"Come on. Is that all you got? Can you hit harder than that?"
Samantha weaved left and right, shuffling her feet as she sparred with her opponent in the ring. Her bright red gloves occasionally floating through the air, sweat glistening over her body as she landed a few blows.
It's been a long few months already. Halo had complied with everything the scientists have asked, what the Captain has asked, and what Sam has asked. She even managed to get an ongoing psychological report going on Halo. From what she could tell, he was one depressed Elite. Much of his memory was gone, and the parts of his memory that did remain, gave him nightmares. She wondered what an Elite, at the top of his game, could go through to spark such changes in him, changes that went completely against their teachings and defect to what the Elder's have branded as abominations.
Their teachings.... She remembered the briefing quite well. Jackals, Hunters, Elites, Grunts. Their ranks, how they operated, and why this was started in the first place. Humans were a plague to their Gods. An abomination that needed to be cleansed at any cost. She didn't have a clue why, nor did Halo. He knew for a fact, that his race would follow the words of the Elders, for their word was that of a God, or at least as close to one as possible. It was a holy crusade, something that every Covenant had taken into their very being. Even what their race was called: Covenant. It only fit the image of fanatics, and confirmed everything that the Humans had already assumed about them. But why go against ones teachings, brought up from childhood to be firmly rooted in these very teachings that ruled their entire race? And why Halo, of every Covenant out there? Halo was almost the best, his black armor signified this, at least in the Elite ranks. Black meant dedication to the Gods themselves. Unraveled in their mindset. Yet... here he was. It confused the hell out of her, and the fact that Halo didn't have any knowledge about his past, disturbed her. He suffered from some horrible nightmares, crying out some nights about a terrible flood, and woke up in a panic. When asked about it, the thoughts quickly faded, and he was as clueless as anyone.
It was almost literally, the universe's biggest mystery, staring back at her... wearing bright blue boxing gloves... and trying to dance around. She tried her best not to laugh.
The crowd of a dozen or so spectators cheered, waving their hands in the air. She landed another heavy blow, the large body of the Covenant, Halo, falling to the mat. Humans and their sports.... He cursed in his mind, shaking his head a bit before he got back up. Two months aboard this ship, Halo soon found out that Samantha loves boxing, and she was quite proficient at it.
She weaved again, a completely amateur blow missing her face by a safe amount, twisting her body to get in a good blow to Halo's midsection. He was fortunate that he had healed, and in a good amount of time, or else he would have been on the ground clutching at his abdomen. He moved back, getting a breather, and watched as Samantha taunted him. He tilted his head a bit, lifting his hands as instructed. Watch the shoulder, not the hand. Mind the footwork. Weave, and then strike!
Samantha oofed as she felt a good blow strike her abdomen, just yanking her head back to avoid a strike to her jaw. She hopped back, smacking her gloves together and chuckled.
"That's good. That's the way," she taunted, weaving again, having to use all of her reach just to strike Halo across the face. He stumbled, and was met with another punch, sending him to the mat. He caught his breath, staring at the mat. Girl's got a mean hook, he thought, wiping the edges of his mouth before he stood. He was wondering why everyone was trying to discourage him getting in the ring with her, and now he understood why. She's simply mean. Not what you'd expect from a Bible lover. But then again, no bible lover hit this hard.
Halo weaved once more, trying to imitate the Human before him. He avoided a few expert swings, then got her once more. Sam's squad was of course, on her side, but the other spectators were cheering for the Covenant, of all races. This was all in the name of fun, naturally, but that uneasiness that came with supporting your enemy race was in the air. Still, they couldn't let someone get the snot beat out of him without some kind of cheering. In Halo's defense, he didn't want to really try to hit her. He was much stronger than a Human, and he could have really hurt her. At least that's what he thought.
Halo cried out once more, having a blow land on what would be his chin. He hit the mat and groaned, holding his face as the referee started counting out loud. He waved off any kind of help, letting the count reach ten, and he had lost the match. Sam started to help him to his feet, patting him on the back before she raised her fists in victory, everyone cheering her for the well earned victory, and already she was taunting everyone with the words 'who's next'. Halo merely caught his breath. It was like his boot camp, being beat on like that, and even with padded fists, he still felt the sting from every blow. He was going to ache for a long time after this.
Climbing out of the ring, he had help getting his gloves off. It felt good to flex his hands after having them restrained in such a manner, and he was promptly given a bottle of water, which he drank greedily. He turned as his name was called out, and he spotted Samantha, giving him the thumbs up. He frowned a bit, trying to make sense of it, then mimicked her motion. He soon did the same, and she cheered before somehow getting Panda in the ring. Halo merely watched the bout, and it was then he saw just how vicious Sam really was. The third round, and Panda was almost knocked silly. He could see the passion she had in combat, that fury, that utter bliss. It was something he once had enjoyed, shared even, that passion. That fateful day... why was he dispatched to that colony? He couldn't figure it out. But in a way, he was glad. He was starting to feel more and more accepted here. He started to grasp the language they used, making out words, and some written characters of their language as well, but more importantly, Samantha made him feel like he was part of the team now. Just part of the guys.
Halo merely sat back in his seat, taking a large tablet, pressing the screen and started glancing over the words that had appeared. He had begun to memorize the language, and his grasp of the written version of the language was starting to get easier, though he still needed help with many of the words. Samantha flopped down besides him, wiping her forehead with a towel, and looked at the tablet before she started to undo the tape around her hands.
"What'cha reading?" she asked, looking over.
Halo frowned a bit, sounding out the word, "Ne... Neus." he replied, glancing to her briefly before looking back at the tablet.
Something about war, horrible creatures. He sighed a bit, placing it on the table before he watched everyone. Sam soon invited Halo to the recreation room just next to the gym, leading him by the hand, and he could swear she was excited to have this time on leave. That also included Halo, who was unofficially part of her squad. They were all enjoying themselves, having small parties and whatnot. The entertainment room was quite interesting to be in. A very large plasma screen displayed interesting pictures while someone turned on some music, further lightening the mood. Halo was trying to decide if the aural atmosphere was good, or if it hurt his ears.
Soon everyone was dancing, but his gaze was on the large screen. It showed a few actors doing what he was doing in the gym, but they were using their legs, shouting bird like cries. He liked the way they moved, never having thought a Human could move in such fluid or acrobatic ways. He watched the movie until the end, quite pleased about it. And then the news came on. He couldn't understand what was happening, but it depicted the Humans on their planet, Earth, struggling against natural disaster. Highly combative, like his people, but how they banded together to face any kind of threat. Complete strangers ensuring the survival of another. It was different in his home. The strong lived, the weak didn't last long. It was refreshing to say the least, and it gave him a renewed look on the race. Why is it the Elders wanted the destruction of the Human race?