Ch. 17 The Morning After
Man, how long of a ride has this story been? Well sadly we have come to the second to final chapter of it but I have decided after much though (aka reviewer demands) to have an epilogue chapter. Whether or not I write a sequel is completely up to how I feel and how things go in the future but for right now I hope you all enjoy another chapter.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, all characters belong to Bungie and 343.
The Chief had always prided himself on being the first person up as he was trained to be but today wasn't one of those days. Today he felt more comfortable in his current position than he had in a long time and the warm body next to him was probably the reason. Not that he would complain about it but he had never imagined that he would end up being friendly to the every people he spent the majority of his life killing much less married to one of them and it happened to be the one that hated his guts more than anything at one point.
It was odd how they were so alike despite being totally different species. Both were highly trained soldiers and both had a deep resentment for the Covenant in addition to the same do or die attitude. She was a highly decorated Zealot turned Arbiter and he was a super soldier that had seen more than most Marines ever would. They both also weren't ones who would've been tied down by something like marriage and yet here they were.
"Do you ever stop thinking?" The Arbiter yawned as she sat up in her bed. "Then again, stopping a drunken brawl wasn't on my list of wedding priorities either." The Chief gave a small laugh at that, Dubbo snuck some Sangheilian alcohol when Hood turned away for a brief moment and then the night went south.
-Flashback-
"Oh no..." The Chief said as he rubbed his face with his hand.
"Could this get any worse?" The Arbiter said hesitantly as Dubbo began to throw a few drunken punches at the nearest Sangheili, who instantly retaliated until Dubbo smashed a bottle on his head.
"Who...elsh wantsh shome? I can take ya!" Dubbo slurred as another Sangheili threw a bottle at him. "Misshed me!" Dubbo taunted before another Sangheili used that moment to smash another on his head and he dropped.
Soon after more fists started to fly as bottles were being thrown and the Keep guards were doing their best to sort of the drunken mess and the Chief had to intervene before Stacker got clobbered by a severely drunk Sangheili and the Chief had to dodge punches while dragging the Marine back before diving right back in to drag Dubbo out from his spot on the floor.
The Arbiter just sat back and watched until one lucky fist connected with the Chief's jaw then she immediately dived into the pile with a loud yell. The next few moments were just a flurry of fists as the Arbiter went to town on anyone in her range including the Sangheili. One of them actually attempted to touch her in a certain area and he got stabbed in his hand for his troubles.
The brawl continued for several minutes before the Chief jumped back into it and after a few more knockdowns the brawl subsided with the Arbiter and the Chief back-to-back with a pile of knocked-out Sangheili around them.
-Flashback end-
"You do have a mean right hook." The Chief quipped as the Arbiter blushed a little.
"I could say the same for you, that uppercut really did the trick." she said back as the Chief shrugged.
"It's almost time to move." The Chief replied after a few minutes of silence as he got off the bed and went to grab his boots.
"Don't remind me." The Arbiter yawned again before she got up and went to grab her armor. "Are you sure of where he went?"
"Yea is it going to be a problem?" The Chief asked as the Arbiter sorted.
"In case you have forgotten, I have a grudge to settle with them." she shot back humorlessly. "They killed my mother and conspired to ruin everything we have tried to work for and all because they have a twisted view of how we should be."
"Just don't get carried away, the last thing we need is you to be injured or worse." The Chief said as the Arbiter stopped and looked at him with only half her armor on.
"Are you worried about me?" she asked curiously but there was a slight tone of gratitude in it. It wasn't often when someone worried about her and the fact that it was him that was worried now made her feel special.
"I know that you can more than handle yourself but a part of me still worries." The Chief said as he paused before he realized he wasn't putting on his MJOLNIR armor at all. It was odd that he didn't even think about it before either but he shook it off as nerves.
"I will be outside when you're ready." The Arbiter said as she finished putting on her regular gray armor and left. Giving one last though about it he quickly donned his armor but only kept the helmet in his hand before he joined his friend now wife outside the room.
-Scene Change-
"Nothing happened? Are you joking with us?" Dubbo asked incredulously. "You had an entire night with her and all you did was go to sleep?" His face promptly met the floor courtesy of another Marine.
"You really are an ass hole." she replied dryly as the Chief gave a short laugh.
"So no honeymoon then Chief?" Stacker asked curiously. "Wait, don't tell me that storming a Keep to take down a rogue former Spartan is considered your idea of a honeymoon."
"I guess so." The Chief replied shortly as Hood came into the room.
"Listen up, the last confirmation we got from the rogue agent is within this Keep and scouts have reported that it's being fortified even as we speak. We also have an unconfirmed reports that they have been hiring mercenaries but that's all we know." Hood said as gave a sigh. "We'll be doing a coordinated effort with the Sangheili forces in this so watch your fire."
"What exactly are we suppose to do then?" The Chief asked as he frowned at the display.
"Our orders are simply capture or kill Selmon while the Sangheili have their own orders but they both coincide with each other; We capture Selmon and they capture the Keep. To make sure this happens we will be attacking from multiple directions." Hood said as the terminal display shifted to reveal four boxes surrounding the Keep. "We are being tasked to cover the left side." The Letters UNSC popped up on the left of the Keep. "The Arbiter's forces will cover the north while the Mesumaa forces will approach from the west." Two more names popped up.
"What about the south? Who's covering that?" Stacker asked as Hood gave a slight shrug.
"The Vadumee Keep were more than happy to lend us some of their forces in this strike. Apparently this Keep has many enemies on this planet." Hood replied as he ended the program. "The terrain around the Keep is rocky enough that only off-road vehicles can climb it so we only have Mongoose's and Warthog's for this."
"Air support?" The Chief asked curiously.
"The ship I arrived on wasn't a true combat ship but we do have a few pelicans for air support when we need it." Hood replied as the Chief nodded. "The operation begins at 1700, dismissed."
-Scene Change-
"So we will be apart for this then." The Arbiter said as she sat next to the Chief on a small wooden bench in the courtyard of the Keep.
"It would seem so." The Chief replied as the Arbiter leaned on him. His armor was cold but she didn't care, as long as he was around she was content. "What happens when a Keep gets invaded like this?"
"It general means they are unfit to remain in charge of their land. They are offered a chance to surrender what they have or appeal to the conclave but the majority end up fighting back. When they choose to fight then they forfeit everything." she replied as he hesitantly put his arm around her. "The remaining property gets divided among their allies or the conclave if they had no allies. The non-combatants and children would be free to join another Keep however." she explained calmly. "This hasn't happened since the early days of the Covenant though so it's all so new to me."
"Change is never easy, no matter what is changing." The Chief quipped as she nodded. "I guess we both have something we need to get use to."
"That we do Spartan, that we do." she agreed as they both sat in comfortable silence broken only by the occasional smalltalk until the Chief found the Arbiter passed out next to him.
"For better or worse, I'll be here." he whispered to her.
-Scene Change-
The time was right and everyone was ready, the Chief was fully armed and armored as he stared down the ominous walls ahead of him. The explosives were in place and the other attack points were ready as well and all they had to do was wait. Nerves were starting to get to the assembled Marines but the Spartans stood calm and collected but the Chief knew better. Even he felt fear but he was able to put it to the side and press on but even his training couldn't brush aside one fear that seemingly popped out of nowhere and wouldn't leave despite his self assurance.
'Would she be alright.' Was his prevailing thought before the wall in front of him exploded in a shower of bricks and mortar, giving way to an expansive training field that had enemies scrambling to cover it as the Marines broke through and gunfire filled the air.
The Siege of the Mulamaa Keep had begun.
Sorry it took so long but life threw me a big curveball. First I got a call for a job offer that was later retracted because of "budget issues" then someone attempted to break into my car with me in it, keyword being attempted before they almost got stabbed by a screwdriver, and to top off it all off my power went out yesterday because a tree fell on the power line.
Enough with my rants, I hope you all enjoy the chapter and please vote in the poll on my profile. I just wanna know what story you all have liked the best and you can vote for up to 2 choices. Only the stories that were actually stories are up so go ahead and choose! ^^
Read and review and I will see you all next time.