When it was clear Six wasn't going to say anything or take her hand anytime soon, Kat retracted it and began loading a fresh magazine into her rifle. "What? See something you like, Lieutenant?" Kat said nonchalantly.
"Sorry..." Six said. "Kat's... got my tongue..." The Spartan snapped out of the befuddled trance he was in and extended an arm out so she could actually pull him up.
Kat let out a dry chuckle and lifted Six onto his feet with a hefty grunt. "Funny," she said. "Bet you weren't expecting to see me again. Miss me?"
Six glanced around at the dead bodies of the Elites. "Yeah. Thanks for the assist."
"Not gonna let another Six die if I can avoid it. Got here just in time by the look of things."
"How are you... I thought you were dead. I saw a bullet go through your helmet."
"That's right. Helmet," she confirmed. She pointed at the exit point of the needle with her finger and dragged it down. "A few inches lower and it would've killed me. Knocked me out for several days and now I have a bad headache, but I think I'm all right. What about you? What happened to your shoulder?" Kat gestured to the bloody patch on the Spartan's arm.
"Just a scratch," Six said. "Armor absorbed most of it."
"Scratch? Don't act tough. We should get that patched up."
Six bent down to pick up his helmet. He promptly put it back on, just in case there were any lingering Covenant. "How'd you find me?" he asked.
"Covenant communications. You were stirring up quite a bit of trouble on their channels," Kat said. "Where's the rest of Noble? Don't tell me they-"
"Carter and Emile," Six cut in, "They didn't make it..."
"And Jun?"
"I don't know."
Kat's head drooped towards the ground. "I see... Seems it's just us now."
Silent for a moment, Six stared pensively at the Banshees and Phantoms in the distance before returning to Kat. "We should get out of here before more come. Did you bring a ride?"
"Warthog," Kat said, pointing nearby down the road. She started in that direction and Six followed in step. "I can probably take a few guesses, but I've been out for a while, so fill me in on the situation."
"I've got good news and bad news," Six said. "The Pillar of Autumn is gone which means we're gonna have to find another way off the planet. I think we can do it, but it probably won't be easy."
"Now tell me the good news," Kat said.
"That was the good news," Six said. "Bad news is, the Covenant isn't going to stop until they've glassed the whole surface."
"Our time is limited, but it should take a few days for them to finish up the job. We'll come up with something. If you ask me, I'm more worried about Covenant forces hunting us down like dogs."
The road they were walking along curved to the side and the Warthog Kat had come in appeared from behind the cover of a ruined barrack.
"Hop in, Six. I'll drive," Kat said.
Six shot an arm out to stop her from getting in. "On second thought, now that I'm here, maybe I should take the wheel."
Kat scoffed. "Oh, come on, Six. My driving isn't that bad."
"Not your domain. I'm the pilot, remember? I'm used to driving things," Six said.
"Heh..." Kat nodded in recognition. "Fair enough."