The evening ambiance of Destiny was akin to the ambiance of The Righteous Intent. The hallways were cold and dark, every step taken echoed throughout making it seem like one was never alone, that there was someone always just out of sight, always watching.
Tz'eal had memorized his way from the Range back to his quarters within the base. Reversing the directions he knew where he was going to get there for some late training with his new arsenal, in the darkness of the evening where hopefully no Humans would be around to bother him.
Regardless of the time Tz'eal took Drake's suggestion to hearts. Engaging his active camo as he wandered the halls, making sure that he couldn't be seen unless one had a keen eye. He wasn't alone as he walked. There were the Engineers he had seen with Drake when he first arrived traversing the halls as he walked, keeping to themselves, seemingly running checks or conducting repairs throughout. He did want to risk engaging with them, speaking to the Humans would ease their thoughts of him, letting them know he wasn't a threat to them anymore. But he chose against it. Perhaps in time he would be willing to do such a thing but for now, as he was still new here, it would be best to avoid any contact while he was alone.
Navigating the halls he eventually made his way into the range. The interior was dimly lit as he crossed the doorway, peering around the internal lighting kicked in, the lights overhead blinking into life slowly as he crossed towards the different lanes. Most of them were completely empty, few were littered with spent shell casings and empty, discarded magazines.
He continued walking until he reached the far lane, the same range Drake had taken him to previously. There he would be able to train with a lower chance of disruption. Should anyone else enter the range he could easily activate his camo and fade away without anyone knowing he was there.
Tapping the display on the wall of the lane he brought up a string of targets down the range, depictions of his old allies, Sangheili, Kig'Yar and Unggoy. He watched the holograms appear for a few minutes, memorizing where they appeared and for how long. It seemed that there was no pattern in their appearance and there was no dedicated time they were up for. Clever design he thought as it forced soldiers to be quicker with their engagements and reloads. The longer their weapons were out of action the more enemies would get past them.
Once he was comfortable with where his targets appeared and felt comfortable with engaging them quickly he drew his new weapon from his back. The BR55 was beginning to feel comfortable in his hands. He had been going over the motions of operating the weapon in his head before Drake returned with it from the Armour Master. Once Drake had returned he spent what felt like Units removing the magazine from the weapon and practicing with it.
With a sigh he removed the magazine one final time and placed the rifle down on the table. He began packing the magazine full of rounds slowly, each one clicking into place as he pressed them down. A tedious process he thought as the weapons of The Covenant were not so primitive. They did fire projectiles but they were self contained in the weapon or used a charge which did not require so much manual labour.
However, with each round pressed into place he began to feel calmer. The focus he had and the simplicity of the action calmed him. Pick up one round, lock it into the magazine, repeat. It was very simple. Before he even realised he had fully packed the magazine with ammunition and was ready to begin.
He brought the rifle to his shoulder, pointing it towards his targets and aiming down the sights. The world seemed to go out of focus as the crosshair hovered over his targets. He held his fire as he moved the rifle from one target to the next, making sure his aim was on point before firing blindly. Once comfortable he took a deep breath before bracing himself, he squeezed the trigger to fire upon his first target.
Click.
Tz'eal lowered his weapon and looked at it feeling confused. He had done everything Drake had taught him. Why was it not firing? He removed the magazine and racked the charging handle, the loaded round ejecting and landing on the floor. Everything seemed to be working so why was it not firing? One final check of the weapon returned the reason. On the side of the weapon was a small lever. He switched the level from the bright red S to the human number 3. He rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration as he loaded the weapon once again and readied to fire.
Once again he lined up the rifle with his target and squeezed the trigger. A burst of three rounds fired and connected with the target, the recoil catching him off guard. He had used the other weapon, the MA37 with Drake but had yet to use his own BR55. The MA37 fired like the Plasma Repeater. There was nothing in The Covenants arsenal that fired as the BR55 did. It was going to take time to get used to.
He aligned the rifle with his targets once again, firing burst after burst down the lane towards his targets. Each one of them flickering with the impacts, small red spots appearing where the rounds connected before shutting down with a faint pop. After every burst his eyes glanced down to the blue display below the sight, the counter counting down by 3 until the counter flashed red displaying 0.
He removed the magazine, placing it gently on the table before grabbing a fresh one. Confidently he slotted it into the mag well with a metallic clack before gripping the charging handle and racking it backwards. The ammo counter blinked from red to blue showing the fully loaded 36 rounds in the magazine. He clicked his lower mandibles several times as he looked back down range and continued firing, engaging targets and reloading both with partial magazines and empty.
He did not know how long he was training for. With no real means of tracking the passage of time he spent what felt like units going through the motions of his training over and over again. Memorizing everything that he had been told and learning this new weapon system. He had began packing a magazine full of ammunition to begin again when he noticed the interior lights flickering into life. His hearts stopped for a brief moment before he loaded the partial magazine into his weapon, racked the charging handle and engaged his camo.
He pressed his back against the wall of the lane and peeked around the corner. The lighting was not the best, he could not make out who had entered the range but did not want to risk an incident. Slowly the figure entered the range and looked around.
"Hello?" The voice called out, sounding distinctly female. He slowly stepped out from his lane, moving to the back wall as slowly as he could to not draw attention to himself as he got closer to the figure.
"I swear there was someone here." The figure mumbled as she walked closer to Tz'eals lane. Once she was closer Tz'eal was able to recognise her. It was the female Drake and he had ran into before rescuing the Commander. She glanced into the lane Tz'eal had used and noticed the spent shell casings all over the floor. Tz'eal heard her huff in confusion as she glanced around once again. With a shake of her head she turned around and began walking towards the door.
Tz'eal followed behind her slightly as he watched her leave but was surprised to see her turn into one of the lanes closer to the door herself. Even more confused than he was before he glanced into her lane and watched in surprise as she slowly lowered several magazines of M6G onto the table before drawing her own sidearm.
She dropped the magazine and made sure it was loaded before clicking off the safety. With impressive proficiency Tz'eal watched as she aimed her weapon down range and engaged several targets with deadly accuracy. Without looking she ejected the used magazine, picked one up from the table, slammed it into the mag well and released the slide, continuing firing as if she had never run out of ammunition.
Tz'eal reached over to deactivate his camo to speak to her when he heard a hiss emit from the door, he looked over and watched three more Marines enter the range, walking over to the Female with a strut the almost reeked of feigned dominance.
"Well well well. Look what we have here boys." The Marine called out as the Female sighed and turned around to face the newcomers.
"Looks like a bunch of idiots just entered the room to harass me." She replied with a roll of her eyes. Slowly and carefully Tz'eal made his way back over to the Females side. If the Males of the Human race were anything like the Males of his own race then one of them would try something.
"I wouldn't use the 'H' word like that Kara. You know you're in to me." The Male replied with a sick looking grin as he slowly approached her. The other two sticking back by the door like guards.
"Into kicking your ass if you put your hands on me Derek. Or worse. So just stay back and let me do my thing." Kara warned as she slowly turned back to her lane.
"Promises, promises. We both know that if anything were to happen here it wouldn't leave this room. Because you would regret it. Everything you've worked towards for your career would be all for nothing after I ruin it." Derek retorted.
"If you actually believe you have that kind of sway here you're an even bigger idiot than I thought." Kara replied with a chuckle and a shake of her head as he glanced over her shoulder at Derek, his face starting to glow red with anger.
He strode over and grabbed Kara's arm and forced her to turn and face him. Tz'eal reached over and drew his sidearm as he moved to act as Derek stepped back.
"The only reason something like that will happen is when I made you drown in a pool of your own blood. I'm only going to say this one more time. Stay the fuck away from me or you'll regret it." Kara said angrily, her sidearm in hand, the barrel plunged deep into Derek's stomach.
Derek's eyes widened as he slowly stepped back from Kara, his mouth agape in either shock or fear. Kara smiled but felt confused. He wouldn't back down this easily, if anything this would turn him on even more. The confusion was lifted almost instantly as she felt a presence behind her, a long arm appearing over her shoulder with another sidearm within its grasp.
"You would be best to leave her alone. There is no honour in three males cornering one female like you all have." Tz'eal warned as he deactivated his camo behind the Female who was looking over her shoulder up at him.
Derek looked up at Tz'eal with an expression of fear for only a few moments before he took a deep breath and focused. He waved his hand as he slowly backed towards the door with his companions.
"You'd better watch your back split-lip. There are a lot of people who would like to see you suffer for what you've done to us." Derek warned as he opened the door and left with his two companions who were glaring at Tz'eal the entire time.
Once the trio were gone Tz'eal lowered his weapon, holstering it once again as he glanced down at the Female.
"Are you alright?" He asked as he stepped away from her a few paces, looking over her.
"I am, thank you. Most of the guys here are harmless so they won't do anything stupid but Derek, he's been wanting to get into my pants since we met in the academy. Hopefully now he'll just leave me alone." She explained as she holstered her sidearm and leaned up against the wall of the lane, looking Tz'eal over with a smile on her face.
"We never really introduced ourselves when we first met. My name's Kara. You're Tz'eal right?" Kara asked as he reached out a hand a little too enthusiastically. Tz'eal looked down at her hand and hesitated for a few moments before reaching out and taking her hand in his. After shaking Kara let go of him and looked down at her hand in awe.
"I'm sorry if i'm looking like an idiot. My mom would be so jealous if she knew what was happening right now." Kara explained as she shook her head and focused on Tz'eal once again.
"Why would that be?" Tz'eal asked.
"She and I studied your kind for a long time. She always wanted to meet one of you in a situation like this, one where we weren't enemies." Kara explained quietly as she looked back towards her lane, picking up her magazines and replacing them in her belt.
"Is she…" Tz'eal began but could not finish the question.
"Yeah. A few years ago. The Covenant have done a lot of damage to us as a species. We've lost a lot in the years we've all been fighting." Kara explained quietly as her gaze hit the floor. Tz'eal felt nothing but renewed guilt hearing this. The thought of if he had been the one to end Kara's mothers life entered his mind.
"I can only hope that my actions will be the first step in redeeming my people." Tz'eal said with a hint of confidence as he watched Kara look back up to him.
"Even the longest journey starts with a single step." Kara recited an old Sangheili proverb, speaking in Sangheili, catching Tz'eal off guard as he recoiled in shock.
"You speak my tongue?" He asked with a hint of excitement in his voice.
"I spent a long time studying your kind. My mother pushed us both to learn your language so that, if there was ever peace we could bridge a gap." Kara explained with a nod as she slowly stepped passed Tz'eal, heading towards the door.
"You are also quite proficient with your weapon. But you are not a soldier. Why do you train?" Tz'eal asked as he followed Kara to the door.
"That's the thing, we're all soldiers." Kara explained as she opened the door, looking out into the hallway that was slowly starting to populate with Marines going about their morning duties.
"Humanity can't afford to have special people who can't use a gun. We're all trained to be a Marine first. So I train. I have to keep my aim sharp if we're attacked." Kara concluded as she stepped out into the hallway.
"It seems I still have much to learn about your kind." Tz'eal commented as he looked out into the hallway. He was surprised to see how bright it had gotten in the time he spent in the range. Feeling much more confident having a conversation with Kara he stepped out into the hallway, drawing a lot of attention to himself as everyone began staring at him.
"And if you're willing to let me, I'm more than willing to teach you." Kara said with a smile.
"Perhaps. Thank you Kara." He replied, clicking his lower mandibles several times before splaying them wide, he raised a hand to his maw to try and stifle his yawn as time began to catch up to him.
"I think it's time you get some shut eye. You want some company back to your room or are you good?" Kara asked.
"I shall be fine to return on my own. But thank you." Tz'eal replied as he looked down the hall that led to his quarters.
"Well if you ever need anything, even if it's only someone to talk to in your own tongue just let me know." Kara said with a smile as she stepped away from him. Giving him a wave as she left he watched her walk down the opposite hall, leaving him alone and surrounded by Marines who were all giving him different looks.
Feeling much more confident he left, heading down the hall to his own quarters without the use of his camo. The humans would get used to his presence here, whether they liked him or not.
As he returned to his quarters the density of Humans in the area lessened. It seemed that the majority had other duties to attend to while some had time to themselves. He had not been given any duties of his own yet so was unsure what to do with his time as he reached his room. He was about to enter when he heard a strange noise from behind him.
Across in Drake's room there was a strange sound being emitted. Listening in, the sound ended abruptly several times before starting again. It was very rhythmic in nature. He wondered if he was hearing Human music for the first time.
Crossing the hall he pressed his palm to the scanned of Drake's door, hoping it would open for him which it did. He stepped inside slowly and glanced over to Drake who had a strange object in his hands. A wooden object with a wide base connected to a long black neck, four strings running down it and in his other hand a longer piece of wood. Joined from base to tip with some kind of fibre he watched and waited.
"One last time. I got this." Drake whispered to himself, not aware of Tz'eals presence in his room as he leaned over and tapped the display of his console. A beat began to play from the speakers of his console. Tapping his feet and nodding his head Drake brought the violin to his chin and drew the bow across the strings and began to play.
As he played Drake closed his eyes and began to sway as he made his way through the song. Both highs and lows. The energetic tune put a large smile on his face as he neared the bridge of the song. Tz'eal listened intently as the song slowed down, the notes became long and drawn out almost as if the story being played was nearing defeat. Drake's smile had vanished as he reached this segment of the song before he began to play repeating notes. The tone began to climb rapidly as his smile returned even bigger than before as he stood up from his bed and began playing with even more passion in his form as he swayed and spun to the song, it finally reaching a crescendo.
Tz'eal could not help but nod his head to the beat watching Drake flow with the music for a few more moments as he played one final, drawn out note. He opened his eyes and looked down at his violin and mumbled to himself.
"Thanks Lindsey." He said as he glanced up and almost jumped as he spotted Tz'eal in his room.
"How long have you been watching me for?" He asked while taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down from the shock of Tz'eals sudden appearance.
"Not long. I heard some strange sound coming from here and chose to investigate. I have never heard Human music before. I was not aware you did such things." Tz'eal confessed.
"Yeah. Music, Art. We've done stuff like this for a long time now. Me, I've been playing for a few years now. I'd like to say I'm getting better at it." Drake explained as he walked back over to the bed, placed the violin upon it before pulling out a blue case. He placed the instrument inside and packed it away before giving Tz'eal his full attention once again.
"I was not aware you were capable of such things yourself. Why do this while you are at war?" Tz'eal asked. His people would never think of playing music or creating art while at war. Their focus would be on the conflict.
"I need to focus on something other than just shooting a gun. If you can't find something to occupy yourself which doesn't involve bullets then you're going to lose yourself to it. I don't want to be known as a guy who's only good at killing." Drake replied with a smile as he sat down on his bed.
"Perhaps I should find something. I too do not want to be known as a monster who simply kills." Tz'eal confessed as his thoughts returned to the potential of killing Kara's mother.
"It'll have to be another time though. Shapiro is planning something for us I think. I wouldn't be surprised if he calls on us in the next few days. Be prepared." Drake said calmly.
"I will. I will continue my training. However, I must rest. I spent longer than I expected to at the range." Tz'eal said quietly as he looked over his shoulder in the general direction of his own bed.
"Yeah that'd be a good idea. You look exhausted." Drake commented as Tz'eal opened his door once again and stepped out. He did not know what he was going to do with his time but he knew he must find something. A focus other than the fight. He stepped across the hall, opening his door while closing Drakes behind him, entering his quarters he strode to the bed and collapsed onto it without taking his harness off. Simply wanting sleep to take him after an interesting night.