A/N: I know, I know... it's been a really long time since the last update, and I'm really really sorry I havent posted anything in a really long time! Been super busy with work, relationship issues, being sick, financial issues, and all sorts of other things, but here it is! Chapter 8 at last! most likely, this will be the second-last chapter of this fic.

Enjoy!

~Shadow

Head bobbing, limp limbs and extremities, steady breaths... It was the beeping of the alarm that she had set which had awoken her, though not without a few yawns. Hayden ran a hand through her hair, wiping her eyes after, seeing that it was 5:30 am. She had fallen asleep in her lab while waiting for the final results to appear on screen, and for the DNA extraction to be complete. Nobody had come in to disturb her or wake her.

Hayden had realized that at this point, wheelie desk chairs were not the ideal thing to fall asleep on. When she craned her neck upwards and rolled it from side to side, her muscles ached and pulled at each other. Her shoulder blades began to do the same as she began to stretch her arms.

"No more staying up past three..." She mumbled, blinking as she rested back against the desk, hitting save and pushing herself away to stand and move over to the papers that had printed out. Taking them into her hands, her eyes ran back and forth over the data sprawled out on the pages. Everything seemed in order, and the preserved DNA was sitting secure in a small glass vial. "Hopefully this works..."

Setting the papers into a folder and into a cabinet, she took the vials into her hands, both cool to the touch. She would have to further tamper with them if she wanted to keep them stored safely for weeks, or even months. Lord Hood wouldn't be letting her leave the planet anytime soon, but the samples were needed.

Hayden yawned, stretching back as she did so. Her body and mind were still exhausted, and her bed still lay claim to her.

"You just wait here..." She told the samples, setting them into a rack that sat on a metal shelf in a small refrigerator-type room. "I'll be back." She said through another yawn, locking the door closed and setting the temperature to 3 degrees Celsius. It was time to actually sleep.

As she swung her body around and headed for the door, she rubbed her right eye to remove a tiny amount of crust that had formed in the corner, seeing Marines run past in order to reach their early morning exercises. Reaching it, and standing in the doorway, two of them who had fallen behind nearly bumped into her, apologizing and continuing along their way.

Hayden's feet continued to carry her down the halls and out of the research wing, now stepping through the doors of the offices. Messengers ran around, carrying messages to various high ranking soldiers, one stopping her in her tracks.

"Dr MacMillan, Lord Hood wants to see you asap! Please, go see him."

Her eyes narrowed in the messenger's direction her feet freezing her in place. "And to what do I owe the occasion of his calling?" Her voice became dark and sarcastic. "I don't need to reprimanded or court marshaled right now."

"No ma'am. He didn't say." The man became rather sheepish and started to back away. "Please, go see him in his office right away!" He called, running around a corner and leaving her to the mercy of secretaries and soldiers.

Watching him run as he did made her feel weak again. She was tired of being picked on by the Fleet Admiral. But was that term really the correct one? Hayden's mind wouldn't provide her with a formal answer, and instead, continued to confuse her.

Approaching the office, murmurs escalating the closer her feet carried her. Low growls and languages unheard of for years scoured her ears, and as the door opened and she stepped inside, such topics became null. All eyes were on her.

Hayden's gaze traveled the room, Human and Sangheili alike watching her close. "Seems I've interrupted something. Should I come back later?"

With eyes of supervisors, high-ranking officers, and guests to the planet on her, a shiver crept its way through her spine. Her legs suddenly felt weak and she wanted to fall. "Doctor, you've given us many years of excellent service, and are a survivor of the War. However, the council and myself have convened and have made the decision to pull you off of the Harvest Initiative. In addition to this, you have also been grounded from all interplanetary travel."

Hayden's eyes grew wide and her mouth cracked open, repeating his words over in her mind again and again to ensure that she had heard him correctly. "You're... pulling me off of Harvest?" She asked in a faint whisper, her nerves finally beginning to shake. "But... Lord Hood, you can't do this! I was the one who found the start of it all, I'm the one who set all of this into motion and carried it out! This is MY research! How dare you attempt to take this all away from me, after everything I've achieved!"

Lord Hood's eyelids fell and he walked around the back of his desk, now standing at the side. "We took this decision into careful consideration, and this was the best course of action, Hayden. Your latest actions have brought about a high risk factor."

She wanted to speak out against him, regain what was just taken, and yet, her vocal chords wouldn't let any kind of sound escape from them. Instead, she simply turned around, and headed for the door.

Thel, standing in silence with his kind off to the side, followed her with his eyes, earning the gaze of Rtas in return. Both knew what the other would do, even if it meant sacrificing the honor that had just been regained.

She tossed her keycard and keys onto the shelf that sat against the wall connected to the door. Her quarters seemed dull now, everything tucked away tidily in its place. The rooms did, however, smell of cleaning chemicals, yet gave off a fresh scent not hard on her nose. Hayden could only sigh as she walked over to the bedroom and opened the closet, hanging up her white lab coat. She let her hair out of the bun she had pulled it up into and sat on the soft bed. Running her hand over the sheets, her mind began racing about the events that had transpired.

"Everything I've worked for... Everything I've done, found, discovered, all stripped away in an instant..." She whispered to herself. "They'll probably just scrap it and wipe the slate clean... Maybe even discharge me, if I'm lucky."

"Were it so easy for them to simply toss you away as if you were refuse." A low voice rang out, heavy shadow taking form behind him, opposite the lights. "They keep you caged like an animal. I personally, do not approve of this."

"Thel." She exhaled, her head turning towards the direction of the door. "I am trapped here, now. Everything's gone, and I'm supposed to just sit here and wait like the good little girl that I once was. If anything, he's a useless sack of shit, pardon my language... Moronic, even." Her expression became an angry scowl, her forehead and cheeks wrinkling.

The Arbiter stepped inside, the door closing behind him. His robes, despite the lighting, and how dim it was, still seemed to glisten. "I mean no disrespect to you, Hayden. We take our leave tomorrow. Were it in my power, I would see that you travelled with us back to our world." He paused, his gaze meeting hers in consolation. "You would enjoy your time there, I believe. The land has much to offer, and as your kind has never stepped foot on its soil, there would be much for you to document and learn."

Hayden turned away from him and rolled onto her side for a moment, rolling back and sitting up to meet his eyes once more. She began to radiate desperation and fear, accompanied by a certain air of loneliness. "I do want to go with you... Hell, I don't want you to leave. But how, you have a job to do back home. You're the Arbiter, Thel, and –"

"I am also Ambassador to Earth and Kaidon of the State of Vadam." He interjected.

"Exactly..." She replied, moving to the edge of her bed and standing, holding her hands out to his, and running her fingers over his, feeling the coolness of his body. "You can't stay, and I can't go with you. This is the last we'll see each other."

Thel breathed heavily, gripping her fingers with her own. He thought for a moment, remembering that Lord Hood hadn't stated anything about his race 'conscripting' her, were that the correct term. In truth, he didn't want her to fade from his life. Sure, he was a seasoned veteran, and a politician, but he had seen many humans in his lifetime, both friend and foe. But none, had he ever had such an attachment to, let alone an astonishing amount of care. "Despite your Commander's word, come. Rest in the quarters we once gave you aboard our ship. There is a Phantom leaving for the vessel in one hour's time. Please come. It would improve the morale of my people, including Rtas."

Hayden's head fell. He was offering a chance to continue her work and be free from any restriction. But with such action came great consequence. Were she to just pack up and leave, Lord Hood would see it as taking a hostage or something of the like, which would initiate war once again. She knew she couldn't take that chance; she'd have to take a different approach. "I'll think about it."

Thel nodded and released her from his grasp, bowing his head to her. "If I do not see you once more, please take great care of yourself. Shall we return to Earth, it would lift my spirits to see your face again." He replied, taking his leave, and leaving her stand there without resolve.