Ch. 8 Shock and Awe
Well I won't lie to you all; this story is actually coming to a close pretty quickly. I only had it pegged as a one-shot before maybe a five chapter and now well it's turned into a short story but it is worth every view it has so far. Don't worry, we still have a little ways to go though and for those who are asking; the Arbiter will be announcing her intent to the Chief sometime soon.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, all characters are copyright of Bungie and 343.
"For attempting to kill our most honored warrior and trying to disrupt an honored duel, your punishment is death." An Elder said as the bound Sangheili only let out an angry growl before he was forced out of the room.
"This information is most disturbing." One said worriedly as the others nodded.
"They would not only cheat in a duel but to use many underhanded tactics just to put our own warrior out of commission is even worse." Another stated as they had learned that the bullet and knife were coated in poison. "The Spartan was lucky he had an AI that forced him to seek treatment after he talked with the Arbiter or else he would've had to lose his hand."
"Speaking of which, it seems that against our efforts the word that we have the Demon within our Keep has spread. We have received a few duel requests from interested parties." A third Elder said but the Arbiter's father only shook his head.
"He isn't our warrior so it isn't our duty to decide to accept or deny them." He said as he remembered his daughter's words to him.
-Flashback-
"You have made your choice then." Her father said as he let out a sigh. "Why must you make everything so difficult daughter?"
"Because it is my choice to make and as a result of the duel I reserve the right to choose my betrothed." The Arbiter said as she glared at him. "I will be pursuing this regardless of what you say."
"The other Keeps know about the Spartan being here, they will be sending their own fighters to face him and you know that quite a few of those will be female." He warned her but she only snarled.
"They may come but they will fall, I will make sure of it." The Arbiter said as she walked away without another word.
-Flashback end-
"We will offer the Demon the chance to face them and see how well each Keep fares against the human's best fighter." The first Elder said as they adjourned the meeting.
-Scene Change-
"How is the hand Spartan?" The Arbiter asked as she glanced at his now bandaged hand.
"It stings a little bit but the medics say that it will be fine in a day." The Chief replied as they walked along a hall. They had no real destination as they were just wondering around while talking about the past and the war. The Arbiter never tried to hide the number of Humans she had killed and the Chief did the same for the number of Sangheili he had left on the ground and lifeless. It was part of the process to get over that kind of stuff but it held a deeper meaning for the Arbiter; she wanted to earn his trust and there was no better way than to lay out everything about her with no secrets.
"I hear that you have accepted an offer to fight one of the warriors challenging you." The Arbiter said as she watched him closely.
"It's considered an insult not to, right?" The Chief asked as the Arbiter nodded.
"Normally yes but remember that you aren't a Sangheili so the normal rules don't apply to you and you are not a member of the Keep either." She said as they both turned a corner into another hallway. "You can't be forced into doing anything here."
"It helps by knowing who would support peace talks and if it fighting them helps then I'll do it." The Chief said with an even tone.
"We have many allies but it's our enemies that we must watch for. They are hidden right now but I think that they will show themselves soon." The Arbiter warned him.
"Nothing can be done until they do." The Chief replied, waving off her concern. "The peace delegation will be arriving in a month."
"I have heard but do you think it's too soon? The war is over but hostilities still remain and it might cause more harm than good." She said with a hint of worry but it wasn't for the approaching political storm. The Spartan was here until the peace talks concluded and then he would leave for Earth and she would be left behind.
"The sooner it's done, the less time any dissention can happen." The Chief replied while missing the Arbiter's wince.
'He doesn't care that our time is growing short.' She thought sadly until she mentally kicked herself. 'You're the Arbiter for crying out loud, you stared down the Parasite and stood against an entire army of Flood, you can tell one male that you are interested!'
"Are there any keeps in particular besides the one you fought that we need to be wary over?" The Chief asked her and she shrugged.
"That one was the worst but there are a few that we need to watch. The Relakaa Keep were very outspoken against Humanity but that was all they had, the Valamuu were on the fence but they do hold grudges and the Humans did kill a few of their numbers, we might be ok with the Telemee Keep but they do have some backbone when threatened but that's it. The Vadumee has been a steadfast ally despite mine and Rtas's rocky past."
"The Shipmaster?" The Chief asked as she nodded.
"He is tough but he looks after his soldiers' wellbeing; it was one of the reasons we didn't get along at first. As a Zealot I didn't have many options other than mission completion and he always made sure his Ops troops came back alive while I was an "at any cost" commander." She explained solemnly. "As I said, it is different but we respect each other and that was one of the reasons why he listens to me."
"He was on the list of challengers." The Chief said as the Arbiter huffed in humor.
"I wouldn't have doubted it; he has wanted to have a go at you ever since you decimated his Spec Ops unit on the Truth and Reconciliation." She said as the Chief shook his head. "Anyone else of note?"
"One Sangheili was strongly presented; do you know a Kela 'Mesumaa?" The Chief asked and the Arbiter stopped walking and tilted her head. "Is everything ok?" He asked as he turned around.
"She was one of my closest friends when we were young. I went to War College while she was privately trained and became Captain of her Keep's guard." The Arbiter said in confusion. "Did they say why she was that willing to face you?"
"It was explained to me that they wanted a "potential joining" match. Any idea what that is?" The Chief asked and the Arbiter went from confused to shocked and then fearful.
'No….anything but that!' She thought frantically. 'Gods help me by making it anything else except that!'
-With Cortana-
"Uh-oh…this is not good anymore." Cortana said as she had been eavesdropping the whole time before she heard what the Chief said. "Come on girl…you have to tell him soon!"
-Back with the Chief and the Arbiter-
"Are you sure you're ok?" The Chief asked as the Arbiter's brain tried to kick start.
"I'm fine." She said rather quickly. "I need to go…..I have to inspect my armor." She turned around and walked away rather quickly as the Chief only looked at her leave in confusion.
"Is that normal for Sangheili females?" The Chief asked a passing servant and pointed towards the retreating Arbiter.
"For a normal female, no but for her, yes. She has never been a normal Sangheili female and this sort of behavior isn't new to the Keep. She can be calm and collected one moment and the next she could ripping arms off in a sparring match." The servant explained. "She has always had some kind of emotional instability but considering her childhood, it was to be expected."
"She wasn't disqualified from entering the Covenant?" The Chief asked in confusion. Even the UNSC with its extremely loose recruitment policies had turned away personnel who had a hard time keeping their emotions in check in some situations.
The servant shook his head. "The Prophets requested any Sangheili capable of fighting regardless of their limitations or problems at the time. The only exception was young ones but they were being trained at the time anyway so it was expected of them to enter the service."
"I see…..thank you for your time." The Chief said as the servant bowed before he walked away. "I guess Cortana would have a better explanation then." With that, the Chief walked back to his appointed room deep in thought the entire time.
-With the Arbiter-
'Why did they put that match forward and why did she accept?! Why did he accept it without speaking to me about the outcome of the match?!' The Arbiter's mind was going a hundred miles a minute as she walked quickly to the council hall and threw the door open.
"What have you all done?!" She practically yelled and startled the Elders having their usual afternoon meeting.
"Daughter?" Her father asked as he saw her eyes flashing dangerously and her hands were twitching as she resisted her instinct to grab her sword and ignite it.
"You offered the Spartan a chance to fight another warrior from another Keep and a female warrior at that! Do you have any idea what the implications mean if the human wins?!" She shouted as they all nodded their heads.
"We need the humans as allies if we are to rebuild our war-torn fleets and when we pitched the idea of gaining allies through combat, the Spartan accepted without a second thought. If that means that he needs to use secondary means as well then we know for a fact that he would do it if it meant humanity was safe." Her father said sadly.
"Out of all the warriors you could offer him to fight…why her?" The Arbiter spoke in a dangerously low voice.
"She had volunteered for it and the 'Mesumaa Keep has been growing in power in recent years. She is also at the marrying age and is an extremely capable warrior, as you yourself can attest to." An Elder said as the Arbiter growled. Her friend had joined the Covenant only for a brief time before she was relieved due to disagreements with her superiors but during that brief time, she had fought her friend in a spar and had been backed into many corners during the fight and as a Zealot being taken to that extreme in a fight with a Minor was disturbing.
"When will they arrive?" The Arbiter asked with a snarl.
"In one week for a greeting ceremony with the fight taking place the next day." Her father said with calm in his tone. "Please stay calm daughter, these things are unpredictable."
'Unpredictable but easy to beat if you know the rules.' She thought before she suddenly smirked. 'All it takes is for someone to either overrule the challenge or if another steps up at the same time and declares their interest.' "If you wish to force my hand then I will gladly show it." She said as confused expressions appeared on their faces.
"What do you mean daughter?" Her father asked as he was completely and utterly confused on his daughter's statement and his council was in a similar state. In the years to come he would always look back on this moment as a proud father when his daughter finally got the one thing she wanted since the war's conclusion but for right now, her next statement dropped the entire room into dead silence.
"I am declaring my interest in the Spartan and will duel Kela 'Mesumaa for the right to be his life partner!" She stated and the room went cold as ice.
And the challenge has been thrown! How will the Chief react to the news and will this turn out good? Find out next time on Were It So Easy!
A New Destiny will probably not be updated this week but don't count that out as inspiration strikes me at the weirdest of times. My Chrysalis backstory is being written and should be out in the next week or so and maybe the next chapter of Love of Dragonesses too. Dovahkiin will be out by next Friday as usual.
Until next time fellow readers!