16. New Course

*New Course*

*Six POV*

Six could believe an alien civilization is waging a genocidal war against humanity. He could believe a fellow spartan can fight a hunter in hand to hand combat with the possibility of success. He could believe all it takes to kill a large brute is the use of a single small caliber bullet.

He could not however believe it was Shress that killed thousands of people in the destruction of New Alexandria…and his teammate Kat.

He rubs his face and cringes a bit as he feels the stinging pain, the wound reminds him of his battle just hours ago, but it feels like months ago, decades even. Shress saved him then, and yet evidence points out that she glassed the planet, maybe even started the whole glassing sequence.

He prays that there is a mistake, but all intelligence gathered concerning the Covenant and everything that Shress has told him taught him one thing; to glass a planet is considered a glorious task among the Covenant, and it's usually marked by the one who did it.

Six felt confused before when he couldn't tell where Shress's allegiance lies, he thought her saving him answers that. But now doubt once again is coursing through his body.

Did she bring me up here to capture me? Did she plan on blowing the ship up? Was this all just one big sick ruse to unnerve and drive me insane?

The ship gives a shudder, causing Six to look back at the computer and starts scanning the rear point cameras. There is nothing on either side of the ship, nor did a meteor hit them. He ponders for a while wondering what caused the movement when he notices a small message at the bottom corner of the screen.

Shaw-Fujikawa drive is now active.

Six checks the time on the monitor and feels his eyes widen slightly. Shress fixed the drive; probably the most complex piece of equipment humanity has ever assembled, with no tools in less than ten minutes.

If Six wasn't becoming paranoid at the moment he would have been impressed.

He sighs once more as he tries to sort his feelings out, trying to decide which would be best to use when confronting Shress, hurt, sorrow, anger, or hatred. Six feels his heart starting to ache after the last word, for some reason, to think of Shress in such a way is an unthinkable concept to him.

He starts drumming his fingers against the counter as he feels anxiety starting to settle over him as he tries to figure out what to say. He has to say something; he has to know, not only for the sake of their friendship but also for the sake of his very sanity.

He hears the depressurization of the doors and turns around in his seat. Striding in is Shress, who looks quite pleased with herself. The thought of the upcoming conversation suddenly fills Six up with guilt.

"I think I fixed the drive, and even improved it a little." She says as she pulls her mandibles together, giving her the appearance of someone with a smug look.

Six feels his throat suddenly dry up and wishes he could get some water, any kind of liquid, even recycled water, but Shress is standing in front of him. He soon feels as if it is he is an ONI interrogator getting ready to strike at Shress with verbal blows. When he thought of talking to Shress earlier, he felt anger and hurt, but now all he is feeling is fear at her reaction.

Shress tilts her head slightly, "Michael? Is there something wrong?"

Six chokes a little wondering how to start, what to say.

Shress approaches with concern in her eyes, "You're injuries aren't ailing you, are they?"

Her gentleness and care for him isn't helping. He gulps once, twice, before he decides to be blunt and just say it.

"Shress…Did you glass the planet?"

His words immediately take effect on the sangheili before him. She stumbles away as if she has been struck, her mandibles widen and her eyes take on one of remorse, sadness, and a hint of anger in their gleam. The sight for some reason made Six feel sick, making him feel like he's the one in the wrong here.

Shress stares at him before looking out the view portal and sees what was left of Reach, but in particular the large land mass with her name engraved on it.

Her whole form starts to shiver as she looks down and Six wants nothing more than to rush forward and comfort her, but he holds himself back. He needs to be sure he can trust her, needs to know that everything they have done with each other, everything they had sacrificed for each other wasn't based on a lie.

Finally Shress looks at him, her eyes avoiding his so he doesn't see too deep into them, "Michael…I…I'm sorry."

Six sighs inwardly, he didn't want to do it but he forces his voice to say the words, "Why Shress, I need to know…If I can trust you."

Shress looks him in the eye now; remorse is now replaced with a cold fury, one that he remembers seeing when they first met face to face. He didn't feel it, but his body slowly tenses up as if knowing there might be danger nearing.

"If you can trust me?" She finally hisses out, "After everything I've done, everything I left behind, do you really believe this has all been a trick?" Her tone is a few chords away from shouting.

Six tries to remain calm and reasonable as he starts to list the facts, "Shress, all I know is that your name is written on the side of the planet, right where New Alexandria is located." He looks at her face, "Where we last saw each other."

She begins to growl, "It was the Spec Op Michael! That's the only explanation."

Six sighs as he prepares to say the words he knew will hurt her the most, "You once told me you would do anything to gain glory, for yourself and your family." His voice breaks a bit before he licks his lips and continues, "You told me there is nothing more glorious than cleansing a planet."

She stares at him in mute shock before snarling, "You don't trust me, at all, and all this time, all this time I thought you did…" He could see moisture forming in her eyes but he knew it was born from anger rather than sadness.

Six feels like utter trash as he says again, "Why Shress? Tell me why and I'll judge from there."

"You'll judge?" She asks, "I thought you trusted my judgment."

"I do," Six begins, "But I need to know why."

"And if I don't answer?" She challenges.

Six couldn't reply; he didn't like the options that question left him.

She snarls before saying, "Turn this ship around and leave me on the planet if you don't trust me then."

Now Six feels anger building as well, "It's a simple question, Shress, just answer it."

"I won't and I won't travel with someone who clearly sees me as his enemy!" She says fiercely.

"I don't see you as my enemy," Six counters, "I just need this answer."

"Why, so you can know if you trust me or not?" She demands.

"I need to know why so many people died by your hand Shress, including one of my teammates, one of my sisters," Six finally says in a loud voice.

Shress stares at him for a bit before growling out once more, "I'm sorry to leave you disappointed then."

She turns and starts heading to the door, Six has no idea where she was going, but he didn't want her to leave, something within is telling him he couldn't let her leave, almost as if he was dependent on her.

Six painfully stands and says, "Shress, please just answer the question. I don't want to lose you."

The words stop her advancement as she stands there, pondering his words. Minutes pass, but neither move, not Six or Shress, each as still as statues.

Finally Shress looks over her shoulder, not all the way so he could see one of her silver eyes as she asks, "Why?"

Six lets out a heavy sigh, "You're all I have left Shress, the only good thing I have left." He continues staring at the back of her helmet, "I want you to stay; I don't want to lose you, not again, not ever."

Shress's figure shakes again before she looks over her shoulder fully and stares at him in his eyes and she looks taken aback when she sees the tears that are forming in Six's eyes but he didn't care at that moment, he is suddenly feeling desperate. He lets go of his pride and stands looking at Shress, wondering what she will say.

Shress slowly turns around as she asks, "Is that true?"

Six nods, "I want to trust you, I want you to come with me…I want my last and only friend to come with me."

Shress looks away for a moment before her slit eyes meet Six's again, her own eyes growing wet a little as she says, "I didn't want to kill anyone that night." Six nods his head and gestures for her to continue. She sighs as she says, "Michael…I would never willingly hurt you, but on that night I was forced to."

Six sighs as he replies, "No one can force you to do anything Shress."

She looks up at him, the pain renewed in her eyes as she cries, "Yes they can and they did!" She calms down slightly as she looks down towards the floor, "That Spec Op reported directly to The Prophet of Regret. The Hierarch knew the moment I got back to the Covenant what we… What I was guilty of. He took me to the bridge of his flagship and he…he…" She trails off, clawed hands balling into tight fists.

She looks back at Six, a new flame of rage burning bright in her eyes, "He taunted me in front of everyone!" She spat out, obviously furious, "He mused in front of me, in front of everyone, that he saw the 'destruction of the demons' in New Alexandria and that I was to be the one to do it, all while the cleansing weapon was charging."

Michael opens his mouth to say something but Shress just continues, oblivious to his rising concern for her, "He said he had a vision…" Her voice sounds softer than before, as if she is reliving the memory right in front of him. "That it was due to his holy power that he was able to see what lies beneath your helmet. He said that you were a monster with no soul and no consciousness, that you were nothing but a demon that needs to be exterminated, and that I was to be the one to do it."

Six feels his stomach drop; he couldn't help but feel responsible for all that Shress has just said, all that she has just revealed. "Shress, I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Shress turns back to the still burning husk of a planet in the viewport behind her, orange light from molten rock outlining her form, "I have made many mistakes in the last few days Michael. I have killed thousands of innocents, disgraced my own name and honor, and doomed my family line to extinction." Her voice seems small, almost broken from all that she has revealed, as she turns back to him, head low. "They will shame my family, you know. My mother and father… They are going to destroy our lineage to prevent any more infractions like me..."

The fate sounds horrible, and worse, she knows it's going to happen, especially now, because of him. No spy would ever make a sacrifice that great, especially if that person is as honorable as Shress.

"...But I do not regret saving you." She says confidently, standing straight looking him squarely in the eyes. "I refuse to be a part of it any longer Michael. I will keep my honor, for that is the one thing they can not take away from me."

Six carefully moves forward, causing Shress to look toward him as she wonders what he is doing. Steadily, the spartan walks towards her, slightly stumbling from his injuries but she holds out her arm and he grabs it for support. Six's hand remains locked on Shress's arm as they look into each other's eyes. Shress isn't sure how, but she realizes the message Six is trying to send her. Without hesitation she steps closer and they wrap each other in an embrace. Once more Six places his face against her neck while she rests her head on top of his.

Six lets out a sigh of contentment from the contact before saying, "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry for doubting you Shress."

Shress lowers her mouth a little until her maw brushes his ear, "It is alright Michael…I probably would have done the same thing if we switched our positions," Six has no idea why, but he shivers slightly when he feels her mandibles move against his skin. He wasn't afraid of her, he was…nervous?

He didn't think much of it as it was his turn to nuzzle her neck, he feels tempted to kiss her again but he still has no idea how she felt about the first one. He becomes nervous once more and that is enough to cause him to break away from her, reluctantly so, the feel of her skin against his face felt so great.

She looks disappointed too but hides it well as she next asks, "So where do we go now?"

Six thinks for a moment before saying, "Well, unless you know any other place we can go, I suppose we can head to…Earth." He finally says and glances up to see her reaction.

He watches her mandibles open wide as well as her eyes as she registers his words. For years the Covenant has been hunting for Earth, making it their obsession to find it, believing to destroy the human race would mean destroying their home world. That has been Six's original plan and with his trusting issues settled, he now feels confident in Shress keeping his world's location a secret.

Shress looks down in a shy like manner before looking up at Six once more, "I know we just…discussed it, but…do you really trust me that much to take me to Earth?"

Six shrugs, "Well where else are we going to go? Most of our colonies are…" His voice dies as he tries to think of something to say, but Shress knows what he is going to say and finishes the thought for him as she lowers her head, "Glass."

Six gulps before nodding and saying, "Shress, I trust you with my life, it was stupid of me to think otherwise a few minutes ago." Here it was his turn to look down, "I hope you can forgive me for that."

Shress lays a hand on his shoulder as she responds, "Of course." In such a warm voice that Six instantly cheered up. He looks up at her and she looks down at him, Six feels slightly annoyed by this, as he's used to being the tallest person around, but with her, he doesn't mind that much.

Breaking eye contact, Six turns back to the console behind him and slides back into the chair. As he starts typing in commands, he asks, "So how long will it take us to get to Earth if you "improved" the slip space drive?"

Shress chuckles at the sarcasm in his voice as she thinks for a moment, "I do not know…how far is a unit by a human's standard measurement?"

Six pauses in his typing as he looks back at Shress, "I thought you used units to measure the time?"

Shress merely gazes at him before replying, "We used units to measure just about everything…Do humans not do the same?"

Six shakes his head, "No, humans have different ways of measuring the time, and length of an object or the distance between two points."

Shress tilts her head slightly, "Then…how do you keep track of all those calculations without becoming confused?"

"Oh, it's confusing all right." Agrees Six.

"Then why don't you use a single system for measurements?"

Six shrugs, "I don't know, I guess people just prefer to use whatever method they find easier for them."

Shress shakes her head, "Well…if I have to guess, then how long would it take this craft to reach Earth without the modifications I made?"

"With this Prowler?" Six asks before pondering, "I would say about a month if we were to take a straight shot, two if we run into any technical troubles along the way."

Now it was Shress's turn to think before concluding, "I believe it may take only a few days to reach our destination."

"A few days?!" Six could hardly believe it, Reach is at least ten light years away from Earth, the fastest it takes to travel is a little under a month, but a few days? That's just ridiculously unbelievable.

Six checks the monitor again before saying, "Well we definitely have enough food and supplies to last us the trip, the cryo tubes are damaged, but I guess we won't need them."

"Cryo tubes?" Shress asks next.

"I'll explain later." Six says before he yawns, "Let me get us going first and uh, I hope you won't mind me sleeping."

Shress shakes her head, "Not at all," She said as she steps up next to Six and peers at what he is doing.

Six enters in a random slipspace trajectory away from earth and the remaining inner colonies as per the Cole Protocol and couldn't help but feel relief beginning to build every time his fingers strike a key. Once he enters in the activation key, he will be away from Reach, away from the fighting and death for the first time since he arrived.

The spartan chuckles a bit at the irony of the situation while typing on the computer in front of him. Here he is following the Cole Protocol to the letter, while harboring a member of the 'hostile' nonhuman race that said order is intended to protect humanity from.

He hesitates as his finger hovers over the icon 'enter.' Does he trust her? He looks at her out of the corner of his eye, and for some reason, just by seeing her, just by thinking about her, he knew the answer. With a quick "click" he presses the button.

Six feels the familiar sensation beginning to take over. The hair on the back of his neck begins to rise, he is slowly being pushed back into his seat and the view ports are starting to dim, blocking out the stars.

He sees Shress tensing as she glances around in what he guesses is confusion before he says, "I would hang on to something if I were you." Shress gives him a strange look before grabbing onto the back of the copilot chair.

Six feels himself being pushed into the folds of the leather as the slipspace drive charges up for the jump. At the last moment Six looks out the view port before the image disappears entirely.

He watches what used to be Reach as it completes its rotation once more. The pleasant world that many people have called the jewel of the UNSC is now gone. All that is left is a scorched husk of a planet that doesn't look a thing like its former self. The oceans have been dried up, the land burned and countless people died meaningless deaths for a false 'Great Journey.'

Six didn't want to be on Reach, he never wanted to be part of a team, he prefers to work on his own just as he always had. Now as he leaves, he realizes Reach has become a part of him, he may not have been trained or lived there like the Spartan II's, but when you risk your very life for something you tend to grow close to it. It is also the burial place of his newfound brothers and sister. Not since training has he come to rely on or become close to anyone, for years he made it on his own. That was one thing Reach did for him, retaught him the art of teamwork. Six thinks of Shress, Reach has also taught a whole new concept of teamwork, one that might actually help save humanity.

That is his final thoughts as he hears the boom and he is pushed against the seat. Everything outside is now gone, shrouded in black space, but not their space, a different dimension to be exact.

They are in slip space.

*Shress POV*

Shress is reeling from the force of what she is assuming is the jump before grabbing a piece of metal pipe hanging above her. She hangs on with a tight grip, causing the piece of machinery to bend as she applies pressure to keep herself from being thrown back.

Finally the force slowly disappears and Shress is allowed to loosen her grip. She breaths a silent sigh of relief as she turns back to face Michael.

"Now I understand why you humans call travel through the warp space a jump, that's what it feels like is happening when you travel through such methods." She says with a smile, feeling happy to be away from the planet, away from the Covenant.

The human doesn't reply, Shress steps forward to take a closer look when he begins to fall out of his seat. Moving quickly, Shress catches Michael, brings him closer to her and props him up against her knee. He is barely breathing and his eyes are closed.

"Michael!" She calls in fear, but the spartan slowly opens his eyes as he stares up at Shress.

His green eyes narrow as if he is trying to focus before he lets out a sigh and offers her a weak smile before saying, "I guess I'm more tired than I thought I was."

Shress lets out an exasperated sigh before pulling him close to her chest, feeling happy to know there is nothing wrong with him. She feels Michael trying to hug her back, a near impossible feat with him pressed up against her armor and her knee. Suddenly the memory goes through her head, the two of them hugging before she feels a wet yet pleasant sensation on her neck, she forces the thought away as she attempts to focus on the present. She slowly pulls him away and gently helps him back to his feet.

She grows concerned again when she sees his legs actually shaking so she has him lean against her. He resisted for a moment, trying to stand on his own as he mutters, "I'm fine." His small act for independence earned him a snarl from Shress until he, reluctantly, places an arm around Shress's shoulders and leans against her.

"And you scold me for acting alone." She says accusingly as she looks down on the human.

"Well, nobody's perfect." Defends Michael as he looks up at her with mock hurt in his eyes.

Shress sighs and shakes her head, Males, she thought, They are all the same when it comes to their pride.

"So where are your dwelling quarters?" She finally asks him.

Michael frowns slightly, "My what?"

"Where do you rest?" She tries again.

Michael points to the door, "Down the hall, it should be the first door on the left."

Shress nods and pulls him up a little more as she follows his instructions as she proceeds towards the door, the portal already open from when they arrived. Shress reminds herself to ask Michael how they work exactly before focusing on the task. As far as she can tell the ship, the prowler she remembers Michael calling it, is a sleek and narrow vessel with the hallway they have hobbled into making up its main body. Along the corridor are a total of six doors, one on the right is the hatch to the outside, the one in the back leads to the engine room, and now she guesses the first door on her left are the dwelling quarters.

She pauses at the door; it didn't open as she got closer like how the doors on her people's craft had. She stands there, unsure how to work it, unlike the Covenant ships she has served on, the panel on the right had multiple buttons and all in the humans strange numeral system and not a single command was listed. Finally Michael lazily raises his hand and types in a few numbers, the numerals 2-5-3-9-1.

"Use this code if you want to explore the ship," Michael says as he allows his arm to drop.

"Why do you humans make things so complicated?" Shress demands as the door opens and they step inside.

Shress quickly looks the room over before becoming certain there is no danger within. She then does another sweep, slightly unsure of what to make of the room. It has what looks like a bed pushed into one corner and a strange looking table pushed into the other, both resting on metallic legs, not hover technology that is common on Sanghelios. The floor is covered in a strange fabric that is colored red and looks like the fur of some creature. There are two additional openings that she peeks into as they pass them; one is no more than a smaller room with what looks like a chest with strange fabric poking out from them. The other room has strange furnishing, consisting of what looks like a large bowl in the corner, a smaller basin on a counter and an even larger container taking up a lot of space in one side of the room. She shakes her head in wonder; she has a lot of things to ask Michael about.

She glanced nervously at the bed, unsure if it would support the weight of her friend, but carefully she lowered him down on the covers, tensing when she heard the legs groan before it disappeared. She sighs as she looks down at Michael who looks as if he is already fast asleep. She runs a hand over his head in one quick stoke before turning to leave when Michael's voice stops her, "Shress?"

She pauses and snarls at herself, feeling foolish again for messing with his fur. Slowly she turns around to face Michael who is now sitting up and seems to be studying the bed he is on, looking nervous.

"What is it?" She asks, wondering why he looks concerned.

His green eyes look into hers before he replies, "Nothing, it's just that this is an officer's bed…but I suppose it's alright, I'm the highest rank here."

"Oh, really?" Teases Shress giving him an annoyed glance.

He chuckles lightly before looking up at her again, "Can you help me with something?"

Shress steps forward, eager to assist in any way she could, "Of course, I'll help you with whatever you need."

Michael smiles in gratitude as he asks, "Can you help me take off my armor?"

Shress feels her mandibles opening, her eyes widening and her form starting to shake. Did he just ask me to help undress him? This is a common chore for house mistresses whose husbands need assistance when they put on or take off their armor. But the situation she is in isn't common, house mistresses are mated to their husbands, Shress and Michael…We're friends, she tries to tell herself, or are we? The fact that he is asking her to help remove his armor…is that an invitation for mating among humans? And what was it he did earlier? She felt him do something to her neck, a wet yet pleasant like sensation, it wasn't a lick, she has been licked before, but something…alien, was that a sign of desire?

No! She mentally shouts when she feels a strange emotion urging her to the human, I don't want to mate, or be a house mistress, not now! How could Michael even demand that of me after everything we've been through, after I told him of my feelings toward those places in my society? Yet something is telling Shress that this is not what Michael had meant. Yet she wants to, her body wants to be close to him, to always be hugging him, to always be touched by his gentle hands, and to always have the reassurance of having him by her side every step of the way. But not now, she wants to be a warrior first, one who can make it on her own without help… Even if Michael did help her a few times before.

"Uh, Shress?" The question brings her back to reality as she looks up at the human who is now looking at her with concern, "Are you alright?"

Shress takes a deep breath, wondering how she should answer, trying to decide if she truly does harbor feelings towards the alien being before her.

Noticing her prolonged silence, Michael then says, "If you don't want to, that's ok, I'll manage," with that he twists his body and starts disassembling a small part of his suit on his arm, gritting his teeth slightly from pain she supposes.

Now Shress is confused, does this mean he is now withdrawing the invitation of mating? But before she could think anything further, she hears a pop and a hiss and looks just in time to see Michael remove a small piece of his amour and peel off some black substance that looks damaged from plasma burns, revealing something grey underneath it.

"What's that?" She asks, all thoughts and confusion momentarily forgotten when she sees the unexpecting flesh of a human.

"This?" Michael as he gestures at the grey area, "It's a skin tight suit."

"A suit?" She asks, only slightly understanding what he said.

"Clothing Spartans wear underneath our armor," Michael begins to explain, "If we wear loose shirts or pants, it could get stuck in the moving parts of the armor, these suits are the only things we can wear underneath it."

Shress eyes widen at the revelation, "So you are wearing clothing underneath?"

"Yes," replies Michael smartly as he looks back at her, "Aren't you?"

Shress could only feel herself growing embarrassed as she looked down, not answering. She feels like an utter fool thinking that Michael wanted to mate with her, she must be losing her mind, but that doesn't cause the strange feeling within her to cease existing. She let out a humiliated sigh before looking up at Michael and couldn't help but stare. Michael's cheeks seem to have turned a light tone of red, not a lot, but enough for her to notice.

"Are you alright?" She asks, forgetting her humiliating moment for a while as she looks on at the spartan with concern.

The human coughs slightly before looking up and says, "Yeah, sure I am, why do you ask?" She notices he said this a little too quickly to be normal. That's when she realizes that he is mortified just like her, but why? She's the one thinking foolishly, why is he embarrassed?

Michael breaks the silence once more as he looks away slightly, his face returning back to its original brownish color, "You don't have to help me, I think I can get it off on my own."

Shress walks over while she answers, "No…its fine, I didn't realize that you had, or, I just assumed spartans weren't wearing…What I mean is that normally when a male asks for such a thing, it usually applies that he wishes to…" Her voice trails off then as she shakes her head, "I'll understand if you no longer wish for my presence."

"Why?" Questions Michael, whose face is starting to change color again, "You've done nothing wrong Shress, I did," He looks her in the eye as he asks, "Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way Shress."

She stares at him, feeling hurt piling on before wiping it away. He's not sangheili, she reminds herself, He doesn't know what the words mean. She didn't want to ask, or even voice it, not now, not when things are feeling so…awkward.

The silence is now stretching, the passing units making both of them uncomfortable until Michael clears his throat slightly as he asks again, "So…are you going to help me or not? Because I'm really exhausted at the moment."

Shress Immediately answers, "I'll help," hoping to gain absolution in the matter.

She sits on the bed next to Michael, looking at his body out of the corner of her eye with new found interest as she muses how a spartan's body would be different from a regular human.

Michael turns away from her as he asks, "Do you see what looks like a small hole near the center of my back?"

"Yes," replies Shress as she gazes curiously at it, wondering what she has to do next.

"I need you to place one of your fingers in there and twists it to the left," Michael instructs while he continues to dissemble the armor on his arm. Shress couldn't believe that the demon, or spartan armor, the very armor that can withstand the heat of a thousand plasma bolts, can easily be undone with just the twist of a finger. Still, she pushes one of her fingers into the small opening and turns it to her left, she only completed one cycle of turning when she hears a hiss followed by a pop, and before she knows it, the back panel of his armor starts to slide off. Shress could only stare for a moment before returning to reality as she gently lifts the piece of armor off of Michael's back, revealing a strange black substance that covers his body.

She places the large metal on the ground before asking, "Now what?"

"Continue working your way around, find the hole and crank it off." Instructs Michael once more as he now begins to remove the armor off his other arm.

Slowly working her way from the top down, Shress assists the spartan in removing his armor system. After doing his back, she reaches upwards and starts dislodging his shoulder pads. After that she reaches downwards and starts removing the plating covering his legs, forcing Michael to sit on the edge of the bed so that they can both have easy access to them. She feels embarrassment blooming within her again as she works on removing the armor from his thighs. He must have noticed this because he offers to finish taking off the armor around his crotch area while she bends over and removes the strange armor covering his feet. Finally, the last of the plasma burned armor is now resting by the bedside, leaving Michael in a kind of black undersuit similar to her own, with some parts of it looking as if it has been burned and damaged, mostly in the chest and arm sections.

Michael shakes his limbs a little before turning to Shress, "This next part should be easy; it's just a standard zipper."

"A what?" She reflexively tilts her head as she asks..

In answer, the spartan twists his body away from her before lifting his arm, revealing the side of his body to her. Shress has no idea what it is she is looking for, but soon her eyes are tugged in the direction of the human's body. His muscle tone is enormous, she has never fought or even seen a human before with large biceps, yet she knows his strength only barely matches that of a sangheili.

"Do you see it?" Michael finally asks, breaking Shress away from her thoughts.

"Uh, see what?" she questions.

"There should be a line running from the middle of my body, streaming up and down all over my body," Michael explains.

It takes her a while but she eventually finds the said line, perfectly hidden against the black skin like fabric as it runs to Michael's neck in one direction and heads down to his right foot with the other side. She is unsure on what to do next until she sees two small devices planted along the line. She tries pressing them and when that doesn't work she tries pulling them. She notices that they move slightly, but other than that they give nothing away.

She hears Michael laugh lightly, causing her to become agitated before he says, "Push the one on top towards my neck, and the other down to my foot."

Shress is tempted to smack him up his head, but she remembers his grave wounds, so instead she follows his directions. The small device could hardly fit between her fingers, so she uses the tips of her talons as she lightly pushes the top one upwards towards the neck area.

She notices the strange fabric is warmer than the armor and they feel more slick then any clothing she has ever touched before.

"What is this?" She asks, her curiosity no longer being contained.

"The gel layer." Answers Michael, "It helps keep my body temperature while I'm inside the armor, it can also keep me warm or cold if I'm ever in an extreme environment, it can also repel some plasma heat…sometimes."

Shress nods lightly as she continues pushing the "zipper" along the line. As she does this, she sees the gel layer being peeled away from Michael's skin, revealing the grey suit he told her of. She keeps her talon running until reaching the end of the line; she is unsure what to do now before Michael says, "Just push it off." Receiving his instructions and hoping they are correct, she pushes the zipper until there is a small clip and the zipper is pushed off one side of the gel layer but stays in contact with the side it is still attached to.

With the top portion of the gel layer open, Michael reaches up to his neck and slowly pulls the strange fabric off. The gel layer seems to have stuck itself onto his suit, for as he pulls it off she hears a strange suction noise and watches as the layer falls away from his body.

Noticing he couldn't pull it off all the way, she reaches forward and drags the second zipper downwards. Now more sure of herself, she keeps pulling it down until she comes to a halt at the bottom of his feet. Here the line ends at the base of his right foot but there is no opening where she can pull the zipper off of. Michael reaches down and pulls the fabric apart from each other before extracting his foot, and then he pulls the suit down, extracting the other. Finally he allows the gel layer to fall to the ground, allowing Shress to see the human for the first time without his armor.

The suit he referred to earlier is indeed grey, covering most of his body except for his feet, hands and head. The grey clothing is nothing like she has ever seen before, it has a form of sleekness about it, it hugs the spartan quite tightly, allowing no breeze of air to enter and ruffle it. She notices that the suit allows her to easily view his muscles, his biceps, thighs and his chest…she has never seen anything like it before, his middle seems to be formed into six separate sections, giving his body a unique feature no other sangheili has.

She then focuses on the fleshiness that is visible. Michael's head she has seen before, but not his hands or feet. His hands look the same as his gloves, but they are a pale brown, with visible veins and scars, crossing over and covering both of them. He also has talons as well, but they are dull, small, and look unfit to clean so much as a bug. She knew this is how his hands were going to look, which is why her eyes gravitate downwards at his feet. They are pale as well, but that's what interests her, they don't appear tough like hers, or any other species in the Covenant, it is the same skin and flesh that covers the rest of his body. They seem to be formed the same way as the hands, five digits sticking out with dull nails resting on top. This is the first time she has ever seen a human vulnerable, no armor, and no weapons, a unique sight, especially when the human in question is a spartan.

She hears Michael chuckle slightly again, causing her to glance up just as he begins to speak, "Yeah, I guess we are quite different," he says lightly, not looking her in the eye.

She doesn't reply right away. Was there a hidden message in those words? One that makes her chest feels as if it is collapsing? She tries to keep her emotions bottle inside as she breaths and asks a question in return, "Does this…bother you?"

Michael doesn't reply quickly, he takes his time which is agonizing for Shress, but when he does look up, she suddenly wishes he could go back to thinking for a moment longer. He gazes into her eyes with his green ones before saying, "As long as it doesn't bother you."

She couldn't stop the smile from lighting her features as she feels a heavy weight being lifted from her chest as she says, "Of course not." She knew she said the words too fast and hoped Michael wouldn't notice.

He gives her a strange look, signaling he did which makes Shress nervous for some reason, but a smile reveals itself on his features as he reaches out and takes her hand. Shress tries to keep her breathing under control as she feels his hand around her own for the first time with no barriers between the two. He holds her hand with a strong grip while his thumb lightly begins to brush the top of her hand; soon all she could feel is the softness of his flesh. Unlike holding his glove, his hand offers her warmth, care and what feels like a kind of protectiveness.

She is now smiling to her full extent at the feeling, she feels her throat beginning to thrum, which surprises her. It has been cycles since something has ever made her respond in this way; not since she was young and she spent long days and nights with her mother.

Michael's thumb pauses in stroking her hand as he looks up at her, oddly raising one of his eyebrows, "Are you purring?"

Shress has no idea what this word means but it causes her to squirm a bit in embarrassment. Michael only laughs, not mockingly, but a low joyful chuckle that causes her to smile a little herself. When they look into each other's eyes again she notices his eyes are starting to droop again.

Shress wanted to stay there for a few more units, to continue feeling his hand massaging her hand, but she knew at this rate Michael would collapse out of exhaustion. Heavy heartedly, she stands from the bed, and gently pushes on Michael's chest, forcing him down on the bed. He tries to resist but he has no energy to spare, so he allows himself to be laid back on the bed as his eyes lock onto Shress.

He smiles a little but it slowly begins to turn downward as he mutters something that she has to strain herself to hear.

"Sorry." He says with regret in his eyes.

She has no idea what it is he is apologizing for. For their argument earlier, for embarrassing her, or was it possible he is sorry for spending the last few units with her? She feels deep inside her that the last option isn't correct, still having no idea what he is sorry for, she leans in close as she strokes his head as she responds, "It's alright Michael."

The smile returns only to fade as his eyes finally close and his breathing starts to level out. Shress has never witnessed anyone falling asleep so fast before, but she understands he lost so much in such a short time. She gives his fur one last stroke before standing and walking out the door.

Once the door closes she breathes a sigh as she muses over the past events. She is away from the Covenant, for the first time in her life. She fears what will happen to her family and what will become of her in her new life as she will learn to fight and work alongside the humans. But the one thing she does know right now is that as long as Michael is by her side, she will be safe.

And for some reason, the thought of being with him makes her feel glad, relieved...and happy.

Do not forget to favorite, follow and review. Me and my team would love to hear your thoughts. Jtf0012 out.