Chapter 4

Emilee stared at her for a long moment. Nancy repeated herself, her voice cracking.

Emilee wasn't usually the one to be surprised, but this was unexpected. "Wait, can we even do that?" The idea was crazy, yet, it was true from what she had just heard.

Nancy nodded slowly, biting her lip, looking every much as unhappy as she probably felt. Nancy had went looking for Nina after their combat test, because she was unable to find her, which was unusual, as they usually met up after drills. In talking with a soldier who had been in the simulation test with Nina, Nancy had been floored by news that the woman had apparently been reassigned to a sangheili war ship, and would no longer be around for the unforeseeable future. He had insisted that Merico had been alright with the decision.

It was unbelievable, especially to Nancy. Surely Nina would have dropped by her room to say goodbye? It didn't make sense.

It had been a surprisingly visit regardless of the circumstances. Everyone had gathered in a sizable crowd to look out the viewing port windows. The so called 'corvette' was a shining instrument of death. It was sleek, vividly purple, and stood out brilliantly against the backdrop of stars. It was stunning and utterly alien. Like nothing Emilee had ever seen before and she had gawked at it for a long time before they had been herded away to afternoon drills.

The sangheili made it a habit to check in on their soldiers, the ones of their own kind serving on Imperium. Most likely it was also a courtesy. Both races were working together now after fighting for so many long years. It was the best anyone could hope for.

This recent news about Nina was a big deal, and not just for the few of them, but for everyone. It was just something that didn't seem to happen very often. A human being admitted onto a sangheili war ship? It was shocking. They had let their sangheili enlist on Imperium, as a show of cooperation with the UNSC, but no one had heard of a human soldier stationed on a sangheili ship. Nina wasn't an envoy, she was a private who was now, apparently, playing on both sides.

Emilee knew that somehow she would just fuck this thing up. Nina, of everyone on Imperium? It was baffling. How could this happen? Not that she was interested in being ostracized on a sangheili frigate…did they even have the proper supplies a human woman would need on board?

Nancy had been shocked as well. And overly tearful. She loved Nina, as she would love a sister. Nina had stood up for her when ugly rumors had surfaced, and when people had sought to emotionally compromise her.

It had started with harassment by males, mostly verbal, and teasing by other girls, some of which ended with her fleeing to the bathroom in tears. Some people found her there too, mocked her outbursts, and more gossip had started. People began asking her why she was even in the UNSC, why they would want a lightweight cry baby as a soldier, and why she didn't just run home to mommy.

They didn't understand her heart though, why Nancy chose to enlist, and chose to fight. It was very personal and they had no right to assume anything about her. It was her business…but Nancy hadn't been able to stop them from speaking freely amongst themselves. She hadn't been strong enough to stand up for herself.

Nina hadn't stood idly by, she had taken action and fought for her, fighting with sharp words and barely veiled threats. No one was willing to stand against Nina. Nina was firm and unyielding. Strong and supportive. She felt as if she could talk to Nina about anything. There was no fear. Nina was the best at keeping secrets, and being a true friend when it counted the most.

"I don't know why she's doing this." Nancy couldn't hide a sniffle, and Emilee sighed when she saw the pink of Nancy's nose and the puffiness around her eyes. She was obviously pretty upset over this. Emilee wasn't sure how she felt about Nina leaving. They hadn't always gotten along well, but she hated seeing Nancy so upset over the news.

"Some sort of exchange program thing, I guess." Emilee suggested, rearranging the bun on her head with a quick twist of hair, "She'll probably be fine."

Nancy breathed in through her nose wetly, wiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand, and Emilee watched as she stretched both arms over her head and then dropped them slowly. Another exhalation. Curiously, Nancy didn't seem quite so tense and she met Emilee's gaze again with a renewed brightness in her blue eyes.

"I-I've got to go talk to the commander." Nancy said decisively, "I can't let her go alone."

Emilee's brows popped up on her forehead, and she frowned, "Wait, you're not seriously considering a transfer, are you?" Was everyone here going mad?

Nancy turned to face her slowly, drawing in a short but deep breath. She released it quickly, "Listen, Emi. I love you, I love Sheila, but Nina doesn't have anyone but me. I can't let her stay on a ship full of strangers. Most of them will probably not even make the effort to be friends. She'll be trapped with no one to talk to, no one to understand when she's feeling sad or hurt."

Emilee's mouth twisted sharply into a scowl, forehead furrowed. Of course. Fucking Nina.

She was all emotions currently, and this didn't sit well with her. She felt sudden tension at her neck and moved an arm to aggressively rub at the muscles there. She couldn't help it, she was upset. "So, this is it? You're just going to run off and leave your other friends? You won't last five minutes on a ship full of aliens. Nina is a grown ass woman, she doesn't need anyone."

"I need her!" Nancy almost shrieked, tears springing, and Emilee lurched back. She didn't expect anger, and the fire in Nancy's eyes was uncharacteristic of the woman, but very real, "You are just like everyone else." Nancy continued breathlessly, eyes burning with unshed tears, "I'm not some daft little coward, and I don't need you. Ok? I don't!" Nancy sucked in a ragged breath. "Nina stood up for me when no one else would. You all just thought it was a joke, you don't understand. You never tried to understand."

"Listen." Emilee held up both hands in surrender, trying to appease the distraught girl. Nancy turned her back on this gesture, trying to hide the tears now slipping down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry Nancy. I should have spoken up about it," Emily pleaded, "but we do care about you. It wouldn't be the same with you gone." Damn it. Is this happening right now? Really?

Nancy faced the other woman again, dark lines etched against her pale face, eyes shining with unshed tears. There was some determination expressed however in the sharp downward arc of her mouth, the set of her brows and the ice in her voice, "I'm going. You and Sheila have each other, Nina needs me. A good friend wouldn't let her go off alone. It's the right thing to do." She swept the white of her hand over her cheeks, wiping away tear stains with quiet sniffles. "I'm sorry."

Nancy jumped, startled, as Emilee smacked her hand against the wall they had been standing next to. A small poster slipped to the ground crisply from a nearby bulletin board. Nancy slowly stepped aside so she wouldn't step on it, and her eyes met Emilee's. Emilee's hazel eyes were narrowed, her lips a sharp line. Nancy looked away but said nothing.

"You." Not cold, but wavering. Unsteady. Emilee's face was contorted with her emotions. She breathed in again, quickly, and gathered her voice, "You go on and do that. Go ahead and leave." She gave Nancy a look that was both furious and sad, brows furrowed together over eyes that sparked with emotion.

They both did just that.

Both women left the hall, and in opposite directions. Neither one spared a glance behind them. Nancy felt as if a weight was falling from her chest. She felt set free by her sudden determination. She walked quickly in the direction of the administration office, boots tapping distinctly against the metal floor, feeling very much in control of her own destiny. As she walked further way, even as Nancy began to feel her heart twist and knot in her chest, she did not stop. One day she would see Emilee again, and maybe she would understand that although this was hard for everyone, it was the right thing to do.

Emilee had walked off with an ugly scowl, but as she neared her room, her face had fallen into a sad wrinkle, tears rolling past her nose tickling it frustratingly. She knew it was her damn menstrual period making her so emotional. It was either snapping for little to no good reason or getting emotional about even the dumbest things.

The woman found her room, entered quickly, and closed the door. She didn't bother turning on the lights. Emilee felt for the bars to the top bunk and lifted herself up and curled around a pillow across her mattress. She closed her eyes and breathed in the clean scent of her sheets. It was dark and quiet. If only her mind could be just as dead to her thoughts.

She tried to clear her mind, tried to feel only the blankets around her, even to listen to the light thrumming sound of the conditioning element…but it was hard. All she could think of, all she could see, was the look on Nancy's face. Accusatory, frustrated, sad. Had she truly been a bad friend?

Emilee smacked her fist against the mattress. The woman lay there for a long time, curled up in her bed, trying to bury her head into her pillow, twisting in sheets that were becoming like snakes she wanted to tear into ribbons. She was going to have to make her bed again. There was no winning on this damn ship.

Finally she drew in a long weary breath and opened her eyes. She had to fix this.

Emilee sat up and slipped her legs over the side of the bed. Her feet hit the floor and she moved towards the door with renewed energy.

She would have to find Sheila, tell her what was going on, get her to persuade Nancy to stay, before it was too late. Sheila was the voice of reason. Everyone listened to Sheila, and she always seemed to know what to say. Nancy wouldn't last very long on a sangheili war ship, Emilee felt certain of this. Nina just wouldn't be enough.

It's the right thing to do.

00oo00oo00oo00

Sheila sighed as she hung her hands over the metal sink. Blood ran off her fingers in rivulets of water and she watched it run off her skin until her hands were clear again. Antibiotic soap out of a nearby nozzle in the wall by the sink and she was scrubbing, rinsing again, and finally clean. She shook them off and reached for a towel under the cabinet.

A marine had accidentally tore a hole in his arm and she hadn't had time to equip gloves. They had been afraid he would bleed out too quickly for that. They had to compress and wrap him immediately to keep the bleeding at bay.

Her peer, Heather Coffrey, was still a trainee and had almost lost it when red had splattered her top. The girl's face had literally turned green and she had trembled so much, that she hadn't been any help with her unsteady hands. Sheila had taken over alongside their top medical officer, a kind and humorous man by the name of Gary Peters.

Gary was probably one of the friendliest people stationed on Imperium. Everyone could appreciate him being in charge of their health. It was nice to have someone in a military environment who felt like some funny older relative who made jokes at even the worst of times.

Their patient was weak from blood loss, but he would live. He was currently resting up in the medical ward. It had all worked out fine, well, except for Heather. She had promptly thrown up after the fact. Sheila wasn't sure how well off the woman was for a medical career. She had the most sensitive disposition of anyone she knew.

Well except Nancy of course.

Now they just had to get that damn cracked pipe out of the wall. She wasn't sure how that even passed inspection. The unlucky fellow had slipped down the stairs at storage unit CB, near ammunitions, and had caught his arm against it trying to keep himself from falling. Instead he had stabbed himself with a piece of rusty metal, so maybe the fall would have been a better idea. He was only six steps from the bottom, at the worst he could have fallen wrong and snapped his neck.

People don't usually die from falling down the stairs, but Sheila had seen crazier things.

Nothing crazier, of course, than Emilee randomly running into the medical offices looking flustered and damn well near startling her to death.

"No running young lady. Some of us have sharp tools in hand." A cheery reprimand, if you could call it one. Sheila turned to look to where the medical officer was. Gary was at the sinks now, but he was rinsing off some scissors. He seemed to have a six sense for disasters and never seemed to be unprepared. He had merely slipped his blood soaked gloves off into the waste disposal unit, hands clean.

"Can I speak with Sheila, please, Doctor Peters?" Emilee asked, a little out of breath.

"What's wrong?" Sheila was a little concerned. What was so important that Emilee had apparently ran to find her?

"Just cleaning up, you two go ahead and chat. Sheila, I'll wait for you. We need to file a report. Some moron is going to answer for this." He was referring to the pipe. That was a real concern but currently Sheila was worried about what Emilee was bothering her about.

"Yes sir, thank you." She quickly met the other woman's eyes. Emilee looked panicked, her hands moving to play with the loose strands of her hair that had fallen over one ear.

Emilee led the way out into the hall and Sheila followed, feeling her heart pick up pace. Was someone hurt? Surely she would have just told Gary about it if there was an emergency while they were in the room together. This was something else entirely.

"What's going on?" Sheila asked carefully, prepared for anything the other woman could tell her. Or so she thought.

Emilee drew in a long breath. "It's Nancy…"

00oo00oo00oo00

Of course, it had also concerned Nina. Sheila knew that Emilee wasn't overly fond of the woman, but she wished she would have told her about Nina before Nancy.

Nathan was going to be pissed about this. Sheila had promised him she would watch over his sister and now the woman had gone mad and enlisted onto a sangheili war ship. This was all very quickly spinning into chaos.

Sheila had went to high school with both of them, although she only really knew Nathan at the time. Both small town kids with big dreams. Nathan had went onto college after his graduation to become a surgeon, while Sheila had decided to help her heroes, like her father, and enlist with the UNSC as a medic. She had went through the training courses, recording her progress and taken to messaging Nathan in her free time.

Two years had passed and they had slowly become too busy to bother each other, as they were studying constantly to become professionals in their field. It was just a fact of life. Sheila didn't keep in touch with probably 90% of her school peers.

One day, however, she had entered her room with the intent to pass out onto her bed after a hard day's work but was stopped when she heard a ping from her messenger. She had discovered an inquiry from Nathan. Apparently his baby sister had enlisted with the UNSC as well. He had pleaded with Sheila to watch over his sister, Nina, who was to be stationed on the same ship after shore training.

Sheila had promised him she would do just that, but how was she supposed to keep this promise when Nina was going to be light years away soon?

She kept a brisk walk, Emilee keeping pace beside her. They were headed in the direction of the military offices, more specifically those of their Commander and the woman in charge of the ship, Chelsea Beretta. If anyone would give them a straight answer, it would be her. Merico had a tendency of telling them what he thought they should know, and leaving it at that. It was a relief that he wasn't manning Imperium or there would probably be a higher demand for therapy services.

They turned a corner and it was Emilee who discovered him first.

The woman's face smacked into a hard obstacle in her path. Someone's very firm chest. It took Emilee a moment to regain her senses and then she was staring, mouth agape, at the alien head hanging over her.

"Why are you here?" He asked them, he being, specifically, a tall lanky sangheili. He didn't seem overly pleased to see them, Sheila noticed. He looked a little distracted actually. He kept looking over his shoulder, towards the administration offices where they had been heading. Sheila also noted a glyph of some kind on the shoulders of his armor. She didn't recognize it.

He was tall for even his kind, but thinner, leaner. He had this graceful upsweep to his thighs that sangheili had, with their long gaited legs. His skin was a smooth lightly speckled, mocha colored complexion. Blazing amber eyes narrowed at them with something akin to distaste.

Sheila had to look away from those eyes, choosing instead to glue her own to the bulging muscles on his neck, "We're here to see Commander Beretta. We won't bother you." She spoke clearly but she winced, when she became suddenly aware of the tremor in her voice. It was hard not to be intimidated by this alien. He was so far, unwelcoming in his behavior, and a sangheili personality she had yet to understand. Not to mention he towered over them like most of his kind.

"And yet here we are." He snorted. He crossed his muscular arms over his chest, his armor clinking lightly as he did so.

Sheila didn't know how to respond to that, but she didn't have to, because Emilee pushed past her to stand in front of the sangheili. The brunette had an ugly scowl on her face, her own eyes glowering back at him, "Who do you think you are buddy?" The woman spat, brushing a defiant curl out of her face, "Yeah, I'm so sorry, I ran into you, but don't take shit so damn personally. We didn't walk all the way over here to pay tribute to your sensibilities."

Sheila looked at her friend in unconcealed horror. Insulting an almost 8 foot tall alien, was a good idea? She quickly turned her eyes to the sangheili, trying to see if it was a good time to grab Emilee and run.

A shock came over her when a breathy sound escaped from his maw. He was…

Laughing?

"I have to say, I never expected human females to be so…fiery." He said, looking over them with those bright alien eyes. "I'm pleasantly surprised." He looked over them, as if he was just now seeing them for the first time. "You have my apologies for offending you." His tone seemed to suggest a smugness, that perhaps they should feel honored he had given them any apology.

"Thank you." Sheila said quickly, before Emilee could speak. She wanted to get right to the point. She was also very curious by his presence. "We're just here to speak with Commander Beretta. Are you here for the same reason?"

The sangheili drew in a deep breath though his mandibles, the action making a slight sucking noise. "Yes. I'm an envoy from clan Idreem. I am Talos 'Idreem, of the Swords of Sangheilios."

Sheila blinked in surprise. The Swords was a group of sangheili led by the famous once-Arbiter of the covenant, and it was a peaceful, though largely political, coalition between humans and sangheili. But an actual member of the group. A Sword…here? Their visiting sangheili obeyed and honored the Sword's dogma, but they were not members themselves. They did not fight with the Arbiter.

"Swords? Here?" Emilee mused. "For what purpose?"

The sangheili shuffled his legs around for a moment, looking impatient again. He turned the sweep of his neck to stare at Emilee, "It is my own business. Respectfully, mind your own females."

Females? Ugh. Sheila fought the urge to sigh. Did all sangheili want to sound like bigoted males, or was it just a natural thing on their planet? She had heard a few facts about the race. They were largely a patriarchy, but she was still very much unaware of their social norms concerning genders…

Emilee wasn't having any of this of course. Sheila watched as the woman made a disgusted noise and moved to slip by him, giving a wide berth as if she really did find his form appalling. She didn't get very far and Emilee was halted in her tracks by a firm grip on her arm.

"Hey, what the heck!"

The sangheili had grabbed a hold of the woman's arm and was looking down at her like a mother berating a troublesome child. "I was told to wait here." Talos said gruffly, "And I don't appreciate you two cutting in."

Emilee angrily twisted her arm out of his grip, rubbing her hand lightly across the spot where he had touched her. "Do not touch me." She snapped at the alien, who looked bemused at the redness coming over her cheeks. Emilee was definitely annoyed. She was pale enough that any amount of red shone on her face like a traffic light at stop. That same red was laced through her hair, and was made more apparent when she blushed. Emilee had told her once that it was from her Irish roots.

She blamed a lot of things on her Irish roots actually. Including her temper and love of alcohol, which Sheila doubted had much to do about roots than the woman having to grow up with seven other siblings and an alcoholic father.

Sheila stepped in to play referee before a fight broke out, which she knew would end in Emilee screaming and trying to hit a much larger male alien, while the sangheili probably just stood there. The vision was amusing when you didn't think about the real situation of it.

"Okay, that's fine." Sheila said calmly, "Let's just be patient."

The sangheili laughed again, sounding a little bitter. "You say that, but I have been here a long time. This whole ordeal is trying my patience. I do not want to be on this frigate any longer than I have to."

"I agree, that would be unpleasant for all of us." Emilee said coldly, and Sheila couldn't suppress a sigh.

"Is arguing an enjoyable experience for you female?" The sangheili snorted, mandibles tucking neatly and unfolding as he made an expression that appeared disdainful, as if he was wiping his hands of them. It was certainly true in the tone of his voice. "I won't entertain you then."

"Fuck you."

"Wouldn't you like that?" Smugness. Sheila suppressed a groan, fully aware of how Emilee was already reacting to that comment.

A snap of barely contained rage, "Oh, no…but I bet you'd love a big pole shoved straight up your—"

"Is there a problem here?" A sharp and familiar female voice, but with a hint of weariness.

They turned to see Beretta standing in the doorway to administration. She looked paler than usual, with a blue tinge under her eyes, standing in stark contrast the color of her irises. Her red hair was also unkempt looking and stood up at random points on her scalp.

The sangheili placed a fist over his chest and ducked his head down for a short second, "Shipmaster Chelsea Gale Beretta."

Sheila and Emilee shared a look. This was the first they had heard of their commander's middle name. It was generally unspoken. This sangheili meant to be respectful, this was certain, as he had learned and kept to memory their commander's full name.

"That would be me." Beretta said crisply, looking suddenly energetic again, her icy blue eyes flashing over the two women standing behind the sangheili. "I was expecting 'Idreem here, what is it that you two want?"

Emilee stepped forward with a quick salute before Sheila could answer, "Commander, ma'am, one of our soldiers has been transferred to that sangheili ship. Another, a Nancy Leanne Dodger, was going to make a request of the same. We wanted to ask that that request be denied."

They both watched with interest as Beretta's eyebrows shot up, her mouth twisting into a frown. "I made no such transfer. Anything like that would have to be cleared through me. We're not even supposed to make decisions like that without an official ruling by military council. Any interspecies mingling in the military has to be preapproved, for proper sanction."

Sheila's heart skipped a beat as she took in this information, "Wait…we were told that Nina had been transferred onto the sangheili cruiser, but, did…is this some kind of mistake?" She didn't finish. She was confused. How could this happen? What exactly was going on? "She…didn't report for…and Merico—"

Beretta's hand rolled over the points of her hair in an almost tugging motion. She looked as if she was just as confused as they were. Confused and a little anxious, "Shit. That man is short a few...ugh. He has his head shoved so far up everyone else's ass, except for mine. I'm in command of this cruiser, he should have come straight to me."

"Wait." Emilee's voice was loud, betraying her stress at this situation. Sheila couldn't deny she was also feeling more nervous each passing moment. If the commander didn't have control, who did in this situation? "So, maybe Merico thought that the shipmaster outranked him, maybe…"

"No." Beretta cut her off, shaking her head, one hand pressed to her forehead as if checking her temperature. Her cheeks were just as flushed as Emilee's earlier, in what Sheila knew by the spite in her voice as anger. "He should have known better, its protocol. Something else is going on—"

There was an instantaneous event of lights flickering and a clattering crash from somewhere nearby. They weren't sure what made the sound, but they were made apparent of the consequences of it as a quake shot through the floor. The humans were unable to hold their feet and were sent toppling to the ground. The sangheili merely fell against the wall with one arm to steady his body.

"What's going on?" Emilee cried out, arms flailing out as she tried to reach her feet. It was all in vain as instead another tremor had her falling into Sheila.

The shaking stopped, but there was still an uncertain shiver in the ground. Something was happening, and it was affecting Imperium. The ship, someone was attacking the ship!

Sheila felt her heart clatter against her chest as she sought to take in a deep breath of air that tasted stagnant when she thought of the suppression system failing and all of them being sucked out into space and oblivion. What was happening? Who was attacking?

"On your feet." Beretta had hauled up Emilee who was now visibly shaking herself, her breath coming out in quick gasps, "We have to move. Now."

"I believe the cruiser has come under attack." The sangheili said unhelpfully the same thing that was already on all of their minds.

Emilee was too afraid to scowl at him, feeling cold fingers running up and down her spine. She had never seen real action before, and this was very real. They were actually under attack, most likely from another ship, maybe more than one. That kind of tremor she had only felt once before, and that was in the simulator concerning space battles. The skirmishes people generally feared the most. Stuck and with nowhere to go.

There was a pounding of many feet coming towards them and a group of soldiers came around the bend in the corridor. A decorated major with a granite expression stood at the front and moved quickly towards Beretta.

"Commander, Major Merico was assassinated by one of their men. They are aiming to cripple her, ma'am. Imperium. We can't return salvos." His voice was grim, betraying their own unease at the situation. Sheila couldn't speak. There was no words for this. Whatever this was becoming.

Beretta's eyes narrowed. "Who?"

"They're traitors." The Major said, "The shipmaster pulled out his ship, he's going to jump. It could be minutes. He has the cargo."

"Bastard." Beretta hissed between her teeth, "I should have known. Damn it…"
"I feared as much." The sangheili pushed away from the wall, "Sublime Justice has not been relieved by the Arbiter for duty. He keeps track of the remainder of our destroyers so they may not be used against us or your people. It would seem that we share a traitor in our midst."

"It was your people who attacked us, who killed Merico!" The Major bared his teeth, looking ready for a fight. "You can't honestly think we're going to trust your word-"

"Let's quell the racist bullshit." Beretta snapped suddenly, and everyone's gaze turned to her, "I know 'Idreem very well. He was brought in by Oni, and yes, they're shady fucks, but they don't mess around, just what good is it now? The cargo is gone. They have it and apparently we're not capable of firing some artillery to send the fuckers to hell? Is that correct Major Davison?"

Cargo? Sheila wasn't sure what she meant by cargo. This was a green training frigate, for new military members…did they use this as an innocent guise to haul valuable items? Was that even legal?

The Major straightened the cap on his head, taking in a slow wavering breath, "Ma'am, we are perfectly capable of firing upon their ship, but as long as they don't mean to destroy our own, we can't make a move."

Beretta spun on him, her eyes flashing dangerously, "What do you mean? Have you lost your senses?"

The Major swallowed, "They have hostages."

Sheila looked to Emilee and found the woman was already looking back at her. There was an expression of shock on the woman's face, and Sheila knew it was a shared condition. Everything pointed to it, it was undeniable, but Nina and Nancy were most likely not aboard Imperium anymore.

This was very quickly turning into a nightmare for everyone.

And then the panel of lights above them flickered off casting the corridor into darkness.

00oo00oo00oo00

3 Hours Earlier…

Nina had long sense slipped on her clothes and was currently lounging on the sangheili shipmaster's generously sized bed.

Voss had yet to return, but she was lax and enjoying the sleepy aftermath of their sexual activities. His bed was much more comfortable than she expected, and she pressed her cheek into the cool outer sheet with a satisfied smile on her lips.

He had been the well-endowed male she had ever fucked. He had brought out such primal sexual feelings in her, it had been dizzying. She recalled the feeling of his cock brushing up against her bare bottom and felt her own sex respond to the vision.

This was going to be a very well deserved vacation.

She had been ready to slip into a short sleep when she heard footsteps outside the room. Heavy, but there was another sound too. A human voice? An upset voice.

Nina sat up in bed and turned her eyes to the large metal door. It came open with a mechanical swish, and she was shocked to see an unfamiliar sangheili carrying a sobbing human woman over one shoulder.

She recognized the soft blonde, almost white hair, dropping past a too-pale face, ragged strands come loose from a mess of pins. Unshed tears sparkled in big blue eyes. It was Nancy. What was Nancy doing here? Why was he…?

Suddenly Nancy let out a shrill cry as she was tossed bodily into the air and towards Nina. Nina barely moved out of the way before Nancy hit the bed, and rolled into her hard, only stopped by Nina's own body from falling off.

"What's going on? Nancy?" Nina was confused. She turned back to look at the sangheili who had brought Nancy, but he was already moving away from them to leave the room, "Hey, wait!" She stumbled off the bed, quickly, "What is she doing here? Why did—"

Suddenly the large sangheili male's shoulder turned sharply towards her and Nina was stopped by the back of his hand clapping her hard across the cheek. The sound rang in the room like a thunder clap, but she wasn't aware of anything but the pain.

She spun on one heel and her body twisted sharply before hitting the ground hard, both hands slapping against the cold metal floor. It hurt like a bitch, and it felt as if her face was on fire. She uttered out a low moan as she sought to gain her feet. She could taste the iron of blood on her lips.

What was happening? He had assaulted her! Why was Nancy…?

"I'm so sorry Nina!" Nancy had stumbled off the tall bed and had moved to reach the other woman, "I didn't know…I shouldn't have…I should—"

Nina sat up on the floor and turned to face her friend. Her face stung, and blood ran down her chin where she had managed to bit her lip. It was going to bruise, she was certain of that much. "What is happening Nancy, why are you here?"

The shorter woman released a shuddering sob, tears spilling wetly down her cheeks, "I..I was asking the Major w-where you were, and if I could c-come too. I couldn't l-let you be alone. Nina, they murdered him. There was this invisible sangheili, he had this sword. He—"Nancy couldn't' finish, instead she choked on her own tears. "T-the blood. There was so m-much blood."

Nina could see it now. Nancy's hands were held out, shaking, open, as if she was making an offering, but her palms were empty. The fingers though were unclean. Ivory skin was tainted with the stain of blood.

Nina was numb. This wasn't happening. It just didn't make sense…but here they were.

Nina marched to the door, determined to find answers, but couldn't find a release. She tried to work the edges with her nails, but there was nothing to grip, nothing to pry at. It was stuck.

No, they were stuck. Trapped in a room with no accessible exit, on an alien ship that was probably due to leave at any time. This was all wrong, so very wrong. This couldn't happen, surely someone would notice…?

She felt Nancy's breath at her back, heard the barely suppressed terror in each small gasp that escaped the girl's lips, "Nina…what are we going to do?"

Nina stepped back, and looked to Nancy, but she wasn't really looking at her. She couldn't. She couldn't see the blood on her hands, or the truth of the situation in her eyes. Nina stared at the wall behind the sobbing woman and tried to suck in a deep breath to try and control her own rising hysteria.

For once, she didn't have an answer for Nancy. She was all out of ideas.

And in all probability, they were both majorly fucked.

Drama! My plot bunnies are hopping. Did anyone see this coming? I hope not. I like to roll out the surprises. No smut in this one, but 10 pages of progression for the big stuff. Next chapter is going to be kinky as hell, and probably dark too. Fair warning, considering the new circumstances…it's not going to be very consensual.

I put in a lot of edits for the first chapter by the way, might have missed some spelling, but let me know if you guys see any shining errors. I didn't like how I wrote a lot of parts in the first chapter, so there are whole new paragraphs and re-written areas too, so check that out if you're curious or need a refresher. Let me know what you guys are interested in seeing as well! I'm curious.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned.