McArthy let out a long yawn as he kept his eyes shut, feeling very tired. One thing he felt was off was how warm he felt this morning, followed shortly by the feeling of something rubbing his waist along with something under his arms.

Slowly opening his eyes, he was immediately greeted by the sight of Mim's lowered face, her half open eyes looking up at him. They both widened their eyes as they noticed each other awake, then McArthy realized his arm was wrapped over her side while hers were very lightly placed at his waist. With a loud yelp he pulled his arms away and rolled over, making a sharp pain race through his body in the process. He grunted loudly from the pain, making Mim squawk with concern and move herself up to a crouch, looking over him.

With a soft groan, McArthy shifted himself back to look at Mim, "I-I am so sorry, I didn't- I mean I…"

Mim hushed him with a croon, then she placed her hand on his shoulder and said, "You kept warm. That is important part."

He stayed silent for a few seconds, then lightly grumbled, "Still, I didn't mean to grab you like that."

His avian friend simply chuckled, then she gave his shoulder a light squeeze, "It is just payback then, hm?"

In return, he chuckled too with a nodding head and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

McArthy rolled onto his back with a grunt, trying to stretch his body without hurting himself, then let his splayed out body go limp onto the mattress and asked, "So, what's the plan today? Got some important stuff to do?"

Mim shook her head, instead taking a seat next to him, "Only take care of you."

His face reddened from her reply, but he shook his head as he sat up and said, "I mean, I appreciate it, but it's not like I'm in need of constant care. What about the power? This place is getting colder by the day, you should work on that while I'm here, safe and sound."

She only grunted at his reply, leaning closer and saying, "But you are-"

Chuckling, he gently placed his hand on her beak, giving it a soft rub, and said, "I'm not gonna get any worse. You don't gotta worry about me flatlining in here. Trust me, I can tell the cold is getting to you, and this winter has just started."

The two stared silently at each other for a minute, McArthy pulling his hand back, then Mim huffed and said, "Fine."

He watched her stand up in front of him, taking a moment to stretch her arms upwards and her legs out. With a grunt, she pulled her limbs back and paced towards her armor. She bent over, making McArthy take a short glance to the side, and began to quickly put the armor on her body. She grabbed the part, then marched towards the door and squawked, "Do not move much."

With a smile and a two fingered salute, McArthy called, "Aye aye, ma'am."

Letting out a huff of amusement, his avian friend left the building and headed out into the snowy terrain.

Mim took her time with the power, about four hours, or at least that's what McArhty thought until she came back with a couple smaller prey items in her hands. This repair cycle she had replaced all the parts she brought, meaning they were much closer to fixing the power, but Mim was uninterested in talking about the parts she needed next. She was only interested in him, and she was acting… different.

McArthy noticed it yesterday too, but she was a bit more cozy. She would spend a good amount of time simply brushing her feathers clean, as well as getting very close to him. Today she even puffed her feathers out while he was trying to teach her, letting them slightly quiver as he turned to face her. He knew a lot about Covenant species, but these behaviors were beyond him.

The only gestures he properly understood was the closeness, which he had been blaming the cold for. All these things were giving him strange feelings, and the strangest feeling of all was that he wasn't exactly opposed to any of it. Having someone so close and caring felt nice, though any deeper intentions he thought of were pushed back as improbable.

Still, he knew what she was, and a lot of these actions didn't seem too out of the norm for an avian creature, so though he had a growing hope otherwise, he believed it was simple natural behaviors. Although said natural behaviors seemed too purposeful to be considered that, so maybe it was just a sign of her growing trust? Maybe, maybe a growing comfort around him to act more naturally? There were a list of possibilities, each one capable of making his cheeks redden.

He decided not to overcomplicate the situation and simply appreciate the comfort she provided him with.

The two settled into somewhat of a routine as the days passed. McArthy was unable to do things, though he was recovering with each day. One thing he had to push for every day was for her to try and work on the power, which she stubbornly refused, preferring to stay by his side. McArthy assumed it was a protective pack instinct at first, but he quickly threw that idea out of the window. While she was different and did have behavioral differences, she wasn't some wild animal. She wasn't bound to her instincts, so she was probably just protective of her only companion, which McArthy could understand. But the weather was only getting worse outside, and they would need the heaters in order to even survive if they got snowed in for multiple days.

But, like the first time, Mim would give in to his request after a little pushing and reassuring that he'd be fine. And each time she would return with something to eat, and by the fourth day he was able to sit up to cut and cook the food himself, though with discomfort.

Mim's behaviors seemed to increase with each day, and McArthy couldn't help but fall for a few of her 'traps', as he called them. Every once in a while he'd hear a loud banging of some kind and turn his head only to get an eye full of Mim's rear or outstretched legs. His cheeks would heat up more than he could imagine as he spun his head to look away. As provocative as these 'traps' were, he could tell by the chuckling afterwards that she simply found them amusing.

One day, she even went as far as to accidentally sit on his lap. He had finally been able get up on his feet and at least meander around, helping out wherever possible as he recovered slowly but surely. Mim had called out for him to assist her with deciphering a repair book for one of the heating elements. As he sat down to read it, she decided to place herself on his lap and look at the book herself. Once again, he futilely hid his embarrassment of her provocative behaviors as she shifted around to try and get the best vantage of the book.

But, progress was made, and after a little over a week, he was able to move quite normally, though not without some discomfort. His head sometimes felt off, and once in a while he'd wobble into the wall, each time making Mim jump to hold him up from falling over. He always chuckled at her attentiveness, but she was very serious about not letting him get anymore hurt.

It was only the day after that his legs felt much better, enough for him to take a test jog around the base, Mim following closely behind him. Though sore, especially at the joints, he was able to move fine. And luckily, his physical recovery came just on time.

#

McArthy grunted as he looked over the book Mim had found. Apparently she found it sitting high up on the top of one of the weapon lockers in the empty armory. He felt a little stupid for not checking that room out more himself, but it just seemed pointless. Now he knew otherwise, if he only knew this book was here he could've been able to begin helping Mim with the heating and power sooner.

His reading was interrupted as he heard a squawk come from across the room. He turned his head to see Mim had removed the grate from the heating vent on the ground, her head now looking into the vent as her rear was raised high in the air.

His cheeks burned red at the sight, then he shut the book and cleared his throat. He stood up from the chair he sat in and approached MIm, making sure to keep his eyes away from her behind.

Once he was next to her, he lowered himself to a crouch and asked, "Did you find something?"

She squawked again, then pulled her head out and gave it a shake, dust flying off her feathers and all around the two. McArthy squinted to keep the dust out of his eyes, letting out a sneeze.

Mim squawked as she turned to him, then said, "B-b-ble-ess you."

McArthy chuckled as he moved his hand away from his elbow, then said, "Thank you. So, what did you find?"

Mim chirped with elated eyes as she raised her hand, showing off a few shell casing and some scrap. With a hum, McArthy took one of the casing, holding it between his fingers.

Discarding it behind him, he gestured to the vent and asked, "So it's clear I assume?"

Miim nodded as she dropped what was in her hand and said, "Free of obs-s-structions!"

Smiling, he walked back over to the book he set down and asked, "So what else needs to be done?"

He picked the book up and turned back to Mim, watching as she scratched her chin, thinking. After a few seconds, she nodded, "One more part."

McArthy's smile widened as he put the book back down. He paced back to her and asked, "One part? That's fucking great! What do we need?"

Mim, however, was not as excited. She nervously gripped one of her arms, shifting her feet, then said, "We need… a ghost."

His excitement ground to a halt as his smile shrunk, taking in the realization of what that meant. He took a step back from her, then let out a grunt and said, "That's… gonna complicate things."

With a croon, Mim stepped forward, slowly sliding her hand onto his shoulder and said, "Do no- do… don't worry. We will get the ghost."

Her fingers gave his shoulder a squeeze, making him raise his head to face his avian friend. She kept her hand on his shoulder as she walked around him, then poked the back of his leg with her other hand and asked, "Ready for a fight?"

McArthy chuckled as he felt her talon poke him, her hand sliding from his shoulder across his back before she pulled it back. He turned to face her and said, "I guess I'm as ready as ever. I was able to run around the base without falling yesterday. Anyway, getting this power on is worth the risk with how cold things it's getting."

He could see the concern on Mim's face, then she asked, "And you are sure?"

Nodding his head with a smile, he walked up to the counter with his arm, swiping his helmet, and said, "I'm sure. Don't worry, I wouldn't lie to you."

Mim turned away from him with a small huff, then tucked her fingers into her belt, feeling the tags she had taken from his neck and quietly said to herself, "Maybe not anymore."

She kept staring at the tags, wondering when would be a good time to surprise him, when she turned back to see McArthy slowly putting the armor on his body. Squawking, she rushed to him and gently grabbed his arms.

McArthy looked at her quizzically and asked, "What's up?"

Feeling uneasy about taking him out to a fight so soon, she removed one of her hands, grasping the armor he was holding, and said, "Not… today."

To her surprise, McArthy sighed and said, "We can't wait much longer, Mim. Any day now we could get snowed in and freeze to death. The winter's only getting worse."

She dipped her head downward some, feeling torn about the situation. He was right, but no matter how right he was she just didn't want to run the risk of losing him. She only wanted him to go with her if she was sure he was ready, and she couldn't get a hold of a ghost without his help.

Releasing a hiss of frustration, she simply leaned forward with her lowered head and rested it against his chest, shuddering. After a few seconds of silence between the two passed, Mim felt McArthy's fingers brush through the feathers on the back of her head and softly rub her scalp, eliciting a croon from her.

Opening her eyes, she looked up at McArthy, who simply sighed with a small smile and said, "I know you're… worried. But please, I trust you, so trust me. I know when I'm ready for a fight, and we need these heaters on."

She quietly chirped, raising her head to meet McArthy's eyes. His smile grew a little as his fingers continued softly rubbing her head. Mim couldn't help but press her head into his fingers, shivers running down her spine from the sensation.

Finally, she let out a grunt and said, "I just want you safe."

McArthy chuckled, then gave her head a final rub, pulled his hand back, and said, "I know, and I'll be even safer once that heater is on so we won't have to leave the base as often."

As his fingers finally left her plumage, she gave her head a shake and trilled, then sighed, "Fine."

With that, McArthy turned around, continuing to put on his armor, and said, "You should be more excited. We're one part away from getting heating! Finally, we can get a night's rest without shaking our asses off! No need for the heat lamp or body…"

He paused at that last thought- not needing anymore body heat. Although having to sleep with Mim made him understandably uncomfortable, as time passed, them being forced to do it every night for warmth, he actually came to enjoy it. It was strange, he knew that, but he's gone so long in his life without someone to truly care about, he latched onto what little he could get. And all he had left at this point was this alien bird, though he honestly wasn't complaining. But losing that little contact, what has helped him to get comfortable rest at night, would he be able to go without it?

No, he was overcomplicating things. He'd be fine. It's not like getting the power back will make him lose his friend, they just wouldn't need to sleep against each other for warmth anymore.

Once his armor was all finally on, he walked over to his weapons and quickly checked his ammunition. He had two mags for his smg, and one for his pistol. He grunted as he placed the weapons on his thighs and put the magazines on his body, then turned to see Mim counting her buckshot.

Approaching her, he leaned against the counter next to them and asked, "So what base are we gonna steal this ghost from? The same one we stole those guns from last time?"

Mim nodded her head, then placed the shotgun on her back and said, "Getting the ghost will be… dif-f-ficult. De-f-fenses will be… tougher."

Nodding with her, McArthy said, "Yeah, makes sense since we robbed the fuckers. But it shouldn't be too bad, really. Once we have a ghost we just gotta bounce, and it will be our speedy ride out of there."

Once again, Mim placed her hand on his shoulder and asked, "Ready?"

McArthy smiled, then slipped his helmet on and said, "More than ready."

Turning with a croon, Mim took out the beam rifle McArthy tried to use before and held it out for him. As he took it from her grasp, she giggled and said, "Remember where the trigger is."

McArthy softly chuckled as he tested the weapons weight, "I'll try. No promises, though."

With the nod of her head, the two walked to the door, MIm pressing the button and watching as it creaked open. They walked out, snow softly falling down on them. In unison, the two shivered from the cold, a soft breeze only making the cold worse.

The door shut behind them and they made their way to the edge of the base, walking through the he broken fence into the white forest.

McArthy gestured out into the wilderness and said, "Lead the way, ma'am."

With a chuff, Mim walked forward and said, "Mim, not mam."

"No, I meant-" McArthy couldn't help but break into a fit of snickering, garnering an odd look from Mim. She tilted her head, confused. Has he already forgotten her name?

Once McArthy was able to control himself, he sighed and said, "Ma'am is just a word we use to address a woman. I did not get your name wrong, I swear."

Mim felt a tinge of embarrassment at the misunderstanding, ducking her head a little, then she chuckled and said, "Sure you did not."

She turned and continued walking forward, hearing her human release an amused scoff and say, "Mim, come on! Agh, alright, not gonna call you that again."

The t'vaoan released a small caw-like laugh, then motioned for him to keep following her as she navigated the wintery forest. It had been a while since they last were at that base, and Mim was surprised they got off as easily as they did. Since then she hasn't revisited the place, but if she knew the same protocols were still in effect, they would definitely have increased activity.

It was a long walk to the place, every step closer making Mim more and more nervous. Yes, McArthy was taking their current trek fine, but she hadn't even thought of whether he'd still be able to properly fight after such a long walk. They've only jogged around the base to use his legs a bit, but she pushed the fears away and decided to just trust his word.

They went most of the journey in somewhat silence save for the once in a while , McArthy quickened his pace to walk next to her and asked, "Hey, Mim, can I ask you something?"

"Hm?" she asked, still keeping her head facing forward, carefully watching their environment.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him dip his head a little, then he asked, "Do you think you'd be able to explain what happened to you? Ya know, that made you run away from the Covenant?"

Mim lowered her head, thinking. She honestly hadn't thought about whether she could tell the story or not. At his point she knew enough english to communicate it properly, she was just so caught up with McArthy's condition it escaped her mind, and apparently his too until now.

With a squawk, she slowed her pace and said, "Yes, mostly. But I may… miss a word, or two."

Chuckling, McArthy matched her pace, walking shoulder to shoulder, and said, "Fine by me. I'm just curious, is all."

Nodding her head, then pointed her gaze downward as she thought about her life before being deemed a heretic. At this point it's been almost two months since then, but she could still remember it like yesterday.

She let out a chirp, then said, "I was… not a soldier at first. I was a communications engineer. Heard a lot of human… chatter. How I learned some english, not much. Stationed at the base we are going to now. Was very good at fixing things."

She watched McArthy bob his head, then he said, "Makes sense. But I doubt that's why you were labeled a heretic."

Shaking her head, Mim continued, "I was… antsy to be a soldier. Had enough of fixing and listening to communications. So, a t'vaoan I considered a friend decided-"

Suddenly, she interrupted by the sound of snow kicking up. Immediately her arm shot out, grabbing McArthy by the back, and she threw them both down behind a bush, hunkering into the snow. Through the bush, they could see a few elite minors marching through the forest. Leading them was a white armored Ultra, holding an energy sword instead of a plasma rifle like his comrades. The group walked scarily close to the bush she and McArthy were hiding behind, Mim pulling her feathers down and close to her body out of fear of being sighted.

Luckily, the patrol passed, but the two sayed where they were for a few minutes to make sure the patrol wasn't coming back.

Once they were safe, they both sighed with relief as they pulled themselves up. With a short huff, Mim turned to her human and said, "We must be close."

He chuckled in reply, then said, "I hope so. I guess your story can wait til' later."

Mim only nodded, then motioned for McArthy to follow. They continued moving toward the base, more cautious than before. It was only a minute later when they reached a small rise over the base. As expected, the patrols around the bases' perimeter seemed to have doubled, but that might not have been such a bad thing. Accompanying two of those patrols were ghosts, but as they watched the ghosts moved away from the patrols and through the base's courtyard, passing by the large number of stationary grunts.

The ghosts weren't staying outside the base, which complicated their goal, but only a bit. Now they would just have to time the attack properly, but at the moment they would have to deal with multiple angles of plasma fire if they attacked.

Suddenly, McArthy tapped Mim's shoulder and said, "I think I have a plan, but I don't think you'll like it."

Mim turned to him,trying to think of what his plan might be, then squawked and said, "We better not split up."

She watched her human lower his head with a sigh, which made her heart sink, then he looked back up and said, "I don't like that idea either, and splitting up is always the last thing I'd want to do, but right now the best way I can see one of us getting that ghost is by using someone as a distraction or bait to lure them away."

With a grunt, she spun her head away from him and gazed into the forest. She wasn't interested in the plan, but at this point, she couldn't help but agree. She let out a small hiss, at the moment disliking how she got herself a smart human.

He sighed, then leaned against a tree and said, "And, as much as I know you dislike that part, I'm the best option for bait."

This time, she reared back with a squawk, making him jump from the tree in surprise. Shaking her head, she stepped right up to him and said, "No! If need be, I will be bait!"

Despite the danger and risk of their situation, McArthy let out a disheveled chuckle and said, "Mim, I know you don't like it, but it's the best option for both of us! You're the fastest! While their backs are turned, you can run in there, kick that grunt off the ghost before they even know you're there, and speed around to pick me up before they can get too close! Hell yes they'll have all guns pointed at me with limited cover, but it will only last for so long until you come around with that ghost!"

Mim loudly grunted as she planted her forehead against the tree next to them, roughly combing her fingers through her feathers. The last thing she wanted was for McArthy to be in any more danger than necessary, and now he was going to be the centerpiece of their plan for the Covies to shoot away at?!

Before she could build up any more rage or anxiety over the idea, she felt his hands slide up both her shoulders. He gave them a firm rub and said, "I know, trust me, the last thing either of us want is to lose what's probably the only thing keeping us sane at this point."

With a soft sigh, she half turned her body around and faced McArthy. Despite the visor, she could sense a small smile on his face as he let out a short chuckle and said, "Well, maybe just keeping me sane. You seemed pretty fine without me when we met."

Lightly snorting, Mim tilted herself slightly into his body with a croon and said, "You have no idea."

He gave her shoulder a final squeeze, then pulled his arms back and said, "Let me just say this, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can run back to that base and never have to put ourselves in much danger again. Does that make sense?"

Her body still tilted against his, Mim huffed, rubbing the top of her snout against his chestplate, "A little."

She felt his hand give her back a pat, then he raised the beam rifle off his back and said, "Okay then, let's get an actual plan down."

#

Softly trudging through the snow, doing his best to make little noise, McArthy slowly approached the position he planned to take. Mim had spotted it earlier, her sharp eyes being able to catch things way out of his field of view. Just as she said, he came upon a small yet usable rock for cover, beside it being a substantially thick gathering of trees. Unfortunately, if their little heist got delayed, the surrounding area was pretty sparse of trees, and all of the other rocks were far too small to use as cover.

Crouching behind the rock, he raised his beam rifle over the edge and looked across at the base. His position was only slightly elevated from the base, but it was enough to give him some advantage. He leveled the irritating sights onto the head of an elite minor he saw standing near the main entrance. There was another one next to it, both guarding the entryway.

It was up to him to start this fight, Mim waiting for their attention to be drawn away so she can approach a ghost. McArthy was waiting to see one of the ghosts on her end of the base out of the corner of his eye, wanting it as close as possible to make this quick.

Once he saw the ghost in prime position, he sucked in a deep breath and pulled the trigger. He watched the white beam streak across the air, blowing through the elite's brain and dropping it in a second. Out of instinct he flipped the rifle at the surprised elite next to it and fired again, blowing a hole through its neck.

He cursed as he killed that elite. He couldn't waste ammo, he didn't actually know how many shots were in these guns. The only ones he should shoot at with it were fatal threats. With that, he detached his SMG and sat it next to him, ready to grab it if something got too close.

With that, he aimed back down to see a large amount of Covenant moving into position. Once he poked his head up, a wave of plasma fire came crashing down on his rock, forcing him to duck under it. Once the plasma fire slowed, he raised again with the plasma rifle, seeing a large wave of grunts trudging up the incline, a group of elite taking cover behind some barricades behind them, waiting for the threat to get drawn out. McArthy, however, had no plan on moving. Leaned the beam rifle against the rock temporarily, he gripped his SMG and scooted to the edge of the rock.

None of the grunts were keen enough to see him, letting him freely open fire and lay waste to the group of grunts, his weapon shredding them down. With one mag dump, he dropped teh entire line, quickly rolling back behind the rock as the elite's plasma fire peppered the edge of the rock.

He heard the hovering of a ghost getting close, at first thinking it was Mim, and grabbed his beam rifle and moved to a crouch. But as he rose, he saw the ghost speeding towards him from the side was not Mim. It's gun opened fire, forcing McArthy to sprint away from his cover, diving behind a tree and firing a random shot with the rifle. The shot struck the ghost on the front, doing little to actually help.

The ghost turned it's front towards him to fire again, but McArthy took the moment to get closer to the vehicle. Right before its gun fired, he slid underneath the ghost, momentarily casting the beam rifle aside to grip the bottom of the vehicle with his arms. The entire action made a shockwave of pain riddle through his body, a reminder that his body was still not fully recovered from the splattering he got. Still, he grit his teeth through it as he blindly reached up with his arm and gripped onto the confused grunt's grunt let out a cry as the ODST yanked them off the ghost, quickly releasing himself from the bottom and climbing over the grunt. He grabbed the defenseless grunt's head and snapped it, but as he did so he heard distant plasma fire ringing out. The fire caught his full attention, making him rise up from the dead grunt and look out at the base, only one person on his mind.

MIM

Before he could process anything, a plasma shot struck him right in the chest plate, sending him flying into the snowy ground with a burning pain. He groaned as he reached out and gripped the plasma rifle, fighting through the pain and leaning forward with the rifle raised. He watched an elite finally jump over the rock and quickly placed his reticle and fired. The beam tore through the elite's chest, McArthy watching it raise its plasma rifle, only to fall straight down on its face.

Without time to breathe, two more hopped up as well. He flicked the rifle between the two, only succeeding in shooting one in the head as his other shot skimmed the elite's helmet, pausing it for a moment. That moment was enough for McArthy to jump onto his feet and sprint for the closest tree. Plasma fire trailed him as he ran, then he planted his back to the tree and listened as the bark was eaten away by the plasma. The moment it stopped, he spun around and raised the beam rifle, firing as he leveled onto the elite running towards him.

The white beam raced through the elite's face, sending its body crumpling forward. McArthy quickly moved and jumped over the corpse, retaking his position and looking down. It seems his distraction was only temporary, as it seemed half the base was missing from attacking him. But, more plasma fire started flying at him, forcing him to jump back and away from the short crest.

As it seemed, the Covenant were taking their time coming up the hill. They probably had no idea how many were attacking, which was a good thing. As the plasma fire stopped once again, McArthy lifted himself back over the rock and aimed down, seeing two jackals with shields and plasma pistols running up at him. Luckily, their running state kept their shields to their sides, letting McArthy blast a white beam right through one's chest. The second jackal was quick enough to raise it's shield, blocking his beam rifle shot, and opened fire on McArthy.

He ducked back down as the green plasma raced over his head. He was breathing heavily, his soreness slowing him down. He felt like he wasn't gonna be able to keep this fight up for much longer. But despite that, one thought played through his mind more than the others.

Was Mim alright?

At this point she should've had the ghost by now, but he hasn't even heard or seen the second ghost. If something happened to her…

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a roaring right ahead of him, making him look up and see a horrifying sight. Sprinting straight at him from ahead with an energy sword ignited was a white Ultra, probably the same one that had passed before, and behind him were the few elite minors, plasma rifles raised. None of them could shoot as the Ultra was in the way.

McArthy raised his beam rifle and fired a shot, which struck the Ultra right in the head, but to his horror it only broke the shield. The fired another shot as quickly as he could, but the Ultra weaved away from it and now was only meters away from him. He squeezed his eyes shut as he accepted his death, only to hear an alien humming sounds come tearing through his ears. He opened his eyes to see the Ultra only feet in front of him, but then a ghost jetted right into it, sending the white Ultra spiraling through the air and into the snow. The ghost had come to a complete stop right in front of him, then Mim turned to McArthy and yelled, "Get on!"

Without another word, McArthy leaped onto the hood of the ghost as plasma fire peppered the vehicle front he elite minors, but they couldn't accurately shoot either of them from the distance as Mim shot off in the ghost, McArhty clinging on for his dear life.

He realized his eyes were squeezed shut, then opened them up to see Mim's face only inches away from his. She gave him an elated squawk and said, "You are okay!"

Chuckling, McArthy shifted his body more safely onto the hood of the ghost and said, "Yeah, mostly. Are you okay? What took you-"

McArthy paused as he heard a strange noise from behind them, then titled his head to see a jackal racing behind them, beam rifle raised. As quickly as he could, he reached out and grabbed MIm's head, shoving it downward as a white beam raced right over it, searing a feather or two.

Raising his beam rifle with one arm, still clinging to the ghost, he fired at the jackal trailing them. Luckily, one of the pot shots tore through the jackal's thigh, sending them crying downward into the snow. McArhty kept his eyes trained behind them, waiting for something to come through the white wilderness and follow them, but nothing came.

After he was sure nothing was following them, he drooped his body down onto the ghost and shuttered a final sigh of relief. Mim squawked and looked at him, moving one of her hands to grab his and asked, "Are you okay?"

Nodding his head, McArthy took in another deep breath and said, "Yeah, yeah, just… relieved, is all. Holy shit, we actually did it."

He looked up to see Mim nod her head, an excitement in her eyes that forced a smile onto his face. She turned her head back to check behind them, then slowed the ghost down and said, "Get better position. I do not want you falling."

McArthy chuckled, shifting his body into a more comfortable position on the ghost's hood, then she sped the ghost up again. They raced through the frost white forest, both too lost for words at their success. They just wanted to get back to the base as quickly as possible and finally enjoy the fruits of their labor.

'Well, Mim's labor,' McArthy thought to himself with a chuckle.

#

McArthy watched curiously as Mim carefully took apart the ghost in front of him. It seemed far too complex for him to really understand, but she was doing it with relative ease. After a few minutes of pulling a small piece from the vehicle, she pulled a much larger, cylinder-like piece out and held it up, marveling at it.

With a smile, he nodded at the part and asked, "Is that the piece you're looking for?"

Mim violently nodded her head, then walked towards the bulge behind the building, sweeping her leg and kicking the panel off the top. McArthy walked closer and watched as she carefully set the cylinder into the generator. He peeked his head forward to see what she was doing, watching her connect small wires and parts to the cylinder. It was strange how she was able to connect this alien piece to the human tech, but she obviously knew what she was doing.

A few minutes later, Mim raised her hands and took a few steps back from the generator. McArthy looked at the generator, then back at her, then Mim motioned with her hand and said, "Bring me the rifle."

Nodding, McArthy quickly ran to the side of the building where he had left the crate, then opened it up and removed the beam rifle. He jogged back up to Mim, handing her the beam rifle, then watched as she skillfully dismantled the weapon. It fell apart piece by piece until she finally pulled out it's power cell and cast it aside.

Following behind her, McArthy watched as she moved up to the generator with the power cell, then carefully pointed it downward and inserted it into the cylinder piece she just installed. Suddenly, the piece glowed a bright blue, then the sound of metallic shuttering froze the two. The shuttering slowly faded away, instead replaced with the sound of the generator puffing to life.

The two looked at each other dumbly for a moment, then simultaneously raced around the building and to the doorway. Mim pulled the yellow card from her waist and pressed it against the panel. The two watched in silence as the panel glowed with a subtle brightness, then the door slid open at a speed three times as fast as before. The two bolted into the building, McArthy throwing his helmet off and onto the counter as he approached the heating vent. Pulling his glove off, he hovered his hand over the vent, Mim shuffling behind him, nervous.

McArthy stayed there for a minute, waiting for the systems to kick in, then he felt it.

Heat.

He shot back up to a stand, then spun around to Mim, arms outstretched, and yelled, "You fucking did it!"

In response, Mim squawked with delight, then felt as McArthy ran up to her and wrapped her in a hug. She was caught off guard as the laughing ODST hugged her, but she quickly overcame her surprise and wrapped her arms around him too, snuggling her head into his shoulder with a long croon of joy.

As they stood there, holding each other closely, McArthy once again said, "You did it!"

Mim crooned and said, "We did it, McArthy."

She listened as her human only chuckled, then pushed her face further into his neck. They stayed that way for a minute until they both simultaneously pulled apart, looking closely at each other.

There was a long silence between them as they stared into each other's eyes, the tip of her snout so close to her human's lips. For a moment she thought they were slowly inching forward, and feeling it was time, quietly whispered, "Jacob…"

In that moment, any and all emotions in McArty's face disappeared. There were a lot of things Mim was expecting him to do, but as he actually pulled away from her, an expression of confused disgust, she was caught very off guard.

McArthy pulled himself away from Mim, taking a step back and quietly asking, "What the fuck did you just say?"

Feeling sudden regret, not knowing what she did wrong, Mim tilted her head with a croak and asked, "W-what?"

Taking another step back, McArthy yelled, "What the fuck did you just say!"

Mim froze at this, he's never yelled at her before like this. There was nothing but seething anger and disgust painting his face, only rage in his eyes as he looked at her.

Before she could say anything, McArhty stepped towards her and yelled, "Don't you ever fucking call me that! Don't you ever fucking compare me to that man!"

Mim stepped back with a squawk, raising an arm in fear of him lashing out. In that moment of her moving away in fear, she watched his eyes stare at her and begin to water up, is body shaking. As tears began rolling down his face, McArthy yelled, "I'm... I'm not like him! But don't fucking call me that! I don't ever want to hear that bastard's name again! I never want to be compared to him! Don't call me that! I'm not... I'm sorry... I'm not like..."

She watched with pure concern as her human slowly backed up into the wall lowering himself onto the ground and as more tears began running down his cheeks. He covered his eyes and said more quietly, "Don't call me that. Please, don't… call me that…"

From a blistering rage to a sadness Mim's never seen before, she couldn't help but feel this was her fault. With a croon, she carefully approached the human, wanting to know what made him detest what she called him.

As she stepped close to him, she reached out only for his head to shoot up at her, making her reflexively pull back. McArthy shook at the sight of her pulling back, then gripped his head, stuttering out, "No, I'm not… like him… don't leave me… I'm not him…"

Crooning, Mim decided it was worth the risk as she moved herself next to him, carefully wrapping her arms around him and tucking her head into his shoulder, cooing and rubbing against him. She felt his moist tears against his face as she pressed against him, then softly nuzzled his cheek.

After some time of her listening to him let out shuddering breaths, he pressed his head against hers, "I'm… so sorry. I...I…"

Mim hushed him with a coo, then raised a hand to his cheek and said, "It is fine… it's fine."

She carefully ran her claw across his cheeks, rubbing away some of his tears. McArthy let out another shudder, then Mim asked, "What happened?"

McArthy pressed his cheek into her caring hand, finally calming down from the shaking and tears. He raised a hand and softly grabbed her arm, rubbing into it with a thumb, then said, "I… I lied, about my childhood."

He raised his eye to meet her, then watched her tilt her head and softly say, "Tell me."

After staring into her amber eyes for a few seconds, he nodded his head as he held in tears and said, "It was… my father. He was the worst human being in the universe. He would… beat me, and my mother, for no reason. The worst part about it was that he didn't even do it in a drunken state, he just fucking abused us…"

He paused for a moment, squeezing Mim's arm. She cooed and continued rubbing his cheek, then said, "Go on."

He nodded again, then continued, "So often, I'd hide in my room, and listen as he beat my mother outside the door. And every fucking night I had to listen to her scream out with his name to stop. Every fucking time, she'd scream for 'Jacob' to stop. I just… I couldn't handle anyone calling me by that name. The bastard was so full of himself he named me after him, that fucking name isn't mine, it belongs to that waste of fucking carbon."

Mim moved her hand down and pressed the side of her face against his, holding him closer as he continued, "And my mom didn't do anything about it. Never tried to run away, call the cops, fucking nothing. She was too fucking attached to whoever the fuck that guy was before they got married, saying he was still in there. I… when I finally got old enough, I fucking ran off the only way I could. Enlisted and went right off to war as soon as I could. The only love I ever got was when my mom would put herself between me and that monster, but even then she still cared more about that fucking guy than she ever did me. No one really cared about me… I was alone…"

Moving her head away from him, she raised both her hands to hold his face gently and said, "Not anymore."

She stared into his eyes, watching them begin to tear up again, but these weren't the same tears as before. McArthy shuddered once more as he leaned forward and pressed his head into her chest, feeling her arms wrap around his head and softly caress his hair.

As she held him there, he could only say, "Thank you, Mim, for everything."

Mim cooed again as she pressed her snout against the top of his head and said, "Thank you."

She held her human closely, softly rubbing into him with her fingers as she felt his arms lightly wrap around her. He was still hesitant to hold her, but Mim didn't care right now. He was hurt, he was hurting, whatever charade she had in mind didn't matter until he was better.

Planting the side of her face softly against his head, she let out a sigh as she felt his uneven breathing go away. They stayed that way for a while, however long Mim didn't know. But it was long enough for McArthy to fall asleep in her arms. Mim didn't move, simply relishing in what she could do for her human. Happy to see her warmth and care eased him to sleep, she herself shut her eyes and drifted off with him.