Kato blinked slowly as he came to. Something was 't right. His energy shields had been drained, the warning alert beeping incessantly in his ear. He tried to stand up, but ended up flipping weightlessly forward. grabbing onto a nearby cryopod, he took a moment to look around at his surroundings.
Anything not bolted to the floor of the cryobay was floating about around him. The room was unusally dark, with the only lighting in the room being his own armor. 'Did something happen to the generators?' he thought, propelling himself to the door.
It was locked tight, sealed shut by its magnetic clamps. Kato knew this wouldn't happen under normal circumstances, usually only occuring when the ship experienced rapid depressurization from a hull breach caused by combat or a collision. But the ship hadn't experienced either. In fact, this ship was supposed to be part of a diplomatic flotilla. It made no sense that it would suddenly lose power.
Kato knew he needed to get out immediately. If he stuck around too long, he'd either run out of oxygen or be attacked by the Covenant. He wound up a punch and slammed his fist into the center of the door. It bent around his hand, but it wasn't enough to break the seal. Kato reached for another tool on his belt, an emergency release designed to free the doors if they were ever trapped inside them. This time, he managed to bend one of the metal prongs back until it snapped off. With some effort, he pulled open the door.
The hallway beyond was pitch black. A quick scan showed that all lights were dead.
It wasn't just the lights. Comms and life support were down all across this section of the ship. It was almost unnervingly silent as the armored teen floated down the hall. As soon as he got outside, he saw why. There was a large hole torn through the side of the ship, exposing the vacuum of space.
"Oh shit," Kato whispered. He looked around at the damage. The metal was warped and melted, consistent with damage from Covenant plasma projectors. And there was more than just that. All along the corridor, the walls were charred and broken. "What happened here?" he wondered aloud.
He continued forward, scanning the area for any signs of movement. After several minutes, he found what he was looking for: a small group of bodies lying near the edge of the gaping hole.
It was a massive clusterfuck of Covenant Jackals, Grunts, Elites, and UNSC Marines and ODSTs. It looked like fighting between the Covenant and Kato's former comrades had devolved into bloody hand to hand warfare.
Kato moved closer, examining each body. One Marine had been shot in the head. Another lay face down, his helmet blown away, revealing his mangled skull. Two others had their heads caved in, likely killed by grenade blasts. They weren't wearing helmets. Their faces were covered with blood and gore.
"Damn, the party started without me." the young Spartan grumbled. He grabbed a M6C pistol and a knife from one of his fallen comrades, then made his way down the hall. With the ship in this condition and evidence of a Covenant boarding party active aboard, Kato had little choice in what to do next. Cole Protocol was in effect.
Zun hovered over the body of the Zealot he had just slain. It had been a swift and painless death, cleaved in half by a quick slash of the Zealot's own energy sword. The Human's ship AI stared at Zun in horror and confusion.
"But you're Covenant too...?" They sputtered in confusion. "Why-"
"Some of us have grown disillusioned by this war." Zun explained coldly, kicking aside the corpse of his former superior. "My Kaidon in particular has been taking in Human refugees for nearly two decades now, and was the one who arranged this diplomatic mission. Now that you've been discovered in our system, steps must be taken to ensure the nature of your presence isn't reveales to the greater Covenant."
"Great, so a friendly bunch Elites," the AI responded sarcastically. "And i'm the Queen of England."
"Good to know. Assuming the damage to the ship as severe as it looks at from outside, it's unlikely you can maneuver the ship."
"No shit, Sherlock. That first blast nearly overloaded the reactor."
"I guess your Cole Protocol is the only option."
"How did you...?"
"Human refugees, remember? Also your masters and the Covenant have been at war for how long now?"
"Point taken. There's one problem though."
"That is...?"
"A member of the crew is still alive. I can't initiate Cole Protocol until I can confirm all crew is KIA or safely evacuated."
Zun stared at the AI, curious.
"Where are they?"
"Thier comm signal is very weak, but it seems he's making his way up from a section of the cryobay that got severed of during the fighting."
Zun clacked his mandibles, weighing his options. The human was likely to die anyway, but Zun couldn't risk his "allies" in the Covenant discovering his Kaidon's machinations. At the same time, he didn't fully trust the AI. It could be a trap to kill him.
"I shall retrieve them and take them to my Kaidon's territory." Zun declared. "They can find refuge there."
"How can I trust you?" the AI questioned. "You yourself already killed at least half of the security personnel."
"I wouldn't offer sanctuary if I didn't intend to seriously honor it."
A small insult to his pride and honor as a warrior. Zun understood that the AI was testing him, though. Their first and firemost responsibility was the safety of their crew, and Zun posed a direct threat to that.
"...Fine. hurry it up." The AI relented. "But I don't think he'll be nearly as receptive to this ideas as i am."
The Ranger nodded confidently before turning to head out the door. He figured this last survivor might be hostile to him at first, but he figured he could reason with them. If not, he would just knock the human out.
The Spartan jammed the blade into a Jackal's neck. Red blood began seeping out of the avian's wound, floating in little red globs around Kato. Another corpse to add to the growing pile of his wrath.
He didn't know how long he had been fighting the Covenant boarding party, just that he had been doing it for a while. Time just sort of... flowed while he was fighting. It felt like hours, but Kato knew it had only been a few minutes.
Reality set back in when a powerful kick to his side interupted his focus. Kato went flying into a nearby wall, only noticing the red blip on his motion tracker as he hit the wall. Acting fast, Kato pushed himself away from the metal bulkhead, barely dodging two green bolts that punched through the metal.
He spun to find his opponent, an Elite Ranger clad in standard white armor and engaing him with a Covenant Carbine. The Spartan barely had time to dodge the Elite's rapid fire, a few rounds bouncing off of his energy shielding.
Kato pulled the knife from the Jackal's throat and threw it at the Elite. The weapon bounced harmlessly off of the alien's chest plate. Kato was about to try again, but the Elite charged at him with a roar.
A flash of light caught Kato in the face, blinding him.
He hit the floor with a powerful thud, leaving an imprint as he pushed himself up. The young super soldier watched in shock as another Ranger with red markings began tussling with each other. It was clear the red marked one was of higher rank, barking commands to the plain white Ranger.
It seemed they were in disagreement about something, enough to come to blows. Either way, they were his enemy. He leapt to his feet and rushed the two Elites. They both turned, but the one with the carbine fired at Kato.
A blast of plasma shot past Kato's shoulder, burning his arm. Kato ignored the pain, charging at his foe. The Elite tried to shoot Kato, but he dodged the bolt by jumping over it.
The second one was distracted, so Kato grabbed the first's leg and flipped the creature. The two Elites tumbled over, the red marked one tossing Kato away and punched his suboordinate. The two Elites activated their jetpacks and wrestled for control of the carbine. They slammed each other about the room, denting the walls and floors further. Kato just barely got to his feet when the red marked Ranger was slammed into him at high speed.
The two fell to the ground and rolled, the red marked one landing on top of the other. Both of them struggled to get their weapons, and the red marked one managed to grab the carbine.
"No!" the blue-marked one shouted, trying to stop him.
"I'm sorry," the red marked one said, "but I have to do this."
Without thought or hesitation, the red Ranger blasted his comrade through his visor. Thick globs of grey flesh and purple blood floated from the descending corpse. The body landed on the floor, and the red Ranger stood up.
The red-clad Ranger looked down at the dead man, then at Kato. He raised the carbine, aiming it at him.
Kato didn't move. He just stared up at the Ranger. The alien lowered his gun, but kept it trained on the Spartan.
Kato looked at the shield meter on his HUD. They had been overloaded and shattered during the fighting, so attacking the Elite head on would be foolish. He had to play it safe. He slowly raised his hands to above his head, only for the massive alien to pull him in close. Kato's eyes widened in surprise.
The alien pressed his helmet against Kato's, the cold metal of it pressing into the Spartan's forehead. Kato felt a chill run through his body, but he didn't resist.
The alien's voice was muffled by the helmet, but it sounded like he was speaking in a language Kato didn't understand.
"Well, i certainly wasn't expecting a Demon," the Ranger joked. "I take it you're the remaining surviv-"
Kato kicked the Ranger in the chest and tried to push away. His opponent was swift though, using their jetpack to propel themselves at the fleeing Spartan.
"I apologize for this, but I can't let you run off just yet!" the Ranger grunted as he grappled on to the youth. Kato noted the strange twang in his accent. It felt familiar somewhow. Where had he heard it before?
The Spartan wouldn't get much time to ponder upon this, as he was thrown into the bulkhead and pinned by his larger opponent. The alien's weight bore down on Kato's shoulders, forcing his head down towards the deck. He could feel blood running down his nose from his broken lip.
The alien's forearm wrapped itself around Kato's neck and squeezed tightly.
Kato lay there, staring at his attacker's faceplate. He didn't know what the hell this guy was talking about, and he couldn't breathe.
"Calm yerself." The elite whispered softly. "I'm not going to hurt you... well, anymore than i already have." Kato wondered how this could be true. "But I will kill you if you don't calm down."
His assailant loosened their grip slightly and Kato gasped for air.
"I have no intention of hurting you." The Ranger spoke in a soft tone now. "But right now we're pressed for time. There's going to be more Covenant coming soon and your ship hasn't initiated Cole Protocol."
"You're not Covenant?"
"Technically. My species has been aligned with the Covenant for many millenia now, but my loyalties are to my Kaidon first."
"Oh cut the technical bullshit. I get enough of that from ONI." Kato snapped. "Why the hell should I trust you?!"
"It was my Kaidon who arranged the diplomatic meeting with your representatives. Now that you've been caught, he will face intense scrutiny unless I can assure this ship is scuttled and you're either dead or hidden away."
"Come off it. This was all a ploy!"
The Spartan charged the Ranger blindly, attempting to jam his knife into the Elite's neck. His opponent countered calmly, parrying the knife with one hand and slamming his fist across Kato's helmet with his other. Kato flew backwards and crashed into a nearby wall.
He tried to stand, but stumbled back and collapsed onto the deck again. He was dizzy from the blow and his vision blurred. The Elite lifted a boot and stomped down hard on Kato's back. He winced, feeling a sharp pain under his armor plates.
"Try that trick one more time and i'll throw you back into cryo." The Ranger snarled. "Please, just trust me."
"Trust you? You have no idea what you're asking! How am i supposed to trust someone i don't even know!?"
"I am not asking anything." The Ranger replied simply. "I am telling you to trust me. It's a simple choice."
"What am i supposed to say?" The human asked, looking up at the Ranger. "I don't trust you."
"Obviously. Now either we can come to an agreement or i can knock you the fuck out, you idignant cunt."
"I would literally rather die."
"Okay, knocked unconscious it is."
The last thing Kato felt before blacking out was his face being slammed into the wall.
The next time the young Spartan woke up, the Elite was standing over him. He was still wearing the same armor, and the helmet was missing and had his back to Kato. He was humming a tune Kato had heard somewhere before. The Elite had a warm brown coloration to his leathery skin, unlike the usual grey common amongst the Elites. He radiated a gentle warmth in the chilly room.
Kato glared venomously at the Elite. They were an idiot for dropping their guard after their fight, even going so far as to remove a bit of his armor as if to mock the youth. The Spartan tried to lunge at the alien, only to find his arms cuffed to a wall.
"Stop moving around and relax," the Ranger ordered.
He sat on the edge of Kato's cot and began gently stroking the youth's hair... Or what was left of it, given military standards. Kato had never had anyone touch him like that in nearly ten years. It felt nice. Familiar, somehow. Normally Kato would be trying to cripple anyone who tried to touch him, bit something about this Elite put him unusually at ease. Even his speech was different than normal Elites.
The Elite was singing something melodic that Kato vaguely recognized from his childhood. It was a lullaby sung to him by his mother when he was very small. How did this alien know this song? It wasn't like the Covenant spent its time digging through human literature and culture.
"Do you recognize the song?" The Elite hummed, his mandibles twisting into an awkward smirk. "It took me forever to piece it together from the old holo recordings..."
"Zun...?"