Sorry this has taken so long, everybody. Things came up. Anyway, it's here and ready now, complete with a bit of a familiar face from long ago. Please enjoy!
Once everyone's up to speed with the plan, Tucker and I head up to the cockpit. He sits in the copilot's seat, waiting until we enter radio range as I take us closer to the planet.
Suddenly, there's a voice in Sangheili telling us to identify ourselves. Tucker waves for me to stop the ship and gets ready to speak. I understand parts of what he says to them, but for the most part it's lost on me. Sangheili is a complicated language, and I haven't had as much opportunity to practice as I'd like. The few times I've spoken it in the past year have been to shout for people not to shoot me.
Tucker's conversation is quite a bit more involved. I hear the words ally and ambassador a few times, though whether he's claiming to be an ambassador or asking to speak to one is unknown. After a long couple of minutes of talking that escalates into shouting, he finally ends the call.
"We're good," Tucker announces proudly.
"Really?" I ask. From the heated sound of the discussion, I half expect to be shot down soon.
"Well, they agreed to hear us out, at least," he says. "Trust me, I've dealt with these assholes before. They're all about honor and shit. If they said they won't attack without reason, we can believe it."
"They didn't sound too happy," I say, still uncertain. This feels too easy to me, though maybe I'm just paranoid. A year on the run will do that to a person.
"The language is kind of shouty," Tucker says dismissively. "Don't worry. They're skeptical, but I think they'll listen to us. If I'm right, we'll get at least one of them on our side."
I nod and begin taking us closer to the planet once again, following a set of landing instruction that appear on the screen before me. "I'm trusting you on this one," I say. "I've never exactly negotiated with these guys before, unless you count shouting 'don't shoot me' while running away."
"Sounds like most of my negotiations, to be honest," he jokes. I shoot him a glare. "I'm kidding. Geez. Look, we'll be fine. I just have to find the right person to talk to."
I take a deep breath, reminding myself yet again that there's more to Tucker than I think, and that I can trust him. He saved Tinu. I think that earned him the benefit of the doubt. I just hope I won't regret it in the end.
I take a moment to make sure everyone's ready once we've landed. I double check that my armor's in place properly. I had originally wanted to go without it, hoping to show that we don't mean to attack, but Tucker advised against that. He said the Covenant, particularly the Sangheili, would respect me more as a warrior than an ambassador, since the lines between the two are sort of blurred for them anyway. Plus, they already know who I am and that I'm a fighter, so posing as anything else would appear dishonest. His advice makes sense, and appears more in tune to their culture than what I would have chosen. I'm glad he's here.
I stand at the back of the ship and take a deep breath before hitting the button to open the hatch.
The back of the pelican slowly opens and we step out into the Covenant hangar. As expected, we're greeted with drawn guns, though it feels like they don't plan to shoot. This is just a precaution. I slowly lift my hands above my head. I glance back at my brothers and friends and motion for them to do the same.
I'm doubly glad I listened to Tucker's advice about the armor now. The only one in our group who's unprotected is mom, and I can't say I'd be too broken up about things if she got hurt. I look at her for a moment, seeing the emotionless look on her face as she stares at the floor, Gold hovering behind her threateningly. Once again I wonder if she's putting on an act, or if we somehow managed to break her.
"I think it's time for you to start talking," I say calmly, directing the words at Tucker.
Tucker looks around at the aliens threatening us before focusing on one who appears to be a high ranking officer, judging by his armor. He begins by introducing himself and explaining that he's a former ambassador between humanity and the Covenant, though this particular officer merely snarls for him to get to the point.
Tucker seems surprised by this reaction. He'd explained to me that the Sangheili are very honorable, and since their discovery of the Prophets' lies, they've been more willing to listen to what others have to say. They've also been dealing with a civil war, though. It's been beneficial in stopping them from tracking us down, but it may also explain this officer's impatience. I hope it doesn't make him less reasonable as well.
Tucker takes a moment to pull out his treasured sword, and I try not to show my apprehension, wondering what he could be thinking pulling a weapon in the middle of a negotiation. The warriors around us seem to have a different reaction to the weapon, however. Some of them look awestruck, as much by the sight of the weapon as who and what is holding it. Whispers spread through the room as the officer greets Tucker by a title I haven't heard before, thought he sim-trooper looks pleased.
Tucker then moves on to explain about Dr. Han, who she is and what she's done. The soldier barks an accusation at us, and unfortunately it's one I recognize. I've heard it plenty of times before. He says we're terrorists.
Tucker quickly denies this, saying that we were set up, and we all tried to stop each other from fighting when we found the truth. The officer sounds skeptical, but tells him to continue. Tucker begins telling the whole story, from our role as experiments to Dr. Han's use of the control chips.
The group gathered in the hangar seems interested by the story, though I can't tell if they believe it or not. I see the officer's hands twitch over his rifle, crystalline pink needles catching the light as he moves, and I can only hope he's considering putting the weapon away rather than filling my face with projectiles.
After Tucker finishes the story I hear him ask for someone, though I can't make out who it is. The officer seems to consider his request for a moment before nodding and waving two of the soldiers away.
"Tucker," I say, wanting some sort of explanation for where we stand right now. "What does that mean?"
"This guy's in charge of all military aspects of this base," Tucker explains. "But he really isn't authorized to make decisions like this. I asked them to bring someone who could help us."
"You asked for someone by name," I say, having understood at least that much. "What's going on?"
"You'll see," the sim-trooper says, sounding happy, though I can't place why.
A moment later the hangar's main doors open, and an alien wearing armor of a rank I don't recognize steps through. I can tell he's important, though, from the way the soldiers in the room react to him.
The newcomer steps past all the other soldiers and, after a few brief words, even bypasses the officer. He stops a few feet in front of our group, seeming to wait for something.
He doesn't have to wait long. Tucker pushes past me to face him, holding his arms out to the side.
"It's been a while," Tucker says, sounding happy.
The alien grunts out a word I don't recognize before rushing forward. My hand's almost to my gun before I realize that it isn't attacking Tucker, but hugging him.
"Yeah, I've missed you too, little guy," Tucker says, wrapping his arms as far as they'll go around the hulking creature.
"Uh, Tucker," Wash says, sounding as shocked as the rest of the aliens look. "What is this?"
It's a long couple of seconds before Tucker and the Sangheili separate. "Guys, this is Junior," the sim-trooper introduces. "He's my son."
I can hear the officer asking something similar of Junior, who answers with a phrase I mostly don't understand, though I do catch the word 'mother'.
"No, hey, we talked about this," Tucker interrupts. "I'm your dad, Junior, not your mom."
They fall into a bit of an argument which I mostly tune out. I edge closer to Wash while they talk.
"Did you know Junior was here?" I whisper to him.
Wash shakes his head. "I don't think Tucker was really sure of it," he answers thoughtfully. "He mentioned that there would be ambassadors here. Maybe he was hoping to find his son."
"Maybe," I say, smiling a bit as I watch the reunion. I'm glad Tucker was able to find his son. He seems happier now that I can ever remember seeing him, which is saying a lot for the carefree soldier. Still, I do hope we get back to business soon. We still have a lot to do.