Chapter 10: Under Cover of Night

Glancing up to the sky, I am met with the sight of several large ships hovering lazily around.

When are they going to send the transports? We have been waiting for hours.

The night before came and went quickly, and we all reported to the main hall in our division once we woke up to figure out exactly where we would go next. Each one of us were told what ship we were to report to once all of the transport ships landed, then we marched our way into the massive open field that we began our training in.

All of the other divisions were also present as they waited for their own orders. We knew that eventually the ships above would send down drop ships to pick up their new crew members, but so far there was nothing.

I was under specific orders to wait for further instructions at the drop zone by my new superior, which didn't make me feel much better. The Major's words last night didn't allow me to get much rest at all as my mind would not calm at his revelation.

Why was I chosen? Someone wanted me to be placed in my new position… but who?

Sadly I didn't have many answers, so I was forced to wait just like everyone else.

"I wonder where I will go next? I heard most of the postings these days are simple patrol routes."

"I don't know, I was told to report to a carrier. I heard those ships are extremely boring without a rebellion going on."

Turning back toward to spot two of my kig yar lieutenants chatting amongst themselves, I feel a small sense of unease fill me. Glancing down to my sword, I shake it off quickly.

I am a warrior. I will make my family proud.

"Boss, you alright?"

Looking up, I meet the soft yellow eyes of the kig yar that has acted as my second in command. Ever since our first fight, he has been surprisingly trustworthy and over time we have become good friends… though I don't think I ever asked for his name.

Giving him my best disarming smile, I nod. "I'm fine. Just… thinking."

The kig yar snorts. "You are worried about your post, aren't you?"

Was I really that obvious?

Unable to deny it, I feel his hand grasp my shoulder. "Listen. You will be fine. Hell, you managed to pull together this sad group into becoming a division that was actually competitive against sangheili and jiralhanae! Not to mention your individual scores were off the charts! I'm sure you will be posted to be the Shipmistress of some missionary ship somewhere. You deserve it after all."

Pulling back away from his grasp, I shake my head and try to steady myself. "I wasn't…"

His head tilts slightly as his confusion makes itself known. "Oh? You know what your job is already? I bet the Major told you already. 'Division Leader privileges' and all that."

"I am posted to a spec op unit."

I heard the entire division around me become quiet as I said that. Apparently we had a lot more eavesdroppers then I originally thought.

The kig yar in front of me takes a second for his mind to process what I said before he realizes exactly what that means. His reaction, once it came, was predictable.

"That… oh."

We were all taught during training what types of units we might be posted to, and during that we learned that spec op units were not exactly known for their high survival rate. It was actually extremely rare for a kig yar to be posted to one. Typically it was only cannon fodder unggoy and highly trained sangheili.

After a few moments, I heard the squeaky voice of an unggoy behind me. "Don't worry boss, you will be fine!"

"Yeah! You go kick those bad guys butts!"

"Yeah, it's better than my posting! I'm on maintenance!"

Laughter fills the area as I look around to the crowd which is now circling around me. I could hear the laughter of my division at the poor unggoy who was delegated to look at wiring for the rest of his career. The soft chirps and high pitched whistling of the people around me causing a smile to form on my face.

The happy atmosphere in our small pile of freshly minted soldiers was contagious as, one by one, we all joined in. Unggoy and kig yar alike were easily getting along as we supported each other.

Looking around, I saw the other divisions around me, all standing silently as they waited for their transport. None of them were even talking to each other, though I could easily pick up some of them taking a quick glance over to us.

"You better survive out there." I hear my lieutenant's voice through all the commotion around me. "Would be a real shame if you die to the first heretic that they put you up against. It would make me look terrible! Yielding to the worst spec ops kig yar to ever exist. I would never live it down!"

I laugh, turning to face him once more. "I will try my best. Wouldn't want to harm your ego after all."

He nudged my shoulder playfully. "Exactly! I'm glad you understand."

The sound of aircraft overhead interrupted the conversations around us as we all looked up. Hundreds of phantoms and spirits were descending onto our location, all choosing to land nearby. Several soldiers of different ranks all jumped out of the ships and announced where they would be going one by one.

"Supplication of Purity, line up!"

"Unrelenting, line up!"

"Day of Jubilation, line up!"

"That's me! Good luck guys!" I heard someone from my division shout before heading to his new post.

All around me, I began to see my friends begin to file out one by one as each of them were called to one place or another. The large group around me slowly dwindling down until only a few remain.

It was an odd feeling to watch them go. This was my first time away from my mother, and I quickly grew attached to the friends I made around me. I knew it wouldn't last, but as they all left I felt a bit of a hole fill my heart once more.

I wasn't even given a ship name, so I was forced to watch as all of my friends left for their new life.

"Rapid Conversion, line up!"

"Looks like it's time for me to go." I heard my top lieutenant say next to me, before he started to walk away.

Something about the sarcastic jackal leaving without me knowing his name caused a small pang of sadness to fill me, causing me to speak up. "What's your name?"

He turned around, giving me a confused look for a moment. "Oh? Why the sudden interest?" He gave me a sly grin before he looked me up and down. "Looking for a potential mate eh? I thought you t'vaoans didn't like to breed outside your own?"

Growling, I shake my head and groan. "Nothing like that you idiot! I just realized I didn't catch it during training."

Oddly enough, I could see actual disappointment fill his eyes before he dips his head. "My name's Nath."

Smiling, I nod. "Thank you Nath. My name is Sohm 'Bir."

He smiles before placing his hand over his chest and bowing his head. "It's been a pleasure, Sohm 'Bir. Good luck out there." And with that, he turns and leaves.

Looking around me, I found that I was the only one remaining in my division. I didn't realize it until he was gone, but Nath was the last one to leave.

I was alone.

Eventually, the ships took off, leaving me in the field with only a few sangheili from other divisions surrounding me. They all converged on themselves and started to talk, leaving me alone for the most part.

I looked up to the sky, only to see the ships begin to enter slipspace above me. Massive blue wormholes opened up in the sky above me as I watched each of the massive marvels in orbit leave for unknown destinations.

"You, kig yar!" Turning, I was met with a sangheili who was striding over to me. "Why are you still here? Shouldn't you be onboard your ship?"

Steadying my stance, I met the elite's gaze. "I was told to wait for further-"

"You forgot your ship name, didn't you?" Another elite interrupted me, causing me to grit my teeth.

"No, I was told to wait for my-"

"Yeah, I bet she got left behind. How dishonorable."

Taking a deep breath, I decided to let them draw their own conclusions. After all, who cares what a few arrogant sangheili think?

Hearing the sound of a few ships descending to us, I look up to see a phantom making their way towards the empty field. Everyone seems to take notice of the incoming aircraft as they turn their attention away from me and toward the drop ship.

"About time. I grow restless without a challenge." I heard one of the sangheili around me say, earning a few warbles of agreement to rise up from the remaining group.

Eventually, the ship touched down and the gravity lift lit up, dropping a single silver clad sangheili onto the grass below. Searching around for a moment, his eyes found me and he strides forward.

The elites around me all snap into their salutes, causing the thump of their hands to resound through the field. I decided it would be best to follow their example as I salute the newcomer.

The silver-clad sangheili looks around the group for a second before he speaks up. "I'm only here for two of you. The rest will need to wait longer."

I couldn't help the odd feeling that I have seen this sangheili before, but I shook the feeling off quickly.

"Zuka 'Zamamee and Sohm 'Bir, follow me." He said, turning back around to the phantom.

Relaxing my salute, I fall into step behind the elite. The not so subtle sound of groaning could easily be heard from the annoying sangheili behind me as I made my way toward the phantom.

I could hear another sangheili following closely behind me as we made our way back to the phantom. The hurried steps told me he was advancing quickly, and after only a moment he practically jogged past me.

"Out of my way, filthy kig yar."

Sighing deeply, I follow behind the two sangheili. Stepping into the gravity lift, I am met with the familiar feeling of weightlessness as I'm carried up into the ship. Passing the entrance portal, I am met with the sight of an empty compartment. Almost immediately, the ship lurched and I could tell we were already flying back into orbit.

Glancing around me, I am met with both sangheili who entered before I did. The silver armored spec op looks the two of us over before he begins to speak. "My apologies, but I'm going to have to make your introduction to our lance short. My name is Bero 'Kusovai, and I am your direct superior from here on out."

The name rang a bell immediately. I could still remember his odd introduction on the overpass on High Charity.

This is why he wanted my name!

"My superior is Rtas 'Vadumee. If either of us give you an order, you follow it. Clear?"

"Yes, sir!" The two of us sound off from where we were.

Bero seemed satisfied, as he continued. "We have already been tasked with a mission, so prepare yourselves. Once we get back to the ship, we will be underway. You two will be issued different armor once we arrive. We will most likely arrive at our destination within the next day for our mission. Any questions?"

The minor, Zuka if I remembered right, asked the obvious question. "Sir, what's our mission?"

My new commander twitched his mandibles, though I didn't quite know what that meant. "I will leave the description of our mission to the commander. He does love his speeches."

I hesitated for only a moment before I asked the question that was on my mind. "Sir, why did you request for me to join this lance?" I look back down to my hands before I continue. "I don't think my fight on High Charity was impressive enough to warrant… this."

Bero grunts before he steps closer to me. "Your marks earned during your training say otherwise. The answer to your question is complicated, however."

The massive elite ends up standing directly in front of me, causing me to tilt my head upward to meet his eyes.

"When I first joined the Covenant, my initial posting was in a special operations division with a t'vaoan named Syma 'Bir."

My mouth flew open with his revelation, and against my will I let out a loud, "What?"

Thankfully, the sangheili in front of me ignored my outburst. "In the beginning, I was arrogant, demeaning her at every chance I could. After all, I thought that all kig yar were dishonorable and selfish…" He turned to look at Zuka, who would not meet his gaze. After a moment of silence, he continued. "I was reckless back then, thinking my years of swordsmanship training would make me invincible on the battlefield."

I could hear a few beeps coming from the cockpit of the phantom before a voice sounded out from within. "Sir, we will be arriving in the next few units."

Bero grunted in response before he continued. "I was wrong on both accounts, and when my arrogance finally caught up to me… it wasn't even during a battle. The mistake I made was due to carelessness as to where I was stepping. During an infiltration, I triggered an electrified trap laid out by our enemies."

He took a deep breath before he placed a large hand on my shoulder.

"Your mother pushed me out of the way, taking the blast for me. The trap nearly fried her legs, crippling herself to save me, someone who hated her from the start from suffering the fate she herself jumped headlong into. The honor in that sacrifice will be something I never will forget."

My blood froze at his explanation as the image of my mother limping around went through my mind once more.

The ship lurches to a stop as the pilot leaves the cockpit. "Leader, we have arrived."

Bero nods before gesturing to the gravity lift. "Very good. I will meet you on the deck."

Both the pilot and Zuka depart, leaving me alone with Bero. An awkward silence filled the room as I digested his previous words. "Even if all of that is true, it still does not explain why you requested me for… this."

Bero takes in a deep breath before he continues. "Since that day, I have visited her many times to say my apologies for how foolish I acted before, but I know nothing I say will ever make up for what she has lost. Eventually, she disappeared without a trace and I couldn't find out where she went." He then fixes me with a hard look. "Our ship was docked with High Charity when I heard she had returned, but when I arrived, I saw you. Same build, same eyes, and the only other t'vaoan I have seen in the kig yar districts. I knew immediately when I saw you fight and heard your name who you were. You fought with the same skill and tenacity that she does, though you lacked her combat experience and attentiveness. I knew this was my chance at redemption."

At this point, all I could do was let him talk. He was putting more and more emotion into his voice.

"The gods have given me the chance to make up for my past mistakes. You obviously want to be a warrior, you wouldn't have joined the Covenant otherwise, so I will teach you. Your mother was an excellent warrior, but gods willing, I will turn you into a force to be reckoned with."

Completely speechless, I stand there doing an excellent imitation of a goldfish. This elite was a high ranking special operations officer who has just offered to mentor me. I didn't even know how to respond to this.

As I went over his words in my head, as a small amount of horror filled me.

He wasn't asking. I don't have a choice in this, do I?

Bero casually made his way to the gravity lift before gesturing to it. "Sadly, duty has gotten in the way. Our mission takes priority for now. Go to the armory and get your new gear, then report back to the hangar. I will show you your new sleeping quarters."

I nod my head, making my way to the lift. "Yes, sir."

I'm doomed.

((*v*)/)

I'm so glad they gave me a heads up display.

After I left the phantom, I had to somehow stumble my way to a quartermaster on a different deck. I tried asking around, but everyone seemed to completely ignore me.

During my short time here, I found that almost everyone stuck to their own. No one was even speaking to me unless I had business with them.

The sangheili armorsmith that gave me my equipment was no different. The conversation was blunt and to the point as he quickly completed my transaction before shooing me away.

Thankfully, it came with a map and waypoint markers which drastically cut down my anxiety once I knew where I was going.

Glancing down to my new set of armor, I shifted my weight from foot to foot. It essentially was the exact same set as what my mother gave me, but this one was vacuum tight around me. It felt rather uncomfortably tight as it enclosed itself around my feathers on my arms and legs. The only part of me that was exposed was my head, and even then I had an optical scanner over my face.

The new tech was actually something I trained with. The optical display kept track of my ammunition and battery counts while giving me a motion tracker and a silent means of communication with the rest of my lance. It also had an active camouflage module attached to it.

Still no shields though.

Walking through another doorway, I walked out into the hangar bay of the cruiser I found myself on. All around me, workers carried on with their jobs as maintenance crews worked on several pieces of equipment. Everything from broken banshees to wraiths were being worked on by a small army of unggoy.

Glancing around, I spotted a single huragok working on…

An unggoy?

Sure enough, the many tentacles were focused entirely on the prone form of a grunt. The poor creature appeared to be in pain as the larger blob-like huragok continued its work with a small blue light emitting from the end of its tentacles.

Deciding to get a closer look, I walk toward the odd scene. Upon closer examination, I saw that the main area that the engineer was focused on was a large burn. The chitin around his chest was black and smoldering as the unggoy clenched his eyes shut.

I knew the huragok were oftentimes the medical staff of the Covenant, but this was the first time I was able to witness it firsthand. The huragok during training took my former division members into a private facility, not allowing me to see how they actually healed.

I watched in fascination as the blue light emitted from the tentacles seemed to heal the unggoy's injuries near instantly. The blackened carapace slowly regained its brownish color over only a few seconds.

If I didn't know any better, I would say that was magic! That is amazing!

After a moment, the engineer seemed to be satisfied with its work, as it shivered and let out a whine. After it gained the attention of the unggoy, it started making a few odd motions with it's many limbs.

The unggoy speaks up. "Yeah, I know. I'll be careful next time."

The engineer let out a noise that was the equivalent of a purr and a whine before making a few more motions.

The unggoy appeared offended. "Well I didn't do it on purpose! I mean really, who intentionally punctures a plasma battery?"

The many eyes of the huragok just slowly blink in the grunts' direction. No translation was needed as it was obvious what that meant.

Throwing his stubby arms up in defeat, he angrily gets up and walks away. "Ugh! I don't need this from you, stupid huragok. I'm going to the food nipple."

The engineer seemed to literally deflate as it hung its head. A sad whine escaped it as it slowly sank to the floor with a soft squelch. The unggoy didn't seem to care at all as it continued down the bulkhead before turning and disappearing down one of the many entranceways.

Feeling sorry for the sad creature, I decided to make myself known. "What a jerk. What you did for him was amazing, and he didn't even care? Who needs him?"

The engineer lifts its snake-like head off the floor and looks up to me. It's many eyes seem to perk up at the compliment as its body seems to reinflate itself. Looking over to me, I see it make a few more odd gestures with its tentacles.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I ran one of my hands though my feathers and let out a soft chuckle. "Sorry, I don't know your sign language."

A sad whine comes from the huragok as it decides to nod instead.

Feeling sorry for the floating creature, I bow my head. "I would be happy to learn, though. It must be rather lonely only being able to talk to jerks like him." I gesture to the door that the unggoy left.

The engineer seems to come alive at my words, rapidly bobbing its head up and down so fast I thought it might hurt itself. The sight was rather funny, causing a large smile to form on my face.

Placing my hand over my chest, I nod. "My name is Sohm 'Bir. I'm new to the ship, so I'll take any friends I can get."

The engineer let out a happy purr as it placed one of its tentacles on the center of its blob-like body.

"Bbbroooouuu"

Bringing a talon to my chin, I let out a soft hum. "Somehow I don't think that is your name."

Thinking for a moment, I went over what I knew of huragok names. I knew they all involved floating and drifting, but I couldn't come up with much more than that.

Almost immediately, my mind supplies me with a nickname causing me to bring my hands up to my mouth in order to stop the laughter bubbling up from within me. The huragok tilts its head in confusion, before drifting upward towards the ceiling a bit.

"Until I learn your sign language and find out your actual name, I will call you Sir Floats a Lot." I nodded to myself, trying to stifle the hysterical laughter I could feel bubbling up from within me.

The odd image of this hyper advanced alien trying to put on a pair of parachute pants went through my mind for a moment before I quickly shook it off, though that didn't stop another giggle from escaping my muzzle.

The engineer seemed to shiver for a moment before reaching its head over and nuzzling my shoulder.

I have only met this engineer for a few moments, but the loneliness I felt before now seems to have disappeared. Even though I could not properly talk to my new friend, I knew I wasn't completely alone.

"Sohm 'Bir."

Turning around to see my new commander, I am met with the massive form of Bero 'Kusovai towering over me from behind.

Snapping into a salute, I respond. "Yes, sir?"

The sangheili examines the two of us for a moment before he turns and gestures for me to follow. "Your sleeping quarters are this way."

Hesitating for a moment, I look back to my new engineer friend. "Talk to you later, then."

The engineer seems to deflate a bit before it nods. Slowly, it turned and made its way back toward a broken banshee.

I hope he will be alright. He seemed extremely put down when that grunt treated him like trash.

Turning and making my way after Bero, I found myself in another corridor. I knew immediately that if I wasn't able to track where I was on a display, I would be lost.

Eventually, we made it to a long hallway with small doors on either side. I carefully kept track of where I was so I would not get lost next time I was able to sleep.

Stopping in front of one of the identical doors, Bero turns to me. "This is where you will be sleeping. Get as much rest as you can, tomorrow will be your first taste of combat." And with that, he turns and leaves.

Looking to the door, I take a deep breath and press the command button.

The door whooshed open, and I was met with the sight of a room the size of a small closet. It looked like the small cot that made up my bed took up a little over a quarter of the room. The rest was a small basin that looked to be a bath, and an indent on the wall where I could use the bathroom.

Thankfully, there was a small shelf where I could store my gear that was hanging over the bed.

Stepping inside, the door slid shut behind me as I took in a deep breath. This was where I was going to be for the near future, so there was no use whining about it.

Unclipping Destiny, I placed it carefully on the shelf above me. Slowly undoing my armor, I manage to get everything off and lay down on the small nest.

Shifting for a few moments in the near paper thin blankets, I placed my head on the lumpy, but thankfully washed pillow that was here. As consciousness slowly left me, I had only one thought.

I miss mom.

((*v*)/)

The mission came all too soon, and before I knew it, I was forced out of my nest and brought on board a phantom with a contingent of other spec ops.

The only weapon they gave me was a plasma pistol, though thankfully they let me keep Destiny.

I knew I looked rather intimidating in my new sleek black armor, causing me to continually fiddle with it. The black armor encased my whole body along with my feathers and skin which made me look more like a shadow than anything else.

"Listen up!" The deep voice of my new commander resounded through the small compartment of the phantom I was in. "Our mission today is artifact retrieval. The Ministry of Tranquility has traced one of our gods Holy Relics to this location."

I stood in the middle of the darkly lit phantom behind the only other kig yar in the lance. From what I could tell, he didn't seem particularly focused as his eyes were entirely focused on his focus rifle as he completely ignored our commander.

I gently nudged his shoulder to get him to pay attention. "Hey, pay attention."

Sadly my efforts were for nothing as he spun around and gave me a vicious snarl.

"Watch it female. This isn't mating season, so don't expect me to follow your orders like a good little boy."

Apparently having said all he wanted to, he whips his head back around and continues facing forward, completely ignoring me.

Taken aback at the sudden unexpected aggression, I slink down and clench my fists tightly. Ever since I arrived in this unit, I have felt isolated. All the other warriors around me all seemed to be extremely aggressive towards everything around them. The unggoy were uncharacteristically quiet, and the sangheili all seemed to look at me as if I was less than the dirt beneath their feet.

The only one who seemed to treat me with any respect at all was the one who intentionally placed me into this situation.

Looking over to the bulkhead, I could see Bero attentively listening to his commander's words.

"As far as we know, there is a large rogue jiralhanae pack camped out around the artifact. Our task is to infiltrate the settlement, find the relic and extract it. Reinforcements will be unable to assist until we manage to destroy the anti-aircraft guns our scans have reported, so we must remain undetected as we complete our mission. If it begins to go poorly, we will be drastically outnumbered."

Rtas's tone was somber, but the thrill of the fight was clear to see in the other special operations sangheili around me. A few of them roared their approval, which quickly quieted down after a moment.

While I knew that I would be participating in missions like this, I didn't think it would be so soon. It hasn't even been a full day since I completed my basic training, and yet I am taking part in an extraction mission like this.

I wonder if the spartans had to put up with stuff like this?

The pilot called out from the cockpit. "Leader, we have arrived."

Rtas nods before stepping near the now open gravity lift. "Be silent and swift, and we will be done before the night is over." And with that, he steps out.

One by one, we all descended from the ship onto a lush forest floor. Hundreds of smells immediately filled my senses as I looked around.

This world idly reminded me of T'avo, but I could tell from the gravity that this wasn't my home as I felt lighter.

Looking up, I spotted two other phantoms hovering overhead in a shimmer. The stealth tech made it rather difficult to see them against the black night sky, but the slowly descending forms of soldiers dropping onto the ground made it a lot easier to spot them.

A few words scrolled across my optics display inside my helmet. The call sign labeled it as Rtas.

"The encampment is one unit due East. Engage active camouflage and follow closely."

Clutching my plasma pistol tightly, I do as I was told and fade from existence. My sharp eyes could easily pick up the forms of my squad mates as they hurried away from me. Deciding not to be left behind, I follow closely.

Over branches, through bushes, and around hanging vines, we made our way east. The echoing sound of strange fauna resounding around us easily masking any noise we made.

After a while of hiking though the lush forest, we came to a clearing only to see…

That's an encampment?

Before me was what looked to be a quickly put together town. Metallic buildings rose up at least three stories in front of us. There appeared to be three large gun-like buildings on the north, southeast, and southwest ends.

"I will place a remote plasma charge on the north turret. Bero, you take second lance and place a charge on the southwestern one. Rolu, you take third and go southeast. Once all charges are placed, we will rendezvous in the center at the artifact."

No noise of confirmation was given as the grouping split off into three different groups. Confused for a moment as to which way I was intended to go, I sat there glancing around for only a moment before my display pinged with Bero's callsign.

"You're with me."

Quickly finding the group that was heading towards the southwestern turret, I sped up after them.

I can NOT get lost here. This is real. This isn't a game.

The group I found myself a part of quickly made their way to the small town. Immediately I could pick up the smell of rotten meat and fur.

Refusing to get distracted, I kept scanning my environment for any unexpected surprises. My heart was beating loudly in my ears as I followed closely behind… someone.

Active camouflage kind of made it hard to figure out who.

Quickly making our way through alleyways and around buildings, we quietly continued onward. All around us I spotted the tell tale signs of military equipment. Everything from full weapons crates to plasma batteries were scattered around everywhere.

I knew full well that the majority of this stuff was considered contraband and was highly regulated by the Covenant… So how did it end up here? Who brought it here?

If we are here to extract a forerunner artifact, why was there military equipment lying around? Were they preparing for a siege?

Deciding that the answer to that question wasn't something I needed to worry about right now, I focused my attention on not getting lost. Oddly enough, stealth infiltration was something I was doing not even two days prior at this point so I was at least happy to have the training for something like this fresh on my mind.

Eventually, we reached a large platform with one of the gun-like buildings. The large purple weapon was stationed on a circular platform and appeared to be deactivated. I idly remember seeing one in my former memories as a Tyrant.

Bero's callsign pinged "I will go place the charge. Stay here."

Unable to respond without making a sound or flooding everyone's optics, the group suddenly but silently stopped moving. I could see from the shimmering form of the sangheili around me that every single one of them had a weapon out and was pointing it in one direction or another as they cover our exits.

Not wanting to be the odd one out, I began to scan the area.

One of the forms branched off and ran toward the gun, leading me to believe that was Bero.

While the smell of jiralhanae was overwhelming, no one was around as far as I could tell. Everything was quiet and unassuming, which immediately began to set off some red flags in my mind.

Who leaves a massive anti aircraft gun completely unguarded? Something isn't right here.

The feeling of wrongness didn't go away, even after I triple scanned our surroundings. No one was in the streets or around the gun. No one was anywhere.

After a few moments of waiting, a text scrolled across my visor. It was Bero.

"Charge placed southwest. Moving to rendezvous."

Taking a deep breath, I try to calm my quickly beating heart. I could see the shimmering form of Bero make his way from the Tyrant, before regrouping with us.

"Let's move."

We all made our way back down the alleyway, heading roughly towards the middle of the encampment.

The feeling continued as we made our way through the buildings. None of the sangheili around me seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary as they continued to stay in their grouping.

As we walked, Rtas pinged our displays. "Charged placed north. Moving to rendezvous."

After stealthily moving for a few units, we found ourselves looking toward what appeared to be a massive tent enclosure. The size and shape of the cloth looked like it was placed over something massive.

All around it, same as everywhere else we have been, was empty. While the stench of brute was still prominent, no one was around as far as I could see.

"Hold position."

Falling into the same formation we had not even a few units prior, the sangheili began to scan our surroundings once more for threats.

Looking toward the tent, I tell that there was a large emanating from inside the enclosure. The shadowy forms of two people were easily portrayed along the side as they moved around inside. One was very clearly a brute, as his bear-like posture was easily shown, but the other was clearly a t'vaoan.

Something is very wrong here.

"Approaching from the north." Rtas pinged.

Looking over, I could spot another grouping of wispy forms slide to a halt in one of the alleyways.

"Rolu, report."

Looking toward the massive tent, I spot a small glimmer of light out of the corner of my eye. Trying to focus on it, I spot nothing for a moment, before it happens once again.

"Rolu, report in!"

The light blinked once again and now that I knew where to look, I could see it rather clearly. Placed underneath the buildings around the massive tent was a circle of lightly blinking lights. The ground around them seemed to be disturbed, though whoever placed them there obviously did their best to hide them.

My blood ran cold at the realization that those were most likely bombs. Scanning close to my group, I found that there were two small patches of upturned dirt in the alleyway we were in. One on either side of the buildings.

Not even bothering to use the silent communications, I yell out. "Bombs placed below us! It's a trap! Move!"

There was a heartbeat of silence as the group took a moment to glance down, before we all began to run toward the tent. We all knew that going back wasn't an option.

Looking up, I saw the light from within the tent become nearly blinding as someone opened the flap. The massive form of a heavily armored brute chieftain steps out, hefting a massive hammer over his shoulder.

A deep rumble resounded through the area as he roars, causing hundreds of similar bellows to echo around from what felt like everywhere.

"Your false religion will not bend my clan. We will remain uncorrupted by the prophets' tyranny!"

BOOM

((*v*)/)

~Meanwhile~

September 23, 2517. 2300 hours. UNSC standard military calendar.

"What happened? How did I get here?"

"I don't know, why are you asking me?"

A loud female voice sounds off throughout the room, silencing everyone present.

"Take a seat… all of you."

The large group of children all sat down in the auditorium looking toward a middle aged woman who was standing on what appeared to be a stage.

Each of them looked around to each other, confused. No one knew why they were here, nor what these people wanted from them.

"As per Naval Code 45812, you are hereby conscripted into the UNSC Special Project, codenamed SPARTAN II. You have been called upon to serve. You will be trained . . . and you will become the best we can make of you. You will be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies. This will be hard to understand, but you cannot return to your parents. This place will become your home. Your fellow trainees will be your family now. The training will be difficult. There will be a great deal of hardship on the road ahead, but I know you will all make it. Rest now. We begin tomorrow."

—Authors Note—

The spartan glimpse at the end has no relevance other than letting everyone know what date we are at. SPARTANs will still be prominently featured on this fic, but since ive gotten like 5 people all asking me exactly when we are in the timeline, I decided I'd do this since the conscription of the spartan 2s is in september of 2517… roughly where I am in the timeline right now, so instead of roughly, I decided to make it exact.

I wonder… can any of you guess who my favorite spartan 2 is? It isn't Chief btw. If you can't tell, I love small side characters that are only mentioned once or twice. I'm weird like that… though you prolly should have found that out when I mentioned Bero Kusovai, Dimkee Hotay, and Chur'R-Yar.

I'm going to eventually do another time skip or two to catch up, but again, I have it all planned out already. Though I went back and looked at my planned notes and realized everything I've written up to this point is nowhere close to where I originally thought I would do, but somehow I'm also exactly where I wanted to end up… Just took some detours along the way.

Also, I know I said I wouldn't respond to guest reviews in ANs because it gets super long, but I'm just so happy that someone noticed my Dimkee Hotay cameo. I thought no one would spot it and the fact that someone said something in the reviews made me deliriously happy all day yesterday. I literally couldn't stop smiling. Thanks A-Non-Knee-Moose. U da best

Now, the next chapter is one of the five scenes that I have been imagining since the very start. I actually was going to continue on with the scene during this chapter, but I thought that was a good point to end it. I'm actually very happy that I've managed to stay on track to this point, and it makes me feel much better about my prospects at actually completing the fic. (The ending is still super far away from now. :D)

As always, read and review… and if you like it, follow and favorite!