Language Key:
"English"
'Thoughts'
"~Sangheili~"
*Six POV*
Six keeps his body as still as possible, keeping his breathing as steady and even as he could, utilizing every bit of his Spartan training in an attempt to remain undetected. Gripping his weapon tightly, as he slowly shifts to a position with less lighting, though he knows it is only a matter of time before his enemy spots him.
His orders are to hold this position as long as he can, praying to whatever higher power is out there that someone will send for reinforcements soon. His enemy is ruthless, the bright purple weapon being wielded with a viciousness he had only seen from the most hardened of Covenant warriors. He knows he will not be able to remain undetected for very long, his adversary somehow manages to sense where he is at all times, the lack of any sufficient cover only adding to the Spartan's frustration. He wishes now more than ever he has his MJOLNIR to shield him from his foe, but he must make due with what he has.
Suddenly on some unknown trigger, the invader snaps it's head up from its distraction and searches the immediate area with piercing eyes that seem to see far too much. The Spartan does not know what has set it off, but his breath hitches slightly in fear as it's gaze lands on him once again, adrenaline filling his veins as his body prepares it's fight or flight reflexes.
Muscles tensing as if preparing for a battle, he readies to jump head first into the unknown once more when his foe turns its full attention on him and lets loose a devastating barrage.
"How long are we going to be stuck here? It's so boring! Can we go get some food, or even better, can I go see the Sangheili now? That is the whole reason I'm here isn't it? Why are they making us sit in this room?"
'Damn, spotted yet again.'
Six looks over to the sixteen year old girl currently looking up from her bright purple colored notebook, tapping her chin with a pen she has been writing notes down with.
According to the ONI agent that was escorting her, her name is Olympia Vale. Sadly that was about everything Six got out of the man before he practically shoved the talkative kid into his care, ordering him to watch her and wait for further instructions before the agent and his security escort walked away a bit too quickly.
So here he was, a Spartan III supersoldier holding a BR55, attempting futility to blend in with one of the walls in one of the empty conference rooms of Cairo Station, watching a civilian teenager doodle notes in an absurdly colored notebook with stickers of cartoon kittens as she rattles off random facts that she somehow knows about Sangheili culture.
"Did you know that Sangheili attach suffixes to the end of their names to signify social status? Their culture is so fascinating. I'm so glad that I get to talk to one! This is going to be so cool!"
Six is somewhat surprised that she knew that, as it was only something he learned when Shress brought it up on the prowler after she left the Covenant, yet as always he remains silent.
"You don't talk very much do you?" Olympia asks, her tone changing from overly excited to calm acceptance. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you. I realize I am a bit of a loudmouth, but that is only because I'm so excited! I never thought I would really get to meet a Sangheili in person…Sorry if I have been bugging you sir." She then turns to her notebook and begins writing in it once more.
Six remains quiet for a minute or two, unsure of the new development. He honestly has no idea why ONI would decide to bring in a teenager to help in an interrogation of Shress. He understands that they do not believe that Shress knows the language, but most decryption and translation is done with AIs.
'I wonder how much she knows?'
Deciding to be more outgoing than he normally would be in this situation, he asks a question. "Ma'am, if you do not mind me asking… How do you know so much about the Sangheili?"
The small girl turns back around from her book and gives him a huge smile before she takes in a rather large breath of air. Six immediately feels like he just poked a bear with a stick, but does not have time to fully regret his decision.
"Well, my mom is a Captain in ONI. Her job is to intercept enemy communications and decrypt them. A few years back she got transferred to Sydney after her and dad broke up, and we got stuck on this ship for six months after the engine broke or something… Anyway, since everyone ignored me on the ship, I spent all that time looking at mom's recordings and the AI's translations. Apparently I'm actually better then the AIs are at translating. Mom actually has me look at some of her stuff before she sends it off to wherever it goes. Cool huh!" Her smile somehow seems to grow wider as she looks to the Spartan with hopeful eyes.
Six just nods his head showing that he understood. For some reason, having someone speak to him with no fear is off putting, and he isn't quite sure how to respond.
Thankfully he does not have to as the door to the conference room slides open and three men step inside. The first two he recognizes, a marine Corporal and an ONI agent, but the third he does not, though from his outfit he was very obviously a scientist of some sort. The three of them step into the room and shut the door behind them.
"Well this is an odd group ain't it? A marine, an egghead, a spook, a Spartan, and a kid. Almost sounds like the start of a bad joke eh?" The marine comments after the three of them take a seat in the chairs around the table Olympia was at, Six choosing to remain standing off to the side.
"Hey! I'm not a kid! I'm almost seventeen!" She defends, crossing her arms and staring daggers toward the gruff soldier.
The man laughs a bit before he responds, "Hey, I'm just calling it as I see it twerp."
The Scientist then speaks up, "Yes, well I would like to know why we brought in a sixteen year old to talk to a seven and a half foot tall alien killing machine." He then turns to the ONI agent before continuing. "You told me you were bringing in an accurate translator for the interrogation. Is this some kind of joke? If it is, it is in very poor taste. The work I'm doing is very important."
The ONI agent appears offended at the words as his pasty face turns red. "I assure you Doctor Glassman, even though she appears young, she definitely knows the alien's language. We would have gotten Professor Evan Phillips, but he is currently unavailable right now. This is the best that we can do on such short notice, and my superiors assure me she knows the language better then any of the translator technology we have available, including AIs."
"~What does it tell you about how smart the Office of Naval 'Intelligence' is when they rely on a teenager to solve their problems?~" Olympia spoke in fluent Sangheili, prompting all four occupants in the room to look at her with varying reactions.
The ONI agent looks pleased, unaware his agency was just insulted. The marine looks a bit shaken hearing the gruff words leaving the mouth of the small girl in front of him. The doctor looks delighted at the prospect of finally getting the answers he has been seeking.
Six, however, simply sits there quietly, knowing that bringing up his own fluency in the language would only bring more unwanted attention to himself.
After a moment, the marine speaks up, "Damn kid, that was creepy. I didn't even know people could speak split lip."
Olympia was quick to respond, "Don't call them that. Calling a Sangheili insulting names is one of the fastest ways to get them mad at you." She begins smiling at her knowledge of their culture yet again.
"Kid, if I want to call the damn thing a squid headed freak, I will." The marine adds in from his side of the table.
"Well thank you for making your ignorant opinion clear then." She mutters under her breath.
"Stop! In case it isn't obvious, you are currently arguing with a child! None of this actually matters, what does matter is if she actually knows the language and can communicate with the alien." Doctor Glassman leans forward and looks at the teenager closely. "You can do that right?"
Vale sits up straight and smiles brightly, "I sure can, but I will need you to give me everything you know about the Sangheili I'm supposed to talk to though. They are very honor bound and a misstep while talking to them might end the conversation before it even starts." She declares confidently, before shooting the scientist an irritated glare. "And I'm not a child, I'm almost seventeen."
The marine snorts from his side of the table but otherwise the girl's response is ignored by those in the room their attention focused on the upcoming discussion.
Doctor Glassman takes out a scuffed datapad and begins to tap the screen a few times before he begins to speak. "Honestly it does not matter how old you are, all I need you to do is ask these questions and attempt to get the alien to respond to them. Let's go over a few of the subjects I would like you to cover…"
*Shress POV*
The sound of talons tapping against metal resounds through the room as Shress stares at the bland gray wall. She knows it will only be a short time before Jaka would arrive with another meal. Thankfully the ONI agent and his infuriating companion have not visited her in quite some time.
While she has been rather thankful for the lack of insults and interruptions to her thoughts, it is times like this that she almost wishes for them to arrive, if only to have something to distract her from her thoughts.
She has been alone for a very long time now, and her thoughts are slowly driving her crazy. All she can think about is what will happen to her family, her name, her reputation… Surely the Prophets will disgrace her and everything she has ever loved. Regret's voice still sounded through her head as if the Heirarch was here with her.
'You will bring me the head of the demon Michael, or your entire line will be wiped out and disgraced for all eternity… And your entire family will be left behind upon the eve of the Great Journey.'
She remembers the times she had spent with her mother on Sanghelios, merely talking about one topic or another. How she was there for her when she was younger, and all of the lessons she had to learn.
She remembers her old sewing lessons and how tedious the task was to learn how to craft and patch clothing, a task that she saw absolutely no reason to learn when she was younger. She put up with them though as it was a task her and her mother would be able to just spend time together doing. At the time, she did not see much of a use for it, but it taught her how to be dexterous with her hands, made her have a bit more finesse with her swords, and more importantly it taught her how to be patient, a trait so many of her more impulsive brethern lacked. Maybe the warriors should incorporate needlework into their training?
She could certainly remember the constant frustration of attempting to use a small needle and string in between her claws when she was a child was definitely an exercise in futility, yet now she was thankful just to have the memory, something to reflect back on to remember her mother.
'I hope she is safe.'
Shress gets up and begins to pace the room, attempting for the hundredth time to find something… Anything to do. She has exhausted all of her options, and as good of a memory as it was, old thoughts about her mother and home could only distract her for so long. She has already thoroughly examined everything in the room, including the exit. She found out that the small metal door currently being used to hold her was not intended to hold someone with her strength. She knows a well placed kick would easily open it, but dares not risk doing so.
She turns back to the equipment she has with her, taking inventory yet again. She has her armor with all of its attachments. Surprisingly, the humans didn't try and take any of the equipment she had on her that was not a firearm, which means she is still armed and shielded.
Glancing down to her hands, she activates her energy daggers causing the metal walls of the room to reflect the light and bathe the entire room in a soft silvery blue. Examining the small weapons for any malfunction, she finds none and deactivates them. Moving on to the next piece of equipment, she turns her energy shields on and watches as her body is shrouded in blue light and the helmet display shows that it is working at optimum effectiveness, same as always.
Lastly, she turns to her active camouflage module, detaching the small device from her armor. This small piece of equipment has been on her mind for some time now. Jaka has mistakenly left the hatch open more than once and Shress has seen the ONI agents open and shut the door enough times to know exactly how to do it. The security in this cell is abysmal, and it would be extremely easy for her to open the door, activate her camouflage, and walk about the station. She looks down to her hands and realizes she yet again has her finger over the activation command button.
'No. If I'm caught, the humans will assume the worst.'
Deciding at the very least to test the device and make sure it still works properly, she presses the button, and watches as her body fades into nothingness. Satisfied, she turns it off and returns to looking around the room.
Normally when she had nothing to do, she would practice her sword work. She still remembers the training exercises that her father made all of the children in the La'Vdam keep learn. However, even just quickly glancing about the small area she has available to her, she knows there isn't nearly enough room to practice, not that she has her swords with her anyway.
With yet another idea thoroughly rejected, once again, she returns to her small bed and sits down.
The sound of footsteps soon reaches her through the doorway to the outside. Looking over to the door as a feeling of hopefulness cheers her up from her boredom, she attempts to listen closer, only for that hope to be dashed when she hears more than one person walking.
Guessing that the ones making their way down to her cell were the ONI agent and his loathsome compatriot, she groans and makes her way to the metal table once more, fully ready to attempt to be as emotionless as Michael is.
'I truly do not know how he does it. Before he became my suitor, he could have been mistaken for a statue.'
The sound of the door opening resounds through the room as she swings her head around to look at the intruders. When they enter, her eyes widen in shock at who is entering.
First to enter as always is the ONI agent wearing black. He seems to be scowling at something unknown to Shress as he makes his way over to the side of the table.
Next to make their way into the room is a human female. Shress takes a moment to examine her, taking the time to realize that this human was extremely young. There is no way this human has fully come of age, yet she strode into the room with confidence and a large smile on her face. She locks eyes with the Sangheili, and her brown eyes light up, showing no fear as she makes her way into the room. Shress could admire her courage, though she did not know why the young one was here.
Next to walk into the room was…
'Michael!'
Sure enough, the Spartan was stiffly walking into the room with his green eyes quickly scanning the environment, but the moment his gaze locked onto hers his entire body relaxed and he gave her a small smile. He lifted his arm and waved his hand back and forth, similarly to how he did when they met back on Reach.
Her mandibles form into a large smile, uncaring to her audience as she feels pure happiness well up within her. She did not wish to admit it to anyone, let alone herself, but she has been feeling a bit betrayed by Michael as of late. No news or communications with him mixed with the fact that she has become a prisoner to his people in what is essentially solitary confinement has allowed her thoughts to turn a bit sour. Now that she sees him here, she knows he has not abandoned her and has been trying his best. Oh how she would love to just get up and kiss him, forgetting the others and spending time together once more.
"Hey squid head! We brought you a snack!" The infuriating marine shouts as he walks in, striding past Michael and making his way into the room. The door slides shut behind him and the sound of the locking mechanism resonates through the room.
His remark instantly changes her smile to a frown as she yet again attempts to tune him out. It helps that she is thoroughly confused as to what he was talking about as she could not smell any food nearby.
Surprisingly, the young one turns to him with a look of horror and disgust on her face. She remains there stuttering for a second as she attempts to get her thoughts together.
Michael however is wearing an expression she has never seen from him before. His eyes narrowing as his single mouth forms into a thin line, his hands forming into balled fists as he stares with piercing green eyes at the back of the human's head as he walks past him.
Shress has been trained as a warrior since she was a child. She has been sent on life threatening missions, fought both humans and covenant rebels and has seen her share of terrors. Not much could shake her resolve or make her flinch anymore, and yet the sheer intensity of Michael's eyes at that moment reminds her why she once called him 'Demon.' She has no doubt she is seeing the warrior behind the polarized glass helmet before her right now, and for some reason she feels her hearts beating a bit faster and a blush forming over her face at the thought of Michael stomping this filth into the ground.
The marine however doesn't seem to notice he was in any danger as he confidently strides into the room and makes his way to the still stuttering youngling. He places one of his hands on one of her shoulders, looks over to Shress and says in a very cheerful tone, "Hope you like your children fresh, though the rest of your kind don't seem to discriminate, eh?"
"Hey!"
The marine blinks a few times before seeming to realize who had just spoken before looking back down to the smaller human female.
To her credit, the human female stares up to the larger man without fear, attempting to look as intimidating as she could as she points a finger at him and begins to speak, "You will not talk to her like that. She is a sentient being same as you or me."
The marine scoffs a bit before walking over to his spot on the wall. "Kid, you got some weird morals if you want to defend that thing."
The youngling continues to stare daggers into the back of the man's head as he walks away before she shakes her head and turns back to Shress.
Unnoticed by the occupants in the room, Michael slowly makes his way closer to Shress, standing on the opposite side of the table from the other three humans. Attempting to change the mood in the room, he speaks up. "We should start."
A silence fills the space between the human youngling and the Sangheili, as the human's face morphs from the angry red that Shress saw a moment ago, to a wide eyed amazement. Taking a deep breath in, she begins to speak. "~Greetings, honored warrior. My name is Olympia Vale. I apologize for any offense that this one,~" at this she gestures to the marine who was once again leaning nonchalantly against the wall. "~Has given. Might I inquire as to what your name is?~"
Surprised by the words that came out of the young one's mouth, she sits there in stunned silence for a moment. Her silence however is noticed by the others in the room.
"Ah, so it isn't speaking because it is withholding information, not due to lack of communication. Duly noted. I shall-"
"~Greetings young one and my thanks for defending my honor.~" With this she bows her head in respect before continuing. "~My name is Shress La'Vdam.~"
The small human's eyes widen in wonder before she sends a smug look in the direction of the ONI agent, who now has a dark scowl on his unpleasant face. "You were saying?"
Shress smiles at the scene before her. A youngling with this kind of attitude giving her elders grief. If a youngling did something similar back home they would have been punished… yet it seems like the three older humans in the room were not moving to do so.
The overweight human seems to take notice of her expression as he continues to look at her with his calculating look. "Yes, well… It seems the prisoner is responding to you. If you wouldn't mind Ms. Vale, we would like to continue on with the interrogation."
Olympia seems to glower a bit, as if she is just remembering what she was here for. Turning back to Shress, she sets down a few pieces of very familiar paperwork in front of her, causing the Sangheili to lose her smile. "~My sincerest apologies Shress La'Vdam, but the reason I am here is to translate some questions. If you would be so kind as to answer them, I would be very grateful.~"
Shress takes note of the downtrodden tone the youngling said those words in, and decides to speak up. "~Yet you wish to ask something else don't you?~"
Olympia's eyes seem to brighten again, her curious demeanor returning. "~We don't have nearly enough time for me to ask what I really want to. Your people are so fascinating! Just from what I have learned from studying intercepted communications, I can see that you have such a rich history and ages long traditions that I could spend years reading about!~"
"~And I could say the same about your people as well. From what I have learned about the Spartans alone, I can see your people also have a rich warrior tradition.~" Shress responds with a kind smile, seeing the childlike rambling for what it was.
Curiosity.
Olympia's eyes widen before she looks over her shoulders to Michael, who seems to have taken notice of the fact that he was being talked about. The only sign however was the slight nod of his head as he made eye contact with Shress.
"~Your kind has been studying us as well then?~"
Shress shakes her head a bit, her tone becoming a bit sad as she says, "~Sadly no. As far as I know, I am the only one to take any interest in your culture…~" Shress quickly flicks her eyes over to look at the marine, who seems to have tuned everything out as he examines the small blunt claws at the end of his fingers. "~and language.~"
Olympia's eyes grow huge at the revelation, before she practically explodes, "~You can understand us!~"
"Ms. Vale, while I do not understand what you are saying," the ONI agent walks directly behind the youngling, before reaching over her shoulder and tapping the pictures on the table, "I have spent enough time around you to realize you are ranting about nonsense again. Please stay on topic and ask only the questions that Doctor Glassman and I provided you with."
Glancing down to the pictures, Olympia sighs before she picks the top one up out of the pile.
"See squirt? Was that so hard? You would think for someone who talks so much, getting her to ask a few questions would be easy eh?" The marine turns to look at Michael assuming the Spartan would back him up but he is only met with a cold stare as the super soldier remains as still as a statue.
Shress leans forward onto the table and makes direct eye contact with Olympia. "~Now you see why I refuse to talk to them. Respect is earned not given youngling.~"
"~I'm not young, I'm sixteen.~" The female mumbles under her breath, obviously agitated about her age.
"~Do not be too quick to grow up youngling. Life will not give you back any lost time.~" Shress shoots back, giving her a warm smile.
Olympia's slight anger quickly turns into confusion. "~If your respect is earned and not given, then why are you talking to me? I have done nothing to earn your respect… I am not a warrior, and we have only just met.~"
Shress pauses for just a moment as she thinks about the young one's words. Oddly enough, the curiosity and thirst for knowledge this human possesses reminds her a bit of herself when she was only a youngling. How she also used to frustrate both her mother and the elders around the La'Vdam keep with her unending questions. True, this human before her was no warrior, but she has something that the Sangheili has not seen amongst the blood and fire of the battlefield, something that Shress has not seen for a long time and knows deep within her needs to be protected.
Innocence.
"~You wear your emotions openly youngling. I can tell from your eyes that you are a kind and honorable person. You may not be a warrior, but your hearts are pure and you have a strength about you that is more than just physical. So long as you stay true to yourself, you will have my respect.~" Shress says as she balls her hand into a fist, places it over her chest and bows her head slightly.
Olympia appears to have been stunned by what Shress has just said, sitting in her seat with her mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out as her face turns a bright shade of red. After a moment to regain her composure, she mirrors the gesture, placing her smaller hand against her chest. "~Thank you Shress La'Vdam. I am deeply honored by your words.~"
Shress then reaches across the table and picks up a picture from the pile. She looks at it and she almost drops it in surprise. In her hand is an extremely blurry image, yet even as it was she could easily recognize the object.
"~They wanted me to ask you what the location of something called High Charity was. Do you know of it?~"
Shress tilts her head, confused. "~High Charity is the Covenant's Holy City, but it is also a mobile space station fully capable of faster than light travel. It does not have a set location as it moves around from place to place.~"
Olympia takes the information in before she looks over to the ONI agent. "Okay so I asked the question, and apparently 'High Charity' does not have an actual set location. She told me-"
"How does it not have a location shrimp? That doesn't make sense." The marine unhelpfully supplies, glaring hatefully at Shress.
Olympia's face forms a frown before she attempts to respond, "Well if you let me finish, I woul-"
"Indeed. Obviously that information is flawed. Even with established communication, the alien is not forthcoming with actionable intel. I will need to report this to my superiors."
Suddenly, Michael speaks up for the first time, his voice a bit deeper and more threatening then she remembers from their time on the prowler. "She said that High Charity is fully mobile with a slipspace drive on it, that is how it does not have a location. It moves."
Silence fills the room for a few seconds before Shress decides to speak up. "~Thank you Michael.~"
The super soldier turns to her and his cold eyes instantly return to their normal soft green warmth that she recognizes as he responds. "~You're welcome Shress.~"
Olympia snaps her head around and points to the Spartan accusingly. "You know Sangheili too!"
Michael simply remains silent as he returns to his stoic facade and just shrugs his shoulders noncommittally.
The ONI agent for his part seems to take the information in stride, simply making a small humming noise while he continues to examine the Sangheili from his place in the room.
"Sounds like a convenient cop out if you ask me. How this thing has convinced HIGHCOM that it has defected is beyond me. I say we just kill it and move on." The Marine places his hand on the holster of his shiny primitive weapon for emphasis.
The chair that the human female was sitting in slides back with a loud screech as she stands up. Spinning over to the marine, she loudly makes her way to him and stomps her foot onto the ground with a soft thump, attempting her best to look as intimidating as possible. Sadly the gesture was ineffective as she was almost a head shorter than the one she is attempting to challenge. Even through all of that though, none of the occupants of the room were quite ready for the outburst that came from the young female.
"You are such a jerk! You have no idea what you are talking about yet you go around saying things like that? What is wrong with you!"
The marine blinks for a moment in amazment before he takes a step forward, his larger form doing a bit more to intimidate the younger human as he glares down at her in annoyance. "Alright you listen here brat, that thing is a murdering monster. Talking to it is a waste of time. The longer it takes you to realize that, the dumber you look."
Shress's blood boils at the human's words. She can take insults about her, but the moment this human started talking to the youngling like that, she knew she had to act. She knows full well that once she begins to react to his words they would know she understands them, yet she can't find it within herself to care at the moment as she only wishes to protect the young human.
Glancing around the small room to the other occupants, she realizes that both the marine and the ONI agent have turned their attention fully to the enraged youngling. Yet through it all, Michael's attention was fully on her. She looks to him pleadingly, and she sees his head nod slightly.
Olympia does not seem to care about the height difference one bit as she reaches forward and uses one of her small digits to poke him in the chest. "I'm being dumb?! You are the one that's been a sarcastic asshole this whole time!"
Sensing the escalating situation, Shress stands up from her chair in an attempt to direct their attention elsewhere, but she remains unnoticed by the two arguing humans as they continue to insult each other. The ONI agent appears surprised by her movement but she doesn't care. Determined to stop the confrontation between them, she makes ready to let out a small growl to direct their attention elsewhere.
Before she could even take the breath in to do so however, the marine grabs Olympia's arm roughly and yanks her closer causing her to yelp a bit. "Listen pipsqueak, I'm a lot bigger than you. If you want to start getting physical, you will need a lot more than a pen and a notebook."
Shress saw red. 'Dishonorable! How dare this filth lay his hands on a youngling!'
Faster than any of them can react, Shress rounds the table and moves to stand directly behind Olympia, snarling a deep growl as she reaches the position of the smaller human. She can see the marine's eyes widen as he attempts to pull Olympia in between the two of them. He uses his superior strength compared to the youngling in an attempt to use her as a barrier, causing another pained yelp to come from the youngling. With speed that would make a Spartan jealous, she grabs his wrist and squeezes, ironically causing the marine to let out a high-pitched yelping noise similar to the one Olympia made only moments ago as his hand opens, releasing the female. Using her free hand, Shress gently pushes Olympia behind her while continuing her hold on the marine's hand, making sure she has him properly detained.
The human begins to struggle, using his free arm to attempt to free his trapped wrist, but Shress's hand is immovable. The marine looks up from his arm to her face, fear and anger clear in his eyes as he frantically renews his attempts to get free from her grasp. "You damn monster! You want a piece of me? I'll fucking kill you!"
Shress can hear the sound of someone yelling behind her but she ignores it. This worthless filth just attempted to harm a youngling. If he wanted to get to Olympia, he would have to go through her first.
His free hand reaches down to grab one of the human's primitive sidearms, but is stopped when Shress grabs a handful of the cloth his armor was made out of and hefts the human into the air before slamming him firmly into the wall at her eye level. A cough of pain sounds as his body impacts the wall, dazing the man for a moment.
Quickly disarming the man with her free hand and throwing the weapon to the floor, she can hear the sound of Olympia yelling behind her, but yet again she ignores it as she focuses on the struggling human in her grasp.
He begins to kick his hanging legs, landing hits on her armored leggings in a vain attempt to fight back against the enraged Sangheili. Struggling to regain his breath from the impact as he gasps for air.
Shress positions her face a mere unit away from the human's as she waits for him to regain his bearings, uncaring to her surroundings or situation. After a moment, he caught his breath and began to glare hatefully at her. Making sure the human's full attention, she began to speak in fluent English.
"Listen, you worthless excuse of a coward, I am a lot bigger than you… so if you want to go around harming younglings, you will need a lot more than that pathetic excuse of a weapon."
He stops struggling as she speaks, becoming very still as he is forced to look directly into her slit pupils. Shress can easily see the man's face morph into a shocked expression when her words begin to ring very close to the same threat he made moments earlier.
Shress feels a hand touch her shoulder gently, causing her to snap out of her fury and relax a bit. Finding that her point was made, she lets go of the marine, causing him to slide down to the floor. He quickly scrambles away and runs to the door, which opens quickly and lets him out.
Making a soft grunt of disgust toward the cowardly behavior, Shress turns around and is met with chaos.
Michael has made his way over to her. He has a concerned look on his face and one of his hands is on her shoulder, squeezing lightly.
Olympia is screaming at the ONI agent to stop as she places herself in between Shress and the human who is holding up another one of their projectile weapons in her direction. The man does not appear to be able to hold himself still as his arms shake violently.
"Stop! Don't shoot! She was only trying to protect me!"
The agent does not lower his weapon however, continuing to aim the weapon in her general direction. It does not take Shress very long to realize that the man is terrified of her, but there isn't much she can do about it since Olympia would be the one that would be injured if the man fired the weapon.
"Stand down. It's over." Michael's voice is unwavering as he moves Olympia out of the way of the gun. The quivering agent takes a moment before a click is heard and he places the weapon back into its holster.
Looking over to the youngling, Shress can see that the female human has been a bit shaken by the experience. Walking over to Olympia, Shress places her large hand on her shoulder, attempting to reassure the small female. "Are you unharmed youngling?"
She glances up, craning her neck back to see the Sangheili towering over her. The human does not appear scared however as she smiles up at Shress, rubbing her wrist. "Yeah, I'm alright. Thank you for getting him off of me."
Shress smiles back, happy that the youngling was alright. "You are very brave, Olympia Vale. Not many would stand in front of a weapon to defend someone they just met." Shress points out. "Your family must be very proud."
Olympia's face becomes bright red as she glances down to her feet, clearly embarrassed at the praise.
"Well… Since the s-subject clearly knows our l-language, it appears… t-that we no longer n-need your services… Ms. Vale." The agent's voice is very clearly shaken and the tremors in his body have not ceased. "Please come w-with me." He quickly makes his way to the entryway, which again opens before the human can reach it and he makes his way outside, not once looking behind him to see if his charge was following.
Olympia looks conflicted for a moment before she sighs and begins to walk to the door. Once she reaches it, she stops and turns around. Standing straight, she places a fist on her chest and bows her head in respect. "~Thank you, Shress La'Vdam for speaking with me. I will remember your words and take them to heart.~"
Shress smiles brightly at the gesture before returning it, dipping her head low. After a moment, the youngling left, the door swinging shut behind her, leaving her alone in the room once more.
"You know, if you only waited a second longer, I would have stopped him." A very familiar voice comments from behind her. Spinning around, she is met with the sight of Michael bending over to pick up the human weapon that she had thrown onto the floor.
Shress stands there stunned for a moment before she slowly makes her way over to her suitor, who secures the sidearm and meets her halfway. With her in her armor and him only wearing normal human clothing she is significantly taller than him, yet the moment they are close enough, they throw their arms around each other in a deep embrace.
His hand finds the small gap in her armor between her helmet and her combat harness and begins to massage her neck while she nuzzles him affectionately. A moment passes before she feels her throat thrum in happiness once more at being reunited with the one she has grown to care for.
They remain like that for a while, simply enjoying the contact before they break away, trading the hug for simply holding each other's hands.
"I could not let him harm a youngling Michael." She defends, her tone light as she runs a clawed hand through his hair.
"I know Shress… I know." He sighs in contentment, letting her continue her motions for a moment before he begins to speak again. "After the interrogation, I was supposed to take you out of here for a supervised walk around the station, but I believe I need to follow those two." He gestures with his head to the door. "I'm sure they went straight to Lord Hood with this…"
Shress feels her smile fade a bit with those words. She knows she let her temper get the better of her, but she refuses to regret what she did. She squeezes her suitors hand, hoping for some reassurance which she receives when his hand squeezes hers. "Michael I-"
"I'm sorry Shress." Her suitor says sadly, cutting off her own apology. "I didn't want you to be stuck in here. I'm doing my best to get you out."
"I know Michael. I'm sorry I made it harder for you." She says, a lighter tone in her voice, realizing that her handling of the earlier situation couldn't have helped her image.
After a moment of simply standing there, they break away from each other. They both know that they must part ways now, but neither wants to.
Michael turns and reluctantly makes his way to the door. Every step he takes making her insides squirm a bit. As he reaches the halfway point, she quietly says, "Michael."
He stops halfway to the exit to turn and look at her. "Yes?"
Shress doesn't answer as she takes off her helmet, glancing down to the glowing crimson helmet in her hands before looking back up to the Spartan. For a moment in time they simply looked at each other, as if held away by some hidden force. Suddenly, on some unknown trigger, the both of them close the distance once more and smash their lips together.
Unlike any of the other kisses they have shared, this one was filled with desperation. Shress knows they have only been kept apart for a short time, and yet to her it has felt like years. Oh how she has missed this feeling. Her hands begin to wander down his back as she feels her insides warm, happy to have her suitor close to her once more even if it was only for a short time.
They break apart from the kiss, breathing heavy as they look into each other's eyes, smiling like fools as they savor every moment they can.
'I wish it could always be like this.' She thought to herself as she swings her arms over his shoulders and places her forehead on his. 'I would go through all of the hardships in my life again just for another moment like this.'
"Awww… You two make a cute couple."
At the sound of the voice the two lovers quickly turn to the door, the food slot open as the top of Jaka's head peers through from the other side. Shress feels her suitor's muscles tense under her arms as his face returns to his unemotional facade. However, since she is so close to him, their arms still caught in an embrace, she can see his rapidly reddening face as his embarrassment makes itself known. Smiling brightly, she gives him a loving lick on the cheek, the deepening of his flush only amusing her more.
*Six POV*
After his moment with Shress, he makes his way out of the room. The door slides shut behind him and he turns to see Lin standing there with a wide knowing smile on his face, his hands forming two thumbs up.
Ignoring the over-excited Lance Corporal and taking a look around the hallway he sees that Olympia was standingat the far end, by the elevator doors, glancing out one of the windows overlooking Earth. She seemed to be uncharacteristically quiet as she stood there rubbing her wrist. Other than her however, he can't see anyone else in the immediate area besides Lin.
Turning to the Lance Corporal, he asks. "Where did the other two go?"
He seems to deflate a bit as he points down the hallway toward the exit. "They ran off that way. I think Shress scared them pretty good. I've never seen someone so big run so quickly…" Lin takes a moment to let out a laugh before he continues. "The spook mentioned that they were going to Lord Hood's office."
Six nods once before he makes his way over to the civilian, walking up beside her as he waits for her to center herself.
"What will happen to her?" Olympia's voice is soft as her concern for the Sangheili shows through.
"Nothing, if I have anything to say about it." He says, his voice more confident then his thoughts.
Ever since the moment she moved to defend Olympia, Six could only sit there with one thought going through his head. Hood's parting words two days ago.
'If she even lightly scratches that civilian, or one of my men, I will hold you personally accountable, clear?'
Now here he is, Shress having assaulted a marine in defense of a civilian. He will try his best to defend her actions, but he knows it will be an uphill battle.
"She was only trying to help me." Somehow her voice loses all of its previous uncertainty as she turns and looks up to the Spartan. "I need to help her. Please sir, can you take me to whoever those two went to talk to? She can't speak for herself in that cell, but I can!" Her face transforms itself into an excellent imitation of a kicked puppy, her eyes beginning to water over while she looks up to him pleadingly.
Six thinks for a moment, knowing full well that a Spartan bringing a civilian minor to the office of the most powerful man alive isn't exactly something he was originally planning to do. Yet the more he thinks about it, the more the idea appeals to him.
'Hell, I've already broken so many laws, why not this? She would defend Shress far better than I could as she has no prior connection.'
"Okay."
With the Spartan's calm word said, Olympia grabs the super soldier's arm and begins tugging him toward the exit. "Come on then! We got no time to lose!" Only to realize that the thing she thought was a human acted like an unmovable brick wall. She turns back to him, confusion clear on her face.
Fixing the teenager with a firm gaze, he waits until he has her full attention before he begins to speak. "First, you need to understand that they are going to talk to Fleet Admiral Hood. You will be respectful and remain quiet unless spoken to. Understood?"
The teen's face turns from its confused smile to a determined frown. Straightening her back she looks back to him with steel in her eyes. "Yes, sir."
Six studies her for a moment, making sure that she knows he is being deadly serious before turning and making his way to the exit, his unconventional ally following quietly behind him.
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