Chapter 23: Perspective
"Silence unggoy!"
Sighing, I turn back to the frantic grunt in front of me. Now that I have had time to fully examine the creature, I could tell from his similar garb, that this unggoy was a Deacon similar to Dimyap.
"Shipmistress, one of the relics seems to be moving back towards the unknown ship."
Taking a moment to think before I respond, I open my mouth to answer only to be interrupted.
"Bwoooo!"
Turning to the nearby floating huragok, I see as he bumps into the ceiling, seemingly unable or unwilling to remain still for even a moment.
"Thousands, perhaps even millions! We need to report this to High Charity immediately!"
Hearing a violent snarl, I hear as a loud clang runs through the compartment as one of my furious rangers makes his frustration known.
"I said, silence unggoy!"
The small creature flinches back, cowering into the corner even as a sad whine came from the nearby engineer. Glancing over, I spot as the terrified unggoy cowered closest into the corner even as his chitinous arms were held over his head by the gravity cuffs. The scene was somewhat depressing if I was to be honest, but I knew I needed to keep my attention focused on the task at hand.
Looking back toward the shining energy shield that connected the ship to the boarding umbilical, I could see that one of the humans, Johnson by the lack of any injury, was still standing there, but the other human appeared to be missing. The armed human appeared to be studying the situation intently from where he was, but thankfully has not made his way any further into the ship.
Well, at least I know they have the relics on them if they are moving when the humans do.
The situation was tense, but I was just thankful that any further violence since the incident with Yar has not broken out. It appeared as if the humans were attempting to distance themselves from the crazed situation I found myself in, a tactic I honestly wished I could employ myself.
If it wasn't for the fact that everyone all seems to want my attention all at the same time, I could just sit and attempt to communicate that I mean no harm to them.
Sadly, my position meant that I had a responsibility to regain control of the situation. Turning back to the scene in front of me, I gesture towards one of the rangers.
"Take the unggoy back to the ship, but place him in the brig for the moment. I have questions, but now isn't the time. Also, can you tell the Champion to return to me?"
The soft metal thump of a fist rang through the room as he saluted, before grabbing the unggoy and shoving him towards the phantom.
"Please! We need to contact the-"
Another deep threatening snarl filled the compartment as the unggoy's mouth could audibly be heard shutting through his mask.
While I knew that I would need to deal with the Deacon later, the fact right now was that I needed to somehow peacefully get the two humans back to their home.
Hearing a small beep next to me, I turn my attention to the small navigation computer that I happened to be standing next to. It took me a moment to fully understand what it was that I was looking at, but once it registered, I felt my heart drop.
In front of me was the display of a planet, but overlaying the surface was hundreds of thousands of luminary pings. Runes depicting forerunner relics splayed over specific areas all over the surface, so many that a red flag immediately began to go off in my head.
That many relics all in the same area would mean that the forerunner presence on the planet would be unprecedented. If that information got out, the Covenant would stop at nothing to get them.
Even go to war."Shipmistress, the relic is returning to the umbilical. Can you see it?"
Sure enough, as I turn back to the shimmering doorway, I see the limping form of the human named Byrne making his way next to Johnson.
I took a quick moment to look the two over, searching for any sort of forerunner artifact.
They were both still armed with the scoped rifles that I recognized, with an odd sort of black skin tight suit around them. It honestly looked as if the suits were designed specifically with range of motion in mind, without taking any sort of plating into account. There weren't any pockets or pouches as far as I could tell, and I didn't see any indication that they were hiding anything.
Where is the…?
I wasn't sure why, nor was I certain what caused it, but a faded memory flashed through my mind for a moment. The odd image of a forerunner monitor looking down upon a green armored spartan from above as it says only one word.
"Reclaimer."
My eyes grew huge as another possibility entered my mind. Turning back to the terminal, I study the image closely.
The vast majority of the "relics" appeared to be clumped into a small few areas, with one being by far the largest. The few that were not a part of the main groupings appeared to be lined up in several singular directions leading to the other groups.
Towns. Roads. Cities.
These aren't relics at all! These luminations picked up by this device were all picking up humans.
This changed everything, and yet it changed nothing. The main issue now switched from relic extraction to convincing my crew that these humans were not hiding the relics on their person.
I needed to clarify something, and fast.
Quickly switching my communications on, I contacted the bridge of my ship.
"Rapid Conversion, come in."
It didn't take long for a response to come through in the form of Ussa's deep voice.
"At your command, Shipmistress."
Tracing a talon across the luminary screen in front of me, I go over exactly how I want to phrase this before I speak up.
"Has Dimyap arrived to translate the luminations yet? Something doesn't seem right here."
Understatement of the age right there. "Yes Shipmistress. He is studying the runic formations now, though he seems a bit stumped as to what they could mean."
I could easily hear the tone of condescension in the sangheili's voice. I knew all too well that even though I have ascended past my own caste, the unggoy aboard my ship were still treated as lesser beings despite my attempts to mitigate it.
"Patch him through. I have a few things I wish to speak to him about."
"By your word, Shipmistress"
Waiting a quick moment, it didn't take long before the surprisingly frantic voice of the unggoy came through.
"Shipmistress, please tell me you have some information on the relics? These runes are unprecedented. I mean, if you look here and here," the unggoy stopped talking for a moment, most assuredly pointing to something that I could not see. "You can see the symbols for intelligence and association… but other than those, I can't make heads or tails of it!"
Well, those fit the bill. It's definitely the humans the Luminary is picking up.
"If it helps your search, it appears as if the luminations are following these new aliens when they move, and I can not see any sort of relic on them. I have a hunch that there is a chance that these aliens were somehow important to our gods, though for right now I have no proof."
A moment of silence came and went before the unggoy's voice came back through the communications in almost a whisper.
"Are… you sure you don't see a relic? A living being registering as a relic is unprecedented!"
Shaking my head, I begin to pace around the bridge of the small ship I found myself in.
"Keep researching. See if you can find any more data on this. Something tells me my hunch is correct."
"By your command, shipmistress."
Flipping my communications off, I take one last glance at the projection of the world in front of me. I knew it wasn't Earth for the simple fact that I didn't recognize any of the land formations, but I would do my best to protect those people nonetheless.
"Sohm, is everything alright?"
Glancing up to see that Aris had returned, I shook my head before turning to her fully. She appeared to be nervous if the shifting of her weight from foot to foot was anything to go by, though that wasn't unexpected. Being berated by your superior does that to people.
One thing at a time.
Putting on the most stern expression I could, I walk over to her. I could see the tense forms of the other two kig yar gladiators, and yet I didn't care. I needed to solve this issue before we went any further.
"What were you thinking?"
The champion appears confused as her head tilts to the side.
"What do you mean?"
Letting out a vicious snarl that causes my friend to take a step back in fear, I gesture with my hand toward the umbilical.
"I gave you a direct order, and you questioned me! Why?!"
The gold armored champion takes a moment to gather her thoughts as she curls herself unconsciously into a defensive stance, though I knew she had no intention to strike.
"That alien is armed! If it took a shot at you, you would have been hurt!"
Taking a step forward, I knew I needed to drive my point home. While I was touched by her concern for me, the fact of the matter was that she didn't have nearly enough experience to make quick decisions like that under stress quite yet.
Though, that will be solved as soon as I can make the time to train her next.
"Aris, I have zealot level energy shielding and you do not. While I am touched that you would be concerned for me, it wasn't me who was in danger there. If I was shot, I could retreat to ambush them, but if you were shot you would have been wounded or killed."
Immediately, the understanding of my words washed over her as her tense stance seemed to slouch after a moment. Feeling a bit sorry for her, I reach over and place my hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up to me.
"While you did have good intentions, the fact of the matter is that I have far more experience than you in situations like this. If I give you an order, I need you to follow it to the letter, immediately and without question. Anything less might end up with someone hurt or worse. Understood?"
Watching as a bit of confidence fills the young matriarch in front of me, I watch her give me a form salute.
"Yes, shipmistress!"
Nodding, I turn back to the umbilical. Standing behind the shimmering exit were the two armed humans, one of which appeared to be playfully waving his hand through the energy barrier.
"Good, because we aren't out of this yet. Get your clansmen caught up with the situation and transmit the navigation data of this ship back to the Rapid Conversion, and find out if you can fly this thing back to the main hangar bay. Do not fire on the aliens unless they shoot first."
I heard the shifting of weight next to me as she moved towards one of the terminals, barking a few orders at her subordinates before speaking up once again.
"What about the huragok?"
Blinking, I turn to see the floating blob-like creature staring at the exit where the unggoy left with a sad look in its six beady eyes. I took a moment to think about everything that has happened so far and came to the conclusion that this huragok must care about the unggoy, if only a little bit.
Opening my communications, I contact the sangheili that just departed.
"Ranger, make room for another passenger. Keep the huragok with the unggoy, but keep a close eye on the two of them."
The reaction from the huragok was immediate, as its snake-like head whips to me in disbelief. My only response was simply to nod towards the door. Thankfully, the finicky engineer understood my meaning quickly enough, rushing off towards the door, leaving me alone with my remaining warriors.
Turning back to the two humans, I see that they have decided to remain outside. Taking in a deep breath, I begin to make my way over to them.
Even as I made my way to them, I realized that they were not paying nearly enough attention to what was happening beyond the shield door. The two of them seemed to be fascinated by the electric glow from the energy shielding that was keeping the two areas separated, causing a small smile to grace me.
I was honestly rather surprised that the two humans didn't decide to advance further into the ship, but I wasn't about to question any of my good fortune.
It didn't take very long for them to realize I was approaching, as they began to step back. Wasting no time, I cautiously made my way back into the umbilical.
As I passed through the energy shielding, I took another moment to examine the two humans. The three of us seem to be having yet another standoff, but thankfully the tense grips on their weapons weren't present this time.
Though I would have much preferred it if they remained unarmed.
"~What do you think it wants?~"
The uninjured human grunts as he shakes his head.
"~How the hell should I know Byrne? I'm just glad that it isn't shooting at us.~"
Snorting, I take one step closer to them, only to stop short as they react. I watched closely as the two humans stiffened for a second before Johnson brought his hand up to the side of his polarized helmet, I watched calmly as they sat there in silence for a moment before they decided to speak up.
"~Ma'am? Contact has been reestablished.~"
A moment of tense silence came before the human responded to an unheard voice.
"~Understood ma'am, transmitting visual.~"
"~One image of an oversized alien raptor, coming right up.~"
Feeling my eye twitch under my optics, I patiently waited for Aris to complete her task.
It was an odd feeling, knowing what I needed to do but not having a single clue how to do it.
I need to get these two home.
After all the immediate chaos of my first confrontation with humans, I have had a few moments to think. It definitely seemed as if there was someone else attempting to direct these two humans somewhere nearby, but at the moment it seems as if they wished to handle the situation with as much care as they could.
Not that I can particularly blame them.
Staring out of the transparent tube of the umbilical, I could see the slowly cooling holes dotting the hull of the human's ship. Yar certainly did a number on it, and I knew that even if I brought Floats in to try and repair it, the ship wouldn't make it anywhere anytime soon.
Tearing my eyes away from the small box-like ship the humans came from, I looked up to see the menacing form of my own cruiser. The sheer size dwarfed the ship the humans came from and I knew that these humans had every right to be defensive based on that alone.
Even if they don't know there is an energy projector aiming right at us.
This led me to thinking of different solutions to my dilemma.
I knew I could either leave them here, and hope that whoever they were talking to would come to pick them up, or I can take them with me and head to the nearby star system with them as my guests. Both plans had serious flaws, and I didn't exactly like my options.
Deciding that it would be best to gather a bit more information, I simply began to let things play out however they would, only making direct actions against the humans if things get a bit too tense
This led to my current situation of attempting to assess the damage of their own ship from a distance. If I could somehow repair it enough to get them back home, it would solve all of my problems in one fell swoop.
If it became too obvious that the ship wasnt going anywhere, I would just need to get them onto the missionary ship and fly it to the Rapid Conversion. Once onboard, we already had the coordinates to the nearby human settlement, and I would hope that bringing them safely home would gain some sort of trust between the two of us.
Sadly I wasn't an engineer, and even if I was, I am pretty sure the only one that would be able to assess the damage accurately would be Floats. Not to mention I don't think that the humans would take too kindly to an alien wanting to board their craft after what happened.
Nonetheless, I think I have a keen enough eye to know if Floats would be somehow able to get their ship up and running if I got a good look. If I could make the judgement that they could make it home themselves, I wouldn't need to make the decision to abduct two humans and ferry them back to their home.
That would certainly make the news. "First real alien abduction!"
I was sure that even as shot up as the human ship was, there had to be some kind of computer onboard that Floats could use to create some kind of translator as well. I just hoped that since the ship didn't violently explode, the engines might be salvageable as well. However, I knew that at the very least I would need to examine the interior to be sure.
Attempting to step around the humans, I was met with an immediate tense, but not hostile, motion. The two humans tended up and shifted their rifles, but thankfully didn't aim it at me.
Looks like that option is a no-go.
Deciding I needed to be a bit slower and more deliberate with my motions, I did my best to make my way towards them one step at a time. Sadly due to the tube-like nature of the hallway we have decided to be our impromptu neutrality ground, I was forced to attempt to go around them.
"~Ma'am, it's moving closer…~"
Ignoring the fact that they have continued to call me an it, I made it as far as they would let me before I saw one of their guns slowly lift towards my general direction.
"~Ma'am, we need orders. Now.~"
The extremely serious tone of the marine caught my attention. It seemed out of place considering everything I remembered from the man, but it didn't take very much imagination to find out why.
These humans were dramatically unprepared for this situation. Everything about my side of this was unknown to them, which thankfully due to my past life, gave me a leg up in this situation.
Baby steps.
After a few moments of talking to whatever superior that their devices were connected to, I see as the marine known as Johnson seems to react to the mysterious 'Ma'am'.
"~Ma'am? Are you sure that is a good idea? I realize we aren't exactly diplomats, but you are the only one that knows we are out here. If things go south…~"
Blinking, I shake off my distracted thoughts as I glance towards a frazzled Byrne as he cuts into the one sided conversation.
"~You are joking right? Shouldn't it be some guy in a suit paid far more than us that do the whole first contact thing?~"
The two of them grow quiet, even as both of their gazes turn away from my ship orbiting nearby back to me. After a moment of silence, I see them both nod to some unseen que.
"~Understood. Standing by.~"
My attention flips back to the wounded human as I watch him groan in pain before making his way to Johnson. As odd as it was, I was thankful that he was wounded. As it stood, they were wearing near identification outfits which made it nearly impossible to tell the difference between them otherwise.
"~I'm going to go see if I can't salvage anything useful from the ship. If they start probing us, you are going first.~"
Johnson grunts, but doesn't say anything as the other human limped his way back into his own ship. The two of us watched in silence as the human retreats back behind the shield door.
Shaking his head, Johnson returns his attention to me, causing my head to dip slightly in an attempt to calm the situation down. Thankfully, the action appears to work, as the marine lowers his weapon and relaxes his muscles.
Smiling at the progress, I take a few more steps into the umbilical. Oddly enough, the while the human stood his ground, he didn't appear to be threatened by my presence like he was before. Taking this time to try and gain a bit more trust, I fold my legs in on themselves and sit down with a soft thump.
The human appears to hesitate for a moment before shrugging. Setting his weapon onto the floor next to him, he bends down and crosses his legs in front of him, forming an awkward sitting position.
Did I sit like that? It seems so uncomfortable…
Shaking the stupid thought off, I hesitate for only a moment before I reach up and take my helmet off. The odd EVA attachment to my normally open zealot armor made it difficult for only a moment before a soft hiss could be heard.
Slowly lifting the helmet from my head, I look up to see the human in front of me hesitant to do the same.
"~I hope you breathe the same stuff we do…~"
Slowly, the human lifts his own helmet, holding the object over his head for a few moments as he takes in a few breaths. I wasn't quite sure what he thought we would be breathing, though it isn't out of the realm of possibilities considering what unggoy breathe.
The human seemed hesitant as he took in his first few breaths of air, before setting the helmet onto his two crossed legs. I idly noted that the helmet was still facing directly towards me, but I didn't pay too much attention to his actions.
Taking my first good look at the exposed human in front of me, I am struck by just how alien he seems to me. I realized I came to terms with who I was long ago, but no matter how much my mind tried to tell me that I used to be a species like this, I nearly laughed at the oddly furry face of the human in front of me.
Before I could even think about what I should do next, the human took his five fingered hand and placed it over his chest.
"~My name… is Avery. Avery Johnson. What's yours?~"
Blinking, I tilted my head in confusion. As it was, there was no reason for this man to believe I could understand him, making me somewhat confused by his question.
Though, even through my confusion, one thing caught my attention from what he said.
His first name is Avery?
The thought was silly, as I knew that his first name wasn't actually 'Sergeant', but the thought of calling him anything other than Johnson in my head felt odd. It was just another reminder to me that the world I am in and the people around me aren't truly the two dimensional characters I can remember from that television screen a lifetime ago.
The human seems to come to a realization as he begins to mumble under his breath for a moment before gaining my attention once more. Softly tapping his palm against his chest in emphasis, . My eyes grew absolutely massive at his next words when I realized his intention.
"~Avery… Avery Johnson…~"
Oh by the gods, don't make me try and speak English again!
Knowing deep down that this was a crucial moment in galactic history I was taking part in right now, I steeled my nerves by taking in a deep breath before taking the figurative leap of faith.
"~Aaahveeerhhheee.~"
The moment the word left my beak, I slouched over in disappointment as the human let out a hearty laugh. Feeling my face heat up the moment the poorly pronounced word escaped from my face without my consent, I find myself extremely dissatisfied with my own vocal chords for the first time… ever.
Oddly enough, even my absolute butchering of his name didn't seem to bother the human as he gave me a toothy smile. His hand was quickly removed from his chest before he pointed to me.
"~And your name is…?~"
Regaining some of my posture as I realized that this was still my chance for a good first impression, I place my hand over my chest and smile.
"Sohm 'Bir."
The human blinks once before he simply says my name with no effort whatsoever.
"Sohm 'Bir eh? ~Guess I shouldn't have expected Sarah or Jane Doe.~"
I couldn't help the growl that escaped my muzzle, though it wasn't exactly due to what he said. No, my anger came from the sheer ease that he said my name.
I quickly snapped out of the anger of my wounded ego when I realized that the human tensed at my show of frustration, his hand snapping quickly to a previously unseen sidearm.
Dipping my head low, I try to appear as unthreatening as I can when I hold my open talons out in front of me. Thankfully, the human saw the disarming gesture for what it was and relaxed.
The two of us sat there for a moment before both of our attention was turned toward the still form of Yar a few feet away. The loss of life was regrettable, but I knew that this situation required nothing less.
The human shook his head, turning back to me. Sighing, he leaned backward, placing his two hands onto the floor behind him in order to stop himself from falling backwards.
"~Looks like you have your own kind of innies to deal with…~
I didn't know what he meant, but the somber tone in which he said it was unmistakable.
The sound of someone passing through an energy barrier shook me out of my thoughts as I turned around. Sure enough, Aris was standing behind me, hand on her needler but thankfully relaxed.
"Shipmistress."
Her voice surprised me, as it sounded the most professional I have ever heard her, but the gesture was definitely welcome given the situation. Before she continued, I noticed the slight shifting of her helmet which told me she was still wary of the human behind me, but she quickly continued.
"The navigation data has been sent, though the ship will not be able to make a slipspace jump without significant risk. The hole we dug into the hill damaged the ship's ability to generate a powerful enough shield for travel without the radiation of a jump leaking inside. We sealed the compartment with the breech to stop atmospheric leakage, but for the moment this ship is limited to slower than light travel."
Sighing, I stood up, causing the human to do the same. Placing my helmet back over my head, I open a communications line with my ship.
"Rapid Conversion, come in."
It didn't take too long before Ussa responded.
"Awaiting your orders, Shipmistress."
"Tell the menial workers to make room in the main hangar bay. This missionary ship is too damaged to make a jump to warp space, so we will bring it along until we can fix it… We are leaving the alien vessel behind…"
Before I could continue, Byrne returned through the shield door, looking very much like he still didn't know how to deal with the sudden shift in gravity. Stumbling into the corridor with an odd bag slung over his shoulder, he almost slipped before he caught himself on his injured leg, causing a grunt of pain to come out before he shook it off.
Looking up to Avery, he gestured toward the odd bag.
"~I salvaged the sealed MREs and extra ammo, just in case we need them, but everything else is completely fried. That bucket of bolts isn't going anywhere.~"
Pausing a moment as I glance outside the umbilical toward the still smoldering and damaged hull of the human vessel. If it was damaged beyond what these humans would consider space worthy, I don't think we would be able to get it up and running in a reasonable amount of time either.
Knowing what I needed to do, I returned my attention to my communications.
"Make sure once they are done with that task, that they clear the hangar and make way for an empty sangheili dwelling quarters. I am bringing the new aliens on onboard, and I don't wish to cause them any harm, accidental or otherwise."
"By your word, Shipmistress."
Thinking quickly on anything else I might need, I realized one issue that might arise before I reopen the communications line.
"Oh and one more thing. Bring an extra communicator. I don't think locking them in a room with no way out and no way to call for someone is the best idea."
The amused voice of Ussa comes back, obviously seeing my point.
"That is probably wise. I will have one ready when you arrive."
Feeling thankful for Ussa's help for the thousandth time in the last two years, I turn back to Aris.
"Prepare to depart for the main hangar bay at my word. We are bringing the aliens."
Aris placed her hand over her chest, giving me a processional salute before making her way back towards the bridge.
Spinning back around, I see the two humans politely waiting quietly.
While I knew that the easiest solution to the problem as to how to get them home was most likely to just leave them here and have whatever person was on the other end of their radio come and pick them up, I also knew that bringing them home myself might end up proving my intentions to the human population in general. The action of returning these humans to their home safe and unharmed as a way to right the wrongs that Yar committed would definitely prove even without any form of communications what my intention was.
Looks like committing the first alien abduction of a human is down to me.
Shifting my weight to the side, I turn and gesture with my hand towards the shield door behind me in an obvious 'after you' motion. Thankfully, the humans understood as Avery places his helmet back over his head.
"~Ma'am, they are inviting us aboard. Please advise~"
Do they really need this 'spook' to tell them what to do? This is going to get a bit odd after we jump to slipspace and they can't communicate.
The two humans look between themselves before Johnson shakes his head. Leaning down, he picks his battle rifle back up off the ground. Turning to his comrade, he holds his arms out.
"~I'll take the bag. You are still injured.~"
Snorting, the other human hands the bag over without complaint.
"~You are taking point. As much as I hate to admit it, I don't think I can move very quickly with this stab wound.~"
Before long, the two humans stepped hesitantly past me, making their way onto the ship. Following closely behind, I step through the energized barrier into the missionary ship. Quickly finding the controls for the extension, I found the control rune to retract the boarding attachment.
Taking one last look down the umbilical, I saw Yar's lifeless body still lying motionless on the ground. Yet again, a ping of sadness went through my mind before I pressed the button.
Watching as the energy shield at the far end dropped, the hatch slid shut as the extension collapsed, the air silently yet violently decompressed into the vacuum of space.
Turning around, I see the two humans staring at the closed hatch before looking to me stiffly, hands still firmly on their weapons.
Yet again, I had the same feeling I had at the start of this disastrous encounter on the bridge.
Well, there's no going back now.
(\\\(*v*)/)
Feeling the ship shift as Aris made the slight adjustments to land the ship in the hangar, I watched as the two humans went through the contents of the odd bag that the wounded human brought with him. The two of them were having a hushed conversation between the two of them, which I waited politely for them to finish.
"~Did you bring any med packs?~"
"~Only one. Try not to get shot if this goes south.~"
As it was, I knew for a fact that the humans were what the Luminary was picking up. The moment we departed for my ship, I confirmed that the two luminations were onboard as we made our way to the ship.
At that point, I took it upon myself to guard the humans. I knew the majority of the crew was unaware of my suspicions, though I knew simply that their very presence would cause a commotion which might scare the skittish humans into firing.
It felt odd, treating the humans as if they were cornered animals, but in the end the behavior was definitely similar. With the lack of any real communications, I couldn't reassure them through anything other than physical gestures.
And I will NOT try to talk to them again. It was embarrassing enough last time!
"~What is this?~"
"~It was that odd green pistol that the alien shot at us with. Be careful with it.~
While the idea that they were carrying a plasma pistol in a bag was a bit of a fire hazard ran through my mind, I didn't pay it too much mind as I examined the contents of the compartment I was in.
The room was definitely a form of resting quarters for the kig yar staff. I could tell it wasn't Yar's for the simple reason of finding multiple nests, but after a moment, I caught the odd sweet smell of fruit.
The scent was so out of place, that I immediately started looking around for it. This room was very obviously not a greenhouse, causing me to begin to search around.
Following the smell to a shelf-like indentation in the bulkhead, I found a handle and yanked the drawer open. Quickly searching the storage area, I found several large melons mixed in with what appeared to be laundry.
What the…?
Deciding that the odd fruit wasn't exactly my problem right now, I shut the drawer and began searching the room for anything else worthy of note. Sadly, there was nothing.
Making my way back towards the entranceway, I lean up against the wall before casually examining my talons in boredom.
I suppose I should be thankful that nothing crazy has happened so far.
"~You brought the Nav computer?~"
The moment those words registered in my mind, I snapped out of my thoughts and focused all of my attention towards the two humans.
Maybe that thought came a bit too soon.
"~The spook thought it was a good idea. If this goes bad and we get abducted and end up at raptor central, she thought we might be able to hijack a ship and use these coordinates get to a UNSC controlled world.~"
While I almost laughed at the idea that these humans would be able to hijack a ship by themselves, the amusement was switched with shock at the stupidity of these humans bringing something so important onboard.
This refreshed my resolve to let absolutely nothing happen to these two humans. If that navigation data got into the wrong hands, countless lives could be lost.
Feeling a soft thud resound through the ship, I like my head out of the entranceway down towards the bridge. Sure enough, after a few seconds, Aris appears. It looks like she already took her helmet off, seeming to trade the EVA gear for comfort as she keeps her expression professionally neutral.
"We are here."
Nodding, I point towards the exit.
"Good, you are dismissed."
Watching as my friend salutes and begins to leave, I stop her before she can leave fully.
"Aris?"
The matriarch queen stiffens before she turns around, her head tilted in confusion.
"Thank you for coming. Know that I deeply appreciate your friendship, and that is the only reason I was so forceful."
Seeing her face brighten as the corners of her mouth form into a small smile, I watched her nod before making her way out of the ship.
Steeling my resolve, I turn towards the two humans. They seemed to have gotten a good enough idea of their belongings as they were already standing and ready to go. Smiling through my helmet, I turn and begin to walk backwards out the door.
Hoping the humans would take the hint, I felt a bit of satisfaction fill me as they soon filed out behind me. Realizing they got the idea, I began to make my way outside of the ship.
After a few seconds, I was met with the sight of an open hatch turned makeshift ramp which led into a familiar hangar. The normal hustle and bustle of work was eerily deadened, though I could definitely see a one gold armored Sangheili waiting for us below.
Making my way down the ramp, I watch as Ussa gives me a professional salute.
"Shipmistress, I have come to escort you and your…" The massive gold-armored zealot examined the two armed humans for a moment before returning hit attention to me. "... Guests to their quarters."
Smiling up to my second in command, I nod. I knew I would need to explain my actions to my second in command, but until the humans were safely secured, that was my top priority.
"Good! I'm sure we have much to talk about, but for now let's simply get them settled and feeling a bit more safe before we figure out a way to get them safely home."
The sangheili nodded before he began to make his way towards one of the many exits. Following behind, I made sure the two humans knew to follow closely. While they were both seemingly staring at anything of note, they were following behind.
Hearing the soft hum of the doorway opening, I realized exactly how eerie my ship felt when an area was evacuated. The glowing purple labyrinthian hallways were seemingly alive, giving the impression of being swallowed by a massive creature.
"~Left… Straight… Right…~"
Blinking, I realized that Avery was mumbling directions about exactly how to reach the hangar again. While I was quite impressed as to how prepared the man was, I was a bit irritated that he didn't quite think well enough about my intentions to relax a bit more.
Oh well, trust should come in due time... Assuming we deserve it that is.
Eventually, the odd group made our way to a single doorway, lined up along a corridor of many similar doors. While it seemed empty, I knew for a fact that this hallway was well populated with a large amount of sangheili dwelling here.
Ussa pressed the command button to open the door, revealing a moderate sized room for the two humans. Smiling, I turned towards the humans and gestured yet again for them to enter.
After a moment, the wounded human limps his way inside.
"~Well, it isn't a dissection chamber, so I guess it will do.~"
Shaking his head, Johnson soon follows.
"~I am so glad that they can't understand you, or we definitely would be under the knife by now.~"
Feeling my eye twitch against my will once again, I turn back to Ussa.
"Do you have the communicator?"
Ussa simply holds out one of his massive four-fingered hands, handing over the device carefully. Nodding in appreciation, I begin to fiddle with the device for a moment, opening up a direct channel to my communicator before taking a quick step into the doorway.
Byrne was already lying down on the massive cushion that made up the sangheili's bed, but Avery's attention was firmly on me. Smiling, I hold the device out.
Johnson takes the device, looking it over for a moment before looking back to me in obvious confusion. Knowing that I needed to give a demonstration, I turned the volume of my receiver up before sliding my helmet off. Reaching over, I pressed the command button on the device in the humans arms before speaking into it.
"Sohm 'Bir."
"Sohm 'Bir."
Seeing realization come across the human's face, he decided to test it out for himself. Pressing the correct button, he brought his face closer to the device and spoke into it.
"~Testing.~"
"~Testing.~"
Satisfied, I quickly donned my helmet once again before turning to make my way to the door. I didn't particularly want to lock them in a room like this, but there were definitely a few things I needed to do before we dropped them back onto their world.
Sliding back out of the room, I watch as Johnson gives me one last look before he turns toward the same large cushion that Byrne was now laying on, his foot elevated over his chest.
Sighing, I pressed the outer command button, and locked the door. Making absolutely sure that I was the only one that could open it, I took in a deep breath before I turned my gaze back to Ussa. I knew that there were definitely a few things that I needed to convince him of, if first contact was going to go anything close to smoothly.
It's about time I told someone the truth.
Using every ounce of authority I could, I began to make my way back to the missionary ship.
"Come with me Ussa, we need to talk."
—Authors Note—Hey guys! I don't particularly have very much to say in this authors note, as this chapter fought me HARD. (Though not as hard as my video game addiction) Honestly, this isn't even where I wanted to end it. I had a start and end point where I wanted to end up, but I realized that if I went to the end point I wanted, this chapter would be 15,000 words long, so this is where it is. I wonder if any of you are noticing that Johnson isn't the normal Johnson from the games? Less sarcastic than Byrne in this isn't he? Well, that isn't actually me reworking him. I actually reread Contact Harvest before I even wrote this story and there is a cannon, in-universe reason for that. Highly recommend reading that book if ya haven't. ;)Anyway, read and review, and if you like it, consider giving me a follow and a favorite!