Hello Everyone!
I am extremely sorry for the very delayed upload. After I got back from my holiday to NZ I experienced a huge writers block and to add on with that, I'm in the middle of exams and I've been studying my ass off to get good grades. I also may have gotten a little side tracked with playing Halo and Fortnite hehe.
well, this is the long awaited chapter 9 (Yes OORAH, I'm finally updating) and I hope you all enjoy.
Note: This chapter hasn't been edited by my editor so it may change slightly in the following week or so if i have any major errors. If you guys find any major errors send me a PM and ill sort it out.
Guest Responses:
Giggle meyumyums: Hey welcome back, that seems to be a few crazy experiences and I hope you're ok! Lets hope you lose that bad luck streak :)
OORAH: I'm finally updating! Please don't shoot me with that 9mm
Location: State of Jalam, 3 clicks from Covenant operating base
Date: 22nd February 2558
Time: 1130 hours, Arbiter's execution estimated 8 hours 30 minutes
Reesha's breath was ragged as she sprinted though the humid jungle after the ODST; Corporal Mayne Alexander. During the firefight against the Covenant outpost, she saw Mayne going after one of the large Sangheili that tried to escape its sure death. Reesha had no doubt that the human could hold his own in a fight but in this environment, it was all too easy for an enemy to disappear in a second and then ambush its prey once it loses sight of them. Even now she could imagine Mayne walking cautiously through the brush, having lost sight of the retreating warrior and then having an energy sword plunged deep into his back as the Sangheili launches its attack from behind. Although not knowing why it caused her so much worry the thoughts seemed to make Reesha push even harder to catch up to him.
Suddenly a burst of gunfire alerted her and she changed direction sharply, bursting out of the trees into a small clearing just as the Covenant warrior ploughed head on into Mayne, flipped over him and to Reesha's horror, dragged him by the heel over the edge of what seemed to be a cliff. Without wasting a moment, Reesha rushed to the side of the cliff, hoping to no end that her Human ally had somehow managed to grab hold of something.
Below her was only raging white water, Mayne was gone.
Reesha sat back, her body numb.
He was gone. Mayne was dead.
Why did she feel so numb? She had seen many soldiers die by her side but it never made her feel like this. The only time she remembered feeling like this was after the death of her best friend; Ceea 'Vukam.
I didn't even know anything about this Human. I shouldn't feel like this, she tried to tell herself but a second voice cut through her mind,
But now he's gone. The thought troubled her to the core but she was too shocked to think why.
Suddenly the ferns behind her were unceremoniously shoved aside with a loud crash and Reesha spun around, senses flaring and fired a shot from her carbine at the intruders. The second in command of The Arbiter's Wrath; Zek, ducked quickly as the bolt flew mere inches over his head.
"Commander Reesha! We are friendly!" He called as he slowly rose to his full height once more, there was more rustling behind him as the rest of the rescue team came into the clearing. Reesha let the carbine fall limply in her clawed hands as she stood up and heaved a long sigh.
"I apologise Major, I thought you were Covenant." Zek nodded his understanding. His next question sent a slight pain though Reesha's chest.
"Have you located the other Human?" Reesha simply pointed to the edge of the cliff and dropped her head slightly.
"The Sangheili he followed fell off the edge and took Corporal Alexander with him. He has perished." The words sounded emotionless and hollow but what lacked emotion in her voice seemed to speak insurmountable amounts in her mind.
"Did you see him die?" The largest of the Human ODST's; Ajax almost demanded in a low voice.
"No, I did not but-"
"Then there's still a chance for us to find him, let's go!" He began to jog back into the jungle but their leader; Catherine placed a hand on his shoulder armour.
"We can't Ajax, we don't have enough time." She said sympathetically but with a hint of command in her voice.
"But we can't leave him there!" Ajax growled and this time the third member joined in.
"Yeah, we can, he wanted to be the lone wolf and look where it got him. It's the bastards fault he got himself into that situation." Gabriel almost sneered.
"Oh, you sonofa-", Reesha could see that the human was barely holding himself back and she too almost felt like removing the arrogant Human's head from his shoulders. Around her, the Sangheili were idly standing and inspecting their weapons as they didn't have any opinions about the recently deceased Human. The Human marines were watching on cautiously, seeming to not want to get involved with matters of their more advanced allies but ready to break things up in case the situation got out of hand.
"With all respect to your fallen ally, we shall pay the price if we remain here for much longer. The Arbiter will not stay alive forever." Zek spoke up and suddenly all helmet visors were on him. Ajax slowly dropped his tensed shoulders.
"You're right-" He saw Gabriel uptake some air as if to make another taunt, "-Not you, you fucking asshole." Ajax snarled and Catherine once again placed a hand on his shoulder.
"If he is still alive and not incapacitated, he'll find us. He may be a lone wolf but he's a tough ass ODST." She then turned back to the rest of the group. "Let's move."
Reesha cast a last look back over the cliff edge and felt another pain in her chest.
Why? Why was this Human's death so hard to accept. Just like it was to accept Ceea's death.
"May you rest easy, Mayne Alexander" she said quietly before holstering her carbine and following the party back into the jungle.
They still have an Arbiter to save.
Location: Unknown
Date: Unknown
Time: Unknown
Mayne felt a cool wet substance on his head, almost like water was being wiped from a towel on his forehead. It was a nice sensation and it reminded him of the spray that would arise from water tumbling down a waterfall. Suddenly he felt himself frown as something swirled in his mind.
Water tumbling down from a waterfall. Waterfalls tumble off cliffs. Cliff…. Falling!
Mayne's eyes suddenly shot open and directly above him was the face of a Sangheili. Rocketing back into reality he flung his fist at the assailant and connected his fist with its mandibles, sending it stumbling back into two more of its kind. The warrior let out a low growl of pain.
"By the Gods, is that how Human's greet one another?" Mayne scrambled to his feet and reached for the hilt on his combat knife and feeling a sense of dread when he realised it was gone. Mayne and the three Sangheili stood still for what seemed to be hours before the alien warriors began making very odd rumbling sounds. Were they laughing?
Mayne began to feel something sliding slowly down his brow. He reached up and grabbed the object and found that it was some sort of moss, green and wet.
"What is this?" Mayne growled, throwing the moss to the ground and raising his hands again. Now that he was fully aware of his sensations he could feel pain, lots of pain all over his body. He reached up and felt his head and saw that his fingers came away with a small amount of blood. The leader of the three Sangheili standing before him who wore a set of silver Field Marshall armour pointed towards the water that they had found Mayne in before speaking in a calm voice.
"If you think we are Covenant loyalists you are very incorrect, Human." He pointed back to where another body lay, also a Sangheili but it's neck was twisted very out of shape.
"That was your foe. He has long been deceased. You are lucky that you fared better." The Sangheili then activated his energy sword and took a step closer to Mayne, losing his neutral tone in exchange for a menacing one, "But why are you here Human? We may have a truce but your kind are not permitted on Sanghelios."
Mayne began to back up, raising his hand openly in surrender, realising that these warriors were against the Covenant.
"I'm here with a team to rescue the Arbiter. I'm part of a team assigned to The Arbiter's Wrath." Only at the mention of said team did this Sangheili halt.
"The Arbiter's Wrath? Is that so? And who is the leader of that team?"
"Reesha 'Moram is our leader." Almost immediately the Sangheili deactivated his blade and stepped forward, his mandibles twisting into what Mayne could interpret was a smile.
"I am Field Marshall Lashra 'Saralum, I am the leader of another task force that were sent to rescue the Arbiter." Mayne was now very confused.
"Another team? I thought we were the only one." He queried and a Lashra let out a small disheartened laugh.
"We must be assumed deceased then. You see, uh-"
"Mayne Alexander, UNSC ODST division." Mayne informed Lashra.
"-Mayne Alexander, that there are not many of us left in this team. We were ambushed by the Covenant and it was a slaughter. Only the three of us remain." At this, the two Sangheili behind Lashra spoke softly in their own language and lowered their heads. Lashra too seemed to drop his head slightly. Was it because he was mourning his lost brothers or because of the realisation that he was most likely considered dead to the rest of Sanghelios. Probably a bit of both.
"I am terribly sorry for the death of your brethren, I give my greatest condolences." Mayne placed a fist on his chest armour, relating all too well to the aftermath of the slaughter of team members.
"Do not worry of such things, they knew the risks and perished fighting for a peaceful future for all Sangheili." Lashra walked past Mayne and he turned to see that Lashra was collecting his custom helmet, knife and magnum.
"I believe that you shall need these for our journey, Mayne Alexander."
"Our Journey?" Mayne questioned as he donned his helmet, slipped his magnum into its holster with a satisfying click, and slid his combat knife into his battle rifle though, he felt naked. Like a fish out of water or a lumberjack without an axe. Once ready he rebooted his helmets' systems, first the motion sensor flickered to life and soon followed by everything else. Mayne glanced down at the clock.
1306 Hours
Shit, I must have been out for an hour. He thought
"Yes, you would be foolish to go alone, Mayne Alexander." Lashra insisted.
"Ok, just Mayne is fine, you don't have to call me by my name and surname. Another thing, I don't need you because we already have a plan and I don't want anything to go wrong because a few new guys don't know the plan." Mayne hoped he sounded convincing. Truth be told, they didn't really have a plan for when they arrived at the temple, they didn't have enough intel. It was this time that his body decided it was a good time to send a jolt of pain through his body and he winced slightly.
"See Human, you are not fully healed. Now whether you like it or not, we shall accompany you as we promised to return our Arbiter back safely and I plan to see this mission through." Mayne didn't feel the strength to argue with his new allies and simply shrugged.
"Fine, whatever. Let's go." He said and the new group set out to locate the Arbiter.
The journey through the jungle was a perilous and exhausting one. Had Mayne not been wearing his armour, he would be swarmed with small insects and even some of Sangheilos's larger ones. Mayne first saw them in the canopy after Lashra had grabbed him and help him to the ground, making Mayne wince at the pain.
"Do you see those insects up there? They are Hirika. They are vicious creatures." He warned. Mayne Glanced up to see that the Hirika that Lashra was pointing at were almost like the dragonflies he used to see back home, except much larger and with a long dagger like proboscis. In a swarm like that, Mayne wouldn't stand a chance so he kept quiet and moved along quietly to avoid the unwanted attention.
A little time passed without a sound from Mayne or Sangheili. This allowed Mayne to have some time to think to himself. Having a look around for any hidden opponents and seeing his alien comrades behind him, he suddenly felt a small grin form. What a weird concept it was that only a year ago, Mayne was fighting tooth and nail to kill any Sangheili he saw and now he was having a nice stroll through the jungle with three of his previous enemies. Much of the UNSC, Hell, much of Humanity hated the idea of forming a treaty with the Sangheili for what they did to them during the thirty odd years of war but after the Sangheili helped Humanity defeat the Covenant and the nightmare inducing Flood, it was only fair to give them another chance.
At least it shows that things can change. This thought was rudely interrupted by a more darker voice.
Yeah, you had a team one minute and then the next they were all dead. Mayne mentally shook his head, there was a time to dwell on these thoughts but now wasn't the time.
Maybe this shows that even after thirty year, Humanity can finally know what it means to have peace. Of course there will be insurrections for many years to come but maybe this is the beginning of a more peaceful era between all species.
Mayne's train of thought changed direction repeatedly and he suddenly found himself thinking of a certain female Sangheili. The warrior in black armour, ferocious in battle, skilled with her red blade. She was certainly a Sangheili to be reckoned with. His thoughts drifted back to the battle aboard the corvette where Reesha and himself fought to save the Human prisoners.
When we fought onboard that Covenant corvette, and when Reesha's life was in danger, why did I feel so afraid of her dying. Never have I feared that way about anyone's life aside from my team. And then afterwards, she seemed to be the only one who genuinely cared about my troubles.
Mayne shook the thoughts from his mind and he chuckled slightly.
Maybe the fall damaged more than just my body. I probably lost a few neurons too.
"How about you tell us something about yourself, Mayne Alexander. If we are to be allies to recover the Arbiter we should become acquainted." Lashra spoke up and Mayne felt the urge to roll his eyes.
"I'll probably never see you again after this mission so I don't think it's necessary." He replied briskly. He could almost sense Lashra bristle at the dismissiveness of his comment but instead of lashing out he said something else.
"What about Commander Reesha? What do you think of her?" Mayne cocked his head slightly as he glanced back at his new Elite ally.
"What about her?" He asked, mildly curious as to why the Sangheili suddenly took an interest in the SpecOps Commander.
"Have you been acquainted with her? What is she like?" Mayne's face scrunched up in confusion. Why would Lashra ask these questions of him? What association would a Field Marshall have with a Special Operations Commander? Then the Elite's question came to mind. Mayne didn't actually know much about Reesha. She excelled in basic combat training, became a student to a great war veteran and was one of the few females to join the ranks of the Covenant. Besides that, he didn't really know her at all.
"I-… We have been acquainted." Lashra kept looking at him with his reptilian eyes, expecting more of an answer, so Mayne continued. "I actually don't know much about her. We fought together on one occasion and fought in a duel but other than that I don't know..."
Lashra's eyes seem to darken and Mayne saw his body tense slightly.
"A duel? That is...Interesting." He said and Mayne decided to let the Sangheili's comment slide. They continued on without any more conversation.
Location: State of Jalam, Ancient Sangheili temple, Covenant operating base
Date: 22nd February 2558
Time: 1820 hours, Arbiter's execution estimated 1 hour 40 minutes.
Reesha glanced towards the sky though the foliage. From where she was sitting she could see the glaring suns that Sangheilos orbited around slowing falling to the horizon. The same suns that rose when she came out of the womb as a youngling and the suns that beat down upon her during her combat training. These were the same suns that would signal the death of the only Sangheili capable of saving her race from destroying themselves in a bloody civil war.
That was a truly terrifying thought.
"We do not have much time to spare, the Arbiter will be executed soon." She looked towards Catherine who nodded her head sombrely. With her helmet off Reesha could see that the Sergeant was still feeling the pain of losing the newest member of her team.
No, not just her team. Our team. This is our team and we lost Mayne. She too was still feeling the raw emotions after seeing the Human she had met and fought with perish. A whirring sound drew her attention back to reality and she glanced over the cover that concealed them from the Covenant controlled temple. They had arrived a short time ago and were in the process of seeing what they were up against. The temple itself was covered in moss, built in the centre what looked to be a crater that was formed a millennium ago by Forerunner debris, the reason the temple was built here in the first place. The grassy ground was flat with little vegetation and surrounding the crater were dirt walls where the rescue team were currently positioned. Taking in all the surroundings anybody could tell their odds were not looking too good. The Arbiter was already positioned outside in plain sight, his hands tied behind his back. The six surviving members of his team were also present all in similar states as their leader.
Surrounding them were heavily armed Covenant warriors with a vast array of weaponry and a wraith, the source of the loud sound. Standing before the Arbiter was a Field Marshall with his blade placed upon his hip. Reesha saw the Sangheili look towards the sky and then say something to the kneeling Arbiter.
"We should act soon, if we attack quickly then we may plunge the Covenant into disarray. If we can get weapons to the Arbiter and the other Sangheili then we may just stand a chance." Reesha suggested to Catherine who nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes, that would work well." Catherine paused for a second, getting her bearings. " We're positioned south of the crater. My team could move around to the west and attack the infantry if you and the Elites flank to the East and take out that wraith." Catherine indicated the areas of attack and Reesha followed her gaze.
"That may just work. Now if only we could have another group attack from the south, we could surround them and-" Reesha didn't finish as another voice cut through the COMMS.
"This is Corporal Mayne Alexander. Does anyone copy? I am on the north side of the temple with three other Elites. I say again, does anybody copy?"
Reesha's eyes widened and she looked directly at Catherine who was still looking at her, waiting for her to continue.
"Sergeant Catherine, put on your helmet now!"
Location: State of Jalam, Ancient Sangheili temple, Covenant operating base
Date: 22nd February 2553
Time: 1823 hours, Arbiter's execution estimated 1 hour 37 minutes.
"This is Corporal Mayne Alexander. Does anyone copy? I am on the north side of the temple with three other Elites. I say again, does anybody copy?" Mayne used the zoom feature in his helmet to scope the far sides of the crater, hoping to catch a glimpse of his team. Did they even make it? Where they captured or killed before they could reach the temple?
"Are your allies here, Human?" Lashra asked from his crouched position. Being the Sangheili he was, Lashra was forced to basically lay down on the ground in order to remain hidden from any possible observers, his armour wasn't exactly the most inconspicuous, being silver.
"I don't know, maybe they got held up." Mayne replied tersely.
When he heard Catherine's voice over the COMMs he heaved a sigh of relief
"Mayne! We're on the north side of the crater, most likely directly opposite you. We would probably be able to see you but there's a big-ass temple in the way."
Mayne chuckled slightly and his Sergeants attempt at humour before turning back to Lashra.
"They're here, directly opposite us. On the other side of the temple." Lashra nodded silently. Then another voice came through the COMMs.
"Mayne, it is good to know you are still alive." It was Reesha, "We do not have much time, the Arbiter is to be executed soon." Mayne ignored the odd feeling in his chest when she spoke and focused on the mission ahead.
"Alright so what's the plan?"