The desolate building Shi'ae had spotted while making her way through the forest was not too far from where she was now. In fact, she had already been heading there, which was why she was walking back in the direction of the marines, but she had collapsed before she could make it. Luckily, Oliver had been there to save her.
She continued her way through the woods until she came across the building that would act as her hiding spot for the time being while she was injured.
The building itself was a small log cabin, better described as more of a large shed. The two windows were broken, with small bits of glass hanging from the top like stalactites, and moss covering the window-sill. There was a rotting wooden door with rusted hinges at the front of the shack, which provided some resitance when Shi'ae forced the door open. She figured it hadn't been open in a long time, at least a couple of years, which meant no one would probably be coming back to the property anytime soon.
The medication Oliver had given her was working miracles. She still felt mild discomfort, and some actions were very hard to do, but other than that she felt quite well for having been shot. She cursed herself when she realised the pills would run out eventually, and maybe she should've asked for more, but on the other she didn't want to be greedy and Oliver had already done a lot for her.
'Nevermind, let's see if I can find anywhere somewhat comfortable for sleeping.', she thought.
As she stared around the shack, she noted that that would be far from an easy task. The tiny amount of space the building had was largely taken up by dusty, cobweb covered, wooden crates. The one positive to take from it, solving a problem Shi'ae hadn't thought of, was the few cans of food that were on some of the crates.
There appeared to be no water, but she could source that from the stream whenever she wanted.
It took Shi'ae a while to make room for somewhere to sleep. The crates looked heavy, but they certainly felt a lot heavier than one would think. Although, her strength was not at it's full potential because she was lacking energy and sleep.
She layed down in the small corner, just barely big enough for her to fit, as she had given up trying to make it comfortable after she had dropped one the boxes and was unable to pick it back up again.
She placed her head against the wall, using it as a support, and she slowly closed her eyes and let sleep take her.
Oliver and the other marines had been dismissed once they had arrived back at base, and Oliver immediately went for his bed. He chucked his bag at the foot of the bed and leaped onto the douve after he had gotten changed.
He slid under the covers and closed his weary eyes, his aching feet overjoyed that they didn't have to do anymore standing. He quickly fell asleep on the soft mattress, the day's events unconsiously playing over in his mind.
The Next Day
Oliver woke up stiff and sore from the previous day's events, but his mind was refreshed. A loud rumble that came from his stomach signalled to him just how famished he was.
After making his way down to the cafeteria with Isaac, Oliver received a large bowl of hot soup, which he devoured. Isaac and Oliver simply just chatted for a bit, trying to put their minds at ease and relaxed.
Isaac was a good friend, but he was still unsure whether he could trust him with the information that he had helped the enemy, even if Shi'ae was in Isaac's good books after she had let them go. Better off not saying anything in case anyone overheard anyways.
Oliver put his soup bowl and tray on the stack of dishes that needed to be washed once he had finished.
He was about to leave when a young officer came up to him and told him, "Your being assigned to a new platoon, so you need to head over to the assembly. Right now."
The man briskly walked away before Oliver could give any input. Having nothing else to really do, he thought if would be best if head there straight away. A smile crept across his face when he turned around and saw Isaac walking behind him in the same direction.
He slowed his pace to allow Isaac to catch up to him. Once he did, they began talking again while they were walking.
"Hey, I didn't really see you yesterday during the fight. Where were you?", Isaac inquired.
"Up on the front lines storming the base. Got a bit crazy in there but I manged to get out almost without a scratch."
He responded, "Oh shit really?", in a surprised voice.
"Yeah, where were you?", Oliver asked.
"At the back mostly, reporting anything I see or sometimes taking potshots if I can."
Oliver gave a nod in acknowledgement and the subject was forgotten about as they continued on, talking about various things. Oliver also noted that Isaac was a lot more quiet than usual, like he was holding back something.
As they closer to where they would be assigned, he saw other people making their way there. 'Guess these are going to be my new teammates', thought. They seemed like average marines, marines just like them.
Oliver almost lost it when they told them they would be transported yet again, but calmed down once more details had been given. They were going back to the concrete fortress to help fix it back up and populate it. They were to also act as guards if anything happened.
Oliver would've prefered to stay at the base they were at now, but at least they were less likely to be called upon for a different mission that may involve something much worse than guard duty.
Oliver looked over at Isaac and noticed he had stayed calm, not too bothered at the idea.
Whoever organized it did not leave a lot of time for the marines to get ready, only roughly twenty minutes before they had to board what they assumed would be warthogs.
As soon as the meeting was over everyone quickly disbanded, hurriedly trying to get to their barracks, including Oliver and Isaac.
Once Oliver was at his bed, he wasted no time in gathering his necessary things, which was not much and most of it was already packed away. He didn't have much that wasn't military related to take with him, one of the few exceptions being an old silver necklace with intricate patterns on it. It was a gift from his dad, while having little actual value still held sentimental value to him.
He hauled the heavy bag out of the barracks, and started to slowly waddle over to the front entrance of the base. A few other people had already gathered there, and as the minutes went by more and more gradually came, including Isaac.
Everyone had made it with not a minute to spare, but what they didn't expect was two massive pelicans to come floating down from the sky, having come from the opposite direction of where the gate was facing.
Isaac appeared to have had developed a fear of flying, his face went noticeably paler and his hands were shaking and twitching by his sides. He did board the roaring bird, with a slight delay however.
The occupants of their plane hadn't much to say over the course of the flight, and it remained relatively silent throughout, apart from the occasional chatter over the comms that came from inside the cockpit.
Oliver found himself nervously sweating over the course of the flight, but he quickly regained his posture once the pelican began to descend and they touched safely on solid ground.
Isaac was the first one off, not wanting to spend another second on the craft. Everyone else got off at their own pace, and they were greeted by a jolly young woman who seemed keen on getting them to work as soon as possible. There really wasn't much work to be done, as the builders were doing all the fixing and repairing. Oliver knew this and groaned internally, but hopefully he wouldn't be needed and would be sent to whatever living area he was assigned to. How wrong was he.
They were told to put their bags away and after putting a handful of people on guard duty the lady had to pick a person at random for a different task. She pointed at the first person she saw, which happened to be Oliver and said, "Yes, you! Take this. I need you to go into the forest and place them around in strategic positions. They are sensors, and should be able to detect anything early before it reaches the base. Off you go now."
What the lady had handed Oliver was a leather bag filled with some type of square electronical black box. Oliver still had his smaller med bag on his back, which he had with him most of the time, so carrying an additional one would be quite awkward.
None the less he carried out the task, although he hadn't a clue why he was chosen for the job, having no experience in strategy he would've thought someone who had or someone who was smarter would have been picked. He guessed they were just tight on time.
The sensors had some sort of sticky material on the back that was revealed once a plastic covering had been removed. He wandered around and placed the objects in places he believed would suffice, until he came across the same clearing he was in the other day, the stream still confidently flowing.
Shi'ae woke up quite late in the morning, judging from the position of the star called 'Ran' in the sky. She knew she would be sore, but she didn't expect it to be half as bad as it was. Fortunately, she had never had any serious injuries before, but this left her unprepared for what it would be like to get shot and then sleep on a hard wood floor.
She felt light headed and dizzy, so decided it would be best to get some water from the stream and maybe come back to get some food.
The forest was quiet, tranquil, with loads of different kinds of birds chirping and singing. She knelt down beside the stream and cupped some water in her hands before quickly gulping it all down. After also splashing her face with some water she sat in the shade under a larger than average tree.
It was risky, and if she was spotted she would have a hard time escaping, but she felt free and happy. Going back to that shack would just ruin her mood.
She sat there motionless for a few minutes, content with life. A few moments later she decided to go back.
'All good things have to come to an end', she thought somewhat sadly. She would be certainly visiting the spot tomorrow though.
She began to stand up until she heard something stepping on dry leaves, making a crunching sound. She froze, completely caught off guard without a clue of what to do.
"You're not a very good hider, you know."
It took a second but she realised it was Oliver. Her rigid frame relaxed and she let out a held breath. Obviously she was not hidden, so stepped out in the open to face the speaker.
Oliver look surprised to see her, but he also couldn't hide the faintest of smiles from her.
Shi'ae was caught off guard but still managed to say, "Yes, it seems so. What are you doing out here?"
"I was told to put these sensor things out here. Anyways, how are you?"
Shi'ae smiled lightly and responded, "I'm fine, thank you. You did an excellent job healing me, but... Nevermind actually."
Oliver did feel bad for shooting her, and he could tell she was still in some pain, so was adamant in finding out what was wrong. It clicked for him before he could even asked.
"No, it's alright. Did the medication I gave you run out?".
Shi'ae was guilty to admit it because she didn't want to rely on Oliver or get him into trouble. She really needed the medicine though.
"Um, yes. I hope it's not too much to ask but can I have some more please?"
Oliver gave a small laugh and told her, "Yeah, sure. You can just ask if you need them, you seem like a good person so I don't mind."
He took off his bag and rummaged around in it for the pills. He managed to find the correct ones after about a minute, and he handed them to Shi'ae along with his canteen.
Shi'ae thanked him and chucked the pills into her mouth, then washing them down with a huge gulp of water.
"Oliver, is it okay if I can talk with you for just a short while?"
Oliver never had the thought of just sitting down and talking with the friendly sangheili. It would be
interesting to see how their cultures varied, and he was not needed back at base.
"I would love to have a chat with you."
Next chapter might take a bit longer than usual. I've got a busy week ahead and a league title deciding game, but we'll see how things turn out. Also the next few are going be more relaxed and casual than usual, but if you want more action let me know.
Fun fact: Ran is another name for Epsilon Eridani, which is a real star that Reach's solar system is based off.