Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Broken Shadows. Enjoy the 3000-word chapter. I don't own Halo; Microsoft and a few others do.

Port Stanley slowly coasted through space as its crew had started to secure their cargo.

Naomi looked around her room while she tossed a ball around it. She felt off without her armor on and protecting her. It was as if she had torn off her shell and replaced it with skin. She fixed her blonde hair into a ponytail and slowly approached the door as she did so.

She pondered if there was any real reason, they had placed her near Sabert when it comes down to it. There were plenty of reasons she had been pondering their mission and she wondered if her partner and fellow Spartans felt the same.

She slowly walked across the room, her feet stealthy trotting a path towards the door. She heard someone messing with their weapon which was the telltale sign of a field strip. She had cleared her throat and rapped her knuckles on the door before she started to mess with her dog tags while the door started to open. She was greeted by Sean who had placed his rifle on his bed. He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his buzzed ebony black hair.

"Spartan," Sabert said as the Spartan-III gazed into her eyes while leaning on the door frame. "Did you need something?" Sabert questioned to which she nodded towards him.

The two Spartans seemed to be studying the other as both sized each other up. There was an ounce of respect between both Spartans as they glanced at the other like a piece of meat. Both were interested in what the other was like, and their work was down when it comes to their careers.

"Chief told us a lot about the Gen-IIs while he trained us," Sabert stated while he cleared his throat. "A lot of it was before they put armor on you and put the best cybernetics in the UNSC in you," Sabert stated while he cleared his throat before he started to think of something.

"Well, what little I heard? IIIs were meant to be shock troopers." Naomi said as she also leaned on the wall and started to think of what else to say.

"They were. Did a damn fine job of slowing the Covenant down so others were able to take them down. Least what I heard before I had been pulled from the team." Sean said which caused her to raise an eyebrow towards him.

"Weren't on the frontlines?" Naomi asked to which Sean hummed and shrugged towards her.

"Don't think I'd be here to be honest if I was," Sabert said while he rolled his eyes. "Chief thought it was better to be placed in the Headhunters. They used to send me to do some nasty work for the brass. Stuff that isn't in the books now and I don't think their plan on doing anything soon." Sabert said while he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Stuff they weren't able to handle at the end of the day?" Naomi asked which garnered another nod from her friend as she adjusted her stance to lean on the wall.

"Stuff that had to be done to handle this war. Its missions like this are the ones that matter. It's just that nobody is going to know what happened." Sabert stated to which he frowned to himself.

The two Spartans started to look at themselves while both started to think of what to do next. They were killing machines, soldiers who had been able to do more to defeat the rest of the hostiles and they wished to do more damage.

"What happens next?" Naomi asked while she frowned to herself and started to tap her fingers on her arms as she did do.

"What do you mean?" Sabert asked while Sabert started to best think of what to do next. "They didn't think of this mission or something. They hadn't told us about the security there. Elites were ready for Spartans or it seemed like they were since they hit both of us hard before we got there." Sabert stated with some annoyance gracing his tone as he did so.

It wasn't a wrong assumption for either Spartan to feel in their mind. The security wasn't something they weren't able to handle. Yet? They had flown into a hornet's nest rather than a small base with a handful of staff they were told were easy pickings. Neither wanted to ask how they had been thrown into this. ONI was their boss and either Spartan had heard the rumors about how ONI destroyed these people.

"ONI probably wanted to see how well a pair of Spartans worked together. We were pulled from 2 different types of special weapons for this project when it came down to it, right?" Sabert asked while he frowned at his friend when it came down to it.

"I've heard a lot of rumors about the Headhunters," Naomi stated to which his friend nodded.

"Lots of people hear lots of things about the headhunters. There's a lot of red tape around what we do. All I can tell you? We're not the nicest on certain missions." Sabert stated and sighed to himself. "It's not like we don't try and handle the work the best we can. Comes a lot down to how we're treated in certain aspects." Sabert stated while he cleared his throat.

Both of them were ready for the next mission and both knew there was more to this story than it seemed. The more time they wasted not being on the mission was something neither seemed keen on facing. A spartan who didn't have a mission was like a shark trying to swim into water that hadn't yet been used. Both wanted another mission to throw them off this funk.

"ONI brought both of us in for a reason," Sabert said while he raised a hand to his temples. "I'm still wondering why. For a II? You pretty good at getting the job done." Sabert added with a hum as Naomi raised an eyebrow as she readjusted herself.

"Don't think they simply tell what," Naomi responded to which Sabert simply raised an eyebrow.

Naomi leaned back as the 43-year-old Spartan watched the younger Spartan tap his fingers on his arms as he did so. They continued to analyze the other

"ONI only likes kids as Spartans from what I heard. All of the supersoldiers in the UNSC? They were all kids by then." Sabert stated while he cleared his throat. "From what little I found out for example? I was born on 2320." Sabert added before he sighed to himself.

He cleared his throat while he started to ponder what had happened next. He rubbed at his eyes while he sighed to himself with annoyance as he did so. This woman was simply something else when it came down to it.

Still? He wasn't entirely ready for this type of thinking of what to say or do next.

She was someone who constantly seemed to throw him off. How else was a Spartan-II to be in the wild when it came down to? She was a mystery to him because he was the same way. He was a cipher and a mystery simply as well.

"They're probably watching either of us now," Sabert stated while he wrung his hands. "ONI doesn't like people who don't fall in line at the end of the day. They want headhunters who handle work and don't ask questions." Sabert added before he questioned and rubbed at his eyes.

He nodded to the smaller Spartan while they seemed to share a glance. There was still some history between them when it came down to it. It didn't entirely bother them now because both focused on their works.

"Was there a proper reason you wanted to talk with me?" Naomi heard from Sabert as he started to tap his fingers on his arms as he did so. "What happens next? There will be a next mission and another and another at the end of the day. I'll need to be ready when it comes down to it. I wish it was like before when they had shooting galleries aboard." Sabert stated to which he closed his eyes.

Still? Neither seemed to honestly wonder what the next plan was. He sighed and gazed at the roof and prepared for the next mission. He rolled his eyes in his head as he cleared his eyes of anything that blocked them from being bothered while he pushed off from the door as he did so.

The more time he cared for it to happen. The more he had to wait for it to come. He wanted another mission to take its place and it was clear both were not happy being cooped on a warship where their skills didn't get any use.

Still? Both waited for something to happen. Anything that let him happen to change the course of history. Naomi heard the man clear his throat as he seemed to stare into the stars above his head while he happened to be done again. This battle wasn't at all

"What happens when there's no way left to battle?" Sabert questioned with an eyebrow raised towards her. "They want something from us. One Spartan? That helps a lot. ONI wouldn't need to bat an eye at what to do next. It only seems to bother them if we get into a war with the Covenant. Two Spartans? Ones who happen to be capable of different skillsets. Yeah, there's something there I'd pry at if they didn't seem the type to drag me into the shadows where I don't see the light of day again. ONI is ONI, they always try stuff this way and it always seems to be weird when they try it." Sabert stated while he paced in the doorway.

It honestly made him amused that he and the other Spartan were so different. They had so much in common. Tactics, strategies, goals. Yet it was clear was only the surface that hadn't yet appeared.

They were onto something, and it showed in the ways they conducted themselves. It was worth a grin or two. The two were similarly weirded out by what came next. They both had a lot on their plates, and he expected this sudden talk was more than simply an attempt to handle business.

"The next mission is always what people dwell on, eh?" Sabert questioned before he raised an eyebrow at her. "Always wondering how to handle something they don't tell anyone. It's honestly the part I hate the most. The waiting before they finally tell what the hell we're doing. What the problem is and how to bring it to pass." Sabert said while he frowned to himself.

He was not one to mince his words and this was yet a discussion he hadn't fully decided on. Naomi was one of the first IIs he had met. All that he remembered hearing was from briefing books or what the Colonel and Chief Mendez had said. A lot of IIIs had wished to prove they were capable of better showings of skill than the IIs.

Him? He simply wanted to meet one and see how much they differed. Both had been filled with machinery and turned into super soldiers because of this. He was not to judge, not yet.

And especially not before he was aware of what she was capable of. He hadn't seen what her real talents were so how at all was he to judge this based on any real proof? He leaned on the door once more and stared at the woman before he cleared his throat once more at her.

"We need to find something to do down the road if this is how they plan on doing missions," Sabert said while he raised an eyebrow at his surroundings. "Port Stanley isn't bad, yet it's not a ship I'd be on shore leave aboard," Sabert said while he leaned in his stance and seemed almost bored with her.

Still? He was still prepared for what to do next. He had a lot of problems and questions from this type of deployment. It wasn't off the books as he considered it.

"How much did the files say about Headhunters?" Sabert questioned with his eyebrow raised. "There's a lot of red tape in this type of work. It's a lot more interesting." Sabert stated before he tapped on his arms.

Still? He hadn't prepared for this type of deployment when it came down to it. He was a lot more at the edge when he considered it. Sabert stayed silent as she started to lean on the wall as well.

"Not a lot," Naomi responded before she frowned. "They don't talk a lot about that type of military wor at the end of the day. I don't know what they do besides what they let people as of now." Naomi stated to which he nodded before Sabert frowned to himself.

"There's a lot of projects they don't tell people about if I'm honest," Sabert responded while he leaned on the door next to himself. "Honestly? I wish to tell you a lot about what happened then. Stuff such as what we did at the base? Isn't the first time we did something similar to that. Probably isn't going to be the last time when it came down to it." Sabert stated before he rubbed at the edge of his nose.

The two supersoldiers seemed as amused by this as anyone else. They had a lot to do when it came down to it. She had a lot to do and he had many missions he wanted to spill them before it bothered him. If he had been bored before? He'd not say it before something happened if he was honest.

'Damn ONI for not letting me tell anyone what I do when I'm on a mission. It's my mission when it comes down to it. It isn't really weird for me to want to point out something.' Sabert stated mentally and sighed to himself when it came down to it.

"Is this weird when it comes down to it?" Naomi questioned before he raised an eyebrow towards her. "These types of missions aren't rare. There's always more if I'm honest." Naomi stated while she leaned on the wall next to him once more.

He seemed to shrug and raised an eyebrow at his surroundings. This place was a lot weirder than what he was used to. How did someone handle under the table work if they weren't a Spartan? The amount of red tape, under the table work in their line of work. It honestly made him question what the hell ONI's goal was.

"Maybe, maybe not. Doesn't seem to bother me when it comes to this thing. Honestly not going to worry about it until the time comes." Sabert said with a raised eyebrow as he seemed to smile. "I'm simply a soldier at the end of the day. I might not enjoy the work I do, but they don't let people bother them or get too close to the answers if I'm entirely honest. I don't entirely know if I want to anyway." Sabert stated before he rolled his eyes to himself.

Naomi said nothing as she stared into space. This was honestly the oddest deployment she had been sent on. It had surpassed far more than it comes down to it. She had far too much on her plate for this to become the way it was to be. The sooner it ended was the sooner they had fewer problems on her mind.

Still? She had yet to question the captain and find what their goal was. it had become honestly far more than she expected if she was truthful to herself. She wanted more answers and this wasn't going to help her get them as of now. It simply didn't help.

"Are all IIs this quiet and investigative?" Sabert questioned with a raised eyebrow as he did so. "There were a lot of questions I had about IIs. If they're this odd isn't one of them." Sabert said before he seemed to rub at his eyes and let out a yawn.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't at all tired. Even supersoldiers slowly ran down their batteries until they were operating on nothing but fumes. It was something Captain Osman surely had to notice if she were paying any real attention to them like it seemed she was. The fact that he had so many questions on his mind surely didn't help him get the sleep he wanted either. His mind was swimming with new ideas and thoughts the second he had been placed here added to that.

"Only the ones who properly do their jobs," Naomi said which made Sabert chuckle at the moment. "There's a lot of missions that we get sent on that bring that out in us if I'm 100% honest," Naomi stated to which the Spartan III seemed to laugh with some amusement written across his face.

He looked at the ceiling for only a moment before deciding to clear his throat and stared at her with amusement clear in his features. He had a lot more time on his hands as of the second and it was clear they had more to discuss.

Author Notes

Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be delayed at the time and will be longer. The next chapter will also be in 2-10 months and will show both Naomi and Sabert talking more and will show more of their bond and such. Until the 900–6500-word chapter and such, Lighting Wolf out!

P.S: Next chapter will be much longer and such at the time.