Unspoken Doubts

Woah now things get pretty intense in this chapter. And it may seem as if things are moving quickly but there is a good bit of time that they spend between and on the missions. Now please write and review!

I nodded in interest and got my weapon ready as Foehammer started to speak over the comm again, "I'm detecting some hostiles on the platform I'm droppin you two off on, I suggest getting ready for some immediate action." "Thanks Foehammer." We both loaded our weapons as we turned around a central pillar and immediately saw the platform that was mentioned, and on that platform we also saw the covenant that were also mentioned. "Let's rock it." Still the Chief said nothing, but at least he nodded in acknowledgment this time. Better than being ignored I suppose.

As soon as we were close enough to be spotted I saw all the grunts jump up from a sleep state and run towards a tall door, their arms flailing around. I grunted in surprise as we both hopped off of the pelican and crept towards the door, "Huh, guess they didn't have the alien balls to fight-" But my words were cut off mid sentence as the door reopened to reveal two elites, growling and ready for action. "Hraggghh! Die!" I didn't look over to see what the spartan did as I rolled out of the way and threw a frag, watching them try to scramble out of the blast zone but only one made it. "One down..." I got ready to begin firing at the other but didn't get a chance to as he was shot multiple times in the head and chest with a pistol, grunting as blue-purple blood sprayed from his wounds, and then fell to the ground dead.

"Lets move." His voice was gruff and low as he walked past me and through the door without taking a second look at the dead aliens, was he angry with me for coming along? I didn't think it would bother me at all but honestly the thought of having the spartan resent my presence was something I didn't like, I didn't want to be a burden. As I caught up with him in the hall I was silent for once, not saying anything for fear that I may upset him in some way. But why did I care so much? It's not like I really had a chance to be with him. "Chief, I'm detecting multiple covenant signatures up in the next room. They appear to be asleep with the exception of an elite and two jackals, I would try and take out as many as you can before waking them. "Affirmative."

We neared the door that lead into the next room, hearing footsteps go past the door in intervals; probably someone patrolling the door in case of intruders. "Alright, you guys need to time it just right so that you can take out the elite while his back is turned. That way you won't alert the rest of the room." The Master Chief made to creep forward in a crouch, probably mapping out a genius battle plan inside of that engineered and trained mind of his, but being the independent and prideful soldier that I was I took hold of his armored arm and gave a slight tug to stop him. He didn't turn to look at me but he did stop as I spoke, "I've got a cloak built into my armor, let me take out the elite so it lowers the chance of us being spotted."

"You don't know how to take down an elite stealthily enough-" "I can handle the situation sir. I may not be as skilled as you but I'm not incompetent." I didn't mean to but I let my emotions get the better of me and irritation crept into my voice as I spoke to him, feeling a little annoyed that he was questioning my ability as an asset and trying to prove me wrong. "I'll come get you when it's done then." I quickly activated the cloak on my armor and snuck past him as fast as I could without making a sound, bound and determined to prove him wrong, and hopefully, prove myself. The door slid open quietly as I neared it and as I walked all the way through I saw the elite to my right, back turned as he assessed that side of the room, searching for anything off or odd.

My breathing slowed down as I crept close to his form, not wanting to make even the slightest of noises for fear that it may alert the alien to my presence; my hands steady as they pulled a large serrated knife from its sheath and aimed it precisely between the elites lightly armored shoulder blades. But just as I was about to move forward and plunge the knife into his heart I stopped, what if I missed and alerted the whole room? It would ruin our chances to do this quickly and quietly, seeing as they would probably alert the rest of the complex, and it would also tag me as a failure as a recon scout.

I could hear my own breath quicken as I began to run all the possibilities of failure through my mind, each one worse than the last and even more humiliating in every way. "Do not hesitate to take down your enemies Agent, it may cost you your life." That voice...the one from my dreams that I had while I was held captive and tortured...was it really talking to me? I tried to reason with myself and say it was just my subconscious, tried to calm myself, but it spoke once more with conviction; almost as if it knew why I was hesitating. "Do you think that if this alien had the chance, it would hesitate to end your life in the most gruesome way possible? Finish what you have started and show the spartan that there is more to you than some broken soldier. Show him that you are more like him than he thinks."

He...it...was right. I can't let my past control me anymore, not like this. It haunted my every move and made me second guess almost every decision I made and I was tired of being broken; it was now or never that I proved myself in the field and outside of it. Without sparing another thought to the treacherous feeling that was doubt I lurched forward and sank my knife into the back of the covenant all the way to the hilt; twisting the blade in a full circle almost as if I was carving out a fruit and relishing in the silent way his body tensed up in pain, and then dropped to the floor dead.

I don't really recall how long I stood there, staring down at the fallen body as blood began to seep from his wound and stain the floor beneath me; but I finally snapped back to reality as Cortana's voice sounded in my helmet through my comm unit, her voice holding a hint of worry that didn't escape my ears. "Rikki come in, are you all right?" It took me a moment to compose myself enough to respond, worried that my voice may shake if I gave an answer right away; I really need to take some time to myself after this was all said and done with. "Yeah...yeah I'm fine Cortana. You guys can come in now, we should be good to clear out the rest of the room without a problem. "Alright good, lets get this over with and then group back up with Captain Keyes."

(Time Skip)

He looked around the snow covered landscape with an expression that was a mixture between irritation and slight interest; how could something so machine based see so much like Earth? It was almost as if it copied all the different biomes of Earth and just set them in different areas near each other. "Looks like Earth right?" He turned his head slightly to the right as the voice of the tag along agent got his attention, her face and expression obscured by her spartan-like helmet. That was something else that he had noticed ever since she had awoken from her death like sleep. She had grown a few inches in height definitely, skills seemed more honed and defined, muscle tone more defined, it was almost as if she had the augmentations of a spartan.

But he knew that she had never went through the lifelong testing and training that he had...she hadn't been augmented. And there was also the change in her attitude and demeanor; She seemed to be more vivacious and determined when it came to confronting the covenant and he had to admit that he wasn't objecting to how assertive she was acting, it was quite the change. "Are you ok Chief? You seem more unresponsive than usual." She was asking him if he was ok? But why? His job was to eradicate the problem of the covenant and make sure others were ok, then go about training and making sure his skills were sharp. Others should not be asking him if he was ok. But the longer they stood there waiting for the other to say something the longer it was going to take to get too the central control room of the ring.

"I'm fine...why ask?" She paused for a moment and began walking silently, shouldering her weapon as she did so and maneuvered around the dead bodies on the bridge they had just cleared. Of course he followed without question ,seeing as that was the only way to go and the right way, but he still waited for a response from the mysterious woman who was now waiting by the exit from the bridge. He paused beside her and took a step through the door while at the same time he blocked her way through, "Why?" When she responded this time her voice had an odd twinge to it...almost as if she was upset, but he couldn't quite pinpoint it.

"Why? Why should I wonder how the soldier that I'm fighting with is doing, that's not a rational question I suppose. But I'm not as easy to put off as the other marines, or Johnson, or even Keyes. I would rather know that the spartan that's covering my back isn't injured or maybe even fatigued! I'm sure if our situation was the other way around you'd wonder the same thing right?!" With each word her voice rose in octave, showing her anger and frustration all the while and making him wonder why she felt this way. But what he didn't expect was for her to rip off her helmet when he didn't respond for a few minutes. He felt his breathing freeze at the intensity of her amber gaze as she stared him down, her short silver hair being blown around slightly by the intense flurries and wind at the high altitude at which they were at.

"Well?" "...it's not your job to ask if I'm alright, you shouldn't be worrying about me at all. Spartans are made to fight." "And are they made to be asses as well?" "Rikki!" He heard the surprise and slight offense in Cortana's voice as the agent continued to rant quite bluntly about how rude he was. He let it continue for another five minutes, all the while simply studying her; how she narrowed her eyes when she wanted to make a particular point and how she kept her hands balled up into fists at her side. Her mouth was thinned out from stress and he could see the lines of worry and sleep loss that were under her eyes., making her appear almost sickly in appearance. But still she had the energy to sit her and yell at him as if she were superior, as if he were a mere child.

"Stop." Just that one word silenced her quicker than if he had screamed it, but she could probably hear the strong authority that was laced in with it. "I am giving you an order to stand down agent, it is not your place neither is it your business to sit her and berate me as if I were a mere child. I was made this way to stop the threats of the covenant and that is all you need to know, now I suggest that if you wish to continue this mission without any problems then we need to keep moving. Understood?" There were many things that could have been written on her face when he finished, hurt, shock, surprise...dejection. "I am not here to feel I am here to fight, lets continue on."