Wow, I have a bit to go over.

firstly, sorry for the delay, I usually won't leave it this long but I've been very busy and just recently FF wouldn't work when I tried to upload a document so I had to wait until that was fixed.

secondly, I am completely blown out of the water by how many views I have on this story. It's reached over 3000 views and I am incredibly proud! I am also indescribably pleased with the amount of reviews, followers and favourites this story has gained after the last chapter and I am so thankful for all of you who decided to follow my work.

Thirdly, I have this idea about doing flashbacks at the start of each chapter for the next few chapters so I was wondering if I can get a little bit of feedback on that just to see what you guys want and how you want this story to progress.

guest replies:

Giggle MeYumYums: we'll see how much you can predict of this story, you must have a lot of conspiracy theories haha. Regarding sex scenes I am not sure as of yet if I will write one, I am sure that everyone would love to see one and depending on responses I'll decide from there. Also, maybe you should consider creating a profile, I'll be able to respond almost immediately if you do.

OORAH: Haha thanks for enjoying the story, I'm sorry to disappoint you but today is not the day. That will all come later and maybe it will be in Reesha's POV, I haven't decided yet.

Alright that's it from me. Please leave a review if you enjoyed and have any questions to ask. Other then that, enjoy!

Location: UNSC B Training Facility, Africa, Earth

Date: 23rd September 2550

Time: 0600 hours

The morning was a hot one, even at six o'clock in the morning Mayne was already breaking a sweat as he exited the pelican along with the fifty other trainees. He dropped his duffle bag and paused only for a moment to look up at the large four-story building in front of him with the large words UNSC ODST TRAINING FACILITY B labelled across the front, this was going to be home for the next eight months as he underwent his ODST training.

Born into a farming family in an isolated area of Western Australia, Mayne grew up with every young farmer boy's dream of exploring the galaxy and getting away from home. Mayne was an only child with a father as his mother had died in a horror crash when a truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and drifted into the oncoming lane, right into his mother's car. At the time Mayne couldn't comprehend the loss he had endured but his father took many months to move on in the slightest. In his spare time Mayne's father would take him out on their huge property to fire the civilian permitted Designated Marksman Rifle that they owned. Once Mayne was old enough to understand the concepts of the war between Humanity and the Covenant he immediately looked up to the soldiers who were fighting on the front lines and eventually found the ODSTs. They were highly trained, hard-ass troopers that fought the Covenant head on without fear. It was then that Mayne dreamt about what he wanted to be. He wanted to be a hard-ass ODST.

While this was only a child's dream and even his father laughed at such an idea, Mayne was still determined to be an ODST. After moving to high school this childish dream of his was starting to become more of a reality. Mayne selected the hardest subjects and excelled in each and every one and by the time he finished school and turned eighteen he applied to the Orbital Drop Shock Trooper section of the Navy. The officers checked Mayne's exam results, ran him through physical and psychological tests and finally allowed him to join. The very next day he was placed on a pelican with another fifty trainees and flown the ODST training facility in Africa.

"Get a fucking move on, trainee! Mummy ain't here to carry your sorry ass!" Major Sam Williams bellowed behind Mayne and he swore he could feel the polish of the Major's boot stain his behind as he lurched forwards. Quickly recovering his duffle bag filled with his personal belongings he hurriedly made his way inside to the briefing. Once seated in the lecture hall with the other trainees the Major took his place at the front. Sam Williams looked to be about forty years old with a well-built body and slightly greying hair, he was dressed in a set of well ironed green patterned military fatigues and wore a simple black military beret with the words ODST plastered on it.

"Alright trainees, you've probably applied for the ODSTs thinking you'll become the greatest fucking soldiers the universe has ever seen. Well, I am confident to say that you will be the greatest fucking soldiers the universe has ever seen, but right now, you're all just a bunch of weak-assed recruits that'll piss your pants if a weapon is even pointed vaguely in your direction. The next eight months will make you think hell is a fucking paradise and I will guarantee that a lot of you won't make it past the first month. Now with pleasantries out of the way you'll now be organised into your sections for the next eight months." The Major was handed a data pad from a Lieutenant with what Mayne assumed was the list of names. Williams rattled off sections, placing trainees into each section and Mayne zoned out for a while until he heard his name.

"Alexander M, Kyte S, Brown A, Whetherman H, Novell C, you're Four Section." After the briefing Mayne headed for the bunk room of his new section and when he got to the room he saw that all the other members were already settling in. As he walked in all members of Four Section stopped and looked at him. One of the trainees approached him.

"You must be Alexander, I'm Avery Brown." Avery extended his hand and Mayne grasped it.

"Name's Mayne, good to meet you." Mayne replied and Avery gestured around to the other ODST trainees in order.

"That Henry, Claire and Sarah, welcome to Four Section, Mayne." Each member acknowledged when their name was said, Henry was a redhead with a freckled face and stood a little smaller than Mayne. Claire and Sarah were both brunettes with their hair cut down to regulatory lengths, the two main differences between the two girls was Claire was lean and had sharp looking eyes while Sarah was more heavily built with a scar running down her face from her ear to her chin. Finally, there was Avery, he was slightly tanned with short cropped black hair and a sturdy figure.

"You know what guys?" Avery clapped Mayne over the shoulder and brought him towards the group, "I think we're going to work great together." Little did they all know the level of comradeship they were going to form during the next few months of training.

Location: Corvette Shadow of Intent

Date: 22nd February 2558

Time: 0900 hours

Mayne scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. Yes, Reesha had just told him her life story and even the very hard parts of it but Mayne still was unsure of her. Instead he took the short and simple approach to her question. "I was just a kid who dreamt of being a soldier, joined the ODST section of the UNSC at eighteen, did a few campaigns and ended up here." He said evasively and Reesha knew that it wasn't the whole story.

"I am certain there is more of a story for such an individual." Reesha gently pressed but Mayne was having none of it, even though they had helped each other back on that corvette, had that friendly duel and Reesha had told her story, it did not make them anything near as friends, they were merely soldiers in the same situation. Mayne had no obligation to tell Reesha of his life.

And the life I left behind. He thought. "Yes, but I'm not going to share it, thank you very much." He said more aggressively than he intended. Reesha hesitated briefly but wisely chose to guide the conversation away from Mayne's history and instead tried a different approach.

"You say you always dreamt of being a soldier, as did I. Was fighting as a soldier anything like you expected as a young one?" She asked and Mayne shook his head.

"No, not at all." As a child Mayne always thought that fighting as a soldier meant charging into the field of battle with the flag of your nation behind you, fighting villainy and winning the day. Once Mayne really got into combat, his dreams nor training could have ever prepared him for the horrors he experienced. In one aspect, Mayne did charge into the field of battle but almost never was it to victory. After the initial charge, he was instantly plastered against some form of barricade to stop the dreadful plasma from wiping away his existence. There was little to no winning for the UNSC, the victory was surviving the day.

No, war was not what Mayne had grown up thinking it was. War was a bloody, dreadful mess that inflicted so many insurmountable horrors on warriors from both sides. Before Reesha could reply a shifting noise sounded behind them of a door opening. "Am I interrupting something, Corporal? You know the penalties for fraternisation." Catherine said as she crossed her arms and produced a frown. Mayne stood up quickly.

"No, Sergeant, there's nothing going on here. We're just chatting." Mayne said defensively and Reesha, seeming to catch on, joined in on the defence.

"Mayne is correct, we were only exchanging stories. Nothing more." At this Catherine's eyes opened a little wider but the movement was quickly controlled. She let a smile slide.

"I was only joking you two, Phoenix is heading to the weapons training simulation, just wondering if you wanted to come along if you're feeling any better?" She asked.

Mayne nodded his head. "Yeah why not, I think I can handle it, just don't let the doc see." He imagined the face of the medical officer if he saw Mayne on the firing simulation, absolutely hysterical.

"I will join you if you do not mind, ODST Catherine." Reesha chimed in and Catherine nodded.

"Sure, we could have some friendly competition." She smirked at Mayne, who frowned.

"I've had enough competition against the Commander for a while, Catherine." He groaned.

"Yes, I bet you have." Catherine grinned, "Come on, let's go." She gestured for the pair to follow her. Mayne walked out first and as Reesha followed behind Catherine placed a hand in front of her.

"You say you got him to talk about stories?" Reesha nodded.

"It was not much, he was very evasive."

"Well, that's better than anyone has ever done since the incident." Catherine said and once again Reesha's interests were perked.

"What was this incident that occurred to him?" She asked but only received a shake of the head for Catherine.

"It's not my place to say, if he wants to tell you then he will."

At the weapons training simulation, the rest of Phoenix were already armed and taking shots at brute targets as they rose from the floor, walls or ceiling. Ajax carried an M20 Submachine gun, he was aiming down the reflex sight and firing only one or two round bursts at targets standing a few metres away. Gabriel was next to him wielding a M6C Silenced Magnum and firing rapidly as targets showed themselves. Also with Fireteam Phoenix stood the members of Reesha's team. The team was made up of four Sangheili, one of which Mayne knew to be the Major Zek. The Sangheili wore sets of SpecOps armour with either the colour red or blue. Upon approaching Mayne acquired a battle rifle but dropped it as a Type-25 Carbine flew into his arms. Reesha stood opposite him with arms crossed over her chest. "Shall we see who has the greatest sight?" She morphed her mouth into what Mayne could only assume was a sneer. Keeping a straight face, he set the carbine down against a stand and picked up the discarded battle rifle, he then threw it at the SpecOps Commander and gave his own sneer.

"As long as it's on even terms, Commander." He taunted.

I doubt she's ever used a human weapon before. At least I've used a carbine before, He thought confidently. His thoughts were confirmed when she caught the rifle and her grin faded. "If I use plasma technology, I can use this primitive weapon." She tried to sound sure of herself but Mayne could hear a wavering uncertainty.

Reesha turned the weapon over in her clawed hands, taking in information, rapidly. There was a trigger of sorts which undoubtedly discharged the weapon, a siting system on the top of the weapon and a gap in the rear of the rifle where the ammunition would be inserted. Mayne walked over with a magazine and took the rifle from her grips. He gestured towards Catherine who was busily inspecting a battle rifle and loading the magazine into the weapon. "That's how you insert the ammo into the rifle," He then tilted the rifle in his hands, "You tilt the rifle so that the chamber is visible so you can correctly insert the magazine," Mayne slapped the magazine into the chamber, a small Click signalling that the magazine was firmly in place. He then pulled the cocking handle back on the rifle and released it, arming the rifle. "Then you pull the cocking handle back and release the safety. The rifle is now ready to fire." He handed the battle rifle back to Reesha and picked up the carbine. He quickly opened the ejection port and inserted a cartridge into the chamber. Reesha seemed about to ask a question but Mayne interrupted. "I've had a bit of practice. This isn't the first time I've used a carbine." He said rather smugly. Reesha just grunted in reply and levelled the human rifle down range. A brute target shot up from the floor and Reesha pulled the trigger. A three-round burst spat out of the gun and sped towards the target. Reesha let out an annoyed huff as they missed by mere centimetres.

"Not bad Commander. Only problem is that if that brute was real, you'd be dead now." Mayne mocked in a serious tone. Reesha turned harshly to him.

"Let us see you shoot better with a Covenant rifle." She snarled. Off to the side Zek was standing by Catherine. He bent down slightly to her height.

"The Commander doesn't like being beaten, she tends to become aggressive when she starts losing." He whispered as to not gain the heated female Sangheili's attention.

"Well, in this case I believe she thinks she's already lost." Catherine chuckled. Mayne lifted his borrowed carbine and aimed it down range. A target shifted from the right wall and immediately Mayne fire three rounds in quick succession, each radioactive projectile impacting the chest of the target. Another target showed itself and another three projectiles were sent straight into its head. Mayne paused and turned to face Reesha with a smirk.

"Do I win Commander?" He asked innocently. Reesha, although a shade more purple, bowed her head slightly.

"I concede. As much as I regret losing, you do shoot admirably." She said and as her head raised and Mayne saw her eyes, he could see that the respect in her words was genuine. An overhead announcement drew the attention of all in the weapons simulation.

"Shadow of Intent, we shall be exiting Slipspace within ten units. Prepare for a slight disturbance." Catherine gestured for Pheonix to come over.

"Alright guys, let's get back to our room and pack our gear." She was greeted with acknowledgements and the group left the room. Reesha stood for a moment with the members of Arbiter's Wrath. She looked down at the rifle in her hands and then down at the opposite end of the range. With a shrug, she placed the rifle stock against her shoulder and aimed down the sights. As a target showed itself she took an extra half-second before firing. Once she did the three-round burst hit the target directly in the chest. A smile lit up her face as she placed the weapon down.

"Let us prepare to depart." She said and the Sangheili around her nodded in agreement.

Once Mayne and the rest of Fireteam Phoenix arrived at their room they began loading up their duffle bags and slinging their rifles onto their backs. Catherine and Ajax were currently moving their bags to the Lich and Mayne was in the process of zipping up his bag. He was almost finished when a few words behind stopped him.

"So, I'm guessing you've got a thing for the SpecOps Commander. Looking for some action while on operation, are we?" Gabriel sniggered. Mayne turned around to see the ODST looking directly at him with an unfriendly grin. Trying to avoid conflict Mayne faced his baggage again and spoke passively.

"I'm not doing any such thing Gabriel." He said as he fully zipped his bag.

"Bullshit, we all saw you eyeing that alien during that weapons session. Friendly competition, bullshit! You just want in." He laughed and Mayne suddenly felt hot under his collar, maybe it was the fact that Gabriel called Reesha an alien. Technically she was an alien to Mayne as a human but in this case Gabriel used alien as a derogative term as a means to insult him and her. Mayne didn't know why but he suddenly felt very pissed off. Dropping the passive attitude, he turned and marched straight up to Gabriel.

"I'm not sure what's your problem but you're really starting to piss me off, that's probably not the best thing to do." He seethed quietly, his face millimetres from Gabriel's. The arrogant ODST only smiled humorously.

"Ooo, not used to having someone annoy you. Seems appropriate for someone who's been alone for a while." His grin widened and Mayne had an urge like no other than to knock a few teeth out of Gabriel's grinning mouth. Thankfully Catherine had just come back and seen the confrontation.

"Break it up!" She barked. Gabriel's grin faded and he stepped back as did Mayne, "When we have some time we're gonna' sit down and have a little chat about this. It cannot continue!" She glared at both of the ODST's, "You're ODST's, do your fucking job and stick those bags on the Lich and get ready to leave." Mayne and Gabriel then picked up their bags wordlessly and made their way towards the Lich. All the while Mayne was trying to comprehend what made him so angry in the first place.