somewhere beneath the reef with powerful, confident movements. His muscles were lean and strong, but he looked too pale, too much like a creature that emerged from the bottom of the ocean.
Draco struggled to go deeper than the first couple of meters. She wanted to be down there with them, to enjoy the beauty of the ocean in the presence of comrades, but her wings wouldn't fold the way she wanted to and they slowed her down. She kicked with her feet and clawed at the water, but it didn't work. She didn't belong underwater.
The Chief was a natural, as graceful underwater as on the land. Together with Miia, he swam not towards the surface, but towards her.
Astonished, Draco watched as swam up to her level and locked eyes with her. His eyes were the colour of ice, too bright and too blue.
Miia wrapped her arm around her waist. Draco felt her heartrate spike at the sudden contact. She hated being touched, hated being in close proximity to people she didn't know, didn't trust.
Right now though, she didn't mind that much. The Chief was to her left. Miia was to her right. Together, the two helped pull her back towards the surface again..
Miia looked at her just before they breached. Just a happy, little smile.
A knowing smile.
~0~
[LEVEL 3 SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED
WELCOME, USER ██████]
Up to 2542, the Delta-6 Division was a classified military division of the Office of Naval Intelligence Section Three, composed of highly trained forward deployed operators. Following an intense increase in Black Fang and Templar activity and several total losses during the Human-Covenant war, the Beta-6 Division was disbanded and reorganized into the Office of Naval Intelligence Special Operations Group (ONI-SOG).
The Special Operations Group is a highly classified, multi-service United Nations Space Command special operations unit which conducted covert unconventional warfare operations during the Black Fang and Templar incursions as well as the Human-Covenant War. Little is known about the ONI-SOG's standard operation procedures or doctrine except for its involvement in controversial operations and rumours of brutality and sterile, depersonalized programs.
~0~