"Wa - Wa... teh."

The Elite struggled with the word. He stared at the bottle of water in his hand, tilting his head a bit at the Human dialect, especially the biggest word, trying to decipher the bit of words before him. So far, it has been slow going to translate the language on his own, but it didn't stop him from trying.

"Wa... teh..... Wa-teh."

He frowned. He thinks that's what they call it in their language. The door was knocked upon, and lately, he was allowed to have some privacy, even his guards waiting outside of the door helped to make him that much more at ease. The door opened shortly after the knock, and Samantha walked in with a gentle smile. The Elite started realizing that form that the Humans used with their lips, was of pleasantry, and it made him feel a bit more pleasant. She bowed to him properly, and he returned the gesture, before holding up the empty container.

"Wa-teh." he said in a very guttural voice.

"Hello again, glad to see that you're drinking lots of-," she spoke, turning on the translator, then froze in her tracks, "...what?"

"Wa-teh." he said, showing her the empty bottle.

"You want... some more?" she asked, her mind reeling from this beast looking thing speaking English.

She stood, her mouth ajar, slowly moving back to the door as she tilted her head in confusion, her perplexed face being well read by the prisoner. The Elite of course thought that he had done something wrong, and was about to be executed. He simply lowered his head and stared at the floor, waiting for that loud crack and everything to go black. He was surprised to see another bottle of water presented in his vision, and he cautiously took it before bowing his head quickly. As much as he and Samantha were warming up to each other, no one really trusted each other, and every movement he dared to make felt like it was being judged.

He took his time, opening the bottle, then took a drink before looking up to her. She sat down, with a more serious look on her face.

"Well, it's been almost thirty days since you've been here. And I've been growing... concerned about your lack of exercise. I understand it is important, especially for an Elite to be in top physical condition. Am I correct?"

"Yes." the translator came to life, "for health reasons."

"Okay. And now the serious business," she spoke, clearing her throat, "my superiors are coming by in a short while, and they want to discuss the terms of surrender. They are well aware that you can wait a long time, and betraying your own people, you must have accepted the possibility of being killed, so there won't be any unjust methods to bend you to their will. What they are proposing is a trade. You get something, they get something. Would you agree to something like this?"

The Elite waited for the translator to stop translating, then thought about that. Getting something in return for exchanging something. It sounded like a good deal. But the part about accepting death.... He was ready for it, certainly. One doesn't go against his people and expect to survive longer than a few minutes. He took in a long breath, then answered.

"I will agree."

She nodded slowly, writing in her notepad, then looked up to him and let out a long breath, getting the hard stuff out of the way. She simply stared at the Elite, and was about to say something, though she remembered he doesn't answer to any kind of name.

"I think we have to come up with a name for you," she spoke and rubbed her chin, "did you have any ideas what you would enjoy being called?"

"No."

"Well then... hmmm.... How about... Halo?"

"Ha-lo," he growled, sounding out the word.

"Well... yes. So far you've acted like an angel."

"Angel?" he asked, tilting his head again.

"It's... nothing. Would you mind being called that?" she asked hopefully.

"No."

"Halo." she spoke, then offered her hand, "my name is Samantha."

He stared at her hand dubiously, then looked up to her, "You have already told me your name."

She frowned a bit at how straightforward he always was. She leaned forward, taking the larger hand of the alien, then placed it into her hand, making him clench her hand gently.

"This is how we Humans greet each other," she spoke, shaking hands with the Elite.

He tilted his head a bit, then shook her hand, being careful not to hurt her. She released his hand, then smiled and nodded.
"Good. We just have to work on form, but I think you'll do fine greeting people."

He tilted his head again, though slowly nodded his head, imitating her movements from before.

"And, I see you've been studying the Human language, English," she spoke, lifting the empty water bottle.

"Wa-teh." he spoke in his deep voice.

"No no no. Wa-ter. Try to pronounce the rrrrrrrrrr."

Halo frowned a bit, then cleared his throat.

"Wa-tehhhhhhhr."

"Better," she said and moved a bit closer to him as a smile formed on her lips.

She didn't know if it was the two of them opening up, or if she found herself calling upon some natural maternal instincts to a newborn trying to understand the ways of the world, but she was starting to feel comfortable around him. Which was strange, according to everyone else. Major Kidman would have been the first to lead a charge to wipe out any Covenant forces, yet here she was. She kept telling herself she was just following orders, trying to closer to him, but her squad could see her starting to enjoy being around him. They were glad to see her starting to smile again.

Her concentration was broken as she heard another knock at the door. It opened, and in walked the Captain, a cigar in her lips as she crossed her arms, staring at the scene, and wondering if she approved of her Major standing that close to the Covenant. She cleared her throat a bit before exhaling a long breath of smoke.

"Major, can I see you for a moment?" she asked, then stepped outside.

-----

The mess hall was fairly packed, considering its size. A lot of the troops assigned to this level had known about Halo by now, and they were confined to this deck to help keep them quiet about it. The last thing the Captain needed was to let everyone on board know that there is a dangerous prisoner on board. Captain Anderson was already seated, puffing on another cigar before she heard the doors open. Major Kidman entered first, and soon Halo stepped in after her, his hands held before him as a pair of metal cuffs secured his wrists in front of him. He was still a prisoner here. Kidman's squad entered last into the room filled the marines assigned to watch over the prisoner, all of them staring at him as he was led to the single chair before the Captain, and the highest ranking members of her crew. Kidman Saluted.

"At ease, Major," the Captain spoke, watching her take a seat next to her, then cleared her throat before opening a leather bound note book.

"Does the prisoner, here fore be named as Halo, understand that this is not a trial, but instead a hearing discussing your terms of surrender?" the Captain asked, looking over her notes she made previously last night.

"I understand." came the translated voice, causing Halo to tilt his head slowly.

"We're here today at 18:00 hours to discuss the prisoner's terms of surrender. Prisoner in question: Halo. Species: Covenant Elite."

Katrina nodded to the Captain, recording this entire hearing while observing the alien creature. Halo simply sat at attention, wary, but showing respect none the less to the Captain, the decider of his fate.

"Prisoner Halo may make first requests." Anderson spoke, leaning back.

Halo closed his eyes, taking in a long breath. When the translator finished speaking to him, he thought about what he wanted.

"I have three requests. I would like to have Major Samantha Kidman as my caretaker as being your prisoner. I would like to have a bit more freedom to remain active both mentally and physically. Finally, I request asylum," Halo spoke, then bowed low at the asylum part.

Hushed whispers started to fill the air. A Covenant defecting? The Captain looked rather surprised at this as well, but kept her composure, clearing her throat and motioning everyone to be quiet. She flared her eyebrows a bit, sliding the cigar out of her lips, and turned it in her fingers as she let her mind absorb what the Covenant was asking. Katrina as well, was quite surprised about this sudden change, yet her uneasiness about even having the Covenant on board was well documented. She couldn't stop thinking that this was some kind of trick, and the Captain shared a few of her thoughts. Samantha, on the other hand, was expecting this. Long talks with Halo, or as much as they could, made her believe that killing another Covenant, was an act of betrayal to their Gods, and betraying the Gods, were the highest crime one could commit. She understood why he would want to be under the care of Humans. They, gave him a chance to live. The Covenant, would have happily killed him by now.

The Captain merely took in a long breath, rubbing her chin as she placed her cigar down, contemplating the request. It had it's benefits, and of course, downsides. A small battle raged in her mind, trying to figure out if the good outweighed the bad. She cleared her throat.

"Two of the three requests I can accept completely, but the third.... I will need to have time to think about." Anderson spoke, looking to Halo.

The Elite nodded slowly upon hearing that.

"Now, for my requests. It should come as no surprise, but I do wish to have information regarding the Covenant. I would like to know common tactics, as much about their technology as possible, and information regarding your physiology. Being trained in emergency first aid, as I assume all Elites of your rank are, I also expect you to participate in weekly physicals and studies."

"Understood, Captain." he spoke, staring at her. Probed by Humans... that was a switch.

"And you do understand, that such an arrangement between us, is something to be used strategically. You can get into places that we can't without a fight. You can give us something invaluable. Initiative. You do understand that my terms, one way or another, will put you in harm's way, and you will be expected to follow the squad leaders to the tee, and more than likely have to take more of the lives of your brethren?"

"I understand." Halo spoke, rather dismayed.

Again hushed whispers filled the air. None of the marines could understand this. A Covenant ready to fight against his own people? The Captain, knowing that Earth would never grant this Covenant asylum, she decided to offer something that was well within her power, though not once used in the course of this war.

"Well... given the extremity of the situation, I do believe I have the authorization to offer you to defect to the Raven's Night, and accept you as a member of the crew," she spoke, the whispers filling the air again. She raised her hand, everyone hushing, "given the circumstances, I see no reason why not to offer you a place on the ship, and you have no reason to betray us. Though understand, you will continue to be guarded by Major Kidman here, and you will continue to be watched closely."

Halo nodded slowly, closing his eyes, "I understand, Captain."

"I know it sounds like a shitty deal, but you get to live," she spoke, closing the binder before she looked back to Halo, "when the Major deems you are fit to do so, I expect you to being reporting for duty. Everyone on this ship pulls their own weight, and you will be no exception."

Halo looked back up to her, then bowed his head slowly, "Understood, Captain."

"Dismissed," she spoke, standing and saluting everyone that was sitting in the conference room.