What do I Have to Lose?

Sweat poured down Star's face as she leapt once more from her brute attackers and, though it was only training, she felt her heart pounding in ehr head as she looked up at the familiar sigt of a flag sitting on a long rod of wood three more stories up.

She leapt once more, dodging a shock beam and finally her hands found the wood...

She grabbed it and, with a brutes loud laughter, the plank of wood snapped and Star was falling for the secodn time in her life from the seventh story, her hands holding tightly to a strip of red cloth as she closed her eyes, no worry what so ever in her teal ringed eyes.

Shasic was below her now, braced and ready as he had not been so many years ago.

It a smack she collided into hsi arms and he looked at her laughing and clicked his mandibles in amusment himslef as he put her down and took the flag, showing it to the leader as he smiled and Star laughed.

"Star, the prophets demand you hold an audience with the counciil at once." Acaadnaa spoke an d Styar nodded obiediently to her adoptive father as she rann hurriedly to the chamber of the councle.

"Is it true," Regret asked with a twisted smirk, "That you have made a weapon to destrooy the-"

"The parasite sir."

"Do NOT speak out of turn." Truth scolded and Star bowed her face respectfully once more.

"To destroy the parasiet you say? II though it coould destroy ANYTHING it weilder targetted..mainly...the humans?"

Star had felt it somehwere in her chest... A deep, sinking feeling as her mechanical arm shoved ehr off the ground and she spoke with defience in every word.

"I will NOT destroy my race."

"Star, I never thought someone so loyal to the counicle like yourself would speak such muttoney against our Covenant!" Mercy spoke and the council began roaring, "HER-I-TIC!HER-I-TIC!"

"She is not a heritic!" Star turned to see Shasic, Acaadnaa, Yappity, Karo and Koro standing behind her in the shadows.

"Who has spoke those defying words?"

"I have, Holy one." Star saw in shock it was not Acaadnaa OR Shasic who had spoke...but Jeerimass high in the Elites side of the auditorium.

Dressed in his royal armor Star felt a surge of pride taht one of the top commandesr would stand up to the council for her..and then realized, after a moment, that when she had been acused of a crime that's punishment was death, all her friends had remained silent.

She shoved past them after arguing her way ouit of being a Heretic and Shasic reaced to grab hr shoulder, she stepped away and looked at him, hurt in every inch of her face as she kept walking, ignoring them as she went to the hanger and, i complete silence she pulled out from the bay with Shasic just apearing the the corridor behind her.

Tired of crying, Star laid down in her pilot seat after setting her course to the Halo and looked out at the stars before her Com activaited and she foudn that both Acaadnaa and the huamsn were sneding a message at once, the lines of language blurred and she sorted them out before turning the COM link off and clsoing ehr eyes, but sleep evaded her as finallys eh roared out, slamming ehr fist into the side of the hull.

"WHAT AM I SUPOSED TO DO!"

And then it hit her and she sat up, legs crossed looking at her pale arm where plasma burns had once staked their claim on her small body.

"I could die..."

The though went through her like an energy saber but then she smiled, as she'd done before, and spoke as fionalllys he found her mind at peace.

"But I died when I was twelve to humans..and five minutes ago to the covenant...what do I have to lose?"

Then a voice spoke behind her, startling her and making her draw her energy saber.

"You've got me."

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