McArthy stared at Mim, shock and fear painting his face. He was lost for words, not knowing what to say, or how to say it. Mim suddenly stood up and rushed over to one of the counters, quickly grabbing her armor and putting it on.

Frozen for a moment, McArthy gave his head a shake, then jumped up and walked after her. "Mim, Mim, you… they're gonna glass us!? D-do they know where we are? Why would they…"

Mim held out her hand, making him stop, then she said, "They are going to glass the whole planet, they just want to start here since they know our general location, and would rather kill the heretics before we can start trouble."

McArthy put his hands on the table, leaning against it, then asked, "How long do we have?"

Mim was already slipping her armor on and said, "I do not know. All I know is that they have ordered the evacuation of all bases in this region, so I believe too soon."

As Mim put her shoulder pads on, McArthy tilted his head and asked, "And what are we gonna do?"

He could see a grin form at the edges of her beak, then she turned to him, handing him his chest-piece, and said, "We are going to start trouble."

McArthy let out an amused huff as he took the armor, then said, "Nice line, but do we have an actual plan?"

Mim stayed quiet for a few seconds, then said, "The bases will be beginning evacuation efforts now. If we move, we will catch one in the act. Which means there will be a phantom for the taking."

She grabbed her plasma pistol, looking it over momentarily, before putting it on her thigh armor. She didn't have many weapons now that the zealot cut her shotgun in two. The last beam rifle had also been used, so she had nothing high powered.

McArthy noticed her concern over her weaponry, then pulled his pistol off the counter and held it out to her, "You look like you want something with a little more oomph."

With a little hesitation, Mim carefully took the pistol from him, then asked, "You… are sure?"

McArthy nodded with a chuckle, then held out the extra magazines and said, "I'm sure. I got my SMG, I'll be fine."

He watched as the t'vaoan nodded her head and took his magazines. She clipped them to her waist, then he turned around and began putting his armor over his body. Suddenly, he felt another pair of hands putting his armor on, then lightly chuckled.

"I guess we really are on the clock."

Mim nodded as she put his leg armor on him, fastening it, "They could begin glassing any minute if they wished to."

She finished his leg armor much faster than McArthy expected, then stood up and faced him. She placed her hand against his cheek and held him, letting out a croon as she nuzzled the tip of her snout against this nose.

"I have gained something I cannot lose, I am not going to risk losing my or your life now. I want us to have a future, McArthy."

Letting out a sigh, McArthy kissed the tip of her beak, then held her hand and said, "So do I. Alright, then let's get going. We got a phantom to catch."

Mim nodded, then reached onto the counter, grabbed his helmet, and slid it onto his head for him. He raised his hand to steady his helm as he grabbed his SMG and placed it on his thigh armor, then made sure he had all the extra magazines.

He turned and looked into the room they were in, scanning it for a moment. With a sigh, he asked, "This is the last time we'll be in here, huh?"

Nodding her head, Mim stood behind him and held onto his torso, "Yes, though that is a good thing."

"All that work to get the power on, and now…"

"It served its purpose. We did get stormed in, the power was worth the trouble. Now, it is just a base, we must move."

McArthy nodded his head, then turned around and followed Mim to the door. It opened up, then they quickly moved out into the snowy courtyard. Not caring to close it, they moved towards the broken fence and jogged off, leaving what sheltered them for so long to the fate of being leveled to glass.

Mim led McArthy through the frost white forest, the ODST still sure he'd get lost running in circles without her. One thing the forest had always been since the UNSC lost and tried to run was quiet, but now, it was eerily quiet. It was almost as if the forest knew what was going to happen soon, as if any and all of the wildlife left already fled.

He jogged closer to Mim as they moved through the forest and asked, "You hear that?"

Mim looked at him, then nodded and said, "Yes, I hear it. I hear nothing, it is strange, hm?"

Suddenly, the silence they were in was interrupted by the growing humming up in the air. Raising their head to look, they both watched as a few phantoms soured overhead, heading for the multiple bases.

Patting his chest, Mim motioned forward with her head and said, "We must move faster. Come on."

Nodding, McArthy picked up his pace as Mim moved forward. He knew she was slowing herself down for him to keep it, he just hoped it wasn't very annoying for her.

Daring to look up, McArthy raised his head as they moved, only to see the assault carrier hovering far above. It was definitely closer than it used to be, though he luckily didn't see any activity near it's glassing beam, so they weren't firing yet.

After almost an hour of movement, Mim stopped at a rock, then waved McArthy on. He huffed and fell next to her in a sitting position, taking a breather. Without a word, he held out the sniper scope he had attached to his waist. Mim took it and looked over the rock at the base, making sure their ride was there.

Crouching down next to her tired mate, Mim put the scope on the ground and said, "The phantom seems to have just arrived. The soldiers are still filing out. The gravity lift in the phantom has not been activated yet. We need to get close so we can jump on before they do."

McArthy nodded with a huff, then looked over the edge and asked, "Do you know how to fly a phantom?"

Mim waved her hand dismissively and said, "Of course, it will be easy. Now come, we must go."

She marched past him, making him nod his head and stand up. He pulled his SMG off his thigh and followed closely behind her. They crept down the snowy slope, McArthy losing his footing, though Mim luckily backed up and let him fall into her back.

Releasing a sigh of relief, he regained his footing and said, "Thanks, hun."

Mim turned her head, quickly pressing her beak against the side of his helmet in a nuzzle, then said, "Do not trip once we are in a fight, please."

McArthy nodded his head with a light chuckle, then she waved him on to keep going. They soon reached the edge of the base. Fortunately, all the patrols were gone as everyone was gathered and preparing to leave.

Pointing into the phantom, Mim said, "I believe they moved supplies in and are about to let on the warriors they can fit."

SMG raised and ready, McArthy nodded and said, "Make the call."

He watched Mim duel wield both the weapons she had, then she said, "We shall wait for the first warrior to get on the lift, using his body as cover to keep out of the rests' sight, then I shall kick him off as we jump on."

"And how do we know they won't just shoot us dead on the lift?"

Mim made sure both weapons were ready, then said, "They will be too busy with the sangheili that just flew into them. We do not have many options, this is the best chance we have."

Nodding his head, McArthy readied himself, "Alright, I'm right behind you."

They both peaked their heads around the trees, looking directly at the gathering. Many were still dealing with crates and such, while a small crowd of sangheili were waiting for the gravity lift to activate.

Suddenly, the hatch on the phantom opened and the gravity lift fluttered down onto the ground. They watched as the sangheili in the front elbowed his brothers with a chortle, then began walking forward. Mim nodded at McArthy, then spun around her tree and bolted forward, McArthy tailing her as quickly as he could.

Mim was moving much faster, building up momentum. The sangheili stepped into the gravity lift and looked up, then heard the sound of snow flying and looked forward. It released a loud wort as it watched Mim leap off the ground and fly towards it. It raised it's plasma rifle, about to fire, but was too slow as Mim's foot crashed against its face. She could hear as the bones in its mandibles were crushed, then its body flew backwards into the crowd of sangheili, sending them stumbling back or falling.

Stopping in the gravity lift, Mim turned her head to see McArthy leap in, then they aimed their weapons forward and opened fire. Caught off guard, the sangheili scrambled for their weapons or cover as the two rose towards the phantom.

One of the sangheili let out a pot shot as they dove for cover, striking Mim directly in the chest armor, sending her flying back and out of the grav lift. She loudly squawked as she was about to fall, then McArthy reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back into the gravity lift. He pulled her close to his chest as they rose out of the sangheili's line of fire, then they landed on the phantoms floor.

Mim spun out of McArthy's grasp, quickly slamming her hand into an alien control panel, shutting off the gravity lift and closing the hatch. The two turned to each other, taking a moment to breath, then spun around to face the inside of the phantom.

Standing in the phantom was a sangheili holding a crate, along with three grunts and a jackal. The two groups stared at each other for a second, then the sangheili roared and threw it's crate into one of the grunts. Swiftly pulling out an energy sword, the sangheili rushed at the two.

McArthy dove under the elite and aimed at the three targets behind it. Mim ducked under the elite's thrust, then jumped out the side and fired at it with the pistol. She was only able to fire two shots before she ran out of ammo, then the elite roared and rushed her again. Mim was able to dip away from the blade, then spun around and struck it against the head with a roundhouse kick, making it stumble backwards.

McArthy quickly shot down the two panicking grunts, but before he could aim at the jackal, a plasma shot struck him in the chest. The power of the shot sent him against the wall, then another shot struck him in the shoulder. With a cry, he jumped behind the crates, hiding him from the jackal's line of fire. With a raspy squawk, the jackal jumped over the crates and aimed downwards with it's plasma pistol, only for McArthy to grab it by the throat and throw it onto the ground with him.

Mim held down the trigger of the plasma pistol as she launched her leg forward and kicked the elite in the chest, sending it against the wall of the phantom. It grunted as it struck the wall, then Mim moved for another kick against its head. The elite was faster this time as it ducked it's head, making her kick the wall. The elite drove their fist into Mim's open side, sending her flying backwards and skidding on her side across the ground.

Rolling their shoulders, the elite raised its energy sword and was about to rush her, then she lifted her charged plasma pistol and fired, killing its shields.

McArthy slammed the jackal's head against the crate, then grabbed it by the beak as it's claws tried to dig into the open spots in his armor, then cracked the neck sideways, watching the body go limp. Suddenly, the sound of loud plasma spun him around, seeing the shieldless elite about to drive his sword into a fallen Mim. Raising his SMG, he dumped the magazine into the elite, bullets punching through its head and neck, painting the wall purple.

The elite dropped the energy sword onto the ground, then fell to its side. McArthy lowered his SMG, breathing heavily as he watched Mim sit up against the wall, breathing heavily as well. They locked eyes for a moment, McArthy seeing the relief painted on her face, but it suddenly disappeared and she yelled.

A large hand gripped his neck from behind, lifting him up off the ground and squeezing his throat. Mim jumped up and was about to leap at them, but McArthy watched as a plasma shot struck her against the leg, sending her stumbling backwards onto the ground. He heard the chortling laugh of the elite pilot gripping his neck, then looked down at Mim, who was starting to get up.

The pilot aimed it's plasma rifle up at her, then she rolled her body sideways as it opened fire. He watched her grip onto the dead elite's energy sword, then she yelled, "McArthy!" and threw the sword just as a plasma shot struck her right in the chest armor again.

McArthy, coughing at this point, reached out and caught the hilt. He quickly squeezed the hilt and raised his arm to aim the hilt by his head. The sharp hiss of the weapon activating and cutting through the pilot's head filled his ears, even the sound of the elite releasing a long gasp reached him.

It was a second later that the elite's hand let go of McArthy letting him land on his feet. Throwing the hilt aside, he moved his hand to his throat and began coughing, not even twitching as the pilot's heavy body crashed onto the ground.

"Holy… shit. Mim, are you…"

McArthy froze for a moment, then kicked a crate aside and rushed to where he saw Mim get shot. Before he could reach her, Mim suddenly bolted past him, making McArthy literally spin front surprise. He watched her run into the phantom's cockpit, then followed her.

He moved into the room, gripping his shoulder in pain, and watched Mim throw herself into the pilot's seat with an audible grunt. Her hands gripped the controls as she quickly acquainted herself with them.

Leaning against the seat with a groan, McArthy asked, "Have you ever flown one of these before?"

"Simulations, back in training."

McArthy let out a small chuckle, "Oh, so you're as skilled with this as I would be with a pelican. Great."

He looked down to see Mim's free hand rise up to stroke the chin of his helmet, then she said, "Covenant controls are far more user friendly, I am getting us out of here."

Nodding his head, McArthy backed away from the seat and leaned himself against the wall, still gripping his shoulder. He removed his hand for a moment to look at the wound. His shoulder pad caught most, but there was still a large burn wound on his shoulder, and it was making his nerves cry.

He turned his head again as he felt the phantom move, seeing Mim's fingers almost dance over some controls, then she moved off of the seat with a small limp in her left leg and basically walked into his body. He could still feel the heat of the plasma shot on her chestplate, then he reached out to hold her cheeks and asked, "Are you okay? You got shot a lot."

Mim let out a small gasp, then moved her hands over her armor and pressed into it. Soon enough, her back and chest plate fell off and onto the ground. He could see a front patch in her skinsuit was burned through, though her chests burns were luckily lighter.

"I should be asking you that, McArthy."

He watched as she moved her hand over his right hand on her cheek, then moved it away and revealed the blood on his glove. McArthy craned his neck a little to the controls on the phantom, then asked, "Where are we…"

Mim pressed her beak into his neck and said, "Auto-pilot. We got away right before they were able to begin firing at us with heavy weapons. Right now it appears we are in a loose line of phantoms, they won't be able to tell us amongst the others."

The pair moved their hands against each other, interlocking their fingers as Mim simply laid her weight on McArthy against the wall, taking the moment to relax.

With a small sigh, McArthy winced a little from the pain in his shoulder and asked, "You mind if we sit? I… kinda need to take a seat."

Moving backwards a little, Mim nodded and pulled him towards the seats. She spun the co-pilot seat around and watched him lower himself into the chair with a sigh. She sat across from him in the pilot's seat, lifting her left leg and taking the armor off where she was shot. She rubbed the skinsuit where she was shot, softly grunting at the pain.

McArthy was looking ahead at the screens giving them a digital view of what was in front of them. The phantom had gone after than he anticipated, it seemed they were already moving out of the atmosphere.

And in a direct approach path to the assault carrier.

They were still a good distance away, but McArthy couldn't help but worry. Mim followed his gaze at the screens and saw the same things, feeling the same intense worry as she put her leg down and said, "It appears the auto-pilot has been programmed to enter the assault carriers hangar."

McArthy could see other assault carriers far away behind the one they were approaching, then asked, "How are we going to get away then? They know one of these phantoms has us in it. We won't survive if we enter the assault carrier, and if we fly off course they'll send fighters to take us out."

Mim drummed her talons against the dash in front of her, trying to think of a solution. Every idea she came up with always ended the same way, and she couldn't think of a way out. Her drumming intensified until she was just stabbing into the metal, clenching her moist eyes shut, trying to think of something.

After a few seconds, she felt something wet run down her cheek, then shuttered and continued to dig her claws into the metal. "I don't… I don't know. I don't want us to…"

She was silenced as McArthy softly ran his hand under her beak and turned her head towards him. Taking his helmet off with one hand, he put it in front of him and said, "However this goes, I need to tell you that this was all worth it, and I regret nothing. You gave me something to care about, and probably gave me some of the happiest moments in my entire life. I love you."

Releasing another shutter, Mim crooned and moved her hands to hold his arms. She moved forward and said with teary eyes, "I love you, too."

They both moved their heads forward, his lips about to meet her beak, when they were interrupted by the sound of the phantom's comms coming to life.

#

Pressing down on a button, a shipmaster spoke up, "All phantoms are to move into the hangar with care. One of you is harboring fugitives, and we shall board and search all phantoms for these heretics. We are opening the hangar shields now, you may begin boarding procedures."

Taking a step back from the comms unit with a grunt, the shipmaster folded his arms and moved back to his floating chair seated at the center of the control room of the assault carrier. Resting back into it with a sigh, the golden armored elite scanned the many workers operating the ship.

His silent scanning was interrupted as the door to the control opened behind him. A sangheili minor rushed in with a data pad, coming to a halt beside the shipmaster.

Placing his fist against his chest and dipping his head, the sangheili said, "Shipmaster, we have news."

Grunting, the shipmaster turned to the minor and said, "Speak."

Raising their head, the elite said, "The repairs to the shielding will be done in 15 minutes. Along with that, the kig-yar responsible for the shields damage have been punished, as you ordered."

Nodding his head with a huff, the shipmaster said, "Good. Now, are the hangars ready to sweep all phantoms?"

The sangheili nodded, "Of course, shipmaster."

Turning to the crew in front of him, the shipmaster loudly asked, "Have all bases been successfully evacuated?"

One of the sangheili turned to the shipmaster and nodded, then the shipmaster smiled with his mandibles and said, "Good. Now, begin glassing this dreaded rock. I wish to get this done sooner so we may move on."

He watched the crew all nod their heads, then they began preparing the ship's glassing beam. The shipmaster rose from his seat and walked towards the front, approaching where he would begin the glassing. This was always his favorite part of his job, getting to activate this powerful weapon to rid the galaxy of what the heretics fought for. It always put a satisfied smile on his mandibles.

The holographic button glowed, ready to activate, then he chortled and lowered his hand. Before he could press the button, a loud alarm sounded, making him spin around to his crew, who were all suddenly scrambling with their controls.

"What's happening!?" shouted the shipmaster.

One of the sangheili at the control turned to him and shouted back, "An unmarked CCS Battlecruiser has just exited slipspace above us!"

The shipmaster froze, then quietly asked, "Unmarked?"

"Shipmaster! We are reading a massive energy surge in the Battlecruiser!"

#

McArthy leaned forward, looking at the screens, "What the hell is going on?"

Mim quickly looked over the many messages that showed up on the screen, then said, "It appears a CCS Battlecruiser just exited slipspace. Look!"

She pointed forward as they watched the new ship fly over the neck of the assault carrier. As the belly of the battlecruiser approached the assault carrier's neck, a bright glow suddenly appeared on the belly.

Leaning closer forward, McArthy quietly said, "No fucking way…"

The glow on the battlecruiser's belly grew, then suddenly it's glassing beam fired. The two watched in awe as the glassing beam slammed into the assault carriers neck, suddenly cutting through as the battlecruiser continued moving across. The bright beam tore through the purple metal, tearing the neck apart until it cut across the entire neck. The beam finally dissipated, the assault carrier's head cut from the body and drifting apart, the entire ship suddenly dipping as it's engines all failed.

Turning to Mim, confused and in awe at what they just watched, he asked, "Is-is that…?"

Mim let out a loud squawk of excitement, then grabbed the phantom's controls and said, "I told you she had a big ship!"

Hitting the throttle, the phantom jerked and jetted away from their line, heading straight towards the battlecruiser. McArthy assumed this was the friend Mim had mentioned before, and he couldn't help but let out a shuddering sigh of his own as he fell back into his seat. This friend of hers couldn't have timed their entrance better.

McArthy could see the assault carriers in the distance had begun their glassing, but one seemed to have stopped and turned towards the battlecruiser floating over the destroyed assault carrier now caught in the planet's gravitational pull. They soon approached the battlecruier's hangar, slowing themselves down to slowly fly through the shield and into the ship.

Mim carefully set the phantom down on the ground, then let go of the controls and turned to McArthy. Turning to Mim, McArthy stood up and asked, "Does this mean…"

Nodding her head, tearing up some more, Mim rushed into his chest, wrapping him in a tight hug, "We made it! We got off the planet!"

Tearing up a bit himself, McArthy laughed as he wrapped his arms around Mim and pulled her closer, digging his face into her shoulder. "We did, didn't we?"

Any kind of intimate moment they would've had was ruined as they heard a loud knock come from the main belly of the phantom. They both turned to look outside the cockpit, then looked back at each other.

McArthy pulled away and grabbed his helmet, quickly slipping it back over his head. Mim grabbed the armor she had taken off and uncomfortably put it back over herself, then moved to leave the cockpit. McArthy quickly put himself in front of her as they approached the side where the knocking came from.

Shifting his feet, McArthy hovered his hand next to the SMG on his thigh and turned to Mim. She nodded, then reached her hand over and pressed on the panel next to the door. The doors on the side of the phantom opened up, and McArthy was immediately met with a needler to the face. Mim quickly jumped between him and the needle and stared at the needler weidler in the eyes.

Holding the needler was a ruuhtian wearing tall shoulder pads and light armor around their torso and legs. The ruuhitan growled as they stared at the two, then spoke in fluent english, "It looks like the friend brought a pet."

McArthy and Mim could see a crowd of kig-yar behind him, all ruuhtian males, seemingly cheering and yelling at something. Seeing them looking, the ruuhitan stepped aside and let them see the hangar shields, which gave them full views of the destroyed assault carrier on fire as it crashed and burned towards the planet's surface.

The kig-yar released a sigh as he looked out at the destroyed assault carrier as well, then said, "A beautiful sight, eh?"

A little confused, McArthy tilted his head and asked, "How do you know english?"

The needler was suddenly thrusted closer to his face, then the ruuhitan snarled and said, "I ask the questions, human!"

Mim snarled in response, pushing McArthy back as she moved in front of the weapon. The two kig-yar stared each other down, snarling at each other, then a loud voice interrupted their staring contest.

"Daz! What the fuck are you doing!?"

Without turning his head, the ruuhitan shouted back, "Guarding the two newcomers. This is what you-"

Daz didn't get to finish as a three fingered fist socked him across the face, sending him and his needler crashing into the ground. Daz gripped his face and groaned, rolling back and forth on his back. Mim and McArthy both were looking at the ruuhtian, then turned to look at his assailant.

Standing before them, rolling their wrist, was a silver armored t'vaoan. The armor seemed similar to what a champion would wear, but it was a shining silver and the eye lights glowed purple. The t'vaoan had purple edged feathers and stood 2 inches taller than the both of them at a modest six-foot three.

With a snicker, the t'vaoan put their hands on their hips and said, "Sorry about my compatriot, Daz! He's a stupid bitch. Anyway…"

The t'vaoan's head turned and stared down Mim for a moment. The two t'vaoans gazed at each other, then the silver clad kig-yar took their helmet off their head and happily said, "Mim! My little red raptor! How have you been, honey?"

Chuckling, Mim flew forward and grasped the t'vaoan in a tight hug, them both chuckling as they held each other in a long hug.

Stepping away from her, Mim said, "Sil! It has been so long!"

Tilting her head with a squawk of surprise, the silver clad t'vaoan named Sil asked, "Oh, shit, you speak english now? When did that happen?"

Taking a step back towards McArthy, Mim grabbed onto him and said, "He taught me over this last month."

Sil's eyes met McArthy, then she chuckled and said, "So, I see you have a soft spot for humans too."

Nervously chuckling, McArthy said, "Sooo… I see you two know each other."

Nodding her head, Sil chuckled and said, "Oh yeah, since she was a little chick. Mim here was the daughter of one of my more favorite crewmembers. He invited me to visit his wife with him, and whenever I went, I got to spend time with this little cutie. I see you have kept your mother's height since 17, hm?"

Chirping with amusement, Mim said, "And you are still alive! I am surprised."

Laughing, Sil lifted a needler from her thigh armor, waving it around, and said, "I've slayed slavers and brute chieftains across the stars. Killed zealots with their own blades and pissed on the prophet's own lawn. At this point me dying shouldn't be a prospect in anyone's mind."

Suddenly, Sil reached out, grabbing McArthy by the chest plate, then pulled him right up to her chest, looking down into his visor with a quiet hiss. Turning her head ever so slightly to look at Mim, she asked, "So, what is your relationship with this… fine specimen."

Grabbing him and pulled him away, Mim hugged McArthy from the side and said, "He is my mate."

A brief murmur echoed around the crowd making McArthy thankful his helmet hid his reddened face, then he nervously wrapped his arm around his lover and said, "Y-yeah, we're a couple. That… is fine, right?"

They both watched as the pirate queen stared them down silently for a few seconds, then Sil shrugged and said, "Sure, why wouldn't be fine with me? It makes sense, honestly."

Tilting his head, he asked, "Wait, why does it make sense?"

Chuckling, Sil bit her finger and said, "Oh, lot's of reasons. From my experience with humans, they fucking love the thunder thighs we got. The legs are all the real estate. Without em' I doubt anything would arise. I mean, imagine if I was some kind of alien without them! Like… a huragok! Or… some kind of weird, serpent, snake lady thing. Ew. Or a drone! Those things have twig legs."

Shaking his head a bit, McArthy said, "I don't think anyone would want to fuck a drone regardless of whether they had nice legs or not."

Shaking her head, Sil tsked at McArthy and said, "Nah, you have no clue how weird people can get. I've been to each side of the galaxy and back, I know how weird they can get."

They watched as she froze for a second, then turned to look outside the shield, seeing the now more distant corpse of the assault carrier falling towards the planet.

Turning back to the pair, she raised a claw and said, "Give me a moment."

Slipping her helmet back on, she pressed the side and yelled, "KARN! Why the fuck haven't we slipspaced out of here yet! Get to it you sack of shit!"

It wasn't much longer that the sight outside of the shield became warped then disappeared as the ship shook for a moment. Turning around to the still present crowd of kig-yar, Sil yelled, "Get back to work you fucking mongrels!"

The crowd of kig-yar was quick to disperse after that, then Sil turned back to the pair with a smile and said, "Now that that's all dealt with, follow me if you please. We have a lot to discuss, a lot to catch up on, and I can't wait to begin."