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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
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"Triste Epoque"
March 12 2527 - Hour 1452
MSGT Logan 'Log' Sutton - Field Master Thela 'Vadamee
Core Section, Shield 0459
"Hello."
Thela was surprised at the greeting. The situation was far tense, and the female knew she was taking many risks: with her own direct safety, her standing with the Covenant, with their religion and...
All of that was because of him.
Log just stared back, confused by this whole situation and trying to make sense of it. Thus, he threw in a chill greeting to unbalance the Sangheili and... he succeeded.
"I am surprised. I would have thought you would have shot me by now."
Her response was a shock for both. The Master Sergeant wasn't even sure why she was so amazed by his behavior when she herself was putting a lot of danger on herself by being there, mostly defenseless.
"Why are you here?"
"I have questions," She replied flawlessly. "Same for you. I wish to make this a... polite exchange."
Logan frowned. He was far from happy with this exchange as he just couldn't shake off the feeling that something crazy was going on. Something he wasn't going to like regardless of the outcome coming out of this. Still, if she was trying to play this game, he could play it too on his own rules.
"Is that so? Then what's your full denomination?"
Thela was... perplexed. He didn't know of her? No, he knew. Her mind was quick to push away the doubts he was truly clueless, and she could see how tense he was. He was playing with her, coaxing her to behave like a Brute. A smirk adorned her face- oh yes, this was going to be as fun as she had horribly expected.
"Field Master Thela 'Vadamee, Heir to the State of Vadam and commander in charge of the fleet in this Shield World," Thela replied without any hesitation. "What about you?"
"Master Sergeant Logan Sutton, UNSC Marine Corps and Navy, Leader of the BALMUNG Battalion."
Short, simple and quick to gain a frown from the Sangheili, yet it was now the human's turn to inquire.
"I thought the Arbiter was in charge of the troops here, what changed?"
"Failure. His mistakes came close to ending one of the prophets' life. This was enough to force a change in the leadership."
Sounds legit.
"And how did you convince the Oracle of this world to assist you?" Thela asked back, causing Logan to hum at this awkward situation.
It was a springboard to push some doubt about their cause in, but he had to be careful about this. And the Field Master could perceive her interlocutor was having an inner dilemma, and one that became clear to her once he spoke back.
"Perpetual Comprehension was instructed by its creator to support reclaimers, not grave-robbers. These ships, these were never meant to be used by a group of species which were rallied by bigoted and corrupt 'prophets'," Logan answered as seriously as his tone could get. "And before you tell me that your religion is undeniable- we humans had this sort of shit happening too a few centuries ago. People would emerge from religious backgrounds, preach themselves as the only representatives of gods, and then use their influence to leverage anything they wanted."
"Ridiculous. The prophets are blessed by the wisdom of-"
"The Oracle that told you about the Rings and of the Journey," Logan interrupted, this revelation stunning Thela in a speechless stare. "I am well-aware of that. I am also aware most of this situation is driven by hearsay compared to other affairs using proof to further justify their actions."
Her mandibles twitched in clear annoyance. "The words of the Prophets are... unquestionable."
Log merely nodded. "I tried, then."
Despite the foul situation, Thela remained, as if she was not satisfied with just that many questions delivered. And Logan didn't feel he wanted her to... be left behind.
She had the seed of doubt planted in her mind- he knew she was going to make the difference if she left safely so... he pushed for a quick end for this conversation with a topic that was going to shove her away.
"Why did you trust me back then?" The human asked and Thela could just... stare back at him. "I can ignore the hug, but the fact that shocked me was the trust. Why?"
"...Why would it matter to you?"
"Repeating my question will hardly count as an answer," The Marine remarked flatly. "Seriously, why?"
Thel could feel it. The slight hint of begging within that demand. It was... refreshing in a way. It wasn't outright commanding, but the rightful demand was something she wasn't sure she could answer without spilling out her own doubts. It was a mess. This was as much as a rebirth as it was a worsening of the inner mess she was dealing with. It left her with more questions, and yet she couldn't help but be 'happy' with that burden at the expense of scorching away her desire to meet him. Again. And here he was, in front of her, talking and listening.
"Because you are my true enemy."
Logan could just frown at this, but before he could speak, the Sangheili explained things herself.
"Many times I found myself questioning the logic of rivalry, of war- the point of this mess, by the end of the day, is recognizing that my foe is just like me- or us. The Prophets are right to define you as unworthy, however that doesn't prevent me to accept the truth and recognize a proper warrior worthy of being my own true enemy."
"So, it's like a rival or a... sibling of war?"
"No," Thela replied solemnly. "And yet, yes."
Logan frowned hard. "That sounds unnecessarily complicated."
"I-It is not!" Thela rebuked, squawking angrily and finally turning her back before leaving. "And we are done."
...
"See you next time," Logan muttered, expecting for the quiet comment to go unnoticed.
Spoiler Alert, it did not.
"Obviously."
Logan could only stare as the Sangheili retreated as she said that and... then he heard Sif faking a cough.
"I finished hacking one of the ships, I managed to pull it away from the others' detonation and we should be able to use it to leave the Shield World while fending off the Flood."
The Marine slowly nodded, and yet the AI could notice something about his stiff posture was unusual.
"Did I miss something?"
"No," He quickly replied, walking back to check the rest of the force. "The Covenant is leaving-"
"Oh, it has to have been worthy of blackmail for later."
"Stop it."
"Got it, no need to get rough on me now~."
...Sif was not going to let me be until she knew what happened, that much I could already tell.
AN
Quite 'short' but... next up is the non-canon lemon!
P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c