Chapter 22: Rescued or Not
"~Haaaooillloooo…~"
Why is this so difficult?!
To my immense frustration, I quickly found out that even though I know the English language, actually speaking the language using a long beak and no lips along with a completely different set of vocal chords wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.
"~Hhhaaiilllloooouu…~"
I remember sangheili speaking perfect English! If they can somehow do it with a mouth full of mandibles, why can't I?
"~Hhhhhhaaaiiilllooooeee…~"
Sighing in defeat, I continue to pace around in the isolation of my dwelling quarters.
After we arrived at the second location, we found a similar scene to the last one. Completely destroyed remnants of an unknown ship, and no further evidence to be found. Just as planned, we were making regular jumps in the general direction the ships were leading, which slowly led us farther and farther towards the nearby star system.
Sadly, or thankfully depending on how you look at it, we have been searching for about a week to no avail. I knew simply from the two transmissions we received that it would only be a matter of time before we caught up to whatever it was that destroyed those ships… assuming that another incident happens again.
Not to mention, we were very obviously heading towards a specific star system. It didn't exactly take a genius to put two and two together and know there was most likely a human settlement there. Sighing, I begin to fiddle with one of my point defense gauntlets in agitation as I try to go over everything I knew so far yet again.
The soft grey and black burned metal I flew through earlier that day was definitely not of Covenant origin, and the english letters painted on the side of some of the remaining pieces slammed the last nail in the coffin as to what it could have been. Sadly, the destroyed remains also told their own story as to what happened.
After years of fighting against stolen Covenant weapons and utilizing the armament of my own ship allowed me to know exactly what the effects a pulse laser looks like. The boiled polka dot holes and singed paint of some of the larger pieces of debris were almost too obvious.
All of these clues caused my blood to freeze. Every time we have gone back to refuel or restock equipment, I have asked about any major news and I know for a fact that the Covenant has not started any large scale war efforts in any system. As far as I am aware, this is an isolated incident.
An isolated incident that has ended up with two human ships destroyed already.
I have instructed my crew to be on high alert and for a lance of sangheili and kig yar gladiators to be ready if we found anything, but so far the black void has been silent.
I've thought about trying to contact whatever Covenant ship was doing this, but shot that idea down after only a moment of consideration. It was rather obvious from the lack of any intercepted communications in the area that the ship knew what it was doing was wrong, and if I alerted them to my presence, then they would flee back to Covenant controlled space and alert the ministry to the human presence in the area.
Which could start the war.
Growling, I realize I have been fiddling with the same piece of equipment for the last few minutes. Shaking my head, I decided I needed to do a bit more than stew on my thoughts and attempt to speak a language that was obviously not designed with my people in mind.
While I could remember the words, it has become obvious to me after attempting to say the word 'hello' for over an hour that it was going to take a bit more practice before I could get it down. However, that left the obvious flaw of not being able to communicate with any humans in a meaningful manner once we arrive.
On second thought, wouldn't a never before seen alien species knowing your language fluently raise more suspicion than the alternative?
Thankfully, I have had some experience with crossing a one-way language barrier before.
With a new plan forming in my mind, I realized that all I needed to do was to get Floats to a human computer. Once he downloaded the words of the language, we should be able to set up something to communicate a lot easier than whatever it was that I was doing before.
Maybe I should also find out how the sangheili speak English so easily in the process. Wouldn't they technically have a harder time speaking it with the way their mouth works?
I knew that all it would take is getting my hands on a human computer, but sadly that would need to wait until one was available. Right now, all I could do was wait, and all these thoughts of maybes and possibilities were getting to me.
I need to take my mind off of all this. Stewing on it will not do anyone any good.
Moving to the door, I press the command button and walk onto the command deck. As always, the crew turns their attention to me and respectfully pauses what they were doing.
Gesturing with a hand, I dismissed their attention as I made my way to the exit. They already had their orders, and there wasn't anything I could do until we either find another signal or make it into the star system.
I knew we could just jump straight there, but I wanted to be as thorough as I could. Missing something at this point could be disastrous, and I refused to be the reason that anyone else was killed.
As I reached the exit, I idly noted that Ussa was studying a datapad rather closely, but that wasn't too far out of the ordinary. At this point, I knew how to command my own ship and his duties were more delegated to reducing the workload rather than teaching me anything new.
Calling back to the crew, I announce in my best 'in command' voice I could.
"I will keep my communications equipment on me. Inform me if anything changes."
Hearing a round of "Yes, Shipmistress." call back from the bridge, I nodded before leaving.
(\\\(*v*)/)
Walking through one of the main passageways, I idly nodded at the passing workers as they step aside. It was definitely one of the many odd perks of my new position that I've needed to get used to over the two years since I have been promoted.
Sadly, I've been walking around my ship for almost a full hour now and have not been able to settle my thoughts.
What if the humans shoot first? Do I flee or defend myself?
Looking up, I realized I am standing in front of one of the hatches leading into the main storage compartment. Not even bothering to slow down, I listen as the signature hum of the door resounds around me and I am granted entry.
Looking around the massive room, I make a quick examination of everything inside.
Seraphs, banshees, and tick boarding crafts all hang from the ceiling, neatly organized on an odd gravity-based pulley system. Each one was lined up in a way that maximizes their storage space, but yet can easily make their way single file to a hangar for deployment. Wraths, ghosts, and revenants all lined storage spaces along the floors and walls, showing that the ship is armed and ready for any campaign that needs either air or ground superiority.
Casually walking into the room, I walk over to the large imposing form of one of the wraith mortar tanks. Bringing a talon up, I casually trace the ever-present form of the Covenant insignia painted on the armor.
Even if I manage to convince the humans that I mean them no harm, how would they react to me arriving in a warship? Would they shoot at me before I could explain?
"What are you doing in here?"
Turning, I glance over to see Aris casually walking towards me. Oddly enough, the normally ever present crowd of clansmen were not behind her as she simply tilts her head.
Bringing my arm back to my side where it belongs, I turn towards my student.
Over the years, she has become extremely proficient at the close quarters combat drills I have given her, though sadly she turned down any further training with a sword. While I was a bit disappointed I wouldn't be passing the skills I have gained over the years to another, I could tell she was more of a gunslinger at heart and didn't fault her for it.
Giving my friend an odd look, I gesture vaguely towards the room.
"It's my ship, can I not go where I want to?"
Apparently not convinced, Aris simply walks up to me and points a talon accusingly.
"Over the last cycle, you have not come to any of our training sessions and we have made so many slipspace jumps that my clan is starting to lose sleep over it, and now I find you aimlessly staring at a tank in the storage compartment…"
Blinking, I turn around to look back at the massive storage compartment once again before
My eyes drifted back to the wraith.
Aris remains oddly silent as I did this, allowing the soft hum of the ship's engines to replace our conversation. The white noise of the ship caused me to drift back into my thoughts.
When I find them, what am I even going to do? Eventually I will need to report what I found to the Covenant…
After a while of standing there in silence, I feel a nudge on my shoulder which caused me to turn back towards Aris.
"Sohm, are you okay?"
Shaking my head, I decided to respond honestly. Scratching the back of my feathers nervously, I give her the most reassuring smile I could.
"I've been under a lot of stress lately… I guess it's been getting to me eh?"
My friend seems to think for a moment before she becomes determined. Reaching over, she grabbed my arm and began dragging me towards one of the many exits.
"We'll come on then, let's go get some food. There is always something interesting going on in the galley!"
(\\\(*v*)/)
Looking up from my food, I examine yet another candidate that my friend pointed out.
"No."
Hearing Aris grunt next to me, I shake my head in fond exasperation. After a moment, I felt another small nudge on my shoulder.
"What about that one? He looks like he's interested."
Following her eyes, I saw as a menial t'vaoan was looking at me with his feathers visibly puffed out as far as they could go. I knew simply because he wasn't wearing any armor right now that he wasn't one of Aris's, so we must have picked him up from one of the many staffing runs we have been on.
Sadly, even upon a casual examination, I saw his mouth was drooling and his clothing was stained in multiple places with substances I couldn't quite identify.
"No."
Hearing an audible groan next to me, I turn to see a frustrated Aris pointing one of her eating utensils at me.
"Oh come on! Mating season is coming up soon, and if you don't pick one you are going to spend the whole time alone in your room again!"
Sighing, I shake my head. I knew this was just a simple matter of a difference in upbringing, and was certainly not the first time we have had a conversation similar to this one.
The way that Aris grew up was very different from me. Before Ripa came, Aris was the only child of the matriarch queen of her clan. It wasn't uncommon for her to see her own mother with several males at once, and the normalization of the behavior was definitely shown in my friend.
Sadly for her, that wasn't what I wanted. If I was ever going to settle down, I wanted something similar to what my parents had. I wanted someone that actually loves me and saw me as more than just a chance to continue their bloodline.
Not that I don't appreciate the attempt to distract me for what it is.
Looking over to my agitated friend, I give her one of the most deadpan stares I can muster through my glowing optics.
"Did you ever think I might want more than just a one time mate?"
She appeared confused for a moment before bringing a talon to her muzzle.
"What, like a concubine?"
It took me a few moments to register the words, but once I did my hand was immediately introduced to my face.
I'm starting to think I was better off stewing in my room.
My friend sadly didn't quite understand what I meant, as she decided to take matters into her own hands. Grabbing me by the arm yet again, she practically drags me towards the drooling kig yar.
"Come on, let's go talk to this one. I'm sure that once you talk to him, you two will hit it off great."
Despite my protests the entire way over, she ends up shoving me in his direction which causes me to nearly stumble into him. I knew I could have fought much harder against this, but I knew she was simply trying to help.
Once I regained my bearings, the first thing I noticed was the rancid smell. This person seemed to be avoiding bathing if my first observation of their clothes was anything to go by. Once he realized he had my full attention, his unkempt feathers seemed to somehow puff out even further.
Aris seemed to ignore all of this as she smiles, gesturing towards me.
"Greetings honored worker! The Shipmistress here would like to know your name."
The moment the kig yar opened his mouth, I almost lost my lunch. The sheer stench that came from the open maw caused me to visibly flinch away. I didn't even wait to hear his voice before I turned around and started to walk away.
"Nope! Not happening!"
Hearing the soft sound of Aris's footsteps catching up behind me, I ignored the sad whine of the male.
Sorry, but it isn't my fault I don't want to hold my nose when I go to sleep in my nest.
"Oh come on! I'm sure you two would have some fun!... Probably."
Shaking my head, I made my way out of the galley.
"Aris, we have been over this already."
Hearing the door shut behind me, I look around the passageway that I have found myself in. As far as I could tell, the normally crowded hallway was completely empty except for my friend.
"Been over this huh?"
The matriarch's tone was stern causing me to whip around to meet her eyes, only to meet the yellow glowing optics of her champion armor.
"You might be my teacher when it comes to combat, but you are also my friend… and as far as I can see it, you have been focusing far too much on your work and not nearly enough time enjoying life! I say we need to find some nice planet with a beach somewhere so you can bask in the sunlight!"
Sighing in fond exasperation, I shake my head.
"You are only saying that because that's what you want to do."
She didn't even have the decency to look ashamed as she smiles devilishly.
"Hey, if it was up to me, I would be in my room right now relaxing, but you are the one that has me fully armored and ready for war. What are we on alert for anyway?"
Suddenly, my communications flares to life as I heard the gruff sangheili officer speak up.
"Shipmistress, we are receiving another transmission. Requesting your permission to pursue."
Immediately, my mood darkens yet again before another emotion fills me.
Relief.
Now that something was actually happening, I didn't need to stew on possibilities. Quickly responding, I activated my communications.
"Request granted. Get us there."
Taking a quick look at Aris for only a moment, I shake my head before I turn and begin to make my way to the command center.
"Sohm? What is going on?"
She didn't need to wait long for an answer as Nath's voice rang through the ship from seemingly everywhere.
"Attention all units, prepare for warp space jump."
Shifting my weight to widen my stance, I wait for the telltale shudder to run through the ship before I turn around and answer her question with all sense of camaraderie gone. Gone was the friendly combat trainer that she expected from me over the years, as my attitude morphed into the leader that I knew I needed to be right now.
"Prepare your lance and rally to the main port hangar. Make sure everyone is outfitted with EVA gear and are ready for combat."
Even through the golden helmet, I could tell that my words shook her. Even through all the training she has been through, her first combat tour was not nearly as eventful as mine was. She still has no idea what war actually is, and the hesitation in her step quickly reminded me of that.
Taking a quick moment to bring my hand up to her shoulder, I gave her a small smile to reassure her.
"Don't worry, it's only a precaution. If anything happens, I will be right there with you."
After all, I don't trust anyone else in my crew to handle first contact correctly.
Aris nods, before spinning around and sprinting down the passageway. Not bothering to wait for her to get out of sight, I quickly began to make my own way to the command center.
Even through the words I just said to my student, I couldn't quite shake the unexplained feeling of anticipation.
(\\\(*v*)/)
Slipping into the door before it can even fully open, I immediately began to take stock of the situation. A few seconds ago, we dropped out of slipspace and it seems like we are now scanning the area.
"Report."
Almost everyone was still focused entirely on their terminals, though thankfully I received a response from the sensors officer.
"Shipmistress, moments ago we began to receive another transmission and followed it as swiftly as we could. Once we arrived, we found two vessels in the area, one of unknown origin, though we are still closing the distance. I do not believe either ship has noticed our presence yet."
Focusing on his choice of words even as I arrived next to Ussa, who seems to be waiting for the inactive holographic display, I turned towards the officer.
"Only one? What is the ship we do recognize?"
Right at that moment, the holographic display sprung to life, giving me at the very least a visual representation of what the situation looked like.
I could see two small yellow triangles floating off in the distance as our ship made its way closer towards them. Making a quick guess as to where the ships would be in the black void in front of me, I turn to look out into the darkness of space only to find nothing.
"It appears to be a small missionary ship."
Okay, at the very least I can gain control of the situation. There is next to nothing a ship that small can do to a CCS.
Taking a quick moment to form a plan, I point over to the communications officer.
"Open a communications line with them. We need to-"
"Shipmistress, the luminary!"
What?
The ship's luminary was a device that scanned for forerunner relics in a system. The normally dormant device seemed to have two registered luminations over the smaller vessel.
Immediately once everyone recognized the symbols for what they were, the bridge was filled with the proud warbles from the sangheili officers. Everyone seemed proud that they were able to find a sign from their gods out so far away from Covenant space, but sadly I didn't share in their happy exclamations.
If there were humans on that ship, they were now in very grave danger. If they tried to stop anyone in the Covenant from retrieving those relics, including the extraction team I knew that I needed to send now, that could end very poorly.
And that is when the pulse lasers from the missionary ship began firing. Even from this distance, I could see the purple particle beams flashing in the blackness of space.
"By the gods, what are they doing?!"
"What? What blasphemy is this!?"
"They will destroy the relics!"
Turning and rushing back to my hover throne, I sprint over and hop on. I knew that I could access all of the bridge terminals from the chair, though it still was a lot easier when I could simply connect to someone else's work. Fiddling with the screen for a moment, I was interrupted by the calm but deadly serious tone of Ussa.
"They are extending a boarding umbilical. They aren't trying to destroy the relics, they are trying to steal them."
The extremely sharp tone of the religious sangheili didn't surprise me, but I knew that I was now in an extremely problematic situation. I had to somehow balance getting those relics, saving that human ship, and arresting pirates all at the same time.
Well, too late to back out and pretend like it didn't happen. One thing at a time.
"Patch me into a direct line with that ship and request for Dimyap to come to the bridge to examine those luminations."
"Yes Shipmistress."
It only took a few seconds, but those seconds felt like an eternity. Eventually, a small screen showed a frantic looking unggoy that seemed to be looking around the camera for a moment before focusing his attention on me.
"Oh, it's working! Hello?"
Putting every bit of authority in my tone as I could, I leaned forward in my chair.
"Missionary ship, you are firing on a ship that contains holy artifacts. Surrender now, or face the consequences."
While I honestly didn't exactly care for whatever ancient devices were on the human ship, I would use whatever excuse I could get at this point.
The unggoy appears to panic for a moment, raising his stubby arms up an attempt to placate me.
"Please have mercy! I didn't want to be a part of any of this! We have information about a vast reliquary! Please don't shoot!"
Knowing full well that this unggoy wasn't in charge, I ask the obvious question.
"Where is the shipmaster?"
The unggoy appears to shiver, before gesturing with a chitinous thumb over his shoulder.
"Chur'R Yar went to go take the relics for her own. It's her you want, not me!"
Blinking, I immediately recognized the name. Before I could articulate any response however, Nath's voice interrupted my thoughts yet again.
"We are within weapons range."
Turning to the navigations officer, I see him already looking towards me.
"If you want to be a part of the boarding party, you might want to start making your way to the hangar now. They can be there within a few units."
Nodding, I turn back to the display.
"Keep the data of the reliquary safe. We are coming to retrieve it."
The unggoy shivered for a moment, before nodding. He appeared to hesitate for a moment, before he began to make a few odd motions with his hand.
It only took me a half second to recognize the signs for what they were.
Huragok sign language.
"Send… data… to… holy… city…"
My eyes grew huge as I cut the feed to the ship. Jumping out of my chair, I gesture for Ussa to take command. After seeing him acknowledge the nonverbal order, I begin to make my way to the hangar, though not before gaining the attention of my comms officer once again.
"Jam any transmissions that ship sends. Do not let them squawk."
Watching the officer give me a quick salute, I quickly made my way to the door.
(\\\(*v*)/)
Hearing the soft thunk of the boarding attachment latching onto the hull of another object, I checked the power cell on my carbine before turning to look behind me.
There were three absolutely ferocious looking sangheili rangers all gripping their plasma rifles tightly. Each one of them appeared to be barely holding back their fury, though that can only be because of the potentially damaged forerunner relics.
Hopefully they will remember their orders to detain everyone using the gravity cuffs and not simply fire first and ask questions later.
Behind them were three nervous looking kig yar in EVA gear. Though I couldn't see any of her features, the gold armor gave Aris away. Judging by the simple shifting of her weight, I knew she was not ready for any real combat situation quite yet. Thankfully, the sangheili and I would do most of the work if everything goes well and she wouldn't need to do much of anything.
Turning back to the exit path, I saw that a neat molten hole had been made, allowing me to slip into the ship. Gritting my teeth, I made the jump.
Landing inside of the purple ship, I did a quick scan of the surroundings. I found the unggoy from earlier cowering on the ground with an engineer floating near a luminary behind him.
"Please don't hurt me! Mercy!"
"Bwooo!"
Looking down at the cowering unggoy, I simply gesture for one of the sangheili to bind him. After only a second of contemplation as to what to do with the engineer, I decided since it was a passive creature that it could be left alone.
Not even bothering to wait any longer, I bring the weapon up as I begin to search the ship room by room. I could hear the loud footsteps of the sangheili behind me, though sadly it didn't seem like I would need the backup. After a quick examination I could tell the ship was small, though along with the size there was another noticeable detail.
It was empty.
Remembering that Yar moved to board the ship, I turned to the remaining five warriors behind me. Finding the hatch leading back into the command center, I made my way inside.
Immediately, I noticed a softly glowing terminal next to the luminary. Walking over to it, I realized that it was the communications for the ship.
And it is still trying to transmit something.
Thankfully, after a few quick button presses the screen fades to a dormant state.
"Rapid Conversion, you can stop jamming their transmissions. We have control of the ship."
After a second, Ussa's voice came back through the battle network.
"Understood. Do be aware that the holy relics appear to be moving, though they appear to still be on the unknown vessel."
Gritting my teeth in frustration, I reply with a quick, "Understood."
Turning back to the small lance that has followed me into the ship, I point to one of the sangheili and the two gladiators.
"Gather up any navigation data and see if you can get any information out of that unggoy."
Watching as the warriors gave me a quick salute, I turned and made my way toward the umbilical with Aris and a sangheili ranger in tow.
It only took a moment, but once we arrived at the tube-like boarding attachment, I found that the end that was attached to the ship had a shimmering energy shield protecting the atmosphere in case the umbilical lost pressure.
Stepping inside, I found that the boarding attachment itself actually had a clear view to the darkness of space. I could clearly see the human ship ahead of me, along with my own massive ship hovering nearby.
My attention snapped back to the task at hand as I heard the telltale sound of plasma discharges. Looking down the length of the tube-like bridge, I saw a familiar ibie-shan jackal clutching her bleeding shoulder as she frantically scrambles into the energy shields at the far end.
Not even bothering to waste any time, I raised my weapon and placed the reticle firmly over her head.
"Chur'R Yar!"
The ibie-shan spins around, holding the weapon at the ready.
"What? Who are you?"
Even as I held my carbine at the ready, I gestured with my muzzle towards my cruiser lazily floating in the distance.
The reptilian pirate's eyes widen comically as she notices the cruiser. Standing there floundering for only a moment, she seems to take a moment to organize her thoughts. Seeing the muscles in her large maw tighten in anger, she turned her hateful ruby eyes back to me.
"Sohm 'Bir."
At that point, I was actually surprised she recognized me. Sure, the deep crimson armor and sword strapped to my hip were definitely recognizable features, but this was one of the few people who could identify me without my armor on in a crowd.
Not that it matters right now.
The sangheili ranger decided to voice his own opinion at that point, drawing the wanna be pirate's attention.
"Where are the holy relics?"
Yar seems to remember at that point where she was. Gesturing with her hand over her shoulder, she points back behind her.
"You want them? Go and get them! I'm taking my ship and leaving this wretched place!"
At that moment, Yar seemed to forget exactly what position she was in. I could hear a deep threatening snarl fill the area, only for me to realize that the noise actually came from me.
"You have attacked three unidentified ships unprovoked, and killed their occupants all in an attempt to claim whatever was on them for your own. Surrender yourself, or face the consequences!"
The only response I received was a similar snarl to my own as Yar grips her plasma pistol tightly. The poor excuse of a pirate opened her bony maw to answer me with what could only be more insults. Sure enough, she didn't disappoint.
"Your wretched line has been a thorn in my side ever since the day I signed my first contract! You think I am afraid of your empty threats you demon spawn?! You are just like your mother, a coward!"
Now, I normally would respond to any challenges to my character, but at that moment I couldn't even bother to acknowledge them as another shimmering form entered through the shield door behind her.
The soft footstep resounded through the tube-like umbilical as everyone, excluding Yar, turned their attention to the newcomer.
A human.
A few quick moments to examine the newcomer had me quickly registering the rifle and fluid motions that told me they obviously knew how to handle themselves. Sadly, I knew this was an extremely tense situation and needed to be treated with care or it will end up as an all out firefight.
Oddly enough, Yar didn't seem to notice as her attention was entirely focused on me. Snapping my attention back to the erratic ibie-shan, I shift my gun a bit in my hands.
"What gives you the right? What makes your line so special?"
Yar seems to become more and more infuriated with something, though for the life of me I couldn't understand what she was even talking about.
Taking a step forward, I kept my carbine aimed firmly at her head. While I knew that my energy shields could take anything she could throw my way, I knew there were two people within range that could be seriously injured by the plasma weapon.
"Yar, this is your last warning. Drop the gun and surrender."
The wannabe pirate seems to come a bit closer to reality as she glances down to the plasma pistol before turning her glance up to me.
That's right. You can't win this, just give up.
Sadly, at that moment the human decided it was a good idea to start mumbling to himself, drawing everyone's attention yet again. While I couldn't understand what he was saying, I definitely noticed when Yar spun around to look at him.
"You… this is all your fault! Why couldn't you just die!"
It was a split second reaction, but once I saw her raise the green energy weapon up I knew what she intended, and I didn't plan on letting it happen.
Four shots rang out through the umbilical, creating an odd resounding echo through the tube-like platform. Purple blood spread in multiple directions from Yar's body as she stiffened before slumping to the ground motionless. I knew that the carbine shot that caused a small bit of steam to rise up from the body came from me, but three of the shots formed an odd burst of explosions that could have only come from the battle rifle.
Sadly even as I stared down at the unmoving form of someone that has been nothing but a nuisance to my mother and I for years, I knew that this wasn't over.
With Yar out of the way, the human at the far end of the tunnel was still standing there. He didn't appear any more relaxed than he did mere moments before as he continued to mumble to himself.
For a second, I wondered if he was having an anxiety attack and was muttering nonsense to himself. Sadly, I couldn't quite make out what he was saying as he was keeping his voice quiet.
I also knew that as long as he was aiming his gun in our direction, I couldn't stop aiming my own at him.
I knew I needed to end this standoff now. With my nervous friend behind me, along with this unknown traumatized human in front of me, too much could go horribly wrong.
"This is a first contact scenario, so I need you two to retreat back out of sight. Now."
While the ranger followed his orders to the letter, professionally signaling to the affirmative silently with the battle network onto my display before slowly fading away…
"Are you sure Sohm? That thing is armed."
Turning my head only far enough to see my student, I immediately grew frustrated. A situation like this was NOT the time to lose track of who was in charge.
Sadly, I knew that I made a bit of a mistake bringing the inexperienced champion. While I valued her friendship greatly and would need to explain my decision to her later, I made the split second decision to simply remove her from the situation entirely.
"On second thought, get back to the phantom and wait there. We will have a talk when this is over."
While it hurt to say, I simply had no other option but to remove her from this situation. There was far too much at stake for me to be playing favorites with someone that has a nervous trigger finger.
My tone was deadly serious, and Aris knew it. I watched calmly out of the corner of my eye as she gave me a small nod and slowly inches her way back into the missionary ship, leaving me alone with the unknown human.
Now, at this point, I took a quick moment to examine the situation again. As of now, the two of us were still aiming our respective weapons at each other.
Now if a fight became unavoidable, I have a few distinct advantages that this human didn't. I knew he didn't have anything similar to my energy shields, and I kept my point defense gauntlets on my wrists that could be activated at any point.
But I don't want a fight.
After a few seconds of simply staring the alien down, I realized that the best action I could take is to deescalate the situation. Slowly and deliberately, I loosened my stance and lifted the hand that was bracing the weapon up to the power cell. Pressing the release, I pop the power cell out of the top and hold the two out in front of me.
At this point, I was really hoping that this person would understand the gesture and now assume I was doing something nefarious. Judging from the fact that the rifle was not lowered, I didn't exactly like my chances.
Slowly, I placed my carbine onto the ground, along with the power cell before taking a small step away.
Please understand that I don't want to fight you. Please.
After a long few moments, I finally got a reaction. The human lowers his weapon slightly, making me sigh in relief. Despite knowing that I could definitely slip back through the umbilical's energy shield behind me before his rifle would pierce my own, having a weapon aimed at you was still unnerving.
The human takes a few moments to examine his surroundings, if the slight movements of his helmet were anything to go by. This small distraction allowed me to more closely examine him in return.
He appeared to be male from his body structure if my memories were anything to go by, though I couldn't see his face due to a polarized helmet. He was wearing an odd EVA suit, which made sense considering the ship he came from was shot full of holes.
After a few seconds of this, he seems to begin talking to himself again.
"~Ma'am, I'm going to need new orders. There's a ship as big as a Marathon out here and some of them turned friendly…"
My eyes grew absolutely massive as I instantly recognized the voice.
There's no way. There is just no way that the first human I bump into is someone from the games.
While I still couldn't see his face, the voice was unmistakable. It was a voice that I recognized clearly from my old memories, but sadly it didn't change the fact that he was still aiming a rifle in my direction.
"~You have got to be kidding me… With all due respect ma'am, you're not the one staring down a giant lizard with armor…~"
It was rather obvious that he was connected to some kind of communications network, but unbeknownst to him I understood what he was saying.
Even if he did just call me a giant lizard.
While he continued his conversation with whoever was on the other end, I looked through the clear tubing of the umbilical to the human vessel. Judging simply by the holes that were still spewing a small amount of gas into the blackness of space, the damage to his ship wasn't insignificant.
I idly wondered if he had another way out of this situation, as if my first glance was anything to go by, that ship wasn't going anywhere.
"~Something tells me I'm going to regret this…~"
The odd sentence drew my attention back to the human as he slowly begins to replicate my motions from earlier. Slowly pulling out the clip out of his rifle, he sets his weapon on the floor.
"~Alright, it's your move.~"
Tilting my head, I take a slow step forward as I keep my hands where he could see them easily. The goal here was to gain a small amount of trust in order to get onto their ship and assess the damage.
At the very least, I will get them back to their planet.
After a few seconds, the human does the same. The two of us slowly take one step at a time as we close the distance between us. After a few more oddly specific motions, we were standing only a few feet across.
"~Alright, now what?~"
I have thought about this moment for my entire life. This odd situation I have found myself in has been a source of stress and anxiety that has been looming over me for years.
Now that it was here, I found myself asking the exact same question.
Now what? How am I supposed to know?
This was uncharted territory so to speak, but no matter what happened I knew I would try to do what's right. All I had to do was take it one step at a time.
At that point there were a few quick observations I made about the human in front of me. The first and most obvious one was that with my legs fully extended out like they were, I was significantly taller than this human, though I knew that if I coiled myself into my defensive stance I would be shorter. He was obviously well muscled and appeared to be well trained, but that was to be expected considering who it is.
Sadly, there wasn't much else I could glean from a glance, as there was not much else to see. He was a human, and looked the part.
Standing there awkwardly, forming an odd staring contest with the polarized visor of the human in front of me, I realized that there were small specks of purple blood on them. I didn't quite know who it belonged to, but considering only Yar came out of the human vessel, I can assume.
After a second, my eyes drifted down to his hands. For years, the only hands I knew of as my own were the three taloned claws that I currently had, but in the back of my mind I remembered having the blunt five fingered ones I could see.
Almost as if a force came over me, I lifted my arm up and splayed my hand out. Slowly, the human did the same and met me halfway.
The human's gloved hand met my armored talons in the middle, and I couldn't help but realize until after the fact that the differences in our biology were a bit too vast.
"~I'm glad your buddies had gloves on.~"
I didn't know what he meant, but honestly it wasn't hard to guess. I knew from experience during my basic training days that most untrained kig yar tended to fall back into instinct, using their claws and teeth in most situations.
Giving the human an awkward smile, I decided to try and fill my silence with a response, though I decided against attempting to speak English for obvious reasons.
"We aren't so different, now are we?"
Suddenly a shimmering form appeared behind him through the shield door, drawing both of our attention.
Yet again, I found myself with a battle rifle aiming in my direction, but unlike before my unexpected otherworldly ally jumped in the way.
"~Stand down! This one is friendly… I think.~"
The new human appeared identical to the one that came before it, though I did notice an odd puncture in his suit that appeared to be repaired with an odd yellow substance. He also appeared to greatly be favoring his other leg, showing to me that he was wounded.
Well, at least it is a start.
Thinking about how I have gained at least a modicum of trust from this human, I began to try and form a plan. Right now it appeared as if none of my crew recognized the humans, which allowed me to initiate first contact without being considered a heretic. All I really needed to do was make sure that the official first contact with the human government goes well.
At least I'm not dealing with possibilities and maybes now…
A few tense moments came and went by before the wounded human lowered his weapon just like his comrade. I watched as he quickly scanned his surroundings before finally looking up to my ship. I felt a surge of pride as he nearly did a double take upon spotting it. A second went by as he stared up at the cruiser in silence before he spoke up.
"~Johnson?~"
The unarmed human turned his helmet to look back to his wounded friend.
"~Yes?~"
The wounded human seemed to slouch, leaning up against one of the smooth clear walls of the umbilical and using his weapon as a makeshift cane.
"~The spook isn't coming to get us with that ship out there, is she?~"
Johnson snorted before turning back to me. I couldn't see his eyes through the polarized helmet, but I could easily tell that he still didn't see me as a friend.
"~Not a chance.~"
—Authors Note—
And so it begins.
Hello everyone! I just wanna say that I am still iffy about this one. There are a few things that I wasn't 100% on, but the holidays are kicking my butt and it is what it is.
Also, first contact went well! Right?
… right?
It should go without saying, but I will anyway, if someone is talking like ~this~ it's English. I honestly thought it was rather silly, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that has used a system similar to that to show that someone is speaking English. Typically, when I see something like that, it is to signify a language that is DIFFERENT than english, but I found it a bit funny that Sohm's mother tongue is sangheili common and not English.
Don't worry though, she will eventually get it down, but did you honestly expect that Sohm would be able to speak English right off the bat with a giant beak like that? Have you tried to speak English with a beak? I bet it would be hard.
Anyway, I bought a laptop! So I shouldn't need to write the rest of this on my phone. Admittedly, this most likely means ima be spending a bit more time playing FFXIV or destiny or something, but it's good news nonetheless!
Please read and review, and if you like it, consider giving me a follow and a favorite.