Chapter Four – Jessamyn Lett

The bulk of the Great Prophet slipped out of the Slipstream near High Charity. The human ship attached drove the Covenant into fear, but Ship Master Zula 'Bobonsoree quickly assured the Hierarchs that they had in fact captured the human frigate and not the other way around. The High Prophets instantly asked to see the Sangheili who had conceived the idea. Then they would set to work deconstructing everything human they could.

'Lytamee was accompanied by Korajyra alone as they flew for High Charity to meet with the Heirarchs.

'Meramee strode through the wreck of the Bandwidth, 'Nebalee and 'Bamasanee accompanying him. They were mapping the ship, and there was only one hall left. They strode into it, only to find that there was a room below. It had a bunch of tube-looking objects with clear glass covers. Only one was occupied, and it contained a nude human female.

"What is this?" 'Nebalee asked, approaching something located halfway down the hall. It almost looked like a control panel.

"I don't know." 'Meramee replied. The three Sangheili gathered around the control pad, but they couldn't read the human script written on it. 'Nebalee turned around and examined the now-finished map of the ship, with labels approximating what each chamber was.

"So, what would you say this room was?" he asked, sitting down on the control pad. A beep emanated and 'Nebalee jumped. The control pad flashed, and numbers, letters, and symbols began appearing. Down in the chamber below, the woman's cryotube began to fill with a gas.

"'Nebalee, what did you do?" 'Meramee asked.

"I... don't know." 'Nebalee replied. The gas cleared, and the human woman stirred. Nervously, 'Nebalee asked, "Sir, should we let her out? She may not be able to breathe in there..."

"We go and check her out." 'Meramee said. "Come, we must be swift."

Jessie's eyes fluttered open. Where am I? She thought. Then she felt the coldness on her skin and remembered. She turned her head and began sending heat and feeling to her body. She tasted something foul on her tongue, remembering the gel that was given to her to replenish the nutrients that she lost in cryosleep.

Suddenly Jessie realized that the cryochamber was completely empty. Even as she looked, she saw empty cryotubes lining the wall. They were all open.

What the hell? Jessie thought. She reached out and touched the glass over the pod, and although she felt it, it didn't budge. She heard a clomping sound, as if multiple figures were entering the room. Excellent. Now those bastard crew members can explain to me what the -"

She stopped as the people entered her field of view. They were approaching her, but she still couldn't believe what she was seeing. They were elites!

"Won thgir dop taht fo tuo tel reh tnaw I. Dop reh nepo tuc, eelaben." One said. In response, another drew forth a blue rod. The energy sword sprang to life, and terror gripped Jessie. She stared, frozen, as the elite stepped up to her pod. Jessie shut her eyes, thinking her final thoughts to her loved ones.

She felt the blade cut through the pod.

After a moment, Jessie lay still, every muscle contracted in blind fear. She hadn't felt anything, was this what death was like?

"Reh ot deneppah tahw?" Obviously not.

Jessie opened her eyes and tried to relax. The elite stood over her, its cyan armor almost reflecting the color of its sword. Behind it stood two other elites in similar armor. Their faces were unreadable, but if she had to take a guess, they seemed confused. One spoke back to the elite standing over her,

"Stehporp eht wohs tsum ew gnihtemos si siht. Tuo reh pleh. Ekawa si ehs."

Then, to her complete surprise, the elite standing over her deactivated his sword and offered her his hand. Uncertain as to what she should do, Jessie complied. She grasped the strong alien hand and pulled herself up out of the cryotube.

'Meramee stared at the human woman in amazement. She was different than the humans he had seen in his life. But then again, they had all been wearing clothes. He suddenly felt a surge of pity for the woman. She had woken up unexpectedly and been faced with her worst nightmares, then had to wait as 'Nebalee cut her out of the cryotube.

With violent suddenness she doubled over, coughing violently as her windpipe was extended the way it was meant to. She collapsed over 'Nebalee's arm, coughing and hacking, until a stream of clear liquid flowed from her mouth. She stumbled back, breathing more or less normally now, her body turning red. 'Meramee knew enough about humans now to know she was embarrassed.

"You can't understand us, can you?" he asked her. She eyed him warily, taking in the bulk of the sangheili that stood a good meter above her. She shook her head slowly and said something in her tongue. It translated in 'Meramee's helmet translators as,

"I can't understand you. Please don't hurt me."

"'Nebalee, get back. Don't appear threatening." 'Meramee watched her as the sangheili backed up. Shock covered her face as she realized that not only could he understand her, but he was respecting her as well. She spoke again.

"You can understand me?"

'Meramee thought a moment, then brought his head up and down twice as he had seen humans do as an 'affirmative' gesture.

Jessie stared in shock as the elite nodded. He not only could understand her, but he knew basic human gestures! The words came flowing out in a nervous jumble. Her embarrassment at being let out by her enemies naked did little to comfort her.

"Where is everyone else? What is going on? Where are we?"

The elite spoke, but she couldn't understand him. Then he waved his hand for her to follow. The three elites turned and strode to the door. Uncertainly, Jessie followed. She wasn't sure what to think anymore. The Covenant were responsible for countless human deaths, but these three elites were respecting her and, as it seemed, trying to help. Their faces were hard to read, but they seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to see them. They definitely could have killed her a long while ago, but either wanted to torture her for information, or they genuinely wanted to help. Hoping for the best, Jessie went with the second option and followed them.

Outside in the hall, she found a sight that caused her to rethink her opinion of these creatures. Down the hall was a pool of blood, and lying in it was a burned body of a technician. If her guesses were correct, then she was the only human left on this ship. Seeing her fear in the body, the lead elite turned to face her.

"Did you do this?" Jessie asked.

He nodded slowly, pointing to each other Covenant with him, as if to say that they had all done it.

"Are there any other humans left?" She asked, her fear of what the answer would be evident in her voice.

The elite shook his head.

Jessie walked down the hall to the dead body, kneeling over the dead woman's corpse. It was the technician who had helped her get into the cryotube, her torso burned badly. The look on her face was not one of fear but one of surprise - as if she had never known what had hit her. Jessie wondered what her final thoughts were.

Realizing the elites were still watching her, Jessie felt the embarrassment well up again. Why should she be embarrassed? She was naked, yes, but they were aliens, aliens bent on the destruction of the human race as well. But they had shown her kindness, something no previous human had probably ever experienced from these creatures. Now that she thought about it, they were probably not that much unlike humans as people, but had different customs and views about politics and religion. Especially religion.

"Sorry about this, but I'll need these more than you will." Jessie muttered to the dead woman, before taking off the woman's lower-body wear. She slipped them on, and was glad that they fit her pretty well. She would have taken the woman's shirt as well, but it had been melted brutally to her skin. Now feeling slightly more comfortable, Jessie turned back to the elites, who still waited patiently, watching her.

"So, where'd you want to take me?" Jessie asked.

The lead elite made a picture or symbol with its hands, but Jessie didn't understand what it was. When she gave him a blank stare, he motioned for her to follow him. She started towards the group of elites. The lead elite turned and said something to his friends before turning and leading her through the ship.

As they passed through rooms and halls, she continued seeing human corpses of marines and tech crew lining the floors. It seemed the elite had been right, they had successfully killed every single human on board. Finally the group stopped, and Jessie decided they must be in the bridge. There were computer terminals everywhere, and a screen next to a small holopedestal in the center of the room. Lying in a neat pile in the corner was a pile of eviscerated human bodies. The blood indicated that they had been dragged from various parts of the room to this corner.

Jessie tugged at the shirt she had recently acquired nervously. The elites had brought her here on purpose, but what that purpose was she didn't know. She watched as the lead elite tapped in a few controls on the console. After a few moments, she watched as he spoke aloud. To her surprise, the machine responded in English,

"Does this translator work?"

The other elites seemed to notice it as well, as they inclined their heads at him. He tapped a few buttons and a data chip popped out. Then he went to the corner and rummaged through the bodies carefully. From one severed head he pulled a headset, and found its partner a moment later. He ejected a data chip and slipped the new one inside. Then he handed the headset to Jessie. She slipped it on and the translating box into her pocket. The elite then spoke.

"I am 'Meramee. This is 'Nebalee and 'Basamanee, and we are among the Stage one Konuelos. Do you know this ship very well?"

The question took Jessie off-guard. Did she know the ship well? What did that mean? Apparently the other elites were confused as well. 'Nebalee turned to him and asked,

"What do you mean? Do you intend on leaving her here?"

"I intend on leaving her here until I can contact 'Lytamee. As our spokesperson, he can make the decision on whether or not to turn her over to the Prophets for questioning." 'Meramee replied.

Jessie was dumbstruck. "Are you being nice to me?"

"No, I am doing my duty. Here is a map. You may have to go through a few killzones, as we are not particularly concerned with cleaning up the bodies at this time. You will have to be moved, of course, but until I have discussed the matter with 'Lytamee you may stay here." 'Meramee handed her a wierd-looking device. He showed her how to turn it on before continuing. "And don't try to leave. You are in Covenant space. I must ask you one thing, though: Why do you seem to know nothing of the ship?"

"I'm a civilian. I don't know what happened, but here I am." Jessie replied resignedly.

"I see. Thank you human. I will find you shortly." 'Meramee turned to leave, two baffled-looking Konuelo following him out.

Jessie stared at the door for a moment before coming to her senses. Now alone, she could think through what had just happened. She followed the map 'Meramee had given her to the barracks. The first one she entered contained dead marine bodies, but after a little searching she found a room with a bed and no dead bodies or bloodstains. She collapsed onto the bed, her body finally relaxing, and collapsed into sobs. She cried herself to sleep, the realization reaching her that her life would never be the same again.

'Lytamee sat in the Phantom, giddy from his meeting with the Heirarchs. They had praised him for the successful capture of the human frigate they called Bandwidth. He had accepted the praise but turned down the promotion they offered him. He loved being the leader of the Stage 1 Konuelos.

As 'Lytamee and Korajyra approached the wreaked human ship, 'Lytamee noticed something odd about the ship. It took him a moment to realize that although the dissection teams were scheduled to begin today, none could be seen anywhere nearby. The phantom flew into the hangar bay of the Bandwidth, and 'Lytamee was surprised by the fact that there was only one Spirit dropship in its bay. Confused, he and Korajyra dismounted.

Thankfully, 'Meramee appeared from the hallway, apparently to meet him. "'Meramee! What's going on? Why are the dissection teams not here?" 'Lytamee asked him.

"'Lytamee, I must tell you a few things. First of all, two cycles ago, when I was mapping out the ship, I came across a human woman. She was in some kind of sleeping state, and 'Nebalee accidentally woke her. Since then I have been helping her to survive in the ship."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me?" 'Lytamee cried.

"You were meeting with the Prophets." 'Meramee replied.

"Then why didn't you turn her in to the Prophets? They could have tortured her and gleamed important information!" 'Lytamee was beside himself with frustration.

"She's a civilian." 'Meramee explained.

This caught 'Lytamee off-guard. A civilian? "What was a civilian doing in a military vessel?"

"I don't know, sir. I would like to bring you to her so you can decide what to do with her. It would be best if you made the choice, not me," 'Meramee explained.

'Lytamee gave his friend a weird look. There must be something special about this human, or 'Meramee wouldn't have been so nice to her. 'Lytamee thought. He inclined his head and followed as 'Meramee led him through the ship to the human woman's chambers. As they moved through the halls, 'Lytamee noticed that although the bloodstains still remained, the corpses of the dead humans were gone.

"Has she been cleaning?" 'Lytamee asked.

"Yes. She has trouble living in disorder, as it seems." 'Meramee replied. "She also has salvaged a small computer. But what she does with it is beyond me."

The two Sangheili and one Yanme'e reached the barracks. To 'Lytamee's complete and utter surprise, there was not only no bodies, but the blood had also been cleaned away.

"She lives mostly in here." 'Meramee explained. "Her name is Jessie... That is all she goes by. She should be inside."

'Meramee rapped on the door.

This is the journal of Jessamyn Lett, a woman who was evacuated from her home, lost all of her belongings, and is now in the clutches of the Covenant. I have salvaged this laptop from the remains of the ship I am on, the UNSC Bandwidth. It is the second day since I woke up to the Covenant soldiers on the ship. In the meantime I have been scourging the rations from the mess hall, sleeping in the bunk belonging to Lieutenant Demeter, and showering and washing my clothes in the ship-board showers. I have seen a few of those aliens recently, the ones called 'elites', but haven't let them see me. I also spoke to that 'Meramee guy earlier today, he says that Erpa 'Lytamee is arriving later today and he'll want to see me. I hope he doesn't kill me like they did to the rest of the crew.

It took me all day the first day to get the bodies out of the way. In that one day, I think I threw up enough and cried enough to put any one person in the history of humankind to shame. I haven't really given myself much time to think about this, but now that I'm writing, what is going to happen to me? Everyone I ever knew was killed on Troy, at least that's what I think. I didn't recognize any of the other evacuees. I don't even think the Covenant would care much. Although that 'Meramee was nice to me when I first woke up, he's been staying distant the whole time, like I could be killed at any moment. I don't know what to do, and the food and water supply on this ship is starting to dwindle.

Now that I've gotten that out, I feel a lot better. Maybe now I can get ready for this 'Lytamee to arrive.

Jessie

There was a knocking on the door and Jessie put her laptop away. She smoothed out her oversized shirt and made sure she still had the small pistol she had hidden in her pocket in case of an emergency. She took a moment to steady herself before she approached the door and keyed it open.

Before her stood the now-familiar form of 'Meramee. Beside him stood a new elite, probably 'Lytamee. Next to 'Lytamee stood an alien of a totally new kind she had never seen. It looked like an oversized insect wearing bulky armor. The sight sickened her.

"This is Erpa 'Lytamee, the leader of our group. 'Lytamee, this is Jessie, the human we found." 'Meramee introduced each of them to each other.

'Lytamee was almost as tall as 'Meramee, but he was more imposing somehow, as if he carried more responsibility. Jessie unconsciously fidgeted and tapped her headset, as if to make sure it was still there. Finally, 'Lytamee spoke.

"So, you're Jessie Lett."

"Uh... Yeah." Jessie replied nervously.

"What should I do with you?" 'Lytamee asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?" Jessie didn't like the sound of this. 'Lytamee made it sound like she was something to be transported or destroyed on a whim.

"Now I see it two ways. Either you die or you live. And if you live it'd have to be with us. Me and my team. If the Hierarch find out about your existence, they would probably have you imprisoned, tortured for strategic information, and then killed."

"Oh. So I have to live with you?"

'Lytamee was suddenly in her face, staring down at her. "But in order for me and my team to accept you, we need to clear something up. I don't know what propaganda your UNSC uses, but this must be clear. We are not the genocidal monsters I'm sure we've been portrayed as. You are."

"Excuse me?" Jessie almost stumbled under the intenseness of 'Lytamee's words and breath.

"See, we of the Covenant Combine are all driven by a religious truth revealed to us by the Ancients. Through our Hierarchs, we have been called to extinguish humanity, for they are a plague on the universe."

Jessie almost burst into tears. This is what drove the Covenant? She knew religion was a huge founder of war, but this was absurd!

"But like you, we do have hearts. I look at you right now and don't see a devil, a see a woman who has lost everything, and wants a second chance at life. Am I right?" 'Lytamee stepped back, allowing Jessie room to breathe again.

"Um... yes." She finally said.

"Good. Now we understand each other." 'Lytamee suddenly changed his air completely, as if he was done intimidating her and she had passed some kind of test. "You really don't have any useful information for us, do you?"

"No. I don't know what you'd get from me. I don't know any information useful to the war." Jessie said, still nervous.

"I didn't think so. And I know that if you were Sangheili, I would have you released. The problem is that I have no way of returning you to human space. So I will speak with my team about whether or not we will be able to incorporate you into our life. I will meet you again tomorrow morning." 'Lytamee said, his intimidating overtone gone.

"Okay. Bye." Jessie said, her nervousness beginning to ebb.

'Lytamee inclined his head, turned, and strode from the room. 'Meramee and his buggy friend followed him, and Jessie closed the door. She collapsed back onto her bed and said to the door,

"Thanks."