Chapter 6

After everyone had filed out of the hotel the master chief took the lead with the arbiter and his spec ops elites going invisible to scout ahead while my squad and I plus the two female elites stayed in the back of the group while the marines and the armed civilians covered the sides. As we walked we would occasionally hear the crack of a covenant sniper rifle and later find a patrol that had been taken out with either a plasma round or a plasma sword. After almost an hour of walking in silence the marines and civilians started to relax thinking that they were out of the woods. The entire time the female elites stayed close to me as I was the only one in the convey that wasn't constantly looking in their direction in either fear or wariness. After the second hour of walking Jaynè decided to attempt to begin a conversation.
"So um Devi."
"Yes Jaynè?"
When I looked over at her I could see that she was fidgeting with her rifle as she tried to piece together what she wanted to say. What she said next surprised me.
"Could we move this conversation to a private channel?"
"um sure?"
After a few minutes of waiting the private channel came to life as Jaynè tested the connection before she spoke in a hushed voice.
"Um could you do me a favor Devi?"
"sure. What do you need?"
"um. Could you help me keep an eye out for any armor that is laying around because my current armor is melted in several spots, mostly in the chest area and um the armor has melted in a way that it has become irritating in a certain area."
As her her words sank in the meaning of what was uncomfortable hit me like a charging hunter. I almost stumbled over a fallen pillar but I managed to catch myself as I whispered into the comm.
"You mean your chest plate has melted enough that it has caved in?"
Jaynè just looked away from me pretending to be interested in a nearby alley. After a few minutes she looked back in my direction.
"yes. Can you please keep this between us."
I could tell by how her voice sounded that she was embarrassed and ashamed to be asking for help in this situation.
"I promise I'll try to help you."
"help her with what?"
The sudden interruption of an AI startled me and out of the corner of my eye I saw Jaynè stiffen.
"Who are you and how did you get into this channel?"
"The names Cortana. Smart AI companion for the master chief and for how I got in was simple. All I had to do was break through the firewall."
"Well Cortana. This is a private communication so if you would be so kind and to get off this channel."
"Hmp fine be that way."
At first it sounded like she got off the channel but I knew that smart AIs never gave up that easily especially Cortana.
"Cortana I know your still on the channel."
There was silence on the channel then the channel started to come alive.
"How did you know I was still here? I hid my presence so that the channel doesn't register that I'm in it."
"Cortana. It's called common sense."
"What does common sense have to do with this conversation?"
"I've seen a few AIs and I know that when they are interested in something they will not leave it alone even when they are told to ignore it."
"What AIs have you run in to?"
"Mostly ship AIs and a few Spartan AIs but that is besides the point. You need to leave this channel."
"Well fine but you won't be able to chat."
"Why is."
I didn't get to finish as a mortar from a Wraith tank almost hit the front of the group.
"This is the Master chief. I need Devi up here now."
"On my way."
As I was moving through the crowd of civilians I was wondering why he needed me up front but my question was answered when I reached the front of the group. The Wraith that had fired at us was right in front of us with two ghosts guarding in.
"You needed me Master Chief?"
"I need you to take out those ghosts while I sneak around and take out the Wraith."
"alright. I'll wait for your signal."
The master chief walked off to the side to flank the tank. After a few minutes I peeked over the barricade to see where my targets where while at the same time switching out to one of my two high explosive clips. After another few minutes my HUD lit up with the signal from the Master Chief.
"Here we go."
I stepped out of my hiding place with my mini-gun spinning and shouted, "Hey Ape face!"
The Brutes on the ghosts quickly turned their ghosts to face me with anger on their faces for being called apes but when they saw the mini-gun their rage turned to fright because before they could line up to fire I released a steady stream of high explosive rounds onto the closest ghost. The first few bullets that hit the ghost took out the shield with the rest just shredding the ghost to pieces. The brute just got even angrier as it watched its comrade get blown to bits. The remaining ghost started to open fire but in the Brute's rage it just shot wildly and gave me time to line up my mini-gun and open fire. The second ghost suffered the same fate as the first ghost. Once the ghost exploded I relaxed then a slight whirring reminded me of the Wraith. I turned to see the Wraith looking right at me with a plasma mortar at the ready. I turned to start firing but I caught the glint of something small falling into the gunner's seat. I thought I was safe but I was proven wrong because as soon as the mortar left the Wraith the tank exploded but the mortar was heading straight for me. I'm frozen in fear as the mortar is bearing down on me. I'm thinking that this is the end for me when all of a sudden I feel someone grab me and pull me back into cover as the mortar hits the spot I was just moments ago standing at. When the mortar hits me and the person who pulled me back where sent flying through the air with me landing on top of them. As I recover from the shockwave my vision is blurred and my ears are ringing and as I try to get my bearings I feel something underneath me and I could tell by the feel of the armor that it wasn't UNSC armor and it wasn't Spartan armor so who's armor was it. My question was answered when I hear a feminine groan underneath me and that was when my vision decided to correct itself and that was when I saw that underneath me lay Jaynè and when she lifted her head up she was looking down at me and that was when I realized that I had landed with my helmet on her chest and when I looked into her eyes we were frozen for what felt like an eternity as we just stared into each others eyes. We would have stayed like that longer if it weren't for Cortana speaking through the chief's outer speakers.
"Aww it's so cute. I wonder if they're going to kiss."
It was then that we both realized the position we were in and Jaynè's face turned a dark purple while my face turned a bright red as we hastily got up and started to pat the dust on our armor off and ignoring the laughs from the marines and the civilians. I knew that this little incident will bring years of torment from my teammates especially from Casey but I didn't let that deter me as I turned to Jaynè.
"Thank you Jaynè for saving me. If it weren't for you I would be nothing but dust."
"I did what I thought was right."
The silence that followed was very unsettling but after a few minutes the comms came to life.
"Attention all UNSC personnel the remaining Covenant on our planet are without reinforcements as the navy has taken out the last of the covenant ships in our orbit. I repeat the covenant has lost their fleet."
This announcement surprised us all and prompted almost everyone to look up and see nothing but the wreckage of the covenant fleet floating in orbit.
After a few minutes of everyone looking up at the sky I could hear almost all of the civilians and marines letting a sigh of relief out but the elites, master chief, my squad, and I knew that things weren't finished yet. There were still ground troops to deal with. I let a frustrated sigh as I thought, 'This is going to be a long day.'