**Six POV**

Six groans as he awakes, trying to remember what happened. Suddenly, something fell from the sky and crashed into the ground next to him. He turns his head and sees a piece of metal buried point down in the ground, nearly slicing his brain in two. He looks upwards and his eyes widen.

Thousands upon thousands of pieces of ship wreckage were falling from the heavens, and Six was in the middle of it.

He jumps to his feet and attempts to run for cover when a sharp pain in his arm made him halt. He turns his yell of pain into a grunt of discomfort and tries to run again, only to fall down, his ankle is acting up now.

"Come on", he mutters, forcing himself to forget the pain, allowing his reserve energy to empower him and sprints forward. More and more pieces of metal came crashing down like metallic rain, forcing Six to jump, leap and dive out of the way of the incoming projectiles. To his relief he saw he was almost out of the zone of falling debris, he could just see the area beyond him free of any hurtling fragments of the ship. He limps as fast as he could to escape the barrage when something on his HUD stops him. His radar was reporting there was movement twelve degrees behind him; a red dot marks it as hostile. Six was going to forgo it and leave when a realization took over; 'Where is Shress?'

**Shress POV**

Shress felt like a Jiralhanae Chieftain was beating on her head with its hammer when she finally awoke. Her entire body felt sore, her left arm didn't feel right and she felt a sharp pain in her right foot. She tries to shift her body to relieve herself of some pain, but found she can't move. Slowly, she opens her eyes, but she is still shrouded in darkness.

She begins to panic and tries to move, but she was pushed against something solid while what felt like a large sheet of metal rested on top of her. She tries to wriggle through the sides but she was pressed too tightly against the objects. Outside she heard heavy pounding, as if a giant was walking through the lands, but when she felt the ground vibrate nearby she realizes she might be crushed by whatever it was pounding the ground outside and redoubles her efforts.

Finally she resorts to brute force; she moves her hands and presses her palms on the crushing weight above her. She begins to push with every ounce of strength she had. Her limbs were shaking violently, but soon the metal on top of her began to shift so she put more effort into her work. Her muscles were starting to burn, her breathing became more labored and her mind was in the midst of panicking when she began to see sunlight streaming through the sides of the sheet of metal. She was almost out, she just needed to put more effort into her task and-

Suddenly something slams on top of her, causing the metal to cave in and pushes her deeper into the ground as a loud boom rings into her ears, causing her to go deaf for a while. She tries to breath in air, but whatever was on top of her was squishing her lungs flat, the darkness she was in was already getting blacker. She now realized that she might die, crushed, or suffocate, either way, she knew her time was near.

Realizing that she might die, she felt fear arise within her. She always imagined that if she were to die it would be death by combat, not by suffocation. Soon her fear became horror as the full impact of the situation hit her; she might be crushed to death, here, in the dark, with no one by her side, or even knowing of her passing. With that in mind, she tries to get out, but it feels as if she only succeeded in tiring herself out once more and adding more weight to her chest.

Her gasps grew weaker and weaker until she couldn't suck in an ounce of air. She felt her head growing heavier, her chest was beginning to cave in as her ribs bend, possibly being readied to skewer her own organs; the end has arrived. She closes her eyes and willed her end to be swift; She didn't want to die in pain.

Suddenly the weight on her chest was gone. She opens her eyes, still in darkness, but alive, and so was her fear as uncertainty took over. The heavy sheet of metal begins to move, back and forth, until finally, bottom up; it was lifted off of her. Bright sunlight glares in her face and she lets out a hiss as if the sun was burning into her eyes.

"Come on!" A familiar voice yells.

It was then she notices a figure holding up the piece of metal, she couldn't see who it was since the person was standing in front of the bright sunlight, but she was able to see that her savior was in the shape of a human.

"You want to live?! Come on!" the voice cries, more urgently.

Realizing this is her chance, she crawls forward, trying to keep her pained whimpers within her. She crawls out of the hole she was stuck in and the figure drops the sheet of metal with a grunt.

She looks up and sees that it is Michael, his armor was dirty, busted in some areas and he has a crack on his faceplate. Before she could thank him, a large piece of metal fell exactly one unit away from her. She jumps to her feet which causes agony to spread all over. She feels herself falling, but Michael caught her, they look at each other, her silver eyes meeting his blue faceplate. Before they could say anything, more shrapnel continues to rain from the sky. Pieces of the Long Night of Solace she suddenly realizes.

Michael suddenly shook her, which causes her to look at him and he shouts in her face, "Run!"

They both turn to sprint out of the way of the falling shards when Shress falls again, her foot, her chest; she wasn't sure which one hurts more.

Michael runs back to her and says, "Let's go!"

She shook her head, "I can't move."

"Let's go Shress!" he says again.

"It hurts," she said and immediately hated herself for saying the words in a meek, childish like voice. Without a moment of hesitation, Michael ran to her side; he drapes one of her arms over his shoulder and helps her up.

She sucks in a pained breath as they start to move. She struggles to keep up with the human, but soon she couldn't stand being on her damaged foot and against her will her foot went limp, but Michael doesn't say anything and just pushes forward. More and more debris continues to fall, forcing them to duck and weave through incoming ordinance. Once a piece of the ship the size of an Ungoggy hit Michael in the head, she thought Michael was stunned and was going to drop, instead he lifts himself higher and pushes onward. Soon, Shress's whole body was limp and couldn't do anything but feel useless and gag, trying to get some oxygen within her deflated lungs when they stopped. She thought Michael was finally tired and was about to collapse, but then she notices there is no more falling shrapnel. She looks behind them and saw that they have exited the small area of bombarding steel.

Gently, Michael lowers her to the ground. She lets out a sigh of relief, but she tenses when her battered body lies down on the ground. She tries to hide the pain, but she knew Michael was aware of her injuries, why else would she have allowed him to carry her like that? He bends down in front of her and asks, "Where does it hurt?"

"It's nothing-" she begins to say when Michael caught her off.

"Where does it hurt?" He says again in a stubborn voice. She sighs, annoyed, but secretly glad that Michael cares for her well-being.

"My left arm aches and there's something wrong with my right foot."

Michael nods before bending low over her body and begins inspecting her arm. She couldn't help but flinch when her limb was moved and let out a hiss of discomfort.

Michael lets go before calmly stating, "I don't know much of Sangheili anatomy, but from a human's perspective, I'd say you broke your arm."

Shress nods, suspecting as much and asks, "And my foot?"

Again, Michael bends down, moves her foot into uncomfortable positions until finally he informed her. "It looks like you just sprained it," he looks up at her. "You're quite lucky you didn't receive more severe injuries."

She nods in thanks before asking, "What about you? How are your injuries?"

He just shrugs. "Nothing bad. Dislocated shoulder and twisted ankle, but I healed them before getting you, now I'm just sore." She looks down and says, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be a burden to you as we ran."

She feels him touch her shoulder and she looks up into his faceplate, "You didn't burden me Shress, believe it or not, but I was literally bred to do this stuff, trained to do what others cannot."

With that he looks around before spotting something in the distance, he mutters, "I'll be right back," and with that he begins walking off. Shress couldn't help but feel ashamed of her injuries since they put an extra load on Michael as he slowly limps away, wondering if he just said those things to comfort her.

As she waits for his return, Shress begins taking in her surroundings. She was in an area that looks as if it sported rolling green hills and was home of a sparse tree populace. Now, those hills were flatten by the large wreckage of what was left of the Solace, the few trees that were growing in the area are now set ablaze, leaving blackened skeletons in their place. The whole land seems to be shrouded in greyness, the granite skies were a sad sight to take in and the grey ground had a sort of dreariness about it.

'It's almost as if this land is dead.' She thought to herself when she suddenly became alert to an approaching sound. She lets her guard down when she sees its Michael returning, carrying something in his arms.

He walks up next to her before squatting down and letting the object tumble to the ground.

There are only two things, one she knows and the other was a mystery. The object she recognizes is a human weapon, a pistol if she remembers correctly. The other was some strange box with a red t painted on it.

Michael grabs the box and opens it up, Shress felt her mandibles crinkle slightly at the pungent smell that escape from it.

"What is that?" she asks.

"It's called a med-kit," was Michael's reply. "I found it in the remains of a Saber that fell down with us." Seeing her questioning gaze, he elaborates. "The Sabers were the ships we used to get on the Solace."

"And what does this…med-kit do?"

"It contains healing devices and medicine," he explains as he pulls out a strange rolled up ribbon and another roll of a white cloth, "but in your case, I think we need to resort to the old ways."

Shress didn't like the sound of that and shifts slightly as she asks once more. "The old ways?"

Noticing her weariness, Michael spoke in a reassuring voice as he continues to dig around in the smelly container, "I'm just going to wrap your arm up with gauze, tell me, how long does it take for a Sangheili to heal a broken bone?"

"Not that long," Shress replies, "Usually they should be healed by the end of the day."

Michael glances at her, and then at the materials he had gathered and said, "In that case I'm not sure if I should bind your wounds. We could just be wasting supplies but this should cause you a little less pain until your arm is fully healed," he said.

He shuffles closer to her and orders her to sit up, which she did awkwardly due to her injuries. He then took a long piece of wood he had found close by, held it against her arm and wrapped it with the white cloth. She hisses as he twirls the cloth around her arm and lifts it until it was at a ninety degree angle position in front of her chest and wraps another piece of the cloth around her shoulder to keep it in place. She inspects the strange position of her arm and the use of the cloth which she has never seen before, it was rough and somewhat itchy, but when she thought about it, the "gauze" as Michael had called it, was preventing more pain from blossoming throughout her limb.

"How's the leg?" He next asks. "Do I need to put a splint on it too?"

Shress had no idea what a "splint" was, but she guesses it was what he did to her arm and shook her head. "You don't have to Michael, it's already getting better."

He nods before replacing all the equipment in the med kit once more. She notices he hadn't really talked much and when he did, it was mostly about the task at hand, so unlike his usual self who would usually attempt to make light conversations.

"Michael…are you feeling alright?" She asks.

"What do you think?" he came back harshly, causing Shress to remain silent, unsure what to say next.

Michael sighs and says, "Sorry Shress, I don't mean to be rude, but I think you can see," here he gestures to the devastation around them, "That I, and pretty much everyone else on the planet, is having a really, really bad day."

Shress was again still for a moment before saying, "I am sorry Michael, other than my condolences; I don't know what else to say."

Michael sighs again and then she notices now he was just moving objects around in the med kit, not looking at her again. She knew she shouldn't push him, but she was concerned, she had never seen her human friend like this before and it was slightly frightening her.

"Michael, there is something else wrong, what is it?"

"Nothing," he said, still shuffling around in the med kit, not looking up.

Tired of him evading the issue, Shress slowly begins to rise until she is in a crouched position, trying to keep weight off of her bad foot and attempting to keep her arm in the split. Now Michael looks up at her and says, "Shress, you shouldn't be moving, not until-"

He didn't get to finish. Shress crawls towards him and lowers her head until she was almost face to face with him and put a hand on his shoulder, halting whatever he was going to say. She stared into his blue faceplate once more and repeated her question, "What's wrong?"

Michael tries to look away, but she applies pressure to his shoulder, her inhuman strength allowing her to lightly pinch the skin underneath the armor, forcing him to look up at her. He remains silent for what felt like units until finally he let out a deep breath and says in a heavy hearted voice. "It's Jorge."

Shress suspected as much but just nodded her head, waiting to see if there was anything else he wanted to say. When he hesitates again, she says, "Michael, you were there for me when I needed someone to talk to, let me return the favor, I swear I will not tell anyone what you will speak of if you want your thoughts to remain a secret." She said with sincerity.

The silence lasts for units again until Michael finally broke down and says, "Before we left…I promised Carter, our commander, that I would watch after Jorge, I told him I'd watch his back…and it was him who gave up his life when it should have been me."

"Why you?" asks Shress, slightly surprised by his response.

"Because I'm a lone wolf," he elaborates, "I work on my own, I don't have a lot of friends, Jorge... He had tons of friends. it just seems like a waste that this guy everyone likes had to sacrifice himself while the one who doesn't contribute much is left alive when it should have been me." He finishes before looking down in what she took as shame.

Shress leans in close and says, "Michael, it wasn't your fault, Jorge made the decision himself, he chose you to stay alive, to help fight the Covenant, and to protect your people."

"But I promised-"

"Michael, when you are a commander, you can't promise you can keep those under your command alive," she sighs before continuing. "I know how you feel, the pain, the confusion and the injustice of it all, but what I haven't experienced, is a soldier dying for another, to save his comrade, a great honor among my people."

The human refuses to look at her, so Shress squeezes his arm, forcing him to raise his gaze again, "Do not dishonor your friend's sacrifice Michael. Embrace it, and use it to help those he fought for, as he would have wanted you to have done."

Michael's faceplate gravitates down again, not looking at Shress. She lets out a deep breath and is ready to move away when the last thing she expected happens; Michael leans forward and rests his head on her uninjured shoulder.

All that Shress could do was just freeze, completely stunned by the sudden action. She looks down at the human who was leaning on her, never before has anyone been in this close proximity with her, making her both nervous and curious at the same time. She witnesses this happening to human soldiers sometimes on the battlefield and tries to imitate what she had seen them do whenever one of their own was in this position. Awkwardly, she raises her working arm and gingerly wraps it around Michael's broad shoulders.

She wasn't sure if she was doing it right, but Michael didn't move, giving no indication whether he liked the contact or not, so she just left her arm there. Units pass and slowly Shress's rigid posture starts to fade; she slowly begins to relax, now becoming accustomed to the hardness of the demon armor that Michael was wearing. She was starting to wonder what Michael skin would feel like without his armor on when he lets out a sigh and pulls away from her. She was surprised when she felt disappointment arise from within her when she could no longer feel his body pressing into hers, but she gave no indication of her feelings.

Michael sighs once more and says, "Sorry, I didn't mean to…" he didn't finish as his voice trails off.

"No, it's alright Michael, I was glad to comfort you." 'I think.' she thought to herself after speaking.

He is silent once more before looking her in the eye and says, "In that case, thank you."

She nods in return and soon a silence fills the space between them, both unsure what to do or say next. Finally Michael stands up, grabs the gun and med kit, pockets them except for the weapon and holds out his hand, to which Shress grabs and he pulls her to her feet.

"I think we landed close to New Alexandria," he said, nodding towards a small hill behind him. Before she could ask, he adds, "One of our major cities, can you walk?"

Shress nods, eager to regain her pride, "I can manage."

She saw Michael hesitate so she pushes by him and says, "I'm fine, really, let's go."

She heard him sigh, but not out of depression but semi irritation, before walking after her.

**Six POV**

Six had to admit, if Shress was a human, she would have made a good Spartan. He could tell her arm and her leg were bothering her, but she pushes on, ignoring the pain. That is until they hit the steep hill. She tried to climb up the mound, but gravity was against her ankle, forcing her to the ground.

Six reaches out to help her up, but she swats his hand away, "I'm not weak." She hisses.

"There's nothing wrong with accepting help," was Six's reply, "Everybody needs a friend for moments like this, to help you back up."

She ponders his words for a while before relenting and allowing him to put her arm around his shoulder and lifts her up once more. Together they trudge up the hill, heading in the direction of smoke and what sounds like a battle.

As they climb Six couldn't help but feel himself become slightly flush as he found he was once again within Shress's personal space. He thought back to what had just happened a few minutes ago. He had no idea why he leaned on her, but at that moment he just needed some reassurance, needed some time to think, so he just leaned on the nearest thing closest to him for support; Shress. He was scared out of his mind that she was going to kill him when he remembered how the simplest of contact among the Sangheili are seen as offensive in some cases. He was going to pull away from her when she did the last thing he expected; she put her arm around him. Six was a Spartan, the ultimate killing machine and also one of the best lone wolves to have ever been created. He shouldn't rely on the company of others, but at that moment, he actually felt content with the world, almost happy even.

He took that time to calm himself and think before pulling away from her, it happen only a few minutes ago, but he already longs for the feeling to lie his head on her shoulder once more with her arm wrap around him, but he figures that wasn't very professional, especially with the whole developing situation at hand.

'Why do I even feel this way?' He next wonders. 'I shouldn't be feeling anything, and she's a completely different species, the best thing we can ever have is a firm friendship, anything beyond that is just plain-'

Six thoughts suddenly died as they crested the hill and saw the destruction in front of them. New Alexandria was once the pride jewel of Reach, now it was in ruins. Small Covenant corvettes hung over the sprawling metropolis like purple clouds, raining destruction and launching pods into the city's center. Six could see the exchanging fire, plasma bolts against whirling bullets.

With his enhanced vision he could see small skirmishes all over the city, but most of them were with civilians facing the alien invaders. Some people were cornered and murdered on the spot, most of their begging ignored by the blood hungry Covenant. Some brave souls tried to fight back, but they weren't soldiers, they easily fell as the prey they were to the aliens.

Cold fury welled up within Six, the brutal images were now burned into his mind, he wanted to kill, to avenge his fallen brother, to-

Suddenly Shress lets out a sharp gasp and Six turns to her. With horror he realizes he squeezed her so hard he almost broke her other arm.

He quickly lets go of her and says, "Sorry! So sorry, I didn't mean to, I was just, I, I-"

Shress puts a hand on his arm and says, "It's alright Michael," she casts a sad glance to the burning city and said in a mournful voice. "I understand."

Feeling bad for her, he says, "I hate to say it, but we have to go down there if we want to reunite with our people."

She nods and begins walking down the other side of the hill. Six notices she was slightly avoiding him now, probably out of guilt and shame. He made a note to speak with her later, at the moment he had no idea what to say.

Unknowingly He reaches into one of his pouches and took out Jorge's dog tags. He takes in a deep breath before wrapping the necklace around his knuckles and follows his otherworldly friend into the burning city.

The two allies weave through the outskirts of the town, which was hard for Shress with one leg, but soon her silent movements improved and Six was slightly shocked to learn her arm was already feeling a whole lot better.

'At this rate she'll be able to fight.' He thought to himself before another thought springs to mind. 'But if she fights will she fight the humans or the Covenant?'

Six shook this wondering out of his mind. It was agreed Shress will try and make it to one of the ships and avoid fighting as she resumes her spying position. However, for a reason unknown to the Spartan, he didn't want the Sangheili to leave his side, not even for a moment, what was wrong with him?

They enter a courtyard and stop in their tracks. Spread out in front of them was hundreds of human corpses. Most of them had plasma burning into their skin, but some looked squashed, mauled and even eaten. Men, women, and children…it was just sick to Six who turns away from the carnage and hits a concrete wall with his fist, leaving a small crack in the structure. Bloody aliens.

Shress stares at the massacre before leaning over the body of a child that looks like it was gutted. She looks at the deceased boy before saying something so low Six couldn't hear before she stood and said. "I'm sorry…I don't understand."

"It's not your fault Shress-" He begins once more but was cut off.

"I know, but…it's worse."

This sparks Six's attention and asks, "What's worse?"

She gestures to the slain child, "There's only one thing that could have done this, a Jiralhanae."

Six instantly felt his blood chill as the words impacted him. "Brutes." He hisses in a curse like fashion.

"What?" Shress asks. "It's what humans call Jiralhanae," to which Shress snorts. "An appropriate name for their species," was her reply.

A sudden roar of blowing wind interrupted them, on instinct they both went into a crouch and Six raises his hand gun. Two Falcons flew overhead, going too fast for Six to signal in time. He watches as they flew to the main skyscrapers in the middle of the city.

"Whenever a Covenant threat is position over a populated city," Six says, quoting from the UNSC manual, "The primary objective is to move all civilians to evacuation points," he finishes and looks to Shress who had a blank expression on her face.

He points up after the Falcons, "Those birds are most likely heading to an evac point, that's where the UNSC forces are," he looks back to her, "If we run most of the way, we will be there in no time."

"We?" she asks.

Six turns to face her, surprised at what she said. "You're not coming?" He asks. He already knows the answer and her reasons, but at the moment he wants her to say them so he could look for loopholes, something he could use to help him convince Shress to come with him.

She shakes her head, "Michael I can't, Jorge barley accepted me as an ally, and if people see me what will stop them from killing me?"

"I will-" Six begins to say when she interrupts again.

"Then they will either kill you or accuse you of being a traitor," she said, "Your people are angry at the moment, blinded by rage, only you can help them. If they see me with you it will only cause distrust and disorder, making it easier for the Covenant to wipe you out."

Six didn't want her to leave, but she was making so much sense. The people of the city are afraid and need the reassurance of a Spartan. How will they react if he came to the rescue with Shress in tow?

"So…you're suggesting we depart ways here, now?" Six asks.

She sighs and nods her head, "It's for the best Michael."

'The best? What did she mean by that, the best by military standards, or something else…' Six sighs and finally speaks his mind, "I don't like it, I don't like it you have to spend time with the Covenant, being treated with little respect and being forced to murder…You don't have to do that, you can stay with us, the UNSC can help you."

Shress just shakes her head, "I can't, besides, I'll be doing a greater service giving you information rather than hiding within the "safety" of your people."

Six could tell she made up her mind, but he could tell by her subtle movements, the twitching foot, the shaking hand and the constantly shifting eyes that she was afraid. He didn't want to see her like this, but what can he do if she refuses to come with him?

Shress takes out one of her energy swords and cuts through the gauze holding up her arm. She grimaces a bit but quickly hides the pain before looking up at Six.

They stared at each, separated by a mere span of three feet in reality, but by situation it was as if they were standing on the opposite sides of a planet. Two different species, now friends, and now, maybe more. Six didn't know what to do, what to say, he wanted the best for her, she sacrificed so much for them and she's being repaid through force and abuse among her people.

Yet what surprises Six was that he wanted to pull her into another hug, to comfort her. He still had no idea how she felt about their earlier embrace. She returned it, but it was him who forced it upon her, so did she mean it?

Shress nods at him and says, "Farwell, for now Michael," she turns before he could reply and was already walking away.

Six watches her retreat before running after her. He grabs her shoulder, bringing her to a halt and ran in front of her. He looks up into her face and his words froze when he gazes into her silver eyes, she looks away but it was too late, he already saw the tears forming.

Now Six was feeling uncomfortable and unsure what to do next, he could barely talk to a person, let alone comfort anyone. She needs reassurance, but Six doesn't now how to provide it, so he decides to speak

"Shress…I'll be here for you, if you decide to join us, I'll be waiting for you." He reaches up to his neck, grabs his dog tags and rips them free. He glances at the pieces of metal before handing them to Shress, "I want you to have these, to remember I'm here."

Her mandibles went slack for a moment before saying, "I can't take these Michael-"

Six just laughs and says, "You already did, remember?" he asks. The question causes Shress to chuckle and stare down at the necklace again.

"If you decide you are ready to join the UNSC, show these and ask to speak to me, or you can just hang on to them until we meet again, agreed?"

Shress stares at the object for a moment longer before reaching out and taking them, her claws slightly pinch Michael's suit but he didn't mind, now that he thought about it, he liked the contact.

"Agreed," She simply says before looking up again, her eyes slightly drying, but still wet. Six has no idea what happened next, but an overwhelming sensation to comfort her took over and before he knew what was happening, he rushes forward and traps Shress in an embrace. He heard her sharp in-take of breath, which woke him from whatever had just possessed him.

'What am I doing?' He mentally shouts in his mind. 'She's going to kill me for this!'

Feeling like an utter idiot, Six begins to pull away, but before he could move any farther, Shress grabs him as well, and gives him an awkward hug. Six had no idea what to do but continue to hang on to her. The awkwardness disappears and soon he was no longer clutched by fear but by something else, like a deep pressure in his chest, like his heart was going to burst as he holds Shress. She lowers her head and to his astonishment, she actually starts nuzzling his neck. He wasn't sure which shocked him more, the fact that she was returning his show of affection or the fact that he actually enjoys it.

Soon he closes his eyes and was careful with how much pressure he applies to Shress though he doubts she could feel it through her armor and strong skin. Shress continues to nuzzle him; he hopes this was a sign that she was enjoying it as much as he was starting to.

He was starting to wish that they could remain locked in that position forever when a sudden explosion causes them to jump away from each other. They turn to see another plume of smoke rising from the city's skyline, a dark reminder that they were in a warzone.

Shress reaches to Michael, grasps his hand with both of hers and looks down at him. Six actually starts to feel annoyed when he realizes just how small he was compared to Shress's height. The discomfort went away at her next words.

"Perhaps we can…talk more under better circumstances." She says in a somewhat embarrassed voice.

Six similarly feels embarrassed but nods and says, "Yeah…that would be nice."

Before he knew it, Shress wraps him in a hug once more, this time it lasted only for a moment before she pulls back and gives him a strange smile and says, "Farewell Michael." With that she activates her active camouflage and disappears.

Six soon felt an emptiness replace the tightness in his chest when she disappeared and soon his senses went cold, indicating that he was alone.

He mentally reviewed his recent memories, trying to piece together what just happened. 'What is wrong with me? What was that feeling in my chest? Why did I just hug her? Does she feel the same way about me? What did she mean by 'talk more', was she referring to what had just happened? Is it possible what I'm feeling is…'

He shook his thoughts away. He was a Spartan, a Spartan! A professional soldier, he shouldn't be feeling this way towards anyone, especially a member of a genocidal species determined to destroy humanity. The Spartan augmentation should have suppressed those emotions, it should be impossible for him to develop feelings for a person, especially an alien. . . Right?

Another explosion causes the floor to shake, bringing him back to reality. He has no idea what was wrong within him or how to fix it, but he did know some ways of fixing some problems outside, in his environment. He pulls back the hammer of the pistol and loosens his muscles before turning to the fire engulfed city where distance cries of peril and barks of gunfire can be heard.

It was time to get back into the war.

Hey everybody jtf0012 here. I'm just here to let you know that I have someone new on my team. His name is PyreElegy. He has been helping me by speeding up the editing process and has been fact checking the halo lore and timeline.

Send him a thank you for all his work. I also am announcing a surprise at the end of ch 14.

Jtf0012 out.

Thank you Adam for the wonderful review. I am still chuckling at it. Weird thing is that my word on my computer didn't show how it was showing on the app.

I will not post this shit from my phone again.

Tried to copy paste it into the upload link for doc manager and i had to go through each line and fix line spacing.