"What have you got Commander," Kalimee asked as he entered the bridge,

"Data recorder, four hundred kilometers off."

"Any way to retrieve it?"

"Someone needs to go EVA," McTallow replied, looking towards the Elites on his bridge. "We've got your species' suits all powered up. Volunteers?"

Kalimee sighed. "Hakimee, you're with me, we're grabbing that recorder, Nakumee, stay here.

Naba Nakumee lowered her eyes and let her mandibles twitch in frustration.

"I didn't come here to watch you complete the objective alone."

"You're staying here."

"Fine," she huffed, then turned and quickly walked away.

Kalimee felt his stomach move to other parts of his body as he and Hakimee catapulted out of the Isis. They activated they're jetpacks and used several short, controlled bursts to maneuver themselves towards the black box.

Shields flared as the two rocketed through various debris. Kalimee saw it ahead, about half a meter long and thirty centimeters wide, it was a greyish, olive-green. Unfortunately this olive-green was coming in to fast.

Kalimee turned around and fired a burst of rocket to reduce his velocity. One arm reached out for the box as another burst brought him to a near halt.

Finally he grasped it tightly, and fired a ten second burn to rocket back to the ship, with Hakimee in close pursuit.

"Watch it!" Kalimee looked up just in time to smash into a chunk of hull from a destroyed ship. His shields died and he was sent flying away from home. Kalimee positioned himself and fired another burst, careful to calculate the required vector. He was surprised to start spinning clockwise. The rocket motor behind his right shoulder had malfunctioned. Kalimee hit another piece of twisted metal, his recharging shields drained again, and fuel started spitting out of his suit.

"Hakimee. Help.." He attempted to correct his egression but failed miserably. He still had the black box in his hand, a lot of good that would do. He hit an old ether canister and blacked out.

It felt like an eternity but really it was only a few seconds. Kalimee slowly opened his eyes to greet the familiar slits in the environment suit. Outside was another Elite in the silver suit, clutching him tightly with both rockets activated and firing a lengthy burn.

"Excellency," a voice mused. Kalimee's mandibles widened. It was Nakumee.

"I though..."

"Never send a male for something so trivial as data extraction," the slightly-too-high voice said in mock disgust. Kalimee couldn't help but be slightly amused...slightly. It was after all comforting in a way.

After a few hundred kilometers and several burns, the two finally entered the new hangar bay of the prowler Isis. Nakumee set her feet on the deck, deactivated her suit, and let the barely conscious Lieutenant Kalimee fall to the deck. Even in the suit he was a special case, she decided. Yes, she had plenty of contact with the other sex, onboard Covenant starships, but something was special here. No, he was just yet another superior too confident of his own abilities. Nothing more. And nothing less.

Kalimee couldn't understand it. Why had we allowed his attention to stray? Sure Hakimee had more experience in zero gravity situations, but Kalimee had still done it before in sims. And why did Nakumee insist on defying her orders to come after him? What was a female doing onboard anyway?

Kalimee shook his head. He should have never allowed her to stay. She was just a distraction, she didn't belong here, she should have been on the next Pelican out. Command said she was a vehicle specialist, why did he need a vehicle specialist?

Kalimee remembered watching Elites return from a leave, they talked of 'tests' using females, means to determine who was dedicated to the Great Journey, but the humans had a fully integrated military, they had for some time now. Were they simply unaware of Sangheili culture? How would his ambivalence towards this Elite affect the outcome of this mission?

The door of Kalimee's cabin opened.

"We've deciphered the data recorder, Excellency," Hakimee said. "The commander wants you on the bridge straight away."

Kalimee nodded. "Tell him I will be there soon."

"What do you have for us, Commander?" Nakumee was saying as Kalimee entered the encryption room adjacent the bridge. The data recorder and decryption equipment lined the walls of the small chamber and several ONI men in uniforms devoid of insignia surrounded Nakumee, Hakimee, and Commander McTallow. The Commander acknowledged Kalimee's presence with a nod and replied to Nakumee's inquiry.

"We have decrypted the recorder, it belongs to a Pelican dropship. A pirate dropship," he added. He continued.

"Chief, play that tape." The ONI man closest to the equipment pushed a button and a scratchy yet coherent voice started speaking.

There are so many of them...Seraphs...uisers, everything...wait...what's that? Oh my god, it's the Governor's ship! Slipspace rupture...gone...the goddamned thing's gone...wait...no...gone...Two-Three-Five...from Earth...wait...no!

Everyone cringed as the recording ended in a blast and static.

"We now have an exit vector for the fugitive ship," the Commander continued. "No we just need a destination."

Wait a minute.

"I think I know where they went," Kalimee said for all to hear.

Everyone went dead quiet. All eyes turned to Kalimee.

"What was that you said, Lieutenant?" McTallow asked. Kalimee took a deep breath.

"There are legends," he began. "Of a world, even the Forerunners dared not go. A world of fire and metal," Kalimee took another deep breath. "It is said," he continued. "That those foolish enough to go, saw great horrors, beyond that of the Flood. Great horrors, that which could unite the galaxy in peace, or destroy it."

Hakimee listened closely; Nakumee looked on with interest. A few of the humans looked at their feet.

"The planet is four days by a Covenant slipspace drive from the Prophet's homeworld. That would be forty-six hours from here by Covenant."

"The Isis has a drive based on a Covenant design," the Commander said. "Is that where Doctor Halsey and the Spartan went?"

"I don't know," Kalimee said firmly. "But it's on the same vector. They could have gone there."

"I think it's settled then. I'll set course for this mythical planet. If it's there," McTallow said with a smile. "We'll find it."

McTallow and the rest of spooks left the room. Nakumee soon followed, pausing in the doorway to take a glance at her superior.

She doesn't trust me.

Kalimee felt sick. But it didn't feel right. It was a different feeling. He was sick to his stomach, or was he hungry? Maybe he had one of those viral infections he had missed out on as a child. Maybe it was something different. No, he thought. It's her, she's soiling the room. He left and walked down the corridors back to his cabin, still sick.

Fourteen hours later...

Kalimee, Hakimee, and several numerous Human officers sat down to breakfast. Unfortunately the Unggoy had customized rations to put in their food nipples, courtesy of Section Three, but Elites such as Kalimee didn't.

Hakimee had gone to get seconds and Nakumee apparently was in the restroom, which left Kalimee with the humans. Helljumpers such as Kalimee were intended to be independent of outside supply and command, so being around around a bunch of humans was something he was having to get used to.

"Hey."

Kalimee looked up, to his right, then to his left and finally found the disturbance: a human, Kaller to be precise.

"May I sit here?" he asked, pointing to a seat on Kalimee's left.

"Yes, Human."

The human sat and began to dissect its plate. It was this time that Nakumee decided to emerge from wherevever. She walked across the opposite side of the room and took a spot adjacent a pair of female humans. Kalimee was disgusted, yet drawn.

"Liker her?" Kaller asked.

Kalimee was confused. How do you 'like' another being? You can either tolerate their presence or you make them leave.

"What?" he asked, taking a safe route.

"You know..."

"Kalimee performed the human expression of 'shaking' one's head. He hoped the human would be able to understand.

The human gave Kalimee a weird look and left. The remainder of the meal was unevenful.

This had gone on long enough. Kalimee wasn't about to let some...female, destroy his unit. She wasn't going to the legendary planet. He didn't want her there. He finally made it to the right section of the ship, and stood outside her door for a few moments, catching his breath and readying himself for the confrontation between superior and suboordinate.

The door opened and the lower officer walked out. Kalimee tried to speak in the most stoic, emotionless voice he could muster.

"I am giving you orders concerning your role in this operation."

"You don't think I can do it," she said coldly. "You think I'll be a liability, you think I'll hurt your precious platoon."

"You are not going," Kalimee said flatly.

Nakumee gave a quiet huff at this and turned around heading back inside.

"I didn't get all the way here to be left on a ship."

"Why aren't you with our own anyway?" Kalimee sneered, obviously beginning to lose his temper.

Nakumee sighed and sat down. "After I had reached the Age of Trials, I applied for a position in the infantry hoping someday I could bee in Special Operations."

"What happened?" Kalimee asked as he sat down beside her.

"I didn't make it," she growled. "They said I lacked stamina. Really they were afraid.

"Afraid?"

"Afraid. Afraid of my abilities, afraid of what I am."

"Because you are..." She shot him a glare he knew wasn't a good thing to see.

"I spent the next eight orbits in a Covenant frigate, watching displays and making sure the Unggoy don't play with the engineering machinery. After the Prophet's betrayal, I was transferred to a destroyer and was put in charge of the engineering compartments." Kalimee nodded. "They wanted you out of the way."

"Yes, that and the rest of us. They think we can't fight. I showed them." Nakumee turned her gaze straight into Kalimee's.

"After fighting my way through a security team I hijacked a Seraph fighter and flew to the planet the destroyer was orbiting...Earth." Kalimee's jaws expanded greatly.

"You deserted."

"Yes."

"I will leave you now."

"Yes, Excellency."