Chapter 25

Unknown location

"Oh those Orcs. So vigorous fellows. So full of life. So eager to die in battle like the brutes that they are in the name of… honor. *Crackles in amusement.* So unlike the Orcs from where I come to know. And also unlike them, they lack the brute strength they have. And that fool of an Orc claims they are the superior race." Said a metallic, masculine voice as it crackled in amusement. He heard of the Iron Horde being pushed back by the Horde and Alliance forces. Despite both sides still distrusting each other over Garrosh's rule of the Horde, which lead to war, they begrudgingly worked together to stop the new incursion of Orc warriors from an alternative timeline. Though he did note that the races with the most hatred against each other, the Forsaken and Worgens for one, kept out of each other's site and weren't in the field together, something that amused him.

As much as the figure enjoyed the defeat of such vigorous and delusional fools such as those in this Iron Horde, he cannot let them be defeated yet. According to those filthy rats he employed as his eyes and ears, the Alliance and Horde are pushing the Iron Horde back to the Dark Portal. Once there, they'll use it to invade this alternative Draenor that the figure was interested in collecting trophies from and defeat the Iron Horde in their homeworld, denying him some trophies he wanted to acquire, mainly Garrosh, his father, and Gul'dan. And that was something the figure cannot allow. So, he had to delay that actions and he knew just how to do it.

"N'Zoth will not mind too much if I…collect some individuals and reduce some Alliance and Horde armies to dust to delay their inevitable victory against the Iron Horde." Thought the figure before putting said plans to delay the two superpowers in motion, cracking in amusement as he did so.

Twilight Hammer team

Alternate Draenor

"There they are." Said Yrel as she looked at the Orc war tribe that had been sent by the Iron Horde to do them harm. From the visions of Velen as well as actionable intel retrieved from Draenei resistance fighters, these Orcs were from the Shadowmoon tribe. Orcs that used the Void against the Draenei and were now deployed to drive them away from the Shadowmoon Valley and rid of the Draenei once and for all. Velen had received a terrible vision that the Orcs will use an ancient artifact called the Dark Star against the Draenei. He foresaw it destroying them and being used after to destroy Azeroth if the Orcs succeeded. Needless to say, they needed to stop it. Which is why the Twilight Hammer team, they still hadn't figured out a name for them to use, were here with Yrel. To stop that from happening.

Unbeknownst to the Draenei, however, the Twilight Hammer team was planning on speaking with the Shadowmoon clan, show them their god, and convince them to join their cause of freeing N'Zoth, allowing him to shape Azeroth in his own image. If they listened, they gain more soldiers and allies to their cause, possibly even gaining this Dark star artifact for their own usage. If they didn't, well they'll just work with the Draenei and wipe these Orcs off the face of the planet.

"I count at least over a hundred Orc fighters." Said the Spartan, using his helmet's built in visor to see how many soldiers they have to deal with. It wasn't as good as a true scope, but it worked well enough.

"You should expect more." Said Yrel, looking at the large camp that the Shadowmoon clan had assembled to prepare for their assault on the Draenei's final home in Draenor. "Light, they must have brought their entire clan here. How are we to win against all of them? We have, at best, a few dozen fighters with us."

"We're not going to attack yet." Said the Spartan. "We're just performing recon. Trying to pinpoint weaknesses we can exploit in coming battles with these Orcs. Right now, it's suicide to fight them with what we have. But if we can find weaknesses in their weapons, tactics, and general behavior, we can use that to our advantage. It may not cause us to win, but it'll give us a better chance of winning." Yrel, having no knowledge of military tactics, just nodded, understanding what he was saying.

"So, you're saying we're just performing scouting?" Asked Yrel, causing Derek to nod in confirmation. "But what if the Orcs unleash the Dark Star soon? Far sooner than what Velen believes them to do so. What then?"

"If that happens, we sneak in the base and try to stop that from happening. Even sacrificing our lives in order to prevent that danger Velen speaks of will happen if that Dark Star is unleashed." Said the Spartan before looking at Yrel. "That's the purpose of soldiers, Yrel, to sacrifice themselves first and foremost so that civilians like the people back at that temple don't have to die. It may sound unfair, but that's what you get for signing up in this profession. You understand what I'm saying?" Yrel, remembering back to all those people back at the temple, those that aren't fighters, nodded in agreement. She didn't want them to die and if she had to die to prevent them from dying, then so be it.

"I understand." Said Yrel. "But, like you said before, we should give ourselves advantages, yes?" The Spartan nodded. "Then I believe I know a good spot to set up a good defensive position for us to take when the Shadowmoon clan attacks. It should help us in better fighting them." The Spartan nodded at that.

"That is good." Said Spartan. "As a smaller force, we have to take every advantage we can get in order to defeat the much larger force. Derek, take Yrel and map out this position. We'll need it for the battle to come." Derek nodded at that before taking Yrel, leading her away from the three other Twilight Hammer members. Once they were certain she was gone, Kudius spoke.

"Well, now that lass is gone, what say we go down and speak to the clan leader of these Orcs." Said Kudius. Gorl nodded at that.

"I remember the Shadowmoon clan." Said Gorl. "They were the clan of astrology and communication. They lived in harmony with the Draenei before Gul'dan came. Their leader was one that wanted a united Orc people, something similar to what the Draenei had. Something Gul'dan used to bring them under his fold. It saddens me that they're under the command of another bastard that is using them. Garrosh will pay for all this."

"We will." Said Kudius, placing a hand on Gorl's shoulder, the Orc was on the ground like the Spartan, allowing the Dwarf to do this. "We'll give that bastard what is coming to him." Gorl nodded in appreciation before looking at the Spartan, who nodded.

"You'll get your vengeance." Said the Spartan. "But to achieve it, we must get these Orcs to work with us. Let's hope our master is able to convince them to join us." The other two nodded at that.

"If we want this to succeed, we need to sneak into the camp and speak to the Shadowmoon leader, preferably not killing any Orcs along the way as well." Said Gorl. "You have a plan, Spartan?"

"Always." Said the Spartan before looking at the base camp again, trying to determine the best entry point for them.

Meanwhile
Azeroth

Chief

"God damn." Said High Elf Archer as she sat on top of a crate as she basked in a job well done. They had just killed the last of the soldiers here, allowing the Nightborne and team Sigma to move in and began plundering the base for it's contents as well as acquiring whatever intel it had on who this master is and who built it in the first place. "That armor is no joke. I barely managed to kill one of them, even with my strongest arrows."

"That armor was built for UNSC special forces, designed for vacuum and for heavy duty combat. If it can't protect anyone from a simple arrow, it's either a fake or a fault of the manufacturer. No offense." Said Chief as he waited for a Pelican to arrive, containing Cortana so he can input her into this base's systems. The AI will certainly expediate their attempts to strip this place of any information it had, which was needed as he wanted to get in on the action against this new Orc horde that was threatening this planet. The Horde and Alliance have pushed them back to the blasted lands, where their only way of transportation from here to whatever place they call home was located in. It was heavily guarded so they needed to combine their forces in order to take it without one side from sustaining too many casualties, something both sides didn't want for them, but welcomed for the opposing side, so they combined forces, no matter how much it made some sneer in disgust.

"None taken." Said High Elf Archer as she scratched her head in frustration. "Think I need something stronger to make my arrow heads now. Maybe enchant them with magic?"

"Perhaps we can assist in that avenue." Said Valtrois as she made her way towards the group. She had just been discussing on what to do about this base with Thalyssra and they both agreed to have it seized for the Nightborne and team Sigma. It's an extremely defensible position, a good distance from their home in Suramar, but not too far away to not provide assistance should Suramar come under attack, and it's loaded with intel on those that tried to kill Thalyssra. Why wouldn't they take it for themselves? Of course, they'll share it with team Sigma, who had done most of the work, saving many Nightborne from their deaths at the hands of these heavily armored soldiers. Magic worked fine against them, but their common blades were woefully inadequate. Steps must be made to remedy that immediately. And Valtrois had just the answer for that situation. "We can provide you such magical enhanced arrows as well as many other things if you allow us two things." Chief, upon hearing that, knew what the two things were.

"You want us to train your soldiers in dealing with soldiers that have similar equipment to those that we faced recently." Said Chief, causing Valtrois to nod. "You also want this base for your own ends as well."

"Indeed, we do." Said Valtrois, happy that this Master Chief knew what the Nightborne, what Elisande, wanted. "You'll have shared ownership with us in this base, it's only fair for all the assistance you've provided us in the past, but we also request that you help train our soldiers in dealing with those wielding, what you call them, guns. We've suffered over a dozen deaths at the hands of those weapons, deaths that could have been easily prevented has we been better prepared for them. So, we ask you to train our soldiers against similar equipped foes. You'll be properly compensated for your efforts should you accept." Chief looked at his compatriots, who nodded.

"I don't see why not." Said Courier. "They're our allies, we should help them in something that won't bite us in the ass too much. Besides, we don't know how many of these mates are here in Azeroth or how well equipped they are. It's in our best interests to help train them in ways that effectively deal with soldiers with firearms and tactics that are similar to our own." Chief nodded in agreement at that. It wouldn't really hurt much to teach the Nightborne in the ways of the UNSC military or how to deal with firearms. Though, they need to learn and understand their full capabilities in order to create and effective training regiment for the Nightborne specifically as they have abilities, both physically and magically, that put them above standard humans and even Spartans that requires a different form of training for them, doing such a thing will also help them understand their allies' capabilities, which will help them in the long run in other joint operations such as this. So, Chief nodded and asked Valtrois when she would like these training regimes to start.

"As usual, we'll have to make a proposal to Elisande about it. If she doesn't deny taking it into consideration, which she might do, it will take sometime in her courts, who can also advise her to deny or accept the idea, to decide if it's worth it or not. All this might take a week or two for Elisande and her courts to either decline or accept the idea of a new training regime for our soldiers." Explained Valtrois, causing Courier to groan. Politics. Always troublesome for people like him.

"Perhaps I can help speed things up." Offered Courier. Time was very much against them as they didn't know if these soldiers had more allies in large numbers and he wanted as much time as he can to train them in proper tactics against such high equipped soldiers. "You saw me in action during the whole tree debate. I can do the same in this situation." Valtrois pursed her lips, pondering his words, before nodding.

"Well, it will not hurt to try. For an outsider, you know well the ways of politics as well as using your words as an effective weapon." Said Valtrois. Courier just shrugged at that, knowing it was true.

"Just have me with you and Thalyssra when you make this proposal to Elisande and I'll do my best to make her see reason." Said Courier.

"We will summon you when we need you." Promised Valtrois. "Firstly, however, before we discuss further of this base and it's occupants, I must ask your leader a question." That caused the three Sigma members to look at Valtrois in surprise. "It's about him and my friend, the First Arcanist. So, if you two will please leave us." Courier and High Elf looked at Chief, wondering what he'll do. Chief, not seeing any harm, just nodded and motioned for them to help out other Nightborne in the base. So, with some reluctance, the two left, leaving Valtrois alone with the Master Chief. Once they were gone, Valtrois led Chief to a small room that gave them some privacy. However, to make sure that others will not be overhearing their conversation, Valtrois put up a barrier over them. With that done, she looked at Chief, who stared stoically at her.

"Is there a problem between me and Thalyssra?" Asked Chief, though he knew what the issue was. Valtrois sighed at that.

"I'm afraid there is." Said Valtrois before explaining. "It seems that Thalyssra has developed feelings for you." Causing Chief to blink in surprise. When asked how she came to this conclusion, she spoke about the incident with Ikit, to which she quickly added in that Ikit was fine when she sensed he grew shock and angry at that. She then told him of what Thalyssra did when she asked if she held feeling for him, to which Chief could only shake his head on. Great, he was going to break the heart of a woman now when he's going to deny her anything between us from going further then friendship. "*Sighs*As much as I'm happy that my friends has finally found someone she's interested in to create a family and continue her lineage, I'm afraid there will be some problems if she chooses you as a mate." Chief, though he didn't intend to start a relationship with Thalyssra pondered what the problem was.

"And that being?" Asked Chief. Valtrois sighed at that.

"It's Elisande." Said Valtrois. "She's not exactly a very…tolerant woman. She, while helped in the rebellion against our corrupt queen long ago, has the traits typical of the highborne back during the Night Elf empire. Arrogant. Looks down upon the lower classes of our people. And does not have a high opinion of other races. She had banished or killed a great number of Arcanists and nobles for having either affairs with a member of the lower echelons of our empire or for trying to uplift the younger races. She will not appreciate her First Arcanist having a relationship with a younger race. She may work with you, but it's only because you provide some worth to us without much in return." Chief, having suffered such people in the military before, couldn't help but shake his head at that.

"So, she'll either kill or banish Thalyssra for being with me?" Asked Chief, disapproval in his voice. "For just having feelings for me?"

"Only if she acts on them." Clarified Valtrois. "Although she is quite popular amongst our people so I doubt she'll banish Thalyssra. Maybe send her to fight those Orcs invading Azeroth and assassinate her there, perhaps? No matter what she does, however, I implore you to talk with Thalyssra about her feelings and to tell her to ignore them and to find someone else to love. No matter how much it hurts her."

"You don't want her to be in love?" Asked Chief. Though he planned to deny Thalyssra these feelings for him, he didn't actually expect Valtrois to support it. The question caused Valtrois to look at him incredulously.

"Of course not!" Yelled Valtrois, glaring at Chief. "What kind of a friend will I be if I don't wish for her to be happy and living a tranquil life with someone she loves? *Sighs* But, at the same time, I don't want her to die because of said emotions. In a perfect world, I would support and encourage her to follow those feelings for you, but Elisande is in command and she holds more sway than Thalyssra does. And Thalyssra is needed for the benefit of our people. She's one of our best politicians and looks our for the safety and wellbeing of all classes of our society. It will be a great shame for us all if she dies. *Sighs* So, as much as it pains me to do so, I ask you to deny Thalyssra what her hearts desires." Seeing the pleading look on Valtrois' face, Chief nodded.

"I was planning to anyway." Said Chief, causing Valtrois to look at him in surprise. "Courier told me that Thalyssra was in love with me or at least hinted at it. As much as I suspect he wanted me to accept her feelings, I can't. A Spartan's duty is to the UNSC only. They can't form relationships with other beings, even those within the UNSC's jurisdictions. To do so hampers our ability to protect the UNSC's interests, people, and to complete any task assigned to us. What if that person we formed a relationship with was captured by the enemy or is danger by them? Should we risk our teammates, the mission, maybe even the entire UNSC for that one person? The mission we Spartans take are the type that, if we fail, can costs millions, even billions, their lives. And we may throw those lives away because we choose to help that one person to us over all of them. That's why I can't form a relationship with your First Arcanist. I can't take the risk that I may throw away a mission just to save her from harm. Would you?" Valtrois, shocked at all what she just heard, used her magic to sense if Chief was telling the truth. To her shock and disbelief, he was, making her wonder what kind of battles and wars this UNSC had to deal with in order to put this man through such important missions. After thinking about it, Valtrois decided she didn't want to know.

"So…when will you do it?" Asked Valtrois, looking at Chief in slight fear at what she all heard from him.

"Soon." Said Chief. "I just hope that Thalyssra can take it."

"She can." Said Valtrois. "She's strong and can wither a great deal of things. Plus, she will understand your position greatly. She'll put the interest of our people over her own feelings as well. However, I feel quite horrible and ashamed for requesting that you do this for our people's betterment. For ten thousand years, I've seen Thalyssra reject the advances of other nobles and Arcanists, either due to their own faults or she does not find them suitable for her, and when she finally finds one that she wants to form a relationship with, it is one that will both cause problems for our people as well as someone that cannot afford to do so. Or rather does not wish to risk it in fear of what he will do when she is in danger." Chief just nodded at that, agreeing with Valtrois a great deal. With that done, she released the barrier and allowed Chief to leave, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

"I'm very sorry Thalyssra." Thought Valtrois. "But unless Elisande is either voted out of office or killed, you can't be with that man. Even then, it's quite slim with him."

Meanwhile

Jack and Ikit

"Stupid elf lady! She pay-die for this!" Yelled Ikit as he shook his head to get rid of any excess water from his fur, spraying everything on the beach both he and Jack was on. Unfortunately, there was still some water left in his suit that prevented him from using any of it's base functions. Well he can, but unless he liked to blow himself up, he couldn't. Making him essentially useless until it's all completely dry. And even then, he had to check everything in his armored suit to see if the water did any damage to it's fragile internal systems, which he can't do until he was back at Torrington. As a result, Jack requested Cortana send a transport to Suramar so Ikit can do just that. It'll be awhile until it arrived so until then, the two were laying the beach near Thalyssra's estate.

"I mean, you kind of pissed her off by saying those things, man." Said Jack as he looked at Ikit spray water everywhere, including himself. He pilot suit was wet as well, but unlike Ikits', his suit can still function even if wet. "You kind of deserved it, in my opinion." Ikit growled at that before looking at Jack with his beady green eyes.

"If purple elf thing can't handle words then she no-no fit being leader. Yes-yes. Words are true." Said Ikit as he clenched his metal claw hand. "One must be firm-strong and ruthless to be good leader. Yes-yes. Must be willing to sacrifice underlings! Must let them die-die without much thought. Yes-yes. Can't let pity overtake or rivals be using it against you. To sneak-kill you. Yes-yes. That is Skaven way." Upon hearing that, Jack widened his eyes in shock. Though he was angry with what Ikit was saying, he was more surprised at how convicted he was in saying his words.

"How common is this way of thinking? That it makes you think pity or mercy will cause rivals to use it against you?" Asked Jack, not accusing Ikit or anything. Ikit, upon hearing that, tilted his head before speaking.

"All Skaven! All Skaven have this smart thinking. Yes-yes!" Yelled Ikit. "We smart people. We know how world works. From birth. Yes-yes. We know that only strong survive and thrive in world and that weak only exist to serve strong in all ways. Yes-yes. We also know that strong can easily be taken down by weak if allow emotions to get in way of being strong. If strong ones show pity or other weak emotions, underlings or rivals will use that against them to sneak-kill them. Then take what belongs to them, so it becomes theirs'. Yes-yes. Strongest Skaven leaders know this. That is why they leaders. Yes-yes." Ikit then turned to Jack. "Understand? World not like stupid stories of pink-things or elf-things. World is ruthless. Uncaring. Only existing for the strong and the weak. And that it constantly challenges both to look-see if either deserve change of position or stay of position. Yes-yes." Jack, upon hearing all that, sighed in sadness. As much as he wanted to be angry at Ikit, he could see that, within his eyes, Ikit truly believed in his ideals. Not because he choose it willingly, but because it was the only thing that he knew. The only way that can keep him alive in a world where everyone was out to kill you and take your wealth and power for themselves. It was very sad, really. And was probably why he didn't speak about this people that much. He probably thought they'll be disgusted with his people's way and oust him from the group and in such an foreign land with no allies and no permeant place to call home, that was a death sentence. Something that Ikit knew very much.

"No friends amongst your people? No people that believe that pity isn't a weakness?" Asked Jack. Ikit laughed out at that.

"Silly human." Said Ikit. "All Skaven selfish and only look out for themselves. Yes-yes. From birth, as said, we fought each other for food and room. We fight-kill siblings over such precious resources. We fight fellow clan rats for food and recognition. We sabotage work of colleagues to make them be punished-killed or to make them look bad so we look better. Always this happen. Always. No, what you call friends, with Skaven. Yes-yes. Only lab rats, backstabbers, and food amongst Skaven people. Yes-yes." That caused Jack to be even more sad about Ikit. Having no friends and always certain that people will backstab you or kill you will leave you very bitter and cynical about the world. Jack could attest to that, having seen good friends become hollow shells of their former shells after their homes and loved ones were killed during the war between the Militia and the IMC. Except for Ikit, it was much worse. It was done at birth for him, after all. It made Jack wonder if Ikit could change for the better. Or if he even wanted to change for the better. He didn't know how old the rat was, but he was clearly old enough to make him dead set on his ways being the best course of survival. Still, he was going to try as, despite himself, he grew to trust and like the rat, seeing him as a good ally and perhaps friend. A crazy and psychotic friend that will kill you with their experiments in brutal ways, but still a friend.

Jack was about to speak again with Ikit, trying to help him see another way of thinking, when he suddenly heard the dull thud of boots crashing into the sandy beach they both were in. It caused Jack to look around, finding the source to be a bunch of humans wearing black clothing on them. Further inspection on them revealed to Jack that they had decaying flesh on what skin he could see, meaning they were Forsaken. The humans, three in total, stopped before the pilot and rat before speaking.

"Greetings, Jack Cooper." Said the leader, her raspy and dry voice being somewhat heard to listen to, but Jack listened regardless. "I have a message from the Banshee queen. She wished to speak to you regarding something." Upon hearing that, Jack rose an eyebrow.

"What is it that Sylvanas wants of me?" Asked Jack. He didn't do anything wrong to her. Nor did the team for that matter. What does she want with him? If it was assistance for the Orc invasion, then he was all for it, but he had a feeling that it wasn't about that.

"She will not say." Said the Forsaken leader. "All she asked was that you return with us to the Blasting lands, where she will speak with you on matters that she claims are best left between you two." Jack, a bit nervous at hearing that, wondered if it was about him and Vereesa. The two were dating and had planned to do another one after this whole Orc invasion was contained and it was clear that neither were needed to deal with it. She told him that Sylvanas was aware of it from her last letter to her, but so far, she hadn't received a letter indicating how she felt about it. So, with the evidence that he had with him right now, he could guess it was about him and Vereesa. Gulping internally, Jack knew he had to go. Sylvanas, according to…well everyone he talked to about her, she was not one that liked it if she was denied. And had a very terrible temper on those that deny her summoning. Given that and his want to be on her good side, as she was the sister of the woman he was dating, Jack knew he had to go with the Forsaken.

"Alright." Said Jack. "Let's go and meet Sylvanas." Nodding at that, the Forsaken motioned Jack to follow them, causing him to get up and look at Ikit. "Coming with?" Ikit just growled at that.

"Be stay here-here." Said Ikit. "Not interested in seeing dead elf thing. She not looking for me. She looking for you. Yes-yes. To kill or hurt? Me-me not know. Rather not be there if she looking to kill-stab you. No-no. Like living." With that, Ikit went over to Thalyssra's estate, now done talking. Not sure if Ikit was being smart or not, Jack nonetheless followed the Forsaken to a nearby portal that would take them to Sylvanas. As he traveled through the portal, Jack hoped that the banshee queen wasn't interested in killing him for dating her sister. Her younger sister at that.

Meanwhile

Chief

Thalyssra was inspecting the architecture of this base, marveling at it's designs, even if she found them dull and boring, when Master Chief spoke.

"We need to talk." Said Chief, in the dull tone that she had grown accustomed to hearing from him. Surprised slightly at hearing his voice, Thalyssra looked at Chief in surprise.

"What is it?" Asked Thalyssra, turning fully to the Spartan. "Is there something that you have uncovered from this facility?"

"No, we need to discuss something…personal." Said Chief, causing Thalyssra to blink in surprise. "Can you put up a barrier over us, prevent people from hearing us?" Thalyssra, still surprised at all this, nonetheless nodded before doing so. Once she did, she asked what all this is about. "I spoke with your friend Valtrois. She claims you have feelings for me and want me to be your lover and mate. Is this true?" Upon hearing that, Thalyssra widened her eyes in shock and a light blush appeared in her cheeks, darkening her purple skin to a darker purple color.

"Oh my. What has caused Valtrois to come up with such a conclusion?" Asked Thalyssra, though she knew the answer. Chief, however, wasn't going to sugarcoat this and spoke.

"Thalyssra, I'm sorry, but we can't be together." Said Chief, causing Thalyssra to widen her eyes at that before adopting a hurt look, causing Chief to feel like he just kicked a puppy or something. It stung to see her sad because of him. "Thalyssra, we just can't be together. Between Elisande, her influence, and the threat to your position, we can't do anything beyond mere friendship. Even if those thing didn't exist, I'm a Spartan. We…we're not suppose to form families or grow attached to a single individual. Those attachments might cause us to abandon a mission in favor for keeping them safe or even just to ensure their safety. And with the type of missions we go on, such…distractions would cause the death of thousands. Millions. Maybe even billions. That's why, along with other things, I can't be with you. I'm sorry, but I just can't. There's too much responsibilities on a Spartan to be with someone. Especially one as you." Thalyssra, upon hearing all this, let out a few tears as she turned around. She couldn't explain it, but she felt her heart being broken as Chief said his reasoning why they couldn't be together. It was all logical to her, but it still broke her heart at hearing it all. Having never actually felt anything like this before, except when she learned her entire family's death, but even then this felt even more personal, caused her to lower the barrier in pain. Chief, seeing the emotional state the Arcanist was in, wanted to comfort her, but didn't know if he should, lest he go back on his decision to deny the First Arcanist her feelings. He was about to go and leave her alone when she turned and it caused him to stop. Seeing the tear laden face of the Nightborne lady, caused Chief to look at the tall woman in pity. Then, before he knew it, he went over and began to wipe the tears away from her face, trying hard to delicately do so.

Thalyssra, though still hurt with his decision, felt at peace at what he was doing, allowing it all to happen. Looking at his golden visor, Thalyssra wanted to see the face behind the helmet, but thought that would make this even more unbearable. Seeing the steel expression on his actual face and not his helmet, seeing no regret on it when he denied her emotions towards him, it might make her even more sad. So, she refrained from wanting to take it off from him or asking him to remove it. Once he was done, Chief took a few steps back. Seeing the Arcanist was still sad, Chief, still unsure if what he did was the right decision in regards to his want to have a professional relationship with the Arcanist, spoke.

"I'm sorry for making you cry." Said Chief. "Had I not been a Spartan and been a normal citizen of the Alliance, I may have actually accepted your feelings." Thalyssra, though touched at the sentiment, did not feel that she would have still had the same feelings as she did now for Chief if he had been born a normal Alliance citizen. Maybe even a soldier or mage. There was something about him being a Spartan that appealed to her. Made her want him. But alas, it wasn't meant to be.

"It's alright." Lied Thalyssra, knowing what she just said was a lie. "I understand your reasoning perfectly. Truth be told, I haven't pondered much of the consequences of us being together. Elisande would have my head, or at least banish me, if I mated with someone of the lower classes of Suramar. Even more so, if I mated with someone from another race. And given my people need someone like me in Elisande's courts, I cannot allow that to happen. And that is not taking into account of your own responsibilities with your own government. So, I cannot blame your for rejecting my recently acquiesced feelings for you. If only you have been borne a Nightborne nobleman or Arcanist. Then perhaps things would be different."

"Perhaps." Said Master Chief as the First Arcanist walked up to him and placed a hand on his chest. For a moment, Chief thought she was going to collapse on him, but she just donned a sad smile, causing his heart to tug a bit, if only a little. The tug caused a part of him to wonder if he should take the forbidden fruit in front of him. To take the Arcanist in his arms, apologize for hurting her, and claim her as his own. But that part was soon dissipated by his passion to his duty and his discipline.

"I thank you for dealing with this quickly." Said Thalyssra, voice a bit weak, but still strong enough for him to hear. "Better to deal with it now than to do it later when the wound would be even more painful." Chief, not sure what to say, was about to change the subject when a cough caught both of their attention. Looking behind them, the two saw Courier and Valtrois there.

Valtrois, sensing the hurt from her friend, realized what was going on and it pained her. She'll have to comfort Thalyssra over this later, but for now, there was something that required their ally's attention. Courier, also understanding what happened, was mentally shaking his head on what Chief did. Yup, he definitely needed his help in mending this situation. In fact, he probably is going to have to convince Thalyssra to keep her feelings for Chief and try to keep fighting for his affection. Otherwise, that Spartan is going to die alone because he has no idea who else would want him. Well, maybe Shandris and some Spartan chicks. There were female Spartans, right?

"Chief, we got a message from the Alliance and Horde." Said Courier. "They've pushed the Iron Horde back to their portal and are requesting our aid in taking that portal. Jack is already there helping out the Horde, but the want all of us there to help out. C'mon, if we hurry, we might be able to help out before the battle for that portal starts." With that, Chief went back his usual self and went to Courier.

'Then let's go." Said Chief before looking at Thalyssra, who just nodded.

"I'll keep searching this base and let you know of anything of note here." Said Thalyssra, still a bit said, which was noticeable to all of them. Courier, hearing that, elbowed Chief, who allowed it, before he took off with Master Chief. Once they were gone, Valtrois looked at her friend in sympathy.

"I…I'm sorry Thalyssra, but it was for the best for our people." Said Valtrois before hugging her friend who she considered a sister. "I'm sorry." Thalyssra, now that she was alone with a trusted friend again, let loose her tears again.

Sometime later

Horde and Alliance embassy building

"You fucking blew it, you know that, man." Said Courier as he prepared his guns along with Chief and High Elf Archer. Ikit, much to his annoyance, was being taken back to Torrington to get clean up as his equipment hadn't been dried up yet and no mage was willing to cast a cleaning spell on him, meaning he won't be participating in the battle against the Iron Horde, which Courier explained to Chief was the name of the Orc horde invading Azeroth. Angry, he blamed Thalyssra for causing him to be placed in the river, but left without too much complaint on the Pelican back to their base, leaving the other three team members to help Jack, the Horde, and Alliance out. Cortana, after they contacted her, sent a transport full of Titans and weapons to help them out and should arrive there in the Blasted Lands in fifteen minutes, just enough time for them to understand the game plan of both Horde and Alliance armies. Meanwhile, as they were preparing to go through the portal that'll take them there, Courier was arguing with Chief. "She was a keeper and you just rejected her the moment you realize she got the hots for you man."

"It was necessary." Said Chief as he checked his ammo reserves on how much ammo he had as well as his armor for any faults. "Both for her future and my own. It hurt her, yes, but it'll pass and she'll find someone else to love."

"Yeah." Agreed Courier. "But, what about you? Will you find anyone to love? Before you suddenly end up dead? What's the harm in falling in love? Even for a brief moment? There's nothing wrong with it?"

"Other than it may impede our duties?" Asked Chief, looking at Courier, who looked back at him. "Trust me, it's better this way."

"It isn't." Said High Elf Archer, looking at her leader with her green eyes. "I know it may sound selfish, Chief, but give it a shot. Love is a very fickle beast. Sometime it gives you a lot of chances for it. Other times you just get one chance at it. This may be the case for you. Don't you want to be happy? Even for a few moments? Not happy out of a job well done, mind you, but out of happiness of being with someone. Someone you can love with all your heart?"

"And risk failing a mission because of it?" Asked Chief.

"Yeah, there's risk in falling in love, but sometimes the risks pay off well." Said High Elf Archer. "You shouldn't let your fear of it affecting your duty impede your love life, Chief. Even if it does sound selfish and wrong in your book. Besides, your someone that deserves to have a chance at love, from what I've heard about you from Cortana and yourself."

"Yeah man." Said Courier, agreeing with High Elf Archer. "After all this is over, go and apologize to Thalyssra and take her out in a date. It's not going to hurt both of you. And don't worry about repercussions, we'll take care of it." Chief, annoyed slightly with his teammates insistence on this, was about to reprimand them when an Alliance soldier quickly ran up to them. Looking at him, they were surprised to see his wild eyes.

"Team Sigma! You must come quickly! It's urgent!" Yelled the Alliance soldier. The way he spoke so urgently caused them all to look at him in shock.

"Why?" Asked Courier. "What's going on?"

Meanwhile

Blasted Land

Jack was blinking heavily as he stirred himself back to consciousness, feeling a headache forming up. Groaning, he sat up from the ground he was in to see Forsaken and other Horde soldiers scrambling to fight off something.

Grabbing his head, which had his helmet on, Jack thought back to what happened before he was knocked unconscious.

One moment he had been discussing with Sylvanas over the Iron Horde, himself and her sister's relations with him when suddenly explosions permeated all over the Horde camp he was in. The explosions happened so quick and fast that Jack couldn't do much as he fell off the watch tower he was in with Sylvanas as it was destroyed by an explosion. Thankfully his jump pack saved him from fatal damage, but it wasn't enough for him to not be knocked out. And so here he was. Waking up in the middle of a battlefield.

Shaking his head, Jack saw a Troll casting spells at something in front of it when a figure slammed into it from the Troll's left, tackling the Troll to the ground before several more figures came and went at the Troll. Jack could hear the Troll's screams as the figures began stabbing him with rusty swords or knives. It was then that Jack could see the figures clearly, focusing on them until he could make them out to be, to his shock, giant rats.

Man-sized rats with brown fur and beady red eyes. He saw them using their rusty knives and swords at the now dead Troll, even using their teeth to rip out chunks of flesh from the Troll, swallowing the juicy meat with a ferocity only hunger can give. After finishing off the Troll, they soon spotted Jack and began screeching out in hunger-enhanced fury. They then went on their hindlegs and charged at the helpless pilot, teeth gnashing, hungry for his flesh.