"So what happened next? I can understand working with an enemy temporarily but this Elite trusts you."
"I know. I'm getting to that part if you'd shut up."
Drake wasn't sure how long he was out for. When he finally came to, looking around the darkened tunnel, he could see the remains of the collapsed ceiling, the rocks and metal that had collapsed during the explosion and the Elite. It was standing back up the ramp of the tunnel, examining the damage and the rubble. He wasn't sure how it was going to react to him being awake, if it was waiting to end him while he was awake or if it was going to do something else.
Groaning Drake looked down to his stomach, a burning pain flowing through him as he looked at the large metal spike from the grenade that had hit him. Slowly Drake began to remove his backpack, inside he would have his medical equipment, enough to treat the wound and get him back up on his feet.
As he began to rummage through the pack he could hear the soft footfalls of the Elite making its way back towards him. Drake glanced up to it as it approached, the light Blue combat harness shining in the remaining light of the tunnel. He was potentially looking to his death. He didn't know what to expect. It slowly kneeled down next to him, examining him. Drake could look into the golden-amber orbs of its eyes, see how it's combat harness wasn't attached to its body by any form of strap or fabric, perhaps magnetised.
"You are wounded." The Elite said quietly as it looked up, catching Drake staring at it. Drake nodded slowly as he reached down to his stomach feeling for the cause of his pain. His hand grazed over a small metal rod which had embedded into his stomach on the left side.
"Yeah I noticed." Drake replied with a grunt as he slowly continued looking through his pack. He pulled out two small objects and a single large canister. Preparing himself for on-site medical care before there was a soft ripple of energy from the Elite.
Glancing to his side the Elite had ignited an energy dagger from its gauntlet. Slowly raising its arm.
"You fought well. Defending yourself from a Jiralhanae. However I have seen your kind in combat. This wound will end you. Allow me to end you swiftly." The Elite said quietly. Seemingly fighting with itself as the words left its maw.
"Don't you fucking dare!" Drake growled as he pushed himself upright, letting out a groan of pain as he did so. The slightest of movement sending ripples of pain through his gut.
"I am no Elite. We don't kill our wounded. Stay the fuck back and let me work." Drake replied as he leaned over picking up a small red object, an autoinjector. Popping the cap off and lining the needle up with the vein on his neck Drake injected a dose of morphine into his neck to help deal with the pain.
"You are killing yourself. I offer you a mercy. Why do you and your kind do this to yourself?" The Elite asked as it extinguished the dagger from it's gauntlet and took a step back, watching Drake work.
"Because I'm not killing myself. I'm doing what I can in order to save my own life." Drake explained as he reached down with both hands, gripping the spike of metal. He needed to work quickly. The pain and loss of blood would cause him to pass out quickly, if he didn't hit himself with the other injector quickly he would probably bleed out.
With a single swift movement Drake wrenched the spike of metal from his gut, tossing it aside with a metal ringing as it clattered further down the ramp. Drake almost immediately felt much weaker. Blood began to flow freely from the wound which he needed to fill. He reached over and grabbed the small metal canister. Popping the seal and opening the large thick needle-like protrusion he stabbed the needle into his wound. Pain shocked through his system as he pressed down the small lever on the side of the canister. A dull hiss emitted from the canister, a white fluid flowing into his wound as the biofoam began to rapidly fill and close the gaping hole in his gut.
Tossing the canister aside, Drake reached over to his side, needing the second autoinjector to keep him conscious. His fingers grazed the injector, causing it to roll away from him as his vision started to darken. He leaned over reaching as far as he could before everything went dark.
Everything began to play out in his head. The Elite taking advantage of the situation to kill him while he was out, the dagger slowly piercing his chest, his heart unable to beat as the blade cut into it, the pain waking him up.
Gasping loudly as the stale tunnel air filled his lungs he opened his eyes to see the Elite crouched down beside him. The yellow injector stuck into the vein in his neck, the Elites large talons gripping the injector delicately. Drake grinned at the Elite, how big it's hand was compared to the injector, how alien it looked using a piece of human tech.
"Will this aid you?" The Elite asked as it slowly stood up and took a step back from Drake while staring at it's hand.
"It will. That injector contained a chemical which increased my heart rate. Something I needed to stay awake. Thank you." Drake said solemnly. He wasn't sure why but he felt comfortable around this Elite. Even though it's kind and the other alien races of the Covenant were trying to wipe out humanity they had been able to work together, twice now.
"Do not thank me." The Elite growled as it began to turn away.
"Why not? You just helped keep me alive." Drake asked confused.
"Using such devices. Items to keep a warrior alive is dishonourable. It is not our way." The Elite explained as Drake rummaged around in the pack, grabbing a small clear bag filled with a red plasma.
"You don't heal your wounded?" Drake asked quietly as he fixed the bag to a rock above him, running the tethered thin tube and needle down to his arm.
"No. To die in battle is our way. Being wounded means you were not strong enough to defeat your enemy. Returning and becoming a burden inflicts dishonour to your family name." The Elite explained as it looked over to Drake as he began wrapping a cord around his arm. Setting the tourniquet in place the vein on his arm began to swell up, letting him pierce the vein with the needle. The Elite watched the red plasma flow down the tube and begin to enter Drake's arm, it's head tilting to the side like a confused dog.
"And that's why we're going to win honestly." Drake said with a chuckle as he leaned his head back on the rocks. The bag of plasma slowly began to empty as the contents flowed into his arm as he removed the tourniquet.
"You truly believe your species will survive us? You are deluded." The Elite argued as it shook its head in disagreement.
"Yes I do. We might lose more than we win but we don't give up. We're a very tenacious race and owing to the fact that we will keep going as long as we can. Our numbers will continue to grow, while you throw your lives away for a stupid cause." Drake explained. The Elite growled at him and took a few steps closer.
"The Great Journey will ascend us to godhood. You and the rest of your race will be left behind once we reach one of the holy relics of our gods and begin our journey." The Elite argued as Drake shook his head.
"And why can't we join you in this 'Great Journey'?" Drake asked as he opened his eyes and looked to the Elite.
"Our gods deem you unclean, not fit for the journey." The Elite explained.
"Yeah and who told you that?" Drake asked. The Elite was sounding like some religious nut, preaching a message that had been indoctrinated into its head.
"Our Prophets, the ones whom our gods commune with. They informed us of your race, how pathetic and weak you are. Not worthy of the Great Journey." The Elite proclaimed sounding extremely proud.
"Well I guess we're screwed then. Yet another religious being who claims that we're all going to die." Drake said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"At least you understand." The Elite said with a nod as Drake began to chuckle.
"That was sarcasm. I don't believe that in the slightest." Drake explained. The Elite shook its head with a growl and stepped away.
"You do not believe you are unfit for the journey? Your race will be able to survive and ascend?" The Elite asked without turning back around.
"No. I just don't believe in this Great Journey of yours." Drake explained which caused the Elite to turn back to him.
"And your heresy shows. This is why you and the rest of your race are not worthy." The Elite retorted with a snort.
"I'm sorry I don't jump to the side of someone who proclaims they are some religious prophet, claiming to be the voice of a god and expect people to follow blindly." Drake explained as he grabbed the bag of plasma. The bag was almost empty, his strength slowly returning to him.
"They have knowledge no other has. They must be the messengers of the gods." The Elite argued.
"Oh please. If your gods are so insistent on you ascending to godhood and joining them after this Journey answer me this: Why didn't they reach out to one of your own kind? Why only speak to these Prophets of yours?" Drake asked, looking to gain some genuine insight into why the Elites follow so blindly.
The Elite opened its mandibles wide as it began to argue but nothing escaped its maw. Slowly it closed its mouth and looked away, deep in thought. Perhaps Drake had asked something the Elite's had never asked themselves.
"Humans have done this before." Drake began to explain as he removed the needle from this arm, wrapping a bandage around where the needle had pierced his skin before returning any remaining usable gear into his backpack.
"We've had people proclaim that they're messengers from their gods. That if we didn't repent for our sins we would go to a fiery hell once we die. Or something remotely close to that. We've never been able to actually commune with a god. So being told this by you and your kind isn't something new to us." Drake explained as he glanced up to the Elite. The look on its face showed it was fighting itself internally.
"And what do the rest of your kind believe?" The Elite asked after a few moments of silence.
"Some of us believe in a god of some kind. Some believe in others. Some, like me, don't believe in any god." Drake explained, the last part catching the Elites attention as it turned to fully face Drake once again.
"You do not believe in a god?" The Elite asked, sounding shocked.
"No. My actions are my own. I am able to determine what is right and what is wrong by myself. I don't need some god to tell me that." Drake explained as he slowly stood up, his legs began to shake slightly as the numb feeling from sitting down for so long slowly fading as blood began to circulate through them again.
The Elite looked to begin saying something in response before looking to the floor deep in thought. Drake shook the feeling back into his legs before picking up his BR55 checking it over. The rifle seemed to be fine, scratched up and dusty but there didn't seem to be any kind of damage which would cause it to malfunction.
"I'm sorry if i'm causing you trouble but we need to move. Those rocks won't keep us safe when that beam hits us." Drake explained as dust began to fall from the collapsed entrance.
"Yes. We should proceed onward." The Elite said in agreement quietly.
"Drake Taylor." Drake said to the Elite as he passed by it, walking farther down the ramp deeper into the tunnel.
"What is a 'Drake Taylor'?" The Elite asked as it began to walk just behind him.
"That's my name. If we're going to be walking together, even if it's only for a short time, I would prefer to be called by my name rather than 'Human'." Drake said with a chuckle. The Elite grumbled saying the name several times.
He wasn't expecting the Elite to share any personal information with him. Any time an Elite has been captured and questioned it had never given up anything remotely personal. He glanced over his shoulder at the Elite with a small smile before it looked up to him.
"Tz'eal. Tz'eal N'thanalmee is my name." The Elite, Tz'eal said slowly as he made eye contact with Drake. He had shared his name with a human, a being supposed to be his enemy. But the suggestions made by the human, Drake, began to make sense to him. Perhaps this was something bigger than both him and the human.
Drake nodded to Tz'eal before he enabled the flashlight on his helmet, illuminating the tunnels ahead and began to lead them to safety.