A friendly nudge in the right direction.
"Arbiter, may I come in?" A heavy voice came from the tent flap, the conversation of Spartan Locke replayed in his mind. Their world sat quite as the Covenant forces now laid dormant. The Spartan Locke gone on his mission to hunt the Master Chief down.
"Of course, Rtas." He spoke firmly, not turning to greet his friend.
"You keep yourself isolated from your men, they are concerned you do not celebrate the victory." He said, looking around the tent that had been their home for well over weeks now. The temple's fallen. "What ails your mind, brother? " The Arbiter was quiet, not sure what to speak of."Is it the Spartan?" He asked curiously.
"It is." He said as he clicked his mandibles. Rtas trilled in contemplation.
"You worry for his safety, why is this?" The black armor danced in the sun beam that cut through the weather beaten linen as he came closer to his friend. "I heard… rumors."
"They are no rumors. I am not ashamed of my choice." He said in a venomous manner. Rtas was taken back by that. He was not expecting that answer from his fearless leader .
"Nor do I judge, Arbiter." He replied, waiting for the Sangheili to seek the words he wished to speak. "Why does he not share a place by your side then?"
"He is my soul, Rtas. However… he rejected my bond, a long time ago. I still worry for what need may come..." He said in a saddened voice. Rtas spat at that, such a horrible thing to do.
"I did not know this… humans are cruel, selfish creatures." Rtas huffed. The Arbiter rattled his voice box as he rolled something flat and metallic between his fingers. A dog tag. He had taken it from the Ring memorial a long time ago, one of the Marines had hung it in honor seeing as the Chief had no other worldly possessions.
"Selfish indeed."
Thel had replayed that awful memory in his head time and time again. Rtas had mourned with him. The lost of a bond was no easy manner. And when the Chief had rejoined them. He drew out the stories he loved most from the Spartan's lips. Teasing him of his fragility outside his armor. It warmed the Sangheili's hearts. He had tried to rekindle the fire that once was shared between them.
But now as the Spartan pushed him away in such a terrible manner. The man had torn him to pieces with a few sharp words. Maybe he shouldn't have brought it up. He knew he shouldn't have but with his bond so close he wished to take him back. Back to the time they shared at Sangheilios. But that mattered not.
The Sangheili hissed, knocking something over as he muttered under his breath, grumbling dangerously to himself as his thoughts plagued his mind. He did not have time for this. Now he only had one thing set in his mind. Stop the Banished and return to Sangheilios. There was a small moment before he thought about just repealing his forces and leaving the humans alone. But that would not be fair. He could not let others suffer because of a bond gone sour. But it was time to let old wounds rest, he had known it had more to it than what he assumed..
It had been a few days since the connex box, the Chief going out and taking the time to grab more marines with their distress beacons in the area.The elite had pulled up the map as he marked down the Beacons that still needed to be shut down, many of the men going on about how the Banished were congregating along the base that had taken the mountain pass. That base needed to go.
John took to the FOB deck, the Elite watching him intently as he distributed weapons to the marines and Elites. He struggled with the anger that held heavy in his chest as he huffed, going on about what they were to expect. Three vehicles. One Razorback, a warthog, and a gungoose. John had offered the plan. But they needed bodies to suppress the troops hidden inside. Weapon had done a scan, it was rather large.
"Arbiter, are you ready?" One of his men came up to his side as he stared down at the Spartan.
"Yes, I will be there in a moment." He said as he stood tall, watching as the Chief handed out a last weapon to a battle hardened marine. John turned to look at him, wondering what the Sangheili thought behind those amber eyes...but this was not the day.
"Do you still plan on taking the wall alone?" The Arbiter asked.
"Every time we rush, we end up losing the entire squad. I'm not letting that happen this time.. I can assess the situation before I bring down the gates." John huffed as he checked his battle rifle. The elite just nodded some, standing tall as he looked over him, John could feel the stare on his back. "Did you need something?." He said, turning to look at the alien.
"May the forefathers keep you safe, Spartan." The Elite said flatly as he headed for the ramp, down towards the Warthog he would be driving. The pair had barely spoken for days, their missions becoming less successful due to the lack of communication either refused to have. John tsked as he headed after him towards the gungoose and hopped on. He would be driving alone, leading the Warthog and the Razorback to the base. John waited for everyone to green light before the convoy headed out on the road. Dust cloud followed their tracks, John turning a corner as they headed down the hill, the mountain pass opening up.
"Eagle Squad, hold back." The a chief instructed as they turned off down into the trees to hide their position as the Warthog continued to tail the gungoose. John revved the engine hard as he went further ahead. The sun hung high in the sky before he headed straight for the gate. Shots fired behind him as the gunner of the warthog sped behind him.
"He's here! The demon is here!" A grunt shouted loudly as it ran away. John pressed the button, the alarm sounding and flashing red as the gate retracted slowly. He took to a box for cover, keeping his back tight to it as he used suppressing fire.
"Lots of Banished, careful when you come in, building to the left, Brute war Master inside." He explained over the COM to the troops. But it didn't matter too much as the gate came down and the Warthog rushed in. Thel had gotten much better at driving as he whipped the vehicle around and towards the upper ledge where more Banished forces came from. Job cut down through the ground forces as they pushed forward, having to watch out for the vehicle that whipped around, firing at everything.
"Eagle Squad, you're clear for entry." John said as he could see the green light on his HUD before they headed from their spot and down the hill to the base. John held back as he looked up the ridge, a building blocked off by the force field. He tsked as he scanned the area, the area being hailed with bullets.
"Chief! He could use some help up here!" A marine shouted as he heard a crash from a gravity hammer. John sprinted up the hill, the warthog parked off by a wall as the Arbiter fought off an Elite with an energy sword, the marines fleeing from a very large brute swinging his hammer at them. "Shit! Chief!" He cried as he pinned to a corner, only for his last moments to be filled with screaming as the gravity hammer crushed his body. John's face soured as he bolted to the Brute, tackling it with everything he had. John rolled to his feet as he tossed a grpernade and ducked for cover. He wasn't in the mood to mess around.
Shouts from Eagle Squad from below them entering the base, taking care of the jackals and grunts on the lower landing, heading for the west gate to open it.
"Chief, the gate has a security lock down! We're not gunna be able to make it through!" John huffed as he looked back at the Arbiter, slaying another Elite with delicate moves. The Elite spat as he heard the marine's observation.
"Hold your ground, I'll find a way to reboot the door." The Chief jogged over time the large Elite, the grounds quiet as he looked at the building. "I need the inside of this building, why isn't the shield down?"
"It is much stronger than it looks, all the doors are locked. Rockets will not budge it." The Arbiter replied as he looked at it. He scanned the area, looking for something, anything to allow them into the building.
"Saw some brutes using jetpacks on the roof, might be an opening up there." The surviving marine said as he pursed his lips.
"Good eye, regroup with the others, me and Arbiter will take the building. Once that console lights up, hit it and get out of here." The Chief reminded him.
"Yessir, on it!"
John looked to the Elite before he nodded him along. Behind the force field seemed rather quiet, unsure if it were a trap or not, John climbed the ramp that lead to the roof.
A scared Jackal was on the side of the building, looking down the scope. Had he been smart, he would've been watching his back. With a single swoop of the Chief's arm his knocked the creature out with the butt of his rifle.
"Over here." Thel said as he looked down into the building from above. The hanger revealed the hanger bay. John walked over and looked down, nothing moving inside. "It seems to be a trap." The Arbiter said quietly.
"Probably is." The Spartan replied as he pulled two grenades from his belt and activated them, dropping one to the left and one to the right to get a decent coverage for explosion. It didn't take but for a second for the Banished inside to know what it was. A Elite shouting loudly, several squawks from Jackals as the explosion rocked the building. Thel laughed in a joyful manner, looking at the Spartan.
"Always so creative." He said before he took a step to drop off the ledge, only to be pelleted with plasma bolts. The Arbiter roared with anger as he headed for the other side of the room with his sword. John quickly joined him in the firefight, cutting down the remaining Banished. He walked to the console, releasing Weapon into it as she ran her diagnostic testing to drop the security lock down. The force field struggled and wanted as it dropped, the Chief just looking around as the Arbiter stood, looking down into a small room.
John cocked his head as he walked up, the Arbiter holding up his arm to stop him.
"You do not want to see this cruelty." He said as he looked at the Spartan with a frown. But John didn't care. He pushed past him, only to see dead UNSC soldiers on the ground, still restrained from the plasma core they were tied too. They had been cut down, the blood still fresh. The Banished were no longer taking prisoners. "I told you." The Arbiter said as the Chief walked to their sides, kneeling down. Their final moments, bound and scared for their survival. He had been moments too late. John huffed as he just turned back around, pressing past the Elite as he headed for the console to pick the AI up.
"We need to go, marines, the console should be up, drop the gate."
"Yessir! We'll meet you at the regrouping point." They called over the radio as he could hear the alarm from the dropping door. John just loaded his weapon so it was full before he looked to Thel. At least they had survived this onslaught.
"We should get out of here." John said as he headed for the door, the Arbiter just nodded some as they walked silently. Thel followed behind quietly as they headed for the parked Warthog, he'd leave the gungoose at the gate, knowing it was more than likely destroyed and not wanting to test their luck as they had right now. John got in the driver seat, waiting for Thel as they headed out, happy to have cleared the pass so quickly and easily.
-*-*-*-
They headed through the mountain pass as they climbed out of it, the group reuniting before taking off to another occupied FOB. They would take it swiftly against the Banished, needing something to rely on on the other side of the large canyon to resupply and stock up.
The marines and Elites cleared the bodies as Weapon worked on another safety beacon for their secure channels. It would take a bit at least, there had been some heavy damage in the fight. John looked around, much more room in the area than the other FOB's. The Spartan hit the floodlights on the console as the light came down on them all, everything able to be seen now. They were closest to the one of the last beacons, which he had appreciated more than anyone could know.
"You know.. I might not know the details of everything but I can see what happened weighs on your mind.." Weapon said quietly, interrupting his thoughts.
"What do you mean?" John said as he looked back at the AI.
"You, and the Arbiter." She said with a curl of her lip. She was smiling.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh don't I?" She asked curiously. "You know I can see your vitals every time he shows his face, right? Now I don't know why exactly, but I can tell something's up."
"Do you have a point to this or are you just making an observation?" John asked curiously. What a nosy little AI. The construct chuckled as she held her hands up.
"Look, all I'm saying is would it kill you to maybe repair whatever happened? Not like tomorrow is guaranteed. " Asmile played on her lips as she continued doing her data breach. "I'll even stay here. Give you some privacy." John sighed as he looked to the Arbiter, he was helping his men move things out of the way to make a more defensive position. Maybe the AI was right. Tomorrow wasn't guaranteed. And words left unsaid always hurt the worst in the Spartan's experience. John just holstered his weapon and looked to her console.
"Don't go anywhere."
"Right, like I have so much room to move around in here." She teased.
Hey guys, thanks for all the new watches and follows! I really appreciate your support! Sorry about the filler chapters, in the middle of INFINITE trying to play as I go along!
Reviews are always welcome!