If you want to survive, only save someone if they're worth the consequence...

The cold ODST was restless. After a day of trying to teach Mim some English, with a little progress, the night had risen and brought the freezing cold with it. McArthy couldn't get sleep in this cold, his shivering body making it too difficult. The lamp was helping, but not enough for him to even feel safe falling asleep.

He rolled over to see the glowing lamp between him and Mim, then looked past it at his avian companion. He noticed a slight shiver in her body as well. It seems the cold was finally getting to her, yet she seemed to get to sleep anyway.

McArthy grunted as he rolled onto his back, unsure of what to really do. He didn't want to pull the lamp closer and take the warmth away from Mim. For one he'd look like a greedy asshole, and two, she probably needed it as much as he did.

His shaking was getting worse, too. He could hear his armor tapping the ground constantly, and he could barely hold his head straight.

After a few minutes of silent suffering, he heard a small huff come from across. He turned his head to see Mim sitting up, watching him shake endlessly. His fakely smiled, though his helmet hid his face, then he said, "Don't have to worry about me. I'm just cold. I'll get over it."

The two stared at each other for a few seconds more, then Mim tilted her head and let out a questioning squawk. McArthy chuckled, then asked, "Do you, by chance, have a blanket of some kind?"

Mim looked at him quizzically, then shook her head. She turned to the lamp, then nudged it towards him. McArthy grunted, then nudged it back and said, "You were shivering too. You need it as much as I do."

Mim sighed deeply, then shrugged her shoulders, lacking any ideas. McArthy, however, had one, but he didn't like it one bit. He took a deep breath, then exhaled and said, "I think we need to… sleep together. Body heat, back to back at the very least."

Mim stared blankly at him, seemingly processing his words. They weren't able to touch on a lot earlier, so she still likely had no clue what he meant. She did understand writing a lot better, but it was still minimal.

McArthy grunted, then slid his hand across the floor, grabbing the journal and pen, then he opened it up and wrote, "Body heat, back to back."

Once he was done, he spun the book around on the ground and pushed it towards Mim. As she read the words, McArthy defensively raised his hands and said, "If you don't want to, I understand. It's a very strange thing to do, especially with an alien. I'll manage the cold for tonight."

Mim peeked up from the journal and watched him explain, then slid the book away with a huff and reached behind her body. After a few seconds, her back and chest plate fell off her body, then she neatly stacked them against the wall. She took off her arm pieces as well, placing them on the wall, then lowered herself to the ground again.

She grabbed the lamp, pulling it close to her head, then she gestured to McArthy. He stared at her, then she rubbed her back and gestured to the journal. A shocked expression spread across the trooper's face as he realized she was agreeing. Maybe being uncomfortable about it was just him, maybe he was just squeamish.

He put his hand around, taking the armor he could off his back so she wouldn't be as uncomfortable. Once he put it off to the side with his helmet, he nervously slid his back against Mim's. Almost immediately, he felt her muscles tense up.

McArthy couldn't help but feel rude making her feel uncomfortable, but manners weren't exactly a priority anymore. Still, he did feel bad, but he was already feeling warmer. Like he thought, the closer proximity to the lamp, along with their body heat, really chased away the shivering. He was still cold, at least on his front, but he could finally get some real rest.

The morning sun rose over the forest trees, shining bright light through the cave entrance. The air was still bitter cold, but it has warmed up to a much more livable temperature. McArthy had awoken to the sound of metal clattering behind him, giving him a small spook as he stirred.

He turned his body to see Mim wide awake, dismantling another plasma pistol next to the dim lamp. She quickly discarded the pistol, plugging a new battery into the lamp. Its light returned, then she quickly turned the lamp off and pushed it to the side.

Mim looked around the cave, searching for something, then looked at McArthy. She let out a squeak of surprise at seeing him watching her, obviously unaware he had awoken. He chuckled as he watched her recoil, then her expression drooped, seemingly disappointed from her own jumpiness.

McArthy slowly rose from the ground, chuckling, and said, "Everyone gets scared, don't gotta get all down about it."

She looked at him blankly for a moment, then her expression seemed to soften as she let out a huff of amusement. McArthy watched as she walked over to the discarded plasma pistol, then she lifted it up and gestured to it.

He could see she was trying to remember a word, then she pointed at the pistol and slowly said, "M...more? More."

McArthy nodded his head as he stretched his body. She must be out of power sources for her lamp. As he stretched his arms, he asked, "So, do you have more stashed around?"

After a few seconds of staring, Mim dropped the plasma pistol and walked over to the journal. She lifted it off the ground with the pen, then opened it and quickly scribbled something down. After half of minute of thinking and writing, she spun the journal around and presented it to McArthy.

He leaned forward and read, "Steal from Covenant. Need more."

McArthy tensed up as he thought about that. In all honesty, he didn't like the idea of attacking the Covenant still on the planet. But, that was one of the things keeping him going, the idea of him being a pain in the ass to the same bastards that killed his friends. And stealing weapons from them seemed like a perfect way to do just that.

After a few seconds of self-deciding, he nodded his head confidently, then asked, "Alright, let's do this. Just… how are we going to do this?"

Mim squawked, then jumped around him to the wall. McArthy turned to see her run up to his sack, swiftly opening it and placing the book and pen inside. She then lifted his armor and walked over to him with it, a pep in her step.

He took the armor as she dropped it into his arms, then squawked and pointed at the cave entrance. She really wanted to get going, which pushed him to hurriedly put his armor on. Once he slipped his helmet on his head and had his sack fastened to his back, he turned to see Mim waiting at the cave entrance, a carbine now in her grasp.

Baffled, McArthy was about to question how she got it, but she simply gestured for him to follow, then moved out of the cave. He grunted, feeling like he'd never get an answer, then followed her out into the forest.

The ground had a small layer of snow on it, but McArthy knew the snow would start to come down heavier soon. And unfortunately, a cave wasn't going to do it for when that happens, at least the one they had. They'd have to move, or risk getting trapped and freezing to death.

Mim led him through the forest, going in a new direction. She seemed to know the area very well, not making a single misstep or wrong turn. The same couldn't be said for McArthy, who seemed to trip over every slightly hidden tree stump or rock. As it kept happening, the trooper wasn't even worried about getting hurt anymore, he was more worried about looking like a clumsy ass in front of his friend.

Every time he stumbled, she seemed to turn to him with a hint of concern, only for the concern to be washed away with obvious amusement. McArthy would only let out a grumble after he stumbled, but soon enough it had happened enough times he couldn't help but chuckle a little himself. He was surprisingly thick skinned when it came to the cold, but snow itself was annoying for him. It obstructed anything on the ground, it had an annoying crunching sound that made his ears just feel uncomfortable, and it was literal hell to trudge through when it became too tall or sludgy.

After an hour of traversing the forest, Mim seemed to stop behind a rock body. She crept around to it's edge, then peeked over the top. She gestured for him to look, making him peek over the rock as well. They seemed to be at the top of a hill, and all the way down the slope, on a large flat area, was a Covenant base. It was quite the distance away, too far for him to make stuff out clearly, even with his visor's magnification, then an idea struck him like a truck.

He plucked the sniper scope he had taken off his waist, then raised it to his eye and zoomed in. Now, he had a very clear and close view of the base. It was larger than the one he had ran into some time ago, much larger. He could see about three groups of grunts, each led by a single blue elite, marching around the base's perimeter. He could see a large entryway, which had multiple crates sitting outside it with grunts coming in and out, taking crates out of the base.

McArthy felt a tap on shoulder, then turned to see Mim trying to view the base with her carbine. She grunted, then said, "See… crates."

McArthy nodded his head, then turned back and looked at them again. As he looked, he heard Mim say, "More."

He nodded his head, understanding what she meant. Those crates had weapons in them, but why were they removing them?

He turned to ask, but Mim was a step ahead of him. She held up her finger, seemingly trying to find the word, but grunted when she couldn't. She then turned to the snow below them, then ran her clawed finger through the snow, trying to write a word.

Once she was done, he saw the word, "Broken.", sitting in the snow. McArthy nodded his head, then asked, "Are those our targets?"

Mim took a minute to figure out what he said, then slowly shook her head. She then pointed into the sky and said, "New… soon."

McArthy followed her finger into the sky, not exactly sure what she meant. But, one thing he did see as he looked into the sky, made his hair stand on end. High up in the sky, probably in orbit, sat a massive Covenant ship. It was lazily floating above the planet, it's simple existence being enough to put McArthy on edge.

He honestly hadn't noticed it before, he doesn't know how he didn't. His focus on the ship disappeared as he heard a cough come from Mim. He turned to her to see her gesture towards his scope. He lowered it from his face, assuming she wanted it, then held it out. She happily took it from his hand, then raised it to her eye and looked out at the base. After a few seconds, then gave him a tap and held out the scope, pointing down at the base.

McArthy looked through the scope, following her finger, only to see a pair of elite Ultra's exit the base near the crates, discussing something. He felt Mim manually lower the scope slightly while he looked through it, adjusting his sight to one of the groups patrolling the perimeter. He watched them walk around the base, then he heard Mim chirp.

He turned to her, then she said, "Know… shed...schedu...le."

"Oh, you know their patrol schedule?"

Mim nodded her head, then pointed at the base, then pointed to herself. After making that gesture a few times, she said, "Old..."

McArthy didn't know what she was trying to say, but she didn't give him much time as she placed her carbine on her back and walked behind him. He froze as he listened to her open up his sack, then she shut it and came back around with the journal and a pen in her hands. She lowered herself onto the ground, then motioned for him to join her.

The ODST took a final peek at the base, then lowered himself in front of her and watched her open the journal. She wrote down the words, "Sneak...tonight."

So she wanted to attack at night. He wondered why they had to lay down to read this, then Mim pointed at the sun. McArthy looked at it, then it struck him that it was past noon. He slept for a lot longer than he thought, no wonder he didn't feel very tired today.

He suddenly realized she wanted to wait until dark, then he watched her turn to some of the already written pages and squawked at him. He stared at the pages, knowing she wanted to continue learning until the time to strike came.

It's not like there was much else to do, and the necessity of the lamp required them to get the needed power. They were going to be here a few hours, so this was probably the best use of their time.

McArthy admitted he wasn't the best teacher, but as he slowly went over each word, he was glad Mim didn't complain about his lackluster teaching skills. She was probably glad to have something to focus on, something to take her mind off of their dire situation.

The two laid behind the rock, slowly working through the cold day as the sun lowered in the sky. The Covenant below lacked any knowledge of their existence, simply going about with their daily routine like any other day.

As darkness coated the sky, the stiff trooper pointed at one of the words as he bit into his last ration, then said, "Communication. People making contact between each other. Can you…"

He watched as Mim quickly nodded her head, then she cleared her throat and said, "Communication… yes?"

A small smile crept over McArthy's face, she was definitely getting better. They still had a long way to go before she could say a full sentence, for now everything she could say was in broken English.

He nodded his head, watching her eyes light up at his approval, then she flipped the journal to an untouched page and wrote the word down. Right next to it, she seemed to write something down in her own language. At this point she had done that for every word she's learned, so McArhty had to assume she was writing definitions to the best of her knowledge.

Once Mim had finished, she gazed upward at the now darkened and starry sky. McArthy followed her gaze, then turned to her and asked, "Now?"

She shook her head, holding up her finger in silence. A few minutes later, the sound of a phantom hummed in the air. Mim peeked back over the rock, McArthy following suit. They watched as a phantom slowly flew down towards the base, stopping right next to the crates that were moved out earlier today.

McArthy quickly finished his food, shoved the journal back into his sack, then slipped his helmet over his head. Once his sack was secure on his back, he grabbed his smg and turned to Mim, watching her view her carbine. Once she was done, she pointed at his scope, then back at the base.

The ODST quickly brought the scope up to one eye, looking down at the phantom and the crates. It appeared grunts were moving new crates out of the phantom, planting them next to the crates. He continued watching until all the crates were out of the phantom, then the same grunts began bringing the old ones into the phantom, the two Ultras from before viewing the process.

Mim tapped him on the shoulder, then gave a chirp and gestured for him to follow her. McArthy nodded, then lowered the scope and leveled his smg. The avian and the trooper both slowly making their way down the hill, keeping their eyes locked on the groups patrolling the perimeter.

The perimeter of the base had a loose tree line around it, giving the two something to hide behind as the patrols walked about. Mim was swift enough to stride behind a tree, tucking her body from the patrols' sight. McArthy wasn't so lucky, forcing himself to run at a low crouch towards the nearest tree.

As he slammed his back into the tree, he heard a curious huff come from one of the patrols. McArthy dared to peek his head, seeing the edge of a grunt peeking at the forest he and Mim hid in. Luckily, it didn't get the chance to look any further as the blue elite with it gave it a whack, forcing it to continue moving with the group as they passed.

The trooper let out a heavy sigh of relief, then turned back to see Mim staring at the base. He followed her gaze to see the phantom lift up and leave the base, obviously finished collecting the damaged weaponry. Suddenly, under the heavy sound of the phantom's engines, Mim bolted forward.

McArthy was caught off guard for a moment, then stumbled forward and followed her as quickly as possible. The two barely passed by two patrols' line of sight, making it past the alien barricades surrounding the base and nearing the crates.

The two Ultras from before were gone, leaving only a couple of grunts to begin moving the crates into the base. The crates obscured McArthy and Mim from the grunts' vision, and the barricades they were crouched behind hid them from the patrols. If they wanted to move forward for the crates, they'd need to kill the grunts.

Mim had the same idea as she turned to him and motioned one of her fingers across her neck, then pointed at the grunts. McArthy nodded, then the two moved up to the crates, watching the grunts move some into the base. The two hid beside opposite sides of the open doors, waiting for the grunts to walk back out.

The trooper watched with a hint of humor as Mim took a hold of the carbine by the barrel, holding it up like a bat, as she waited for the grunt to pass. He had to stifle a chuckle as he heard the grunts begin waddling back.

After a few seconds, he watched a stubby body wander directly in front of him, and his body naturally went into motion. He kicked one of it's knees out, then sent two silenced rounds through it's skull, dropping the grunt instantly. His kill was followed by a thick whack, prompting him to look up and watch the second grunt slump onto the ground. He looked up to see Mim give her carbine a quick wipe, then she placed it on her back.

The two quickly checked their surroundings, making sure the patrols weren't paying attention to the inside of the base, then Mim pointed inside to the already collected crates. McAtrhty nodded, then watched as she moved to the crates still outside and began opening them up.

McArthy moved into the base, seeing the room as a small storage area, clear of any more Covenant. He placed his smg on his hip as he began opening up the crates. The first few only held what looked like frozen rations, but soon he came upon two flatter crates. He opened one up, seeing two beam rifles stored inside. He smiled as he looked at the two weapons, then shut the crate and stacked the second crate on top of it.

As he was about to grab them, he heard the sound of rushing air far to his right. He spun around to see a white Ultra standing in a doorway, staring him down. McArthy froze, making eye contact with the elite. Something was off, it wasn't reaching for its weapon, taking advantage of McArthy's momentary and foolish vulnerability. The weirdest part about it, was that its eyes didn't hold a hint of hesitation, it's lack of movement was on purpose.

It was only a mere couple of seconds of silent staring, but the frozen trooper was finally able to pry himself free of his state and grab his smg, opening fire. The Ultra grabbed it's plasma rifle and ducked back into the building, it's shields taking any bullets that would've rammed into it's armor.

McArthy, unwilling to give up what they came for, grabbed the two flat crates under his left arm and rushed out of the base. Mim had an identical crate sitting on her back, magnetically attached, then she spun around to see him running from the door, shooting.

She jumped past him as he rushed out, letting out a squawk of concern and checking the door for herself. Suddenly, a bellowed call came out through the door, making Mim turn right back around and run to McArthy.

As he held the two crates under his arm, he pointed in the direction he came and asked, "Can we leave now?"

Before Mim could answer, McArthy heard a shuffle above, then launched his arm out and pushed Mim back. A purple needle suddenly zipped right past her face and dug right into McArthy's right shoulder, making him let out a roar of pain. Mim spun around and looked upward, letting out a shot with her carbine. Above them, on the building's roof, were four skirmishers, one who's head was immediately blown out by Mim's shot.

Two of the skirmishers had armor similar to Mim's, while the third wore gleaming golden armor. The golden one barked orders at the two, then the three had to jump backward out of sight to avoid Mim's fire.

She turned back to McArthy, who grunted as he ripped the needle out and chucked it away before it could explode. He picked his smg up again, blood running down his arm, then he said, "Let's go!"

Mim nodded, then the two began running for the edge of the base. Unfortunately, one of the patrol groups was on their end, and they noticed the commotion. Mim pointed at him to run right, then yelled, "Cover!"

He was slightly confused at what she meant, but decided to just assume and made a run for it. As he ran past the barricade, he watched Mim sprint right through the middle of the patrol, making the grunts jump in fear. She caught the whole patrol's attention as she ran for the forest, making them all quickly run after her in pursuit, leaving McArthy free to run in his own direction.

Unfortunately, that freedom didn't last long as more needles began racing past his body. His shoulder was bleeding more as he sprinted for the trees, but he had to make it. Once he had the trees, he'd have a better chance of killing whatever was behind him.

A needle skid past one of the crates as the trooper ran, then he reached the first tree. He slid the crates away as gently as he could, then jumped behind the tree and peeked around it, smg raised. He watched two red armored skirmishers running at him, needle rifles in hands, firing away. McArthy opened fire as he watched the needles strike the tree and zip past.

After half a mag, he was able to bring one of them down, then the second one tried to slow itself as the trooper's fire reached it, but that only made it an easier target. He fired a quick burst into the alien's head, making it fall to the ground near its ally. Despite his visible assailants being dead, McArthy was nervous about gathering the crates. He saw a third skirmisher, one in golden armor, yet it was nowhere to be found.

After a few moments of heavy breathing and thinking, he grunted and said, "Fuck it."

The ODST jumped away from the tree, scooping the purple crates under his left arm yet again, then began running away from the base as fast as he could. He could feel himself becoming slightly light headed, most likely from the blood loss. Right now, he had to at least get to that rock body they hid behind before he could check his wound.

After a few minutes of running, the injured trooper finally heaved himself up onto the hill, then walked around the rock and weakly fell into a sitting position. He pushed the two crates away from himself, then slipped his helmet of his and swung his sack around.

As he rummaged for his med kit, he heard the sound of footsteps quickly approaching, then reached around for his smg. Once he grabbed it, he turned only to see Mim jump over the rock, lwhipping her head around the forest in search, only for her eyes to land on him.

McArthy could see the concern in her eyes, then weakly waved his hand and said, "Don't get concerned over me… I'm fine."

His words were slow as he had quickly become tired. After all that adrenaline, blood loss, and running, it was all coming at him in one hard crash. He lazily grabbed the med kit and tossed it out of his sack, then pushed the sack aside and tried to grab the med kit.

Before he could touch it, Mim swiped it off the ground and walked next to him, opening it up. McArthy grunted, then said, "Hey, do you even know…"

Mim silenced him as he felt her grip his wounded shoulder, making him stifle a whine. She loosened her grip, then presented her still bandaged arm and said, "Even."

The injured trooper would've argued more, but he already used up most of the fight in him, so he simply gave in. Mim seemed pleased with his new lack of resistance, then began slowly repeating what he had done for her days ago. The sting of the spray let him know she was on the right track, then she began wrapping the wound.

The one thing he lacked was things to sew with, so he'd have to simply hope the needle didn't leave too large of a wound. As she finished, McArthy turned his head, only now beginning to feel the pain from the wound, along with seeing the amount of blood that had run down his arm.

After a few seconds, the felt Mim remove her hands, then she let out a chirp of satisfaction and presented the shut med kit back to him. He weakly accepted it, then put it back in the sack he had leaned against the rock. He watched Mim walk back in front of him, then he peeked back at the bandaging on her arm.

McArthy reached out for her bandaged arm and said, "You know, the wound should be fine by now, we can get that off of…"

Mim yanked her arm away from him, letting out a defensive squawk as she hid it behind her body. McArthy looked at her, confused, then brought his arm back and said, "Or you can take it off when you're ready, that's fine."

A strong breeze drifted against his skin, making his entire body suddenly realize how cold it was at once. He began shivering as he pulled his helmet back on, then he stood up and picked up his sack. His eyes blacked out for a moment, making him fall back, only for Mim to quickly grab him by the collar and keep him standing.

She yanked him back, trying to get him to stand, only for McArthy to lurch forward into her, sending the two falling to the ground. Mim squawked as he fell onto her, but McArthy quickly pushed himself off and let out a cough.

He slowly rose, waving his hand and saying, "Sorry, sorry, that was my bad. I'm just… off."

Mim stayed on the ground, staring at him with eyes of disappointment. He raised both his hands in protest and said, "It was an accident! I swear!"

He watched as she rose, letting out alien chuckles, then she pointed back in the direction of the cave. She then asked, "Make it?"

McArthy stared at her, not fully understanding her question, then turned to his two flat crates and said, "Um, we can get going. I can make the walk fine, I just need some rest after that."

Mim nodded, then grabbed one of his crates, leaving him to hold one under his arm. Once he had everything back on him, he turned and nodded his head in the cave's direction. Mim nodded, then began marching through the forest, the hurt trooper in tow.

As they walked, McArthy made sure to step exactly where Mim did, trying to avoid stumbling again. Every once in a while, he'd have to stop and lean against a tree, or just shove off of one for a boost of momentum. Mim's pace was visibly slower than last, her stopping to make sure McArthy was keeping pace.

The entire journey felt far more laborious the second time, for understandable reasons, but the tired ODST was frustrated by it. It took a bit longer to get back, but once they were at the cave, McArthy let out a long sigh of relief.

He let go of his crate as he walked in, sitting it next to the wall, then turned the bend towards the lamp. As Mim walked in and set her crates down, McArthy took off his chest and back armor, then wobbled. Before he fell, he felt Mim's hands grasp his arms, then she slowly set him onto the ground next to the lamp.

He let out a heavy breath, then curled himself up, trying to keep himself as warm as possible. He listened to the sound of the crates being opened, then he watched as the lamp was taken from his sight. After a minute of metal noises, he saw the glow of the lamp brighten the cave, then it was set down next to him.

His shiver did not disappear despite the new warmth, but it was fairly weakened. Given his condition, it was only a matter of time until he fell asleep. His eyelids became heavy as he slowly drifted to sleep, but before he lost touch with consciousness, he felt a hot body press against his back, then the world blackened.