Chapter 23

Suramar

"Have you acquired anything from him?" Asked Thalyssra as she looked at the Arcanist in charge of interrogating the man that tried to assassinate her. After the Duskwatch took them away, Thalyssra reported in to Elisande that a human male tried to assassinate her but was stopped by Master Chief, who captured him for interrogation. Though annoyed that someone had tried to assassinate her First Arcanist, she was pleased that her ally saved her and praised him for it, which he just said he was just doing his job. Smirking in amusement, Elisande nonetheless thanked him and said that his deed will be known to the rest of Suramar. After that, Chief left with Thalyssra on how the interrogation was going with the prisoner.

"Since he refused to cooperate, we delved into his mind and acquired information that way." Said the arcanist. "It seems he received orders from someone to assassinate you, but that information is gone from this person's head." The arcanist then looked at the man and spoke again. "We've discovered traces of memory erasing in his mind. It seems, whoever ordered him to kill you, First Arcanist, wanted no ties being connected to them." Thalyssra frowned at that. Who would want her dead? She didn't have any detractors that disliked her enough to want her dead and the Horde and Alliance appreciated her enough that they wouldn't pull something like this. So, whoever did it, was someone she didn't know. Perhaps none of the people of Suramar knew about them.

"That is troubling." Said Thalyssra. "Whoever did this was very skilled in the Arcane." The other arcanist nodded in agreement. "Is there anything else that you have discerned?"

"There is." Said the arcanist. "We've discovered the location from where this men originated from. It's some distance from Suramar, deep within the forest nearby. Shall we send a force to find this place?" Upon hearing that, Thalyssra raised a hand.

"A location? Why would that be left alone?" Asked Thalyssra, frowning at this development.

"It's a trap." Said Chief before explaining. "They left that there purposefully so that you send a force to capture the location. But they want that so they can ambush you and make you bleed for every foot you acquire." Thalyssra nodded in agreement at that.

"Yes, that does seem very likely." Said Thalyssra. "But still, if this man's base is near Suramar, we must capture it. It might be a danger to our people in the future." Chief just nodded in agreement, knowing that she was right.

"Then I recommend sending a small, capable strike team to scout ahead and take it for you." Said Chief. "It'll be less costly than sending a battalion worth of troops to take it. Plus, a small group won't draw as much attention as a large one." Thalyssra and the other arcanist hummed in thought at that.

"With respect, First Arcanist, that seems like a logical approach." Said the arcanist responsible for interrogation. "It is not like we're pressed for time anyhow. And this seems quite well into our expertise in war. Sending a small team to scout ahead should be the best course of action at the moment." Thalyssra nodded in agreement before turning to Chief.

"You've already done much for us by saving me." Said Thalyssra. "But can I ask for you to do it again by being there for us when we assault this base of the assassin? You'll be compensated for your work." Upon hearing that, Chief just shook his head.

"No compensation is necessary." Said Chief. "We also have a stake in capturing this man's base." Thalyssra tilted her head at that.

"It's because of the armor that man wore, is it not?" Asked Thalyssra. When Chief nodded, she guessed what was the reason. "You think he is impersonating one of your soldiers, correct?"

"Yes." Said Chief. "That man wore the armor of one of the UNSC's decorated special forces units, the ODSTs. That armor is both hard to come by and shouldn't be in the hands of anyone in this world." Thalyssra hummed at that. Having seen his mind and the various worlds he's been, she knew that he wasn't from Azeroth and that this UNSC was likely some government that traveled through the stars. Something that her people was thought to be impossible, even with their magic and the height of their empire. To have another race, despite being less skilled in magic and younger than hers, was both intriguing and a bit of a blow to her pride in her people.

"Perhaps he's a traitor to your people?" Suggested Thalyssra. "Someone that left the terrible war you fought in?" Chief then shook his head.

"No.' Said Chief. "Even if that was the case, why would they attack you? Your people haven't done anything to anyone yet. Then there was their tactics. They just kept shooting at us, not trying to get a different angle or leaving once it was clear that they couldn't get to us. And when I confronted and tackled them to the ground, they didn't attempt to do any basic close quarters fighting when we fell. He didn't even react much when I tackled him. ODSTs are suppose to be some of the best soldiers the UNSC has, only surpassed by Spartans. Something isn't right here. I can feel it." Thalyssra hummed at that. Thinking about it, none of this made any sense. Both politically and militarily. There was a crucial piece of the puzzle that they were missing that prevented them from discerning the situation.

"If there are answer to be sought, then it will be in what this assassin calls home." Said Thalyssra. "Give us a few hours and we'll assemble a team of Duskwatch soldiers to accompany your team in raiding this base." Chief nodded at that.

"And I'll get my team ready." Said Chief before leaving. As she watched him leave, Thalyssra felt a pang of worry for him and the people being sent on this raid, but more so for him. Why she felt protective of him was beyond her idea, though she had one faint idea, but it was so absurd that it shouldn't be possible. At least at the moment.

Meanwhile

Draenor

"So this was the beauty of Draenor." Said Gorl as he looked around him, looking at the trees and grass of Draenor, so full of life and beauty, that Gorl thought that he was on Azeroth again. He heard stories of Draenor of Orcs that had seen it back when it was a vibrant, fertile land. Before Gul'dan came and destroyed it. Having been born on Azeroth along with most other Orcs, Gorl knew that he would never knew the beauty of Draenor like the older generation did. To see it for his own eyes was impossible he thought back then. Oh how happy he was wrong. "I never thought it was so beautiful."

"Aye." Said Kudius, also in awe of the beauty before him. "Makes me wonder if Gul'dan never came into power, the Orcs would have never needed to come to Azeroth." Gorl nodded in agreement as well. Wondering how bright the Orc's future would be if Gul'dan never came into power. Would they have ever found Azeroth? Would they have even formed the Horde? Would they even want to leave Draenor? All these questions formed in Gorl's mind that he didn't noticed the Spartan, their unofficial leader stopping and motioning them to stop as well.

"Look.' Said the spartan, pointing towards a small Orc group, around six Orcs, nearby, with them was a cage filled with a humanoid alien with hooves for feet. Upon seeing the hooves, the Twilight Hammer cult members realized they were Draenei, a race in league with the Alliance.

Long ago, they lived together with the Orcs in Draenor. Surprisingly they lived in harmony with the Orcs for a time, engaging in limited trade, but didn't engage in much conflict with each other. That, however, changed when Gul'dan came in power and united the Orc people against the Draenei and attacked them, essentially creating genocide against them.

What few Draenei escaped fled to Azeroth on a ship of their own make. Those that hadn't died but didn't escape were used as fuel for Gul'dan's magic, which relied on absorbing the life force of things around him.

And here, there were Draenei being taken prisoner for…something. Gorl thought it was something involving Fel magic, but since the land was still fertile and lively, it likely wasn't the case. Whatever it is, that Draenei might give them some insight on what is going on around this new Draenor.

"We should save them." Whispered Gorl as the group stayed hidden from the Orc convoy, watching for any weak points they can exploit. "Not only would they tell us what is going on, they might eventually led us to Velen." The spartan, upon hearing that, nodded, before bringing out his assault rifle.

"Let's do it." Said the spartan. "We'll move ahead of the group and set up an ambush point for them." That caused the group to nod before they moved forward, hoping to ambush the convoy before they link up with more Orcs.

Meanwhile

89 miles from Suramar City

"Jesus." Said Courier as he looked around the area that the Nightborne has told them was where the assassin's base was. To the team's dismay, the area was just jagged rocks and a rocky beach that had waves calmly hitting the sand and rocks. When they found nothing, the team contacted High Elf Archer, who stayed in Suramar, much to her dismay, so they can keep communications with the Nightborne, and Thalyssra if the area was accurate as they found nothing. Upon hearing that, Thalyssra told them that the base was hidden and that there was a switch that would reveal the base to them. They just had to find it. "They knew what they were doing in hiding this switch. I can't find it anywhere."

"Same." Said Jack as he looked for the switch with a Duskwatch soldier and Ikit. "I can't find anything here."

"*Sniffs* Stupid humans hide burrow well." Said Ikit as he sniffed around for the switch and the hidden base. "When we find, I spray musk on any loot I want. Yes-yes."

"If we find it." Said Courier as he looked around the beach for anything out of the ordinary. As he did so, Chief was speaking with Valtrois, who accompanied them with some Duskwatch soldiers.

"When we find this base, let us go in first. We'll swept the immediate area for any potential ambushers and traps. Once we're sure the coast is clear, we'll notify you to come in." Said Chief as Valtrois nodded in understanding.

"Hmph. You have quite the knowledge of battlefield tactics." Said Valtrois with approval. "Very well, just leave some for us. We are eager to fight those that dare to assassinate our first Arcanist." Chief just nodded before looking at the direction where Suramar was. As he did so, he thought of Thalyssra and how she was doing. He didn't know why, but he felt a great deal of emotions for the Nightborne woman. The way she understood him and tolerated his lack of social skills was endearing. Very few beyond his fellow Spartans understood him and Thalyssra was fast becoming one of those people. It was almost shocking how fast he grew to trust the First Arcanist. Cortana made a joke that he was falling in love with the Nightborne woman, but Chief denied it, finding it ridiculous.

He was about to think about it more when Courier yelled out.

"Think I found it!" Yelled Courier before he swiped off the tip of a rock that was sticking out of the rocky beach, revealing to be fake and that it had a button on it. He pressed it and soon, everyone heard rumbling as, to the Nightborne's shock, a part of the rocky beach made way for a series of stairs, wide enough to fit a Warthog in it and still have room for people to walk side by side of the jeep. Looking at the stairs, Courier spoke. "So, who's going first?" Upon hearing that question, Chief brought out his assault rifle and took the stairs down to wherever it led to. "Okay, guess we are." Courier then brought out his own rifle and followed Chief with Ikit and Jack following suit. Valtrois, a bit amused at Chief, looked at her men and ordered them to guard the entrance until their allies told them that everything was safe for them to proceed.

"Lady Valtrois, are you sure we should just stay here and have them go first?" Asked a Duskwatch soldier as he walked over to Valtrois, who raised an eyebrow at the soldier. "Forgive me, but the assassin was going for the first Arcanist of our people, not them. Shouldn't we be in the forefront of enacting retribution against those that attacked us?"

"We are." Said Valtrois. "But our allies also have a stack in this. Apparently, the assassin had the armor and weapons of their nation, meaning they have a stake in this as well. Perhaps even more so than us as something like this would be embarrassing for them if word gets out. Besides, glory should not matter to us, Nightborne. We are above that, right?" The Duskwatch soldier just nodded before leaving the arcanist alone. When he did, Valtrois wondered what Thalyssra was doing right now.

Meanwhile

Suramar

Thalyssra's estate

"I can't believe I'm stuck here and watch over you. No offense." Said High Elf Archer as she paced around in Thalyssra's estate. Thalyssra, herself, just watched as High Elf Archer paced around her living room, complaining about the orders Chief gave her. She was to protect Thalyssra along with the Duskwatch guards that were assigned to guard her after the assassination attempt on her life. Despite Thalyssra's insistence that she was safe and that she didn't need the guards, Elisande refused to listen to her and had the guards placed regardless of the Arcanist's wishes. Thought she was perfectly fine with High Elf Archer due to her trust for the little elf as well as her general curiosity with all members of team Sigma, including Ikit Claw.

Being the patient woman she was, Thalyssra just let High Elf Archer express her frustration with her orders before she spoke.

"I understand your frustration with your team, but don't you think you're the most ill-equipped to deal with the type of environment that they'll be most likely facing?" Asked Thalyssra.

"But I dealt with confined spaces before!" Protested High Elf Archer. "I can help fight whatever is down there. I can…"

'Perhaps." Interrupted Thalyssra. "But tell me, have you dealt with any heavily armed and armored foes before? What have you usually fought?" That caused High Elf to pause and look at Thalyssra, who had a neutral expression on her face.

"Goblins." Said High Elf Archer. "They're little green monsters that loot, pillage, and rape anything of the opposite sex. At least the ones I face." Truth be told, when she discovered the Goblins of this world were not only civilized compared to hers, but respected members of the horde if a bit greedy, was a shock to her. She honestly didn't know how would Orcbolg, who absolutely despised Goblins and saw them as parasites that needed to be exterminated, would react to such a contradiction. He never had to deal with such things as all Goblins in her world, as far as she knew, were monsters with none of their number actually wanting to change the image of their race. "Most of the ones I faced were barely armored and a simple arrow to the head is usually what it took to take one down."

"I see." Said Thalyssra. "Have you done so in close confinements? And have you faced any heavily armored forces in such conditions?" High Elf Archer pursed her lips at that, raking her mind of facing such foes. Aside from that one Ogre she faced with her party in her very first mission with Orcbolg and that Goblin champion, a Goblin the size of an Ogre, on that other mission, she hadn't really faced many Goblins she couldn't take down with a single arrow. And even then, she didn't do much against either opponent, it was Orcbolg that took them down, not her.

"No." Said High Elf Archer with a pout, realizing she didn't have any experience.

"Then that is the probable reason you are here with me." Said Thalyssra. "From what your leader has told me about the armor our assassin has been using, he was using some of the best armor his government can give to it's…special force, I believe he called them. Whether or not our assassin is one of these special forces soldiers, the fact they have it renders your arrows null. Unless they're coated in magic or the tips are made out of a material I have no knowledge on that can pierce the armor of that assassin. There is also the fact we don't know if they have more of those suits of armor at their disposal. I don't know if the training for elven rangers have changed or not, or if your people's training regime is different to the Night elves, but generally we elves fare poorly against heavily armored foes without magic or superior tactics." High Elf Archer just pouted, knowing that she was right. Elves from her world never had to deal with heavily armored opponents much. Even if they did, they usually had support of other, more hardy races, like the Lizard men or humans.

"But still, I hate that they left me here." Said High Elf Archer, pouting like a child. Thalyssra smiled at that. Despite High Elf Archer claiming to be over two thousand years old, she wasn't more mature than that of a young elven maiden in her first few hundred years. Was she sheltered in her youth? "I can deal with any threat that comes to us."

"Perhaps." Said Thalyssra as she got up and went to High Elf Archer, towering the other elf by a large margin. She then led the younger elf to a sofa and sat her down with Thalyssra sitting next to her. "But, the chances of you suffering a mortal wound in that mission is too astronomical for them to risk you going with them. Much as your leader is confident in your abilities and skills, there are times when it's just not worth bringing certain people with you in certain missions. This is one of them." She then placed a hand on High Elf Archer's shoulder. "It's not exactly a fair thing for him to place you in the sidelines, but being a leader means you have to do things that some people deem to be unfair. I understand your own frustration in being left behind, but do not let that cause you to form resentment towards your allies. They are merely doing what they think is the correct course of action." High Elf Archer looked at Thalyssra at that. The words she said were similar to what her own sister would say whenever she tried to impart words of wisdom to her. When she wasn't trying to convince her to give up being and Adventurer of course.

Truth be told, aside from the obvious differences in skin tone and voice, Thalyssra really reminded High Elf Archer of her sister. They both were vastly old and, with it, came tons of wisdom. Both were level-headed and tried to appease both parties. When she heard about what their parents tried to do to get High Elf Archer back, she immediately sided with her sister. As much as she too wanted her sister to come back home and give up adventuring, she wanted it to be by her own free will. Despite her older sister's best attempts, however, their parents refused to budge and High Elf went to her room to cool off, which off course led her to go hunting, which led to her being sucked into a purple portal into this world.

She wondered how her sister was taking it. She must be worried off her mind for her.

"You remind me of my older sister, you know." Said High Elf Archer. "With all your words of wisdom and stuff." Thalyssra smiled at that.

"Oh?" Asked Thalyssra, a bit amused. "Is it a good thing that I remind you of sibling?" High Elf Archer nodded.

"Yeah. She always annoys me with trying to get me to give up on adventuring and staying in the forest to start a family. Or at least be part of the elven guard." Explained High Elf Archer. "But I don't want that yet. I still have friends back home that I want to stay with until the end of their lives." Upon hearing that, Thalyssra smiled a bit in sympathy. She didn't know much of the other races on Azeroth, but she did learn that most lived far less than an average elf, usually by a significant margin. As such, forming friendships with other races would be solemn as the elf would know that, eventually, they out be forced to attend the funerals of their friends because reached the end of their natural lives. She imagined that High Elf knew that, but still wanted to be with her friends regardless.

"You wish to have more fond memories with them?" Asked Thalyssra. "Your friends of other races."

"Yup." Said High Elf Archer. "Even after they die, I, at least, have good memories of them to remind me of who they were and how much they meant to me. Especially one other." Upon hearing that, Thalyssra twitched her ears in amusement.

"One of your friends, you have romantic feelings for them?" Asked Thalyssra, smiling a bit when High Elf Archer blushed, realizing what she slipped.

"N-no, I don't. You just imagined hearing that." Said High Elf Archer. Thalyssra laughed a bit at that.

"It's a bad idea to lie to an elf, young one." Said Thalyssra in amusement as High Elf Archer blushed harder. "Especially one that is skilled in sensing lies with her magic." High Elf Archer, mortified, wanted to deny her feelings, but the look on Thalyssra told her that it would be pointless. Sighing, she looked away from the older elf and pouted, causing Thalyssra to laugh kindheartedly again. "For an elven maiden in her second millennium, you act more on your 6th century." High Elf began to glow like a tomato at that, embarrassed. "Do not be so embarrassed, young one. I will not judge you on your wish to mate outside your race. Such a thing has no sway on my view on you, nor your people." She then placed a hand on High Elf Archer's shoulder. "Tell me about this person you have feelings for. Perhaps I can help with your feelings for them." High Elf Archer bit her lip, looking down, not knowing if she should speak to Thalyssra about her feelings for Orcbolg. No one, but her knew about her feelings to Orcbolg and she doubted it would be a good idea to talk about them with Thalyssra, someone she only knew for a week at best. She trusted her, no doubt on that, but High Elf didn't know if it was a good idea to do her first over her other allies. As if sensing her uncertainty, Thalyssra spoke again.

"If you do not wish to express them with me, I understand." Said Thalyssra. "Such emotions are best to be discussed with those you are certain you can trust. You have only known me for a handful of moons. Even then, we have not interacted much. It would either be a sign of great trust and understanding of my character or a sign of great naivety or foolishness to talk about your feelings with me when you know so little of me." High Elf Archer, looking at Thalyssra, nodded in thanks before speaking.

"Thank you." Said High Elf Archer. "It's just that…I've never really told anyone of these feelings for Orcbolg, the person I love. Even my own teammates don't know. Though I think some of them suspect it. To tell a person I've only known for a few days over people I've fought with and knew for an entire year, kind of messed up, right?" Thalyssra just smiled.

"I can understand that logic." Said Thalyssra, looking at High Elf Archer with understanding. "However, should you ever need someone to speak to about this, I'm more than happy to be that person." High Elf Archer smiled at that.

"You're so much like my sister." Said High Elf Archer. "Just doesn't complain as much about my life choices as she does."

"*Chuckles* Your sister sounds like a wonderful person. Perhaps you can tell me more about her. In fact, why don't you impart some cultural lessons to be about your people? I'm eager to learn much of your people." Said Thalyssra. High Elf Archer nodded before telling Thalyssra all about her sister and her people and their ways.

Meanwhile

Chief

"Damn." Said Courier as he looked at the underground base that they had entered. After securing the entrance and motioning Valtrois to come with her group, the Nightborne and sigma group went inside the base. What they found shocked them all. They had initially assumed it was just a small bunker with accommodation for a small group of people. Instead, they got a large military bunker loaded with weapons and armor. Most of it UNSC weaponry and armor kits. They had looked inside several sizable rooms that were loaded with the space faring government's weapons and armor, which made Chief ponder in thought at these implications. "I thought this would just be a small bunker with accommodations for a small group of people. This is a military bunker that had hold a platoon of soldiers or two with all their equipment and the like."

"Agreed." Said Jack as he looked at the bunker. It reminded him greatly of standard issue IMC bunkers, complete with the electronic doors and business like architecture. "Damn, how the hell did anyone build this without anyone knowing."

"The Broken Isles is relatively uninhabited with people that have the know how to find something this well-hidden." Said Valtrois as she inspected the bunker, both intrigued and worried with it's presence. "Aside from the Nightborne, there's hardly anyone here with any sort of intelligence or incentive to find this place. The Fal'dorei you mentioned sometime ago are too deep inland to bother with this beach and it's so far away from their territory they wouldn't care who is here so long as they don't encroach on their territory." Humming to herself at the architecture of this bunker, she looked at Jack. "You know this design?"

"Yeah, it looks like to be of IMC design." Said Jack as he pointed to the walls and doors all around them. "Very little waste of space and extreme practicality of this place indicates it."

"Does this also indicate it?" Asked Chief as he looked inside a crate that he recently opened up, bringing out a piece of metal with a logo on it. Tossing it towards Jack, who caught it with ease. Eyeing the logo, Jack nodded in confirmation.

The logo had the dark blue, upside down triangle with a light blue strip that went across the right corner of the top part of the triangle to the other side, going through two white towers in the middle of the triangle. Below that triangle was the IMC name with a star next to it.

"Yup." Said Jack, looking at the logo with a hint of disgust in his voice. Looking at the piece of metal, Jack realized that it used to be part of a wall, cut off with a laser saw. Judging by the edges, it was sometime ago. "Though I don't understand why this was in that crate. This used to be a part of a wall. Why the hell is it in a crate and not a trash can?"

"Used for spare metal perhaps?" Suggested Courier. "It's what any scavengers or pirate would do if they have access to everything in this base."

"I guess, but that is the case, that leaves this question. How the hell did pirates or scavengers manage to take this entire base from the IMC? A base this size usually has two or three squads of IMC spectres. They're dumb and easy to beat if you know what you're doing, but they should be enough to deal with undisciplined pirates and scavengers. Also, why the hell are UNSC weapons and armor here instead of IMC ones?"

"Don't know." Said Chief as he checked his motion tracker for any movement aside from their own. So far, nothing. "But what answers we're looking for aren't here. We need to go deeper."

"Agreed." Said Valtrois as she looked around, amazed at just how large this facility was. It must stretch a good portion of the beach and inland for it to be this large. "Perhaps it be best if we split up. We can cover more ground that way in a shorter amount of time."

"No." Disagreed Chief. "We're not in any hurry and splitting up just leaves us more vulnerable to an ambush by whatever defenses are here as well as anyone here. We should stay together and find a terminal we can use to monitor the entire facility." Valtrois wanted to argue, but Chief wasn't having any of it, causing her to sigh.

"Very well. Where shall we go?" Asked Valtrois, crossing her arms under her bust. Chief just stayed silent as he began to move forward, out of the room they were all in and to a large hallway that led them to either the entrance way or deeper into the facility. "I'll take point. Follow me." With that, Chief lead everyone deeper into the facility. Unbeknownst to them, a group of people were monitoring them and were preparing an ambush up ahead.

Meanwhile

Draenor

"Hurry up!" Yelled an Orc warrior as he lead his men from the front as an Orc should do. "I want these prisoners be given over to warden Kelsrit by nightfall! Let's move it!" His warriors grumbled a bit at that, but pressed on, eager to get rid of the Draenei so they can be part of the next group that was invading the world that Hellscream was telling them about. They heard it had plenty of good warriors to fight and was rich with resources that they couldn't find on Draenor. So, many Orcs were hungry for a chance to invade this world and this bunch were no different. Already their mouths were dripping with the anticipation of bloodshed and riches they'll have when they join the forces on this new world.

They were so caught up in this daydreaming, that they didn't notice the makeshift tripwire just above the ground, made out of strong cord. As soon as the first Orc pulled on it, a fragmentation grenade came out of nowhere, hitting the Orc in the head, before exploding, sending shrapnel all over his brain and to the head of another Orc, killing him.

Shocked, the Orcs were too slow to react to the sudden appearance of a fellow Orc, and three people that they have no knowledge on. One was a small, non-Orc that had the height of a child, another had a pinkish complexion and wore leather armor with a hood, and the last wore purple and black armor that completely hid their identity. They surrounded them with ease and began making their way towards them.

The one in metal black armor aimed at the leader of the Orc band and blasted him with some strange device that reminded the Orcs of the guns some of their brothers used, just smaller. The rounds pierced his helmet and send brain matter all over the back of the helmet. As the Orc fell to the ground, the one in leather armor managed to get on top of another Orc and slashed his throat with a serrated dagger on his wrist. The small humanoid one slashed at the legs of a 3rd Orc with a war axe, bringing him down, before embedding the axe into the Orc's skull. Their last companion, the Orc, headbutted his foe, dazing them, before slashing their head off with a single swing of their sword. All this was done in under a minute and before the Orcs could react.

Satisfied with their work, the one in dark armor went over to the cage containing the Draenei prisoner. Now that they were close, they could see the Draenei was she, based on her chest, with blue eyes and white hair. Upon seeing the spartan get close, she backed away slightly from him in fear. Seeing this, the spartan back off and motioned for Derek to take over. Nodding in agreement, Derek went over the Draenei with his hands above his head in an attempt to tell her that they won't harm her.

"It's alright." Said Derek in a soft voice, speaking in the Draenei language, having been taught it by some other cult members as his role as a rogue meant he had to know such things in order to decipher intel from enemy encampements. "We're not here to hurt you. We're here to save you from these Orcs." Despite the reassuring voice of Derek, the Draenei shook her head.

"You have an Orc in your party. Do you know what they've done to my people?" Asked the Draenei in her own people's language. Fortunately, everyone knew what she was saying due to being taught the Draenei language in one shape or form. Understanding her reluctance to trust them, Derek kept trying to gain her trust.

"My friend is not like those Orcs that have killed your friends and family." Said Derek. "He wants the same thing we want. The elimination of those in charge of the Orcs so they can stop their foolish ways. Right, Gorl?" Gorl nodded in agreement.

"Draenei." Said Gorl in the softest voice he can muster. "I know what my people have done your kind and it brings shame to me that we have done so." Gorl then went to his knees, much to the Draenei's shock. "I swear on my honor, I'm not like my deceived brethren. I, with my allies, wish to end this madness and free both the Draenei and the Orcs from the plot and ideals of Grom Hellscream. And such a wish needs your cooperation to be fulfilled. Can we count on your help?" Looking at the Orc in shock, the Draenei female looked between the Orc, then Derek, and then back at Gorl, before biting her lip and responding.

"I…I believe you." Said the Draenei quietly, causing the Spartan to nod before breaking her cage door, allowing her to escape. Once she was out of the cage, she looked at Derek. "Thank you for saving me, however. I can only dread what those brutes would have done to me had I've been taken to their camp. Even if I'm not sure I trust you, you have my gratitude for saving me." Derek nodded at that before asking her for her name. "My name is Yrel. What is yours?"

"My name is Derek. He's Kudius and he's Gorl." Said Derek, pointing to his allies respectively. "He just goes by spartan. He didn't tell us his name yet. So, don't bother trying to ask." Yrel nodded at that before asking what their plan was. "To take down Gorl Hellscream and anyone else that is in charge of the Orcs. You know where we can find them?"

"No." Said Yrel. "But I believe I know who can. If you're willing to follow me, I can lead you to my people's leader." Knowing who she was referring to, the group nodded in agreement, eager to acquire the first of their targets.

"Lead the way, Yrel. Just give us a moment to bring the rest of our gear." Said Derek. "We had to drop some of it behind to save you." With that, Gorl and the spartan left to get their stuff. As they left, they wondered if the rest of their assignment would be this easy.

Meanwhile

Vault near Suramar city

"God damn." Said Courier as the group entered another large room in the base that contained a large assortment of UNSC weapons from rocket launchers to puny pistols. Judging by the weapon racks on the walls, it was an armory of sorts. "This is all sorts of wrong, Chief. Why the hell does Jack's faction of bad guys have your faction's weapons? And in large quantities to boot."

"No idea.' Said Chief in concern as he glossed over all the weapons. Grabbing a UNSC assault rifle, he inspected the weapon for any clues on it's construction. This was the fifth room that was filled with UNSC weaponry and it left him a bit concerned. He'll have to have Cortana run a scan on some of the weapons here, but he already had a dark feeling that something sinister was going on and he'll have to prepare for it. Taking rifle and putting it on his back, he motioned for everyone to exit and to press on. Once everyone was out of the room, Chief motioned for them to follow him to another room.

As he lead them towards the next room, which was at the end of the hall, Chief's motion tracker began to detect unknowns coming form that room. Seeing this, he motioned everyone to stop and take cover just as the door at the end of the hall opened and several men wearing ODST armor opened fire at the group, using the door to cover their bodies as they peeked out and open fire on the group.

Two Duskwatch soldiers get killed as the soldiers accurately hit their heads before they could get down. Valtrois would have been amongst them had Courier not tackled her to the ground. Once she recovered from the shock of hitting the ground, she casted a barrier around them all, but not before another Duskwatch soldier got shot in the shoulder, throwing him to the ground. With the barrier around them, the group had a brief reprieve from the gunfire, which was sustained for a few more seconds before it stopped, the soldiers seeing that it was having no effect on the barrier.

Sighing in relief, Valtrois looked at her men and grimaced. The two that died had sizable holes where their faces used to be and the one that got shot was bleeding profusely on the ground. A mage was currently attending to him, but aside from those, they were fine. Looking at Chief, who was at the front, preparing his gun, she asked what they're to do.

"I'll throw this at them at the last second.' Said Chief as he brought out a cylinder-shaped object, a flashbang grenade, the same kind used by the assassin, careful to not reveal it to the soldiers attacking them as that would reveal their plan to them. "After that, Ikit would charge right in and kill them as quickly as possible while we lay down covering fire." He then turned to Ikit, who was flexing his metal claw, indicating his blood lust. "Make sure to keep some of them alive, Ikit. We need people to interrogate." Ikit growled at that, but nodded. Chief then turned towards Valtrois. "When I say it, drop the barrier." Valtrois bit her lip at that, unsure of this plan, but nodded, trusting the man who has done much for her people, including saving her friend from an assassin.

With that acknowledgement, Chief activated the object, waited a few seconds, before telling Valtrois to let the barrier go. The moment she did, Chief threw the grenade at the group of soldiers. Upon it reaching the group, the grenade immediately went off, blinding them all, their helmets providing no assistance because they hadn't seen the grenade in time for them to polarize them against the flashbang.

With them blinded temporarily, Ikit went in charging, his backpack spewing out green flames as he surged forward, his halberd at the ready and glowing with energy as well as crackling with lightning. As he charged, he aimed his warpfire thrower at them and let loose concentrated amounts of warp fire at them, dosing three with the Warpstone derived liquid. The men screamed as the warpfire burned their armor before burning their own bodies, causing massive third degree burns and even fourth degree ones as well. As they went down, Ikit crashed into a fourth one, sending him crashing into the ground. He then bared his fangs before biting down on the man's neck. Despite the Kevlar on the soldier's neck, Ikit was still able to bite into the man's throat with his teeth, drawing blood. As Ikit was about to tear the man's throat out, the remaining two soldiers recovered and saw the rat killing their compatriot. Aiming their guns at the rat, they were about to kill him when Chief came and tackled one to the ground while the other was hit with a barrage of Arcane bolts, filling him up with sizable holes all over his body, from Valtrois.

Holding the man in place, Chief looked at Ikit as he ripped the throat of the man he tackled.

"I told you we needed some of them alive." Said Chief, looking at Ikit as he spat out the flesh and jabbed his halberd at the man's face, killing him quickly.

"Not my fault!" Yelled Ikit as he looked at Chief. "You-you fault! You not save-capture enough test subjects fast enough." Shaking his head at Ikit, Chief looked at the man as he struggled against the spartan's grip.

"Your friend certainly lacks finesse, doesn't he?" Said Valtrois as she saw the carnage Ikit did. She winced a bit at seeing the melting bodies of those hit by Ikit's warpfire thrower and the man that had his throat ripped out by Ikit's teeth. Thalyssra was right. Ikit was deranged and brutal in his way of doing things.

"You can say that again." Said Courier as they walked up to Chief and Ikit, the latter sniffing the dead bodies he's slain, particularly their armor and weapons. "Still, he's loyal to us and we won't betray us. At least we think so." Ikit grumbled at that, but didn't speak anything about that comment. The group then focused on the man that Chief captured.

"Moving on, you're going to tell us everything about this base. The attempt on my friends life and how many of you there are." Said Valtrois, glaring at the man, who just glared from his helmet.

"Eat shit, you flat-chested, purple freak with twigs for ears." Said the man in ODST armor. Valtrois glared at the man, knowing what he said was an insult from his tone.

"Shall I enter his mind and figure out what he has to say?" Offered Valtrois, looking at Chief, who just nodded. They didn't have time for a long interrogation and, if there were more soldiers in this base, they were asking to get ambushed by them. Plus, this can prevent them from getting misinformation from this man.

"Do it. We'll keep you covered." Said Chief as he lifted the man to his feet and restrained his arms. "I'll keep him restrained while you do search his mind for any information we can use." Valtrois nodded before going over to the man as he struggled to get out of Chief's grip. The others, meanwhile covered the intersection they were in covered from all sides, ready to tell them to move should they spot any danger.

Placing her hands on the man's head, Valtrois then began the process of searching his mind and extracting whatever she could from his mind. While she was doing this, Chief kept the man in place as he tried in vain to stop Valtrois's attempt to probe his mind. This kept going on for a few more minutes until Valtrois suddenly frowned.

Probing his mind for any information of value, Valtrois frowned as she found that there wasn't as nearly as much information as there should have been. There should be information of how this base was built, who this man was, and who their leader was. But there was nothing like that in this man's head. Just information on the assassin and their mission, the number of people in this base, and it's contents. Nothing else. She couldn't even find traces of memory manipulation in the man's mind, unlike the assassin that tried to kill Thalyssra. Whoever did this, knew what they were doing.

Sighing, Valtrois then placed the man under a deep sleep and motioned for Chief to let him go, which he did by gently laying them on the ground, allowing another Nightborne arcane user to put up a barrier around them until they knew what to do with him.

"It's strange, really." Said Valtrois. "This man only has information regarding this base, it's personal, and the assassination mission on Thalyssra. Nothing else. Including his name and his life beyond his occupation as a guard for this base." That caused Chief and the others to look at her in surprise or shock. To manipulative one's own memories so extensively meant it had to be someone strong in the Arcane, surpassing even Elisande in power. It made a few Nightborne nervous at fighting someone with that much power, but Valtrois calmed their nerves.

"What was the assassination mission for?" Asked Chief. Valtrois just shrugged.

"I'm afraid that information is gone or was never there in the first place." Said Valtrois. "All this man knows is that one of his compatriots was sent to kill Thalyssra. Nothing more." Chief frowned at that, wondering what is going on, before asking about the base and it's occupants. "The base seems to be a military bunker containing advanced communication systems that I have no knowledge on as well as containing vast amounts of your government's weapons and armor. As for the occupants, they number in under a hundred. That's all I managed to acquire from this man's relatively empty head." Chief pondered on this information for awhile. A hundred men they have to fight with just a handful of troops. Not exactly good odds, but odds that he was used to deal with when he fighting the Covenant. And so were his compatriots with him. Though the Nightborne on the other hand…he doubted they'll take too kindly to him asking them to leave this to them alone as it was their Arcanist that was the hit. Plus, they may need the magical support eventually.

Thinking it through, Chief decided what to do.

"Courier, take some people and get this man back to Suramar. Perhaps there's someone that can fix his memory problem. Also, ask for more reinforcements. There is more here than we anticipated." Said Chief. Courier, agreeing with this, nodded and looked at Valtrois, who nodded. She had two of her men go with Courier to escort the man back to Suramar. Lifting the barrier from the unconscious soldier, Valtrois watched as Courier and a Duskwatch soldier lifted the man from the ground while the other Duskwatch soldier, a mage, teleported them all back to Suramar. With them gone, Chief looked at the rest of the people with him and spoke.

"Come on. We got an entire base to clear out." Said Chief as he drew out his rifle. Jack just nodded.

"Good thing we brought lots of ammo." Said Jack as he checked his r201 for any deficiencies.

"Good-good! Many to flay and kill! Yes-yes!" Yelled Ikit with glee, laughing madly. Valtrois shook her head, wondering why fate has her stuck with these people.