An Unexpected Alliance Adopted

by PyreElegy

Re-readopted from JTF0012. Noble Team has been tasked to defend Reach to their last breath from invading Covenant forces, an impossible mission. Can the meeting between a female Sangheili and Noble Six change the course of the battle and more importantly, the Universe? fem. Sangheili/Male Noble Six

6. A Friend?

Chapter 6: A Friend?

Shress La'Vdamee POV

It continued like that for nearly a whole moon shift. She would meet with the human and try to exchange information that wasn't too critical. She could tell he was trying to get her to reveal some form of her military structure as well; she knew because it was exactly what she was trying to do too. She supposed they were still enemies, but she was actually enjoying the experience.

The Covenant always assumed that the demons were lacking in any sort of intelligence similar to the Jiralhanae, good fighters but dumb. She found that this was not the case with the human Michael. He was quick of wit, knew what subjects to avoid, and always answered her questions without revealing too much information. There weren't that many sensible beings in the Covenant, only a few Sangheili possessed such charisma and fewer still were available to talk to.

Though she wasn't learning as much as she hoped, she had learned some minor things about the human race. They enjoyed listening to music, had scientists and researchers, and were living in what Michael called a "democratic" government. She was still trying to learn the meaning of the word. They were living in a lifestyle that mirrored the Sangheili culture, in a primitive sort of way.

She was taken aback when she learned it was through human science that the creatures her race called "demons" were born. It was one of the few things that Michael accidentally let slip, a small stutter of a mistake that had occupied her mind for days. How could a race not as advanced as her people be able to develop a method to transform a normal being into the ultimate warrior? She tried prying the information from Michael but soon came to believe him when he claimed he didn't know how this serum was made. He certainly looked nothing like a scientist.

She was disappointed not to learn the secret of the demon creating process but was still intrigued by the other things she had learned. He started training her to move her mouth in such a way to mimic the human jaw structure to create human vocal sounds. She learned some human words such as "Hello," and "Goodbye," along with the names of some objects such as trees, rocks, and dirt. She was surprisingly proud of herself to be able to speak a different language; however, she was still wondering what it was that Michael meant when he said she sounded as if she had a New Harmony accent.

Aside from the language training, he taught her the human "alphabet" system, promising that if she mastered the system, she would master the ability to read his writing. Learning the strange human figures and knowing their individual sounds were hard to grasp; even now she struggled to make the 'wa' sound in the 'W' and the 'err' sound in 'R.' She got some revenge when she began teaching the human her people's hieroglyphs. He wasn't even able to tell the difference between the glyphs for boy and girl.

There was nothing in the Covenant laws that could justify her actions. To be in possession of a human object was considered heresy; to be learning from a human was an undeniable death sentence. She wondered what her parents would have thought if she was to be executed under the crime of rebellion; her mother would cry knowing that her daughter had died for a foolish venture while her father would rage around the keep, insulted by her very memory. Her family name would be disgraced, and would be ordered not to produce any more children because the Covenant wouldn't want to risk them having another defective child. She felt sick to her stomach.

Shress continued twirling the human necklace around her clawed fingers as she pondered her situation. She paused only to look at the necklace and challenge her mind to decipher the strange markings. The letters on top said, "Michael," and following it were some more figures that she could not understand. S he recognized some letters such as H, P, and L. She had to admit this was an ingenious method of keeping track of active soldiers, should the terminals on board a Covenant ship gets hit, all data, including the name of the troopers, would be lost.

Shress smiled and imagined how the human would react when he found his necklace gone. Shress prided herself on silent movement and graceful hands, skills that her people believed only a thief should possess—not an honorable warrior like a Zealot.

An angry snort alerted her of another presence, and she turned to see who had entered the storage room. Standing at the door was Dinjit, one of the Rangers who had accompanied her on the assault on the human base. He had his mask off, revealing his dark skin that matched hers. His dark, hate-filled eyes were poised on the human necklace she was holding in her hand.

Shress put the necklace away in the pocket on her belt, wondering what her colleague was planning to do next. Dinjit was still glowering from the sight of a Zealot in possession of a human object, a crime among the government. He walked in and stood a little away from her before asking in a forced, calm voice, "What are you doing with that?"

Shress answered, "Just a trinket I found on the battlefield. I have never seen anything like it before, and was a bit curious as to what it was."

Dinjit's face was still set in a scowl, but she was still a Zealot. To push her any farther could result in his name being shamed. Shress could see his mandibles were overly rigid, he was frustrated about something.

Finally the Ranger calmed down before saying, "I was just coming in to see if you are alright," he said in a strange voice, a cross between gentleness and agitation.

Shress was now well on guard; she now knew what the Sangheili was meaning to say. She was dreading what he would say next when another shadow appeared in the doorway and both Sangheili turned to see an Unggoy.

The lowly servant waddled in and began searching among the boxes, obviously working on a chore. Dinjit failed miserably in hiding his annoyance, but Shress almost let out a breath of relief for the interruption. Maybe when the Unggoy left she could think of a reason to leave as well.

The Unggoy lifted a large crate, but was clearly unprepared for its weight. It barked a warning and toppled backwards as it lost its footing, hitting the box where Shress was sitting. She remained seated on the container, but her helmet that she removed earlier fell and made a loud bang on the floor.

The Unggoy squealed in fear as it shuffled forward to pick up the Zealot's helmet with shaking limbs, "A thousand apologies, mistress!" it said in a small voice, wondering if its life was at an end.

Shress gently took the helmet and placed it on her head before saying, "It's quite alright, thank you-" her voice suddenly died as she realized what she just said.

Higher level warriors, such as Zealots, don't show etiquette to the ones below them, especially the Sangheili. The faces of the Unggoy and Dinjit were written with astonishment at Shress's words.

'When did I suddenly care for the well-being of the lesser species?'

She then realized she had acted the same way towards Michael. It must have become a habit without her knowing it.

"Uh, Mistress?" the lowly soldier asked, never before being thanked by anyone as high of rank as a Zealot.

"Well," she said in what she hoped was a stern voice, "get back to work."

The Unggoy left with haste, quickly picking up the container and slightly cursing the weight of the box. Dinjit turned back to Shress, clearly showing that his intention to return to the dreadful conversation was still very much present. She knew full well what he was going to ask, so she decided to end the conversation before it went in a direction she wasn't able to control.

Acting like she was focusing on something in her helmet display, Shress quickly stood up and said, "I need to go, as my duties call me elsewhere." in an attempt to give a legitimate reason to leave. Thankfully, this excuse was true enough, it was almost time for her to meet with Michael.

She was almost to the door when Dinjit called out, "Shress La' Vdamee, are you being pursued at the moment?"

'Damn.'

Shress let out a pained breath. Even here in the military, her fate of being a house woman still haunted her.

"No."

Dinjit walked up next to her before placing a hand on her shoulder, it took all her self-control not to take her sword and slice the arm off, "Could we meet sometime later tomorrow?"

"...Yes," Shress said before shoving Dinjit's hand away and leaving the room while thinking, 'Is this all I am meant to be?'

Six POV

Emile walked into Six's room only to find the place totally demolished and Six digging around behind his cot.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I uh, lost my dog tags," Six replied in an embarrassed tone.

"What?" Emile asks while he begins to chuckle, "How could you lose something that's around your neck?"

"That's what I'm asking myself…" Six replied as he looked under the cot one last time. He just now realized his tags were missing, but where could they have gone? He never took them off, he only noticed when he removed his armor and saw its chain no longer around his neck.

Suddenly, Six's helmet beeped, he checked the time before standing, "I've got to get going if I'm going to make it back from the mountain before it gets dark," he told Emile as he shoulders his bag.

Emile gave him an odd look, "My, my, why do you look so eager to go sweat and bleed on top of a mountain?"

Six paused, did he really look eager? Or was Emile just playing with him? Either way he didn't want to risk being late and suffering Shress's wrath.

"I just like being outdoors. I should be back in time for chow." he said as he left the room.

A noncommittal grunt was Emile's only reply as he walked in the opposite direction to his room.

Both Spartans walked away from each other, unaware of the unseen camera that recorded their movements.

-UA-

Sweat was pouring down in rivers and the air was barely moving through his throat as Six forced himself to lift his body off the ground over the branch and back to the ground in rapid succession. He counted the number of pull ups before coming to a halt, hanging from the huge tree limb.

It was then that he looked towards the Sangheili sitting on the overturned log, not moving or speaking at all. Shress, as always, was the first one to meet him at the top of the mountain. They exchanged greetings, but instead of talking about what they discussed the other day, she remained quiet and mute . Thinking he offended her somehow, he just started doing his PT routine, thinking she would speak to him later. Now nearly an hour has passed and she hadn't even moved an inch, concerning the Spartan.

Why am I worried about her?

it's not like we're friends, or are we? Now that he thought about it, he started to wonder if he could count on Shress being an ally, having an Elite on their side could be a huge advantage in the war, but it could also mean his safety was secured. Sure he may get life in prison for all the lying and deception he pulled, but maybe gaining the favor of an Elite could help shorten it, or maybe avoid punishment altogether.

'No', a voice suddenly said from somewhere within his body, 'Don't use her you idiot, help her!

As if the part of him still fully loyal to all UNSC protocols dissipated like dust in the wind for a moment, Six suddenly felt immensely guilty and ashamed of thinking only of himself when his friend was sulking away.

With great care, like he was maneuvering around a sensitive land mine that might explode at the drop of a feather, Six moved around the seven-and-a-half foot tall alien and sat right next to her on the log. Six was a bit nervous as he realized this was the closest he'd ever been to the his xenomorphic friend. He always kept his distance out of caution that she could attack him, and he was sure she did the same for similar enough reasons, however, if he's calling her a friend now, that means he can trust her… right?

…Right?

However, even with the Spartan so close to her, Shress didn't even look at him.

"Shress?" Six said gently, not wanting to scare her. Surprisingly enough, even through the attempt to grab her attention, she continued staring into space. Deciding to be a bit louder, Six spoke up with a bit less caution. "Shress!"

That did the trick, as she shook her head a bit to bring herself back to reality. Taking a moment to recompose herself, she looked around the mountain clearing for a long few moments, as if she couldn't remember where she was.

He waited patiently beside her, watching in an odd form of fond amusement as she sat up a bit straighter when she realized he was there. Attempting to appear as much of an "official alien warrior officer" as she could, she spoke up clearly.

"Yes, Michael?"

Knowing clearly that this was a facade, Six decided to be blunt.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Wrong?" She asked, looking surprised. "What makes you think something is wrong?"

"Well I just did two hundred chin-ups and between here and there and you haven't spoken a single word, which was a first."

"Oh." She said, shifting a bit as she tried to come up with some excuse for her behavior. When the two were only met with a strange silence, Six felt a tiny smile beginning to form. Six thought that even through the obvious mask she put up, she was acting oddly bashful.

'Good job Six, you somehow embarrassed an elite.'

Ignoring the part of his mind that thought of how to abuse such a skill on the battlefield, he listened quietly until she decided to speak up.

"My apologies, warrior Michael," She began, placing a fist on her chest and lowering her head in what was clearly a practiced reflex. "I was just thinking…"

Six was silent as he thought of how exactly he was going to go about this. In his experience, Spartans either said what's bothering them or they said nothing at all and locked it up inside. For Shress, however, Six realized she needed to talk, because she was certainly not locking the problem inside. The question now was how do you engage in a conversation with an alien who was leading a genocide against your own people?

"Do you want to tell me what you're thinking?" Six asked awkwardly, his mind quickly reminding him that he never thought he would be in a situation like this in his life.

Shress was silent as she switched between looking into Six's face plate before turning away towards the vast landscape around the mountain they were on. Thinking it would help make things more comfortable, Six removed his helmet and set it on his lap in an attempt to redirect her attention. In his past experience, to give any enemy a clear shot at your head was a death sentence, but for some odd reason, Shress was always overly curious about his appearance.

This proved true as her eyes locked onto Six's, staring into his green eyes once more. Seeing an opening in the silence, Six asked, "Why do you look at me like that?"

Shress broke eye contact and asked, "Like what?"

"Every time I remove my helmet you always stare at my eyes to the point I feel like you're about ready to gouge them out,"

'Ouch, that might have been a bit too graphic.'

But he had never done anything like this before, so who could blame him? Shress looks embarrassed at the assumption as she explained, "It's just I have never seen a human before. Up close and alive I mean…" Relaxing her tense posture, she seemingly loses herself in thought once again. "To my knowledge, there has never been another Sangheili born with green eyes, so just seeing your eyes is like looking at… well, an alien."

Six nodded along as he desperately searched for something else to say when it struck him, "You know," he said to Shress, "I have never seen your eyes before.'' Despite Six removing his helmet on a regular basis now, Shress has never removed her helmet, and Six was curious how a Sangheili female would look without it.

Shress was still for what felt like a minute before reaching up, casting occasional glances at Six, and removing the helmet. Six was expecting her to look like the Elites on the battlefield; he wasn't expecting to see this. She looked like a regular Sangheili, but her head had a strange angular beauty, the dark skin color offered a lovely form that made up for the lack of hair. He had already seen her mandibles before, but now he could see into her mouth and the large dagger-like teeth in the back; however, this time they somehow didn't look as threatening to Six.

'Probably because she isn't holding me down with a sword in hand, roaring in my face.'

Shaking that thought off, it was her eyes that caught his interest next. Her eyes were like dark slits that reminded him of the reptiles he had seen on some foreign planets, but the sclera around the iris was silver. Not the regular silver from metal he sees every day—a shimmering type of silver that sparkled when it made contact with sun rays.

Ironically, it was Six's turn to lose himself in the alien's eyes, as he stared at a color no human is blessed with.

He heard a voice say, "Wow," With horror Six realized it was his voice that said it.

Shress cocked her head to the side, "What?"

"Um," Six looked away, mentally kicking himself. What was wrong with him? Never in his whole Spartan career had he ever said anything among those lines.

"I uh, just had seen an eye color like that before. It's very… unique," Six finished, trying to sound convincing.

"Oh?" Shress said as she looked away too, her eyes avoiding his.

'Great, I just made things worse. Maybe it's a good thing that Spartans don't interact with other people.'

Finally Shress sighed, "Actually, there is something wrong." She paused, obviously trying to decide whether to confide what's bugging her to Six or not.

Hoping to help, Six said, "If it makes you feel any better, you and I both know that nothing that is said here will reach anyone you know."

'Or anyone I do either.' The Spartan thought in amusement. After all, if he ever told anyone any of this, he's looking at life imprisonment.

Shress was still looking between Six and the mountains before finally speaking in a bitter tone, "At my… camp, one of the soldiers… Dinjit is now attempting to pursue me as a suitor."

"Oh." Six said, somehow relieved that it wasn't anything to do with an invasion. Trying to organize his thoughts, he let his mouth wander without really thinking. "So, you're nervous about messing things up between you and this… guy, right?"

"Absolutely not!" Shress literally snapped at Six with her open mandibles, causing him to flinch back and almost reach for his combat knife. Mentally calming himself down, he relaxed a bit when he realized she wasn't going to attack him.

'Man I'm really not cut out for all this talking nonsense.'

Shress fumed on for a bit before calming down a bit and speaking again, "I'm sorry Michael. My problem is the complete opposite of what you just said. you see, Dinjit, he's a, a…" She couldn't finish her sentence as she let out a growl, and Six was glad it wasn't directed at him this time.

"An idiot then?" Six offered, hoping to earn her confidence again.

"Idiot is too kind of a word for the likes of Diljit. He's arrogant, obnoxious, too set in his ways…" She said through tense fists as she snarled again, clearly unable to contain her anger.

"So he's a jerk" Six concludes, unsure as to exactly what the protocol for a situation like this would be.

"What's a jerk?" Shress asked, and for some odd reason, Six was happy to see her face lose its hate-filled features. She now stared at him with curiosity.

'There's the Shress we all know and love.'

Six slapped himself mentally, wishing more than anything to attack his own brain.

'What is wrong with me?'

Putting aside the fact that he was the only one human that knew her, he responded to the question she asked. "A jerk is the very thing you just described, An obnoxious, idiotic, and hot headed individual with little concern for anyone around them."

Shress began to growl loudly even as he continued with his description. Tactical thinking suggested to Six that he should change the topic, and fast. "If he is bothering you so much, can't you just say you don't want him to pursue you?"

Shress quickly stood up and started to pace around at a furious speed as she growled, "It's not that easy, as a male and a highly respected warrior, Dinjit can lay claim to any female he wants." She interrupted herself with a snarl. "And because of my disgraceful lack of suitors while I'm in my youth, I have no choice but to accept him."

Six grunted, which earned a curious glance from Shress, as he responded, "In our society, a woman can choose who her suitor is and can reject him as well."

"I'm not in 'your society,'" Shress said angrily. "Not that it matters… To reject him would be a clear disgrace to my honor or an even clearer sign of my lack of loyalty to any potential pairing, and thus a disgrace upon my family." She stopped walking and her eyes fell to the ground below her. "So far I've been nothing but a disgrace: my ambitions, my actions, even now I am fighting for my people but they will still condemn me because I am not walking the path of a female." She sighed and finished in a hurtful voice, "I've been nothing but a failure from the start, and no matter what I do, I am destined to be a house mistress mated to someone who probably won't even speak to me aside from having children." She finished in a small fragile voice, making a noise that was the closest to a whimper that Six believed an elite could make.

Like any other Spartan, Six would have paid anything to see an Elite cry, but seeing Shress hurting made him feel sick. Six wasn't used to this at all, he wanted to comfort Shress but at the same time he refrained out of fear of offending her.

'Just imagine you're talking to another Spartan,' he thought, 'imagine it's someone from Noble team who's having these problems.'

Ignoring the idea of Kat having boyfriend troubles, Six took a deep breath as he steeled himself for the worst before he spoke up. "Shress?"

She blatantly refused to look up at him, making him grow a bit frustrated at his words consistently being ignored. He remembered that in Sangheili culture that to reveal your emotions, especially as a woman, was considered disgraceful; but he needed to let her know it was alright with him.

Coming up with a plan of attack for this situation, the Spartan came up with an easy way to gain her attention since words seemed to be failing him.

'I can't believe I'm doing this, then again a Spartan never leaves a mission unfinished.'

Six rose, walked to Shress and very slowly took her hand in his. He was surprised to find it warm, he could actually feel the heat radiating from her hand and seeping into his armor shielded body.

Shress jerked violently and wrenched her hand away from Six, a look of shock and confusion plastered on her face. Six raised his hands and said, "Wait, wait, I was just trying to get your attention. What I did doesn't mean anything… Well, I guess it does, but not in the way you are thinking!"

Shress remained silent before picking up her helmet and saying, rather awkwardly, "I think I should go."

She was already walking away when Six cried, "Wait Shress, I didn't mean anything like that it was just—" he stopped as Shress started walking down the trail off the mountain.

Six continued to stand in place in stunned silence, watching her go when that little voice in the back of his mind decided to yell into his ear like the voice of God.

'Get after her you lunatic!'

Six snapped into action, stirring him into action as he broke into a sprint after Shress. He, for some reason, put all of his energy in his legs as he did not want to let her get away.

Shress turned around at the sound of pounding feet and took out her energy sword. Six saw the danger but could not stop his momentum, he tried to dig his feet into the dirt but he was moving too fast. Shress activated her sword but before she could take a slice at the Spartan, he crashed into her and they tumbled down the rocky slope. Finally they rolled to a halt on a small grassy meadow, the tall grass around them swaying in the mountain breese.

Both of them were dazed, but Six forced himself to his feet while he held his side, hoping he didn't break his ribs from the fall. Shress saw Six stand as well, hissing in pain as they stood facing each other.

Six blurted out the first thing that came to mind, hoping to end the silence before it was filled with something worse than his rambling thoughts. "Man that hurts..." Then he remembers the whole reason he gave chase so he hurriedly explained, "Shress, I didn't grab your hand out of affection, but because I wanted to let you know I am here for you. It's a sign of assurance among humans. No matter what happens, I'm there for you."

The Elite didn't say anything, merely standing there staring at him from behind her crimson helmet, so he continued, "I know you are under a lot of pressure, like the walls are closing in on you and you are growing more and more in despair, but never, don't you dare, ever think that you are a disgrace. Among humans, to stand out, to make a change is usually met with open hostility, something that you are facing now, but I hope you believe me when I say that you might start a revolution. Right now there are probably hundreds of others on your planet looking up to you, admiring you, and marveling at what you've done. You became the first female Zealot, and you were hand chosen by one of the Prophets themselves," Six hated holding up the leaders of the Covenant, but this was for Shress, not them, "Not to mention, you got in a fist fight with a Spartan and came out alive, not many people can survive that. I should know, so people will treat you like nothing for now, but I bet you anything that your people will hail you as a hero eventually, and you'll be destined to live on as a legend before you know it…"

Six took a deep breath while his mental state pondered, 'Where did that speech come from?' But that didn't matter; he was just hoping it helped Shress. The alien was silent as she looked down at the grass before looking up at him, her helmet preventing him from seeing her expression.

"Thank you Michael," she finally said in a grateful tone, "No one… has ever said anything like that to me… Not even my own parents," she confessed.

Michael just smiled and replied, "You're welcome. That's what friends are for, right?"

Shress was silent before saying, "Yes… Friends."

They were silent, but this silence was a good one as they were comforted by each other's presence. The setting sun caught Shress' eyes and she hissed, "We need to go now Michael."

He nodded as he started up the hill, needing to retrieve his gear, but stopped and said in a newfound confident voice, "I'll see you later, Shress… my friend."

She turned towards him and her mandibles came closer together—perhaps that was a Sangheili way of smiling, "Farewell Michael, my friend."

They smiled toward each other before Six turned and started up the mountain, feeling better at this turn of events.

Shress La'Vdamee POV

Shress entered Holy Retribution, happily smiling at anything and everything, her mind still entirely focused on what her human friend said.

'Michael.'

She had never been given any such compliments before. She never thought her disgraceful acts could make her a hero, and yet those words were exactly what she needed at the moment. Her parents were so set in their ways they wouldn't have dared to think of telling their daughter such things, to fill her head with fantasies. Yet at the moment she didn't care what her parents thought. She was just happy knowing that she now had a friend, someone she could talk to without fear that he might tell anyone her secrets.

She was walking to her quarters when a shadowy figure stepped in front of her. Her good mood and smile disappeared as she instantly knew who the person was.

Dinjit stepped out of the shadow and asked, "Where were you?"

Shress just shrugged and said, "Out taking a walk. Is that a crime?" Before he could reply, she slipped behind him and was walking away when he grabbed her upper arm. She turned and snarled at him, which made him reluctantly let go. They might be the same height, but she was still a superior.

Dinjit growled in defense, "Field Marshal Ruan was looking for you earlier." Shress felt her mind go blank with dread. "I'll escort you there," Dinjit finished as if thinking Shress wanted his company.

They walked through the camp as Dinjit tried four times to start a conversation, but Shress remained silent as she sulked.

'What could Ruan want? Has he discovered my secret meetings with Michael? Am I about to be executed? Or is my father here to visit?'

"Shress!" A loud voice boomed, stunning her out of her thoughts. She shook herself and found that they had stopped in front of Ruan's command tent. Dinjit asked, "Do you want me to wait here for you?"

"No," she spoke quickly but added, "Thank you." at the end. Dinjit gave his newfound court-mate an odd look before walking away, leaving Shress alone in front of the tent. She calmed her nerves the best she could before entering.

The tent was nice and orderly, medals and awards accommodated one side of the wall, while on the other side was a bed. Spread across the floor was an elegant rug, the best kind that could be made by delicate fingers. In the middle of the tent sat her commander, her CO as Michael would say, kneeling in front of a short table that was holding a data meter and a goblet of some simmering drink.

The aging warrior waved at the opposite side of the table and said, "Zealot, please sit."

Shress gulped before walking forward and kneeling at the table, her hands resting on her knees as she waited for Ruan to speak.

The Zealot was an unnerving sight, he was reaching his eightieth summer and yet he still retained the body of a well brought up warrior. His skin bore the scars of past wars, some past, some present. He was eight feet tall when he stood up and was the only male that Shress knew who had large rippling muscles. He had survived on seven human worlds and had been rumored to have killed more humans than anyone else in the entire fleet.

The old Sangheili drank from the goblet, set it down, looked at Shress, and spoke in an old leathery voice "Zealot, I have grand news for you."

'Grand news?' Shress felt herself relax, she wasn't in trouble after all, Ruan just wanted to tell her something.

Ruan picked up the data meter on the table and said, "Thanks to your successful raid on the human base, we have discovered the location of the greatest of the gods instruments, The Navigator." He sighed at this as if the excitement was too much for the veteran warrior's heart, "It is to you we owe our thanks. You and your team of Rangers, soon you may even have my rank as Field Marshal."

'Zealot Commander? This was grand news! This is just the thing I need; I could return home as a hero, and it would wipe away any of my shame and present me with enough glory to keep Dinjit and all the other fools away!'

She grinned at this idea, but then it faded as she began to wonder about her commander's words.

"Begging your pardon Field Marshal, but why do you think I'll be promoted soon?" she asked.

"Because since you and I are the only Zealots left, should I fall in battle, then it will be you Shress La'Vdamee who shall take my place." He said without the slightest hint of fear at the prospect of death.

Shress was stunned at his declaration. Due to his advanced age, Ruan hasn't taken part in any attacks, and so far the humans are unaware of their location.

Seeing her confused face, Ruan elaborates, "Because this is such an amazing find, the prophet of Regret himself is now leading a fleet here at this very moment." The Field Marshal's pride was obvious as he finished, "With the fleet of Righteous Quality, we will cleanse this land of the human parasites, with me and the other commanders leading the way." He ended with the slightest hint of glee, "Leaving you as the highest ranking officer should I fall here on this planet before the fleet arrives."

Shress caught the raging excitement in the tent. The High Prophet of Regret himself was coming here. It will be the greatest of honor to fight under him, a tale that will surely delight her parents greatly, not to mention the fact that she might actually be promoted to a commander. Finally she could sustain her blood lust, avenge Nodam and Kluan. She could finally destroy all the humans, destroy all the demons, and destroy… Michael?

Her thrill of total victory died suddenly in her chest like a flower being stepped on. Michael was a human, she should have seen this coming, and what was she thinking? She knew this day was coming yet she didn't think much about it, she didn't think she would become friends with the human, and now knowing he was going to die made her feel sick. When the high prophet gets here, it's all over, Michael and his comrades will be killed… unless they flee the planet.

Ruan tilts his head slightly, "Zealot? Is there something wrong?" he asks, noticing how her excitement seems to have evaporated.

"Nothing commander!" Shress replies hurriedly, "May I please be excused? I must commence preparation for such a glorious campaign."

"Of course," The aged warrior said, waving her off with a hand. The words barely left the Field Marshal before Shress stood, placing a fist over her chest and giving a small bow before turning and walking out of the tent. Once outside she sighed and began thinking of her options.

She could do nothing but face the facts; she's a Zealot, part of the holy Covenant army, waging war against unclean creatures. But were they? All of her conversations with Michael had startled her, both of their species were more similar than she ever imagined, such as having a code of honor, a thirst for discovery and a determination to protect their culture. They seemed to be the complete opposite of the unholy beings that the prophets made them out to be. She couldn't save them, not all of them, but maybe she could save one of them, her friend.

She knew what she was going to do. She activated her camouflage and left the camp, running as fast as she could back to her and Michael's usual meeting spot.

Six POV

'Where the hell is she?', Six wondered as he watched the sun begin to set.

He has been waiting all day for her, he finished his PT hours ago and was growing restless and semi worried. Shress was never late before, he hoped she was alright, he felt his heart sink a bit as he thought what might happen to her if the Covenant discover their secret meetings. Shress never voiced them, but he was sure the Covenant form against conspiracy is more severe than the humans.

He checked the watch in his HUD for the hundredth time and saw it was 0500 hours; he needed to leave if he was going to make it back to Sword Base before it got dark. He sighed before hefting his bag, but paused as he heard footsteps behind him.

Thinking it was Shress in her active camouflage, he turned and said, "Well it's about t-" his voice trailed off as he recognized the person before him.

He couldn't believe his before him was none other than Doctor Halsey. She seemed to be out of breath, had scraps on her hands, and her face was a slight red color. Standing by her side were two military MP's, both looking as tired as Halsey.

'Oh man, this is it, I'm a goner now,' Six thought.

Halsey finally composed herself and demanded in a rather flustered tone, "Lieutenant, what are you doing up here?"

"Are you going to court martial me if I don't answer?" He replied smoothly, but at the moment his mind was abuzz as he tried to think of a good excuse.

"Yes, I will Lieutenant." She said in a confident voice. "Unless you tell me who it is you are meeting."

Six sighed, "Halsey, I told you it's classified."

"Do you really think you could go out into the mountains almost every day under everyone's noses just to meet some 'common soldier?' I've done all the digging I need to see that you're hiding something. So I'm going to ask you again, and you are going to tell me the truth. What are you really doing here, Lieutenant?" She said in a stern voice. She knew she had caught him like a mouse in a mousetrap.

Six felt as if the world was crumbling around him. What really hit his core was that comment about meeting a common soldier. The only person he lied to about that was Emile.

'Emile may have a large mouth but he wouldn't rat me out to Halsey. I doubt he could even be in the same room with her without attempting to strangle her.'

With that in mind there was only one possible conclusion: Halsey had been spying on him. He felt enraged at this, yet this wasn't the first time she's done something to agitate him. There was the fact she refused to call him a Spartan, but the lying and spying was most hurtful to him at the moment.

Halsey cleared her throat, gaining Six's attention, "Well, Lieutenant, since you are unwilling to speak the truth, I will just have to place you under armed guard until you do." She turned to the marines, "Soldiers, please escort the Lieutenant back to base."

The troopers seemed fearful of the Spartan who stood tall and loosened his muscles. A Spartan never went down without a fight. Six made to charge but stopped. These were his fellow soldiers, brothers in arms who were just doing their jobs. He couldn't- no, wouldn't hurt them.

Halsey noticed his hesitation and said a bit more forcefully, "Arrest him." but before the troopers could find their courage, another voice interrupted.

"That won't be necessary boys."

Six felt his gut twist as he looked behind the startled soldiers. Standing behind them, having crept up with the silence of a mouse was Carter, fully armored with a weapon in hand.

Six now really wished he was anywhere but here, before he could speak, Carter continued, "Sorry I'm late, Six, I got held up back at the base."

Six was thankful his helmet hid his puzzled face, unsure what Carter was doing.

Halsey turned, looking furious as she asked, "Commander, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to have a secret meeting with Six, something I'm quite sure that you already know." He looked over to Six and gestured to him to follow. "Come on Six, let's find a more confidential place to talk."

Six gratefully follows, passing Halsey who looked angry enough to spit poison, "Commander, you have not been meeting with Noble Six in the past few days, and now you expect me to believe you're his secret contact?"

"Yes I am," Carter replied, as he led Six away without another word, leaving an angry Doctor and two confused Marines.

They walked for almost twenty minutes when Six said, "Sir I—"

"Save it Six," Carter growled, coming to a halt just a few meters down the mountain and turning to face him.

"What were you doing up here, Noble? I want nothing less than the truth." Carter demands.

Six took a breath before saying, "I was doing PT—"

"Just like how you were meeting a common soldier up here?" Carter demanded, causing Six to look down in shame. He didn't blame Emile for telling Carter the lie. Carter he trusted, not the control freak doctor.

Carter grunted and said, "I followed Halsey up here because I knew there was going to be trouble. Looks like the rumors are true. Now I have to do something with you to make it look like I'm setting you up for some special mission."

"Like what, sir?" Six asked.

Carter thought before answering, "I was planning on having Emile and Jun go scout out the far ridge of the mountains, but now I guess you'll just have to switch out with Emile, understood Spartan?"

"Yes sir," Six said, eyes still downcast.

Carter stopped, leaned in, asked, "What are you really doing up here lieutenant? Speak truthfully."

"I wasn't lying sir," Six replies, "I am, or was meeting somebody up here."

"Who?" Carter asks.

"I would rather not say at the moment, sir." Six felt small talking to his officer like this, but he had no choice. As an "honorable warrior" as Shress called him, he had to keep his promises, which included not telling his CO of his new alien friend.

Carter sighed, "I expect a full report on this, Lieutenant. Don't spare any details."

Six nodded while he thought, 'I hate to disappoint you, Commander, but there's some things I will have to leave out…'

Getting back to business, the blue-clad commander began his impromptu debrief.

"A few settlements have gone dark in the viery territory close enough to here, and I have received approval by Holland for a reconnaissance operation…"

-UA-

"Keep up Six," Jun said as he hopped over the boulders with the agility that only came from a seasoned Spartan.

Six followed close behind, lugging his sniper rifle with him, trying to keep up with Jun. So far their recon mission had gone smoothly, no engagements or other kind of contact at all. The blue and green Spartans blended in almost perfectly with the shadowy landscape as they climbed over the mountain tops, searching for anything alien. They've been at this for hours, yet so far, there has been no action.

"Well this is a pretty sight. Clear sightlines all around." Jun commented, looking down at something from the ridge.

Six caught up to him and looked at what he was staring at. It made his heart ache for some reason. It was, surprisingly enough, the small ledge where he and Shress fell the other day, the place where he comforted Shress and they confirmed that their acquaintance stage had passed into the stage of friendship. He hoped his new and only non-Spartan friend was okay wherever she was.

"Let's move." Jun said as he started to move north. Six was about to follow when he noticed something, there was something shining in the meadow, the rays of Reach's planet-like moon revealed an object under a rock.

Six made sure Jun wasn't far away before he jumped, and skidded on the rocky wall of the stone as he slid down to the meadow. The grass was flattened as he walked by, the large blue armored human disturbing the chant of the night as insects and other night prowlers went silent.

He came to the rock and flipped it over. He was stunned to find human dog tags, but as he examined them, he was even more astonished to see it was his own. How did they get there? They've been missing before he and Shress fell in the meadow, so how did they appear here of all places? That was when he noticed the markings on the ground.

They were gouged into the dirt with a blade, at first he thought it was all gibberish, but as he got down on one knee, he realized it was actually the human alphabet system mixed with the Sangheili ruins. It was Shress, he realized as he looked at his dog tags. She took them and left this message. But why and where was she?

'Maybe the weird writing held the answers,' he thought as he leaned in and tried to read the weird markings. There was the human H and Y, while there was a weird letter that looks like a K with squiggly lines originating from it in between the two human letters. Next to that was an O with what looked like a person who was bowing with his hands up in the middle. The last image was clear, a warning, a X within a circle that looks like it was shooting out lightning bolts, Shress told him this was used to warn others of her race of a fast moving threat.

Was this message meant for him, or was it Shress writing a distress signal? It didn't matter, he needed to make sure she was alright, and there was only one way to do that.

"Six!"

Six looked up to see Jun looking down at him from the ridge. Six hid his tags behind his back while his foot conveniently landed on the symbols on the ground, disorientating the images. Jun held up his arms and asked, "Problem?"

"No. Nothing." Six answered before gesturing towards the south, the direction where Shress usually came from. "Why don't we go investigate a bit that way?"

"Why?" Jun asks as he slid down next to Six, "Orbital scans show that area is clean."

"Well it's easy enough to break machines." Six suggested, quoting their old Lieutenant Commander. "I have a hunch that there's a chance of excitement down that way."

"Alright fine, let's go."

They hadn't gone more than a few meters when they both ducked down as a Phantom flew overhead. They watched the lavender ship as it scanned the mountain side with a searchlight before moving back down farther south.

"I guess you're right about that whole 'excitement' thing," he said as both Spartans began to trace the phantom back to where it came from.

-Author's/Editor's Note-

Phew, that took a while! With the holidays and all, we wanted to spend time with family rather than edit (understandably). Anyway, I hope you, the readers, enjoyed the latest chapter and had a great Christmas and New Year :)

-WhateverRex

Happy 2022! We've finally gotten another chapter delivered and hopefully we can finish another a bit sooner. Enjoy the less awkward dialogue!

-Anonylemon

Hello everyone!

For anyone worried about my other two fanfics, I'm quite sorry I haven't been updating them as much as I probably should be. Writer's block is hitting me quite hard with them. Otherwise, I truly hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are looking forward to 2022!

A little optimism can go a long way I think.

Please read and review, and if you like it, consider giving this fic a follow and a favorite!

-PyreElegy