Within the Eldervale Outpost, Master Chief had been waiting for his team to arrive. He had plugged Cortana back into the system as they organized a plan. He then heard heavy footsteps and looked over to see his team, Blue Team.
There was Frederic-104, the Sub-Leader of the Blue Team and Close Quarter Combat Specialist. He wore blueish grey MJOLNIR armor, with two white stripes on his chest plate and his number. Along with a white V shape on his helmet. He's a natural leader and a brilliant strategist. Highly intelligent, alert, and objective-focused during operations. Which will come in handy for this rescue mission.
Frederic removed his helmet and held it to his side. "Master Chief. It's good to see you again." He said and nodded to his old friend. Master Chief nodded in response. Fred's blue-green eyes examined the holo screen before him and slicked his black hair with streaks of silver due to his augmentation procedures. He moved some data around and looked at the picture of Kaiya.
"So this is the woman we're going to rescue?" He asked as Cortana appeared on the table.
"Yes, that is correct, Frederic-104." She said another SPARTAN, Kelly-087, the Scout of Blue Team, walked over and removed her helmet, and set it on the table. She wore a white MJOLNIR with her numbers labeled in black. Kelly is the fastest in the group even with the armor on. Her mind was fast as well, highly perceptive and observant. The perfect scout. She had naturally brown hair and wore her hair close-cropped. Her blue eyes also looked over the data quietly.
And the last member of Blue Team is Linda-058, the Marksman. Her MJOLNIR armor is a sandy color scheme. Her helmet was uniquely designed to enhance her spinner ability. She too removed her helmet. Her skin was pale, very pale, with blood-red hair and emerald green eyes. Among the team, she was the quietest of them all.
"Why would the Covenant kidnap a cadet? She's not a high-ranking officer." Kelly asked curiously. Cortana pulled up a video recording of Kaiya and her friends.
"According to her friends and the recording, Kaiya is the only one to active this Artifact and the alien temple it was found in. We guess that because of this, Kaiya Walker became a valuable prisoner for the Covenant." Cortana explained. "We will be taking a stealth class ship, rescue Kaiya, and escape. And if possible grab the Artifact."
"Sounds like a solid plan, but the only issue here is…it's been nearly 70 hours since Kaiya was taken and the ship could be light years away by now." Fred pointed out.
"We did think of that." Master Chief said to his comrade. "Once we have gathered everything we need and get on the ship, Cortana will use the long-range radar to locate the ship once we are in space."
The Blue Team acknowledged the plan with a unison nodding of the head before they put their helmets back on and began to gather what they needed for the mission. Cortana took measurements of Kaiya's body and pointed over to the spacesuits. "Grab that size small spacesuit. We'll need it to get Kaiya off the ship." She said to the Master Chief. He looked over and nodded before he gathered the suit and put it into a case.
"Hello…? Anybody?" Kaiya called out to the darkness around her. The only thing she heard was the echo of her voice and the pitter-patter of her feet as she wandered around the darkness. She felt so alone in this world of darkness. She could feel hopelessness creep into her heart as she wrapped her arms around herself.
"Please! Anyone! I need help!" She called out louder, but no one answered her back. She again wandered around for what seemed like forever to her until she heard the sound of running behind her. Kaiya looked back but saw nothing. The sound was getting closer and louder. It sounded like a stampede. Suddenly she felt like she was being shoved and pushed around then heard the screaming.
"Run! They are…coming!" a voice screamed.
"It's the…!" another one yelled. Kaiya could barely make out what they were saying as she was shoved to the ground. She quickly sat up and saw an outline of what looked like…people.
"Help! We're…! They keep…!"
Soon a terrifying roar sounded far behind that sent a shiver down Kaiya's spine. She heard a soft, liquid, slithery sound behind her along with the sound of stomping feet coming towards her. She felt her instincts telling her to run…run now! She jumped to her feet and ran. But as she ran, it felt like she was just running in place, unable to get away from whatever was coming.
"Come on! Come on!" She whimpered out. Kaiya suddenly let out a cry of surprise when she felt several different types of hands emerge and grab onto her body. "Get off me! Let go!" She yelled as she twisted and turned to getaway. To get free. She could feel them trying to drag her deeper into the darkness, but she wouldn't let them. She kicked and punched with everything she had until she felt a large cold, wet tendril wrap around her, trapping her arms to her side and pinning her legs together.
She collapsed on the dark floor and struggled against her new assailant. She felt her body being dragged towards the darkness…towards an ominous chuckle. Tears spilled out of her eyes from the fear she was experiencing and struggled.
"HELP ME! PLEASE! SOMEONE!" She pleaded. Kaiya looked around for any sign of help but saw no such thing.
Before her feet touched the wall of darkness, Kaiya heard something activate behind her, a low electric humming then a metallic swish. She felt the tentacle around her body vanish, setting her free. She quickly got on her knees and looked over to her so-called savior. All she could see was an outline of a strange armored…Elite? Besides the Elite was an outlined large armored humanoid. She spotted the glowing energy blade in the Elite's hand before said Elite bent down to her and offered their hand.
Kaiya stared at the Elite, feeling a sudden wave of warmth and safety in their presence. She slowly reached out to their hand…
Kaiya's eyes shot up, gasping for air, and quickly sat up. Her head collided with someone else's head, causing the person to stumble backward and lean against the wall. Zula carefully steadied herself and rubbed her head. Kaiya panted heavily and looked over to the medic.
"For a human…you have a hard-hitting head," Zula said as she fixed herself and walked over. "How are you feeling?"
Kaiya swallowed a bit and looked at herself, seeing she was dripping in a cold sweat. She noticed one of her wrists was handcuffed to the bed before she looked at Zula.
"Besides the crazy dream…? I feel…better. And…I'm sorry for hitting you." Kaiya replied. Zula waved it off and checked her vitals. Kaiya looked around the Medical Bay for a moment then looked at Zula.
"So…how did I get here…?" She asked.
"The Supreme Commander carried you here from your cell himself," Zula replied. Kaiya looked at her surprised, surprised that Thel had come to her aid when she fell ill and brought her here. She would have to thank him…though it might be awkward.
Then a thought occurred to her! Zula is the first female Elite she has ever seen since the war began. When she was brought aboard she was only attended to by a machine. Kaiya took notes of her build, size, scale color, and eyes. Zula side-glanced at her and chuckled to herself to see Kaiya's unusual eyes sparkle with curiosity.
"First time meeting a female of my kind?" She asked. Kaiya snapped out of it and rubbed her neck awkwardly.
"O-Oh I'm sorry…I didn't mean to stare! And yes…it is…" She replied, embarrassed. Zula only chuckled a bit.
"It's fine. I'm Zula 'Rtama." Zula said with a click of her mandibles.
"I'm Kaiya Walker. Is…is it alright if I ask a few questions…?"
Zula nodded and went on with her duties. "Go right ahead." In truth, Zula was grateful that the prisoner was a curious one and hadn't been rude to her once. She too was interested in the human female as well.
"Well, I was wondering, why aren't there any females helping in the war?" Kaiya asked her first question as she got a bit comfy. Zula sighed a bit.
"It's because of many things. One…or two. One the females normally stay home and raise our young. Two with the Sangheili, my race, also protects our homes while the males are away."
Kaiya blinked in surprise to hear the actual name of the Elite race. "Sang…Sangheili? That is what you are called?" She asked and Zula nodded.
"But there are some who wish to join in the fight. We've seen your people fight. Both males and females fight. But it's quite challenging to convince the Covenant. I'm only here cause of my healing skills, though the men of my race prefer to attend to their wounds in their private time. It's considered shameful to seek aid from a Medic. But I see my job as a Warrior against Death herself."
Kaiya nodded softly. "In my culture, human medics are praised as heroes for saving lives, giving people a second chance to live their lives, continuing the fight, and being there for their families, and friends." She explained. Zula looked over at her with slightly wide eyes and seemed to smile a bit.
"Heroes hmm? Yes…I like that. Tell me, Kaiya. If I was on the battlefield with a medic symbol, how would your people treat me?" Zula asked. This caused Kaiya to think for a moment.
"Truthfully…? It depends. Some will avoid harming you and some will make you a big target." Kaiya replied. Zula nodded to her. Both of them began to talk for a good while, getting to know one another. It was a nice change of pace for them.
After a bit, Kaiya glanced at her reflection on the metal walls and looked at Zula. "Can you tell me what's happening to my body?"
Zula rubbed her lower mandibles thoughtfully and shrugged. "I will admit I'm not quite sure what exactly is happening to you. I'm quite limited on the information of the human body, but from what I can tell…" She pulled out a datapad and showed Kaiya. "See how this red area in your head is beaming and pulsing? This is when you were first brought in"
She flipped to a previous chart. "It was smaller. Then, the second time it grew. And this last one it got bigger. Every time you touch the Artifact, this area within your brain is growing."
Kaiya looked at it worriedly. "Will it kill me?"
"If you touch the Artifact too many times in a short amount of time without letting your body adjust then yes, it will," Zula warned her. Kaiya took mental notes and nodded to her. "I also noticed something strange within your DNA…it's like…something is awakening inside you."
Kaiya looked at her curiously and groaned, rubbing her head. It was a lot to take in and she wished she could go back to her simple life on the farm. "Could I have some water?" Kaiya asked. Zula nodded and poured her a glass of water and gave it to her before the medic went back to what she was doing before.
Kaiya took a sip of the refreshing water and sighed heavily. She set the cup onto the table next to her and stared at it as she thought about everything. She was becoming slightly frustrated with everything she was going through, wishing she knew what her body was doing, and what that dream was about…, especially that strange dream. As she thought she began to zone out on the cup of water in front of her.
The cup began to suddenly and slowly vibrate. With each passing second, the vibrations began to become more violent shaking. Kaiya was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a little splash. Her attention was drawn to the cup and saw it rattling around upon the table, the water spilled onto the floor. Curiously she picked it up and looked it over in her hands before she glanced around, thinking someone must be stomping around nearby or maybe it was one of the machines.
She laid her hand on the table but didn't feel any vibrations. Maybe they were small. Too small for her to feel them.
After pouring another glass of water, Kaiya sat it back on the table. Her piercing blue eyes stared at the cup, focusing on it for a moment or two, but nothing happened. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she ran her slim fingers through her auburn hair, slicking back any frazzled loose hair. Taking a small deep, calming breath, she turned her focus back onto the cup and focused a bit more intensely. After another moment, the water within the cup began to stir and gently sloshed around.
Suddenly the sound of the door opening caused Kaiya to snap out of her focus and turn her head over to the door. Walking in with grace and command once again, was Thel 'Vadamee. His striking amber eyes looked at her and she felt a shiver of warmth run down her spine when their eyes met.
Thel 'Vadamee was half expecting to see Kaiya still sleeping, but felt relief, relaxing the tightness in his chest that he had been feeling since he left her under Zula's care. He didn't quite understand why he felt this way. Was it guilt he felt for putting her in so much pain? Wait. Thel 'Vadamee, Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice, feeling guilty for a human? Nonsense. He lightly shook his head to get rid of the thoughts before he walked over to Kaiya.
He stood before her and crossed his arms behind his back. "How are you feeling, Kaiya?" He asked. Kaiya looked up at him and then sipped her water quietly.
"I'm…I'm fine.." She replied and glanced away. Being under his gaze…made her feel strangely calm and awkward as well. Thel nodded and looked over to Zula when she walked over, who crossed her arms.
"If you are here to make her touch the Artifact, it's a no," Zula said firmly.
"No no, I'm just here to see the report on how she is fairing," Thel replied. Zula tapped her finger on her arm before she picked up the datapad and handed it to Thel. He thanked her and looked it over.
"Both the fever and the aches she had been suffering from are gone, but until I am sure that she is 100% better, I recommend that you keep the Artifact away from her. It could kill her with too much interaction. Her body is adjusting, but not fully there. Whatever the Artifact is doing to her it could cause more damage than good especially if you are to present her to the Prophets." Zula explained and pointed to what was going on with her brain to Thel, who was carefully reading everything within the documents.
Kaiya felt her stomach drop when she heard what Zula had said. The Prophets? The elusive leaders of the Covenant? If she was to be brought to them, she would be killed after they got whatever they needed from her. She swallowed dryly at the thought. She just hoped her friends had gotten help and rescue was coming soon.
Thel handed the report back to Zula and pressed a button on his gauntlet, making Kaiya's wrists slap together. Kaiya was a bit startled when she was snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her wrists. She sighed quietly before she got off the bed, shivering a bit from the cold metal floor again that is exposed to her bare feet. Thel waited for a moment before he placed a hand between her shoulder blades and guided her out the door.
But before she left, Kaiya turned to Zula and made a gesture of a Thank You and a head nod. Zula nodded to her in return as she watched the two leave.
Kaiya quietly walked with Thel back to the brig. She glanced at him for a moment then ahead of her then again. She was struggling to find the right words and cleared her throat a bit, catching Thel's attention. The Supreme Commander looked at her.
"Is something wrong?" He asked. Kaiya scratched her neck a bit before she looked at him.
"Well…no…I…I want to…umm…thank you…for coming to my aid when no one else did…and taking me to the Medical Bay…" She said to him, Thel looked at her with surprised eyes. Once again this human female before him took him by surprise. She was indeed a strange one to him.
He slowly nodded and regained his composure. "You are welcome." He said before they continued on their way to the brig.
Once Kaiya was secured within a new cleaned-up cell, Thel turned to the guards with a stern look on his face.
"If she ever falls ill again, you will take her to the medical bay at once, no excuses. Understood?"
The two guards saluted, "Yes Supreme Commander." They replied in unison. Thel nodded to them then took a glance at Kaiya who had already sat back down on her berth and quietly left the room. Both guards had taken notice of the look that their commanding officer had given her and looked at each before they looked at Kaiya, who noticed, and looked back at them with a small glare.
"What are you two looking at?" She asked. Both guards didn't say a word and looked away quickly before saying something in their language.
Back on Drotonia, Master Chief and Blue Team boarded a small stealth class vessel called Eye of the Tiger. Scattering here and there was the crew of the ship. They were making preparations before they could launch. The Eye of the Tiger had been used for many stealth missions against the Covenant and was one of the most successful. The captain of the ship was a proud man. Probably because of how many successful missions he had achieved.
The captain was a dark-skinned man with a beard that he kept nicely groomed. Once he saw Chief and the rest of the Blue Team, he gave them a quick salute. "Master Chief. It's an honor to work with you and your team." He said with a grin.
Master Chief and the others gave him a salute as well before he plugged Cortana into the ship.
"Thank you, sir, for volunteering for this rescue mission." Master Chief said as the captain chuckled.
"It's not every day you get to rescue a damsel in distress. So give me a quick sit-rep on this mission of yours."
Cortana appeared before them and quickly gave the Captain a quick rundown of the mission. The Captain stroked his beard as he listened and nodded.
"I see…Alright, men! We have a civilian to save! Another win to add to the book and give those bastards a world of hurt! Are we ready to launch?" The Captain asked.
"We are good to go!" One of the deck crewmen said.
"Then take us out! Once we're in space, the AI will get a positive fix on the location of the Covenant fleet!" The Captain said and turned to face the window. Everyone quickly settled into their seats. One crewman typed away furiously on his keyboard and another one began to start the engines. Master Chief could feel the rumble of the engine beneath his feet and knew they were about to launch in 3…2…1…the ship lifted off the platform and slowly ascended from the ground and away from the station before getting far enough away to boost itself up into the sky and into the endless starry universe.
Once they were above the planet, Cortana turned on the long-range radar and focused. Data danced along her face and body as she focused on her task. Within two minutes, Cortana's eyes snapped open and quickly looked at the Master Chief and the Captain.
"I got the location, but we need to move now! If we don't, the ship will be out of range completely!" She said and quickly fed the coordinates to the pilots. The Captain nodded and made a gesture to move quickly.
"You heard her! Double time!" He ordered. Once the coordinates were received the Eye of the Tiger took off into space. Master Chief looked at his team and signaled them to be ready at a moment's notice.
"Take this time to stock up on your ammo, check your gear, and rest. Once we have our sights on the ship, we need to be ready to go." He said as the others nodded and turned to leave. Master Chief quietly looked out the window and hoped they weren't too late to save the young woman.
Within the bridge of the Seeker of Truth, Thel 'Vadamee was sitting in his command seat, overseeing many things upon his ship and within his fleet. As he looked over something on his datapad, his amber eyes slowly looked over to the hologram of the Artifact. He recently had it moved to a more secure location upon the ship where it was guarded heavily around the clock. Then his eyes wandered over to the cell camera to his right and watched Kaiya who was looking at her cup of water. He was curious as to why she was so focused on the cup. Probably keeping her mind occupied?
She was truly a curious human to him. Recently every time Thel looked at her, he felt a strange warmth in his chest. He didn't understand it. She just kept on surprising him, from the moment he first saw her to when she recently thanked him. Humans. Strange, but admirable creatures at times.
Rtas 'Vadum approached his commander and bowed his head in respect before he addressed him. "Is something on your mind, brother?" He asked. Thel looked over to his Special-Op Officer and friend before he shook his head.
"No, it's nothing, Rtas." He replied as he set down his datapad and fully turned to Rtas. "Is there something you need?"
Rtas glanced around the room and looked back at Thel before he replied in a lower voice. "Lately there have been rumors spreading around the ship…"
Thel cocked up an eye ridge and looked at his friend with a questioning look. "Rumors? What kind of rumors?"
"About you and…her '' He gestured to the camera cell Kaiya was in. Thel glanced over then back to Rtas and gestured him to continue. "There has been talking that you are becoming attached to her as well as…attracted to her as well."
Thel rubbed the edge of his eye ridges and let out a deep breath. Upon hearing this, Thel figured out who was the one to spread the rumors. Or…two people. He then turned to another Elite soldier nearest to them.
"You, have the guards that are watching the prisoner switch out and bring them to me. Now." He ordered. The Elite stood at attention when he was addressed and gave his Commanding officer a head bow before he quickly left the Bridge.
Kaiya quietly sat on her berth as she watched to see if her cup would vibrate again. It wasn't like she had anything else to do within her cell. To her, it was just a way to keep herself busy. For nearly half an hour of watching the cup, nothing happened. She let out a soft sigh of frustration and stood up from the berth and began to feel around the berth, the floors, and the walls for any kind of violent vibrations.
Nothing.
She stood up and glanced at the force field at the guards who, luckily for her, weren't paying attention to whatever she was doing. Kaiya first began with light stomps then light jumps near the berth. Then she moved to heavy stomps and heavy jumps then finally slammed her foot down hard.
Again, nothing.
"What are you doing human?! Keep quiet!" One of the guards snarled at her. Kaiya looked at the guards and crossed her arms a bit.
"Stretching my legs." She replied only to get a scoff in response from the Elite. Kaiya rolled her eyes a bit and let out a quiet sigh. She tried everything she could think of to debunk what made her cup in the Medical Bay vibrate the way it did before. Kaiya sat back down on the berth, criss-cross style, and crossed her arms as she stared intensely at the water cup. After fifteen minutes of having a staring contest with the cup, the water began to softly vibrate. She blinked and looked around her cell a bit then back to the water. It had stopped vibrating.
Kaiya slowly leaned forward and looked at the cup intensely again. After a moment it began to shake softly then violently before it tilted to the side. She grabbed the cup before it could fall over.
"Was…that me…?" She quietly muttered to herself as she looked over the cup and then set it back down on the berth to see if she could make it shake again if it was her.
Before she could continue with any more of her tests, she heard the doors slide open then the Language of the Sangheili. Kaiya looked up from her cup to see her guards being switched out with new ones and being escorted out of the brig. Confused, she got up and walked over to the force field.
"Excuse me, but what's going on with those two?" She asked the new guards. One of them glanced at her before he replied.
"Those two were spreading rumors about the Supreme Commander and…you."
Kaiya blinked a few times and placed her hands on her hips. "And what kind of rumors were they spreading?"
The Elite simply smirked and chuckled before he looked away from her. Kaiya tilted her head curiously to the side as she thought to herself. Within a second, she realized what the rumors were, what the Elite meant by his smirk and chuckle, and felt her cheeks warm up quickly. She quickly cleared her throat and sat back down with the water cup.
Kaiya froze and quickly mentally slapped herself. No, no, no! Do not think like that, she thought. Focus on the experiment. Not the rumors. Not her crazy imagination. Focus only on the task at hand. If she was truly making the cup vibrate, maybe it could develop into something more. It must have something to do with what her body was going through. It must be. It could give her an advantage in her survival.
She took a calming, deep breath to clear her mind and undid the ribbon from her hair. She set the ribbon down next to her before she turned her focus on the cup once again.
The Eye of the Tiger finally managed to catch up with the Covenant Fleet and stayed out of range. This would give Master Chief and Blue Team the time they needed to set up a strategy to get in and get out as quickly as possible.
"If Kaiya is an important prisoner to the Covenant, she will most likely be held upon the main flagship. She'll be heavily guarded." Fred said as he pointed to the large flagship in the middle of the fleet. "Getting to the flagship will be tricky. It'll be best to use the jump-jets we brought to propel towards the ship. We'll be small enough for them to ignore."
"And from the reports, I received about this fleet…the Supreme Commander is unpredictable and thinks outside the box. We'll need to be careful." Kelly pointed out. "He might move Kaiya once the fighting starts."
Master Chief nodded as he listened. "Cortana can access their system and hopefully find where the prisoner is. We'll need to give Kaiya the spacesuit quickly and get out."
"What about the Artifact?" Linda spoke up.
"The Artifact is the last thing on the list to worry about. Our mission is to save a life. If we can, we will retrieve the Artifact, if not, we will leave it behind." Chief replied to his friend. Linda nodded.
Master Chief turned to his AI companion and nodded to her, letting her know they were ready to go. Cortana nodded before she was ejected out of the ship's system and into the chip that Chief had. Once she was secured, the Chief signaled the Blue Team to get ready.
After dealing with the guards that had started the rumors, Thel retired to his chambers for a moment of peace and sat at his desk. His chambers were large with his bed to the side and above it was the symbol of the Covenant. One wall was covered in trophies that he had collected from the battlefields. Guns and weapons from his human opponents. Over the years of fighting against the humans, Thel had developed a hobby and an interest in their weaponry.
Before him, was an M6 pistol he had collected from one of his many ground battles and began to slowly take it apart. Because of his hobby, he learned how each weapon worked and its purpose.
While he examined the triggering mechanism, Thel's mind started to wander a bit about Kaiya. He slowly propped his elbow on the desk and rested his head against his fist as he thought about her. How soft and warm her skin felt in his grasp. The way she rode upon her animal with grace and balance. Her skills with a bow and arrow impressed him greatly even when she had admitted to her friends she was rusty.
Kaiya's fierce determination when they wrestled in the mud even when she was weak and her loyalty to her friends and her home reminded Thel of his own loyalty. And her voice…the way she sang even now made both his hearts pound within his chest.
Thel blinked a few times and quickly shook his head of those thoughts. He cursed himself in his native tongue and set the piece down that he had been staring at. Maybe…maybe he truly was becoming attracted to his prisoner? Or were the rumors finally getting into his head about them…being together. Once again he shook his head to dispel any intruding thoughts.
"By the Gods, Thel…get yourself together…you cannot be this interested in a single female… A human at that!" He muttered to himself as he stood up from his desk and cleared his throat. "They are the enemies to our Great Journey…"
He looked at his hand for a moment and growled a bit before walking out of his chambers and returning to his duties. Perhaps if he was focused on his duties, he would not think of her like that. He did have a fleet to command after all.