Chapter 7

2/22/2022- Fixed a timeline issue.

Stormwind

"Make sure that Northwatch is reinforced more. We can't let the Horde take it." Said King Varian, king of Stormwind and leader of the Alliance, to Mathias Shaw, leader of SI:7, Stormwind's intelligence division along with other Alliance commanders.

"I'll inform what few men we can spare to head to Northwatch as soon as possible." Said Shaw.

"Good. Now is there any information from the Horde in Kalimdor?" Mathias Shaw nodded as he informed Varian what his spies have told him.

"Much, my king. Much of it good news." Said Mathias. "Lately, the Horde has been suffering supply problems. Caravans of supplies have been getting destroyed along with their guards. Entire platoons of soldiers have fallen. Even entire outposts have been destroyed." Upon hearing that, Varian stopped studying the map before him and looked at Mathias with a hint of surprise on his stoic face.

"Really?" Asked Varian as he looked at Mathias. "How bad is it?" Mathias didn't react much, but Varian could see the man had amusement in his eyes.

"Extremely. Planned Horde attacks on Alliance bases on the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor are being put on hold because of these attacks. Morale is running low on the frontlines. Even the Warchief is being affected greatly by these attacks. One of my spies in Orgrimmar has witnessed Garrosh killing a messenger for reporting the destruction of a supply base that was vital to the Horde's cause. They reported in detail how enraged and impatient the Orc was when the messenger gave his ill-fated message. He didn't even allow the messenger to finish his sentence before he cleaved the man in two"

Varian pursed his lips in contemplation at this information. Garrosh was always a hothead from the few times he encountered him, but he generally had a grip, if a soft one, on his temper. To hear that he was impatient enough to kill a man so quickly, made Wrynn think of how he could use this against the Horde.

The High king knew more than anyone else in the Alliance of how rage can be used against a foe, having hurt some of his closest advisors and even his son with his rage. If Garrosh continues to be in a grumpy mood, they could use that to make their enemy predictable in his tactics and strategies. It won't stop Horde commanders like Sylvanas, who, more or less, does what the heck she wants, but the majority will follow Garrosh's orders in fear. Something that could also be used to their advantage.

As he thought of ways to capitalize on this, a messenger suddenly burst into the war chamber. The pale face they had indicated they brought terrible news.

"My king!" Yelled the messenger as they stopped before the table where all the Alliance commanders were. "Grave news from the front. The ship that contains your son just went missing!" Upon hearing that, Varian widened his eyes in shock and horror. Looking at the messenger, Varian narrowed his eyes, causing everyone to shuffle in nervousness. The high king was not someone to mess with when his temper flared up.

"Tell me everything." Demanded Varian, his voice deceptively calm. The messenger gulped before explaining everything to Varian.

Broken Isles

Chief

"We'll be there as soon as we can, Chief. We'll install the signal amplifier while you do…whatever the heck you need to do." Said Courier before ending the transmission. Chief, his conversation with Courier done, looked at Kel'danath as he led him to a large, broken-down, and decaying mansion that had local plants growing all over the place.

"Ignore the plants and the decrypt state the mansion is in." Said Kel'danath as he led Chief inside. "It's what's inside that matters." Taking the Nightborne's, the name of the species of elves that this man belonged, word as truth, Chief continued to follow Kel'danath as he led him to his laboratory, where he tried to find a cure for the Withered state that his kind turned to when they ran out of Arcane magic to feed on.

As Chief discovered, the Nightborne were a subspecies of Night Elves, probably the oldest species of Elves on Azeroth, that came from the city of Suramar, a sort of jewel in the Night Elf empire some ten thousand years ago. Although Kel'danath didn't say what exactly happened, he did tell Chief that some terrible event caused the rulers of Suramar to put up a magical barrier to protect Suramar from something. So, while the rest of the Night Elf empire fell, Suramar remained intact with its populace. While protected by the barrier, the Night Elves of Suramar transformed into the Nightborne due to the energies of something called the Nightwell. Unfortunately, their isolation came at a price.

Though Suramar had some fertile land in it, it wasn't enough to support the large population of the city. So, to avoid starvation, the arcanists, essentially the top tier magic users of the Nightborne, created some sort of drink called Arcwine to provide nourishment to the Nightborne after they ran out of food. Apparently, the drink was made by infusing energy from the Nightwell with regular wine. And it worked quite well.

Unfortunately, as Kel'danath soon spoke, the Arcwine had some disastrous consequences. It made the Nightborne completely addicted to the energies of the Nightwell. Even worse, if they don't receive a steady supply, they'll become Nightfallen, Nightborne that haven't received energy from the Nightwell, resulting in them going through some extreme forms of withdrawal symptoms.

The first stage was becoming weaker and becoming desperate to acquire Nightwell energy as well as becoming thin and quite hideous to look at. With the next becoming Withered, the creatures that Chief faced when he first came here. The last step was death.

As a result of this, Kel'danath made attempts to find a cure for the addiction problem the Nightborne had as well as finding another source of nourishment for the Nightborne to feed off of. Unfortunately, a test group of his escaped their confinement and rampaged Suramar until they were put down. As a result of this, Kel'danath was forced to choose either exile, the usual punishment for the Nightborne after isolating themselves from the rest of the world, or stopped his research. Not willing to abandon his work, Kel'danath choose exile and continued his research in less ideal conditions.

Chief couldn't help but feel pity for the Nightborne. He was just trying to help his people and got exiled as a result. He also couldn't help but respect the man. Despite being exiled by his people, he still tried to find a cure for their addiction.

As they walked, Chief spoke to Kel'danath.

"Tell me, are you close to discovering a cure for your people?" Asked Chief as they entered a room. Upon entering, Chief saw various lab notes all over a desk and a Withered being kept in a corner via some sort of magic circle.

"*Sighs* I believe so." Said Kel'danath as he looked at the Withered in the room with them. "This one is showcasing particularly strange behavior for a Withered. Its docile nature is unnatural for any Withered. If I could tap into its memories, find out where it went, perhaps I can figure out what caused its docile nature."

"If you have this creature, why did you attack me back at the beach?" Asked Chief, curious.

"Because that group was a backup plan in case the plan with this Withered backfired!" Yelled Kel'danath. "And since you killed them, I have to hope that this specimen has the answers I need." He then looked at his scrawny hands. "I have to because I'm close to becoming a Withered myself."

Chief looked at the man in pity at that. To lose one's mind is something that the Spartan didn't wish to even his most hated of enemies. Well, that and becoming a part of a Flood gravemind, where they lose their individuality and become a weapon to be used against their former friends, which is something that this Kel'danath may eventually do when he becomes a Withered.

"Is there no way to reverse it or even delay it?" Asked Chief as Kel'danath looked through his notes. Kel'danath just shook his head at that.

"There isn't, I'm afraid." Said Kel'danath as he looked at Chief. "The only way to reverse this is to acquire some Arcwine before I fully turn into a Withered. And the only way to acquire it is to bypass the barrier surrounding Suramar. And I'm afraid I don't have the skills needed to infiltrate Suramar, acquire a barrel of wine, and escape with my life." That answer gave Chief the solution he needed to get Kel'danath's trust.

Much as he's a soldier, he knew the benefits of having friends in organizations that you don't know are hostile or not. And in an unknown world filled with unknowns that Chief didn't know were friend or foe, it was good to have friends.

"Then let me acquire the wine." Upon hearing that, Kel'danath looked at Chief incredulously, unbelieving what he just heard. "If I acquire the wine, you promise to help me in whatever endeavors I ask of you. Do we have a deal?" Kel'danath looked at Chief in suspicion now.

"Do you intend to invade Suramar? To rope its riches or enslave its populace?" Demanded Kel'danath, not wanting to betray his people. Chief shook his head.

"No, my group and I are small in number. We need allies and friends if we are to survive this world. And I got a feeling that your people will need the same once the outside world comes to them." Explained Chief. Looking at Chief, Kel'danath tried to find some tell that he was lying but found he couldn't, the armor and helmet did well in covering his intent.

"Let me cast a detection spell on you." Said Kel'danath as his hands glowed with magic. Gripping his rifle, Chief watched as the Nightborne cast a spell on him. Upon finding that nothing severe happened to him, Chief looked at Kel'danath who pursed his lips in thought once he found the truth of Chief's words.

"Well, this is certainly interesting." Said Kel'danath as he looked at his note-filled table. He spent some time thinking before giving John his answer. "Alright, if you help find a cure for my people, gave me back my position in Suramar, and prevent my turn into a Withered, then I'll do what I can to convince my city to help you in any shape or form." Frowning behind his helmet at the requests that Kel'danath asked of him, Chief nonetheless agreed, knowing that they needed allies and this was one of the best opportunities for them to acquire some.

"Very well." Said Chief. "Now, how do I get into Suramar." Kel'danath then spoke of a way into Suramar and where the wine was being stored and produced.

Later

Suramar city

Within the beautiful city of Suramar, a Nightborne woman was walking in one of the city's many gardens.

For a race known for their beauty, at least to humans, this woman was quite an exceptional form of beauty for her kind.

Having a lovely shade of dark purple that fitted her silver, pupilless eyes, the woman was attractive. Well, for human and Elf standard anyway.

Her ropes were simple but also elegant at the same time. The ropes showed off her long legs, arms, and some parts of her back. On top of the ropes, were shoulder guards and a hood that had small openings on top that allowed her long ears to jut out of the hood.

Aside from the ropes, shoulder guards, and hood that was connected to the ropes, she had no other clothing than some ankle guards, leaving her barefooted.

Sighing, the woman moved some of her long silver hair, which matched her eyes, behind her left shoulder. She was troubled over what she had to deal with just half an hour ago.

She just went through another argument with Elisande, the leader of the Nightborne, and her biggest supporters. The two had been arguing quite a lot lately.

This time, the argument was about dealing with the populace that was slowly turning into Nightfallen, the stage before a Nightborne becomes a Withered, along with their growing populace.

Despite their productions of Arcwine going smoothly, as usual, the amount given to the populace, aside from the nobles and others in the high class, wasn't enough to prevent some of their people from going into the Nightfallen. Fortunately, they were able to give them more Arcwine or Arcjuice, a form of Arcwine more suitable for underaged Nightborne, before they could devolve into a Withered, but the fact that this happened and that these were growing in frequency, was of concern to the woman.

There was also the fact that their population was growing far larger than what Suramar can accommodate. Despite birth controls being implemented, the populace has been steadily growing to the point that the woman feared that they couldn't produce enough Arcwine to feed everyone.

She tried to get Elisande to increase the amount of Arcwine and juice to the lower class as well as to lower the barrier so they could expand into other territories or at least expand Suramar.

To her frustration, Elisande refused to listen to reason along with many of her top advisors and arcanists.

They claimed that the amount given to the lower class was suitable enough and that they can't lower the barrier, citing that the world was in ruin and that nothing was left for them to claim.

Despite her telling them that it's been ten thousand years since the Burning legion attacked, that they should have left long ago, they refused to listen to logic. Even when she proposed the idea of sending a small scout group to determine if there was land that was safe for them to colonize, they outright rejected her proposal.

They've been at this for weeks until today when the woman had to excuse herself from the council meeting so as to deal with the headache that was forming when she had to listen to Elisande's arguments against her ideas for the umpteenth again.

Rubbing her forehead, the woman was trying to think of ways to convince Elisande that her course of actions was the proper way to deal with their issues when her ears twitched, indicating that they heard something. Narrowing her eyes, she looked over to the garden bushes. Stopping her walk, she gathered Arcane energy in her fists before speaking.

"I know that you're there. Show yourself." Said the woman at the bushes. A few seconds passed before, to her shock, a green, armored, giant appeared from nowhere, just in front of the bushes.

It was unlike anything that she had seen. A black substance covered greatly by green metal plating, but in a design that she had never seen. Not to mention just how tall he was. The being was seven feet and two inches tall, below the average for an Elf male, but still quite tall. The inelegance of the design told her that this wasn't the making of an Elf, but rather by another race, something that shocked her beyond belief.

That meant that another race, somehow, gotten past Suramar's barrier. If that was the case, then this needed to be told to Elisande right away. Perhaps it would even convince her to lower the barrier. There was nothing like a threat to Suramar's safety and the Nightborne, that can get Elisande's attention, like the time when Kel'danath's experiments went loose, nearly killing a few people.

Though she sympathized and understood his intent, the fact that she herself was nearly killed by one of his Withered experiments, really hurt her pity for her fellow arcanist. Still, she thought it was too harsh for Elisande to have Kel'danath exiled because he refused to stop his experiments. His work was for the betterment of their people.

Moving on, unless this…unknown stated its intent, she will take it in, alive or dead. As the two stared down at each other, the being spoke.

"I come in peace." Said the armored giant as it lowered the weapon it held, some sort of strange staff that he held sideways and with two hands. "I came here on behalf of Kel'danath himself." Upon hearing that, the woman's eyes widen in shock. Remembering Kel'danath, the woman dispelled the arcane energy from her hands and she looked at the armored giant in shock.

"Kel'danath, he hasn't turned into a Withered, yet?" Asked the woman, wondering the state of her fellow arcanist. Like she said, she pitied Kel'danath, despite one of his Withered nearly killing her, and she wanted to know of her fellow arcanist's fate.

"He's fine, but he's nearly in the process of turning to one." Said the armored giant before bringing out a barrel. Upon seeing it, the woman instantly recognized it as one of the barrels used in the storage of Arcwine. Now knowing why this giant was here, the woman looked at the giant.

"How did you manage to steal this barrel?" Asked the woman, curious and a bit worried that someone died for that barrel. Hearing the worried tone, the giant spoke.

"I didn't kill anyone, though a few guards will have a serious headache when they wake up." Said the giant, assuring the woman that no one was killed. Still suspicious, the woman raised her hands up, glowing.

"If what you say is true, then you wouldn't mind if I check to see if you're telling the truth? After all, when I find that you're lying, I'll have to report this to Elisande and she'll most likely send the Duskwatch after Kel'danath for this transgression." The giant looked at the Nightborne woman before getting close.

"Make it quick. If anyone spots me, I can't guarantee I won't kill anyone." Said the giant as he looked around for anyone else. Nodding in understanding, the woman quickly cast a lie detection spell on the giant. Upon finding that he was telling the truth, the woman took a step back.

"Forgive me for this, but as First Arcanist to Suramar, I have to put the needs of my people first." Said the woman. The armored being nodded at that.

"You're a leader to your people. You don't deserve that position if you don't even try to take care or look out for the people that you're responsible for." The woman smiled at that.

"Exactly." Said the woman before her ears started twitching. "You might want to go soon. I hear footsteps approaching. They'll be here soon." Nodding at that, the being took the barrel it had, put it over its right shoulder before beginning to depart. Just as it did, it turned around at the woman.

"What's your name?" Asked the being. Stunned a bit at that, the Nightborne woman replied back.

"I'm First Arcanist Thalyssra. And yours?" Asked the woman, now known as Thalyssra.

"Sierra-117. Or Master Chief." Said the being before stealthily going away. A bit surprised at his choice of a name, Thalyssra didn't have much to ponder on it before members of the Elisande's personal guard arrived.

"First Arcanist, lady Elisande has requested your presence." Said one of the guards. Upon hearing that, Thalyssra turned to the guards.

"What is the concern?" Asked Thalyssra, though she had a suspicion of what it was.

"Thievery, First Arcanist. A barrel of wine was stolen recently and Elisande has set up an emergency meeting to discuss this immediately." Said the guard. "We've been ordered to escort you to the council chambers."

"And has anyone been killed?" Asked Thalyssra, despite knowing who stole the wine and the fact he, at least she thought so, didn't kill anyone.

"No, the guards assigned to guard the barrels were knocked out, but not killed. It had to be someone of great stealth." Said the lead guard.

"Indeed." Said Thalyssra. "Enough with this. Elisande wants my presence and she'll have it. Escort me to the council chambers." Nodding at that, the guards then began to escort Thalyssra to the council chambers. As they walked, Thalyssra couldn't help but think of that Master Chief.

"Hmm…if an outsider came and can communicate with us…does this mean that we can lower the barrier and interact with Azeroth?" Thought Thalyssra as she walked with the guards.

Chief

Kel'danath estate

An hour later

"I can't thank you enough for acquiring this." Said Kel'danath as he drank straight from the barrel of wine that Chief recovered. After taking a mouthful, Chief watched as the man began to change before his eyes. He didn't change much, his skin became fuller and its tone changed to a brighter, but still dark, violet color, but he was much healthier than he was before.

"You'll stay this way?" Asked Chief after Kel'danath was finished.

"Well, unless you want to risk yourself in acquiring another barrel, then yes. Besides, I never once cared for my appearance, I wasn't really that sought after in Elisande's court. There were far more attractive males than I." Said Kel'danath as he went over to his research table. As he worked, Chief couldn't help but wonder if he should speak to Kel'danath about Thalyssra. The woman had spotted him, and Chief needed to know if she was going to be a threat and if he needed to move Kel'danath.

"Kel'danath, as I was making my escape, I was spotted by a woman." Said Chief. Upon hearing that, Kel'danath looked at Chief in worry. "Her name was Thalyssra. Will she be any danger to you?" Upon hearing that, Kel'danath sighed in relief.

"Thank Elune that it was her and not someone else." Said Kel'danath. "No, she won't be of any danger. She was one of the few other arcanists that approved of my research into finding a cure for our addiction. She knew that our addiction and reliance on the Nightwell was a problem for our people, so she approved of my research. Even when my…first test group nearly killed her, she was adamant in having my research continue." Upon hearing that Thalyssra was nearly killed, Chief looked at Kel'danath.

"How did she nearly die?" Asked Chief. Kel'danath actually looked embarrassed at that.

"Well…while she was visiting her favorite garden in Suramar, my test group stumbled onto her along with several other nobles. I injected them with some chemicals in hopes that it would be the cure to their addiction. Unfortunately, all it did was make them go into an enraged state. They broke through what restraints I had and began to rampage in that garden. No one was seriously hurt, thankfully, but one Withered nearly snapped Thalyssra's neck. Fortunately, she always was quick with casting spells." Said Kel'danath. "I thought she would demand my exile for that, but she came to my defense. *Sighs* She always was a rational one, that Thalyssra." Giving a grunt, Chief moved on.

"Moving on, she won't be a threat?" Kel'danath shook his head.

"No, she won't, so long as you didn't kill anyone of course." Seeing Chief shake his head, Kel'danath nodded. "Then as long as you don't kill any Nightborne or threaten the safety of Suramar, then Thalyssra won't make a move on you. I seriously doubt that a barrel of wine will get Elisande's attention anyway."

Meanwhile

Sanctum of Order

"*sighs mentally* And here come the headaches again." Thought Thalyssra as stuck-up nobles and arcanists argued back and forth between each other on who did this, why they would do this, and what they would gain from this. Even if she didn't know who did it, Thalyssra would still have a headache as her compatriots would try to blame each other for this event, either as a way to get themselves moved up in the rank of Elisande's court or to just get revenge on one another for one stupid reason or another. As another tirade went on, Thalyssra wondered if she should ask Elisande for an extended leave.

She then remembered that the last arcanist that asked was sent to handle their malfunctioning robots without any know-how on how to handle them or treat them, causing her to slam her head in frustration.

Chief

"Somehow I doubt that." Said Chief.

"Eh, I would doubt it too. Elisande has been getting quite strict as our population grows." Said Kel'danath. "Anyway, going back to my research, I think I have enough Arcwine to sustain myself until I have a cure to the addiction that my people have."

"Are you on the right track?" Asked Chief as he looked at Kel'danath.

"As I said, I believe so." Said Kel'danath as he looked at the docile Withered in the room. "But I don't have a definite answer. Come back in around two days, and I'll have an answer for you."

"Alright, but first," Chief then tossed a spare commlink he had. It was in case the one in his helmet malfunctioned or broke, but he felt that Kel'danath needed it. "Use this to contact me. If you need any help, ask, and I or one of the people in my group will come to help you." Eyeing the mysterious device in his hands, Kel'danath spoke.

"Will you instruct me how to operate this?" Asked Kel'danath. Nodding at that, Chief then began to instruct him how to use it.

A month and a half later

IMC base

"So, I was thinking of going to this unknown land that the Horde found." Said High Elf Archer as she ate her meal, which was once again those disgusting MREs. The fact that everyone else was eating them find, made High Elf Archer wonder how in the heck could they eat this slope. "From what I've gathered, Garrosh himself in partaking in the expedition there. If we kill him, then we could end this war quickly."

Much as she disliked it, during her two thousand years of life, High Elf Archer had been taught how to conduct war and how to become an effective commander. She didn't really like those classes as she wanted to be an adventurer, not a military commander, but she was, more or less, forced to as every other young Elf in her age had to become effective killers should war breaks out between the high elves and any other races in High Elf's world.

"I don't think it's that simple, High Elf." Said Courier. "Assassinating him may make him a martyr. From what I gathered; he's considered a hero to the Orcs. Killing him right now without damaging his reputation to the Orcs will just strengthen his cause. Heck killing may have someone even worse than him be in charge. The guy is an Orc supremacist, he'll likely have a whole succession lined up in case he dies. I seriously doubt he didn't made plans in the case that he dies."

High Elf groaned at that, knowing that Courier was probably right. Garrosh was a brute, but not stupid.

"So, I guess it's just back to destroying supply lines and taking out individual groups of warriors for us, huh?" Asked High Elf Archer.

"Bah!" Yelled Ikit Claw as he ate a biscuit. "Just let me deploy a new Doomsphere. It will-will make Orc go bye-bye."

When Ikit learned of the mana bomb made by the blood elves, Ikit swore to make his Doomsphere even more destructive so that he can eclipse the destructive power of the blood elves's mana bomb. Only Ikit was worthy of making such a destructive weapon. And so, for the majority of his spare time, Ikit was making an even deadlier Doomsphere, using the inspiration he got from IMC and UNSC weapons. And when he completed it, he was assured that it would be the most devastating weapon ever made.

To make his Doomsphere even sweeter, Ikit discovered that the reason the mana bomb that destroyed Theramore was so destructive was a small item called the Focusing Iris. He didn't know how it worked exactly, but Ikit knew that it was capable of magnifying the power of whatever it was powering. And anything that empowered his Doomsphere to be even more destructive, is good in the Skaven's eyes.

"That'll be even worse. I rather not have the entire Horde gunning for us if we deploy a Doomsphere at them." Said Courier. He didn't know how powerful a Doomsphere was, but since Ikit was determined to outclass the mana bomb that destroyed Theramore, he got the feeling that his Doomsphere will be a disastrous weapon to deploy, especially since the group wanted to remain neutral in the whole Alliance and Horde debacle.

"Yeah, besides, if we deploy it now you won't get the chance to deploy it against something that is actually worth using it on." Said Jack. Since working with the rat, Jack learned how to deal with Ikit and how to use him to trick him effectively. All he needed to do was appease to his ego and his want to show off, but not make it too obvious. He got some tips from Courier and it worked out for the most part. In fact, Ikit genuinely liked Jack, seeing him as a good meat shield and person to talk to about his many achievements.

Ikit growled at that before grumbling at wondering who to use it on. Chief, meanwhile, thought on what to do. On one hand, they've been doing fine for now. They were tipping the tides of war against the Horde slightly. Their attacks had forced the Horde to be more careful in their deployment of troops and supplies. But now, they're wising up and sending their supplies with larger guards group and their troop deployments were almost always two platoons or higher in strength. They couldn't do much without someone escaping and informing a Horde leader about what they saw.

And that would result in them trying to find them, which will cause them to eventually find out where they're hiding and send forces to eliminate them, forcing them to abandon their base, something Chief was unwilling to do as their base's technology can't fall to the Horde. Even though Chief doubted their mechanical prowess, just having the fighters and vehicles stationed here will give the Horde a significant advantage in their fight against the Alliance. And that wasn't even counting the nuclear missiles the Dawn still had in its arsenal.

So, they had to put off attacking caravans and troop formations and do something different that could also help the Alliance in winning this war.

He could convince Suramar to help the Alliance but he doubted that would even come to pass. From what Kel'danath had told him about Suramar's leader, she wasn't the type to sacrifice her people's lives for those that she deemed inferior, which she'll likely do to the races of the Alliance.

Besides, even if he assassinated her and replaced her with a leader that was willing to help the Alliance, he doubted the populace will help out strangers without something to incentive them to do so. Chief learned a great deal in his war with the Covenant and that was people needed incentives to fight. In his case, it was the survival of humanity. But for these Nightborne, he couldn't find one to convince them to help, especially since the Broken Isles is far away from the conflict between Alliance and Horde.

He continued to think about what to do when High Elf Archer placed a hand on his shoulder. Looking over at the elf, he wondered what she wanted.

"How about we stop fighting for a while and just explore the world of Azeroth?" Suggested High Elf. "We've been fighting nonstop for months, I think its time for us to take a break and explore this world that we're in. It's quite a beautiful world to look at and explore."

"We can't. If we take a break, more people will die from our neglect." Said Chief as he shook his head. High Elf sighed at that, somehow knowing that would be his answer.

"Come on, Chief." Said Jack, understanding what Chief was getting at, but seriously, they needed a break. "I get where you're coming from, but we need to take a break now and then. I know you were never given many breaks as a spartan, but come on, there's a time to fight and a time to just relax. Constant fighting is no good for the mind."

"I disagree." Said Ikit as he finished his food. "I fight-fight all the time and look at me." Everyone then looked at the crazy rat, who smiled a crazed smile. Shaking his head, Courier looked at Master Chief.

"We're not asking you to stop fighting, we're just asking you to just take a day off to relax. Enjoy the breeze of this place or enjoy some good food from some expensive restaurant in some port city nearby. Think of it as a way to remind yourself why you're fighting. After all, its good to have a constant reminder on why you fight, right?" Chief could get behind that. It always was good to have a constant reminder to remind a soldier why they're fighting, especially if they're in the battlefield nearly every day of the week when not in cryostasis. But for Chief, his reminder of why he fought was in the marines and ordinary humans he fought with.

They all had families and friends that they fought to protect or avenge. When he saw them die under his command or comfort each other when they lost a squad mate or loved one, it encouraged John to do better. To make sure it never happened again. It always happened again, sure, but to Chief, it was just a reminder to him that he needed to do better the next time.

Besides, a Spartan-II like him was never on break, their extraordinary skills and equipment meant they could never be taken off the field. There were simply too Spartans and too many requests for them to ever allow them to take shore leave. If a Spartan was taking shore leave, they're not saving people from overzealous aliens, killing high-value targets, or destroying entire warships that could be the turning point in a space battle. No, to Chief's eyes, he couldn't take a break, not when a war was going on.

He would have been adamant in not taking a break if Cortana hadn't stepped.

"John, they're right." Said Cortana as she appeared in his HUD, looking worried. "Don't push yourself too hard, John. The war that you're fighting isn't as destructive as the one you fought in before. You don't need to push yourself to the extreme to win it. A little shore leave wouldn't hurt anyone, I promise you. It would mean a lot to the team if you partake in their vacation. Besides, you might gain some actionable intel if you pick a city home to a military leader of the Alliance. If not for that, do it for me." Upon hearing that, Chief sighed before looking at everyone.

"Alright. One more week of raiding and picking off wandering Horde patrols and then we'll go on vacation. It'll give you time to pick one out." Said Chief. Upon hearing that, High Elf let out a small whoop before going over to another room in the base, which they called Echo base so that she could talk to Cortana on potential vacation spots.

Ikit shrugged at that, finding that he could, at the very least, use the vacation as a way to find the secrets of Azeroth.

Courier and Jack smiled, happy that Chief was willing to partake in basic human needs and was willing to help him do so.

As everyone began to plan vacation plans, Chief wondered what the hell he gotten himself into.

Two weeks later

Dalaran

"Oh yeah, people welcome to Dalaran!" Yelled High Elf Archer as the group, in Alliance clothing that they acquired from High Elf, who shopped for them via using some gold that she got from one of the destroyed Horde camps they ransacked sometime ago, arrived in the flying magic city that was home to the Kirin Tor via a portal available to citizens of either Horde or Alliance. The group, of course, took a portal for Alliance people only as the Horde, at the moment, were either arresting or killing, in the Orc's case, any humans that tried to use their portals to Dalaran.

Courier shook his head as he watched the elf bounce in excitement as she looked around at the flying city, liking what she saw in the architect of the Kirin Tor. Courier, while impressed, found he much preferred the good old streets of New Vegas. Well, the non-irradiated parts anyway. Call it homesickness, but he found the charm of New Vegas better than Dalaran.

Jack, however, was grumbling as he held the crate that Ikit was in. The rat, to his displeasure, was forced into the crate if he wanted to come as his species was never seen before in Azeroth. And if he was spotted in Dalaran right now, it would cause so much unwanted attention right now that it would prevent the group from doing what they were supposed to be doing here the first time. Relaxing.

As Ikit wanted to see Dalaran, mostly because he wanted to steal the secrets of Dalaran, after hearing about it from High Elf Archer, who spoke to some Alliance citizens about it during her many escapades into either Horde or Alliance cities, he had no choice but to agree.

To Jack's slight dismay, he was the one chosen to carry the box that held Ikit as Chief was forced not to carry it as he was supposed to relax and that was hard to do when he was carrying a large crate with a live giant rat in it. So, for most of the trip, Jack was forced to carry Ikit.

Chief, meanwhile, was wondering what to do. He never had any normal hobbies. What free time he had back in the Human-Covenant war was spent on practicing tactics and training with his fellow spartans. He never really indulged in civilian antics. In fact, he couldn't understand some of the antics civilians did, even during a war.

As a result, Courier, along with enjoying the vacation himself, was tasked with helping Chief with how to enjoy himself with Cortana helping out via a commlink in Chief's ear.

"I hope you'll enjoy yourself Chief." Said Cortana with a slight tease in her voice. Chief grunted at that before taking a step out of the portal chamber and into the city of Dalaran, the group following shortly after. As High Elf Archer was enjoying the view of Dalaran's many fine buildings, Chief suddenly got a feeling that something bad was going to go down. Something really bad.